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AMMAN — HRH Crown Prince Hussein on Wednesday evening attended the national football team’s training session, as the players made their final preparations for their upcoming match against Palestine.

The match, scheduled for Thursday at 9:15pm at Amman International Stadium, is a key fixture in the third and final round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The national team, under coach Jamal Sellami, conducted its last practice session at the match venue, with media present. Reports indicate that the players are physically and technically ready for the "important" match.

Sellami stressed the importance of securing a win in his pre-match comments, saying: “We are fully aware of the challenge ahead, facing a team with strong players. Our goal is to secure three points and keep progressing towards qualification.”

Although the team will be missing Ali Alwan for the match, Sellami expressed confidence in the remaining squad members.

“Our ambition remains strong as we push forward towards the World Cup, and we are confident the players will deliver a positive result,” he added.

Midfielder Nizar Rashdan stressed the significance of the game, noting that the team’s focus is on continuing their momentum.

“We are committed to playing at our highest level to keep our qualification hopes alive. Our goal is to make our fans proud, who have been supporting us all along,” he said.

The pre-match technical meeting confirmed the organisational details, with Jordan playing in white and Palestine in red.

Next, Jordan will face South Korea on Tuesday at 2:00pm Jordan time at Suwon World Cup Stadium.

The national team is currently in third place in Group B of the qualification round with nine points, trailing South Korea (14 points) and Iraq (11 points).

The top two teams from each group will qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup, while third and fourth place teams will move on to the fourth qualification round.

AMMAN — Temperatures on Friday are forecasted to dip slightly further, with cold and cloudy conditions continuing, the Jordan Meteorological Department said on Thursday.

Rain showers will persist in the north and central regions, with brief showers possible in parts of the southwest, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.  

Early morning temperatures in high-altitude areas may even bring freezing rain, while winds will remain moderate.

Saturday will bring a slight warming trend, with partly cloudy and generally cold weather across most regions, while the Jordan Valley, Dead Sea, and Aqaba will experience relatively warmer temperatures.

Light morning showers may still affect parts of the central and southwestern areas. Winds will remain moderate and northwesterly.

On Sunday, temperatures are expected to rise further, with cool conditions in most areas and warm weather in the Jordan Valley, Dead Sea, and Aqaba. Winds will continue to be moderate and northwesterly.

Temperatures on Friday are predicted to range between 13°C and 6°C in East Amman, 11°C and 4°C in West Amman, 9°C and 5°C in the northern highlands. Mercury levels in the Dead Sea will hover around 26°C during the day, dropping to 12°C at night, while Aqaba will see temperatures ranging between 27°C and 12°C.

AMMAN — The scholar Piotr Bienkowski studied archaeology at Liverpool University (BA and PhD) before he got involved in Jordanian Iron Age sites in 1980.

The founding director of the British Institute at Amman for Archaeology and History (now the Council for British Research in the Levant),Crystal Bennett, invited Bienkowski to join her excavation in Busayra, the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Edom.

Regarding his work in Wady Faynan, Bienkowski said: "Faynan was a major centre of copper production during the Early Bronze and early Iron ages, with a gap for most of the Middle and Late Bronze ages. In the early Iron Age, its copper was exported as far as the Aegean."

The scholar added that the excavations by the professor Tom Levy and his team at Faynan concluded that local nomadic tribes created a complex polity at early Iron Age Faynan at the beginning of the 10th century BC, that was responsible for copper production.

They argued that this was in effect the beginning of the kingdom of Edom, about 200 years earlier than previously thought.

"My review of the archaeological evidence indicates that the sudden change at Faynan at the beginning of the 10th century BC, with an abrupt introduction of sophisticated copper technology at a vastly increased scale, monumental buildings, social hierarchy and sudden appearance of imports, cannot be attributed to the local nomads, as the evidence shows that they were not actively involved in copper production at that time and were unconnected to the industrial developments," Bienkowski explained.

He added that the evidence displays all the attributes of an external take-over of copper production, and points instead overwhelmingly to Tel Masos as the instigator of the industrial boom.

The scenario that best fits the evidence is that Tell Masos, a major site in the Negev, took direct control of copper production at Faynan and developed it as an industrial site to exponentially increase the copper trade – Masos had the resources, technical skills, an architectural tradition, and connections to trade networks that the local nomads lacked, and which transformed Faynan, the professor elaborated.

Bienkowski noted that hundreds of sites in the Negev Highlands were settled by pastoralists who found employment both in production and transport in the burgeoning copper industry. But the early Iron Age copper production at Faynan was short-lived.

It was abandoned by the end of the 9th century BC, and was unconnected to the development of Edomite settlement in the highlands one hundred years later.

There is clear evidence that Faynan copper was exported across the Mediterranean.

"Lead isotope and chemical bulk analysis indicate that the copper of tripod cauldrons at Olympia in Greece, dating c. 950-750 BC, was produced in Faynan, demonstrating a long-standing and well organised trade network from Faynan to the Mediterranean."

"It is likely that the main port for exports of Faynan copper was Gaza. Ingots made of Faynan copper at the Neve Yam shipwreck off the Carmel coast, dated to the Late Bronze Age/early Iron Age, indicates that they had probably embarked from Gaza," Bienkowski underlined.

Also, Egyptian royal figurines of the Twenty-first Dynasty (late 11th century BC), made of Arabah copper, would have been transported through Gaza, traditionally the main centre of Egyptian influence in the southern Levant.

As to the decline in copper exploitation at Faynan: From the late 10th/early 9th century BC at Faynan, there is a long process of regression, with reduction of administrative control, abandonment or re-use of the elite buildings, and abandonment of copper-production sites, and all copper production had ceased by the end of the 9th century BC, Bienkowski said.

The professor noted that this decline in evidence for administrative oversight is undoubtedly linked to the abandonment of Tel Masos in the mid-9th century BC.

"By the late 10th/early 9th centuries BC, Cypriot copper production had intensified and there is evidence of its trade to Phoenicia. This coincides with the reduction of administrative control at Faynan and the abandonment of Masos, and it is likely that they were negatively impacted by this more competitive copper market," Bienkowski emphasised.

A systematic trade network from Faynan to the Levantine coast and then to the Aegean does not organise itself: it requires economic and political negotiation with trade partners and complex logistical arrangements, such as setting and agreement of schedules and deadlines, organisation of production, storage, packing and transport, protection for the trade caravans, and financial transactions.

While there is evidence at Faynan (and at Masos) in the 10th century of an elite, administrative layer that would have been responsible for those tasks – and which initially established the trade network reflected in the finds from Olympia – this disappeared and there is no such evidence after the early 9th century BC, Bienkowski elaborated.

"The evidence suggests that, from the early 9th century BC on, the Faynan copper industry may have lacked the leadership and administrative infrastructure to compete with the renewed Cypriot trade," the scholar said.

"It continued to produce copper, at a reduced number of sites, and probably traded it to established markets, but, lacking the capacity to negotiate and compete in a changing market with new players, it finally petered out by the end of the 9th century BC," Bienkowski underscored.

AMMAN — Today, Thursday, marks HRH Prince El Hassan Bin Talal’s 78th birthday.  For decades, and particularly over the past year, His Highness has remained a steadfast advocate for a balanced path toward progress, following an approach that integrates peace-building, sustainable development, and environmental conservation. 

On the regional level, Prince El Hassan has consistently supported greater integration between the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula, spearheading initiatives to foster cooperation, resilience, and shared prosperity.

Among his notable efforts are calls for the establishment of an Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to promote inclusive and equitable development, the creation of a Water and Energy Community to ensure the sustainable and fair management of vital resources, and the foundation of the Levant Citizens' Assembly to empower civil society in shaping the region’s future. 

At the heart of His Highness’s vision lies the responsibility of all societies, communities, and nations to uphold protection and respect. He firmly believes in the importance of regional cooperation and sustainable development centred on human dignity, achieved through prioritising respect over divisive hatred and empowering individuals to actively contribute to their communities.

Prince El Hassan will continue to encourage participation in shaping the region’s future, reinforcing the belief that every individual plays a crucial role in the collective journey toward peace and prosperity.

Prince Hassan bin Talal is celebrating his birthday at home with his family.