MIXED NEWS (Society, Culture, Education, Entertainment, Events, Exhibitions...etc)

[yazm1991]

Recent rains boost dam levels

Rainfall over the past week channelled around one million cubic metres (mcm) of water into the country's major dams, according to figures from the Ministry of Water and Irrigation.

Meanwhile, the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD) said the wet and chilly weather is expected to continue this weekend, with unstable conditions bringing rain in the northern and central regions.

The country's major dams currently hold 73.32mcm, or 34.04 per cent of their total capacity of 215.44mcm. The dams held 59.73mcm of water, or 27.72 per cent of total capacity, at this time last year, according to the ministry.

The ministry figures excluded the 110mcm Wihdeh Dam, where water storage currently stands at 7.5mcm. Water storage at the Wihdeh Dam, completed three years ago, is currently experimental, ministry officials said.

The Kingdom's 10 major dams are the King Talal, Wadi Al Arab, Sharhabil, Kafrein, Wadi Shuaib, Karameh, Tannour, Waleh, Mujib and Wihdeh.

The highest water storage was registered in King Talal Dam, which as of Wednesday morning held 23.04mcm, 30.72 per cent of its 75mcm capacity, followed by Karameh Dam, which held 20.49mcm or 37.26 per cent of its 55mcm capacity.

Jordan, which is considered the world's fourth poorest country in terms of water access, suffers an annual water deficit of 500mcm, while the per capita share of water does not exceed 150 cubic metres per year, well below the water poverty line of 1,000 cubic metres per year.

Dams, though expensive to construct, are key for the Kingdom to secure its water needs, according to experts.

Ministry of Water and Irrigation officials recently announced plans to increase total storage capacity to 400mcm by developing the Kufranjeh, Zarqa Maain, Wadi Al Karak, Ben Hamma and Medien dams.

According to official figures, 91 per cent of Jordan's total area of 97,000 square kilometres is arid land with an annual rainfall average of 50-200 millimetres (mm), while 2.9 per cent is categorised as semi-arid with an annual average of 400-580mm.

More rain is expected this week. The JMD forecasts relatively cold and partly cloudy weather on Friday during the day, turning cloudy and rainy at night.

The department said rainfall accompanied by thunder at times is expected in the northern and central parts of the country. Temperatures are expected to reach a high of 15°C, dropping to 8°C at night in Amman, with winds southeasterly to southwesterly moderate to brisk.

A further drop in mercury levels is forecast on Saturday as the weather is expected to be cold and cloudy, with scattered showers accompanied by thunder in the northern and central regions.

Temperatures will range between a maximum of 13°C and a minimum of 7°C at night, while winds will be southwesterly moderate to brisk, raising dust in the south and east of the country.

The effects of the unstable weather conditions will continue on Sunday, when it will be cold and cloudy, with scattered rain forecast in the northern and central parts of the country. Temperatures will range between a high of 14°C and a low of 6°C at night.

The weather will start to stabilise in the afternoon hours of Sunday, according to the JMD.

[yazm1991]

16th swine flu fatality recorded

The Kingdom recorded its 16th swine flu related death last week, according to a report released on Wednesday.

In its weekly update, the Ministry of Health indicated that the latest swine flu fatality was a 35-year-old woman with no prior history of serious illnesses.

The woman was admitted to a public hospital suffering from complications due to swine flu and passed away 10 days later, according to the report.

The ministry declined to state where the victim lived or which hospital she was admitted to.

Meanwhile, the Kingdom has posted a decline in swine flu cases for the sixth consecutive week, with 24 cases registered between December 9 and 16, down from 25 in the period between December 2 and 9 and 29 cases the previous week.

As of Wednesday, the total number of H1N1 cases reported in the Kingdom since the first case was recorded in June stood at 3,033.

Around 37 per cent of swine flu cases over the past week were over the age of 30, 29 per cent were in the 20-24 age bracket and 21 per cent were below the age of 10.

The weekly report also indicated that 9 per cent of the patients were in the 10- 19 age group and 4 per cent in the 25-29 age bracket.

Adel Bilbeisi, director of the ministry's primary healthcare directorate, told The Jordan Times that the drop may indicate the end of the current "flu wave".

Although the decline may mark the end of the first wave of the disease, he warned that the presence of swine flu in the country "is not over".

According to Bilbeisi, the ministry will launch a new campaign advising people at risk of contracting the disease to take the swine flu vaccine.

According to the ministry’s weekly report, 11,500 people categorised as high-risk have been inoculated since a vaccination campaign was launched last month.

In order to curb the spread of swine flu in the Kingdom, the ministry is currently vaccinating those categorised as high-risk groups.

These include 30,000 women in the third trimester of pregnancy, 310 patients suffering from kidney failure, children with type 1 diabetes, people with heart failure, an estimated 109 AIDS patients, some 1,200 thalassaemia patients and 10,000 patients with severe asthma.

In addition, the ministry has allocated 5,000 vaccines for medical staff who are in direct contact with swine flu patients, while some civil defence and public security personnel will also be inoculated.

The Health Ministry is purchasing two million vaccines from Novartis and 250,000 from Glaxo SmithKline, with one million doses to be delivered by the end of the year.

[yazm1991]

Heavy rain, cooler temperatures forecast for weekend

The Kingdom will be affected today by a cold air mass accompanied by a depression expected to bring heavy rain and low temperatures over the weekend, the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD) said on Wednesday.

Weather today will be cold and cloudy with scattered showers across the country as the Kingdom begins to feel the effects of a cold air mass and depression centred north of Cyprus, JMD meteorologist Hassan Momani told The Jordan Times yesterday.

"Rain is expected today in all parts of the country. It will be particularly heavy in the north, accompanied by thunder," Momani noted, adding that temperatures will reach a high of 13°C, dropping to 7°C overnight in the capital, with westerly and brisk winds.

The effects of the depression will continue on Friday, when the weather will be relatively cold with rain showers. Temperatures will range between a high of 12°C and a low of 7°C in the capital, while winds will be westerly moderate to brisk.

"As of Friday afternoon, the weather will start to stabilise and chances of rain will decrease," Momani added. He noted that mercury levels on Saturday will rise to the annual average of 15°C and drop to 5°C overnight, adding that the weather will remain relatively cold, while winds will be southwesterly moderate.

Rainfall last week channelled around one million cubic metres (mcm) of water into the country's major dams.

The country's major dams currently hold 73.32mcm, or 34.04 per cent of their total capacity of 215.44mcm. The dams held 59.73mcm of water, or 27.72 per cent of total capacity, at this time last year.

Jordan, which is considered the world's fourth poorest country in terms of water access, suffers an annual water deficit of 500mcm with a per capita share of water that does not exceed 150 cubic metres per year, well below the water poverty line of 1,000 cubic metres per year.

[yazm1991]

Originally Posted by yazm1991

Heavy rain, cooler temperatures forecast for weekend

The country's major dams currently hold 73.32mcm, or 34.04 per cent of their total capacity of 215.44mcm. The dams held 59.73mcm of water, or 27.72 per cent of total capacity, at this time last year.

Great news. Hopefully this winter provides the desperately needed rain Jordan requires.

[yazm1991]

New initiative to engage visitors in Jordanian life, culture

Tour operators across the Kingdom are being encouraged to cater to foreign visitors looking to lend a helping hand under a new initiative.

The Jordan Inbound Tourism Association (JITOA) Voluntourism Project, launched in August, aims to assess opportunities to combine tourism with volunteer work and local interactions to cater to tourists anxious to learn more about Jordanian customs, traditions and ways of life.

Many tour operators in the Kingdom currently have a poor understanding of voluntourism, a growing niche market in the US, Europe and elsewhere, JITOA CEO Nizar Adarbeh noted.

“We need to clarify the concept of voluntourism and all the opportunities in Jordan. Many think it is some sort of humanitarian aid,” he told The Jordan Times, underlining that the country should capitalise on a growing desire among certain tourists to participate in Jordanian life rather than observe it from afar.

Facilitating voluntourism would benefit local cooperatives and community-based organisations, bringing in visitors and income, while boosting revenues for tour operators, Adarbeh noted.

“We can help build local communities while at the same time enhance the entire tourism sector,” he told The Jordan Times.

As part of the EU-funded initiative, JITOA will hold seminars early next month linking tour operators with NGOs and community cooperatives in order to highlight opportunities in the sector.

Experts from Voluntourism.org, an international organisation, will also assess the sector and introduce Jordanian tour operators and media representatives to the concept.

From farming in the Jordan Valley, picking olives in Ajloun, or renovating a school in an underprivileged neighbourhood in Amman, to cooking mansaf in the badia or preparing for a traditional wedding, there is a vast array of opportunities available, he pointed out.

As part of the project, JITOA has met with NGOs and institutions such as the Zikra Initiative in Ghor Al Mazraa, the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf in Salt, Abraham’s Path Initiative in Ajloun and Madrasati.

Under the project, tour operators are being encouraged to incorporate voluntourism into their itineraries or offer it as an additional option so tourism revenue can trickle down to the local community.

In addition to extending visitors’ stays in the Kingdom, industry officials believe voluntourism can also enhance Jordanians’ view of the sector and its importance to the country.

In future phases, JITOA hopes to establish a website to link NGOs and travel agents, listing activities for various organisations across the Kingdom that are open to tourists, Adarbeh added.

[yazm1991]

'Early start to rainy season positive sign'

Last week’s rainfall is a positive sign for the Kingdom’s water situation next year, according to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation.

Heavy rain on Thursday channelled five million cubic metres (mcm) of water into the country's dams, according to the ministry.

With the recent rainfall, the Kingdom’s 10 major dams currently hold 78.5mcm, or 36.4 per cent of their total capacity of 215.44mcm. This time last year the dams held 58.9mcm, or 27.3 per cent of total capacity.

Ministry spokesperson Omar Salameh described the amount as "good", noting that the early start on the rainy season bodes well for the country’s water situation.

"We expect the early and sufficient rainfall to positively impact dam storage levels and boost underground aquifers," Salameh said, highlighting that the largest amount of water was registered at the King Talal Dam, one of the country’s main reservoirs for agricultural irrigation.

As of Saturday morning, the King Talal Dam held 34.6 per cent of its 75mcm capacity, 2.8mcm of water, while the Shuaib Dam received the second largest amount, 800,000 cubic metres, increasing its storage to 92 per cent of its 1.43mcm capacity.

Wadi Al Arab Dam received 562,000 cubic metres during the recent rainfall, increasing its storage to 41.7 per cent of its 16.79mcm capacity. The ministry's figures showed that the 8.45mcm-Kafrain Dam received 550,000 cubic metres, raising its storage levels to 25.8 per cent.

Meanwhile, the 55mcm-Karameh Dam received 232,000 cubic metres and currently holds 37.6 per cent of its capacity, while the 3.96mcm-Sharahbil Dam received 54,000 cubic metres and stands at 22.4 per cent capacity.The Waleh Dam received 11,000 cubic metres and now holds 20 per cent of its total capacity of 8.18mcm.

The Tannour and Mujib dams, with a total capacity of 16.80mcm and 29.82mcm respectively, did not receive any rainwater during the rainfall, water officials said. The Tannour Dam now holds 7.87mcm while Mujib Dam has 11.41mcm.

The ministry figures excluded the 110mcm-Wihdeh Dam, which received 558,000 cubic metres during the recent rainfall. Water storage at the Wihdeh Dam, completed three years ago, is currently experimental, according to ministry officials.

Jordan, considered the world's fourth poorest country in terms of water access, suffers an annual water deficit of 500mcm, while the per capita share of water does not exceed 150 cubic metres per year, well below the water poverty line of 1,000 cubic metres per year.

Dams, though expensive to construct, are key for the Kingdom to secure its water needs, according to experts.

Ministry officials recently announced plans to increase total storage capacity to 400mcm by developing the Kufranjeh, Zarqa Maain, Wadi Al Karak, Ben Hamma and Medien dams.

[yazm1991]

Visitor numbers up, tourism revenues down through November

The Kingdom's tourism revenues dropped slightly in the first 11 months of this year as the overall number of visitors increased, official figures revealed on Saturday.

According to statistics issued by the Central Bank of Jordan yesterday, revenues generated by the sector between January and November stood at JD1.899 billion, down from JD1.915 billion during the same period in 2008.

According to Ministry of Tourism figures, 6,538,518 tourists visited the Kingdom during the first 11 months of 2009, a 0.3 per cent increase from last year, when 6,516,428 visitors were registered.

The report, which was issued yesterday, attributed the rise to the influx of overnight visitors, which rose by 1.6 per cent to 3,491,782, up from 3,435,263 last year.

The number of same-day tourists, meanwhile, declined by 1.1 per cent to 3,046,736.

The figures also indicated that 300,000 overnight tourists were registered last month, a 15 per cent increase from November 2008.

Approximately 267,881 same-day visitors were registered in November, an 11 per cent increase from last year, which saw 240,622 same-day tourists, the report stated.

Of the total visitors, some three million came from non-Gulf Arab countries and 1.5 million from the Arab Gulf. Approximately 1.24 million tourists were non-Arab foreigners, according to the ministry.

Despite the overall rise, the ministry’s report indicated that a majority of the Kingdom’s tourist sites witnessed a drop in visitors.

The ancient city of Gadara in Umm Qais witnessed the largest drop, registering 115,502 visitors, down 45 per cent from 2008 when 202,139 toured the northern city.

Petra witnessed a 10.5 per cent drop in visitors, the report showed, as 708,670 persons visited the rose-red city in the first 11 months of 2009, down from 791,745 in the previous year.

[yazm1991]

Kingdom's healthcare expenditures relatively high - report

Annual per capita expenditures on medical services in Jordan in 2007 stood at JD177.50, of which JD60.30 represents the cost of medicine, a Higher Health Council (HHC) report revealed Tuesday.

Total healthcare expenditure in 2007 accounted for 9 per cent of the gross domestic product, or JD1.16 billion, according to the report.

The public sector spent about 58 per cent of this figure, while private sector expenditures accounted for 40 per cent. UNRWA, however, spent only 1 per cent.

Expenditures on drugs stood at JD345 million, according to the report, which is issued every two years.

Of the total annual spending, according to the report, 75 per cent was spent on secondary medical care in hospitals, 18 per cent on primary healthcare and 7 per cent on training.

As for the sources of healthcare financing, 54.9 per cent came from the public sector, 40.2 from the private sector and 4.9 per cent from donors.

HHC secretary general Taher Abu Samen said spending on health services in Jordan is high compared to other developing countries, and called for measures to reduce this expenditure by focusing on prevention.

In other developing countries, per capita annual health care expenditure is as low as $15, he noted.

“Prevention programmes and primary healthcare services can help in reducing the country’s spending on health services,” Abu Samen explained, adding that programmes to reduce the prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes should be a top priority.

Around 70 per cent of all deaths in Jordan are related to diabetes, a health expert said last month.

Kamel Ajlouni, director general of the National Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Genetics, noted that 75 per cent of all hospital admissions are due to diabetes.

A recent study conducted by the centre showed that 40 per cent of Jordanians suffer from diabetes, which is a leading cause of kidney failure, blindness, heart failure and retinal problems.

[eastwest]

NY Times: Jordanians Can Take a Joke, Comics Find


Shawn Baldwin for The New York Times
Comedians from North America found an audience hungry for laughs, even at its own expense, at the Amman Stand-Up Comedy Festival this month in Jordan.

By MICHAEL SLACKMAN
Published: December 23, 2009
AMMAN, Jordan — For all of the animosity, mistrust and lack of understanding between the West and the Muslim world, this small Middle Eastern country has demonstrated that most people here have the capacity to laugh at themselves — and at jokes about bodily functions, too.

When comedians from North America faced a theater packed with Arabs this month and poked fun at the local practice of marrying a cousin, tweaked Palestinians as being skilled stone throwers, feigned fright at an audience member named Osama, everyone laughed, and laughed hard.

When it comes to humor, apparently, there is no clash of civilizations.

“Back at home people ask me, do Arabs laugh?” said Dean Obeidallah, a stand-up comedian originally from New Jersey who was executive producer of the Amman Stand-Up Comedy Festival. “I will be honest, you guys laugh more than Americans.”

Indeed, for seven nights in a row, thousands of Jordanians packed into a theater in the center of this city and laughed so hard, hooted, hollered and cheered so easily, the comics themselves were a bit taken aback. Jordanians were hungry for a laugh, even at their expense. Two of the shows were in Arabic, and they sold out, too.

“To make fun of ourselves is good; maybe we can change bad things,” said Nader Shakhsheer, 16. “Maybe if we made fun of ourselves, there can be more honesty.”

Make fun, they did.

Mr. Obeidallah, who hosted the show on the fifth night, teased the audience about their driving and the Muslim practice of taking four wives. “You guys are the greatest multitaskers, Jordanians. I saw one guy driving with a cigarette in one hand, a cellphone in another, driving with his feet.”

Big laugh.

He even talked up President Obama, saying his election gave hope that someday an Arab could be president of the United States and then introduce America to “my first lady, and my second lady, and my third lady and my fourth lady.”

Amman, which has a reputation as the sleepiest capital city in the Middle East, has decided it wants to be the center of stand-up comedy in a region not exactly known for freedom of speech or self-deprecating humor. Stand-up generally requires a political atmosphere that tolerates the challenging of taboos and the mocking of conventions.

That is not the case here, or around the region. In Egypt, insulting the president can lead to a jail term, and officials even grew furious last year when a comedian poked fun at the national airline, EgyptAir. In Lebanon, Mr. Obeidallah said, “We were told, ‘Make fun of whoever you want, but if you make fun of Hezbollah, you are on your own.’ ”

In Dubai, all scripts must be approved in advance by the official censor. In Jordan, where insulting the ruler can lead to prison, as in Egypt, social codes and religious values emphasize conformity, tradition and respect.

So it was a risk when the mayor of Amman, Omar Maani, decided he would try to find a way to bring some levity to a city mired in crisis, with Iraq on one border and the Israeli-occupied West Bank on another.

The experiment started in 2007 when an American comedy group, Axis of Evil — comics of Iranian, Egyptian and Palestinian ancestry — came to Amman.

“I was nervous it would not take off,” Mr. Omani said.

But it did, in a big way. The next year, Mr. Omani invited them back, and this year his city organized the festival. He said he hoped to make it even bigger next year. But there are rules.

No cursing. No making fun of religion. No making fun of the king (or his family). No sex jokes.

No drug jokes. And, of course, no alcohol allowed.

The comedians did not always obey the rules during the festival, at least when performing in English, easing into the occasional profanity and joke about sex or drugs. As long as the audience laughed, no problem.

The Arabic performers had to be far more careful. “I don’t talk about sex, religion, politics, and I don’t cuss,” said Wonho Chung, a Korean who grew up in Jordan with Arabic as his first language. “It limits you a lot.”

To say the least.

Still, Arabs are not new to comedy. There is a long tradition of comedic theater and cinema, and even comic monologues and impersonations. But stand-up and its emphasis on self-deprecation and crossing red lines is uniquely American.

Aron Kader performed with Axis of Evil before he was asked by Amman officials to give a workshop for young Jordanians. It was as much a learning experience for Mr. Kader, who is half Palestinian and grew up in Washington, as it was for his students. For starters, he said, they didn’t know what a punch line was.

That was relatively easy to explain. The more fundamental problem, he said, was that they could not grasp the concept of a point of view. Expressing your opinion is not encouraged in most Arab countries.

“They were surprised you have to have a point of view,” Mr. Kader said. “You can’t just repeat what you see. How do you see it? You’re on stage, why?” Teaching that “was the challenge.”

When Mr. Kader returned this year, he found that the audience was already far more sophisticated. “They really didn’t understand when we first came here,” he said. “So much has changed.”

So far, the festival’s organizers have been able to keep the social and political commentary within accepted boundaries and laws. But as the comedy develops, many here say, it is inevitable that Jordan will have its own “Lenny Bruce moment,” a reference to the groundbreaking American comedian from the 1950s and ’60s who was convicted on obscenity charges, and finally pardoned a generation later.

“One day, there will be a kid who will say, ‘I have something to say,’ ” said Russell Peters, the Canadian-born comedian who had top billing on the two biggest nights of the show.

Mona el-Naggar contributed reporting.

Article

[MARTYR]

great ....i love those kind of shows and festivals
so is this becoming sort of annual thing ???

[yazm1991]

Amman loses cultural icon

Amman lost a cultural icon this week when Omar Mohammad Bernawi, known fondly by locals as the “peanut guy”, passed away.

The 70-something vendor, who was also known as Abu Ahmad, originally arrived in Jordan some 60 years ago on his way to perform the Hajj.

At the age of 15, Bernawi travelled from his homeland of Nigeria through Egypt all the way to Jerusalem. After the outbreak of the 1948 war, Abu Ahmad moved to Jordan, where he quickly became a cultural icon, serving peanuts to members of the Royal family, leaders, citizens and visitors from across the world.

Despite carving out a special place for himself in Amman history, the peanut seller never fulfilled his life-long quest to complete the pilgrimage by the time he passed away on Wednesday due to complications from surgery for injuries sustained late last year.

On the first day of Ramadan, the father of four was hit by a car on his way to join his family for iftar. Bernawi was rushed to the nearest hospital where doctors discovered that he had broken his hip and left leg and needed surgery to implant a platinum bar in his leg.

Determined to set an example in forgiveness, Bernawi refused to enter the operating theatre until his eldest son, Ahmad, dropped all charges against the driver.

The peanut vendor, who had become witness to and a figure of the Kingdom’s modern history, spent two months in bed following surgery before passing away this week.

Amman resident Um Bilal could not hold back her tears Thursday as she read the peanut guy’s obituary, which was placed on the Nigerian's cart in the gold souk on Prince Feisal Street.

She told The Jordan Times that Abu Ahmad represented much more to her than “just a peanut vendor”. The charismatic Bernawi, known for his wide smile and generosity, had become part of her daily life, Um Bilal said, adding that she would make sure to pass his cart on her way to work each morning.

"Although he had not been at work for over two months, I would still stop by every day and ask his son Ahmad about his condition,” the woman said while wiping away tears.

“It will not be the same without him," said Wasim Tawalbeh, a vendor who worked a few metres from Abu Ahmad’s now-legendary stand.

"He was a very kind and loving person and made us laugh with his jokes about life," Tawalbeh said, adding that in the last six months, he and Abu Ahmad became close friends.

Thirty-eight-year old Ahmad Abu Jbara, a jewellery shop owner, said that the “peanut guy” was prominent in many of his fondest childhood memories.

"When he would come in the morning we used to help him set up his cart and in return he would reward us with some of his delicious peanuts," recalled Abu Jbara, stressing that the whole alley of vendors are grieving Abu Ahmad’s passing.

For the past eight years, Egyptian Walid Amrousi, who works as a waiter at a nearby restaurant, said he would serve a cup of milk for Abu Ahmed before he would start his day at the market.

"Every time we would sit together and he would advise me to save money for my family," said the Egyptian worker, adding that Bernawi used to give him peanuts as a present to take home to his children.

"He was loved by everyone," said 71 year-old Adnan Kurdi, the peanut vendors' accountant.

“I remember when he came to Amman and started his career as a peanut salesman. He would just sit and watch citizens and vehicles pass by with a smile on his face. I don’t remember him getting mad at anyone ever," he added.

Although Bernawi’s son Ahmad will take over the stand, customers said it will be a long time before they get used to Abu Ahmad’s absence.

"We will miss the poor man. May God rest his soul," a passer-by said as he paid his respects to Amman’s one-and-only “peanut guy”.

[yazm1991]

Jordanians enjoy second-highest quality of life in Arab world

Jordan was ranked the second-best Arab country to live in according to a recently released international index.

The US-based International Living magazine ranked the Kingdom 104th worldwide in terms of quality of life in its 2010 Quality of Life Index.

The index, which covered 194 countries, considered nine categories: Cost of living, culture and leisure, economy, environment, freedom, health, infrastructure, safety, risk and climate, each rated on a scale of 100.

At the Arab level, Tunisia was ranked highest, 83rd overall on the list.

Regionally, the Kingdom was followed by Lebanon (113 overall), Morocco (116), Bahrain (119), Syria (124), Qatar (128), Egypt (135), the UAE (141), Algeria (146), Libya (157), Oman (168), Saudi Arabia (169) and Iraq (170).

In terms of the cost of living, Jordan scored 56 out of 100, while in leisure and culture it received 60. According to the magazine's website, Jordan scored 45 in economy, 59 in environment, 33 in freedom, 80 in health, 68 in climate, 28 in infrastructure, and 71 in risk and safety.

The magazine, which based its index on data from official sources including government websites, the World Health Organisation, and The Economist magazine among others, ranked France as the country with the highest quality of life.

Austria came in second, followed by Switzerland (3), Germany (4), New Zealand (5), Luxembourg (6), the US (7), Belgium (8), Canada (9) and Italy (10), according to the magazine's website.

Chad, Sudan, Yemen and Somalia, represented the four countries with the lowest quality of life, according to the index.

[piglet]

104th worldwide, still a long way to go! I was kinda surprised by the score giving to the kingdoms infrastructure...would have thought it would be higher.

[yazm1991]

Originally Posted by piglet

104th worldwide, still a long way to go! I was kinda surprised by the score giving to the kingdoms infrastructure...would have thought it would be higher.

So was I. Jordan has roads, healthcare, power, water, education and thought that a score of 28/100 was harsh.

[yazm1991]

Suicide rate on the rise

The Kingdom registered some 65 suicides and 400 suicide attempts in 2009, the National Institute of Forensic Medicine's latest figures indicated, rising by 8.3 per cent from the previous year and 87 per cent from 2007.

Acknowledging that the methodology of data collection is still immature, Director of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine Momen Hadidi told The Jordan Times on Sunday that the rising trend is indisputable as last year’s toll represents an increase from past years.

In figures, around 60 suicides were registered in 2008, with “almost the same number of failed attempts”, compared with 35 suicides and 350 suicide attempts in 2007.

He noted that the majority of victims were between 20 and 50 years old, while 70 per cent were men.

The most common methods used in suicide were hanging, poisoning and jumping from top of buildings, he said.

However, Hadidi acknowledged that the figures may not accurately reflect the true number of suicides.

“The actual figures sometimes are more or less than the announced ones, as we do not have organised data collection process and criteria,” Hadidi said, highlighting the need for a better methodology.

He explained that some families might lie about the causes of their relatives' deaths, while physicians cannot always decide whether the deceased took his or her own life.

In his analysis of the up trend, a leading sociologist said the rising number of suicides and suicide attempts in the country is attributed to increasingly complicated social and family-related problems.

“Some families are no longer doing their job in properly bringing up and educating their children,” Hussein Khozai, an associate professor of sociology at Balqa Applied University told The Jordan Times yesterday, adding that schools and universities also contribute to this phenomenon as they no longer play their role in teaching fundamental life lessons.

He noted that 18 per cent of marriages in Jordan end in divorce, which affects children’s behaviour.

Khozai also blamed a lack of support centres for suicidal individuals as contributing to the increase in suicides.

“Usually those who attempt suicide once repeat the attempt and succeed. There should be rehabilitation and counselling centres to treat these people,” he explained.

The professor pointed to a study conducted last year by the Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan, which found that 5 per cent of Tawjihi students said they would commit suicide if they did not receive the score they wanted.

“This is an alarming result and an indicator of an existing problem. But unfortunately, no action was taken by the concerned parties to address this problem,” Khozai said.

[yazm1991]

Very sad to hear

[yazm1991]

Jordan moved from ‘partly free’ to ‘not free’ category

Jordan is one of five countries that had their status downgraded to "not free" in Freedom House's 2010 global report, released on Tuesday.

The Kingdom was ranked "partly free" in previous reports.

The report names the decision to dissolve the Lower House of Parliament as a top reason for the Kingdom's decline in the "Freedom in the World" report issued by the US-based human rights and democracy watchdog.

Parliament's dissolution, coupled with the decision not to hold elections until the end of 2010, represent "an attempt to manipulate the political process by further marginalising an already weak legislature", the report said.

Officials here maintain that the dissolution was taken as part of an overhaul process aiming to give a boost to the democratisation process as well as introduce a new elections law that would boost political life in the Kingdom.

In an interview with the Jordan News Agency, Petra, on Monday, Prime Minister Samir Rifai said his government is currently preparing for a free and fair election that would achieve political reform, noting that the Elections Law and proposed amendments are currently under study.

The Freedom House report also cites "an increased influence of security forces over political life" as an indicator of decreasing freedom in Jordan.

Bahrain, Gabon, Kyrgyzstan and Yemen also moved into the "not free" category in the 2010 report, raising the total number of countries in this category to 47, while declines in freedom were recorded in 40 countries.

The number of electoral democracies fell from 119 to 116, the lowest since 1995, while 89 countries were designated "free" and 58 "partly free".

The four-year decline marked the longest decline since Freedom House first published the annual survey in 1972.

The report noted a number of significant setbacks in Middle Eastern countries, most notably referring to Iran, which witnessed violent clashes after its disputed elections in June.

The report registered improvements in freedom in Iraq and Lebanon, noting: "Iraq's political rights rating improved in light of provincial elections, which were generally regarded as fair and competitive, and due to the government's enhanced autonomy as the phased withdrawal of US troops got under way."

However, the report highlighted that "violence remains a dominant theme in the politics of the region and a significant impediment to the exercise of fundamental freedoms in many countries, including Iraq".

Yemen's drop from "partly free" to "not free" was attributed to "rapidly worsening security conditions and the increased marginalisation of the parliament and other political institutions", the report said.

In Bahrain, political rights suffered due to the "harassment of opposition political figures and discrimination by the minority Sunni elite against the Shiite majority".

The report cited also "growing paranoia of even the largest and most headstrong" of the world's authoritarian powers.

"No country can compete in this respect with China, which - despite its waxing economic and military prowess - behaves as if it were under siege by its own citizens," the report said.

China's growing economic influence abroad helped repressive countries by providing investments free of the conditions often imposed by the West, the report's lead researcher told Reuters.

"As long as China can get strategic minerals or some kind of economic gain, they will invest in those countries," said Arch Puddington, director of research for Freedom House.

"It's a problem, especially in Africa. Some of these authoritarian countries have an option - they don't have to carry out reforms that the United States or Europe might be demanding," he said.

While Asia was cited as a region of modest improvements, the report cited diminished freedom in Afghanistan, where a "deeply flawed presidential poll exacerbated an already unstable security situation and exposed the prevalence of corruption within the government".

[yazm1991]

Most UK travellers unaware of Kingdom's tourist offerings

Other than Petra, British travellers are largely unaware of the tourist sites the Kingdom has to offer, according to a report released on Tuesday.

The qualitative research project unveiled yesterday was carried out to better understand the perceptions of UK tourists, who form an important source of tourism revenue, according to industry officials.

British tourists have long represented a traditional market, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Maha Khatib said, stressing that the market needs to be further utilised in order to maintain Jordan's status as a major destination.

“We do not need effort in understanding it, but we need to recognise the gaps, protect that market and make it grow as fast as possible,” she said.

Supported by a grant from the USAID Jordan Tourism Development Project and carried out by the Jordan Tourism Board (JTB), the project sought to gauge levels of awareness and perception of Jordan as a tourism destination in the UK market.

The report stressed the rising potential market of tourists with disabilities in the UK, who have a combined income of $6 billion.

British travellers are relying less on tourism boards and traditional guidebooks when considering travel destinations and are referring more to the experiences of previous travellers, with 70 per cent stating that they trust user-generated content on Internet forums, Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere.

Khatib underlined the misconception of Jordan as a “seasonal destination”, identifying the need to promote the Kingdom, known for its temperate weather, as a year-round destination.

“We need to stress that Jordan is a place where you can enjoy your time in the coldest days of the winter and the warmest days of summer,” she added.

Although the Kingdom witnessed a 56 per cent increase in British tourists in 2007, the same year Petra was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, this figure has declined by 6.2 per cent over the last two years, according to the JTB.

In the first half of 2009, UK visitors represented 11 per cent of the European market, according to the JTB, and tend to spend more money while in the Kingdom in comparison to other travellers.

According to the survey, some respondents were unaware that Petra was located in Jordan.

Other associations made with the Kingdom included Roman ruins, and connections to films such as Lawrence of Arabia and Indiana Jones. The romantic and far-away scenery of the desert, such as Wadi Rum, appealed to the British market, as did the Kingdom’s safety.

However, many of the visitors said Jordan exceeded their expectations as they were unaware of the diversity of sites the Kingdom has to offer.

British travellers, many of whom arrived in the Kingdom on package tours, tended to have longer stays, the report indicated, with an average stay of around 10 days.

The reliance of visitors on package tours bucked the trend of British travellers in general, an increasing proportion of whom are looking to travel independently, the study showed.

British visitors to Jordan were most likely to have visited Petra, as 93.2 per cent polled said they went to the rose-red city, closely followed by Aqaba and Wadi Rum.

Most of those who have yet to travel to the Kingdom, expressed interest in visiting Petra (90.3 per cent), followed by Wadi Rum (79 per cent) and the Dead Sea (78.2 per cent), according to the study.

British travellers who seek adventure tourism are not looking for physical activities, but rather to travel to far-off and exotic locations, the study showed.

Demand for eco-tourism is also rising in the UK, the report said, noting that the Kingdom can capitalise on its unique natural beauty in order to fully exploit the market.

JTB Director Nayef Fayez stressed that the board is taking the study into consideration in reaching out to the UK market, underlining the need for further support from the private sector.

[yazm1991]

Three peacekeepers killed in Haiti quake

Three Jordanian peacekeepers were killed and at least 23 others were injured in the powerful earthquake that struck the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince Tuesday, the Jordan Armed Forces (JAF) announced on Wednesday.

The JAF identified the three peacekeepers as Major Ata Issa Hussein Manasir, Major Ashraf Ali Mohammad Jayousi and Corporal Raed Faraj Mefleh Khawaldeh, according to a JAF statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

In the statement, the JAF paid tribute to the three peacekeepers whom it said were on a humanitarian mission to preserve security and stability in Haiti.

Eighteen of the injured are JAF members, while the others are affiliated with the Public Security Department (PSD) and the Gendarmerie Department, the JAF said, adding that they sustained “mild injuries”.

Meanwhile, commander of the Jordanian peacekeeping forces in Haiti, Colonel Issam Ahmad Sweilmin, said in a telephone call with the JAF Radio that His Majesty King Abdullah, the Supreme Commander of the JAF, was in constant contact with the Jordanian forces in Haiti since the news about the strong earthquake broke, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

He added that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff General Khalid Sarayreh was also in constant contact with the forces to check on their situation.

In the telephone call, Sweilmin voiced condolences over the loss of the three Jordanian peacekeepers, saying that those injured suffered minor injuries such as bruises and that they resumed their duties.

Sweilmin added that the Jordanian forces played a prominent role in helping local citizens through taking part in the rescue teams, opening roads and rescuing the injured from under the rubble.

He added that members of the PSD and the Gendarmerie Department were safe and their injuries were slight.

Also yesterday, Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Nabil Sharif stressed that the government will continue to extend humanitarian assistance to countries suffering from wars and disasters through participation in the UN peacekeeping forces, Petra reported.

Sharif, who expressed deepest sympathies over the loss of the three peacekeepers, said in spite of the difficult situation in Haiti, the Jordanian forces there are working on opening roads, rescuing survivors and helping in reopening and rehabilitating the airport to evacuate victims and ensure the arrival of humanitarian supplies to Haiti.

Haiti's president, René Préval, said on Wednesday he feared thousands had died in the major earthquake, which wrecked the presidential palace, schools, hospitals and hillside shanties, leaving the Caribbean nation appealing for international help, Reuters reported.

A five-storey UN headquarters building was also brought down by Tuesday's 7.0 magnitude quake, the most powerful to hit Haiti in more than 200 years, according to the US Geological Survey.

The president called the damage "unimaginable" and told The Miami Herald he believed thousands were dead. He described stepping over dead bodies and hearing the cries of those trapped inside the collapsed parliament building, where the senate president was among those pinned under the wreckage.

"There are a lot of schools that have a lot of dead people in them," he told the Herald. "All of the hospitals are packed with people. It is a catastrophe."

Scenes of chaos gripped the streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince, with people sobbing and wandering dazed amid the rubble of the impoverished city.

The presidential palace lay in ruins, its domes fallen on top of flattened walls. Préval and his wife were not inside when the quake hit.

The quake's epicentre was only 16 kilometres from Port-au-Prince. About four million people live in the city and surrounding area. Many people slept outside on the ground, away from weakened walls, as aftershocks as powerful as 5.9 rattled the city throughout the night and into Wednesday.

A Red Cross official told the Associated Press that the quake had left as many as three million people in need of emergency aid.

Reports on casualties and damage were slow to emerge due to communication outages. Many were feared dead when the UN building collapsed.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the missing included the chief of the UN mission in Haiti, Hedi Annabi, but he could not confirm reports Annabi had died. He said 100 to 150 people were in the building when the quake struck.

In October 2009, five Jordanian officers died in a plane crash in Haiti.

In its statement, the JAF said that from 1989 until late December 2009, about 61,611 Jordanian army, civil defence and public security personnel have taken part in the UN peacekeeping missions.

Currently, there are about 2,064 Jordanian peacekeepers stationed in different parts of the world. They are mainly in the Congo, Liberia, the Ivory Coast and Haiti, in addition to field hospitals in Afghanistan, Iraq, Ramallah and Jenin.

[clyde18]

Thanks for all the info yazm. Appreciate it. Keep up the good work!