Jordanian Records – Page 2 – Arabian Records (1st post : Eid Al Fitr – 01st Shawwal 1439 (AH) / 15th June 2018 ) / (BETA testing – Research

JORDAN : Irbid Revels in Limelight, Selected by ALESCO as ‘Arab Capital of Culture for 2022″

Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh on Sunday attended the ceremony of Irbid: the Arab Capital of Culture for 2022.

During the event, held at Al Yarmouk University, Khasawneh conveyed His Majesty’s greetings and thanks to those who put efforts towards making this national event — the launching of Irbid as the Arab Capital of Culture for 2022 — successful, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The premier, who is also head of the higher national committee for celebrating Irbid: The Arab Capital of Culture for 2022, highlighted the Kingdom’s efforts to “embrace the culture and intellectual elite”, as well as “supporting innovators towards instilling a serious national culture”.

The selection of Irbid as the Arab Capital of Culture is a national event that is being celebrated by the whole Kingdom, he added.

He noted that nominating Irbid as the Arab Capital of Culture for 2022 and Madaba as the Arab Tourism Capital for 2022 coincides with the bicentennial to celebrate the Kingdom, as well as is accompanied by Jordan’s efforts towards a new start titled as “moving towards future” through three paths: Political modernisation, economic modernisation vision and upgrading the public sector.

The selection of Irbid is in line with the Kingdom’s modernisation and reform trends, which consider the cultural scene among its key pillars, he said, noting that the selection of Irbid is a source of pride for Jordanians and is aligned with the northern city’s nature as well as its historical and cultural status.

He also expressed hope that the event would contribute to uncovering the innovative capabilities in Irbid and across the Kingdom, as well as offer an opportunity to feature the qualitative value of the local and Arab cultural and intellectual scene.

The event was attended by a number of ministers, Arab culture ministers, guest delegations, and senators and deputies, among other officials.

Culture Minister Haifa Najjar said that proclaiming Irbid as the Arab Capital of Culture for 2022 by the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (ALECSO) illustrates confidence in Jordan and the country’s intellectuals, noting that the selection requires scaling up efforts to bring further innovation through joint action.

Mohamed Ould Amar, director general of ALECSO, said that Jordan’s comprehensive cultural renaissance under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah has contributed to Irbid’s well-deserved status, noting that the organisation is following up the activities of Irbid: The capital of Arab Culture for 2022, Petra added.

He also commended the participation of figures from Jerusalem, describing the holy city as the eternal capital of Arab culture at the 2022 Irbid event, highlighting that their participation is of special character, as Jordan has shown historical stances in defending Jerusalem and its cultural components.

At the end of the ceremony, Palestinian Culture Minister Atef Abu Saif handed over the banner of the Arab Capital of Culture to Najjar, marking the selection of Irbid as the Capital of Arab Culture for 2022 following Bethlehem, the Capital of Arab Culture for 2021.

source/content: jordantimes.com (headline edited)

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Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, Prime Minister Bisher Al Khasawneh attends the ceremony of Irbid: The Arab Capital of Culture for 2022 at Yarmouk University on Sunday (Petra photo)

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JORDAN

Jordan’s King Abdullah and Queen Rania Receive Vatican’s ‘2022 Path to Peace Award’

Vatican envoy to UN presents royal couple with 2022 Path to Peace award at gala event
Queen Rania praised for focus on education, prioritization of young people

The Vatican’s Path to Peace Foundation has presented Jordan’s King Abdullah and Queen Rania with the 2022 Path to Peace award for their promotion of interfaith harmony and dialogue.

Commending the royal couple for a “years-long effort” in promoting peace and interfaith cooperation in the Middle East, Vatican Ambassador to the UN Archbishop Gabriele Caccia made the presentation at the foundation’s 29th annual gala in New York.

The envoy singled out the queen’s focus on education and the prioritization of young people in her work.

He said: “She has long shown concern for the questions of education, connectivity, and cross-cultural dialogue, as well as sustainability, the environment, and migration, which places young people at the heart of solutions and is imbued with a sense of hope.”

King Abdullah said he accepted the award on behalf of “Jordanians, men and women, young people and elders, Muslims and Christians alike.”

Noting that Jerusalem was also home to many Arab Christians, part of the oldest Christian community in the world, he noted that “our journey to peace must travel through Jerusalem,” describing the city as “key to the future and stability that we all seek.”

He added: “Jerusalem should be an anchor for peace and coexistence, not for fear and violence.

“The (world’s most difficult challenges) will be met by drawing on our faith in God, our common humanity, and our will to jointly defeat poverty and despair, and end occupation and injustice.

“(Also), to help refugees everywhere return home, ready to rebuild shattered communities, and renew the hope that young people everywhere so desperately need.”

The monarch called on the international community to work toward a just and lasting peace in the Holy Land through a two-state solution with East Jerusalem as the capital of an “independent, sovereign, and viable Palestinian state … living side-by-side with Israel.”

source/content: arabnews.com (edited)

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JORDAN

Jordan’s King Abdulla II and Queen Rania Receive ‘2022 Zayed Award for Human Fraternity’ in Abu Dhabi

Their Majesties King Abdullah II and Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan on Saturday, February 26th, received the 2022 Zayed Award for Human Fraternity.

In the presence of H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al Safadi, the award, presented during a ceremony hosted by the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity at the Founders Memorial in Abu Dhabi, was granted in appreciation of Their Majesties’ efforts to promote human fraternity, mutual respect, and peaceful coexistence. The award was also presented to Haitian humanitarian organisation FOKAL.

Attending the ceremony virtually, Grand Imam of Al Azhar Sheikh Ahmad Al Tayyib and His Holiness Pope Francis congratulated Their Majesties, describing them as role models for fraternity and coexistence.

Mohammed Abdulsalam, Secretary-General of the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity, also delivered a speech during the ceremony.

The award is organised by the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity, an independent international committee instituted to promote human fraternity values in communities around the world and to fulfil the aspirations of the Document on Human Fraternity, signed by Grand Imam of Al Azhar Sheikh Ahmad Al Tayyib and Pope Francis in Abu Dhabi in 2019.

source/content: wam.ae

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JORDAN

International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2021: Jordanian Writer Jalal Barjas named Winner

Jalal Barjas (aka) Jalal Barjes. Author. Writer. Poet. Novelist

Jordanian writer Jalal Barjas has won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction for his work Notebooks of the Bookseller.

The novel, published by The Arabic Institute for Research and Publishing, was named this year’s winner of the prize during an online ceremony.

Besides receiving a monetary prize of $50,000, Barjas will also be given funding towards securing an English translation of his novel.

Notebooks of the Bookseller is set in Jordan and Moscow between 1947 and 2019. It tells the story of Ibrahim, a bookseller and voracious reader, who loses his shop and finds himself homeless and diagnosed with schizophrenia. He begins to assume the identity of the protagonists of the novels he loved and commits a series of crimes, including burglary, theft and murder. He then attempts suicide before meeting a woman who changes his perspective on life.

Born in 1970, Barjas is a Jordanian poet and novelist who worked in the field of aeronautical engineering for several years. He is currently head of the Jordanian Narrative Laboratory and presents a radio programme called House of the Novel. He has also written articles for Jordanian newspapers and headed several other cultural organisations.

Barjas’s published work includes two poetry collections and four novels. His 2012 short story The Earthquakes won the Jordanian Rukus ibn Za’id ʻUzayzi Prize.

His 2013 novel Guillotine of the Dreamer won the Jordanian Rifqa Doudin Prize for Narrative Creativity in 2014. His Snakes of Hell won the 2015 Katara Prize for the Arabic Novel in the unpublished novel category, and was published by Katara in 2016. His third novel, Women of the Five Senses, was longlisted for the Ipaf in 2019.

Notebooks of the Bookseller was chosen by the Ipaf judges from a shortlist of six novels by authors from Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia.

The shortlisted works were all published between July 2019 and August 2020 and included The Eye of Hammurabi by Abdulatif Ould Abdullah, The Calamity of the Nobility by Amira Ghneim, The Bird Tattoo by Dunya Mikhail, File 42 by Abdelmajid Sabbath and Longing for the Woman Next Door by Habib Selmi.

The shortlisted authors will receive $10,000 each.

source/content: thenationalnews.com

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JORDAN

Abdul Rahman Al Masatfa Wins 2nd Medal For Jordan, Tokyo 2020 Olympics : August 06th, 2021

Abdul Rahman Al Masatfa. Karate. Athlete

Abdul Rahman Al Masatfa has won Jordan’s second medal of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games after clinching a bronze in the 67kg Karate competition, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

The 25-year-old medical student won every single fight in Pool B to book a semifinal match against Turkey’s Eray Samdan, which he lost 2-0.

This is Jordan’s second medal at the current Olympics followingSaleh Al-Sharabaty’s silver in taekwondo 80kg event last week.

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JORDAN

Zeina Barhoum, Arab Soprano to perform at Palestine Museum US on March 21st, 2020

Zeina Barhoum – Arabic Soprana. Classically trained Soprano. Opera singer.

Jordanian opera singer Zeina Barhoum is set to perform at the Palestine Museum US on March 21, organizers announced. The renowned singer will virtually perform in Arabic and other languages, including the songs “Sanarjeo Yawman,” “Jerusalem, Flower of Cities,” “O mio babbino caro” and several others according to reports in ArabNews.com

Founder :

Founder of Alcántara Music and Art series
Amman Opera Festival (AOF). First Opera Festival in the Arab World launched in 2017. Under the Royal Patronage of HRH Princess Muna Al Hussein, Jordanian soprano Zeina Barhoum launched the first opera festival in the Arab world, the Amman Opera Festival (AOF), with the full operatic production of Verdi’s La Traviata at the 2000-year old Roman Amphitheater in July 2017, alongside over 150 International musicians and dancers from more than 10 countries.

Awards / Honour:

Best Soloist Award, The Eisteddfod competition
Award at the 2nd Taras Shevchenko International Singing Competition, where she sang Taras Shevchenko’s popular folk song The Mighty Dnieper Roars and Bellows in Arabic and Ukrainian for the first time
Appointed by the United Nations World Food Programmed (WFP) as its advocate and humanitarian voice (May 2020)

Education:

Bsc – Visual Communication, American University of Sharjah

website : www.zeinabarhoum.com

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JORDAN

Dana Shubat – 2nd Arab-American Appointed by U.S. President Joe Biden as Senior Legal Affairs Advisor: January 2021

Dana Shubat was appointed by U.S. President Joe Biden to the White House Team as Senior Legal Affairs Advisor.

Served as Senate, Vice President of the Congressional Middle East and North African Staff Association
Served as Legislative aide to Colorado Senator Michael Bennet

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AMERICAN / ARAB-AMERICAN / JORDANIAN-AMERICAN

Ahmad Abughaush Creates Jordanian History. Wins First Ever Olympic Medal (Gold) for Jordan . First Arab Athlete Olympian to Win Taekwondo : Rio Olympics 2016

Ahmad Abughaush. Taekwondo Athlete.

Jordan’s first-ever athlete to win the country’s first Olympic medal – a Gold medal. Ahmad Abughaush defeated 3-London Olympic 2012 Olympic medallists to win the gold at the Rio Olympics, Rio de Janeiro 2016.

First Taekwando athlete in the Arab world to win Gold in Taekwando.

Awards:

-2019 -World Championships, Manchester – Silver

– 2018 – Asian Games, Jakarta – Bronze

– 2017 -Universiade, Taipei – Bronze // Grand Prix, London – Gold // Grand Prix, Moscow – Bronze // World Championships, Muji – Bronze

– 2016 – Olympics, Rio de Janeiro – Gold

– 2012 – Best Jordanian Athlete Award – by Jordan Olympic Committee – Gold

– 2010 – Taekwondo World Championship for Juniors , Sharm-el-Sheik, Egypt – Gold

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Ahmad Abughaush by Salem Khames the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, in the men’s 68 kg / en.wikipedia.org

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JORDAN / PALESTINE

Jordan’s First UFC Fighter. Making History – Ali Al Qaisi

Ali Al Qaisi (aka) The ‘Royal Fighter’, is the first mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter from the Middle East nation to feature in UFC.

Al Qaisi takes on Mexican Irwin ‘The Beast Rivera’ in the opening bantam weight clash of the UFC Fight Night.

He will be only the second Arab fighter to get signed to the UFC. The only other to be the Dubai based Algerian Mounir Lazzez.

Ali Aqaisi is ready to make history in the UFC Octagon / Image Credit: Facebook / gulfnews.com

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Jordan