BBC: Covid: Jordan’s health minister quits over hospital oxygen deaths. “Jordan’s health minister has resigned after six people died due to a lack of oxygen at a hospital ward treating Covid-19 patients, state media report. The deaths were reported early on Saturday at a new government facility in the town of Salt, about 14 miles (23km) west of the capital, Amman.”
NPR: ‘1st Time To See It Like This’: Petra Tourism Workers Long For Visitors To Return. “In the ancient city of Petra, Jordan’s best-known tourist destination, bird song echoes against the multicolored rock and the elaborate monuments instead of the din of tour groups and souvenir sellers. The coronavirus pandemic has done what war did not — bring this Middle Eastern country’s vital tourism industry to a dramatic halt, and with it, the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of workers.”
The Jordan Times: Photo collection spanning over four decades offers rare glimpse into archaelogical sites. “Nancy Lapp, an American archaeologist born in 1930, kept detailed records of a photo collection from her trips to Palestine and Jordan starting back in 1957 with her late husband Paul Lapp. Nancy Lapp recently donated approximately 2,500-3,000 35mm slides that belong to the Paul and Nancy Lapp collection to the American Centre of Oriental Research (ACOR) for research purposes, said archivist Rachael McGlensey in a recent interview with The Jordan Times.”
Jordan Times: ‘Ministry building database of civil society organisations’. “The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation is currently building a database of the civil society organisations operating in the Kingdom, Planning Minister Mary Kawar said on Monday. Kawar said that the platform aims to boost partnerships and communication between the government and the organisations by supporting networking and minimising conflict in organisations’ work.”
Al-Fanar Media: In Jordan, Antiquities Sites Enlist Nearby Communities as Partners. “A prominent theme among presentations scheduled for a major international conference on the archaeology of Jordan, being held in Florence, Italy, this month, is the growth of projects that engage local communities in the preservation of ancient sites.”
MENAFN: Project aims to build database of Jordan’s archaeological objects. “A four-year project aims to document and share the current collection of objects at the Jordan Archaeological Museum (JAM), which represent a mirror of the country’s history worth displaying, said a German expert.”
The Jordan Times: New geodatabase of Jordan’s heritage sites under development — official. “A new version of the Middle Eastern Geodatabase for Antiquities (MEGA) Jordan is under development to serve as a user-friendly web-based geospatial information system on the country’s archaeological and heritage sites, according to a senior government official. The new version, called ‘Arches Jordan’, will provide researchers and the public with coordinates and data on all of Jordan’s registered archaeological sites, buildings, structures, landscapes and heritage ensembles or districts, the official said.”
Above the Law: alt.legal: One Teen’s Quest To Take Jordan’s Law Digital. “Naji lives in Amman, Jordan, and he aspires to be a lawyer one day. He’s intrigued by how much information exists online with respect to U.S. law, and he has started a website…to help his community learn more about Jordan’s law. There’s no fancy database or algorithm — it’s just a handful of cases with some summaries. But he believes it’s transformational, and he may be right.”
Israel National News: State archives makes material from Six Day War available. “Ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Six Day War, the Israel State Archives, a unit within the Prime Minister’s Office, is today (Thursday, 18 May 2017), making available material from the Six Day War. These include minutes of 36 meetings of the Ministerial Committee on National Security from January-July 1967, Cabinet protocols and documents pertaining to the war from various ministries (Prime Minister’s Office, Foreign Ministry, Interior Ministry, Religious Affairs Ministry, Tourism Ministry, Justice Ministry, Housing Ministry and others), as well as sound and video files, still photographs and materials from the personal archives of Levy Eshkol, Yaakov Herzog, Aviad Yafe, Moshe Sasson and Rabbi Shlomo Goren.”
Jordan News Agency: Google.org provides grant to Queen Rania Foundation to create K-12 Arab online Arabic learning platform. “The Queen Rania Foundation and Google.org agreed to create an online learning platform for Arabic Open Educational Resources (OERs) targeting K-12 students and their educators across the Middle East and North Africa region. Announced in London, the initiative comes at a crucial time to help make sure millions of children across the region have access to quality education. Today, an estimated 13 million MENA children, equivalent to 40% of the school age population, are missing out on an education because of conflict and displacement. The refugee crisis has also strained existing education systems in host countries, like Jordan and Lebanon that have taken in large numbers of refugee students, compromising the quality of education offered to both local and refugee children.”
The King of Jordan has launched a new Web site. “The RHC’s [Royal Hashemite Court – TJC] website includes a number of sections featuring current and historical images about His Majesty, The Royal Hashemite Court and the Royal palaces, in addition to a comprehensive video library collection and overview on the King’s achievements and the Hashemites. The website also offers information on Royal initiatives, development and service projects implemented by The Royal Hashemite Court as well as Jordan’s history and modern milestones.”
Albawaba News: Jordan to track, sue social media users who mock victims of Istanbul attack. “A source from Jordan’s Public Security Department (PSD) on Tuesday said that the department’s anti-cybercrime unit has already started tracing social media accounts of people who insulted Jordanian victims killed in the Istanbul terrorist attack.”
In development: a digital archive for the Great Arab Revolt. “The Jordan Media Institute (JMI) on Wednesday announced plans for a museum to document press coverage of the Great Arab Revolt, as the Kingdom celebrates the revolt’s centenary. In cooperation with the US embassy in Amman, the museum will document the works of American journalist Lowell Thomas, who accompanied the British officer T.E. Lawrence for several weeks during the revolt, the JMI said in a statement.”
Google Maps has added historical sites from Jordan. “What a great day for Jordan and Jordanians! Thanks to Google Street View, we can now share the rich, proud and varied history of our country with anyone who has an Internet connection. With more than 30 historical sites available to explore virtually, people all over the world now have a window into our beautiful Kingdom in the heart of the Middle East.” (The Google announcement was guest posted by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan.)
The universities of Jordan are launching a digital learning platform. “Jordan’s public universities are aiming to increase their Internet presence through a new online platform that will pool lectures, examinations, and lesson plans. The Jordan Universities Network (JUNet), in partnership with Microsoft Jordan, will launch the Jordan Open Courseware Platform—www.elearning.edu.jo —in the autumn.”
