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AMMAN — The Social Security Corporation (SSC) said on Wednesday it has decided to disburse a maternity leave allowance for subscribers in cases of stillbirth after the sixth month of pregnancy, provided that they produce a death certificate.

Upon the beginning of the maternity leave, subscribers receive an allowance that equals their last salary subject to SSC, covering the entire leave period of 10 weeks as stipulated in the Labour Law, an SSC statement said. The allowance is disbursed in a lump sum after labour, the SSC noted.

AMMAN — The Awqaf Ministry on Wednesday launched the fourth phase of the UNESCO-funded project to sustain the centre for the restoration of Islamic manuscripts at Al Haram Al Sharif/Al Aqsa Mosque.

Under the three-year fourth phase, the ministry will provide training for five employees on how to restore and maintain manuscripts, in addition to assisting academic Palestinian institutions working in the field, the Jordan Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — Authorities are investigating the mystery surrounding the absence of a 26-year-old woman from her family home in Aqaba two months ago, according to an informed source.

The woman in question headed to Turkey on November 11 for "vague reasons", while her "very conservative" family chose to deal with her disappearance in "grave silence", said MP Mazen Dalaeen.

"The circumstances that surrounded the escape of the woman, who holds a BA in computer engineering and was the top of her class, prompted authorities to suspect that Daesh was behind her decision to leave home," Dalaeen told The Jordan Times on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, a man reached out to the MP, claiming that his fiancée has gone missing and that he received a call from her from Ankara a few days ago.

"The woman demanded that her fiancé break up with her. He tracked the phone number and it appeared that she was calling from Ankara," Dalaeen said, adding that the fiancé was not allowed to visit her for two months on the pretext that she was not doing well or too busy to meet him.

"When I confronted her brother; he seemed to be surprised that the news about her absence has spread and then admitted that she left home last November," said Dalaeen, whose 23-year-old son blew himself up in a suicide attack in Iraq’s Anbar province last year.

Further investigations revealed that the woman in question left to Turkey via the King Hussein International Airport in Aqaba, while it is still unclear if the Daesh terrorist group has anything to do with the incident.

"The girl, who belongs to a very conservative bedouin family, is religious and knows the Koran by heart, but had never exhibited extremist tendencies according to her fiancé," said Dalaeen, who has dissuaded two young Jordanian women from joining Daesh.

"We are still unsure if she joined Daesh or not, but the circumstances surrounding her escape make us believe so," he highlighted, adding that the woman's fiancé, who has been with her for three years, believes that disputes with her mother might have led her to leave.

The MP, who left to Aqaba to meet the woman's family for more details on the issue, has contacted the Jordanian embassy in Ankara and the Jordanian consul there.

"They confirmed her entry into Turkey but are still looking for her."

Officials at the Public Security Department were not available for comment on the issue despite several attempts to contact them.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday condemned the terrorist attack which targeted the Bacha Khan University in Charsadda, Pakistan, and resulted in several deaths and injuries.

In a cable to Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain, the King stressed Jordan’s support for Pakistan in fighting such terrorist attacks, according to a Royal Court statement.

His Majesty also expressed his condolences and sympathies over the victims of the terrorist attack and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Mohammad Momani voiced the government’s denunciation of the “cowardly terrorist act” inside university campus, reaffirming the Kingdom’s unaltered stance in combating terrorism wherever it is, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — The Senate is scheduled on Sunday to hold morning and evening sessions to discuss the draft 2016 state budget law, in addition to the budget bill for independent government institutions, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. The Senate finance committee on Tuesday approved the draft laws as referred by the Lower House and approved some recommendations.

AMMAN — Border Guards on Wednesday foiled an infiltration attempt by a person who was trying to cross from Iraq into the Kingdom, an official source at the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army said.

Border Guards executed rules of engagement taken in such cases, resulting in the injury of the infiltrator in his leg and his referral to the concerned authorities, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Also on Wednesday, the army said Border Guards received 58 Syrian refugees during the previous 24 hours. The Border Guards transferred the refugees to shelters and camps, the source added. Royal Medical Services cadres treated the injured, according to Petra.

AMMAN — The Cabinet on Wednesday appointed Bahaa Al Din Khasawneh as director general of the National Information Technology Centre, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) solved several cases over the past two weeks, arresting suspects and retrieving stolen cars and items, the Public Security Department (PSD) media centre announced Wednesday.

CID personnel identified and apprehended suspects in five murder cases and 407 criminal and misdemeanour cases. They also seized 62 stolen cars and arrested 2,579 wanted people, the PSD added. The cybercrime unit at the CID also dealt with 108 cases, while the Anti-Human Trafficking Department dealt with two cases, and the intellectual property department dealt with eight cases, the PSD said, adding all cases were referred to court.

AMMAN — Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury concluded a working visit to Paris where he met with top officials over bilateral ties and issues of mutual concern.

He met with Minister of Finance Michel Sapin and CEO of the French Development Agency (AFD) Anne Paugam, among others. 

The minister thanked the French side for their continued support for Jordan over the past years and reiterated the importance of France as a critical and longstanding partner to Jordan on all fronts, according to a ministry statement. 

Fakhoury discussed with the French officials future cooperation between the two countries including potential projects for support under the Executive Development Programme 2016-2018. 

He outlined recent developments in Jordan on the reform front and key challenges that Jordan continues to face due to regional problems, including the influx of Syrian refugees and their impact on critical sectors, especially in host communities.

According to the statement, both sides agreed to start discussions in the coming months on the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding between Jordan and AFD, which ends this year, for another three years period (2017-2019) to support the sectors of water and wastewater, solid waste management and local development. 

The visit also came in preparation for the upcoming Syria Donors Conference that will be held in London in early February and will be co-chaired by the UK, Germany, Norway, Kuwait and the UN.

At the gathering, Jordan seeks further support from its partners to its Jordan Resilience Plan 2016-2018 to help the Kingdom alleviate the impact of the refugee crisis on vital sectors and to ensure the continuation of service delivery to Syrians and host communities.

Another purpose of the visit was to secure France’s support for the “holistic approach” of the Jordan Economic Response for the Syrian crisis, which seeks investments that improve the quality of life in host communities and secures jobs for Jordanians and a fraction of the Syrian refugees.

Through the AFD, France extended three concessional loans to Jordan in 2015 worth $265.3 million. The deals were signed during the recent visit of French Prime Minister Manuel Valls to Jordan in October 2015.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday telephoned Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and discussed with him international efforts to fight terrorism and extremism threatening international peace and security. 

King Abdullah also stressed Jordan's support for Kenya's endeavours in this regard, according to a Royal Court statement. 

The Monarch renewed his condemnation of the terrorist attack that targeted a base for the African Union mission in southern Somalia last week, expressing his condolences to Kenyatta and families of the soldiers who either died or were injured in the attack, the statement added.

King Abdullah has repeatedly called for a global, holistic approach to terrorism, calling it a “Third World War” by different means, stressing also the educational and intellectual fight against extremist ideologies.