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AMMAN — Catholics from around the world are expected to mark Epiphany at the Baptism Site on Friday, according to a Catholic Centre for Media and Studies statement released Monday.

Epiphany (known to Greek Orthodox Christians as Theophany) marks the revelation of Jesus Christ as the son of God through his baptism and the beginning of his public ministry, according to Christian beliefs. Father Rifat Bader, director of the centre, said Latin Patriarch of the Holy Land and Jordan Fouad Twal will be leading the Epiphany ceremony, which will start at 10am.

In 2002, faithful Christians commemorated the baptism of Christ there for the first time since the site’s discovery in 1997, after the area was demilitarised following the 1994 peace treaty with Israel. Since then, thousands of Christian pilgrims from around the world annually mark Epiphany at Bethany Beyond the Jordan, some 40km west of Amman.

AMMAN — Border Guards received 86 Syrian refugees during the past 24 hours, a military source said Monday.

The Border Guards transferred the refugees to shelters and camps, the source added.

Royal Medical Services cadres treated the ill and wounded, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

AMMAN — The Public Security Department’s (PSD) Anti-Cybercrime Unit on Monday said it arrested five suspects on charges of blackmailing citizens using the Internet.

In a statement sent to The Jordan Times, the PSD said the unit received a complaint from a citizen saying he was sent e-mails by anonymous people asking him to pay them money or else they will publish a video of him with a girl.

The PSD said that the citizen transferred JD10,000 to one of them, but the suspects continued their threats and demanded JD200,000. By analysing the threat e-mails, the Anti-Cybercrime Unit managed to identify the five suspects and arrested them. The suspects then confessed to committing the crime, the PSD said.

AMMAN — The Civil Defence Department (CDD) on Monday said it has dealt with 15 accidents during the past 24 hours. In one accident, five people were injured when their vehicle overturned in the capital’s Wadi Al Remam area, a CDD statement said.

CDD personnel administered first aid to the injured and took them to Al Bashir Hospital, where they were reported to be in fair condition. In another accident in east Amman, four people were injured in a two-vehicle collision.

CDD personnel administered first aid and took them to Tutanji Hospital. They were listed in fair condition. CDD also administered first aid to two persons in Dahiyat Al Haj Hassan and took them to Al Bashir Hospital after they inhaled gas from a heater.

AMMAN — A Jordanian man was stabbed to death by a guest worker in Rubbeh town north of Karak during a scuffle, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, quoted an official source as saying on Monday.

Authorities detained the guest worker and started an investigation into the incident, the source said.  Several Gendarmerie forces were stationed at the area to prevent the issue from escalating, he added.

AMMAN — The State Security Court (SSC) on Monday sentenced two defendants to seven and a half years in prison and a third to three years.

The SSC ruled that the two defendants were guilty of conspiring to carry out terrorist acts and promoting the ideologies of the Daesh group.

The third defendant was jailed for three years for using the Internet to promote Daesh’s ideologies and for not reporting a terrorist plot, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

AMMAN — The Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO) on Monday dispatched a five-truck convoy laden with medical humanitarian assistance to Gaza, according to JHCO Secretary General Ayman Mifleh.

Peace Child International donated the assistance, which included medical equipment and medicines that were loaded onto Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army trucks, Mifleh told the Jordan News Agency, Petra. The JHCO will deliver the cargo to Al Shifaa Hospital which will distribute its contents to Gazans, he added.

AMMAN — Taxi drivers have to sign contracts with cab owners to facilitate their joining the Social Security Corporation (SSC) and inclusion under the Labour Law, SSC Spokesperson Musa Sbeihi said Monday.

In such cases, taxi owners will be treated as employers and drivers as employees, with monthly subscriptions being paid according to the Social Security Law, where employers pay 13.75 per cent and employees pay 7.25 per cent, Sbeihi said in an SSC statement.

In cases where drivers rent taxis from their owners for a fixed sum, there should be a contract where drivers are treated as self-employed and should pay the entire 21 per cent of the SSC subscription, Sbeihi added. If there is no rental contract, the driver will be treated as an employee of the owner, he explained.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah, the Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army, visited the Joint Special Operations Command on Monday.

Upon arrival, the King met with his military adviser, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben and the commander of the forces and discussed several army-related issues, a Royal Court statement said.  

King Abdullah was briefed on the progress of training, operations and administrative work at the special forces’ various units. 

He also toured an exhibition showcasing different kinds of equipment used by the units.

AMMAN — Mohammad Saleh, who was photographed neck-deep in water while working to open a manhole in Zarqa, was simply doing his job during difficult weather conditions as a municipality employee, Mayor Imad Momani said on Sunday.

The Egyptian worker's photo was widely shared by Jordanians on social media during the weekend. 

"This heroic scene is a daily experience by our employees during winter because they do their best to make life easier for Zarqa residents," Momani told The Jordan Times over the phone.

The mayor noted that Saleh's actions show the dedication and loyalty of the municipality's workers towards their city, adding that the municipality awarded Saleh by supporting him to perform umra (the lesser Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca). 

"He wanted to perform umra so we helped him... and we gave him a sum of money as a reward as well," Momani said.  

He said the city faces difficulties in winter due to its outdated rainwater drainage infrastructure. 

"There are 100 manholes in a city populated by 2 million people. This needs daily hard work in winter to make sure that they are not blocked. This system needs to be developed," the mayor added.