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AMMAN — The Jordan Press Association (JPA) council on Tuesday referred media outlets that published photos of the bodies of two women who died late last week to a committee for investigation.

The syndicate’s professional committee will investigate whether the publication of the photos of Soraya and Jumana Salti after their deaths was in violation of the profession’s ethics, according to a JPA statement.

The two sisters were found dead on Friday in an alleged act of suicide.

Initial investigations dismissed the suspicion of foul play, indicating that the sisters fell off the roof of an under-construction building in the Jweideh area. 

The committee is required to send its recommendations on the case to the council, the syndicate said.

Also on Tuesday, the council referred the chief editor of a local news website to the JPA’s disciplinary council over a complaint filed against him by an institution for publishing material it viewed as slanderous.

JPA President Tareq Momani said the referral entails investigating the complaint and whether the chief editor had indeed published material in violation of the law.

The disciplinary council is made up of three members and its decisions can be appealed before the administrative court.

AMMAN — UN Women Jordan and the World Food Programme (WFP) opened a third “Oasis” safe space for women and girls in Zaatari Refugee Camp on Tuesday. 

The new safe space hosts the Eid bi Eid (Hand in Hand) programme, which builds female refugees’ capacity to meet their families’ basic needs, with a focus on diversifying diet and nutritional intake, according to a joint statement released by UN Women and WFP.

“Oasis” safe spaces, operational since 2012, receive approximately 5,000 visitors per month, the statement said.

“Restoring the dignity of women affected by conflict and war is at the heart of our work in Zaatari camp,” the statement quoted UN Women Jordan Representative Giuseppe Belsito as saying.

“The partnership combines the strength and expertise of WFP in humanitarian delivery with the expertise of UN Women in gender equality, empowerment, and women’s rights,” he added.

The statement said the oasis uses a building donated by the US civil military support element and is supported by the government’s Syrian Refugee Affairs Directorate.

“This centre demonstrates our commitment to women and girls. Seeing how happy they are when learning new subjects and showing their handicraft products makes you realise how this centre brings back a much-needed sense of normalcy and dignity to their lives,” the statement quoted WFP Country Director for Jordan Mageed Yahia as saying.

The Eid bi Eid programme promotes women and girls’ confidence and abilities through training courses in literacy, computer skills, recycling and handicrafts, while offering onsite child day care, the statement said.

It also provides protection referral services and involves men and boys in the prevention of sexual and gender-based violence.

The site is funded by the governments of Finland and Italy.

UN Women’s other activities in the camp, some 90km northeast of Amman, include cash-for-work opportunities and committees to get women more involved in local decision making, while WFP provides food assistance to refugees within and outside the camp through electronic vouchers, according to the statement.

Zaatari camp, Jordan’s largest refugee camp, is home to nearly 80,000 Syrians who have fled the conflict in their home country, the statement said.

AMMAN — The Awqaf Ministry is responsible for improving services presented to 1948-Arabs Hajj and umra performers during their stay in Jordan on the way to Mecca, Awqaf Minister Hayel Dawood said Tuesday.

At a meeting with Knesset member Ayman Odeh, and an accompanying delegation, Dawood added that the ministry is working on overcoming infrastructure shortcomings and problems at the facility dedicated to receiving pilgrims on their way to Mecca, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The ministry, two years earlier, spent JD150,000 on maintenance work of the facility, the minister added. 

AMMAN — Private sector teachers are obligated to sign the unified work contract accredited by the labour and education ministries, while owners of private schools must commit to relevant regulations, the Jordan Teachers Association (JTA) said Tuesday.

Abeer Akhras, head of the JTA’s private education committee, said the Labour Ministry has issued a communiqué to labour directorates in governorates urging them to implement inspection campaigns to check on private schools’ commitment to executing the unified contract, according to a JTA statement.

The JTA has recently amended the unified contract by adding articles stipulating a minimum salary of JD190 and offering teachers direct-transfer to their banks, the statement added.

AMMAN — Border Guards on Sunday foiled an infiltration attempt by a person who tried to cross from Jordan into a neighbouring country, an official source at the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army said on Tuesday.

The Border Guards carried out the rules of engagement followed in such cases and the man was apprehended and referred to the concerned authorities.  

AMMAN — Border Guards received 68 Syrian refugees during the past 48 hours and transferred them to shelters and camps set up to receive them, an army source said on Tuesday.

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

AMMAN — The Lower House on Tuesday condemned the deadly shooting in Muwaqqar by a police officer that killed five people and injured five others on Monday.

In a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, the House stressed its rejection of all forms of violence regardless of justification.

Lawmakers also reaffirmed their support of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army and other security institutions in their efforts to maintain the Kingdom’s security.

AMMAN — The government seeks to establish family protection centres in all governorates, Interior Minister Salameh Hammad said on Tuesday. Hammad made the remark at a meeting where he received the executive plan to build the capacities of institutions working in the field of family protection, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Minister Reem Abu Hassan and Secretary General of National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA) Fadel Hmoud delivered the plan, which is going to be referred by the interior and social development ministries to the Cabinet to be studied and sent to the concerned authorities for implementation.

AMMAN — Basel Tarawneh, the government’s coordinator on human rights, on Tuesday met with Abdel Salam Sidahmed, the regional representative of the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Tarawneh briefed Sidahmed on measures to implement the recommendations of the Universal Periodic Review and those of the National Centre for Human Rights. Sidahmed highlighted several measures that aim to increase cooperation between the government’s coordination office for human rights and the UN human rights commissioner’s office.

AMMAN — Relatives of the Jordanian police officer who shot dead five contractors on Monday — two Americans, two Jordanians and a South African — on Tuesday said he was an observant Muslim and not affiliated with any radical groups.  

“My brother was not a radical person. He was pious. Like any other observant Muslim, he prayed five times a day, performed Hajj and umra [greater and lesser pilgrimages to Mecca] and memorised the holy Koran,” Fadi, 29-year-old Captain Anwar Abu Zaid’s eldest brother, told The Jordan Times.

“There was nothing wrong with my brother and we refuse to receive his body until we know the truth behind the incident,” Fadi said over the phone.

Police said Monday that Anwar shot dead five contractors working with the Public Security Department and injured six people before being killed.

Fadi noted that the last time he saw Anwar was on Sunday at around 10pm and he did not notice “anything wrong” with his brother.

“Anwar came to my house after returning from work, as he lives next door. It was a very lovely gathering. We had coffee, laughed, cracked jokes. He hugged my daughters, played with them and gave them some money. He always does that when he visits me,” Fadi recalled. 

Anwar, he said, is survived by two boys named Ahmad and Abdel Rahman. He lived in the village of Rimoun in Jerash Governorate, some 48km north of Amman.

“On Monday, he prayed at the mosque and headed to work as usual,” Fadi added, noting that his brother was fasting.

Fadi said Anwar told him a few days ago that he wanted to retire and look for a job in Saudi Arabia.

“He wanted to improve his financial condition, especially since some of his colleagues had already retired and found better opportunities in Saudi Arabia. My brother also told me that he wanted to pursue higher studies... My brother had no affiliations at all with any radical group. He moved up the police ranks and was a successful person who loved his work and family. Now that he is dead, we don’t know what really happened… He didn’t have psychological problems,” Fadi said, adding that his mother was extremely saddened by the news.

Other relatives of Anwar expressed shock over the incident.

“Anwar was a very kind and successful person. Last time I saw him was at the mosque, when he greeted me after fajr (dawn) prayer and left for work,” Mohammad, a cousin of the dead police officer, told The Jordan Times.

“All his relatives and acquaintances knew that he was a very good person. May his soul rest in peace. We are shocked about the news,” he said.

Commenting on the incident, US President Barack Obama said on Monday that the US is taking the attack that killed “two or three” American citizens “very seriously”.

“Obviously a full investigation is taking place,” Obama said during an Oval Office meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We take this very seriously, and we’ll be working closely with the Jordanians to determine exactly what happened.”