Amman, Jan 1 : Jordan has said it is prepared to deal with any potential chemical weapon threat posed by the violence in neighbouring Syria.

The country, however, added that it will not enter "any alliance" to protect itself.

Jordan, the US and others have expressed concern that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could use chemical weapons in a last-ditch effort to save his regime, the Gulf News reports.

Information Minister Sameeh Maaytah did not give details on Jordan's capabilities to thwart a chemical attack in remarks carried by the official Petra news agency on Sunday.

Amman, Nov 27 The Jordanian government Thursday rejected Israel's latest offer to temporarily freeze settlement activity in the West Bank excluding East Jerusalem, which Israel seized from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war.

"The unilateral Israeli plan for partial cessation of settlement activity in the occupied West Bank is an insufficient step, which fails to meet the world community's requirements for the two-state vision," Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said.

Amman - Most of Arab stock markets extended losses this week ahead of Eid al-Adha festivities due to start on November 27, financial analysts said Friday.

They also attributed the plunge to declines on global markets, the foggy picture surrounding the world recovery and instable oil prices.

Amman - Jordanian security authorities have broken up a network involved in forging residence permits for Iraqis, the daily al-Ghad reported Tuesday.

Members of the group, led by an unidentified businessman, were arrested at the end of October and were being charged with criminal forgery and fraud, the paper quoted official sources as saying.

Amman  - Jordan's King Abdullah II flew to London on Sunday for a "working visit" to Britain which was due to last for several days, the royal court announced.

The monarch, accompanied by Queen Rania, is scheduled to meet with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on "latest developments in the Middle East, particularly efforts being made to establish peace based on the two-state vision", a royal court statement said.

Amman  - Arab stock markets plummeted for the second week in a row, reflecting retreating confidence on the part of investors who appeared increasingly geared to the performance of global bourses, financial analysts said Friday.

However, they pointed out that oil prices and the projected spending of the governments of the oil-rich Gulf countries would continue to act as key moving factors for regional markets.

Amman  - A coalition of Jordanian opposition parties and trade unions Monday marking the 15th anniversary of the Jordan- Israel peace treaty, demanded its "cancellation," saying it only benefited the occupation machinations of the Jewish state.

Amman  - Jordanian security authorities on Monday were investigating an attack on veteran opposition leader Leith Shbeilat by unknown assailants.

Editorial writers demanded the culprits be brought to justice and the motives behind Sunday's attack be revealed to the public.

Hundreds of people also staged a sit-in Sunday at the Professional Associations Complex to protest the attack on Shbeilat, who formerly served as a lawmaker and head of the Jordan Engineering Association.

Amman  - Jordan has sought assistance from Pope Benedict XVI to stop what it calls Israel's "unilateral measures" in East Jerusalem, which the Jewish state captured from the Hashemite Kingdom in the 1967 War, an official statement said Thursday.

The request was made by Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, who met the pontiff at the Vatican Wednesday, transferring a message from King Abdullah II.

Amman  - Kenya's David Kiptum won the Amman International Marathon with the participation of about 12,000 runners representing 71 countries, organizers said Sunday.

Kiptum clocked 2 hours, 20 minutes and 48 seconds, followed by Ethiopia's Gezahagn Girma Beyene with a time of 2 hours, 21 minutes and 39 seconds. Italy's Said Boudalia trailed him by 19 seconds to come in third.

Amman  - Jordanian King Abdullah II conferred Friday with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero and urged the European Union to adopt "effective" action against unilateral Israeli measures in East Jerusalem.

"The monarch urged the world community, particularly the European Union, to take an effective action against unilateral Israeli measures which seek to change the identity of the holy city and the sacred shrines there," a royal court statement said.

Amman  - Arab stock markets gained fresh ground this week as investors looked favourably to the rising oil prices and early reports of third quarter results, financial analysts said Friday.

They noticed that crude prices would serve as a "catalyst" for regional bourses in the forthcoming weeks.

Amman - Jordan's State Security Court on Thursday sentenced 12 al-Qaeda-linked Islamists to jail terms ranging between 15 and 20 years with hard labour after finding them guilty of carrying out, or plotting, acts of terrorism against churches and tourists inside the country, judicial sources said.

The tribunal first passed death sentences against four defendants, but they were commuted to 20-year imprisonment, to give them a chance to correct their conduct, given their young age.

Amman - Jordan's King Abdullah II and Queen Rania will pay a state visit to Italy on Monday at the invitation of Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and his wife, the royal court announced Wednesday.

During the visit, which is due to last for several days, Abdullah will have talks with Napolitano and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on developments in the Middle East and efforts towards a resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, officials said.

The discussions will also focus on means of boosting bilateral ties, particularly in the economic and trade spheres.

Amman - A young man with a severely compromised immune system became the first fatality in Jordan from the swine flu, Jordanian authorities announced Monday.

The victim, a 26-year-old man, died hours before his contraction of the H1N1 virus could be verified, as he suffered from "dangerous disorders that jeopardized his immune system, including tuberculosis," Minister of Public Health Nayef al-Fayez said.

The number of swine flu cases so far discovered in Jordan were at 850, the minister said. (dpa)

Amman  - The deficit in Jordan's balance of trade shrank 23.5 per cent in the first eight months of the year owing to the global recession that drastically trimmed imports particularly the oil bill, according to official statistics published on Monday.

The Department of Statistics put the trade gap between January and August at 3.49 billion dinars (4.9 billion dollars) compared with 4.559 billion dinars in the same period of 2008.

Amman - Thousands in the Jordanian cities of Amman and Zarqa on Friday demonstrated against Israel's measures at al-Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem, which the Jewish state captured from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war.

The compound in Jerusalem's walled Old City that houses the mosque is holy to both Muslims and Jews. It has been the scene of mounting tension between the communities.

In Amman, demonstrators made their way to the Prime Ministry, where they chanted slogans urging the government to sever diplomatic ties with Israel and expel its ambassador.

Amman - Arab stock markets closed the week mixed as investors monitored third-quarter results of listed firms and the movement of oil prices, financial analysts said Friday.

They pointed out that Middle East bourses, particularly in the Gulf region, would continue to be also affected by the performance of global markets and predictions of recovery in the world's leading economies particularly in the United States and Europe.

Amman - Jordan's King Abdullah II on Monday conferred with two senior Egyptian officials who relayed to him a message from President Hosny Mubarak dealing with Cairo's efforts to work out a reconciliation between Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas.

Amman - Two agreements were signed on Wednesday under which the European Union extended 17 million euros to Jordan for financing programmes emanating from the Jordanian European partnership, an official statement said.

The deals were signed by Jordanian Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Suhair al-Ali and head of the European Commission in Jordan Patrick Renauld.

Al-Ali said that the two grants raised to 57 million euros total economic aid which Jordan received from the EU in fiscal 2009.