Amman - Jordan and Iraq on Wednesday decided to step up coordination to tackle a possible outbreak of swine flu, confirmed cases of which have surfaced in several countries around the world.

Jordanian Health Minister Nayef Hayel met with his Iraqi counterpart Saleh al-Hasnawi to discuss what both countries should do in the face of an outbreak.

"The two ministers underlined the importance of exchanging information at the highest level over latest developments relating to the disease," an official statement said.

Amman - King Abdullah II of Jordan flew to Riyadh Wednesday for talks with the Saudi leadership at the start of a new round of regional diplomacy to spur the stalled Palestinian-Israeli talks.

The visit comes in the wake of what Amman officials labeled as a successful trip to Washington by the Jordanian monarch last week.

King Abdullah planned similar meetings in the coming few days with Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, they added.

Amman - King Abdullah II of Jordan flew to Riyadh Wednesday for talks with the Saudi leadership at the start of a new round of regional diplomacy to spur the stalled Palestinian-Israeli talks in the wake of what officials labeled as a successful trip to Washington last week, officials said.

King Abdullah planned similar meetings in the coming few days with Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, they added.

Amman - A Jordanian court on Monday acquitted columnist Khalid Mahadin of a slander charge filed against him by the lower house of parliament, judicial sources said.

The chamber's Permanent Bureau accused Mahadin of defaming the House of Representatives in an article he published online in mid- March urging King Abdullah II to intervene to stop "illegal privileges" given to deputies.

"What Mahadin said in his article was nothing more than legal criticism because he sought to protect society's interests," the court said in its verdict.

Amman - Jordan on Monday banned the import of all types of meat, including pork, from countries with reported cases of swine flu including the United States and Mexico, a senior official announced. The government also set up a technical committee and tasked it with formulating precautionary measures to avert the outbreak of the epidemic in the country, Nasser Hawamdeh, Assistant Secretary General at the Agricultural Ministry, said.