Amman - King Abdullah II of Jordan conferred Monday with the visiting President of the European Parliament Hans-Gert Pottering and underlined Europe's "pivotal role" in advancing the peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, the royal court stated.

Pottering was in Jordan to attend the extraordinary session of the Euro-Med Parliamentary Assembly that opened at the Dead Sea resort on Sunday.

Amman - Arab stock markets, which witnessed a strong rally on Thursday, are expected to be vigilant next week with investors monitoring any developments on Wall Street and other global markets, financial analysts said Friday.

The rebound followed a bloody week that reportedly cost the Arab world about 180 billion dollars in losses.

Amman - The two US journalists who were released by Syria on Thursday were quoted Friday by the paper they worked for, the Jordan Times, as saying they were "kidnapped and taken by force into the Syrian territory."

Taylor Luck, 23, and Holli Chmela, 27, arrived back in Jordan in the early hours of Friday after the Syrian authorities handed them over to the US embassy in Damascus.

The two journalists arrived in Lebanon on September 29 for a vacation, but were missing since October 1, when they reportedly departed Beirut en route to Byblos and Tripoli and then to Aleppo.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry said Thursday that the two US citizens entered Syria "illegally" with smugglers and did not obtain entry visas.

Amman - Germany's Minister for European Affairs Gunter Gloser met with Jordanian Foreign Minister Salah Bashir on Thursday and discussed the latest developments in the Middle East.

"Bashir underscored the importance of the role being played by Germany and other European Union countries in support of the Middle East peace process, and endeavours aimed at the establishment of ... durable peace in the region," a foreign ministry statement said.

Amman- The Jordan Times said Thursday that search had been continuing over the past 24 hours for its editor and reporter Taylor Luck, 23, and freelance writer Holli Chmela, 27, who went missing while on a vacation in Lebanon during the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

The US embassy in Amman said that the families of Chmela and Luck were asking for the public's assistance in providing information on the possible whereabouts of the two US citizens.

"They have not been heard from since October 1 when they reportedly departed Beirut en route to Byblos and Tripoli," an embassy statement said.

Amman - King Abdullah II of Jordan is to visit Spain and a number of Latin American countries starting October 18, the royal court announced Wednesday.

The monarch, who will be accompanied by Queen Rania, will visit Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Honduras and Cuba.