Jordanian MPs on Tuesday denied the king's motorcade was attacked with stones during a visit to a southern city, saying residents were jostling as they tried to greet the monarch.

"All what happened was that people and security forces were jostling as youths tried to see his majesty (King Abdullah II) and shake hands with him," MP Yehia Saud of Tafileh, 180 kilometers south of Amman, told Agence France Presse.

The Dead Sea is dying, goes the conventional wisdom: The water level of the fabled salty lake is dropping nearly 4 feet (1.2 meters) a year. Less well known: Part of the lake is actually overflowing, threatening one of Israel's key tourism destinations.

Israel is feverishly campaigning to have the Dead Sea — the lowest point on earth and repository of precious minerals — named one of the natural wonders of the world. At the same time, it's racing to stabilize what it calls "the world's largest natural spa" so hotels on its southern end aren't swamped and tourists can continue to soak in the lake's therapeutic waters.

King Abdullah II on Sunday vowed reforms leading to parliamentary government and a tougher fight against anti-corruption, warning against "chaos" and the media creating a climate of "hatred."

In his first televised address since pro-reform protests began in January, the king pledged a new electoral law that would result in "a parliament with active political party representation... that allows the formation of governments based on parliamentary majority... in the future."

The Israeli military is preparing for the possibility of violent protests along its borders in the coming days, aiming to avoid a repeat of deadly unrest that erupted earlier this month, a senior military official told The Associated Press on Sunday.

Facebook-organized activists have called for demonstrations next weekend in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan to mark the anniversary of the 1967 Mideast war, in which Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip east Jerusalem and Golan Heights.

Europe is looking to pump 1.2 billion euros of extra aid into fledgling democracies spawned by the Arab Spring as well as those on its eastern flank, according to a policy U-turn unveiled Wednesday.

Slammed for propping up despots and turning a blind eye to rights abuses in the past, the "top to toe" revamp of European Union policy to its neighbours aims to link aid to political and economic reform.

Jordan's King Abdullah II has reportedly expressed fear that the Obama administration would conspire against him and ask him to give up his powers if he doesn’t implement reforms.

Israeli daily Maariv has said that the king made the remark in a dialogue with Jewish organizations in Washington during his visit to the U.S. this week.

Syria on Monday sealed off its border with Jordan, the kingdom's information minister Taher Adwan said, hours after troops backed by tanks swept into the Syrian southern flashpoint town Daraa.

"Syria closed its land borders with Jordan. The Syrian decision is related to the internal situation in Syria," Adwan told the state-run Petra news agency.

Jordan has detained 136 people on "terrorism" charges a week after scores were hurt when Islamist Salafist protesters clashed with police in the northern city of Zarqa, a police spokesman said on Friday.

"The involvement of 136 people brought before the prosecutor of the State Security Court for terrorism and unrest has been proven, and it was decided to detain them," spokesman Mohammad Khatib said, quoted by Petra news agency.

The Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) concluded Wednesday in Amman a series of consultation meetings to discuss the first draft of its upcoming report on an Arab Green Economy, due to be released in October 2011. The AFED report will address the transformations needed to achieve desired economic, social, and environmental sustainability goals in Arab countries. The report will address the enabling strategies and development policies for navigating a green transition in eight sectors: energy, water, agriculture, tourism, waste management, industry, cities/buildings, and transportation. The Arab Green Economy report is the fourth annual report by AFED, and follows publication of three reports, Arab Environment: Future Challenges in 2008, Impact of Climate Change on Arab Countries in 2009, and Water: Sustainable Management of a Scarce Resource in 2010.

The consultation meeting in Amman was hosted by the University of Petra (UOP), under the patronage of its President H.E. Dr. Adnan Badran, Former Prime Minister of Jordan and Chairman of AFED Board of Trustees. Fifty officials, authors, experts, business executives and civil society organizations from Jordan and abroad addressed urban city planning, green buildings and tourism. They included H.E. Mr. Khaled Irani, Former Minister of Environment and Energy, H.E. Ms. Suzanne Afanah, Former Minister of Tourism, the report’s main editor Hussein Abaza, and a wide spectrum of participants from Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Oman, UAE, Morocco, United Kingdom, USA and Sweden. The meeting discussed specific strategies to institutionalize green practices that reduce energy and water consumption and enhance the quality of life, while promoting economic growth and employment.

Jordanian security forces have arrested 70 Islamists after violent protests in which many people were hurt, most of them policemen, a security official told Agence France Presse on Saturday.

The suspects, members of the ultra-conservative Sunni Muslim Salafist movement, were rounded up during raids Friday in the town of Zarqa and nearby Rassifeh, hours after Islamist protesters attacked police, the official said.