Jordan contacts US over Jordanian citizen suspected in Dallas bomb plot

October 8th, 2009 Jordanian indicted in alleged Dallas bomb plotDALLAS — A federal grand jury has indicted a Jordanian teen accused of trying to blow up a Dallas skyscraper with what he thought was a car bomb, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Hosam Maher Smadi, 19, was indicted Wednesday on one count of attempting to use of a weapon of mass destruction and one count of bombing a public place, but the charges were not made public until Thursday.

October 5th, 2009 Jordan teen faces hearing in Dallas bomb plot caseDALLAS — A teenager from Jordan who is accused of trying to blow up a Dallas skyscraper returns to federal court Monday for a hearing to decide if there is enough evidence to move ahead with his prosecution. The probable cause hearing for Hosam Maher Smadi allows prosecutors to lay out their case against the 19-year-old, who is charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.

October 5th, 2009 Judge says Dallas bomb plot case to proceedDALLAS — A Jordanian teenager accused of trying to blow up a Dallas skyscraper researched how to use a cell phone to detonate a bomb and recorded a 7-minute video he believed would be transmitted to Osama bin Laden, an FBI agent who oversaw the investigation testified Monday. After the testimony in the probable-cause hearing for Hosam Maher Smadi, a magistrate judge found there was enough evidence for prosecutors to continue their case against the 19-year-old.

September 30th, 2009 Ex-roommate: Dallas bomb plot suspect was suicidalITALY, Texas — A former roommate of the suspect in a failed bomb plot in Dallas says his friend was lonely and suicidal in recent months. Joshua Childress told WFAA-TV that he was worried about 19-year-old Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, a Jordanian who lives in Italy, Texas.

September 24th, 2009 Man arrested after placing inactive bomb in DallasDALLAS — A 19-year-old Jordanian man living in Texas was arrested Thursday on charges he intended to bomb a downtown Dallas skyscraper, federal officials said. Hosam Maher Husein Smadi was arrested after placing what he believed to be a car bomb outside the 60-story Fountain Place office tower Thursday, according to a statement from the U.S.

September 3rd, 2009 Madonna visits Jordan's Petra ruinsPETRA, Jordan — The Material Girl has wrapped up her world tour with a sightseeing trip to Jordan's famed ruins in Petra. Madonna, 51, was flown by helicopter into this ancient Roman-era city carved out in red stone in a trip arranged by Queen Rania, the wife of Jordan's King Abdullah II.

August 7th, 2009 Clarification: BC-US--US-Mideast-JordanWASHINGTON — In an Aug. 3 story on American peace efforts in the Mideast, The Associated Press reported that Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh rejected support for confidence-building measures that the U.S.

August 2nd, 2009 AMMAN - Jordan would lodge a protest with Israel over fires that started in Israel last month and spread across the border, damaging a number of citrus farms in the Jordan Valley, the official Petra news agency reported Saturday. "Jordan will lodge a protest with the Israeli Foreign Ministry tomorrow," Petra quoted an official source as saying.

June 28th, 2009 Jordan, Canada sign free trade agreementAMMAN, Jordan — Canada has signed a free trade agreement with Jordan, its first with an Arab country. The agreement, signed Sunday in Jordan's capital, Amman, will give the Mideast country preferential trade conditions, including full exemption from customs duties for Jordanian goods.

May 23rd, 2009 AMMAN - The Jordanian government has received an offer from Russia's Rosatom Corporation for building a research nuclear reactor in the country, Chairman of the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) Khalid Touqan said Saturday. The tender was made under the provisions of the nuclear cooperation agreement which Jordan signed with Russia in Moscow Friday, Touqan said in an interview with the official Petra news agency.

May 14th, 2009 Jordan, Shell to sign oil shale extraction dealAMMAN, Jordan — The official Petra news agency says Jordan and Royal Dutch Shell PLC will sign a deal Sunday to explore for oil in the country's extensive oil shale deposits. Natural Resources Authority director Maher Hijazin told the Jordanian news agency late Wednesday that Shell will spend $540 million in the project's initial exploration, assessment and design before commercial operation Hijazin says the concession agreement will be concluded on the sidelines of the Mideast World Economic Forum this weekend at the Dead Sea.

May 10th, 2009 Pope celebrates mass in sports stadium in JordanAMMAN, Jordan — Pope Benedict XVI is celebrating an open air mass in a sports stadium in the Jordanian capital. Catholics from across the Middle East are attending the service.

February 21st, 2009 PARIS - The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg confirmed Friday that it had halted the extradition of radical Muslim cleric and suspected Al Qaeda member Abu Qatada from Britain to Jordan. The court decided to halt the extradition to examine Qatada's claim that, contrary to declarations by the Jordanian government, he would be exposed to treatment, such as torture, that was in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights if extradited.

February 14th, 2009 AMMAN - A Jordanian dressed a donkey in red and placed it at the entrance of the city of Ramtha, 80 km north of Amman, to express his rejection of celebrations marking Valentine's Day, the daily al-Dustour reported Sunday. 'The move is intended to send a clear message to all that celebrating Valentine's Day is strange to our religion, traditions and culture,' Ayman Quaider told the paper, which published a picture of the donkey wrapped with a red piece of cloth and with red roses fixed to its ears.

January 21st, 2009 AMMAN - King Abdullah II of Jordan Wednesday issued instructions for authorities to take 'urgent and immediate steps' to facilitate entry of Iraqis to the country and grant them residence permits, the royal court said. He made the remarks as he presided over a meeting of top officials to discuss moves for easing measures which have been adopted by the Jordanian border authorities over the past months to limit the influx of Iraqis to the Hashemite Kingdom.