AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - For Jordan's King Abdullah II, preventing the Arab world's wave of uprisings from washing into to his country has been an exercise in careful calibration -- easing his absolute grip on power just enough to defuse protests.

Upcoming parliamentary elections, the centerpiece of the king's reforms, will be a crucial test of his policy in the face of powerful Islamists' demands for more public say in politics.

Read the complete story(Some news sites require registration)