King Abdullah receives phone contacts from Egypt's Mubarak, Yemen's Saleh, UK's Brown, meets Jumblatt and Ala'raidhi, gets message from French president

Crown Prince receives Prince Abdulrahman, Saad Hariri in Agadir

Prince Naif receives UN officials praising kingdom's humanitarian efforts

Yemeni president appreciates stance by Custodian, GCC leaders regarding Yemeni labor

Afghan president says Saudi Arabia plays vital role in achieving peace in Afghanistan

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud received a telephone call from the president of the republic of Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh.

During the conversion, issues of common interest and bilateral relations between the two countries were discussed.

King Abdullah also received a telephone call from Egyptian President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak.

During the call, they discussed the current situation at Arab and international arenas as well as issues of common interest. They also reviewed the bilateral relations between the two countries.

King Abdullah also received a telephone call from British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

During the call, they reviewed the developments at regional and international arenas as well as the bilateral relations between the two friendly countries.

The Saudi monarch also received a message from French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The message was handed over to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques by French Minister of Economy, Industry and Employment Christine Lagarde during an audience held by the King at the Royal Court at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh.

During the audience, the French Minister conveyed the greetings of the French President to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. In turn, the King sent his greetings to the President.

The audience was attended by Prince Miqren bin Abdulaziz, Chief of General Intelligence; Prince Mansour bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz, Adviser to the King; Prince Dr. Bandar bin Salman bin Mohammed Al Saud, Adviser to the King; Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz, Minister of State, Member of the Cabinet, Chairman of the Cabinet Presidency Court; Dr. Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al-Assaf, Finance Minister; Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohieddin Khojah, Minister of Culture and Information; Abdulmohsen bin Abdulaziz Al-Tuwaijri, Adviser to the King; and Bertrand Besancenot, French Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The king also received Chairman of the Bahraini Shoura Council Ali bin Salih Alsalih and the accompanying delegation currently visiting the kingdom.

During the audience, the chairman conveyed greetings of Bahraini leaders to the king who in turn sent his greetings to them.

The audience was attended Prince Miqren bin Abdulaziz, Chief of General Intelligence; Prince Mansour bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz, Adviser to the King; Prince Dr. Bandar bin Salman bin Mohammed Al Saud, Adviser to the King; Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz, Minister of State, Member of the Cabinet, Chairman of the Cabinet Presidency Court; Chairman of the Shoura Council Dr. Abdullah bin Ibrahim Al Alsheikh; Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohieddin Khojah, Minister of Culture and Information; Abdulmohsen bin Abdulaziz Al-Tuwaijri, Adviser to the King, and Mohammad bin Salih Alsheikh Ali, the Bahraini Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques also received Lebanese parliament's member Waleed Jumblatt accompanied by Lebanese Minister of Public Works and Transport Ghazi Ala'raidhi.

The audience was attended Prince Miqren bin Abdulaziz, Chief of General Intelligence; Prince Mansour bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz, Adviser to the King; Prince Dr. Bandar bin Salman bin Mohammed Al Saud, Adviser to the King; Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz, Minister of State, Member of the Cabinet, Chairman of the Cabinet Presidency Court; Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohieddin Khojah, Minister of Culture and Information; Abdulmohsen bin Abdulaziz Al-Tuwaijri, Adviser to the King, and Ali A'wadh A'seeri, the Saudi Ambassador-Designate to Lebanon.

King Abdullah also received Sigrid Kaag, the Regional Director of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for Middle East and North Africa Region, and the accompanying delegation.

During the audience, the UN official expressed thanks to the king for the audience and for Saudi support for the organization and reviewed the organization’s activities in the region.

The king welcomed the official and valued the organization's efforts and the great services it provides to children in many regions of the world.

The audience was attended Prince Miqren bin Abdulaziz, Chief of General Intelligence; Prince Mansour bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz, Adviser to the King; Prince Dr. Bandar bin Salman bin Mohammed Al Saud, Adviser to the King; Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz, Minister of State, Member of the Cabinet, Chairman of the Cabinet Presidency Court; Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohieddin Khojah, Minister of Culture and Information, and Abdulmohsen bin Abdulaziz Al-Tuwaijri, Adviser to the King.

In the Moroccan city of Agadir, Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, the Deputy Premier, Defense and Aviation Minister and Inspector General, received Prince Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz, the Deputy Defense and Aviation Minister, who came to greet him.

He was accompanied by Prince Faisal bin Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz, and Prince Saud bin Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz.

On the other hand, Crown Prince Sultan received Saad Al-Hariri, the Head of the Parliamentary "Al-Mustaqbal" Bloc in Lebanon.

The meeting was attended by Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Governor of Riyadh region, and Prince Khalid bin Abdullah bin Abdulrahman.

In Riyadh, Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz, Second Deputy Premier and Interior Minister, received Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama.

During the meeting, the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister expressed thanks for the care and attention enjoyed by the Sri Lankan community in the kingdom and a number of issues of common interest were discussed.

Prince Naif also received Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Abdulaziz bin Mohammad Alrokban.

In a statement to Saudi Press Agency following the meeting, Alrokban said he conveyed thanks of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to the kingdom for the aid it provides adding that that during past nine years, popular committees supervised by Prince Naif provided more than SR1.6 billion, one of the largest humanitarian aid provided by the kingdom to help the peoples of the world. He pointed out that Prince Naif is keen on delivering aid to those deserving it.

Prince Naif also received this evening, Sigrid Kaag, the Regional Director of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for Middle East and North Africa Region. During the reception, Kaag expressed appreciation and gratitude for the excellent cooperation existing between UNICEF and the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia represented in the relief committees overseen and presided over by Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz.

She also thanked all those working in the Saudi relief committees, emphasizing keenness to continue partnership between the Saudi relief committees and the United Nations' children committees.

The reception was attended by Prince Fahd bin Naif bin Abdulaziz and a number of high-ranking officials at the Ministry of Interior.

Prince Naif also received Saudi ambassadors to a number of countries including Ambassador Ali bin A'wadh Asiri, the Saudi Ambassador-Designate to Lebanon, Ambassador Faisal bin Hasan Trad, the Saudi Ambassador-Designate to India, Ambassador Salah Ahmad Sarhan, the Saudi Ambassador-Designate to Vietnam, Ambassador Mahmood bin Hosain Qattan, the Saudi Ambassador-Designate to Cameroon and Ambassador E'id bin Mohammad Althaqafi, the Saudi Ambassador-Designate to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Prince Naif congratulated them on the royal confidence and urged them to work hard for bolstering Saudi relations with the countries they appointed in.

He also received at his office at the Ministry of Interior in Riyadh the Chief of the Court of Grievances Sheikh Ibrahim bin Shaye'a Al-Hogail; Chief of Riyadh-based Court of Summary Jurisdiction Sheikh Saleh bin Ibrahim Al Al-Sheikh; a number of judges at the court; Rector of Hail University Dr. Ahmed Alsaif; and a number of university staff members who came to greet him and congratulate him on his new post.

Later, Prince Naif received the ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany and the ambassador of Singapore separately.

During the last two meetings, matters of mutual concern to each of the two countries were discussed.

Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister, received Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama.

During the meeting, they discussed issues of common interest. The meeting was attended by Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Bilateral Relations Ambassador Dr. Khalid Al-Jandan and a number of officials.

Prince Saud also received Sigrid Kaag, the Regional Director of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for Middle East and North Africa Region.

The meeting was attended by Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Saud Al-Kabeer, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Multilateral Relations.

Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz, the Acting Governor of Riyadh Region received a delegation of Mayors of cities in the United States of America.

During the meeting, they exchanged cordial talks and reviewed existing cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the United States of America in various fields. The Meeting was attended by Prince Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohammed bin Ayyaf, the Mayor of Riyadh region.

On the other hand, Saudi Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi met with French Minister of Economy, Industry and Employment Christine Lagarde and her accompanying delegation.

During the meeting, they reviewed cooperation between the two countries in the field of oil, the situation in the international oil market, and the prospects of further boosting bilateral cooperation in areas of common interest.

The meeting was attended by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Assistant Minister of Petroleum for Petroleum Affairs; Saudi Arabia's Governor to OPEC Dr. Majed Al-Munif; a number of officials; and French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Bertrand Besancenot.

In Riyadh, German Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg called on European and Gulf states on Monday to show willingness to compromise and clinch a free trade agreement.

“An agreement is possible,” Guttenberg said at an event in Riyadh, adding both sides needed to shift some ground and that cultural differences should be taken into account.

One of the main points of contention in the negotiations is a European demand for any deal to link human rights to trade.

Saudi Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf signaled he was interested in solving the disagreements but said the EU should soften its stance and show the Gulf region more respect.

“The EU sees the Gulf states only as a market,” he said, adding they should take a broader view of the region.

Both ministers said they were interested in boosting their economic and political ties. Guttenberg said he hoped German firms could participate in some of Saudi’s big projects.

The kingdom plans to invest $400 billion in the next four years to modernize its infrastructure.

Meanwhile, National security adviser James L. Jones said that the U.S. military should keep open the option of airstrikes against Taliban forces in western Afghanistan, but he acknowledged warnings by Afghan President Hamid Karzai that civilian deaths from such attacks are damaging both governments' moral standing and support.

The Afghan government says as many as 130 civilians were killed last Monday and Tuesday by U.S. bombs. Such a toll would rank as the deadliest incident since U.S. forces began fighting in Afghanistan in 2001, but U.S. officials called the number of casualties "extremely exaggerated."

"Civilian casualties are undermining support in the Afghan people for the war on terrorism and for the relations with America," Karzai said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "How can you expect a people who keep losing their children to remain friendly?"

Jones and Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander over the region, said the United States will redouble efforts to ensure that military commanders understand the need to minimize civilian casualties.

Petraeus, who heads U.S. Central Command, promised "a very thorough investigation," but he said Taliban fighters bear "enormous blame" for the toll in Farah province last week, when they apparently used civilians as human shields as they clashed with U.S. forces.

"We're going to take a look at trying to make sure that we correct those things we can correct," Jones said on ABC's "This Week," "but certainly to tie the hands of our commanders and say we're not going to conduct airstrikes, it would be imprudent."

Jones added: "What makes it difficult is the Taliban, of course, not playing by the same rules."

Demanding an end to U.S. air strikes that has resulted in heavy civilian casualties in Afghanistan, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that the war on terror should not be fought in “Afghan villages and homes.”

“Air strikes are not acceptable,” said Karzai, who is under public pressure to talk tough after deadly U.S. strikes in Afghanistan’s Farah province that killed over 100 civilians this week. “We demand an end to these operations,” Karzai, who was in Washington to attend a trilateral summit of the U.S., Pakistan and Afghanistan, said.

Observing that the war on terror was not fought and should not be in the Afghan villages and homes, Karzai said: “that the air strikes, especially, and sudden bursts into homes at night are not in any way good for this war.”

Karzai said: “We believe strongly that air strikes are not an effective way in fighting terrorism.”