May 20, 2005

IN BRIEF ***** The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, has donated SR 1,600,000 for the Saudi Red Crescent Society to purchase 4 ambulances and to establish a 32-bed-field hospital. The Acting Chairman of the Society, Dr. Saleh Al-Tuwaijeri said that the leadership always support all bodies in charge of health care of citizens and expatriates including the Society, which is responsible of providing the emergency medical services. ********** Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, received officials of the Saudi Publishers' Association. During the meeting, the officials thanked Prince Sultan for his support for the association. ********** Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, received officials of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The meeting came after the conclusion of meeting of the chamber recently in Jeddah. ********** Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General received Denmark's Ambassador designate to the Kingdom Hans Klingingberg. During the meeting, they exchanged cordial talks and discussed topics of mutual concern. The reception was attended by Prince Dr. Faisal Ibn Mishaal Ibn Saud Ibn Abdul Aziz, Supervisor of Information and Analysis at the Prince's Office. ********** Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Riyadh Region, received the President of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Dr. Jacob Kellenberger, and his accompanying delegation. During the meeting, they exchanged cordial talks and discussed the humanitarian efforts made by the ICRC. ********** Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Riyadh Region, received the Director General of King Fahd Medical city Dr Abdullah Sulaiman Al Amro and directors of the different departments in the city. Prince Salman listened to a report on the achievements of the hospital since its opening and the services it offers to patients in its different hospitals. ********** Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Riyadh Region, received at his office the chairman of the board of trustees of Prince Sultan University, Prince Dr Abdul Aziz Ibn Mohammed Ibn Ayaf Al Miqren, members of the board of directors, directors of different departments as well as graduates. Prince Salman welcomed the attendance and handed over the graduation certificates. ********** On behalf of Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Minister of Interior, Prince Ahmed Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Minister of Interior patronized the inauguration ceremony of Arab Police Equestrian Championship for Hurdles Jumping on the cup of Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz, organized by the Sports Association of Internal Security Forces in cooperation with the Training Department of Public Security. Upon arrival at the venue, Prince Ahmed was received by Prince Mohammed Ibn Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs, a number of princes and officials. A speech ceremony was held on this occasion. Prince Ahmed honored a number of sports personalities who have distinguishably contributed to supporting Arab Police Federation and Sports Association of Internal Security Forces. In a press statement following the inaugural ceremony, asked if there is a security confrontation with wanted suspects in Rawabi neighborhood in Riyadh, Prince Ahmed said that there is nothing deserved mentioning and he noted that security problems may occur now and again, but it is not necessary that the perpetrators are terrorists. On the reduction of the number of wanted suspects, he added that with the cooperation of all citizens such abnormal matters will not recur in our country and they have been decreasing. Asked if the Kingdom will demand that Osama bin Laden be extradited if he is arrested, Prince Ahmed said that bin Laden has been stripped of Saudi Nationality and he is no longer a Saudi citizen. ********** Sultan Qaboos bin Said has received a written message from Dr Thaksin Shinawatra, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand. The letter was delivered to Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, deputy prime minister for the Council of Ministers, when he received at his office the Thai ambassador accredited to the Sultanate. The envoy conveyed the greetings and good wishes of the monarch and the government of Thailand to the Sultan, the government and people of Oman. Talks between Sayyid Fahd and the ambassador focused on ways of strengthening bilateral ties as well as latest regional and international issues. Sayyid Fahd asked the ambassador to convey the greetings of the Sultan to the Thai leadership, wishing the people of Thailand further progress and prosperity. ********** Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Qatabi, Majlis Al Shura president, and Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Dhahrani, speaker of the Bahraini Council of Representatives, yesterday held a session of official-level talks. The two sides expressed their keenness to support efforts extended by the two leaderships to achieve aspirations of the Omani and Bahraini peoples. They also stressed the necessity to exchange views on matters of common concern. Sheikh Al Qatabi said Al Dhahrani's visit to the Sultanate reflected the strong bilateral relations and ties between the two leaderships and peoples, thanks to the continued care of Sultan Qaboos bin Said and His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain. He praised the remarkable progress achieved by the Bahraini representation experience and its successes in carrying out its political and representative practices. Sheikh Al Qatabi reviewed with the guest the Omani Al Shura progress and the gradual development it achieved. He also spoke about the government's efforts in the nation-building and development through the five-year plans. Al Dhahrani expressed his thanks for Al Qatabi's invitation to visit the Sultanate, saying the visit had enabled him to meet members of Majlis Al Shura. He gave a briefing about the Bahraini Representatives Council, its prerogatives and work mechanism. He reviewed areas of joint action between the two countries and the need to develop bilateral cooperation particularly in the economic and investment fields. The session was attended by Majlis Al Shura deputy presidents, the Majlis secretary-general, members of the Majlis office, standing committees chairmen and the delegation accompanying the guest. Al Dhahrani said that such visits were meant to enhance coordination between the two sides. He said the visit had enabled them to acquaint themselves with the Omani Shura experience. He expressed delight at the gradual development of the Shura experience in Oman. He said such visits were also aimed to enhance coordination between councils in the Gulf states. ********** Hamood bin Sangour Al Zedjali, executive president of the Central Bank of Oman (CBO), received the director of the statistics department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The meeting dealt with statistics topic in the Sultanate. The guest praised the national statistics in the Sultanate, which he cited, as accurate and precise. He said the IMF is ready to assist the Sultanate in this field and in the field of training specialist national cadres. Darwish bin Ismail bin Ali Al Balushi, finance affairs undersecretary at the Finance Ministry, also met the guest and discussed with him matters relating to public finance statistics and related accounts. The guest also held meetings with a number of CBO and National Economy Ministry officials. They discussed aspects of statistics work in the Sultanate and how to promote it and the technical support offered by the IMF. Meanwhile Sheikh (Dr) Abdul Malik bin Abdullah Al Hinai, undersecretary of financial affairs at the Ministry of National Economy and head of the national committee on fighting money laundering, has received Dr Mohammed Al Ba'asiri, head of Middle East and North Africa (Mena) Financial Action Task Force, and Adil Al Qaleesh, executive secretary of the group. They reviewed the activities and programmes of the task force against money laundering and terrorist financing and the group's action plan for the coming period, particularly efforts on awareness and training aimed at raising the capabilities of those working in combating money laundering and financing of terrorism. ********** Egypt and Syria asserted their constructive response to resolutions of the international legitimacy and importance of achieve stability in the region to avert it new conflicts, disputes and tensions. Presidential spokesman Soliman Awwad said that the tete-a- tete session of talks which took place between President Hosni Mubarak and his visiting Syrian counterpart Bashar Al Assad mainly focused on a string of Arab issues. At a press conference held at the end of the talks, Awwad said, the talks were part of continuing consultations between the two countries. The two leaders pored over the Arab situation, with focus on the peace process, the necessary support for the Palestinian cause and people in addition to the current situation in Iraq, the spokesman said. Mubarak and Assad continued their talks later over a luncheon given by President Mubarak in honour of the Syrian guest and his wife, he added. Answering a question whether Mubarak-Assad talks tackled the outcome of Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz's talks in Damascus, especially after US President George W. Bush's decision to renew economic sanctions against Syria, Awwad said, the two leaders discussed contacts which President Mubarak had held regarding the situation on the Syrian and Lebanese arenas. The spokesman referred to the vital role which President Mubarak played following the political crisis unleashed by the assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafiq Hariri. He further pointed to the president's visit to France and his talks with his French opposite number Jacques Chirac as well as the visit, which Mubarak paid to Damascus on March 15. Awwad said that these contracts were aimed to achieving regional stability. President Mubarak is interested in achieving stability in both Lebanon and Syria, the spokesman said. "The 15 members of the UN Security Council have admitted that Syria has completed the withdrawal of its forces from Lebanon and fulfilled its commitments in accordance with UNSC resolution 1559," he said, adding that the remaining part of commitments was up to the Lebanese people to implement. The Egyptian and Syrian leaders. have repeatedly expressed their keenness on compliance with international legitimacy resolutions, Awwad said. President Mubarak, he added, has reiterated his keenness on achieving peace and stability in Lebanon to maintain its national unity. President Mubarak expressed belief that the Lebanese people were capable of overcoming this critical stage in their history as they had done in similar stages in the past. "Efforts should be focused now on ensuring that Lebanon would not be divided for sectarian reasons, as the case was in a previous unpleasant period of time, the presidential spokesman said. ********** The U.S. Capitol and White House were evacuated after a small plane entered restricted airspace. Military jets scrambled to intercept the aircraft and fired warning flares. Two men in the aircraft were later taken into custody at a Maryland airport where the plane landed after a military escort. "This appears to be errant pilots," said Capitol Police Chief Terence Gainer. He said the plane "was on a straight-in shot toward the center of the Washington area."White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the plane came within three miles of the White House. ********** Syrian President Bashar Al Assad issued a new decree to combat money laundering and terror financing, outlining penalties for such acts, the official news agency reported. The new measure created a body to monitor money laundering and terror financing. The body will be given the power to investigate suspicious assets in "complete secrecy," SANA said. The body will target any assets stemming from drug crimes, illegal weapons dealings, international organised crime, smuggling or manufacturing arms, ammunition and explosives, illegally transporting migrants and organised crimes, the report said. The list of violations also included smuggling or illegally trading in nuclear, chemical and biochemical weapons, illegally dealing in human organs and germinal poisonous materials, and embezzling public and private assets. A 2003 decree on money laundering prescribes penalties ranging from three or six years in prison and fines of not less than 1 million Syrian pounds ($20,000) provided the perpatrators are not involved in other crimes that stipulate tougher penalties. ********** As many as 405 expatriates of various nationalities have embraced Islam during the first quarter of the current Hijrah year. Islamic propagators at the Cooperative Bureau of Dawa (Call) and Guidance in Al-Batha area in Riyadh explained to them noble aspects of Islam and taught them the correct ways of performing Islamic duties. The Supervisor of the bureau, Sheikh Nooh Al-Qurain, said that they undertook a total of 696 propagation activities and distributed 65,160 copies of Arabic and translated Holy Quran, Islamic books and cassettes. ********** Saudi Ambassador to Jordan Abdul Rahman Al-Owhali, met last night in the northern city of Irbid, a group of Saudi students who are pursuing their academic studies in Jordanian universities. In an address on the occasion, he conveyed greetings of the leadership to the students. He said that the embassy is concerned with providing full care to them in order to complete their studies successfully. ********** Japanese Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, pledged his country would further back the Palestinian economy by providing one more $100 millions for the sake of peacemaking in the Middle East. Such a pledge came during the first official visit, the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has paid to Japan since coming to power in January 9, 2005 presidential elections. In a joint press briefing with his guest, PM Koizumi said that Japan "wants to see a peaceful coexistence between both independent Israeli and Palestinian states, in accordance with the road map peace plan. Mr. Koizumi praised President Abbas's reformist steps in terms of security in Palestine as well as the political reforms carried out there so far. The Japanese premier confirmed that President Abbas had voiced willingness to meet with Israeli Prime Minister in Tokyo if possible. President Abbas, from his part, expressed high appreciation for the overflow of Japanese financial support to the Palestinian people , which is intended at bolstering underway peace efforts. The President made a little of the latest Israeli Prime Minster's decision to postpone the withdrawal from Gaza for three week, expecting such a withdrawal would eventually take place. As for the participation of Hamas in the upcoming Palestinian parliamentarian elections due in July, 2005, Mr. President believed it is a 'good' move. "I believed that unless all the Palestinian factions including Hamas take part in the political process, then there will be no need for resorting to weapons", the President was quoted as saying. Mr. President added that Hamas had agreed on a truce with Israel and this means that its participation in the elections is necessary for change and political pluralism. The Palestinian president also met with the Japanese-Palestinian friendship Association, as he welcomed a number of Arab states ambassadors to Tokyo, briefing them on the latest developments across the Palestinian territories. ********** The grace period to hand over unlicensed weapons, ammunition and fireworks to the concerned authority without penalty ends on the 19th of this month, Head of the Interior Ministry weapons collection and seizure campaign Colonel Mahmoud Al-Tabbakh stated. The official told a press conference the grace period is a golden opportunity for those with such unlicensed items in their possession. The campaign to gather such items has met great success so far, the official remarked. According to the records for the period from March 6 to May 6, the campaign yielded 1767 pieces of weapons of all sorts, the colonel revealed. Al-Tabbakh stressed the ministry is utilizing full material and human resources to make the campaign a success. Higher command directives urged providing all possible assistance to individuals wanting to hand over weapons or report such articles found in desert and remote areas, he added. The official urged members of the public to cooperate with authorities to curb the threat posed by unlawful possession of weapons or discarding these in dumpsters or in the desert, which might put them in terrorists or outlaws' hands. ********** US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, during a surprise visit to Iraq May 15, said she in turn was surprised by "the tremendous spirit" of the Iraqi people in spite of their current difficulties. "They still have a very tough road ahead; there's no doubt about it," Rice told CNN, "but when you look at what they've achieved in just a very short time sovereignty was transferred less than a year ago. I think if you're surprised at anything, it is the tremendous spirit that they have in spite of all of the difficulties that they face." Rice said the next step for the Iraqis is the drafting of a constitution, with the Sunni Arab minority -- who dominated Iraq under Saddam Hussein's regime and make up the bulk of the ongoing insurgency -- "included in the processes going forward ... just as they've been included in this government." The secretary added that the message of Sunni inclusion in a "united Iraq in the future ... was already resonating here." Rice told the Associated Press, "The insurgency is very violent, but you defeat insurgencies not just militarily. You defeat them by having a political alternative that is strong. The Iraqis ... are now going to have to intensify their efforts to demonstrate that in fact the political process is the answer for the Iraqi people." The secretary was asked by CNN about the effectiveness of Iraqi's defense and the future of the presence of coalition forces. She acknowledged that "this young democracy is not yet capable of defending itself from internal foes and from the foreign terrorists who are coming across borders to try and prevent the establishment of a democratic Iraq." Rice asserted that Iraqi forces are "making progress," however, citing the protection of election sites last January 30 without coalition assistance. She added that they now engage in joint operations with U.S. forces as well as "operations on their own." Rice said that Iraq is "at the center of the chance for a different kind of Middle East, one in which people have hope, one in which people control their own lives, one in which people believe that their political aspirations can be channelled through legitimate democratic processes." ********** The Bush administration on Sunday warned North Korea for the first time that if it conducted a nuclear test, the United States and several Pacific powers would take punitive action, but officials stopped short of saying what kind of sanctions would result. "Action would have to be taken," Stephen J. Hadley, President Bush's national security adviser, said. Asked earlier about recent reports that intelligence agencies have warned that North Korea could conduct its first test, Mr. Hadley added: "We've seen some evidence that says that they may be preparing for a nuclear test. We have talked to our allies about that." But he cautioned that North Korea was "a hard target" and that correctly assessing its intentions was nearly impossible. **********