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March 3, 2006 |
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**** Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz has sent a cable of congratulations to President Arnold Ruutel of Estonia on the occasion of his country's independence day. In his own name and on behalf of the people and government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah wished President Ruutel continuous health and happiness and the people of Estonia steady progress and prosperity. Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, has sent a cable of congratulations to President Arnold Ruutel of Estonia on the occasion of his country's independence day. In his cable, Crown Prince Sultan wished President Ruutel continuous health and happiness and the people of Estonia steady progress and prosperity. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz has sent a cable of congratulations to Sheikh Nawaf Alahmed Alsabah, Heir Apparent of the State of Kuwait, on the occasion of his nomination as Heir Apparent of his country. In his cable, King Abdullah wished Sheikh Nawaf continuous health and happiness and the people of Kuwait steady progress and prosperity. The monarch also confirmed the existing fraternal ties binding the two countries, wishing them more firmness. Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, has sent a cable of congratulations to Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmed Al Sabah, Heir Apparent of the State of Kuwait, on the occasion of his nomination as Heir Apparent of his country. In his cable, Crown Prince Sultan wished Sheikh Nawaf continuous health and happiness and the people of Kuwait steady progress and prosperity. The Crown Prince also confirmed the existing fraternal ties binding the two countries, wishing them more firmness. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz has sent a cable of congratulations to Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah of the State of Kuwait on the occasion of his country's national day. In his own name and on behalf of the people and government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah wished Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah continuous health and happiness and the people of Kuwait steady progress and prosperity. Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, has sent a cable of congratulations to Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah, Emir of the State of Kuwait on the occasion of his country's national day. In his cable, Crown Prince Sultan wished Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah continuous health and happiness and the people of Kuwait steady progress and prosperity. Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Minister of Interior and Chairman of Hajj Supreme Committee chaired the Committee's first meeting this year. The Committee's members are Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs; the Foreign Minister; Governor of Makkah Region; Assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs; Governor of Madinah Region; General President of Grand Mosque and Prophet's Mosque Affairs; Minister of Culture and Information; Minister of Finance; Minister of Hajj; Minister of Economy and Planning; Minister of Health; Minister of Transport; Minister of Communications and Information Technology and Chairman of Audit and Investigation Commission. At the outset of the meeting, Prince Naif stressed the keenness of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz and Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General on steadily improving services being annually provided for pilgrims and on benefiting from the experience of the previous years to exert more efforts to achieve better standards of services for pilgrims, visitors of the prophet's Mosque and Umrah performers. Prince Naif also laid stress on enabling pilgrims to perform their rituals easily, peacefully and securely and on returning safely to their countries. Then the members reviewed the results of the Investigation Committee formed following the collapse of a building in Makkah, the studies of the concerned bodies to determine the cause of a stampede in Jamarat area and the proposed solutions to prevent its repetition. The Committee also discussed items on its agenda relating to Hajj and pilgrims' affairs. The meeting was attended by Dr. Saed Al-Urabi Al-Harethi, Advisor to the Interior Minister. Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Minister of Interior received the visiting U.S. trade Secretary Carols Gutierrez. They reviewed topics of mutual concern to the two friendly countries. The meeting was attended by Minister of Commerce and Industry Eng. Hashim bin Abdullah Yamani, a number of officials and U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom James Oberwetter. Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Riyadh region, received ambassador of Uruguay to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Antonio Luis on the occasion of the end of his term of office in the country. Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Riyadh region, received guests of Riyadh international book exhibition, organized by the Higher Education Ministry. Speaking on the occasion, Prince Salman welcomed the guests and underlined the important role of books and its effect on individuals and nations. Prince Salman pointed out that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been attaching big importance to book shows. The meeting was attended by Dr Mohammed Abdu Yamani and Dr Abdullah al-Mijal, the Under Secretary of the Ministry of Higher Education for Cultural Affairs. Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, who concluded his two-day visit to India, met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as a follow-up to last month's significant visit by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Saud. National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan hosted a dinner for the Saudi Foreign Minister after his meeting with the PM, Foreign Office spokesman said Petroleum Minister Murli Deora also attended the dinner. Prince Saud Al-Faisal conveyed to the Indian leadership that his country was determined to follow through expeditiously on various items of cooperation agreed upon by the two countries. Saudi Arabia felt that it would be important for the two countries to take practical steps and the visit of the Foreign Minister, Prince Saud Al-Faisal to India was in that context. During the discussions it was agreed that a high-level economic delegation from India would visit Saudi Arabia at an early date to promote early implementation of agreed projects, including in the energy sector. The two sides also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest. Prince Khalid Ibn Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General praised the efforts of the Saudi forces in foiling the terrorist attack in Abqaiq. He pointed out that the Saudi forces have foiled 90% of the terrorist attacks against the Kingdom before they were implemented. Prince Khalid stressed during a ceremony held for the graduation of the first batch of Saudi nurses the high level of training of the Saudi Armed Forces. The Secretary General of Gulf Cooperation Council Abdul Rahman bin Hamad Al-Atiyyah strongly condemned the attempted bombing of an oil installation in Industrial Abqaiq in the east of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which resulted in the martyrdom of two Saudi security men and the injury of four others. In his statement, he praised the capability of Saudi security men in foiling this criminal and heinous plan and their efforts in confronting all terrorist and criminal acts. Pope Benedict XVI says God will severely punish those who kill in His name. In condemning religious violence, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church referred specifically to the bombing of a Shi'ite mosque in Iraq and the torching of Christian churches in Nigeria. Addressing a large crowd gathered in Saint Peter's Square, Pope Benedict XVI said the upsurge of violence in recent days in Iraq, including attacks on mosques, is tragic. His words were a direct reference to the bombing of the Shi'ite Askariya shrine in Samarra. He said the bombing and violence in Iraq are actions that sow death, feed hatred and seriously hinder the already difficult work of reconstruction in the country. More than 200 people have died in Iraq in just four days of violence between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims. Pope Benedict then turned his thoughts to another country, which is experiencing sectarian violence, Nigeria. Pope Benedict firmly condemned religious violence and the violation of places of worship. The Sudanese cabinet voiced its rejection to foreign intervention in the country and the UN's takeover of the peacemaking mission from the African Union (AU) in Sudan's Darfur region. The council of Ministers made the rejection after hearing reports by the ministers of defence, foreign affairs and interior during a meeting chaired by President Omar al-Bashir. In a statement issued following the meeting, the council affirmed its confidence in the AU's capability to continue keeping security in Darfur. The council also reiterated the necessity of continuing diplomatic efforts and intensifying contacts with friendly countries as well as the international community in order to support the peacekeeping efforts by the AU. Vowing further efforts toward a political solution to the Darfur conflict, the council declared its keenness on forming a united front and exposing the intentions of some foreign powers toward Sudan. Meanwhile, official spokesman of the Council of Ministers, Omer Mohammed Salih, told a press conference that the reports of the ministers revealed that Sudan was targeted by foreign powers which utilized the Darfur conflict to justify their intervention in Sudan's internal affairs in a bid to control Sudan's politics and the huge natural wealth in Darfur. He added that the Council of Ministers reviewed the peacekeeping efforts of the AU and the government's support to these efforts in order to solve the Darfur conflict through diplomatic and political measures, namely the signing of the ceasefire agreement and approving the monitoring of the African Union to the agreement. The spokesman also accused Darfur rebels of "breaching the ceasefire agreement to complicate the situation in an effort to pave the way for foreign intervention." Minister of Health Dr. Hamad Al Manei opened a number of medical projects in the province of Hafr Albatin.He also inspected a number of projects under construction. Money allocated to Hafr Albatin and the Eastern Region's projects currently implemented and those approved in the current budget otalled SR 1,278,826,893. On the other hand the representative of World Health Organization (WHO) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Dr. Awadh Abu Zeid denied what was published in one of the local newspapers about an announcement by WHO that Jeddah City is infected with Dengue Fever saying that WHO has not announced that any region in the Kingdom is infected with Dengue Fever. Abu Zeid also said that the number of those infected with the disease in Jeddah is very limited. He added that there are efforts by some concerned governmental bodies to eliminate all ways of spreading the disease including Malaria which is very restricted in Jazan region pointing out that the Kingdom is free from Bird Flu. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia took part in the sixth Gulf Disability Association Forum held in the Sultanate of Oman between the 27th of February and the 1st of March 2006. The event was held in cooperation with the Omani Disabled Association. The chief guest stressed the important role of the Omani Disabled Association and the care it accords to the disabled in the Sultanate. He told reporters that the three-day event was meant to enhance the disabled participation in the community life. Sayyid Asa'ad bin Tariq Al Said, the Sultan's representative and honorary chairman of the Omani Disabled Association, said the number of the disabled in the Sultanate exceeded 41,000. He added this event was held to raise awareness among the society members and find an appropriate atmosphere to ensure the disabled participation in the community life. Mukhtar bin Mohammed Al Rawahi, chairman of the Omani Disabled Association Board, said the gathering aimed at shedding light on the unified roles endorsed by the United Nations in order to achieve a quality of opportunities for the disabled. Sheikh Dua'aig bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, chairman of the Gulf Disability Association, stressed the importance of the forum in enhancing success trust among members of the association. Working papers, discussed during the forum, covered communications, the disabled right in the freedom of expression and other pertinent topics. Working papers presented discussed computer as a tool to estimate intelligence among a sample of the deaf, active contribution of disabled women and other topics. The forum aims to shed light on the United Nations' Unified and Endorsed Rules on Equal Opportunities for the Disabled which were issued in 1993 and how to apply these rules. Iraq's national security adviser said that violence from the past week is not a precursor to civil war between the country's religious factions. "The blueprints of that unfortunate event, the blueprints of al Qaeda in Iraq is there," al-Rubaie told CNN's "Late Edition." "It is the same design, the same objective, which is civil war. They want to drive a wedge between the Sunni and the Shia." But he said, "The Iraqi people ... have shown al Qaeda in Iraq and the outside world that they will never be driven to the civil war." Al-Rubaie said that Iraqi security forces had made 10 arrests four of them guards at the shrine and were following other leads to those behind the bombing. Although he initially was worried about the possibility of civil war when insurgents bombed the mosque, he said he had been impressed by the Iraqi people's resiliency. "The Shia are not the enemies of the Sunni, and the Sunni are not the enemies of the Shia," he said. "These two communities should not attack each other. They should join forces and attack Abu Musab al-Zarqawi." Al-Rubaie said he was convinced that the Iraqi security forces were ready to handle security in the country, with "more than 60 percent ... ready and prepared to take on the terrorists." "We need the multinational forces to be over the horizon," he said. "We need them for two things: logistical support and to continue training the Iraqi security forces." Hamas's prime minister-designate Ismail Haniya denied he had suggested the Palestinian Islamist group might one day recognise Israel. Haniya said there was only a possibility of achieving a long-term truce. The Washington Post newspaper, on its Web site, quoted Haniya as saying in an interview: "If Israel declares that it will give the Palestinian people a state and give them back all their rights, then we are ready to recognise them." But Haniya told reporters in Gaza that he "did not tackle the issue of recognising (Israel) in my interview with the Washington Post". Reiterating a long-standing position by Hamas, Haniya said the group would never recognise Israel but could agree to a long-term truce if Israel withdrew from lands captured in the 1967 war, freed prisoners and allowed the return of refugees. "I said when the occupation withdraws from the land (occupied since the war of) 1967, including Jerusalem, releases prisoners and implements the right of return, then it is possible Hamas will agree to a long-term ceasefire. "Then we can talk about peace in stages. This peace means ceasefire," he told reporters. Dubai Ports World, based in the United Arab Emirates, said it had requested a new, 45-day review of its $6.8 billion purchase from Peninsula & Oriental Steam Navigation, a British company, of major terminal operations at six U.S. ports. In a statement, the Dubai company's chief executive, Edward Bilkey, expressed confidence that, despite the earlier positive review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, "we continue to take voluntary steps to assure people that the security of the U.S. will not be harmed as a result of this acquisition." Senator John Warner, Republican of Virginia and chairman of the Armed Services Committee, appearing on NBC-TV, underscored what is likely to be a central pillar of the U.S. argument for the deal: Dubai's role, since the Sept. 11 attacks, in fighting terrorism. Dubai Port World's lawyers and lobbyists spent last Friday and Saturday talking with congressional leaders, including the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist of Tennessee, whose office said that Frist had helped broker the deal for a new review. Some members of Congress said that the entire process that led to the ports clash needed to be reviewed. The head of the UN agency assisting Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), says she's confident the organization will continue to receive international humanitarian aid to help Palestinians. UNRWA Commissioner General Karen Abu Zeid says humanitarian aid to UNRWA will not be cut off. But she adds the agency has concerns that aid won't increase in the future. Ms. Abu Zeid says UNRWA is in need of more financial and humanitarian aid. She explains that there are homes of refugees that haven't been renovated for the last 50 years and the agency needs to renovate them and improve the living conditions of the Palestinian refugees. James Earl Carter III the son of the former US president said Israel dictates on the US its foreign policy towards the Middle East. Carter who works in the field of Human Rights said in a lecture delivered in Amman that this is done at the expenses of former friends and allies. Carter defended Hamas and said it would try to improve the Palestinians lives adding that the US administration has asked him and his father not no meet with Hamas leaders. He said after his meeting with Hamas members he realized that once Hamas gives promises it will stick to them. He criticized Israel and the wall. Gunmen kidnapped and killed a correspondent for Al Arabiya television and two members of her crew in Iraq, the Arabic channel said. Al Arabiya's Baghdad correspondent Ahmed al-Saleh said police found the bodies of Atwar Bahjat, her cameraman and soundman on the outskirts of Samarra, a city north of the capital that was racked by sectarian violence. All three were Iraqi citizens and had been covering the aftermath of the bombing of a Shi'ite shrine in the city. An Al Arabiya official said Bahjat was a Sunni Muslim. "Once again, Al Arabiya pays the ultimate price for persistently pursuing the truth," the channel said in a statement. It gave Bahjat's age as 30 and named the cameraman as Khaled Al Falahi, 39, and the sound engineer as Adnan Khairallah, 36, adding that the two men had worked for an Iraqi production company. Dubai-based Al Arabiya had already lost eight employees in Iraq since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. Five died in a bomb attack by suspected militants on the channel's Baghdad office and three were killed by U.S. fire. Nakhle al-Haj, the channel's director of news, said Al Arabiya had lost contact with Bahjat's team after they filed a report. He said one of the crewmen had escaped the ambush and informed police. Al Arabiya is demanding a full investigation into the incident, Haj added. Saleh, the Baghdad correspondent, said on a news bulletin that the surviving crew member, from a Turkish news provider, had told police two gunmen had driven up to Bahjat and her team while they were standing among a large crowd of Iraqis. "The gunmen started firing their machineguns in the air, which caused the people to panic and to run away. One of them started shouting 'We want the anchorwoman'," he said. "Atwar was in the news van and shouted to the crowd to help her. The crew tried to speak to the gunmen, but they snatched them and took them an unknown location. By this time, night had fallen. Police found their bodies in the morning." Saleh said the bodies had been dumped near the town of Dawr near Samarra. "She loved her country and died because of her impartiality," he added. Al Arabiya's statement said Bahjat had joined the channel earlier this year after previously working as a correspondent for rival Arabic television channel Al Jazeera. Iran and Russia agreed in principle to establish a joint uranium enrichment venture, a breakthrough in talks on a U.S.-backed Kremlin proposal aimed at easing concerns that Tehran wants to build nuclear weapons. But further negotiations on the details lay ahead, and it was not known whether Iran will entirely give up enrichment at home, a top demand of the West. The deal announced by the two countries' top nuclear chiefs after a visit to a Russian-built nuclear plant in southern Iran could deflect any move by the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency at its March 6 meeting to recommend the Security Council consider action on Iran. Iran's deputy nuclear chief, Mohammad Saeedi, warned that the deal would be off if the International Atomic Energy Agency refers Iran to the Security Council, a step that could lead to economic or political sanctions. "If talk of referral is raised, then all ways will be blocked," Saeedi said. Russian participation in the project is aimed at ensuring that no enriched material is secretly diverted to a weapons program. The head of Iran's nuclear agency, Vice President Gholamreza Aghazadeh, and his Russian counterpart Sergei Kiriyenko avoided addressing the issue in a short news conference announcing the agreement. The two spoke in Bushehr, the site of Iran's first reactor, built with Russian aid and due to be inaugurated this year. "We reached a basic agreement on the creation of a joint venture. How this is going to be created needs a lot of discussion, and talks will continue in Moscow in the next few days," Aghazadeh said. Kiriyenko said the Russian-proposed joint venture, if successful, would help achieve a peaceful solution to the standoff over Iran's nuclear program. "Russia has made its proposal to Iran for a joint uranium enrichment venture on Russian territory. If this proposal is carried out, a good opportunity will be created. Negotiations about the creation of this venture are continuing actively," he said. He suggested Russia would prevent any move by the IAEA at its March 6 session to put Iran before the Security Council. "There is a possibility that Iran's nuclear activities can be resolved within the IAEA," he said. "Since there is such a possibility, we have to take all necessary measures to achieve this." Saeedi, Aghazadeh's deputy, said European countries and China could become involved in the joint venture, with Russia playing a leading role. Pakistan and Egypt have decided to raise the issue of blasphemous cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) at the United Nations. The caricatures sparked worldwide indignation among the Muslims. President Pervez Musharraf said the country's permanent representative at UN headquarters in Geneva had been directed to prepare to put the matter on the world body's agenda. "We will definitely raise the issue," he told a group of Muslim clerics during a meeting in Rawalpindi. On the other hand in Prague the Dean of the Arab Diplomatic Corps Prince Mansour Al-Saud has led a protest against the Czech TV for a program broadcast that links Islam to terrorism. The protest was delivered to the media committee at the Czech parliament. |