|
|
May 19, 2006 |
|
||
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
***** Chairman of the Saudi Capital Market Authority Jammaz Ibn Abdullah Al Suhaimi was relieved of his post, a royal order said. A statement issued by the Royal Court said the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz has relieved Jammaz Ibn Abdullah Al Suhaimi of his post as Chairman of the Saudi Capital Market Authority. Accordingly, Dr. Abdul Rahman Ibn Abdul Aziz Al Tuwaijri, the Secretary General of the Supreme Economic Council, was assigned to undertake the position of Chairman of the Capital Market Authority. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz received at Al-Yamamah palace the Commander of the American Central Command General John Abi Zeid and the accompanying delegation. General Abi Zeid conveyed to the monarch the greetings of U.S. President George W. Bush. In turn the king sent his greetings to the president. The audience was attended by a number of princes and officials. Custodian Of The Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz received at his farm in Al Janadriyah on the northern outskirts of capital Riyadh, the baby Zohoor Naji and her parents from Libya after she recovered from corrective surgical operations she underwent at the expense of the king at King Abdul Aziz Medical City, Riyadh. The baby was suffering from a congenital disorder of complications of the urinary, reproductive and digestive systems and a major failure of the colon. During the audience, the king inquired after the health of the baby who is enjoying good health now. The parents of the baby thanked the king for the gesture. In a statement to Saudi press agency following the audience, Executive Director General of Health Affairs of the National Guard Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeea'ah said the baby arrived in Riyadh coming from Libya about eight months ago and underwent the necessary surgical operations at stages to ensure the success of the corrective operations of her genetic disorders. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz has sent a cable of congratulations to Paraguay's President Nicanor Duarte Frutos 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, the monarch wished the president continual good health and happiness and his people steady progress and prosperity. A similar cable of congratulations was sent to the Paraguay's president on this occasion by Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General. Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Riyadh Region graced the graduation ceremony for the year 2006 held by London-based Webster Regent University for students, among them Prince Sultan Ibn Fahd Ibn Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz. Upon arrival at the venue, Prince Salman was received by the university's deans and professors. A speech ceremony was held on this occasion. Prince Sultan Ibn Fahd Ibn Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz received a degree in International Business Administration. In a press statement, Prince Salman emphasized that Saudi youth should be the best ambassadors of their country anywhere. The ceremony was attended by Saudi Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland Prince Mohammed Ibn Nawaf Ibn Abdul Aziz; Prince Sultan Ibn Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Secretary General of Supreme Commission for Tourism and a number of princes. Prince Khaled Ibn Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Assistant Defense and Aviation Minister for Military Affairs, received the Commander of the American Central Command Lt General John Abi- Zeid and the accompanying delegation. They reviewed issues of mutual interest. Prince Turki Ibn Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Assistant Minister of Culture and Information, has highlighted the importance of the Gulf Press Federation, and hoped that it will positively contribute to enriching the Gulf arena and enhancing media cooperation in the Gulf region. Prince Turki Ibn Sultan's remarks came following a dinner party he hosted here last night in honor of members of the Gulf Press Federation, who are participating in the second meeting for the Federation's General Assembly. The meeting is hosted by Al-Riyadh Arabic newspaper. Asked if the Information Ministries in member countries of the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will support the Federation, Prince Turki Ibn Sultan said the GCC information ministries will be ready to extend to the federation all possible support. The dinner party was attended by a number of senior officials including Under Secretary of the Ministry of Culture and Information for information affairs Dr Abdullah al-Jasser and Editors-in-chief of local and Gulf newspapers. The Embassy of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in the United Kingdom took part in the international charity fair in London. The Saudi section included a large number of Saudi products. The women section at the embassy under the chairmanship of Princess Fadwa Ibn t Khaled Ibn Abdullah wife of Prince Mohammed Ibn Nawaf Ibn Abdul Aziz took charge of the Saudi wing with the participation of the wives of diplomats and Saudi residents in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A session of talks was held between Oman and Yemen. The Sultanate's side in the session was headed by Sheikh Mohammed Ibn Abdullah Al Harthy, minister of transport and communications and from the Yemeni side it was headed by Eng. Abdulmalik Sulaiman Al Mualami, minister of communications and information technology. The talks dealt with the bilateral cooperation in the fields of communications and information technology, exchange of expertise and investments. The session was attended from the Omani side by Saud Ibn Nasser Al Shikaili, secretary-general of taxation at the Ministry of Finance, Omantel board chairman; Dr Amir Ibn Awad Al Rowas, Omantel chief executive and Abdullah Ibn Hamad Al Badi, the Sultanate ambasador to Yemen. The Indian delegation representing Muslim Indian University visiting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia paid a visit to the Organization of Mutawafeen of South East Asia where they toured the organization and got acquainted with the services it provides to pilgrims whose number is around 400 thousands. The head of the Indian delegation praised the services provided by the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to pilgrims from all over the world. The United States has again refused the International Committee of the Red Cross access to terrorism suspects held in secret detention centers, the humanitarian agency said. The overnight statement was issued after talks in Washington between ICRC President Jakob Kellenberger and senior officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. "Mr. Kellenberger deplored the fact that the U.S. authorities had not moved closer to granting the ICRC access to persons held in undisclosed locations," the Geneva-based agency said. President Mubarak and King Mohamed the Sixth of Morocco have stressed the importance of resuming the peace process in line with the Arab peace initiative, international legitimacy resolutions and the roadmap. The two leaders said that Israel should fulfill its obligations towards the peace process, rejecting Israeli unilateral measures and calling on the international community to sustain aid to the Palestinian people. The two leaders agreed on issuing Marrakesh declaration to serve as a message to the regional and international parties on their vision of different regional and international issues. President Mubarak and King Mohamed the Sixth held a tete-a- tete session for discussing a wide range of issues they started to tackle since President Mubarak arrived in Morocco from Germany. President Mubarak and King Mohamed the Sixth of Morocco have expressed their support for the Palestinian people, and the restoration of their legitimate rights including the establishment of their state with Jerusalem its capital. The two leaders welcomed the latest developments in Iraq mainly efforts for forming national unity government. Marrakesh declaration issued by the two leaders expressed the two leaders' satisfaction with the depth of bilateral relations. Saudi Arabia has postponed plans to replace salesmen in lingerie shops, saying it wants to give outlets more time to prepare for the move. The government, which wants more women to work as part of its efforts to reduce reliance on foreign labor, took the decision last June and businesses were given a year to prepare for implementation. "Based on pleas by shop owners ... that they were unable to comply with the deadline, the ministry's decision is postponed until all the required preparations are finalized," the Saudi Press Agency said quoting a statement by Labor Minister Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi. The ministry had stated earlier that the decision regarding lingerie shops would be implemented in two phases. In the first phase that begins on June 18, jobs in shops along the streets, central markets and major shopping centers will be restricted to Saudi women. In the second phase set to begin a year later, sales jobs in shops selling abayas and women's readymade dresses will be restricted to Saudi women. The minister said the decision to restrict jobs in lingerie shops to Saudi women was taken to increase job opportunities for Saudi women who wanted to work in order to contribute to the support of their families. "Creating jobs for women is not a new thing. It started 25 years ago when the Manpower Council was established," Al-Gosaibi said. The number of Islamic terror suspects in Britain being targeted by the security service MI5 has soared to 1,200, a 50 per cent rise since the London suicide bombings last July. In a stark warning about the threat posed by Islamic radicals living in Britain, a senior intelligence source told The Observer that some of the public and politicians were failing to realise the risk facing the UK: 'In July 2005 we had 800 targets. I wish it was still at that level.' He said that MI5 had identified another 400 targets since the bombings, suggesting that, rather than the threat to security from British-based terrorists being reduced, it had escalated since the attacks which killed 52 people. In September 2001, the security services estimated the number of UK-based terror suspects posing a 'risk to national security' at around 250, a figure that now stands almost five times higher. Security forces in Riyadh have checked all cars in the car park of the communications company in Northern Riyadh and asked all employees to remain in their offices after they received a hoax call about a car carrying explosives in the car park. All cars were thoroughly searched and the whole area was cordoned off until they made sure that there was no such car. The spokesman of the Ministry of the Interior General Mansour Al-Turki said investigation are being conducted to know who is behind this hoax call. Dr Sadek Dahlan representative of business owners in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia confirmed that the Kingdom has donated $ 500 thousand to the Arab Labor Organization's Fund and called on Arab government to do the same. He also called on the UN and the world to support the Palestinian people. The Deputy Secretary General of the Arab League, Ambassador Ahmed Ibn Hilli, has disclosed that Dr Mustafa Othman Ismail will visit Iraq as an envoy to represent the Arab League Secretary General to complete preparations for the Iraqi national accord conference. The conference is scheduled to take place 20-22 June, in Baghdad. In a statement, Ibn Hilli said Amr Musa would welcome Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, when Al-Maliki decides to visit the Arab League. He said the Arab League is open to everybody. Ibn Hilli stated that an agenda has been set for the conference. There may be some amendments made to the agenda in view of any developments in Iraq. There are six items on the agenda, the first of which concerns expanding the political process to include all parties, provided they embrace a democratic approach. The second item deals with the issue of Iraq's integrity, independence, and sovereignty. It also deals with drawing up a plan to take over the duties of the multinational forces. The other items include the security situation and the equality of citizens in "rights and duties." The fifth item deals with areas of necessary support so that the national accord process is successful. The last item deals with the issue of debt and the reconstruction of Iraq. Concerning the forces that have been designated to participate in the Iraqi national accord conference, Ibn Hilli explained that the list would be extensive enough to include representatives of the heads of tribes, religious authorities, and representatives of civil organizations. Ibn Hilli stressed that he will not exclude any Iraqi who wants to join the political process from participating in the conference, including fighters, trade unionists, judges, and teachers. In response to a question regarding the participation of Iraqi insurgents in the accord conference, whether this was final, and whether it would not face any opposition from the Iraqi government, Ibn Hilli said that the preparatory conference in Cairo considered them part of the Iraqi forces. The Arab League, for its part, is trying its best for the conference to be comprehensive and to embrace all active forces in Iraq. He added that the Cairo conference has already set the standards of participation for the national accord conference in four points. These are the necessity of an inclusive and balanced representation of Iraqi political parties and forces that represent all components of the Iraqi nation including tribes, civil organizations, and women. The other condition is that participants should commit themselves to seeking to realize the objectives of the political process through peaceful means. They should also respect different viewpoints and believe in Iraq's integrity, sovereignty, freedom, and independence in a way that realizes the country's security, stability, and its Arab and Islamic surroundings. Ambassador Ibn Hilli explained that within this context, the follow-up committee for the preparation of the Iraqi national accord conference is engaged in a process of confidence building between members of Iraqi society. The process involves distancing people from making accusations. It calls upon Iraqi and Arab media to bridge the gap between Iraqi people. It also calls for refraining from using religious, political, and media forums to incite hatred and division. The process tries to find a mechanism for regular meetings between the political forces. The aim is to create an atmosphere in which national accord can be realized in Iraq. Moreover, the process tries to find means to review the situation of the detainees as soon as possible and to release those against whom no charges have been raised. Furthermore, houses should not be raided and there should be an end to arrests. The follow-up committee is consists of Iraqi political forces and the Arab League and works in cooperation with the United Nations. Ambassador Ahmed Ibn Hilli stressed the role of the Arab League as a link between the Arab countries and Iraq at this stage. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry, on the other hand, stated Sunday, 13 May that invitations would be sent through the Arab League to all participants. The ministry added that an invitation might be sent to Iran. A statement issued by the ministry said invitations would also reach UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the representatives of the five permanent members of the Security Council, the European Union, Turkey, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). The first Iraqi reconciliation conference was held in Cairo last November under the sponsorship of the Arab League but had little success. However, it encouraged the leaders of the main groups of Sunni Arabs and some Sunni armed groups to participate for the first time in the parliamentary election that took place the following month. As a result, there is Sunni representation within parliament. The Lebanese and Syrian army began dismantling sand barriers set up by Damascus inside Lebanese territory, the National News Agency reported. It said the military, using earth-moving equipment, started removing the sand dunes outside the village of Aarsal in the Bekaa Valley according to an agreement reached by the two countries. A joint Lebanese-Syrian committee met last week in the resort town of Bludan near the Syrian capital and decided to remove the berms on Monday after the Lebanese delegation using maps proved Lebanon's sovereignty over the area. The two sides also agreed to take appropriate measures to curb smuggling across the porous mountainous borders. On May 2, the Lebanese government decided to ask Damascus to dismantle military positions and sand berms, which Syrian border guards had erected between 3.5 kilometers and five kilometers inside Lebanese territory, along an area stretching about 40 kilometers in the Aarsal and Ras Baalbek regions. Sultan Qaboos has sent cables of greetings to Giorgio Napolitano and Romano Prodi on their election respectively as President and Prime Minister of Italy. The Sultan expressed his sincere wishes to them and wished them success in achieving further aspirations of Italians and wished bilateral ties further progress and prosperity. Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Basheer performed Umrah rituals. Upon arrival at the entrance of the Haram the Grand Mosque in Makkah, the President was received by a number of officials. Minister of Culture and Information Iyad Amin Madani said the Ministry seeks to expand the margin of expression, enable people in general to access information and establish the right of the GCC citizens to know. In a press statement after he inaugurated the second meeting of the general assembly of the Gulf Press Federation, he said the basic task of the ministry is to provide the environment enabling the media to carry out its task locally and abroad. Palestinian factions and lawmakers will hold their first round of inter-Palestinian dialogue on May 23, Yasser Abd Rabbo, member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) announced. He told reporters that the dialogue would involve all Palestinian powers, including factions, government, legislators, the PLO and representative of civil society, notables and leaders of religions. Aims of the dialogue would vary between toning down internal tensions and discussing ways of confronting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's plan to carry out unilateral withdrawal from the West Bank, said the PLO official. "We have to sit and confer seriously without accusations and advanced attitudes of holding a single party responsibility, especially when it comes to issues of vital concerns," said Abd Rabbo. He added that Olmert's plan, which is based on annexing West Bank to Israel, separating Jerusalem and Gaza from the West Bank and turning the Palestinian territories into isolated cantons would be deeply discussed at the dialogue. The proposed dialogue, which was called for to be held earlier this month by President Mahmoud Abbas in late April, was postponed due to differences among political factions. Sudanese presidential advisor Mustapha Othman Ismail visited Damascus were he handed to president Bashar AlAssad a letter from president Omar al-Bashir detailing the mission to help improve Lebanese-Syrian ties, which strongly deteriorated after the assassination of former premier Rafiq Hariri. Ismail said "We are very interested to continue our role in removing all obstacles between the two countries since both sides agree that relations should be special. I will later visit Beirut. " The Sudanese envoy confirmed Syria's interest in its mediation after meeting foreign minister Walid Muaallim. Following his visit to Syria, Sudanese Presidential envoy Mustapha Othman met Lebanese President Emile Lahoud in Beirut on his third mediation attempt to ease down tense ties between Beirut and Damascus. Othman also met with Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh and said in a press conference that there are three major targets for his initiative, the situation in Palestine and helping the authority there, restoring good Lebanese Syrian ties and encouraging the Lebanese National Dialogue. The Israeli Army scrapped plans Thursday to send one of its generals to a course at a British military academy over fears he could be arrested on war-crime allegations, military sources said. General Aviv Kohavi, commander of the division deployed near the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel, had been due to attend the prestigious Sandhurst Royal Academy. Lebanese Commander-In-Chief General Michel Suleiman called on military units to be ready for any attacks from the Israeli enemy and to confront terrorist attacks which aim at spreading chaos in the country. In a speech delivered on the occasion of the 6th anniversary of freedom and resistance General Suleiman said most of the Lebanese territories have been liberated, but the preservation of the freedom of Lebanon will only be achieved through the national unity. Pakistan reiterated its opposition to the use of force against Iran and said it favoured a negotiated way out of the current crisis through the international nuclear watchdog. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, returning from the Development Eight (D-8) summit held on Bali, told the official media he had an important trilateral meeting with his Turkish counterpart and the Iranian president to see how tensions in the region could be lowered. "It was a significant meeting and we discussed how we (three countries) can lower tension in the region, how we can promote the cause of peace," Aziz said on board the special aircraft before touching down in Islamabad. "We are against the use of force and desire a peaceful resolution of the issue under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards," Aziz said of the meeting attended by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Turkish Premier Tecep Tayyip Erdogan. President Bush said that militias are the biggest roadblock in Iraq's effort to get a unity government up and running. "Perhaps the main challenge is the militia that tend to take the law into their own hands, and it's going to be up to the government to step up and take care of that militia so that the Iraqi people are confident in the security of their country," Bush said. "It's important to have a secure Iraq in order for people to go about their daily lives," he said. Bush, whose popularity has suffered from the slow progress in Iraq, spoke at the White House, where he met with 10 former secretaries of state and defense from both Republican and Democratic administrations. A lack of resources prevented security services from intercepting the 7 July London bombers, a key report has said. Two of the four bombers were known to security officers but the threat they posed was not realised. But it was "understandable" the pair had not been investigated more fully, the committee of MPs concluded. Home Secretary John Reid insisted there would be no public inquiry, as he gave the government's long-awaited account of the bombings to the Commons. But politicians and relatives of the 52 people killed in the 2005 attack have renewed their calls for a full independent inquiry. Shadow home secretary David Davis said both reports had "left too many questions unresolved". The MPs' report said the security services had come across 30-year-old Mohammad Sidique Khan and fellow bomber Shehzad Tanweer, 22, while they were investigating other cases. They also discovered after the attacks that they had a phone number for Russell Square bomber Germaine Lindsay, 19, on their files. Khan and Tanweer had been observed in Pakistan, where it was "likely that they had some contact with al-Qaeda figures". Egypt and Morocco will cooperate in legal matters, social security, technological training and culture under accords signed during sessions in Marrakesh at which they also agreed to boost flagging bilateral trade. A signing ceremony followed talks between Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak and King Mohammed VI of Morocco which demonstrated wide agreement on both regional and wider international issues, officials said. Other agreements covered economic planning, housing, and cooperation between the departments which manage relations between the parliament and government of each country. The Mubarak visit was accompanied by a session of an Egyptian-Moroccan joint commission aimed at boosting trade. "The joint cooperation commission recommended giving a major boost to trade exchanges between Rabat and Cairo," said Moroccan Communications Minister Nabil Benabdellah. Businessmen of both countries also called for an early start to operations by a new shipping line projected by Egypt and Morocco under an earlier agreement to promote trade. Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif told journalists that trade between the two countries could do much better than 180 million dollars a year. Nazif predicted that the new sea link between the two countries should contribute to reducing freight costs and thus generally help to increase trade, while experts say the planned Mediterranean line could almost triple trade to as much as 500 million dollars a year. Egypt also asked Morocco to speed up the implementation of the 2001 Agadir free trade accord signed by the two countries plus Jordan and Tunisia. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran was ready to talk with any country except Israel but not under threat of force. The comment came as Iran's foreign minister told European states not to repeat what he called the mistake of forcing an end to talks on Tehran's nuclear program by demanding it stop uranium enrichment, the official news agency IRNA reported. Ahmadinejad, in Nusa Dua on Indonesia's resort island of Bali to attend the Developing Eight (D-8) summit, told reporters Iran was "ready to hold dialogue with all countries of the world except for the Israeli regime." But he added: "If they want to resort to the use of force we will not go into dialogue with them." Ahmadinejad also said Tehran would abide by the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in cooperating with other countries. |