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June 16, 2006 |
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***** The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz has sent a cable of congratulations to President Putin of Russia on the occasion of his country's national day. A similar cable of congratulations was sent to Putin by Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Prime Minister, Defense and Aviation Minister and Inspector General. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz has sent a cable of congratulations to the President of Portugal Professor Anibl Antonio Cavaco Silva on his country's national 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 health and happiness and his people steady progress and prosperity. Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, has also sent a cable of congratulations to the President of Portugal Proffessor Anibl Antonio Cavaco Silva on his country's national day. In his cable, the Crown Prince wished the president continual health and happiness and his people steady progress and prosperity. The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz has sent a cable of congratulations to Jordan's King Abdullah II Bin Al-Hussein on the anniversary of his ascension to the throne. In his own name and on behalf of the government and people of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Monarch wished the Jordanian King continual good health and happiness and the people of Jordan steady progress and prosperity. A similar cable of congratulations was sent to the Jordanian King on this occasion by Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General. Jordan's King Abdallah said, on the eve of talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, that his country will never be a substitute homeland for the Palestinians. "If there is anyone who believes that it is possible to settle the Palestinian issue at the expense of Jordan, he should know that Jordan will never be a substitute homeland for anybody," the king said. "The Palestinians' homeland and their state should be on Palestinian soil, and nowhere else," he added in a speech to a graduating class of police and army officers at Mu'ta University, south of Amman. King Abdullah said he would tell Olmert of his opposition to any unilateral steps by Israel. That "would raise question marks and a sense of insecurity not only among the Palestinians, but among all the partners of peace in the region," he said. "The ability to improve relations between us and Israel could also be damaged by this unilateral move." At yesterday's ceremony he stressed that "Jordan is first and Jordan's interests supersede all other interests and considerations," according to an English-language transcript of the speech released by the royal court. "We know that there are some who seek strength from some states to hurt this country, or to disrupt the relationship between the two brotherly peoples, the Jordanians and the Palestinians," he said. "Those, and those who stand behind them, should know that the Jordanian-Palestinian relationship is a sacred historic bond," he added. He added that Jordan will "not be lenient toward, or tolerant of, any party that tries to disrupt this country's security and stability." In his speech, the Jordanian king also warned against the "most difficult conditions and worst developments" facing the region in the Palestinian territories and Iraq, as well as Iran's nuclear row with the West. "The deteriorating state of affairs in the West Bank and in Iraq, and the dispute between Iran and the United States of America, all threaten security and stability," he said. "It is clear that there are parties and states who seek to benefit from this state of affairs. "We should be at the highest level of alertness and preparedness in order to face the worst possible scenarios and to defend our country and national interests," the Jordanian monarch added. Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the governor of Riyadh region, patronized the inaugural ceremony of the project of management and surveillance of buses of the Saudi Arabian Public Transport Company (SAPTCO) through satellites. He was welcomed by minister of transport Dr Jubara al-Sireisiri and a number of officials. Speaking on the occasion, Eng. Abdullah Al-Mugbil, the chairman of the board of directors of SAPTCO, said SAPTCO has introduced the most sophisticated technology for extending the best possible services to its passengers. He noted that more than 4500 drivers and employees are working at SAPTCO. Eng al-Mugbil pointed out that more than 43 percent of SAPTCO's workers are Saudis. Eng al-Mugbil said 1000 buses of SAPTCO out of its total 3115 buses are working internally.. 'In 2005 SAPTCO's buses transported more than 16 million', he said noting that about ten million passengers were transported inside the Saudi cities. Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz , the Governor of Riyadh Region received a delegation of Saudi Arabia's Friends Committee in the United States of America. Prince Salman praised the Committee's efforts in conveying a correct and unbiased image of the Kingdom's and its peoples. The delegation includes Captain Joseph Grand, the first pilot of late King Abdul Aziz; his wife Margarita and three sailors of Quincy Ship on whose board King Abdul Aziz met with U.S. former President Roosevelt. The sailors are Albert Lanik; Henry Board and Bob Wingston. The reception was attended by Prince Naif Ibn Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz . King Abdullah II of Jordan met with the Omani foreign affairs minister Yousef bin Alawi bin Abdullah, who was visiting Jordan. They reviewed bilateral relations and other issues of mutual interest. A border guard officer in the southern Najran region was killed in a gunbattle with drug traffickers who attempted to smuggle 500 kilograms of hashish into the Kingdom. Najran Governor Prince Mishaal Ibn Saud commended the heroic act of the security officers in chasing the smugglers in the desert and preventing the entry of a large quantity of drugs into the country. Police seized 500 kilograms of hashish in one of the largest drug busts in the Kingdom this year following the 20-minute gunfight. Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, the spokesman of the Interior Ministry, said the officer died in the gunfight with drug traffickers after they crossed the Saudi border. A drug trafficker also died in the firefight. "The car driver sneaked into Saudi territory through the desert and did not respond to calls through microphones to stop the vehicle," the Saudi Press Agency quoted the spokesman as saying. The driver and another man who was accompanying him then started firing at the border guards. Al-Turki named Abdul Rahman Ibrahim Al-Qahtani as the dead police officer. He said security officers injured and arrested the second trafficker. "Police found 500 kilograms of hashish, a machine gun and a Kalashnikov assault rifle along with a large amount of live ammunition, four phones and other communication devices," he explained. According to informed security sources, the smugglers entered the Kingdom through the Harsha border post, north of Kharkheer. Maj. Gen. Saad Al-Shahrani, acting commander of border guards in the region, said the slain officer belonged to Al-Harth center. He said the border guards had spotted two cars and a search was on for the second one. King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, left Damascus, following a brotherly visit to Syria which came in response to an invitation by Syrian President, Bashar Al Assad. During this visit, bilateral relations and ways of enhancing them were reviewed along with latest regional and global political developments. The King was seen off by Syrian President, Bashar Al Assad, senior officials, Bahraini Ambassador to Damascus and Embassy staff. The Official Security Spokesman at the Interior Ministry said that the Kingdom's concerned authorities have been informed of the death of two Saudis in Guantanamo prison. They are Manie bin Shaman bin Turki Al-Habardi Al-Otaibi and Yasser Talal Abdullah Yahya Al-Zahrani. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency, the Spokesman stated that official contacts and procedures have been carried out to regain the bodies of the two deceased. He emphasized the keenness of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on taking all measures to speedily regain Saudis remaining in Guantanamo prison. Secretary-General Kofi Annan supports a call by his Deputy for greater United States engagement with the United Nations, a spokesman for the world body said. Asked about criticisms by US Ambassador John Bolton regarding Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown's comments, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that the Secretary-General agrees with the thrust of yesterday's speech. In his address to the Century Foundation and Center for American Progress Security and Peace Initiative, Mr. Malloch Brown warned that "a moment of truth is coming" since the world's challenges are growing but the UN's ability to respond is being weakened without US leadership. Mr. Malloch Brown praised those US officials who have supported the UN and played leadership roles, but noted that "in recent years, the enormously divisive issue of Iraq and the big stick of financial withholding have come to define an unhappy marriage." He pointed out that the US like all countries "is today beset by problems that defy national, inside-the-border solutions: climate change, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, migration, the management of the global economy, the internationalization of drugs and crime, the spread of diseases such as HIV and avian flu," adding that: "Security has gone global, and no country can afford to neglect the global institutions needed to manage it." Responding to questions on Ambassador Bolton's reaction, Mr. Dujarric said that it was not an anti-US speech, but rather one that argued for greater US engagement in the United Nations, since it says that the United Nations cannot work without US engagement and leadership and UN reform cannot happen without the United States. Mr. Malloch Brown, speaking directly to the press, said he had made his speech out of concern for the current situation. "I felt this was something very important to say and to say now because we are in crisis," he said, noting that he had been criticized by the G-77, a caucus of developing countries, in recent months for telling them that "they too need to get their house in order and engage around this reform agenda." Since it takes "two sides to make a bargain," Mr. Malloch Brown said it had been important "to deliver that call to my American friends." The appeal, he emphasized, was not anti-US. "It was intended as a very pro-US speech in that its central point was an appeal for a more consistent public leadership by the United States in the United Nations." He said he was urging those concerned to "engage here, engage consistently, and go out and engage with the American public to say the UN matters." Stressing the critical nature of the current juncture, he said, "This Organization is slipping towards a very serious crisis: we have a budget cap that expires at the end of June, we have two sides to the debate talking past each other, not engaging in finding solutions." Mr. Malloch Brown emphasized that his intention was to be constructive and not partisan. "It was a speech addressed to foreign policy makers and political leaders to say, 'Look, both parties, you're going to need us more than ever. Therefore you have to engage to help make this institution a better institution. And you need to engage, if I dare say so, with your own public opinion to explain better why the UN matters to American interests." "That was the message, and it was not intended to be either partisan or provocative." A Cooperation agreement was signed between the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) and the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Dr. Abdul Aziz Othman Al Tuwaijri, Director General of ISESCO and Chairman of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry Saleh Ibn Abdullah Kamel signed the agreement that stipulates that the two sides spread Islamic teachings and solidarity among Muslims, promote Arabic language and Islamic sciences, develop educational curricula in accordance with market requirements, support inventions, researches and studies. Also, the agreement stipulates that the two sides exchange invitations to attend scientific, cultural and educational activities in addition to organizing exhibitions and seminars on various issues. The agreement also stipulates that the two sides establish a joint committee for planning and evaluation under the chairmanship of Al Tuwaijri and Kamel that holds annual meeting alternately in Rabat and Jeddah to discuss issues of interest. Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit received Ali Larijani, the Secretary General of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and Iran's chief nuclear negotiator. Larjani arrived in Cairo on a 2-day visit. Foreign Ministry spokesman Alaa el-Hadidi said that the meeting dealt with the latest developments of Iran's nuclear file, in the light of a package of proposals offered by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana which is currently being studied by Tehran. Iran said it was studying the West's offer to resolve the nuclear crisis and could make counter-proposals through shuttle diplomacy. Tehran considers uranium enrichment to be its right under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, but Western powers, which suspect Iran's nuclear program has military ambitions, want a suspension of enrichment. Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Saniora has sent a message to President Bashar Al Assad on the anniversary of President Hafez Al Assad demise. He said we appreciate the efforts of late President and his support to Lebanon, the role he played on the Arab arena and his support to Arab issues. Lebanon has signed the basic system of the Arab Council for peace and security which was endorsed by the Arab Summit in Khartoum on March 29, 2006. The system aims at establishing security and stability in the Arab world, preserving the security of Arab countries, its regional stability as well as enhancing relations amongst Arab countries and solving problems with peaceful means. The Lebanese army has said it had captured members of a terrorist network allegedly working for the Israeli Mossad and that a suspect confessed to his role in assassinating Hizbullah and Palestinian officials. Last Saturday, the army said it had arrested Mahmoud Rafeh, a 59-year-old Lebanese citizen and retired police officer, for a May 26 car bombing that killed Mahmoud Majzoub, a senior Islamic Jihad official, and his brother in front of their home in the southern city of Sidon. Rafeh "had links to Israeli intelligence," a statement said. On Tuesday, it said he had confessed to his role in killing the Majzoub brothers, and to other operations -- including bombings that killed two Hizbullah officials in 1999 and 2003 and the 2002 killing of Jihad Jibril, the son of Ahmed Jibril, leader of the radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC). Rafeh was part of a "terror network working for the Israeli Mossad," and its members took "training courses in and outside Israel," the statement said. Investigators found Israeli computers, cameras, ammunition, military uniforms and forged identity cards in ring members' hideouts, it added. The ring smuggled the booby-trapped door of the Mercedes car that killed the Majzoub brothers from Israel, the army said. An investigation was underway to arrest remaining collaborators, it concluded. As Safir newspaper said a manhunt is currently underway to catch another suspect whom it identified as Hussein Khattab, a Palestinian official in the PFLP-GC. Lebanese police and the security apparatus of the PFLP-GC had believed he was involved in Jibril's murder but he was later cleared of the crime, the paper said. An Nahar newspaper reported that Rafeh had been working for the Mossad since 1994. It said the army found in his house forged Lebanese papers that female Mossad agents used to enter the country as the alleged wives of the ring members. Israeli intelligence agents stayed at the flat Rafeh had rented in Sidon near the residence of the Majzoub brothers to monitor their movements, the paper said. Six ring members have already been arrested and another two are believed to have fled to Israel, An Nahar added. Jordanian authorities have detained four lawmakers from the Islamic Action Front (IAF) the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, who allegedly expressed sympathy after the death of al Qaeda Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi by visiting Zarqawi's relatives in his native Jordan, according to a report by Jordan's official Petra News Agency. Jordan's general prosecutor had issued arrest warrants for the four lawmakers - Mohammed Abu Fares, Jaafar al-Hourani, Ali Abu Sukkar, and Ibrahim al-Mashwakhi - after receiving several complaints from Jordanian citizens, mostly families of victims of last fall's al Qaeda-led attacks on three hotels in Amman, which killed 60 people. Syrian authorities have arrested at least 14 Islamists in connection with a foiled "terror plot" in Damascus earlier this month, a rights group said. "Syrian authorities arrested more than 14 young Islamists from the village of Erbein, suspected of links to the operation aimed at targeting radio and television stations on June 2," said Ammar al-Qorabi, president of the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria. In his statement, Qorabi asked authorities to "act according to the law." A second rights group, the Syrian Human Rights Organization, said the authorities had arrested around "a dozen people from Erbein and taken them to an unknown destination." It also asked Syrian authorities to be "responsible" and not resort to methods "which would violate human rights" as it attempts to protect "the security of its citizens." Syria said it had foiled a "terror operation" in Damascus after security forces killed four militants and captured four others holding out in buildings next to state radio and television. The clashes, which took place close to Umayyad Square in the heart of the Syrian capital, were the first near a public building in Damascus since a standoff between the authorities and the banned Muslim Brotherhood in the 1980s. Head f the Future bloc in Parliament MP Saad Hariri said all the Lebanese, Muslims and Christians, are equal and partners. He vowed to pursue the legacy of assassinated Prime Minister Rafic Hariri in pursuing equitable development for all Lebanese regions. At a meeting with a large number of mayors, accompanied by deputies, from the Akkar region, MP Hariri said the Future Movement is dealing with all issues in Lebanon with moderation and patience. At the meeting in Koreitem, head of the Future bloc stressed that some have tried to portray the late Prime Minister as the leader of a specific sect, but his assassination dispelled that claim when Lebanese of all sects mourned him. MP Hariri said Lebanese leaders participating in the national dialogue conference this week discussed a "defense plan against the Israeli enemy," adding that Lebanon could be lost due to the prevailing tensions. MP Hariri told the gathering that the late Prime Minister liberated Lebanon from "his grave," but made clear that tensions should be reduced. He said main battle now is for the sovereignty and independence of the country, at a time when the "symbols of corruption" are trying to derail this goal, and do not want the creation of an international tribunal to put on trial suspects in the late Prime Minister's assassination. Lebanese leaders again put off any decision on the thorny issue of Hizbullah weapons after a four-hour meeting but agreed on a "pact of honor" aimed at defusing tensions between pro- and anti-Syrian factions. The national dialogue conference will now reconvene on June 29 to discuss U.N. Security Council demands for disarmament of Hizbullah along with other armed factions in Lebanon, Speaker Nabih Berri told reporters. Delegates from across the political spectrum had discussed a new defense strategy for Lebanon "but discussions were not complete ... given that some participants did not yet speak... so the session was adjourned," he said. Berri said that the cross-party talks had agreed on the "pact of honor." Delegates vowed to respect each other, refrain from insults and avoid triggering further political and confessional tensions, Berri said. US President George W. Bush defended the US shuttling of terror suspects in Europe, saying it was part of a long-standing practice and infringed no country's sovereignty. Speaking to reporters, Bush did not dispute a Council of Europe report that 14 countries had helped or tolerated the secret transfer of prisoners by the CIA and two of them may have hosted clandestine detention centres. "In cases where we're not able to extradite somebody who's dangerous, sometimes renditions take place," Bush said at his retreat here where he met with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. "It's been a part of our government for quite a period of time; not just my government, but previous administrations have done so in order to protect people," Bush said. Fourteen European countries worked with the Central Intelligence Agency in the secret transfer of terrorism suspects, and two of them harbored secret C.I.A. detention centers, the Council of Europe contends in a report issued last Wednesday. In its 67-page report, the Council, which enforces the European Convention on Human Rights, said it was disingenuous for Europe to portray itself as an unwilling victim of an operation led by the United States because European countries played an active role in transfers orchestrated by the C.I.A. The United States "created this reprehensible network," the report's author, Dick Marty, a member of the Swiss Parliament, said in the report. "But we also believe to have established that it is only through the intentional or grossly negligent collusion of the European partners that the 'web' was able to spread over Europe." The report said seven countries could be held responsible for violating prisoners' rights to "varying degrees." Others, it found, "could be held responsible for collusion active or passive" in the matters of secret prisons and transfers. The report follows up similar accounts from the European Parliament and the Council itself. Tracing "a global spider web" of presumed prisons and transfer points, the report suggests that European involvement was deeper than previously surmised. Mr. Marty, a former prosecutor, describes an elaborate and organized system for the abduction and interrogation of terrorism suspects, consisting of several landing points, where civilian and military planes either stopped or refueled on their way to and from detention centers in Cuba, Afghanistan and Iraq. The White House press secretary, Tony Snow, said in response to a question at a news briefing last Wednesday that "the United States does not condone torture, does not practice torture." "Furthermore," he said, "we will not agree to send anybody to a nation or place that practices torture. "It's also important to remember again that international cooperation in the war on terror is essential for winning, and rendition is not something that began with this administration, and it's certainly going to be practiced, I'm sure, in the future." President Jacques Chirac has urged Syria to respect U.N. Security Council Resolution 1680 that calls on Damascus to establish diplomatic ties with Lebanon and demarcate the common border. At a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair President Jacques Chirac said: We shared the same feeling on the situation in Lebanon. Hopes for the dialogue, possibly concern, given Syria's attitude which isn't what one could hope for and she must, imperatively, comply with UNSCR 1680 and accept the international community's demands regarding Lebanon's security and independence. Concerning Iran the French President said: we are working together in a process we, with Germany - the three Europeans - launched together, which has recently been broadened to include the Americans, Russians and Chinese and which I hope will allow us to find a way, an honourable and effective solution for everyone, of ending the crisis, resolving the Iranian problem as we see it developing today. On the Israeli-Palestinian process and the need to get Hamas to comply with the three conditions which, the international community has set out: essentially recognition of Israel and respect for the treaties between the PLO and Israel, but also the need for the European Union and international community to provide the necessary aid for the Palestinian people - who, without it, will face an absolutely tragic crisis at the human level and an extremely dangerous crisis at the political level - including aid to enable payment of civil servants' salaries. The President said that they decided to create a Franco-British nuclear energy forum. Everyone understands that nuclear energy is one way of addressing the energy problem of tomorrow's world - and I mean one way of addressing it - but it's one which requires coordination at the technical level, as regards production, security, decommissioning, in short, in the management of the whole nuclear energy issue. It's legitimate for two countries like Britain and France to be keen to work together, reflect together and indeed take common decisions. The Secretary General of the Arab League Amre Moussa renewed his call for a Middle East Free of Weapons of Mass Destruction. After his meeting with Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri, the Secretary General also said in a news conference "The Arab League is fully ready to exert every possible effort in the service of this file," Mussa told reporters after the meeting. "What's important to us is that relations between Syria and Lebanon should be exemplary. There are foundations for relations to be as excellent as they were over the past decades," the Arab League chief said. "Arab efforts will continue and resume forcefully at the right time," he promised. He also said that he was prepared to travel to Syria and Lebanon "at the right time to discuss these matters." |