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October 20, 2006 |
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***** The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz has received a telephone call from President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. During the conversation, situations in the Middle East, notably the Palestinian issue in addition to the situations at the regional and international arenas were discussed and bilateral relations between the two countries were reviewed. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz received at Al Safa palace in Makkah the Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khalida Zia and accompanying delegation. Also, he received Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Al Siniora. Also, he received Prince Rasheed Bin Al Hasan II of Morocco and his accompanying delegation. King Abdullah also received Sheikh Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Commander-In-Chief of the Defense Force of the Kingdom of Bahrain and his accompanying delegation. During the meetings, King Abdullah discussed with his guests the overall developments at the Arab, Islamic and international arenas in addition to aspects of cooperation between the kingdom and their respective countries. Then they had Ramadan Iftar party with the king.The audience and the function were attended by prince salman Ibn Abdul Aziz , governor of Riyadh region; Prince Abdul-Ilah Ibn Abdul Aziz; Prince Miqren Ibn Abdul Aziz, Chief of General Intelligence; other princes, ministers and a number of senior officials. Lebanese Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani received a cheque worth $10 million as a donation from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz to the Darul Fatwa of Lebanon. Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Lebanon Abdul Aziz Khoja handed over the cheque to the mufti at a ceremony held in the presence of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. Sheikh Qabbani also received another cheque worth $500,000 for Dr. Muhammad bin Khaled Social Foundations, a subsidiary of Darul Ifta, and another cheque worth $300,000 for the Lebanese Zakat Fund. Sheikh Qabbani then presented the cheques given by the Saudi ambassador to Maher Hussami, director general of Dr. Muhammad bin Khaled Social Foundations, and Adnan Al Dabas, deputy head of the Zakat Fund. Speaking on the occasion, Sheikh Qabbani thanked Saudi Arabia for its huge humanitarian assistance ever since the Israeli aggression started last July. Meanwhile, a new convoy of relief aid left Riyadh for Lebanon. The 15-truck loads of relief consignment is being sent as per the directives of King Abdullah. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz has sent a cable of congratulations to President Zeine Elabidine Ben Ali of Tunisia on the anniversary of his country's evacuation day. In his own name and on behalf of the people and government of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah wished the President continual health and happiness and his people steady progress and prosperity. Also, he lauded the existing relations between the two countries. Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, has sent a cable of congratulations to President Zeine Elabidine Ben Ali of Tunisia on the anniversary of his country's evacuation day. In his cable, Crown Prince Sultan 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 generously donated SR 10 million to the popular donation campaign launched by the Saudi television to assist orphans and afflicted people of tsunami earthquake. On his part, Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General donated SR 5 million to the campaign. Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, received at his palace at Al Azizia district in Makkah Shaikh Salman Bin Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Commander-In-Chief of the Defense Force of the Kingdom of Bahrain and his accompanying delegation. During the meeting, they discussed the latest developments at the gulf, Arab and international arenas as well as aspects of cooperation between the two countries and ways of enhancing them in all fields. The audience was attended by Prince Khalid Bin Saad Bin Fahd, other princes, senior protocol officials. Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, received at his palace at Al Azizia district in Makkah President Ahmed Abdullah Samvi of The United Comoro Republic and his accompanying delegation. During the meeting, they discussed the latest developments at the Islamic and international arenas, notably the Palestinian issue and the situation in Iraq as well as aspects of cooperation between the two countries and ways of enhancing them in all fields. The audience was attended by Prince Khalid Bin Saad Bin Fahd, other princes, senior protocol officials and charge d'Affaires of the United Comoro Islands in the kingdom Abulqasem Abdul Razzaq. As part of the aid provided by Saudi Arabia to Lebanon after the Israeli aggression, Saudi Red Crescent Society handed three ambulances to charitable societies in the Lebanese city of Tyre and surrounding regions. The handing ceremony was attended by a number of officials. Also a new Saudi relief fleet, comprising more than 15 trucks, fully loaded with medicines and foodstuffs, left here today for Lebanon to assist those who are affected recently by Israel's aggression there. This will also meet the needs of Saudi field hospital in Beirut, which provides medical requirements of the affected Lebanese people. The dispatch of the new relief consignment comes under directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz and the supervision of Interior Minister Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz. The Head of Saudi Red Crescent Society Dr. Saleh Al-Tuwaijiri said this aid comes within the framework of the donation campaign under the auspices of the Saudi Government and people. Eight Pakistani militants suspected of links to Al Qaeda have been arrested in connection with attempted rocket attacks in and near the capital of Islamabad, the interior minister said. Intelligence agents and police had also recovered weapons, ammunition and explosives in the raids, staged at undisclosed locations in Pakistan, Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said. He did not identify the suspects. Rockets attached to mobile phones were found this month at a park near the army residence of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Parliament and the headquarters of Inter-Services Intelligence. Only one rocket went off, and no one was hurt. A report from the General Statistics and Information Organisation says Saudi non-oil products have reached SR 6762 million during last July. Petrochemical products topped the list with SR 2306 million, second plastic products with SR 1619 million, followed by metals with SR 574 million and re-exported products with SR 955 then other exports with SR 1308 million. Imports reached SR 21562 million. The U.N. General Assembly approved South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon as the next U.N. secretary-general, the last step in the process allowing him to assume the post on January 1. The General Assembly vote was a formality after the 15-nation Security Council recommended Ban as Kofi Annan's successor. He was approved for a five-year term. Ban will take the oath of office sometime in December, the General Assembly spokesman said. Once in office, he is expected to push through long-delayed reforms to make the United Nations leaner and more effective. US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack brushed off calls for Guantanamo to close, saying it would remain open as long as required. "Look, we don't want Guantanamo open forever. We don't want to be the world's jailers. We certainly would look forward to the day when Guantanamo is closed," he said. The UK's Foreign Minister, Margaret Beckett, is the highest ranking British official to publicly criticise the US for its detention of suspects without trial at the camp. Mrs Beckett said the US detention camp did as much to radicalise extremists as it did to promote security. "The continuing detention without fair trial of prisoners is unacceptable in terms of human rights, but it is also ineffective in terms of counter-terrorism." President Hosni Mubarak will be visiting Russia on November 1-3 and China on November 4-7, a senior official announced. "Several memoranda on bilateral relations will be signed during Mubarak's visits to Moscow and Beijing," Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said." During his visit to China, President Mubarak will be participating in the Africa-China Summit on November 4-5, which will be followed by an official visit to China on November 6-7," Abul Gheit disclosed that Egypt would be hosted meetings of African and Chinese foreign ministers in 2007 as well as the meetings of foreign ministers of Africa and Russia the same year. Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry Rasheed Mohamed Rasheed arrived in Moscow on a visit to Russia aiming at boosting cooperation between Cairo and Moscow in the various fields. The visiting minister conferred with Russian Premier Mikahil Fradkov on cooperation between the two countries. The two sides also reviewed the economic file due to be discussed during an anticipated visit by President Hosni Mubarak to Russia early November. Rasheed also met with Russian Minister of Industry and Energy Viktor Khristenko as well as a number of chairmen of Russian companies operating in the field of car industry, ship building and agricultural tractors. Rasheed said talks with Khristenko tackled joint cooperation in the fields of passenger planes. The Russian minister said his country intends to boost cooperation with Egypt in the field of nuclear energy, pointing out that his country welcomes scientific and technical participation in the establishment of nuclear energy stations. Khristenko made it clear that the High Dam station in Egypt was a good example of how economic cooperation had developed between the two countries. French President Jacque Chirac said he anticipated "peace" for Lebanon, but was worried about "the possibility of an incident which could bear unknown consequences." Chirac hailed as 'superb" the performance of the Lebanese army, which has deployed some 15,000 troops in south Lebanon in line with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, An Nahar daily reported. "I'm confident of the way things are moving on because of the excellent relations between the Lebanese army and UNIFIL," Chirac told a press conference at the end of the Franco-German meeting of the council of ministers on Thursday. "Now that Israel has completely withdrawn (from the south), I believe it is possible to anticipate peace," Chirac said at the conference held together with German chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris. "But in that (Mideast) region one cannot rule out the possibility of an incident which could produce a (negative) impact it unknown consequences," the daily quoted the French president as saying. Syrian President Bashar Assad received a letter from his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak dealing with "developments in the region," Syria's official news agency SANA reported. The report said that Assad received Omar Suleiman, the head of Egyptian intelligence, who delivered the letter from Mubarak which dealt with "bilateral relations and the developments in the region." Sultan Qaboos has received a written message from President Mahinda Rajapakse of Sri Lanka. The message was received by Shaikh Abdullah bin Mohammed al Salmi, Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, when he received Mira Sahib Maarouf, the Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Sultanate. Sultan Qaboos has issued three Royal Decrees. Royal Decree No 107/2006 upgrades the administrative level of Niyabat Al Sinainah to a wilayat. Article 1 of the decree states that the administrative level of Niyabat Al Sinainah affiliated to the Wilayat of Al Buraimi shall be upgraded to a wilayat. Article 2 says the Royal Decree will be published in the official Gazette and takes effect from its date of issue. Royal Decree No 108/2006 establishes a new governorate. Article 1 of the decree states that a governorate named as Al Buraimi Governorate, comprising the Wilayats of Al Buraimi, Mahda and Al Sinainah, shall be set up and will be within the administrative structure of the Ministry of Interior and under the direct supervision of the minister. Article 2 says that the Governor"s headquarters will be in the Wilayat of Al Buraimi. A decision, specifying his areas of prerogatives, shall be issued by the Minister of Interior after the Council of Minister"s approval and shall be granted the special grade. Article 3 says that the annex attached to Royal Decree No 6/91 shall be amended in conformity with the provisions of this decree. Article 4 says the Royal Decree shall be published in the official Gazette and takes effect from its date of issue. Royal Decree No 109/2006 ratifies the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Oman and the US. Article 1 ratifies the FTA agreement between the Sultanate of Oman government and the US government. Article 2 says the provisions of the FTA agreement shall only be applied to the topics included in the agreement. All that contravenes or contradicts the FTA agreement shall be cancelled. Article 3 says the decree shall be published in the official Gazette and takes effect from its date of issue. The General Organization for Al-Quds Affairs called on Arab governments, the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference to emphasize the central importance of the cause of Al-Quds for the Muslim Ummah, the need to establish the Palestinian rights in the city, preserve its heritage as well as its Arab and Islamic identity as a symbol of solidarity and the meeting point of divine religions; underline the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque and its premises against violations and the need to protect the other Islamic and Christian holy places, counter the Judaization of the Holy City, and support the efforts of Al-Quds Committee under the chairmanship of King Mohamed VI. The economic situation in the Palestinian territory and the living conditions of the Palestinian people there, have worsened. In fact, the economic situation and living conditions in many respects are worse. Donor countries have delivered some of their pledged contributions, the aid, however, has been slow and has been marred by all types of problems. Even this amount of international assistance has been offset by the Israeli policies and measures that have been the main cause of the deterioration of the situation and have practically led to the preclusion, and in fact strangulation, of any economic improvement and growth. At the forefront of these policies and measures is the closure imposed on the Palestinian territory, which in reality has meant the obstruction of freedom of movement within the West Bank, between the West Bank and Jerusalem and between the West Bank and Gaza, in addition to the restriction of movement to and from Israel and the outside world. The closure has also meant a dramatic fall in the number of Palestinian workers working in Israel. The Israeli authorities have also caused various problems and impediments, preventing the progress or completion of any important infrastructure projects related to trade and other sectors of the economy. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Aboul-Gheit said the signing of a peace agreement between the Sudanese government and the Eastern Front on Saturday 14 October was of special importance at this current juncture. It will contribute to peace and stability throughout Sudan, especially as it comes a year after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Nairobi and five months after the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, he told the press. Aboul-Gheit represented President Hosni Mubarak at the signing ceremony of the East Sudan Peace Agreement between the Sudanese government and the Eastern Front in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, the Egyptian MENA reported. He said he handed over to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and Eritrean President Isais Afewerki messages of congratulations from President Mubarak for the signing of the agreement. The messages also dealt with bilateral relations and developments of the Darfur crisis, he added. The agreement involves three protocols concerning security arrangements and wealth and power sharing. It also paves the road towards the participation of the people of the east in political and administrative institutions at all levels in Sudan and allows the pumping of additional resources for the implementation of development projects, according to Aboul-Gheit. He expressed hope all efforts directed at realizing peace in Sudan would be crowned with success and lauded the Eritrean mediation in striking the latest peace deal. Egyptian intelligence Agency Chief, Omar Suleiman met with leader of Hamas poliburo Khaled Mishal and discussed the latest development in the Palestinian territories. The Palestinian Media Center said that the discussions focused on the establishment of a new Palestinian government as well as ending the conflict between Hamas and Fatah. The talks also touched upon the issue of the captured Israeli solider and the mechanism in which the issue could be used in favor of the Palestinian prisoners in Israel. Suleiman has submitted during his visit a letter, which focused on recent Mideast development, from the Egyptian President Mohammad Hosni Mubarak to his Syrian counterpart Bashar Al-Assad. French leader Jacques Chirac has told Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan he is sorry French lawmakers approved a bill making it a crime to deny Armenians were victims of genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks. "Chirac called me and told me he was sorry and he said that he is listening to our statements and he thinks we are right and he will do what he can in the upcoming process," he told his AK Party during a dinner. Turkey denies any genocide, saying the Armenians were victims of a partisan war that also claimed many Muslim Turkish lives. Turkey accuses Armenians of carrying out massacres while siding with invading Russian troops during World War I. Erdogan, warned that Ankara was considering retaliatory measures against France. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul repeated the government's call for France to scrap the bill, which has complicated Turkey's European Union accession bid. Immediately after Thursday's vote, the French Foreign Ministry said it did not support the lower house bill, calling it "unnecessary and untimely" and indicating it might never become law as it still needed to be ratified by both the upper house Senate and French president. Jack Straw has faced further protests over his comments about Muslim women wearing veils. About 60 demonstrators gathered to confront him at his surgery at Bangor Street Community Centre in Blackburn. A larger demonstration had been planned but was abandoned because of safety concerns. Police had advised organisers that they were unable to manage more than 500 demonstrators. Mr Straw did not speak to the protestors as he arrived and later left the building. The small group of protesters, including several women wearing veils, chanted: "The veil is freedom. The veil is liberation. The veil is choice." Mr Straw reiterated his stance on the veil being "a visible statement of separation and of difference" between Muslim and non-Muslim communities. He said: "I'm still surprised about the reaction to what I said but I welcome the debate it has provoked. "Yesterday four ladies wearing veils visited me and they said 'You're absolutely right to ask the question for the veil to be removed'. "Some gentlemen who came this morning also told me to 'Stick to your guns'." Comments made by former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw that it would be better if Muslims women didn't cover their faces in a full veil has angered many Muslims. Straw defended his comments that appeared in his regular column in Thursday's edition of Lancashire Evening Telegraph, but he made it clear that those were his opinion and that he wasn't advocating "prescriptive" measures in the UK. Straw said he had asked Muslim women of his Blackburn constituency, which has a 30 percent Muslim population, to remove their face veils when they come to consult him. Straw also made it clear that he was not referring to the hijab (hair covering), which is the predominant style among Muslim women. Saudi importers denied they imported American GM (Genetically Modified) rice and selling it in Saudi markets. Greenpeace had unveiled that some types of GM rice are being distributed in Middle Eastern markets. The Army is making provisions to keep at least 140,000 troops in Iraq through 2010, senior Pentagon officials said. Pentagon officials sought to play down the projection, stressing that it does not necessarily mean that the United States will maintain current force levels for the next four years. Instead, they said, the Army -- which provides by far the most personnel to US forces in Iraq -- is simply taking prudent steps to ensure that it has sufficient units to rotate into Iraq for the foreseeable future. ``This is not a prediction that things are going poorly or better," General Peter Schoomaker , the Army chief of staff, told reporters in Washington at the annual meeting of the Association of the United States Army . ``It's just that I have to have enough ammo in the magazine that I can continue to shoot as long as they want us to shoot." U.S. President George W. Bush extended permission for the Palestine Liberation Organization to maintain an office in Washington for six months. Bush acted by waiving provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1987 that prohibited the PLO from having an official presence in Washington. "I hereby determine and certify that it is important to the national security interests of the United States to waive the provisions," Bush wrote to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. President Bill Clinton was the first to waive the restriction, in 1993, and it has been waived continually since then. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's special representative to South Lebanon Mr. Geir Pederson described the deployment of UN forces in the South as "successful" and praised cooperation with the Lebanese Army and the people of the region, after talks with head of the Future Bloc in Parliament MP Saad Hariri. He also called for an end to Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace. Mr. Pederson told reporters in Koreitem that discussions with MP Hariri also focused on the situation of the divided and newly occupied part of the village of Ghajar in the South. He said he was optimistic that the issue will be resolved to serve Lebanon's interest. He stressed that Israel will also have to stop its overflights and respect Lebanese sovereignty. The UN envoy also urged internal dialogue in Lebanon and said head of the Future Bloc updated him about the need for domestic calm. Asked about UN mediation to achieve a prisoner swap between Hizbollah and Israel, Mr. Pederson made clear that a United Nations envoy has been pursuing the matter, but did not give any details. He was also asked about the fate of the occupied Shebaa Farms. He only responded that a new report on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559 will soon be released and urged 'patience.' Mr. Pederson and Mr. Hariri also discussed the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 at the meeting. The Pentagon's Inspector General ordered an investigation into alleged abuse at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay that holds suspected Taliban and al Qaeda members, a spokesman said. The order followed a statement from a U.S. Marine saying Guantanamo guards described physically and mentally abusing detainees, including slamming one inmate's head into a cell door and denying others privileges just to anger them. The Marine's sworn statement was released by lawyers for detainees. The inspector general's office, which serves as the Pentagon's internal watchdog agency, received the Marine's affidavit and letter by e-mail, the spokesman said. The case was referred to Miami-based U.S. Southern Command, which is responsible for the prison at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. No deadline has been set for the investigation's conclusion, the spokesman said." Prime Minister Fouad Saniora said his government planned to pay 53,000 dollars in compensation to families whose homes were destroyed in Beirut's southern suburbs during the Israeli war on Lebanon. The Premier told a press conference that the compensation package of 80 million Lebanese pounds would include furniture and sanitary ware for a single "residential unit." "We have decided that each residential unit would be the base for compensation in order to give people more flexibility," he told reporters. The Prime Minister said late in August that 130,000 homes had been destroyed or damaged in Lebanon during the war, including 50,000 in the southern suburbs of Beirut." We have taken upon ourselves to confront the reconstruction battle and we shall not let our people face the aftermath of the enemy's aggression on their own," the prime minister added. The Central Security Council Chaired by the Lebanese acting minister of interior Ahmed Fatfat held its meeting to discuss the recurring attacks in the country. The most recent security incident occurred at dawn yesterday when unknown men launched three "Energa" missiles at Al-Asaili building in the Riad Al-Solh Square central Beirut. Following the Central Security Council meeting, a statement issued by the Ministry of Interior said the conferees discussed the security incidents that occurred and were aimed at two barracks belonging to the Ministry of Interior officers and a building in the central commercial district in Beirut. The conferees said the Al-Asaili building in the Riad Al-Solh Square is considered a vital political-economic area since it is adjacent to the UN building, the government palace and the Parliament. They believed that the aim behind these attacks is to create an atmosphere of panic and instability taking advantage of the bad weather and storms to carry out such attacks, the statement added. They agreed to confront such attacks by intensifying security efforts in a joint security plan to fill in any security gaps. President of the Republic General Emile Lahoud has expressed hope that the United Nations will be capable of assuming its role with all impartiality and without any pressure exerted on it by great powers. President Lahoud made his remarks in a written letter which he has sent to the new elect Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. In his letter president Lahoud congratulated Moon and asserted that reforms should be promoted to the international organization to make its decisions binding. "This would enable the UN to achieve world justice and peace, and would boost its credibility worldwide." In his letter, president Lahoud pointed out that Lebanon which is one of the key founders of the UN looks forward to a more effective role by the international community to achieve a just, lasting and global peace in the Middle East region. "We hope that all UN relevant resolutions would be fully implemented to secure that rights of people in the region are fully restored," said president Lahoud. |