December 8, 2006

IN BRIEF ***** The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz who is the Chairman of Supreme Economic Council chaired a meeting of the council at the royal court at Al-Yamamah palace. The meeting was attended by Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, who is also Deputy Chairman of the council; and the council's member ministers. During the meeting, topics on the agenda were discussed and appropriate decisions were taken. ********** The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz has sent a cable of congratulations to United Arab Emirates' President Sheikh Khalifah Bin Zayed Al Nahayan on the occasion of his country's national day. The Monarch wished the president permanent good health and happiness and his people steady progress and prosperity. A similar cable of congratulations was also sent to the President by Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General. ********** The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz received a message from Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed of Oman. The message was delivered to the Monarch by Oman's State Advisor Sheikh Mohammed Bin Ahmed Al-Harithi during an audience with the king in Riyadh. The Omani advisor conveyed to the king the greetings of Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed. In turn, the King sent his greetings to the Sultan. The audience was attended by a number of princes and officials. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques received a telephone call from President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian National Authority. During the conversation, situations on the Palestinian arena in addition to regional and international developments were discussed. Also reviewed were the bilateral relations between the two countries. ********** The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz received a telephone call from Lebanese Premier Fouad Saniora. During the call, they discussed events' developments in the region especially in Lebanon as well as regional and international issues. Bilateral relations were also discussed. ********** The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz has sent a cable of congratulations to Romanian President Traian Basescu on the occasion of his country's national day. The monarch wished the president permanent good health and happiness and his people steady progress and prosperity. A similar cable of congratulations was also sent to the President by Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz has sent a cable of congratulations to Central African Republic's President Francois Bozize on the occasion of his country's national day. The monarch wished the president permanent good health and happiness and his people steady progress and prosperity. A similar cable of congratulations was also sent to the President by Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General. ********** Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, received in Riyadh Lebanon's Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rasheed Qabbani. The audience was attended by Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Minister of the Interior. ********** Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, received the Secretary General of the Muslim World League and Chairman of Board of Directors of the World Commission for Memorization of the Holy Quran Dr. Abdullah Bin Abdul Mohsin Al-Turki accompanied by the board's members Dr. Ahmed Bin Mohammed Ali, President of Islamic Development Bank; Sheikh Ghassan Abdul Qadir Bin Bakri Al-Bakri; Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Zainal; Dr. Abdul Rahman Bin Abdullah Al-Zeid, the League's Assistant Secretary General for mosques affairs and Dr. Abdullah Bin Ali Basfar, the commission's secretary general. The Crown Prince commended their efforts in teaching the Holy Quran to Muslims all over the world, stressing his continual support for the commission's activities and programs. The audience was attended by a number of officials. ********** Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, the Interior Minister Saudi will patronize the second Saudi conference for volunteers, organized by the Saudi Red Crescent Society in cooperation with the General Directorate of Civil Defense and Prince Salman Center for Disability Research and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Riyadh between the 11 14 March 2007 at King Faisal conference hall at the Intercontinental Hotel in Riyadh. The conference aims to highlight the leading role played by Saudi Arabia in the field of volunteer services locally, regionally and internationally and benefit from regional and global experience in this area, The conference will discuss volunteering from Islamic point of view in the areas of health, relief, civil protection and different areas of community service (disabled elderly deficit. etc.), in addition to the discussion of the rights and duties of volunteers and the future of volunteer work and its activation mechanisms. ********** Prince Turki Al Faisal, the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United States of America visited the Museum of Aviation and Space, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Museums group in Washington. He was received by a number of museum officials who accompanied him in a tour that included sections of the museum and its activities in promoting aviation technology and space research. Prince Turki was also briefed on the museum's exhibited belongings which include a wide range of aircraft, space shuttles and explain the stages of evolution of aviation and space industries in the United States. This tour comes within the visits by the ambassador to a number of cultural and scientific institutions in the American capital. ********** Saudi Ambassador to the US Prince Turki Al-Faisal highlighted Saudi economic growth in remarks at a meeting with local dignitaries in Iowa. Prince Turki is currently in Iowa as part of his outreach tour of the United States. He highlighted the Kingdom's efforts to encourage development in banking, information technology, industry as well as investment projects that generate employment opportunities, such as the King Abdullah Economic City in Rabigh. Prince Turki described the Saudi economy as the largest and fastest-growing in the region. "The Saudi capital market is also among the largest new financial markets in the world. In the field of technical development, the use of the Internet in the Kingdom increased by 1000% during the last five years," he said. The ambassador also noted the importance of further developing Saudi-US commercial ties, and stressed that the economic partnership between the two nations could be the cornerstone in efforts to achieve peace in the region. During his visit to Iowa, Prince Turki performed Friday prayers with members of the Muslim community of Cedar Rapids and attended a luncheon held by them in his honor. He also visited the offices of agricultural equipment giant John Deere and aerospace company Rockwell Collins. Prince Turki opened a Saudi cultural exhibit at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. ********** Under the directives of Prince Abdul Majeed bin Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Makkah Al Mukkaramah and Chairman of Central Hajj Committee the Under Secretary of the Executive Hajj Committee Abdullah Bin Daoud Al Fayez chaired the Hajj meeting to discuss operational plans of public and private departments during Hajj season for the year 1427H. After the meeting Mohamed Bin Ali Al Shafei Secretary of the Committee clarified that the plan focused on using the reports of the previous pilgrimage seasons in order to take the positives and avoid negatives as well as recruiting all human powers in Makkah and the holy places. ********** According to an official report issued by the World Bank said that the main reason for the deterioration of economic conditions in the Palestinian territories is the policy of economic and military blockade imposed by the Israeli authorities on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip for several years. According to the report, which was circulated to the Member States of the United Nations the end of the Palestinian economic crisis will be achieved if Israel opens the Palestinian border crossings to the export of Palestinian products abroad. The Central Statistical Service of the Palestinian Authority, has confirmed that the Palestinian economy is exposed to significant losses due to the policy of economic and military blockade imposed by the Israeli government in the Palestinian territories under Israeli occupation since 1967. ********** Prince Faisal bin Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, head of the Saudi Red Crescent Society said that Islam is a religion of good deeds and behaviour and this is reflected in the deep Islamic belief in volunteering and charity work, the care accorded by the religion to ensuring protection to orphans and widows and the alleviation of the misery of the less fortunate. This came in a speech delivered by Prince Faisal bin Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, President of the Saudi Red Crescent Society on the occasion of the World Volunteer Day on December 5, 2006. ********** Minister of Labor Ghazi Al-Gosaibi said that his ministry would not go easy on establishments and institutions that attempt to illegally skirt Saudization quotas. "There are systemized penalties," he said during a graduation ceremony of Al-Rimaizan Training Center in Riyadh where a batch of newly trained Saudis received their certifications. "Penalties can go up to the person or establishment being forbidden from applying for loans or services." Al-Gosaibi last week announced that the official unemployment rate in the Kingdom is 9 percent for men and 22 percent for women. In an attempt to spur employment among Saudi nationals, the Kingdom in recent years required companies to reserve a percentage of their jobs for citizens. Companies routinely skirt these quotas through falsified paperwork or temporary Saudi hires. Al-Gosaibi said insufficient training was a major factor in unemployment in the Kingdom, as well as the tendency for some companies to skirt their Saudi quotas. The minister said that Saudi youths who have not been trained should not consider applying for jobs. "The Saudi market has no place for untrained Saudis," he said while refuting charges that his ministry has dealt with alleged lawbreaking companies in an unfair manner. The minister said that the unemployment problem among Saudi nationals would be something of the past in the next five years. "The General Organization for Vocational Education and Technical Training with the cooperation of the private sector has programs to train 400,000 Saudis," he said, adding that once those Saudis graduated they would fill in the gaps in the job market and replace non-Saudis in technical jobs. Commenting on the issue of the abuse of foreign guest workers by their Saudi sponsors, Al-Gosaibi said such workers have "full rights", just like their Saudi compatriots, to pursue legal channels to address these abuses. "If it comes to our attention that any worker Saudi or non-Saudi has been treated unfairly the perpetrator will be punished," he said. Ending unemployment in the Kingdom was a joint responsibility of the public and private sectors, said the minister, adding that in order to facilitate coordination between the government and commercial sectors, regular meetings are held at the country's chambers of commerce and industry. ********** Dr. Salih Bin Abul Aziz Al Al-Sheikh received the Mufti of Lebanon, Sheikh Mohammed Rasheed Qabani and Mohammed Al-Jozoo, The Mufti of Jabal (mountain) of Lebanon. They discussed friendly and Islamic issues pertaining to the bilateral relations between the ministry and the house of Fatwa in Lebanon. In press statement, Sheikh Qabani said that the meeting was fruitful in all aspects. He added that the discussion also covered the current situation in Lebanon; the role of the House of Fatwa to urge all diverse communities of Lebanon to work together, to avoid violence and demonstration in dealing with political issues and encourage them to resort to the constitutional and governmental bodies for the future of Lebanon. ********** The official spokesman for the Saudi Ministry of Interior Major General Mansour Al Turki said that the declaration of the new list of those with terrorist links is based on the response of the suspects who should talk to security authorities to clarify some of the circumstances that led to them being suspected. The Spokesman called on all suspects whom their parents informed about their suspicions of their involvement in terrorism to contact the security forces at home, or even Saudi embassies abroad to clarify the reality of their position, He pointed out that the delay in responding to the appeal of the Interior Ministry would lead to the inclusion of the names of all those who do not respond in the lists of terrorists. ********** The Yemeni Chairman of Customs Authority Ali al-Zabidi headed for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in a four-day visit to discuss with Saudi officials over articles of customs cooperation treaty that was signed between the two countries. The treaty was signed to ease the commercial exchange movement via borders outlets. It is scheduled that the two sides would exchange the ratified documents of the customs cooperation treaty, as well as study means of common coordination to secure customs outlets and to limit customs. ********** The time has come for moderate Muslims all over the world to stand up and fight the extremists within the community. In an exclusive interview to the Hindustan Times, King Abdullah II of Jordan said, "Let the silent majority win the street back." King Abdullah said that Islam had been hijacked by a minority of extremists who had imposed their own agenda on the community. Further, he said, this agenda relied on miscommunication of Islam's tenets. All over Asia, Muslims who did not speak Arabic were often misled into believing that the Quran said something which it did not. "The only solution is education and the dissemination of information." ********** An official source, in a statement to Saudi Press Agency, has said a report published in the American newspaper "Washington Post," in its edition of Wednesday, November 29, 2006, attributing to writer Nawaf Obaid, "is absolutely not true." "This writer does not represent any official Saudi authority. What has been published (in the newspaper) represents only his own view. It also does not represent in any way the Kingdom's policy and stand to support security, unity and stability of Iraq with all its sects and doctrines," the official source said. ********** To mark the end of the humanitarian mission of the field hospital installed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Lebanon to relief and assist the Lebanese people following the Israeli aggression on Lebanon, a delegation of the Saudi Red Crescent gifted the hospital's medical equipment and appliances to the Lebanese Red Cross. The delivery ceremony was attended by the Head of the Lebanese Red Cross Sami Dehdah, General Supervisor of the Saudi Red Crescent Society Ahmed Al-Salamah and a number of officials. The Lebanese side thanked the Saudi government under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for its solidarity with Lebanon and its people. On his part, the Saudi representative emphasized that the materials being delivered are to help the Lebanese Red Cross to conduct its activities, wishing Lebanon and its people continued security and stability. ********** The Saudi field hospital in Lebanon, which was ordered by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz to help wounded and injured Lebanese from the Israeli aggression on Lebanon, has concluded its works in an honorary ceremony attended by doctors, nurses and managing staff of the hospital. During the ceremony, a number of speeches were delivered which stressed the strong ties between Lebanon and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Director of the Hospital Dr. Khalid Al-Sadoun delivered a speech affirming the keenness of the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to heal the wounds of brothers in Lebanon and provide assistance to them. He also thanked the Lebanese government for all their facilities. Then, Chief Doctors of Future Movement Faisal Shatila delivered a speech in which he expressed his appreciation of the Saudi initiative and thanked all workers in charge of the hospital. At the end of the ceremony, Shatila handed the Director of the Hospital, Al-Sadoun, a shield. Also, certificates of appreciation from the Saudi Red Crescent Societies and the Saudi Field Hospital were distributed to the Lebanese and Saudi doctors and nurses who worked at the hospital. ********** The Oman-FTA Awareness Conference was held with a call for greater participation of private sector to make the landmark treaty a vehicle for economic prosperity for the Sultanate. The conference, while giving an opportunity to the business community to learn more about the benefits of the FTA, highlighted industry-specific sectors that stand to benefit from the FTA, including industry and services, tourism and infrastructure, healthcare, and information communications technology. The conference was held under the auspices of Maqbool bin Ali Sultan, minister of commerce and industry and Shaun Donnelly, assistant US trade representative for Europe and the Middle East. The government of Oman has embarked upon the endeavour of concluding the FTA with the US, as a step along its steady policy of openness towards the world economy; and in conformity with the trade and investment liberalisation policies which Oman has been consistently pursuing since its accession to the World Trade Organisation. In his comments, Maqbool said that an FTA with the US was a natural step for the progress of the Sultanate's economic and commercial policies. "The agreement is much more than an agreement concerned with elimination of customs fees, as seen in traditional FTAs, but it establishes solid grounds for broader economic cooperation based on liberalisation of investment procedures, elimination of restrictions on services trade," he added. "For an optimal benefit from the agreement, we deem it necessary that the private sector work on increase of exports and take initiatives that enable it to avail from the significant capabilities of the US in the various fields," Maqbool said. ********** Israel's violations of Lebanon's airspace compromise efforts to stabilize the situation along the border between the two countries where U.N. peacekeepers have come across 13 instances of unauthorized arms or material since September, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a letter to the U.N. Security Council. Despite these incidents, Annan said that the August cease-fire that ended this summer's Israeli-Hezbollah war has been maintained "and there were no serious incidents or confrontations." But he said U.N. peacekeepers reported air violations by Israeli jets and unmanned aerial vehicles "almost on a daily basis," which Lebanon has protested as a serious violation of its sovereignty. Israel maintains the overflights are a security measure, and the country's defense minister has linked the flights to the return of two Israeli soldiers captured by Hezbollah on July 12, Annan said. ********** The Secretariat General of the Organization of Islamic Conference of stressed the need to establish an Islamic satellite channel to defend the Islamic issues in foreign languages. In a statement issued in Amman, it said the importance of this channel is prevailing these days in light of the continuing Western media campaigns against Islam and Muslims. The statement called upon the Secretariat of the Organization of the Islamic Conference to adopt the idea of establishing the Islamic channel to deal with hostile media campaigns against Islam and explain the justice of Arab and Islamic causes in international and regional forums. ********** Security authorities have arrested 136 militants including foreign nationals who were allegedly planning to carry out terrorist operations inside and outside Saudi Arabia, an official source at the Interior Ministry announced. The arrests took place in Riyadh, Dammam, Makkah, Madinah, Jizan, Qasim, Hail and Al-Jouf over the past two months, the source said, without identifying the suspects. Police confiscated weapons, foreign currencies, computers and other communication devices and different documents from the arrested militants. "By the grace of God, security forces were able to follow up suspicious movements of people having deviant ideas. They recruited people to travel to troubled areas, provided cover for wanted men and financed their operations that target the nation and its security," the source said. The source also pointed out that the arrested suspects had links with foreign groups. "They exploited the Umrah traffic to smuggle in people who were trained abroad." Interrogation of the militants led to information about other people related to them. "We have informed their relatives to contact the nearest security agency or approach the nearest Saudi mission abroad to clarify their stand. Actions will be taken against those who fail to do so, as they will then be considered among the wanted," the source said. The security forces carried out the largest operation on Oct. 26 when they arrested 44 militants after simultaneous raids in Riyadh, Eastern Province, Qasim and Hail. "All of them were Saudis who formed an organization which tried to promote their takfiri (branding opponents infidels) ideology," the source said. They were also linked with criminal elements and had formed financial, legal and media committees to carry out their plans inside the Kingdom. They also encouraged people to travel to violence-hit areas and provided them with assistance. The second largest arrest took place in Riyadh on Sept. 12 when 31 suspects, including four expatriates, were held, the source said, adding that they had formed a cell that was closely linked with seven top Al-Qaeda militants. "It appeared that the 31-member cell was awaiting orders to carry out crimes such as kidnapping innocent people, demanding ransom and killing some of them. They also planned to carry out attacks on businesses and banks," the Saudi Press Agency quoted the official as saying. Some of them had written their wills, which were to be revealed after their suicide operations. ********** Hammoud Bin Faisal Bin Said Al-Busaidy secretary general of the Council of Ministers in the Sultanate of Oman, patronized the opening ceremony of the road (Al Restak -Ebri) At the beginning of the ceremony, Eng Salim Bin Mohammed Al-and Undersecretary of the Ministry of Transport and Communications for Transport said : we are extending to you the warmest welcome as we meet today in Al Restak region to celebrate the opening of the road. This is one of the achievements that have been made in the entire Sultanate, and in particular in the sectors of roads, and which is considered the embodiment of the great and continuous attention given by the government of Sultan Qaboos Bin Said to the citizens of Oman. ********** The Anti-Terror Group in Britian is examining whether the killers of Alexander Litvinenko also tried to poison Mario Scaramella, an Italian security expert who met the Russian exile on the day that he fell ill. Toxicologists confirmed that Mr Scaramella had also been contaminated by a "significant" amount of deadly polonium-210. The level leads them to suspect that it was more than he could have ingested from simple physical contact with Litvinenko. Radiological experts also say that the amount is more than he could have inhaled from being close to Litvinenko had he coughed or sneezed. Cobra, the Government's emergency planning committee, met after learning of Mr Scaramella's contamination. Doctors say it may be several weeks before the Italian academic knows the long-term effects of the contamination and whether he is likely to develop cancer. Mr Scaramella has ingested nothing like the amount that Litvinenko did, which explains why he has not shown the same acute symptoms, but doctors say that there is a longer-term risk of him developing cancer. **********