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January 26, 2007 |
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***** The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, has approved the procedures followed in the Ministry of Education, to realize realization the principle of equality and justice in the transfer of teachers between the regions of the Kingdom, and and not to give some women teachers some preference because of the work of their husbands in some areas of the Kingdom and to follow the commitment orders, rules and regulations governing the transfer of teachers. This came in a telegram from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah in response to the message of the Minister of Education, Dr. Abdullah Bin Saleh Al Obaid. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz thanked the Minister of Health Dr. Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Manei for the services offered to pilgrims during the Hajj season. This came in response to the message, sent by the Minister of Health to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, on the success of the pilgrimage of this 1427 H which was free of epidemics and disease. The Minister of Health, Dr. Hamad bin Abdullah Al- Manei expressed deep thanks and appreciation for the wise leadership for its continued support for the health services which by the grace of God contributed to the success of health plan pilgrimage to the 1427 H. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz received at the royal court at Al-Yamamah palace the Director General of International Organization for Migration Bronson Mckinley. The Monarch wished the organization all success in its humanitarian actions. The audience was attended by Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General; a number of princes and officials. Donation, Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General-and Chairman of Sultan Bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud Charitable Foundation, has donated SR 1 million to the Saudi Charity for Combating Cancer. Dr. Abdullah Bin Sulaiman Amr chairman of the board of directors of the charity addressed in his name and on behalf of the members of the association and all its employees his thanks and appreciation to the crown prince for the generous support, noting in this context the distinctive and durable support of the Sultan Bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud Charitable Foundation for the the charity and for many of the projects inside and outside the Kingdom. Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, Governor of Riyadh region, opened the new headquarters of the ministry of labour, urging labour personnel to do more to provide training for Saudi male and female youth to join labour market in the kingdom. Upon arrival at the venue, Prince Salman was received by Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi, minister of labour, Suleiman Bin Sadd Al-Homaid, governor of social insurance, Dr. Ali Bin Nasser Al-Ghofais, governor of technical education and vocational training corporation, and senior officials. After unveiling the building's plaque, Prince Salman was briefed on the contents of the three-storey building and its support utilities. The event was attended by Prince Mohammed Ibn Salaman Ibn Abdul Aziz; Prince Ahmed Ibn Fahd Ibn Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz; Prince Naif Ibn Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz and senior officials. Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the foreign minister met with Deputy Secretary General of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Alisandro Minuto Rizzo who was on a visit to the kingdom to take part in a seminar held by the diplomatic studies institute entitled Developments of Relations between the NATO and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Prince Saud also met with the Director General of the International Organization for Migration Bronson Mckinley. During the meetings, they discussed topics of mutual interest. The meetings were attended by Prince Turki Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Kabeer, Assistant Under Secretary for political affairs and director of international organizations department at the foreign ministry. Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the foreign minister received at his office the digital distinction award 2006 won by the ministry which ranked first in the branch of e-governmental dealings organized by the ministry of telecommunications and information technology. The award was handed over to Prince Saud By Prince Ambassador Mohammed Bin Saud Bin Khalid, Director General of Information And Studies Center and Chairman of Electronic Dealings Committee of The Foreign Ministry. Prince Saud congratulated Prince Ambassador Mohammed on winning the award at 1st national exhibition for electronic dealings organized last Tuesday by authority of telecommunications and information technology, calling for further progress to keep abreast of the vision of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz in the field of technological progress. Prince Khaled Bin Sultan Bin Abdulaziz, the Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation for Military Affairs, received here today commander of the American central air forces Ghari North.They reviewed issues of mutual interest. Prince Fahd bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, Governor of Tabuk Region, was conferred the award of Hilal-i-Pakistan by President General Pervez Musharraf at a special investiture ceremony at the presidential palace. The award has been conferred on Prince Fahd in recognition of his endeavours for strengthening the friendship and cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, an official statement said. The statement said that earlier Prince Fahd held a meeting with the president in which Musharraf recalled the extremely close and fraternal relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. He lauded the governor's services in giving a meaningful and purposeful orientation to these ties. According to the statement, Prince Fahd thanked the government of Pakistan for conferring the prestigious award on him. Prince Fahd had donated one million Saudi riyals for the affected of the massive October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. The governor built a 60-bed state-of-art hospital at Dalbandin in Balochistan apart from the construction of residences for the doctors and nurses attached with the medical facility. On the other hand Pakistan's Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz met with Prince Fahd Bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Tabuk Region, according to an official statement. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy broad-based and deep rooted relations in every field including diplomatic, cultural, political and economic and the ties between the two countries are growing further, Aziz told Prince Fahd. Later, the Prime Minister hosted lunch in honor of Prince Fahd bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz. Aziz congratulated Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and the Saudi government on making smooth, seamless and excellent Hajj arrangements. According to the statement, Prince Fahd bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz said Saudi Arabia attaches great importance to its relations with Pakistan and is keen to enhance cooperation between the two countries. Sultan Qaboos is the latest recipient of the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding, it was announced. The Nehru award will be conferred on the Sultan for promoting 'goodwill and friendship among peoples of the world,' Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Navtej Sarna said in a statement. Sultan Qaboos "has emerged as a leader who is much loved and admired not only by his own people but also by the people of the entire region." The Sultan 'has completely transformed Oman into a modern and prosperous state,' the statement said. He 'has helped Oman establish close relations with many countries including India. Indo-Oman diplomatic ties, which are based on a shared vision to develop a partnership in the areas of politics, economics and culture, celebrated 50 years in 2005,' it said. The award, administered by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, includes a citation. Instituted in 1965 in memory of India"s First Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the prize is given annually for outstanding contribution to promotion of international understanding, goodwill and friendship among peoples of the world. Earlier recipients of the award include iconic figures like Yasser Arafat and Nelson Mandela. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz will sponsor on the 14th of next month Safar 1428 the first International Conference on Education and Information, organized by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the International Organization for Education, at the King Faisal conference Hall in Riyadh. The conference will be held for four days. President Ali Abdullah Saleh has said that the cabinet reshuffling was possible. The aim of reshuffling would not be just for change but would be for included in a strategy to implement development programs and to choose proper persons who were able to accomplish such programs, president Saleh said in an interview published on in the Arabic daily Al Bayan newspaper. He highlighted ties of Yemen with other Gulf Cooperation Council's countries, welcoming all businessmen especially from the GCC to invest in the country. They will get all facilities and guaranties based on the investment law, he said. Regarding plans for the coming period, president Saleh said that the priorities would be focused on carrying out his electoral platform. He affirmed that there is a strong will to fight corruption by taking certain such as establishment of independent Bidding Authority, issuance of Anti-Corruption Law. Yemen has succeeded in fighting terrorism, president Saleh said. About the current development in the region, president said that Yemen has predicted that the new US strategy in Iraq is doomed to failure. He said that he explained to the American President, George Bush, in a message the mistakes he had done in Iraq. Iraq "is now an open field for settling regional and international accounts," he said. "Iraqis, whether Sunnis, Shiites or Kurds, are capable of keeping their country united." He considered the Ethiopian military interference in Somalia a legitimate action, and disclosed that his government is now sponsoring a dialogue between the US administration and the Islamic Courts in Somalia. He described as hasty the call of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for early elections. However, he demanded that the Hamas government "be given the opportunity (to rule) since it has been democratically elected." He said the sitting-in by the Lebanese opposition "won't solve the problem, it will complicate it." He held both the opposition and the ruling party in his country responsible for not helping him achieve his wish to step down. "The opposition has not readied itself to lead the country, neither has the ruling party believed that I was intending to abandon power," he told the Dubai-based newspaper. The Kingdom signed an agreement with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for the construction of a housing in Sri Lanka at a cost of SR38.74 million to accommodate the survivors of the 2004 Southeast Asian tsunami. The accord was inked by Saeed Al-Harithy, chairman of the Saudi Charity Campaign (SCC), and Brunson McKinley, director general of International Organization For Migration (IOM), in the presence of Sri Lankan Ambassador A.M.J. Sadiq. Others present included Abdul Aziz Arrukban, special international ambassador of World Food Program (WFP), Esmael El-Azhari Ibrahim, head of the Gulf Area Office of UNICEF, and World Health Organization Resident Representative Awad Mukhtar. The housing project will be named after Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. Al-Harithy said the project includes 500 housing units, two schools (one for boys and the other for girls), a hospital, a mosque, a playground, a bus terminal and a shopping mall. Al-Harithy said the SCC was founded two years ago and is being run directly under the supervision of Interior Minister Prince Naif. The project will be built in the district of Ampara, approximately 300 kilometers from Colombo, on land donated by the Lankan Ministry of Housing and Construction. Al-Harithy said the construction would be carried out by local contractors and is expected to be completed in two years. McKinley said his organization has been engaged in humanitarian relief programs in Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Lebanon and the North Africa countries. The Saudi-Japanese joint coordination committee held its annual meeting. The meeting was attended by deputy governor of the general organization for technical education and vocational training Dr Saleh Al-Amr and 11 experts from the Japanese ministry of trade and industry; the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the organization of the Japanese automobile manufacturers. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit accused sectarian militias in Iraq to carry out the killing against hundreds of thousands of Iraqis outside the Iraqi cities and the capital, Baghdad. He confirmed that the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Egypt, the United States, Jordan and the six Gulf states in Kuwait has been very positive and that it has achieved its aim. He said that the meeting achieved to a large extent the Egyptian vision on how to deal with the most pressing problems the region, the Palestinian cause and Iraq. He continued Egypt demanded the review of the Iraqi constitution seeking its amendment and pointed out that the amendment of the constitution means trying to persuade the Sunnis to play a role in the Iraqi political process. Saudi Shoura Council is holding separate talks with Greek and Turkish Parliaments during a visit by Saudi Arabia Parliamentary Friendship Committee of the two capitals, Ankara and Athens. Member of the Shoura Council visiting delegation Dr. Mohammad Al Zolfah said the Council continues to promote the position of Kingdom on the political, economic and international parliamentary map, The Council has realized many achievements with respect to the its relations with foreign parliaments and these achievements reflects the evolution of its work and its ability to represent the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in all international parliamentary forums. Omani-Kuwaiti joint committee held its third session under the chairmanship of Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, minister responsible for foreign affairs; and Sheikh Dr Mohammed Sabah Al Salim Al Sabah, deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Kuwait, with the participation of senior officials from the two brotherly countries. In a statement issued at the conclusion of the joint committees meeting, the two sides hailed the AGCC states' march, expressing their satisfaction over the council states' achievements in various aspects of cooperation. They emphasised their determination to continue their support to the march in order to achieve the goals drawn by the council's leaders and to reflect the well-being and prosperity of the Gulf states' peoples. The two sides have also discussed major regional and international issues of common concern and their views towards them were identical. The two sides have also reviewed the existing bilateral cooperation and relations and expressed their full satisfaction for the high level of relations between the two countries. The two sides agreed to continue strengthening the march of bilateral cooperation at various aspects of political, defence, security, economy, commercial, industrial, judiciary and development of cooperation in educational, information, manpower, civil service and social development spheres to achieve the aspiration of their leaderships, hopes and ambitions of their peoples. Following the discussion, an MoU was signed between the two countries in the field of developing exports between Omani Centre for Investment Promotion and Export Development and Industrial Exports Development Centre at Public Authority for Industries in Kuwait. Alawi signed on behalf of the Omani side while Dr Al Sabah signed on behalf of Kuwait. Convening of the joint committee comes within the deep-rooted and distinguished relationship between the Sultanate and Kuwait and close ties between the two brotherly peoples under the royal directives of Sultan Qaboos bin Said and Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jabir Al Sabah. Meanwhile, Alawi, in a joint press conference with Sheikh Dr Mohammed Sabah Al Salim Al Sabah, announced at the end of the joint session that businessmen of both the countries have agreed to set up a company with a capital outlay of RO40 million as a joint economic and investment venture leading to enter in a free trade market policy. Alawi said both the countries have discussed a number of topics and ideas, which would support the Gulf march and strengthen the bilateral relations. On the AGCC countries' interest in possessing nuclear energy, he said the decision taken by the last AGCC summit was only to study how to utilise the nuclear energy for electricity production. This issue would be under study with the help of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), underlining the AGCC states' commitment not to possess the nuclear energy for producing destructive weapons. On the Iranian nuclear issue, he said Iran is still asserting that its efforts are only for peaceful purposes, pointing that Israel's nuclear weapons should be subjected to international inspections. Al Sabah expressed his desire and keenness in developing and strengthening the joint cooperation between the two countries. Responding to the current situations in Iraq, he said "we are exerting all our efforts to save this country from being a battlefield of sectarian violence and we strive to cooperate with the neighbouring countries to bring stability in Iraq". Pakistan's army destroyed suspected Al Qaeda hideouts in an air strike near the Afghan border, killing several militants including foreigners, the army said. An army statement said intelligence sources confirmed the presence of 25 to 30 foreign terrorists and their local facilitators occupying five compounds in the area of Zamzola a village about three kilometers (two miles) from the frontier. Pakistani forces backed by helicopter gunships attacked them, destroying three of the compounds. "We believe most of them (the terrorists) were killed, but we don't have a body count," said army spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan. He said some were foreigners, but "no high-value target was believed to be there." Afghan President Hamid Karzai praised the Saudi government for its support to Afghanistan in its war on terror, and to overcome the challenges. He said during his opening of the second round of meetings of the Afghan Parliament, in the presence of members of the Senate and a number of diplomats and officials, that all the attacks and terrorist operations in Afghanistan during the past year are the result of plans drawn outside Afghanistan. British Prime Minister Toni Blair said "Our relationship with Saudi Arabia is vitally important for our country in terms of counter-terrorism, in terms of the broader Middle East, in terms of helping in respect of Israel and Palestine. That strategic interest comes first." Sudan summoned the US's top diplomat in Khartoum over an alleged attack on the Sudanese embassy in Baghdad and demanded an official apology, the foreign ministry said. The foreign ministry summoned Roberto Powers, the US deputy charge d' Affaires in Khartoum, to protest an attack by nine US soldiers on the Sudanese embassy in Baghdad, foreign ministry spokesman Ali al-Sadek told the official SUNA news agency. Sudan informed Powers that the attack "contradicts the simplest diplomatic norms as well as the Geneva Convention," Sadek told SUNA. "The government demanded an official apology for the act against the embassy." He said the US diplomat promised to convey to his government the message of protest. According to the Israeli daily Haaretz senior US officials, received regular reports on the progress of unofficial secret talks between Israeli and Syrian officials over the past two years. The White House denied the report. According to the report, the Israeli and Syrian representatives met secretly in Europe several times between September 2004 and July 2006. The report in the daily Haaretz said the two sides reached a series of understandings that included a full Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights, which was captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war. The Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators plans to meet in early February to prepare the ground for talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. Rice said she would bring Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas together for informal talks on how to set up a Palestinian state. Preparations for that meeting will need some time, probably a few weeks, said Rice at a joint news conference with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the German capital. King Abdullah II said Jordan wanted nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. King Abdullah said all nuclear programs in the region should be subject to international inspection. "We want to make sure this is used for energy. What we don't want is an arms race to come out of this," he said. Deputy spokesman Tom Casey, said that every country that adheres strictly to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty "has the right to develop civilian nuclear power for the benefit of their people." Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has described his visit to Syria as successful and the outcome of the visit as positive in all domains, noting that he touched true will of President Bashar al-Assad on establishing a stable and secure Iraq. Talabani said that "President al-Assad showed strong interest in meeting the requirements of the Iraqi people and insistence on achieving security, and prosperity in Iraq". He pointed out to the importance of the agreements signed between Syria and Iraq in all fields which will affect positively the relations between the two brotherly countries. Yemen denied that it was harbouring one of Saddam Hussein's top aides as alleged by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. Talabani told Reuters in an interview that Izzat al-Douri, wanted by Iraq and suspected of directing insurgency there, was in the Red Sea state. "We deny...that Izzat al-Douri is in Yemen," a senior Yemeni official told Reuters. "Such information is baseless and unfounded. Yemen is very transparent when it comes to political asylum." The Assistant Secretary of State for Middle East Affairs James Jeffrey, said the United States continues to give priority to diplomatic action in dealing with Iran but at the same time they must be ready for all possibilities. Jeffrey said in an interview with the French newspaper (Le Figaro) that the priority for us is to encourage Iranian leaders to change their behavior and to adopt the diplomatic solution, referring to the decision by the Security Council at the end of last December, to impose sanctions on Iran because of its refusal to suspend its uranium enrichment program. He added that the United States has started to open offices in Dubai and in many other countries with the task of putting together reports on what is happening in Iran in all areas. He added from our experience we know that it is better with the Iranians to remain ready for all possibilities, even when working in the diplomatic field. He stressed that the United States does not seek to fight with anyone. Egypt and the European Union (EU) agreed to lay down this year a framework for a peace agreement between Palestinians and Israelis. This agreement will be defined by a time limit. Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit said, following President Mubarak's meeting with EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana, that the status quo opens a window for scoring a progress in the peace process during 2007, taking into consideration that the next year will witness the US presidential elections. Abul-Gheit, at a joint press conference with Solana, said Mubarak-Solana meeting also took up the outcome of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to Egypt along with the fourth consultative meeting held recently in Kuwait by the Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) plus Egypt, Jordan and the United States. Egypt's top diplomat termed Mubarak-Solana meeting as "cordial and frank." US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will return to the Middle East in mid-February to complete her consultations with the leaders of the region, Abul-Gheit said. Rice was in the region this week. Her comeback to the region will also follow a meeting of the international Quartet to be held in the US on February 1-2, the Foreign Minister added. Abul-Gheit said that Solana presented a report to Mubarak during the meeting on European efforts to revive the stalled peace process in the Middle East and the Quartet's meeting in New York on February 1-2. Abul-Gheit will travel to Washington after the meeting of the Quartet, meanwhile Solana will return to the area for the Middle East peace process. Meantime, Solana said he was happy to return to Egypt following his December visit and expressed satisfaction over the availability of new mechanisms to push forward Mideast peace. All must cooperate to advance peace, he added. Solana praised the role played by Egypt and President Hosni Mubarak in pushing forward the peace process, voicing hope that a positive progress would be reached in the near future. Solana expressed the European Union's wish to realize tangible results especially on the Palestinian track. As for European moves to activate the peace process, especially with Germany as EU President, he said that the EU aims at reaching the end of the road in the peace process and an agreement between the Israeli and Palestinian sides within a limited period of time. The EU wants the two sides to put an end to the current state the peace process is going through by starting confidence-building measures, he said, expressing belief that this could be done through efforts by a number of parties including the EU and particularly Egypt. Regarding Egypt's concept of the peace process, Abul-Gheit said that it is based on two points, namely achieving stability and confidence-building and holding negotiations so that an agreement could be reached during this year. Abul-Gheit described what was happening in Iraq, including the reciprocated expulsion between Sunnis and Shiites, as a sectarian cleansing different from the ethnic cleansing that happened in some parts of the world. Abul-Gheit held the sectarian militias responsible for the upsurge of violence in Iraq, calling on the Iraqi government to do its best to protect all Iraqi citizens. Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry said that the meeting held with Solana at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry premises dealt with developments in the Palestinian-Israeli file and steps aimed at resuscitating the Middle East peace process to reach a comprehensive peace agreement. The year 2006 witnessed the opening of a number of modern facilities, including the Traffic Safety Institute in the wilayat of Seeb in Muscat governorate; new buildings for Izki Police Station and Al Jabal Al Akhdar Police Station in Al Dakhiliyah region; a number of civil defence centres; completion of 14 buildings for automated vehicle inspection in Qurum, Seeb, Sur, Ibra, Haima, Salalah and Thumrait. This is in addition to a building for the Directorate-General of Passports and Residence in the wilayat of Seeb and building of ROP Headquarters in Muscat governorate. Works of a number of new ROP projects such as the central jail, intruders housing centre in the wilayat Samayl in Dakhiliyah region; Al Manara police station in Al Dahirah region; Al A'ajaeiz police station in the Al Wusta region among other police stations are progressing. Among the ongoing projects are a number of border posts in the governorate of Buraimi. The Sultan Qaboos Academy for Police Sciences is one of the specialised training institutions aimed at upgrading the skills of ROP personnel. It also shoulders implementation of the general training policy at the apparatus level. A new headquarters for security of oil and gas utilities was also established for preservation of the said utilities in Oman. A number of centres in Muscat and Sohar affiliate to this headquarters. The ROP Aviation Directorate has witnessed continued modernisation works in terms of equipment and utilities. The ROP has also endeavoured remarkable efforts in the field of awareness programmes including, among others, the English programmes of Al Ain Al Sahirah and Police and Community. On behalf of the Minister of Health, the major researcher to the Central Research Committee of the World Health Survey Dr. Hamad A. Al-Mane, the MOH Assistant Undersecretary for Planning and Research Mr. Ghazi Al-Jailani headed the meeting of the executive committee of World Health Survey in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has been held at the MOH premises recently. The meeting reviewed the current situation of the preparatory works for starting the survey field works. It also reviewed the GCC Executive Office program, importing required equipment, and training researchers on filling the forms and defining sample sites. Dr. Al-Jailani told reporters that MOH shall start the execution works of the world Health Survey during the first half of the year 1428H. Work shall be carried out in coordination with WHO for assuring conformity with the relative international criteria and specifications which will assist later in comparing the indications of health performance with those of other countries. According to Al-Jailani, this survey is the largest health survey undertaken by MOH for exploring the health situation of the population and deriving some important indicators such as morbidity rates, hereditary diseases and the health situation of the Saudi individual. It aims at providing a high quality and detailed database which will assist in formulating future health policies and development of highly efficient measurement tools. It will include 10.000 families selected from the different areas of the Kingdom and execution shall be carried out by a teamwork formed of a field supervisor, a doctor, and a nurse. The survey committee has been formed on the basis of the recommendation of the 58th conference of the GCC Council of the Ministers of Health as well as the ministerial decree denoting carryout of the survey execution works in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by the Ministry of Health. The Arab Committee for Human Rights issued a report to the United Nations calling for Qatar to meet its promise to rectify the conditions of those in the country who were stripped of their nationality from Al Morra tribe. An International law source said that the Doha promised to rectify the situation before the end of 2006, but only a few number was corrected in comparison to the total number without a nationality. It pointed out that Doha has returned the nationality to about 600 citizens who were stripped of their nationality. The source pointed out that there are approximately 2800 citizen remaining in addition to those carrying Saudi nationality and whose condition has not been corrected in accordance with the decision issued by Qatar in this regard. The source added that a conference on (the bedoun in the Gulf States) will be held in London during the coming period. A top al-Qaida-linked militant, long wanted by U.S. and Philippine authorities for deadly terror attacks, has been killed in a clash with troops in a major blow to his rebel group, the military said. Jainal Antel Sali Jr., popularly known as Abu Sulaiman a top leader of the Abu Sayyaf rebel group was fatally shot in a fierce gun battle in a clash with army special forces, military chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon said, confirming earlier reports of the militant's death. Abu Sulaiman claimed responsibility for a February 2004 bombing that triggered a ferry fire, killing 116 people in Southeast Asia's second-worst terror attack. The Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, said that the six Gulf Cooperation Council wants to avoid civil war in Iraq, which is shaken by Sectarian violence. Sheikh Muhammad Sabah al-Salem told reporters in Oman, that the GCC countries have always emphasized the importance of prevention of this Arab country from slipping into the quagmire of civil war. He added : that this would be achieved through consolidation of the efforts of the Iraqi authorities to take control of the security situation and deal firmly with the situation prevailing there now. The Kuwaiti minister added that the Gulf Cooperation Council is exerting all efforts with the neighbouring countries to put an end to the breakdown of the unstable situation in Iraq. |