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March 9, 2007 |
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IN BRIEF ***** Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General has donated SR 1 million to support the charitable endowment project being established by handicapped children society in Assir region. In a press statement upon his receipt of the donation check on behalf of the board, Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Chairman of Board of Directors of handicapped children society expressed his best thanks and gratitude to the Crown Prince for this generous support for the project due to be established in Assir region to keep abreast of the project of center of care and rehabilitation of handicapped children whose foundation stone has been recently laid. He noted that the Crown Prince's donation represents a new page of a record of generous support by the Crown Prince for the society over 25 years which has led to many achievements and the expansion of the society's services to reach 7 regions and cities including more than 3000 children. The Prince pointed out that donations to the project of the center amounted to more than SR 13 million and the Crown Prince's donation is considered as an inauguration of a fund to support the charitable endowment project at a cost of more than SR 15 million. Prince Abdul Rahman Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General arrived in Al-Ahsa coming from Riyadh. Upon arrival in Al-Ahsa, the Prince was received by Prince Badr Bin Mohammed Bin Jelawe, the governor of Al-Ahsa, a number of commanders and senior officers. Earlier, Prince Abdul Rahman left Riyadh. At Riyadh Airbase Airport, the Prince was seen off by a number of commanders and senior officers. Prince Abdul Rahman Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General left at Al-Ahsa regional airport, the prince was seen off by Prince Badr Bin Mohammed Bin Jelawe, the governor of Al-Ahsa, a number of commanders, senior officers and officials. Prince Abdul Rahman Bin Abdul Aziz arrived coming from Al-Ahsa governorate. At Riyadh airbase airport, the Prince was received by Major General Pilot Mohammed Salem Al-Mi'tani, the airbase's commander and a number of senior officers. Prince Faisal bin Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Chairman of Saudi Red Crescent Society (SRCS), asserted that the work of the Society is not limited to providing ambulatory services enlightening the public about the importance of first aid, but also includes humanitarian works at domestic and international levels, citing that the society has provided services for Saudi detainees abroad during the past four years. In a press statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) Prince Faisal said that "the Society is keen to keep contact between detainees and their families. This came in line with the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz; Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General; and Prince Naif bin Abdul Aziz, Minister of Interior who are concerned with following Saudi citizens wherever they are." Prince Turki Bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Culture and Information, received at his office in Riyadh the Chief of Sudanese Journalists Dr. Mohyeddin Tetawi, Secretary General of Sudanese Pressmen Association Al Fateh Assayed and Secretary General of Sudanese Press Association in the kingdom Mustafa Al Basheir. During the meeting, issues of mutual concern, particularly ways of cooperation between press institutions in the two countries were discussed. Minister of Culture and Information Iyad Bin Ameen Madani, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Islamic Radio Federation, chaired the first meeting of the board of directors of the federation. In a speech on the occasion, the Minister stressed the importance of bolstering the role of the federation. Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Conference Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, who attended the meeting, underlined the need for increasing the efficiency of the federation. Afterwards, the meeting discussed issues pertaining to the work of the federation. Minister of Labor Ghazi Al-Gosaibi has said that his ministry is targeting between 50 and 60 top companies in the Kingdom in its inspection program and make them examples to encourage smaller companies to follow the law. "We intend to target big companies so smaller companies can learn a lesson," he said, adding that small companies would comply with regulations after seeing large companies being screened. "They will then get the message." Speaking to graduates of an inspection program at the ministry yesterday, Al-Gosaibi said the inspectors should not be discouraged by the amount of work that they were expected to share. The minister pointed out that there were only 165 inspectors in the entire Kingdom who are tasked with observing 900,000 institutions. "This should not discourage you," he told the inspectors. "If every inspector registered 10 violations a day the outcome would be tremendous." Al-Gosaibi said his ministry was "being attacked by the press and at every social gathering" in spite of its achievements. He emphasized the steps the ministry has taken to reduce import of manpower. But, he said his ministry was not waging a war against businessmen, whom he described as "unpatriotic" for failing to abide by the Saudization rules. "Our war is against unemployment," he said. Al-Gosaibi said there was much talk in the media of the ministry trailing back on some regulations. "Regulations change when circumstances change," he said. According to Al-Gosaibi, replacing Saudis in place of non-Saudis was a major mission for the ministry. "It is not a matter of pride for me to say that we have issued 400,000 work visas for foreigners last year when we tend to find jobs for 300,000 unemployed Saudis," he said. He said his ministry would continue clamping down on establishments that do not abide by the Saudization quotas "quietly and firmly" without a big fuss. The minister urged the inspectors to be vigilant about companies that do not provide the proper conditions for workers. He said there was a new regulation that specifies the living, food and housing conditions for foreign workers. Over 100 inspectors and assistant inspectors attended the 50-hour, 11-day training course that focused on aspects inspectors should realize when screening companies. The course also aimed at updating the inspectors on the labor law and the nature of violations. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Botswana announced the establishment of diplomatic relations between them in a joint statement. The statement said the two countries agreed to set up the diplomatic relations on 1/3/2007 with the aim of developing relations between them. Mount Lebanon's Mufti Mohammed Ali Al-Jouzo commended the efforts being exerted by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz to heal rifts, unite Arabs and Muslims and solve crises in the region. In a statement, he said that the king has been playing a historical role in saving the nation from crises, noting in this regard the agreement between Hamas and Fatah movements in the sanctuary of the grand mosque in Makah and the kingdom's assistance to the Lebanese people. On the Saudi-Iranian summit in Riyadh, he said that the kingdom attracts all attention to solving the problems threatening the whole region. The establishment of a Saudi-Yemeni Economic City was the focus of a meeting between businessmen of both countries that was held on the sidelines of the Jeddah Economic Forum recently. Dr. Abdullah bin Marae Ben Mahfouz, chairman of the Saudi-Yemeni Business Council, said that the economic city was to be established in Wadeea in the Empty Quarter and would promote joint investment projects. "The Yemeni delegation presented its vision about the economic city during the meeting," said Mahfouz, adding that that the Yemeni side offered 75 investment opportunities for Saudi businessmen in their country. These opportunities included seaport management, investment in mineral resources such as cement, titanium, calcium carbonate and marble, and investment in tourism. The Yemeni delegation was led by Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Abdul Karim Al-Arhabi. Mahfouz said Saudi exports to Yemen reached SR8 billion in 2006, reflecting growing economic and commercial ties between the two neighbors. He added that the Jeddah meeting also discussed ways to remove obstacles facing Saudi investors and businessmen in Yemen. "We have set up a panel to present its proposals on this issue to the next council meeting to be held next month," he said. Saudi businessmen demanded the extension of tax exemption period for Saudi projects in Yemen from 10 to 15 years. They also demanded greater reduction in the customs duty. Saudi investments in Yemen account for 80 percent of total Arab investments in the country. The Yemeni delegation included 24 officials and businessmen. The two sides have set up a $100 million fund to conduct studies on joint investment projects. "The volume of Saudi investments in Yemen has to be raised as Saudi Arabia and Yemen jointly have a market of 40 million consumers," the chairman of the Saudi-Yemeni Business Council said. Speaker of Parliament Ahmed Fathi Sorour referred Tuesday6/3/2007 a report by the parliament's Legislative Committee on the proposed constitutional amendments to the Shoura Council. The Shoura Council convenes later on Wednesday7/3/2007 to discuss the committee's report. Sorour said that the Legislative Committee would hold another meeting on March 13 to discuss a Shoura Council's report on the amendments. Afterwards, a final report would be referred to the People's Assembly for final approval. "The representatives of the Egyptian people in parliament have the final say over these amendments," Sorour told the meeting of the Legislative Committee. Sorour said amendments to article 179, which is related to anti-terror combat, will not restrict personal freedoms. He also said the judiciary would supervise the entire phases of future elections through an ad hoc committee of former and incumbent judges with guarantees of independence and fairness. The Legislative Committee finalized the draft of 34 articles to be amended. King Mohammed VI pardoned nearly 9,000 prisoners to celebrate the birth of his baby girl, the Justice Ministry said. In addition to the 8,836 pardons, the king also reduced the sentences of 24,218 other prisoners, the ministry said in a statement released to the official MAP news agency. The North African kingdom's massive pardon came after Princess Lalla Salma gave birth to a baby girl. Lalla Khadija is the royal couple's second child. Crown Prince Moulay Hassan was born in May 2003. The ministry said the pardons were based on humanitarian concerns and a hope of integrating many prisoners back into society. Lebanese authorities seized a car carrying weapons on the main road of Dahr Al Baidar and Bahamdoun. The car had been loaded with hand guns and assault rifles. Sources, said army units and police patrols intervened to support the customs patrol and the "whole case is now under the jurisdiction of the military investigator." Israel's main government watchdog accused Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of foot-dragging in answering questions raised in an investigation of civil defence deficiencies in last year's Lebanon war. The probe, along with a separate inquiry into conduct of the 34-day conflict with Lebanon's Hezbollah and a series of corruption investigations against Olmert, could determine his political future. "We ran into difficulties obtaining information we needed from the prime minister," State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss told a parliamentary committee in televised remarks that opened a new round in his public sparring with Olmert. "We have yet to receive answers to a questionnaire. The questionnaire has 12 questions that need answering -- we need answers about the home front," he testified at the hearing about his investigation, saying he saw "no reason" for the delay. Lindenstrauss' final findings, which he said would be ready in about four months, could set the bar for the separate government-appointed commission of jurists examining the way the military and Olmert's cabinet waged the war. A UN envoy told Lebanese leaders that he had "forcefully" raised Israel's persistent violations of Lebanese airspace with officials in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. "I briefed the prime minister (Fouad Siniora) on my visit to Israel in the last few days," Michael Williams, special advisor to the UN secretary general for the Middle East, told reporters after meeting with Siniora. "The question of Israeli overflights has been raised forcefully in our meetings in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem," said Williams, who arrived in Beirut after a visit to Israel. Culture Minister Tareq Mitri, who joined the prime minister's talks with the UN envoy, said the Israeli overflights "which are violations to Lebanese sovereignty ... have increased." "We have expressed our discontent and our insistence that the international community should take up its responsibilities," he said. Israel has drawn intense international criticism by continuing the overflights after the August 14 ceasefire that ended its devastating 34-day war in Lebanon with Shiite militant group Hezbollah. Israel says the flights are necessary to monitor what it charges is rampant arms smuggling to Hezbollah from neighboring Syria. The envoy's visit to Lebanon and Israel came ahead of a report UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is to give to the Security Council on March 16 on compliance with the August truce resolution. "We discussed Security Council Resolution 1701," said Williams, who was also due to meet Interior Minister Hassan Sabeh and Defence Minister Elias Murr. It is the envoy's third visit to Lebanon since the truce resolution went into force. The resolution demanded the progressive withdrawal of the Israeli army from south Lebanon and its replacement by a UN-backed Lebanese army deployment. It also called for the disarming of all militias, an allusion to Hezbollah as well as Palestinian militant groups. Lebanese President Emile Lahoud met with Abbas Zaki, the Palestine Liberation Organization representative in Lebanon, to discuss the latest developments in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. He also expressed his welcome for the results achieved in Makkah which led to the signing of the Makkah agreement between the Palestinians. Although elements of a missile defense system the U.S. plans to deploy in Europe would not present an immediate danger to Russia, they could threaten the country in the future, a Russian expert said. Washington officially proposed placing a radar network in the Czech Republic on January 20, and two days later announced plans to start formal talks with Poland on the deployment of anti-ballistic missile systems on its territory. "For the time being, the technology the U.S. possesses would not enable it to efficiently bring down Russian missiles, which is why at present there's no real threat, even from the Polish deployment site," political scientist Alexander Pikayev of the World Economy and International Relations Institute told RIA Novosti. Pikayev said that when the U.S. is able to create more effective interceptors, this will become a real threat to Russia. "There is a threat here. It's not immediate, not today or tomorrow, but it is potentially a very serious one," he said. Pikayev said former soviet Bloc countries Poland and the Czech Republic, who joined the European Union four years ago, will fulfill any request from the U.S. Moscow has strongly opposed the deployment of an anti-missile shield in its former backyard in Central Europe, describing the plans as a threat to Russia's national security. The U.S. has repeatedly argued that defenses in Europe could intercept possible intercontinental ballistic missiles from 'rogue' regimes, such as Iran and North Korea. According to polls conducted by survey center Pentor, more than half (53%) of Poles are against deployment of American missile defense elements on the country's territory, while 34% support it. Oman has prohibited imports of live domestic birds, their products, derivatives and wastes from Kuwait. A statement issued by Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Shaikh Salim bin Hilal Al Khalili said the ban had been imposed on the advice of the country's veterinary authorities. A high-ranking U.S. official will visit Syria along with a UNHCR official in the coming weeks to discuss the issue of Iraqi refugees, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration Ellen Sauerbrey, along with a UNHCR official, will travel to the Middle East region, including Syria and Jordan, in the coming weeks, McCormack said. The spokesman said UNHCR Chairman Antonio Guterres recently visited the region. "The idea here is to follow up on that humanitarian mission and to talk directly with many of the NGOs that are on the ground doing the work for refugees and also helping to address the humanitarian needs of those refugees on the ground," he said. "As for the timing ... I do not have a specific date for you," he said. Senator John McCain has announced his bid to become the next president of the United States. The Arizona senator confirmed his intention to run for the Republican nomination for the 2008 presidential election during an interview on CBS's Late Show with David Letterman. He told the talk show host: "The last time we were on this programme, I'm sure you remember everything very clearly that we say, but you asked me if I would come back on this show if I was going to announce ... I am announcing that I will be a candidate for president of the United States." Secretary General of Gulf Cooperation Council Abdul Rahman Bin Hamad Al Attiyah and a number of the GCC officials met with a delegation of the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). The delegation was led by minister of commerce and industry in Djibouti Rafqi Abdul Qadir Bamakhramah. During the meeting aspects of boosting cooperation between the two groups of countries were discussed. In a press conference following the meeting, Al Attiyah and Bamakhramah highlighted the importance of cooperation between the two sides. U.S. troops in Iraq uncovered a "car bomb factory" near Fallouja this week that contained multiple canisters of chlorine, a potentially lethal gas that has been used in three insurgent attacks over the last month, a top U.S. official in Baghdad told reporters. Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the Army commander responsible for day-to-day military operations in Iraq, said the Tuesday night raid outside the city west of Baghdad netted a wide array of munitions and three vehicles that were apparently being readied as car bombs at the compound, in addition to the chlorine cylinders. The International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled on February 26 that the massacre of 8000 Muslim men in Srebrenica (Bosnia) during 1992-1995 was genocide, but Serbia was not directly responsible. In the ruling, the president of the court, Judge Rosalyn Higgins, said: "The court finds that the acts of genocide at Srebrenica cannot be attributed to the respondent's (Serbia) state organs." Serbia was thus acquitted on a serious allegation, but, the court said, it had broken international law by failing to stop the killings. The case was the first in history where a whole country was charged with genocide by another country. Should the court had found in favour of Bosnia, it would have sought large financial compensation, and this, Bloomberg news agency commented, would have meant Serbia going bankrupt. The court rejected Bosnia's claim for reparations. "Financial compensation is not the appropriate form of reparation," the ruling said. The war crimes tribunal in The Hague has already found individuals guilty of genocide in Bosnia. The two main suspects Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic are still free. The Taliban's former defense minister, Mullah Obeidullah, who has remained one of the most senior leaders in the insurgent movement, was arrested in Pakistan, two government officials said. Mullah Obeidullah is the most important Taliban member to be arrested since the invasion of Afghanistan by American forces in 2001. He is one of the inner core of the Taliban leadership around the Mullah Muhammad Omar who are believed to operate from the relative safety of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan Province, where Mullah Obeidullah was arrested. Us President George Bush received Saudi Ambassador to the US Adel Bin Ahmad Al-Jubeir, who presented to him his credentials. Al-Jubeir conveyed to Bush the greetings of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz. According to Novosti, a Russian news and information agency, Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has called on Israel to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in order to establish a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East. Israel has maintained a policy of ambiguity with regards to its nuclear capabilities. Novosti reported Lavrov as saying, "We believe that the practical implementation of a nuclear-free zone will become possible only when all countries in the region, including Israel, join the NPT and subject their activities to the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)." Sergei Lavrov said this during an interview with Syrian Arab News Agency. Lavrov continued "Russia's principled position - that Israel should join the NPT and all Arab countries should join the Chemical Weapons Convention - remains unchanged." The Italian Senate passed a vote of confidence in Prime Minister Romano Prodi's government. The voting 162-157 suggested less a strong and viable government aimed at electoral reform than one fated to face a new election before its five-year term is over. In speeches before the vote, even some of Prodi's supporters said that while they would vote for renewing the government, they would not back him on several issues where every vote counts. In speeches in the Senate and again just before voting Prodi promised immediate changes. But that will prove difficult in itself, because, he noted, it will require support from across the nation's divided political interests. "The new electoral law must guarantee governability and continuity in politics," he told senators on Wednesday. He added that the solution "must be shared by everyone." |