September 24, 2004

IN BRIEF ***** The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz sent a cable of congratulations to President Ricardo Lagos Escobar of the Republic of Chile on the anniversary of his country's Independence day. In his own name and on behalf of the people and government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques wished the Chilean president good health and constant happiness, and the people of Chile steady progress and prosperity. King Fahd also lauded the existing ties between the two countries. ********** Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, received at the Royal Court at Alsalam Palace in Jeddah a number of princes, ministers, senior officials and citizens who came to greet him. Crown Prince Abdullah also received delegations of a number of Saudi tribes. Addressing the audience, representatives of the tribes denounced the acts perpetrated by the deviating group in the country. On his part, Crown Prince Abdullah thanked them for their noble feelings and support. The receptions were attended by a number of princes and officials. ********** Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, received a telephone call from President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan. During the conversation, they reviewed bilateral relations between the two countries and discussed the latest developments in the region. ********** Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, received Nigeria's ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Maman Omar. Prince Sultan also received the Director of the Madinah-based Taiba University Dr Mansour Al-Nuzha, who came to greet the prince on the occasion of his return to the Kingdom from abroad. ********** Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, performed funeral prayers for the late Prince Salman Ibn Khalid Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abdul Rahman Al Saud. The prayers were also performed by a number of princes and officials. ********** Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Riyadh region, received the ambassador of Jordan to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Quftan Al-Majali. During the reception, Prince Salman received a message from Crown Prince of Jordan Hamza Ibn Al-Hussein. The governor of Riyadh and the ambassador also discussed a number of topics of mutual interest. ********** Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Riyadh region, received the board of directors of the charitable society for the orphans' care in the region. Present at the meeting were Dr Hamoud Al Badr the Secretary General of the society, members of the board of directors and a number of orphans under the care of the society. Prince Salman urged the officials to exert their utmost efforts in providing care to the orphans according to the rules of our true religion. The orphans expressed their happiness with the meeting by reading some poems. Prince Salman lead the meeting and delivered a speech in which he welcomed the attendance and thanked the board of directors for their efforts and services to this vital area. ********** Prince Turki Ibn Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Culture and Information, received at his office in Riyadh the Chairman of the Saudi Publishers Society Ahmed Ibn Fahd Al Hamdan and members of the union. The meeting was attended by Misfer Ibn Saad Al Misfer, Advisor for Domestic Information. During the meeting, they discussed a number of issues of concern to the society. ********** The Census supervisor in the Eastern region Abdullatif Ibn Ibrahim Al Khamis confirmed that the whole region has been covered through team work allocated to work in the region. He praised the cooperation of the citizens and the residents with the team work, adding that coordination between governorates and cities was established since last year. The supervisor said that the participation of teachers in the project was opened more than six months ago and team works were chosen then trained in the specified working areas. He added that all members of staff taking part in the census have attended the training sessions which reached 50 sessions and said the field working periods start from 4 pm until 10 pm. Al Khamis stressed the importance of the census for the future of the Kingdom's projects. ********** With the attendance of the Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to Tunisia Ahmad Ibn Mohammed Ali Al Qahtani the society of the Saudi Tunisia brotherhood has organized a celebration on the occasion of the Saudi national day in which a lecture on the cultural connections between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the republic of Tunisia was delivered by the Tunisian author Al Habib Shayboob at the Saudi Tunisian company for development investments. The Celebration started with a welcome speech delivered by the Chairman of the Saudi Tunisian brotherhood society Omar Al Beguawi in which he congratulated the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the occasion of its National Day and stressed the endeavour of the government of both countries under the leaderships of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz and President Zein Al Abbidine Bin Ali. He notice the several meetings held between both countries and the establishment of the committee for political dialogue between both countries as well as the joint council of Saudi-Tunisian businessmen. The lecture was then delivered by Al Habib Shayboob, who reviewed the cultural features of both countries and the several links between them. The lecture was attended by a number of officials and representative from the media. ********** The Anglo-Omani Society, at the Royal Army and Navy Club, organised an annual lunch ceremony with the participation of Sayyid Haitham Ibn Tariq Al Said, minister of heritage and culture, and Baroness Symons, state minister for Middle East affairs at the British Foreign Ministry. Addressing the gathering, Sayyid Haitham said: "I have been very close to the Society for some 20 years and I consider myself to be an unregistered member of it. "Omani-British relation is built on true friendship and there are no ups and downs, and I have witnessed the consistency of this relation over the years. "The beauty of this relation is that it is not measured by economic barometer or that of other materialistic factors. It is measured by the human factor, by dedicated people who have a great sense of reasoning and farsightedness, and came to each other's assistance whenever it was possible". "I see the Omani-British ties as a model for a long-lasting relationship with deep understanding. The Anglo-Omani Society is one of the pillars of such a relation with its noble objectives," Sayyid Haitham said. The British minister, in her speech, praised the Sultanate's foreign policy. Hussain Ibn Ali IbnAbdullatif, the Sultanate's ambassador to Britain, and president of the Society and members of the Arab and British diplomatic corps attended the function. ********** The Interiors & Buildex 2004, a major three-day exhibition on business opportunities in the interior décor, architecture and construction industry, was opened in Oman under the auspices of Hamed bin Hilal al Busaidy, Under-Secretary of Labour, Ministry of Manpower. Among the dignitaries present at the inauguration ceremony at the Oman International Exhibition Centre, Seeb, were Khalid bin Hamad bin Hamoud al Busaidy, Chairman of Sabco group of companies, US Ambassador to the Sultanate, Richard L Baltimore III and representatives from the embassies of UK, China and Turkey. Welcoming exhibitors, delegates and visitors to the biennial exhibition, Al Busaidy said "the country's developing construction industry is playing a key role in making a robust infrastructure for Oman. Housing is another major factor contributing to the construction boom". Organised by Omanexpo LLC, the show is a unique event as it combines two major exhibitions Interiors, an exhibition featuring architecture, interior design and furniture, and Buildex, the building and construction, public works and maintenance exhibition-under one roof. Around 65 company representatives with 30 stalls are exhibiting a variety of cutting edge products, solutions and technologies, including exhibitors from the UAE, UK, Lebanon, Malaysia, Jordan and Italy. Buoyed by a massive infrastructure development drive and the spurt in tourism-related projects, building and interiors companies in the region are witnessing brisk business. Leveraging on this trend, Omanexpo has put together this event to help facilitate interaction and collaboration among all stakeholders in order to generate synergies and win-win situations for all. C J Paul, General Manager of Omanexpo LLC, said "for everyone who has a stake in interiors, construction, and exteriors, the Interiors & Buildex-2004 is a unique industry-centric exhibition to meet, collaborate and interact with companies, individuals and the public at large from Oman, the GCC and beyond. It provides an ideal meeting place for the region's industry to gather and to examine new products and ideas, taking the industry forward". Interiors & Buildex 2004 builds on the success of the first show held in September 2002 in view of the emerging boom in the construction industry of the Sultanate. Dedicated to encouraging trade and business at the regional and international level, the exhibition helps to develop contacts between international manufacturers and potential investors, decision-makers and government representatives. For distributors, architects, building contractors, consultants, developers, engineers, hoteliers, importers, interior contractors, designers, decision makers from ministries, road contractors, trade and private buyers, the event provides a comprehensive overview of new happenings and opportunities as well as an excellent occasion for networking. On the other hand one of Oman's largest exhibition the Autumn Trade Fair opens in Oman on September 30. Hitting its 14th year of success, ATF offers shoppers "products from across the world under one roof". The event takes place for 9 successful days, during a time tested high potential buying period. The event is visited by 120,000 shoppers every year and is an ideal platform to showcase new products or launches. Products from the entire world are dsplayed under one roof. It is a highly inviting exhibition supported by the pull of the media and promotional campaigns. ********** The Ministry of Water and Electricity in Saudi Arabia has announced that it will start during this month (Shaban, 1424H) its national campaign to make citizens aware of the water situation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the need to conserve water. As many as 1.5 million cases containing free conservation tools will be distributed to citizens during the campaign. The campaign aims to make citizens aware of the danger of consuming water carelessly and encouraging them to use conservation tools and fix leakages. The campaign contains many activities which are directed to all categories of people in the community. The ministry added that it will not only guide citizens but also contribute to executing the conservation works in houses through the free tools which cover 1.5 million houses in its first phase. It called on citizens to interact with the campaign to ensure better water future for next generations. ********** Jordan's foreign minister Marwan Muasher said that no differences took place between Jordan and Syria during the meetings of the Arab foreign ministers in Cairo on the background of Amman's support for the UN Security Council resolution number 1559 concerning Lebanon, noting that Jordan's position is "principled" in not opposing the UN Security Council resolutions. In statements issued by the Jordanian dailies, the papers explained that he denied that there was a difference between him and his Syrian counterpart Farouk al-Shara during the meetings of the Arab league in Cairo. Muasher also made it clear that there is "Arab majority against opposing the UN Security Council resolutions, and this was proved in that the (Arab) ministers did not deal with this matter in their final resolutions." He stressed " we have to make a distinction between a subject which is of concern to one Arab state and other issues like opposing UN Security Council resolutions which is not limited in concern to one Arab states," but is of concern to the majority of them. ********** The Palestinian Leadership called on citizens in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) to continue registration for elections despite Israeli impediments targeting foiling elections. The Leadership also confirmed on the necessity of the role of the Quartet Committee to exercise pressure on Israel to withdraw (from OPT) to enable the Palestinian citizen to carry out elections, practice democracy and establish the Palestinian state. In Ramallah meeting, headed by President Arafat, the PLO Executive Committee, representatives of Palestinian organisations and the Central Elections Commission (CEC), the Leadership decided to "gradually expand" the mobile voter registration centres in the areas which face Israeli restrictions. Dr Hanna Nasser, head of the CEC said that the civil society institutions and various Palestinian organizations should participate in such "national practice". The meeting called on the international community to practice pressure on Israel to oblige it to re-open the Palestinian voter registration centres in the occupied Jerusalem and other cities. On September 13, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) closed the 6 voter registration centres in Jerusalem and arrested the employees. The IOF attacked several other registration centres in Bethlehem, Qalqilia, Hebron and other centres in this current September. ********** The Yemeni Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Abou Bakr Al Qerbi said the rapprochement between the GCC member states and Yemen is a fact and reality. He added that the international and regional developments enhance cooperation and coordination between these countries. On the other hand the Foreign Minister noticed the coordination between his country and the USA in their fight against terrorism and stressed that this coordination is limited to consultations. The Minister denied any interference from the part of the US on Yemen in its fight against terrorism. He said the US has offered limited help to Yemen in this field and Yemen was invited to attend the G8 with the aim of cooperation in fighting terrorism. Al Qerbi unveiled that the British Prime Minister Toni Blair has promised President Ali Abdullah Saleh during his last visit to the UK to play a prominent role in pushing forward the Middle East peace process. The Yemeni Foreign Minister said Yemen and the UK have signed a security agreement. He accused the USA of being biased towards Israel and of following a double standard policy, noting what is happening in Palestine and the suffering of the Palestinians at the hands of the Israeli occupation. ********** The Government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz provided last year, more than 200 scholarships in different specialties and grades in Saudi universities to Yemeni students. In a press release published in Yemeni newspaper "September 26th" Saudi Educational and Cultural Attache in Yemen Abdulrahman Al-Husainan said that the Kingdom also sent 155 Saudi teachers to work in Yemeni Schools and this number will increase to 200 teachers next year with training programs for Yemeni teachers prepared by the Saudi Ministry of Education. He added that the kingdom will participate in Sana'a 21st International Books Exhibition this month and provide 3,500 copies of the holy Quran as a gift from the Madinah-based King Fahd Printing Complex to visitors of the exhibition. He pointed out that the Saudi Ministry of Higher Education is preparing to hold the Cultural Days of Saudi Universities in Yemeni Universities next November. ********** A top United Nations official today again reported "a bad month in the Middle East," further deadly Israeli military operations in Palestinian territories and no progress on an international peace plan that offers the only way out of "the current hopeless situation." "Absence of hope for a peaceful settlement leads to despair, strengthens extremists and is sure recipe for continuing violence and instability," Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast told the Security Council in a regular monthly briefing on the crisis. He voiced "extreme concern" at recent remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that Israel is not following the Road Map and might stay in the West Bank long after any withdrawal from Gaza. Mr. Prendergast noted that in the past month 80 Palestinians and 17 Israelis had been killed and 630 Palestinians and 133 Israelis injured, bringing the toll since the outbreak of the current unrest four years ago to 3,633 Palestinians and 966 Israelis killed and 35,400 Palestinians and 6,235 Israelis injured. He noted that Israeli restriction on movement had affected UN refugee relief operations and had a severe impact on the social and economic life of Palestinian civilians. "The widespread destruction of Palestinian property by Israeli forces raises concerns about collective punishment and fuels more violence and bloodshed," he added. He called on Israel to abide by an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice to dismantle the separation barrier it is building on the West Bank and to pay compensation for the olive and fruit groves and other agricultural land destroyed in the process. ********** The work team charged with discussing the issue of Saudi Arabia's accession to the World Trade Organization held a meeting at the organization's headquarters in Geneva with commercial partners and members of the international team. The meeting discussed all issues pertaining to Saudi Arabia's accession to the organization. The Saudi work team was led by undersecretary of commerce and industry Dr. Fawaz Ala'alami. ********** The Arab League rejected a UN Security Council resolution "envisaging" possible sanctions against Sudan over the conflict in Darfur, saying it would not help bring peace to the region, officials said. League spokesman Husam Zaki told reporters, "imposing sanctions will not help resolve the crisis or encourage the parties to try and end it. In fact, it will have the opposite effect". The resolution adopted on Saturday warns that the 15-member Security Council "will envisage" sanctions against Sudan's oil industry unless Khartoum makes good on its promise to protect the population of Darfur. But Zaki said the League considered it "important that the international community give the parties enough time to implement their obligations and work to get the sides to resolve the crisis instead of a confrontation." Sudan has, however, vowed to implement the UN Security Council Resolution in an emergency parliamentary session held last Sunday, even though the resolution was deemed "unfair". Uthman Muhammad Yusuf, Governor of Darfur said the U.S. label of "genocide in Darfur is a big and historical lie. We defy those accusing us and call them to come to Darfur and prove it on the ground". The governor said, "there is no ethnic cleansing or genocide here. We are one family in Darfur and from one origin. We are united in one home, Dar-meaning home and Fur being the name of the oldest inhabitants of the region". "The U.S. and the rebels are lying about this divide. They are trying to create this division where it does not exist", he added. Yusuf responded to a question regarding the disarming of the Janjawid, saying "what we have achieved was extraordinary taking into consideration the difficult conditions and external pressure placed on our shoulders"."What we have achieved with regard to averting a humanitarian crisis in such a short period silenced those seeking reasons to condemn Sudan. They knew that there was nothing they could use against us, but chose to use the lies of alleged attacks by Janjawid. While the Janjawid are being disarmed," he said. ********** Iraqi Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi, said that national elections will go ahead in January as planned, despite a countrywide surge in violence against US forces and Iraqi troops and police. "We definitely are going to stick to the timetable of elections in January next year," Mr Allawi told a news conference after talks in London with British Prime Minister, Tony Blair. "We are adamant that democracy is going to prevail and is going to win in Iraq." A spate of bombings, shootings and kidnappings in the last two weeks has claimed the lives of hundreds of Iraqis and raised doubts on whether elections can go ahead as per schedule. The recent abduction of several Westerners has worsened a hostage crisis that has already forced many foreign firms involved in rebuilding Iraq, to scale back their operations or pull out. Both Mr Blair and Mr Allawi said they were doing all they could to resolve one of the latest kidnappings that of two Americans and a Briton taken from their home in Baghdad by a group of gunmen. "Our governments are working closely on it. I don't think there is anything more I can or should say at this stage," Mr Blair said. ********** The United Nations remains committed to assist the Iraqi people hold free, fair and credible elections by the end of next January and hopes that the fragile security situation there can improve, spokesman Fred Eckhard said. Responding to questions prompted by Secretary-General Kofi Annan's remarks in an interview with the BBC earlier this week, Mr. Eckhard said the world body would continue to do what it can to help achieve the electoral timetable. Mr. Annan told the BBC that if there is no improvement in security, it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to hold credible polls by the end of January, and Mr. Eckhard said the Secretary-General stands by the remark. "The Secretary-General was flagging a concern that has been raised before. We do remain hopeful that as the current political process becomes more inclusive it will have a positive effect on the security situation," he said. Mr. Eckhard said the UN presence in Iraq is currently too limited to accurately assess the level of security around the country, but he noted from media reports that the situation did not appear to be good. "It's our hope that the security situation will improve," he said. Mr. Annan's Special Representative Ashraf Qazi is in place in Baghdad, as well as some humanitarian, electoral, political and security staff. ********** A divided U.N. Security Council approved a resolution threatening oil sanctions against Sudan unless the government reins in Arab militias blamed for a 19-month killing and looting spree in Darfur that the United States has called genocide. The vote was 11 to 0 with four abstentions China, Russia, Pakistan and Algeria. China, a permanent council member, said immediately after the vote that it would veto any future resolution that sought to impose sanctions on Sudan. "I told the American government that the position of my government on sanctions is a firm one," said China's U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya. "We always believe that sanctions are not a helpful means to achieve political objectives. It will only make matters worse." The resolution says the council would have to meet again to consider sanctions against Sudan's petroleum sector or other punitive measures if the government doesn't act quickly to stop the violence and bring the perpetrators to justice or if it doesn't cooperate with an African Union monitoring force. The resolution strongly endorses the deployment of a beefed-up African Union force with an expanded monitoring mission that would actively try to prevent attacks and mediate to stop the conflict from escalating. More than 50,000 people have already died and more than 1.2 million have fled their homes to escape the violence. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who was in the council chamber for the vote, also was authorized to rapidly appoint an international commission to investigate reports of human rights violations in Darfur and determine "whether or not acts of genocide have occurred." Sudan's U.N. Ambassador Elfatih Erwa called the resolution "unfair," but said his government would implement it despite "the injustices it contains." ********** The United Nations' (UN) nuclear watchdog -- the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) -- adopted a resolution setting a November 25 deadline for Iran to freeze its uranium enrichment program, a UN nuclear agency spokeswoman said. The resolution, passed at a meeting of the IAEA's board of governors, demands Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment and all other related activities. It also requests Iran to grant full and prompt access to the agency's inspectors, and provide them with any further information needed by Nov. 25, when the board convenes to review Iran's compliance with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei said that Iran must suspend all its uranium enrichment activities in order to restore confidence after failing to report its nuclear activities to the IAEA for almost two decades, IAEA Spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said the resolution was passed by consensus without a vote by the agency's 35-nation board of governors. The resolution does not call on the board to report Iran's nuclear issue to the UN Security Council, as the United States had strongly demanded, but says the agency will decide in November on whether Iran had fully met its demands and see if any further actions are needed. Non-aligned countries had been bitterly opposed to the resolution, submitted by Britain, France and Germany, as they believe imposing a deadline on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment program would go beyond the IAEA's mandate of monitoring compliance with the NPT. Enriched uranium can be used either to generate electricity or to make nuclear bombs. Under its obligations to the NPT, Iran is not barred from enrichment. Although the resolution does not include wording on a referral to the UN Security Council, which the United States hoped could in turn consider sanctions against Iran, the United States hailed the resolution as sending an "unmistakable signal" to Iran. Chief US delegate Jackie Sanders said the resolution set the next meeting of the board in November as "an unambiguous deadline for Iran to cease its pursuit of nuclear weapons." She said the text showed that continuing nuclear weapons program will bring Iran inevitably before the UN Security Council. Responding to the resolution, Iran's chief delegate to the conference Hossain Mousavian said Iran's leadership will decide on whether to fully suspend nuclear enrichment program in the next few days. Iran denied the US allegation that it has been developing nuclear weapons program, saying its uranium enrichment project is only for peaceful purposes. ********** Iran has rejected a U.N. resolution calling on it to freeze uranium enrichment activities and threatened to stop snap checks of its atomic facilities if its case were sent to the U.N. Security Council. It said that if the Security Council went as far as punishing Tehran with sanctions, Iran might follow North Korea and pull out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty altogether. Washington says Iran plans to use enriched uranium to make nuclear weapons, but Tehran says its nuclear program is dedicated solely to generating electricity. The U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog, unanimously adopted a resolution calling on Iran to suspend all uranium enrichment-related activities. "Iran will not accept any obligation regarding the suspension of uranium enrichment," chief nuclear negotiator Hassan Rohani told a news conference last Sunday. "No international body can force Iran to do so." His words chimed with the view of the Iranian parliament, which urged the government to ignore the resolution. Rohani predicted a rough ride in the weeks ahead, until the next IAEA board of governors meeting on November 25. "This is a war, we may win or we may lose," said the mid-ranking cleric, who is secretary-general of Iran's Supreme National Security Council. Although the IAEA board termed the suspension a "necessary" confidence-building measure, it observed that any suspensions would be "voluntary decisions" for Iran and not obligations. This would give Iran some room for maneuver, enabling it to suspend enrichment activities but tell its domestic audience it was not doing so under pressure from the U.N. watchdog. "Iran has never accepted suspension through a resolution, but through political talks," Rohani said. Rohani added that Iran would stop allowing U.N. inspectors to make short-notice visits to its atomic facilities if the Islamic Republic's dossier were sent to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions. "If they want to send Iran to the Security Council, it is not wise, and we will stop implementing the Additional Protocol," he said. The Additional Protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) allows U.N. inspectors to make snap checks of nuclear facilities. Iran is implementing its terms, though parliament has not ratified it. Rohani also said Iran could pull out of the NPT if the Security Council took extreme measures against it. "If they impose economic sanctions, parliament may ask the government to pull out of the NPT," he said. Iran agreed to suspend uranium enrichment-related activities last year after talks in Tehran with foreign ministers from France, Britain and Germany, the so-called EU big three. But in July Iran said it had restarted building centrifuges and had recommenced work at a plant that produces uranium hexafluoride, the gas pumped into centrifuges. Centrifuges enrich uranium by spinning it at supersonic speeds. Enriched to a low level, uranium can be used to fuel nuclear power stations like the one Iran is building at Bushehr on its south coast. If further enriched, it can be used in warheads. Iran says that while it has restarted enrichment-related activities, it has not restarted enrichment itself. But it says last year's suspension was agreed with the EU 'big three' on a goodwill basis which allows it to resume the process whenever it wants. ********** A Pakistani Al Qaeda member who helped the authorities until his cover was blown by US terrorism alerts last month had access to e-mails of the network's operations chief, a British newspaper said on Sunday. The Sunday Telegraph report directly links the undercover operation involving Al Qaeda computer expert Mohammed Naeem Noor Khan with top members of Bin Laden's inner circle. Khan was arrested in Lahore in July but then cooperated with the authorities to track down other Al Qaeda operatives. The undercover operation triggered a global crackdown on Al Qaeda suspects, including eight arrests in Britain. Among a trove of coded Al Qaeda communications turned over by Khan were messages from Abu Faraj al-Liby to Islamic militants in Britain, the Telegraph said. It described Liby as Al Qaeda's number three man, a former personal assistant to Bin Laden who took over as Al Qaeda's operations chief after the arrest of suspected September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Liby is "one of the handful of Al Qaeda operatives who may know the whereabouts of Bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al Zawahri," it said. Pakistani officials said that Khan, the computer expert, was cooperating with them, communicating with Al Qaeda contacts abroad until the day after the United States announced security alerts at suspected financial targets in New York, New Jersey and Washington. When they announced the alert, US officials said their information came from someone arrested in secret by Pakistan. Khan's name appeared in print the next day, scuppering the sting operation. The following day, Britain swooped in haste on eight suspects who have since been charged with plotting mass murder. Liby, said to have taken over as third in command of Al Qaeda when his mentor, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, was captured last year, has sent coded messages to "several" Islamic militants in Britain over the past 10 months, according to Pakistani officials. Security officers who have interrogated recently captured militants say that Liby financed assassination attempts against President Pervez Musharraf. **********