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January 14, 2005 |
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***** The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz has donated SR20 million for the victims of the earthquake and Tsunami in south Asia, which killed thousands of people, left hundreds of thousands homeless and destroyed cities and villages in south Asia. The donation was a kick off of a live telethon to arrange a fund-raising campaign on the Saudi state-run Television today. The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz has issued his directives to host 1000 persons enabling them perform Hajj at his personal expense during this year's Hajj season. These persons include Muslims from abroad as well as some people who are deaf, dumb and handicapped and new Muslims (converts) from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is worth mentioning that the guests of the King are selected in coordination with the Saudi embassies abroad. Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance Sheikh Saleh Al Al-Sheikh expressed appreciation for the King's gesture. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, received at the Royal Court at Al-yamamah Palace in Riyadh the Governor of Investment General Authority Amr Ibn Abdullah Al-Dabbagh and its members. The Crown Prince was briefed on the achievements of the authority in meeting the needs of investors and the investment sector and received a report on the authority's activities. Crown Prince Abdullah urged them on exerting more efforts to provide the appropriate climate for investment in the Kingdom's regions, wishing them all success. The audience was attended by Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister; Prince Abdul Aziz Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Advisor at the Crown Prince's Court; Prince Dr. Bandar Ibn Salman Ibn Mohammed Al Saud, Advisor at the Crown Prince's Court and Abdul Mohsin Ibn Abdul Aziz Al Tuwaijri, the Advisor at the Crown Prince's court. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, received at the Royal Court at Al-yamamah Palace in Riyadh Ismael Sirajuddin, Director of Alexandria Library and Head of the Egyptian Delegation participating in the third meeting entitled '' Dialogue Forum Between the Arab World and Japan'' hosted by the Kingdom. The audience was attended by Prince Abdul Aziz Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Advisor at the Crown Prince's Court; Prince Dr. Bandar Ibn Salman Ibn Mohammed Al Saud, Advisor at the Crown Prince's Court; Khalid Ibn Mohammed Al-Qusaibi, Minister of Economy and Planning; and Abdul Mohsin Ibn Abdul Aziz Al Tuwaijri, the Advisor at the Crown Prince's court. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, has donated SR10 million for the victims of the earthquake and Tsunami in south Asia, which killed thousands of people, left hundreds of thousands homeless and destroyed cities and villages in south Asia. The donation was announced during a live telethon to arrange a fund-raising campaign on the Saudi state-run Television today under the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, received a telephone call from Malaysian Premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. During the call, they discussed effects of the earthquake and tsunami which hit countries of South and South Eastern Asia as well as ways of boosting relations between the two countries. The Malaysian premier expressed thanks to the Crown Prince for the Saudi humanitarian stand represented in providing relief aid to the affected countries. Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General, presided over King Faisal International Prize for the Service of Islam Selection Committee meeting in Riyadh. He was received at the venue by Prince Khalid Al Faisal Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Assir and Chairman of the Prize's board; Prince Bandar bIbn Saud Ibn Khalid, Deputy Director General of King Faisal Charity; and Dr. Abdullah Ibn Salih Al-Othaimeen, the Secretary General of the prize. During the meeting, they reviewed matters pertaining to the candidatures. Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General, headed at his palace in Riyadh the Ministerial Committee for Administrative Organizing meeting. The meeting, which was attended by a number of princes and ministers, discussed organizing aspects of a number of governmental departments. Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General, received at his palace in Riyadh the Ambassador of Malaysia to the Kingdom Tan Siri Won Mukhtar bin Ahmed who came to bid Prince Sultan farewell at the end of his service as Ambassador of his country to the Kingdom. During the meeting, they lauded the existing relations binding the two countries. Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General, has donated SR5 million for the victims of the earthquake and Tsunami in south Asia, which killed thousands of people, left hundreds of thousands homeless and destroyed cities and villages in south Asia. The donation was announced during a live telethon to arrange a fund-raising campaign on the Saudi state-run Television today under the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz. Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General received at his palace Romania's Ambassador to the Kingdom Dr. Dan Mihai Barliba who bade the Prince farewell at the end of the Ambassador's term of office. The reception was attended by Romania's Military Attaché to the Kingdom Lieutenant Colonel Dar Kitz Domitro. Prince Saud Al Faisal the Foreign Minister met with ambassadors of the countries participating in the International Conference for Combating Terrorism which will be held in Riyadh from 25 to 28 Zulheja 1425. Prince Saud Al Faisal expressed the Kingdom's thanks to these countries for accepting the invitation to participate in the conference. He explained to the diplomats the aims of the conference which are to support the collective efforts in combating terrorism through exchanging ideas and suggestions regarding how to deal with this phenomena, Its roots ant the motives behind it. He also shed light on the conference's programs and activities and the committees which are formed and the working sessions which will be held to discuss the issues included in the agenda. Prince Turki Al Faisal the Saudi Ambassador in London said that the Kingdom is keen to present every possible aid to the victims of the earthquake and Tsunami in south Asia, and in an interview with BBC he said that his country raised its donations to the regions affected from 10 to $ 30 million. He mentioned that if the amount of the Saudi participation is divided on the number of populations will appear to be more than donations of other countries which is hundreds of millions such as the American contribution and when the population number and national income of the two countries are taken into consideration. Prince Turki Al Faisal that the amounts of money which is donated by the government represents only a part of the gross Saudi assistances. Prince Turki Al Faisal added that it has been decided to open the door to the Kingdom's citizens which will raise the final amount of the assistances which will find its way to the victims. He ruled out that the US aids to the Muslim victims to make the stances of their brothers inside and outside the Middle East towards the United States more positive and less hostile. Prince Turki said that the Palestinian and Iraqi issues are the ones that are poisoning Muslims; relations with the West. He confirmed the putting an end ton the sufferings of the Iraqi and Palestinian peoples and solving the Kashmir issue are pre conditions in order to improve the relation between Washington and Islamic world. Prince Turki Al Faisal the Saudi Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Chairman of the board of King Faisal Centre for Islamic Researches and Studies has visited King Abdul Aziz Dara in Riyadh. Upon his arrival at the venue, he was received by Dr Fahd Ibn Abdullah Al Semmari, the darah's Secretary General who briefed Prince Turki Al Faisal about the Darah's objectives and its achievements during the last thirty years. Then Prince Turki Al Faisal and his accompanying delegation toured the Dara's centres and its administration. The visited the documents' centre, the manuscripts hall, the computer, the Royal libraries which include King Abdul Aziz private library and the centre of the verbal history. Prince Turki Al Faisal Ibn Abdul Aziz, and the accompanying delegation, visited King Abdul Aziz memorial hall. At the conclusion of the tour, Prince Turlki Al Faisal dropped some lines in the visitors book in which he lauded the Darah's efforts under the auspices of Prince SAlman Ibn Abdul Aziz the Governor of Riyadh region and the Chairman of the DArah's board. During the tour, Prince Turki Al Faisal was accompanied by Dr Yahia Mahmoud Ibn Junaid the Secretary General of King Faisal Centre for Islamic Researches and Studies and a number of the Centre's officials. Dr Sharifa Bint Khalfan Al Yahyaeiah the Omani Minister of Social Development held a meeting with the Director General of the Executive Bureau of the GCC Social Affairs Ministers Council Othman Abdullah Al Tuwaijri. During the meeting, they discussed ways of cooperation between the Omani Social Development Ministry and the Executive Bureau at all social and development arenas with the stress on the ways of activating many programs and plans in which women are interested and focus on her role in the comprehensive development in the Gulf and Arab society in addition to the other programs that deals with childhood. Sultan QAboos Ibn Saeed Sultan of Oman received at Al Alam Palace the credential papers of the ambassadors of Iraq, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates and Syria, as ambassadors to their countries to Oman Sultanates. Sultan Qaboos received the credential papers ofv Abdul Rasool Kazem Aloosh, as ambassador of Iraq, Al Shafeei Ahmed Mohammed as ambassador of Sudan, Abdullah Mohammed Saeed Al Suwaidi, ambassador of the Emirats, Ahmed Al Haj Ibrahim of Syria and Abdullah Saad Al Manea ambassador of Qatar. Sultan Qaboos Also received the credential papers of Ashok Comar Atri ambassador of India. The Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) praised the signing of a peace agreement between the Sudanese government and Sudan's People's Liberation Movement in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi today. In a statement issued by the GCC General Secretariat, the GCC Secretary General Abdul Rahman Ibn Hamad Al-Atiyyah described the agreement as historical, expressing member states' support for reconciliation and stability in the Sudan. In a similar statement, the OIC Secretary General Prof. Akmaluddin Ihsan Oglu called on member states and international organizations and bodies for helping the Sudanese government in the stage of reconstruction and the enhancement of peace and stability. King Abdullah II met with participants in Iraq neighbouring countries meeting, which started in Amman. During the meeting, which was attended by the Minister of the Royal Court and the Foreign Minister, King Abdullah stressed the importance of supporting efforts that aim at achieving security and stability in Iraq. '' The participation of all Iraqis in the elections is the way to embody their will in charting their future,'' said the King, who also urged Iraq neighbouring countries to assist Iraqis to build their country and its institutions. King Abdullah also called for coordination and consultation with a view to support the regional development process and to ensure that progress would be achieved. The meeting was attended by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu Gheit, Bahraini Foreign Minister, Deputy Prime Minister Mohammed Ibn Mubarak Al Khalifa, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Mohammed Sabah Al Sabah, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq Al Shara, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiar Zebari, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, Iranian Assistant Foreign Minister for International and Legal Affairs Gulam Ali Khoshroo as well as the UN envoy to Iraq Ashraf Ghazi. President Bashar Al-Assad issued Legislative Decree No 1 for the year 2005 limiting the period of the ordinary compulsory military service to two years . The decree also applies to the Palestinians living in Syria. The Syrian President also issued Legislative Decree No 2 for the year 2005 determining the sum of USD/2,000/to be paid by the Syrian nationals who were born and lived in Arab or foreign countries until they enter the age of the military service, and the sum of USD /5,000/for those who left Syria to the countries in which they are living now before they completed 11 years of age and they have lived there for at least 15 years in order to be exempted from the military service. The Jeddah-based Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has allocated an aid of US $118 million to the Asian countries hit by the Tsunami on December 26, announced OIC chairmanship. Syed Hamid Albar, Foreign Minister of Malaysia, which currently chairs the 57-member OIC, also announced that the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) pledged to grant low interests loans of US $500 for the reconstruction of the devastated regions, said the Malaysian press agency Bernama. Aid donations have been unprecedented to help victims of the earthquake and tidal wave that swept across the Indian Ocean. &&&&= US.President George W. Bush said he is confident the Iraqi elections scheduled for January 30 will take place. Bush, who made the comment during a briefing with reporters at the White House, said 14 of the 18 provinces in Iraq are ready for elections. "I know it's hard. But it's hard for a reason," the president said in describing the security situation Iraq. The United States faced a similar security problem after winning independence from the British in 1776, the president said. "This is a big moment for the Iraqi people," the president said. The recent elections in Afghanistan, where people voted despite the threat of violence, should serve as an example to the Iraqi people, the president said LONDON - Britain and the United States will send a team to Iraq to reassess security in the face of spiralling violence, Prime Minister Tony Blair said in a televised interview Sunday. "In the key area around Baghdad there is no doubt about it at all, we have got to deal these people a blow," Blair told British Broadcasting Corp. "What President Bush (news - web sites) and myself have agreed is that we are sending a team there just to review the situation because the key thing there is to build the capability of the Iraqi security forces themselves." Iraq has been roiled by violence just three weeks before elections for a national assembly, with about 100 people mostly Iraqi security forces being killed in the past week. The United States has insisted that the vote go ahead Jan. 30. Iraq's insurgents repeatedly have targeted police and security forces, which tend to be poorly armed and less trained than their American counterparts, resulting in higher casualty counts. No one was immediately available at the Ministry of Defence to comment on Blair's announcement. Blair also said it was important that Iraqi elections scheduled for Jan. 30 go ahead as planned despite the violence. "If democracy wins and terrorism is defeated, that is a huge blow to terrorism everywhere terrorism even in this country, never mind in Iraq and that region," the British Prime Minister said. The Saudi Ambassadorto Lebanon Dr Abdul Aziz Ibn Mohyeldine Khauja has visited the Reporters Syndicate and was received by President Melhem Karam, members of the Syndicate's board and the advisors. During the meeting, Ambassador Khauja confirmed that the Kingdom has not ever been cohesive as it is now, and what is happening is a phenomena with multi causes and due to different aspects which are studded now by specialists in sociology and psychology. He also said that the Saudi leadership is working now according to two parallel lines: the educational and security lines. The ambassador stressed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been transferred to a modern country which is deeply rooted in civilization and became part of this world. ''Every thing is linked to each other, and we think that the Kingdom will succeed and come back to be a very strong centre of stable security. He talked about the conference which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will hold in February the fifth to discuss the issue of terrorism and combating it. ''We requested from all countries send specialists in terrorism to participate in the discussions , and they will raise all ideas and views in describing terrorism in order to clarify the difference between Resistance and terrorism. Al Khuja also stressed that the rivalry between officials in Lebanon proves that the free democratic atmosphere does exist in this country, and as long as there is a free democratic atmosphere in Lebanon , the country will be in a good state and its future will be better and better. ''We need Lebanon as touristic country. It is for us a security haven and the Lebanese people should concentrate on tourism because Lebanon has no other resources'' Al Khujah said. Regarding the visit of Prime Minister Omar Karami to the Kingdom, he said : '' It was a successful visit and our relations with Lebanon is historic and distinguished, and we don't want it to be changed, and every thing discussed between the Kingdom and Lebanon moving in the right direction.'' |