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January 21, 2005 |
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***** Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz arrived in Jeddah coming from Riyadh. King Fahd, Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, who has arrived also in Jeddah, Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Aviation, and Inspector General and the rest of the Saudi Cabinet members, will supervise the comfort of the pilgrims. Upon arrival at King Abdul Aziz Airport, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques was received by Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Aviation, and Inspector General, Prince Fawaz Ibn Abdul Aziz, Prince Faisal Ibn Turki Ibn Abdul Aziz A Saud, Prince Abdul Majeed Ibn Abdul Aziz, Governor of Makkah region, princes, ministers and senior officials. Earlier on the day, King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz left Riyadh and was seen off at Riyadh Airbase Airport, Prince Mohammed Ibn Abdullah Ibn Jalawi, Prince Fahd Ibn Mohammed Ibn Abdul Aziz, Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, Governor of Riyadh region and a number of princes and ministers. Meanwhile, Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, received a telephone call from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of the Philippines.During the call, they discussed issues of common. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Sbdul Aziz issued instructions to host five hundred Palestinians to perform Hajj this year 1425 AH, on his own expenses. King King's instructions came as a continuation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' interest to the Palestinian people and his stand beside the Palestinian people under all circumstances and conditions. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, has sent a letter to Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. The letter contained an invitation to the Netherlands to attend the International Conference on Combating Terrorism which will be hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh next month. The letter was delivered by Saudi Ambassador to Netherlands Walid Abdul Karim Al Khuraiji during his meeting with Bernard Rudolf Bot, Netherlands Foreign Minister at the minister's office at the Foreign Ministry. The ambassador also delivered to the minister a letter on the same issue from Prince Saud Al Faisal the Foreign Minister. The Netherlands minister welcomed the invitation and confirmed his country's desire and keenness to participate in this important conference. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Prime Minister, Commander of the National Guard and Chairman of Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Establishment for his Parents for Developmental Housing, gave instructions that the Establishment should expand in its housing projects in order to cover all parts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with no exception. He also gave instructions to furnish all houses built by the Establishment with all needs of furnisher, fridges, air-conditioning, house tools and ovens. This was announced by Dr. Yousuf Ibn Ahmed Al Othaimeen, the Secretary General of Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Establishment for his Parents for Developmental Housing. He also said that the Crown Prince gave instructions that the Establishment' projects should be supplied with all services such as electricity, water and roads, in addition to the development facilities such as mosques, schools, health centres and training centres. Dr. Yousuf Ibn Ahmed Al Othaimeen added that the number of houses under construction reached 2070 in a number of parts of the Kingdom with a cost of SR385 million. The Crown Prince has instructed to give these houses to their deserving families as soon as they are finished. Prince Saud Al Faisal the Foreign Minister has sent a written message to Dr Abu Bakr Al Qarbi, the Yemeni Foreign Minister inviting him to attend the International Conference on Combating Terrorism which will be hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh next month. The message was delivered by Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Ibn Mardas Al Qahtani during his meeting with the minister. During the meeting they also exchanged talks about bilateral relations and regional developments. Prince Turki Ibn Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Culture and Information visited the headquarters of the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah. Upon arrival, Prince Turki was received by Head of the Bank Dr. Ahmad Mohammed Ali. At the beginning of the meeting, the Assistant Minister of Culture and Information congratulated Dr Ahmad Mohammed Ali on the occasion of winning the King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam jointly with the Al Hariri Foundation of Lebanon. He lauded the efforts exerted by the Islamic Development Bank in its support of the development plans and projects in the Islamic world. He also praised the Bank's honoring the media delegations guests of the Ministry of Culture and Information who were participating in the news coverage of the Hajj season this year. Head of the Islamic Development Bank Dr. Ahmad Mohammed Ali, expressed his thanks and appreciation to Prince Turki Ibn Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Culture and Information for visiting the Bank's headquarters and thanked the Ministry of Culture and Information for allowing the chance to the Bank to welcome the media delegations participating in covering the Hajj season 1425, which is the annual meeting held in the Ban's headquarters in order to brief the delegations guests of the Ministry about the goals of the project of the Kingdom od Saudi Arabia to benefit from Adahi. An Arab report has stated that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has fulfilled all its commitments towards the financial support to the budget of the Palestinian Authority and the steadfastness of the Palestinian people. The report which was submitted to the Follow Up and moving Committee formed by the Arab Summit, during its meeting at the Arab League Headquarters in Cairo, said the Kingdom presented in the frame of Arab support to the budget of the Palestinian Authority and the steadfastness of the Palestinian people $46.2 million during the six months ended in September from the total of $56.8 million which was presented to the Palestinian Authority from the Arab financial support. The report added that the Kingdom has paid $21 million in the framework of implementing the decision of Beirut Summit by sparing additional support to the Al Aqsa and Al Quds Funds from the total of $51 million paid by the Arab countries. The Chairman of Shoura Council Sheikh Dr. Salih Ibn Abdullah Ibn Humaid and Speaker of Lebanon's House of Representatives Nabih Barri signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation and enhancement of relations between the two councils in parliamentary fields. In a press statement issued, the two councils agreed on cooperation and coordination in Arab, Islamic and international Parliamentarian conferences and arenas; the exchange of expertise and coordination of visits; and the formation of a Permanent Parliamentary Friendship Committee. Saudi authorities have traced the source of explosives used in the recent car-bomb blasts that targeted the Interior Ministry and special forces base in Riyadh to a house in a densely populated low-income suburb in the middle of Riyadh city. An Interior Ministry spokesman said that when security men were searched the location police investigators found the back seats of the two cars used in the attacks. The seats were removed to make room for explosives. Police also recovered communication equipment, a computer, ammunitions and women's clothes as well as a number of documents, the Saudi Press Agency reported quoting an Interior Ministry statement. After being sworn in, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) vowed to reach a peaceful end to the Middle East violence against a grim backdrop of deadly clashes in Gaza and a freezing of contacts by Israel. In his inauguration speech, delivered six days after his landslide victory in the election to replace the late Yasser Arafat, Abbas told MPs that he wanted a mutual cease-fire and Israelis must learn to share land with the Palestinians if their four-year conflict was to be brought to an end. Abbas' speech came amid the continuing fallout from Thursday's attack on a Gaza border crossing point, in which six Israelis were killed and has prompted Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to freeze all contacts. "We are seeking a mutual cease-fire to end this vicious circle," Abbas said. "In the last few days, a number of incidents have taken place. We condemn these actions, whether by the Israeli occupation forces or the reactions of some Palestinian factions. "This does not help bring about the calm needed to enable a credible, serious peace process." Abbas, however, reaffirmed his commitment to the Road Map peace plan which calls for an end to attacks by Palestinians. President Emile Lahoud of Lebanon reiterated his insistence to have a new Lebanese elections law which should be just and based on one standard. He also stressed that he believes that legislative representation should be true and the voters should be allowed to decide their choices in order to be acquainted with the representatives whom they are going to elect. President Lahoud also reiterated his call for implementing the international resolutions prior to 1559 regarding peace in the region asserting the dire need for the implementation of previous international resolutions. He also called for keeping the coordination with Syria in order to confront the settling plan, adding that: ''We will steadfast with our stance, stick to our affirmed stands, declare our rights and will not retreat in front of pressures and threats.'' A gunman was killed and two Kuwaiti policemen wounded when security forces clashed with militants in southern Kuwait, the Interior Ministry said. At least one gunman was captured during the firefight in Umm Al-Haiman as security sources surrounded a group of suspected Islamist militants, the Ministry said. "A big cache of weapons, explosives and munitions was also seized with the gunmen," it added in a statement. Security sources said the Interior Ministry had now put all security forces on alert across the tiny oil-rich nation, which controls 10 percent of global petroleum reserves. "A wanted man was killed. He was a Saudi," Kuwaiti Interior Minister Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah told reporters outside the house stormed by security forces. It was the first time a Saudi was identified as having been involved in such an incident in Kuwait. "We arrested another (wanted militant) ... and the rest fled," the minister said after the clashes, which erupted when security forces launched a hunt for suspected extremists in a key oil-producing region. Two security officers were also wounded. "The man killed carried a Saudi passport, while the one arrested is a Kuwaiti citizen," Sheikh Nawaf said. "Those who fled do not number more than six," he said. The militants sped away in two cars and security forces were out hunting for them, witnesses said. Of the two security men slightly injured, one was an officer hit in the chest, said Sheikh Nawaf, adding that both were in stable condition. Oman's Permanent Representative to the Arab League and its Ambassador in Cairo Abdul Aziz Al Hnaey denied that his country's reservation on establishing an Arab court of justice during the extraordinary meeting of the Arab Foreign Ministers Council in Cairo last week was motivated by foreign or external incentives. ''Talking about pressures is silly and refuted,'' Al Hnaey added. In the first official statement announced by an Omani official Al Hnaey said his country's reservation on establishing this court was subjective and only aims achieving the supreme Arab interests, pointing out that many Arab states shared the Sultanate of Oman the same stance for many reasons. ''Why the insistence to establish such court now? What its use in the arena of developing the common Arab work? And why we seek to establish institutions that divide Arabs and does not unite them?'' he said adding that: 'We are with developing the Arab League and the Arab working organization in general , and we presented suggestions in addition to another twelve countries which had their ideas and suggestions regarding ways of introducing reforms and amendments either in the Arab League Charter or the its performance.'' He confirmed that Oman's rejection of establishing an Arab court for justice is because this court needs more studies and deep discussions away from rashness and emotions in order to avoid any future conflicts between the Arab countries. He also said that the idea has been submitted for tens of years but it has not been approved. ''The Sultanates has not refused the court for the sake of refusal or to appear in a different shape from other Arab countries,'' he said, adding that the rejection was joined by a suggestion to depend on arbitration among the Arab countries if any conflict occurred.'' The Russian "Itar Tass" quoted the Syrian President Bashar Al Assad as saying that the issue of Syria's buying missiles system from Russia will not be on the agenda of his talks with the Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on January 24th. Meantime, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergy Lavrov denied news of negotiations Moscow is making with Syria to sell it medium range missile system. In a press conference with the Japanese foreign minister in Moscow, Lavrov said that "there are no talks carried out on that issue." He indicated that preparations are underway for the visit of the Syrian President on January 24. He said "we do not have secret subjects to discuss with Syria." He added "we are committed to our international obligations and we will not violate them." Security Council members called on the parties in Southern Lebanon to live up to their commitments and to exercise restraint, after an exchange of fire over the weekend between the Israeli military and Hizbollah forces across the line of withdrawal led to the killing and wounding of United Nations peacekeepers. The members of the Security Council reiterated their call on the parties to fulfil the commitments they have given to respect in its entirety the Blue Line and to exercise the utmost restraint, the President of the 15-member body, Argentine Ambassador César Mayoral, said in a press statement. Council members "paid tribute to those who have lost their life or been injured in the service of the United Nations, and expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims and their families," he added. "They reaffirmed the imperative to respect, in all circumstances, the safety and security of UN personnel." London mayor Ken Livingstone has said that the separating wall which Israel is illegitimately building on the Palestinian territories represents an ugly crime. During a reception held at London Municipality Hall attended by senior Arab, British and human rights personalities under the name ''Peace for Palestine'', Livingstone said Britain can not ignore the situation in Palestine, pointing out to the sufferings of the Palestinians children, women, aged and sick people because of this wall in addition to the economic difficulties from which the Palestinian people is suffering mainly poverty and unemployment. During the reception, some speeches were delivered one of them by Yasmeen Qurashy Advisor to ''My Human Rights'' organisation, and another by Louis Richards the Executive Director of ''War against Poverty'' Organisation. On behalf of Prince Abdul Majeed Ibn Abdul Aziz, Governor of Makkah region, the Undersecretary of the governorates Abdullah Ibn Daoud Al Faeiz , patronized the fifth Makkah Conference which was organised by Muslim World League entitled ''The Cultural and Civilized Dialogue Its Goals and Fields'', at the MWL headquarters. At the opening of the Conference, Dr Ahmed Nafea Al Mooraey, the Conference Secretary delivered a speech in which he welcomed the Undersecretary of the governorates Abdullah Ibn Daoud Al Faeiz, and thanked for patronising the Conference on On behalf of Prince Abdul Majeed Ibn Abdul Aziz, Governor of Makkah region, and said that since this Conference has started according to orders by King Abdul aziz Ibn Abdul Rahman Al Saud, it is constantly held, and playing its role in serving Islam and Muslims. He added that one of the goals of the Conference is to strengthen the understanding and peace between Muslims and non Muslims, and confront the negative sides for globalization. Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Dr Abdul Aziz Mohieldine Khuja, met in Beirut with Sheikh Mohammed Rasheed Qabany the Mufti of Lebanon. The Mufti lauded the efforts exerted by the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz and his Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard to ensure the comfort of the pilgrims and afford all means to achieve this since their arrival in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia till they return to their countries. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency, he said that the continuous expanding works in the two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madina has formed a great Islamic achievement which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Muslims all over the world are proud of. Mufti Qabani prayed for God to keep the Kingdom leaders for the good efforts they are exerting n order to secure the full care that the pilgrims enjoy. ''It is not strange that the Kingdom exerts such efforts in receiving the pilgrims and giving them the care they need, because the Kingdom has never failed to do what ever the honesty in offering the services needed,'' Sheikh Mohammed Rasheed Qabany. |