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March 17, 2006 |
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**** The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz has sent a cable of congratulations to President of Mauritius Sir Anerood Jungauth on the occasion of his country's independence day. In his own name and on behalf of the people and government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah wished the president continuous health and happiness and his people steady progress and prosperity. Saudi Arabia announced that it would send more students to Asian countries such as China, India, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea for higher studies in medicine, general science and engineering. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has approved the move, which comes in line with Riyadh's new "look east" strategy. "More students will be sent to these five countries as well as to Australia in order to pursue studies for bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees and fellowships," Higher Education Minister Khaled Al-Anqari said. Referring to the academic courses to be attended by Saudis in the six countries, Al-Anqari said the subjects would include applied medical sciences, pharmacology, computers, information technology, finance, insurance and marketing. "The ministry has set up a committee to implement this higher education program," Al-Anqari said, adding that sending students abroad for higher studies would help meet labor market requirements. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz received the President of French Institute for International Relations Dr. Thierry de Montprial and his accompanying delegation currently on a visit to the Kingdom. The audience was attended by Prince Miqren Ibn Abdul Aziz, Chief of General Intelligence; Prince Abdul Aziz Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz; Advisor to the King; Prince Dr. Bandar Ibn Salman Ibn Mohammed Al Saud, Advisor to the King; Prince Abdul Aziz Ibn Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, Minister of State, Cabinet Member and Chief of the Court of Cabinet's Presidency; Abdul Mohsin Ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Tuwaijri, Advisor to the King and Abdulaziz Ibn Abdullatif Al Al-Sheikh, Chairman of French-Saudi Business Council. Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, has thanked Prince Mishaal Ibn Saud Ibn Abdul Aziz, Governor of Najran Region, for the good feelings he expressed in a cable he sent to the crown prince in the wake of approval of development projects in the region in this year's budget. The Crown Prince's thanks came in a cable he sent to the governor. Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General has received at his residence here Morocco's King Mohammed VI. During the meeting, they reviewed overall situations at the Arab and international arenas, aspects of cooperation between the two brotherly countries and ways of their enhancement. The audience was attended by a number of princes, Saudi Ambassador to Morocco Dr. Mohammed Al-Bisher and Saudi Military Attaché' Brigadier Ali Al-Dihayem. On the other hand Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Premier, Defense and Aviation Minister and Inspector General, has issued his directives for extending the required medical treatment to the sick child: Sultana, at Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz City for Humanitarian Services. This was announced by Dr Majed al-Kasbi, the director general of Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz Charitable Foundation. He expressed appreciation for this kind gesture. Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz Minister of the Interior has lauded the efforts of the Saudi rescue team in the operations of the Egyptian ferry Al Salam 98 which sank in the Red Sea. In a cable addressed to General Saad al Tuwaijri, Director General of the Civil Defence Prince Naif lauded the work and perseverance of members of the Saudi rescue team and their exerted efforts in the rescue operations. Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Interior Minister, sent a message to Yemeni Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior Dr. Rashad Mohammed Al Olaimi on cooperation between their two ministries and topics of mutual concern. The message was handed over by Saudi ambassador to Yemen Mohammad Ibn Mirdass Alqahtani during a meeting with the Yemeni minister. Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister, separately received the Head of Foreign Relations Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Wang Giaroy and South African Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Bahad and their accompanying delegations. During the meetings, they discussed bilateral relations and overall situations at the regional and international arenas. Prince Saud also received President of French Institute for International Relations Dr. Thierry de Montbrial and his accompanying delegation. The meetings were attended by a number of officials of the Foreign Ministry. Dr Saleh Ibn Humeid, the Chairman of the Shoura (consultative) council, received the head of the foreign relations administration of the central committee of the Chinese communist party Wang Giaroy, who is on an official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Speaking on the occasion Dr Ibn Humeid highlighted the existing strong Saudi-Chinese relations. On his part, Wang Giaroy reiterated the keenness of China on further cementing its relations with the Kingdom. President Mahmoud Abbas received in the Presidential HQ in Ramallah city, the Quartet Envoy to the Middle East Peace Process, James Wolfensohn. During the meeting, Abbas briefed his guest about the latest developments in the Palestinian territories in light of Israeli policy of closure, and the economic hardships that the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is passing through. He also discussed with Wolfensohn the Palestinian steps towards forming the new government led by Hamas movement. The Omani-Iranian Joint Economic Committee concluded its meetings, stressing further about the need for promoting bilateral relations in the field of commercial cooperation, organisation of specialised exhibitions and exchange of visits between the officials concerned with economic and commercial spheres in the two countries. Maqbool Ibn Ali Ibn Sultan, minister of commerce and industry, hailed the meeting's recommendations, noting that the two sides concluded two pacts in the field of establishing an investment company and developing joint investments in the field of oil and gas and activation of the role of the private sectors in both the countries. Ali Reza Tahmasbi, Iranian minister of industry and mines and head of the Iranian side in the meetings, said the meetings concluded two navigation facilities in the seaports of both the countries, encouragement of investment in free and industrial estates and establishment of a joint investment company and conducting studies in the field of mines and petrochemical sectors. The Sultanate and India have decided to form a joint committee for military cooperation to be headed by the defence ministries' undersecretaries in the two countries. The committee will enhance relations and military cooperation that serve the interest of the two friendly countries. The formation of the committee came within the framework of military cooperation between the Omani Ministry of Defence and the Indian Ministry of Defence, in light of the MoU signed recently on military cooperation. It also came after the official session of talks held between Sayyid Badr Ibn Saud Ibn Hareb, minister responsible for defence affairs and Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Sayyid Badr and Pranab held a session of official talks at Muaskar Bait Al Falaj. The session discussed aspects of existing bilateral military cooperation, the good relations between the two countries and matters of common concern. It was also attended by the SAF Chief of Staff, Defence Ministry undersecretary, the Indian ambassador to the Sultanate and the delegation accompanying the guest. The Indian defence minister and his delegation also visited SAF museum and acquainted themselves with the defensive towers of Bait Al Falaj Castle, the manuscripts, samples and weapons depicting the Omani military history. The guest was briefed on the achievements witnessed by SAF during the prosperous reign of Sultan Qaboos Ibn Said, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. At the end of the visit, the guest signed the visitors' register expressing his delight with the Sultanate's rich heritage. Earlier Yousuf Ibn Alawi Ibn Abdullah, minister responsible for foreign affairs, received Pranab in his office. During the meeting, bilateral relations between the two countries and ways of strengthening them were discussed in addition to a number of issues and current regional and international developments. The meeting was attended by Abdullah Ibn Mohammed A'dhahab, head of the Asian Department; Ashok Kumar Attri, Indian ambassador to the Sultanate and a number of ministry officials. Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Salih met with the Saudi delegation to the ministerial follow-up committee of the Saudi-Yemeni Coordination Council led by Minister of Commerce and Industry Dr. Hashim Yamani. During the meeting, the Yemeni president commended bilateral, brotherly and distinguished relations and their steady progress at various levels between the two countries. Dr. Yamani conveyed to the president the greetings of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz and Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General and Chairman of the Saudi side at the Council. In turn, the Yemeni president sent his greetings to the King and the Crown Prince, wishing them continual good health and happiness and the Saudi people steady progress and prosperity. The president was also briefed on the results of the committee's meetings. Lebanese Premier Fouad Saniora received the Saudi ambassador to Lebanon Dr. Abdul Aziz Khojah. During the meeting, issues of common interest were discussed and Saudi leaders' care for Lebanon was appreciated by the premier who also underlined the importance of the Saudi role at the regional and interventional arenas. In a meeting with Palestinian leaderships in Gaza, President Mahmoud Abbas pointed out that he does not agree on the existence of any Palestinian arms outside the Palestinian camps. He stressed the importance of regulating the Lebanese Palestinian relationship on the bases of respecting Lebanese laws and preserving the dignity of the Palestinians. He added that he had previously received promises from President Lahoud and Nabih Berri Speaker of the Lebanese parliament to remove the restrictions imposed on Palestinians to take up jobs in 55 fields. Yemeni Premier Abdul Qadir Bajamal met with the ministerial follow-up committee of the Saudi-Yemeni Coordination Council. The meeting discussed results of the committee's meetings. The Saudi side to the meetings was led by Minister of Commerce and Industry Dr. Hashim Yamani. The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Eng. Ali Ibn Ibrahim Al-Naimi inaugurated the Exhibition of Saudi International Oil and Energy 2006 organized by Riyadh Exhibitions Limited Company. More than 80 local, regional and international companies representing 14 countries are taking part in the Exhibition. The inaugural ceremony was attended by Prince Abdul Aziz Ibn Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources for Petroleum Affairs and Prince Faisal bin Turki Ibn Abdul Aziz, Advisor at the Ministry. In a press statement, replying to a question on the presence of a surplus of 1 million barrels per day and its future effect on oil prices, Minister Al-Naimi said, '' Any defect in the bases of the oil industry has an effect. But this is one of many factors which have positive and some have negative effects. If the surplus is in stores, it is one factor having effects; but there are other things negatively affect oil.'' On offering shares of companies supervised by the Ministry in the field of oil, energy and mining for subscription, he said it is now under study. As for gas prospective concessions, the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said that most of the companies which have had concessions are currently conducting surveys and two of four started drilling and we are waiting results. Regarding the Exhibition, he said it will be annually or biennially held. The Islamic Bank for Development has extended a grant of $ One million to the Palestinian Red Cross to be used to improve the difficult situation in Palestinian hospitals. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Ali, President, Chairman of IDB said this amount will be used to finance the hospitals and buy the necessary medical equipments. Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, said the meeting of the national dialogue "a historic occasion that will not recur", and he called on the participants "to assume their responsibilities in order to bring the negotiations to a conclusion. The Lebanese people can no longer bear disappointments". It was "inadmissible and unthinkable that the first purely Lebanese dialogue conference should end in a deadlock". The president welcomed the Arab initiatives to promote dialogue, notably the positive role of Saudi Arabia and Egypt." Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Ali Asseri has turned over an additional 30 trucks filled with relief aid to Pakistani officials for distribution to the areas affected by the October 8, 2005 earthquake. So far, more than 100 Saudi relief trucks have reached the quake-affected areas. The aid includes 1,000 tents, 12,000 blankets, 8,000 quilts, 5,000 sleeping bags, 500 cartons of dates and 1,000 bags of flour. Asseri said that the people and government of Saudi Arabia would continue supporting victims of the quake until reconstruction is complete. Prisoners at the U.S. military prison at Abu Ghraib should be moved to a location where the International Committee of the Red Cross can visit them once the jail closes, the ICRC said. Dorothea Krimitsas, a spokeswoman for the Geneva-based humanitarian agency, declined to comment on the U.S. decision to close the jail, but said the ICRC was most concerned that the detainees be treated appropriately under international law. She said ICRC experts had not been able to see prisoners at Abu Ghraib since January 2005 because the Baghdad area was so dangerous. Some 4,500 people are being held at Saddam Hussein's former torture centre, which gained worldwide notoriety when photographs showing U.S. soldiers abusing prisoners were published in 2004. "It's not so much the place as the treatment," Krimitsas said. "If they are transferred to another place where we could have access to them, that would be very good news. "What is important for the ICRC is the treatment and the question of access to detainees." The ICRC monitors whether prison conditions and treatment of prisoners comply with the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which lay down rules for dealing with those captured in international armed conflicts. Krimitsas said the ICRC was in regular contact with the U.S. authorities in Iraq but, in line with the organisation's policy of confidentiality, would not say whether or where it was recommending detainees be moved. She said ICRC experts continued to visit other U.S. detention centres across Iraq including Camp Bucca and Camp Cropper. More than 14,500 people are being held in four such centres. Moscow's agreement to supply military equipment valued at USD7.5 billion to Algeria includes arrangements under which Russian oil producer LUKoil and gas group Gazprom will gain access to the North African states' oil and gas reserves. It is likely that the proceeds from exploiting the energy fields will be split between the Russian producers and Algeria, giving Algiers a revenue stream with which to pay the remaining cash element of the deal. In addition, it was revealed that Russia will write-off Algeria's USD4 billion Soviet-era debt (as widely anticipated). This will account for a quarter of Algeria's total foreign debt. Under the deal, which was concluded following three months of negotiations, Russia will deliver 36 MiG 29SMT fighters, 28 Su-30MK interdiction aircraft and 16 Yak-130 Mitten combat trainers, plus the upgrade of 36 older MiG-29s, supplies of ground-based radars, and pilot and technical training. The UK supplied Israel with quantities of plutonium while Harold Wilson was prime minister, BBC 2's Newsnight revealed. The sale was made despite a warning from British intelligence that it might "make a material contribution to an Israeli weapons programme". Under Wilson, Britain also sold Israel tons of chemicals used to make boosted atom bombs 20 times more powerful than Hiroshima or even Hydrogen Bombs. In Harold Macmillan's time the UK supplied uranium 235 and the heavy water which allowed Israel to start up its nuclear weapons production plant at Dimona - heavy water which British intelligence estimated would allow Israel to make "six nuclear weapons a year". Using Freedom of Information, Newsnight has obtained top secret papers. They show Foreign Minister Kim Howells misled the IAEA and that Britain made not one, but hundreds of secret shipments of nuclear materials to Israel. The body of the only American among four Christian peace activists kidnapped late last year was found in west Baghdad with gunshots to his head and chest, Iraqi police said. Tom Fox, 54, from Clear Brook, Va., was the fifth American hostage killed in Iraq. There was no immediate word on his fellow hostages, a Briton and two Canadians. The U.S. command in Baghdad confirmed that Fox's body was picked up by American forces. An Iraqi police patrol was also at the scene, said Falah al-Mohammedawi, an official with the Interior Ministry, which oversees police. He said Fox was found with his hands tied and gunshot wounds to his head and chest. There were cuts on his body and bruises on his head, al-Mohammedawi said. Slobodan Milosevic branded the "butcher of the Balkans" for the killing of Muslims and Croats in the 1990s was found dead in his cell, just months before his trial was expected to conclude. "Milosevic was found lifeless on his bed in his cell," the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague said in a statement. The court said a medical officer confirmed that the 64-year-old former Yugoslav president who suffered from a heart condition and high blood pressure was dead, adding the Dutch police and a coroner had launched an inquiry. A tribunal spokeswoman said there was no indication Milosevic had committed suicide. She said the trial which has already lasted four years would end now he was dead. Milosevic was charged with 66 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo as he sought to carve out a "Greater Serbia" as Yugoslavia broke up in the 1990s. He dismissed the trial and refused to plead. The charges against him included involvement in the siege of Sarajevo during the 1992-95 Bosnia War and the 1995 massacre of 8,000 Muslims in the UN "safe haven" of Srebrenica, Europe's worst single atrocity since World War II. Two militants were executed by hanging for the killing in Amman of a U.S. diplomat, police said. Laurence Foley, a 60-year-old administrator of U.S. aid programs in Jordan, was gunned down outside his Amman home on Oct. 28, 2002. Jordanian authorities have blamed Al Qaeda in Iraq's top operative, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, for Foley's death. The two executed militants are Salem bin Suweid, a Libyan, and Yasser Freihat, a Jordanian. They were convicted of belonging to a cell headed by the Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi. The two appealed their convictions, but the appeals court upheld their death sentences in November. A police statement said bin Suweid and Freihat were executed before dawn at Swaqa Jail, 60 miles south of the Jordanian capital. |