King Abdullah to embark on Arab unity tour

Jul 26, 2010

JEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah will begin a four-nation Arab unity tour on Wednesday, which will take him to Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. He will discuss major issues including Palestine, Iran and Iraq with the leaders of the four countries.

The office of the Egyptian president has announced that King Abdullah will meet President Hosni Mubarak in the resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh on Wednesday, adding that the two leaders would discuss major regional and international issues, especially Middle East peace.

According to high-level sources, reconciliation between Cairo and Damascus would figure high during the Saudi-Egyptian talks. At the Kuwait summit in 2009, King Abdullah urged Arab leaders to set aside their differences and open a new era of unity.

On Thursday, the king will be in Damascus for talks with Bashar Assad on strengthening Arab unity to confront regional threats. Political analysts believe the Damascus talks will focus on the situation in Iraq, Iran's nuclear program and Syrian-Lebanese ties.

King Abdullah visited Syria on Oct. 8, 2009 opening a new era in Saudi-Syrian relations. President Assad reciprocated by visiting Riyadh on Jan. 14, 2010.

Beirut will be the king’s next stop where he will meet President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Saad Hariri before leaving for Amman.

The Arab League welcomed the royal visit and expressed its confidence that it would contribute to improving inter-Arab relations. "It's an important move toward strengthening Arab solidarity and Arab joint interests," said Ahmed Bin Hali, deputy secretary-general of the 23-member organization.

King Abdullah began his current foreign tour on June 19 when he left Jeddah for Casablanca in Morocco on his way to Canada to attend a G20 summit in Toronto. Saudi Arabia is the only Arab member of the G20. He later arrived in Washington on June 29 for talks with President Barack Obama on major regional and international issues, including the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The Saudi leader postponed his visit to France where he was scheduled to open "The Roads to Arabia" exhibition in the Louvre Museum in Paris on July 12 along with President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Meanwhile, the Council of Ministers held a meeting in Jeddah under the chairmanship of Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation. The Cabinet reviewed the preparations for Ramadan and urged government departments to provide the best possible services to the guests of God who come to perform Umrah during the holy month.

The meeting expressed its satisfaction over the Kingdom winning the 8th position in attracting foreign direct investment, according to a report published by the UN Conference on Trade & Development. It authorized the president of King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology to sign an agreement with Brazil for cooperation in space exploration.

US to review plans for Iraq troop withdrawal

KANDAHAR - The US military's top officer flies to Iraq Tuesday to review plans for a troop drawdown and efforts to form a new governing coalition, amid fresh violence.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, was due in Baghdad after a two-day visit to Afghanistan, where he checked on progress in the nearly nine-year-old war.

His visit to Iraq comes after twin car bombs killed 21 people Monday in the southern Shiite holy city of Karbala, while four people died in a suicide attack on a Saudi-funded television channel in Baghdad.

US and Iraqi officials have warned of the dangers of a spike in violence as negotiations on forming a new governing coalition have dragged on without agreement, more than four months after parliamentary elections.

Mullen's meetings were to include President Jalal Talabani, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and the commander of US forces, General Ray Odierno, officials said.

There are currently 77,500 US soldiers in Iraq but all combat troops are due out by September 1, leaving a training and advisory force of 50,000 behind which is itself scheduled to withdraw by December 2011.

Iran condemns new sanctions on energy sector

(AFP) 27 July 2010,

Iran “deeply regrets and condemns” a new set of tough European Union sanctions aimed at pressuring Tehran to resume talks on its controversial nuclear programme.

“These sanctions will not help in resuming talks and will not affect Iran’s determination to defend its legitimate right to pursue a peaceful nuclear programme,” Ramin Mehmanparast was quoted as saying by the official Irna news agency.

He said they would “not help in advancing the talks”.

The EU’s new sanctions on Iran’s key oil and gas industry are aimed at reviving stalled talks between Tehran and six world powers — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the US.

The punitive measures include a ban on the sale of equipment, technology and services to Iran’s energy sector, hitting activities in refining, liquefied natural gas, exploration and production, EU diplomats said.

New investments in the energy sector are also banned.

Iran is the world’s fourth largest producer of crude oil, but imports 40 percent of its fuel needs because it lacks enough refining capabilities to meet domestic demand.

The Iranian banking sector was also hit by restrictions, forcing any transactions over 40,000 euros (52,000 dollars) to be authorised by EU governments before they can go ahead.

The last high-level meeting between Iran and the six world powers was held in Geneva in October 2009 when the two sides agreed a nuclear fuel swap that has since stalled.

Western powers have demanded that Iran suspend its uranium enrichment programme, fearing that Tehran would use the material to build a nuclear bomb. Tehran says its atomic programme is a peaceful drive to produce energy.

EU, Canada hit Iran with new sanctions

EU and Canada slapped tough sanctions on Iran’s key energy sector in a bid to block its contested nuclear programme, and the US said the punitive steps would bite.

European foreign ministers formally adopted the new measures on Monday on the oil and gas industries, going beyond a fourth set of UN sanctions imposed over Iran’s refusal to freeze uranium enrichment. Canada then followed suit.

The moves, which follow similar sanctions imposed by the United States, are aimed at reviving moribund talks between Iran and six world powers — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton talks to the media during an EU foreign affairs ministers meeting in Brussels on July 26, 2010.

“Today we sent out a powerful message to Iran, and that message is that their nuclear programme is a cause of serious and growing concern to us,” EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton told reporters.

“But our objective remains, as I have always said, to persuade Iranian leaders that their interest is served by a

return to the table. Sanctions are not an end in themselves,” she said.

Iran’s foreign ministry however said the sanctions were not “an effective tool” and would only serve to “complicate” its showdown with the West.

Oil Minister Masoud Mirkazemi said they would have no impact on oil production because European oil firms had “no presence” in Iran’s energy sector.

The EU measures include a ban on the sale of equipment, technology and services to Iran’s energy sector, hitting activities in refining, liquefied natural gas, exploration and production, diplomats said.

New investments in the energy sector are also banned.

Iran is the world’s fourth largest producer of crude oil, but imports 40 percent of its fuel needs because it lacks enough refining capabilities to meet domestic demand.

The Iranian banking sector was also hit by restrictions, forcing any transactions over 40,000 euros (52,000 dollars) to be authorised by EU governments before they can go ahead.

The United States hailed the move, saying the steps “underscore the international community’s deepening concerns about Iran’s nuclear program.”

State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said: “We’ve already begun to see the impact of the sanctions as companies around the world refuse to do business with Iran, rather than to risk becoming involved in Iran’s nuclear program and other illicit activities.”

The identities of those hit by the new measures will be published in the official EU journal on Tuesday. Diplomats said 41 individuals and 22 government entities were concerned.

Canada’s sanctions take aim at Iran’s energy and banking sectors, as well as chemical, biological and nuclear activities, Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said.

Canada will also bar all new investment in Iran’s energy industry, particularly crude oil refining and liquefied natural gas.

Ashton has exchanged letters with Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in recent weeks in a bid to revive talks, and Tehran has indicated that the talks could resume in September.

The last high-level meeting between Iran and the six world powers was held in Geneva in October 2009 when the two sides agreed a nuclear fuel swap that has since stalled.

powers have demanded that Iran suspend its uranium enrichment programme, fearing that Tehran would use the material to build a nuclear bomb. Tehran says its atomic programme is a peaceful drive to produce energy.

Iran’s actions “are bringing it closer and closer to possessing nuclear weapons which represents a threat,” said Cannon.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said: “Iran’s ongoing refusal to engage constructively on this issue leaves us no option but to implement these sanctions.”

Israel welcomed the sanctions and urged other countries to follow suit.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said at the weekend Tehran was ready to hold immediate talks on a nuclear swap deal brokered by Turkey and Brazil in May.

World powers have given the cold shoulder to that deal, a counter-proposal to the October agreement.

Lebanese army boosts troops near Israel border

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jul 26, 2010

BEIRUT: Lebanon is sending about 3,000 additional troops to the country's south after residents clashed with UN peacekeepers in the tense region where many view the international force with mistrust, officials said Monday.

The UN deployed 12,000 forces along Lebanon's southern border with Israel in 2006 with the aim of helping some 15,000 Lebanese troops extend their authority into the area for the first time in decades and create a buffer zone free of fighters for the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Israel and the powerful Lebanese Hezbollah fought a war in 2006 and tensions between them are now on the rise again, especially in the south which is heavily influenced by the Shiite militants. Many residents there view the UN

peacekeepers with suspicion or allege they spy for Israel.

Tensions have heightened over recent reports that Syria has sent Scud missiles to Hezbollah and suspicions that Hezbollah patron Iran wants to acquire nuclear weapons.

Three weeks ago, the UN Security Council called on Lebanon to deploy more troops to the tense area.

There have been skirmishes between residents of the south and the peacekeepers in the past. But the confrontations have been more serious in recent weeks, with residents throwing stones and blocking roads. Injuries have been reported on both sides.

Many of the recent skirmishes have targeted French peacekeepers.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri told the French Ambassador to Lebanon, Denis Pietton, on Monday that he was sending an additional brigade of Lebanese troops to the south.

A senior Lebanese military official confirmed the troop movement but refused to release details, citing military security.

UNIFIL officials had no immediate comment.

Muallem: Lebanon Will Remain Syria's Neighbor

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem has told the Kuwaiti al-Dar daily that Lebanon will remain Syria's "brother" and neighbor.

Muallem made his comment when asked by the newspaper if Syrian President Bashar Assad and Saudi King Abdullah would discuss Lebanon during their scheduled meeting in Damascus on Thursday.

Syrian sources denied to al-Dar the possibility of holding a Syrian-Lebanese-Saudi summit on Friday.

May '10 was deadliest month in Darfur since 2007

Bleak Sudan outlook without Darfur peace: UN

UNITED NATIONS (Agencies)

The United Nations Security Council will meet over Darfur on Tuesday as the U.N. chief said in a report released late Monday that there is a risk of increased instability in Sudan due to a lack of a peace deal for Darfur and a looming referendum on whether South Sudan should secede from the North.

In a bleak assessment of the situation facing the joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force in Sudan's conflict-torn western Darfur region, known as UNAMID, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's report said that violence rose in Darfur after nationwide elections in April.

"Violence flared between government forces and JEM (the rebel Justice and Equality Movement) troops in flagrant violation of their commitment to cease hostilities signed in February, and causing May to be the deadliest month since UNAMID's establishment in 2007," he said, according to Reuters.

The U.N. refers to Darfur as the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II

The 15-nation Security Council is scheduled to discuss Ban's assessment later Tuesday. Council diplomats say the panel plans to pass a resolution later this week to extend the mandate of UNAMID for another year, as Ban recommends.

Ban said he was concerned that JEM's withdrawal from peace talks in Doha could prevent a swift resolution of the Darfur conflict. This, he warned, could have nationwide implications.

"Without an inclusive and comprehensive peace agreement in Darfur, as South Sudan heads towards a referendum on its future status, there is a risk of increasing stability in Sudan," Ban said, adding that he was urging JEM and Khartoum to return to the negotiating table immediately.

"No restrictions whatsoever"

" Indeed, the international civil servants writing such reports reduce the value and credibility of the U.N. "

Sudan's U.N. Ambassador Abdul Mahmoud Abdul Haleem

U.N. officials estimate that as many as 300,000 people have died in Darfur since rebels took up arms in 2003, accusing Khartoum of neglecting the arid region. Khartoum puts the death toll at around 10,000.

The secretary-general also accused both Khartoum and rebel groups in Darfur of restricting UNAMID's access to areas where there has been fighting.

"In May alone, UNAMID movement was restricted on 10 occasions, eight by the government of Sudan, reportedly for security reasons," the report said.

Sudan's outgoing U.N. Ambassador Abdul Mahmoud Abdul Haleem said that there had been "no restrictions whatsoever" placed on UNAMID by Khartoum.

"Indeed, the international civil servants writing such reports reduce the value and credibility of the U.N.," he told Reuters.

Over the past year between July 2009 and July 2010, UNAMID peacekeepers were attacked on 28 occasions, resulting in 10 dead and 26 injured, the report said. There has also been the problem of kidnapping and banditry.

The humanitarian situation also remains dire, with some two million people -- a quarter of Darfur's population -- displaced and reliant on aid agencies for survival. The U.N. World Food Program has difficulty reaching all the people in need of aid in Darfur.

It was unable to reach some 250,000 people in May due to insecurity.

"The scarcity of water in Darfur is growing, with reports of a significant number of wells drying up," Ban said, adding that the quality of water delivery across Darfur had been hurt by Khartoum's expulsion of specialized agencies last year.

Netanyahu accuses Palestinians of stalling

Abbas says ready for direct talks with Israel

AMMAN/ OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP)

President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday he was ready for direct negotiations with Israel, following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's accusations that the Palestinians are avoiding the talks.

"We are ready to hold direct peace negotiations with Israel," Abbas told reporters after talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II in Amman.

"We have negotiated with Israeli governments before, more than once. Why would we avoid such talks? We are not."

" We have negotiated with Israeli governments before, more than once. Why would we avoid such talks? We are not "

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas

Netanyahu told the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs and defense earlier on Monday that the Palestinians were trying to sneak out of direct n#egotiations while Israel was ready to start them "immediately."

"We have an understanding with the Americans that we need to move now, without any delay, to direct negotiations, but in response, we have a clear Palestinian attempt to avoid this process," Netanyahu said.

"They are trying to stall and to sneak away from direct negotiations and to cause the Arab League to shackle the talks."

Israel, he said, was ready to start direct negotiations "immediately."

" We have an understanding with the Americans that we need to move now, without any delay, to direct negotiations, but in response, we have a clear Palestinian attempt to avoid this process "

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

"We are ready to start as early as next week," he said.

Netanyahu's remarks were made just days ahead of a meeting in Cairo between Mahmoud Abbas and the Arab League at which the Palestinian leader will discuss the indirect talks with Israel, which began in May, and will also address the pressing question of a shift to direct negotiations.

Abbas has repeatedly said he would not move to direct talks without tangible progress on the key issues of borders and security, and without a complete freeze on Jewish settlement building on occupied Palestinian land.

Although Israel has been observing a temporary freeze on new settlement construction in the West Bank, that moratorium runs out on September 26.

Meanwhile Abbas is due to meet Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos on Tuesday in Amman before flying to Cairo.

Netanyahu is under pressure to renew the freeze in order to build trust between the two parties. But until now, the hawkish Israeli leader has studiously avoided any such pledges -- with some of his closest allies vowing to begin building as soon as the moratorium expires.

U.S. President Barack Obama said during a meeting with Netanyahu at the White House earlier this month that he hoped direct Middle East peace talks would start before the end of September when the freeze runs out.

Kuwait's education ministry rules out Bahrain's private colleges

July 22, 2010

Manama: Kuwait's education ministry has published the names of 62 Arab colleges and universities where Kuwaiti nationals could pursue their higher studies.

Only degrees and diplomas from the endorsed private and public universities would be recognized by the ministry in a move that seeks to bring under control the ruckus that has rocked the local scene amid charges that some graduates "purchased" the certificates that gave them jobs and employment promotions.

The list includes only two universities from Bahrain, the state-run University of Bahrain, and the Arabian Gulf University, but none of the 18 private colleges and universities that were for years favoured by Kuwaiti nationals.

Egypt, a long-time favourite among Gulf nationals, was also left out of the list that covered only Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Tunisia, Jordan and Syria.

Private colleges mushroomed in Bahrain mainly after the September 11 attacks on the US and the ensuing concerns among Arab and Muslim communities.

Several Gulf nationals, particularly girls, preferred to remain in the region and avoid Western universities. Bahrain saw the development as an opportunity to turn into an education centre and allowed several colleges to launch academic courses to fit the demands of Gulf nationals.

However, as more higher education institutions opened and competition intensified, many colleges were found guilty of management irregularities and complacency with students.

Kuwait's education ministry started to withdraw its recognition of some Bahraini degrees and Bahrain's higher education council moved in to rein in the miasma by taking punitive action that included freezing courses and barring colleges from enrolling students.

Abu Dhabi public schools take a hi-tech leap

27 July 2010,

Dh350m upgrade to equip students with cutting edge technological knowhow and resources

Equipping students with the right tool to cope and compete effectively in this fast changing world is imperative, if they are to successfully evolve in this digital milieu.

 In this day and age, intellectual readiness is not enough; the youngsters should also have highly-developed skills in digital technology and cyberspace knowhow.

“Technological literacy is an important part of modern education to ensure that students are comfortable using and adapting technology throughout their lives,” said Mohammad Younes, division manager of Information Technology at the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC). For this very reason, ADEC has started upgrading the information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure of all 305 public schools in the emirate – Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Gharbiya. “This upgrade is designed to ensure that all students in public schools have access to important learning resources,” said Younes.

The state-of-the-art infrastructure, which costs Dh350 million, will include components such as an end-to-end structured cabling system, local area network with full wireless coverage and internet connectivity upgrade. This upgrade will help connect all schools to a wide area network that will provide centralized management, support and monitoring services over the coming 12 months.

At present, the level and quality of ICT facilities and connectivity varies amongst different schools, “there is currently no defined standard”.

But with the upgrade, it will ensure that all schools have comprehensive access to cutting edge technology including hardware, software, connectivity, and ADEC resources such as the electronic student information system (e-SIS), geographic information system (GIS) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) through high speed and fully secured networks.

ADEC’s e-SIS is an online data system that efficiently manages student records for all education zones in the emirate while the GIS directs school 
locations in the emirate as well as provide information on the school, and teacher and student statistics.

The ERP meanwhile supports online human resource management and payroll functions for the council.

Etisalat, the main contractor for the upgrade project, will deliver the first 60 schools this coming September in time for the opening of the new academic year. By November, all 147 Kindergarten and Cycle 1 schools will be completed and by July 2011, all 305 public schools will be upgraded.

To complement the improved infrastructure, ADEC will provide 12,000 desktops this year to various schools in the emirate, in addition to the 12,000 desktops and laptops that ADEC has already provided in the past two years.

“To start with, each school will receive between 50-75 desktops depending on the number of students and faculty in each school,” said Younes.

And, once the infrastructure upgrade is completed, laptops will also be provided, however the number of laptops will be in accordance with the needs of the curriculum as well as the teaching/learning methodologies.

“It is important to invest in the best infrastructure in our schools so that we can maximize the potential of the education system, through enhancing methods of learning, teaching and administration”, Dr Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili, director general of ADEC remarked.

A sentiment shared by all educational authorities and universities in the Gulf region when they collectively launched a GCC-wide computer summer literacy camps for students from June 1 to September 31, 2010.

Overseen by ICDL GCC Foundation, the governing body and the certification authority of the International Computer Driving License programme in the Gulf States and Iraq, the camps engaged some 2,400 students from various schools and universities in the UAE.

During the summer camps, participants will undergo extensive computer training in accordance with the globally recognised ICDL standard.

And by the end of the programme, thousands of students are expected to attain the ICDL certification after passing the tests that not only affirm their competence in using computers and the Internet but also showcases their resourcefulness, self-confidence and responsibility.

“The youth are the pillars of the nation and efforts to equip them with necessary digital skills will have a significant impact on the country’s progress and its goal of building a knowledge-based digital society,” said Anurag Agrawal, managing director of Canon Middle East.

Libya grants US$ 300 million loans for small, medium-sized projects

Financing of small-and medium-sized projects - The Libyan Loans Fund has announced grants totalling 321 million dinars (about US$ 300 million) for the implementation of small-and medium-sized projects under the National Council for Economic and Social Development, PANA reported from here.

In a quarterly report on the financing of small-and medium-sized projects, issued in Tripoli Monday, the Fund declared that some 2,033 projects, which will create 5,500 new jobs, would be financed from the loans.

The Loans Fund is expected to facilitate access to funds by youths and owners of small-scale projects.

We agreed to hunt terrorists & bring them to justice: Fillon

France vows to toughen fight against al-Qaeda

PARIS (Agencies)

France's government vowed Tuesday to step up the fight against al-Qaeda in northern Africa after militants killed a French hostage in the Sahel desert region.

"The fight against terrorism continues and it is going to strengthen, particularly against AQMI," Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Europe 1 radio, using the acronym for al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

The group, a northern Africa-based affiliate of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, claimed the killing of Michel Germaneau, a 78-year-old French aid worker who was kidnapped in Niger.

"France does not practice vengeance," Fillon said.

"However we do have agreements with the governments in the region and in particular with the Mauritanian government and with the Malian government to hunt these terrorists and bring them to justice."

AQIM declared it had killed Germaneau as revenge after French and Mauritanian soldiers stormed one of the group's camps in Mali and killed six militants.

"Will not go unpunished"

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed on Monday that Germaneau's killing "will not go unpunished." He said the government had authenticated the group's claim to have killed Germaneau although his body has not been recovered.

Sarkozy and Fillon did not say what France planned to do in response, but experts and military officers told AFP to expect an increased use of spies and special forces to target militant groups in the Sahel.

In Mali, a local elected official told AFP that Germaneau had been beheaded after the raid, in the presence of Abdul Hamid Abu Zeid, the leader of an AQIM cell that has been blamed for killing a Briton, Edwin Dyer, in 2009.

Fillon said Germaneau's body had not been recovered and pointed out that Dyer's had never been found either.

He said France was on high alert against terrorist attacks. "We foil several attacks every year in France and in neighboring countries and we are not going to slacken our efforts."

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner embarked on a tour of countries in the region on Monday to discuss security with leaders and diplomats there.

He met on Monday night with Mauritania's President Mohamed Ould Abdul Aziz and was due to meet President Amadou Toumani Toure of Mali in Bamako on Tuesday, before heading to Niger.

France is the former colonial ruler of most of the Sahel, a band of scrub and desert along the south of the Sahara running through Mauritania, Mali, Niger and southern Algeria, and retains much influence with regional leaders.