King Abdullah also to visit Amman, Damascus and Beirut

Saudi monarch kicks off regional tour in Cairo

DUBAI (Agencies)

Saudi King Abdullah on Wednesday met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh as part of a regional tour that takes him to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

Mubarak and the Saudi monarch "held one on one talks that lasted around one hour," the official MENA news agency said, without elaborating on the talks.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmad Nazif welcomed the visit of hte king , as reported by the Saudi Gazette , and described the upcoming meeting between King Abdullah and Egyptian President Mubarak as “always producing benefits for the people of their countries.”

“The level of coordination and understanding between the two countries is reflected in the King’s wish to detail to the Egyptian president talks he held during his tour of Europe," Nazif said.

“Coordination between them is continuous, and addresses regional issues, developments in Darfur and Sudan in general, developments in Somalia and Iraq, the situation in Palestine and other important issues."

The Egyptian prime minister said the Kingdom and Egypt would be looking to use their regional and international weight to avert conflicts, describing them as “constantly working to overcome differences in the region for the sake of Islamic and Arab unity”.

King Abdullah is expected to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Thursday to try to ease tensions in Lebanon, capitalizing on an apparent weakening in Iran's position after a round of tough new sanctions.

On Friday, King Abdullah and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will visit Lebanon together to ease political tension over a U.N. tribunal set up after the 2005 killing of Lebanese statesman Rafik al-Hariri.

Hariri and 22 others were killed in a massive seaside bombing in 2005 that was widely blamed at the time on Syria.

Saudi-Syrian ties deteriorated after Hariri's assassination but have since warmed, with Riyadh playing a key role in the recent rapprochement between Assad and Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the late leader's son.

"The visit of King Abdullah and President Assad, who are coming together on Friday, will be an answer for all the questions about stability in Lebanon," said Nohad al-Machnouk, a member of Saad al-Hariri's parliamentary bloc.

It will be the first visit for King Abdullah to Lebanon since he came to the throne. His last visit to Lebanon was in 2002 when he represented the Kingdom in the Arab Summit that was held there.

The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, is also expected in Beirut on Friday.

Kuwait, Chile sign four agreements

Thursday,29 July 2010

SANTIAGO: Chilean President Sebastian Pinera underscored on Tuesday the achievements of Kuwait under the rule of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, and said that the political and socio-economic system of Kuwait was a model for the world to follow given its democratic ways and the peace, security and stability that its people enjoyed.

This came in a speech by the president following a ceremony during which Kuwait and Chile signed four cooperation agreements.

President Pinera noted that Chile had expressed its support for Kuwait from the very beginning when the Iraqi forces invaded the Gulf state in 1990, and that it condemned the aggression against the country, adding that Chile was happy with the development of Kuwait today, which was a model to be emulated by other countries around the world.

President Pinera expressed his appreciation to His Highness the Amir for his support and assistance to victims of the earthquake that hit Chile in February.

He noted that Kuwait was heading the current GCC round, making Chile more interested in raising cooperation with the Gulf States at very advanced levels, and to sign a free trade agreement.

For his part, His Highness Sheikh Nasser expressed his appreciation for the warm welcome with which he and the accompanying delegation were received in Chile, saying that this reflected the depth of relations between the two countries.

He added that His Highness the Amir had signed a decree for opening a Kuwaiti embassy in Santiago, and welcomed the opening of a Chilean embassy in Kuwait, adding that cooperation between the two sides would not be limited to diplomacy, but would expand to include matters of mutual interest.

The Kuwaiti premier and the Chilean president witnessed the ceremony during which four agreements were signed between their countries.

The first agreement is to establish a joint committee for cooperation between the governments of Kuwait and Chile. It was signed by Kuwait's Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Dr. Mohammed Al-Sabah and Chile's Minister of Foreign Relations Alfredo Moreno Charme.

As for the second agreement, it was on economic and technical cooperation. It was signed by Kuwait's Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shamali and Chile's Minister of Foreign Relations Alfredo Moreno Charme.

The third agreement was for commercial cooperation. It was signed by Kuwait's Minister of Commerce and Industry Ahmad Al-Haroun, and Chile's Minister of Foreign Relations.

Meanwhile, the fourth agreement was for aviation services. It was signed by Director General of Kuwait's Directorate General of Civil Aviation Bader Abdullah Butaiban, and Chile's Minister of Foreign Relations.

Later during the day, His Highness Sheikh Nasser concluded his visit to Chile, and headed to the seventh stop in his tour of Latin America.

A joint statement upon conclusion of the visit was issued on behalf of Sheikh Nasser and the Chilean President, Sebastian Pinera. It stated that the Kuwaiti premier had during his stay discussed bilateral relations, means to further political, economic, and trade relations, and the situation in the Middle East.

Both the Kuwaiti Premier and the Chilean President expressed satisfaction with the results of the second Arab-Latin American summit, hosted in Doha in 2009. They also expressed hope for similar success of the next summit, to be hosted by Peru in 2011.

At the international level, the statement pointed out that both parties condemned all forms of acts of terrorism which threaten peace and democracy. They also agreed on importance of dialogue which is based on principles of democracy, respect for international law, and respect for human rights.

Expressing gratitude for the hospitality with which the Kuwaiti delegation had been received, His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad extended an official invitation to visit Kuwait from His Highness the Amir, addressed to the Chilean president.

Biden hails US troops 'success' in Iraq

WASHINGTON - US Vice President Joe Biden declared Wednesday that anti-US forces in Iraq had failed, as he welcomed home a much decorated military unit.

Biden also savored the fact that in one month, US combat operations will end, more than seven years after the US invasion, in line with a campaign promise of President Barack Obama.

"You and your colleagues persevered and succeeded," Biden said, welcoming home the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, from Iraq.

"With your help, Iraq’s leaders and security forces are persevering and succeeding -- and therefore those who sought to make chaos and destruction a hallmark of the new Iraq have failed because of you," Biden said at Fort Drum in upstate New York.

"I’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time... one month from now, as President Obama pledged, America’s combat mission in Iraq will end."

The 2nd Brigade Combat team is one of the most deployed units of the last near decade in which America has fought constant foreign wars, with three deployments to Afghanistan and four to Iraq.

Its most recent tour saw the brigade deploy to eastern Baghdad in October 2009, partnering Iraqi security forces.

Biden said the unit had helped Iraqi soldiers to "safeguard their future as a sovereign, stable and self-reliant country. Now it is up to the Iraqi people and their leaders to step up to that responsibility."

On Tuesday however, Iraq's political crisis deepened, as parliament indefinitely postponed only its second session since March elections, extending the deadlock that has prevented the formation of a new government.

The delay is the latest setback in a nearly five-month process, and comes barely more than a month before the withdrawal of US combat troops.

At Fort Drum, Biden said that like US soldiers, Iraqis had made "great sacrifices" which needed to repaid by action from their divided political factions.

"Today, in an Iraq once mired in sectarian conflict, politics has broken out."

"It is now up to their political leaders to match the courage their citizens have shown and deserve to see in return," Biden said, though expressed confidence that Iraq's politicians would eventually produce a viable government.

The vice president, who Obama put in charge of overseeing the US drawdown from Iraq, also paid tribute to 2nd Brigade soldiers who did not make it home.

"There is little comfort we can give to the families of the fallen angels who have taken their final trip home... they have paid a price few of their fellow citizens can fathom."

Financial Times: Lebanon Closer to Crisis Over Tribunal

Lebanon is braced for another political crisis as the Special Tribunal for Lebanon appears to be heading towards indicting Hizbullah members, the Financial Times reported.

The alleged involvement of undisciplined Hizbullah members in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination "is a perilous outcome for the country: the movement is now part of the coalition government led by Saad Hariri, the prime minister and son of the dead leader," the newspaper said.

"The tribunal apparently reached a conclusion that is the worse-case scenario, so at a minimum this is likely to cause a major government crisis," says Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Middle East Centre in Beirut. "The government would be cooperating with an institution which others (Hizbullah) say is an Israeli agency."

The Financial Times quoted analysts as saying that Hizbullah, whose military organization is more powerful than the Lebanese army, will not hand over any suspects. Nor will the government be in a position to arrest anyone.

Arabs meet on Palestinian peace talks with Israel

(AFP) 29 July 2010,

Arab foreign ministers will hold crucial talks with Palestinian Mahmud Abbas to decide whether he will begin direct negotiations with Israel amid pressure from the US.

Abbas has accepted holding only indirect talks with Israel, which has rejected his conditions for face-to-face negotiations.

Thursday's meeting is expected to back Abbas's condition that Israel guarantee a Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders between the Jewish state and east Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Abbas also wants an end to settlement construction in east Jerusalem and the West Bank. Israel acceded to US pressure to limit settlement building in the West Bank until September, when a moratorium ends.

The Palestinian leader will present the 13 foreign ministers of the Arab Peace Initiative committee with the results of the US-brokered indirect talks the Arab League approved in May for a four-month period.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is willing to meet Abbas to discuss all the core issues of the decades-old conflict, and has accused the Palestinians of avoiding engaging in direct talks.

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat told an Arab newspaper this week that US President Barak Obama told the Palestinians in a letter that he will help found a Palestinian state only if they begin direct talks with Israel.

Abbas suspended negotiations with Israel after its offensive on the Islamist Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in December 2008 in response to rocket fire.

He has demanded that the talks pick up from where he left off with then prime minister Ehud Olmert, a condition rejected by Netanyahu's government.

Illegal residents: Oman announces tough penalties

July 28, 2010

Muscat: Oman will introduce stiff penalties, including imprisonment not exceeding two years and no more than a 2,000 Omani Riyal fine, for expatriates who fail to regularise their employment status.

The penalties were announced after authorities issued two extensions to give workers time to sort out their status, with the current extension expiring in 3 days.

The penalties have been issued by Royal Decree of Omani leader Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed.

Under the decree, drivers and pilots who give illegal access to foreigners violating the Expatriate Residency Law will also be held responsible and punished.

Hotels also are required to submit a list of foreign guests on a daily basis.

In January this year, the government gave overstaying expatriate three months (March 31) to complete all the paperwork and leave the country without paying fines or the option to regularise their status with the Manpower Ministry.

The deadline was first extended up to May 31 and then to another two months, which expires on July 31. Further extensions are unlikely.

The deadlines were extended largely because missions, especially from the Indian subcontinent, had requested for the same.

“We are not going to ask for anymore extension,” Anil Wadhwa, Indian ambassador to Oman, told Gulf News.

Although the Manpower Ministry is yet to provide final number of workers availing of amnesty, it is estimated that around 40,000, including 22,000 Indians, workers have shown willingness to leave Oman.

This is far less than the industry estimate therefore the new stiffer penalties for staying in Oman illegally or helping someone stay here without proper visa may prove costly.

“Before the amnesty there were 102,000 people in Oman who were either without proper visa or not working for their original sponsor,” a source with the construction industry said.

The government has also warned anyone working for someone other their sponsor. A provision has been made now in the labour laws where the sponsor will also be fined and given a jail term if he allows his employee to work for another employer.

 Karzai asks why NATO won't hit Pakistan

KABUL (Agencies)

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Thursday that Western allies had the ability to strike at Taliban bases in Pakistan, but questioned their willingness to do so.

"The war against terrorism is not in the villages or houses of Afghanistan ...but in the sanctuaries, sources of funding and training (of terrorism) and they lie outside Afghanistan," he told a news conference in the capital.

" The war against terrorism is not in the villages or houses of Afghanistan but in the sanctuaries, sources of funding and training and they lie outside Afghanistan "

Afghan President Hamid Karzai

"It is a different question whether Afghanistan has the ability to tackle this," he said in response to a question about Pakistan support for the Taliban and why the conflict was dragging on, "... but our allies have this capability the question now is 'why they are not taking action'?"

Islamabad's covert support for the Taliban resurfaced this week with the publication by the whistleblower organization WikiLeaks of tens of thousands of classified documents which point the finger at Pakistan's spy agency.

Karzai condemned as "irresponsible and shocking" the release of informants' names by WikiLeaks, saying it had put their lives in danger.

"It is extremely irresponsible and shocking," Karzai told a news conference in the Afghan capital. "There are lives and these lives are in danger."

The website released more than 90,000 classified U.S. military files from the Afghan war between 2004 to 2009, a period when tens of thousands of U.S. and NATO troops ran into increasing resistance from a Taliban insurgency.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has said the documents were checked for named informants and that 15,000 such documents had been held back.

But the British newspaper The Times reported that after just two hours of combing through the documents it was able to find the names of dozens of Afghans said to have provided detailed intelligence to U.S. forces.

The Pentagon has also said that informants whose names appear in the documents have reason to fear for their lives.

Church event to commemorate Sept. 11 attacks

Florida church Plans 'Burn a Quran' Day on 9/11

DUBA/ CAIRO- A Florida church known for its anti-Islamic statements is planning a ceremony to burn copies of the Quran in commemoration of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, has promoted on its website and other social networking sites the burning Islam’s holy book copies.

The church called for repeating its “Everybody Burn Quran Day” it celebrates “in remembrance of the fallen victims of 9/11 and to stand against the evil of Islam.”

The church, which also launched several campaigns against homosexuality and abortion, stirred much controversy last year after distributing T-shirts that read, "Islam is of the Devil."

Church leader Dr. Terry Jones published a book under the same title and posted outside the church a poster conveying the same message.

Several Facebook groups were formed to counter the campaign like “In Protest of International Burn a Koran Day” and “Against Everybody Burn Quran Day."

The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued a statement asking Muslims to invite friends and distribute copies of the Quran.

 Dangerous precedent

" Think of what happened with the Danish cartoons. Imagine what happens if the Quran is burnt "

Political expert Diaa Rashwan

Dr. Diaa Rashwan, an expert of Islamic movements at Egypt’s al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, stated that this is an extremely dangerous precedent that has gone beyond all logic and sensibility.

“If this happens, a serious crisis will ensue in the Muslim world,” he told Al Arabiya. “Think of what happened with the Danish cartoons. Imagine what happens if the Quran is burnt?”

Rashwan pointed out that there is no link between the Sept. 11 attacks and the Quran and that if this logic is applied, other holy books would be responsible for several crimes against humanity.

“In this case, we can blame the bible for millions of deaths throughout history. For example, the Protestant Church on behalf of Hitler could be held accountable for the 70 million who died in World War Two.”

Rashwan warned of the repercussions of such a move and called upon the American administration to interfere before a vicious circle of violence and extremism is initiated.

 Facebook campaign posted picture of 9/11 attacks

“The U.N. Security Council has to interfere as well before a war breaks out between religions. Burning the Quran is not freedom of expression. It is a violation of the rights of one billion and 300 million Muslims whether Sunnis or Shiites.”

The ceremony to burn the Quran, Rashwan added, is not to be compared to laws issued by some European countries regarding Islamic outfit. He cited the example of France which issued a law banning the face veil in public places.

“France did ban the face veil, but did not attack Islam. There is a difference between banning a behavior and engaging in such sacrilegious actions.”

Libya: Experts in water purification meet in Libya

Experts in water purification meet in Libya - Experts and specialists in the field of water purificati on, representing 12 countries, began a workshop here Wednesday on "the appropriate techniques for the purification of waste water in Libya", PANA reported from the Libyan capital.

During the workshop, participants are expected to find solutions to the management and cleaning of the sewage treatment plants in the country.

Opening the workshop, the Libyan Popular General Secretary of Basic Infrastructure Services, Maatoug Mohamed Maatoug, called for a maximum use of all water resources in the country, including waste water, adding that Libya was ranked fifth of the poorest countries which do not have good water purification in spite of the country's efforts to promote and preserve good water resources.

Libya's water purification project involves some 500,000 houses and flats with their integrated services in water, electricity and sanitation which, alone, covers 41 cities and 200 urban centres.

The country budgets US$ 2.5 billion for the treatment of waste water generated at the rate of 2.5 million cubic metres per day.

Organized by the Libyan General Company of Water and Sanitation and the Libyan Office of Public Projects, the two-day workshop will afford participants the opportunity to share experiences on the management and cleaning of water sewage treatment plants.

Tripoli - Pana 29/07/2010

Australia Tightens Sanctions on Iran

Australia Thursday tightened its sanctions on Iran in a fresh bid to convince Tehran to allay international concerns over its nuclear drive.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said the new measures target more than 100 Iranian groups and companies, and restrict Australian business dealings with the country's oil and gas sector.

"In adopting this package, Australia stands at the forefront of international community efforts to have Iran meet its international obligations in relation to its nuclear program, one of the most serious security challenges facing the international community," he said.

The measures also include a ban on trading weapons and items which could be used for nuclear, chemical or biological arms or missiles.

They follow this month's new United Nations Security Council resolution against Iran and fresh sanctions announced by the European Union and Canada.(AFP)