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Short Takes:
Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa told ArabicNews.com that the coming Arab tour of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak aims at convening the Arab summit, clarifying that Mubarak's last Gulf tour also tackled the subject of convening the Arab summit. In answering a question concerning whether it is necessary to achieve Arab reconciliation, especially between Iraq and Kuwait, to pave for convening the Arab summit, Moussa said, "There are a lot of problems in the status in the Arab world, among which is the future of the Arab world in the new century." Go

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak made a phone call to the head of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan al-Nahyan, last night, during which they exchanged the opinions concerning the Arab situation and the efforts exerted for convening the Arab summit. Go

Bahraini Emir Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa will visit Qatar tomorrow at the invitation of Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani to discuss "existing ties between both countries and their peoples, latest developments in the Gulf and Arab arenas and topics of mutual interest," Gulf News Agency reported. Go

United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan al-Nahyan received Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed al-Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commandor of the UAE armed forces, and Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jabr al-Sabah, first deputy chairman of the Kuwaiti Cabinet, in a rest house in Raha beach yesterday evening during which they reviwed the situation in the area and means of supporting the Gulf Cooperation Council's work in addition to relations between the two states. Go

Qatari sources said today that the emir of Qatar is expected to head to Khartoum after the Lesser Bairam to follow up on the reconciliation efforts between Sudanese President Omar El-Bashir and Hasan Turabi, secretary general of the ruling National Congress party. Go

General Robert Guei, commander of the military coup d'etat in Cote D'Ivoire received today a message from Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, head of the current session of the Organization of African Unity. Go

An Iraqi delegation came back today from Tehran after failed negotiations with Iranian officials concerning regaining five airplanes kept by Iran since 1991 when the Iranian authorities linked returning the airplanes with a plan for ratifying the principles of compensation which Iran asks Iraq to pay for its responsibility for declaring the war against Iran in 1980. An Iraqi military source said Iran is keeping 125 civilian and military airplanes from the eve of the Gulf War, while Iran admits to keeping only 33 airplanes. Go

Israeli Radio said on Tuesday that the Syrian-Israeli work team for negotiations held on Tuesday the first round of negotiations on security arrangements and normalization, and the meeting was chaired by the Maj. Gen. Shlomo Benai on the Israeli side and Youssef Shakkour on the Syrian side. Go

Israeli President Ezer Weizman refused the increasing pressures on him to present his resignation following accusations addressed to him of receiving financial gifts from Edward Saros, a French businessman. The Israeli president said he does not intend to resign and that he will overcome these difficult circumstances. Go

Sultan Ali Al Owais, a prominent United Arab Emirates philanthropist, businessman and poet passed away, Khaleej Times reported. Go

An Israeli official said on Tuesday that Chinese President Jiang Zemin will visit Israel and the Palestinian self-rule area next spring. Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Nawaf Masalha added that during his visit the Chinese president will discuss means of strengthening bilateral relations in various areas. Go

Bahraini Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa called yesterday for the development of Bahrain's infrastructure to deal with developments such as increased traffic, Bahrain Tribune reported. Go

Lebanese security on Tuesday closed several main streets in al-Hamra district in Beirut following unconfirmed news reports that there was a booby trap near an Anglican church. Go

The Qatar General Petroleum Corporation said it plans to drill around 270 new wells in the next ten years in three Qatari oil fields, Gulf News reported. Go

Gulf Air said its operations took place as usual successfully and without any obstacles over the start of the year 2000, adding in a statement yesterday that all its airplanes, data systems and computer programs passed the beginning of the new year without Y2K problems, giving credit to its investments in developing new technology. Go

Israeli sources said yesterday that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak will endeavor to get US cruise missiles in framework of the price of peace with Syria, depicting the anticipated cruise missile transactions as part of huge US military aid to Israel worth $17 billion. Go

Seven persons were killed in Algeria yesterday, including militants, by a group of terrorists. The Algerian newspaper Le Matin said that 'a group of nearly 12 armed persons attacked El-Amaria village after exploding two bombs, one of which was placed inside a housing building. When its inhabitants tried to escape, the armed people killed the family's five members. Go

Mohammed Gamil Walad Mansour, a member of the Mauritanian opposition parties' front, called for resisting the Israeli presence in Mauritania. Walad Mansour said in front of thousands of prayers in Tiba mosque in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, that, "The Israeli entity started to penetrate into the country quickly," demanding a boycott of Israel which he said will bring nothing for the country but sexual diseases. Go