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Short Takes:
King Mohammed VI hosted Tuesday evening a dinner-reception at the honor of president Jacques Chirac and spouse Bernadette. Go

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Monday appealed to Muslim scholars to help him solve the security problem in Algeria and to address an appeal to the remaining members of the Armed Islamic Group who reject dialogue in order to drop their arms and benefit from the "pardoning." Go

Lebanese President Emile Lahoud at Baabda palace on Tuesday received the minister of energy and industry in Qatar, Abdullah Bin Muhammad al-Atiyah, currently visiting Lebanon. Talks dealt with the development of bilateral relations between the two states and the situation in the region. Go

Visiting King Mohammed VI met in Paris Tuesday afternoon with a hundred members of the Moroccan community in France at the main hall of the Louvre Carousel where the king assured the community of his special care saying their specific problems will be dealt with in joint action with the Hassan II Foundation chaired by Princess Lalla Meryem--the king's sister. Go

Arab League Secretary General Esmat Abdul Meguid has called for a united Arab stand that preserves the higher interests of all Arabs that can back Arab demands to restore all occupied Arab territories in the Golan, south Lebanon and Palestine. Go

The Sudanese newspaper the International Journalist yesterday quoted sources close to decision-making circles as saying that the Sudanese government has already started preparing for early presidential elections in May or June. The sources tied the government resorting to this option to getting new authorization for Sudanese President Omar El-Bashir, whose term of office will end in April 2000, to lead the country for the next five years. Go

A trade mission from the English city of Nottingham on Tuesday started a 5-day visit to Morocco. The mission includes representatives of eight firms, operating in telecommunications, pharmaceutical, education and engineering training. Go

Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khaleifa al-Thani on Tuesday concluded a two-day official visit to Damascus where Sheikh Hamad expressed in a cable the "utmost satisfaction over the good results of our visit and the exchange of views towards all debated issues and our bilateral consultation, especially asserting our joint desire to strengthen and expand joint cooperation between our two countries in various fields for the interests of our two brotherly peoples and the Arab nation." Go

US Energy Secretary Bill Richardson is to visit Algeria today within an African visit that is also to include visits with officials from Norway, the United Arab Emirates, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the International Energy Agency. Richardson's stop in Algeria is to include meetings with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Minister of Energy and Mines Chakib Khelil, and Foreign Minister Youcef Yousfi. Talks are expected to address oil prices and production levels. Go

Egypt will participate in meetings of forum of the Mediterranean Sea basin countries that will be held in Portugal on March 30 - 31 with a delegation headed by Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa. Go

Official Lebanese sources said that Kozo Okamoto, who contributed in an attack on an Israeli airport in 1972 during which 24 persons were killed, was released yesterday from Romia prison, where he was imprisoned for three years for forging visas and passports. Last week the Lebanese authorities granted Okamoto asylum because he fought against Israel, yet at the same time four other members of the Japanese Red Army who were also imprisoned in Lebanon on charges of forgery were sent to Jordan as the Jordanian authorities refused to allow them into Jordan and handed them over to Japan. Go

The World Bank has loaned Yemen a $ 28.9 million to finance a project destined to improve children health and education. The $ 45.3 million project is carried out in cooperation with the UNICEF which contributes $.12.4 million. Go

President of the World Football governing body FIFA, Sepp Blatter, and President of the African football Confederation CAF, Issa Hayatou, will pay a two-day visit to Morocco this weekend. The two men will hold talks with Moroccan officials on Morocco's bid to host the 2006 World Cup finals. Go

Algeria's Liberte newspaper said yesterday that Algerian soldiers killed 23 Islamic extremists that committed a massacre last month. Go

The Arab-African conference on the development of computer systems in employment and training fields opened here Tuesday with Arab and African experts attending. The encounter will debate the role of administrations and the updating of training to new employment requirements. Go

Kuwait's deputy premier and defense minister, Sheikh Salem al-Sabah, has stressed the continued desire of the Kuwaiti Defense Ministry to buy the US howitzer artillery system, Paladin. Go