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Short Takes:
Syrian President Hafez al-Assad on Wednesday received a message from Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara was handed the message by Yemeni Minister of Legal Affairs Abdullah Ghanem. Go

Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara on Wednesday received the special envoy for the acting president of Russia, Vladimir Putin. Talks dealt with the current conditions in the Middle East and the northern Caucasus region and Russia position regarding the deadlocked Middle East peace process. Bilateral relations were also reviewed. Go

Well-informed Tunisian sources said that Tunisian President Zein al-Abidin Bin Ali will visit Doha in November to chair his country's delegation to the meetings of the 9th Islamic summit conference which Qatar will host. Go

A telephone call was made on Wednesday evening between Lebanese Premier and Foreign Minister Salim al-Hoss and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara. The two sides discussed the forthcoming summit between Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and US President Bill Clinton on Sunday in Geneva. Go

Former South African President Neslon Mandela discussed in a telephone call he made on Wednesday with Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gaddafi issues of concern to the African continent. Go

The Sudanese opposition Ummah Party said it does not seek a bilateral or partial solution with the Sudanese government and that no one will convene with it except through the collective discussion conference through the Egyptian - Libyan initiative that will be convened with the participation of all the effective political forces in Sudan, including the southern rebels, even if it is not attended by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement headed by John Garang. Go

Arab media sources have reported that Arab League Secretary General Esmat Abdul Meguid is making consultations among the permanent representatives of the Arab League member states to set a date for resuming the meetings of the 113th session of the council of the Arab foreign ministers, which started in Beirut, in order to discuss other topics still listed on the meeting's agenda and to resume this session in the second half of April. Go

Libyan-Vietnamese talks started in Tripoli on Tuesday evening on backing and strengthening cooperation relations between the secretariat of the people's general conference in Libya and the Vietnamese National Assembly in various areas. Go

Arab health ministers will meet in Beirut on March 28 to discuss several issues, including child care, latest medical inventions, drugs manufacturing, a health information system and fighting smoking. Lebanese President Emile Lahoud is to participate in the two-day ministerial conference. Go

Defense minister of Burkina Faso, Albert De Millogo, who started on Monday an official visit to Morocco, held talks in Rabat Wednesday with the delegate minister in charge of the national defense administration, Abderrahmane Sbai. Go

Hundreds of workers in the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for rescuing and employing the Palestinian refugees in Jordan stayed on strike yesterday before the agency's headquarters in Amman to protest its internal policy. Go

The growth average in the Egyptian tourism reached 16%. The monthly news of the Egyptian data center affiliated to the Cabinet said the sector achieved an annual growth average of 16% between 1992 and 1999-- five times much as the growth averages of international tourism-- and that tourism contributes nearly 11% of the local products and forms the first position as a source of foreign currency for the general budget, directly or indirectly. Go

Seven Algerians were killed, among whom were four members of the security forces, during the past days by the armed groups all over Algeria. Go