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Short Takes:
Egyptian assistant foreign minister for the African affairs said that establishing the free trade zone among the COMESSA countries and the steps that were taken till now for declaring this zone on 31st of coming October is the main item on agenda of COMESSA summit works that begin today in Mauritius, adding that Egypt assured in the preparatory meetings of the summit the necessity of supporting the security and stability among the members countries and preparing the proper atmosphere for achieving economic and social development which require solving the disputes in the peaceful ways and respecting each country's sovereignty. Go

Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Hamad Bin Issa al-Khaleifa on Monday evening received at his residence at the conferences palace received the Jordanian King Abdullah II. Go

France through its foreign ministry spokesperson said about the recent Qatari initiative regarding the Iraqi sanctions "We knew about it. We know that Qatar's foreign minister broached the idea of a regional initiative to help resolve the question of Iraq when he was in Kuwait last week. The purpose of the initiative, according to the Qatar minister, is to encourage Baghdad's cooperation with the United Nations and to break the current deadlock. The initiative is naturally welcome since it is likely to help the implementation of resolution 1284. That is entirely consistent with France's goals, and we are available for joint discussions with Qatar." Go

Yemen's minister of the Interior Lt. Gen. Hussein Muhammad Arab on Monday evening received a message on bilateral relations from the Saudi minister of the Interior. Go

Moroccan interior minister, Ahmed El Midaoui, renewed on Tuesday that Abdessalam Yassine, the leader of unauthorized Islamist association "Al Adl Oua Al-Ihsane) is a free person. Fath Allah Raslan the spokesman of the association said "we now want to take our rights completely with no conditions and Abdessalam Yassine's case is not that of a person but is of an association and the sanctions on the association must be lifted with no condition or restriction." Go

Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad Bin Khaleifa al-Thani on Tuesday in Doha received a message from President Ali Ezzat Becovitch of Bosnia pertaining to bilateral relations and means of strengthening them. Go

Libyan President Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi on Monday evening received replies from the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Meleis Zenawi and the President of Eritrea Asyas Afourki on the escalated situation between the two countries. Go

Prince Moulay Rachid, brother of king Mohammed VI, on Tuesday performed minor pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Go

A delegation of the association of Palestinian working women started Tuesday a work visit to Morocco to inquire about the experience of Moroccan women in management of local affairs. The delegation members will meet government officials, representatives of Moroccan women associations, parliamentarians and officials of local councils. Go

Denis Ross the U.S envoy in Middle East held last night after meting with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat a discussion tour with Prime Minister Ehud Barak to revive the peace process in the area. He said that "he thinks that both Arafat and Barak are serious toward the peace process" yet he said the talks will not be successful unless the violence stops. Go

A group of Japanese volunteers will participate in socio-economic activities in the fields of architecture, Vocational training, culture, health, mechanics and fisheries, a statement of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) said. The volunteers, who were selected because of their technical qualifications and their adaptation ability, will be deployed in different Moroccan cities. Go

The Rabat veterinary and agronomic institute and the US Minnesota university are holding this May 15-25 a conference to identify projects of research in agronomy. Moroccan agricultural engineers and their US peers will assess thirty years of cooperation between the two institutions and define prospects of cooperation in continuous training and experience exchange. Go

The Lebanese capital is hosting this May 18-19 an Arab conference on capital market to be attended by 500 public and private economic operators from 20 Arab states, will debate economic reforms, Arab and foreign investments prospects in the Arab states, E-commerce and the internet revolution. Go

Morocco Younes Al-Aynaoui on Tuesday moved to the second round of the $ 2.95 million tennis masters series tournament of Hamburg, Germany. The Moroccan, World N 13, booked qualification ticket after defeating French Stephan Huet in two sets to one: 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. Go

The value of the Saudi non-oil exports saw a reduction of sr (Saudi rial) 1.8 billion in the first half of 1999, amounting to sr nine billion, according to a report by the Saudi news agency. The chemical industries and the industries linked with them topped the list of the non-oil Saudi exports as they constituted 46.5 percent of the total non-oil exports followed by plastics and rubber and their products at 11 percent, the report said today. Go