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Short Takes:
The Tunisian government and Belgium's Falonia area have signed an agreement for economic cooperation and exchanging information between different economic corporations in order to implement joint enterprises. Tunisian sources told ArabicNews.com today, that Tunisian companies can make deals in the European region as if they were Belgian companies, while the agreement allows the companies in Falonia to enjoy the privileges of the Tunisian companies when practicing their works in Tunisia. Go

Qatar's Higher Criminal Court released two defendants who are being tried in connection with a failed coup attempt on 10,000 riyals bail each, Gulf Times reported. Go

Bahrain will host an international conference on traffic safety on October 26 - 28, Gulf Daily News reported. Go

UAE courts are beginning to replace expatriate judges with nationals, Khaleej Times reported, adding that the process would take time to assure adequate training of prospective judges. Go

The GCC Ministers of Labor and Social Affairs Council will meet in Kuwait on October 20 - 21, Oman Daily Observer reported. Go

Jordan will establish a permanent trade center in its Algerian embassy to promote and develop exports there, Petra reported Go

An exhibition of "30 of the finest Arab artists in the world" was opened in London on Wednesday. Go

Moroccan prime minister, Abderrahmane Youssoufi, will pay an official visit to Hungary on October 11-13. Go

The Kuwaiti Cabinet under the chairmanship of Sheikh Saad al-Abdallah al-Sabah agreed to finance projects to reestablish and reconstruct Bosnia as well as to establish a free industrial trade zone to support trade between Bosnia and Kuwait worth $25 million in the first stage, and this zone will be later turned into a core for trade between the Gulf and Europe. Go

A spokesman for the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Hadid Naif, urged not to respond to US pressures to reach an agreement concerning the second stage of Israeli redeployment in the West Bank saying, "Accepting the idea of a nature reserve invented by Netanyahu is an additional concession for the good of the Israeli position, knowing that the original American initiative includes great concessions from the Palestinian side." Go

In press statements today, Lebanese Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri said that General Emile Lahoud assuming the presidency does not mean that Lebanon will have military rule, adding that the battle is not over the presidency but a battle over the government's reshuffle. Go

Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Hamdi El-Banbi announced in a press conference yesterday concerning the initial agreement on four new projects for drilling petroleum in Egypt with investments that reach $560 million, which are expected to be ratified by the Egyptian People's Council during its coming session in November. Go

About 138,000 visitors crossed through Rafah harbor during last September, the visitors are tourists, businessmen, traders, Arab and foreign visitors. About 121,500 persons among them arrived to visit antiquities and tourist monuments in Cairo, Port Said, Alexandria and Sinai. Go

The economic cooperation conference between Egypt and six countries of the Russian Commonwealth will be held at the end of the current month, under the patronage of Egyptian Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzoury, and regulated by the Egyptian fund for cooperation with the Russian commonwealth, affiliated to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, in addition to the Islamic Development Bank, the UN's Development Bank, the Egyptian Social Fund for Development, industrial and trade unions and Egyptian banks. Go

Egyptian Minister of Energy and Electricity Maher Abaza announced that his country is to export electric energy valued at LE 2.6 billion for the first time after activating the first stage of the united electricity net at the start of the coming year. In private remarks to ArabicNews.com, Abaza said that value represents the export of energy through the year 2017 within the electricity project linking east and northwest African countries with the Egyptian united electric network. Go

Ruler of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khaleifa al-Thani on Wednesday received a message from President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan al-Nahyan. Go

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has announced that Israeli - Palestinian negotiations are at a very "fragile" stage. In a statement he made on Wednesday prior to the meeting at Erez barrier, Arafat added that Israel until now did not give any indication of accepting the US initiative for the second phase of redeployment in the West Bank. Arafat said he will, by the end of the meeting, head for Moscow to hold talks with the Russian President Boris Yeltsin on the possibility of Russia's participation in the efforts exerted to give the Middle East peace process a push forward. Go

Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on Wednesday concluded a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia, during which he met with King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz and held with him talks dealing with bilateral relations between the two states and developments in the Arab, Islamic and international arenas. Go

Saudi Arabia's deputy Premier and chairman of the Saudi National Guard, Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, on Wednesday made a telephone call to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Go

A formal study released by the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism indicated today that the tourism traffic coming to Lebanon has seen a 10% improvement in summer 1998, due to Arab tourism coming from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Syria. Go

Mohammed Khalifa, head of the Egyptian cotton producers' assembly, confirmed today to ArabicNews.com that Egyptian cotton has a golden chance to restore its previous position and lost reputation in international markets, due to an expected increase in production this year in light of the drop in international production. Go