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The Egyptian Foreign Ministry started paying Egypt's share of the Arab League's budget in 1999 so that Egypt will be first Arab states to pay, in an attempt to encourage other early payments from states with the largest payment portions which are Egypt, Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The Arab League is passing through a crushing financial crisis which has obstructed it from giving its employees their salaries and obstructed its activities. Go

Oman decided to issue instant entry visas for 79 hours for non-Arab businessmen starting from middle of the coming month to help attract foreign investments. An official press statement said "these visas will be issued for $65 in El-Seib International Airport in Muscat, and these businessmen will not need an official sponsor." Go

Algerian President Abduelaziz Bouteflika has enacted a presidential decree providing for removing Minister of Information and Culture Abdealziz Rahabi, who is also the spokesman for the Algerian government, from his duties. The Algerian news agency said that President Bouteflika assigned Minister of State Tedjini Salaoundji to assume the tasks of the Information and Culture Ministry on an interim basis. Go

Qatar has denounced the air strikes launched last week by Israel against Lebanon and its continued bombardment of south Lebanon, which hit Lebanese cities and villages and targeted innocent civilians and the infrastructure. Go

Jordan's King Abdullah Bin Hussein is starting tomorrow a new Arab tour that will include four countries: Yemen, Sudan, Morocco and Mauritania. Go

The Moroccan air carrier, Royal Air Maroc, has increased its capital by four fold, from $28.57 million to $114.3 million. The company announced in a statement that the capital increase was decided in an extraordinary general assembly held on Tuesday. It was made possible due to the profits made by the company in the last years, the statement said. Go

Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gaddafi received a telephone call yesterday in Tripoli from President Ange Patasse of the Central African Republic. Talks during the telephone conversation dealt with conditions in Africa. Patasse stressed his support for the efforts exerted to maintain the peace process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in particular and the Great Lakes region, in general. Go

Al-Sharq Radio said on Wednesday that former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri held talks in Damascus on Tuesday with Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam, dealing with recent developments, especially the recent Israeli aggression against Lebanon. The radio added that Hariri also met with the chairman of the security department for the Syrian forces in Lebanon, Lt. Gen. Ghazi Kanaan. Go

Omani Minister of Commerce and Industry Maqbool bin Ali Sultan Said said that the Omani Council of Ministers has set up a committee to study the Y2K problem, as well as a technical team to help government ministries and bodies find solutions to potential problems, Oman News Agency reported. Go

The Jordanian opposition parties expressed their complete solidarity with and support for Lebanon against the most recent Israeli aggression which targeted the Lebanese infrastructure, including roads, bridges and electric stations as well as killing innocents. Representatives of the parties met during their visit yesterday to the Lebanese embassy Lebanon's new ambassador, Adeeb Alam El-Din, who received two statements issued by the Jordanian National Party and the Jordanian Conference for Protecting the Nation and Confronting Normalization, which denounced the Israeli aggression and said they are standing by Lebanon. Go

A women's training center, co-financed by the Moroccan scouts organization and a grant of the Japanese government, was dedicated Tuesday in Rabat. Japan contributed 60% to the center, built over a 1,500 square meter area at a cost of $7 million. The center, with a capacity of 200 places, will give two-year long courses on house management, embroidery and sewing to female school dropouts. Go

Britain has expressed its deep concern over the material damage and losses inflicted as a result of the Israeli attacks last week that targeted the Lebanese infrastructure. The British ambassador in Beirut, David MacLennan, said on Wednesday following his meeting with Lebanese Information Minister Anwar al-Khalik that London considers the April Understanding as the proper framework to ensure the security of civilians. Go

Pope John Paul II has expressed his desire to add Damascus and Athens to the tour he will make of Iraq, Egypt, al-Nasera (Nazareth), Bethlehem and occupied Jerusalem in the year 2000. He is planning to visit the holy shrines there. Go

Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz on Wednesday in Riyadh received a message from British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The message was conveyed by the British ambassador in Saudi Arabia, Andrew Green, during his meeting with the Saudi crown prince. Go

The annual report of the Arab program activists of the Sudanese human rights said the Sudanese government arrested 500 citizens, including the leaders of political parties, former ministers, engineers, doctors, former generals, former parliamentary members and journalists. Go

Saudi Minister of Planning Khaled al-Quseibi met on Wednesday with the Portuguese minister of international trade and members of the accompanying delegation, currently visiting Saudi Arabia. Prospects for trade and economic cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Portugal and means of expanding areas trade and economic activities were reviewed. Go

Negotiations in Cairo started between the Export-Import (EX-IM) Bank of the United States and a group of Egyptian banks and financial corporations to discuss the prossibility of contributions to implementing projects in Egypt to finance small and medium-sized projects through the national banking sector. The program planned for by Ex-Im Bank has nothing to do with what was said previously regarding specifying $1 billion to guarantee U.S. loans and investments in Egyptian infrastructure projects, especially in electricity communications, transportation and the environment. Go

Moroccan Prime Minister Abderrahmane Youssoufi left on Wednesday the Ibn Sina Hospital in Rabat where he underwent ten days ago a minor surgery to have a blood gathering in the head removed. Go

The Emir of Bahrain, Sheikh Hamad bin Issa al-Khaleifa, received a message on Wednesday in Manama from Turkish President Suleiman Demirel. The message extends an invitation to the emir of Bahrain to visit Turkey. Go

The European Union agreed on granting Morocco a loan of $4.1 million to be specified for the social development program to combat poverty. Go

Morocco is taking part in the U.N. meeting on population held June 30 - July 2 at the U.N. headquarters in New York to assess the implementation of the work program adopted five years ago at the Cairo International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). Go

An Israeli security source has denied news published on June 28, which said that Jordan refused to take part in joint Turkish - Israeli maneuvers. Israel Radio said the security source stressed that cooperation between Israel and Jordan is proceeding normally on all levels. Go

Jordan's population reached some 4,775,750 by the end of 1998. The Jordanian daily al-Rai quoted sources at the general statistics department in Jordan as saying that the population of greater Amman reached by the end of 1998 1,842,214. Go

Israeli Radio said on Wednesday that a new batch of Ethiopian Jews arrived in Tel Aviv on Tuesday night including some new 100 settlers. The Israeli authorities have been trying for a long time to bring in Ethiopian Jews, known as "Falasha," to Israel and settling them in the occupied Arab territories. Go