We are looking for sales & marketing representatives in different countries. Apply now!

Short Takes:
King Hassan II received on Tuesday at the Royal palace of Skhirat (Rabat suburbs) Presidents Haj Omar Bango of Gabon and Denis Sasso-Nguesso of Congo. The king held talks with his guests and hosted a dinner banquet in their honor. Go

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat refused the U.S - Israeli proposals regarding a timetable of 15 months to achieve peace with the Arabs, calling for the immediate application of the signed agreements between the two sides. Arafat's advisor, Nabeel Abu Rodinah, said, "The Palestinian authority was not informed of the content of the Israeli - U.S. initiative, and no one talked with us regarding it." Go

Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani received a written message from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Egyptian sources said today that the message was received by Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad Bin Jasem al-Thani and that the message tackles developing bilateral relations between the two states, which recently witnessed coolness in all fields. Go

Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gaddafi on Tuesday received in Tripoli Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and members of his accompanying delegation, currently visiting Libya. Talks dealt with fraternal relations, areas of bilateral cooperation between the sisterly countries and means of strengthening and developing them, as well as Arab, international conditions and several issues of mutual concern. Go

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan issued a statement yesterday condemning the Israeli bombing on Monday of a Finnish UNIFIL position in south Lebanon. "It was only because of the quick reaction of the Finnish troops manning the position and a great deal of luck that there were no casualties," the statement said, calling the incident "unsettling" and saying it called to mind similar incidents this year. Go

Lebanese Prime Minister Salim al-Hoss met on Tuesday in Beirut with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar. Talks dealt with bilateral relations, developments pertaining to the Middle East peace process and the European - Mediterranean partnership association agreements. Go

Lebanese Prime Minister Salim Al-Hoss said yesterday that the agenda of today's meeting of the Lebanese Cabinet would include the demands of teachers and the issue of decentralization, if ready, but that it would not include the issue of administrative reform, as a report from the control commission was being awaited, the Lebanese National News Agency reported. Go

The head of Jordanian royal divan, Abdul Karim al-Kabariti is to arrive in Cairo today in a visit to Egypt lasting for a day, during which Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will receive him. Go

50 Egyptian industrial companies are participate in a fair for the Egyptian products in Accra, capital of Ghana, that will be held in the beginning of August, said Mohammed Abd El-Hamid Basal, head of the board of directors of the Industrial Development Bank, who sponsored the fair. The event is to include companies from both the private and public sectors that produce household and electric equipment, ceramics and cosmetics. Go

Palestinian sources said yesterday that Palestinian President Yasser Arafat intends to convene a meeting soon with Palestinian faction leaders opposed to the peace agreements with Israel, George Habash and Nayef Hawatmah. Abas Zaki, a member of the central council for the Fatah movement said Arafat will discuss with the two Palestinian leaders the issue of negotiations with Israel regarding final status in Gaza and in the West Bank. Go

An official source at the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine on Tuesday in Damascus denied reports of pressure by Syria on Palestinian opposition organizations stationed in Damascus to give up their armed struggle against Israel. The source told the AFP that the front was not told anything and only heard of such news from the media. Go

The Worldwide re-insurer company "SWISS RE" has increased from 5 % to 10 % its stake detained in the capital of Morocco's major insurance firm, "La Marocaine Vie." The Swiss company, which bought last week a block of 15,000 shares of "La Marocaine Vie" for around $ 57 per stake, will take the post of administrator at the Moroccan firm's managing board. Go

France on Tuesday expressed its dissatisfaction over the continued American air strikes against Iraq. The spokeswoman for the French Foreign Ministry, Ann Gizeau-Secret, said in Tuesday's statement that Paris is discontented with the bombardment operations which have been incessant for months and whose objectives are vague and not understood. Go

An agreement was signed in Tripoli on Tuesday providing for the establishment of a Joint Libyan - Tanzanian committee. The agreement aims at developing cooperation between the two countries in the areas of agriculture, tourism, education, culture and minerals. Go

Israel has requested to purchase "42 AIM-120B Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), missile containers, spare and repair parts, support and test equipment, maintenance and pilot training, software support, publications and technical documentation, U.S. Government and contractor technical assistance and other related elements of logistics and program support" at a cost of $18 million, the US Department of Defense said yesterday. The missiles would be used to increase the air-to-air defense capabilities of F-15 fighters. Go

Shares of Q-Tel, a Qatari telecommunications company began trading on Monday in the London Stock Exchange, Gulf Times reported, adding that Q-Tel is the first Qatari company to be traded on the exchange and that it is the second from the Arab Gulf states. Go

Morocco is drawn in group 1 of the 20th African Basketball championships to be held July 29 through August 6 in Angola. Go

A Palestinian official in Gaza said that Israeli security forces shot at Palestinian demonstrators yesterday, due to which nine persons were injured, two of whom were transported to the hospital while the rest received treatment at the location of the incident. Go

It is decided to increase the number of seats for the Aida opera to be held at the pyramids over last year's number by 100% to 6,000 seats, the head of Egyptian opera department, Mustafa Nagi, said, adding that the theater is designed by Egyptian engineer Mohammed Hagag, and performances will take place on October 12 - 17. Go