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Short Takes:
Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdul Illah al-Khatib announced that King Abdullah II of Jordan is due to make an Asian - European tour soon, during which he is to visit Lebanon, Paris, Berlin, Tokyo and other capitals having relations to the due debts of Jordan. In press statements yesterday, al-Khatib said the main reason for this tour is seeking to cancel and abolish part of these debts or to reschedule them and ease the Jordanian debt burden. Go

The Arab Journalists Union condemned the decision to halt the publication of three Sudanese newspapers El-Rai El-Am, El-Anbaa, and El-Rai El-Akher, expressing its great anxiety about this decision. In its statement, the union considered this halt, coming according to administrative decisions and for different reasons, could lead to violation of the freedom of the press and threaten the stability and security of Sudanese journalists. Go

Parliament speakers from several countries ended Thursday in Rabat a two-day preparatory meeting of the international parliaments conference due at the UN headquarters in New York in 2000. The speakers the future of the International Parliamentary Union (IPU), the role of MPs in consolidation of democracy, Human rights protection, and countering the upcoming globalization challenges, and parliament management and related sectors. Go

The US ambassador to Lebanon, David Satterfield, said the US Middle East peace process coordinator, Dennis Ross, will shortly hold a visit to the Middle East to complete what had been started by US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. In statements to reporters in Beirut on Thursday, Satterfield added that Albright's visit to the region was encouraging, "and we are looking to proceed forward in the coming days, and we do believe that optimism has a convincing reason on the possibility of establishing peace very soon in the region." Go

The youth delegation from the Polish city of Kalbesh has concluded its visit to Egypt, in light of mutual cooperation between youth departments, as well as the fraternal agreement signed between Kalbesh city and the Egyptian city of El-Sharkia. During the visit, they discussed cooperation in medium-sized and small projects, vocational training and people's art and traditional industries. Go

Tunisian economic sources said a Maghrebean - US meeting will be held on the level of industrial and commercial chambers in Tunis on September 29 - 30, to discuss means of achieving the US - Maghrebean economic partnership. Go

Kuwaiti Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad has received a message from US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Kuwaiti TV said on Thursday. The TV added that the message was handed over on Wednesday and is pertaining to bilateral relations, matters of mutual concern and the latest political developments. Go

The US Department of Commerce said yesterday that Secretary of Commerce William Daley will lead two business development missions to the Middle East on October 8 -18. Daley will visit Jordan, Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to "encourage trade and investment in the Palestinian territories and in Egypt, Israel and Jordan and demonstrate the Administration's commitment to a broad-based relationship with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as well as other Gulf countries." Go

Egyptian lawyer Montaser El-Zayat told ArabicNews.com today that he did not mediate between the Egyptian government and the Islamic Group, adding that the Egyptian government did not accept his calls for halting military operations against Islamists. El-Zayat, who is called the lawyer of the Islamic Group, has considered the incident during which security forces entered a dwelling in Cairo and killed four members of the Islamic Group as something against him personally, adding that this incident was outside a decision to halt military actions. Go

The Palestinian Liberation Army leadership today holds a central speech rally in one of its military units under the patronage of the PLA's chief of staff, Muhammad Tareq al-Khadra, on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of its foundation. The celebration will be held in one of the PLA units in Damascus. Go

The Iraqi newspaper Babel has expressed its hope that the US congressional delegation who visited Iraq recently will convey what they have seen in the real situation of Iraq to the US people, but at the same time the newspaper mocked the target of the visit, which was finding facts. Go

The Moroccan imperial city of Fez signed recently a cooperation accord with the French city of Strasbourg. The accord, sealed on the occasion of Morocco's participation in the Strasbourg European fair, provides for the reinforcement of partnership and exchange of experiences between the two cities in local affairs management, town planning, transports, environment protection, tourism, arts, sports and handicrafts. Go

The representative of Iran in OPEC, Hussien Kazem, said the member states in the organization have adopted only one policy to raise the prices of petroleum in the international markets, adding that petroleum prices are related to the volume of petroleum produced. Go

The Arab organization for industrial and mining development announced that the production of raw sugar in the Arab states has amounted to nearly 25 million tons, according to the annual statistics released by the organization, in which Egypt comes in first, followed by Sudan. Go

Morocco said on Thursday it is unaware of any plans by Barzan Takriti, the brother of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, to settle in Morocco. Spokesman of the Moroccan government said "we do not have any information" about Takriti's plans to settle in Morocco. Go

Barazan al-Takriti, half brother of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, denied in a statement to the Iraqi News Agency assertions by the Iraqi opposition that he fled to the United Arab Emirates. The agency added that al-Takriti talked on the telephone with its correspondent in Amman to deny "what has been campaigned by the media on that he sought political asylum in one of the Arab Gulf states." Go