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Short Takes:
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea started on Tuesday a private visit to Morocco. President Mbasogo is in Marrakesh (central Morocco) where he is expected to meet King Mohammed VI. Go

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika issued a pardon for 5,000 detainees, among which are 152 from the extremist religious elements, on the occasion of celebrating the 45th anniversary of the Algerian revolution. All the released persons had only one year left to serve of their sentences. Go

Arab League experts intensified efforts to reach a solution to the Somali crisis as AL Secretary General Esmat Abdul Meguid met today with Fahmi Ahmed El-Haj, an advisor to Djibouti's President Ismail Gabali and the chief of the Somali alliance, Hussein Aideed. El-Haj said he discussed with Abdul Meguid Djibouti's initiative to solve the Somali crisis and the importance of supporting it among Arabs, adding that the initiative completes the former initiatives, especially the Egyptian one. Go

Kuwaiti Deputy-Premier and Defense Minister Sheikh Salem al-Sabah, chairman of the national commission in charge of prisoners' affairs, arrived Tuesday night in Marrakesh. Sheikh Salem al-Sabah was welcomed upon his arrival by the city wali, governors and the Kuwaiti ambassador in Rabat. Go

Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul Raouf al-Rawabdeh met on Tuesday in Amman with UK Defense Minister Geoffrey Hoon, currently visiting Jordan. Talks dealt with bilateral relations between the two countries, especially in the military field, as well as the Middle East peace process on various tracks. Go

Sultan Qaboos Bin Said of Oman on Tuesday received a message from the President of the Ivory Coast, Henri Konan Bedie, pertaining to bilateral relations between the two countries and issues of mutual concern. The Gulf News Agency said the special representative for Sultan Qaboos, Thweini Bin Shehab al-Said, received the message during his meeting in Muscat on Tuesday with the Ivory Coast's minister of state for foreign affairs. Go

The minutes of meetings of the first session of the joint Libyan - Malawi committee was signed on Tuesday in Syrte, by the secretary of the Libyan people's committee for tourism (tourism minister), Salem al-Boukari Joudeh, and Malawi's minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, Brown Mpinganjira. Go

The Yemeni ambassador in Amman, Hassan Lowzi, has reiterated that his country did not make secret discussions on normalizing relations with Israel. He added that rumors in the Israeli press are attempts by the Israelis to facilitate breaking the Arab position. In a statement to the Jordanian daily al-Arab al-Youm, the Yemeni ambassador stated that his country does not think of normalization with Israel before the conclusion of negotiations on all tracks. Go

The speaker of the Spanish Congress, Federico Trillo, will start on Friday a five-day official visit to Morocco at the invitation of the speaker of the House of representatives, Abdelouahed Radi. Trillo will hold a working session with Radi and meet with Premier Abderrahmane Youssoufi and other Cabinet members. Go

Jordan and Belgium celebrated the beginning of the first regular airline trip between the two countries yesterday. 179 European tourists were on board the Belgian airplane. Jordanian Tourism Minister Akel El-Beltagi said after receiving the passengers that Jordan provide great atmosphere for tourists visiting the rare monuments and tourism spots in Jordan. Go

The April Understanding Monitoring Committee meets today at UNIFIL headquarters in the Lebanese border town of al-Naqoura. The committee will discuss several Lebanese complaints pertaining to the repeated Israeli attacks against south Lebanon and the western Bekaa. Go

The Moroccan airline, Royal Air Maroc, started Tuesday weekly flights connecting Brussels to Nador, in northeast Morocco, in answer to the growing demand of the Moroccan community in Belgium. Go