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Lebanese judge Ghada Abu Karroum on Wednesday released a sentence that found the Lebanese singer Marcel Khalife as not guilty and stopped all claims against him. The decision was taken while Khalife was preparing to travel to Tunisia to take part in singing festival. Go

Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema decided to cancel his scheduled visits this week to Israel and Jordan because of the political crisis through which his government passes. Italian sources in Cairo quoted the Italian cabinet's office yesterday as saying that it is possible that D'Alema will vist Bethlehem during Christmas, as he will convene with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. Go

Egypt is participating today in the Euro-Mediterranean meeting concerning the Barcelona declaration that was called by Finland as the current head of the European Union, said Mahdi Fathallah, Egypt's assistant foreign minister for European affairs, who left Cairo yesterday evening heading for Helsinki on a three-day visit to head Egypt's delegation in the meeting of high-ranking officials in the Barcelona process, which includes representatives of 27 countries. Go

All fishing activity for high-sea, coastal and traditional cephalopod fisheries will stop for three months as of February 2000, the maritime fishery department announced in Rabat Wednesday. Go

Swiss Foreign Minister Joseph Deiss is to visit Lebanon at the end of February, according to a statement issued by the Swiss embassy in Lebanon after a meeting held yesterday between Yong Strolli, the Swiss ambassador in Lebanon, and Nagi Abu Assi, manager of political affairs in the Lebanese Foreign Ministry, during which they reviewed the future of the peace process and the Palestinian refugees' status in Lebanon. Go

A Tunisian business delegation will head to Palestinian after the end of the current month of Ramadan to discuss the economic agreement signed between Tunisia and the Palestinian government in revitalizing bilateral cooperation between the two states in all fields, as Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) ,the secretary of the executive committee for the Palestinian Liberation Organization, concluded his four-day visit to Tunis yesterday. Go

Mali on Wednesday voiced unconditional backing for Morocco's bid to host the 2006 World Cup finals. Malian officials assured a visiting Moroccan delegation that Morocco's bid is the bid of Africa as a whole and should be backed. Go

The governor of the Jordanian capital, Amman Qaftan al-Majali, has decided to free the young man who opened fire against the premises of the Israeli embassy in Amman in November after his father gave necessary guarantees. Go

The board of executive directors of the Islamic Development Bank, which ended its 19th session in Jeddah last Monday approved new funds worth more than $200 million in favor of a number of member countries and muslim communities in non-member states, a press release said. The board approved $135 million to finance eight development projects in eight member states, $16.7 million from the Unit Investment Fund for Libya and about $10 million from the IDB Waqf Fund. Go

The Iranian ambassador in Amman has stressed that the question of Iran's withdrawal from the three Gulf islands is an internal issue. This was expressed in a message sent by the Iranian ambassador to the speaker of the Jordanian parliament, Abdul Hadi al-Majali, in reply to a memorandum sent earlier by some 30 Jordanian parliamentarians to the Iranian leadership calling for the withdrawal of Iran from the three islands. Go

United Arab Emirates police and security forces have uncovered 300 additional fake visas in a scam involving 78 companies, bringing to the total so far to about 1,500, Khaleej Times reported. Go

The Dakar city council decided to name the former Albert Sarrault Avenue after the late King Hassan II. One of the largest avenues leading to the heart of the Senegalese capital will soon be bearing the late king's name, as requested by President Abdou Diouf, as a tribute to his work in favour of friendly ties between the two countries. Go

The IAAF has officially ratified the 2000 m world record, set last summer by Moroccan Hicham El-Guerrouj. The Moroccan set the new barrier at 4:44.79 during the meeting of Berlin last September 7. IAAF also ratified other world marks, set during the 1999 athletics season. Go

US President Bill Clinton announced this afternoon that the Syrian - Israeli negotiations are "off to a good start" and will continue on January 3, 2000. Clinton announced that the sides agreed that the terms of the talks will be UN resolutions 242 and 338 and Madrid Terms Of Reference. Both sides requested US presence at the talks, and that both sides "can count on the US every step of the way" Clinton added. Go

Gulf Air airline has not yet received permission to fly in United Kingdom airspace over the new year, as UK officials are reviewing Y2K compliance documentation, Gulf Daily News reported, as the company could be banned from UK airspace for 48 hours if the documentation is not approved. Go