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Today's Headlines

• Israel buys Kazakhstan complex for Uranium production
  Israel has bought one of the largest uranium factories at a price less than $300,000 US. Uranium is an essential ingredient in the development of nuclear bombs. Israel, Politics, 5/7/99
• First consultation meeting for the GCC member states on Monday
  Leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council will hold on Monday in Jeddah, their first consultation meeting with the objective of following up on the implementation of decisions and recommendations already taken in the annual summit meetings and to discuss latest developments in the Gulf region and international arenas. Gulf, Politics, 5/7/99
• Drought impacts on Syrian agricultural production
  Syrian agricultural. production in expected to witness a great recession for this year, in comparison with the past years due to the hard drought which hit the Middle East region. Syria, Agriculture, 5/7/99
• Syrian measures to combat water shortage crisis
  Syrian is cultivating the fruits of the agricultural and water policies pursued by the government throughout the previous decades, during which several dams were built all over the country and efforts were embarked on land-reclamation operations and in achieving food security and exporting cereals surpluses. Syria, Politics, 5/7/99
• Egypt: Standards and enforcement essential for the quality of tourism industry
  Egyptian Minister of Tourism Mamdouh El-Beltagi stressed intensification of procedures monitoring quality control in Egyptian hotels to guarantee the quality of the services presented to tourists. Egypt, Business, 5/7/99
• Bahrain asks the UN for a united stand towards sanctions on Iraq
  Bahrain's representative at the UN, ambassador Jasem Bu Alai has stated that the UN is studying several proposals to review the sanctions decision on Iraq, including the proposal submitted by the Bahraini delegation to the UN Security Council. Iraq, Politics, 5/7/99
• Egyptian ministerial group created to control negative balance of trade
  The Egyptian Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzoury, decided to form a ministerial group to improve on the deficit found in Egypt's trade balance with a number of countries. Egypt, Economics, 5/7/99
• Bahraini dailies urge Qatar to withdraw border dispute from International court
  In their Wednesday commentaries, the Bahraini dailies highlighted the issue of the border disputes between Bahrain and Qatar. The dailies said that the "amicable solution" needs to definitely give up any means, withdrawing this issue from the International Court of Justice. Bahrain, Politics, 5/7/99
• Economic conference for Egyptian National Party to begin tomorrow
  The committee for economic and financial affairs at the trusteeship of the Egyptian ruling National Party is to hold its seventh conference, starting tomorrow and lasting for two days, entitled "Challenges confronting Egyptian exports." Egypt, Economics, 5/7/99
• Arab Journalists ask governments to increse press freedom
  The Federation of Arab Journalists stated that the press in the Arab states suffers political, legal and administrative harassment that obstructs its perfect performance. Regional, Politics, 5/7/99
• King Abdullah, Derek Fatchett discuss peace process developments
  Jordan's King Abdullah Bin Hussein held talks yesterday with British Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Derek Fatchett regarding the Middle East peace process and means of enhancing bilateral ties. Jordan, Politics, 5/7/99
• Executing 3 extremists in Yemen for kidnapping and killing the tourists
  The Yemeni judiciary issued Wednesday an execution judgment on three members of extremist group that were convicted of kidnapping 16 foreign tourists in December 1998 and killing four of them. Yemen, Judicial, 5/7/99
• Morocco's experience in collective conventions is still weak, prime minister says
  The council, which meets for the first time since 1959, seeks to encourage partnership and contractual policy between socioeconomic partners, promote economic efficiency and workers' social status. The council, set up in 1957, also endeavors to achieve the stability of professional relations through the development of labor law texts. Morocco, Economics, 5/7/99
• Jordanian journalists renew rejection of normalization
  The Jordanian Journalists' Union (JU) has reiterated its stand in rejecting normalization with Israel. Jordan, Politics, 5/7/99
• Moroccan government undertakes to fulfill social commitments
  The Moroccan government undertook to materialize social commitments contained in a declaration concluded in 1996 with trade unions and employers. Morocco, Economics, 5/7/99
• Syrian-Jordanian higher committee agenda
  The Jordanian news agency said in its Thursday report that the joint Syrian-Jordanian higher committee which will convene its meeting in Amman at the beginning of June will discuss means of developing and strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries. Syria, Politics, 5/7/99
• Bangladesh: We will not establish relations with Israel
  Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abdus Samad Azad has denied reports which spoke about his country's determination to establish diplomatic relations with Israel. Israel, Politics, 5/7/99
• Arab civil aviation organization adopts air transports liberalization program
  The Arab Organization for Civil Aviation adopted an executive program for the gradual liberalization of Arab air transports. Regional, Economics, 5/7/99
• France helps Morocco develop with loans worth 2.4 billion francs
  The French agency for development announced that the total of the agency's loans specified for basic development in Morocco, amounted to 2.4 billion francs during last year. Morocco, Economics, 5/7/99
• EIB financing in Morocco not to be affected by fisheries issue
  The European Investment Bank's projected financing in Morocco will not be affected by the future of Morocco-EU fisheries relations, said visiting vice-president of the EIB, Arianne Obolesnky in Rabat Thursday. Morocco, Economics, 5/7/99
• Syria and Lebanon mark Martyrs Day
  Syrian President Hafez al-Assad on Thursday, May 6, which marks the Turkish occupation hanging Syrian and Lebanese patriots in Beirut and Damascus on May 6, 1916, simultaneously, visited the martyrs monument at the Damascus Qasyoun mountain, where he laid a wreath. Syria, Politics, 5/7/99
• 20 countries to participate in Dubai Medicom conference for communications
  The activities of Medicom conference for communications are to start on Tuesday. The two-day conference will be held in Dubai with the participation of 300 officials from 20 countries from the mail, telephone and Internet sectors and the companies working in this field whether inside or outside the Arab states. Regional, Economics, 5/7/99
• Cattle breeding accounts for 30 percent of Morocco's agricultural GDP
  Cattle breeding in Morocco accounts for 30% in the country's agricultural gross domestic product and yields over one billion US dollars in value-added production, Moroccan Agriculture Minister Habib El Malki said. Morocco, Agriculture, 5/7/99
• AL reiterates Iraq's territorial integrity
  Arab League Secretary General Esmat Abdul Meguid has asserted the desire of the AL to maintain Iraq's unity and territorial integrity and to oppose any attempt made to interfere in the internal affairs of Iraq. Iraq, Politics, 5/7/99
• Barak adheres to settlement in the al-Ghour
  Chairman of the Israeli Labor Party Ehud Barak has asserted his commitment to perpetuating the Israeli military, security and settlement presence in the Jordanian al-Ghour region. Jordan, Politics, 5/7/99
• Three offers refused to buy Egyptian paper company
  The holding company for Egyptian chemical industries refused three offers to buy the Ferta company for paper. An official source in the company said the offers were refused because the presented prices are less than the financial evaluation of the holding company. Egypt, Business, 5/7/99
• Specialized fund for investment in the Middle East, Africa
  The measures for establishing the first specialized fund for investment in Middle East and Africa are to begin on May 15. Egypt, Economics, 5/7/99
• Current account deficit expected to remain below 1 percent of GDP
  The current account deficit is expected to remain in 1999 and 2000 below 1% of the gross domestic product (GDP), the Moroccan economy and finance department said. Morocco, Economics, 5/7/99

Short Takes

• The Israeli occupation forces on Thursday killed a Syrian child from Masaada village in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights when the child was killed by an Israeli tractor. News reports from the Golan said the child is four years old. The occupation authorities said that the accident took place when the Israeli tractor was moving backward. Go
• Saudi Arabia and Iran have agreed to exchange military attaches after the visit held by Saudi Minister of Defense Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz to the Iranian capital. Iranian Minister of Defense Admiril Ali Shamkhani described this agreement as a great achievement, stating that they will arrange to exchange visits between the two countries' militaries. Go
• Foreign ministers of the five Arab Maghreb Union (UMA) member states will hold a meeting of the union's follow-up committee on May 15-16 in Algiers, the Tunisian Ashorouk daily reported. Go
• Morocco was elected chairman of the UN Information Committee for a two-year mandate. The election was made Thursday during the ongoing 21st session of the UN committee which is looking into several topics germane to ways of promoting contacts and communications between UN member states and UN bodies in addition to the UN information strategy in the next millennium. Go
• The works of the Egyptian - Pakistani high committee are to start on June 6 in Islamabad under the chairmanship of Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa and his Pakistani counterpart, Sartaj Aziz. Meanwhile the Egyptian assistant FM for Asian affairs, Nagi El-Gatrifi, said that during the three-day-meetings the praticipants will endorse a number of mutual cooperation agreements and discuss cooperation on political issues of mutual concern through activating the role of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, especially in relation to the problems of Islamic countries. Go
• King Hassan II received on Wednesday in Marrakesh Prince Hassan Bin Talal of Jordan, who is paying a private visit to Morocco to take part in the spring session of the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco. Prince Talal was designated by King Hassan II as a member of this Moroccan scientific and cultural institution in 1990. Go
• Ahmed Tibaoui, an Algerian economic delegate who took part in last month's meetings in Stuttgart, Germany on European - Mediterranean cooperation, said that the volume of direct foreign investment in Algeria outside the petroleum sector is $220 million US, Algerian News Agency reported. "Our growth potential vis-a-vis our brother countries and the European Union, notably Germany, is extremely wide," the report quoted him as saying. Go
• The Arab Fund for Social and Economic Development, headquartered in Kuwait, decided to lend to Algeria the amount of $130 million dollars to be used to help Algeria sustain high efforts to meet the requirements of Algerian consumers of electric energy. With this loan, the fund has presented loans to Algeria worth $700 million during the past two years to implement several projects to upgrade the basic infrastructure in Algeria. Go
• The country manager for India at the Bahrain Promotion and Marketing Board said that Bahrain is trying to promote investments from India by offering full ownership, and "tax-free repatriation of profits, capital and royalties," Bahrain Tribune quoted the official, Ganesh Raja, as saying. Go
• The new permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations, Fawzi Bin Abdul Majeed Shoboksh, presented his credentials to Secretary General Kofi Annan yesterday. Shoboksh's previous posts have included terms as the Saudi ambassador to the Russian Federation, Japan and the Philippines. Go
• 90 percent of a Saudi serial entitled "Thank You..." is being filmed in Bahrain for broadcast during Ramadan, Gulf Daily News reported. The remainder of the serial will be filmed in Saudi Arabia, the report said. Go
• The first-ever Mediterranean Travel Fair will take place in Cairo on March 1-3, 2000, Reed Travel Exhibitions announced, focusing on the non-European Mediterranean states, Khaleej Times reported. Business plan to forestall famine Hussein accuses U.N. of treating Iraqis like 'poultry' Israel group accuses police of beating Palestinian Iraq Shuts Paper for Currency Story Ban Sought on Turkey Islamic Party Jordan's King Heading West With a Plea on Debt Sudan Airways lands its first flight in Libya Sudan meningitis spreads to new areas after claiming 1,513 lives Coup leader names new government in the Comoros SUDAN BOMBING LAWSUIT IDF 'won't escalate' after man hurt in shelling Go

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