Iraq responds to AL message on purifying Arab atmospheres

Arab League Secretary General Esmat Abdul Meguid on Tuesday received an urgent reply message from Iraqi Foreign Minister Muhammad Said al-Sahaf. It was handed over by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry's secretary, Nabil Najm, during the talks he held on Tuesday in Cairo with the AL assistant secretary general for Arab affairs, Ahmad Bin Hali.

The message includes Iraq's reply to the message sent earlier by the AL chief to al-Sahaf in August on purifying the Arab atmospheres, healing Arab rifts and ensuring the necessary conditions for the success of the 112th session of the AL council, which will be presided over by Iraq.

In a statement following his meeting with the Iraqi Foreign Ministry secretary, Bin Hali stressed the importance of ensuring fraternal and amicable atmospheres to conclude positive decisions paving the way for initiating a dialogue with Iraq.

On the possibility of convening a meeting for the Arab seven-member committee concerned with Iraq on the sidelines of the AL council meeting, Bin Hali said there are consultations between the AL chief and members of the committee in this respect.

Meanwhile, an official at the Iraqi Health Ministry announced on Tuesday the death of 27 persons due to the spread of cholera this summer. Some 1,900 cholera cases were reported in the central and southern parts of the country.

The World Health Organization's provisional representative in Baghdad, Ghulam Buyal, said, "Local health authorities in al-Suleimaneh reported that 1,375 cholera cases were reported, in addition to other cholera cases in Irbeil and Dahuk provinces." He added that the situation will get worse during the next two months because Iraq lacks necessary medical items to make necessary laboratory tests.