APS Diplomat Recorder articles from April 2005

APS Diplomat Recorder archives from April 2005

ARAB AFFAIRS - Mar 28 - GCC Currency In 2010.(Gulf Cooperation Council)
April 2, 2005... The Saudi Finance Minister Dr. Ibrahim Al Assaf says the six-member GCC countries commit to issue the GCC common currency in the year 2010. He denied press reports that the new currency has been named Gulf dinar. "We have not yet finalised the...

ARAB AFFAIRS - Mar 30 - Arabs Must Hasten Reform Process, Warns Qatar.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... Addressing delegates at the Doha Forum for Democracy and Trade, Qatar's First Deputy PM Shaikh Hamad Bin Jasem Al Thani says Arab countries must urgently establish a framework for democracy before impatience and anger spread among the masses....

ARAB-US - Mar 30 - General Signals Decision On Iraq Troop Pull-out.(Lance Smith )
April 2, 2005... A top US general Lt Gen Smith says the Pentagon can begin large withdrawals of troops from Iraq as long as the level of violence in the country remained low until national elections, scheduled for the end of the year. Lt Gen Lance Smith of the...

AFGHANISTAN - Mar 30 - Taliban Claim To Be Behind New Violence.
April 2, 2005... A car bomb explodes in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad killing one and wounding another. The blast, for which Taliban guerrillas claimed responsibility, comes as the US first lady Laura Bush, was to visit Kabul about 120 km, or 75 miles,...

IRAN - Mar 30 - Tehran Provides Glimpse Of Atom Site.
April 2, 2005... Pres Mohammad Khatami takes a group of journalists deep underground into the heart of a key nuclear plant that Washington wants dismantled and whose existence was kept secret until 2002. About 30 local and foreign journalists visited the Natanz...

IRAQ - Mar 28 - Most-Wanted Terrorist 'Surrounded'.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... The country's interior minister Falah Al Nakib says security forces surround most-wanted terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Al Zarqawi, the leader of the terror network Al Qaida in Iraq, has eluded arrest while kidnapping and killing people in...

IRAQ - Mar 30 - Insurgents Assault Shiite Pilgrims.
April 2, 2005... A car bomb explodes outside a primary school west of Baghdad, killing a guard, as insurgents launch attacks on pilgrims traveling to Karbala for a Shiite religious festival. The bomb detonated in the town of Abu Ghraib outside the Abu Ghraib...

ISRAEL - Mar 28 - Parliament Rejects Gaza Referendum Bill.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... The Israeli parliament overwhelmingly rejects legislation to authorise a referendum on PM Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw from the occupied Gaza Strip. The 72-39 vote removed what Sharon considered a delaying tactic by rightists opposed to his...

LEBANON - Mar 27 - President Vows To End Unrest.(Emile Lahoud )
April 2, 2005... A day after a bombing wounds six people in Beirut, Pres Emile Lahoud pledges to do his utmost to end the violence that has gripped Lebanon since the assassination of former PM Hariri on Feb 14. Lahoud's comments came after he attended an Easter...

LEBANON - Mar 29 - Pro-Syria PM Omar Karami Steps Down.
April 2, 2005... The pro-Syrian PM Omar Karami says he will step down because he could not persuade anti-Syrian opposition figures to join a national unity government to lead the country to elections due in May. In a move that could delay those polls, the PM,...

LEBANON - Apr 2 - Bomb Blast Injures 4.
April 2, 2005... A bomb rips through a shopping center in a Christian village east of Beirut last night wounding four people and causing extensive damage. The explosion rocked Rizk Plaza in the summer resort village of Broummana. It was the fourth bomb attack...

PALESINE - Mar 31 - Abbas Crackdown After West Bank HQ Attack.(Mahmoud Abbas )(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... Pres Mahmoud Abbas orders a crackdown on Ramallah militants who defy demands that they lay down their arms under peace moves he had agreed with Israel. Abbas took a tougher line after half a dozen gunmen from his own ruling Fatah faction fired...

ARABS-ISRAEL - Apr 4 - Sharon Not Planning To Raze Gaza Homes.(Ariel Sharon)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2005... At closed-door session of Parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee, PM Ariel Sharon insists Israel has no intention of razing the homes of the 8,000 Gaza settlers after they are uprooted from the territory. He said: We have no...

ARABS-UN - Apr 2 - Syria To Pull Out Of Lebanon 'By End Of Month'.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2005... The UN envoy Terje Roed Larsen,says Syria agreed to withdraw its troops from Lebanon by April 30. The timetable for withdrawal was the main demand of UN Sec Gen Kofi Annan, when he met Syria's Pres Bashar Al Assad, on the sidelines of the Arab...

AFGHANISTAN - Apr 4 - Karzai Seeks More Control Of Afghan Aid Budget.(Hamid Karzai)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2005... Pres Hamid Karzai, calls on international donors to give his government more control over the country's aid budget and help it scrutinise reconstruction spending to make sure foreign money is not wasted. His appeal, at the start of a three-day...

EGYPT - Apr 7 - Bomb In Cairo Tourist Area Leaves 2 Dead And Wounds 18.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2005... A French woman and an American man are killed in a bomb attack on one of Cairo's main tourist areas that wounded 18. The explosion was caused by a male pedestrian throwing a bomb, Cairo's security director, Nabil El Azabi, said. But some...

IRAQ - Apr 3 - Lawmakers Pick A Parliament Speaker.(Hajem Al Hassani )
April 9, 2005... Lawmakers end days of bickering by electing a Sunni Arab as Parliament speaker, clearing a major hurdle that has held up the formation of a new government two months after the country's first free elections in 50 years. Members of the 275-seat...

IRAQ - Apr 6 - Kurd, Shiite And Sunni Share Top Iraqi Posts.
April 9, 2005... The parliament confirms the Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani as the country's largely ceremonial president, and a Sunni and Shiite as vice-presidents, clearing the way for the formation of a government after over two months of political logjam....

IRAQ - Apr 7 - Shiite Islamist Jaafari Named As PM.
April 9, 2005... The newly appointed presidential council chooses Shiite Islamist Ibrahim Al Jaafari to be PM, but the new leader indicates it may be some time before he can form a government. The president, Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani who was himself elected...

KUWAIT - Apr 4 - FM Named.(Bader Mishari Al-Humaidhi appointed Finance Minister)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2005... Emir Shaikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah appoints long-serving bureaucrat Bader Mishari Al-Humaidhi as new FM. Humaidhi replaces Mahmud Al-Nuri whose resignation was accepted on Apr 3 one year after he submitted it following a vote of no-confidence...

PALESTINE - Apr 8 - Truce Over If Mosques Attacked.
April 9, 2005... Leading militant groups vow renewed attacks on Israelis if Jewish ultra-nationalists enter a sensitive Jerusalem shrine from which Israeli police intend to bar them Apr 9. The eight factions issued the warning a day after Israel said it would...

SAUDI ARABIA - Apr 3 - 7 Terrorists Shot Dead as Battle Rages.
April 9, 2005... As security forces kill seven suspected terrorists in a fierce gunbattle that raged for the second successive day till late night, the Cabinet renews its pledge to continue the Kingdom's anti-terror campaign. The leader of the Al Qaeda cell in...

ARAB AFFAIRS - Apr 13 - Kingdom's Support For Hamas Unwavering.
April 15, 2005... Crown Prince Sultan reaffirms Saudi Arabia's unwavering support to Palestinians and said the victory of Hamas in January parliamentary elections will not affect this historic stand. "We believe that Hamas is part of the Palestinian people and...

ARABS-ISRAEL - Apr 9 - Israel Cuts Its Ties With Hamas-Led Government.
April 15, 2005... Israel steps up pressure on the Hamas-led Palestinian government, severing all direct contacts with what it deems a "hostile entity" and firing shells into Gaza to combat rocket attacks by militants. A statement from the office of the interim...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Apr 10 - Bush Rejects Reports Of US Plans To Attack Iran.
April 15, 2005... Pres Bush rules out any bilateral negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme but dismisses as "wild speculation" reports that the US is preparing for military action, including a nuclear strike, if diplomatic efforts failed. Bush also...

IRAN - Apr 11 - Tehran Says It Has Mastered Uranium Enrichment.
April 15, 2005... Pres Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad announces on national TV that Iran had joined "the nuclear countries of the world", describing this as a "historical achievement". He said the country had taken a significant step towards mastering nuclear technology,...

IRAN - Apr 13 - Tehran Refuses To Back Down Over Nuclear Plans.
April 15, 2005... The Iranian Pres Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, remains defiant over his country's nuclear plans. "We won't hold talks with anyone about the right of the Iranian nation and no one has the right to retreat, even one iota", the Pres told the IRNA news...

IRAQ - Apr 10 - Sides Won't Budge On Iraqi Leadership.
April 15, 2005... Sunni Arab and Kurdish political leaders reject a last-ditch attempt to corral support for PM Ibrahim al-Jaafari and urges the Shi'ite leadership to settle on another nominee to lead the next government, officials said. The top members of the...

LEBANON - Apr 10 - Beirut Uncovers Plot To Kill Hezbollah Chief.
April 15, 2005... Lebanese authorities arrest nine Sunnis suspected of planning to assassinate Syed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah. The suspects are eight Lebanese and one Palestinian, security and judicial sources said. Their plot could be seen as...

PALESTINE - Apr 10 - Abbas Vows To Fight Israeli Isolation Bid.(Mahmoud Abbas )
April 15, 2005... Palestinian Pres Mahmoud Abbas vows to fight Israeli bid to isolate the Hamas-run government as financial pressure on the beleaguered regime intensifies. As EU foreign ministers approved a decision to suspend aid to the PA, Abbas called on the...

ARAB-EUROPEAN - Apr 12 - Poland Confirms Plans To Remove Troops From Iraq.
April 16, 2005... Poland's defence minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski, confirms plans to withdraw its 1,700 troops from Iraq by the end of 2005, joining the growing number of countries heading for the exit when the UN Security Council mandate for military operations in...

ARABS-ISRAEL - Apr 12 - Israel Looks To Egypt For Better Arab Ties.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2005... Israel's FM Silvan Shalom calls on Egyptian Pres Hosni Mubarak to help Israel improve its relations with the Arab world and to pressure the Palestinians to take stronger action against militants. "Israel and Egypt have much to gain from...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Apr 12 - Rumsfeld Tours Iraq To Meet New Leaders.(Donald H. Rumsfeld)
April 16, 2005... Iraq Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld spends in a whirlwind of travel that takes him from Iraqi government compounds in Baghdad to "town hall" meetings with US troops outside the capital to a final stop here, at a Kurdish stronghold beneath...

IRAN - Apr 10 - Iran Says It Will Never Give Up Uranium Enrichment.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2005... Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi says Tehran will not abandon uranium enrichment, despite its negotiations with the EU on its nuclear programme. He said Iran would never renounce its right to carry out the process, but was hopeful...

IRAQ - Apr 10 - Sadr Loyalists Plan Campaign To Oust US.(Moqtada Sadr)
April 16, 2005... The followers of the radical Shiite preacher of Muqtada Al Sadr, say they will follow up a big demonstration in Baghdad with a non-violent campaign to oust US and other foreign forces from Iraq. On Apr 9, tens of thousands of Sadrists staged...

IRAQ - Apr 15 - Rebels Threaten To Kill 60 Shiite Hostages.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2005... Sunni insurgents have taken at least 60 people hostage in an near Baghdad and are threaten to kill them unless Shiites leave "People from the town called me begging the Iraqi government to save their relatives who are hostages. They told me...

LEBANON - Apr 13 - PM Resigns After Failing To Form Cabinet.
April 16, 2005... PM designate Omar Karameh, announces his resignation, prolonging the political impasse provoked by the February assassination of the former prime minister Rafiq Hariri. His decision to resign threatens to delay crucial parliamentary elections...

LEBANON - Apr 15 - Mikati Appointed Premier.(Najib Mikati)(Brief Article)
April 16, 2005... A moderate pro-Syrian legislator Najib Mikati, is appointed as prime minister-designate after the country has been without a government for six weeks. Mikati said he would immediately start efforts to form a new government. His main task will...

PALESTINE - Apr 10 - Al-Aqsa Leader Says Abbas Will Likely Dismantle Militant Groups.
April 16, 2005... A leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in the West Bank Kamel Ghanem says he believes an effort by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to dismantle his organisation will succeed, meeting a major Israeli condition for resuming peace talks. However,...

RUSSIA - Apr 11 - Putin Rules Out Third Term As Pres.(Vladimir Putin)
April 16, 2005... At a meeting with German media executives Putin insists he will not seek a third term as Russian Pres in 2008, in an apparent attempt to quash speculation that he will change the constitution to allow him to do so. Putin made the remarks in...

ARAB-EUROPEAN - Apr 21 - EU Trio's Relief Over Tehran's Nuclear Offer May Prove Short-Lived.
April 23, 2005... The British, French and German team of nuclear negotiators arrive at a Mar 23 meeting with Iranian officials in Paris expecting a drama. The talks, intended to find ways of curbing Iran's nuclear programme, had been going on for three months...

ARAB-EUROPEAN - Apr 22 - Missile Sale To Syria Is No Threat To Israel, Says Putin.
April 23, 2005... Russian Pres Putin dismisses concerns by Israeli PM Sharon over Moscow's sale of missiles to Syria, saying the weapons will not fall into the hands of anti-Israeli militants. Putin told a TV channel Russia would be able to monitor what happened...

ARABS-ISRAEL - Apr 18 - Israel Considers Withdrawal Delay.
April 23, 2005... Israeli PM Ariel Sharon, says the government will consider a delay of three weeks until the middle of August to begin a planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip to avoid clashing with a Jewish fasting day. Yonatan Bassi, the government official...

IRAN - Apr 18 - 200 Held In Ethnic Unrest, Iran Discloses.
April 23, 2005... Government officials say about 200 people has been arrested in ethnic unrest in its southwest in recent days and close an office of the Arab language TV Al Jazeera, accusing it of stirring up trouble. At least one person died after...

IRAQ - Apr 18 - 'Saddam Should Be Executed If Convicted'.
April 23, 2005... The largest political bloc in the country's new government demands the execution of Saddam Hussein if the ousted Iraqi leader is convicted of war crimes, saying Pres Jalal Talabani should step down if he is not prepared to sign the death...

IRAQ - Apr 20 - Mystery Surrounds Mass Shiite Deaths.(Brief Article)
April 23, 2005... Pres Jalal Talabani says the bodies of more than 50 people have been discovered dumped in the Tigris river south of Baghdad. He said the victims were believed to have been Shiite hostages executed by Sunni insurgents in the Madaen district last...

LEBANON.
April 23, 2005... Apr 17 - New Leader To Focus On Holding Vote Hopes rise that newly named PM Najib Mikati can break six weeks of political deadlock by forming a government after he obtained support from opposition and pro-Syrian figures. Najib Mikati, who...

LEBANON - Apr 22 - Najib Mikati Vows To Hold Polls On Time.
April 23, 2005... PM designate Najib Mikati, pledges legislative elections will be held on time, while the country's two top security chiefs appear on their way out - two key demands of the opposition and the US. Mikati's cabinet still needs to win a vote...

PALESTINE - Apr 22 - Abbas Picks Three New Security Chiefs.
April 23, 2005... The govt officials say Mahmoud Abbas has chosen three people to head a consolidated Palestinian security service. Abbas has also signed off on the removal of two senior security officials, including the cousin of the late leader Yasser Arafat...

SAUDI ARABIA - Apr 20 - Election Gives A Taste For Democracy.(Brief Article)
April 23, 2005... Saudi completes its first limited experiment with electoral democracy, holding municipal elections in the west and parts of the north, including the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The logistics of what is the religiously conservative...

- ARAB AFFAIRS - Apr 29 - Neighbours Set to Support Iraq's Political Process.
April 30, 2005... Iraq's neighbours - Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Turkey - plus Egypt and Bahrain prepare in Istanbul to voice their support to the formation of a new government in Baghdad and issue an appeal for a full Sunni participation in...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Apr 23 - US And Saudi Arabia Seek To Calm Oil Fears.
April 30, 2005... The US and Saudi Arabia, the world's largest consumer and exporter of oil respectively, seek to calm markets as Crown Prince Abdullah and his ministers lay out their kingdom's investment plans to Pres Bush. "Both nations pledge to continue...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Apr 26 - US Team Concludes Saddam Had No WMD.(Weapons of mass destruction)
April 30, 2005... The US team investigating whether Iraq possessed WMD finish its 18-month search without finding any such weapons, underscoring the inaccuracy of the intelligence that triggered the US-led invasion of Iraq. The Iraq Survey Group [ISG] issued its...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Apr 26 - US Wants To Sell Israel 'Bunker-buster' Bombs.(Brief Article)
April 30, 2005... The Pentagon notifies Congress of the possible sale of 5,000lb GBU-28 bombs to Israel, developed during the 1991 Gulf war to destroy Saddam Hussain's hardened command centres. The Bush administration propose providing Israel with 100...

IRAN - Apr 24 - Tehran Keeps To Atomic Agenda.(Brief Article)
April 30, 2005... Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi, says the country will resume uranium enrichment regardless of the outcome of its negotiations with three European powers over its nuclear program. Speaking to reporters five days before Iran is to...

IRAN - Apr 25 - Rafsanjani Set To Run For Presidency In June Elections.(Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani)
April 30, 2005... The country's influential 70-year-old former Pres Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, gives the clearest indication he will again run for president in June's elections when the reformist Mohammad Khatami stands down. Rafsanjani said: The issue of the...

IRAQ - Apr 24 - Bombers Kill 21 Iraqis And Wound 70.
April 30, 2005... Two car bombs kill 6 Iraqi policemen and wound at least 30 at a police academy in Tikrit, while on Apr 24 night, two car bombs explode in quick succession near a Baghdad market, killing 15 and wounding 40. The first of the blasts in Baghdad was...

IRAQ - Apr 27 - Jaafari Completes Inclusive List For Iraqi Cabinet.(Ibrahim Al Jaafari)
April 30, 2005... After weeks of damaging delays and political wrangling, PM-designate Ibrahim Al Jaafari, confirm he haa completed his cabinet list, which includes Shiite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish politicians. He declined to give details about who would head up...

IRAQ - Apr 27 - Bomb Attacks Show Task Facing The Country's Regime.
April 30, 2005... A series of bomb attacks rock Baghdad and elsewhere, killing more than 20 people and injuring dozens of others, just a day after parliament approved a new cabinet following weeks of damaging political wrangling. The attacks indicate the...

PALESTINE - Apr 24 - Abbas Appoints New Security Chiefs In Unity Drive.(Mahmoud Abbas)
April 30, 2005... PA Pres Mahmoud Abbas, appoint four new commanders to head security forces in the West Bank and Gaza, pensioning off a number of senior figures associated with the era of his predecessor Yassir Arafat. The reshuffle is part of a consolidation...

RUSSIA - Apr 25 - Putin Bangs Drum For The Country's Civilising Mission.(Vladimir Putin)
April 30, 2005... Pres Putin says he will crack down heavily on any attempts to instigate a popular revolution in Russia, while laying claim to Moscow's continued role as a civilising influence across the former Soviet Union. Putin, dogged by protest-led regime...

SAUDI ARABIA - Apr 23 - Saudi Islamists Sweep To Victory.(Brief Article)
April 30, 2005... Candidates on an alleged "golden list" backed by religious theologians sweep the final round of Saudi Arabia's first nationwide municipal elections. Islamist candidates won all the municipal council seats contested in the holy cities of Mecca...