APS Diplomat Recorder articles from April 2007

APS Diplomat Recorder archives from April 2007

ARAB AFFAIRS - Apr 1 - Olmert Invites 'All Arab Leaders' To Summit.
April 7, 2007... Israel's PM Ehud Olmert, invites all Arab leaders to hold direct talks with Israel at a summit on the Middle East. Speaking at a press conference alongside Angela Merkel, the visiting German chancellor, Olmert said: I invite all the heads of...

ARABS-ISRAEL - Apr 2 - Israeli Forces Terrorise Palestinian Refugees.
April 7, 2007... Israeli forces storm East Jerusalem's Shu'fat refugee camp and hands out 150 evacuation orders to Palestinian families. "If the orders are executed, around 2,000 Palestinian residents will become homeless and refugees another time", said, Nidal...

ARAB-EUROPEAN RELATIONS - Apr 5 - Blair Denies Letter Of Apology To Iran.
April 7, 2007... An adviser to Iran's top authority, supreme leader Ayat Ali Khamenei, says Iran received a letter of apology from Britain before the release of 15 military personnel. Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized the British sailors and marines on March...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Apr 4 - Pelosi Says Israel Open To Syrian Talks.
April 7, 2007... The speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, says that she had relayed a message from Israel's PM Ehud Olmert to Syria's Pres Bashar al-Assad that Israel is ready for peace talks. The Syrian Pres had told her that he was,...

BAHRAIN - Apr 3 - Crown Prince Criticises Bahrain Ministers.
April 7, 2007... In an interview with Al Ayam newspaper Bahrain's crown prince Shaikh Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa delivers an unusually stern rebuke to his country's ministers, saying that they shall improve their interaction and communication with the people....

IRAN - Apr 1 - Iran Airs Fresh 'Confessions' By Detainees.
April 7, 2007... Iranian TV airs fresh footage of the captured British naval personnel, hours after the UK defence secretary said London was in "direct bilateral communication" with Tehran. "We are anxious that this matter be resolved as quickly as possible and...

IRAN - Apr 4 - Ahmadi-Nejad Gifts Freedom To 15 British Sailors.
April 7, 2007... Iranian Pres Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad frees 15 British sailors and Marines, offering a "gift" to Britain that ended a 13-day crisis. In a surprise announcement, Ahmadi-Nejad said he was willing to forgive the sailors even though Britain was not...

IRAQ - Apr 2 - Iraqi Shi'ite Theologians Oppose New Legislation.
April 7, 2007... Senior Iraqi Shi'ite theologians including Grand Ayat Ali al-Sistani oppose new legislation that will ease the ban on members of the former ruling Baath party holding official posts. The new legislation is seen by US officials as crucial to...

PALESTINE - Apr 1 - Fatah Plans To Unify Its Armed Groups.
April 7, 2007... Fatah, the mainstream Palestinian movement, announces that it is working to unify its armed groups under one command in an apparent effort to strengthen and impose discipline on its notoriously divided militias. A Fatah spokesman in Gaza, Maher...

SOMALIA - Apr 1 - Somali Clan Claims Truce Deal With Government.
April 7, 2007... The dominant clan in the Somali capital brokers a truce with Ethiopian military officials supporting the government, a clan spokesman says, even as a mortar barrage went into its fourth day. The Hawiye clan spokesman, Ahmad Diriye, said that...

SUDAN - Apr 2 - Rebel Attack On AU Force In Darfur Is Deadliest.
April 7, 2007... Five AU peacekeepers are killed in a brazen rebel ambush in Darfur less than a mile from their base along Sudan's border with Chad. It was the deadliest attack on the beleaguered AU force since it was deployed to monitor a shaky cease-fire...

QATAR - Apr 1 - Significant Turnout Indicates Return Of Qataris' Confidence In Poll Process.
April 7, 2007... 51% turnout at the municipal elections marks a return of confidence of Qataris in the democratic process after the poor attendance at the previous 2003 polls. "The turnout shows a remarkable percentage. Half of the people went to vote and this...

ARABS-ISRAEL - Apr 11 - Israel Blocking Swap Deal.
April 14, 2007... Hamas charges that Israel is blocking a prisoner exchange deal for a soldier held by Gaza-based fighters, as the Jewish state says there are "limits" to negotiations. "Israel is the main obstacle at reaching an accord on an exchange of...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Apr 11 - Both Sides In Iraq Using Weapons Made In Iran, US Says.
April 14, 2007... A US Major General William Caldwell Arms, during a news conference, says weapons believed to have been manufactured in Iran as recently as last year have turned up in Sunni-majority areas as well as in the hands of Shi'ite extremists. The...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Apr 11 - US Navy Denies Iran Claims Over Sub.
April 14, 2007... The US Navy denies claims that one of its nuclear submarines was forced to leave the Arabian Gulf after Iran protested that it had contaminated the waters. "The Los Angeles-class attack submarine Newport News left the Arabian Gulf after it...

AFGHANISTAN - Apr 11 - New Strategy In Taliban's Offensive-Kidnappings Are The Taliban's New Weapon Of Choice In Afghanistan.
April 14, 2007... Like any modern fighting force, the Taliban have learned the benefits of emotional warfare. As the Taliban's spring offensive gets under way, kidnappings have become their new weapon of choice, targeting a growing chink in NATO's armor: Across...

EGYPT - Apr 12 - Egypt Arrests 10 Muslim Brotherhood Members.
April 14, 2007... Police detain nine members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood group as part of Egypt's ongoing campaign against the country's strongest opposition group. The Brotherhood members were rounded up as they were holding a meeting inside an apartment...

IRAN - Apr 9 - Iran Has 'Industrial Scale' Nuclear Capacity.
April 14, 2007... President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad says that Iran had reached what he called "industrial scale" in its production of nuclear fuel. But a lack of detail in his announcement left analysts trying to disentangle atomic substance from political...

IRAQ - Apr 9 - Sadrist Gather For Anti-US Demonstration.
April 14, 2007... Tens of thousands of Iraqi Shi'ite protesters gather in the holy city of Najaf to demand the withdrawal of US forces on the fourth anniversary of the US capture of Baghdad. The demonstration, the largest in recent months, represented a show of...

IRAQ - Apr 9 - More Than 20 Killed In Baghdad Fighting.
April 14, 2007... More than 20 people are reported killed and an American helicopter is damaged in an all-day fight between militants and Iraqi and American military forces in the turbulent Fadhil neighbourhood here, according to residents of the area. In a...

IRAQ - Apr 10 - Sadrists Threaten To Quit Iraqi Government.
April 14, 2007... Iraq's largest grassroots movement threaten to pull out of the government, in a sign of growing impatience among Shi'ite radicals with a joint US-Iraqi security crackdown that has targeted Shi'ite militias. The radical Sadrists have pulled out...

IRAQ - Apr 12 - Suicide Bomb Hits Iraq Parliament.
April 14, 2007... A suicide bomber blows himself up inside the heavily guarded Iraqi parliament building, killing at least eight people including three legislators, and dealing a blow to the new US security plan for Baghdad. The brazen lunchtime attack in the...

ISRAEL - Apr 10 - Israeli Security Agency Warns Of New Attacks By Hamas.
April 14, 2007... A recent wave of arrests of Hamas militants in the West Bank town of Qalqilya provide evidence that members of the Palestinian faction there are primed to resume attacks in Israel, the Israeli internal security service Shin Bet asserted. It...

MOROCCO - Apr 10 - 4 Terror Suspects Killed.
April 14, 2007... Three suspected suicide bombers blow themselves up after a police raid on a house in a Casablanca slum in which a fourth man was shot and killed. Two men went on the run after the dawn raid in the Fida neighbourhood. During the raid, one...

PALESTINE - Apr 9 - Hamas Gives List Of Prisoners For Israeli Soldier Swap.
April 14, 2007... Hamas has handed over the names of Palestinian prisoners it demands Israel release in exchange for an Israeli soldier seized by Gaza gunmen 10 months ago. "These names have been presented to the Egyptian [mediators], who in turn have presented...

PALESTINE - Apr 11 - PA In Request For [euro]1 bn In Aid.(Brief article)
April 14, 2007... The PA asks for 1 bn ($1.3bn, [pounds sterling]680m) from international donors to plug a gap in its finances caused by economic isolation. Salam Fayyad, finance minister in the new national unity government, made the call after meeting Benita...

SUDAN - Apr 10 - Janjaweed Fighters Kill 400 On Chad Border With Sudan.
April 14, 2007... The UN refugee agency says Janjaweed militia fighters kill as many as 400 people in the volatile eastern border region near Sudan, leaving an "apocalyptic" scene of mass graves and destruction. The attacks took place Apr 7 in the border...

TURKEY - Apr 9 - Turkey Warns Iraq's Kurds Over Threat.
April 14, 2007... Turkey warns Iraqi Kurdish leaders they will be "crushed" if they carried out a threat to stir up trouble among Turkish Kurds, as clashes with separatists in south-eastern Turkey claimed at least 20 lives. Turkey's PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan,...

YEMEN - Apr 10 - Yemen Fighting Leaves 35 Troops, 50 Rebels Dead.
April 14, 2007... Fierce battles between government forces and Shi'ite rebel fighters in the northern province of Saada have left at least 35 troops and 50 rebels dead in the past week. The official told that scores of soldiers and rebels loyal to local Shi'ite...

ARAB AFFAIRS - Apr 18 - Arab Ministers Back Israel Talks.
April 21, 2007... Egypt and Jordan should hold talks with Israel to discuss how an Arab peace initiative could be implemented, in an attempt to revive the stalled Middle East peace process. Arab diplomats said it would be up to Cairo and Amman to initiate the...

ARABS-ISRAEL - Apr 15 - Olmert And Abbas Meet After US Urging.(Ehud Olmert, Mahmoud Abbas)(Brief article)
April 21, 2007... Israeli and Palestinian leaders meet after agreeing under US prodding to hold bi-weekly meetings, but aides said key issues remained off the agenda, which focused on economic ties and security concerns in the occupied territories. Israeli PM...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Apr 20 - Bush Sees 'Shift In Direction' Of Iraq War.
April 21, 2007... President Bush claims that sectarian murders have dropped by half in Iraq since the latest US military build-up began in February, and said the "direction of the fight is beginning to shift". Bush's cautiously optimistic assessment came a day...

AFGHANISTAN - Apr 19 - 27 Taliban Killed, 2 Coalition Soldiers Wounded In Afghan Violence.
April 21, 2007... US-led coalition and Afghan forces clash with Taliban fighters and called in an airstrike in southern Afghanistan, killing 24 suspected militants, while three more die in an ambush in the west. NATO troops, meanwhile, shot at a civilian vehicle...

IRAQ - Apr 15 - Dozens Die In Baghdad Bombings.
April 21, 2007... Dozens are killed in four bombings in Baghdad, the second day of a wave of attacks against civilian targets that may be intended to widen a growing rift between the Shi'ite-led government and its more militant allies. At least 37 were reported...

IRAQ - Apr 16 - Iraq's Radical Shi'ite Bloc Quits Cabinet.
April 21, 2007... Radical Shi'ite leader Muqtada al-Sadr orders six cabinet members affiliated with his movement to quit the government. In some ways, the move may be a blessing for PM Nouri al-Maliki, who had hoped to oust Sadrist ministers believed to have...

IRAQ - Apr 18 - Baghdad Car Bombs Kill Nearly 200.
April 21, 2007... A series of car bomb attacks by presumed Sunni insurgents in Baghdad kill nearly 200 people, the deadliest attack since US and Iraqi forces launched a security operation in February aimed at halting the country's sectarian conflict. The blasts...

ISRAEL - Apr 19 - Israel Wants Arabs To Show Flexibility; 2 Soldiers Attacked.
April 21, 2007... Israeli FM Tzipi Livni calls on Arab states to show flexibility in their approach toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Arab League should show "some flexibility" in order to "reinforce the positive steps Israel has taken", Livni said...

PALESTINE - Apr 15 - Fear Mounts For Safety Of BBC Journalist.
April 21, 2007... An unknown Palestinian group claims it had killed the British journalist abducted over a month ago by gunmen in Gaza City. A statement by Al Tawhid Al Jihad said it killed Alan Johnston, the BBC correspondent in Gaza, to support demands for the...

TURKEY - Apr 15 - Turkey's PM To Reveal Decision On Presidency.(Recep Tayyip Erdogan)
April 21, 2007... Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's Islamist-rooted PM says he will announce whether he would stand for the presidency. Erdogan's comments followed demonstrations by thousands of secularists in Ankara protesting against his possible presidential...

PALESTINE - Apr 16 - Haniyeh Tells Israel To Free All Prisoners.
April 21, 2007... Ismail Haniyeh says that a Palestinian uprising leader Marwan Barghouthi, is on a list of prisoners the Hamas movement demands Israel release in exchange for a captive soldier. His comments contradicted those of Deputy PM Azzam Al-Ahmad of...

ARAB-EUROPEAN RELATIONS - Apr 25 - Iran And EU Hold 'Constructive' Nuclear Talks.
April 28, 2007... Iran and the EU hold "constructive" talks over Tehran's controversial nuclear programme, but each side gave a cautious assessment of the progress made. The talks, held in Ankara at the invitation of the Turkish government, were the most serious...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Apr 24 - Bush Warns Against Early Iraq Withdrawal.(George W. Bush)
April 28, 2007... Bush warns sudden withdrawal of US troops from Iraq will be an "unforgivable mistake" that can spread chaos across the Middle East. His comments comes as the Democratic-controlled Congress prepared to pass long-awaited war-funding legislation...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Apr 27 - US Military Detains 4 Suspected Bomb Smugglers.
April 28, 2007... The American military says that it had detained four men suspected of helping smuggle deadly homemade bombs from Iran to Iraq and transporting guerrillas from Iraq to Iran for training. The men were detained in the morning during an operation...

AFGHANISTAN - Apr 23 - Afghan Intelligence Service Officer Beheaded; Bomb Kills 6 Others.
April 28, 2007... Assailants abduct and behead an Afghan intelligence service employee and strike one of the agency's vehicles with a remote-controlled bomb in a separate attack, killing six employees and wounding three. The attacks came as Afghan officials...

AFGHANISTAN - Apr 25 - Taliban Leader Says Bin Laden Behind Attack During Cheney Visit.
April 28, 2007... A top Taliban commander claims that Al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is behind the February attack outside a US base in Afghanistan during US Vice President Dick Cheney's visit. The Taliban's top military commander Mullah Dadullah, told...

EGYPT - Apr 26 - Egypt Begins Military Trial Of 40 Leading Brotherhood Members Opens.
April 28, 2007... A military trial of 40 top figures from the Muslim Brotherhood on terrorism and money laundering charges began Apr 26 under heavy secrecy, one of the largest such tribunals in years in a crackdown against Egypt's most powerful opposition...

IRAN - Apr 23 - Larijani Given 'Authority For Compromise'.(Ali Larijani)
April 28, 2007... A former senior Iranian diplomat Sadegh Kharrazi, former ambassador to Paris, says that Iran's top security official Ali Larijani, had been given "the authority for compromise" over Iran's nuclear programme in talks with the EU due Apr 23 in...

IRAN - Apr 26 - Tehran Hints At Fresh Ideas On Nuclear Spat.
April 28, 2007... Iran heralds what it said was new thinking in the dispute over its nuclear programme amid western scepticism that any breakthrough was imminent. The comments comes at the end of a meeting in Ankara - the first in seven months - between the EU's...

ISRAEL - Apr 22 - Blow For Olmert As Minister Quits.(Ehud Olmert, Avraham Hirschson)
April 28, 2007... PM Ehud Olmert, suffer blows on several fronts with the loss of his finance minister, the resignation of an Arab parliamentarian and an upsurge in violence that left nine Palestinians dead and prompted Hamas to vow revenge. The FM Avraham...

ISRAEL - Apr 23 - Olmert Admits 'No Escape' From Prisoner Swap.
April 28, 2007... PM Ehud Olmert says his government will not repeat past mistakes by releasing prisoners who then carried out more attacks against Israelis. Speaking during his Memorial Day speeches, Olmert touched on the issue of possible prisoner swap deals...

ISRAEL - Apr 25 - Probe Urged Into Olmert Business Allegations.(Ehud Olmert)
April 28, 2007... Israel's attorney-general Micha Lindenstrauss is urged to launch a criminal inquiry into allegations the PM Ehud Olmert, arranged business opportunities for friends while in a previous cabinet post. Micha Lindenstrauss, the state comptroller,...

LEBANON - Apr 26 - Lebanese Forces Tighten Security In Beirut.
April 28, 2007... Lebanon's security services set up checkpoints across Beirut amid fears of a new escalation in political and sectarian tensions after the bodies of two Sunni Muslims were found. The two, a 12-year old boy and a man of 25, had been missing since...

PALESTINE - Apr 23 - Rift Unsettles Palestinian Unity Government.
April 28, 2007... The Palestinian national unity government suffers the most serious rift since its formation last month after the interior minister tried to resign over the lack of progress by security forces to install law and order. Hani Qawasmi submitted his...

SAUDI ARABIA - Apr 23 - 'Arab Plan Basic Peace Framework'.
April 28, 2007... Saudi Arabia emphasizes that the Arab peace initiative, which was relaunched by the Riyadh summit last month, will remain "the basic framework" for Arab overtures to establish peace in the Middle East. The Council of Ministers, chaired by...

SAUDI ARABIA - Apr 27 - Saudi Arrests Suspects Planning Oil Attacks.(Brief article)
April 28, 2007... Saudi Arabia has arrested more than 170 suspected al Qaeda-linked militants, some of whom are training as pilots to carry out suicide attacks on oil facilities in the kingdom. The ministry, in a statement read on state TV, also said police...

SOMALIA - Apr 22 - Somalis Flee Mogadishu Amid Ceaseless Fighting.
April 28, 2007... Somali government forces and insurgents blast each other for a fifth straight day, killing scores of civilians and driving thousands from their homes as chaos continued to overtake the country. More than 320,000 people have fled Mogadishu, the...

TURKEY - Apr 27 - Turkish Army Watching Poll With 'Concern'.(Brief article)
April 28, 2007... Turkey's powerful military chiefs make a dramatic intervention into a rancorous debate about the country's new president, hours after parliament failed to elect Abdullah Gul, foreign minister in the neo-Islamist government, to the post. "The...