APS Diplomat Recorder articles from January 2005

APS Diplomat Recorder archives from January 2005

ARAB AFFAIRS - Jun 22 - Riyadh Pledges $1bn For Iraq Reconstruction.
January 1, 2005... Addressing an international conference in Saudi, attended by over 80 governments and international institutions, FM Prince Saud Al Faisal says Riyadh is also ready to write off part of Iraq's debt burden. Saudi Arabia emphasises its vision of...

ARABS ISRAEL - Jun 20 - Palestinian And Colonist Killed On Eve Of Summit.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Palestinian militants kill a Jewish colonist in the West Bank and Israeli troops shoot a Palestinian to death in Gaza in further blows to a rocky cease-fire a day before an Israeli-Palestinian summit meeting. Jun 21 meeting between Israeli PM...

ARABS ISRAEL - Jun 21 - Summit Disappoints Palestinians.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Israeli and Palestinian leaders fail to resolve "all the basic issues" facing them at their first summit since a February ceasefire was declared in February, the Palestinian PM said. The summit with Israeli PM Ariel Sharon was "difficult" and...

ARABS ISRAEL - Jun 22- Israel Revives Assassination Policy.
January 1, 2005... Israel resumes an assassination policy against Islamic Jihad militants, as Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas tries to rally international support after coming away with no tangible results from a summit with Israel PM Ariel Sharon. Abbas called...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Jun 19 - Gaza Settler Homes To Be Razed.
January 1, 2005... US State Sec Condoleezza Rice announces the Gaza homes of Jewish settlers will be demolished once they leave. Rice made the announcement in Jerusalem after meeting Israeli PM Ariel Sharon. She said Israel and the PA had also agreed to...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Jun 21 - 'Democracy Won't Be Imposed'.
January 1, 2005... US State Sec Condoleezza Rice says the US has no plan to impose democracy on Middle Eastern countries. She said: It's up to the countries in the region to implement democracy. Our role is just to speed up the democratization process". Speaking...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Jun 21 - Rice Accuses Syria Of Adding To Lebanon's Instability.(Condoleezza Rice)
January 1, 2005... US State Sec Condoleezza Rice, blames Syria for contributing to an "atmosphere" of instability in Lebanon following the assasination of another anti-Syrian Lebanese figure - the second this month. "I do not know who was responsible for this",...

AFGHANISTAN - Jun 20 - Afghans Foil Plot To Kill US Ambassador.(Zalmay Khalilzad)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Afghan intelligence agents foils a plot to assassinate outspoken US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad. The arrests come days after Pres Hamid Karzai and US officials warned that foreign fighters are slipping into the country to cause mayhem ahead of...

EGYPT - Jun 22 - Mubarak Says Egypt Smashed Militant Cell.(Hosni Mubarak)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Pres Hosni Mubarak says his security forces smash a militant cell that was planning to attack Israeli holiday makers in the Sinai. He told Israel's mass circulation Yediot Ahronot newspaper that two members of the cell had been killed and two...

IRAN - Jun 19 - Rafsanjani Seeks Vote Against 'Extremism'.(Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani)
January 1, 2005... Presidential contender Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani urges Iranians to support him in a vote against extremists he said had "tarnished" the first round of the election. The pragmatic conservative theologian, who will on Jun 24 go into a runoff...

IRAQ - Jun 19 - 23 Die In Baghdad Bombing.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... At least 23 people are killed when a suicide bomber blows himself up in a busy kebab restaurant near Baghdad's Green Zone, one of a string of attacks across the country that claimed a total of 43 lives. It was the bloodiest day in Baghdad since...

IRAQ - Jun 23 - Zarqawi Says US Bombing Killed Al Rashoud.(Abu Mussab Al Zarqawi)
January 1, 2005... A statement posted on the Internet by the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Mussab Al Zarqawi, says Abdullah Al-Rashoud, one of the most wanted men on a Saudi list of 26 terrorists, has been killed in US airstrikes on the Iraqi town of Qaim near...

LEBANON - Jun 20 - Saad Hariri Seeks A Broader Alliance.
January 1, 2005... The leader of the victorious opposition alliance, Saad Hariri, says it is too early to talk of becoming PM, insisting he first wanted to hold talks with his defeated rivals. Addressing a conference in Beirut, Hariri said: We are trying to get...

ARAB AFFAIRS - Jan 6 - Syrian Forces Should Stay In Lebanon, Says Former PM.
January 8, 2005... The former PM of Lebanon Salim Al Hoss says Syrian forces should stay in some parts of Lebanon as long as both countries are in a state of war with Israel, despite an international resolution that calls on Damascus to withdraw its troops from...

ARABS-ISRAEL - Jan 2 - Israel Forces Launch Fresh Gaza Raid.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Israeli forces start a fresh offensive in the northern Gaza Strip to try to stop mortar and rocket attacks against Jewish settlements, just one week before Palestinians go to the polls to elect a successor to Yassir Arafat. Mahmoud Abbas,...

ARABS-UN - Jan 4 - Egypt Is Reported To Pursue Atomic Weapons Experiments.
January 8, 2005... The UN nuclear monitoring agency, IAEA, finds evidence of secret nuclear experiments in Egypt that can be used in weapons programs. The diplomats said that most of the work was carried out in the 1980s and 1990s but that the IAEA also was...

EGYPT - Jan 2 - Parliamentary Polls In November.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... Minister of State for Parliament Kamal Al Shazli says parliamentary elections will be held in the second half of November. The current parliament's five-year term expires this year. Al Shazli said the new parliament would hold its first session...

IRAN - Jan 4 - Former Speaker To Run In Presidential Elections.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2005... The former parliament Speaker Mehdi Karroubi says he will stand as a reformist presidential candidate in a June poll in which hardline conservatives are tipped to win. The mid-ranking, 68-year-old theologian is the second reformist, following...

IRAQ - Jan 2 - Shiites Rule Out Iran Model.
January 8, 2005... In a surprise press conference, leaders of the Shiite-dominated coalition that is expected to prevail in national elections seeks to dispel fears that they are under the secret sway of Iran, or have any desire to create an Islamic theocracy....

IRAQ - Jan 2 - Suicide Bombers Kill 32.
January 8, 2005... Suicide car bombers hit a bus packed with National Guards, killing 26 people in the deadliest attack of its kind in four months on Iraqis co-operating with US forces to secure a Jan 30 election. Two insurgents in an explosives-laden vehicle...

IRAQ - Jan 3 - Ex-Al Jazeera man shown with son of Saddam.
January 8, 2005... The Asharq Al Awsat newspaper says a videotape is found in a pile of documents in Baghdad following the collapse of Saddam's regime showing a former manager of the Al Jazeera satellite channel thanking one of Saddam's sons for his support and...

IRAQ - Jan 3 - Three Car Bombs And A Roadside Attack Kill 16.
January 8, 2005... Insurgents push ahead with their deadly campaign to sabotage Jan 30 elections with three car bombs and a roadside attack, one near the PM's HQ's in Baghdad, and others targeting Iraqi National Guardsmen and a car belonging to a US risk...

IRAQ - Jan 4 - Poll Delay Urged As Baghdad Governor Killed.
January 8, 2005... Insurgents shoot and kill Baghdad's provincial governor Ali Al Haidari and strike at the HQ's of an elite police unit in a series of attacks against Iraqi government targets aimed at disrupting the Jan 30 elections. With only four weeks to go,...

ISRAEL - Jan 3 - Sharon Efforts To Form Centrist Coalition Stall.
January 8, 2005... Efforts to finalise the formation of a centrist Israeli coalition runs into trouble as a leading ultra-Orthodox rabbi pondered whether to allow his followers to join the new government. At stake is the controversial plan by PM Ariel Sharon to...

PALESTINE - Jan 3 - Refugees Will Return To Israel.
January 8, 2005... Mahmoud Abbas, the leading candidate in Jan 9 presidential election, promises refugees they'll be able to return home one day-his most explicit comment yet on an explosive issue that has derailed peace talks in the past. He's still far too...

PALESTINE - Jan 5 - Gaza Militants Raise Pressure On Abbas.
January 8, 2005... Armed factions appeared intent on seizing the agenda in Jan 9 presidential election, staging two high-profile attacks on the Israeli army and forcing the closure of the main crossing point between Gaza and Israel. Twelve soldiers were wounded...

ARABS-ISRAEL - Jan 10 - Israel Expected To Allow East Jerusalem Voting.
January 14, 2005... Israel appears likely to allow Palestinian voting in East Jerusalem in parliamentary elections later this month, a move that will resolve a pressing dispute with the Palestinians. The Israeli government has not announced any major decisions...

ARABS-ISRAEL - Jan 13 - Israel Bombards No-Go Zone In Gaza Strip.
January 14, 2005... Israel bombards a no-go zone in the northern Gaza Strip, claiming the bombardment is in response to six rockets launched from northern Gaza which caused no casualties or damage, although one exploded near an army base and another south of the...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Jan 9 - Bremer Claims He Was Used As Iraq 'Fall Guy'.
January 14, 2005... In a memoir published on Jan 9, breaking a more than year-long silence, former head of the CPA in Iraq Bremer portrays himself in a constant struggle with the Def Sec Donald Rumsfeld, and military leaders who were determined to reduce the US...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Jan 14 - US Wants Sanctions To Target Iran's Leaders.
January 14, 2005... Any sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear programme will not target the Iranian people, the Bush administration says in a scathing attack on the Islamic republic's leadership. US State Sec Rice, gave assurances that scholars, musicians and...

IRAN - Jan 8 - Inspectors Set To Let Nuclear Work Resume.
January 14, 2005... Iran announces inspectors from the UN nuclear monitoring agency are in the country and preparing to remove seals from nuclear research facilities no later than Jan 8, allowing Tehran to move forward with its vow to resume nuclear fuel research....

IRAQ - Jan 7 - All 12 Killed In US Helicopter Crash.
January 14, 2005... A US helicopter crashes in Iraq, killing all 12 people on board, and five Marines die in a spate of attacks in the west of the country on one of the worst weekends for the US military since the 2003 invasion. A French hostage was freed by his...

ISRAEL - Jan 8 - Sharon's Doctors Assess Damage To His Brain.
January 14, 2005... Doctors plan to waken PM Ariel Sharon, from a medically induced coma to try to assess the damage caused by a massive stroke. "This is what we have all been waiting for since Wednesday, to see how the PM's brain is functioning", said Dr Shlomo...

PALESTINE - Jan 12 - Star Of The 'Young Guard' Woos The Voters.
January 14, 2005... Mohammad Dahlan, the 44-year-old Gaza strongman who is standing in this month's Palestinian legislative elections, always looks cool under pressure. But he has taken up smoking again after hitting the campaign trail hard. With barely two weeks...

ARAB-EUROPEAN - Jan 11 - Zapatero Supports Iraq Election Efforts.
January 15, 2005... Spain's Socialist government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, which withdrew its troops last year from Iraq, pledges 20mn ($26mn) to help finance the Iraqi elections that will be held on Jan 30. Spain is the latest European country to lend...

ARAB-EUROPEAN - Jan 12 - Russia Plays Down Fears On Syria Arms.(Brief Article)
January 15, 2005... The Russian FM plays down suggestions of rising tension in its relationship with Israel caused by Moscow's planned armed deals with Syria. Russian and Israeli newspapers reported that Israel's PM Ariel Sharon, held a special confidential...

ARAB-EUROPEAN - Jan 13 - Chirac In Talks To Rebuild Ties With Iraq.
January 15, 2005... France's Pres Jacques Chirac, holds talks in Paris with his Iraqi counterpart, Ghazi Yawar, in a fresh bid to engage with Iraq's postwar leadership and rebuild French influence and commercial ties in the region. At a lunch at the Elysee palace,...

ARABS-ISRAEL - Jan 14 - Sharon Says To Cut Ties With Palestinians.(Brief Article)
January 15, 2005... Israeli PM Ariel Sharon orders all government officials to cut ties with the new Palestinian government until it curbs attacks, a day after militants killed six Israelis on the Gaza border. A senior Israeli official in Sharon's office said:...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Jan 13 - Powell Sees Some US Troops Leaving Iraq This Year, But Sets No Timeline.
January 15, 2005... US State Sec Colin Powell says US troops will begin leaving Iraq this year as the Iraqi Army, national guard and police force take on a larger security role. In an interview with National Public Radio Powell said: But I cannot give you a...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Jan 12 - US Quietly Ends Hunt For banned Iraqi arms.
January 15, 2005... The White House confirms the US search in Iraq for banned weapons, which it had cited as justification for the war against Saddam, has been quietly ended after nearly two years, with no evidence of their existence. That means the conclusions of...

EGYPT - Jan 10 - Egyptians Want Polls To Elect President.(Brief Article)
January 15, 2005... The reformers demand, like Palestinians, they too should have a chance to choose their leader from a host of candidates. Pres Hosni Mubarak, who has won four presidential terms in referendums where he is the only candidate, earlier...

EGYPT - Jan 12 - Jamal Denies Mubarak's New Term Is Foregone Conclusion.
January 15, 2005... The son of Pres Hosni Mubarak, Jamal Mubarak denies a fifth six-year term for his father was a foregone conclusion as is widely believed. Party organiser Kamal Al Shazli said that the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) had chosen Mubarak as...

IRAN - Jan 13 - Nobel Prizewinner Ebadi Summoned To Court.(Brief Article)
January 15, 2005... Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, says she has been summoned to appear before the country's hardline Revolutionary Court, which deals mainly with national security and espionage charges, without being informed of any possible allegations....

IRAQ - Jan 10 - Insurgents Press Fight In Baghdad.
January 15, 2005... Gunmen assassinate Baghdad's deputy police chief Amer Nayef and a powerful roadside bomb kills two US soldiers when it blows up their armoured vehicle as insurgents press their campaign to ruin Jan 30 election. The explosion in southwestern...

IRAQ - Jan 13 - Insurgents Step Up Anti-Election Violence.
January 15, 2005... An aide to senior Shiite theologian Grand Ayat Ali Sistani, Mahmoud Al Madaeni is assassinated, as insurgents step up their violent campaign to disrupt the Jan 30 elections by provoking sectarian tensions. Madaeni was attacked on his way home...

KUWAIT - Jan 10 - Policemen Killed In Shoot-out.(Brief Article)
January 15, 2005... Two policemen are killed in a shoot-out with a suspected militant in a suburb amid growing security concerns about a vital US ally in the Gulf. The interior ministry said the policemen had been pursuing a suspect wanted by the authorities and...

PALESTINE - Jan 9 - Abbas Declares Victory.
January 15, 2005... Mahmoud Abbas declares an overwhelming victory in the presidential election that carried with it hopes of a new era in relations with Israel after years of bloody conflict. Abbas told supporters: Ahead of us is a jihad to ensure safety and...

RUSSIA - Jan 11 - Economy Minister Criticises Energy Nationalisation.
January 15, 2005... Liberal economy minister German Gref, openly criticises growing state intervention in the economy and the re-nationalisation of energy assets, highlighting tensions within the country's ruling elite. Gref called on the government to privatise...

ARAB-EUROPEAN - Jan 18 - Iraq Abuse Pictures Put UK Army On The Defensive.(Brief Article)
January 22, 2005... The UK army is forced to defend the conduct of it's forces in Iraq as 22 photographs of alleged abuse at a Basra aid camp are presented at the court martial of three soldiers charged with harming Iraqis. Gen Sir Mike Jackson, head of the army,...

ARABS-ISRAEL - Jan 9 - Sharon Gives Military Free Rein Against Militants.(Brief Article)
January 22, 2005... PM Ariel Sharon says he is giving Israel's army free rein to battle militants in Gaza and accuses the new Palestinian leadership he now shuns of doing nothing to stop attacks on Israelis. Palestinian officials said Pres Mahmoud Abbas would try...

ARABS-ISRAEL - Jan 18 - Israel And Palestinians To Resume Security Contacts.
January 22, 2005... Israel agrees to resume security contacts with the Palestinians, a move suggesting that the two sides are seeking to avoid a potential showdown in the Gaza Strip. In Jerusalem, PM Ariel Sharon's security cabinet made the decision to resume...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Jan 16 - US Carrying Out Secret Missions Inside Iran.(Brief Article)
January 22, 2005... The New Yorker magazine reports the US has been conducting secret reconnaissance missions inside Iran to help identify potential nuclear, chemical and missile targets. The article, by award-winning reporter Seymour Hersh, said the secret...

ARABS-ISRAEL - Jan 17 - Bush Won't Rule Out Action Against Iran Over Nukes.(Brief Article)
January 22, 2005... Pres Bush says he will not rule out military action against Iran if that country is not more forthcoming about its suspected nuclear weapons program. In an interview with NBC News, Bush said; "I hope we can solve it diplomatically, but I will...

ARABS-ISRAEL - Jan 18 - Syria Faces New US Sanctions.(Brief Article)
January 22, 2005... State Secretary - designate Condoleezza Rice warns the Syrian government that it faces new sanctions and "long-term bad relations" with the US because of its suspected interference in Iraq and ties to terrorism. "I think that it is fair to say...

AFGHANISTAN - Jan 20 - Suicide Bomb Attack Misses Regional Leader.
January 22, 2005... A suicide bomber blows himself up in northern Afghanistan in an apparent assassination attempt on Gen Abdul Rashid Dostum, wounding at least 21 people but missing the powerful Uzbek leader. Dostum survived the attack unharmed and later spoke by...

IRAN - Jan 17 - Ebadi Calls For Abolishing Solitary Confinement.(Brief Article)
January 22, 2005... Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi asks the Iranian judiciary to ban solitary confinement, calling it "illegal" both domestically and internationally. In a news conference after holding a seminar on the issue, the human rights activist said: I...

IRAQ - Jan 18 - Vote Or Risk Civil War, Minister Warns.(Brief Article)
January 22, 2005... The interior minister, Falah Hassan Al Naqib, issues a dire forecast that unless enough people vote in the elections on Jan 30, there will be a civil war. The warning comes as assailants in southern Iraq gunned down two candidates running in...

IRAQ - Jan 19 - Baghdad Hit By Five Car And Truck Bombings.
January 22, 2005... Insurgents detonate up to five car and truck bombs in Baghdad in a pre-election surge of violence unusual even for the capital. However, although they resulted in at least 26 fatalities, the bombs reportedly did little damage to their targets...

PALESTINE - Jan 17 - Israel Steps Up Pressure On Abbas Over Militants.
January 22, 2005... PA Pres Mahmoud Abbas, holds consultations with his ministers and security advisors after Israel warns that his time is running out for a swift crackdown on militant groups. Only a week into his presidency, Abbas is under intense pressure to...

ARAB AFFAIRS - Jan 25 - Priority For Iraq's Arab Neighbours To Avoid Civil War.
January 29, 2005... When the US launched the Iraqi invasion in 2003, it billed the war as a liberation that will create a model of democracy for the Arab world. But as Iraq's first democratic elections near, few Arabs appear to believe that the poll can produce a...

ARAB-EUROPEAN - Jan 23 - German Captives Part Of Iraq Terror Network.
January 29, 2005... The head of the Essen-based institute for terrorism research and security policy Rolf Tophoven, says two alleged Al Qaeda arrested members are part of a loose network of terrorists using Germany as a base to prepare for suicide attacks in Iraq....

ARABS-ISRAEL - Jan 24 - Israel Resumes Building Wall In Occupied Land.
January 29, 2005... Israel resumes building one of the most controversial parts of its West Bank wall, deep in occupied land, in a move Palestinians attribute Pres Mahmoud Abbas' efforts to revive peacemaking. Israel's attorney-general approved construction of the...

ARABS-ISRAEL - Jan 24 - Iran On Brink Of Becoming Nuclear.
January 29, 2005... Addressing the Parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, the chief of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency Meir Dagan says arch-foe Iran was on the brink of enriching uranium, a process key to building a nuclear bomb. He said: The...

ARABS-ISRAEL - Jan 25 - Israel Studies Train Link Between Territories.(Brief Article)
January 29, 2005... Israel is weighing a proposal to link the Gaza Strip and West Bank by a train that will allow Palestinians to travel between the territories without posing a security threat. Officials said Vice-Premier Shimon Peres plans to ask the World Bank...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Jan 28 - Republican Senator Signals Resistance To Using Force In Iran.
January 29, 2005... The influential US senator John McCain, gives voice to resistance in the Republican party to the use of force in Iran, signalling that the US had no appetite to fight "two wars". Force should not be ruled out as a last resort against suspected...

EGYPT - Jan 24 - Govt Denies Report On IAEA Inspections.(International Atomic Energy Agency )(Brief Article)
January 29, 2005... FM Ahmad Abu Geit denies a report that inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog body were in Egypt last week to inspect a laboratory designed to reprocess plutonium, a substance that can be used to make atomic weapons. Undeclared experiments...

IRAN - Jan 24 - Tehran Sees No Chance Of Direct Talks With US.(Brief Article)
January 29, 2005... The government spokesman and Cabinet Secretary Abdullah Ramazanzadeh says the Govt sees no chance of direct talks with the US and will only begin even thinking of such a step if US stopped using "threatening language". Talking to reporters he...

IRAN - Jan 25 - Khamenei Orders Parliament To End Impeachments.
January 29, 2005... Tehran's supreme leader Ayat Ali Khamenei orders the parliament to stop impeaching members of Pres Mohammad Khatami's cabinet, in an apparent effort to curb further confrontations between the two bodies. Political and economic differences...

IRAQ - Jan 23 - Al Zarqawi Declares War On Election.
January 29, 2005... The Jordanian militant Abu Musab Al Zarqawi declares "fierce war" on Jan 30 parliamentary elections raising fears of yet more violence in the run-up to the poll. An audiotape recording that identifies the speaker as Zarqawi, who US and Iraqi...

IRAQ - Jan 26 - Bloodiest Day For US Since 2003 Invasion.
January 29, 2005... The US military suffer its bloodiest day since the invasion in March 2003, with 31 US troops killed in a helicopter crash and another six in insurgent attacks. Jan 26 deaths took the toll of US soldiers to 1,407 in the Iraq war. However, Gen...

KUWAIT - Jan 27 - Kuwaiti Mosques Free Of Extremists, Says Minister.
January 29, 2005... Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs lambasts extremism as an imported phenomenon and says religious fundamentalism has no place in country's moderate society. Dr. Abdullah Al Maatouq said: Extremism is imported from mosques abroad and the...

PALESTINE - Jan 23 - Militants To Suspend Attacks On Israeli Targets.
January 29, 2005... Armed factions agree to suspend attacks on Israeli targets for a period of "calm" intended to lead to a formal ceasefire if Israel agrees to a series of reciprocal confidence-building measures, including prisoner releases. The Palestinian Pres...

PALESTINE - Jan 25 - Palestinians Raze Illegal Buildings In Gaza.
January 29, 2005... New Pres Mahmoud Abbas has put teeth into his vow to crack down on lawlessness in Palestinian areas as bulldozers begin demolishing buildings illegally built by militants and security men on public land. Bulldozers swung into action in north...

PALESTINE - Jan 27 - Hamas Sweeps Gaza Civic Elections.
January 29, 2005... Hamas sweeps municipal elections in Gaza, winning as many as 77 seats out of 118 in 10 councils. The movement's spectacular win in the poverty-stricken territory comes as Israel announced a halt to operations in the Gaza Strip. The Hamas...

RUSSIA - Jan 24 - MPs Seek Ban On Jewish Groups.
January 29, 2005... A group of nationalist parliament members write to the prosecutor-general asking him to ban all religious and ethnic Jewish organisations as "extremists" in the latest sign of growing anti-Semitism and chauvinism in the country. As world...

RUSSIA - Jan 27 - 7 Dead As Standoff Ends In Shootout.
January 29, 2005... Hundreds of police officers and soldiers storm an apartment building in southern Russia, killing seven suspected Islamic extremists after a two-day standoff. The violent climax to the standoff was at least the fourth shootout with suspected...

ARAB AFFAIRS - Jan 18 - Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad Visits Syria.
January 30, 2005... Iran's Pres Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, arrives in Syria on his first bilateral foreign trip, cementing ties with the other Middle Easter state facing intense western pressure. Ahmadi-Nejad on Jan 18 stressed the two countries' "close views" on...

ARAB EUROPEAN RELATIONS - Jan 16 - Putin Warns Against 'Abrupt Steps' On Iran.(Vladimir Putin)
January 30, 2005... Russia's Pres Vladimir Putin warns against "abrupt, erroneous steps" in the international community's handling of the crisis over Iran's nuclear programme, but said Russia, the US and Europe held "close positions" on the issue. In his first...

ARABS-ISRAEL - Jan 17 - Acting Israeli PM Hopes To Resume Peace Talks.
January 30, 2005... Israel's acting PM Ehud Olmert, says he hopes to renew peace talks with the Palestinians after general elections in March, but he repeats Ariel Sharon's condition that militant groups must be disarmed first. Olmert, who replaced Sharon after he...

AFGHANISTAN - Jan 16 - 4 Killed By Bomb Blasts In Southern Afghanistan.
January 30, 2005... Two bomb explosions kill at least 24 people in southern Afghanistan, in an escalating campaign of violence that may be aimed at deterring NATO from taking over the task of ensuring security in the south of the country. A motorcycle rider drove...

AFGHANISTAN - Jan 19 - Bin Laden Warns Of Attacks On The US.
January 30, 2005... Breaking more than a year's silence, Osama bin Laden warns Americans Al Qaeda is planning more attacks on the US, but he offered a "long truce" on undefined terms. It was unclear when the recording, broadcast by the Arab satellite TV station Al...

IRAQ - Jan 19 - Bombings In Baghdad Target Iraq Police Unit.
January 30, 2005... A suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt walks into a crowded Baghdad coffee shop popular with the police and blows himself up. It was the first of two explosions on the same street that left 15 people dead and 25 wounded, Iraqi officials...

IRAQ - Jan 20 - Horse-Trading Begins After Election Result.(United Iraqi Alliance)
January 30, 2005... Iraq's elections commission announces the final results for the Dec 15 elections, giving a Shiite Islamist coalition just under half the seats in the country's first permanent postwar parliament. Disputes both inside the Shiite-led UIA and...

ISRAEL - Jan 16 - Olmert To Lead Sharon's Party.(Ehud Olmert, Ariel Sharon's Kadima party)
January 30, 2005... The centrist Kadima party, formed by Ariel Sharon two months ago, elects Ehud Olmert as interim leader, as the Israeli PM remains in a coma at a Jerusalem hospital. Olmert, acting PM since Sharon suffered a stroke on Jan 4, is favourite to...