APS Diplomat Recorder articles from July 2005

APS Diplomat Recorder archives from July 2005

ARAB-US RELATIONS - July 1 - US Team Missing In Afghan Mountains.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... The US military says it is missing a small reconnaissance team in eastern Afghanistan, near the spot where rebels shot down a helicopter on Jun 28, killing all 16 aboard. The helicopter had been sent into the mountains of Kunar province, an...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - July 1 - US Embassy In Iraq Refuses To Negotiate.
July 2, 2005... US Embassy officials refuse to negotiate with insurgents or mediate between militants and the Iraqi government, despite overtures by Sunni Arabs claiming to represent armed groups, says an US official, speaking to reporters on condition of...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - July 2 - Photo Not Of Iran Chief - US.
July 2, 2005... US investigators conclude Iranian president-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not the glowering Islamic militant seen escorting an American hostage in a 1979 photograph that was widely publicised this week. The conclusion casts doubt on what had...

IRAQ - July 1 - Aide To Shiite Theologian Gunned Down.(Shaikh Kamaleddin Al Ghuraif)
July 2, 2005... A senior aide to Grand Ayat Ali Al Sistani, the country's most influential Shiite theologian, is gunned down by assassins while on his way to Friday prayers and a suicide car bomb explodes near the office of a major Shiite political party. A...

IRAQ - July 2 - Top Envoy From Egypt Is Abducted In Baghdad.(Ihab al-Sherif)
July 2, 2005... The top Egyptian envoy to Iraq Ihab al-Sherif is kidnapped by gunmen in western Baghdad, marking the most prominent abduction of a foreign Arab official during the war. The envoy, was taken from his car in the neighbourhood of Al Jamiaa, an...

IRAQ - July 2 - Kurds Must Be Able To Return To Kirkuk Now - Talabani.( Jalal Talabani )
July 2, 2005... Pres Jalal Talabani and Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani say Kurds driven out of the contested city of Kirkuk must be allowed back now and not after a new constitution is in place. Talking to reporters in a press conference with Barzani, Tlabani...

PALESTINE - July 2 - Abbas Invites Hamas To Join Cabinet.(Mahmoud Abbas)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... Mahmoud Abbas requests Hamas to immediately join his Cabinet. Abbas's offer is intended to allow the group to help him oversee the smooth handover of the Gaza Strip following an Israeli withdrawal, the official said. Hamas is considering the...

SAUDI ARABIA - July 1 - Wanted Terrorist Surrenders.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... A wanted militant whose name has appeared on a list of 36 terror suspects surrenders to Saudi security authorities amid press reports three others on the same list had died in Iraq. The Interior Ministry confirmed that Fayez Ibrahim Ayub, who...

SYRIA - July 2 - Syrian Troops, Arab Militant Die In Clash.
July 2, 2005... Syrian security forces kill an Arab extremist who was trying to illegally cross into neighbouring Lebanon with other suspected militants. Two Syrian soldiers also were killed in the clash that erupted after the Arab man opened fire on a Syrian...

ARAB AFFAIRS - July 7 - Iraq And Iran To Co-operate Over Defence.
July 9, 2005... Former foes Iraq and Iran announces "a new chapter" in their relations, including cross-border military co-operation, dismissing US concerns about Iranian regional meddling. On his first official visit to Tehran, Iraqi minister of defence...

ARAB-EUROPEAN RELATIONS - July 3 - Europe Told To Ignore Allegations About Ahmadinejad.(Mahmoud Ahmadinejad)(Brief Article)
July 9, 2005... Signalling a warning to Europe, Iran hits back July 3 against claims that its ultraconservative president-elect is involved in taking American hostages a quarter-century ago, saying the campaign is being engineered by the US and Israel as part...

ARAB-EUROPEAN RELATIONS - July 4 - Iran-EU Talks Face Threat Of Top Resignation.(Hassan Rowhani resigns)(Brief Article)
July 9, 2005... The fate of European-Iranian nuclear talks cast further into doubt amid signs that Hassan Rowhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), has offered his resignation. Rowhani has led Iran's 21-month negotiations with the...

IRAQ - July 3 - Egypt's Envoy To Iraq Kidnapped In Baghdad.(Ihab el-Sherif)(Brief Article)
July 9, 2005... Egypt's envoy to Iraq Ihab el-Sherif, has been kidnapped in Baghdad, possibly in response to reports he is to become the first full-ranking Arab ambassador to the US-backed Iraqi government. Ihab el-Sherif, the head of mission, was cornered by...

IRAQ - July 7 - Kidnapped Egyptian Diplomat Killed In Iraq.(Ihab al-Sherif)
July 9, 2005... Gunmen kill the head of Egypt's diplomatic mission in Baghdad, Ihab al-Sherif, which, the Al Qaeda group says it executed him because he represented a "tyrannical" government allied to Jews and Christians. The envoy, ambassador Ihab al-Sherif,...

PALESTINE - July 3 - Hamas Invited To Join Government.
July 9, 2005... PM, Ahmad Qurei, says Hamas and other factions has been invited to join the Palestinian government as it prepares to take control of areas of the Gaza Strip evacuated by Israel. However, Hamas has not yet decided whether to accept a role in a...

PALESTINE - July 8 - Palestinian Aid Boost Backed.(Brief Article)
July 9, 2005... The leaders of the Group of Eight gives strong support to a new initiative to give $3 bn a year in aid to the PA once Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip this year. No firm decisions on the aid package were taken at the G8 summit in...

SAUDI ARABIA - July 3 - Senior Qaeda Militant Killed In Saudi Clash.(Younis Mohammad Ibrahim Al Hayyari)(Brief Article)
July 9, 2005... The Saudi-owned satellite channel Al Arabiya TV says a senior Al Qaeda militant is killed in clashes between Saudi police and wanted suspects in the capital Riyadh said. The TV identified the militant killed as Moroccan national Younis Mohammad...

SYRIA - July 3 - Forces Kills Militant, Arrests 34.(Brief Article)
July 9, 2005... Syrian forces kill a terrorist and arrest 34 others who are trying to illegally cross the border into neighbouring Lebanon. According to the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), two Syrian security officers were also killed in the...

ARAB-EUROPEAN RELATIONS - July 12 - UK Forces 'Could Lead Iraq Withdrawal'.
July 16, 2005... The defence minister John Reid says UK forces can take the lead in a scaled reduction in coalition forces in Iraq as early as next year. But any withdrawal of British forces would be closely co-ordinated with the US and the Iraqi government,...

ARAB-EUROPEAN RELATIONS - July 15 - UK Bomb Probe Widens To Egypt, Pakistan.(Magdy Mahmoud Mostapha al-Nashar arrests)
July 16, 2005... The investigation into July 7 terror attacks on London widens when Egyptian authorities confirm the arrest of a chemist wanted in connection with the discovery of a bomb factory in northern England. British intelligence officials are working...

ARABS-ISRAEL - July 10 - Israel Approves New Barrier.
July 16, 2005... Israel's Cabinet endorses a separation barrier in occupied Jerusalem meant to stop suicide bombers, over strident Palestinian objections and some US misgivings because it will cut off 55,000 Palestinian residents from their city and isolate the...

ARABS-ISRAEL - July 13 - Israel Shuts Palestinian Territories After Attack.
July 16, 2005... Israel seals off the Palestinian territories, reoccupied the West Bank town of Tulkarm and declares the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip a closed military zone in an energetic response to a Palestinian suicide bombing on July 12 that killed...

AFGHANISTAN - July 10 - 10 Policemen Beheaded, Officials Say.
July 16, 2005... The government officials say 10 Afghan border police officers are killed in a clash with Taliban fighters in the country's south, and all are believed to have been beheaded. The killings took place July 7 afternoon, when border police forces...

AFGHANISTAN - July 11 - Terrorist Suspects Break Out Of Afghan Prison.
July 16, 2005... A spokeswoman for the US-led coalition Lt Col Cindy Moore, says US military helicopters are scouring vineyards and villages north of Kabul after four suspected Islamic terrorists break out of a detention facility at the Bagram airbase, about 25...

IRAQ - July 10 - Suicide Bombers Kill 40 In Iraq Attacks.(Brief Article)
July 16, 2005... Suicide bombers kill at least 40 - both security forces and civilians - in four separate attacks around Iraq. The bloodiest attack prompted criticism from survivors about the government's apparent lack of concern for the safety of recruits for...

IRAQ - July 12 - Sunni Workers Suffocate In Iraqi Police Custody.(Brief Article)
July 16, 2005... Sunni leaders accuse the Iraqi government of sectarian abuse following the suffocation of nine Sunni construction workers in police custody. "The government is to blame for this incident. The Ministry of Interior is working on a sectarian...

IRAQ - July 15 - Multiple Suicide Attacks Hit Iraq.(Brief Article)
July 16, 2005... police sources say 10 suicide car bombers explode in a series of apparently coordinated attacks across the Iraqi capital, killing at least 25 people and wounding more than 100. All appeared to target US or Iraqi security forces, police said....

ISRAEL - July 12 - Bomber Kills Three In Israeli Town.(Islamic Jihad organisation)
July 16, 2005... Israeli officials signal an end to what they call a policy of restraint towards the Palestinians, after a suicide bomber kills three people and wound more than 20 in the first such attack for five months. Israeli police and Palestinian security...

LEBANON - July 12 - Pro-Syria Defence Minister Wounded.(Elias Murr)(Brief Article)
July 16, 2005... A powerful explosion hits the motorcade of the country's caretaker defence minister, Elias Murr, wounding him and killing two people in a suburb north of the capital, Beirut. It was the first time in the current spate of bombings in the country...

ARAB AFFAIRS - July 19 - Turki Calls For Even-Handed ME Solution.(Turki Al Faisal on mddle east peace and stability)
July 23, 2005... Addressing a conference organised by the Next Century Foundation at the Houses of Parliament in London, Saudi Ambassador Prince Turki Al Faisal calls upon world community to find a just, lasting and comprehensive Middle East peace settlement...

ARAB AFFAIRS - July 19 - Greater Co-operation Needed To Fight Iraq Violence.
July 23, 2005... Addressing a meeting in Istanbul of interior ministers from countries neighboring Iraq Interior Minister Prince Naif seeks greater co-operation and co-ordination among Iraq's neighbours, saying not enough is being done to prevent growing...

ARABS-ISRAEL - July 17 - Abbas Given 24-hour Deadline.(Mahmoud Abbas of Palestinian National Authority)
July 23, 2005... The head of Israel's domestic security agency Shin Beth, Yuval Diskin, recommends Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas be given 24 hours to restore calm before an Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, public radio said. "Mahmoud Abbas should...

ARABS-ISRAEL - July 19 - Israeli Forces Surround Gaza Pullout Protesters.
July 23, 2005... Israeli security forces surround thousands of rightist protesters threatening to defy a ban and march on Gaza settlements in a bid to hamper Israel's planned pullout from the occupied strip. In spite of the ban, thousands of opponents of PM...

ARABS-ISRAEL - July 20 - Israel Moves Ahead On Gaza Withdrawal.
July 23, 2005... The Israeli Parliament, Knesset votes down three bills aiming at delaying the withdrawal of Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip, while in southern Israel, the security forces prevent rightist protesters from marching on Gaza for a third...

EGYPT - July 19 - Largest Leftist Party To Boycott September Presidential Election.(Tagammu Party)(Brief Article)
July 23, 2005... Egypt's largest leftist Tagammu party decides to boycott presidential elections in September, saying the government remained despotic and had obstructed political reforms sought by the opposition. "We don't want to be bit actors in a play the...

EGYPT - July 22 - Bombs In Egyptian Resort Kill At Least 36.
July 23, 2005... At least 36 people are reported killed and 100 more injured in a series of bomb explosions in the popular Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El Shaikh. Details of the explosions were sketchy but witnesses quoted by news agencies reported that...

IRAQ - July 17 - First Formal Charges Against Saddam Hussain.
July 23, 2005... The country's special tribunal lays the first formal charges against Saddam Hussain for crimes committed during his rule, in preparation for a trial that could begin within days. The tribunal's chief investigative judge Raid Juhi, said the...

IRAQ - July 17 - A Flurry Of Suicide Bombings Shakes Iraq.
July 23, 2005... Another rash of suicide bombings sweep across Baghdad, killing at least eight people, as the number of casualties from a suicide attack July 16 night south of Baghdad that torched a Shiite mosque and a crowded open-air market climbed to 71 dead...

LEBANON - July 19 - Leaders Approve First Post-Syrian Government.(Brief Article)
July 23, 2005... The country announces its first government since the departure of Syrian troops earlier this year and last month's elections in which anti-Syrian groups gained a majority. PM designate Fouad Siniora, presented the list of 24 ministers after...

LEBANON - July 21 - Security Chief 'Is Hariri Suspect'.(Mustafa Hamdan under investigation for murder of Rafiq Hariri)(Brief Article)
July 23, 2005... The head of a UN team investigating the murder of former PM Rafiq Hariri, says his team is investigating whether and why commander of the presidential guard Mustafa Hamdan, had ordered the "clearing" of the scene of the huge explosion that...

SAUDI ARABIA - July 20 - Ambassador To US Resigns.(Prince Bandar bin-Sultan)
July 23, 2005... The kingdom's FM confirms the resignation of Prince Bandar bin-Sultan, long-serving ambassador to the US, and his replacement by Prince Turki al-Feisal, the former spy chief who is now the Saudi envoy to Britain. The departure of the flamboyant...

ARAB AFFAIRS - July 25 - Urgent Arab Summit To Discuss Pullout Plan.(Brief Article)
July 30, 2005... Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa says efforts are underway to organise an Arab summit within about two weeks to discuss Iraq and Israel's pullout from the Gaza. He said: The agenda would be the general situation in the region with the...

ARAB AFFAIRS - July 28 - Egypt Sees Urgent Need For Common Stance On Mideast.
July 30, 2005... Egyptian Pres Hosni Mubarak invites Arab leaders to a summit next week in the Red Sea resort of Sharm Al Shaikh, where bombers killed at least 64 people July 23. Hosni Mubarak said: I call for an exceptional Arab summit and I propose that it...

ARAB-EUROPEAN RELATIONS - July 27 - Iran Takes Hard Line For EU3 Talks.
July 30, 2005... Iran's moderate Pres Mohammad Khatami, tells reporters in Tehran that Iran will "definitely" resume work at its Isfahan plant regardless of what France, Germany and the UK put on the table. (Iran and the US are staking out hardline positions...

ARAB-EUROPEAN RELATIONS - July 28 - More Praise For Sharon From French.
July 30, 2005... France's FM Philippe Douste-Blazy praises the decision by PM Ariel Sharon of Israel to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and expresses hope during talks that the pullout will not be marred by violence. Sharon, intent on smoothing over past...

ARABS-ISRAEL - July 24 - 2 Israelis Are Killed And Then 2 Palestinians.
July 30, 2005... Palestinian gunmen spray a civilian Israeli convoy with automatic fire, killing a husband and wife and wounding four other Israelis, three of them seriously. The attack took place on the main road connecting Israel's Gaza settlements with...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - July 27 - Iraq Pull-out 'Could Begin Early Next Year'.
July 30, 2005... The top US commander in Iraq predicts the US-led coalition can start withdrawing troops from the country next in spring if the political process and training of Iraqi security forces stays on track. Gen George Casey said the US could make...

AFGHANISTAN - July 26 - US-Afghan Force Kills Up To 40 Taliban Militants.
July 30, 2005... At least 40 militants and two Afghan soldiers are killed overnight in a raid by US and Afghan troops on a Taliban hideout in south-central Afghanistan. The clash took place in Uruzgan, the province where one US soldier was killed in heavy...

EGYPT - July 25 - Attackers Had Aimed At Tourists.
July 30, 2005... Egyptian officials, giving their first detailed account of a deadly terror strike at this Red Sea resort, says that all three bombs are suicide attacks and suggest that they have been intended to explode at two hotels and a busy nightlife strip...

EGYPT - July 30 - Poll Outsider Prepares To Take On Mubarak.
July 30, 2005... Egypt's first contested presidential election campaign begins, with both incumbent President Hosni Mubarak and his main challenger declaring their candidacies for a vote scheduled for Sep 7. Ayman Nour, chairman of the al-Ghad (Tomorrow) party,...

IRAN - July 27 - Tehran Aims To Restart Nuclear Site.
July 30, 2005... The departing president says the country's senior officials has decided to resume activities at one of its nuclear sites no matter what a European proposal - aimed at maintaining a suspension of Iran's nuclear program - consists of. Pres...

IRAQ - July 24 - More Than 22 Die In Suicide Bomb.(Brief Article)
July 30, 2005... A suicide truck bomber kills at least 22 people, most of them civilians, and wounds about 30 at a Baghdad police station as insurgents continue a bombing campaign apparently meant to undermine inter-sectarian negotiations for a permanent...

IRAQ - July 25 - Sunnis Return To Talks On Iraq Draft Constitution.(Brief Article)
July 30, 2005... Sunni Arab committee members agree to resume their participation in drafting Iraq's constitution, granting the government a political victory but virtually ensuring the constitution will miss the Aug 15 deadline for parliamentary approval....

ISRAEL - July 27 - Sharon's Son Faces Campaign Charges.(Ariel Sharon, Omri Sharon)(Brief Article)
July 30, 2005... Omri Sharon, the son of PM Ariel Sharon, faces charges related to fraud and breach of trust following a three-year investigation into his father's political campaign funding. The Justice ministry, which claimed the charges, has another month to...