Excerpts: Syrian Laborers in Jordan.Egypt hates U.S., loves $$.Honor
killing,Arab oil money 1 September 2005

+++JORDAN TIMES 1 Sept.'05
"Jordan, Syria agree on controls on employment of Syrian workers"
QUOTE FROM TEXT:
"Syrian workers, like their Egyptian colleagues and
other non-Jordanian nationals, will not be employed
in fields other than construction and agriculture"
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EXCERPTS:
AMMAN (JT) - Jordan and Syria on Wednesday reached agreement on several
measures to control the employment of Syrian workers in the Kingdom.
The agreement followed talks between Labour Ministry Secretary General Majid
Habashneh and his Syrian counterpart Issa Maldaoun in Amman.
Under the agreement, Syrian workers wishing to work in Jordan should obtain
a certified work permit endorsed by the Jordanian and Syrian ministers of
labour, before entering the Kingdom.
The agreement, which takes effect once it is endorsed by the ministers of
labour in both countries, stipulates that Syrian workers' rights will not be
affected or harmed should they face legal action of any kind.
The agreement also states that Syrian workers, like their Egyptian
colleagues and other non-Jordanian nationals, will not be employed in fields
other than construction and agriculture.
. . .
In remarks at the concluding meeting, Habashneh said the agreement reflects
the development of bilateral collaboration in labour-related affairs, which
is bound to have positive results on the labour markets of Syria and Jordan.
Maldaoun said the Syrian labour ministry is interested in benefiting from
Jordan's experience in organising the Syrian labour market and vocational
training programmes.
According to Labour Ministry figures, there are currently 320,000 guest
workers in the country while the unemployment rate among Jordanians stands
at 13.4 per cent. . . .

+++JORDAN TIMES 1 Sept.'05::
"Opposition in love-hate relationship with US"
By Jean-Marc Mojon Agence France-Presse
QUOTES FROM TEXT:
" 'We don't want the Americans here' "

"praise for the Sept. 11 terror attacks is not
uncommon"

"accepting foreign funding only after exhausting the
possibility of obtaining funds locally"

" 'I don't want the US support, I bet on the Egyptian
people.' "
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EXCERPTS:
CAIRO - Washington's drive for democratic change in Egypt has left the
country's reformist opposition torn between a deep-rooted anti-Americanism
and the potential windfall of US support.
"Do you think Washington will issue a statement to condemn this?" snapped an
angry protester during a recent protest in Cairo by the Kefaya ("Enough" in
Arabic) movement that was violently dispersed by security forces.
The US State Department published the statement.
...Egyptians opposed to ...Mubarak's autocratic regime who accuse America of
abandoning them also slam the "interference and imperialist policies" of
Washington.
The protester, 29-year-old tour operator Nagwa Farahat, tried to explain the
unease between Egypt's pro-reform camp and Washington's pro-reform
advocates.
"... . We don't want the Americans here, that's for sure. But when you need
money, you turn to someone who has lots of it. America has lots of power,"
she said.
A coalition of NGOs intent on monitoring the Sept. 7 presidential poll
raised eyebrows when it accepted $264,000 of funding from USAID to train
observers.
In a country where praise for the Sept. 11 terror attacks is not uncommon
and the US administration is associated with Israel, people often only admit
to links with America after trotting out a stream of apologies.
Negad Al Borai of the Group for Democratic Development, part of the
coalition, explained that his group accepted foreign funding only after
exhausting the possibility of obtaining funds locally.
[IMRA: Sign of Egyptian apathy.]
"USAID helps everything from business organisations to the Future Generation
Fund to women's centres, but when it goes to centres monitoring torture or
the condition of prisoners, suddenly it becomes a problem," he remarked.
The fund is run by Mubarak's son, Gamal.
Ayman Nur, seen by many as Hosni Mubarak's top rival in next week's poll and
certainly the most outspoken, is cagey when it comes to the role Washington
should play in Egypt.
...Condoleezza Rice cancelled a March trip to Egypt in protest at his
detention over what he says were trumped up charges, fuelling speculation on
the level of support he is receiving from Washington.
But he goes to great lengths to distance himself from the United States.
"I don't want the US support, I bet on the Egyptian people. If the United
States respects me and supports my cause, I am very pleased, but only within
the framework of dialogue," Nur said ... .
. . .
Hani Enan, a senior Kefaya leader, argued that the ambivalence of the
relations between Egypt's opposition and Washington was mostly the doing of
the United States.
"America has been consolidating dictatorships in the region for years, now
they are discovering that the environment they created breeds discontent and
terrorism," he said.

+++JORDAN TIMES 1 Sept.'05:
"Man receives 6-month prison term for killing his married sister"
By Rana Husseini
QUOTES FROM TEXT:
"sentenced a 20-year-old man to a six-month prison
term for killing his married sister"
"A second defendant, aged 27, who was standing trial
on charges of committing adultery with the victim,
was handed a three-year prison term by the same
tribunal."
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EXCERPTS:
AMMAN - The Criminal Court has sentenced a 20-year-old man to a six-month
prison term for killing his married sister... .
Mohammad M. was standing trial for stabbing and strangling his 24-year-old
married sister to death in her house ... .
A second defendant, aged 27, who was standing trial on charges of committing
adultery with the victim, was handed a three-year prison term by the same
tribunal.
...the tribunal decided to amend Mohammad's premeditated murder charges to a
misdemeanour as stipulated in Article 98 of the Penal Code "because the
defendant killed his sister in a fit of fury." . . .
=========================================
+++THE DAILY STAR (Lebanon) 1 Sept.'05:
"Gulf states failing to re-invest windfall from oi revenues
Few countries planning projects to ensure continued growth"

By Agence France Presse (AFP)
QUOTES FROM TEXT:
"the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, are all set to reap revenue
of around $265 billion from oil this year"

"Saudi Arabia, which pumps some 9.5 million bpd and is the world's
biggest oil exporter, has a public debt of $176 billion. It has
announced
that it will use part of last year's $26 billion budget surplus to repay
some of the debt."

"Gulf producers were not doing enough to ensure long-term economic
growth and promote non-oil sectors of the economy"
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EXCERPTS:
DUBAI: Revenues of Gulf producers have shot up as world oil prices soar;
enabling them to launch expensive projects, but economists said Wednesday
they had failed to use the windfall to ensure continued economic growth.
Gulf Arab producers, joined in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, are
set to reap revenues of around $265 billion from oil this year, said Jassem
al-Saadun, head of Kuwait's Al-Shall Economic Consultants.
[IMRA: Not much for Iraqi assistance.]
The estimate is based on an average price of $50 a barrel and combined
exports of 14.5 million barrels per day (bpd), Saadun said.
But with crude trading above $70 a barrel in New York, Saudi economist Ihsan
Bu Hulaiga said the estimate was based on "conservative figures" and Gulf
states' income from oil sales could be even higher.
Saadun said Gulf states would earmark part of the income on "infrastructure
projects in the fields of health, education, electricity, water and oil,
which have been blocked for some time."
Some, chiefly Saudi Arabia and Oman, would also use part of their revenues
to service their public debt, he said.
Saudi Arabia, which pumps some 9.5 million bpd and is the world's biggest
oil exporter, has a public debt of $176 billion. It has announced that it
will use part of last year's $26 billion budget surplus to repay some of the
debt.
Other Gulf producers, namely Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, are taking
advantage of the surge in oil prices to beef up their currency reserves,
Saadun said.
Petrodollars are also helping "buy political loyalty," said Saadun, citing
salary increases for civil servants recently decreed in a number of
countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the U.A.E.
Most Gulf countries have announced multi-billion-dollar development projects
in the past few months.
Earlier this month, new Saudi King Abdullah ordered a 15 percent hike in
public sector salaries and the handing out of almost $22 billion on housing,
health and education projects as well as raising the capital of development
funds.
But Saadun argued that Gulf producers were not doing enough to ensure
long-term economic growth and promote non-oil sectors of the economy, saying
they were instead building "bubble economies."
The Gulf states "are repeating their mistakes by entrusting the public
sector with carrying out giant projects in a short time without such
ventures having a long-term impact on economic growth," he said. . . .

Dr. Joseph Lerner, Co-Director IMRA