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a weekly report by/for the decision maker summarizing the highlights of what's been happening in Syria and the region whether published or not published, from the period between the 15th till the 21st of November, 2009. For more details about the news mentioned in the report, please search in our website through "advanced search" page.
We receive your suggestions to upraise and develop next week's report, through adding new categories or cancelling out currently existing categories. We also receive your participations which would be published in on of the "chatting/debate" section subcategories or in "vague politics" section.
Local News and Events
- a legal reliable source revealed that President Bashar Al Asad is soon going to announce a general discharge to all the Syrian opposing politicians in prison.
- many public organizations and entities have requested the President, the first lady, and the vice president to interfere and stop the new personal status law project, which was released a few days ago by the Ministry of Justice. These entities are considering the new law to be "not presenting anything new worth mentioning, but beholds within its amendments a dangerous retreat from the powerful law which has been applied for over half a century."
- the Ninth forum/conference for the Branches of the leaders of the Progressive National Front and The political leaders of the ruling National Progressive Front in Syria will be held on the 8th and the 9th of December 2009, in order to evaluate and asses the frontier work during the past year and the ways to develop and stimulate it.
- a group of the Syrian leading cadres in Damascus is getting ready to join within the next few days a diploma in the high-affairs specialist in the science of diplomacy and international negotiation. The diploma's first version has started off a month ago. According to "Al Quds Al Arabi”, this diploma is going to include Syrian parliamentarians, heads of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, editors of state formal media, as well as general managers of major institutions in Syria, under the supervision of Syrian and International experts.
- the latest Sugar village, which is the first of its kind in Syria has been opened in the city of Sweida, in cooperation with the Directorate of Health in Sweida, and Novo Nor Disk company from Denmark, under the National Program for Diabetes, and on the occasion of the World Diabetes Day.
- Syria has earned First place equally with Egypt in the Small and medium sized enterprises leading competition in Cairo, organized by the Arab Institution for Science and Technology.
- the Syrian Ministry of Health has stated that it had suggested applying severe punishments that could reach to life-time imprisonment and a fine payment of 35 million Syrian pounds on whoever found guilty of the crime of counterfeiting of medicines and participating in it.
- Syria ranked 126 out of 180 countries, in the annual report of the International transparent organization for year 2009.
- Syrian Telecommunications stated that it has delayed the release of the fourth session of invoice in all the provinces until the transfer of participant’s data to the Customer Care Billing System (CCBS) is completed. The transfer should be completed before the end of the month, and the bills will be released simultaneously and in a uniform model in all the provinces of Syria by the beginning of next month.
- Dr. Mahmoud Kareem, director of communicable and chronic diseases in the Syrian Ministry of Health, said that the swine flu deaths have exceeded 30 people.
Economy and Development
- Insurance Supervisory Authority has estimated the size of the Insurance market between 13-15 Billion Syrian pounds annually, and considered that reaching 15 billion SP this year is considered to be an optimistic accomplishment.
- President Bashar Al Asad inaugurated today a gas plant in the south-central region with a production capacity of 7.56 million cubic meters daily, the President also inaugurated phase 1 of the Arab Gas Pipeline project in Al Ryan area in Homs. This would be the beginning of launching the first Arab Gas network in the region.
- Syria and China have signed an economic cooperation convention which includes providing a scholarship worth 20 million Chinese Yuan (3 million dollars), as well as a convention to strengthen the human capacity to support the Syrian government efforts in joining the World Trade Organization.
- the Syrian government inaugurated a water purification plant in Al Salameya city after it was rehabilitated in cooperation with the Unisef and the Danish Embassy in Damascus, in order to provide drinking water to over 120,000 residents.
- Prime Minister, Engineer Naji Al Otrim has issued a resolution to stop exporting male sheep and mountain goats starting from 1/12/2009 till the end of the year.
- The Ministry of Electricity has expected in one of its reports that electricity demand will increase during this winter by 50% compared to last winter. this increase in demand will consume all the additions to the production of the electricity network, which is estimated by a thousand megawatts courier, which as a result means a shortage in the level of electricity coverage, that is why the ministry of electricity is preparing a winter rationing program that will be used within a month or two, as needed.
- Hayyan Oil and Gas station was opened in Jahhar filed west of Tadmur city. it targets processing oil and gas produced from Hayyan Oil company fields, Able to 6000 barrels of oil per day, and investing of gas facilities with a production target of 650,000 cubic meters of ready to use, clean gas.
International Relations and Diplomatic Activities
- Jeffrey Feltman, assistant to US Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, stated that Washington would like to resume positive, constructive discussions, which took place with Faisal Al Mukdad, Syrian Secretary of State Deputy, during his visit to the US capital last September.
- A British parliamentary source confirmed that Syrian President Dr. Bashar Al Asad will have an official visit to London, beginning of next year, after his visit last week to France, which he called "successful".
- Eric Schwartz, Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration, visited Damascus in the framework of a tour to Jordan and Iraq too.
- European Diplomatic sources pointed out political reasons, besides economic reasons, that stand behind Syria's request to postpone signing the Syrian European Partnership convention, according to the sources Syria find compliance and submission in some details of the convention.
- Emirati newspaper AL Bayan said the Russian Ministry of Defence issues a resolution last July to develop the Ayrian Port pf Tartus, that is by the Mediterranean Sea, and prepare it as a permanent naval base for the Russian Navy ships, and it would also provide services and funding for the Russian warships in both the Mediterranean and the Red Seas in the Horn of Africa.
- Council of the League of Arab States has agreed to assign the Syrian candidate ambassador Samir Al Kaseer (62 years) a general secretary, assistant to the Arab League, after the late ambassador Mwaffak Nassar, of a Syrian nationality too, who served as a general secretary, assistant to the Arab League, and head of the Arab national security.
Regional and International
- An American TV station uncovered that that US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) started an advertising campaign, in the States, which targets recruitment of Arab and Muslim Americans to work in its different branches.
- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), said that Israel is currently secretly negotiating with Hamas. he also noted in an interview with BBC arabia, carried by Hearts newspaper, that these negotiations are concerning the establishment of Palestinian State with temporary borders.
- Lebanese Hezbollah re-elected Hasan Nasrallah as its General Secretary, after finishing his conference, which ended a year-long work for several months. he approved a new policy document, which is the second of its kind after his Open Letter in 1985
- A survey conducted on physicians of Wednesday showed that more than half of the Britons who are offered the vaccination against H1N1 reject it out of fear of the side effects, or thinking that the virus does not cause them much worry and trouble.
- Two new schools opened for the Iraqi Refugees in Damascus, in the area of Jaramana. The project worth 1.5 billiong US dollars was funded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The project was executed by the "First Aid" with support from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the Ministry of Education.
- According to an Israeli source, 25 Jewish immigrants from many countries in South America arrived in Israel.
- According to an Iranian news website, General Ali Ridha Askari, who disappeared in 2007, and whom beholds information about the Iranian Nuclear program is locked up in a prison in Israel.
- Libyan sources uncovered that General Ahmad Abdullah Aoen, who is a senior commander in the Libyan army, started having unannounced visits to Mauritania to discuss the contribution of Nouakchott in the united African army, which Libyan leader Muammar Kaddafi is seeking to composite.
Positions and Statements
- an official source in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has firmly denied the allegations of Maareef newspaper about a meeting that allegedly took place in Paris between Minister of Foreign affairs Waleed Al Muallem and a reporter from that newspaper.
- Palestinian MP Marwan Al Barghouti kept the door opened for the chance of him getting nominated for the Palestinian elections. however, stressing that any elections should include the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Jerusalem (eastern) within a Palestinian national accord.\
- the American LA Times newspaper said that Syrian, which according to the paper nominally controls he system in a secular manner, has fell in the international ranking of the gap between men and women over the last few years, while many Gulf countries are progressing in that ranking even though they are more conservative and more based on the Islamic Sharia in a way or another.
- Assistant Secretary of State for Middle East Affairs Jeffrey Feltman announced that Washington’s delay on assigning a new ambassador in Damascus trails back to political and bureaucratic reasons.
- Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mnushahr matki,said that Tahran refuses to send low-enriched uranium anywhere outside Ian, but it shall study the possibility of receiving nuclear fuel in exchange to the uranium existing in the country.
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