WASHINGTON: The United States yesterday named a new charge d’affaires to Libya following the murder of ambassador Chris Stevens in last month’s militant attack on the US consulate in Benghazi. Veteran diplomat and Arabic speaker Laurence Pope has arrived in Tripoli already, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. His appointment “emphasizes the commitment of the United States to the relationship between our two countries and to the people of Libya as they move forward in their transition to a democratic government,” Nuland said. “We will continue to assist as Libya builds democratic institutions and broad respect for the rule of law—the goals that Ambassador Stevens worked hard to achieve.” Pope retired from the Foreign Service in 2000 after 31 years, during which he notably served as ambassador to Kuwait, as well as ambassador to Chad from 1993-1996.
Jordan king swears in new cabinet
AMMAN: King Abdullah II yesterday swore in a 21-strong cabinet a day after he named pro-reform politician Abdullah Nsur to form a government tasked with preparing for legislative polls. The swearing in ceremony comes a week after the king dissolved parliament and called early elections, which he says he wants to be held by the end of the year although no date has been set for the polls. Nsur’s cabinet includes four newcomers, including Interior Minister Awad Khleifat, who also held that post in 2002, and Minister of Trade and Industry Hatem Halawani, who will likewise head the ministry of communications and information technology. The other two new cabinet ministers are Nidal Qatamin who takes over the labour ministry and Bassam Haddadin who was appointed minister of political development and parliamentary affairs. Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh retains his post for the fifth time in a row in the new line-up which does not include any women.
Morocco ruler plans Gulf Arab tour
KUWAIT/RABAT: Morocco’s King Mohammed will make a rare tour of Gulf Arab countries before the end of the year as his cash-strapped government tries to drum up investor interest in a sovereign bond. While it largely escaped last year’s Arab Spring unrest, Morocco has little money to improve living standards and is under heavy domestic pressure to provide jobs and measures to cut poverty. “It (king’s tour) will be a roadshow ... an opportunity to market fresh investment opportunities Morocco has to offer,” said an official Moroccan source. Morocco’s $90bn economy is heavily exposed to the eurozone, whose troubles have hit tourism revenues, migrant remittances and foreign investment this year. Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry undersecretary Khaled Al Jarallah said the monarch was expected to visit Kuwait this month or in November. The monarch will also visit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman, Jarallah said.
Saudi warns against demos for prisoners
RIYADH: The Saudi interior ministry warned yesterday that it would deal “firmly” with demonstrations calling for the release of prisoners. “Some people are exploiting the issue of people arrested or convicted for crimes of the deviant minority by organising small gatherings to call for their release,” it said, using the official term for Al Qaeda militants. It said in a statement that participants had been “taking videos which they use on certain media and on the Internet to falsify the facts and sow discord.” The ministry urged respect for judicial procedures and for Saudis “not to take part in gatherings or marches,” warning that security forces would deal “firmly” with offenders. According to the non-governmental Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), the kingdom is currently holding some 30,000 political prisoners.
Brotherhood urges ex-officials’ retrial
CAIRO: Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood yesterday called for demonstrations demanding the retrial of those responsible for protester deaths during last year’s popular uprising against Hosni Mubarak. A court on Wednesday acquitted 24 stalwarts of the ousted president who had been accused of incitement to murder over a notorious camel-borne assault on protesters on February 2, 2011, to the disbelief of human rights activists. “The Brotherhood was shocked, like the Egyptian people, throughout the verdict acquitting the accused of the ‘battle of the camel,’” said Mahmud Hussein, general secretary of the Islamist movement, on its website. “This is why the Muslim Brotherhood has decided... to call on the Egyptian people to express their anger in all the squares of the republic... and to respond to popular and national forces’ call for a million-man march in Tahrir square on Friday,” he added.
Yemeni security official killed at US mission
DUBAI: Gunmen shot dead a senior Yemeni security official employed by the US embassy in Sanaa in a hit-and-run attack yesterday, a security official and a US diplomat said. Qassem Aqlan was shot dead by gunmen on a motorbike as he drove along Sittin Street, a main artery of the Yemeni capital, the official said, adding the assailants managed to escape.
Agencies
