Excerpts: Egyptian cleric:Peres handshake ruled out. Ahmadinejad addresses
African Summit in Libya.Ahmadinejad addresses African Union summit.Iraqi oil
and gas fields.July 01, 2009

+++EGYPTIAN GAZETTE 1 July '09:Al-Azhar Sheikh's meeting with Peres ruled
out"
SUB JECT:Egypt rules out cleric meeting with Peres.

QUOTE:"A handshake between (cleric) Tantawi and Peres last year had caused a
furore in the Egyptian press"

FULL TEXT:An Egyptian cleric said yesterday that Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar
Mohamed Sayyed Tantawi would not meet Israeli President Shimon Peres or any
Israeli rabbis during his participation in an inter-faith meeting in
Kazakhstan today."I confirm that Shiekh Tantawi will not meet the Israeli
President or any Israeli rabbis during the
meeting," said Mohamed el-Guindi, the chief of the State-run Supreme Council
for Islamic Affairs.He added that Tantawi, along with Minister of Waqfs
(religious endowments) Mahmoud Hamdi Zazouq left for Kazakhstan
yesterday."During its previous meetings, the inter-religious conference was
never attended by Israeli clerics. However, Sheikh Tantawi does not mind if
such a confer-ence is attended by Israeli rabbis," el-Guindi said.He added
that the Third Triennial Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional
Religions in Astana, Kazakhstan is an "international" parley that is
attended by religious icons from across the world, including Israel.A senior
Kazakhstan official had announced during a four-day visit to Israel earlier
in May that he had invited two Israeli rabbis to attend this year's
confer-ence. Peres arrived in Kazakhstan yesterday on the first visit by an
Israeli head of state to the predominantely Muslim country.A handshake
between Tantawi and Peres last year had caused a furore in the Egyptian
press, and prompted demands from an opposition member of parliament that
Tantawi, who is Government-appoint-ed, be sackedTantawi, who heads Cairo's
Al-Azhar University (Sunni Islam's leading reli-gious authority) said at the
time that he had not recognised the octogenarian Peres when he 'passingly'
shook his hand at a UN-sponsored religious dialogue in July last year.

+++SAUDI GAZETTE 1 July '09:"Gaddafi springs an Ahmadinejad surprise at
African
summit "
QUOTE:"Gaddafi had extended the invitation (to Ahmadinejad) without
consulting the bloc's 53 members"

SIRTE, Libya - Africa's conflicts took a back seat Tuesday(30 June) to a
surprise visit by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Libyan leader
Muammar Gaddafi's drive to create an "African government" ahead of a
continental summit.
Gaddafi was elected president of the African Union in February, and the
self-styled "king of kings" is using his term to press his scheme for
African unity under a stronger AU executive, despite objections from key
countries including South Africa, the continent's biggest economy. His drive
had already diverted attention from African trouble spots when Tehran
announced that Ahmadinejad would visit Libya Wednesday(1 July) to address
the summit, after Iran's top electoral body confirmed his re-election
despite massive opposition protests.
Diplomats expressed surprise at Ahmadinejad's visit, indicating Gaddafi had
extended the invitation without consulting the bloc's 53 members.
Gaddafi has also invited Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, whose
country hosts the Group of Eight rich nations summit next week, when leaders
will discuss possible sanctions against Iran.
Ahmadinejad's impending arrival immediately grabbed attention away from
African hotspots like Mauritania, due to hold elections in July after a coup
last August, or Guinea-Bissau, where elections were held last weekend after
the president's assassination. Ousted Madagascar leader Marc Ravalomanana
has also come to plead for tougher action to return him to power, while
rights groups are urging the AU to abandon its reticence over the
international war crimes warrant for Sudanese President Omar Al-Beshir, who
will also be attending.
Gaddafi was already brushing aside those issues in favor of his plans to
group the AU's existing organs under a single authority with more meaningful
executive powers. "We need to resolve this, even if we have to take it to a
vote," Gaddafi told a preliminary ministerial meeting Sunday. "If two thirds
agree, the remaining third must respect the decision of the majority." -

+++NAHARNET 1 July '09:"Ahmadinejad to Address Summit in Libya",Agence
France
Presse
FULL TEXT:Iran's hard line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is to visit Libya
on Wednesday (1 July) to address the African Union summit, the Mehr news
agency reported.
Ahmadinejad, whose visit to Libya was confirmed by his office, will lead a
high-level political and economic delegation at the three-day summit focused
on investments in agriculture to boost economic growth, it said.
On Monday(29 June), Ahmadinejad's re-election in a disputed June 12
presidential poll was certified by Iran's top electoral body, the Guardians
Council.(AFP)

+++WASHINGTON POST 1 July '09:"Anxious Oil Giants Pass on Iraq"
HEADING:"On Day of Auctions to Develop Fields, the Country Strikes Just One
Deal", By Ernesto Londo?o, K.I. Ibrahim and Steven Mufson
QUOTE:"Iraqi Oil Ministry was able to nail down just one deal...with
British Petrpleum and China National Petroleum Corp."

EXCERPTS:BAGHDAD, June 29 -- Iraq's effort to woo foreign energy companies
to help resurrect its ailing oil fields fell flat Tuesday(30 June), as most
companies balked at the financial terms offered by the government despite
the lure of the country's vast reserves.
The impasse on deals for all but one field was a setback for the oil firms
eager to gain access to the largest reserves in the world outside Saudi
Arabia, and for Iraq, for which oil revenue could hold the key to
prosperity. The impasse was also a setback for the United States, which has
encouraged Iraq to make use of foreign investment and expertise to help
bring stability to the most important sector of the country's economy.
During a day-long live auction for eight 20-year service contracts, the
Iraqi Oil Ministry was able to nail down just one deal -- for the giant
Rumaila field in southern Iraq. The Iraqi Oil Ministry reached an agreement
with British Petroleum and China National Petroleum Corp. only after BP and
CNPC accepted a much lower fee than they originally sought in return for
raising the field's output beyond current levels. Rumaila, Iraq's biggest
oil field, has an estimated 17 billion barrels of oil reserves, an amount
equivalent to more than half the reserves of the entire United States.
"It's tough to walk away from the opportunity to get your foot in the door
in Iraq," said Robert E. Ebel, an expert on Iraqi oil at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies. "When you look at all the oil in the
ground, you figure 'I better be here.' But when you think about all the
above-ground problems, you might think that 'I better strike a better deal.'
" . . ..
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Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA.