Sudan to host African, Arab summits - Egypt is world's 3rd largest buyer of weapons: Saudi Arabia ranked 2nd

From correspondents in Khartoum via The Australian Sep 1:

Sudan would host African and Arab summit meetings in 2006, the country's president said overnight during the inauguration of a new post-civil war parliament.

"Our country is happy to be hosting at the start of the coming year the African Union summit," President Omar Hassan al-Bashir was quoted as saying by Sudan's SUNA news agency.

"We will host the summit of Arab states in the same year."

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Egypt is world's 3rd largest buyer of weapons - Saudi Arabia ranked 2nd

Miss Mabrouk of Egypt links to these reports on leading buyers of weapons:

Egypt Deemed Leading Buyer of Weapons
... Egypt has become the third largest buyer of weapons over the last four years. ... Egypt purchased $6.5 billion worth of weapons from 2000 to 2004.

India Becomes Developing World's Top Arms Buyer
The United States once again topped the trade with developing states. ...66 percent were in the Near East, including sales to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Oman, Israel and the United Arab Emirates. ...Saudi Arabia ranked second among developing world arms buyers last year ... and China was third ...

U.S. Tops Listing of Weapons Sales to Nations
The total worldwide value of all agreements to sell arms last year was close to $37 billion, and nearly 59% of the agreements were to sell weapons to developing nations...
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Where the World is Flat as a Pancake

Here is another of Miss Mabrouk's gems that speaks volumes [btw Did you know only 10% of Americans are passport holders?] -

"Says Power blogger Andrew Sullivan:

42 Percent: That's how many Americans believe that the earth and all its creatures have always been the same since they were created by God in Genesis. Fully "70 percent of white evangelical Protestants say that life has existed in its present form since the beginning of time." 63 percent of them are "very certain" that this is true. I must say that there are times when one is rendered speechless. No educated intelligent person could possibly look at the evidence of science and say such a thing. And yet we are supposed to have a reasoned debate with these people on the matter. How is that even possible?"

Read the rest.

Tags: Darfur Sudan Africa Egypt African Arab weapons Americans Andrew Sullivan India Saudi UAE China Oman Israel