Magharebia

Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States, and seven other countries will meet in Morocco on Monday (October 30th) and Tuesday to discuss global initiatives to combat nuclear terrorism. The meeting will be co-chaired by US Undersecretary of State Robert Joseph and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak.

The Rabat meeting stemmed from concerns over the determination of some countries to pursue nuclear programmes and over the threat that atomic material from these countries could be sold to al-Qaeda or other terrorist groups.

AFP quoted a US official as saying that the initiative aims to have participating states make "a commitment and build capacities to prevent the acquisition of sensitive materials by terrorist groups". Morocco was chosen as host because of its record of combating terrorism, according to organisers. (Le Matin, Liberation, Al Bayane, AFP)