- RIYADH: Sudanese President Omar Bashir has arrived in the holy city of Makkah to perform Haj, said a Sudanese diplomat on Sunday.
- Bashir, whose duration of stay in the Kingdom after Haj was not confirmed, is on the pilgrimage with a small team of officials and diplomats.
Referring to the support given by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), including Saudi Arabia, a report published recently said that the GCC has called on the Sudanese people to cooperate constructively to create an adequate atmosphere for the upcoming public referendum that would determine destiny of natives of southern Sudan.

