INDICATORS - Lebanon - Updated May 26

Reuters: [2008-05-26 13:07:00]

BEIRUT, May 26 (Reuters) - Below is a table of the latest Lebanese economic statistics. Figures are provided by the central bank, finance ministry and ratings agencies.

-----------------------LEBANESE POUND----------------------

EXCHANGE RATE BETWEEN BANKS - 1,507.5 pounds to the dollar

-----------------------KEY INTEREST RATES------------------

T-bill weekly rates

(May 29 issue)

Term Discount Yield

(percent) (percent)

3 months 5.15 5.22

6 months 6.99 7.24

Central bank CD rates (percent)

45 days....04.40

60 days....04.89

182 days...-----

364 days...-----

-------------------ECONOMIC INDICATORS----------------------

(All figures US $ million unless otherwise stated)

Balance of payments Feb 08 Jan 08 Dec 07 Nov 07 Feb 07

Monthly 542.7 -259.2 864.3 546.9 147.4

(Source: Banque Du Liban)

Total 2006 +2,794.5

Total 2005 +747.2

Total 2004 +168.5

Total 2003 +3,386

Trade

Feb 08 Jan 08 Dec 07 Nov 07 Oct 07 Feb 07

Imports 1,211.9 1,106.6 1,064.0 1,054.7 1,192.7 830.4

Exports 310.5 262.2 241.3 293.0 258.0 219.0

(Source: Banque Du Liban)

Foreign currencies (billions of U.S. dollars)

Feb 08 Jan 08 Dec 07 Nov 07 Oct 07 Sept 07

10.784 9.791 9.778 9.748 9.583 10.208

(Source: Banque Du Liban)

Gross public debt Feb '08 Jan '08 Dec '07

Foreign currency ($bln) 21.47 21.28 21.22

Local currency (LBP bln) 32,271 31,709 31,373

Net debt ($bln) 39.46 39.26 39.02

(Source: Public Finance Monitor)

Money supply (Lebanese pounds billions)

Feb 08 Jan 08 Dec 07 Feb 07

M1 3,571.4 3,508.3 3,578.1 3,243.2

M2 25,479.6 24,957.8 24,830.7 23,462.8

M3 92,122.4 90,871.4 90,196.7 81,068.3

M4 97,810.3 96,506.8 95,809.7 85,905.5

(M1 = Currency in circulation plus demand deposits, M2 = M1 plus other deposits in Lebanese pounds, M3 = M2 plus foreign currency deposits, M4 = M3 plus treasury bills held by the non-banking system)

Coincident indicator

Feb 08 Jan 08 Dec 07 Nov 07 Oct 07 Sept 07 Feb 07

194 192.6 187.6 191 180.5 174.5 175.7

(100 = January 1993)

(Source: Banque du Liban)

Budget deficit (in billions of Lebanese pounds)

Feb '08 Jan '08 Feb '07 Total '07

Expenditure 1,098 1,144 1,003 10,070

Revenue 672 1,027 502 8,093

Surplus -426 -116 -501 -1,977

(Source: Public Finance Monitor)

T-bill weekly subscriptions (in billions of pounds)

(May 15 auction)

Term Yield (pct) Face Value Purchase Value

3 months 5.22 0.024 0.024

6 months 7.24 3.831 3.697

3.855 3.721

Total:

Subscriptions over maturities: -182.542 ((Beirut newsroom, beirut.newsroom@reuters.com))

Keywords: LEBANON INDICATORS

Turkish president warns over AK Party-court clash

Reuters: [2008-05-26 13:02:00]

ISTANBUL, May 26 (Reuters) - Turkey's President Abdullah Gul said on Monday that a quarrel between the ruling AK Party and the judiciary could cause lasting damage to the country.

The ruling party -- which faces a court case filed by a prosecutor to close it down -- and the judiciary been involved in heated exchanges in recent days, heightening political tension in an already edgy climate.

Last week, the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) accused the ruling party of waging "jihad" or holy war against the judiciary and called for Gul to act.

"These political and legal discussions must not be allowed to erode our hard-won stability, prestige and gains and cause irreparable damage to Turkey's strategic interests and goals," Gul said in a statement, adding he continued to meet the parties concerned.

Turkish media reported Gul would meet later on Monday the chairman of the Court of Appeals -- whose chief prosecutor is responsible for the case against the AK Party.

Turkey was plunged into political turmoil in March when the Constitutional Court agreed to consider the case, which also aims to ban Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and Gul -- a former party member -- from belonging to a political party for five years.

Turkey's financial markets are nervously monitoring the court case and the associated row, fearing the impact of months of political uncertainty.

Turkish courts have closed down about 20 parties in recent years. If closed down, AK Party members are expected to form a new party, while banned members, including Erdogan, could run for office as independents.

Last week the Court of Appeals complained that political circles were seeking to influence the judiciary. Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek responded by saying the court's comments were politically motivated and accused it of trying to bolster legal moves to close the party.

Turkey's top administrative court -- the Council of State -- then added its voice to the debate, defending its colleagues in the Court of Appeals.

Alongside the closure case, the Constitutional Court is also expected to rule early next month on a case brought by two opposition parties, which challenges a government move to lift a ban on the use of the Muslim headscarf at universities.

The two cases are linked as the headscarf reform was seen as the catalyst for the closure case, the indictment for which is packed with references to the headscarf. (Reporting by Emma Ross-Thomas; Editing by Matthew Jones) ((emma.ross-thomas@reuters.com; +90 212 350 7062; Reuters Messaging: emma.ross-thomas.reuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: TURKEY AKPARTY/

ANALYSIS-Mideast governments increasingly ignore U.S. views

Reuters: [2008-05-26 13:00:00]

By Jonathan Wright

CAIRO, May 26 (Reuters) - The governments of the Middle East, from Iran to Israel and beyond, are increasingly ignoring the wishes of a U.S. administration which has only eight months left in office, going their own way in regional diplomacy.

U.S. President George W. Bush's latest speech on Middle East policy, made in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh last week, shows how the gap has grown between what Washington would like and what is happening in the region. It is part of a wider picture of Washington's declining clout, accelerated by its debilitating deployment of more than 100,000 troops to Iraq for the past five years.

France has had contacts with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, for example, and Israel has had indirect talks with Syria, which Washington is trying to isolate.

Bush said in Sharm el-Sheikh that all nations in the region should stand together against Hamas, a group which he said was attempting to undermine efforts at making peace.

But the Egyptian government, his host and a longstanding friend of the United States, was simultaneously, and with U.S. consent, trying to mediate a truce between Gaza and Israel.

Israeli commentators said the Egyptian mediation amounted to indirect negotiations between the Israeli government and Hamas, a group with which the United States refuses to have dealings.

The Islamist organisation, which controls the Gaza Strip, was offering Israel a long-term truce which could make it easier for the rival Palestinian group Fatah to reach an agreement with Israel -- a goal which the United States says it is promoting.

In his Sharm el-Sheikh speech, Bush also attacked the Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim group Hezbollah, calling it "terrorists funded by Iran" and "the enemy of a free Lebanon".

HEZBOLLAH'S CENTRAL ROLE

Three days later in the Gulf state of Qatar, Hezbollah and other Lebanese groups reached an agreement ending the political crisis that had paralysed Lebanon for months.

Hezbollah had defeated its rivals in Beirut in short order this month when Washington's allies in the Lebanese government tried to challenge some of the privileges it enjoyed as the force which helped drive Israel out of south Lebanon.

The new political arrangement in Lebanon, symbolised by the election of Michel Suleiman as president on Sunday, tilts the balance of power significantly in Hezbollah's favour and underscores its central role in Lebanese politics.

Bush maintained his confrontational attitude towards Iran and Syria, saying: "Every peaceful nation in the region has an interest in stopping these nations from supporting terrorism."

On the same day of the Lebanese agreement, Israel and Syria disclosed they had held indirect talks mediated by Turkey -- the closest they have come to serious negotiations since talks brokered by the United States collapsed in 2000.

The Bush administration walked away from high-level contacts with the Syrians after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in 2005. The United States says it suspects Syria of the killing, a charge Syria denies.

Bush's audience included Gulf Arab officials whose governments have maintained working relations with Iran, defying to some extent Washington's attempts to isolate Tehran.

Years of U.S. policy, including sanctions and a debate about the possibility of military strikes, have not persuaded Iran to abandon its ambitions to produce its own enriched uranium.

DIALOGUE WITH IRAN

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said that in his talk about Iran's nuclear programme Bush had again failed to address the nuclear activities of Israel. It is widely believed to have some 200 nuclear warheads.

Mohamed ElBaradei, Egyptian head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the same conference in Sharm el-Sheikh that Washington was maintaining double standards on nuclear weapons, and dialogue with Iran was the right approach.

Bush argued that "terrorist organisations and their state sponsors" are the main opponents to democracy in the Arab world.

"(They) know they cannot survive in a free society, so they create chaos and take innocent lives in an effort to stop democracy from taking root," he said.

But civil society and human rights groups say that governments friendly towards the United States are some of the most determined obstacles to democracy, repressing peaceful Islamist groups which seek power through democratic elections.

In Egypt, for example, where Bush was speaking, the authorities prevented the non-violent Muslim Brotherhood from standing in local elections and some parliamentary elections over the past two years, ignoring occasional U.S. criticism.

Without naming names, the U.S. president did criticise his friends in the Arab world for holding political prisoners.

But five years after Bush launched his campaign for political change in the Middle East, Arab leaders have learned that the price for ignoring him on human rights is low.

"We've heard these speeches before," said an Egyptian official who asked not to be named.

In Cairo three years ago U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the time had come for the rule of law to replace emergency decrees. But this week the Egyptian parliament is expected to extend for another year a system of emergency law that has been in force for more than 26 years. (Writing by Jonathan Wright) ((jonathan.wright@thomsonreuters.com; +20 2 2578 3290/1; Reuters Messaging: jonathan.wright.reuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: BUSH MIDEAST/

DIARY - MidEast/African holidays to December 2008

Reuters: [2008-05-26 12:02:00]

Market holiday - Markets and exchanges closed.

Public holiday - Government offices, banks and ordinary businesses closed.

REUTERS DIARY OF MIDDLE EAST/AFRICAN HOLIDAYS

Double-click in brackets for Americas holidays [HOL1/DIARY], Asian holidays [HOL2/DIARY] and European holidays [HOL3/DIARY]

Alternatively click on <HOLIDAY> to retrieve dates by country.

** Details below represent the latest information available and will be supplemented later, particularly with updated entries for Muslim holidays.

(Note: Dates for Eid al-Fitr, Eid el-Adha, Muslim New Year and Prophet Mohammed's Birthday may differ slightly depending on the sighting of the moon)

************************************************************

2008 MARKET HOLIDAYS

************************************************************

** MORE COUNTRIES WILL BE ADDED AS AND WHEN THE DATES ARE CONFRIMED

MAY

MONDAY, MAY 12

BENIN - Whit Monday - Market Holiday

TUESDAY, MAY 20

CAMEROON - National Day - Market Holiday

WEDNESDAY, MAY 21

CAMEROON - Sheep Festival - Market Holiday

SATURDAY, MAY 24

BURUNDI - Ascension - Market Holiday

SUNDAY, MAY 25

CHAD - Market Holiday

COMOROS - Anniversary of the Organisation of the African Unity - Market Holiday

ZIMBABWE - Africa Day - Market Holiday

THURSDAY, MAY 29

COMOROS - Anniversary of the Death of President Ali Soilih - Market Holiday

NIGERIA - Democracy Day - Market Holiday

JUNE

SUNDAY, JUNE 1

KENYA - Madaraka Day - Market Holiday

MONDAY, JUNE 2

KENYA - Rollover from Madaraka Day - Market Holiday

TUESDAY, JUNE 3

BURUNDI - Pentecost - Market Holiday

SUNDAY, JUNE 8

ISRAEL - Pentecost (Shavout) Eve - Market Holiday

MONDAY, JUNE 9

ISRAEL - Pentecost (Shavout) - Market Holiday

TUESDAY, JUNE 10

CONGO REPUBLIC - Commemoration of the National Sovereign Conference - Market Holiday

MONDAY, JUNE 16

SOUTH AFRICA - Youth Day - Market Holiday

JULY

TUESDAY, JULY 1

BOTSWANA - Sir Seretse Khama Day - Market Holiday

BURUNDI - Independence Day - Market Holiday

EGYPT - Banks Holiday - Market Holiday

SUNDAY, JULY 6

COMOROS - Independence Day - Market Holiday

WEDNESDAY, JULY 23

EGYPT - Revolution Day - Market Holiday

OMAN - Renaissance Day - Market Holiday

WEDNESDAY, JULY 30

CAMEROON - Ascension on the Prophet - Market Holiday

KUWAIT - Isra Wa Miraj - Market Holiday (Subject to sighting of the moon)

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - The Prophet's Ascension - Market Holiday (DGCX/DIFX)

AUGUST

FRIDAY, AUG 1

BENIN - Independence Day - Market Holiday

SATURDAY, AUG 9

SOUTH AFRICA - National Women's Day - Market Holiday

SUNDAY, AUG 10

ISRAEL - Tisha Be'Av - Fast Day - Market Holiday

MONDAY, AUG 11

CHAD - Market Holiday

ZIMBABWE - Heroes Day - Market Holiday

TUESDAY, AUG 12

ZIMBABWE - Force Day - Market Holiday Defence

WEDNESDAY, AUG 13

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC - Independence Day - Market Holiday

     
    FRIDAY, AUG 15 
    BENIN -  Assumption Day - Market Holiday 
    BURUNDI - Assumption Day - Market Holiday 
    CAMEROON - Assumption - Market Holiday 
    CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC - Assumption - Market Holiday 
    CONGO REPUBLIC - National Day - Market Holiday 
    LEBANON - Assumption of the Virgin Mary - Market Holdiay 
     
    SEPTEMBER 
     
    TUESDAY, SEPT 23 
    SAUDI ARABIA - Natinal Day - Market Holiday 
     
    WEDNESDAY, SEPT 24 
    SOUTH AFRICA - Heritage Day - Market Holiday 
     
    SATURDAY, SEPT 27 
    SAUDI ARABIA - Eid Al Fitr - Market Holiday (Subject to 
sighting of the moon) 
     
    SUNDAY, SEPT 28 
    SAUDI ARABIA - Eid Al Fitr - Market Holiday (Subject to 
sighting of the moon) 
     
    MONDAY, SEPT 29 
    ISRAEL - Jewish New Year's (Rosh Hasha nah) Eve - Market 
Holiday 
    SAUDI ARABIA - Eid Al Fitr - Market Holiday (Subject to 
sighting of the moon) 
    UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Eid al-Fitr - Market Holiday (DGCX) 
     
    TUESDAY, SEPT 30 
    ISRAEL - Jewish New Year I (Rosh Hasha nah) - Market Holiday 
    SAUDI ARABIA - Eid Al Fitr - Market Holiday (Subject to 
sighting of the moon) 
    UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Eid al-Fitr - Market Holiday (DGCX) 
     
    OCTOBER 
     
    WEDNESDAY, OCT 1 
    BAHRAIN - Eid Al Fitr - Market Holiday (Subject to sighting 
of the moon) 
    CAMEROON - Unification Day - Market Holiday 
    EGYPT - 1st Islamic Feast - Market Holiday 
    KUWAIT - Eid Al Fitr - Market Holiday (Subject to sighting 
of the moon) 
    ISRAEL - Jewish New Year II(Rosh Hasha nah) - Market Holiday 
    LEBANON - Id Al Fitr - Market Holdiay (TENTATIVE) 
    NIGERIA - Independence day - Market Holiday 
    OMAN - Eid Al Fitr - Market Holiday (Subject to sighting of 
the moon) 
    QATAR - Eid Al Fitr - Market Holiday (Subject to sighting of 
the moon) 
    SAUDI ARABIA - Eid Al Fitr - Market Holiday (Subject to 
sighting of the moon) 
    UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Eid al-Fitr - Market Holiday 
(DGCX/DIFX/DFM/ADSM), (Subject to sighting of the moon) 
     
    THURSDAY, OCT 2 
    BAHRAIN - Eid Al Fitr - Market Holiday (Subject to sighting 
of the moon) 
    BENIN -  Eid Al Fitr - Market Holiday 
    CAMEROON - Djoulde Soume(End of Ramadan) - Market Holiday 
    CHAD - Market Holiday 
    COMOROS - Eid al Fitr - Market Holiday 
    KUWAIT - Eid Al Fitr - Market Holiday (Subject to sighting 
of the moon) 
    LEBANON - Id Al Fitr - Market Holdiay (TENTATIVE) 
    NIGERIA - Eidel Fitri - Market Holiday (TENTATIVE) 
    OMAN - Eid Al Fitr - Market Holiday (Subject to sighting of 
the moon) 
    QATAR - Eid Al Fitr - Market Holiday (Subject to sighting of 
the moon) 
    UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Eid al-Fitr - Market Holiday 
(DGCX/DFM/ADSM), (Subject to sighting of the moon) 
     
    MONDAY, OCT 6 
    EGYPT - Forces Day - Market Holiday 
     
    WEDNESDAY, OCT 8 
    ISRAEL - Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) Eve - Market Holiday 
     
    THURSDAY, OCT 9 
    ISRAEL - Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) - Market Holiday 
     
    FRIDAY, OCT 10 
    KENYA - Moi Day - Market Holiday 
     
    MONDAY, OCT 13 
    BURUNDI - Assassination of Prince Louis Rwagasore - Market 
Holiday 
    ISRAEL - Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) Eve - Market Holiday 
     
    TUESDAY, OCT 14 
    ISRAEL - Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) - Market Holiday 
     
    MONDAY, 0CT 20 
    ISRAEL - Rejoicing of the Law (Simchat Tora) Eve - Market 
Holiday 
    KENYA - Kenyatta Day / Heroes Day - Market Holiday 
     
    TUESDAY, 0CT 21 
    BURUNDI - Assassination of President Melchior Ndadaye - 
Market Holiday 
    ISRAEL - Rejoicing of the Law (Simchat Tora)  - Market 
Holiday 
     
    SUNDAY, OCT 26 
    BENIN -  Armed Forces Day - Market Holiday 
     
    NOVEMBER 
     
    SATURDAY, NOV 1 
    BENIN -  All Saints Day - Market Holiday  
    BURUNDI - All Saints Day - Market Holiday 
    CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC - All Saints Day - Market Holiday 
    CHAD - Market Holiday 
    CONGO REPUBLIC - All Saints Day - Market Holiday 
     
    SATURDAY, NOV 22 
    LEBANON - Independence Day - Market Holdiay 
     
    WEDNESDAY, NOV 26 
    COMOROS - Anniversary of the Death of President Ahmed 
Abdallah - Market Holiday 
     
    THURSDAY, NOV 27 
    UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Thanksgiving Day - Market Holiday 
(DGCX) 
     
    FRIDAY, NOV 28 
    CHAD - Market Holiday 
    OMAN - National Day - Market Holiday (Subject to sighting of 
the moon) 
     
    SATURDAY, NOV 29 
    OMAN - National Day - Market Holiday (Subject to sighting of 
the moon) 
     
    SUNDAY, NOV 30 
    BENIN -  National Day - Market Holiday 
     
    DECEMBER 
     
    MONDAY, DEC 1 
    CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC - National Day - Market Holiday 
    CHAD - Market Holiday 
     
    SATURDAY, DEC 6 
    SAUDI ARABIA - Eid Al Adha - Market Holiday (Subject to 
sighting of the moon) 
     
    SUNDAY, DEC 7 
    EGYPT - 2nd Islamic Feast - Market Holiday 
    SAUDI ARABIA - Eid Al Adha - Market Holiday (Subject to 
sighting of the moon) 
     
    MONDAY, DEC 8 
    BAHRAIN - Eid Al Adha - Market Holiday (Subject to sighting 
of the moon) 
    COMOROS - Eid al Adha - Market Holiday 
    KUWAIT - Mount Arafat Day/Eid Al Adha - Market Holiday 
(Subject to sighting of the moon) 
    LEBANON - Id Al-Adha - Market Holdiay (TENTATIVE) 
    NIGERIA - Eidel Kabir - Market Holiday (TENTATIVE) 
    QATAR - Eid Al Adha - Market Holiday (Subject to sighting of 
the moon) 
    SAUDI ARABIA - Eid Al Adha - Market Holiday (Subject to 
sighting of the moon) 
     
    TUESDAY, DEC 9 
    BAHRAIN - Eid Al Adha - Market Holiday (Subject to sighting 
of the moon) 
    BENIN -  Tabaski - Market Holiday 
    CAMEROON - Eid Al Adha (Festival of Sacrifice) - Market 
Holiday 
    CHAD - Market Holiday 
    KUWAIT - Mount Arafat Day/Eid Al Adha - Market Holiday 
(Subject to sighting of the moon) 
    LEBANON - Id Al-Adha - Market Holdiay (TENTATIVE) 
    QATAR - Eid Al Adha - Market Holiday (Subject to sighting of 
the moon) 
    SAUDI ARABIA - Eid Al Adha - Market Holiday (Subject to 
sighting of the moon) 
     
    WEDNESDAY, DEC 10 
    SAUDI ARABIA - Eid Al Adha - Market Holiday (Subject to 
sighting of the moon) 
     
    FRIDAY, DEC 12 
    KENYA - Independence Day - Market Holiday 
     
    TUESDAY, DEC 16 
    BAHRAIN - National Day - Market Holiday 
    SOUTH AFRICA - Day of Reconciliation - Market Holiday 
     
    WEDNESDAY, DEC 17 
    BAHRAIN - National Day - Market Holiday 
     
    THURSDAY, DEC 18 
    QATAR - National Day - Market Holiday 
     
    WEDNESDAY, DEC 19 
    OMAN - Eid Al Adha - Market Holiday (Subject to sighting of 
the moon) 
     
    THURSDAY, DEC 20 
    KENYA - Idd ul Hajj - Market Holiday 
    OMAN - Eid Al Adha - Market Holiday (Subject to sighting of 
the moon) 
     
    MONDAY, DEC 22 
    ZIMBABWE - National Unity Day - Market Holiday 
     
    THURSDAY, DEC 25 
    BENIN -  Christmas Day - Market Holiday 
    BOTSWANA - Christmas Day - Market Holiday 
    BURUNDI - Christmas Day - Market Holiday 
    CAMEROON - Christmas Day - Market Holiday 
    CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC - Christmas Day - Market Holiday 
    CHAD - Market Holiday 
    COMOROS - Christmas Day - Market Holiday 
    CONGO REPUBLIC - Christmas Day - Market Holiday 
    KENYA - Christmas Day - Market Holiday 
    LEBANON - Christmas Day - Market Holdiay  
    NIGERIA - Christmas Day - Market Holiday 
    SOUTH AFRICA - Christmas Day - Market Holiday 
    ZIMBABWE - Christmas Day - Market Holiday 
     
    FRIDAY, DEC 26 
    BOTSWANA - Boxing Day - Market Holiday 
    KENYA - Boxing Day - Market Holiday 
    NIGERIA - Boxing Day - Market Holiday 
    SOUTH AFRICA - Day of Goodwill - Market Holiday 
    ZIMBABWE - Family Day - Market Holiday 
     
    MONDAY, DEC 29 
    COMOROS - Muharram (Islamic New Year) - Market Holiday 
    LEBANON - Hegria New Year - Market Holdiay (TENTATIVE) 
     
    ** For more holidays information, double click on <HOLIDAY> 
     
     
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diaries. 
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    diaries@reuters.com or sai.bhatt@reuters.com 
     
    NOTE: The inclusion of diary items does not necessarily mean 
that Reuters will file a story based on the event. 
  

UPDATE 1-Soccer-Iraq suspended from international competition

Reuters: [2008-05-26 11:58:00]

(adds byline, details)

By Julian Linden

SYDNEY, May 26 (Reuters) - World soccer's governing body FIFA suspended Iraq from international competition on Monday, a move that could keep the Asian champions out of this summer's Olympic Games.

FIFA's executive board said the ban was in response to the Iraqi government's move to dissolve the country's National Olympic Committee and all of its national sport federations.

The ban takes immediate effect and the executive committee will recommend to the FIFA Congress, which meets in Sydney on Friday, that it suspends Iraq from all tournaments for one year.

Iraq would therefore miss their remaining 2010 World Cup qualifiers and this year's Beijing Olympics.

However, FIFA said in a statement they would agree to lift the ban if the Iraqi government overturned its decision by 1400 GMT on Thursday.

Iraq Sports Minister Jasem Mohammed Jaafar told Reuters on Sunday that the government would not back down on its decision, despite the threat of a ban.

Iraq, who defied the odds to win last year's Asian Cup, were due to play Australia in a World Cup qualifier in Brisbane on Sunday. (Reporting by Julian Linden; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

((julian.linden@thomsonreuters.com; +61409121090; Reuters Messaging: julian.linden.reuters.com@reuters.net.; For the latest Reuters Premier League and international football news see: http://football.uk.reuters.com/))

Please double click on the newslink below:

[SOCC-LEN] for more soccer stories

Keywords: SOCCER FIFA/IRAQ