GULF WATCH: Day 67 : A daily briefing paper on developments in the crisis.

Diplomatic Front:

A deeply divided Arab world continued diplomatic maneuvers over the weekend. A high-level Egyptian delegation arrived in Damascus for talks with Syria on coordinating efforts to oust Iraq from Kuwait. And PLO leader Yasser Arafat met in Amman with Jordan’s King Hussein. Egyptian authorities reportedly denied Arafat permission to visit Cairo because he has condemned the U.S.-led force in the gulf. Iran and Iraq announced they will hold talks Tuesday to discuss exchanging diplomatic missions.

In Italy, foreign ministers of the European Community agreed there could be “no compromise” with Iraq over the U.N. resolutions on the issue of Kuwait.

Military Front:

Syrian troops deployed to protect Saudi Arabia will not join any attack on Iraq, their commander said. Syrian has about 4,000 troops in Saudi Arabia and nearby, and is expected to send another 11,000.

Britain’s visiting armed forces minister, Archibald Hamilton, said in Bahrain that Britain is redeploying a squadron of Tornado GR-1 ground-attack jets from Bahrain to Saudi Arabia and 12 Jaguar strike aircraft from Oman to Bahrain.

Refugee Front:

Several hundred Kuwaiti refugees arrived at the Saudi border Sunday, bringing the total to about 1,000 since the border reopened Friday. Refugees reported that Iraqi troops were confiscating all identification papers in Kuwait, raising Saudi fears that agents might pose as refugees.

At the same time, thousands of Yemenis are pouring out of Saudi Arabia, apparently because the Saudis have ordered them to register and find sponsors if they wish to remain in the kingdom. Officials estimate that about 100,000 of the 2 million Yemenis living in Saudi Arabia have left the kingdom.

Kuwait Airways has started chartering flights from Cairo to take home thousands of Sri Lankan refugees transported from camps in Jordan, an airline official said in the Egyptian capital. The airline, national carrier of Kuwait, has been out of operation since the invasion.

Estimated economic losses this year:

East Europe $4 billion Debt repayment Egypt $2 billion Salaries of workers in Iraq India $2.5 billion Refugee repatriation, oil costs Jordan $2 billion Oil costs, trade embargo Turkey $3 billion Trade embargo Yemen $2.5 billion Trade embargo