MEED Middle East Economic Digest articles from April 2004

MEED Middle East Economic Digest archives from April 2004

Mad dogs and Englishmen.(Comment)
April 2, 2004... When Prime Minister Tony Blair visited Muammar Qaddafi in a tent outside Tripoli, the wags were quick to concoct jokes about mad dogs and Englishmen. The more risque suggested it may not have been the Libyan who was the mad dog. But whatever...

Looking back ...(Seven Days)
April 2, 2004... 3 April 1964 Riyadh awards the UK's Sir William Halcrow & Partners a survey contract for the development of Jeddah port 7 April 1989 Amman shelves a 400 [pounds sterling] million Tornado aircraft deal as part of an economic...

Outrage greets Fallujah attacks; bodies of dead Americans mutilated by Fullujah crowd.(Iraq)
April 2, 2004... Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) head Paul Bremer on 1 April vowed to bring to justice the killers of four American contractors in Fallujah the previous day The bloody incident continued the trend towards insurgents targeting civilians and...

Cancelled Tunis summit divides Arab world.(Regional)
April 2, 2004... The Arab world was plunged into diplomatic crisis when Tunisia unexpectedly cancelled an Arab League summit it was due to host on 29 March, after its reforming agenda was rejected by the majority of delegates. The unprecedented announcement...

Hamas leader denounces Washington: 28 March.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... The new leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Abdelaziz Rantissi, lays down his militant credentials in a speech to university students. He denounces President Bush as "the enemy of God and Islam" and condemns the US decision to veto a UN Security...

Tunis cancels Arab League summit: 29 March.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... A planned summit of the Arab League in Tunis is cancelled by the host government, citing irreconcilable differences among members on reform proposals. Cairo reacts angrily and offers to host a replacement meeting.

Protests after CPA bans newspaper: 29 March.(News Digest)(Coalition Provisional Authority)(Al-Hawza al-Natiqa)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Hundreds of Iraqis take to the streets of Baghdad to protest against a 60-day ban imposed by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) on the weekly Al-Hawza al-Natiqa newspaper. The journal is regarded as the mouthpiece of the young Shia...

Iran lowers Bam death toll: 29 March.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Tehran's statistics office revises the death toll from December's earthquake in Bam to 26,271 people, down from an original estimate of 41,000. The discrepancy is blamed on the use of an outdated census and victims being counted twice.

UN security chief sacked: 29 March.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan sacks his security chief Tun Myat after publication of a report into the bombing of the UN compound in Baghdad in August, which killed more than 20 people. The report found serious security failures. Two other UN...

Likud approves Gaza pull-out poll: 30 March.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's proposal to hold a referendum among Israelis on a controversial plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip is approved by delegates at a convention of the Likud central committee. The plan has angered many...

Riot follows election rally: 31 March.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... A rare visit by Algeria's President Bouteflika to the Kabyle region as part of his re-election campaign results in violence, when Berber protestors clash with riot police following a presidential political rally. Dozens of protestors are...

Fighting breaks out in Bethlehem: 1 April.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Israeli troops arrest 12 Palestinians after a shootout in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. The fighting comes as a delegation of senior US officials begins talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on his proposed withdrawal from the Gaza...

Sporting chance: whether burning rubber on the racetrack or putting boot to ball on the football pitch, the Middle East is attracting the world's top sporting events. Billions of dollars are being pumped into infrastructure development, sponsorship deals and marketing. The business of sport is growing fast.(sport)(Cover Story)
April 2, 2004... Michael Schumacher, Tiger Woods, Venus Williams and Manchester United, four of the biggest brands in world sport, are part of a multi-billion dollar international business. They are also just a few of the top international sports personalities...

Opportunity in Tripoli, maybe: Libya has plenty to offer, and reform is in the air.(Economic briefing: Libya)
April 2, 2004... UK Prime Minister Tony Blair's meeting with Muammar Qaddafi on 25 March has been viewed as both the seal on rapprochement and the firing of the starter gun in the race for a fistful of lucrative commercial contracts. Quickest out of the blocks...

US expects boom in subcontracts; "the PMO will go past 1 July"--says Nash.(Construction)(programme management office)
April 2, 2004... Reconstruction subcontracts totalling more than $5,800 million will be issued for bid over the next three months. Senior officials in Washington's $18,400 million reconstruction programme say they expect that, by the time the Coalition...

Khor al-Zubair fertiliser plant starts up again.(Petrochemicals)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Urea is once again being produced at the Khor al-Zubair fertiliser plant. Since the first of its two lines resumed operations in February; state-owned General Company for Fertiliser has produced more than 15,000 tonnes of urea and ammonia....

More time for Al-Amaya expansion bidders.(Oil & Gas)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... South Oil Company (SOC), Iraq's biggest producer of crude, is expected to give prospective bidders more time to submit proposals for the upgrade and rehabilitation of deepwater terminals at the Khor al-Amaya crude export facility. Companies...

IRG lands second USAID deal.(Construction)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded the US' International Resources Group (IRG) an $87 million contract to oversee the second phase of its reconstruction programme. Under the terms of the 30-month contract, IRG is...

Ports tender cancelled.(Transport)(Iraqi Ports Authority )(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... The Iraqi Ports Authority (IPA) has cancelled the tender calling for developers to invest in the country's five main ports: Umm Qasr, Mina Maqal, Abu Fulus, Khor al-Zubair and Khor al-Amaya. IPA was calling for up to $1,000 million of...

Meed conferences: premier networking events.(Calendar)
April 2, 2004... Business Continuity & Security Management in the Middle East 27-28 April 2004, Dubai Major New project Opportunities in Kuwait 17-18 May 2004, Kuwait Lead Sponsor: Saudi Family Business 24-25 May 2004, Jeddah ...

Aramco decides to delay gas plant bidding; dollar decline dents Aramco's purchasing power.(Saudi Arabia)
April 2, 2004... Saudi Aramco is understood to have delayed by up to a year its estimated $1,700 million programme to expand the kingdom's gas handling infrastructure due to budgetary considerations resulting from the depreciation of the dollar against other...

Techint battle it out for GOSP-3.(Saudi Arabia)
April 2, 2004... Two companies--Italy-based Techint and Paris-based Technip--have been shortlisted by Saudi Aramco for the main package on the third gas/oil separation plant (GOSP-3) project at Haradh. Aramco is expected to award in the first half of April the...

Six line up for KOC facilities upgrade.(Kuwait)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... A pre-tender meeting was held in late March for the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) facilities upgrade and flowlines replacement project. KOC has set a deadline of 11 May for the submission of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) bids for...

DDIT turbine contract gets ECGD backing.(Algeria)(Demag Delaval Industrial Turbomachinery )(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... The UK's Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) has announced it will back a $25 million contract awarded to the UK's Demag Delaval Industrial Turbomachinery (DDIT)--the former Alstom industrial turbine business--to supply 15 gas turbine...

New company heads upstream.(Egypt)(Sarwa)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Company registration has been completed for a new organisation which will provide exploration and engineering services for companies revolved in upstream oil and gas development in Egypt. Sarwa was set up with $800 million of subscribed...

Cairo awards new exploration licence.(Egypt)(Energy industries contracts)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Chile's Sipetrol and Australia's Oil Search signed with the Petroleum Ministry on 30 March an oil exploration and production agreement for the Ras Qatara East concession, in the Western Desert. The seven-year agreement calls for a minimum...

Gulf deepwater blocks go for bid again.(Oman)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... The Ministry of Oil & Gas, in co-operation with Norway's Petroleum Geophysical (PGS), has reinvited companies to submit bids by 1 September for the Gulf of Oman deepwater concessions, nine months after the original tender failed to attract any...

Bids in for Sohar pipeline.(Oman)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Eight groups submitted bids by the late March deadline for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract on the estimated $200 million Sohar mixed feedstock pipeline project. Commercial bids are expected to be opened in late...

Prequals in for condensate refinery.(Qatar)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... International contractors submitted prequalifications in late March for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) package on the planned Ras Laffan condensate refinery project. About 10 EPC contractors were invited to prequalify for...

OPEC holds cut despite consumer anger.(Oil Prices)(Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)
April 2, 2004... OPEC on 31 March decided to follow through on its proposed cut of 1 million barrels a day (b/d), effective from 1 April, first agreed at its February meeting in Algiers. Consumers, led by the US, complained about the cut, which will likely keep...

New discovery for BP.(Egypt)(BP Egypt)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... BP Egypt announced on 25 March a new gas and condensate discovery in its Raven 1 exploration well, located in the offshore North Alexandria concession. The well, drilled to a depth of 650 metres, flowed gas at rates of up to 37.4 million cubic...

Huge investment needed to expand energy sector.(Libya)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Investment of more than $30,000 million will be required by the energy sector if Tripoli is to double its oil output to 3 million barrels a day (b/d) in the next 10 years, according to Fathi ben Shatwan, the newly-restored Energy Minister. "We...

Aramco announces new gas find at Shaybah.(Saudi Arabia)(Saudi Arabia Petroleum Corp.)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Saudi Aramco has announced that a new well drilled at the existing Shaybah oil field yielded gas at a rate of 20 million cubic feet a day and 650 barrels a day (b/d) of condensate. Aramco said that drilling at the well would continue "so that...

Tekfen picked for Yanbu refinery subcontract.(Saudi Arabia; Tekfen Insaat ve Tesisat A.S.; Tecnicas Reunidas S.A.)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Turkey's Tekfen has been selected by Spain's Tecnicas Reunidas for the civils package on the project to install a new diesel hydrotreater at Yanbu refinery. The subcontract, which has still to be signed, falls under the $220 million...

DNO confirms oil discovery.(Yemen)(DNO ASA)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Norway's DNO ASA has announced the discovery of oil from its Nabrajah-1 well, located in block 43. Preliminary estimates indicate reserves of 10 million-12 million barrels of oil, which DNO says may be sufficient for commercial development. Two...

Lurgi takes Zagros NPC methanol award; award for Kharg methanol imminent.(Iran)(National Petroleum Council; Zagros Petrochemical; Lurgi AG)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Germany's Lurgi has been awarded the contract to build a major methanol plant in the south for Zagros Petrochemical Company (ZPC), a subsidiary of National Petrochemical Company (NPC). On a second methanol project--to be built at Kharg...

Contractors prepare for airport expansion schemes; World Bank loan secures financing for two projects.(Egypt)
April 2, 2004... The World Bank approved on 30 March a $335 million concessionary loan to finance the expansion of Cairo and Sharm el-Shaikh international airports (MEED 5:3:04). Local contractors say that since the government entered formal negotiations...

Work to begin on Dubai Sports City.(UAE)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Parsons International of the US has been appointed project management consultant on the $2,500 million Dubai Sports City (DSC) development. Three local investors--Abdul Rahim al-Zarooni, Abdul Rahman Falaknaz and Abdul Rahman Bukhatir--signed...

Bids in for financial harbour PMC.(Bahrain)(project management consultancy)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Bids have been submitted for the project management consultancy (PMC) contract on the first phase of the Bahrain Financial Harbour project. Four groups are understood to have bid for the work, among them Turner International of the US and a...

COWI wins causeway consultancy.(Bahrain)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... A team of Denmark's COWI and the local ACE Almoayed has been awarded the consultancy contract on the Sitra causeway expansion project. The Danish/local partnership was third lowest bidder at BD 1.4 million ($3.6 million) for the contract, after...

Four Seasons race down to three.(Lebanon)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Kingdom Development Company (Kadco) is expected to award in mid-April the $50 million main construction package on rots Four Seasons hotel development in Beirut, Three contractors have been shortlisted for the contract following the submission...

Nineteen in the hunt for Conveyor 800.(Lebanon)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... The Council for Development & Reconstruction (CDR) has received prequalifications from 19 groups of local and international firms for construction contracts worth about $200 million on the Litani River Authority (LRA) Conveyor 800 project....

TangMed bids in.(Morocco)(Tangier-Mediterranean port project)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Technical and financial bids were submitted by 29 March for the 30-year concession to build and operate the new container terminal as part of the kingdom's flagship Tangier-Mediterranean port project (TangMed). The client, the...

Thinet wins mall contract.(UAE)(Thinet International, shopping mall contract)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Paris-based Thiner International has received a letter of intent for the Al-Wahda shopping mall project in Abu Dhabi. The contract, valued at up to AED 180 million ($49 million), is expected to be signed by the end of April (MEED 23:1:04)....

Prequals issued for another Emaar tower.(UAE)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Dubai-based Emaar Properties was due to receive in late March expressions of interest from contractors for the construction of a new high-rise on the Dubai Marina development. Prequalified contractors will be given five weeks to price the...

Piling to begin on Saba tower.(UAE)(Dutch Foundation Company )(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Abu Dhabi-based Dutch Foundation Company has started work on the piling and foundations contract for the AED 170 million ($46.3 million) Saba office tower project at Jumeirah lakes, The 36-storey tower will take about two years to complete. The...

More HMC work awarded.(Qatar)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... The local Aljaber Trading & Contracting (Aljaber Engineering) has been awarded the phase 1 underpass and access roads package on the Hamad Medical City (HMC) project. Worth QR 62 million ($17.2 million), the 480-day contract has been placed by...

Lulu dredging package let.(Bahrain)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Belgium's Dredging International has received a letter of award for the dredging and reclamation contract on the luxury resort off the coast of Manama. The artificial island is being developed as a 50:50 joint venture between the Ministry of...

Ahmadiah wins Pearl City infrastructure package.(Kuwait)(Ahmadiah Contracting & Trading Company, La'Ala al-Kuwait Real Estate Company)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... The local Ahmadiah Contracting & Trading Company has received a letter of intent, valued at KD 40 million ($138 million), for the phase 1 infrastructure package on the Al-Khiran Pearl City development. The client is the local La'Ala al-Kuwait...

Tender out for Neutral Zone dredging job.(Regional)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Khafji Joint Operations (KJO) in late March released tender documents for the contract to renovate and expand the south jetty in the Neutral Zone (NZ). Saudi and Kuwaiti contractors and international firms in joint venture with Saudi or Kuwaiti...

KAC privatisation gets go-ahead.(Kuwait)(Kuwait Airways Corporation)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... The National Assembly's economy & finance committee approved on 27 March legislation to convert Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) into a public company. The bill will now go to the parliament for final approval, which, if given, will be the...

Oman Air announces new order.(Oman)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Oman Air announced on 29 March the order of a new 737-800 aircraft from The Boeing Company of the US. The national flag carrier signed last June a guaranteed support finance agreement with the Export-Import Bank (Eximbank) of the US to...

Etihad outlines fleet expansion plans.(UAE)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has announced plans to increase its fleet by more than 40 aircraft. "In five years the airline will have 50 aircraft, some leased and some through outright purchase," said Etihad chairman Shaikh Ahmed bin Saif...

Firms picked for minerals railway; Franco-Canadian-local team to start designs.(Saudi Arabia)(Canrail group )
April 2, 2004... A group comprising a French, a Canadian and a local company has been awarded the $9.8 million contract to prepare detailed technical designs for the estimated $1,500 million minerals railway linking the Al-Jalamid and Al-Zabirah mining projects...

BAE close to aviation deal.(Libya)(Tripoli)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... The UK's BAE Systems is in the final stages of negotiation with Tripoli on a series of agreements to modernise the country's civil aviation infrastructure, which has been crippled by UN sanctions, preventing the import of aviation equipment and...

Lafarge to build new production line.(Morocco)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... France's Lafarge announced on 29 March that its local subsidiary Lafarge Ciments--a 50:50 joint venture with the local Societe Nationale d'Investissement (SNI)--plans to build a new production line at its Bouskoura cement plant, increasing...

Saudi/Canadian team in glass fibre deal.(Saudi Arabia)(Fiberex Glass Corporation)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... The local Saleh & Abdulaziz Abahsain and Canada's Fiberex Glass Corporation are pushing ahead with plans to build an estimated $80 million glass fibre plant following the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding. The venture is now in...

Sotacib Eols invited.(Regional)(Societe Tuniso-Algerienne de Ciment Blanc)(expressions of interest)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Tunis and Algiers are inviting expressions of interest (Eols)for the privatisation of Societe Tuniso-Algerienne de Ciment Blanc (Sotacib), a cement company jointly owned by the two governments. A bidder's information package, including an...

SEC opens prices; Al-Toukhi bids low for Arar and Rafah expansions.(Saudi Arabia)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... The local Al-Toukhi Contracting is the low bidder for the two contracts to expand the Arar and Rafah power plants following the opening of commercial offers on 31 March by Saudi Electricity Company (SEC). Commercial proposals are due to be...

GSM awards near; April awards for management contracts.(Lebanon)(Global System for Mobile Communications (cellular phone technology))(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... The Telecommunications Ministry is to award in early April two contracts totalling more than $400 million to manage the country's two GSM mobile phone networks for the next four years. Germany's Detecon, which is part of Deutsche Telecom, is...

Six bid for Oman GSM.(Oman)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Six bids were submitted in late March for Oman's second GSM licence, for which an award is to be announced on 3 May. The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) prequalified 10 companies and groups to bid for the licence (MEED 27:2:04)....

Budget points towards further expansion; Doha's capex to expand by over 40 per cent again.(Qatar)
April 2, 2004... The publication of the state budget for 2004/05 establishes that the government remains committed to an expansionary fiscal policy and sustained and extensive investment. In his budget statement, delivered on 28 March, Finance Minister Yousef...

Prequalification invited for SME fund project.(Gaza/West Bank)(small and medium-sized enterprises)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... The Ministry of Finance and Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau (KfW) have invited companies to apply for prequalification by 12 May for a contract to provide consulting services on a credit guarantee fund for small and medium-sized enterprises...

Amman seeks buyers for Aqaba railways.(Jordan)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... The Executive Privatisation Commission (EPC) has given companies until 25 April to submit expressions of interest for an estimated 14-month contract to prepare Aqaba Railway Corporation (ARC) for privatisation. Amman is planning to offer a...

US consultancy to study private sector issues.(Qatar)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... The Ministry of Economy & Commerce has appointed the US' Bain & Company to conduct a survey among private sector companies examining the problems that they face. The award is seen as part of an initiative launched by Doha to promote private...

SEC loads up with SR 6bn loan; "clearly plenty of liquidity for long-tenor deals"--says a local banker.(Saudi Arabia)(Saudi Electricity Co.)
April 2, 2004... Mandate letters were due to be sent out in early April to the lead arranging group of an expected SR 6,000 million ($1,600 million) corporate borrowing for Saudi Electricity Company (SEC). All eight of the domestic non-Islamic banks were...

Liquidation looms for BIB.(Bahrain)(Bahrain International Bank)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... The Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA--central bank) may be forced to put Bahrain International Bank (BIB) into liquidation after proposals for an asset realisation protocol (ARP) were rejected by a small segment of the bank's creditors. "The...

Audi, Saradar to merge.(Lebanon)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2004... Banque Audi is to acquire Banque Saradar in a combined paper and cash deal worth $159 million. The deal will see the new entity, to be called Audi-Saradar Group, established as one of the biggest financial services houses in Lebanon. Based on...

Opening doors: the early months of 2004 have seen seismic shifts in the Middle East's hydrocarbons investment climate.(Special report: oil & gas)
April 2, 2004... Tony Blair's handshake with Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi--the man formerly known as the "mad dog" of the Middle East--on 25 March reverberated around the world. In oil circles, however, the diplomatic niceties were a sideshow to the more...

US firms get hungry for deals; returning IOCs will not just have technological issues, they will also have to deal with Tripoli's notorious bureaucracy.(Libya)(International oil companies)
April 2, 2004... Libya has returned from the political wilderness. "It's good to be here at last," said UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, as he offered his hand in friendship to Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi on 25 March. Behind the scenes, British and Libyan...

Awards unblock development bottlenecks; a handful of contract awards has set the stage for real progress in Iran's energy sector.(Iran)
April 2, 2004... A sudden flurry of activity in the lead-up to new year on 21 March has made a significant dent in Iran's project backlog. In the four weeks to mid-March, the agreement to develop the Azadegan oil field was concluded between National Iranian Oil...

A reliable buyer: already the biggest buyer of Middle East LNG, Korea Gas Corporation could be set to increase its status with new supplies.(Kogas)
April 2, 2004... Korea Gas Corporation (Kogas) president Kang-Hyun Oh is fulsome in his praise of Middle East suppliers. "I would like to express my thanks to our partners in the Middle East for their wonderful performance in the supply of liquefied natural gas...

Facing the frustrations of a booming market: Korean shipbuilders lead the world in the construction of LNG carriers, but it's not all plain sailing.(Shipbuilding)
April 2, 2004... Hyundai Heavy Industries' (HHI's) shipbuilding yard in Ulsan, South Korea, is breathtaking and surreal. Gigantic steel domes line the side of dry dock number 1, where liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers are built. Sheer walls of blue and red...

Tenders.
April 2, 2004... MEED Tenders is the most comprehensive weekly listing of business opportunities in Middle East countries. To promote your business opportunity to more than 50,000 business people who read MEED every week, send details to MEED Editor, 33-39...

Massive liquidity points upwards; corporate profits and investor momentum are positive.(Capital markets: UAE)
April 2, 2004... The recent history of Amlak Finance gives an important insight into the condition of the UAE's capital markets. Its initial public offering (IPO) was priced at AED 1 ($0.27) a share and 417 million shares were put up for sale: subscriptions...

Databank.(Illustration)
April 2, 2004... DATABANK: ECONOMIC INDICATORS, 2002 ($ MILLION, UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED) GDP Population GDP GDP (million) per capita growth ...

Does the Middle East need the magnificent seven? A pack of celebrity business speakers is heading for Dubai this November. Thousands may pay millions to hear them. Will they get value for money?(The last word)
April 2, 2004... The era of the big-name business speaker started years ago in the Gulf but seems to be heading towards a climax this November, when seven of the most famous names on the management guru circuit will feature at the Leaders in Dubai conference....

Pricing risk.(Comment)
April 9, 2004... The pun inherent in the phrase "pricing risk" is exercising the Middle East's construction sector more than usual. Over the last few months, the risk posed by moving prices has been magnified by the recent surge in the cost of prime building...

Shia uprising intensifies: arrest of radical cleric fans the flames of unrest.(Iraq)
April 9, 2004... Violence across the country escalated in early April, with dozens killed, both Iraqi and foreign. The most worrying new development for the US-led coalition was an uprising in the south by Shia followers of the radical young cleric Moqtada...

Seven days.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... "We will not be shaken by the thugs and terrorists... We face tough action in Iraq but we will stay the course US President George Bush on the growing violence against coalition forces in Iraq.

Looking back ...
April 9, 2004... 10 April 1964 The Central Bank of Iran orders that all influential positions in local banks must be held by nationals, citing concern about the influence of foreigners on Iranian financial affairs 14 April 1989 Egypt's President...

Peace talks begin as humanitarian disaster threatens.(Sudan)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... The conflict in the province of Darfur has been overshadowed by Sudan's 21-year civil war. But for the victims of the fighting, which has claimed more than 10,000 lives and left countless thousands homeless in the vast western province, a...

Powell cells for NATO role in Iraq: 2 April.(News Digest)
April 9, 2004... US Secretary of State Colin Powell, attending a NATO meeting in Brussels, calls on the alliance to assume a peacekeeping role in Iraq after the transfer of sovereignty. Paris and Berlin respond sceptically.

Palestinian factions meet in Gaza: 4 April.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2004... Various Palestinian factions, including Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, meet in the Gaza Strip to discuss preparations for, and co-operation with each other after, the proposed Israeli withdrawal from the territory