MEED Middle East Economic Digest articles from July 2003

MEED Middle East Economic Digest archives from July 2003

The former leader of the banned Islamic Salvation Front (FIS). (News in Brief: Algeria).(released from jail)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The former leader of the banned Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) and his deputy were released from jail on 2 July after serving 12-year prison sentences on charges of organising a general strike in 1991. Abassi Madani and Ali Belhadji are banned...

The kingdom's authorities have continued their crackdown on suspected terrorists by arresting 124 people, including some with alleged links to Al-Qaeda. (News in Brief: Saudi Arabia).(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The kingdom's authorities have continued their crackdown on suspected terrorists by arresting 124 people, including some with alleged links to Al-Qaeda. Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz announced on 1 July that the arrests were made...

Regional Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi unveiled his radical vision for a one-state solution to the Middle East conflict, in a speech via satellite to London School of Oriental & African Studies on 27 June. (News in Brief: Regional).(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Regional Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi unveiled his radical vision for a one-state solution to the Middle East conflict, in a speech via satellite to London School of Oriental & African Studies on 27 June. "We are laying down a timebomb in...

Time was.(historical moments)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... 5 July 1963 USAID agrees to extend a $15 million loan to Tehran, marking the launch of a major project to build a port at Bandar Abbas 8 July 1988 A UN team leaves London to investigate Iranian claims that Iraq has repeatedly used...

Violence threatens frail truce.(Israel)
July 4, 2003... The Palestinian leadership was struggling to keep a hold on the fragile ceasefire in early July when sporadic violence broke out in the West Bank and Gaza Strip only days after Palestinian groups had declared a temporary halt to attacks on...

Straw pushes nuclear progress.(UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw )(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... A two-day visit to Tehran by UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw from 29 June to 1 July failed to bring about significant movement from Iran on signing extra protocols of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT). US pressure on the issue is also...

Tehran battens down the hatches.(demonstrations)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... In an apparent attempt to prevent the outbreak of further demonstrations on 9 July, the government has arrested between 1,000 and 4,000 people, including students and reformist activists, and is to temporarily close the student dormitory at the...

Iran says it wants Iraq reparations.
July 4, 2003... Iran will press for the settlement of reparations claims made against the former government of Iraq for damage done during the Gulf war launched by Baghdad in September 1980, a senior Iranian government official has told MEED. He also said that...

Baghdad's new losses. (Iraq).(Cover Story)
July 4, 2003... Temperatures have hit 50[degrees]C in Baghdad and tempers are beginning to fray. Shortages of power and treated water are making life in the land of the twin rivers unbearable for both Iraqis and coalition forces. Andy Critchlow reports from...

Banks to reopen in July. (Iraq Reconstruction).
July 4, 2003... The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) expects normal banking services to resume by the end of July. Speaking to MEED in Baghdad on 29 June, acting governor Faleh Dawood Salman said that he expected all public and private sector banks to begin...

Daura refinery to tender upgrade. (Iraq Reconstruction).(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The Daura refinery, located on the southern outskirts of Baghdad, plans to tender for the upgrade of units which were scheduled for replacement under the now defunct UN oil-for-food programme. "We had planned to install new crude units to...

UK to head up Iraqi peacekeepers. (Iraq Reconstruction).(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 1 July that British troops, most of whom are already on tour in the region, would lead the 16,000-strong international peacekeeping force in Iraq. It is expected that the Netherlands, Italy,...

Vinnell Group, the training arm of US defence firm Northrop Grumman, has been awarded a $48 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to train a new Iraqi army. (News in Brief).(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Vinnell Group, the training arm of US defence firm Northrop Grumman, has been awarded a $48 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to train a new Iraqi army. The one-year contract, awarded on 25 June, requires Vinnell to provide basic training at...

Bechtel. (News in Brief).(Iraq reconstruction subcontracts)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... US capital construction firm Bechtel awarded six more reconstruction subcontracts in the week up to 1 July, bringing the total number of contracts it has let to 34. US Agency for International Development figures released on 3D June show that...

Kellogg Brown & Root. (News in Brief).(oil pipeline subcontract)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Bids are due to be submitted on 9 July for one of the largest subcontracts so far tendered on the first phase of the Iraq oil reconstruction programme. About six regional contractors, mostly from Kuwait, are prequalified to bid for the...

The US Army Corps of Engineers. (News in Brief).(Iraq oil infrastructure contract)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The US Army Corps of Engineers has put back the bid deadline by one week to 14 August for two $500 million contracts to manage Iraq's oil infrastructure. This gives prospective bidders five weeks to submit bids after request for proposal (RFP)...

Amsterdam-based business-to-business delivery firm TNT Express on 30 June. (News in Brief).(partnership with IKE Express)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Amsterdam-based business-to-business delivery firm TNT Express on 30 June announced the formation of a partnership with the largest local courier, IKE Express, to provide door-to-door delivery services to and from Iraq. The venture will...

US prime contractor Fluor Intercontinental has won the first reconstruction contract to be awarded by the US Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE). (News in Brief).(Iraq)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... US prime contractor Fluor Intercontinental has won the first reconstruction contract to be awarded by the US Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) under three indefinite duration/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contingency contracts awarded in April...

Kuwait's Mushrif Trading & Contracting Company has formed a joint venture with local contractor Al-Sawafy Group to bid for reconstruction projects in southern Iraq. (News in Brief).(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Kuwait's Mushrif Trading & Contracting Company has formed a joint venture with local contractor Al-Sawafy Group to bid for reconstruction projects in southern Iraq. The Mushrif al-Sawafy partnership includes a multidisciplinary group of...

Baghdad International Airport to reopen to civilian traffic. (Iraq Reconstruction).
July 4, 2003... Bechtel of the US expects to have Baghdad International Airport (BIA), formerly known as Saddam Hussain Airport, open for scheduled civilian services by the end of July. The company is carrying out the rehabilitation of BIA as part of its...

CPA invites airlines in. (Iraq Reconstruction).(Coalition Provisional Authority)
July 4, 2003... The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) has invited airlines to apply for licences to operate commercial air services to Baghdad International Airport, formerly known as Saddam Hussain Airport. Though no date has been set for the...

Facility agreements signed for Umm al-Nar: financial on $1,770 million package due in mid-July. (Banking & Finance).(independent water and power project)
July 4, 2003... The facility agreements were signed on 2 July for the $1,770 million financing package on the Umm al-Nar independent water and power project (IWPP). The signing leaves the way open for financial close to be achieved and the first drawdown to be...

Kingdom's Eurobond woos European investors.(Morocco)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The kingdom's first euro-denominated sovereign bond received a warm reception from international investors when it hit the market on 27 June. The Eur 400 million ($462 million) five-year paper, which has been in the pipeline for several years,...

Bahrain The $200 million Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) bond and the $250 million Islamic leasing sukuk issued in May by the Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA -- central bank). (News in Brief: Bahrain).(listed on Bahrain Stock Exchange)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Bahrain The $200 million Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) bond and the $250 million Islamic leasing sukuk issued in May by the Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA -- central bank) were listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange (BSE) on 26 June and 1 July...

Dubai-based Emirates announced on 29 June the signing of a $90 million multi-currency Islamic lease agreement with Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank for an Airbus A330-200 aircraft. (News in Brief: UAE).(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Dubai-based Emirates announced on 29 June the signing of a $90 million multi-currency Islamic lease agreement with Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank for an Airbus A330-200 aircraft. The deal, structured as a 12-year operating lease, is...

Standard Chartered eyes regional expansion. (Banking & Finance).
July 4, 2003... Emerging market specialist Standard Chartered Bank has drawn up plans for regional expansion and the development of new services and products. Stuart Horsewood has been appointed country manager for Iarq and will initially be based in...

Ministry to introduce reshaped gas initiative: CV 1 upstream and elements of CV 2 may be retendered. (Oil & Gas).(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The Petroleum & Mineral Resources Ministry will present plans to international oil companies (IOCs) on 22 July for a restructured gas initiative, industry sources say. The scope of the tender is not yet clear but is expected to comprise the...

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC). (News in Brief: Kuwait).(Project Kuwait meeting)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... A two-day meeting about the Project Kuwait oil field programme is to be held in London starting on 15 July, sources close to the initiative say. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) invited in early June eight international oil companies (IOCs)...

Local and international contractors have been invited to prequalify by 26 July for three construction packages released by Khafji Joint Operations (KJO). (News in Brief: Saudi Arabia).(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Local and international contractors have been invited to prequalify by 26 July for three construction packages released by Khafji Joint Operations (KJO) under its masterplan for the neutral zone (NZ), shared between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. A...

Prices opened for IGAT-5 compressors. (Oil & Gas).
July 4, 2003... Commercial bids were opened on 23 June for the compressor station package on the fifth Iranian gas trunkline (IGAT-5) project. A group comprising the local Oil Turbocompressor Engineering Company (OTEC) and France's Alstom has submitted the...

Cairo opens up more acreage. (Oil & Gas).
July 4, 2003... The Petroleum Ministry has launched two new bid rounds covering 15 oil and gas exploration blocks across the country. The concessions are located in three main areas: the Nile Delta and along the Mediterranean coast; the Gulf of Suez -...

Up to six international and local companies submitted commercial bids by the 30 June deadline for the onshore package on the Umm al-Qaiwain gas development project. (News in Brief: UAE).(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Up to six international and local companies submitted commercial bids by the 30 June deadline for the onshore package on the Umm al-Qaiwain gas development project They include: Dubai-based Dodsal, US-based Petrofac International, Frances...

The Supreme Petroleum Council has approved the award of the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to Italy's Snamprogetti. (News in Brief: UAE).(Bu Hasa production facilities upgrade )(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The Supreme Petroleum Council has approved the award of the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to Italy's Snamprogetti for the Bu Hasa production facilities upgrade and reservoirs development project in Abu Dhabi emirate....

Nigerian supply threat pushes prices up further. (Oil & Gas).
July 4, 2003... Oil prices rose again as the market entered the third quarter, with the ongoing effects of delayed Iraqi exports and low stocks exacerbated by new supply fears surrounding Nigeria. Brent was trading at $28.30 on 2 July, compared with $27.35 a...

Government buys into Union Fenosa LNG. (Oil & Gas).(liquefied natural gas complex)
July 4, 2003... Long-awaited debt financing arrangements for the $1,000 million liquefied natural gas (LNG) complex at Damietta are expected to move ahead following the announcement that Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and Egyptian General...

Second Idku train on track. (Oil & Gas).(liquefied natural gas complex)
July 4, 2003... An early decision on an offtake agreement for the second train of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) complex being developed at Idku means the 3.6 million-tonne-a-year (t/y) train is expected to come on stream ahead of schedule in 2006. The...

Technip to tie in ELNG gas feedstock. (Oil & Gas).(Technip-Coflexip, Egyptian LNG)
July 4, 2003... Paris-based Technip-Coflexip has been awarded the $300 million engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning (EPIC) contract for the subsea development of the Simian/Sienna field in the offshore West Delta Deep Marine (WDDM)...

Mabruk tender goes to bid. (Oil & Gas).(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... International contractors are preparing to submit bids by the 7 September deadline following the launch of the long-awaited tender for work on the Mabruk field in the Sitre basin. The client is the field's operator, France's Total, which holds...

Shell and Petro-Canada sign deep and lateral deal. (Oil & Gas).(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Syria Shell, the local affiliate of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group, and Canada's Petro-Canada on 30 June signed a four-year agreement with the Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources and Syria Petroleum Company (SPC) to deepen and broaden...

Tunisia The US Gaither Petroleum Corporation (GPC), in partnership with Canada's Eurogas Corporation. (News in Brief: Tunisia).(profit-sharing agreement with Entreprise Tunisienne des Affaires Petrolieres )
July 4, 2003... Tunisia The US Gaither Petroleum Corporation (GPC), in partnership with Canada's Eurogas Corporation, is expected to sign a profit-sharing agreement in mid-late July with state energy company Entreprise Tunisienne des Affaires Petrolieres...

Kharg methanol/ammonia project goes to tender: Pidmco sets mid-September deadline. (Petrochemicals).(Petrochemical Industries Development Management Co.)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The methanol and ammonia package on the Kharg island petrochemical complex has been issued for bid, with prequalified contractors being invited to submit proposals by the 15 September deadline. Prospective bidders for the engineering,...

Offtakers sign up for BDO output. (Petrochemicals).(butanediol)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) affiliate Gulf Advanced Chemical Industries Company (GACIC) has signed two offtake agreements with international companies for the bulk of its butanediol (BDO) output from its Jubail plant. A...

Two companies are in advanced negotiations with Gulf Farabi Petrochemicals Company (GFPC) for the contract to build its normal paraffin (n-paraffin) and linear alkyl benzene (LAB) complex at Jubail. (News in Brief: Saudi Arabia).(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Two companies are in advanced negotiations with Gulf Farabi Petrochemicals Company (GFPC) for the contract to build its normal paraffin (n-paraffin) and linear alkyl benzene (LAB) complex at Jubail. The shortlisted companies, Canada's SNC...

Bidding approaches on Ras Laffan cracker. (Petrochemicals).(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The invitation to bid {ITB) package is due to be issued in the last week of July for the Ras Laffan cracker project. "We expect the TB to come after meetings are held between the client and the prequalified companies in Doha on 22-23 July." one...

Contractor selected for Khalifa sports hall contract: Largest Asian games award so far. (Construction).
July 4, 2003... Athens-based Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCC) has received a letter of intent for the sports hail package on the Khalifa Sports City development project. Valued at about $140 million, the 16-month contract is the largest so...

Gulf Egypt for Hotels & Tourism. (News in Brief: Egypt).(hotel expansion contract)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The local/Kuwaiti Gulf Egypt for Hotels & Tourism has extended further the bid deadline for the contract to expand the Sheraton Heliopolis Hotel in Cairo to 21 July. At least seven groups of international contractors have been prequalified for...

The US Army Corps of Engineers (USCAE) has announced that a site visit will take place in the second week of July for the Millennium Village project at the AI-Udeid airbase. (News in Brief: Qatar).(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The US Army Corps of Engineers (USCAE) has announced that a site visit will take place in the second week of July for the Millennium Village project at the AI-Udeid airbase. The request for proposals for the design-and-build contract, valued at...

Seven local and international companies submitted bids by 30 June for the first specialist package -- structural steel -- on the proposed new hangar at Dubai International Airport (DIA). (News in Brief: UAE).(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Seven local and international companies submitted bids by 30 June for the first specialist package -- structural steel -- on the proposed new hangar at Dubai International Airport (DIA). They are: Jebel Ali-based Cleveland Bridge & Engineering...

The Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) is planning to award in mid-July the AX 058 package on the Dubai International Airport expansion project, following the submission of revised bids on 1 July. (News in Brief: UAE).(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) is planning to award in mid-July the AX 058 package on the Dubai International Airport expansion project, following the submission of revised bids on 1 July. Revised bids were requested following technical...

Prequals invited for Hamad Medical City complex. (Construction).(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Prequalification has been launched by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Agriculture for the estimated $450 million Hamad Medical City project. The ministry has issued two prequalification invitations: the first covers the construction of...

Bids in for La Goulette bridge. (Construction).(Tunisia)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The Equipment & Housing Ministry is evaluating bids for a major project to build a road bridge linking Tunis' northern port of La Goulette with the southern Rades area. The bridge will span the La Goulette canal, which connects the Tunis lake...

Dywidag wins Algiers metro contract: back to the 1980s as part of the original plan moves ahead. (Transport).
July 4, 2003... A group led by Germany's Dywidag International has been awarded the Eur 145 million ($166 million) contract to construct a key section of the long-delayed Algiers metro. The client is the Transport Ministry and the project will be financed from...

Rail tenders beckon. (Transport/Industry).(Societe Nationale de Transport Ferroviaire )(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... State rail operator Societe Nationale de Transport Ferroviaire (SNTF) is preparing to launch tenders for several major projects as part of efforts to expand and improve the transport infrastructure and facilitate the economic development of...

Lafarge out of cement privatisation: Portuguese firm left in the race for one of the three plants on offer. (Industry).
July 4, 2003... Cimentos de Portugal (Cimpor) is the sole bidder remaining in the contest for a strategic stake in a state-owned cement plant, following the elimination from the race of France's Lafarge on 26 June. The French company's offer is understood to...

Holcim. (News in Brief: Algeria).(may enter cement market)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Switzerland's Holcim has confirmed that it is interested in entering the local cement market but has declined to comment on local press reports that the company is considering investing $150 million in the construction of a new plant in the...

Two bid for Aramco IPPs: the four IPPs will have total capacity of about 800 MW. (Power & Water).(independent power projects )(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Two groups of companies submitted bids to Saudi Aramco by the 30 June deadline to carry out four independent power projects (IPPs) on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. Up to four consortia had expressed serious interest earlier this year in...

NCC takes PP3 contract. (Power & Water).(National Contracting Co., Jeddah PP3 power plant)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The local National Contracting Company (NCC) on 29 June received a letter of award from Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) for the project to expand the Jeddah PP3 power plant. The project will be carried out on a fast-track basis over a period of...

SWCC tenders more desal work. (Power & Water).(Saline Water Conversion Corp., desalination)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Five international companies are in the race for the contract to provide consultancy services to the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) for the expansion of three existing desalination plants on the Red Sea coast. The plants are located...

SEC awards substation tenders more T&D work. (Power & Water).(Saudi Electric Co., transmission and distribution )(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Germany's Siemens has received a letter of award from Saudi Electric Company (SEC) for the contract to build a 380-kV gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) substation in Jeddah. The contract, valued at SR 148 million ($39.5 million), is set to be...

Final prices opened for Taweelah RO project. (Power & Water).(reverse osmosis )(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Evaluation of revised bids is under way at Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (ADWEA) for the Taweelah reverse osmosis (RO) project, following the return of final prices by the two international bidding groups on 21 June. According to...

Further contracts awarded for L station. (Power & Water).(power and desalination project)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Three subcontracts worth a total of AED 285 million ($77 million) have been awarded for the first-phase works on the Jebel Al L power and desalination project (MEED 23:5:03). Athens-based Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCC)...

Sohar IWPP enters prequalification stage. (Power & Water).(independent water and power project)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The Tender Board has launched prequalification for the Sohar independent water and power project (IWPP). The invitation came two weeks after over 20 companies responded to a solicitation of interest issued by the National Economy Ministry to...

GE closes in on Cairo North contract. (Power & Water).(GE Power Systems )(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... GE Power Systems of the US has entered into negotiations with the Cairo Electricity Production Company for the estimated $100 million contract to supply two 250-MW gas turbines for the second phase of the Cairo North combined cycle project....

The bid submission deadline. (News in Brief: Kuwait).
July 4, 2003... The bid submission deadline has been extended for three major sewerage treatment projects planned at various locations (MEED 6:6:03). They are:

Eqaila pumping station, for which bids are now due to be returned by 22 July. (News in Brief).(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Eqaila pumping station, for which bids are now due to be returned by 22 July. Eight local companies are prequalified to price the estimated KD 60 million ($200 million) contract, which involves the construction of a pumping station, a sanitary...

Jahra sewerage treatment plant, for which bids are now due on 20 July. (News in Brief).(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Jahra sewerage treatment plant, for which bids are now due on 20 July. Eleven local firms are prequalified to submit bids for the KO 35 million ($116 million) contract. It involves an 80,000-cubic-metre expansion of the existing sewage...

Bneid al-Gar, for which bids are due to be submitted by 20 July. (News in Brief).(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Bneid al-Gar, for which bids are due to be submitted by 20 July. The estimated KD 20 million-25 million ($66 million-83 million) contract calls for the renovation of about 20 kilometres of existing lines and other works. The client for all...

UAE Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) has invited international equipment suppliers to bid by 31 August for the contract to set up a third-generation (3G) mobile phone network throughout the country. (News in Brief: UAE).(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... UAE Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) has invited international equipment suppliers to bid by 31 August for the contract to set up a third-generation (3G) mobile phone network throughout the country. The scope of the project...

Article IV consultation puts focus on inflation: good growth, but levels of inflation are a cause for concern. (Economy).(Iran)
July 4, 2003... Iran's high rate of inflation has come under renewed scrutiny following the article IV consultations recently conducted in Tehran by the IMF. The IMF mission has praised Iran's solid growth in gross domestic product (GDP) and noted a fall in...

UK doubles credit cover to Iranian banks. (Power & Water/Companies & Markets).(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... UK export credit agency the Export Credit Guarantee Department (ECGD) has doubled the level of cover it is prepared to provide to UK firms doing business in Iran. Speaking in London on 30 June, chief executive Vivian Brown announced that...

Companies & Markets. (Power & Water/Companies & Markets).(funding for Metro Markets in Egypt)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Egypt The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has extended a $15 million loan to support the expansion of local food retailer Metro Markets, a division of Mansour Marketing & Distribution. The company operates 17 stores in Cairo and...

Trading soars on Saudi exchange. (Power & Water/Companies & Markets).
July 4, 2003... The benchmark TADAWUL ALL-SHARE INDEX (TASI) on the Saudi Arabian stock exchange closed the week to 2 July up 1 per cent at 3597.3 points. The index had slipped slightly after hitting a record high of 3,644.29 points in the first half of 2003,...

Back in focus. (Special Report Construction).
July 4, 2003... The deteriorating security situation in Baghdad has killed off any lingering hopes of an immediate building bonanza in Iraq. With major civil project work now reckoned to be at least two-three years away, the focus of the regional construction...

Databank: Economic forecasts, 2002-2003.
July 4, 2003... * Databank Databank: Economic forecasts, 2002-2003 Real GDP growth Current account (%) ($ million) 2002 2003 2002 2003 ...

International Atomic Energy Agency. (News in Brief: Iran).(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... A new nuclear inspections team was due to head to Tehran following the visit of International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohammed El-Baradei on B July. The visit is reported to have led to progress on resolving the impasse between Iran and...

Dallah al-Baraka Holdings. (News in Brief: Saudi Arabia).(September 11 lawsuit)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... Saudi-based Dallah al-Baraka Holdings in early July threatened that four large Westem banks could be added to the list of defendants implicated in a lawsuit filed by families of victims of the 11 September terror attacks in the US. In a...

Sudan Airways Boeing 737. (News in Brief: Sudan).(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... All but one of the 117 passengers on board a Sudanese airliner were killed when it crashed soon after take-off from Port Sudan airport on 8 July, The Sudan Airways Boeing 737 was on a domestic flight from the Red Sea city to Khartoum, about 660...

Reformists suffer election defeat. (Seven Days).(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... Islamist and pro-government candidates made major gains in parliamentary elections held on 5 July, to the cost of pro-reform liberals who won only three of the 50 seats in the National Assembly. The result is widely seen as a victory for the...

US troops in for tile long haul. (Seven Days).
July 11, 2003... US soldiers controlling Baghdad and the restive areas to the north and west of the capital continued to face sporadic guerrilla attacks in the second week of July, resulting in a number of fatalities and an admission from Washington that US...

Protesters defy Tehran clampdown.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... Thousands of protesters gathered in the Amir Abad university district of Tehran late on 9 July to demonstrate against the government, despite a raft of measures taken by the authorities to avoid a gathering. Hundreds engaged in violent...

US vote of confidence in Abu Mazen.(funding for Palestinian Authority)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... White House and Congressional officials on 8 July announced that Washington is prepared to provide for the first time direct funding to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in an effort to bolster the leadership of Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu...

Time was.(historical moments)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2003... 12 July 1963 Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol refuses a request from US President Kennedy for international inspections of the Dimona nuclear reactor being built in the Negev desert 15 July 1988 US policy in the Gulf comes under...

Scaling the debt mountain. (Lebanon).(Cover Story)
July 11, 2003... Once again, Lebanon's economic health lies in the balance. The debt restructuring success of Paris II loosened the noose and created breathing space for much-needed structural reform. But the privatisation and securitisation programmes will...

Bremer announces $7 billion budget. (Iraq Reconstruction).(Paul Bremer )
July 11, 2003... Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) chief Paul Bremer announced on 7 July details of the proposed budget for 2003. The budget allocates ID 9 trillion ($7,000 million) for the remainder of the year. According to Bremer over half these funds...