The Middle East articles from April 2007

The Middle East archives from April 2007

Editorial comment: global warming is a hot potato these days. In Europe just about the only thing all political parties agree on is that to help slow the effects of climate change carbon emissions from aviation must be reduced; a bevy of taxes are currently under review, essentially to make people think twice, or even 10 times, before forking out to board an airplane.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)(Editorial)
April 1, 2007... Although I have no wish to further pollute our planet, I have my doubts about imposing these punitive levies. Sea travel, except for the wealthy is a thing of the past; it is aviation that has opened up the world to most of us. Back in the...

Claws of the bear: Vladimir Putin and his old KGB associates seek to restore Russia's influence in the Middle East while the US flounders in Iraq.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
April 1, 2007... A longtime observer of the Middle East might have been forgiven for discerning a whiff of Cold War gunpowder when the Israeli military and Hizbullah squared off last summer. During the decades of confrontation between East and West, tile...

If at first you don succeed ...
April 1, 2007... ON 11 MARCH two bombs went off in Baghdad killing over 40 Shi'a pilgrims and injuring scores more. For fire brigade, ambulance staff and rescue workers in the city, it was 'business as usual'. For politicians and seasoned observers however, it...

A shared half century of progress: Pat Lancaster talked to Tunisian and South African women who gathered together to discuss women, peace and prosperity on international women's day.
April 1, 2007... MADAM LEILA BEN ALI, Tunisia's first lady sent a message of support, as did the first lady of South Africa, Mrs Zanele Mbeki, but the real stars of the show were the delegates themselves at a conference in celebration of international women's...

Bush hedges his bets: Milan Vesely asks whether current US scheming in Iraq is a cover for an even more Machiavellian purpose than might be thought.(George W. Bush)
April 1, 2007... PRESIDENT BUSH'S STRATEGY to control Baghdad has been described as "too little, too late" by Republican Senator John McCain, now running for the US presidency himself. The 21,000 extra troop surge may be a smokescreen for a far more ambitious...

Gun-running in Gaza: political unrest means guns are virtually household items in Gaza; but how do they get there? Conal Urqhart describes the smuggling network that brings the weapons into the region.
April 1, 2007... THE SUN HAS dropped below the horizon and the muezzins in Gaza and Egypt produce two distinct walls of sound at either side of the deserted strip that buffers the border. Darkness falls quickly on the no-man's land which used to be...

Iran eyes 'the high ground: Tehran moves closer to joining the space race and putting satellites into orbit, a breakthrough that could give it intercontinental ballistic missiles.
April 1, 2007... ISRAEL'S AIR FORCE commander, Major General Eliezer Shdeky, warned earlier in the year that the Jewish state faces a threat to its military and commercial satellites in the coming decade. His comments followed China's successful test of an...

Qatar: on target for record growth.(QATAR SPECIAL REPORT)(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... This month The Middle East magazine celebrates the opening of the World Economic Forum's Arab World Competitiveness Roundtable conference in Doha with a special report on Qatar. The World Economic Forum is an independent international...

Qatar: the sky's the limit: Qatar ranks alongside Switzerland and Luxembourg as one of the richest countries in the world. In planning for the future, it has been reforming and diversifying the political and economic landscape and building on its hydrocarbon success.(QATAR SPECIAL REPORT)
April 1, 2007... The rapid rise of Qatar's liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector has attracted much international attention but the emirate is achieving tar broader economic success. While oil and gas revenues still account for 60% of total revenues, the...

Taking the LNG road.(QATAR SPECIAL REPORT)(liquefied natural gas)
April 1, 2007... The efforts of Gulf governments to diversify their economies are almost as well documented as their oil wealth. With a global dependency on oil consumption and few genuine economic problems, it is easy to see why political leaders across the...

Shaking up the airwaves: six months after the long-awaited launch of Al Jazeera's English channel, Rhys Jones reviews its achievements.
April 1, 2007... AFTER A MUCH delayed launch, Al Jazeera's controversial English channel finally hit our screens last November, making it the Middle East's media story of the year. Sold to the world as the world's first global English language news channel...

The tiger on the Nile: Egypt's constitution is undergoing a huge overhaul in the hope of discarding restrictive practices and attracting foreign cash, but not everyone welcomes the prospect of change. Maria Golia writes from Cairo.
April 1, 2007... THE JANUARY DECISION to redraw 34 articles of law are intended to "rid Egypt of its socialist principles" and "create a more favourable atmosphere for foreign investment", according to President Hosni Mubarak. Egypt is in the midst of major...

The paradox of plenty: even as Azerbaijan's oil and gas begins to flow through new pipelines, there are concerns that massive oil revenues will seriously distort the country's economy. Fortunately, the oil producing Gulf states are on hand to help solve the problems of dealing with massive oil wealth.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)
April 1, 2007... LAST JUNE, THE first cargo of around 600,000 barrels of oil, transported via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline from Azerbaijan, was exported from the Ceyhan marine terminal on the Turkish Mediterranean coast. The loading followed the...

Iran's oil buy-back deals hit snags: overseas investors claim Tehran is unwilling to offer them big enough incentives to explore and develop oil and gas fields.
April 1, 2007... THE IRANIAN GOVERNMENT has long employed oil and gas buy-back contracts that permitted some foreign investment but these have generally proved unattractive to most international oil companies. Fears of an even less favourable investment...

The green dream: with its artifical islands, megalithic construction projects and fantasy entertainment complexes, the UAE is not known for eco-friendliness. But is that set to change?
April 1, 2007... WHEN SHEIKH MOHAMMAD bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Prime Minister, Vice President, and Ruler of Dubai unveiled 'The Dubai Strategic Plan 2015', he went to great lengths to stress the emirate's desire to take care of the environment. The Dubai...

A major growth market for years to come? After the sound of fury of Turkey's European Union woes last year, the partial suspension of the country's membership talks has in fact caused little upset to its financial markets and economic performance.
April 1, 2007... THIS SMOOTH RUNNING shows some underlying strengths--as well as some good preparations by the country's investors. However, Turkey is by no means out of the woods, with a year of political uncertainty ahead as both presidential and...

Stardust memories: Darius Kadivar recalls the story of Soraya, the beautiful but tragic second wife of Shah Reza Pahlavi of Iran.(Biography)
April 1, 2007... SORAYA, 'THE PRINCESS WITH SAD EYES' as she was to be known in the western press after her divorce from the Shah of Iran in the late 1950s, was one of the most beautiful and photographed women of the 20th century. Empress of Iran, and second...

A window on history.(Mathaf Gallery)
April 1, 2007... Although he is now minister of foreign affairs and the president of the UAE's football association, SHEIKH, ABDULLAH BIN ZAYED AL NAHYAN, former minister of culture, maintains a strong presence in the promotion of his country's heritage despite...

Against all odds: a holocaust survivor who has risked insult and injury to campaign actively for justice for Palestinians speaks to Pat McDonnell Twair.(Biography)
April 1, 2007... HEDY EPSTEIN HAS seen a lot in her 82 years. She escaped Hitler's death ovens in 1939 as a 14-year-old Jewish gift aboard the Kindertransport to England. When she returned to Germany in 1945, she gained extensive knowledge of the atrocities...

The Arab Diaspora: Voices of an Anguished Scream.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2007... THE ARAB DIASPORA VOICES OF AN ANGUISHED SCREAM Edited by Zahia Smail Salhi and Ian Richard Published by Routledge ISBN 0 415 37542 8 price 65.00[pounds sterling] The Arab Diaspora Voices of an Anguished Scream attempts to explore the...

Understanding Al Qaeda: The Transformation of War.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2007... UNDERSTANDING AL QAEDA THE TRANSFORMATION OF WAR By Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou Published by Pluto Press ISBN 0 7453 2592 0 price 11.99 [pounds sterling]paperback This incisive book argues that it's essential for the West to take a new...

Confronting Iran: The Failure of American Foreign Policy and the Roots of Mistrust.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2007... CONFRONTING IRAN THE FAILURE OF AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY AND THE ROOTS OF MISTRUST By Ali M. Ansari published by Hurst & Co ISBN 185065 809 9 price 16.50[pound sterling] hardback The Islamic Republic of Iran's ongoing nuclear programme has...

Farewell, Babylon.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2007... FAREWELL, BABYLON By Naim Kattan published by Souvenir Press Ltd ISBN 978 028563780 1 price 12.99 [pounds sterling] hardback Farewell, Babylon is a story of roots and exile, of a teenager's thirst for life, experience and art. It is a...

Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2007... PALESTINE PEACE NOT APARTHEID By Jimmy Carter published by Simon & Schuster ISBN 13:978 0 7432 8502 5 price 17.99 [pounds sterling] hardback President Jimmy Carter, who was able to negotiate peace between Israel and Egypt, has remained...

Radical Islam in Egypt and Jordan.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2007... RADICAL ISLAM IN EGYPT AND JORDAN By Nachman Tal Published by Sussex Academic Press in association with the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies ISBN 1 84519 098 x price 19.50 [pounds sterling] paperback The rise of the Islamic...

The last word.(Babtain Prize for Creative Poetry Foundation)
April 1, 2007... Many western educated Arabs and Muslims seem obsessed with the idea that the 'western media' conspires to demonise them. Since 11 September 2001 'do-gooders', whether officials, civil activists or just philanthropists, both West and East, have...