The Middle East articles from April 2008

The Middle East archives from April 2008

Comment.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)(Viewpoint essay)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WITH THE FIFTH anniversary of the invasion of Iraq in March came the inevitable rehashing and reminiscences of the series of events that led to the US/UK occupation of the oil-rich Gulf state and the end of Saddam...

Correction.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)(Correction notice)
April 1, 2008... In an article on Arab equity in February's TME, we erroneously attributed a quote concerning the Arab Invest Fund to Mr Rami Bazzi of Injazzat Capital. We accept Mr Bazzi did not make this statement about the Fund, which has not yet been...

Pakistan: a major stepping stone in Al Qaeda's global strategy: Pakistan has become the main battleground for Osama bin Laden's jihad amid a swelling insurgency that could ultimately endanger the Middle East.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] PAKISTAN IS NOW the main frontline in Al Qaeda's war and if that country goes under, the Middle East will suffer. Pakistan is a vital bastion of the US presence in the Middle East and the Americans would find it...

Where to now? Dr Ahmed Yousef, political adviser to Ismail Haniya, the de-facto Harnas Prime Minister in Gaza, talked to Mel Frykberg exclusively for The Middle East from his office in Gaza City.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)(Interview)
April 1, 2008... TME: How is Hamas coping with the Israeli siege of Gaza and international sanctions against your organisation? Ahmed Yousef: We are continuing to do our best to overcome the obstacles we face with the economic embargo and the siege. Of...

What price an honest broker? As US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was winding up her latest trip to the Middle East, the violence and murder between Israelis and Gazans continued unabated.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FOLLOWING HAMAS' DESTRUCTION of the border fence between Gaza and Egypt in February (see TME March 08), Islamist groups, including Al Jihad and Hamas, secured fresh supplies of military components from Iranian...

Behold, the humble Qassem. A sharp escalation of violence in Gaza saw more than 50 Palestinian dead in February alone. Tel Aviv described the attacks as a punishment for relentless Qassem attacks on Israeli border towns and villages. The primitive rockets of Hamas have become a strategic threat to Israel, which now fears missile attacks from all sides.
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ON 17 JANUARY, Israel test-fired a two-stage ballistic missile capable of carrying an "unconventional payload" at the Palmachim air-force base on the Mediterranean coast south of Tel Aviv. There was speculation it...

The UAE drafts nuclear blueprint.(United Arab Emirates)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE UAE IS drafting a major policy declaration for review by the United Nations and several major world powers, setting out in some detail the parameters of its ambitious new nuclear reactor construction programme....

Death in Damascus: the high-profile assassination of the notorious Imad Mughniyeh jolts the anti-US, anti-Israel alliance of Hizbullah, Syria and Iran and threatens a new cycle of violence in the Middle East and beyond. Ed Blanche reports from Beirut.
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I MAD MUGHNIYEH, SENIOR Hizbullah figure and once a wanted man in over 40 countries, died as he had lived, violently and under mysterious circumstances. And even in death, his name was invoked to unleash further...

UN predicts a bumper opium crop.(United Nations)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE ANNUAL AFGHAN opium crop is set to record bumper returns this year, providing a windfall that will finance the Taliban's war to eject unwelcome intruders, says the United Nations. Western leaders, including the...

Can the Gulf weather the storm of US recession?(Middle East-United States economic relations)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The US economic downturn is already taking its toll on global markets. In this issue of The Middle East three specialist commentators give their opinions on where the crisis in America will leave the oil-producing...

Different this time? Coupled, Decoupled or otherwise, a US economy in recession will have an impact on the GCC. Jeff Black looks at the Gulf's exposure to a US downturn.(US CRISIS)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "DECOUPLING", THE NOTION that the economies of Europe and emerging Asia have broadened and deepened to the extent that they are impervious to a US downturn or recession, seems now to have been an exercise in...

GCC foreign wealth rises to $2 trillion.(US CRISIS)
April 1, 2008... THE NET FOREIGN assets of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman are expected to rise by $200bn this year to $2 trillion, according to a new report by the Washington-based Institute for International Finance...

Abu Dhabi goes shopping: a unique, futuristic city in Abu Dhabi is poised to lead the global 'green revolution' in urban 21st century living. Mustapha Karkouti reports from Abu Dhabi.(BUSINESS AND FINANCE)
April 1, 2008... A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE IN human development and nation-building is taking place in Abu Dhabi and the capital of the UAE is a city in a hurry. Its planners, politicians and rulers are working tirelessly to catch up with other man-made miracles such...

Next stop Egypt for DP World.(BUSINESS FINANCE)(Company overview)
April 1, 2008... DESPITE OPPOSITION TO its control of US ports, Dubai's DP World has established itself as a global player in the shipping sector since it was created out of the merger of the Dubai Ports Authority and DPI Terminals in 1999. It has moved from...

The key to Europe's energy needs.
April 1, 2008... THE EU's RAPIDLY growing dependence on imported natural gas is fuelling a spate of huge new pipeline projects in the Arab world and Turkey, not least because the EU wants to reduce its massive dependence on uncertain Russian exports. Arab...

Making the most of the $100 barrel.
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] OIL PRICES OF $90-100 a barrel have significant implications for the oil sector in the Middle East and North Africa. They can create a perception of greed in the industry and could encourage the development of...

Palestinian IT industry potential remains untapped.
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "THE PALESTINIAN IT industry has enormous potential which has not been adequately tapped into," said Majed Bakeer, a board director and the public relations spokesman for the Palestinian IT Association of Companies...

Every picture tells a story ...(Arab-Israeli conflicts)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] THE PALESTINIAN-ISRAELI CONFLICT had an above average amount of media attention at the end of last year due to two events that couldn't have been more different in their approaches, messages and outcomes. There was...

Mobile solutions.(MPS Mobile)
April 1, 2008... AT THIS YEAR'S Midem Festival, in Cannes, representatives of the international music industry gathered in that legendary city to network and hopefully establish new collaborations as well as to take a long hard look at the industry's future....

Middle East bloggers set cat among the pigeons.(imprisonment of Abdel Kareem Nabil Soliman)
April 1, 2008... THE DETENTION BY Egyptian authorities of Internet blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil Soliman for publishing material critical of the Saudi regime--amongst other things--has once again brought the issue of the Internet and the Middle East to the...

Architect of Global Jihad: The Life of Al Qaeda Strategist Abu Mus'ab Al-Suri.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ARCHITECT OF GLOBAL JIHAD THE LIFE OF AL QAEDA STRATEGIST ABU MUS' AB AL-SURI by Brynjar Lia published by Hurst and Company ISBN 978 1 85065 856 6 price 27.50 [pounds sterling] hardback In Architect of Global...

Defeat: Why They Lost Iraq.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] DEFEAT: WHY THEY LOST IRAQ By Jonathan Steele published by I.B.Taurus ISBN 9 781845116293 price 20.00 [pounds sterling hardback In Defeat: Why they lost Iraq, Jonathan Steele analyses the current situation in...

The War on Lebanon: A Reader.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE WAR ON LEBANON: A READER Edited by Nubar Hovsepian published by Arris Books ISBN 978184437 0726 price 12.99 [pounds sterling] paperback As the conflicts in the Middle East seem to defy any resolution, The War...

British-Egyptian Relations: From Suez To The Present Day.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BRITISH-EGYPTIAN RELATIONS FROM SUEZ TO THE PRESENT DAY Edited by Noel Brehony and Ayman El Desouky published by Saqi ISBN 9780863566851 price 16.99 [pounds sterling] paperback British-Egyptian Relations is based...

Kaveh Golestan 1950-2003: Recording the Truth in Iran.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] KAVEH GOLESTAN 1950-2003 RECORDING THE TRUTH IN IRAN published by Hatje Cantz ISBN 9783775720458 price 29.99 [pounds sterling] hardback While on assignment for the BBC in northern Iraq in 2003, Iranian...

Hamas in Politics: Democracy, Religion, Violence.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] HAMAS IN POLITICS DEMOCRACY, RELIGION, VIOLENCE by Jeroen Gunning published by Hurst & Company ISBN 9781850658764 price 20.00 [pounds sterling] hardback In Hamas in Politics, Jeroen Gunning challenges the...

International womens' day 8 March 2008: women from around the region celebrated International Womens' Day and a year of progress and achievement.(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A TUNISIAN woman tends an olive tree on March 8, 2008 in Sabbalet Ben Ammar, near Tunis [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Emirati Maithaa Al Maktoum, the daughter of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed Al Maktoum,...