The Middle East articles from December 2004

The Middle East archives from December 2004

Comment.(Pat Lancaster)(Biography)
December 1, 2004... IT IS DIFFICULT TO IMAGINE EXACTLY WHAT THE murder in Iraq of aid worker Margaret Hassan was intended to achieve. Fifty-nine-year-old Mrs Hassan was born in Dublin, Ireland. While studying in Britain, she met and married Iraqi-born Tahseen Ali...

The new generation.(Cover Story)
December 1, 2004... Much has been achieved in improving the lifestyles of children in the Middle East over recent decades, with countries striving to institute comprehensive healtheare programmes and establish educational facilities from primary schools to...

Arafat & after.(Current Affairs)
December 1, 2004... He was the distinctive figure that represented the plight of the Palestinians. With his black and white chequered kaffeya he was possibly the best known politician in the world; presidents and prime ministers came and went but from the early...

Has Syria overplaced its hand this time: the Syria-endorsed three-year extension of Lebanese President Emile Lahoud's mandate has triggered the most serious crisis in the relationship between Damascus and Beirut since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.(Lebanon)
December 1, 2004... THE GOVERNMENT OF Rafiq Hariri, Lebanon's long-running prime minister, has been replaced by a lacklustre pro-Syrian cabinet which will serve only seven months before dissolving after parliamentary elections scheduled for Spring 2005. The new...

Iran's technology advances strike a chord in Tel Aviv: Iran's Shehab-3 system challenges Israel in regional missile capability confrontation.(Current Affairs)
December 1, 2004... IRAN BOASTS THAT ITS MISSILE technology is advancing at what appears to be an accelerated rate, and in the context of the collision course between the Islamic Republic and Israel and the United States over its alleged nuclear arms programme, it...

Iraq's oil wealth fuels fires of discontent.(Current Affairs)
December 1, 2004... It pools in great reservoirs beneath the sand, the world's second largest reserves of crude oil holding out a promise of prosperity for the citizens of a shattered land. Supposed to be the key to Iraq's future it is a relatively simple matter...

Towards democracy in Bahrain: in an occasional feature in which The Middle East invites the opinion of guest columnists, Dr Ahmad Ajaj, a British educated lawyer and media consultant airs his opinion.(In My Opinion)
December 1, 2004... IT WAS THE SPARK THAT SET THE political landscape on fire in Bahrain. Abdulhadi Khawaja, a political activist and human rights defendant, bitterly attacked the government's record and went on to accuse it of corruption. His claim...

World Travel Market highlights Middle East tourism.(Special Report)
December 1, 2004... GLOBAL TOURISM IS GROWING, with worldwide arrivals rising by 12% to around 526m in the first eight months of 2004, compared with the same period in 2003. According to the World Tourism Organisation (WTO), the market will triple in size by 2020,...

The great US treasury bond sale: but nobody showed up.(Business & Finance)
December 1, 2004... On 9 September the US government was in need of a little cash, as has been a frequent occurrence in President Bush's presidency to date. In the past a sell-off of Treasury Bonds has prompted great excitement in the markets, particularly from...

More investments expected in Dubailand.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Dubailand, the largest family entertainment project in the Middle East and one of the subsidiaries of Dubai Holding, has declared that Dh 15bn ($4bn) will be invested in a total of 11 projects that will be carried out over the next five years....

Inter-Arab investments hit $3.7bn.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Nazem Abdullah, the head of the regional integration and financing team at the Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA), announced Inter-Arab investments went up during 2003 to reach $3.7bn, compared to $2.9bn in 2002. Abdullah...

Iran to broker multibillion $ pipeline: the progress of pipeline politics continues to be the focus of international speculation which is hardly surprising given the massive investment such projects demand.(Business & Finance)
December 1, 2004... THE AMERICANS' AMBIVALENT dealings with India and Pakistan, nuclear-armed enemies that until 9/11 were largely shunned by Washington for one reason or another, are underpinned by efforts to get the two Asian rivals to bury the hatchet. ...

Algerian oil company signs deal with Japanese shipwrights.(Sonatrach signed contracts with shipwrights Itochu and Mitsui)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Algerian oil company Sonatrach has signed two deals with Japanese shipwrights Itochu and Mitsui for the purchase of two methane tankers with capacity for 75,000 cubic metres ([m.sup.3]) of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

Iran's car exports up.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Car exports rose 2.6-fold in terms of value during the first six months of the current Iranian year, to reach $35.6m.

Looking at the bigger picture: Yemen has earned much international approbation for its stance on the war against terrorism, but unless it moves swiftly to implement economic reform at home, more than its status in the world community will be lost.(Business & Finance)
December 1, 2004... SINCE YEMEN JOINED THE UNITED States to fight terror soon after the attacks of 9/11, it has rounded up hundreds of terrorist suspects, clamped down on religious schools believed to be teaching extremism and thwarted a number of terrorist...

World bank grants $60m to Iraq's Ministry of Education.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The World Bank has signed a $60m grant agreement with Iraq's Ministry of Education to fund the construction of new buildings for over 100 schools, and urgent repairs to 140 primary and secondary schools across 18 governorates. The project...

Nokia wins $120m deal in Libya.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Nokia has won a deal, valued at over $120m, to supply GSM/EDGE and WCDMA 3G network equipment to the Libyan General Post and Telecommunications Company (GPTC) for a new nationwide mobile network. This is Nokia's first network deal in Libya....

$300m project to develop themed residential community.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... First Islamic Investment Bank (First Islamic), a leading Bahrain-based investment bank, and Bahrain International Golf Course Company (BIGCC) have announced a $300m project to develop a uniquely themed residential community around the Riffa...

Algeria imports more than $ 1bn worth of new vehicles.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Over the first nine months of 2004, Algeria imported more than $ 1bn worth of new vehicles. Over 90,000 vehicles were imported for commercial purposes and 59,000 for private use. For the first time, the French manufacturer Renault has overtaken...

Turkish firm wins $350m tender in Cairo.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The World Bank has awarded a Turkish company a tender to build Cairo Airport's third passenger terminal at a cost of $350m, according to an Egyptian aviation official.

Business is business ...: despite lack of progress on the political front Israel's economic relations with the Arab world are improving.(Business & Finance)
December 1, 2004... WELL OVER A YEAR AGO, US President George W. Bush proposed a free trade agreement between Israel and the Arab states to be created within a decade. Bush made implementation of the initiative conditional upon the removal of the Arab economic...

Saudi Arabia's $2.5bn per year oil windfall.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Saudi Arabia's public spending is projected to rise by SR8bn ($2bn) annually during the next five years on the back of mounting oil prices. Oil revenues account for some 75% of Saudi Arabia's total revenues. Total government spending this...

Iraq: a frontier for brave bankers: even a shattered economy such as that of post-war Iraq needs a viable banking sector, but restructuring will be a formidable process.(Business & Finance)
December 1, 2004... THE WORLD BANK AND UNITED Nation's Joint Iraq Needs Assessment report (2003) said: "In the medium term, the private sector will be a crucial means to achieve high growth and create employment. Also critical is the revival of a banking system...

KFH Bahrain plans $ 1.3bn development.(Kuwait Finance House )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Kuwait Finance House (KFH) Bahrain has announced plans for the development of a groundbreaking $ 1.3bn industrial project in the country, aimed at creating a combined petrochemical and power and water generation complex. This project...

Palm Jebel Ali progress.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * The Palm Jebel All island project has reported new developments in its construction. With 55% of the reclamation completed, below and above sea level, and 30% visible above water, progress is fully on schedule. The trunk and reclamation of...

First Islamic 75m [euro] Sukuk issue over-subscribed.
December 1, 2004... * First Islamic Investment Bank, a leading Bahrain-based investment bank, and the Liquidity Management Centre (LMC), have announced the issuance of a 75m [euro] Islamic Sukuk (bond) offering by First Islamic. The Sukuk issue, known as First...

$2.5bn bid for new Saudi water and power project.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * A $2.5bn bid for a new water and power project has been issued by the Power and Water Utility Company for Jubail and Yanbu (Marafiq) to local and foreign investors. Industry sources say that once the project starts it will reflect the...

Iran to increase power capacity.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Iran's power capacity will increase by 44% after a 2,000MW hydropower plant, to be built beside the Karoun 3 dam, is completed, according to the Water and Power Resources Development Company.

Sudan's ancient treasurers: Sudan: Ancient Treasures is the first exhibition to follow the country's story from the beginnings of human life to the present day. It took more than five years in the planning but the final results have been worth it. The exhibition, to celebrate the Sudan National museum's centenary, is being staged at the British Museum in London.(Mosaic)
December 1, 2004... THE COMMON CONTEMPORARY image of Sudan is not of a country of ancient culture but as Dr Julie Anderson, special exhibitions curator at the British Museum, noted: "Hopefully after this, people will know more about the country, which might help...

Stoking the starmaker machinery: Miles Copeland III may hobnob with pop and rock superstars, but he has never lost touch with his ties to the Arab world.(Mosaic)(Biography)
December 1, 2004... HIS FIRST CELEBRITY CAME in 1978 as the manager of the successful pop trio, The Police. Today, Miles Copeland III is the single largest US distributor of Arab singers on his Mondo Melodia and Mondo Rhymica labels. A case in point is...

Reality TV in Jenin.
December 1, 2004... LARGE PHOTOGRAPH leans against the wall in Fathi Natour's office. The picture shows him standing between two CNN newsreaders at the US channel's Washington bureau. In the background, state-of-the art computer screens flicker under soft studio...

End of a 5,000-year era?(Frankincense)
December 1, 2004... ARE WE IN AT THE DEATH of a five-thousand-year old trade? Just as UNESCO grants a group of archaeological sites in southern Oman World Heritage Site status, because they "represent the production and distribution of frankincense, one of the...

Sabra & Shatila.(book)(Book Review)
December 1, 2004... September 1982 By Bayan Nuwayhed Al Hour published by Pluto Press ISBN 0 7453 2302 2 price 25.00 [pounds sterling] paperback For 40 continuous hours between Thursday 16 September and midday on Saturday 18 September 1982, the massacre...

The Temple of Jerusalem.(BOOK)(Book Review)
December 1, 2004... By Simon Goldhill published by Profile Books ISBN 1 8619 7603 8 price 15.99 [pounds sterling] hardback Few buildings in the world have had such a power to inspire as the Temple of Jerusalem. Yet it has not existed for nearly 2,000 years....

Rethinking Orientalism.(Women, Travel and the Ottoman Harem)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
December 1, 2004... Women, Travel and the Ottoman Harem By Reina Lewis published by IB TAURIS ISBN 1 86064 730 8 price 14.95 [pounds sterling] paperback These eyewitness accounts from inside the Ottoman harem are the first full-length study in English of these...

Eastern Cauldron.(Islam, Afghanistan, Palestine and Iraq in a Marxist Mirror)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
December 1, 2004... Islam, Afghanistan, Palestine and Iraq in a Marxist Mirror By Gilbert Achcar published by Pluto Press ISBN 0 7453 2203 4 price 12.99 [pounds sterling] paperback The route to any coherent understanding of our time runs through the...

Qatar.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
December 1, 2004... Published by Stacey International ISBN 1 900988 259 price 35.00 [pounds sterling] hardback A fact widely acknowledged among the international Arab and Islamic community is the emphatic emergence of Qatar as a setter of trends in both...

Meena.(Heroine of Afghanistan)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
December 1, 2004... Heroine of Afghanistan By Melody Ermachild Chavis published by Bantam ISBN 0 553 81710 8 price 6.99 [pounds sterling] paperback The first ever biography of Meena: Leader, heroine and inspiration to the women of Afghanistan. In 1977,...

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan 1918-2004: President of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi.(The Last Word)(Obituary)
December 1, 2004... THE DEATH OF SHEIKH ZAYED IN THE MUSLIM holy month of Ramadan marks the passing of a visionary ruler largely responsible for the transformation of seven little known, feuding desert sheikhdoms into the economic powerhouse we know today as the...