The Middle East articles from December 2005

The Middle East archives from December 2005

Comment.(race discrimination)
December 1, 2005... Many millions of Europeans enjoy a sort of love affair with France. Even the British, who find all kinds of reasons to castigate their near neighbours, are scurrying off across the Channel in their thousands to buy holiday homes in order to...

Tempering tantrums in Tehran.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
December 1, 2005... Around the globe, alarm bells started ringing when Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who had already established himself as a hardliner over Iran's "nuclear issue", called for Israel to be "wiped off the map". The president's inflammatory...

And on the nuclear issue ... Thomas Land writes from Vienna.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
December 1, 2005... Iran may well accelerate the development of its nuclear capability and escape punitive sanctions by the United Nations Security Council, despite a recent censure motion passed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The reason for...

Amman becomes latest casualty of terror.(JORDAN)
December 1, 2005... The 9th november 2005 might well be remembered as the day when the last Arab bastion of "normality" in the region fell to the baying hounds of war. Amman, long considered a bland backwater, where the rich and poor of the region have fled...

The road ahead: a view from Gaza: Mariam Shahin reports from the Occupied Territories.(PALESTINE)
December 1, 2005... With the Islamic resistance Movement, Hamas, set to participate, for the first time, in the Palestinian legislative election, currently scheduled for January 2006, it is becoming ever more evident that Hamas is comprised of at least two strains...

Syria under pressure: the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Al Hariri and the apparent suicide of Syrian interior minister Ghazi Kanaan have turned the international spotlight on Syria's role in the Middle East and its relations with the wider world.(LEBANON)
December 1, 2005... Lebanese popular opposition to Syrian involvement in its affairs reached a crescendo after the bomb blast in February that killed Rafiq Hariri and 20 others, while a United Nations investigation last month found evidence of both Syrian and...

Cracks become chasms: Adel Darwish reports on the latest developments in the Bush and Blair debacle.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
December 1, 2005... British prime minister tony Blair finds himself in a sticky situation. His increasingly unpopular policies--at home and abroad--are traceable to his relationship with America. Instead of abandoning the hole in which he became stuck after...

Saudisation scheme gets legal leg-up.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
December 1, 2005... In an attempt to deal with high unemployment in Saudi Arabia, a policy of Saudisation was implemented by the government nearly two decades ago. While the intention is a good one which has been enthusiastically embraced by other neighbouring...

The top Arab companies.(SPECIAL REPORT)(Cover Story)
December 1, 2005... THIS YEAR The Middle East's Top 100 Companies ranking has produced some thought provoking results. The robust growth of stock exchanges across the MENA region has been extraordinary. For investors it has been an exhilarating year as they have...

Construction, telecoms and banking: building on the back of oil.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)
December 1, 2005... SUSTAINED HIGH OIL PRICES OVER the past 18 months have fuelled a construction boom in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. State owned oil companies and government investment funds have sought a variety of investment targets and much of...

Saudi basic industries corporation (SABIC).(BUSINESS & FINANCE)
December 1, 2005... SABIC HEADS THE TME TOP 100 Arab Companies by some distance, with market capitalisation of $174bn, almost $100bn ahead of the second-placed firm, Saudi Telecom Company. It is also the most profitable company in our list, with a net profit of...

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)
December 1, 2005... THE ABU DHABI COMMERCIAL BANK (ADCB) is one of the biggest risers in our table this year, moving up from 24th to 11th position within 12 months. Its market capitalisation has increased from $3.19bn to $16.7bn over the same period, while profits...

Project Kuwait on the brink: a turnaround in Kuwaiti policy could see major oil projects developed by foreign companies for the first time since nationalisation, over 30 years ago.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)
December 1, 2005... When it was unveiled, the Kuwaiti government's plan to boost production to 4m barrels a day (b/d) by 2020 was regarded as overly ambitious by many observers. Now, however, a combination of new discoveries, improved technology and weak OPEC...

A Syrian sensation: twenty-five years after leaving Syira as a teenager, Jehad "Jay" Salkini has carved out a telecoms niche which has brought him to the attention of the leading multinationals in his field.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)(Company Profile)
December 1, 2005... When he was 17-years-old, Jehad Salkini left his native Syrian town of Homs and emigrated, alone, to the United States. Twenty-five years later, Salkini is the chairman and CEO of Tecore Wireless Systems, a $30m company with 100 employees...

Saudi Arabia joins WTO: after years of negotiations, Saudi Arabia has, at last, reached an agreement to become a member of the World Trade Organisation. Stephen Williams looks at the implications.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)
December 1, 2005... In october a world trade Organisation (WTO) working party declared its approval for Saudi Arabia to become a member of the world trade body. WTO director-general Pascal Lamy welcomed the conclusion of the lengthy negotiations and noted: "This...

GCC debt markets poised for take-off: for the Middle Eastern economies domestic bond markets have traditionally played a fairly minor role in financial intermediation. However, as in other emerging market regions, the pace of innovation in financial products is now gaining momentum in the Arab World.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)
December 1, 2005... Top-tier companies in the Middle East's financial services, telecoms, real estate and transport sectors are increasingly turning to rights issues on regional stock markets, debt securities and sophisticated Islamic financial instruments for...

Contracts awarded for power grid project.(GCC)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... * The GCC electric power linkage authority signed in the eastern Saudi province of Al Khubar contracts for the implementation of the first phase of the power grid project between the GCC states, estimated at a cost of USD 1.07 billion. ...

North Africa challenges Russia.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)
December 1, 2005... It is well known that north African gas producers are targeting growing demand across the Mediterranean in the European Union (EU). Algeria's success in developing a comprehensive network of gas pipelines to Spain and Italy to complement its...

Nine parts of Desire: in a one-woman show which has drawn an enthusiastic response from critics wherever it has played, Heather Raffo, the daughter of an Iraqi immigrant to the United States, tells the story of Iraqi women under siege.(MOSAIC)
December 1, 2005... A caretaker at the Amariyeh bomb shelter, a Scotch-drinking intellectual in London, a twice-divorced Bedouin looking for a new husband, a pre-teen gyrating to 'N Sync who hasn't been allowed to go to school since the GIs arrived in Iraq. These...

In conversation ... when Kurdish Mullah Ali Bapir was thrown into prison with a high-ranking selection of his former Baathist Party enemies, some stimulating debate took place. Chris Kutschera talked to the mullah about his experience in prison, prospects for a peaceful Iraq and the depth of his religious belief.(MOSAIC)
December 1, 2005... Leader of 'komal islam', an Islamic movement represented by two MPs at the Baghdad TNA elected last January, and by six deputies at the Kurdish parliament of Arbil--Mullah Ali Bapir was thrown into prison in Baghdad by the Americans in July...

Energising the UAE: the consumption of alcohol is haram, forbidden, for Muslims. In the United Arab Emirates high energy drinks have soared in popularity to become a fashionable part of the Emirates' culture.(MOSAIC)
December 1, 2005... Once the drink of choice for athletes, the energy drink, started by Gatorade and Lucozade, has now become a worldwide billion dollar industry, with market leader Red Bull not only rivalling Coca-Cola and Pepsi in global cult brand status but...

The Great War For Civilisation.(The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East )(Brief Article)(Book Review)
December 1, 2005... THE GREAT WAR FOR CIVILISATION The Conquest Of The Middle East By Robert Fisk published by Fourth Estate ISBN 1 84115 007 x price 25.00 [pounds sterling] hardback Rarely have firsthand reporting and history been so powerfully combined...

The Saudi Enigma.(Book Review)
December 1, 2005... THE SAUDI ENIGMA By Pascal Menoret published by Zed Books ISBN 1 84277 605 3 price 14.99 [pounds sterling] paperback In the wake of 9/11, Saudi Arabia remains the key US ally in the Arab Middle East, a role secured by its continuing...

Half Gone.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
December 1, 2005... HALF GONE Oil, Gas, Hot Air and the Global Energy Crisis By Jeremy Leggett published by Portobello Books ISBN 1 84627 00409 price 12.99 [pounds sterling] paperback This book explains how we became addicted to oil and how this habit is...

Oman Explorer.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
December 1, 2005... OMAN EXPLORER Published by Explorer Publishing ISBN 976 8182 07 5 price 12.99 [pounds sterling] paperback Fun and informative, the Oman Explorer is ideal for residents, short-term visitors and tourists alike, a useful guide for anyone...

Birth of the Persian Empire.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
December 1, 2005... BIRTH OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE Edited by Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis and Sarah Stewart Published by IB TAURIS ISBN 1 84511 062 5 price 39.00 [pounds sterling] hardback Of the great civilisations, Persia is probably the least known and most...

A Silver Legend.(A Silver Legend: The Story of the Maria Theresa Thaler )(Brief Article)(Book Review)
December 1, 2005... A SILVER LEGEND The Story of the Maria Theresa Thaler By Clara Semple published by Barzan ISBN 0 9549701 0 1 price 19.95 [pounds sterling] hardback One of the most successful coins ever made, the Maria Theresa thaler (MTT) circulated...

Ten years on ...(sonic booms in Gaza Strip)
December 1, 2005... The 10-year anniversary OF THE ASSASSINATION OF Yitzak Rabin was marked by a rally on 12 November in the Tel Aviv square where he was shot, attended by a selection of the great and the good, among them Ariel Sharon, US Secretary of State...