The Middle East articles from February 2003

The Middle East archives from February 2003

Comment.
February 1, 2003... British Prime Minister Tony Blair is in trouble with members of his own party who have warned him against cosying up further to President George W. Bush, as the latter prepares for war on Iraq. It is clearly not the will of the majority of the...

A different kind of war: the face of modern warfare is changing. In today's age of `Robo-soldier', tank-against-tank, platoon-against-platoon and eyeball-to-eyeball fighting is almost unthinkable, with the thought of Vietnam-era casualties an anathema to the American people. (War).
February 1, 2003... The days when M1 tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and 150 millimetre howitzers were ranged against T82 tanks, Soviet BMP personnel carriers and batteries of salvo-firing Katyusha rockets are long gone, US military experts contend, even while...

No smoking gun but US keeps up the pressure: although the UN inspectors have found no evidence of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq, Washington continues to press for action. The removal of Saddam Hussein from power might be acceptable but how feasible is this option? (Iraq).
February 1, 2003... As countdown to an American led war in Iraq began, conflicting signals, were coming from every quarter. While the United States kept the pressure on the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, with almost daily announcements of more troops going to the...

This is worse than war: the strain of living with the constant threat of war hanging over them is beginning to tell on the Iraqi people. While they play no part in political events, it is they who will pay the biggest price if the US launches an attack. (Current Affairs).
February 1, 2003... As the seconds, minutes, hours and days pass and every deadline for possible war is replaced by another, Iraqis live on the edge, waiting for a war that will decide their personal and collective fate. Edgy and strained they have become "nervy"...

GCC: lives to fight another day: the GCC Summit held in Doha at the end of December revealed a loss of cohesion between the six Gulf Cooperation Council States. (Current Affairs).
February 1, 2003... Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summits are usually a well orchestrated show of niceties, with all the leg work carried out by the foreign ministers of the six member countries a day or two before the arrival of the heads of states to the...

Al Jazeera to launch English language TV. (ABC News).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Arabic television news station Al Jazeera, which often broadcasts exclusive tapes of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, is planning to target the English language market for the first time, a British daily The Times has said. The station...

Five Years On. (Asian Times).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... In five short years Al Jazeera seems to have hit its stride. Having grown from six to 24 hours worth of daily programming, the station reaches more than 35 million Arabs around the world, including 150,000 in the United States. With offices in...

Seeking the spirit of unity: a London meeting of representatives from Iraqi Opposition groups illustrated that simply getting rid of Saddam will not be enough to put Iraq back on the road to recovery. (Iraq).
February 1, 2003... On 13-17 December Iraqi opposition groups got together in London to discuss what to do about the forthcoming and near-certain US attack on their country. The Americans kept a close eye on four long days and nights of inter-faction talks. Having...

Taszar: US army is believed to be training up to 4,000 Iraqi opposition troops at this Hungarian air base. (Current Affairs).
February 1, 2003... The US is putting together a force of Iraqi opposition fighters that will assist US forces during an invasion, and work to stabilise the country after `regime change', funded by a $92m Congress allocation under the 1998 Iraq Liberation Act. ...

On the terror trail: the threat of Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network still looms large but where should we draw the line between fact and propaganda? (International).
February 1, 2003... Ariel Sharon's claims that Al Qaeda activists are operating in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, fuelling the Intifada and helping Hizbullah prepare for an offensive against Israel once the US war on Iraq begins, are, on the face of it, self-serving....

US naval initiative. (Current Affairs).
February 1, 2003... United States spy agencies claim Al Qaeda possesses a maritime fleet of between 12 to 50 vessels. Used to ferry operatives, position explosives or move commodities around the world, the names of ships and their ownership details are constantly...

Splintered loyalties, shattered lives: bombings and shoot-outs in Ain il-Hilweh, Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp, are a portent of a growing power struggle between Arafat's mainstream Fatah and a new breed of Islamic fundamentalism. Giles Trendle recently spent two months in Ain il-Hilweh. (Lebanon).
February 1, 2003... Early one morning last November Ibrahim Shayeb and his family awoke, terrified, to the deafening sound of an explosion at their home in the Ain il-Hilweh refugee camp in south Lebanon. Dynamite had been placed outside their front door. The...

Where have all the $$$ gone? Millions of dollars worth of Arab investment capital are claimed to have left the US since President Bush declared his war on terror. London was considered the likeliest recipient but the evidence is inconclusive. (Business & Finance).
February 1, 2003... The private wealth of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member nations held abroad is reckoned at well over $1 trillion and, understandably, competition for a slice of the lucrative GCC pie is intense. The private wealth abroad of Saudi...

PDO to inject $1.5bn in oil production.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) plans to invest about $ 1.5 billion annually for the next five years to increase its oil reserves and upgrade production. The company hopes to produce 800,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) by 2007.

Salim insurance company raises capital.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * Tunisia's Salim Insurance firm plans to raise its capital from four to 10m Tunisian dinars ($7.47m) before the end of March 2003. In a move aimed at "bringing the company in line with a new law that set a TD10m minimum capital for local...

Belgium's Distrigas signs new gas supply deal with Algeria.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * Belgian energy company Distrigas and Algeria's Sonatrach have signed a letter of intent for the supply of natural gas to Spain by the Medgaz project for a volume of at least one billion cubic metres per year by 2006. Sonatrach will...

Tunisia and Algeria to boost energy cooperation.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * Officials and experts from Algeria and Tunisia met in January in Algiers on how to boost energy cooperation between the two countries. During the meeting, co-chaired by Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil and his Tunisian counterpart...

Calming a sea of many troubles: as political differences are sorted out the rich potential of the Red Sea comes under renewed scrutiny. (Hydrocarbons).
February 1, 2003... Nothing discourages oil industry investment more than the uncertain sovereignty of a potentially oil rich area. Discoveries and production sharing contracts (PSCs) can be worthless if administrative control of an onshore or maritime area cannot...

US extends sanctions against Libya.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * Once again, US President George W. Bush has approved a one-year extension of American sanctions against Libya. The embargo has been repeatedly extended since 1988, when the Libyan leadership was held responsible for the bombing of Pan Am...

Oman adopts measures to finance $1bn budget deficit.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * After approving a $1.04bn deficit in its 2003 budget, Oman is now seeking to finance the shortfall, attributed to a drop in crude sales, by borrowing from local and foreign banks, by drawing on state reserves and by adopting measures that are...

Dubai's key economic sectors show robust growth in 2002.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * Dubai's key economic sectors grew at a rate of between 7.5 to 9.5% in 2002 from an average 6-9% in the past. The economy was boosted by strong trading activity, an upturn in real estate business and growth in the industrial sector.

2003: a regional outlook: the Middle East region is facing testing times. The continuing conflict in the Occupied Territories, together with the threat of a war with Iraq, is suffocating business confidence and economic development. And even the oil-rich Gulf states are not immune. (Special Report).
February 1, 2003... The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region faces a period of uncertainty, with near-term growth prospects contingent upon whether the region is engulfed in new military actions. Business confidence could be severely undermined by the...

Making the most of what you've got: over reliance on a small number of fields is a predicament that afflicts many oil producers. However, the problem is particularly acute in Bahrain, where the Awali field accounts for the country's entire oil production. Yet with Awali's output in a steady decline, the government is eager to diversify its interests in the oil and gas sector. (Oil).
February 1, 2003... As it is not among the Gulf's main oil producers, Bahrain is often overlooked in discussions of the oil and gas sector in the Middle East. The country is perhaps best known as a financial centre but it does rely heavily on oil for revenue....

Putting the Middle East back to work: the Middle East is facing up to the challenge of dealing with a growing population and growing levels of unemployment but can it achieve a workable balance in the necessary timescale? (Employment).
February 1, 2003... The problem of unemployment in the Middle East has become a topic for increasingly serious discussion in recent years, yet, according to a recent World Bank report, the already worrying extent of joblessness in the region may have been...

Swift launches Abu Dhabi branch office.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * In a bid to further strengthen its presence in the Middle East, Swift Freight International has launched its branch office in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The Abu Dhabi branch office will be providing clients with freight logistics...

Mobile phone subscription in the Arab world exceeds 24m.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC) has signed an agreement with Egypt's Orascom Telecom Holding to acquire its 91.6 % equity interest in the Jordan Mobile Telephone Services Company. Mobile phone subscription in the Arab world...

Saudi-Russian meeting guarantees free flow of oil to stabilise world prices.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * The world's top two oil exporting nations, Saudi Arabia and Russia, pledged to work together to stabilise crude prices by keeping supplies flowing to world markets, against a backdrop of concerns that a military showdown in Iraq and the...

Austal secures patrol boat contract for Kuwait.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * Coast Guard Austal Ships has secured an order for three Coast Guard patrol boats from the government of Kuwait. With a combined contract value of approximately $8m, the monohulls will be built by the Austal subsidiary, Image Marine and are...

Moroccan sugar refinery SUTA awaits government lifeline.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * A rescue plan is being drawn up for Morocco's state-owned sugar refinery group SUTA, whose privatisation was aborted last year. The manufacturer has accumulated $50m debts, largely attributed to the lingering drought that has hampered sugar...

Lebanon prequalifies, contractors for Baalbek sewer tender.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * The Government of Lebanon, represented by the Council for Development and Reconstruction will prequalify contractors for the implementation of a sewer network and service connections in the city of Baalbek.

New Holland ships 600 tractors to Iraq.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * Farm machinery manufacturer New Holland has recently dispatched a shipment of 50 tractors to Iraq, out of a total 600 on order. The 4m [euro] ($4.14m) consignment was exported under authorisation from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture...

Private progress: Lebanon is embarking on a series of ambitious privatisation programmes to help balance its budget. The latest, the privatisation of two airports, has received a mixed reception. (Business & Finance).
February 1, 2003... Lebanon has taken the initial steps towards the privatisation of Beirut International Airport and the Rene Mouawad Airport in Qleiaat with the establishment of a Civil Aviation Committee. The new committee replaces the old Directorate of...

Turkey seeks $28bn compensation for partaking in Iraq war effort.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * Turkey is expected to request a $28bn aid package from the United States to offset economic losses it may endure if it partakes in a possible US-led war against Iraq. A military operation against Iraq is estimated to cost the neighbouring...

GCC Internet user growth spells boom time for PC vendors.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Internet users have grown 10 fold in four years, according to the Dubai-based Madar Research Group. The growing popularity of the Internet in the GCC states has brought about an increase in Personal Computer...

Siemens doubles Middle East sales in 2002.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * Germany's Siemens Mobile has reported that its sales doubled in the Middle East in 2002. According to the company, it is today the second largest brand in the regional market for mobile phones.

Bouncing back: despite the threat of war on its doorstep, Jordan continues to forge ahead with a series of economic reforms which have turned the country's economy around. (Business & Finance).
February 1, 2003... Dependent on overseas worker remittances and without much in the way of natural resources, the economic future looked bleak for Jordan a decade ago. The country had just defaulted on its debt repayments and the Gulf War had knocked the economy...

Anti-American sentiment aside, Middle East investment in US properties tripled.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * Against a backdrop of rising anti-American sentiment throughout the Arab world, Middle Eastern investors have purchased some $1.4bn commercial properties throughout the US during the year 2002, more than tripling their 2001 capital...

US-blacklisted Ramallah investment firm goes into liquidation.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * The board of the Ramallah-based public investment firm Beit El Mal Holdings has decided to liquidate the company to protect shareholders. Beit El Mai was blacklisted in April 2001 by the US administration, charged with providing financial and...

Egypt opens port for private investment.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * Private investors will be invited to invest in the management of Egyptian ports and the purchase of commercial vessels. The Egyptian Ministry of Transport will however retain ownership of the national ports.

S&P's assigned AAA rating to Islamic Development.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * Bank International rating agency Standard and Poor's has assigned an AAA rating to the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) with a stable outlook. The rating was based on the bank's strong capitalisation and highest performance of its...

Jordan's IDB restructured into commercial bank.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * Jordan's Industrial Development Bank (IDB) will gradually be transformed from a specialised industry and tourism financing institution into a semi-commercial and then a commercial development bank. The transitional phase could extend up to...

DIB to launch first Arabic mobile banking service in UAE.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * The Dubai Islamic Bank is to launch the region's first Arabic language Mobile banking service. The service will provide 36 features and will allow users the freedom to manage their bank accounts with their mobile phones.

It's in your jeans: for four millennia indigo, most famously known for providing the `blue' of denim jeans, has been used in the Middle East. (Textiles).
February 1, 2003... Indigo dyeing has been in continuous use in the Arab world for nearly four millennia dating back as far as 2,400 BC in Egypt. The Leyda Papyrus (Egypt II-1 century BC) described in detail vat dyeing processes, while a cuneiform...

Divine Intervention: in his latest award winning film Divine Intervention, Palestinian director, Elia Suleiman, uses humour to highlight the painful absurdity of life under Israeli occupation. (Mosaic).
February 1, 2003... Elia Suleiman takes the central role of E.S. in Divine Intervention, playing the son of a Palestinian businessman living in Jerusalem. E.S's ordered life is completely shattered when his father, in a futile attempt at breaking a chain of petty...

The Egyptian Museum opens its vaults; situated in central Cairo the Egyptian Museum has amassed a collection of more than 160,000 objects over the past hundred years. (Mosaic).
February 1, 2003... For years, priceless treasures of ancient Egyptian art were hidden in boxes, crammed in corners and stacked in piles on the floor in the storage basement of Cairo's Egyptian Museum. Protected by a sealed and guarded door accessible to only a...

Pirates and Emperors, Old and New: International Terrorism in the Real World.(Book Review)
February 1, 2003... By Noam Chomsky published by Pluto Press ISBN 0 7453 1980 7 price 12.99 [pounds sterling] paperback ISBN 0 7453 1981 5 price 40.00 [pounds sterling] hardback This new, fully updated edition of Chomsky's classic dissection of terrorism...

The Encyclopaedia of Ancient Egyptian Architecture.(Book Review)
February 1, 2003... By Dieter Arnold published by IB TAURIS ISBN 1 86064 465 1 price 29.95 [pounds sterling] hardback The Egyptian's massive stone monuments ranging from Abu Simbel in the south to Cleopatra's palaces in Alexandria, were built over a period of...

The Political Legacy of King Hussein.(Book Review)
February 1, 2003... by Alexander Bligh published by Sussex Academic Press ISBN 1 902210 72 7 price 49.50 [pounds sterling] hardback This book uncovers the true force behind most of the political processes in the Middle East over almost half a century. Through...

The Dawn of a New Era in Syria.(Book Review)
February 1, 2003... By Margaret McGilvary published by Garnet publishing ISBN1 85964 167 9 price 12.95 [pounds sterling] paperback This edition of The Dawn of a New Era in Syria captures the country at a difficult time in its history. First published in 1920,...

Face to Face with Political Islam.(Book Review)
February 1, 2003... By Francois Burgat published by IB TAURIS ISBN 1 86064 213 6 price 14.95 [pounds sterling] paperback ISBN 1 86064 212 8 price 39.50 [pounds sterling] hardback From Rabat to Gaza, through Algiers and Cairo, Burgat has carried out his...

How Greek Science Passed To The Arabs.(Book Review)
February 1, 2003... By Delacy O'Leary published by Kegan Paul ISBN 0 7103 0747 0 price 75.00 [pounds sterling] hardback The history of science is one of knowledge being passed from community to community over thousands of years, and this is the classic...

State and Agriculture in Iraq: Modern Development, Stagnation and the Impact of Oil.(Book Review)
February 1, 2003... By Kamil A Mahdi published by Ithaca Press ISBN 0 86372 279 2 price 35.00 [pounds sterling] hardback Prior to the oil booms of the 1950s and the 1970s, Iraq's agriculture experienced many decades of growth, thereby underpinning the...

China's Relations With Arabia And The Gulf' 1949-1999.(Book Review)
February 1, 2003... By Mohamed Bin Huwaidin published by Routledge Curzon ISBN 0 7007 1730 7 price 50.00 [pounds sterling] hardback This is the only comprehensive volume available on Chinas relations with countries of the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula, from the...

What are they scared of? (The Last Word).
February 1, 2003... An unforeseen threat to freedom of speech in British broadcasting emerged late last September following the screening of a documentary Palestine is Still the Issue, on the ITV networks Carlton Television. The documentary was made by...