The Middle East articles from February 2004

The Middle East archives from February 2004

Comment.(Editorial)
February 1, 2004... French government threats to impose a ban on the wearing of the Islamic headscarf, or hijab, in schools has created fury in sections of the country's Muslim community. Demonstrations on the streets of several French cities in January served to...

In the shadow of Saddam: America believed that with the capture of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein most of their problems on the streets of Baghdad and Basra would be brought to an end. With the despot behind bars there was no fear of his return to power. Iraqis could get on with rebuilding their country and their lives, or so the thinking went. However, the reality has proved somewhat different. Madam Shahin reports from Baghdad.(Current Affairs)
February 1, 2004... The seizure of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein the end of an era and the beginning of a new Iraq. The televised spectacle of the Iraqi leader's physical de-lousing was enough to drive home the message to any world leader hoping to escape...

Emulating the tactics of terror: with relations between Iraqis and the occupying US troops at an all time low, imitating the barbarous behaviour of Israeli troops in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is not the way to go.(Current Affairs)
February 1, 2004... If the US military's escalating war against insurgent forces in Iraq is starting to look more and more like Israel's campaign to crush the Intifada and the Palestinians' hope of an independent state, it is probably because the Americans have...

Clash of the Titans: the gloves are off as Algeria prepares for presidential elections in April. While one group are campaigning for a free and democratic ballot, others have already unleashed a torrent of innuendo and abuse.(Algeria)
February 1, 2004... Upcoming elections in Algeria--scheduled for April--are proving a tough enough hurdle for democrats keen to see the country leave behind its long decade of violence and political instability. Things, it seems, never run smoothly in this country...

Rumour, conspiracy & gobbledygook: the new conservatives, or neocons, of the US administration continue to press the case that Saddam Hussein was behind the attacks of 9/11.(Current Affairs)
February 1, 2004... Abu Musab Al Zarqawi a one-legged Jordanian-based Palestinian who by all accounts has become one of the most active of the terrorist commanders fighting the Americans and their allies, has been identified by Turkish authorities as the...

Another terror front: Israel grapples with murderous gang wars, corruption and what many fear is moral decline brought about by the pervading atmosphere of brutality and corruption.(Israel)
February 1, 2004... Three Israelis were killed and more than 30 wounded on 11 December by a lunchtime bomb explosion at a moneychanger's office in a seedy district of south Tel Aviv notorious for its prostitutes and illegal gambling dens. But this was not an...

A little less conversation? Over 600 delegates from around the globe gathered in Sana'a in mid-January to attend a conference on democracy, human rights and the role of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Ael Darwish reports from the Yemeni capital.(Yemen)
February 1, 2004... European judges in their neat bowties rubbed shoulders with veiled Muslim women from the Gulf as colourfully dressed Yemeni guards with ceremonial silver daggers tucked into their belts ushered pin-striped diplomats and Egyptian feminists, in...

Charity begins at home: as Egyptian diplomacy was making steady progress into recovering its traditionally leading role in the region, there was good and bad news for President Hosni Mubarak's government on the domestic front.(Egypt)
February 1, 2004... The New Year started with the government announcing what has been going on behind closed doors in the rapprochement with Iran. The latter, in exchange for restoring diplomatic relations with Egypt--severed after Ayatollah Khomeini took over the...

Staying inside the tent: in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq members of the US Administration made various disparaging remarks about the United Nations, some went as far as to predict the organisation's demise. But as Ian Williams, author of The UN for Beginners observes, the relationship between the two has frequently been a rocky one.(Current Affairs)
February 1, 2004... Across the political spectrum in the United States, the United Nations excites strong feelings, but these are usually based on preconceptions and misconceptions rather than on an objective look at the strengths and weaknesses of the...

Libya springs a surprise: Libya's announcement that it would allow WMD inspections was greeted with enthusiasm by the international community. But will it be enough to restart trade at the necessary levels?(Business & Finance)
February 1, 2004... Middle Eastern policies and principles often seem to be set in stone and most politicians waver only in the regularity and vehemence with which they express their well versed opinions. It was therefore a surprise to learn of Libya's admission...

Fluor wins $10m GASCO contract.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * Fluor Corporation has been awarded the front-end engineering and design services for the Habshan Gas Complex Expansion project by Abu Dhabi Gas Industries, valued at $10m. The expansion calls for the construction of a 350...

GAC sets up logistics facility at Dubai Airport Free Zone.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * GAC Logistics, a division of the GAC Group, has expanded its logistics services into the Dubai Airport Free Zone, following the signing of two warehouse lease agreements. The warehouses, each 310-sq metre in size, will offer storage and...

Spain's Union Fenosa wins $1.5bn engineering contract in Iraq.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * The Spanish electricity provider Union Fenosa, in association with a US company, has won a contract worth up to $1.5bn from the US army to provide infrastructure in Iraq and 24 other countries.

IFC helps create Syria's first private bank in over 40 years.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, has formalised a $3m equity investment for a 10% shareholding in the Bank of Syria and Overseas (BSO), helping to create Syria's first private sector bank...

Improved relations set to boost bilateral trade: a warming of political relations between Syria and Turkey has already contributed to increased trade between the two and more of the same is confidentially predicted.(Syria/Turkey)
February 1, 2004... With the Syrian president's plane touching down in Ankara in early January, one of the darker chapters in the two countries' relations may have finally been brought to an end. The first visit by a Syrian leader to Turkey ever to have taken...

Dubai announces 3bn [pounds sterling] theme park.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * Dubai's MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) sector has been given increased prominence with the opening of the Dubai International Convention Centre, including new hotels with extensive meetings facilities and the Dubai...

Swings & roundabouts.(Business & Finance)
February 1, 2004... The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cartel, controlling 80% of the globe's proven reserve base--equivalent to 845bn barrels--has during the past four years "fine-tuned" production quotas in order to preserve its price band...

Kuwaiti-led consortium invests $100m in South African resort.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * A consortium led by Kuwait's International Financial Advisors (IFA) will invest $ 100m in the Zimbali Resort, South Africa. The investment will be distributed over a 10-year period. IFA heads a consortium with several leading Kuwaiti and...

ADB approves $500,000 relief grant for Sudan flood victims.
February 1, 2004... * The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank has approved a grant of $500,000 to help finance humanitarian relief assistance to people affected by floods during last summer in Sudan.

Syria conserves mainstays of its agricultural economy.
February 1, 2004... * Syria is conserving local and indigenous wild varieties of fruit and nut trees, as well as field and forage crops in arid areas, to preserve the genetic diversity of plant species that are mainstays of its agricultural economy.

USAID awards $5m contract for agricultural reconstruction in Iraq.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * The US Agency for International Development has awarded an initial $5m to technical consulting firm Development Alternatives to carry out agricultural development in Iraq under the Iraqi reconstruction programme.

Yemen approves $18m establishment of private cement firm.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * Yemen's General Investment Authority (GIA) has approved the establishment of a private cement company. Shares worth some 3.Sbn Yemeni riyals ($18.5m) will be offered for public subscription. The new National Cement Company will be a public...

Italy's Ansaldobreda wins 143m [euro] Moroccan railway deal.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * Moroccan Railways has awarded Italy's Ansaldobreda, a subsidiary of the Finmeccanica Company, an order for the supply of 18 double deck Electrical Multiple Unit trains, with an option for six more.

Firearms Training Systems signs $2m Middle East deal.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * Firearms Training Systems (FATS) has reported a contract award in excess of $2m. The deal marks the first order from the country, whose identity is yet to be revealed by the US-based firm.

EgyptAir and Rolls-Royce sign $150m Trent engine contracts.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * EgyptAir and Rolls-Royce are finalising a $150m contract for the purchase and long-term technical support of Trent 700 engines which will power the airline's new fleet of Airbus A330 twinjets. Deliveries are set to begin in June 2004.

EIB loans $32m to Amman Ring Road project.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * The European Investment Bank, the EU's long-term financing institution, is providing a loan of $32m (26m [euro]) to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for the construction of the first phase of the Amman ring road.

Port of Algiers records $13.2m trade boost for 2003.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * More than 9.1m tons of goods passed through the Port of Algiers in 2003. In the first 11 months of 2003, trade at the port reached 926.288m Algerian dinars ($13.2m), an 8.9% increase compared to the same period last year.

Gulf Air posts record passenger figures for 2003.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * Over six million passengers flew with Gulf Air in 2003, according to a company news release. This was the highest number ever carried in a single financial year. The figures revealed that over half a million more passengers flew with Gulf Air...

Private investors boost markets: for a variety of reasons regional stock markets have recorded a bumper 12 month period, with some witnessing performance increases in excess of 50%.(Regional)
February 1, 2004... Middle Eastern stock markets posted strong gains during the course of 2003, partly as a result of the war in Iraq. While the conflict caused instability and hit share prices around the world, the impact on stock values closer to home was far...

80% Space already contracted for cabsat 2004.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * Organisers of the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) have announced that more than 80% of the space for the 10th edition of the Middle East International Cable, Satellite, Broadcast and Communications Exhibition (CABSAT 8-to-10 February) has...

Saudi Aramco signs $2bn gas deal with Shell and Total.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * Saudi Aramco has finalised the South Rub' Al Khali Gas Development venture with international petroleum companies Shell and Total. The area included in the SRAK agreement totals some 210,000sq km, and is estimated to be worth $2bn. The...

International consortium discovers oil in Algeria's Berkine Basin.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * Sonatrach, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and partners Maersk Olie Algeriet and Eni Oil Algeria have reported a further exploration success in Algeria's prolific Berkine Basin.

CB&I wins $50m EPC contract for tankage at new Oman refinery.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * Engineering firm CB&I has been awarded a lump-sum turnkey contract valued at approximately $50m for all tankage at the grassroots Sohar Refinery, located 250km northwest of Muscat, Oman.

Boom time for gas: in the next few years, natural gas will rival oil as an energy source and transform Middle East economies.(Gas)
February 1, 2004... Picture the scene--it's 2020, and the energy ministers of the Organisation of Gas-Exporting Countries, known as OGEC, the umbrella for the dozen or so nations which dominate the market, gather in Madrid for their annual get-together to...

Etisalat ranked among world's Fortune 500.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * The Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) made it onto Fortune magazine's Global 500 list of companies for 2002, coming in at 485th place. It is the first United Arab Emirates firm to gain entry to the ranking.

interWAVE secures $1.4m GSM order in Kurdish Northern Iraq.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * US-based interWAVE Communications has received an initial order from Kurdish Sanatel totalling $1.4m for a GSM-based wireless infrastructure to link eight cities in northern Iraq.

US firm wins video vehicle detection contract for Suez Canal Bridge.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * US-based Image Sensing Systems (ISS) has been awarded a contract to supply its Autoscope video vehicle detection system for the El Qantara Bridge over the Suez Canal in Egypt.

Jordan's mobile market to sustain 19% annual growth.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * Jordan's annual growth in the cellular market is forecasted to sustain at 19% for 2004 and 2005 when NewGen/ Xpress, the third mobile operator, is scheduled to enter the market.

Palestinian high tech grows 88% despite Intifada.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * The number of high tech firms operating from the Palestinian territories increased by 88% over the past three years, despite the ongoing Al Aqsa Intifada. Some 75 Palestinian high tech firms are doing business in the region.

Kuwait's GSM market leads the Arab World in low cost rates.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * Kuwait's GSM market leads the Arab World in relatively low cost rates. The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are close contenders with Oman and Saudi Arabia not far behind. Jordan and Palestine's rates are fair relative to their GDP per...

Siemens wins $40m Omantel expansion contract.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * The Oman Telecommunications Company has commissioned the Siemens Information and Communication mobile Group to expand the GSM network in Oman. Under the terms of the $40m contract, Siemens will supply and install base stations as well as fit...

E-marine installs submarine cable linking Qatar to the UAE.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * Emirates Telecommunications and Marine Services has been awarded the turnkey contract to install the new submarine fiber optic telecommunication cable link between Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Lebanon's first Islamic bank to open by year's end.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * Lebanon's first Islamic bank is scheduled to open for business by the end of this year. The Arab Finance House will start with an initial capital base of $60m, subject to gradual increases to $ 100m in three years.

New routes to new markets: the multi-billion dollar highway under construction between the northern port city of Nouadhibou and the capital city of Nouakchott is expected to facilitate a new era of inter-regional trade.(Mauritania)
February 1, 2004... As a natural barrier to human transportation, the Sahara desert has few rivals. Blinding sand storms, mountainous sand dunes and endless stretches of empty waste impede all but the hardiest of travellers. With no toads to speak of, crossing the...

Egypt's NSGB records 20% profit growth.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * Egypt's National Societe Generale Bank reported a 20% increase in net profits for the first nine months of 2003, reaching EP 139m ($22.6m) compared to EP I 16m for the same period last year.

Lundin Petroleum continues regional pullout with $3m sale of Tunisian assets.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * Sweden's Lundin Petroleum continues its North African pullout with the recent sale of a 50% shareholding in Compagnie Franco Tunisienne des Petroles to private French company Spyker Energy. The $3m deal is subject to certain regulatory...

EBRD approves $250m Ceyhan pipeline loan.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... * The board of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has approved up to $250m in loans to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, a network that extends from Azerbaijan and Georgia to Turkey.

The moving finger writes ... For the years of Saddam Hussein's rule Iraqi school children were faced with one brand of propaganda. Now, it seems, they are to be presented with another.(Mosaic)
February 1, 2004... For years the Iraqi school curriculum proclaimed: the father of all Iraqis." Now, under the governing coalition in Baghdad it is as if Saddam Hussein and his Baath Party regime never existed. And with the rolling out of millions of new text...

The Norway of Arabia: Rhona Wells travelled to Musandam, which travellers have likened to Norway in Scandinavia because of its majestic fjords.(Mosaic)
February 1, 2004... The Musandam peninsula forms the northernmost part Of Oman, jutting out into the Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Gulf. At its nearest point it is just 55 km from Iran across the strait. While Salalah in the south of the sultanate is...

Convergence: a drama portraying Arab/Israeli tragedy, hope and despair.(Theatre)(Theater Review)
February 1, 2004... Playwright Shakir Yusif Farsakh proves himself a master in character development in his two-act drama, Convergence. Despite the fact that the two chief protagonists are the Commander of a Palestinian suicide bomb brigade and a Colonel in the...

Inventing Iraq: the Failure of Nation Building and a History Denied.(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... By Toby Dodge published by C. Hurst & Co ISBN 1 85065 7289 price 25.00 [pounds sterling] hardback 'If we think there is a fast solution to changing the governance of Iraq', warned US Marine General Anthony Zinni in the months before the...

Oil Politics: a Modern History of Petroleum.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... By Francisco Parra (Ex-Secretary General, OPEC) Published by IB TAURIS ISBN 186064 977 7 price 45.00 [pounds sterling] hardback Many international conflicts in the world today revolve around the control of oil--despite the protestations of...

Contemporary Arab Thought.(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... By Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabii published by Pluto Press ISBN 07453 2169 0 price 25.00 [degrees] paperback Contemporary Arab Thought is a complex term. It encompasses a constellation of social, political, religious and ideological ideas that have...

Economic Development in Saudi Arabia.(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... By Rodney Wilson, with Abdullah Al Salamah, Monica Malik, Ahmed Al Rajhi Published by RoutledgeCurzon ISBN 0 7007 1729 3 price 65.00 [pounds sterling] hardback The changing political situation in the Middle East poses challenges for the...

Islam and Jihad: Prejudice Versus Reality.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... A. G. Noorani published by Zed Books ISBN 1 84277 270 8 32.95 [pounds sterling] hardback ISBN 1 84277 271 6 9.99 [pounds sterling] paperback The terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 and their aftermath have focused the world's attention...

The Modern Middle East.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... Edited by: Albert Hourani, Philip Khoury and Mary Wilson Published by IB TAURIS ISBN 1 8606 963 7 price 16.99 [pounds sterling] paperback This textbook assembles key writings on the modern history of the Middle East by some of the most...

Syria.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2004... Edited by John L. Henriques published by Nova Science Publishers, Inc ISBN 1 59033 763 8 price 57.50 [pounds sterling] hardback If there ever was a country in the crosshairs, Syria is it. With the war in Iraq supposedly over and done with,...

Holding out for a hero.(The Last Word)
February 1, 2004... The decision to go ahead with elections in Iraq before the handover of power at the end of June is a triumph for democracy and a 73 year old Shi'a cleric. In a calculated show of strength, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, leader of the Hawza,...