The Middle East articles from February 2006

The Middle East archives from February 2006

Comment: as The Middle East went to press two men dominated the Court pages of national newspapers in Britain, both of them accused of crimes of race hate.
February 1, 2006... At The Old Bailey in London, is 47-year-old Muslim cleric Abu Hamza Al Masri, who denies 14 charges of attempting to stir up racial hatred and one charge of owning a "manual of terror", which allegedly gives details "of a kind likely to be...

Forward ... or back? before the massive stroke that ended his political career, Ariel Sharon abandoned Likud to form the Kadima (Forward) party, which looked set to make a significant impact at the upcoming March elections. However, with the demise of the old warhorse Sharon, whether the new centrist party can go forward, or not, remains uncertain.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
February 1, 2006... ARIEL SHARON HAS LAID DOWN THE REINS OF power. Bidding farewell to the warrior-come-statesman who led Israel for the past five years, longer than any other prime minister in recent times, marks the end of a chapter in Israel's volatile history....

They will come from the skies: as the US gets ready to reduce ground forces in Iraq, it is stepping up its air war against insurgents.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
February 1, 2006... AS THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION, battered by growing domestic opposition to the war in Iraq, moves towards reducing the number of ground troops there, expect the air war to intensify. This facet of the conflict has received little attention in the...

How much will the war in Iraq cost the US taxpayer? the cost in human life remains debatable, since only the loss of American lives have been properly calculated, but the cost in financial terms of the war on Iraq are equally fudged.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
February 1, 2006... HOW MUCH WILL IT COST THE US taxpayers to fight its war in Iraq? The figure includes not only the direct financial cost but also the indirect costs to an economy and its population. Although the issue has not been a subject of much debate...

Profits of war in Afghanistan.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... While you won't hear much about it in the mainstream media, one of the reasons the US army remains in Afghanistan may very well be for the riches that country holds. Afghanistan has an extraordinary abundance of rare and strategic minerals...

With us or against us--Iran talks tough: any diplomatic situation between two countries in the Middle East is invariably more complex and dynamic than meets the eye. The matter of Iran's nuclear ambitions is no exception.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
February 1, 2006... USUALLY SIMPLIFIED TO A DIPLOMATIC conflict between Iran on one side and the United States and Europe on the other, the facts are that the most prominent issue exercising political and strategic minds in corridors of power the world over is a...

Ankara provokes outrage and dissent: Jon Gorvett reports from Istanbul on the reforms that have split the government and society.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
February 1, 2006... FIRST IT WAS TURKEY'S MOST famous writer. Then it was the editor of Istanbul's Armenian minority newspaper. After that, it was a list of some of the country's most distinguished journalists and newspaper columnists. Now, it is a clutch of...

The search for Osama's 'sorcerer': Americans step up their hunt for the Egyptian in charge of Osama bin Laden's bio-war programme.(REGIONAL)
February 1, 2006... THE UNITED STATES MILITARY command in Iraq released two of Saddam Hussein's most notorious biological weapons specialists in December, among more than a score of high-value prisoners held since the collapse of the Baathist regime in April 2003....

Kremlin counters WMD threat on the seas: Thomas Land reports from Moscow.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
February 1, 2006... RUSSIA HAS CALLED ON ITS CASPIAN neighbours to create a joint naval task force to prevent the smuggling of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), or their component parts, on the high seas. The scheme, promoted rapidly in the context of the...

Regional economic outlook 2006.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)(Cover Story)
February 1, 2006... GROWTH IN THE MIDDLE East and North Africa (MENA) remains strong and prospects for the New Year are good, but this growth must accelerate onto a new higher path to address the challenges of improving socio-economic welfare and reducing...

US firms back in Libya: the renaissance of the Libyan oil sector has been confirmed by the return of the world's biggest oil producer to the country.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)
February 1, 2006... PRIOR TO THEIR MERGER EXXON and Mobil both had upstream interests in Libya but in common with other US companies they pulled out during the early 1980s. Now, however, the super-major has signed a contract with Libya's National Oil Company (NOC)...

Turkey prepares for mortgage revolution: Turkey's real estate market is set for major changes in the year ahead, as new laws on mortgages and foreign ownership take their places on the statute books.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)
February 1, 2006... RECENT DEVELOPMENTS ARE likely TO revolutionise Turkey's housing market and have a major impact on the rest of the as well. This will be the first time Turks will have been able to take out a mortgage, a step many analysts see as likely to mark...

Middle East oil exporters rise to the global challenge.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)
February 1, 2006... IN A GLOBALISED WORLD, ECONOMISTS, bankers and officials are having to come up with new definitions of international competitiveness. And the results of some of the latest research provide some startling surprises: the Middle East's oil...

UAE opts for power sector partnerships: many Middle Eastern governments have discussed privatising their power generation sections but few have made the headway that the UAE is poised to achieve.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)
February 1, 2006... WHILE MANY GOVERNMENTS in the Middle East have announced plans to privatise their power sector assets, the UAE is actually putting its strategy into practice. In contrast with some other Gulf economies, that have repeatedly delayed private...

Aircraft business on a roll: it's boom time for the region's aviation sector as passenger numbers soar and airlines place multibillion dollar orders for new equipment.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)
February 1, 2006... THE COMPETITION BETWEEN the world's two largest aircraft manufacturers, US-based Boeing and Europe's Airbus consortium, remains intense with both companies posting record sales in 2005. The rivalry between the two increased further at the Dubai...

After the oil ... although oil accounts for over 80% of all Arab export revenues, economic pressures are compelling Middle Eastern governments to develop new trade regimes and export industries.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)
February 1, 2006... MODERN TRADE DIPLOMACY When the US signed its Free Trade Agreement with Oman in October 2004, the American negotiator didn't actually meet his Omani counterpart. Instead, US Trade representative, Rob Portman, spoke with Omani trade and industry...

Omani spectacular.(MOSAIC)
February 1, 2006... HORSES AND CAMELS hold a special place in the hearts of many Arabs. Both feature prominently in epic tales of heroic events and are identified with pride and honour. They also fulfil an important economic role as a means of transport for people...

New constitution threatens Iraq's ethnic groups.(MOSAIC)
February 1, 2006... IRAQ'S NEW CONSTITUTION, RATIFIED by referendum last October, is not without its controversy. While it is claimed by its supporters to enshrine the rights of all Iraqis regardless of their religion, ethnicity or sect, many among those very...

Fusion fashion from the Kingdom to L.A.(MOSAIC)
February 1, 2006... SAUDI ARABIAN-BORN SAMORA Olayan was headlined with 35 other designers when invited to unveil her spring 2006 collection at the Los Angeles Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Smash Box Studios. The West Coast fashion extravaganza differs from...

Iraq and the War on Terror: Twelve Months of Insurgency 2004/2005.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2006... IRAQ AND THE WAR ON TERROR TWELVE MONTHS OF INSURGENCY 2004/2005 By Paul Rogers published by IB Tauris ISBN 1 84511 205 9 price 12.99 [pounds sterling] paperback Since the start of the Iraq conflict, security expert Paul Rogers has...

Catastrophe Remembered: Palestine, Israel and the Internal Refugees.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2006... CATASTROPHE REMEMBERED PALESTINE, ISRAEL AND THE INTERNAL REFUGEES Edited by Nur Masalha published by ZED BOOKS ISBN 1 84277 627 1 price 18.95 [pounds sterling] paperback Israelis call the 1948 war the "War of Independence". But for...

Reason and Inspiration in Islam: Theology, Philosophy and Mysticism in Muslim Thought.
February 1, 2006... REASON AND INSPIRATION IN ISLAM Theology, Philosophy and Mysticism in Muslim Thought Edited by Todd Lawson published by IB Tauris ISBN 1 85043 470 0 price 42.50 [pounds sterling] Hardback This book takes a timely and refreshing look at the...

The Complete Fauna of Iran.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2006... THE COMPLETE FAUNA OF IRAN Eskandar Firouz published by IB Tauris ISBN 1 85043 946 x price 49.50 [pounds sterling] hardback When we think of Iran--oil, war and Islam readily come to mind, but Iran is host to some of Asia's most diverse...

The Yezidis.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2006... THE YEZIDIS By Eszter Spat published by SAQI ISBN 0 86356 593 x price 14.99 [pounds sterling] paperback Little is known about the Yezidis, an ancient and enigmatic mountain people of Kurdistan who have been unjustly labelled...

With United Strength: H.H. Sheikh Zayid Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, The Leader and the Nation.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 1, 2006... WITH UNITED STRENGTH H.H. SHEIKH ZAYID BIN SULTAN AL NAHYAN: THE LEADER AND THE NATION Published by ECSSR ISBN 9948 O0 400 O0 price 45.00 [pounds sterling] hardback The formation of the United Arab Emirates in 1971, under Sheikh Zayid Bin...

Sad new year loss.(Obituary)
February 1, 2006... WITHIN LESS THAN TWO WEEKS IN JANUARY, THE Gulf states lost two of their respected and influential leaders. In Dubai, the ruler, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum passed away on 4 January, aged 62, while on a visit to Australia. His...