The Middle East articles from July 2002

The Middle East archives from July 2002

Ousting Saddam: President George Bush has instructed the CIA to kill or capture Saddam Hussein, initiating the start of a deadly international game of cat and mouse. Lives will be lost but there is no guarantee the Iraqi dictator's will be among them and--if the US plan to depose Saddam works--how would a new Iraqi federation work? (Current Affairs).(Saddam Hussein, head of state of Iraq, US Central Intelligence Agency)
July 1, 2002... Saddam must go: America's President George Bush seems to have made up his mind. Washington's crescendo of rhetoric, directed at the Iraqi dictator, peaked by the third week of June. It followed much chatter about President Bush's new doctrine:...

Al Jazeera kicks up a sandstorm. (Current Affairs).(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... From the sun-drenched Bedouin tents in the Libyan Desert to the technology-wired homes of the American affluent, the upstart Qatar-based TV station is becoming a household word, not least among the Houston-based energy giants whose lifeblood is...

Peace activists: thorn in the flesh of Sharon. (Current Affairs).(Ariel Sharon, head of state, Israel)
July 1, 2002... They have been referred to as international peace activists by the mainstream media. But that is far too soft a term for a group of civilians who put their lives on the line, dodging Israeli snipers, enduring sieges and lying down in front of...

Yemenis resist US pressure. (Current Affairs).
July 1, 2002... Despite considerable public opposition to a US military presence, 30 troops from US Special Forces have arrived in Yemen to train local soldiers. However, since their arrival, increasing internal resistance has made observers wonder if the...

Facing the axis of evil? (Current Affairs).
July 1, 2002... The US State Department has branded Iran the `world's most active sponsor of terror', and put Hizbullah at the top of the list of `anti-Israeli terrorist groups' the Islamic republic is said to support. In North Carolina, two Lebanese-Americans...

The presidential honeymoon is over: what did President Bush know? Perhaps even more damaging: when did he know it? (Current Affairs).
July 1, 2002... Eight months after the 11 September attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, the Teflon-coated President George W Bush is on the defensive, his shield all but gone. Who would have thought it? From steely crusader, to scrambling...

Who will be heir? US President Bush has warned the Palestinians: get rid of Arafat or peace talks will suffer. The question of who might replace Arafat is always a talking point, Mariam Shahin looks at some of the options. (Current Affairs).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... In his early 40s, Marwan Barghouti's politics are deeply entrenched in the centre-right wing Fatah party; the biggest Palestinian political party. As leader of rank and file activists and fighters, he has gained respect from Palestinians for...

Ben Ali wins overwhelming support. (Current Affairs).(Tunisia's President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... Sweeping changes made to Tunisia's constitution will allow President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to run for a fourth term of office when his current term expires in 2004. The most comprehensive reform of the constitution since it was first written...

Caspian oil race heats up. (Current Affairs).(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... Oil and gas exploration in the Caspian Sea and in the neighbouring onshore areas of Central Asia and the Caucasus is set to accelerate to a new level this year that could have profound implications for world energy supplies. The signing of a...

Japanese launch new age TV into Middle East markets. (Business & Finance).(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... You arrive at the multiplex early. You snuggle into your seat for `Titanic 2: The Return Voyage.' But as the curtains open--bear with me on this anachronism--they get stuck in their tracks, the curtains are jammed, leaving only a square patch...

Turkey's Blue Stream open for business: Turkey's Blue Stream pipeline comes onstream this month but although the project has been a remarkable achievement, there are fears it could yet prove a white elephant. (Business & Finance).
July 1, 2002... After five years of battling huge engineering difficulties, a troublesome sea and political and economic obstacles, the world"s deepest underwater pipeline is about to be completed. This summer, when Russia's President Vladimir Putin and...

Saudi gas initiative shapes up; Tom Owen reports on the multi-billion dollar project which could help the kingdom on the road to economic diversity. (Business & Finance).
July 1, 2002... The Saudi oil sector, traditionally nurtured by the Al Saud family and the national oil company Aramco since `participation' (i.e. nationalisation) in 1975, has been a bastion of economic nationalism. Foreign partners might be allowed to...

Turkish media law: in whose interests? After an all-night session, an exhaustive debate and several near punch-ups, Turkey's parliament has voted to go ahead with a controversial new law that removes barriers to prevent the unscrupulous manipulation of the stock market and also constitutes a serious attack on the freedom of the country's press. (Business & Finance).
July 1, 2002... Passing the controversial Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTUK) law for the second time, parliament finally pushed through a piece of legislation that has been fought over for at least the last five years. The effect on Turkey's...

Banking on Shari'ah principles: Islamic banking has witnessed remarkable growth from its humble beginnings in the early 1970s into a 21st century multi-billion dollar global niche industry. (Special report: Islamic banking).(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... The value system of Islam provides guidelines for all aspects of human behaviour, including economic, legal, political, social, material, cultural and moral affairs, contained in the Shari'ah (Islamic Canon Law). The Koran does not...

Khatami calls for foreign investment in Iranian oil. (Business & Finance).(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... While the Iranian constitution continues to hamper the involvement of foreign firms in developing the country's oil and gas sector, the government has found several ways of bypassing such restrictions. Opposition to market liberalisation from...

Egypt's stock market blues. (Business & Finance).(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... Egyptian stocks are in the doldrums. Volumes on the Cairo Bourse have hit an all time low with the market's largest capitalised stock, MobiNil (the Egyptian company for mobile telephone services) trading around 10,000 stocks a day, compared...

The Mosque History, Architectural Development and Regional Diversity.
July 1, 2002... Edited by Martin Frishman and Hasan-Uddin Khan Published by Thames & Hudson ISBN 0 500 283451 price 18.95 [pounds sterling] paperback As the outward and visible symbol of Islam, the mosque can be found in all parts of the modern world....

A Modern History of the Islamic World.(Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... By Reinhard Schulze published by IB Tauris ISBN 1 86064 822 3 price 14.95 [pounds sterling] paperback The Islamic World--defined as those countries where Islam is the dominant, or single most important religion--covers territories as far...

Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia.(Review)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... By John Gordon Lorimar published by Garnet publishing ISBN 1 85964 127 x Cased 19-volume set price 3,000 [pounds sterling] The Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia was compiled and written by John Gordon Lorimer...

The Queen of Sheba: treasures from ancient Yemen. (Mosaic).
July 1, 2002... Only in legend is her existence a certainty, an icon of female power and beauty, the Queen of Sheba is a prominent figure in three religions as well as a popular character in the folklore of the Islamic world and Ethiopia; she is perceived as...

Arabic calligraphy: the art of literacy. (Mosaic).
July 1, 2002... And if all the trees were pens and the oceans were ink, with seven oceans behind it to add to its supply, yet would not the words of Allah be exhausted in the writing. Koran, sura 31 v. 27. "Beautiful writing" is the Greek origin of...

Beirut: the Phoenician Phoenix: years ago Solidere's plans for the reconstruction of central Beirut were branded as `over-ambitious and unworkable' by some but, as Neil Barnett reports, even the scheme's fiercest critics have been forced to eat their words. (Mosaic).
July 1, 2002... In the last year a remarkable transformation has taken place in the centre of Beirut. For the last decade Solidere, the company charged with rebuilding the city centre, has been hard at work restoring and rebuilding. But for most of that time...

Memories of Soraya: the belongings of the exotic Princess Soraya, former Empress of Iran, were sold at the Paris-based auction house of Drouot-Montaigne recently. (Mosaic).(Obituary)
July 1, 2002... In the grand salon of the Parisian auction house of Drouot-Montaigne, a well-heeled crowd jostled to get a better view of the precious gems on display. An elegant French woman opened her catalogue and patiently explained to an elderly couple...