The Middle East articles from July 2006

The Middle East archives from July 2006

Editorial comment.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)(Editorial)
July 1, 2006... The Likud mayor of Sderot, Eli Moyal, has called for the resignation of the Israeli government over what he describes as its "miserable failure" to deal with Qassam rocket attacks launched from the Palestinian territories. The town, less than...

Arabs wage war on money laundering: Arab governments are adopting strict new standards to prevent the misuse of banks in the Middle East by terror organisations and financial manipulators. These efforts could enhance efforts to develop new global financial centres in the Levant.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)(Cover story)
July 1, 2006... IN VIRTUALLY ALL large cities of the Gulf, bank headquarters are often among the most prominent buildings on the skyline. No wonder: they are key engines driving local economies. Those institutions are also poised to play a more global...

Kuwait making history: Kuwaitis were preparing to cast their votes in parliamentary elections as The Middle East went to press. Jon Gorvett reports from Kuwait City on the run up to this historic poll.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
July 1, 2006... KUWAITIS WERE HEADING for the polls at the end of June in a landmark election; for the first time ever in a parliamentary ballot, Kuwaiti women were allowed to vote. Yet few pundits think female enfranchisement will really make for a major...

After Zarqawi: on 7 June, American top guns deploying F16s killed Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, the self-styled boss of Al Qaeda in Mespotomia, by dropping two 5001b bombs on his hideout near Baquba in central Iraq.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
July 1, 2006... ONLY THREE YEARS ago, hardly anyone outside the circles of Middle East specialists and spooks had heard of Abu Musab Al Zarqawi. Then, America's mishandling of the aftermath of its 'victory' over Saddam Hussein catapulted him close to the top...

Man on a mission: ever since his November 2005 appointment as the Palestinian Liberation Organisation's Ambassador to the US, Afif Safieh has been making waves in Washington DC. Here, he talks to Pat McDonnell Twair for TME.(Interview)
July 1, 2006... DURING RECENT MONTHS 54-year-old Safieh has been meeting nonstop with US Congressmen and Senators, Arab Americans and Jewish organisations, such as the Israeli Policy Forum and Americans for Peace Now. Soon after his arrival in the US,...

The Libyan connection: the United State's restoration of relations with the regime of Colonel Muammar Gadaffi was a coup for the CIA.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
July 1, 2006... THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S restoration of diplomatic relations with Libya after more than a quarter of a century of often violent confrontation is largely the result of several years of painstaking and largely secret diplomacy between senior...

Divided loyalties: the prospects of significant US troop withdrawals from Iraq dim as thousands of Iraqi soldiers desert or join militias.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
July 1, 2006... US HOPES OF establishing a new and effective Iraqi Army capable of taking overall charge of national security, allowing the administration of President George W Bush to pull out large numbers of the estimated 130,000 US military personnel...

Red star in the morning, business warming: a recent visit by the Chinese president to the Middle East shows the growing importance of the Arab world for China's burgeoning economy. Eamonn Gearon examines the different aspects of this cooperation and wonders if America should be worried.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
July 1, 2006... THIS APRIL, CHINESE President Hu Jintao visited Saudi Arabia and Morocco, where he met with the leaders of both countries to sign a number of agreements, as well as laying the groundwork for future business deals. The timing of Hu's trip to the...

Arab petrodollars: what goes around, comes around.(petroleum prices effect economic development)
July 1, 2006... THE SIX-FOLD INCREASE in world oil prices since 1999 has made the group of oil-exporting Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries a significant player on the international investment scene. The tide of petrodollar surpluses in recent...

$100 a barrel? Myth vs. reality: suddenly everyone was saying it: the price of oil would reach $100 a barrel or more for the next few years. What was once the prediction of a few hearty forecasters (or crackpots, depending on your point of view) suddenly seemed a realistic prospect according to the media.(OIL)
July 1, 2006... FURTHER REFLECTION SINCE the groundswell erupted in May gives pause for thought: while, sooner or later, oil prices may hit $100 or more a barrel, panic stations are not yet called for. Geopolitics, national politics, corporate politics, the...

Bird flu fears hit UAE farms.(poultry sector)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The UAE's poultry sector has lost $5.5m (AED20m) because of a 45%-50% cut in consumption due to bird flu fears. Many small farms have been forced to close and production has been cut by 30%, with surplus meat being frozen and sold off cheaply....

DIG buys German shopping centre.
July 1, 2006... DIG--Real Estate & Hospitality--a subsidiary of the Dubai Investment Group has bought Markisches Zentrum, a 55,000sq m suburban shopping centre in Berlin, Germany. The AED380m ($103m) MZ Centre is DIG's second German retail acquisition in...

Iran's Homa expands air fleet.(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Iran's national carrier, Homa, plans to buy 22 passenger planes by next March and increase its fleet in the longer term from 130 to 200 planes. The organisation will purchase eight Fokker-100 planes, an Airbus 310 or 300 plus a number of other...

Telecoms wars: over the next few months the Middle East's rapidly growing and increasingly ambitious telcos will go head-to-head for some of the region's last remaining cellular licences.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)
July 1, 2006... THE LIKES OF Kuwait's MTC and Watanyia, Egypt's Orascom Telecom and the UAE's Etisalat, all of which have experienced massive growth over the last five years, will battle it out for lucrative licences in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Morocco. In the...

Decision time beckons: plans for the long-mooted Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline could be finalised this month when ministers from the three countries meet in Tehran.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)(Murli Deora, Hadi Nejad-Hosseinian)
July 1, 2006... SHOULD AGREEMENT BE reached in Tehran this month, one of the most geo-politically sensitive developments in the Middle East's energy infrastructure could be given the go-ahead--the construction of a $7.5bn, 2,600km natural gas pipeline from...

Jordan's juggling act: although not the most wealthy or influential state in the region, the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan has built a sound reputation among Arab states and in the wider world. But with a burgeoning population and no petro-dollar back up, Jordanians must stay focused on future development.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)
July 1, 2006... DESPITE THE LACK of cultural or political links between the two countries, economic ties between Jordan and Israel are continuing to grow. At the end of April, the Jordanian government revealed that the value of exports from joint ventures...

Waiting for project Kuwait: Jon Gorvett reports from Kuwait where to increase oil output foreign help may be needed. Not everyone is keen on reopening national interests to outsiders.
July 1, 2006... WITH A QUARTER of the world's known oil reserves and a string of colossal budget surpluses in recent years, Kuwait is fast regaining its traditional role as a powerhouse of the Gulf--and global--economy. The country is blessed with one of...

Fears ignite over Iraq's oil recovery: the one thing that could pull Iraq from the brink of disaster, its oil industry, is being hit by attacks on infrastructure, as well as corruption, smuggling and bad weather. Neil Ford assess the prospects for the future.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)
July 1, 2006... A RECENT REPORT BY the Iraqi Oil Ministry has revealed that attacks on the country's oil pipelines and other infrastructure are becoming more frequent. Coming on top of disappointing production figures over the past 12 months, it demonstrates...

Road to Damask: a grand old man of Iranian enterprise talks to Michael Griffin about his life and his latest venture--organic rose essence for the high-end cosmetics market.(Homayoun Sanati)(Interview)
July 1, 2006... "EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS in your life is by accident," declares Homayoun Sanati in his temporary apartment in London's Chelsea. "I have done 81 rotations of the world around the sun and everything that happened was by accident." Now a...

The Muslims of Saratov.(MOSAIC)
July 1, 2006... UNLIKE THE YOUNG Russian women who stroll on Kirova Prospekt, Saratov's trendy pedestrian avenue, Elfia, a 25-year-old Muslim, dresses very strictly: no tight-fitting jeans or miniskirt, no short blouse uncovering the navel, no long hair...

Contemporary orientalists on display.(MOSAIC)(London's Mathaf Gallery)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... FROM 4-21 JULY London's Mathaf Gallery will be featuring its sumptuous summer exhibition of the works of contemporary orientalist painters. This year subjects will include studies of Arabian horses, wildlife, camel trains, Bedouins,...

Al Qaida's Jihad in Europe the Afghan-Bosnian Network.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2006... AL QAIDA'S JIHAD IN EUROPE THE AFGHAN-BOSNIAN NETWORK By Evan F. Kohlmann published by Berg ISBN 1 85973807 9 price 12.99 [pounds sterling] Why did so many of the 11 September hijackers spend time in Germany? How did terrorist sleeper...

Israel and Settler Society.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2006... ISRAEL AND SETTLER SOCIETY By Lorenzo Veracini published by Pluto Press. ISBN 0745325009 price 15.99 [pounds sterling] paperback The struggle between Israel and the Palestinians is not unique--whatever the news media may suggest. Lorenzo...

After the Neocons America at the Crossroads.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2006... AFTER THE NEOCONS AMERICA AT THE CROSSROADS By Francis Fukuyama published by Profile Books ISBN 1 86197 922 3 price 12.99 [pounds sterling] hardback A critique and reformulation of US foreign policy from one of the world's leading...

The Alhambra.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2006... THE ALHAMBRA By Robert Irwin published by Profile Books ISBN 1 86197 487 6 price 8.99 [pounds sterling] paperback On a hill overlooking Granada stands the only medieval Islamic palace to survive, the Alhambra--the tradition among Islamic...

From Empire to Orient: Travellers to the Middle East 1830-1926.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2006... FROM EMPIRE TO ORIENT TRAVELLERS TO THE MIDDLE EAST 1830-1926 By Geoffrey Nash published by IB TAURIS ISBN 1 85043 767 x price 24.50 [pounds sterling] hardback From Empire to Orient offers an alternative perspective on Britain's late...

Revolt on the Tigris: The Al Sadr Uprising and the Governing of Iraq.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2006... REVOLT ON THE TIGRIS THE AL SADR UPRISING AND THE GOVERNING OF IRAQ By Mark Etherington published by C. Hurst & Co ISBN 1 85065 773 4 price 15.00 [pounds sterling] hardback A former paratrooper with extensive experience of conflict and...

The last word.(Tony Blair's Middle East policy)
July 1, 2006... BRITISH PRIME MINISTER Tony Blair last month took yet another gamble with United Kingdom policy in the Middle East, when he risked angering Britain's traditional Arab allies by his surprise support for Israel's new prime minister Ehud Olmert's...