The Middle East articles from March 2004

The Middle East archives from March 2004

Comment.
March 1, 2004... Don't call it a fence. If we call it a fence we buy in to the Israeli myth. Don't call it a security barrier, because it is not that either. It is a wall, a big, huge, stonking great wall, a monstrous erection that to date has affected more...

Hunting down the terrorist threat.(Current Affairs)
March 1, 2004... AFTER ENDURING MONTHS OF threats, explosions and assassination attempts the Saudi Arabian government decision, taken after the May 2003 bombings, to crackdown on terrorists linked to, or inspired by, Al Qaeda, is now paying dividends. In a...

Iraqi oil loses its luster.(Regional)
March 1, 2004... "Cheap oil was the prize," Texas oil industry analysts claim, "but with American casualties topping 500, the Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani calling the political shots and an increasingly restive American public clamouring for an early Iraqi...

Hizbullah-Israel swap: a long-awaited prisoner exchange between Israel and Lebanon's Hizbullah organisation has reinforced the Shi'a Muslim group's status in the Arab and Islamic world, confirming, in Hizbullah's eyes, that the Jewish state only yields to force rather than negotiations.(Lebanon)
March 1, 2004... The first phase of the two-part swap between Israel and Hizbullah, mediated by German intelligence officials, occurred at the end of January and saw the release of over 400 Lebanese, Palestinian and other Arab prisoners in return for an Israeli...

Shaping up for change or just more of the same?(Iran)
March 1, 2004... As The Middle East went to press, confusion continued to surround the Iranian election. Was the outcome a forgone conclusion? Whatever the 'official' result, was there any prospect of real change in the Islamic Republic?' The will for reform...

Three steps forward ...: the thorny and politically sensitive Western Sahara issue will not go away, neither will it be solved if every time negotiations move three steps forward, time and neglect force them three steps back. James Badcock reviews the situation.(Current Affairs)
March 1, 2004... One of the first acts of the newly-independent East Timor government was to add itself to the 70 or so countries which officially recognise the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), otherwise known as Western Sahara, formerly a Spanish...

Arabs seek global presence: Arab governments are moving from passive players to active participants on the world economic stage. Proof of this is their willingness to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other multilateral organisations. But critics say this may not guarantee success in the new global economic order.(Business & Finance)
March 1, 2004... Every year, a handful of the world's most powerful leaders travel to the charming resort town of Davos, high in the Swiss Alps. In a week-long conference known as the World Economic Forum (WEF), they consider how global conditions can be...

Alfa Laval wins $8.8m power plant order in Saudi Arabia.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... * Swedish engineering firm Alfa Laval has received an order to the value of approximately 65m Swedish krona ($8.8m) from the Saudi National Contracting Co. (NCC). The equipment purchased is intended for the Saudi Electricity Company's PP3 Power...

Acotel wins major contracts with Jordan's Fastlink.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... * Fastlink is the largest telecommunications company in Jordan with more than 930,000 subscribers served by the country's most extensive distribution network throughout the Kingdom. 2003 saw the official conclusion for the transfer of the...

Bechtel wins $2.5bn deal to build Doha airport.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... * Qatar has awarded US engineering company Bechtel a contract to develop the New Doha International Airport (NDIA), which will cost QR9.125bn ($2.5bn) for phase one alone. The contract will include the design, project management and...

Metito and Target win $20m sewerage project in Oman.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... * Wastewater manager Metito and Target Oman have won an OR8m ($20m) contract to provide a sewerage system for the residents of Ibra Town in the sultanate. Treated water from the plants will be used for irrigation purposes. The project is being...

Tunisia & the USA: Tunisia's President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's visit to the United States at the invitation of US President George W Bush has become a crucial watershed in the political and economic relations between America and the Arab world.(Special Report: Tunisia and the United States)
March 1, 2004... A PIVOTAL MEETING DIPLOMACY The handshake between Tunisia's President Ben Ali and US leader George Bush was pregnant with far weightier symbolism than is usually the case when two heads of state meet. Ben Ali's visit to the US,...

Low cost airlines enter Gulf market; Low cost airlines have revolutionised travel in Europe, with some fares--between London and Ireland or the south of France--as low as 1 [pounds sterling]. Now the revolution has reached the Middle East.(Regional)
March 1, 2004... The airline sector in the Middle East has long been conservatively structured. The largely state owned companies which dominate the region have been quick to adopt private sector style advertising and standards of service but competition on...

UGB's net profits $36.2m.(United Gulf Bank)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... * United Gulf Bank, the investment banking subsidiary of the Kuwait Projects Company Group recorded a net profit of $36.2m for the year ending 31 December 2003, its best results in 24 years.

Amlak's IPO collects over $370m in 10 days.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... * Amlak Finance's initial public offering (IPO) was 33 times oversubscribed, collecting DH 13.7bn ($372m) in 10 days. Amlak will be traded on the Dubai Financial Market immediately after the final allocation of shares.

IFC acquires $ 1.6m stake in Egyptian Housing Finance Company.(International Finance Corporation)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... * The International Finance Corporation. Has signed a $ 1.6m deal for a 20% equity stake in the Egyptian Housing Finance Company, helping establish Egypt's first private company in this sector.

Prosperity and the long road to peace: a German-born multi-billionaire believes instituting commercial joint ventures in the Middle East could bring peace and prosperity to Arabs and Jews.(Palestine)
March 1, 2004... For decades, 77 year old German-born Stef Wertheimer has been preaching in Israeli government officials of the need to convert Israel's economy into a more export-oriented one--which thrives on entrepreneurial skills--rather than sinking...

PA sells telecom stake for $42m.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... * The Palestinian Authority sold its 35% stake in local cellular service provider Jawwal. The shares were acquired by telecom company PalTel for $42m.

Haj revenues reach $ 1.9bn as pilgrims head home.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... * Saudi Arabia earned approximately SR7bn ($ 1.9bn) during this year's Haj season. According to local economic experts, foreign currency transactions made up the bulk of trade.

Jordanian government receives $18m from UNCC.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... * The United Nations Compensation Commission has transferred $18m to the Jordanian government. The money will be handed over to a number of Jordanian businessmen who sustained losses as a result of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990-1991.

Yemen's decade of peace: the rewards of peace and unity are becoming apparent from the north to south of the country.(Business & Finance)
March 1, 2004... After years of widespread unrest that threatened to tear the country in two, Yemen gradually scents to be coming together as a nation. The activities of opposition groups linked to Al Qaeda continue to hit the headlines, but the secessionist...

1 bn [euro] ($1.2bn) tourist resort in Morocco.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... * Belgium's Atelier d'Art Urbain Group plans to build a sea resort in southern Morocco's Essaouira city. With a target completion date of 2010, the project is expected to cost 1bn [euro] ($ 1.2bn), according to a company official. Acting...

OPEC cuts output to maintain prices.(Regional)
March 1, 2004... At the end of its 129th extraordinary conference held in Algiers in mid February, OPEC ministers--in a move that surprised the markets--decided on a cut in production that will see prices rise in the second quarter of 2004. The effects of...

FGB reports $32m net profit rise for 2003.(First Gulf Bank)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... * First Gulf Bank (FGB) has reported a 50% increase in its net profit, reaching DH 120.9m ($32m) in 2003 compared to last year's net profit of Dh 80.6m. Total operating income reached DH 268.5m last year, 63% higher than in 2002. Net interest...

Nour USA wins $327m Iraq military contract.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... * American consortium Nour USA has been awarded a $327m contract to equip Iraq's new armed forces and civil defence corps. The company has been offered a fixed price indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity contract to procure equipment Iraq's...

Bidders place their bets for Sharjah gas project.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... * Contractors have submitted bids for a $200m Engineering, Procurement and Construction contract to build new gas processing facilities in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Among the bidders are Lebanon's Contracting and Trading and Sharjah's...

Tanganyika Oil to invest $18.9m in Syria's Oudeh field.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... * The Tanganyika Oil Company has agreed to sell, on a private placement basis, up to an aggregate of 3m shares of the company at a price of $6.30 per share for gross proceeds of $18.9m in order to fund the development of the Oudeh field in...

Which way now for OPEC?(Business & Finance)
March 1, 2004... With the war in Iraq now subsiding into a lower level affair, the future for world oil prices should look more certain. Fear and uncertainty over the war--even more than the actual impact of it--inflated prices for over a year. Yet the...

Qatar punches above its weight.(Special Report)
March 1, 2004... For a small country, Qatar certainly makes a lot of headlines. Apart from its strategic position in the recent war in Iraq and its role as host of Arab satellite television station Al Jazeera, the Gulf emirate has become famous for two main...

Calligraffiti: Lebanese Poet Sherbel Dagher asked Jordanian artist Wijdan to interpret his abstract verse visually. The result was a "Fantasia of colour and paper, on paper," and the subject of a spectacular exhibition at London's October Gallery.(Mosaic)
March 1, 2004... A fascinating new exhibition opened in London in February celebrating both the talent of the Lebanese poet Sherbel Dagher and the artist he asked to visual interpretation of his abstract Princess Widjan All of Jordan. Visitors to the...

Can Baghdad rise from the ashes? War torn Baghdad is not a destination high on most peoples list of holiday destinations, not yet anyway ...(Mosaic)
March 1, 2004... As the death toll among both Iraqis and coalition soldiers rises on an almost daily basis, promoting the country's tourist attractions may seem something of a lost cause. But wars, mines, looting, crime and chaos notwithstanding, a steady...

Hezbollah: the Changing Face of Terrorism.(Books in Brief)(Book Review)
March 1, 2004... HEZBOLLAH THE CHANGING FACE OF TERRORISM By Judith Palmer Harik published by IB TAURIS ISBN 1 86064 893 2 price 18.95 [pounds sterling] hardback Hezbollah, or the "Party of God", arose from the flames of the Lebanese civil war in 1982 to...

Iraq: the Human Cost of History.(Books in Brief)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 1, 2004... IRAQ THE HUMAN COST OF HISTORY Edited by Tareq Y. Ismael and William W. Haddad Published by Pluto Press ISBN 0 7453 2148 8 price 25.00 [pounds sterling] hardback The people of Iraq suffered for more than a decade from the most severe...

Simply Lebanese.(Books in Brief)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 1, 2004... SIMPLY LEBANESE By Ina'am Atalla published by Garnet Publishing ISBN 1 85964 135 0 price 25.00 [pounds sterling] hardback Simply Lebanese by Ina'am Atalla introduces us to the exotic flavours and colours of Lebanese cuisine using an...

Technology, Tradition and Survival.(Books in Brief)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 1, 2004... TECHNOLOGY, TRADITION AND SURVIVAL Edited by Richard Tapper and Keith Mclachlan published by Frank Cass ISBN 0 7146 4487 0 price 17.99 [pounds sterling] paperback Few in the industrialised West are aware of the traditional technologies of...

Morocco.(Books in Brief)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 1, 2004... MOROCCO By C. R. Pennell published by ONEWORLD ISBN 1 85168 303 8 price 12.99 [pounds sterling] paperback Morocco is a multi layered country. Each phase of its history has left its mark on its current makeup and this book reflects that...

Lady Anne Blunt: a Biography.(Books in Brief)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
March 1, 2004... A BIOGRAPHY By H.V.F. Winstone published by 8arzan publishing ISBN 1 900988 57 7 price 19.95 [pounds sterling] hardback This work is the only account of the life of Lady Anne Blunt, traveller, writer and campaigner. It tells the remarkable...

Shadow boxing with Mr Sharon.(The Last Word)
March 1, 2004... An overwhelming majority of Israelis support Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to remove Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, according to the results of a "referendum" held by Israel's largest circulation newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth. But will...