The Middle East articles from March 2009

The Middle East archives from March 2009

Comment.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)(restaurant owner confident about the quality of food he serves)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] DURING FEBRUARY A small restaurant close to the offices of The Middle East took the bold step of declaring that it was dispensing with traditional billing. "No food bills," announced a board outside the Little Bay...

Iraq: the fragile dawn of a new era? The local elections that took place in February in Iraq were an unreserved success, not only because they rejected the call to political extremism but because they proceeded in an orderly nonviolent way that heralds a new epoch of maturity for this nascent state.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
March 1, 2009... I COULD BARELY BELIEVE my ears listening to the BBC's flagship news and current affairs Today programme on Radio 4. The BBC seemed to be admitting, at last, that democracy had begun to take root in Iraq. The interview surprised me because the...

Israeli elections: some surprises but few solutions: Lawrence Joffe looks at the results of the Israeli elections and anticipates where the Jewish state might go from here.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ELECTIONS ARE MEANT to clarify matters, and one clear message that emerged from Israel's 10 February poll is that there has been a decisive shift of gravity to the right. Other than this...

A Katyusha in a camel's belly: Milan Vesely reports from the United States on the US media's approach to the Gaza conflict and predicts that a sea change is coming.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AFTER 23 DAYS of bloody warfare, Hamas announced a "unilateral" ceasefire--this following Israel s 'unilateral cessation of hostilities" the day before. An uneasy calm fell on a battered Gaza Strip, the international...

On deadly ground: a ground-breaking UN tribunal opens in the Netherlands to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri. Ed Blanche anticipates heavy political fallout.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ON 1 MARCH, a landmark United Nations-mandated tribunal will formally open in the village of Leidschendam on the outskirts of The Hague, capital of the Netherlands, to prosecute the alleged killers of Rafiq Hariri,...

Guantanamo: where do we go from here? President Obama has pledged to close the infamous Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Still to be decided is how the US justice system will deal with the inmates and the international repercussions--a legacy of the dubious integrity of the George Bush regime. Milan Vesely reports from the United States.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)(Barack Obama)
March 1, 2009... IN ONE YEAR Guantanamo Bay will be no more--the ironically named "Camp Justice" detention section of this American military base on the island of Cuba, a black stain on American jurisprudence. Also gone will be the secret CIA prisons in which...

The Middle East business interview: in this exclusive interview for The Middle East magazine, President and Chief Executive of the Bahrain-based Albaraka Banking Group and Chairman of the Union of Arab Banks in Beirut, Adnan Ahmed Yousif, talked to Pamela Ann Smith.(Interview)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AS THE GLOBAL financial crisis and economic slowdown spreads beyond the US, Europe and Japan, the Arab oil exporting countries in the Gulf are coming under increasing scrutiny despite their huge current account...

Global crunch presents stiff challenges to FDI despite new incentives; the developed and emerging regions will have their work cut out to attract direct investment amidst the global economic downturn. Researched and written by international economic analyst Moin Siddiqi.(BUSINESS AND FINANCE)(foreign direct investment)
March 1, 2009... IN ALL PROBABILITY, when the final figures are presented, they will show that inward foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region of 19 nations continued to increase in 2005, buoyed by economic growth,...

Kuwait tackles its economic issues.(BUSINESS AND FINANCE)
March 1, 2009... CONCERN REMAINS ABOUT the state of Kuwait's economy after the government announced a new fiscal stimulus programme at the same time as plans to cut spending on social welfare and infrastructure. The proposals have provoked extensive debate as...

Gulf boosts investments in Nigeria: Dubai and Nigeria have signed a $16bn agreement that will see Dubai develop infrastructure in Nigeria, one of Africa's top oil and gas producing countries.(BUSINESS AND FINANCE)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] DUBAI NATURAL RESOURCES World (DNRW), a subsidiary of Dubai World Corporation (DWC), wholly owned by the Dubai Emirate, is to invest in a series of projects in Nigeria, specifically in the country's troubled Niger...

Iraq woos big oil players ... on its own terms.(BUSINESS AND FINANCE)
March 1, 2009... SOME OF THE world's most important energy contracts are due to be awarded by June when Iraq announces the first winners of its widely anticipated programme to attract foreign oil and gas companies. But while Baghdad's terms are surprisingly...

Bahrain--counting on experience: the global financial situation has provided Bahrain with an opportunity to consolidate its position as the longest-established banking and business hub in the Gulf region.(BUSINESS AND FINANCE)
March 1, 2009... BAHRAIN HAS IMPRESSIVE credentials as a regional banking and business hub, enjoying a more liberal economic regime than many neighbouring states while maintaining close ties to the rest of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. The...

LNG industry seeks growth despite recession.(INDUSTRY FOCUS)(liquefied natural gas)
March 1, 2009... Almost all liquefied natural gas (LNG) producers in the Middle East and North Africa have spent the past two years gearing up for expansion. Despite their export pipelines under the Mediterranean to the European Union, both Algeria and Libya...

Jewels beneath the jackboots.(MOSAIC)(cultural heritage protection)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE 2003 US-LED invasion of Iraq and subsequent deterioration of the security situation is well documented. The cost in human life and suffering has been considerable and, sadly in the long history of this troubled...

A force to be reckoned with.(MOSAIC)(crimes against Palestinians)
March 1, 2009... FOR NEARLY SEVEN years, American human rights attorney Audrey Bomse worked with the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group and United Against Torture in Israel and Palestine. But she didn't come up on Tel Aviv's radar until she was a...

New Directions in Islamic Thought: Exploring Reform and Muslim Tradition.(Books in brief)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 1, 2009... NEW DIRECTIONS IN ISLAMIC THOUGHT Exploring Reform and Muslim Tradition by Lena Larsen and Christian Moe published bY I.B Tauris ISBN 9781845117399 price 52.50 [pounds sterling] hardback [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Beaches, Ruins, Resorts: The Politics of Tourism in the Arab World.(Books in brief)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 1, 2009... BEACHES, RUINS, RESORTS The Politics of Tourism in the Arab World by Waleed Hazbun published by University of Minnesota Press ISBN 9780816654925 price $25.00 paperback [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Despite being viewed...

A World of Trouble: America in the Middle East.(Books in brief)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 1, 2009... A WORLD OF TROUBLE America in the Middle East by Patrick Tyler published by Portobello Books ISBN 9781846270208 price 25.00 [pounds sterling] hardback [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Having reviewed tens of thousands of...

The Hidden Face of Eve: Women in the Arab World.(Books in brief)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE HIDDEN FACE OF EVE Women in the Arab World by Nawal El Saadawi published by Zed Books ISBN 9781842778753 price 12.99 [pounds sterling] paperback [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Nawal El...

Cairo: A cultural and literary history.(Books in brief)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 1, 2009... CAIRO A cultural and literary history by Andrew Beattie published by Signal Books ISBN 9781902669779 price $30.00 paperback [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Andrew Beattie explores the turbulent past and the vibrant...

The Islamic Challenge in Europe.(Books in brief)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 1, 2009... THE ISLAMIC CHALLENGE IN EUROPE by Raphael Israeli published by Transaction Publications ISBN 9781412807500 price 30.95 [pounds sterling] hardback [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Since the World Trade Centre attacks in New...

The last word.(postwar reconstruction)
March 1, 2009... The tragedy of war is multi-layered and, often, the longest-suffering victims turn out to be the noncombatant civilian population: women and children left to rebuild their lives without the support of husbands and fathers killed in battle. ...