The Middle East articles from May 2008

The Middle East archives from May 2008

Comment.
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WITHIN THE SPACE of the last 12 months, I have sat in audiences at conferences in the Middle East and listened with rapt attention as three major Israeli political players have spoken about the need of the Jewish...

The Al Qaeda weapons race continues: Osama Bin Laden's infamous 'sorcerer', Midhat Mursi Al Sayyid Umar, comes back from the dead and rekindles new fears that jihadists are pursuing chemical, biological and radiological weapons.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE EGYPTIAN KNOWN as Midhat Mursi Al Sayyid Umar was supposed to be dead, killed in a US missile strike on suspected terrorists in Pakistan's turbulent northwestern tribal belt on 13 January, 2006. Pakistani...

The voice of the opposition from within: in an exclusive interview with Chris Kutschera, Nawshirwan Mustafa, the former deputy of Jalal Talabani turned publisher, speaks out about the need for reform in the Kurdish government.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)(Interview)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] KNOWN AS THE "terrible child" of the Iraqi Kurdish national movement, Nawshirwan Mustafa had risen to the highest reachable position in Suleimania. He was a member of the political bureau and deputy secretary general...

Iran's nuclear programme wins popular support.
May 1, 2008... IRAN'S DEEPLY CONSERVATIVE electorate has overwhelmingly endorsed the hardline nuclear power development policy pursued by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Islamist "Principlists" won a 70% majority in the 290-seat Majlis (Parliament) in the...

Iran insider.
May 1, 2008... NOW THE DUST has settled on the outcome of the parliamentary elections in Iran, a deeper analysis of the result of the March polls is more relevant to those with an eye on the immediate political future of the Islamic Republic and its...

The place the world forgot: Mel Frykberg sends this exclusive report from Gaza.
May 1, 2008... CROSSING THE HEAVILY militarised Erez border, which separates Israel from the Gaza Strip, machine-gun fire broke out. It was not clear who was shooting at who since there was nobody in sight. But when it died down the silence that followed it...

Turkey strikes south.(Turkish army on Iraq)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THESE ARE STRANGE days for the Turkish Republic. For many, a Twilight Zone time seems to have begun in late February, when, after more than a year of debate and political manoeuvre, declarations of intent and...

Turkey's darkest shadow.(Ergenekon's trial)
May 1, 2008... The detention in late January of 33 alleged members of a Turkish ultra-nationalist gang known as Ergenekon and consequent trial proceedings has caused a stir in Turkey. The gang's linkage to a shadowy organisation known as 'the Deep State'--a...

Fungal threat to region's food security.
May 1, 2008... A NEW AND VIRULENT agricultural fungus, previously found in Yemen and East Africa, has invaded major wheat growing areas of the Middle East. The infestation has put Iran on high alert along with several other important cereal producing...

Opening the door to foreign investment in the Arab world.
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHILE THE WORLD'S attention has been focused on the huge influx of petrodollars flowing to Arab oil producing countries, another source of bounty has also arrived without much notice: foreign direct investment (FDI)....

The Middle East exclusive business interview: in the first of a series of interviews with leading regional business and banking personalities, international economic analyst Pamela Ann Smith speaks to the chief executive officer of Kuwait's largest bank, Ibrahim Dabdoub of NBK.(BUSINESS AND FINANCE)(Interview)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE NATIONAL BANK of Kuwait (NBK) has been a pioneer in Arab banking and currently ranks among the top five banks in the Gulf with assets worth more than $27.4bn. Its chief executive officer, Ibrahim Dabdoub, has...

Saudi Arabia and the $ peg: the first impact of floating the riyal against the dollar would be to depreciate Saudi Arabia's export earnings and foreign asset holdings.
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE SAUDI ARABIAN currency, the Saudi Riyal (SR), has long been pegged to the US dollar. Currently the kingdom is experiencing strong levels of growth, on the back of the increase in oil prices. However, the US...

Africa's premier banking multinational 20.(Ecobank Group )(Company overview)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Africa's first true multinational, the Ecobank Group celebrated its 20th anniversary by recording yet another outstanding performance. Figures released in April 2008 show that in 2007, the Group's total assets...

Birth of an African champion: how it all began.(Ecobank Group)(Company overview)
May 1, 2008... The 1980s have been described as 'Africa's lost decade' when the post-independence euphoria had given way to a series of political and economic calamities. Productivity and revenue had hit the nadir while the debt mountain grew ever higher....

Innovation takes banking to the people.
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In keeping with its position as the leading African bank on the continent, Ecobank has taken the lead in introducing innovative retail products in the market. The objective is to tap into two key areas: the...

Veolia water reinforces its ambitious expansion strategy in the Middle East.(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Veolia Water AMI (Africa, Middle East and India) has established its presence in the Middle East after several years of intense development. With its successful portfolio across the region, Veolia Water, the water division of Veolia...

A world-class winner in the tourist sector.(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Dubai is confirmed as a world-class tourism destination by the latest report from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), which highlights a 14% growth, with 35bn [pounds sterling] of tourist-related projects. The tourism sector now...

Dubai World Central phase two sell-out.(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Dubai World Central (DWC) is a 140 square kilometre urban aviation community centred around the world's largest international airport. Currently under construction some 40 kilometres from the existing Dubai International Airport, the project is...

A Kurdish oil emirate?
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] NECHIRVAN BARZANI, PRIME Minister of the Iraqi Kurdish government, did not try to hide his excitement. "I am leaving in a few hours to fly to Seoul and sign a big contract with the Koreans," he told TME after a...

Riding the wave of sanctions on Syria.
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] RATCHETING UP THE US economic embargo against Syria has become a cornerstone of George Bush's Middle East policy. Yet despite an ever expanding raft of sanctions intended to put an economic sleeper hold on Damascus,...

WEF looks to 2025: the challenges currently facing the Middle East region are well recorded, but less well known are the alternative futures for the region under various scenarios, and exactly what these mean for policy-makers and business leaders today.(World Economic Forum )
May 1, 2008... THE LATEST WORLD Economic Forum to be held in Sharm El Sheikh 18-20 May sets out to take a new approach to addressing the urgent issues confronting the Middle East region, based around collaborative problem solving, experience sharing, scenario...

8th Doha Forum for democracy, development and free trade.
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I FIRST VISITED DOHA more than 20 years ago; it was a quiet, sleepy, little place, more like a small town than a capital city. The article I subsequently wrote was illustrated with a picture of the city's unusual...

Disappointment and delays dog development. on Iran's South Pars Field.
May 1, 2008... THE INTERMINABLE PROBLEMS mat have beset Iranian efforts to develop its South Pars gas field look set to continue as a result of disagreement between French firm Total and the Pars Oil and Gas Company. The Iranian government seems unwilling to...

Oil and gas to energise Iraq's economic fortunes.
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHILE OIL MAY be one of the main causes of Iraq's ongoing troubles, the national coffers will at least be boosted by rising hydrocarbon revenues. Higher oil production and record international prices have combined to...

CIB aims for bigger and better in 2008: chief executive officer of Egypt's CIB, Hisham Ezz Al Arab, talked exclusively to The Middle East.(Commercial International Bank)(Interview)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] What are your short and medium term forecasts for Egypt in terms of growth? 'Reaping the fruits of the economic reform programme' could be the title for the next phase of the Egyptian economy. The principal goal...

Pity the nation.(Arab-Israeli conflict)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] THIS MONTH ISRAEL will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of its independence. For Palestinians however, six decades of oppression and tyranny are nothing to make merry over. In this issue The Middle East looks...

Egypt's golden age of transport: Maria Golia reports from Cairo.
May 1, 2008... THE ABILITY TO move goods and people efficiently from place to place is a well-acknowledged feature of solid economies. From the dawn of the Industrial Age, steam-powered engines were put to work in locomotives, providing the transport and...

The Arab film industry.(MOSAIC)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE HISTORY OF the Arab film industry begins very much as it did in the United States and Europe with melodramatic films of love and betrayal dominating the output. The introduction of sound saw the music industry...

Conflict of loyalty.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2008... CONFLICT OF LOYALTY by Geoffrey Howe published by Politico's ISBN 9781842751961 price 16.99 [pounds sterling] paperback [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Conflict of Loyalty, first published in 1994 and reissued due to popular demand, is the life...

Iraq Endgame? Surge, Suffering and the Politics of Denial.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2008... IRAQ ENDGAME? SURGE, SUFFERING AND THE POLITICS OF DENIAL by Geoff Simons published by Politico's ISBN 9871842752210 price 14.99 [pounds sterling] hardback [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Iraq Endgame? is a graphic and detailed account of Iraq,...

The First Islamist Republic: Development and Disintegration of Islamism in the Sudan.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2008... THE FIRST ISLAMIST REPUBLIC DEVELOPMENT AND DISINTEGRATION OF ISLAMISM IN THE SUDAN by Abdullahi A Gallab published by Ashgate ISBN 9780754671626 price 55.00 [pounds sterling] hardback [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This publication sets out...

The Politics of Chaos in the Middle East.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2008... THE POLITICS OF CHAOS IN THE MIDDLE EAST by Olivier Roy published by Hurst and Company ISBN 9871850658948 Price 12.99 [pounds sterling] paperback [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Olivier Roy debates the consequences of the 'war on terror' in...

The Umma and the Dawla: the Nation Sate and the Arab Middle East.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2008... THE UMMA AND THE DAWLA THE NATION SATE AND THE ARAB MIDDLE EAST by Tamim Al Barghouti published by Pluto Press ISBN 9780745327709 price 17.99 [pounds sterling] paperback [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This book contrasts colonially induced...

An Israeli in Palestine: Resisting Dispossession, Redeeming Israel.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2008... AN ISRAELI IN PALESTINE RESISTING DISPOSSESSION, REDEEMING ISRAEL by Jeff Halper published by Pluto Press ISBN 9780745322261 price 16.99 [pounds sterling] paperback [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In An Israeli in Palestine, Jeff Halper throws...

The last word.(The Arab Summit)(Conference news)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] They came, they saw--or pretended to see--talked (at each other) and they went; half the leaders of nations we in the media call 'the Arab world' even though half its inhabitants are not ethnically Arab. The Arab...