The Middle East articles from November 2003

The Middle East archives from November 2003

The population time bomb: forget weapons of mass destruction: the biggest challenge to the Arab world is not to be found in the laboratories of evil scientists, but in countless cradles in the homes of Arab families.(Current Affairs)
November 1, 2003... From the bidonville slums ringing Casablanca, to the vast housing tracts fanning out from the Creek in Dubai, soaring populations are posing unique economic and social challenges to Arab governments. Two generations after independence--and...

The end game? Gun law prevails on the Iraqi street with politicians and ordinary civilians seemingly equally vulnerable.(Iraq)
November 1, 2003... The on-going changes in Iraq have begun to bear fruit on all fronts, just as the six months' anniversary of the first new military occupation of the 21st century drew to a close. The political assassinations of two senior politicians and an...

An international inequity: the Israelis point to the 'peace line' in Northern Ireland, built to keep the warring religious factions apart, to justify continuing their own eight metre high concrete construction but the real similarities are to be found with the apartheid regime in the South Africa of the 1970s and 1980s. Brian O'Dubhlaigh reports from Ramallah.(Palestine)
November 1, 2003... Serious disquiet is fermenting in several of the major international operating in the Occupied Territories. As Israel continues to defy international human rights law and international humanitarian standards in failing to provide for the...

The beginning of a new time: Mariam Shahin writes from the West Bank.(Palestine Diary)
November 1, 2003... As the wall of apartheid continued to stretch across the West Bank and Palestinians marked the three year anniversary of the start of the Al Aqsa Intifada on 29 September, the changes wrought over three years of war, have crystallised in the...

Now you see it, now you don't ... Jon Gorvett reports from Istanbul on the latest developments in the turbulent issue of Turkey's entry to the European Union.(Turkey)
November 1, 2003... With each summit of the European Union appearing to bring the prospect of future membership tantalisingly closer--only for some incident to then whisk that possibility still further away--most Turks have learned over the years to take promises...

Bracing for terror: the threat of terrorism is an ever present one in major towns and cities around the world and, tragically, another major incident may be only a matter of time away, according to international security forces.(Regional)
November 1, 2003... When former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher narrowly survived an attempt to assassinate her and several key government members with a bomb, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) sent her a message: "You have to be lucky all the time. We just...

And so it goes on ... Adel Darwish recently visited Israel after an absence of 10 years.(Israel)
November 1, 2003... There were two lines at the narrow entrance to El-Al, Israel airlines check-in counter at Tel Aviv airport last month. Israeli passport holders moved with relative ease. We British, and other European passport holders, hardly moved at all. In...

Here is the news: the advent of satellite television has changed the nature of censorship and news dissemination in the Middle East region forever. More information is freely available than ever before and from street cafes in Cairo to the commercial district of Kuwait City, everyone has an opinion.(Iraq)
November 1, 2003... By its own admission, post-war Iraq hasn't turned out quite like the Bush administration expected. Nearly half a year after the war ended, resistance to the American military presence is stubbornly refusing to go away, claiming the lives of...

A worthy winner: the news that Iran's Shirin Ebadi was the Nobel Peace Prize winner came as a surprise to many, not least the peace laureate herself.(Iran)
November 1, 2003... "It is a pleasure for the Norwegian Nobel committee to award the Peace Prize to a woman who is part of the Muslim world, and of whom the world can be proud. As a lawyer, judge, lecturer, writer and activist, she has spoken out clearly and...

$2 billion & rising: while Iraqis are counting the cost of the US invasion, some small, privileged sections of American society are counting their profits.(Business & Finance)
November 1, 2003... Operation Iraqi Freedom has proved a financial windfall for Halliburton, the company formerly headed by American Vice President Dick Cheney. From a second quarter 2001 loss of $498m, the company has reported a net profit of $26m in the same...

Saudi Aramco makes new oil discovery.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... * Saudi Aramco has reported a new gas discovery at the Awtad-I well located west of the Haradh area of the Ghawar Field and southeast of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The well has a production capacity of 32m cubic feet per day of sweet gas and 640...

Shell offers Indian gas firm minority stake in Egyptian gas field.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... * Oil major Royal Dutch/Shell has offered India's GAIL gas firm a 15% stake in an offshore gas field in Egypt. GAIL is eyeing stakes in overseas projects in order to meet the growing domestic gas demand.

Qatar Petroleum Development to manage Al Karkara oil field.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... * Qatar Petroleum and Qatar Petroleum Development have signed an agreement for the full field development of Al Karkara and A-North structure oil field. The total development cost for the project is expected to be around $126.5m

KFH establishes consultancy firm in Bahrain.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... * The Bahrain Monetary Agency has granted a licence to Kuwait Finance House to operate an in-house investment consultancy firm. Baytik Investment Advisory, based in Bahrain, will be wholly owned by KFH.

Global Investment House selected as lead manager for $100m PWC bond issue.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... * Kuwait's Global Investment House has been mandated by the Emirate's Public Warehousing Company (PWC) as the sole underwriter and lead manager to its bond issue in the equivalent amount of up to $100m.

International consortium arranges $150m loan facility for UNB.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... * An international banking consortium comprising the Arab Banking Corporation (ABC) has been mandated on a fully underwritten basis to arrange and syndicate, on behalf of Union National Bank (UNB), a debut three-year $150m term loan facility....

US to fight terrorism with trade: Larry Luxner reports from Washington on American aims to promote bilateral understanding in Arab and other Muslim states through commerce.(Washington)
November 1, 2003... Free-trade agreements (FTA) with specific countries are not enough to combat Middle East terrorism and the Islamist extremism that feeds it, argues a prominent American expert, Brink Lindsey, director of the Centre for Trade Policy Studies at...

Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company signs 16m [euro] contract with Alcatel.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... * French telecommunication giant Alcatel has been selected by the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) to provide a full turnkey telecommunications network and associated services for their internal communication needs. The 16m...

Saudi Amiantit wins 51% ownership in Russian wastewater projects.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... * Saudi Arabian Amiantit, through its group company AmiWater, is the leading partner in a joint venture contract for two projects in Russia that have a total value of $30m. AmiWater's Austrian subsidiary InfraMan has 51% of the joint venture...

OPEC Fund finances fight against desertification in North Africa.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... * The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Fund for International Development has approved a grant of $300,000 to support a programme designed to help protect dry land countries in North and West Africa.

World Bank grants $12.5m to West Bank Emergency Water Project.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... * The World Bank has approved a grant of $12.5m for an Emergency Water Project. The project is part of a broader $75m programme, supported by the United States Agency for International Development and the French Development Agency.

A long-term approach: the emirates are pursuing a policy of regional cooperation to get the best out of their natural gas reserves.(UAE)
November 1, 2003... Rather than trying to compete with gas rich Qatar for regional and overseas markets, the UAE has adopted a policy of cooperation in its new gas marketing strategy, which, it is hoped, will reduce oil dependency in the longer term. The UAE...

Qtel sponsored ITU-BDT Regional Seminar.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... * The Qtel sponsored ITU-BDT Regional Seminar on IMT-2000 for the Arab region reached a successful conclusion in October, meeting the seminar's objectives of debating the role of technology in today's society and how global solutions can help...

Keeping OPEC together.(Regional)
November 1, 2003... OPEC's demise has often been predicted but the oil cartel continues to effectively buoy world oil prices. Despite rising production flora non-OPEC producers and shaky quota discipline flora several member states, the organisation has a track...

Orascom Construction to build Nigerian cement plant.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... * Egypt's Orascom Construction Industries' wholly owned subsidiary Cementech has been awarded two contracts valued at $54.8m by the Dangote Group for the establishment of two cement plants in Nigeria.

Tantalum Egypt wins Nuweibi exploration licence.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... * The Directors of Gippsland have reported that the company's 50%-owned joint venture company Tantalum Egypt has been granted an exploration licence over a 16sq km area of land in Egypt, which includes the 82m ton Nuweibi tantalum-feldspar...

CHC renews $5m Kuwaiti helicopter deal.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... * CHC Helicopters International has been awarded a two-year contract extension with the Kuwait Gulf Oil Company and Aramco Gulf Operations Company for the provision of one Bell 212 helicopter to be based in the Gulf. The contract is expected to...

Eldorado Gold reports 11% increase in Turkish gold reserves.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... * Eldorado Gold Corporation has reported an 11% increase in mineable reserves at its Kisladag Gold Project located in western Turkey, increasing the reserves to 5.1m ounces.

Gippsland enters Egyptian feldspar off-take agreement with European consortium.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... * Australia's Gippsland has entered into a Heads of Agreement with a major European group of companies for the off-take of 2.65m tons of micronised ceramic grade feldspar to be produced at the Company's 40m ton Abu Dabbab tantalum-feldspar...

SITA wins contract to develop IT systems at six Egyptian airports.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... * Aviation Information Technology (AVIT) at Cairo International Airport Company (CIAC) and the Egyptian Airports Company (EAC) have selected SITA to integrate applications across its IT infrastructure and manage its systems as well as those of...

Does size matter? Iran has announced an impressive new oil discovery but having vast reserves and exploiting them are two very different things, as Tehran knows to its cost.(Iran)
November 1, 2003... Much publicity has been given to recent massive oil finds in Iran--justifiably so, given the scale of the new discoveries. Yet while new reserves are always welcome, it is easy to overestimate their importance to the development of the...

Regional leaders in Internet penetration.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... * A survey on IT connectivity in the Middle East recorded Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) lead the Arab countries on the total connectivity front for 2003. Qatar was the leader with the highest score recorded on a...

Pirelli supplies fiber optic link between Kuwait and Iran.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... * Emirates Telecommunications and Marine Services in the United Arab Emirates has awarded Pirelli the contract for supplying submarine and land fiber optic cables, terminal transmission equipment and accessories for a project that will link...

Orascom bids for $100m telecom network in Yemen.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... * Egypt's Orascom Telecom, Telecom Egypt and National Communications are bidding for a tender in Yemen to develop a telecom network. The cost of the project Os estimated at $100m.

New treasures emerge: with the wealth of attractions Egypt has to offer, who could have believed there were further treasures to be unearthed? But there were.(Egypt)
November 1, 2003... As long ago as anyone can remember Egypt has had a magical and unique appeal. For generations the wonders of Cairo and Luxor have attracted discerning tourists but in recent years the Red Sea resorts have found favour with increasing numbers of...

Al Jazeera: the satellite station of the Arab nation spreads its wings.(Al Jazeera Channel)
November 1, 2003... As the drums of war in the Gulf grew louder, all eyes were on the Arabic language, television news channel Al Jazeera. Iraq was no Afghanistan, where Al Jazeera had virtually acted as the "news agency of the world", as one western based...

The pain of giving birth to Kurdish cinema: the work of Kurdish film director Bahman Ghobadi has found great favour with international critics. Chris Kutschera talked to Ghobadi at a Kurdish film festival in France.(Mosaic)
November 1, 2003... Although always smiling or laughing, Bahman Ghobadi is not a happy man. The reason he is not happy is because as a film director in a country where his industry is still stuttering, he must take responsibility for the entire process of every...

The ancient art of Tunisian ceramics.(Mosaic)
November 1, 2003... As we walked through Nabeul, Tunisia's ceramic capital, I could hardly believe my eyes. Everywhere I looked, colourful ceramics and unglazed pottery filled the shelves of countless shops, and spilled onto the sidewalks. Bowls, ewers, jugs,...

Modern Iraqi Art: discourse with the past and a vision of the future.(Mosaic)
November 1, 2003... Kerim Rissin, probably the first Iraqi artist to exhibit outside his country after the downfall of Saddam's regime, is a man with a burning ambition to rediscover Iraq's artistic heritage and translate it into contemporary language. "I want to...

Israel, the Hashemites and the Palestinians: the Fateful Triangle.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Edited by Efraim Karsh and P.R. Kumaraswamy published by Frank Cass ISBN 0 7146 5434 5 price 45.00 [pounds sterling] hardback This volume provides a wide ranging historical survey of the special relationship between the Zionist movement and...

The Charitable Crescent: Politics of Aid in the Muslim World.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... By Jonathan Benthall and Jerome Bellion-Jourdan published by IB TAURIS ISBN: 1 86064 901 7 price 39.50 [pounds sterling] hardback 'Islamic Charity under Suspicion': such headlines have become familiar since the attacks on the United States...

Islam in the Digital Age: E-Jihad, Online Fatwas and Cyber Islamic Environments.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... By Gary R. Bunt published by Pluto Press ISBN 07453 20988 price: 14.99 [pounds sterling] paperback ISBN 0 7453 20996 price: 45.00 [pounds sterling] hardback The Internet is an increasingly important source of information for many people in...

Bedouin.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... By Alan Keohane published by Kyle Cathie ISBN 1 85626 545 5 price 16.99 [pounds sterling] paperback The Bedu people, whose name embodies the very idea of nomads, have lived for centuries in the vast, inhospitable deserts of the Middle...

Arab Economic Integration: Between Hope and Reality.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Edited by Ahmed Galal and Bernard Hoekman published by Brookings Institution Press ISBN 0 8157 3031 4 price $20.95 paperback Improving the economic performance of Arab countries is now more critical than ever. The region faces high...

The Making of Modern Iran: State and Society Under Riza Shah, 1921-1941.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... Edited by Stephanie Cronin published by RoutledgeCurzon ISBN 0 415 30284 6 price 50,00 [pounds sterling] hardback This collection of essays, by a distinguished group of specialists, offers a new and exciting interpretation of Riza Shah's...

A Lake Beyond the Wind.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... By Yahya Yakhlif translated by May Jayyusi and Christopher Tingley Published by Arris Books ISBN 184437 014 3 price 6.99 [pounds sterling] paperback The year is 1948, the place, Samakh, a small town on Lake Tiberias, north of Jerusalem....

Terrorism: Inside a World Phenomenon.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
November 1, 2003... By Barry Davies BEM published by Virgin books ISSN 1 85227 964 8 price 18.99 [pounds sterling] hardback Although terrorism is nothing new, the power and expertise of the terrorist has increased dramatically and alarmingly over the years....

The last crusade.(The Last Word)
November 1, 2003... In an interview with The Middle East magazine, published in June 2001, Edward Said said he would not be giving many more interviews. Ten years of struggling with leukaemia and the effects of treatment, were by then taking their toll on the...