The Middle East articles from November 2004

The Middle East archives from November 2004

Comment.
November 1, 2004... AFGHANISTAN PROVED invaluable as a propaganda tool for US President George W. Bush in his campaign for re-election. When quizzed on the pervading turmoil in Iraq, where violence, the death toll and the cost to the US taxpayer, increase on an...

Chaos, despair & unthinkable options.(Current Affairs)
November 1, 2004... The United States has said that there will be elections in Iraq next January come hell or high water. Political analysts generally agree that such a move would be premature by years. Much of Iraq teeters to on the brink of anarchy with little...

A sinister campaign: the lawlessness which is hampering Iraq's economic recovery is masking a sinister campaign of assassinations targeting the country's intellectuals.(Iraq)
November 1, 2004... ACCORDING TO THE Iraqi Union of University Lecturers more than 250 academics have been killed since the American occupation began. Among the victims are a number of senior faculty members, including a university president and several deans. ...

Light at the end of the tunnel?(Turkey/EU)
November 1, 2004... FOR MOST PEOPLE, 40 YEARS would be a long time to wait for something as nebulous as a promise. No surprise then that since it first applied for membership of the European Union (EU) back in 1963, Turkey's long march towards Brussels has been...

The enemy within ... Jewish right-wing zealots step up their threats on the life of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as political tension over his proposed withdrawal from Gaza mounts.(Israel)
November 1, 2004... RIGHT-WING OPPOSITION in Israel to Ariel Sharon's plan to disengage from the Gaza Strip and abandon the Jewish settlements there is mounting by the day. Security authorities have warned that religious extremists may seek to assassinate the...

Turkmen trouble causes anxiety in Ankara: Jon Gorvett reports from Istabul on the increasing concern over the power struggle between Iraq's ethnic groups and in particular those with historic links with Turkey.(Turkey)
November 1, 2004... WHEN US BOMBS BEGAN falling on the largely Turkmen city of Tal Arfa in Northern Iraq mid-September, it was not only there that the alarm bells began ringing. In Ankara too, foreign ministry officials sat up and took notice. The operation,...

www.irantopsites.com: as Internet growth increases worldwide, are the Iranian authorities fighting a losing battle with their struggle to censor and control?(Current Affairs)
November 1, 2004... THIS YEAR OVER SEVEN million Iranians are expected to log on to the Internet. The government in Tehran also estimates that up to 15m Iranians out of a total population of some 70m will be logging on to the Web by the end of 2006 and this figure...

Top companies report.(Special Report)(Cover Story)
November 1, 2004... THIS MONTH WE BRING YOU our definitive list of the Top Companies in the Arab World for 2004, which has proved to be a very interesting and revealing exercise. Conducting such an exercise brought about heated debate. What is a top company?...

Arms deal under fire: the proposed sale of multibillion dollar advanced US air-to-air missiles and other systems to Egypt and Jordan is causing some bad dreams in Washington and Tel Aviv.(Egypt/Israel)
November 1, 2004... WHEN GEORGE W. BUSH started dishing out weapons to friendly Arab states, and anyone else that joined the Americans in the war against global terrorism, many in Congress were aghast. "God help us if Hosni Mubarak falls or gets shot, because...

Sales of mineral and pure drinking water in UAE boom.(United Arab Emirates)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Sales of mineral and pure drinking water, one of the fastest growing segments in the food and beverage industry in the UAE, have increased hugely in recent years, with a possibility of continuous future growth, claim industry sources.

Lebanon gets 45m [euro] loan for water projects in two coastal towns.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The European Investment Bank, the European Union's financing institution, has granted a 45m [euro] loan for the upgrading and extension of sewerage infrastructure in the coastal towns of Saida and Sour in southern Lebanon.

UAE leads developing world in arms purchases.(United Arab Emirates)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The United Arab Emirates was the leading developing world arms buyer from 1996-2003, with purchases reaching $15.7bn, according to a US government report.

Gulf Air and Standard Chartered Bank sign $65m loan agreement.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Gulf Air and Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) have signed a syndicated loan agreement for the provision of $65m to be used to finance continued investments as part of the airline's three-year restructuring programme.

GCC states hold $1.5 trillion in private liquidity.(Gulf Cooperation Council)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The private liquidity in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region is in excess of $2.3 trillion--of which some $1.5 trillion is in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.

Britain to raise investments in Egypt.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The British government has pledged to increase its investments in Egypt from the current 18bn [pounds sterling] to 25bn [pounds sterling].

Multibillion $ illicit drugs sales fuel terror offensive: evidence that the international drugs trade is largely funding world terrorism is persuasive. However, though some small successes have been achieved, the solution to either or both problems remains evasive.(Business & Finance)
November 1, 2004... "THE AMERICAN DRUG consumer is the single most important funder of terrorism in this hemisphere," John Waiters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, recently told police chiefs from 90 countries at a conference in...

ADCB signs $40m project finance deal with Horizon Djibouti Terminals.(Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) has signed a US$40m (Dh147m) project finance deal with Horizon Djibouti Terminals Ltd SAZF.

Emirates Airline & Arsenal Football Club sign 100m [pounds sterling] deal.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Emirates Airline and Arsenal Football Club have signed the biggest club sponsorship in football history, collectively worth some 100m [pounds sterling] (Dh662.2m).

Oil price surge could undermine demand.(Business & Finance)
November 1, 2004... The price of crude oil, the world's most heavily traded commodity, has surged more than 60% this year to levels not seen since August 1990 following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. While the position of the world's leading producers may seem...

NBO set to merge operations with BankMuscat (SAOG).(National Bank of Oman)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... BankMuscat (SAOG), Oman's largest Bank and the Board of Directors of National Bank of Oman (NBO), the nation's second largest bank, have approved a proposal to merge NBO with BankMuscat. NBO's net worth has been considered at OR100m ($259m)....

Marriott International to add three hotels in Doha.(Al Rayan Tourism Investment Company W.L.L.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Marriott International (NYSE: MAR) will add three hotels to its lodging portfolio in Doha, Qatar, under a management agreement reached with Al Rayan Tourism Investment Company W.L.L. (FBQHC). The hotels include a 250-room Renaissance property;...

Ducab awarded new contract in Dubai.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Ducab, the leading manufacturer of high quality power cables in the Middle East, has been awarded the prestigious Cable System contract for Dubai Electricity and Water Authority's (DEWA) new 750MW 'L' Power Station in Jebel Ali.

Iran to produce $20bn of petrochemical products.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Iranian exports of industrial and petrochemical products reached $1.28bn in the first quarter of the current Iranian year. Iran intends to produce 70m tons of various petrochemical products, valued at $20bn, per annum by the end of 2010.

Gulf Extrusions to enter Qatari market.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... In a move to expand its export market in the GCC countries, Gulf Extrusions, the UAE-based market leader in aluminium extrusion in the GCC region, has announced new plans to target the booming construction sector in Qatar with custom-built...

SAFCO enters loan agreement to build new fertiliser plant in Al Jubail.(Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Co.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Co. (SAFCO) has entered into a loan agreement with a consortium of local and Gulf banks to the tune of SR1.24bn ($330m) for the construction of its fourth fertiliser plant in Al Jubail Industrial City.

Sanjeeda's story: Sanjeeda is unique. She is the only two-masted lateen-rigged dhow plying the Indian Ocean. Stephen Williams met with the owner, Anderson Bakewell, to talk about the boat's remarkable story.(Mosaic)
November 1, 2004... THE INSPIRATION FOR Sanjeeda, a cruise dhow, began when British musicologist Anderson Bakewell was visiting Madagascar. He was trying to reach a remote coastal village but heavy storm rains had washed away the only road that provided access to...

Wall.(Mosaic)(Movie Review)
November 1, 2004... SIMONE BITTON IS NO ORDINARY woman: The daughter of a Jewish jeweller, she was born in 1955 in Morocco, where she spoke French at school and Arabic at home. In 1966, her family emigrated to Israel, and she learned Hebrew. In 1973, during the...

Terror Tracker.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... TERROR TRACKER An odyssey into pure fear By Neil Doyle published by Mainstream publishing ISBN 1 84018 874 x price 15.99 [pounds sterling] hardback An ominous black plume was billowing from the World Trade Centre in New York City. A...

Iran in Crisis?(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... IRAN IN CRISIS? Nuclear Ambitions and the American Response By Roger Howard published by Zed Books N 184277 474 3 39.95 [pounds sterling] $55.00 hardback ISBN 1 84277 475 1 12.99 [pounds sterling] $17.50 paperback Since the overthrow of...

The Tears of Sheba.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... THE TEARS OF SHEBA Tales of Survival and Intrigue in Arabia By Khadija Al Salami with Charles Hoots published by Wiley ISBN 0 470 86725 6 price 16.99 [pounds sterling] hardback Yemen in the 1960s was a country torn apart by civil war, as...

Shared Land/Conflicting Identity.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... SHARED LAND/CONFLICTING IDENTITY Trajectories of Israeli and Palestinian Symbol Use Edited by Robert C. Rowland and David A, Frank published by Michigan State University Press ISBN 0 87013 635 6 price $74.95 hardback This book argues that...

Turkey a Modern History.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... TURKEY A MODERN HISTORY By Erik J. Zurcher published by IB TAURIS ISBN 1 86064 958 0 price 15.95 [pounds sterling] paperback Turkey's recent history has been marked by momentous political transformation and the rapid evolution of all...

Islamic Movements.(Islamic Movements Impact on Political stability in the Arab World)(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... ISLAMIC MOVEMENTS Impact on Political stability in the Arab World Published by Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research ISBN 9 94800 413 2 price 18.95 [pounds sterling] paperback This book is a major new study of political Islam...

Doha debate.(The Last Word)
November 1, 2004... "ARAB GOVERNMENTS are not serious about genuine reform" was a motion debated in public at the Qatari Foundation in Doha in October. Sponsored by Sheikha Mouza, the wife of Qatari leader Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, himself one of the...