The Middle East articles from November 2008

The Middle East archives from November 2008

Comment.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IT'S OFFICIAL, THE credit crunch is global and, in this economic climate, governments are falling under increasing pressure to stop the rot. Multi-billion-pound and dollar- bail-outs will go some way to easing...

The Al Qaeda enigma: as the US election looms, American leaders boast that the jihadists have been defeated, but, intelligence analysts warn, they are far from beaten and remain 'the most serious terrorist threat to the United States'.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
November 1, 2008... General Michael Hayclen, director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), has declared that Al Qaeda is on the ropes, a spent force. "We saw the strategic defeat of Al Qaeda in Iraq on 30 May, the near strategic defeat for Al Qaeda in Saudi...

Running out of time: fifteen years after Oslo, hopes of a peace deal predicated on a two-state formula are evaporating and the Palestinians are scrambling for other options.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
November 1, 2008... AHMED QUREI, THE senior Palestinian peace negotiator and a leading figure in Fatah, warned, in a largely unreported speech in Ramallah on 10 August, that if the peace process did not move towards a final settlement soon, the Palestinians would...

Is Israel ready to give peace a chance?(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
November 1, 2008... MEL FRYKBERG reports from the occupied territories. ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER Tzipi Livni has been negotiating with the leaders of political parties from across Israel's political spectrum in an endeavour to cobble together a coalition. ...

Looking at Livni.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IT COULD HAVE been a scene out of a James Bond film or a John Le Carre novel. In 1980 an attractive and intelligent 22-year-old Israeli girl was suddenly spirited away from her compulsory military service and dropped...

Promises, promises: made, kept and broken.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE TALIBAN MOVEMENT should have been weakened for many reasons but like the multi-headed hydra of mythology this once obscure Middle Ages movement seems to possess the ability to restore itself. As the military...

Waiting for the right to return: what the Palestinians want and need is a homeland, but for the present they are scattered across the face of the globe with others, similarly deprived, who have been forced to flee in search of temporary security from oppression and death.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
November 1, 2008... THE VARIOUS CONFLICTS that have been waged in the Middle East have displaced millions of people, many of whom have never returned. As refugees, they place social, economic and political pressure on any country which takes them in. For the...

A tangled web.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
November 1, 2008... THE 20TH-CENTURY'S COLD War was fought on many fronts and by a variety of means that are sometimes difficult to untangle. What is certain is that, as far as the Middle East was concerned, the Soviet Union, despite its not always friendly...

Signs and wonders.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "UPTOWN CAIRO" IS, according to the sales pitch, a "soaring example of luxury and elegance". In reality, it is a real-estate development aimed at rich young Egyptians, which is currently being built on the Muqattam...

Attack on Iran not ruled out.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
November 1, 2008... BY IMEL FRYKBERG in the Occupied Territories FOR MONTHS NOW, journalists, analysts and diplomats have been debating the pros and cons as to whether the Israelis would actually go ahead with such a provocative mission, whether their American...

Iraq: a success or just a political ball game?(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
November 1, 2008... MILAN VESELY reports from the US. THE $10-BILLION-A-MONTH COST of the Iraqi occupation has been hotly debated by presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain, more so following the bail-out of the US financial system. Credited...

You can have it all.(WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE)
November 1, 2008... WOMEN'S INEQUALITY IN the workplace is not a phenomenon exclusive to the Middle East region. A recent survey found that in the United States, as well as the major capitals of Europe, the top jobs in all professional fields were very much...

Lyric woman: from the Omani fragrance house of Amouage.(SCENTS)
November 1, 2008... THIS YEAR THE House of Amouage is celebrating its 25th Anniversary and with it the launch of a sensational new fragrance Lyric Woman. Amouage was founded at the request of Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the handsome, enigmatic ruler of Oman, to...

Changing times in a changing world.
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THERE IS NOTHING new about traditional, conservative values being challenged by younger generations of more liberal thinkers. Nor is it unusual that those who force the moral boundaries back are often scantily-clad...

Good health and good living.
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] REDUCE YOUR RISK How often do we think about our diet and activity level? Usually, it is when our thoughts turn to losing weight. We focus on the short-term results, achieved by changing our eating and exercise...

Islamic banking: text and tables by economic analyst Moin Siddiqi.(SPECIAL REPORT 2008)
November 1, 2008... Islamic banking is steadily moving into the mainstream of conventional financial systems and has remained largely insulated from the global credit crisis. It is expanding not only in the Muslim world, but also in other countries where Muslims...

Oil's troubled waters: The Middle East examines some of the trouble spots threatening the global oil supply.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)
November 1, 2008... IRAN'S INCREASINGLY STRIDENT threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, the only gateway to the Gulf through which one fifth of the world's oil flows, if it is attacked by the United States or Israel, is causing growing concern around the globe....

The profits of piracy soar: organised piracy has become big business in and around the Gulf of Aden, with international banks and insurance companies bearing the brunt of the illegal and unscrupulous practice.
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE GULF OF Aden is listed as a maritime danger zone, with piracy now a major issue. And with 15 merchant ships and 150 crew members under hijacker control in the Somali port of Eyl, what started out as a few Somali...

Gulf set to weather financial storm.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] INVESTORS IN THE Gulf, both public and private, are looking more closely to home following the unprecedented financial turmoil that sent global stock markets plunging last month despite efforts by the US and Europe...

A return to the marshes? The wetlands of Iraq and the Marsh Arabs that lived there were a source of fascination and inspiration for centuries until, in an act of barbarism, former president Saddam Hussein ordered that they should be drained. Now, an exciting new plan aims to reclaim areas of the devastated wetlands and attempt to return them to their former glory.(MOSAIC)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] TWO UNITED NATIONS organisations have announced a plan to designate the Fertile Crescent of Iraq a World Heritage Site. It is the largest wetland in the Middle East and reputedly the cradle of the first Mesopotamian...

Luxor: the largest open-air museum in the world.(MOSAIC)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BEFORE THE SUN begins to shed its light--and ridiculous heat--over the many wonders across Luxor, the city's residents are busy preparing for the day ahead. Tourism is their livelihood, involving many thousands of...

A village called Jimzu.(MOSAIC)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AT THE ARAB American National Museum in Dearborn, Mitchigan, a special niche exhibits a simple handmade map, extraordinary for being the only one of its kind, drawn from memory by a Palestinian expelled from his...

Arab Awakening & Islamic Revival.
November 1, 2008... ARAB AWAKENING & ISLAMIC REVIVAL THE POLITICS OF IDEAS IN THE MIDDLE EAST by Martin Kramer published by Transaction ISBN 9781412807678 price 24.95 [pounds sterling] paperback [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The first part...

Tell Me How This Ends.
November 1, 2008... TELL ME HOW THIS ENDS GENERAL DAVID PETRAEUS AND THE SEARCH FOR A WAY OUT OF IRAQ by Linda Robinson published by Public Affairs ISBN 9781586485283 price 16.99 [pounds sterling] hardback [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Iranian Photography Now.
November 1, 2008... IRANIAN PHOTOGRAPHY NOW edited by Rose Issa published by Hatje Cantz ISBN 9783775722575 price 30.00 [pounds sterling] hardback [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Iranian Photography Now offers a broad spectrum of artistic...

Backstabbing for Beginners.
November 1, 2008... BACKSTABBING FOR BEGINNERS MY CRASH COURSE IN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY by Michael Soussan published by Nation Books ISBN 9781568583976 Price 15.99 [pounds sterling] hardback [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] From the...

Lebanese Cinema.
November 1, 2008... LEBANESE CINEMA IMAGINING THE CIVIL WAR AND BEYOND by Lina Khatib published by IB Tauris ISBN9781845116286 price 16.95 [pounds sterling] paperback [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Modern Lebanese cinema can best be...

Jewish Property Claims Against Arab Countries.
November 1, 2008... JEWISH PROPERTY CLAIMS AGAINST ARAB COUNTRIES by Michael R. Fischbach published by Columbia ISBN 9780231135382 price 20.50 [pounds sterling] hardback [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In this book, Michael R. Fischbach...

Eid around the world.
November 1, 2008... Last month, Muslims around the world celebrated Eil-al-Fitr. The thee day festival, which begins after the sighting of a new crescent moon marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. SAUDI ARABIA [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IRAN ...