The Middle East articles from October 2003

The Middle East archives from October 2003

Comment.(Editorial)
October 1, 2003... Peace on any terms is not acceptable to the Palestinians now, nor will it ever be. Too much suffering and humiliation has been endured, too many lives have been lost in the struggle for survival against the might of the Israeli military machine...

US chickens come home to roost: there will be "no going back" said President George W. Bush announcing he will seek an additional $87bn from Congress to fund his wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But American taxpayers are anxious that the spiralling cost of American military action in the Middle East could bring the US economy to its knees.(Current Affairs)
October 1, 2003... As donors from some 50 countries prepare to meet in Madrid later this month to consider funding the reconstruction of Iraq, questions are increasingly being raised in the heartland of the US, as well as in Washington, about the escalating costs...

An occupation with no strategy: Mariam Shabin reports from Baghdad.(Current Affairs)
October 1, 2003... Nearly six months after the US President George W. Bush declared the war in Iraq over, nothing is more apparent than that the war for the soul and mind of Iraq is anything but won. The lack of planning and knowledge that underlies the ongoing...

Iran considers the odds: the Bush administration accuses Tehran of harbouring Al Qaeda terrorists and of trying to develop weapons of mass destruction; Iran blames America for supporting the Mujahedeen-el-Khalq and of interfering in its internal affairs. So who is in the driving seat; which party has the advantage in the diplomatic cat-and-mouse game that has developed as the US increasingly looks for a way out of the Iraqi quagmire?(Iran)
October 1, 2003... Much of the world's attention is focused on the hunt for Saddam Hussein by the US military and their specially set up Task Force 20. Administration officials trumpet the capture or killing of every minor functionary, the deaths of Saddam's sons...

Meanwhile, in Afghanistan Iranian money talks ...(Current Affairs)
October 1, 2003... As the United States gets increasingly bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush administration is looking for a scapegoat. By accusing the Tehran government of nuclear ambitions and stirring up student unrest in the country through its...

Monitoring the military might: the once all-powerful Turkish military machine is playing a less obvious role in domestic politics but its influence should not be underestimated. Jon Gorvett reports from Istanbul.(Turkey)
October 1, 2003... Last month marked the 23rd anniversary of Turkey's last military coup. That milestone, together with the recent reform of the country's political structure-and debates over the country's policy towards Iraq--have refocused attention on one of...

Grasping the nettle: there is mounting pressure to send an international peacekeeping force to help deal with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While the latter are all for it the idea is causing deep consternation in Tel Aviv.(Palestine)
October 1, 2003... With the ceasefire between Palestinians and Israelis lurching towards collapse and another convulsion of all-out violence, the idea of an international military force to keep the two sides apart, and even impose a settlement, is being mooted....

Still dancing to Arafat's tune: in September Mahmoud Abbas resigned as Palestinian Prime Minister, despite strong support from Washington, to be replaced by Ahmed Qurei. But will this change in the PA leadership structure herald a change of direction?(Palestine)
October 1, 2003... The "Israeli-American axis of persuasion by brute force and subversive measures" failed yet again to impose its will on the Palestinians as Yasser Arafat scored another internal victory while never leaving his besieged compound in the West Bank...

U$ or U[euro]? The US and Europe are competing to win the economic allegiance of the Arab and Muslim countries of the Middle East, promising access to finance and markets within vast new trading blocs.(Business & Finance)
October 1, 2003... Like a bride being courted by two suitors, the countries of North Africa and the Levant are being enticed to "marry" one of two competing trading blocs. Behind the courtship lie complex political and economic motives. Globalisation is a driving...

Ivanhoe Energy plans GTL facility in Egypt.(gas to liquid)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... * Canada's Ivanhoe Energy has indicated further advancements to the Ivanhoe/CITIC worldwide strategic alliance and plans to commence discussions relating to a proposed gas to liquid (GTL) facility in Egypt.

CB&I wins EPC gas storage contract in Qatar.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... * Engineering firm CB&I has been awarded a lump-sum turnkey contract valued in excess of $50m to design and construct liquefied petroleum gas storage tanks for the First Phase of the AI Khaleej Gas Project (AKG-I), which will produce natural...

OPEC Fund loans Sudan $12m for dam rehabilitation scheme.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... * The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Fund for International Development has signed a $12m loan agreement with the Republic of the Sudan to co-finance an initiative to rehabilitate the deep sluice gates of the Roseires...

Sudatel's expansion plan supported by $7.6m lease agreement.(Sudan Telecommunications Co.)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... * A private sector lease agreement for $7.6m has been signed between the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Fund for International Development and the Sudan Telecommunications Company (Sudatel), one of the leading private...

Banking on future growth: Moin A Siddiqi analyses banking trends across the Middle East region.(Special Survey)(Industry Overview)
October 1, 2003... Facing new challenges The banking industry worldwide has to face new challenges rising from globalisation, deregulation, financial innovations and the Internet revolution. The fast changing environment has, over the past decade, had a...

Mercantile dynasty falls from grace: with recent events transforming them from Turkey's most sought after business partners into the country's most wanted men, life has been far from kind to Turkey's entrepreneurial Uzan family this summer. Jon Gorvett reports from Istanbul.(Turkey)
October 1, 2003... The dynastic rulers of an economic empire that stretched from mobile phones to electricity companies--via cement and banking interests, TV stations and newspapers--the Uzans have seen their funds dry up, their interests sequestered and in early...

Jordan Bromine Company builds new membrane chlorine plant.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... * The Jordan Bromine Company (JBC) has awarded the key contracts to design and construct a new 25,000 metric ton-per-year membrane chlorine production facility at its Sail plant on the Dead Sea in Jordan. This new production unit is expected to...

Security software in the Gulf experiencing high growth.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... * The overall value of the Gulf States security software market has reached $44.31m with the secure content management, specifically anti virus software segment, overshadowing the rest of the market with a 57.2% share of spending.

Libya edges back into the fold: all the signs are, that after years of isolation from the West, Libya is about to be re-admitted to the fold, following Tripoli's decision to accept responsibility for the Lockerbie disaster.(Libya)
October 1, 2003... Libya's efforts to carve out a position of some importance on the international stage were given a boost in August by the government's decision to accept responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing. Over the past few years President Muammar...

Le Meridien Hotels adds two new properties to Saudi portfolio.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... * Luxury hotel group Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts has announced two significant new properties in Saudi Arabia, bringing its portfolio in the Kingdom to five. Saudi Arabia has been identified as an area for major development over the next two...

Iraqi-led consortium enters mobile tender race.(Zagil Wireless)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Zagil Wireless, an international consortium with strong regional connections led by a group of Iraqi telecommunications and business leaders, has submitted its bid for a licence to operate a wireless network in Iraq.

MTC-Vodafone and Motorola sign $19m expansion deal.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... * Motorola's Global Telecom Solutions Sector has signed an expansion contract worth approximately $19m with MTCV-Vodafone, Kuwait's largest mobile network operator. The contract includes network services and equipment to increase network...

Samsung captures 21% market share in UAE's mobile phone market.(Samsung Electronics)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... * Samsung Electronics has further strengthened its number two position in the region's mobile phone market by acquiring a 20.8% market share, in terms of mobile phone sales value, in the United Arab Emirates

Polywell Computers and Shaheen Group set up assembly plant in Jordan.(Shaheen Business and Investment Group Luxemburg)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... * Shaheen Business and Investment Group Luxemburg and Polywell Computers USA have signed an agreement to establish a computer assembly plant with an initial investment of $10m at one of the Qualifying Industrial Zones in Jordan.

Japan renews talks with Iran over $2bn oil deal.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... * Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi has notified Japan's Prime Minister that his government is ready to negotiate international inspection of its nuclear programme, a move that could influence Tokyo to move forward with plans to develop...

Zakum Development awards Honeywell $17m contract for automation upgrade.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... * Honeywell Industry Solutions has received a $17m order from the Zakum Development Company to supply, engineer, test, commission, and start up an Experion PKS Process Knowledge System for the Zirku and Sarah plants on Zirku Island, Abu Dhabi.

Siemens wins $145m Saudi gas turbine power plant contract.(Siemens Power Generation)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... * Siemens Power Generation will build the first private gas turbine power plant in Saudi Arabia. The order for construction and commissioning of the Al Jubail plant is valued at approximately $145m.

Egyptian tourism bounces back.(Special Report)
October 1, 2003... The shock waves that followed the attacks of 11 September 2001 spread far beyond Ground Zero in New York to change political, economic and social lives across the face of the globe. The fact that the attacks on the Twin Towers of the World...

Jobs for the boys: the countries of the Gulf are under increasing pressure to provide their own nationals with jobs but although there have been moves in the right direction, there is still a long way to go.(Business & Finance)
October 1, 2003... The Gulf economies have long relied on foreign labour to provide a vast array of services, from cleaning and construction to engineering and nursing. Highly paid British and US oil sector workers helped build the economies of regional oil...

Saudi mining sector earns $293m in 2002.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... * Licensed miners in Saudi Arabia earned SRI 1 billion ($293m) in revenues for the financial year 2002, of which net profit reached SR2.9bn, revealed the Saudi Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources in an annual report.

Zamil Air Conditioners wins cooling contract for Bahrain's tallest building.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... * Zamil Air Conditioners has been awarded a contract to supply its Cooline air conditioning solutions for YKA Almoayyed Tower, the tallest building in Bahrain. The components of the solution includes the supply of Chilled Water Fan Coil Units...

Fitch: Egypt's steel sector set to pick up in the long-term.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... * While the outlook for the Egyptian steel industry remains unfavourable in the short-term, a young population, new mortgage laws and a government commitment to new infrastructure projects look set to give the sector a boost over the long-term....

Switching to Muslim TV: a group of American entrepreneurs unhappy with some of the television images they and their children are exposed to have taken matters into their own hands by attempting to launch a new Muslim network. Dalia Fahmy reports from the United States.(Mosaic)
October 1, 2003... Osama Hamdan, a Microsoft computer engineer from Seattle, doesn't like what he sees on television. "There are so many things on TV these days that make people stray," says the 34-year old practising Muslim and father of two. "They make light of...

Sentimental journey: for many thousands of Iranians who were forced to leave Iran following the fall of the Shah in 1979, the Rifa'i mosque in Cairo has become a place of pilgrimage.(Mosaic)
October 1, 2003... In a conversation with The Middle East, Empress Farah Pahlavi spoke candidly of her husband's final days The kelidar or holder of the key to the Rifia'i Mosque is a 53 year old disabled man with protruding eyes and wrinkled face that breaks...

Cycling for world peace: Iranian Poupeh Mahdavinader is committed to cycling through 10 countries to promote friendship and peace.(Mosaic)
October 1, 2003... Softly spoken, petite and unpretentious, Poupeh Mahdavinader doesn't seem like the sort of girl who would make world history. But that's exactly what the 30-year-old social worker from Iran is doing, as she cycles her way through 10 countries...

Kuwait: the Growth of a Historic Identity.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 2003... Edited by Ben J. Slot published by Arabian Publishing LTD ISBN 0 9544792 1 1price 30.00 [pounds sterling] hardback The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990-1991 placed the questions of Kuwait's origins and statehood under the spotlight as never...

Another Century of War?(Book Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 2003... By Gabriel Kolko published by The New Press: ISBN 1 56584 758 x price $15.95 paperback Another Century of War? Is a candid and critical look at America's "new wars" by a provocative analyst of its old ones. Gabriel Kolko's studies of...

Arabic Administration in Norman Sicily: the Royal Diwan.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 2003... By Jeremy Johns published by Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 81692 0 price 50.00 [pounds sterling] hardback In the late 11th century, Sicily--originally part of the Islamic world --was captured by Norman, French, and Italian...

Vegetation and Biogeography of the Sand Seas of Saudi Arabia.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 2003... By David Watts and Abdulatif H. Al Nafie published by Kegan Paul ISBN 0 7103 0619 9 price 125.00 [pounds sterling] hardback The sand seas of Saudi Arabia, although well known in literature, remain poorly explored scientifically, Consisting...

Unlocking the Middle East.(The Writings of Richard Falk)(Book Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 2003... The Writings of Richard Falk edited by Jean Allain Published by Arris Books ISBN 1 844370046 price 14.99 [pounds sterling] paperback Negative opinion of the US currently stands at 99% in Jordan, 98% in Palestine, 85% in Indonesia, and 80%...

Management and International Business Issues in Jordan.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 2003... Edited by Hamed El Said and Kip Booker published by The International Business Press ISBN 0 7890 1445 9 price $59.95 hardback ISBN 0 7890 1446 7 price $34.95 paperback Jordan is playing a vital role in the economic and political...

Searching Jenin: Eyewitness Accounts of the Israeli Invasion 2002.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 2003... Edited by Ramzy Mohammed Baroud published by Cune Press ISBN 1 885942 34 6 price $17.95 paperback A searing testament to Israeli brutality and Palestinian resilience, spirit, and grace under pressure. Why is it that the US, Israel, the UN,...

The Secret Life of Saeed: the Pessoptimist.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 2003... By Emile Habiby published by Arris Books ISBN 1 84437 02 8 price 699 [pounds sterling] paperback The late Emile Habiby, novelist, poet and politician, was a literary giant--but his lasting reputation was built on the back of his greatest...

The last Grande Dame of Cairo.(The Last Word)(Amina Mohammed Rizq, actress, 1910-2003)(Obituary)
October 1, 2003... Amina Mohammed Rizq, actress. Born Tanta 10 April 1910--Died Cairo 24 August 2003 An era ended on 24 August with the death of the celebrated actress Amina Rizq in a Cairo hospital. When the play Black Rabbit opened in the Egyptian capital...