The Middle East articles from October 2004

The Middle East archives from October 2004

Iran & the U.S. on collision course? International observers agree that US-Iranian relations are now drifting into very dangerous waters. With reports from Milan Vesely in Washington and Neil Barnett and Adel Darwish in Iraq.
October 1, 2004... IS THE US MILITARY'S STRUGGLE with Shi'ite cleric Muqtada Sadr's Mahdi Army an American effort at stabilising interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's authority; or the opening shot in the Bush administration's battle with Iran? That is the...

A thorn in the side of US policy: the latest upheavals in Iraq are inextricably linked with the name of Muqtada Al Sadr. But is Sadr a rebellious young firebrand cleric, or a mini Ayatollah with a long-term strategy? Adel Darwish reports from Iraq.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
October 1, 2004... DURING AUGUST, Muqtada Al Sadr's men were in control of the old part of the holy city of Najaf, daring Iraqi security and their American backers to attack the holy shrine. Such an attack would have turned the entire Iraqi Shi'a population--and...

Deadly group spreads its tentacles: Ed Blanche reports on a violent militant group whose members have reportedly been involved in operations in Chechnya, Bosnia, the Philippines and around the Middle East.(TERROR)
October 1, 2004... EARLIER THIS YEAR, A LEADER of a Pakistani Islamic militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT, or Army of the Righteous), was reported to have been captured with some of his men by British forces in Basra, Iraq's southern capital. Dilshad Ahmad was...

Comment.
October 1, 2004... IF THE POLLSTERS ARE RIGHT THERE is cause for concern. Let's face it, many are already seriously worried and with good reason. The Democrat candidate for the US presidential elections, John Kerry, has fallen behind in the three biggest swing...

The dangerous road to democracy: with only days to go before the Afghan presidential elections are scheduled to take place, additional waves of violence are predicted as the Taliban and assorted warlords strive to scupper plans to establish a strong democracy. Peter Willems reports from Kabul.(AFGHANISTAN)
October 1, 2004... IT IS NOT DIFFICULT TO FIND AN Afghan citizen enthusiastic about the upcoming presidential elections. "Now we are able to register to vote, we will be able to decide on our fate," said Ahmed Khalid, an Afghan holding his new registration card...

With friends like these ... The Israeli government has strenuously denied involvement in the current spy scandal in the United States but the episode has undoubtedly opened up old wounds.(US/ISRAEL)
October 1, 2004... THE SCANDAL OVER A suspected Israeli mole in the Pentagon who allegedly passed highly sensitive policy documents on Iran to Israeli agents in Washington has rekindled suspicions long held by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and others...

The Top 100 Arab banks.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)(Cover Story)
October 1, 2004... THE DAWN OF LIBERALISATION MIDDLE EASTERN GOVERNMENTS HAVE BEEN making promises regarding banking sector reform for many years, but little progress has been made until relatively recently. Bahrain and Dubai have certainly established...

Game on: trade cooperation between Libya and the United States was suspended in 1986. But now with the new rapprochement brought about by Colonel Gadaffi's announcement that he would abandon all attempts to develop weapons of mass destruction, the Americans are back in force. Larry Luxner reports from Washington.(Muammar Gadaffi)
October 1, 2004... THERE'S NO LIBYAN EMBASSY IN Washington, and the US Interests Section in Tripoli consists of a three-man team operating out of a hotel room. Yet as Colonel Muammar Gadaffi remakes his image from international pariah to respected elder...

AGCC Central Bank to be set up by mid-2006.
October 1, 2004... * An accord to establish an AGCC (Arab Gulf Cooperation Council) Central Bank to handle the task of creating the unified Gulf currency is likely to be reached by mid-2006 following the submission of a proposal by the General Secretariat to the...

EC allocates 1.35m [euro] for Rafah victims of house demolitions.
October 1, 2004... * The European Commission (EC) has allocated 1.35m [euro] for victims of house demolitions in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip.

Bahrain's Ahli United Bank reports increased net profits.
October 1, 2004... * Bahrain-based Ahli United Bank (AUB) has announced a net profit of $62.8m for the six months ended 30 June 2004, an increase of 27.2% over the same period in 2003 ($49.4m).

Turkey earns $864m from export of hazelnuts.
October 1, 2004... * Turkey exported 214,656 tons of hazelnuts and earned $864m during the 2003-2004 hazelnut export season. Turkey exported 168,437 tons of hazelnuts to the European Union (EU), 25,903 tons to other European countries and 21,401 tons to other...

New commercial bank for Saudi Arabia.
October 1, 2004... * Efforts are under way to set up a new commercial bank in Saudi Arabia--the Kingdom's 11th--with a capital of SR3bn ($799m) and by merging eight leading money exchangers in the country.

Morocco sees 5% rise in bank transfers.
October 1, 2004... * Bank transfers between Morocco and other countries amounted to $18.7bn (MD 169bn) in the first half of 2004, compared to $17.8bn (MD 161bn) during the same period last year, a 5% rise.

Egypt invests $320m in 13 new projects.
October 1, 2004... * Chairman of Egypt's General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) Mohammed El Ghamrawi has recently announced more than $320m has been invested in new enterprises, which is expected to provide 3,170 jobs. A Ministry of Investment is...

Iran exports boom by 224% to $361m.
October 1, 2004... * During the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year, Iran's agricultural products exports amounted to $361.3m, half of which were pistachio exports.

A changing relationship: in Syria, declining oil production and the transformation of the country into a net oil importer look set to have a lasting effect on the national economy.(SYRIA)
October 1, 2004... PRODUCTION AND PRICE fluctuation are closely monitored by all the leading oil producers in the Middle East. Minimal changes on the global market can affect budget decisions that impact upon an entire country. Yet the ebb and flow of oil output...

Emirates Bank to offer online payment service.
October 1, 2004... * Arab Digital Distribution Co. (ADD) has joined with Emirates Bank (EB), a leading provider of electronic banking services in offering customers an online payment processing solution (POS). EB's Payment Gateway, the virtual POS machine,...

Saudi Arabia reduces rate of taxation on foreign investors.
October 1, 2004... * Saudi Arabia has published an executive bylaw to its new income tax. The bylaw reduces the rate of taxation on foreign investors from 45% to 20%.

A new challenge for OPEC.
October 1, 2004... OPEC has spent most of the past three years trying to persuade member states to stick to their quotas. Overproduction has been widespread, reducing both the impact of quota cuts and the strength of the organisation. Now, however, with oil...

UAE Etisalat wins $3.25bn Saudi mobile phone licence.
October 1, 2004... * A consortium led by the UAE telecom giant Etisalat has won Saudi Arabia's highly prized second mobile phone licence. The deal brings SR 12.21 bn ($3.25bn) to the public coffers. The Council of Ministers licensed the Etisalat consortium to...

Egypt reports increased activities in free zones.
October 1, 2004... * Exports from the Egyptian free zones rose during the first three months of 2004 by 22%, amounting to $782m compared to $642m during the same period in 2003.

Suez Canal is raking in the revenues: before the US invasion of Iraq last year, Egypt's Suez Canal Authority predicted that a fully-fledged war in the Middle East would disrupt regional maritime traffic, slashing canal revenues by 10% or more. In reality, exactly the opposite has happened.
October 1, 2004... THE SUEZ CANAL IS IN THE MIDST OF booming volumes, sparked by a jump in Chinese exports to Europe and, to a much lesser extent, US military cargo bound for Iraq. Last year, the Suez Canal generated $2.57bn in revenues--the highest in the...

200,000 tourists visit Oman's Governorate of Dhofar.
October 1, 2004... Statistics compiled jointly by the Omani Ministry of National Economy and Ministry of Tourism, indicate that a total of 199,762 tourists arrived in Dhofar Governorate during the period from 21 June to 27 August. This figure includes 122,708...

Opium production soars: the UK foreign affairs committee on international terrorism has delivered a disturbing report on Afghanistan's drug trade, which reveals the country's cultivation of poppies, already the highest in the world in 2003, will increase even further this year.(AFGHANISTAN)
October 1, 2004... WITH THE GOVERNMENT HAVING little control outside Kabul, and farmers choosing the most profitable crop, opium production has flourished since the Taliban regime was ousted in late 2001. In 2003, over 80,000 hectares were used for poppy...

MenaJet makes maiden flight to Turkey.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... MenaJet's inaugural flight from Beirut International Airport to Dalaman on Turkey's Mediterranean coast marks the commencement of an exciting new chapter within the aviation sector in the region. The debut chartered commercial flight was...

Al Jazeera: in a highly competitive environment, where pictures speak louder than words, the first independent Arabic language news and information satellite channel is still treading the path of success.
October 1, 2004... SINCE ITS INCEPTION EIGHT years ago, Al Jazeera has established itself amongst the internationally renowned news organisations, despite pressures exerted over its coverage during the Afghanistan war and the last war on Iraq. In fact, so...

Talking to each other in the diaspora: Edward Said and Daniel Barenboim created on orchestra of Palestinians and Israelis to share musical culture and put aside historical antagonisms. Recently, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra performed at London's Barbican concert hall.(MOSIAC)
October 1, 2004... IN EARLY AUGUST, ALMOST A YEAR AFTER THE DEATH of Edward Said, the London Review of Books (LRB) played host to one of Said's most passionate creations, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. Hundreds of music lovers, as well as members of the...

Muslim Public Affairs Council honours actor Alec Baldwin.(MOSAIC)
October 1, 2004... "I'M AFRAID FOR THE WORLD" I'm afraid these people (the Republicans) are going to pull this off again in November. I can't begin to tell you what will happen if they're re-elected. But after 1 January, wait 'til you see Patriot Act 2." ...

A multi-million $ video game: Milan Vesely reports on a new video game--which has cost over $7m to develop--and is aimed at giving US service personnel a rudimentary knowledge of the Arabic language and certain Arab customs.(MOSAIC)
October 1, 2004... IT SEEMS REAL, THE DUSTY STREET in the village of Talle, Lebanon, shimmering in the oppressive 120-degree heat. Over to one side a startled goat suddenly shies clear of the approaching Humvee, the squat, sand-coloured vehicle's V-8 engine...

Dubai buys Formula One team: weeks of speculation ended in August when a company controlled by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum of Dubai announced it was buying a Formula One racing team.
October 1, 2004... GRAND PRIX INVESTMENTS (GPI), a company controlled by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum of Dubai, has acquired a controlling stake in the Jordan Formula One racing team. The Belgravia Group, which acts as investment advisor to Jersey-based GPI,...

Doing Business with Jordan.(Book Review)
October 1, 2004... The Global Market Briefings Series Edited by Philip Dew and Jonathan Wallace published by Kogan Page ISBN 0 7494 4141 0 price 50.00 [pounds sterling] hardback The Global Market Briefings Series is a country-by-country information resource...

The Blindfold Horse.(The Blindfold Horse: Memories of a Persian Childhood )(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 1, 2004... Memories of a Persian Childhood By Shusha Guppy published by Tauris Parke Paperbacks ISBN 1 85043 401 8 price 9.99 [pounds sterling] paperback Decades before the dramatic Iranian Revolution of 1979, which placed the country under strict...

A Modern History of Oman.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 1, 2004... Formation of the State Since 1920 By Francis Owtram published by IB TAURIS ISBN 1 86064 617 price 35.00 [pounds sterling] hardback Oman has previously not had the academic attention it deserves by virtue of its rich cultural history and its...

Civil Rights in Peril.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 1, 2004... The Targeting of Arabs and Muslims Edited by Elaine C. Hagopian published by Pluto Press ISBN 0 7453 2264 6 price 14.99 paperback Muslims and Arab-Americans are increasingly under attack as a result of the US 'war on terror'--at home as...

The Foundations of Tunisian Development: 1962-1986.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 1, 2004... By Chedly Ayari published by the Centre de Publication Universitaire, Tunis ISBN 9 973 37 132 1 price TD10 (4.50 [pounds sterling]) paperback Best known internationally as the 'irreplaceable' president of the BADEA (The Arab Bank for...

The Umayyads.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 1, 2004... The rise of Islamic art published by Art Books International ISBN 1 874044 35 x price 14.95 [pounds sterling] paperback The Umayyads. The rise of Islamic art offers--through the diversity of the works presented--the necessary clues to a...

Unusual tactics.(THE LAST WORD)
October 1, 2004... YEMEN, FREQUENTLY labelled a safe haven for Al Qaeda operatives, has implemented an unusual and unique tactic in the hope of ridding itself of all terrorist factions in the country. The Dialogue Committee, established in late 2002 and...