The Middle East articles from October 2008

The Middle East archives from October 2008

Comment.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE SULTAN OF Oman had it right when he declared that to ignore women--who make up 50% of the population of the Sultanate--would be to ignore 50% of the potential of his citizens. When Qaboos came to power in...

Surrounded on all sides, Israel's wars of attrition heat up.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE POSSIBILITY OF peace between Israel and its neighbours is looking extremely precarious as the country struggles to extinguish numerous fires on the home front and regionally. The most ominous threat as far as...

Good news from Iraq, but too early to chill the champagne.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
October 1, 2008... NEWS THAT IRAQI Prime Minister, Nouri Al Maliki, was demanding an agreement with the United States that would require all American troops to leave the country by the end of 2011 was a cheering sign the Bush administration is in its dying days....

Iraq's Olympics: more than a competition.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
October 1, 2008... THE CLOSING CEREMONY for the 2008 Beijing Olympics brought an end not only to the competition for medals, but also drew a line under a difficult time for Iraqi sport that saw them almost miss the Games all together. In June of this year, the...

Pipeline politics: Washington seems determined to wreck Iran's plan to build a gas link to India and Pakistan.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)
October 1, 2008... PAKISTAN AND INDIA have been moving closer to building a pipeline from Iran that will provide the two energy-starved Asian giants with up to 30m cubic metres of natural gas a day. On 25 April, the petroleum ministers of the two Asian states...

Bouncing back.(CURRENT AFFAIRS)(Justice and Development Party)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHEN TURKEY'S CONSTITUTIONAL Court judges ruled that they would not after all be banning the country's ruling party, the exhalation of breath around a much-relieved country was practically audible. The ruling...

The Top 100 Arab banks: the Arab banking boom still booming: the financial services industry in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region led by top-tier banks is experiencing significant growth, in terms of banking assets, profitability and innovations. Researched, written and table compiled by economic analyst.
October 1, 2008... SPIRALLING OIL PRICES--extending above $145 a barrel in the summer--have enriched the prospects of many regional banks as well as profits for calendar 2008, despite an unabated global credit crunch and mountainous bad debts hitting the balance...

The Med basin creates a free-trade zone.(Mediterranean)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE PARIS SUMMIT in July of 43 countries with a combined population of close to 800m people launched the Union for the Mediterranean with the promise of creating a free-trade zone by 2012. Although the initiative of...

Turmoil in Gulf markets: the bad ... and the good news.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)
October 1, 2008... AS THE GULF gets back to work after Ramadan, eyes will be focused on the news coming out of the region's stock markets as well as the escalating expectations of a sharp slowdown in global growth. But with investors around the world apparently...

Telecoms: the Zain gain: in August, Zain International began its commercial telecom network operations in Saudi Arabia. Becoming the kingdom's third mobile telephone operator was a significant step, but just the latest development in a string of achievements posted by the Bahraini-based group.(BUSINESS & FINANCE)(Zain International )
October 1, 2008... DURING THE LAST week of August, Zain International became the third mobile telephone operator in Saudi Arabia, joining STC and Mobily in providing a network for the GCC region's largest population and arguably its most lucrative market. It...

$1.3 trillion real estate gold rush.(REAL ESTATE: SPECIAL REPORT)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The construction of new homes, apartments, tower blocks, offices, shopping malls, hotels and resorts is booming throughout the Gulf. Whether it's Qatar or Dubai, Kuwait or Oman, Saudi Arabia or Bahrain, investors and...

Egypt, North Africa and the Levant: benefiting from gulf investment in real estate.(REAL ESTATE: SPECIAL REPORT)
October 1, 2008... With their own real estate sectors enjoying a glut of funds, Gulf investors are turning their eyes to lucrative new prospects further west and north. While Egypt, Morocco and Lebanon are already favoured outlets, other countries such as Syria,...

A view from Dubai.(Talal al Souraya)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] HISTORY AND PERSONAL experience tell us unequivocally that few things in life are 'too good to be true'. What seems like "an unmissable opportunity" today--a boat, a car or a penthouse flat--might hang around our...

And from Abu Dhabi...
October 1, 2008... AS THE POPULATION of the UAE increases so too do the facilities required to keep these, mainly expatriate residents, happy. Neil Mitchenall, chairman of the retail and leisure specialist Lunson Mitchenall, is concentrating on development in Abu...

Scents of Arabia inspire new European fragrance.(THE MIDDLE EAST WOMAN)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A NEW PERFUME launched by the French perfume house Lancome showcases some of the essential ingredients on which the perfumers of ancient Arabia based their exotic blends. These days France is generally regarded...

The dating game.(THE MIDDLE EAST WOMAN)
October 1, 2008... WHEN CONSIDERING SOCIAL attitudes in an area as vast as the Middle East, it is important to remember its great diversify; it is a complex dynamic of nations, cultures, religions and beliefs. As it always has, the world is changing and the...

'Sizing up' your calorie intake.(GOOD HEALTH AND GOOD LIVING)
October 1, 2008... The traditional Middle Eastern diet which relies heavily on lean meat, salads, vegetables and fruit is a healthy one, if consumed in moderation. However, in the oil rich countries of the Gulf as in the West, waistlines have been increasing...

Good 4 u.(garlic)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Worshipped by the ancient Egyptians, chewed by Greek Olympian athletes and thought to be essential for keeping vampires at bay, garlic is also good for zapping bacteria, keeping your heart healthy and warding off coughs and colds. Sanskrit...

Queen Rania on YouTube.(THE MEDDLE EAST WOMAN)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] WHILE HER ROYAL status sets her apart from the less exalted women of the Middle East, Queen Rania of Jordan is, in so many ways, representative of the emerging modern Arab woman: intelligent and beautiful, she hides...

The Noor phenomenon.(MOSAIC)(Turkish soap opera)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IT HAS HAD several fatwas issued against it, been blamed for a spate of divorces throughout the Middle East and been labelled a new cultural invasion of the Arab world. Its nightly airing has also become mandatory...

An ancient land and the dream that won't die.(Gaza )
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IT'S AKIN TO going back in a magical time machine. A collage filled with glorious civilisations, complex political machinations and a humanity interwoven with rich cultural and personal intrigue. An area which saw...

Rabih Abou-Khalil's Portuguese blues.(MOSAIC)(Em Portugues album)
October 1, 2008... IN A CAREER spanning more than 30 years as one of the world's foremost oud players and composers--with exhaustive experience as a bandleader and acclaimed television presenter--you would think Rabih Ahou-Khalil would be nearing his creative...

Making the grade in Egypt.(MOSAIC)
October 1, 2008... IN EGYPT, AS elsewhere, a higher education represents a ticket to a better life, and the possibility of breaking through class barriers. For hard-working parents who were unable to finish high school, much less go to college, putting their...

Cometh the hour--cometh the man.(THE LAST WORD)(Youssef (Joe) Chahine)
October 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Adel Darwish remembers his close personal friend, the superbly talented Alexandrian-born film maker Youssef (Joe) Chahine, who died on 27 July 2008. Chahine, many believe, was as adept as most politicians at...