The Middle East articles from September 2002

The Middle East archives from September 2002

Comment.(Editorial)
September 1, 2002... Who is advising President George Bush on his Middle East policy? This month marks the first anniversary of the 11 September attacks on the USA. In the aftermath of the disaster, alongside almost universal sympathy for the loss of innocent...

Sorting out Saddam: President Bush has warned Saddam Hussein he will be coming to get him and sooner rather than later. Is the Iraqi leader really on the cusp of unleashing a barrage of deadly chemical weapons on the world, or is he being made a scapegoat for America's thwarted ambitions in Afghanistan? (Current Affairs).
September 1, 2002... As the anniversary of 11 September neared, America's determination to find some outlaw for the mob to string up intensified. The campaign in Afghanistan has failed to produce the required result. Osama bin Laden along with the biggest names of...

Out of frying pan, into the fire? A general election later this year could bring about widespread political change in Turkey. But unless there is also reform there are no guarantees anyone will be any better off. (Turkey).
September 1, 2002... His frail 77 year old frame visibly shaking at the podium, Turkey's veteran prime minister, Bulent Ecevit, stumbled out into the blistering summer sunshine to address reporters in late July. "There is a general inclination," he said, "for early...

Bulent Ecevit: between a rock and a hard place. (Current Affairs).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Turkey's Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit is between a rock and a hard place. Pressured by the US to join in an attack on Iraq, the lira in meltdown, deserted by his friends and with the Islamist party lurking in the wings, he is in an unenviable...

Cyberspace: a 21st century diwan: the Internet is proving to be a valuable political tool and one which is playing an increasingly vital role in the Palestine-Israeli conflict. (Internet).(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2002... Within cyberspace there is a growing network of individuals and groups coalescing around the key demands for an end to Israeli occupation of Arab territories and the creation of a Palestinian state. This network constitutes a `swarm', an...

Arafat grapples with his `young guard': the emerging power struggle within the Palestinian leadership may signal the end of Yasser Arafat's 50 year reign. (Current Affairs).
September 1, 2002... The restructuring of Yasser Arafat's battered security apparatus, a key pillar of his authority, is central to the wide-ranging reforms of the dysfunctional Palestinian administration, demanded by the Americans, the Israelis and the Europeans....

Goodbye to a range of civil liberties: the controversy over the arrest and imprisonment of Professor Saadeddin Ibrahim continues. (Egypt).
September 1, 2002... NOW, the Egyptian government has won the battle with the terrorists and Hosni Mubarak has no need of people like Professor Ibrahim. However, it seems that although the Egyptian government has won the battle, it has lost the bigger war. The...

The quality of justice: in post-11 September America President Bush cites secrecy as a necessary evil in his war against terrorism. But is the US overstepping the mark? (USA).
September 1, 2002... American jurisprudence is second to none, a cornerstone of the freedoms Americans hold so dear, or so many in the United States would claim. But now, under the influence of right-wing Attorney-General John Ashcroft, the Bush administration...

Turkmenbashi the Great: rich and prosperous thanks to the discovery of massive oil and gas reserves, Turkmenistan is attempting to come to grips with modernity and its massive wealth. (Turkmenistan).
September 1, 2002... Which country supplies its citizens with free water, electricity and cooking gas, while a gallon of premium petrol costs only eight US cents? If your answer was Libya, or one of the petroleum-rich Gulf States, you Would be wrong. The country...

Sharon dodges war crimes lawsuit for now; Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon appears to have evaded justice over the massacres at Beirut's Sabra and Shatila refugee camps but his reprieve may be only temporary. (Israel).
September 1, 2002... Just five days before the International Criminal Court (ICC), the world's first permanent world tribunal to prosecute dictators and war criminals, came into existence in The Hague on 1 July, a Belgian appeals court dismissed a lawsuit against...

Saudi Arabia moves towards diversification. (Special Report).(Cover Story)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2002... Oil continues to dominate the Saudi economy accounting for three quarters of government revenues, and a massive 90% of export earnings. Such figures have caused the government to focus almost exclusively upon the hydrocarbon sector, to the...

The making of a truly world-class airline. (Publi-Information).
September 1, 2002... The mission statement of SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES could not have been more appropriate at any other time than at the dawn of the new millennium: to remain "a world class airline with a distinctive Saudi character, that is customer driven and a...

Saudi Cable Company: meeting today's challenge for Power & Telecommunications.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Satisfying today's demands for Power & Telecommunications is the business of Saudi Cable Company (SCC)--Group, the Middle East's foremost provider of technological advanced solutions and services. Conceived in 1975, the company has now come to...

Arab banks targets of US bias? Arab banks in the US are walking a tightrope. While they serve as a vital conduit for movement of investment capital, they are also a potential target of anti-Arab bias. (Banking).
September 1, 2002... A full year after the terrorist attacks on New York's World Trade Centre, Arab institutions and individuals operating in the US are still targets of bias. Arab banks and financial institutions operating in US money centres, which manage vast...

Seismic precaution.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... *The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has signed an ODA loan agreement totalling 12.022 billion yen (approximately $102.4 million) for a seismic reinforcement project for large scale bridges in Istanbul. Following the devastating...

1 million [euro] telecoms deal.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... *Intec Telecom Systems, a global provider of Operations Support Systems (OSS) for fixed, wireless and IP/next generation networks has signed a ITU billing agreement worth over one million euros with Maroc Telecom, the leading telecommunications...

Muslim investors find faith in stock markets; at last most Shari'ah scholars agree that buying and selling corporate stocks does not impinge upon Islam because stocks and shares represent real assets. Dividends comply with Shari'ah. (Investment).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2002... Until the early 1990s, there were major doubts about whether investing on the stock markets was Islamically acceptable. However, a decree on investment banking issued by the Saudi Arabian-based Islamic Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) Academy, the...

Emirates Airbus deal.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Emirates has signed a $90 million Islamic financing agreement for an Airbus A330 airliner using Islamic funds over a 10 year term. This deal represents the third A330 Emirates has purchased using Islamic finance over the past 12 months and was...

Health care aid.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Following the escalation of violence in the West Bank and Gaza, the OPEC Fund for International Development has approved a grant of $200,000 in support of an initiative to restore basic medical services for Palestinians. Sponsored by the United...

Egypt LNG takes off: Egypt has jumped on the LNG bandwagon with enthusiasm. (Energy).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... In the absence of wonder solutions to the world's energy needs, such as cold fusion and fuel cells, natural gas is increasingly seen as the best of the fossil fuels, burning cleanly and efficiently. Egypt, with its dismal economic situation,...

Online banking services.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Bank Muscat's new internet and mobile banking service--bankmuscatonline.net --enables its customers to carry out fund transfers, pay utility bills, make credit card payments, report lost cards, request cheque books, create term deposits,...

New flagship.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Qatar Airways has begun modernising its fleet with Airbus A330-200s. The new aircraft will feature a spacious four-abreast first class, as well as business and economy seating a total of 238 passengers. One of the world's fastest growing...

Bridging the economic gulf: Akel Biltaji, Chief Commissioner of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone (ASEZ), reports on progress at the ambitious new development 18 months after its official launch. (Aqaba Zone).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... A lot has happened since the launch of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone (ASEZ) in January 2001. Many ambitious construction projects are under way and the overall development plan for Aqaba and surrounding areas is starting to take shape. The...

Ready for an IT revolution? Egypt is investing cash and considerable optimism in the development of a specialist IT village in Cairo. (Technology).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Its critics believe Smart Village Co (SVC) is a risky project for Egypt, considering the modest size of the country's IT industry and its less than dynamic state. However, undaunted by unfavourable speculation, several of Egypt's biggest IT...

Exodus: many thousands of Kurds are fleeing their homeland for the prospect of new opportunities and the dream of a better life in western Europe. (Kurdistan).(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2002... During the 1980s, the emigration of Kurds was limited to a small number of intellectuals and political activists, who settled in England, Sweden, and to a lesser degree France. In recent years that trickle has developed into a mass exodus with...

Scents of time: drawing on Oman's perfumery heritage, Amouage launches its new fragrance Dia. (Perfume).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Flying in over the white domed roofs of Muscat, I arrived ill time for the launch of Dia, the latest perfume from the House of Amouage. Most of us buy perfume and are aware of `notes', `noses', and marketing hype, but may not have known that...

New Cairo museum to showcase ancient civilization: construction work has begun on an ambitious new museum on the plain of Giza. With completion scheduled by 2008, the new facility is expected to attract in excess of three million visitors a year. (Antiquities).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... The technology at Egypt's upcoming Grand Egyptian Museum is expected to be cutting edge but many of the furnishings found in the sprawling facility will be very old indeed. And some carefully crafted decorations will have a distinctly golden...

Acre: the Rise and Fall of a Palestinian City 1730-1831.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... By Thomas Philipp published by Columbia University Press ISBN 0 231 12326 4 price $52.00 35.00 [pounds sterling] hardback ISBN 0 231 12327 2 price $17.50 11.50 [pounds sterling] paperback In the 18th century, Acre witnessed a dramatic rise...

Sabah Al-Salim Al-Sabah: Amir of Kuwait 1965-77 a Political Biography.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... By Robert L Jarman published by The London Centre of Arab Studies ISBN 1 900404 21 4 price 29.50 [pounds sterling] hardback This biography of Sabah Al Salim Al Sabah assesses his contribution to the political history of Kuwait. Relying on...

The Control of Oil: East-West Rivalry in the Persian Gulf.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... By Alawi D Kayal published by Kegan Paul ISBN 0 7103 0768 3 price 75.00 [pounds sterling] hardback Water may the essence of life, but oil is the essence of business. Oil has long been linked with power and wealth, and so the control of oil...

Highways and Byways of Lebanon: a Comprehensive Guide.
September 1, 2002... By Frank and Laure Skeels published by Garnet Publishing ISBN I 85964 1334 price 30.00 [pounds sterling] hardback An ancient land re-inventing itself once again in the aftermath of civil war, Lebanon has much to offer the inquisitive...

Zillij: the Art of Moroccan Ceramics.
September 1, 2002... Edited by Salmar Samar Damluji published by Garnet Publishing ISBN 1 873938 02 0 price 65.00 [pounds sterling] hardback It was through the art of zilllij, intricate cut-tile patterns, that Moroccan craftsmen achieved their most...

Letters from Oman: a Snapshot of Feudal Times as Oil Signals Change.
September 1, 2002... By David Gwynne-James published by Blackwater Books ISBN 0 9539206 1 5 price 22.50 [pounds sterling] hardback This book is based on letters written by the author in the early 1960s to his future wife. He was then on secondment from the...

The Clash of Fundamentalisms: Crusades, Jihads and Modernity.
September 1, 2002... By Tariq Ali published by Verso ISBN 1 85984 679 3 price 15.00 [pounds sterling] hardback The complacency of the world was severely shaken by the events of 11 September 2001. What took place--a carefully planned terrorist assault on the...

Israeli-Romanian Relations at the End of the Ceausescu Era.
September 1, 2002... By Yosef Govrin published by Frank Cass ISBN 07146 52342 price 35.00 [pounds sterling] Hardback Israeli-Romanian relations at the end of the Ceausescu Era is a first-hand documentary source for all those interested in the recent history of...

Abdel Rahman Badawi: philosopher, scholar, thinker and poet. (Obituary).(Obituary)
September 1, 2002... In April 1973, Colonel Muammer Gadaffi encountered a group of Libyan university students who did not greet him by mindlessly chanting slogans of support. Instead, the philosophy students challenged him, arguing for freedom of thought and the...