APS Diplomat News Service articles from June 2006

APS Diplomat News Service archives from June 2006

GCC Stock Markets' Crash Has Major Implications; Iran Has A Serious Gasoline Problem.(Gulf Cooperation Council)
June 5, 2006... *** Ther's A Talents War For The Financially- Literate Muslim Scholars, As Western Banks Rush To Sell Their Services To Devout Muslim Investors; *** The Total Value Of The Islamic Finance Business Is Estimated At Around $200 Bn;...

Equity Funds Tempt GCC Arabs.(Gulf)
June 5, 2006... Private equity funds begin to make waves in the GCC as investors seek to expand limited opportunities to invest the huge capital pouring into the area because of record oil prices. Until recently private equity funds operating out of the GCC...

Crude Oil May Top $105/B.(Brief article)
June 5, 2006... Addressing the NBK forum, Goldman Sachs (GS) executive Arjun Murti, a managing director, on May 27 said world crude oil prices will remain high in view of a tight market. Murti said: "We thought that maybe somewhere within $50 to $70 [a barrel...

Iran Needs $5 Bn Extra Gasoline Subsidy.
June 5, 2006... Reuters on May 29 quoted the head of Iran's Majlis Energy Commission Kamal Daneshyar as warning President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad he will have to spend an extra $5 bn this year for subsidies on sales to motorists of imported gasoline and diesel to...

Egyptian Leaders Lose Faith.(religious beliefs)
June 5, 2006... In a report under the title: "Rise in demand for religious opinions signals lack of faith in Egyptian leaders", the FT on May 31 focused on Ms Alaa Ali, "a young freelance translator from Cairo", who "consulted a religious scholar to find out...

Western Banks Seek Islamic Scholars.
June 5, 2006... A talents war for financially-literate Islamic scholars has erupted as Western investment bankers rush to sell their services to devout Muslims. Leading banks are scrambling to find Islamic experts who can issue religious edicts (fatwas)...

Int'l Islamic Trade Finance Unit Opens; Kuwait Says IDB Should Help.(Islamic Development Bank)(Brief article)
June 5, 2006... Kuwait's Emir Shaikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah on May 30 opened a two-day meeting of the board of governors of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) with a call for more aid to poor Muslim nations, saying: "Many Muslim countries have suffered from...

Greater Syria Notion Guides Ba'thist Regime's Actions; Iran-US Deal Chances Remain Strong.
June 12, 2006... *** Zarqawi Was Killed In June 7 US Air Bombing Of A Safe House Near Ba'quba; Neo-Salafis Vow To Continue The Fight In Iraq Till US Forces Leave Their Haven; But Most Muslims Wished He May Rot In Hell, As One Of His Brothers Said *** Marwan...

Who Controls The Syria-Iran Alliance?
June 12, 2006... In recent summonses issued by the Ba'thist regime of Syria against Lebanese MPs, Druze leader Walid Junblatt and Communications Minister Marwan Hamadeh, and Lebanese journalist Fares Khashan, Lebanon was defined as "qutr", which in Ba'thist...

What The Syrians Did In Lebanon.
June 12, 2006... It was immediately after his coup against the civilian wing of the ruling Ba'th in 1970 that Gen. Hafez al-Assad began his latent process of creating the reasons for civil war in Lebanon. He began encouraging various groups among the Lebanese...

Syrian Exiles Vow To Take Power In Damascus.
June 12, 2006... Meeting in London on June 4-5, a coalition of Syrian opposition groups vowed to toppled the Ba'thist dictatorship in Damascus but said it was conducting its efforts peacefully. It said it was forming a government-in-exile. Its co-leader, former...

Egypt & Saudi Lead Arab Strategy.
June 12, 2006... Discussion of matters pertaining to collective Arab strategy and regional politics is now led by Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Until early 2005, Arab affairs used to be led by a triumvirate which included Syria. With the Assad regime trying hard to...

Why Israel Can't Afford Palestinian Collapse.
June 12, 2006... The following are extracts from an article published on May 19 written by Yossi Alpher, former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University: "... The school of thought informing and justifying the drive to impose...

Zarqawi Killed.(Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi)
June 12, 2006... US aircraft on June 7 killed Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi, the Qaeda leader in Iraq blamed for suicide bombings, beheadings and assassinations, and President Bush on June 8 said American forces had "delivered justice". In one of the most significant...

Kabul Govt. Risks Going Back To Warlordism As Taliban/Qaeda Forces Have Returned:.
June 19, 2006... *** Former Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami Says Mahmoud Abbas' Gamble Is Doomed, As His Search For An Internal Accord Could End Up Becoming An Insurmountable Obstacle For A Peace Deal With The Jewish State *** Referenda Are...

Destabilising Police Changes.(civil service reform)
June 19, 2006... The FT on June 13 reported western officials as saying a shake-up of Afghanistan's top police chiefs had dealt a blow to the entire force's reform and reintroduced poorly qualified and corrupt elements to senior posts. President Karzai has...

Mullah Omar Relative Killed.(Mullah Amanullah)
June 19, 2006... On June 12 said an Afghan Army general was quoted as saying security forces had raided a southern village and killed 15 suspected Taliban militants, including a brother-in-law of Taliban leader Mullah Omar while fighting elsewhere left 25 dead....

The Taliban Campaign.
June 19, 2006... A large spring offensive by the Taliban has turned into their strongest show of force since their regime was toppled in late 2001. Afghan and foreign officials and local villagers blame a lack of US-led forces on the ground for the resurgence....

The Narco-State.(Ahmed Noor)
June 19, 2006... The Christian Science Monitor on June 13 quoted an Afghan regional police commander it called "Ahmed Noor" as bragging about the fact that he was a drug trafficker. The paper said: "The Afghan police chief doesn't realize his voice is being...

At Interior Ministry, 80% Benefit.(Ali Jalali )
June 19, 2006... "Top Afghan officials privately admit that perhaps 80 percent of the personnel at the Ministry of Interior, Afghanistan's chief law-enforcement agency - from local police chiefs up to the top bureaucrats - may be benefiting from the drug trade....

GCC States Begin To Take Precautions Against Nuclear War Or Plant Radioactive Leaks.(Gulf Co-operation Council)
June 26, 2006... *** Ahmadi-Nejad Is Confident That The US Is In No Position To Dictate To Iran Over Its Nuclear Programme; But In Washington The Neo-Cons Of Dick Cheney Are Hoping That SL Khamenei Is As Sure As His Young President, So That American Hawks...

Bush Losing Patience With Tehran.(George W. Bush)
June 26, 2006... US President George W. Bush on June 21 made clear his patience was running short in the dispute over Iran's nuclear programme, after Tehran said it might not respond to an international offer until late August. "It should not take the Iranians...