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Iraq is imposing a 10 percent “after sale” surcharge on companies supplying goods under the U.N.- approved oil-for-food programme, GSN reveals. This generates extra funds for a government also asking
I.R.N.A., Iran’s national news agency, notable for its comprehensive political coverage, has been allowed to open a bureau in Riyadh, an indication of the deepening relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Under a new press law, the kingdom will also permit the local printing of foreign
When nominees for George W. Bush’s new cabinet present themselves for confirmation on Capitol Hill, none is assured of an easier ride than General Colin Powell, the former Gulf War Chief-of-Staff who is to become Secretary of State in the new U.S. administration.The Republican conservative ideologues picked for some sensitive domestic portfolios under the Bush II regime are likely to face tough questions from a Senate where Democrat gains in November’s election have brought the two parties to 50:50 parity (although the casting vote will lie with Bush’s deputy Dick Cheney). But for Powell, who is widely perceived as “an authentic American hero” and a symbol of black success in public life, the confirmation process is a foregone conclusion.
Across The Region, News, Data & Analysis: Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Yemen
It will probably not be until early 2002 that the committee appointed by Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani to prepare a draft constitution finally produces its report. But certain principles are clear already. There will be an elected national assembly to replace the long-standing appointed Majlis Al-Shura, and Qatari women will have the vote and the right to stand for elected office — a principle already established with the present elected municipal councils.
Investigators are working overtime in Yemen to find those responsible for the USS Cole bombing, while the Taliban in Afghanistan are expecting a U.S. cruise missile any day. GSN examines Yemen’s Islamists, the “Bin Laden connection” and President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s delicate balancing act.
The Arab-Israeli conflict has again impacted on domestic Gulf politics, even if incidents including the U.S.S. Cole bombing and the hijacking of a Saudia airliner were not directly linked to the Middle East crisis. Demonstrations at the actions of Israeli security forces have set nerves
Iran’s reformers have consolidated their disparate political factions into a single parliamentary bloc. The Second Khordad Front could eventually command more than 200
Arms deals are in the air, with several contracts for the U.K.’s BAe Systems. Bahrain’s new deal was signed at Farnborough; Algeria is buying British equipment through Qatar; and there is speculation that BAe may be negotiating a new-style agreement with Saudi Arabia.
Following the imposition of sanctions and other UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions on Iraq, extra-regional actors’ attitudes towards Baghdad have become central to Iraq’s international rehabilitation. Whilst the inter-state community and international organisations can work to build a humanitarian agenda for economic rehabilitation, it is the permanent members
