MAy 2008 issue 389 The region’s besTselling english language pan-arab magazine United Kingdom iC Publications, 7 Coldbath square, london eC1r 4lQ. Tel: +44 20 7713 7711 Fax: admin: +44 20 7713 7898 editorial: +44 20 7713 7970 e-mail: icpubs@africasia.com www.africasia.com France iC Publications 609 Bât. a 77 rue Bayen 75017 Paris Tel: +33 1 44 30 81 00 Fax: +33 1 44 30 81 11 www.icpublications.com Group Publisher afif Ben yedder Editor-in-Chief Pat lancaster Sub-Editors Barbara Bannister abdullah riyad Editorial Assistant Carole lambert Art Director Carlo nicolaou CONTRIBUTORS Regional adel darwish neil Ford, Moin a siddiqi Pamela ann smith, stephen Williams, Tom land Beirut ed Blanche USA Milan Vesely Occupied Territories Mel Frykberg Istanbul Jon Gorvett Cairo Maria Golia Paris Chris Kutschera MANAGEMENT Associate Group Publisher Omar Ben yedder Regional Directors Omid Khodabakhsh alya assad saliba Manneh arthur Jones nick rosefield Medrine Chitty ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Bernard Menhem adline, Boutique offices, Villa #BO16, dubai Media City, united arab emirates. Tel: (+971) 43871515 Fax: (971) 4 3672875 Production Manager Michael Messam Distribution Manager Mike Penton Subscriptions Dept iC Publications 7 Coldbath square london, eC1r 4lQ, uK uniTed KinGdOM Tel: +44 (0)20 7713 7711 Fax: +44 (0)20 7713 7898 subscriptions@africasia.com subscription rates for 11 issues: uK: uK£40.00, eurozone €80.00, usa us$90.00, rest of world uK£55.00 issn 0305-0734 Printers: headley Brothers ltd unless indicated all images aFP

CURRENT AFFAIRS 5 Comment 6 regional: the al Qaeda weapons race continues 12 Kurdistan: the voice of the opposition from within 14 iran: nuclear programme wins popular support 16 iran: from the inside 18 Gaza: the place the world forgot 20 Turkey: striking south 22 Turkey: its darkest shadow 25 regional: fungal threat to region’s food security BUSINESS AND FINANCE 28 opening the door to foreign investment in the arab world 32 exclusive business interview: ibrahim dabdoub of nBK 34 saudi arabia: the $ peg 41 Business Briefs 42 Kurdistan: a future oil emirate? 46 syria: riding the wave of sanctions 50 regional: WeF report 53 Qatar: doha debate 54 iran: disappointment and delays dog development on south Pars 56 iraq: oil and gas to energise economic fortunes 60 egypt: CiB aims for bigger and better in 2008 MOSAIC 62 palestine: pity the nation 68 egypt: the golden age of transport 70 regional: the arab film industry 72 Book reviews 74 The last Word

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Osama Bin laden’s infamous ‘sorcerer’, Midhat Mursi al sayyid umar, comes back from the dead and rekindles new fears that jihadists are pursuing chemical, biological and radiological weapons.

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While the world’s attention has been focused on the huge influx of petrodollars flowing to arab oil producing countries, another source of bounty has also arrived without much notice: foreign direct investment (Fdi). Figures from the un show the arab world is now reaping some $60bn a year from these investments.

Member of The audit Bureau of Circulations © 2008 iC Publications ltd. 0 n de COMMissiOn PariTaire 0310 T 89344 dépôt légal Mai 2008

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This month israel will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of its independence. For Palestinians however, six decades of oppression and tyranny are nothing to make merry over. The Middle east looks back to 1948 and the nakhba, or ‘catastrophe’. The Middle easT January 2008 3