TheMiddleEast

5 Comment 6 Letters 8 Compass

Current Affairs 12 Weaving a new Silk Road 18 The Doha summit 20 Palestine: A matter of time? 22 Unfinished business for Hizbullah 26 Turkey: Voters fire a shot

across Ankara’s bows 28 UAE: Record 42 million

date palm trees

Business 29 Saudi Arabia: $127 billion

spending spree 33 Egypt: Painting by numbers 36 Abu Dhabi Booker Prize

The WORLD’S 50 most influential arabs 37 The listing 46 Exclusive interview with

Prince Alwaleed of Saudi Arabia

49 The real cost of war in Iraq 51 The business interview: Youssef A.

Nasr, Chairman, HSBC Middle East 54 Dubai: Getting by with a

little help from its friends 56 Abu Dhabi goes green 58 Syria comes in from the cold 60 WEF 2009: Global problems,

local solutions

Details 65 When money’s no object 68 Sotheby’s Doha sale tops $18m 69 Americans discover the

delights of Lebanon 71 Good health and good living:

Eating your way to a healthy heart

Mosaic 73 Age cannot wither her: Exclusive

interview with Nawal El Saadawi 76 British Museum showcases

Iranian heritage 78 Free Gaza 80 Book reviews 82 The last word

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May 2009 The Middle East  3