The Middle East

Despite the recent focus on major gas deals, Qatar is also still trying to put itself on the map in sectors that require a more human kind of energy with the Doha Asian Games. Scheduled for 2006, preparations for this athletics tournament have placed a series of construction projects centre stage, all of which aim to make the small Gulf emirate a regional business and tourism hub.

Qatari officials made use of the second US-Islamic World Forum, held in Doha January 13-15, as a stage to express moderate Arab concerns about US foreign policy, particularly with regards to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the ongoing conflict in Iraq.

With a batch of positive figures rolling in as December closed, Turkey's economy looked to be in good shape as the year 2004 began. Meanwhile, as the stock market broke its historic high, analysts seemed confident that any potential knocks in the months ahead would not do too much harm. The questions now are how to sustain this momentum - and how deep this recovery is really going.

Although Qatar played host to the World Petroleum Congress earlier this month, more attention has been focused recently on the country's expanding gas industry.

While a string of healthy-looking economic results has left a sense of relief in Ankara in recent days, the launch of a new World Bank report on the country's progress has highlighted the need for continued restraint. If Turkey is to achieve its stability and growth targets, the Bank says, it must do more to restore investor confidence. It's a point the government too seems anxious to make, with the troubled privatisation programme likely to be an important proving ground.

With a recent reshuffle of its board of directors, the internationally renowned Qatar-based news channel Al Jazeera may be facing some profound changes in the months ahead -- with the station's troubles also shedding light on some of the major issues facing the region's media.