Middle East

The green shoots of recovery? Morocco considers the legalisation of marijuana cultivation

"Mustapha Tahiri, a cannabis farmer in northern Morocco, looks forward to the day he can sell his crop without worrying about being jailed. If politicians in the country’s Islamist-led government have their way, that isn’t too far off. At least 800,000 Moroccans live off illegal marijuana cultivation, generating annual sales estimated at $10bn, or 10 per cent of the economy, according to the Moroccan Network for the Industrial and Medicinal use of Marijuana, a local charity. Morocco, with a population of 32 million, is Africa’s sixth-largest economy. Legalisation would allow farmers to sell to the government for medicinal and industrial purposes rather than to drug traffickers." Continue reading →

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Guilty of Aiding the American People

"The 'aiding the enemy' accusation presumed that Manning’s distribution of classified material assisted al Qaeda. Actually, the information helps Americans by exposing U.S. war criminality. War criminality ranks among the most important types of government wrongdoing warranting transparency. We cannot debate foreign policy without knowing about its indecencies. What U.S. forces do abroad can endanger Americans at home. Some see the leaks, not the crimes, as the true scandal, but the Muslim and Arab world already know of these atrocities. The American people need to understand what U.S. occupations are like." Continue reading →

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Eight killed by latest US drone strike in Pakistan

"A US drone attack on a house in the town of Miranshah killed at least 8 people. The 8 were as almost always happens, called terror suspects. The attack happened during the Iftar dinner breaking the Ramadan fast immediately after sunset. The town is in the North Wasiristan tribal region. Two missiles hit the three room structure." Continue reading →

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What we know thanks to Bradley Mannning’s leaks to WikiLeaks

"Bradley Manning, a 25-year-old US private, downloaded more than 700,000 classified documents from US military servers and passed them to WikiLeaks. The Guardian was one of several news organisations to publish a series of stories based on the contents of the files. Below are 10 of the most revelatory." Continue reading →

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A Western Alternative to the West

"Investors in Dubai needed patience. Even in 2011, stocks dropped another 20% before hitting rock bottom. The recovery started only last year, with shares up 20%. But the rally this year has been truly spectacular at 63% on the Dubai Financial Market. That’s against a falling trend in other emerging markets. The market has also massively outperformed the S&P 500. Indeed, it ranks among the best stock market performances in the world this year. It’s trounced the S&P 500. House prices have also recovered very strongly, though we are still a little shy of the peak valuations of 2008. For rental increases, Dubai is ranked No. 1 in the world this year." Continue reading →

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European envoy meets with Egyptian ex-president Morsi

"Egypt’s rulers allowed an EU envoy to meet deposed President Mohamed Mursi, the first time an outsider was given access to him since the army overthrew him and jailed him a month ago, and she said she found him in good health. The White House, treading a fine line with a pivotal Arab ally that it funds with $1.3 billion a year in military aid, said on Monday it 'strongly condemns' Saturday’s bloodshed, and urged respect for the right to peaceful protest. 'Violence not only further sets back the process of reconciliation and democratization in Egypt, but it will negatively impact regional stability,' spokesman Josh Earnest said." Continue reading →

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Mass jail break in Pakistan as Taliban gunmen storm prison to free 250 inmates

"The attack in the city of Dera Ismail Khan showed the ability of the al Qaeda-linked Pakistani Taliban to strike at the heart of Pakistan’s heavily guarded prison system and walk away with dozens of senior Taliban fighters and commanders. The overnight assault on the Central Prison took place despite reports that regional officials had received intelligence days, if not weeks, ago suggesting such an attack was imminent. Officials blamed a combination of negligence and lack of communication among Pakistan’s many security agencies, but some suggested there may have been a degree of insider help." Continue reading →

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Economist Withdraws Bank of Israel Candidacy

"One of Israel's top economists on Monday withdrew his candidacy as head of the central bank over an old shoplifting case. The incident happened in a Hong Kong airport seven years ago. Jacob Frenkel told Israeli media he mistakenly thought his companion paid for an item he was carrying. A committee reviewing his appointment raised questions about the incident, and Frenkel decided to withdraw his candidacy. Frenkel did not report the incident to the committee." Continue reading →

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Saudi prince defects from royal family

"He said he thanked God that helped him understand the truth about Saudi regime through a 'direct horrible personal experience' so that he could have a taste of what people suffered from throughout the country. 'With pride, I announce my defection from Al Saudi family in Saudi Arabia,' he wrote in his statement. 'All that is said in Saudi Arabia about respecting law and religion rules are factitious so that they can lie and pretend that the regime obeys Islamic rules.' He criticized the royal family for considering the country as its own property while silencing all voices from inside and outside the government calling for any change and reforms." Continue reading →

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