“Morocco’s melon season is about to start. But the bad news is that the melons that appear in the souqs are the ones that Europe doesn’t want. The Moroccan melon varieties are grown principally for export”
Recent Links also in Middle East & North Africa>> # From Libya, Khadija Teri takes us along with her to a wedding in Tripoli - where she discovers a new way to kill time. via Global Voices Online
“It really adds a lot of stress, being separated. Now you can sit face-to-face and try to work out things and comfort each other.”
When American soldiers get off duty in Iraq, the men usually return to their quarters, the women to theirs. But Staff Sgt. Marvin Frazier gets to go back to a small trailer with two pushed-together single beds that he shares with his wife.
In a historic but little-noticed change in policy, the Army is allowing scores of husband-and-wife soldiers to live and sleep together in the war zone — a move aimed at preserving marriages, boosting morale and perhaps bolstering re-enlistment rates at a time when the military is struggling to fill its ranks five years into the fighting. Read more
“Real estate has always been a critical factor in Mubadala’s strategy, and our joint venture with John Buck will focus on commercial real estate development in Abu Dhabi first and the region later.”
March 31, 2008 By: Scott Baltic, Contributing Editor Mubadala Development Co., a state-owned corporation in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, is in talks to buy a 51 percent stake in Chicago-based John Buck Co., … via Commercial Property News
April 2, 2008 is the first annual World Autism Awareness Day. On November 27, 2007, Autism Speaks co-founders Bob and Suzanna Wright and H.E. Ambassador Nassir Abdulalziz al-Nasser, Permanent Representative of … via Midwest Georgia’s Magic 98.1
“An accountability divan shall be formed by a relevant law to oversee the state’s revenues and how they are managed and spent.”
High-level monitoring is known to be practiced by any high-ranking authority that is constitutionally and legally in charge of practicing oversight over public funds irrespective of its terminology, or the way … via Yemen Times
“Since then, we have seen scores of Israelis treated for shock and other Qassam-related injuries including those maimed by the rockets. “Israel will pursue those that strike at us and we will not permit these attacks to continue”
DAMASCUS, Syria - The exiled leader of Hamas accused Israel of exaggerating the Palestinian militant group’s military strength and of trying to start a war against Hamas and the Lebanese guerrilla force … via KAAL
“We will be monitoring and verifying”
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with top Israeli and Palestinian negotiators on Monday before heading for a final session with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan as she wraps up a three-day mission intended to reinvogorate Mideast peace talks.
There was no immediate indication from any of the parties what, if anything, came from her separate morning meetings in Jerusalem with former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.
Talks with the two sides a day earlier produced Israeli promises to ease restrictions in the West Bank. Read more
“In Saudi Arabia, we live more of a virtual life than a real life. I know people who are involved in on-line romances with people they have never met in real life”
Comments A leading Saudi preacher believes the Facebook website is a ‘door to lust’ A woman was beaten up and shot dead by her father for talking online with a man she met on the website Facebook. via Daily Mail
“Saudi Arabia is already the region’s biggest market for all industries, and we believe it will continue to grow significantly over the next several years.”
Aramex, one of the world’s leading transportation solutions providers, has recently appointed a seasoned Aramex veteran to drive its rapid growth in the Kingdom. via AME Info
Iraqis bury their dead but clashes continue in Baghdad despite a truce to end a week of violence The government portrayed the crackdown as an attempt to assert state authority in a lawless city. via Reuters