Stay true to the dreams of thy youth

Palestinians deserve Obama’s support in September - FT

This message is easily summarised: Israel is not interested in peace; it wants to maintain apartheid. The PLO recognised Israel back in 1993, in an exchange of letters between Yassir Arafat, the Palestinian president, and Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli prime minister. Eighteen years later, it is time for Israel to recognise Palestine. In our vision for peace, Jerusalem will be a shared and open capital, and a Palestinian state will be framed by the internationally recognised 1967 border with minor modifications in our interest, and not to legitimate illegal settlements. We believe a just and agreed solution to the issue of refugees can be based on UN resolution 194, as stated in the Arab Peace Initiative. With these principles, we are prepared to return to negotiations. Mr Netanyahu’s gamesmanship aside, we are pleased that Mr Obama recognised that Palestine must be based on the 1967 border. If Israel continues to choose colonisation over a two-state solution, we hope that the US will support our peaceful efforts to realise our national rights at the UN this September. As Mr Obama noted, the transformations taking place in the Middle East provide “a moment of opportunity”. We ask that this not be missed: it is truly an opportunity for Palestinians, Israelis, and world peace.

Kingdom to double wheat reserves - Arab News

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia expects about two million tons of wheat imports this year unchanged from 2010, and aims to double its reserves to one year’s consumption by 2014, the Kingdom’s Minister of Agriculture said. Saudi Arabia, which has emerged as a major buyer of wheat, wants to build up reserves of basic commodities such as wheat, rice, oils and sugar to protect itself against the impact of a spike in global food prices and to support its rapidly growing population. The country began importing wheat in 2009 and is looking to rely entirely on wheat imports by 2016 as it seeks to save precious water.

Global mobile ad revenues set to hit $3.3bn in 2011 - Technology - ArabianBusiness

Worldwide mobile advertising revenue is forecast to reach $3.3bn in 2011, more than double the $1.6bn generated in 2010, according to US research firm Gartner. Worldwide revenue will reach $20.6bn by 2015, but not all types of mobile advertising will generate the same opportunity.

Netanyahu is dooming Israel to live eternally by the sword - Haaretz

Netanyahu demands that the Palestinians renounce their national ethos and recognize Israel as "the nation-state of the Jewish people." He demands that Abbas commit himself to saying that a Jew in Brooklyn or London has more right to this country than an Arab citizen of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem or Haifa - and thereby essentially acknowledge that the Palestinians are foreign invaders in the Jewish people's state.

Obama to eat dinner with $5 donors The Washington Post

In a fundraising appeal signed by the president himself, the Obama re-election campaign is saying anyone who donates at least $5 on Wednesday automatically is placed into a lottery for a dinner with Obama. Four donors will get to attend the dinner, which does not yet have a date or a location.

The Palestinians cannot be Zionists by Ahmad Samih Khalidi | The Middle East Channel

The demand for the Palestinians to recognize Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people has yet another dimension. It places the moral burden of the conflict on the Palestinians, and consequently, not only exonerates Israel from the dubious moral circumstances of its birth but makes the Palestinians the historical transgressors; by refusing to accept the Jewish claim to the land we would be to blame for what has befallen us.

Qatar's pharmaceutical market set for 12% growth to 2015 - ArabianBusiness

Qatar’s pharmaceutical market is forecast to become a billion dollar industry in 2019, according to a new report by Business Monitor International.The sector was valued at QR1.43bn ($392m) in 2010 but is expected to see compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.6 percent to reach $709m by 2015, BMI said."Our longer range forecast is for Qatar to become a billion dollar pharmaceutical market for the first time in 2019 and reach QR3.99bn ($1.10bn) at the end of our forecast period in 2020," the report said.BMI analysts said the growth will be driven by expansion of the wider economy, for which growth in real terms is expected to remain above five percent a year over the next 10 years.

C.I.A. Building Base for Strikes in Yemen - NYTimes

WASHINGTON — The Central Intelligence Agency is building a secret air base in the Middle East to serve as a launching pad for strikes in Yemen using armed drones, an American official said Tuesday. The construction of the base is a sign that the Obama administration is planning an extended war in Yemen against an affiliate of Al Qaeda that has repeatedly tried to carry out terrorist plots against the United States.

Uncertainty and optimism in Egypt | The Middle East Channel

After a week in Cairo talking to a wide range of activists, academics, political figures, Islamists, journalists, and many others -- while also taking part in this exceptional conference which I helped organize at the American University of Cairo (video here) -- I came away sharing many of the concerns I encountered in the vibrant political discussions I heard, but broadly optimistic about Egypt's prospects. It is impossible to not be impressed with the energy, enthusiasm, and talent of the diverse array of activists and social forces which came together to make Tahrir possible. While I found plenty of reasons for concern about the intentions of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, I found myself more impressed by their relative incompetence than by their malevolent genius. I found the Muslim Brotherhood confident but clearly grappling with a wide range of unfamiliar issues and challenges which have the Islamists on shaky ground. I also found deep, if unsurprising, skepticism that the U.S. could or would play a positive role in shaping a new Egypt, a public sentiment with which the U.S. appears to be doing too little to engage.