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MidEast Business Weekly Each Friday we explore the world of business in the Middle East, highlighting The Media Line's coverage of everything from finance and real estate to working conditions, aviation and social networking. The management and staff of The Media Line Ltd. wish our readers a joyous Christmas and a Happy New Year! The MidEast Daily will return on Sunday.
Afghan Opium Production Falling
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A United Nations report on Afghanistan shows that opium production is down for the second consecutive year. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Afghanistan Opium Survey 2009 showed that Afghani opium sales fell by 18%, from $3.4 billion in 2008 to $2.8 billion. The cultivation and smuggling of opium and its refined product heroin is one of the main sources of income for the Taliban and criminal organizations in southern Afghanistan. The report cites lower cultivation, lower production and lower prices as the main causes for the drop in sales, along with a rise in Afghanistan’s Gross Domestic Production (GDP), which has meant that opium and opium based products now occupy a smaller share of the country’s economy. 123,000 hectares, mostly in southern Afghanistan, are presently being used for cultivation compared to 153,000 hectares in 2008, a decline analysts suggest is due to both military operations by the United States and its allies, and an encouragement of farmers to switch to legal crops like saffron.
http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=27472
Turkey Ventures into Satellite Media War
Turkey is looking to buttress its relations with the Arab world by launching an Arabic-language satellite station. The station will officially be launched by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, underlining what Ankara perceives as a strategic project in the region to improve relations with its neighbors. The state-owned Turkish broadcasting authority, TRT, is slated to start broadcasting the channel at the beginning of 2010. Two Arab satellite giants, ArabSat and NileSat, have agreed to beam the channel internationally, specifically targeting Arab countries. In recent years, Turkey, a predominantly non-Arab country with only half a million Arab speakers, has played a pivotal part in regional developments. Analysts estimate that an Arabic speaking satellite channels could improve Ankara’s standing in Brussels, which seeks Turkey’s help in forming a bridge with the Arab world. Turkey is currently engaged in accession talks to the European Union but negotiations have been hampered because of slow progress on core issues such as Turkey’s human rights record, its penal code and its dispute with EU member Cyprus.
http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=27473
Gaza Pockets Hit by Fishy Tunnels Fish smuggled into the Gaza Strip from Egypt are pushing down prices and hitting pockets of local fishermen. Palestinian fishermen say the smuggled stock sold in local markets undercuts their local yield, which is limited by Israeli restrictions on Gazan movements at sea. After Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in January 2006 Israel restricted Gazan fishermen to 12 miles (19 kilometers) from the shore, claiming it would prevent the smuggling of weapons and ammunition into Gaza by sea. The limit has since been reduced to three nautical miles. Nizar Ayyash, who heads the Fishermen Union in Gaza, told Palestinian news agency Ma’an that fish entering Gaza through tunnels was coming from Al-Arish and Port Said, sometimes at a volume of three tons a day. Commonly considered an expensive delicacy in Gaza, fish is usually kept for special occasions and guests. High-quality fish can cost up to 180 shekels ($47) per kilogram. Israel restricted the passage of goods into Gaza after Hamas was elected in 2006, and more severely when Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in a June 2007 coup. Israel and the United States define Hamas as a terror organization. The movement has refused to fall in line with international demands to recognize Israel, acknowledge previously signed agreements and renounce violence.
http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=27459
Israeli Firm behind World’s Most Advanced Traffic Information System
Imagine being able to look at your mobile phone and see whether traffic is cruising along or standing still on the road up ahead. The Israeli firm Waze has made this possible with a free application allowing you to hit the roads stress-free. The application works by letting drivers see how traffic is moving based on information sent automatically by other users. Data sent from drivers’ smart phones is combined with GPS readings and updated in real time in a program resembling a Pac-Man style graphic. Originally developed in Israel, where some 220,000 use it, the application is now available around the globe, with the quality of the service varying according to the number of users in any given region. The program generates maps of roads from automatic inputs from users as they drive. This allows the system to update itself more frequently than normal GPS systems which need to continually download maps to keep up to date.
http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=27498
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