ARABICA - A Daily Shot Of What the Arab World is Saying/Hearing/Sharing

Kristen Gillespie

A R A B I C A ارابيكا

SNUBBED?
"Trusted sources' tell the Kuwaiti daily "The Gazette" that Jordan's King Abdullah recently refused to meet with an envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The report comes the day after the King met in Amman with the visiting editors-in-chief of Kuwait newspapers.

Jordan enjoys a reputation across the Arab world as a collaborator of Israel and a sellout to the United States. This article, almost certainly sourced by Jordanian officials, seems to attempt to put distance between Jordan and the Israeli government. Netanyahu "sent a special envoy asking for a secret meeting with the king in Aqaba and was refused," the paper reported. "The sources pointed out that Abdullah is furious at Israel and its Prime Minister over the state of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and statements by those close to Netanyahu that ‘Jordan is Palestine."" Israeli sources responded: "The Jordanian regime is suffering a serious crisis on the domestic level, noting that any Israeli interference could embarrass the Jordanian king."

CONDEMNED?
Lebanon's major political factions all own media organizations that they use as platforms for their agendas. Hezbollah is no different, and on its Al Manar website, the "party of God" condemned the attack against United Nations forces in southern Lebanon that resulted in six wounded French soldiers. A roadside bomb detonated on Tuesday as a UN convoy entered the city of Sidon from the south. "This assault is an unacceptable criminal act," Hezbollah said in a statement published on Al-Manar. Hezbollah called on "the Lebanese security services to investigate the crime and punish the perpetrators." What the article does not mention is the fact that Hezbollah largely runs the south of the country. The Lebanese army has a presence there, but Hezbollah maintains an intelligence service, informers and keeps a close eye on residents.

SILENCED?
The Syrian Revolution Facebook group has a new logo featuring a grainy black-and-white image of a young man with a banner over his mouth reading: "Your silence is killing us."

BETRAYED?
Here, a short clip of a Syrian tank opening fire as it rolls through an empty street of Homs. Outraged comments include condemnation of the "scumbag army," "may God rip out your eyes, treacherous Bashar" and "he who kills his own people is a traitor."

July 27, 2011

photo credit: illustir

WORLDCRUNCH

Premium stories from Worldcrunch's own network of multi-lingual journalists in over 30 countries.

WORLDCRUNCH

Jordan

ARABICA - A Daily Shot Of What the Arab World is Saying/Hearing/Sharing

Kristen Gillespie

A R A B I C A ارابيكا

SILENCED?
The Syrian Revolution Facebook group has a new logo featuring a grainy black-and-white image of a young man with a banner over his mouth reading: "Your silence is killing us."

July 27, 2011

photo credit: illustir

WORLDCRUNCH

Premium stories from Worldcrunch's own network of multi-lingual journalists in over 30 countries.

WORLDCRUNCH

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Economy

economy

Globalization Takes A New Turn, Away From China

China is still a manufacturing juggernaut and a growing power, but companies are looking for alternatives as Chinese labor costs continue to rise — as do geopolitical tensions with Beijing.

Photo of a woman working at a motorbike factory in China's Yunnan Province.

A woman works at a motorbike factory in China's Yunnan Province.

Jiang Wenyao/Xinhua via ZUMA Wire

Pierre Haski

-Analysis-

PARIS — What were the representatives of dozens of large American companies doing in Vietnam these past few days?

A few days earlier, a delegation of foreign company chiefs currently based in China were being welcomed by business and government leaders in Mexico.

Then there was Foxconn, Apple's Taiwanese subcontractor, which signed an investment deal in the Indian state of Telangana, enabling the creation of 100,000 jobs. You read that right: 100,000 jobs.

What these three examples have in common is the frantic search for production sites — other than China!

For the past quarter century, China has borne the crown of the "world's factory," manufacturing the parts and products that the rest of the planet needs. Billionaire Jack Ma's Alibaba.com platform is based on this principle: if you are a manufacturer and you are looking for cheap ball bearings, or if you are looking for the cheapest way to produce socks or computers, Alibaba will provide you with a solution among the jungle of factories in Shenzhen or Dongguan, in southern China.

All of this is still not over, but the ebb is well underway.