Egypt | Jadaliyya The Moor Next Door | Maghreb Affairs :: Geopolitics :: International Relations Accueil - Agence Française de Développement (AFD) The Angry Arab News Service. A source on politics, war, the Middle East, Arabic poetry, and Art Why countries that recognize Palestinian statehood turn their backs on Kosovo Kofu, Japan Yamanashi prefecture, located two hours west of Tokyo, is unlikely to surface on most must-see guides for people visiting Japan. And yet, tourists are swarming there. In the last five years, the number of overnight foreign visitors to Yamanashi—Japan’s main fruit-growing and wine region, and one of the two prefectures that claims Mount Fuji—grew more than five times to 1.4 million by the end of 2016. That compares to a roughly fourfold increase for visitors to Japan overall in the same period, as tourism rebounded after a dip in 2011, the year of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. For many years, the perception that Japan was too expensive and difficult to navigate kept tourists away. Yamanashi’s unusual success in joining Japan’s tourism boom owes much to its willingness to adapt to foreigners—something that isn’t easy for a country steeped in traditions and mind-bogglingly complex social protocol, much of it daunting to first-time visitors. “Japanese people hate change.”
Blog - The Arabist Syria Comment 226 The Clinton Peace Plan- 23 December 2000 In a last ditch effort to revive the peace process, the United States invited Israeli and PA negotiators back to Washington, D.C. for separate talks with the American peace teams. They came on 18 December and met for two days separately with the American officials. On 20 December, Foreign Minister Ben-Ami and PA negotiator Saeb Erekat met in the White House with President Clinton and Secretary Albright. Territory: Based on what I heard, I believe that the solution should be in the mid-90 percents, between 94-96 percent of the West Bank territory of the Palestinian State. The land annexed by Israel should be compensated by a land swap of 1-3 percent in addition to territorial arrangements such as a permanent safe passage. The parties also should consider the swap of leased land to meet their respective needs... The Parties should develop a map consistent with the following criteria: Security: The key lies in an international presence that can only be withdrawn by mutual consent. Jerusalem: