Economy important in Israel, negative experiences in Egypt, transparency for disciplining police officers, tourism can grow even further, some voters won’t care about opinions in the EU referendum

A roundup of global commentary for the June 6, 2016 weekly magazine. 

Global Newsstand

The Jerusalem Post / Jerusalem

Economy important in Israel

“In the wake of the surprising political developments that led to the addition of Yisrael Beytenu to the government ... all but forgotten is the challenge lying ahead for the newly expanded government: passage of a two-year budget aimed at setting the economy back on track...,” states an editorial. “[T]here are a number of specific economic challenges facing Israel the government must address. Economic forecasts are predicting a slowdown of economic growth worldwide.... The government must continue to push for bringing international building firms to Israel and not cave in to pressure from powerful interest groups.... Processes such as opening a business, obtaining permits and paying taxes are prohibitively difficult in Israel compared to other countries.” 

Daily News Egypt / Cairo

Negative experiences in Egypt

“I distinctly remember in my early teen years [my father] telling of a Nasserite Egypt where ‘the walls have ears,’ ” writes Amr Khalifa. “Egypt nowadays is a nation where the ears have ears.... Socio-economic stratification that had a stranglehold on Cairo since the old days of Sadat’s Infitah (Open door) was as subtle as a hammer. Step out of a Zamalek Café, where the majority of the patrons conversed in American or British English, only to find yourself face to face with an Egyptian woman’s family who looked to be struggling to remain afloat day to day, let alone be able to conceive the opulence of the aforementioned café. How could anyone with the most minimal of deconstructive sensibilities not understand that this sort of contradiction is a time bomb in plain sight?” 

China Daily / Beijing

Transparency for disciplining police officers

“President Xi Jinping said [recently] that law enforcement must be strictly supervised and the outstanding problems solved so that everyone feels the fairness and justice of the law...,” states an editorial. “[I]t is of the utmost importance that the top authorities and the Ministry of Public Security rectify the abuse of police power by some police officers. Those police officers who illegally use violence or are involved in other abuses of police power must receive due punishments according to the law. And there must be enough transparency about how problematic police officers are subjected to the penalties they deserve for what they have done. It is also important to regulate law enforcement by standardizing police procedures.” 

Jamaica Observer / Kingston, Jamaica

Tourism can grow even further

“Every year in recent memory, the tourism sector has grown, allowing Jamaica to earn more foreign exchange, increase employment, generate greater tax revenue and stimulate the wider economy through the purchasing of goods and services from local producers...,” states an editorial. “[M]ore local providers of goods and services need to step up to the plate as there is still a high import content visible in tourism. We hold that Jamaica can and should gain more from tourism. As such, we support [Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett’s] call for farmers and suppliers of agricultural products to use the recently released tourism demand study to help reduce Jamaica’s import bill.” 

The Telegraph / London

Some voters won’t care about opinions in the EU referendum

“[A]mong Conservatives of the younger political generations, there is an appetite for a succession contest and a subsequent leadership that are about much more than Europe,” writes James Kirkup. “Offering new Conservative answers on economic inequality, social mobility, technology and the changing nature of work may prove more important to such Tories than which side someone took in the [European Union] referendum. Anyone who can appeal to the quiet majority of Tories who are not much interested in European warfare will be a formidable contender for the leadership.”