Hussein Majdoubi wrote in <i>Al Quds Al Arabi </i>that the recent call by Abbas al Fassi, the Moroccan prime minister, for dialogue with Spain on the future of Ceuta and Melilla stirred mixed reactions. Spain officially rejected Morocco's demands, which led the Popular Party leaders to call it "imperialist". More astonishing was the reaction of the attitude of party leaders representing Spaniards of Moroccan origin. In this regard, Mustafa Aberchan, the leader of the coalition for Melilla party, expressed his absolute rejection of Moroccan demands, and defended the Spanish right over the autonomous city. In Ceuta, Mohamed Ali, the leader of the Ceuti Democratic Union, called for undermining the Moroccan dialogue. He said that the Ceuti population, which Morocco thinks are Moroccan, are in fact Spanish. He added that Rabat exploits this issue for internal political purposes. Some political sources in Ceuta think that this trend reflects the constraints under which the population lives. Most feel the urge to engage Spanish political institutions in order to achieve minimum rights. Others blame the grave marginalisation policy by Morocco towards this community as well as the bad media representation by associating them with drug, terrorism, and illegal immigration. Maysa Ghadeer decried the lack of research in the field of medicine in the UAE in an opinion piece for the Emirati newspaper <i>Al Bayan.</i> She blamed this for the decline in quality of medical services. Ghadeer quoted a medical practitioner: "The criteria for measuring improvements in medical services is not limited to treatment, but should relate also to prevention. 2009 was proclaimed the year of diabetes, but incidence of the disease is increasing. This means that the health campaigns were not effective in promoting health and raising awareness in the community." Many of the studies jointly undertaken by international companies. But UAE and resident health professionals and researchers know better what diseases are the most prevalent than foreign companies. The writer quoted another person who stated that the UAE spends far more than other countries on the health sector, and has large medical facilities, both public and private. Despite this patients are not fully satisfied with the services they receive. Hospitals fail to retain their best staff, and frequent medical errors are a problem, which claim the lives of many. To rectify this, the writer calls for a review of health policy and for more focus on research. In an editorial, the Qatari newspaper <i>Al Raha </i>expressed dismay at the political situation in Iraq. The paper worried the Iraq's political leaders could plunge the country into crisis. The paper argued that if this happens, terrorists may carry out more suicide bombings, bringing a new wave of deadly violence. The present situation is difficult to understand. It makes no sense that most factions and party leaders talk about the necessity of resolving the stalemate, but fail to take the steps necessary to overcome the impasse. First and most important, the poll results must be made official. More baffling still, Iraqi leaders have not agreed on holding open and comprehensive dialogue in order to form a new government based on any principle other than sectarian quotas. <i>Al Raha </i>supports the initiative of the Iraqi president, Jalal Talibani who laid out general guidelines for various political factions to help initiate a national dialogue, which would ultimately lead to a binding agreement. The newspaper also believes that Iraqi leaders are capable of getting through these delicate times if they would only focus on the interests of the country. "Had the US taken a firm stance - I do not mean military action - with the Iranian nuclear programme instead of such diplomatic fluidity, the situation would not have reached such level to see president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad using this issue for personal political ends," observed Salah al Qallab in a comment article for the Kuwaiti newspaper <i>Al Jareeda.</i> Since the outbreak of the Iranian nuclear crisis, the US should have adopted less negligent attitude, which has encouraged Tehran to diligently maneuvre., buying for more time. Meanwhile, it has been building up its atomic infrastructure and now forces the international community, either to recognise the status quo, or involve the whole region into a devastating war In the past, it was still possible to solve the problem without resorting to force. Now that Iran succeeded in using time, coercive measures is looming ahead. Any action yet would mostly benefit the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr Ahmadinejad believes if ever Iran manages to be a nuclear state, it will stand on a par with other superpowers. As a result, he will emerge as a national hero, if not a revolutionary icon across the Muslim world. * Digest compiled by Mostapha Elmouloudi