Rabat, Morocco - The Moroccan authorities managed to cut illegal cannabis production by 65 per cent in 2008, the Interior Ministry said Friday.

Morocco is the world's second biggest grower after Afghanistan of cannabis, from which hashish is made.

The goal now is to reduce cannabis cultivation land from 60,000 hectares in 2008 to 50,000 hectares this year, the ministry said in a press release.

The government has fought cannabis cultivation by destroying crops and with an information campaign trying to persuade farmers to replace the drug with other crops.

The Moroccan authorities have been accused of failing to develop the economy of the northern Rif region, which relies heavily on cannabis cultivation.

Sana'a - Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh ordered a major fundraising campaign for the Palestinians as Israeli air strikes on the Gaza strip continued Friday, the official Saba news agency said.

Saleh entrusted a local pro-Palestinian NGO with leading the country-wide campaign, the agency said.

He urged Yemenis to "open-handedly contribute for their Palestinian brothers in the Gaza Strip who are subjected to the barbaric aggression and atrocities by the Zionist occupation forces," Saba said.

Saleh also ordered an "urgent shipment of medical and food supplies" to Gaza through Egypt.

Jakarta - Indonesian prosecutors will appeal the acquittal of a former intelligence agency official accused of masterminding the murder of a leading human rights activist, a spokesman for the Attorney-General's Office said Friday.

Activists have criticized the acquittal of Muchdi Purwoprandjono in the murder of Munir Said Thalib as proof that powerful figures remain above the law, despite a pledge by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to get to the bottom of the case.

Country's exports reported 10 per cent decline in November, 2008. It stood at $11.5 billions as compared to $12.7 billion in November last year. However, imports increased 6.1 per cent in the same period, leading to a trade deficit of $10 billion.

Country's cumulative exports grew by 19.4% for the period of April-November while the same period posted 33% surge in the imports, leading to a trade deficit of $84.34 billion as compared to $53.19 billion in the same period of 2007-08.

New York, Jan 2 : New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has said that he will support Caroline Kennedy if she's appointed to the Senate seat of Hillary Clinton by state Governor David Paterson, according to the New York Post.

"I have determined there's a good possibility she will be the appointee of the governor," The Post quoted Silver, as saying.

"If she is the appointee of the governor, I will certainly be supportive of her. I will work for her and will work strenuously for her election."

Islamabad, Jan. 2 : Angered over the shifting of the Davis Cup tie between Pakistan and Oman to Oman, the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) has demanded a compensation of 60, 00,000 dollars from the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

The PTF has lodged a strong protest with the International Tennis Federation (ITF) over the shifting and demanded that the matches should be played at any neutral venue.