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| October 8, 2003 |
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World Media Watch by Gloria R. Lalumia BUZZFLASH NOTE: Once again, these are the views and perspectives of the individual papers, not of BuzzFlash or Gloria. They offer BuzzFlash readers a way of reading what other nations are saying about the crisis, whether we like it or not. We repeat: This is not an endorsement of their viewpoints. * * * 1//The
Guardian, UK--ARAFAT HAS SUFFERED HEART ATTACK, ADMITS
AIDE (Yasser Arafat has suffered
a mild heart attack but the Palestinian leadership has sought
to keep his health problems secret for fear it will "create
panic"... The Palestinian press said he was suffering
from flu. But Palestinian officials told the Guardian that
Mr Arafat had suffered a heart attack last week. "Although
he has had a slight heart attack, the doctors say he will
make a full recovery. He is in full control. There is nothing
to worry about," said a close aide to Mr Arafat, who
did not wish to be named.) 4//The Japan Times, Japan--RUSSIAN EXPERT HOLDS OUT HOPE FOR KYOTO (The fate of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol was thrown into jeopardy when Russian President Vladimir Putin failed last month to provide any indication that his country would ratify it. Yet one Russian expert on climate change has not given up hope, saying he will continue to urge the Russian government to ratify the pact, aimed at curbing global warming.) 5//The Independent, UK--SHAREHOLDERS INCREASE PRESSURE ON SKY OVER MURDOCH SUCCESSION (Shareholders stepped up the pressure yesterday on BSkyB to make the selection of its next chief executive an open and competitive process, following concerns that James Murdoch would be installed in the post...One shareholder said: "It would take quite a person to provide any sort of check on Rupert Murdoch but his son seems uniquely unqualified to even attempt that task." Brokers say US investors are much more comfortable than UK shareholders with James Murdoch getting the job...There has been speculation that the new chief executive might come from elsewhere in the News Corp empire, especially from its Fox television operation in the US. Rupert Murdoch has looked within his News Corp business for the last two Sky chief executive appointments.) * * * 1//The
Guardian Wednesday October 8, 2003 ARAFAT HAS SUFFERED HEART ATTACK, ADMITS AIDE Chris McGreal in Jerusalem Yasser Arafat has suffered a mild heart attack but the Palestinian leadership has sought to keep his health problems secret for fear it will "create panic". The 74-year-old Palestinian president, who is suffering from Parkinson's disease, disappeared from public view last week and re-emerged at the weekend looking extremely ill. His face was pale and pinched, he had lost weight and he was almost inaudible. He had trouble standing for more than a few minutes at a time. The Palestinian press said he was suffering from flu. But Palestinian officials told the Guardian that Mr Arafat had suffered a heart attack last week. "Although he has had a slight heart attack, the doctors say he will make a full recovery. He is in full control. There is nothing to worry about," said a close aide to Mr Arafat, who did not wish to be named. Asked why it had not been made public at the time, the official said that it would "have created panic at a critical time when the Israelis are threatening Arafat's life". (MORE)
A WAR SHORT ON SUBSTANCE, LONG ON FORM KARACHI - As the months and the years drag on, and the United States is no closer to bringing order to Afghanistan, desperate measures are being taken in an attempt to breathe some life - and credibility - into its campaign in the region. (SNIP) US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, meanwhile, on Sunday praised Pakistan for the raids and for what its military has done against suspected terrorist training camps in the mountainous regions that border Afghanistan. "In recent days there have been some rather significant activities that the Pakistani forces have taken against the Taliban and al-Qaeda, and I think this is a very good omen and I have no doubt it will continue," Armitage told reporters in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar. A nice soundbite for people back home in the US, and for the US's favorite "ally" in the "war on terror", Pakistan, but the hard truth is that neither operation achieved anything of consequence, and the US is still essentially shooting in the dark in Afghanistan. Certainly, al-Qaeda is weakened, and has been for some time, but the resistance movement is still very much alive and well in Afghanistan, with the Taliban taking the lead role. The anti-US movement is growing and evolving by the day into a struggle similar to the one that saw the Taliban fill the power vacuum created by bickering warlords in 1996. Grounded in a strong sense of order, nationalism and fundamental Islamic principles, the movement is strengthening its hold in the southeast of the country, where the Taliban has gained - and retained - control of five important districts over the past few weeks. (SNIP) However, the US appears set on pursuing the "Taliban" avenue. Reports emerging from Pakistan claim that former Taliban minister Mullah Abdul Wakeel Mutawakil has been released from US custody for him to make contact with Mullah Omar and negotiate some form of a deal. With operations like South Waziristan and Diamir, and involving the Taliban, it is beginning to look as if the US would dearly like to set the stage for it to leave Afghanistan, and with a modicum of its "face" intact.
SE ASIA TO FORM HUGE TRADE BLOC ASEAN leaders yesterday signed a watershed agreement to move Southeast Asia towards a European Union-style economic community. Pledging to have the ASEAN Economic Community in place by 2020, the pact of 10 nations -- representing 500 million people and a combined gross domestic product of more than $US700billion ($1 trillion) -- aims to shatter tariff and non-tariff barriers and create a "single market and production base" in the region. In a move that further isolates Australia, the 10 leaders -- representing military dictatorships, communist regimes and an absolute monarchy as well as burgeoning democracies -- signed the Bali Concord II. After the signing, Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri said: "We have just witnessed a watershed in the history of ASEAN." (SNIP) Chinese premier Wen Jiabao seized upon the prospect of a new regional power to envisage that a China-ASEAN trade agreement, being negotiated, would create a liberalised zone of 2 billion people and GDP of $US3trillion by 2010. The vision of an "ASEAN Economic Community" will bolster the grouping's negotiations for free trade zones with China, India and Japan that aim to be completed over the next eight years. The leaders of those three countries, along with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, are at the ASEAN summit. The potential northern powerhouse further isolates Australia, after officials this week said a similar "ASEAN plus Australia" meeting, mooted last year, was off the agenda. (SNIP) "We are more interested in looking to our east to northeast Asia, and west to South Asia," said one official, explaining that developing the economic relationship with Australia was not a priority for the region. (MORE)
RUSSIAN EXPERT HOLDS OUT HOPE FOR KYOTO The fate of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol was thrown into jeopardy when Russian President Vladimir Putin failed last month to provide any indication that his country would ratify it. Yet one Russian expert on climate change has not given up hope, saying he will continue to urge the Russian government to ratify the pact, aimed at curbing global warming. (SNIP) "Russia blocked the protocol from entering into force and blocked the activities of 118 countries that have ratified it," remarked Alexey Kokorin, a climate change program coordinator with the environmental group World Wide Fund for Nature. (SNIP) Although Putin was expected to clarify the timetable for the ratification of the protocol in his opening speech at the World Climate Change Conference in Moscow in late September, he reportedly told the conference that "the decision (for the ratification) will be made only after detailed investigation by the government and in full accordance with Russia's national interest." (SNIP) For the treaty to take effect, it must be ratified by at least 55 signatory countries. Moreover, the nations that endorse the treaty must together have accounted for 55 percent or more of 1990 carbon dioxide emissions by industrial countries. Though it has been ratified by more than 100 nations, the protocol has yet to take effect as it has failed to surpass the latter 55 percent threshold. The United States -- the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide -- decided in 2001 it would not join the protocol. International attention has thus centered on Russia, whose ratification would have put the treaty into force. Kokorin believes that Putin's September statement does not necessarily constitute a retreat, stating that Putin only chose to delay his decision for the following reasons. "The first is that Putin wanted to show the world that he will not give in to any pressure from the European Union and other countries that ratified it," he said. At the same time, Putin is trying to maintain good relations with the U.S. and EU by postponing his decision, he added. Finally, Kokorin said, Putin is eyeing both a parliamentary election slated for December and presidential election slated for March. (MORE)
SHAREHOLDERS INCREASE PRESSURE ON SKY OVER MURDOCH SUCCESSION Shareholders stepped up the pressure yesterday on BSkyB to make the selection of its next chief executive an open and competitive process, following concerns that James Murdoch would be installed in the post. The National Association of Pension Funds met Lord St John of Fawsley, the senior non-executive director at the pay-TV company and head of its nominations committee, to demand that a proper procedure be put in place to find a successor to Tony Ball, who gave notice last month that he is quitting. James Murdoch, the 30-year-old son of the company's chairman, Rupert Murdoch, is the clear favourite to get the job, a prospect that has led to deep misgivings among Sky shareholders. Some investors simply want there to be genuine competition to succeed Mr Ball. It is understood that other investors would be unhappy with a father-and-son top team, even if James is the best qualified person for the job. (SNIP) Investors have over the last few years demanded that companies split the chairman and chief executive jobs, in order that power is not concentrated in one person. Sky shareholders argue that the father-son relationship is so close that it would amount to one person holding both jobs. One shareholder said: "It would take quite a person to provide any sort of check on Rupert Murdoch but his son seems uniquely unqualified to even attempt that task." Brokers say US investors are much more comfortable than UK shareholders with James Murdoch getting the job. Lord St John of Fawsley leads a four-strong nominations committee officially charged with appointing a new chief executive, with a headhunting firm also employed. The committee includes Allan Leighton, the Post Office chairman, whose independence is generally recognised by shareholders. (SNIP) There has been speculation that the new chief executive might come from elsewhere in the News Corp empire, especially from its Fox television operation in the US. Rupert Murdoch has looked within his News Corp business for the last two Sky chief executive appointments. The deadline for applications is thought to be the end of this week. Bernstein Research downgraded Sky shares to "underperform" from "market perform" yesterday, saying: "The potential hiring of James Murdoch as CEO adds another layer of entanglement." Others mentioned as possible candidates from outside News Corp include the Cox Communications' chief executive, Jim Robbins, and EchoStar's president, Michael Dugan. | |||||
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