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| January 16, 2004 |
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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. * * * WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR JANUARY 16, 2004 1//The Independent, UK--BLAIR FACES 24 HOURS THAT ARE CRITICAL TO HIS PREMIERSHIP (Lord Hutton announced yesterday that his long-awaited findings would be published on 28 January, the day after MPs will vote on the controversial Higher Education Bill. The announcement was a setback for Downing Street, which originally hoped the vote on top-up fees, already scheduled for 27 January, would be up to two weeks after the Hutton report to minimise the rebellion threatened by about 100 Labour backbenchers.) 2//Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany--IRAQ OFFER SPARKS NEW DEBATE (Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's offer to send an air force jet equipped with medical equipment to Iraq has re-ignited the national debate on what military involvement, if any, Germany should have in the reconstruction and stabilization of the war-torn country...The German willingness to send at least humanitarian help was followed on Thursday by a similar offer from France. The announcements, apparently coordinated between Paris and Berlin, suggested that the two countries were making a renewed bid to overcome the split with Washington caused by their refusal to support the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq last March.) 3//The Daily Star, Lebanon--REPORT LOOKS AT STATE OF SAUDI OIL SECTOR (Saudi Arabia needs to earn revenues at an average of $28 a barrel with a production of 8 million barrels per day over a 50-year period to meet financing requirements of current and capital expenditures, as well as to fulfill its $3.6 billion annual public debt repayment obligation, a report by the Saudi National Commercial Bank has estimated... Saudi Arabia, which accounts for the Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) largest deficits, has seen the shortfall reach nearly 100 percent of the country's GDP, it says. Continued government deficits, rising imports of goods and services, and money transfers abroad, have adversely affected domestic savings, which average only around 20 percent of national income, compared to around 35 percent for growing economies like Malaysia.) 4//World Press Review, USA--RENOVATING THE HOUSE OF SAUD (The Saudi ruling family is trying to face down an existential crisis the likes of which have never been seen before in the kingdom's 71 years of existence. Unprecedented demonstrations, multiple bombings, violent confrontations with security forces, attempted assassinations, and economic problems have underscored the fact that the House of Saud can no longer maintain control with the same ruling formula it has used for the past decades.) 5//The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia--SON OF STAR WARS IS COMMONSENSE: HOWARD (The government would be recklessly negligent if it failed to look at opportunities to defend Australia against possible future missile attacks, Prime Minister John Howard said today. Mr. Howard will break his summer holiday this morning to meet the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers. Among the issues up for discussion is Australia's role in the US missile defence scheme.) * * * 1//The
Independent 16 January 2004 BLAIR FACES 24 HOURS THAT ARE CRITICAL TO HIS PREMIERSHIP Tony Blair faces the most dangerous 24 hours of his premiership this month when a Commons vote on university top-up fees will be followed immediately by publication of Lord Hutton's report on the death of Dr David Kelly. Lord Hutton announced yesterday that his long-awaited findings would be published on 28 January, the day after MPs will vote on the controversial Higher Education Bill. The announcement was a setback for Downing Street, which originally hoped the vote on top-up fees, already scheduled for 27 January, would be up to two weeks after the Hutton report to minimise the rebellion threatened by about 100 Labour backbenchers. Lord Hutton, who will send his report to the printer on Monday, has shown his independence by sticking to his own preferred date of 28 January. He did not want the timing to be manipulated for political reasons. (MORE)
IRAQ OFFER SPARKS NEW DEBATE By Michael Gavin and Aaron Kirchfeld Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's offer to send an air force jet equipped with medical equipment to Iraq has re-ignited the national debate on what military involvement, if any, Germany should have in the reconstruction and stabilization of the war-torn country. In the Bundestag on Thursday, the opposition Christian Democratic Union welcomed the chancellor's announcement before calling for a more robust approach to German involvement. Whereas Schröder had said on Wednesday that a "Medevac" plane would be sent only if requested by a new Iraqi government and covered by a United Nations mandate, the CDU repeated its earlier call for Germany to authorize the participation of German officers in a possible NATO stabilization mission in Iraq. (SNIP) Schröder stressed on Wednesday that Germany would not send combat troops, telling parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee that "we do not have the intention of changing our policy on Iraq." But Ludger Volmer, the military affairs spokesman for his Social Democratic Party's junior coalition partner, the Greens, later stressed that the government had no intention of blocking any NATO mission there. The German willingness to send at least humanitarian help was followed on Thursday by a similar offer from France. The announcements, apparently coordinated between Paris and Berlin, suggested that the two countries were making a renewed bid to overcome the split with Washington caused by their refusal to support the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq last March. (MORE)
REPORT LOOKS AT STATE OF SAUDI OIL SECTOR RIYADH: Saudi Arabia needs to earn revenues at an average of $28 a barrel with a production of 8 million barrels per day over a 50-year period to meet financing requirements of current and capital expenditures, as well as to fulfill its $3.6 billion annual public debt repayment obligation, a report by the Saudi National Commercial Bank has estimated. But maintaining such a price level is a great challenge to OPEC's market share as other non-OPEC members would find any price above $14 a barrel enough incentive to develop their new oil fields, the report points out. Saudi Arabia, which accounts for the Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) largest deficits, has seen the shortfall reach nearly 100 percent of the country's GDP, it says. Continued government deficits, rising imports of goods and services, and money transfers abroad, have adversely affected domestic savings, which average only around 20 percent of national income, compared to around 35 percent for growing economies like Malaysia. For the region, savings rates turned negative in the wake of the 1991 Gulf War, depleting savings of the previous six years. While the 1970s and 80s were years of high surplus wealth from oil revenues, the fiscal balances across GCC countries have been running into deficits in the 90s. As a result, current expenditure continues to exceed 85 percent of total government outlays, while capital expenditure accounts for only 10-15 percent of total expenditure. This has hindered efforts to diversify their economies and lessen the dependence on oil and petrochemical industries, the study points out. Although "diversification" has been the catch phrase of GCC economic policies over the last three decades, it appears the success in the process of diversifying their economies has been limited, the report stresses. (MORE)
RENOVATING THE HOUSE OF SAUD Arab observers outside the kingdom seem to relish speculating on which member or branch of the House of Saud is in the ascendancy at any moment. Since King Fahd was essentially disabled by a stroke in 1995, Crown Prince Abdullah has prematurely risen into prominence as the de facto spokesperson for the royal family. He is the man U.S. President George W. Bush contacts, and he represents Saudi Arabia at Arab League Summits and other such gatherings. He also seems to be pursuing a reformist agenda. But, as many commentators have noted, he is limited by the reality that he is not king and so does not hold the absolute authority necessary to institute sweeping changes. He must work alongside many other active princes within the Saudi royal family, all with their own agendas, some working at cross-purposes with Abdullah. Webs of Patronage (MORE)
SON OF STAR WARS IS COMMONSENSE: HOWARD The government would be recklessly negligent if it failed to look at opportunities to defend Australia against possible future missile attacks, Prime Minister John Howard said today. Mr Howard will break his summer holiday this morning to meet the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers. Among the issues up for discussion is Australia's role in the US missile defence scheme. Australia is in negotiations with the US to enter its missile defence program - dubbed Son of Star Wars - by equipping new destroyers with anti-ballistic missiles and Orion aircraft with cruise missiles. Mr Howard said the discussions were still preliminary but described the program as a commonsense proposition. "We are going to be part of the examination, we don't take the negative attitude the Labor Party does," Mr Howard told ABC Radio. "We take the attitude that something that might enable this country to deter a missile attack on it in the future is part of the commonsense defence of Australia. (MORE) | |||||
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