July 19, 2004

World Media Watch

by Gloria R. Lalumia

BUZZFLASH NOTE: WMW provides BuzzFlash readers foreign views and perspectives that are not usually available from the media here in the U.S. The presentation of these articles from these international publications is not an endorsement of their viewpoints.

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WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR JULY 19, 2004

1//The Independent, UK--BLAIR FIGHTS TO TAKE IRAQ OFF POLITICAL AGENDA (Tony Blair was at Chequers yesterday preparing for a final gruelling week designed to switch the political agenda back to domestic issues before heading for his summer break at Sir Cliff Richard's holiday home in Barbados...The Department for Transport releases its own five-year plan tomorrow amid fears that discontent among commuters could cost Labour a clutch of marginal seats in the South-east. But it will inevitably be overshadowed by the debate the same day on Iraq. Michael Howard, the Tory leader, will concentrate on the Butler inquiry findings, but will widen his attack to the abuse of Iraqi prisoners and the alleged lack of preparedness for the reconstruction of the country.)

2//The Daily Star, Lebanon--There are now 45,000 mobile telephone subscribers in southern Iraq who will soon be linked to other parts of the country, the deputy director of Atheer Tel, which services the area, was quoted as saying Saturday...According to Dahawi, Atheer Tel is awaiting the pullout of foreign troops from Iraq in order to expand its network...Communication experts say there will be 5 million mobile phone users in Iraq within three years, and 8 million within 10 years.

3//The Toronto Star, Canada--OTTAWA TO INTRODUCE BIOMETRIC PASSPORTS (Canada plans to begin issuing high-tech passports with digitized photographs next year, saying reliable travel documents are crucial to the country's status as a "First World nation."...Initially some worried the United States would require Canadian visitors to carry passports conforming to ICAO standards. Though Canada is exempt from the U.S. regime, the federal government decided on a "proactive response" to the American move to step up border controls, say the newly released background notes on the e-Passport project.)

4//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--US PUTS INDIA BACK ON 'GLIDE PATH' (- United States Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage ran into a lot of frost in Delhi's summer heat over the issue of former Indian defense minister George Fernandes allegedly being strip-searched in US airports on official visits a few years ago. But he was able to break the ice with his Indian counterparts during his just-finished two-day visit with profuse apologies over the affair and promises to talk to Pakistan about the continued existence of the infrastructure to export terrorism there...The promises of the transfer of high technology include civilian advanced reactors, and technological collaboration in space. Leftist commentators quote senior Bush administration officials as having admitted that the "glide path" is a diplomatic ploy and no real high-value technology is in the pipeline, at least not until Washington gains real confidence in India, which may be the same as New Delhi doing what it is asked to do by the US.)

5//The Moscow Times, Russia--RUSSIA RANKED 57TH NICEST PLACE TO LIVE (The United Nations has ranked Russia the 57th-best country to live in, calling it "remarkable progress" from last year's ranking of 63rd. Russia is sandwiched between Bulgaria and Libya, ranked 56th and 58th, respectively, while Norway has retained the top spot on the annual human development index compiled by the UN Development Program...Norway is followed in the top 10 by Sweden, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, Iceland, the United States, Japan and Ireland. Sierra Leone is at the bottom of the list...Vladimir Pribylovsky, head of the Panorama think tank on domestic policy, said the UN report does not reflect reality. "I don't see a trend toward a better life," he said. "Maybe life in Uzbekistan and Belarus got worse then, and that's why our rating rose." The painful social reform that is in the pipeline for next year -- the replacement of many privileges for veterans, pensioners and other low-income people with cash payments -- may further worsen living standards, he said. "Up to 70 percent of the people will suffer from that," Pribylovsky said.)

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1//The Independent, UK 19 July 2004
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=542399

BLAIR FIGHTS TO TAKE IRAQ OFF POLITICAL AGENDA
By Nigel Morris, Home Affairs Correspondent

Tony Blair was at Chequers yesterday preparing for a final gruelling week designed to switch the political agenda back to domestic issues before heading for his summer break at Sir Cliff Richard's holiday home in Barbados.

Today he and David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, launch the Government's five year plan for tackling crime and disorder, an issue which has become Downing Street's number one concern. Confirming the feedback from Labour MPs in inner-city constituencies, it dominated the campaign in the Birmingham Hodge Hill by-election, in which the party's large majority was slashed to just 460.

The Department for Transport releases its own five-year plan tomorrow amid fears that discontent among commuters could cost Labour a clutch of marginal seats in the South-east.

But it will inevitably be overshadowed by the debate the same day on Iraq. Michael Howard, the Tory leader, will concentrate on the Butler inquiry findings, but will widen his attack to the abuse of Iraqi prisoners and the alleged lack of preparedness for the reconstruction of the country.

(SNIP)

The week brings to a close a traumatic parliamentary year for Mr Blair, during which speculation gathered over how long that he would remain in Downing Street and dogged by tensions with Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, over the succession to No 10.

The Observer reported yesterday that the Prime Minister had told friends that he had made no deal with Mr Brown over stepping down. It said he was talking about "his third term being a meaningful third term", suggesting he intends to serve for several more years if Labour win the next election.

However, the problems the Prime Minister has to overcome were underlined by two polls yesterday. An NOP survey for the Sunday Express found 55 per cent of voters trusted him less than they did before the Butler report was published and 44 per cent thought he should resign over Iraq. A YouGov poll for The Sunday Times showed 57 per cent would not trust Mr Blair to take Britain to war again.

When MPs return from holiday on 7 September, Mr Blair is likely to face many of the same issues that confront him now. It is possible that he may delay his reshuffle to that month to start the new parliamentary year with fresh momentum.

Later that month he will have the task of raising party morale at the Labour conference, although many of the rank-and-file are openly hostile to the policy on Iraq and moves to extend choice in public services.

But he will need to use the gathering in Bournemouth to unveil some striking new policy ideas to allow the party to put the turmoil of 2003-04 behind it.

2//The Daily Star, Lebanon Monday, July 19, 2004
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=3&article_id=6373

SOUITHERN IRAQ HAS 45,000 MOBILE PHONES
By Agence France Presse (AFP)

AMMAN: There are now 45,000 mobile telephone subscribers in southern Iraq who will soon be linked to other parts of the country, the deputy director of Atheer Tel, which services the area, was quoted as saying Saturday.

"Atheer Tel subscribers will be able to make calls to other networks elsewhere in the country within a few days," Ali al-Dahawi told the Jordanian daily Al-Dustour. Atheer Tel is a joint venture between a private Iraqi company and Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Co. (MTC).

It was selected by the interim Iraqi authorities in October to set up a mobile phone network covering 13 cities in southern Iraq, while Orascom Telecom Holding of Egypt was awarded a license to operate in central Iraq.

A third company, Asia Cell, was granted a licence for northern Iraq.

In April, the now defunct Coalition Provisional Authority announced that an Iraqi Kurdish company, Sana Tel, was awarded a licence to operate in the northern Sulaymaniyah province.

According to Dahawi, Atheer Tel is awaiting the pullout of foreign troops from Iraq in order to expand its network.

"We now cover 1,300 square kilometers from Basra to Salman Bak," just south of Baghdad, he said.

(SNIP)

Communication experts say there will be 5 million mobile phone users in Iraq within three years, and 8 million within 10 years.

3//The Toronto Star, Canada Jul. 18, 2004. 03:48 PM
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagen...

OTTAWA TO INTRODUCE BIOMETRIC PASSPORTS
Computer chip will hold digital information on holder

OTTAWA (CP) - Canada plans to begin issuing high-tech passports with digitized photographs next year, saying reliable travel documents are crucial to the country's status as a "First World nation."

The e-Passport, as the revamped book is dubbed - given its electronic features - will be distributed on a trial basis to Canadian diplomats sometime in the first half of 2005, said Dan Kingsbury, a spokesman for the federal Passport Office.

"If the initial implementation goes well, we'll begin issuing the e-Passport to the general public afterwards," Kingsbury said in an interview.

"It's all about maintaining the integrity and the security of the passport."

The project is the latest federal initiative to track and control the flow of people across borders more closely following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.

The government is pushing ahead with the plan despite objections from privacy and information specialists who argue it is unduly intrusive and unlikely to enhance national security.

With the inclusion of a digitized photo, the passport moves into the controversial realm of biometrics, the use of measurable personal features such as an image, iris scan or fingerprints as identification markers.

The e-Passport will feature a computer chip containing the holder's photograph and personal information on the current passport, including name and date of birth, say briefing notes obtained by The Canadian Press under the federal Access to Information law.

Authorities at border points would be able to call up the data on the digital chip by swiping the passport against an electronic reader.

"The aim of the e-Passport is to reduce the chance of passport tampering and identity fraud," Kingsbury said.

"What the person checking the passport will be able to do is ensure that everything is the same on the chip as it is in the passport itself."

In May 2003, the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization settled on facial recognition as the minimum biometric security standard for passports.

Initially some worried the United States would require Canadian visitors to carry passports conforming to ICAO standards.

Though Canada is exempt from the U.S. regime, the federal government decided on a "proactive response" to the American move to step up border controls, say the newly released background notes on the e-Passport project.

(SNIP)

Kingsbury said there is no plan to compile a searchable electronic database of the images and other data encoded on e-Passport chips.

The project still raises concerns because storage of personal information on computer chips potentially opens the door to "much wider circulation" of the data, said Andrew Clement, a professor of information studies at the University of Toronto.

(MORE)

4//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong July 17, 2004
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FG17Df04.html

US PUTS INDIA BACK ON 'GLIDE PATH'
By Sultan Shahin

NEW DELHI - United States Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage ran into a lot of frost in Delhi's summer heat over the issue of former Indian defense minister George Fernandes allegedly being strip-searched in US airports on official visits a few years ago. But he was able to break the ice with his Indian counterparts during his just-finished two-day visit with profuse apologies over the affair and promises to talk to Pakistan about the continued existence of the infrastructure to export terrorism there.

The Indian government, trying to put the strip-search affair behind it, focused on developing closer ties with the US, even though large segments of the country would like to see American visitors to India harassed in a similar vein as Fernandes was. An editorial in the Hindustan Times argued: "India, with a much more tangible threat of terrorism, has a better reason to insist on such an arrangement. After all, a number of US nationals have been charged for collaborating with the Taliban and their likes. In contrast, no Indian of any religious profession has been found in the same situation."

Despite this atmosphere, both countries stressed promoting the bilateral relationship, as well as discussing issues of global concern, including likely cooperation in third countries such as Iraq. The two sides are also reported to have sorted out their difficulties over the transfer of high technology from the US to India as part of the "quartet" issues, including the sale of possible dual-use components from third countries to India.

(SNIP)

There is particular appreciation in India of Armitage's comments on Pakistan, especially as he traveled to Islamabad after his India visit. Asked whether he believed Pakistan had dismantled its terrorist-export infrastructure, Armitage said, "Clearly, all the infrastructure and cross-border support activities have not been dismantled. Some infrastructure has been dismantled, but the level of infiltration was still too high." India reportedly gave him a thorough briefing on the rising graph of militant activities in Kashmir.

(SNIP)

Despite the media focus on issues like the terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan, troops to Iraq and the strip-search affair, it seems the main subject of discussion during the Armitage visit was the "Next Steps in Strategic Partnership" (NSSP) initiative - announced simultaneously on January 12 by US President George W Bush in Washington and then Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in New Delhi. Essentially, the NSSP involves what Secretary of State Colin Powell said was the "glide path" to this partnership, characterized by an expansion of cooperation in the fields of civilian nuclear activities, civilian space programs and high-tech trade, (ballistic missile defense being an afterthought).

The promises of the transfer of high technology include civilian advanced reactors, and technological collaboration in space. Leftist commentators quote senior Bush administration officials as having admitted that the "glide path" is a diplomatic ploy and no real high-value technology is in the pipeline, at least not until Washington gains real confidence in India, which may be the same as New Delhi doing what it is asked to do by the US.

Important differences, even with the pro-American Vajpayee government, however, prevented the two sides from arriving at a "closure" on discussions on high-tech transfers. Nevertheless, the Congress-led government has clearly decided to risk the Left's displeasure, disregard their warnings and carry on from where the last government left off.

5//The Moscow Times, Russia Monday, July 19, 2004. Page 1.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/07/19/003.html

RUSSIA RANKED 57TH NICEST PLACE TO LIVE
By Anatoly Medetsky, Staff Writer

The United Nations has ranked Russia the 57th-best country to live in, calling it "remarkable progress" from last year's ranking of 63rd.

Russia is sandwiched between Bulgaria and Libya, ranked 56th and 58th, respectively, while Norway has retained the top spot on the annual human development index compiled by the UN Development Program.

The index measures 177 countries in terms of life expectancy, education level and adjusted real income. It is based on 2002 statistics, the latest that are available.

Norway is followed in the top 10 by Sweden, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, Iceland, the United States, Japan and Ireland. Sierra Leone is at the bottom of the list.

(SNIP)

UNDP praised Russia's leap forward. "We consider it as remarkable progress," said Viktoria Zotikova, UNDP spokeswoman in Moscow.

Russia probably made further progress during 2003, she said. The key factor holding the country back is life expectancy, which was 66.7 years in 2002, she said.

The countries at the top of the index have life expectancies of around 80 years. The country with the next-lowest life expectancy on the index is No. 78 Kazakhstan, at 66.2 years.

The UNDP rating puts Russia above all the other former Soviet republics except those in the Baltics: Estonia (36), Lithuania (41) and Latvia (50). Russia is also ahead of China, ranked 94TH.

(SNIP)

Vladimir Pribylovsky, head of the Panorama think tank on domestic policy, said the UN report does not reflect reality. "I don't see a trend toward a better life," he said. "Maybe life in Uzbekistan and Belarus got worse then, and that's why our rating rose."

The painful social reform that is in the pipeline for next year -- the replacement of many privileges for veterans, pensioners and other low-income people with cash payments -- may further worsen living standards, he said. "Up to 70 percent of the people will suffer from that," Pribylovsky said.

(MORE)