December 3, 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 DECEMBER 3, 2004

1//The Independent, UK-- FINGERPRINT SYSTEM CRASH FUELS DOUBTS OVER ID CARD SCHEME (Investigations into thousands of crimes have been hampered by a serious crash in the police computer system for checking fingerprints. All 43 forces in England and Wales were affected by the shutdown, which meant officers could not check the fingerprints of suspects. The collapse of the national automated fingerprint identification system (Nafis) is the latest embarrassing computer failure to affect a public body and will raise fresh questions over the Government's plans for a national identity card system, which will include "biometric" details such as fingerprints. Nafis, which cost £96m six years ago and holds more than four million records, suddenly went offline on 24 November. The system, run by Northrop Grumman, an American computer giant, shut down completely until Monday. Yesterday one force, not identified by the Home Office, was still offline.)

2//KurdishMedia.com, UK--IRAQ AND TURKEY AGREE ON CURBING KURDISH REBELS (Iraq and Turkey agree Turkish Kurd rebels should be stopped from using Iraqi territory for their activities, Iraqi Vice President Ibrahim al-Jafari said here Thursday, quoted by the Anatolia news agency. "We are expending efforts to resolve the security problem as soon as possible," Jafari was quoted as saying... Ankara says the rebels, members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), receive military training in camps in northern Iraq and then sneak back into Turkey to conduct attacks on government targets...The group, considered a terrorist organization by Ankara as well as the United States and the European Union, ended a five-year unilateral ceasefire with Turkish security forces in June.)

3//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--A US OFFER DELHI CAN'T REFUSE (US President George W Bush's first tenure was good for India, and Bush II promises to be even better, with the United States formally offering a range of military hardware, including an anti-missile radar system and maritime spy planes, to India. The offer includes the much-touted Patriot anti-missile defense system that tackles aircraft and also tactical and cruise missiles, C-130 stretched medium-lift transport aircraft, P-3C Orion maritime surveillance planes, and even F-16 fighters. The US has also offered Perry-class frigates and Sea Hawk helicopters, while special-operations forces will be looking at chemical and biological protection equipment....The US offer to sell military hardware - including the Patriot missile system - to India comes with a much deeper strategic message.)

4//The Moscow Times, Russia--YUKOS, ARMS TOP AGENDA IN INDIA (Energy and arms deals are expected to top the agenda as President Vladimir Putin begins a four-day swing through India and Turkey on Friday. On his first stop, New Delhi, Putin could win political and financial support for his coup de grace against Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the sale of Yukos core production unit Yuganskneftegaz, if India's state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation agrees to take part in the auction. Putin will also be looking to sign arms sales and cooperation deals with India, which last year surpassed China as Russia's No. 1 arms customer...Putin's visit comes a day after Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov -- in India on a three-day visit since Tuesday -- and his Indian counterpart, Pranab Mukherjee, said they had agreed on new investments on developing weapons systems together. "We are moving from a buyer-seller relationship to the joint development of new military technology," Ivanov told reporters in India after meeting Mukherjee, Reuters reported Thursday.)

5//Xinhua Online, China--FIRST GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS DEAL INKED (China has signed its first agreement to sell greenhouse emission reductions to developed countries under a quota-trading mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol. The World Bank and the Jincheng Anthracite Coal Group Co Ltd, in North China's Shanxi Province signed the agreement on Wednesday, said the bank's representative office in Beijing yesterday...Under the agreement, the Jincheng company will capture coal mine methane and utilize it for power generation, instead of releasing the gas into the air. Money for adapting the facilities will be provided by PCF. Methane affects global warming 23 times more than carbon dioxide. The reduced amount of emissions in the Jincheng coal mine will be counted towards emission reductions from PCF members.)

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1//The Independent, UK 03 December 2004
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/story.jsp?story=589256

FINGERPRINT SYSTEM CRASH FUELS DOUBTS OVER ID CARD SCHEME
By Nigel Morris, Home Affairs Correspondent

Investigations into thousands of crimes have been hampered by a serious crash in the police computer system for checking fingerprints.

All 43 forces in England and Wales were affected by the shutdown, which meant officers could not check the fingerprints of suspects.

The collapse of the national automated fingerprint identification system (Nafis) is the latest embarrassing computer failure to affect a public body and will raise fresh questions over the Government's plans for a national identity card system, which will include "biometric" details such as fingerprints.

Nafis, which cost £96m six years ago and holds more than four million records, suddenly went offline on 24 November. The system, run by Northrop Grumman, an American computer giant, shut down completely until Monday. Yesterday one force, not identified by the Home Office, was still offline.

Officers have still been able to collect fingerprints from suspects, but not check them against national records or add them if they are new. In the Metropolitan Police area alone, 600 sets of fingerprints are taken every 24 hours.

Even with Nafis almost fully operational, a huge backlog of records needing transfer its database has built up.

The failure was revealed yesterday in a leaked memo from Bruce Grant, the head of Scotland Yard's fingerprint bureau, warning of a "major failure in the Nafis communications system throughout England and Wales".

David Davis, the shadow Home Secretary, said: "This is yet another in a long line of government IT disasters. It is outrageous, given the importance of this sort of problem to the debate on ID cards, that the Government kept it secret."

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2//KurdishMedia.com, UK 02/12/2004
http://www.kurdmedia.com/news.asp?id=5870

IRAQ AND TURKEY AGREE ON CURBING KURDISH REBELS

ANKARA, Dec 2 (AFP) - 15h24 - Iraq and Turkey agree Turkish Kurd rebels should be stopped from using Iraqi territory for their activities, Iraqi Vice President Ibrahim al-Jafari said here Thursday, quoted by the Anatolia news agency.

"We are expending efforts to resolve the security problem as soon as possible," Jafari was quoted as saying.

The Baghdad government will not allow the use of Iraqi territory for any "terrorist" activity and will cooperate with its neighbors to establish security, al-Jafari said.

Turkey has long complained to both Baghdad and the United States of the lack of action against an estimated 4,500 to 5,000 Kurdish rebels -- some of whom are reported to have returned to Turkey -- who found refuge in the mountains of northern Iraq before the US invasion of the country.

(SNIP)

Ankara says the rebels, members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), receive military training in camps in northern Iraq and then sneak back into Turkey to conduct attacks on government targets.

The PKK, now also known as KONGRA-GEL, has waged a 15-year armed campaign for self-rule in mainly Kurdish southeastern Turkey.

The group, considered a terrorist organization by Ankara as well as the United States and the European Union, ended a five-year unilateral ceasefire with Turkish security forces in June.

3//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong Dec. 3. 2004
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FL03Df04.html

A US OFFER DELHI CAN'T REFUSE
By Siddharth Srivastava

NEW DELHI - US President George W Bush's first tenure was good for India, and Bush II promises to be even better, with the United States formally offering a range of military hardware, including an anti-missile radar system and maritime spy planes, to India. The offer includes the much-touted Patriot anti-missile defense system that tackles aircraft and also tactical and cruise missiles, C-130 stretched medium-lift transport aircraft, P-3C Orion maritime surveillance planes, and even F-16 fighters. The US has also offered Perry-class frigates and Sea Hawk helicopters, while special-operations forces will be looking at chemical and biological protection equipment.

According to reports in the Indian media and independently confirmed by Asia Times Online, Indian Ambassador to the US Ranendra "Ronen" Sen was in New Delhi last week and discussed the US offer - as well as a proposed US arms deal with Pakistan - with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Sen also met with the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson, Sonia Gandhi. The hardware offer will be discussed further when US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld comes to New Delhi next week (the highest ranking official since Bush's election victory last month to visit the subcontinent) and will also travel to Pakistan.

The US offer to sell military hardware - including the Patriot missile system - to India comes with a much deeper strategic message. India has a constant gripe against the United States' arming of Pakistan, with the ostensible reason of taking on al-Qaeda terrorists and patrolling the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. India fears that a militarily strong Pakistan in the wake of US sanctions against the supply of similar weapons to India is a threat to its own security. Last month the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which handles all government-to-government military sales, informed the US Congress of a weapons package for Pakistan. It includes TOW anti-tank missiles, Phalanx shipborne guns and P-3C Orion long-range maritime-patrol strike aircraft at a total cost of US$971 million.

The news came as a bit of a shock to India, with Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran conveying India's apprehension over the proposed sale to incoming US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice. What was particularly galling was the fact that the Indian navy had been in negotiation for over three years for the purchase of 12 P-3C Orions to bolster reconnaissance capabilities. India instead was offered older hand-me-down P-3B models, which it turned down.

With the latest US offer, comparing the Indian military acquisition to Pakistan's would be redundant: if the Patriot deal goes through, it will provide the necessary strategic depth to India's defense arsenal, making it significantly different from that of either China or Pakistan. The US offer to sell P-3C Orion naval reconnaissance aircraft is also an upgraded one with the version being offered to India the "P-3C plus", equipped with the latest avionics and equipment systems. US officials describe it as a "maritime patrol aircraft with offensive capability", more advanced that what Pakistan will have at its disposal. Indeed, the US proposal comes during a period when India has been warming up to the Bush administration second term as well as an unprecedented level of US-India military ties over the past couple of years. Importantly, this break from the past, wherein the US has been reluctant to supply arms to India, comes when Rice is set to take over the State Department.

However, analysts here also warn against going all the way with the US. According to defense expert Bharat Karnad, "US arms supply policies are extremely fickle and hostage to not just the White House but also a number of committees and subcommittees in the US Congress, any of which could insert a rider to an Appropriations Bill negating at well a deal cut by the executive." There is truth in this caution; in the past the Indian navy's entire Sea King helicopter fleet - with US components - was grounded in the face of US sanctions.

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4//The Moscow Times, Russia Friday, December 3, 2004. Page 1.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/12/03/001.html

YUKOS, ARMS TOP AGENDA IN INDIA
By Lyuba Pronina, Staff Writer

Energy and arms deals are expected to top the agenda as President Vladimir Putin begins a four-day swing through India and Turkey on Friday.

On his first stop, New Delhi, Putin could win political and financial support for his coup de grace against Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the sale of Yukos core production unit Yuganskneftegaz, if India's state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation agrees to take part in the auction.

Putin will also be looking to sign arms sales and cooperation deals with India, which last year surpassed China as Russia's No. 1 arms customer.

India's ONGC said last week it is keen to bid for the assets of Russia's near-bankrupt oil major Yukos. ONGC already has a 20 percent stake in Russia's Sakhalin-1 project, where it invested $1.7 billion, and is keen to bid for a stake in Sakhalin-3.

(SNIP)

Putin's visit comes a day after Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov -- in India on a three-day visit since Tuesday -- and his Indian counterpart, Pranab Mukherjee, said they had agreed on new investments on developing weapons systems together.

"We are moving from a buyer-seller relationship to the joint development of new military technology," Ivanov told reporters in India after meeting Mukherjee, Reuters reported Thursday.

India has in the past few years been moving away from direct acquisition of Russian-made military hardware toward producing tanks and jets under license using Russian technology.

India's defense industry is also involved in joint development of the new Brahmos supersonic cruise missile with Russian state-owned missile maker Mashinostroyeniya, and of multipurpose transport aircraft with privately controlled fighter maker Irkut.

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. announced earlier this week that it is ready to commit $100 million to the development of Sukhoi's Russian Regional Jet project. Putin is expected to visit Hindustan Aeronautics' headquarters in Bangalore on Friday and a Brahmos facility on Saturday.

Kommersant has reported that Russia and India would sign arms deals worth $2 billion and discuss future contracts for another $5.5 billion.

A defense industry source said Wednesday that MiG is hoping to win an upcoming tender to supply India with 126 MiG-29 fighter jets, a deal that could be worth an estimated $4 billion.

(SNIP)

Energy and arms will also be high on the agenda when Putin flies to Turkey on Sunday for the first-ever official visit to the country by a Russian head of state.

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5//Xinhua Online, China 2004-12-03 08:25:39
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-12/03/content_2289475.htm

FIRST GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS DEAL INKED

BEJING, Dec. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- China has signed its first agreement to sell greenhouse emission reductions to developed countries under a quota-trading mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol.

The World Bank and the Jincheng Anthracite Coal Group Co Ltd, in North China's Shanxi Province signed the agreement on Wednesday, said the bank's representative office in Beijing yesterday.

The bank signed it on the behalf of the Prototype Carbon Fund (PCF), a group made up of six governments and 17 private companies.

No details were released on how much money was involved in the deal.

In a first for the World Bank, it will act as trustee for the fund.

Under the agreement, the Jincheng company will capture coal mine methane and utilize it for power generation, instead of releasing the gas into the air. Money for adapting the facilities will be provided by PCF.

Methane affects global warming 23 times more than carbon dioxide.

The reduced amount of emissions in the Jincheng coal mine will be counted towards emission reductions from PCF members.

The arrangement is typical under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol. It allows countries of the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to fulfill some of their greenhouse gas emission-reduction commitments through supporting projects in the developing world.

For developing countries, they can try to use the Clean Development Mechanism to establish or improve projects for which they otherwise have funding.

Methane, which is released from coal seams during the mining process, causes explosions if it is allowed to build up.

Some Chinese mine operators currently use the cheapest methods to vent gas -- they release it into the atmosphere.

Under the new project, the Jincheng Coal Group will capture methane released by upgrading the mine with several new technologies to improve safety and efficiency. It will recover methane and process it into energy at a nearby power plant.

The project will create 60 new jobs for re-trained miners and additional staff at the power plant.

The project will serve as a model case for further promotion of CDM activities in China, said Sun Cuihua with the climate change office under the National Development and Reform Commission.

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