April 25, 2005

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 APRIL 25, 2005

1//The Daily Times, Pakistan--CLINTON BACKS BLAIR’S LABOUR PARTY IN BRITISH ELECTION (Former US president Bill Clinton on Sunday rallied in support of Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Labour Party, urging British voters to turn out in force for a May 5 general election. Appearing on a giant screen at a Labour Party meeting in London, the former Democrat leader warned that when a country has "a progressive government in power, our people get a little easily disillusioned". "They don’t like this policy or that policy. They sometimes fall into the trap of thinking it doesn’t matter and there are no consequences. But if you believe that, look at the difference in the US between now and four years ago," he said, in a reference to the election of President George W Bush, a Republican, in the US.)

2//The Moscow Times, Russia--TOKYO READY TO SUPPORT WTO BID (Japan's foreign minister said Friday that Tokyo was ready to formally endorse Moscow's bid to join the World Trade Organization by the end of this year, after the two sides signed a memorandum to boost trade. Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura had met with Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko to discuss steps to increase two-way investment and trade, ahead of a vote on adding Russia to the WTO, the body that sets rules for global commerce. "Russia's inclusion in the WTO will be a win-win for trade for Japan and Russia," Machimura told reporters after their meeting. . … . Bilateral trade between Japan and Russia has surged in recent years, reaching a record-high $9 billion in 2004 — and this year's figures were expected to outstrip that tally, Khristenko said.
On Thursday, Japan's trade minister, Shoichi Nakagawa, told Khristenko that Japan was willing to help "in every way possible" if Moscow gives priority to building a 4,100-kilometer crude oil pipeline from Siberia to the Pacific coast, from where oil could be shipped to energy-hungry Japan. Russia has not ruled out building a branch of the pipeline to China, Khristenko said last week.)

3//The Daily Star, Lebanon--IRAN GIVES CIVIL WAR WARNING TO LEBANON OPPOSITION
(Iranian President Mohammad Khatami warned Sunday Lebanon was susceptible to another civil war and said instability in Syria could lead to chaos in Lebanon. During a meeting with visiting leading Lebanese opposition member Walid Jumblatt, Khatami said Lebanon was "vulnerable" and risked the return of civil war, the ISNA news agency reported. . … . Jumblatt traveled to Iran in a surprise visit Saturday. Iran is a key backer of the Lebanese resistance group Hizbullah and Syria's closest ally in the region. Tehran has been vigorously opposing international pressure on Damascus and the pressure to disarm Hizbullah in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1559. According to a leading member of Jumblatt's Progressive Socialist Party, Wael Bou Faour, the Druze leader had headed to Iran to discuss ways in which Hizbullah could be protected. He said: "In our contacts with Khatami and the Europeans, we are trying to balance the U.S. pressure in an effort to protect Hizbullah.")

4//Deutsche Welle/DW-Worlde.de/Germany--IRAN DENIES BUYING ARMS IN GERMANY
(Iran on Sunday dismissed a report that it bought equipment from Germany for its ballistic missile program, and complained that European restrictions were damaging trade with the Islamic republic. "This is an unfounded theory," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters. "It's not very clear how crane equipment can be used in Shahab 3 and 4 production." The weekly Der Spiegel magazine said in a report that a company blacklisted by the German authorities bought a crane to help in the manufacture of Iran's Shahab missile program. . … . Iran has recently upgraded the Shahab-3 ballistic missile, believed to be based on a North Korean design, to have a range of at least 2,000 kilometers (about 1,200 miles). Iran has, however, denied working on a Shahab-4 -- even though Asefi referred to one.)

5//The Chosun Ilbo, Korea--S. KOREA, RUSSIA AGREE TO DEVELOP ARMS (Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung and his Russian counterpart Sergei Ivanov agreed on Friday to conclude a memorandum of understanding on transfer and joint development of weapons technology. In a Moscow meeting, they also agreed to set up a hotline to swap aviation information. “The MOU goes beyond the current Russian arms imports that put priority on completed products and sets as its goal joint weapons development,” a Defense Ministry official at the talks said. “The two nations agreed to conclude the MOU by the end of the year.”)

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1//The Daily Times, Pakistan Monday, April 25, 2005
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_25-4-2005_pg7_43

CLINTON BACKS BLAIR’S LABOUR PARTY IN BRITISH ELECTION
LONDON (AFP): Former US president Bill Clinton on Sunday rallied in support of Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Labour Party, urging British voters to turn out in force for a May 5 general election.

Appearing on a giant screen at a Labour Party meeting in London, the former Democrat leader warned that when a country has “a progressive government in power, our people get a little easily disillusioned”. “They don’t like this policy or that policy. They sometimes fall into the trap of thinking it doesn’t matter and there are no consequences. But if you believe that, look at the difference in the US between now and four years ago,” he said, in a reference to the election of President George W Bush, a Republican, in the US.

Clinton’s remarks were made after Blair gave a speech outlining his party’s ambition to combat poverty in the developing world.

(SNIP)

“We just need leadership and Tony Blair, (Chancellor of the Exchequer) Gordon Brown and New Labour are providing that leadership,” he said. “I’m just here to say thank you, amen and go get ‘em,” he concluded.

In reply, Blair paid tribute to Clinton as a “fantastic friend and supporter”, before quipping: “Thank heavens Michael Howard is running against me rather than Bill Clinton,” referring to the leader of the main opposition Conservative Party.

2//The Moscow Times, Russia Monday, April 25, 2005. Issue 3153. Page 5
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/25/041.html

TOKYO READY TO SUPPORT WTO BID

Japan's foreign minister said Friday that Tokyo was ready to formally endorse Moscow's bid to join the World Trade Organization by the end of this year, after the two sides signed a memorandum to boost trade.

Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura had met with Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko to discuss steps to increase two-way investment and trade, ahead of a vote on adding Russia to the WTO, the body that sets rules for global commerce.

"Russia's inclusion in the WTO will be a win-win for trade for Japan and Russia," Machimura told reporters after their meeting.

Khristenko said it would be a boon for the countries' auto and energy sectors. He also said Moscow would deregulate its markets to make it easier for Japanese companies to open factories and offices in Russia.

The officials signed a memorandum to promote industry as well as services, Khristenko said. They also discussed the possibility of technological cooperation in space, nuclear energy, scientific research, offshore energy exploration and greenhouse-gas reductions.

The talks came as Toyota, Japan's biggest automaker, planned to announce construction of an auto plant on the outskirts of St. Petersburg next week, Japan's Kyodo news agency said, citing company officials.

(SNIP)

Bilateral trade between Japan and Russia has surged in recent years, reaching a record-high $9 billion in 2004 — and this year's figures were expected to outstrip that tally, Khristenko said.

On Thursday, Japan's trade minister, Shoichi Nakagawa, told Khristenko that Japan was willing to help "in every way possible" if Moscow gives priority to building a 4,100-kilometer crude oil pipeline from Siberia to the Pacific coast, from where oil could be shipped to energy-hungry Japan. Russia has not ruled out building a branch of the pipeline to China, Khristenko said last week.

On Friday, Khristenko said it might take seven years to complete the pipeline.

"We'll prepare a plan by May," he told reporters.

The pipeline would have a capacity of 1.6 million barrels per day. Japan is expected to provide low-interest loans to pay for much of the construction of the pipeline, now estimated to cost more than $10 billion and be in commercial use in 2010.

Japan in 2003 offered $7 billion in loans and investments to persuade Russia to build a link to the Pacific instead of a $2.8 billion route to China.

Russia has not found enough oil in eastern Siberia to fill two lines, and the government said last week that it would auction rights to untapped oil fields in eastern Siberia while it is building the pipeline.

3//The Daily Star, Lebanon Monday, April 25, 2005
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=14561

IRAN GIVES CIVIL WAR WARNING TO LEBANON OPPOSITION
Jumblatt meets with Khatami

By Mayssam Zaaroura, Daily Star staff

TEHRAN: Iranian President Mohammad Khatami warned Sunday Lebanon was susceptible to another civil war and said instability in Syria could lead to chaos in Lebanon.

During a meeting with visiting leading Lebanese opposition member Walid Jumblatt, Khatami said Lebanon was "vulnerable" and risked the return of civil war, the ISNA news agency reported.

"The possibility exists of an aggravation of divisions which could transform into a civil war," Khatami was quoted as telling Jumblatt, a leading figure in the campaign to end Syria's military and political dominance of the country.

Jumblatt traveled to Iran in a surprise visit Saturday. Iran is a key backer of the Lebanese resistance group Hizbullah and Syria's closest ally in the region. Tehran has been vigorously opposing international pressure on Damascus and the pressure to disarm Hizbullah in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1559.

According to a leading member of Jumblatt's Progressive Socialist Party, Wael Bou Faour, the Druze leader had headed to Iran to discuss ways in which Hizbullah could be protected.
He said: "In our contacts with Khatami and the Europeans, we are trying to balance the U.S. pressure in an effort to protect Hizbullah."

Jumblatt was in Strasbourg, France last week to meet with members of the European Union Parliament also in an effort to keep the Lebanese resistance party's name off Europe's list of terrorist groups.

But confirmation was not available that Khatami and Jumblatt had discussed Hizbullah.

Khatami said forthcoming parliamentary elections in Lebanon "must not lead to differences between the influential groups," and also warned "instability in Syria would be a catastrophe for the region and have harmful effects on Lebanon."

Jumblatt was told by Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi "the United States is seeking to create a crisis in Lebanon to reap benefits, while the problems in Lebanon should be solved by the Lebanese themselves."

Earlier Sunday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said: "Jumblatt is influential in Lebanon and this trip is important. Our policy in Lebanon is transparent and we have dialogue with all groups."

(MORE)

4//Deutsche Welle/DW-Worlde.de/Germany 24.04.2005
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1562638,00.html

IRAN DENIES BUYING ARMS IN GERMANY

Iran on Sunday dismissed a report that it bought equipment from Germany for its ballistic missile program, and complained that European restrictions were damaging trade with the Islamic republic.

" This is an unfounded theory," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters. "It's not very clear how crane equipment can be used in Shahab 3 and 4 production."

The weekly Der Spiegel magazine said in a report that a company blacklisted by the German authorities bought a crane to help in the manufacture of Iran's Shahab missile program.

Mizan Machine paid the Liebherr company based in southern Germany 600,000 euros ($785,000) last August for the crane, the magazine said, adding that customs authorities were not told about the deal until the freighter transporting the equipment had left Germany for the Middle East.

But Asefi said Germany was known as one of Iran's economic partners, and criticized the Europeans for "inflicting restrictive measures while claiming to believe in open trade."

(SNIP)

Iran has recently upgraded the Shahab-3 ballistic missile, believed to be based on a North Korean design, to have a range of at least 2,000 kilometers (about 1,200 miles).

Iran has, however, denied working on a Shahab-4 -- even though Asefi referred to one.

Tehran's steady progress on its ballistic missile program is a major cause for concern among the international community, particularly Israel, which is already alarmed over Iran's nuclear activities.

5//The Chosun Ilbo, Korea Updated Apr.24,2005 23:37 KST
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200504/200504240023.html

S. KOREA, RUSSIA AGREE TO DEVELOP ARMS

Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung and his Russian counterpart Sergei Ivanov agreed on Friday to conclude a memorandum of understanding on transfer and joint development of weapons technology. In a Moscow meeting, they also agreed to set up a hotline to swap aviation information.

“The MOU goes beyond the current Russian arms imports that put priority on completed products and sets as its goal joint weapons development,” a Defense Ministry official at the talks said. “The two nations agreed to conclude the MOU by the end of the year.”

The official said Korea insisted further import of Russian weapons would be impossible without joint research and weapons development. The MOU among other things covers cooperation in missile and space technology.

The Korean Defense Ministry said it pushed the agreement because Russian guided anti-air missile technology was necessary to develop a K-MSAM medium-range surface-to-air missile by 2008. Korea also expressed the long-term hope of adopting technology in the fighter and bomber aircraft sectors.

(MORE)