February 8, 2006

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 FEBRUARY 8, 2006

1//MosNews, Russia--RUSSIAN ULTRANATIONALIST LEADER EXPECTS U.S. TO ATTACK IRAN IN LATE MARCH (A senior Russian parliamentary official and leader of the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Vladimir Zhirinovsky believes that a US attack on Iran is inevitable, he has told Ekho Moskvy radio station. “The war is inevitable because the Americans want this war,” he said. “Any country claiming a leading position in the world will need to wage wars. Otherwise it will simply not be able to retain its leading position. The date for the strike is already known — it is the election day in Israel [March 28]. It is also known how much that war will cost,” Zhirinovsky said. … For his part, the head of the Centre for Strategic Studies of Religions and Modern World Politics, Maxim Shevchenko, also believes that a U.S. attack on Iran is very likely although he sees no preconditions for this war. … In Shevchenko’s opinion, the reason behind “this barefaced promotion of a world war lies not in a conflict between the West and the Islamic World but in a fight for power in the world between US and European elites”. “The fate of humanity will be decided between a saber-rattling America and an allegedly democratic Europe,” Shevchenko concluded. … Whereas a senior research associate of the World Economy and International Relations Institute, Georgy Mirsky, is confident that “there will be no war”. … the U.S. has mid-term elections this year and the Republicans, who have suffered a severe blow to their trust, will not be able to win these elections if they drag the country into a new hazardous escapade.”)

2//Azzaman in English, Iraq--WEAPONS SMUGGLING BOOMS IN SOUTHERN QURNA (Smuggling of weapons is a thriving business in Qurna, 74 kilometers northwest of the southern city of Basra. … The source of the weapons is not known. The smugglers say the weapons are remnants of the 1980-1988 Iraq-Iran war. Most traders are young Iraqis. Buyers are not hard to find. Residents in Qurna say they have already informed the authorities on the illegal trade but no action has been taken. … Recently, new weapons were being brought to the area. Residents, who served in the former army, said they had not seen such weapons before.)

3//The Daily Times, Pakistan--BALOCH UNREST HOLDS PAKISTAN’S PRIVATISATION PLANS HOSTAGE (A deteriorating security situation in Pakistan’s mineral-rich province of Balochistan could hamper upcoming privatisation sales involving energy companies, analysts said after a fresh bout of violence flared in the region. The government plans to sell 51 percent stakes in Pakistan Petroleum Ltd [PPL], Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd. [SNGPL] and Sui Southern Gas Co. Ltd. [SSGC]. … PPL, which operates Pakistan’s largest gas field at Sui, managed to attract 11 local and foreign investors in May, out of which four were short-listed in August for bidding. However, the government has not come up with a bidding date yet, though it has previously said that the sell-off process would be completed in the fiscal year ending June 30. … Balochistan is a sparsely populated tribal region, which makes up close to 43 percent of Pakistan’s land area. Little oil has been found, but it has a lot of gas, as well as coal. It also has rich deposits of copper, gold, silver, platinum, aluminium, and uranium. Rebels and renegade tribesmen who would like to benefit more from the resources in their territory frequently target gas production and power plants and pipelines, along with other infrastructure facilities and transportation links.)

4 //The Independent, UK--GM FOOD MUST BE ALLOWED INTO EUROPE, WTO RULES (Europe faces new pressure to open its markets to genetically-modified food from the US after the World Trade Organisation ruled that the EU broke international rules with its moratorium on new licences. A lengthy and complex preliminary ruling from the WTO said that a de facto Europe-wide ban, which prevented new corn, cotton and soybean products from entering the European market, was not based on scientific concerns. … The case refers to the period between 1998 and 2004 when a group of EU member states blocked all new approvals until a new system was in place which would boost traceability and labelling of GM products. Though that ban has now been lifted, US producers are still frustrated at the pace of the approval procedures in Europe. Moreover they also believe that, by taking the EU to the WTO, they will deter non-European countries from blocking GM products.)

5//BBC News, UK--POLISH WOMAN FIGHTS ABORTION CASE (A Polish woman who was refused an abortion despite warnings that having a baby could make her blind is taking her case to Europe's human rights court. Alicja Tysiac's eyesight worsened drastically after she had her third baby, and she fears she will go blind. In staunchly Catholic Poland, abortion is illegal unless the health of the mother or unborn child is at risk. … Ms Tysiac now wears glasses with thick, powerful lenses, but cannot see objects more than a metre-and-a-half away. As a disabled single mother, she finds it a struggle to raise her three children on her own, on a pension of 140 euros (£96) a month. … The European Court of Human Rights cannot throw out Poland's laws, but it could rule that Ms Tysiac's rights have been violated.)

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1//MosNews, Russia Created: 07.02.2006 10:54 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 14:07 MSK
http://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/02/07/vzhiriran.shtml

RUSSIAN ULTRANATIONALIST LEADER EXPECTS U.S. TO ATTACK IRAN IN LATE MARCH
MosNews

A senior Russian parliamentary official and leader of the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Vladimir Zhirinovsky believes that a US attack on Iran is inevitable, he has told Ekho Moskvy radio station.

“The war is inevitable because the Americans want this war,” he said. “Any country claiming a leading position in the world will need to wage wars. Otherwise it will simply not be able to retain its leading position. The date for the strike is already known — it is the election day in Israel (March 28). It is also known how much that war will cost,” Zhirinovsky said.

(SNIP)

For his part, the head of the Centre for Strategic Studies of Religions and Modern World Politics, Maxim Shevchenko, also believes that a U.S. attack on Iran is very likely although he sees no preconditions for this war. “Iran does not threaten anyone, is not pointing its missiles at anyone. No Iranian leader has ever threatened to carry out a strike against the U.S. Therefore preparations for a war against Iran appear to be a global act of provocation,” he said.

In Shevchenko’s opinion, the reason behind “this barefaced promotion of a world war lies not in a conflict between the West and the Islamic World but in a fight for power in the world between US and European elites”. “The fate of humanity will be decided between a saber-rattling America and an allegedly democratic Europe,” Shevchenko concluded.

Whereas a senior research associate of the World Economy and International Relations Institute, Georgy Mirsky, is confident that “there will be no war.”

“The Americans got so very much stuck in Afghanistan and Iraq that they will not start a new war without definite proof of the fact that Iran poses a threat to the world. Besides, the U.S. has mid-term elections this year and the Republicans, who have suffered a severe blow to their trust, will not be able to win these elections if they drag the country into a new hazardous escapade.”

(MORE)

2//Azzaman in English, Iraq February 7, 2006
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname...

WEAPONS SMUGGLING BOOMS IN SOUTHERN QURNA
By Abid Battat

Smuggling of weapons is a thriving business in Qurna, 74 kilometers northwest of the southern city of Basra.

The contraband trade, involving a variety of weapons, is most noticeable in the district of Muzairia, on the eastern bank of the Tigris River.

Residents said the trade was not confined to small arms. They said smugglers openly put for sale mortars, rockets and landmines.

The source of the weapons is not known. The smugglers say the weapons are remnants of the 1980-1988 Iraq-Iran war.

Most traders are young Iraqis. Buyers are not hard to find.

Residents in Qurna say they have already informed the authorities on the illegal trade but no action has been taken.

(SNIP)

Qurna, Arabic for corner, is strategically situated as it controls the routes upstream the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and downstream the Shatt Al-Arab Waterway.

In the absence of police or security forces, smugglers, using canoes and diesel-powered boats, move freely along these rivers.

(SNIP)

Recently, new weapons were being brought to the area. Residents, who served in the former army, said they had not seen such weapons before.

“Some of these (smuggled) weapons were not used by the former army. They are new to us and look modern. Some of the items on show fall under the heavy weapons category,” a resident said.

3//The Daily Times, Pakistan Wednesday, February 08, 2006
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...

BALOCH UNREST HOLDS PAKISTAN’S PRIVATISATION PLANS HOSTAGE

KARACHI: A deteriorating security situation in Pakistan’s mineral-rich province of Balochistan could hamper upcoming privatisation sales involving energy companies, analysts said after a fresh bout of violence flared in the region.

The government plans to sell 51 percent stakes in Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL), Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd. (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Co. Ltd. (SSGC)

“All the three companies have significant exposure in the province, and I don’t think any investor will come till the time the situation is settled,” said Aqib Elahi, director of research at AKD Securities.

On Sunday, 13 people died when a bomb exploded on a bus 60 km outside Quetta, while another eight were killed during a third day of heavy rocket attacks close to gas fields in the southeast of the province.

On Tuesday, tribal militants blew up a gas pipeline supplying the US- and British-owned Uch power plant, according to a senior civil administrator for the Dera Murad Jamali region of Balochistan. It was the fourth attack on the pipeline in a month.

Baloch secessionists and tribal militants have waged a low-level insurgency for decades, but the violence has again escalated over the past year, posing another challenge to President Pervez Musharraf’s authority over his turbulent nation, particularly in the Baloch and Pashtun tribal areas.

Balochistan Governor Ovais Ahmed Ghani this week accused Afghan warlords and drug barons of arming tribal militants and India of financing them. New Delhi has denied any involvement.

The army launched a crackdown after a December 14 rocket attack while President Pervez Musharraf was visiting the town of Kohlu, and Baloch nationalists said over 200 people have been killed since, though analysts say the numbers could well be exaggerated.

Elahi foresaw delays in the whole privatisation process, and said the government may shift its focus to a more marketable company like Pakistan State Oil, which has no Baloch exposure, and Pakistan Steel Mills.

PPL, which operates Pakistan’s largest gas field at Sui, managed to attract 11 local and foreign investors in May, out of which four were short-listed in August for bidding.

However, the government has not come up with a bidding date yet, though it has previously said that the sell-off process would be completed in the fiscal year ending June 30.

(SNIP)

Mohammed Sohail, director of research at Jahangir Siddiqui Capital Markets, said that the situation in Balochistan was affecting the sell-off plans of PPL.

“It is very difficult to conduct site visits et cetera in such a situation, so the process is definitely being affected,” he said. For SNGPL and SSGC, the government has already extended the deadline for submission of expressions of interest and completion of paperwork to March 11. Previously, the deadlines were February 11 and March 4 for SNGPL and SSGC respectively. No bidding dates have been announced.

Balochistan is a sparsely populated tribal region, which makes up close to 43 percent of Pakistan’s land area. Little oil has been found, but it has a lot of gas, as well as coal.

It also has rich deposits of copper, gold, silver, platinum, aluminium, and uranium. Rebels and renegade tribesmen who would like to benefit more from the resources in their territory frequently target gas production and power plants and pipelines, along with other infrastructure facilities and transportation links.

4//The Independent, UK Published: 08 February 2006
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article343972.ece

GM FOOD MUST BE ALLOWED INTO EUROPE, WTO RULES
By Stephen Castle in Brussels

Europe faces new pressure to open its markets to genetically-modified food from the US after the World Trade Organisation ruled that the EU broke international rules with its moratorium on new licences.

A lengthy and complex preliminary ruling from the WTO said that a de facto Europe-wide ban, which prevented new corn, cotton and soybean products from entering the European market, was not based on scientific concerns.

American sources also said that the WTO had found that six individual states - France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Luxembourg and Greece - broke the rules by applying their own bans on marketing and importing GMOs.

The row over GMOs has exacerbated transatlantic tensions over trade. In most European countries there is acute suspicion of GM technology which is widely accepted by North Americans. Corn and soybeans that have been genetically modified to resist insects or disease have been widely grown in the US for years.

The case refers to the period between 1998 and 2004 when a group of EU member states blocked all new approvals until a new system was in place which would boost traceability and labelling of GM products.

Though that ban has now been lifted, US producers are still frustrated at the pace of the approval procedures in Europe. Moreover they also believe that, by taking the EU to the WTO, they will deter non-European countries from blocking GM products.

Last night the European Commission refused to comment on the findings which have yet to be made public formally. However the EU is likely to dispute the WTO's preliminary ruling, arguing that the moratorium is now over, and pointing to the fact that 30 GMOs or derived food and feed products have been approved for marketing in the EU. If the preliminary findings are backed up in the WTO's final report, due in several months, the EU is entitled to appeal.

(MORE)

5//BBC News, UK Last Updated: Tuesday, 7 February 2006, 10:39 GMT
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4688128.stm

POLISH WOMAN FIGHTS ABORTION CASE

A Polish woman who was refused an abortion despite warnings that having a baby could make her blind is taking her case to Europe's human rights court.

Alicja Tysiac's eyesight worsened drastically after she had her third baby, and she fears she will go blind.

In staunchly Catholic Poland, abortion is illegal unless the health of the mother or unborn child is at risk.

Ms Tysiac is arguing that she ought to have been entitled to an abortion on therapeutic grounds.

When she became pregnant for a third time in February 2000, three eye specialists told her having a baby could put her eyesight at serious risk.

All, however, refused to authorise a termination of her pregnancy.

Two months later she visited a gynaecologist to ask for an abortion. He also refused.

Abortion curbs
Ms Tysiac now wears glasses with thick, powerful lenses, but cannot see objects more than a metre-and-a-half away.

As a disabled single mother, she finds it a struggle to raise her three children on her own, on a pension of 140 euros (£96) a month.

Poland has some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe.

The European Court of Human Rights cannot throw out Poland's laws, but it could rule that Ms Tysiac's rights have been violated.

The head of a group that is fighting to change Poland's abortion laws has told the BBC that very few women are able to terminate their pregnancies.

"The practice of the Polish abortion law is even stricter than the law itself," Wanda Nowiska, from the Polish Federation for Women and Family Planning, said.

"So in Poland we have no more than 200 legal abortions per year. That shows the magnitude of the problem," she said.

Abortion was widely available in Poland under communism.

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