March 29, 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 MARCH 29, 2006

1//The Independent, UK--‘LIGHTEN UP’ AND TRUST YOUR CHANCELLOR, CLINTON TELLS UK (Gordon Brown's ambition to be the next Prime Minister has been boosted by Bill Clinton, who praised his handling of the British economy after both men crossed a union picket line to attend a conference at the Guildhall in London. The former US President told his British audience to "lighten up" because, whatever their criticisms of Labour, the UK is better governed than America. He even joked about the Blair-Brown rivalry, saying both men deserve equal respect. … He added: "I've seen people say Labour is getting a bit long in the tooth. But if you live where I live and you look across the Atlantic, it does not look that way. You should see yourselves as others do. "And ... I see a strong economy, fiscal responsibility, investment and low unemployment where the reverse is true in my country. I see you committed to fight global warming, in stark contrast to the policies in the US. So you should lighten up: you're doing really well. And if you went across the Atlantic and saw what was happening there, you'd think you were doing pretty well." His comments were seen by Mr Brown's supporters as evidence that the Chancellor is as much an international figure as Mr Blair. Alarm bells rang in the Brown camp over the weekend when Mr Blair seemed to be implying that he was going back on his promise to stand down before the next election.)

2//The Moscow Times, Russia--RUSSIA PICKS SITE FOR NEW NUCLEAR CENTER (Russia has picked the town of Angarsk as the site for its international nuclear fuel service center, part of an initiative to assume a greater role in the international nuclear processing industry, a government official said Monday. … The Angarsk Electrolysis Chemical Complex already houses uranium conversion and enrichment facilities. The proposed location comes to light two months after President Vladimir Putin first pitched Russia as a site for one of a handful of international centers -- to be overseen by the International Atomic Energy Agency -- to provide a full cycle of processing services on behalf of other countries. Putin's proposal coincided with international concerns over Iran's plans to commence nuclear enrichment. … The Angarsk plant, situated 100 kilometers west of Lake Baikal, already offers conversion and enrichment facilities, exporting about half of its production to countries including the United States, Europe, China and Japan. The complex employs about 6,300 people, according to its web site. … As international efforts continue to dissuade Iran from domestic uranium enrichment, the Angarsk chemical plant could also feature in the proposal for a Russian-Iranian joint venture to solve that problem, sources close to the federal agency said.)

3//The Daily Star, Lebanon--U.S.-FUNDED GRANT AIMS TO SUPPORT ARAB TV JOURNALISM (Television journalists and producers from independent Arab television news stations will be able to obtain financial support for their research and productions this year, according to a press release issued last week by the International Research & Exchanges Board [IREX]. "Up to 10 television journalists and producers from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen and the West Bank and Gaza will be able to seek small grants up to $20,000," the press release said. It added that "a total of $150,000 will be available to Arab producers in two rounds this year." The TV Production Fund Small Grants awards will be made under the MENA MEDIA program, administered through IREX and AmmanNet, and funded by the U.S. Department of State Middle East Partnership Initiative.)

4//Globe and Mail, Canada--BUSH WARMS UP TO CANADA (U.S. President George W. Bush is showing his soft side. In the runup to his first official meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, he's been using the G-word: Genuine. Mr. Bush, in interviews before the Cancun meeting Thursday, said he wants to prove to Canadians that the United States “genuinely cares” by working to resolve tough issues like softwood lumber and plans to require new security cards at the border. And while it's unclear exactly what he'll propose, analysts say all the goodwill boosts chances for some breakthroughs in the coming months. “I honestly think he wants to renew the relationship with Canada and he sees the Harper government as the vehicle to do that,” said Scotty Greenwood, executive director of the Canadian American Business Council. “You've got to suspend cynicism and take him at his word. It's an enormously positive step.” And not really all that surprising, said Charles Doran, a political analyst at John Hopkins University who specializes in bilateral issues. “He just needed a counterpart he could trust. There wasn't much ground for interaction before.” More like friction. Ties with the two previous Liberal governments were clearly strained by Iraq and Canada's decision not to join Mr. Bush's missile defence plan.)

5//DW-World.de/Deutsche-Welle, Germany--GERMAN BUSINESS CONFIDENCE SOARS TO 15-YEAR HIGH (Business confidence in Germany has reached a 15-year high. The unexpected surge in the Ifo business climate index on Tuesday points to a solid recovery in Europe's biggest economy, analysts said. The Ifo index soared to 105.4 points in March -- the highest reading since April 1991, the year after German unification, and up from 103.4 points in February. The February reading was revised from 103.3 points. "The economic recovery is continuing to stabilize," said the head of Munich-based Ifo institute, Hans-Werner Sinn. He added that optimism had spread through most sectors of the economy and that the most marked improvement had been registered in the poorer former communist eastern states. … Edward Teather of UBS Investment Research in London said the Ifo index had broader positive implications for the euro zone as a whole.)

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1//The Independent, UK Published: 29 March 2006

‘LIGHTEN UP’ AND TRUST YOUR CHANCELLOR, CLINTON TELLS UK
By Andy McSmith and Colin Brown

Gordon Brown's ambition to be the next Prime Minister has been boosted by Bill Clinton, who praised his handling of the British economy after both men crossed a union picket line to attend a conference at the Guildhall in London.

The former US President told his British audience to "lighten up" because, whatever their criticisms of Labour, the UK is better governed than America. He even joked about the Blair-Brown rivalry, saying both men deserve equal respect.

He told yesterday's conference, organised by the John Smith Foundation, set up in memory of the ex-Labour leader: "Progressive politics is about avoiding false choices. You don't have to choose between the environment and the economy.

"You don't have to choose between success at work and success at home; you don't have to choose between business and workers. It's all about avoiding false choices. That's why I'm a friend of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown."

But his remarks coincided with a new phase in the brittle relationship between Mr Brown and Mr Blair, which has been thrown in to its latest crisis by the Prime Minister's remarks in Australia, where he said it might have been a mistake to say that he would leave office before the next election.

The Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, will come under pressure today to secure a date for a changeover in Downing Street. He will meet senior backbench MPs, who will echo the remarks made by Jon Trickett at the Labour MPs' weekly meeting that the Government is being weakened by confusion over Mr Blair's departure date.

"It was the first crack in the wall of silence on this issue," said one officer of Labour's backbenches. "The feeling is that Tony cannot go on until 2008. We are paralysed while Tony remains in charge."

In his speech at the Guildhall, Mr Clinton praised Mr Brown for what he called "your wondrous leadership of the economy and the Treasury, and your continued effort to find responses to the challenges of globalisation at home and abroad."

He added: "I've seen people say Labour is getting a bit long in the tooth. But if you live where I live and you look across the Atlantic, it does not look that way. You should see yourselves as others do.

"And ... I see a strong economy, fiscal responsibility, investment and low unemployment where the reverse is true in my country. I see you committed to fight global warming, in stark contrast to the policies in the US. So you should lighten up: you're doing really well. And if you went across the Atlantic and saw what was happening there, you'd think you were doing pretty well."

His comments were seen by Mr Brown's supporters as evidence that the Chancellor is as much an international figure as Mr Blair. Alarm bells rang in the Brown camp over the weekend when Mr Blair seemed to be implying that he was going back on his promise to stand down before the next election.

(MORE)

2//The Moscow Times, Russia Wednesday, March 29, 2006. Issue 3381. Page 5.

RUSSIA PICKS SITE FOR NEW NUCLEAR CENTER
By Yuriy Humber, Staff Writer

Russia has picked the town of Angarsk as the site for its international nuclear fuel service center, part of an initiative to assume a greater role in the international nuclear processing industry, a government official said Monday.

The Federal Atomic Energy Agency will seek approval from the international nuclear watchdog to have an existing chemicals plant in Angarsk certified as an international service center, an agency spokesman said by telephone.

The Angarsk Electrolysis Chemical Complex already houses uranium conversion and enrichment facilities.

The proposed location comes to light two months after President Vladimir Putin first pitched Russia as a site for one of a handful of international centers -- to be overseen by the International Atomic Energy Agency -- to provide a full cycle of processing services on behalf of other countries.

Putin's proposal coincided with international concerns over Iran's plans to commence nuclear enrichment.

"Angarsk would not accommodate all the elements of the international program. But, it could deal with [uranium] enrichment," among other processing functions, agency spokesman Sergei Novikov said. The training of personnel to operate nuclear power plants and the setting up of waste storage facilities would be located elsewhere, he said.

Should Angarsk receive final approval from the IAEA, it is likely to be presented by Russia at the Group of Eight meeting this summer as its site of choice for a full-cycle processing facility.

In addition to Russia's proposals, G8 heads of state are also expected to look at a U.S. initiative focusing on recycling nuclear waste, dubbed the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, or GNEP.
During a recent visit to Moscow, U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman invited Russia to give financial and technological know-how to the GNEP.

"Essentially, it's now for Presidents Putin and Bush to work out at the G8 meeting how the two initiatives will work together. Then we'll see progress on setting up the centers," a source close to the federal agency said.

The Angarsk plant, situated 100 kilometers west of Lake Baikal, already offers conversion and enrichment facilities, exporting about half of its production to countries including the United States, Europe, China and Japan. The complex employs about 6,300 people, according to its web site.

(SNIP)

As international efforts continue to dissuade Iran from domestic uranium enrichment, the Angarsk chemical plant could also feature in the proposal for a Russian-Iranian joint venture to solve that problem, sources close to the federal agency said.

In that venture, Russia would be willing to cede partial financial control of the Angarsk operation but would not allow access to the technological side. This would reduce the risk of proliferation, the sources said.

3//The Daily Star, Lebanon Wednesday, March 29, 2006

U.S.-FUNDED GRANT AIMS TO SUPPORT ARAB TV JOURNALISM
Daily Star staff

WASHINGTON: Television journalists and producers from independent Arab television news stations will be able to obtain financial support for their research and productions this year, according to a press release issued last week by the International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX).

"Up to 10 television journalists and producers from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen and the West Bank and Gaza will be able to seek small grants up to $20,000," the press release said. It added that "a total of $150,000 will be available to Arab producers in two rounds this year."

The TV Production Fund Small Grants awards will be made under the MENA MEDIA program, administered through IREX and AmmanNet, and funded by the U.S. Department of State Middle East Partnership Initiative.

Mark Whitehouse, Director of IREX's Media Development Division, called the TV Production Fund a unique opportunity for Arab producers. "We welcome the opportunity to support Arab producers who create content about Arabs and Arab communities for broadcast on Arab television."

(SNIP)

Productions dealing with issues like political processes and governments' responsiveness to the needs of their citizens, women in public life, profiles of innovative/emerging leaders will be considered by a panel made up largely of independent Arab media workers.

Projects which include alliances on content among television stations, print, radio or Internet outlets to ensure the productions have the broadest distribution possible will be given priority.

4//Globe and Mail, Canada POSTED AT 6:10 PM EST ON 28/03/06

BUSH WARMS UP TO CANADA
Beth Gorham, Canadian Press

Washington — U.S. President George W. Bush is showing his soft side.

In the runup to his first official meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, he's been using the G-word: Genuine.

Mr. Bush, in interviews before the Cancun meeting Thursday, said he wants to prove to Canadians that the United States “genuinely cares” by working to resolve tough issues like softwood lumber and plans to require new security cards at the border.

And while it's unclear exactly what he'll propose, analysts say all the goodwill boosts chances for some breakthroughs in the coming months.

“I honestly think he wants to renew the relationship with Canada and he sees the Harper government as the vehicle to do that,” said Scotty Greenwood, executive director of the Canadian American Business Council.

“You've got to suspend cynicism and take him at his word. It's an enormously positive step.”

And not really all that surprising, said Charles Doran, a political analyst at John Hopkins University who specializes in bilateral issues.

“He just needed a counterpart he could trust. There wasn't much ground for interaction before.”

More like friction. Ties with the two previous Liberal governments were clearly strained by Iraq and Canada's decision not to join Mr. Bush's missile defence plan.

But they hit a low point with former prime minister Paul Martin's pointed criticism of American environmental policy and Liberal television ads during the election campaign that were widely viewed here as anti-American.

And while Mr. Bush made a point this week of saying he got along well with Mr. Martin and Jean Chrétien, it's clear he's viewing Mr. Harper as the best bet to help him with a big image problem in Canada.

“It's a vital relationship but it's also one in which there is a certain skepticism about the United States,” he admitted.

(SNIP)

“I bear no ill will whatsoever and I understand the strategic importance of being close to our friends.”

Mr. Bush's outreach to Canada comes at a low point in his presidency. He's facing record-low approval ratings, increasing anger among Americans about the Iraq war and global grumbling about a host of issues like how the U.S. treats prisoners in the war on terror.

That makes working closely on continental issues with Mr. Harper and Mexico's President Vicente Fox all the more appealing.

The three leaders will focus this week on the Security and Prosperity Partnership, an extensive accord on continental co-operation in security and economic matters.

“He very much looks forward to this trip,” said White House spokesman Scott McClellan, who mistakenly referred to Mr. Harper as Mr. Martin a couple of times during Tuesday's daily briefing.

Mr. Harper's sit-down with Mr. Bush will allow him to push some of Canada's biggest pet peeves, including the softwood battle and U.S. plans to require a passport or other secure document at land crossings by the end of next year.

On Tuesday, Mr. Harper said he's not certain there will be progress on the touchy trade front and he'll vigorously defend Canada's interests, even if it means continuing litigation.

(SNIP)

Meanwhile, tourism and business groups fear a new PASS card being developed in the U.S. is too costly and will severely impede visitors and commerce.

“I'm pretty confident that if we work closely, we can develop ... a card that can be dealt with on a scanning device,” said Mr. Bush.

But he suggested that he doesn't favour the option of using enhanced driver's licences, promoted by many groups on both sides of the border.

“We have found in our own country that driver's licences aren't necessarily a secure document,” he said. “Document forgery is a significant problem for our country, primarily for people coming in from the south.”

5//DW-World.de/Deutsche-Welle, Germany 28.03.2006

GERMAN BUSINESS CONFIDENCE SOARS TO 15-YEAR HIGH

Business confidence in Germany has reached a 15-year high. The unexpected surge in the Ifo business climate index on Tuesday points to a solid recovery in Europe's biggest economy, analysts said.

The Ifo index soared to 105.4 points in March -- the highest reading since April 1991, the year after German unification, and up from 103.4 points in February. The February reading was revised from 103.3 points.

"The economic recovery is continuing to stabilize," said the head of Munich-based Ifo institute, Hans-Werner Sinn. He added that optimism had spread through most sectors of the economy and that the most marked improvement had been registered in the poorer former communist eastern states.

Analysts cheered the news as ushering in a robust economic turnaround.

"After five very lean years, Germany seems to be heading for a serious economic upswing," said Holger Schmieding, an economist with Bank of America. "Taken at face value, the Ifo projects a cyclical boom and not just a tame upturn."

Important for Europe

Edward Teather of UBS Investment Research in London said the Ifo index had broader positive implications for the euro zone as a whole.

"The strength of German business confidence implied by the Ifo in recent months has clearly outstripped that of the other large euro-area economies," he said. "However, while the acceleration in German growth may not be repeated in full elsewhere, it should provide a lift to activity growth in Germany's trading partners."

David Brown of investment bank Bear Stearns said German business confidence is booming.

"Strong Ifo business sentiment numbers underline a very positive case for much more solid German recovery ahead," he said, adding that domestic demand, the Achilles' heel of the German economy, is now improving.

(MORE)