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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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