Europe, Down on Bush, Keeps a Keen Eye on Kerry/New World Media Watch

[Gloria]

Up now at http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical
Tomorrow at Buzzflash.com


WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR JULY 28, 2004

1//The Jordan Times, Jordan--EUROPE, DOWN ON BUSH, KEEPS A KEEN EYE ON KERRY(Europe is watching this week's Democratic Party convention with keen interest, with many seeing in John Kerry a potential saviour from US President George W. Bush and his unilateralist ways…European governments, predictably, don't want to be seen as meddling in US politics in the run-up to the November polls. But in Berlin, Karsten Voight, coordinator for German-US cooperation at the German foreign ministry, admitted that "no US administration in Germany and Europe in recent decades has been as unpopular as the Bush administration."…He added that Germany is forging links with the Democratic Party, believing that better ties with the opposition camp could prove useful if Kerry fails to take the White House.)



2//The Daily Star, Lebanon--IRAN: US WAR ON TERROR IS “VOID” AFTER DECISION (Iran hit out Tuesday at the US decision to grant protected status to the Iraq-based People's Mujahedeen, the main armed opposition group in Iran, saying it proved Washington's war on terrorism was a sham. "The United States is using its fight against terrorism as a tool, and we knew from the beginning that this fight is void and they are not serious," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said, quoted by the official news agency IRNA. "Using the Geneva Convention to protect this terrorist group is naive and unacceptable," he added.)



3//The Independent, UK--WAR IN IRAQ ‘PREVENTING EFFORTS TO STOP SUDAN GENOCIDE’ (Britain and America's preoccupation with Iraq has blocked international efforts to end genocide in the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan, according to a highly critical report published by a think-tank close to Tony Blair. The study, to be published today, said that the war in Iraq had prevented effective planning for military intervention which could have bolstered diplomatic efforts to prevent the bloodshed, which has driven more than a million people from their homes.)



4//The Moscow Times, Russia--PUTIN AIDE NAMED ROSNEFT CHAIRMAN (The man widely believed to have spearheaded the legal assault on Yukos was handed the chairmanship of Rosneft on Tuesday, just as Russia's last state-owned oil major appears to be positioning itself for the upcoming forced liquidation of Yukos' main production unit. Igor Sechin, who has worked with Putin for a decade and is now the deputy head of his administration, replaces former Energy Minister Igor Yusufov. He joined the 11-member board of the No. 7 crude producer last month."Sechin's appointment can mean only one thing -- that the state is now officially increasing its influence over business structures," said Alexei Mukhin, head of the Center for Political Information think tank. Sechin has been "actively lobbying" Rosneft's interests for the last year, he said.)



5//Inter Press Service News Agency, Italy--COMMENTARY: HOPE GIVES WAY TO UNCERTAINTY (The atmospherics still exude cordiality as India's Foreign Minister Natwar Singh rounded off his numerous meetings in Islamabad with Pakistani policymakers and - shapers with a one-to-one conversation with Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf. But the initial euphoria, optimism and effusiveness last week are yielding to caution, worry, and fear that the two nations' latest effort at dialogue and peace may not yield results soon…If there is no progress in the dialogue before Natwar Singh and Kasuri meet on Sep. 5-6, the entire process could unravel.)