NEW WORLD MEDIA WATCH for October 15, 2004

[Gloria]

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


WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR OCTOBER 15, 2004

1//The Independent, UK--SHORT URGES BROWN TO MAKE HIS MOVE BEFORE ELECTION(Clare Short has urged Gordon Brown to try to topple Tony Blair before the next general election and warned that his reluctance to strike is harming his prospects of becoming Prime Minister…In the interview, she denies being part of any "conspiracy" to oust Mr Blair. But, referring to the Iraq war, she says: "It's just that I think what's happened is so serious that we need a change, and Gordon sits there as ... credible and capable." She claims "a very high number" of Labour MPs are "very troubled by all of this".)



2//The Toronto Star, Canada--NO CANADIAN TROOPS TO IRAQ: PM (Prime Minister Paul Martin isn't ready to commit troops to Iraq despite growing pressure on world leaders to help ease violent chaos there. “There's a limit to our resources," Martin said today after meeting with French President Jacques Chirac during a European tour. ``And that's why I'm putting the focus right now on Afghanistan, on Haiti. "Whatever it is that we do, I really want to see us do it in an area that makes a difference." It's best to focus on countries where Canada's work is obviously helping than to spread efforts too thin, Martin said.)



3//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--INDIA A DUMPING GROUND FOR IRAQI WAR JUNK (For Indian businesses, Iraqi scrap is a prime catch because it's dirt-cheap. With an overworked, understaffed and easily corruptible Indian Customs Department choosing to look the other way, Iraqi scrap thus easily makes its way to Indian shores, but with a few live shells too. One of them blew up late last month, killing 10 workers. The hunt for war junk in imported scrap began after this accident, which also left dozens injured in a private foundry, when the shell - routed through Iran, but originating in Iraq - blew up during handling in New Delhi's bustling industrial suburb of Ghaziabad. Subsequent investigations revealed that extremely dangerous material is being illegally transferred into the country along with war junk. "The find so far in New Delhi and nearby towns alone can start a little war," said a spokesman of the Indian army's bomb-disposal unit.)


4//KurdishMedia.com, UK--PUK OFFICIAL SUPPORTS BARZANI REMARKS ON KIRKUK (Following KDP leaders’ controversial remarks regarding the ethnically divided city of Kirkuk, a representative of Patriotic Union of Kurdistan says that his party is prepared for an armed struggle to ensure Kirkuk’s Kurdistani identity…Mr Barzani, …, seems to have found support backed by KDP’s main rival faction, PUK…This is however the first time a PUK official speaks about a military solution to the problem of Kirkuk if it was required. “The Kurdish position is unyielding," (regarding Kirkuk), Mr Faili said, "and that is due to the fact that the Arabic communities are determined in refusing our requests.”)


5//Xinhuanet.com, China--CHINA, RUSSIA COMPLETE BOUNDARY DELIMITATION (China and Russia signed an agreement here Thursday, completing the delimitation of the 4,300-kilometer-long boundary line between them…Chinese President Hu Jintao and visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin were present at the signing ceremony. The signing of the agreement means that "following efforts by China and Russia for more than 40 years, the two countries have complete their border delimitation," announced Hu and Putin at a joint press conference following formal talks between them. The two heads of state stressed that the 4,300-kilometer-long China-Russia boundary line "will hence become a line of peace, friendship, cooperation and development between people of the two countries." )