5 Foreign Stories inc. a BIG step forward for Saudi women--

[Gloria]

All in the new World Media Watch up now (full excerpts and links) at http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical
Tomorrow at Buzzflash.com


Story Summaries:

1//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--TERROR STALKS INDIA’S PROGRESS (Terrorists are targeting areas at the forefront of India's economic progress. A major tragedy was averted on Monday when police in the information-technology hub of Hyderabad foiled a plot to trigger bomb blasts by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed . … . The arrests follow last week's shootout at the prestigious Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, considered India's Silicon Valley. A well-known Delhi professor was killed and several others injured. … . Attacking software hubs hits at one of the most international symbols of Indian success and can set off a wave of panic reactions from potential foreign investors as well as multinationals, which can hobble the rapid pace of India's economic progress. Such economic and cultural destabilization can only be the handiwork of international terror outfits that seek out targets that inflict maximum damage to people as well as pass on a symbolic message. After the events of September 11, 2001, economic terrorism has been the hallmark of al-Qaeda attacks whether in Kenya, Bali, Morocco, Turkey or Egypt. … . Some observers have also drawn a link between Pakistan's efforts, with the help of China, to ramp up its IT industry and the attacks in India. … . However, the predominant thought among security agencies in India is that the top Pakistani establishment, including President General Pervez Musharraf, is for peace - at least for now. It is the middle and lower levels that have long fed off the spoils of a proxy war with India that are the main threat. These will have to be tackled by India independent of Islamabad's ability or predilection to take them on.)



2//The News International, Pakistan--PAKISTAN MAY BUY SIX NUCLEAR REACTORS FROM CHINA (Pakistan is negotiating the purchase of between six and eight nuclear power reactors from China during the next decade in the most ambitious expansion yet of the country’s nuclear energy capability. … . Pakistan’s increasing reliance on China as main supplier of its nuclear reactors is likely to raise concerns within the anti-nuclear proliferation lobby in the west. Pakistan emerged at the centre of global concerns about nuclear proliferation in 2004 when it was revealed that AQ Khan, father of its nuclear bomb project, sold nuclear expertise and technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea.)



3//Xinhua Online, China--CHINA SET TO NARROW RICH-POOR GAP (China's economy is likely to be heading for another year of galloping development, but how to make more Chinese people reaping the benefits is still a challenge for the government. … . Despite rapid economic progress, growing inequality between the rich and the poor, a very tough job market, higher prices and a grim workplace safety record have been troubling the government, said Li Peilin, a senior sociologist with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. … . The government has already announced that it will increase the minimum living allowance for needy people, offer free compulsory education in rural regions, and expand the network of rural co-operative medical care. All the measures show that "fostering a harmonious society" is high on the government's economic agenda, said the experts. However, they said social problems, which have cropped up during robust economic development and industrialization, could not be solved overnight.)



4//Arab News, Saudi Arabia--END OF A LONG QUEST: SAUDI WOMEN GET THEIR OWN IDENTITY AT LAST (It is finally official: A woman can apply for — and receive — her personal ID without the consent of her male guardian. Women are rushing to get their IDs with many of them being motivated by practical reasons rather than simply a desire to proclaim their independence. … . This is the end of a long road for Saudi women. They were granted the right to have their own picture ID four years ago. The application for the ID, however, had to be approved by the woman’s male guardian. He had to go in person to the Civil Status Administration to fill out the application and sign a consent form. For many women who have demanded an ID to protect their rights, especially in courts and legal procedures, this condition negated the purpose of the ID.)



5//Canada.com, Canada--MARTIN STEPS UP HAMMER HARPER TOUR (Prime Minister Paul Martin says the second half of the election campaign will be about values -- the difference between his vision of a caring Canada and Stephen Harper's "fend-for-yourself'' society. In other words, the Hammer Harper tour is in full swing. With polls putting the Conservatives in a dead heat with the Liberals, Martin ramped up the rhetoric Tuesday. He used a luncheon speech in Winnipeg to warn that Harper would change the face of Canada -- and not for the better. Martin played up the "clear difference of values that is illustrated by Stephen Harper's goal of a fend-for-yourself Canada and my vision of a country in which we strive together as a society toward a common good.'' … . "You want a fundamental difference between Mr. Harper and myself? Well, this is it: I believe that social policy -- the things we do to help each other out and help each other up -- is a window on the kind of country we are, and the kind of country we want to be.'')