PAKISTAN CLOSES KABUL EMBASSY AFTER MOB ATTACK-New World Media Watch

[Gloria]

Full excerpts, links up now at http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical
Tomorrow at Buzzflash.com

WORLD MEDIA WATCH For July 9, 2003

1//The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia--BEIJING WEIGHS UP, THEN REJECTS, INVASION OF N KOREA (China asked its military to study a quick intervention in North Korea but decided that its relationship with the United States was more important than propping up the Stalinist state, with which it shares a border. A source in Beijing said the study for a pre-emptive Chinese invasion was ordered by a Chinese Communist Party working group formed in late February under the country's senior leader, Hu Jintao.)



2//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--SABOTEURS GO FOR IRAQ’S JUGULAR (As Iraq's oil ministry struggles to build production, it has yet to win the confidence of global oil buyers. Analysts say that oil companies remain hesitant to sign contracts to buy Iraqi oil on a steady basis - the mainstay of the oil industry business - until a steady flow of oil is assured. For now, the ministry has been forced to put Iraqi oil up for bid only after the oil has actually been produced and put in storage tanks, rather than taking bids for future production… Iraq's oil infrastructure is an attractive target for saboteurs because it directly undercuts the funding for reconstruction efforts…The saboteurs may also hope that disrupting the oil supply puts political pressure on Washington and London by helping keep world oil prices high. That could make attacks on the pipelines a lever for possibly winning some concessions from the allies if the attacks are pressed hard enough.)



3//The Tehran Times, Iran--TURKISH PM DEFENDS TIES WITH U.S., BUT CAUTIONS WASHINGTON (Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tuesday defended Ankara's ties with the United States after Turkish soldiers were arrested in northern Iraq, but cautioned Washington against by-passing Turkey in the Kurdish-held region…"One should take information directly from its allies," he said. Washington has declined to say why the soldiers were arrested, but the Turkish press has speculated they were suspected of plotting to assassinate the Kurdish governor of Kirkuk.)



4//The News International, Pakistan--PAKISTAN CLOSES KABUL EMBASSY AFTER MOB ATTACK (About 3,000 demonstrators took to the streets of Kabul for a second straight day on Tuesday to protest against the alleged Pakistani border intrusion that Pakistan has denied. Some of the protesters broke away from the main rally and forced their way into the embassy, witnesses said. Witnesses later saw broken windows, smashed television sets, computers and fans and a partly burnt Pakistani flag. Peacekeepers from Kabul's International Security Assistance Force monitored the situation, a witness said… The protesters later joined the demonstration against the alleged Pakistani incursions led by central bank governor Anwarul Haq Ahady and his Afghan Millat party.)



5//The Mail & Guardian, South Africa--EGYPT, LIBYA HOLD BACK ON WOMEN’S RIGHTS PROTOCOL (Sources within the AU's Executive Council said that Egypt and Libya expressed reservations because the draft was not in line with Islamic Sharia law. The Draft Protocol on the Rights of Women to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights took five years to come before the ministers. It would among other things outlaw female genital mutilation, grant women the vote in all cases, set the minimum age for marriage at 18 and guarantee women the right to inherit and own property.)

[Gloria]

1. kick for the overnite, morning crowd.....

eom

[Nottingham]

2. Well looks things are not so great in Afghanistan

:bounce: