King Pledges to Help Rebuild Iraq--Jordan Times/New World Media Watch

[Gloria]

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

WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR OCTOBER 31, 2003

1//The Jordan Times, Jordan--KING PLEDGES TO HELP REBUILD IRAQ (His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday said the Kingdom was ready to help rebuild Iraq and reactivate its important Arab and international role, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. At a Beit Al Baraka meeting, King Abdullah told Iraqi Electricity Minister Ayham Samaraie that Jordan was willing to extend every possible assistance for reconstructing Iraq in all fields, especially in rebuilding and reoperating electricity generation plants….Currently, Iraq can only obtain 5,000 megawatts.)



2//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--CHINA-NORTH KOREA: ‘LIPS AND TEETH’ SET TO PART?(…one issue of crucial importance that has been largely overlooked is the fluctuating relationship between North Korea and China. The once-cohesive bond between the two states has shown clear signs of unraveling in recent months and could be irreversibly damaged if upcoming talks prove unfruitful…The important question for North Korea is whether it can afford to let China slip away, just as Russia has. China supplies North Korea with 80 percent of its energy, commodity and fuel requirements, and is responsible for approximately 40 percent of Pyongyang's imports… North Korea's short list of allies has been shrinking with each year - thus Pyongyang's cronies should cringe at the thought of losing yet another trusted partner.)



3//Daily Yomiuri, Japan--SAVINGS RATE SLIDES AS POPULATION AGES (The nation's famously high savings rate is in decline. As unemployment and wage cuts lead to lower incomes, people now have less money to put into their savings accounts. Another factor is the rapidly aging population. More and more elderly people are making ends meet by spending their savings... But, the savings rate in Japan dropped below that of France and Germany in 2001, and it is now falling close to the low rate seen in the United States…If the savings rate continues to decline, it may adversely affect the economy, according to experts.)



4//The Moscow Times, Russia--COURT FREES UP ELECTION COVERAGE (The Constitutional Court on Thursday ruled as unconstitutional one part of the law that restricts media coverage of election campaigns, and in doing so, gave journalists more room to do their jobs, critics of the law said. The ruling, read by Court Chairman Valery Zorkin, cancels an umbrella clause in the law on guarantees of voters' rights, which defined campaigning so broadly that reporting information on a candidate could be construed as a violation if it was capable of swaying voters. Previously, any detail characterizing a politician could be seen as helping or hurting a politician's image…Alexei Simonov of the Glasnost Foundation said he, too, was pleased with the decision, but the damage had already been done. "The mechanism of fear and pressure on journalists has already been let loose. So on the surface, it changes things, but in reality, it doesn't.")



5//Inter Press Service, Italy--FIRST ROUND OF INDIANS V. CHEVRON/TEXACO IN COURT(Indigenous communities and the U.S. oil company ChevronTexaco are facing off in a court in this Ecuadorian city in a lawsuit for alleged contamination in the northeastern provinces of Sucumbíos and Orellana…The risk of cancer is three times greater in areas near the Texaco oil production sites than in other parts of the country, according to a 1999-2001 study conducted by a team led by physicians Miguel San Sebastián and Anna-Karin Hurtig, with the Manuel Amunarriz Epidemiology and Community Health Institute in Coca, capital of Orellana province… Among the findings were that the risk of cancer of the larynx was 30 times higher in oil-producing zones than in other parts of the country, while the risk was 18 times higher in the case of cancer of the digestive tract, 15 times higher with respect to liver and skin cancer, and five times higher for stomach cancer.)

[realFedUp]

1. Jordan intends giving money?

or just funneling funds through from the US?

[La_Serpiente]

2. Jordan

is in desperate supply for oil. Iraq used to supply them oil under the oil for food program. However, since Iraq was bombed, that oil flow has stopped and in fact Jordan is in a crisis right now.