Putin's Rating Falls below 50 Per Cent/Moscow Times--New WMW

[Gloria]

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


WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR JULY 12, 2004

1//The Independent, UK--BUTLER ACTS TO PREVENT PM ‘SPINNING’ HIS REPORT (Lord Butler is to head off any attempt by Tony Blair to "spin" the conclusions of his report on the handling of intelligence before the Iraq war by speaking live before the Prime Minister makes his statement to the House of Commons. In an attempt to stop Downing Street quoting selectively from the document, Lord Butler of Brockwell plans to seize the initiative by publishing his conclusions before Mr Blair has a chance to comment on the report publicly.)



2//The Telegraph, UK--CAUTIOUS WHITEHALL KEEPS THE SECRET STATE ALIVE (The Government's passion for secrecy while it talks about openness is revealed today after a study by The Daily Telegraph that raises serious concerns about the new Freedom of Information Act.It shows that more than 76,000 files which have passed the normal 30-year closure period laid down by the Public Record Act remain hidden on the Lord Chancellor's instructions…With the news that the Treasury has insisted on search fees of up to £575 for Freedom of Information Act requests, it casts doubt on Labour's declared commitment to open government.)



3//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--REBELS HAVE YEMEN ON THE HOP (More than 200 people have been killed in clashes between Islamic rebels and government forces using warplanes and tanks; this is not Iraq, but the picture of developments in Yemen. Thousands of families are at risk as the clashes continue in the Marran mountains of the Saddah area, about 150 kilometers north of the capital Sana'a, and close to the border with Saudi Arabia. It is the main center of the Zaidi Shi'ite sect founded about 1,000 years ago.)



4//The Times of India, India--EVEN GEORGE FERNANDES WAS STRIP-SEARCHED IN US (George Fernandes was strip-searched twice in Dulles Airport in the US capital area when he was defence minister, once while on an official visit to Washington and another time while en route to Brazil, according to former Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott. In his new book Engaging India - Diplomacy, Democracy and the Bomb , Talbott says he was told this angrily by Fernandes himself when he had visited India in February this year as part of a delegation assembled by the Aspen Institute and the Confederation of Indian Industry….”He and other Indians who later referred to the incident clearly regarded it as more than merely a lapse of protocol or just another example of the post 9/11 excesses and indignities that air travellers had to endure for the sake of security. The Indians saw it as a symptom of a deep-rooted widespread condescension - or worse - on the part of the West toward the East.”



5//The Moscow Times, Russia--PUTIN’S RATING FALLS BELOW 50 PERCENT (Four months after a landslide re-election victory in March, President Vladimir Putin's ratings have plunged to below 50 percent, their lowest since he was first elected in 2000, according to the latest poll. Some contributed the decline to the start of unpopular social reforms…At the core of the social reforms is the government's plan to replace healthcare, transportation and subsidized housing benefits to the least-protected part of the population, such as pensioners and veterans, with non-indexed cash payments. The State Duma passed the legislation in the first reading last month and plans to bring it up for a second vote in early August.)