Blair Facing Backlash Over Europe/Scotsman--New World Media Watch

[Gloria]

Full excerpts, links up now at
http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical/current.htm

Tomorrow at Buzzflash.com

WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR JUNE 21, 2004

1//The Jordan Times, Jordan--EUROPEANS GET TOUGH ON IRAN (The European Union has hardened its position on Iran amid mounting frustration with the fruits of its bid to “engage” the Islamic republic on its nuclear programme, human rights and terrorism, diplomats say. It was the European Union's “big three” — Britain, France and Germany — who on Friday pushed through a tough resolution at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that blasted Iran for failing to honour its pledge to come clean. The EU heavyweights had brokered a deal in October for Iran to cooperate with the UN watchdog, but in a sign of growing impatience have now edged closer to the position of the United States — which stands by its accusation that Iran's clerical rulers are seeking nuclear weapons and not just electricity.)



2//The Scotsman, UK--BLAIR FACING BACKLASH OVER EUROPE (Boasts that Tony Blair had won a great deal for the UK over the EU constitution appeared increasingly hollow last night as Labour MPs and Eurosceptics lined up to condemn the move. While the Prime Minister claimed he had put the brake on moves towards a European "superstate", it emerged he had ceded huge powers to Brussels and won nothing in return…Despite Blair’s claims that the constitution represented a "success" for Britain, a string of senior Labour figures lined up to join the party’s opponents in condemning the treaty.)



3//The News International, Pakistan--MUSHARRAF FEARS FALLOUT OF WANA OPERATION (President Pervez Musharraf is worried about retaliation for recent security raids on tribal groups in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), says a British newspaper. In an interview published in the online version of Britain’s Sunday Telegraph newspaper, Musharraf said he hoped that the fighting would not escalate to other tribal areas. "But it can have a fallout, these people have contacts elsewhere in the country and they can retaliate in the rest of the country in the form of bomb blasts, attacks on important persons and installations, and so we have to guard against that." Musharraf also said he was worried about the rise of suicide bombers in Pakistan.)



4//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--SIX-PARTY TALKS: STRIKE 3 (With the third installment of the six-party drama set to play out in Beijing from June 23-26, all sides have begun telegraphing their positions as a prelude to talks, with continued US insistence on complete, verifiable, irreversible dismantlement (CVID) of all facets of North Korea's weapons program increasingly out of sync with the rest of the region…The US declared that real progress at this round is crucial, but it seems any progress that does emerge from the meeting will likely be bilateral in nature, not multilateral as Washington had originally hoped. The United States could use another failure in Beijing, the third strike, as the excuse it needs to move the whole matter to the United Nations Security Council, but given the political relationship and geographical proximity of North Korea to two permanent members of the council (China and Russia), it is highly unlikely a resolution with teeth would be forthcoming. As the non-US members of the six-party confab continue to focus on more narrow, domestic agendas in their dealings with Pyongyang, a six-party solution to the North Korean problem seems as remote as ever.)

5//The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippines--PLENARY SESSION SEEN AS NEXT BATTLEGROUND (To the dying sounds of opposition gunfire, the congressional canvassing committee wound down Sunday night the second longest vote count in the history of the country's presidential elections. Sniffing victory in the air, Malacañang was finalizing the inaugural program for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, which is expected to be crowned by street parties in Cebu, the province that gave her a haymaker of a one-million-vote-plus margin over chief rival Fernando Poe Jr….Pro-administration legislators have repeatedly denied allegations of widespread cheating to favor Ms Macapagal and accused the opposition of engaging in dilatory tactics to delay her proclamation.)


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[Cha]

1. I read that about blair and his "success"...

"2//The Scotsman, UK--BLAIR FACING BACKLASH OVER EUROPE (Boasts that Tony Blair had won a great deal for the UK over the EU constitution appeared increasingly hollow last night as Labour MPs and Eurosceptics lined up to condemn the move. While the Prime Minister claimed he had put the brake on moves towards a European "superstate", it emerged he had ceded huge powers to Brussels and won nothing in return…Despite Blair’s claims that the constitution represented a "success" for Britain, a string of senior Labour figures lined up to join the party’s opponents in condemning the treaty.)"

Now this? What up, tony?

[acmavm]

2. Shoot, I missed all this. What are they talking about? I would think that

any time Tony Blair claims a 'great victory' on anything, you can rest assured the opposite has happened. The guy has no credibility left since his love affair with W began.