Information Related to "World News Review November 1999"
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In Brief... World News Reviewby Peter Eddington, Darris McNeely, Cecil Maranville and John Ross SchroederCanal Returns to Panama On December 31, 1999, the United States will formally hand over total control of the Panama Canal and withdraw its troops from the canal zone. This is in accordance with the treaty ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1977. The canal has been a vital sea link for the United States, saving military and commercial ships the long trek around Cape Horn. More than 15 percent of goods imported into and exported out of the U.S. pass through the canal. A major concern over continued free access to the canal comes from the fact that Panama has granted a Chinese company, Hutchison Whampoa, Ltd., a 25-year concession to operate the Atlantic and Pacific entrances. Because Hutchison has ties to the Chinese Communist Party it is feared this important waterway could come under the control of China. American leaders fear that U.S. naval ships could be denied access to the canal at a time of international crisis (Forbes, October 4, 1999). Austria and Switzerland Move Right Today left-of-center governments dominate much of Western and Central Europe. However, there are signs of a movement towards the far right in certain European states. Most alarming is the recent emergence of Jorg Haider's Freedom Party as the second largest political force in the Austrian legislature. He is known for his pro-Nazi pronouncements and qualified praise of Hitler. More recently, Haider has been in London trying to silence alarm bells in the West in reaction to his controversial statements about the Third Reich. The response in Israel was immediate. Jerusalem threatened to sever diplomatic relations with Austria if Jorg Haider is permitted to join the coalition government. Three weeks after Austrian voters had boosted the ultra right, neighboring Switzerland seems set to follow suit. Polls show that Christopher Blocher's extreme Swiss People's Party is likely to finish second in upcoming elections, which would place him in a position to play a significant role in a future coalition government. He is known for his highly controversial views about the Holocaust. Perhaps much less serious is the case of Emin Xhinovci, a fierce fighter with the recently disbanded Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). He recently opened a bar in Mitrovice, Northern Kosovo known as the Pizzeria Hitlericomplete with a prominent swastika, which French NATO troops promptly removed. Coupled with his pro-Nazi pronouncements, Xhinovci has attracted attention by deliberately enhancing his physical likeness to Adolph Hitler. Reporters say general reaction by international authorities has been weak and muted (The Guardian,Sunday Times,Sunday Telegraph,Independent on Sunday,Daily Mail,all London). Jerusalem Should Be Returned, Says Jordan's King BEIRUT (AFP)-Jerusalem is "occupied" Palestinian land which should be returned to the Palestinians, Jordan's King Abdullah II said in a magazine interview. "Jerusalem is for us occupied Palestinian land," said the king, but without specifying whether he was referring to the city as a whole or its Arab eastern sector. "It is regarded as the same as any other occupied Palestinian land and we are backing our Palestinian brothers to enable them to regain their complete rights concerning this issue," he said in an interview with the London-based Lebanese weekly Al-Hawadeth. Jerusalem's status is one of the thorniest issues left in the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians (September 15, 1999: The News Channel). British Farming—"Worst Crisis Since the Thirties" "Millions of animals now worthless." "Prices paid to farmers plummet to all-time lows." "No cash for sheep farmers." These are not scare stories, but stark reality. Such newspaper accounts have been around for weeks. British farmers are losing badly on almost everything they breed or grow. Only wheat has escaped the general trend. Income on the farm is said to have plunged 75 percent in the last three years. Soon hundreds of rural communities could become ghost towns and the farms transformed into caravan (trailer) sites and theme parks. Overproduction and the cessation of substantial European Union subsidies are the main culprits. Inevitably farms will be lost to families. As Nick Read, Head of Rural Stress Information, recently reported: "The situation is catastrophic and people who have been around for a long time say that the only comparison they can make is the thirties." The possible long-term significance of these recent developments should not be lost on us. In a future national crisis, a country may need all of her agricultural lands, particularly if the nation is subjugated and starving (The Independent, The Independent on Sunday, Daily Mail,all London). Poll: Teens Fear Violent Rampages NEW YORK (AP)-Half the teenagers in a poll believe a murderous rampage like the killings at Columbine High School could happen in their school. However, 45 percent in The New York Times-CBS News Poll believe increased security made their school safe. In the nationwide telephone poll of 1,038 13- to 17-year-olds, 52 percent said they feared a Columbine-style attack could strike their school, despite added security guards, cameras and other safety measures taken. Yet the poll also found that the measures made the teenagers feel safer. Overall, 45 percent believed their school was safe or extremely safe and 42 percent characterized it as somewhat safe. Israel Looks to the Skies While the arguments go back and forth whether or not Israel's security is threatened by unilateral territorial withdrawal from the administered territories and the Golan Heights, one issue has been studiously glossed over by advocates for territorial concessions: water. Israel has a water problem. No country can physically exist without sufficient supply of this most vital liquid, and Israel is no exception. Located on the fringe of a desert, Israel is almost wholly dependent on seasonal rainfall for her water supply. Rarely do Israelis experience rainfall outside of a five-month winter season from November through March. Moreover, Israel has a growing population that maintains a modest level of Western standard of living, where water (for bathing regularly, drinking freely, etc.) is not considered a luxury. Nonetheless, it shouldn't be assumed that Israeli water consumption is extravagant; by Western standards, it is low. Recent figures show that Israeli average annual per capita municipal consumption is less than half of that of domestic consumption in Southern California, for example-a region with similar climatic conditions (Arutz-7 Net Editor, October 8, 1999). Back From the Dead Prehistoric viruses are lying dormant in the polar ice caps-and a bout of warm weather could release them into the atmosphere, sparking new epidemics. This chilling warning follows the discovery, for the first time, of an ancient virus in Arctic ice. The virus, found deep within the Greenland ice pack, is known as a tomato mosaic tobamovirus (ToMV), a common plant pathogen. The discovery suggests that other viruses, such as ancient strains of flu, polio and smallpox, may also be entombed and could make a comeback. "We don't know the survival rate, or how often they get back into the environment. But it certainly is possible," says Tom Starmer of Syracuse University in New York. Starmer's colleagues Scott Rogers and John Castello had earlier found ToMV in clouds and fog. The virus can survive in such environments because it belongs to a family with particularly tough protein coats. "Since it's widespread, moves in the atmosphere and is very stable, we deduced that we would find it in the Arctic ice," says Rogers. The team says that a brief rise in temperature could unleash the entombed viruses. "The ice is melting constantly around the poles," says Rogers. If released, they could cause outbreaks of disease (New Scientist, by Matt Walker, September 4, 1999). Diseases Find Easy Pathways Into U.S. NEW YORK-A virus from Africa strikes humans and birds in New York. A microbe common in the Caribbean causes dengue fever in the U.S. And that well-known tropical paradise, Minnesota, reports an increasing number of malaria cases. More than ever, public health experts say, the increase in international trade and travel is giving germs far easier means to hop halfway around the world, hitching rides in unsuspecting travelers. These travelers may not get sick until after they have returned home and exposed others to a disease that local doctors have difficulty diagnosing because they've never seen it before. "In terms of microbes, borders are irrelevant, but they're more irrelevant than ever," said Dr. Steve Ostroff, acting deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Things and people move from one country to another with a speed and frequency never before seen, and that's a trend that is just going to continue" (Chicago Tribune,by Stevenson Swanson, October 7, 1999). APEC, East Timor and the New Asian Reality The Asia Pacific Economic Forum (APEC) had more important things than economics on the table. Peacekeeping for East Timor, the stability of Indonesia and security for critical sea lanes,the China-Taiwan crisis and North Korea missile tests are all key issues. Economics haven't disappeared, but they have been overshadowed by politico-military issues. The stunning fact is that where Africa has the Organization of African Unity, Asia has no regional security framework. Asia fantasized that they would never need one, that perpetual economic growth would keep politico-military uncertainty at bay. Asia has hit reality at APEC. Asia is a normal part of the world. The only number Asia used to care about was the growth rate. Now APEC has to focus on another number: the casualty rate (Stratfor.com, September 13, 1999). |
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Related Information:
Other Articles by Peter Eddington
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Other Articles by Cecil Maranville
Other Articles by John Ross Schroeder
Origin of article "World News Review November 1999"
Keywords: Panama canal neo-nazi Austria Jerusalem British farms Israel and water Indonesia East Timor APEC
Panama:
