Spain - less illegals

Those working illegally in Spain have a three month window in which to escape the underground economy. Around 800,000 people are expected to apply as all you need is a 6 month contract. There seems to be a lack of hysteria on the issue more from El Pais (via IHT)...

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Japan - crime and punishment in the news

Horrific crimes are news the world over, even if, or perhaps especially if , they are a rare occurence. Recent crime coverage in Japan has caused comment though as it seems to focus on crimes by foreigners, especially Chinese. Most countries have sections of the who know it sells papers to pander to your readers prejudices but with official relations with China at a low point such things can have a wider impact more from the Asia Times

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China - generation X

A reformist political figure, Zhao Ziyang, died this week but today's generation of students - unlike those with whom Zhao pleaded in Tiananmen Square - don't seem to care. Is this a sign of maturity or apathy ?. Opinion is divided but 15 plus years of economic growth have given rise to a less overtly radical student body. The Chinese state claims it's policy of cracking down on the pro-democracy movement has delivered the stablility that's not just saved the country but allowed it to grow and prosper more from the BBC...

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Uzbekistan - pressed to pick cotton

Fully 75% of hard currency earnings in Uzbekistan are from cotton exports but old Soviet era methods remain. Although the second biggest cotton exporter in the world not much processing goes on locally. Rather than re-invest the money in more modern methods, large numbers of young people (mostly students) are still pressed into the fields at harvest time - harming the chances of creating a more educated work force and encouraging corruption at the same time more from EurasiaNet.org...

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Georgia - from NGO to GO

Many analysts have focused on the role of NGO's in driving recent non-violent 'velvet' revolutions but what happens afterwards? In Georgia it may be that, for a period anyway, they disappear altogether more from the IWPR... This may be an extended honeymoon period while the ex-NGO staffers try and create a viable state. National re-unification is a key policy goal as at least two regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, are still trying to break away more from the International Herald Tribune...

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Kosovo - open cities

A lack of recent violence has kept Kosovo out of the news and the 'international community' has consequently been happy to ignore it. This could be a missed opportunity. Since the future status of the area is still uncertain some may be tempted to use violent means to settle matters on the ground. Some commentators now suggest the UN's review of Kosovo this summer should be used to formally approve independence - with guarantees for the Serb minority built in. Pristina, 'Open City' anyone ? more from the IWPR...

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EU - Mr Jobs wants you

Last weeks gloomy report from the CIA will be required reading for the new 'Mr. Lisbons' owning each EU states drive for economic competitiveness. More flexible labour markets, more investment in R&D, more and better jobs, all this will be part of the new Lisbon Process - originally meant to foster the EU as one of the worlds most competitive economies by 2010 (and pay for all our pensions and tea-sipping welfare states) more from the EU Observer...

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US - President speaks, perhaps in tongues

The inaugural address of President Bush has provoked an unusual amount of reaction in the global media. Is it the religious tone that seems provocative to many ?. The US media has noted press reaction around the world and debates the use of relgious phrases that strike other, more secular, listeners as odd more from the Christian Science Monitor... As some noted though, this kind of talk is not considered unusual in many states more from the Houston Chronicle... Perhaps this is intended to sound reassuring to the domestic audience when discussing foreign policy issues.

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Japan - unpredictable histories

This year sees the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and will see, as ever, the past drafted in to support today's conflicts. Japan especially may have reason to fear an uncomfortable year. Some journalists are already mulling over the prospect of ex-colonies in Asia taking the chance to complain of the lack of public Japanese contrition. With hindsight it's now possible to say Japan's post-war policy of providing very large amounts of aid to it's neighbours, like China and Korea, but not making the same sort of public apologies some ex-axis powers have, e.g. Germany, has left a massive hostage to fortune. The Chinese or South Korean governments now have the chance to focus public attention on this omission without mentioning how many airports or roads were funded by Japan. more from the Asahi Shimbun... Why they should want to do this is another question.

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China - arms and the EU

Chinese government sources have welcomed the UK's recent declarations of support for lifting the blanket embargo on arms from the EU. Is this a re-run of yesterdays story on ethical foreign policies ? British trade with China has doubled in the last five years, notes the Chinese media, so perhaps the lure of profit overrides other considerations more from the People's Daily... A deal has been signed to promote other forms of trade (e.g. tourism) and Jack Straw has said he expects there to be no increase in arms sales after lifting the embargo - not a view shared by the US and Japan more from the BBC... Previous analysis in the Chinese media predicted a lifting of the embargo but no actual arms trading because of pressure from the US and from the EU Parliament, most of whose members were ill-informed as they had not visited the 'new' China still more from the People's Daily

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Kazakhstan - borderline buddies

Kazakhstan and Russia have signed a new agreement resolving some outstanding border issues and setting the stage for bigger deals to come. Specifically, trade in oil and weapons. Russia would like more Caspian basin oil and gas to move through their pipelines and Kazakhtan can buy cheap weaponry without a patronizing lecture on democracy and human rights ?more from Eurasianet...

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Azerbaijan - a woman's lot

High levels of domestic violence and discrimination are familiar problems for women in many societies but sisterly support may be easing the load in Azerbaijain. Despite living in what the media coyly refer to as a 'traditional male-dominated society' it seems local NGO's are helping more from the IWPR...

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Greece - sea walls

The Greek government may be one of Turkey's supporters in the EU but there are still tensions on the ground - or at sea. When a ship started to founder in an Aegean storm recently, both countries ended up scrambling F16 fighter jets as well as search and rescue parties. more from the Kathimerini... The attitudes expressed in opinion polls seem ambivalent but not outright hostile as in the past more from the BBC...

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EU - the future's here already

The US intelligence community seems keen on proving its prescience - maybe it's still embarrased about that WMD business. Neighbours like the EU can now benefit from this gift by reading the results of an NCI forecast for 2020. It seems we don't have enough breeders and an irrational attachment to the welfare state. Bad teeth are not mentioned. more from the EU observer... An interesting overview of globalisation trends though with the EU political experiment featuring as a test case.

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Turkey - full of faith, for now.

Christian evangalists are taking advantage of Turkeys EU normalisation process to spread the word - not everyone is so happy clappy about that. Rather than overreact though some have noticed that other religions are'nt really a threat these days - not compared to Europes creeping secularisation. more from Zaman...

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Kosovo - a long wait for the gravy train

The custom barriers are down for the Western Balkan states but the open door may swing both ways. As the weakest agricultural economy in the region and, most likely at the back of the queue for EU membership, Kosovo's farmers face a long wait for the riches of Europe to come their way. In the meantime cheaper imports, the struggle to meet high quality export standards and a lack of local expertise could push many to the wall more from the IWPR... Interesting to see a 'lack of will-power' cited as a problem but maybe, in these circumstances, normal EU policy of holding back subsidies until a candidate state starts reforming itself is too harsh.

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France - faithless

Many are asking searching questions about their faith at the moment - but in France you may struggle to find someone to ask. Increasingly secular attitudes have cut at the roots of the Catholic Church - the priesthood. With only 150 new Fathers leaving the seminaries each year African priests have taken up the missionary burden more from the BBC...

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US - who can you trust ?

Guant�namo Bay Army chaplain James Yee asked 'why are we still afraid of Islam'. Bit suspicious that ? Someone thought so - especially when he suggested the prisoner's Korans be respected (they claimed the guards were flushing them down the toilet). He was arrested and accused of playing for the other side. Now, 6 months later, the charges have been dropped and he's left the army. The whole embarrasing story is being investigated by the US media more from the Seattle Times...

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Japan - time to be more fertile

As Japan's birth rate drops to an all time low of 1.29 children per woman the governement has introduced a five year plan to help working parents. It seems work-life balance is now all the rage. Private sector estimates show the percentage of the population under 14 years of age falling as low as 6% (currently the ratio is 14%). That's a bit of a tax payer shortage, so the next few years will see more government efforts to get people working less and breeding more. As only 60% of companies offer any kind of child-care leave, and around 12% of employees (according to government statistics) work more than 60 hours a week, this seems a tall order more from the Asia Times

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S. Korea - choose your words carefully

For Koreans using English as a lingua franca has obvious advantages but do you need to invest in dictionaries of your own to do it ? A recent study by a South Korean academic has found fault with existing efforts and the fact they're based on a Japanese-English template has caught the critical eye of the conservative press more from Chosun Ilbo...

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Turkmenistan - the writing on the wall

Turkmen 'President for life' Niyazov finds old Soviet habits die hard - troublesome clerics have their Mosques or Churches knocked down.
However, keep on the right side of the government and you get a brand new centre of worship - with the Presidents own words of wisdom written on the walls more from IRIN News...Niyazov has run the country since 1991 and it seems stability is all. Since Marx no longer provides a guiding handbook, and religious communities can't be trusted, he's written his own testament. Poetry also features in his list of accomplishments more from the BBC... According to Turkmen media sources the Rukhmana is not without international fans either more from Turkmenistan.ru

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Turkey - rich man of Europe ?

Optimistic forecasts for Turkey's economy have recently been bandied about by global financial institutions - like the World Bank. More US influenced puff to sway the EU doubters ? Not so, say local World Bank experts qouted in the Turkish press, 35% growth in ten years will fit neatly in the EU average and all those youngsters are fuel for a boom if education is focused correctly more from Zaman... They would say that though as they recently loaned Turkey a billion dollars more from the US embassy...

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Montenegro - twinned with Serbia, or no go for the EU

The EU is happy that Serbia is European but only if it's combined with Montenegro No-one seems to have told the ruling coalition parties in it's prospective twin and Serbia itself has other worries. Elections to a joint Parliament are in February.more from the IWPR ...

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Spain - a California for Europe

With it's more relaxed approach to immigration and the very public withdrawal from Iraq, Spain seems more 'Blue State' than ever. Commentators have expressed surprise, but older political traditions may just be resurfacing. Policies like the gay marriage laws are turning Spain into something like Europes liberal West Coast - only Belgium and the Netherlands have such laws already more from the BBC... Since a new law on domestic violence passed in October the new Socialist government has proposed a long list of changes to the law, without looking for the backing of the Church, and all on hot topics like immigration, sex and womens rights. A seemingly big change for a historically conservative Catholic culture, but only if you think Franco's Spain was 'traditional' Spain as opposed to it's historic Liberal, Communist and Anarchist movements. The Church may be paying the price for being too closely associated with only one of these traditions or Spain is just falling in line with other European states long drift to a secular identity more from NewsDay... Humanist and Atheist organisations have been encouraged and see Europe as increasingly the only source of good news - the EU Constitution does not mention God, France has banned religious symbols from schools and an EU Commissionar with strongly religious views was ousted from his post more from Reuters...

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