JORDAN WILL TRAIN IRAQI POLICE, TROOPS – KING/Jordan Times/New WMW

[Gloria]

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

WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR OCTOBER 1, 2003

1//The Independent, UK--FOOT MOUNTS PERSONAL ATTACK ON PM’S ‘LIES’ OVER CONFLICT IN IRAQ (The former Labour leader Michael Foot launched an extraordinary personal attack on Tony Blair last night, accusing him of telling lies over the war in Iraq…Last night the Labour leadership refused to accept a motion criticising the war. The unions expressed anger and pledged to challenge a decision not to allow a vote on an emergency motion tabled by the RMT rail union, which said the war had no justification and British troops should be withdrawn…This morning the RMT is expected to mount a public challenge to the decision to quash a vote on its critical motion.)



2//The Jordan Times, Jordan--JORDAN WILL TRAIN IRAQI POLICE, TROOPS – KING (His Majesty King Abdullah urged Washington on Monday to work with the international community to restore sovereignty in Iraq quickly and announced that Amman will train about 30,000 Iraqi police and troops. “At the moment we are in the final stages to prepare for training in Jordan a little over 30,000,” King Abdullah said in an interview with AFP. “There will be eight-week courses, and every course will be attended by 1,500 Iraqis. Soon we will receive the first batch of 3,000.” The King said Amman had ruled out sending its own police or military to Iraq.)



3//KurdishMedia.com, UK--BBC MEDIA TRAINING ON HOLD IN IRAQ (The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) World Service Trust has put its activities on hold in Iraq temporarily due to deteriorating security. "We are really waiting for security to improve and we would have to see NGOs go back in first before we move in again," projects director for the BBC World Service Trust, Tim Williams, told IRIN from London on Monday…At present Iraqi Media Network TV and radio programmes are being prepared and pre-recorded in facilities in the Convention Centre near the headquarters of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA)…"While CPA officials of all kinds insist they want to foster a free independent and responsible media that will be at the centre of the democratisation process in Iraq, at the moment they are too busy trying to convince Iraqis of their good intentions and getting public information announcements on the airwaves".)


4//The Daily Star, Lebanon--AFGHAN ARMY GAINS NEW BATTALION, BOOSTS FORCE TO 6,000 TROOPS (Afghanistan’s national army gained a new battalion Monday, boosting the force to about 6,000 and raising hopes that government troops will one day take control from warlord militias that still hold sway over large parts of the country. The move came as the country prepared to put forward a new constitution for ratification, which declares Afghanistan a Muslim state but stops short of imposing Sharia law, a contentious issue in this conservative nation, an Afghan official told The Associated Press… Afghan leaders have said they want a force of 70,000, but training has been slow. Foreign sponsors, including the US, Germany, France and Britain, say that could take at least five years. The problem is aggravated because Karzai’s government has little influence outside Kabul and the rest of the country is controlled by local warlords who command private militias.)



5//The Guardian, UK--CHIRAC IN THE WINGS AT JUPPE TRIAL (Corruption at the heart of President Jacques Chirac's former political base, the city administration of Paris, came under scrutiny yesterday at the opening of the trial of the former prime minister Alain Juppé, 58… Mr Chirac will be monitoring the case closely, because he will almost certainly face similar charges when he relinquishes power.)