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In the papers
Friday, May 09, 2008
Friday, May 09, 2008
By Katherine Spencer
L’ORIENT LE JOUR (Liban)
“West Beirut is plunged into a street war, the army is the only lifeline.”
“Beyrouth-Ouest plonge dans la guerre des rues, l’armée seule planche de salut”
The front page of L’Orient Le Jour shows images of masked gunmen on the streets of Beirut.
Gun battles between Sunni government supporters and Hezbollah loyalists continued to rage throughout the city on Thursday.
The Lebanese newspaper says the scenes resembled civil war and its editorial is a rather pessimistic view of the situation.
It looks at the explosive mix of ingredients which have helped fuel this week’s violence, from the government’s decision to shut down Hezbollah’s telephone network and continuing political standoff to the Shiite militant group’s increasing arsenal of weapons.
THE DAILY STAR (UK)
“A ray of hope in a land of political mediocrity”
The editorial of this English language Lebanese newspaper is a more positive assessment of the country’s troubles.
Firstly it says the deterioration of the security situation in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon is “as unsurprising as the cool spring breeze coming off the Mediterranean at this time of year’.
But the article goes on to point out that the two main leaders at the centre of the conflict, Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah and MP Saad Hariri, are both using the same tactics. Act tough and then offer a deal in which nobody loses face.
The points they made – to review the government’s two controversial decisions and restart national dialogue – represent a middle ground.
The Daily Star editorial says the crucial question is not will they compromise but when will they compromise, and how much more killing will take place until then…
ARAB NEWS ( Saudi Arabia )
“Saudi Arabia Backs Extraordinary Arab League Meeting on Lebanon”
Saudi Arabia has urged Lebanese factions to reconsider their position and try to work together to solve the present political crisis.
THE NATIONAL (The United Arab Emirates)
“Diesel runs dry and prices soar across Yemen”
Nearly 70 percent of fuel is imported…While queues for petrol spill onto highways the government blames high prices, distribution and smuggling as reasons for the shortage.
The minister of Oil and Minerals Khalid Mahfouz Bahah says the gulf markets which Yemen buys its oil derivatives from don’t have the resources to meet the worldwide increased demand.
Yemen’s government subsidizes oil derivatives to the tune of 1.5 billion US dollars a year, 73 percent of which goes toward diesel in order to support farmers.
It’s a worrying time for the government as it struggles with civil unrest and a turbulent relationship with the US.
In July 2005 scores of people were killed and injured in violent riots over oil prices.
THE NEWS ( Pakistan)
“Petrol pump owners start storage ahead of price increases”
This Pakistani newspaper says it has proof that petrol pump owners in Rawalpindi district stockpiled fuel ahead of the government’s announcement on price hikes.
Some petrol pump owners rationed petrol for motorists while others remained closed to conserve stocks until prices went up.
THE GUARDIAN (UK)
“ITV must pay record fine for prime time phone-ins that robbed viewers of 7.8m”
UK TV watchdog Offcom has fined Britain’s largest commercial broadcaster ITV a record 5.7 million pounds for “seriously and repeatedly misleading its audience on 86 separate occasions over a four year period."
Viewers calling phone-ins on prime time shows paid up to a pound a time and assumed they had a fair chance of being selected.
But. instead, competition winners were often selected on the basis of whether they would make good television or where they lived.
