The Israeli-Iranian meeting and the staunch denial on the part of Tehran could be a sign that Iran is changing its policy toward Israel, writes the Catholic daily Avvenire: "The Israelis and the Iranians haven't spoken with each other since the Islamic revolution in 1979. Undeniably, what we are seeing now is a change in attitude on both sides: On the one hand Iran, which doesn't even recognise the state of Israel, and on the other Israel, which considers Iran its arch enemy. It could well be that international pressure on Tehran over nuclear issues is proving effective. And paradoxically the attitude of the Iranian authorities can be seen as 'encouraging'. Their dogged denial of the meeting betrays their fear of being seen domestically as giving in on the nuclear front. For a regime that prides itself on its harsh, unyielding attitudes, such compliance is hard to justify." (23/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Iran, » Israel
All available articles from » Barbara Uglietti

Iran could become vexed and lose interest in compromise now that news of the secret meeting has come out, fears the left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung: "We are still light-years away from Israel agreeing to negotiations over its nuclear arsenal, especially with its Arab neighbours. Highly complex issues on controlling the nuclear programme, the weapons of mass destruction as well as verification and confidence building obstruct the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons in the Middle East. On Friday Iran is to announce whether it would agree to enrichment outside its borders. That would constitute significant progress on the way to controlling Iran's nuclear programme. However the news that has now become public of the meeting in Cairo a month ago could chill any readiness for compromise that was in the works. Sensation mongering is dangerous, if only for this reason alone. Iran must not be hindered in its hesitant opening process." (23/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Global, » Middle East, » Iran, » Israel

The Iranian president has adopted a hard line against Israel, which makes what happened at the bilateral meeting between officials representing the two countries in Cairo all the more astounding, the daily Der Standard notes: "Naturally Israeli and Iranian officials cross each other's paths regularly at international forums - and generally take pains to avoid each other. … The mostly multilateral context provides the opportunity for discreet probing and the participants then convey their impressions to their governments - as the latter want them to do. Since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became president and what was tantamount to a Stalinist revolution took place in Iran all this has become more difficult. This makes the exchange witnessed in Cairo all the more surprising: an Iranian official who addresses an Israeli official directly certainly doesn't lack courage." (23/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Iran, » Israel
All available articles from » Gudrun Harrer

The US is considering installing a new defence system for medium-range missiles in Central and Eastern Europe. US Vice President Joe Biden announced yesterday in Bucharest that a follow-up system to the controversial missile defence shield would for the first time also provide security for Romania. The daily Adevărul welcomes the plans: "Has anyone recently had nightmares about Iranian missiles? Probably not. The missile defence shield conceived under the Bush administration was of interest to Central and Eastern Europe for an entirely different reason: Russia. The presence of US military was a guarantee not against [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad, but against potential pressure from Moscow, which is much more active in the region. This was no doubt the line of thinking adopted by those 22 former political statesmen from Eastern Europe, … who called on [US] President [Barack] Obama not to sacrifice the region at the altar of relations with Russia. … The message of US Vice President Biden is not a powerful (missile) defence shield. But it will help." (23/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Russia, » Eastern Europe, » U.S., » Iran
All available articles from » Ovidiu Nahoi

France sent home three illegal immigrants from Afghanistan last Wednesday, a month after clearing the "Jungle" refugee camp in Calais. The regional daily La Dépêche accuses the French Immigration Minister Éric Besson of acting merely to win back the support of conservative voters: "Their misfortune is that they are victims of ad-hoc measures meant to appease domestic interests. Officially this ... operation is supposed to send a dissuasive message to potential Afghan immigration candidates. In fact it is a signal to the conservative electorate. ... The expulsion of these three Afghans does nothing to solve the problem of clandestine immigration, but it does allow Besson to demonstrate what a good and pitiless little soldier he is in defending the interests of Sarkozyism. ... What matters the fate of a couple of immigrants cast out into the misery of their country of origin? France has often projected a more glorious image of itself." (22/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Migration, » France
All available articles from » Jean-Pierre Bédéï

The EU is casting about for the right person to fill the job of president once the Treaty of Lisbon is fully ratified. The daily NRC Handelsblad asks whether it's better to have a "Sun King" from a large member state or a "Europygmy" from a smaller country: "It's entirely possible that the larger European governments would prefer a mediocre candidate from a small country as president rather than someone with real clout who could put his authority to use. A president like [former British prime minister Tony] Blair would have ideas of his own and be less willing to let himself be subordinated to the wishes of the Sarkozys, Merkels and Browns. And Sarkozy has already let on that he no longer supports Blair. That means ... the way is clear for one 'Europygmy' or another. The consequence will be that the EU will be hard put to develop as an important player in global politics. It shouldn't choose someone for the job who is hardly taken seriously by the US, China or Russia." (23/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » EU Constitution, » Europe
All available articles from » J.L. Heldring

The peace treaty signed between Turkey and Armenia is a sensation and a success for the mediating United States, the Hungarian left-liberal weekly 168 Óra writes: "There are events taking place on the stage of international politics that can barely be heard even though they rumble like thunder. It was almost in total silence that the government of US President Barack Obama chalked up its first foreign policy triumph. Under the patronage of the US a peace treaty was signed between the two arch-enemies Turkey and Armenia in October in Zurich. If the parliaments of the two countries are so inclined diplomatic relations between the two countries will be resumed. But even more importantly: their joint border is to be opened after 16 years, which means Armenia will once again have access to the West." (22/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Turkey, » Armenia
All available articles from » Endre Aczél

Turkey is well on its way to becoming one of the leading powers in the Middle East, writes the left-liberal daily Frankfurter Rundschau, adding that its growing political and economic importance increase its attractions for the EU: "Since the 1960s Turkey has been sitting patiently in Europe's waiting room. Now it's no longer satisfied with the role of loyal Nato partner and eternal EU candidate. It is turning to its eastern neighbours and beginning to take an active role in shaping the power relations in the region. This path could bring Turkey a leading role in the Islamic world. No doubt this reorientation is also a reaction to the indecisive stance of the opponents of Turkish EU membership in Europe who want to slam the European Union's door shut. Yet it would be mistaken and dangerous to interpret Turkey's new foreign policy as Ankara's rejecting Europe or to see it as a reason to keep the country outside of the EU. … Rather than being a burden for the EU, allowing Turkey to join would give it more economic and political clout in the world." (23/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU enlargement, » Europe, » Turkey, » Middle East
All available articles from » Gerd Höhler

Writing for the left-liberal daily Ta Nea Roussos Vranas criticises the commercialisation of the human body encouraged by the economic crisis: "The poor Third World, which until now had been an organ trade paradise for rich Westerners, has moved into the First World. You can find many of these poor wretches on the Internet. And also many modern vampires who bow down to suck the blood out of their victims. The dramatic rise in unemployment has prompted some to employ various means to profit from the misfortune of others. Are you unemployed? … Do you need money? There's no need to wait around in queues at job centres because the company 'The Hairtrader.com' has thought ahead and got it all worked out for you. This company brings sellers of hair together with buyers of hair and promises thousands of dollars in payment. If you don't have beautiful long hair you can make a decent day's pay with the help of the Plasma Protein Therapeutics organisation, for example. There you can sell blood plasma for 25 euros, twice a week. … Poverty is also creating other opportunities. A woman in the US can earn up to 30,000 dollars … by selling her egg cells." (23/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Health and Medicine, » Trade, » Global
All available articles from » Roussos Vranas

Europe is training more scholars and scientists but employing fewer, Elisa Martínez writes in the liberal daily La Vanguardia. She attributes this to lacking cooperation between universities and companies: "However we can observe that Europe is losing its competitiveness in the area of research. Although the EU trains more graduates in sciences and technology and produces more PhDs on average that the United States and Japan, it employs approximately only half as many researchers as those countries. We can probably find the explanation for this in the misalignment between the courses of study and the short-term requirements of companies. Even though research continues to form the basis for doctoral degrees, doctoral training should provide an answer to market requirements that goes beyond the academic environment." (23/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » Science / Research, » Economic Policy, » Europe, » U.S.
All available articles from » Elisa Martínez

The daily Dziennik Gazeta Prawna writes that the Polish economy is recovering despite the adverse effects of the crisis: "The state of the Polish economy is not bad. Far from being a trite statement of the type the politicians try to flog off on us, this fact is demonstrated by numerous indexes and studies carried out at greater or lesser expense. Poland has done extremely well in maintaining its place at the forefront of Europe. And by God, with regard to the rate of growth of our domestic economy, yes it's slowed down, but it's a far cry from having collapsed. By the same token there can be no talk of the recession which has much of Europe in its grips, or of a job market catastrophe like we're seeing in Spain." (23/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Financial Markets, » Poland
All available articles from » Marcin Piasecki

For the fifth time since 1997 the French cultural ministry published a report this week on cultural activity in France in the age of the Internet. The business paper Les Echos comments on its findings: "The Internet age has completely broken the link between each type of cultural consumption and its support medium (books for reading, the cinema or the television for film, the concert or the stereo for music). ... In fact interest in reading has not stopped dwindling in all age categories. Nevertheless the study contains two bits of good news. The first is that the number of visits to cultural events (theatre, concerts ...) has stood up quite well compared with 1997. Cinema has even registered a spectacular gain. The second piece of good news is that those who use the Internet on a daily basis (apart from professional obligations) are also the most interested in reading and going to the theatre or museums. Digital technology is no enemy of culture." (23/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Online media, » Media policy, » Media economy, » France
All available articles from » Favilla

The Czech police have uncovered a child pornography ring with 160 presumed operators. The German-language Prager Zeitung lays out how the spread of child pornography can be combated: "You have to actively seek out and destroy the online contents. Sites showing child pornography should not just be blocked, they should be erased completely. The best way to fight this menace is to attack the sources. That's the only way these abhorrent contents can be removed from the servers. ... In future Internet investigators must be able to track down these culprits through unbureaucratic access to servers located abroad. That would also create more effective cooperation between Interpol and the law enforcement authorities in each country." (22/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Online media, » Czech Republic
All available articles from » Martin Preusker

Journalist Brian Whittaker contends in his blog for the left-liberal daily The Guardian that the online activities of bloggers could lead to changes in the Arab world: "If asked where change is likely to come from in the Arab countries, I would not put much faith in 'reformist' politicians and opposition parties ... but I would definitely put feminists, gay men, lesbians and bloggers very high on my list. … There has been much debate about the extent to which this is reshaping public discourse and undermining censorship, but that is not really the main significance of blogging and the internet in the Middle East. The traditional 'ideal' of an Arab society is one that is strictly ordered, where everyone knows their place and nobody speaks out of turn. Basically, you do what is required of you and no more ... . The point about bloggers is that they want none of that. They are engaged, they are alive, and they'll speak out of turn as much as they like. Put all these elements together and you can see how, sooner or later, the edifice could start to crumble." (22/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Online media, » Social movements, » Middle East
All available articles from » Brian Whittaker

A crime committed by a Muslim father has caused a stir in Denmark. He hit his daughter's teacher because the latter shook his daughter's hand and thus in his opinion breached a cultural barrier. The liberal daily Jyllands-Posten calls for punishment without consideration for cultural differences: "Viewed from the perspective of standard Danish law this is a straightforward criminal case: the assault of a defenceless person. The standard punishment is 60 days in prison. Unless, of course, the assailant is a maladjusted immigrant with a carte blanche to feel provoked by anything and everything and to react as is the custom in the less civilised regions of the Middle East. … Regardless of the assailant's motive, his background or his attitude to life, he must be condemned to an adequate time in prison. To grant mitigating circumstances with reference to his background would be to submit to the violent mentality of the Middle East." (23/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Minorities, » Denmark