June Coverage from the Citizen and Business Day

This is part of the South Africa Media summary for June. The summary starts here.

The Citizen

The Citizen covered a wide range of Middle East related news, including reporting on Israel's warning to the West regarding Iran's recent testing of technology for a new missile. Israel has stated that this weaponry could be turned on Europe as well. Iran however insists that it is not seeking to develop nuclear weapons or missiles with a longer range.

The paper also reported on SA's decision to send a delegation from the defence establishment to Israel as part of President Mbeki's contribution to "brokering peace" between Israel and the Palestinians.

Syria test-fired Scud missiles, including one that broke up over the Turkish province of Hatey. The missiles were using North Korean technology and are designed to carry nuclear warheads.

The crime "wave" was also highlighted recently in Israel (hardly a crime wave by SA standards but nevertheless a cause for concern in Israel).

Israel is also erecting a "sea fence" to deter Palestinian infiltrators as part of a planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. This fence, part concrete, part floating fence, will stretch 950m into the Mediterranean from Israel's boundary with Gaza.

The Citizen remains balanced and fair in its reporting on the good and the bad from both sides.

Business Day

Business Day began its reporting in June with the headline, "SA, Israel to revive security ties".

Wolfowitz began his tenure as president of the World Bank. This appointment has been mired in controversy but the biggest problem is that the International financial institutions are not trusted. They wield enormous power and use their aid schemes as leverage in order to influence policies as "diverse as health, education, agriculture, water etc".

The newspaper reported on the freeing of 400 Palestinian prisoners by Israel and stated that according to the Palestinians this was not enough. The UK-Hamas talks were also alluded to with British Foreign Minister Jack Straw meeting with Hamas's "non-military" wing. However in another report Straw stated that Hamas will not be removed from any blacklist until the group renounced violence completely in" word and deed."