Floods in Jakarta

Floods in Jakarta

Jakarta is still in danger of getting flooded this rainy season.

Although it would not perhaps be as bad as last year's, utmost vigilance should nonetheless be maintained to anticipate the floods.

It would be impossible to stop the viciousness of the flood. However, we could reduce its impact if all components of society are ready as early as possible.

As floods frequently hit Jakarta, the people should automatically be prepared to face the rainy season.

Should the Jakarta administration and the people cooperate in anticipating the flood, the result would be good.

The people of Jakarta are eager to see the capital city become a convenient place to live in. This however will not come into being without hard work. -- Republika, Jakarta

The tanker oil spill

The pitiful end to the poorly named Prestige has reopened the debate on sea and environmental laws -- or the lack thereof ...

The raising of moral standards in maritime transport and defense of the environment appears to be an imminent affair for the European Union, and any progress in this area will be welcomed in Brussels.

The fact that Greece is taking over the presidency of the European Union at the beginning of 2003, and that Cyprus and Malta -- also major maritime powers -- are joining in 2004, gives special meaning to the Prestige crisis.

It's Athens' chance to show that a country with a historic command of the sea will be able to impose strictness after too many years of unpardonable laxity.

-- Le Monde, Paris

NATO summit

The gap between the United States and Europe grows every day. That's true not only when it comes to the military capability, where Europe increasingly resembles a fly weight. It's also true for the view on when military force should be used. The result has been that the United States is losing interest in Europe and NATO.

Europe and the United States need each other. For the superpower the European partnership within NATO offers not least political legitimacy. But if NATO also is to be a military power to be reckoned with the alliance must show that it has the capability to meet the threats of the new era.

It's time for NATO to step up to the plate. If Europe accepts the challenge the NATO of the future can develop into an alliance a la carte in which 'coalitions of the willing' shoulder the military missions. Such a NATO would definitely have an important role to play.

-- Expressen, Stockholm, Sweden

China has new leaders and old problems

The People's Republic of China has come through the Asian crisis of the last years better than many other countries. .... It cannot be overlooked, however, that the economic development in China will burden millions of people with hardships which will prove insurmountable for many of them.

For a large part of the population, factories in the public sector still represent the employer and provider of everyday needs and pensions in one. Attempting to change this was one of the goals of the generation of leaders now stepping down.

Admittedly, these leaders only ever knew what they did not want.

They did not have a detailed plan outlining what would happen to those who are deprived of the state's protection. Precisely such a plan is urgently needed. ...

How long the (Communist Party's) monopoly in power can be preserved is one of many fascinating questions relating to China's future.

The People's Republic of China, or whatever the country will call itself in the distant future, has the potential to be a great power. It still rests, however, on shaky foundations.

-- Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Frankfurt, Germany

The child abuse campaign

The global 16-day campaign against woman and child abuse is a laudable effort that demands, and indeed deserves, our unqualified support. And President Thabo Mbeki's endorsement of the campaign therefore must be applauded. Coming from the president of this country, the endorsement amounts to more than just weighty support for the fight against this social malady. It sets an example we must all emulate.

More than that it lends moral support, which will help build the necessary critical mass the campaign needs to succeed against woman and child abuse.

However, no measure of moral support on its own can deliver an effective response to this crime. crucial to ridding society of this scourge must be uncompromising law enforcement.

It is not enough to simply have laws on our statute books. They must be enforced.

Police, have, however, cited lack of human resources as one reason why they have been less than decisive in protecting women and children.

This is not good enough.

-- The Sowetan, Johannesburg, South Africa

McDonald's

McDonald's, the American burger-chain, which has proliferated with seemingly unstoppable vigor throughout 121 countries, appears to be in retreat.

Some days ago, the food chain announced that it was withdrawing from three Latin American and Middle Eastern countries. Now, it is also said to be "reviewing" the future of certain prestigious London branches, including those in Oxford Street and Regent Street.

Critics frown upon McDonald's global empire as a culinary example of American imperialism, but its customers are simply delighted to obtain a Happy Meal, a plastic toy and use of a clean lavatory for what seems an astonishingly low price. When one tastes McDonald's food, however, it becomes clear that the price is perfectly appropriate.

The company's success in marketing itself to children -- with games, puzzles and Disney film tie-ins -- has been such that most children, upon glimpsing that illuminated yellow sign, are guaranteed to work themselves into a frenzy of wheedling and nagging, which usually ends in craven adult capitulation.

McDonald's "review" of select branches may be for many reasons, but we prefer this one: in central London at least, parents just might be regaining the upper hand.

--Sunday Telegraph, London