The Times of India was first published out of Bombay, India in 1838, not under its current name, but as The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce. Over 150 years later, The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce has expanded to be published out of ten cities across India and has become known locally and globally as The Times of India.  The Times of India is owned and operated by Bennet, Coleman & Co. Ltd which puts forth several other leading publications in India, such as The Economic Times, Navbharat Times, Maharashtra Times, Femina, and Filmfare.  Bennet, Coleman & Co. Ltd is now India’s largest publisher, The Times of India being its premier paper, with a circulation of over 21 million copies.  A subsidiary of Bennet, Times Internet Ltd, is responsible for Indiatimes, the internet base for The Times of India.  Daily circulation combined with global internet access allows The Times of India 4.42 million readers.

Indian news for the month of September began with talk of the upcoming International Cricket Council Champions Trophy (the first match starting on Sept. 12 in Sri Lanka).  Top cricketers currently playing in England refused to sign ICC contracts, so a week before the matches started; fresh cricketers such as under-19 coach Robin Singh were put on stand by as possibly having to play on the Indian team.  By Sept. 9, ICC contracts had been redrawn and renegotiated so that several of the top Indian players that had previously refused to sign, would now play in the Champions Trophy.  With Souray Ganguly selected to lead the cricketers in Columbo, Chairman of the national selection committee, Chandu Borde, says the Indian team has a very good chance of taking the 11-team tournament.  India plays Zimbabwe on Sept. 14 and England on Sept. 22.  Australian coach John Buchanan warns, however, that the Aussies are still the team to beat.  Pakistan, also a prior world champion, remains a formidable enemy as well.  Although a peace initiative has been reached between the government and Tamil rebels, several of New Zealand’s players have chosen not to play because of security concerns.  As the tournament progressed, India beat both Zimbabwe and England, shortly after South Africa’s impressive win against Kenya, bringing India and South Africa to play each other in the semifinal on Sept. 24.  Bets ran high on this semifinal game that ultimately went to India by a mere 10 runs.  South African Captain Shaun Pollock blames the loss of opener Herschelle Gibbs halfway through the game for their defeat.  Pakistan also did not fare well in the tournament, immediately sacking their coach and manager after their early loss in the Champions Trophy.  India will play the winner of the Australia/Sri Lanka semifinal match in the finals, but without their seamer Ashish Nehra who split open his hand and needs sutures.

Another predominant foreign relations issue in India is the possibility of the United States going to war with Iraq.  Indian author Salman Rushdie echoes many Indian viewpoints that if such a thing were to happen, there would be disastrous effects.  Rushdie feels that the entire Islamic world would come together to support Iraq, fulfilling exactly what Bin Laden had originally wanted. He also voices sentiments that the US is turning a blind eye on the terrorism by Pakistan on Indian lands Kashmir and Gujarat because of Islamabad’s support to the US in the war on terror.  Indians are fearful that the arms given to Pakistan by the US to fight terrorism will be used against India itself.  When US Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, visited New Delhi, he was told the same, of India’s serious reservations on the usage of military force against Hussein.  Armitage was also told that the Indian government is fearful of soaring oil prices and the citizens they have living and working in the mid east.  The anniversary of 9/11 brought around more reasons for Indian disapproval of the war on Iraq.  "The whole economy suffered. Investment has been badly hit because the will of those wishing to go out of their countries and invest has been sapped by 9/11," Development Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary B.S. Patil said.  Threats of a new war bring fear that the economic sectors will experience another downturn, especially considering the globally rising oil prices already.  Towards the end of the month India was visited by two senior US officials to discuss among other things, India’s differing view on the possible war with Iraq.  By Sept. 22, India began to call for the lifting of sanctions if Iraq complies with the UN Weapons Inspections teams.  The next day, however, an article (editorial) appeared advising India not to “emulate Tony Blair” but not to embrace Saddam either.  The author asked the Indian people to “[run] with the UN hare and [hunt] with the US hound,” to be sophisticatedly hypocritical, and keep all options open.  Presently, after being approached by a British document identifying Indian firms as aiding Iraq with WMD’s, New Delhi is busy cleaning up it’s companies foreign doings.  Throughout the month, India has concurred with the EU, many Arab nations, and some African nations, against the US and its war with Iraq.

As much as two weeks prior to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s September 12th meeting with President Bush, Indian journalists were already discussing the possible circumstances and outcomes of the meeting.  Among others, corporate India hoped that economic issues, such as the liberalization of US policy on transferring technology to India, would finally be discussed during the PM’s visit to Washington.  Also to be discussed are Indo-Pakistani relations, particularly Pakistan’s continued terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, and the possibility of India gaining a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.  By Sept. 5th, all hopes of a bilateral meeting with President Musharraf in attendance had been dispelled.  However, both Bush and Vajpayee did meet during the UN General Assembly in New York.  The Indian Prime Minister was also invited to light a 9/11 memorial candle at the September 11th ceremony.  On Sept. 9th, Indian External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha made a preemptory trip to the US to meet with Secretary of State Colin Powell, NSA Condolezza Rice, and many other top White House officials in order to pave the way for PM Vajpayee’s meeting.  Sinha and Powell made out an agenda for Bush and Vajpayee that centered on bilateral relations.  Sinha was pleased with Powell’s assurances that the US government would continue to press the Pakistani government to stop infiltration of elections in Jammu and Kashmir.  During the Prime Minister’s 35 minute meeting with Pres. Bush, deepening Indo-US ties was the main issue.  Expanding research, commerce, energy etc. did figure into the talks as well.  Several days after the talks with Bush, Prime Minister Vajpayee addressed a press conference where he rejected turning the Line of Control into an International Border between India and Pakistan and said that he and President Bush had not even discussed that.  It was also mentioned that for the first time, the India PM and Pakistani’s General Musharraf were not asked to continue talks.  Most all of Prime Minister Vajpayee’s discussions with President Bush as well as with the United Nations centered on terrorism and the re-grouping of al-Qaeda in Pakistan.  However, Vajpayee did seem pleased with the outcome.  Elections in Jammu and Kashmir managed to be completed without major problems and the US has continued to speak to Musharraf after the UN General Assembly.  Indian ambassador to the US, Lalit Mansingh, says President Bush is even expected to visit India early next year.
 

The Korean Central News Agency was founded on December 5, 1946 by the Worker’s Party of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea government. It is located in the capital city of North Korea, Pyongyang, with branches in other foreign countries. The Central News Agency is circulated throughout the country in newspapers and radios and transmits news to other countries as well in English, Russian, and Spanish. Because it is state-sponsored and state-run, the Korean Central News Agency is leftist and Communist reflecting the views and the biases of the North Korean government (Worker’s Party).

Several articles during the month of September concentrated on the idea of reunification with South Korea.  However, this idea of national reunification seems to lean toward the assumption that South Korea will be integrated under North Korean and Kim Jong Il’s rule. One article, for example, praises Kim Jong Il’s ideas for reunification under the philosophical concept of Juche, basically national self-reliance in this case. Kim Jong Il’s army-based policy will supposedly “shine more brightly as an immortal banner on the road of reunification.”

Furthermore, the idea of reunification from the North Korean perspective also includes the exclusion of United States’ influence. Many of the articles in September urged South Korea to push for the exit of U.S. troops and also condemns the United States for the recent misconduct of certain soldiers stationed in South Korea. The foreign minister of North Korea repeatedly denounces U.S. involvement in Korea and several articles during the month of September significantly support this idea simply declaring U.S. troops in South Korea as unjust and detrimental to North-South relations. In fact, any North Korean articles that report on events that involve U.S. troops usually become political in that they become anti-U.S.

There are several brief articles in September which discuss meetings and relations with Russia. Interestingly enough, most of these articles are rather brief and very vague. Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Il’s talks are always described as successful and that they have a “special friendly relationship.” The foreign minister of Russia exchanged gifts and the Russian ambassador held a reception where he hoped that North Korea would build a “powerful nation” under the leadership of Kim Jong Il.  Later, Russian artists were able to display some of their works to the leaders of North Korea at the People’s Palace of Culture where speeches were also made.

For the most part, Russian relations with North Korea appear good and the North Korean media portrays it as a healthy relationship which should be continued. It could be very well assumed that good relations with Russia is a priority in terms of international relations for the North Korean government considering all their articles are supportive of it. None of the articles even discuss the actual specifics of any discussions or talks that Kim Jong Il and Vladimir Putin have. Rather, they declare that the discussions were fruitful and that agreements were reached and furthermore that leaders from both sides compliment each other.

Also, in the month of September, there was coverage of the visit by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan in his meeting with Kim Jong Il. The importance of this visit seems to be emphasized by the Korean news agency in that it repeatedly cites other neighboring nations’ support of the meeting including Russia and China. In contrast to Russian relations, the political relationship between North Korea and Japan is less stable and friendly. Rather, there is a past history of hostility between the two nations that is cited in almost all the articles.

In these articles, national security seems to be the most important issue as one article explicitly discusses some of the agreements made which mostly include cooperation in maintaining peace and stability in northeast Asia.  Interestingly enough, Kim Jong Il is always recognized as the chairman of the National Defence Commission rather than simply the leader of North Korea, highlighting the importance of maintaining national security.