AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: August 17, 2007

UNCLAS VIENNA 002148 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/AGS, INR/EU, AND EUR/PPD FOR YVETTE SAINT-ANDRE OSD FOR COMMANDER CHAFFEE WHITEHOUSE FOR NSC/WEUROPE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KPAO AU SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: August 17, 2007 Second Eurofighter to Arrive In August ¶1. Austria's' "first Eurofighter jet will have company soon," Austrian media say, explaining that the second of the country's 15 EADS-made interceptors is expected to arrive from Germany at the Styrian Zeltweg Air Base in the near future. According to Eurofighter spokesperson Wolfdietrich Hoeveler, the handover of the plane is scheduled to take place during the last week of August. According to mass-circulation tabloid Oesterreich, which reports on the expected arrival by the end of August of Austria's second Eurofighter jet, another two interceptors are expected to arrive by the end of this year. ATX Hit by Heavy Losses ¶2. The Vienna stock exchange's ATX was hit by heavy losses on Thursday, having fallen by more than 5 percent by noon. It rose slightly in the afternoon, but remained around 4,300 points. The ATX had reached a new high in early July when it hit a record 5,000 points. World markets were also swept by heavy losses that day, Austrian media report. Reporting on the heavy losses that hit markets worldwide, including the Vienna stock exchange's ATX on Thursday, semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung says that this latest development had come after the ATX reached a record high in June of this year. Meanwhile, as uncertainty over the impact of losses in the US sub-prime lending market persisted, London's FTSE fell below the 6,000 level, something that had not happened during a trading session since March of this year. It last closed below 6,000 in October 2006. The FTSE's fall came on the back of heavy declines in Asia and further losses on Wall Street, Wiener Zeitung continues. Concerns abut the state of the world credit markets saw the Dow Jones index close below 13,000 on Wednesday. The US Federal Reserve made another $ 7 billion of reserves available to the banking system on Wednesday. All major Austrian media report on the recent developments at stock exchanges worldwide, running front-page headlines like "New shock wave at international markets" by liberal daily Der Standard, and mass-circulation daily Kurier with "Investors need good nerves now." FPOe Support for Haider Conceivable ¶3. FPOe boss Heinz-Christian Strache is not ruling out supporting Carinthian Governor Joerg Haider from the FPOe spin-off group BZOe in the next elections. In an interview with an Austrian daily, Strache said that individuals as such don't matter; the issue was merely with whom (within the BZOe) it might be possible to implement FPOe goals. His statement make the rumors of an alleged deal between the two parties appear more likely, despite their official enmity, Austrian media say. In an interview with centrist daily Die Presse, FPOe leader Heinz-Christian Strache said that after the provincial elections in Carinthia, "cooperation is conceivable with anyone prepared to implement our program." This also applied to the province's current governor Joerg Haider, a key figure in the FPOe's spin-off BZOe, although Strache was quick to point out that "this is not about individual people." Outlining the FPOe's plans for the future, the party boss said that "we want to push our program, and bring about a change of course in Austria, because the country is going in the wrong direction. We are in favor of a referendum on the EU constitution. We also want a reasonable tax policy, which strengthens the middle classes." Government participation for the FPOe "would only make sense if our potential coalition partners are prepared to depart from their errant ways, including selling our Austrian sovereign rights to the European Union, or if they stop not investing enough money in security. You won't find me in government for self-affirmation only." Company Signs Contract for Turkish Dam ¶4. Andritz, an Austrian industrial and technology group, says it has signed major contracts to supply engineering services for the construction of the giant Ilisu dam on the Tigris River in Turkey. In a statement released on Thursday, the company said the value of the order Andritz's Va Tech Hydro is around 235 million Euros. Major conservation groups oppose the Ilisu dam project, claiming it will have a negative environmental and cultural impact, but Andritz says the project meets the standards of the OECD and the World Bank. Reporting on the Austrian industrial and technology group Andritz's contracts to supply engineering services for the construction of the Ilisu dam in Turkey, semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung explained that the Ilisu Hydroelectric Power Project on the Tigris River is the largest planned dam project in Turkey. The dam will create a reservoir of 313 square kilometers, will flood more than 90 villages including the ancient town of Hasaskeyf, and affect up to 78,000 people, mainly ethnic Kurds. Observers agree that public acceptance is essential for development projects that involve equitable and sustainable water and energy producing resources. The area of the dam project has been devastated by armed conflict and remains under emergency rule. Freedom of expression does not exist, and the affected communities of Kurds cannot voice their opposition to the project which was first conceived in January 2000, the daily explained. 400 Killed in Iraq Blast ¶5. According to the Iraqi Interior Ministry, the death toll from Tuesday's devastating multiple car bomb attacks in northern Iraq against the minority Yazidi community is now 400. The bombing of two Yazidi villages near Mosul was one of the worst attacks in more than four years of war in the country. In a commentary, an Austrian foreign editor speaks of "bombed-out illusions," pointing out that in Iraq, al Qaeda is "far from having been defeated." Besides, the organization is "not the only problem plaguing the country." Meanwhile, four Iraqi political parties say they have formed an alliance in an effort to break the deadlock which has severely weakened the Shiite-led unity government, but the main Sunni Arab party - the Iraqi Islamic Party - declined to join. The Moderates Bloc of Shiite and Kurdish politicians was announced by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani. All media continue to report on the massive car bomb attacks in Iraq, which may have left as many as 500 people dead. Centrist daily Die Presse in an analysis says the Yazidi group, against whom the attacks were directed, now fears other religious extremist groups are planning to "wipe them out." There are concerns among the Yazidi of a "planned genocide" perpetrated by fanatic Islamists, the daily continues, and quotes a spokesperson for the group as warning that "all non-Muslim minorities in Iraq are currently in grave danger." Meanwhile, in an interview with the centrist daily, terrorism expert from Singapore, Rohan Gunaratna, says that al Qaeda "has become strong again." He warns of a "growing threat of new attacks" and of al Qaeda's "new tactics in Iraq and Afghanistan." During the past years, al Qaeda had "succeeded in rebuilding its already shattered organization," and is now more and more in the position to be able to "recruit fighters and attackers not only in extremist circles, but also from the Muslim mainstream," the expert argues. In addition, al Qaeda is "cooperating globally with a whole range of extremists groups -- most of whom have been in place for a long time and are capable of working independently. These groups are "now being supplied with technical, financial and ideological support by bin Laden's organization," according to Gunaratna. Peru: Death Toll Continues to Rise ¶6. Peru will hold three days of mourning for the victims of a devastating earthquake earlier this week that left hundreds dead. According to current estimates, as many as 500 people may have died and many more were injured, but officials say they still expect the death toll to rise. Rescuers are still pulling bodies from ruined buildings in the rural town of Pisco and nearby villages, south-west of the capital, Lima. Hospitals and morgues have been overwhelmed by the disaster, forcing residents to place dead bodies on the streets. An airlift has meanwhile been set up to transport relief and medical aid to the hardest-hit areas, some of which are still cut off from the outside world. In disasters such as this the international community is generally very quick to provide assistance, but the real problem is for the goods and services to actually reach the victims in time, Austrian media say, mass-circulation tabloid Oesterreich. Kilner