Kiosko.net

DISNEY NABS SPIDER-MAN AND FRIENDS
PAGE 16

FOR KIDMAN, A PRODUCTION OF HER OWN
PAGE 10

BALENCIAGA MUSEUM GETS BACK ON TRACK
PAGE 13

BUSINESS WITH

FILM

STYLE


TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2009

THE GLOBAL EDITION OF THE NEW YORK TIMES

GLOBAL.NYTIMES.COM

China set to tighten grip on key minerals
HONG KONG

Afghan war can be won despite peril, general says
KABUL

Exports of elements with green and strategic uses are to be limited
BY KEITH BRADSHER

‘Serious’ challenge needs new strategy; report may lead to rise in U.S. troops
BY DEXTER FILKINS

CHINA, PAGE 15

China is using its dominance in mining an obscure class of minerals to strengthen
its emerging lead in many alternative energy technologies, from wind turbines to
hybrid cars, and is laying plans this summer to tighten its grip on the market for
these minerals. In 1992, the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping observed that the Mideast
had oil but China had rare-earth elements. China now accounts for 93 percent of the
world’s production of rare-earth elements — and more than 99 percent of the output
for two of these elements that have proved vital for a wide range of green energy
technologies, as well as military applications like missiles. Like the Organization
of the Petroleum Exporting Countries with oil, China is now starting to flex its
muscle. In each of the past three years, China has reduced its quota for the tonnage
of rareearth minerals that can be exported. This year’s Chinese export quotas are
on track to be the smallest yet. But what is really starting to alarm Western governments
and multinationals alike has been a spate of hints about a secret Chinese government
plan for further restrictions on rare-earth exports. China’s Ministry of Industry
and Information Technology has drafted a report to the country’s State Council,
or cabinet, recommending a six-year plan for rare-earth production, said four mining
industry officials who have discussed the plan with Chinese officials. Only a few,
often contradictory details of the plan have leaked out, but the outlines appear
to involve even tighter limits on exports, so as to draw more manufacturing to China,
as well as halting or reducing production at environment-

Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has published an article saying the Nazi-Soviet
treaty that divided Poland at the outset of World War II 70 years ago was not unusual
in the context of the time. Above, Wielun, Poland, after a German bombing raid on
Sept. 1, 1939, one of the first of the war. PAGE 3

Putin addresses Soviet-Nazi pact

MUSEUM OF WIELUN, VIA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Europe sees the light, and it’s fluorescent
BRUSSELS

But wide range of critics carp about E.U.’s move to phase out old-style bulbs
BY JAMES KANTER

Restrictions on the sale of incandescent bulbs begin going into effect across most
of Europe on Tuesday in the continent’s latest effort to get people to save energy
and combat global warming. But even advocates concede the change is

proving problematic. Under the European Union rules, shops will no longer be allowed
to buy or import most incandescent frosted glass bulbs starting Tuesday. Retailers
can continue selling off their stock until they run out. While some Europeans are
eagerly jumping on the bandwagon, others are panicking and have been stockpiling
the old-style bulbs for aesthetic or practical reasons. Others are resigned to the
switch, if grudgingly. ‘‘Why are we switching? Because we have to,’’ said
Ralph Wennig, a 40-yearold photographer shopping on Monday

at BHV, a Paris department store. The new compact fluorescent lamps are billed as
more economical in the long run because they use up to 80 percent less energy and
do not burn out as quickly. ‘‘But the downside is that the light isn’t as nice,’’
Mr. Wennig said, ‘‘and they are more expensive individually.’’ One bulb can
cost ¤10, or $14 — or a lot more, depending on type — whereas traditional incandescent
bulbs cost about 70 cents each. But E.U. officials argued that the energy savings
would cut average household electricity bills by up to ¤50 a year, amounting to
about ¤5

billion annually. That would help buoy the economy if consumers spent their savings,
they said. At a briefing Monday in Brussels, however, they also were defending themselves
against charges that they were depriving children of traditional fairground lights,
and dealing with more serious questions about health hazards from the mercury in
the new lamps. Such arguments have already started to reverberate in the United States,
where incandescent bulbs are due to be phased out starting in 2012. Until then, the
E.U. is providing the
LIGHT BULBS, PAGE 15

The top commander in Afghanistan said Monday that conditions on the ground were ‘‘serious’’
but that the war here is still winnable, part of a long-awaited assessment of the
American-led war. The report, prepared by Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the commander
of United States and NATO forces here, does not call for additional American soldiers
and marines. That request, if it comes, is expected to be made in the coming weeks.
General McChrystal’s assessment, delivered to senior officials, could form the
basis on which President Barack Obama could make such a decision. In recent weeks,
senior U.S. officers here have said that they do not have enough troops to succeed.
The question of sending more combat troops is potentially divisive. Possibly for
this reason, American commanders and officials in Kabul were ordered to neither reveal
the details of General McChrystal’s assessment nor talk about them. General McChrystal
assumed command in June with an explicit charge to reverse the course of the war.
Though it is still only August, 179 American soldiers have already been killed this
year, making it the deadliest yet since the war began nearly eight years ago. Still,
the general said that the war can still be won. ‘‘The situation in Afghanistan
is serious, but success is achievable and demands a revised implementation strategy,
commitment and resolve, and

‘Ban the burqa’ echoes in France
PARIS

ROBERT NICKELSBERG/GETTY IMAGES, FOR THE NYT

On patrol in Afghanistan, where this year has been the deadliest yet for U.S. forces.

National debate heats up over principles of rights, equality and secularism
BY STEVEN ERLANGER

Los Angeles inferno

GENE BLEVINS/REUTERS

A tower of flame near Acton, California, north of Los Angeles. The massive wildfire
doubled in size overnight. It had already burned 135 square miles of brush and trees
by early Monday and was still burning out of control.

It is a measure of France’s confusion about Islam and its own Muslim citizens that
in the political furor here over ‘‘banning the burqa,’’ as the argument goes,
the garment at issue is not really the burqa at all, but the niqab. A burqa is the
all-enveloping cloak, often blue, with a woven grill over the eyes, that many Afghan
women wear, and it is almost never seen in France. The niqab, often black, leaves
the eyes uncovered.
SPORTS

Still, a movement against it that started with a Communist Party mayor near Lyon
has gained traction within the governing center-right party, which claims it is defending
French values, and among many on the left, who say they are defending women’s rights.
A parliamentary commission will soon meet to investigate whether to ban the burqa
— in other words, any cloak that covers most of the face. The debate is indicative
of the deep ambivalence about social customs among even a small minority of France’s
Muslim citizens, and of the signal fear that the nation’s principles of citizens’
rights, equality and secularism are being undermined. French discomfort with organized
religion, dating from the 1789 revolution and the disestablishment of the Roman Catholic
Church, is aggravated by these

FRANCE, PAGE 3

foreign customs, which are associated in the Western mind with repression of women.
André Gerin, a Communist Party legislator and mayor of Vénissieux, a Lyon suburb
that is home to many Muslims from North Africa, began the affair in late June by
initiating a motion, signed by 57 other legislators, calling for the parliamentary
commission. ‘‘The burqa is the tip of the iceberg,’’ Mr. Gerin asserted.
‘‘Islamism really threatens us.’’ In a letter to the government, he wrote:
‘‘It is time to take a stand on this issue that concerns thousands of citizens
who are worried to see imprisoned, totally veiled women.’’ A few days later,
President Nicolas Sarkozy said that ‘‘the burqa is not welcome on the territory
of the French Republic.’’ He did not say how it would be

AFGHANISTAN, PAGE 4

increased unity of effort,’’ General McChrystal said in a statement. As the overall
commander here, General McChrystal oversees about 68,000 U.S. soldiers and marines,
and about 40,000 from NATO and other countries. American commanders say that General
McChrystal’s assessment does call for a large expansion of Afghan security forces,
and an acceleration of their training. There are currently about 134,000 Afghan police
officers, and about 82,000 Afghan soldiers. Many of these units are inadequately
equipped and have little logistical capability to sustain themselves. Just how many
more Afghan police officers and soldiers General McChrystal wants is unclear. In
Iraq, where conditions have stabilized markedly over the past two years, the American-trained

BUSINESS

Stock rally: Too far too fast?

Losses in China’s main stock index ignited a worldwide sell-off Monday, as traders
increasingly worried if a lengthy rally had run out of gas. PAGE 14 Possible market
violations involving the trading of Volkswagen are the subject of an investigation
by German authorities. PAGE 15

Jérôme Kerviel, blamed by Société Générale for a ¤4.9 billion trading loss
last year, will stand trial on charges of falsifying documents, abuse of trust, and
computer hacking. PAGE 17
WORLD NEWS

Trader to stand trial over loss

ONLINE

The Belgian looked rejuvenated in her first match at the U.S. Open, cruising to a
6-1, 6-1 victory over Viktoriya Kutuzova in 58 minutes. PAGE 8
PAGE TWO

Kim Clijsters returns to Open

Voices from Afghanistan

Stephen Farrell and his colleagues interview ordinary Afghans from around the country
about the recent election. atwar.blogs.nytimes.com

FINE JEWELRY

Porsche investigation widens

Turkey and Armenia have agreed to establish diplomatic ties, according to a statement
from both governments, ending a rancorous conflict over the legacy of World War I.
PAGE 3 Regional election results show that the postwar pattern of German politics
has been broken, raising the possibility of new alliances that could bring some genuine
competition over policy. PAGE 3 As children across Europe go back to class and staff
return from vacation, governments are keeping a watchful eye on the H1N1 virus. PAGE
4
NEWSSTAND PRICES France ¤ 3.00
Algeria Din 175 Andorra ¤ 3.00 Antilles ¤ 3.00 Cameroon CFA 2.200 Gabon CFA 2.200
Ivory Coast CFA 2.200 Lebanon LP 4,000 Senegal CFA 2.200 Tunisia Din 3.200 Reunion
¤ 3.50

Turkey and Armenia heal rift

The Thai military’s ‘surge’

Germany’s political upheaval

The army is trying to beat back a Muslim insurgency in three provinces in southern
Thailand by doubling the number of soldiers deployed there and by sending its medics
from village to village to help the locals.

Loneliness and isolation often accompany those who migrate to the United States late
in life from distant places, some of which are light years away culturally. global.nytimes.com/us
VIEWS

Elderly and far from home

WARNER BROTHERS PICTURES

Japan may have been hit by a political earthquake, but despite the rhetoric of the
incoming prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, don’t expect any significant foreign policy
changes. PAGE 6 It’s worth pondering how America’s politics of abortion might
have been different had Ted Kennedy shared some of his sister Eunice’s qualms.
PAGE 7
STOCK INDEXES
MoNdaY

Philip Bowring

Mixing Hollywood and Islam

Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other Gulf cities face enormous hurdles as they try to diversify
their economies by becoming entertainment capitals. PAGE 14

Europe braces for swine flu

Ross Douthat

THOMAS FULLER/IHT

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