World Bank President Resigns Amid Conflict of Interest Scandal

By Barry Wood Washington 17 May 2007

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World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, 15 May 2007

Paul Wolfowitz, the former number two man in the U.S. Defense Department, announced late Thursday that he is resigning as World Bank president. VOA's Barry Wood reports Wolfowitz has been at the center of a six-week long controversy over his personal dealings at the anti-poverty agency.

The resignation followed a day-long meeting of the bank's 24-member executive board. In a statement, Wolfowitz said his resignation was in the best interests of the 185 member-nation bank and would take effect June 30.

A statement from the board said it accepted that Wolfowitz thought he had acted ethically in arranging a promotion and pay increase for his female companion, a bank employee. That two-year old controversy evolved into charges of ethics violations and prompted some European governments to demand his ouster.

Wolfowitz has had a stormy relationship with the bank's professional staff ever since he became president two years ago. While at the U.S. defense department he was a principal architect of the Iraq war that is deeply unpopular among many bank staff, less than 30 percent of whom are American.

President Bush, after weeks of insisting that Wolfowitz should retain his job, Thursday acknowledged that his former associate had lost the battle.

"All I can tell you is I know that Paul Wolfowitz has an interest in what's best for the Bank, and just like he's had an interest in what's best for making sure the Bank focused on things that matter: human suffering, the human condition. I -- and so I applaud his vision, I respect him a lot, and as I said, I regret this has come to this right now," he said.

By tradition, the United States nominates the president of the World Bank, which like its neighbor the International Monetary Fund-which is run by a European, was set up in the aftermath of World War Two. The bank has had only ten presidents and Wolfowitz is the first to be forced to resign.

Wolfowitz's hold on the top job became untenable earlier this week as the bank's board moved towards a vote to remove him. That vote never occurred as Wolfowitz resigned after obtaining a statement that he acted in good faith concerning his companion, British national Shaha Riza. In an unprecedented action, Germany's development minister said Wednesday that Wolfowitz would be unwelcome at a Berlin meeting he was scheduled to attend next week.

There is as yet no indication as to who will replace Wolfowitz as head of the world's biggest development institution.

Britain's Next PM Promises Different Kind of Government

By Tom Rivers London 17 May 2007

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Britons can expect a new style of government when Gordon Brown takes over from Prime Minister Tony Blair next month. That is the promise Mr. Brown has made to a country eager to see government trust rebuilt. For VOA, Tom Rivers reports from London.

Having secured the backing of the vast majority of Labour politicians in parliament, Gordon Brown will become the next British prime minister, without a runoff party election.

He will simply succeed Tony Blair on June 27 when, after a decade in office, Mr. Blair will step down.

Speaking in London, Mr. Brown, the country's long-serving finance minister, said he it will be an honor to lead the nation.

Gordon Brown has been confirmed as the Labour Party's leader-in-waiting and next prime minister

"I am truly humbled that so many of my colleagues have nominated me for the leadership of the Labour Party and I formally accept the nomination, the responsibility it brings and the opportunity to serve the people of Britain," he said.

A lot has happened during the last 10 years under Mr. Blair's leadership, and Gordon Brown will inherit a demoralized and unpopular Labour Party lagging far behind the opposition Conservatives in the polls.

But Mr. Brown promises change and a new approach.

"I will lead a new government with new priorities," he said. "I believe government only works when it is dedicated to serving the people. I will always try to put your concerns and aspirations at the heart of what I do. I will work hard for you. This is who I am."

Brown said he will not announce any shift in London's relationship with Washington, despite widespread public disquiet in Britain over Mr. Blair's unwavering support for the president on Iraq.

In Washington, Prime Minister Blair met with President Bush at the White House where they later held a joint news conference.

Mr. Blair congratulated Gordon Brown on his landslide victory in Labour Party backing.

President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair talk outside the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, 17 May 2007

"Having signed Gordon's nomination forms and nominated him as leader, of course I wish him well and I believe he will make a great prime minister, and I know he believes in the relationship with America too," he said.

Asked about what kind of relationship he might have with Mr. Brown, President Bush said he expects a smooth transition.

"I hope to help him in office the way Tony Blair helped me," he said. "Newly-elected president, Tony Blair came over, he reached out, he was gracious and was able to converse in a way where our shared interests were the most important aspect of the relationship. I would hope I would provide the same opportunities for Gordon Brown. I met him. Thought he was a good fellow."

Gordon Brown says he will tour the country during the next six weeks to better understand the challenges that lie ahead. During much of that time, Mr. Blair will be traveling overseas.

US Lawmakers Criticize China, Russia for Copyright Piracy

By Stephanie Ho Washington 17 May 2007

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The U.S. Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus has put China and Russia at the top of its 2007 watch list of countries where rampant copyright piracy continues, and where governments refuse to take adequate action against violators. VOA's Stephanie Ho reports from Washington.

IP piracy fight

Congressman Adam Schiff co-chairs the Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus in the House of Representatives. He says American businesses are losing up to $35 billion a year, globally, because of illegal products that violate patents and copyrights.

"On an individual level, copyright infringement is nothing less than high-tech shoplifting," he said. "In the aggregate, it can destroy whole industries. There's no difference from stealing a DVD from a store, and selling a pirated CD on the street or uploading it to the Internet."

As expected, China topped the list. U.S. businesses are estimated to have lost more than $2 billion in revenues to piracy in China in 2006, and Washington has brought a case against Beijing in the World Trade Organization.

Caucus co-chair Bob Goodlatte said piracy of American copyrighted materials remained, in his words, epidemic in China over the past year.

"Little has changed, primarily because China's enforcement system - providing little more than a slap on the wrist for intellectual property piracy - does not effectively deter violators," he said. "China has taken some steps to address business software piracy, particularly by promoting legally licensed software, but allows piracy to continue largely unchecked in other copyright industries."

Another country singled out for strong criticism is Russia, where pirated products are estimated to cost legitimate U.S. businesses $1 billion in lost revenue.

Goodlatte called on the U.S. government to withhold its support for Russia's WTO membership until Moscow takes stronger measures to deal with the piracy problem.

"I will just reiterate the sense of the U.S. Congress that the U.S. should refrain from completing Russia's WTO accession negotiations until Russia has clearly demonstrated a willingness and ability to provide the kind of copyright protection expected from a WTO partner," he said.

Canada, Mexico and Malaysia were also singled out on the list as countries with serious copyright piracy problems.

The head of the Motion Picture Association of America, Dan Glickman, said the U.S. government should take advantage of the spotlight that is on China in the run-up to the 2008 Olympics to get Beijing to fight pirating more seriously.

"Over a billion people will be watching the Chinese Olympics," said Glickman. "They're spending an awful lot of money to make their country susceptible to being viewed positively around the world."

Meanwhile, Congressmen Schiff and Goodlatte are introducing a resolution in the House of Representatives that calls on foreign governments to stop using unauthorized software and prevent government-owned computers from being used for any form of copyright piracy. They are also urging foreign governments to make their anti-piracy efforts more public, as a way to set an example for the people.

The Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus was formed in 2003 and includes 70 members in both houses of Congress.

VOASE0517_Economics Report

17 May 2007

Job Market Strong for College Graduates | Cerberus Buying Chrysler
US employers are most interested in students with business, engineering and computer-related training.

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This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Employers in the United States expect to hire almost twenty percent more college graduates this year than last year. So says the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

The group says employers are most interested in students with business, engineering and computer-related training. There is also great demand for business graduates with a master's of business administration or other advanced degree. Employers say they plan to increase hiring of M.B.A. graduates by eighteen percent.

Increases in starting pay are also a sign of the demand for business and technical majors. The average pay offer to newly hired marketing graduates is reported up by more than ten percent over last year. The increase is almost eight percent for graduates in business administration.

The job market for college graduates has grown stronger and stronger since demand reached a low point in two thousand two. The unemployment rate for all workers is four and a half percent. But people with a bachelor's degree have a jobless rate under two percent.

Just over half of employers said they expect to offer jobs to more college graduates this year than last. But the signs of job growth do not look so good for liberal arts graduates. Not only that, starting pay for graduates with a liberal arts degree is up just one percent.

Before we go -- we told you last month that the carmaker Chrysler was for sale. This week DaimlerChrysler of Germany announced a deal for its struggling American division. Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity company in New York, will buy an eighty percent share. The deal is valued at almost seven and one-half billion dollars.

Daimler will have to pay about six hundred fifty million dollars to complete the deal. And it will continue to hold twenty percent of Chrysler. But it will no longer be responsible for Chrysler's retirement and health care plans. Their cost is estimated at around eighteen billion dollars.

Labor unions are being told there are no plans for major job cuts beyond the thirteen thousand that Chrysler announced in February.

Chrysler lost one and one-half billion dollars last year. Recently, though, because of accounting changes, the loss was restated as six hundred eighty million dollars. The new owners say they are looking for a long-term plan to make Chrysler profitable again.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

VOASE0517_American Mosaic

17 May 2007

In Virginia, Six Indian Tribes Still Wait for Federal Recognition
Also: a question from Turkey about global warming. And music by Paul Simon, the winner of a newly established music award by the Library of Congress.

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HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Doug Johnson. On our show this week:

We answer a question about global warming …

Play music from Paul Simon …

And tell about American Indian tribes in the state of Virginia as the United States remembers the first European settlement at Jamestown.

Virginia Indian Tribes

HOST:

Last weekend, in Jamestown, Virginia, officials observed the four hundredth anniversary of the first permanent English settlement in North America. President Bush took part. He called Jamestown the beginning of a movement from the old world to the new. He also said the expansion of Jamestown had a terrible effect on the Native American tribes who lived in the area. They lost their lands and their way of life. And their struggle continues today. Barbara Klein explains.

BARBARA KLEIN:

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II greets American Indians during a visit to Virginia for the 400th anniversary of Jamestown

The United States government recognizes five hundred sixty-two American Indian tribes. Most received this recognition from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. They proved through birth and death records that their groups have existed as different communities since the time the first Europeans arrived.

Federal recognition means an Indian tribe can govern itself. Recognition also makes it possible for the tribes to receive federal help. Some educational financial aid is only available to the children of federally recognized tribes.

Six tribes in Virginia are still not recognized. They signed a treaty in the sixteen hundreds with the king of England, but that was before the United States existed.

A picture of Virginia Indians from 1874

A Virginia law destroyed their written records in the twentieth century. The law recognized only two races -- white or colored. State officials changed "Indian" in all the tribes' birth, death and marriage records to "colored." So the federal government has no record of the tribes' existence for many years.

Tribal leaders appealed to Congress. Earlier this month, the House of Representatives approved a bill to recognize the tribes in Virginia. Indian leaders expressed hope that the Senate would do so before the four hundredth anniversary of Jamestown. But this did not happen.

Some lawmakers are concerned that federal recognition would lead to the tribes opening gambling businesses. However, the tribes had already agreed not to do this. The legislation includes the statement that no gambling businesses would result from recognizing the tribes.

Some lawmakers are still not sure. One senator reportedly said he does not understand how Congress can let the tribes govern themselves but stop them from earning money through gambling. Others say they must study the legislation more carefully. So the Virginia Indian tribes continue to hope for recognition before the end of this year.

Global Warming

HOST:

Our question this week comes from Turkey. Nadir Telli wants to know about the science of global warming.

Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s surface air and oceans. Climate change is any major change in measures of climate, such as temperature, rainfall and wind.

Scientists have debated about global warming for years. Many have different opinions about the extent to which greenhouse gases are responsible for it. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. They are produced by factories, power stations and vehicles. They trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the United Nations has studied the problem for many years. It released the first of several reports in February. The group said that it was more than ninety percent sure that carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases from human activities have been the main cause of global warming.

The report said global warming will cause extremely hot weather and heavy rainfall events more often. It said more rain will fall in some northern areas while dry areas could experience more severe lack of rainfall.

Climate scientists say the average surface temperature of the Earth has increased by about six-tenths of one degree Celsius during the past one hundred years. The Environmental Protection Agency reports the warmest global average temperatures on record have all been reached within the past fifteen years. Two thousand five was the hottest year ever recorded.

Research shows the level of carbon dioxide gas in the Earth’s atmosphere has increased by more than thirty percent in the last two hundred fifty years. Carbon dioxide is produced by burning oil and coal.

An increase in global temperatures has led to other problems. Scientists have observed a rise in sea levels and a melting of ice in the Earth’s Polar areas. Scientists also believe that global warming is affecting endangered plants and animals, sea life and the seasonal activities of organisms.

The head of the U.N. Environment Program said global warming will also affect water supplies, agriculture, biological diversity, economies and politics around the world.

Paul Simon Wins Award

The United States Library of Congress has created a new award to honor a music writer or performer. It is called the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. It is named after the famous composers and musicians George and Ira Gershwin.

Library of Congress officials say the Gershwin award recognizes the influence of popular music on cultures around the world. Katharine Cole has more.

KATHERINE COLE:

The first winner of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song is American singer and songwriter Paul Simon. The Librarian of Congress, James Billington, said Simon is the perfect person to receive the first award. This is because his beautiful music communicates with people across many cultures.

One example is Paul Simon's album “Graceland” released in nineteen eighty-six. It includes music sung by a group from South Africa called Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Simon and the group perform “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes.”

(MUSIC)

Paul Simon has received many awards for his work, including twelve Grammy awards. He is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and a Kennedy Center Honoree. He is also a two-time member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was honored first as part of the group Simon and Garfunkel, and later for his own music.

Simon and Garfunkel's first big hit song was "The Sounds of Silence" released in nineteen sixty-six.

(MUSIC)

Paul Simon says he is very honored to be the first winner of the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. He will receive the award at a special concert of his music in Washington, D.C. on May twenty-third. Performers will include Art Garfunkel and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. We leave you now with a song from Paul Simon’s latest album, "Surprise." It is called "That's Me."

(MUSIC)

HOST:

I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today. It was written by Jill Moss and Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver was our producer.

To read the text of this program and download audio, go to our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.