Germany Prepares to Host G8 Meeting

By Barry Wood Washington 04 June 2007

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set Wednesday to host the annual summit of the G8 leading industrial democracies plus Russia. VOA's Barry Wood reports a recent sharp deterioration in western relations with Moscow is casting a chill over the meeting that will take place at a Baltic Sea resort in eastern Germany.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, 31 May 2007

What a difference a year makes. Only 11 months ago Vladimir Putin proudly hosted the G8 leaders in St. Petersburg. It was an historic first for Russia which became a member of the summit club in 1997. Other members are the United States, Japan, Canada and four west European powers (Britain, France, Germany and Italy).

Enriched by oil and gas, a newly assertive Russia has clamped down on dissent at home and is at odds with the West over Iran, Kosovo and missile defense.

David Satter, a Russia specialist at the Hudson Institute in Washington, says western leaders need to be blunt with Mr. Putin.

"What we need to do is make it clear to the Russians that we're not going to check our freedom of speech at the door," said Satter. "That we fully intend to insist that they fully adhere to the principles of the organization of which they're a part."

Satter believes Russia should never have been admitted to the summit club.

"It doesn't really belong there now because the G8 is an organization of industrial democracies," he said. "Economically, Russia doesn't qualify even with its windfall gains in oil and gas revenues."

There are two new G8 leaders, Japan's Shinzo Abe and the new French president, Nicolas Sarkozy.

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, 24 May 2007

Chancellor Merkel wants this year's G8 meeting to yield action on eliminating greenhouse gases and boosting aid to Africa.

Colin Bradford of the Brookings Institution, a Washington research organization, says action on climate change is possible, in part, because President Bush has modified his opposition to limits on carbon emissions.

"The American position on this [climate change] is changing and has changed in the last six to eight months since the U.S. election in the fall of 2006," said Bradford.

Democrats, who now control both houses of Congress, favor action against global warming.

Julianne Smith, foreign policy analyst at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, says President Bush and the Europeans are eager to find common ground on climate change as a way of rebuilding the transatlantic cooperation that has been strained by the Iraq war.

"All of the leaders who will be there would welcome that development," said Smith. "So the instinct is, again, to move away from the shadows of Iraq and try and craft some new action points for the transatlantic partners."

Colin Bradford of Brookings says the G8 climate talks are taking on added importance because five additional countries are taking part.

"This will be a G8 plus five discussion on climate change that will include China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa," said Bradford. "The heads from those five countries will be for the first time involved fully in the substantive discussions on climate change."

Bradford and others would like to see the G8 expand to become a more representative global group. That is unlikely anytime soon as the G8 is still having trouble absorbing its newest member, Russia.

Ruling Puts Guantanamo Trials in Doubt

By Al Pessin Pentagon 04 June 2007

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A U.S. military judge has dismissed charges against a detainee at the Guantanamo detention center, based on a technical issue that could affect all the current and potential charges against detainees. The Defense Department says the prosecutor will appeal the ruling. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

US guard at the military-run Camp Delta prison in Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base

The military judge, U.S. Army Colonel Peter Brownback, ruled Monday during a hearing at Guantanamo that charges against Canadian Omar Khadr are invalid. Khadr is charged with murder and other crimes related to the death of a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan in 2002.

Pentagon spokesman Commander J.D. Gordon told VOA the judge decided Khadr cannot be tried because an earlier process did not designate him an "unlawful enemy combatant," as a new law requires. Gordon says Khadr and the other detainees at Guantanamo were only designated "enemy combatants," without the word "unlawful."

"For all intents and purposes it's the same thing," said Commander Gordon. "It's just an issue of semantics. We've already said they were unlawful in 2004-2005 because of a variety of factors. They don't wear a uniform. They're not members of [the] armed forces of another nation-state. They don't display arms openly. They don't have a chain of command. All those issues make them unlawful enemy combatants. So they were already 'unlawful enemy combatants' back when they were designated as such, however the technical verbiage was just 'enemy combatant.'"

But the director of Terrorism and Counter-terrorism at Human Rights Watch in New York, Joanne Mariner, says that technicality has some important substance behind it.

"There is a question about whether some people held at Guantanamo are lawful combatants, members of the Taleban who were the armed forces of Afghanistan during the conflict with the United States, so, in fact, under international law, were considered soldiers and had the right to fight," said Joanne Mariner. "This is something that the United States has always dismissed. The court is correct to say there is a meaningful distinction between lawful and unlawful enemy combatants."

Judge Brownback at Guantanamo said Khadr could be re-charged if he undergoes a new hearing to determine his status, and if that process officially designates him an "unlawful enemy combatant." That is the phrase used in the law passed last year by Congress to establish what is called the Military Commissions process for trying Guantanamo detainees.

News reports from Guantanamo quote the chief defense attorney for the detainees, who is also a U.S. military officer, as saying the judge's ruling applies to all the detainees and is further evidence that the process is, in his words, "a failure" and should be stopped.

But the Pentagon spokesman, Commander Gordon, says the military prosecutor will appeal Monday's ruling to a review panel in Washington set up to supervise the detainee tribunals. Commander Gordon says it will be the first time the panel has been activated.

Joanne Mariner at Human Rights Watch says the military judge did the right thing in this ruling, but she is still not convinced the Military Commissions process is fair, or that this ruling will have a significant, long-term impact.

"It is showing that they are trying to follow the procedures as they exist," she said. "But I wouldn't go so far as to say this reflects a substantive independence. I think this is probably something that the military is going to remedy fairly easily."

Mariner says if the judge's ruling is upheld on appeal, a new status hearing could be held for Omar Khadr fairly soon, with others to follow in the coming months.

Khadr is a Canadian citizen. His case is particularly controversial because he was just 15 years old at the time he allegedly threw a hand grenade during a battle in Afghanistan that killed an American soldier. He has been in U.S. custody for five years.

In March, Australian David Hicks became the first detainee processed through the new tribunals. After a pre-trial agreement, he was convicted of one charge of providing material support to terrorism and is serving his nine-month sentence back in Australia. He had a different military judge, who did not address the difference in terminology between the old process and the new one.

Hicks and Khadr are two of only three detainees who have been formally charged under the new system. There are about 380 detainees at Guantanamo, but some have been approved for release without trial, and others may be released this year through a separate annual review process.

Lebanese Army Clashes With Militants in 2nd Palestinian Refugee Camp

By Margaret Besheer Beirut 04 June 2007

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Lebanese troops continued fighting Islamic militants in a northern Palestinian refugee camp and clashed with another group in a southern camp Monday. The new violence has sparked concerns that the fighting that began three weeks ago in the northern camp could spread to more of Lebanon's 12 refugee camps. From Beirut, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

Palestinian child sleeps near family who fled Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp, 04 Jun 2007

As the Lebanese Army kept up its offensive against Fatah al-Islam militants near the northern city of Tripoli, a new front was opened about 100 kilometers to the south.

Gun battles first flared Sunday evening in the southern city of Sidon, near Ein al-Hilweh, Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp, after militants from another group, Jund al-Sham, threw a hand grenade at an army checkpoint wounding five people.

Sporadic fighting continued overnight and resumed briefly Monday. Authorities say two Lebanese soldiers and two militants were killed in the clashes.

Sidon's residents stayed indoors and the city's usually bustling streets were quiet as many shops closed for the day.

Concerns have been high that fighting would spread to one or more of Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camps since the army took on Islamic militants at the northern Nahr el-Bared camp 16 days ago. Fighting at that camp has displaced thousands of Palestinians who have relocated to some of the country's 11 other refugee camps.

Lebanese parliament member from Sidon, Bahia Hariri, said Palestinian officials and the Lebanese army are working to quickly contain the situation.

Shell explodes on a building being used by militants in the besieged Nahr el-Bared refugee camp near Tripoli

Hariri told Lebanese television that there is a Lebanese-Palestinian decision not to let this escalate because it would have severe repercussions for both sides.

On Monday, Fatah al-Islam deputy commander Abu Hureira told the Associated Press his group would spread its battle with the Lebanese army to the southern Ein el-Hilweh camp. About 200,000 refugees live at Ein el-Hilweh.

Meanwhile, at Nahr el-Bared, the army continued its assault on Fatah al-Islam, cautiously advancing on the militants' positions inside the camp.

In a telephone interview Sunday, Fatah al-Islam spokesman Abu Salim Taha claimed his fighters are well-prepared and can continue fighting the army for a couple of months.

More than 40 Lebanese troops and an estimated 60 militants have been killed since the fighting erupted last month at Nahr el-Bared. About 20 civilians are also believed to have been killed in the clashes.

China Promises to Fight Climate Change, Rejects Emission Caps

By Daniel Schearf Beijing 04 June 2007

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Ma Kai, Head of China's National Development and Reform Commission, (File Photo)

The Chinese government has vowed to control its greenhouse gas emissions but rejected mandatory limits on emissions in a newly released policy on climate change. A Chinese official in charge of planning says economic growth is still the number one priority and industrial nations, which share the most blame for global warming, should be more understanding and supportive of developing countries. Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing.

The head of China's National Development and Reform Commission, Ma Kai, revealed China's plan to fight climate change to reporters in Beijing Monday.

The rather vague document provides no new reduction goals, but says the government will do more to encourage energy efficiency, clean power development, and expand forests to meet the already announced target to reduce energy consumption by 20 percent by 2010.

China's massive energy needs to feed its fast-growing economy has made reaching that goal a struggle. Last year China failed to meet its energy and pollution reduction targets.

Despite that failure, Ma said China would continue to work in that direction. But, he rejected emission caps, saying it was not fair for industrialized nations to ask developing countries to commit to mandatory reductions, which he said would harm their development.

"The most important task now is of course to develop economically and reduce poverty," said Ma. "For this reason, in responding to climate change the international community ought to fully think about developing countries' rights and space to develop."

China is expected to overtake the United States as the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide gas as early as this year and has been under increasing international pressure to reduce emissions.

Ma said developing countries' per capita gas emissions were low compared to those of developed nations.

He said the vast majority of emissions historically came from industrialized nations so they should bear the most responsibility and provide financial and technical support to developing countries.

His comments came ahead of Chinese President Hu Jintao's attendance as a guest at a summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations in Germany Friday, where global warming is expected to be a hot topic.

VOASE0604_Science In the News

04 June 2007

A UN Report Suggests Steps to Reduce Gases Linked to Climate Change
Experts tells governments how to protect the Earth and how much it will cost. Also, Israeli archeologists find what they believe to be the burial place of the ancient King Herod.

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VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Bob Doughty.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. On our program this week, we will tell about the new United Nations report on climate change. We will also tell about an ancient burial place and a possible method to reduce blood shortages in hospitals.

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VOICE ONE:

Leaders of eight industrial nations meet this week in the German town of Heiligendamm. The leaders are to discuss many issues, including the warming of the Earth. One subject is expected to be a new United Nations report. The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released the report last month at a conference in Thailand.

The report says the world has the technology necessary to reduce gases that trap heat from the Sun. But it warns that action by governments and individuals must begin immediately.

Groups of experts from around the world produced the report. The groups examined scientific information needed to understand climate change. They did not carry out scientific research.

VOICE TWO:

Earlier studies have linked Earth's rising temperatures to production of heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide. Some scientists have already said what they believe will happen if carbon dioxide emissions continue to grow. They say long-term effects will include rising sea levels, damaging storms and severe lack of rain in different areas. The scientists say this could result in extreme heat, more floods, and shortages of clean water to drink. They say it could also lead to reduced food production and more world hunger.

The new report expands on two earlier U.N. reports. The earlier reports said climate change is likely the result of human activity. They also said it threatens life on Earth.

VOICE ONE:

The new report says severe climate change can be stopped. It calls for immediate action to reduce the release of carbon dioxide. The report says governments around the world already have the ability to slow or stop this pollution. It says policy makers should support increased use of natural gas and less dependence on coal for fuel. The report supports increased use of wind power and other kinds of renewable energy.

The report suggests other ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. They include developing vehicles that use less fuel and speeding the use of energy efficient lighting.

The report says governments must provide support for such changes. This will help industries develop new technologies and improve present methods of energy use.

VOICE TWO:

The report says actions being taken today are not enough to stop the expected damage. It says carbon dioxide emissions must start to fall within the next fifteen years. Without additional action, the amount of heat-trapping gasses released by the year twenty thirty would grow by up to ninety percent.

The report sets a goal of limiting the average temperature change worldwide to two degrees Celsius by twenty fifty. That would require a gas emissions cut of more than fifty percent of emissions levels in the year two thousand. The report says this will not be costly. It says this can be done at a cost of less than three percent of the world's gross domestic product by twenty thirty. Gross domestic product is the value of all goods and services produced by any one country.

Last week, President Bush announced his own plan to fight climate change. He wants fifteen major polluting countries to set a goal by the end of next year to reduce gases tied to climate change.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

People gather around the base of what Israeli archaeologists believe is King Herod's tomb

In the West Bank, a thirty-year long search may have finally come to an end. Israeli archeologists recently found what they believe to be the burial place of King Herod.

The Roman Empire appointed Herod as the ruler of Judea over two thousand years ago. The Christian Bible's book of Matthew says King Herod ordered the killing of all boys two years old or younger in the Bethlehem area. Historical experts do not know if this story is true. But they do know that Herod killed many of his political opponents by the end of his rule.

VOICE TWO:

Archeologist Ehud Netzer works at Hebrew University in Israel. He led the team of researchers who discovered the burial place at Herodium. Herodium is a large area with many buildings and other structures. It is built on a small man-made mountain about eleven kilometers south of Jerusalem.

King Herod built Herodium and its many richly designed buildings as an example of his power and wealth. He also chose the exact place where he wanted to be buried. But it has taken a great deal of searching for the team of researchers to find the area. They had been searching for years at the bottom of the small mountain of Herodium. In August, they moved their dig higher up the side of the mountain.

VOICE ONE:

Knowledge of King Herod’s burial comes from the first century historian Josephus Flavius. He described how Herod’s body was carried to Herodium and gave details about his funeral. Flavius wrote about Herod’s rich burial coverings that included solid gold objects, jewels, and purple colored cloth. But the historian did not say where the body was buried.

The archeologists recovered many broken pieces of a sarcophagus -- a container used to hold a buried body. The container was made out of limestone and measures about two and a half meters long. Other broken pieces near the sarcophagus include stone cuttings made to look like flowers. The costliness of the objects led the researchers to believe that this must be King Herod’s burial place.

VOICE TWO:

Other experts say there is still no evidence confirming the burial place belongs to Herod. Stephen Pfann is a historian at the University of the Holy Land in Jerusalem. He says Ehud Netzer and his team have made a valuable discovery. But he says there is no way to be sure the place was King Herod's until someone finds his name among the burial objects.

The discovery has increased old political tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. Both sides claim this area between Bethlehem and the Judean desert.

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VOICE ONE:

Scientists may have found a way to reduce shortages of type O blood. Type O is the kind of blood that hospitals most often need. What the researchers are testing is an easier way to make type O blood out of other kinds of blood.

There are four main kinds of blood. Most people are born with one of these four: type A, type B, type AB or type O. Type O can be safely given to anyone. So it is commonly used when a person is injured or sick and has to have blood.

Type O is the most common blood group. But the supplies of it available in hospitals and blood banks are usually limited. This is because of high demand. Type O blood is used in emergencies when there is no time to identify the patient's blood type.

VOICE TWO:

Giving A, B or AB to someone with a different blood type, including O, can cause a bad reaction by the person's defense system. Their immune system can reject the blood. This immune reaction can be deadly.

The difference between blood types is linked to whether or not red blood cells contain certain kinds of sugar molecules. These molecules are found on the surface of the cells. They are known as antigens. These antigens are found with type A, B and AB blood but not with type O.

VOICE ONE:

More than twenty-five years ago, scientists found that the antigens could be removed to create what they called universal-type cells. They could be removed with chemicals called enzymes. But large amounts of enzymes were required to make the change.

Recently, a report published in Nature Biotechnology described two formerly unknown bacterial enzymes. The report said these enzymes remove the antigens more easily. To find these enzymes, researchers examined more than two thousand five hundred kinds of bacteria and fungi.

VOICE TWO:

Doctor Henrik Clausen of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark led the study. He worked with researchers from France, Sweden and the United States.

The next step, they say, is to complete safety tests. The team is working with the American company ZymeQuest to test the new method. If it meets safety requirements and is not too costly, it could become a widely used life-saving tool to increase the supply of universal blood.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Brianna Blake, Dana Demange and Nancy Steinbach. Our producer was Caty Weaver. I'm Bob Doughty.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. Listen again next week at this same time for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

VOASE0604_Agriculture Report

04 June 2007

Improving Soil, and Saving Money, in Eastern Uganda
Five low-input ways that a study found can increase sorghum production.

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This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Sorghum farmers in eastern Uganda, working with scientists, have tested some lower-cost ways to improve their soil. Little rain and poor soil fertility are problems in that area, as in other parts of southern Africa. Experts from the Kawanda Research Institute in Uganda and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the United States did the research.

They say much of the soil lacks enough phosphorus and nitrogen. But for many small farmers, the cost of treating the soil is more than they earn from their crops.

So the researchers suggest five methods that could decrease costs and increase production of sorghum. Sorghum is an important food grain in southern Africa.

The methods involve soil fertility management as well as reduced tillage. Tilling is breaking up and turning the soil to prepare the ground for planting.

They say one way to renew the soil is to use a plant called mucuna. Mucuna is a herbaceous vegetable. Its seeds can be planted during the short rainy season. Then the land is free to be planted with sorghum during the best growing season.

Mucuna takes nitrogen from the air and places it in the soil, enriching it. Professor Charles Wortmann, one of the Nebraska researchers, notes that the plants also reseed themselves.

Another method that the scientists suggest is to plant sorghum during one growing season, followed by cowpea the next.

Two other low-input ways to improve the soil involve using manure or nitrogen and phosphorus as fertilizer.

And the fifth way that the study found may improve sorghum production is to reduce crop tillage.

The researchers say the best methods for farmers depend on their individual needs and their resources. For example, using animal waste may be best for farms that have the animals to supply it. But on farms that cannot get fertilizer, the best solution may be the method of rotating sorghum with cowpea.

The researchers tested one hundred forty-two farms across three areas of eastern Uganda. The study took place from two thousand three to two thousand five. The findings have just appeared in Agronomy Journal. Professor Wortmann and other scientists are continuing their research.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. You can learn more about agriculture at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also download transcripts and audio files of our reports. I'm Steve Ember.