VOASE1207_In the News

07 December 2007

US Intelligence Report Enters Into Debate on Iran Nuclear Issue
American intelligence agencies say Iran halted a weapons program in 2003. But President Bush and some other leaders say Iran is still a danger.

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This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Sixteen government agencies form what is known as the intelligence community in the United States. From time to time, this community puts together reports called National Intelligence Estimates that deal with foreign activities and threats. Parts are sometimes made public.

Iran says its nuclear program is only for producing energy. A reactor building is shown at Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant in 2005.

This week, officials released major judgments from a new report on Iran's nuclear activities. It says Iran operated a secret program to develop nuclear weapons but halted that program in late two thousand three.

The report suggests that Iran did so mainly because of international pressure. It says Iran may be more open to influence than was thought. But Iran continues to enrich uranium for civilian use, the report says, and this could be used to produce weapons if desired.

The report says Iran might have enough nuclear material to build a bomb in the next three to eight years, at the earliest. But it says Iran now appears less determined to produce nuclear weapons than was believed.

The findings came as a surprise. A National Intelligence Estimate two years ago said Iran was working hard to develop nuclear weapons.

President Bush said the report released Monday was the result of better intelligence. But he said nothing has changed. He said Iran is still a danger. And he urged governments to continue to pressure Iran about its nuclear activities. That the program was halted, he says, is not as important as the finding that it once existed and could be restarted.

The report comes as the Bush administration has been trying to win support for new international restrictions against Iran. In recent weeks, the president has warned that the world cannot risk a nuclear-armed Iran, saying it could lead to World War Three.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the new American intelligence report a declaration of victory. He says it shows that Iran's nuclear program is for energy, not weapons.

In Israel, Defense Minister Ehud Barak rejected the intelligence report. He said he believes it is incomplete and that Iran has restarted its nuclear weapons program. He offered no evidence, though.

On Thursday, NATO foreign ministers expressed support for a proposed third set of sanctions in the United Nations Security Council. And, in Paris, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Iran is still a danger. Britain also says it remains concerned about Iran's nuclear program.

But Russia and China have resisted further sanctions. Russian and Chinese officials say the new report will have to be considered in those discussions. Both countries, as permanent members of the Security Council, could veto any additional sanctions.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. Transcripts and MP3s of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Steve Ember.

VOASE1130_In the News

30 November 2007

Israel, Palestinians Will Try Again for Two-State Solution for Peace
The two sides promised at the Annapolis conference to seek an agreement by the end of 2008. A committee to guide renewed talks will hold its first meeting December 12.

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President Bush walks with Ehud Olmert, left, and Mahmoud Abbas to the conference at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis

Tuesday's Middle East conference in Annapolis, Maryland, put Israelis and Palestinians back on the road map to peace. Now the question is, how far will they get?

The "road map" is the name for a plan that is supposed to lead to a permanent, two-state solution to the conflict. The Quartet of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations launched the plan in two thousand three. The plan did not go far.

But this week Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed to immediately restart negotiations. They promise to seek a peace treaty that furthers the goal of an independent Palestine.

The two sides have not held serious negotiations in seven years. A committee that will guide the talks will hold its first meeting December twelfth. The aim is to reach an agreement by the end of next year.

Many Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and Syria, attended the international conference held by the United States. Iran was not invited.

President Bush said in Annapolis that the United States will be actively involved in the peace process. On Wednesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice named retired general James Jones as her new special diplomat for Middle East security. He will work with Israelis and Palestinians.

But the Palestinians are split politically and physically. The Islamic Hamas movement seized control of Gaza in June. Mister Abbas' Fatah party holds power in the West Bank, which has a larger population.

The main issues between Israel and the Palestinians include final borders and the right of return for refugees. But the most divisive issue may be the future of Jerusalem.

Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of a Palestinian state. Prime Minister Olmert recently said he is ready to hand over some Arab neighborhoods in that part of the city. But he faces opposition from those who want to keep an undivided Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Israel captured East Jerusalem, including the Old City, in the nineteen sixty-seven Arab-Israeli war. About four hundred fifty thousand Israelis live in East Jerusalem and nearby settlements on the West Bank.

Israel was established in nineteen forty-eight under a United Nations plan to divide the area into Arab and Jewish states. Arab nations rejected the plan and invaded Israel a day after its independence.

Carnegie scholar Eric Davis is a political science professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey. He says the most important thing that must come out of Annapolis is a real plan where both sides begin to compromise.

He notes concerns that Mister Olmert and Mister Abbas do not hold enough political power to make compromises that would keep the talks moving. Without strong support, he says, the chance exists that their enemies could try to block the road to peace.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I’m Steve Ember.

VOASE1123_In the News

23 November 2007

Super Duper Tuesday' Will Mark a Short but Intense Primary Season
We answer a question about the importance of the event known as Super Tuesday in the American presidential campaign.

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This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

From time to time we are answering questions about the American election process. Today, from Jigawa, Nigeria, Mustapha Aminu Gumel asks why Super Tuesday is so special in the presidential campaign.

Super Tuesday is a day when a large number of states hold primary elections or caucus meetings. Primaries and caucuses are part of the nominating process.

In the two thousand four campaign, ten states held their events on Tuesday, March second. Next year Super Tuesday will come almost a month earlier -- on February fifth. And it has earned the name "Super Duper Tuesday" or "Tsunami Tuesday."

This time more than twenty states will hold primaries or caucuses. These include big states with a lot of delegates like California, Illinois and New York.

During the nominating season, people vote for a candidate. But what they are really doing is choosing delegates to the national political conventions later in the year. These are where the Democrats and Republicans nominate their candidates for the general election in November.

The two thousand eight presidential campaign began much earlier than Americans are used to. The national conventions are not until late summer. But the likely nominees should become clear by February fifth -- Super Tuesday -- if not sooner.

Traditionally, Iowa holds the first caucuses in the nation and New Hampshire holds the first primary. The results of the voting get a lot of attention. The idea behind these early tests is to give candidates with less money a chance to compete against those with bigger campaigns. Critics, however, say this tradition gives these small states an unfair amount of influence in the presidential campaign.

New Hampshire Secretary of State William Gardner announces January 8 as the date for its primary

The Iowa caucuses will take place on January third. And New Hampshire will hold its primary on January eighth. The date was set after the Michigan Supreme Court this week cleared the way for Michigan to hold its primary on January fifteenth. New Hampshire is required by state law to hold its primary at least a week before any similar election.

Florida, South Carolina and Nevada, along with Republicans in Wyoming, will also hold their primaries or caucuses in January.

Opinion is divided about the idea of so many states holding their votes so early in the election year. Supporters say earlier primaries could give voters a greater choice of candidates. Yet states that moved their voting ahead to February fifth, hoping to get more attention from candidates, may still find their influence limited.

Some experts say the nominating season is so heavy at the start, so front-loaded, that doing well in Iowa and New Hampshire will be more important than ever.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. You can learn more about American politics at voaspecialenglish.com. To send us a question, click on Contact Us and please include your name and where you are. I'm Steve Ember.

VOASE1116_In the News

16 November 2007

Michael Mukasey, New US Attorney General, Steps Into a Shaken Agency
The retired federal judge won Senate approval by what critics noted was the narrowest vote in years for a Justice Department head.

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Michael Mukasey became America's top law enforcement official last Friday. But this

Michael Mukasey

week, a ceremonial swearing-in attended by President Bush took place at the Justice Department.

Wednesday's event was the first chance for the new attorney general to speak publicly with his employees. He talked about their duty to the law and the Constitution, saying "the result of faithful performance of our duty is justice."

The retired federal judge from New York takes over a struggling department that critics say has become too political. Several top officials have resigned, and delays in replacing them have only added to the criticisms.

On Thursday, President Bush announced five nominees for leadership positions at the Justice Department. Among them is Mark Filip, a federal judge in Chicago. The president nominated him for Senate confirmation as deputy attorney general. Several other positions also need to be filled.

Michael Mukasey is the third attorney general under the Bush administration, which has fourteen months left in office. John Ashcroft left in two thousand four. Alberto Gonzales resigned in September.

Already, Mister Mukasey has re-opened an investigation into the part that Justice Department lawyers played in the Terrorist Surveillance Program. The Bush administration began the program after the September eleventh, two thousand one, attacks. The president gave the National Security Agency permission to listen to calls and read e-mail of people in the United States without a warrant.

The Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility opened the investigation early last year. But it was suspended after the National Security Agency denied security clearances to the investigators. Those clearances have now been received. And, at the beginning of this year, the administration said it had ended the use of surveillance without court approval.

The Senate confirmed Michael Mukasey last week by a vote of fifty-three to forty. The American Civil Liberties Union noted it was the narrowest vote to confirm an attorney general in half a century.

His confirmation was slowed by the way he dealt with questions about the interrogation method known as waterboarding. During hearings last month, he said answering questions about it might risk the careers or freedom of those who might be using it.

The United States military has banned the practice which creates a sense of drowning. But human rights groups say the Central Intelligence Agency has used it on terrorism suspects in recent years.

Mister Mukasey deplored waterboarding and said torture violates the Constitution. But he told lawmakers that he could not say whether waterboarding is torture. He said he did not have enough information because he was still a private citizen.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember.

VOASE1109_In the News

09 November 2007

Pakistani Police Keep Bhutto From Leading Protest Near Capital
Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was freed late Friday after a day of house arrest that prevented her from attending a demonstration in Rawalpindi.

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The political crisis in Pakistan deepened Friday. Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto tried to lead a big protest against emergency rule declared last Saturday by President Pervez Musharraf. Instead, the former prime minister spent the day under house arrest.

Benazir Bhutto, top center, and her supporters try to push through a police barrier

She tried to leave her home in Islamabad to attend the demonstration that she organized in nearby Rawalpindi. But she could not get past barriers and hundreds of police around her home.

Late in the day, however, Benazir Bhutto was freed. The government said the detention order had been withdrawn. In Rawalpindi, police clashed with several hundred protesters who violated a ban on demonstrations.

Benazir Bhutto says she still plans to lead a protest march early next week from Lahore to Islamabad. She returned to Pakistan last month after eight years of exile to avoid corruption charges. Before she returned, she had been negotiating with President Musharraf on a possible political alliance.

Last weekend, the president dismissed the Supreme Court. He has placed the chief justice and other judges under house arrest. He also suspended the constitution and shut down privately owned television news stations. And he gave wide powers to officials to crush dissent.

Protests have been suppressed, sometimes violently, by police in recent days. How many people have been detained is unclear. The number is in the thousands, including opposition members, human rights activists and lawyers.

Pervez Musharraf

The opposition is demanding that President Musharraf end emergency rule, retire as army chief and hold elections in January. World leaders, including President Bush, have also called on him to do these things.

President Bush considers the leader of the nuclear-armed nation an important ally against terrorism. Since two thousand one the United States has given Pakistan almost ten billion dollars in aid, mostly for its military.

National elections were planned for early January. This week, General Musharraf said elections would now be held by February fifteenth. He also said he will resign as army chief before he is sworn in again as president. He said he will keep that promise once the new Supreme Court confirms his re-election.

Benazir Bhutto said the election announcement was simply an attempt to quiet growing dissent.

General Musharraf seized power in nineteen ninety-nine. Later he was elected to a five-year term. And, last month, lawmakers elected him to another term. Many political observers say he declared emergency rule because he feared that the Supreme Court would cancel his re-election.

The court had been considering whether he was permitted by law to run for president while serving as army chief. General Musharraf says he declared emergency rule because of a growing threat from Islamic militants and activist judges.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. For more news about Pakistan, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Steve Ember.

VOASE1102_In the News

02 November 2007

Fernandez Makes History in Argentina, but Soon Comes the Real Work
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, senator and first lady, is the first woman to be elected president. The country faces energy shortages and high inflation.

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Cristina Fernandez

Senator and first lady Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner this week became the first woman to be elected president of Argentina. The fifty-four-year-old lawyer and politician received about twice as many votes as her closest opponent, Elisa Carrio.

Cristina Fernandez will take office in December when her husband, President Nestor Kirchner, steps down after one term. She will face difficult issues including Argentina's high inflation rates and energy shortages.

Her support comes mainly from Argentina’s lower classes. Political observers say she could lose that support if she is unable to slow inflation and deal with the energy problems.

Elisa Carrio, a former legislator known for her campaign against corruption, had the strong support of wealthier voters. She won the big cities of Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Rosario.

Argentina has the second largest economy in South America, after Brazil. The economy has grown at more than eight percent a year during Nestor Kirchner's presidency. But the country has a large international debt. And one-fourth of its thirty-seven million people still live in poverty.

President-elect Fernandez has promised to continue her husband’s policies. Many people believe his success in improving the economy helped her rise to the presidency. Argentina suffered a financial crisis in two thousand one and two thousand two.

She says she will work to improve employment, health care, education -- and Argentina’s foreign relations. Her husband has traveled little outside the country during his four years as president. But she has spent recent months meeting with foreign leaders.

Citizens eighteen to seventy living in Argentina are required to vote. Those living outside the country are not required. But Argentine Embassy spokeswoman Danielle de la Fuente in Washington said many came to the consulate to vote in Sunday's election.

Argentina also has a law to support the involvement of women in politics. It requires one-third of legislative candidates to be women.

Cristina Fernandez will join Michelle Bachelet of Chile as the only female presidents in Latin America. But while Argentina will have its first elected female president, she will not be the first woman to lead the country. Vice President Isabel Peron became president after her husband, General Juan Peron, died in nineteen seventy-four.

President Nestor Kirchner

President Kirchner and his wife lead the Peronist party, a movement that grew out of the rule of General Peron. Some people think they will try to exchange the presidency between them for the next twelve years. Argentine law permits a former president to run again after a four-year wait.

Many people compare Cristina Fernandez to American presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Both women are senators and lawyers whose husbands were governors and then presidents.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. To learn more about Argentina and its politics, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Steve Ember.

VOASE1026_In the News

26 October 2007

How the Job Description for US President Has Gotten Longer Over Time
A listener in Cambodia asks about the duties and responsibilities of the president.

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The White House

A listener in Cambodia heard our recent call for questions about the process of electing an American president. Tath Sok in Phnom Penh wants to know about the duties and responsibilities of the president.

This question touches on a continual debate in American society. The separation of powers in the federal government was designed to create a system of checks and balances. Experts could argue for hours about the limits to the powers of the president, Congress and the courts. But we just wanted a few facts, so we looked in the World Book Encyclopedia.

The Constitution gives the president the duties of chief administrator of the nation and commander of the armed forces. But developments including court decisions, laws and customs have expanded those duties. Today the president has seven major areas of responsibility.

First, as chief executive, the president is responsible for enforcing federal actions and developing federal policies. The president is also responsible for preparing the national budget and appointing federal officials.

The president nominates cabinet members, Supreme Court justices and other officials who must be confirmed by the Senate. There are other jobs in government agencies that the president can fill without Senate approval.

As commander in chief, the president shares some military powers with Congress. Under the Constitution only Congress has the power to declare war.

The president also serves as foreign policy director, as the encyclopedia calls it. For this job, the Constitution gives the president the power to appoint ambassadors, make treaties and receive foreign diplomats. Treaties and appointments of ambassadors require Senate approval.

As legislative leader, the president has influence over many laws passed by Congress. The president has the power to veto any bill. But if a vetoed bill is passed again, this time by a two-thirds majority in both houses, the bill can still become law.

The president is also the head of a political party and has responsibilities as popular leader and chief of state.

So these are the main duties of the president. But our listener in Cambodia would also like to know how much the president earns. The job currently pays four hundred thousand dollars a year.

Just this week, in a blog at washingtonpost.com, political reporter Peter Baker wrote about the current debate over presidential powers. He noted criticisms of President Bush's claims of powers by Hillary Clinton, the Supreme Court and others.

But he also wrote about the long history of battles over presidential powers, or what is known as "executive privilege." Presidents have expanded their powers during wartime and also during times of peace. Peter Baker noted that before Thomas Jefferson was president, he was an activist for limited central government. But then he more than doubled the size of the country on his own with the purchase of the Louisiana territory.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Bob Doughty.

VOASE1019_In the News

19 October 2007

As Communist Party Meets in Beijing, Eyes Look to 2012 Change
sults of the 17th national congress will guide China for the next five years, and intensify predictions about who will be its next president.

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The opening ceremony of the 17th Communist Party Congress in the Great Hall of the People

China's Communist Party is meeting this week in Beijing. More than two thousand delegates are electing party leaders and deciding policies that will guide China for the next five years. The seventeenth party congress comes at a time of increasing social unrest in China.

The meeting opened on Monday and will end on Sunday. Party congresses are held every five years. Much of the discussion is held in secret.

The delegates are expected to elect President Hu Jintao to a second five-year term. The results of the party congress will intensify predictions about China's next leaders after Mister Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao retire in five years.

President Hu Jintao

In his opening speech on Monday, the president included among his goals a promise to fight corruption. Some political observers, however, noted that corruption can be especially difficult to fight in a one-party form of government. There are few checks and balances on local officials.

Other problems caused by twenty years of fast economic growth in China include pollution, high prices and disputes over land. Violent protests and riots have taken place in rural areas.

Officials heavily increased security in Beijing for the party congress. Human rights groups say several dissidents and other activists have been detained or questioned in recent weeks.

Last week, twelve thousand people signed an open letter demanding reforms and help for their problems. Activists say the leader of the group was detained.

Past congresses have resulted in major changes in the party.

For example, at the seventh party congress in nineteen forty-five, Mao Zedong's "thought" became the official thinking of the party. At the nineteen eighty-two meeting, Deng Xiaoping’s form of socialism started the economic reforms that continue to drive China’s growth.

The Communist Party has ruled China since nineteen forty-nine. That was when the People's Liberation Army defeated the Chinese Nationalists in a civil war. The Nationalists fled to Formosa, now called Taiwan.

In recent months tensions between China and Taiwan have increased following Taiwan's latest attempt to join the United Nations. China considers Taiwan a part of Chinese territory awaiting reunification – by force, if necessary.

In his speech Monday, President Hu warned Taiwan against declaring independence. But the statement differed from past speeches. It did not directly threaten the use of force to bring Taiwan under Chinese rule.

President Hu also called for negotiations on a peace agreement if Taiwan accepts the idea of "one China."

A Taiwanese spokesman said Taiwan will not talk with a government that suppresses Tibet, kills its own citizens and supports the military rulers in Burma. And President Chen Shui-bian said a peace treaty based on the "one China" idea would really be a surrender agreement.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I’m Steve Ember.

VOASE1012_In the News

12 October 2007

Deaths in Iraq Lead to Calls for More Controls Over Private Guards Working for US
Blackwater USA and other companies employed by American agencies face greater attention after shootings of civilians.

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Employees of Blackwater USA take part in a battle in the Iraqi city of Najaf in 2004

Recent shootings of civilians have brought new attention to security companies working in Iraq for the United States government. Private guards help protect diplomats, aid groups and even American forces.

On Tuesday, guards from an Australian-owned company, Unity Resources Group, killed two women in a car in Baghdad. They say the car failed to stop after warnings.

Earlier, the Iraqi government urged American officials to cut ties with Blackwater USA. Blackwater is the largest of three American companies protecting American diplomats in Iraq.

Its guards were involved in a September sixteenth shooting in Baghdad. Blackwater says they had come under gunfire. But Iraqi officials say they fired at civilians without cause and killed seventeen people.

The Iraqis say the guards should face trial. And they say Blackwater should pay eight million dollars to each of the families of those killed.

Blackwater has about one thousand employees in Iraq. The total number of private guards being used there is estimated at twenty thousand to thirty thousand. But the International Peace Operations Association in Washington, a trade group, says most are Iraqis or other non-Americans.

The State Department says it has to use private guards because it does not have enough diplomatic security agents to meet expanding responsibilities in Iraq. It ordered stronger controls on Blackwater last week, including video cameras for its vehicles.

The shooting is still under investigation by the American military, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a joint committee of American and Iraqi officials. But in Washington, the Center for Constitutional Rights brought a federal case Thursday against Blackwater. The group is seeking damages for one survivor and the families of three of those killed.

United Nations officials in Iraq told the Associated Press they are concerned about reports of killings by security contractors. A U.N. human rights officer said officials will look into whether or not crimes against humanity and war crimes have taken place.

All government contractors would have to answer to American courts under a bill passed last week by the House of Representatives. It would expand a current act for Defense Department contractors outside the United States. The Bush administration opposes the bill, saying it could harm national security activities.

A House committee report said Blackwater has been involved in at least one hundred ninety-five shootings in Iraq since two thousand five. It said Blackwater guards fired first in most cases.

But Erik Prince, who started Blackwater ten years ago, defended his company at a congressional hearing last week. He says it performs only defensive security duties. He says he has lost thirty men while no one protected by Blackwater has ever been seriously injured. And he says private contractors have provided support to the American military since the Revolutionary War.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I’m Steve Ember.

VOASE1005_In the News

05 October 2007

North and South Korean Leaders Promise to Work for Peace, Economic Cooperation
Kim and Roh call for official end to Korean War and agree to work together on nuclear issue.

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The leaders of North and South Korea met this week. It was the first such meeting in seven years, and only the second since Korea was divided in nineteen fifty-three.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il after exchanging joint declaration documents in Pyongyang

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korea's Kim Jong Il ended three days of talks in Pyongyang on Thursday. They signed a joint declaration to support peace and economic growth on the Korean peninsula.

It says the South and the North will closely cooperate to end military hostilities and ease tensions. The two Koreas have been increasingly cooperative, but technically they are still at war.

The North invaded the South in nineteen fifty. A truce halted military action three years later. But it was never replaced with an official peace treaty.

The two leaders agreed to push for a treaty to declare an end to the war. They called for a three- or four-party meeting to reach that goal. China and the United States also fought in the Korean War. The United States led United Nations forces in Korea.

The eight-point declaration also includes a promise by the South and the North to cooperate in efforts to settle the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula. The two sides say they will work to smoothly put into effect a June declaration and a February agreement reached in six-nation talks.

South Korean officials confirmed this is the first time Kim Jong Il has personally signed a document relating to the effort to end his nuclear weapons programs.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised the agreement as an important step for improving peace and security on the Korean peninsula.

The Bush administration said the six-party talks will be an important part of efforts to change the relationship between North Korea and the world.

Earlier this week, North Korea agreed to disable its main nuclear centers and document all of its programs by the end of the year. The agreement came in the six-party talks with China, South Korea, Japan, Russia and the United States. They are offering North Korea financial, diplomatic, security and energy aid if it gives up its nuclear arms program.

The North and South Korean leaders also agreed to expand economic ties. The two countries have fought several naval clashes over a sea border established by the United Nations west of the Korean peninsula. The leaders called for the recognition of a common fishing area in an effort to reduce tensions.

Their declaration also calls for the two Koreas to begin transporting goods by rail between Munsan in the South and Bongdong in the North. And they will begin a project to increase foreign visitors to North Korea’s Mount Baekdu.

President Roh did not accept an invitation from Kim Jong Il to stay an extra day in Pyongyang. But they said they plan to meet again in the future, and their governments are to hold more talks next month. President Roh leaves office in February.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember.

VOASE0928_In the News

28 September 2007

Fukuda Takes Office in Tokyo, and First Issue Is the Crisis in Burma
Yasuo Fukuda, a moderate, will try to rebuild support for Japan's weakened ruling party. He faces a fight with the opposition over his wish to continue assistance for U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.

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Image from a video released by the Democratic Voice of Burma shows Japanese video journalist Kenji Nagai after being shot in Rangoon. He later died.

Japan's new prime minister, Yasuo Fukuda, took office this week -- and quickly faced a crisis. The unrest in Burma claimed the life of a Japanese cameraman. Kenji Nagai was shot Thursday as security forces moved to crush anti-government demonstrations.

Mister Fukuda rejected the idea of immediate economic sanctions. He directed a Foreign Ministry official to go and push the government for a full explanation.

Japan provides aid but not as much since the military in Burma violently suppressed protests for democracy in nineteen eighty-eight. The next year, the generals ruling Burma changed its name to Myanmar, a name the United States and Britain do not recognize.

Mister Fukuda spoke Friday by phone with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao about the situation in China's neighbor. He said he asked that China, given its close ties, exercise its influence and that "Premier Wen said he will make such efforts."

Yasuo Fukuda

Mister Fukuda of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party easily won election Tuesday in the lower house of parliament. The upper house rejected him. Opposition parties won control of the upper house in July. But the L.D.P. still controls the lower house. And the vote of the lower house decides the winner in such a split.

This was the first split vote of this kind since nineteen ninety-eight. Mister Fukuda's closest competitor was main opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa.

The new prime minister is seen as politically moderate. He says one of his goals will be to repair public trust in the ruling party. The L.D.P. has recently faced a series of investigations of financial wrongdoing involving cabinet members.

Mister Fukuda has kept much of Shinzo Abe's cabinet. Nobutaka Machimura, the foreign minister under Mister Abe, will serve as chief cabinet secretary. Former defense minister Masahiko Komura will serve as foreign minister.

Mister Abe resigned on September twelfth after only one year as prime minister. He has apologized for resigning suddenly. He said he did so only because of health reasons.

Mister Fukuda is seventy-one years old. He is the eldest son of former prime minister Takeo Fukuda. And he served as chief cabinet secretary under Junichiro Koizumi.

His success could depend on his ability to find a way to work with the opposition. An early test will involve Japan's naval refueling operations in support of American-led forces in Afghanistan.

The mission began in two thousand one. Legislation supporting it will end on November first unless Japan extends it. Mister Fukuda supports the idea. But opposition parties are expected to resist an extension.

He also faces a high government debt and a longtime budget deficit. Japan has the world's second largest economy after the United States.

Japanese newspapers found that more than half the public supported the new prime minister and his cabinet. He gives a policy speech next week.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I’m Steve Ember.

VOASE0921_In the News

21 September 2007

After Long Duke Case, Debate Over Fairness Is Renewed With 'Jena 6'
Thousands protest charges against six black teens in Louisiana in beating of white classmate. Also, a new book examines the highly publicized Duke lacrosse rape case.

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Protesters in Jena, Louisiana

Thousands of protesters from around the United States marched this week in the small town of Jena, Louisiana. They came in support of six black teenagers arrested for the beating of a white student at Jena High School in December. This followed racial incidents at the school that led to fights between whites and blacks.

No white students faced charges. But five of the so-called Jena Six were charged at first with attempted murder. Since then, many of the charges have been reduced. The case remains in court.

This case, with its questions of fairness, comes after another case in the South that produced a strong emotional reaction. The case of three white students falsely accused of raping a black woman is the subject of a book published this month.

The book is called "Until Proven Innocent: Political Correctness and the Shameful Injustices of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case." The authors, Stuart Taylor and K. C. Johnson, examine what they see as failings by the legal system and the media.

In March of last year, Crystal Mangum told police that several Duke University lacrosse players raped her. She and another woman had been hired to dance and take off their clothes at a team party.

The case in Durham, North Carolina, gained attention not just because of the accusations. It also involved issues of race and economic class.

Three lacrosse players were arrested: David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann. In the American legal system, suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty. But the local prosecutor, Mike Nifong, called the players "hooligans" and seemed to leave no question about their guilt. He spoke often to the media.

A number of Duke professors and students were also quick to publicly judge them. Duke cancelled the rest of the men's lacrosse season and the team coach resigned.

Yet Crystal Mangum changed her story several times and evidence conflicted with her

Mike Nifong

claims. Also, she was reported to have struggled with mental health problems.

Critics say Mike Nifong used the case against the players from a costly, top university as a way to appeal to black voters. The white prosecutor was campaigning for a new term as district attorney.

But in January he withdrew from the case. A state agency later found that he lied to a court and violated other rules of professional behavior in the case. He lost his right to practice law and spent a day in jail earlier this month.

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper declared the three players innocent in April. He also said it would be in the best interest of justice not to bring charges against their accuser.

The young men have threatened to bring a civil rights case against the city of Durham for their treatment by police. They reportedly are seeking ten million dollars each in a settlement that would also call for legal reforms.

On Wednesday, Duke announced it will invest more than one million dollars to create a new law center. The purpose: to train lawyers to fight wrongful charges.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember.