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.

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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.

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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.

US Ambassador Urges Patience in Iraq as Bloodshed Continues

By Michael Bowman Washington 03 June 2007

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U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker speaks during a press conference in Baghdad, 28 May 2007

Iraqi authorities say a suicide car bomber killed 10 people and wounded more than two dozen others in an attack on a police convoy north of Baghdad. Meanwhile, U.S. military says at least 14 American soldiers were killed in Iraq in the first three days of June. The bloodletting comes as an ongoing build-up of U.S. troops in Iraq nears completion. VOA's Michael Bowman reports from Washington, the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad is urging patience in assessing the surge.

Despite continued violence in Iraq, Ambassador Crocker says it is too soon to pass judgment on the efficacy of the U.S. troop surge in the country.

"We are still just reaching full strength with the additional troops coming in for the surge. The last units will close [complete the surge] this month. So, it is really just starting, in June, that we will have our full force in the effort. We have also said from the beginning [that] this is going to be a hard fight, and it is. We are moving into areas we have not been before, and we are holding onto them," he said. "So, there will be good days, good weeks, and not-so-good weeks. We just have to stay steady on this and try to make a difference on the ground."

Mr. Crocker spoke on the Fox News Sunday television program.

The surge is to be fully completed in coming weeks, and the Bush administration plans to review progress in Iraq in September. Iraqi leaders say they will need more time to build up their country's armed forces and take vital political steps before they can effectively assume full control of security operations. Speaking on ABC's This Week program during a visit to the United States, President Jalal Talabani said Iraq will need the presence of U.S. troops until the end of 2008. But he predicted his government will show signs of progress on security and political matters long before then.

"We are committed to benchmarks, and I think we can achieve, in next weeks and months, an achievement that will convince public opinion of the United States that their sacrifice was not in vain," said Talabani.

The opposition-controlled U.S. Congress recently authorized new funds for the war operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill was stripped of any Iraq withdrawal timeline provisions that had led President Bush to veto a previous funding bill last month. It did, however, contain goals, or benchmarks, on governance for the Iraqi government to meet.

One of the most-outspoken critics of U.S. efforts in Iraq, Democratic Congressman John Murtha, says he is tired of broken promises from Iraq's leaders.

"They keep making excuses for the lack of progress, and I am absolutely convinced right now the surge is not working," he said. "The American public wants the troops out of Iraq. Oil production below pre-war level, electricity [production] below pre-war level, and 60 percent unemployment in some parts of Iraq, I mean, there is no way you are going to have success."

Asked if the United States would bear partial responsibility for any bloodbath in Iraq in the event of a precipitous U.S. withdrawal, Murtha said that a bloodbath is taking place at present.

VOASE0603_This Is America

03 June 2007

Philip Roth: Writing Award-Winning Books for Almost 50 Years
His bold stories explore how individuals face the tensions of family, politics, sex and race.

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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to This is America in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein. This week we tell about Philip Roth. It would be hard to pick an American writer with more published works, critical praise and honors than Philip Roth. He has written more than twenty books and has received almost that many major literary awards.

Both in the United States and internationally, Roth is respected as one of the most important writers of modern times. His intelligent stories have become an important part of literary culture. They explore how individuals face the tensions of family, politics, sex and race.

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VOICE ONE:

Philip Roth pictured in his 1969 book "Portnoy's Complaint" Photo: Anne Mudge

Philip Roth was born in nineteen thirty-three in Newark, New Jersey. He later went to Bucknell University in Pennsylvania to earn his college degree. At the University of Chicago in Illinois, he earned a master's degree and also taught English. His interest in serious fiction began during college when he read the works of several important American writers. He says the books by writers like Thomas Wolfe, John Steinbeck and Ernest Hemingway were his teachers.

VOICE TWO:

Roth’s first book, "Goodbye, Columbus," was published in nineteen fifty-nine. It was a collection of six short stories. One of the stories, "Defender of the Faith," was also published that year in The New Yorker magazine. It is about a young Jewish soldier training at an American army base at the end of World War Two. He lies to his Jewish army officer in order to get special treatment.

The story caused a great dispute. Jewish religious leaders criticized it. They were angry that Roth wrote about a Jewish teenager who is aggressive and imperfect. These people thought Roth violated his religion and invited discrimination against Jewish people. But literary critics praised this new book. "Goodbye Columbus" received the National Book Award in nineteen sixty.

VOICE ONE:

Philip Roth wrote two more books before publishing "Portnoy's Complaint" in nineteen sixty-nine. This darkly funny book became a bestseller and made its writer very famous. It tells about a middle-class Jewish family in New York City through the eyes of Alexander Portnoy. Alexander wants to be a good Jewish son, but he also feels trapped by the requirements of family life. To make himself feel better, he carries out unusual sexual acts.

“Portnoy’s Complaint” received praise as well as intense criticism. It made some people angry. Jewish religious leaders said this book invited discrimination against Jewish people. One literary critic also denounced Roth himself.

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VOICE TWO:

Philip Roth did not welcome this new level of attention. He soon moved from New York City to the countryside. He wrote more books. Several of them are about the character Nathan Zuckerman who is a writer. These include "My Life as a Man" and "The Anatomy Lesson." He also wrote several books whose main character is a man named Philip Roth. These include "Deception" and "Operation Shylock."

Roth explores the differences between imagined stories and real life. Many details about these characters are similar to the real Philip Roth's own life. Critics and readers often like to ask Roth what is true and what is fiction. But Philip Roth's work is much more than a description of himself. He has said that his books are not about whether or not he has lived the experiences described. They are literary objects that require him to see his subjects as clearly as possible, then use his skills of invention.

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen-ninety eight Philip Roth won the Pulitzer Prize for his book “American Pastoral.” Time magazine has listed this book as one of the best one hundred novels in the English language. The story is about a man named Seymour Levov who has what seems to be the perfect American life. He has a nice home, a good job and a loving family.

But his life starts to collapse after his daughter Merry performs an act of terrorism to protest the Vietnam War in the nineteen sixties. Roth expertly describes one family’s difficult situation during a tense time in American history.

VOICE TWO:

In two thousand four Philip Roth published another important book, “The Plot Against America." This book is told from the point of view of a young Jewish boy living with his family in Newark, New Jersey during the nineteen forties. Mister Roth re-imagines the events that led to World War Two.

He writes a different history in which Charles Lindbergh wins the nineteen forty presidential election instead of Franklin Roosevelt. Lindbergh had become a real-life hero after flying across the Atlantic Ocean in nineteen twenty-seven.

In the book, Charles Lindbergh is a great supporter of the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. This imagined president decides to keep the United States out of World War Two.

He also establishes a plan to move Jewish families into the middle of the country to break up the close culture of Jewish communities. These events did not take place.

But Roth’s descriptions are so realistic that you have to remind yourself his story is an imagined version of American history. And you realize how easy it could have been for the United States to carry out destructive policies under a strong leader with bad ideas.

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VOICE ONE:

Philip Roth's latest book is called "Everyman." It tells about the life and death of an older man from New Jersey. You never learn the name of this main character. The book starts at a funeral and ends on a hospital operating table. The powerful story explores memories from the man's childhood. It gives details about his three marriages and his children. The language of the book is clear and direct. The man often questions death and the thought of no longer existing. He faces the fear of leaving behind life and the people he loves.

VOICE TWO:

Near the end of the book, the main character visits the Jewish cemetery where his parents are buried. He meets an older man who is digging a grave for a funeral. The worker explains how he digs a grave. He says that digging is peaceful work that gives him time to think.

The main character learns that this man had dug the graves of his parents. And he realizes that the man will soon dig his grave also.

"Everyman" might seem like a sad and depressing book. But Roth's skill as a storyteller and his way with language make it pleasurable to read. Roth faces the subject of death honestly and bravely.

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VOICE ONE:

The judges and honored writers on stage at the 2007 PEN/Faulkner awards

Philip Roth recently won the PEN/Faulkner award for "Everyman." It is the largest literary prize judged by writers in the United States. Roth is the only writer to have received this literary prize three times. Last month, Roth attended the PEN/Faulkner ceremony in Washington, D.C. to accept the award. He and the other writers nominated for the award read from their books.

Philip Roth spoke to a group of reporters after the event. He talked about the books he has recently read and enjoyed. This spring he started rereading the books of the Russian writer Ivan Turgenev. He said this writer’s books “First Love” and “Spring Torrents” are wonderful. And they are also short books like “Everyman.”

Roth also talked about how he works. Listen as he describes the demands and rewards of being a writer:

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Philip Roth speaking at the PEN/Faulkner awards

It’s a job. It definitely has not become easier nor has it become harder. It’s work, it’s hard work. And I do it regularly, every day, usually six days, sometimes seven.

I work long days, I work eight, nine, ten hours. And it’s just as taxing as it always was, just as frustrating, just at difficult as it always was.

And at a certain stage in the writing of the book it ceases to be taxing and difficult and you get into a rhythm, and you get it. And then, there is no pleasure like it. Then it’s bliss.

VOICE TWO:

Philip Roth also said he believes that the number of people reading books is decreasing. He says people have a limited amount of free time. They have many television and computer screens to look at instead of reading books. He says that the age of the book is coming to an end and there is nothing to be done about it.

But other people who love books hope Roth’s prediction is wrong. They believe the best way to make sure it does not come true is for people to pick up a book and start reading more. And, if you want to read a good story that will make you think, you can read a book by Philip Roth. His next book, "Exit Ghost", comes out in October.

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VOICE ONE:

Our program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein. You can see pictures of Philip Roth at our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. You can also find transcripts and audio archives of our programs. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

VOASE0603_Development Report

03 June 2007

Newsmaker: Robert Zoellick, Nominee to Lead World Bank
There are many calls for reform in the bank's operations and lending policies. But rebuilding relations and respect after the resignation of Paul Wolfowitz could be the new president's first job.

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President Bush looks on as Robert Zoellick speaks at the White House

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Robert Zoellick is President Bush's choice to head the World Bank. He is fifty-three years old and currently a vice chairman at Goldman Sachs, the New York investment bank. He has held a number of government positions over the years.

From two thousand one to two thousand five he served as the United States trade representative. He helped launch the Doha Round of world trade talks which were suspended last July. He also worked on free trade agreements with Singapore, Chile, Australia and Morocco.

In two thousand five, President Bush asked Mister Zoellick to become deputy secretary of state. There, he helped negotiate a peace agreement between the government of Sudan and rebels in Darfur. That agreement later collapsed. He resigned in June of last year to join Goldman Sachs.

But last week, President Bush nominated Bob Zoellick to a five-year term as the eleventh president of the World Bank. The board of governors at the bank is expected to confirm the choice to replace Paul Wolfowitz.

Mister Wolfowitz resigned last month; his last day is June thirtieth. An investigation found that he violated bank rules in two thousand five when he negotiated a pay increase for his girlfriend, a bank employee. He denied any wrongdoing and said bank officials shared responsibility for the dispute. He joined the bank as president in two thousand five after serving as deputy secretary of defense.

European nations led efforts to remove Paul Wolfowitz, accusing him of corruption over the pay issue. But they generally did not support a change in the appointment process. Traditionally, the United States has appointed the World Bank chief while Europe has chosen leaders for the International Monetary Fund. The two lenders were created in the nineteen forties.

Some countries, however, have criticized the sixty-year-old tradition. They say it makes the development lenders into tools of rich nations. Brazil, South Africa and Australia urged the United States to appoint a new bank president using an open process not limited by nationality.

The World Bank is owned by its one hundred eighty-four member nations. Many development experts and others are calling for reforms in its operations and its lending policies for poor countries. But rebuilding relations and respect could be Robert Zoellick's first job.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss. I'm Shep O'Neal.

US Authorities Foil Terror Plot at JFK Airport

By Jeff Custer Washington 02 June 2007

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U.S. officials in New York say they have foiled a plot to explode jet fuel tanks and a pipeline at the city's John F. Kennedy International Airport. One official called it "one of the most chilling plots imaginable". VOA's Jeff Custer reports from Washington.

This courtroom sketch shows Russell Defreitas, second left, at his arraignment at federal court in New York in connection with a plan to set off explosives in a fuel line that feeds John F. Kennedy International Airport

State and federal authorities in New York say they have arrested three people Saturday and are seeking a fourth in connection with the plan to use explosives to attack airport fuel tanks and pipelines that service JFK airport.

U.S. Attorney Rosalynn Mauskopf told reporters the pipelines are fed by a major fuel facility in near-by New Jersey which also has links to other area airports. "The devastation that would be caused had this plot succeeded is just unthinkable," she said.

Federal authorities say they filed charges against the group after an investigation that began in January of 2006.

The officials say they arrested former airport employee Russell Defreitas in New York. Defreitas is a U.S. citizen and Guyana native.

Two suspects were arrested in Trinidad. One of them, Abdul Kadir is said to be a former member of parliament and former local mayor in Guyana. The officials say the fourth individual is still at large and is believed to be in Trinidad

U.S. Attorney Mauskopf says the case provides a picture into how these types of plots develop, explaining "..how these plots have international connections - how this particular one spread from the United States, Brooklyn New York - through Queens, JFK Airport, abroad, into Guyana and Trinidad."

The officials say the plot never got past the planning stage, and did not pose an imminent threat to air passengers.

Lebanese Army Intensifies Campaign Against Militants

By Margaret Besheer Nahr El-Bared, Lebanon 02 June 2007

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For a second day, the Lebanese Army intensified its shelling of Islamist militants holed-up in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon. The army is trying to bring the two week-long standoff to an end. Officials say at least three soldiers and an unknown number of militants were killed in Saturday's fighting. From the camp's outskirts, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

An explosion strikes a building in Nahr el-Bared refugee camp near Tripoli, Lebanon, 2 June 2007

After a lull in fighting Friday evening, the army renewed its offensive on Saturday with artillery and machine gun fire, sending plumes of smoke over the camp.

A helicopter belonging to the country's small air force also fired missiles and machine guns at targets on the western side of Nahr el-Bared along the Mediterranean coast.

While Palestinian negotiators try to find a peaceful solution, the Lebanese government has demanded that the Islamic militants surrender and face justice. Fatah al-Islam's leader says they will fight to the death.

The Lebanese government says Fatah al-Islam triggered the fighting when it attacked army positions around the camp and in Lebanon's second largest city, Tripoli, two weeks ago.

Nahr el-Bared camp, established in 1948, is a labyrinth of buildings along narrow streets. Until May 20, it was home to more than 40,000 Palestinians. Aid agencies say about 10,000 remain in worsening conditions.

VOA spoke via telephone with a resident who is still inside Nahr el-Bared. Milad Salami is a nurse at one of only two clinics still open. He says conditions are deteriorating and that dead animals and garbage are rotting in the streets.

He says they received food and water two days ago before the heavy bombardments began. There has been no electricity since fighting began two weeks ago, and there is no tap water, because the water tanks on the buildings were destroyed in the shelling.

Salami confirms reports from other refugees that several buildings housing civilians have collapsed from the shelling.

He says they were able to rescue some people, but could not reach everyone because of the bombardments.

Under a 1969 Accord, the Lebanese Army is restricted from entering Palestinian refugee camps. Much of the fighting has been going on at the camp's edges. The army has accused the militants of taking up positions in mosques and mingling among the civilian population, using them as human shields. The army has warned the Palestinian residents not to harbor the terrorists.

Salami says he is located in the center of the camp, and that no one there is sheltering militants. He says residents on the edges of the camp are certainly harboring them.

Salami and his family remain in their home, along with two other families they have taken in. He tells VOA he does not want to go to Nahr el-Bared's few shelters, because they are over-crowded.

With incoming fire heard in the background, Salami said his home has been hit seven times and he does not know how much longer it will stand.

Bush Prepares for G-8 Summit

By Scott Stearns White House 02 June 2007

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President Bush visits Germany in the coming week for the annual meeting of the world's leading industrialized nations, known as the G-8 summit. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports on the president's agenda for the meeting.

U.S. President Bush speaks in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House in Washington, 29 May 2007

President Bush says leaders of the G-8 nations will discuss ways they can advance trade, fight disease, promote development, increase access to education, and address the long-term challenge of global climate change. In his weekly radio address, the president said it is in America's interests to help these efforts succeed.

"When we help lift societies out of poverty, we create new markets for American goods and new jobs for American workers. When we help reduce chaos and suffering, we make America safer, because prosperous nations are less likely to breed violence and export terror."

In the days leading up to the G-8 summit, Mr. Bush appeared to address some European concerns about his commitment to climate change. He vowed to set voluntary goals for reducing U.S. greenhouse gases by the end of next year. He says America is investing billions of dollars in clean energy technologies and will share that information with developing nations.

In the Democratic radio address, Massachusetts Congressman Ed Markey dismissed the president's new plan for climate change as shifting from denial to delay. Markey says the president has failed to set any meaningful limits on the pollution believed responsible for global warming, lagging behind European allies such as Germany, which is meeting new energy demands with solar cells.

"The agenda for the G-8 summit is clear and urgent," he said. "The world needs to set binding limits on the emissions of heat-trapping pollution that causes climate change. The world's most renowned scientists now agree that our rapidly warming climate is man-made not natural."

G-8 leaders will meet with a number of African heads of state at their summit to discuss support for good governance and anti-corruption measures.

President Bush this past week called on Congress to spend $30 billion over the next five years to help fight AIDS in Africa. He also launched a program to help African nations get the technical assistance they need to strengthen their financial markets.

"And it will encourage the international financial community to create several new private equity funds that will mobilize up to $1 billion of new private investment in Africa," he added. "By taking these steps, we can help African entrepreneurs access capital, so they can grow their businesses and create jobs across the continent."

The president asked Congress to spend $525 million over the next five years to help provide a quality education for up to four million children in poor nations.

Mr. Bush also tightened U.S. economic sanctions against Sudan and called on the U.N. Security Council to stop Khartoum from conducting offensive military flights over the troubled Darfur region, where more than 200,000 people have been killed and more than 2 million displaced since 2003.

"The people of Darfur have suffered long enough. We will not avert our eyes from a crisis that challenges the conscience of the world," he said.

In addition to the G-8 summit in Germany, President Bush will also visit the Czech Republic, Poland, Italy, Albania, and Bulgaria.

Nigerian Militants Announce Suspension of Attacks on Foreign Oil Workers

By Sarah Simpson Lagos 02 June 2007

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One of the main militant groups operating in the Niger Delta says it will suspend hostilities for one month to allow the government of new President Umaru Yar'Adua to create a plan for peace in the oil-rich Niger Delta region. The group has also released six foreign hostages. But as Sarah Simpson reports from Lagos four more foreign oil workers have been kidnapped in the oil-rich region.

One of the main militant groups operating in the Niger Delta , the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, on Saturday announced a one-month suspension of attacks on oil installations. The MEND spokesman, who goes by the name Jomo Gbomo, told VOA by email, his only means of communication with reporters, that he hopes the Nigerian government will use the reprieve to consider "positive and realistic measures towards a just peace in the Delta."

He said attacks will resume, after one month, with "greater purpose."

More than 100 foreigners have been kidnapped in the region this year. Some of the abductions are the work of criminal gangs seeking ransom, while others have been carried out by militant groups, like MEND, demanding that local villages get more of the region's oil wealth. The victims are usually released unharmed following payment of a ransom.

Nigerian authorities said Saturday that men dressed in what looked like police uniforms entered a compound used by oil-services company Schlumberger in the oil city of Port Harcourt late Friday. They say the assailants seized four foreign nationals under cover of darkness, without firing a shot.

Rivers State Police Commissioner Felix Ogbaudu pointed out that the dark uniforms of the Nigerian police are easy to copy, especially at night.

Police officials say the nationalities of the abductees could not be immediately confirmed, though they say a British, Dutch and Pakistani national are believed to be among the group.

This was the second hostage-taking incident in a day. Eight Asian oil workers were abducted Friday in Port Harcourt.

Thousands of oil workers have already fled the Delta because of security fears. The rising tide of militancy and criminal gang activity has forced a 25 percent cut in Nigerian oil production.

Separately on Saturday, MEND announced the release of six foreign hostages -- four Italians, one U.S. citizen and a Croatian. The men had been held for just over month.

Nigeria is the largest oil producer in Africa and the third largest supplier to the United States. All of Nigeria's crude is pumped from the troubled Delta.

Newly elected President Umaru Yar'Adua, sworn into office Tuesday, has promised to tackle unrest in the Delta. He called a Niger Delta Summit to open on Monday but already that has been delayed.

President Yar'Adua has also promised to upgrade Nigeria's police force, which has been plagued by charges of corruption and incompetence.

Iraqi PM Says No Talks Yet on Long-Term US Bases

By Barry Newhouse Irbil 02 June 2007

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Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki says there have been no talks with U.S. officials about establishing long-term American military bases in Iraq. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Irbil, where Mr. Maliki responded to recent comments from the U.S. Defense Secretary about American military plans in the region.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki (File)

Prime Minister Maliki told reporters that any plans for more permanent U.S. bases in the region will be made by Iraqi voters and the government.

He says one side has no right to talk about this issue on its own. He says there have been no discussions on an agreement for foreign forces to stay in Iraq for some 50 years, and that the issue ultimately will be up to the Iraqi people.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters earlier this week that American officials are looking into plans for a long-term military presence in Iraq similar to U.S. bases in South Korea. Mr. Gates said the arrangement would be based on a mutual agreement with the Iraqi government and would limit what U.S. forces could do in the country.

Mr. Maliki spoke to reporters in Irbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdish autonomous region, where he said he also discussed the status of Kurdish-controlled military forces known as Peshmerga.

Some Sunni Arab lawmakers have charged the troops are an unlawful Kurdish militia. But Kurdistan's President Masoud Barzani said he and the prime minister agreed that the Peshmerga are part of Iraq's military.

Mr. Barzani says the situation with the Peshmerga has been resolved, and they are considered to be regional guards.

The two leaders also rejected recent comments by a Turkish general who threatened to retaliate for attacks by Kurdish separatists in Turkey.

Turkey has accused Iraqi Kurdish officials of allowing the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to use Iraqi territory for terrorist attacks on Turkish forces. Kurdish officials deny the charge.

Prime Minister Maliki said Iraqi land must not be used as a staging ground for military operations into neighboring countries. He urged Turkish officials to resolve disputes through dialogue, not military action.

VOASE0602_People In America

02 June 2007

Mary Lyon, 1797-1849: A Leader in Women's Education in the Nineteenth Century
She opened the first independent school for the higher education of women.

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ANNOUNCER:

Welcome to People in America in VOA Special English. Every week at this time, we tell the story of someone important in the history of the United States. Today, Steve Ember and Shirley Griffith tell about Mary Lyon. She was a leader in women's education in the nineteenth century.

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VOICE ONE:

During the nineteenth century, women's education was not considered important in the

Mary Lyon

United States. Supporters of advanced education for women faced many problems.

States did require each town to provide a school for children, but teachers often were poorly prepared. Most young women were not able to continue on with their education in private schools.

If they did, they often were not taught much except the French language, how to sew clothing, and music.

Mary Lyon felt that women's education was extremely important. Through her lifelong work for education she became one of the most famous women in nineteenth century America. She believed that women were teachers both in the home and in the classroom.

And, she believed that efforts to better educate young women also served God. If women were better educated, she felt, they could teach in local schools throughout the United States and in foreign countries.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Mary Lyon was born in Buckland, Massachusetts, in seventeen ninety-seven. Her father died when she was five years old. For Mary, hard work was a way of life. But she later remembered with great pleasure her childhood years in the home where she was born.

This is how she described what she could see from that house on a hill:

"The far-off mountains in all their grandeur, and the deep valleys, and widely extended plains, and more than all, that little village below, containing only a very few white houses, but more than those young eyes had ever seen."

VOICE ONE:

At the age of four, Mary began walking to the nearest school several kilometers away. Later, she began spending three months at a time with friends and relatives so she could attend other area schools. She helped clean and cook to pay for her stay.

When Mary was thirteen, her mother remarried and moved to another town. Mary was left to care for her older brother who worked on the family farm. He paid her a dollar a week. She saved it to pay for her education. Mary's love of learning was so strong that she worked and saved her small amount of pay so she could go to school for another few months.

Mary began her first teaching job at a one-room local school teaching children for the summer. She was seventeen years old. She was paid seventy-five cents a week. She also was given meals and a place to live.

Mary Lyon was not a very successful teacher at first. She did not have much control over her students. She always was ready to laugh with them. Yet she soon won their parents' respect with her skills.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

When Mary Lyon was twenty years old, she began a long period of study and

Mary Lyon

teaching. A new private school opened in the village of Ashfield, Massachusetts. It was called Sanderson Academy.

Mary really wanted to attend. She sold book coverings she had made. And she used everything she had saved from her pay as a teacher. This was enough for her to begin attending Sanderson Academy.

At Sanderson, Mary began to study more difficult subjects. These included science, history and Latin. A friend who went to school with Mary wrote of her "gaining knowledge by handfuls." It is said that Mary memorized a complete book about the Latin language in three days. Mary later wrote it was at Sanderson that she received the base of her education.

VOICE ONE:

After a year at Sanderson Academy, Mary decided that her handwriting was not good enough to be read clearly. She was a twenty-one-year-old woman. But she went to the local public school and sat among the children so she could learn better writing skills.

In eighteen twenty-one, Mary Lyon went to another private school where she was taught by Reverend Joseph Emerson. Mary said he talked to women "as if they had brains." She praised his equal treatment of men and women when it came to educating them.

VOICE TWO:

Three years later, Mary Lyon opened a school for young women in the village of Buckland. She called it the Buckland Female Seminary. Classes were held in a room on the third floor of a house.

Mary's students praised her teaching. She proposed new ways of teaching, including holding discussion groups where students exchange ideas.

Mary said it was while teaching at Buckland that she first thought of founding a private school open to daughters of farmers and skilled workers. She wanted education, not profits, to be the most important thing about the school. At that time, schools of higher learning usually were supported by people interested in profits from their investment.

VOICE ONE:

In eighteen twenty-eight, Mary became sick with typhoid fever. When her health improved, she decided to leave Buckland, the school she had started. She joined a close friend, Zilpah Grant, who had begun another private school, Ipswich Female Seminary.

At Ipswich, Mary taught and was responsible for one hundred thirty students. It was one of the best schools at the time. But it lacked financial support. Mary said the lack of support was because of "good men's fear of greatness in women." Zilpah Grant and Mary Lyon urged that Ipswich be provided buildings so that the school might become permanent. However, their appeal failed.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Mary resigned from Ipswich. She helped to organize another private school for women, Wheaton Female Seminary in Norton, Massachusetts. It opened in eighteen thirty-five.

She also began to raise money for her dream of a permanent, non-profit school for the higher education of women. This school would own its own property. It would be guided by an independent group of directors. Its finances would be the responsibility of the directors, not of investors seeking profit. The school would not depend on any one person to continue. And, the students would share in cleaning and cooking to keep costs down.

VOICE ONE:

Mary Lyon got a committee of advisers to help her in planning and building the school. She collected the first thousand dollars for the school from women in and around the town of Ipswich. At one point, she even lent the committee some of her own money. She did not earn any money until she became head of the new school.

Mount Holyoke Seminary for Women in South Hadley, Massachusetts

Mary Lyon opened Mount Holyoke Seminary for Women in eighteen thirty-seven. It was in the town of South Hadley, Massachusetts. She had raised more than twelve thousand dollars. It was enough to build a five-story building.

Four teachers and the first class of eighty young women lived and studied in the building when the school opened. By the next year, the number of students had increased to one hundred sixteen. Mary knew the importance of what had been established -- the first independent school for the higher education of women.

VOICE TWO:

The school continued to grow. More students began to attend. The size of the building was increased. And, all of the students were required to study for four years instead of three.

Mary Lyon was head of the school for almost twelve years. She died in eighteen forty-nine. She was fifty-two years old.

She left behind a school of higher education for women. It had no debt. And it had support for the future provided by thousands of dollars in gifts.

In eighteen ninety-three, under a state law, Mount Holyoke Female Seminary became a college. Mount Holyoke College was the first college to offer women the same kind of education as was offered to men.

VOICE ONE:

People who have studied Mary Lyon say she was not fighting a battle of equality between men and women. Yet she knew she wanted more for women.

Her efforts led to the spread of higher education for women in the United States. Historians say she was the strongest influence on the education of American young people during the middle of the nineteenth century. Her influence lasted as the many students from Mary Lyon's schools went out to teach others.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

This Special English program was written by Vivian Bournazian. I'm Shirley Griffith.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Steve Ember. Join us again next week at this same time for another People in American program on the Voice of America.