Rising Oil Prices Fuel Corn Tortilla Price Hike

By Peter Fedynsky Washington 20 March 2007

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Rising world oil prices have sparked interest in alternative fuels, such as ethanol, which can be produced from corn. This has raised demand for the grain, which, in turn, has increased its price as food. VOA's Peter Fedynsky reports that higher prices may not be the only cost associated with corn-based ethanol.

People march in Mexico City to protest recent tortilla price increases, 31 Jan 2007

In January, demonstrators in Mexico converged on the capital to protest the spiraling cost of tortillas, a Mexican national staple made from corn. In response, the country's president, Felipe Calderon, signed an agreement to stabilize tortilla prices.

President Calderon says the 13-point agreement is aimed at protecting Mexican families and the economy from further price hikes on corn.

Mexican tortilla prices have skyrocketed more than 700 percent since 1994. Experts say this is due in part to increased demand for corn to produce ethanol.

Speaking at a recent Capitol Hill news conference in Washington Daniel De La Torre Ugarte, from the Agricultural Policy Analysis Center at the University of Tennessee, warned that price hikes are but one effect of rising demand for corn. He says it can have consequences for agriculture as well.

"Not only because it jeopardizes food security in many countries, but because, at the same time, it also creates a new incentive to expand production to areas that may not be suitable for the crop," said Daniel De La Torre Ugarte. "So, we are going to put undue pressure on natural resources to try to respond with a larger production for corn."

Ugarte is not opposed to bio-fuels as such. Nor is Alexandra Spieldoch, from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy in Minneapolis, Minnesota. But Spieldoch warns of the consequences of over-reliance on a single crop.

"Corn mono-cropping is already eroding U.S. farmland," said Alexandra Spieldoch. "It's water intensive. It increases the amounts of herbicides. It's not considered viable in the long term."

Spieldoch adds, corn prices are not driven by ethanol alone. She says the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, as well as U.S. farm subsidies have forced Mexico - a traditional corn exporter - to import the commodity from the United States.

Former Mexican congressman Victor Quintana says NAFTA has favored corporate agribusiness at the expense of poor Mexican farmers, who then seek a better living across the border.

Quintana says that, for each 30-ton container of corn exported to Mexico, the United States receives two undocumented migrants from the Mexican countryside.

Philip Levy, a former member of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisers and currently a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, acknowledges the displacement of many Mexican farmers. But he says free trade has helped Mexico as a whole.

"When you're talking about what's good or bad for a country in trade, you have to be careful, and we're seeing this in Mexico right now," he said. "If you are a producer of corn, no matter what the cause, high corn prices are welcome. You want it. If you are a consumer of corn, high corn prices are bad. And you don't want it."

Levy says the demand for ethanol could become so high that no American corn will be exported. This, he says, will encourage Mexican corn production to meet the demand for tortillas, so that, in the end, free trade will provide consumers with food and fuel. And Philip Levy agrees with critics who caution that the rush toward ethanol must not come at the expense of the environment.

Rice Presses Hamas to Renounce Violence

By David Gollust Washington 19 March 2007

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U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday the new Palestinian unity government should unequivocally renounce violence to gain international recognition and enter peace talks with Israel. Rice conferred with top European Union officials on the new Palestinian cabinet, whose leader has called for continued "resistance" against Israel. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

The Bush administration is taking a somewhat more conciliatory approach to the new Palestinian government, saying it will have contacts with non-Hamas members of the cabinet.

But it is standing by its insistence that a Palestinian government must recognize Israel, renounce violence and accept previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements if it is to expect international aid and be part of a regional peace process.

Condoleezza Rice (l) and Javier Solana at the State Department in Washington, DC

The formation of the new Palestinian government was a key issue in a day-long dialogue here by Secretary Rice and key officials of the European Union, including chief diplomat Javier Solana.

Solana expressed seeming eagerness by the Europeans to work with the new government, saying he hoped it would at least incrementally accept peacemaking terms of the international Middle East "Quartet," which includes the EU, Russia and the United Nations as well as the United States.

In the meantime, Solana suggested the actions of the unity government are more important that its rhetoric:

"We would like to continue working with the Palestinian people," said Javier Solana. "We are not going to let the Palestinian people down, and we hope very much to follow in great detail the facts, the deeds that this government behaves. It's much more important what they do that what they say at this point in time."

Secretary Rice however, seized on the declaration by the new government's prime minister Ismail Haniyeh - a holdover from the previous Hamas-led government - reaffirming the Palestinian's "right to resistance" against Israeli occupation:

"I'm not going to try and interpret what the right of resistance means," said Condoleezza Rice. "But I'll tell you, it doesn't sound very good to me when one talks about all forms of resistance. So I would put the question to the Palestinian government and to its prime minister. Do you mean the right of resistance by violence? And let's get an answer."

The comments here came as the military wing of Hamas claimed responsibility for a shooting attack Monday that wounded an Israeli civilian near the border with the Gaza strip, the first such act since the unity government took office Saturday.

Israel denounced the attack, saying it showed the new coalition was flouting the will of the international community, while the State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack called the incident clearly disturbing and unacceptable.

Earlier McCormack confirmed that unlike the U.S. political boycott of the previous Hamas-led Palestinian government, the United States is prepared to talk to non-Hamas members of the new cabinet.

He mentioned in particular the new finance minister, Salam Fayyad of the mainstream Fatah party, a U.S. educated economist with whom the United States had close ties before the Hamas election victory early last year.

Rice also discussed the new Palestinian government in a telephone conference call Monday with other principals of the Quartet.

A formal Quartet statement is expected Tuesday, which McCormack said would reaffirm a collective ban on direct aid to the Palestinian government unless it met all its terms for dialogue.

Rice is due to begin another mission to the Middle East at the end of this week that will include separate meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders and talks in Cairo with foreign ministers of moderate Arab states.

UN Chief 'Encouraged' By North Korea Talks

By Peter Heinlein United Nations 19 March 2007

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U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he is encouraged by North Korea's apparent willingness to dismantle its nuclear weapons. In an exclusive VOA interview, Mr. Ban discussed his back stage role in the ongoing six-party talks on denuclearizing the Korean peninsula. Correspondent Peter Heinlein spoke to the secretary-general, and files this report.

Ban Ki-moon

As a former South Korean foreign minister, Mr. Ban is intimately familiar with the six-party talks involving South and North Korea, Russia, China, Japan and the United States. But since he took over as U.N. secretary-general in January, he no longer has an active role in the talks.

Nevertheless, Mr. Ban told VOA he is watching developments carefully, and working behind the scenes to ensure the success of efforts to denuclearize the Korean peninsula.

"I have been closely monitoring, in my capacity as secretary-general of the United Nations, using my experience and know-how dealing with the North Korea nuclear issue," said Mr. Ban. "It was a very encouraging development of the situation when the six parties have agreed on these nuclear issues and denuclearization process."

Mr. Ban says his efforts include close contacts with many of the principals in the six-party talks, which resumed Monday in Beijing.

"I have been trying my best, first, to facilitate the ongoing peace process," said U.N. secretary-general. "I met the chief negotiator of the United States."

"I have discussed this matter with Secretary of State, Dr. Rice, and many other senior officials of other governments," he added.

The secretary-general said he was pleased at the landmark 'aid-for disarmament' deal reached among the six parties February 13 in Beijing. According to the terms of that deal, North Korea agreed to dismantle all nuclear weapons and materials in return for economic and security assistance.

Secretary-General Ban called Pyongyang's decision to accept the deal 'good policy'.

"It's always good for the parties to engage in direct dialogue in a bilateral setting or a multilateral setting. And it is also encouraging that North Korea has decided to engage in dialogue. It was I think a good policy for them," Mr. Ban said.

The secretary-general also expressed satisfaction that the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, Mohammed ElBaradei, has also had good discussions with North Korean authorities about implementing the February 13th deal.

If followed, the agreement would lead to North Korea getting out of the nuclear weapons business entirely, normalizing relations with longtime enemies Japan and the United States, and possibly ending 53 years of stalemate that has existed since the Korean War ended without a peace agreement.

But the chief U.S. delegate at the six-party talks, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill recently cautioned against being overly optimistic about the early successes. He likened the process to a video game that gets more and more difficult as you move on to higher and higher levels.

Bush Says Fight in Iraq 'Can Be Won'

By Paula Wolfson White House 19 March 2007

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George W. Bush speech on Iraq war anniversary, 19 Mar. 2007

U.S. President George Bush Monday asked Americans for their continued support for U.S. efforts in Iraq. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports from the White House, where the president made a brief televised statement on the status of the war, now entering its fifth year.

President Bush says the latest security sweep in Baghdad and al-Anbar province is showing signs of progress. At the same time, he urges patience, saying success in Iraq will take months, not weeks.

"Fewer than half the troop reinforcements we are sending have arrived in Baghdad," Mr. Bush says. "The new strategy will need more time to take effect. And there will be good days, and there will be bad days."

In his brief statement marking the fourth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion, Mr. Bush acknowledged the toll the war has taken.

"Four years after this war began, the fight is difficult, but it can be won," Mr. Bush says. "It will be won, if we have the courage and the resolve to see it through."

Once again, the president took issue with moves in the Democratic party-controlled Congress to set a deadline for U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq by September 2008, as part of an emergency funding bill. He urged lawmakers to approve his request for emergency funding to meet this year's war expenses without conditions and without delay.

"It could be tempting to look at the challenges in Iraq, and conclude our best option is to pack up and go home," Mr. Bush says. "That may be satisfying in the short run. But I believe the consequences for American security would be devastating."

A few hours earlier, President Bush took part in a closed-door meeting on Iraq with members of his national security team, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. He also conferred via teleconference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

VOASE0319_Science In the News

19 March 2007

Stopping Bird Flu
International organizations are working hard to understand, prevent and treat bird flu.

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VOICE ONE:

An Afghan Agricultural Ministry worker holds two chickens caught in a house on the outskirts of Kabul, March 22, 2006

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I’m Doug Johnson.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Faith Lapidus. Today we continue a series of reports about the disease bird flu. This report will tell about work on medicines to protect people against the disease. We will also tell about efforts to stop bird flu from spreading.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Experts at the World Health Organization believe the world is closer to a pandemic of the influenza virus than at any time since nineteen sixty-eight. A pandemic happens when a new flu virus spreads quickly to people in many different parts of the world. A pandemic can cause many people to become sick or die. The worst pandemic of the twentieth century killed forty million to fifty million people during World War One.

W.H.O. officials use a six-level warning system to tell the world about the threat of a pandemic. Right now, we are at level three for the deadly H-five N-one bird flu virus. This means that the virus rarely spreads from person to person.

VOICE TWO:

One of the most important activities for the W.H.O. is to lead development of medicines to protect people from bird flu. A Global Vaccine Action Plan written last year says the world must act now if it is to be prepared for a possible flu pandemic. The plan says up to ten billion dollars will be needed to research and produce enough bird flu vaccines for all the people in the world.

In the United States, government health advisers urged federal officials last month to approve the first such medicine. Doctors said the bird flu vaccine is safe, but would not protect most people against the disease. They said production of the medicine would be a good start until more effective vaccines can be developed.

VOICE ONE:

W.H.O. officials say at least sixteen manufacturers are working to develop vaccines against the deadly H-five-N-one virus. More than forty tests of possible vaccines have been completed or are continuing. However, it takes a long time to test, approve and manufacture a vaccine. Then the medicine must be given to people around the world.

Poor countries want to make sure they are able to get or manufacture some of the bird flu vaccine. There is also testing of medicines to treat persons infected with the virus. Some tests have shown that a medicine called Tamiflu can increase the survival rates of those infected.

VOICE TWO:

The W.H.O. has one hundred twelve centers watching for reports of influenza. When a new virus appears, it should be reported immediately so that it can be stopped before spreading to other countries.

Some countries have not been willing to report or provide new viruses quickly to the W.H.O. Indonesia announced last month that it would only share its bird flu virus with organizations or persons who agree not to use the virus for profit. Indonesia later agreed to share the virus, but only after establishment of rules to guarantee a lost-cost vaccine to developing countries.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

A Vietnamese man feeds ducks at his private farm in Phu Xuyen district

By March first, one hundred sixty-seven people had died of bird flu in twelve countries in Asia and Africa. Many of those who became sick or died had touched infected or dead farm birds. Bird flu killed more people last year than the combined total for two thousand four and two thousand five.

International agencies and non-governmental organizations are leading many efforts to stop the spread of bird flu. They are working to prevent a pandemic and help developing countries become better prepared to fight the disease. Right now, the W.H.O. says most countries are not prepared for a pandemic.

VOICE TWO:

The United States is working with the W.H.O. and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization to fight bird flu in other countries. America's Agency for International Development has sent two hundred thousand boxes of personal protective equipment to seventy-one countries. The agency has also prepared boxes of equipment to test for bird flu and clean the areas where it has been found.

Doctors who treat animals in high-risk countries are being trained at a laboratory in the American state of Iowa. They are learning how to test animals to confirm the presence of the H-five N-one virus.

Last year, American doctors helped the Food and Agriculture Organization open a new Crisis Management Center in Rome, Italy. The center helps to organize efforts against bird flu and other major emergencies involving animal health or food.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Leaders of some international organizations say poor countries need more money and technical support from wealthy countries. Some experts say bird flu is out of control in parts of Egypt, Indonesia and Nigeria. They say these countries need stronger health care systems for people and animals.

Personal communication and groups working together have been important in spreading information about bird flu. When the virus was discovered in Nigeria, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies worked with local groups to tell people about the disease. Nigerians had to be prepared to eat fewer eggs and less meat if many farm birds were to be killed.

Farmers in Nigeria were given information about how to prevent the spread of bird flu. Thousands of people were trained to go from house to house to talk about the disease. The group Doctors Without Borders, the World Health Organization and Nigeria's Ministry of Health assisted with these efforts.

VOICE TWO:

Many organizations have created messages to educate people about bird flu. The United Nations Children’s Agency produced a television announcement with the movie star Jackie Chan. He made paper birds with children while he was telling them about bird flu…

(SOUND)

CHAN: "Some birds can pass on a horrible new disease called bird flu. If we are in contact with sick birds we can get very ill. That’s why you should not touch or play with any birds right now, especially if they look sick. Got it?"

CHILDREN: "YES!"

VOICE TWO:

The Jackie Chan announcement has been shown on television stations in Nigeria, Burma, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos and Vietnam. It has been broadcast in many different languages. The United Nations Children’s Agency, the World Bank and other organizations are also producing bird flu announcements for Nigerian radio stations in several local languages.

VOICE ONE:

In Africa, the Academy for Educational Development has created a colorful picture book for children. The book is called Zandi’s Song. Zandi is a fifteen-year old girl who raises chickens with her mother. She learns about bird flu from news reports and from her teacher at school. Zandi solves many problems during the story. She helps other children tell everyone in her village how to stop the spread of bird flu. She also persuades an important member of her family to let her to continue going to school. The book and other teaching materials are available on the Internet.

A chicken trader holds up a bird to be sold at a market in Lagos, Nigeria

In some countries, radio announcements have a different message. In Uganda, the announcements told people not to be afraid of farm birds. They also urged Ugandans to continue eating chicken since there was no bird flu at that time in the country. Many farmers there depend on chickens for their earnings. The birds are also an important part of the local diet.

VOICE TWO:

When bird flu appears for the first time on a farm, the best way to stop the virus is to kill all the birds in the area as quickly as possible. The World Bank says farmers will report sick animals faster if they know they will be paid quickly for their losses.

The World Bank wrote a report on the best ways to help farmers whose birds have been infected. The report says countries at risk of bird flu should have a simple plan that states exactly who will be paid, how much they will receive and who will make the payments. The report also states that farmers should be paid within twenty-four hours of killing their birds.

VOICE ONE:

International organizations are working to educate people about bird flu and leading research into its causes. They are also working on prevention and treatment of bird flu, and raising money to help poor countries fight the disease. Yet the first line of defense in each community is each person who raises or works with farm birds.

Next month, we will tell about the steps individuals can take to help stop the spread of bird flu.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program was written by Karen Leggett. Brianna Blake was our producer. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Doug Johnson. Join us again next week at this time for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

VOASE0319_Agriculture Report

19 March 2007

Americans Warned of Higher Food Prices as Corn Goes to Ethanol
Meat producers are facing sharply higher feed costs. But farmers are expected to plant more corn.

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This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

The United States Department of Agriculture says high demand for ethanol fuel made from corn will mean higher meat prices. In its monthly crop report on March ninth, the department said feed costs are rising for cows, pigs and poultry birds. Corn, or maize, is their main feed.

Corn has been selling at more than three dollars a bushel. Last year, the average was two dollars.

Corn harvest in Columbia, Missouri

The government says ethanol is using twenty percent of the American corn crop from last year. With this year's harvests, the amount is expected to reach twenty-five percent.

The National Chicken Council has objected to Congress about the situation. The council is a trade organization that represents the industry. It says the feed cost of the chicken industry alone has risen by forty percent.

In January, Tyson Foods, the world's biggest meat processor, reported its first profitable three-month period in a year. But the head of the Arkansas company warned that sharply higher corn prices have become a "major issue" for the food industry. Richard Bond says people will have to pay more for food because companies will be forced to pass along rising costs.

But Deputy Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner says demand for corn will probably get farmers to plant more corn. A University of Missouri Extension official says ethanol could bring the biggest change in American agriculture since farmers began planting soybeans.

Some economists have suggested that land from the Conservation Reserve Program should be used for additional corn production. But the Agriculture Department says only a limited area of land will be released for use over the next four years. The program supports the planting of things like native grasses or trees to reduce the loss of soil from croplands.

The department has appointed a committee to study the needs of biofuel producers. These are fuels like ethanol that are made from renewable resources.

On March ninth, the United States and Brazil signed a cooperation agreement on biofuels technology. The signing took place in Sao Paulo during the first stop on a trip by President Bush to Latin America. Seventy percent of the world's ethanol supply comes from the United States and Brazil. But while most American ethanol is made from corn, most Brazilian ethanol is from sugar cane.

And that's VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. Transcripts and audio files of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Shep O'Neal.

Black Mauritanian Refugees Wait for Election Results

By Phuong Tran Dodel, Senegal 18 March 2007

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During the final campaign week in Mauritania's second round of the presidential election, two white Arab candidates are trying to court the sizable black vote in a country long divided by color and ethnicity. Blacks expelled almost two decades ago are watching the new candidates, looking for signs they may safely return. Phuong Tran brings us this report from a Mauritanian refugee camp in Senegal, 20-kilometers from the border.

Mauritanian horse carriage

Camps like this one in Dodel hold thousands of Mauritanians along the Senegal-Mauritania border.

Dotting the 600 kilometer desert landscape are hundreds of communities of straw thatched huts, sparse vegetation and thousands of blacks pushed out of Mauritania in the early 1990's, when ethnic and regional tensions flared.

These men closely follow the second round of voting between candidates Sidi Ould Sheik Abdellahi and Ahmed Ould Daddah.

Amadou Samba Ba camp chief with son

But none of these men who heatedly argue politics over mint tea are able to vote. They say when they fled, officials took away their papers and now they have no way of proving their Mauritanian citizenship.

This camp's chief Amadou Samba Ba, a former high-ranking army official, says he wants to go back if the elected president delivers on promises to end slavery and a safe return for refugees, but that otherwise he will accept repatriation to another country. He says he wants to show his seven children life outside the camp.

Human-rights lobbyists and blacks say racism is widespread in Mauritania, where slavery is still openly practiced.

Moustapha Toure

Spokesman for the Association of Mauritanian Refugees in Senegal, Moustapha Toure, says most Mauritanian refugees want to return home, but only if officials acknowledge what he says are human-rights abuses against blacks. He adds his community is ready to negotiate its return.

"We are open. We will probably accept to discuss with Mauritanian officials," said Toure. "But we have our conditions. It will be very difficult for us, but I think it is right for Mauritanians to come back to their home."

The group's conditions include the organization of a national commission of truth and reconciliation and an internationally overseen repatriation.

Mauritanian girl

Displaced Mauritanians also want a guarantee of proper citizenship papers and help with employment and housing.

A U.S. based refugee advocacy organization, Refugees International, says expelled Mauritanians are essentially stateless. Most do not have refugee status because of the expensive and complicated process in Senegal, where most live.

Mauritania will not accept them if they cannot show Mauritanian papers.

There is not a lot of work for this kora player, like others in Mauritanian border camps.

Some find occasional work in livestock or agriculture, but mostly they simply wait.

On March 25, voters in Mauritania will elect one of the two presidential candidates, the first time a president has not been elected in the first round.

It is also to be the first democratic change in government in a country that has been rocked by repeated coups and coup attempts.

White House Says US Will Not Resume Palestinian Aid

By Paula Wolfson White House 18 March 2007

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The change in the Palestinian leadership has apparently led to no change in Bush administration policy. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports from the White House.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (l) and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyah from Hamas, at a special session of parliament in Gaza City 17 Mar 2007

The Palestinians put together a new government of two feuding factions - militant Hamas and moderate Fatah - in hopes of getting the United States and its allies to resume financial support.

But the White House says the change is not enough, and the conditions for resumption of aid have not been met.

White House National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley says the Palestinians still have not accepted the guidelines set down by Mideast negotiators from the United States, Russia, the U.N., and the European Union - the so-called "Quartet."

"We have said very clearly that this new government needs to accept the Quartet principles," said Stephen Hadley. "These are the sort of fundamental building blocks for peace in the Middle East."

Stephen Hadley (Feb 2007 photo)

Speaking on CNN's Late Edition program, Hadley emphasized the Palestinians must renounce violence, and recognize Israel's right to exist. He said the previous Hamas-led government refused to take these steps, leading to the suspension of aid.

"They have not accepted those principles," he said. "We have not dealt with them. We will not deal with this government until it accepts those principles."

The White House national security adviser left no doubt the Bush administration will be watching the Palestinian government closely. And he made clear Washington was not encouraged by comments made Saturday by the new Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyah of Hamas.

"We will be watching, obviously for the words and deeds of this government," noted Stephen Hadley. "It was a little troubling that Prime Minister Haniyah in his statement in the program of the government talks about the right of resistance. This is not the same as [saying] 'we are giving up violence and terror.'"

Israel has already said it will boycott the new Palestinian government, although it will maintain contacts with President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, who was elected separately.

The United States has also said it will continue a dialogue with Mr. Abbas as well as other Palestinian officials with no ties to Hamas, which Washington has long considered to be a terrorist organization.

Debate Heats up With Approach of Iraq War's 4th Anniversary

By Stephanie Ho Washington 18 March 2007

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As the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war approaches, debate over the war's future is heating up among politicians in Washington. The sides of the argument mostly fall along partisan lines, with Democrats, who control both houses of Congress, sharply criticizing the Bush administration's policies. VOA's Stephanie Ho has more on the story.

John Kerry (Feb, 2007 photo)

Critics of the Bush administration's Iraq policy include Democratic Senator John Kerry, who was his party's presidential candidate in 2004. He blasted the White House for sending more U.S. troops to Iraq, and said he believes there is no military solution to the ongoing violence in the country.

"I get really angry," said John Kerry. "I heard about those four soldiers killed today and I say to myself, as someone who remembers going out on patrols that sort of had a huge question mark over them, what are we doing? What are these kids doing, going out there and finding an IED [improvised explosive device] the hard way?"

The four U.S. troops were killed Sunday by a roadside bomb in Baghdad.

In an effort to quell the violence, the White House in January said it is sending 21,500 additional U.S. troops to Iraq. More recently, the Bush administration announced it is sending 4,700 more troops to Iraq, mostly to serve in a support capacity.

Stephen Hadley (file photo)

The Bush administration's policy was praised by White House National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. Speaking on the ABC television program This Week, he acknowledged that some Iraqis want the U.S. military presence to be, in his words, "over."

"But the point is we need to get it in a position where the Iraqis can take responsibility for security successfully," said Stephen Hadley. "Because if we do not and we do a premature withdrawal, then what we have is a situation where, if the Iraqi forces cannot handle the situation, which is the case now, we have Iraq as a safe haven for terrorists, who will destabilize the neighbors and attack us."

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates appeared on the CBS television program Face the Nation to urge critics to wait and see whether the White House's latest troop surge plan is effective.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, 07 Mar 2007

"General Petraeus, the commander out there, has said it will probably be summer before we know whether we are being successful or not," said Robert Gates. "But I would say that the Iraqis are meeting the commitments they have made to us."

Democratic congressman and prominent critic of the Iraq war, John Murtha, indicated his distrust of the Bush administration's management, in an appearance on CNN's Late Edition.

"Every time they say there is progress, it turns out there is no progress and then they have to backtrack," said Congressman Murtha. "For instance, they say everything is getting better, yet oil production, electricity production are all below pre-war levels. Incidents have increased outside Baghdad."

He said he believes something dramatic needs to be done in order for the situation to get better. He is among supporters of legislation in the House of Representatives that includes a deadline of September 2008 for U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Iraq.

Meanwhile, thousands of people demonstrated in Washington Saturday to show their opposition to the Iraq War. There were others demonstrating in support.

Protests are expected to continue in the United States and elsewhere in the world before Tuesday's four-year anniversary of the start of the war.

China Says US, North Korean Envoys Resolve Bank Dispute

By Daniel Schearf Beijing 18 March 2007

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Chinese yua

The U.S. chief negotiator on North Korea's nuclear programs says sanctions against a Macau bank for allegedly helping North Korean money laundering are no longer an obstacle to six-nation talks. As Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing, the financial sanctions have been a key problem to de-nuclearizing North Korea.

The chief U.S. negotiator on the nuclear talks, Christopher Hill, told reporters financial sanctions against Banco Delta Asia are no longer an issue and would not obstruct six-nation negotiations on North Korea's nuclear programs.

Ambassador Hill said he is expecting an announcement very soon on the fate of about $24 million in North Korean accounts at the bank frozen by Macau authorities for investigation under U.S. suspicions of illicit activity.

North Korea's chief negotiator to the talks Kim Kye-Kwan said Saturday North Korea would not implement a February agreement to move towards giving up its nuclear programs until the accounts were unfrozen.

The agreement calls for North Korea to shut down its main Yongbyon nuclear reactor and allow international nuclear inspectors back into the country within 60 days in exchange for aid and diplomatic incentives.

Despite the comments, Hill said North Korea is on schedule with the agreement. But he said negotiators from the two Koreas, China, Japan, and Russia needed to work out a step-by-step process beyond that two-month plan when they meet beginning Monday for talks in Beijing.

"We are going to need a roadmap ahead. I think we are going to have to discuss that. I think the DPRK wanted to keep the discussions pretty much focused on the sixty-day obligations. But, we need to keep, continue to go forward," said Hill.

Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department finished its investigation of the Macau bank, declared it guilty of helping North Korea with money laundering and counterfeiting and officially banned U.S. banks from doing business with the family-owned operation.

The bank denied knowledge of any wrongdoing and China's foreign ministry spokesman called the ban "regrettable."

North Korea had refused to participate in talks on its nuclear programs for more than a year because of the sanctions. But the United States agreed to discuss the issue in December, leading to the breakthrough agreement in February on a timetable for de-nuclearization.

China's official Xinhua News Agency quoted Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan as saying North Korea and the United States had worked out a solution to the frozen funds, but did not elaborate.

UN Chief Praises Saudi Peace Proposal, Calls Palestinian Coalition 'Disappointing'

By Peter Heinlein United Nations 19 March 2007

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U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has praised a five-year old Saudi Arabian peace proposal as a "pillar" in the search for Middle East peace. The Saudi plan is to be discussed later this month at an Arab summit in Riyadh. Mr. Ban spoke about the plan in a one-on-one VOA interview as he prepares for his first trip to the Middle East as U.N. chief. VOA Correspondent Peter Heinlein talked to Mr. Ban, and filed this report.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Mr. Ban told VOA he is generally encouraged by recent Middle East developments. He pointed in particular to the Mecca agreement that led to formation of a Palestinian national unity government.

At the same time, the secretary-general said he was disappointed at news that the Palestinian coalition has not endorsed the three basic peace principles set down by the Middle East Quartet.

Among the key stops on his 10-day visit will be in Riyadh, where a 2002 Saudi Arabian peace proposal will be reconsidered. It offers Israel full recognition by Arab States and permanent peace in return for a withdrawal to pre-1967 borderlines, the establishment of an independent Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, and a return of Palestinian refugees to lands lost in the 1967 war.

The plan was widely criticized at the time,not least because Israel has several objections to it. But both Israeli and American officials have recently noted that it contains positive elements. Secretary-General Ban says the Saudi plan has the potential to move forward the long-stalled peace process.

"I think the Arab peace initiative of 2002 by Saudi Arabia is one of the pillars, which will facilitate the peace process in the Middle East," said Ban Ki-moon. "It is encouraging that Americans and Israelis are now trying to revisit this Arab peace process. I know that there are still reservations shared by Israelis. But one cannot always be fully satisfied with one or two agreements. We must build upon these good principles."

As U.N. secretary-general, Mr. Ban leads one of the members of the Quartet, which also includes the United States, Russia and the European Union. His visit to the region coincides with a similar trip by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and Mr. Ban says he hopes to meet her when they are both in Israel. Their agenda is expected to include the Arab peace proposal.

Mr. Ban said, however, that his hopes for the Saudi proposal were dampened somewhat by the new Palestinian unity government's refusal to accept international principles laid down by the Quartet, including recognition of Israel's right to exist.

"Initial reports coming from this national unity government seem to be a little bit disappointing," said U.N. secretary-general. "They have not clearly stated they will abide by these three principles. I urge that the national unity government will surely adhere to and respect principles laid out by the Quartet. It is important that parties concerned should respect the right to exist, particularly Israel's, and engage in dialogue without resorting to violence."

In addition to his stop in Saudi Arabia, the secretary-general's 10-day Middle East trip will take him to Jordan, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. Notably, he will not visit two other regional players, Syria or Iran.

The U.N. chief also says he hopes to convene a meeting of the full Middle East Quartet sometime in April.

VOASE0318_This Is America

18 March 2007

On a Farm, Life Has to Go On -- Even in the Dead of Winter
Meet the Fitzpatricks, a family in rural Michigan with an award-winning barn and a strong connection to local history.

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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. Every family has a story. Today we travel to a farm in the Midwest, the center of American agriculture, to meet the Fitzpatrick family.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Thick snow falls on the quiet Michigan countryside as we make our way to visit Leo Fitzpatrick and his family.

The Fitzpatricks are among the minority of Americans who live a rural life. Instead of a big city, they live near small towns. And, unlike many families today, they all still live near each other.

As we drive along a country road, we can see many buggies in a line near a farmhouse. These belong to Leo's Amish neighbors. The people are attending religious services in a home. The Amish live as people did many years ago.

The horses that pull the buggies are nowhere to be seen -- probably warming up inside a barn.

VOICE TWO:

It seems hard to believe that any crop could survive this icy weather. The land is asleep. But not completely. Winter wheat grows in a field that belongs to the Fitzpatrick family.

Leo Fitzpatrick, the head of the family, farmed for most of his long life. Now he is leaving the work to his sons. The oldest son planted the wheat.

The Fitzpatrick family is well known in this corner of rural America. Some of them live on the family's one hundred fifteen hectares of land. Almost all have helped farm at some time or another, but most also hold other jobs. Some work in manufacturing. Another is an excavator; he has a digging and earth-moving business. Others work in a dentist's office, a post office and a courthouse.

VOICE ONE:

Leo Fitzpatrick's grandfather claimed land here more than one hundred years ago. In two thousand five, Leo was honored as the owner of the Michigan Centennial Farm of the Year. The honor goes to land that has been farmed by the same family for at least a century.

That might not sound like very long compared to other countries. But keep in mind that the United States is not yet two-and-a-half centuries old.

VOICE TWO:

Leo Fitzpatrick holds a picture of his prize-winning barn

Leo Fitzpatrick will be eighty years old in October. He looks powerful and muscular. And he soon proves it, as he leads a visitor around his farm through the deepening snow in the fierce cold and wind. A big red barn stands out even in the gathering darkness. Other, smaller red buildings house bright green farm machinery.

Leo explains that his grandfather, Dennis Fitzpatrick, built the barn more than ninety years ago. The family made repairs over the years. By the nineteen nineties, though, it became clear that the wooden structure would need a lot of work or it would have to be torn down.

Leo decided that he would restore the barn. He did much of the work himself, over a period of nine years. He also worked in a factory some of that time.

He used wood from trees in the area to strengthen and support the roof and the walls. To reach the roof he stood on bales of hay.

VOICE ONE:

Today the barn is a big star. In the last few years it has been named Michigan Barn of the Year and honored with the Barn Alive! Farm Heritage Award. The award is given by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Successful Farming magazine.

Fitzpatrick's barn

In winter the Fitzpatricks use the barn to keep straw that they sell. The straw is made from the remainders of their wheat and oats. Nine thousand bales of straw reach almost to the roof of the barn. Near the roof is a round window. When the Fitzpatrick children were young, they climbed up to this window to look out at the surrounding land.

The barn is big enough to hold several hundred people. In warmer weather, the family uses it for social events like dances and special celebrations.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Another building on the Fitzpatrick property is a workshop. It contains what seems like every tool ever manufactured. The tools line the walls.

The workshop feels warm and welcoming. A corn burner heats the building. Kernels of corn make a very hot fire, Leo says.

Now we are on the move again, following Leo and his footsteps through the snow. His house is not far. It just feels that way in the wind.

(SOUND)

VOICE ONE:

Inside the house, family members are seated around a table. On this snowy day, the extended family has gathered for a meal. Everyone brought food -- lots of food. Corn pudding is being heated up in the oven. It smells wonderful.

Judy Fitzpatrick Weber (left) playing Scrabble next to Paul Webber and Mary Fitzpatrick (Leo's daughter-in-law)

Some people have been playing a lively game of Scrabble, a word game. There is much laughter and talking. One of the Fitzpatrick daughters holds a one-point lead over her brother's wife.

Others in the family have been talking about family happenings and local news. The youngest family members are playing computer games on a huge television.

VOICE TWO:

Leo Fitzpatrick's wife, Mary, died in nineteen ninety-six. But he never has to worry about being alone.

(SOUND)

"My name is Linda. I'm the second child to Leo."
"I am Leo Fitzpatrick's third daughter, third in line. And my name is Judy Weber."
"I am Leo's friend, Judy Grant."
"Leo Fitzpatrick. I'm the daddy of the seven children assembled here."
"I'm Leah Fitzpatrick, and I'm Vernon Fitzpatrick's wife."
"I'm Vernon Fitzpatrick, and I'm Leah Fitzpatrick's husband."
"I'm Dan Fitzpatrick, I'm the oldest son of three."
"I'm Terry Fitzpatrick, I'm the second son of three."
"I'm Debbie Fitzpatrick. I'm the oldest daughter."
"I'm Rhonda Reppert, I'm number six in the family, youngest daughter."
"I'm Sarah Fitzpatrick. I'm Leo's granddaughter."

VOICE ONE:

Where is Mark, the youngest of Leo's three sons? Mark is somewhere else in the house.

Some of the family moved out the area for a while, but in time they returned. Leo's daughter Rhonda married a man named John Reppert. For years they lived near the biggest city in Michigan, Detroit.

VOICE TWO:

Rhonda Reppert says it was good to come back. The Repperts now live in a big house that was built for them. The house is made from logs of cedar wood.

John Reppert likes to hunt and fish. But if he wants to see wildlife, all he has to do is look out his window. Rhonda says deer often come right up to the house.

VOICE ONE:

Rhonda's brother Dan never left the area. After high school he spent more than twenty years as a welder and part-time farmer. Then he got his wish. He became a full-time farmer. He plants corn, wheat and oats on more than three hundred twenty hectares of land, including some family land.

His father says Dan has greatly improved the farm's production with up-to-date agricultural methods and equipment. Dan planted soybeans once, not too long ago. The crop did well. But it was a loss. It was destroyed by hungry deer.

The Fitzpatricks used to raise turkeys, but not anymore, not since wild turkeys invaded their farm.

VOICE TWO:

Debbie, the oldest of the Fitzpatrick children, lives with her father and her sister Linda. Debbie works at a post office. Linda works at a machinery company in the nearby town of Beaverton, Michigan.

The two sisters have never moved from their childhood home. But they remember how the family would take a two-week vacation every year when the children were growing up. Linda and Debbie now continue that tradition. They often go to Canada with other family members and have traveled as far as New Zealand.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

These days only about two percent of Americans farm for a living. Part-time farming and community farming are gaining popularity. But traditional family farms have largely been replaced by big, highly productive factory farms.

Fifty years ago, fourteen hours of labor on one hectare of land produced about one hundred bushels of corn, or maize. Now it can be done with less than half a hectare. These numbers come from the United States Department of Agriculture.

But Leo Fitzpatrick points out that farmers still work very hard. It is not unusual for a farmer to work day and night at planting and harvest times.

LEO FITZPATRICK: "With all the gadgets and things that's great for industry and everything, we're still people who live off the land. We're part of the land. You can eat an old cow, but you can't eat an old computer."

VOICE TWO:

Leo and his friend Judy Grant belong to several historical societies. Together they research family history, and Leo has written a book about his ancestors.

His grandparents on his mother's side were named Abraham Lincoln Brubaker and Emma Cecilia Shondell. They arrived in Michigan with almost enough children to start a school. The family came from the neighboring state of Ohio. Fourteen of their sixteen children were born there.

VOICE ONE:

Leo Fitzpatrick makes it clear that he wants to help save the memories of America's rural past. He wants people to know the story of the land and its people.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver. You can see pictures of the Fitzpatricks and their farm at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Steve Ember. From time to time we plan to introduce you to other American families, so keep listening. We hope you can join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

VOASE0318_Development Report

18 March 2007

Honors for Women From China, Guatemala, India and Sudan
Vital Voices, a nonprofit group, recognizes seven at a ceremony in Washington for working for women’s rights in their countries.

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This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Seven women were honored last week in Washington for their efforts to expand democracy and women’s rights in their countries. The seven from China, Guatemala, India and Sudan received awards from Vital Voices, a nonprofit group.

Doctor Gao Yaojie

Among them was Chinese AIDS activist Gao Yaojie, an eighty-year-old retired doctor. During the late nineteen nineties, Doctor Gao discovered a public health crisis in Henan province. Thousands of local farmers were being infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. They were selling their blood at collection centers that were using dirty needles and recycled blood.

Doctor Gao was almost not able to travel to the United States to receive the Vital Voices award. Local officials in Henan placed her under house arrest. But they let her travel after her situation received international attention.

Vital Voices also honored three other Chinese women. Guo Jianmei has led efforts to provide Chinese women with legal aid. Wang Xingjuan has created a telephone hotline for women seeking advice about their rights and ways to improve their economic situations. And Xie Lihua started Rural Women Knowing All magazine. She is also secretary general of the Cultural Development Center for Rural Women.

Vital Voices also recognized Margaret Alva from India. She has been a government minister and parliament member. She helped start a so-called "silent revolution" in an effort to guarantee that women’s voices are heard in Indian politics.

Award winner Maria Pacheco is from Guatemala. She has worked to help local women start small businesses and connect with world markets.

Awut Deng Acuil (left) with Margaret Alva

The seventh women is Awut Deng Acuil, a leader in conflict resolution in southern Sudan. She tells us that working for peace requires self-sacrifice. Becoming a victim does not give you hope, she says; what does is turning that experience into change for good.

Among those attending the ceremony was Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, a Vital Voices board member.

Until now, Vital Voices has only honored women. But this year it gave an award to Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh. He won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for starting the Grameen Bank, a leader in micro-lending, giving small loans as a way to fight poverty. The bank directs most of its services to women.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss. I'm Steve Ember.

Sandra Bullock Stars in New Romantic Thriller "Premonition"

By Alan Silverman Hollywood 18 March 2007

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Sandra Bullock stars in a new romantic thriller as a woman caught between what she knows is reality and a nightmare that she fears will come true. Alan Silverman has a look at Premonition.

Sandra Bullock "Premonition"

The apparently idyllic life of suburban housewife Linda Hanson is devastated by what the police officer at the door tells her. Then she awakens the next morning to find her husband Jim in bed next to her and very much alive.

But when the pattern starts to repeat ...when she wakes up to find her family in mourning ...Linda begins to believe that she is experiencing a Premonition and becomes determined to change the tragic fate it foretells.

Sandra Bullock stars as Linda and says she had to come to terms with her own beliefs about the unsettling feeling that something is about to happen. "I do think that there is something to human nature. You can call it intuitiveness or 'gut instinct' ...people who know things that have happened. It has happened to a lot of people, so when someone says to me 'I had a bad feeling that something is going to happen and then it did,' I don't know how to explain it. It can't be explained by science, but I believe in that happening," says the actress.

Jim McMahon, a co-star of the edgy TV series Nip/Tuck, plays Linda's husband, Jim. The Australia-born actor says his character is unaware of the fate his wife believes awaits him. "He had to live his life normally, but with this wife of his who is becoming a little strange, telling him 'don't go to work tomorrow, don't go there, don't do this ...' crazy stuff and particularly at a point in time when their relationship is pretty far on the rocks. So I felt like my part was kind of to solidify things a little bit, just in regards to the fact that we were, at some point, a normal family and this is the way we live our life. While she's going all haywire, living days out of order and doing all that kind of stuff, still whenever she came back to us it was just kind of normal life," he says.

If it seems confusing to describe, Sandra Bullock says imagine what it was like to act that out. I had a really hard time. I thought I was going to lose it. I went to the director and said 'I'm having a hard time. I don't know what to do.' There was a smile on his face when he heard that and he said 'no, this is exactly where you need to be.' I answered 'no, it's not' ...but in my unraveling we played the levels right. We played the levels right. Is she just pure grief here? When does the grief go into denial and anger? And when does she get angry at [events]? You have to start infusing ...it just wasn't pretty," she says.

"For me it was important that you believe her emotional journey," says Director Mennan Yapo. He says he could not worry about loose ends in the plot that might confuse the audience. The German-born filmmaker says the film balances on believing in the emotions that Bullock's character is going through. "Once you believe that, the details and all that become less important ...and they should, because at some point the story and the film should elevate into something else, and I feel it does. It goes to a place where you clearly understand that it's not only a thriller about this-and-that; it's about loss [and] much more. It's about what goes on inside of her."

Bullock says that once she accepted that premise and stopped questioning the details, she could take the character's emotional journey. "It was all about 'what is Linda going through at this point? What did she do with her kids? What wouldn't she say? Why doesn't she say anything to him, because he's going to think she's crazier.' So you feel it when you see it, but you don't know it until the pieces get together. Then, at the end, there's that feeling of 'what would I have done? Would I have gone back and changed or would I have let him die?' What would you have done?"

Premonition is written by Bill Kelly. The cast also features Peter Stormare as a psychiatrist to whom Linda turns for answers; and Amber Valletta is a woman in the husband's life who may hold a key to averting the tragic outcome.

Bush Cautions Democrats Against Setting Iraq Withdrawal Timeline

By Scott Stearns White House 17 March 2007

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U.S. President George Bush says he will veto an emergency spending bill for the war in Iraq, if Democrats, who control Congress, include conditions setting a timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops. Democrats say the president is committing American forces to an open-ended civil war. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports.

President Bush says Democrats in Congress want to force a precipitous withdrawal from Iraq, just as his new strategy for success is beginning to show what he calls hopeful signs of progress.

President Bush

"As these operations unfold, they will help the Iraqi government stabilize the country, rebuild the economy, and advance the work of political reconciliation," said Mr. Bush. "Yet, the bill Congress is considering would undermine General Petraeus and the troops under his command, just as these critical security operations are getting under way."

General David Petraeus, the new U.S. commander in Iraq, was confirmed by the Senate without opposition.

The House of Representatives is expected next week to consider Democratic-sponsored legislation calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq no later than September next year, as part of a spending package that includes more than $95 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan. President Bush says Congressional Democrats want to impose what he calls arbitrary and restrictive conditions on the use of war funds.

In his weekly radio address, President Bush said imposing an artificial timetable on the war would be disastrous.

"Many in Congress say they support the troops, and I believe them," added Mr. Bush. "Now they have a chance to show that support in deed, as well as in word. Congress needs to approve emergency funding for our troops, without strings and without delay. If they send me a bill that does otherwise, I will veto it."

In the Democratic radio address, Washington Senator Patty Murray said narrowing America's mission gives U.S troops the best chance to succeed. She says it is time for a new direction in Iraq, not more of the same.

"Unfortunately, this is a reality President Bush and a majority of Congressional Republicans still refuse to recognize," she said. "They want to stay the course. They want to ignore the lessons of the last four years. They want to commit America to an open-ended civil war."

Tuesday marks the fourth anniversary of the U.S. invasion, and protests are planned around the country, including a march in Washington Saturday to the Pentagon. A public opinion poll by CNN says 61 percent of Americans believe the United States is not winning.

Senator Murray says the start of the fifth year of U.S. troops in Iraq will be a solemn day.

"In Congress, my fellow Democrats and I believe it is time to bring this war to a close," she added. "Our troops, who have served bravely under difficult conditions, have done everything we have asked. As we enter the fifth year, it is time for the Iraqis to step up, secure their own country, and finally take responsibility for their own future."

White House officials say the president does not intend to mark the anniversary of the invasion.