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	• NEWS >> ATW Script January 16,2003 Yearly Script Program Index -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPEN/WELCOME Hi and welcome to Assignment: The World for the week of January sixteenth, 2003. I’m Elissa Marra. In our top story this week… the U-S tries to find a diplomatic end to the North Korean standoff. #1— NORTH KOREA North Korea’s ambassador to Moscow told the U-S Monday that if it dropped “its hostile policy and nuclear threat” against Pyongyang, it might allow the U-S to perform checks to prove that North Korea is not building new nuclear weapons. North Korea insists it has no intentions of building more nuclear weapons and stressed that the country’s nuclear program would be limited to civilian purposes. In the increasingly tense standoff with the U-S over its nuclear program, North Korea withdrew from the 1968 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty last week. North Korea threatened to resume long-range missile tests and to begin reprocessing spent fuel rods from its nuclear reactor to make atomic bombs. The Bush administration stepped up efforts to find a diplomatic solution to stop North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly went to South Korea for talks with the Seoul government Sunday and Governor Bill Richardson held talks with North Korean representatives in Santa Fe, New Mexico over the weekend. Spent (adj) used up; consumed. ATW FACT Researchers predict that in the next 15 years, we will add 233-million households around the world. More houses lead to increased resource use and a greater toll on the environment. Source: Associated Press, 1/13/03 INTRO REST OF THE NEWS In the rest of the news this week… --U-N nuclear inspectors ask for more time in Iraq… --more violence in the Middle East… --and finally, fires continue to burn in Australia. #2— MILITARY MOVES TO IRAQ United Nations weapons inspectors asked for more time compiling information in Iraq. Inspectors said it could take anywhere from six months to a year before they have all the information they need to determine if Iraq really has possession of chemical and biological weapons. At his weekly press conference, Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair said he believed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s 12-thousand-page weapons report was false, but he wants to wait for U-N inspectors to do their job. In the meantime, the U-S administration quickened the pace of troop deployments to the Gulf region. About seven-thousand marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina will leave this week in addition to 35-thousand U-S forces that left Friday and 27-thousand more that left Saturday. With the 60-thousand U-S troops already in the Gulf region, the Pentagon should easily exceed its goal of 100-thousand troops in place by the end of January. Possess (v) to have as property or to own. #3— MIDDLE EAST Nine Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers died Sunday in fighting across Israel and the occupied territories. Thirty Israeli tanks and jeeps entered the West Bank town of Jenin (Jeh-NIN) and soldiers conducted house-to-house searches in the eastern section of the city in an attempt to track down militants. In the past six months, Israel has reoccupied every major West Bank town or city, except Jericho, in response to Palestinian attacks on Israeli citizens. The events came a day after Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat asked Palestinians to stop attacking Israeli civilians. Despite Arafat’s plea for an end to violence, Palestinian fighters initiated most of the weekend’s clashes. Occupied (n) the seizure and control of an area by military force. #4— AUSTRALIAN FIRES Firefighters in Australia struggled Monday with soaring temperatures and gusting winds as they tried to contain widespread fires in the southeastern state of Victoria. Lightning started the more than fifteen blazes around the state. Hundreds of firefighters, using planes, helicopters and bulldozers, battled to establish control lines in remote and inaccessible terrain. By Monday, the fire service warned that some properties could soon be threatened. Outbreaks of fires were also reported across the border in the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales. Officials fear the Victoria fires could jump the Murray River and join the blazes in New South Wales to create an even bigger fire front. Terrain (n) the natural features of a tract of land. POP QUIZ #1 In our story about North Korea, what did Pyongyang drop last week that worried world leaders? Was it… 1- The Atlantic Pacific Economic Cooperation 2- The North Atlantic Fair Trade Agreement 3- The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty And the correct answer is number three… North Korea dropped out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. OLD CLUE #1— ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST And now it’s time for the answers to our last clues in the news… Find the location of our first clue and you’d get Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo stuck to his guns Monday, resisting demands for his resignation and insisting on the disarmament of rebels behind nearly four months of war in this former French colony. Rebels reversed their decision to pull out of peace talks set for this week in Paris. The rebels agreed to attend the talks despite what they said were continuing government attacks. OLD CLUE #2—CYPRUS POLICY Fill in the blanks of our second clue and you’d get “Cyprus Policy.” Turkey is reconsidering its hard-line policy on Cyprus. Last week, Turkey urged Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash to negotiate a reunification of the island. Cyprus has been split into a Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish Cypriot north since 1974. The sudden race for a deal comes from the European Union’s decision last month to admit Greek-controlled Cyprus into the E-U in 2004. OLD CLUE #3—KOREA COMPLY? And finally, find the role of our newsmaker and you’d get, “Korea Comply?” The United Nations hoped that North Korea would reconsider building up its nuclear weapons program and comply with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. But instead, last week, North Korea announced it was withdrawing from the Treaty and therefore, would not be held to the rules and regulations associated with the Treaty. The U-N proposed economic and diplomatic penalties if the North did not comply. THIS WEEK IN WORLD HISTORY This week in world history… on January fifteenth, 1992…the Yugoslav Federation--founded in 1918-- collapsed as the European Community recognized the republics of Croatia and Slovenia. FEATURE SUSAN B. What’s the best way to learn about Susan B. Anthony...by taking a walk through her house, check it out! Lorie Barnum: Exec. Director of Susan B. Anthony House Susan B. Anthony was a great American Hero; she helped to expand democracy in this country. She's known best for fighting to gain the right to vote for women. Her work encompassed more than that, she fought for an end to slavery, she fought for temperance which was regulating the consumption of alcohol, she fought to make all people in this country equal and free. The Susan B. Anthony house is a national historic landmark, so in the United States the highest honor that can be given to a house for historical significance. For example the White House is a National Historic Landmark and it's preserved because it's considered an important part of our national heritage. This house is probably where she lived during the most important years of her life, the most politically active years and it was here where she was arrested for voting in 1872 (because women did not have the right to vote at that time), here that was headquarters of the National American Women’s Suffrage Association, here where she met with the great reformers of her day. There’s a museum room on the second floor that shows a great collection of photographs, so you can see who was involved in the movement of the time and how did the women actually accomplish it over the course of the years that the campaign took place. The Susan B. Anthony house is here to inspire...our vision statement is 'Susan B. Anthony, still inspiring each of us to act for the good of all, believing that ‘failure is impossible.’ ISN’T IT COOL! Japan-Coming of Age In Japan, you officially become an adult once you turn 20. Many young people celebrate by bathing in icy water as part of an ancient Shinto rite. The ceremony allows you to purify yourself, starting adult life with a “clean” slate. Originally the ceremony was a way of challenging new adults’ physical and spiritual ability and to chase away evil spirits. These “frosty” adults jumped into adulthood, braving water that was below zero degrees Celsius. ISSUE Americans concerned about the future of our environment say it’s time for major carmakers to build more cars that pollute less and use less fuel. Japanese carmakers Toyota and Honda already sell hybrid engine cars. In a hybrid car, an electric motor takes over for the gas-powered engine at lower speeds and the gas engine recharges the battery for the electric motor. Hybrid cars produce fewer polluting gases and also average between 40 to 50 miles per gallon. American automakers have been slow to join the hybrid trend because they say they’re not a viable long-term commercial alternative. In order to provide hybrids of the giant S-U-V’s and pickup trucks that so many Americans want, carmakers need to spend a lot of money on research, updating their manufacturing facilities and training employees. This could make American hybrids too expensive, and then if they weren’t popular, carmakers would lose money. Well, we’d like to know what you think…”Should American carmakers build hybrid cars?” Discuss this with your classmates after the show and then write to us with your opinions. MAILBAG We received nearly four hundred responses to our issue question, “Would you want to get the smallpox vaccine?” The majority of you, forty four percent say no, you would not get the vaccine. Thirty nine percent say yes, you would. Seventeen percent are undecided. Many of you feel that even though we are not sure Iraq even has the smallpox germ it is better to be safe than sorry. Kerissa of Spokane, Washington would get the vaccine, Kerissa writes, “If the disease is already present, you wouldn’t have the chance to get the vaccine before you get sick.” Verity H. of Marshfield, Wisconsin agrees and adds, “Some people may get a reaction …but that is only about three in one million. I would feel safer if we were allowed (the) smallpox vaccinations.” The majority of you, however, are not quite ready to get the vaccine. Julio M. of Liverpool, New York writes, “We don’t know if Iraq even has … smallpox. I don’t want to be the one person who gets ill or die.” Zach J. of Mequon, Wisconsin adds, “Small pox might not even come back to this country so taking the vaccine might be pointless.” Rebecca Z. of Pittsford, New York writes, “It is also very painful to receive. I have as much chance of getting it from the vaccine as from (other) people.” Kyle S. of Waupaca, Wisconsin just does not think there is much danger. Kyle writes, “I will wait until a breakout on our street before I even think of a vaccine. But I do not believe it will even come close to central Wisconsin.” MAILBAG CLOSE We look forward to receiving your responses to our two latest issue questions… ard to receiving your responses to our two latest issue questions… … “Should tobacco companies repay sick smokers?” and “Should American carmakers build hybrid cars?” If you would like to receive an Assignment: The World Press card, please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope. You may write to us here at Assignment: The World, Post Office Box three-zero-zero-twenty-one, Rochester, New York… one-4-6-zero-3… or you may contact us at the A-T-W website at http://atwonline.org./ We also read e-mail at atw@wxxi.org. POP QUIZ #2 In our story about Australian fires, why were firefighters worried the fires would reach the Murray River? Was it because… 1) it would pollute the water 2) they could join other fires 3) luxury homes there would be burned And the correct answer is number two… the fires could create bigger blazes if they joined other fires across the Murray River. NEW CLUES And now it’s time for next week’s clues in the news… Our first clue is a location… 17 Degrees, 50 minutes south latitude 31 Degrees, 03 minutes east longitude Our second clue is a fill-in-the-blank, it’s two words… _ H _ _ T _ E _ O _ U _ B I _ And finally, our third clue is is a newsmaker… Who is Azram Mitzna? These are clues to stories we think will happen in the coming week. You can find the answers on radio and television newscasts and in newspapers and newsmagazines. We’ll reveal the answers on next week’s show. Good luck! GOOD-BYE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And that’s it for this week’s show. From all of us here at Assignment: The World, I’m Elissa Marra. We’ll see you again next week. © 2003 WXXI-TV/ Assignment: The World. All Rights Reserved.