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NEWS >> ATW Script October 3, 2002

Yearly Script Program Index

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OPEN/WELCOME


Hi and welcome to Assignment: The World for the week of October third, 2002. I'm Elissa Marra.

In our top story this week… tensions continue to rise between Iraq and the U-S.

#1

The Bush administration criticized Iraq on Monday for continuing to fire on U-S and British warplanes patrolling over two no-fly-zones. White House officials said the skirmishes are further evidence of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's defiance of the international community. Bush and his Cabinet are trying to persuade both Congress and the United Nations to support resolutions authorizing the use of military force against Iraq. As tensions increase between Washington and Baghdad, the U-S continues to deploy forces to the Persian Gulf. U-S military spokesmen insist the deployments are routine, or part of the war against terrorism. But with aircraft carriers equipped with over 2-hundred pilots and seventy aircraft, U-S forces now have the capacity to launch an attack on Iraq. Although experts differ on the number of troops needed to invade Iraq, estimates vary from 50-thousand to 350-thousand, depending on the strategy.

Resolutions (n) a formal expression of opinion made after voting.
ATW FACT


Iraq has fired on no-fly-zone patrols sixty-seven times since promising on September sixteenth to allow U-N weapons inspectors back into the country.
Source: World Television News 9/30/02

INTRO REST OF THE NEWS

In the rest of the news this week…

-U-N inspectors begin negotiations on access to Iraq.

-Israel pulls troops back from Arafat headquarters.

-and finally, first ladies from eleven countries in the Americas meet in Mexico.


#2 UN INSPECTORS

Gearing up for a return to Iraq, U-N inspectors met with a delegation from Iraq in Vienna, Austria this week. Hans Blix, chief U-N weapons inspector, pressed for free access to so-called "sensitive sites" where Saddam Hussein may be hiding weapons of mass destruction. The talks focused on government complexes such as the Defense Ministry, Interior Ministry and the headquarters of Saddam's elite Republican Guard, where access has been restricted in the past. The United States, Britain and the U-N are all asking for unrestricted access for the inspectors. The issue of palace inspections would require an amendment of the most recent U-N _ Iraq agreement on inspections, a decision that would have to made by the United Nations Security Council.

Sensitive adj. of or relating to classified information

#3 ISRAEL

With mounting pressure from the United Sates and the U-N, Israel pulled troops from Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's compound Sunday. In a statement announcing its decision to end the ten-day siege, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Cabinet noted the "deep friendship between Israel and the U-S" and promised to do "everything possible to enhance the strategic cooperation and relations." The White House praised the Israeli withdrawal, but said the Palestinians need to act to bring peace. Clean-up began Monday as troops removed sandbags, generators and debris from around the Ramallah compound. Israel vowed to arrest alleged terrorists it says are holed up with Arafat. Arafat called for a cease-fire if Israel withdraws its forces from all Palestinian territory and Israel demanded a Palestinian crackdown on terrorists. Israel invaded Arafat's headquarters following two suicide bombings earlier in September.

Siege (v) to surround and attack a fortified place.

#4 MEXICO WOMEN'S FORUM


First ladies from across the Americas pledged to help fight child poverty during their eleventh conference held in Mexico City. The first ladies held sessions on child health, education and development while child poverty experts met in parallel sessions on similar topics. U-S First Lady Laura Bush said the United States pledged thirty-eight-million dollars to improve child survival and maternal health in eleven countries in the Americas. The first ladies and government delegates taking part in the conference agreed that poverty is a problem that afflicts the entire hemisphere, not just the poor, developing nations, but the rich nations as well.

Parallel (n) similar when compared.


POP QUIZ #1

In our story about Israel, under U-S and U-N pressure, Israel finally did what? Did they…


Drop some of their demands
Set an election date
Withdraw from Arafat's compound


And the correct answer is number three… Israel pulled troops out of Arafat's Ramallah compound.
OLD CLUE #1- ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST

And now it's time for the answers to last week's clues in the news…

Find the location of our first clue and you'd get Abidjan, Ivory Coast. French and U-S forces launched an air evacuation of Korhogo in the Ivory Coast early Sunday, swooping in by helicopters to rescue more than 2-thousand Westerners from the rebel-held city. Rebels have been expanding their takeover of northern territories. The Ivory Coast government predicts an all-out attack against rebels to retake cities held by rebels since mid-September. Nearly 2-hundred and seventy people died in the first days of the rebel uprising last month.

OLD CLUE #2-WORLD BANK


Fill in the blanks of our second clue and you'd get "World Bank." Police in Washington, D-C arrested more than 6-hundred people who marched Friday against the International Monetary Fund and its globalization policies. Finance officers from around the world gathered in Washington for the I-M-F and World Bank meetings over the weekend. Delegates from almost two-hundred nations met to review efforts to help countries in crisis, but the two organizations continue to draw protesters angry over the flow of goods, services, investments and jobs across national borders.


OLD CLUE #3-SERBIA VOTES

And finally, unscramble the letters of our third clue and you'd get "Serbia Votes." Only fifty-five-percent of Serbia's eligible voters went to the polls Sunday for the first round of their presidential elections. Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica (say: VOY-i-slahv coast-oo-KNEE-kah) came out ahead with a little over thirty-one-percent of the votes. Kostunica is seeking a new job as he has served as the president of Yugoslavia over the federation made up of Serbia and Montenegro, but the federation will dissolve later this year. The run-off election will be held in mid-October.

THIS WEEK IN WORLD HISTORY

This week in world history… on October fifth, 1921… the World Series was broadcast on radio for the first time.
FEATURE INTRO
ZOO VET

Do you love animals? If so, we might this next job might be just for you! Wyatt Doremus visited with a doctor whose are of the two and four-legged variety. Check it Out!

FEATURE
Day in the life of a Zoo Veterinarian

Wyatt Doremus:

Meet Dr. Jeff Wyatt_Dr. Wyatt is the Director of Animal Health and Conservation at the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, New York

Dr. Jeff Wyatt:

Well I have on of the most interesting jobs in the world, everyday is different…but what I focus on is trying to keep the animals at the Zoo very healthy, and when I come in; in the morning I am greeted by most of the keepers and the animals and when I come in I look at the animals and they're daily keeper report forms and that tells me what happened the day before. Sometimes I have scheduled procedures in the mornings, sometimes I do procedures before the Zoo opens because we need to have some privacy with some of the procedures because many of them I actually do right on exhibit. This is typical behavior of a very happy healthy giraffe and the fact that he's interested in eating these grape leaves leads me to believe that he is doing very well.

Wyatt Doremus:

In addition to keeping the animals healthy, Dr. Wyatt is equally concerned with the conservation of wild animals and their habitats.

Dr. Jeff Wyatt:

We are releasing about 1,000 butterflies this summer_these are monarch butterflies that we've raised at the Zoo from an egg_what we're hoping to do is release these so they can make their way back to Mexico.

I feel like I am playing an important part of that conservation message where I can keep the animals healthy and allow these animals to be ambassadors to they're wild counterparts.

Wyatt Doremus:

Dr. Wyatt's advice for aspiring Veterinarians?

Dr. Jeff Wyatt:

If a child is interested in becoming a Zoo Veterinarian the first step in even becoming a Veterinarian is getting experience as a child working
with animals either at a Pet Shop, at a Humane Society, if your very lucky you might be able to work at a veterinary clinic but you need to gain experience volunteering at a Veterinary Practice so that you can see for sure this is the kind of career for you, and in order to get in to Veterinary School
you definitely need very good grades and you need lots of experience.


Wyatt Doremus:

For Assignment the World, I'm Wyatt Doremus
ISN'T IT COOL!


SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida recently celebrated the birth of a killer whale! Katrina, a fifty-four hundred pound whale, gave birth in front of a cheering crowd and proud staff in August. The seven-foot calf swam to the surface for its first breath of air. The sex of the baby whale is not yet known. This is the first birth for the twenty-six year old Katrina.

ISSUE

The Senate voted overwhelmingly last month to allow commercial airline pilots to carry weapons in the cockpit. The pilot's union leader said that the eighty-seven-to-six vote showed that the Senate supports arming pilots as a last line of defense in a security system that apparently isn't adequate. The new measure states that only those pilots who volunteer to carry weapons will do so, they will be provided with lockboxes and extensive training. Those opposed to arming pilots argue that we are spending billions of dollars to keep dangerous weapons off of aircraft, only to turn around and intentionally introduce thousands of new deadly weapons. The training alone will be expensive and adding lockboxes will add to the cost of the proposal. The initial costs may be as high as 900-million dollars and then an annual cost of about 250-million. Well, we'd like to know what you think, "Should pilots carry guns in the cockpit?" Discuss this issue 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, "Should soda sales be banned in schools?" The majority of you, sixty two percent say no, they should not be banned. Twenty six percent say yes, they should. Twelve percent are undecided. Many of you feel soda sales are not a good idea in school. Erin R. of Liverpool, New York writes, "Soda is not a healthy drink. Children need more milk to help them grow strong. Milk also costs less then soda." Rusty J. of Winchester, Virginia adds, "Schools should replace soda machines with a healthy drink machine." The majority of you, however, do not think soda sales should be banned. Bethany D. of Ticonderoga, New York thinks soda sales can help. Bethany writes, "Children need the sugar to keep them awake. If they stay awake, they can study hard." Thespina G. of Keene, New Hampshire adds, "It is not the schools fault what the child (chooses.) I think it is up to the kid to choose what they want." Matthew M. of Marathon, Wisconsin wonders if soda sales are banned, where schools will get the money they lose. Matthew writes, "Where would the band, sports teams and school events get their money from? If a lot of people drink soda, we get a lot of money." Finally, Carolanne S. of Pittsford, New York thinks soda sales are okay some of the time. Carolanne writes, "Soda machines should only be used on special occasions. Maybe on Halloween or a concert."

MAILBAG CLOSE


We look forward to receiving your responses to our two latest issue questions… "Should the U-S attack Iraq?" and "Should pilots carry guns in the cockpit?" 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 www.wxxi.org/atw . We also read e-mail at atw@wxxi.org.


POP QUIZ #2


In our story about the first ladies of the Americas conference, whom did they pledge to help? Was it…

Impoverished children
People of Iraq
Children with AIDS

And the correct answer is number one… the first ladies pledged to improve child poverty.

NEW CLUES

And now it's time for next week's clues in the news…

Our first clue is a location…

22 Degrees, 27 minutes south latitude
42 Degrees, 43 minutes west longitude


Our second clue is a fill-in-the-blank, it's two words…

A ---blank L blank N T blank S

M blank blank S blank O N

And finally, our third clue is a scrambled letter, it is two words…

C E I C M O O N

M F R U O

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



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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.










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