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	• NEWS >> ATW March 25, 2004 Yearly Script Program Index -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPEN/WELCOME Hi and welcome to Assignment: The World for the week of March 25th, 2004. I’m Jennifer Davis. In our top story this week…Tensions in the Middle East rise to new and dangerous levels. 1—ISRAEL Palestinians are threatening violent retaliations for the assassination of one of their most important leaders. Israel killed Ahmed Yassin as he and his bodyguards left a mosque at daybreak on Monday. Yassin founded the militant group called Hamas in 1987. Hamas is viewed by the U-S as a terrorist group but it is seen by many Palestinians as a leader in their drive for an independent state. Israel blamed Yassin for inspiring bombers who have killed nearly 5-hundred people in the last 3 years. At least one Israeli official said Yassin’s death would save the lives of countless Israelis who have been targeted by Hamas. Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets in demonstrations protesting the Israeli attack and demanding to talk to rival Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat. While Arafat ordered flags at his headquarters lowered to half mast, he did not make an appearance. Arafat reportedly felt that he, too, might be targeted by Israel. Inspire (v) to stimulate to creativity or action. ATW FACT Civilization in the Indus River valley dates back to at least 2500 B.C. That area is now the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a country of 150-million people that stretches from the Arabian Sea north to China. INTRO REST OF THE NEWS In the rest of the news this week… -A controversial anniversary in Iraq -Pakistan tries to crack down on al Qaida -and voters make tough choices in El Salvador and Malaysia. #2—IRAQ Protests across the globe greeted the anniversary of the second U-S war with Iraq. From Australia and New Zealand to Hong Kong to Cairo and London, protestors gathered to call for peace and for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Iraq. The one year anniversary was also the focus of presidential politics here at home. Republican Vice President Dick Cheney said President Bush has scored important victories in the war on terrorism. Cheney says Democratic candidate John Kerry lacks the judgment and experience to take over that war. Senator Kerry fired back, calling the war in Iraq “a steady loss of lives and mounting cost in dollars with no end in sight.” Focus(n) a center of interest or activity. #3—PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN Tunnels, one of them more than a mile long, may have helped top al-Qaida terrorists to escape capture. Pakistani soldiers swept down on mud fortresses along the border with Afghanistan late last week. An estimated 4-5-hundred militants fought back using mortars, AK-47s, rockets and hand grenades. The level of that resistance led Pakistani officials to think that at least one high level al-Qaida leader was being protected. There was some speculation that al-Qaida’s number 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, was the person in question though that has not been confirmed by any government sources. Escape tunnels were found to stretch from homes in a village to a mountain range that lies across the border with Afghanistan. Speculation (n) meditation or reflection on a given subject #4— —ELSALVADOR/MALAYSIA El Salvador’s new president is Tony Saca, a 39 year old businessman who built his fortune by buying radio stations. He defeated former Communist Party guerilla leader Schafik Handal. Saca promised to continue El Salvador’s close ties with the U-S and to crackdown on crime. Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi kept his job after a landslide victory Sunday. Voters clearly rejected Badawi’s fundamentalist opposition. Badawi took over last October from longtime leader Mahathir Muhammed. Under Badawi since then, Malaysia has actively sought to detain suspected terrorists, some of them tied to al-Qaida. Landslide (n) An overwhelming majority of votes for a political party or candidate POP QUIZ #1 In our story about Pakistan, what did we tell you might have been used to help terrorists escape? Was it 1. Aircraft 2. Ships 3. Tunnels And the answer is number 3. Pakistani soldiers discovered tunnels some of them more than a mile long that may have helped terrorists escape. OLD CLUE #1— TAIWAN ELECTIONS And now it’s time for the answers to our clues in the news… Our first clue is the location of Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. It is there that Taiwan’s highest court ordered all ballot boxes sealed after presidential voting ended with charges and counter charges. President Chen Shui-bian was the apparent winner Saturday by just 30-thousand votes. Voting came just a day after Chen and his vice president were shot in an assassination attempt. But his opponent, Lien Chan, refused to concede and demanded a recount. He also questioned whether the assassination was actually planned by the president in an effort to get sympathy votes. The election is being watched closely by nearby China. OLD CLUE #2—CAUCUSES CONTINUE Fill in the blanks on our second clue and you get Caucuses continue. Even though Senator John Kerry now has more than enough delegates to win his party’s nomination for president, the process continues. Democrats gathered over the weekend in Wyoming and Alaska. The votes in both went overwhelmingly to Kerry while a distant second place fell to Dennis Kucinich. Democratic delegates from all 50 states will gather in Boston from July 26th through the 29th. Republicans will formally nominate President Bush for re-election starting August 30th in New York City. OLD CLUE #3—SPAIN INVESTIGATION And finally, unscramble our third clue and you have Spain investigation. Police in several countries are still searching for suspects in the train blasts that killed more than 200 people in Madrid March 11th. A total of 11 people are now in custody, including 5 who were arrested in Morocco. Officials say more arrests may be made. The death toll now rivals that off the bombing on the island of Bali. They are the deadliest attacks since the U-S airliner hijackings on September 11th. Spain marked the week anniversary of its tragedy with a minute of silence. THIS WEEK IN WORLD HISTORY This week in world history…March 28th, 1979, a reactor inside the 3 Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant suffered a partial meltdown. Though the subsequent release of radiation caused few documented illnesses, it remains the worst nuclear accident in US history. FEATURE MODEL UN For thousands of young people around the world the opportunity to take part in a Model U-N is their chance to learn more about world affairs and how they impact their lives. Wyatt Doremus Checks it Out…. FEATURE MODEL UN (Wyatt) Today, through a program known as the Model U-N thousands of young people around the world have the opportunity to learn more about other countries, other people and themselves.(Meera Menon) "In Model UN students from either high school or even in college, they debate world affairs in the simulation of the United Nations. For example, you wouldn't represent the views of the United States; you would represent perhaps the views of China so it gives you an opportunity to look at issues from another countries perspective."(Wyatt) The Model U-N gave Meera the chance to travel to The Hague…and witness the trial of Slobodan Milosevic, the former leader of Yugoslavia who stands accused of war crimes and genocide. (Meera) "And the Hague is located in the Netherlands and its one of the main centers of the United Nations and actually the International Tribunal for Rwanda is located there so...Slobodan Milosevic was on trial, I actually got to go and sit in on his trial and watch him testify, that was quite an experience....its a long and drawn out trial, its been going on for about two years so ...at least the witness part was very moving because this person had been affected by the actions of Mr. Milosevic and the alleged crimes of genocide he had done....many of his friends and family members had been killed and he was talking about how he himself had been injured for maybe knowing specific information." Want to learn more about Rwanda, log on: www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline (Wyatt) Meera says the Model U-N program has made her more aware of world affairs and helped her to develop important leadership skills. (Meera) "I now know more about current events but even more than that its made me a better leader, a better communicator, a more accountable citizen, I've learned a lot of skills from it." For Assignment: The World, I’m Wyatt Doremus. ISN’T IT COOL HUBBLE TELESCOPE It’s the deepest-ever view of the universe. Officials say these images collected by the Hubble Telescope contain an estimated 10-thousand galaxies. The images were collected by focusing the instruments of the Hubble at a single point in the sky for one million seconds, an exposure that took more than 400 orbits of the space telescope. Researchers will now examine the images and search for the most distant objects. ISSUE Few students would admit to liking homework but should there be homework at all? A recent book, The End of Homework, calls for schools to abolish homework and for families to use the extra time to do a variety of activities together. The authors contend that educators have failed to prove that more homework leads to higher achievement and that families have become too rushed and pressured. But a recent USA today article argues that there is little real evidence that American students are given too much homework. It cites a study of children 12 and younger who spent more than 13 hours a week watching television and only 2 hours studying. Some educators say parents must limit distractions at home for homework to work. Others also argue that unless students aren’t asked to work harder and more often, they won’t. So, what do you think… “Should homework be abolished?” Discuss this issue with your classmates after the show and then write to us with your opinions. MAILBAG We received over four hundred responses to our issue question…” Should the President use 9-11 images in his campaign ads?” The majority of you, fifty five percent say no, he should not use 9-11 images in his ads. Thirty eight percent say yes, he should. Just seven percent are undecided. Many of you feel it is okay for President Bush to use 9-11 images in his campaign. Tamara E. of Muskego, Wisconsin writes, “… it will show how President Bush dealt with the situation and the good things he did with his leadership.” Chris S. of Webster, New York writes, “It reminds us of the sacrifices our people made and how (President Bush) helped us.” The majority of you, however, feel using 9-11 ads in the campaign are a bad idea. Chelsea N. of Keene, New Hampshire writes, “It’s wrong for (President) Bush to use a tragedy as way to get elected. He is breaking his pledge of not using things from 9-11 in his campaign.” Sam S. of Winchester, Virginia adds, “It will just bring back bad memories. He should not make people’s deaths a reason to vote for him.” Sara C. of Loudonville, New York writes, “The president signed a pledge (that) he would not use tragedies in political campaigns. Showing the images could hurt his campaign.” And finally, Cody R. of Wittenberg, Wisconsin writes, “It is just not right to remind people of that bad day.” MAILBAG CLOSE We look forward to receiving your responses to our two latest issue questions…“Should homework be abolished?” ” and “Should people younger than 18 be able to vote?” 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 the US presidential campaign, where did we tell you Democrats would make their formal nominations? Was it Boston Philadelphia New York City And the correct answer is number one. Democrats will meet in Boston while Republicans have their convention in New York City. NEW CLUES And now it’s time for next week’s clues in the news… Our first clue a location… 52 Degrees, 31 minutes north latitude 13 Degrees, 24 minutes east longitude Our second clue is a newsmaker: Who is? PERVEZ MUSHARRAF And finally, our third clue is a scrambled letter…two words: BLABSALE BINGES 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 Jennifer Davis. We’ll see you again next week. © 2004 WXXI-TV/ Assignment: The World. All Rights Reserved.