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	• NEWS >> ATW January 26, 2006 Yearly Script Program Index -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPEN/WELCOME Hi and welcome to Assignment: The World for the week of January 26th, I’m Michael Caputo. Our top story this week…major cutbacks are ahead for America’s top automakers. 1—FORD CUTBACKS UNITED STATES 42 degrees, 20 minutes north 83 degrees, 03 minutes west A painful last resort. That’s how Ford Chairman Bill Ford labels cuts he announced Monday. Ford will cut up to 30-thousand jobs and close 14 facilities by the year 20-12. That represents as much as a quarter of the company’s North American work force. The cuts are part of Ford’s effort to reverse losses totaling 1.6 billion dollars last year in North America. Ford is America’s number 2 car maker. Number 1 General Motors has announced similar cuts. Both companies have been affected by rising health care and pension costs as well as stiff competition from Japanese automakers. While Ford will also try to restructure its white collar or executive ranks, there are other changes in store. Material costs are expected to be cut by 6-billion dollars in five years. Ford also expects to build more hybrid, fuel-efficient cars as well as smaller vehicles in response to consumer concerns over higher gas prices. If those prove effective, Ford expects to be profitable again by 2008. Pension (n) a sum of money paid regularly as a retirement benefit ATW Fact Ivory Coast is a western African nation of some 17 million people. The one time French colony’s economy relies on the harvesting of cocoa, coffee, tropical woods, cotton and bananas. INTRO REST OF THE NEWS In the rest of the news this week… --Bolivia swears in a new president… --quieter days follow violence in Ivory Coast… --and Pakistan warns against another deadly attack. #2—PAKISTAN 33 degrees, 42 minutes north 73 degrees, 10 minutes east U-S Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns met with President General Pervez Musharraf Sunday in the remote mountain village of Bajur. That’s where 13 Pakistani civilians were killed 9 days earlier by a U-S airstrike. Musharraf reportedly told Burns that “what happened in Bajur must not be repeated.” The attacks missed their apparent target, al Qaida’s number 2 leader Ayman al-Zawahri. But Pakistani officials believe that the dead did include four top al-Qaida operatives. Survivors of the attack deny that any al-Qaida were in the area. The strike has sparked a series of protests in the Islamic nation of 150 million. Demonstrators are equally outraged at both the U-S and their own president. Many among them chanted “Long live Osama bin Laden.” Al-Qaida’s leader was heard from for the first time in more than a year late last week. He warned of new attacks in the United States but offered a long term truce. U-S officials dismissed the offer but did not raise the national terror alert. Operatives (n) a secret or trusted agent #3—. BOLIVIA 16 degrees, 30 minutes south 68 degrees, 09 minutes west Democracy and equality are two of the key promises made by Bolivia’s newly sworn-in president. Evo Morales took the oath of office over the weekend. In a speech afterward, Morales also promised to end discrimination against Bolivia’s Indian majority and to ease the misery of the many poor people in his country. Though he plans to tap profits from the national gas reserves, that gas industry in Bolivia belongs to big foreign oil companies. And while Morales said his government would welcome warm relations with the U.S., he also recently vowed to be a nightmare for the Bush administration. Misery (n) a condition of suffering and want as a result of physical or economic conditions #4— —IVORY COAST 05 degrees, 19 minutes north 04 degrees, 02 minutes north A quiet weekend followed four days of often violent protest in Ivory Coast. Pro-government demonstrators attacked both U-N headquarters and the French Embassy late last week. The unrest began after a U-N backed mediation group overseeing the peace process recommended against renewing parliament’s expired mandate. At least four Ivorians died as U-N peacekeepers battled with gunmen attacking their base. President Laurent Gbagbo (Bahg-bo) sees parliament as one of his last bastions of power. The recommendation to not renew its mandate angered both his backers and youth activists. Northern rebels accuse the president of organizing the protests as a means of taking back power. Ivory Coast has been in turmoil since last October when the president canceled elections. Mandate (n) authoritative command or instruction, wishes of an electorate POP QUIZ #1 In our story about Evo Morales, in which country did we tell you he sworn in as president? Was it Brazil Bolivia Chile And the answer is number 2. Evo Morales was sworn in this past weekend as the new president of Bolivia. OLD CLUE # 1—IRAN NUCLEAR UPDATE It’s now time for the answer to our Clues in the News. Our first clue was the location of Teheran, the capital of Iran. The U-S, Britain, France and Germany ar4e pushing for U-N sanctions against Iran. That call comes after Iran broke the seals on one of its nuclear power plants. Iran claims it is only conducting peaceful research. The western nations fear Iran may be developing its own nuclear bomb. Faced by possible economic sanctions, Iran late last week transferred its foreign exchange accounts out of banks in the US and Europe to banks in southeast Asia. OLD CLUE # 2—CANADIAN ELECTIONS Unscramble the letters of our second clue and you got Canadian elections. 12 years of Liberal Party rule in Canada came to an end Monday. Prime Minister Paul Martin conceded defeat to Conservative leader Stephen Harper. While the Conservative victory was strong, it was not decisive enough to win a clear majority in the House of Commons. As the new Prime Minister, Harper will form a compromise with the opposition. Harper is seen by analysts as pro-American. He is also popular in the predominantly French province of Quebec. OLD CLUE # 3—KOREA TALKS And finally, fill in the blanks of our third clue and you got Korea Talks. U-S Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hosted talks in Washington late last week on North Korea’s nuclear program. During a meeting with South Korea’s foreign minister, she urged North Korea to return to the stalled six nation nuclear talks. China, the U.S., Russia, Japan and the two Koreas have been negotiating since 2003 but those talks stalled last November. Rice’s meeting came in the wake of word that North Korea’s leader, Kim Il Jung, had pledged to the Chinese that he is committed to a peaceful solution. China is trying to set up a meeting between the U.S. and North Korea that could lead to a resumption of talks. THIS WEEK IN WORLD HISTORY This week in world history… January 26TH, 1950, India became a republic. An ancient center of civilization, India today is home to some 1.1 billion citizens. They live in an environmentally diverse area roughly one third the size of the United States. ATW FEATURE It may have started as a small remote outpost of early America but before it was done Fort Niagara, found on the shores of Lake Ontario in upstate New York, was a military marvel. The French and Indian War has been called the first world war by some historians and Fort Niagara was right in the middle of it all. You can visit this historic sight today and if you listen closely, you might hear the sound of musket fire and cannons. Check it Out. ATW FEATURE (Robert Emerson) Well the fort itself includes 22 acres today, from very humble beginnings in the 1720s. The French expanded the fort as the need arouse during the early part of the French and Indian War, they built substantial earthen walls around the fort to protect it from anticipated British assault. The earlier wall had only been made from logs and of course the British coming with artillery could have battled that down with some ease. And so, a regular army regiment was sent here in the fall of 1755, an army officer with considerable engineering experience, named Pierre Pouchot, was detailed to design and build earthen walls that were really European in their design. In 1759 during the fifth year of the French and Indian War, the British came and laid siege to Fort Niagara. They brought 2,300 soldiers and about 900 Iroquois allies and over the period of about 19 days they besieged the fort and there were artillery bombardments. Finally, the fort was forced to surrender after holding out for a good long time. The British on July 25th, 1759, marched into the fort. The white flag of France came down and the Union Jack went up. Today it's a museum and historic site. We operate year-round, and we see about 100,000 visitors a year who come to experience the early military history of his reason. You can't really be a good citizen unless you understand your history, and coming to a site like this helps you really get in touch with what life must've been like in the formative years of our nation. ISN’T IT COOL UK-FAT PETS One in three pets in the United Kingdom is overweight and one veterinarian is doing something about it. Doctors at a British animal hospital are teaching pet owners how to help their overweight cats and dogs. Patients receive a medical examination, followed by a dietary plan and exercise regime to be utilized over several weeks. Scientists hope to gather data to improve the understanding of obesity in pets and to help with treatment and prevention. ISSUE Two weeks from now, thousands of athletes from 85 nations will gather in Torino, Italy for the 20th Winter Olympic Games. Luger Anne Abernathy will be there representing St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands for the 6th time. Abernathy would seem the ideal for Baron Pierre de Coubertin who brought the Olympics back in modern times. While Abernathy has almost no chance to win, Baron de Coubertin felt the most important thing at the Olympic Games is to take part, to try. However Abernathy is increasingly the exception as more and more professional athletes participate in what had been an amateur competition. Unlike Abernathy, most athletes have corporate sponsors which are found and kept by winning on a consistent basis. But others say the time for making those arguments is long past. The Olympics are now a focus for countries that view success there as a matter of national pride. Athletes who win are rewarded for their efforts. The Olympics are also big business around the globe. Some argue that the billions of viewers who tune in do so to see the best in every sport, not just those who are merely trying. So, what do you think? “Is winning the most important thing? Discuss this issue with your classmates after the show and then write to us with your opinions. MAILBAG We received nearly six hundred responses to our issue question, “Would you like to be a space tourist?” The majority of you, sixty nine percent say no, you would not like to be a space tourist. Twenty three percent say yes, it sounds like a great idea. Eight percent are undecided. Many of you think going on a ride into space sounds like a great time. Sarah P. of Grand Rapids, Michigan writes, “I have always wanted to be a person who was lucky enough to go into space. Even though the cost is (high), you only live once.” Stephen M. of Dix Hills, New York adds, “I think it would be cool. (You) can construct experiments that cannot be done on earth. I think going into space would be the best vacation!” Jacob D. of Hague, New York agrees and writes, “If I had enough money, it would be fun. It would be a once in a lifetime chance.” The majority of you, however, think space travel is too expensive and dangerous. Mark B. of Grafton, Wisconsin writes, “It is too expensive and the risks are too high. There are so many place here on Earth that I would rather see!” Bobbi B. of Oelwein, Iowa adds, “ It is not safe (and) it costs too much for people to go into space.” Jessica D. of Manchester, Vermont agrees and says, “We could use that money on rebuilding industries that were damaged during the hurricanes. (Besides) you can just go to Disney World (for) a ride that makes you feel like you are in space.” Finally, Andrew S. of Rochester, New York says a ride into space is not enough for him. Andrew writes, “The only way they would get $200,000 out of me is if I got to go out of the space ship and explore outside.” We look forward to your responses to our latest two questions: “Have we achieved Dr. King’s dream?” and “Is winning the most important thing?” 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 Iran, where did we tell you that country moved its foreign exchange accounts? Was it banks in Southeast Asia Europe the United States And the correct answer is number one. Facing economic sanctions, Iran moved its foreign money to Southeast Asian banks. NEW CLUES And now it’s time for next week’s clues in the news… Our first clue a location… 60 Degrees, 10 minutes north latitude 24 Degrees, 58 minutes east longitude Our second clue is a scrambled letter, it is two words First word A P A N E L I S T I N Second word E C H O I C And finally, our third clue is a fill in the blanks, it is three words First word C blank I blank E S blank Second word N bank W Third word Y blank A blank 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 Michael Caputo. We’ll see you again next week. © 2006 WXXI-TV/ Assignment: The World. All Rights Reserved.