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CNN Student News

Aired April 05, 2002 - 04:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching CNN STUDENT NEWS seen in schools around the world because learning never stops and neither does the news.

SUSAN FREIDMAN, CO-HOST: It's finally Friday, and CNN STUDENT NEWS leads off with U.S. President Bush. The American leader is speaking out in the wake of Mideast violence. Hear what he has to say.

SHELLEY WALCOTT, CO-HOST: More on the Mideast in our "News Focus." We'll examine the road and the roadblocks to peace.

FREIDMAN: Then peace of another sort as we turn to "Perspectives." Listen to soothing sounds of Chinese bells.

WALCOTT: And in Student Bureau, we'll focus on a Latin phrase, carpe diem. It means to seize the day. Discover how one man is making the most of that advice.

FREIDMAN: Welcome to CNN STUDENT NEWS. I'm Susan Freidman.

WALCOTT: And I'm Shelley Walcott.

Israeli troops move into the divided West Bank city of Hebron making it the latest target of their military action. This as U.S. President Bush declares enough is enough.

FREIDMAN: Under pressure from Arab and European allies to speak out, Mr. Bush said yesterday he's sending Secretary of State Colin Powell to the Middle East. Powell will go there next week to work for a lasting cease-fire, withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian areas and implementation of the Tenet and Mitchell plans. Both those plans lay out a framework for peace.

For more on the president's tough words and Powell's tough assignment, here's Major Garrett.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAJOR GARRETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Virtually alone on the world stage in sympathizing with Israel's anti- terror raids, the president Thursday joined a global chorus calling for an end to the military assault and new talks to obtain a cease- fire. BUSH: To lay the foundations of future peace, I ask Israel to halt incursions into Palestinian-controlled areas and begin the withdrawal from those cities it has recently occupied.

GARRETT: The president bowed to other pressures, dispatching Secretary of State Colin Powell to the region.

BUSH: The world finds itself at a critical moment. This is a conflict that can widen or an opportunity we can seize.

GARRETT: But top administration officials concede Powell will bring no new ideas and has no firm agenda. What's more, Powell won't arrive until next week, much later than the European and Arab critics of the Bush policy have been demanding.

As to when Israel should withdraw, the president offered no specifics. Senior officials said Israel should pull back, quote, "as soon as possible," again, a far cry from immediately, which is the Arab and European standard.

Still, there's a sea change in the administration's Middle East policy. No more tacit support for the Israeli military, and no more waiting for presidential envoy General Zinni to negotiate a cease- fire.

LEE HAMILTON, WOODROW WILSON CENTER: The president has held back too long. He now will energize his administration to tackle these tough problems in the Middle East. He's shifting his position on a number of key issues.

GARRETT: What pushed the White House? Many factors, among them protests like these in Jordan and Egypt, Egypt breaking almost all government ties with Israel, fears of a wider war, and an Arab oil boycott.

It all adds up to pressure on Israel. But it didn't spell an end to tough talk about Arafat, still under siege in Ramallah. In fact, the president used some of the harshest language to date to condemn Arafat's failure to stop terror attacks in Israel.

BUSH: The situation in which he finds himself today is largely of his own making. He's missed his opportunities, and thereby betrayed the hopes of the people he's supposed to lead.

GARRETT (on camera): The White House still considers Arafat the chief representative of the Palestinians, but that may change. A senior administration official said that while Powell hopes to meet with Arafat, he will also see other Palestinian leaders, a move to build bridges in case the White House has to cope with a post-Arafat era.

Major Garrett, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREIDMAN: Residents of the West Bank are trying to carry on with their lives despite the violence.

CNN's Rusty Dornin spoke with two Palestinian girls currently in the U.S. who desperately want to go home and make sure their families are safe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: 15-year-old Sanabal Alfersa (ph) and 16-year-old Kian Al-Safey (ph) can't go home. Stranded in San Francisco, these Palestinian teenagers can only watch the skirmishes near their refugee camp in Bethlehem.

What has been like the last few days watching these scenes on television?

AL-SAFEY: I feel angry. I feel worried. I feel afraid because I want to be in my country with my people, with my friends, with my family.

DORNIN: The teens came to the U.S. last month after documentary promises in which Sanable was a star was nominated for an Oscar. It's the story of five years in the lives of Jewish and Palestinian children in Jerusalem. Thoughts and feeling the teens feel more comfortable at times discussing in Arabic.

What was happening to your camp the week before the Academy Awards?

AL-SAFEY: The army and the soldiers entered my house and entered my -- entered our camp. They destroyed 10 houses.

DORNIN: What about the movie? Sanable, at one point, you asked two of the Jewish boys in the film to come to the refugee camp. How was that for you?

ALFERA: We had heard that there are two Jewish kids that support us in Israel. It was a very special day for me. It was very important to see that there are Israeli children who believe in our rights, who respect our rights and who support us.

DORNIN: Have your feeling changed about them, about these Jewish boys or about the Jewish people or your feeling for peace?

ALFERA: I met them in Los Angeles at the Oscar. Actually they tried to contact us after the siege but since the telephone lines were cut off, we didn't hear for them. And for a while I was afraid that they have changed their position and they will not supporting us anymore. So I was really happy to learn afterwards that they did indeed try to contact us.

DORNIN: I know that you had recently told an interviewer that you would be happy to be martyr for your homeland and that you agreed with the suicide bombers. Do you still feel that way or have you feeling changed about that?

ALFERA: At the time of the interview, I was feeling a lot of anger. The Israeli tanks were 10 meters away from our house. They were surrounding us and that affected me a lot. I cannot say that I support these suicide bombings and I cannot tell somebody that they should go and lose their life in a suicide bombing because of the despair we are living under. At the same time, I cannot tell somebody not to do a suicide bombing.

DORNIN: I know you must have been calling your families. Have you been able to reach them?

ALFERA: I talked to my mother and my siblings but our fathers and our older brothers, we don't know anything about them. We don't now where they are. They are not at home. And I'm constantly worried, wondering what has happened to them. If they're OK, if there are still in hiding, if they have been killed, if they have been injured.

DORNIN: Once you do get to go home, what kind of future do you see for yourself?

AL-SAFEY: I think our future -- we haven't a future.

DORNIN: Not if things stay the way they are, feelings of despair from teens who've yet to graduate from high school. Rusty Dornin, CNN, San Francisco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALCOTT: In his speech on the Middle East yesterday, President Bush expressed disappointment in both Israeli and Palestinian leadership. With every act of violence, America is being drawn deeper into the search for a solution. It's not the first time the U.S. has been down this road.

CNN's Garrick Utley explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARRICK UTLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is about people, the conflict and carnage we have been witness to, the dead, the wounded, the frightened.

And now, as the United States tries to stop the violence, the focus will be on two particular people, the leaders who have fallen short or gone too far: Yasser Arafat, who George Bush blames for failing to stop the suicide bombings; and Ariel Sharon, who, in the words of the president, has gone too far in humiliating the Palestinians.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I expect better leadership. And I expect results.

UTLEY (on camera): A sharp rebuke from the president, and right on target, for the job of leaders, of course, is to control the passions and the anger of their people, however justified, and lead, to make a bad situation better. It is that asking for too much in the Middle East? (voice-over): We remember this hopeful moment, when leaders worked for peace and shook hands and Nobel Prizes were handed out. And there was that earlier image, as Israel and Egypt agreed to make peace. But they needed special help from the United States.

Following the Middle East war in 1973 and the Camp David agreement, a demilitarized Sinai Peninsula was returned to Egypt. And American troops were placed in the middle to guarantee the peace between the two countries. They are still there more than 20 years later.

Placing American troops between Palestinians and Israelis is the last thing the Bush administration wants to do. They would become targets for extremists on both sides. But security for Israelis and Palestinians is now issue one. The idea of an international force, including Americans, to separate the two sides is being heard more frequently, if not yet from the president.

BUSH: The world finds itself at a critical moment. This is a conflict that can widen. America is committed to ending this conflict and beginning an era of peace.

UTLEY (on camera): Which raises the question: How committed is the United States to ending the violence between Israelis an Palestinians? How far is George Bush prepared to go in his leadership? Would he commit American troops to guarantee a peace if both sides agreed to it?

(voice-over): For decades, that has been the unthinkable. We may be getting to the point where it is the unavoidable.

Garrick Utley, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

April 5 is Respect for Ancestors Day in China.

FREIDMAN: When you think of a desert, what comes to mind, the dry, dusty plains of Africa or camel caravans meandering through the Middle East? But did you know that some of the world's newest deserts are taking form in China?

Lisa Rose Weaver has more on the desert storm brewing near Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA ROSE WEAVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Land is on the move across northern China in the form of dust, lots of it. Almost one-third of this vast country's land mass is desert, or is in the process of becoming one. According to official figures, since the first desert tracking study eight years ago, another 50,000 square kilometers have become this. Some of China's airborne desert, more than 50,000 tons, were recently dumped on Beijing and its 12 million residents. The storm showed it clearly on satellite pictures and covered several provas (ph) and other cities. Back in Ying Shing (ph) County, a two-hour's drive from the city, the process continues.

(on camera): This mini desert developed about four years ago. A lot of the sand is being blown in from other areas. In some spots, sand is exposed beneath the thin topsoil when it eroded. In any case, tree cutting in the mountains behind me here has taken away the roots that could have stopped the sand from spreading so quickly.

(voice-over): But few trees have been planted to contain the sands are designed to protect tourist facilities at this dune park created to attract onlookers and income. The desire for short-term economic gain explains why government plans to encourage tree planting have, well, not taken root. The problem, says Wong Yon Le (ph), is farmers want money up front before they invest in the saplings and the time to plant them.

WONG YON LE (through translator): The government has plans to get trees planted, but it just hasn't happened. This is a poor area. It's going to take a while.

WEAVER: So far, environmental good intent has been more symbolic than effective, but there could be work ahead. In preparation for hosting the 2008 Olympics, the city of Beijing has pledged to build greenbelts all around the city within five years. In Ying Shing County, there's a lot of work to do before then.

Lisa Rose Weaver, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREIDMAN: Our coverage of China continues. Farmers in the People's Republic have been enlisting some high tech help with their crops. The goal, to make Chinese agriculture more competitive in the global food market.

Here again is Lisa Rose Weaver.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WEAVER (voice-over): Fitting the products to consumers, not an easy task in China for the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) dynamics of increasing free trade and rising demand for milk are forcing farmers to learn more efficient livestock management. This model farm is a joint venture between the Israeli government and Beijing city. It may have the answers Chinese agribusiness needs to survive against international competition and produce its own milk from scratch instead of importing milk powder.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The mission approaching now is to encourage people to use more milk and more meat products so that will increase for sure.

WEAVER: How long before Chinese farms are in step with international competition? The Israeli partners here say it's not just around the corner.

But membership in the World Trade Organization will strip away subsidies and trade protection. And already even those who don't know what WTO stands for know they have to learn to compete.

Lee Shray May (ph) is one of them.

LEE SHRAY MAY (through translator): Farmers back home want to grow high yield crops with new technologies, but nobody is able to teach them, that's why I came to Beijing to study.

WEAVER: Across town at Beijing's Glorious Land Agricultural Company, private enterprise is already hard at work. This produce company is hustling to fill a growing market niche in organic and so- called safe products, which means minimal pesticides. Demand for such food is still outstripping supply.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Why, most agricultural products are still produced in the traditional way in China, outdoors with no technology.

WEAVER: But such moves to high tech, driven by the prospect of global competition has led to more focus on research and development which could eventually help Chinese companies, like this one, meet not only domestic demand but sell to overseas markets.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Exploring our world, here now is CNN STUDENT NEWS "Perspectives."

WALCOTT: You know echoes of China's past can literally be heard at a museum in the Wuhan Province. In 1978, archaeologists uncovered a huge tomb dating back to the fifth century. One hundred and twenty- four musical instruments were found inside, among them, a set of 65 bronze bells. The bells are believed to have been played in royal court rituals. Artisans created replicas of those bells casting each one to the original's precise pitch. The result, sounds of an ancient civilization for a modern day audience.

All week long we've focused on China, its history, customs and culture. We end our focus with a musical interlude, so sit back, relax and enjoy.

WALCOTT: Earlier in the show we focused on the conflict in the Mideast. In our "Week in Review" report, we turn once again to this topic.

Here now is our Joel Hochmuth with some global perspective on the issues surrounding the Middle East.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOEL HOCHMUTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The world is reacting to President Bush's decision to send Secretary of State Colin Powell to the Mideast.

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: The announcement today from the White House was encouraging. And I have spoken to the Secretary of State, and I'm happy that the U.S. is becoming much more engaged. HOCHMUTH: Until Thursday, the administration's public position was that it was too soon for Powell to go, that a cease-fire be in place before talks begin towards a negotiated settlement. The position had a high profile defender.

HENRY KISSINGER, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I think that Powell is absolutely right. He should go when he has a framework in which both sides agree at least on what they're trying to do. Then he can be effective.

HOCHMUTH: But events in the Mideast clearly changed that way of thinking. Israeli tanks rolled into city after city across the West Bank and Gaza, including the holy city of Bethlehem. And Israeli troops tightened their noose around Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. In response, Egypt severed all but limited diplomatic contacts with Israel and thousands of Palestinian sympathizers took to the streets in protest across the Arab world. All that while the conflict threatened to spread to northern Israel where Hezbollah militants fired missiles at two Israeli military posts.

ADEL AL-JUBEIR, SAUDI FOREIGN POLICY ADVISER: Absolutely, there is growing tension in the region. There's a lot of frustration, a lot of anger at what Prime Minister Sharon is doing in the territories and people are expressing it in different ways. We've seen a lot of demonstrations in the Arab world. The situation, Kate, is very critical and it's very dangerous.

HOCHMUTH: Throughout Arab countries, anger deepened as many there believe the U.S. has been too one-sided, favoring Israel during the crisis and that the Bush administration simply isn't doing enough to find a solution.

NICHOLAS VELIOTES, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO EGYPT: The situation in the West Bank and Gaza is an obscenity, and the perception throughout the Arab world and beyond is that American passivity towards the area has played its full role in where we are today.

SAEB ERAKAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: It's time for the U.S. administration to get its act together.

HOCHMUTH: President Bush took particular criticism for remarks he made over the weekend while visiting his ranch in Texas. He appeared to give a green light to Israel's escalating military action against Palestinians.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I fully understand Israel's need to defend herself. I respect that. It's a country that has seen a wave of suicide bombers come into the hearts of their cities and kill innocent people. And that country has a right to defend itself.

HOCHMUTH: In his Rose Garden address Thursday, Mr. Bush took pains to clarify his position.

BUSH: America recognizes Israel's right to defend itself from terror. Yet, to lay the foundations of future peace, I ask Israel to halt incursions into Palestinian-controlled areas and begin the withdrawal from those cities it has recently occupied.

HOCHMUTH: Will Israel comply? Will such actions soothe Palestinians and protesters throughout the Arab world? Those are just two of the many unknowns facing Secretary Powell as he heads to the region next week. His visit may be the best hope in recent memory to get the Mideast back on the road to peace. Few want to speculate what happens if he fails.

Joel Hochmuth, CNN STUDENT NEWS.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Take our quiz at CNNstudentnews.com.

WALCOTT: Moving through the state of Arkansas is a 150-mile long river, a river full of history and of stories deep in color and memories.

Our CNN Student Bureau reporter, Dan Taylor, filed this report from the Buffalo River.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANNY ELLIOTT, HOSTEL OWNER: Hello, Ozark International Hostel. We have five beds available tonight. To get here, turn off U.S. Highway 65 onto U.S. Highway 333. Three miles to Gilbert. At junction, turn left. Then turn left again after Caroline's Cottage (ph).

DAN TAYLOR, CNN STUDENT BUREAU (voice-over): Several miles off the beaten path in Arkansas lies the coldest place in the state, Gilbert. Stay on Highway 65 and you miss it. Take a left towards the tiny village and the tales come alive.

ELLIOTT: It's a big place.

TAYLOR: Thirty-three people live here, stories never ending. One man in particular likes telling his share. Meet Danny Elliot, or Fig as the locals call him. Fifty-two years old, businessman, never married and a college student. This is his house and his source of revenue, a hostel international.

ELLIOTT: It's difficult trying to be a full time student and run the hostel over here. It's tough.

TAYLOR: Elliot commutes twice a week from Gilbert to the University of Arkansas, more than two hours away.

ELLIOTT: I need somebody here to help me run the hostile because I'm going to be in and out anyway.

TAYLOR: Elliott isn't entirely complaining. After all, he lives close enough to see and hear a spectacular national river. ELLIOTT: There's no place like the Buffalo River. It's right there. I mean it's -- you can hear it. You can sit out in the front yard in the evening in the spring when it's up and you can hear it rolling over the rocks. And it's just -- it's great. There's a canoe out in the yard. You just throw it in the back of the truck and you're down in the river five minutes later.

TAYLOR (on camera): The beauty is obvious floating along this historic national river. It was such beauty as this that attracted Danny Elliott to live his home now 400 yards from the Buffalo River.

(voice-over): The winters are cold, plenty of firewood is a must.

ELLIOTT: That ought to be enough for tonight.

TAYLOR: Elliott's house is a rustic bungalow. Fireplace, books and cooking supplies round out his hostel, enough for anybody to survive on no matter where you're from.

ELLIOTT: We had a guy here from New Zealand. And that kind of flipped me out, you know, because the name of the hostel is the Ozark Mountain International Hostel so when he showed up it officially made it an international hostel. And I have a map on the north wall in the house that you put a little pin when you show up at the hostel.

TAYLOR: People from all over the world are gracing Elliott's residence.

ELLIOTT: You know once you're here, you don't want to leave.

TAYLOR: It's a lodge for rent. Maybe now is time to seize the day.

ELLIOTT: We hope to see you soon. Otherwise, leave a message please. Bye now.

TAYLOR: On the banks of the Buffalo River, Dan Taylor, CNN Student Bureau, University of Arkansas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

"Where in the World" inhabitants have the highest per capita income of all Asians, since 1961, has had a health insurance system that covers all of its citizens, gave 3,000 Cherry Blossom trees to U.S. in 1912 as a token of friendship? Japan.

WALCOTT: That wraps up today's show.

FREIDMAN: Bye-bye.

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