Voice of America, 00-08-18

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From: The Voice of America <gopher://gopher.voa.gov>

CONTENTS

[01] UNICEF / TURKEY (L-ONLY) BY LISA SCHLEIN (GENEVA)

[02] NY ECON WRAP (S&L) BY BARBARA SCHOETZAU (NEW YORK)

[03] FRIDAY'S EDITORIALS BY FRED COOPER (WASHINGTON)

[01] UNICEF / TURKEY (L-ONLY) BY LISA SCHLEIN (GENEVA)

INTRO: The United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, says up to 20-thousand children remain severely traumatized a year after a devastating earthquake struck Turkey. Lisa Schlein in Geneva reports UNICEF is running several support programs to help the children.

TEXT: UNICEF says it took about six months after the earthquake before anyone realized how deeply affected many of the children were by the disaster. The coordinator for UNICEF's earthquake program in Turkey, William Gardner, says it usually takes several months before post-traumatic stress syndrome manifests itself. He says many children began showing signs of distress and unusual, sometimes aggressive behavior, which often was not understood by their parents.

[02] NY ECON WRAP (S&L) BY BARBARA SCHOETZAU (NEW YORK)

INTRO: Wall Street ended the trading week with all major stock indices down. Correspondent Barbara Schoetzau reports from New York.

TEXT: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than nine points to close at 11-thousand-46. The broader Standard and Poor's 500 Index lost almost four-and- one-half points - about a quarter of one percent. And the technology-weighted Nasdaq Composite Index showed gains all day but slipped 11 points -- a quarter of one percent -- just before the close of trading, ending a five-day rally. Semiconductor and fiber optic stocks continue to surge. Agilent Technologies, Sun Microsystems and Ciena Corporation were among the week's technology leaders. General Motors shares rose almost three percent after the company reported that financier Carl Icahn intends to buy more than 15 million dollars in G-M stock. But weakness in the drug, oil and financial sectors dragged down the Dow.

[03] FRIDAY'S EDITORIALS BY FRED COOPER (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: Newspaper editorial writers in the United States on Friday are assessing the substance and impact of Vice President Al Gore's speech on Thursday accepting the Democratic Presidential nomination. Among other subjects, they are also commenting on the plight of the stranded Russian submarine, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's international tour, the future of the Concorde supersonic airliner and the problem of punishing war criminals. Here is _______________ with a closer look and some excerpts in today's Editorial Digest.

TEXT: Many editorial writers in the United States are discussing Mr. Gore's speech to the Democratic National Convention. The Arizona Republic says the Vice President "staked an effective claim to the presidency," while the San Francisco Chronicle says it brought "a jolt of energy" to Mr. Gore's presidential campaign. The Philadelphia Inquirer was typical of newspapers that praised the speech, saying the vice president deftly highlighted a range of issues and substantively discussed policy details. The Inquirer writes:

VOICE: Al Gore had a devilish task last night, to lay out dozens of real issues on which he must hope this election will turn, while exploding his reputation for stiff, tiresome, wonkishness (studiousness). He did it well enough, with passion and policy meat, to make this election seem still a race, not a runaway.

TEXT: But the Dallas Morning News comments that while the Vice President showed he can speak from the heart and strike a populist chord, his speech left one important question unanswered:

VOICE: Intellectual ability and commitment are not his challenge. He faces a more fundamental question: Can he lead? Al Gore showed that he can bring a Democratic crowd to its feet, but he must keep addressing the leadership question if he expects to become president.

TEXT: The rescue drama surrounding the Kursk, the Russian submarine trapped on the bottom of the Barents Sea with 118 sailors aboard, continues to draw comment. The Philadelphia Inquirer, notes the chorus of criticism of the Russian rescue efforts and particularly of Moscow's delay in asking for international help. The newspaper urges a halt to the censure:

VOICE: Give the Russians a cultural break on this one. . . It can't be easy for a recent world power, now splintered and bankrupt, so poor that its sailors haven't been paid in months, to accept help from Western nations it once nearly beat in the technology race. And Russians would be far from paranoid in assuming that British and Norwegian rescuers will include nuclear snoopers. . . For Americans, now is a time not to criticize Russia's handling of its disaster, but to pray for a least some of these seamen to survive.

TEXT: The New York Times Friday notes the submarine accident raises alarms about the broader risks posed by what it terms "the generally poor state of the Russian nuclear fleet":

VOICE: The sinking of a Russian nuclear submarine . . . is not just a tragedy for the sailors trapped aboard, it is a warning of the dangers of running a nuclear navy on the cheap . . . money is so short that submarines rarely put to sea. They lack maintenance and the crews get little training.... [The] Russian navy's deficiencies not only endanger its crew, they pose a risk to the local ocean environment.

TEXT: The Washington Times Friday is commenting on the advice Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has been receiving during recent visits with his allies in the Arab world. The newspaper says the Arab leaders did not support his plan to declare a Palestinian state on September 13th:

VOICE: Mr. Arafat's allies remained committed to Palestinian sovereignty over East Jerusalem, while encouraging him to refrain from making any move that would change the status of the current boundaries.... Stripped of support from the United States, their Arab allies and most of the international community - minus China - the Palestinians will likely receive nothing but violence in return for their statehood proclamation should they make it next month.... Egypt and its Arab allies must help the Palestinians understand that a safe Israel paves the way for a secure Middle East.

TEXT: The Baltimore Sun is looking pessimistically at the future of the Anglo-French Concorde supersonic airliner, in the aftermath of its July 25th crash. While both governments this week said they were determined to get the Concorde airborne again, the Baltimore Sun wonders whether that makes economic sense:

VOICE: Concorde never recouped development costs. It has served a niche market of people who pay 20 times what others do to cross the Atlantic twice as fast. And if, from anxieties following the crash, passengers don't come, the cost of the modifications is made onerous.

TEXT: Regardless of its future, The Baltimore Sun points out an enduring benefit of the airplane. It notes that the Anglo-French cooperation in building the Concorde -- unique for its time - is now routine. In that sense, the paper says, "Concorde has already vindicated itself." The Christian Science Monitor is praising an American jury verdict in New York last week that awarded a group of Bosnian women 745 million dollars in damages for torture and rape they suffered from forces under the command of Bosnian-Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. The newspaper notes that while the women will likely never collect the money, such verdicts highlight the injustice and give victims an opportunity to speak out. Still, the newspaper says, the best way to dispense justice is through international tribunals:

VOICE: The move toward such tribunals has momentum today, with courts established for atrocities in former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda and plans under way at the United Nations for a third tribunal to deal with crimes against humanity in Sierra Leone's brutal civil war. At best, the verdict voiced in New York is one more affirmation that those wanted for such crimes will not go scot free.

TEXT: And that concludes today's sampling of U-S editorial opinion.
NEB/FC/KL 18-Aug-2000 12:54 PM EDT (18-Aug-2000 1654 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America

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