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CNN Student News

Aired March 13, 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: Time to get things rolling on your Wednesday "CNN STUDENT NEWS". We begin in the Middle East where the violence rages on.

MICHAEL MCMANUS, CO-HOST: We've also got "Headlines" out of Zimbabwe as the citizens await a final count in the presidential election.

FREIDMAN: Then, follow us to Peru for an Incan adventure in "Perspectives."

MCMANUS: This is your "CNN STUDENT NEWS" for Wednesday. I'm Michael McManus.

FREIDMAN: And I'm Susan Freidman.

Voters in France are getting ready for the nation's upcoming presidential election, and they have a lot of candidates to read up on before they hit the polls. I'll explain coming up in our "News Focus."

MCMANUS: Meanwhile, Vice President Cheney begins his tour of the Middle East. He arrived in Jordan Tuesday after talks in London with the British Prime Minister. His mission, to shore up support for the war on terror and urge acceptance of America's tougher stance on Iraq.

While in Jordan, Cheney met with King Abdullah who supports the anti-terror efforts but is critical of possible plans to target Iraq for fear it could destabilize the Middle East. Cheney's visit to the Middle East comes amid what is being described as the largest Israeli military offensive in 20 years.

Michael Holmes has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The escalating violence of recent days made its way to northern Israel on Tuesday near the border with Lebanon. Several gunmen opening fire on Israeli vehicles, six Israelis killed, six wounded. Security forces began a sweep of the area telling residents to stay indoors as they hunted for the gunmen. Two gunmen were shot dead by Israeli security forces, a hunt continued for possibly more. This is an area that has not seen this level of violence since the Israeli army pulled out of Lebanon two years ago.

Meanwhile in Ramallah, the shooting continued almost 24 hours after Israeli tanks, troops and helicopters moved into the heart of the Palestinian Authority. Israeli troops moved from house to house in what they called a hunt for terrorists and terrorist infrastructure. Palestinian resistance was constant, defiance, too, from officials.

YASSER ABED RABBO, PALESTINIAN INFORMATION MINISTER: This is leading into a real open war between us and the occupation of. We had called upon all the Palestinians to resist this occupation and to confront it.

HOLMES: Palestinians turned on one of their own as well. A man accused of being a collaborator with Israel killed in Ramallah, his body on display in the city's main square.

The violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip comes after a campaign of Israeli raids on towns and refugee camps, a campaign the Israeli military says has born fruit.

GOL GAL HIRSH (ph), ISRAELI ARMY: We found many explosives laboratories. We found many bombs that were ready, on their way to the main populated areas of Israel. We found a lot of ammunition, rifles, revolvers, machine guns. And we were fighting against terrorists wherever we went to.

HOLMES (on camera): The escalating violence is a bloody prelude to the visit to the region this week by U.S. special envoy Anthony Zinni here to broker a cease-fire. Many hope that the events of recent days are the storm before the calm his visit might bring.

Now hot on his heels, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, certain to be pushing both sides in this conflict to stop the killing, not least so the U.S. can pursue wider goals in the region in its war on terror.

Michael Holmes, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCMANUS: Results are expected today from a controversial election in Zimbabwe. The country's president, Robert Mugabe, has been in power since his Rebel Party overthrew white rule more than 20 years ago. He is now facing his own political challenge, election procedures in the troubled African nation have been marred by charges of voter fraud and government interference.

We have two reports on the situation there beginning with Joel Hochmuth.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JOEL HOCHMUTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For many voters in Zimbabwe, this turned out not to be an exercise in democracy but an exercise in futility. They stood in line for hours for a chance to vote in the presidential election but were turned away when the polls closed Monday. Those left standing in line were largely supporters of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. He cried foul.

MORGAN TSVANGIRAI, MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE: I would like to first of all express a big disappointment at the machinations of this government to try to have a predetermined outcome. We are in the third day of voting where there is no voting taking place, where in Arari (ph) and in Stuwiza (ph) multitudes of potential voters are being disenfranchised.

HOCHMUTH: This is hardly the first time charges of fraud or corruption have been leveled upon President Robert Mugabe and his administration. He's been accused of dealing harshly with past political opponents, of once killing about 20,000 members of an ethnic minority.

For his part, Mugabe accuses his opposition of being pawns of former Colonial ruler Britain and has arrested some of Tsvangirai supporters. The accusation, trying to vote twice.

ROBERT MUGABE, PRESIDENT OF ZIMBABWE: I have seen (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of the opposition. They went, you know, to direct events here and they don't want the president of Zimbabwe, the current president, to remain president.

HOCHMUTH: Mugabe's political fortunes have fallen considerably since he first came to power back in 1980, back when the colony was still known as Rhodesia. That was a moment of triumph as the country's black majority finally took control from the white minority. Mugabe promised to improve life for the millions of blacks in Zimbabwe. He built schools and hospitals and promoted economic reforms to help small peasant farmers.

But then came the 1990s when the country's economy went into a tailspin and joblessness skyrocketed. Making matters worse, in 1999 Mugabe endorsed violent seizures of white-owned farms, a policy that threw agriculture in Zimbabwe into chaos. Today, hunger is rampant.

Still, Mugabe has his supporters.

JONATHAN MOYO, INFORMATION MINISTER: You know you find in him the lasting connection between this troubles the Africans fought to liberate themselves and the aspirations of the -- of the Africans way, way into the future.

HOCHMUTH: But Tsvangirai is counting on the growing frustration with Mugabe and the desperation of people in Zimbabwe to sweep him into power. More than half are out of work.

TSVANGIRAI: He has betrayed whatever revolutionary (UNINTELLIGIBLE) we have left (ph) in Zimbabwe. Whenever the result will be announced, we will regale in that victory. (UNINTELLIGIBLE). HOCHMUTH: With all the charges flying about voter fraud and a rigged election, remains to be seen whether a legitimate winner can be determined. Of course whoever assumes power will have to tackle a growing economic crisis and it won't be easy.

For more on that, we go to Jeff Koinange.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A typical scene in much of Zimbabwe these days, endless lines for food. Today this store is selling corn or mealimeal (ph) as the staple is known locally. Most of these people have spent the last three nights in this line. People like Betty Flanga (ph) who walked 15 kilometers to find her place in the line. She says her eight children haven't had a decent meal in more than a week. She has the money to buy food but there's little available.

"It's so disgraceful having to line up for mealimeal for our hungry children," she says. "We used to export the stuff, now we're begging for it."

Security guard Nicholas Shasheba (ph) came off his night shift and got in line.

"It's very disheartening standing in line for food," he says. "I can't go home because I have hungry children waiting for me to bring them food."

Martha Foobay (ph) doesn't have the option of leaving her children at home. She's been waiting with young Cosilati (ph) on her back since the crack of dawn. She just wants enough food for her infant firstborn.

"I only want one bag for my son," she says. "Is that asking for too much?"

Another supermarket and another line, this time for cooking oil. These people are relatively lucky, though, they've only been waiting in line since 4:00 a.m. By midday, a shipment arrives, but there's one catch, if you don't have your own container you get no oil.

(on camera): As late as November last year, economists and other experts were predicting long lines and food shortages in the coming year. Well barely four months later that prediction has become a reality and it's hitting Zimbabweans squarely where it hurts the most.

(voice-over): Zimbabwe's economy has been in a free fall ever since the first (UNINTELLIGIBLE) invasions nearly two years ago. The government blames the chronic shortages on unscrupulous traders out to make a quick buck.

But economists say most people think the government is responsible and the issue could play into voter's sentiments.

JOHN ROBERTSON, ECONOMIST: A great many people are going to go to the elections having not eaten for maybe two or three days. That's going to certainly affect the possibility of their voting against whatever they believe caused the problem.

KOINANGE: For some hungry Zimbabweans, the election is the last issue on their minds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't promise you that I'm going to vote because I don't have mealimeal (ph) right now.

KOINANGE: Back at the mealimeal line, hope at last, three tons of food finally arrives three days and 12 hours later. It's hardly enough for this hungry crowd, only the lucky few will get their allotted 10 kilogram bag. But it's enough for now, enough at least to carry them through this election weekend.

For "INSIDE AFRICA," I'm Jeff Koinange in Belawio (ph).

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCMANUS: This story doesn't end here, it's also on the Web at CNNstudentnews.com. Read profiles of the political candidates plus learn about Zimbabwe's history and geography.

Now here's Susan with more news about another election.

FREIDMAN: Thanks, Mike.

Voters in France face difficult decisions in their nation's upcoming presidential elections, their choice is complicated by a crowded field of candidates. In fact, a record number of people are campaigning for the presidential title and plan to have their names on the ballot this spring.

CNN's Jim Bittermann has a preview of this year's election along with some insight into French politics.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was former French President Charles de Gaulle who complained about the impossibility of governing a country with so many different kinds of cheeses, with so much individuality. And now, that same trait has prompted nearly two dozen people to try to become the big cheese, the president of France.

Never before have there been so many candidates handshaking their way across the country. The main ones, of course, the current president and his newfound adversary, the prime minister. But also: ecologists, feminists, and communists, candidates from the extreme right and candidates from the extreme left. There is a hunter representing hunters and a postman who has become something of a star by advocating a four-day work week and legalized marijuana.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We don't even agree with the idea of being president. It's anti-democratic, for instance, when one person has a finger on the nuclear button. And when you see some of the candidates, it's not very reassuring.

BITTERMANN: Of course, not all candidates will be officially certified. To do that, a hopeful must present petitions signed by 500 elected officials. Mayors, for instance, of which France has more than 36,000. But it's worth the shot, because a candidate who does get his or her name on the ballot automatically is eligible for a $140,000 advance from the government to pay campaign expenses, and up to $13.5 million in matching funds to pay for their headquarters and other costs.

But, whatever their reason for throwing their berets into the ring, all of those candidates make it a virtual certainty that no one will win a majority of votes, enough to become president, on the first round of the elections.

(on camera): A little for the green candidate, a little for the red. When you look at the public opinion polls and start dividing things up, you realize that so many people are taking a bite out of the electoral cheese that whoever does win the presidency after the final run-off elections on May 5th will have to admit that he or she was the first choice of less than 1/4 of the French electorate.

No real shock, though, since it's long been said here that, just as with their cheeses, the French make their first selection based on emotion, and the second based on more serious concerns. Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ONSCREEN: March 13, (ph), Prodigy publishes its first online newspaper, "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution."

MCMANUS: Passwords, computer and otherwise, are supposed to be kept secret, but it turns out they're only as secret as the people who use them. Psychologists say it's sometimes possible to predict a password based on anything from the personality of the user to what's sitting on their desk.

CNN's Andrew Brown explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREW BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just think of all the things on your desk. They may mean nothing at all. They may also help someone crack your computer password and then, masquerading as you, send e-mails, files, even plunder your online bank account.

According to a recent British study, passwords are often based on something obvious. Around 50 percent of computer users base them on the name of family member, partner, or pet, 30 percent on a pop idol or sporting hero. That could be a problem.

HELEN PETRIE, CITY UNIVERSITY, LONDON: Particularly, say, if you're a fan of a football club, then you might well have something related to that football club around your desk at the office. You might have a mug or a pennant or something. If someone comes and wants to try and quickly hack into your system, they look around your desk, they see something for your football club; then might try using that as your password.

BROWN: It is not always that easy. Psychologists say passwords often reflect something about our subconscious. Users may not even know what inspires them to choose one word rather than another.

PETRIE: It seems to be something about the first thing that comes into your mind when you're asked to give a password.

BROWN: Petrie's suggests 10 percent of passwords reflect some kind of fantasy; often these contain sexual references. And 10 percent use cryptic combinations; they are among the toughest to break.

Although financial institutions advise their online customers to enhance security by using random words and letters and to change a password frequently.

EUGENE LAW, CASH FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP: You know that the strongest fastest computer in the states still takes some time for to you crack a strong password.

BROWN: Experts say whatever you do don't base a password on your own name or date of birth. And when asked to select a password, don't simply type in "password"; that isn't too hard to crack.

Andrew Brown, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

FREIDMAN: At an elevation of 3,856 meters or 12,725 feet above sea level, Peru's Lake Titicaca is the world's highest navigable lake. Legend has it the Incas were born of its waters. Legend also has it that Incan gold was tossed into the lake to hide it from the Spanish conquistadors. But gold wasn't the only thing hidden by the waters, several families fled the shores and took refuge there.

As our Janice McDonald reports, their descendants have chosen to stay on the lake.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANICE MCDONALD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dawn on Lake Titicaca and these men are doing what their ancestors have done for hundreds of years, fishing. On the shore, others are gathering reeds. The reeds and the fish are what sustain them, the fish for nourishment, the reeds for their homes, boats and even their islands, which are not much more than thick piles of reeds matted together.

They are called the Uros, and they live in the shallow waters of the lake in a floating archipelago created almost 500 years ago to escape enslavement by Spanish conquistadors. EDUARDO CUETO, TOUR GUIDE: The ancestors of these people in the past were living in the coast and these people we now know are the same as people who decided to runaway from Spanish (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in the 16th century.

MCDONALD: Over the centuries, the Uros developed a lifestyle revolving around the waters. Mornings and nights are spent fishing, days spent gathering reeds.

(on camera): The islands need constant maintenance. Reeds have to be continually added up top because the ones below begin to rot. Even then, the islands only have a life span of about 25 years.

(voice-over): When an island gets too heavy, it sinks and a new one is built. A process repeated countless times over the centuries the Uros have lived here. It was a peaceful, undisturbed existence until the last 30 years, when their unique lifestyle was discovered by tourists.

IACINIO COILA, UROS RESIDENT (through translator): They started coming, groups of five and grew.

MCDONALD: Iacinio Coila was born and raised in these islands. He remembers when his people used to be frightened by the curiosity seekers. Now they welcome them by the boatloads, trying to sell them handmade tapestries, mobiles, trinkets and replicas of reed boats. The lifestyle the visitors come to photograph is quickly changing.

CUETO: At this point now they are very commercial, the -- because they see tourists coming everyday in huge groups and mainly in the morning they just pass...

MCDONALD: It's still a primitive way of living. People still grind their own grain, make their own mattresses. But instead of making reed boats for fishing, the tribesmen now make them to take tourists for rides and use the money they earn to buy longer lasting wooden boats. Way down here you can even find a solar panel to power a television hidden inside this reed hut. Some buildings are becoming a little more sturdy than the traditional reed structures, among them, the island's schools.

(CHILDREN SIGNING)

MCDONALD: Classes only go through the first level or sixth grade. Second level students attend classes a half-hour boat ride away on the mainland in the town of Puno. And many, like 13-year-old Pilar Vilca (ph), prefer the life they see there. She tells us it's easier to get sick down here on the water, her friends from the mainland don't come visit her and she'd rather move to Puno.

Twenty-year-old Reuben Coila has tried that life and prefers things down here.

REUBEN COILA, UROS RESIDENT (through translator): I spend less money, it is not as noisy, there's no pollution and I have a healthy life here. MCDONALD: Iacinio agrees. He admits with the tourists constantly coming by things are not as peaceful as they were when he was a boy, but he thinks the money they bring has made life better for his people.

I. COILA (through translator): In the past, we used to eat only fish and nothing else. Now we have money to go to Puno and buy more things. We have a better variety in our diet.

MCDONALD: While their culture is changing as quickly as their diet and their financial status, the reeds, which have sustained them over the centuries, remain a constant. And as long as they do, the Uros and their unique islands will exist here in some form.

Janice McDonald, CNN NEWSROOM, Uros Island, Peru.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREIDMAN: It's been a difficult year for the U.S. economy, but times have been even tougher in Argentina. The crippled economy there has ruined so many lives people are looking for new ways to survive, and one group is banking on an old system called bartering.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA MIRANDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like for so many other Argentineans, times are tough for Sonia Diaz. To ease the burden, she visits one of the few markets in Buenos Aries that she can afford.

SONIA DIAZ, MARKET SHOPPER (through translator): New clothes, shoes, food, I don't know, you can find everything here.

MIRANDA: And all of it available without the need for cash. The impoverished Toba Tribe, of which Diaz is a member, set up this market, a market that operates on a barter system as a way to help feed and clothe the more than 150 members of the reservation.

OSVALDO DIAZ, MARKET SHOPPER (through translator): I think for us bartering is not new, and it was already known to our grandparents, our parents and we carry it on with us.

MIRANDA: While the Toba Reservation is close to a school and a local hospital, few in the Toba Tribe actually have a job and that angers some tribal members.

CLEMENTE LOPEZ, TOBA TRIBE CHIEF (through translator): We are a people that also have projects, but we have always been treated as inferior in our own country.

MIRANDA: So as Argentina tries to dig out from its economic mess, the Toba Tribe will just bank on bartering, much like the many generations before them did.

Lisa Miranda, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCMANUS: Well we go from bartering to education now as many students are attending U.S. colleges and universities on international student visas. Along with the will to study, they bring with a wealth of culture and money for the American economy.

Today we look at the argument over whether increased restrictions on student visas is actually doing more harm than good.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAGNOLIA MONROY, INTERNATIONAL STUDENT: My name is Magnolia Monroy. I'm from Columbia.

JOHANNA TAREROS, INTERNATIONAL STUDENT: Johanna Tareros (ph). I'm from Ecuador.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From Ghana in West Africa.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Comanechi (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From Hungary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From Bombay, India.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From Lithuania.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From Ukraine.

CARLOS RAMON, CNN STUDENT BUREAU (voice-over): Every year, the United States receives more than a half million students from all over the world. They add uniqueness to the American culture, but their contribution is greater than what is generally known.

REV. DIANE WINDLER, DIR. OF ADMISSIONS, EDEN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY: And so to have a representative from the different countries come to us and teach us about their countries, their worship, their culture, their interaction with each other, how they do things in their countries is just wonderfully enriching.

RAMON: According to the National Association of International Educators, during the 2000-2001 academic year, international students brought more than $11 billion into the U.S. economy.

KEITH GRAFING, INTERNATIONAL STUDENT AFFAIRS, UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY: It's not only the amount that they bring to the particular institutions that they're attending but the amount that they spend within the community in which they live for food, clothing, other needs that they have.

RAMON: After seeing recent deportment and now static controls for obtaining student visas, international students began to worry what those restrictions would mean for them.

DEBORAH KNAUST, INTERNATIONAL STUDENT AFFAIRS, UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY: We need to have a system in place so people feel comfortable, but I don't think we need to have a system that is outrageous.

MONROY: I don't think that everybody should be punished for the actions of one or two people. I think it's very unfair, and it goes against the principles upon which this country was built.

VISHAL KURUP, INTERNATIONAL STUDENT: The primary reason people come to the United States is because it gives you that global edge to your education. With extra restrictions and making it hard for students to come here, they will start to look to other countries as well.

RAMON (on camera): In spite of increased regulations against international students since September 11, the flow of students into the U.S. has in fact increased.

Carlos Ramon, CNN Student Bureau, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ONSCREEN: "Where in the World?"

Second largest country in South America.

Voting is mandatory.

Once ruled by Spain.

Can you name this country?

Argentina.

FREIDMAN: We've come to the end of today's program, but before we go, we want to leave you with some pictures of the Space Shuttle Columbia as it returned home yesterday morning.

MCMANUS: As you might have seen yesterday, Columbia made a safe landing after a successful repair mission to the Hubble Telescope.

And that's it for our broadcast today. You have a great one.

FREIDMAN: Have a good day. We'll see you here tomorrow.

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