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CNN Student News

Aired July 02, 2002 - 04:00   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.
MIKE MCMANUS, CNN ANCHOR: Politics pervades our show today. We lead off with some wrangling between the U.S. and the U.N. over a new international court which could prosecute peacekeepers.

SUSAN FRIEDMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And, we chronicle diplomatic efforts on the tennis court. Meet two unlikely partners hitting it off famously.

MCMANUS: Then, a famous father and his outspoken daughter. This Cuban exile is capturing attention with her criticism of Castro.

FRIEDMAN: And from heated discussions to hot summer days, how to keep safe from the searing sun.

Welcome to CNN student news on this second day in July.

I'm Susan Friedman.

MCMANUS: And I'm Michael McManus.

The world gets its first permanent war crimes court, but not everyone is happy.

FRIEDMAN: Seventy-four countries backed the international criminal court. The United States is not one of them. While many Security Council members believe the court will help stop crimes against humanity, U.S. officials say they won't support the court unless American peacekeepers are given blanket immunity from court prosecution.

Our Joel Hochmuth has more on this newly established court and what it means for the Bosnia peacekeeping mission.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOEL HOCHMUTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The United States is defending its critical veto in the U.N. Security Council, a veto that has clouded the future of the international peacekeeping mission in Bosnia. The U.S. veto was the only vote against renewing the mandate for that mission Sunday, after other members rejected American demands that its peacekeepers be immune from prosecution by a new international criminal court.

JOHN NEGROPONTE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: What we do not want to see is American peacekeepers going forth into the world undertaking substantial risk in the pursuit of international peace and security be subjected to the jurisdiction of a court to which the United States is not a party.

HOCHMUTH: Of the 18,000 troops that make up the peacekeeping force, about 3,300 are from the U.S. that force was put in place in 1995 as part of an agreement signed in Dayton, Ohio, bringing an end to Bosnia's three year civil war that killed about 200,000 people.

The veto doesn't necessarily mean the peacekeeping force's days are numbered. First of all, the U.S. has agreed to a 72 hour extension of the mission that expires Wednesday. Even then, the U.S. has given no indication that it will immediately pull out. And NATO, which runs the operation, says it doesn't need a U.N. mandate to continue.

Still, some nations indicate that without the mandate, they'll walk out.

Of more immediate concern is the future of a 1,500 member U.N. force to train police in Bosnia. While less than 50 Americans participate, it does need U.N. approval to continue.

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: The U.N. mission has made a universally recognized contribution to the reestablishment of the rule of law and political stability in Bosnia-Herzegovina. But the state and its institutions are still fragile and under pressure from nationalist forces. Unless an agreement can be reached on an orderly wind down of the mission, the police in Bosnia will be left unmonitored, unguided and unassisted.

HOCHMUTH: The key issue in the dispute remains the international criminal court, or ICC, which opened for business at the Hague in the Netherlands on Monday. It has the authority to prosecute individuals, not countries, suspected of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes anywhere in the world.

The Bush administration feels that Americans, including those serving as peacekeepers, could face prosecutions that are politically motivated.

RICHARD BOUCHER, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: We cannot allow our peacekeepers to be subject to the extra national legal jurisdiction of the international criminal court nor can we allow the international criminal court to second guess our legal system.

HOCHMUTH: European nations, including France and Britain, are trying to convince the U.S. such fears are unfounded. They say there are many safeguards to prevent abuse, including a democratic process to elect a prosecutor and 18 judges. So far, the U.S. is unconvinced.

And as Robin Oakley reports, there is a growing rift across the Atlantic.

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The U.S. has played a prominent role in the peace process in Bosnia. But for how much longer?

When President George Bush first came to Europe, he made a pledge on the Balkan forces -- "We went in together and we'll leave together."

But after the U.S. threat to withdraw from peacekeeping operations unless its personnel are given blanket immunity from any possible action by the new international criminal court, new doubts have arisen and the list of disputes between the U.S. and Europe is growing every day.

All 15 E.U. nations have backed the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. The U.S. doesn't. Europe wanted a U.N. protocol on chemical and biological warfare. The U.S. scuttled it. Bush's plan to impose tariffs on steel imports is leading the E.U. into tit for tat trade war reprisals. The U.S. and the E.U. doesn't see eye to eye on going after Saddam Hussein or on recognizing Yasser Arafat as a negotiating partner.

Now, the row over the international criminal court, backed by 74 nations, including all 15 in the E.U., and opposed by the U.S., has brought a new bitterness. The language from Denmark's foreign minister, fresh in the revolving E.U. chair, was stark. "I deeply regret this dramatic step that threatens U.N. peace operations in general."

Even the U.K.'s Tony Blair, a staunch Bush ally, is at odds with him over the court, saying its statutes give the U.S. all the protection needed.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The advice that we have is, and I quote, that it is inconceivable that our peacekeepers would have themselves brought before the court in this way. I totally understand the concerns of the United States of America. They are perfectly legitimate concerns. Our view, however, is that they are met by the principles that I've set out.

OAKLEY: Experts are with Mr. Blair, even though they acknowledge that the U.S. has more troops abroad than anybody.

DR. SANA ALLIN, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STRATEGIC STUDIES: Given that they're, they feel the most exposed, but this has been kind of mixed with an ideology that is opposed to the very nature of the court and really doesn't have a great deal of respect for the concept of international law in this guise. And for that reason, I think they're greatly exaggerating the threat of the legal exposure.

OAKLEY (on camera): The U.S. threats over the court drove NATO into emergency session, after which there were assurances that Bosnian peacekeeping wasn't threatened. European leaders are being tactful in public. But in private, they fear the U.S. is on unilateralist over drive. Alarm bells are ringing over a further decline in trans- Atlantic relations.

Robin Oakley, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRIEDMAN: For more on the international criminal court and the United States' concerns about it, head to our Web site, cnnstudentnews.com. You have questions, we have answers, right at your fingertips.

MCMANUS: Yesterday marked the five year anniversary of Hong Kong's hand over. It was in 1997 that Britain returned rule of Hong Kong to China. Flags and fireworks were the order of the day. But the festive mood was tempered by political and economic unrest.

Here now is Mike Chinoy with a look back at the celebration and some of the challenges facing Hong Kong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was five years ago amid pomp, pageantry and tropical downpours, that Britain handed Hong Kong back to China. The last colonial governor, Chris Patton, sailing away with Prince Charles on the royal yacht Britannia, leaving behind fears for the future of this freewheeling capitalist enclave under its new communist sovereign.

On this anniversary, though, as Hong Kong's Beijing backed chief executive, Tung Chee Kwa, presided over the raising of the Chinese flag, it's generally agreed that China has largely honored its pledge to leave Hong Kong alone.

(on camera): But the celebrations here have been muted, reflecting a pervasive feeling of gloom. The reason, not Beijing's heavy hand, but the territory's worst recession in decades, with record unemployment and slumping property and stock markets.

(voice-over): After being sworn in for a second term by Chinese President Jiang Zemin, chief executive Tung declared that fixing the economy was his top priority.

TUNG CHEE KWA, HONG KONG CHIEF EXECUTIVE: The biggest challenge facing the second term government is to lead Hong Kong out of the economic downturn and to restore confidence of Hong Kong people in the future.

CHINOY: Throughout the weekend, demonstrations underscored the depth of public discontent.

MICHAEL DEGOLYER, HONG KONG TRANSITION PROJECT: Our surveys, they show, when we ask people how satisfied are you with the performance of the Hong Kong government, it's dropped way down to historic lows.

CHINOY: Indeed, in a polite, but unmistakable, public rebuke, President Jiang himself urged Tung's government to "do a better job" and as members of his new cabinet took the oath of office, Tung's popular former number two, Anson Chan, broke a year long silence to call for democratic political reforms, saying that was the only way for the people of Hong Kong to regain their confidence. Tung has opposed such steps. Democracy activists accuse him of dancing to China's tune, since more representative government is permitted under Hong Kong's post-colonial constitution, and some analysts contend it could help ease the political tensions generated by Hong Kong's economic malaise.

Mike Chinoy, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCMANUS: Now, when Hong Kong changed hands, not everything changed. Though the Union Jack came down off all the flagpoles and the British Navy set sail five years ago, many Brits decided to stay.

Mike Chinoy continues now with the story of those who stayed behind.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHINOY (voice-over): Amid pomp and imperial nostalgia, they left in droves, Britons afraid for Hong Kong's future after the 1997 handover to China, some sailing home through the harbor, the first British colonialists named after Queen Victoria.

It was in these same waters that George Cautherly's ancestors arrived two centuries ago, sea captains engaged in the lucrative opium trade with China. His family has been here ever since, although it long ago moved into more legitimate business in China. His great great grandmother is buried in this cemetery. He's never thought of leaving.

GEORGE CAUTHERLY, BUSINESSMAN: I've never wondered whether it was time to pull up stakes because I think the family has been here through a lot of different phases and we've lived here in China before, you know, it was communist. We've lived in Hong Kong. So to me it was something that wasn't going to be an issue.

CHINOY: Alasdair Watson had the option to go in 1997, but he believed China would keep its promise to leave Hong Kong alone and opted to remain in what had been the Royal Hong Kong Police Force when he joined in the early 1980s.

ALASDAIR WATSON, HONG KONG POLICE: And there's been no change since 1997 and it's just carried on as normal.

CHINOY: Not exactly. Hong Kong Chinese now run the government and there are fears the territory's freedoms could be eroded. But civil servant Mike Rowse, who promotes investment in Hong Kong, felt there was still a role for him and gave up his British passport.

MIKE ROWSE, INVEST HONG KONG: Hey, I don't want to be here on a British passport telling people that Hong Kong-China is a great place. I want to be here on a Hong Kong-China passport telling them yes, my home town is a really good place for you to do business.

CHINOY: Many other expatriates feel the same way. At annual events like the Stanley Beach dragon boat races, the large foreign presence is still evident, even if the British are no longer the biggest expat community. But for people like George Cautherly, Hong Kong is in the blood.

CAUTHERLY: I really feel that I am part of this place because I've, you know, we've got some flesh and bones here. I mean I expect to end my days here. Now, if I could even negotiate to have my ashes put here, because this is where I'd like to be. I mean it would be nice to, you know, spend the rest of eternity being part of this little area.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRIEDMAN: Love is part of tennis, at least in the score. But can peace be part of the game, too? At this year's Wimbledon, there's an unlikely pair competing in the men's doubles competition. Their story now from CNN's Jim Huber.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM HUBER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While their separate worlds fester and boil, tied together only by religious venom, Amir Hadad and Aisam Haq Qureshi play together.

While Jews and Muslims throw the bombs of centuries at each other thousands of miles away, these two try and simply throw a scare at Wimbledon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are not here to change things, you know. This is trying to enjoy the moment, which is Wimbledon. It's been my dream. I played it in juniors two years ago. And just want to be with the big boys, you know?

HUBER: Hadad is an Israeli Jew from Tel Aviv. Qureshi, a Pakistani Muslim from Lahore. As unlikely a doubles pairing as has ever graced these grounds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We started. I never even thought of it as a Muslim playing a Jew. When I asked him, if I don't know him for three, four years now. We've been on this tour, practicing together all the time, almost all the time. And I just ask him if please can we play together for Wimbledon qualifying? And he said, "Yes, why not?" And here we are in the third round now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, you can see my girlfriend. I mean, his parents are sitting together, cheering us up and supporting us. And I don't think it's a problem.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Going out almost every night. Same with (UNINTELLIGIBLE). We eat together and everything. I'm just enjoying the moment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's not even give me a kiss after we qualify.

HUBER: Is there a message here, a lion with the lamb kind of poetic symmetry that would give a worried world pause? Or is this simply sport at its purest? Stripping national and religious badges, leaving only two young men with mutual talents and dreams?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have primitive people, you know, they think, you know, they shouldn't play together, but I think they're wrong. And I mean, we're very good friends like we said before. And it's working. And we're going to keep doing it.

HUBER: Hadad and Qureshi pulled one of the upsets of this side of the doubles this far, beating the heavily favorite pair of Ellis Ferreira and Rick Leach, who have won 62 doubles championships between them over the years. But if the improbable pair go no farther than this, they will have made a not so subtle statement that however many millions there are who claim the Jew and the Muslim cannot coexist, hasn't watched one poach, while the others cover his back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRIEDMAN: Two quick notes. Hadad and Qureshi are out. They lost yesterday to a pair from the Czech Republic. In other Wimbledon news, sisters Serena and Venus Williams will both advance to the quarter finals.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exploring our world. Here now is CNN student news perspectives.

MCMANUS: More competition now, but this time it's family rivalry and political differences going head to head. We journey to Miami, Florida for our next report. It's a great place to experience Cuban- American culture. In fact, almost one third of greater Miami's 2.2 million people are from Cuba.

And these days a hot new radio show for Cuban exiles is getting a lot of attention, and not just because of the content.

Mark Potter reports on the radio personality with a unique link to Cuban President Fidel Castro.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is after midnight and Cuban exile radio is still going strong in Miami. This show, simply Alina, with host Alina Fernandez, features music, history and, of course, in Miami, Cuban politics and Fidel Castro, all in Spanish. As can be expected, most of the discussion is critical of the Cuban leader. What makes it unusual is that Alina Fernandez is Fidel Castro's daughter, living in exile.

ALINA FERNANDEZ, FIDEL CASTRO'S DAUGHTER: I try not to refer to him as a father.

POTTER: Because?

FERNANDEZ: He is a chief of state. He is still the Cuban capo and that's the way I see him.

POTTER (on camera): You don't see him at all really as your father?

FERNANDEZ: I try not to.

POTTER (voice-over): Alina is the product of an adulteress relationship between Castro and a Cuban socialite. Alina was age 10 when she was told their frequent visitor was actually her father.

FERNANDEZ: At the beginning of the revolution he went to visit the house. He gave me a little this guy as himself, with a beard and, you know, the stars.

POTTER (on camera): The (UNINTELLIGIBLE) on his shoulders, yes?

FERNANDEZ: Yes.

POTTER: He gave you a doll of himself?

FERNANDEZ: Yes. I didn't know what to do with a baby doll with a beard so.

POTTER: So what did you do?

FERNANDEZ: I began to pull the hairs out.

POTTER (voice-over): As she got older, Alina worked as a model, rejected the Cuban revolution and became a dissident. She hasn't spoken to Castro in nearly 20 years, saying he is no longer a dictator, but a tyrant.

FERNANDEZ: I think that deeply on him what happens is that he despises the Cuban country and the Cuban people.

POTTER (on camera): He despises them?

FERNANDEZ: That's what I think.

POTTER (voice-over): In 1993, Alina came to the U.S. after fleeing Cuba disguised as a Spanish tourist. She wrote a book, spoke at protest rallies and testified before the Senate against sending Elian Gonzalez back to Cuba. Now, she is on the air in the middle of the night.

(on camera): What if a call came in and it was Fidel Castro? What would you say to him?

FERNANDEZ: Jesus, I don't know. That would surprise me enough.

POTTER: But if it were to happen, I know it's unlikely, what would you say?

FERNANDEZ: I don't know.

POTTER (voice-over): What Alina does know is that Miami and its rhythms are home now. She wishes her father would bring democracy to Cuba, but for that she has little hope.

Mark Potter, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCMANUS: OK, listen up all you sun worshippers. Did you know that just one blistering sunburn during childhood can double your risk of skin cancer? And here's something else to consider. We get 80 percent of our sun exposure before we even graduate from high school.

Now, protecting your skin is crucial.

So here's CNN medical correspondent Rhonda Rowland to tell you how.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RHONDA ROWLAND, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Searching, searching, searching. For what? The perfect sunscreen. SPF 15, 30, 45. UVA, UVB. Parsol 1789. Zinc oxide. What does it all mean? We asked dermatologist Dr. Rutledge Forney to help us cope with the sun.

(on camera): Look at all these sunscreens here, a pretty good selection?

DR. RUTLEDGE FORNEY, DERMATOLOGIST: There's a lot to choose from here, isn't there?

ROWLAND (voice-over): A good starting point, SPF, sun protection factor.

(on camera): Take a look at Blue Lizard here. We have the 30 right next to a banana boat with 15. So which one do you go for?

FORNEY: Well, I advise all my patients for any sort of direct sun exposure in sports or gardening or anything by the beach that they use a 30 or higher.

ROWLAND (voice-over): We need the higher SPF, she says, because most of us don't put enough on, or put it on often enough.

(on camera): We hear about UVA, UVB. What's the difference? And does it matter if we have protection against both?

FORNEY: UVB protects against burning, and UVA protects against aging. And of course, you want to have both levels of protection.

ROWLAND (voice-over): That's worth repeating. UVB rays burn and cause melanoma skin cancer. The higher the SPF rating, the more you block those deadly rays. UVA ages us, gives us wrinkles. Ninety-five percent of the sun's rays are UVA. They don't burn, but they do damage skin.

(on camera): Is there any system to know how much protection you're getting against the UVA?

FORNEY: Not yet. And that's why we know that Parsol 89 is very effective against UVA.

ROWLAND (voice-over): So is zinc.

(on camera): Let's talk about men. Men don't like putting on sunscreen, do they?

FORNEY: They don't like putting anything on.

ROWLAND: So if for my husband, what would you suggest here? Or somebody has a teenage son, and they're trying to get him to put on some sunscreen?

FORNEY: There are dry lotion sunscreens and fast drying.

ROWLAND (voice-over): As for kids, find something that makes them want to put it on. Here, parents deserve kudos.

FORNEY: We really are finding, particularly with kids, they say they don't give me a history of having had blistering sunburns, because parents have really been aware of this, and pediatricians have been talking about it.

ROWLAND: However, Dr. Forney gives a new warning to parents: Keep your kids away from tanning beds. They beam UVA rays, enough of them that skin cancer, at least the less deadly type, is up dramatically among teens and those in their 20s.

So, is there a perfect sunscreen? The perfect one is the one you like enough to use.

Rhonda Rowland, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCMANUS: Our student bureau report today deals with an interesting trend taking place in college towns. They aren't just for young people anymore. It seems college communities are drawing more and more retirees.

CNN student bureau's Mina Oh has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MINA OH, CNN STUDENT BUREAU (voice-over): Harrison and Jane Bicknell (ph) moved from upstate New York to Lexington, Virginia to retire. Lexington is just what the Bicknells (ph) were looking for, a small peaceful town surrounded by the beautiful Blue Ridge, where they can enjoy all four seasons.

But there is more to Lexington than just mountains and spring. It is also the home of Washington and Lee University and Virginia Military Institute. Although Lexington's quite small, with a population of fewer than 7,000 people, the Bicknells (ph) never get bored. They often enjoy concerts, plays, lectures and art exhibits at the two universities.

Harrison Kinney also enjoys the cultural activities the universities offer.

HARRISON KINNEY, RETIREE: I now tell people if they want to retire, pick a college town, because there is so much going on. There's more cultural activities here than I can keep up with. There's something going on every night.

OH: When Kinney isn't attending university events at his alma mater, he's busy working on his second book about James Thurber. Although he didn't consider retiring to a college town at first, he's glad he did.

KINNEY: You have no excuse not to be happy here. I feel rather completed in a sense. I have no concerns or regrets about sort of winding up my life here.

OH: Kinney and the Bicknells (ph) also plan to audit free classes at the universities next year, which would allow them to interact with people outside their retirement home.

KEMPTON PRESLEY, VOLUNTEER, KENDAL RETIREMENT HOME: The university atmosphere kind of invokes a certain feeling of mutual trust and, you know, just peace, I guess. And so a lot of people probably find that appealing.

EARLE BATES, RETIREE: And just as a general proposition, I certainly think that, you know, retirees who are looking for a place to spend the rest of their lives should consider college communities, you know, because of the benefits the communities offer.

OH (on camera): Of course, a retirement plan takes time and careful consideration. People need to think about many things, like locations, local culture, health care and even weather. Just because there is a college in a town, it doesn't automatically make it the best option. But these days, colleges do seem to make a difference for retirees.

Mina Oh, CNN student bureau, Lexington, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCMANUS: And old Virginny there. And as you learned in our Where In the World, many of America's earliest presidents came from Virginia.

FRIEDMAN: But tomorrow we'll hear from a president who hails from Georgia. Tune in for an interview with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, as he reflects on the relevance of the Declaration of Independence in 2002.

MCMANUS: That should be interesting.

And we will see you then. Have a good one.

FRIEDMAN: Bye-bye.

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