News 78

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says he agrees with President Bush’s proposal for peace with the Palestinians. But Mr. Sharon criticized the three other members of the so-called Middle East quartet: Russia, the United Nations and the European Union for trying to keep Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat involved into the peace process. Mr. Sharon spoke after the US news magazine “Newsweek” published an interview in which he dismissed the quartet’s peace plan by calling it “nothing.” The plan calls for creation of a Palestinian State by 2005.

(VOA January, 2003)

News 79

It may be natural but that doesn’t mean it’s pleasant. The majority of women going thru menopause report symptoms like hot flashes, interrupted sleep, depression, lack of energy. For the past few decades a lot of doctors have prescribed hormone replacement therapy to treat the symptoms. But a breakthrough studied recently suggested the risks of so-called HRT are greater than previously thought. So now millions of women around the world are looking for an alternative. Doctor Machelle Seibel, a reproductive endocrinologist, says he has one. And he describes it in his new book “The Soy Solution for Menopause.”

(VOA January, 2003)

News 80

The former Serbian President M.M. is expected to leave for the Hague shortly to surrender to the International War Crimes Tribunal. The Tribunal has charged Mr. M. with war crimes committed in the southern Serbian province of Kosovo in the late 1990’s. The prosecution alleges that in 1999 Mr. M. helped to orchestrate the campaign of terror forcing 800,000 of Kosovo’s ethnic Albanians to flee.

(BBC January, 2003)

News 81

Police in London using helicopters, ladders and battering rams, have raided a mosque and arrested seven people under the Terrorism Act. They said the operation was linked to an investigation into the discovery of traces of the deadly poison ricin in a flat in another part of London earlier this month. The mosque has been the centre of controversy in Britain because of the activities of a radical Muslim cleric who preaches there. B.T. reports from the scene.

Up to a hundred police officers, some of them armed, took part in a raid. It was a dramatic scene as a police helicopter hovered overhead, its searchlight illuminating the mosque, as the officers entered the building. Seven people have been arrested and taken away for questioning. But it’s not known if the cleric A. H. was one of them.

(BBC January, 2003)

News 82

Russia and China, two permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with a power of veto, have both voiced their opposition to war against Iraq. Russia said it could see nothing at the moment to justify any military action. And China in a rare intervention on an international issue has expressed unease about the large-scale build-up of troops and equipment in the Gulf. P.B. reports.

The diplomatic rift over Iraq is widening. With America increasingly bellicose, the meeting of minds between France and Germany yesterday was one thing. Now Russia and China have also made their positions clear. In Moscow President Putin telephoned George Bush to tell him the UN weapons inspectors’ report next week should be the key to deciding future action. Russia doesn’t think there are any grounds at present for using force against Iraq. China too is worried about the troop build-up in the Gulf and wants the UN inspectors to be given more time.

(BBC January, 2003)