6月1日Are the World’s Institution Lenders Ready to Reform? (2/2) 
    
  As a result, loans from the Asian Development Bank are unnecessary. Yet, Mister de Tray says there is a small group of countries in Asia still developing, including Laos and Cambodia. These countries will continue to need assistance from the Asian Development Bank.

    He says the African Development Bank is in the middle of a continent that will need development aid for years to come. Some countries have gained success. But many others are still trying to create continued development that does not harm the environment. The African Development Bank is doing a better job serving its member countries, Mister De Tray says. But, he believes the bank still has a long way to go to reach a level of success.

    Mister De Tray thinks that reforms needed within all of the world's international banks are related. And, over the next year, he predicts a debate about how the system works.


6月2日Multivitamins Urged for All Pregnant Women in Developing Countries (1/2)
  A recent study in Tanzania found that when pregnant women took vitamins every day, fewer babies were born too small.

     Babies that weigh less than two and one-half kilograms at birth have a greater risk of dying. Those that survive are more likely to experience problems with their development. And experts say that as adults they have a higher risk of diseases including heart disease and diabetes.

   The World Health Organization estimates that every year 20 million babies are born with low birth weight. 9 out of 10 of them are born in developing countries.

    The new study took place in Dar es Salaam. 4200 pregnant women received multivitamins. The pills contained all of the vitamins in the B group along with vitamins C and E. They also contained several times more iron and folate than the levels advised for women in developed nations. Pregnant women especially in poor countries may find it difficult to get enough vitamins and minerals from the foods in their diet.

6月3日Multivitamins Urged for All Pregnant Women in Developing Countries (2/2)
  The scientists compared the findings with results from a group of 4000 women who did not receive the vitamins. A report by the scientists, from the United States and Tanzania, appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. Wafaie Fawzi of the Harvard University School of Public Health led the study.

    None of the women in the study had H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS. The scientists reported earlier that daily multivitamins were a low-cost way to reduce fetal deaths in pregnant women infected with H.I.V.

     The earlier work in Tanzania also found improvement in the mothers in their number of blood cells known as lymphocytes. Lymphocytes increase the body's immunity against infection.

    The new study in pregnant women who were not infected with the AIDS virus found that multivitamins reduced the risk of low birth weight. Just under 8% of the babies born to women who took the multivitamins weighed less than 2500 grams. The rate was almost nine and one-half percent in the group of women who received a placebo, an inactive pill, instead of the vitamins.

6月4日How Foreign Citizens Become Doctors in the US (1/2)
We continue our Foreign Student Series this week with a question from a doctor at a hospital in Vietnam. Tran Kinh Thanh in Ho Chi Minh City asks how a foreign doctor can become an American doctor.

    One way is to complete a medical residency in the United States. A residency is a period of hospital training for medical school graduates. To be accepted, foreign-trained doctors need approval from the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates. The process involves passing several tests. After that, foreign doctors can receive a visa to stay in the United States, at least for the training period.

    Practicing medicine in the United States also involves other steps. But the first thing that foreign-trained doctors have to do is make sure they attended a recognized medical school. It has to be listed in the FAIMER International Medical Education Directory. FAIMER is the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research. 

   If their school is not listed, then foreign-trained doctors cannot be approved for a residency. One solution is to go back to medical school -- an American medical school.

6月5日How Foreign Citizens Become Doctors in the US (2/2)
125 schools in the United States belong to the Association of American Medical Colleges. The group says more than 1100 foreign citizens applied for the current school year. One-fourth of them were admitted last fall.

     Almost all medical schools in the United States require applicants to report scores from the Medical College Admission Test.

    Future doctors in the United States traditionally complete 4 years of medical school after undergraduate school. Then, as residents, they treat patients under the supervision of experienced doctors. A residency is generally between 3 and 7 years. The first year is called an internship.

   The Association of American Medical Colleges publishes a book called Medical School Admissions Requirements. The newest one is for 2008-2009. The guide has details about every school as well as information for foreign students. The book costs 25 dollars and can be ordered through the association's Web site.

6月6日A Brief History of the World Trade Organization (1/2)
A question from Vietnam. Listener Nguyen Minh Tan wants to know more about the World Trade Organization and its history.

   The World Trade Organization came into existence in 1995. It operates a system of trade rules. It serves as a place for nations to settle disputes and negotiate agreements to reduce trade barriers. The newest of its 150 members, Vietnam, joined in January. But the roots of the W.T.O. date back to World War Two and the years that followed.

    In 1944, a meeting took place in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire: the International Monetary Conference. There, negotiators agreed to create the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. But they could not agree on an organization to deal with international trade.

    Three years later, in 1947, 23 nations approved the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, or GATT. It was meant to be temporary. Trade negotiations under GATT were carried out in a series of talks called rounds. The first round lowered import taxes on one-fifth of world trade. Later rounds produced additional cuts, and negotiators added more issues .

6月7日A Brief History of the World Trade Organization (2/2)
 The sixth round began in 1963. It was called the Kennedy Round after the murder of President John F. Kennedy. The results included an agreement against trade dumping. This is when one country sells a product in another country at an unfairly low price.

     The eighth round of talks began in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in 1986. The Uruguay Round lasted almost twice as long as planned. In all, 123 nations took part in seven-and-a-half years of work. They set time limits for future negotiations. They also agreed to create a permanent system to settle trade disputes.

      In April of 1994, most of those 123 nations signed an agreement. It replaced GATT with the World Trade Organization.

      The W.T.O. launched a new round on development issues in Doha, Qatar, in November of 2001. These talks were supposed to end by January of 2005. But negotiators could not agree on issues involving agricultural protections. The current round has been suspended since last July.

6月8日Newsmaker: Robert Zoellick, Nominee to Lead World Bank (1/2)
Robert Zoellick is President Bush's choice to head the World Bank. He is 53 years old and currently a vice chairman at Goldman Sachs, the New York investment bank. He has held a number of government positions over the years.

     From 2001 to 2005 he served as the United States trade representative. He helped launch the Doha Round of world trade talks which were suspended last July. He also worked on free trade agreements with Singapore, Chile, Australia and Morocco.

    In 2005, President Bush asked Mister Zoellick to become deputy secretary of state. There, he helped negotiate a peace agreement between the government of Sudan and rebels in Darfur. That agreement later collapsed. He resigned in June of last year to join Goldman Sachs.

     But last week, President Bush nominated Bob Zoellick to a 5-year term as the eleventh president of the World Bank. The board of governors at the bank is expected to confirm the choice to replace Paul Wolfowitz.

6月9日Newsmaker: Robert Zoellick, Nominee to Lead World Bank (2/2)
Mister Wolfowitz resigned last month; his last day is June thirtieth. An investigation found that he violated bank rules in 2005 when he negotiated a pay increase for his girlfriend, a bank employee. He denied any wrongdoing and said bank officials shared responsibility for the dispute. He joined the bank as president in 2005 after serving as deputy secretary of defense.

    European nations led efforts to remove Paul Wolfowitz, accusing him of corruption over the pay issue. But they generally did not support a change in the appointment process. Traditionally, the United States has appointed the World Bank chief while Europe has chosen leaders for the International Monetary Fund. The 2 lenders were created in the nineteen forties.

    Some countries, however, have criticized the 60-year-old tradition. They say it makes the development lenders into tools of rich nations. Brazil, South Africa and Australia urged the United States to appoint a new bank president using an open process not limited by nationality.

   The World Bank is owned by its one hundred 84 member nations. Many development experts and others are calling for reforms in its operations and its lending policies for poor countries. But rebuilding relations and respect could be Robert Zoellick's first job.


6月10日Improving Soil, and Saving Money, in Eastern Uganda (1/2)
  Sorghum farmers in eastern Uganda, working with scientists, have tested some lower-cost ways to improve their soil. Little rain and poor soil fertility are problems in that area, as in other parts of southern Africa. Experts from the Kawanda Research Institute in Uganda and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the United States did the research.

    They say much of the soil lacks enough phosphorus and nitrogen. But for many small farmers, the cost of treating the soil is more than they earn from their crops. So the researchers suggest 5 methods that could decrease costs and increase production of sorghum. Sorghum is an important food grain in southern Africa.

    The methods involve soil fertility management as well as reduced tillage. Tilling is breaking up and turning the soil to prepare the ground for planting.

    They say one way to renew the soil is to use a plant called mucuna. Mucuna is a herbaceous vegetable. Its seeds can be planted during the short rainy season. Then the land is free to be planted with sorghum during the best growing season.

6月11日Improving Soil, and Saving Money, in Eastern Uganda (2/2)
 Mucuna takes nitrogen from the air and places it in the soil, enriching it. Professor Charles Wortmann, one of the Nebraska researchers, notes that the plants also reseed themselves. Another method that the scientists suggest is to plant sorghum during one growing season, followed by cowpea the next.

     Two other low-input ways to improve the soil involve using manure or nitrogen and phosphorus as fertilizer. And the fifth way that the study found may improve sorghum production is to reduce crop tillage.

    The researchers say the best methods for farmers depend on their individual needs and their resources. For example, using animal waste may be best for farms that have the animals to supply it. But on farms that cannot get fertilizer, the best solution may be the method of rotating sorghum with cowpea.

    The researchers tested 142 farms across three areas of eastern Uganda. The study took place from 2003 to 2005. The findings have just appeared in Agronomy Journal. Professor Wortmann and other scientists are continuing their research.

6月12日Foreign Student Series: Studying Religion in the US (1/2)
 
A Chinese woman studying business law in Japan has a question about studying a different kind of law. Wang Yuxian says she is a Christian and would like to know about theological seminary programs for foreign students in the United States. A theological seminary is a graduate school of religion and a professional school for training religious leaders.

    Foreign students who want to study at a seminary in the United States apply just as they would to any other graduate school. They have to meet the academic and English language requirements and prove they would be able to pay for their studies.

   Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, is one of the largest in North America. It opened in 1947. Today it has more than 4000 students from about 70 countries. Fuller is one of 253 schools accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada.

6月13日Foreign Student Series: Studying Religion in the US (2/2)
 An accredited school is one that has passed inspection by a rating group like the association. All of the schools are Christian. But other schools train leaders in Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and other faith traditions.

   The Fuller Theological Seminary opened in 1947. It has 3 schools: Theology, Intercultural Studies and Psychology. It also has a center for lifelong learning. Students at Fuller can earn a doctor of ministry degree or more than 20 other graduate degrees. Examples include a master's degree in marital and family therapy and a master's in global leadership.

   There are also degree programs taught in Korean and Spanish. And Fuller admits some students through its English as a second language program. Some degree programs cost more than others. One year at Fuller can cost anywhere from 12000 to 24000 dollars.

    International students can apply for scholarships and grants. But Fuller says that normally they will not be permitted to work during the time of their studies. The same is true for family members.