Lesotho tries to overcome past as election nears

Lesotho wants to avoid a repeat of the 1998 unrest

In this story: Tunisians prepare to choose next president Poland remembers soldiers slain by Soviets China's mass media embrace new openness Canadians take sides in debate over modified foods Sun's rays fuel car competition down under Moon cake sweetens China's Mid-Autumn Festival  More about CNN World Report RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Kevin Grieves
CNN World Report

The tiny African nation of Lesotho, a country of about 2 million people which lies within the borders of South Africa, is emerging from a year-long period of turmoil sparked by struggles over who runs the country. Opposition politicians cried foul in 1998 after the governing party claimed victories in all but one constituency in national elections. Opposition supporters then engaged in weeks of bloody demonstrations, resulting in outside intervention to help calm the situation: Troops from neighboring South Africa and Botswana entered Lesotho to assist in restoring order. That intervention in turn fanned the flames of further unrest, and Lesotho's capital, Maseru, was left largely in ruins by looters and arsonists.

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The South African Broadcasting Corporation examined Lesotho's recent turbulent history and provided viewers with a look at some of the issues affecting the mountain kingdom's plans for an April 2000 national election. Those plans may very likely be derailed because of continuing misunderstandings between the country's political groups.

SABC reporter Richard Newton spoke with both opposition members and government supporters about plans for the election. Whereas the latter raised concerns about adequate preparation for the logistics such as voter registration, members of the opposition argue that the real issue is the governing party's unwillingness to share power.

SABC's Newton says that while Lesotho's streets are calm at the moment, the average citizen is losing patience with the political wrangling over elections. "Although the sense of urgency seems to have disappeared, many believe it's boiling underneath the surface," he warns.

Tunisians prepare to choose next president

The northern African nation of Tunisia is taking steps toward a new era of democracy. When Tunisian voters go to the polls on October 24th, they'll be able to select from more than one name on the ballot for the office of president for the first time in the country's history.

Tunisian Television (RTT) explained that a recent consitutional amendment allows opposition party leaders to run for the highest office in Tunisia. But Tunisia's current president, Zein El Abedine Ben Ali, wants to continue leading the country, and has submitted his candidacy in the upcoming election.

RTT reporter Houda Ben Othman says President Ben Ali is currently favored to win the election, and attributes the president's popularity to a number of achievements during his present term in office. "Besides his popularity in the country and socio-economic prosperity under his watch, President Ben Ali has going for him the fact that he can personally take credit for the very democratic process allowing others to compete with him in the race," she says.

So far, President Ben Ali has been challenged by two opposition candidates, Abderrahman Tlili and Mohamed Belhadj.

Poland remembers soldiers slain by Soviets

Memory of Polish soldiers illuminates Katyn ceremony

Before the Cold War thawed and eastern European nations ceased to be close partners of the Soviet Union, it was never discussed openly in Poland. But now many Poles publicly acknowledge what many Western historians have claimed for years: The Soviet army invaded eastern Poland in 1939 as part of a secret pact with Nazi forces to divide the country between them. The Russian government denies that charge, saying the Red Army moved into Poland to act as a protective buffer against Nazi advancement.

Polish Television (TVP) travelled to a forest in western Russia along with Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski for a somber ceremony marking one of the more horrific aspects of the Soviet invasion of Poland sixty years ago. The cemetery in the forest near Katyn marks the final resting place of 4,400 Polish army officers all of whom were shot in the back of the head by Stalin's secret police; their bodies were dumped into large pits. During the Soviet era, Moscow claimed the soldiers were killed by the Nazis, but in 1990 the Kremlin finally took responsibility for the deaths.

China's mass media embrace new openness

The popular Chinese television show "Tell it Straight" bears little resemblance to programs that aired on Chinese television twenty or even ten years ago. Prior to this decade, the Chinese media acted as the voice of the communist party, and served primarily to disseminate information the government deemed important. Many observers argue this is still the case to a certain extent.

But now that China is experiencing a new sense of openness, choices have proliferated, and once-shunned entertainment offerings are finding a new home on the country's airwaves and in its newspaper pages.

Chinese readers examine offerings of more open press

China Central Television gave CNN World Report viewers a look at some of the television programs breaking new ground in China: in addition to the talk show "Tell it Straight," an investigative news program called "Topics in Focus" is making waves in China. The program, broadcast by CCTV since 1994, is drawing large audiences with its unprecedented exposure of "wrongdoings" by local government officials.

Print media are also breaking new ground in China. In CCTV's report, correspondent Dong Huan highlighted the success of the "Southern Weekend," a Guangzhou newspaper, which has capitalized on the public's interest in "accounts of corruption and other formerly taboo subjects." The publication has been able to double its circulation to 1.3 million in the past seven years, thanks in large part to the new sense of openness in China.

Fang Jinyu, chief correspondent for "Southern Weekend," says Chinese seem to have an insatiable appetite for news on matters such as corruption. "In the past five years we have paid closer attention to injustices arising from the reform process. The growing popularity of the paper shows censorship is becoming less as the social environment becomes more tolerant," he adds.

Canadians take sides in debate over modified foods

Bigger tomatoes, hardier stalks of wheat, and soybeans packed with nutrients are all making headlines around the world. The agriculture industry has been promoting the benefits of genetically modified foods, which contain genes borrowed from other organisms, to consumers. But terms like "Frankenstein Foods" are what many of those consumers are using to describe the altered foods.

Protests against the use of biotechnology on farms have been particularly intense in Europe, notably in Great Britain, where shoppers are already wary about what goes on the table in the wake of tainted food scandals. But the agriculture sector says the benefits of altered foods are numerous and the risks negligible.

Now the debate over genetically modified foods has begun to make headlines in North America as well. Officials in the Clinton administration recently backed away from rumors that they were planning to propose new food labeling for genetically altered foods.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation looked at the issue of altered foods not being labeled as such, which lies at the crux of many consumers' complaints. CBC's cameras captured a heated debate in front of a supermarket between Greenpeace protesters, who decried the lack of labeling of modified foods, and farmers, who pointed to the healthier appearance of such foods. Farmers say the use of biotechnology makes crops much more resistant to destructive pests, leading to better economics for farmers and better food for consumers.

But many shoppers are clearly troubled by the absence of label information on altered food ingredients. One man confronted a farmer outside the supermarket as CBC reporter Kelly Crowe looked on. "I don't need you to put in my food something I don't know about," he told the farmer.

Sun's rays fuel car competition down under

Sunshine keeps experimental car rolling in Singapore

It doesn't look like any other car on the road. But the appearance of "SunSpeed" is not the only unusual aspect of the vehicle, constructed by the Singapore Polytechnic Institute: it runs on all-natural solar power. "SunSpeed" is the first solar car developed in Singapore, and it's powered by 900 watts of solar energy collected by solar cells on the car's surface.

Singapore broadcaster TCS gave CNN World Report viewers an inside look at the car as its crew was preparing to take the vehicle to Australia for a special competition. The World Solar Challenge will pit 24 teams from 11 countries against each other in a solar-fueled race across Australia. Competitors will hope for plenty of sunshine as they travel 3010 kilometers between Darwin and Adelaide, Australia. But success in the race depends on more than just luck: TCS says Singapore's team will be conducting precise energy calculations to get a winning boost out "SunSpeed's" solar cells.

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Peng Qimin of Wuhan Cable TV reports China's mid-autumn festival is a time to enjoy the full moon and eat moon cake. Windows Media 28K 80K

Moon cake sweetens China's Mid-Autumn Festival

It's an occasion for members of Chinese families to get together and enjoy each other's company as they sit outdoors under a full moon. But it's also a chance to fulfill a sweet-tooth craving with a traditional Chinese specialty called moon cake.

Wuhan Cable Television explained that the moon cake tradition is centuries old, dating to the origins of the Mid-Autumn holiday itself. CNN World Report viewers were shown the latest superlative in that tradition: a giant-sized moon cake made by a department store in Wuhan that requires ten people just to move it around.