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NEWS ÜVERVIEW
UnderstandingWorld Events and Trends
FortyYears
Later,
Europe's War
Wounds
Still Hurt
l
t has been tour decades
since Churchill. Roosevelt
and Stalin met at Yalta to
shape Europe's future.
In that seven-day
conference at the Soviet
Black Sea resort in February
1945, the Allied leaders
agreed to accept only
unconditional surrender from
the Axis powers to end
World War 11, and to divide
conquered Germany into tour
zones of occupation. They
also consented lo meet in
San Francisco. California. to
finalize plans for the United
Nations. The Soviets also
agreed to enter the war
against Japan.
The conference's
"Declaration on Liberated
Europe" was to guarantee
the "right of all peoples to
choose the form of
government under which they
willlive." The situation that
has since developed in
postwar Europe left many
feeling that both the spirit
and the letter of the
agreement have been
violated.
The late French Presiden!
Charles de Gaulle argued
that the United States and
the Soviet Union merely used
the Yalta agreement to
divide a shattered Europe.
February 1985
More recently, former West
German Chancellor Helmut
Schmidt stated that the Allied
powers "decided in a
meeting in Yalta to practically
divide Europe into spheres of
influence. ' '
U.S. Presiden! Ronald
Reagan has disputed these
views, noting that the Yalta
agreement does not
recognize any legal division
of Europe. U.S. Vice
Presiden! George Bush
stated. " We recognize no
lawful division of Europe."
Recent stirrings in both
Western and Eastern Europe
Jmperfect harmony: Churchill, Roosevelt and S talin met at
Yalta in February 1945 to chart Europe's postwar course.
Malaria Makes
aComeback
M
alaria, a disease once
thought to be virtually
conquered, is making a
dramatic resurgence
despite medica!
advances.
Malaria endangers more
than hall of the world's
population. according lo the
World Health Organization.
Each year an estimated 250
million contrae! the disease.
More than one million,
mostly children. die
annually.
Dr. Alan Meltzer of
Canada's lnternational
Development Research
Center summarized a
growing concern: "Malaria is
increasing rapidly. We are
not winning. The mosquito is
way ahead of us."
The disease has been
encouraged by increased
international travel. And
yesterday's miracle drugs
are losing ground as certain
malaria strains develop
immunity.
DDT, a pesticide once
considered effective for
killing carrier mosquitoes. is
now useless in about one
have brought new meaning
lo the U.S. leaders' remarks:
The Dutch refuse to allow
U.S. nuclear missiles on their
soil. West Europeans
continue to channel U.S.
technology lo lron Curtain
countries. The Romanians,
against Soviet wishes,
participated in the 1984
Olympics. Poland's labor
movement is growing more
vocal and demonstrative.
And. perhaps most
importantly, dialogue
between the two Germanys
has revived hopes for a
people divided.
lnstead of a Europe
divided East against West.
many envision a Europe
united. independent of both
the Soviet Union and the
United States. And as
Europe grows more restless,
the fuse that was lit al Yalta
continues to burn shorter
and shorter. •
third of the spraying
programs worldwide.
Chloroquine has been
used since the 1940s to cure
and preven! malaria. lts use.
along with DDT, reduced the
41