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CNN Live At Daybreak
International News Desk
Aired July 07, 2003 - 05:51 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.
KRIS OSBORN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're going to be following a number of significant international stories throughout the day here on CNN. So let's see what's going on and discuss them with our senior international editor David Clinch -- hello, David.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Kris, good morning.
We are overworked and underpaid, again, on the international desk today. Liberia, Africa for a change on top of the agenda today. President Bush heading to Africa later today. We have some exclusive live coverage from Liberia today, though, where a small U.S. military assessment team -- and we're making that clear, this is not the beginning of military deployment -- military assessment team arriving shortly here in Liberia to work out whether or not there should be or could be a U.S. deployment and, if so, how useful it would be.
Now, we've been on this Liberia story for years, but this most recent conflict for weeks. We have a West Africa bureau. We have a Johannesburg bureau, a Nairobi bureau. All of those people will be taking part in the coverage of President Bush's trip there with all of the AIDS, terrorism, oil and, of course, Liberia on the agenda for President Bush. He sets off late tonight and will be arriving in Africa tomorrow.
Iraq also obviously still very much on the agenda. The killing of U.S. troops seems to continue every day. A U.S. soldier was killed brutally yesterday at close range in Baghdad, standing in line for a soda. He was shot at close range in the head. Two more soldiers killed overnight. That story just will not go away.
Another part of that story that's still there, weapons of mass destruction, a hot issue for President Bush, but a very hot issue for Prime Minister Blair in the U.K., as we've said again and again. And today we've got two aspects of coverage on that story. A weapons of mass destruction investigation in Britain has basically concluded today more or less whitewashing Prime Minister Blair. Say criticism of some of the information that was used in so-called dodgy dossiers, but basically clearing Blair of wrongdoing.
But Prime Minister Blair involved in a face-off with the BBC, which is going to be another part of our coverage today, the state national broadcast of the BBC saying that they believe the government sexed up these reports. Blair saying that's an attack on his personal integrity. Neither side prepared to budge at the moment. So that's a fascinating story today.
OSBORN: Very much so, and the political fallout for prime minister could be very significant.
CLINCH: Absolutely. And now this investigation apparently clearing him. The pressure on the BBC now, what's their next move? That's fascinating.
I'll come back, though, at 6:00 a.m. Some more interesting coverage today. Infanticide in India, we've got some reports on that today, women killing their own female babies. We'll get a report on that later today. And also this conjoined twins story in Singapore, fascinating. That's something people will be talking about all day today.
OSBORN: Yes, thus far it seems to be going OK.
CLINCH: Yes.
OSBORN: But, of course, that's not an easy operation, as we heard from Deborah Ng.
CLINCH: Absolutely.
OSBORN: Yes.
All right, thank you, David.
CLINCH: OK.
OSBORN: David Clinch, senior international editor.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 7, 2003 - 05:51 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRIS OSBORN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're going to be following a number of significant international stories throughout the day here on CNN. So let's see what's going on and discuss them with our senior international editor David Clinch -- hello, David.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Kris, good morning.
We are overworked and underpaid, again, on the international desk today. Liberia, Africa for a change on top of the agenda today. President Bush heading to Africa later today. We have some exclusive live coverage from Liberia today, though, where a small U.S. military assessment team -- and we're making that clear, this is not the beginning of military deployment -- military assessment team arriving shortly here in Liberia to work out whether or not there should be or could be a U.S. deployment and, if so, how useful it would be.
Now, we've been on this Liberia story for years, but this most recent conflict for weeks. We have a West Africa bureau. We have a Johannesburg bureau, a Nairobi bureau. All of those people will be taking part in the coverage of President Bush's trip there with all of the AIDS, terrorism, oil and, of course, Liberia on the agenda for President Bush. He sets off late tonight and will be arriving in Africa tomorrow.
Iraq also obviously still very much on the agenda. The killing of U.S. troops seems to continue every day. A U.S. soldier was killed brutally yesterday at close range in Baghdad, standing in line for a soda. He was shot at close range in the head. Two more soldiers killed overnight. That story just will not go away.
Another part of that story that's still there, weapons of mass destruction, a hot issue for President Bush, but a very hot issue for Prime Minister Blair in the U.K., as we've said again and again. And today we've got two aspects of coverage on that story. A weapons of mass destruction investigation in Britain has basically concluded today more or less whitewashing Prime Minister Blair. Say criticism of some of the information that was used in so-called dodgy dossiers, but basically clearing Blair of wrongdoing.
But Prime Minister Blair involved in a face-off with the BBC, which is going to be another part of our coverage today, the state national broadcast of the BBC saying that they believe the government sexed up these reports. Blair saying that's an attack on his personal integrity. Neither side prepared to budge at the moment. So that's a fascinating story today.
OSBORN: Very much so, and the political fallout for prime minister could be very significant.
CLINCH: Absolutely. And now this investigation apparently clearing him. The pressure on the BBC now, what's their next move? That's fascinating.
I'll come back, though, at 6:00 a.m. Some more interesting coverage today. Infanticide in India, we've got some reports on that today, women killing their own female babies. We'll get a report on that later today. And also this conjoined twins story in Singapore, fascinating. That's something people will be talking about all day today.
OSBORN: Yes, thus far it seems to be going OK.
CLINCH: Yes.
OSBORN: But, of course, that's not an easy operation, as we heard from Deborah Ng.
CLINCH: Absolutely.
OSBORN: Yes.
All right, thank you, David.
CLINCH: OK.
OSBORN: David Clinch, senior international editor.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
