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Your World Today

After the Attacks; Pakistan Train Crash; Ebbers Sentenced

Aired July 13, 2005 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: This is not an isolated criminal act we're dealing with. It is an extreme and evil ideology.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The British leader and his country try to come to terms with homegrown hate as police collect evidence in the London attacks.

A deadly chain reaction in Pakistan. Jam-packed trains slam into one another. The death toll more than 100. It continues to rise.

And after a stormy two-and-a-half years for NASA, will rain fizzle the Shuttle Discovery's liftoff?

It is noon right now at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, 5:00 p.m. in London.

Hello. I'm Michael Holmes. Welcome to viewers throughout the world. This is CNN International and YOUR WORLD TODAY.

Britons are coming to grips with the news that four suspects in last week's terror bombings were British born and raised. Here now, some of the major and latest developments for you.

The prime minister, Tony Blair, is meeting Briton's Muslim community to debate the right way forward. British media reports at least three of the bombers were Britons of Pakistani origin. At least 52 people, you'll remember, were killed in those four blasts which happened on Thursday.

Investigators, meanwhile, searched six sites in Leeds for a second straight day north of London. Three of four suspected bombers lived in that area. All are believed to have died in the bombings. One man also arrested on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the British home secretary, Charles Clarke, is meeting with the European Union parliament in Brussels, discussing ways to improve security.

And we will be returning to the latest developments in the London bombings in just a moment. But first, after more than a two-year absence, the manned U.S. space program is poised to launch the Space Shuttle Discovery. The seven-member crew is scheduled to make their way to the launch pad any minute now.

This is a live picture coming to you from the Kennedy Space Center as the astronauts are being shuttled over there. There are seven members of this crew scheduled to make their way over there: five Americans, one Japanese, one Australian, due to lift off about three hours from now. And that crucially depends on whether the weather cooperates.

At this stage, it is not cooperating. Some reports are suggesting a 60 percent chance that the shuttle take-off may be delayed. We are going to have a live report, the very latest on that -- you can see the clouds there in the background right now -- about five minutes from now.

All right. Live pictures there.

We are going to bring you the latest from the Kennedy Space Center very, soon. Meanwhile, we are going to take you back to the London bombings.

And as that investigation continues, our Jim Clancy is standing by in Leeds. He joins us now with the very latest.

Over to you, Jim.

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: All right, Michael. Thank you for that.

Here in Leeds, just outside of the home of Shahzad Tanweer, one of the -- one of the suicide bombers that was aboard those London trains and buses last Thursday morning that claimed more than 50 lives with their attacks. And people here puzzled, trying to figure it out.

As you noted, Michael, the prime minister planning to meet with Muslim leaders and try to decide the best way forward. Still, right here they are going to be putting up scaffolding around this house to further their investigation.

They are far from done in this neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods. This investigation is going full pace forward, as we hear now from Paul Davies.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL DAVIES, REPORTER, ITV NEWS (voice-over): As anti-terrorist officers continue this fast-moving operation, more pieces of the jigsaw are falling into place. Detectives who have been searching several properties in Leeds now believe all four bombers came from this area of West Yorkshire.

Last Thursday, they left their homes early. At first it was thought they may have taken the 5:30 a.m. train to King's Cross. Now it seems they drove down the M-1 to Luton, boarding a Temsling (ph) service there around 7:45. That would put all four at King's Cross just before 8:30, where CCTV pictures show them together.

From there the bombers separated. At 8:42, a bomber would have boarded or placed a bomb on each of the three tube trains. Eight minutes later, at 8:50 a.m., each of those trains exploded.

The question remains why it was almost an hour later, at 9:47, that the number 30 bus exploded on Tavistock Square. One theory was that the fourth bomber was supposed to be on a tube that went north but found the line there closed.

While it now seems highly likely the bombers died with their victims, the hunt is now intensifying for those who trained them and planned the attacks. The former Israeli counterterrorism expert says the leaders will still be at large.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The suicide bomber is the lowest in the chain. He is someone that's going to commit the suicide, so he is not so important for them. So, they will never send someone that is a bomb expert or something, not for something like that.

DAVIES: It's hoped explosives found in this car left at Luton Station might lead police to the bomb makers. A quantity of unstable explosive material had to be destroyed in a series of controlled explosions in Luton Station's car park early this morning. When commuters were finally allowed to reclaim their vehicles from that same car park, they talked about their fears.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We feel as though we are going into London, and you know, it was at King's Cross, literally 10 minutes before the blast went off. So, yeah, it does shock you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think now that the news is coming out that for the first time the front line has come here, and it's suicide bombers. And yeah, I think perhaps that has put a different perspective on things.

DAVIES: Suicide bombers in Britain, suicide bombers that were British. In the eyes of the police and a worried public, a line has been crossed.

Paul Davies, ITV News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Police have their work cut out for them as they continue this investigation. But the politicians have a role to play here too. They have to ensure that there exists a bridge between them and the Muslim community.

What is their best source of information? It is that Muslim community. The best source of prevention? Within that same community. And the prime minister, Tony Blair, is leading the way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BLAIR: We will seek to debate the right way forward in combating this evil within the Muslim community with Muslim leaders. And it's our intention to begin this process immediately.

In the end, this can only be taken on and defeated by the community itself. But we all can help and facilitate, and we will do so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: All right. We are going to continue to watch the situation here. We are going to be joined in a couple of minutes by Paul Rogers, a professor of peace studies here and a terrorism expert familiar with the area.

Michael, for now, though, it's back to you.

HOLMES: All right. Jim Clancy there in Leeds. We'll be checking in with you later, Jim. Thanks very much.

Meanwhile, the British home secretary, Charles Clarke, has been in a crisis meeting in Brussels. Clarke appealed to the European parliament to share more intelligence in order to prevent further attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES CLARKE, BRITISH HOME SECRETARY: We need intelligence to work in this way. And because intelligence is our best weapon, this brings your committee, this committee, to the center of the debate about these masses, because every intelligence question, as you said, is also a civil liberties question and an individual rights question.

They are opposite sides of the same coin. And finding the balance to address these questions is both difficult and important.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Clarke urged his EU counterparts to use the momentum from the London bombings to ensure the swift passage of new security laws.

Well, the trial of a radical Muslim preacher has resumed in London. Abu Hamza al-Masri is facing 16 charges, including urging his following to murder Jews. The former imam of a north London mosques is also accused of inciting racial hatred and possessing a document that could aid terrorists.

Some of the charges carry a life sentence if he is convicted. After this trial, the U.S. plans to seek his extradition on terrorism- related charges there.

Pakistani emergency personnel are at the scene of a multi-train pileup, looking for survivors of one of the deadliest rail accidents in that country's history. Railway officials say at least 107 people are dead. And that number is expected to rise. Our Eunice Yoon describes the scene for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EUNICE YOON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bodies in makeshift bags line the tracks. This passenger train, or what's left of it, was one of three that collided Wednesday in a town northeast of the port city of Karachi. Pakistani rail officials say one of the trains, the Karachi Express, rammed into the back of another, which had stopped at Gopti (ph) station for repairs.

A third train smashed into the wreckage. Hundreds of passengers were killed or injured. Many were sleeping when it happened.

Railway authorities blame the driver of the first train. They say he missed a signal. President Pervez Musharraf said anyone guilty of negligence would be prosecuted.

Police and rescue workers are still pulling bodies from the crash site and searching for survivors. The military sent troops and helicopters to airlift the injured to nearby hospitals.

At Karachi's main station, relatives of passengers wait anxiously for word on their loved ones with little solace from officials so far. About a thousand people were onboard each train. Pakistan's railways are antiquated, and dozens of people have died in train accidents in past years.

Eunice Yoon, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Israeli troops on Wednesday reentered the West Bank city of Tulkaram and arrested five members of the militant group Islamic Jihad. A Palestinian police officer was killed in a firefight with Israeli police. Now, this comes one day after a suicide bomber killed four women outside a shopping mall in nearby Netanya. Islamic Jihad told CNN it was responsible for that blast.

Meanwhile, Israel sealed off the West Bank and Gaza, barring all Palestinians from entering Israel. That closure will remain in place until the withdrawal of Israeli settlements from Gaza and a small area of the West Bank, which is scheduled for next month.

And a suicide bomber has killed at least 27 people in Baghdad. Police say most of the victims children who had gathered around U.S. soldiers handing out candy. One soldier also confirmed dead. In a statement, a U.S. commander called the attack abhorrent, saying the bomber must have seen the children before he blew himself up.

Well, in the world of business, former WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. He appeared in federal court in New York on Wednesday for his sentencing. In March, a jury found Ebbers guilty of orchestrating the largest financial fraud in American history while he was heading WorldCom. Don't go away. Coming up on YOUR WORLD TODAY, after planning for everything else, NASA is now hoping bad weather is not going to scuttle the launch of the shuttle. More on that after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL HOWARD, BRITISH OPPOSITION LEADER: Anyone who reaches out for a stone to throw at the window of a mosque, anyone who nurtures resentment against our Muslim community is the enemy of all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: Conservative party leader Michael Howard there joining with the government in calling for calm and unity in trying to address terror in Britain's midst. The government also concerned this day about how they can best get European-wide cooperation in the fight against terror, which has come home to roost in Britain.

Our own senior political editor, Robin Oakley, joins us now from 10 Downing Street -- Robin.

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL EDITOR: Hello, Jim.

Well, profound shock and anxiety Tony Blair said the nation would be feeling about the discovery that the suicide bombers in London were homegrown. One of them a cricket player, the son of somebody who owns a traditional British fish shop.

And the shock is certainly showing among MPs. Also, a great fear that if things have reached this point, that Britain is producing these domestic suicide bombers, then the security risks are greatly enhanced.

To counter that, Tony Blair immediately announcing plans to go ahead with new legislation. He will consult with the opposition, produce a new offense of acts preparatory for terrorism.

Also, Tony Blair winding back, perhaps, on some of Britain's ease of entry and freedom -- freedom of free views in society, saying that it's going to be made harder for people who come here to incite hatred, and it's going to be made easier to deport people who come here and do thing like that. But the chief concern, as you say, to reassure the Muslim community to try and avoid a backlash. And Mr. Blair made it plain that laws alone are not enough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLAIR: I think we all know that security measures alone are not going to deal with this. This is not an isolated criminal act we are dealing with. It is an extreme and evil ideology whose roots lie in a perverted and poisonous misinterpretation of the religion of Islam.

(END VIDEO CLIP) OAKLEY: So what the politicians want to do now, Jim, is to prevent, as far as they can, the radicalization and recruitment of disillusioned Muslim youths -- Jim.

CLANCY: All right. Robin Oakley reporting to us there from 10 Downing Street.

Now, if anyone watching us around the world thinks that this is a problem that is only limited to Britain, think again. The whole process that was carried out here that is coming to light right now has some ominous signs for everyone else around the world as well.

Joining us now, Paul Rogers, professor of peace studies at Bradford University, an expert in terrorism.

A young man lived in this house, played cricket. His parents didn't know it. No one seemed to know it. But he became a suicide bomber.

What does that say about a broader strategy?

PROF. PAUL ROGERS, BRADFORD UNIVERSITY: It looks very much as though the al Qaeda network may now try to identify people who have grown up in particular countries, who have been for some reason radicalized, to bring them in and actually take them through to the point where they will carry out these atrocities. It's a development which the security people have been seeing slowly over the last two or three years, but it has suddenly come very much to the fore in Britain, and it's causing a real headache for the intelligence agencies, because these people are completely unknown to them.

They don't know where they will be picked up. So I think it's going to have ramifications which are going to stretch beyond Britain, probably to countries like Italy, and quite possibly the United States as well.

CLANCY: This is what they call a sleeper cell. This is a group of people that just aren't on the radar anywhere, but somehow they turn them.

ROGERS: Well, in a sense, it's even more difficult than a sleeper cell, which may have been people who were above the radar at one time, then went to sleep. These are new people coming in who are not known.

Their backgrounds aren't known. That's what makes this very much more difficult.

Now, at the same time, there will be people trying to coordinate this, there will be people trying to bring them in. And one of the priorities for the British authorities at present will be trying to identify and detain those particular people.

CLANCY: Now, Professor Rogers, the prime minister has said they are going to get together with the Muslim community. They need the Muslim community. Will they be able to hold that center? ROGERS: I think so very much. The Spanish were able to. The Spanish people were very good at this over a year ago after the Madrid bombings.

This area in eastern Leeds is an area of quite good community relations. Bradford, just across the way, similarly. People worked very hard over the last four or five years to get the communities together.

So I'm hopeful that things will hold together. Although, I must admit, the next five to six days will be crucial in that.

CLANCY: The parents said they were completely surprised. But we also know that the parents paved the way right here for their son to go off to what they thought was a religious school in Pakistan. Where did he end up? What happened?

ROGERS: Well, you see, there are many -- there are very many connections between this part of Britain and Mirpour (ph) and other parts of Pakistan. Many of the people are second and third generation families, they retain the links.

People go back and forth frequently. So it's even more difficult to pick up where people who are not going for legitimate reasons. It's another part of the headache that the authorities now face.

CLANCY: But he could have well gone to Afghanistan.

ROGERS: He could possibly, yes, certainly. But even if he was in the more border areas of Pakistan to Afghanistan, there are areas there where people will get training. But the point is, it could have been entirely legitimate. And nobody was easily to know that. That's the problem.

CLANCY: Professor Paul Rogers, I want to thank you very much...

ROGERS: Thank you.

CLANCY: ... for having been with us.

You can get a look there, Michael, at some of the problems that are being faced here. They are being frontally addressed by members of the government at this hour, even as police investigators behind me continue to probe this house.

We see people in anti-contamination uniforms here, preparing to put up scaffolding. This house is going to get a thorough going over for any forensic evidence that may be left here.

Back to you now.

HOLMES: All right. Jim Clancy there in Leeds, following the investigation. Thanks, Jim.

Let's check some stories making news in the U.S. now. President Bush says he will withhold judgment on the role of his top political adviser, Karl Rove, in a growing controversy over the leak of a CIA agent's identity. Mr. Bush told reporters that he will not comment on the matter until a federal investigation is over.

Recently disclosed documents show that Karl Rove discussed the CIA agent in question with a "TIME" magazine reporter, but did not refer to her by name. Now, that reporter, Matthew Cooper, appeared Wednesday before a federal grand jury investigating the CIA leak. Cooper had initially refused to reveal his source for a story he wrote in 2003 identifying the agent, but agreed to do so after the source, who turned out, of course, to be Karl Rove, released him of a pledge of confidentiality.

After a top-to-bottom review, major changes are expected for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Department Secretary Michael Chertoff is set to announce some reforms in less than an hour. He is expected to highlight transportation and border security as some of his top priorities.

All right. Just to come ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY, we're going to check the world's financial markets.

Also, the loved ones of those still missing in the London bombings wait in agony.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Former WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. Ebbers was convicted of conspiracy, fraud, and making false filings with regulators, which eventually led to the collapse of WorldCom.

Allan Chernoff joins us now live from outside the courtroom in New York.

And it was certainly an eventful start to the day as well -- Allan.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: No question about that, Michael. Actually, entering the courthouse, Bernie Ebbers actually shoved a photographer to the side as he stepped inside. And it was not a good day after that.

Bernie Ebbers, as you said, sentenced to 25 years in prison for his part in the $11 billion accounting scandal at WorldCom, the largest in U.S. corporate history. Bernie Ebbers is 63 years old, and the judge has said this is effectively a life sentence for Mr. Ebbers.

Now, typically in the United States, when somebody is sentenced to more than 10 years in prison, they are not allowed to be sent to a minimum security prison. Rather, they are sent to a low security prison if they are a white-collared criminal, such as Mr. Ebbers. And so, he is being sent to a prison in Mississippi, in Yazoo City. That's what the judge is going to recommend to the Bureau of Prisons for his 25-year sentence. Now, Mr. Ebbers, as the sentence was announced, was seen sniffling in the courtroom. And afterwards he was crying, holding his wife. The two of them crying together. Clearly, a big disappointment for Mr. Ebbers.

Throughout the trial, he had argued, in fact, he testified at trial, that he simply didn't know what happened at WorldCom. It was called the aw shucks defense. He had claimed that the chief financial officer, Scott Sullivan, at WorldCom had executed and directed the entire $11 billion accounting fraud. But clearly, the jury did not believe that.

The judge herself did not believe it. She even said this morning, "I don't understand the motivation that Mr. Ebbers had here."

Now, the attorney for Mr. Ebbers says that he is going to appeal vigorously.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REID WEINGARTEN, EBBERS' ATTORNEY: I think an innocent man got sentenced today. I think that the judge is a wonderful judge. And I'm sure tried to do what she thought was best.

But the problem with this case from day one, Bernie Ebbers was transformed into a symbol, a distorted picture of corporate corruption. That's not Bernie Ebbers.

The record is uncontradicted. This is a man who has lived a life that is unblemished. He's lived a life of unbelievable charity and kindness and compassion. And somehow that didn't fit into this picture of the greedy, corrupt public -- or corporate official. It made us crazy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHERNOFF: The judge has directed Mr. Ebbers to report to the Bureau of Prisons within 72 hours and to actually begin serving his time on October 12 -- Michael.

HOLMES: Allan Chernoff. Thanks so much.

We'll let's check in now on what's moving the markets in the U.S. and also Europe.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

HOLMES: Now we're going to have a round-up of the main stories in just a moment. Also ahead, as you're riding, they are watching. The strategy used by security teams to prevent bus bombings in Jerusalem. This is CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Live pictures coming to you from the Kennedy Space Center. We have just been watching as Commander Eileen Collins was suited up. Now you can see her at the bottom of your screen there. This, of course, as all eyes in Florida are looking up to see if the weather is going to cooperate for the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery. Our own Miles O'Brien, of course, is there on the spot as he always is for such events. Miles, you and I have always said how much we love these things. But is the weather going to foil us?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's spoiling this live shot, isn't it, Michael? I was going to be on the air with you, but we've had to take a little bit of cover as a passing rain squall with a fair amount of thunder and lightning came right over the Kennedy Space Center. Now, we still have three hours and 20 minute before the appointed launch time for Discovery on its mission to the International Space Station.

And as you look at Eileen Collins and she gets ready, puts on her parachute and gets ready to go in and strap into the space shuttle and begin her checklist, final checklist for flight, you need to consider that things change very quickly here in Florida. And we do anticipate that the weather situation's not great. Sixty percent no-go is the current projection. But thunderstorms come and go pretty quickly in Florida. So we're watching it closely.

HOLMES: Now, these repairs that were carried out a little bit earlier, obviously no big deal in the long run, Miles?

O'BRIEN: Most of them have been no big deal, although, yesterday when we were talking about that protective cover that was on that window that fell 70 feet, or about 30 meters or so, 20 meters or so, from the window all the way down to the base of the rocket, damaging a couple of tiles certainly hearken back to Columbia and made many people here stop and think twice, because of course, Columbia, about 82 seconds after launch, was fatally wounded by a piece of foam that fell off the external fuel tank on that particular shuttle. So as it turns out, it was minor damage and was repaired quickly. And NASA says as far as the engineering goes, as far as the systems go, everything is green. The only thing that's red -- the only red box on the list right now is the weather.

HOLMES: It's amazing to get these live pictures coming to us from where they're being suited up. Miles, you've spoken to plenty of astronauts over the years. How would the crew be feeling right now?

O'BRIEN: They -- I've been told that what happens as you get to this point, into the White Room, as they call it, that time really compresses. And what they're thinking about is just what's going to happen in the next 30 seconds or so, going through each and every item on that check list. Trying to make sure they don't miss a trick, don't miss an item and always thinking about the things they might be missing. It's a very focused time. It's analogous to a professional sports athlete getting ready for a big game. That's what they're doing today, getting ready for the big game.

HOLMES: Miles, there's just always going to be people who look at these missions, the amount of money that they cost, and say is it worth it? O'BRIEN: Well, those are big questions. And not easy questions to answer if you come at it with the thought that going to space doesn't make any difference or doesn't expand our knowledge base. You know, what you have to do is put this whole thing into the context of what's next for NASA as you look at the crew walk out just a little while ago. Seven-member crew, multi-national crew on their way to the International Space Station.

This is the beginning of the end of the space shuttle. NASA is now thinking very hard and long about returning to the moon and perhaps going on to Mars. There you see the crew, Eileen Collins on the right, her pilot, Jim "Vegas" Kelly on the left and the remainder of the crew going into their astronaut van just a little while ago. As we showed you the live pictures, Eileen is just about to get into the orbiter.

I think, you know, when you consider the value of how this might inspire young people, how it gets people engaged in thoughts about learning about math and science, I think there's a lot of value in it. But you know you can always say, people always say, what if you took that money and spent it on X or Y? Could you solve those problems? I doubt it.

HOLMES: All right. Miles O'Brien, the man with the best job in the world. Thanks very much, Miles. We will be checking with you as the day progresses.

All right, let's move on. Investigators in white protective suits search neighborhoods in Leeds, about 300 kilometers north of London, for a second day as investigations continue into the London terrorist attacks. Jim Clancy is there. He joins us now, Jim?

JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Michael, we can't be sure just what these investigators hope to find there in these white HAZMAT suits, or anti-contamination suits. They've got their scaffolding ready here. Perhaps police themselves don't know for what exactly they are searching. But they want to find any evidence they can in this investigation.

Meantime, the community here, the Muslim community at large, many of Pakistani origin, asking questions themselves. How could this have happened? How could it be four of our own? Bashir Ahmed, the uncle of 23-year-old Shahzad Tanweer, the boy who's house is right behind me right now, he spoke with us a little bit earlier, and said he was puzzled.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR AHMED, UNCLE OF BOMBING SUSPECT: He had everything to live for. He wasn't in any hard life. Parents were loving and supporting people. They had no financial difficulties. So, I can't see how could he do that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: He wasn't wanting for anything, as people noted. He had been to university. He seemed like a happy young man. He played sports. Yes, it seemed that he had become a bit more religious. But he had gone to a religious school in Pakistan. He came home from that school early. It is not known, although some of the people here in the neighborhood, some of the people who have known the family, wonder openly, whether he may have been reached in some way or another by someone during one of those visits to Pakistan, possibly even moving on to Afghanistan. There are so many unanswered questions for police.

And right now, yes, they know who the four suicide bombers were. They have a strong suspicion in at least the last one. They know for certain three of them. And they're asking themselves right now, could they have done it alone? It doesn't appear likely that any of these four young men really knew anything about explosives. So they're looking for the possibility that there is somebody with explosive background? They're looking for the possibility there was someone who came up with a logistical plan, that plan to go to London and where to spread the bombs. So many things for the police yet to discover. And yet, that is vitally necessary.

Meantime, an entirely other group of people is concerned this day as well, concerned about their families, and coming to another realization -- the realization that their loved ones are never coming home. They are the families of the victims.

Robyn Curnow reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Last week, commuters like these made journeys from which some would never return. Many, though, made it out alive, recording their escape on their mobile phones. But more than 50 Londoners did not make it to their destination last Thursday.

Lee Basedyn (ph) worked for the fire department here in London, and he was one of them. His friends, Helen and Craig Lasky, say he was simply following his daily commute.

HELEN LASKY, VICTIM'S FRIEND: We think that he could possibly have been traveling from Liverpool Street to Aldgate -- through Aldgate to get to Westminster at the time of the bomb.

CURNOW: Lee never got to Westminster Station. He's still missing.

Police say that recovering bodies and body parts has been a methodical process, a vital aspect of the forensic investigation. Final identification and confirmation by the coroner might take even longer, much to the despair of those who are missing loved ones.

LASKY: But if somebody somewhere could just give us a timeframe. You know, what are we looking at? Are we looking at days, week, months? You know, that's the frustration.

CURNOW: John Falding's partner was on the number 30 bus. They were talking on the phone when the bomb went off. JOHN FALDING, VICTIM'S PARTNER: I heard incredible screams in the background. What ghastly noise. Then the line went dead.

CURNOW: Falding comforts himself by remembering the last time he saw her, when they shared some chocolate cake.

FALDING: And she loved chocolate. She said, oh, chocolate cake. I said, fine, so I got her some chocolate cake with cream on a paper plate and she loved it. And she insisted I have a bit. And then she just turned to me and said, you do look after me.

CURNOW: For those millions of Londoners who did complete their journey safely last Thursday, the fear that London might be targeted again.

Robyn Curnow, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: In a special gesture, all of Britain's expected to pause for two minutes on Thursday in memory of the victims. Michael, back to you.

HOLMES: Well, all right, Jim Clancy there in Leeds. Thanks, Jim.

Still ahead on "YOUR WORLD TODAY," stopping the bombers. A look at the lengths one community has to go through to stop and stay ahead of the terrorists.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: As London and other cities around the world re-evaluate transport security, they might want to look to Jerusalem, which has seen more than two dozen bus bombings in the past decade alone. Authorities have responded with a package of measures aimed at thwarting those attacks. Here's Guy Raz.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mushed Grippe (ph) spends his days on buses, checking passengers who board and whether anything deadly is left behind. 600,000 Jerusalem commuters ride the bus each day. It's the only mass transit option in the city, and protecting those buses fall to the armed men and women in beige shirts, who cast a suspicious eye on every passer-by.

GONEN COHEN, JERUSALEM TRANSPORT SEC. CHIEF: Every day, every hour, every minute.

RAZ: Twenty-nine-year-old Gonen Cohen is in charge of security for Jerusalem's transit system. His casual outfit belies the nature of his job. Gonen Cohen works undercover. His obsession, to prevent suicide bus bombers.

COHEN: They are around (INAUDIBLE) every day. Every day it's -- we wake up in the morning and thinking it's going to be today.

RAZ: In the past decade, about 350 people in Israel died in bus bombings, Jews, Christians, Muslims alike. Jerusalem buses bore the brunt. But it's been nearly 18 months since a bomber successfully exploded on a bus in the city. Bomb-sniffing dogs now patrol the bus stops. Passengers are checked. Security guards constantly receive up-to-the-minute intelligence on their two-way radios. Bus bombings are less frequent now, but the Israeli government admits it's almost impossible to totally prevent them.

(on camera): So an enterprising Israeli company has come up with a possible solution, the bomb-proof bus. If a potential suicide bomber attempts to board the bus, the driver can simply shut them out.

(voice-over): The doors and windows are made of bomb-proof material capable of withstanding a blast.

CHAIM SHAFIR, ISRAEL MILITARY INDUSTRIES: So the main goal here is to leave the suicide bomber outside the bus.

RAZ: Chaim Shafir helped develop the technology. He says these buses will soon debut in Jerusalem. The entrance will be equipped with a sensor to detect bombs. The driver can also manually operate the bomb shield.

SHAFIR: He can close the door and move the bus.

RAZ: Passengers say the heightened security has reduced their anxiety. Graphic designer Hai Razvani rides this line daily, and he can't imagine getting around any other way.

HAI RAZVANI-POUR, GRAPHIC DESIGNER: It's crazy to drive in Israel. The drivers are very, you know, crazy.

RAZ: Practice, it's said, makes perfect. In Jerusalem, a decade of suicide bombings has taught security officials vigilance all in the hope of making bus travel here a safe, if dull, experience.

Guy Raz, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And now let's check some other stories making news in the United States.

Investigators are updating a U.S. Senate committee about allegations of prisoner abuse at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Their findings reportedly include three violations of the Geneva Conventions. One source says investigators wanted the prison's former commander reprimanded, but that recommendation was blocked, apparently by a general.

Lance Armstrong's quest for a seventh straight win is still on solid ground in the Tour de France. The six-time winner finishing behind Alexandre Vinokourov on a 173-kilometer climb up the Alps. But Armstrong retains the yellow jersey, despite not finishing first in the tour's 11th stage.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: Don't go away. More to come on the London terror bombings after the break. We're going to speak to a survivor as she relives last Thursday's tragic events.

Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: As police try to piece together the events of last Thursday, that fateful day, when London came to a standstill, some of the survivors are now talking about their experiences.

Louise Shepherd (ph) was one of the lucky ones, walking away from the blast with just cuts and bruises.

She spoke to Chris Choi (ph).

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I remember the feeling of an explosion. I didn't hear it because my ears are damaged. And I remember, I knew I thought, I'm inside a bomb explosion. This is what it's like. And I felt incredible pressure on my body. And then, eventually, I opened my eyes, and I saw little bits of debris just floating in the air. And I thought, my first thought, was, have I still got my legs? And I moved them a little bit, and realized that I had. And I couldn't hear anything. And I'd lost my glasses, so I couldn't see very well. And I actually wondered if I was still alive, and so I thought, I'll see if I can speak. And I think I just said, oh God, and I heard myself speak, which made me know I was still alive.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: But what about the mental scars?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think I've got any idea what they are. I'm quite detached from it, really. The first couple of days after it happened, I cried a couple times. And I thought, oh, I haven't cried anymore, but I think these things just happen when the time's right, really. If I'm not ready to cry, I'm -- you know.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: In that immediate aftermath when we see all the video footage, it looks like mayhem. It looks like nobody could be able to organize anything, to deliver effective help, and yet, there was help very quickly, wasn't there?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Passersby were brilliant, were very helpful, and trying to make phone calls on their mobile. Of course mobiles weren't working. I was sitting on some steps, and a man came up and said, oh, I've got a shop around the corner, come with me, you can sit down and we'll get you a drink. And Louis and I ended up in a hairdresser, and they really brilliant in that hairdresser. They really helped.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: That was one of the survivors of Thursday's blast attack in London. Her name, Louise Shepherd.

For Jim Clancy in Leeds, I'm Michael Holmes. The news continues here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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