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London Suspected Bombers Visited Pakistan Last Year; Middle East Conflict; Iraq Violence

Aired July 18, 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)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm astonished if Chatham House is now saying that we should not have stood shoulder to shoulder with our longstanding allies in the United States.

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ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Britain denies claims that its policies contributed to the London bombings as the investigation itself takes a turn toward Pakistan.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: A festive mood in southern Israel. These pictures coming to you live now as demonstrators oppose the withdrawal of Jewish settlements in Gaza make their point.

VERJEE: And Mother Nature wreaks havoc with two major storms on opposite sides of the globe.

HOLMES: 5:00 p.m. in London right now, 7:00 p.m. in Nativot in southern Israel. Hello and welcome. I'm Michael Holmes.

VERJEE: And I'm Zain Verjee. Welcome to all our viewers throughout the world. This is CNN International.

We begin with a widening probe of international links in the London terror attacks.

HOLMES: More details are emerging about the suspected bombers. Pakistani officials confirming that three of the four suspects visited Pakistan last year.

Meanwhile, Egyptian authorities say an Egyptian biochemist being questioned in connection with the attacks remains in custody. British investigators are observing his interrogations.

VERJEE: And on another front, the British government is angrily denying a report that says its support for the U.S. in Iraq has helped make the country a target for terror.

We're going to bring you a lot more on that report coming up, but first more details on the bombers in Pakistan -- rather the bombers' links to Pakistan from our Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson in London.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Both Pakistani intelligence and immigration officials confirm that three of the suspected suicide bombers, the three from the Leeds area, did visit Pakistan last year. They have released passport photographs and, indeed, pictures of the three as they passed through immigration control at Karachi Airport.

Shahzad Tanweer and Mohammed Sidique Khan went through Karachi Airport on November the 19th last year. They arrived on a Turkish Airlines flight. We're told that they spent about a week in the Karachi area before taking a train north to the city of Lahore. We're also told that they left the country on the 8th of February this year.

It's not clear what they did during their stay in Pakistani. That's what Pakistani intelligence officials are telling us.

We also understand again from the same officials in Pakistan that Hasib Hussain, the youngest of the suspected bombers, entered Pakistan, again at Karachi Airport on the 15th of July last year. He flew in on a flight on a Saudi Airlines flight from Riyadh.

And again, officials telling us they're not sure how long he stayed in the country, they're not clear on what he did inside the country. Relatives and family members in Leeds say it's perfectly normal for second and third generation Pakistanis born in Britain to go back to Pakistan to visit family members.

The British police have said they expect to find an al Qaeda link to the bombings in London. So very likely they will want to follow up and find out exactly what the men were doing in Pakistan, given that in Pakistan, over the last few years, a number of al Qaeda operatives have been arrested there.

Nic Robertson, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Germany's top court has order the release of a suspected al Qaeda financier. The Federal Constitutional Court blocked Berlin's extradition of Mamoun Darkazanli to Spain under a European Union arrest warrant. The court ruled that the warrant had not been implemented properly and was unconstitutional.

Darkazanli was of dual Syrian and German nationality. He's been in custody in Hamburg since last October; however, he has not yet been charged with anything. The United States accuses him of financing al Qaeda.

VERJEE: Israeli troops are bracing for a possible confrontation with Israelis opposed to the government's disengagement plan. Thousands of protesters are gathering in southern Israel, hoping to make their way to Gaza.

John Vause joins us now live from Netivot with the latest.

John, are they going to be able to get to Gaza?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Zain, having a great deal of trouble hearing exactly what the question was. But what I can tell you right now is that this was meant to be the one last big demonstration before the Gaza disengagement gets under way in less than a month from now.

Organizers were hoping for the largest protest in Israeli history. More than 100,000 people, they said. They didn't quite get that.

Let's take look at the size of this crowd right now. There's a few thousand people here, quite a few thousand, to be fair. But many protesters were stopped from even getting here in the first place.

The organizers had hired about 1,200 buses to bring protesters from around the country. Now, many of those buses, hundreds, in fact, were stopped by police and turned back.

They were coming from Tel Aviv, from Haifa, from the West Bank settlements, from all over this country. The police say they're within their rights to stop those buses because this protest has been deemed illegal, and they're well within their rights, they say, to prevent protesters from arriving here.

Now, one of the reasons why they didn't want a mass rally here, about 15 kilometers from Gaza, is because of what happened at the Kisovim Crossing (ph) last night. That's one of the major crossings to Gush Katif, the biggest of the Jewish settlement blocs in the Gaza Strip.

Now, last night, about a hundred or so protesters, mostly Jewish teenagers, clashed with Israeli soldiers at the Kisovim Crossing (ph). So now the plan with these protesters here is that they will wait for about another hour or so, hoping that more protesters will arrive.

From here, they will march a few miles to a small town, they'll spend the night there in a town called Beit Mahmoud (ph). And then tomorrow they will continue their march to the Gaza Strip. They hope to be there by Wednesday, and they're hoping to have tens of thousands of people, Zain, at that Kisovim Crossing (ph).

The government, however, has told the Israeli police, the Israeli army to do everything possible to stop that from happening -- Zain.

VERJEE: CNN's John Vause reporting.

Now to Iraq and the relentless insurgency. Officials say five policemen were killed in a string of attacks on Monday in Baghdad. This follows an extremely violent weekend, with the worst attack coming south of the capital in the town of Musayyib.

Officials say at least 90 people were killed when a man blew himself up near a fuel tanker, causing a massive explosion. That attack raised the number of people killed in suicide bombings last week to at least 170.

Despite the huge toll, the U.S. military says it is making progress against insurgents.

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BRIG. GEN. DONALD ALSTON, U.S. MILITARY SPOKESMAN: The progress from the beginning of May through roughly the beginning of July, the number of car bomb attacks in Baghdad, was in the -- I'd say in the high teens. And then as a consequence of deliberate operations with the Iraq security forces, as well as coalition forces, that was reduced to about eight a week. So there was actually very good progress in Baghdad with regard to, to reducing the number of EBIDs (ph).

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HOLMES: All right. Let's continue now with our coverage now, get some perspective on the latest surge in violence in Iraq. Aneesh Raman is in Baghdad, joins us now live.

An extraordinary weekend, even by Iraqi standards, Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was. They've already called the Iraqi government for a three-minute moment of silence early on Wednesday to commemorate those that died on Saturday in Musayyib.

That single attack now one of the deadliest we've seen since the war. At least 90 people killed, well over 100 wounded.

It was highly sophisticated. It was coordinated. A suicide bomber detonating next to a fuel truck that had been stolen from the capital city and driven down to Musayyib.

It was detonated in the middle of the town next to the gas station, next to apartments, next to homes. At the same time as that attack, mortar fire was launched against a police headquarters, as well as a general hospital.

The video you're seeing was attacks that happened today in Iraq. All of this, Michael, underscoring how difficult suicide bombers are to prevent. The military conceding that it is the most sort of deadly insurgent tactic.

Suicide bombers can choose what time they detonate and at what precise location to maximize casualties, to maximize damage. And the key ingredient to mitigating their impact and even to potentially slowing down their use is to really seal off the border, as well as to get better intelligence. But both of those things are heavily dependent on the Iraqi security forces to mature much more quickly than they are -- Michael.

HOLMES: Aneesh, another story as we look at those extraordinary pictures there, the tanker exploding, causing such death and mayhem. Saddam Hussein, the latest on his trial? RAMAN: Yes. We found out yesterday that Saddam Hussein, as well as other members of his top regime, could face trial as early as September. It follows yesterday's referral of charges by the chief investigative judge. There's a minimum 45-day period that must pass between the referral of charges and the trial itself.

Now, Michael, this is the first of many trials Saddam Hussein could face. This tribunal is not trying individuals. They are trying a case-by-case basis.

The first one stems from a 1982 incident in the town of Dujile (ph), just north of Baghdad. There, in July of that year, Saddam survived an assassination attempt and then had some 150 people killed in reaction.

So this will be the first. Likely ahead, he'll be tried for the killing of 150,000 Shia after their failed uprising in 1991 for the gassing of thousands of Kurds in the north.

But this is a huge step for the Iraqi people. It will be broadcast live on television here, as well as throughout the world. For many of them, this will be the moment that evil confronts the atrocities of its past. Saddam Hussein putting humanity itself on trial -- Michael.

HOLMES: Yes. Aneesh, we'll leave it there. Aneesh Raman there in Baghdad. Thanks, Aneesh.

VERJEE: Still ahead here on YOUR WORLD TODAY...

HOLMES: A warm welcome at the White House, but will India and the U.S. see eye to eye on some rather thorny issues?

VERJEE: We're going to bring you a live report from New Delhi on how the visit is being viewed there.

Stay with us.

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VERJEE: Welcome back. You're watching an hour of world news on CNN International.

The Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, in Washington, where he's been meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush. Relations between the two nations are warming, with India considered a rising economic and military power. Both men welcomed the growing bond just a short while ago.

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GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I just had a great discussion, very frank and open discussion. And tonight, we look forward to welcome you for a little family dinner.

And in the United States here, a commitment to freedom and a belief that democracy provides the best path to a more hopeful future for all people. We also believe that the spread of liberty is the best alternative to hatred and violence. Because of our shared values, the relationship between our two countries has never been stronger.

MANMOHAN SINGH, INDIAN PRIME MINISTER: The joint statement that we have agreed upon lays out the full potential of our multifaceted cooperation. The president has accepted my invitation to visit India at the earliest, and we are confident that the results of the understanding that we have reached today would be fully evident by then.

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VERJEE: Our New Delhi Bureau Chief Satinder Bindra is in the Indian capital. He has more now on the visit.

Satinder, first of all, the issue of nuclear energy cooperation really key to India. Did India hear what it wanted?

SATINDER BINDRA, CNN NEW DELHI BUREAU CHIEF: Well, for those who were expecting, Zain, a breakthrough in this area, I fear disappointment. The president saying very explicitly that civilian nuclear technology was discussed. It is an area of cooperation.

But what some Indians wanted to hear was that Indians would get nuclear fuel, perhaps nuclear reactors. This is to fuel the economic growth here in India. India is growing very rapidly, at about 7 percent, as the prime minister mentioned.

So nuclear energy is a very important facet. And as far as those Indians who are hoping to see some big pronouncements, some major issues being announced, clearly that didn't happen today.

VERJEE: India also wants a permanent seat on a reformed U.N. Security Council. That was mentioned in Manmohan Singh's statement but didn't appear either to have much movement there.

BINDRA: Yes, and what was significant, again, Zain, was the U.S. president not going in that area at all. In fact, just days before the Indian prime minister was due to visit, the United States saying very clearly that the time "was not ripe."

And India has been trying for months to tell the United States that it does want membership on an expanded U.N. Security Council. India feels that the democracy which is growing so steadily, that it should get a seat. But once again, the U.S. position is very clear. The U.S. says larger U.N. reform must come before any expansion of the Security Council.

So once again, disappointment for the Indians. A lot of people here were expecting there would at least be some movement there, but again, that didn't happen.

VERJEE: There is movement, some progress, though, between general relations between India and the United States. They appear a lot, lot warmer. What are Indian attitudes toward the United States today?

BINDRA: Zain, there has been a sea change in the U.S. relations. They were on opposite sides during the Cold War, and over the past four to five years, there's been greater cooperation in technology, greater cooperation through counterterrorism. And recently, there was an international survey in which some 71 percent of Indians said they had a favorable opinion of the United States. That was up from 54 percent just a few years ago.

So clearly, the momentum in this relationship will come in the very warm people-to-people contacts that exist between both nations. One also mustn't forget, Zain, that both of these countries are democracies, and there's a great affinity as far as the people of both countries are concerned.

And there are more than a million Indians who are settled in the United States. They're doing very well, and they'll continue to propel this relationship forward -- Zain.

VERJEE: CNN's New Delhi Bureau Chief Satinder Bindra reporting. Thanks, Satinder -- Michael.

HOLMES: All right, Zain. Let's look at some other stories making news in the U.S. now.

Confessed serial bomber Eric Rudolph faces sentencing in Alabama. Under a plea agreement, the anti-abortion extremist confessed to bombing an abortion clinic in Alabama in 1998. A police officer was killed. One other person, a woman, was maimed.

Well, Rudolph has confessed to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing as well. That killed one woman and injured more than a hundred people. Also to setting off bombs in an abortion clinic and gay bar in Atlanta in 1997.

Testimony is due to begin about two hours from now in the nation's first Vioxx-related lawsuit to get to trial. The trial centers on the death in 2001 of a 59-year-old Ft. Worth man who ran marathons. He took Vioxx to relieve pain in his hands.

Merck removed Vioxx from markets last year after a study showed it increased the risk of heart attacks if taken for 18 months or longer.

Well, as NASA troubleshoots the Shuttle Discovery, international partners are getting nervous about their efforts to complete the International Space Station. The shuttle's launch was postponed, you'll remember, last Wednesday, because of a fuel sensor problem. It was to be the first launch since the 2003 Columbia accident. Sixteen nations depend upon the shuttles to transport to the space station.

VERJEE: Still ahead, furious winds in two parts of the globe.

HOLMES: In one place, it's called a hurricane, in another it's called a typhoon. The view, however, looks the same. Pretty much like this. We're going to have the details in a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: Hurricane Emily is churning toward the Gulf of Mexico after lashing the Yucatan Peninsula. It's weakened to a Category 2 storm, but forecasters say it could strengthen as it moves over water. Emily was a Category 4 when it came ashore on the Yucatan, home to some of the most popular beaches in the world.

No deaths were reported, but the storm knocked out power along the coast and damaged some businesses. Thousands of tourists rode out the storm in makeshift shelters.

Wind and heavy rain from Typhoon Haitang is still battering Taiwan hours after the powerful storm roared on shore. China is now taking precautions before the storm hits there. More than 500,000 people have now been evacuated from low-lying areas across China's southeastern coast.

We're going to bring you more on both of these storms in two different parts of the world later this hour.

HOLMES: Well, time now to check on what's moving the markets both in the United States, also in Europe.

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HOLMES: All right. An update of the top stories is coming up next right here on YOUR WORLD TODAY.

VERJEE: Also, Iraq and the war on terror. Has British support of the U.S.-led invasion put Britain at risk for attacks? A leading foreign policy group things so. We're going to talk to an associate fellow of Chatham House about its controversial report. That's coming up.

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VERJEE: Hello and welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International. I'm Zain Verjee.

HOLMES: And I'm Michael Holmes. Let's bring you up to date now on the top stories that we're following for you this day.

Thousands of anti-disengagement demonstrators are gathering in southern Israel. They're planning to stage a protest march to settlements in southern Gaza, but Israeli police have blocked the path of several buses filled with demonstrators. Israel is scheduled to begin clearing out Jewish settlements in Gaza in mid-August.

VERJEE: The insurgency in Iraq continues to take lives after an extremely violent weekend. The worst attack came on Saturday in the town of Musayyib. Officials say at least 90 people were killed when a man blew himself up near a fuel tanker, causing a massive explosion. Police in Baghdad, meantime, say Iraqi policemen were killed on Monday in a string of attacks. HOLMES: Pakistani intelligence and immigration officials confirm that three of the four suspects in the London terror bombings visited Pakistan last year. All three were photographed, as you can see, by immigration on arrival at Karachi Airport. Two stayed for more than two months, traveling from Karachi to Lahore. Authorities are working now on finding out the purpose of those visits.

Well, the British Prime Minister Tony Blair is facing new pressure over his support for the war in Iraq. A foreign policy think tank says the U.K.'s close alliance with the U.S. on the war on terror puts it at particular risk for attacks.

European political editor Robin Oakley joins us now with more on the report and the British reaction. The government none too happy, but what other reaction, Robin?

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN EUROPEAN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, certainly, the government none too happy, Michael. In a way, the question of any link between the war in Iraq and Tony Blair's support for that and the terrorist attacks in London has been the dog that didn't bark for the last ten days or so. Politicians of all parties have been pulling together in a spirit of mutual support, and people haven't really been harping on that Iraq question, which figured so largely in the last election, which shredded Tony Blair's majority. Only a few mavericks like George Galloway, the respected M.P. who was elected to parliament on an anti-Iraq war platform, have rarely been making much of it.

But now this much-respected think tank, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, as it's known, has come forward and said, yes, the war in Iraq did boost al Qaeda's propaganda, its recruitment and its funding. And it says that Britain found itself in the position of being a pillion passenger, a backseat passenger, while the U.S. drove the whole enterprise, and that that has put Britain at greater risk.

Now, Tony Blair will obviously be worried that that could unleash a lot of the other critics who had been keeping quiet up until now, but tomorrow -- on Wednesday, rather, he'll face lawmakers for the last time before they go off for their summer holiday. So it's quite a convenient timing for him, Michael.

HOLMES: The report, though, Robin, doesn't lay blame for the London bombings at the feet of the British relationship with the U.S., does it, specifically?

OAKLEY: No, nothing as specific as that. It simply talks about how the Iraq war has made recruitment easier for al Qaeda, and its potential supporters. So I think people will see a bit more of a link there than anybody has chosen to bring forward at the moment. But, as I say, there's still very much a cross-party mood of cooperation and consensus.

Charles Clarke, the British home secretary, is right now meeting with his counterparts in other parties to try and get them to back the government's new plans for anti-terrorist laws. They want to, for example, bring in a law making it an offense to commit acts preparatory to terrorism. Because at the moment, if the security authorities go in early to protect the public, it's difficult for them to get the evidence to bring a prosecution against suspected terrorists.

Then, it's going to be made an offense for anybody to give or receive terrorist training, drawing the definition of that training rather wider than it has up until now. And they also want to catch the hate preachers by saying that indirect incitement to terrorism is going to be an offense, as well as direct incitement, which already is -- Michael.

HOLMES: Yes. Robin, as always, thanks. Robin Oakley, our European political editor, there at Number 10 Downing Street -- Zain.

VERJEE: Michael, for more for more perspective on the Chatham House report that claims that Britain's policies are increasing the risk of a terrorist attack, we're joined now by Chatham House associate fellow Rime Allaf, live from London.

Rime, firstly, what are these claims being based on in the report?

RIME ALLAF, CHATHAM HOUSE: This report is an assessment of the security measures undertaken by the British governments, by successive British governments, I have to say, over the years to understand what situation Britain finds itself today in. And therefore, I think it is a little bit of oversimplification to imply that the only conclusion from that report is that the July 7 attacks in London were caused more or less by Iraq. There's a lot more than that.

What the report talks about is how Britain, being very preoccupied with Northern Ireland, the IRA and other domestic groups, decided to turn a blind eye to what was happening in London, where a number of radical groups set up shop, basically. And the British government had decided to ignore what was happening, as long as British interests were not threatened. This was the understanding. All of that changed, of course, on September 11.

And the report, in fact, makes a big distinction between the invasion of Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq, saying that Afghanistan was, in fact, a success in the war on terror, in that it unseated the Taliban regime, which was giving refuge to al Qaeda, and therefore dismantled a big network. Where in the...

VERJEE: OK, the British foreign secretary, Rime, Jack Straw, today saying, look, you know, after hearing about the report says, stop making excuses about terrorism. He said terrorists have attacked countries around the world which never supported the war in Iraq. Like Turkey, he gave as an example, this weekend. Your response?

ALLAF: I think it is very far-fetched to imply in any way that Chatham House would be providing excuses for terrorism. Rather, Chatham House, in this report, is setting a context, and after explaining how British intelligence has been acting in the past few years, explaining that instead of carrying on with the war on terror, Iraq was, in fact, a diversion, and that it provided the propaganda tools for al Qaeda and people like al Qaeda to recruit these foot soldiers who are carrying out all these attacks. So there is no way one can say that this is excusing terrorism. Chatham House is certainly not in that frame of mind, but rather, explaining the context.

VERJEE: Tony Blair's official spokesman, though, said, look, you know, al Qaeda attacks have long pre-dated the war in Iraq. And this is what he had to say -- he said, the question you really have to pose is this. What is this report suggesting we should have done? Is it suggesting that we should simply have put our heads down and hope that we weren't going to be attacked?

ALLAF: Certainly not. What this report is suggesting, that there are four major components to counterterrorism policies. One is prevention. One is protection. One is pursuit of terrorists. And the last one is preparedness. And the war on Iraq, the experts are saying, has not enabled Britain to be ready to counter these terrorist attacks coming from everywhere, which were happening anyway, as we all know, before Iraq, and even before September 11.

What Chatham House experts are saying is that, basically, because of the diversion in Iraq, the war on terror wasn't followed, the proper measures were not taken. In addition to that, al Qaeda has able to use Iraq, Iraq's pictures, Iraq's facts, in order to recruit these people. This is not an excuse. This is not a claim that al Qaeda did not -- was not active before September 11, but rather, that somewhere along the line, the focus was a bit lost, and that Britain was caught, as in the past under seat, basically, following American interests and not really considering what it needed to do more scrupulously at home.

VERJEE: Tony Blair has said, look, focusing on a particular government or a policy is just wrong, because terror attacks, when they happen, where they happen, how they happen, are really aimed at a Western way of life, aimed at Western democracy. And it's really not something about policy only.

ALLAF: Well, what the terrorists are telling us, what al Qaeda's ideology is and a number of these global jihadists, these Salafi ideology followers, they are saying that we want Western occupiers out of Muslim lands and they've used that precise following and logic when America was back in the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, headed at the time by Osama bin Laden. It is more or less the same ideology they're following.

They could very well hate Western democracy and our way of life, but what they are claiming and what they are acting upon is Western influence and Western presence, specifically American and British presence, in Iraq and in a number of other countries. I think it is very important a factor to consider that, obviously, we never saw any kind of attacks like the ones we're seeing in the past couple of years, especially in the past few months in Iraq. There never were suicide bombers in those areas.

That doesn't mean that the previous government was any better. Nobody would ever claim that. But only that it has allowed a number of global jihadists, as they call themselves, to enter Iraq and basically it brought their war against the West closer to home. And they've been able to fight it in Iraq and other countries.

VERJEE: OK.

ALLAF: And it created a lot of resentment worldwide, which al Qaeda is exploiting. Nobody's saying that this is right. We're just saying that we're allowing, sometimes, al Qaeda to exploit these things, and this is not good for anyone.

VERJEE: Chatham House associate fellow Rime Allaf, speaking to us from London. Thanks a lot, Rime.

HOLMES: Some interesting stuff.

Well, just ahead -- it has weakened, but it is still a threat.

VERJEE: Hurricane Emily sweeps toward the Gulf of Mexico after battering the Yucatan Peninsula, while half way around the world, Taiwan gets a pounding from the strongest typhoon it's seen in years.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back. You're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY, an hour of world news right here on CNN International. A weekend barbecue in a hilly area east of Madrid in Spain got out of control. It sparked a deadly forest fire. The flames killing 11 firefighters. Officials say three others are feared dead. Some 400 villages are being evacuated from the area. This fire has burned now more than 8,000 hectacres in the Guadalajara province. The blaze is the deadliest in Spain in the past 13 years.

Typhoon Haitang is moving across Taiwan. The storm weakening a little after making landfall just south of Taipei.

Younes Youn (ph) has our report.

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YOUNES YOUN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The lashing winds and torrential rain of Typhoon Haitang toppled trucks in Taiwan as if they're toys. Firefighters tried to clear the roads of fallen trees, billboards and other debris.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We saw car headlights in the water. It seemed that the car was floating, but after 30 seconds, it sank.

YOUN: Even an ambulance on a rescue mission needs rescuing of its own. Haitang is the first typhoon to hit Taiwan this year, and one of the most powerful storms to hit the island in the last four years. Schools, government buildings and the financial markets closed Monday, domestic and international flights were canceled, train services suspended.

So far, there are no reports of casualties, though Taiwan's disaster recovery center says some people suffered minor injuries after they were blown off rooftops and motorbikes. The island's central weather bureau is urging residents to take precaution and stay at home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I heard some noise and came out to check what was going on. When I got out, I saw that the car was on fire.

YOUN: The government is warning of potential landslides and flash floods in mountainous areas. Some roads and bridges have already been washed out, with farmers attempting to save their livestock.

Typhoon Haitang started to affect Taiwan Saturday when it centered off the southeast coast. It moved in a northwesterly direction, packing winds upwards of 184 kilometers an hour, about 115 miles per hour, making landfall near the capital, Taipei, on Monday morning.

Meteorologists expect Haitang to pass over the island to the Taiwan straits and hit China's Fujian Coast on Tuesday.

Younes Youn, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: We're going to have more on the typhoon, also on Hurricane Emily in Mexico, in a moment, when we check in on the international weather forecast.

VERJEE: Meanwhile let's look at some other stories making news in the United States. Waters have begun receding in New Jersey, but some residents are waiting to return to their homes. More than 100 people in the three towns in Middlesex County were evacuated after fast-moving storms created flash floods on Sunday. No injuries were reported. Engineers were seeing if homes and buildings were safe for people to return.

The bodies of two young children have been recovered from an Alabama River. Authorities say the children were trapped inside a submerged car. The car, driven by the children's mother, crashed into the river Saturday. She escaped and was rescued by some men who had been nearby.

Firefighters in Arizona are battling dozens of fires around the state. Rain over the weekend helped contain some of the wildfires but the storms also brought lightning, which sparked new ones. Nearly 10,000 hectacres have been charred by the blazes, and at least three homes in 10 unoccupied buildings destroyed.

HOLMES: More now on the hurricane that is churning toward the Gulf of Mexico. Emily is it's name. It has weakened to a category- two storm, but forecasters say it could strengthen once again as it moves over water. That often happens of course. It came ashore Monday on the Yucatan Peninsula near some of the most popular beaches in the world.

Karl Penhaul weathered the storm in Playa Del Carmen.

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KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we're still feeling here is the tail end of what's really tropical storm-force winds right now. We spent much of the night barricaded in the hotel behind wooden boards. The hotel workers simply boarded our room up and then left for the night.

As we ventured out this morning, what we've seen are many, many trees have been uprooted or snapped. And they're just strewn around the streets, and here on the beach in the areas around where the hotels are.

Some power cables are also down. But the good news is, talking to police here in Playa Del Carmen, they say that so far, there are no reports of any residents or any of the thousands of tourists having been injured. They say so far there are no reports of casualties or of major structural damage.

In fact, the hotel where we're staying at, just a few yards from the ocean front, there's also two couples from Oklahoma here and they say they spent much of last night's storm sleeping. They say they got a pretty good night's sleep.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: That was Karl Penhaul reporting.

(WEATHER REPORT)

VERJEE: Still ahead here on YOUR WORLD TODAY...

HOLMES: Tiger on top, along with the review of the British Open, and we have lots to talk about. What a round of golf. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, Tiger Woods is back. Did he really ever go away? He was in fine form as he cruised to victory at the British Open at St. Andrews on Sunday by five shots. Didn't keep it interesting at the end. It comes after his victory, of course, at the Masters back in April.

Let's talk a little bit more now about Tiger's tenth major championship. Mark McKay is here. Mark, unbelievable. The front nine was reasonably close, a bit of push coming on, then it was over.

MARK MCKAY, CNN WORLD SPORT CORRESPONDENT: Well, you got to think, you know, Tiger took control of this tournament, Michael, actually from the start. The first day of the tournament, on the 9th hole of the British Open on Thursday, he took the lead and really never relinquished it.

On Sunday, yes, he was pushed just a bit by Colin Montgomerie, who certainly had the Scottish crowd behind him. Jose Maria Olazabal, the two-time Masters champion, also pushed Woods. The Scot and the Spaniard both closed within a shot of Tiger mid-way through the final round. And as he's done so many times before, Woods was able to capitalize on his competitors' errors and now he has his tenth career major.

HOLMES: Mark, I read today that he -- it's the sixth time he's won a major, after leading after 36 holes, which is amazing when you talk about focus. And the other thing you and I were talking about in the break, he said he played one bad shot yesterday. I think it was the second shot on the third. Hey, now, what's that say about focus?

MCKAY: That says that this guy is as hard on himself as he is the rest of the field. Tiger was criticized just a bit not too long ago. Remember, Michael, not too long ago, we were talking he was 0 for 10 in majors. He went out, he changed his swing, he changed his coaches. He even got married, which a lot of people said, you know, may or a not work in his favor. But he is as tough on himself as he is his competitors, and that shows his staying power.

HOLMES: He is, I think, 29?

MCKAY: Yes, he is. He'll be...

HOLMES: Now where he does he stand -- you said the tenth major. Where does he stand with Jack Nicklaus? I mean, it's got to be...

MCKAY: Well, he is now within sight of him. He is in double digits in majors. Jack Nicklaus, this was a record not too long ago that never -- many people thought would never be broken. But as we see now, Tiger is within one of Walter Hagan's record of 11 for second place and now he is within eight of Jack Nicklaus. What is interesting, you mentioned his age, Michael. He'll turn 30 in December. Woods is on a quicker pace than Nicklaus, who won his tenth major at the age of 32.

And my colleague Don Riddell caught up with Woods after he won at St. Andrews, and here's what he had to say about Nicklaus and his record, 18 major championships.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIGER WOODS, WON BRITISH OPEN: I always thought it was achievable, but it was going to take a long time. It was -- it's not going to take five, six years. It was going to take an entire career. It took him 25 years to get to that point. So if you think of it in terms like that, it's going to take awhile. So you just got to keep giving yourself opportunities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKAY: And, in fact, he could have number 11 in about a month's time. The U.S. -- the PGA championship is played in the United States in the U.S. state of New Jersey at Baltusrol. Tiger's going in as the favorite.

HOLMES: I love looking at the names behind the player and all they have is that are behind him.

MCKAY: Tiger's jumped up, yes.

HOLMES: It's good to see you, Mark.

MCKAY: You, too, Michael.

VERJEE: Well, tributes are pouring in for South Africa's former president Nelson Mandela, who turns 87 today.

Mandela is spending the day with his family in his rural village in the Southeastern part of the country. They're also celebrations in Capetown, with a torch relay and a spectacular fireworks display. Birthday wishes and gifts for the anti-apartheid hero are streaming in from various celebrities, and the event is playing heavily in news medias there.

HOLMES; This is YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International, or has been. I'm Michael Holmes.

VERJEE: And I'm Zain Verjee. This is CNN.

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