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Your World Today

Wild Weather in Europe; Fire Rages Through Paris Apartments; Iraq Constitution Delays; Iran to Present New Nuclear Proposal

Aired August 26, 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.
JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Picturesque villages that go back to the middle ages now covered in mud and floodwaters. Europe facing an unimaginable cleanup.

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Anger boiling over in the streets, with talks at a crisis point. Will Iraqis be able to surmount the chaos of writing a constitution?

Also...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LANCE ARMSTRONG, SEVEN-TIME TOUR DE FRANCE WINNER: That kind of an accusation is preposterous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: The biggest champ in cycling history doesn't like what's happening to his name.

Another day is coming to a close in a flood-devastated part of central Europe. I'm Jim Clancy.

GORANI: It's noon in New York; 600 p.m. in Paris. Welcome to our viewers throughout the world. I'm Hala Gorani, and this is YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.

CLANCY: Hello and welcome. Hurricanes and devastating floods, wild weather taking a heavy toll all around the world this day.

GORANI: And it's across the globe as we are seeing. On one side of the world, powerful Typhoon Mawar lashing Japan. On the other, Hurricane Katrina is battering Florida.

We're going to bring you the latest on Katrina. First, though, to Europe, where floods have killed at least 43 people. Authorities say the worst is over, but many regions remain waterlogged and on alert for floodwaters. In Switzerland alone, damage is estimated to be at $1 billion.

CLANCY: Now, from Bern to Bucharest, Europeans are shoveling mud, they're mopping up after these devastating floods. Lisa Mirando has more on the massive cleanup under way.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA MIRANDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): At Bavaria's oldest monastery, the cleanup is only beginning. As torrential rain poured down over the tiny village of Kalheim (ph), and the Danube River began bursting over its banks, the monks inside this abbey built in the seventh century frantically sought safe shelter on the upper floors.

They are among the many in southern Germany's picturesque Bavaria region who are trying to recover now from more than a week of downpours. And only now is the grim reality beginning to seep in. The loss and damage to homes and to lives is immense. Germany's chancellor, locked in a tough battle for reelection, promised quick help to those in need.

GERHARD SCHROEDER, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): In a situation like this, it is not about party politics. It is not about election campaigns. It is about helping those concerned. And that is what we want to do together.

MIRANDO: The images here in Lucerne, Switzerland, also painting a terrifying picture. Whole villages appear destroyed. Homes remain submerged after Mother Nature's wrath.

In this Swiss capital Bern, experts are now just getting a closer look at the damage to structures, some of which date back to the middle ages.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Everything I own in my entire house, it's all been relegated to the garbage bin: computer, microwave, all my electronic items, all my crucial items. Everything is gone.

MIRANDO: A big Swiss insurer estimates that flood losses in Switzerland, Austria and Germany alone could near a billion dollars. But it is in one of Europe's poor countries, Romania, that the loss of life from flood-related incidents is the highest. Several dozen are known to have died in Romania alone, with reports of many still missing in the floodwaters.

Lisa Mirando, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Well, the U.S. state of Florida has also seen more than its share of storms this season. It's bracing now for a possible second hit by Hurricane Katrina, that is strengthening, apparently. The storm plodded through south Florida overnight.

Susan Candiotti joins us now live from Hollywood, Florida.

So, is this system strengthening right now, Susan?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hala, to a degree, it is. And they do expect it to continue to strengthen before it hits the Florida Panhandle on the west coast, or the Gulf Coast side of Florida. But for now, the residents who live in south Florida are having to contend with the cleanup from Katrina, which, at the time it hit here, was only a Category 1 storm.

No structural damage here. But they did have, for example, flooding.

We can tell you, unfortunately, four people were killed as a result of the storm. All of them struck by falling trees. Some people as they were driving in their vehicles. Others as they went outside to survey their -- survey their damage.

Now, as we tell you about those fatalities, we can also explain to you that more than a million people remain without power in south Florida, although 200,000 people have had their power restored since last night. The authorities who are in charge of repairs say it will take them probably at least through the rest of today to figure out how long it will take to restore power to everyone. And that could take quite some time.

Flooding, well, they had anywhere from six to 10 to 12, up to almost 20 inches of rain here. That would be knee-deep water in some places. Some families having to navigate in canoes around their neighborhoods until that floodwater recedes.

Now, both Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale International Airport both reopened this day. However, in some of the small regional airports, small private planes that had been tied down during the storm, those ropes broke and they were flipped over. So there was damage at some of those smaller airports.

Now, a lot of cleanup to be done. And for people in Florida's Gulf Coast, it's a matter of watching and waiting to see what Katrina has to deal to them -- Hala.

GORANI: Now Susan, when you look at these pictures and you think that they still have in Florida and some parts of the U.S. still months to go before hurricane season is over, Floridians must be exhausted at this stage.

CANDIOTTI: They are exhausted. And you know, this storm makes six that have hit the state of Florida in just over a year, since last August. And that is believed to be a record for any one state in a single year.

So people here, every time they hear yet another storm is brewing, a tropical depression coming off the coast of Africa, they start to tense up a little bit. And this one fortunately was a Category 1 as it hit south Florida. So very fortunate this time. But it's unclear what will happen when it reaches the panhandle.

GORANI: All right. Susan Candiotti in Hollywood, Florida, reporting live.

CLANCY: Heavy wind, heavy rain as well, as powerful Typhoon Mawar roared over Japan. The storm made landfall early on Friday about 50 kilometers east of Tokyo. Media reports say one person was killed.

The storm moved back out over the Pacific Ocean after it was downgraded. Mawar was the 11th typhoon of the season. It was the second to hit Japan.

GORANI: Investigators are looking for the cause of a massive fire that raced through an apartment building in Paris early Friday. The toll very high.

At least 17 people dead. Many of them children, sadly. At least 30 others were injured in the inferno at the 100-year-old building in the French capital housing many West African immigrants.

Paul Davies has this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL DAVIES, REPORTER, ITV NEWS (voice over): Flames sweep through an overcrowded apartment block in the south of Paris and the French fire brigade battle to prevent mass loss of life. It's already too late to save some, but the firefighters are able to reach and rescue dozens of immigrants who had been living in crowded conditions on the upper floors of the building.

Here, a fireman tries to reassure a young boy, patting him on the head before a colleague guides the child slowly down the ladder to safety. Not everyone was so fortunate. And many of those who perished in the fire and thick smoke that engulfed the block were children.

This man said he saw children and some adults jumping from windows, almost certainly to their deaths. The French authorities say the victims were immigrants from Senegal and Mali, needy families with young children who are being looked after by a humanitarian organization. A fire chief said the blaze had been able to spread up a wooden stairwell to rooms on the third, fourth, fifth and sixth floors of the block.

Today's images are horribly familiar. Just four months ago, this was the scene as another Parisian building used to house African immigrants was engulfed by flames. On that occasion, 24 people died. And again, many of them were children.

Today's fire, which is now thought to have left 30 people injured, as well as 17 dead, will intensify the debate over the housing conditions allocated to the thousands of immigrant families in Paris. President Chirac has said the whole country is in mourning.

Paul Davies, ITV News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Now, in the back rooms, deadline after deadline has been missed. Meantime, on the streets, there is anger and frustration. The impasse over Iraq's constitution appears to be at a crisis point. After several self-imposed deadlines to reach an agreement, Shia, Kurds and Sunni leaders have yet to resolve all of their differences.

Aneesh Raman joins us now live from Baghdad with more.

Aneesh, it was said that the Shia put a final offer on the table.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. Reports that they have found, at least in their mind, what is the best position on the two main issues, the federalism issue, which, of course, has dogged this process from the beginning, but also an emerging issue on debaathification and what to do not only with former members of Saddam's regime, but with any sort of semblance of a Ba'ath Party in Iraq's future.

They have reportedly put forth a final compromise that sidelines a lot of discussion on both those issues, which is something the Sunnis had wanted. The question now, though, is whether the Kurds will agree with that.

The Kurds, of course, had a powerful autonomous region under Saddam. They want as much reference to federalism in this constitution as they can get.

So these late-night sessions again under way. Intense negotiations among all three groups, under intense pressure.

We know, Jim, that the U.S. president, George Bush, spoke to Abdul Aziz Hakim on Wednesday -- he's the head of SCIRI, the religious Shia party, the biggest political party in this government -- urging that they try to find compromise, afraid that the Shia might simply pull out of these talks and put this referendum to the people without the Sunnis on board. But it seems increasingly unlikely they are going to find wording that all three sides can agree upon -- Jim.

CLANCY: Aneesh Raman reporting to us there live from Baghdad. Thank you.

GORANI: Well, as the negotiations for a new constitution continue in Iraq, so does the violence. The U.S. military says Iraqi police and coalition forces killed an insurgent during an exchange of small arms fire in Mosul. They also detained 16 suspected insurgents in raids in Mosul and two other cities. The U.S. military says that U.S. troops captured two known terrorists in separate operations.

CLANCY: We are going to take a short break. But still ahead, we'll have the latest chapter in the Lance versus France crisis?

GORANI: Yes. The world champion cyclist says that, again, he's never used performance-enhancing drugs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARMSTRONG: I have never doped. I can say it again, but I've said it for seven years. It doesn't help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: Armstrong makes his case on CNN's Larry King show. We'll have the details straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Welcome back. You are watching an hour of world news on CNN International.

Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong is firing back at French doping allegations. The French sports daily "L'Equipe" reported Tuesday that new exams on six urine samples from 1999 resulted in positive results for drug EPO. Armstrong spoke to CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE" Thursday night and once again flatly denied the allegation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARMSTRONG: I have never doped. I can say it again, but I've said it for seven years. It doesn't help. But the fact of the matter is, I haven't.

And if you consider my situation, a guy who comes back from arguably, you know, a death sentence, why would I then enter into a sport and dope myself up and risk my life again? That's crazy. I would never do that. That's -- no, no way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: Well, Armstrong, who survived cancer, as he referred to it there, to become the greatest cyclist in the history of that sport, questioned the validity of testing samples that were frozen six years ago. He also had some harsh words for Jean-Marie LeBlanc, the director of the Tour de France, who told "L'Equipe" that he was fooled by Armstrong.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARMSTRONG: That kind of an accusation is preposterous. If you consider the science, if you consider the protocol involved in drug testing, if you consider the standards that have been set over dozens of years, you know that none of that was followed here. And so for Jean-Marie to say that was a shock to me, first of all, because I actually spoke to him that very same day for about 30 minutes on the telephone.

I called him at his house in Paris. And he didn't say any of those things to me. In fact, he just sort of said, "I'm surprised." I said, "Yes, I'm surprised, too. I think we are all surprised."

But none of this stuff that of course I read in the paper came across in his phone call to me. But this thing stinks. It's not good for me. And the unfortunate thing is that you're potentially dealt with something that you have to face for the rest of your life.

And, like I said, protocol wasn't followed. And there is no backup sample to confirm what they say is a positive test.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CLANCY: All right. We're going to go live to Paris in a moment. We're having some technical difficulties with that. But it's really important to note that there's a lot going on here.

Now, Hala, you've been looking into it a little bit. You know, when we say Lance versus France, I don't think that's very fair.

GORANI: Maybe not as far as the people are concerned. But when you look at the newspapers, they are much more willing to go out there and assume that Lance Armstrong is guilty of doping.

If you look at some of these editorials, (INAUDIBLE), a left- leaning newspaper...

CLANCY: To say the least.

GORANI: ... "Even in the wonderful land of professional cycling, fairytales have their limits," they said. But this is funny, what they underlined. "The Texan who cycles with George W. Bush took EPO in 1999."

CLANCY: OK. But that's a political agenda, a very political paper.

GORANI: Yes. But they're still assuming and they're still implying there that, you know, Lance Armstrong took the doping agent.

"Francois" (ph) says, "L'Equipe" has come out with this now, because having come out with it earlier would have been economic suicide for them, because they were selling papers off the back of Lance Armstrong, winning...

CLANCY: Well, that's true.

GORANI: ... those -- those Tour de Frances.

I believe we can go to France now.

CLANCY: I believe we can. Our own...

GORANI: Jim Bittermann.

CLANCY: ... Jim Bittermann is there. I'm trying to sort out all the different names.

And Jim, big smile on your face. The French people have been very supportive of Lance Armstrong.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pretty much so, I think, Jim. In fact, I mean, what we've found, I think, over the years here is that there's a certain grudging admiration for Armstrong.

I mean, after all, he is an incredible athlete. He wins the Tour de France every year. They'd certainly love to have a Frenchmen win, but, in fact, there hasn't been a Frenchmen win for many years now. So there is an admiration for him because he does seem to come through every single time, or has come through right up to his retirement.

Now, there are a couple of things that have developed today that sort of indicate a little bit -- you were just talking about the timing of this announcement. The fact is that the director of the lab, who I talked to just a few minutes ago outside Paris, that did the testing on the urine samples back in 1999, he says that they published results as early as 2000 in some scientific journals saying that they had discovered some doping in the 1999 race. And that, again, last year they had published results in "Nature" magazine that also indicated there had been some use of this EPO, which is a performance-enhancing drug, in the 1999 race.

Now, what he also says is that there's no way to connect the dots as far as the laboratory's concerned between which samples are being tested and Lance Armstrong or any other rider. Because basically, there's a system of bar codes in place to preserve the anonymity of the riders.

It's -- the magazine "L'Equipe," the newspaper, "L'Equipe," which has -- is the one that has said that they have connected the dots and broken the bar codes, and that the track, the trail leads to Lance Armstrong, here's the way the "L'Equipe" editor put it in an interview early this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLAUDE DROUSSENT, "L'EQUIPE" (through translator): I can only speak the facts. And for the moment, the facts concern Lance Armstrong is that he cheated in 1999 because EPO was on the list of forbidden products, but not able to be detected. And today, we have found EPO in 1999.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BITTERMANN: So it's only this editor and the newspaper that he represents that makes the claim that the trail leads from the positive results in the laboratory outside Paris to Lance Armstrong. And then he went on to say, that, in fact, there's nothing anti-American about this at all. Here's the way he put it...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DROUSSENT (through translator): I'm sorry for American friends. The only thing I can say is that if Lance Armstrong were French, we would have published the same things because it's our duty as a newspaper.

I think Americans are used to having a strong press which has done a great deal in the (INAUDIBLE) in the past 30 years, can understand we want to inform the public as best we can. Even if Lance Armstrong were French, the front page of the newspaper would be the same.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BITTERMANN: And one other thing, Jim and Hala. In fact, the director of that lab now says that all the results from the 1999 testing and retesting, all the detail, have now been forwarded to the World Anti-Doping Agency as of Monday of this week. Have been forwarded to the Anti-Doping Agency in Montreal for whatever use they want to make of it -- Jim.

CLANCY: All right. Jim Bittermann reporting to us there live from Paris.

Thanks, Jim.

GORANI: All right. We'd like your thoughts on all of this. Are the doping allegations against Lance Armstrong fair or unfair?

CLANCY: Give us your opinion. Weigh in on this one and send us a very brief note. Be sure to include where you live when you send us your note. And at least one name.

E-mail us at YWT@CNN.com. Is it fair or unfair to Lance Armstrong?

GORANI: We'll read a selection of your thoughts and comments a bit later.

They are already so high, it's hard to see much difference.

CLANCY: That's right. Gas prices in the United States are creeping a little bit downward now. A bit less pain at the pump for some. We're going to give you the latest numbers.

GORANI: Also ahead, a new development in the case of a missing American student. Two men have been arrested in Aruba. Details coming up.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: All right. Let's take a moment now and look at some of the news in the United States this day.

There's some new developments in the case of a computer worm that crippled the desktop computers and laptops across a number of American companies just two weeks ago, including right here at CNN. Mine's barely back working again.

Kelli Arena's with us.

I hope yours is working.

KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ours were always working, because our tech team in Washington is ace, Jim. But I can tell you what we have is two arrests in that investigation. One in Morocco, one in Turkey.

The FBI announced those arrests today. They say that the investigation does continue into those Mytob and Zotob computer worms. We do not know if any more arrests are imminent, but this was very quick action taken on the part of authorities.

As you know, that those worms effected Microsoft Windows 2000. About 125 corporate systems were effected. That is on the moderate to low side, according to computer experts and authorities who track such things.

There's also some confusion over exactly what caused the damage. Investigators are pointing to a new worm called wormrbot.cbq, which is a derivative of the Zotob worm which was unleashed over the weekend.

So that investigation both technically and, of course, criminally continues. But we do have two arrests. Those people will not be extradited to the United States. Local prosecutions will be -- will be held. And so those local authorities will deal with them.

CLANCY: OK. Once again, where are they?

ARENA: One in Morocco. One in Turkey.

CLANCY: All right. One in Morocco. One in Turkey.

Thank you very much for that.

ARENA: You're welcome.

CLANCY: Kelli Arena giving us the latest there.

In the meantime, another crime story that has certainly been high profile in the U.S. Two brothers in Aruba now detained and released in the case of a missing Alabama teenager arrested again. Satish and Deepak Kalpoe, along with Joran van der Sloot, were the last known people to have seen Natalee Holloway alive.

Van der Sloot has been in custody since the 9th of June. Holloway has been missing since back on May the 30th. She had been celebrating her high school graduation with about 100 of her classmates, as well as some parent chaperones.

Gasoline prices in the U.S. have now fallen for four straight days. The American Automobile Association says the current national average is around $2.60 a gallon. That's a very slight drop from the day before. A year ago, a gallon of regular-grade gas was about $1.88.

GORANI: Well, prices at the pump may be down, but oil prices are still very high.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

CLANCY: All right. We're going to just take a short break here. We'll be back with more of YOUR WORLD TODAY straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Look, Hala, they're back.

GORANI: And so are we.

CLANCY: You're on YOUR WORLD TODAY here on CNN International. I'm Jim Clancy.

GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. You are very welcome. Here are some of the top stories we're following for you this hour.

The worst of the flooding in Central and Eastern Europe is over, but many areas remain water-logged, and the Swiss capital is on alert for possible new floods. At least 43 people have died in the floodwaters.

Also, a soggy situation in Florida. Hurricane Katrina battered and drenched the state's southeast, making landfall between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami. It caused at least four deaths. The storm is now taking aim at northwest Florida.

CLANCY: Well, the news in France this day, pretty terrible. A fire tearing through an apartment block on Friday in Paris. It killed at least 17 people. We are told now by a prosecutor in Paris that 14 of the 17 were children. The blaze broke out in a stairwell. The building was 100 years old. Of course, it was housing immigrants from West Africa.

GORANI: U.S. president George W. Bush has phoned an Iraqi Shiite leader to urge him to seek a compromise in negotiations for a final draft of the new constitution. The lawmakers are not required to approve the document, but if the Shiites, the Kurds, or Sunni voters reject the constitution in a referendum in October, then the whole process would start all over again.

Understandably, the United States has a vested interest in the outcome of the negotiations for that new Iraqi constitution, the draft paper. As the U.S. president personally appealed for compromise, other American officials also playing key roles in the process. Despite the setbacks, the U.S. says that it remains optimistic.

Suzanne Malveaux joins us now live from near the president's Texas ranch in Crawford. Suzanne, what have officials there been saying about this delay, this constant shifting back of the deadline of this Iraqi constitution?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, they're being very careful what they say, very cautious here, because on the one hand, the Bush administration has been trying to push forward and meet those deadlines. At the same time, of course, there has been some embarrassment that in sticking with those deadlines, it has somewhat put it on the face of the administration.

But what we have learned today is, of course, this is a credibility test, not only for the Iraqis, but also for the president. He is intimately and directly involved in this process. The White House spokesmen Trent Duffy confirming this morning that it was Wednesday before leaving for his Idaho trip, President Bush got on the phone, called from his Crawford ranch Shiite leader Abdul Aziz Al- Hakim to talk about the developments of drafting that constitution. Now, while Duffy would not comment about the particulars of that conversation, it is the White House position here, of course, that the Shiites understand how important it is for the Sunnis to be involved in this process, involved in drafting the constitution, involved, of course, in the election, as well as the new government. That if they are more involved politically, that this will weaken the insurgency. That is the position of the White House. They feel, of course, that if the Shiites try to go around the Sunnis, that this would be a big mistake -- Hala.

MALVEAUX: All right. Suzanne Malveaux reporting to us from the Texas ranch of the U.S. president in Crawford, Texas. Thanks very much -- Jim?

CLANCY: Negotiations over Iran's nuclear enrichment goals and the stalemate over North Korea atomic weapons program returned to the source this week for the first time. Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf said his country's leading nuclear scientist, A.Q. Khan, had indeed shipped centrifuges to Pyongyang.

Expert George Perkovich with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE PERKOVICH, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT: Musharraf is finally admitting that they did supply whole centrifuges to North Korea. The United States and China and others have been trying to negotiate with North Korea to get North Korea to allow inspections to identify these centrifuges and, in essence, dismantle them. The North Koreans say we don't have any centrifuges.

Well, that's been a couple of years of arguing. Musharraf settled it this week when he said, yes, they did have centrifuges. That would have been more helpful to have had happen two years ago, but better late than never, I guess.

CLANCY (voice-over): The centrifuge technology is now known to have spread to not only North Korea, but to Iran and Libya, as well. Libya voluntarily handed over its hardware. Iran insists its program is peaceful. North Korea claims it's got a weapons program. But Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan has never been questioned by the CIA or outsiders, and nagging concerns remain about who else may have acquired the technology.

PERKOVICH: Clearly, you can get Pakistan to adopt the kinds of controls that are necessary to prevent future proliferation from Pakistan. But, how many copies of nuclear weapons designs were there? And where are they in the world? How many hard drives in the world have lists of all the procurement networks that A.Q. Khan was using?

You have to remember that A.Q. Khan is the star of this network, as it were. But there were engineers in England, from Turkey, from Spain, from Switzerland, from Germany, from South Africa, who were all very important pieces of this network. Some of them are still at large, some of them are in jail in Europe. But the task is to figure out who did they know, who did they work with, who did they give information to, so you can try to roll up all of these actors.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Perkovich says because Saudi Arabia contributed funding for Pakistan's nuclear program, there have been nagging concerns what, if anything, it expected in return. And that is a question he says that has never been adequately answered.

GORANI: All right. Now also, nuclear discussions with Iran and the Western world. Iran says it will present a new proposal, possibly within one month, aimed at easing international concern over its nuclear program. That word from Tehran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, who met with the head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog Friday in Vienna.

Our Matthew Chance is also there. He sat down with Larijani for his first major interview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALI LARIJANI, IRANIAN NUCLEAR NEGOTIATOR (through translator): The initiative that the president has in mind is a serious one. President Ahmadinejad is a pragmatic person. He is looking for real solutions that can bring this matter to a result in the real world. I think that there is an opportunity, through this initiative, to move out of the current situation.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Are there any circumstances under which Iran would consider the possibility of permanently suspending, of ending its uranium enrichment activities? Or is that a red line for you?

LARIJANI (through translator): I think the international public opinion reacts negatively to anything that has a sense of apartheid. The nuclear fuel is a right, but it is also a need. And people -- no nation can be deprived of this.

In addition, I think there has to be a better attention to our domestic situation. The government of President Ahmadinejad has come to power, and has campaigned on the ideal of keeping and maintaining this technology. And this is something that he has committed himself to, and he has to stick to it. This has become a national idea in Iran. It is something, and this is the problem, that this is something that the Western world unfortunately is ignoring Iranian national opinion.

CHANCE: This is a problem, isn't it? Because the international community, the IAEA here in Vienna. They want to see Iran permanently suspend its uranium-enrichment activity. That's what these negotiations are all about. If you're now saying, you'll never consider that even, what, in your opinion, is the point of further negotiations with the European powers and anyone in the international community?

LARIJANI (through translator): The IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has never asked Iran to have a permanent suspension. There has always been a request that Iran would suspend its activities in order to give a chance for the negotiations to come to a conclusion.

I have a question for you. As you know, there has been a recent comprehensive intelligence report in the United States which suggested that Iran would be able to have this nuclear capability within 10 years, and if this is really the case that in 10 years from now we may have that capability, why is there so much concern today? Why are the Americans worried about this and express so much concern about this today?

CHANCE: Do you think that Iran has the right to have nuclear weapons?

LARIJANI (through translator): We are not after nuclear weapons, because on the basis of the sacred tenants of Islam, we do not consider it to be a rightful thing. The leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeni, has said that nuclear weapons are prohibited. Why? Because they can shed the blood of many of the people, innocent people.

But, at the same time, I'm surprised about and astonishes me, is that, why is Iran worried so much about Iran, whereas Israel and other neighbors have nuclear weapons and no incident has happened?

The point for us, however, is that why from the point of view of the Americans, the countries fall into different echelons. They are different, they should be treated differently. That bewilders us.

CHANCE: But for 20 years, Iran essentially misled the world. It said it didn't have a nuclear program, and it did. Now the country's saying, that that nuclear program, now that it's in the open is for civilian peaceful purposes. But why should anybody believe Iran now?

LARIJANI (through translator): We have been under sanctions for a long time. We've never had opportunity to have access to nuclear technology. The nuclear nonproliferation treaty in its article four, it says that countries are committed. They have the obligation to give us the access to technology. But not only did we not have this access, but even material recruitment, which was of dual-use nature, they are all contained and sanctioned against us. It's not possible that one side would be committed to its obligations in full, and the other one would forgo them entirely. It just wouldn't work.

CHANCE: I'm interested in the fact that Iran, at least to outside eyes, does not seem to be too concerned about the consequences of it following its nuclear activities in the way that it is.

For instance, if these negotiations don't carry on, don't continue, there's a very strong chance the country could be referred to the United Nations Security Council to face possible punitive action. What is it behind that? What is it behind that apparent difference? Do you not believe the international community will be strong enough to act strongly against Iran?

LARIJANI (through translator): I think the Americans are not cognizant of their mentality, of the psychology of the Iranian. The Iranian people are a very proud people. And they will react very strongly against any notion of threats. All we are saying is that the right that all the other countries have, we want to have the same, and we want to do it under full safeguards, agreements and monitoring by the agency. The threat against the Iranian people will not work.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: And that was a Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani speaking with our Matthew Chance.

All right, we'll have a lot more coming up after a short break and the top story in the United States.

That's right, Hurricane Katrina gaining strength and eying the state of Florida for a second go around. We'll have more on its path and how some Florida residents are preparing for the worst.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI; Welcome back. You are watching your world today. Let's turn now to the top story in the United States now. And Hurricane Katrina churning in the Gulf of Mexico, after lashing southeast Florida. Now the storm has left at least four people dead, and more than one million in the dark. Katrina appears headed for a second landfall along the Florida panhandle.

CLANCY: Well, the beach home is a dream home for a lot of people...

But, when hurricanes call, you pay. Femi has more on that. Femi?

FEMI OKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello there to you both. Hello to our viewers around the world. Hurricane Katrina is just rapidly moving away from the southwestern side of Florida. You don't really have to be right on the beach, as you see from these pictures, to experience the really serious flooding that we've had over the last 24 hours, or 12 hours or so. But if you do live on the beach and a hurricane hits, who's fault is it?

CNN's Randi Kaye has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a beachgoer's dream, Topsail Island on the North Carolina coast. It has also suffered the fiery of six major hurricanes in the last decade. Still, that hasn't stopped people like north Topsail Beach Mayor Rodney Knowles from building a home on the water's edge.

MAYOR RODNEY KNOWLES, TOPSAIL ISLAND, NORTH CAROLINA: Well, I guess I'm just a river rat and I like water.

KAYE: After Hurricane Fran flooded Mayor Knowles' home back in '96, he moved it back another 120 feet from the ocean and raised it 7 feet. He paid for that. But because the mayor's home is in a zone that qualifies for Federal Flood Insurance subsidy, guess who paid for a big chunk of his repairs? That's right, you.

KNOWLES: With any type of insurance, you have a pool of money goes in anywhere. And with the Federal Flood Insurance, the money we pay here may go to the mountains of North Carolina. It could go to Georgia. It could go other places.

KAYE: Fran in 1996 nearly destroyed Topsail Island. The Federal Emergency Management Agency spent $55 million to help rebuild here, $55 million, your tax dollars.

ORRIN PILKEY, COASTAL SCIENTIST: It's madness. I mean, it's just crazy to build on such a dangerous site.

KAYE: Orrin Pilkey is a coastal geologist with Duke University.

(on camera): Is it our obligation, as a taxpayer, to pay for these people to rebuild their homes?

PILKEY: I think not.

KAYE (voice-over): Pilkey has visited every barrier island in the United States and says Topsail Island is the most vulnerable to hurricanes.

PILKEY: This continual cycle of property damage is going to eventually cost the taxpayers a lot of money, and the individuals who live there as well.

KAYE: Money, your money, that was never even supposed to be spent here.

(on camera): Back in 1982, Congress passed the Coastal Barrier Resources Act. The law was designed to discourage people from building along the coast. It makes hurricane-prone areas off limits to federal aid, aid like federally subsidized flood insurance and money to help rebuild beaches and infrastructure.

(voice-over): Most of the northern part of the island falls under this act. But not even the threat of losing federal dollars could keep developers away. And in the wake of Hurricane Fran, there was so much damage, FEMA waved the usual rules and used millions of your tax dollars to clean up anyway, saying safety was at stake.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OKE: That was CNN's Randi Kaye reporting from Topsail, North Carolina, further up here along the Eastern seaboard.

(WEATHER REPORT)

CLANCY: Now, what do you think about the doping allegations against Lance Armstrong that were made by that French newspaper?

GORANI: Well, we'll go to "The Inbox" and see what you've had to say. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Earlier, we asked you to e-mail us your thoughts about the doping allegations against Lance Armstrong.

GORANI: I was leaning over my computer there. They're still pouring in. Here are some of your thoughts.

Carrie (sic) from Tennessee writes: "The validity of the EPO test on blood samples from seven years ago is definitely questionable. I agree with Armstrong's earlier comments that this smacks of an on- going witch hunt."

CLANCY: Now from the Netherlands, Theo says this: "I do not think it's a case of fair or unfair. 'L'Equipe' have been and still are wanting to find anything against Lance. It looks like a personal vendetta to me."

GORANI: All right, from Edi in Wyoming: "The allegations made towards Lance are totally unfair. He's an awesome athlete who trained and worked hard. He is a true role model and does an amazing job for cancer research."

CLANCY: Now, one of our viewers in Paris writes this: "These allegations made against Mr. Armstrong are extremely unfair. His triumph was beating cancer, not cheating his way to win the Tour de France."

GORANI: Oh, finally, Francois in Holland writes: "People who survive cancer, like myself, will never risk their life to use some stupid drug like that. To be a survivor to know and to feel what Lance is feeling, and that Lance is not guilty." I think a missed a sentence there. But anyway, the gist of it is, cancer survivors would not risk their health.

Thanks very much for writing in. We really enjoy hearing from you, so continue to write to us at ywt@CNN.com.

I'm Hala Gorani.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. You've been watching YOUR WORLD TODAY.

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