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Your World Today

Trent Lott Announces He Will Run for Re-election; A Look at Iraqi President Jalal Talabani; South Asia Earthquake

Aired January 17, 2006 - 11:59   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. We'll get to world news in a bit, but right now we want to pay attention to a developing story that's coming out of Pascagoula, Mississippi.
U.S. Senator Trent Lott, former majority leader of the U.S. Senate, expected to announce his future political plans. Will he be running for re-election?

As we stand by for that announcement, we have with me Wolf Blitzer and Ed Henry on Capitol Hill.

Wolf, you had a chance to interview the senator not that long ago. What did he tell you, any indication about his future plans?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, I know he's been torn in deciding whether to seek re-election, Daryn, or to retire, go into the private sector, make some money. And when he was on "LATE EDITION" this past Sunday, I pressed him, I asked him what he wants to do.

And listen to this little excerpt from what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TRENT LOTT (R), MISSISSIPPI: I spent the Christmas holidays in my state visiting with the people that I love the most, my relatives, my neighbors, people on the Mississippi Gulf Coast that were devastated by Katrina. It's been a complicated decision because of all we've been through in the last year, but my heart is with the people there. And I'm going to do everything I can to be helpful to them as long as necessary and I have that capability.

But any announcement on that I plan to begin with announcements in my hometown of Pascagoula, Mississippi, on the Mississippi Gulf Coat Tuesday, and then in Jackson, later on in the day.

BLITZER: So you'll make an announcement one way or another...

LOTT: Right.

BLITZER: ... whether you're going to seek re-election or retire?

LOTT: That's right.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLITZER: And Daryn, as we await the word from Senator Lott on what he's going to do, we should be -- we should remember that he did lose his home in Pascagoula in Hurricane Katrina. So all of this is weighing very heavily on him.

He lost his mother last year, as well. He's had some other serious problems. So it will be interesting to see what he decides to do.

KAGAN: A very personal decision. And he feels the loss of Katrina, as you said. That doesn't get any more personal than losing your own home.

Let's bring in Ed Henry on Capitol Hill.

Well, it looks like Trent Lott has walked into the room.

Ed, we'll get to you in a moment.

Let's listen in to Senator Trent Lott.

LOTT: Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very much. Please be seated.

I know that applause was for the hometown girl here this morning.

(LAUGHTER)

And she has been very good over the years of standing and trying to look like she's really paying every attention to what I'm saying, but I'm going to suggest that she have a seat.

(LAUGHTER)

Thank you all for being here. It's great to see a lot of friends and supporters and neighbors and former employees, as well as representatives of the news media. Many of you in the news media have been covering me for several years. We won't say quite how many. Some of you are new.

But I thank you for being here today and for giving me an opportunity to speak through your medium to the people in Mississippi over these many years.

This is a special place for me, not just Pascagoula, our hometown. Tricia and I grew up here, of course, went to school here. And many of the things that we've been blessed to be able to do in our lives came as a result of the people here in this community.

We love it dearly, and we couldn't go forward into the future without saying what we were going to do right here in Pascagoula.

And also this very spot is very important to me, because this is where I've announced every campaign that I've had for Congress, House and Senate, and where I had some tough press conferences over the years. And so I just -- when I look out into the future, I had to do it here at the LaFont Inn in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

Thank you all so much for being here.

We've been through an awful lot in the last few months here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and in our state of Mississippi. And Tricia and I spent the Christmas holidays in Mississippi talking with many of you, consulting with family and neighbors and friends and supporters from Mississippi and from other places, too: I talked with a number of my colleagues in the Senate.

It became quite a time of reappraisal and recommitment, as we looked to the future. As I thought about what we've done in Mississippi over the past 37 years -- and that's how long I have been allowed to be in Washington, as a staff member to Congressman Bill Colmer, as a congressman from the old 5th Congressional District here in South Mississippi for 16 years, and as a senator for 17 years -- I thought about the many good experiences we have had. And I thought about the things that we have achieved.

And there have been a lot of positives. We have been able to make progress in education. We have been able to make progress in housing and highways and transportation generally, and also in the creation of jobs.

I've enjoyed working with elected officials in our state, of both parties, at the state level with the governor and the lieutenant governor and the auditor and treasurer, all of our state officials, the secretary of state, but also particularly with our supervisors and mayors. We worked as a team.

I've been reading a book recently about Lincoln, and the title is "Team of Rivals." And you could just apply this to so much of our lives. Sometimes you have disagreements on a political basis, sectional basis, whatever. But in the end, you need to work as a team.

And we have learned in Mississippi to work more as a team. And I'm proud of the progress that we were making.

And then, of course, last August, we have a devastating blow that was even worse than Camille. And we never thought we'd have something worse than Camille.

And so now we're having to do as Mississippi has done in the past, where we've struggled to deal with the events of history and now we're struggling to deal with the events of nature. And it has given us a new and difficult challenge.

But I've enjoyed working for the people of this state and working for the people of America. I think the people here in my hometown know that while I look at the world through a telescope with a small end in Pascagoula, Mississippi, I do try to look at the broader picture too: What is best for our country, and what do we need to do in a very challenging world when it comes to terrorism, and what do we need to do to keep our government responsible and focused? We learned once again this past year that the government cannot do it all, and certainly not the federal government. We wouldn't have been able to make it in the aftermath of Katrina if it had not been for individuals, volunteers, churches and synagogues, and people of all religious backgrounds and faiths, people that just came here, students, people -- women driving trucks from Illinois coming down to help us recover. The government is an important part of it.

And I'm proud that finally, right at the end of the session, we were able to pass legislation that will help us recover: Medicaid additional funds, significant tax opportunities for everything from reforestation to jobs creation to low-income housing tax credits, and, of course, the big appropriations bill that will help us make sure that people that lost their home that have a slab, a mortgage and not insurance that they have a way to get back on their feet. And I'm very proud of that.

But I thought, once again, as I look to the future, about the limitations of government, the responsibilities of governments and what we need to do ourselves.

And so for me it became a choice: Do I spend the future with my wife Tricia and our family, spending more time with the grandchildren, or do I continue to ask the people to allow me to serve this great state in our nation's capital?

And I've made a choice and it's been one of consultation and one of support by my wonderful wife.

But I have chosen Mississippi and America once again. I am going to ask the people to reelect me to another term in the United States Senate.

KAGAN: And so there you have it. Mississippi Senator Trent Lott took a while with the buildup there, but he says, yes, indeed, he will run for re-election. He wants to go back to the Senate.

What's the significance of this, not just for Trent Lott, but for the Senate in general, considering this is a former majority lead and there's a big shakeup ahead there?

Let's bring in Ed Henry on Capitol Hill.

Ed, are you surprised by the news?

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A little bit. In working the phones this morning, I heard from several close friends of Trent Lott that over the holidays he had decided to retire. He had decided he had enough, he needed to make some money, rebuild his home, et cetera. But two different groups of people got to him.

As you heard him there, first of all, people in Mississippi were saying, you have so much seniority, you're the one to deliver more Katrina relief. The job is not done.

And number two, very senior Republicans here in Washington, I'm told, were getting to him, saying they were nervous that while it would be a slam dunk if he runs for re-election, he's likely to win re-election, if he were to retire, the Democrats had a very good chance of picking up this seat. That's something Republicans do not need in the midterms.

Looking forward, the next big story here is, what an amazing comeback this may turn out to be. Because as you know, the spectacular fall of Trent Lott about three years ago at that birthday party, the 100th birthday party of Strom Thurmond, he made that joke, many people took racial offense to it.

He has been very carefully plotting a political comeback here in the Senate. And as you mentioned, Bill Frist, his nemesis now in the Senate, is stepping down voluntarily at the end of the year. There's going to be a race for Republican leader.

Trent Lott has a press conference here in Washington tomorrow. And a lot of people are wondering whether he'll announce that he's running for leader, or maybe even for the number two job, the whip, because that job is expected to be taken by Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, but he's in a very tight re-election back home. And if he were to lose, Trent Lott may run for that job.

So what an amazing comeback, not only running for re-election, but he may end up back in the Republican leadership -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Well -- and he might. But, of course, there's a couple of things that have to happen.

HENRY: That's right.

KAGAN: The re-election and the things to work out there among the leadership and among the Republicans in the Senate.

Wolf, were you surprised by the decision?

BLITZER: I wasn't totally surprised. I would have been shocked, though, I would have been very surprised if he would have announced he was stepping down given his love of the political arena, the passion.

And I think the points that Ed makes are important points looking down the road. He might -- he might throw his hat in the race for Senate majority leader, a job he used to have that Bill Frist is about to give up. And there's no doubt that's very attractive, a very attractive possibility for him.

But I think that Trent Lott is someone who loves his state and realizes that he probably could do a lot more for Mississippi by staying in the Senate than going into the private sector. He might do a lot more for himself, because presumably he'd make a ton of money if he were a lobbyist or decided to become a consultant.

But he decides he wants to stay in the Senate. And by almost all accounts, he'll certainly be the frontrunner in getting himself re- elected as the senator from Mississippi down the road. So not a total surprise, but I really was legitimately, I think, like Ed and a lot of us in Washington, we were uncertain what he was going to do. And he's now made his decision. So it's not a huge surprise, a little bit of a surprise.

KAGAN: Well, if nothing else, an interesting place setting as we go into the 2006 elections and then also looking ahead to 2008. It's going to be a fascinating time, and we look forward to following it.

We'll see more with both of you ahead today on "THE SITUATION ROOM."

BLITZER: Thanks, Daryn.

KAGAN: Wolf Blitzer and Ed Henry.

Thank you to you.

And we had that coverage as we interrupted our regular international news coverage. Let's go ahead and join CNN International in progress.

Our Michael Holmes filing this report from Iraq.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is very much a seat of power.

(voice over): A key point of debate lately, whether Jalal Talabani would stay on as president. He tells us the answer is yes, but not as a figure.

JALAL TALABANI, IRAQI PRESIDENT: I must share in ruling the country. I don't want to be a puppet president.

HOLMES: Whether the Shia majority or the Sunnis will tolerate a powerful presidency in Kurdish hands is another matter. We covered a lot of ground, the fears of Iranian influence in Iraq, which he says are exaggerated, to the insurgency, which he says can be diffused.

TALABANI: Sunni participation in the process will end all kinds of pretense to fight.

HOLMES: As for his fellow Kurds and their long-time ambition of independence...

TALABANI: They are different between realities and desires. Wishful thinking is something and what is going on on the ground is something else.

HOLMES: At the end of Jalal Talabani's day...

TALABANI: Now I'm going to press conference. You can come. HOLMES: And with that, a man apparently comfortable with the weight of historical responsibility goes on to his next engagement.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And Jim, it's interesting that what he said about the presidency. He wants the job, but only if the position is more than just as a figure head. He wants powers. When he gets them, though, and enough powers to satisfy him remains to be seen.

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Michael, what kind of a guy is he?

HOLMES: You know, it's interesting, Jim. You interview heads of government, they're normally a bit more formal. But him, he's not a man who looks at protocol as being important at all.

His aides were telling me that if an ambassador arrives and it's an ambassador he personally likes, he'll run out to the security gate to greet him when the aides are saying, no, you should stay in your office, let him come to you.

He tells jokes. A couple of them I won't repeat. He seems to be a very cheerful man, a very optimistic man. But he's certainly a man who has a lot on his plate at the moment -- Jim.

CLANCY: All right. Michael Holmes, reporting to us there live from Baghdad.

Michael, great insight into the Iraqi president.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: That brings us to our in- box question of the day.

CLANCY: We're asking you this: Do you agree with the Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani, when he says we all need more patience to see Iraqi democracy through?

VERJEE: Send us your thoughts. YWT@CNN.com is the e-mail address. We're going to try and read some of your responses later in the program. Tell us your name and where you're writing us from.

CLANCY: Up next, Pakistani officials take aim at the U.S.

VERJEE: Tensions rise between allies after a U.S. air strike that killed 18 people.

CLANCY: And a blood curdling case of cannibalism tests Germany's definition of murder.

This is CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Politicians in Pakistan, really the crucial key allies to the U.S. in the war on terror, having to react now to that CIA air strike that targeted al Qaeda's number two man, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Thousand of demonstrators have taken to the streets across the country to protest the air strike. Eighteen people were killed, including women and children.

Pakistan's prime minister calling the loss of life, in his words, one unfortunate event.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAUKUT AZIZ, PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER: So Pakistan is committed to fighting terrorism. But naturally, we cannot accept any action within our country which results in what happened over the weekend.

So the relationship with the U.S. is important. It is growing. But at the same time, such actions cannot be condoned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: Mr. Aziz is expected to travel to Washington next week.

VERJEE: To Pakistan's earthquake zone now, where crews are trying to clear road-blocking mudslides triggered by severe winter weather. Delivering aid is difficult and virtually impossible to get to survivors in the mountains of Pakistan's remote northwest Frontier province.

Dan Rivers show us a small community's desperate attempt to hold on.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN RIVERS, REPORTER, ITV NEWS (voice over): This is the only way to get to the village of Muri Patan (ph), a treacherous path covered in snow and ice. We're hiking up 6,500 feet to live alongside the survivors of last October's earthquake to see for ourselves how they are surviving the winter.

The locals watch on with bemusement. We're the first non- Pakistanis to ever have set foot here. And as we arrive, the weather closes in and we're appalled by what we find.

The families here are living in flimsy cotton tents. This is supposed to be the warmest part of the day. But the children have no protection from the extreme conditions.

Bebe Saphir (ph) is comforting her baby sister in the wreckage of the family home. She's been ill for three weeks. She has pneumonia.

That afternoon, Mohammed Sabir (ph) and his wife Kartun (ph) take me past the wreckage of their home where they lost their first daughter to the grave of their second child, Havin (ph). This childless couple offer silent prayers.

Havin (ph) was just 18 months old. She died just 24 hour ago, a victim of the cold. We've camped in the middle of this snowbound community to experience just how grueling life here is. The more we look, the more desperate this place seems.

The most vulnerable of Muri Patan (ph) are weakening each day. The nearest doctor is a six-hour walk away. For some, it's an impossible journey.

By 6:00 it's dark, and the temperature is dropping below freezing. Fully dressed, an entire family huddles together to try and sleep.

(on camera): When we came to this village we weren't quite sure what to expect. But this is about as desperate as it gets. There are a dozen people crammed into this tent, and the tent itself is really flimsy. It's not even waterproof.

The blankets they've got won't keep them warm at night. And the ground here is frozen solid.

We're only putting up with this for a week. But for these people, they've got to stay here every single night.

(voice over): Going to bed here brings fear. It is the night, and it's gnawing cold that so often claims the weak.

Dan Rivers, ITV News, Pakistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta. More of YOUR WORLD TODAY in just a few minutes. First, though, a check on stories making headlines here in the U.S..

Two murder suspects are now back in the Alabama jail that they escaped from three days ago. Authorities say the suspects, Johnny Jones and Lamar Benton, were captured in a motel across the state line in Columbus, Georgia. Russell County, Alabama, Sheriff Thomas Boswell spoke to CNN's Rusty Dornin a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF THOMAS BOSWELL, RUSSELL COUNTY, ALABAMA: The task force received a tip this morning that the individuals could possibly be in a motel in Columbus. They detailed one of the teams over there.

When they got to the motel, they found them in the motel room, arrested them, really without incident. They were transported to Muskogee County Jail because they were in Georgia, where they waived extradition. And then they've just recently been transported back here.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KAGAN: Both men are awaiting trial. Benton is charged in the rape and murder of a 39-year-old woman. Jones is charged in the killing of a 2-year-old that he was baby-sitting.

In the south Georgia town of Statesboro, a hostage drama is over. Authorities say a couple surrendered this morning after holding a lawyer hostage for more than 24 hours. The suspects, Robert and Connie Brower, are charged with kidnapping. No injuries were reported in the incident.

Police in Florida have charged a third teenager in last week's string of brutal attacks on one homeless man. One beating which proved fatal was captured on videotape. Eighteen-year-old William Ammons faces one count of aggravated battery causing bodily harm. Two other teens face murder charges in this beating death of 45-year-old Norris Gainer (ph) and aggravated battery charges in the beating of another man.

In California this morning a condemned killer was put to death just moments after he turned 76 years old. Charles Allen convicted of arranging a triple murder from prison 25 years ago. His attorneys had argued that executing a frail, old man violated the Constitution by qualifying as cruel and unusual punishment.

The U.S. Supreme Court is backing Oregon's assisted suicide law, 6-3 ruling here rejects the Bush administration's effort to punish doctors who help terminally ill patients die. Oregon's law covers only very sick people and requires two doctors to agree. The new chief justice, John Roberts, joined justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas in voting against the Oregon law.

Doctors say that former president Gerald Ford is doing well in his recovery from pneumonia. Ford was admitted to the hospital on Saturday in Rancho Mirage, California, but it was only announced yesterday. The 92-year-old could be released as early as tomorrow, after being treated with intravenous antibiotics.

Just about an hour from now, NASA is due to launch a space probe bound for Pluto. The mission calls for the New Horizons craft to travel about three billion miles and reach Pluto in about nine to 10 years. But they might be having some wind situations at Cape Canaveral.

With more on that and other weather news, here's Jacqui Jeras.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: Let's turn now to recovery from Hurricane Katrina. A group of senators is making a tour of the Gulf Coast region today. The senators started in Gulfport, Mississippi, this morning. They also plan to visit St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, and inspect levee rebuilding in New Orleans.

Senator Susan Collins of Maine is leading that delegation. She says there's a growing concern over whether federal recovery funds are being well spent. Talk about a tight spot, literally. Firefighters in Hollywood, California, lifted this 20-year-old woman to safety last night. They found her stuck in a chimney.

The rescue operation took about a half-hour. Still no word on how and why the woman herself got stuck in that chimney. She is said to be in good, if not dirty, condition.

And that's just some of the news we're covering here in the U.S.

International news on YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after a quick break.

I'm Daryn Kagan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International. I'm Jim Clancy.

VERJEE: And I'm Zain Verjee. Here are some of the top stories we're following.

Iraqi president Jalal Talabani says he thinks a new Iraqi government can be formed fairly quickly in a matter of weeks. In an exclusive interview with CNN, Talabani also said Iran's influence on Iraq has been "greatly exaggerated." He also says he wants to remain as president but he wants the position to have more power.

CLANCY: Pakistan's prime minister calls it controversial, a U.S. airstrike unacceptable. The weekend attack on the village of Damadola is thought to have targeted al Qaeda's second in command.

It apparently missed that target and instead killed 18 people, including women and children. A senior provincial official says at least four foreign militants were among those killed. The incident triggered mass protests across Pakistan.

VERJEE: An emergency meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency is scheduled for February over Iran's atomic program. Germany, France, and Britain plan to present a resolution to refer to the issue to the Security Council. The Security Council could impose sanctions on Tehran for its decision to start uranium enrichment and research.

CLANCY: Iran's nuclear activities high on the German chancellor's agenda when she met with the Russian president on Tuesday and with the U.S. president last week. To follow up a little bit on the Merkel-Bush talks, we're going to speak now with the assistant U.S. secretary of state, Daniel Fried. He heads the Bureau of European and Eurasian affairs.

Thank you so much for joining us. Let me just begin by asking you -- it seemed that the president himself very pleased with what he sees is going to be a new relationship for Germany. How important is that? DANIEL FRIED, U.S. ASST. SECY. OF STATE: Well, we were all pleased with Chancellor Merkel's visit here. It was a first-class set of talks. She's assembled a good, strong team, and we're looking forward to advancing a common agenda in Europe, both in Europe and around the world, with our German friends.

CLANCY: What's the challenge now in trying to sort out the Iran issue? You have the Germans, you have the French, you have the British on board. But it would seem China and Russia still quite a ways off.

FRIED: Well, I think we've come a long way with the Russians in the past five years. I remember where they were in the beginning of the Bush administration and now they have been very critical, justifiably so, of the Iranian regime's moves and the Iranian regime's irresponsible behavior on this issue.

So I'm confident that we'll be able to work with the Russians but, of course, we need solidarity between the Europeans and the Americans first. We need then to build out from that so that Iran understands that its current course will not stand.

CLANCY: Mr. Fried, let's be honest here. All of the allies who have come together, you're still dealing with Iran, which says it will simply walk away from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and begin its research and its development of nuclear energy on its own.

FRIED: The Iran problem is serious. The Iranian regime has set out a major challenge to the world and the world needs to respond with clarity, persistence, patience and, ultimately, with diplomatic strength.

And this is the course we're on. And I believe that we have a good chance of making progress and pushing back these very unfortunate and unjustified decisions by the Iranian government.

CLANCY: The Iranian government says, look, we are just trying to exercise our right -- our right to not only gain nuclear energy, but to be able to have a full program that enriches uranium. Why is the U.S. so opposed, so unbelieving, of Iran and its new president?

FRIED: Well, the skepticism that the United States and Europeans have of Iran is partly a function of the deception and the, well, frankly, outright lies Iran has told the world about its program over the past years. That doesn't inspire a lot of confidence.

Now, the EU-3 -- that is, France, Germany, Great Britain -- negotiated with Iran in good faith and with our full support. They tried to come up with various compromised arrangements. They failed, due to the Iranian regime's intransigence. So now we've got to draw the right conclusions, take the next steps.

CLANCY: Ambassador Fried, the concern over Iran, understandable, but many countries say why no concern over Israel and its nuclear arms? Sure it hasn't signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, but it has them, today the prime minister threatening to take military action against Iran. A veiled threat, but it was there.

FRIED: Well, President Bush put it pretty clearly last week with Chancellor Merkel. He pointed out that Iranian foreign policy calls for the destruction of Israel. The Iranian president, Ahmadinejad, has called the Holocaust a myth. He has called for the destruction of Israel. He has called for it to be erased from the map.

It is genuinely frightening to contemplate a country like this, with a regime like this, in possession of nuclear weapons. That is a real problem. But, by the way, we should distinguish between the Iranian regime and the Iranian people. We don't know what the Iranian people really think because they haven't had really a chance to express themselves.

CLANCY: Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Daniel Fried. Mr. Ambassador I want to thank you very much.

(CROSSTALK)

FRIED: Thank you. Thanks for the opportunity.

VERJEE: Money is chasing viruses in China. Health experts on bird flu are hoping to raise $1.2 billion at a donors conference in Beijing.

CLANCY: The European Union is also considering centralizing its stockpile of anti-viral drugs, that as Swiss drugmaker Roche making a second donation, this time of two million courses of its important drug Tamiflu.

VERJEE: Meanwhile, there are new concerns about the disease spreading in China, as Stan Grant reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hundreds of millions of Chinese will soon be on the move. Chinese New Year is less than two weeks away, a nationwide celebration that this year carries a deadly risk -- the potential spread of bird flu. World Health Organization officials already sounding the alarm.

MARGARET CHAN, W.H.O. ASSISTANT DIR. GENERAL: The Chinese government has learned from their SARS experience and they know the movement of people, particularly with infected birds, is going to be a big challenge for them. And they would be well advised, you know, to enhance their measures.

GRANT: China is already an avian flu hot zone. The disease has spread rapidly among birds since late last year. The affected areas have been sealed off, poultry culled or vaccinated.

According to the WHO, eight people here have been infected, five have died. Those greatest at risk, small farmers. They have little knowledge of the disease and fear losing their livelihoods.

CHAN: Some small farmers are still not coming forward. So to me, the government has big challenges. They need to convince small farmers to cooperate.

GRANT: The Chinese government is now hosting an international bird flu conference. The aim, raising enough money to coordinate a global response to a threat that is growing by the day.

DR. DAVID NABARRO, U.N. INFLUENZA COORDINATOR: In this challenge, there is no choice. We're being put to the test like never before.

GRANT: The disease is still spread from birds to humans; human- to-human transmission, not yet established. But there are fears it could mutate and health officials warn the H5N1 strain of avian flu is deadly, killing half of those infected. A pandemic, they fear, could be only a matter of time.

CHAN: Since 1968, that is the last pandemic. We have never been so close to the next pandemic.

GRANT (on camera): The World Bank is hoping to raise more than a billion dollars to help fight the spread of bird flu. A lot of money, but only a fraction of the potentially catastrophic human and economic costs of a worldwide pandemic.

Stan Grant, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: NASA hoping to head to the furthest known reaches of space.

CLANCY: That's right. Up next, the U.S. Space Agency trying to shed a little bit of new light on the deepest secrets of space. Will its nuclear payload overshadow the mission, though? We'll find out next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

VERJEE: About an hour from now, there's going to be a little bit of gee whiz from America's space agency.

CLANCY: Maybe they'll be doing celebrating, too. NASA trying to launch a...

VERJEE: Not like that.

CLANCY: ... spacecraft that's going to travel faster than anything we've seen before, so fast it will reach the moon in only nine hours. Remember, the astronauts took a lot longer -- days, I think.

VERJEE: And the goal basic here is to capture the first up-close images of Pluto and its surrounding moons.

CLANCY: It's called New Horizons and it's going to journey almost ten years and millions and millions of miles to get where it's going. It's controversial, though, because of its nuclear payload on board.

Miles O'Brien investigates that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): It is rocket science. But when it fails...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Burnout on all six solids.

O'BRIEN: ... it is a spectacle. And now the launch of the New Horizon spacecraft to Pluto offers another wrinkle. Inside the spacecraft, 24 pounds of plutonium. The most toxic substance known to man.

KARL GROSSMAN, AUTHOR, "THE WRONG STUFF": I wouldn't want to be in Disney World the day of this launch.

O'BRIEN: Karl Grossman is a journalism professor and a crusader against launching radioactive payloads into space. He worries about the consequences of a mishap during the launch of New Horizons.

GROSSMAN: If there's an accident on this launch and that plutonium gets out, I mean 24 pounds doesn't seem like much, but if it's disbursed as fine particles and people breathe particles, all we need is a millionth of a gram for a fatal dose.

O'BRIEN: He may sound like a nuclear aged chicken little, but consider this. NASA say there is a one in 620 chance of a launch pad accident that could spread radioactive material. A one in 300 chance overall during the mission.

GROSSMAN: if I knew I had a 1 in 300th chance of winning the lottery, I might go to some lottery store after my class today.

HAL WEAVER, PROJECT SCIENTIST, NEW HORIZONS: We would love to be able to use a different technology if we could.

O'BRIEN: Astronomer Hal Weaver is with the New Horizons' mission team. Heat from the decaying plutonium is the only practical way to power the spacecraft. Solar rays are not an option. The sun is too faint that far away.

WEAVER: I've invited over 200 people to our launch. I plan to be there. My friends and family will be there. I feel perfectly comfortable with the risks associated with the launch of this mission.

O'BRIEN: Radioactive remnants of spacecraft have plummeted back to earth before. In 1978, a Russian satellite with a nuclear reactor broke up across the northwest territories of Canada. And 10 years ago, another Russian spacecraft with nuclear material headed toward Mars failed after launch. The wreckage fill in Chili's Atacama Desert. There were protests the last time the U.S. launched plutonium aboard the Cassini spacecraft to Saturn. But the launch was trouble- free. Scientists and engineers insist the payoff, stunning images and new insights are well worth the risk and maybe the public agrees. The protests this time around have been meager at best.

WEAVER: The exploration of space, the detailed study of the planets, including Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, are going to be some of the things that people look back on as the achievements of our civilization.

O'BRIEN: Miles O'Brien, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Still ahead here on YOUR WORLD TODAY, setting the stage for the Oscars.

VERJEE: As they have in the past, The Golden Globe Awards send a message.

CLANCY: The producers of "Brokeback Mountain" certainly hope the Golden Globe recognition cements its front running status for The Academy Awards.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Well, the headline in Hollywood today, gay cowboys and gold heist.

VERJEE: It's considered to be a preview to The Oscars, well not that.

CLANCY: Sibila Vargas gives us a trip down the red carpet to see who won top honors.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: The big winner of the night, "Brokeback Mountain," the film about two gay cowboys took The Golden Globe award in four out of seven categories in which it received nominations, including Best Dramatic Picture.

JAMES SHAMUS, PRODUCER, "BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN": We are stunned in thanks to the Hollywood Foreign Press.

VARGAS: Also stunned, Hoffman and Huffman, the winning actors in the 'Dramatic Film' category. Philip Seymour Hoffman won for his portrayal of novelist Truman Capote in "Capote." And Felicity Huffman for her role as a transsexual in "TransAmerica."

FELICITY HUFFMAN, "TRANSAMERICA": I would like to salute the men and women who brave ostracism, alienation and a life lived on the margins to become who they really are.

VARGAS: In the Musical or Comedy Film category, "Walk the Line" won top honors for best picture. While co-stars, Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix took home 'Best Actor' and 'Best Actress' awards in a musical or comedy for their portrayals of Johnny and June Carter Cash.

JOAQUIN PHOENIX, "WALK THE LINE": To John and June for sharing their life with all of us.

VARGAS: George Clooney, who had three individual nominations in three different categories, including Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for "Syriana" was the first award of the night.

GEORGE CLOONEY, "SYRIANA": This is early. I haven't had a drink yet.

VARGAS: British actress Rachel Weiss earned the prize for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama for "The Constant Gardener."

The winners in The Golden Globe film categories are closely watched as leading contenders for Academy Awards in two months. Meanwhile ABC was television's big winner of the evening. The thriller "Lost" won Best TV Drama, while fan favorite "Desperate Housewives" won for Best Comedy or Musical TV Show. The Best Comedic Actress award went to "Weeds" star Mary Louise Parker.

MARY LOUISE PARKER, "WEEDS": I thought we were all Desperate Housewives. Mine was a little more desperate than theirs were.

VARGAS: Best Actor in a TV Comedy went to Steve Carell for "The Office." His acceptance speech, he said, was written by his wife.

STEVE CARRELL, "THE OFFICE": I would like to thank my wife Nancy.

VARGAS: And "Commander and Chief" star Geena Davis won 'Best Actress in a TV Drama' for her portrayal as the first female U.S. president.

GEENA DAVIS, "COMMANDER AND CHIEF": This is really wonderful for a fledgling little show like ours.

VARGAS: A golden night for all of the Golden Globe winners. Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: We've been getting good e-mails from you.

CLANCY: That's right. We've been asking you this. Do you agree with the Iraqi President Talabani when he says all we need is more patience to see Iraqi democracy through?

VERJEE: Steve from the UK writes, "Yes, I think only with patience can we build democracy in Iraq. However, we should be careful that the power of the new Iraqi president does not go unchecked. CLANCY: The next one from Pakistan. "A call for patience in fine as long as it is not used to explain away the ineffectiveness and incompetence of the Iraqi government."

Steve writes this from Texas, "The Iraqi president seems to understand the important factors in achieving success. The important question is when the country's other occupants will realize it."

CLANCY: That has to be it for now. I'm Jim Clancy.

VERJEE: I'm Zain Verjee.

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