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Your World Today

Palestinians Voting Today; Google Doing Business in China; Some of World's Most Powerful Rub Elbows in the Alps; France's Identity Crisis

Aired January 25, 2006 - 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.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Where do the purple fingers point? It's a big day of decision for Palestinians, and Hamas is looking very strong.

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Dark, brooding suburbs in the City of Lights. We are going to take you to a part of Paris where tourists rarely go, a part that figures prominently in Europe's identity crisis.

VERJEE: A search engine with a few blind spots. Google confronts the reality of doing business in China.

CLANCY: And from high in the Rocky Mountains, the new, the off- beat, the daring, the bold. The Sundance Film Festival showcasing what you are likely to see in your local movie theater.

Right now it's 7:00 p.m. across the Palestinian territory, 6:00 p.m. in Paris.

I'm Jim Clancy.

VERJEE: And I'm Zain Verjee. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

It's a key vote that could be pivotal in the Palestinian push for the statehood and in determining the future of peace with Israel.

CLANCY: It was within the last couple of minutes the polls have officially closed in the Palestinian territories after Palestinians turned out in their hundreds of thousands to vote in this favorite parliamentary election in a decade. The ruling Fatah party facing a strong challenge from the historically militant group, Hamas.

VERJEE: More than a million Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem are eligible to vote.

CLANCY: Now, they're going to chose candidates from five different parties. And don't underestimate some of these other parties that are in the running here. They could sap strength away from both sides. They're trying to fill the 132-seat Palestinian legislative council.

VERJEE: Local and about 900 foreign observers led by former U.S. president Jimmy Carter have been monitoring the process. CLANCY: Voting set to close this hour, as we noted. It should be said, though, that anyone that's waiting in line already, wants to cast a ballot, well, they're going to be able to do that.

VERJEE: They will be able to. We have reporters, though, standing by to cover this historic day.

Guy Raz is in Ramallah and the West Bank. Ben Wedeman is in Gaza, and we want to begin with him.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim and Zain, as you can see, the -- it appears that the voting has closed just exactly right now. People were out fairly early today.

We've been speaking to election officials here who say that the turnout at this particular station in Gaza City has been very high, as much as 79 percent. And certainly we saw from the early hours of the day many people coming to this particular station. By and large, despite expectations of trouble, it has been a fairly quiet day of voting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN (voice over): They voted early. Many came directly from dawn prayers at the mosque, supporters of the militant Islamic group Hamas. Well organized, many eager to cast a protest vote against the ruling mainstream Fatah faction.

Waiting to vote, these women were keen to see Fatah cut down to size.

"Fatah hasn't done anything for us, for our children," she says. "Fatah only helps itself," complains another. "We want to see what Hamas can do for us."

Some had to raise their veils to prove their identity.

While outside the polling stations, campaign workers, green for Hamas, yellow for Fatah, stand ready to make one last pitch.

Nila Ayesh (ph) her husband Jamal (ph) are worried about the message Hamas is sending to Palestinians.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The things that they told the woman -- they told the woman, if you'll not vote for Hamas, it means that at the end god will punish you.

WEDEMAN: Nila (ph) was the only woman at this voting station in the Shate (Ph) refugee camp who didn't wear a headscarf. She and her husband cast their ballots for the Third Way (ph), a secular pro- reform anti-corruption party. The days when Fatah called the shots, Jamal (ph) believes, are over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Fatah will not be the only ruling party. Monopolizing (ph) of the political system is finished. WEDEMAN: Also voting early, Fatah chairman and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. A top Hamas man in Gaza, Mahmoud (INAUDIBLE). Both bracing, along with millions of Palestinians, for what could be a monumental change in Palestinian politics.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN: Now, what we are told by officials here is that now that voting is over, they are going to take a little bit of time off to pray, to have dinner. Then they are going to begin the actual process of counting the votes.

Now, we have -- we do appear to have a late voter here. In any event, they are going to be counting two boxes, votes from two boxes. One is the national list of candidates, and the other box here is for the regional list, basically candidates running here in this district of Gaza City.

The results, the official results are expected within the next 24 to 48 hours -- Jim.

CLANCY: Ben, as you look at all of this, it's very interesting to see the process here. I think we as the news media focus a lot on either Fatah or Hamas. But the reality is some of these other parties, as you talked to that couple in your report there, some of these other parties could do very well.

WEDEMAN: There's no question about it. I mean, obviously between Hamas and Fatah, we are talking about somewhere like 80 percent of the vote. But these other parties are significant.

And I was speaking to one man today who told me that, look, we've had this government, this Palestinian Authority dominated by Fatah for 10 years. It's time to give other people a chance whether that's Hamas, The Third Way (ph), or the other parties.

But Palestinians see that they want a change. They want competition within the Palestinian Authority. They don't want domination by one single party.

And so many people say we may be with one party or another. But they welcome the fact that Fatah no longer seems to have a monopoly on power -- Jim.

CLANCY: Ben Wedeman, great to have you there in Gaza covering this very crucial election.

VERJEE: Israel has said future peacemaking would be in doubt if Hamas takes a role in government. As we've noted, former president Jimmy Carter is in the territories to monitor the election. And he's also voiced concern, noting that Washington lists Hamas as a terrorist group.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES CARTER, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The U.S. government is prepared to dealing with the Palestinian Authority with Hamas members in the parliament. If Hamas becomes part of the executive branch, that is, holds portfolios, then the American law, the way I understand it, would preclude the United States doing business with the Palestinian Authority. So we don't know what choices will be made by the Palestinians.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: All right. As we watch the elections, I think we should give our viewers a chance to vote. The Palestinian elections the subject of our question of the day.

VERJEE: We're democratic here on YOUR WORLD TODAY.

We want to ask you this: How should the world respond if Hamas wins a significant role in the new Palestinian government? We want your vote.

CLANCY: E-mail us at ywt@cnn.com. We are going to read out some of your responses and comments a little bit later here on YOUR WORLD TODAY.

Let's turn now to Iran. Its chief nuclear negotiator says now that a Russian proposal that it enriched uranium for Tehran is what he termed a positive development. Ali Larijani made the comments after meeting with Russian officials in Moscow, but he also insisted that Iran will begin full-scale enrichment activities if its nuclear program is referred to the United Nations Security Council. Larijani says the Russian proposal still needs to be fine tuned and that no formal agreement has been reached yet.

VERJEE: Pope Benedict XVI has ventured into the sexual lives of men and women in his first and cyclical message. The pontiff says sex without unconditional love risks turning men and women into merchandise, a commodity to be bought and sold.

The papal message explores the difference between lust and love and explains how the church's charitable activities are based on love. A Vatican analyst explained the pope's choice of topic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ALLEN, VATICAN ANALYST: Not being a dumb man, the pope understands that there are few areas of human life where people have deeper questions about the church's message than on sexual ethics. You know, people often wonder, why is the church so against homosexuality, or why does the church draw the line on abortion, and so on?

And I think his argument is that this is not just about trying to hit people over the head with rules and regulations. But it's trying to -- trying to show people the path to real fulfillment and to genuine happiness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE: Pope Benedict also said that the church's charity workers must never use their work to push a political ideology.

CLANCY: Well, Google with a gag, it's being called. It debuts in China. The company offering a self-censored version of its famous Internet search engine.

It restricts access to thousands of items, from dissident blogs to terms like "human rights" or "democracy."

Mike Chinoy examines, Google's compromise with Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The Internet is booming in China, over a hundred million users, a huge market for the world's Internet giants. But China's communist rulers are determined to control what's on the Internet, and now Google is bowing to Chinese censorship regulations. It's launching a China-based search engine that will block information not approved by the Chinese authorities.

In a statement, Google said, "In order to operate from China, we have removed some content from the search results available in google.cn in response to local law."

DUNCAN Clark, CHINA INTERNET ANALYST: Google has to apply with the restrictions here and to be in this market. There is a specific element with the Chinese government that the commercial interests of what will become the largest Internet market in the world over the next, say, five, 10 years, it's already the second largest Internet population base. Companies cannot ignore the commercial instinct.

CHINOY: Even before Google's move, Beijing had constructed what's been dubbed the great firewall of China to keep sensitive information out.

(on camera): So this is how it works. On this computer, I brought up Google.com, and I'm going to put in the name of one of the organizations the Chinese government hates the most, the Falun Gong Spiritual Group.

There are 4,390,000 entries, the first one is Falun Gong's own home page. There's another that's about Falun Gong's leader. Further down, others that are supportive of Falun Gong, one from religioustolerance.org.

Now I'm going to put the same name in at the new Google.cn Web site that's designed just for China and we'll see what we'll get. This time there are 11,000 entries, but of a very, very different character.

The first one, "Falun Gong practitioners jailed for libeling the government." Another, "Outlawing the Falun Gong cult." Another, "Falun Gong's anti-humanity, anti-science, anti-society nature."

All parroting the Chinese government's line. A dramatic example of how an American company is helping the Chinese authorities control the message that goes out to their people. (voice over): And it's hardly the only example.

Last December, Microsoft shut down the Web site of a dissident Chinese blogger. A few months earlier, Yahoo! gave Beijing the name of a dissident Chinese journalist. He got 10 years in jail for his Web postings.

Ironically, Google's Chinese kowtow comes as the company is resisting efforts by the U.S. government for access to its records. If they took the same attitude in Beijing, they'd probably be out of the China market as fast as the click of a mouse.

Mike Chinoy, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Well, just ahead, what happens when government leaders, corporate giants, scientists and super stars all get together in an Alpine resort?

VERJEE: What is supposed to happen is that the world's economy picks up speed and the world's unfortunate pick up hope. We are going to examine some of the prospects for that when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.

Global movers and shakers have been tackling some of the world's largest economic problems, trying to ensure everyone has a chance at a livelihood. All of that despite a gloomy, global economic forecast.

The lofty goals the focus of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. It happens every year.

Participants converge there. This year it's really focusing on China, its new economic power, as well as India.

There's also -- they are looking at the change in the workforce with an estimated one billion workers from emerging markets joining the global labor force. This year, there's a whole new theme, the role of sports in promoting economic growth.

They get into a lot of different subjects there.

German chancellor Angela Merkel gave the opening address, or she's still giving it. She took to the podium just a short while ago.

This is a live picture. But I want to show you a little bit of what she said earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): So, in the 21st century, to shape a new market economy, a (INAUDIBLE) market economy, first of all, we need new priorities for political action. The political action has to come first, and that must concern itself with the future generation.

And in Germany, that means that we have to reform our financial situation. We have to reform our budgetary situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE: As you can imagine, there's a lot of wheeling and dealing that goes on behind closed doors and away from the official venue at this type of event.

Richard Quest takes us behind the scenes as some of the world's most powerful people rub elbows in the Alps.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Picture postcard, picture perfect. Now picture this... the World Economic Forum, an organization with very lofty goals. They are committed to improving the state of the world.

This mission will be accomplished in this rather non-descript Swiss conference center. But don't be fooled. Improving the world involves entering the Davos twilight zone.

(on camera): There are more than 215 different debates, groups and seminars over the course of the week. Most have classic Davosian sounding titles: "Wither the Global Corporate Citizen" is one.

Others are more esoteric, such as "The Race for the North Pole." Then there's the abstract. For instance, "On Thursday Morning, Does an Economy Need Morals?"

They've allowed two hours to settle that question.

(voice over): The official talking takes place in these halls, bristling with plasma televisions and communication kiosks. Improving the world clearly takes a lot of technology.

(on camera): The Davos novice probably thinks all the work's being done in the Congress hotel. But in the Davosian world, well, this is where it really takes place, schmooze central, otherwise known as the Belvedere hotel. You have to be a really important person to get a room or preferably a suite in these lodgings.

(voice over): Throughout the week there is the ultimate Davos torture, the sight of others who are more committed to improving the state of their skiing.

(on camera): No skiing for me. Time to get back to some of those 215 groups and seminars. I'll leave you in typical Davosian style.

Richard Quest, CNN, committed to sustainable development of information and understanding around the globe, Davos. (END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: All right.

Well, we've got Richard Quest there in Davos.

Our own Karl Penhaul has been traveling around Europe talking to people that live in immigrant communities. This Thursday, 21:00 GMT, he's going to have a documentary on the air asking the question, will a multi-cultural Europe really work?

And then at 22:00 GMT, CNN's Becky Anderson will be right there in Davos, where you just saw Richard, with "CNN Connects." World leaders, experts talking about the cultural crisis what can be done to end the alienation really felt by migrant communities and seen in the streets of Paris just months ago.

VERJEE: We want to go back now to our top story, the Palestinian elections.

Polls closed just minutes ago. Palestinians voting in the first parliamentary elections in 10 years.

This vote really critical. It could be pivotal, observers say, for the cause of Palestinian stated and determined future relations and peace with Israel.

Guy Raz is at the central election commission in Ramallah, and he joins us now.

Guy, how did it go today in Ramallah?

GUY RAZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Zain, it went very well. In fact, throughout the West Bank and in Gaza, not one incident of violence, which really in a sense defied the odds.

There was a considerable amount of concern that this vote today would be wracked by violence. About 60 percent of Palestinians went out to vote. We knew that about three hours ago. So we can expect those number to rise.

There are some early exit numbers that have come out. They are unofficial. They suggest that the ruling Fatah party has won about 40 percent of the vote and its biggest rival, Hamas, the militant Islamist group, has perhaps won as much as 30.

These are, of course, unofficial. And as you mentioned, we are at the central elections commission election headquarters, and over the coming hours, we should have a better sense of how these elections are shaping up.

Really one of the most important elections in modern Palestinian history, 132 seats in the Palestinian legislature up for grabs, 11 parties vying for those seats. But of course all eyes are focused on Fatah and Hamas. And most political observers here believe that ultimately those two parties will have to form some kind of coalition in order to bring about the next Palestinian government. That could pose a problem for the Palestinian Authority if Hamas has a strong showing in the next Palestinian government or cabinet.

Of course, Israel, the United States, European Union, several other countries regard Hamas as a terrorist organization. They associate it more with bombs rather than with politics. So, of course, depending on the outcome of this election and how the next Palestinian government shapes up to be will certainly give us a better sense of how it could affect future negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority -- Zain.

VERJEE: Guy Raz reporting to us from Ramallah.

Thanks, Guy -- Jim.

CLANCY: In the United States, a new report paints a picture of an Army in crisis.

VERJEE: Coming up, new fuel in the Defense Department debate. Are U.S. troops stretched too thin?

Stay with us for more on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center in Atlanta. More of YOUR WORLD TODAY in just a few minutes. But first, a check of other stories making headlines here in the U.S.

Millions of dollars in boats are going up in flames in a Portland, Oregon, yacht community. So far, three houseboats in the Columbia River Yacht Club have been destroyed. One multimillion- dollar yacht has been pulled to safety.

The fire still threatens others. Melting fiberglass is generating so much heat and smoke an orange glow can be seen from miles away. No injuries have been reported and the cause is not yet known.

We are following a developing story out of southern California. As you can see, there's chaos on the busy Highway 101 between Oxnard and Ventura.

Information is still coming in. California State Patrol says there was an incident involving two semi trucks. At least one of those trucks was carrying cardboard boxes. Traffic is backed up for miles.

We'll have more on this story as it develops.

In suburban Atlanta, a tense standoff has ended. Authorities say police stormed an apartment and found a 19-year-old man dead. His 14- month-old baby found safe.

Police say the standoff began early this morning after the man assaulted a woman who left the apartment.

Police in southern California say there are no obvious signs of foul play in the death of actor Chris Penn. His body was discovered yesterday in his Santa Monica condominium. The 40-year-old brother of actor Sean Penn starred in a new movie that was scheduled to premier today at the Sundance Film Festival.

New questions about military readiness and the strain from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Two reports paint a picture of an Army stretched to the breaking point. One was written by a retired Army officer under a Pentagon contract. According to The Associated Press, his report says the Army has become a thin green line that could snap unless there is relief soon.

A second report, this one from the Democrats, also suggest the military is under strain. The report was released on Capitol Hill about two hours ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JACK REED (D), RHODE ISLAND: Today this report highlights a huge potential problem for our land forces. We are at risk today of breaking our land forces, our Marine Corps and our Army. They are capable and competent today, but the risk is real.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is expected to respond to questions about military readiness. Next hour, CNN will carry the Pentagon briefing live.

Right now President Bush is visiting the National Security Agency. There he will defend his administration's domestic spying program as part of a week-long PR campaign. The White House is trying to rally support for the controversial element of its war on terror. At issue, whether the president has the legal authority to electronically eavesdrop on phone conversations and e-mails without a warrant.

Earlier on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," we heard from the author of a book that details the extent of global eavesdropping.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK RADDEN KEEFE, AUTHOR, "CHATTER": I think it's much more the connections. There's a misconception which is that if you say "bomb" or "jihad" on the phone the computers at the NSA are going to pick it up right away. But if you think about it, first of all, the NSA is much more sophisticated in that in terms of the way they're going about this.

And second, the terrorists are more sophisticated, too. I mean, they know very well that people are listening, and they know better than to use those words on the phone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And this reminder. You can tune in to CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" weekdays beginning at 6:00 a.m. Eastern.

Right now in the Senate, final debate is under way on U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved him yesterday but split strictly along party lines. The same is expected in the full Senate, with only one Democrat publicly voicing his support.

Alito is President Bush's pick to replace retiring justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Let's check in with Jacqui Jeras and get a look at the weather picture.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Well, are you a Ford employee who is losing your job? Send your questions about finding employment to our career counselor. We'll answer some of your e-mails on "LIVE FROM" beginning at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. The address is LIVEFROM@CNN.com.

Meantime, YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after a break.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY right here on CNN International. I'm Jim Clancy.

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

Voter turnout is said to be as high as 70 percent as Palestinians cast ballots in the first parliamentary election in ten years. Results are expected in the next 24 to 48 hours. Observers say the outcome may be pivotal for the cause of Palestinian statehood and in determining the future of peace with Israel.

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator says a Russian proposal that it enrich uranium for Tehran is a positive development. Ali Larijani made those comments after meeting with Russian officials in Moscow. But there were evidence, critics said, of stalling by Iran. It insisted Iran will begin full-scale enrichment activities if its nuclear program is referred to the U.N. Security Council.

Back to Davos now and the many concerns being raised by world leaders there. It's not just about economics. Also drawing attention, the conflict in Sudan.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan says he's not optimistic. In an op-ed column in "The Washington Post," he says this: "People in many parts of Darfur continue to be killed, raped and driven from their homes by the thousands. The number of displaced has reached two million, while three million are dependent on international relief for food and other basics. The transition from the African union force to a U.N. peace operation in Darfur is now inevitable."

CLANCY: While Africa will not dominate this year's Global Economic Conference in Switzerland -- that's for sure -- small number of sessions have been devoted to the African confident.

Joining us now to talk about how the needs of Africa can be met at this economic conference, and more on the situation, really, in Darfur, Edward Mortimer, the director of communications for the U.N. Secretary General. He joins us from Davos.

Mr. Mortimer, let me just ask you this. The world looks on. Why has nothing been done? Why hasn't anyone succeeded in Darfur? Is there a short answer?

EDWARD MORTIMER, DIR. OF COMMUNICATIONS, U.N. SECY-GENERAL: I'm not sure there's a short answer. I mean, one, it's always tempting to fall back on expressions like political will. But underneath those expressions are a lot of very complicated and long answers. But the fact is, I think that nobody has seen sufficient national interest or has seen a clear enough strategy to actually go in and do what it would take. I think it's...

CLANCY: We apologize. We have lost Mr. Mortimer there because of a satellite problem. We had hoped to bring him to you to talk a little bit more. The U.N. secretary general sounding very frustrated about the inability of the world to address the problem in Darfur. He's talked about it now for about three years, has not been able to really do anything to improve the lives, to save the lives of literally millions of people who remain at risk. Zain?

VERJEE: From Africa to Europe. While the auditoriums are filled with the talk about keeping the world's economy moving without leaving anyone behind, it's clear some people have been. Let's go back and focus a little bit more.

Jim, I do believe we have our connection back with Edward Mortimer from Davos.

CLANCY: Edward Mortimer, if you're still there, I was talking a little bit about how frustrated it appears the U.N. secretary general really is about this.

MORTIMER: Yes, well, it has been frustrating because I think particularly on the political side, because the talks, which are being held in Abuja, Nigeria, simply aren't progressing anything like as fast as they should. And I think the blame for that really lies on both parties, on the Sudanese government and on the rebel groups from Darfur who don't really have a unified leadership and don't seem to have full control of their own troops.

But the result is -- I mean, you've got an African union force on the ground there and it is giving some security to some people in Darfur. But it isn't nearly big enough or strong enough to really impose the ceasefire which is supposed to be in place. And that's why we get more and more of these reports of what actually amounts to ethnic cleansing. Attacks on villages. Some people killed. Women raped. And the rest, of course, flee for their lives.

CLANCY: Edward Mortimer, the communications director for U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. We're going to have to leave it there. Thank you very much for joining us there. We apologize for our problems with satellites.

VERJEE: Last November, the suburbs of Paris were in flames. The flames have died down now, but the resentment hasn't. Karl Penhaul talked to some people in Paris, some of the immigrants living in those suburbs. And this is a story that's part of our look at Europe's identity cris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's nighttime in one of Paris' toughest high-rise housing projects. This is the so- called city (INAUDIBLE) thousand. For outsiders others than the French police, it's a virtual no-go zone.

When the police do a random I.D. check here. The question is almost always the same. These young men say...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Are you of French nationality, sir?

PENHAUL: They all say they're French by birth. Hocine is angry and says police target them because they, like the vast majority of residents in public housing projects like these, are Muslims. They're mostly sons or grandsons of former Algerian or Moroccan immigrants.

HOCINE ABU ABDULLAH, FRENCH-BORN MUSLIM (through translator): If it were five guys with blond hair and blue eyes, they would never have checked our IDs.

PENHAUL: He says the French ideal of liberty, equality and paternity for all is a sham.

ABDULLAH (through translator): To be really French you have to be poor and drink wine. Whiten your skin and dye your hair blond and wear an earring.

PENHAUL: While some of the officers check I.D.s, others stand guard. Tensions remain high after riots rocked this neighborhood and others across France in November. I.D. checks, seen by some as racial profiling, are a regular flash point for trouble.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): No statement to make. You can ask the press office of the interior minister.

PENHAUL: After about 15 minutes, the cops move on. Abdel Karim says things could have been worse. ABDEL KARIM, FRENCH-BORN MUSLIM (through translator): They were quite nice because they saw the camera. If you hid it, it would have been different.

PENHAUL: Ahmed, though, is in no laughing mood.

AHMED (through translator): Long live France. I was born in France, so even if I'm standing out here in nothing but my underwear, I should be able to do what I want.

PENHAUL: It's freezing cold and the group decides to cut its losses and head home. But there's no real rush to get to bed early. They have no jobs to get up for tomorrow. They've all been unemployed for months.

Hocine and his friends say they took no part in the November riots, but many just like them did, burning thousands of cars and fighting running battles with the police for almost three weeks. It was a rerun of similar riots in the 1980s and '90s. Since then, residents say successive governments have done little to resolve their problems.

Graffiti scrawled on the fence during November's unrest threatens violence against the police. Skepticism of journalists runs deep, too.

But after a few days of hanging out and trying to overcome the distrust, I persuade Ahmed Abu Abdullah to escort me around part of the project. He warns me, though, he can only guarantee my safety from thieves and small-time gang members in a small area.

Unlike many of his neighbors, Amhed has a job, as an airport baggage handler, but he still feels like an outcast.

AHMED ABU ABDULLAH, FRENCH-BORN MUSLIM (through translator): Even if we consider ourselves French, the French don't consider us French. They may not say it, but they show it, in terms of work or lodging.

PENHAUL: He says his parents were drawn to Paris from Algeria in the 1960s, by the promise of plentiful work. Ahmed was born and raised in the city of 4,000, named after the number of apartments here. Hard to believe this was a 1960s architect's dream of affordable, stylish homes for the working class.

Today, this is one of the symbols of France's urban nightmare, a ghetto where around 15,000 immigrant parents and their French-born children battle rampant unemployment, poor education, racial and religious discrimination.

ABDULLAH (through translator): They look at me badly, especially after September 11th. In France, they think that all the people are beards are Islamic radicals, but you can't put everybody in the same bag.

PENHAUL: I could find nobody on the project who would admit to taking part in November's riots. That would be inviting arrest. But I found a common feeling of desperation.

ABDULLAH (through translator): I wasn't involved in a sense I wasn't out there burning cars. But of course I shared the feeling of being fed up. It's hard to explain. In France, they don't listen to us. Well, they listen, but it goes in one ear and out the other.

PENHAUL: Some analysts suggest rising Islamic radicalism may have fueled November's French riots. Nonsense, says Ahmed. He says it's to do with being poor and marginalized.

ABDULLAH (through translator): I heard them saying those with the beards were behind the riots. But as if I'm going to tell a kid to burn a car. If they burn cars, it's because they're fed up.

PENHAUL: Djamal Ibrahim, who helps organize a small Muslim neighborhood association, agrees frustration is at the core.

DJAMAL IBRAHIM, MUSLIM ASSOC. ORGANIZER (through translator): These were a lot of unemployed young people. These weren't young men coming back from Afghanistan or Iraq, burning cars with the Koran in one hand and a saber in the other, shouting "Long live bin Laden."

PENHAUL: Islam may be the religion here, but soccer is the passion. During a weekend pick-up game, it's time to forget about the problems and dream of stardom with Olympic marcet (ph) Perry Sanjeman (ph), or if you're Ahmed, Manchester United. They say it's the only entertainment that's affordable and available to them. The game only ends as the sun dips down.

Just on the edge of the city of 4,000, another outlet for pent-up aggression. This is Ahmed Kerrar school of hard knocks, boxing classes for some of the project's teenagers. Kerrar learned the lessons of life the hard way, too. He grew up and still lives in the same project as these teens.

AHMED KERRAR, BOXING COACH (through translator): At 13 years old, you can't say he's a gangster, or that he's going to end up a criminal. There's good lads, but unfortunately society has put them in a position they can't get out of.

PENHAUL: Fifteen-year-old Bilel has big dreams of one day being a professional prizefighter. For now, though, his sights are set on sticking up for himself in frequent street fights.

BILEL TOUNSI, HIGH RISE RESIDENT (through translator): If you are in the street and confronted by three or four guys, it's good to know how to defend yourself.

PENHAUL: A year older, Brahim Guendouze sees the November riots simply as a backlash by what he believes is the project's forgotten generation.

He too insists, though, he didn't take part.

BRAHIM GUENDOUZE (through translator): They did that to show that we exist, that we are not idiots and we can do something. They see us in the street stealing a bag and nobody says anything, but we show who we were.

PENHAUL: Despite government pledges to improve conditions in the suburbs, Kerrar feels the outlook for these youngsters is grim.

KERRAR (through translator): Deep inside, they know there's no escape. There's no way out. They've got freedom in a cage.

PENHAUL: The only sign of hope seems to glimmer from colorful boards around the project, promises of new homes on a human scale and vast green spaces. But look behind the signs and hope seems to fade fast.

Ahmed points out what's left of the high rise where he lived with his parents and five siblings was demolished three years ago. No sign yet of the new houses the government signboards pledge.

ABDULLAH (through translator): It's not me who should be afraid; it's the politicians. I haven't got the keys to the solution. I cannot do anything.

PENHAUL: The only thing that seems to be being built here is despair.

Karl Penhaul, CNN, Lacornerve (ph), France.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: All right, to our viewers in the U.S. and around the world, welcome back.

VERJEE: This is YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.

I'm Zain. He's Jim.

CLANCY: And the Europeans are cold. As a matter of fact, they're trying to conserve energy, turning down their thermostats -- Zain.

VERJEE: But those who have that option are really the lucky ones.

Ryan Chilcote provides this overview of the frigid continent.

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RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): So how cold is it? So cold that in the German zoo, ice kept the ducks from wading, so cold in Greece that fish froze to death in a lake. So cold in the country of Georgia, to put it on track for potential human catastrophe.

Already struggling in Europe's coldest weather in three decades, the country's residents have spent the last four days without heat.

After a series of explosions destroyed a power line and pipelines that delivered the natural gas Georgia needs to fuel its central heating.

Until they are repaired, these orphans and most of the country's four million citizens have to use electric heaters in the hours they have power to keep warm. Georgia's president has accused Russia of deliberately sabotaging his country's energy's supply.

PRES. MIKHAIL SAAKASVHILI, GEORGIA: And we are going back to the European Union, saying we should find a way to exclude these kind of extreme situations, in not only in this region, but everywhere else in Europe.

CHILCOTE (on camera): Russia calls the Georgian president's claims absurd. But even as it warms up to a relatively comfortable negative-10 degrees Celsius here in the Russian capital, the rest of the country is cooling to the idea that it is so heavily dependent on Russian fuel for its heat.

(voice-over): The European Union depends on Russia for a quarter of its natural gas needs, but that supply is down for the second time already this year, so Europeans have been asked to conserve. Italians, for example, to turn their thermostats down a degree.

Meanwhile, in Lithuania, where it was too cold for the country's swans to take off for their migration south, people do what they can to keep warm. The country's first-ever belly dancing competition was turned into a protest against the cold. The timing couldn't have been better.

Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: Up next here on YOUR WORLD TODAY ...

CLANCY: They are travelling from far and wide to get their films recognized in a town where catching a radical edge on the slopes is what usually gets recognized.

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VERJEE: Take a look at the streets of Park City. Always bustling during ski season, now even more so as it hosts the Sundance Film Festival.

CLANCY: As Brooke Anderson tells us, the snowy town is glutted with glitterati.

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BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It can turn a small film into a very big deal. In its 22-year history, the Sundance Film Festival has become a place where filmmakers and taste-makers come together to discover the next big thing.

STEVE GILULA, FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES: There's an established tradition that if a film has heat or buzz, you can't hesitate. I mean, you have to express your interest and be very forthright.

ANDERSON: Steve Gilula and Nancy Utley of Fox Searchlight Pictures. They didn't hesitate when they saw a screening of "Little Miss Sunshine." This new comedy, starring Steve Carell, was the first film to be picked up by a major studio at this year's festival.

NANCY UTLEY, FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES: Sundance can be a tremendously powerful platform for a film to get launched.

ANDERSON: And they should know. Fox Searchlight discovered such successful films as "Napoleon Dynamite" ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Such an idiot ...

ANDERSON: ... and "Garden State" here at Sundance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is my fault.

ANDERSON: Remember "The Blair Witch Project"? Another Sundance success story, along with a documentary "Super Size Me" and "March of the Penguins."

The festival has also launched the careers of ground-breaking filmmakers. Director Steven Soderbergh brought "Sex, Lies and Videotape" to Park City in 1989. Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" became a Sundance favorite in 1992. And in 1994, Kevin Smith's "Clerks" changed his life forever.

KEVIN SMITH, FILMMAKER: Without Sundance, I would still be a jockeying a register in a convenience store. You know, I can't -- totally. I came here in '94, you know, and I was making five bucks an hour. And overnight -- well, over the course of ten days of the festival, I left here with a career.

ANDERSON: Critics complain the festival has become more important than the films it showcases. But actors like Matt Dillon, whose latest project "Factotum" opened to great reviews at Sundance, says it's still vital for independent filmmakers.

MATT DILLON, ACTOR: This really is a place for filmmakers with a vision, young filmmakers, people taking chances, risky films, independent films.

ANDERSON (on camera): The core mission is still there?

DILLON: Absolutely. I don't think that's changed at all.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Brooke Anderson, CNN, Park City, Utah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Well, time now to check our "Inbox." We've been asking you this: How should the world respond if Hamas wins a significant role in the new Palestinian government? Here's how some of you replied. VERJEE: Anbessaw from Ethiopia says, "I hope Hamas is ready to transform itself form a terrorist group to a modern political party who works for peace."

CLANCY: Donald from Belgium says this: "No one should negotiate with Hamas until they renounce violence. It worked successfully with the IRA and the PLO. It should work with Hamas."

VERJEE: Frank writes from Lake Villa, Illinois, "if we believe in a Democratic system, we have to accept who's elected, not who we like."

CLANCY: Well there's a sampling of what you had to say today, and we thank you for all of your messages. For now, I'm Jim Clancy.

VERJEE: And I'm Zain Verjee. This has been YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.

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