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Your World Today

Bush Meets With E.U. Leaders in Vienna; Taliban Set to Make Comeback in Afghanistan; North Korea Seeks Talk Over Missile Test; Controversial Egyptian Film Breaks New Ground

Aired June 21, 2006 - 12:00   ET

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

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: A show of unity. The United States and Europe come together on the Iranian nuclear standoff, but agree to disagree on Iraq.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. troops on the move to take more control of parts of Afghanistan, as the Taliban are set on making a comeback.

HOLMES: A controversial new film portrays a realistic view of Egyptian society.

MCEDWARDS: And say please and thank you, ma'am. Which city ranks the highest on the politeness scale? The answer may surprise you.

HOLMES: But we're not going to tell you, yet. It's 6:00 p.m. in Vienna, 12:00 noon in Washington. Hello, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes.

MCEDWARDS: And I'm Colleen McEdwards. Welcome to our viewers throughout the world and the United States. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

We will have much more on those stories in just a moment, but we begin with this developing story out of Iraq. CNN has now confirmed that at least 50 workers have been abducted as they left their jobs at an industrial plant north of Baghdad. This is in a predominantly Sunni area. The kidnappers used a bus and a minivan to take the workers away from the plant's parking lot. CNN will keep you updated on the story as soon as we get more details. So keep it right here -- Michael?

HOLMES: All right. Let's move on, now, to that E.U. summit in Vienna. The U.S. president saying that the international stands united against Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, and also agreed with European leaders that Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba must be shut down, but not just yet. Suzanne Malveaux is traveling with the president, joins us now live from Vienna -- Suzanne?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Michael, not surprising, not a lot of breakthroughs when it comes to this E.U.- U.S. summit. President Bush as well as E.U. leaders saying in their press conference there were no breakthroughs when it came to trade talks. They're really kicking that forward.

Also, really no breakthroughs a senior Bush administration official says no when it came to Guantanamo Bay prison, but rather a greater understanding between the leaders about what this what this is about. Clearly, European leaders are calling for an immediate closure of that prison camp, the detainee facility.

President Bush trying to explain, also saying he has a deep desire to close it as well, but it is not going to happen right away. There are a couple of other things that have to happen first, a Supreme Court decision on military courts, their role with some of those detainees, and also, a real process here for the president of the United States to bring some of those detainees, return them to their home countries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There are some who need to be tried in U.S. courts. They're cold-blooded killers. They will murder somebody if they're let out on the street. And yet, we believe there ought to be a way for in a court of law, and I'm waiting for the Supreme Court of the United States to determine the proper venue in which these people can be tried.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now, E.U. president Wolfgang Schuessel also backed up the president, saying, look, he got assurances that there was no torture that was taking place. But they got a real clear signal from the president that there were no abuses, certainly a lot of controversy around Gitmo, or Guantanamo Bay, facility.

Also, of course, all eyes on Iran and what Iran is going to do. A united front here. President Bush getting what he came for, essentially. That is for the permanent five members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany, and the European Union all standing by very much united, saying Iran must abandon its nuclear ambitions.

Today, we heard from the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saying, "Look, I take a look at this, and I will let you know formally what we're going to do August 22nd." President Bush saying he thought that was a bit late there with the timetable. They wanted a response within weeks, not months. But that is what Ahmadinejad is insisting on. So at this point, they say, "Look, we're not coming to the negotiating table until you decide to give up your -- enriching uranium, rather, and then we'll take a look at that time table.

HOLMES: And, Suzanne, another question that came up at that news conference regarding the president's poll numbers?

MALVEAUX: Well, absolutely. And it really was quite a controversial tense moment, if you will. Two European journalists who stood up and said that the president is really considered more of a threat to world peace than Iran and North Korea, according to many Europeans. President Bush responding very forcefully, saying he thought that notion was absurd -- Michael?

HOLMES: All right. Thanks, Suzanne. Suzanne Malveaux there in Vienna. MCEDWARDS: Well, U.S. President Bush also talking about North Korea and how it should respect what he calls its previous agreements on missile testing. He's warning North Korea of further isolation if it test-fires a missile that is capable of reaching the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: It should make people nervous when non-transparent regimes have announced that they've got nuclear warheads fire missiles. And so we've been working with our partners, particularly in that partner of the world, to say to the North Koreans that this is not the way you conduct business in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCEDWARDS: Well, on that possible North Korean missile test, some observers believe Washington could use the launch to test its own missile defense system. Barbara Starr reports now from the Pentagon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: In Okinawa, an Air Force spy plane takes off carrying sensors that can be used to track North Korea's expected launch of its long range Taepo-dong-2 missile. Bush administration officials hope international pressure will keep North Korea from conducting the test launch of a missile that could hit the United States.

ALEXANDER VERSHBOW, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO SOUTH KOREA: This missile has a military capability, and we view it, therefore, as a serious matter, particularly in the context of North Korea's illegal development of nuclear weapons.

STARR: If there is a missile launch, the U.S. military will be able to see how well its $11 billion missile defense program works. Several elements of a defensive shield are already in place.

Early warning satellites will detect the exhaust from a launch within seconds. Then upgraded radars in Alaska's Aleutian islands and at Beale Air Force Base in Sacramento, California, will begin tracking the missile's path.

U.S. navy ships in the Pacific with upgraded radars will also also track the Taepo-dong missile, which has a reported range of about 3,000 miles. All of this the U.S. quickly determine if Pyongyang is using the missile to simulate an attack.

The U.S. currently has 3 aircraft carriers, hundreds of aircraft, and other military assets in the Pacific participating in a long- planned exercise. The Pentagon has drafted orders for a military response to a North Korean missile launch, but only as a matter of routine.

Everyone believes this is nothing more than a test by North Korea, not an attack. But if it were an attack, then the U.S. military could use nine interceptor missiles it has in Alaska, and two in California to try and shoot the North Korean missile down.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All of this brings us to our inbox question of the day.

MCEDWARDS: That's right, we're asking you how concerned you are about a North Korean missile test.

HOLMES: E-mail us your thoughts, ywt@CNN.com, and we're trying to read some of them a little later in the hour.

All right. We want to now go to Baghdad. We've been telling you about this news just emerging about another mass kidnapping. Arwa Damon is standing by at our bureau there.

Arwa, have we been able to learn anything more?

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Michael. Now, what we know is at least 50 factory workers were kidnapped just north of Baghdad. This is according to the Iraqi emergency police. The incident happened at about 3:00 p.m., just as these workers were leaving from this complex that houses a number of factories that fall under Iraq's ministry of industry.

They were leaving the factory in about five buses when armed gunmen stormed these buses and took them to an unknown location. Now, the motive behind this attack is still unclear. The police are investigating it. The factor under Saddam Hussein was a military factory that used to produce plastics. Now we are told by an official with the Ministry of Industry that it produces school benches and blackboards -- Michael?

HOLMES: All right, Arwa. We'll let you continue looking in to that just emerging information. OK. We'll check in with you later.

MCEDWARDS: All right. Well, kidnapped and killed. The bullet- riddled body of one of Saddam Hussein's lead attorneys has been found in Baghdad. A fellow defense lawyer says Khamis al-Obeidi was lured from his home by insurgents who were dressed like Iraqi police. Now, he's the third member of the defense team to have been killed since the trial started about eight months ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOUSHRA AL-KHALIL, HUSSEIN ATTORNEY (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): It's clear they have no intention of letting the public opinion hear our defense, and they do not want us to defend in a legal and correct way. What happened today was a warning to the rest of the defense team.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCEDWARDS: Also in Baghdad, the U.S. military says Iraqi soldiers have captured the leader of an assassination cell. Nuri Abu Haydar al-Oqabi was taken prisoner during a raid in western Baghdad. Nuri and his followers are wanted for kidnapping, torture and murder, including the killing of 14 Iraqi soldiers last month.

Well, an important debate on Iraq is scheduled in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday. Two resolutions are to be considered. Here's basically what they're about.

One of them calls for a phased redeployment of U.S. troops in Iraq beginning this year. The other calls for full withdrawal by July of 2007. Well, more on the debate now from our congressional correspondent, Dana Bash -- Dana?

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Colleen. Well, you just talked about the two different amendments that we'll see on the Senate floor today from Democrats as the Democratic leader Harry Reid tried very hard over the last several weeks to find consensus, one single thing the Democrats can vote for in terms of a plan for Iraq.

He didn't get there for one reason, and that is because there are very different opinions about just how to approach from here on how to approach Iraq, specifically when it comes to the issue of troop levels there.

Now, if there's any doubt, though, where the Democratic leader stands on this, look at the schedule today. He arranged the debate so that Senator John Kerry and Russ Feingold, who have an amendment that would set a hard date to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq by July 2007, they wouldn't be able to offer theirs on the Senate floor until late in the day.

Now, Senator Kerry's office gave us excerpts, something he will say later, and you see it's up there. He will say, "No more half measures, no more staged phony political debates, no more attacking those who disagree with policies that are clearly not working. It's time to tell the truth about the consequences of today's broken course. Setting a deadline to re-deploy U.S. troops from Iraq is necessary for success in Iraq and victory in the war on terror."

Now, the Kerry camp says that they are picking up some votes. There was a sense that perhaps they would get about a handful. We know that the number two Democrat in the Senate, Dick Durbin, will likely vote for Senator Kerry's measure.

But most Democrats will probably vote for something that is being offered as an alternative that we will see come up on the Senate floor shortly, and that is to simply not call for a date certain to withdraw troops, but to say that troops should begin to be phased out starting this year and that the White House should give plans for further troop deployment for the future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: We don't set the end date for it, we set the beginning date. We don't set that beginning date immediately. That would be precipitous. But we say the open-ended commitment has got to end, and we've got to find a way to leave Iraq in better shape than we found it. But our presence there is contributing as much to instability now as it is to security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, Republicans, Colleen, are having nothing short of a field day in watching Democrats have all of these measures on the Senate floor and have this debate. They feel that Democrats are playing right into their election-year plans to try to paint Democrats as weak on defense.

You will hear over and over from Republicans today, the Democrats want to cut and run. Democrats say that they believe this debate is important, even though there are many disagreements on how just to deal with Iraq.

MCEDWARDS: It is an election year, after all. Dana Bash, thanks very much. Appreciate it.

HOLMES: The U.S. military is warning, meanwhile, of the likelihood of further fighting with Taliban militants in southern Afghanistan.

MCEDWARDS: That's right. Coming up, we'll have details on that story. And we'll also have some background on the current situation there. Michael's going to speak to the Afghan ambassador to the United States. Stay with us for that. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MCEDWARDS: All right. We want to bring you the latest right now from the Pentagon. We're getting some more information about U.S. military investigators and some charges that they are going to announce about an incident in which U.S. troops are accused of killing an Iraqi civilian in Hamdania. Getting some more specific information about this. And our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre is standing by for us with more on this.

Jamie, what do you know?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Colleen, the allegation in this incident is that U.S. marines dragged an Iraqi man from his home, shot him, and then planted a gun and a shovel on him to make it appear that he was planting a roadside bomb when he was shot.

Pentagon sources tell CNN that the charges announced today against seven Marines and one Navy corpsman were being held in the brig at Camp Pendleton, California, will include kidnapping, murder, conspiracy, larceny, and making false official statements.

Some of those charges will be filed against all eight of the U.S. service members, including the seven Marines, one Navy corpsman, in relation to this late April incident. Again, this has been under investigation since local officials in the town of Hamdania complained about an injustice, in this case.

And criminal investigators immediately began looking into it. The marines and corpsmen have been held in pretrial confinement, and today, they're learning their fate. They will face these charges, but they will still have to go through the military justice system, in which case they'll have a chance to present evidence and tell their side of the story -- Colleen?

MCEDWARDS: And Jamie, how long will that process take to play out?

MCINTYRE: Well, the next step will be what's called an Article 32 hearing. That's where -- it's the military equivalent of a civilian grand jury. And that will determine whether the cases go to court-martial. And if the charges include premeditated murder, then there could be a possible death penalty involved. Otherwise, the maximum penalty would be life in prison.

MCEDWARDS: Very serious charges. Jamie McIntyre, thanks -- Michael?

HOLMES: OK. The U.S. military warns that southern Afghanistan will experience a surge in heavy fighting before NATO forces take control of the region. That will happen later this summer. The warning comes after coalition and Afghan forces say they killed 20 Taliban militants during a raid.

More than 10,000 U.S., Afghan and coalition troops are trying to crush the Taliban insurgency in the south. It is an area where the government does not have a significant presence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. TOM COLLINS, COALITION FORCES SPOKESMAN: Again, there's going to be a lot of fighting. There's going to be a lot of activity. But by the end of the summer, you will have significantly more troops down there as NATO progresses into the area. And the Taliban is ultimately going to lose in that area. They will never, ever take Kabul. They will not topple this government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, they are in control of other parts of the country. To discuss whether the offense agains the Taliban ultimately will be successful, let's go now to Washington and Said Jawad. He is the Afghan ambassador to the United States.

Mr. Ambassador, thanks for your time.

SAID JAWAD, AFGHAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: You're welcome.

HOLMES: I'm curious that the Taliban really has not been stronger since the war began in 2001, despite the presence of tens of thousands of coalition troops. Why is that?

JAWAD: Well, what you're seeing is a spike in terrorist activities due to the fact that NATO is phasing in. And since the political process is being successful in Afghanistan, then Taliban are trying very hard, actually, to show their presence.

And right now, with a massive military operation under way, we are sure that there will be a serious blow to the Taliban. That military operation is also accompanied with measures to enhance the capacity of the Afghan government, to deliver services, and to be present. One reason for the strength of the Taliban is that we were not provided adequate resources to be present at a district level, at a provincial level, to defend people.

HOLMES: You mentioned the success of a political process. Certainly on some levels, there has been success. But, I mean, the truth of the matter is the government of President Hamid Karzai has never looked weaker. It controls really only the towns and generally during daylight hours only.

JAWAD: That's not true. We are facing security challenges in five provinces, mostly in outlying areas. But the political process, the participation of the Afghan people, the formation of the parliament, they're all being in place.

What we need to do is to enhance the formation of the national institutions in Afghanistan, especially the security institutions, such as the Afghan national police force, to deliver services and to be able to protect the Afghan people on the countryside.

HOLMES: But it's been nearly five years since the U.S. invasion and the ousting of the Taliban. Are you surprised that the situation still is so precarious in much of the country, that there still is so much violence?

JAWAD: As I mentioned, adequate resources were not allocated to build the capacity of the Afghan security institution, especially the police force. And that military operation also entails specific measures to enhance the capacity of the Afghan government.

It is a global war against terror. There are many other factors that are being contributed to the increased terrorist activities, the war in Iraq, the continued presence of the training camp outside Afghanistan. So there's a combination of manufacturers. It's not only actually the shortcoming on the part of the Afghan government. There are many reasons why the Taliban could not completely be defeated.

HOLMES: Do you think that the militias that seems to operate fairly easily in the south are going to make things very difficult for NATO forces in the months ahead?

JAWAD: They will Friday their utmost. We are sure that NATO is really committed. They would like to test the commitment and the capability of NATO, and I think this is a mission that NATO cannot fail. And if there is a serious blow to the Taliban during this summer, it will make it very difficult for them to come back or to be a political force in Afghanistan.

HOLMES: One other thing aside from the politics, although it is linked with politics, I suppose, is that many Afghans are complaining of a massive rise in criminal activity, almost mafia-style activity, much of it funded by drugs, the opium trade, and also corruption at certain levels of government.

JAWAD: This is true. And it has to do with lack of strong national institutions. The criminal activities that take place is because of the lack of strong police to be present at every level. The corruption, it's like many other post-conflict countries, like many other developing countries.

The resources to recruit qualified people as chief of police or even as a government official is very limited for us. Therefore, the problem of the corruption has to do more with training of qualified people, lack of human capital, but also for having better resources to recruit more qualified people to do the job at different levels.

HOLMES: All right, Ambassador. Thanks so much for your time. Ambassador Said Jawad, the Afghan ambassador to the United States. I hope the next few years are more successful. Thank you.

JAWAD: Thank you.

HOLMES: OK. We're going to check the U.S. headlines next for viewers in the United States.

MCEDWARDS: And the rest of us are going to check in on the World Cup.

And later, we're going to take you back to Iraq, and we're going to talk about what life is like inside the green zone, a pretty startling look at what's going on there. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

We are learning new details about charges expected today against eight U.S. troops. They're accused of killing an Iraqi civilian. Senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre joins us with an update -- Jamie?

MCINTYRE: Well, Daryn, the allegations date back to April when several seven U.S. marines, one Navy corpsman were accused of dragging a Iraqi man from his home and shooting him, and then planting an AK-47 and a shovel next to him to make it appear that he was a roadside bomber, an insurgent.

Those seven marines and one Navy corpsman have been the brig at Camp Pendleton, California, awaiting the possible charges against them. Today, we're told all eight will be charged, according to a Pentagon official familiar with the results of the investigation.

The charges will include, we're told, kidnapping, murder, conspiracy, larceny, and making false official statements. If the murder charge is premeditated, it could carry a potential death penalty. Otherwise, the maximum penalty could be life in prison. But the charges will now go to what's called an Article 32 hearing to decide if there's enough evidence against the accused to proceed to court martial -- Daryn?

KAGAN: Jamie McIntyre. Thank you.

And get ready to go. The Pentagon orders about 21,000 fresh soldiers and marines to Iraq. The military says the deployment is not an increase in U.S. troops levels. The four combat brigades will replace troops who are coming home. The Pentagon says the assignments could change depending on the situation in Iraq. There are currently about 127,000 U.S. troops deployed there.

First, a sex scandal, and now a deadly shootout rocking a Florida prison. According to the FBI, it went down like this. Federal agents had arrived to arrest six guards at the federal prison in Tallahassee this morning when one of the guards opened fired. The agents fired back. When it was all over, the gunmen and one of the agents were dead. A prison official was wounded. The guards were being arrested for allegedly giving female inmates drugs in exchange for sex.

Renewal of the landmark Voting Rights Act has been postponed. GOP leaders in the House delayed that vote today under pressure by members from southern states. The 1965 legislation ended racist policies that kept African-Americans from voting. Both parties strongly support renewal of the bill, but representatives from nine southern states want Congress to ease federal oversight of their voting rules.

Wildfires are still on the move across parts of the west this hour. Major blazes are burning in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and California. One of the major hot spots, Sedona, Arizona, hundreds of home are threatened by a blaze that is now in its fourth day. The fire has burned more than 1,800 acres and right now is only about 5 percent contained.

In neighboring California, huge clouds of smoke from a 10,000- acre fire filled the sky. It's about 45 miles east of Santa Maria. So far, no homes are threatened there.

And in Colorado, this big one sparked by lightning is burning about 150 miles south of Denver. Almost 9,000 acres are scorched, nearly 300 homes evacuated.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: Falling grades for 23 states. Report cards are just in on school nutrition. A nonprofit group rating states on food and drink sold in vending machines, school stores and fundraisers. The highest grade, an A-minus, went to Kentucky. Bottled water and dried fruit take the place of soda and snack cakes in vending machines there.

More on that Tallahassee prison shooting, ahead on "LIVE FROM." Meanwhile, YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after a quick break. I'm Daryn Kagan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back, everyone, to YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Michael Holmes.

MCEDWARDS: And I'm Colleen McEdwards. Here are some of the top stories that we're following for you right now.

During a one-day summit between the United States and Europe, U.S. President George W. Bush said the international community is united against Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. He says that Europe and the U.S. are committed to resolving this stand-off diplomatically. Mr. Bush also said he agrees with European leaders on closing down the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, but not until some legal issues have been resolved.

HOLMES: U.S. President Bush says North Korea should respect what he calls its previous agreements on missile testing. He's warning North Korea of further isolation if it test-fires a missile that is technically capable of reaching the United States. Some observers believe Washington could use the launch to test its own missile defense system.

MCEDWARDS: One of the Saddam Hussein's attorney has been found shot dead in Baghdad. A fellow lawyer says Khamees al-Ubaida was abducted by insurgents who were dressed as Iraqi police. He is the third member of the Hussein's defense team to have been killed.

HOLMES: U.S. military investigators have announced charges concerning an incident in which U.S. troops are accused of killing an Iraqi civilian in Hamdaniya. An official says all eight of the military personnel will be charged with murder, kidnapping, conspiracy, larceny and making false statements.

MCEDWARDS: Well, Egypt is faced with a political controversy, this one coming in the form of art. It's a movie, to be specific.

HOLMES: That's right. It's a groundbreaking film, and it is bringing previously taboo subjects into the forefront.

Here's Ben Wedeman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It had all the glitz and glamour of a Hollywood premiere: the opening of the most expensive Arab movie ever made. The "Yacoubian Building" a story of hope and despair in contemporary Egypt. The movie is based upon a novel by the same name, a bestseller in the Arab world.

(on camera): It's something of an accomplishment that this book was ever published in Egypt or this movie ever made. They both take a very dim view of what life has become in modern Egypt.

(voice-over): A sense of loss, anger and disappointment runs through both. The novel, centered on the residence of a once-elegant but now decayed building in central Cairo, a metaphor for Egypt today. The author, Alaa Al-Aswani, dentist by day, novelist by night, sees political repression at the root of Egypt's evils.

ALAA AL-ASWANI, AUTHOR: Our problem, our real problem, is the lack of democracy, you see. And every other thing like corruption, like (INAUDIBLE), are complications of (INAUDIBLE).

WEDEMAN: The movie is full of Egyptian megastars like Adel Imam, who says it's a shocking film full of shocks, and the glamorous Yousra, who says the movie breaks ground.

YOUSRA, EGYPTIAN ACTRESS: It's everything. It's democracy, it's corruption, it's everything. We're talking about everything. All the taboos we couldn't talk about before, we're talking in it through that film. And we're breaking...

WEDEMAN: The "Yacoubian Building" comes at a time of upheaval in this ancient land. Increasingly, Egyptians are speaking out, demanding change. And if the movie's frank treatment of issues such as religious extremism, sexual harassment and homosexuality ruffles feathers here, so be it, says the author.

AL-ASWANI: I believe that not only is something going wrong; everything, almost everything, is going wrong in this country. So if you -- if the movie is going to shock people, I will be very happy, because people must be shocked now.

WEDEMAN: And shocked Egyptians may well be when they see this grim portrayal of their proud country.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Cairo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCEDWARDS: And a programming note for you. Tomorrow on "INSIGHT," Jonathan Mann will be speaking with Jordan's King Abdullah. He's hosting a meeting with Nobel laureates talk about the problems facing the Middle East and the rest of the world. Jordanian intelligence was crucial in the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, under conditions that we still don't know a lot about. So peace in the Middle East and terrorism worldwide. That is coming up tomorrow on "INSIGHT" at the times shown right there on your screen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MCEDWARDS: Welcome back. We want to take you to Jerusalem now for a developing story that we are following. Israel says it has launched an airstrike against militants in Gaza, but it appears Israel may have hit the wrong target. Two people are dead; 10 people are wounded.

Paula Hancocks is standing by with much more on this.

And, Paula, this is not the first time this has happened just in the last couple weeks? PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Colleen, this has been happening with frightening regularity over the past couple weeks. This particular one this Wednesday evening, we have had confirmation by the Israeli Defense Forces that they did launch a missile attack. It's believed they were aiming at a car which al Aqsa Martyr's Brigade militants inside. But as you say, it does appear as though that went horribly wrong. And it does appear as though one brother and his pregnant sister have been killed. That's what we're hearing from Palestinian medical sources. Also we know that 10 others have been injured. This is in Kanyunis (ph), which is just to the south, in the south part of the Gaza Strip, and we know that of those 10 wounded four of those are children.

Now as you say, this has been happening a lot over the last couple weeks. Israel has been stepping up its missile attacks on targets, militants in Gaza, and that's since, they say, Palestinian militants have been stepping up their attacks and sending more Kessams, or homemade rockets, from northern Gaza into Israeli cities.

MCEDWARDS: Paula, what's the reaction been like inside Israel? What are people saying now that this is happening so frequently?

HANCOCKS: Well, there's not a huge amount of love loss between many of the politicians, between the Israelis and the Palestinians. But for the Israeli people, when they say -- see images as we did on June 9th, when seven people were killed on a Gaza beach, and they see the images of that particular young girl, where many of her members of family were killed during that particular attack, which has not been proven to be Palestinian or Israeli at the moment.

But when you see pictures like that, the Israeli public do start to feel upset, whether it is Palestinian or Israeli civilians that are being killed, especially because in the last couple weeks, there have been a tremendous amount of children that have been within these casualties themselves.

Now interestingly the Israeli media as well, there's been a slight change in tactic. Channel 2, one of the main media channels over here, has said this evening there has been another targeted assassination, and it does appear it has gone wrong again, and there has been more civilians killed. So a slight change in tact from the media, and also inevitably when you see children killed on either side, either side of the public is going to be affected by that.

MCEDWARDS: Yes, it's horrible. And then how do the politicians tend to react? Is that changing at all. I mean, you expect after this mishap, do you expect government officials to come out, take ownership? Apologize? Or do they just clamp down and not say anything more about it?

HANCOCKS: Well, on these particular occasions, we don't have an immediate reaction from the politicians themselves. You do from the military, and they confirm whether or not they were in the area at that point. And the Israeli Defense Forces say they did carry out this missile attack. Now on the Palestinian side, we've been hearing from the Prime Minister Ismael Haniya (ph). On Tuesday, after there was a similar attack, a missile attack, which hit a car that had militants in, but witnesses say the militants got out in time and three children were killed in that particular attack as well. Now on the Israeli side, there has been one foreign spokesman on Tuesday saying that this is necessary, the fact that there are so many Palestinian militants sending Kessams, homemade rockets, from northern Gaza into Israel; even though these don't wound many people or kill many people, this is still an attack they're retaliating to.

MCEDWARDS: Understood. Paula Hancocks for us in Jerusalem. Thanks for that -- Michael.

HOLMES: All right. A search-and-rescue operation is under way after three days of heavy rain in Indonesia's South Suluesi (ph) province. Floods and landslides have killed at least 112 people, destroyed at least 31 homes, some 22 people reported missing.

Jonathan Mann with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN MANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hundreds have flocked to hospitals in Indonesia's South Suluesi province to look for missing relatives. One of them, a man who said he was swept out to sea for nine. His wife and two sons were still missing. His promise, while waiting at Sinjai (ph) hospital morgue, I will stay here until I can find them, dead or alive. Some villagers were picking through debris to reach the bodies. Others used blankets to carry the dead. Heavy rain and slides are normal in tropical Indonesia, but one Indonesian official suggested that deforestation makes it easier for hillsides to saturate with rain and collapse.

"There were very heavy rains," he said, and the forest has been depleted, so the waters rode rapidly. The social affairs ministry says that medical staff is being flown in, along with medicine blankets and body bags. Local social welfare offices will also distribute 100 tons of rice to affected areas. The region is about 1600 kilometers northeast of Indonesia's capital Jakarta. Each year the flood season gets dozens of landslides and flash floods, in a region where millions live near fertile flood plains.

This latest disaster follows similar tragedies this year. Monsoon rains typically peak in January, but in April floods and landslides killed at least 23 people in East Java. In January, floods killed more than a dozen people on other islands, while more some 150 people died in two separate landslides on Java itself.

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HOLMES: That was Jonathan Mann reporting there.

Now coming up on YOUR WORLD TODAY, mother always said to mind your manners.

MCEDWARDS: Did your mother?

HOLMES: She did.

MCEDWARDS: Mine too.

Well, was Hong Kong listening here? We're going to take a very polite look at how it fared in a survey of the world's most courteous cities. Did your city make it? stay tuned.

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MCEDWARDS: OK. It is time to take a look at our "Inbox."

HOLMES: That's right. The question today has been this: How concerned are you about a North Korean missile test? Now, here's how a couple of you replied.

MCEDWARDS: Cyril from the U.K. writes, "I think the U.S. is continuing its double standard. It is simply saying it's OK for me to have a gun, but I will stop anyone else from having one."

Chris Novy in Oklahoma City says, "North Korea is just posturing. What really concerns me is that the U.S. might overreact and force another war.

MCEDWARDS: Thank you for your responses. Keep them coming.

HOLMES: Indeed, yes. Now, I know your manners are absolutely impeccable.

MCEDWARDS: I try.

HOLMES: What do you think of the manners of others, though?

MCEDWARDS: Well, the magazine "Reader's Digest" took up some of those questions. It went looking for courtesy in 35 cities all around the world.

HOLMES: Now, it might be surprise you to find -- wait for it -- New York came top of the list as the most courteous city in the world.

MCEDWARDS: Zurich came in second.

HOLMES: Followed by Toronto. Colleen is delighted about that.

MCEDWARDS: Former hometown of mine where people are most polite, I can say. Well, the magazine also looked at which cities offended people the most.

HOLMES: Yes, take a look at this. Languishing at the bottom of the list as the least courteous cities, Mumbai, Bucharest.

MCEDWARDS: And also Kuala Lumpur, right there on the bottom.

HOLMES: Yes, and digest this: That "Reader's Digest" survey found that Asia, generally speaking, was the rudest continent. I was in Singapore last week. They were very nice.

MCEDWARDS: Well see? We can maybe challenge some of the results here. Eight out of nine cities tested there, though, finished in the bottom 11.

For more on the survey, let's go to the magazine's international editor -- editorial director, I should say, Conrad Kiechel.

CONRAD KIECHEL, "READER'S DIGEST": Thank you.

MCEDWARDS: He joins us from New York, a city that got top marks for courtesy as we said.

Conrad, thanks very much for joining us. I hope you didn't drop a pen or drop a newspaper on your way there in New York. But one of the big shocks ...

KIECHEL: Everybody is very courteous here.

MCEDWARDS: Right. One of the big shocks is that New York came out on top. Everybody think it's the in your face city. How did this happen?

KIECHEL: Yes, well, this a -- you know, it's an interesting result. A lot of people have been talking about it but, you know, you mentioned in the lead-in, we did these tests in 35 cities, the most populous cities of all the places "Reader's Digest" publishes the magazine, and basically applied the same test across the board. We wanted to find out if courtesy was alive and well and living, and we found it in a lot of places, including in New York.

HOLMES: I've got a question for you. First of all, tell us what the worst city was, and then tell us how did you decide on what was polite and what wasn't?

KIECHEL: Right. Well, we basically came up -- the editors of the "Reader's Digest" around the world came up with what we thought were going to be a good set of tests of courtesy. We had three things. We basically went through doorways to see if the people in front of us would hold the doors open.

We sent our undercover reporters out to basically drop papers accidentally to see whether people would help them pick them up, and we did a small purchase in a store and see if people said thank you. And we tallied up those results and basically that's how we came up with our rankings.

MCEDWARDS: It's a little unscientific, I think you yourselves admit, but it's interesting. You know, what -- does it say anything about us culturally? I mean, why, for example, people are going to wonder, did Asian cities, generally speaking, fare so badly?

KIECHEL: Well, the results speak for themselves. I would point out that when we came up with this test, our editors around the world, including those in Asia, agreed that these were good tests of common courtesy. One thing I would say, you mentioned in both the lead-in and just now, we're getting a lot of discussions in places like Asia where there already had been discussion about manners, and I got an e-mail from our editor in Bucharest, Romania, where, as you mentioned, they were, you know, second from the bottom of the list. And people are talking about manners and whether they have enough courtesy. It's a good conversation for folks to have anyplace in the world.

HOLMES: Now, be honest, did you really think that New York would top the list?

KIECHEL: I'm not a native New Yorker, but actually I've come from Washington, D.C. and my family is from Nebraska originally, but I will say that New Yorkers -- I think it's time for people to reevaluate the stereotype that people have of New Yorkers being rude, especially after 9/11. And we hear that from visitors from all over the world that come here, the people are nice, nicer maybe than they have ever been.

MCEDWARDS: All right. Conrad Kiechel, we have got to leave it there. But thank you very much for bring ...

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KIECHEL: Well, thank you.

HOLMES: Try to be as polite as possible.

MCEDWARDS: You know, he's right though. It's a great conversation to have.

HOLMES: It is.

MCEDWARDS: Because people complain there's so much rudeness in our culture now. So if people are talking about it a bit, maybe that's good. You and I are.

HOLMES: I noticed that. Well, your city got in there. My city, Sydney, didn't get in there so ...

MCEDWARDS: I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

HOLMES: All right, OK.

Environmentalists in Hawaii celebrating an unexpected move from the White House.

MCEDWARDS: That's right. The northwestern Hawaiian Islands now have a new status, and that is thanks to U.S. President George W. Bush.

HOLMES: Yes. Guillermo Arduino joins us now for the weekly "Changing Earth" segment. Hello, good to see you.

GUILLERMO ARDUINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, good to see you too. You know, this was the case of out of sight, out of mind, but not anymore. It's considered also a honeymooners' paradise. The Hawaiian Islands have been regarded as just as popular tourist destination, and that is until President George W. Bush.

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GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To put this area in context, this national monument is more than 100 times larger than Yosemite National Park.

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ARDUINO: Or larger than 46 of the U.S. 50 states. This is a big deal. The Bush administration took a serious step to protect the environment, and last week these Hawaiian Islands became the 75th national monument. It essentially means ecological protection from commercial interests.

So in five years, the 1,400 mile long spread of islands will no longer serve as grounds for fishing, an industry that believes the U.S. president's decision is excessive.

In an e-mail to CNN, a commercial fisher in the area since 1983 states that her company fishes in deep waters, miles away from the reef and never anchor on live coral. If fishing is banned, it will be detrimental to local traditions, she says.

Now, conservationists are highly concerned about fishing. Hawaii's coral reefs are home to many endangered species like the green sea turtle and Hawaiian monk seal. There are more than 7,000 different kinds of marine life in the Hawaiian archipelago. And this kind of protection is considered a bold move by a U.S. administration who in the past have been criticized for supporting only business interests.

HOLMES: All right. Thanks very much, Guillermo.

MCEDWARDS: We appreciate it.

HOLMES: OK, don't go away. We've got to go, but we'll be back after the break for our international audience, and the U.S. will rejoin with LIVE FROM.

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