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Your World Today
Kidnapped Journalists in Gaza Appear on Video; Civilians in Mideast Piecing Back Shattered Lives; Interview With Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi
Aired August 23, 2006 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: They're alive. Journalists for an American television network kidnapped in Gaza appear in a video and say they're being well treated.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Life in the ruins. Lebanese take stock of the destruction and try to rebuild their lives. We'll show you the scene through some very young eyes.
QUEST: The path to terror. Just how did Osama bin Laden become the world's most wanted man?
MCEDWARDS: And a Hollywood romance gone sour. Why did Paramount Pictures dump its biggest star, Tom Cruise?
QUEST: Hello, and welcome to our report. We're broadcasting around the globe.
I'm Richard Quest.
MCEDWARDS: And I'm Colleen McEdwards.
From Gaza to Beirut, Baghdad to Los Angeles, wherever you're watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
Now, over the next 60 minutes, looking back on lives lost.
MCEDWARDS: Looking ahead, as well, to starting over from the rubble.
QUEST: And looking at how to keep it all from happening again. There's a lot going on in the aftermath of the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
MCEDWARDS: In just a moment we are going to speak with Italy's prime minister about the situation. Richard is going to have that and the many questions on his country's role in a peacekeeping force.
QUEST: I think the key thing we want to know is -- or we're going to try to find out from Prime Minister Prodi is when the troops are going to arrive and what more needs to be done.
MCEDWARDS: Yes. Define the mandate.
QUEST: Define the mandate.
MCEDWARDS: You'll get that for us.
QUEST: Well, we hope to. We'll be trying to define the mandate with Prime Minister Prodi in just a moment.
MCEDWARDS: But first to Gaza and the first video seen of two journalists for an American network who are being held captive there. Certainly the relatives of the journalists, Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig, are breathing a sigh of relief, I'm sure.
In a video aired on Ramattan Television, the men appear to be in good health, but the demands for the release are certainly cause for concern here.
Let's get more details on this developing story.
Paula Hancocks joins us now live with more -- Paula.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Colleen.
Well, this is the first sign of these two journalists that we have seen for the past nine days. This is the 10th day since they have been kidnapped. August 14th they were taken from the center of Gaza City.
And the group that is claiming responsibility is the Holy Jihad Brigades. Now, this is a previously unheard of group, and they are demanding all Muslim prisoners to be released from jails of America within the next 72 hours, within the next three days.
They said if this is not happening, then they will have to wait. No further indication on what will happen.
But we have seen the first indication that the two are alive. And they do look well, 36-six-year-old cameraman from New Zealand, Olaf Wiig, and also 60-year-old American reporter Steve Centanni.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE CENTANNI, FOX NEWS JOURNALIST: We're alive and well, in fairly good health. We get lots of clean water, food every day, access to the bathroom, shower, clean clothes, and our captors are treating us well.
OLAF WIIG, FOX NEWS CAMERAMAN: But if you could apply any political pressure on the local government here in Gaza and the West Bank, that would be much appreciated by both Steve and myself. I know, Anita (ph), that you will already be doing that.
To my family, I love you all. Please don't worry. I'll do all the worrying for us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANCOCKS: Now, this is the longest that journalists have been held for after being kidnapped in Gaza. In the past couple of years, there have been many kidnappings, 26 foreigners at least have been taken, at least nine of them from the media. But usually they are released within hours, or at the most within days.
Now, also, these demands are very different from what we usually hear. Usually, they are -- the captors ask for money, they ask for jobs, or they ask for prisoner exchanges. But they prisoner exchanges are Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. So this is the first time that we have heard from Gaza a demand for this kind of prisoner exchange, all Muslim prisoners from American jails.
MCEDWARDS: So, Paula, how much more then is known about this group, if anything at all?
HANCOCKS: Well, nothing is known about them at this point. They haven't been heard of before this point.
The Holy Jihad Brigades, it's the first time that we're hearing from them, the first time that our sources in Gaza are hearing from them. So it could either be a splinter group from one of the larger militant groups. But all those militant groups in Gaza denied involvement in this kidnapping right from the outset, right from when we first heard the abduction had taken place. Or they could just be a second group altogether.
Now, it is unusual that they were able to keep their identity secret for so long and the location secret for so long. It's such a densely populated, intimate place in Gaza, it's very difficult to keep a secret -- Colleen.
MCEDWARDS: Paula Hancocks in Jerusalem.
Thanks very much. Appreciate it -- Richard.
QUEST: To southern Lebanon now, where U.N. troops are waiting for reinforcements that will help them maintain a fragile truce. All the while, civilians are trying to rebuild their broken lives. Some victims are simply too young to understand why exactly their homes are in ruins and why they may never see some friends and neighbors again.
CNN's Jim Clancy is in Marjayoun and he helps us look at the war, this time through the eyes of a child.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The two small tents, one packed with toys, were suitable for backyard camping, but the front patio is all the Yassin family could clear. Ali wears a nice welt under one eye from a misstep in the rubble, but 5-year-old Mehdi is unfazed, eager to try out his English and tour guide skills on TV.
First stop, of course, the bomb craters.
MEHDI YASSIN, LEBANESE RESIDENT: Here's two. One here and one there. Come see the house.
CLANCY: Checking with his father, Mehdi scampers onwards and upwards. He's got to leap over some debris and then negotiate past the twisted metal of what was the front door. It's hazardous, no doubt.
YASSIN: Come to the house.
CLANCY: But Mehdi's mother and father, still in shock over the predicament, say they're trying to pretend everything is just fine in front of the boys.
Two-year-old Ali isn't allowed to wander. Upstairs, Mehdi tries to show us how everything was before the bombs.
YASSIN: Here. This, it was here. Here -- and on this. Look at this toy for us.
CLANCY: He does a little dusting as well. Mehdi's family fled before the air strike. His father showed the boys pictures of their destroyed home before they came back to prepare them for what they would see.
YASSIN: Come to my room. Come to my room.
CLANCY: Mehdi's main attraction, his room, of course. It's on the top floor and requires climbing over shattered doors and furniture. By the time we reach the roof, there's a chance to pause and ponder.
YASSIN: What happened? Look what happened.
CLANCY: What happened is all too obvious in Mehdi's bedroom. It's a physical and emotional balancing act no child needs.
YASSIN: Look. And this, for me.
CLANCY: Whoops. Mehdi's mother has had enough of this tour. But while we're up here...
YASSIN: See from here what they make. If you want to take a picture down, look.
CLANCY: Five-year-old Mehdi was pretty sure he could go longer. After all, these days there's so much to see in his neighborhood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCEDWARDS: And that report again from Jim Clancy.
Well, the commander of U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon says the cease-fire is very fragile and dangerous. And that just underscores the urgent need for the thousands of additional troops that the U.N. has pledged. European Union diplomats are meeting in Brussels today to talk about possible contributions to that force.
Jim Bittermann explains why many are adamant on having clear rules of engagement.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): 1982, 24 years ago this week, 2,000 Italian, French and American troops were sent to Lebanon under U.N. orders to supervise the withdrawal of Israeli, Syrian and Palestinian forces there. A goal they never reached.
Their mission came to an abrupt end 14 months later, when near- simultaneous truck bombings killed nearly 300 American and French soldiers. Hezbollah was blamed for the attack. And military men said the mission failed because its mandate was never clear enough.
Ten years later, 1992, French and other European peacekeeping troops under U.N. flags stood by helplessly as Serbian militias attacked Bosnian civilians. According to officials at the time, weak rules of engagement were part of the reason.
So, with an international force once again being assembled, it's perhaps not surprising that officials in the countries expected to provide the bulk of the troops are reluctant to make exact commitments until the U.N. provides a more precise mandate for the mission, the rules, and a composition of the force.
DENIS SIMONEAU, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN: What should we do under each rules, especially rules of engagement, rules of command? And it's a discussion which is under process in New York, and between the different capitals.
BITTERMANN: Italy, which in those discussions offered to lead the beefed-up U.N. force and volunteered as many as 3,000 troops, also is waiting for what its prime minister called clear and definite ground rules.
With 15,000 Lebanese troops already deploying to maintain a cease-fire so fragile it could fall apart at any time, France in particular seems sensitive to the charges of foot dragging. But no one seems willing to rush off on an undertaking which will be risky, at best.
Raised expectations that the French government was immediately going to add thousands of boots on the ground to it contingent of 400 troops already in Lebanon, were, according to observers here, a mistake.
GUILLAUME PARMENTIER, FRENCH INSTITUTE, FOREIGN RELATIONS: Whether this is due to the summer holiday or whether this is due to lack of communication between the diplomatic and military sides of the French government, probably a little of both, but clearly there's been a mix-up. And this has to be addressed because it's a matter of credibility for France in this region.
BITTERMANN (on camera): From the crusades, to Napoleon, to the present day, the French have been involved militarily in the Middle East. But there seems little interest in putting any further troops in harm's way right now unless there's a clear mission with a reasonable chance of success.
Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris. (END VIDEOTAPE)
MCEDWARDS: Well, the chilling evolution of one of the world's most dangerous men.
QUEST: Now, when we return with YOUR WORLD TODAY, join us as we enter the mind of Osama bin Laden and one of the men who walked with him.
MCEDWARDS: And the ball is in the international court, so to speak. What will be their next step in the nuclear dispute with Iran?
QUEST: Also, Tom Cruise, a real life "Mission Impossible" or simply a man gone off the rails? The rumors are flying, but we've got the real scoop on CNN.
We continue in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Welcome back to CNN International on this day.
MCEDWARDS: You're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY, of course, where we bring viewers around the globe up to speed on all of the important international stories of the day.
"May god blind them all." That was the courtroom curse that was hurled by a Kurdish mother at Saddam Hussein and six codefendants. On the witness stand she described the poison gas attack 18 years ago and its affect on her daughter who died three months later.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): She said, "I've got pain in my eye and in my stomach." I wanted to check what was wrong with her. She was vomiting. I found all my children were vomiting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCEDWARDS: This was the third day of the former Iraqi leader's trial for genocide in connection with a government offensive against Kurdish villages in northern Iraq. This trial has now been adjourned. It will pick up again on September 11th.
QUEST: There's a new report out by the British think tank Chatham House. It makes interesting reading, because it says Iran has been the chief beneficiary of the United States war on terror.
The study says Tehran has gained a significant level of influence by filling the political vacuum that was left by the Taliban in Afghanistan and by Saddam Hussein in Iraq. It says Iran has superseded the U.S. as the most influential power in Iraq and that Iran's power will continue to grow unless stability is restored to the region.
Interestingly, it also says Israel's conflict with the Palestinians and in Lebanon has helped put Iran in a position of considerable strength in the region.
MCEDWARDS: Well, as the five-year anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks approaches, CNN has asked some 1,000 people if they believe the al Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, is planning another significant attack against the United States. And here's what we found.
Nearly three-fourths, or 74 percent, of those responding say yes, they do believe an attack is being planned. However, 44 percent of that group say they believe he will not succeed, and some 58 percent say it is either very likely or somewhat likely that the United States will be able to capture or kill bin Laden.
That number has dropped from past years. Maybe that's interesting.
In 2004, 66 percent of poll respondents said that they believed it was likely, and in 2001, look at this, the number was 76 percent then.
QUEST: Three years before the September 11th attacks, Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network targeted U.S. interests in East Africa.
CNN's chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, has traced the beginnings of bin Laden's holy war against the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Two American embassies, two truck bombs. Two terrorist attacks just nine minutes apart in neighboring countries along the coast, Kenya and Tanzania.
More than 200 dead. More than 4,000 injured.
Who was behind this carnage, and why?
GARY BERNTSEN, FMR. CIA OFFICER: We get their faces torn off the building. It looks like a tornado has gone through and sucked every piece of furniture out of every room and into the hallways.
AMANPOUR: Within eight days there were leads and suspects and a stunning realization. Osama bin Laden had lived up to his threat. His al Qaeda terrorists had just struck their first direct blows in their holy war against the United States. The attacks were carefully planned.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Ali Mohammed (ph).
AMANPOUR: This man, Ali Mohammed (ph), was no ordinary al Qaeda operative. He married a Californian in 1985 and became an American citizen. He joined the U.S. Army and eventually would help train U.S. Special Forces.
He appears here on a military panel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fundamentalists, it means, are the people who try to establish an Islamic state based on the Islamic Sharia.
AMANPOUR: In 1988, still serving in the U.S. Army, Ali Mohammed (ph) made an unauthorized trip to Afghanistan. He joined the war against the Russians being fought by Afghan militias and mujahedeen like Osama bin Laden. Yet, the very next year, he received an honorable discharge from the U.S. military.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM EXPERT: Ali Mohammed (ph) is a pretty interesting character, sort of like a double agent. And the same time that he was a U.S. Army sergeant and actually working at Special Forces headquarters at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, he was also intimately involved with al Qaeda, training bin Laden's bodyguards.
DAN COLEMAN, FMR. FBI AGENT: Ali Mohammed (ph) had done what they call casing of the American Embassy in Nairobi in December of 1993. A five-year span between casing and operation.
AMANPOUR: And listen to what Ali Mohammed (ph) said in a U.S. court.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My surveillance files and photographs were reviewed by Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden looked at the picture of the American Embassy and pointed to where a truck could go as a suicide bomber.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Tonight, viewers in North America can tune into our two- hour special, "CNN PRESENTS: In the footsteps of bin Laden." That's at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific.
And our international viewers can tune in worldwide on Thursday at 12:00 GMT, 14:00 Central European Time.
Italy says both the Lebanese and Israeli governments have contacted it about leading the expanded U.N. force. And Italy says it is willing to accept the lead role if the mandate and the mission are defined.
Joining me now on the line is the Italian prime minister, Romano Prodi. He joins us from Tuscany.
Good morning to you, Prime Minister.
Prime Minister, when do you actually hope to get Italian troops on the ground in the region?
ROMANO PRODI, ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER: You know, we depend upon the decision of the United Nations. We are simply preparing ourselves for the mission. If needed and if decided, we shall be ready to start in a short time, really, because we are also geographically close to Lebanon.
QUEST: You see, the problem, Prime Minister, is no one is sure what has to happen next. What are you waiting for? Do you require a fresh mandate? Do you require further assurances, either from Hezbollah or Israel, about the troops safety?
PRODI: No, the mandate is good. The mandate is robust, as you can say in -- let's say in technical terms. And there is a guarantee that the U.N.-led troops can do a strong action, different from what happened in the past.
Simply, we are awaiting the decision of the secretary of the United Nations, who, with the (INAUDIBLE), with the ministers, holy (ph) ministers of the European Union.
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: But isn't the problem here -- and forgive me, Prime Minister. We have much ground to cover in short time. Isn't the problem here that whilst there's talking, whether it's the secretary- general, within the European Union, whichever forum it's talking, the cease-fire and the fragility of the cease-fire becomes ever more intense?
PRODI: You're fright. This is why I think that it's urgent, the decision.
I am simply telling you it is not up to me. I simply -- my duty is to prepare the Italian troops, and we are doing that. We are doing that, and, you know, I think that we -- it's urgent that you arrive there, because the cease-fire will be -- will be, you know, efficient only when the troops will arrive.
QUEST: Right.
Do you require further assurances from the Israeli government that any troops will not become targets, even if Israel is implementing its so-called right to defend?
PRODI: No, no, the Israeli government told that they will withdraw only when the international troops would come. And I trust the statement. You know? And so, I know that when the troops will arrive, the Israeli army will give the ground to them.
QUEST: Prime Minister, you have been bold in leadership. You've offered to lead this 15,000...
PRODI: No, no, no. I didn't offer. I am accepting if given, you know...
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: All right. You're agreeing that Italy will lead the force?
PRODI: It's not a beauty contest, please.
QUEST: OK. But do you not fear that you could end up getting your troops bogged down in a quagmire in southern Lebanon from which unless it has a better mandate than the existing UNIFIL, has no easy escape? PRODI: No. You know, this is the reason why I won't guarantee. I want an initial engagement, you know? And I repeat it to the U.N. secretary, insisting not only on European engagement, but also I told him, "Look at the countries belonging to the Security Council. They must give help and not political endorsement, but also troops, because the Security Council is there for security."
QUEST: Prime Minister, many thanks indeed for joining us.
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi joining us there.
As we continue our gallop around YOUR WORLD TODAY...
MCEDWARDS: We're actually going to be talking about a shortage in key posts in Iraq and Afghanistan and how this is affecting combat duty for U.S. Marines. Some of them getting a little bit they didn't expect.
QUEST: Signs of the times. A collective experience of America's freshman class. Look, if you're -- if you're the wrong side of 40, you might choose to make a cup of tea at this particular -- when we get to that story.
But we're back in a minute.
MCEDWARDS: We'll be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: 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.
We begin with the group holding two journalists hostage. They have released video of the men this morning. FOX News Correspondent Steve Centanni and his freelance cameraman, Olaf Wiig, were abducted last week in Gaza City. They say they are in fairly good condition and they are being treated well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLAF WIIG, FOX NEWS CAMERAMAN: To my family, I love you all. Please don't worry. I'll do all the worrying for us.
And -- and (INAUDIBLE) soon.
STEVE CENTANNI, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: We love you all and we want to go home. Hope to see you soon.
Thanks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: A leaflet accompanying the video purportedly from the men's captors says the two will be freed when Muslims prisoners in the U.S. are released.
The latest now on that Northwest Airlines incident today in the skies over Europe. A government official says federal air marshals were on board the flight from Amsterdam to Mumbai, India. We're told the marshals observed suspicious activity just after takeoff. The pilot then returned to Amsterdam. Dutch authorities detained a dozen passengers after the plane landed. The flight has been rescheduled for tomorrow.
John Mark Karr, the man who claims he was with JonBenet Ramsey when she died, remains in a Los Angeles lock-up today. Boulder, Colorado officials haven't exactly rushed out to L.A. to pick him up, and there's no indication when they will. The head of Thai immigration tells CNN that Karr claims he had sex with JonBenet.
Then there's this story out of Virginia. His brother led police on a manhunt earlier this week. That left two people dead and Virginia Tech in lockdown. But Michael Morva claims he had no part in his brother William's violent escape from a hospital.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL MORVA, BROTHER OF ESCAPEE: My brother was the killer, all right? I didn't do anything. I'm not -- I wasn't a part of it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You didn't help plan it?
MORVA: No, I did not help plan it. I didn't do anything wrong. All right? The police came, knocked on my door at 3:00 in the morning when I was asleep, and woke me up and told me what had happened. I had nothing to do with it. This is wrong, this is wrong! You know? This is wrong. Why am I here?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: William Charles Morva was recaptured. He now faces murder charges. His brother Michael was charged with conspiring to help William get away.
Praises for the president from a New Orleans resident who towed his FEMA-like trailer to Washington, D.C. That's Hurricane Katrina survivor Rockey Vaccarella on your left part of your screen, and President Bush was with him to face cameras after a meeting in the Oval Office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROCKEY VACCARELLA, KATRINA SURVIVOR: And my mission was very simple. I wanted to thank President Bush for the millions of FEMA trailers that were brought down there. They gave roofs over people's head. People had the chance to have baths, air conditioning. We have TV, we have toiletry. We have things that are necessities that we can live upon.
But now I wanted to remind the president that the job is not done, and he knows that. And I just don't want the government and President Bush to forget about us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Vaccarella says he wishes President Bush had four more years in office.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: At the top of the hour on CNN's "LIVE FROM," there are new findings in the lab that could alter debate over stem cell research. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta will join us to talk about that with Kyra Phillips.
Meanwhile, YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after a quick break. I'm Daryn Kagan.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MCEDWARDS: Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN. I'm Colleen McEdwards.
QUEST: And I'm Richard Quest, and these are the top stories we're following around your world.
Ramattan Television has aired the first images of two journalists kidnapped in Gaza last week. Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig work for the Fox television news network, a U.S.-based network. The men were seated side by side, appeared to be in good health. They said they have been treated well, and told their families not to worry. A previously named group, the Holy Jihad Brigades, is demanding the U.S. release Muslim prisoners in its jails within 72 hours.
MCEDWARDS: Well, E.U. envoys meet Wednesday to talk about contributions to an international force for southern Lebanon. Italy said it would lead the mission and now says it is concerned that its troops may be vulnerable. Friday, E.U. foreign ministers hear from the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the precise rules of engagement, another controversial issue for the participating nations here. Now, the U.N. warns of a security vacuum until an international force is fully deployed.
QUEST: France says Iran must suspend uranium enrichment if it wants to return to the negotiating table. World powers are going over Iran's extensive response to the Western incentives package. Tehran has not said it would halt nuclear activities, but it did offer to continue talking. And the U.N. Security Council gave Tehran until August the 31th to suspend uranium enrichment, or face sanctions.
MCEDWARDS: Well, a little more on that now, Iran's response to this incentive package aimed at stopping its nuclear activities. On Tuesday, Iran handed what is said to be a complex response to the six nations behind the proposal, saying it was willing to resume talks immediately. But so far France says there will be no negotiations until Tehran suspends uranium enrichment.
Now the European Union and White House say they're carefully reviewing this response, and they will comment on it in just a few days here. China, meantime, is urging Iran to take constructive steps, while Russia says it will continue to seek a negotiated settlement.
QUEST: On Iran's call for what it calls serious negotiations concerning its nuclear program, correspondent Aneesh Raman is in Tehran.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The world wanted a simple answer from Iran. Instead it got this, a lengthy written reply. In it, Iran called for a new formula to end the crisis, called for serious negotiations to begin as soon as tomorrow. But most importantly, gave no sign it would stop its nuclear program by the end of the month.
This was Iran showing itself eager to restart dialogue; and, it seems, eager to change the world's focus. It's no accident that the most direct comments today came not about Iran's nuclear program, but about U.S. President Bush, from Iran's supreme leader.
The Ayatollah Khamenei was quoted as saying, "This person speaks as if he is the owner of Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, Syria, Iran and other Islamic countries. However, if the immense force of the nations is fielded, as took place in Lebanon, the arrogant will be humiliated." Khamenei made the comments with the country's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, sitting close by.
(on camera): Iran's response, of course, made big news around the world, but did it make big news here in Iran. Today was a day off for people, an auspicious Muslim holiday. They came here to the market to go about their business, and they did voice concern for what might come next.
(voice-over): Here, as the vendors hocked their fruits, as the people came to shop, the shop owners, like Amir, showed apprehension.
"Yes, sanctions will definitely have an impact on the market, on my business. People are afraid. They are anxious."
"We Iranians don't like to have crises," said Mashid (ph). "We are worried, but we don't make the decisions. We whatever decision is made that it ends well for our nation."
Most here support Iran's nuclear program whether it brings sanctions or not. But as their government shows no indication of scaling back its nuclear activities, the people of Iran can do little but prepare for the hardships that might come.
Aneesh Raman, CNN Tehran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCEDWARDS: Well, the U.S. marine corps announced Tuesday that it will call back to active duty as many as 2,500 marines. Since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, several thousand Army and Marine troops who were in the individual ready reserve, have been called to active duty. This is to fill critical wartime roles. Well, now the Marine Corps is doing it again.
More on this from CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Up to 2,500 Marines will be called up in the coming months for service in Iraq and Afghanistan. They'll get five months' notice and then have to report for a tour of 12 to 18 months, including time for a refresher training. The troops would be part of a deployment scheduled for next spring and summer. But the Marine Corps says volunteers from the reserves will be taken before anyone is called back involuntarily.
(SOUNDS)
MCINTYRE: The individual ready reserve is made up of Marines who are fulfilling their contractual obligation to the military after leaving active duty, usually an additional four years. Marines who have been out for less than a year are exempt from the recall and Marines with recent or multiple combat tours will be the last called. The Marine Corps needs to fill high demand jobs, especially combat arms, military police, communications and intelligence specialists and engineers.
This is not the first time troops from the ready reserve have been called back. Back in 2003, some 2,000 Marines were activated at the start of the Iraq war. And since September 11, the Army has called come 5,000 troops back, of which some 2,200 are serving now.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCEDWARDS: And a note for you, the Marine Corps said active duty troops are reminded of their obligation before their tours end, and if being recalled to active duty creates a hardship, the Marines can then apply for a deferment or an exemption.
QUEST: Now, an update on a story we told but earlier: 12 people have been detained in the Netherlands. They were on that Northwest Airlines flight, that fighter jets escorted back to Amsterdam. The pilots requested the return. Northwest Airlines says the India-bound flight returned after a couple of passengers displayed, the words being used are "behavior of concerns." Sources told a Dutch journalist there was disturbance onboard involving unruly passengers.
MCEDWARDS: All right. Still to come here on YOUR WORLD TODAY, a potentially historic Hollywood breakup, I guess you could say. It's big stuff.
QUEST: It's time for disappear for bizarre behavior and the box office (INAUDIBLE) heartthrob. He's still a heartthrob?
MCEDWARDS: I guess he is in some circles, though maybe less of a heartthrob now, and that may be part of be the problem.
QUEST: We're talking about Tom Cruise. Paramount Pictures has had enough. It's severing its ties with the star. That's not only going to be 0painful but probably financially disastrous for one or the other.
MCEDWARDS: Ouch, ouch. Also a look at the incoming freshman of the class of 2010. Their view of the world is probably different than yours, when were you 18. We'll take a look at that.
QUEST: Do you remember that?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Welcome back. We're in more than 200 countries, especially yours, around the globe, because this is YOUR WORLD TODAY with CNN.
Let me update you, some news coming into CNN. It's been announced, or it's been revealed that the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is to go to the Middle East following his visit to Brussels in the meeting of European leaders at the weekend. Koffi Annan is to go to Lebanon and Israel, apparently almost definitely, and probably also to Syria. He's going to be in Brussels for a meeting of European foreign ministers, and then after that, it will be Lebanon, Israel and probably Syria for Kofi Annan.
MCEDWARDS: Syria's tough on that trip, but we are going to lighten it up. One of Hollywood's biggest names has been dumped, but Tom Cruise is worried about his career at this point, not a broken heart.
QUEST: His longtime studio partner Paramount has severed its relationship with the star. This is very unusual, let's face. Normally when it comes to making money, Hollywood's morals are somewhere near the gutter. Let's face it, you can get away with lots of things provided you're making (INAUDIBLE).
MCEDWARDS: And he makes them a lot, but apparently not quite as much as he used to.
Brooke Anderson takes a look at this.
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BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's a Hollywood breakup of monumental proportion. Tom Cruise and his long- time producing partner, Paramount Pictures, are splitting up. Their 14-year relationship produced mega hits like "Top Gun"...
TOM CRUISE, ACTOR, "TOP GUN": I'm losing control! I'm losing control! I can't. I can't control it.
ANDERSON: ... "Days of Thunder"...
CRUISE, "DAYS OF THUNDER": We can fix it right here. Now what's it going to be?
ANDERSON: ... the "Mission Impossible" franchise...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, "MISSION IMPOSSIBLE": I can understand you're very upset.
CRUISE, "MISSION IMPOSSIBLE": You've never seen me very upset.
ANDERSON: ... and "War of the Worlds".
CRUISE, "WAR OF THE WORLDS": Get down!
ANDERSON: ... movies that made more than a billion dollars in domestic ticket sales alone. But the once happy union is coming to an end in a classic he said-he said scenario.
In an interview with the "Wall Street Journal," Sumner Redstone, the chairman of Viacom, which owns Paramount Pictures, said, "As much as we like him personally, we thought it was wrong to renew his deal. His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount."
That conduct Redstone is apparently referring to includes a public relations blitz for Scientology, a bizarre stint on Oprah's couch where he professed his love for Katie Holmes...
OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: The boy is gone!
ANDERSON: ... and a confrontational interview with the "Today" show's Matt Lauer in which he spoke out against taking certain prescription drugs.
CRUISE: Just knowing people who are on Ritalin isn't enough. You should be a little bit more responsible.
ANDERSON: The Cruise camp disagrees with Redstone's version of the breakup. A representative for Cruise-Wagner Productions tells CNN it was their decision to part and they're setting up another operation financed independently.
Cruise's business partner, Paula Wagner, tells "The Wall Street Journal" that Cruise's behavior has not cost Paramount box office receipts, but his last movie, "Mission Impossible 3," grossed $133 million domestically, a disappointment considering "Mission Impossible 2" earned $215 million, proving the old Hollywood adage, you're only as good as your last picture.
Brooke Anderson, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCEDWARDS: Well, CNN did make some telephone calls to Viacom, the parent company of Paramount, and those calls were not returned. But I think everything the company maybe needed to say was in that "Wall Street Journal" piece.
(CROSSTALK)
MCEDWARDS: They essentially called him a wacko.
QUEST: Oh, yes, absolutely. And that coming from Sumner Redstone is an accusation to be taken seriously. Imagine a world where reality shows have always been a reality.
MCEDWARDS: Have they ever not been a reality? I don't know. I'm confused. Also, imagine a world without some of the things that you definitely need, like clean water. This might not be as far- fetched as it sounds, and is much more serious. Stay with us. We'll have more on this just ahead.
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MCEDWARDS: In the United States, a familiar rite of passage is playing out in colleges and universities all across the country. Of course, thousands of 18-year-olds, bright eyed and bushy tailed, are entering the class of 2010.
QUEST: I feel old. Beloit College in Wisconsin has just released its mindset list. It reminds faculty to take a closer look at the realities of those students, most of whom were born in 1988. Do you remember 1988? Here's a sampling of their reminder.
MCEDWARDS: All right. For most of their lives, major U.S. airlines has been bankrupt. Imagine that? And they'd never had the chance to eat bad airline food. Remember when you used to get, you know, scrambled eggs that never saw a chicken?
QUEST: You do, it's down at the front. The class of 2010 has always had access to their own credit cards, and reality shows have always been on television.
MCEDWARDS: Google has always been a verb to them, and they've always been able to watch wars and revolutions live on television.
QUEST: And speaking of CNN, they never got to experience one of the great masters of broadcasting, our own Bernie Shaw, reporting from Iraq. That was during the first Gulf War.
MCEDWARDS: That's right.
QUEST: You know if you talk to 18-year-olds about the war, we mean, of course, Second World War. They mean any other war.
GUILLERMO ARDUINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Iraq war, maybe.
QUEST: The Iraq war.
MCEDWARDS: It just goes to show you they have nothing in common with their professors, and that must make the year interesting.
Guillermo Arduino is here. He is here for his week look at the "Changing Earth." And this time you're focusing on water, right?
ARDUINO: Yes, maybe, you know, those kids will not have water for a long time, according to what we see now. There's a bleak picture being posted by a new report coming from Sweden. New findings from water supply, they paint this picture in the world's water resources, concerning this.
Experts from around the world gathered in Stockholm to present a report that says one-third of the world's population has too little or no drinkable water.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANK RIJSBERMAN, DIR. GENERAL OF WATER MGT. INST.: The surprising finding that we bring out here today is that while six years ago we said that about a third of the world's population would be facing water scarcity in 2025, our new results show that, in fact, already a third of the world population is facing water scarcity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARDUINO: The report adds that ground water levels are falling and rivers are drying up. Now, it also links the scarcity of clean water to the world's poverty level. There are currently 800 million people living below the poverty line.
Suffering the most from water contamination is the African continent, and particularly the fragile savannas, considered home to some of the world's poorest people. The great dependence on water extends beyond drinking and domestic use. On average, it takes one liter of water to produce one calorie of food.
And despite the impending threat, experts say that innovative approaches could potentially help in the future, like the three Brazilian scientists who won the World Food Prize for a new product.
MCEDWARDS: All right, Guillermo. Thanks very much for that.
ARDUINO: Thank you.
MCEDWARDS: Appreciate it. Interesting segment.
QUEST: That's where we have to leave it for this hour. I'm Richard Quest.
MCEDWARDS: And I'm Colleen McEdwards. Coming up on YOUR WORLD TODAY, we'll have more. Some arrest in the Netherlands, those people on that Northwest Airlines plane. We will have the very latest. Stay with CNN.
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