Return to Transcripts main page

Your World Today

New Opinion Poll is Bad News for Bush and Republicans; Missing U.S. Soldier in Iraq; Growing Concern Over Iraqi Police Infiltrators

Aired November 02, 2006 - 12:00   ET

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

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: President Bush hits the campaign trail again as polls show voters aren't buying the White House's latest attempt to reverse negative opinion about the war in Iraq.
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The surveillance society. Big brother is watching in Britain and elsewhere, tracking your ever move through cameras, credit cards and computers.

CLANCY: A lavish party in an impoverished nation. The military ruler of Myanmar celebrates his daughter's wedding in style.

GORANI: And pass that red wine, please. A compound found in grapes and red wine may help you reach a ripe old age.

CLANCY: All of those stories coming up.

Hello, and welcome to our report broadcast around the globe.

I'm Jim Clancy.

GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani.

From Yangon, to Washington, to London, wherever you're watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: We begin with the war in Iraq and the impact it is having on next week's U.S. congressional elections.

A new opinion poll shows the war in Iraq the most important issue for Americans as they go to the polls. If President Bush's handling of the war is any indication, Republicans have plenty to worry about.

On President Bush's handling of the war, 29 percent of those polled say they approve, but 64 percent say they disapprove. Recently, the Bush administration decided to drop that phrase "stay the course" in Iraq. Fifteen percent say the move changed policy, 80 percent said it only changed the language.

White House Correspondent Ed Henry joins us now live.

How are these numbers being looked at, at the White House?

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the White House insists always that it does not look closely at these poll numbers, that they're focusing on the individual races around the country where the president is now embarking on the road. But certainly you could suggest from those poll numbers, you could deduce that the American people, perhaps the voters looking for a change in course, looking for some new policy from both parties, frankly. Not just the Republicans, but the Democrats, as well.

But the president signaling now that he is sticking with the chief architects of the current Iraq policy, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, as well as Vice President Cheney. The president issuing those endorsements just before going out on the road today for the final campaign push here in the midterm elections.

The president heading to Montana, where there's a Republican senator, Conrad Burns, who is on the ropes but trying to come back. Then heading on to Missouri, among other places, where there is another tossup Senate race between the Republicans and Democrats.

But what I was referring to is, yesterday, before leaving, the president gave an interview with wire services here in the United States and gave a vote of confidence to both the vice president and the defense secretary, saying he wants them both to serve out the rest of the term. He wants them here for all eight years of his administration.

In particular, Secretary Rumsfeld has been taking criticism from fellow Republicans who have been saying he should step down. Candidates on the campaign trail saying that. The president saying, "On Secretary Rumsfeld, I have asked him to fight two fronts on the war on terror, Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as transform our military. Any one of those would have been a lot for any secretary of defense to handle. He's handled all three at the same time, and I'm pleased with the progress we're making."

Also, the president's spokesman, Tony Snow, was on CNN this morning issuing another vote of confidence for the defense secretary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Don Rumsfeld is a visionary leader, and he's competent. And yes, a lot of people may second-guess things that he's done. That also happens any time during warfare. The president knows the people he's got working for him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now, these -- these voices, the endorsements there getting from the president, on down to his press secretary, part of it is an attempt to fire up the conservative base in the final four to five days of this election, to try to show that the president is sticking with his team. But it's also going it fire up the Democratic base, their base of liberals, because they're upset and basically are saying that the president, even though he's dropped that phrase, as you noted, "stay the course," by sticking with Cheney, sticking with Rumsfeld, it's a suggestion that, in fact, he is staying the course -- Jim.

CLANCY: Did the Republicans get any bounce out of the John Kerry gaffe?

HENRY: It's a little early to tell. There's not really a good snapshot poll yet on that issue. But certainly, it took Democrats off message for at least a day or so in terms of there was so much disunity within the Democratic Party about the fact that they really didn't want John Kerry front and center. And it gave the Republicans something to beat up on the Democrats over.

But, in the long run, what Democrats insist is that it still was both sides talking about Iraq. And the Democrats feel the bottom line is, the more Iraq is discussed, whether it's about John Kerry or about the war itself, it's a negative for the president -- Jim.

CLANCY: Ed Henry reporting live from the White House.

Thank you.

GORANI: All right. Interesting stuff.

Well, as more and more Americans call for their troops to come home from Iraq, the U.S. says Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is taking "solid steps" towards building an independent Iraqi military. U.S. Major General William Caldwell says the president has ordered a total of 30,000 extra troops. That would boost the number of Iraqi security forces to around 144,000. Caldwell says the troops have already been recruited and are currently being trained.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, SPOKESMAN, MULTINATIONAL FORCE, IRAQ: These forces will provide for him the ability to add additional combat power in the most heavily contested areas in Iraq, to provide additional units to allow his commanders to establish a tactical reserve that can be deployed around this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, just how long will it take Iraqi forces to fully take over security is still very much in question, of course. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani says it could be two or three years before his country's security forces are properly trained and equipped, allowing U.S. troops, some of them, at least, to go home.

Let's get more on all this. Let's bring in Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr.

Barbara, those people you speak to at the Pentagon, do they believe that these extra Iraqi troops are going to be any more effective than those that are already on the ground?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Hala, that's really the key question.

General George Casey, the top U.S. commander, said just several days ago he wanted to see Iraqi troops capable of taking over security in 12 to 18 months. What has happened is the Iraqis say they need more troops to be able to do that, another 30,000 or so that will be brought into the Iraqi security services. But, there has certainly been problems in getting them trained, equipped, and getting them out there.

They do have problems with the mobility, moving around at any one time. Perhaps a quarter of all troops are either on leave or away from their stations. So, it's been a very mixed picture.

What the Iraqi government hopes is, by adding these new troops, it will give them a little bit more flexibility. But whether it really solves the problem in that 12 to 18-month time frame, of course, remains to be seen.

GORANI: A quick question there on that missing U.S. soldier. A picture has been publicized, the name also issued. The U.S. military is still searching?

STARR: That is correct, Hala. At a news conference earlier today in Baghdad, they did -- the U.S. military finally released publicly the first details about this man.

He is Ahmed Qusai al-Taai. He is 41 years old, an Iraqi-American who moved to the United States as a teenager. He is married to an Iraqi women.

They confirmed that when he disappeared on October 23rd he was said to be going to visit his wife. He is said to have been kidnapped. Three cars pulling up to a house in Baghdad where he was. The military says they are still making all efforts to try and find him, that they've conducted at least 37 raids since that day searching for him, but still the hunt goes on -- Hala.

GORANI: All right. Barbara Starr, many thanks -- Jim.

CLANCY: The shootings, bombings and abductions that have become all too common are inflicting a heavy toll on Iraqi police. The Interior Ministry says at least 119 policemen were killed in attacks last month alone. It says 185 other officers were wounded.

Now, these numbers follow an announcement by the U.S. military that more than 300 Iraqi police and soldiers died during Ramadan. That is, of course, the Muslim holy month that began at the end of September and ended early last week.

GORANI: While Iraqi soldiers and police put their lives on the line each day, they try to rein in the violence, there's also growing concern that some of them may be part of the problem over there.

John Roberts looks that challenge of weeding out militiamen who have infiltrated the ranks of Iraq's own security forces.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SR. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It was graduation day in Numaniyah. Sixteen hundred recruits at the fourth national police brigade on the parade ground after four weeks of retraining in human rights and the law.

SGT. STEVEN BISHOP, U.S. ARMY: The idea is to take them for more paramilitary, to actual policing-type organization. And it's gone pretty well so far. There are a few bumps in the road. This is the first class that they'll go through.

ROBERTS: The course was ordered after another national police brigade was taken off the streets early last month, suspected of involvement in the sectarian violence that has gripped the nation.

(on camera): This graduation ceremony is all very exciting for these recruits and for the U.S. military, which one day hopes to turn security of the country over to them. But there are ongoing concerns about militia infiltration in these forces. In fact, according to some reports, up to 70 percent of the Iraqi and national police have some sort of connection to a militia.

(voice over): Publicly, the U.S. military is trying to put its best spin on the development of the Iraqi police. But privately, American soldiers who work with them admit infiltration, particularly by Shiite militias, is a huge problem.

Iraq's Sunni's vice president is demanding a purge of all police units, saying the security situation is deteriorating and security forces are playing a big part in that. At the same time, though, Sunnis and U.S. commanders are praising the incorporation of tribal militias into the police forces in the western town of Ramadi, a Sunni stronghold. And down south, in the Shiite town of Amara, police commanders who were recently attacked by the Mehdi militia proudly claim membership in the competing Badr brigades, an organization with suspected ties to Iran, which, in turn, backs Iraq's Shiite leaders.

The witch's brew of Iraqi politics has complicated the job of cleansing the Iraqi security forces, but the new top cop, Interior Minister Jawad al Bolani, assured us he is committed to the task.

"We are talking here about individuals," he says. "And if those individuals violate the law, they will be punished. And we have very firm measures regarding this."

Ultimately, the problem lies in the militias themselves. And as long as Iraqi leaders who derive much of their support from Shiite militia leaders refuse to put them out of business, this celebration may be short-lived.

John Roberts, CNN, Numaniyah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Worthless, that's the word from Damascus.

GORANI: An update on a story we told you about yesterday at this time checks our top of other stories making news around the world.

And Syria and Iran are rejecting U.S. accusations that they're trying to overthrow the Lebanese government with Hezbollah. An editorial in Syria's government-controlled newspaper called the accusations pure vilification designed to create chaos in Lebanon. Wednesday, Hezbollah gave Lebanese prime minister Fouad Siniora until the middle of the month to form a unity government face massive street demonstrations.

CLANCY: Venezuela and Guatemala have abandoned their bid for a Latin American seat on the United Nations Security Council. Officials from both countries say they agree to nominate Panama for the seat as a compromise.

GORANI: A U.S. court has sentenced an Ethiopian man to 10 years in prison for mutilating the genitals of his 2-year-old daughter. Authorities in the state of Georgia say said Khalid Adem circumcised his daughter's clitoris in 2001. Now, female genital mutilation is still common in some parts of Africa.

CLANCY: How much is too much?

GORANI: Still to come on CNN, the world is rapidly becoming a surveillance society, and one of the nations leading the way may surprise you.

CLANCY: Also, we're going to take you to Myanmar, where the haves are living lavishly while the have-nots suffer in poverty.

A CNN exclusive.

GORANI: And a toast. Why a glass of red wine may be beneficial to your health.

You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Welcome back. Seen live around the globe...

CLANCY: This is CNN International, and this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

Now, every time you use your phone or your credit card to go online you're being tracked. A civil liberties group surveyed 37 different countries and named Britain, along with Russia, China, Malaysia and Singapore as countries that practice what it terms endemic surveillance against individuals.

Britain's information commissioner is already sounding the alarm on that, as we hear from Angus Walker.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANGUS WALKER, REPORTER, ITV NEWS (voice over): If you ever get the feeling that someone is up watching you, then that's because, well, they are. With one surveillance camera for every 14 people in the U.K., it's likely in an urban area you'll be filmed up to 300 times a day.

Two years ago, Britain's information commissioner warned we were sleepwalking into a surveillance society. Today, he's saying we've woken up to find the nightmare has come true.

RICHARD THOMAS, BRITISH INFORMATION COMMISSIONER: As our privacy becomes more and more invaded, as the information is linked together, do we really want everyone to know exactly what we're doing? We lose our right to anonymity, we lose our personal integrity.

WALKER: In big brother Britain, there are more than four million CCTV cameras. That's one in five of the world's total.

Computers identify car number plates 35 million times a day. And the government has a database of 3.5 million DNA samples. So, it's not just cameras that are tracking us. We leave an invisible electronic footprint every time we use a hole in the wall cash machine or go shopping, or use a mobile phone or the Internet.

SHAMI CHAKRABARTI, LIBERTY U.K.: Those who hold the information about us pass it around too freely. No one is not saying that you cannot hold data, but it should be held for specific purposes and it should be secure. And we should have much more control in our lives about our data, who's holding it, and for what purpose.

WALKER: And that's why the information commissioner wants to spark a national debate about surveillance to try and answer the question, who's watching the watchers?

Angus Walker, ITV News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Well, the U.S.-based group Human Rights Watch is criticizing the British government for what it says is a two-sided policy that undermines the international ban on torture.

Here's some of the main points.

It says Mr. Blair's government encourages other countries to accept the ban, while his actions and words constantly try to justify torture, according to Human Rights Watch. It also says the government's policy ignores the damaging consequences of relaxing the torture ban in the fight against terrorism.

The report concludes that Britain is in a weaker position to combat torture. Among several recommendations, Human Rights Watch urges Britain not to extradite terrorism suspects to countries where it says they are likely to be tortured.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN CRAWSHAW, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: The existing national law says if somebody might be tortured or is likely to be tortured -- a substantial risk is the phrase of being tortured -- you cannot deport that person. You have to something else. For example, to charge them. But what you can't do, that torture overrides everything.

Britain is saying you don't understand how dangerous things are. We have to be able to. (END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, Britain's home office disputes the findings in the Human Rights Watch report. It says the rights group has it all wrong.

CLANCY: All right.

Still ahead, an island of opulence and a sea of poverty.

GORANI: Well, Myanmar is one of the world's poorest countries, but you wouldn't know it from the wedding one of the country's military leaders threw for his daughter.

CLANCY: And then a little bit later on our program, he's Kenya's marathon man. Years ago, though, he was just another hungry child. How did Paul Tergat (ph) sprint forward? We'll have the answer and it may surprise you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Tony Harris at the CNN Center in Atlanta.

More of YOUR WORLD TODAY in just a few minutes, but first a check on stories making headlines in the United States.

The emotions of Ground Zero reverberate again. The medical examiner's office in New York says it has identified remains found at the former site of the World Trade Center.

They are identified as a flight attendant and passenger from the first plane to hit the towers on September 11th. More than 200 remains have been discovered at the site over the past two weeks. The newly identified remains are not among the latest finds. Some 9/11 families plan to gather at the site today to demand a more comprehensive search by forensic experts.

A massive federal sweep. The U.S. Justice Department has announced the arrest of almost 11,000 criminal fugitives. Among those caught, 1,659 sex offenders. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales discussed details of Operation Falcon at a news conference in Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALBERTO GONZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL: There was a particular focus on sex offenders and gang members. And I'm pleased to announce that this operation has broken all U.S. Marshal records for the number of fugitives, sex offenders, and gang members arrested in one week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Arizona authorities are on the hunt for a man who shot two people outside a Phoenix business complex. The two victims were employees of Pitney Bowes.

Police say one victim was shot multiple times, the other was hit at least once. No word yet on their conditions.

Police say they know the name of the shooting suspect but are not releasing his name or any description.

A grisly discovery in Columbia, South Carolina. Police have found the bodies of three people in a drainage pipe at a public housing complex. Police are working to identify them.

Investigators think the victims lived in the complex, and they appeared to have been killed during the night. Authorities are investigating a call about shots fired in the area around 5:00 a.m.

A developing story out of Virginia. A sheriff and 12 of his deputies under indictment in a federal drug and money laundering case. Officials say authorities told Henry County Sheriff Frank Cassell about drug transactions going on in his department but that Cassell did nothing about it. He's one of 18 defendants arrested this morning. They're accused in the theft of drugs and firearms that were in the custody of the sheriff's office.

A search and rescue mission intensifies in Iraq as the U.S. military updates the hunt for its missing soldier. Earlier today we learned the name of the Iraqi-American translator. He is 41-year-old Ahmed Qusai al-Taai. And he was abdicated while visiting his Iraqi wife.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CALDWELL: Iraqi security forces and coalition troops are working around the clock to return him to safety and return him back to his family. And also to catch the perpetrators of this crime.

Search operations are based on actionable intelligence, and there has been a particular focus in areas east of the Tigris River. Elements of five brigade combat teams, more than 2,000 coalition forces, and more than 1,000 Iraqi security forces are directly involved in this search operation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Health concerns in Boston. Children's Hospital there reporting an outbreak of whooping cough.

Three patients and 15 staff members have been diagnosed with the bacterial infection. Dozens of other staff members have symptoms and are undergoing tests. The hospital has sent letters to the parent of about 1,000 patients who may have come in contact with the disease. It's rare, but whooping cough can be deadly in infants who have not been vaccinated.

Let's get you now to the weather center and Mr. Rob Marciano.

Good to see you, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Tony.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: All right, Rob. Appreciate it. Thanks.

Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and humorist Art Buchwald, he proved doctors wrong when they told him he only had weeks to live. He has written a new book about cheating death, living each day to the fullest, and laughing along the way.

Hey, do you have a question you'd like to ask him? E-mail us at cnnnewsroom@cnn.com. Art Buchwald in the "NEWSROOM" at the top of the hour with Don Lemon and Kyra Phillips.

Meantime, YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after a quick break.

I'm Tony Harris.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: You're with YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International. I'm Hala Gorani

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy and these are some of the stories that are making headlines right now. A new opinion poll shows nearly 29 percent of Americans approve of the way U.S. President George W. Bush is handling the war in Iraq. That is the lowest mark of his presidency. 80 percent say the president's latest push to rally support for the war is more of a change in language than in policy.

GORANI: Now, Big Brother is watching in other headlines and Britain and elsewhere, the British information commissioner said the country is becoming a surveillance society as technology monitors people's movements. The civil liberties group that surveyed 37 countries names Russia, China, Malaysia, Singapore, as well as Britain as countries that practice endemic surveillance against the individual.

CLANCY: Iranian forces on maneuvers. The nation's military expected to launch dozens of rockets tipped with cluster bombs on Thursday. The rockets are said to be capable of reaching Israel. They'll be fired as part of ten days of military exercise. They're being called the greatest prophet.

GORANI: Well, the exercises are set to be in response to U.S.- led efforts to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction in the region. Iranian forces are also expected to carry out full military maneuvers in a show of defensive strength.

In one of its largest operations in months, the Israeli military has launched an incursion into Gaza over the last few days. Now, the clashes have left at least 12 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier dead. Ben Wedeman has our story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "Autumn Clouds" Israel has dubbed the operation and, indeed, clouds, clouds of war hang low yet again over the battered Gaza strip. As Israeli forces push ahead with their largest military action here in months. Early Wednesday Israeli troops and armor with helicopters overhead entered the Palestinian town of Beit Hanoun and stayed there placing the town under effective curfew. In Beit Hanoun, the Israeli Army has called in all male residents between the ages of 16 and 40 for questioning. Army spokesmen say all those found not to be involved in what they call terrorist activities will be released.

MARK REGEV, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN: The purpose of the Israeli operation is defensive in that we're just trying to protect our citizens. We've had, unfortunately, hundreds of rockets launched from the Gaza strip, 300 from Beit Hanoun alone. These rockets are aimed Incirlik at our civilian population and it's our obligation to prevent such launches.

WEDEMAN: Since the operation began several such rockets have been fired into Israel, wounding one person. The Israeli Army says the crude homemade (INAUDIBILE) have killed 15 Israelis in the last six years. Israel's operation in Beit Hanoun has already killed more than a dozen Palestinians and wounded many more, including a large number of civilians. More than 300 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed since late June when Palestinian militants captured an Israeli soldier and Israel responded with steady military pressure to try to win his release. Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya a leading member of Hamas, called on Israel to stop what he called its bloody behavior, vowing you will never beat the Palestinian people.

WEDEMAN (on-camera): Last autumn, Israeli troops pulled out of Gaza after 38 years of occupation and now they're back, at least in one corner of Gaza. The fighting goes on with no real end in sight. So much has changed and, yet, so very little.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Venezuela and Guatemala. They've been grappling for the Latin American seat on the U.N. Security Council now for weeks. This is a fight that sometimes has gotten pretty ugly. Now the diplomats are supporting a compromise. What's the compromise? Senior producer Liz Neisloss joins us now. Now, Liz, what's the compromise -- when will we know?

LIZ NEISLOSS, SENIOR U.N. PRODUCER: Well, the compromise is going to be Panama. And, we are right now waiting outside a meeting where that compromise is going to be made official. What really happened, Jim, was Venezuela and Guatemala, the two countries that were battling it out came to a compromise late last night and they figured that they needed a candidate that all countries would agree on and, as you know, Jim, this really was a race, a battle between Venezuela and the United States.

CLANCY: You know, as we look at the scene there, this battle, like you say, it came down, didn't it between George W. Bush and Hugo Chavez that made that very fiery speech right there at the U.N. NEISLOSS: That's right. It was pretty much unheard of when Hugo Chavez went to the general assembly podium, Jim, and he called George Bush the devil. He said he could smell the sulfur that was still in the room that had been left by the president. There was a little bit of laughter, there was some nervous laughter, but there was really also a lot of shock because this was highly undiplomatic language and even though countries duke it out, that was one thing that really wasn't done was that kind of bare knuckles rhetoric. Here at the United Nations, the United States had its own guy in there, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton who was swinging right back, basically going in front of the cameras saying, well, no, this is not about us, this is not about the United States and Venezuela but saying, hey, Venezuela is not going to win. And, in fact, that seems to be the case here.

CLANCY: All right, Liz Neisloss with the latest here from the U.N. We have now, another person going to be joining that 15-member council. Thanks.

GORANI: First came the coup and now comes the mea culpa. Thailand's interim prime minister is apologizing for possible human rights violations the previous government may have committed in the country's predominantly Muslim southern region. The new government is hoping the move will win hearts and minds as it tries to end the region's 3-year-old Muslim insurgency there. Meanwhile the deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is hoping his forced exile is not permanent. His lawyer representing him says Thaksin has flown from London to Beijing in hopes of returning home when martial law is lifted and the new constitution is written.

CLANCY: It is a land of mostly have nots with the lowest health spending per capita anywhere according to the United Nations.

GORANI: But, secretly-filmed video obtained from CNN shows Myanmar's have's are doing quite nicely thanks very much.

CLANCY: Dan Rivers gives us though a rare glimpse into the other side -- the secret lives of the military that is still firmly in control of a country formally known as Burma.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is a video that Myanmar's military elite doesn't want you to see. Obtained exclusively for CNN, it shows Than Shwe, the man who rules the country with iron resolve celebrating his daughter's wedding. Myanmar, formally known as Burma, has been ruled by a series of brutal generals since 1962, but intimate footage like this of the powerful inner circle of Than Shwe is rare. The largess of the wedding is staggering. Than Shwe's daughter is adorned with hundreds of diamonds and afterwards received incredible gifts of jewelry, lavish luxury in a country, which according to the U.N., spends less per person on health care than any other nation on earth.

LARRY JAGAN, MYANMAR SPECIALIST: The daughter, obviously with those diamonds, millions and millions of dollars, unbelievable. The presents that she was getting, the emeralds, again, we're looking at millions of dollars and this is in a country where two out of five children under the age of 5 are severely malnourished.

RIVERS: CNN asked Myanmar officials in Yangon and the U.N. for their response, but the requests were ignored. This is the town of Tharcheleik. I have slipped across the border from Thailand to ask people about daily life here. Most are too scared to talk, but one brave man makes this plea to the west.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need your help. Because we are not free, we have no free speech.

RIVERS (on-camera): What's sickening is the contrast between the military regime and ordinary people here on the streets. They live in a repressed totalitarian state, but the army can do anything it likes.

Further inside Myanmar, hidden from the world's gaze, things are even worse. This video was shot by the pressure group Free Burma Rangers. They say it shows government troops orchestrating the forced labor of hundreds of tribespeople, some have horrific stories.

This old woman says her son and son-in-law were killed by the regime. My life is finished, she says. While the people suffer, the generals are building a shiny new capital, Napidor, in the middle of the jungle. Foreign reporters aren't allowed here, but this secretly filmed footage shows the new city taking shape. These modern new apartments are not for ordinary people, though, but for those that rule with uncompromising brutality.

The democratically elected leader, Jan Sang Su Chi (ph), has been under house arrest for almost 11 of the last 17 years. Her party won the 1990 election, but it was nullified by the military. Her passive resistance of the regime earned her a Nobel Peace Prize. The junta say it's planning a return to democracy, citing its constitutional convention that has been meeting sporadically for 13 years. The release of Jan Sang Su Chi, they say, it depends on her behavior.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whether she will be continued to be restricted or not depends on her interviews and on herself, her behavior and her acts.

RIVERS: Her house is off limits to reporters. She's cut off from the outside world. Her home, in effect, a leafy suburban prison. Detained by an elite, which if this video is anything to go by, seems to be amassing enormous wealth at the expense of its long suffering people.

Dan Rivers, CNN, Parchinek (ph), Myanmar.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: A lot more ahead on your world today. Seeing red?

CLANCY: It just may do some good for you, as long as it's in a wine glass.

GORANI: Also setting the pace in the race against hunger. A marathoner goes the distance to fight something he's experienced firsthand.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Welcome back to CNN International.

CLANCY: We're seen live in more than 200 countries around the globe, and this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

What is the secret to a long life? The answer may be as close as the nearest glass of red wine. A new study says there is a substance inside red wine that helps the body combat a number of ills. Earlier we talked to our Dr. Sanjay Gupta about this very interesting study.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: There is a substance out there that's primarily present in grapes, and people have been interested in this substance for some time, because it appears to reduce, or eliminate some of the effects of stress on the body. In this case, it was in particularly in mice who had their diets being 60 percent fat. They're at risk for diabetes. They're are risk for liver troubles. They're at risk for shorter lives.

What they found in this study, which was published in "Nature," a pretty good journal, showed that giving these supplements of resveratrol to these mice actually decreased their risk of diabetes and liver problems and increased their lifespan. Now it was in mice. It was in obese mice. They stayed obese, but it's sorting of adding fuel to this excitement about this particular substance.

CLANCY: Now this is found in red wine and the key is here if you're given the dosage that gives the lab animals, humans would have to consume, what 1,500 liters a day?

GUPTA: Well, you know, people say around 100 glasses, at least. Whatever it is, it's impractical for most people to consume that much.

But the idea, what the researchers are really trying to get at, is could we somehow create a supplement, find the key ingredient, if you will, create a supplement and give it to people, reducing their chances of diabetes and liver problems and extending their life.

It's worth pointing out as well, Jim that the person who's done -- the lead author on the study in mice is also a financial stakeholder in the company that makes the supplement, not that that should negate the research, but worth pointing out.

CLANCY: All right, as we all look at that, obviously more research is going to be done, and people are going to look at this closer, but there are things out there. It's interesting, things out there that can offset the negative effects of a modern lifestyle, consumption of fat and these things, and people looking a lot more ways to get around that.

GUPTA: You know, everyone wants the quick fix, right? We want to live our lives, live fast, but we also want to be able to negate the stressful effects of that. Antioxidants, for example, our body breaking down. Can we somehow use antioxidants to sweep up those breakdown and give us longer and healthier lives. Possibly.

With resveratrol, you know, it's interesting, Jim, and you may appreciate this -- grapes are a particular fruit that are grown under situations of stress. People believe resveratrol, the substance, actually evolved to protect the grapes from that stress. That's how grapes are grown. Could you somehow take that stress-busting substance give it to mice, give it to humans and reduce the stress of just the sort of life that we lead.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Well, Dr. Sanjay Gupta there, Hala, bursting my bubble about the benefits of red wine. Wouldn't be any fun if you took a pill for it.

GORANI: No, no fun at all.

All right. Last year's New York City Marathon champion is back at it again. But this time, in addition to defending his title, he'll be championing a cause close to his heart.

Kenya's Paul Tergat was named goodwill ambassador for the U.N.'s World Food Program, which provides food to developing nations, and he has a personal connection to WFP. The New York City Marathon is coming up this weekend, and Paul Tergat joins us now live from New York.

Before I ask you about your run this weekend, and you're defending your title, Paul, tell me about your work as ambassador for the World Food Program, because you, as a child, benefited from U.N. food distribution help in Kenya.

PAUL TERGAT, WFP GOODWILL AMBASSADOR: Right. Thank you very much. Honestly, this is (INAUDIBLE) very close to me. I was a direct beneficiary of the World Food Program. It's a (INAUDIBLE) program, and that's how come the (INAUDIBLE) to me. I remember when I was around at the age of (INAUDIBLE) years, I was studying at an elementary school. And this is the time what made me go to school was because of this school feeding program. And like many other kids, I think we have an opportunity to be in the school and to (INAUDIBLE) more.

GORANI: And what's fantastic about your story and what it highlights, Paul, is that sometimes just a little bit of help can reveal incredible talent. You went to school sometimes hungry yourself, and today you are the world marathon champion. Tell us how you think this type of funding, this type of program can also help other children also reach their potential?

TERGAT: The most important thing is (INAUDIBLE) the equation of how one is aware of the (INAUDIBLE) to come from. The most important thing is that each and every opportunity that we have, and especially for the young kids, is very important that we keep the opportunity to have education. There's a lot of millions around the world who go to school, or maybe out of school for now, not because of anything that may be -- not because of clothes or earning (ph), but because of food. And it's shameful.

So the most important thing is that we need to keep the opportunity to go to school, and also probably learn more so that by the time they're growing up, they have education and they can have options (INAUDIBLE).

Remember one thing, education is the key to life. And without education, it's very difficult to make the wise choices which is going to define your life for the community, for your country and also for the world at large. That's the most important.

GORANI: And, Paul, you're highlighting the issues. You are asking people to donate money, as well. But this weekend is a big test for you. You're the world champion, as we mentioned, marathon champion, and you're defending your title.

TERGAT: Yes, I'm excited really to be again, and I won last year, and I'm sure that everybody will be watching, and probably especially (INAUDIBLE) my title (INAUDIBLE) last year.

(INAUDIBLE) my preparation, the technical part and the (INAUDIBLE). And I'm really looking forward to defend my title successfully. I know it is going to be difficult (INAUDIBLE). I will that on Sunday, with very -- extremely very cold here, which some of us are not used to, but I will say that I'm going to do the best I can.

GORANI: And where do you train normally?

TERGAT: I train back at home in Kenya and I do nearly everything back in Kenya, and I'm best in Kenya.

GORANI: So the weather is an issue then for you if you train in Kenya and it's much colder in New York. Is that something that has a big impact on your performance?

TERGAT: I don't think it would have much impact. The most important thing is that once you're ready and you're prepared well, it definitely would not matter whether maybe it's cold or maybe it's hot or humid or anything like that. So, we'll be out to prove ourselves and see -- and what I can see is that the best winner may win.

GORANI: All right, Paul Tergat, thanks very much. You won the New York Marathon last year and also a World Food Program goodwill ambassador. Thanks to you and best of luck -- Jim.

TERGAT: Thank you.

CLANCY: Fascinating man, fascinating story. Really.

(CROSSTALK)

CLANCY: Well, with just days to go before the U.S. midterm election, candidates taking their campaigns right into overdrive. GORANI: Just ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY, we'll see how politicians on both sides of the aisle are tweaking their message quite literally. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Well, it's campaign season in the U.S. election on Tuesday and we have been bombarded with campaign messages.

GORANI: Well, analysts say the negative back and forth between Republicans and Democrats has reached new lows.

CLANCY: Now, all of the ads, though -- I mean, it seems like every one you watch has -- they all have the same thing right at the end.

GORANI: Right, well, if you watch them, you notice that at the end, the candidate says, I approved this message.

CLANCY: Jeanne Moos explains that the refrain is getting a makeover, though, this campaign season. Let's look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You're now in ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "The Twilight Zone."

MOOS: The zone right before an election, when it's impossible to tune out all of the campaign ads. They scare us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Homosexuals are mocking holy matrimony.

MOOS: They apologize to us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Should you forgive me?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And for that I'm sorry.

MOOS: They try to amuse us, for instance, with a shrub representing President Bush.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So what's our exit strategy from Iraq?

MOOS: And even if we don't approve, they do.

JON TESTER (D), MONTANA SENATE CANDIDATE: I'm Jon Tester, and I approve this message.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I approve this message.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I approve this message.

MOOS: But these days, candidates are trying to improve on how they approve.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: I'm Hillary Clinton and I'm delighted to approve this message.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I approve this message even though I know it may not be what you want to hear.

REP. HAROLD FORD JR. (D-TN), SENATE CANDIDATE: I approve this message because I won't let them make me someone I'm not.

MOOS: Back in 2004, when candidates were first required to state that they approved the content of their ads, campaigns tended to think it was a waste of a precious five seconds. Now they're trying to make their approvals more interesting now.

KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D), NEW YORK CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: I'm Kirsten Gillibrand and I approve this message because Mrs. Hannaman (ph) was the best teacher I ever had.

MOOS: Sometimes their approvals wreaks with disapproval of their opponents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I approve this message, because Brad Miller is out of touch, and soon he'll be out of Congress.

ANGIE PACCIONE (D), COLORADO CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: I'm Angie Paccione and I approved this message because if Marilyn keeps lying about my record, I'll keep telling the truth about hers.

MOOS: Sometimes one approver just isn't enough.

NED LAMONT (D), CONNECTICUT SENATE CANDIDATE: I'm Ned Lamont and I approve this message.

CROWD: So do we.

TOM KEAN JR. (R), NEW JERSEY SENATE CANDIDATE: I'm Tom Kean Jr.

CROWD: And I approve this message.

MOOS: Guess he hasn't heard that children should be seen, but not heard.

CHRIS CARNEY (D), PENNSYLVANIA CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: I'm Chris Carney and I approve this message because I want to make Pennsylvania proud.

BRIAN KENNEDY (R), IOWA CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: I approve this message to defend our border.

VERNON ROBINSON (R), NORTH CAROLINA CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: I approve of this message and of traditional American values.

MOOS: Leave it to beaver, not to politicians.

TESTER: I'm Jon Tester and I approve this message. I approved the haircut, too.

MOOS (on camera): I'm Jeanne Moos and I approve this story because somebody had to.

(voice-over): Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Well, writers, producers and copy editors approved this newscast. We agree. I'm Jim Clancy.

GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com