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Your World Today

Pervasive Gas Odor Around New York City; Fatah Militants Release Hamas Official; Prince Williams' Girlfriend Being Mobbed by Media

Aired January 08, 2007 - 12:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Does this seem strange to you? Does this seem strange?
JOY FABER, CON EDISON: Well, we continue to monitor all of our systems. We have electric, gas and steam systems that we monitor on a 24-hour basis.

The information that we have available at this time is that there have been no abnormal changes in our gas flow on our transmission lines. And we are continuing to monitor all of our systems to determine what the gas odor -- where that gas odor is coming from.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Mercaptan, do you believe that's what people are smelling?

FABER: Well, right now, we don't want to speculate what the odor is exactly. We're still checking every possible source and system that we can possibly identify to connect that order with.

COLLINS: So, Joy, let me quickly ask you, because of the information that we got from the mayor live on the air, are there other people, these other agencies that we have mentioned, that are working in conjunction with Con Edison that would report something different to the mayor, which was a gas leak at Sixth and Bleecker, and that it was mercaptan?

FABER: Well, the mayor did mention that there was a small leak at that location. We're still investigating all of this information as we speak.

We've been inundated with calls not only from news agencies, but from our customers who are -- which are our number one priority, the safety of our customers. And we're still investigating.

This situation has not been over. It's not over yet. We're still investigating and looking into every possible source of this odor.

HARRIS: Well, Joy, where did the mayor get his information?

FABER: I don't know, but we are working with him. So we're not trying to contradict anything that the mayor says. We're working with the mayor. We're working with the NYPD, the fire department, to identify the source of the odors.

HARRIS: OK. I'm confused.

COLLINS: Yes.

All right. Well, we appreciate your information, Joy, coming to us from Con Ed there in New York City.

We will, of course, continue to follow this story closely and try our very, very best to get to the bottom of it as it develops throughout the day here.

HARRIS: Kyra, your team -- can your team sort of sort this out for us, please?

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, I'm just -- I'm just hoping it's not going to affect West 11th and Bleecker, because my favorite restaurant is there. That's what -- I'm worried about The Spotted Pig.

HARRIS: I think early indications are, no. And if it did, we wouldn't know for a while.

PHILLIPS: I'll tell you, we'll stay on it. We'll probably be talking to the same people, if not more, and we'll hopefully put away the scare.

HARRIS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks, guys.

We're also talking about the cell division without political division. Well, a scientific breakthrough finds that stem cells can be harvested without destroying human embryos. How will that discovery translate into potential cures for diseases like Parkinson's or Diabetes?

We're going to take a closer look at the facts.

Also, a penny for your thoughts, but they'll take a peso for a piece of pizza. There's an uproar in Dallas as a local restaurant chain crosses a currency border.

Plus, we're doing a political pop culture time warp here as we revisit a singular event in American history, when Elvis dropped in -- yes, just dropped in on the Nixon White House. Nixon didn't know what to talk to him about, but they figured out.

It's not just a made-up story, kids. We really -- it really did happen, and we've got the proof.

COLLINS: He'd be 72 today?

PHILLIPS: Isn't that amazing?

COLLINS: Seventy-two years old. Yes.

PHILLIPS: I remember the day he died. I saved the newspaper clipping, the "L.A. Times."

Yes, I have the front page.

HARRIS: It feels like Bono calling up, hey, I'm near Air Force One. Can I stop by and say hello to George -- and it happened. And it happened.

All right, Kyra. Thank you.

COLLINS: Thank you. We'll be watching.

And we will continue to follow the New York fumes, as you know, throughout the day right here on CNN.

HARRIS: But right now, YOUR WORLD TODAY is next with news happening across the globe and here at home.

I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins.

Have a good day, everybody.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: ... surging and spilling out onto to the streets.

After a weekend of unrest, Fatah gunmen finally released the deputy mayor of Nablus, a top Hamas official on the West Bank. But elsewhere in Ramallah, officials say Fatah militants have torched stores belonging to Hamas supporters, and Hamas militants are warning a top Fatah leader against inciting any violence after a massive weekend rally in Gaza.

Atika Shubert has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Tens of thousands of Fatah supporters took to the streets of Gaza on Sunday, a show of Fatah's strength in the escalating power struggle against militant group Hamas. As gunmen fired into the air, supporters welcomed Fatah strongman Mohammed Dahlan (ph). "Let Hamas shoot me," he shouted to the crowd, amid thunderous applause.

The violence between Fatah and Hamas is no longer limited to Gaza, spilling out to the West Bank over the weekend. In the last month, more than two dozen have been killed.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas added to the tension on Saturday by declaring illegal the Hamas paramilitary unit known as The Executive Force, threatening to disband its 6,000 troops. Hamas leaders promptly responded by threatening to double the size of the force.

The Israeli cabinet met on Sunday, monitoring developments with concern.

SHIMON PERES, ISRAELI VICE PRIME MINISTER: I believe that both sides are trying to prevent it, but I'm not sure that they're in full control of each of their own camps.

SHUBERT: Israel and the U.S. are both attempting to bolster Fatah and President Abbas in its struggle against Hamas. The Bush administration is promising tens of millions of dollars in aid to Fatah security forces. But as the violence continues, critics ask whether that will only add fuel to the fire.

(on camera): The best scenario would be a coalition government between Hamas and Fatah under President Abbas. But as negotiations have dragged on for months without success, it seems both sides have resorted to violence.

Atika Shubert, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: All right. Now let's take you to the U.K. and turn our attention to two women and the media frenzy that surrounds them. One, a late princess; another, a potential princess.

As Britain reopens an inquest into Princess Diana's death, there's suddenly a lot of commotion about another young British woman who's caught the eye of a future king. She's being mobbed by the media. Some say Prince William's girlfriend is walking in the footsteps of the princess of Wales.

Let's talk first about Kate Middleton, who's coming under increasingly intense spotlight amid rumors of an impending marriage proposal. Dozens of photographers camping outside her London flat and following her in vans and motorcycles and cars as British police step up security for Middleton.

There's a sense, of course, of deja vu here.

Paula Newton reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): To the prying lens of the paparazzi, she is irresistible. Kate Middleton, Prince Williams' girlfriend, now just can't seem to shake the scrutiny or the security. So hounded by the snappers, that in recent weeks she's been granted a police escort.

It started without a trickle of pictures, but is now a flood of photos captured in hot pursuit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know she's fairly constantly now chased by the paparazzi. From her point of view, it's a nuisance. It's getting -- I understand it's getting too much. They're there every day. They're on top of her every day. NEWTON: And that's what's proving tough to take for a girlfriend who is still just a commoner, a regular girl getting a parking ticket on her way to work, riding buses, trying to go out with her friends.

Despite the royal family's pleas that's Ms. Middleton is still a private citizen, the battle lines are being drawn as the press closes in on a subject that clearly sells.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What does she want? What does she want, the privacy of a nun?

She's going out with a future king. She may one day be our future queen. We do have a right to know more about her.

NEWTON: Twenty-five years ago it was Princess Di in the lens. You can't miss the sense of deja vu, and neither can the tabloids, comparing their every move, their every outfit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no question that she'll be immediately as big a star probably as the princess of Wales was. And it will be a difficult thing for her to cope with it, as it was for Diana. And it will be difficult for William.

NEWTON: It is all quite worrying to Prince William, now enduring a very public courtship as he tries to decide if and when to pop the question, and still tries to make sure the woman he loves is never tormented and pursued as his mother was.

Paula Newton, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Well, continuing now to explore the public's fascination with the U.K. royals, to Diana now. And just weeks after a lengthy British police investigation ruled that the Paris car crash that killed her was an accident, an inquest into the death of Diana and her friend Dodi al-Fayed has reopened in London.

Will it finally lay to rest any conspiracy theories? And why so late?

Alphonso Van Marsh joins us now live from London.

What's the mood there surrounding the reopening of this inquest there, Alphonso, in London?

ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure, Hala. We should say that it's been a preliminary hearing, as it were, under this inquest.

We're actually getting some news. As you mentioned, this inquest taking a look into the circumstances surrounding the death of Princess Diana and her companion, Dodi al-Fayed.

Today at the Royal Court of Justice, we actually heard from the judge who actually made a decision saying that these inquests will be held jointly, they will be held together. She also determined what's going to be happening next.

For example, she also has to take a look at whether this case should have a jury. And if that jury does take place, it will be members of the public. What we do know, it will not include, as would often be the tradition -- that it would be members of the royal household.

Obviously, the judge saying that this would be perceived as inappropriate, that perhaps there could be some bias. But again, what we do want to know, what we do hear about today, is that this is -- this news is going to be some sort of a consolation to Mohammed al- Fayed. That's the father of Dodi al-Fayed, Princess Diana's companion there.

He was at the court today. And we heard through his lawyer the argument that he also wanted to have this -- these inquests be held jointly, as well as have a jury involved, members of the public.

He wasn't the only -- the only lawyer involved. There are lots of representatives here today, not just for Mohammed al-Fayed, but also for Diana's bodyguard. Also a representative for Diana's two sons, princes William and Harry. In a letter that they wrote, they mentioned that they wanted this to be an open process and they wanted it to move to a quick resolution.

Now, again, just to review, according to the judge, that this inquest will be held jointly. We're still waiting for a decision as to whether there will be a jury.

And then, lastly, the judge, she did mention that she wanted this process to start in late February or early March for that inquest -- Hala.

GORANI: All right. Alphonso Van Marsh reporting live from London there.

All right. That's it for our focus segment.

Jim, back to you.

CLANCY: All right, Hala. Thanks much.

Right now we're going to check some of the other stories that are making news all around the world this hour.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameini, making his first appearance since rumors surfaced last month about his health. In a speech from his home broadcast on state television, Khameini vowed Iran will never back down on the enrichment of uranium for nuclear energy.

Protesters and police clashing in Bangladesh. Riot police in the capital city of Dhaka using batons, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse demonstrators who had been calling for a delay in this month's elections, as well as electoral reforms. It's unclear how many people were injured in the melee. For the first time in 40 years, a president of Somalia is in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. Because of security concerns, Abdullah Yusuf had spent most of his two years in office outside the country. In southern Somalia, meantime, Ethiopian forces attacking the last foothold of Islamist forces.

A mysterious gas-like odor is reported in parts of New York right now. The city's mayor says crews do not yet know the source of the smell. Apparently, though, it is not harmful. A New York Police Department spokesman says they have conducted air quality tests and found that the air is not hazardous.

GORANI: All right. We're going to take a short break on YOUR WORLD TODAY.

Just ahead, Baghdad cleanup.

CLANCY: A cornerstone of President bush's new strategy in Iraq, but how will U.S. and Iraqi troops succeed this time when all other plans have failed?

GORANI: Also, Belarus and Russia's oil feud affects western Europe.

CLANCY: Plus, Hala, not in my backyard. What is really at the heart of a neighborhood mosque dispute? .

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Welcome back to CNN International and YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: We're going to bring you an hour of news from the international perspective.

Now, some of our top stories this day, the White House looking to clash with Congress over expected plans to boost the number of U.S. troops in Iraq.

In Bangladesh, day two of a nationwide strike sees more clashes between protesters and police, while in Britain, an inquest into the death of Princess Diana reopens.

GORANI: Well, nine days after the execution of Saddam Hussein, the second trial he faced has resumed, and the court's first order of business was to drop any remaining charges against the former Iraqi dictator. Hussein was one of seven defendants in the Anfal case, each facing charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for the killings of some 180,000 Iraqi Kurds in the 1980s.

The remaining defendants include Hussein's cousin, Ali Hassan al- Majid, the man who became known as "Chemical Ali" for his alleged use of chemical weapons against the Kurds.

CLANCY: The U.S. president is set to address the nation on Wednesday night and unveil a new strategy for Iraq, but many question whether the new plan will be far reaching enough to secure that war- torn country.

White House Correspondent Elaine Quijano joins us now with more on the address -- Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you Jim.

Nearly four years into the Iraq war, President Bush is set to unveil his retooled plan for Iraq, and the president has asked the U.S. television networks for 25 minutes of time Wednesday night in order to deliver that speech.

Now, sources familiar with President Bush's deliberations tell CNN that over the weekend, White House speechwriters worked around the clock on this address, and that over the next couple of days the president will rework that speech. We're told the plan itself is not final yet, but that there are definitely aspects that have widespread agreement within the administration.

They include sending at least 20,000 U.S. forces into Baghdad and possibly other areas, expanding the training of Iraqi forces. Also, on the economic front, a new jobs program costing at least $1 billion. A focus on reconstruction as well, specifically beefing up teams to coordinate local construction project with Iraqi companies.

And on the political side, we do expect President Bush to express confidence in Iraq's prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, as he continues to tackle the challenges of sectarian violence.

Again, that speech set, Jim, for Wednesday night. White House Press Secretary Tony Snow says that the president has not done any run-throughs of that speech just yet, but that he has had a chance to take a look at what Snow called preliminary drafts -- Jim.

CLANCY: Elaine, we've been able to see a little bit of what the president has in mind. And part of that through the shift of personnel. And now we see Zalmay Khalilzad, an Afghan background, a man who's been there in Baghdad on the ground, sending him to the United Nations.

How does that fit into this -- into this picture?

QUIJANO: Well, certainly what the White House wants to do is start fresh, essentially. And we've seen that not only on the diplomatic side, but, of course, on the military side, as well. The president moving to make changes from his leadership in Iraq.

As you noted, in fact, that announcement by -- by the State Department, I should say, expected on Zalmay Khalilzad next hour, in fact, is what we are hearing, the White House's official intention to nominate Khalilzad to that post vacated by John Bolton.

Also, the question then remains, well, who will replace Khalilzad as U.S. ambassador to Iraq? We know the president's choice is in an ambassador to Pakistan, Ryan Crocker. It is certainly an open question as to what the White House hopes to accomplish with these changes.

But certainly the White House signaling that, along with this fresh approach, it wants to have some fresh faces, if you will, in terms of the people who are leading both the military effort but the diplomatic effort as well. Again, both those announcements expected -- announcements expected out of the State Department this afternoon.

CLANCY: A lot of experience on the ground, too.

Elaine Quijano, thank you very much.

The latest from the White House.

And, of course, CNN will have live coverage of the president's address to the American people. That's being carried at 9:00 p.m. Eastern in the United States, 01:00 hours Greenwich Mean Time for our international viewers.

GORANI: Restoring order and peace to Baghdad lies at the heart of the Bush administration's new strategy. Ryan Chilcote takes a look at the planned approach and the challenges on the ground that lie ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Fighting crime in a city of six million people is a daunting task. Cleaning up Baghdad, where more than 100 people are killed on any given day, is a mammoth task.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Baghdad is the center of gravity. And the battle will have to be won.

CHILCOTE: The new plan, cordon off the city and each of its neighborhoods. No one gets in or out unchecked. Then move in more Iraqi and American troops.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to be -- clean it, hold it, and inject cash in it to stimulate the local economy in that particular neighborhood, and to generate jobs and to attract young people to do useful jobs.

CHILCOTE: The U.S. and Iraq have launched crackdowns in Baghdad before, but those operations have failed to stop the killing. This time, Iraq's Shiite-led government is promising to go after both the Sunni-based insurgency and Shiite militias, including the Mehdi army in Sadr City, believed to be responsible for a large number of sectarian killings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually take on the Mehdi army?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take on Sadr City, clear the area from the insurgents. We have people -- bad people there who will be cleared.

CHILCOTE: U.S. troops will be fighting alongside Iraqi forces. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We would like the multinational forces to be everywhere within the police, within the army, and the checkpoints and the patrolling, and the combat forces.

CHILCOTE (on camera): The Baghdad security plan would require a massive amount of manpower. Not just more U.S. troops, but more Iraqi troops as well. Iraq says it will bring those troops in from outside the Iraqi capital, and in a change from just a couple of months ago, Iraq says it is ready to accept more American troops.

Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: All right, Hala. We're going to take a short break here.

When we come back, going to focus on a story making news in the United States, a dispute against neighbors turning a little bit sour.

GORANI: The construction of a mosque has some in Texas -- some in a Texas town saying, not in my backyard.

CLANCY: Also, internationally, take a look at that trade dispute. This is a new one between Moscow and Minsk. And it may leave the rest of Europe literally out in the cold.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And 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 of some other stories making headlines.

In New York, investigators are trying to track down the source of a pervasive and mysterious odor. It's been reported in Manhattan and as far as away as Newark, New Jersey. Homeland Security says it's not terrorism. Air quality tests suggests it's not hazardous, and leaking gas has not been ruled out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (R), NEW YORK CITY: The things that we know for sure are that the sensors do not show high concentration of natural gas that would be -- that would give us cause to be concerned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: We also have a bizarre story out of Austin, Texas.

Police there shut down 10 blocks in the heart of downtown. The reason? Dozens of birds found dead in the streets.

Experts testing for any sort of environmental problem like a gas or chlorine leak. Early air quality tests did not turn up any real concerns.

Let's check in now with Jacqui Jeras in the weather center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: The fight for Iraq and the battle over a new direction in the war. President Bush is hammering out details of a new strategy Wednesday night.

Stay with CNN and the best political team on television as President Bush unveils his new plan for Iraq. Live coverage, Wednesday at 9:00 Eastern on CNN.

That's a look at our top stories.

The "NEWSROOM" continues coming up at 1:00 Eastern. Kyra Phillips and Don Lemon will take you to Washington, where Condoleezza Rice is expected to make some personnel announcements.

Stay tuned for that when "NEWSROOM" continues at the top of the hour.

I'm Tony Harris.

Now back to YOUR WORLD TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

CLANCY: Somalia's president, Abdullahi Yusuf, is in Mogadishu on Monday for the first time since winning office in 2004. The remarkable turn of events came after Islamist forces were driven from power by government troops, as well as significantly reinforcements from Ethiopia.

As Barbara Star reports, the U.S. thinks this change in power came just in the nick of time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. officials here in East Africa tell CNN that Al Qaeda operatives were developing the ability to attack U.S. targets, just as they did in 1998 when U.S. embassies were bombed in Kenya and Tanzania, killing hundreds.

Intelligence shows that after an Islamic militia took power in Somalia in June, Al Qaeda stepped up its operations there. Camps taught radical Islam to young men. Weapons flowed in from East European arms dealers, and money from the Middle East. One official said, "We just couldn't live with it anymore. We were worried."

REAR ADM. RICHARD HUNT, TASK FORCE, HORN OF AFRICA: That's what we were really concerned about, is there seemed to be much more recruiting, much more training going on. They were positioning themselves to expand their area of influence beyond the Somali borders.

STARR: Three Al Qaeda operatives accused in the embassy bombing have been hiding for years. The U.S. believes they were closely tied to the Islamic group, the ICU.

JENDAYI FRAZER, ASST. SECY. OF STATE AFRICA AFFAIRS: We had felt that and see evidence, intelligence evidence, that these three al Qaeda operatives were also very much influencing the leadership of the Council of Islamic courts. For example, they were providing logistics, providing fuel, arms, et cetera, to the militia.

STARR: Neighboring Ethiopia was also worried by the prospect of a hardline Islamic regime next tour. Its invasion to oust the Islamic militia met with no objections from Washington. Frazer is now leading the U.S. government to support the fragile new government in Mogadishu, hoping it can keep both Al Qaeda and Somalia's traditional warlords in check.

The new Somali foreign minister says his country now wants U.S. troops back more than a decade after they withdrew.

ISMAEL HURREH, SOMALI FOREIGN MINISTER: More than anything else, we want the Americans to help us to train an efficient security force.

STARR (on camera): But the question now may The Bush administration has made it clear -- it will not send U.S. troops into Mogadishu. But the question now may be, what else is Al Qaeda sending into Somalia?

Barbara Starr, CNN, Nairobi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Religious tensions are turning neighbor against neighbor in one little corner of America.

As Ed Lavandera reports from the U.S. heartland, what started as a plan to build a mosque has turned into a neighborhood standoff, complete with pig races and fears of terrorism.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like a nice, quiet, lovely neighborhood. Cattle, pigs, donkeys

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Suburban sprawl meets countrytime flavor in Katy, Texas. That's the city's charm. But a new and unfamiliar sound can be heard along Baker Road. About 500 Muslim families in the Katy Islamic association plan to build a mosque on this 11-acre patch of land. Some in Katy are saying, not in my backyard.

LAURA HUGHES, RESIDENT; We want to keep our little piece of Americana, our rural/suburban area, just the way it is. That's what we want. We don't want commercial development. LAVANDERA: That's Laura Hughes. She's joined a neighborhood organization trying to stop the development of the mosque behind her home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So this kind of what we're used to back here.

LAVANDERA: Craig Baker lives and runs a granite business right next to where the mosque would be. His family moved here nearly 200 years ago. He said the first meeting with his Muslim neighbors ended badly.

CRAIG BAKER, RESIDENT: They told me I should probably consider packing up and moving out, and packing up my business and my family and moving out. And that was the first shot across the bow, I guess you would say.

LAVANDERA: The landowners deny this, but then Baker says members of the Katy Islamic Association called him a liar. That's when the gloves came off.

(on camera): When did this idea hit you?

BAKER: When they pissed me off.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Baker decided to retaliate. With Friday night pig races, families joining the festivities in support of Baker. Since Muslims don't eat pork and Friday is the holy day, the pig races are sending an unwelcome message to the mosque.

(on camera): Were you trying to be offensive?

BAKER: Probably.

LAVANDERA: Baker says he's not bigoted, just angry. But the Islamic Association is offended.

RAUF DIAB, KATY ISLAMIC ASSOC.: My kids go to the same schools, play in the same baseball leagues. And to be subject to this kind of hatred and intimidation that they've tried to put down on us, that's disappointing.

LAVANDERA (on camera): What started off as a squabble between neighbors has tapped into an undercurrent of fear. Some neighbors worry that when the mosque is built and Muslims move in, that a terrorist could sneak in, too.

BARBARA SIMPSON, RESIDENT: Am I saying that this particular group is a terrorist group? No, of course not. I'm not saying that at all. Is there a possibility that that faction will enter? Yes.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The distrust has apparently spread online with an anti-mosque Web site, urging Katy residents who oppose its construction to sign a petition, and call the FBI to report any suspicious activity. JUDY SULTAN, KATY ISLAMIC ASSOC.: People have been talking about this being a breeding ground for Al Qaeda, this being a breeding ground for terrorist organizations. I'm going to be perfectly honest with you, that is utterly ridiculous.

LAVANDERA: But opponents of the mosque insist this isn't about religion; it's about protecting property values and controlling traffic.

(on camera): People start talking about, oh, we don't want commercial development. You sure that's not something people are hiding behind?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think there is some fear of the unknown, and in saying that, I mean, we haven't been able to really get any kind of real hard factual information from them about what they're going to do.

LAVANDERA: Until then, Craig Baker says the pig races will continue on Friday nights, a fitting metaphor since many here feel the fight is dragging this neighborhood through the mud.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Katy, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Well, what can you say? Maybe a little bit of an overreaction. I don't know whether they're going to be able to pull it out or who's going to actually win that race in the end.

GORANI: Yes, we'll definitely be following that story, even though it's in a small corner of America, it's certainly representative of sometimes a wider debate.

Now, photographers are focusing on a new target in Britain.

CLANCY: The woman who could one day become the queen. Coming up, we're going to talk to a media expert about how far the paparazzi are going.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Hello. Welcome back to CNN International.

GORANI: We're broadcasting to 200 countries around the globe on YOUR WORLD TODAY. And now we look at this story.

CLANCY: That's right. Until boredom do us part. Maybe there's too much football on television Hala, but a new poll on divorce in Britain reveals nearly one in five couples there are on the brink of splitting up. One in three men say they are bored with their wife and their marriage.

Robert Murphy has more on the survey.

ROBERT MURPHY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a case of new year, new life for Sarah Redmayne-Porter. Last January, the 13th of her marriage, she told her husband she wanted to split up.

(on camera): What is it about this time of year, do you think, that people want to get divorced?

SARAH REDMAYNE-PORTER, DIVORCEE: I think because you're all together, no one is at work. The whole family is there, all the relations are there as well. I think it just magnifies the situation really. It's not a normal situation. It's almost a false situation really.

MURPHY: Today's study says one in five British marriages is on shaky ground, and the average marriage lasts just seven years and three months.

Solicitors say that a quarter of divorce cases are prompted by the discovery of a spouse having an affair.

JAMES STEWART, DIVORCE LAWYER: It's an incredibly busy day for me and almost every other lawyer I know, divorce lawyer I know. The phones rarely stop. It is the busiest day of the year.

MURPHY: Until death us do part. It's a phrase that many couples seem to be ignoring. So are marriages too easy to throw away and divorces too easy to get?

REDMAYNE-PORTER: A couple of years ago I did think that yes, it was too easy (INAUDIBLE) for younger people to get divorced. But having now gone through it myself, I realize it's not. If people knew what it was like once you start down that road of divorce, it is like a roller coaster, it's very, very hard emotionally. There's the finances to think of as well. But, yes, it is difficult.

MURPHY: So while this survey is bad news for marriages, it's great news for divorce lawyers.

Robert Murphy, ITV news.

GORANI: All right. Well, they probably haven't had time to get bored of each other yet, right? The prince and his girlfriend and the paparazzi who never seem to be too far away.

Kate Middleton is getting police protection after being hounded by the media. 25 years ago, of course, it was Princess Diana who was in the lens.

Will the press let up at some point and what do they find so fascinating about Kate Middleton?

Let's get a media perspective and go to Owen Beiny. he's the director of operations at World Entertainment News Network. Owen, thanks for being with us. Will Kate Middleton become the new Diana?

OWEN BEINY, WORLD ENTERTAINMENT NEWS NETWORK: Very much so. She's young. She's beautiful. The whole nation wants to know what she's going to do next. They want to know about the relationship with Prince William. This is one that's going to run and run and run. On top of all that, it's her birthday tomorrow. She's 25 years old. It's big stuff over here.

GORANI: All right and tell me -- let's talk dollars here right off the top because people are really interested in knowing. When you snap a picture like this of Kate Middleton, who some say might become Prince William's fiance, what are we talking about money-wise?

BEINY: It totally depends on whether the picture is what's called exclusive or non-exclusive. If the picture is non-exclusive, it means there's multiple photographers are there and everyone is jumping around and getting pictures.

The pictures aren't actually worth that much. In dollars, we're talking 100 bucks, 200 bucks, 300 bucks. If you get the pictures exclusively, there's no one else there, you're talking thousands upon thousands. It is a big, big business.

GORANI: Give us an example of a picture that did fetch that much for instance of Kate Middleton.

BEINY: For example, less than a month ago, almost three weeks ago now, we had exclusive photos of Kate Middleton potentially the future queen of England taking her rubbish out, just taking the trash out and chucking it in the dumpster. Those pictures went for, in dollars, getting on for $30,000.

GORANI: Wow, all right. Now, let me give you a hard time a little bit here, Owen Beiny. A lot of people say the paparazzi contributed in some way to the death of Princess Diana when she was chased and chased by those photographers in the tunnel in Paris. Where will you draw the line with Kate Middleton here?

BEINY: OK. I think things have moved on leaps and bounds since then. In the wake of Diana's death, there was new legislation brought in, paparazzi photographers are nowhere near as aggressive as they used to be back then.

The days of chases around through tunnels and over bridges and jumping off of cliffs et cetera, it just doesn't take place anymore. Unfortunately, the media gives paparazzi photographers a bad name in order to sensationalize it.

These days, it's much more calmed down. Those pictures are still worth big money, but people aren't prepared to go to the same lengths that they were. The amount of damage that was done back in the days of Diana, it's driven us to a new place where people can actually get on with their business in a sensible fashion.

GORANI: I'll tell you what, though. Maybe that's the case for you. But I find it hard to believe that if a picture is worth $1 million, for instance that Brangelina as we call them now, that picture in Africa that was taken of them on the beach, people are willing to kind of break the rules for that, right?

BEINY: Well, yes and no. There are some rogue photographers out there that will still go to those lengths. As far as the big agencies are concerned, like WNN who I work for, we've put measures in place to stop that happening.

For example, we now have all of our photographers sign a contract which states that they won't break the law, that they won't drive above the speed limit, that they won't use any illegal substances while working, they won't go to illegal properties, et cetera.

There's a certain process when pictures come into our office now, questions get asked. Unless the answer is yes to each one of those, they don't leave the office.

GORANI: All right. Last question here -- we hear Kate Middleton is getting 24-hour police protection. We don't know exactly what that means in terms of her future marital status. What does that mean for the paparazzi? Does that mean you have to back off?

BEINY: Quite the opposite, this is great news for us. We pray every day when we wake up that each celebrity or royalty will have their own police accompanying them.

This is just an extra way for us to make more money. The general public wants to see celebrities. They want to see them getting up to no good. They want to see them in trouble. What more can you hope for than the future queen of England having police protection. It makes a a great picture. It's worth more money and it's just another to prove that what paparazzi photographers do is neither illegal or untoward because we have professional policemen there to be witnesses to show that we're not doing anything wrong whatsoever. It's great.

GORANI: All right, Owen Beiny of World Entertainment News network. Thanks for being with us to discuss the new media tabloid darling. I'm sure you're excited.

CLANCY: Well really, it's the new higher standards that impress me so much, $30,000 to get a picture of a young lady taking out the trash, OK.

GORANI: All right, now we're going to take a short break on YOUR WORLD TODAY after that discussion. Battling the elements from ice and snow to blizzards and avalanches.

CLANCY: Coming up straight ahead, we're going to look at the conditions that skiers face on the roads and on the slopes, as a matter of fact, of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S. state of Colorado, the colorful state. Stay with us.

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CLANCY: All right, welcome back. They call it colorful Colorado. That's a U.S. state, Colorado. But today it is mostly white, and people from all walks of life are digging out from three consecutive weeks of major snowstorms.

GORANI: Well, safety crews have been using artillery fire to set off controlled avalanches.

CLANCY: That's right. They've been trying to minimize a repeat of weekend avalanches that swept two carloads of people off a highway and then down a steep hill.

GORANI: Rob Marciano has more.

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ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): The Rocky Mountains in winter. Paradise for powder hounds and back country skiers. But after three huge storms in the last two weeks, avalanches can quickly make that paradise a living hell.

A 15-foot-high wave of snow crashed down Berthoud Pass sweeping this car off a cliff Saturday. This van took the same ride, but remains hundreds of feet down the ravine. Miraculously no one was killed. But it's a sobering reminder to those heading up the hill.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You see the signs on the highway, on the way up. No stopping, avalanche danger, and that slide happened between two of those signs.

MARCIANO: Fresh snow, a tight chute, and steep incline make it pretty easy to determine where an avalanche will occur. They typically happen in the same place over and over. Trying to forecast when a slide will happen, is difficult business.

Stuart Schaefer is an avalanche forecaster. He tells highway crews and ski patrollers where the most dangerous spots are likely to be. There's lots of variables.

STUART SCHAEFER, AVALANCHE FORECASTER: Wind direction, winds can put snow in places where it's not easily detectable. The steepness of the slope, it's direction relative to an incoming storm, it will load -- one slope will load differently say as the wind is coming from the east as to a slope, where the wind is coming from the north. Some slopes will load out of a wide variety of wind conditions. Other slopes will load only out of a narrow range of wind conditions.

(on camera): What was the main reason for that slide over at Berthoud Pass?

SCHAEFER: No one knows yet, to tell you the truth. I'm not sure we're going to find out very fast.

MARCIANO (voice over): Schaefer himself has been caught in an avalanche or two.

(On camera): What did that feel like?

SCHAEFER: It felt very frightening, and, fortunately, I managed to extricate myself from one, and run out of the way of the other one.

MARCIANO: What kind of advice would you give -- do you give, to people who go play in the back country?

SCHAEFER: Know the slope you are skiing. Get a good forecast in the morning before you go out there. Don't just assume that because you have been on this slope before, you won't slide. Always understand that when you are dealing with avalanche-prone snow, no matter how sure you think you are, you are taking a risk.

MARCIANO: A risk many feel is worth taking. Rob Marciano, CNN, Berthoud Pass, Colorado.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: All right, that will do it for this hour of YOUR WORLD TODAY. Thanks for watching, I'm Hala Gorani.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. The news continues right here on CNN.

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