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Middle East Talks: U.S. Convening First Major Effort in Years; Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Registers for Parliamentary Elections
Aired November 26, 2007 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Handshakes and high hopes to revive a peace process. Mideast neighbors make separate stops at the White House.
JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Straight to work after seven years of exile. A former prime minister ousted in a coup registers as a candidate in Pakistan's upcoming elections.
GORANI: And former KGB agent, murder suspect, and now candidate for Russia's parliament. A man named the prime suspect in a radioactive poisoning explores a life in politics.
CLANCY: And a promise of beauty that comes with real risks. Skin bleaching creams are pulled from store shelves in Britain.
GORANI: It is 5:00 p.m. in London, 10:00 p.m. in Islamabad.
Hello and welcome, everyone. Our report is seen around the globe this hour.
I'm Hala Gorani.
CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy.
From Jerusalem to Jakarta, Moscow to Miami, where of you are watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
It's been on life support now for seven years, but diplomats making a major push this week to try to revive the Middle East peace process.
GORANI: The United States is hosting an ambitious conference that brings not just Israelis and Palestinians to the table but also, importantly, neighboring Arab States.
CLANCY: Now, President George W. Bush helping to lay the foundation for Tuesday's talks. He's meeting separately with Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and then a little bit later today with Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas.
GORANI: Israelis and Palestinians still haven't agreed on a joint statement to serve as the basis of the talks, and skepticism and suspicion are running high all around.
CLANCY: Well, both Mr. Bush and President Abbas say at least they've got some hopes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, Mr. Prime Minister, welcome.
It's an honor to have you back in the Oval Office. Thanks for coming to the Annapolis conference.
I'm looking forward to continuing our serious dialogue with you and the president of the Palestinian Authority to see whether or not peace is possible. I'm optimistic. I know you're optimistic. And I want to thank you for your courage and your friendship.
I'm proud of you.
EHUD OLMERT, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: ... in what I hope will launch a serious process of negotiations between us and the Palestinians.
This will be a bilateral process, but the international support is very important to us. And I thank you for the efforts that you made in order to make it possible, and the secretary of state, together, with us, in order to come to this point where from we and the Palestinians will sit together in Jerusalem and work out something that will be very good for our people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: Obviously, that wasn't the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas. That was the Israeli prime minister.
He's already met, of course, there at the White House with President Bush. President Abbas will be talking there at the White House coming up in the next hour.
One potential problem all three men face here is who is not at the table, Hamas. The group that controls all of Gaza says any decisions made aren't going to be binding on the Palestinian people.
Let's get more on the summit now from Atika Shubert in Jerusalem -- Atika.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, after months of preparation, numerous visits by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, there's one thing now that Palestinians and Israelis both agree on. Both are skeptical of what the outcome for the Annapolis summit will be.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHUBERT (voice over): In the run-up to Annapolis, there have been protests against the summit and rallies in support, but neither draws a big crowd. Public sentiment is somewhere in the Middle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is better than not doing anything, and I think it has some chance of a small step in success. It won't make peace, but it may take us closer to peace.
SHUBERT: Feelings echoed on the other side of the security wall.
"It's good that they are going," this teacher says, "but they aren't going to get anything from this summit. They have lots of meetings, but nothing ever comes of it."
While Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert pursue peace abroad, at home Annapolis is galvanizing the opposition. Islamic militant group Hamas has already called it "a failed and dangerous policy," organizing its own counter- conference in Gaza. Analysts say Abbas will have to convince the Palestinian public of Annapolis's merits or see support shift to Hamas.
GEORGE GIACAMAN, POLITICAL ANALYST: He is taking a huge gamble, in my opinion, especially in the context of the conference with Hamas. If he does not achieve substantial results from Palestinian point of view, he will be weakened.
SHUBERT: Israeli opposition leader and former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stoked fears that Annapolis will lead to a division of the holy city of Jerusalem and ultimately more violence.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI OPPOSITION LEADER: Instead of the end of conflict, it will be the beginning of conflict we cannot imagine. It ain't broke. Don't fix it.
SHUBERT: But for most Israelis, Olmert's efforts are met with indifference, not anger.
BARRY RUBIN, POLITICAL ANALYST: Most of the people also, of course, are in favor of Israel going, cooperating with the United States, and trying. They just don't expect much results.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SHUBERT: Now, just to give you a sense of the mood here on the streets, recent polls indicate that both Israelis and Palestinians, more than 60 percent, support peace talks, but the same number don't expect anything to come out of these negotiations -- Jim.
CLANCY: The U.S. could send hundreds of millions of dollars here. Palestinians, some of them concerned. The reason Fatah isn't in power and that Hamas was elected was because of the poor financial -- let's say it, the corruption of the Fatah organization. Nothing has been done to clean that up.
Is the U.S. also vulnerable here?
SHUBERT: The U.S. is certainly vulnerable here. It depends on the success of the Annapolis summit and how the Palestinian public, in particular, perceive whether or not the summit is a failure or a success.
Now, you mentioned, of course, the issue of corruption. This has been a problem for Fatah for some time. One of the interesting things about the upcoming summit is that Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayad will be there, he will be making his own presentation on building Palestinian institutions, and that is a key component of the talks coming up.
CLANCY: All right. A lot to be seen here, a lot of people watching this closely and wondering, will anything come of it.
All right. Atika Shubert there in Jerusalem.
Thank you.
Now, a lot of questions about what exactly can be accomplished here. We're going to put some of them to a State Department spokesman coming up in just a matter of minutes from now -- Hala.
GORANI: All right.
And in the meantime, let's check some other stories making headlines around the world this hour.
(NEWSBREAK)
GORANI: All right. Now to new developments in the political turmoil in Pakistan which is ongoing.
CLANCY: That's right. We're hearing in the last hours that General Pervez Musharraf is going to be stepping down as army chief and will be sworn in for another term as president as a civilian come Thursday.
GORANI: Well, this is the first official confirmation of the date since his handpicked supreme court partial to him legally secured the new five-year term for General Musharraf.
CLANCY: Now, his political archrival, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, registering as a candidate in upcoming parliamentary elections.
GORANI: Even though Sharif filed his nomination paperwork, he says he could still boycott the vote if it's held under emergency rule.
Karl Penhaul was in Lahore for Sharif's return from exile.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Coming home is sweet for Nawaz Sharif after years in exile. Amid a crush of supporters, he savors the return to Pakistan's political spotlight.
As prime minister, he was toppled in a bloodless military coup by Pervez Musharraf. Now he's returning to fight the emergency crackdown by his old enemy-turned-president.
Supporters try to storm the gates of Lahore airport to greet Sharif. Scuffles erupt, riot police wade in and lash out with their bamboo canes.
For these people, Sharif is their homecoming hero, even though there are indications he may have cut a deal with Musharraf to end his exile early. A rumor both he and Musharraf have denied to CNN.
Sharif flew back to Pakistan on an airplane supplied by the Saudi Arabian royal family. Clearly with a go-ahead from the Pakistani government.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He will bring prosperity, which he always has brought. And we're expecting more (INAUDIBLE).
PENHAUL (on camera): Do you think he's done a deal with Musharraf to be able to come back?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not at all. Not at all.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: No! No!
PENHAUL (voice over): Bad memories of Sharif's administration seem to have faded with his seven-year exile. Few here recall how his government was racked with allegations of multimillion-dollar corruption.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are so many allegations upon everyone. Out of those allegations, these are less allegations upon him. Due to that, we like him very much.
PENHAUL: More chaos back at the airport. Sharif tries to utter a few words. They're lost in the din.
Sharif heads for his home in a convoy of bulletproof cars. Those, too, supplied by the Saudi government. From his vehicle, the scenes look something like this.
(on camera): Thousands of supporters are blocking the advance of Mr. Sharif's motorcade right now. That's presenting a nightmare for security forces because a slow-moving motorcade presents an easy target for potential suicide bombers.
(voice over): When another political exile, Benazir Bhutto, returned to Pakistan in October, her motorcade was bombed. There were hundreds of casualties.
In the coming days, Sharif says he plans multi-party talks to map out a response to President Musharraf's emergency rule and possibly even a boycott of January general elections. But Pakistan's political opposition is divided. For now, Sharif's challenge is to rekindle old power.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Lahore, Pakistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: All right. We're going to take a short break here on YOUR WORLD TODAY. When we come back, one was on vacation, the other studying abroad. Both are now the focus of international investigations.
CLANCY: Coming up, more questions surface two years after the disappearance of an American teenager in Aruba, while police in Italy question a new suspect in the murder of a British college student.
GORANI: And taking risks for beauty. People hoping for lighter skin tones face dangerous consequences.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY right here on CNN International. And we're going to talk more about that Annapolis peace summit.
Iran is not attending the conference. Its ally, Syria, though, is. So is the regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia.
Can new players breathe new life into peace efforts?
Joining us to talk about that is Michael Pelletier of the U.S. State Department.
Thanks for being with us, Mr. Pelletier.
Why will this summit be any different from all the other efforts at establishing peace between Israelis and Palestinians?
MICHAEL PELLETIER, MIDEAST SPOKESMAN, U.S. STATE DEPT.: Well, I think you have a couple of elements which are good reason for some optimism.
First of all, you have in place a Palestinian government under President Abu Mazen and an Israeli government under Prime Minister Olmert that are really very publicly and truly committed to a peaceful solution the problem, to a two-state solution to the problem.
GORANI: Right.
PELLETIER: And furthermore, that that -- the commitment to the idea of a two-state solution is reaching out further. You also have very wide, as you mentioned just now, very wide Arab participation, international participation in the conference tomorrow in Annapolis. I think all of those things lead to some hope.
I think also when you look at some of the efforts by former prime minister Tony Blair, for example, for the quartet, at working on reform and establishing institutions necessary for a good, viable Palestinian state, all of those things are important. And...
GORANI: But, Michael Pelletier, all of those things have been in place for a while. You have two very weak leaders. The Palestinian isn't even representative of his entire population, Ehud Olmert is the least popular Israeli prime minister practically in history. George Bush won't be in office in 13 months' time.
Why would anything come out of this?
PELLETIER: Well, I think -- I think, first of all, in terms of Abu Mazen, if you look at it, his role as the authorized and legitimate negotiator of a peace settlement with the Israelis, as the negotiators for all of the Palestinian people...
(CROSSTALK)
GORANI: But he has no credibility with his own people. Hamas won democratic elections in Gaza.
PELLETIER: And Hamas, unfortunately, since their violent takeover of the institutions in Gaza and expulsion of Fatah and others from Gaza, I think has shown that it, unfortunately, refuses to meet the international sort of principles on which peace will be based -- recognizing Israel, denouncing and renouncing violence, respecting former agreement. Unfortunately, Hamas is sort of ruling itself out.
GORANI: But let me ask...
PELLETIER: The Palestinian people want peace, as your previous piece mentioned. I mean, overwhelmingly, the people want peace.
GORANI: OK. That's not under discussion. Palestinians want peace, they're suffering. Israelis want peace, they feel threatened. That's not under discussion.
But how can you have a Middle East peace summit that doesn't include Hamas? Forget whether or not you don't like them as a group or call them terrorists. How can you not?
PELLETIER: Well, I think what you have, and that's -- that's more important, is what you have, is, as I said, the two governments, Israeli and Palestinian, focused on peace and committed to it. You have the regional players, including those members of the Arab follow- up committee to the Arab peace initiative who are going to be there, who are supporting and encouraging and really backing up the Palestinians as they make these efforts.
You have the international community, the U.N. group, the G-8, the United States, and others, all of us there to support the Palestinians and the Israeli as they move forward. Everybody knows that these are tough decisions, these are tough subjects. I think, therefore, it's really important for all of us to be in there backing them so that success is possible.
GORANI: I just -- I just still don't understand. I mean, maybe you can help me understand this.
How is it possible to discuss peace between two partners when a good chunk of that partner on the Palestinian side is not represented, when Iran is not being talked to either, and they're being accused of financing Hamas? How is it possible? You're only talking to people you already agree with. PELLETIER: No. On the contrary, I think if the Israelis and the Palestinians already agreed on everything then we would be settled. I think there are a lot of issues out there.
I think that it's important not to downplay or belittle the fact that President Abu Mazen is the democratically-elected representative, legitimate head of the Palestinians, particularly of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, which has the right to negotiate for the Palestinian people. Ehud Olmert is the prime minister of Israel and has that power as the Israeli prime minister.
GORANI: Sure, but Ismail Haniyeh was a democratically-elected prime minister of the Palestinians.
PELLETIER: And unfortunately, we have seen that the Hamas organization has refused to meet those international principles, has -- there's been violence, there's been some real problems with the situation in Gaza. And the United States, the international community, is very concerned about the plight of those Palestinians who are in Gaza, stuck under that situation.
But I think that makes it all the more important that those of us who believe in peace, who have a positive vision of the region, who can imagine two states living side by side and really succeeding, it's therefore, all that more important that we work toward that and we support efforts in that direction. The Palestinian people deserve it and the Israeli people deserve it.
GORANI: You know the Arab world, you speak Arabic yourself. You've been around, you know how much skepticism there is.
In any case, we will continue to follow this story, of course.
Michael Pelletier of the State Department.
Thanks so much for being on YOUR WORLD TODAY.
PELLETIER: Thank you.
CLANCY: All right. Let's shift focus now to news making headlines in Europe, certainly.
A Spanish talk show under intense scrutiny right now after a guest segment blamed for a killing. It all happened on "Diario de Patricia," or "Patricia's Diary." And it is sparking intense interest, where else, but on YouTube.
Here's the video we are talking about.
Now, a guest received a surprise visit from her ex-boyfriend on the show, and he got down and proposed marriage. What viewers didn't know was that he had beaten her for years, according to her, and that she had a restraining order out against him.
Now, she turned down the proposal, just saying flat no. And then five days later, she was found with her throat slashed and later died. The ex-boyfriend has now been charged with murder. Critics want the television station to drop "Patricia's Diary," the whole show, as a result. Spain's government wants a code of conduct imposed on such programs, setting a high rate of violence against women.
Another murder case we're following in a small Italian town. It, too, grabbing international headlines. One of the suspects now in the case says he did see who killed British student Meredith Kercher.
Our Jennifer Eccleston has the latest now for us from Rome.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Rudy Hermann Guede told a German judge he did not kill Meredith Kercher, the 21-year-old British exchange student in Italy whose brutal sexual assault and murder is making news around the world. But Guede told the judge he did see who did it.
Guede was arrested in Germany last week in connection with the November 1st murder of Kercher. He is the fourth suspect in the case.
He says he was in Kercher's bathroom when Kercher was killed. His Italian lawyer tells CNN, "After hearing Kercher scream, Guede saw an Italian man in Meredith's room. He tried to fight the man, but he ran away."
Walter Biscotti (ph) says his client didn't know the man's identity, but believes this man slashed Kercher's throat. In her final conscious moments, Biscotti (ph) said, "The dying student whispered the initials 'A.F.' to his client." He says Guede then scribbled those letters in blood on her bedroom wall and fled.
Why didn't Guede call the police? His lawyer says he was too frightened.
The forensics lab in charge of the case tells CNN no initials were found on the wall. Guede was arrested after several samples of his DNA and a bloody fingerprint were found at the scene.
All the prosecution team in Perugia will say is suspects sometimes lie. They're awaiting his extradition from Germany, after which he'll be put in the same jail as two other suspects in Kercher's murder, American Amanda Knox and her Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito.
Knox and Sollecito deny any involvement in the murder and sexual assault of Kercher, who was Knox's roommate. Neither is formally charged but can be held up to one year under Italian law.
Another man, Patrick Lumumba, remains a suspect, but a judge ruled there was not enough evidence to hold him. He also denies any involvement and his lawyers are asking the court for a second autopsy on Kercher's body. They want a more precise time of death which they say will prove their client was not at her apartment the night she died. (on camera): The judge's decision on a second autopsy could come Tuesday. Meredith Kercher's body lies in a British morgue. A lawyer for her family here in Italy says they don't want their daughter's body to suffer anymore. They just want to bury her as soon as possible.
Jennifer Eccleston, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, a check of U.S. headlines is up next for our viewers in the United States.
CLANCY: And then for everyone else, we're going to have a look at business news.
And then a little bit later, we take you down to Latin America.
GORANI: Many students in Venezuela aren't studying for tests. Instead, they are planning protests against constitutional changes they say aren't democratic.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Girl missing and told family members Riley had been taken by social workers. Coming up in the 2:00 hour of the CNN NEWSROOM, we'll talk with an investigator about the next steps in this case.
Meteorologist Chad Myers is tracking some rain and how it's affecting travel.
Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LEMON: Here's a, I wish I was a fly on the wall story, Chad, that's going to be coming up. He's back. Will there be a big chill or a warm welcome for former Vice President Al Gore at the White House this afternoon? There's not exactly a lot of love between Gore and President Bush after the tense 2000 election. Gore's being honored with other Nobel Prize winners in the 3:00 p.m. Eastern hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. We'll bring it to you as it happens.
I'm Don Lemon. I'll see you at the top of the hour. "Your World Today" right after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: A warm welcome back to our viewers joining us from around the globe, including the United States. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Jim Clancy. HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Hala Gorani. And here are the top stories we're following for you this hour.
The Pakistani president, Pervez Musharraf, is set to step down as army chief before being sworn in for another term as president on Thursday. Meanwhile, the former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, back from exile, filed the necessary election papers to run in upcoming parliamentary elections.
CLANCY: Spanish police say a man killed his ex-girlfriend after she rejected his marriage proposal on a television talk show. The man made a surprise appearance on the show. She had already taken out a restraining order against him after years, she says, of beatings.
GORANI: George Bush says he's optimistic about the chances for Middle East peace. He met with the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, at the White House ahead of Tuesday's peace summit. Skepticism, though, is running high in many corners that any results will be achieved.
CLANCY: Mr. Bush also going to meet separately today with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Noticeably left off of the guest list, of course, Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza. Hamas leaders say any decisions made at the U.S. talks without the rightfully elected part of the government will not be binding.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISMAIL HANIYA, HAMAS LEADER, (through translator): We believe that this conference is stillborn and will not realize any of the political aspirations, rights and ambitions of the Palestinian people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: Now a key ally of Hamas and financial backer, Iran, also, of course, not invited. That country is already calling this conference a failure, saying it's meant to really salvage America's reputation rather than help the Palestinian people. Aneesh Raman is in Tehran.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): It's as old as Iran's revolutionary regime, the acclaimed brotherhood with the Palestinians. Here's Yasser Arafat in Tehran in the early '80s. In Tehran today, there's a Palestine square, a monument to Palestinian resistance and plenty of slogans, which means Iran should be the Palestinian's best friend. But Iran and Hamas, its surrogate in the battle with Israel, won't be coming to Annapolis.
In Iran, the Palestinian cause has always been linked with an antagonism towards Israel. And you see it virtually everywhere. Right now we're just off a main highway that runs through Tehran. And across it is a mural with a portrait of Hamas' spiritual founder, Sheikh Yassin. But just above it, a familiar slogan, "down with the USA and Israel." When Hamas, which refuses to recognize Israel, won big in Palestinian legislative elections, Iran went beyond slogans, sending money to Hamas' stronghold in Gaza, putting Israel on edge. And if George Bush heads to Annapolis, getting even Syria, an Iranian ally, to sit at the table, Hamas and Iran are not invited. And for them opportunity knocks.
MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, PRESIDENT OF IRAN, (through translator): Which of these participants in Annapolis is the real representative of the Palestinian people. What right do they have to go there?
RAMAN: So instead of there, Ahmadinejad is bringing them here, planning a conference soon with the head of Hamas, Khaled Meshall, and Palestinians who favor the group. For Iran, the Annapolis summit isn't just about the Palestinians.
PROF. MAJID MARANDI, TEHRAN UNIVERSITY: Yes, I think it's more about Bush in the eyes of most Iranians and most politicians in the country.
RAMAN: Many Iranians say the Palestinian cause must be helped as fellow Muslims. But amid a lagging economy, more and more question the money leaving home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, (through translator): The help should be given inside Iran, not to the Palestinian people. We need help. There's poverty and unemployment.
RAMAN: Still, for Iran's president, Annapolis is another welcome challenge to see if President Bush can influence a conference of neighbors where one of its key residents, Iran, is absent.
Aneesh Raman, CNN, Tehran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, there is trouble for the Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, one week before voters decide the fate of proposed changes to the constitution. An independent poll conducted by a Caracas polling firm, says that 49 percent of likely voters oppose the reforms, while 39 percent support them. Reforms proposed by Chavez include extending presidential terms from six to seven years. But critics say the moves would actually endanger democracy by expanding presidential powers in Venezuela.
CLANCY: Interestingly, college students in Venezuela have been at the forefront of pro-democracy demonstrations. They have a long history of activism that's taken them to the streets in massive numbers at times. Harris Whitbeck has witnessed some of that. He talked with some of the students about their motivation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): They call this the bunker. And here at the student center at Andres Bello (ph) University in Caracas, student organizers have a sense of urgency. It is here where the student protests against President Hugo Chavez, that have at times paralyzed Venezuela's major cities, are organized.
On this day, the students have received information that rival Chavez supporters are going to attempt to storm the campus. It wouldn't be the first time the opposition student movement has been targeted.
YON GOICOECHEA, LAW STUDENT: Last Friday the security forces of the state get out -- get injured or injured the students here at this campus.
WHITBECK: And the campus is still papered with pictures of a gunmen, suspected of being a Chavez supporter, who fired into a student rally, injuring eight people. At the center of the storm, 23- year-old Yon Goicoechea, a law student who has become the opposition student movement's most visible leader.
GOICOECHEA: (INAUDIBLE) means equality for the people in terms of their relationship with the state.
WHITBECK: Heady terms for students who would normally be concentrating on their books, but Venezuela still remembers the role student protesters have played in the past. In 1958, thousands of students took to the streets for weeks to demonstrate against the dictatorship of General Marcos Perez Jimenez. He eventually was toppled from power.
GOICOECHEA: In our cases, we just have the motivation to build a new country. And we know that the university and the youth are (INAUDIBLE) ready to make those transformations in our state for the future.
WHITBECK: Now, as President Hugo Chavez attempts to pass a series of constitutional amendments his opponents consider anti- democratic, the students vow to stay on the streets, no matter how dangerous it might get.
Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Caracas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: Coming up next, Britain's most wanted. A rising star now in Russian politics?
GORANI: He is accused of killing a former Russian agent, Alexander Litvinenko. Now he's running for parliament. Could it mean he will escape trial? Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CLANCY: Hello, everyone, and welcome back. You are watching YOUR WORLD TODAY here on CNN International." I'm Jim Clancy.
GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. We're seen everywhere in the world, including this hour the U.S. Welcome, everyone.
Now to new developments in a two-year-old missing person's case that has three suspects back in jail. U.S. teenager Natalee Holloway disappeared while she was on vacation in Aruba in 2005. Police are re-investigating two brothers and a Dutch man. In Aruba, here's Susan Candiotti.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): If a prospect of facing another judge and another jail bothered him, Joran van der Sloot wasn't letting it show under police escort back to Aruba. CNN obtained this exclusive video of van der Sloot during his extradition. Today, van der Sloot is expected to find out why he might face charges in the presumed death of Natalee Holloway.
HANS MOS, CHIEF PROSECUTOR: We think there has been action and facts that fit into a much smaller case or lesser versions of that like battery, resulting in her death.
CANDIOTTI: CNN has learned investigators found discrepancies after re-analyzing the time and location of e-mails, text messages and phone calls among the three suspects the night Natalee Holloway disappeared. What caused Holloway's probable death and what role, if any, van der Sloot and brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe played, prosecutors won't say or don't fully know. All three young men have always maintained their innocence.
Behind these prison walls, in a rural part of the island, a judge will meet with van der Sloot and his attorneys. If there's enough probable cause, van der Sloot will have to remain behind bars for more interrogations. In separate jailhouse hearings Friday, the same judge ruled the Kalpoe brothers must be held for another week.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, Oranjestad, Aruba.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: Andrei Lugovoi is known in Russia for one reason, the British government accused him of poisoning former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko with radiation. Litvinenko is, of course, dead now. Lugovoi has maintained he's innocent and now says his experiences would just make him the perfect politician. Turning notoriety into election. Our senior international correspondent, Matthew Chance, sat down with the unlikely candidate.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): You might think Andrei Lugovoi would keep a low profile. But the prime suspect in a horrific murder has ambitious plans -- touring Russia, canvassing support for a seat in the country's parliament. Center of a major diplomatic rift between Moscow and London, he says he's ideal for Russian politics.
ANDREI LUGOVOI, RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT CANDIDATE, (through translator): I have gained much experience in the past year, being exposed to tremendous pressure from Britain, unjustly charging me with killing Litvinenko. I think I should take a more active position in my life and demonstrate to Russian citizens what Russia is and which way it should be developing in the future.
CHANCE: But you said yourself, the only reason you're known in Russia and around the world is because the British authorities have accused you of murdering Alexander Litvinenko. Is that really the basis for a political career?
LUGOVOI: Any politician in the world is little known at first. This case has been in the world headlines all year long and so many words have been written accusing me, Russia, the president, the Russian special services, I think it's not just about Litvinenko. It's something of a much larger magnitude that's made my name recognizable to the world.
CHANCE: It's been just over a year since the agonizing death of Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian agent turned Kremlin critic, poisoned with a radioactive isotope, polonium 210. British police say they suspect Lugovoi of poisoning his tea in a London hotel. Extradition requests were turned down. Russia says its constitution bans deporting its own citizens for trial. But the scandal has turned the suspected assassin into a local celebrity, with diehard Russian patriots and many other Russians ready to vote for him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, (through translator): Yes, I've heard there were proceedings against him on murder charges. Lugovoi didn't say who exactly killed Litvinenko. I don't know, but it looks like he is not guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, (through translator): I don't believe that he killed anyone. In my opinion, he is a kind and honest man.
CHANCE: And if that public sympathy gets him elected, Russian parliamentary membership will bring benefits, a diplomatic passport and immunity from Russia's courts. Lugovoi denies this is his motivation.
Isn't that the reason you're really standing for political office, to get that immunity from prosecution?
LUGOVOI: For me, immunity is provided by the Russian constitution. As far as parliamentary immunity is concerned within Russia, in the past few years, if law enforcement bodies present solid proof, this immunity can be easily lifted.
CHANCE: Until then, one of Britain's most wanted men, a rising star of Russian politics, may escape trial for a terrible crime.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: Drug bust, the drugstore. Well, authorities are on the prowl for some illegal cosmetics in Britain.
GORANI: Some say they're like paint thinner on your face. So why do so many people use them? That's next.
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GORANI: Welcome back.
Well, cosmetic companies are cashing in on people who want paler skin.
CLANCY: And, you know, if you've lived in the United Kingdom or any place in Asia, south Asia, it's common to see these skin whitening products just lining store shelves.
GORANI: But not all of them are safe to use.
CLANCY: Alphonso van Marsh, our correspondent in London, went along on a hunt by police for illegal cosmetics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Seems polite.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the routine inspection under the cosmetic products regulations.
VAN MARSH: But this is a raid for contraband cosmetics.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This product's totally banned.
VAN MARSH: Ray Bout (ph), a senior public protection officer in London, has found skin bleaching soaps with hydroquinone. It's illegal to sell them in Britain.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a major problem. No matter how many times we visit shops and tell people what the law is, they still appear on the shelves.
VAN MARSH: The store manager admits they've been busted before and fined more than $100,000 altogether.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This has come in. It's a mistake that it's come in. And we've -- it's gone unnoticed.
VAN MARSH: This commercial suggests a man with lighter skin gets the girl and succeeds in life. This product doesn't list hydroquinone as a key ingredient, but it is especially appealing to the south Asian community in Britain.
ALEXANDRA RICHMOND, COSMETICS ANALYST: We've noticed a number of launches of not just skin creams, but also soaps, as well as deodorants that contain whitening and bleaching agents within them.
VAN MARSH: Many dermatologists say skin lighters, used as directed for blemishes and age spots, are safe. But persistent overuse carries a risk because some chemicals may have a cumulative effect. In the United States, hydroquinone is legal but the Food and Drug Administration says it may have a potential cancer risk for humans. SUJATA JOLLY, RESEARCH SCIENTIST: There is no safe way of bleaching your skin beyond your natural color.
VAN MARSH: Research Scientist Sujata Jolly says she's treated patients so desperate to be paler some have rubbed the stuff on their bodies for years.
JOLLY: Initially it will appear to lighten the skin. The reaction between the sun and the chemicals trigger an oxidation reaction, which then starts turning the skin darker. And as the skin gets darker, one uses more cream, more rigorously. And doing that, you start to break the skin, which will then penetrate into the bloodstream and reach your liver and kidneys. And that's where it could cause more harmful damage.
VAN MARSH: Skin bleaching is such a sensitive issue we couldn't find anyone willing to admit on camera to bleaching their skin. And it's not as if minority communities just got here. Many have been British citizens for generation. So why then does this white is right mentality still exist in modern Britain?
This psychiatrist says for some people it goes back to slavery, where lighter skinned slaves, usually the offspring of slave and master, were given preferential treatment.
DELE OLAJIDE, KING'S COLLEGE LONDON: Over the years, people who have come to see fairer skin as equivalent to being more intelligent, be more attractive and be more sexually appealing.
VAN MARSH: However, misplaced that perception, the desire for lighter skin is enough to make store owners take risks for profit and consumers risk their health.
Alphonso Van Marsh, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: That is our report for this hour. I'm Jim Clancy.
GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. Stay with CNN.
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