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Phone Hacking Charges Filed; E.U. Tightens Syria Sanctions
Aired July 24, 2012 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. We are taking you around the world in 60 minutes.
Here's what's happening right now.
You are watching a dramatic rescue in flood-ravaged China. Two cars and a wedding caravan dropped 30 feet into a river when a bridge collapsed. Rescuers made it down with ropes, broke open the sunroof and pulled the driver to safety.
Others in China not so fortunate. At least 37 people have been found dead after the heaviest rain in 60 years slammed major cities and suburbs.
Late-night attacks in Iraq pushed yesterday's death toll to 103, making it the deadliest day there this year. Bombs and bullets ripping across several cities most of them targeting Shiite Muslims. No group has claimed responsibility for these attacks, but they came just days after al Qaeda announced it was making a comeback against Iraq's weakened government.
As the violence in Syria escalates, the European Union is calling for tightening sanctions. In May of last year, the E.U. ban weapons exports to Syria. Well, now, member nations will now be required to search ships and airplanes suspected of carrying suspicious cargo to Syria.
Meanwhile, the opposition reports heavy fighting in Aleppo and Damascus, saying 54 have been killed across the country today.
Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and Paul McCartney, they are among the alleged celebrity victims in Britain's phone-hacking scandal.
Well, now, British police, they are charging some prime suspects. A former aide to British Prime Minister David Cameron and former protege of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, they are topping the list. They are among the eight journalists charged today.
Dan Rivers, he's joining us from London to talk a little bit about this.
And, Dan, they're accused of illegally eavesdropping on the voicemails of some of the world's biggest celebrities, but also a murder victim as well. Remind us just how big this case has become.
DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it's become vast. We're only really at the beginning of the legal process here. We've got eight people charged today with hacking phones or commissioning people to hack phones.
They include Rebekah Brooks, who is one of Rupert Murdoch's most trusted executives. He was the CEO of News International. She used to edit the disgraced tabloid newspaper "The News of the World."
Her deputy Andy Coulson has also been charged with five different counts. He, of course, went on to be a communications director for the British prime minister, so there are political implications. We have a whole slew of other senior journalists on the newspaper who have also been charged.
But the victims, we're getting more and more information about the kind of variety of people whose phones it is alleged were intercepted or hacked into. Sir Paul McCartney, the former Beatle, Jude Law, Sienna Miller, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, a load of British politicians, sports stars. The case that really got this all going in the British consciousness was of a murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, who was 13 when she was killed in 2002. It is alleged journalists even hacked into her phone in their attempts to get a story.
MALVEAUX: And, Dan, we should mention Rupert Murdoch's media empire includes FOX News, "The Wall Street Journal," "The New York Post", 20 Century Fox Film Studio, the list goes on here. This scandal has rocked the empire here. Were there any surprise das in today's charges?
RIVERS: Well, there were some people that weren't charged, 13 suspects whose files were forwarded to prosecutors, only eight were charged. Now, three of those, there will be no further action. Two possibly there may be charges in the future once they get all their information together.
But what's critical at the moment is this hasn't been brought to the kind of doorstep of the Murdoch, so James Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch's son has not been charged and it has been very clear all along he knew nothing about this. In fact he joined the organization News International --
MALVEAUX: Right.
RIVERS: Well after all this broke. So as of yet, it hasn't got that far up the chain, but Rebekah Brooks was definitely one of his most trusted lieutenants.
MALVEAUX: All right. Dan Rivers -- thank you, Dan.
The Syrian government is trying to explain what it said and what it really meant. On Monday, the foreign ministry said it would the country's chemical weapons foreign aggressors. Well, today, the regime is now accusing the media of taking them out of the context, portraying them as a declaration on the use of weapons mass destruction.
So, as Fionnuala Sweeney reports, the threat of chemical weapons has added a new dangerous dimension to the Syrians crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the fighting intensifies and the Assad regime's grip on power weakens, there are growing concerns in the international community over Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons.
U.S. officials say the Assad regime has moved some of those weapons in recent days. The regime strongly denies there are any plans to use them.
JIHAD MAKDISSI, SYRIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN: Any stocks of WMD or any unconventional weapon that the Syrian Arab republic possessed -- would never -- would never be used against civilian or against the Syrian people during this crisis at any circumstances, no matter how the crisis would evolve, no matter how.
SWEENEY: The regime is believed to have a number of chemical facilities from outside the northern city of Aleppo, south to the capital Damascus.
Classified talks between the U.S., Jordan, Turkey, the U.K. and France are heating up over whether Syria would resort to using chemical weapons or if those weapons could fall into terrorist hands.
KING ABDULLAH, JORDAN: I think they know there will be an immediate knee-jerk reaction from all of us in the neighborhood, including the international community, if the Syrian regime would make the mistake of using those chemical weapons.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: More al Qaeda fighters, media reports that chemical weapons are being moved around. Israel being very concerned about some of those chemical weapons reaching Hezbollah.
PRES. SIMON PERES, ISRAEL: Assad is out.
SWEENEY: In an exclusive interview, Israeli President Shimon Peres tells CNN his country is preparing contingency plans to attack Syria's chemical weapons arsenal if Israel is directly threatened.
PERES: You don't have the right to use them, and what do you when of violence and all, the law -- you fight against it to stop them. And the Syrians must be aware that what they do is against international law and endangering here our lives. So, we shall not remain indifferent and tell them, do what you want.
SWEENEY (on camera): How far are you prepared to go?
PERES: Until it's stop being a danger.
SWEENEY (voice-over): But the Syrian regime insists the weapons are safe.
JIHAD MAKDISSI, SYRIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN: All these stocks of this weapon that the Syrian Arab republic possessed are monitored -- monitored and guarded by the Syrian army. These weapons are meant to be used only and strictly in the event of external aggression against the Syrian Arab republic.
SWEENEY: Fionnuala Sweeney, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Rebel and Syrian regime forces, they are battling for control of two key towns. The fighting is fierce and the human cost, of course, is high. One example the town of Atareb, it is located just west of Syria's larger city, Aleppo.
Rebels say that the government forces shelled and gutted. As Ivan Watson explains, it is now home to a street with an ominous nickname.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Syrian regime as lost this town, but a retreating army left a trail of destruction in its wake. Atareb was home to one of the busiest markets in northeast Syria. Now, it's a bombed-out ghost town.
(on camera): This bullet-riddled is mostly deserted except for rebels and a few shell shock residents.
This road was nicknamed "The Street of Death," because anyone who stepped foot on here was likely to be shot.
(voice-over): Atareb sets on a strategic crossroads just 20 miles from the commercial capital of the Aleppo. Rebels captured it a few weeks ago after months of fighting. After months of fighting, they bled for this town.
"My brother is a prisoner, they captured him during a battle here," this fighter says.
"My cousin was killed by a sniper who shot him in the head."
The retreating government troops left behind a mini-graveyard of burned out armored vehicle, and pro-regime graffiti with a terrifying warning. The words say "Either Assad or we'll burn this city."
The rebels lead me into a ransacked municipal building regime troops used as a base. Some of the government soldiers marked the walls proudly identifying themselves as men of the special operations unit.
These are some of the sniper's nests they used.
Residents tell horror stories of atrocities committed by government troops. They said they were punishing us because we fed and sheltered the anti-government demonstrators says, Uma Abdul Assiss .
"They captured my son and ran a plow over his legs, even though he was handicapped," she tells me. "Then they threw his body down the street. They shot him in the chest, in his head, and in his arm," the woman says. I hope Bashar's mother loses her son one day.
Locals say government troop still shell daily from a base a few miles away.
In this ruined town, there is anger and grief and fear.
During our brief visit, we see a prisoner break free from some rebels. "Please don't tell me," he screams. "For God's sake, please pardon me." Rentals tell us later the man is a suspected looter to be judged by a legal council.
We never saw what happened to him.
Ivan Watson, CNN, Atareb, Syria.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Here are some of the stories we're covering. London's last-minute scramble to get more security ahead of the Olympics. Why the city is adding hundreds of troops now.
And an all-girl punk band takes on Russian President Vladimir putting music as a form of protest. But they are now paying a big price. They are now in jail.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: It's a security fiasco of Olympic proportions. Just days out from the open ceremony, 1,200 more British troops, they have been called in to bolster the security at the games.
So, last week, you had these red-faced security officials admitting they just couldn't supply of number of guards they had originally promised. Well, the chairman of the games organizing the committee, this is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN COE, LONDON ORGNAZING CMTE. FOR OYLMIPC GAMES: We are ready. You know, we are ready on security. The challenge we have, and you know, there's no point in being coy about it. The challenge we've had was never about numbers. We've been secure on numbers. It was actually about the mix.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: It is actually about the numbers.
Jim Boulden, he's joining us from CNN's Olympics bureaus in Olympics bureau in London.
Jim, so just last week, 3,500 call in. Now, we've got 1200 more. Do they talk about any kind of number that they had in mind ideally that will provide security for folks who are going to be there?
JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDLT: Well, there was supposed to be 10,000 of these private security guards and only trained and got ready about 6,009 if them. Let's put this into perspective, Suzanne, because there's more than 18,000 members of the military now being used to protect places like the Olympic Park, but it's still led by police as well.
So, there's always been about the mix, of how many soldiers they wanted to see on the streets, and until now, until the last few weeks, they didn't want to see as many soldiers. Obviously they say today they just don't want to take any risks, because the private security isn't able to do sort of airport-type security to go into venues.
So there will just be more military, more than 18,000 on the streets, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Jim, talk about this private security firm, the center of all. This is G4s. They have thieves that vandalize a church right under that you are noses?
BOULDEN: Yes. You know, this is a huge contract. It was a really big deal, G4S. one of the world's largest private security firms, said they have not been able to do it. They publicly traded on the market. There are stocks that have been hammered because of this and they are probably some of the cuter contracts might come under could supply 10,000 people to help protect the Olympics. They have not been able to do it.
They're publicly traded on the stock market. Their stocks have been hammered because of the this, and probably some other contracts may come under review as well. So, it has been a huge embarrassment.
They still say they should be able to get more people ready above before the Olympics starts, but they only have three more days.
MALVEAUX: How does the government, the British government pay for all of this?
BOLDUAN: Well, G4S is going to pay the extra bit. No doubt about that. That came very clear a few days ago, because the security was actually with the organizers. That's who the organizers hired to do this. So, they're not able to do that.
So, so far, obviously the soldiers are paid already anyway, and they're already in the country. So there will be a bit of extra cost for the private firm, but the government has said their security budget has stayed the same for years.
MALVEAUX: All right. Jim, tell us a little bit about what's going on there where you are. Obviously, there are probably some people getting ready, some activities going on behind you?
BOULDEN: Yes. I mean, this is, of course, the Olympic Stadium behind me. We were hearing Paul McCartney doing some of his sound checks. They had a big special preview last night, a practice for the opening ceremony on Friday. People have been asked not to reveal too much of what was said.
Also, of course, the torch relay has been going through London. Finally, it came to London on Friday, and we saw it going ton the underground today, through west London.
It's pretty special to see it going on underground train.
But what the organizers are hoping is that people of London will really catch the Olympic fever by seen this torch finally going through the streets of London before it gets here on Friday.
MALVEAUX: What about world that possibly Muhammad Ali would be showing up as well?
BOULDEN: Well, I knew his brother was coming. And I heard that a few days ago. And there's been some talk that may be Muhammad Ali be involved somehow in the torch in the ceremony behind me. So, there is still don't know for sure who is going to light the flame, but there has been talk that Muhammad Ali could somehow be involved.
MALVEAUX: All right. That's great. Jim, thanks. Good to see you.
Olympic athletes are thinking about the food to eat for peak performance, right. But one Muslim is deciding whether to eat at all.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She's the first woman from the United Arab Emirates to qualify for the Olympic Games outright.
For this 17 years old Khadija Fahed Mohammed, competing in London will be the chance of a lifetime, but beating her opponents isn't her only hurdle to winning gold. She's wrestling with a bigger obstacle. This year, the Olympics fall during Ramadan, the holiest month in Islam, which means abstaining from food and water from dawn to dusk, and Fahed, a devout Muslim doesn't know what to do.
KHADIJAH FAHED MOHAMMED, WEIGHTLIFTER (through translator): Fasting is a must, but it's our first time in the Olympics, and this is our chance. Ramadan just happened to be at the same time as the competition, so no one knows what to do. Should we fast or not?
JAMJOOM: Ramadan is one of the five tenets of Islam. And for many Muslims, not observing the fast is considered immoral.
AHMED ABDULAZIZ AL HADDAD, GRAND MULTI-DUBAI: It is not allowed for a Muslim man or woman to break their fast unless they are traveling or feeling sick.
JAMJOOM: The balance between faith and performance is nothing new. And it's not just Muslim athletes who deal with it. Athletes of all faiths have struggled with the question to compete or not to compete.
Nineteen-year-old Olympian Hemeed al Drei has made his decision. The judo schedule could include up to six matches on his day. To win he says fasting is not an option.
HEMEED AL DREI, OLYMPIAN (via telephone): I don't think I should feel guilty, because this is what the competition needs. God is merciful and compassionate, even if our sins --
JAMJOOM: Fahed has no plans to pull out, but the young athlete still hasn't decided to fast or not to fast.
Mohammed Jamjoom, CNN, Abu Dhabi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: It is the bloodiest series of wars since World War II, yet you rarely here about this, almost 5.5 million people have been killed since fighting erupted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. That is back in 1996, fighting continues in the eastern part of the country.
And child soldiers are being used by all of the armed groups. Dave McKenzie reports on his tragic story of a war child.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVE MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When the militia attacked John's village, everything change.
UNIDENTIFIED KID (through translator): They came at night, they caught me and took me away. We arrived at the militia camp in daylight. I didn't know how to get back home.
I was afraid, because I was still a child.
MCKENZIE: "How would also?" we asked.
UNIDENTIFIED KID: "I was 9."
MCKENZIE: At 9, he became a soldier.
John is not his real name. We were asked to protect his identity. Before long, he set the brutal life became almost normal.
UNIDENTIFIED KID: "They used to assign jobs to us. If they assigned you to cock, then you cook. If it is time to look for food.
MCKENZIE: When you got old enough to carry a gun, commandos him out how to use it.
UNIDENTIFIED KID: We used to live a life of war. Sometimes we were attacked, ran away and we would come back and just fight and fight. Sometimes we would attack. That is how my life used to be.
MCKENZIE: Each time John tried to escape, he says, they caught him and beat him mercilessly. Three weeks ago he succeeded sneaking to a U.N. military base before drawn. It's been six years.
Now s at a transition center for former child soldiers.
FAUSTIN LYABAHINDUKA, DIRECOTR, CAJED: The way they were treated, this el lose their humanity.
Many boys were given alcohol and drugs to get them to fight.
LYABAHINDUKA: The place for he children is in the family and in the school. When you use a child less than 18 years, they were like a robot. If you tell them to execute or kill, they will do that, because they don't have any military discipline.
MCKENZIE: The boys here fought on different sides of Congo's brutal conflict. Now they are learning to play together and dance together, recaptures a little of their innocence. More than 30,000 child soldiers have gone through centers like this one. John says he hasn't made any friends here, but it's still better than the beatings and patrols.
UNIDENTIFIED KID: I just want to live well and stay with my parents so I can go back to school, so I can get a better life.
MCKENZIE: He's learned the life of a soldier. Now he hopes to regain the life of a child.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: David McKenzie, he is back in Kenya, joins us live from Nairobi. First of all, were you surprised as just how open this young boy was in talking about the tragic life that he leads?
MCKENZIE: Suzanne, I was surprised. Let's put it in perspective. This child was taken when he was 9, six years enslaved in a fighting force. That's all he learned and all knew about. So, he only escaped a few weeks earlier.
For him to talk about the experiences, they talk about the bravery of this kid, John and also talks about how it's become normal in the eastern Congo. How him and other children are just used to a life of war.
MALVEAUX: David, you mentioned that, and it's a very good point, this really isn't unusual for children to be forced to fight in some of these wars in Africa. We saw just two weeks ago, the Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga sentenced to prison for using child soldiers.
Do you think that's a deterrent at all?
MCKENZIE: I think it wants to be a deterrent. I don't think it is a deterrent. There are some seven countries in Africa in the last ten years where children have been used in different forms of militia groups and armed forces, Suzanne. The nature of war has changed, with small arms dominating the battlefield -- in these dirty wars in Africa and beyond Africa, it means that children are often the ones who are sought out. They are brave or more naive; they plied with alcohol and drugs and sent to the front lines to fight.
What you have is this generation of children in some of these countries which are lacking governance who have become fighting forces. More than 100,000 children have gone through transaction camps like the one we saw in the Congo -- it's an epidemic of child soldiers.
MALVEAUX: David, thank you. Really appreciate. Tragic history.
He was Cuba's leading dissident who fought for democracy in communist Cuba. Well, now, he is dead after a suspicious car accident. Why his daughter says her father was murdered.
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MALVEAUX: Keeping a close eye on the stock market. Stocks down 164 points now. We're going to have more on what is taking place in the stock market with our own Alison Kosik in our domestic hour.
Welcome back to CNN International. We're taking you around the world in 60 minutes.
The fight for human rites and democracy in Cuba now suffering a painful blow. One of the country's most prominent dissident in a car accident. Oswaldo Paya, he was leader of Cuba's Christian Liberation Movement.
Patrick Oppmann, he is joining us from Havana.
Patrick, first of all, explain to us his work, the fight for a peaceful democratic change in Cuba.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Suzanne. Oswaldo Paya was buried this morning surrounded by hundreds of friends, family members and fellow dissidents. Paya was a unique among Cuba's dissident, he was someone who not only criticized the government you fight seriously, but also talked about reconciliation, dialogue and forgiveness.
Perhaps he was best known for a signature campaign to try to force change from within Cuba's socialist system, essentially gathering thousands of signatures. He said his brother acted and lived not in fear or hate of the government he so criticized, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Patrick, tell us a little bit about the circumstances surrounding his death. I know that family members are speaking out. They certainly don't have the same kind of account that the government does.
OPPMANN: No, very different accounts here and so many questions up in the air. Basically, let me set the scene here. On Sunday, Oswaldo Paya was traveling with another Cuban dissident and two European politicians when the rental car they were traveling in quite far from (inaudible), rural part of the country, crashes. The government very quickly came out with a statement and said the crash took place on its own, a single-car accident killing Oswaldo Paya and the other Cuban dissident. The two European politicians survived with light injuries, and they still haven't spoken publicly. Oswaldo Paya's family, on the other hand saying they have heard from those politicians who they say have told them that another car may have hit them, may have driven them off the road. Until we hear from those politicians who are still being questioned by the police, we really won't know what actually took place on the Sunday when Oswaldo Paya lost his life, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Very much a mystery. A lot of questions surrounding his death. Thank you, Patrick. Appreciate it.
An all-woman Russian punk rock band facing a trial, and at least six more months in detention. They got in trouble for an unusual protest against Russian president Vladimir Putin. They were ordered to stand trial during a hearing on Friday in Moscow. It drew a slew of protesters as well as reporters. Their lawyer call their case a form of repression all driven by politics. With Phil Black who's with the band, what sparked the protest, and the impact this is having on their families.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN REPORTER: In February this year inside Moscow's Christ Savior Cathedral, something unusual happened. Five women stood up and prayed for an end to Vladimir Putin's rule. They called it a punk prayer. The women are members of Pussy Riot, an anonymous feminist protest band. This is their video of the performance set to a recording of the prayer. Mother Mary, please drive Putin away, they scream. Three women were arrested, two of them mothers to young children. They have been in custody ever since. They're charged with hooligan-ism and could face a seven year sentence. This caged woman is Nadia (inaudible). This is her husband, Peter Verzilov, and Gera , the 4-year-old daughter she hasn't seen in four months. When you've had the fleeting glimpses in the courtroom, how does she look? how do you think she's taking it?
PETER VERZILOV, HUSBAND OF ARRESTED BAND MEMBER: She looks very good, and she's taking it as she's supposed to take it as a political, artistic and solid and creative and powerful person.
BLACK: Pussy Riot specializes in sudden, often illegal, public performances. Like this one is Red Square.
VERZILOV: We knew at some point we could get arrested. That was always a possibility. But of course, no one expected the arrests would come after this particular performance.
BLACK: The punk prayer was inspired by the women's anger over the relationship between the Russian government and the orthodox church. The orthodox leader Patriarch Kyral has been wildly reported as saying Putin's years in power has a miracle from God, but the band's behavior in one of Russia's most sacred cathedrals has outraged many of the country's faithful. This is a disgusting thing to do, says this woman. They should go to jail, says another, for a years or two, let them think about their behavior, but some of those offended also believe the women should not be in jail.
If necessary, got will punish them, says this man. It must not be a cruel punishment. The women also have passionate supporters who say they are victims of political persecution. Peter is in no doubt and has told his daughter who is to blame.
VERIZILOV: Gera knows that Putin has put Nadia in prison and he's not letting her out. And we have to find a way to defeat him to free Nadia.
BLACK: The Russian president hasn't commented on the case. Pussy Riot is only one small part of the recent anti-Putin protest movement. The decision to jail and prosecute these women has ensured the band's colorful face masks have become one of the opposition's most powerful symbols. Phil Black, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
MALVEAUX: It is a dating game you have never seen before. How some couples court each other in Kazakhstan.
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MALVEAUX: Welcome back to newsroom international. we're taking you around the world in 60 minutes. Now to Europe and the music scene in Germany. Multi-cultural band topping the charts. Take a listen.
This is a group Culcha Candela performing their hit Von Allein. The members of the group come from all over the world, from Germany to Colombia to South Korea. This song features lyrics in both in German and Spanish. The band has sold more than 2 millions records.
Full stop. Now picture a first date, right? You probably don't think of playing dress up, chasing your date on horse back with whips. Well that is what is happening at the dating scene at the dating game in (inaudible) in Kazakhstan. The former Soviet republic in central Asia, (inaudible) is said to reflect the country's nomadic traditions. Jim Clancy shows us and gives new meaning to tough love.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JIM CLANCY, CNN REPORTER: Two young people, a man and a woman, both dressed in traditional Kazik clothing, set off for a game of (inaudible). Literally, girl chasing. The girl is given a head start. The boy must chase her down. Lean between the horses, give the girl a kiss on the cheek at full gallop, he is then declared the winner. But wait, two can play the game. And if her horse is swifter, her riding skills just that much better, she can make him pay for missing that kiss. With a riding whip in hand, the young woman who gets away can turn on her pursuer and whip him all the way to the finish line. And you thought this kind of thing started on TV with the dating game. They may be all dressed up, but guys will need more than fancy cologne and a pickup line to give a girl a kiss in Kazakhstan.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
MALVEAUX: That's some tough love right there. By the time they are done they will have memorized the entire Quran. A documentary shows us why knowledge is power for a new generation of women in the Middle East. We're going to talk to the film maker.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Four missiles hit a militant hideout in north Waziristan . That is the volatile tribal region of Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. Pakistani intelligence officials say the suspected U.S. drone attack killed 12 militants.
The Taliban have released a chilling new propaganda video. I want you to take a look at this. Reportedly shows a suicide bomb attack on a U.S. base in Afghanistan. Two Americans were killed in the explosion on June 1st. You can hear people shouting Allah Akbar, God is great in the background. As he drove off after the attack, the truck bomber said he is taking revenge for those who insult Islam and the Quran. Deadly wildfire is still burning in Spain now. The fire started on Sunday in the northeast country near the French border. Fueled by strong winds and it spread pretty quickly, has now has killed four people, and trapped hundreds.
The Amelia Earhart mystery is stilled unsolved. A search team went looking for proof the famous aviator crash that crashed on a remote pacific island. That happened 75 years ago. They found no signs of her plane. They do, however, promise to keep looking. Earhart's plane vanished in 1937 on an attempt to fly around the world. She was born 112 years ago today.
And we women in the United States, we can participate, right? Social, political, cultural event. In the Middle East, not so. Some women aren't even allowed to drive. One woman, she is working to change all that, and she is starting with teaching women the Quran.
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MALVEAUX: It's a world we rarely see. Mosque's in Syria are places historically dominated by men, but before the rebel uprising, that was actually changing. I want you to take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For girls, it's very important to learn what's in the Quran. Because if you don't really know, you are going to be misled.
MALVEAUX: A light in their eyes is a film inspired by a female teacher named Houda in Damascus. Julia Metzler Laura Nix produced and directed this documentary. Laura is joining us live from Los Angeles to talk about this.
(END VIDEO TAPE) MALVEAUX: It's really fascinating when you look at this. Tell us why this is so important for young women to understand really what the Quran says.
LAURA NIX, FILM MAKER: Houda is teaching girls to memorize Quran often by the age of 10 or 12. And you think that maybe that's not a progressive thing to do but it turns out that it's hugely beneficial for the girls in their community, because they're able to then distinguish the difference between what the Quran says and what the culture is saying to them, the messages that they're getting from the culture. Because oftentimes they're confused because it's actually very different. All the girls in Houda's school are also getting a secular education, and they are studying all the normal subjects that girls do here, and Houda is encouraging them to do this. She wants them to be able to go out and get degrees, and get jobs and live public lives. She's using the Quran to teach them that it's actually within their rights as a Muslim woman to do that.
MALVEAUX: Tell us a little bit about what has happened since you shot this documentary. Because I understand this was something that was featured before the uprising in Syria began.
NIX: We did finish shooting the documentary in November 2010 before the uprising began. Houda and her family are safe. They're not in the country currently. I did speak to (inaudible), Houda's daughter, yesterday and she's not in Syria right now. She's in touch with people who are. Everybody in her family is safe.
MALVEAUX: It's a world we rarely see. Mosques in Syria are places historically dominated by men. But before the rebel uprising, that was actually changing. I want you to take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ON SCREEN TEXT: At her mosque in Syria, Houda Al-Habash is teaching women and girls the Qur'an.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Want you to make more effort with reading because when this Qur'an course ends, you (INAUDIBLE) without a book.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I seek refuge in God from the devil.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I want to go to university. But in our society, a girl gets engaged by the end of high school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For girls, it's very important to learn what is in Koran, because if you don't really know, you are going to be misled.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The Prophet (INAUDIBLE) better for women to stay at home rather than (INAUDIBLE) mosque.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Muslims themselves have deprived women of everything, even the right to learn. This is ignorance which has nothing to do with religion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Does religious law allow a woman to be president? Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: "A Light In Their Eyes" is a film inspired by a female Koran teacher named Houda in Damascus. Julia Mettzer and Laura Nix produced and directed this documentary. Laura is joining us live from Los Angeles to talk about this.
It's really fascinating when you look at this. Tell us why this is so important for young women to understand really what the Koran says.
LAURA NIX, FILMMAKER: Well, Houda Al-Habash is teaching girls to memorize Koran often by the age of 10 or 12. And you think that maybe that's not a progressive thing to do. But it turns out that it's hugely beneficial for the girls and their community because they're ability to then distinguish the difference between what the Koran says and what the culture is saying to them, the messages that they're getting from the culture. Because often times they're confused but they're actually very different. I mean all the girls in Houda's school are also getting a secular education and they are, you know, studying all the norm subjects that girls do here. And Houda is encouraging them to do this. She wants them to be able to go out and get degrees, and get jobs and live public lives. And she's using the Koran to teach them that it's actually within their rights as a Muslim woman to do that.
MALVEAUX: And tell us a little bit about what has happened since you shot this documentary. Because I understand this was actually something that was featured before the uprising in Syria began.
NIX: We did finish shooting the documentary in November 2010, before the uprising began. And Houda and her family are safe. They're not in the country currently. I did speak to Anaf , Houda's daughter, yesterday. And she's not in Syria right now, but she's in touch with people who are. Everybody in her family is safe. The girls in the mosque are safe. But they're in a terrible position. The neighborhood that their home is in and that the mosque is in is having houses being burned down and everybody there is living a life of fear and insecurity with really no end in sight. I mean, of course, before that, when we were there, Syria was a very peaceful place and the mosque was a peaceful place. But the change that's happened is really shocking and very heartbreaking.
MALVEAUX: And, Laura, tell us, how -- what was it like for you actually to produce this documentary? Was it different to reach out to these women?
NIX: It's very difficult to make a documentary film in Syria, of course, because there's no freedom of the press there and it's especially hard for American filmmakers. It took many years for Houda to be able to trust us enough to be -- to give us access to the mosque. Foreigners are not allowed in mosques legally in Syria and we had to go in through the border of Lebanon with our equipment because there's scanners at the airport. And we worked with a very small, all- woman crew in order to make the film. But we feel very lucky that Houda gave us this opportunity to tell this story because people usually aren't allowed inside this women's side of a mosque.
MALVEAUX: Laura, thank you very much. Laura Nix.
If you want to see more of Laura's film, you can go to pbs.org/thelightinhereyes.
South Africa's coast known for its great surfing, right? But latest surfers have had too many close encounters with sharks. We're going to tell you what is being done.
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MALVEAUX: Want to take a look at what's trending globally right now. Twitter users are talking about skirts in Kenya. That's right. It's a debate teenage girls, parents and educators are having over whether school uniforms should be shorter. High school students at the Wakia Girls School walked out of classes last week to protest not having the chose to shorten their hemlines. Some parents claim that longer skirts reduce sexual urges and advances, but Kenya's education minister supports the girls. He says the focus should be on women's rights and not the length of their dresses.
The London Olympics, just days away, but we already have some photos to show you from the second annual Hipster Olympics. The games took place in Berlin with events including confetti tossing, skinny jeans, tug of war, and vinyl record spinning. The winners didn't take home a gold medal. Instead, they received a gilded bottle of soda. The games are held to mock the subculture, but they're also a protest again landlords raising rents in regentrified areas where many of the participants live.
Look at these legs here. Sure looks like, yes, Usain Bolt. He's the fasters man in the world. But take a closer look. Is it really him? We're going to take you to London where some people are seeing double.
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