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Romney Olympic Comments Rile Brits; Olympic Torch Wows London; Syrian Troops, Rebels Brace for Fight

Aired July 26, 2012 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The Olympic torch is winding through London's historic landmarks right now. We are a day away from the opening ceremony and taking you there live.

Plus, why Russian officials showed up at a Montana ranch to check up on adopted children.

And India bans tourists from getting a close look at endangered tigers.

Welcome to the NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for the Suzanne Malveaux. And we are taking you around the world in 60 minutes.

Here's what's going on. Iran's ambassador to the U.N. blames Israel for suicide bombing in Bulgaria that killed five Israeli tourists, the Bulgarian bus driver, and the bomber also died in the bus attack last week. Israel has accused Iran and the Lebanese-based Hezbollah in the bombing.

And Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak is calling on world leaders to speed up efforts to stop Iran's nuclear program before the Iranians build a bomb.

To London now.

Oh, that is some Olympic excitement taking over the city today as the golden torch makes a victory lap past landmarks there. Thousands of people have lined the streets looking for a glimpse and many are calling it a once in a lifetime opportunity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is lovely to see everybody here. It is just brilliant. Brilliant.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We really wanted to see the torch, because it is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and we wanted to get here earlier and show our support.

REPORTER: And was it worth it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very much so. We enjoyed it, the atmosphere, the fun, people and everything, great.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is so awesome, I love it. I love London, yes!

(CHEERS)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's so cool! We are having such a great time and getting up super early to see the torch.

REPORTER: And what was it like to see all of the other people coming out to support it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is so exciting and we are so excited for the whole world to come together and compete in all of the sports.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

WHITFIELD: All right. Green hair and all exciting, and here is a look at the part of the route that the torchbearers have been carrying the flame from Camden to the city of Westminster. They passed iconic attractions such as St. Paul's cathedral and Shakespeare's Globe Theater, all this morning.

And later this hour, the torch will pass through Trafalgar Square, and then in about an hour it will go past the prime minister's residence at 10 Downing Street, and then later, Big Ben and then a royal welcome at Buckingham Palace.

Of course, you can see the route there to Buckingham palace.

Of course, tomorrow, the torch will be taken to the Olympic stadium for the opening ceremony. We are live along the route with the crowd in every moment.

All right. But first, Mitt Romney, Republican challenger to the president, does some control damage after his remarks about the London Olympics set off a bit of a firestorm. Romney is on this first trip overseas as part of his presidential campaign. Today, he met with top British top officials, including Prime Minister David Cameron.

But it's Romney's comments questioning whether London is ready for the Olympics that's creating quite a buzz right now. Just a short time ago, Romney had high praise for the London organizers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I also applaud the work of the organizing committee to bringing the Olympic experience right into the heart of London., to look out of the backside of 10 Downing Street and see a venue, having been constructed, knowing that athletes will be carrying out their competition almost in the backyard of the prime minister is really quite an accomplishment on the part of those who wanted to make sure that the Olympics was not something held far off where the people could not enjoy it, but instead, the Olympics would be held right in London, itself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Jim Acosta is covering the fallout over Romney's remarks from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: There was no Olympic swimming pool in sight, but Mitt Romney was making waves in London with some comments that he made about the city's preparations for the Olympic Games. In an interview with NBC, Romney talked about some of the problems that Romney has encountered in preparing for the Games, calling those problems in his words "disconcerting" and he also added that he wasn't sure how the games would turn out here.

Well, the prime minister here in this country, David Cameron, took issue with those comments, talking to reporters earlier this morning at an Olympic venue. He said that London would do just fine putting on the games.

DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We are holding an Olympic games in one of the most busiest, most active, bustling cities anywhere in the world. I mean, of course, it's easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere.

ACOSTA: After this meeting with the prime minister, Romney came out and talked to reporters where he walked back his earlier remarks. Here's what he had to say.

ROMNEY: My experience as an Olympic organizers is that there are always a few small things that end up not going quite right in the first day or so and they get ironed out and when the games themselves begin and the athletes take over, all the mistakes of the organizing committee and I made a few, and all of those are overwhelmed by the many things that the athletes carry out to capture the spirit of the games.

ACOSTA: Earlier in the day, British officials did praise Romney for his handling of the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, and Romney does plan to attend at least one Olympics event, hopefully he said, some of the swimming competitions that are going on here, but he won't be in London for much longer. After that, he is then off to Israel and then Poland to complete his overseas tour.

Jim Acosta, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's take to the streets now of London. Our Becky Anderson is at Parliament Square.

So, Becky, you know, people in London are reacting to Romney's comments, or are they? And at the same time, they are watching the torch make the final round around those historic sites.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's going to be said that they are more interested in where the torch is today. It is passing through London's most iconic landmarks in the 69th day of a 70-day torch relay. The organizers here in London promises it's a truly national event, and that torch after it arrived from Athens 69 days ago, and police all over the place and real security here and apologies for that.

After it arrived in the U.K., it's done something like 8,000 miles and 13 million people have seen it winding its way through the country. There are people all over Parliament Square here today. The torch would be here in about an hour's time, it will go on to Buckingham Palace where Prince Harry and the duke and the duchess of Cambridge will be seeing it swapped by charity workers who are the torchbearers, 173 of them today alone.

So back to Romney and his comments, I have done a fairly unsophisticated straw poll on the streets today, and people have basically said they don't know who Mitt Romney is. Now, he is sure to raise his public profile while he's here, and he's also doing some fund-raising while he is here at a private event at a hole the down the road here tonight.

So, as far as those comments are concerned, they are certainly not making the front pages of the press here. People who know more about who he is after he leaves I think, and people will cover the story. But as we speak today here on Parliament Square, it is all about the torch.

WHITFIELD: It is indeed about the torch, about the opening ceremonies tomorrow, and then already before opening ceremonies, I imagine there's a lot of discussion about the doping allegations and how at least nine athletes already are now finding themselves in deep water.

ANDERSON: Yes. Let's get this absolutely right. The IAAF has banned nine athletes. It's been looking at them over the last two years. It's unclear whether they were athletes who would actually be competing at the London 2012 Games.

But today, there is certainly been an athlete, he is Greek high jumper and he has been banned after testing positive to banned substances. So, the story is slightly unclear. There is certainly nine athletes who in the past have been Olympians, we understand. We are not sure whether they were all ready to be competing here in London.

But certainly the Greeks have lost another member of the team, and they will be disappointed after losing a triple jumper yesterday who was deemed to have tweeted some fairly offensive remarks, and she was also dropped from the team. So that the doping allegations, some tweeting allegations out there as well.

So that there is always that white noise, isn't there, around the Olympics and we hope that the doping allegations don't get any worse.

WHITFIELD: All right. Becky Anderson, thanks so much for keeping us posted there in London. Appreciate that.

In the meantime, still all about the games and there's no denying that Michael Phelps is one of the top U.S. athletes of all time. His fans will be watching to see if he increases his medal total of 16, including 14 golds.

Of course, his teammate Ryan Lochte is hoping to out-swim him in London.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL PHELPS, 14-TIME OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: I'm just trying to enjoy myself. I'm not really thinking about it too much. You, I have -- I guess I have had some experiences around, wow, this is the last time I'm doing this, it's the last time I'm doing that. But, you know, I know there's going to be a lot of emotional things throughout the week and I am trying to save as much emotional energy for those times.

You're going to see a lot of amazing races. I mean, this is the Olympics. This is the biggest of the big. It's just a show.

It's like the Super Bowl of swimming, you know? It's fastest people. The fastest swimmers in the world are going to be here and they're going to be ready to swim.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The Super Bowl of all sports as some Olympic events have already begun and there has already been at least one embarrassment. The North Korean women's soccer team walked off of the field yesterday when the flag of South Korea was mistakenly flashed on the big screen before their match against Colombia. The relationships between the two Koreas have become increasingly strained.

Organizers of the London Games issued a hasty apology and eventually the North Koreans team returned to beat the Colombians 2-0.

Athletes from Kenya are perennial Olympic favorites in many of the running events. Runners from just Kenya's Rift Valley alone have won more medals in the last 50 years than any other country in the middle and the long distances.

CNN's David McKenzie went to find out their secret.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): First on the list, altitude. We're heading to 8,000 feet. And those sorts of heights help peak running performance. But mountains are everywhere. So what makes Iten the home of champions?

Well, first, the runners. Iten is home to about 1,000 athletes. Hundreds meet six days a week on this rural road.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

MCKENZIE: Just running until you throw up he says. No coaches are necessary. They thrive on teamwork and competition.

But with so many, is running in the blood here?

At this high school, it seems to be.

(on camera): A couple of decades ago St. Patrick's asked its former students who have became champions to a treat. The problem is that they have had so many world class athletes here that they have run out of space.

BROTHER COLM O`CONNELL, RUNNING COACH: Now, this particular photograph here, this was the Kenyan team taken with the president at statehouse Nairobi.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Brother Colm O'Connell has coached champions at St. Patrick's for decades.

O'CONNELL: From one school we had 10 representatives in this whole Olympics.

MCKENZIE: He says genetic theories of dominance are rubbish.

O`CONNELL: Nobody has yet come up with any conclusive evidence to say that there is what you might call a natural advantage here. So I think a lot has got to do with early identification of talent, the lifestyle of the people when they're young.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): So they put the photos in the dining hall to motivate future champions, which brings us to another point.

(on camera): The Kenyan diet in this part of the Rift Valley is very rich in carbohydrates, and very low in fat, and really they feel that the secret weapon is this: It's Ugali. It's just very simple maize and water, and it's a staple here.

Runners love it, often eat it in the evening. And running legend has it that it's so popular and so effective that one coach in Europe shipped this all the way to his runners to improve their times.

(voice-over): More often than not, the runners now come in the other direction. Lornah Kiplagat, a world class athlete who now runs for the Netherlands, says conditions here are perfect.

LORAN KIPLAGAT, RUNNER: You can't find any other place in the world like this. It's the terrain, it's everything. I mean, you need to be here to feel it by yourself. But the atmosphere, it motivates you.

The power has to come from your feet.

MCKENZIE: Elite athlete, including the entire English Middle Distance Team, come to Kiplagats High Performance Center. Many improve their times, but they come here for a couple of weeks.

O'CONNELL: Very hungry and very motivate. And now because we a tradition in the area, the kids see the great champions training around here, and of course, they are highly motivated, because these champions become great role models for our young kids growing up.

MCKENZIE: He says that the mind is as important as physical talent.

So he picked out Moses Mukono for his will to succeed.

MOSES MUKONO: I came to realize even if a person doesn't have the knowledge but you can run well and you can be a success in your life, even if you didn't go to school and you can run and you can earn your life through your athletics.

MCKENZIE: For Mukono, like many other Kenyan athletes, running can really mean a ticket to an education, recognition, and the potential for a better life.

So what then, ultimately, makes Kenyans the best? Perhaps it's just the magic of these mountains.

David McKenzie, CNN, Iten.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFELD: And rebels get ready to go to blows with government troops in Syria's biggest city of Aleppo. Already, there is heavy shelling just outside of the city.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Syria's largest city is bracing for an explosive showdown between the rebel fighters and the government troops.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

WHITFIELD: This was the scene in Aleppo last night after a shell exploded in a neighborhood. Chaos filled the streets as people ran for cover. Activists say that at least 91 people have been killed across Syria today, 19 in Aleppo alone.

Meanwhile, there are more calls for Syria's president to step down. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair appearing on CNN's "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: This is an inevitable process of his going. In other words, it's not that we are suddenly going to lose interest or lose the appetite. You know, that's why I think it's right to discuss a whole set of things like corridors of safety, and corridors that enable the opposition to operate. You know, in order to make absolutely sure that Assad and those around him realize it is a matter of time. It's -- it's when, not if.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Let's talk more about the fighting in Aleppo, specifically for that, we are joined by Hala Gorani of CNN International. She's been to Aleppo several times.

What's different here, though, it's been very calm based on conversations you've had with people you know there.

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL: Yes.

WHITFIELD: What are they anticipating?

GORANI: Well, I spoke to the sources in Aleppo, and what they are telling me is today in terms of the fighting on the streets and the center of Aleppo, it is calmer. However, there are still deaths to report. Almost 30 people, according to the sources we have, have died across the country.

The big question is going to be this assault that we are expecting by the Syrian army on these rebel positions. Will it happen tomorrow and Saturday as some people are expecting? Will the rebels retreat, and in other words delaying the battle for Aleppo? Those are questions out there.

But the civilians, as always caught in the middle, are hunkered down as best they can now in their homes, hoping that the fighting won't come to them.

WHITFIELD: So the regime, the military, in now way would want to retreat from Aleppo.

It just is too important, too vital for that country, especially the economic picture?

GORANI: Right. Well, it is really the most populous city. It is the most important city from the economic perspective.

The question I think going forward is going to be these rebels, who are using in some cases the hit-and-run tactics. We saw images of them in the center of Aleppo. They came in, held a few streets for a little bit and then went back out.

These rebels are underfunded. They are certainly under-armed compared to the Syrian military army. It is still very much an asymmetric battle. It is going to be a war of attrition between these rebels and the Syrian army.

But right now, we are all waiting to see what will happen tomorrow and Saturday. And certainly, Aleppo residents themselves are bracing for a big battle.

WHITFIELD: You hear the former prime minister, Great Britain's former Prime Minister Tony Blair then, also chiming in with the chorus of, you know, Bashar al Assad, this regime must go, must end. However, where's the U.N. on this lately?

GORANI: Well, France and the U.K. and other Western powers as you know have introduced Security Council resolutions that threaten sanctions against Syria, if it does not comply with the Kofi Annan peace plan. But China and Russia have vetoed those resolutions time and time again.

And France, even this time with regards to Aleppo, has said to the Security Council, you need to do something, because this is another possible massacre, another possible bloodbath, and you need these Security Council resolutions to go through.

And the expectation though, Fredricka, is that they will not. China and Russia are giving no indication that they will change their positions.

WHITFIELD: They are digging in their heels.

GORANI: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Hala Gorani, thanks so much. Always good to see you. Appreciate it.

All right. By some accounts, she was just a quiet, caring, stay-at-home mom. Now, she is charged with murder. It is being called the biggest political scandal to hit China in decades.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back to the NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL, where we take you around the world in 60 minutes.

Our next story is filled with scandal, murder and intrigue. It's also shaking China's communist party to the core.

Our Eunice Yoon is in Beijing.

So, Eunice, this all started when a prominent politician was sacked. And then tell us more about him and his wife and how these murder charges came about.

EUNICE YOON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this prominent politician is man named Bo Xilai. And Bo was a very charismatic man and he was really seen here by many as a man who is destined for political greatness in China. He and his wife were seen as a power couple.

But his downfall was triggered when his police chief, a man named Wang Lijun, fled to the U.S. consulate because of the fallout that he was having with his boss over a mysterious death of a British businessman named Neil Heywood. Heywood was found dead in his hotel room back November in the city of Chongqing, which is the same city that Bo had governed.

And at first, a lot of people any thought that Neil Heywood had died because of excessive drinking. But later Bo Xilai's wife, a woman named Gu Kailai because of her potential connection to this death.

Now, today, we found that she was formally charged with murder. In a brief statement in the state-run Xinhua News Agency, authorities that she and her long-time friend had a falling out over economic issues. It also said that and authorities said that she and her house aide had poisoned Heywood because of her concern that he could become a threat to her son's safety.

Now, there is no trial date yet that has been set, but this is a case that's going to have ripple effects around China's politics -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: OK. So, no trial date has been set, but then you have to wonder if indeed there ever is a trial, would she get a fair trial with this so highly publicized and in large part, the Chinese don't believe that scandals are something that should make news, but in this case, this one has in a big way has.

YOON: Well, it definitely has. And since Bo's dismissal and his downfall, really the family has al but disappeared from the public view. They really haven't had their chance to tell their side of the story.

And there is really one interesting development in this particular case. The Bo Xilai's wife Gu Kailai was prosecuted in a city that is 600 miles east of Chongqing and there is no reason as to why that we know of, as to why the court case was held there. But a trusted family source told us that the family wasn't even told that she was in Anhui province until last week.

And they also pointed out that her legal counsel was not chosen by the family, but was appointed by the government -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Fascinating story. It really is. Eunice Yoon, thanks so much from Beijing.

All right. It's London like Londoners have never seen before -- how the Olympics are drastically changing the everyday lives of people there. And who is telling everyone to quit whining?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Here's a taste of some of the music topping the charts around the world.

(MUSIC PLAYS)

WHITFIELD: That is called "Love Love Summer" and has people in Japan dancing. They like to incorporate pop and hip-hop into their music.

And I bet that you can guess where that is. Huge excitement over the torch in London and one day before the official start of the summer games and thousands of people have lined the streets for a glimpse of the torch and the torch is carried past London's iconic attractions and minutes from now the torchbearers will take it past Trafalgar square and then in 30 minutes past the minister's residence at 10 Downing Street there, and then later, Big Ben and then a royal welcome at Buckingham palace. I want to bring in our Richard Quest who is live downtown in London with a whole lot of fans there, and fans of his and fans of the Olympic games. Richard, you can't go anywhere, but I saw the hugging and the kissing and, you know, the picture taking before the live shot.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Listen, listen, you know, you are a day late and a dollar short as usual. A few moments ago, this was packed with people because the torch had just run along Regent Street and I was not sure who was carrying it, but the torch is now well and truly working its way through London. I have to tell you that I have seen London in royal weddings, and I have seen it in diamond jubilees and d-day celebrations, but I have never seen the city overtaken by such an atmosphere by such a vastness as is the Olympics. There's a people all over. And you are from America?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Washington, D.C.

QUEST: And not Bethesda but the other side of the river. Did you really come for the Olympics?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we did. We arrived yesterday.

QUEST: You arrived yesterday, and what do you want to see?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Soccer.

QUEST: Football. First lesson, football. What about?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gymnastics.

QUEST: And you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Swimming.

QUEST: Where are you from?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From --

QUEST: Well, north of London. This is a new atmosphere, I will tell you and I refuse to advertise the company involved. Thank you very much, guys. Enjoy the Olympics. There have not been drinking, because it is half past 5:00 and it is very sad. You get an idea of what it is like here and it is just going to grow. It is just going to get better.

WHITFIELD: And that sounds so exciting. And now what about the Londoners, are they excited about having the people from all over, because I know that people were complaining about the traffic and all that at first.

QUEST: Well, you know, for weeks and weeks people have been whining and winding about the traffic and the transportation and too many foreigners and it is all going to be in shambles and even for goodness sake Mitt Romney. Did you see his comments today?

WHITFIELD: Yes, we did. We led the show with that.

QUEST: Romney saying that he has concerns. Listen, to Romney and to others, I have declared my program quest means business a whine-free zone, and we have spent $13-14 billion on it and we are jolly well going to enjoy I it.

WHITFIELD: And not even cheese with the whine, you say?

QUEST: Look, forget it. It is going to go well. I don't -- my twitter address is @richardquest and get it on the screen and @Richard quest and I don't have time nor trouble nor patience nor pleasure for those people who are whining now in London about the Olympics. They are here. They are started. The ceremony is tomorrow evening, and that is a fact of life.

WHITFIELD: Well, fantastic. I will be one of the Americans on the way over there and I will not whine and I will bring the cheese. I am coming over with my dad.

QUEST: Immigration, immigration!

WHITFIELD: My dad is a former Olympian and he's to the town and I will get you together and you can have tea, because no whining allowed. Oh, there is the twitter address right there @Richardquest.

QUEST: No whining!

WHITFIELD: No whining or cheese, just cheer. All right. Richard, see you in a few.

And Russian men in suits showing up on a doorstep in the middle of Montana in the wilderness there, and why they say they have the right and why they want access to children inside of this Montana ranch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. The video that shocks even hardened daredevils. You remember this, right, the guy weaving through traffic on a motorcycle at 186 miles per hour all while making a video. Randy Scott became an internet sensation when he posted the video online, but then he also became a wanted man. He has handed himself in to Canadian police.

Kim Jong-un was seen at an amusement park with his wife who Korean television confirmed is his wife Ri Sol Ju and we don't know too much about the two, but we have heard that the leader has made the announcement showing he is mature and prepared to run the country.

And now a story that could be pulled from the pages off a cold war spy ring. A Russian spy ring busted in the U.S. two years ago and was recently reportedly grooming the children of ring members to become agents according to the Wall Street Journal. one of the child recruits had already agreed to plan, and the report says that children born or reared in the U.S. would be more likely to clear U.S. government background checks. And some Russian government officials in the U.S. are up in arm arms about a Montana ranch housing children with behavioral problems. The Russians claim that the children are abandoned after they were adopted in Russia by American parents.

This is the commissioner of rights in Russia. He says there are so many stories coming through that he is here to see the children by themselves. He claims that the children are abandoned by the parents at the ranch and then neglected here. That is a lie says Joyce Steshgle who runs the unlicensed facility called the Ranch for Kids, a church mission whose problems like fetal alcohol syndrome were detected only after the adoptive parents brought them back to the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This the United States of America and this is the sovereign state of Montana and a foreign government cannot come in here and push their way into a private residence and a private program, and this is completely uncalled for.

KYUNG LAW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But that is what he tried to do?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, that is what he tried to do.

LAW: Two sides suspicious of each other and suspicion because of a bilateral agreement of adoption between the two countries. And the deputy says it gives his organization authority to come into the ranch.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have the right to ask the permission from state department to visit Russian children which we are interested in and which we want to see and control the situation. Basic disagreement is that we have a chance and a right.

LAW: And they say that only cases of suspected negligent will be targeted, but American families are asking how much power does a foreign government have in an American home. The fear comes from what happened at the gate, because the adoptive parents agree it is a signal about the bilateral agreement, and what they will lose as their rights of adoptive parents. Which boy is sean?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is in the brown camo shorts.

LAW: She adopted her son when he was 19 months old, and he flies into violent rages caused by fetal alcohol syndrome. No foreign government should tell her what is best for her son.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you make that commitment, they are yours. And to have a foreign government have the ability to come in to question my child and make those determinations about his well- being, I find that just not acceptable.

LAW: The State Department says it supports appropriate access for concerned foreign officials of children who have both foreign and U.S. citizenship and concerned with privacy rights and only with the consent of parents or legal guardians. The bottom line, the state department says that the parents will never be forced to let anyone see their children under the new agreement, but the ranch owner who has already seen Russians on her doorstep doesn't believe that the deal with protect American presidents. What do you tell the state department what they tell us? This is not going to happen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And at just 14 years old, she was sold into sex slavery and her kidnapping has saved many other girls. [ speaking foreign language ] Impact on all of us. How can we save these young people's lives?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Kidnap and sold into sex slavery. Two cousins, just 14 years old from a small town in central Mexico, enjoying a day at a local fair. It would ends in a nightmare of forced prostitution. Rafael Romo brings us their story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They were just 14 years old, these two cousins, coming back from a town fair in central Mexico. As they were waiting for the bus, they recall two men got off a truck.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): They were two men who were wearing black masks like hoodies . We couldn't see their faces.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I only felt that they put something on my nose (INAUDIBLE) that's all. The last thing I remember is yelling for help .

ROMO: The girls, who we are calling Maria and Lupe, say they woke up alone in a dark room where they were kept for several days. And then it got worse. Maria says a woman suddenly showed up, threatened her life, and forced her to have sex with 23 men.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When they left, I stayed like lying on the floor, bleeding. My entire body ached. The woman told me to get up, that it hadn't been that bad.

ROMO: Their stories as told to Camino Acessa , a Mexican anti- trafficking organization, are chilling.

Lupe's father also spoke to the group. He recalls how desperate he and the family were looking for the girls. And then someone suggested searching in bars along highways.

"FRANCISCO," VICTIM'S FATHER (through translator): We would see young girls. There are many in the state of Morelos . Some were wearing masks. Others had their hair dyed and wore suggestive clothing.

ROMO: Maria says she was forced to work from 3:00 in the afternoon until 6:00 in the morning, only to get up again at noon for another 18 hour shift. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I felt so dirty, that every time I took a shower, and every time they put makeup on me, I felt like an old lady. I felt as if I didn't (INAUDIBLE).

ROMO: Forced to use drugs and drink alcohol, Maria says she thought her life would soon end. And then the unexpected. She was able to escape through an unlocked door.

The girls' families immediately went to the police, who raided the brothel. Ten people were arrested and six underage girls rescued, including Lupe. And officials say more raids followed.

VICTOR CARRANCA, LEAD PROSECUTOR (through translator): The state's attorney's office focused on targeting searches of financing for these criminal groups. We eventually closed down 600 establishments.

ROSI OROZCO, MEXICAN LEGISLATOR: There is some people that thinks they can buy another human being.

ROMO: Congresswoman Rosi Orozco spoke to us holding a rose as a symbol to the thousands of underage girls sexually exploited every year in Mexico.

OROZCO: And we all can change. If we stop saying johns, they are not johns. The clients are criminals.

ROMO (on camera): Congresswoman Orozco offered an anti- trafficking bill that was signed into law in June. It makes human trafficking a federal crime punishable by up to 40 years in prison. And it targets not only those involved in sex trafficking, but also other forms of modern slavery, including forced labor and child pornography.

ROMO (voice-over): With the help of Camino Acessa, both Maria and Lupe are back with their families.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want people to know what they did to me. I'm no longer angry or want to get revenge. That's what I want to say, vengeance is not good. I have already forgiven those people and I'm happy again.

ROMO: A long and painful road to recovery is ahead. But finally being home, they say, allows them to dream again of a better future.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Central Mexico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And no one wants to be seen in the more intimate moments. And apparently the tigers in an India state park feel the same way. So India's supreme court is kicking tourists out.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back to NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL. The Olympic torch making its final rounds past historic sites there in London. You just saw the prime minister, David Cameron. His wife was also there, Samantha, outside 10 Downing Street. We'll let you know that the torch will be making its way past 10 Downing Street. And here it is. And now be off to Buckingham Palace, as it continues the wind its way through downtown or central London, I should say. And you can see all the people who have turned out there. Seemingly very accessible to all the tourists and the crowds and the Londoners who want to take part in the festivities there right now. It appears the Camerons now heading right back inside to 10 Downing Street.

All right, welcome back. We're taking you around the world in 60 minutes. Let's take a look at what's trending globally right now.

All right, Twitter users are tweeting about the ongoing violence in Assam. It's a province located in northeast India, near the border with Butan . More than 400 villages have been attacked or set on fire since the Bodo ethnic tribe and Muslims in the region began fighting. Police found four more bodies overnight, putting the death toll at 40. People are leaving by the thousands hoping to find safety in refugee camps. More than 100,000 have been displaced.

Bracing for more bloodshed in the former Soviet Republic of Tajikistan. Fighting erupted three days ago after government forces tried to arrest a former war lord in the eastern part of the country. Officials believe the war lord was behind the killing of a top general. At least 42 people have died in this week's violence. And right now thousands of people in that region are trapped. All lines of communication cut off as well.

India is moving to protect the privacy of tigers. The supreme court there has banned tourism in tiger parks across the country. Environmentalists say too many people peering at the big cats has hurt their ability to reproduce. But animal rights activists fear the tourist ban could result in more poaching.

All right, the duchess of Cambridge has taken off her hat and her shoes for a fight, sort of. Judo is what we're talking about. We'll explain why Kate Middleton took to the map.

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