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CNN Live At Daybreak

London Bombing Probe Grows; Niger in Crisis

Aired August 02, 2005 - 05:29   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you, thank you for waking up with us.
Coming up in the next 30 minutes, how much would you pay for a light saber? A light saber. Still ahead, the going rate for one used by Luke Skywalker.

And it's a legendary club in New York City, the so-called home of underground rock. We'll tell you about the struggle to keep its doors open.

But first, "Now in the News."

Frazzled nerves this morning for workers at British Airways and BP Oil in Tehran, an explosive device went off in the building housing their offices. Windows are broken, there's some damage, no casualties reported.

World leaders have gathered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this morning for the funeral of King Fahd. Those attending the funeral include Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Britain's Prince Charles.

Take a look at your screen. You can expect to see more labels from these countries on the clothes you wear. President Bush signs CAFTA this morning. That's a free trade agreement with several Central American nations. The pact ends trade barriers between the U.S. and these six nations.

To the Forecast Center now and -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: All right, thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: More arrests as the London terror probe grows wider and wider. British police have arrested two more men in connection with the July 21 failed bombings.

In the meantime, Britain isn't the only nation involved; Italy is bringing charges of its own.

For the latest on that, let's head to Rome and our bureau chief there, Alessio Vinci.

Good morning -- Alessio.

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning to you, Carol.

Well days after the failed attacks on July the 21st in London, one of the would-be bombers escaped Britain and came all the way down here to Italy. And Italian investigators are now trying to establish why he came here. Was it because he wanted to simply hide? Or was it because he was planning or planning to participate in a similar attack here in Rome or elsewhere in this country?

Now initial evidence suggests that he came here because he simply had some relatives. But at the same time, Italian investigators continue to investigate, of course, and charge him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Man arrested in Italy and suspected of being one of the four would-be London bombers has been charged in connection with international terrorism and with possessing false documents.

The suspect's lawyer has confirmed to CNN that her client told investigators that he was involved in the July 21 failed attacks, but he claimed the strike was meant to grab attention and not to harm anyone.

ANTOINETTA SONNESSA, DEFENSE LAWYER (through translator): There is strong evidence against my client based on documents that British authorities have sent to their Italian counterpart. Based on this, Italian magistrate issued their charges.

VINCI: Italian police say they arrested a suspect in Rome after tracing calls he made from a cell phone, monitored initially by Scotland Yard. Calls he made from Britain to Italy and, police say, to Saudi Arabia.

At least one intercept was recorded. And when Italian police compared it to a voice recording provided by British police, they knew they had found the man they wanted.

CARLO DE STEFANO, CHIEF, ANTITERROR POLICE (through translator): We could immediately verify that the voice of the fugitive was compatible with the phone model sent to us by the metropolitan police. So we were almost completely sure we were in front of the attacker.

VINCI: Italian officials say the suspect falsified his name and nationality when he applied for political asylum in Britain years ago. He was born in Ethiopia as Hamdi Isaac. But when he arrived in Britain, he used the alias Osman Hussain, claiming to be from Somalia.

Before moving to England, investigators say Hamdi Isaac lived in Italy where two of his brothers still remain. Italian police have detained both of them. One is accused of destroying or hiding documents sought by investigators, but the charge does not involve terrorism.

DE STEFANO (through translator): We find ourselves confronted with the element that very probably he seems to be part of an impromptu group, rather than part of a structured group which is operating on an international scale.

VINCI: Isaac's court-appointed lawyer says her client admitted to magistrates that he was involved in the July 21 failed attacks but denied any links with the July 7 attacks or al Qaeda. The strike, he claims, was meant to grab attention and not harm anyone, although London investigators say the bombs simply malfunctioned and were powerful enough to kill.

Hamdi Isaac is now held in an Italian prison awaiting possible extradition to Britain. The court-appointed lawyer defending the would-be London bomber tells CNN her client wants to remain in Italy and will fight extradition on the grounds he will not get a fair trial in Britain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

However, Carol, last week Italy adopted a so-called European-wide arrest warrant and to use by European Union member states to facilitate extradition between the member states of suspects wanted for serious crimes. This means that Hamdi Isaac may be very well finding himself in London on trial before three months from now.

Back to you -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Alessio Vinci reporting live from Rome this morning.

Questionable quotes from an anonymous Iraqi. Was this anonymous Iraqi a made-up person? In two different press releases last month, the Pentagon used almost exactly the same quote, both times citing this Iraqi man who did not want to be named. Now a Pentagon spokesman calls that an egregious error, rather. But he says, as far as he knows, the quotes are authentic, not made up.

Take a look, part of a quote from a July 13 press release about an insurgent attack said, "They are enemies of humanity without religion or any sort of ethics. They have attacked my community today, and I will now take the fight to the terrorists." Nine days later, the very same line was featured in another press release, but this time it was about a different insurgent attack. Food for thought this morning.

John Bolton begins his first full day today as U.N. Ambassador, but how did he get there? President Bush bypassed Congress to make Bolton a recess appointment to the post.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States Senate held thorough confirmation hearings and a majority of United States senators agree that he is the right man for the job. Yet, because of partisan delaying tactics by a handful of senators, John was unfairly denied the up or down vote that he deserves. This post is too important to leave vacant any longer, especially during a war and a vital debate about U.N. reform.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BOLTON, U.N. AMBASSADOR: You have made your directions for U.S. policy at the United Nations clear, and I am prepared to work tirelessly to carry out the agenda and initiatives that you and Secretary Rice direct.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The Senate held up Bolton's nomination because of concerns about his record and questions about his demeanor. Some Republicans have called the move necessary, but Senator Edward Kennedy called it an abuse of power.

In the meantime, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was told ahead of time about the president's decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: I think it is alright for one ambassador to come and push, but an ambassador always has to remember that there are 190 others who will have to be convinced, or a vast majority of them, for action to take place. First of all, I've always maintained that the U.S. needs the U.N. and the U.N. needs the U.S. and we have to work together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But now he is in place until at least 2007, that's when a new Senate can take up the issue again.

President Bush says schools should teach evolution, but teachers also should discuss the theory of intelligent design as well. That theory says life on earth is too complex to have developed through evolution, implying that a higher power must have had a hand in its creation. The president, speaking to a group of reporters from Texas, told them part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought.

In news "Across America" this morning, a Marine sergeant at Paris Island, South Carolina, faces a hearing Thursday in the death of a recruit. The hearing will determine if he should be court-martialed. Staff Sergeant Nadya Lopez is charged with negligent homicide and assault in the February death of Private Jason Tharp. CNN affiliate WIS shot videotape of Tharp being struck by a Marine drill instructor. You see it there. That happened just one day before he died.

The young West Virginia woman who once said I am a soldier too is going to college. Jessica Lynch, rescued from an Iraqi hospital during the war, will begin classes this fall at West Virginia University. The former prisoner of war wants to be an elementary school teacher.

A lesbian couple wins a big case in California. A country club in San Diego had said only spouses, children and grandkids could play golf for free. Well a lesbian member sued. The state's highest court agreed saying gay members registered as domestic partners must receive the same discounts.

Still ahead on DAYBREAK, we'll take a closer look at the devastating famine in Niger. How could it happen and how you can help?

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Do you know what tonight is, it is National Night Out, a crime prevention program. The program began in 1984. It encourages people to watch out for crime in their neighborhoods. Across the country, more than 34 million people are expected to participate. People will be keeping their porch lights on all night, they'll also have front porch vigils and some neighborhoods will even have block parties. Let's hope it works and crime drops. You never know.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:42 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

The crew of the shuttle Discovery holds a news conference in about 15 minutes. Tomorrow Astronaut Steve Robinson will remove a thin fabric and ceramic material protruding from some spots on the shuttle bottom. NASA says those so-called gap fillers could affect Discovery's aerodynamics.

Saudi Arabia preparing to bury its late king. King Abdullah died on Sunday. He'll be buried in a public cemetery, along with the oil- rich country's four other former rulers.

In money news, Coca-Cola will be the official soft drink of the Olympic Games for at least another 15 years. The company signed a deal that covers the next six Olympics. Coke has been an Olympic sponsor since the 1928 Games in Amsterdam and San Maritz.

In culture, Luke Skywalker's light saber fetched quite a price at auction. The prop from the original "Star Wars" movie sold for just over, Chad -- Chad?

MYERS: What, what, what?

COSTELLO: How much do you think the light saber went for?

MYERS: Well it says there $200,000.

COSTELLO: You're not supposed to be reading it from the script.

MYERS: It's on the bottom of the screen -- Carol.

COSTELLO: You are so no fun.

MYERS: I'm sorry.

COSTELLO: Anyway, his father's weapon went for just about half that, and that would be Darth Vader, of course.

In sports, it looks like Barry Bonds won't play at all this year. The San Francisco slugger's bad right knee has kept him off the field for the whole season so far. And now Bonds says he's just not at the point where he can come back and play until next year.

MYERS: Too bad for him, yes.

COSTELLO: Yes.

MYERS: Anyway, Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes.

MYERS: What do you think the high in Boston will be today?

COSTELLO: I think the high 88.

MYERS: Hey, you got it.

(WEATHER REPORT)

Carol, back to you.

COSTELLO: Wow!

Thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: What happens to overprotective parents when their kids go to college? Sometimes they try to tag along. In the next hour, we'll look at the new and slightly disturbing trend of so-called helicopter parents. What's a helicopter parent? Boy, stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: And CNN's Anderson Cooper has seen firsthand the terrible crisis faced by so many in the African nation of Niger. He watched as aid workers tried to help the neediest in one community.

Watch and listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is what desperation looks like. In a small village in southern Niger, hundreds of mothers gather with their hungry children hoping somebody will help them.

(on camera): Hunger is nothing new in Niger. Every year there's a several-month gap. They call it the "hungry season" between when the crops have been planted and they're actually harvested. What happened is with the drought last year, the crops simply didn't come up this year so that that hungry season is longer and more intense than it's been.

(voice-over): That's why Niger is in crisis. Aid agencies say the severe food shortage has put some 3.6 million Nigerians at risk of starvation, most of them children.

(on camera): Some of the worst cases aren't necessarily in the big cities in Niger, they're in smaller, outlying villages. The relief groups come to villages, like this one, and offer screening. Mothers bring their children. The worst cases are brought back to the city, back to the hospital.

(voice-over): At this village screening, however, the crowds are simply too big.

(on camera): It's a bit overwhelming when you first come to a center like this because there are just so many people, so many mothers who have brought their children. Not all of them are starving. Not all of them are severely malnourished. In fact, some of them look pretty healthy. They're smiling. But they know that there is food here, they know that there is medical care here, so they bring their children looking for help.

(voice-over): Christophe (ph), a relief worker with Doctors Without Borders, decides it's impossible to safely screen children in these conditions.

(on camera): What is the problem today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today the problem is there are too much people and uncontrolled.

COOPER: The village elders are trying to restore some semblance of order, but they're not having much luck. There are just too many people, too many people trying to get food for their kids. The relief workers are actually going to cancel the program in this village for today because it's impossible to screen out the most needy. They hope they're going to be able to come back tomorrow.

(voice-over): A few miles away, Doctors Without Borders is able to screen other children. They're weighed and measured. Some immediately receive milk. The worst cases wind up here in the hospital. It's not known how many children have died in Niger because of this year's severe food shortage, but relief agencies say there have been thousands. Their deaths don't make headlines, only their parents remember their names.

Anderson Cooper, CNN, Maradi, Niger.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And we want to talk more about this crisis with an aid worker. Ahuma Adodoadji is responsible for guiding CARE's response to overseas emergencies. He has more than 20 years experience in relief operations with several humanitarian groups, and he now joins us live from the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

Good morning to you.

AHUMA ADODOADJI, CARE: Good morning -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Well we saw that chaotic scene in Anderson's story. How difficult is it to sort through everything, to get aid where it needs to go?

ADODOADJI: Well, often what we have is we have a very elaborate system, which involves being able to organize logistics infrastructure. We have staff on the ground who have set up elaborate systems which with detail us. So how do you receive the food? How do you make sure it gets to the right people? And how do you make sure you account for it? And, as I speak, I have colleagues on the ground who are working closely with all of the communities to ensure that the systems have been carefully set up.

COSTELLO: And that's very important, because a lot of Americans are donating money to the cause right now. How much money have you received through CARE that specifically goes to help these people?

ADODOADJI: Well CARE has mobilized resources through its Global International Federation, which is CAREs in the various countries. And as of now, we've received resources through the CARE entity of around $4 million.

CARE USA, which is within the U.S., has just launched an appeal for $5 million, and we are hoping that the public will respond, because we need the resources to be able to respond now to the emergency. But more importantly, we would like resources also to focus on the long term, which is much more critical, because that is how we work to avoid occurrence of such crisis in the future.

COSTELLO: OK, I'm going to ask you another question. I know your earpiece is on your shoulder, so we're going to give our technicians there a chance to put it back in your ear so you can hear me.

ADODOADJI: I think I can hear you now.

COSTELLO: In, you can hear me now?

ADODOADJI: Yes.

COSTELLO: OK, great. When I donate, let's say I want to make a $100 donation, what guarantee do I have that it will go directly to those in need? You know you see so many of those children starving there and your heart goes out to them and you want your money to go directly to that child.

ADODOADJI: Well that's a very good question, Carol. When you give $100, we program against that. And if say your $100, you want it to go in to support children in a therapeutic feeding center, your $100, plus that of others, gets pushed together in a program.

And the program, you know, details out what resources are lined up to procure medicine. What resources are lined up to procure food. What resources go to pay for the piecemeal (ph). Dealing with that. And all of that is accounted for in detail.

And we can give you an account of that after the emergency. You can take a look at it and see that in fact your $100, together with that of others, did help so many children in such a location. We are that much detail when it comes to accounting for the resources we receive from our general donation partners.

COSTELLO: That's a great comfort to many people who are donating money to CARE. Thank you so much, Ahuma Adodoadji, for joining us this morning.

And if you want to help through CARE, you can telephone the group at 1-800-521-CARE or you can go online, CARE.org.

Relief agencies that are asking for your help, as we've said, as they struggle to feed the people of Niger. The U.N. World Food Program and Concern Worldwide are now accepting donations as well and you can call them at the numbers on your screen.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: "Entertainment Headlines" for you. Actually, this "Entertainment Headline" is for Rob, the camera guy, right here in our studio. Here's a real deal, because you know Rob is an Ozzy Osbourne fan.

Ten Ozzy Osbourne fans have a chance to sit in a prime seat at each of his concerts, eat with the crew and have your picture taken with Ozzy. But, Rob, you already have that, don't you? That picture taken -- he's going to kill me. It'll cost you 1,000 bucks if you want this package, though. Part of the money goes to the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer program. So that's pretty cool.

Destiny's Child plans to bow out with a greatest hits album. And group member Kelly Rowland says they're going to record another song for the album. The sexy R&B trio is calling it quits in September to continue their solo careers. They've sold more than 40 million albums worldwide.

And the famed New York club CBGB is set to lose its lease at the end of this month. It's where the Ramones, the Talking Heads and Blondie created the punk scene. "The Sopranos" star, a little Steven Van Zandt, says there will be a show at the club every night to raise rent money to save the club.

You can get more entertainment news every night on "ShowBiz Tonight." That's at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on Headline News.

I just want to dance to that music. I know. We're going to read some more e-mails, because we're getting so many this morning about Rafael Palmeiro, because, as you know, he tested positive for steroids. He's got a 10-game suspension, but we wondered if something else should happen to Mr. Palmeiro.

MYERS: Yes, viewers not all that happy with him this morning.

Allen (ph) in L.A. says laud a protest directly to how related -- is related to how guilty he is. He's just another liar. Put an asterisk next to his record without the juice he just has warning track power.

Rafael is probably innocent. Maybe the cause of this is because someone spiked his food to make an honest gesture appear worse today, says Ronald (ph).

So maybe his chef did it.

COSTELLO: That's pretty like a conspiracy theory.

MYERS: Deborah (ph) says how in the heck can you be taking steroids and don't know it? I don't believe him for one second.

I noticed the highlighted -- she highlighted the lie in the word believe.

Steroids are used in a vast number of prescription drugs. They range from reducing swelling in the sinus infections, which I just had a couple of days ago, and I did take a little bit of a steroid, but it's not the same one that he was caught with. There are also performing enhancing drug substances that you might not know about that might test positive. But you would know if you had anything containing steroids, wouldn't you? That was from Louis (ph).

COSTELLO: Well it would do something to your body, for sure. But we're going to have an expert in the next hour.

MYERS: Good.

COSTELLO: We're going to talk about this.

MYERS: Yes, I want to know which ones -- you know what are they testing for...

COSTELLO: Well...

MYERS: ... and could it have come from something like a sinus infection or something?

COSTELLO: You can join in then, darn it.

MYERS: OK.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

Next hour of DAYBREAK starts in just a minute. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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