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Iranian Elections; EU Summit; Terrorist Captured

Aired June 16, 2005 - 12:00   ET

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

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


ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: A demographic with a difference. Christiane Amanpour introduces us to young Iranian voters ahead of Friday's presidential election.

JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: Russian youngsters without a home. Too many to count. A brother-sister team is on a mission to save them.

VERJEE: Royal security snafu. How did a tabloid photographer get inside a military camp where Prince Harry is in training?

It's 8:00 p.m. in Tehran, 5:00 p.m. in London. I'm Zain Verjee.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy, and this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world.

Well, voter turnout shaping up to be a key factor as Iranians go to the polls Friday to choose a new president.

VERJEE: It could be one of the tightest presidential elections in Iran's recent history. Rival young campaigners crowd the streets of Tehran in a final bid to win over undecided voters. Some 47 million Iranians are eligible to cast ballots for a successor to reformist president Mohammed Khatami.

CLANCY: Now, more than three million Iranians abroad can vote in embassies, schools and mosques.

VERJEE: If no candidate wins at least 50 percent of the vote on Friday, a runoff is going to be held.

CLANCY: There are seven candidates for president right now. This is, of course, the world's fourth largest oil exporter.

Former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is leading in public opinion polls. He is seen as a relative moderate who is trying to seize the political center. Polls show Rafsanjani's main rivals are reformist candidate Mostafa Moin, a former education minister.

VERJEE: Another rival for the job is a conservative, former police chief Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf. He is widely seen as the favorite of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khomeini.

CLANCY: Candidates in Iran trying to win over young people. That is the key constituency in a country where half the population is under the age of 25.

Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour joins us now live from Tehran.

What do the young people mean in the vote?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, Jim, the young people in Iran play such a crucial role in elections during the reformist period of Mohammed Khatami. They turned out en masse, for instance, in 1997, and they really generated the surprise victory of the reform candidate.

Eight years of disappointment, in fact, quite a lot apathetic. And what we're hearing now from many, many people is that they don't think they'll vote.

On the other hand, since the reform candidate, Mostafa Moin, was reinstated a couple of weeks ago, some of those people who have said they would stay away and boycott are beginning to think they'll, in fact, go to the polls and cast their vote for Moin. So right now, it's a bit of a tossup between whether it will be Rafsanjani or Moin, the reformist candidate, who will win.

At the same time, as you say, 48 million people eligible to vote, at least half of those young people. And the candidates are doing their best to appeal to them, because they know it's the young people who need to be engaged in this process. And they know it's the young people who will make a difference in this election.

But as I say, many of them are apathetic. On the other hand, some of them are trying to work the system for their own benefit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR (voice-over): This is the sound of love and heartbreak. Love for a profession that brings five young musicians to lonely practice sessions tucked away in a tiny room on a rooftop. And heartbreak that they're not allowed to play in public, that rock 'n' roll, the universal language of youth, is not approved by Iran's Islamic republic, that they feel well and truly outside the system.

The band is called Oriental Silence. And like all of them, drummer Amir Ali Tehari (ph) will not be voting Friday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): No, although I would have liked to. But I can't vote for these candidates. I don't like them.

AMANPOUR: The same goes for lyricist Paem Eslami (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I want the rights and freedoms everyone is entitled to, normal rights, nothing more.

AMANPOUR: If these young people feel shut out, these young people at Pars Online, Iran's biggest Internet service provider, are very much working the system, riding the Internet and IT boom that's just rolled around to Iran, and being paid above-average wages.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It makes me feel that we are moving forward as the world goes forward.

AMANPOUR: Twenty-three-year-old Mosen Lutvi (ph) is among the company's young employees who have returned from the U.S. and Europe to work here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: IT is a good example that the government is facilitated its growth, and that's created a lot of jobs. For example, we started six years ago with three employees. Currently, we're over 300.

AMANPOUR: With another million young Iranians about to hit the job market, presidential candidates this time are talking mostly about the economy, not Islam.

(on camera): With high unemployment and sensing deep social dissatisfaction, even the conservative candidates are speaking the language of reform and democracy. This, the legacy of the outgoing reformist but hapless president, Mohammed Khatami.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of us have been pretty critical of President Khatami for all the things we hoped he could achieve and didn't, but perhaps this is the one achievement that we have to hand to him, that essentially the dialogue and the discourse, the political discourse that he created, the legacy lives on.

AMANPOUR: But the most excitement generated among Iran's youth was when the national soccer team qualified for the World Cup last week. The mournful lament of Oriental Silence perhaps sums up feelings about a campaign that's been marred by threats of boycott and predictions of a lower turnout than usual, by people who hope but don't believe their vote will change much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There may be small changes, but nothing major. But I really hope things will get better, because they must.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Now, all eyes are on the turnout, and they will be on Friday as the votes are counted, because for the 26 years since this revolution, turnout has traditionally been high at presidential elections. And the legitimacy of this regime depends on that.

They always take turnout as bolstering and legitimizing their regime. So turnout is going to be very important. And all the senior leaders, including the supreme leader here, has made a concerted effort to really demand a high turnout.

We'll see what happens on Friday -- Jim.

CLANCY: You know, it was amazing there to hear them speak of their frustration with Mohammed Khatami, a man they put so much home in, but wasn't up to winning, you know, the political job that had to be done. Do some of them perhaps now see Hashemi Rafsanjani as a man who has the political savvy to pull off reforms, even perhaps bridging the divide between Washington and Tehran?

AMANPOUR: Well, those who are going to vote for him certainly do hope that. On the other hand, many people point to the fact that he was president for eight years from '89 to '97, and not a huge amount changed. And so they're asking quite openly on television, campaign videos, what exactly can he do differently this time?

As I say, there's a lot of feeling of alienation from the political system right now. And most particularly, the whole notion of candidates who are vetted for approval before being allowed to actually stand as presidential candidates, that's causing a great deal of anxiety and displeasure this time around. And some of these candidates are talking about even reviewing elements of the constitution that go to that very issue.

So there's a lot in question and a lot -- people are making quite a lot of demands. But as I say, quite a lot of apathy over this election.

CLANCY: Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour live with us there from Tehran. Thank you, Christiane.

VERJEE: U.S. President George W. Bush, meanwhile, issued a statement today regarding the elections. Here's what he said, in part. "Power is in the hands of an unelected few who have retained power through an electoral process that ignores the basic requirements of democracy. The June 17 presidential elections are sadly consistent with this oppressive record." Mr. Bush also said the Iranian people deserve a truly free and democratic society.

Now, later in this hour, we're going to speak to former Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who is living in the United States.

CLANCY: Cambodian authorities say drug addicts who were pursuing cash were apparently behind that deadly school siege in the tourist town of Siem Reap. Authorities say the four gunmen killed a Canadian boy in the standoff at an international elementary school near the Angkor Wat temples. Dozens of children were held hostage for several hours as the attackers demanded money, transport and more weapons.

Authorities managed to talk them out of the building after giving them a van and $30,000 in cash. They then launched an assault on the hostage-takers, capturing all four of them.

VERJEE: European Union leaders are meeting for a crucial summit. On the agenda in Brussels, the recent French and Dutch "no" votes on the proposed EU constitution and a bitter dispute over money.

Robin Oakley's covering the story for us in Brussels. He joins us now.

Robin, first of all, the question of the EU constitution, Tony Blair's calling for a pause for reflection. Is that likely to prevail there? ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN EUROPEAN POLITICAL EDITOR: I think we are going to see a pause for reflection, yes, because after the French and the Dutch rejected this constitution, they're left with three choices. They can either pronounce the whole thing dead, or they can go on ratifying the 13 countries that still haven't ratified, because 10 countries have ratified, or they can start picking out the bits that they like the most, and trying to sell them to their electorates across Europe. But that's going to take time.

So I think everybody agrees they're in a mess. They've got to get a new focus and a new sense of leadership for the European Union, and they need time to think about that -- Zain.

VERJEE: The fight over money, Robin, the issues over the budget, first of all, what exactly are they fighting about? And will Tony Blair, Jacques Chirac, come to any sort of compromise?

OAKLEY: Basically, they're fighting over how much everybody puts in the kitty to make the European Union run. And it always shows the EU at its very worst.

The most nationalistic urges come to the fore. Everybody can count how much their country is putting into the pot. It's not so easy to count what they get out of it.

We're going to see a big row here between Jacques Chirac, the French president. He's focusing on the rebate that the British have had for 20 years on their contribution to the EU budget because the system, based largely on foreign subsidies, works against the British.

They have this special deal. But others are saying, well, Britain's a much richer country than it was 20 years ago, when the deal was struck. Most unfair for 10 poor countries who came into the EU last year to have to contribute to the British budget.

Tony Blair is saying, OK, but it's still an unfair system to us. We'll look at that, but only if you'll look at farm subsidies. Quite wrong to have the EU spending 40 percent of its budget on just 5 percent of the EU population that is engaged in agriculture. Jacques chirac says no to that -- Zain.

VERJEE: CNN's Robin Oakley reporting. Thanks, Robin -- Jim.

CLANCY: The United States military in Iraq is calling it a major blow to the al Qaeda organization there. U.S. forces say they have captured a man believed to be the leader of the terror network in Mosul. That's in the north of the country.

It comes on a day that multinational forces are trying to put a number of Iraqi civilians killed in recent weeks, put a number on that.

Jennifer Eccletston now, joins us from Baghdad -- Jennifer.

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jim. Well, a spokesman for the multinational forces announced today that hundreds, and maybe more than a thousand, civilians died in Iraq since the escalation of insurgent attacks in early May. That came from Brigadier General Donald Alston, and he says that the rise coincides with comments attributed to terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi last month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. DONALD ALSTON, COALITION FORCES SPOKESMAN: With Zarqawi's push recently, we certainly see the fantastic rise in the number of civilians killed, given that he has proclaimed that taking out civilians is an acceptable thing. And that's hundreds, or perhaps more than a thousand, in just a short amount of time since his proclamation in early May.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ECCLESTON: Well, General Alston said that Iraqi security force casualties have grown as their numbers have grown, saying their competence and growing capability make them a better target for the insurgents. And with that, Jim, we saw three separate attacks on security and police forces today. The deadliest, that car bomb at Baghdad's airport which killed three police and wounded 22 others.

This day also brought the announcement that six American troops, five Marines and a sailor were killed during combat operations Wednesday in the Ramadi area of the restive of Anbar province. Those five Marines were killed by a roadside bomb, and the sailor died from wounds suffered when he was hit by enemy small arms fire. Now, that brings the total of U.S. dead for the month of -- for the month of June, rather, at 47 -- Jim.

CLANCY: Jennifer, you look at the casualties on the one side. It has been a day, though, that there was a major arrest that was announced in Mosul. More on that?

ECCLESTON: That's right. He's described by U.S. military officials as al Qaeda's leader in Mosul. He's identified as Mohammed Khalar Shakar (ph), known as Abu Talha.

He was captured Tuesday, according to that brigadier general, Donald Alston. Alston said the man is a trusted agent of the terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He was found in a quiet neighborhood, that there were reports that he wore a suicide vest 24 hours a day and that he would never surrender.

But General Alston said Talha gave up without a fight. And they said he was captured because of a tip from an Iraqi citizen -- Jim.

CLANCY: All right. Jennifer Eccleston, reporting to us there live from Baghdad. Thank you.

VERJEE: Coming up, more on what Iran's media calls one of the most unpredictable elections ever.

CLANCY: On the eve of the country's presidential vote, what is behind the noisy demonstrations in the capital, and why the son of Iran's last shah is calling for a voter boycott. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am here because I don't like the regime, its mullahs. And I want to choose democratic regime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: About 500 people demonstrated in Tehran Thursday, calling on Iranians to boycott the presidential vote. Riot police and security forces arresting at least five of these protesters.

Welcome back. You're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY, an hour of international news on CNN International.

We're focusing on the upcoming elections in Iran, and it is said to be one of the tightest races in recent history. Former Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi is among those calling for a boycott of Friday's vote. He joins us now from Washington.

There may not be much democracy in Iran, as President Bush said this day. But why tell Iranians not to go to the polls?

REZA PAHLAVI, FORMER SHAH'S SON: Well, Jim, let's understand the big picture here. This is a theocracy, remember? Whoever gets elected is ultimately going to carry out the orders of an unelected person, the so-called representative of god on Earth, a leader who, by the way, is committed to the annihilation of western civilization.

The Iranian people will not see security or welfare, and the world will not see an end to terrorism so long as this theocracy is in power. We are not talking also about just the process being meaningless, the result is also meaningless. The Iranian people have never had their representative represent them and carry out the mandate given to such a person.

CLANCY: But they have had elections, and they have elected local officials, mayors. They have elected their representatives in their own parliament. And they have discussed change in their country.

You can condemn it and say it's a theocracy. A lot of people would argue that it was more democracy than they ever saw under the Peacock Throne, your family's rule of Iran.

PAHLAVI: When Mr. Khatami, who was the champion of reform, with 21 million people voting for him, and such a strong mandate, decided to stay with the regime and protect the exact theocracy we are fighting at the expense of the imprisonment and torture of his supporters who are now sitting in Iranian jails, among others, that tells you pretty much what the commitment of this regime is to. It's not to the people of Iran. It's not to the principles of self- determination and sovereignty.

It is about a group of people who have hijacked our country since 1979 and have their own specific design as far as where they want to carry out their mission, which is a radical Islam which is what this theocracy is representative of, and the Iranian people have no say in it. You see, I find it rather strange that the world is mesmerized, the western world is mesmerized, in particular, every time the terminology of "elections" is used.

Well, the Soviet Union had elections. Saddam Hussein had elections. What does that mean? Nothing.

CLANCY: Do you -- are you saying, sir, then, that this regime will never change except by force?

PAHLAVI: It is...

CLANCY: I mean, the world looks at Iraq today, and they say not by force, we don't want that. And you yourself said you wouldn't change this regime by force.

PAHLAVI: Exactly, because the people who are the most committed to change, as far as Iran is concerned, are the people of Iran themselves. You're talking about a country that is a natural ally of anybody in the free world as far as talking about freedoms and development and progress. The only obstacle between the Iranian people and the free world is this regime.

The people are weary. They are tired. They are fed up. They're sick.

And what this theocracy has done to our country, never mind taking our country into the dark ages, but it is, in fact, an element that is critical to impeding the progress that Iranians deserve...

CLANCY: All right.

PAHLAVI: ... whether it's welfare, whether it's freedom. And that's what it's all about at the end of the day, human rights and freedom.

CLANCY: Reza Pahlavi, we have to leave it there, but I want to thank you. We shall see how many people listen to your call for a boycott, how many others decide they will not go to the polls in Iran. Thank you.

PAHLAVI: Thank you.

VERJEE: Let's check stories making news around the United States now.

The U.S. House has voted to restrict investigators from using the Patriot Act to peek at library records and bookstore sales slips. Privacy advocates have been pushing for changes, citing concerns over civil liberties. President Bush threatens to veto any watering down of that wide-ranging security law.

The nomination of John Bolton to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has stalled while Senator Pat Roberts offers what he calls a compromise to break the impasse. Democrats say they will continue to block the nomination unless the Bush administration hands over records from Bolton's time at the State Department.

And in the case of the missing American teenager in Aruba, a judge is expected to rule on whether defense attorneys for two suspects in Natalee Holloway's disappearance can have access to documents in the case. Also at issue, whether to grant one suspect's father, another judge, access to his 17-year-old son.

CLANCY: We're going to take a short break here. We'll be back after this.

VERJEE: Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Wall Street, with a nervous eye on oil prices, drifting a bit this day. For more on that, let's go over to Valley Morris in New York City.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

VERJEE: We're going bring you a roundup of all our main stories in just a moment.

CLANCY: Also, censorship in China. What role are U.S. companies playing? More on that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: Hello and welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY, an hour of news on CNN International. I'm Zain Verjee.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy.

These are the stories that are making headlines around the world. Iranians going to the polls Friday. This could be one of the tightest presidential elections in the recent history of Iran. Some 47 million people are eligible to cast ballots. Seven candidates in the running. Former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani leading in public opinion polls. The candidate must win at least 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff.

VERJEE: Authorities say bandits were behind the school siege in the Cambodian tourist town of Siem Reap. Dozens of children were held hostage for hours as four gunmen demanded money, a van and weapons. The Canadian boy was killed in the standoff at the international school near the Angkor Wat Temple. The gunmen were all captured.

CLANCY: U.S. military officials in Iraq say they have captured a man they believe is the leader of the Al Qaeda terror network in Mosul. Tips from civilians led to the arrest of Abu Talha, who surrendered without a fight.

And in the latest round of violence, four Iraqi police commandos killed in a suicide car blast near the Baghdad Airport.

VERJEE: As we reported on Wednesday, China's government's getting help in censoring information on the Internet from a growing list of U.S. companies.

But as Maggie Lake reports, the devil, as they say, is in the details, and there are many ways to get around government obstacles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAGGIE LAKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In China, Internet users must choose their words carefully. Government controls on what's available online are getting even tighter. As of June 30th, Web site owners must register with authorities or lose their license and face fines.

The government's also requiring Western companies to actively censor information that flows through their search and blog sites.

Beijing Internet users on Microsoft's MSN space who try to search the phrase democracy get a warning message that says, "The title entered must not include prohibited language. Please input another title." Users had similar experiences when they tried to execute searches on Yahoo! and askjeeves.

Media watchdogs are concerned that by cooperating with censorship, U.S. companies are putting profits ahead of ethics.

TALA DOWLATSASHI, REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS: If Microsoft is a U.S.-based company and is allowed to set up portals for Web bloggers within the United States, which anyone can speak about any issue, then that same policy, that same ethical principle should be exercised abroad and overseas.

LAKE: Microsoft says it is company policy to abide by the regulations of each country it operates in. eBay, which also has some filters, issued a similar statement. Yahoo!, Amazon and Interactive Corp, which owns askjeeves, did not return our calls.

Observers say censorship in China is a complicated issue that has companies stuck between a rock and a hard place.

JONATHAN ZITTRAIN, HARVARD UNIV.: A company wanting to do business in China, I think without being unethical or hypocritical, can genuinely decide that they have services to offer, that over the long haul, will be freedom enhancing. And if they have to jump through a couple hoops at the outset, it's better for everybody that they do so.

LAKE: At 94 million and growing, China has the world's second largest population of Internet users. Many are easily able to circumvent the existing government controls. By simply typing a comma in the word "freedom," a user in Beijing was able to complete her search. A similar technique works for other words as well. Text messaging also gets around the sensors.

For now, these evasion techniques allow users to stay one step ahead of the censors. But critics say the Chinese government won't back off. ZITTRAIN: There's enough surveillance going on that somebody who stands on top of a virtual tank and utters the wrong words could actually find him or herself going to jail.

LAKE: A step that could have a chilling effect on freedom on the Internet.

Maggie Lake, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: America online does not have a Web presence in china. Both AOL and CNN are owned by Time Warner.

CLANCY: We're going to take a short break, but there's much more ahead here on YOUR WORLD TODAY.

VERJEE: Including an ongoing mission of mercy to rescue Russia's street children from a life of misery and danger.

This is CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Let's check in on some of the stories that are making news in the United States this day. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist saying now that the autopsy on Terri Schiavo brings a very sad chapter to a close. Frist, a surgeon, earlier had questioned Schiavo's doctor's diagnosis, but medical examiners confirm that Schiavo had been in a persistent vegetative state for more than a decade before the controversial removal of her feeding tube in March.

A fear for anyone who surfs the Internet. A Senate panel now looking into ways to prevent identity theft. Lawmakers are considering possible rules that would protect personal information.

80-year-old former Ku Klux Klansmen Edgar Ray Killen on trial for planning the killings of three civil rights workers in the 1960s. He was taken to the hospital from the Mississippi courthouse on Thursday, Killen complaining of not feeling well. His attorneys said that there were concerns about his blood pressure.

VERJEE: To Russia now, where there are millions of children who call the streets their home. The government's doing what it can to get them off the path of drugs or prostitution.

CLANCY: But as Ryan Chilcote tells us in this report, there's also a remarkable brother/sister team working hard and trying to make a difference.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's Friday afternoon at the Center for Social Adaptation. Two dozen or so children, rounded up by the police, who don't like wild kids running around loose. Instead, Jered Markoff is there to offer them an alternative. Without him, many of the kids will end up back on Russia's streets or in its orphanages, psychiatric wards, or even jails.

In 1996, Jared and sister Christina Greenberg, son and daughter of a California missionary, moved halfway around the world to the Russian city of Perm. Eight winters later, they are still hunting down street kids in Perm's underworld of sewers, basements and drug dens.

This is a gluehouse. For just 50 cents, ten kids can sniff enough glue to keep them high for an evening. With prices like that, nearly all the kids do it. With the offer of a hot meal, Jared gets the kids to follow him out of the drug den. The trick is to get the kids' heads into fun and games.

All of them come with their own dark stories. Slava's (ph) story I find the most remarkable. He followed a familiar path through to streets.

CHRISTINA GREENBERG, "LOVE'S BRIDGE": When his mom found a new boyfriend who started beating him and started beating his mother and started drinking a lot, he started running away and living on the streets.

CHILCOTE: At 12, Slava fell victim to abuse again, this time at the hands of predators.

SLAVA, HOMELESS BOY (through translator): I was little and I met some older guys. They took photos of me in an apartment. They told me they'd give me money, Slava says. I was there for a week. They wouldn't let me go. There were three of them and another boy. They sent the photos to Moscow and sold them.

GREENBERG: He started coming to our daycare center and we realized that he really wanted to make a change, that he wanted to stop sniffing glue, and that he really didn't like his life on the streets. So we took him into our full-time shelter. Slava started going to school, making progress.

CHILCOTE: The men who held him were convicted after Slava refused a $4,000 bribe from them not to testify. It doesn't always turn out well. Jared and some of the kids have come to this cemetery. They are searching, but not for someone to take back to the shelter.

JERED MARKOFF, "LOVE'S BRIDGE": Ureana (ph) was 11 years old when she died. She was found hung inside one of Perm's sewers. So today, Sieta (ph) and Laris (ph), two of Urean's friend, came here to the cemetery to look for her grave and after two hours of looking, they finally found it. We've been able to save several hundred kids from the streets, but I would say about eight of the children I know personally have died.

CHILCOTE: After eight years, Christina and Jered have learned to measure success in small victories.

GREENBERG: A lot of the kids that we knew five years ago, even if they're not yet studying or they're not yet living in a permanent home, they've made leaps and bounds of progress. I consider progress when a kid washes up every day.

CHILCOTE: But in a year, they plan to turn their shelters over to the Russian staff. They've achieved a lot here, but worry that without them and the donors they've worked with, it could disappear. Still, they are people of faith. They believe somehow it will work out.

CROWD (singing): Happy birthday to you.

CHILCOTE: They also believe that with love, the evil in these children's lives can be overcome.

Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Perm, Russia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: A global controversy back in focus this day on Capitol Hill. Of course, speculation persist Washington and London manipulated pre-war intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq. Later in Washington, a Democratic congressman convenes a hearing on a secret British document from 2002.

Senior political analyst Bill Schneider gives us a look at the implications for the White House and for Downing Street.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Six weeks ago, the "London Sunday Times" published the leaked minutes of a July 2002 meeting in the Downing Street offices of British prime minister Tony Blair, eight months before the war in Iraq.

According to the notes, a high-ranking British intelligence official who had just returned from Washington reported," Bush wanted to remove Saddam through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."

The implication? The Bush administration had already decided to go to war before asking for a vote of Congress, before going to the United Nations.

At their June 7 press conference, President Bush and Prime Minister Blair addressed the issues raised by the memo.

TONY BLAIR, PRIME MINISTER OF BRITAIN: But the facts were not being fixed in any shape or form at all.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Somebody said, well, you know, we had made up our mind to go -- to use military force to deal with Saddam. There's nothing farther from the truth.

SCHNEIDER: End of debate? Not if Democratic Congressman John Conyers can help it. He's holding a forum Thursday to look into the allegations. What does Conyers hope to prove?

REP. JOHN CONYERS, (D) MICHIGAN: It may turn out that we got into a secret war that had already been planned and now that we're in it, we can't get out of it.

SCHNEIDER: There were a lot of reports during the summer of 2002 that the Bush administration was intent on going to war. What's so sensational about the allegations of the British documents?

CONYERS: Ironically, there are those now writing that we knew he was going to go to war all the time. But if we knew -- those who claimed that they knew that, he wasn't telling the Congress that. And it's in this crucible that we get the question of deception. Did he deceive us into a war? Were we tricked in a war?

SCHNEIDER: The difference is, the mood of the country. In June, 2002, 61 percent of Americans favored sending U.S. troops to remove Saddam Hussein from power. Now only 42 percent say it was worth going to war in Iraq. That's why questions about how the U.S. got into the war are being raised now more than they were then.

Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Well, still ahead right here on YOUR WORLD TODAY...

VERJEE: Britain's Prince Harry's getting more unwanted tabloid attention.

CLANCY: And the latest controversy is fueling the royal family's ongoing battle with the paparazzi. We'll have details.

(WEATHER REPORT)

CLANCY: While some say it was a serious breach of security, others wonder whether it's just another stunt by Britain's tabloids.

VERJEE: Still, Britain's defense secretary is calling a probe of how a "Sun" newspaper an investigation into how they got access to get pictures of Prince Harry.

Walter Rodgers has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "The Sun" claimed it smuggled what looks like a bomb so close to Britain's Prince Harry they could have blown him to bits at Sandhurst Military Academy.

It was the latest stunt by a British newspaper to call attention to security surrounding the royal family. Prince Harry is third in line for the throne, and the "Sun" reporter shadowed him.

GRAHAM DUDMAN, "THE SUN" MANAGING EDITOR: Sandhurst isn't a Boy Scout's club; this is the most prestigious military establishment in the country. The queen's going there next week.

RODGERS: Videotaping "The Sun" paper's easy-as-pie access, the journalist sailed through the military academy's gate. The affect of this latest security breach on Britain's royal family would seem unnerving.

ROBERT JOBSON, ROYALS WATCHER: Obviously, Prince Charles, in particular, will be very upset with this. This is not the first time there's been a security breach, and I think that he, in particular, thinks must be done to sort this out.

RODGERS: Prince Harry, younger son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, is in this group of soldier cadets at Sandhurst, according to the newspaper. "The Sun" says it shows just how close their reporter got to him.

Britain's defense minister, John Reid, said to be furious, was also red-faced.

JOHN REID, BRITAIN'S DEFENSE MINISTER: Well, ultimately, I take responsibility for this. I'm the defense secretary. And that is why I've asked for an immediate report, not to look for excuses, and certainly not to look for scapegoats.

RODGERS (on camera): The British media has prided itself on exposing just how easy it could be for a potential terrorist to assassinate a member of Britain's royal family.

Last year, "Daily Mirror" reporter Ryan Perry went undercover to become a royal footman at Buckingham Palace, two months before a state visit by President Bush.

Also last year, an interest group, fathers for justice, put this fellow in a Batman costume on a ledge at Buckingham Palace to call attention to their cause.

But a 1982 break-in at Buckingham Palace in which a man snuck into the queen bedroom still takes the prize. Michael Fagan plopped on the queen's bed and chatted up her majesty until police arrested him.

Walter Rodgers, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: And that's our report for now. I'm Zain Verjee.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. See you tomorrow.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired June 16, 2005 - 12:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: A demographic with a difference. Christiane Amanpour introduces us to young Iranian voters ahead of Friday's presidential election.

JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: Russian youngsters without a home. Too many to count. A brother-sister team is on a mission to save them.

VERJEE: Royal security snafu. How did a tabloid photographer get inside a military camp where Prince Harry is in training?

It's 8:00 p.m. in Tehran, 5:00 p.m. in London. I'm Zain Verjee.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy, and this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world.

Well, voter turnout shaping up to be a key factor as Iranians go to the polls Friday to choose a new president.

VERJEE: It could be one of the tightest presidential elections in Iran's recent history. Rival young campaigners crowd the streets of Tehran in a final bid to win over undecided voters. Some 47 million Iranians are eligible to cast ballots for a successor to reformist president Mohammed Khatami.

CLANCY: Now, more than three million Iranians abroad can vote in embassies, schools and mosques.

VERJEE: If no candidate wins at least 50 percent of the vote on Friday, a runoff is going to be held.

CLANCY: There are seven candidates for president right now. This is, of course, the world's fourth largest oil exporter.

Former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is leading in public opinion polls. He is seen as a relative moderate who is trying to seize the political center. Polls show Rafsanjani's main rivals are reformist candidate Mostafa Moin, a former education minister.

VERJEE: Another rival for the job is a conservative, former police chief Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf. He is widely seen as the favorite of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khomeini.

CLANCY: Candidates in Iran trying to win over young people. That is the key constituency in a country where half the population is under the age of 25.

Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour joins us now live from Tehran.

What do the young people mean in the vote?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, Jim, the young people in Iran play such a crucial role in elections during the reformist period of Mohammed Khatami. They turned out en masse, for instance, in 1997, and they really generated the surprise victory of the reform candidate.

Eight years of disappointment, in fact, quite a lot apathetic. And what we're hearing now from many, many people is that they don't think they'll vote.

On the other hand, since the reform candidate, Mostafa Moin, was reinstated a couple of weeks ago, some of those people who have said they would stay away and boycott are beginning to think they'll, in fact, go to the polls and cast their vote for Moin. So right now, it's a bit of a tossup between whether it will be Rafsanjani or Moin, the reformist candidate, who will win.

At the same time, as you say, 48 million people eligible to vote, at least half of those young people. And the candidates are doing their best to appeal to them, because they know it's the young people who need to be engaged in this process. And they know it's the young people who will make a difference in this election.

But as I say, many of them are apathetic. On the other hand, some of them are trying to work the system for their own benefit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR (voice-over): This is the sound of love and heartbreak. Love for a profession that brings five young musicians to lonely practice sessions tucked away in a tiny room on a rooftop. And heartbreak that they're not allowed to play in public, that rock 'n' roll, the universal language of youth, is not approved by Iran's Islamic republic, that they feel well and truly outside the system.

The band is called Oriental Silence. And like all of them, drummer Amir Ali Tehari (ph) will not be voting Friday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): No, although I would have liked to. But I can't vote for these candidates. I don't like them.

AMANPOUR: The same goes for lyricist Paem Eslami (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I want the rights and freedoms everyone is entitled to, normal rights, nothing more.

AMANPOUR: If these young people feel shut out, these young people at Pars Online, Iran's biggest Internet service provider, are very much working the system, riding the Internet and IT boom that's just rolled around to Iran, and being paid above-average wages.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It makes me feel that we are moving forward as the world goes forward.

AMANPOUR: Twenty-three-year-old Mosen Lutvi (ph) is among the company's young employees who have returned from the U.S. and Europe to work here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: IT is a good example that the government is facilitated its growth, and that's created a lot of jobs. For example, we started six years ago with three employees. Currently, we're over 300.

AMANPOUR: With another million young Iranians about to hit the job market, presidential candidates this time are talking mostly about the economy, not Islam.

(on camera): With high unemployment and sensing deep social dissatisfaction, even the conservative candidates are speaking the language of reform and democracy. This, the legacy of the outgoing reformist but hapless president, Mohammed Khatami.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of us have been pretty critical of President Khatami for all the things we hoped he could achieve and didn't, but perhaps this is the one achievement that we have to hand to him, that essentially the dialogue and the discourse, the political discourse that he created, the legacy lives on.

AMANPOUR: But the most excitement generated among Iran's youth was when the national soccer team qualified for the World Cup last week. The mournful lament of Oriental Silence perhaps sums up feelings about a campaign that's been marred by threats of boycott and predictions of a lower turnout than usual, by people who hope but don't believe their vote will change much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There may be small changes, but nothing major. But I really hope things will get better, because they must.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Now, all eyes are on the turnout, and they will be on Friday as the votes are counted, because for the 26 years since this revolution, turnout has traditionally been high at presidential elections. And the legitimacy of this regime depends on that.

They always take turnout as bolstering and legitimizing their regime. So turnout is going to be very important. And all the senior leaders, including the supreme leader here, has made a concerted effort to really demand a high turnout.

We'll see what happens on Friday -- Jim.

CLANCY: You know, it was amazing there to hear them speak of their frustration with Mohammed Khatami, a man they put so much home in, but wasn't up to winning, you know, the political job that had to be done. Do some of them perhaps now see Hashemi Rafsanjani as a man who has the political savvy to pull off reforms, even perhaps bridging the divide between Washington and Tehran?

AMANPOUR: Well, those who are going to vote for him certainly do hope that. On the other hand, many people point to the fact that he was president for eight years from '89 to '97, and not a huge amount changed. And so they're asking quite openly on television, campaign videos, what exactly can he do differently this time?

As I say, there's a lot of feeling of alienation from the political system right now. And most particularly, the whole notion of candidates who are vetted for approval before being allowed to actually stand as presidential candidates, that's causing a great deal of anxiety and displeasure this time around. And some of these candidates are talking about even reviewing elements of the constitution that go to that very issue.

So there's a lot in question and a lot -- people are making quite a lot of demands. But as I say, quite a lot of apathy over this election.

CLANCY: Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour live with us there from Tehran. Thank you, Christiane.

VERJEE: U.S. President George W. Bush, meanwhile, issued a statement today regarding the elections. Here's what he said, in part. "Power is in the hands of an unelected few who have retained power through an electoral process that ignores the basic requirements of democracy. The June 17 presidential elections are sadly consistent with this oppressive record." Mr. Bush also said the Iranian people deserve a truly free and democratic society.

Now, later in this hour, we're going to speak to former Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who is living in the United States.

CLANCY: Cambodian authorities say drug addicts who were pursuing cash were apparently behind that deadly school siege in the tourist town of Siem Reap. Authorities say the four gunmen killed a Canadian boy in the standoff at an international elementary school near the Angkor Wat temples. Dozens of children were held hostage for several hours as the attackers demanded money, transport and more weapons.

Authorities managed to talk them out of the building after giving them a van and $30,000 in cash. They then launched an assault on the hostage-takers, capturing all four of them.

VERJEE: European Union leaders are meeting for a crucial summit. On the agenda in Brussels, the recent French and Dutch "no" votes on the proposed EU constitution and a bitter dispute over money.

Robin Oakley's covering the story for us in Brussels. He joins us now.

Robin, first of all, the question of the EU constitution, Tony Blair's calling for a pause for reflection. Is that likely to prevail there? ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN EUROPEAN POLITICAL EDITOR: I think we are going to see a pause for reflection, yes, because after the French and the Dutch rejected this constitution, they're left with three choices. They can either pronounce the whole thing dead, or they can go on ratifying the 13 countries that still haven't ratified, because 10 countries have ratified, or they can start picking out the bits that they like the most, and trying to sell them to their electorates across Europe. But that's going to take time.

So I think everybody agrees they're in a mess. They've got to get a new focus and a new sense of leadership for the European Union, and they need time to think about that -- Zain.

VERJEE: The fight over money, Robin, the issues over the budget, first of all, what exactly are they fighting about? And will Tony Blair, Jacques Chirac, come to any sort of compromise?

OAKLEY: Basically, they're fighting over how much everybody puts in the kitty to make the European Union run. And it always shows the EU at its very worst.

The most nationalistic urges come to the fore. Everybody can count how much their country is putting into the pot. It's not so easy to count what they get out of it.

We're going to see a big row here between Jacques Chirac, the French president. He's focusing on the rebate that the British have had for 20 years on their contribution to the EU budget because the system, based largely on foreign subsidies, works against the British.

They have this special deal. But others are saying, well, Britain's a much richer country than it was 20 years ago, when the deal was struck. Most unfair for 10 poor countries who came into the EU last year to have to contribute to the British budget.

Tony Blair is saying, OK, but it's still an unfair system to us. We'll look at that, but only if you'll look at farm subsidies. Quite wrong to have the EU spending 40 percent of its budget on just 5 percent of the EU population that is engaged in agriculture. Jacques chirac says no to that -- Zain.

VERJEE: CNN's Robin Oakley reporting. Thanks, Robin -- Jim.

CLANCY: The United States military in Iraq is calling it a major blow to the al Qaeda organization there. U.S. forces say they have captured a man believed to be the leader of the terror network in Mosul. That's in the north of the country.

It comes on a day that multinational forces are trying to put a number of Iraqi civilians killed in recent weeks, put a number on that.

Jennifer Eccletston now, joins us from Baghdad -- Jennifer.

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jim. Well, a spokesman for the multinational forces announced today that hundreds, and maybe more than a thousand, civilians died in Iraq since the escalation of insurgent attacks in early May. That came from Brigadier General Donald Alston, and he says that the rise coincides with comments attributed to terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi last month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. DONALD ALSTON, COALITION FORCES SPOKESMAN: With Zarqawi's push recently, we certainly see the fantastic rise in the number of civilians killed, given that he has proclaimed that taking out civilians is an acceptable thing. And that's hundreds, or perhaps more than a thousand, in just a short amount of time since his proclamation in early May.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ECCLESTON: Well, General Alston said that Iraqi security force casualties have grown as their numbers have grown, saying their competence and growing capability make them a better target for the insurgents. And with that, Jim, we saw three separate attacks on security and police forces today. The deadliest, that car bomb at Baghdad's airport which killed three police and wounded 22 others.

This day also brought the announcement that six American troops, five Marines and a sailor were killed during combat operations Wednesday in the Ramadi area of the restive of Anbar province. Those five Marines were killed by a roadside bomb, and the sailor died from wounds suffered when he was hit by enemy small arms fire. Now, that brings the total of U.S. dead for the month of -- for the month of June, rather, at 47 -- Jim.

CLANCY: Jennifer, you look at the casualties on the one side. It has been a day, though, that there was a major arrest that was announced in Mosul. More on that?

ECCLESTON: That's right. He's described by U.S. military officials as al Qaeda's leader in Mosul. He's identified as Mohammed Khalar Shakar (ph), known as Abu Talha.

He was captured Tuesday, according to that brigadier general, Donald Alston. Alston said the man is a trusted agent of the terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He was found in a quiet neighborhood, that there were reports that he wore a suicide vest 24 hours a day and that he would never surrender.

But General Alston said Talha gave up without a fight. And they said he was captured because of a tip from an Iraqi citizen -- Jim.

CLANCY: All right. Jennifer Eccleston, reporting to us there live from Baghdad. Thank you.

VERJEE: Coming up, more on what Iran's media calls one of the most unpredictable elections ever.

CLANCY: On the eve of the country's presidential vote, what is behind the noisy demonstrations in the capital, and why the son of Iran's last shah is calling for a voter boycott. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am here because I don't like the regime, its mullahs. And I want to choose democratic regime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: About 500 people demonstrated in Tehran Thursday, calling on Iranians to boycott the presidential vote. Riot police and security forces arresting at least five of these protesters.

Welcome back. You're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY, an hour of international news on CNN International.

We're focusing on the upcoming elections in Iran, and it is said to be one of the tightest races in recent history. Former Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi is among those calling for a boycott of Friday's vote. He joins us now from Washington.

There may not be much democracy in Iran, as President Bush said this day. But why tell Iranians not to go to the polls?

REZA PAHLAVI, FORMER SHAH'S SON: Well, Jim, let's understand the big picture here. This is a theocracy, remember? Whoever gets elected is ultimately going to carry out the orders of an unelected person, the so-called representative of god on Earth, a leader who, by the way, is committed to the annihilation of western civilization.

The Iranian people will not see security or welfare, and the world will not see an end to terrorism so long as this theocracy is in power. We are not talking also about just the process being meaningless, the result is also meaningless. The Iranian people have never had their representative represent them and carry out the mandate given to such a person.

CLANCY: But they have had elections, and they have elected local officials, mayors. They have elected their representatives in their own parliament. And they have discussed change in their country.

You can condemn it and say it's a theocracy. A lot of people would argue that it was more democracy than they ever saw under the Peacock Throne, your family's rule of Iran.

PAHLAVI: When Mr. Khatami, who was the champion of reform, with 21 million people voting for him, and such a strong mandate, decided to stay with the regime and protect the exact theocracy we are fighting at the expense of the imprisonment and torture of his supporters who are now sitting in Iranian jails, among others, that tells you pretty much what the commitment of this regime is to. It's not to the people of Iran. It's not to the principles of self- determination and sovereignty.

It is about a group of people who have hijacked our country since 1979 and have their own specific design as far as where they want to carry out their mission, which is a radical Islam which is what this theocracy is representative of, and the Iranian people have no say in it. You see, I find it rather strange that the world is mesmerized, the western world is mesmerized, in particular, every time the terminology of "elections" is used.

Well, the Soviet Union had elections. Saddam Hussein had elections. What does that mean? Nothing.

CLANCY: Do you -- are you saying, sir, then, that this regime will never change except by force?

PAHLAVI: It is...

CLANCY: I mean, the world looks at Iraq today, and they say not by force, we don't want that. And you yourself said you wouldn't change this regime by force.

PAHLAVI: Exactly, because the people who are the most committed to change, as far as Iran is concerned, are the people of Iran themselves. You're talking about a country that is a natural ally of anybody in the free world as far as talking about freedoms and development and progress. The only obstacle between the Iranian people and the free world is this regime.

The people are weary. They are tired. They are fed up. They're sick.

And what this theocracy has done to our country, never mind taking our country into the dark ages, but it is, in fact, an element that is critical to impeding the progress that Iranians deserve...

CLANCY: All right.

PAHLAVI: ... whether it's welfare, whether it's freedom. And that's what it's all about at the end of the day, human rights and freedom.

CLANCY: Reza Pahlavi, we have to leave it there, but I want to thank you. We shall see how many people listen to your call for a boycott, how many others decide they will not go to the polls in Iran. Thank you.

PAHLAVI: Thank you.

VERJEE: Let's check stories making news around the United States now.

The U.S. House has voted to restrict investigators from using the Patriot Act to peek at library records and bookstore sales slips. Privacy advocates have been pushing for changes, citing concerns over civil liberties. President Bush threatens to veto any watering down of that wide-ranging security law.

The nomination of John Bolton to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has stalled while Senator Pat Roberts offers what he calls a compromise to break the impasse. Democrats say they will continue to block the nomination unless the Bush administration hands over records from Bolton's time at the State Department.

And in the case of the missing American teenager in Aruba, a judge is expected to rule on whether defense attorneys for two suspects in Natalee Holloway's disappearance can have access to documents in the case. Also at issue, whether to grant one suspect's father, another judge, access to his 17-year-old son.

CLANCY: We're going to take a short break here. We'll be back after this.

VERJEE: Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Wall Street, with a nervous eye on oil prices, drifting a bit this day. For more on that, let's go over to Valley Morris in New York City.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

VERJEE: We're going bring you a roundup of all our main stories in just a moment.

CLANCY: Also, censorship in China. What role are U.S. companies playing? More on that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: Hello and welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY, an hour of news on CNN International. I'm Zain Verjee.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy.

These are the stories that are making headlines around the world. Iranians going to the polls Friday. This could be one of the tightest presidential elections in the recent history of Iran. Some 47 million people are eligible to cast ballots. Seven candidates in the running. Former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani leading in public opinion polls. The candidate must win at least 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff.

VERJEE: Authorities say bandits were behind the school siege in the Cambodian tourist town of Siem Reap. Dozens of children were held hostage for hours as four gunmen demanded money, a van and weapons. The Canadian boy was killed in the standoff at the international school near the Angkor Wat Temple. The gunmen were all captured.

CLANCY: U.S. military officials in Iraq say they have captured a man they believe is the leader of the Al Qaeda terror network in Mosul. Tips from civilians led to the arrest of Abu Talha, who surrendered without a fight.

And in the latest round of violence, four Iraqi police commandos killed in a suicide car blast near the Baghdad Airport.

VERJEE: As we reported on Wednesday, China's government's getting help in censoring information on the Internet from a growing list of U.S. companies.

But as Maggie Lake reports, the devil, as they say, is in the details, and there are many ways to get around government obstacles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAGGIE LAKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In China, Internet users must choose their words carefully. Government controls on what's available online are getting even tighter. As of June 30th, Web site owners must register with authorities or lose their license and face fines.

The government's also requiring Western companies to actively censor information that flows through their search and blog sites.

Beijing Internet users on Microsoft's MSN space who try to search the phrase democracy get a warning message that says, "The title entered must not include prohibited language. Please input another title." Users had similar experiences when they tried to execute searches on Yahoo! and askjeeves.

Media watchdogs are concerned that by cooperating with censorship, U.S. companies are putting profits ahead of ethics.

TALA DOWLATSASHI, REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS: If Microsoft is a U.S.-based company and is allowed to set up portals for Web bloggers within the United States, which anyone can speak about any issue, then that same policy, that same ethical principle should be exercised abroad and overseas.

LAKE: Microsoft says it is company policy to abide by the regulations of each country it operates in. eBay, which also has some filters, issued a similar statement. Yahoo!, Amazon and Interactive Corp, which owns askjeeves, did not return our calls.

Observers say censorship in China is a complicated issue that has companies stuck between a rock and a hard place.

JONATHAN ZITTRAIN, HARVARD UNIV.: A company wanting to do business in China, I think without being unethical or hypocritical, can genuinely decide that they have services to offer, that over the long haul, will be freedom enhancing. And if they have to jump through a couple hoops at the outset, it's better for everybody that they do so.

LAKE: At 94 million and growing, China has the world's second largest population of Internet users. Many are easily able to circumvent the existing government controls. By simply typing a comma in the word "freedom," a user in Beijing was able to complete her search. A similar technique works for other words as well. Text messaging also gets around the sensors.

For now, these evasion techniques allow users to stay one step ahead of the censors. But critics say the Chinese government won't back off. ZITTRAIN: There's enough surveillance going on that somebody who stands on top of a virtual tank and utters the wrong words could actually find him or herself going to jail.

LAKE: A step that could have a chilling effect on freedom on the Internet.

Maggie Lake, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: America online does not have a Web presence in china. Both AOL and CNN are owned by Time Warner.

CLANCY: We're going to take a short break, but there's much more ahead here on YOUR WORLD TODAY.

VERJEE: Including an ongoing mission of mercy to rescue Russia's street children from a life of misery and danger.

This is CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Let's check in on some of the stories that are making news in the United States this day. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist saying now that the autopsy on Terri Schiavo brings a very sad chapter to a close. Frist, a surgeon, earlier had questioned Schiavo's doctor's diagnosis, but medical examiners confirm that Schiavo had been in a persistent vegetative state for more than a decade before the controversial removal of her feeding tube in March.

A fear for anyone who surfs the Internet. A Senate panel now looking into ways to prevent identity theft. Lawmakers are considering possible rules that would protect personal information.

80-year-old former Ku Klux Klansmen Edgar Ray Killen on trial for planning the killings of three civil rights workers in the 1960s. He was taken to the hospital from the Mississippi courthouse on Thursday, Killen complaining of not feeling well. His attorneys said that there were concerns about his blood pressure.

VERJEE: To Russia now, where there are millions of children who call the streets their home. The government's doing what it can to get them off the path of drugs or prostitution.

CLANCY: But as Ryan Chilcote tells us in this report, there's also a remarkable brother/sister team working hard and trying to make a difference.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's Friday afternoon at the Center for Social Adaptation. Two dozen or so children, rounded up by the police, who don't like wild kids running around loose. Instead, Jered Markoff is there to offer them an alternative. Without him, many of the kids will end up back on Russia's streets or in its orphanages, psychiatric wards, or even jails.

In 1996, Jared and sister Christina Greenberg, son and daughter of a California missionary, moved halfway around the world to the Russian city of Perm. Eight winters later, they are still hunting down street kids in Perm's underworld of sewers, basements and drug dens.

This is a gluehouse. For just 50 cents, ten kids can sniff enough glue to keep them high for an evening. With prices like that, nearly all the kids do it. With the offer of a hot meal, Jared gets the kids to follow him out of the drug den. The trick is to get the kids' heads into fun and games.

All of them come with their own dark stories. Slava's (ph) story I find the most remarkable. He followed a familiar path through to streets.

CHRISTINA GREENBERG, "LOVE'S BRIDGE": When his mom found a new boyfriend who started beating him and started beating his mother and started drinking a lot, he started running away and living on the streets.

CHILCOTE: At 12, Slava fell victim to abuse again, this time at the hands of predators.

SLAVA, HOMELESS BOY (through translator): I was little and I met some older guys. They took photos of me in an apartment. They told me they'd give me money, Slava says. I was there for a week. They wouldn't let me go. There were three of them and another boy. They sent the photos to Moscow and sold them.

GREENBERG: He started coming to our daycare center and we realized that he really wanted to make a change, that he wanted to stop sniffing glue, and that he really didn't like his life on the streets. So we took him into our full-time shelter. Slava started going to school, making progress.

CHILCOTE: The men who held him were convicted after Slava refused a $4,000 bribe from them not to testify. It doesn't always turn out well. Jared and some of the kids have come to this cemetery. They are searching, but not for someone to take back to the shelter.

JERED MARKOFF, "LOVE'S BRIDGE": Ureana (ph) was 11 years old when she died. She was found hung inside one of Perm's sewers. So today, Sieta (ph) and Laris (ph), two of Urean's friend, came here to the cemetery to look for her grave and after two hours of looking, they finally found it. We've been able to save several hundred kids from the streets, but I would say about eight of the children I know personally have died.

CHILCOTE: After eight years, Christina and Jered have learned to measure success in small victories.

GREENBERG: A lot of the kids that we knew five years ago, even if they're not yet studying or they're not yet living in a permanent home, they've made leaps and bounds of progress. I consider progress when a kid washes up every day.

CHILCOTE: But in a year, they plan to turn their shelters over to the Russian staff. They've achieved a lot here, but worry that without them and the donors they've worked with, it could disappear. Still, they are people of faith. They believe somehow it will work out.

CROWD (singing): Happy birthday to you.

CHILCOTE: They also believe that with love, the evil in these children's lives can be overcome.

Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Perm, Russia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: A global controversy back in focus this day on Capitol Hill. Of course, speculation persist Washington and London manipulated pre-war intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq. Later in Washington, a Democratic congressman convenes a hearing on a secret British document from 2002.

Senior political analyst Bill Schneider gives us a look at the implications for the White House and for Downing Street.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Six weeks ago, the "London Sunday Times" published the leaked minutes of a July 2002 meeting in the Downing Street offices of British prime minister Tony Blair, eight months before the war in Iraq.

According to the notes, a high-ranking British intelligence official who had just returned from Washington reported," Bush wanted to remove Saddam through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."

The implication? The Bush administration had already decided to go to war before asking for a vote of Congress, before going to the United Nations.

At their June 7 press conference, President Bush and Prime Minister Blair addressed the issues raised by the memo.

TONY BLAIR, PRIME MINISTER OF BRITAIN: But the facts were not being fixed in any shape or form at all.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Somebody said, well, you know, we had made up our mind to go -- to use military force to deal with Saddam. There's nothing farther from the truth.

SCHNEIDER: End of debate? Not if Democratic Congressman John Conyers can help it. He's holding a forum Thursday to look into the allegations. What does Conyers hope to prove?

REP. JOHN CONYERS, (D) MICHIGAN: It may turn out that we got into a secret war that had already been planned and now that we're in it, we can't get out of it.

SCHNEIDER: There were a lot of reports during the summer of 2002 that the Bush administration was intent on going to war. What's so sensational about the allegations of the British documents?

CONYERS: Ironically, there are those now writing that we knew he was going to go to war all the time. But if we knew -- those who claimed that they knew that, he wasn't telling the Congress that. And it's in this crucible that we get the question of deception. Did he deceive us into a war? Were we tricked in a war?

SCHNEIDER: The difference is, the mood of the country. In June, 2002, 61 percent of Americans favored sending U.S. troops to remove Saddam Hussein from power. Now only 42 percent say it was worth going to war in Iraq. That's why questions about how the U.S. got into the war are being raised now more than they were then.

Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Well, still ahead right here on YOUR WORLD TODAY...

VERJEE: Britain's Prince Harry's getting more unwanted tabloid attention.

CLANCY: And the latest controversy is fueling the royal family's ongoing battle with the paparazzi. We'll have details.

(WEATHER REPORT)

CLANCY: While some say it was a serious breach of security, others wonder whether it's just another stunt by Britain's tabloids.

VERJEE: Still, Britain's defense secretary is calling a probe of how a "Sun" newspaper an investigation into how they got access to get pictures of Prince Harry.

Walter Rodgers has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "The Sun" claimed it smuggled what looks like a bomb so close to Britain's Prince Harry they could have blown him to bits at Sandhurst Military Academy.

It was the latest stunt by a British newspaper to call attention to security surrounding the royal family. Prince Harry is third in line for the throne, and the "Sun" reporter shadowed him.

GRAHAM DUDMAN, "THE SUN" MANAGING EDITOR: Sandhurst isn't a Boy Scout's club; this is the most prestigious military establishment in the country. The queen's going there next week.

RODGERS: Videotaping "The Sun" paper's easy-as-pie access, the journalist sailed through the military academy's gate. The affect of this latest security breach on Britain's royal family would seem unnerving.

ROBERT JOBSON, ROYALS WATCHER: Obviously, Prince Charles, in particular, will be very upset with this. This is not the first time there's been a security breach, and I think that he, in particular, thinks must be done to sort this out.

RODGERS: Prince Harry, younger son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, is in this group of soldier cadets at Sandhurst, according to the newspaper. "The Sun" says it shows just how close their reporter got to him.

Britain's defense minister, John Reid, said to be furious, was also red-faced.

JOHN REID, BRITAIN'S DEFENSE MINISTER: Well, ultimately, I take responsibility for this. I'm the defense secretary. And that is why I've asked for an immediate report, not to look for excuses, and certainly not to look for scapegoats.

RODGERS (on camera): The British media has prided itself on exposing just how easy it could be for a potential terrorist to assassinate a member of Britain's royal family.

Last year, "Daily Mirror" reporter Ryan Perry went undercover to become a royal footman at Buckingham Palace, two months before a state visit by President Bush.

Also last year, an interest group, fathers for justice, put this fellow in a Batman costume on a ledge at Buckingham Palace to call attention to their cause.

But a 1982 break-in at Buckingham Palace in which a man snuck into the queen bedroom still takes the prize. Michael Fagan plopped on the queen's bed and chatted up her majesty until police arrested him.

Walter Rodgers, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: And that's our report for now. I'm Zain Verjee.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. See you tomorrow.

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