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Your World Today

Christian Aid Workers Safely Released in Iraq; Protesters in Belarus Vow to Press Ahead; Rumsfeld Facing Growing Criticism at Home

Aired March 23, 2006 - 12:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUG PRITCHARD, CHRISTIAN PEACEMAKER TEAMS: Our hearts are filled with joy this morning as we learn that Harmeet Singh Sooden, Jim Loney and Norman Kember have been safely released.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Four months of fear and uncertainty coming to an end as three hostages held in Iraq are freed.

COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: As the war in Iraq enters its fourth year, calls for the U.S. defense secretary to resign growing louder.

CLANCY: And was the devastation from Hurricane Katrina just a drop in the bucket compared to what lies ahead? We're going to take a closer look at hurricanes that may be on the horizon.

Right now, it's 8:00 p.m. in Baghdad, 11:00 in the morning in New Orleans.

I'm Jim Clancy.

MCEDWARDS: And I'm Colleen McEdwards.

Welcome to our viewers throughout the world. This is CNN International, and this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: We begin our report with some good news coming out of Iraq. Something went right, very right. Three Christian aid workers held hostage for nearly four months are now getting a taste of freedom again, but the joy of liberation mixed with sadness over the fact that one of their own did not make it back alive.

We're covering this story from all angles.

Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson is in Baghdad. Paula Hancocks is at the home of one of the freed hostages just outside London.

Nic, I want to begin with you. What happened? What are the details of how this process went into motion?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, we know that the operation to free the three men was led by British Special Forces, U.S. Special Forces were involved. We've been told by the British foreign secretary, Jack Straw, that it was several weeks in planning, and that planning had involved both military personnel and civilians.

But we learned this afternoon from a U.S. military spokesman here that this -- the very operation to free the three men had only really come into play about three hours before the operation went down and the information that led to that had come from a detainee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. RICK LYNCH, U.S. ARMY: From the time we found the intelligence to the time we released the hostages was eight hours -- or correction, three hours. The hostage rescue took place at 8:00 in the morning. So 5:00 in the morning, on or about, we got the actual intelligence, we did some preliminary surveillance, we did some preliminary missions, and then we conducted the hostage rescue at 8:00 in the morning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Now, there's some -- there's some very surprising details coming out of this, as well, Jim. There were no shots fired in the operation, and it appears the reason for that was because the captors weren't there. The there men were apparently alone.

Now, they were taken away to be given medical checks. We understand now from British officials in Baghdad that they're securely inside the British embassy compound, which is in the very secure Green Zone or international zone in the center of Baghdad.

We're told that they are now "smiling, relaxing and adjusting" to their newfound freedom. And apparently Norman Kember, the 74-year-old British pacifist and physicist, is reported to have said, "Freedom is great. I'm looking forward to going back to the U.K." -- Jim.

CLANCY: Now, the location that they found these three hostages was west Baghdad. Did they report anything else that they uncovered there in the house or the building where they were being held?

ROBERTSON: The best information we have on this, Jim, comes from the U.S. military spokesman. They say that this is still an ongoing operation, that there are things that they're looking at in the house that may provide more clues, perhaps, to who was holding the men, how they were being held, other clues, perhaps, leading to other issues.

But they don't want to say at this time. But they did describe it, when asked, as still an ongoing operation.

We don't know exactly where this house was in western Baghdad. Western Baghdad, however, is predominantly a Sunni neighborhood. That area gives on to the sort of restive Al Anbar province in western Iraq where many insurgent groups are based -- Jim.

CLANCY: Senior International Correspondent Nic Roberts.

As always, Nic, thank you.

MCEDWARDS: Well, right now, more on this. During this whole ordeal, of course, the wife of Briton Norman Kember appeared on Al- Jazeera television pleading for her husband's life, but now she is celebrating his freedom.

And Paula Hancocks is actually outside the Kember home, just outside of London.

Paula, what's the mood there?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Colleen, yes, certainly Pat Kember will be celebrating. She's celebrating behind closed doors at the moment. We haven't seen her yet this Thursday.

She hasn't yet come out to speak to us. But we have seen some well-wishers drop by, dropping off cards. There were some flowers that were delivered just about an hour ago. And when the door was closing after those flowers were accepted, we heard a cackle of laughter. And I'm sure that's something we haven't heard in that house for almost four months.

It must have been excruciating for Pat Kember.

Now, we know that Pat Kember has been in very close contact in the past four months with the foreign secretary, with Jack Straw. He said that he had spoken to her this morning and she is understandably delighted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK STRAW, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: She has shown most extraordinary fortitude throughout this. Look, this is a family who, for reasons I fully respect, took a different view from the British government about the Iraq war, and the family could have easily been profoundly angry with the British government and the American government in respect to this kidnapping.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: He does say that the family will need a bit of time and space to get their head around this, as well.

Also, Ian Kember, Norman Kember's brother, has been saying that obviously he is elated, too. This is what they have been waiting for, for the past almost four months. But, of course, they don't -- they didn't dare to expect the best. And he says that he's finding it difficult to come to terms with it, as well.

Now, we've been speaking to some of the locals in this area as well. He's a very -- a very liked member of the community, Norman Kember. He's also very religious. He's very well liked at the church.

We spoke to the bishop who was there who's been serving him for about eight years or so and knows the Kember family well. And he says that he's delighted that he has been released, as well. And we spoke to some of the family who were praying there, and there's a real sense of community and absolute delight that Norman Kember will be coming back to the United Kingdom quite soon.

MCEDWARDS: All right. Paula Hancocks, we can only imagine how they feel. Thanks for bringing us a bit of it there.

Paula Hancocks, in the London suburb there outside the home -- Jim.

CLANCY: Now, of course all of these celebrations have to be tempered by the knowledge that there was another hostage that was with them from the same group. His name was Tom Fox. He was a fellow aid worker.

He didn't make it out alive. His group, Christian Peacemaker Teams, says its confident that his spirit, though, is very much a part of each and every one of the reunions that are going to happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRITCHARD: We remember with tears Tom Fox, whose body was found in Baghdad on March 9 of this year after three months of captivity with his fellow peacemakers. We had longed for the day when all four men would be released together. Our gladness today is bittersweet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: The body of 54-year-old Fox was found with gunshot wounds, although reports indicated he may also have been tortured. Some members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams who viewed his body say that does not appear to be the case.

MCEDWARDS: Well, to Spain now, where the Basque separatist group ETA says it will begin a permanent cease-fire at midnight Friday local time. That is actually about six hours from now. That statement follows Wednesday's televised cease-fire declaration.

The group says it wants to promote a political process here, and it's calling on France and Spain to respect the democratic decision by the Basque people without limitations, in its words.

ETA has waged nearly four decades of struggle for an independent state in northern Spain and also in parts of France. It is accused of killing more than 800 people in the process. Spain's prime minister says the government will be cautious and prudent in its dealings with ETA.

CLANCY: All right. Let's transit now to central Europe.

In Belarus, determined vigils in the cold. They continue to protest in spite of frigid temperatures, the constant threat of arrest, and even worse.

An election held almost a week ago is the object of their anger. Many of the people that have gathered to protest say they've had enough of lies.

All of this as authorities have officially declared that the strongman in that country, Aleksander Lukashenko, is the winner of the disputed presidential election.

Ralitza Vassileva tells us about the die-hard protesters there in the capital city of Belarus.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RALITZA VASSILEVA, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They wave flags, dance, and sing folk songs long into the night, warmed by a righteous passion. Hundreds of the Russians gather each evening to protest in the heart of the capital, Minsk.

The die-hards among them maintain around-the-clock vigils, huddled against the frigid temperatures in the tent city they have erected. In a country of 10 million who long lived under communism, the re-election of President Aleksander Lukashenko was a virtual certainty long before the ballots were cast.

He swept to victory last Sunday with nearly 83 percent of the vote. His nearest rival, physics professor Alexander Milinkevich, drew just 6 percent.

To the protesters assembled on October Square, he is a folk hero and the election was a fraud. Such protests are illegal in Belarus, but police have not tried to break up the demonstrators. But they have arrested scores of them.

Many say they are concerned they'll be fired from their jobs or expelled from school for opposing the government.

KATYA, STUDENT: Of course (INAUDIBLE). But I think that in five years (INAUDIBLE) will be much more -- it will be much worse for us, for me personally (INAUDIBLE).

VASSILEVA: Even with this outpouring of protest, Belarusian newspapers and television have kept the coverage low key. When the media outlets do mention the protests, it's in critical terms.

Although opposition leaders say the crowd is not strong enough to force a new election, this protest is unprecedented in tightly- controlled Belarus. The United States and the European Union have called the election undemocratic, but Belarus' neighbor, Russia, called it fair.

International monitors accused the president of intimidating the polls. The opposition leader recognizes the West's support.

ALEXANDER MILINKEVICH, OPPOSITION LEADER (through translator): The support of Europe is serious and moral. Europe is fully united in the question of Belarus. And it has never been like this before. It was very important that this support was concrete and tough.

VASSILEVA: A major test is shaping up for Saturday. An important anniversary in Belarus, the day when the first independent Belarusian was declared in 1918. And Milinkevich called for protesters to come out in force to demand a new election.

Outside the capital, many are happy with the election results, eager to hang on to economic and political stability, regardless of what the West says about the vote.

Ralitza Vassileva, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCEDWARDS: Well, now to another swell of anger in the streets. This one directed at the controversial youth jobs law in France. Thousands of protesters packing the streets of Paris again. This is the fifth demonstration in just over a week there.

Hours before the march, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin offered to open talks with unions. The unions are threatening a nationwide strike beginning next Tuesday. Villepin defends the law, saying that it's a good way to slash unemployment by making it easier to hire and fire young workers, but critics are concerned about the firing part. They say that it would erode job security.

CLANCY: All right. We're going to take a short break.

When we come back, we're going to look at politics and the war. As it grinds on in Iraq, there are calls for the U.S. defense secretary's resignation.

MCEDWARDS: That's right. Not all the criticism, though, coming from the usual suspects, not necessarily where you would expect it to be. Aides for Donald Rumsfeld say it appears he's being set up for a fall, if you will, by the most powerful address in America.

We'll explain right after the break. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MCEDWARDS: Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.

I'm Colleen McEdwards, along with Jim Clancy.

We've been talking about good news from Iraq with the release of hostages, but the insurgency continues on. And there's political fallout, of course.

CLANCY: It creates fallout at home. And a man who say quick- witted, fast on his feet, a really tough interview. Not a surprise that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld always has had his critics.

MCEDWARDS: Yes, he always has. They've been vocal. But as American public opinion on the Iraq war is continuing to sour, even some of his supporters now seem to be losing faith. And that's a significant change here.

CLANCY: That's the change...

MCEDWARDS: Yes.

CLANCY: ... that Barbara Starr has been looking at. She says that Rumsfeld's aides are suggesting there's a calculated effort to go after him and make him the fall guy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld often is angry these days, making it clear he thinks the media is sometimes misrepresenting his views, not telling the whole story about Iraq.

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: And if every time I answer every single question, I've got to box the compass we're never going to get anywhere.

STARR: It's tough days for Rumsfeld. "New York Times" columnist Maureen Dowd writing Wednesday that in White House circles, Rumsfeld is "treated as an eccentric old uncle who is ignored." Rumsfeld aides suggest the White House staff is behind some of the anti-Rumsfeld rhetoric, trying to protect the president from declining public support for the war.

Shifting the blame game away from the president, according to one analyst, may be the major reason the White House might think about replacing Rumsfeld.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You're doing a fine job on behalf of the American people.

RUMSFELD: Thank you, sir.

MICHAEL O'HANLON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: It's a little bit less obvious why you would do it now unless your goal is just to recognize that President Bush's popularity is falling at home and respond based on that trend.

STARR: The latest calls for Rumsfeld to resign gained steam with a side op-ed in "The New York Times" Sunday from an unusual corner (ph). Retired Army Major General Paul Eaton wrote, Rumsfeld has "shown himself incompetent strategically, operationally, and tactically. Mr. Rumsfeld must step down."

Behind the scenes, a senior Rumsfeld staffer said Eaton simply was bitter because his work training Iraqi security forces didn't go well. President Bush again defending Rumsfeld at his press conference Tuesday.

BUSH: No, I don't believe he should resign. I think he's done a fine job of not only conducting two battles, Afghanistan and Iraq, but also transforming our military.

STARR: Last year, Rumsfeld revealed that at the height of the prison abuse scandal he twice offered his resignation to President Bush. It was declined.

(on camera): Today, the 73-year-old secretary appears as driven as ever. The only question is whether the White House will begin to view him as a political liability.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: And that brings us to our "Question of the Day". We're asking you to weigh in. What's your opinion?

MCEDWARDS: That's right. Let us know, should Secretary Rumsfeld resign over his handling of the situation in Iraq? What do you think?

CLANCY: Or maybe you think that he's being made a scapegoat here. Maybe you think we should even stop asking the question.

Just send it to us at YWT@CNN.com.

MCEDWARDS: And this programming note for you. The U.S. defense secretary is actually scheduled to hold a news conference later today. Now, this is the normal Pentagon briefing, but of course he's a man in the news right now. We don't know what the questions will be.

So stay with us as we bring it to you, and that will be less than two hours from now. And keep those e-mails coming. We're getting lots.

CLANCY: Speaking -- speaking of resignations, a preemptive strike in the form of a resignation may have derailed a big political battle in India. Sonia Gandhi now a former member of parliament.

Ram Ramgopal explains what might be behind her dramatic decision to call it quits.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAM RAMGOPAL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In Indian politics, Sonia Gandhi has a flair for the dramatic. Two years ago, her coalition won the most seats in the Indian parliament. But instead of becoming prime minister herself, she named Manmohan Singh to the post. Now she has done it again.

SONIA GANDHI, INDIAN CONGRESS PARTY PRESIDENT (through translator): For the last two days, some people in the country were trying to create an impression that parliament was being misused for my benefit. This has hurt me.

RAMGOPAL: Gandhi suddenly quit India's Lower House of Parliament just days after controversy over Gandhi's role as the head of the National Advisory Council, a government-appointed panel. Opposition party members had said that post was an office of profit forbidden by law to parliament members. Lawmakers were to debate the law defining an office of profit, but the house was abruptly adjourned Wednesday.

Other legislators have been cited under the law, but Gandhi steadfastly says the charges against her were politically motivated.

GANDHI (through translator): I've said before that I've not come to politics or public life for any personal benefit.

RAMGOPAL: These congress party workers want the leader to change her mind, but Gandhi says she will not.

GANDHI: I have done this because I think it is the right thing to do.

RAMGOPAL: Political analysts say the move defused the controversy but also did one other thing Gandhi is known for, electrifying and galvanizing her party. The opposition party, the BJP, says the resignation is just an attempt to save face.

RAJNATH SINGH, INDIAN BJP PARTY RESIDENT (through translator): I will only say this, people who try to take the constitution into their own hands have to pay for it.

RAMGOPAL: The drama may be over for now, but Gandhi says she'll be back to run again for parliament before the end of the year.

Ram Ramgopal, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCEDWARDS: Well, still ahead here on YOUR WORLD TODAY, a look at business news that's making headlines around the world.

CLANCY: Stocks on the rise for the world's top computer maker as Dell launches its foray into some new markets.

Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Carol Lin at the CNN Center in Atlanta. More of YOUR WORLD TODAY in just a few minutes. But first, a check on the stories making headlines right here in the United States.

Now, "We just have no idea where they are." That is a quote. The latest words from milwaukee police about two missing boys.

Twelve-year-old Quadrevion Henning and 11-year-old Purvis Parker vanished while playing Sunday afternoon. The FBI is bringing in a mobile command post to help in that investigation. And today, divers will search a lagoon at a local park. In a news conference last hour, police urged other parents in the area to be on the lookout for those boys.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNE SCHWARTZ, MILWAUKEE POLICE SPOKESWOMAN: One possibility, of course, could be that maybe the boys are with a classmate. You know, we find that hard to believe at this point, this has been so many days now, but we don't know. We're looking at all possibilities.

We're looking at all options for where they could be. So we're asking those parents of any children that have, you know, children that go to school with these boys to search their attics, the crawlspaces, we want them to look in garages, in cars, in the trunks of cars. We want them to look anywhere they can where small children might hide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Police say the reward for information leading to the boys' safe return is now up to $17,000.

And we have a tragic end to a missing child story in Texas. A short while ago, searchers found the body of 5-year-old Anthony Turner. The boy's body was found in a pond behind his father's house. Investigators believe Anthony picked up speed riding down the hill and fell into that pond and he couldn't stop. He was last seen alive at 4:30 yesterday afternoon.

And we have a bizarre story we are following out of central Florida. According to CNN affiliate WFTS, police in New Port Richey are executing a search warrant at this hour at a home that flies Nazi flags. Now, they are not saying exactly why they're searching, but overnight, a masked intruder broke into a neighbor's home and stabbed a woman and a 17-year-old boy.

More from Florida now. A small plane nearly clipped an office building when it crashed last hour in Brevard County. At least three people on board were killed. The Cessna was approaching the airport when it went down in a parking lot.

And the families of 12 elderly Americans arrived in Chile where their loved ones died during a sightseeing trip. Their bus plunged off a mountainside in northern Chile near Bolivia.

According to The Associated Press, officials now say the bus did not have legal permits to carry passengers. Celebrity cruise line officials say the American tourists had booked that outing on their own.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN HANRAHAN, PRESIDENT, CELEBRITY CRUISES: We encourage our gusts to take our shore excursions because we are thoroughly checked out the providers and we have a lot of confidence in the providers. What we cannot do is tell guests how to -- what to do on their own time. So our guests do, oftentimes, go off on their own excursions, but we encourage them to take ours because they have been thoroughly -- so thoroughly checked out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Now, two other American tourists survived, but they were injured in that bus crash. A Pittsburgh-area woman who had been missing for 10 years has been reunited with her father. Tanya Kach disappeared when she was just 14. Police say she was abducted by a security guard at her middle school and kept at his home just two miles from where her father lives. Kach says she prayed a lot during her years held captive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TANYA KACH, HELD CAPTIVE FOR 10 YEARS: A lot of praying. Oh, did I find god those years. I prayed. I read the bible. I prayed the rosary.

I talked to him every day. I had morning prayers, night prayers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Slow down.

KACH: And I don't know, you know, does it help?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's all right, baby. Slow down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It worked.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The main thing is she's back where she belongs.

KACH: With my dad. Everybody, this is my dad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Forty-eight-year-old Thomas Hose (ph) is charged with statutory rape and other sex crimes. Police say he used mind games to control where Kach went and what she wore. For the first four years, she was never allowed outside the house.

All right. Much more weather happening around the country. Bonnie Schneider has that from the CNN weather center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LIN: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will likely have more to say about what happened today in Iraq. He plans to talk with reporters at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. Our Kyra Phillips will have it for you on "LIVE FROM."

I'm Carol Lin.

YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY here on CNN International. I'm Jim Clancy.

MCEDWARDS: And I'm Colleen McEdwards. Here are some of the top stories that we're following for you. These pictures just in here from France, showing new clashes between police and young people. They have been protesting the controversial proposed new jobs law. Thousands of protesters have been packing the streets of Paris for the fifth demonstration in just over a week, and these demonstrations have routinely gotten ugly. You can see a little bit of chaos here, clearly.

There have been 43 arrests now, but Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has offered to open talks with the unions. The unions are threatening a nationwide strike beginning next Tuesday. Villepin is defending the law, though. He says it's a good way to slash unemployment. It would make it easier to hire and fire young workers. Critics say the firing part certainly would erode job security, and that's what they're worried about.

CLANCY: Demonstrators also in another place for another purpose. They are here protesting the presidential election in Belarus last Sunday. They've been at it around the clock, 24 hours a day ever since President Alexander Luangwa reelected with nearly 83 percent of the vote. The protesters claim fraud and the United States and the European Union are both now being critical of this election. Some of the demonstrators say they are not going to give up, though scores of them have been arrested.

MCEDWARDS: Family and friends of three Western aid workers kidnapped in Iraq for nearly four months are overjoyed at the news that the men have been freed unharmed. Briton Norman Kember and Canadians James Loney and Harmeet Sooden were working with the Christian Peacemaker Teams. Of course, their colleague, American Tom Fox, did not survive. His body was found earlier this month.

CLANCY: Former hostage Norman Kember said it's great to be free and that he's looking forward to getting home. Jim Boulden spent the day in Kember's hometown in the London suburb of Pinner to get the reaction to the good news.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As parishioners gathered at Norman Kember's Baptist church in northwest London, word spread fast that it had been confirmed: he was coming home.

JACK STRAW, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: Norman Kember, British hostages, two Canadian hostages, have been released as a result of a multinational force operation.

BOULDEN: During their regular 11:00 a.m. prayer circle, Kember's fellow parishioners had a lot to be thankful for. Kember's vicar said despite his ordeal, the congregation still thought the aging Kember had been doing the right thing.

REV. BOB GARDINER, HARROW BAPTIST CHURCH: He went to Iraq because he wanted to investigate what was holding communities apart there. He went because he was concerned about the treatment of prisoners. He went to see if he could open any dialogue between Christian Peacemaking Teams and some of the Muslim groups to see if there were any ways forward which could make for reconciliation in Iraq.

BOULDEN: Kember and three other Christian peace activists had been kidnapped in Iraq last November. Occasionally, videos of them were released by their captors. But then, one of them, American hostage Tom Fox, was killed -- something not far from the minds of those celebrating Thursday's triumph.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We remember with tears Tom Fox, whose body was found in Baghdad on March 9th of this year after three months of captivity with his fellow peacemakers. We had longed for the day when all four men would be released together. Our gladness today is bittersweet.

BOULDEN: During his capture, friends of Kember held vigils every month. One of them spoke of the relief felt by Norma's wife Pat.

BRUCE KENT, FAMILY FRIEND: I know in spirit that she and I and her friends are thinking of the same thing, that it's a wonderful, wonderful day, unbelievably wonderful, and something that I'm afraid that some of us thought might never come.

BOULDEN: Mrs. Kember spent Thursday in her home, asking for privacy.

(on camera): The Kembers' minister says that Pat Kember is still trying to come to terms with the good news about her husband's reason. His brother Ian says simply, "This is the news the family has been waiting for for a very long time."

Jim Boulden, CNN, outside the Kember home in North London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: There are many developments in the worldwide fight against bird flu this day.

MCEDWARDS: Yes, lots to tell you about here. In China, for example, health experts launching a campaign to try to raise awareness about the virus. They've been blanketing the country with posters and with pamphlets.

CLANCY: In the Middle East, meantime, two foes working together. Israel is going to be helping authorities fight the disease in Gaza.

MCEDWARDS: In Egypt, hundreds of stores where live chickens are sold have been closed down, many people thrown out of work because of that.

CLANCY: And in Britain, there are fears that bird flu could spell the end of a way of life for people who own small poultry farms in the countryside.

MCEDWARDS: Well, Asia has been hit especially hard by bird flu, often in poor villages that just don't have the resources once this thing hits. CLANCY: That's right. Senior Asia correspondent Mike Chinoy went out and talked with some of the people who are fighting the virus in Thailand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE CHINOY, CNN SR. ASIA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Duck ponds like these represent a key frontline in Thailand's battle against bird flu, and Soomsak Toopkaen is one of the government's foot soldiers. Soomsak is one of 800,000 unpaid volunteers who have been mobilized to go from village to village, farm to farm, taking samples, asking farmers like this Pornpiron Sing Mon (ph) if they or their birds are sick.

"I give every farmer my cell phone number," Soomsak says, "So if they see any strange symptoms, they call me. I come check and report to the officials. "

CHINOY: Dr. Kumnuan Ungchasak is a senior Thai public health official.

DR. KUMNUAN UNGCHASAK, THAI PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIAL: Every day, we receive some calling or some information from this village (INAUDIBLE) to notify the official that, hey, please come into my village. There are ten duck died, or there are three ducks died.

CHINOY: The World Health Organization says intensive surveillance and quick, transparent reporting is perhaps the single most vital to prevent a bird flu pandemic or control or a human-to- human outbreak in its early stages.

The WHO's man Bangkok says the Thais are doing it right.

DR. WILLIAM ALDIS, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: I have pretty high confidence that if there was a cluster of human deaths, which might be the first stage of an emerging human pandemic organism of evolved virus that could cause a human pandemic, I'm pretty sure I would hear about that within 48 hours of any of those deaths.

CHINOY: The evidence suggests the Thai system is working. Twelve people died of bird flu here in 2004. Only two died last year, and none so far this year.

(on camera): That's the good news. The bad news is that the virus is now entrenched in the poultry population here. The ever- present danger, it could begin to spread easily among humans with potentially devastating consequences.

Mike Chinoy, CNN, Bangkok.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Now, for more on this worldwide fight -- and really, that's what it is -- we're joined by Dr. David Nabarro, a U.N. expert and special envoy on the subject. We're really glad to have him with us. He's just back from Africa. He's been working with health officials in Nigeria and Gabon.

Dr. Nabarro, welcome. Thanks for being with us.

DAVID NABARRO, U.N. AVIAN INFLUENZA ENVOY: Thank you. It's good to be here.

CLANCY: Let me begin here. Are we winning this? We take a look at Mike Chinoy's report there, and it indicates there are ways to battle this, there are ways to protect industries and people.

NABARRO: Yes. It's really like a fire which comes up and starts all over the place in a dry forest, and you have to pick it up at its first stages and then go and snuff it out where the infection has been found. So the Thai example that Mike just reported on is a really textbook example of what's got to be done, and it's through that approach that we will win.

In countries, however, that aren't able to mount that kind of efficient response using reporting mechanisms that have been described, the struggle is harder. The Thais have been doing it for some months. Countries that have just started to deal with bird flu are having to get themselves organized to do that kind of response.

CLANCY: Are they a bit surprised at what it's going to cost them to do that? I mean, that's a whole alarm system.

NABARRO: Yes, its cost and its organization. Let's start with the cost. The real damage, frankly, is born by the poultry farmers themselves, the small farmers who keep just a few particularly badly hit, because it's such an important part of their livelihoods, but also the big poultry farmers who might lose a whole flock of thousands of birds when the report does come through.

So getting compensation in place is key, and that sometimes takes some weeks to set up. Secondly, the organization of the community volunteers, the supported vets (ph), as has been described, that, too, requires training, it required systems and it requires some cash.

I'd like to say that I'm seeing great signs of good organization in many countries, some of them pretty poor. Others are having a bit of a struggle, and it's those with whom we realm need to work to help them get on top of it.

CLANCY: Well, the real enemy here is deception, hiding this. Farmers don't want to report it because they have to destroyed their entire crop.

NABARRO: Well, would you?

CLANCY: Everybody would feel that way, but then if we're quiet about it, what does it do then?

NABARRO: Well, of course none of us if we were told that either people who are very dear to us, if it was our pet snake or our birds that are very important to us for economic purposes, none of us would want to give these up, because we're told there is they're a threat, unless we really get some kind of compensation, either the chance of being restocked afterwards when the danger goes away or some kind of cash compensation. And it's really the necessity to organize that compensation and create incentives that really create some challenges for governments.

I was in Nigeria, for example, 10 days ago, and I was seeing the government put some very useful compensation approaches in place, but it's difficult to reach all the small holders who are the ones who are most affected by the loss.

CLANCY: A lot of people are worried about Africa, because you have poverty there, you have other problems that are confronting the people that live in those countries. Is that the most troubling area of bird flu for you?

NABARRO: Well, I think all countries where there's poverty, and perhaps not the strongest of government organizations to provide services face difficulties. That was found in some Asian countries some months ago, and they've got themselves organized. After all, Vietnam itself is not a very rich country, but its done an excellent job. And so with time, with organized, with the political will, we can get a good result. What I would like people to recognize is that this isn't going to go away, and we're going to be having to face the problems caused by bird flu, possibly even coming into the Americas, for some months to come, so we need to maintain solidarity and support for the countries that are doing their best to try to cope with this scourge.

CLANCY: Dr. David Nabarro, I want to thank you very much for taking the time and talking to us, just back from Africa, a lot to report and a lot of good information.

NABARRO: My pleasure. And thank you for the chance to be with your viewers.

MCEDWARDS: Well, senior Muslim clerics in Afghanistan are demanding the death sentence for an Afghan man who is on trial for converting to Christianity. The religious leaders told the Associated Press that even if the man is freed, they will incite people -- and this is a quote -- "to pull him into pieces." The 41-year-old former medical aid worker converted from Islam to Christianity about 16 years ago, and that is a crime punishable by death under Afghanistan's Islamic laws. Well, Rahman's case is raising some pretty thorny issues between Afghanistan and its Western allies. U.S. President George W. Bush says he's deeply troubled by this case, and that he expects Afghanistan to honor the universal principal of freedom. That's a quote there as well.

Well, for more on this case, I'm joined on the phone now by Tom Coghlan. He's with "The London Independent" and joins us now.

Tom, any idea what is going to happen to this guy? Because it sounds like if he is tried and convicted, he'll be sentenced to death; and if he is released there's already this threat by the mob to pull him apart. TOM COGHLAN, "THE INDEPENDENT": It's a difficult problem for the Afghan government. The Afghan clearly doesn't want this man, this trial, which is causing huge embarrassment to the government, but equally, as you say, if he's released, there is this threat from (INAUDIBLE) clerics in the country to sort of set the mob upon him.

What at the moment appears to be happening is the government seems to be searching for a middle way. There is a suggestion that this man may not be mentally fit to stand trial. That's a suggestion coming from the prosecutors at the trial and from cleric -- sorry, judicial officials involved in the trial. They're suggesting that he may be mentally unsound, and therefore the case may have to be shelved. Now Obviously, that would be enormously good news for the Afghan government. What would happen to him then is really, at this point, unknown, and...

MCEDWARDS: Yes, I mean, they'd almost have to get him out of the country. I'm wondering, the question of his mental fitness, is that really the case, or is this just a convenient way for the government to get this off the docket and not have to deal with the issue of law here?

COGHLAN: There's certainly a lot of speculation that this is a politically motivated suggestion. Journalists have not been allowed to interview this man. And at this point the judicial officials are saying that they haven't conducted tests on him, but they don't believe that he's mentally sound. So it's really hard to say.

But there does seem to be evidence that he has some sort of medical history. I mean, that's coming from relatives of his. But at this point, it does look at if they would be enormously advantageous to the government, and certainly there are people speculating here that this is just a political gander.

MCEDWARDS: Yes, Tom Coghlan, we have to leave it there, but thanks a lot for bringing us up to date on this disturbing case. Tom, thanks a lot.

CLANCY: All right, we have to take a break. When YOUR WORLD TODAY continues, hurricane season 2006 right around the corner.

MCEDWARDS: I can't believe it.

An inside look coming up at the latest forecast for you, as well.

CLANCY: And what may lie ahead for the already battered U.S. Gulf Coast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.

MCEDWARDS: Well, 2005 was actually the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record. Have I got that right? Twenty-seven named storms, I believe.

CLANCY: The big question now is really, could it get any worse in 2006?

MCEDWARDS: Forecasters say, hold on, because the worst may actually be yet to come here.

CNN's Rob Marciano has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): With spring now officially here, hurricane season is coming fast. The images of Dennis slamming into Florida, Katrina devastating the Gulf Coast, followed by hurricanes Rita and Wilma, are all too vivid. And there are good reasons, experts say, that this year could be worse. Dr. William Gray has been studying hurricanes for 50 years. Every year he predicts how many hurricanes will form in the Atlantic.

WILLIAM GRAY, COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY: We have a very active forecast out as of now. It's 17 named storms, nine hurricanes and five major ones. This is the most we've ever -- highest numbers we've ever made this early in the season.

MARCIANO: That's not good news for the millions who live along the east and Gulf Coasts. Dr. Gray says since 1995 the average number of major hurricanes has more than tripled, rising from 1.5 a year to 4 per year. Dr. Judy Curry, an earth and atmospheric science professor at Georgia Tech, sees no relief in the future.

What would be your outlook for the next 10 to 20 years?

DR. JUDY CURRY, GEORGIA TECH: We're going to be under this double whammy for the next 20 years.

MARCIANO: So what is going on? Why are we seeing more, stronger hurricanes? Dr. Curry thinks global warming is to blame. She says the oceans are getting warmer, about a degree Fahrenheit increase since 1975. Most experts agree global warming is real. Glaciers in Greenland are melting. And in the United States, this January was the warmest on record.

Would you go on record to say that the storms are getting worse because of what people are doing to the atmosphere?

CURRY: Yes. Our best understanding of this problem is that that increase in sea surface temperature is being caused by human induced activities.

MARCIANO: Dr. Curry says it's our fault the earth is getting warmer. But Dr. Gray, the hurricane expert, disagrees.

GRAY: As far as causing the globe to warm, we have not done that.

MARCIANO: Instead, Dr. Gray says the warming is natural, a regular feature of global cycles, and not from greenhouse gases.

On the issue of global warming itself, these two scientists couldn't be more divided, but they do agree that warm water helps feed hurricanes, allowing them to get stronger and grow larger. But there's more to it than just turning up the heat. The air above the water has to be just right. Hurricanes thrive in a calm atmosphere. And this year La Nina is helping to create the perfect hurricane breeding ground.

GRAY: This looked as bad a storm as I have ever seen . . .

MARCIANO: And believe it or not, Dr. Gray says so far we've been lucky. The intense hurricane cycle we're in has been going on for 11 years.

GRAY: We were very lucky the first nine years of this active period, very unlucky the last two years, and this is just how nature works.

MARCIANO: Rob Marciano, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Well, it's time for us to take a short break.

MCEDWARDS: That's right. When YOUR WORLD TODAY returns, we're going to have your e-mails checked. Stay with us.

CLANCY: We're going to open them up. We're going to read them right here. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Well, it's time to check our "Inbox," Colleen.

MCEDWARDS: Our question today was, should Secretary Rumsfeld resign over his handling of the situation in Iraq? And we got a lot of responses. Here's a look at one.

"In any other civilized country, a minister responsible for so many disasters would have resigned long ago, but while Dick Cheney is still acceptable to the American people as vice president, why should Rumsfeld worry?"

CLANCY: Bob from Florida wrote this: "Arrogant, incompetent, unqualified and fallacious. While the first person associated with that description is Bush, the second is Rumsfeld. Not only should he be fired, he should be held criminally accountable for condoning prisoner abuse and the inhumane killing of innocent Afghans and Iraqis."

MCEDWARDS: Whoa, well, here's another one. Why replace the monkey and leave the organ-grinder in office?" That was from Jerry. He gets the last word this time.

CLANCY: Yes, but Donald Rumsfeld should know he's got a lot of supporters too.

MCEDWARDS: Sure, he does. CLANCY: He was outnumbered today, but there's a lot of other supporters. We've got to go. Stay tuned. If you're watching this in the United States, Kyra Phillips and CNN "LIVE FROM" is next.

MCEDWARDS: That's right. And for CNN International viewers, more YOUR WORLD TODAY. Don't go away.

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