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Former Liberian President Faces War Crimes Trial; Condoleezza Rice, Jack Straw Urge Iraqis to Form New Government; Reports of Possible Departures of Senior White House Staff

Aired April 03, 2006 - 12:00   ET

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

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: War crimes trial. From powerful warlord to imprisoned defendant, it is a new day for Charles Taylor and for Africa.
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: State of emergency. People are fleeing their homes in central Europe with rising waters not far behind.

CLANCY: And ghosts of the past reborn? Shanghai is experiencing a renaissance in spirit. We'll take you through the past and into the present as part of our eye on China.

Right now, it's 4:00 p.m. in Freetown, Sierra Leone, 6:00 p.m. in Prague and the Czech Republic.

I'm Jim Clancy.

GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani.

Welcome to our viewers throughout the world and the United States.

This is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

Well, we begin with an important day for Africa. For the first time in that continent's history, a former head of state is facing an international war crimes trial.

CLANCY: Charles Taylor once said he would teach the people of Sierra Leone a lesson. Today, Charles Taylor is standing before a U.N.-backed court in Sierra Leone and he has just entered his plea, not guilty.

Before we take you to the trial, let's look first at this case against him.

GORANI: Now, Taylor was president of neighboring Liberia during its civil war that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives there. But he is now in court for allegedly supporting a brutal rebel movement in Sierra Leone.

CLANCY: The Revolutionary United Front rebels were notorious. They chopped the limbs off civilians and forced children to serve as their soldiers. Taylor faces 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including sexual slavery and mutilation. GORANI: Although the initial court appearance is in Sierra Leone, some fear Taylor's very presence there could stabilize the country. So the trial could soon move to The Hague.

Our Jeff Koinage is at the courthouse ringed by U.N. peacekeepers in Freetown, Sierra Leone. He joins us now to tell us where the trial goes from here.

Jeff, first of all, what happened in that courtroom?

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, drama like you'd never believe, Hala. The same way Charles Taylor was used to drama.

He arrived in the courtroom right on time, wearing a dark suit, white shirt, red tie. Flanked on either side by United Nations security personnel. He sat down, put on his headphones. Immediately, the hearing went under way. And the list of charges were read to him, everything from crimes against humanity, to serious violations of humanitarian law, to criminal responsibility, terrorizing the civilian population, unlawful killing, murder, mutilation, and the list went on and on.

Forty minutes later, Mr. Taylor was asked to stand up and the judge asked him whether he understood the charges. For 30 seconds, complete silence. You could have heard a pin drop in that courtroom.

And the judge asked again, "Mr. Taylor, do you understand the charges against you?" And finally Mr. Taylor spoke up. He said, "I could not and I did not commit these crimes against a sister nation. So, I am most definitely not guilty," in his words.

Then the defense lawyer, Mr. Vincent Mehele (ph), asked the lawyer that -- Mr. Taylor wanted to speak. He had his concerns that he wanted to raise. The judge refused. And he asked Mr. Mehele (ph) to inform the court of these concerns, and they included, one, Mr. Taylor apparently fears for his life.

And number two, he wanted his family close by for moral support.

And thirdly, and this was the most surprising part of all, Mr. Taylor wants the trial to stay in Sierra Leone. He says the witnesses are here. He says logistics would be minimal. So he would prefer that the trial stay in Sierra Leone and not move to The Hague -- Hala.

GORANI: Jeff Koinange, in a few words, when can we expect a trial to start?

KOINANGE: Well, the judge has left that to the registrar of the court. So that's going to be done in the next few days. But you can -- you can just imagine witnesses have to be called, lawyers have to be communicating back and forth.

We are looking maybe four, six, maybe even eight weeks from now. But the first hurdle has been crossed, Hala. The first-ever former African head of state faces war crimes and crimes against humanity. It's happened and the trial is going to move on -- Hala. GORANI: Jeff Koinange, in Freetown, Sierra Leone -- Jim.

CLANCY: Well, let's get some more perspective on what we can expect to come out of the court proceedings.

Let's turn to David Crane. He's the former chief prosecutor for the war crimes tribunal in West Africa. He joins us now from Washington.

David, great to have you with us.

First of all, I just want to get your reaction. Here's a man that the court you were the chief prosecutor for had wanted for a long, long time.

DAVID CRANE, FMR. WAR CRIMES PROSECUTOR: This is a special moment for the victims of the civil war that took place. The world just needs to understand that this alleged warlord and thug has terrorized this part of the world for well over 10 years, which resulted in the murder, rape, maiming and mutilation of over 1.2 million human beings.

CLANCY: This case, perhaps for our audience all around the world putting it into perspective, this goes all the way back to, what, the 1970s and Moammar Gadhafi. Foday Sanko, who was the leader of the rebel group in Sierra Leone, was backed by Charles Taylor. Both men were trained by Moammar Gadhafi?

CRANE: That's correct. You know, this is all part of a -- what we discovered to be a decade-long plan to put surrogates of Moammar Gadhafi in all parts of West Africa -- Foday Sanko, Charles Taylor, Blaze Campori (ph). All of these individuals who were a part of this joint criminal enterprise were involved in this.

Certainly Charles Taylor was the center point of this joint criminal enterprise, and for that he has been indicted for 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. But don't let the world forget that Moammar Gadhafi was behind this. I so mention that in my indictment that I signed on the 3rd of March of 2003. Charles Taylor's indictment was indictment number one.

CLANCY: You know, when you look at this case, I think people have a hard time understanding just what went on there, why people had their limbs chopped off. I had the opportunity -- I guess there's no other word to describe it -- to talk with the young men that fought for Foday Sanko. He said that they wanted to teach the Sierra Leone people a lesson.

Their slogan was "No more war," but as they did that they chopped off the limbs of infants, children, and they had other children doing it simply because it was too horrific a crime for an adult really to be expected to carry out those orders.

CRANE: Well, you know, the child soldiers were greatly feared throughout Sierra Leone. I was talking to a woman who was almost killed by a child soldier in the rape of Freetown back in January of 1999. And she was telling me that, you know, the child soldiers did not understand the term "mercy."

If you were begging for their lives, the adult rebels at least had some sense of this. But a child soldier who was ripped out of his parents' arms or killed his parents and then fought in the Bush for four or five years, given a different name, hopped up on cocaine, really was almost a monster incarnate and showed no mercy.

These small boy units walking around Sierra Leone with bags of severed limbs, reporting back to the commanders, are just beyond description. And I'm not really even giving you the more -- the worst of the horror story.

Really, as I was giving my opening statement in June of 2004, I asked the tribunal to literally believe the unbelievable, because there's nothing in the English language or any language that can describe what took place in West Africa. Not only in Sierra Leone, but certainly in Liberia as well.

CLANCY: But David, people will say, you had Charles Taylor hundreds of miles away living in Monrovia, in Liberia. How can you possibly tie him to this rebel movement and specifically to those kinds of crimes? What was his interest in it?

CRANE: Well, you know, certainly, he had great interest in both the diamonds, money, guns, and those types of thing. And, of course, the theory under international criminal law is that he aided or abetted or he had direct command responsibility over all of the acts that took place. And if we prove that, it's as if he actually committed the murders, the rapes, the maiming and mutilations himself.

So, under our statute and under various other statutes of the tribunal that we see in international criminal law, the theories of international criminal law allow us to take those who bear the greatest responsibility, particularly someone like Charles Taylor, who allegedly did all of these things, and actually find him guilty if, in fact, he is found guilty of literally tens of thousands of people dying horribly, being raped, maimed, mutilated, pillaged, plundered, using child soldiers, attacks on U.N. peacekeeper, sexual slavery, forced marriage in time of armed conflict. I mea, the list goes on as to what this particularly war crimes indictee (ph) allegedly did, along with his cohorts who are currently getting a fair trial in the international tribunal in Freetown.

CLANCY: All right. We have to leave it there.

David Crane, thank you so much for being with us.

The view of an expert there that was in on the ground floor in drawing up the charges against Charles Taylor that he hears this day in a courtroom.

Thank you.

CRANE: Thank you, Jim.

GORANI: Well, here on YOUR WORLD TODAY, we go from Africa to Iraq. And Baghdad, a blunt message from the U.S. and U.K.'s diplomats to Iraqi leaders: form a unity government, and form it now.

Elise Labott reports on the efforts to force an end to political gridlock.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELISE LABOTT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, an unprecedented joint mission to push Iraq's leaders to end the political impasse and form an inclusive government.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: Both Jack and I thought that given the commitment of the United States and the United Kingdom to Iraq's future, the price that we have paid here, that it was important to come and deliver a message that the time has come to end these negotiations and to form a government.

LABOTT: The surprise visit got off to a rocky start as their military plane arrived in torrential rains. Unable to take the customary Black Hawk helicopters into the highly fortified Green Zone of Baghdad, they were forced to take armored cars on the road from the Baghdad airport, where car bombings and kidnappings an almost daily occurrence. The mere fact they drove along one of the country's deadliest stretches and made a rare stay overnight, powerful signals of just how important this mission was.

Call it tag team diplomacy by these new diplomatic soul mates, a whirlwind of meetings with Iraq's Sunni, Kurd and Shia politicians. Rice said she bluntly urged them to all to choose the country's future leaders and get on with the business of running the country after a personal request from President Bush.

With sectarian violence boiling in Iraq, a national unity government is seen as the best way to turn the country around.

Rice and straw said they wouldn't interfere with Iraqi decisions on the future government, but the USA has made little secret that it wants Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari to turn down another run at the post.

RICE: Our purpose was not to say who needs to do what but to say to every leader, look within yourself and do whatever you have to do to make the process move forward. And I think we said that to each and every person.

JACK STRAW, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: There's every interest in the United States and the United Kingdom and all those other countries who have had forces here and who've shed blood for Iraq's liberation, as well. And the skepticism, certainly, in my country is understandable as long as there appears to be slower progress than anticipated. So that's a good reason, another reason for pushing this forward.

LABOTT (on camera): And so the second leg of this Condi-Jack road show has a dual purpose: to warn Iraqi leaders that international patience is running thin and to tell the American and British people that their leaders are working together to end a war that is unpopular in both countries.

Elise Labott, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: We're getting news right now that the U.S. Capitol building is being evacuated because of a power outage there. You see the Capitol One of the nearby office buildings also being evacuated.

This is -- we are being told right now it's because of a power outage affecting many parts of this Capitol building. Now, apparently, it doesn't affect all of the Capitol building, but the details of what offices are being evacuated is not clear to us right now. But it's a significant event.

Lawmakers not going to be getting much done today. We're going to find out what the extent is as the details come in minute by minute.

We'll let you know.

GORANI: Another potential significant event in Washington, D.C. The staff shake-up could continue at the White House. Last week, of course, Josh Bolten replaced Andrew Card as chief of staff. Now others may be on their way out.

Kathleen Koch joins us now from Washington -- Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hala, it's the favorite parlor game in Washington right now, trying to figure out just who might be the next one to leave. White House and GOP sources are telling CNN that the next two names on the list who might exit the administration are White House spokesperson Scott McClellan and the Treasury secretary, John Snow.

Now, why McClellan? Several sources familiar with his thinking say that newly-appointed chief of staff Josh Bolten has right out of the gate begun focusing on improving White House communications in order to regenerate the administration's message, its performance. One White House insider is saying there's been "a lot of dissatisfaction with the state of communications."

At the same time, though, it's very important to point out some insist that this is simply a rumor, that McClellan's position at the White House is very secure, simply in part because of his very close relationship with President Bush. If he were to leave, however, Republican sources tell CNN that White House counselor Dan Bartlett's name is being floated as a possible replacement.

As for Treasury Secretary Snow, several GOP sources say that President Bush has been trying to find a replacement for him even before Josh Bolten took over as the new White House chief of staff. Sources say that Mr. Bush has been dissatisfied with Snow's performance and offered the job a couple of weeks ago to Time Warner's CEO Dick Parsons. Mr. Parsons, though, turned that offer down.

Numerous sources telling CNN that the White House is actually having some level of difficulty finding someone to fill the position.

And Hala, what we are hearing is that these two men's names, that they're actually perhaps several of -- one of just several -- or two of just several senior level staff changes that could potentially be announced in coming weeks.

GORANI: All right. Kathleen Koch live at the White House.

CLANCY: We're going to take a short break, but in the United States, severe weather has killed more than two dozen people.

GORANI: Coming up on YOUR WORLD TODAY, we'll go live to Illinois to assess the damage.

Plus, central Europe bracing for more flooding as rivers overflow their banks.

All that and the rest of your international weather coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta.

Let's get the latest on what's happening at the U.S. Capitol, which has been evacuated due to a number of power outages.

Our Dana Bash is there on Capitol Hill with the latest -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn.

Well, we were sitting in the Capitol in our offices about 10 minutes ago, and everything just went to black. Our lights, our TVs, our computers, everything.

And then we suddenly realized it wasn't just us, it was the entire Capitol. And shortly thereafter, the alarms of which you might be able to hear in the background started to go off and there was an evacuation notice that everybody should leave the building.

All we know now is that there was an obvious power outage on both sides of the United States Capitol. The Senate was not in session at this time, nor was the House. And senators who were around who were in the Capitol were simply given a notice on their Blackberrys and on their e-mails to go to their office building -- office buildings.

There are three Senate office buildings in and around the Capitol: the Dirksen, the Hart and the Russell buildings. At this point, we do not believe those have been cleared out, those buildings have been evacuated.

So we are right now standing on the corner outside the Capitol and simply waiting to figure out what exactly is going on and what the cause of the power outage was.

KAGAN: All right, Dana. We will check back with you.

Dana Bash on Capitol Hill on the power outage that has caused the evacuation of the U.S. Capitol.

We have an update for you on a story that we have followed throughout the morning. We now know that no one was killed in this crash of a military cargo plane near Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Seventeen crew members were aboard the C-5 jet. We are told that several suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The National Guard plane crashed in the field next to the base. Pentagon sources tell CNN the aircraft declared an in-flight emergency for "a number two engine flame-out."

To New Jersey. A 68-car freight train slammed into a dump truck this morning. You can see the burned-out truck on the side of the tracks. No word yet on whether people inside the truck were injured. Officials say the flashing lights at the railway crossing were working at the time of the accident but the crossing does not have gates.

Earlier this morning, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal from Jose Padilla. He is the man often called the "dirty bomb suspect." A divided court decided that it will not take up the case.

Padilla was labeled an enemy combatant when he challenged the Bush administration's wartime powers. In January, the government removed that designation. Instead, it filed criminal charges against him. Government lawyers argued that dropping the enemy combatant status made his legal challenge pointless, and the court agreed.

Plenty of grumbling today about airline service. An annual study on airline quality shows customer satisfaction at its lowest point in five years. Travelers are unhappy with everything from customer service to on-time performance. The biggest gripe is lost or mishandled baggage.

The co-author of the study says don't look for any improvements.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN E. HEADLEY, WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY: We are back to above capacity that we were in the year 2000 when we had a good economic system and people were flying pretty freely at that point. And we really haven't seemed to fix anything.

Our performance is about as bad as it was then, and we're only growing the system now. And unless we fix a few things, we probably will have -- continue to have poorer and poorer performance as the years go by.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: The report found that Southwest Airlines had the lowest rate of complaints. U.S. Airways had the highest. Let's go back to the U.S. Capitol and the developing story that we're watching with a huge power outage. The entire Capitol has been evacuated.

Our Dana Bash one of those evacuated.

And you got the surprise when you were sitting there at your desk and all the lights went out.

All right. We don't have Dana yet.

Anyhow, police did order an evacuation of the U.S. Capitol. This happened shortly after noon Eastern. The power outages reported in the building and sirens signaling the evacuation went off, and lawmakers were told to leave.

At this point, the cause of all of the power outages unclear. And they're just taking precautions in getting everyone out of the building.

We'll get more on that as we get more people available on Capitol Hill.

Meanwhile, other news now. We actually will get to more news from international news in just a moment. As more news becomes available there on Capitol Hill, we'll bring it to you live here on CNN.

I'm Daryn Kagan. More news after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: The world from Capitol Hill, it sounds like the power is making its way back on.

Dana Bash is live on the phone -- Dana.

BASH: Hi, Daryn.

Well, that's the word from Pepco. A spokeswoman from Pepco told CNN that they think that the power is going back on, although we're getting -- as tends to happen with situations like this, we're getting mix signals.

I just spoke with a Capitol police officer out here just outside the Capitol who said he wasn't so sure if that was the case. Apparently, what -- one thing that that they're dealing with inside the Capitol right now is that there might be some people stuck on elevators.

You know, as I mentioned earlier, the power just, you know, sort of went out in its entirety very quickly, and there are elevators that operate in the Capitol. And there might be some people inside in the elevators. But that is just a preliminary report. We don't have anymore information on that. I've got to tell you, I've never seen -- and I was talking to some people around here -- never seen this happen quite like this before. There have been power blips, if you will, but not the power going out in its entirety in the -- in the entire United States Capitol as it has right now. So we don't have that much information for you in terms of the power going on, except that we did get a report from Pepco, which runs the power here in D.C. , saying that they did think that the power was coming on.

I'm looking at the Capitol right now. There are a lot of police officers and Capitol police officers around outside. It doesn't look like right now they're getting ready to let us back in.

The siren that signals that people should evacuate is still going off. And as I mentioned earlier, senators were given notices as they do, the protocols to do when things like this happens, simply leave the Capitol, go back to their office buildings. And the office buildings in and around the Capitol, three office buildings on the Senate side and on the House side, as well, they are not closed. They are still open, and I see a light inside the Russell Senate Office Building, where I'm standing outside right now.

So this apparently seems to be just an issue in the United States Capitol right now. What the reason for the power outage is we still don't know.

KAGAN: So the evacuation stands for now?

BASH: The evacuation stands. I don't know if you can hear in the background the sirens signaling that people should evacuate the Capitol is still going off. We have not been told to come back in yet, and we still really don't have information on why this is happening yet. We'll certainly -- still digging that up, and we will get it to you as soon as we get it -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Well, thank goodness the cell phones are working so we can get the latest from you. Even though you are not at your desk, you're more than capable of reporting the latest.

Evacuation stands. Conflicting reports about the power coming back on at the U.S. Capitol. We will continue to monitor what's happening in the nation's capital and bring you that as it develops.

Right now, we rejoin CNN International and their coverage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International. I'm Hala Gorani.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. These are the stories that are making headlines around the world.

Former Liberian president Charles Taylor standing before a court, entering a plea of not guilty to 11 charges of war crimes. He appeared before the international tribunal in Sierra Leone in West Africa. He becomes the first former African leader ever to face such a trial. Taylor is accused of supporting a brutal rebel movement in Sierra Leone in exchange diamonds. The rebels were notorious for hacking the limbs off innocent civilians and forcing children to serve as soldiers.

GORANI: Also in the headlines, the top diplomats from the U.S. and the U.K. pressuring Iraqi leaders to form a unity government now. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and U.K. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw made an unannounced visit to Baghdad to meet with politicians who are currently deadlocked over who should be prime minister. Rice suggested the power vacuum is partly to blame for country's unrelenting violence.

CLANCY: There may be more changes in store for the White House staff. White House and Republican sources say Press Secretary Scott McClellan may be on his way out. White House and Republican sources also saying the search is on for a replacement for Treasury Secretary John Snow.

GORANI: A car bomb in northeastern Baghdad Monday killed 10 people and wounded 30. That word from Baghdad emergency police sources. They say the blast took place near a mosque in the Shaab area.

CLANCY: Tens of thousands of people from around the world are at the Vatican. They're marking the first anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II. Pope Benedict XVI, his successor, paid tribute to the late pontiff as he lead a commemorative mass Monday. The pope blessed the crowds as he made the way through the steps of St. Peter's Basilica, proceeded by cardinals. The late afternoon mass followed a prayer vigil on Sunday night to mark the exact time of John Paul's passing. During the candlelight vigil, Pope Benedict told the faithful that John Paul's memory was still very much alive.

GORANI: Let's get more on the legacy of the late pontiff and the work ahead for the new pope, as he marks his first year at the helm of the Catholic Church. We go now to Chester Gillis. He's the chairman of the Department of Theology at Georgetown University. He's also the editor of the recently published book, "Political Papacy: John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Their Influence."

Thank you so much for being with us. You know, one year on after the death of Pope John Paul II, when you say the pope, you immediately still think of John Paul II and not instinctively of Benedict XVI.

CHESTER GILLIS, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: I think that is true. I think Benedict XVI is living somewhat in the shadows of the legacy of John Paul II. Not that he minds that role. Obviously, he was the first lieutenant to John Paul II and very faithful to him. But after a 26-year papacy, the third longest in history, and someone who is up for a rapid sanctification, it's difficult not to think of John Paul when you think of Rome and the papacy.

GORANI: And John Paul II is going to be fast-tracked for sainthood? GILLIS: Yes, he is. Fast-tracked, but in the church's view is rather than waiting the normal five years before he would be put up for sainthood, Benedict put him up in three months right away. But still the process must unfold. There must be an investigation in Rome, the diocese in which the pope worked, in part in Poland and then it will go to the congregation for the -- for sainthood in the Vatican after that. So it still may be a number of years away before anything actually happens.

GORANI: We've had a year to talk about the legacy of John Paul II. Let's look forward a bit, and let's talk about Benedict XVI. How might he be different from Pope John Paul II?

GILLIS: Oh, I think there are marked differences. In one way, first of all, clearly he is -- everyone knows he's not quite the charismatic figure that John Paul II was. But again, he wants to focus on Christ and the church completely, and not so much on himself. He's a very skilled diplomat and a very skilled manager, I think. And more of a hands-on manager than John Paul II was.

John Paul was the face of Catholicism, wildly popular and a globetrotter. Benedict is more stay at home and quieter, but kind of take care of the house. And I think he will be doing that. The other thing is that while he is not young, he may be pope for potentially ten years. And no question about it, he has a vision of what his papacy will look like, and that can only unfold over time. He can't rush that process.

GORANI: Of course, only a year is definitely not long enough, especially when you come after a pope who ruled over the Catholic Church more than a quarter century. Let's talk a little bit about the political papacy, I mean, those issues that infuriate some and comfort others. Abortion, contraception, homosexuality. Will the Catholic Church change on those issues, on those positions, at all under Benedict XVI?

GILLIS: I can say, unequivocally, no. It will not change at all under Benedict, not one iota. He will hold the line on all of those moral positions. And, also, on the political side of things, he's taking fairly strong positions in other ways. He appointed Bishop Zen as a cardinal in Hong Kong, which may be irritating to the Chinese government where the church is not formerly recognized and where Cardinal Zen has been critical of mainland China. So, sometimes, this is pope is pretty bold in what he does. He also has other issues with the Islamic world, for example, that are very delicate.

GORANI: Such as?

GILLIS: Well, for example, in Turkey, where he did say things about whether or not Turkey should be part of the E.U. And...

GORANI: Because it's a Muslim country?

GILLIS: Yes. Because it's a Muslim country and it's not -- it doesn't have a historical association with mainline Christian Europe. And many do not like that. At the same time, he's trying to establish good relations with Christians in Turkey, and he's also trying to establish good relations with the Islamic world. So it's a real tightrope that he's walking in that case. He doesn't want to tolerate a radical Islam that's violent. No one does. At the same time, he doesn't want to cut off the dialogue with Islam and see that as a major religion.

GORANI: All right. Chester Gillis, many thanks, of Georgetown University, for joining us here on YOUR WORLD TODAY.

GILLIS: Thank you.

CLANCY: The anniversary of Pope John Paul II's death will be discussed later on "INSIGHT." Join us for a look at how the world is remembering the late pontiff the year after his death. That's on "INSIGHT" at its new time, 18:00 GMT. YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Well, welcome back to CNN International and YOUR WORLD TODAY.

We want to change gears now and look at what is a clash between politics, some would say, and morals, the sensational rape trial that is really gripping South Africa. Former Deputy President Jacob Zuma accused of raping a 31-year-old family friend. He claims the charge is nothing more than part of a political plot.

Alfonso Van Marsh outside the courthouse. He joins us on the line now from Johannesburg. Alfonso, what is the scene outside the court today, for a case that is really bringing out what some would say is a national crisis for South Africa, a crisis of rape.

ALFONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jim. Outside the courtroom today, (INAUDIBLE) supporters, both for the former deputy president, as well as those supporting the accuser. What was very surprising outside the courthouse today, in order to kind of keep the voice up, keep the and pressure up, children. We actually saw children outside the courtroom protesting both for Jacob Zuma. One child I saw carrying a little plastic wood machine gun, kind of an anti-Apartheid regalia.

But even more shocking is what took place inside the courtroom today. For the first time, we heard directly at length from the former deputy president, Jacob Zuma, answering these charges of rape. He insists that it was consensual sex. He says that the 31-year-old HIV-positive AIDS activist at the home, that she came into his bedroom. He gave her a massage, and then later on, it led to sexual intercourse.

Now that varies greatly from her version of events. She says that she was a guest at Jacob Zuma's Johannesburg home, but she says that Mr. Zuma came into the guest room, where she was sleeping. She said that he had woken her up, and then proceed to rape her. Those are charges that the deputy president vehemently denies, says it was consensual sex, and that she's a very aggressive, a very well-spoken woman, an AIDS activist. If she didn't want to have sex with him, he said today in court, that she could have pushed him away -- Jim.

CLANCY: All right. This case, though, bringing out a lot of politics. A lot of people have come out not necessarily because they have an interest in the rape trial per se, but they certainly have an interest in the political future of Mr. Zuma.

VAN MARSH: That's right. Lots of people here would argue that Mr. Zuma was being groomed to become the country's next president. A lot of those supporters out there for Jacob Zuma, they feel that he is quite literally, they're saying, being crucified by the media, by the local media, by the masses, by his own political party. Viewers remember that President Thabo Mbeki fired the deputy president from the job last June.

At the same time, another message that people worried about coming out. Jacob Zuma has admitted that he had unprotected sex with an HIV-positive person knowing the status. This afternoon after the court adjourned for the day, I talked to one community AIDS activist, who said regardless of what happened, whether it was consensual sex or rape, the big disappointment for her and her work, is that people are getting the message that people don't need to be careful when having sex with one or both parties are HIV positive. In this case, they said the example led by Mr. Zuma, who mind you, used to head the Nation's AIDS Council is the wrong message to be coming out of that courtroom -- Jim.

CLANCY: Alfonso Van Marsh there on the line with us from Johannesburg. Alfonso, thank you.

GORANI: Let's bring you up to date now on those drug trials in Britain that left some people in agony, with terribly disfigured faces. One young man who spent weeks fighting for his life is now speaking out.

Paula Newton takes up to Northwick Park for a look into his nightmare.

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PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a short trip from a clinic bed to intensive care. One jab and in a few minutes, Nav Modi said his head felt as if it was going to explode. And literally, it was ballooning out of control, swelling to twice its natural size.

NAV MODI, DRUG TRIAL VICTIM: I wasn't unable to bear the pain. I was shouting for help. I said, doctor, please do something. The pain is killing me. I was literally scratching my head.

NEWTON: By this time, it was like a scene from science fiction. Six young, healthy male volunteers testing a new drug. Within minutes, their organs are shutting down, they are screaming in pain.

MODI: I was trying my best to get out of the pain. But the pain was so intense, and it was kind of a huge pressure being put upon my head. I was trying to grab it. Doctor, the pain is killing me! NEWTON: It was killing him. Modi thought he would pocket an easy $3,500 to test a harmless new drug for the Boston-based researched company, Par XL (ph). When his frantic relatives were called in, what they found typified the horror of these human guinea pigs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His face is bloated out like Elephant Man.

NEWTON: Modi says he felt like the Elephant Man. He couldn't have cared less about the money anymore, and says he thought they were trying to kill hip. A nurse warned him to cooperate.

MODI: Look, it's something serious here. If you don't cooperate with us, you're going to die.

NEWTON: Less than three weeks later, four men have released. Two remain in hospital. An investigation is under way and the drug trial has been stopped. TeGenero, the German company that originally developed the drug to help boost the immune system of leukemia, arthritis and multiple sclerosis patients says it didn't see this coming. For years, it has depended on young, healthy people to test drugs for cash, a necessary step in getting medicines approved.

And to find volunteers, the drug company looked for crash- strapped travelers. The company advertised in magazines, explaining volunteers would be paid to take the drug. And weeks later, few volunteers have been scared off. The payoff big. The side effects usually not life threatening. This pharmacologist says he didn't have anyone back out of the drug trials.

DR. STEVE WARRINGTON, CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGIST: We have to take one or two phone calls from anxious people who've done studies in the past who are worried about long-term side effects. But in general, we've been able to reassure them.

NEWTON: And it's easy to see why. This young traveler says the side effects are a bit unnerving, but...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wouldn't say no. (INAUDIBLE) I would certainly have a look at it.

NEWTON: Drug testing is necessary. Drugs, when approved, can be life saving for so many. But now Modi says never again.

Paula Newton, CNN, London.

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CLANCY: A city of legend and romance.

GORANI: It's been through some changes over the decades. Now some say Shanghai is experiencing a rebirth. We'll tell you why after this.

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CLANCY: And welcome back, everyone. Welcome back to me. I just got back to Shanghai.

GORANI: Absolutely.

CLANCY: What a trip. Long way over there. Long way back. What a city. A city with attitude. The people there --

GORANI: First time there?

CLANCY: First time ever. Huge city, beautiful city.

GORANI: It is a good place to focus on China from, right?

CLANCY: Excellent.

GORANI: Well, we'll talk about Shanghai in a bit more in depth. The cultural life there apparently enjoying and renaissance of sorts and a renaissance of the spirit, as well. Stan Grant has our story.

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STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Alphonso Chu is a jazz man, 89 years old now. The fingers don't move as freely on the keyboards as they once did, but when he plays, he is young again.

ALPHONSO CHU, MUSICIAN: You got to have feeling. Playing jazz, you got to have feeling.

GRANT: That feeling once set Alphonso's soul on fire and had the rich and glamorous of old Shanghai on their feet. He fell in love with jazz when just a boy. And soon formed a band that played the sound track to Shanghai's glory days of the 1930s. Even through the worst days of the Japanese occupation, the band played on. But suddenly, the music stopped.

CHU: 1953. Then no more. No more American music.

GRANT: The last grand ballroom had closed. The communists had taken over. For Alphonso, born into an old, wealthy Shanghai family, life was never to be the same. In Shanghai today, the ghosts of the past sit with the renewed glory of the present. Mao Zedong, the man who silenced the music can still be seen as a wax figure in a home he once shared with his family.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He goes to his wife with a writing brush in his hands and you can see he is holding a writing brush in his hand. He was very busy with his revolutionary work.

GRANT: The revolution, though, has also changed. Today, Shanghai is reclaiming its role as a boom town. Drawing people from all around the globe seeking their fortune.

KATHLEEN LAU, RESTAURANT OWNER: China is almost like the wild, wild west. It's like America was 100 years ago.

GRANT: Kathleen Lau has come home. Her great, great grandfather set out from China for America seeking a new life. Her father returned to China but soon moved back to the United States. Kathleen came to China ten years ago seeking somewhere to belong.

LAU: So I always thought in China I will fit in. So, I will no longer feel like I'm a newcomer.

GRANT (on camera): Did you fit in?

LAU: No, I didn't. There is a plaque in that hotel over there that says the center of Shanghai.

GRANT (voice-over): Kathleen may not feel at home, but she is doing all right. Kathleen's Five is her third restaurant in Shanghai. It's dazzling setting and western menu draws the crowds and just across the way, sits one of the grand hotels of Alphonso's hay day. Alphonso was jailed for his crime of playing American music. He was beaten, his fingers damaged so he could no longer play.

CHU: They say I'm not -- I'm a counter-revolutionary. I don't know. I think, well I remember my crime not enough for the counter- revolution. I just played jazz music.

GRANT: And as an old man, he is playing once again. And his city, too, is opening its ears. Stan Grant, CNN, Shanghai.

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CLANCY: Well, Stan Grant will be joining us all week long as we keep our eye on China with a series of special reports.

GORANI: We'll take a closer look at the challenges China is facing and handling the effects of a red hot economy from environmental problems to concerns that some are being left behind economically. China's financial success has created its own set of problems. Jim discusses that with guests.

CLANCY: And then a little bit later in the week, join me for the "CNN CONNECTS: The Price of Progress." We are going to be talking to leaders there in Shanghai and academics and activists on the environment, on the challenge of trying to balance double digit growth while trying to protect the environment at the same time. "CNN CONNECTS" airs Wednesday at 14:00, Greenwich mean time.

GORANI: Let's bring you up-to-date on the power outage in the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., that building evacuated. Power, we're hearing, slowly restored to parts of the building. Officials investigating why this happened. Not, though, right now letting lawmakers and visitors back in the bidding. And we'll keep you up-to- date on that story in the hours ahead.

CLANCY: We got another hour of YOUR WORLD TODAY ahead. For now I'm Jim Clancy.

GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

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