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Your World Today
International Effort to Help Palestinian People Gets Lukewarm Reaction from U.S., Israel; Putin to Tackle Russian Population Decline; Ahmadinejad: Western Concern 'A Big Lie'; Inside an Iraqi Military Hospital
Aired May 10, 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: An international effort to help the Palestinian people directly gets some lukewarm reaction from the U.S. and Israel.
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Russia's president talks about economic growth, military spending, and the most critical problem facing his nation, the declining birth rate.
CLANCY: Wounded U.S. soldiers in Iraq getting the best medical care under the most difficult circumstances.
GORANI: And they may have been detained in the United States for spying, but in Cuba, they're considered heroes.
CLANCY: It is 7:00 p.m. in Gaza, 12:00 noon in Washington.
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.
CLANCY: We have heard some tough talk from the Israeli prime minister. Ehud Olmert says the Hamas-led Palestinian government does not have unlimited time to talk peace. He says his country is willing to negotiate if Hamas renounces violence and recognizes Israel's right to exist.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EHUD OLMERT, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: If they will accept these principles, then (INAUDIBLE) we are ready to go. If we wait a month, two months, three months, half a year, and we don't see any change, then most likely we are going to move forward without an agreement, without negotiations in order to define the border lines which are acceptable for Israel from a security point of view, and which will separate us from the Palestinians so that we will not control territories inhabited by Palestinians, so that they will have continuous territory where they can establish their own Palestinian state at a time of their choosing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: One of the best known Palestinian legislators says hold on a minute, that's not true. Saeb Erekat says Israel has someone to talk to if it really wants to.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAEB EREKAT, PALESTINIAN LEGISLATOR: Well, I believe the Israeli government knows that they have a partner. President Abbas, Abu Mazen, stands fully ready to resume the permanent status negotiations. I believe borders and other issues of permanent statues, like Jerusalem's settlements and refugees, must be determined, decided through negotiations and not through...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: All right. Well, the Israeli government dismisses President Abbas as, in their words, "irrelevant".
GORANI: Mixed reaction in the Middle East to a new plan to provide aid to Palestinians, that plan we just told you about. Israel says it will accept a decision by the Mideast Quartet to restart some aid, but the Hamas-led Palestinian government is objecting to the quartet's plan to bypass it in the process.
Elise Labott has more on the new game plan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELISE LABOTT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The Mideast Quartet thought cutting aid to Hamas would either pressure the group to change its policies or weaken its standing to the point of forcing it from power. But instead, in the eyes of many, the Palestinians were becoming the victims. On Tuesday, a compromise.
KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: We also express our willingness to endorse a temporary international mechanism limited in duration and scope and fully accountable that ensures direct delivery of any assistance to the Palestinian people.
LABOTT: And bypasses Hamas. The European program would create an independent trust fund to funnel the aid to the Palestinians, and to pay the salaries of unpaid essential government workers
BENITA FERRERO-WALDNER, EU EXTERNAL RELATIONS COMMISSIONER: We will invite the World Bank, United Nations and other international donors in order to see that really a big group of people can come in.
LABOTT: The United States have been lukewarm to the idea, fearing it will let Hamas off the hook from its responsibility to run the government. But ministers from Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia counter that without it the situation in the territories would become unthinkable.
AHMED ABOUL GHEIT, EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Because in the absence of that, we will find chaos, we will find violence, we will find lots of suffering. And we cannot leave three million people to beg.
LABOTT: The United States did redirect some of the aid it cut off in April to avert a growing health care crisis.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The thrust of the statement is that the international community is still trying to respond to the needs of the Palestinian people.
The $10 million aid package includes $4 million in medicine and medical equipment for clinics run by nongovernmental organizations. Some of that aid could be delivered as early as Wednesday. The remaining $6 million would be funneled to private clinics through the United Nations Children's Fund.
The group also tried to nudge Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to dust off the roadmap to peace and negotiate a final deal with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the Fatah leader backed by the quartet.
(on camera): The financial squeeze on Hamas is starting to prove too costly for the Palestinian people which voted them to power. The hope is negotiations between Abbas and Israel will strengthen the Palestinian president and at the same time weaken Hamas.
Elise Labott, CNN, at the United Nations.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: What to do about the Palestinians and how to get them aid is the focus of our inbox this day.
GORANI: All right. We're asking you, how should that humanitarian crisis in Gaza and other parts of the Palestinian territories be handled? E-mail your thoughts, YWT@CNN.com.
CLANCY: Now, be sure to include your name, keep it brief, and do include also where you're writing from.
Well, coming up in a few minutes, we're going to put all of this to the spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry, Mark Regev. Hala will be talking to him in just a matter of minutes -- Hala.
GORANI: All right.
Taking you to Italy after contentious elections followed by wrangling in parliament, Italy has a new president. The parliament in Rome has chosen center-left candidate Giorgio Napolitano, a former communist. Last year, his predecessor as president made him a senator for life, one of Italy's highest honors. And one of Napolitano's first acts as head of state will be to give the country's new prime minister, Romano Prodi, the mandate to form a government.
CLANCY: Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, issuing a veiled warning to Washington in his seventh state of the nation address. He cautioned against taking military action against Iran, suggesting that Washington pursues its own interests without regard to others. But the focus of his speech was on domestic issues.
He offered financial incentives to counter the country's rapidly declining birth rate. He called for a stronger military that can respond to modern threats and said the country's standard of living must be raised through investment and innovation.
GORANI: So, as Mr. Putin said, Russia's population is shrinking at an alarming rate. That's because there's a low birth rate, obviously. And also, people are dying at a relatively young age. The Russian president hopes to change all that.
Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance takes a closer look at how.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Welcome to the village of Tushimova (ph), population just three. This was once a community of hundreds. Now, Vladimir Baraksin says he hardly ever sees a neighbor.
"It was a big village. Everybody had their own cattle. There were a lot of people here, lots of children," he says. "I remember they were running around and parents couldn't make them go home."
But across Russia, severe population decline is now taking a massive toll. And according to its president, plunging demographics are now Russia's biggest problem.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): As you know, each year Russia loses almost 700,000 people of its population. We have raised this issue many times, but, in fact, very little has been done. In order to solve the problem, one should seek to boost birth rates, reduce mortality, and conduct an effective migration policy.
CHANCE: Boosting births is no easy task. There are more Russian abortions each year than Russian babies. It's hoped financial incentives will change that, but low birth rates are only one side of Russia's demographic coin.
(on camera): Well, this is a stark illustration of what Russia is up against. This vast country is slowly being emptied of its people. And the low birth rates here are made worse by the fact that many Russians die at a relatively young age.
On average, men don't make it past 58 years old. Alcoholism, a poor diet, and accidents are the biggest cause.
(voice over): Forcing drivers just to wear seat belts and raising alcohol prices, according to experts, may be unpopular, but effective places to start saving lives.
VLADIMIR SEROV, RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE (through translator): Thirty-six thousand die on the roads. About 32,000 of alcohol poisoning. There are 30,000 murders. Many more die of preventable illness.
It's a complex problem linked with our transportation system, housing and diets. Only if living standards in Russia grow will this problem be solved.
CHANCE: But in villages like Tushimova (ph), it's already too late. Families have long gone, and Russia's battle for national survival is quickly being lost.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: European negotiators are preparing a new package of incentives to try to lure Iran back to nuclear talks. Reports say it might include trade and cooperation and developing nuclear power. But, while visiting Indonesia, Iran's president is labeling concern about his nuclear problem a big lie.
Mike Chinoy has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE CHINOY, CNN SR. ASIA CORRESPONDENT (voice over): With his country's nuclear ambitions dominating the international agenda, Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, began a state visit to Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation. In a meeting with Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Ahmadinejad insisted Iran's nuclear program was peaceful.
Afterwards, the Indonesian leader said he found Ahmadinejad willing to seek a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
SUSILO BAMBANG YUDHOYONO, INDONESIAN PRESIDENT: The ongoing talk that has been stalled in certain ways can be resumed. We do hope that communication between Iran and IAEA can be continued, and also diplomatic and peaceful negotiations can also be continued.
CHINOY: Ahmadinejad's visit comes just days after he sent a letter to President Bush full of anti-American rhetoric, but still the first direct communication between an Iranian leader and a U.S. president since the Islamic revolution in Tehran in 1979. Bush administration officials dismiss the gesture, but in Jakarta, Ahmadinejad said the diplomatic ball is still in the American court.
MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We sent the letter to the president. If they choose not to answer it, it depends on them. We're not disappointed. Why should we be disappointed?
We think we made the correct decision to send this letter at this time. And we have done it. It now depends on the other side.
CHINOY: The Indonesian leader said he was willing to help mediate in the hope of finding a diplomatic solution. His offer a reflection of the anxiety felt in many capitals that unless Washington and Tehran find a way to negotiate directly, this crisis will only get worse.
Mike Chinoy, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: Now to a rather unusual story. Unusual not because he says he was trying to find out if UFOs and aliens really exist, but because he ended up hacking into some of the U.S. government's most sensitive computer networks, the Army, the Navy, the Pentagon, and NASA. A British judge ruled on Wednesday that Gary McKinnon should be sent to trial in the U.S. for his misdeeds. Misdeeds that cost some $700,000 in damages.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY MCKINNON, COMPUTER HACKER: I'm very, very hopeful that one person on a 56k modem, not even on broadband Internet, cannot take down the entire military district of Washington. It's rubbish. I was amazed at the lack of security, and the reason I left not just one note, but multiple notes on multiple desktops was to say, look, this is absolutely ridiculous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: Well, McKinnon left a message on at least one computer criticizing U.S. foreign policy. A final decision on his extradition is going to be made by the British home secretary. That could come in the next two months.
GORANI: Just ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY, Israel issues a deadline to the Hamas-led Palestinian government. A conversation with a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry coming up.
CLANCY: And then a little bit later, are the Taliban making a comeback in Afghanistan, or at least trying to? We'll have details.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNAN: Set withdrawals ought to be coordinated with the Palestinians, and we are also clear that the final borders will have to be negotiated regardless of how withdrawal takes place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY.
That's one viewpoint on Israeli withdrawal from U.N. Secretary- General Kofi Annan. Here with another is Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mark Regev.
Thanks for joining us, Mark Regev.
You heard Kofi Annan there.
MARK REGEV, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN: My pleasure.
GORANI: Any final border must be negotiated. Now, Ehud Olmert, your prime minister, said today that if he doesn't get a commitment from the Hamas-led government to come back on some of its positions, that the borders will be drawn unilaterally just by the Israelis.
REGEV: The prime minister, Mr. Olmert, has said on more than one occasion that we would prefer a negotiated solution, that we urge the Palestinian side to come back to the negotiating table.
We've got a plan. We don't have to reinvent the wheel. There's the roadmap there which is the international community's consensus document on how to move forward.
That plan is there. It's been accepted by the U.N., by the United States, by Europe, by Russia, by us, and by the previous Palestinian leadership. And we're ready to go forward with that plan and negotiations towards peace. Our trouble today is unfortunately...
GORANI: I'm sorry to interrupt you. But if the Hamas-led government recognizes Israel and agrees to disarm, would you consider the prime minister of the Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh, a partner for negotiations?
REGEV: Well, we have said it more than once, and I think U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has also said it, that if Hamas transforms itself from a terrorist organization into a political organization, if Hamas accepts the three benchmarks articulated by Kofi Annan -- one, they recognize my country's right to exist in peace and freedom, two, that they renounce terrorism and violence, and three, that they accept the peace process, the signed agreement, and, of course, the roadmap, if they meet those minimal conditions accepted by -- sorry, articulated by Kofi Annan, that opens the door and makes many things possible.
GORANI: All right. What about, then, what some Palestinians are saying, that you don't have to talk to Hamas. There's a Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas. Why completely shut out the Palestinians? Why not find a partner within his ranks, or with him?
REGEV: There's been no decision taken on our side to shut out Mr. Abbas. On the contrary, the decision taken by the Israeli cabinet to cut off talks with Hamas specifically said that doesn't apply to Mr. Abbas. So the door is still open to him.
But there is a legitimate question that not just Israelis are asking but I think many people in the international community are asking, is does the president of the Palestinian Authority have the ability to follow through, to deliver? Because there was an election in the Palestinian Authority, and real political power, unfortunately, was transferred to an organization that says no to peace, no to reconciliation. They say yes to terrorism and yes to violence.
GORANI: OK. Mark Regev, let's talk about that quartet plan to allow Palestinian aid to flow directly to the Palestinian people and to help some that are suffering as a result of this financial crisis in Gaza and the West Bank. Do you support the quartet plan to get some of that money directly to the Palestinians?
REGEV: Yes, we support the principle as articulated, that the idea is that the international community will directly support the Palestinian people who have very real humanitarian needs. That that -- that support will bypass the Hamas government that no one wants to deal with at the moment, and that that support will directly reach the Palestinian people, people who need that help.
GORANI: Now Mark, EU officials are also saying the following... they're saying it's not just a question of aid from Western countries to the Palestinians. It's also the fact that Israel is withholding more than $50 million U.S. a month in tax duties to the Palestinians that is owed to the Palestinian people. And they're, in fact, encouraging Israel to pay that money to the Palestinians. Will Israel do that?
REGEV: Well, it's true that we have ceased our automatic transfers -- transfers of funds to the Palestinian treasury. And that was done after the Hamas victory. And we couldn't in good faith continue to those transfers and have the possibility that Hamas, which supports terrorism, have that money come back to haunt us all in the form of suicide bombings.
But I want to be clear here. The Israeli decision is not out of sync with international opinion, because the Europeans, the Canadians, the Americans, others have all ceased their direct transfers of funds to the Palestinian treasury because Hamas is unfortunately in control of Palestinian -- of the Palestinian budget, and they're committed to terrorism.
GORANI: So, yes or no, will you resume transfer of that tax money?
REGEV: I think for us to resume the transfer of money to the Palestinian treasury, we would have to see the transformation of Hamas or the change in the regime. We cannot transfer money and have it come back in the form of suicide bombings. That would be ridiculous.
GORANI: OK. So that's a no?
REGEV: Yes.
GORANI: All right. Mark Regev, spokesman for the foreign ministry, the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
Thank you so much for being with us -- Jim.
CLANCY: All right.
Meantime, in the neighborhood, if we want to call it that, Jordan announcing a major crackdown on some arms smuggling that was going on. Security officials say they detained more than 20 Hamas activists allegedly smuggling arms from Syria to stage attacks inside Jordan.
Earlier, we talked with a Jordanian spokesman about these arrests. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are activities and movements that have been monitored by our security services over a period of time, a lengthy period of time. And it involved smuggling weapons and establishing arms caches here in the kingdom in different parts, and also reconnaissance missions targeting civilian and other facilities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: The government spokesman also told us that one of the arrested activists said he had received instructions from a Hamas member in Syria.
GORANI: Five years on, the fight rages on.
CLANCY: Still to come, fighting the Taliban. They are trying to make a resurgence in Afghanistan. What could be behind that? We're going to be taking a closer look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta. More of YOUR WORLD TODAY in a few minutes. First, though, a check on stories making headlines here in the U.S.
Severe storms on the march across the eastern U.S. today. North Texas already knows the power of this system. Three people are dead after tornadoes blasted their way across a couple of towns north of Dallas.
Our Rob Marciano is in Collin County, Texas, with more -- Rob.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's a much more calm and quiet day after the tornadoes that ripped through north Texas late last night leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. A number of homes completely destroyed, some damaged. The one behind me, obviously, along the lines of being destroyed.
This was a structured home with 2x4 studded walls on concrete slab. Not a mobile home. And as you can see, pretty much completely wiped out. Now, the owner of this home was not here at the time, but friends of the owner have been here throughout the morning picking through the debris, just piling up the junk so that he can come through and pick up what personal property is left.
There is a shelter that has been set up for the Red Cross down the street. Over 100 people have used that. So there are several families that have been displaced from this storm that rolled through last night.
Still, emergency crews continue to go house to house with heat- sensing units and also K9 units, looking for people possibly trapped in rubble. No word on that just yet. But beyond the damage, beyond the destruction, even if you did survive the storm, there's another aspect to surviving beyond the storm. We talked to a Red Cross representative earlier today and this is what she had to say about that topic.
ANITA FOSTER, AMERICAN RED CROSS: One of the target areas we'll be looking at today is our Red Cross disaster mental health team, because this particular disaster isn't going to be just about food, clothing and shelter. It's also going to be about the emotions, because people lost lives. And they lost lives in this community of folks who all know each other. So people are going to take that pretty hard.
MARCIANO: The point there being, if you did survive this storm, the next thunderstorm that rolls through your neighborhood, when you hear that clap of thunder or see that flash of lightning, certainly memories will be fresh in your mind from what happened here in north Texas last night.
Reporting from Collin County, Texas, I'm Rob Marciano.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And let's see what's happening right now on the weather scene. Reynolds Wolf is following that for us.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: Across much of Florida, firefighters are on the front lines again today. Just over 100 wildfires now burning across the state. Nearly 25,000 acres scorched. Half of the fires are burning in central Florida, and what rain has fallen has done little to put out the flames.
For motorists, roads shut down because of thick smoke are now a daily routine.
In south Florida, a crane tipped over this morning and landed in a most unfortunate position, on the roof of a building. It happened in the city of Weston. There are no reports of anyone hurt or trapped in the building.
And now a little something to bring a smile to investors and some middle income families, tax breaks. The House is expected to pass a five-year, $70 billion measure later today. Under the bill, 15 million families would escape the alternative minimum tax. Capital gains and dividend tax cuts would get another two years of life.
The Senate could pass the measure by the end of the week. That would clear the way for the president's signature.
A nun choked and then stabbed 31 times. A priest now on trial for that crime. And the case could go to the jury today.
Closer arguments began this morning in Toledo, Ohio, in the trial of the Reverend Gerald Robinson. He's accused of killing a nun in a hospital chapel 26 years ago. Prosecutors presented evidence, but no motive. Robinson says he is innocent.
"LIVE FROM" with Kyra Phillips comes your way at the top of the hour.
Meanwhile, YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after a quick break.
I'm Daryn Kagan.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CLANCY: Hello, and welcome back, everyone. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Jim Clancy.
GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. Here are the top stories we're following for you this hour.
The Middle East Quartet has agreed to restart some aid to Palestinians. The U.S., Russian, European Union and United Nations say help will begin to flow to those in need. However, they plan to bypass the Hamas-led Palestinian government in the process.
CLANCY: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says concern about Iran's nuclear policy is a big lie. During a visit to Indonesia, he said Iran's enemies intend to monopolize technology and sell it to other states at a high price.
GORANI: Russian President Vladimir Putin says the most acute problem in the problem in the country is the steadily declining birth rate. In his state of the nation address, Mr. Putin offered strong financial incentives for larger families. He also made a passing reference to the U.S., saying that it cares more about its own interests than democracy.
CLANCY: The Iraqi city that U.S. President George W. Bush held up as an example of progress in Iraq is today in mourning.
GORANI: Well, coalition forces reclaimed the northern city of Talafar from insurgents last year. But on Tuesday, a suicide car bomb in a Shiite neighborhood killed at least 20 people and wounded 37 others.
CLANCY: Meantime in Baquba, north of the capital, a gunman opened fire on a bus carrying employees in a state-run electric company. Eleven workers were killed, three others wounded.
GORANI: Coalition forces are also a constant target of insurgent attacks. More than 2,000 American troops have been killed since the war began three years ago, and thousands more have been wounded in battle.
Ryan Chilcote spent a day at a U.S. military hospital that treats American soldiers. We should warn you, you may find some images in this report disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Baghdad's combat support hospital is about to get busy. Information on the incoming is scant, nuances important.
DR. DAVID STEINBRUNNER, LT. COL., U.S. ARMY: The report were two that are urgent. And it sounded like there was some nervousness in the voice of the people calling it in originally.
CHILCOTE: Colonel David Steinbrunner is the on-duty doctor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We won't really know until they get to the door.
CHILCOTE: And, in a war zone, even the most seasoned doctor can be surprised at what comes through that door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy crap!
CHILCOTE: The triage begins. The walking wounded goes to a nurse.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't have a medic.
CHILCOTE: Next door in the E.R., Steinbrunner is beginning his initial check on the soldier brought in on the stretcher. At first glance, things aren't looking good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's real pale, guys.
CHILCOTE: Through an oxygen mask, though, the soldier manages to mumble a message. The doctor relays it to the team.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said, "Please don't let me die."
CHILCOTE: In return, he gets the doctor's word.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I promise. I wouldn't lie to you. Don't you dare try to die on me, OK? I didn't give you permission.
CHILCOTE: He's just as honest when the soldier asks if he can save his leg.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. That, I don't know. OK? We will try to save it if we can, OK? I just don't know. I -- I can't give you an answer to that yet.
CHILCOTE: Also at the soldier's side, a chaplain. The anesthesia is administered, but the soldier still stirs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got to put him down. The poor guy is waking up through all this.
CHILCOTE: Then, another call rings out: more are on the way.
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Two more inbound. Two minutes. CHILCOTE: But for this soldier, it's too late. They have been doing CPR on him for a half-hour. Five minutes later, he's pronounced dead.
In all, four soldiers were brought to the hospital after a bomb hit their vehicle. Private First Class Victor Vicente (ph) was behind the wheel. He's on the phone home. He doesn't tell his wife what happened to the others. That's the military's job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a cut on my head. But it's not a big problem.
CHILCOTE: But he won't be going home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, I hate to tell you this, but, basically, you're RTD, return to duty.
CHILCOTE: The casualties are separated only by curtains. There is little privacy.
(SCREAMING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, that guy over there is getting a needle in his back.
CHILCOTE: Take this day and turn it into every day, and you have Doctor Steinbrunner's routine since he arrived in Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It seems like it's been a long time, but it's only been, you know, six or seven months.
CHILCOTE: With this system of medical care, U.S. servicemen and women are now twice as likely to survive wounds that would have killed in Vietnam.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you push so far? You put a little (INAUDIBLE)? You put...
CHILCOTE: Today, that soldier is in the E.R. The X-rays are back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no free air?
CHILCOTE: And they're looking good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sweet. Sweet.
CHILCOTE: He's stabilized and ready for the operating room.
Dr. Steinbrunner's job is finished, for now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He may lose an arm or a leg. He may save it. I don't know.
CHILCOTE: But Steinbrunner kept his promise. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He lost a lot of blood in the field, so -- but he's a young, healthy guy. So, he was -- he was compensating. And that's why he could talk and maintain and everything like that. But you could see the color of his skin. I mean, he was pale. He was -- he was definitely looking very, very sick. So -- and now I'm going to take care of his buddy.
Thanks.
CHILCOTE (on camera): Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: Canada's foreign minister says his country is committed to defeating terrorism in Afghanistan, even if it takes longer than planned. Canada is going to be part of a much larger group of coalition forces, much of them drawn from NATO to deal with what appears to be a resurgence of the Taliban as the United States is making plans to pull many troops out of southern Afghanistan.
Bill Neely reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fire!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fire!
BILL NEELY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A nighttime attack by American troops. Rockets have hit their base. They hit back. The war against an enemy once beaten is raging again. The Taliban, in the mountains, are back on the offensive.
It's around the clock war. Special forces, thousands of troops, the casualties mounting. Another ten Americans killed in the nighttime crash of a helicopter like this one at the weekend. Night and day, U.S. helicopters scour the mountains where the Taliban are based. They move, armored and fast, to avoid attacks, but the attacks are mounting, these troops ambushed a dozen times.
(on camera): Here not long ago, these U.S. troops surprised one of three groups of heavily armed men who they believe were about to launch an attack. And that's becoming more and more common.
(voice-over): The Americans have a heavy armor. The Taliban know the land.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That position up there, whoever's watching, they can see them moving around. So we're hitting all around them and they just disappeared after we -- we don't know if we killed them or what. We didn't find any bodies over there, though.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Someone's shooting.
NEELY: The shooting, and the casualties, are mounting. Two dozen Americans killed in combat missions so far this year. (END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: That was Bill Neely reporting on the situation there. As there is a transfer, a changeover in the forces, a lot of concern that what the Taliban is doing is trying to take advantage of what is seen as a more aggressive U.S. military strategy in southern Afghanistan, where the Taliban still is trying to regain some of its strength -- Hala.
GORANI: Ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY, debt forgiveness for Nigeria.
CLANCY: But a contradiction remains. A top oil producer must import much of its fuel. We'll have details right ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY.
CLANCY: It may surprise you to know that Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, has almost no debts to foreign lenders.
GORANI: And that is thanks, in part, to a recent debt cancellation deal, but it's down the rising price of Nigeria's number- one export, crude oil
CLANCY: CNN's Africa correspondent Jeff Koinange has been finding out what a healthier financial position really means for Nigerians.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF KOINANGE, CNN AFRICA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It all started about a year ago, when leaders of the world's most powerful economies, the G-8, decided to cancel debts owed to them by the world's poorest countries. Nigeria, being one of Africa's largest economies, didn't quite qualify, until finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala, argued the case for debt relief. But she's quick to admit it wasn't easy trying to convince the West that today's Nigeria is a far different place from the Nigeria of the 1980s and '90s.
NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA, NIGERIAN FINANCE MINISTER: I said in the beginning, when I would see a finance minister from one of the creditor countries, they would see me coming down the corridor, and you could see them making a beeline toward the other way.
KOINANGE: But the former World Bank official was persistent and convincing. Nigeria managed to get large chunks of its debt cancelled, while they set about paying back more than $20 billion in existing debt in less than a year, bringing the country's deficit down to less than $5 billion.
OKONJO-IWEALA: Economically, it's a, very, very significant milestone for us. You bring the debt burden down. First of all, it means that for the next -- instead of servicing this debt over the next 23 years and having it accumulate to even $50 billion or more, we've paid it off. And that means we can turn the money that we would have used for debt service into sectors and areas that will benefit the people.
KOINANGE: Nigeria is also Africa's largest oil producer. Pumping more than two million barrels of crude a day, accounting for more than 90 percent of the country's exports. It explains why many here often refer to the rich natural resource as "black gold." But recent hikes in world oil prices are worrying both producers and consumers.
EDMUND DAOKURO, MINISTER OF STATE OF PETROLEUM: The world would like to see a much bigger supply cushion. We ask professionals, we ask industry people, are comfortable with the supply cushion. Does the market see it and does the market believe that this is really the issue?
KOINANGE (on camera): With oil prices continuing to soar on the world market, one would think producers like Nigeria would stand to gain the most. Well, that's not necessarily the case. Despite being the world's eighth-largest oil exporter, Nigeria also imports a large amount of petrol chemical products, leading many officials here to call the rising oil prices a double-edged sword.
OKONJO-IWEALA: The consumer bought 30 million liters of petrol a day, of which we refine, or have the capacity to refine, about 17, and we have to import about 30 million liters into the country. That means we also face the high prices of refined oil. So, I mean, we are not sitting here saying we want oil prices to keep rising. No, we want a price that is balanced for producers can consumers.
KOINANGE: Not everyone in Nigeria is benefiting from the country's oil bonanza. Members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, a rebel group deep in the country's Niger Delta, are waging an all-out war against the Nigerian government. They have succeed in shutting down the flow of more than half-a- million barrels a day, something the finance minister insists the government will not tolerate.
OKONJO-IWEALA: We also cannot give into rogue elements who want to hijack the true problems of the Niger Delta people, and use it to pursue another agenda. You know, we cannot do that. It is not fair to the people of the Niger Delta, or of Nigeria.
KOINANGE: But some, like the country's chairman of the senate committee that deals with petroleum, who happens to be a native of the Niger, Delta, say the militants' complaints must be addressed before multinational corporations start to think twice about investing in Nigeria.
DAVID BRIGGIDI, SENATE CMTE. ON PETROLEUM RESOURCES: Basically, the complaints are simple. The complaints are neglect, lack of development. The structural deficiency in the area has not been addressed over the time.
KOINANGE: Now that Nigeria is enjoying an almost debt-free status for the first time in more than three decades. And with oil production expected to top the $3 million mark by the end of the year, perhaps, just perhaps, what's often referred to as Africa's sleeping giant may be starting to wake up.
Jeff Koinange, CNN, Abuja.
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CLANCY: Still ahead, we'll have the story of some ubiquitous faces.
GORANI: Faces adorned on billboards that inspire a sea of waving flags. But unless you live in Cuba, you might not have even seen them. We'll introduce you after this.
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MORGAN NEIL (ph), CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like in the Elian Gonzalez saga, the story of divided families and Cold War style intrigue has gripped Cubans. They have been moved by the plight of people like Olga Salanueva, the wife of one of the five.
OLGA SALANUEVA, WIFE OF RENE GONZALEZ (through translator): Our future is uncertain. With in two years we're going to celebrate Yvette's (ph) 10th birthday, but we don't know if he'll be here.
NEIL: Although the case is virtually unknown to the American public, here in Cuba, President Fidel Castro is making sure no one forgets (SPEAKING IN SPANISH).
Morgan Neil, CNN, Havana.
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CLANCY: Well, it's time now for us to open our "Inbox."
GORANI: Our question to you today is how should the humanitarian crisis in Gaza be handled?
CLANCY: All right. This one came in from Peru. Daniel saying: "Humanitarian aid should be handled by Israel and the Red Cross and supported by the United States and Europe."
GORANI: Jeremy in Washington says, "The Palestinians should receive no aid from any country, especially the United States, because they elected terrorists to run their government."
CLANCY: And finally Evelyn wrote this: "I think the Palestinians did not fully comprehend what they were doing when the last vote took place. I think aid should be tied to conditions."
GORANI: All right. Let's turn now our attention to "Changing Earth," our segment. It may be one of the dramatic consequences of global climate change.
CLANCY: According to French researchers, there's a 12 to 20 percent decrease in sea ice in eastern Antarctica and that is affecting animal life there.
GORANI: All right, Guillermo Arduino joins us now with more on that Arctic life, global warming. What do you have for us, Guillermo?
GUILLERMO ARDUINO, INTERNATIONAL WEATHER CENTER: Well, they are studying this and they've been studying it for a long time. In fact, they analyzed data collecting between 1950 and 2004 on nine sea bird species.
And the research suggests the declining quantity of sea ice has caused declines in krill and other animals in early spring. Since this is the major food source for sea birds, they arrive later and breed later when food is more scarce.
Sea birds that breed in eastern Antarctica arrive nine days later and lay their eggs two days later than they did more than 50 years ago. In turn, in the western side of Antarctica, changes have not been noticed significantly. What is more, egg laying and feeding habits have remained the same ever since.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Across our area of investigation, that is the South Shetland Islands, Orkney Islands, and the west of the Antarctic Peninsula, we have not observed significant changes in terms of egg laying and any other reproductive process. At the same time, we have not noticed a change of quality and quantity of the food brought by birds to feed their young.
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ARDUINO: Now have these Argentine scientists noticed the decrease of ice volume in the area?
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Over the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula, we have noticed the marine ice retreat in recent years. In the South Shetland Islands there are beaches now, which was not the case before. And currently, there are new sea bird colonies over there.
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ARDUINO: Well, global warming or not, there are still fundamental scientific uncertainties that will likely be with us for decades. But how much more warming will occur? What other potential adverse and beneficial effects? Those answers will come with time, and maybe a little bit too late.
CLANCY: All right.
GORANI: Guillermo Arduino, thanks very much.
CLANCY: Thank you. Great pictures. Love those penguins, you know. GORANI: Nothing is cuter than a cute penguin. Did I say that out loud?
CLANCY: Just remember that they're lovely to look at, delightful to hold, but if you stick out your finger, they will bite it. And it will seriously hurt.
ARDUINO: Totally.
CLANCY: That's it for this hour.
GORANI: All right. "LIVE FROM" is up next for our viewers in the United States.
CLANCY: For viewers elsewhere, another round of YOUR WORLD TODAY is coming up. I'm Jim Clancy.
GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. This is CNN. Stay with us.
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