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Your World Today

Secret Prisons?; Canadian Terror Plot; Paparazzi Bidding War Over Rights to First Pictures of Pitt-Jolie Baby; Tension Mounting Between London Police and Muslim Community

Aired June 07, 2006 - 12:00   ET

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

HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: A new report says European countries took part in a complex web of secret global transfers of terrorism suspects for the CIA.
JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Childhood cut short. They are forced to drop their toys and pick up arms in battle.

GORANI: And it's only a drill, but police in Germany brace for the ugly side of football -- or soccer.

It is noon in Washington, 6:00 p.m. in Munich, Germany.

I'm Hala Gorani.

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

Welcome, everyone.

We're going to begin our report with new questions about how the war on terror is being fought on both sides of the Atlantic.

GORANI: Fourteen European countries stand accused of secretly helping the CIA move suspected terrorists around Europe.

CLANCY: In the view of some it's being called the outsourcing of torture.

GORANI: All of this as last week's terrorism raid near London raises new suspicions in one of Europe's largest Muslim communities.

But we begin the report from the Council of Europe. A top investigator is accusing the CIA of orchestrating a web of detention centers and transfer sites within Europe.

Paul Osmond reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL OSMOND, REPORTER, ITV NEWS (voice over): It is being called the outsourcing of torture, the process by which America's intelligence agency, the CIA, flew prisoners in secret to interrogation centers outside the United States. Following reports in the American press, the Council of Europe investigated and today names Britain as one of 14 European countries that colluded with what it calls these unlawful activities. It says Britain was one of the most involved in collusion with the American authorities over what is known as rendition, the covert transport of prisoners. It says CIA rendition flights were allowed to use British airports and stopover points for refueling, and it claims these secret flights took prisoners to countries where they faced torture.

DICK MARTY, COUNCIL OF EUROPE INVESTIGATOR: The fight against terrorism is our highest priority, but it must be conducted with respect for the international rule of law. The Council of Europe is a value community. An error (ph) in this case will help ensure that Europe's moral authority is not weakened by accepting methods that are contrary to our fundamental principles.

OSMOND: Within minutes of the report being published, its key allegations were being raised at prime minister's questions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you confirm that the United Kingdom has given no logistical support for rendition to the CIA, nor provided any information to be used in torture?

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I have to say, the Council of Europe report adds absolutely nothing new whatever to the information we have.

OSMOND: The report has not delivered firm evidence to back allegations that the CIA has secret detention centers in European countries, specifically Poland and Romania. Both countries have denied this, but the report says suspicions remain.

Paul Osmond, ITV News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: All right. We're going to make this our "Question of the Day" today.

CLANCY: And we're asking you this: Should European countries secretly cooperate with the CIA on holding and transporting prisoners?

GORANI: With all the implications that this has, send us your comments, YWT@CNN.com. We'll read some of your answers a bit later on the program -- Jim.

CLANCY: Canadian police say that they are looking into whether 17 men and boys arrested on terrorism charges have any ties to terror cells in the United States or other countries. Tuesday, prosecutors said the suspects were planning to launch a series of attacks, including killing the Canadian prime minister.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It sounds like a movie script. Terrorists storm parliament and the headquarters of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in downtown Toronto, taking hostages. When their demands to free Muslim prisoners and remove Canadian troops from Afghanistan are not met, they behead hostages, including Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

But this is not a script. These are the Canadian government's allegations against Steven Chand, one of the Canadian terror suspects, according to his attorney. The lawyer says, prove it. He has seen no evidence, only a synopsis of the charges.

GARY BATASAR, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: This is a two-year investigation that was going on. One would think that the two-year investigation would have brought forth a lot more evidence than eight pages and a one-page synopsis of Mr. Chand.

MESERVE: Family members at the courthouse found themselves in a scrum. Media and public interest in this case is intense. This is, for Canada, something like 9/11, a jolt, a realization that terror can hit you where you live.

In court, defense attorneys complained that security is so tight, they have been unable to meet with their clients privately, a violation, they said, of the suspects' rights.

ARIFA ZARA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Regardless of the allegations and charges, everybody is entitled to be treated equally. And I think that unequal treatment just because of these allegations is improper.

BATASAR: This is not Guantanamo. This is Toronto, Canada.

MESERVE: Terror suspects Yasim Abdi Mohammed (ph) and Mohammed Diri (ph) did not make an appearance in court Tuesday. Last August they were stopped crossing the Peace bridge from Buffalo, New York, into Canada.

According to court documents, when Canadian customs frisked them, they found guns and ammunition hidden under their baggy pants. The men told authorities the guns were for their personal protection, the documents say. They pleaded guilty and are now in jail.

The allegations of remote terrorists training camps, plans for massive explosions and even beheadings are grizzly. But some experts are even more disturbed by the bigger picture, the proliferation of local homegrown terror groups that may be able to blend in to their surroundings.

RICHARD FALKENWRATH, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: This is one of our biggest nightmares, and it, frankly, is the pattern that we saw in Madrid and we saw in London, and maybe we're now seeing in Toronto. So we have to assume it is a real possibility here in the United States.

MESERVE (on camera): The suspects appeared in court in white T- shirts, gray trousers and shackles. Some were somber, but others smiled and waved at friends and family in the courtroom, apparently oblivious to the gravity of the charges against them.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Brampton, Ontario.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: All right. Later in this hour we're going to cross over to London. That's where a terror raid has led Muslims to question whether they are being unfairly singled out by their police.

GORANI: Now we turn to the latest developments in the war in Iraq. Fifteen people of the 50 people abducted in Baghdad on Monday have been freed.

The kidnappings took place in a busy downtown Baghdad street by men in police uniforms. The victims said they were beaten and tortured.

In a move to foster national reconciliation, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has ordered the release of nearly 600 detainees. This was the first group of about 2,000 scheduled to be freed.

During his visit to Baghdad in other Iraq developments, the Italian foreign minister, Massimo d'Alema, said his country would withdraw all of its troops by the end of the year. Italy has the fourth largest foreign contingent serving in Iraq with 2,700 troops.

CLANCY: And it might just be the hot story of the day. Two weeks since an earthquake killed thousands on Indonesia's main island, residents of Java are staring down another threat.

Mount Merapi has been threatening a major eruption for months. Now authorities say it could be imminent.

Some 10,000 residents have been evacuated from the slopes around the volcano. Many had just returned to their homes after having to leave several weeks ago. But increasing emissions of lava, hot smoke and ash prompting another exodus from the danger zone around the volcano.

CLANCY: Well, I'll tell you what, there is serious news out there today to be sure. But it's something a bit lighter that is capturing people's attention around the world. What else? Can you guess? Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's baby.

It's not even a couple weeks old, little thing, but her photos are already worth millions of dollars, and they've sparked a bidding war already.

Let's get more now on the worldwide interest sparked by the little Shiloh.

We're joined by Robyn Curnow. She's in Johannesburg.

And we saw the proud parents, right? But have we seen Shiloh yet, Robyn?

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, no. Those pictures are expected to come out tomorrow in Europe in "Hallo" magazine and in "People" magazine on Friday in the U.S.

Now, as you said, Hala, these pictures are worth millions. Some people estimating up to $7 million, although that is an estimate. So the poor little thing has had a price on her head since she was born on the 27th of May.

We saw the parents today while Namibian journalists, a select group of Namibian journalists were treated to a press conference in Swakopmund, which is a small little village on the west coast of Namibia, where baby Shiloh was born and where Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have been holed up for the past two months.

GORANI: What did they say during that -- during that meeting with that select group of journalists?

CURNOW: Well, it was a select group of journalists, only about 12 or 14 Namibians. And I have spoken to them, and they are all pretty excited about it. It was essentially an exclusive for them, pretty much a "thank you very much" from the Pitt-Jolie family for the pretty low-key coverage the Namibians have given them.

So there was a lot of love going around. The Namibians saying there was -- that Brad and Angelina, you know, thanked the Namibians for the privacy and the peaceful environment that they had over there, and also thanked them for the excellent medical facilities, because obviously Angelina gave birth in a Namibian hospital a week and a half ago.

And as I said, lots of love going around, because apparently, according to one of the journalists there, said that there was a bit of a scramble at the end of the press conference. All the journalists wanted to get autographs from Brad and Angelina.

So, all and all, it seems to be, you know, quite an amicable relationship for now between the press and the Pitt-Jolie family, because it has been slightly dicey over the past few months. There have been a few grumblings from the Namibians that they didn't get as much access as they wanted.

GORANI: All right. Thank you very much, Robyn Curnow, live there in South Africa, not too far from where Brad and Angelina have met with the Namibian first lady there.

A first little look at Angelina after...

CLANCY: Angelina.

GORANI: She looks great.

CLANCY: Very active in international aid work. Spokeswoman for the United Nations. Angelina is really involved. And coming up, we're going to take a look at one of the dire hotspots, Somalia, here on YOUR WORLD TODAY.

GORANI: And Jim, Islamic militants taking control of the capital, Mogadishu. Some analysts are questioning U.S. policy in the country.

Stay with us. A lot more ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center in Atlanta. More of YOUR WORLD TODAY in a few minutes. But first, a check of other stories making headlines here in the U.S.

The Senate says no to a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. A push to end debate and move the issue forward failed by 11 votes. That essentially blocks the amendment from clearing the Senate. Still, supporters are claiming victory. They say they're making progress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. WAYNE ALLARD (R), COLORADO: I think it was a successful day, because we've grown our margins here in the Senate from 50. We think that Senator Hagel would have voted with us, and that would have given the 50 that we need. He was absent today. And the previous vote that we had was 48.

So we're going to continue to fight to protect these large margins in favor of marriage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Democrats call today's vote an election year ploy and a desperate tactic by Republicans.

Immigration reform still on President Bush's agenda today. Mr. Bush wrapped up a three-state swing with a stop in Omaha, Nebraska. While there, he visited a Catholic Charities center and stopped bay classroom where immigrants study civics and English.

Mr. Bush is pushing for the House and the Senate to iron out difference on immigration reform legislation. Among the major sticking points, enforcement and a guest worker plan.

New developments in the so-called "Bikini Strangler" case. Tennessee authorities say captured suspect Jerry Inman is expected soon at a holding facility in South Carolina. He was arrested last night near his parents' home in east Tennessee.

Inman is accused of last month's rape and killing of Tiffany Marie Souers, a Clemson University student. And investigators are reportedly looking at Inman in connection with an attempted rape in Alabama and a rape in Tennessee.

On the mend and on her way home. CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier was loaded on to a military transport plane in Germany and is being flown to the U.S. for further medical treatment. A week and a half ago, a Baghdad car bomb critically wounded Dozier. The explosion killed the other two members of her news crew. A U.S. soldier and an Iraqi translator were also killed in that blast.

Phoenix in a cloud of dust. Take a look at this. It's a bird's eye view.

A huge dust storm rolling through the city late yesterday. The wall of dust was believed to be 3,000 feet tall.

Now check out the ground shots of the storm. It blocked out the sun for quite a bit. Motorists and pedestrians were blown around by 50-mile-an-hour wind gusts.

Jacqui Jeras is in the weather center.

Haven't seen anything like that before.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Haven't you?

WHITFIELD: No.

JERAS: It happens, yes.

WHITFIELD: It's remarkable.

JERAS: It's not all that uncommon out there in the desert.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right, Jacqui. Thank you so much.

Well, rappers love them. So do athletes, and apparently so do car thieves. For the fourth year in a row, the Cadillac Escalade tops the list of the most stolen vehicle. That's according to the insurance industry. Features like chrome wheels, leather seats, may add to the Escalade's popularity.

Other hot wheels among the car thieves, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution sedan. And two pickup trucks are on the list, the Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab and the Ford F-250 and 350 models.

WHITFIELD: Dodge Ram 1500 quad cab, and the Ford F-250 and 350 models.

Well, they call her a queen. Now she's working to boost the self-esteem of other women. Rapper and actress Queen Latifah on Capitol Hill last hour to promote National Women's Confidence Day. It's a joint project with the YWCA around the country. Queen Latifah says her upbringing gave her the confidence to succeed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUEEN LATIFAH, ENTERTAINER: What we are truly celebrating today, the first National Women's Confidence Day, is the future. Growing up I was fortunate to have strong women around me like my mother and my grandmother and my aunts, who encouraged me to love myself and show me the power of believing in myself. Women need that kind of support and that kind of affirmation of worth in their lives, and I was fortunate enough to get it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And you can watch Queen Latifah right here on CNN on LIVE FROM,beginning at 3:30 Eastern, to talk more about boosting self- esteem and about National Women's Confidence Day.

Meantime, YOUR WORLD TODAY continues right after a break. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

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

The Swiss senator who headed an investigation into alleged secret CIA prisons in Europe has delivered his findings to the Council of Europe. Dick Marty says 14 European countries colluded with the CIA either by maintaining prisons, sharing intelligence or allowing CIA planes to use their airports to transfer prisoners. Poland and Romania deny allowing any secret facilities based on their territory.

GORANI: In Iraq, 15 of the 50 people kidnapped Monday from a busy Baghdad street have been freed. The victims told police they had been beaten and tortured.

Also nearly 600 detainees have been released in a move by Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki that is seen as trying to foster national reconciliation. More than 2,000 are scheduled to be released.

CLANCY: Some 10,000 residents have been evacuated now from the area around Indonesia's Mount Merapi. You can see it erupting there in videotape, cascading lava. It's been threatening a major eruption for months. This week, it's been belching more of that lava and hot ash during the daylight hours at a faster pace. Evacuees had to return to their homes after leaving weeks ago. This the same area where thousands of people died in the earthquake in May.

GORANI: Now, there's been some anger at police treatment of British Muslims, and it's growing apparently in East London, where people plan to hold a protest this weekend. Some feel that they're being unjustly targeted. They are citing a massive raid on a house last Friday in which two Muslim brothers were arrested, one of whom was shot and wounded during the operation.

Paula Hancocks joins us now live from London, and she has more on this brewing anger, it seems, in some neighborhoods in the British capital -- Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Hala. Yes, tension is mounting, but the prime minister and the police do insist that they have no choice but to act on specific intelligence that they have received. But there is mounting speculation that that intelligence may have been wrong. So the longer the police don't find evidence of a plan or preparation of a terrorist act, the more distressed the local community will become.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS (voice-over): More than 250 police officers, many wearing chemical suits. A predawn raid on a house in a middle class Muslim neighborhood. One man shot by police in a country where police rarely fire their guns. The house was enveloped in a tent, declared a crime scene, but as yet, no evidence of anything criminal has been found.

Police are thought to have been searching for a chemical device or materials, but the longer they find nothing, the more trust between them and the local Muslim community is tested.

DR. MUHAMMAD ABDUL BARI, SEC. GEN., MUSLIM COUNCIL OF BRITAIN: And over the last five years, after 9/11, many heavy-handed raids went on, and people are scared. Most of them are released. When they are released, people don't know that they are released. Only few are charged, and very few are convicted. So that has given the impression in the community that they are probably the target.

HANCOCKS: Because a civilian was shot with a policeman's gun, the inquiry is in independent hands, and the police themselves can say very little, a fine balance between protecting and appeasing the locals.

JOHN O'CONNOR, FMR. FLYING SQUAD COMMANDER: They can hardly be saying, well, we regret this raid and it shouldn't have happened, when they're desperately trying to find some evidence that would justify what they have done. So it's very difficult for them to try and appease the community, which is really disaffected and feeling victimized.

HANCOCKS: Many in the East London district where the raid took place are giving the police the benefit of the doubt.

SABIR KUMANI, LONDON RESIDENT: I think they were just following, you know, procedure really. It's better to be safe than sorry.

HANCOCKS: Others have had their patience tried too far.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As far as we're concerned, we're all British. And at times like this, you don't feel part of the society. You feel like the other.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it happened like that, I don't think anybody go to the police again. Really.

HANCOCKS: And that's the real danger of a wedge developing between the police and Muslim community: the sharing of information. Police need locals to be their eyes on the street and cannot afford to alienate anyone or any group. STEVE ALLEN, LONDON METROPOLITAN POLICE: We know we're effective when we work with communities, and that's why we put so much effort into listening, into engagement, into working alongside people at all levels of the community.

HANCOCKS: But for those like local chancellors Zulfikar Ali, who have been working for years to improve relations between locals and police, a raid of this kind, with no results yet evident, can be damaging.

ZULFIKAR ALI, ALLIANCE OF NEWHAM MUSLIM ASSOCS.: We have taken a long time to build these local community relations,and people are living in a safe environment. And a little blemish, you know, could tarnish the whole thing. And it's going to take, you know, a very long time to restore that confidence.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS: Now, the two brothers who were arrested are still being held in custody in this central London police station. Police at the moment apparently trying to apply to the courts to extend the amount of time that they can keep them without charge.

GORANI: OK. Paula Hancocks, reporting live in London. And also we'll be monitoring that march, that demonstration in the British capital this weekend.

CLANCY: Well, their stories are among the saddest and the most disturbing to emerge yet from the wars.

GORANI: They're both the hunters and the hunted, both the killers and themselves among those killed. Human rights groups say child soldiers are active in more than 30 wars and conflicts around the world.

CLANCY: It's estimated that as many as 300,000 children under the age of 18 serve in government forces for armed rebel groups, some of them as young as eight years of age.

GORANI: And despite their numbers, few treaties actually recognize that they even exist or make provisions to help them escape or deal with the scars of their experiences.

Well, rights groups says Colombia has some of the highest numbers of child soldiers in the world, between 11,000 and 14,000 of them, Jim.

CLANCY: Now a videotape that was seized by the Colombian army sheds a little bit more light on inside the scenes where rebels are training children.

Karl Penhaul brings us that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Child soldiers training on the front lines of war. They are raq recruits being prepared for combat in Colombia's largest communist guerilla army, the FARC. The video was seized by the Colombian army after a recent firefight. Herman (ph) was a child warrior like them. He says he joined the FARC at 15 and quit before he turned 18. I can't show you his face. The rebels kill deserters. But if you stare into his eyes, you can sense a childhood lost on the battlefield.

"It will mark my life forever. I'll always have that memory of fighting, and killing and seeing dead people, but if you are at war, it is your life or your enemy's," he tells me.

Military officials say the recently confiscated video offers fresh insight into rebel training and shows child recruitment is continuing. Difficult to judge exact ages, the rights groups have documented cases of child soldiers of 10 and younger. They have not been trusted to carry weapons, and judging by their parade ground skills, these children haven't been in rebel ranks for long.

Herman says he joined the guerillas to seek revenge against right-wing gunmen who kidnapped his father.

"Training is real tough and it's difficult to get used to, but those are the norms. You just have to try to fit in," he says.

Human rights groups agree recruitment of child soldiers in Colombia is among the worst in the world.

Look at these images shot in rebel camps around Colombia and you see their point. Children in camoflouged fatigues brandishing deadly assault assault rifles. Human Rights Watch and the United Nations calculate between 11,000 and 14,000 boys and girls fight in the ranks of Colombia's outlaw militias on the left and right.

Michael fought for almost a year with right-wing paramilitaries before deserting.

"We carried 100-pound backpacks and a gun. We crossed rivers at night, walking four or five days at a time without eating," he says.

Rights group and Colombian authorities estimate 20 percent of child soldiers are recruited by force. Others join to escape abuse, family problems and poverty.

BEATRIZ LONDONO, DIR., COLOMBIAN FAMILY WELFARE: Many of these children who become child soldiers, they do it because they want to -- they have no options.

PENHAUL: A range of international organizations and governments are backing initiatives to get kids off the battlefield.

ILEAN BACA, PROGRAMS DIR., USAID: It's a very sad situation. Children should be children. Children should not be part of a war.

PENHAUL: But as this rebel-training video shows, thousands of Colombian children are still getting sucked into chaos of war.

Karl Penhaul, CNN, Bogota.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY.

Hundreds of police officers from 13 countries are headed to Germany right now, preparing for the World Cup. They'll be joined by teams of spotters. Their job, to find known football hooligans.

ITVs James Mates reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMES MATES, ITV REPORTER (voice-over): It is now six years since England fans have been involved in serious trouble abroad. A reason for optimism they'll be no repetition of these scenes certainly, a reason for complacency, emphatically not, because football hooliganism is way being beyond being a uniquely English problem now. In Berlin today, close to 50 British police were among 300 from all over Europe here to police their own fans.

Germany's interior minister is confident this international effort will beat the hooligans.

WOLFFGANG SCHAEUBLE, GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER: I think we will not have problems with English hooligans, because (INAUDIBLE) mentioned before, 3,200 hooligans are forbidden to the leave the U.K. during the world championship. It's very good corroboration.

MATES: But the German police at their Berlin command center are all too well aware they have their own hooligan problem. English fans, with their longstanding reputations as the worst in Europe, may quickly become targets.

ITV News tracked town one German hooligan, who on the condition of anonymity told us it is the English that he'll be going after.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is how a fight would start. If I go to Frankfurt, I'll go with about 30 of my boys, and I that know the English will be there. I'll search them out. I'm look for them and I will find them. With the English, it's not hard.

MATES: German place have trained and rehearsed for it. They are confident they have the surveillance and intelligence network to catch trouble before it starts. But their well aware this World Cup could yet become an unprecedented gathering of Europe's hooligans from east and west.

Their best weapon, they believe, is the equally unprecedented cooperation of Europe's police forces, to make sure it never happens.

James Mates, ITV News, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE) GORANI: All right. Details on the early betting lines for World Cup matches. Here's Chris Shillington of the Cantor Index and head of media for sports betting.

Chris Shillington, we don't have a lot of time, but tell me, the savvy betters, what are they doing?

CHRIS SHILLINGTON, CANTOR INDEX: (INAUDIBLE) the savvy betters, but certainly all the money is coming for England this side of the pond, I'm afraid.

Also, not to -- no false economy here, but actually quite a lot of the savvy money is coming from USA. They tend to always outperform in the World Cup. Also we've see a lot of bars in Germany that think the home advantage is going to be good for them, and there's good buoyancy in the German market after their three World Cup matches.

GORANI: All right, Chris. You don't only bet on which team wins. It's a spread-betting technique. We don't have time to get into that. But you can score on -- you can bet on total goals scored, the team wins, the fastest goal. The fastest goal so far is 11 seconds from a Turkish player four years ago. What's that looking like?

SHILLINGTON: Yes, we've got our markets up around the 100-second mark at the moment. We've certainly seen a lot of sellers there. It's made up under 104 the last six years. Certainly want to maybe look there.

But again, we've seen a big trend in better defensive units in the last two years particularly, so we've been down on goals. And so some of the shrewd money has come on the boy side, so possibly want to -- a little of a confusing market, but one maybe to get with if you want to play hard.

GORANI: All right, Chris, another thing that betters are taking into account are lighter balls for instance. The balls are lighter. FIFA coming out with statements, saying, you know, we're going to clamp down on divers. We're going to clamp down on backward tackling. That kind of thing. So you really take all that into account and try to decide which is the smartest bet.

SHILLINGTON: For sure. We have total the other markets (ph) guarded. We're up to about 19 for total red cards in the World Cup.

The lighter balls this year, it was exactly the same thing four years ago and it didn't make a big difference, to be fair enough. You know, Adidas brought out this ball, and they've done again the same this year. So they fly quicker. They swerve further. But they get used to it. They have been training with the ball now for a couple of months, so I don't see it as big issue for the players.

GORANI: All right. Lighter ball -- maybe we'll leave that to the side. What about the longest bet? Where is the -- if you were really thinking of taking a big, fat spread betting risk what would that risk be? Give us an example. SHILLINGTON: Well, we talked before about the time of the first goal. Also, you can do total goal minutes, throughout the whole World Cup. So when you get a goal minute, that's -- if you score in 57th minute the makeup is 57. So it's all of the goals and minutes they're scored in throughout the whole World Cup. You're talking thousands and thousands of positions, either side, it can swing. So if you want to put your shirt down, that's the market to be at.

GORANI: Chris, I'll tell you what. I'd be spending too much time with my calculator and doing math than actually enjoying the game if I started spread betting. I think I'll keep it simple this year. Chris Shillington of Cantor Index, thanks so much for joining us here on CNN.

SHILLINGTON: Pleasure.

GORANI: And CNN wants to hear from you, the fans, throughout this World Cup. If you are going to the World Cup, for instance, e- mail us your photos, your video clips and comments -- keep them clean -- to the CNN Fan Zone at worldcup@CNN.com.

CLANCY: All right. Well, it's a practice that leave countless hectares of natural habitat decimated, but are creatures in the wild the only victims?

GORANI: Ahead, it's our "Changing Earth" series, a look at deforestation and of course its devastating effects. Guillermo Arduino is with us in the studio.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Welcome back, everyone. Hala, a regular segment now, "Changing Earth."

GORANI: Right. Deforestation is a global challenge that environmentalists and governments are facing.

CLANCY: Let's take a closer look.

GORANI: Guillermo Arduino is here to explain cause and effect.

GUILLERMO ARDUINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bad situation. Well, you know, it is threatening our air and indigenous plant species, as well. Deforestation -- this is the key word -- is the permanent destruction of the earth's forests and woodlands.

Deforestation is occurring at an alarming rate that could wipe out all of the tropical vegetation by the year 2050. It is particularly common where there are commercial interests like logging and agriculture. It is Brazil who faces this problem in the Amazon, which has lost more than 26,000 square kilometers of forest in one year.

Thailand suffered severe losses from flooding in its northern provinces, as well. The heavy rains brought by this year's early monsoon, caused rivers and reservoirs to overflow, and these downpours are thought to be increased by deforestation, global warming and unstable weather. And if there are no trees to hold the ground in hilly areas, then landslides are very likely to occur.

In the meantime, fires in China have destroyed three million square kilometers of forest. The shortage of rainfall has threatened wildlife and homes. But recent rainfall has turned conditions around. Officials are now dealing with flooding and economic loss, both. This makes for a deadly combination.

And conservation efforts are ongoing to prevent damage to woodland areas. And according to the University in Western Cape in South Africa -- and listen to this -- if no steps are taken, countries such as Costa Rica and Sri Lanka could lose all of their tropical forests by 2010.

CLANCY: 2010? Amazing.

ARDUINO: Yes, right around the corner.

CLANCY: All right. Guillermo Arduino, as always.

ARDUINO: Big problem. Thank you.

GORANI: Thank you Guillermo with our "Changing Earth" segment, a regular feature here on YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: Now, we have to apologize, because of a technical problem we don't have some of the e-mails to show you, but we were asking the question about whether the rendition should continued and Europe should, you know, cooperate with the CIA on those flight. And I've got to say, there's some strong opinions coming in.

GORANI: I took a quick peek. About 50-50 in terms of ...

CLANCY: It was.

GORANI: ... support or, in fact, those who say that that shouldn't be happening.

CLANCY: Strong opinions on both sides.

GORANI: And very strong opinions.

CLANCY: Yes.

GORANI: All right. Next hour, if you are with us internationally, we'll bring you some of those answers next hour hopefully. "LIVE FROM" is next for our viewers in the U.S.

CLANCY: For viewers elsewhere, another hour of YOUR WORLD TODAY comes straight ahead. I'm Jim Clancy.

GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani, and this is CNN.

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