Return to Transcripts main page

Your World Today

Red Mosque Raid; Libyan AIDS Case: Court Upholds Death Penalty for Six Nurses, One Doctor; Britain Steps up Campaign to Stop Practice of Female Circumcision; Truck Bomber Strikes In Algiers; Bush Battles Congress Over War Spending

Aired July 12, 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: Pakistan says its operations against militants in Islamabad's Red Mosque is over, but the political fallout may be just beginning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DET. INSPECTOR CAROL HAMILTON, LONDON METROPOLITAN POLICE: It's horrendous. It is physical and emotional torture of children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RALITSA VASSILEVA, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: It's an ancient practice that still scars millions of lives. Now London police say some immigrants are bringing it home to Britain.

CLANCY: California dreaming. The Golden State's population is booming, but its public services are on overload.

VASSILEVA: And Kwik E Mart or caricature-mart? Real-life cartoon characters intermingle with real life, but it's no laughing matter for some.

It is 9:00 p.m. in Islamabad, 5:00 p.m. in London.

Hello and welcome, everybody, to our broadcast -- report broadcast around the globe.

I'm Ralitsa Vassileva.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy.

From Sacramento to New York, wherever you're watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

A story being watched all around the world. Pakistani forces breathing a little easier now that the weeklong standoff of the Islamic extremists at Islamabad's Red Mosque is finally, in their words, over.

VASSILEVA: The trouble could just be beginning for the Pakistani president. The White House is supporting President Musharraf's decision to storm the mosque, but not everybody at home is as happy with the decision.

Anjali Rao has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANJALI RAO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): One day after Pakistani forces began an assault on the Red Mosque, the last parts of the complex are now secure. It is the final act in a bloody, weeklong siege.

Officials say there are no more militants left inside and cleanup operations are now ongoing.

GEN. WAHEED ARSHAD, PAKISTAN ARMY SPOKESMAN: The clearing and the combing operation is required to sanitize the area and to ensure that for subsequent use of this area, even for visit of the media, for example, this whole area needs to be sanitized because we don't want exposure to grenades or mines or any other explosives lying around.

RAO: Among the dozens of dead Islamist fighters, rebel leader Abdul Rashid Ghazi. The chief cleric of the hard-line mosque demanded Taliban-style rule in the capital, Islamabad. The Pakistani military says he was killed in a hail of gunfire in the basement of a religious school on the compound.

As the standoff comes to an end, many questions remain. First and foremost, the final death toll and whether any women or children were killed in the siege.

Pakistani officials say none have been found dead so far, but some anxious relatives of students inside the mosque continue to wait for word on their loved ones. And some observers wonder why it came to this.

"This should not happen," this man says. "Muslims are being killed on both sides. On one side, the security forces' men are Muslims, while on the other, those inside the mosque are also Muslims."

Also in question, how the crisis will affect beleaguered president Pervez Musharraf, under criticism for not confronting the militants sooner.

Anjali Rao, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Meantime, in U.S., anxiety rising about the possibility of new terror attacks. Details sketchy right now about what is just prompting all of the official concern.

Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff says he has -- and we're quoting here -- a "gut feeling" that something could happen in the next few months. Pressed on just why, he notes that al Qaeda tends to be more active in the summer months. It is a concern shared by a member of the panel that investigated the U.S. response to the 9/11 attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I don't think it's quite like the summer of 2001. That, of course, was a time when the Taliban controlled all of Afghanistan.

We could easily be attacked. The intent to attack us remains as strong as it was on September 10, 2001.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEE HAMILTON, FMR. 9/11 COMMISSIONER: My gut has always told me that we would be hit again in the United States. There can be no doubt at all about the intent. I think the secretary was quite right about that. They have repeated it again and again and again. They want to kill Americans and kill as many Americans as possible.

What is less sure is their capability, but we've seen evidence of that in Europe. We would be very, very foolish to be complacent in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: More specifically, other officials point out that al Qaeda has been able to plot and train more freely in the tribal areas in the Afghan-Pakistan border in recent months. That is, of course, where Osama bin Laden and his top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, are believed to be hiding -- Ralitsa.

VASSILEVA: Jim, now to Libya, where the supreme court has upheld death sentences for five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor convicted of infecting hundreds of Libyan children with the AIDS virus. But there's still hope that their lives could be spared.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VASSILEVA (voice over): First convicted three years ago of an unspeakable crime, if true, five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor found guilty of deliberately infecting more than 400 Libyan children under their care with the virus that causes AIDS. Fifty children have died.

Since their arrests in 1999, the doctor and nurses have insisted on their innocence.

SNEZHANA DIMITROVA, DEFENDANT (through translator): No matter what people say, I'm simply innocent. That's all.

VASSILEVA: Libyan prosecutors claim they infected the children as an experiment to find a cure for AIDS, but respected international experts testifying for the defense say poor hygiene, not the medics, are to blame. They found the HIV strain in Libya's hospital was present before their arrival in Libya.

DR. ROBERT GALLO, CO-DISCOVERER OF AIDS VIRUS: And the fact that these children are infected with a wide variety of these kinds of viruses -- wide number of strains of these viruses, strongly indicate that non-sanitary conditions were being used. That is, contaminated syringes and needles, et cetera.

VASSILEVA: Through the years, the nurses have said they held out hope they could be released. The Libyan high judicial counsel is scheduled to review the case on Monday, but there are guarded hopes that a deal for their release could be reached out of court.

Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi's son heads a foundation for the children's medical aid. The foundation announced the medics have reached a deal with the families of the victims to help fund their children's treatment.

But it's not clear if the Bulgarian government will accept the deal. Bulgaria has said it wants to help care for the children but it can't accept a deal that implies the nurses' guilt. The release of the nurses would be sure to anger the family of the sick children who want them to pay for their children's tragedy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VASSILEVA: So now the victims' families and the medics await Monday's high judicial council review. It has the power to commute the sentences or pardon the medics, but experts think a more likely resolution is an out-of-court settlement that could free the medics and provide for the health care needs of the infected children.

(NEWSBREAK)

VASSILEVA: Police in Britain are stepping up efforts to stop a practice that is still common in parts of Africa. And that is female circumcision.

As Phil Black reports, it's a procedure that leaves girls physically and emotionally scarred. And we warn you this report contains some disturbing images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This young girl is a victim of an ancient custom still damaging millions of lives today. Eight-year-old Fusia (ph) is undergoing female circumcision, also known as female genital mutilation. This was in Kenya, but the terrible images are now being used as an educational tool by police in London, who say this is happening in the British capital.

HAMILTON: Absolutely. You can't just stop something that has been in tradition since the time of the pharaohs. And we have now 28 practicing countries. And all of those countries will have immigrant population here.

BLACK: Police here say the approaching summer holiday period is the time most likely for British girls to undergo female circumcision, because the break from school allows time to heal.

HAMILTON: It's horrendous. It is physical and emotional torture of children.

BLACK: It is a tradition for mostly African and some Middle Eastern countries, often carried out to ensure chastity. Police say the mutilation is often planned for visits to family homelands. The precise number of British victims is impossible to know, but the police and counselors like Faduma Hussein believe it may be tens of thousands, mostly Muslim girls.

FADUMA HUSSEIN, COUNSELOR: It's not a religious obligation. It's not in the Koran. And people are starting to know more about the religion now, and that's a good reason why they have to stop it.

SALIMATA BADJI-KNIGHT, MUTILATION VICTIM: I was about four and a half. And they told us we are going to a picnic.

BLACK: Salimata Badji-Knight suffered genital mutilation in Senegal. It was organized by her grandmother.

BADJI-KNIGHT: No one can come and tell me, oh, there is nothing wrong with this. It's not true. It had dramatically changed my life forever. And there's nothing I can do to change that.

BLACK: Doctors say the practice kills. It can also cause lifelong psychological trauma, serious menstrual and urinary tract problems, and complications during pregnancy.

(on camera): It is practiced in many countries and cultures and a number of different religions. But victims around the world have one thing in common -- they belong to patriarchal communities. And police in London believe for this to stop, it is men who must stand against it.

(voice over): Police have offered a $40,000 reward for information from the public about cases of female mutilation. It's been a specific crime here four years, but so far no one has been convicted. Police say they hope to change that soon.

Phil Black, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: All right. We've got to take a short break. But still ahead, police say they've solved a crime that's been a mystery for nearly four years now.

VASSILEVA: This is the bizarre case of a pizza deliveryman involved in a bank robbery. But was the man with a bomb around his neck a victim or a criminal?

We'll find out.

CLANCY: Plus, millions of refugees from Zimbabwe flooding into neighboring South Africa. Can South Africa do anything to help end the economic crisis next door?

VASSILEVA: Up next, though... (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember one time walking into the BMW dealer to buy a pair of gloves. And so I walked out with the gloves and a new BMW.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VASSILEVA: It's a secret people keep even from their closest of friends. Are you among those who are addicted to debt?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VASSILEVA: Welcome back. You're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY here on CNN International.

CLANCY: That's right, seen live in more than 200 countries and territories all around the globe.

Americans running up credit card bills at the fastest pace in the last six months.

VASSILEVA: The Federal Reserve says credit card debt shot up more than 9 percent in May, and that's nearly 10 times what it was in April.

CLANCY: And as troubling as those numbers are, the only -- they only tell part of the story.

We learn more from Deborah Feyerick now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It is perhaps the one secret few people talk about.

(on camera): How many of you felt some shame that you had let yourself get into this situation?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's huge.

FEYERICK (voice over): A secret people keep even from those closest to them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If anyone knew this, they wouldn't think of me as an adult anymore, as a responsible person. And it might hurt my business standing, my image, my reputation.

FEYERICK: In an age when sex is spoken about openly and few subjects are off limits, this one remains taboo.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I felt like a thief.

FEYERICK: Which is why these people agreed to speak with us on condition we not show their faces.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Jonathan. I'm a debtor.

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Hi, Jonathan.

FEYERICK: That's right -- the secret is debt. Americans owe a record $880 billion on credit cards alone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember one time walking into the BMW dealer to buy a pair of gloves, and so I walked out with the gloves and a new BMW.

FEYERICK: Jonathan owed $225,000 when he attended his first Debtors Anonymous meeting and discovered he was not alone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like, you'll have the anxiety about the money, and then you'll manage the anxiety by going and using the credit card and debting more. And then it just builds and builds and builds.

FEYERICK: April Lane Benson is the author of the book "I shop, Therefore I Am".

(on camera): Is compulsive buying akin to an addiction like alcohol or drugs?

APRIL LANE BENSON, AUTHOR, "I SHOP, THEREFORE I AM": Very much so. You know, you have to buy more and more to get the same kind of a high, and it gets out of control.

FEYERICK (voice over): Benson, a psychologist who treats compulsive shoppers, says there are an estimated 15 million nationwide, more people, she says, than who suffer eating disorders.

(on camera): So, for example, this outfit, I would look so perfect that my whole life will come together like in an instant?

BENSON: Absolutely.

FEYERICK: And they think that way on some levels?

BENSON: Yes.

FEYERICK: Are they filling a need within themselves, an emptiness perhaps?

BENSON: Sometimes it's an emptiness.

FEYERICK: Can it be an anger?

BENSON: It can be anger, it can be boredom.

FEYERICK: Loneliness?

BENSON: Loneliness.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would shop to make myself feel better. I was, like, shopping every day. I would have to buy something. FEYERICK (voice over): Leigh Ann Frayley (ph) knew she had lost control from the stacks of unopened credit card bills, to the binge shopping, buying then returning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every time I would make more money, I would just buy more expensive things, you know? I was never where I would actually pay it down or -- you know, I was still living paycheck to paycheck, because the minute you make more, they'll send you more credit cards. You know?

FEYERICK: Leigh Ann found her road to recovery online with a blog, writing down every penny she spent and sharing intimate details of her money problems with total strangers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're, like, close, close friends, you know? And because we associate -- we found something that, you know, we all have in common, you know, that we were in debt.

FEYERICK: Her site, Save Leigh Ann, after started anonymously. Now she's out in the open.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did it every day, almost every day for a year, and got money paid off in one year and two months.

FEYERICK: Her $20,000 debt is now $3,000 in savings.

As for the debtors we met earlier, some paid everything off. Others are still working on it. And all meet regularly to prevent a relapse.

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: God, grant me the serenity...

FEYERICK: Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VASSILEVA: Well, coming up, a break in the case.

CLANCY: It's a crime really that has baffled Pennsylvania police now for four years. Was a bank robber killed by a bomb locked around his neck, was he the criminal or the victim?

VASSILEVA: And later, trouble at the Kwik E Mart. Some people are complaining that stereotypes in "The Simpsons" cartoon show are even more offensive in real life.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Delivering the news by satellite, literally to every of continent around the globe, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Jim Clancy.

VASSILEVA: I'm Ralitsa Vassileva. Here are some of the top stories we're following for you this hour. CLANCY: Libya's supreme court upholding death sentences for six foreign medical workers. They were found guilty of infecting hundreds of children with HIV. The country's high judicial counsel is going to meet now on Monday. They will decide whether they uphold, commute, or overturn the sentences there. The five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor have denied any intentional wrongdoing.

VASSILEVA: In the U.S., Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff says he has, quote, "a gut feeling" there could be a terror attack in the next few months. Pressed on why he thinks so, he knows that Al Qaeda tends to be more active in summer. He gave few other specifics.

CLANCY: Pakistani troops are on a clean-up mission inside Islamabad's Red Mosque right now. A bloody, week-long standoff with Islamic militants finally came to an end. More than 80 people were killed during the siege, including the radical Islamic cleric at the mosque. Most of those died during the Pakistani army final 35-hour assault on the compound.

VASSILEVA: The U.S. Senate begins a debate on a defense spending bill that could include a mandate to the country's troop out of Iraq by April. Two Democratic and two Republicans co-sponsored the amendment calling for redeployment of U.S. troops beginning in as little as four months. President George W. Bush says he will veto any legislation that sets a timetable for withdrawal.

CLANCY: Well, despite Mr. Bush's promise, a majority of Americans now actually favor a withdrawal of troops, that according to a new "USA Today"/Gallup poll. That's not the only bad news for Mr. Bush that comes out of that survey. Let's get more on that. We're joined by Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider.

Bill, I understand that that amendment they were voting on now has not passed at all?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: No, it has not passed. But they are voting on it at this point.

What they have to do is get enough votes, not just to pass the amendment but to bring it up for debate. It takes 60 votes to do that in the United States Senate.

And, Jim, you are right. Some new polling suggests that the American public is running out of patience with the administration's Iraq policy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER: Records are being broken, and we're not talking about the weather. A new Gallup/"USA Today" poll gives President Bush a record low job approval rating, 29 percent. There's also a record high in the Gallup poll. More than 60 percent of Americans now believe the Iraq war was a mistake.

SEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE (R), MAINE: That time, you know, has evaporated along with our patience. SCHNEIDER: The troop build-up is now complete, but only 22 percent of Americans believe the situation in Iraq is any better. The White House argues that it's too early to judge, that this is the beginning of the new policy, not the end.

TONY SNOW, PRESS SECRETARY, WHITE HOUSE: What Congress is going to get this week is a snapshot at the beginning of a re-tooled mission in Iraq. Everybody says we want to do it a new way, we agree. It's now started.

SCHNEIDER: Many members of Congress see this as the end, not the beginning.

SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER (R) TENNESSEE: There are a growing number of bipartisan senators, senators on both sides of the aisle, who are trying to come to a conclusion.

SCHNEIDER: What's driving them is the failure of the Iraqis to meet benchmarks for a political settlement.

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: Although the surge is now complete, there is no evidence of political progress on the part of Iraqi leaders, none whatsoever.

SCHNEIDER: Critics don't see a military failure on our part. They see a political failure on their part.

SNOWE: Our troops are making the military sacrifice, yet they're not willing to make the political compromises.

SCHNEIDER: The public has clearly run out of patience; 71 percent favor removing all U.S. troops from Iraq by next April, except for a limited number of counterterrorism forces. And 42 percent of Republicans agree.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER: Has any other president in the past been so unpopular? Actually, yes, President Bush's father, before the voters fired him. Jimmy Carter, who also got fired. Richard Nixon before he resigned, and Harry Truman, before he decided not to run for reelection. That's not a happy company -- Jim.

CLANCY: All right. Not a happy company. You look at the numbers, that's one thing. But it would seem -- you know, right now the Bush administration, you listen to Tony Snow's comments, really talking about cross purposes here. They're talking about staying in Iraq, the necessity of fighting, there to protect the troops, support the troops. Yet the U.S. public seems to be firmly focused on, how did you get us into this?

SCHNEIDER: That's right. They are focused, indeed, on that. And a lot of Americans feel that the administration misled the country into war. They're also increasingly of the view that this is a war that cannot be won. You know, the view of Americans has always been, when we fight a war -- and this goes all the way back to Vietnam -- win, or get out. Well, Americans have concluded, we're unlikely to win in Iraq. Now they're prepared to say, we should get out.

CLANCY: All right. Bill Schneider calling it like it is, as usual, from up there on Capitol Hill. Thanks, Bill.

VASSILEVA: As pressure mounts within the U.S. and in the U.S. Congress for a change in direction in Iraq policy, Iraqi lawmakers are barely showing up for work. Jonathan Mann has some insight on that.

JONATHAN MANN, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: It's true, Ralitsa.

The country is at war, the people are exhausted, the prospects are bleak. Iraq's parliament could be offering crucial leadership, but it is essentially paralyzed by bickering and boycotts, and just looking forward to its own summer break.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICHARD LUGAR (R), INDIANA: Here is a country in the middle of a war, the United States troops, as you pointed out, fighting to save Iraqis, and some of these parliamentarians that were supposed to arrive at this consensus, take a month off. It makes absolutely no sense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: Iraqi lawmakers are scheduled to recess for the month of August, but before and after the larger problem is what happens when they're supposed to be working in parliament. The parliament is made up of 275 members from a dozen political parties and coalitions. Now, all 44 members of the Iraqi Accord Faction, the largest Sunni bloc, have stopped showing up. See those yellow seats are just empty. They're protesting the removal of the parliament's speaker, a Sunni colleague.

And 30 other lawmakers are leaving their seats empty. They are Shiites loyal to Muqtada al Sadr. They began a boycott of their own after bombers struck a revered Shiite mosque.

If you're following me on the math, 74 members are already gone. All it takes is for another 64 others to stay home, and then there is no quorum. That happens sometimes for months at a time, because security concerns, apathy, or frustration keep the members away.

In fact, back March when the parliament reconvened after a month- long recess, only about a dozen members showed up. Attendance figures like that mean no quorum, no votes, and no progress.

And, by the way, the speaker whose colleagues miss him so much, Mahkmoud al Mashadani (ph), lost his job after accusations that he and his staff were physically assaulting lawmakers. Maybe that's why they don't show up.

The problem, though, isn't just limited to him or parliament. Nearly a third of Iraq's government ministers are boycotting their own cabinet meetings, too. So the Bush administration benchmarks stall, either in the cabinet, or the parliament, and through it all Iraqi leaders insist they are making progress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOWAFFAK AL-RUBAIE, IRAQI NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: These people are working very, very hard throughout the year. And they have done a lot of good work, but this is a parliament which has to come by consensus. This is a government of -- a coalition government. This is government that rules and governs by consensus of the three major communities. And it has to take its own time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: And it is taking its own time. Here's a concrete example of the cost. An oil law, a law on how to divide up the most valuable asset Iraq has, has been in the works for nearly a year. The cabinet approved it finally last week. The prime minister called it the most important law in Iraq. He said lawmakers would debate it the next day.

Didn't work out that way. There's been disagreement, there has been a delay. Parliament isn't rushing to get that done either.

VASSILEVA: John, didn't they at least cut their vacation in half?

MANN: This was the big controversy. This was a big international controversy. You had lawmakers in the United States, you had the U.S. ambassador to Baghdad saying, it is outrageous they would go on holiday at for a time like this, for two consecutive months. That was the original plan. So out of spirit of sacrifice and patriotism, I suppose -- and embarrassment -- the lawmakers cut it down to one month.

So, yes, in the month of August they'd be gone. If they can't get the oil law adopted by the end of this month, we'll be waiting for that until fall.

VASSILEVA: All right, Jon. Very interesting.

CLANCY: Let's change the subject a little bit. If you're a billionaire and you're house hunting, look no further. This is a house once owned by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. It just went on the market. You can move right in on this one for a cool $165 million.

Well, that price tag makes it the most expensive residential asking price in U.S. real estate history. The California mansion comes equipped with three swimming pools, a movie theater and 29 bedrooms. Besides being just one of the Hearst mansions, it has other interesting history attached to it. It was featured in the movie "The Godfather". Also, John F. Kennedy and his bride, Jacqueline, stayed there while they were on their honeymoon. It was later used as a West Coast Kennedy's presidential campaign.

VASSILEVA: And 29 bedrooms?

CLANCY: That ought to do it. VASSILEVA: California may be needing more houses like that at the rate things are going there.

CLANCY: It's the state's population, all the experts are saying now by 2050 its population is going to double.

VASSILEVA: In a little while, we'll find out why some say California is no where near ready for that boom.

CLANCY: Also coming up, on the brink of economic disaster, store shelves stand empty in Zimbabwe, people scrambling just to get some basic supplies. Is the country going to get any help? What does it need to survive? That's coming up, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VASSILEVA: Welcome back to CNN International and YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: Keeping you up to date on developments and fast- breaking stories all around the globe. One of those coming in to us now, certainly is the situation that is going on right now in Algiers.

Reuters news agency reporting a suicide bomber detonated a truck bomb at a military barracks about 120 kilometers east of the city. The official Algerian news agency is reporting eight soldiers were killed. Al Jazeera television says Al Qaeda's North Africa wing has claimed responsibility. That is the same group that said it was behind similar attacks, including a triple suicide bombing last April that killed more than 30 people.

Today's attack comes just hours before the opening of the All- Africa Games. That is a prestigious sports event that is hosted by Algeria. This group Al Qaeda North Africa has often been involved in trying to blast its way into the headlines -- Ralitsa.

VASSILEVA: Jim, years of depression and skyrocketing inflation rates have made things tough in Zimbabwe. Now the country is poised on the brink of economic disaster. Government ordered price cuts are making things scarce for everyone. Many say the country must get help if there's any hope of surviving. Isha Sesay has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISHA SESAY, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The latest chapter in Zimbabwe's decline into chaos, empty supermarket shelves and endless lines as people scramble to get their hands on basic supplies that are rapidly running out.

This, the result of a government directive to slash prices as it battles rampant inflation, and a worthless currency. Now with the country in economic freefall, all eyes are on South Africa, its neighbor to the south. With many asking, what the region's superpower is doing?

NKOSAZANA DIAMINI-ZUMA, S. AFRICAN MIN. OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: We are concerned about this situation in Zimbabwe generally, and the economic situation, the economy of Zimbabwe has been deteriorating over time.

SESAY: South Africa has been propping up the crumbling nation, providing it with electricity, and facilitating its fuel deliveries. But throughout Zimbabwe's seven and a half year crisis, South African's president Thabo Mbecki has adopted a policy of quiet diplomacy. This softly, softly strategy has yielded no results.

Back in March, regional leaders appointed Mbecki to lead talks between Zimbabwe's warring political factions, the ruling Zanu PF and the opposition MDC. These talks were due to resume last Sunday, but the Zanu PF delegation failed to show up.

XOIELA MANGCU, POLITICAL ANALYST: Robert Mugabe does not respect Thabo Mbecki. He does not listen to Thabo Mbecki. Because Mugabe regards himself as untouchable.

SESAY: Zimbabwe's deepening crises places the President Mbecki in a dilemma. At least 3 million Zimbabweans have already fled to South Africa, withdrawing Pretoria's economic support would almost certainly lead to the country's complete collapse, leaving South Africa facing a catastrophic refugee crisis. Some say Mbecki president is in a corner.

MANGCU: There's very little we can do now, frankly. We can't pull out -- we can't pull the plug on Zimbabwe right now. Because we would be seeing at this particular point in time as worsening a crises that is there. Zimbabwe is just going to implode.

SESAY: At this bus station in Johannesburg, these Zimbabweans are too afraid to talk to us on camera. They are heading back to Harari with bags filled with basic essentials they can no longer buy in is Zimbabwe. Privately, they speak of a sense of desperation back home.

Hope is fading that the Mbecki or anyone else can do anything to alleviate the suffering of Zimbabwe's people. Isha Sesay, CNN, Johannesburg.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Actually, they was reporting on migrations going on, economic forces -- economic and political factors both at work. But half a world away in sunny California, the sixth largest economy in the world, they can hear the sound of someone singing California, here we come. Officials now projecting the Golden State's population is going to grow and grow dramatically by the middle of this century. Casey Wian reports that the public services, many fear, are already on overload.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Higher Hispanic birth rates as well as legal and illegal immigration will add more than 25 million people to California by the middle of this century. The state's Department of Finance projects California's population will grow to nearly 60 million by 2050, an increase of about 75 percent.

The report foreshadows a looming crises. California already faces water and power shortages, decaying infrastructure, education funding gaps, and a $92 billion debt. Urban planners say state officials need to wake up.

DOWELL MYERS, AUTHOR, "IMMIGRANTS AND BOOMERS": They've been asleep at the switch in past decade. We had a lot of growth before, in the '80s. They didn't do a whole lot to prepare for it. They were coasting on infrastructure that was put in place in the '60s. That many people requires more roads, it requires more infrastructure, it requires more housing, and also generates a lot more business opportunities, too.

WIAN: And major demographic and cultural shifts. Here's how California's population appeared in 2000: whites, 47 percent, Hispanics, 32 percent, Asians, 11 and blacks, 7 percent. Fast-forward to 2050, and the state predicts Hispanics will make up more than half its population, whites only about a fourth. The percentage of Asians will increase slightly, while only one in 20 Californians will be black.

MARY HEIM, CALIFORNIA DEPT. OF FINANCE: For Hispanics, about 80 percent of the growth is due to natural increase, or the excess of births over deaths, just about the opposite for the Asians. Almost 80 percent of their growth is due to people moving to California, either from other states or other countries.

WIAN: Los Angeles county faces an even more dramatic projected shift. The white population shrinks to 1.6 million, while Hispanics swell to 8.4 million. Put another way, L.A.'s Hispanic and Asian population is expected to double by 2050, while the number of whites and blacks will be cut in half.

Hispanics will outnumber whites more than five to one, in Los Angeles, two to one statewide.

(On camera): Some urban planners say that's a good thing, arguing aging baby boomers will benefit from higher Hispanic birth rates and immigration. Those young people will presumably help support boomers in retirement from paying Social Security taxes to buying their homes. Casey Wian, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VASSILEVA: You've seen "The Simpsons", right?

CLANCY: Sure. It's funny, but not to everyone. Coming up -- how one character has translated into controversy. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: You're probably familiar with "The Simpsons". That animated family of American TV fame? VASSILEVA: Now it has an official hometown. Its tiny Springfield, Vermont. It won a national contest, for the film featuring a Homer look-alike chasing a giant pink doughnut.

There he is.

CLANCY: Thirteen other Springfields competed to host the world premier of the "The Simpsons Movie" Comes in on July 21. The winning Springfield has a population of 9,300 people. Its movie theater has a whole whopping 212 seats.

VASSILEVA: A chain of U.S. convenience stores is trying to pump up business with a tie-in to "The Simpsons Movie". But some people aren't really laughing about that.

CLANCY: They say it brings a racial stereotype from the cartoon series right into real life. More from Allan Chernoff.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The aspirin is $24.95.

ALLAN CHERNOFF: Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Ph.D., the greedy and unethical Kwik-E Mart in "The Simpsons" cartoon, who would gladly sell you a dirty hot dog off the floor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it is encrusted with filth. Oh, well, let's sell it anyway.

CHERNOFF: Now Apu is part of a promotional stunt for 7-Eleven. In a tie-in this month with the upcoming "Simpsons Movie", a dozen 7- Elevens have been turned into real-life Kwik-E Marts. Indian-American blogger Manish Vij charges 7-Eleven has created a racial caricature mart. Apu accent, he complains, is entirely unrealistic, part of a distortion of his ethnicity.

MANISH VIJ, FOUNDER, WWW.ULTRABROWN.COM: I think it's a very stereotype racist caricature of an Indian-American. With the 7/Eleven promotion, it's the first time this has jumped into the real world.

CHERNOFF: Indian-American Serge Haitayan, a store owner in California, who declined to appear on camera, writes on the internet he's insulted that his own parent company would embrace what he calls a racist portrayal.

"This is an absolute embarrassment for our company," writes Haitayan. "I'm not willing to accept to be compared to Apu. I cannot imagine any store willing to re-brand to Kwik-E Mart, even for a day."

Fact is, though, half of the re-branded 7-Elevens are owned by Indian-Americans. Like Andy Chaudhan in Manhattan. He and other 7- Eleven franchisees from India say their fellow immigrants need to lighten up.

ANDY CHAUDHAN, 7-ELEVEN STORE OWNER: It's all fun. It's about fun. It's a cartoon. CHERNOFF: You don't think this is racial or anything?

CHAUDHAN: No, nothing at all. Nothing at all.

CHERNOFF (on camera): There is no debate that the promotion is good for business, specially made Simpson foods, like Buzz Cola, and Krusty-O Cereal, are literally flying off the shelves here. In fact, owners of stores that have been converted to Kwik-E Marts say their sales this month are more than double what they were this time last year.

CHAUDHAN: I can't even explain to you how good it's going on. People are -- customers are so happy.

CHERNOFF (voice over): Hundreds of 7-Elevens are owned by Indian-Americans according to the company, which says they overwhelmingly approved of "The Simpsons" tie-in. 7-Eleven says no store was forced to participate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How much is your penny candy?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Surprisingly expensive.

CHERNOFF (voice over): In "The Simpsons" Apu's Kwik-E Mart overcharges for rotten food. That's OK, says 7-Eleven. We can laugh at ourselves.

MICHAEL JORGENSEN, 7-ELEVEN INC.: I would say it certainly is positive. It's a cartoon and it's meant to be funny.

CHERNOFF: 7-Eleven is hoping all Americans can laugh along with "The Simpsons" as they snap up Krusty-Os and pink movie doughnuts. Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Oh, the doughnuts look good.

VASSILEVA: Yes, they do.

CLANCY: That's it for this hour. I'm Jim Clancy.

VASSILEVA: I'm Ralitsa Vassileva. This is CNN.

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