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Your World Today

First Woman Space Tourist; Pope's Comments Sparks Widespread Muslim Protest; U.N. Anti-Drug Chief: Opium Industry Must be Destroyed; Interview with French President Chirac

Aired September 18, 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: A giant liftoff for women and space tourism, and a childhood dream come true.
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Apology or not, Pope Benedict's comments on Islam live on in protests and rallies around the world.

CLANCY: Technology saves lives and solves crimes. But escaping a kidnapper's dungeon has probably never been done this way before.

GORANI: And as world leaders prepare to take up the Iran nuclear dispute, French Jacques Chirac urges a softer approach to Tehran.

CLANCY: Hello, everyone. And welcome to our report broadcast around the world.

I'm Jim Clancy.

GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani.

From the International Space Station to Vatican City, to Afghanistan, wherever you are watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: All right. We're going to have all those stories and more in a moment.

But first, as Iran and the U.S. try to find common ground on Earth, one woman is bringing the two together in space.

GORANI: And while she takes women and space travel into a new era, her soon-to-be roommates on the International Space Station are living through some tense moments.

Now Ryan Chilcote has more on the Iranian-born American is fulfilling a lifelong dream and is probably inspiring a lot of new dreamers in the process.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A Russian rocket lifts Anousheh Ansari into space on her way toward fulfilling a childhood dream. With a lucky teddy bear bobbing just over her head, the 40-year-old Ansari achieves a pair of firsts. She's the first person born in Iran to make it into space and she's the first female space tourist. ANOUSHEH ANSARI, SPACE TOURIST: I believe that my journey will make a good example for everyone, especially young people, and especially women and girls around the world that dreams can come true even if you are someone from a country where a lot of opportunities may not be provided to you.

CHILCOTE: Ansari grew up in Iran, fled the revolution with her family, ended up in the United States at age 16 unable to speak English. Within five years she taught herself the language and graduated from college. Two decades later, "Fortune" magazine estimated her worth at $180 million.

She and her husband financed their start-up telecommunications company by maxing out their credit cards and sold it for half a billion dollars. This trip is costing her around $20 million.

She got her chance to go to space sooner than expected when a Japanese tourist scheduled to fly this year was forced to drop out for health reasons. The Iranian-American wants to stay out of politics and hopes to demonstrate there is no reason why Americans and Iranians can't get along. On board the station she will wear both the American Iranian flags on her jumpsuit.

ANSARI: I hope that this shows that the people can be separated from the politics. Because, if you look at it, if you look at Iranians interacting with Americans, sometimes inside Iran, sometimes outside Iran, in most cases what I have seen is always a pleasant experience.

CHILCOTE: She'll do experiments on her 11-day journey, take lots of pictures, and, she hopes, become the first space blogger. Most of all, though, she is fulfilling her own dream borne as she gazed at the stars from the balcony of her childhood home in northeastern Iran of going to space.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHILCOTE: Ansari and two professional astronauts from the United States and Russia have now been in space for a little under 12 hours as they ascend up to the International Space Station. They've still got about 48 hours to go.

When they get there, they will spend about eight days with the crew that has been up ther for six months. That crew will then hand off -- hand over to the incoming crew, and the crew that was up there will come back to Earth with Ansari, in a trip that back promises to be much faster than the ride up -- Hala.

GORANI: All right. Well, it's all positive, but it's not like hopping on a bus, is it, Ryan? I mean, there are some risks involved, and there were some tense moments during the blastoff period there in Kazakhstan.

Tell us about those.

CHILCOTE: Sure. There was a false alarm earlier today. The astronauts thought they might have a fire on board.

Effectively, they smelled what they thought was a toxic odor and saw what they thought was smoke. As they were turning on a Russian machine on the station, it turned out the smoke was actually a vapor.

There's a Russian machine on board that turns water into oxygen. It basically separates the hydrogen, gets rid of the hydrogen, and pumps oxygen into the station.

Well, that system was leaking potassium hydroxide. The crew knew that that was a slightly toxic material, but they had already donned their masks and their gloves on at that point. They effectively caught it in a bag.

And so, Russian and NASA officials say that that is a crisis averted, and that the International Space Station, basically that big space hotel up there, is still ready to receive its next group of visitors -- Hala.

GORANI: All right. Including Ansari, despite the scares on the International Space Station.

Ryan Chilcote reporting from Moscow.

Thanks, Ryan -- Jim.

CLANCY: Well, the big story back down on Earth, from Iraq to Indonesia, Muslim communities around the world remain incensed over Pope Benedict XVI's recent remarks about Islam. Despite some conciliatory words that have been coming from the pontiff, in Iraq's southern city of Basra demonstrators chanted slogans and burned him in effigy. One Iraqi cleric called for the pope to be tried in an international court.

An al Qaeda-affiliated group warned the pope and the west, we're doomed in that, in the end, people would be faced with either converting to Islam or dying by the sword. Now, that was the most extreme response seen thus far.

In Jakarta, Indonesia, demonstrators rallied outside the Vatican embassy.

Now, the pope said on Sunday he is deeply sorry for reaction to comments he made last week, when he quoted a 14th century emperor during a debate critical of Islam. But his words have failed to quell the fury.

GORANI: Well, some Muslim leaders are demanding a fuller and more outright apology from the pontiff. Others say they are puzzled by his remarks.

In Iran, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, condemned the comments and said it would spark more mistrust.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI, IRAN SUPREME LEADER (through translator): What has concerned me is that as a result of such remarks, Muslims and Christians will be become more pessimistic towards each other. It makes Muslim and Christian nations spiteful towards each other.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISMAIL HANIYA, PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We find the pope's declaration strange. We assume that he is someone with more information about the thoughts, behavior, history and culture of Islam. And we are still uniting our voices with the millions of Islamic nation sons about the necessity of an apology to Islam and Muslims.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMED HABIB, MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD DEPUTY LEADER (through translator): I consider the statements that were said by the Vatican pope yesterday was a kind of regression and quite a good step in the right direction. But it does not reach the level of an apology. And it left a lot of confusion and ambiguity for many Muslims. We need him to present a clear and frank apology.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: The uproar is the most serious controversy since February. Now, that's when the opinionly case of cartoons depicting the prophet sparked much anger. This, however, was about a theological debate.

The European Commission says the pope's comments should not be taken out of context. The Vatican has already issued several statements expressing regret over the remarks.

We get more now from our bureau chief in Rome, Alessio Vinci.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In an unusual move, the Vatican expressed regret three times in three days for a quote Pope Benedict referred to in a speech. A sign, perhaps, of the Vatican's concern not to jeopardize an already difficult dialogue between Muslims and Christians.

Followers of Islam were outraged last week when the pope quoted a Byzantine emperor who described some of the teachings of Prophet Mohammed as "evil and inhuman."

POPE BENEDICT XVI (through translator): I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the University of Regensburg which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims. VINCI: Benedict said the quote did not reflect his personal thoughts, and Vatican officials explained it was taken out of context. The second highest ranking official at the Vatican, meanwhile, has instructed Vatican ambassadors in Muslim countries to explain the Church's position to political and religious leaders, especially keeping in mind the context of the speech. However, no Vatican official has yet explained why that specific controversial quote was chosen.

Speaking from his summer residence outside Rome on Sunday, the pope said he hoped to appease hearts and clarify the true meaning of the address, an address, by the way, in which he also called on believers of different faiths to open a frank and sincere dialogue.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I find it very sad that religion causes so many problems. I am sorry for Catholicism and for Islam.

VINCI: From Cairo, the Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said it was not a sufficient apology after first saying it was. The pope spoke amid tighter security than usual as both Italian and Vatican officials raised the alert level around Vatican sites.

"There is fear for what is going on," says this local. "The police presence is almost three times heavier than usual."

The pope is due to make a trip to Turkey in late November, his first pilgrimage to a Muslim country. For the time being, Vatican officials say the visit is still on.

Alessio Vinci, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: The Vatican could have a bit of explaining to do on another front. The Vatican is going to be opening all files from secret archives on the papacy of Pius XI. Critics say his successor, Pius XII, did too little in the war to save European Jews from the Holocaust. Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, who later became Pius XII, worked as secretary of Vatican State from 1930 to 1939, dealing with major political issues.

It's expected to take a while for historians, though, to pore through those archives.

GORANI: Now to southern Afghanistan, where four Canadian soldiers were killed as they handed out gifts to children. A suicide bomber on a bicycle detonated his explosives near the NATO troops in Kandahar province. The blast wounded dozens of others, both soldiers and civilians. NATO forces have been deployed in southern Afghanistan to quell a growing Taliban-led insurgency.

CLANCY: The United Nations' anti-drug chief says for NATO to destroy the Taliban it must also destroy the poppy fields that fund their terror activities. Antonio Maria Costa says eradicating the opium industry is crucial to establishing order in Afghanistan. We'll speak to him in a moment from the United Nations.

First, let's listen to our Nic Robertson talking recently with an Afghan minister about the extent of the problem they face.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): On a map he shows me where the growth has gone up most in the south, where the Taliban is strongest. Poppies are worth a staggering $3 billion to this impoverished country.

HABIBULLAH QADERI, AFGHAN MIN. FOR COUNTER NARCOTICS: More than 50 percent of the GDP of Afghanistan.

ROBERTSON (on camera): It's from opium poppies?

QADERI: It's just from opium poppies. It's 50 percent of the GDP of Afghanistan.

ROBERTSON: That's incredible.

QADERI: That's -- certainly. That's not easy to remove all the 50 percent of the economy of this country. This country will collapse in any case.

ROBERTSON: After talking to the minister, I'm realizing the magnitude and the scale of the problem here. It's massive. And despite all their efforts so far, they still haven't caught any of the major drug barons behind the production.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: All right.

Joining us now, Mr. Maria Costa.

I want to thank you so much for being with us.

There we heard a brief overview of what Afghanistan faces. In the larger context, how do drugs threaten the very survival of that country?

ANTONIO MARIA COSTA, U.N. OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME: Well, it has become a national problem. The biggest problem in conjunction with, of course, the insurgency.

The minister just said that about half of the national product comes from the illegal activity of opium cultivation and trafficking. That's correct. Opium is the largest exporter, it's the largest employer, it's the largest form of investment. But it is the result of corruption. It's the result of violence.

It's the result of a system which is not ruled by the rule of law, but it's ruled by the rule of the bullet, the rule of bribe. There is a tremendous amount of work for everybody to do in Afghanistan to solve it.

CLANCY: Now, we heard there in that brief discussion that no one, not a single major drug baron, if you want to call them that, has been brought to book for their activities here. That seems impossible to believe.

You talk about a rule of the bullet. Who's controlling it?

COSTA: Well, there are clans. There are ethnic-based clans. There are warlords. There are even politicians, where they're in regional administration, provincial administrations, and so forth.

We have credited a very small but very effective judicial system, the beginning of. We have trained investigators, we have constructed court facilities, we have constructed prisons, a maximum security prison with 100 beds was just inaugurated. We urge the government to start arresting people.

Now, we need a commitment by the government to do that. And for the time being, I have not seen it.

CLANCY: But you have -- as you noted, you admitted yourself, you have warlords there. I mean, it would take an army to arrest one of these guys. They are people that have been at odds, they undermine the government's authority in a lot of areas.

What can you do about it? How can the international community address this?

COSTA: Well, we have to separate the problem of the southern part of Afghanistan, where insurgency is dominant. The parts of the country have just been lost to the control of the government. That's why I pleaded on NATO to assist the national army to destroy the labs, to intercept the convoys, to establish order. Not only fighting insurgency, but also in fighting (INAUDIBLE).

In the rest of the country, the problem is more due to corruption, due to warlord (INAUDIBLE), due to the presence of entities which do not really respond to the commitment of President Karzai. There, as well, we need a different type of assistance, an assistance which goes into helping arresting these people, arresting the ministers, the members of the government who are involved in -- or somehow facilitate through corruption.

So, there is a lot of work to be done also by the Afghanistan government. That way, there is no insurgency.

CLANCY: Antonio Maria Costa, there's no doubt people know who these people are. Why not publish a list to the United Nations? Publish a list of who's behind this and then proceed with whatever sanctions, whatever action they can take there, instead of punishing the farmers.

COSTA: Well, you are very right. There are different problems.

There is the problem with the farmers. That is a development (INAUDIBLE). We need the instrument of development to help them, convince them to move out of illegal activities. And then there is the problem of the trafficking, the problem of those who benefit the most.

You seem to have read my mind because I am on the verge of proposing to do exactly what you suggested; namely, to establish an international list of people who are criminals because they are threatening the Afghanistan country itself, and they are criminals because of the trafficking abroad. They fund terrorism and they reach deep into the addictions in western Europe, in North America, causing about 100,000 deaths a year. So, it's a very gigantic problem which has to be met through that sort of list which you mentioned.

CLANCY: All right. It may be time for a list of shame to single out those responsible for something that threatens to spread terror and retard the growth, the development of the state of Afghanistan.

Antonio Maria Costa, I want to thank you very much for joining us.

COSTA: Thank you very much.

GORANI: We're going to take a short break on YOUR WORLD TODAY.

When we return, a kidnapping ordeal ends in South Carolina. The young victim is alive and well thanks to a cell phone.

CLANCY: An amazing story. We'll have more on that.

Also coming up on YOUR WORLD TODAY, one on one with Jacques Chirac. The French president speaking candidly about the war in Iraq and Iran.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Welcome back. You're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY, where we bring CNN's viewers around the globe a international perspective on the day's top stories.

Well, in the U.S. state of South Carolina, a young kidnapped victim is recovering at home after having been held captive in an underground bunker for 10 days. The 14-year-old girl led police to her location. She saved herself, essentially. She led them to her and her abductor by sending a text message to her mother from a cell phone.

Correspondent Drew Griffin joins us now with details.

Hi, Drew.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Hala.

This man, this 36-year-old construction worker -- his name is Vinson Filyaw -- is here in Camden, South Carolina, in jail, awaiting charges. Five felony counts, including kidnap and rape. He held this girl, after kidnapping her from a school bus stop walking home from school, for 10 days in this underground bunker. Law enforcement officials say he dug this out himself, eight feet deep, 20 feet long. And this is where 14-year-old Elizabeth Shoaf has been held up for 10 days until she got that cell phone message out.

Here's the sheriff describing just how she was living in that time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF STEVE MCCASKILL, KERSHAW COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA: Just from what we've been able to gather, she was just living in this hole, in this bunker in the ground. Sleeping there on a little makeshift cot, or bed that Filyaw had made down there, and of course he was feeding her. He had food stuff (ph) that he was feeding her.

QUESTION: Was she left alone there for extended periods?

MCCASKILL: I'm not -- we don't know that yet. Like I say, we haven't pressed her on too many of the facts yet. We're just trying to let her, you know, get over some of this trauma.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: On Friday night, when her captor fell asleep, that's when this 14-year-old grabbed the cell phone and immediately sent a text message to her mother, telling her that she's OK, telling her she was underground, and telling her in general terms, Hala, where she was.

Police were then able to use a triangulation technique on that cell phone signal, basically lining up between three cell phone towers and narrowing in an area in rural South Carolina where she was. They went in with search parties and they found her alone in that bunker. She would not come out of that bunker because she felt it was booby- trapped.

A day later, they found the suspect running away, down a highway in camouflage, trying to get away. So he is in prison, also -- in jail, I should say -- also an accomplice in jail. But she is home and trying to recover from this traumatic ordeal.

GORANI: Yes. Well, well done on her part there to have that presence of spirit to send that text message. But some are criticizing the police, saying essentially it's because the girl was able to get a hold of a mobile phone that she was able to lead them to her, that there was no nationwide Amber Alert issued, and that kind of thing.

How they are responding to that type of criticism?

GRIFFIN: Well, this was intense manhunt situation in this area, Hala. They had plenty of word out in the local news media. Certainly everybody in town knew what was happening, saw the posters of this missing girl for 10 days. In fact, on Friday night, there was this big vigil being planned, and her parents were heading to that vigil.

The fact that she was found just a mile from her house kind of makes that whole argument null and void. National press would not have done very much to find this girl, who was only a mile away from her home.

So, I think there is some criticism, but perhaps unfounded, given the conditions here. The sheriff said, "If we had a national alert, it wouldn't have made any difference."

GORANI: Drew Griffin, thanks very much.

CLANCY: Well, coming up on YOUR WORLD TODAY, French president Jacques Chirac tells CNN of his current policies on Iran and Iraq.

GORANI: And the political geometry in the Sunni Triangle as tribal leaders unite against the insurgency there.

This is CNN. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins at the CNN Center in Atlanta.

More of YOUR WORLD TODAY in just a few minutes. But first, a check on stories making headlines in the United States.

Still no luck in the desperate search for this kidnapped baby in Missouri. The newborn snatched from the family's home on Friday. A composite sketch of the suspect was just released -- you see it there.

The baby's mother says the woman attacked her with a knife and ran off with the little girl. Right now, police still tracking down leads.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF GARY TOELKE, FRANKLIN COUNTY, MISSOURI: As we've said prior, it's an open investigation right now. Nobody is ruled out. We're, you know, investigating any lead that comes in, any possibility. There's no concrete lead that we are following right now that says this is what happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The U.S. Capitol back in business this hour after a morning security scare. An armed man crashed his SUV into a barricade then ran into the building. The complex went on lockdown until he was in cuffs. A federal officer tells CNN the man appeared mentally distraught and possibly on drugs.

The stuff of nightmares for both parents and children. A 14- year-old girl imprisoned in this underground bunker for 10 days. She was able to use her captor's cell phone to text message her mom. Police then tracked down the signal to rescue her. A 36-year-old South Carolina man now in custody charged with her kidnapping and rape. A short time ago, the sheriff overseeing the investigation described how the abduction went down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCASKILL: He was waiting near the bus stop, when all -- when the kids got off of the bus stop, and went up Leading Tree Road (ph). Of course, for whatever reason, she was the last one that was walking on the road, and he was able to lure her, abduct her and lure her away under the ruse of being with the Kershaw County Sheriff's Department.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: President Bush in New York now for three days of international diplomacy at the U.N. The president will address the General Assembly tomorrow. Look for the speech to focus on Middle East tensions and Iran's nuclear ambitions.

The president also plans side meetings with world leaders. On that list, the president of Iraq and the Palestinian Authority.

Today, the president and Mrs. Bush are attending a global literacy conference.

A program note. President Bush will talk one on one with our Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM." You can see that Wednesday night at 7:00 Eastern only on CNN.

A 60,000-acre wildfire burning in southern California today in the Los Padres National Forest. It may not look like it, but crews are actually getting a break. The Santa Ana winds aren't as fierce today.

On Sunday, high winds spread the flames, doubling the size of that fire. But today, cool, moist winds have turned the blaze back on itself. It's about 15 percent contained.

We head over to Reynolds Wolf now in the weather center -- Reynolds.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: New details this hour about the nationwide E. coli outbreak. The FDA just announced tampering is not suspected. Health experts still baffled, though, about the source of the outbreak. In the meantime, the FDA advises don't buy or eat any fresh spinach product. If it is in your fridge, throw it out. Also, the government is now saying spring mix bagged lettuce, under the brand names Farmer's Market, Hy Vee and Fresh & Easy, should also be tossed. The E. coli outbreak now affecting people in 19 states. So far, 109 people have gotten sick. The outbreak is blamed for one death in Wisconsin, and a second death is now under investigation.

How safe is our food? That question today, when "NEWSROOM" returns at 1:00 Eastern. Kyra Phillips has the news you need all afternoon. I'm Heidi Collins.

YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: All right, welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN. I'm Hala Gorani.

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

In orbit. Anousheh Ansari is the first female civilian, first female Muslim and first native of Iran. The American businesswoman says she wants to be an example for women, and an ambassador for private investment and space flight. Ansari not only spent millions on this adventure, she's invested millions in technology and in space exploration.

GORANI: Well, new protests in Indonesia demonstrate ongoing Muslim anger over Pope Benedict XVI's controversial comments last week. The pope said he is, quote, "deeply sorry for the reaction to his quotation of a 14th century emperor critical of Islam." Many Muslims say they want a fuller outright apology.

CLANCY: Four Canadian soldiers were killed as they were handing out gifts to children in southern Afghanistan. A suicide bomber on a bicycle detonated his explosives near the NATO troops in Kandahar Province in south.

And still in Afghanistan, the U.N.'s anti-drug chief telling CNN a few minutes ago that he will soon publish a list of warlords, ministers and others profiting from the drug trade in that country. Antonio Maria Costa says the drug trade threatens the stability of Afghanistan and supports the Taliban and the insurgency.

GORANI: Well, Jacques Chirac is speaking out about the nuclear standoff with Iran. The French president is urging the world community not to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council over its nuclear program. Still, Mr. Chirac is calling on Tehran to give up uranium enrichment.

Jim Bittermann sat down with the French president to talk about Iran and other pressing issues like Darfur.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jacques Chirac is a firm believer in the value of multinational institutions, so just as he was about to depart for the opening of the United Nations General Assembly, he set the stag for his speech Tuesday in an interview with CNN.

"For a situation like the massacres that continue to take place in Darfur," Chirac said, "it is only the U.N. that can attempt to solve the problem." And he plans to appeal directly for action in his New York speech. JACQUES CHIRAC, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): I'm on the same wavelength as President Bush in this connection. I would like to make a solemn appeal to all countries, and in particular to the president of Sudan, to accept the mediation of the U.N. In other words, to replace present African forces who cannot stay much longer in (INAUDIBLE) by U.N. forces, perhaps of 20,000 men strong, to try to find a solution to this problem.

BITTERMANN: On other issues, such as the war in Iraq, Chirac has not been on the same wavelength as U.S. President George Bush, but Chirac says that, given the situation in Iraq now, everyone has to work to the same goal.

CHIRAC (through translator): We have to be careful not to let Iraq explode, or not to bring about an explosion in Iraq. We have to be very, very careful to ensure -- and this is something that the prime minister of Iraq wants -- that we ensure that cohesion is maintained throughout the country.

BITTERMANN: Iran's problem of nuclear enrichment is another topic Chirac will be talking about in New York. Just a few days ago, the Iranian president sent a special envoy to Paris. And after meeting with him, Chirac came away believing there was still room for dialogue.

CHIRAC (through translator): I interpreted his words quite positively. I, of course, reported on them to our principle -- in fact, to all our partners.

BITTERMANN (on camera): How far would France be willing to go, in terms of stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons? Sanctions? Military action? How far would you be prepared to go.

CHIRAC (through translator): Well, as you know, I'm always and have always been favorable to a negotiated solution. I would like us to go to the end of that particular road before we decide to go any further in any other direction.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: All right. Well, Jim Bittermann, who interviewed Jacques Chirac, joins us now live from Paris. Jim, a quick question there on Jacques Chirac's potential political ambitions beyond a second term. Will he run again in May of 2007?

BITTERMANN: Well, that remains an open question, Hala. You know, he knocked the pundits right off their perches here back on the 14th of July, when in an interview, he said that he still had not made up his mind whether he was going to run, because basically, a lot of people in France have written him off.

However, again, as I interviewed him before he left for New York, he said exactly the same thing. He said he's right now concentrating on being president, and he'll make up his mind about the campaign when it's necessary. And he indicated that would be sort of the first part of 2007. GORANI: All right. Jim -- very interesting, considering so many people are positioning themselves already before that election takes place in just a few months, really. Jim Bittermann in Paris, thanks very much -- Jim.

BITTERMANN: Fascinating interview with the French president. And he's not the only one that's on his way to New York right now. Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela also on their way. The two men, though, took time out to form an alliance in Venezuela here over the weekend. Now, Mr. Ahmadinejad met with President Hugo Chavez in Caracas. The two leaders signed a series of bilateral deals, all coming ahead of this week's -- U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York.

Venezuela, interestingly, is trying to win a seat on the Security Council, and that is something that Washington opposes. Hugo Chavez says he has the votes. Perhaps Iran will be one of them.

GORANI: Yet another deadly beginning to another week in Iraq. At least eight people were killed in bombings and shootings in Baquba, northeast of Baghdad. A Shia family was among those targeted.

Now, west of Baghdad in Ramadi, a suicide bomber targeted a police station, killing two police officers and wounding 26 Iraqi security forces. The violence comes even as Iraqi security forces prepare to tighten security ahead of the holy month of are Ramadan.

CLANCY: In Iraq, there are many powerful forces -- religious, ethnic and tribal. They're influence and importance can not be overlooked. Observers are pointing to an announcement by more than two dozen tribes who say that they're uniting against al Qaeda and other insurgents in their country. Let's get some more on this development.

Michael Ware joins us now live from Baghdad.

Michael, how significant is all of this?

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, this is one of the key planks to the American success here and exit strategies, is finding elements within Iraqi society to empower and allow them to create the state that would at least be neutral to, if not aligned to the United States. The tribes are one of them.

What we saw today is an announcement by 20 sub-tribes in Al Anbar province around Ramadi. This is not significant, but it's notable. We had seen this ongoing for the last 18 months to two years. Even during the days of Fallujah, where al Qaeda and the insurgency controlled the city before the Marine invasion, November 2004. There was a lot of factional fighting between al Qaeda, the local tribes and the local insurgency. They're not a happy family.

American forces in Ramadi have been trying to empower some of these sub-tribes. Limited success, but certainly not overall success. This announcement today is just a reflection of that, as is today's suicide bombing on the Hariya (ph) police station, just like the bombing on the Jazeera police station two or three weeks ago. This is a direct attack on the sub-tribes who are attempting to help the Americans in Ramadi -- Jim.

CLANCY: All right, they're attempting to help the Americans. They've been asking for arms from the Iraqi government, from the Americans, from the Americans, whoever. What kind of risks do these tribal leaders take? And are they getting mixed signals in return?

WARE: Well, what we saw is back in January, for example, many of the local tribes and many of the local insurgent groups urged their youth to join the police force as a hedge against what they say as pro-Iranian power in Baghdad. Zarqawi's al Qaeda opposed this move, so sent in (INAUDIBLE) suicide bomber to the recruitment day, killing dozens. There was a wave of assassinations of several tribal sheikhs.

We've seen a similar cycle recently, because of, again, renewed police recruitment in Ramadi. So the risks are great, but they're getting mixed signals from Americans. American commanders on the ground attempt to empower these tribes in Ramadi, yet in Baghdad they see America installing a pro-Iranian government as they see it. So they're saying, well, we have no choice. On the ground, you're doing one thing, but in Baghdad you do another; you're hurting us toward al Qaeda -- Jim.

CLANCY: Michael, very quickly, what role -- the Baathists, we don't hear about them. What role do they have right now then?

WARE: This is a parallel track, Jim, with the tribes. When we talk about the tribes, often we're talking about the Baathist. American military intelligence has been in secret negotiations with the Baathists for 18 months on this very point, trying to drive a wedge between them and al Qaeda, just like they're trying to do with the tribes. There's similar lack of success, in that the Baathists are now saying, you've left us very little choice, and there also gravitating toward al Qaeda -- Jim.

CLANCY: All right, Michael Ware, talking to us there live from Baghdad. As always, Michael, thank you.

GORANI: A lot more ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY. Stay with us.

CLANCY: The new world of fashion in Spain. Being too thin definitely not in.

GORANI: Several models know that all too well, as they step on the scales.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Hello and welcome back, everyone. Seen live in more than 200 countries all across the globe, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY, right here on CNN International.

Well, let's go to Africa now, where a presidential adviser says Sudan is expected to extend the mandate of an African Union peacekeeping mission in the Darfur region. African foreign ministers held a meeting ahead of the U.N. General Assembly session. While the Security Council is advocating a United Nations peacekeeping force, Khartoum is deploying its own troops. The current African Union mandate expires at the end of this month.

GORANI: In London, the trial of seven men accused of plotting a bombing campaign in Britain continues. Authorities say they planned to use fertilizer-based bombs to attack pubs, clubs, trains, a shopping center, as well as synagogues they're in the U.K.

Paula Newton joins us now live with details on the trial -- Paula.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And hello, Hala.

You know, this is a very closely watched case, not just here in Britain, but internationally. It does have several international links so far. Prosecutors here allege that this is really one of the first cases of what they've come to term as homegrown terror.

But what happened in the court today, Hala, it only took a few minutes, but it caught everyone by surprise.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the seven accused arrived for another day of testimony, there was no hint of the dramatic turn this case would take. Twenty-four-year-old Omar Khyam abruptly announced to the court and his own legal team that he would no longer cooperate with his own defense.

At issue, testimony he's given in recent days detailing his militant training in Pakistan, and the fact that some of his family members work for the ISI, or, the Pakistani Secret Service. After refusing to answer questions, Khyam announced in court, "The ISI in Pakistan has had words with my family relating to what I have been saying about them. I think they are worried I might reveal more about them. So right now, as much as I want to clarify matters, the priority for me has to be the safety of my family."

And with that, the alleged ringleader of the fertilizer bomb plot put a sudden end to his own defense. Khyam did not allege specific threats to his family. His defense team, stunned, asked for some team to regroup.

This complicates an already difficult trial that prosecutors believe has shed considerable light on how and why some of the young British defendants felt the need to defend what Khyam describes as the Islamic cause.

The seven codefendants were arrested in March 2004 for alleged conspiring to blow up several targets in Britain, including a shopping mall, a nightclub and water and electrical plants.

A cornerstone of the prosecution's case, surveillance tapes, including this CCTV image of Khyam allegedly checking on 600 kilograms of fertilizer left in a storage container. Khyam was due to answer questions about the fertilizer before he announced his new approach to his case.

(on camera): Khyam left the impression that he was sacrificing his own defense in order to protect his family, but, Hala, what's going on here, prosecutors say, is that they may be deprived of key evidence, because he will no longer give that testimony in court -- Hala.

GORANI: All right, Paula Newton in London, thanks very much, covering that trial.

CLANCY: We're going to take a short break. When we come back, weighing in, before hitting the catwalk.

GORANI: But these models want to tip the scales. Just a little bit, not too much.

CLANCY: We going to have an update on Madrid's skinny model ban coming up.

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CLANCY: All right. Now onwards and upwards, outwards to a story that has created a lot of buzz, baddabing, in the world of high fashion.

GORANI: All right. Spanish fashionistas are following through and enforcing a ban on models who don't have enough meat on their bones.

CLANCY: Madrid bureau chief Al Goodman is there telling us how many did not make it make it onto the Fashion Week catwalk this year. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AL GOODMAN, CNN MADRID BUREAU CHIEF: Svelte is part of the job description. Fashion models are expected to be thin, better to show off the lines and style of the clothes they wear down the catwalk.

Thin, but not too thin, at least in Spain. Not since Madrid rocked the fashion world by banning the thinnest models, using a formula based on height and weight, and enforcing the new rule with the same kind of weigh-in used for jockeys and boxers.

DENISE MORENO, MODEL: It wasn't very pleasant, having us to go one by one to get weighed and stuff. We were pretty nervous.

GOODMAN: Denise Moreno not only made the weight cut Saturday, she flaunted it by having breakfast before the opening catwalk. After four years modelling in Madrid, Milan and Paris, she worried her small bones might disqualify her under Spain's new rules. So she brought proof that, though she's lightweight, she's a healthy lightweight.

GOODMAN (on camera): You brought your blood test?

MORENO: Yes, in case, you know, they were like, oh you don't have enough weight, I would be like, well look at my blood test, you know.

GOODMAN: But the Madrid organizers didn't require the blood test, just the right look, tall, thin, beautiful and healthy. Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, one of Spain's best known designers applauds the move.

AGATHA RUIZ DE LA PRADA, SPANISH DESIGNER: A lot of women are not so thin, so we are interested in being -- that the fashion is a little bit fatter, not a lot fatter, but a little bit.

GOODMAN (voice-over): Changing the rules of Fashion Week is a step by step process, and the bigger catwalks in London, Milan and Paris, while taking note of Madrid, have not yet followed suit.

(on camera): On Saturday, 68 models weighed in, trying to participate in Madrid's catwalk, but five were rejected for being too skinny.

(voice-over): That caused major problems for some designers.

ANTONIO PERNAS, SPANISH DESIGNER: I had done my casting and included models who didn't make the weight cut or didn't want to submit to the test, which was pretty tough.

GOODMAN: And the weight and height formula, known as body mass index, was all that anyone was talking about here.

CLARA MAS, SPANISH MODEL: It's like a broken record. The media has forgotten about fashion and the typical questions about what you are wearing for the next season.

GOODMAN: But it clearly was a fashion backstage scene in Madrid, right down to fashion dogs. Call them groupies or mascots, maybe, on the catwalk, the only stars were these models in the clothes.

Madrid, making a name for itself in the fashion world, where it's often hard to be heard.

Al Goodman, CNN Madrid.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: All right, there's the fashion update.

Time for an Olympic update. You remember the last Olympics, the Greeks barely finished the stadium, I mean, it was days before the Olympics were to open, two years ago that they got it done.

GORANI: Right. But it's a different story in China, apparently. Organizers of the 2008 Beijing games say they've already finished construction of the main part of the city's -- there it is. Wow, futuristic looking. CLANCY: Wow.

GORANI: It think it's fair to say.

CLANCY: Look at those aerials. Thousands of girders. The news media in China dubbed this "The Bird's Nest". That's a huge, huge stadium.

GORANI: Yes, 91,000 seats. Can you see anything when you are right at the top there on the last bleacher?

CLANCY: I think you'd have to be inside to tell. But, yes, I think you should be able to. I mean, it's an interesting design, no doubt about it. And obviously it's going to be ready. But, you know, I don't think it's going to look like this. I think there's going to be a lot of fabric over it, whatever.

GORANI: Cover over it, absolutely. Anyway, that's it for this hour. Thanks for watching YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Hala Gorani.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy and this is CNN.

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