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Your World Today
An Immigrant's Tale: From Mexico to New York City; Tsvangirai Threat to Mugabe Government; Brewing Brouhaha in Beijing; Viacom Suing YouTube
Aired March 13, 2007 - 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: Living the American dream. Illegally. Immigrants and their impact are on the agenda as the U.S. and Mexican president sit down to business.
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Clash over copyrights. Viacom sues the popular Internet site YouTube, claiming its success is built on stealing the work of others.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can still tell it is a Starbucks. And when you tour around the Forbidden City, you see hundreds of cups with a big Starbucks logo on it, you know, all around.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: Steamed over Starbucks. A growing number of Chinese want the U.S. coffee giant forbidden in the historic heart of Beijing.
CHURCH: And for this Middle Eastern bride, it's a wedding with no return. Why saying her vows means saying good-bye to her family.
It's 10:00 a.m. in Mareda, Mexico, midnight in Beijing.
Hello and welcome to our report broadcast around the globe.
I'm Rosemary Church.
CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy.
From New York, to Damascus, to Jerusalem, wherever you are watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
CHURCH: Hello there.
Well, U.S. President George W. Bush has his work cut out for him on the last stop of his Latin American tour.
CLANCY: Mr. Bush really has to convince Mexico he's committed to soothing their strained relations.
CHURCH: That's right. But his failure to come through with some key promises is standing in the way.
CLANCY: Now, Mr. Bush has just arrived in a remote hacienda outside the southern Mexican town of Merida for a meeting with the Mexican president, Felipe Calderon.
CHURCH: He's also scheduled to visit the site of some Mayan ruins. Many in Mexico are disillusioned with President Bush and are protesting his visit there.
CLANCY: Now, President Bush has failed to pass a comprehensive immigration plan. Instead, he signed a law to build an 1,100- kilometer wall or fence around the border. And that is a thorny issue in Mexico.
CNN's Soledad O'Brien joins us now live from Merida. She has more on that -- Soledad.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, you're absolutely right about that.
Family members send some $22 billion across the border from the United States into Mexico. That's the official figure. That's not even counting the money that's spent -- sent, rather, under the table. So you can imagine when they hear news about a wall, people are concerned about what that could mean financially for them back for them in Mexico.
This morning we introduced you to a man who's been living illegally in the United States for 10 years. And we'll show you how all the money he's making in the U.S. is making a big impact in his village in Mexico.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN (voice over): For Miguel, this is his American dream.
(on camera): Is your business pretty successful?
MIGUEL, IMMIGRANT: Thank god, yes.
O'BRIEN (voice over): His flower shop is thriving, but Miguel thinks he would be doing even better if he were living here legally. Miguel crossed the border into the U.S. 10 years ago.
MIGUEL: It's really, really, really scary, but it happened.
O'BRIEN: Miguel's wife and their two children live with him in New York. The children were born in the states and are American citizens. Miguel is reluctant to show their faces or give his last name.
(on camera): You pay rent?
MIGUEL: Yes.
O'BRIEN: You own a business?
MIGUEL: Yes.
O'BRIEN: You pay taxes? MIGUEL: Yes.
O'BRIEN: All those things. People might think a surprise to have no documents.
MIGUEL: When you need to open a business you have to call the IRS, and give you -- they give you a number.
O'BRIEN (voice over): Miguel grew up in Oshacopan (ph), a two and a half hour drive outside of Mexico City. Locals say nearly half the town has left for jobs in the states after the textile mills here closed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There are no jobs here.
O'BRIEN: Miguel's father, Julio, works construction, but it's not enough. Every week Miguel sends $200 or so back home. His two brothers and sisters, also living illegally in the United States, help, too.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I feel proud about building the house because my kids' sacrifice had a purpose.
O'BRIEN: The money they've made in the U.S. is improving life here in Mexico. The two-room house Miguel grew up in now has rooms for everyone. But there's a good chance Miguel will never come back, and his mother, Margarita, has never seen her grandchildren.
MARGARITA, MIGUEL'S MOTHER (through translator): A mother needs her kids around. I miss them. It's been difficult.
O'BRIEN: Back in New York, Miguel says he'd like to be legal, own a bigger shop, hire more people.
(on camera): What do you think about this country?
MIGUEL: I think it's great. It's very -- it's very good. Just the only thing to immigrants, illegal immigrants, they give us a lot of -- like, they hate us, because they think that we just come to take and not to give.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Ironically, that wall and all the hoopla around it has actually made it for difficult for illegal immigrants to go back across the border and then come back to the United States. So, what you are finding is that illegal are staying in the United States instead of returning home.
It is a fascinating turn. And, of course, sure to be a topic conversation as the two presidents sit down with their conversations today -- Jim.
CLANCY: A huge issue in the United States. It's estimated that 85 percent of all illegal workers in the U.S. come from Mexico. But for the people, Mexicans, whether they're there in Mexico City with you, or across the border in the United States, are they really looking for an answer to come out of these talks today?
O'BRIEN: No, absolutely not. You know what they are looking for? Is an answer to come out of their brand new president.
You'll remember, he only scooched by with a little tiny percentage. So he doesn't exactly have a mandate. And he's got a lot of obstacles ahead of him as well.
So he's got to figure out actually how to get jobs, how to get opportunity, how to get foreign investment, how to get wages up here. And that's what the people here in Mexico would like to see, see what their president is going to do.
Whatever comes out of the meetings today, not one person I've spoken to thinks that there's going to be something concrete that will change their lives any time soon -- Jim.
CLANCY: Soledad, thank you very much.
Soledad O'Brien, live in Mexico City.
CHURCH: All right.
Well, Iraq's Shiite prime minister is in the heartland of the Sunni insurgency this hour. Nuri al-Maliki is on an unannounced visit to Ramadi, the capital of the volatile western Anbar Province. He's meeting with local government officials and Iraqi and U.S. security forces.
Mr. al-Maliki is also meeting with Sunni tribal leaders. They're credited with helping in the fight against al Qaeda in Iraq militants.
Well, meanwhile, Iraqi president Jalal Talabani will return to Iraq on Wednesday after more than two weeks in a Jordanian hospital. A statement from his office said he's made a full recovery -- Jim.
CLANCY: Now, Zimbabwe's most prominent opposition leader, as well as some other activists, injured, in police custody, have reportedly been taken to the hospital after a brief appearance in a courtroom. Morgan Tsvangirai walking into the courtroom in Harare with a large gash on his head and a swollen face.
He told reporters that he and other activists suffered terrible treatment, in his words, after police broke up their prayer rally, which the government says was an anti-government meeting held on Sunday. A lawyer for the activist says the state intends to charge all of them with incitement to violence.
Tsvangirai has been in a lot of trouble in recent years because he's been such a threat to the Mugabe government.
Jonathan Mann joins us now with some insight on that -- Jonathan.
JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Morgan Tsvangirai is not exactly an household name in most of the world, but he is the most important opposition figure in Zimbabwe right now, and may be the most important dissident in all of Africa. Tsvangirai has been arrested, attacked, accused by the government for years while campaigning for the development of real democracy in his country, and going after President Robert Mugabe in a way that few people dare to.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN TSVANGIRAI, OPPOSITION FIGURE: Mugabe has now been exposed as a violent, illegitimate dictator, with no absolute pretense to any semblance of civil mass (ph) support. He continues to shamelessly hang on to power through brute force.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: Tsvangirai began as a mine worker and union leader who went on to become secretary general of the pro government Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions. But he and the unions took on Mugabe and his regime back in 1997 with anti-government strikes against proposed tax increases.
In 1999, he founded a party, the Movement for Democratic Change, to take on the government at the ballot box. He was also a leader of the opposition to a referendum in the year 2000. President Mugabe wanted more sweeping powers, but in a surprise setback, he was actually defeated.
Just a few weeks later, another surprise. Tsvangirai led his party, the Movement for Democratic Change, to what was a very close near-win in national elections. The strongest opposition result ever in Zimbabwe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TSVANGIRAI: Change is in the offing. Anybody who believes that the future destiny of this country lies on Robert Mugabe must have his head examined.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: That may have been the high watermark. There have been setback after setback ever since.
Tsvangirai was charged with treason not just once, but in the year 2000, again in 2002, and again in 2003. He's also been the subject of three reported assassination attempts.
The Movement for Democratic Change has also faltered with a poor showing in elections in 2005, and even a split in the party organized by Tsvangirai's critics within the party. But the most severe problem for the party's supporters was of an entirely different magnitude, a mass eviction of hundreds of thousands of people in what was called a national slum clearance campaign.
Now, Tsvangirai counts on the urban poor for their support. And suddenly, they were displaced from cities across the country. While acknowledging the pressures, Tsvangirai has not been backing down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TSVANGIRAI: The (INAUDIBLE). And of course the regime wants you to give up. We live under the shadow of criminal states. The dictators hold on to the literal food available. The dictators are giving new jobs to their own cronies. The dictators are (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: Tsvangirai is in trouble once again. By now he must be getting used to it.
Back to you.
CHURCH: All right. Thanks so much, John.
We want to check some of the other news we're following this day.
(NEWSBREAK)
CHURCH: Well, there's a brouhaha brewing in Beijing. Some people are steaming about coffee chain Starbucks in the Forbidden City.
CLANCY: Yes. Talk about forbidden, they want a coffee kiosk located, oddly enough, near the Hall of Preserving Harmony to be replaced with a traditional tea house.
John Vause is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In the sprawling grounds of China's Forbidden City, once home to the Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties, one small shop is in the midst of a brewing controversy -- Starbucks, that poster child for American marketing. And a growing number of Chinese want it banished.
"The Forbidden City should preserve its uniqueness," says this woman.
Ever since it opened more than six years ago, Starbucks has been a contentious presence in one of China's most revered historical icons.
DAVID SHAMBAUGH, POLITICAL ANALYST: In some of these symbols of western cultural influence, Starbucks is just the tip of the iceberg. They do rub up against Chinese nationalistic sensibilities. That's what we're seeing. It's that simple.
VAUSE: Earlier this year, the trademark green sign was removed to reduce the store's visibility. Rui Chenggang, an anchor on state- run television, began an online campaign to have the coffee shop closed for good.
RUI CHENGGANG, ANTI-STARBUCKS CAMPAIGNER: You can still tell it is a Starbucks. And when you tour around the Forbidden City, you see hundreds of cups with a big Starbucks logo on it, you know, all around. To me, it spoils the fun.
VAUSE: And now complaints of latte imperialism have reached the National People's Congress, the annual session of parliament. "As long as it stays in the Imperial Palace, it poses a challenge to our traditional culture," says lawmaker Jiang Hongbin (ph), who submitted the motion to Congress to have Starbucks closed.
This is much more than a storm in a coffee cup. With almost 200 stores already in China's big cities, Starbucks is aiming to make this country its largest market. And bad publicity is bad for business.
The company says it's aware of the complaints, but adds, "Many tourists fund our respectful presence a welcome place of rest."
(on camera): Over the years, the rent from stores like Starbucks have helped cover the cost of the upkeep and renovations to the almost 600-year-old Forbidden City. But soon here it could be one Starbucks to go.
John Vause, CNN, in the Forbidden City, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: Oh, and that brings us to our "Question of the Day". And we're asking you this: Should Starbucks be more culturally sensitive, or do you think the Chinese government is just being overly sensitive?
CHURCH: Just e-mail us at yourviews@cnn.com.
CLANCY: Yes. And be sure to include at least your first name and where you are writing from.
All right. What do you think about Starbucks? There you go.
Still ahead, why are YouTube and its parent company being sued for a billion dollars?
CHURCH: Also, a wedding in the Middle East. But after the ceremony, the bride won't be able to return to her parents' home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SYLVESTER STALLONE, ACTOR: I just made a mistake. Custody is just doing their job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: The star of "Rocky" and "Rambo" films has a run-in with the law in Australia. We'll check the rap sheet, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CLANCY: Wow, you know, they didn't light it up very well, Rosemary. I mean, you know, if they wanted to show it on television -- they had a fireworks show and everything else, but that's -- well, it's the Stardust, and it's back to dust, that's for sure.
Well, there were a lot of stars there, too -- Frank Sinatra, the rat pack.
CHURCH: And now, of course, it's just a bunch of dust.
Now, in its day it was considered a big draw, with more than a thousand rooms at discount rates. But it came down to make way for a new $4 billion resort that will be put up in the -- or by the Boyd Gaming Corporation.
CLANCY: Yes.
Just in case you wondered whether all those betting tables were fair, folks, $4 billion for a hotel. All right?
CHURCH: Yes.
CLANCY: They're doing well.
CHURCH: You'll never win.
All right.
CLANCY: We're going to take a short break.
This is YOUR WORLD TODAY, and we're covering the news that a lot of people want to know on the major stories.
CHURCH: That's right.
CLANCY: Giving you some perspective that goes deeper into those.
Viacom suing YouTube and its corporate parent, Google, for alleged copyright infringement. This federal suit seeks more than a billion dollars in damages.
Now, Viacom calls YouTube a for-profit organization and says nearly 160,000 unauthorized programming clips from Viacom networks have been featured on YouTube.
Well, Viacom isn't the first media company to clash with YouTube over copyright infringement. So, is YouTube's success built on stealing the works of others, or is it an exchange of free ideas?
That's a question for Dennis Kneale. He's the managing editor of "Forbes" magazine. He joins us now from New York City.
DENNIS KNEALE, MANAGING EDITOR, "FORBES" MAGAZINE: Hi.
CLANCY: You don't think that Viacom was really taking the right track here in going after this?
KNEALE: Here's the thing. This can be a very serious blow to Google and YouTube, but the notion that Viacom has lost a billion dollars because of YouTube promoting its programs to an even larger audience than they already get, that's simply silly. And what one worries is that Hollywood is going to make the same mistake the music industry made.
The music industry saw online music coming, and they tried to stamp Napster out and they drove it out of business, right? Meanwhile, a quarter of a billion people around the world downloaded software to let them swap music around. You cannot block this wave. You've got to try to surf on this wave.
Look at what i-Tunes did for sales of music. And now Hollywood comes along with Viacom move and it's saying, I don't want my stuff on YouTube. You know what? You don't have a choice.
A hundred million people a day are going to YouTube and looking at stuff. Now, do you want to use that as a promotional platform and take a cut of ads, or do you want to try to go to court and stop it?
You're never going to win. Even if you win in court, people can already go see it.
So, instead, let's negotiate. And the real thing is, the Viacom lawsuit, really, is just an invitation to, pay us more money, pay us a bigger share of the ad revenue you get when people watch our stuff.
CLANCY: Well, you know, people, though are always -- and this is the other side of the story. People are always saying how brilliant these guys at YouTube were, what a brilliant idea to do all of this. But they are not paying for any of it, really.
I mean, they say, oh, it's our users that bring that in here. But some of their users are -- you know, that's why they are popular, because they pick these clips and post them every day. But it is -- they are building their business off somebody else's intellectual property. Never paid a dime for it. Just made the money off it.
KNEALE: Well, you know, and at the same time, some of these very same old media companies are throwing stuff up on YouTube. Comedy Central, owned by Viacom, threw stuff up on YouTube.
NBC did a sketch on "Saturday Night Live" that only a few million people could hear, and they had to bleep it 16 times because they used a dirty word. Then NBC put it up on YouTube. It got seen by 17 million people with no bleeping at all.
So, incumbent media companies, some of them have decided, I'm going to make use of YouTube instead of trying to stamp it out.
You know, I don't think YouTube would have gotten sued at all, right, unless Google bought it. Once Google bought it, then everyone else saw there's bigger pockets there, and now I want to go after them. The question is whether they're going to succeed.
CLANCY: All right. What does Google have to do here? They've got a decision to make.
Obviously, they can go to court, drag this out, it can be, you know, something unpleasant for everybody, especially for the users. Should they go ahead and say, hey, do we owe you a little bit for this and we're going to have to give you something?
KNEALE: You know, Google already -- Google already has signed deals, Google and YouTube, with several different major brands. I think the NBA, NBC, in which they say, hey, when people post clips from your stuff, we'll give you a cut of our ads.
And I think that Google will go to Viacom and say, all right, we'll give you a deal, too. Now, maybe Viacom is going to demand a better deal than everyone else because its been willing to go to court.
I wonder whether Viacom can win in court. You know, yes, there's copyrighted programming rights, but then there's this notion of fair use.
If you take a quick joke from a Jon Stewart "Daily Show" and you throw it up on YouTube, have you really violated the copyright by showing the entire program? Where's the actual financial loss?
I just worry that Hollywood ought to learn to love the Internet, learn to love YouTube, and make use of it, instead of trying to kill it.
CLANCY: All right, Dennis Kneale there, managing editor of "Forbes" magazine.
We'll just have to wait and see if this interview shows up a little bit later on YouTube.
KNEALE: Yes.
CLANCY: Thanks for being with us.
KNEALE: Thanks.
CHURCH: We'll watch out for that.
All right. There's much more ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY.
Coming up, British authorities believe that al Qaeda is targeting the Internet. How serious is that threat?
CLANCY: And the U.S. Joint Chiefs chairman calls homosexuality immoral. What's been the reaction?
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Joint Chiefs Chairman Peter Pace doesn't plan to apologize for calling homosexuality immoral. Next hour in the "NEWSROOM," we will talk with a gay former marine.
Meantime, YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after a quick break. I'm Tony Harris.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Welcome back to our viewers joining us from more than 200 countries around the globe, including the United States.
CLANCY: This is YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Jim Clancy.
CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. And here are some of the top stories we have been following. U.S. President George W. Bush has just arrived at a remote hacienda in Mexico on the final stop of his tour of Latin America. During some brief comments, Mr. Bush told Mexican President Felipe Calderon he would work hard to pass comprehensive immigration reform. Illegal immigration, border security, and drug trafficking are at the top of the agenda.
CLANCY: An important visit. Iraq's prime minister, Nouri al- Maliki coming unannounced to Ramadi on Tuesday, the very heart of the Sunni Triangle, and the Sunni insurgent resistance. Maliki met with tribal leaders, local officials, U.S. and Iraqi troops. Discussions there reported to have centered on security concerns, overcoming the insurgency and rebuilding the battered city of Ramadi.
CHURCH: Zimbabwe's most prominent opposition leader and other activists injured in police custody have been taken to hospital after a brief court appearance. Morgan Tsvangirai had a large gash on his -- and a swollen face as he told reporters that the other activists suffered terrible treatment after police broke up their anti- government prayer meeting on Sunday.
Well, a lawyer for the activists says the state intends to charge them with incitement to violence. But the U.S. government is demanding their immediate release, saying it holds Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe personally responsible for their treatment. Well, let's get more now on this story from Zimbabwe's ambassador to the U.S., Machivenyika Mapuranga.
Thank you so much, sir, for talking with us. The world has been responding to these incredible pictures of Morgan Tsvangirai with his beaten face and head. And now we are hearing from Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. secretary of state, that he should be immediately released, along with others. Will that happen?
MACHIVENYIKA MAPURANGA, ZIMBABWEAN AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: Well, I -- Zimbabwe is a country that lives on the rule of law, and there are laid down procedures for conducting demonstrations and rallies. And I think even here in the United States, one cannot just wake up one morning and organize a demonstration to paralyze Washington, D.C., or what city -- any other city at all.
There are procedures which were not followed, and, in fact, the opposition leaders have been always been saying that they will not abide by the laws of Zimbabwe, because they do not believe that this government is legitimate, when, in fact, the government, the last election was certified a free expression and a correct reflection of the will of the people of Zimbabwe by the African Union and by SADC, the regional organization.
Now, I do not really have the facts on the extent of the alleged mistreatment of these opposition leaders, but what I have appears to suggest that it's nowhere near what we have been shown about Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo.
CHURCH: With all respect, sir, the rule of law you mentioned there, does that include torture and beating of those who were engaging in what was a prayer meeting?
MAPURANGA: Oh, Zimbabwe is against torture, and, in fact, Zimbabwe is signatory to all of the -- to the U.N. treaties and other instruments against torture, and we do not believe that they were tortured at all. You see, the MDC leadership is a violent leadership. I think if you have been following the situation in Zimbabwe, you will recall that Mr. Tsvangirai's deputy for a long time, Mr. Gibson Sibanda, and the secretary-general of that party, Professor Welshman Ncube, have all been saying that Mr. Tsvangirai is a very violent man. And I would not be surprised if he was actually resisting arrest, or inflicting violence on the police officers.
CHURCH: Sir, that is how you explain the injuries that we're seeing on Morgan Tsvangirai, is him basically responding to force from the police?
MAPURANGA: Well, I don't know the exact circumstances...
CHURCH: Why don't you know the exact circumstances, sir?
MAPURANGA: Well, because I've not received a report from the police. But the point, really, that I'm trying to put across, is that his closest allies, his closest colleagues for many years, since the party was formed in 1999 have said that he's a very violent man.
CHURCH: What will he be charged with, sir?
MAPURANGA: Well, he will be charged with participating in an illegal rally or demonstration, because, as you know, we have a law, the Public Order and Security Act, and I suspect that he will be charged under that law.
CHURCH: He has vowed to continue to topple Robert Mugabe. What will that mean for his future there?
MAPURANGA: Well, you have just said it yourself. This is not a man who believes in peaceful protest, and lawful protest. He -- you say that he has vowed to topple the government of President Robert Mugabe, and that is true. You will remember that in June 2005, Prime Minister Tony Blair, while addressing the House of Commons, stated that his country's -- his government's policy is that of regime change, and said he was working with the opposition to effect that regime change.
CHURCH: Ambassador, thanks so much for talking with us. Appreciate it.
MAPURANGA: Thank you.
CHURCH: Jim.
CLANCY: All right. Looking at that story, you know, it was the U.S., it was the United Nations, it was the election observers that said it was the government that applied pressure and violence on supporters of Morgan Tsvangirai and his political party after that was done. But being turned around this day on -- as we hear this story go forward.
At the same time, Morgan Tsvangirai's movements had hard time bringing people together. Why? They charge -- and you heard it a little bit earlier there, Morgan Tsvangirai says, the poor people -- they have got inflation of a 1,000 percent, you know, a loaf of bread takes a sack full of money to buy, and the poor people have been put in a position where they have to choose.
If you have a supporter of Morgan Tsvangirai, you get nothing. If you are a supporter of the president, you have some hope of getting some assistance there. And it's a nation on the ropes. I was just there last summer.
CHURCH: That's right.
CLANCY: All right. We have got to go to London now where even as court proceedings continued against six accused would-be bombers who allegedly planned attacks against the city's transport system, word of a new terror plot emerging there. This one though involves a very different type of attack.
We get more now from Paula Newton.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): CNN has confirmed al Qaeda operatives in Britain were targeting this Internet nerve center in London. Telehouse is the largest business of its kind in Europe, home to tens of thousands of servers belonging to the biggest names in business, from Internet service providers to telecoms and banks.
Much of the Internet traffic in and out of Britain passes through here. CNN has learned police seized computers in raids last year showing plans that al Qaeda was casing Telehouse to most likely explode a bomb here.
SANDRA BELL, ROYAL UNITED SERVICES INSTITUTE: Taking out a hub such as this, it would have a massive economic effect. Not just within the U.K., but worldwide. The economic and loss of confidence would be quite devastating.
NEWTON: Security forces tell CNN Telehouse would have been a clever target for al Qaeda. It is the very hub designed to provide essential network backup in case of a terrorist attack. It is also so close to disaster recovery sites where business would relocate in case of an emergency.
An attack here could lead to widespread chaos, power grids, hospitals, businesses and banks and financial centers knocked offline.
(on camera): Just imagine what that could mean. ATMs shut down, e-mail paralyzed. And because of the interdependency of the Internet, the shockwaves could be felt throughout the world.
(voice-over): But Telehouse says Internet systems would recover within hours.
BARNEY BANNINGTON, FINANCIAL DIR., TELEHOUSE EUROPE: The major players have already made provision for that. There is a lot of resilience within our industry. And this type of event has been long anticipated, and planned for.
NEWTON: The company says security is a top priority, al Qaeda is not thought to have been close to executing its plan. Still, Telehouse claims it didn't know about this specific security threat until it was reported in the media. Worrying for security experts who say critical pieces of infrastructure are popping up more and more on al Qaeda hit lists.
CHRISTOPHE BIRKELAND, INTERNET SECURITY EXPERT: The society is becoming so dependent on Internet, on computer networks that are tightly connected, that we will be witness to some serious computer attacks on critical infrastructures. So, we are always trying to catch up with the bad guys, but they do -- are a step ahead.
NEWTON: Some security experts warn al Qaeda now isn't just interested in mass destruction, but mass disruption, too, hitting key pieces of infrastructure like the Internet.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now, we want to stress here that unlike other plots we've heard of, authorities do not believe that this was anywhere close to operational. But cyber terrorist do tell us -- cyber analysts, sorry, do tell us, Jim, that in fact this is exactly the kind of scenario that al Qaeda is looking for -- Jim.
CLANCY: All right. Paula Newton, reporting to us there live from London. Paula, thank you very much. Interesting report.
CHURCH: Certainly. And still ahead, why did actor Sylvester Stallone get a rather "Rocky" reception when he arrived in Australia? We'll tell you why authorities were not amused.
CLANCY: Also, some people in China are steaming over a Starbucks in the Forbidden City. We'll bring you your e-mails on the Starbucks brouhaha.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CLANCY: Hello, everyone. And welcome back. You're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY right here on CNN INTERNATIONAL. CHURCH: And we are seen live in more than 200 countries right across the globe.
CLANCY: All right. We're going to our question of the day. Try to get some of the people's responses. Rosemary, what was the question, first?
CHURCH: All right. Well, it's about the controversy brewing in China. We were telling about that. And we are asking you, should Starbucks be more culturally sensitive or is the Chinese government being overly sensitive?
CLANCY: Now, Rob in China, it doesn't sound like a very Chinese name, thinks the government should be held responsible. He says: "Blaming Starbucks for insensitivity is taking responsibility away from those government officials that made the initial decision."
CHURCH: Now Xumei Tang (ph), also in China, says: "It's a big story in China, but it's not about Starbucks anymore, it's about America invading China."
CLANCY: All right. We have to take her down to Wal-Mart to see all of the Chinese goods on sale. Kim in Singapore believes the issue has to do with money, and says: "Besides it being sacrilegious, China is rich enough not to depend on that rent from the Starbucks coffeehouse." Probably a good point.
CHURCH: And Oge in Nigeria thinks there can be a compromise and writes: "The Starbucks should be relocated to another key location rather than being closed outright."
CLANCY: I don't know if you have ever walked around the Forbidden City, it goes on forever. You need a cup of coffee in the middle of it, a good cup of coffee.
CHURCH: Certainly an American does, right?
CLANCY: All right. It's for the tourists anyway. I mean, everybody is making some money off of it, Starbucks. It's kind of a shame, though, with all of the waste bins they've got around there, people would leave their cups. Keep those opinions coming. We love to hear from you.
CHURCH: Just e-mail us with your views at cnn.com. And don't forget to tell us your name and where you are writing from.
CLANCY: All right. Another big story in the news.
CHURCH: Another one.
(CROSSTALK)
CLANCY: Embarrassing for somebody.
CHURCH: ... down under. "Rocky" star Sylvester Stallone is facing knock-out fines after a run-in with authorities in Australia. They are pretty tough there, too.
CLANCY: Yes. And the writers are having a ball with this story. Sly, who says it is all a misunderstanding. wasn't required to appear in court on Tuesday. He is a star.
CHURCH: That's right. But as Bethaney Jensen reports, if he is found guilty, Stallone won't be flexing his muscle in Australia any time soon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETHANEY JENSEN, NATIONAL NINE NEWS (voice-over): Walking the red carpet last month, Sly Stallone seemed to think his Hollywood charm might make his problem go away.
SYLVESTER STALLONE, ACTOR: I just made a mistake. Customs is just doing their job. Just a slight misunderstanding.
JENSEN: But customs pursued and went in for the fight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep your distance. Give him a bit of air.
JENSEN: When Stallone touched down in Sydney on the 16th of February, for two hours officials questioned and searched the 60-year- old.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bit of a delay in there, Mr. Stallone?
STALLONE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What took so long, Mr. Stallone?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
JENSEN: In court today, lawyers revealed what customs found. For his stopover in Australia, the "Rocky" and "Rambo" actor allegedly had with him 48 vials of human growth hormone, which is prohibited in Australia.
JOHN ORCHARDS, SPORTS PHYSICIAN: It does increase soft tissue mass in the body. So the worst of its side-effects, heart and liver damage.
JENSEN: The actor now faces one charge of importing a banned substance.
(on camera): If found guilty, Stallone faces a maximum fine of $22,000. But on a salary of up to $20 million a film, he should be able to afford it. But it might not be so easy to promote his work in Australia. It will be up to immigration to decide if the actor can ever enter the country again.
Bethaney Jensen, National Nine News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: All right. Well, a happy day infused with sadness because of political reality.
CLANCY: Just ahead right here on YOUR WORLD TODAY, a bride must abandon her family and her home to be with the man she loves. We'll have her story when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CLANCY: Sometimes when you want to explain the politics of a region, you really have to talk about the people. And for the people of the Middle East, for some of them anyway, life is really a series of not just compromises but sacrifices.
CHURCH: That's right, and for one woman in Israel, to become a bride, she had to leave her family behind.
CLANCY: That's right, a wedding becomes a grim reminder of all of the troubles that the region faces.
Atika Shubert has her story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Weddings are usually happy, with much singing and dancing. But like mothers everywhere, the mother of this bride fears losing her daughter.
"I'm not happy, because I won't see her again," she says. "If she gets the flu, if she gets sick, if she has a child, if I die, or if she dies, I still won't be able to see her."
But this is not everywhere. This is the Middle East. The bride and groom are both Druze, an ancient people scattered across Lebanon, Syria and Israel. The bride, Arwad (ph), lives on the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel since the 1967 War. Her groom is a Druze from Syria. Once Arwad joins her husband, she cannot return home, cannot travel between two countries still technically at war.
"You can see on my face, I'm happy, but inside, I'm sad. I'm leaving my parents, my family and friends, the house I grew up in," Arwad says. "I can only return if there is peace, without peace, I can't come home."
The International Red Cross organizes these weddings on the United Nations-controlled demilitarized zone that separates Syrian and Israeli troops, often taking more than a year to set up.
PAUL CONNEALLY, INTL. RED CROSS: It's always a hugely emotional scene, because it's only through an ad hoc wedding, you know, five or six a year maybe, where -- through being invited to the wedding, through being a guest at the wedding that you have the opportunity to meet your relations on the other side.
SHUBERT: The celebrations are a rare way the Druze can reunite their divided community, if only for a moment. When it's time for the bride to leave for the ceremony, the emotions are too much. The news media moves in to record the moment, Israeli border forces try to control the crowd.
Finally, Arwad makes her wedding march past the barbed wire to her waiting groom.
(on camera): This is the furthest we can go into the buffer zone. But the wedding is happening behind me. They have exactly an hour for the families to meet, to conduct the ceremony, and to say good-bye.
(voice-over): Only a few can attend. For them, there are happy reunions. But those left behind can only wave and shout, calling relatives they can see, but cannot hear or touch. They plead with Israeli troops to be let across. A handful manage to get through, stealing the last minutes of the ceremony, to see mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters.
All too soon, the wedding is over. A new family created while many more are kept apart.
Atika Shubert, CNN, at the Kuneitra crossing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: Best wishes to all. That's our report for now, I'm Jim Clancy.
CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. And this is CNN.
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