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Iran to Suspend Release of Only Female Sailor; Growing Scandal Over Firing of 8 U.S. Prosecutors; Rising Violence Prompts Summit of African Leaders

Aired March 29, 2007 - 12:00   ET

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

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Britain says it's taking its conflict with Iran to the United Nations. But will an appeal to the world body generate resolution or escalation of the crisis?
JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: He was a top aide to the U.S. attorney general. Now he has been called before Congress to testify about who knew what and when.

GORANI: The owner of a small hotel in China takes the fight against city hall to a whole new level.

CLANCY: And is there such a thing as too cute? Well, fears that one cuddly zoo attraction may have triggered the demise of another

GORANI: It is 7:30 p.m. in Tehran, Iran; 5:00 p.m. in London.

Hello and welcome to our report. We're broadcast around the globe for you.

I'm Hala Gorani.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy.

From Beijing to Berlin, Washington to Warsaw, wherever you're watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

GORANI: It's becoming more bitter on both sides. The crisis over 15 British troops detained in Iran escalating almost by the hour.

CLANCY: We have London looking for international support, Tehran suspending the release of the only woman who's held captive.

Let's get a brief overview now with the latest that we have.

GORANI: Now, Iran says it has a videotape to prove that the British marines and sailors entered Iranian waters six times last week.

CLANCY: It accuses Britain of undiplomatic behavior in trying to win their freedom, saying the offer to release Faye Turney is now off the table.

GORANI: Well, British officials say they're "widening the net" and arguing their case that Iranian sovereignty was never violated. They're trying to convince the United Nations to condemn Iran's actions. The British government is furious over those pictures we just saw of the captives released a day ago by Iran, but it is careful to point out it doesn't want confrontation, saying it wants the situation resolved quickly and peacefully.

Robin Oakley is in London and joins us now with more on what Britain is planning on doing next to resolve this crisis -- Robin.

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN EUROPEAN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, Hala, first of all, Britain had to work through the anger today at those pictures that were shown on Iranian state TV of the captives, the 14 men and one woman, Faye Turney, and the apparent confession she made that they were in Iranian waters. Foreign office ministers in Britain saying that was obviously done under duress. The British ambassador in Tehran today formally complaining about the captives being shown on television.

Meanwhile, tensions ratcheted up still further with a group of students, young Iranians -- not very many of them, it has to be said -- outside the Foreign Ministry in Tehran, holding up placards demanding even the execution of the British captives allegedly for spying. But while the psychological pressure is thus being increased on the British captives, what Britain is trying to do is to step up the international pressure on the Iranians.

And we've had Javier Solana, for example, saying that the EU wants better relations with Iran, but that isn't going to happen until the captives are released. We had the French showing their solidarity, summoning the Iranian ambassador in Paris to be told the captives must be released quickly, Hala.

So, that international pressure is building up, and Britain is looking for a statement from the United Nations Security Council. But not a formal resolution at this stage -- Hala.

GORANI: All right. Robin Oakley live at 10 Downing Street in London.

Thank you, Robin.

CLANCY: Now, the captured sailors from the HMS Cornwall are based in Plymouth, southwest England.

GORANI: Well, as you can imagine, of course, the community there is watching every development with a very close eye.

CLANCY: Also watching there in Plymouth, our own Alphonso Van Marsh.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Plymouth is in southwest England, home port of the Royal Navy warships down the ages. Francis Drake set out from here to conquer the Spanish Armada, and HMS Cornwall, whose sailors are being held by Iran, is based here. And the people of Plymouth are angry.

CHRISTINE BUCKLEY, PLYMOUTH RESIDENT: I am really outraged about it. I mean, they don't deserve it. They're doing their job.

PAUL TAYLOR, PLYMOUTH RESIDENT: It is disgusting, to be honest. You k now, I've been watching the news. And as I say, I think they were in Iraqi territory when they were taken hostage.

JEAN WILSON, PLYMOUTH RESIDENT: The navy -- the navy and the marines have always been in Plymouth. And, you know, it's always been part of the community. And I think it's a close-knit community. You know, we do -- everybody feels bad about this.

VAN MARSH: At the local radio station, the debate over why the Iranians detained the sailors and whether the British government is doing enough to free them echoes across the air waves.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Iran at the moment, yes, there could be an element that they're using these British hostages as a bargaining chip.

VAN MARSH: The families of the British captives aren't speaking publicly, but one former chief petty officer in the Royal Navy says he understands what the captives are going through.

FRANK THOMAS, ST. BEDAUX ROYAL BRITISH REGION: When you're in a situation like that, you only say what you have to say, and then you're told what to say.

VAN MARSH: Plymouth's leaders say they have faith in the military's ability to take care of their own, adding that local men and women knew there might be trouble ahead when they were deployed to the Gulf waters.

MICHAEL FLETCHER, LORD MAYOR, PLYMOUTH: We're well used to our troops being abroad and being in difficult situations. What makes it harder for us is that the conflict that our soldiers are involved in is not Iran's fight.

VAN MARSH (on camera): The Iranian warning that it may delay the release of the captive British service members can only raise the anxiety level in this port city, a community that speaks with one voice in demanding that its boys and a girl be released and come home safely.

Alphonso Van Marsh, CNN, Plymouth, England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Now to the United States and politics.

The man who helped orchestrate the firings that led to a growing political scandal for the Bush administration now explaining why in front of Congress. A former aide to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales says eight federal prosecutors were fired because they didn't sufficiently support President Bush's priorities, not because of some nefarious Republican plot.

Dana Bash joins us now from Washington with more. DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, that is sort of Part A of what the senators on the Judiciary Committee here behind me are trying to get at with their questioning of Kyle Sampson. That is their original inquiry -- why were eight federal prosecutors fired?

Was it because of, as Democrats have suggested, they were perhaps too soft on Republicans -- excuse me -- too soft on Republicans and too hard on Democrats when it comes to corruption cases in their particular districts? Or was it -- was it something else? So, what we're hearing from Kyle Sampson over and over is saying, look, we went through a very rigorous process, and we concluded, for various reasons, none about corruption issues, but general issues of performance, that these particular eight prosecutors, it was time for them to go.

But the other issue, Jim, that senators have been quite upset about in the process this inquiry is the information that they have gotten from the Justice Department, whether or not it has been accurate, especially from the highest level of the Justice Department, the attorney general. And what Kyle Sampson said today is that a statement that the attorney general made that he wasn't necessarily involved or a part of the discussions that led to the firing of these prosecutors, that that wasn't accurate.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYLE SAMPSON, FMR. CHIEF OF STAFF TO ALBERTO GONZALES: I don't think the attorney general's statement that he was not involved in any discussions about U.S. attorney removals is accurate.

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA), RANKING MEMBER, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Is what? Is accurate?

SAMPSON: I don't think it's accurate. I think he's recently clarified it. But I remember discussing with him this process of asking certain U.S. attorneys to resign. And I believe that he was present at the meeting on November 27th.

SPECTER: So, he was involved in discussions, contrary to the statement he made at his news conference on March 13th?

SAMPSON: I believe -- yes, sir.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: And that really gets to the heart of what even some of the attorney generals, fellow Republicans, have been quite upset about here on Capitol Hill, Jim, is the issue of credibility, whether or not the attorney general in the past couple of weeks, in trying to explain what went on behind the scenes, and especially his role, whether or not he was accurate or entirely truthful about -- about his role. And the whole question about whether he has the credibility, given even more about what you just saw from Kyle Sampson, whether he has the credibility to continue on in his job.

CLANCY: Dana, many Americans looking on all of this, and they're saying, what a surprise here. Things in Washington, done for political reasons. But for a political reason, and that would be the perception of the Republican Party and this administration.

Alberto Gonzales, is the president going to stand beside his man?

BASH: Well, he has said over and over that he is going to stand by his man. And when you talk to Republicans here in Congress, you know, most of them, they're reserving judgment on whether or not they think that's the right move. And part of what they want to hear is testimony just like they're hearing today, from people like Kyle Sampson, about whether or not the attorney general -- and not just him, but other senior officials at the Department of Justice, whether they have been truthful.

For the past month or so, may even a little bit more, the deputy attorney general, for example, he came before Congress and made some statements about exactly why the prosecutors were fired and made some comments. And there were e-mails and memos sent back and forth about who knew what, when in the White House.

It's that kind of -- kind of contradictions in those statements. That has -- that's what has gotten the blood boiling of members of Congress. Again, even members of the president's own party.

So, right now they're reserving judgment. Now we're seeing Kyle Sampson. He is -- he has come forward, Jim, voluntarily.

There have been threats of subpoenas. There was a threat to subpoena him. But he decided to come forward and speak under oath.

We're not going to hear from the attorney general himself until April 17th. That's about two and a half weeks from now.

CLANCY: All right. Dana Bash there on Capitol Hill.

Dana, thank you.

BASH: Thank you.

GORANI: All right. Let's turn to some other stories making news this day.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: All right.

Welcome back to CNN International and YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: We're covering the news that the world wants to know, giving you some perspective that goes a bit deeper into the stories of the day. GORANI: And we take you to Africa.

Zimbabwe's opposition leader is free again after having been detained for a second time this month. Morgan Tsvangirai was beaten while in custody the first time. He was picked up again yesterday, Wednesday, just before he was to hold a news conference on the government's "escalating campaign of violence".

Now, police are denying that he was ever taken into custody. Two different versions of events there in Zimbabwe.

Well, Tsvangirai's latest arrest is just one of the things helping to stoke growing tensions in Zimbabwe. Witnesses say police in the country are cracking down violently on anybody who opposes the government. And the escalating crisis has prompted South African leaders to gather in Tanzania for an emergency summit there.

Our Jeff Koinange joins us via broadband from Darussalam with more.

Are African leaders, Jeff Koinange, getting tough on Robert Mugabe, or not?

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN AFRICA CORRESPONDENT: I think the one word answer to that, Hala, is they are not. If observers or analysts were expecting anything from this meeting, well, they're going to be disappointed.

If the body language of the presidents coming out of the meeting, which ended about 30 minutes ago -- that's when the presidents were walking out, actually. First Robert Mugabe came out. We asked him, "How was the meeting?" He says, "The meeting was excellent," and then he went on to say, "We are one with our neighbors, always one," and then hen said, "The Southern African development community is united."

Next up was South African president Thabo Mbeki. We asked him, "How did the meeting go? What did you tell President Mugabe?" Well, he said, "I agree with everything that's in the communique."

And, in fact, that's what we're waiting for right now. Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete should be reading the communique any moment now.

But, Hala, do not expect any miracles. Do not expect any reprimand or Mugabe being called to order. It seemed like just a show of force from the SADC community at the end of the day.

GORANI: Well, because, essentially, the United States is asking for those African neighbors to get tough. The European Union is as well.

Explain to us why. What does an unstable Zimbabwe do to the region? Why is the West worried?

KOINANGE: I think one of the western diplomats who were on the sidelines here when we were waiting for the presidents to come out, he put it best when he said, "When Zimbabwe sneezes, the entire region catches a cold."

In the last few months, you've seen how Zimbabwe has been spiraling. Inflation more than 1,700 percent, the highest in the world. Eight out of 10 Zimbabweans are out of work. The life expectancy in Zimbabwe one of the lowest in the world, some 37 years. And Zimbabweans have been fleeing across the borders in the millions.

In South Africa alone, more than 3.5 million. Many, many more fleeing the country towards the other borders.

So obviously, it strains -- it puts a strain on the economies of these countries. And that's why the leaders were so concerned. But it seems at the end of the day, it's difficult to stand up to the aging dictator in Zimbabwe -- Hala.

GORANI: All right. Jeff Koinange in Darussalam, Tanzania.

Thanks very much.

And, of course, the impact on Zimbabweans themselves -- unemployment and the political situation.

CLANCY: It's a dire situation for them. They're watching it all unfold. And there's no clear political path for them forward.

As much as the MDC and the opposition are suffering in this, they did not do well in the last polls. They will say it's because the whole system is rigged against them.

We'll have more on Africa a little bit later.

But for now, let's shift our focus to a different story, that adorable fur ball who stole hearts around the world on his public debut.

We showed you the picture.

GORANI: Remember him, Knut? Well, the polar bear's overwhelming popularity, did it actually kill a neighbor? Some fear Knut can be too cute for his own good.

Stay with YOUR WORLD TODAY.

That and more ahead.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone, to all of our viewers joining us from more than 200 countries, including this hour our U.S. viewers on CNN International.

JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: This is YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Jim Clancy.

GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani.

Now here are the top stories we're following for you this hour.

CLANCY: The Arab Summit in Riyadh closing with a renewed endorsement of an old land for peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians. Summit members offered to normalize ties with Israel if Israel agreed to the proposals first put forth back in 2002. Member states also warned against a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, but affirmed that all countries have a right to nuclear energy.

GORANI: A spokesman for Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe is calling on African leaders at a summit in Tanzania not to punish the controversial president. The U.K. and other western countries condemn Mugabe for attacks on government opposition members and they're urging African leaders to censure him. But Mugabe's spokesman said the best way to resolve the growing crisis is by removing sanctions against Zimbabwe.

CLANCY: Iran is suspending the release of the only woman who has been detained in the last week, one of the sailors among 15 sailors and marines. Iran is blaming what it calls Britain's undiplomatic behavior, in its word. Iran has videotape that shows Faye Turney and 14 others crossing into Iranian water six times last week. Britain denies that. Britain is pushing the United Nations to get involved.

GORANI: Well, to give us some perspective on what those 15 British sailors and marines may be doing through right now, we're joined by a woman who was once held hostage herself in Iran. Kathryn Koob joins us on the line from Waverly, Iowa. She's currently a guest instructor at Wordburg (ph) College.

You were a that hostage crisis between '79 and '81 in the American embassy in Tehran. Tell us what these individuals, the 15 service members from the U.K., might be going through right now, Kathryn.

KATHRYN KOOB, FORMER HOSTAGE IN IRAN: Well, it was interesting in reading the comments from the woman who is being held, that she says that they're being treated graciously and courteously. And given the circumstances, I would suspect that that is true.

There's also a difference in that she is with her colleagues. When Ann Swift and I were part of the hostage group, we were kept separated and never allowed to see or speak with any of our colleagues for any reason. So I'm glad that she has her support network there with her.

The hardest thing I think that most people deal with in a situation like this is not knowing what's going to happen and what's going to happen next and how long it's going to take before something does happen.

GORANI: Now, let me ask you -- and we're seeing her here in a video with her colleagues, but we don't know if she is, in fact, detained with anyone else, if she is in isolation or not. But when you heard her speak on TV, when you read that letter that she wrote to her family, what went through your mind, as someone who went through something similar, albeit a very different era and very different detainment conditions?

KOOB: Well, I looked at her use of the word "apparently" and I thought, OK, and thought she's done it right. She's said "we apparently were in." And then sometimes later, it changes a little bit. It's very difficult to know what sort of pressure they might have brought on her to make a statement. On the other hand, if you're given an opportunity to let your family know that you're still alive and OK, you take it.

GORANI: Yes, because that's what you worry about, right, Kathryn?

KOOB: That's right.

GORANI: Is that what you worried about as well? You know, OK, I'm OK. I know I'm OK.

KOOB: Right.

GORANI: But what about my family? They must be worried sick at this point. And that must be very difficult for someone who's held captive.

KOOB: Well, it is. And I was fortunate. I knew that my sisters would be a strong support for my parents and for each other. But you do. You worry about the people -- and I said sometimes it's harder to be the family of someone who's being held than it is to actually be the hostage.

GORANI: And how did you -- I mean, your captivity was hundreds of days. I mean it was different. How do you stay positive? Is it possible?

KOOB: Well, sometimes I did it 15 minutes at a time. I also was blessed with the fact that I have a very strong faith background and I had the firm belief that I would be taken care of. And for me, that was -- that was terribly important. And to understand that people would be remembering me in prayer. And so all of those things that you use to get through any kind of a difficult situation come to the front and you use them. Because difficulty is difficulty, whether it is a terminal illness, whether it's the loss of a dear one, or whether it's being held hostage.

GORANI: Sure. And no matter where you come from, anywhere in the world.

Kathryn Koob, a former hostage at the U.S. embassy in Tehran, held there for more than 400 days, released in '81. Thank you so much for your perspective.

Jim.

CLANCY: Well, as this begins to spin in what direction no one seems to know for sure, chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour, who's reported extensively on Iran, joins us now with a little bit of perspective on the standoff. Where is this going, Christiane?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, you know what, that is the ultimate question, because even ex-diplomats, people who have worked even in Iran, Iranian diplomats who are no longer in the government but know about the way things work, say that at the moment it's not entirely clear who is in charge of this big picture and what is the final intentions.

But I must say, I'm struck by the imagery, just watching the images of the 1979 to '81 hostage crisis. You'll remember, Iran is really defined in the eyes of the United States and for much of the west in those pictures of so many years ago. And certainly over the last several years, the Iranians have gone out of their way to try to dispel and dismiss that image. And here again, by the actions that they're taking and by showing again hostages or captives on television, they're bringing all that back, all that view that people have of them back to the fore.

And so this is not going to do anything good for Iran's position, I don't believe, vis-a-vis world public opinion. Also it's obviously worrying that it goes back and forth in terms of whether the woman is going to be released or not, Faye Turney.

CLANCY: Christiane, tell me something. What's the mentality, the sense here? Because one gets the impression, if you go back to 1979 and look at it, that Iran was trying to lash out at the U.S., felt that it had been, in one way or another, wronged. And there's certainly every indication from the regime in Tehran today they feel wronged by the international community on a whole litany of fronts.

AMANPOUR: Well, I think basically since the election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran has moved into a very much more confrontational era of relations with the west, harking really back to the beginning of the revolution under Ayatollah Khomeini. You remember during the time of President Khomeini, there was a real attempt to work more diplomatically and more productively. And, for instance, Iran feels very, very slighted that after its efforts in helping, for instance, the United States after 9/11, resolved the situation in Afghanistan, after pretty much being on side during the Iraq War, that now the United States, in its view, and Britain as a key ally of the United States, is, you know, unacceptably threatening and putting pressure on Iran. They resent that.

And we know, because that's what they've been telling us, that they do resent that and they feel that any kind of ratcheting up of pressure is simply going to be met, not with acquiescence and surrender, but by standing up for what they believe is their legitimate rights as a power in the region. And, of course, when it comes to the nuclear issue, they maintain that they are not after a military program but after what they say is their legitimate right to a peaceful program.

So they actually feel wronged as well. But this, I think, is going to hurt them in terms of the international arena. CLANCY: Chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour reporting for us there, giving us a little bit of perspective on what's going on with this hostage drama, the captive drama that is playing out right now between Iran and Great Britain. Thank you.

A gruesome twist to the violence that has been hammering Baghdad. Police now say they spotted a body inside a vehicle in the Ameal (ph) district of the city. When officers approached to try to remove the body, a bomb detonated. They say two of their officers were killed, six others were wounded when the car bomb exploded.

GORANI: Now, since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, the country has become a transit point for drugs from Iran and Afghanistan.

CLANCY: The hashish and heroin traffic closely linked to the insurgency because, after all, it's the money that that drug traffic raises that can be used to support the insurgency.

GORANI: And that's one of the other new developments since the invasion. Kyra Phillips brings us a story about smugglers, crime and punishment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): We're on patrol with the Iraqi border police. They're looking for drug smugglers.

Does the drug money support terrorism?

"Yes," the investigator tells me, "it's very clear."

Clear because once unheard of in Iraq, high-profile drug busts are now the norm and this is where many of them end up.

Tell me what type of criminals you deal with in this jail.

"Drug smugglers, terrorists, kidnappers," he tells me, "and murders, the worst."

Welcome to Baghdad's major crimes unit where we have to protect every investigator's identity.

I'm told your investigators are murdered for what they do.

"Our country should be secure," he says. "We need to make a sacrifice for that. This is the principle."

If you're convicted and sent to this prison, you are executed or locked up for life. Shaban Ali (ph) was arrested for smuggling hashish. He says he's innocent. But he had no problem describing how hashish, heroin and marijuana are the popular drugs here. Most of it, investigators say, smuggled from Iran and Afghanistan, funneling millions of dollars and plenty of drugs to the terrorists.

Why would you want to kidnap and kill anybody? Why? Mohammed Katam (ph) says he is not a terrorist, but he admits he did kidnap and murder a man. He says he did it for the money.

Back at the border, back to yet another post war reality, drugs. Just one more enemy in this war in Iraq.

Kyra Phillips, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Well, it's a distinction he certainly never wanted to have. Our colleague, BBC correspondent Alan Johnston, he's now become the longest held reporter ever kidnapped in Gaza. Witnesses say gunmen forced him from his car on March 12th. There he is, a picture of him. He hasn't been heard from since and no demand have been made. Fourteen foreign journalists have been kidnapped in Gaza since 2005. Most were released quickly, some within a day, but it has not, unfortunately, been the case for Alan Johnston. So we certainly wish he is released soon.

CLANCY: Well, it's troubling because we haven't even gotten any word on him and we really all predicted that this was going to wind down and come to an end very rapidly. That has not been the case. Still looking for answers.

GORANI: Absolutely. And, by the way, Alan was the only western journalist based in Gaza. So covering this story day in, day out for three years.

CLANCY: That's right.

We've got to take a short break here. When we come back, one day after, we're going to revisit the hostage standoff in the Philippines.

GORANI: All right. We'll take a look at the surprising reaction from parents to the man who took their own children hostage.

CLANCY: And one Chinese man on his virtual island of a home taking on the big boys up at city hall. We'll explain just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Hello, everyone, and welcome back. You're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.

GORANI: All right. We're going to bring you more depth here on the top stories of the day.

And we begin in the Philippines.

CLANCY: That's right. The police there are prepared to charge Jun Ducat after he admitted taking dozens of school children and the teachers hostage.

GORANI: Now they were all released unharmed after a 10 hours. Ducat actually owns the daycare center where the children he took hostage go to school.

CLANCY: Now he says what he really wanted to do was draw attention to government corruption and the lack of education for the poor. Anjali Rao report now for us from Manila.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANJALI RAO, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): For the children of this slum in Banandu (ph), basketball provides a brief respite from the desperate reality of their daily lives. Open sewers, shanty huts and filthy streets. One of Manila's poorest areas.

It's also home to the children held hostage on Wednesday by Jun Ducat, the owner of the daycare center which provides them with free schooling. Several weeks ago, he promised to take the kids on a field trip and they'd been looking forward to it ever since.

Ducat rented a bus to take them to the mountains, but they didn't get further than Manila City Hall. Armed with guns and grenades, he, and an accomplice, announced the young passengers and their teachers would be held captive until the government met their demands. Bizarrely, free education through college for the very same children he was holding and free housing for their families. Demands Ducat says he was promised before letting his hostages go 10 hours later.

Less than 24 hours after the ordeal, some of them were only too happy to share their thoughts on the man who denied them freedom. And despite a little trepidation, they're not what you might expect.

"I hope he'll be able to come back here so he can continue to help us," said this little girl.

Incredibly, those sentiments were echoed by parents here, who just one day earlier had be terrified about what was happening to their children.

One mother told us, "he's a good person. We have nothing bad to say about him. He was only fighting for the children."

Walking through the dirty, crowded alleyways of this Banandu slum, it's nearly impossible to find anyone here who harbors any sort of a grudge towards Jun Ducat. Outside these walls, however, he certainly has his critics. The media today going so far as to call him a lunatic and a veteran attention-seeker whose comeuppance is just around the corner.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who's also blasted him, admitting Ducat may have had a noble cause, but the ends didn't justify the means. She says the state of education in the country is not as bad as Ducat makes out, but this teacher he held hostage begs to differ.

He says, "no one supports us here, especially President Arroyo. She doesn't come down here. It was Ducat who found a way for the children to have an education." Meanwhile, Ducat's daycare center is now closed for the summer and the students held captive so recently play as if nothing had ever happened. Yet, inside the classroom, what remains on the blackboard is a reminder of a very different story. Instructions for a field trip that ended up being watched by the world.

Anjali Rao, CNN, Manila.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: A house on a thimble shaped piece of land surrounded by a 10 meter deep excavation.

GORANI: Well, that's the result of an out of this world property dispute in China. And it is not over yet.

CLANCY: That's right, not over yet. John Vause, though, has been there, seen the resident of the home in question and he has the latest for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Defiantly standing alone, the two story brick hotel with only Wong Wu (ph) inside. One man against property developers and ultimately the Chinese government. For more than two years, Mr. Yung and his wife, Wu Ping, have fought a legal battle with builders of a shopping mall in downtown Chongqing. They were offered almost half a million U.S. dollars in compensation, a staggering amount by Chinese standards, but Wu Ping told me she wants more.

"They want to use money to solve this problem," she says, "but that offer is not good enough."

Instead, they're holding out for a shop of equal size in the new mall. The developers aren't talking, but the mayor's office says, "we'll never make concessions to those owners' unreasonable requests."

This building is now totally cut off. No electricity, no running water and no plumbing. But Wu Ping says despite her husband's ill health, he's determined to stay inside to the very end.

He's been there for almost two weeks. Friends and supporters bring him food and water hoisted up by ropes. While Mrs. Wu has become a national celebrity, working the crowd.

"All of these friends have given me a lot of comfort and support," she says.

After a court ordered the building demolished, public opinion could be their only chance of winning.

ASHLEY HOWLETT, PROPERTY RIGHTS EXPERT: I think it's commonly perceived that the longer you stay, the longer you refuse to move out, the higher your chances are of getting more money. And I think that's what -- that's the game they're playing here. VAUSE: In a country where every year there are thousands of property disputes, this construction site has become a rallying point for anyone with a grievance, like this man, who traveled across the country to say, "I hope the media will be our voice. There's so much corruption in local government."

The bulldozers could come any day. But while this building continues to stand, many ordinary Chinese have hope that they, too, can stand up to the government.

John Vause, CNN, Chongqing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Well, CNN's Larry King is reaching a major milestone next month. That's 50 years in television and radio.

CLANCY: That's a long time, no matter how you look at it. You can help him celebrate by choosing your very favorite "Larry King Live" episode from about 20 of the classics we've lined up for you.

GORANI: Well, you can go to cnn.com/larry. There you can watch clips and cast your vote.

CLANCY: That's right. The top five shows chosen by our viewers are going to be airing all week long. That's the week of April 9th.

GORANI: Now YOUR WORLD TODAY will be right back with a lot more. Stay with CNN International.

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CLANCY: Well, Sydney's Taronga Zoo has just helped save an endangered species, not once, twice.

GORANI: Now twin red panda cubs made their first public appearance on Wednesday. Awe. The two male cubs were born three months ago. They're part of an international breeding program aimed at saving the endangered species.

CLANCY: Now the red panda lives in the Himalayas. Experts there say there are only about 2,500 left in the entire world. Make that 2,502. Cute.

GORANI: Well, those red pandas are cute, I guess. But are they as cute as Knut, the cute?

CLANCY: I don't know about that. The baby polar bear at the Berlin Zoo has pretty much tagged the world's adorable-ometer (ph) or whatever you want to call that?

GORANI: What? Adorable-ometer?

CLANCY: Yes, something like that.

GORANI: He's going to need every pound of cuddly, though, because now Knut stands accused of murder?

CLANCY: Yes, and we're not kidding. Here's Diana Magni (ph).

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANA MAGNI, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): He's the picture of innocence. And ever since his very public debut last Friday, Knut's fans just can't get enough of him. But this week, the German tabloid suggested that Knut fever may have claimed its first casualty. Yan Yan the panda.

HEINER KLOS, BERLIN ZOO BEAR CURATOR, (through translator): We found her dead in her enclosure. We're all very sad. Unfortunately, we cannot tell yet what caused her death. From the way we found her, we expect she died of natural causes. That she died peacefully.

MAGNI: Yan Yan was 22. Not young for a panda, but not that old either. There is suggestions in the media that Knut's crowds were too much for her and that zoo keepers may have been too preoccupied with Knut to notice something was wrong. But zoo visitors are skeptical.

NILS MARKFELD, ZOO VISITOR, (through translator): The zookeeper has certainty paid as much attention to Yan Yan as she normally would. I don't think she died because of this.

MAGNI: As for Knut, he's none the wiser. At three and a half months old, he's too young to understand.

Diana Magni, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: That is our report for this hour. I'm Jim Clancy.

GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. Stay with CNN.

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