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Your World Today
German Glacier Feeling the Heat; Hamid Karzai Warns of Consequences Over Civilian Bloodshed; France Decides
Aired May 03, 2007 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, SPOKESMAN, MULTINATIONAL FORCE, IRAQ: We know he was responsible for the propaganda and ransom videos from the Jill Carroll kidnapping.
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JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The U.S. military announcing the death of a top al Qaeda militant in Iraq.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The fight for votes. The two French presidential candidates spar over the issues, but did the debate reveal more about their characters?
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HAMID KARZAI, PRESIDENT, AFGHANISTAN: We can no longer accept civilian casualties the way they occur.
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CLANCY: In the crossfire, civilians. Afghanistan's President Karzai saying he's troubled by how U.S. and NATO-led forces fight the Taliban in his country.
MCEDWARDS: And in his own words -- politics, passion and profound thoughts. The diaries of the late U.S. president, Ronald Reagan.
It is 6:00 p.m. in Paris, 8:30 p.m. in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Hello and welcome to our report broadcast around the world.
I'm Colleen McEdwards.
CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy.
From Baghdad, to Washington, wherever you're watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
MCEDWARDS: Well, we'll have those stories in a moment. But first, the first two times they met this year, they laid out evidence and looked at consequences, painting a pretty grim picture of the planet if global warming continues.
CLANCY: And now scientists at a United Nations conference talking about, well, what are the best ways they can stop it?
MCEDWARDS: That's right. They're expected to work late into the night in Bangkok. They are trying to finalize a report that's going to be due on Friday.
CLANCY: Delegates saying now that there are still major differences over the cost of cleaner environmental policies, with China and the U.S. -- those are the world's top emitters of greenhouse gases -- especially concerned.
MCEDWARDS: Let's take Germany, for example. It's not too far down on the list of greenhouse gas producers, and already it's feeling the heat.
CLANCY: That's right. Feeling the heat, Colleen, is an understatement.
The last glacier in Germany is disappearing, drip by drip by drip, despite some monumental efforts to try to save it.
MCEDWARDS: Frederik Pleitgen went to see for himself, the battle on this mountain near the Austrian border. And he joins us now live with more.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Colleen, absolutely. Germany is really feeling the climate change here. They are saying that the glacier here, the last glacier in Germany, is melting at a rapid pace. They say that if nothing is done, then within 20 years' time, this glacier will be gone completely.
So, they are really doing a lot to try and save this glacier. And today we got to take a look at that.
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PLEITGEN (voice over): Tourists on Germany's Zugspitze Mountain don't realize they're looking at a battlefield. The authorities here are fighting to save Germany's last glacier, a battle they know they can't win, one in which they can only buy time.
Manfred Haas (ph) is in charge of putting up what's called a glare shield to try and protect the glacier. It's a set of tarpaulins held together by ropes and wooden planks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We bring the cover ore the snow and the ice, and it helps us to reflect the sunshine, or the sun. And it also keeps the warm summer rain away.
PLEITGEN: But it's not enough. Every year, this glacier melts a little more. The ice becomes a little thinner. The glacier has lost almost half its original size in the last hundred years, and meteorologist predict in just 20 years it will be gone.
Christian Moser (ph) grew up in this area. He says the glacier is simply part of his life. "I don't think my grandchildren, if I have some, will ever be able to see the glacier. It's just melting too fast," Moser (ph) says.
The end of the glacier would endanger the economy of this entire region in Germany. It's a ski slope in the winter and an alpine tourist attraction in the summer.
(on camera): The workers here are doing more than just putting up the sun shield. As you can see, there still is a lot of snow on the glazier. And the reason for that the workers here over the past couple of weeks have been pushing snow onto the slope, and they hope that some of the snow will turn to ice and reinforce this glacier.
(voice over): But they know that no matter what they do, their efforts to stall the ice melt are futile, and that in just a few years the last glacier in Germany will be history.
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PLEITGEN: Now Colleen, what we were talking about there in that report are, of course, the economic impacts that it will have on this region. And those, of course, are major. I mean, so much in this area here hinges on tourism, but there are a lot of other impacts, also.
We talked to a scientist today, and he was saying that glaciers do have a sort of regular melting, but it's just way too much. And if this glacier really melts all the way down, then that could mean, really, that a lot of rivers in Germany will dry up, because in the summer, melting water from these glaciers goes into rivers and keeps them alive during the summer. So we could see rivers drying up in places like Germany and also in other European countries.
So, really, the impact of glaciers like this melting are really enormous -- Colleen.
MCEDWARDS: Well, Frederik, your pictures were great. I mean, it really showed the -- you know, it looked like heroic efforts to try to do something here, but sun shields, or whatever it is they are trying to do, do they have any evidence that it will matter at all?
PLEITGEN: Well, what they are saying, or what they hope, is that maybe this will give this glacier something like five, maybe 10 years more life. But they are also saying that they are also taking other measures.
For instance, only a couple of years ago in this glacier, they were actually carving out half pipes for snowboarders to do tricks in. And they say they stopped that, because they were saying that if they keep carving out these half pipes, that this glacier will only last 10 years and not the 20 years that they are hoping for now.
They say that this might give them a little bit of time. And obviously with all the economy that hinges on this, a little bit of time means a whole lot to them. MCEDWARDS: Understood.
Frederik Pleitgen.
Thanks a lot.
CLANCY: Fantastic pictures there. And, you know, that's something that when you look at the technology, you saw that was coming by broadband. By regular conventional means, it would be very difficult to bring you those live pictures, let you see what was going on there. Just one of the many changes.
Now, there's a lot of talk these days about carbon footprints and the amount of pollution each of us is responsible for.
MCEDWARDS: Yes, it's something to think about, what each of us can do to reduce our impact. And it's a way of measuring what your impact is and thinking about it in a different way.
So, are you doing anything to reduce your carbon footprint?
CLANCY: That's right. That's our e-mail "Question of the Day".
if you have access to the Internet, send us an e-mail and let us know your thoughts. Send them to yourviews@cnn.com. We're going to be reading out some of the responses here on the air.
MCEDWARDS: Well, NATO forces in Afghanistan are under pressure as anger builds over reports of more civilian deaths. Afghan authorities say nearly 60 civilians have been killed in raids by U.S.- led coalition troops just in the past week. Protesters fed up with the bloodshed are calling for President Hamid Karzai to resign.
Brian Todd has more now on the investigation into civilian casualties.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): One of America's most crucial allies on the war on terror fed up with how U.S. and NATO-led forces are fighting the Taliban in his country.
KARZAI: We can no longer accept civilian casualties the way they occur. It's becoming to be heavy for us.
TODD: How heavy? A U.N. official in Afghanistan tells CNN they have credible reports that 49 civilians were killed in a brutal fight last weekend near the western city of Herat. One injured man gives his account of who the casualties were.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There were no Taliban. Ten of my relatives have been killed.
TODD: A U.S. officer said there were many Taliban killed in that battle. Contacted by CNN, an officer with NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, also speaking for U.S. forces, says, "... we have no specific confirmation of any civilian casualties. It of course remains a possibility." And, "We appreciate President Karzai's words, and we're making inquiries into the incidents."
There have been many incidents. One U.S. officer in Afghanistan tells us Taliban extremists "have been fighting more than fleeing" in recent weeks, as U.S. and NATO forces stepped up operations.
(on camera): Battles that have clearly raised concerns at the highest levels over how aggressively this war should be fought and how to approach those caught in the crossfire.
(voice over): That U.S. officer says it often takes time after a battle to determine who the civilians are among the dead and wounded.
And this from Michael Scheuer, who once headed the CIA unit assigned to go after Osama bin Laden.
MICHAEL SCHEUER, FMR. CIA OFFICER: You never kill civilians for the sake of killing civilians. But you never refrain from killing civilians if it's essential to defeat the enemy.
TODD: Scheuer says, if anything, U.S. and NATO forces have not been aggressive enough. He says the Taliban won't be defeated in Afghanistan unless more force is applied. And inevitably, he says, there will be more civilian casualties.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
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CLANCY: A very touchy issue there as they're trying to deal with all of that. They understand what the consequences are, but at the same time, the Taliban, in its attacks, specifically attacks civilians that are seen to be supporting the government. And it's very difficult to weed people out, you know, these operatives.
MCEDWARDS: To tell who is who, right?
CLANCY: Exactly.
MCEDWARDS: This has been a big question for NATO, too. And, I mean, NATO even went on the record as saying that in 2006, which was when the fighting really ratcheted up, one of their biggest mistakes was on the issue of killing civilians. They need to find a way to deal with this.
CLANCY: It's hearts and minds. That's what they've got to win.
All right. Turning now to the presidential elections under way in France.
Time running out for the remaining two candidates to get out the vote. The ballots will be cast on Sunday. Conservative Nicolas Sarkozy and socialist Segolene Royal faced off in their only televised debate. Both sides, of course, claim victory, but is it really going to change voters' minds? And that was the whole point, as Jim Bittermann explains.
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JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It was, said one commentator, a face-off between two beautiful political animals. And as French television viewers were hoping to tune into a presidential debate at its most passionate, they were not disappointed.
For two and a half hours, Nicolas Sarkozy and Segolene Royal sparred back and forth over the issues in a studio a TV director said was intentionally designed to resemble a boxing ring. After months of campaigning, their positions on the issues are not unknown. What the debate was more about was character.
Is she presidential enough. Is he too autocratic and sure of himself?
One exchange in particular seemed to stand out. He professed concern for the handicapped. She insinuated that was political hypocrisy.
SEGOLENE ROYAL, FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (through translator): Not everything is possible in political life. What you have said, this gap between what you have said and what you have done, especially when you are talking about disabled children, is unacceptable. And I am very angry.
And parents -- no, I'm not going to calm down. I'm not going to calm down.
NICOLAS SARKOZY, FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (through translator): Please do not point your finger at me.
ROYAL (through translator): I won't calm down. Not when this injustice -- some forms of anger are perfectly healthy because they reflect people's suffering. I will be angry even when I'm president of the republic. Because...
BITTERMANN: This morning, the papers were full of analysis. But only the very bravest or biased commentators would hazard a guess about who had won or lost. But voters, most of whom have now made up their minds about how they will vote on Sunday, were not so timid.
CAROLINE HAMELIN, SARKOZY VOTER: Not a woman who is aggressive (ph), who has no deep program, no vision from France. So, for me, it's Nicolas Sarkozy.
DANIELLE KATZ, ROYAL VOTER: He was like that, "Don't be aggressive to me," you know? Like -- and this was really, really not a posture for a future president. You know?
BITTERMANN (on camera): With Segolene Royal up until now running behind in the public opinion polls, the real question is whether last night's debate did anything to change minds, or whether the sometimes fiery exchanges just reconfirmed what voters here already thought.
Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.
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CLANCY: Be sure to join Jim Bittermann, our colleague Hala Gorani, and Robin Oakley for CNN's extensive coverage of the French presidential election results. We're going to be broadcasting live from Paris when the polls shut down Sunday at 18:00 hours Greenwich Mean Time.
You can also get all the latest news, analysis and coverage of the campaign by going to our Web site at CNN.com/france.
MCEDWARDS: Sarkozy and Royal are ridiculously good looking, aren't they?
CLANCY: They are.
MCEDWARDS: How's that for insightful analysis?
Not really, but anyway, that's what the French media are saying.
Still ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY, a preview of the Republican presidential candidates in the United States.
CLANCY: Also...
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The numbers coming from China are so huge, that if China would change its policies, it would have implications for China, for Asia, and for the world.
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CLANCY: ... is China taking over as the world's biggest polluter?
MCEDWARDS: Banding together to find ways to break the grip of violence and poverty in Iraq. A live report from Sharm el Sheikh.
And...
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Atika Shubert in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, where thousands are going to come out. You see some of them behind me. They are demanding that Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, resign immediately.
I'll have more with you in a live report in just a moment.
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CLANCY: Welcome back to CNN International, and to YOUR WORLD TODAY.
MCEDWARDS: We're seen live in more than 200 countries and territories all around the world.
And now we want to go to Israel, and a look at Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's struggle to hang onto his job there. At issue is the prime minister's handling -- or critics would say bungling -- of last summer's war in Lebanon.
Atika Shubert joins us now from Tel Aviv, where thousands of demonstrators are expected to march, demanding that the prime minister step down -- Atika.
SHUBERT: That's right, Colleen.
You can see behind me already the crowds are here, thousands of people are expected to attend. And they all have one clear message -- that they want Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to resign now.
Now, what's remarkable about this rally is that politicians from both the right and the left have united, overcoming their differences, asking people to attend tonight's rally. And it really goes to show how much public and political support Ehud Olmert has lost, particularly over the missteps that he made in the war in Lebanon last summer.
Now, despite the fact that so many people here have turned out, and according to newspaper polls, more than 65 percent say they want him to resign immediately, the prime minister's advisors say that the rally will be good for venting public frustrations, but it will not force him to quit -- Colleen.
MCEDWARDS: All right, Atika. Thanks very much for that. Appreciate it.
CLANCY: A two-day conference on security and economic recovery for Iraq under way right now at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh. Diplomats from Iraq's neighboring countries, Europe, the U.S., and the G-8 are all there. Nearly 50 countries represented in all.
Iraq's prime minister began the meeting by asking for debt relief. A figure estimated at $50 billion is the request. It's not clear, though, if Iraq will get everything that it wants.
Now, this conference has allowed the U.S. and Syrian diplomats on the ground to meet at the highest level in two years or more. The meeting overshadowed the first concrete development, the adoption of a five-year rescue plan called the International Compact.
Aneesh Raman is in Sharm el Sheikh. He has details of what's been happening there.
Let's talk first about Syria and the significance of those talks. What happened?
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN MIDDLE EAST CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, it would seem a significant change in U.S. policy towards Syria.
A short time ago, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice holding bilateral talks with her Syrian counterpart, foreign minister Walid Muallem. Secretary Rice, just in the past hour, doing some interviews with the print media, saying the meeting lasted about 30 minutes.
She described it as businesslike and professional. On the agenda, said she, was both Iraq and Lebanon.
Now, why is this so significant? Keep in mind the Bush administration's relationship with Syria over the years.
2005, it pulled its ambassador to Damascus after the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Before then and after, the U.S. has accused Syria of not helping enough in Iraq, and helping too much to destabilize Lebanon. And then, of course, last month, when the U.S. speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, went to Damascus, she was criticized by the White House for playing to the Syrian president, Assad, making him feel part of the mainstream and sending him mixed messages.
Well, today, Secretary Rice, as we mentioned, has met with her Syrian counterpart, and the timing, Jim, is interesting, because just a few hours earlier, out of Baghdad, from U.S. military officials was word that the border between Syria and Iraq over the past month has tightened. So, was this meeting a reward? We don't know.
But again, more information to come. Secretary Rice doing interviews with our network later today -- Jim.
CLANCY: Well, at the same time, a lot of speculation about a meeting, a high-level meeting with the Iranian diplomats that are there in Sharm el Sheikh.
RAMAN: Yes, Iran a separate situation than Syria, because there's been 30 years almost of diplomatic silence between Tehran and Washington. Because of that, on the sidelines of this Iraq summit, it's been great speculation as to whether Secretary Rice and the Iranian foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, would meet, how they would meet, cordially at a lunch or dinner, or in an official manner.
What we know is today, at a lunch here at this summit, Secretary Rice and the Iranian foreign minister were at the same table, a couple of people in between them. They exchanged pleasantries, said hi to each other, but nothing of substance was discussed.
We expect shortly a press conference from the Iranian foreign minister. He may suggest that larger talks could come later tonight or tomorrow -- Jim.
CLANCY: Well, Iraq still remains the solid focus there, despite the diplomatic developments, and I understand the prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, is under a lot of pressure from some of the governments that are there. RAMAN: He is. Look, you mentioned debt relief right before you came to me. Iraq is looking to get some of that $50 billion-plus debt forgiven by other countries.
But for this conference, really an unparalleled conference since the inception of the Iraq war, 60 countries represented here, almost 30 foreign ministers, the G-8, the U.N. Security Council, Iraq's neighbors, there is a great opportunity to try to bring momentum and get people involved. The issue is Nuri al-Maliki himself.
He has to battle concerns here from Sunni governments -- sorry -- Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, for example, who think he's not bringing Sunnis into the political fold, who think, some of them, that he's weak as a leader. He has to convince them, Jim, in essence, this -- a lot of these countries are doing diplomatic window shopping.
They are wondering whether the risk of waiting to get involved is less than the risk of getting involved now, to see how the Iraqi government forms. He has to convince them they need to get involved now, and that he is the man, despite some suggestions within Iraq that he could be out of power in a couple of months even, Jim, because his coalition is starting to fray.
CLANCY: Aneesh Raman reporting live from Sharm el Sheikh.
Aneesh, thank you very much -- Colleen.
MCEDWARDS: U.S. and Iraqi forces say they have killed a terrorist believed to have been involved in two high-level kidnappings. A U.S. military spokesman identified him as Muharib al- Jubouri. They say he's connected to the kidnapping of U.S. journalist Jill Carroll and also the kidnapping and killing of American peace activist Tom Fox.
All right. Well, we are going to check how the numbers are moving on Wall Street coming up.
CLANCY: And also ahead right here on YOUR WORLD TODAY, despite growing pressures, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert clinging to power. More on his problems, including some of his legal troubles.
MCEDWARDS: And on a lighter note, the cat's out of the bag. How this feline got into a plane without her owner even knowing it.
CLANCY: Clever cat.
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MCEDWARDS: And welcome back to our viewers joining us from more than 200 countries and territories around the globe, including the United States.
CLANCY: This is YOUR WORLD TODAY, on CNN International, I'm Jim Clancy. MCEDWARDS: And I'm Colleen McEdwards.
Here are some of the top stories that we're following for you. The U.S. military says a senior al Qaeda militant has been killed in fighting north of Baghdad. He is believed to be the man involved in the kidnappings of Americans Jill Carroll (ph) and Christian activist Tom Fox.
And in Sharm al Sheik (ph), Egypt, some 60 diplomats are talking about ways to improve the security and the economy of Iraq. So far, they have agreed to a five-year plan while Iraq has asked for some forgiveness on debt.
CLANCY: Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai says his people are losing patience over civilian casualties. He's calling on NATO forces to improve coordination with Afghan authorities in future military operations. U.S.-led coalition troops say more than 130 Taliban fighters were killed in a raid last weekend, but wounded civilians say there were no insurgents even in the area.
MCEDWARDS: Scientists at a U.N. conference on global warming are ironing out some of the final wrinkles of a major report that they're expected to put out on Friday. It's expected to recommend governments curb greenhouse gas emissions, increase use of renewable energy sources and also improve energy efficient technologies.
CLANCY: Well, right now, the United States tops the world's list of polluters, it has about five percent of the world's population but churns out about 25 percent of it's carbon emissions.
MCEDWARDS: Wow. It is a dubious honor, indeed. But as John Vause reports, it looks as though China and its booming economy is about to change that.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The thick, heavy smoke seems to never stop spewing from China's 2,000 coal fire stations. No country burns more coal. It's cheap, in good supply, the black gold fueling a burning economy. It's also why, within months, the International Energy Agency predicts China will be the world's No. 1 producer of the greenhouse gasses responsible for global warming.
FAITH BIROL, INTL. ENERGY AGENCY: The numbers coming from China are so huge that if a China would change its policies, it would have implications for China, for Asia, and for the world.
VAUSE: And if nothing changes, within 25 years, China will produce the double carbon emissions coming from the U.S., Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand combined.
And while the government says it wants to reduce emissions, last year China fell well short of even a modest improvement in energy efficiency. YANG AILUN, GREENPEACE: The fact that China actually fail our last year's target already shows that how far and away China is from really developing in a cleaner way.
VAUSE: Some of China's own scientists are warning of a devastating impact from climate change -- more floods, longer droughts, widespread crop failures. But the government refuses to place a cap on emissions.
LIU JIANCHAO, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN: Developed countries should first act responsibly, and then developing countries, including China, will be ready to take specific actions, says this foreign ministry spokesman. Instead, the priority for Beijing, the economy, creating jobs and maintaining social stability.
RUSSELL MOSES, POL. ANALYST: So in any case where there's a confrontation between environmental protection and economic growth, economic growth is always going to win.
VAUSE (on camera): China disputes it will soon be the world's No. 1 carbon gas emitter, and besides, other countries had hundreds of years to develop their economies, and on a per-capita measure, China's greenhouse gases are just a fraction of the U.S. and Europe.
(voice-over): Regardless of the argument, scientists say unless China is part of the solution, it will be the major cause of the problem.
John Vause, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: Now, there are certainly a lot of talk these days about carbon footprints or the amount of pollution that each one of us, as individuals, is responsible for.
MCEDWARDS: Yes, an interesting way of thinking of it, about thinking about what everyone can do on a person-to-person basis to reduce our impact.
CLANCY: Are you doing anything to reduce your carbon footprint?
MCEDWARDS: Let us know. Send an e-mail to yourviews@CNN.com. We're going to read some of your responses on the air.
All right, well, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert still on the hot seat. He says he is not going to resign. But there's a bunch of people in Tel Aviv, they are hoping to change his mind. This demonstration was organized after an official inquiry faulted Mr. Olmert's leadership in last summer's war in Lebanon.
Well, Mr. Olmert is clinging to power, against the advice of some very prominent cabinet colleagues. And it would seem against all odds, as well. But in addition to his political problems, the prime minister is also in legal trouble that predates all of his problems in Lebanon. Jonathan Mann joins us now with some insight into that -- Jon.
JONATHAN MANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The prime minister's decision making on the invasion of Lebanon is getting most of the attention world wide, and that's understandable. But back home in Israel, Ehud Olmert already had other issues.
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GIL HOFFMAN, JERUSALEM POST: It is very bad. He wishes he had the approval ratings that George Bush had in the United States, two percent is very bad for a prime minister. He does have, also, nine different investigations into various issues, really hovering over his head.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: Nine different investigations, we'll just hit the highlights. The first, a factory. Israel's state auditor has been looking into whether Olmert helped a friend get government subsidies for a silicon factory back when Olmert was industry and trade minister in 2003. Olmert says he's done nothing wrong. But last week, the auditor asked the justice ministry to open an investigation.
Then, there is the house. The state auditor has been looking into whether Olmert got a sweetheart deal when he bought a house in 2004 at less than full-market value. The auditor asked the justice ministry to take over that one over the weekend.
And then, there is the bank. This time, it's the police who are looking into something. It's whether as finance minister Olmert tried in 2005 to help two friendly billionaires buy a bank that the government was selling. The two men, Frank Lowery (ph), one of the richest men in Australia, and S. Daniel Abraham (ph) of the U.S. Lowery, a shopping center tycoon and Olmert have denied the allegations. As far as I can tell, Abraham hasn't said a thing.
Now, Olmert, as we have been reporting, says the outrage over Lebanon won't force him to resign. But if he's indicted, he would have to.
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HIRSCH GOODMAN, INST. FOR NATIONAL SECURITY STUDIES: It is a system of democracy that's not scared to have a police investigation against this president, and is not scared to indict its prime minister. This is no Banana Republic, it's a very strong democracy, with very strong institutions, that no politicians yet have managed to corrupt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: So, right now, no charges have been filed. And Olmert insists he is innocent. Many in his party even seem to be supporting him. So, with all of this, Lebanon, and all the investigations, Ehud Olmert says he will remain Israel's prime minister. MCEDWARDS: It's incredible, isn't it? I mean, I can't understand why his own party hasn't turfed him. I mean, how is he hanging on?
MANN: Some people have. There was the foreign minister yesterday, Tzipi Livni. But they're making a calculation, maybe a little bit of a cynical calculation, which is if he leaves, they leave, too. If the government falls, it goes to an election. Chances are, it is not going to win again. It will be the opposition that profits.
So, within his own Kadima (ph) party, there is support for him to stay. Labor, or coalition member, hasn't decided to leave in a hurry, and the smaller coalition parties are also hanging tough, because, they are thinking, once again, if it's good by Ehud, it's good by them, as well.
MCEDWARDS: Sure. The scandals don't necessarily all revolve around him either, do they?
MANN: That's the astonishing thing. We've all been watching Lebanon, people in Israel have been seeing shocking stuff. The president is facing an indictment on rape charges, sexual assault charges that he is fighting, but right now, the head of state of that country has been suspended from his duties, he did it himself.
The justice minister is doing community service because of his own sexual misconduct. The finance minister is under investigation for embezzlement. Actually, he resigned because of embezzlement. You can't even keep track of it all.
The government of Israel, quite a part from these very important questions of life and death in Lebanon, it just looks sleazy.
MCEDWARDS: Yes, thanks for wrapping all of that up for us, Jon. We appreciate it. Jon Mann.
CLANCY: All right, we're going to take a short break here. Just ahead, a review of the Republican presidential candidates ahead of tonight's debate in the U.S.
Plus, insights from the great communicator. Diaries from the late Ronald Reagan are made public. Also --
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have similar concerns about lessening our impact on the world and leaving sort of less of a mark behind. Preserving things for future generations.
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CLANCY: Changing attitudes about climate change. The small steps some people are taking to try to end what is considered to be the world's worst polluter.
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MCEDWARDS: Welcome back. You're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.
CLANCY: We're bringing you news that brings not just the major stories of today, but some perspective on how our future headlines are taking shape right as we speak. Case in point, the U.S. election race.
MCEDWARDS: On the heels of a Democratic presidential debate, Republicans face off tonight at the presidential library of one party's revered figures, Ronald Reagan.
CLANCY: That's right. Democrats debated how hard to push President Bush to withdraw from Iraq. On the Republican side, the question is a little bit different.
MCEDWARDS: Yes, how closely they're going to stick to the president's line, that's a big issue for them. Well, trying to distinguish themselves as the next person for the job and one should maybe do it a little differently.
Bob Franken looks at the lineup.
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SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R-AZ): Today, I announce my candidacy for president of the United States.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John McCain's first order of business, now that he has formally announced his candidacy for president, is to kick start a campaign that had stalled before it officially began. The senator from Arizona had been the front runner in the Republican race for the White House, until this guy jumped in.
RUDY GIULIANI, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We only started, like, January 27th. We ended up with a lot of money.
FRANKEN: Rudy Giuliani soon overtook McCain in the polls, and the former New York City mayor also pulled ahead in the battle for campaign cash. But the gap's now closing a bit in the national polls, and new ones in the three crucial primary states show McCain on top.
KEATING HOLLAND, CNN POLLING DIRECTOR: The GOP race is tightening mostly because Rudy Giuliani is losing support. John McCain appears to be the major beneficiary of that, but with the exception of New Hampshire, it looks as if McCain is holding steady or even losing support in some states.
FRANKEN: And why is Giuliani dropping?
HOLLAND: Maybe it's just a case of front-runner fatigue. Front- runners are always at greatest risk of losing their casual support.
FRANKEN: And we know who is lurking on the sideline. FRED THOMPSON: Obviously, I feel like that -- I may have some leadership ability that might be useful to my country. And if I determine that that's the case, then I may follow up on it.
FRANKEN (on camera): If former Senator Thompson does get in, he'd be starting in third place, but he's already nipping at the heels of Giuliani and McCain. And if he does officially get in, it could be expected to take a rather large chunk of their support.
Bob Franken, CNN, Washington.
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CLANCY: Well, he was known as the great communicator. A man with a vision, who could even reach out to his political adversaries, and he did it again and again.
MCEDWARDS: He did, we're talking about the late President Ronald Reagan. He also kept a hand-written diary in which he wrote down many of his most private thoughts.
CLANCY: And when you look those over today, they reveal his hopes, they reveal his disappointments, and really, a lot of it is his sense of humor and love for the woman who stood by his side.
MCEDWARDS: Yes, Frank Sesno has more.
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FORMER PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN: I, Ronald Reagan, do solemnly swear --
FRANK SESNO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The actor turned president started keeping a diary the day of his inauguration in 1981 and almost never skipped a day. The entries ranging from the profound to the mundane. There is humor and emotion throughout. He writes of driving through throngs in New York.
"I wore my arm out waving back to them. I pray constantly I won't let them down."
An assassination attempt nearly killed him. The president remembers,"I walked into the emergency room, hoisted onto a cart where I was stripped of my clothes. It was then we learned I'd been shot & had a bullet in my lung. Getting shot hurts."
The diaries are filled with references to politics and politicians, terrorism and tax cuts. Of the dramatic 1986 summit with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, when both countries nuclear arsenals were on the table, Reagan writes about his refusal to kill "Star Wars," his dream of a shield against incoming missiles.
"I pledged I wouldn't give away SDI & I didn't but that meant no deal ... I was mad -- he tried to act jovial but I acted mad & it showed." There is much, much more. The diaries reveal rifts with his children. One time, his son Ron hung up on him. "End of a not perfect day." After his daughter Patti screamed about the secret service protection invading her privacy, he wrote, "Insanity is hereditary," and, "You catch it from your kids."
But something else is constant. His devotion to Nancy shines through again and again. This entry, from 1981:
"Our wedding anniversary. Twenty-nine years of more happiness than any man could rightly deserve."
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MCEDWARDS: Reagan served two terms as president from 1981 to 1989.
CLANCY: We're going to take a short break. Coming up, it's a superpower, and a super-polluter.
MCEDWARDS: The United States tops the list of environmental offenders, but changing attitudes could help drive down the harmful effects.
CLANCY: And, this cat's wide-eyed for a reason. She soared through the clouds and then back again, shocking the heck out of her owner. We're going to explain.
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STEPHAN SINGER, WWF CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY UNIT: They're the biggest offender to climate. We all know the Bush administration have been ignoring the science, ignoring the politics, and have been serving the fossil fuel industries, basically.
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MCEDWARDS: Welcome back. Some heated criticism there of the United States role as the No. 1 polluter in the world.
CLANCY: We want to take a time now to take a closer look at how it earned that spot, but also how changes attitudes are slowly improving the climate there.
Michael Holmes as our report.
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GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. UNITED OF THE STATES: America is addicted to oil.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The rest of the world likes to point the finger at America at the world's most conspicuous consumer, and polluter. With 5 percent of the world's population, the United States is responsible for 25 percent of its carbon emissions. There's the famous gas guzzlers, the crowded skies. Gasoline in America is, or, rather has been, relatively cheap and plentiful. So have the other necessities that drive the world's biggest economy. On average, every American consumes 50 gallons of water a day. And every American family sends more than three tons to landfills every year. The Environmental Protection Agency says Americans throw away nearly 96 billion pounds of food every year. The vast computers that drive the online knowledge society consume immense amounts of electricity.
BERNIE MEYERSON, IBM CHIEF TECHNOLOGIST: We have now reached a tipping point, where the energy bill associated with simply feeding and with actually cooling servers will, in the very short-term, a matter of three to five years, that energy bill will exceed the amount of money buying all of those servers worldwide in India.
HOLMES: And so IBM has developed a chip that can transfit a feature movie in one second, using just one third of the power used in a night light. And cost may be the biggest incentive in changing energy sources and use. The U.S. government is plowing funds into alternative fuels, like ethanol. There's a growing market in carbon offsets, where companies invest in clean-energy projects like this one, converting manure into methane for electricity.
But it's not just cost of energy, public attitudes are also changing. A recent poll for "The New York Times" found 84 percent of Americans believe human activity is contributing to global warming. And 75 percent said the weather has been stranger than usual. More Americans perceive change in their environment, less snow in winter, for example, record hot summers, and that's translating into action at the local level. House buyers, like the Sherperds in San Francisco, are looking for better insulation, and more recycled materials.
BART SHERPERD, HOMEBUYER: We have similar concerns about lessening our impact on the world and leaving sort of less of a mark behind, preserving things for future generations, like the two little girls that we have running around here.
HOLMES: The United States won't be weaned off its addiction to oil overnight, but price, perceptions, and a change in tone at the top, are changing the climate.
Michael Holmes, CNN, Atlanta.
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CLANCY: All right, that brings us to our question of the day.
MCEDWARDS: That's right. We asked you what you're doing to reduce your carbon footprint. And here's a look at some of your responses. We've got Ben from the United States saying he's watched lots of movies on helping the environment, but he's not still sure of what he can do. He asked, "How can a teenager help save the world and lessen their carbon footprint? I want to change my impact on the environment but I don't know how."
Guess what? We've got some advice for you right here.
CLANCY: Yes, Donna-Marie from Switzerland says, skipping environmental fads, that just using common sense is the way to go. She writes, "Turn off the computer and the lights, take the bus instead of driving, put on a sweater instead of turning up the heat."
And just one simple line, use, consume less energy in your life.
MCEDWARDS: Yes. Common sense.
OK, remember the movie "Snakes on a Plane?" I have to admit, I'm maybe one of the few people who actually saw it and loved it. OK, there we go. I liked it.
CLANCY: I'm glad that you did.
Here's a real-life story, though, about a cat on a plane. This, ladies and gentlemen, is Ginger. Isn't Ginger cute? She's a house cat who loves the outdoors. That's why they keep those doors closed. Apparently, though, keeping the doors closed wasn't enough.
MCEDWARDS: No, I didn't know you were such a cat person, Jim. Her owner was heading out of town on a trip recently, and when her back was turned, Ginger jumped into the woman's suitcase. Cats do that, you know.
CLANCY: The cat managed to make it past baggage inspectors and onto the plane. They probably found her shampoo, but they missed the cat.
MCEDWARDS: And then later, in her hotel room, the woman found Ginger no worse for the two-hour trip apparently. Two days later the woman and Ginger returned home, and this time, she was transported the right way. You saw it there, the cat carrier.
CLANCY: The cat carrier. There she is.
What an hour this has been. We've been all over. You know, there's a cat there, but we've also taken you up into the ice on the last glacier in Germany.
MCEDWARDS: In Germany, yes, that's right. We were in Sharm El- Sheikh, Egypt for the meetings going on there, protests in Tel Aviv, all over the world.
CLANCY: That's right, exactly. All live, brought to you, broadband and otherwise. Thank you for being with us.
For now, I'm Jim Clancy.
MCEDWARDS: And I'm Colleen McEdwards. You're watching CNN.
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