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IAEA: Iran is 3 to 8 Years Away from Nuclear Arms; Will Iraq Meet Benchmarks?

Aired May 24, 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)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're constantly ignoring the demands. My view is that -- that we need to strengthen our sanction regime.

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HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Tough talk from America's president as Tehran defies Western demands to stop its nuclear work.

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The U.S. strategy to build up troops in Iraq nearly complete, and the White House pointing that out just hours before a vote in Congress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think to myself, "Oh, my god. I'm 60."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Giving birth to twins. One woman says 60 is the right time to take on the duties of motherhood.

CLANCY: And why be an "Idol" when you can be "Super Boy"? Thousands search for fame in China's talent competition.

It is noon right now in Washington, D.C.; midnight in Beijing.

Hello and welcome to our report broadcast around the globe.

I'm Jim Clancy.

GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani.

From Helsinki to Hong Kong, Minneapolis to Moscow, wherever you're watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: Thanks for being with us.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog says Iran can build a nuclear bomb in some three to eight years if it so chooses.

GORANI: Now, it's warning about a growing risk of a major confrontation between the West and Iran. And with tensions already high over Iran's nuclear program, both Tehran and Washington are ratcheting up the rhetoric.

CLANCY: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad saying Iran will not pause for a moment in developing its program saying it is, in his words, very close to achieving its goal. He accuses the West of trying to stop Iran from becoming a world power and insists its nuclear efforts are entirely peaceful.

GORANI: Well, President Bush says he'll work with allies to strengthen sanctions on Iraq after an IAEA report found that it is accelerating the enrichment of uranium, not halting it.

CLANCY: The U.S. military, meantime, staging a show of strength in the Gulf. It is conducting war exercises off the coast of Iran that will culminate just kilometers away from that country.

GORANI: And all this Iran has -- amid all this, Iran has jailed another Iranian-American, the fourth since the U.S. arrested five Iranians in Iraq back in January.

CLANCY: All right. We need some analysis here. We need to get on the ground in Tehran.

Aneesh Raman is there. He joins us now.

Aneesh, President Ahmadinejad gave a speech today. What was his tone?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN MIDDLE EAST CORRESPONDENT: It was very bellicose, Jim. It was in line with what he said before in terms of a nuclear program. We've been here before. That's why this IAEA really has produced no surprises and why Ahmadinejad's reaction today was not surprising as well.

He said Iran would not retreat "a single step" in its nuclear program. He was speaking to thousands in the ancient capital of Esfahan. He also said that Western powers had been defeated, and he warned them, Jim, with these words: "Stop your mischievous deeds, as Iran now has obtained industrial level enrichment."

The images out of that speech, crowds chanted, "Nuclear energy! We are not tired!" gave clear message -- Iran is not going to blink first. And a big reason why was April last year.

Iran figured out on its own how to enrich uranium. So, officials since then and up to and including today have said, look, you can slow down to the U.N., our nuclear program, you can make it difficult for Iran to obtain equipment, but you cannot stop Iran's desire for nuclear energy. It is in the Iranian mind, and the government is showing no sign of backing down -- Jim.

CLANCY: The head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, also talking out this date, looking at the possibility of how long it would take for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon.

Let's listen to what he had to say.

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MOHAMED ELBARADEI, IAEA DIRECTOR GENERAL: I tend based on our analysis to agree with people like John Negroponte and the new director of CIA, who are saying that Iran, even if they want to go for the nuclear weapon, they are not -- it will not be before the end of this decade or sometime in the middle of the next decade. In other words, for to -- you know, three to eight years from now.

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CLANCY: How do they compute those numbers? How do they make that analysis?

RAMAN: Yes, it's complicated and it's limited in terms of what we know, but 3,000 is the key number. That's the number of centrifuges Iran says it now has to enrich uranium.

The IAEA yesterday said about half of those, 1,500, are operational. In terms of progress, keep in mind that just a few months ago Iran said it only had 300 centrifuges operational.

Now, experts on the ground say when Iran is able to get 3,000 working centrifuges to enrich uranium, Iran could within a year have the capability for one small nuclear weapon. Now, Iran, of course, from the start has denied that is its intent, said the entire purpose of its nuclear program is peaceful, civilian nuclear energy. But everyone outside of the Islamic republic is very limited in what they know.

And that is the underlying fear for the Western powers in the U.N. They simply don't know enough to make a decision that Iran isn't pursuing a nuclear weapon -- Jim.

CLANCY: While U.S. warships are off the coast of Iran in the Gulf, at the same time the Pentagon is saying and it's repeated this over and over again, we have no plans to go to war with Iran.

Is that allaying any fears there in Tehran?

RAMAN: It is not. Ever since, Jim, President Bush put Iran in the "axis of evil," next to Iraq, and then subsequently led an invasion into Iraq, Iran has felt that regime change is around the corner.

Over the past year, though, as the EU has taken in to talking with Iran on the nuclear issue, as Iran and the U.S. have moved closer to talking about Iraq, as they'll do next week, that threat has decreased. But in the past few weeks it's really picked back up.

I've been coming in and out for a year now, and I've never felt the tension I feel now. The disconnect between what people say to us on camera and off has grown wider.

Iranians are very concerned. Warships now in the Persian Gulf. Reports that the Bush administration is looking to destabilize the regime here. And when regime change comes back into this equation on the nuclear issue, Iran strengthens its resolve, because it feels if it gives an inch on the nuclear front, that will just e the beginning.

And so we are both sides, really, stand firm that a lot of hope, what little hope there is, Jim, is on Monday's talks in Baghdad. The fact that the two countries will sit down is a big step, and people are hoping it's not a missed opportunity here -- Jim.

CLANCY: Aneesh Raman reporting live from Tehran.

Thank you, Aneesh.

GORANI: Well, one of the issues that has caused friction between the West and Iran is the detention of at least four Iranian-Americans in Iran. One of them, Haleh Esfandiari, is being held in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison, which houses many dissidents and political prisoners.

Well, Iran's first Nobel Peace Prize winner, Shairin Ebadi, is Esfandiari's attorney, and she was also jailed there during her outspoken campaign for democracy and human rights.

I had an exclusive interview with Ebadi today, and she told me about conditions in that very jail.

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SHIRIN EBADI, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER (through translator): In that little room there was no TV, no radio, no access to newspapers or books. Even my glasses were taken away from me.

There was a dirty carpet on the floor, no pillow. And there were only two blankets provided. Sleeping without a pillow really bothers one's body, and this is what happened to me. I felt very uncomfortable sleeping on the floor with two blankets.

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GORANI: Shirin Ebadi spent 25 days in Evin Prison in 2000. She also says it's important to keep the spotlight on the case of Haleh Esfandiari, the Iranian-American now held in that prison. She said she believes international pressure can help win her release.

You can watch my interview with Ebadi tomorrow during this hour right here on YOUR WORLD TODAY -- Jim.

CLANCY: All right.

First it was three, now it is two. American soldiers still missing in Iraq.

The U.S. military has confirmed to the family that a body found in the Euphrates River on Wednesday is, indeed, that of Joseph Anzack Jr. He and two other soldiers were abdicated during an ambush near Baghdad almost two weeks ago.

News of the discovery, a blow for U.S. troops who are still determined in their search for their missing two comrades. A commander taking part in the search says his men are reserved, yet determined, to maintain the level of intensity that they brought to this search since it began.

GORANI: Both the U.S. Senate and House take up the war-funding bills Thursday. The House plans several votes on specific aspects of the funding bill to ensure that the legislation will pass. That's because disagreements remain over elements of the bill.

The Senate is expected to wrap up the debate later and will vote on the measure after the House has taken action. The legislation doesn't include a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, something Democrats had pressed for, but now have abandoned, but it does call for the Iraqi government to meet various goals or "benchmarks".

Well, some of the benchmarks will be very hard to meet. Does that make any difference?

Jonathan Mann joins us now live with some "Insight" -- Jonathan.

JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: President Bush could see the bill on his desk as early as Friday. It is not yet final, but the White House has agreed to its broad lines.

As we've been reporting, the big change from the bill he vetoed is that it doesn't have a deadline for withdrawal. It will instead have benchmarks which seem tough and toothless at the same time.

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GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Iraq Study Group recommended that we hold the Iraqi government to the series of benchmarks for improved security, political reconciliation and governance that the Iraqis have set for themselves. I agree, so does the Congress, and the bill reflects that recommendation.

These benchmarks provide both the Iraqi government and the American people with a clear road map on the way forward.

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MANN: There are 18 benchmarks in the bill. We won't go through them all, and there will not be a test later, but let's start with the first one, 1A, quite literally -- progress giving the United States and Iraqi forces the authority to pursue all extremists.

That's directed right at Prime Minister al-Maliki, who has refused, for example, to allow major operations in Sadr City and whose government intervened to get suspected extremists and Iranian operatives released.

Another two benchmarks: eliminating militia control of local security and establishing a strong militia disarmament program.

Now, think about that being directed at Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mehdi army. Essentially, the U.S. is asking the weak Maliki government to take on its strongest supporter, and the armed men that he commands. Sadr has gone underground, but his men are still running a big chunk of Baghdad and they still have their guns.

Then there is the big bottom line: reducing the level of sectarian violence in Iraq, which is to say, stop the killing. Well, more than 500 corpses have been found in Baghdad this month alone. Many of them showing signs of torture or execution. That's more than last month, but by no means the worst Baghdad has seen.

So, overall, can Iraq meet the benchmarks? It hasn't yet.

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MICHELE FIOURNOY, CENTER FOR NEW AMERICAN SECURITY: I don't think the benchmarks will prove to be very important, because they're simply a reiteration of the expectations we've made clear to the Iraqi government a thousand times. There are no teeth in this legislation, there are no real consequences for the Maliki government if they don't meet the benchmarks yet again.

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MANN: And most important of all, the benchmarks will have no direct effect on the U.S. military. The war effort will be fully funded no matter how badly or well it goes in the next few months. It is not military money that is tied to the benchmarks, it's reconstruction money. And the bill says that if President Bush wants to, he can spend that money anyway.

GORANI: So, no teeth, no consequences. Now, if the benchmarks have such little impact on the ground, why vote for them? Why include them in this bill? Why would the Democrats go along with it?

MANN: Well, the Republicans have an obvious motive because they don't want the president's hands to be tied. They don't want the militants hands to be tied.

The Democrats are really in a bind. And a lot of them aren't voting for it. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, for example, says she will vote against the Iraq military funding.

So, what the Democrats have done, what they're trying to do, is organize two separate votes on the same bill. One that will allow Democrats that oppose this measure to vote against it, and at the same time vote for the bill by voting for things that they support like farm aid or a new hike in the minimum wage.

It's a bit of a dodge. They don't like the bill, but they don't want to stand against it. So, their support in a sense is being bought or eased by having some goodies in it for their supporters.

GORANI: All right. Jonathan Mann with some "Insight".

Thanks, Jonathan.

CLANCY: We've got to take a short break here, but when we come back, immigration leaves a mark on Italy.

GORANI: Coming up on YOUR WORLD TODAY...

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ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF: The principal concern for citizens today is the presence of foreigners who are perceived as a growing threat to public safety.

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GORANI: Our Rome bureau chief tells us about how Italians are casting a weary eye on newcomers.

CLANCY: And Hala, how old is too old? A 60-year-old wants to change minds after giving birth to twins.

GORANI: And a red ape on the run. Why some people in Taiwan didn't want to share their dining experience with a visitor from a zoo.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to CNN International and YOUR WORLD TODAY.

GORANI: All right. We're covering the world wants to know, and we start with this for this segment.

CLANCY: When you reach the age of 60, still a long way off for you, anyway, thoughts tend to turn to retirement and, well, winding down a little bit.

GORANI: A whole 40 years.

But for one woman in the U.S., things are winding up again.

CLANCY: And how.

GORANI: Yes, right. A few days ago she gave birth to twins. And remember she is 60.

CLANCY: Sixty.

Randi Kaye tells us it wasn't a shock, it was planned. The question is, was it a good idea?

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RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These newborn twins are too young to understand why our cameras are taking their picture.

FRIEDA BIRNBAUM, MOTHER OF TWINS: I didn't know who to look at first. KAYE: But not their mom.

BIRNBAUM: I was thinking to myself, "Oh, my god, I'm 60."

KAYE: You heard her right. New Jersey psychologist Frieda Birnbaum is 60 years old, not the oldest woman to ever give birth, but the hospital says she may be the oldest in the U.S. to deliver twins.

(on camera) What makes this the right time in your life to have more babies?

BIRNBAUM: Financially, I'm more comfortable. Mentally, I'm more together than ever in my life. And I haven't fallen apart yet.

KAYE (voice-over): Frieda and her husband Ken have been married 38 years. They have two older children in their 20s and 30s and a 6- year-old son. The newest family members, both boys, were delivered by cesarean section yesterday. This was the first time Frieda had actually held her babies.

BIRNBAUM: It feels -- I'm ecstatic. If you ask me any more, I'm going to cry.

KAYE: For now, they are known simply as baby "A" and baby "B."

The decision to have them came easier than naming them. Frieda wanted a play mate for the couple's youngest child and at the same time reduce the stigma attached to older women giving birth.

BIRNBAUM: What a gift that I get to do this. And really, it makes you feel different when you're holding babies. You just feel more at peace.

KAYE (on camera): Feel younger?

BIRNBAUM: I feel whole.

KAYE (voice-over): Frieda's OB/GYN, Dr. Abdulla al-Khan, specializes in high-risk pregnancies.

(on camera) Is it a good idea for someone her age to be having a baby, or two, in this case?

DR. ABDULLA AL-KHAN, OB/GYN: People are living longer. People are very health conscious. They're taking care of themselves. And the 60-year-old patient is no longer looking like 60. She's looking like 50 or 40, perhaps, or 45.

Do we at the age of 60 just say, you know, we're just old and we should just be, you know -- be in the category of the geriatric population?

KAYE (voice-over): Frieda underwent in vitro fertilization. U.S. clinics refused to treat her because of her age, so she found a clinic in South Africa that caters to older women. She won't say if she used her own eggs, which had been frozen years earlier, or a donor's. Regardless, her 29-year-old daughter is appalled.

BIRNBAUM: Her take is I should be enjoying my life. She's worried that I'm not going to enjoy my life now, that I'm giving it away again.

KAYE (on camera): She flat-out says you're too old.

BIRNBAUM: She says that I'm crazy, really, more or less.

KAYE (voice-over): Crazy or not, her doctor says she is healthy enough to care for these little guys.

(on camera) What do you want other women to know, women who are getting up there in their age, about possibly having kids later in life?

BIRNBAUM: Don't get a dog. Get a baby instead.

KAYE (voice-over): Advice from a mother old enough to be her babies' grandmother.

Randi Kaye, CNN, Hackensack, New Jersey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: She says she hasn't fallen apart yet, but, you know, it's going to be tough with twins. That's going to be a lot of work.

GORANI: And the interesting thing about a story like this is everyone has an opinion. How old is too old to have children, is the question.

CLANCY: That's right. Let us know what you think.

Send us an e-mail to yourviews@cnn.com. How old is too old to have some children?

GORANI: We'll read some of your responses later on the air.

Still to come on YOUR WORLD TODAY...

CLANCY: Computer giant Dell looking to reclaim its share of the PC market.

We're going to tell you how in our business segment.

GORANI: And later, a surprising discovery at a Nebraska zoo. This shark proves it always doesn't take two to tango.

But, first up...

CLANCY: The sweet sounds of victory on the streets of Milan. Italians celebrating Milan's victory over Liverpool in the football Champions League finals.

We'll have that story, too, right after the break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

GORANI: Well, what a difference a few weeks in Iraq could make. Democrats who said they were were empowered by voters to change course in Iraq are now backing down on setting withdrawal timeline.

But as Candy Crowley shows us, those voters are paying attention, and members of Congress know that the wrong decision could come back to haunt them.

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CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You want to see what pressure looks like? Go ask Hillary Clinton if she will vote for the Iraq spending bill, which does not include deadlines to withdraw the troops?

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, today, we're talking about this very important immigration issue. There will be time to talk about that later.

CROWLEY: A teensy bit testy in the hallway later, Clinton told reporters, "When I have something to say, I will say it, gentlemen."

Ditto Barack Obama on the same question. "I actually want to read the provisions before making a statement on it," he said, "all right?"

It is a rock and a hard place for Democrats, especially the '08'ers. They're worried they will look anti-troop if they don't support the timetable-free spending bill. But they fear their anti- war base -- read that people most likely to vote -- will hold it against them if they do. And it will.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Democrats were elected by the people of this country to get us the hell out of that country. And they failed us, miserably.

CROWLEY: From the streets of San Francisco to New York, they're watching as Congress prepares to vote.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm still -- I'm still in support of Hillary, actually. But I don't know. I -- I guess we will have to see how it plays out.

CROWLEY: At MoveOn.org, pivotal to the anti-war movement, they're out in force, handing out flyers, threatening to run ads against anyone who votes for this bill.

More to the point, with all of the House and a third of the Senate up for grabs in the next election, anti-war groups are talking about finding candidates to challenge Democrats in the primary season.

ELI PARISER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MOVEON.ORG: Yes, I think people may look back at this moment and say, you know, this was a moment when we determined who was serious about ending the war and who was not.

CROWLEY: Clinton and Obama, who said previously they were against cutting off troop funds, are also being pressed by John Edwards. Running third in the Democratic field, he is looking for some steam from the left.

JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's a capitulation. Every member of Congress should -- every member of Congress should stand their ground on this issue and do everything in their power to block this bill.

CROWLEY: In the end, Democrats thought they would score points for trying to force deadlines on the president, even if they failed and had to drop them. Instead, they are now accused of caving.

(on camera): Democrats, who won the majority in Congress in large part because voters thought they could end the war, are now on the verge of handing George Bush more money to carry it on.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Another issue almost as hot as Iraq that's dividing members of the U.S. Congress, immigration. There's a comprehensive immigration reform bill up for a vote, and lawmakers are debating this bill. It's bipartisan, but conservatives, what we should say is the complaints are bipartisan. Conservatives say the measure offers amnesty to illegal immigrants. Liberals complain that the bill forces immigrant families to split up. Many, many amendments are being offered, and we're going to keep you up to date on that.

GORANI: Immigration is a hot topic all over the western world and another country where immigrants say they're feeling more and more unwelcome is Italy.

CLANCY: Security officials there see a disturbing trend; crimes committed in the country are increasingly being blamed on immigrant foreigners.

GORANI: Well, Rome bureau chief Alessio Vinci takes a look at how media reports contribute to the perception that outsiders are to blame.

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ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A bus hijacking, the Italian media speculates that hijackers were North Africans, but those arrested turn out to be Albanian. The killing of a commuter at a Rome subway station gets wide coverage. The accused is a Romanian. A mother and son murdered near Milan. Days of speculation in the media focus on her Tunisian husband, but two Italians were convicted of the crime.

All examples of a growing trend with the reporting focuses on the nationality on who may have done it, as much as the crime itself. (on camera): It is a dangerous trend, Italian security officials say, which on the one hand fuels the perception that crime is on the rise, which they contend, but also makes Italians feel unsafe in their own country, and security officials also point to this study prepared by the Italian Interior Ministry, which among other things, concludes that the principal concern for citizens today is the presence of foreigners who are perceived as a growing threat to public safety.

(voice-over): The government says one in three crimes here is committed by foreigners, though they are less than 5 percent of the population, numbers behind a backlash of intolerance previously unknown in Italian society. A recent United Nations report found that, "While Italian society is not marked by a serious phenomenon racism, it is facing a disturbing trend of xenophobia and the development of manifestations of racism." Luca Riccardi and St. Egidio Community work with immigrants.

LUCA RICCARDI, ST. EGIDIO COMMUNITY: I think the perception of the problem of immigration is very different from the reality. The reality is that the majority of the people are here to work, and to be inserted in our society. Sometimes there is some example of not very good behavior, but it can happen in every field of our life.

VINCI: Reporter: Even legal immigrants, like construction worker Yamin, who emigrated from Romania nine years, prefer not to give journalists their last name. "We all take the bus every day," he says, "and people look at us thinking we're all criminals. It's unfair, but what can we do?" He may have a point. It's not unusual these days to hear comments like this one, once unthinkable here. I have become a racist, says Christian, a storekeeper. I have become a racist because I can't take it any more. When I go out at night, it's not the same. I can't do it anymore. A new plan has more police officers on the streets of major Italian cities, but some here are saying more than muscles, Italians should perhaps show more tolerance.

Alessio, Vinci, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: In the Middle East, Israeli security forces have arrested more than 30 senior Hamas officials in the west bank, including the Palestinian education minister. It is part of ongoing operations against the Islamic group, in response, the Israelis say, to rocket attacks on Israeli border areas.

Ben Wedeman has our story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Israeli forces came in the middle of the night to take them away, more than 30 politicians affiliated with Hamas rounded up in the West Bank. Also in the middle of the night, the Israeli Air Force struck again in Gaza, targeting a money changer suspected of funneling funds to the group and what Palestinians say is a food warehouse owned by an alleged Hamas supporter. Israel's offensive to stop Hamas' military wing from firing missiles into Israel has been going on for more than a week. It continued into the day with hits on facilities used by Hamas' militia, the so-called "Executive force." The crude, locally made rockets from Gaza have killed one Israeli and wounded more than 15.

Israeli air raids left more than two dozen militants dead, but they've also killed half that many civilians. Outside the municipal building in the west bank city of Nablus, a protest against the wave of arrests, arrests the Israeli government says are legitimate.

We arrest those Hamas activists who incite for hatred, for the destruction of the Jewish state, for terrorism, and I don't think that these people should govern the West Bank.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Nablis's (ph) popular mayor, (INAUDIBLE), was among those detained. He doesn't fit the standard profile for a Hamas activist, Iesh (ph) owns the biggest Mercedes dealership in the West Bank and does plenty of business with Israel. As mayor, he defended the right of the city's liquor merchants to stay in business.

Also arrested was Education Minister (INAUDIBLE), for the second time in a year. Last summer, he was held for a month, then released for lack of evidence.

"This time will be no different, says his wife Hoda. "Nothing has changed. Everyone knows Dr. Nasr (ph) is an academic.

Al-Shair was one of tens of Hamas affiliated politicians, including Cabinet ministers and members of Parliament, detained by Israel last June following the capture by militants in Gaza of Israeli Army Corporal Gilad Shalet (ph). Forty-one members of the Palestinian Parliament, just less than a third of the body's total membership, are now in Israeli custody.

(on camera): Hamas has proposed that Israel enter into a ceasefire covering Gaza, as well as the West Bank. But Israel has rejected the idea, trying, instead, through a combination of arrests and air raids, to crush its enemies.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Well, the U.S. finally voted in a winner on "American Idol" Wednesday. The "Idol" series has been widely popular all around the world and China not even exception to that.

GORANI: And just like in other "Idol" shows, getting on stage might mean you're cringe-worthy rather than talented.

CLANCY: Well, after that show, here is another one, it appears to -- this fellow has a beef against bikes. He's getting the better of it, too. This orangutan on the loose was also fed up with furniture. The full story of his great escape right after the break. What a handsome fellow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) GORANI: Welcome back, you're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.

CLANCY: We are seen live in more than 200 countries and territories all around the globe, including here in the U.S.

Well, speaking of the U.S., a new "American Idol" has been crowned. At just 17 years of age, Arizona native Jordin Sparks won the extremely popular television singing contest. Sparks was overwhelmed with emotion when the result was announced at the end of a star-studded, two-hour finale. After thanking her parents, she hugged Blake Lewis, the other finalist.

GORANI: Well, China's version of "American Idol" is also a hit with the public and the all-male TV talent show, "Super Boy" is down to its final dozen contenders.

CLANCY: And Hala, like its "Idol" counterpart, the viewers choose who's the winner's going to be, keeping with reality TV traditions, the show takes public humiliation, though, to a whole new level.

GORANI: John Voss has been watching and listening.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VOSS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Humiliation it seems knows no borders. Regardless of country, regardless of language. And here in China, 100,000 wannabes and some never really should haves, have tried out for the title of "Super Boy," an all-male talent quest now down to the final 12, where just like the international "Idol" series, viewers get to choose the winner.

Contestants are chosen from six different provinces like these 50 from Junshou (ph). This is a war zone, the voiceover says, as competing super boys jump in and out of tanks. While these contestants from Shankshee (ph) province portrayed as ancient Chinese warriors about to do battle.

The "Super Boy" series is a spinoff from the widely popular "Super Girl." When it first went to air two years ago, more than 400 million watched the grand finale. Jane Zhang was the runner-up that first year. This former student who once sang in a bar now has a number one selling album and performs to sold out concerts.

"So much has changed in my life," she told me. "So many strangers just want to meet me now. It feels like everything around me is alive."

Her record producer says "Super Girl" and "Super Boy" have permanently changed China's music industry.

"The audience wants to be involved," he says. "They choose the contestants they like and then they want to buy their albums."

Call it the "Idol" effect, a fast road to fame for a few, a cringing moment for so many others.

John Voss, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Oh, ouch.

Well, let's go to a zoo in Nebraska where an unusual birth is going to be featured here on YOUR WORLD TODAY.

GORANI: Just ahead, a baby born in a tank full of female sharks. Well, they had no contact with males for three years. So, how did they get "pregnant"? We'll explain after this.

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CLANCY: What a spectacular scene of nature, lava flowing from Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano, putting on this spectacular display. It's especially evident, of course, at night. The molten river of hot red lava running directly into the Pacific Ocean, causing a mass of steam as it collides with the water below. New land is being created as that lava solidifies off the island's coast -- Hala.

GORANI: Well, imagine this: you're having lunch at a popular restaurant and suddenly through the window you see this. And if that's you're Vespa, it's even more of a problem. An orangutan, this one escaped from the Shoshung (ph) Zoo in Taiwan and wandered into the eatery's courtyard.

Zoo officials chased the ape as he overturned furniture and motor bikes while diners cowered, some of them trying to flee. You don't want to mess with this guy. Officially -- or rather officials finally subdued the animal with a sedative and took him back to the zoo.

CLANCY: They're incredibly strong, rip your arm off, literally.

GORANI: Well, they look strong. I'd be running, too.

CLANCY: We're not done with our animal stories yet.

GORANI: No.

CLANCY: In the U.S. state of Nebraska, a virgin birth. But one unlikely to spark any religion.

GORANI: Right. It's the result of a process called parthenogenesis. It's where an egg develops into an embryo without the presence of sperm, but rather than a miracle, it's more a sign of distress, apparently.

CLANCY: Damon Green is investigating.

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DAMON GREEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For a zoo in Nebraska, which only had female hammerhead sharks in its aquarium, the arrival of a baby shark came as something of a surprise, and not just to its mother. In fact, the birth of this specimen is the first proven case of a shark with a mother, but no father. Scientists in Belfast use DNA technology to prove that no male shark was involved at any stage. They say for animals to reproduce like this is not a good sign.

DR. PAULO PRODOHL, QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY, BELFAST: Is another problem to compound to the problem that sharks are already facing, basically overfishing. There are many populations are in severe decline already and this finding just add to the problem.

GREEN: For animals to reproduce without mating is rare, but not unknown, especially when they're under stress or in captivity. At Chester Zoo, a komodo dragon, which is a reptile, successfully hatched out eggs without the help of a male. And while other fish have been known to breed this way, the latest research is the first proof that sharks can do the same.

But while it may seem like a biological miracle, conservationists warn that only a species under threat would resort to reproducing like this.

Damon Green, ITV NEWS.

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CLANCY: And a little bit of bad news to report here, the little miracle shark baby, well, it didn't last long. Sadly, it was killed by a sting ray in the same tank within hours of its birth.

GORANI: All right, last hour, we spoke with an expert about parthenogenesis.

Our Colleen McEdwards spoke with Al Dove from the Georgia Aquarium about why this sort of thing happens.

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AL DOVE, GEORGIA AQUARIUM: This is a good, short-term strategy for getting by if there's a shortage of males that you can reproduce without the need for a male. On the other side of the coin, it's not a good long-term strategy because it reduces genetic diversity. Because in this case, you're only getting genetic material from the mother. The long-term implications are that reduced genetic diversity, which doesn't bode well for long-term adaptability.

COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I've read that this can also be a sign of distress in a species. I mean, if they're in danger of extinction, this process can kind of be, I don't know, what's the word? Ignited.

DOVE: I'm not sure if that's what's happening in this case. I think probably what's happening here is that because the animal is in an aquarium setting and it was not exposed to males, this other flexible mode of reproduction was able to kick in.

But it does change the way we think about how sharks might reproduce in the wild and how shark populations might react to changes in their population. Shark populations the world over are down about 90 percent and so this is going to be important information for conservationists and fishery managers to incorporate when they think about how sharks are going to respond to those sorts of changes.

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GORANI: Well, scientists have this sort of conception in mice, but only artificially induced in a laboratory setting. So, it's not just sharks, other species as well, apparently, are able to manage it.

CLANCY: Parthenogenesis, we've learned a new word today.

GORANI: We're going to use it all day.

CLANCY: No, I don't think so.

But, it's kind of linked here. Earlier in our program, we were telling you about that 60-year-old American woman who gave birth to twins.

GORANI: All right, well, it's a very, very distant link, but we are talking about pregnancy. Not surprisingly, it was a controversial decision. So, we asked you how old is too old to have a baby? Here's what some of you have to say.

Poyee writes, "It's a dichotomy, it's selfless to give up her retirement to her children, yet selfish to see how her old age may affect the children's upbringing."

CLANCY: Pia from Denmark weighed in with this one. She says it makes her sad to hear all the prejudice that surrounds women who choose to have children later in life. She wrote in this, "You should be free to choose when you want kids, even if it means helping biology a little."

GORANI: Well, Merle from Israel says, "Women are too old to have babies when Mother Nature deems that the child bearing years are over."

CLANCY: All right, Joe right here in the United States writes that she might be healthy enough to care for the babies, but what about in ten years? He says this, "It's very selfish act on her part with no thought of her kids' future."

GORANI: All right, we don't really ask that question when men have kids over 60, do we, at least not that often. Something to think about. Thanks to all of you who e-mailed us. Keep them coming. Our e-mail address is yourviews@cnn.com

CLANCY: All right, we've got to take a little -- say quickly here, good-bye and thank you for being with us. I'm Jim Clancy.

GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. Stay with CNN, a lot more ahead.

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