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Your World Today

New Job for Tony Blair; U.K. Flooding: Three Dead as Floods Hit England, Wales; Russian Controversial Group Nashi

Aired June 26, 2007 - 12:00   ET

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

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice over): Say goodbye to Downing Street. Say hello to the Middle East. Britain's prime minister getting a new job as he prepares to leave the old one.
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Water woes in northern England. Flashfloods send hundreds fleeing for safety, and more danger could be in store.

HOLMES: Early checkout for Paris Hilton. The hotel heiress is a free woman after three whole weeks in jail.

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And live from Moscow, we turn our eye on Russia's young people and take a closer look at a youth group that is stirring controversy both inside and outside the country.

I'm Jim Clancy.

CHURCH: It's 5:00 p.m. in London, 9:00 a.m. in Los Angeles.

Hello and welcome to our report broadcast all around the globe.

I'm Rosemary Church.

HOLMES: And I'm Michael Holmes.

From London to Los Angeles, Moscow to Milan, wherever you're watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

All right. Just as the door at 10 Downing Street is closing for good behind British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a new door opens on the international stage.

CHURCH: It certainly has. On his last full day in office before Gordon Brown takes over, we're getting confirmation of Mr. Blair's next big undertaking.

HOLMES: Yes. U.S. State Department officials tell CNN really in the last hour or so that Blair is going to be named a Middle East envoy on Wednesday.

CHURCH: That's right.

Becky Anderson is following the story from London, and Paula Hancocks is in Jerusalem with some reaction from the region.

HOLMES: Yes.

Let's start with you, Becky. Tell us -- tell us about this.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Michael, I think you and I both know that this has been mooted for some time, or at least the idea that Tony Blair would leave 10 Downing Street behind me on Wednesday and would move onto a position, a significant position of power on the global stage.

There had been talk in the past that he might take over at the World Bank after the disgrace Paul Wolfowitz had to stand down. But this, it appears, is the job that both the world wants him to do -- or certainly the world in the West wants him to do, and I would assume the job that he would want to do, too.

News today, as you say. And he's not wasting time, is he? Because that door only closes on him tomorrow. News that the State Department has suggested that the quartet for Middle East peace -- that's the U.S., U.K., Russia and the EU -- will announce tomorrow that he will be the new Middle East envoy.

Now, this will be important to Tony Blair. It was important to him during his 10 years in office, a decade in office that he got some results, some action on peace in the Middle East. Of course, that has been solid by his association with George W. Bush and the war in Iraq -- Michael.

HOLMES: Yes, Becky, interesting. Stay with us there, Becky, outside Number 10.

Let's go to Paula Hancocks, who is standing by in the region for us, ask about regional reaction.

Of course Tony Blair has some cred in the region, but of course he's being criticized for his role in Iraq and his non-role in the recent Israel-Lebanon conflict.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Michael, yes. And certainly the fact that he is so close to the U.S. president, George W. Bush, is not going to help him. It's not a qualification you want on your resume in this area.

So, first of all, he's going to have a huge job to try to cope with the challenge of two separate Palestinian states, if you like, at this point, with Hamas controlling Gaza and then also with president Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank. And from a personal issue, he is going to have to point out that he is neutral. He's going to have to prove to Palestinians and to the wider region that he is not still or not in the pocket of the U.S. And he can make independent decisions.

Now, we had an initial reaction from the emergency prime minister, Salam Fayyad, and he sounded positive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SALAM FAYYAD, PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Tony Blair has experience and knowledge in what is happening here. He sponsored the London conference as prime minister. He has a vision on how to deal with the economic situation. The main issue that we would cooperate on is the economic issue. I think he will be a valuable edition.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: But on the other side, we have heard from a Hamas spokesman saying it would be disastrous.

Now, the Israelis at this point are not officially saying anything. As I say, the position is not official. But an Israeli source does tell CNN that Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, is very positive about Blair -- Michael.

HOLMES: All right. Paula Hancocks there in Jerusalem.

Let's go back to Becky at Number 10.

Just on a purely note of interest, how did he spend the last day? I mean, this is -- he's been there a long time.

ANDERSON: He has been here a long time. And it's been a long goodbye, as far as many people are concerned. And we have known now for a very long time that Tony Blair will be going at the end of June.

It is, though, a momentous day here at Downing Street, Number 10, as I've said, just behind me. It's been his home for him, and his family, of course, for the past 10 days -- 10 years. This is, of course, the end of an era.

And take a look and see at just who came to say goodbye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON (voice over): The last official visitor to Britain's outgoing prime minister, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger brought a bit of show biz glamour to Tony Blair's final full day. A firm handshake from "The Terminator," and some mutual back-slapping.

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R-CA): I also want to take this opportunity and just say that the prime minister, I want to thank him for the great leadership that he has shown.

ANDERSON: Officially, this meeting was about climate change. Both leaders praising the other's green agenda. Blair commending Schwarzenegger for pushing the issue to center stage in the U.S.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I think that the fact that the state of California was making such a determined effort and setting out a new direction on the issue of climate change, I think all of these things play an enormous part.

ANDERSON: This is the last full day of Mr. Blair's 10 years in office. A strange time, perhaps, to welcome the California governor, and a strange topic to bid farewell on. A sign perhaps that Blair has his eye on life after Downing Street.

JAMES CUSICK, "SUNDAY HERALD": I suppose if he's off to the United States, if he's going to make some money on the electoral circuit, than you can never be really too close to somebody of Arnold Schwarzenegger's stardom, if you like.

ANDERSON: Well, it's no secret Mr. Blair loves a little bit of Hollywood glitz. He famously welcomed the stars of British pop culture to Downing Street on his arrival in office. Ten years later, he couldn't resist a final nod to his famous guest, Hollywood past (ph).

BLAIR: My press office said to me, whatever else you do this morning, don't say, "I'll be back." It would be gravely misinterpreted.

Nice to see you all.

Bye-bye.

SCHWARZENEGGER: Thank you very much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, for 10 years, some of the most powerful people in the world, of course, have been coming in and out of that door behind me. But perhaps he will be remembered that in his last day in office, full office, the full term as British prime minister, it was "The Terminator" himself who came to say goodbye -- Michael.

HOLMES: I'll be back.

Becky Anderson, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

And do be sure to join us tomorrow, our extensive coverage of the hand-over of power in Britain. A very important day for that country. Our coverage begins shortly before 11:00 hours GMT as Mr. Blair departs Number 10 Downing Street, for his final appearance in Prime Minister's Question Time in the House of Commons, the British parliament.

CHURCH: All right.

We do want to turn now to the world's weather. A story of fire and rain around the globe. And we start in South Asia, where thousands in India and Pakistan are evacuating as Cyclone Yen Yen (ph) roars inland.

Now, the storm made landfall in Pakistan Tuesday. Several people were killed. But the storm struck far to the west of the country's largest city, Karachi, where hundreds were killed in savage rainstorms and flooding over the weekend. Meteorologists predict the cyclone will weaken as it moves over land.

And now to Britain, where three people have died in floods triggered by torrential rain. The M1 motorway has been closed and 250 evacuated in South Yorkshire due to fears that a dam might collapse there.

As Damon Green reports, some office workers and motorists had to be rescued by RAF helicopters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAMON GREEN, REPORTER, ITV NEWS (voice over): The incredible sight of an RAF rescue in the heart of Sheffield. A helicopter designed to save ship wreck survivors plucking stranded office workers from a city center rooftop.

Rescue crews were scrambled after heavy rains burst the banks of the River Don, quickly flooding the Brightside Lane area of the city. Workers on an industrial estate finding themselves cut off on all sides by several feet of water.

ALAN BARBER, STRANDED OFFICE WORKER: We're right next to the river here. And one of my colleagues said, look, you know, if we're going to get out, we better get a move on because Brightside Lane was becoming impassable.

So by the time we sort of sorted ourselves out, there were cars floating down Brightside Lane. We're not sure at the moment what our situation is, whether they're going to airlift us or whether we're going to spend the night here.

GREEN: The dramatic airlift was prompted by reports that floodwaters had caused a part of one building to collapse. In all, 15 people were taken to safety, with 25 more escaping from cars caught up in the flood.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As soon as I got out of the car, it was just completely -- I couldn't -- it was just freezing. All of the water just took me. I went under water.

GREEN: Hundreds of residents were evacuated from other parts of Sheffield before they could become stranded by the rising waters. But after a day of heavy rainfall and flood warnings, the question will remain why the overflowing of this major river seemed to take everyone by surprise.

Damon Green, ITV News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Russia reinventing itself. Recharging its economy, and reasserting itself on the world's stage.

Live pictures coming to you there from Moscow.

And welcome back to CNN International and YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CHURCH: And you are looking at those live pictures from Moscow, our backdrop for today as we keep an eye on Russia all this week.

HOLMES: Yes. We want to focus right now on Russia's young people. Many watched communism crumble and a Cold War end.

CHURCH: That's right. They also watched as politics collapsed into chaos and perhaps witnessed their parents losing a lifetime of savings.

HOLMES: Now they're determined to forge a new future for their country.

Let's take you now to Jim Clancy, standing by there on the streets of Moscow with more.

Hi, Jim.

CLANCY: Hi to both of you, Rosemary and Michael.

You know, when you look at it, they do want to forge a new country. And they certainly are in the driver's seat in all of this. But are they going to do it through politics? Well, most believe they're going to do it by having an education and a career that works for them. That's how they want to rebuild Russia.

Very surprisingly, there was a study that was done by the Russian Academy of Sciences, its Sociology Institute, that noted that 49 percent of young Russians don't have any interest in politics at all.

Now, contrast that to a neighboring country like Ukraine, where young people, students and other young people, camped out in the so- called Orange Revolution and turned a pro-Kremlin politician out of office. Turned things upside down. Well, that concerned some people.

With so many people apathetic among the young people in Russia, they were concerned that, well, could there be an Orange Revolution here?

The Kremlin has worked to build its own groups up. One of them called Nashi, very controversial.

Our Jill Dougherty investigates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They're called Nashi, a word that means "our people," "our guys". Their core values, they say, are freedom and fairness. Their critics compare them to Nazi Germany's Hitler youth and call them Nashists.

This day in late May Nashi activists are rallying outside the European Commission building in Moscow, demanding freedom for one of their members arrested during riots in Estonia. The riots broke out in April when the Estonian government relocated a Soviet-era monument to Russian soldiers.

In Moscow, Nashi, along with several other Russian youth movements, organized a raucous weeklong blockade of the Estonian Embassy.

MARINA KALJURAND, ESTONIAN AMB. TO RUSSIA: We have problems with our security, meaning security of the building, as well as security of the staff. Our flag was torn down. Our windows were broken.

DOUGHERTY: When the ambassador held a news conference, the youth tried to shut it down. Guards repel them with tear gas.

Nashi was founded in April of 2005 by a circle of businessmen, a professor, and youth group leaders. Chief among them now, 36-year-old Vasily Yakamenko, an economist who once worked with the administration of President Vladimir Putin. Seventeen-year-old Masha Drokova is one of Nashi's 5,000 commissar, or core activists, a true believer in its mission.

MASHA DROKOVA, NASHI COMMISSAR (through translator): I always had inside of me a spark of patriotism. I wanted to improve things. I had all this energy, but it was all just potential.

When I joined the movement, came to meetings, and I heard the leaders, and I'm thinking, this is it. These are my thoughts exactly.

DOUGHERTY: Masha studies as the prestigious Moscow State University. Commissars can also study for free at Nashi's own university. And there are other perks, like internships at major Russian corporations.

Nashi has summer camps and organizes volunteer efforts like blood drives, opportunities that died out after the Soviet Union fell apart. As a commissar, Masha spends hours on activist work. Today, it's gathering signatures on a petition.

This month, she was chosen to appear on TV during a Nashi- sponsored concert on Red Square.

DROKOVA (through translator): We are the generation that was born at the same time a new Russia was being created. It's in our hands to make her great.

DOUGHERTY (on camera): Nashi says its goal is to make Russia a global leader of the 21st century. To do that, it must sweep away the old generation of leaders, the losers, as they call them, the ones who weakened Russia, and replace them with a new generation who will take Russia in the right direction.

(voice over): With its unswerving devotion to country, its terminology, its red jackets, and its boost for a young person's career, Nashi invites comparison to the Soviet-era Young Communist League, the Consemal (ph). But Nashi's leader calls the communist period repulsive.

"Nashi is not part of the government establishment," he says, "and it doesn't get government funding. Money comes from donors and large Russian corporations."

Nashi's critics say the movement has some positive aspects, but it can be used as a political tool.

KALJURAND (through translator): They are doing it, if not with the permission, then at least with a silent consent of Kremlin, because they are a pro-Kremlin youth organization, as I said, and they are having very direct and close ties with the high officials in Kremlin.

VASILY YAKEMENKO, NASHI FEDERAL COMMISSAR (through translator): The connection is that the president of Russian federation, Vladimir Putin, is completely positive about our work. He meets with us, and any meeting we have is a signal both to the government structures and to the business community that the president and, to a certainly extent, the government, considers this project a priority.

DOUGHERTY: Last year, the British ambassador to Russia attended a conference by Russian political leaders opposed to the Kremlin. Several of those leaders are on an enemies list compiled by Nashi. The group's activists began a six-month campaign of harassment.

ANTHONY BRENTONC, BRITISH AMB. TO RUSSIA: They were remarkably well informed about my movements. Remarkably professional in their ability to follow me in my car across congested Moscow. They had capacities and knowledge well beyond those that you would expect of just an ordinarily operating youth group.

DOUGHERTY: Nashi, according to its leader, can quickly call some 100,000 young people to the streets of cities across Russia. They must be ready, he says, to defend Russia and its energy resources.

YAKEMENKO (through translator): If we are not strong enough, then the American soldier who is now in Iraq or in the Republic of Georgia will be in our country.

DOUGHERTY: Jill Dougherty, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: What's feeding Nashi? Well, there's widespread support here for the notion that somehow the West is trying to undercut Russia and prevent it from taking its rightful place on the world stage -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: Jim, just before you go, looking at those movements in Jill Dougherty's package there, what sort of support is there, though, across the board for that sort of movement?

CLANCY: Well, because of their extreme tactics -- and you saw there in that report, they only have about six percent of support. But remember, there's this huge apathetic group of young people in the country, people who are really focused on getting their job, getting their career going, getting their education completed, being a success in life.

They want stability. They don't want to see the problems that Nashi causes. At the same time, 33 percent of them would vote for President Putin, and he can't even run, Rosemary, in the next election. But they want that stability that he represents.

Back to you.

CHURCH: Yes, it's interesting stuff.

Jim Clancy there in Moscow.

Thanks so much.

HOLMES: All right. We're going to check the business headlines next.

CHURCH: We'll do that.

And then later, religious intolerance. Why Germany is refusing to let Tom Cruise film scenes from his latest movie in the country.

We'll take a look at that. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN Center in Atlanta. More of "YOUR WORLD TODAY" in just a few minutes.

But first, a quick check on stories that are making headlines right here in the U.S.

It's happening right now, a make or break vote on immigration reform. The White House is pushing for the measure but facing stiff opposition from fellow Republicans. Supporters need 60 Senate votes to keep that bill alive.

Earlier, Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff joined us in the NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Now, I think the American people are looking to Congress to do the job they're elected to do, which is to fix a problem that has been around for 20 to 30 years. And if Congress can't fix the problem, I think the American public's going to be very disappointed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well so far, the measure has failed to stir strong support among the public. According to a CNN Opinion Research Corporation Poll, conducted just a few days ago, only 30 percent of Americans favor the Senate Immigration bill, nearly half oppose it. Nineteen percent of those polled say they simply don't know enough to even have an opinion.

Well, this news flash, Paris Hilton a free woman now, and now doubt enjoying swankier digs at her family's estate. Check it out. Hilton looked thrilled as she walked out of the Los Angeles County Jail just after midnight. There to greet her, about a zillion reporters and photographers. She ran straight to her mom, who was waiting in the SUV. The hotel heiress spent three weeks in jail for violating her probation on a reckless driving conviction. She's on probation until March 2009.

Hilton is giving her first post-jail TV interview to CNN's Larry King. It is an exclusive. You can catch it tomorrow night, 9:00 Eastern, only on CNN.

New information is expected soon on the deaths of pro wrestler Chris Benoit and his family. Autopsies set for today. Benoit was found dead in his home just outside Atlanta, along with his wife and 7-year-old son. Right now, police say they're treating the death as a murder/suicide.

Benoit was a popular wrestling champion. Most recently, with World Wrestling Entertainment. This video is from the WWE's tribute to Benoit. Wrestling fans may remember his wife Nancy Benoit as a one-time pro wrestler manager with the stage name "Woman."

We're going to be following the Chris Benoit story just ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM. Our Rusty Dornin is live at the wrestler's home in Fayetteville, Georgia. We're going to check in with her for any developments, including any information on those text messages allegedly sent by Benoit. Those messages now being called curious. We'll also bring you fan reaction from some of the most popular pro wrestling blogs.

That's straight ahead at 1:00 Eastern.

Also, all the memories are gone. Sad words from a California man. He's lost everything in that big wildfire just south of Lake Tahoe. He and his wife and their two young children now homeless.

Firefighters are making some progress. The blaze is about 40 percent contained, full containment expected by Sunday. As it stands right now, the fire has scorched about 2500 acres and destroyed at least 275 homes and other buildings. About a 1,000 people have had to evacuate.

Bonnie Schneider in the weather center, tracking conditions for us around those wildfires and elsewhere.

Hey, Bonnie.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Tonight on CNN, Larry King has a case of Beatle mania on tap as he chats with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, and Olivia Harrison. In case your "Fab Four" muscles are a little flabby, well, we've got a tune-up straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM. We're going to talk with Beatles' historian, Martin Lewis. Do they still count as the greatest rock band ever?

Meantime, "YOUR WORLD TODAY" continues right after the break.

I'm Kyra Phillips. We'll see you in about 30 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back everyone. To our viewers join us from mere than 200 countries and territories around the globe including the United States.

CHURCH: Right, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Rosemary Church.

HOLMES: I'm Michael Holmes. Let's update you now on some headline stories.

On his last full day in office, as the British prime minister, Tony Blair is preparing to step into an entirely new role. U.S. State Department officials tell CNN he will be named as an envoy by the Middle East quartet on Wednesday. Mr. Blair's final official visitor at 10 Downing Street was California governor and ex-Hollywood actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

CHURCH: Now, Tony Blair's most controversial decision was, of course, going to war in Iraq. The results there will shape his legacy. British forces have been concentrated in the southeast, around Basra, a crucial city that brittle still doesn't control. Jonathan Mann has some insight.

JONATHAN MANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony Blair was the first Western leader to visit Iraq after the invasion and the first place he went was Basra. He went there on the last visit to the country, as well. That city is the center and the symbol of the British war effort, but apart from the prime minister and the people who work for him, the consensus is that things haven't gone all that well in Blair's Basra.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. GRAEME LAMB, MULTINATIONAL TASK FORCE: I tend not to do the "D" words out here: decisive, defeated, I see democracy with a small "d," but defeated, no, we haven't been defeated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: Basra is Iraq's second largest city, with about a million and a half people. It's in the richest oil region of the country and Iraq's only access to the sea. So, it really is the economic heart of the country. If you want to imagine Baghdad as some kind of embattled Iraqi version of Washington, think of Basra of New York City or at least new York if it were under the heel of Iran.

British troops moved into Basra at the start of the Iraq war and for much of the time since, it's been relatively calm. But the British never really controlled the city, Shia militias did. Last September, about 1,000 British troops and 2,300 Iraqis, went to work with something they called "Operation Sinbad," an effort to push back the militias and win public confidence.

An international think tank called the "International Crisis Group" is now the latest voice to say that it didn't work.

The crisis group found misuse of official institutions, political assassinations, tribal vendettas, neighborhood vigilantism, and criminal mafias. A local law professor told "The Guardian" newspaper that if the Profit Mohammed would come to Basra today, he would be killed because he doesn't have a militia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAMOUN FANDY, INTL. INST. OF STRATEGIC STUDIES: Most of this is family feuds and tribal feuds in Basra trying to really get the best they can out of the worst situation. You have external involvement from Iran, from Gulf States, from the Americans. So, really it's very difficult to control.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: The British are now slowly withdrawing from the Basra area as they slowly bring down their numbers in Iraq, overall. The idea was to leave the city in the hands of its people, and that will happen, but outsiders say the real power over Basra won't be there or in Baghdad, for that matter, it will be in Iran. Teheran will really be calling the shots, according Mamoun Fandy and to other people, it is already.

CHURCH: So John, what is Iran doing there, exactly? What are the specifics? Do we know?

MANN: Well, they are sending money and they are sending weapons, but they're a lot more involved than that, and in some ways, in very innocent ways. There's a lot of business. The markets are full or Iranian products, there's a lot of intermarriage, people live nearby, they're marrying each other across the border.

But more importantly, there's a mix of politics and religion that is incredibly powerful. The city is essentially a battleground between competing political parties. But, two of the most powerful ones are parties that fought Saddam Hussein from inside Iran. When Saddam left, those parties went back, they took over the city, and those, the people with Iran's help, who are really running the city, now and after the British leave.

Mamoun Fandy, the man you just heard from, in fact, put it a different way. He said that what's going on now in Basra is a war between the United States and Iran. And the British troops there are just caught in the middle.

CHURCH: Interesting, interesting that and also the impact on Tony Blair for the future.

MANN: Really. That was his town, really, above all.

CHURCH: Yes, that's right. All right, Jonathan Mann with that insight. Thanks so much -- Michael.

HOLMES: Well, all right, to a completely different story, now. A five-course dinner in Italy's picturesque Tuscany region sounds rather wonderful, doesn't it? Well, the only catch for this place is you have to go to prison to enjoy it. But as Alessio Vinci tells us, the food, the atmosphere, well, bar none.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In prison, dinner was always a big thing.

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The wise guys in the movie hit "Goodfellas" may be fiction, but fine dining in jail has become reality in Italy.

We'll call them the Volterra (ph) fellows after the name of the small Tuscan town where their prison and magnificent old Medicia fortress turns into a restaurant for four nights a year.

Tonight's chef is Massimo Itso (ph) from Sicily. Six years into a 14-year sentence for murder. A brief career in a kitchen when he was a free man, he now leads a small team of convicted murders and robbers working on a five-course meal that includes gnocchi, risotto, meatballs, and roasted pig.

"Everything there is to learn here, I'll put it on the side for the future," he says, "It's also a good way to kill time," he adds.

Diners enter the jail through the main gate, just as any prisoner would. Handbags are duly searched. No cell phones lowed. Meal costs 25 Eros or just over $30 donated to charity.

Guests are welcomed by a glass of champagne offered by Mauricio. He's four years into a nine-year sentence for murder. Guitano (ph), another murder, uncorks one bottle after the other and takes his time. He is in for life.

The prison guards are split between guarding and giving inmates a hand and making sure everything runs smoothly. This would be a perfect night to escape, says one. But the atmosphere is relaxed, also thanks to Bruno, nine years in for homicide. It feels more like a village festival than a gourmet meal. The food keeps coming, so does the wine, not forbidden in Italian jails.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The food, I think it's good.

VINCI: And guests appear to love the surroundings and not mind some of the prison restrictions, like plastic cutlery.

Inmates and guests could be like old friends at a Friday night dinner. It is easy to forget this is a prison, even if you're a prisoner.

(on camera): The program has been a huge success. Tables have been fully booked weeks in advance and there are even inquiries from abroad. The only prerequisite to be admitted, you must have a clean slate, and we're told no one has been rejected yet.

Alessio Vinci, CNN, inside a maximum security prison in Volterra, Italy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: I'm glad the cooks are murders and robbers, it would be awful if they were poisoners (ph) or something.

CHURCH: Yeah, well, I'd be a bit disconcerted with the knives that are around.

HOLMES: Not the knives and forks, but huge carving knives (INAUDIBLE), not a problem.

CHURCH: Yeah, have access to this. All right.

HOLMES: Interesting. But it is Tuscany.

CHURCH: It is.

HOLMES: All right. Still ahead, who is a hero?

CHURCH: We will introduce you to someone who's made a difference and we'll tell you why.

And also ahead, desolate, remote, and brutalized. A Central African Republic, a forgotten country, really, caught between the turmoil in Darfur and Chad, and wracked by its own violence.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, we take you now to the Central African Republic. a desolate, poor country that has suffered army revolts, coups and rebellions since it gained independence from France some four decades ago.

HOLMES: Yeah, aide groups say millions of civilians are threatened by the conflict which continues between the government and the rebels. It's also threatened by the turmoil of Sudan's Darfur region and Chad. You can see their proximity there on the map.

CHURCH: Nick Paton-Walsh reports on the effort to bring freedom to child soldiers in the rebel army.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON-WALSH, CHANNEL-4 NEWS (voice-over): Desolate, remote, brutalized, a land that's fended for itself for 30 years. Few outsiders set foot in this, the forgotten north of the forgotten Central African Republic. Yet, life endures here, caught between the turmoil of Chad and the genocide of Darfur, and cursed with chaos of its own.

Security so precarious here, the U.N. only just about to operate as they discuss a peace deal with rebels in their stronghold.

(SINGING) This is the rebel army. The UFDR, and their leader, General Zakaria Daman. Few arms between them, and by all accounts, fewer rules. One of their most plentiful assets, children. As part of the peace deal, the generals agreed to release 450 of them to aide agency, UNICEF, yet they're hardly (INAUDIBLE) happy. Perhaps it's their troubled past or the uncertainty of their future.

This boy, in camouflage, claims he's 16, stuttering, terrified, saying he shot dead two government troops just three months ago.

"When I shot them, my head started spinning. I fell down and passed out."

Two years of his army's war, scarring even his dreams.

"Wherever I fall asleep, I have nightmares. I see the heads of the dead without their bodies."

Volatile as the area, much is made of these children's liberation, dignitaries flying in to witness this first act of good faith from the rebels.

(on camera): But despite these celebrations, it has been touch and go here up until the last moment, which we could tell by the awkward body language, it almost fell apart at the last minute because of disarmament, and there are still many rebel soldiers here, but they have achieved one thing, which is to bring these boy soldiers out of the rebel army and now turn them into school children.

(voice-over): Just a few hours after the ceremony, the boy we interviewed is back in his old military gear. He says he doesn't want to go home, but join the army and become minister of defense. He's a victim of a civil war that's gone mostly unnoticed in the West. But unlike other intractable conflicts on this continent, a Western power has definitively taken a side a strong-arm intervention that's proven controversial.

The boys we spoke to shared one experience, a story barely heard in the West, but alive in these boys' drawings, the fight for the northern town of Birao (ph), this March, and how the French used jets to bomb their rebel army.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We were afraid as we don't have any arms to kill the mirages (ph). They used bombs. That's the mirage and we were under the mango trees.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mangoes. That's the clash. Clash nukauv (ph).

PATON-WALSH: So we headed for Birao, through a landscape of a anarchy ruin and rape. One, that in this village Masabo (ph) is beginning to resemble the bloodshed of neighboring Darfur.

Raiders on horseback came here in February, killing 56, torched homes and graves, all that remains. Locals say they were the Janjaweed from Sudan. The same armed men blamed for the genocide in Darfur.

As we head north, it's clear this violence has put an entire region on the move. Here, a mosque was leveled. These locals say, after government troops dragged four men into the streets, asked no questions, and then executed them as rebel sympathizers.

Another three men were killed in this compound, also allegedly also by government troops for the same reasons. At the time, it was used by aid agency Medisance Frontier (ph).

This is the village chief. He says he watched two French jets fly three sorties (ph) over the compound. He says he was meters from here when he saw one jet drop something that enveloped this house in flames. Medisance Frontier (ph) declined to comment on the incident.

The local commander of government troops denied accusations of execution and rape.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That not true. No. My soldier, you see, no. That not true.

PATON-WALSH (on camera): And what about the soldiers who here in March? An earlier unit, perhaps.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The same. That's not true.

PATON-WALSH (voice-over): His rations spell out the links between local and French troops, but their commander also said local troops didn't attack civilians.

COMMANDANTE CHRISTOPHE BAURE, FRENCH CMDR., BIRAO (through translator): In a military action, collateral damage is possible. I wasn't here to see any, but there was no voluntary action against the population.

PATON-WALSH: Despite a fragile peace, what little community there is, is in collapse. This woman has malaria and is eight months pregnant. She came from 25 kilometers away only to find no medicine in this hospital to help her. Her husband looks on, powerless.

That day, a U.N. team lands to see what can be done to fill the vacuum left here by conflict. For some, though, no intervention now is enough. As we leave Birao, we pass the funeral cortege of the pregnant woman with malaria. She died seven hours after we saw her. A people who can no longer afford to wait for help or choose who gives it.

Nick Paton-Walsh, Channel-4 News, Birao.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, at the time of fighting in March, the French defense ministry said its jets had fired on rebels who attacked a French Military compound near Birao, destroying several pickup trucks. The French government has denied its forces bombed anywhere in the town. Stay with us, more of YOUR WORLD TODAY when we come back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: American mega-star, Tom Cruise, may find filming his next movie in Germany to be somewhat a mission impossible. Cruise is set to star in a film about an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler. But Germany's defense minister said no because of the actor's association with the Church of Scientologists.

CHURCH: All right, switching gears now, what makes someone a hero?

HOLMES: Yeah, All this year, CNN is answering that question by introducing you to some rather incredible people.

CHURCH: Today, we're shedding the spotlight on a mountain climber who was troubled by an ugly sight on his hikes, so he decided to do anything about it.

HOLMES: Yeah, meet "CNN Hero," Ken Noguchi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEN NOGUCHI, ALPINIST AND CNN HERO (through translator): Before I was known for being the youngest one to climb the highest peaks.

But, recently people say, oh, it's the "garbage guy."

I started picking up trash on Everest eight years ago.

NOGUCHI: My name is Ken Noguchi, and I'm alpinist, and also clean the mountain.

NOGUCHI (voice of interpreter): When I first climbed Mount Everest, it was full of garbage, especially Japanese garbage stood out.

Many European alpinists reproached me saying, "You Japanese have bad manners."

I really felt terrible. It's obviously Japanese garbage. Anyone can see that. So, I thought, if it's so obvious, we should clean it up.

Cleaning Everest is especially tough. Many times I thought I would quit, because it was so hard. But if I stop, all I've endured loses its meaning.

On Mount Fuji we clean year-round. First we teach the volunteers how to separate for recycling. But then, the important thing is to explain to them why we are picking up the garbage.

When I find this dangerous garbage, I feel the sense of crisis firsthand. I do this because it's my social responsibility.

With such a mission, rather than doing it quietly, it is better to advertise. So, if I become a hero and lots of people start coming, then being a hero is a good thing, isn't it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: All right. What a hero.

Well, that's it for this hour. I'm Rosemary Church.

HOLMES: Yeah, I'm Michael Holmes. This is CNN.

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