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Your World Today
Airport Incidents Concern U.S. Authorities; Muslim Support for Suicide Bombings has Fallen; Flooding in Britain; Iraqi Football Team Reaches Asian Cup Final With Win Over South Korea
Aired July 25, 2007 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Fire and rain. In parts of Europe, a record-breaking heat wave fuels dozens of blazes, while Britain endures its worst flooding in decades.
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Something to cheer about. Iraqis celebrate as the soccer team reaches its first Asian Cup final.
CLANCY: And online predators. Dating sites present a cyber world of opportunity for child sex offenders.
CHURCH: It's 5:00 p.m. in London, 8:00 p.m. in Baghdad.
Hello and welcome to our report broadcast all around the globe.
I'm Rosemary Church.
CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy.
From Beirut, to Washington, wherever you are watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
Much action in the war on terror on all sides.
CHURCH: That's right. The Taliban have executed one of the nearly two dozen South Koreans they're holding hostage in Afghanistan.
CLANCY: And meantime, western governments stepping up their anti-terror measures.
CHURCH: While a groundbreaking new poll suggests terrorists are losing support for suicide bomb attacks against civilians, even among Muslims in the Middle East.
Well, we begin with a series of suspicious incidents at airports across the United States that has U.S. anti-terrorism authorities on alert.
Keith Oppenheim joins us now from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, one of the several places where airport security workers got quite a scare lately.
Tell us about it.
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Rosemary. At the center of the story is an internal memo from the United States Transportation Security Administration. It's a bulletin that was sent out to law enforcement, and the question here is whether this was just sort of routine sharing of information with front-line security people or whether this memo is an indication that terrorists have been planning an attack on some airports and trying to test security while they're doing it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OPPENHEIM (voice over): The TSA bulletin was meant for law enforcement and it had an alarmist tone. It read, "A Surge in recent suspicious incidents at U.S. airports may indicate terrorists are conducting pre-attack security probes and dry runs similar to dress rehearsals."
The memo cited four confiscations at four airports dating back to last fall, and in each case suggesting what was found may have been meant to resemble a bomb.
September 16th, Baltimore. Agents find a checked bag with a block of cheese connected to a cell phone charger.
November 8th, Houston. Inside a passenger's checked bag, a plastic bag with a 9-volt batteries, wires and a block of clay.
June 4th, Milwaukee. A carry-on bag contains a wire coil around an electrical switch, three tubes and two blocks of cheese.
And July 5th, San Diego. A checked bag contains duct tape around two icepacks filled with clay.
The bullet went on to say some of these incidents led the TSA to evacuation terminals, but ultimately the investigation had not linked passengers carrying these items with terrorist organizations. It read, "However, most passengers' explanations for carrying the suspicious items were questionable, and some investigations are still ongoing."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
OPPENHEIM: In response to news stories about this bulletin, Rosemary, TSA officials seem to be downplaying the possibility of any imminent danger. They say that there is no intelligence which suggests a credible or specific threat to the United States' homeland, and they also say that bulletins like this are quite common. That, in fact, 90 or so similar unclassified bulletins have been sent to law enforcement in the last six months.
So, the suggestion from TSA in response is, this is all just part of sharing information and trying to keep front-line law enforcement on alert -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: All right.
Keith Oppenheim with that report.
Thanks so much -- Jim.
CLANCY: On another front, murder and more threats. The Taliban say they are ready to kill more South Korean aid workers if the Afghan government doesn't start releasing Taliban prisoners.
The Associated Press now reporting Afghan police have recovered the bullet-riddled body of a South Korean hostage. One of 23 aid workers abducted outside Kabul last Thursday. The Taliban say they killed the man because the Afghan government has refused to meet its demands.
Meantime, a new survey shows a big slump in support for suicide attacks in Muslim countries. The Pew Global Attitudes Project also found that many developing nations have experienced a jump in economic growth, and that has led to greater optimism and satisfaction with life.
What does it all mean? Let's get more on the research. Here's U.S. affairs editor Jill Dougherty -- Jill.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN U.S. AFFAIRS EDITOR: Jim, it's the largest global survey the Pew Research Center has ever done. More than 45,000 interviews in 47 nations.
A key finding, growing numbers of Muslims in the Middle East and elsewhere are rejecting Islamic extremism. The survey also shows a dramatic decline in support of suicide bombings, at least in some countries -- in Lebanon, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Jordan and Indonesia.
The proportion of Muslims who say suicide bombings and other attacks against civilians are justified has declined by half or more in the past five years. In Lebanon, for example, just 34 percent of Muslims supported suicide bombings in 2002, 74 percent thought suicide bombings were justified.
However, among Palestinians, it's a different story. Seventy percent of Palestinians in this survey believe that suicide bombings against civilians are at least sometimes justifiable.
There's also less support, interestingly, for Osama bin Laden. In Jordan, for example, 20 percent say they have confidence in bin Laden. That's down from 56 percent four years ago.
In the Palestinian territories, confidence in Osama bin Laden is slipping a bit, too. But it does remain relatively high. In 2003, it stood at 72 percent. Today, it's 57 percent.
And finally, which country do people in Muslim countries, in Latin America and in China see as the greatest threat? It's the United States. But interestingly, almost as frequently, the U.S. is named as the biggest ally, especially in Africa, Israel and Kuwait.
CLANCY: You know, very interesting findings, but as we look at all of this, what explains it?
DOUGHERTY: I asked them, the Pew Center, about that. And they said in places and countries where they have had actual experience with suicide bombers and other terrorist acts, support for it tends to go down. And in some of those countries, you're seeing exactly that, that people, in effect, could be very, you know, fed up with what is happening.
CLANCY: Jill Dougherty reporting to us there live from Washington -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: Well, British prime minister Gordon Brown says there have been 15 attempted terrorist attacks in the nation since the 9/11 attacks. In his first security briefing since he took over as prime minister last month, Mr. Brown proposed a series of anti-terror measures.
He says police should be able to detain terror suspects for a longer period. Currently, British authorities are allowed to hold suspects for 28 days without charging them.
Now, this compares with France, which on average can hold suspects four six days, while Spain and Italy can hold suspects for five and four days respectively. Under some circumstances, the U.S. allows for indefinite detention.
CLANCY: Gordon Brown this day has been out once again in some of the areas of Britain that have suffered from the flooding. Millions of Europeans suffering through the weather right now in various ways. In central and southern Europe, it feels like a furnace.
CHURCH: That's right.
Well, Britain, as we heard from Jim, endures its worst flooding in 60 years.
CNN's Phil Black reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The extreme moods of European weather, as more of England is affected by flooding. A heat wave is fueling dozens of fires in Italy, Greece and the Balkans, and brutal temperatures often above 40 Celsius or 140 degrees Fahrenheit have led to the death of more than 500 people, mostly elderly, across central and southern Europe.
Authorities in Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria report people collapsing in the streets, and deaths from conditions aggravated by the heat. As the moment (ph) has climbed, governments advise their citizens to stay inside, conserve electricity and drink lots of water.
Some chose to frolic in it.
Beyond the cities, crop losses are said to be severe. The heat, lightning strikes and arson are being blamed for forest fires from Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Greece and Italy.
Thousands of people, many of them tourists, have been forced to leave the worst-hit areas. Also being evacuated for very different reasons, hundreds of people in central England.
The floods have left more than 300,000 people without clean running water, and still more are being affected. The swollen River Thames has now flooded parts of the university town of Oxford.
A week of simultaneous flooding and scorching temperatures that has left experts divided on the cause. A freak weather event, or a symptom of broader climate change.
Phil Black, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: You're with YOUR WORLD TODAY.
CHURCH: And just ahead this hour, amid the death, destruction and chaos of war, joyous celebrations across Iraq. We'll go live to Baghdad to find out why.
CLANCY: Then, then U.S. medical field's version of the group of eight. We're going to introduce you to eight American doctors who just graduated from med school in Cuba.
CHURCH: And later, a passage to India for Jewish tourists. Why so many of them? They're experiencing a religious awakening on the subcontinent.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Authorities in Dallas, Texas, are investigating a series of explosions at a liquefied natural gas facility.
Looking at those live pictures now.
CLANCY: At least two people have been seriously injured in these blasts that sent flaming debris raining down on buildings and a nearby highway.
CHURCH: Hospital officials say at least two people have been injured. That's what we know so far.
CLANCY: Now, the area, nearly a kilometer wide around this plant, has now been evacuated, and no word yet on what exactly may have ignited the blast. There was some talk of a truck that was parked near the facility might have exploded, and that triggered it all, but much of this still under investigation.
Welcome back to CNN International and YOUR WORLD TODAY.
CHURCH: We're covering the news the world wants to know and giving you some perspective that goes a little deeper into the stories of the day.
And we'll head to Iraq.
Every day, there are stories of death, destruction and the frustrations of war. Today, some good news for a change.
The nation's football team has reached its first ever Asian Cup final, with a thrilling victory over South Korea on penalty kicks. And the celebrations throughout Iraq second to none.
Let's bring in our Arwa Damon now from Baghdad.
It's great to have something to rejoice about for a change, isn't it?
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It definitely is, Rosemary. And I can tell you, the final moments of that game were incredibly tense.
Here in our own bureau we had everybody gathered around the televisions, the Iraqi staff., our Western staff. Everyone really rooting for Iraq, wanting to see Iraqis finally have something to celebrate. And, indeed, today they did.
Within seconds of that winning goal being scored, gunfire erupted across the capital lasting for at least an hour. People were celebrating out on the streets, across the entire country.
We saw Iraqis happy for once in such a long time. These massive smiles just radiating on everyone's face.
Really such a rare and unique moment in this country today that has been, as you just mentioned, so wrought with violence. But tragically, the violence also did hit these celebrations.
What we are hearing is that there were at least two explosions in the capital. Both of them targeting Iraqis that were just out to rejoice.
One of them happening in central Baghdad, killing at least 10 people, wounding another 62. The second killing at least seven people and wounding 27.
But as you can see on your screens there, the celebrations still continuing. This, of course, a massive reality check. Really bursting the celebratory bubble, but a lot of Iraqis I think are going to try to hold on to the emotions, the joy that they are feeling this day for as long as they can -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: Absolutely, Arwa. And this is the situation for them, that there isn't a lot to rejoice about. But it's wonderful to see that soccer, through a very diverse team, it might be said, has united the country so extensively.
DAMON: Absolutely, Rosemary. And I think it is probably best summed up by one of the many chants that we heard across Iraq today, with Iraqis chanting, "Sunni, Shia, Kurds, Christian, we are all united. Damn terrorism!"
And really, in times like this, it is very refreshing to see the nation come together. A lot of Iraqis themselves saying that right now they really believe that they were truly unified. And really, soccer, is the only thing that this country has going for it at this time, and everyone across Iraq -- I even spoke to someone, a friend of mine living in Jordan, who said Iraqis in Jordan had taken to the streets celebrating, as well -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: Arwa, just very quickly, we don't get to get your own response to a lot of these things, but in this instance, just want to get a more personal view from you. What were you thinking when you saw the results here and the response?
DAMON: Well, Rosemary, I have to say, I'm not really a soccer fan, but today I became one. I was unspeakably happy, watching everyone around me so excited about this win that took place.
But then, there was, you know, the reality of the car bombs, the explosions that took place. And that kind of was such a harsh reminder of what exists out there, that it really brought my personal mood down just a little bit -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: Understand that.
Arwa Damon reporting from Baghdad.
Thanks so much.
CLANCY: A tough story to cover. And, you know, ups and downs never end in Baghdad.
Well, let's check some of the other news that is making headlines around the world.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Welcome back to our viewers joining us from more than 200 countries and territories around the globe including United States. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Rosemary Church.
And here are some of the top stories we've been following. A heat wave is roasting southeastern Europe with temperatures in some areas soaring to 45 degrees Celsius. Officials in Hungary say some 500 people have died in that country alone.
In Britain, meantime, flood waters are still on the rise after the River Thames burst its banks around Oxford. Damages from the floods are now expected to top $6 billion.
Afghan police have recovered the bullet-riddled body of a South Korean hostage in Afghanistan. He is one of 23 aid workers abducted last Thursday. The Taliban say they executed the man because the Afghan government refused to meet their demands and are ready to kill more hostages.
A new research by the Pew Research Center shows dwindling support for terrorism in many Muslim countries. In Lebanon, Jordan, Pakistan and Indonesia, the proportion of Muslims who that think violence in the name of Islam is justified has dropped by at least half in the past five years. However, 70 percent Palestinians still say suicide attacks against civilians are, often, or sometimes justified.
CLANCY: Now, this isn't good news but it certainly is important. If you're a parent with a pre-teen or a teenager, there's a good chance the child has an online profile. But just who is out there looking at those profiles and trying your contact or kids -- or making contact?
MySpace.com says it's discovered 29,000 registered sex offender on it's Web site. That's a fourfold increase from the number that MySpace reported just two months ago. The company initially withheld the information citing privacy concerns, but then, U.S. state attorneys pressed, demanded, and MySpace began releasing the names and the locations where those sex offenders live.
Yeah, sex offenders have come up with another method, too, to target their victims: dating Web sites. Some of them post profiles on sites like Match.com, seeking out women with children. And Allan Chernoff gives us a look at that, and the dangers of online dating.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Aloneandlooking396 is looking for love on Match.com. He writes in his profile, "Life is so wonderful. I know I am not meant to spend it alone." Adding, he would like to meet a woman who has children.
What he doesn't reveal is that he is a convicted child molester. His real name is Michael Bradley and five years ago he pled guilty to sodomizing a 15-year-old boy Suffolk County, New York and was sentenced to 10 years of probation, including a prohibition against socializing on the Internet.
When CNN went to the gas station Bradley owns to ask him what he was doing on Match.com, his daughter Kim told us to leave.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He doesn't want to speak to anybody right now. His lawyer advised him to ask you to leave the premises. Please leave the premises, OK?
CHERNOFF (on camera): Is he here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. He is not. You can leave now.
CHERNOFF (voice over): Nor was Mr. Bradley at home.
After getting anonymous complaints about Bradley's profile on Match.com, the child abuse prevention group Parents for Megan's Law set up a fictional Match.com profile, compassionatemom, a single parent of seven and 12-year-old boys, the group says it got a quick response after contacting Bradley through the site.
LAURA AHEARN, PARENTS FOR MEGAN'S LAW: Within hours he e-mailed back wanting to set up a meet to have coffee or ice cream. Online dating services make it very easy for sexual predators to use their sites. They're candy stores for potential victimizations.
CHERNOFF: Suffolk County probation office ordered Bradley off the dating site and confiscated his computer. Now forensic investigators are analyzing the hard drive to deliver evidence in court that Bradley violated his probation.
DONNA VIGILANTE, FORENSIC INVESTIGATOR: We're finding more and more of our probationers online, using the Internet as a tool, to say, groom victims.
CHERNOFF: Match.com, which declined to speak on camera, says it quickly pulled Bradley's profile after receiving a complaint.
"Member safety is and always will be our highest priority at match.com," a spokesperson told CNN.
It's not only dating sites that present opportunity for sex offenders. 33-year-old Michael Karris (ph), last month, pled guilty to raping a six-year-old girl in Ohio after meeting her mother through the social networking site Myspace.com. He has been sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It makes me feel so guilty because I feel like I allowed it to happen.
CHERNOFF: Online dating site True.com, which screened applicants, unlike most dating services including Match.com says it has blocked 30,000 convicted felons and sex offenders so far this year.
HERB VEST, CEO, TRUE.COM: They go on and look for women with children, and particularly women with children that have photos of those children, so that the fantasy begins to build at that point.
CHERNOFF: Good reason for women looking for love online to be very cautious and experts say provide few details, and no pictures of the kids, when first meeting an online suitor. Allan Chernoff, CNN, Suffolk County, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Well, if you're one of the 31 million users of addicted to the web site, Facebook, prepare for the possibility of going cold turkey. The people behind a rival networking site, called Connectyou, trying to get Facebook shut down. They claim Facebook found, Mark Zuckerberg (ph), stole the idea from them. They have launched a lawsuit accusing him of fraud, copyright infringement, and misuse of trade secrets. Facebook has asked a judge to dismiss the suit. A hearing is scheduled today in Boston.
Well, in the United States, many politicians post profiles on social networking sites, but in Japan that's not allowed. Eunice Yoon explains why in such a tech-savvy country, online campaigning is against the law.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) EUNICE YOON, CNN INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): As part of his bid to seek reelection this summer, Japanese politician, Kan Suzuki, decided to take a page out of the political handbooks of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
In April, he headed to the Internet and opened this office in cyber world of Second Life. Where he made policy speeches and chatted with voters. But less than three months later, he was forced to shut it down. Otherwise, he would be breaking the law.
KAN SUZUKI, JAPANESE POLITICIAN: This is strange, very, very strange. I feel, so this is a very important key technology.
YOON: In the U.S., the Internet has become an important campaign tool. Candidate have their own pages on networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. They can blog, post videos. They can even field questions from citizens on YouTube like in Monday's debate on CNN.
But in Japan, a country where over two thirds of the people go online the campaign laws have yet to catch up with the technology.
(On camera): According to the electoral laws here, politicians on the campaign trail can only communicate with voters the old fashioned way, through speeches, pamphlets or posters.
(Voice over): Japan's election laws were created in 1950s, and haven't changed much since.
SATORU SHIBATA, GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL: My generation's not familiar with Internet campaigning. People my age are nervous about it.
YOON: Critics worry the net isn't regulated enough and can lead to anonymous, slanderous comments in chat rooms like this one. But Suzuki thinks that feet dragging is driven the old guard of lawmakers, who could lose out on younger voters, like Yuhei Hagio.
YUHEI HAGIO, OFFICE WORKER: Young people get their information online. We're too busy during the day to listen to campaign stumping.
YOON: Instead, net-izens they learn more about their favorite politicians on Web sites like Yahoo.Japan. Yet even here, campaigning candidates are blocked from updating their profiles. Suzuki believes that is a mistake. He's already tried to overturn the election law four times.
SUZUKI: This is my mission, to try and change, experiment with information technology.
YOON: An experiment, he believes, could motivate millions of people here to get involved in Japan's democratic process. Eunice Yoon, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: You may have heard that country song lamenting the sorrow of sleeping single in a double bed.
CHURCH: Well, some Japanese women who slumber solo have found what could be the ultimate sleeping partner. He doesn't snore or hog the covers.
CLANCY: And he never gets tiring of snuggling, either, Rosemary.
CHURCH: The boyfriend's arm pillow has been snatched up by a thousand people since hitting the shelves in December.
CLANCY: Yeah. There's his arm. It sells for $80, and it comes in blue, pink or green unlike the human counterparts.
CHURCH: That's right. What a comforting arm that is.
Still ahead, finding faith in the country famous for spiritual awakening.
CLANCY: Israeli tourists in India, getting some help to stay in touch with their Jewish roots. We're going to tell you why rabbis are also making the trip with them. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: And a warm welcome back. You are watching YOUR WORLD TODAY here on CNN International.
CLANCY: That's right, seen live in more than 200 countries and territories across the globe including yours.
Well, it's a unique way to study abroad. A group of American medical students graduated -- where? In Cuba.
CHURCH: In Cuba, right. Most Americans aren't even allowed to travel to Cuba and the United States 45-year embargo on Cuban goods has choked off nearly all trade between the two countries.
CLANCY: Now, there are eight graduates, though, they are the first Americans to take advantage of a Cuban program that sends them to medical school for free.
CHURCH: That's right. That's hard to turn your back on. All of them say they'll bring their skills back in the United States. Morgan Neil reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MORGAN NEIL, CNN INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For this group of young Americans, this day marks the end of six demanding years. They're graduating from medical school, in Cuba. Despite the political divide between the U.S. and Cuba, these students say they were drawn by the school's commitment to treating the poor and by the full scholarships.
Toussaint, who is from New York, says he doesn't have to chase a big salary because he doesn't have to pay off loans.
TOUSSAINT REYNOLDS, MEDICAL SCHOOL GRADUATE: That's helping me -- allowing me to work in underprivileged communities that I don't have the debt that most recent graduates from medical school would have.
Kenya, who studied pre-med at Berkeley, agrees.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Practicing medicine has become like a business.
NEIL: That's a concept Cuban leader Fidel Castro attacked for years.
So here at the school, he founded in 1999, Havana's Latin American School of Medicine, students make a commitment to return home to work in underserved communities.
The Americans studied along with students from across the region. They took classes taught entirely in Spanish, and lived in austere conditions. Now they head back to a country where health care is at the center of a national debate. They say their time in Cuba has given them an unusual perspective.
WING WU, MEDICAL SCHOOL GRADUATE: We were coming from medical care system that is based on prevention and based on community care.
NEIL: Principles, critics have said, are sorely lacking in the U.S. system. But how do they deal with criticism that their education has been funded by a totalitarian government?
CARMEN LANDAU, MEDICAL SCHOOL GRADUATE: I have a lot of criticisms about the way that the Cuban government is working, right now, but I also feel really ambivalent in the United States, and about how the U.S. government works. And I think that if you care about something, you have an obligation to do your best to make it better.
NEIL: As for charges the school is used for Communist propaganda --
LANDAU: Maybe it's good PR, but that's fine by me. Because it's benefiting everyone and I think that's legit.
NEIL (on camera): Here in Havana's Hallmarks Theater, all of these students have now officially ended their studies here in Cuba. At least the eight Americans here can't rest yet. Now they have to go back to the United States to take their qualifying exams. Morgan Neil, CNN, Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Well, it pretty much goes without saying, life in Israel can be pretty stressful. So it's no surprise that after completing their mandatory service former Israeli soldiers seek solace and spiritual awakening. CLANCY: They want a little time off, too. I mean, just to relieve the pressure. Where do they go to find this care-free existence?
CHURCH: Well, India. But as Delia Gallagher reports, rabbis are checking in on the travelers so they don't forget their traditions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Rabbi Shuki has come all the way from New York to make sure the milk is kosher, and to keep and eye on the kids. He's one of a number of rabbis sent from the Israel, the United States and Canada to help young Israeli tourists traveling in this land of gods and goddesses to stay in touch with their Jewish roots.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to take care of all the Jewish people, every Jewish person, Jewish people like it is my own son.
GALLAGHER: Twenty-three-year-old Noga has been traveling in India for eight months.
NOGA SHIMSON, ISRAELI TOURIST: I didn't have a religious life in Israel. I came from the place which is the most secular and living in the kibbutz and my parents never light a candle on Friday night, or something like that.
GALLAGHER: Tonight, Noga preparing a kosher meal, something she admits she would never have done in Israel.
SHIMSON: Now before I left, I am going home, I thought, wow, I learned so much about other religions. I don't know nothing about my religion, so I need -- I need to know something.
GALLAGHER: India is famous for spiritual awakenings. The Beatles put this place, Rishikesh, in the Himalayan foothills, on the map when they visited the maharishi (ph) here in the '60s.
Here in Rishikesh and other towns in the north of India, there's been a remarkable increase in the number of young, Israeli tourists in the past few years. Some 40,000 to 50,000 a year come through according to Israeli embassy here.
(Voice over): In fact, there are so many Israeli tourists that the local Indian population is also catering to them. You will see many signs like these, in Hebrew, in tourist spots around India.
HILA SHEMASH, ISRAELI TOURIST: They talk Hebrew to you and -- not only kids. I mean, they speak the language. They -- they -- and they were never in Israel. It is just, you know, they're used to us.
GALLAGHER: Young Israeli travelers tell us they appreciate the cultural familiarity. But almost all of them say they come here to temporarily get away from the realities of living in Israel.
ASAF MARZIANO, ISRAELI TOURIST: After three very stressful years in the army, people get very confused, and some people look for some answer and part of it is like Judaism, part of it could be Buddhism, or whatever they can find there in India.
GALLAGHER: There's a word in Hebrew, "hadu", it means both India and thanks. One young traveler told us of a rabbi in Israel who made a play on that word, saying when young people leave they say I'm going to Hadu, India. But when they come back, it's thanks to India that they begin to say "hadu adonoy" (ph), thanks be to god. Delia Gallagher, CNN, Rishikesh, India.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: Well, coming up here on YOUR WORLD TODAY, a young Hollywood actress in trouble with the law -- another one.
CHURCH: That's right. And not again! Is this a new one? Yes and no. We'll tell you what we mean when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CLANCY: The show must go on.
CHURCH: Just ask Beyonce. Check out what happened last night during her concert in Orlando, Florida.
CLANCY: Ouch!
That was Beyonce falling down, but look, she gets up. Our local affiliate reports the singer asked fans not to post her fall on YouTube. Of course, somebody did anyway.
CHURCH: Of course.
CLANCY: Hey, she got up.
CHURCH: Yeah.
CLANCY: And did her best, you know. Kept on with the dance.
CHURCH: Good sport about it.
CLANCY: Good for you, Beyonce.
CHURCH: Yeah.
All right. Well, from the falling star to the fallen star, it is the summer of sequels. Pirates of Caribbean 3, Fantastic Four 2 and Spider Man 3,and Lindsay Lohan in trouble with the law again.
CLANCY: I like the way you put that.
The 21-year-old actress was arrested on Tuesday in California for, what else? Driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license and, oh yes, added on to that possession of cocaine.
CHURCH: Well, this is interesting, In an e-mail to a celebrity television show, Lohan says I am innocent. I did not do the drugs. They're not mine. That should be interesting.
CLANCY: OK, legally, don't worry. It's a far cry from Lohan's early days though. She was a Disney darling. Remember that? She had already been wearing an alcohol monitoring ankle bracelet, you know, obviously that doesn't work.
CHURCH: That is right.
CLANCY: That was after she got out of rehab, just what -- a couple of weeks or a month ago?
CHURCH: Now, her latest brush with the law has tongues lagging double time. Jeanne Moos more Lohan's latest cruise in the fast lane.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Just another day in the life of Lindsay Lohan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was arrested for driving under the influence.
MOOS: Not to be confused with her influence on teens.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I looked up to her so much, and it just breaks my heart.
MOOS: First, just the facts, Ma'am.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was chasing after another car, the other car was being driven by the mother of her personal assistant.
MOOS: Her personal assistant just quit, her mom was picking her up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The mother was afraid, she wasn't quite sure what was going on, so she called the police.
Regarding a verbal argument that was occurring in the parking lot.
MOOS: Not only was Lindsay allegedly DUI --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While in the jail, officers found in her possession a small amount of cocaine.
MOOS: And before you can say, this just in -- Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum dressed Lindsay in prison stripes and alerted the press.
(On camera): How do you think she looks in stripes?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fat.
MOOS: Horizontal stripes do that to you. Just a month and a half ago, it was wax Paris Hilton's turn to wear stripes. You have like a large supply in case they all get in trouble at the same time? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. We do not.
MOOS: But something was missing.
(On camera): She's wearing this thing that's supposed to detect whether she drinks.
(Voice over): And though wax Lindsay wasn't wearing it, the real Lindsay was when police arrested her, and so have various news anchors demonstrating the device.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you drink any amount of alcohol, it seeps through your skin.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can't wear you skinny jeans with this.
MOOS: At least in her mug shot, Lindsay doesn't look as bad as say, James Brown or Nick Nolte. Even in our celeb saturated world there are still those who can't pick Lindsay out of a lineup of celebs gone wild.
(On camera): You think this is Lindsay Lohan?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. I think so. I mean, I'm just a tourist, you know.
MOOS: And that's just Nicole Richie. In the wake of her latest alleged DUI, Lindsay canceled her appearance on "The Tonight Show". Replacing her, comedian Rob Schneider dressed to look like Lindsay.
JAY LENO, THE TONIGHT SHOW: Is that one of those alcohol monitors?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's take a look, and see what we have here, baby.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just don't like her. I think she represents women badly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's so cute in "Parent Trap".
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And introducing Lindsay Lohan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now she is all in rehab again.
MOOS: An occurrence so common it has become a hit song.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They tried to make me go to rehab, I said, no, no, no.
MOOS: But Lindsay said yes, yes, yes, again. Little girls are still holding her hand. Madam Tussaud's hasn't put a drink in it -- yet. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: Well, that little girl's probably just trying to make sure she didn't fall over.
CHURCH: Keeping her upright, yes. I'm sure that's quite a task.
CLANCY: I have to hold myself back during these segments, I really do.
Let's talk -- you know, little reality here. It's summer in the northern hemisphere and you should all know, Santa Claus, very busy during the Christmas season.
CHURCH: I think everyone knows that. So, Santas from all around the world relaxing at the annual Santa Convention in Denmark or rather Christmas In July. Now one Australia Santa said, his country uses kangaroos instead of reindeer. Seems they thrive in the head. But the convention wasn't all ho-ho-hos on the agenda, a plan to make next year's presents even bigger.
CLANCY: Wow.
CHURCH: So, that's big stuff.
CLANCY: Compelling.
CHURCH: Well, that's it for this hour. I'm Rosemary Church.
CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy and this is CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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