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Your World Today
More Than 70 Killed in Series of Attacks in Baghdad; Second South Korean Hostage Killed by Taliban; European Stock Markets
Aired August 01, 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: Bloodshed returning to Baghdad with a vengeance. Multiple bombings leave dozens dead, while the coalition government has a major political setback.
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Waiting game for families of South Korean hostages in Afghanistan. Another Taliban deadline passes with no end in sight to the crisis.
CLANCY: A return to Capitol Hill. The former U.S. defense secretary taking the stand as lawmakers probe the death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman.
GORANI: And scout's honor. It's a very special birthday for millions of boys and girls all dedicated to making the world a better place.
It's 8:00 p.m. in Baghdad, noon in Washington, D.C.
Hello and welcome to our report broadcast around the globe this hour.
I'm Hala Gorani.
CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy.
From Baghdad to Baku, Washington to Warsaw, wherever you are watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
We begin our report in Iraq. This has been a week where we have seen multiple reports, surveys, suggesting progress there. But now perhaps a response from al Qaeda. A wave of deadly bombings underscoring the strength of insurgents as the fragile government grows a little bit weaker itself.
GORANI: Absolutely. Political setbacks for sure, and also more than 70 people killed in attacks across Baghdad today. And there is the government's inability, as well as the military's inability and the U.S. military's inability, to stop this kind of violence now that the largest Sunni Arab bloc has quit the ruling coalition.
CLANCY: Well, let's bring in Dan Rivers right now in Baghdad.
Dan, what are we supposed to make of this? What does it mean, first of all, for Nuri al-Maliki's government?
DAN RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a terrible beginning for the government for the beginning of August. Another month, and on the first day we've had at least four major car bombs with dozens of people left dead and wounded. And also, a further political crisis for the Iraqi government.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RIVERS (voice over): The fuel that could make this country rich was used as a weapon to kill its people in Baghdad. A tanker full of gasoline turned into a devastating truck bomb. It ripped apart a gas station in the western area of Mansour. Dozens of people were lining up to fill their cars.
Firefighters braved searing heat to extinguish the flames. Ambulance crews ferried 60 wounded people to hospital. Fifty bodies were pulled from the smoldering wreckage.
Earlier in Karrada, in central Baghdad, there was another car bomb near a popular ice cream shop. Pools of blood soaking into the street where 15 people have died and 20 were injured.
There were also two smaller car bombs and a roadside bomb in other areas of the city. A grisly start to the month of August.
And politically, it was also grim news. Iraq's fragile government led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was plunged into fresh crisis. The largest Sunni bloc in his coalition, the Accord Front, resigned, effectively ending the charade that Maliki's Shiite party leads a unity government.
RAFAA AL-ISSAWI, ACCORD FRONT (through translator): The government is continuing with its arrogance, refusing to change its stand and to slam shut the door to any meaningful reforms necessary for saving Iraq.
RIVERS: The Sunni Accord Front had five ministers and a vice president working in Maliki's government. They had been demanding that no more Shiite militias be integrated into the Iraqi armed forces. A demand they felt was ignored. Their departure will further frustrate efforts to pass benchmark reforms demanded by the U.S.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RIVERS: Well, Maliki's government has been dealt a crippling blow, really, with the loss of those Sunni coalition partners. It will further paralyze an already beleaguered government that seems unable or unwilling to stop the violence that's happening every day here in Baghdad.
CLANCY: You know, Dan, as we look at this, I mean, you listen to the Iraqi people themselves. In the wake of their football victory at the Asia Cup, you know, they're fed up.
They say the government doesn't work. It's not serious. People looking for political reconciliation.
Is there any belief here, even support by the Americans, that this government can do that? Or do Iraqis on the political front and elsewhere think time -- the time is right for a change?
RIVERS: Well, there's been a lot of speculation about whether, you know, this would lead to the fall of the government. I don't think anyone is seriously suggesting that at the moment. But certainly a lot of people that you talk to, certainly the producers, the veteran producers who have been here for four-plus years nonstop, kind of describe it as there isn't really an Iraqi government that functions in any serious way.
It doesn't really seem to achieve anything on the streets. A lot of people don't have electricity. A lot of people don't have water. The security situation is absolutely diabolical here.
You've got to wonder really what on earth the government has achieved since it came into power. And now the parliament is going to be in recess for a whole month, the whole month of August. So there will be a further month of delays.
And certainly the Americans managed to pull that back from two months' recess. Now it's going to be one month. But even so, you have got to wonder, at a time like this, when this kind of level of violence is continuing to grind along every day, how on earth the politicians can take a recess for one month.
CLANCY: All right.
More instability on the streets and in the halls of parliament.
Dan Rivers covering it all from the ground in Baghdad.
Dan, as always, thank you.
GORANI: All right. There is a lot going on today in the world. And let's check in on some of those other stories in the news this hour.
(NEWSBREAK)
GORANI: As South Korea mourns the killing of two hostages being held by the Taliban, the church that authorized their trip into Afghanistan is now apologizing.
CLANCY: Apologizing, saying it shouldn't have sent those aid workers. And it says it will send no more volunteers to the country. Those already in Afghanistan are being evacuated.
GORANI: Well, a Taliban spokesman, meantime, says that all 21 South Korean hostages still being held there in Afghanistan are alive. That's just hours after the latest deadline for their safety came and went.
CLANCY: But for the hostages' families, the hope, if there is any left at all, is fading out like a candle in the wind.
Sohn Jie-Ae has more from Seoul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOHN JIE-AE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A memorial for the second South Korean hostage killed by Taliban militants in Afghanistan, a place of sorrow for the grieving father of Shim Song- Min (ph). "Go to a better place," he says, "as he caresses a picture of his dead son."
The militants killed their first hostage last week after the Afghan government did not release rebel prisoners as the Taliban demanded. Now the families of the remaining 21 hostages want a more aggressive effort to get their loved ones out alive.
They delivered a plea for U.S. help to the American Embassy in Seoul.
"Please convince the world to resolve this issue through humanitarian and peaceful means," says this mother as she reads from a copy of a letter they delivered. Holding signs saying, "Please return our children," the family members said they appreciated the efforts of South Korea, Afghanistan and the U.S.
"But we are afraid," says Tasong Min (ph), whose sister is a hostage. "We are afraid we will never get to see them again."
In front of the U.S. Embassy there were small protests calling for more action from Washington.
"I cannot help thinking that the U.S. would not be so passive if it were Americans that were being held hostage, says this office worker." But family members asked the U.S. government not to attempt to free the hostages by force, worried that this would endanger the lives of their loved ones. A sentiment echoed by the Korean government.
(on camera): South Korea says it understands Washington's position of not negotiating with terrorists, but right now many here feel there is no other way to free its citizens, which is why they've continued to urge flexibility.
Sohn Jie-Ae, CNN, Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: All right. We are continuing to watch the situation there. As Sohn Jie-Ae noted, the deadline has passed, but the tensions remain.
GORANI: All right. Lots more ahead here on YOUR WORLD TODAY.
CLANCY: News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch continuing to gobble up major media outlets. His latest acquisition, though, Dow Jones and "The Wall Street Journal," giving some people a bit of indigestion.
GORANI: Also, former U.S. defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld returns to Capitol Hill to tell congressional investigators what he remembers about the confusion concerning the death of Pat Tillman. Well, it turns out he doesn't remember much.
CLANCY: And after a century of being prepared, the Boy Scouts are more than ready to celebrate their 100th anniversary.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Welcome back, everyone.
It's the first day of August. Hope you're having a good summer.
This is CNN International and YOUR WORLD TODAY.
CLANCY: And if you're having a good summer, don't look at the markets too closely if you're also an investor. We're going to give you a little bit of perspective of what's going on on those markets now.
The markets taking a dive around the world. I guess that's the easy way to put it.
GORANI: Well, markets were down in Europe and across Asia. Investors did go, overnight, at least, as far as U.S. time is concerned, on a selling spree.
CLANCY: And it would appear that global investors really uncertain about the extent of all of those problems in the U.S. housing and lending markets.
So, how is trading on the New York Stock Exchange doing now? Well, you can see the Dow Jones industrials up just about 60 points. They have been fluctuating wildly since they opened a couple of hours ago.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
CLANCY: And Hala, it wasn't only the U.S. markets that were having a tough time. Tuesday's sharp gains in European markets were wiped out Wednesday, as Jim Boulden tells us. Panic selling led to sharp falls both in Asia and in Europe.
These are the closing numbers you are looking at right now in London, in Germany and Paris.
Now Jim Boulden's report on what's driving this downturn.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM BOULDEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Fear once again took hold, starting in Asia, following on into Europe. Even after Tuesday's strong showing, Europe opened sharply lower when the credit crunch spread beyond a few U.S. specialty mortgage funds.
With an Australian bank warning some of its investors might lose money, people seemed no longer willing to risk the gains they made earlier in the year. KIT JUCKES, RBS: I think at the moment we are trading on fear. We are looking into the abyss and, you know, the worst fear is that this spreads. And instead of being a U.S. housing market problem, it becomes a credit cycle problem and the trigger for weaker global growth.
BOULDEN: The panic began in the U.S. mortgage markets last month, when complex trades in mortgages tied to people with poor credit started to falter. This has caused the collapse of some hedge funds.
The bottom line is, if this leads to the cost of credit or loans going up for companies, firms have to pay more to do business. Especially in the mergers and acquisition field. And M&A has been driving much of the recent froth, and the long bull markets.
DAVID JONES, CMC MARKETS: The U.S. stock market in particular has been going up for more than four and a half years now. In Europe, we have been rising slightly less than four and a half years. But again, fairly steady gains. As we know, no market goes up forever.
BOULDEN: Wednesday's early falls in Europe came on the first day of the trading month. A month that is usually the quietest of the year. But thin volumes can exaggerate big swings in the market, so it may be a few holidays are cancelled or curtailed this August.
JUCKES: I think it's sad to say the BlackBerry, at the bare minimum, is going to be in much use around the holiday resorts of Europe and the United States.
BOULDEN: August could set the tone for the rest of the year. And it started out on shaky ground.
(on camera): European markets did begin to pare their losses around lunchtime. But in these days of sharp swings, heavy volumes and uncertainty of whether this is just a blip or a beginning of a bear market, volatility is expected to continue throughout August.
Jim Boulden, CNN London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Now, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is all set to buy "The Wall Street Journal," along with its parent company, Dow Jones.
CLANCY: He has a $5.6 billion offer out there. It won approval from the board of Dow Jones late on Tuesday after literally months of wrangling.
GORANI: Now, shareholders still have to give the thumbs up, but the deal is expected to win enough support to go through.
Now, some members of the Bancroft family who control Dow Jones were reluctant sellers. They feared that a Murdoch takeover would damage The Journal's reputation. CLANCY: But his offer of $60 a share, well, that overcame an awful lot of resistance. As part of the deal, a five-member committee will oversee the editorial independence of the Dow Jones news operations.
GORANI: Now, it is a big deal. A big deal in two ways. Not just because of the money, but because of the big names involved.
CLANCY: Well, certainly, Dow Jones has been a staple of the business world for more than a century. "The Wall Street Journal" has been required reading almost for final professionals, businessmen for about just as long.
GORANI: But, it's the other player in the deal, News Corp., and its chairman, Rupert Murdoch, that is making most of the news.
Joining us now to talk about how all this could affect the world of financial journalism, Dennis Kneale, managing editor of "Forbes" magazine.
I'm sorry. Did I pronounce your name correctly?
DENNIS KNEALE, MANAGING EDITOR, "FORBES" MAGAZINE: Yes. That's good.
GORANI: Neil. OK. Great. Thanks for being with us.
Now, what does this mean for Dow Jones? What did does it mean for venerable publications like "The Wall Street Journal"?
KNEALE: Well, I'm sure that inside "The Wall Street Journal" today there's great angst and great hand-wringing. And I don't think that they need to be as fearful as they are.
You know, that's been inside the cocoon of that controlling Bancroft family for over a hundred years. And because of that, The Journal often ignored hard business sense in pursuit of good journalism. But it turns out good journalism really can't thrive without a smart business sense.
And now you've got one of the smartest businessmen in media coming in there to set things right. And I think that the newsroom ought to be a little more excited rather than filled with dread.
GORANI: Really? But you have FOX News, you have "The Sun" tabloid newspaper. And we're not going to get into a discussion here necessarily about the Rupert Murdoch empire, but you know what I'm saying. I mean, some people are just concerned that he's going to interfere editorially.
Do you think they should have that concern?
KNEALE: Yes, but, you know, I really can't understand this, interfere editorially. He bought it. He owns it. It's his. He's allowed to do anything he wants with it now.
GORANI: But that's the fear. There you go. You just -- you just nailed it on the head.
KNEALE: This is not a -- this is not a church. This is not a public institution. This is a business that forgot that it's primary purpose really was to run enough stories so that people would go to it and so that you could sell advertising. And it's a business, and Rupert will run it like a business.
GORANI: But Dennis, it's the second -- it's the second newspaper in the U.S. in terms of circulation. This doesn't sound like a newspaper that forgot that it was in it to sell newspapers.
KNEALE: Yes. And its circulation has fallen from more than two million a decade or 15 years ago to 1.2 million, in part because of decisions that it made.
Look, I worked there 16 years. I love "The Wall Street Journal". But this is not the end of The Journal. This is the start of a better global platform of more television.
The corporate parent of Dow Jones -- of "The Wall Street Journal" was always run by journalists. And god love them, they're really motivated, they really -- they have got good hearts, but they are not good executives. And they made bad decision after bad decision for 25 years.
GORANI: Wait. Dennis, are you saying journalists aren't good managers?
KNEALE: Journalists, we're wonderful people managers. But you know what? They kept making decisions for good journalism. And that was great. But they were losing money.
They kept their European edition open for 25 years. It's been, you know, barely profitable, running losses. It's never challenged "The Financial Times," and they would not close it.
GORANI: Yes.
KNEALE: Rupert can come on and just close it.
GORANI: All right. Let's talk about what he's going to change then.
What is he going to change? What is he going to bring to the table that will make Dow Jones -- that will make its jewel, "The Wall Street Journal," better?
KNEALE: Right. You know, the reason -- the reason this deal works for Rupert, even at a 65 percent premium over what the stock was trading at, the reason it works is because he can use that gem to fuel other things.
He can use The Journal content and put it on other platforms. He can do podcasts if he wants. He can, like, do something on MySpace with a "Wall Street Journal" online site. He can do a number of things. He can take -- most of all, he can take Journal stories and put it on television for that new business news channel he wants to start, cable, which will be a big business. And now he has got free content pumping in there. And it will be good for him.
GORANI: All right.
Dennis Kneale, managing editor of "Forbes" magazine.
Thanks so much for being with us here on YOUR WORLD TODAY.
KNEALE: Thank you, Hala.
CLANCY: All right. We've got to take a short break.
Still ahead, unanswered questions surrounding the death of a U.S. football-star-turned-Army-Ranger. Pat Tillman, who volunteered for Afghanistan.
GORANI: Well, Congress is looking into the matter and called in former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Does he have some of the answers?
Also ahead, a promise to make a difference, to make a better and more peaceful world. A century-old movement marks a birthday.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CLANCY: Hello, everyone. Welcome back to all of you joining us from not only the U.S. but some 200 countries and territories around the globe. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Jim Clancy.
GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani.
Here are some of the top stories we are following. More than 70 people have been killed in attacks across Baghdad. The deadliest was a suicide bombing at a fuel station. Police say at least 50 people were killed when a gas tanker exploded. The violence comes amid another political blow for the government of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki. The largest Sunni bloc has resigned, stepped away, accusing the government of slamming the door shut to meaningful reforms.
CLANCY: Families of the South Korean hostages in Afghanistan say they are losing hope that their loved ones will ever come home. Two of the volunteer workers seized by the Taliban have already been executed. A few hours ago a Taliban spokesman said another deadline for the hostages' safety had come and gone but insisted all 21, most of them women, were still alive. GORANI: Now problems in the U.S. housing and lending markets are pushing shares down at the New York Stock Exchange. Although in the last few minutes they have bounced back. Stocks in the Nasdaq and S&P did edge lower while the Dow Jones average moved more than 75 points, in both directions. All very volatile out there right now. This comes after a selling spree in the European and Asian markets over worsening sentiment about global credit conditions.
CLANCY: Think Iran and secrets, and the country's nuclear program may come to mind.
GORANI: But one of the country's oldest secrets is perhaps its best kept.
CLANCY: It is ancient town of Esfahan. Aneesh Raman visited this tourist gem and let's the secret out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): As summer spots go, Esfahan has it all. A break from the heat, one of the world's largest squares, and stunning monuments dating back to the 17th century, and beyond.
But this is Iran and mixed in with past glory are animosities with the usual suspects. It's why many choose to stay away, and why Melene Ryakaer, from Denmark, is an exception.
MELENE RYAKAER, TOURIST: I didn't know so much about Iran. I don't think my family or friends didn't know so much about it either, so everybody was just kind of --
RAMAN (on camera): They were worried for your safety.
RYAKAER: Worried, exactly. They told me aren't you scared? Aren't you afraid something will happen to you?
RAMAN (voice over): She came anyway because a friend since high school, Jaleh, a, came, too. Born in Iran, Jaleh left at the age of nine, and comes back almost every year.
JALEH TAVAKOTY, TOURIST: I kept telling her, it's not dangerous. I've seen tourists here. They won't -- they even have more respect for you than a normal Iranian citizen.
RAMAN: One of them is Shahab Khoshow, a guide in Esfahan for three decades, he has given tours to the likes of Nelson Mandela. For him, Esfahan, three times Iran's ancient capital, is the country's heart.
(on camera): What is your favorite part of the city?
SHAHAB KHOSHOW, TOUR GUIDE: I mean, the favorite part of the city would be this square. We call them, Nashajani Square, which is the middle of the world. It means whatever you can find all over the world, you can find it here. This could be one part of that. And Friday mosque, which is a coalition of Iranian occupation during the history. It is the oldest part of the city, the Jewish quarter.
RAMAN: That's right, a Jewish quarter, with a dozen synagogues for the 5,000 Jews living in Esfahan. There's also about a dozen Christian churches. This Armenian one was built back in 1606. It all makes the Esfahan one of Iran's most remarkable cities, a living museum eager for the day when fear will no longer keep foreigners away. Aneesh Raman, CNN, Esfahan, Iran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Interesting place. Now, some people in Zimbabwe, in Africa, could soon be taking risky steps just to survive as the country's food crisis reaches dangerous level. And that is according to the U.N. World Food Program. WFP says hundreds of thousands of people in Zimbabweans are running out of food, plain and simple. And that desperation could lead them into dangerous behaviors in a quest just to eat.
The agency says some families may begin eating potentially poisonous wild foods and even exchanging sex for food, or crossing illegally into South Africa. There's even more to the problem. the WFP says its own food supplies could run completely dry by year's end as several more million people in Zimbabweans turn to the agency for humanitarian aid.
So the agency is asking donors, right now, to help finance the $118 million cost of expanding its operations into the country.
CLANCY: As bad as they are, the grim food shortage is only part of the problem that Zimbabwe faces today. Those who speak out of the government of President Robert Mugabe, can pay a heavy and painful price. Martin Geisler gives us a closer look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN GEISLER, CNN INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Like the aftermath of a major disaster, scores of victims clearly in shock, so badly injured, they simply can't move. Zimbabwe is in meltdown. This is the price you pay for speaking out.
These people took part in a peaceful protest calling for a new constitution. Male, female, young, old, they were beaten senseless by police officers and the youth wing of their own government.
Our hidden cameras filmed these pictures. The people here are in a holding area awaiting treatment. There's no room in the hospitals. They are full with other victims from the same beating. Many simply couldn't move because of the injuries to their legs and backs. Some had their arms broken as they tried to fend off the blows. The beating was indiscriminate and relentless.
Daily life has become a struggle for almost everyone in Zimbabwe but only a brave few are prepared to protest. This is the group who took to the streets. They demonstrate for just a few minutes and disappear before the police arrive. On this occasion they weren't fast enough. ERNEST MUDZENGE, INJURED PROTESTOR: They beat up people and they bundled (ph) them, including myself, into trucks.
MISS MZAAMBARA, INJURED PROTESTOR: They take from the NCA office, to central police station, and they beat us from half past 5 up to 12 midnight.
GEISLER: The international community was shocked earlier this year when Zimbabwe's opposition leader, and dozens of his colleagues, were badly beaten for criticizing Robert Mugabe's rule. Human rights groups in the country have described this incident as a violation on the same scale, if not worse. Martin Geisler, ITV News, South Africa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Coming up on YOUR WORLD TODAY, paying the price for price fixing.
CLANCY: Two major airlines agree to pay hefty fines after authorities charge them with conspiring to fix airfare price.
GORANI: Later, celebrating a century of Scouting. That's a lot of merit badges. We will bring that you story, later.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CLANCY: Hello, everyone. Welcome back. You are watching YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.
GORANI: All right, this hour we welcome our U.S. viewers as well as our 200 countries and territories across the globe.
British Airways has been slapped with the biggest fines in its history. The carrier agreed to pay nearly $550 million for its role in a price fixing scandal. Charles Hodson has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHARLES HODSON, CNN INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They are meant to be arch enemies, but in one respect British Airways and Virgins were as thick as thieves, colluding to fix prices on passenger and cargo fuel surcharges on transatlantic routes.
WILLIE WALSH, CEO, BRITISH AIRWAYS: I have no intention of defending any of these actions. I condemn the actions, unreservedly. It's a huge regret to me that a very limited number of individuals, within British Airways, ignored our clear and very comprehensive policies on competition or compliance. And I condemn that action.
HODSON: The price fixing allegations came to light after Virgin, itself, sounded the alarm.
SIMON CALDER, TRAVEL EDITOR, "THE INDEPENDENT": I was led to believe, I think along with a lot of other people, that basically a couple individuals at B A had made serious errors of judgment, and since this has happened, Virgin Atlantic had called in the competition authorities. It now appears that actually there was much more to it than that. And there has been routine collusion over a number of months, over the raising of fuel surcharges.
HODSON: The two airlines are shown to have raised passenger fuel charges to the same price on the same day. Starting at $12 per passenger in August 2004, culminating at $60 in January of 2006. But of the two, it's British Airways that is bearing the brunt of the punishment. A fine from the U.K.'s office of fair trading of almost $250 million.
PHILLIP COLLINS, CHAIRMAN, U.K. OFFICE OF FAIR TRADING: This is a very significant penalty. Seven times the highest previous penalty we have imposed. It reflects the seriousness of the infringement in this case. And should send a very strong message to British business.
HODSON: The U.S. added V.A.'s misery with a massive $450 million fine. The grand total, more than $700 million. Yet Virgin has not paid a penny. It avoided fines under the OFT's policy of whistle-blower immunity. But the Virgin brand may not escape untarnished.
CALDER: I think the real losers could be Virgin Atlantic. Because only today has it been revealed the extent of the collusion between Virgin Atlantic and its huge rival, British Airways.
HODSON: Virgin territory for a company that's always prided itself on putting the customer first. Charles Hodson, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: There has been much talk and speculation about another big deal in the business world. That is, of course, Rupert Murdoch's purchase of "The Wall Street Journal." His motives always being questioned, but some say the deal extends far beyond just one U.S.- based newspaper. Rosemary Church joins us now with some insight.
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTL. ANCHOR: Well, Rupert Murdoch is well aware there's one particular part of the world where print readership is growing, the use of technology is on the rise, and there's a seemingly insatiable appetite for financial news. Murdoch's acquisition of the Dow Jones Company gives him an important foothold in Asia, a crucial component of his growing media empire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLAY CHANDLER, ASIA EDITOR, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: This deal, though, it must be said has made him really probably the most -- potentially formidable figure, in the business news in the entire world right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Now, even before his takeover of Dow Jones, Murdoch had an impressive array of media holdings around the world. In Australia the birthplace of his empire, he owns 20 newspapers. In Europe he has five British papers, plus SKY TV and radio networks that extend into Continental Europe. Murdoch's American holdings include FOX TV and "The New York Post". And now another two dozen newspapers owned by Dow Jones. His only Asian media property is the Star TV network, but that's about to change.
Murdoch has been eager to establish a larger footprint in Asia where business is booming and the hunger for news and information is growing. The Dow Jones deal gives him the resources to do just that. "The Wall Street Journal's Asia Edition" together with "The Far Eastern Economic Review" reach hundreds of thousands of affluent Asian readers, whom advertisers pay a premium to reach.
Asia is the world's fastest growing media market even in sectors that are in decline elsewhere in the world. Analysts predict the Asian newspaper industry will grow 3.4 percent over the next five years. It's a similar story for Asian magazines, which are expected to rise at a similar rate.
Overall there's a great demand for business information in Asia. The industry is expected to grow 6.3 percent, more than anywhere else in the world. And now Rupert Murdoch is a part of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES STEWART, CHIEF ECONOMIST, WEAVERING CAPITAL: It's part of the globalization of the media. "The Wall Street Journal" is a very good product.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a great brand.
STEWART: That's it, it's a great brand, but it has problems. It's identifiably North American and so will it sell in Europe and Asia? I think Murdoch will help to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: One thing is for sure, the Australian-born media tycoon, is eager to break into China specifically. He has voiced his frustration with that country's slow response to opening up, but he may have to be patient. Having "The Wall Street Journal Asia, and Dow Jones news wires will certainly help, but analysts say it's unlikely to make a significant difference to Murdoch's China ambitions.
CLANCY: If doing all of this doesn't -- what does Murdoch have to do then, if he wants to break into China? There are lots of other people, including Time Warner, that say they don't even want to go there.
CHURCH: It is sort of deadly ground. Where he stands at the moment is the "Asian Edition" of "The Wall Street Journal" is actually online in Chinese. So language and the Internet may be the key here to any of Murdoch's success in China. Whatever the case, he's more than aware that media entertainment markets in that country have an annual growth rate of about 17 percent. That's why China is in his sights.
CLANCY: All right. Rosemary Church, with some insight, thanks. GORANI: All right. Now, what memories do you have of your school cafeteria? Greasy burgers? Stale pizza? Even soggy vegetables maybe?
CLANCY: I never had the soggy vegetables, but some second graders at the William Wright Elementary School in Las Vegas say they had enough of throwing them under the table -- those soggy vegetables, at least. They staged a polite letter-writing campaign to the school's lunch lady. They want something a little fresher.
GORANI: Now, for their efforts the kids, as you can see -- wait, I didn't really get a good look at that. What was that? That's a sample --
CLANCY: Yeah, that's what the kids said.
GORANI: Beans, all right, I'm told. Hmmm. I don't know.
Got to sample a mixture of cooked, frozen, and canned vegetables, picking out their favorites.
CLANCY: Now, how serious were these kids?
GORANI: Oh, that one just spits it back.
CLANCY: Oh, look at that. One little boy said he would try anything new. He went this far, Ladies and Gentlemen, here's the real test. He said he would eat broccoli.
GORANI: Wow. I don't know. Kids don't like broccoli? I always liked broccoli?
CLANCY: Oh, well, you know.
GORANI: What's wrong with broccoli? Whatever.
CLANCY: It was a hundred years ago that a former soldier held a camp for some 20 young boys.
GORANI: He wanted to teach them leadership, resourcefulness, and respect. Now some -- from 20 we have gone to 28 million young people around the world following those same ideals and principles. More on a big birthday bash coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CLANCY: All right, U.S. President George W. Bush was one.
GORANI: And the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was one. We can figure out what those two have in common. But throw in Jacques Chirac what do they all have in common?
CLANCY: They were all members of the Boy Scouts.
GORANI: As millions around the world celebrate the 100th anniversary in Britain, and elsewhere, thousands gathered at the site of the first ever Scout camp. CLANCY: Our own Phil Black was there. Don't know if he was a Scout but he has a report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A century-old movement returns to its birthplace, and renews its mission.
PETER DUNCAN, BRITISH CHIEF SCHOUT: Scouting around the world is united by a promise. It's a promise that we will try to make a difference, to make a better and more peaceful world.
BLACK: This is Brown Sea Island in Southern England, where in 1907 Robert Baden-Powell first held a camp for just 20 boys from different social backgrounds. It was an idea born of his military experience and aimed to teach the boys resourcefulness, leadership, and respect. Now 28 million boys and girls from almost every country follow those same ideals.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks to Baden's teachings, we can use those skills in everyday life. As we say, it's team work, it's fun, it's adventure.
BLACK: Just 300 Scouts were selected to visit Brown Sea Island for the centenary celebration. Those lucky ones describe the event as life-changing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I never slept in a tent with seven other countries, seven other nations.
(LAUGHTER)
BLACK: And at Chelmsford, in England, the Scouts are throwing an even bigger party; 40,000 traveled here to attend the 21st World Jamboree. It was enthusiastically opened by Prince William.
The Scouting movement prides itself on its global membership, and the good work it does in world trouble spots. But for most who wear the uniform, it's also about having fun.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I get to meet new friends, and it's fun. Get to do new stuff.
BLACK (on camera): Like what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I went aft-sailing, and I went sailing, and I went kayaking, and I went rowing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do good things games there. I think we all enjoying the games mostly, but we like doing the trips as well.
BLACK: So, 100 years and counting. The Scouting movement is still growing across faiths and nationalities. And its members believe the motto they live by is just as relevant today as it was a century ago.
CROWD OF SCOUTS SHOUTING: Be prepared!
BLACK: Phil Black, CNN, London.
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: All right, there they are cheering. Phil must have had a great time.
GORANI: Were you a Scout?
CLANCY: No.
GORANI: Neither was I.
CLANCY: But all my -- my kids have been Scouts.
GORANI: I'm getting e-mails from producers from all over the network, I was a Cub. I was a Scout. Roger Clark, Ryan Cooper, our producer, apparently were all in that movement. That's it for this hour. I'm Hala Gorani.
CLANCY: Be prepared. I'm Jim Clancy. This is CNN.
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