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Sudanese Protesters Demand Harsher Punishment for British Teacher; Ahmadinejad's Policies Don't Always Play Well at Home; Italy Murder Mystery

Aired November 30, 2007 - 12:00   ET

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

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Anger in Sudan. Many protesters feel the 15-day jail sentence handed down to a teacher convicted of insulting religion wasn't harsh enough.
JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Grief in Turkey. A passenger jet slamming into a rocky mountainside shortly before it was due to land, killing everyone aboard.

GORANI: And lost childhoods in Africa. These are just some of the faces that tell the story behind a killer disease.

CLANCY: It's 8:00 p.m. right now in Khartoum, 7:00 p.m. in Ankara.

Hello and welcome to our report seen around the globe.

I'm Jim Clancy.

GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani.

From London to Pretoria, wherever you are watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: All right. We have got some late-breaking developments.

There were angry crowds in Sudan. They felt the jail time just wasn't enough for the British schoolteacher convicted of insulting Islam.

GORANI: Look at these pictures in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. Some are shouting for her to die.

CLANCY: Many of them were seen brandishing knives or weapons as you saw. They were there in the thousands in the capital to demand harsher punishment for Gillian Gibbons. A court ordered her jailed for 15 days and deported back to Britain for allowing her students to name a teddy bear "Muhammad."

GORANI: The sentence is due to begin from the day she was arrested, meaning she has 10 more days in jail technically. Protesters say she should pay with her life for insulting Islam's prophet,. as is their interpretation of the incident. Gibbons' attorney says that wasn't her intent at all.

CLANCY: All right. There are, as we say, some late-breaking developments in this story.

Let's go to Khartoum now and "Time" magazine's Sam Dealey, who is on the line.

Sam, what are you hearing there?

SAM DEALEY, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Hi, Jim.

Sources close to the British government and the palace here in Sudan tell me that two members of the British parliament, both in the House of Lords, will arrive in Sudan tomorrow in an effort to free Ms. Gibbons. British parliamentarians are Baron Ahmed (ph), and Baron Izwarsi (ph). Lord Ahmed (ph) is a member of the Labour Party and a Pakistani by birth, and the first Muslim to be elevated to the House of Lords. And Lady Izwarsi (ph), also Muslim, she's the spokeswoman for issues on diversity and cohesion.

They are expected to arrive in Khartoum about 5:00 a.m. local time, which is about eight hours from now. And they'll of course be meeting with all sorts of government ministers and, I believe, with the -- I'm told with President Bashir himself. The ultimate goal, of course, is to secure the early release of Ms. Gibbons.

CLANCY: So they are hoping to take her back. Muslim groups in the United Kingdom have been calling for her release. Any word from the Sudanese officials that that request might be met with favor?

DEALEY: Well, they were granted their visas this morning at the London Embassy in record time, certainly by Sudanese standards. And certainly they've been allowed to travel through Sudan. And there are a number of meetings set up with some very senior officials, including the president. So obviously this is an initiative that is being met with great interest by the Sudanese government.

CLANCY: All right. Sam Dealey with "Time" magazine there talking with us on the line from Khartoum.

Sam, we thank you for that update.

As he notes there, British lawmakers from the House of Lords hoping that they will be able to win an early release for that teacher.

GORANI: All right. We'll continue to cover this story, both from Sudan and, of course, from the United Kingdom.

CLANCY: Now, the difference of opinion between many British and Sudanese Muslims highlights a gap in general between Islamic interpretation in the West and in more conservative societies.

GORANI: Tim Lister has a look now at some differing interpretations of what exactly is considered blasphemous.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TIM LISTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): "The Message," a movie by Moustafa Al Akkad, is the story of the birth of Islam. But the Prophet Muhammad is nowhere to be seen.

MUSTAFA AL AKKAD, DIRECTOR, "THE MESSAGE": Even though there were several attempts by the media (ph) studios to do a film about Muhammad and (INAUDIBLE) because they approached it from an angle that they were going to show the prophet. And this is something very sacrilegious as far as Islam is concerned.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, "THE MESSAGE": God gave this house to Abraham to be a sacred place. Worship no other gods but him and cleanse his house.

LISTER: Many Muslims interpret the Koran as forbidding any depiction of Muhammad, though some scholars say there is no explicit ban.

IMAM YAHYA HENDI, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: In the Koran, there is no prohibition of (INAUDIBLE) of Prophet Muhammad or even of God by means of depiction. The Koran, like the New Testament and the Old Testament, speak about do not take the name of God in vain.

LISTER: Two years ago, protests and riots erupted across the Muslim world, from Libya to Pakistan, after a Danish newspaper published cartoons depicting Muhammad, most of them demeaning. A rock met a hard place. What was free speech in one culture was blasphemy in another.

A similar clash of values arose in Sudan in the case of British teacher Gillian Gibbons. Muslims often name their sons "Muhammad." In fact, in Britain it's now the second most popular name for boys. But in Sudan, allowing a teddy bear to be named after the prophet cost Ms. Gibbons a 15-day jail sentence for insulting religion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This insult and this offense by the teacher in front of little children is only an extension of the insults that already started in Denmark and other countries. We consider them to be a part of the Zionist and imperial attack on Islam.

LISTER: To one moderate imam, such an interpretation does not reflect true Islam.

HENDI: It says freedom of expression. And I thought it's a good idea, actually, to call the toy "Muhammad." It's a way by which one can make the Prophet Muhammad more accessible to the children.

LISTER: But feelings of a conspiracy against Islam have grown in countries like Sudan, Iran and Pakistan, stretching back to Salman Rushdie's novel "The Satanic Verses," which earned him a fatwa from Ayatollah Khomeini.

Some Islamic scholars who want greater dialogue feel their swimming against the tide.

HENDI: The last 20 years, Muslims developed a conservative, closed-minded, narrow-minded way of interpreting the scripture. That was not the case traditionally speaking. After all, the Koran uses the word "rational" and "mind" almost 400 times.

LISTER: In a clash of western outrage and Islamic conservatism, rational is often in short supply.

Tim Lister, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Well, that individual you saw in the beginning of Tim's piece, Mustafa Al Akkad, who directed "The Message," ironically was one of those who was killed by Islamist terrorists in the iman bombings a couple of years ago -- Jim.

CLANCY: All right. Moving now to Turkey, where a one-hour passenger flight ended in tragedy.

Officials there telling CNN there's no survivors. It was an Atlasjet flight from Istanbul, it was carrying 50 passengers, seven crew members. It was going to Isparta province.

Authorities have recovered the passenger jet's data recorders. The crash site is 11 kilometers or about 7 miles from Isparta's airport. Airline officials say the pilot radioed that he was approaching the airport to land.

Atlasjet was established back in 2001. It has not been involved in any previous fatal accidents.

Well, mixed reactions from the key players after talks to resolve the Iranian nuclear standoff ended on Friday without any sign of resolution.

GORANI: The European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, said he was "disappointed" after meeting with Iran's new nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili.

CLANCY: And for his part, Jalili said it was a good meeting and that the two parties would meet again next month. Now, Solana has been pressing Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment program. Thus far, Iran has defied those calls. That was consistent with what we heard from Jalili today, saying the program is for peaceful purposes.

GORANI: The failure of the meeting will likely increase the pressure for new U.N. Security Council sanctions. Saturday, Solana will brief the five permanent members of the Security Council, plus Germany, on these talks that were held today.

CLANCY: Well, Iran's president may be making a name for himself worldwide with his nuclear stand and his demand that Iran has rights.

GORANI: But as Aneesh Raman reports, some domestic concerns appear to be undercutting Ahmadinejad's popularity back home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN MIDDLE EAST CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Out here, digging is left to the destitute. And at 65 wreers old, earning a few dollars a day, farmer Hussein (ph) jokes retirement will come with death. He supports three unemployed sons and is desperate for economic change. Because of that, he backs a president who promised to deliver.

"Ahmadinejad is a good person, down to earth, and he mixes with the people. He goes where no one else goes and provides help," he tells me.

(on camera): But support even out here is starting to wither, as President Ahmadinejad pushes more and more against the West with a no- compromise nuclear strategy. It's causing increased criticism at home, and politically right now it's getting nasty.

(voice over): The populist president has been stepping up his attacks on those who question his regime's nuclear stance, saying recently, "They will be exposed before the whole nation. They are traitors."

One target, Hussein Musabian (ph), a former nuclear negotiator accused a few weeks back of spying for foreign governments in anti- regime activities. A court cleared him days again of the spying charge, but Ahmadinejad is not letting go.

In a rare show of criticism, top officials, including an aide to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, have virtually told the president, move on. Many other Iranians want that, too.

This is a broken economy that Ahmadinejad was elected to fix, and with less than two years to go before presidential elections, reformists are subtly showing confidence.

(on camera): What are the chances do you think of him winning reelection?

MA'ASOMETH EBTEKAR, TEHRAN CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: I think that our current president is facing a lot of challenges, particularly at the economic level.

RAMAN (voice over): But far from Tehran, the key question for Ahmadinejad is, can he keep his popularity in the provinces and be forgiven a stagnant economy? Old farmers like Hussein (ph) still see him as a man of the people, but this is one farm and Hussein (ph) is one voice. Just across the street, another farm, another Hussein (ph), who now sees a once populist president as just another politician.

"Whoever his connection goes and gets help," he tells me. "And whoever is like me, poor and downtrodden, must go to a corner and die."

Two farmers, a brewing debate amid an increasingly divided political landscape, with both sides digging in deeper by the day.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Shatare (ph), Iran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Well, let's take you now to Italy. We learned about half an hour ago that an American student suspected in the murder of her British roommate will not, not be released from jail. That was the object of a hearing earlier today. Amanda Knox had told a panel of Italian judges that she is innocent.

It is a thickening murder mystery in Perugia, Italy.

Alessio Vinci joins us live from there with more on the ruling -- Alessio.

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Hala.

Indeed, a panel of three judges here at the tribunal in Perugia have just ruled that American student Amanda Knox and her Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, must remain in prison. Now, what this ruling really means, it does not mean that the two suspects are guilty of killing the British student, Meredith Kercher. It does simply mean that while the investigation continues, the two suspects must remain behind closed -- behind bars, and that is because prosecutors believe that there is a risk, that perhaps they could camper with evidence, such as, for example, trying to influence potential eyewitnesses, or even the risk of flight. And therefore, they argued their case today in court, saying basically that the two suspects must remain in jail while the investigation continues.

It is important to note that for this bloody, horrible murder that took place on November the 1st, so far, no one has been charged. Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito are just two of four suspects. Two others, one is a bar owner here in Perugia who was arrested weeks ago and was then released for lack of evidence, but prosecutors believe he is still a suspect. And there is also a fourth suspect, a man who was arrested in Germany, a man -- his name is Hermann Guede. He's awaiting extradition and he should be extradited to his country in the next 10 days.

Hala, back to you.

GORANI: Alessio Vinci in Perugia, Italy.

Thanks very much.

So there we have it, Amanda Knox, the young American student, her Italian boyfriend, two others still suspects. And Amanda Knox still in prison.

CLANCY: That's right. Could be held for up to a year.

Still ahead, it was supposed to be a joyous occasion.

GORANI: One New York couple left for Vietnam last month to pick up their baby. Now they're in legal limbo. Why can't they bring this adopted child back to the United States, and what choices do they have?

A story that will tug at your heartstrings, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Well, imagine if you traveled halfway around the world to pick up the baby you just adopted, and then you are told that child is not going to be allowed in the United States, at least for now?

CLANCY: Well, that's exactly what has happened to a New York couple who adopted a baby from Vietnam.

Alina Cho has their story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): When David and Shannon French left for Vietnam last month to pick up baby Oliver, they couldn't wait to get there. They planned to be there for three weeks and home for Thanksgiving. Seven weeks later...

DAVID FRENCH, ADOPTING BABY FROM VIETNAM: I really can't describe what it's like to hold your son and, you know, have him look in your eyes and feel like inside you are stealing your heart against him so that he won't sense that there's anything wrong.

CHO: After the French's had legally adopted Oliver and after he was already in their custody, the U.S. government told them Oliver would not be granted a visa, at least for now, meaning the 6-month-old could not travel home with his new parents.

FRENCH: I was scared. Suddenly, what went from being a really joyful experience of becoming a father and a fascinating time spent absorbing Vietnamese culture, we suddenly felt like there was some suspicion that we'd done something wrong.

CHO: The U.S. government says communist Vietnam is currently under greater scrutiny following allegations of questionable adoption practices, like baby selling and birth parents being coerced into giving up their children. That's why the U.S. placed a temporary hold on visas for Oliver and at least 19 other newly adopted Vietnamese children.

THOMAS DIFILIPO, JOINT COUNCIL, INTERNAL CHILDREN SERVICES: You can only imagine, if this was your son or daughter and you were told that you were not allowed to bring them into the United States, that they had to remain there when you come home, I mean, that's just unimaginable.

FRENCH: We've got children's Tylenol, formula, diapers.

CHO: So, David is headed back to Vietnam, where his wife and baby are stuck. U.S. officials say Oliver and others like him could still get visas, but if that doesn't happen, the French's have two choices, give Oliver up or move to Vietnam for two years until they become legal guardians and can bring him home.

CHO (on camera): That's an incredible sacrifice. FRENCH: Is it? I mean, he's our son. I think it's easy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: You can feel a lot of emotion there...

GORANI: Absolutely.

CLANCY: ... in the father's voice and his eyes.

Alina Cho reporting for us there.

GORANI: All right. We are going to take a short break, but there's more of YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: Coming up, we are going to give you a close-up view of the victims all across the globe who are looking on this World AIDS Day, Saturday. We're going to hear the story of children in Africa left to fend for themselves after losing their parents to this deadly virus.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Hello and welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY.

I'm Jim Clancy, alongside Hala Gorani.

And these are the stories making headlines around the world.

Two British lawmakers will soon arrive in Sudan to press for a British schoolteacher's release from jail. Gillian Gibbons was sentenced to 15 days behind bars for insulting Islam by allowing her 7-year-old students to name a teddy bear "Muhammad." Angry crowds in Khartoum protested the sentence as too lenient. Many called for her to be executed.

Rescue crews say no one survived a passenger jet crash in central Turkey. The flight from Istanbul to Isparta province was carrying 50 passengers and seven crew. Aviation officials say there are no indications of terrorism or sabotage in the crash.

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, said he was "disappointed" after meeting with Iran's nuclear negotiator. For his part, Saeed Jalili said it was a good meeting and that the two parties would meet again next month.

Russians headed out to the polls on Sunday in parliamentary elections.

HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: I believe that's my part, Jim, but thanks for starting us off.

Sunday, parliamentary elections that could open the way for President Vladimir Putin to maintain his grip on power. We're looking at this story in detail. Mr. Putin will step down after the presidential election in March.

But here's the thing. If his United Russia Party does well on Sunday, as expected, his influence in Russia's political future is sure to continue. Mr. Putin's United Russia Party is predicted to get an overwhelming victory. Polls say the party could win two thirds of the popular vote and 80 percent of the seats in the legislature.

But the opposition in Russia is crying foul. They say the Kremlin has mounted an extraordinary effort to pressure Russians to vote for Mr. Putin's party and ensure a major victory. Former chess champion and opposition figure Garry Kasparov called Sunday's election a farce that will put Russia toward a single party dictatorship.

Here's a brief look now at President Vladimir Putin's bio. He has been president of the Russian Federation since 2000. The constitution bars him from running again as president. But he could take on other roles, like member of parliament. But analysts say he's got his eye on becoming the next prime minister.

Mr. Putin started his career as an agent for the KGB. In August of 1999, he became prime minister.

President Putin draws strong reactions from Russians. Fervent supporters credit him as a strong leader during economic growth. But critics say he's crushed human rights and freedom of speech in the country. In a new CNN special investigation, chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour looks at the plans in motion to keep President Putin in power, even perhaps after his term ends.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Welcome to democracy Russia-style. Politics spill into the street and President Vladimir Putin's most outspoken opponent is arrested one week before the elections.

Over at Putin's party convention, a fanfare for the party in power. United Russia. The only one that really counts. And the only question, will there be a real election, or as critics charge, a carefully orchestrated show?

This forest of cameras is not just for the convention delegates. We just heard that in five minutes President Putin is going to address this convention. Now although he cannot run again, at least not immediately, according to the constitution, he's coming here to rally his political troops because he wants them to continue with the Putin plan. And he delivers a bombshell.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, (through translator): I am honored, declared (ph) the candidate (ph) (INAUDIBLE) of United Russia.

AMANPOUR: Vladimir Putin signals he has no intention of giving up power, but he might swap jobs from president to prime minister. Or he might continue running things behind the scenes.

KONSTANTIN KOSACHE, UNITED RUSSIA: Nobody knows. This intrigue will be alive until the end of this story.

AMANPOUR: Konstantin Kosache is one of Putin's party leaders.

You know that he's pretty unpopular in the west, this power grab in Europe, in the United States, people are looking at it with alarm.

KOSACHE: We have not started single war or a military operation anywhere. Why do Americans, for example, need their bases in Romania, in Bulgaria? Why do they need these anti-missile shield in Poland and Chetchnia (ph)?

AMANPOUR: So I asked him about Russia's provocative moves. For instance, its strategic bombers approaching the coast of America and that of its allies.

Why do you think Russia scrambled fighter jets and sent them close to England and close to the Alaskan coast?

KOSACHE: In almost 15 years there were no flights and we do not have experienced pilots for these aircrafts.

AMANPOUR: But why are they going close to England and America? There's plenty of Russian territory they can fly over. What's the point?

KOSACHE: The point is that they need to have training in a real situation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Well, be sure to join chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour for this CNN special investigation that exposes another side of President Vladimir Putin's Russia. "Czar Putin" examines what happened to the promise of freedom and democracy in that country. U.S. viewers can see it Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. And for our international viewers, you can catch it several times this weekend, including Saturday and Sunday at 20:00 GMT. That's all right here on CNN.

CLANCY: All right. Well, just as there are problems in relations between Russia and the U.S., so, too, a sudden chill has developed between the U.S. and China. For the third time this month, Beijing turning down a request from the U.S. Navy to allow its ships to make a port call on Hong Kong. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins us now. We've got some developments in this story.

Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Jim.

Chilly to say the least, these turn downs by the Chinese, we are learning, are far more extensive than the Bush administration or the Pentagon had initially acknowledged. Earlier today, CNN confirmed that another U.S. Navy ship had been turned away by the Chinese, turned down for a port visit that wasn't even scheduled until the end of December. Frigate named the Ruben James was going to come into Hong Kong. The Chinese, a couple of weeks ago, said, no. No port visit for you at the new year.

That is the third turndown in as many weeks. Of course, we had reported earlier the USS Kitty Hawk and several of its escort ships turned down. Two mine sweepers turned down. Also at the Thanksgiving time frame. They were simply trying to get out of a storm. The Chinese refused them safe harbor.

And in the latest development, Jim, we also can confirm now that the Chinese have turned down a C-17 cargo flight into Hong Kong. It was a routine, quarterly resupply flight for the U.S. consulate in Hong Kong. The Chinese said, no, it cannot come in.

We'll see where all of this goes. The Bush administration has been trying to make the case for the last couple of days that all of this is in the past, they're moving forward, with U.S./Chinese military relations. But as more and more -- as these incidents come to light, that may be a tough line to hold. The U.S. military makes about 50 ship visits a year to Hong Kong. The last turndown was in 2004 until all of this started.

Jim.

CLANCY: Well, this is really over arm sales to Taiwan, that's what we're talking about here. And the administration isn't backing down on that front, is it?

STARR: Well, not backing down at this point. And that is only an interpretation, frankly, by some officials here that maybe the Chinese are upset about this potential arm sales to Taiwan. There's also discussion it could be about President Bush receiving the Dalai Lama. It could be about any host of things.

But the bottom line is, it comes as a terrible embarrassment for Defense Secretary Robert Gates because, of course, he was in Beijing just a couple of weeks ago for a military to military visit with the Chinese and touting new U.S./Chinese military cooperation. Even talking about setting up that hot line between Washington and Beijing. So this really could not come at a more awkward time for the Pentagon.

Jim.

CLANCY: All right. We'll keep our eye on it. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you as always.

STARR: Sure.

CLANCY: Hala.

GORANI: This weekend provides a chance for people everywhere to consider the global impact of the HIV virus. Saturday is World AIDS Day. And many leaders, including the American president, are observing the occasion. George Bush took part in a round table discussion on the epidemic Friday in Maryland.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: World AIDS Day is both a day of sadness and a day of hope. We remember with sadness all those lost to AIDS. We mourn their lives cut short, their dreams of future denied. We ask for God's blessings on the loved ones they have left behind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: Mr. Bush also said he and his wife, Laura, are going to be going to Sub-Saharan African early next year. That area, of course, the world's hardest hit region when it comes to HIV/AIDS. The United Nations says 68 percent of all HIV infections are there. CNN's Robyn Curnow met with three boys who it seems the world has forgotten.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): These three little boys eating a packet of chips we gave them are the loneliest children we've ever seen. Left to fend for themselves, almost forgotten after their mother and aunts died of AIDS earlier this year and their elder brother was killed in a train accident last month. None of them know what's happened to their fathers.

Fourteen year old Lindani (ph) tells us, we just sit. Sometimes we work.

His youngest brother, four-year-old Zamo (ph), is HIV positive. He cries a lot. So, too, does Lindani, who seems traumatized, shell- shocked.

Of the three brothers, six-year-old Incosiopa (ph) seems the most carefree. He sometimes does more than just sit or work. He loves to draw in the sand outside their home.

It's in areas like this that the true horror of the epidemic reveals itself. People living in this valley say that no one has been spared and that nearly every single household has been affected by HIV/AIDS.

Mavis Mtembu is a community health worker hired by an international organization who walks these hills going door to door and sees the full scale of the epidemic.

MAVIS MTEMBU, HEALTH WORKER: I think out of hand 7 (ph) percent is HIV. Seven (ph) percent is HIV here.

CURNOW: With estimates as high as that, it's often the grandmothers, like Christinam Kiza (ph), who are left to shoulder the burden. Relying on this small vegetable patch to feed the 11 grandchildren and foster children in her care, all orphaned by AIDS like 13-year-old Nomfudo (ph).

Mrs. Kiza (ph) tells me all those who suffer come to me. I've accepted that, but it makes me sick and stresses me out. I can't sleep at night. She's 77 and her eyesight is going. So she gets the children to read to her from the Bible. Small comfort for a family made up of those left behind.

The young and the very old are trying to hold together this community, says Mavis.

MTEMBU: I say there's no future the way I see it. No future. Because people are dying. People are sick. And people are still going to die in this area.

CURNOW: Death, it seems, is these children's only companion. The fresh graves of their family members reminding them that HIV/AIDS has already stolen their childhood and perhaps also their future.

Robyn Curnow, CNN, in Enkanni (ph) (INAUDIBLE), South Africa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Well, his alleged crimes cost victims an estimated $20 million, and he's not even 20 years old.

CLANCY: That's right. Coming up, we're going to tell you about a New Zealand teenager suspected of masterminding a worldwide cyber crime ring.

GORANI: And then a better use of the cyber world, patching up cultural divides by pairing up colleges separated by thousands of miles. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Welcome back, everyone.

Police in New Zealand questioning the suspected teenage kingpin of an international cyber crime network. The teen was tracked down with the help of the Federal Bureau of Investigation who said at least 2.5 million people around the world were made victims of this crime ring. Ruwani Perara (ph) reports on the group and their surprising methods.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUWANI PERARA, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): It was the suspicious server crash of this University of Pennsylvania web site which began a global chase for a cyber crook. And it led the FBI to Hamilton, New Zealand. A teenager going by the name of Akill (ph) is believed to be the mastermind behind the computer attack, which targeted over a million computers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He then takes over those computers, he hijacks them, he turns them into robots, and he can control them remotely.

PERARA: It's called a botnet. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I control a botnet of, say, a million computers, I can rent that botnet out to spammers, they pay me money and they can use my million computers to send out spam.

PERARA: Anyone can be vulnerable to these computer attacks, especially if you don't have up to date security software. It's just like leaving a window open or the front door unlocked at your house.

But unlike a burglary, it's harder to tell if you've been attacked.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You might be using your computer and the only thing you may notice is that it's running rather slowly at the time. And what they're then using is your computer to run a whole lot of programs to target another computer.

PERARA: A 20-year-old American student worked with Akill, calling themselves the A-team.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once you've got the knowledge and the tools to be able to commit offenses like this, it doesn't take much then to infiltrate other computers around the world.

PERARA: Akill's antics have been shut down, but this shows one person on the other side of the world can do major damage in global cyberspace.

Ruwani Perara, One News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Well, when it comes to matters of war and peace, the Internet can be a great leveler if you use it properly. While online conversations in chat rooms are often heated, some would say even vicious, they can also be used to foster understanding. I traveled recently to Georgetown University in Washington to take a look at a unique project that tries to bridge a great divide.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI, (voice over): On the left, Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. On the right, the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. And there's a quiet conversation taking place between the two colleges.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did anybody feel that they had a particular agenda?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I realize (INAUDIBLE) opportunity really difficult to show the things the way I want.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can understand about living in the U.S. what it's like to deal with two political parties.

GORANI: Separated by thousands of miles, east and west are talking. It's a project called Soliya, where students from all over the world debate politics and issues, but also discuss hobbies, family and friends in an online web forum.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hope everyone's doing OK. I'm waiting for the little bubble to rotate. Yes. OK.

GORANI: I joined students in Washington, D.C.

Hey, Shims (ph), we're just checking that you can hear us.

While inside the Middle East producer, Shims Sa Wazir (ph), covered the Beirut end of this transcontinental online chat.

SHIMS SA WAZIR: OK, yes, I can hear you.

GORANI: And from the get-go, Beirut student, Tarek Tetugian (ph), makes the conversation interesting.

TAREK TETUGIAN: Here in Lebanon we've got about a little -- slightly less than a million people who would like nothing better than to see Israel wiped off the face of the earth. And I guess that's the point of view that some people are missing.

GORANI: From the U.S. side, 20-year-old Samir Kapadia (ph) talked of a video project.

SAMIR KAPADIA: I really learned a lot about the media and the way you can take footage and try to position it and angle it in the way that you see fit.

GORANI: The goal of this experiment, getting young people from the U.S. and Arab worlds to put a human face on the other.

LUCAS WELCH: We live in a time where there's clearly a need for improved understanding.

GORANI: And the president of this organization, who says he just wants people to talk, is 33-year-old Lucas Welch. He worked as a news producer in New York for years, but says 9/11 and the Iraq War and the growing animosity between the Arab world and the west gave him an idea.

WELCH: In Soliya we're really driven by a pretty simple believe. That when it comes right down to it, people are people. And if you give people the opportunity to communicate in a constructive, safe environment, more often than not they discover that our similarities vastly outnumber our differences.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Well, see much more of that story, I host "Inside the Middle East" from Washington, D.C. Every once in awhile we take you outside the region for a different perspective of what's going on in the Middle East. Viewers can catch that on Saturday at 14:30 GMT. And for our U.S. viewers, cnn.com/ime. We stream all of our stories there.

CLANCY: All right. GORANI: And we have a new blog feature, so please take a look. Does my face (ph) look god enough.

CLANCY: That looks really interesting.

GORANI: It is. And it was absolutely fascinating. Speaking to those kids at Georgetown, Shims Sa Wazir in Beirut, they really, really engage. And this is a different platform for them to have different types of conversations.

CLANCY: OK. We've got to take a short break. We've got more to come, though, on YOUR WORLD TODAY.

GORANI: And still to come, the politics of baseball. Why supporting the wrong team may hurt a presidential hopeful. Stay with us.

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GORANI: You're with YOUR WORLD TODAY, everyone.

Today, two of the co-defendants of U.S. football star Michael Vick learned how they'll be punished for their involvement in a dogfighting conspiracy. Their names, Quanis Phillips and Purnell Peace. They could have received up to five years in prison, but instead they received sentences of 18 to 21 months behind bars. Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick turned himself in and has already begun serving time. He'll be sentenced formally on December 10th.

CLANCY: Well, making a connection between U.S. politics and the game of baseball may seem like a bit of a stretch.

GORANI: But if the Republican debate earlier this week is any indication of popular American sentiment, presidential hopefuls who support the wrong team may be in for a rude awakening at the polls.

CLANCY: CNN's Richard Roth makes the candidates run the bases.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The sport of baseball has been called America's national past time. And now baseball has become the sport of United States presidential wannabes.

RUDY GIULIANI, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm an American League fan.

ROTH: The latest debate in the Republican Party ended with a debate about baseball. Elevating the country's hottest sports rivalry between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox on a par with Iraq and immigration.

GIULIANI: I do point out that when I was mayor of New York City, the Yankees won four world championships. MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have to tell you that, like most Americans, we love our sports teams and we hate the Yankees.

ROTH: The baseball face-off was ignited by a YouTube viewer who asked candidate Giuliani to explain why, as a Yankee fan, he supported the usually hated Red Sox in baseball's World Series. New York tabloid headlines had accused Giuliani of sports treason.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he's a big-time traitor. So, to me, I think he's a traitor to New York and the New York fans to especially to the Yankees.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like Rudy, but when he went with Boston Red Sox after -- he's off my list. Absolutely off my list.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd rather shoot myself in the foot than root for the Red Sox.

ROTH: Giuliani is not the first New York politician to face the flip-flop charge when it comes to baseball.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Have to set the record straight, Cubs and Yankees, those were my teams and remain my teams growing up and now in my more mature years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She disgraced the Cubs.

ROTH: In this race, the candidates keep trying to tag the other runner.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't like the fact that he either likes the Yankees or the Red Sox, but doesn't apparently like the White Sox. And we're having a tough time this year.

ROTH: Why are candidates scrambling to put on the right sports cap?

JOSH TUCKER, PROF. OF POLITICS, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: One would think that perhaps politicians are trying to tap into this by showing that I'm a person like you, in that I'm a baseball fan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it says something about him that he flip-flopped on them.

ROTH: If you think there is no link to baseball and the White House, remember, George Bush used to own baseball's Texas Rangers. They have never won the World Series.

Richard Roth, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: And that's our report for this hour. I'm Jim Clancy.

GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. Stay with CNN.

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