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Thousands flee flooding in Mexico

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (CNN) — Heavy rains and flooding have forced hundreds of thousands of people from homes in southern Mexico’s state of Tabasco over the past four days, with nearly as many trapped by the rising waters, state officials said Thursday.

The Grijalva River pushed over its banks through the state capital of Villahermosa on Thursday, forcing government workers to evacuate and leaving up to 80 percent of the city flooded, Gov. Andres Granier’s office told CNN.

About 700,000 people have seen their homes flooded, with about 300,000 of those still trapped there, Granier’s office reported.

One death had been blamed on the floods, which followed weeks of heavy rain in the largely swampy state. Tabasco borders Guatemala to the south and the Gulf of Mexico to the north.

The Associated Press reported that thousands of people clung to rooftops, huddled inside waterlogged homes or hunkered down in shelters in an attempt to survive the worst flooding the region has seen in 50 years.

Weather forecasters predicted more rain in the coming days. The flooding was not related to Tropical Storm Noel, which was pounding the Caribbean.

The Grijalva River, one of two large waterways ringing Villahermosa, has risen 6.5 feet (2 meters) above its critical level and gushed into the city’s center, according to AP. Authorities said some of the rivers were continuing to rise.

President Felipe Calderon visited the area on Wednesday and promised the federal government’s full support. Non-governmental organizations throughout the country asked people to donate non-perishable goods or cash, AP said.
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CNN Student News Transcript: November 2, 2007

(CNN Student News) — November 2, 2007

Quick Guide

Water Wars - Hear about a meeting among the leaders of some drought-stricken states.

Noel Soaks Caribbean - View some of the destruction caused in the Caribbean by a deadly storm.

Enola Gay Pilot Dies - Examine the life of a famous World War II pilot who helped shape history.

Transcript

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

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: It’s Friday, and we’re closing out the week here on CNN Student News. Hi, everybody. I’m Carl Azuz. Let’s get things going today with a quick quiz.

Shoutout

GEORGE RAMSAY, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Today’s Shoutout goes out to Mr. Trook’s Speech classes at Lubbock High School in Lubbock, Texas! What do Charlie Crist, Sonny Perdue and Bob Riley have in common? If you think you know it, shout it out! Are they all A) Football coaches, B) Governors, C) Business partners or D) U.S. congressmen? You’ve got three seconds — GO! Charlie Crist of Florida, Sonny Perdue of Georgia, and Bob Riley of Alabama are all governors. That’s your answer and that’s your Shoutout!

First Up: Water Wars

AZUZ: And another thing those three have in common? They were all in Washington, D.C. yesterday. They got together to talk about the severe drought that’s hit the southeastern U.S. Now normally, their states share water supplies. But with the extremely dry conditions, there’s just a lot less to go around. And as the water level’s gone down, the tension between the governors has gone up. Kyung Lah tells us what happened at yesterday’s meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYUNG LAH, CNN REPORTER: All grins and glee between three governors before a meeting where they hoped to strike a truce and end their war over a precious resource.

FLORIDA GOV. CHARLIE CRIST: Today, it’s all about that.

LAH: Water, and who gets it. The drought in the southeast has Alabama, Florida and Georgia feuding with each other, and the federal government over over dwindling Lake Lanier; a federal reservoir. The lake is Atlanta’s primary water source, and the city is feeling the squeeze. There are even water cops issuing citations for sprinkling ban violators. Further south, Lake Lanier water is needed to keep an Alabama nuclear plant and Florida coal fired plant running. Meanwhile, the Army Corps of Engineers says its required by law to release millions of gallons from the lake every day to save endangered mussels and sturgeon.

GEORGIA GOV. SONNY PURDUE: If our reservoirs are drained, there will no water to send downstream. No water for Atlanta. No water for mussels.

LAH: Today, the governors emerged from a closed door meeting with the secretary of the interior; agreeing, for once, to agree.

ALABAMA GOV BOB RILEY: Are we there yet? Absolutely not. But you do have a format today that did not exist before.

LAH: That format has the Army Corps of Engineers drafting plans to change the way it manages Lake Lanier water. Meanwhile, from Washington, a warning.

INTERIOR SECRETARY DIRK KEMPTHORNE: This is serious. You’ve seen the pictures. But I will tell you that it is not isolated to the South.

KYUNG: The governors pledged to meet again in December and work on having a long term plan by February. Meanwhile, they all say they’re hoping for rain. In Washington, I’m Kyung Lah.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Noel Soaks Caribbean

AZUZ: A different kind of natural disaster is wreaking havoc on parts of the Caribbean. Tropical storm Noel has been slowly making its way through the region this week, and it strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane Thursday evening. The deadly storm has drenched several island nations and caused floods and landslides that have killed more than 60 people. Adrian Finighan has more on the effects of this powerful storm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADRIAN FINIGHAN, CNN REPORTER: Teetering homes, broken bridges, shattered lives. Just some of the lingering effects of tropical storm Noel. Scores of people have been killed and rain continues to pelt the already drenched region.

But even among the scenes of devastation, there were moments of joy. Caught in a current, this young boy in Haiti reached the shore with the help of another. But others weren’t so lucky. In the Dominican Republic, a surging river broke its banks and tore children from the clutch of their parents’ grasp. It washed away a village, too.

MAN ON THE STREET (TRANSLATED): All that area, from the middle of the river to all the way over there, that was a town that disappeared.

FINIGHAN: In eastern Cuba, emergency workers rescued victims from homes submerged in muddy water. Thousands of flood victims are lining up for food and seeking shelter. Aid workers say there’s only one blanket for every two people and no beds. The president of the Dominican Republic is appealing for international help and has announced a state of emergency.

LEONEL FERNANDEZ, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC PRESIDENT (TRANSLATED) : We will go to each point where there have been people affected who require the government’s help.

FINIGHAN: Now, aid workers are also concerned about disease after the floods.

ROLANDE ST. LOUIS, DOCTOR (TRANSLATED): We came here for us, to have medicine available to give them. To examine all the children and give them medicine, those who have diarrhea, those who have fever, a cold, since we know there’s conjunctivitis going around.

FINIGHAN: Adrian Finighan, London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Is this Legit?

RAMSAY: Is This Legit? Germany’s surrender ended World War II in 1945. Not legit. It was actually Japan’s surrender in the same year that officially ended World War II.

Enola Gay Pilot Dies

AZUZ: A truly historic moment led to that surrender. Japan agreed to end the war just eight days after the first atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima. The attack killed tens of thousands of people, but the American pilot who flew the mission told CNN that the bombing prevented an invasion that could have been even more costly. That pilot died yesterday morning, and Miles O’Brien looks back at a man who helped shape history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILES O’BRIEN, CNN REPORTER: He was known as the man who ended the war, and now he has reached the end of the line.

PAUL TIBBETS, ENOLA GAY PILOT: There it is, the Liberty Bell.

O’BRIEN: That was Paul Tibbets as he turned 90. Speaking out; trying to set the record straight about the brutal dawn of the nuclear age, 62 years ago.

August 6, 1945. Tibbets commanding the B-29 bomber he named after his mother, Enola Gay, cast its shadow over Hiroshima, Japan. At 8:15 in the morning there, the bomb known as ‘Little Boy’ fell on an unsuspecting city.

TIBBETS: When the bomb exploded, I was just bringing my nose up on the horizon and the whole thing lit up in pinks and blues, white. Oh, God, you never saw anything like it. It was instantaneous.

O’BRIEN: Dutch Van Kirk was the navigator on that fateful mission.

THEODORE DUTCH VAN KIRK, ENOLA GAY NAVIGATOR: You didn’t see anything except a bright flash in the airplane. You saw the white cloud hanging over the city. You saw underneath the cloud, the entire city was just covered with smoke and dust. It looked like a pot of boiling oil down there.

O’BRIEN: What did you say at that moment?

TIBBETS: To myself, I said, nobody can stand up to that. And we’ll all get to go home.

O’BRIEN:How do you square, the lives you saved, with the lives that were lost that day?

TIBBETS: Based on personal experience, I seldom go anywhere over the years, that somebody doesn’t come up to me and say ‘I was scheduled for that invasion, you saved my neck.’ And I’ll say, ‘That’s good news, I’m glad I could.’

O’BRIEN: Would you consider yourself a hero?

TIBBETS: No.

O’BRIEN: Why not?

TIBBETS: Because I didn’t go out there to do something to show off, you know, and that sort of thing. I was put in a place to get the job done. And I did it. And I don’t think it took a hero to do that.

O’BRIEN: Paul Tibbets the Fourth followed in his grandfather’s footsteps. An Air Force officer, he flew B-2 stealth bombers for several years.

PAUL TIBBETS IV, U.S. AIR FORCE: He is a hero. And you’re exactly right. You know why? My grandfather says he was not a hero because he was a soldier serving his country, just like every other soldier that was serving with him. They were all serving their country, trying to take care of one another to make sure they made it through. That’s what it was all about. Let’s defeat the enemy, make it through and survive.

TIBBETS: I just want to be remembered as a man who was given a job and he did it. No explanation, no nothing. I was given a job and I did it.

O’BRIEN: Simple as that.

TIBBETS: Yeah.

O’BRIEN: Are you proud of that statement

TIBBETS: Nobody did it before. Nobody did it since.

O’BRIEN: And no one, including his grandson, may ever have to face that awful moral dilemma again - because Paul Tibbets did his duty, and helped distill the awful cruelty of human beings into a moment that cannot, and should not, be forgotten. Miles O’Brien, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Promo

AZUZ: Every year at this time, we honor our veterans, those that served in the U.S. armed forces in all wars. Coming next Friday, we’re going to have a special program: CNN Student News - Solute to Veterans, and you can be a part of it! We’re giving you the chance to send a Shoutout to veterans and have it air right here on the show. If your class has a connection with a particular service member or military unit serving overseas right now, why not send them a message of support? It’s easy! Shoot a video or take a picture of your class’ salute and send it to us via I-Report, and we’ll air some of them next Friday’s show. Be sure to include the unit or service member’s name in your submission! You can find the link to I-Report on our Web site, CNNStudentNews.com.

Before We Go

AZUZ: And finally, what would you give up to get back a missing pet? When Pork Chop disappeared last month, her owner decided that the family pet was more important than the family car. So she offered up her old Mustang as a reward for the dog’s return. One week later, the dog was back, and the car was gone. But surprise! A Car care company heard the story and gave the family this new Mustang. And now they’ve got it all. The dog, the car and a very happy family.

Goodbye

AZUZ: That happy ending is where we end things today. We’ll see you next week. But remember to set your clocks back this Sunday, and enjoy the extra hour of weekend. Thanks for watching. I’m Carl Azuz. E-mail to a friend

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Ex-Saudi ambassador: Kingdom could have helped U.S. prevent 9/11

(CNN) — Saudi Arabia could have helped the United States prevent al Qaeda’s 2001 attacks on New York and Washington if American officials had consulted Saudi authorities in a credible way, the kingdom’s former ambassador said in a documentary aired Thursday.

The comments by Prince Bandar bin Sultan are similar to the remarks this week by Saudi King Abdullah that suggested Britain could have prevented the July 2005 train bombings in London if it had heeded warnings from Riyadh.

Speaking to the Arabic satellite network Al-Arabiya on Thursday, Bandar — now Abdullah’s national security adviser — said Saudi intelligence was actively following most of the September 11, 2001, plotters with precision.

If U.S. security authorities had engaged their Saudi counterparts in a serious and credible manner, in my opinion, we would have avoided what happened, he said.

Bandar was the Saudi ambassador to Washington for nearly 22 years before he was replaced in 2005. A knowledgeable U.S. official told CNN that Bandar’s comments should be taken with a grain of salt.

On Monday, Abdullah told the BBC that Saudi Arabia had sent warnings to British authorities before the London subway bombings that killed 52 people — the city’s bloodiest day since World War II.

We have sent information to Great Britain before the terrorist attacks in Britain, Abdullah said. But unfortunately, no action was taken, and it may have been able to avert the tragedy.

The September 11 attacks killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. All but four of the suicide hijackers who carried out the plot were Saudi nationals, and after the attacks, the kingdom was widely criticized for having tolerated Islamic militancy.

The Saudis have called the criticism unfair, pointing out that al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden’s original grievance was against the country’s ruling family, which invited U.S. troops into the kingdom after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

A string of attacks on Western compounds, oil installations and Saudi institutions between 2003 and 2006 were blamed on al Qaeda’s followers.

And Saudi officials say that since 9/11, they have taken steps to ensure charitable donations do not fall into the hands of al Qaeda.
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Newsquiz: Week of October 29

(CNN Student News) — November 2, 2007

Get a clue — Use each of the following clues to figure out who or what is being described from stories you saw on CNN Student News this week. Write your answers in the space provided.

Click here for a PDF version of this Newsquiz

1. This lake is the primary water source for Atlanta, Georgia.

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2. Charlie Crist is the governor of this U.S. state.

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3. Paul Tibbets commanded this B-29 bomber, which dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan.

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4. A court in this country delivered a verdict in the trial of 28 defendants charged in the 2004 Madrid train bombings.

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5. Tuesday’s Democratic presidential debate took place in this U.S. city.

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6. A 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck near the city of San Jose in this U.S. state.

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7. Admiral Michael Mullen is the chairman of this principal U.S. military advisory group.

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8. Astronauts recently discovered a rip in this part of the international space station.

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9. This man was president of the U.S. when the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed in 1938.

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10. 135 alumni from the U.S. Naval Academy class of 1995 recently reunited to take part in this athletic event.

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Agencies: Most children in adoption dispute not Sudanese orphans

ABECHE, Chad (CNN) — Most of the 103 children that a French charity attempted to take to France from Chad for adoption are neither Sudanese nor orphans, three international aid agencies reported on Thursday.

Six members of Zoe’s Ark were arrested last week as they tried to put the children on a plane to France, where the charity said host families were waiting to take the children in.

Three French journalists, a seven-member Spanish flight crew and one Belgian were also arrested. Representatives of the journalists and flight crew said they were unaware of problems with Zoe’s Ark and thought they were on a humanitarian mission.

Chadian President Idriss Deby hopes the journalists and the flight crew will be freed, his chief of staff, Mahamat Hissene, said Thursday.

The president would legally be able to intervene in the case if it is transferred from a judge in the eastern city of Abeche, where the children were taken, to a judge in N’Djamena, the capital, Hissene said.

The transfer will take place Monday, according to media reports.

The International Red Cross Committee, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and UNICEF said most of the children were living with their families before Zoe’s Ark took them.

The charity said the children were Sudanese orphans that it was trying to rescue from a war-torn nation.

The agencies said most of the children also probably come from Chadian villages along Chad’s border with Sudan.

The children have been living in an orphanage in Abeche while authorities and aid agencies try to determine their identities. Watch a report on whether the children are orphans

Chadian authorities immediately accused the charity of kidnapping the children and concealing their identities. Chad’s interior minister said Zoe’s Ark dressed the children in bandages and fake intravenous drips to make them look like refugees who needed medical help.

The charity workers and journalists have been charged with kidnapping and extortion and could face 20 years of hard labor if convicted. The Spaniards and Belgian are charged with complicity.

The Spanish flight crew is innocent and should be released, a company executive said Thursday.

We thought we were doing a humanitarian transport, said Antoni Cajal, sales director of Spain’s Gir Jet charter firm.

If an NGO [nongovernmental organization] has done something wrong, it’s impossible for us to know.

Spain’s Foreign Ministry has publicly expressed its disagreement with the charges and has dispatched top diplomats to Chad to try to win the group’s release.

Over the weekend, the captain appealed urgently to be rescued, fearing the crew could be harmed or killed, Cajal said.

But the four women and three men are in good condition in custody, Cajal said, based on his conversations with a Spanish consular official who came from Cameroon to Chad and has been able to visit them.

The detention is the first problem of its kind for the company, which hopes government negotiations can resolve the issue, Cajal said.

On its Web site, Zoe’s Ark describes itself as a nonprofit organization based in Paris that sends teams of physicians, nurses, firefighters and other specialists to care for children in war zones and place them with families in France, who then apply for asylum on their behalf.

The Red Cross, UNHCR and UNICEF said the 21 girls and 82 boys range in age from about 1 year to about 10, and they are healthy.

The agencies said they have been interviewing the children individually to determine their backgrounds.

So far, the interviews carried out with the children — some of whom could not provide any information due to their young age — led to the preliminary conclusion that probably 85 come from Chadian villages near the cities of Adre and Tine along the Chadian-Sudanese border, the agencies said.

Ninety-one children said they had been living with their family, consisting of at least one adult they considered to be their parent, the agencies said, adding that interviews with the remaining 12 children were ongoing.

The agencies called their investigation painstaking and challenging because of the number of children, their youth and the situation in the region.

Other French charities earlier had questioned whether Zoe’s Ark could legally arrange adoption of children from Darfur, and contacted French authorities, according to French newspapers and The Associated Press.

French authorities have reacted angrily to the Zoe’s Ark trip, calling the group’s actions illegal and irresponsible.

The French Foreign Ministry has said the dispute will not affect France’s participation in a European peacekeeping force due to be deployed along the border between Chad and Sudan.

In response to the dispute in Chad, the Republic of Congo said late Wednesday it was suspending all international adoptions, The Associated Press reported.

Reporters Without Borders said it will work for the release of the three journalists arrested in Chad.

The organization said photographers Marc Garmirian of the Capa news agency and Jean-Daniel Guillou of the Synchro X agency were on assignment for their news organizations and were not part of the charity’s efforts.

The third journalist, Marie-Agnes Peleran of the TV station France 3 Miditerranee, was traveling with the group in a personal capacity, though she carried a camera from her station, Reporters Without Borders said.
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