tonight "worldfocus" -- >> in india, swine flu has triggered aave ofpanic with schools, theaters an shopping is the flu fear justified? glimmerof hope. surprisingumbers show germany and france have pulled out of recession. coulthe rest of europe be far behind? and what does that mean for the u.s. economy? as secretary of state clinton meets with the first woman presidt of liberia,we ok at the womes movement in thatest african country. a force so strong, it drove a dictator fm power. and we cntinue our look at the impact of climate change on mote lands. traveling to cambodia toeet the monks out to save a forest one treet a time.

good ening, i'm marti savidge. we are going to starhere night with a subject that ha a lot of people re and throughout the world increasingly concern aswe ard towards fall that. subject is the h1n1 swine f virus, which according to the world health oanization has kied just under 1,500 people worldwide. rit now it's spreading through india th its vast and densely packedopulation, to use the words of "the new york tes." it has been confmed in american troops at 6 bases in iraq, to cite just a couple of examples. it's a complicated heath issue and tonight's lead focus, we though it would be helpf to

take look at the flu pdemic from a world perspective as weigh help you derstand the risk as the tradional flu season approaches. just last week in switzeand, officialof the world health organization had news abt the timetablfor the development of a swe flu vaccine. the organization said a ccine may be rea by the end of september, but tt more testing is needeon the proper dosage. >> wha they will try tell us they will tell us whetherwe ed oner two dose per person for a vaccination >> until aaccine can be made wily available, many countries ar focusing on preventi. last week brazl, thousds of fans attending a soccergame woreasks after being ordered do so by a judge. the game took place in the southern part of brazil, where most of bral's swine flu cases had been reported. nearly 200 peoplhave died in th country from the disease. >> translator: we' several peopleie, including mothers and bies. it's a sad situatn. we willcontinue to support measures like the ontoday.

>> on saturday in ecuador, the health minters of ten south american countries met tonsure thfair distribution the swinflu vaccine they anounced theywould work together to buy the vaccine an effort to prevent being overchard. >> translator:he latin american governmen want to preventhose with a commercial interest ofaking advantage of the uncertaiy caused by the paemic. the medici and supplies needed to deal with the pandec must be availle to all. >> also thiseek inosta ra, swine flstruck what may be i highest profile victim. on tuesday itas announced that the costa ric president and nobel peace prize winner, oscar ari arias, hasallen illrom the disease. >> translator: after sufring from a heache, sore throat and a fer, was inform he had contracted the h1n1 virus. he is at home, wre he has been told to rest until next monday. >> arias expecd to make a full recovery, wever the ill ngs

has halted his works a mediator in thpolitical crisis honduras after that country's president was ousted in a coup in late june. inally in india,n mumi, officials yesterday ordered all schos and movie theaters closed. with more than million people, mumbai is dia's biggest ci. yesterday's desion marks the first timehat a major city in indiclosed all of its scols andovie theaters. the ve was prompted by a rising number ofr$bxyöeáu cases an deaths. the number of reported cases in india stands at around 1,200. at lea 2,100 peop are reported to have died. hover, with a populion of over 1 billion people,he percentage o cases in india is low in coare to untries // $ elsewhere. some have blamed aggreive coverage othe outbreak by the medifor creating atmosphere of arm. to try tomake sense of the global swine flu pandemic, st how dangeus it rely is, we've invited bk dr. mart blaser tojoin us tonight. he is the past presint of the infectious disseociety of

erica and is t chairof the departnt of medicine at new york university schoolf medicine. as just heard, the swine flu spreading quite rapiy around the world. but the glob death count, ich right now i believe is at 1,500, remains relavely lo soust how dangerous is disease? >> i thinks you point, it's spading all over the world. it's been present in morthan 150 countries. i would guess tre already have been tens of millions of cases of infection. and telatively small number of deaths. but for most of th world les, it'she summertime and this outbreak isn't over. inact, it's jst beginni. >> but i want to keep in perspective the rgular flu, that's what we'r goingo call it. how many people die? >> in the u.s. it's timated about 35,000 peoe ayear. >> h many people have died from the swinelu so far? >> so farbout 400. >> the concern seems to be that's oen talked about is this u, swi flu, could

mute into a deadlier form. how likely is that? >> so far the fact that it's been in mlions of people and hasn't mutated is good news. that doesn't mn we're out of the woods a viruscomes along like tis witho much force,here it's spreading all over the world with soany millns of people andot respecting ssonal boundaries the way fl usually does, then have you to worry that the's a lot of for to this virus. when you use the word force i presume what y're referrg to is the fact it's a n virus th most people, maybe a of us, ha never reallybeen exposed to and thereby we catch it me easily, is that it? we don't hve immuny to it yeah. it is aew virus, although it's relative circulat until 1957. so that's weople who are - who werealive in197, people over the age of 50, seem to hav someartial immunity. but for people born after 1957, which is most of the world'

populaon, there's no pre-isting immunity, and that's juan of one of theeasons spreadg so rapidly. >>nd this propensity to jx likely in thewine flu or are e odds the same with the swi flu asith any virus? >> i don think we knownough to ansr that question. people areworried because i's spreading efectively. so ift did mutate into a very severe form, a lot of people would be affeed. >> i got it. how are we doing when comes to a vacce, andow are we doing the time xasce? >> well, thereas been a cessary, that w.h. has said that, the u.s. government has saidt. th have contracted wit five major manufturers. they hav contracd f more th 150 million doses,"3&zdcññ t about enough f every other peon in the united states. and the goal is to get this out someime in octor. th's not as early as one would like but they can do that, it won'be too bad. >> there are man places in the world where ople can't afford

or there is no means by whi to vaccinate. what happens >> that's going be a problem. they're st tooling up production right now, and nobody is really looking after those other people >> dr. martin aser, thank you ry much. >> tha you. as you hea, india's now dealing th the andemic. on tonight'sblogwatch, we u to sharewith you oneomment thateed to put the fluirus and how people are sponding in perspeive. ivanuand ras writes fom india -- as my good friend p , 200 peoe get swine flu a the ole of india was to wear surge rical masks. 20 million people hve aids ad nobody wants twear a condom. as weontinue on this thursd evenin our other big theme hereonight is the glob

economy. o of europe biggest economies, germany and france, report signs of recory. each saw grth. yes, we said growth of % in this year's second quarter. but those are just two untries, and despite turnaround for the much of europe is still mid in recession, as we hear this report frodeutsche welle. reporter: one reason for th positi trend in germany isan improvement the construction industry. but consumers have already done theibit, continui to spend money roughout the crisis. and they'veeenhelped by berlin economic stimulus packages. >> the slowdown in production is w over. we're entering ahase of stabilization or of slight growth. this respect, the worst is now overbut not for the labor rket. unfounately, we have to expect more job losses. >> reporter: gmany is not the only economy to emergefrom the

cession. france ao surprised analysts recording .3 of 1% growth inhe second quarter. ken as a ole, theeu economy continued to shrk, according to official figus published today. major economs such as britain pulled down the europe average, contracting b.8 of 1%. but lithuanias in a league of its own, posting a g loss of mo than 12%. the tiny baltic statwas hit relatilyate by the economic crisis season seekg to ride out the orm. some bourqwoers have seen their wages reduced by asuch 50% and the governme has also raisedtaxes. >> to assess how fast the wor is rebounding d to analyze wh it is meaned by the united states, we are joid once again by o of our regulars, roben farzad, a senior write with usinessweek." alys good to see you. >> thank you, marn. >> butspecially today because we have potive news. let's start th germany. how significant is the second quarter growth germany

after all, it ishe largest economy in europe and whatñi do itean for our own economy? >> it's pleasant. we'll take whatever go news we can getut more power to th. it doesn't mea alluch to the rest of e global economy. >> what conibuted, do we think, to germany's positive numbers this time? >>germany's similarly espoused physical imulus, a ca for clunkers pgram over there. itas a more robust exporti system. it didn'tbinge on subprime serities like some of the other western economies and especially the emerging european econies did. so it didn't have ch a hard fall because it didn't soar as high. >> and franc also had pitive news. what is the explanaon there? >> silarly, france was sowhat bufferedrom all of theubprime contagi thing. as recently aswo or thre years ago, francwas an economicdnchline. the labor foe is not very mobile. it'sarder to hire d fire people. th cuts both ws. when youry insuleate

yourselfamid a gbal contagio the likes we have seen the past two years, yu're bound to do better th the other economies. >> okay. but despite that, there are many european economi that are not seeing anyreal signs of hope. let's talk aboutgreat britain. ploymentate is up. spaiis now approachg nearly 18%. how do thos facts fit inith e news of tod? >> well,t showsyou that you're not talkin about a single eity in the european zone economies ain, for example, was precisely one of those economies that binged on subime, that espoused new paradigm thiing, that built condo as far as the eye can see, that opened its borders to come in and mix having tpay people to go away and it's dealing with a significant hangover. ditto, ireld. ditto some of the economies that were expos to cenal and eastern europe, mainly romania, austria. so it shows youthat the european nations,even the one that's share a common currency, don't shar their common

economic hlth. >> do you ink that germany an france, the nmbers today are an analy or part of a trend? >> i hope it's part of a trend that we finally abate the deep loss that's we saw past. >> but i also wanto bring in asia. shou we be focused on these numbers comi out of europe or looking more at numbs coming out of asia? >> yh, the hope rests on asia. you're not talking about .3% economic growth inountries like cna and singapore and malaysia and indonesia it's significant higher than th. and the countrie aren't throwing significant amount of fiscal stimulus -- >> what numbers arwe looking at? >> you look at china, it's still apprching 7% growth. >> today? >> yes. and there's significant spding on infrastruure, high-speed trai. trying to get e engine going on the surplus of dollars they acmulated. the question is, will these countries and the chinese ecosystem rn around bin erican goods and eglish goods and keep that syem afloat? >> we haveto leave it there.

roben farzad, leaving us on a bright note. thank you,martin. thank you very much. in e former soviet republic of belarus, e severity payi the goods. how mplings became the currency after a bell rugsruck factory. eat them there or take them home. workers at an auto par factory are beinpaid in cheesend milk. others are paying eir ople with caed goods, onions, fabrics d rugs. and oneore nte from europe tonight. officials scotland saythey are considing an early release on compassnate grounds for the libyan manonvicted of the 1988 bombing of a pan am jetler over lockerbie, that's bause abdelbaset al megrahi, who wasonvicted ten years later, has terminal cancer. the ssibility of an eay release for al megra has divided some relatives of thse

who died. >> there was no compassionhown for the 270 victms who were murder, and so i think we have shown h moreompassion than he showed his victs. >> i should very delighted if he does go me to h familyo die. and i'm very pleased to hear they are encouraging orlts to use compassionaterelease. >> after al megrahi's conviction, they denounced rrorism and libya's relaons with the wesstarted to impre. ecretary of state hilly clinton was in liberia today as she neared the end ofer 11-d sit to africa. e west african natio found by freed american slaves i led by the continent's first democraticly elected fale president. antoday clinton d strong

praise for ellen johnson-sirleaf and he accomplishments. despite a recent apology for johnsosirleaf for givi an example to crles taylor, an inmiliar lus waord and later liberia'president. tayl liberia's leader at the end of4 years of a bral civil war. and it was t adven of a woman's moveme earlier in this decade tha helped to drive him fr power. in tonight's signature story, we want to ta a deeper ok at the por of women in liberia. a story we first brought you earlier this year. "worldfocus" scial coespondent lynn sherr sho us how theovement gave wome the kindf opportunities they could never have dreamedf. ♪ >> reporter: the meage from monria, the capital of liberia,s loud and cle -- women rule, literally inhe person of ellen johnson-sirleaf, the first female preside elected in africa, and optimisticly, as in is four-dayonference of women

from around the world, strategiesing everything from stopping violencagainst women tounding political campaigns. the internatiol om's cloak yum tok ple in march, the rgest event in liberia in more an 30 years, celebrating female leers from all over africa andhe market women of liberiitsel they, in a as soon ain a sense, real starsf the show. they not onlyell the food that sustains their untry, they also fueled a movement that helped end 14 years o civil wars. en the tyrannical rule of president charles taylor transformed their lushlittle couny into a ving hell, murdering thei n, kidnappi their chdren, raping eir sisters and mothers and daughters, these women, most uneducat, generallyunschooled in the possibili of their own hun rights, decided they've ha enough. theytaged marches and sit-ins forwo years, and their demands

finally got em a meeting with the ar of president ller himself. >> we are tired -- we are tid -- we are tired of our chilen being raped. we are now taking atand to secure the future our children because we belie society with our children who asks, mama, when w you're role duri the crisis? >> reporter: t women dends, first reveed to the world in a film "pray the devil back to hell," helpeend taylor into ile. then they rallied aroundhe mpaign of elected liberia's new president. she has never forgotten w she got there. >> we celrate the greatrole at women have plaed t move liberia to this point. reporter: this gathering of women is also a fulfillnt of her promise that president

johnsosirleaf's made to the women of liberia. "they std by me and they supporteme," she has said, "and my administrati will empower th." >> what n i do to enable them to move alon the pa where not only have theynow won the peaceful liberia, b what do we give back to them to enable th toe empowered enab them reach their tential? and my connection with them was to say, you've do it for liberia. you've done it for me, andy commitme is to find a way to give it bac to you. >> reporter: she arted with hercabinet, naming women to the most more than ministrs -- finance, forei affairs, commerce. shmade a woman the nation's police ief. she so, not surprisingly,ut a woman in charg of the gender mistry, which reallmeans women's mistry. gender minister glord said

women's groups mushroomed in liria after the war to fill e vacuum that was created by the absence of govnment. >> for the first timen the history of ts country, women are all over the place. we try to let them know tat we are not competing. just want to cplement one another's efforts, and we hope that will see us as a fure partner and we nd to work together. reporter: for some men, tha panership is already flourishing. >> we support thewomen strongly. >> reporter: and in th country where meand boysave alwa had priority, presiden johnson-sirleaf's abolished fees for pimary schools thelp expand thed kaucation of gis. she vowed to end the scourge of ra and for her lawyer base o market women, she fixed up th markets where th sell their goodand earn a living

>> this is an example our children. >> your dahter could be president. >>y daughter could be president. >> reporter: h many of you wod like to be predent? oh, the girl, yeah! wod you have said that before president sirleaf was in office? >> no. >> so many of them th are saying thanow. i want to foow the president's footsts. many others say i wa to be a doctor, engineer, teacher. today theynow that thr poteial can be methrough thri barriers to them anymore. >> reporter: which means wom may notonly rule liberia, but theiown destinys well. i'm lynn sherr f "worldfus" in monrovia,iberia. >>ou canind more from liberia, including more7%z4uc and an interview with the country's president at worldfocus.org.

finally tonig, the last report in our series on e changing globavironment, from our newest paner the united nations envirment project una and itsilms oject. tonight weakeyou to stheast asia, cambia, where there's an unusual effort uer way by buddhist monks to reant forestsdevastated by war and loggers. this is important them for religious and environmenl reasons. the monks, like others, believ the trees mayhelp counter the effects oflimate change. so come with us as get a rare glime into their world.hc >> reporter: in a quiet fore in a corner ofeasterncambodia, buddhi monks pray for peace. fosts have always played a crucial role in the igination of ddhists worldwide.

it was, after all, beneat a tree thathe buddha himself aceved enlightenment but there's someing special abouthis forest. the forest was heavily bombed during the vietnam wa and even no the forests full of bomb craters and the trees left standing by the b-52 were then cleared the loggers. butver the last 15 yrs, this forest has been reborn and it's largely than to this man. as a local monk inneed of a forest to meditate in, he formed aroup called sanity cter with a peacermy and set about replanting the forestfrom ratch. and as theelationship between tree d climate became better understood, they wked to conserve even greater energy

>> reporr: this is a farmer that lived here most of his 54 yes and has faced a growing struggle culvating rice. this year the rai has come earl so he's preparing t plan but last yearhe rain failed, and so did his crops.

>> repter: back in the fores the monks are preparing to head back to theirvillages, and they'll carrying an important message with them. >> reporr: just outside the fore, local faers have gathered to pray for a good harvest and t make good ferings to the monks. so khan and h fellow farmers dot have much to ive, but they know that like panting trees, ery little bit counts. >> and that is a look atur

world is thursday eveningon "worldfocus." by the way, if you missed anyof those u.n. repts about th global environment and climate change this week, you are in luck, because youanatch them agn at our website, which, of course, is worldfos.org. an remember, there's alsouch more news fr around the world there as well. i'm martin savid in new yor as always, we thk you for joininus. we'll lo forward to seeing you ck here again tomorrow and any time on the we until then, have good night. -- ptions by vitac -- www.vitac.com