tonight on "worldfocus" -- >> on the eve of critical meetings over its nuclear program, iran's president calls the talks a test for the u.s. and its allies. tonight we see what the israelis think. a powerful earthquake sends a massive tsunami plowing into the islands of samoa and american samoa, sweeping cars and people out to sea. tonight the death toll continues to climb. first it was honey bees. now there's another insect being threatened. we see why nights in malaysia are losing their glow. and we continue our "signature series" on politics

and pop culture. tonight we venture inside iran where authorities are trying but failing to stop the flood of western music and tv. from the world's leading reporters and analysts, here's what's happening from around the world. this is "worldfocus." major support has been provided by rosalind p. walter and the peter g. peterson foundation, dedicated to promoting fiscal responsibility and addressing key economic challenges facing america's future. and additional funding is provided by the following supporters -- good evening. i'm martin savidge. thank you for joining us. with crucial talks aimed at curtailing iran's nuclear program set to begin, the rhetoric is heating up tomorrow the united states along with other permanent members of the u.n. security council and germany will meet with iranian officials in switzerland hoping

to convince iran to come clean about its nuclear ambitions. they may be fighting an uphill battle. today iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad said it's the west that needs to change its ways. maybe no country will be following the progress or lack of it more closely than israel. there's been a great deal of talk that the israelis will take military action against iran if the talks don't succeed. the buildup to the sitdown in switzerland. that's our lead focus tonight. as iran's chief nuclear negotiator arrived in geneva, switzerland, for the start of crucial talks tomorrow, back in tehran, iran's president mahmoud ahmadinejad said the negotiations are a good opportunity for a fresh start, but he insisted once more that iran will not give up what he called iran's right to enrich uranium. and he said the talks will be a test of how much the world's major powers respect iran. >> translator: this meeting is a test to measure the extent of sincerity and commitment of some

countries to law and justice. >> but in light of the disclosure last week about a previously secret iranian uranium enrichment plant, many of the other countries at the negotiating table tomorrow, the u.s., britain, france, germany, china and russia, are already contemplating new and tighter sanctions on tehran, a clear signal that hopes for the meeting's success are low. the talks in switzerland will be closely monitored in israel. earlier this week, the iranians test-fired missiles capable of reaching israel. and ahmadinejad has repeatedly questioned israel's right to exist. ephraim kam closely follows iran. >> i believe there's nobody in israel, in europe or the states that are hopeful or optimistic about the talks that are going to start tomorrow. they're trying to gain time in order to make further progress on their nuclear program.

and then is a tactic. >> for years the israeli government has warned that iran was not being honest about the size and nature of its nuclear program and has held out the possibility of military action against iran's nuclear facilities. but for now, israel is prepared to let other countries take the lead in confronting iran, hoping the threat of harsher sanctions will persuade iran to reveal the true intent of its nuclear ambitions. >> the emphasis at the moment is on the diplomatic effort. but at the same time i think it is important to keep the option open for the future. i think it should be on the agenda in order to convince the iranians with the sanctions that they might have to face. >> now, would an israeli air strike against iran's nuclear facilities even be effective? that was the subject of this column, which appeared in last week's "wall street journal,"

and which was written by our next guest, anthony cordesman, a noted national security analyst is the arleigh burke chair in strategy at the center for strategic and international studies, and he joins us from washington. anthony, describe to us the difficulties that israelis would face in launching an air strike against iran. >> in many ways, the most serious difficulty is knowing how many targets there are and exactly how to strike them. because it's not only a matter of locating them. many of them are in complexes with a large number of buildings. some are underground. you don't know exactly where the critical facility or critical equipment is. even if you know that this may be an active site. but beyond that, israel does not have bombers. it doesn't have stealth aircraft like the united states. it doesn't have long range cruise missiles. it has to use fighters, and its fighters are very, very capable, but they need multiple

refuelling to get to the targets in iran from israel, and they have to fly very demanding profiles to get through arab territory with the minimum risk of being intercepted by fighters or missiles. they have to fly beyond their normal range and come back, having penetrated iranian air defenses. so can israel do this with a limited number of strikes? yes. can it do it in the numbers required? probably not. >> well, if israel does attack iran, what is the likely outcome? could the israelis permanently cripple iran's nuclear program? >> not at this point. it's not even clear we could unless we kept restriking again and again every time we saw a new indicator. iran is simply too developed. it has all the components it needs to produce nuclear weapons, it has many nuclear facilities. it has been able to create a

centrifuge production capability, which means, as we saw just last week, it can create new small facilities and hide them, put the centrifuges there rather than a central facility. israel might be able to hit the harden site, which is the main site in iran which has up to 150,000 centrifuges in its capacity, but it could not be certain that it would ever hit anything like the ability to produce more centrifuges or find all of the facilities that they're hidden in. >> so recent reports indicate that israelis may be pushing back their deadlines for military action. is that your assessment as well? >> i don't think israel has ever set deadlines. it has constantly talked about this risk and for very real reasons. one nuclear weapon could do devastating damage to a small state like israel.

but much of this is political. it is intended to send a signal to iran that if it does not comply with the united nations, if it does not negotiate and reduce the profile of its activities, israel might strike. that it will be a constant threat. so we need to be very careful not to assume that jt because israel's leaders keep warning iran, that means they're ready to go to war. >> we only have a few seconds left, but do you think that israel actually will carry out an attack if these negotiations don't succeed? >> i think it is a serious risk, but i think they understand the limits on their capabilities and that they might simply provoke a worse iranian response over time even if they got limited short-term gains. >> anthony cordesman, thank you very much for joining us tonight. >> thank you. >> all right. now it's your turn. we want to know what you think

about all of this. so our question tonight is if the talks in switzerland fail, would israel be justified in attacking iran's nuclear facilities? you can tell us what you think by visiting the "how you see it" section of our website at worldfocus.org. there's word tonight of a deal between israel and another of its foes. members of the militant wing of hamas announced that they will provide israelis with a videotape proving that an israeli soldier being held in the gaza strip is still alive. in return, israel has agreed to release 20 palestinian women from its prisons, and today celebrations erupted in gaza. the deal is first sign of movement in more than three years of talks over the release of the israeli soldier. nonetheless, the soldier's release is not expected soon. a powerful earthquake rocked the island nation of indonesia today. the magnitude 7.6 earthquake was centered just off the coast of

the city of padang in western indonesia. indonesia television reports that hundreds of buildings collapsed in padang and that numerous fires broke out across the city. many people fled in fear. the death toll is now put at 75 but is expected to go higher. an earthquake along that same fault line in december of 2004 spawned a massive tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people throughout southeast asia. and today on the islands of samoa in the south pacific residents struggled to recover from yesterday's devastating tsunami. that tsunami was spawned by an enormous earthquake that took place 120 miles south of the islands. waves as high as 20 feet roared ashore leveling villages and sweeping several people out to sea. at least 120 are now reported killed. rags martel of itn has the latest. >> reporter: houses flattened, cars battered and smashed into buildings, boats swept ashore. the scale of the tsunami's

destruction is only beginning to emerge. scores of people are dead, hundreds injured, many still missing. >> this is really messed up. >> lord, what's going on? >> reporter: these exclusive pictures obtained by channel 4 news show the moment immediately after the tsunami struck american samoa's capital pago pago. >> the water started surging. at first it was only three or four feet in our parking lot just out the window. but after the water stayed for several minutes, another fantastic surge that completely dwarfed the first surge came up and the water rose to 15 feet. at this point, trees, boats, cars, trucks were all floating past my second story window. it completely wiped out everything that wasn't made of brick. >> reporter: the tsunami was

triggered by powerful earthquake in the ocean floor. the epicenter was 120 miles south of american samoa. it struck at 6:48 british standard time. dawn in the pacific region. the quake had a magnitude of 8.3, generating 15-foot tidal waves. the tsunami reached the coast within minutes, leaving little time for people to escape. >> where the coast, where the land is just right next to the earthquake, you typically don't have enough time to digest the data and get a warning out in an effective way. i haven't heard if any warning wais case. >> reporter: one confirmed british death, a toddler who was just 2. it's thought there were around 20 britons in the area at the time. but the overall devastation is only just coming to light. one of the main hospitals described as having bodies everywhere. >> that report from itn's rags

martel. from the caribbean there are more signs that relations between the u.s. and cuba continue to warm. yesterday it was revealed that a senior u.s. diplomat held a series of previously undisclosed meetings with cuban officials while on a recent visit to that country. the diplomat also met with opposition activists during the trip. not long ago the united states eased restrictions on traveling and sending money to cuba. the u.s. has also been in talks with cuba over migration issues and over restoring direct mail service between the two countries, something that was suspended in 1963. there was yet another warning today about the dangers posed by global warming. according to a report issued by the international food policy research institute, an ngo devoted to eliminating hunger, rising temperatures could

devastate family farming in poor countries around the world. sub-saharan africa and southern asia will be hit especially hard, the report says, forcing 25 million more children into hunger over the next several decades. in the southeast asian nation of malaysia, the impact of climate change isn't the only environmental worry. like in many countries in the region, the widespread destruction of forests to make way for big plantations is also taking its toll. but in this case, the canary in the coalmine warning of problems ahead is the humble firefly. laura kyle recently visited malaysia and has this report. >> reporter: it's one of nature's marvels. thousands of fireflies lighting up the trees on the banks of the kuala selangor river. this man has been carrying tourists up and down these waters for 16 years. a typical night on the weekend might have up to 800 people from around the world coming to see

the magical illuminations that are created when the male and female insects communicate. but the fireflies are dying. >> translator: i've been seeing changes in the fireflies. there's a lot of difference now because of the destruction of the forest. >> reporter: pushed through the thin line of trees on the edge of the river and you find this, the destruction of a habitat. trees crucial to the insects' short three-month life cycle felled. the fireflies may be one of malaysia's prime tourist attractions, yet the government did nothing to stop this. the destruction of vast swaths of natural habitat to make way for oil palm plantations. the developers did leave a thin strip of vegetation running along the river, but it's not enough to support the firefly population. some experts believe it will

have gone by the end of this year. this woman has been documenting the fireflies' decline for three years. six out of seven of her monitoring sites have been cleared of vegetation by local land owners. irrigation ditches at this site already dug for a plantation. >> if this keeps going on, you know, the population will disappear one day because without the habitat, the natural habitat, the fireflies won't be able to increase their population because their life cycle, the early stages of their life cycle, depend on natural habitat. >> reporter: the work has now stopped. the state government somewhat belatedly has declared the area a protected zone. >> i think it's coming -- i want to say at the right time, but the tail end of what could have been inevitable destruction of the firefly. so what we're trying to do now 'háhe race is on to

replant the trees, but only the next few months will tell whether it's already too late to stop the lights going out. laura kyle, al jazeera, kuala selangor, malaysia. yesterday the secretary-general of the united nations, ban ki-moon, held a special press briefing here in new york about climate change. the secretary-general recently had traveled to the arctic for a firsthand look at the impact of climate change. among those in attendance at yesterday's press briefing was rafael pi roman, for wnet in new york. he joins us with more on what the secretary-general had to say. we get to see each other each day but don't often get the luxury to talk. nice to see you. >> thank you, martin. good to be here. >> this meeting that you attended came as a result of some frustration by the secretary-general. explain that. >> that's right. he had a press conference earlier in the day where he hoped to talk about climate change, but most of the questions were about iran. i think he wanted to talk about

climate change. so he called for this more intimate meeting with reporters. and that's what we talked about mostly. >> clearly he believes then that the issue of climate change supersedes right now the momentary one of what to do about iran? >> that's what he said. he said the issue of climate change is more important than iran. when we pushed him on that, he said it's more important at the end of the day because while you can negotiate with iran no matter how difficult, you cannot negotiate with nature about climate change. >> he's got a very strong point there. there's some nations there that he felt really stepped up to the plate when it comes to climate change. >> he's very optimistic about the moves that japan and china have made. specifically the new prime minister of japan has pledged to reduce carbon emissions by 25% by 2020, something that japan didn't want to do before. and the president of china said that he was willing to tackle energy intensity, hayes called it, as long as his ties with serious climate change agreements by the developed countries.

>> these are the second and third largest economies in the world. so they would be seen as very influential. president obama had a historic role at the united nations session this time around, and i'm wondering how did the secretary-general view that? >> the secretary-general mentioned that more than once. he mentioned it a few times how happy he was about president obama's rolle in the united nations, how he's re-engaging with the united nations. he thought that was a very, very good move. >> yet at the same time he said it cannot be expected that the u.s. leads on this issue. >> that's right. he said specifically to the european union and other developed nations not to expect the united states to lead on this issue because this country's economy is so complex, the politics is so complex and because we're in this process a little later than most of the other countries. >> and i know, you know, he was frustrated about the issue of iran, but i can't it will go without asking did he give some insight regarding his feelings about the issue of iran and its nuclear program? >> he seems to think it is still

a very open question whether iran's desire for nuclear power is for peaceful means or not. he said it is up to iran to prove that it is. >> rafael pi roman, nice to talk with you. >> martin, nice to be here. now to our signature segment. for months the world's been focused on iran's nuclear program and its post election violence, but of course life goes on for iran's 66 million people. so too does cultural life. iranians are lovers of music, movies, poetry and books, and pop culture there thrives. these days the iranian authorities do all they can to control what iranian citizens see and hear but as "worldfocus" correspondent bijan saliani discovered during a trip to iran earlier this year, technology is making that virtually impossible.

rich o' regan reports. >> reporter: iranians are proud of their culture. so much so that they pretty much view the rest of the world as only recently civilized. we owe the ancient persians things like phonetic alphabets and writing. now we're paying them back with modern cultural refinements like hip-hop and tv mini series. ♪ iran has its own thriving movie industry. when you go to the movies in tehran, you're sure to be seeing a home grown film. the blockbuster this spring was a war movie. the iran/iraq war, to be exact. "outcasts of the army part two" is the most profitable release here ever. the drama of that devastating war is a staple of iranian movies. not everything here is a shoot 'em up. this is about a pair of conjoined twins.

one's devout, the other a party animal. iran censors don't have a light touch and nothing gets past them that is even slightly risque. unveiled women, kissing, swearing, and even the gentlest humor pointed at islam and its clerics are all forbidden. that can make the lives of iranian filmmakers difficult. >> translator: if you're going to make a film about corruption in the system and the guidance ministry feels you're making an anti-islamic government movie, obviously they deny it. but if the same corruption is framed as praising the system, they'll approve it. ♪ >> reporter: music operates under even stricter constraints.

women aren't allowed to sing in public unless they're part of a chorus. ♪ persian hip-hop is banned and songs about any kind of sex are, too. and it drives many to the underground music scene. iranian playlists are full of downloaded music you can't legally listen to. and exiled artists who post videos to youtube from europe or north america. on tehran's rooftop, you find unmistakable signs that iranians are tapped into the outside world. the dishes are illegal but virtually everybody who can afford one grabs hundreds of channels from satellites conveniently beyond the reach of iran's government chaperone. and iranians watch lots of it. >> i love to see "lost," the series. >> my favorite movie is "secret window" starring johnny depp.

>> reporter: like everywhere else, the video store guy dreams of beingantino. >> translator: this iranian film is similar to "meet joe black." >> reporter: iran's islamic government has struggled and mostly failed to keep a firewall between iranians and outside culture. >> translator: they say we are turning iran's youth into gay and merciless sex predators. when they grow up they'll force themselves on their own sisters and mothers. >> reporter: everybody's already seen pirated copies of the big western hits. >> translator: you can buy the foreign films on any street corner very cheap. they even have persian subtitles, which is illegal. >> reporter: the recent turmoil in tehran's streets has opened western eyes to the passion iranians feel for their freedom of thought. a quick look at what's selling in bookstores would have made that less of a surprise.

>> translator: this is the philosophy section. this section is mostly philosophers from the west. so they're really most in -- mostly translated. but we also have iranian philosophers. >> reporter: those philosophy books, along with histories, are the biggest sellers in iran. and the great persian poets are as well known here as the country's famous movie directors. >> translator: this film is directed by a very well known director. she's a world known director. this film was a big hit. >> reporter: so watching a mix of foreign and iranian enteesn't raise fears in iran that other cultures will take over. >> i have learned to learn this side of american culture. this is a cultural reciprocation. this is not a colonization. >> reporter: that's been the pattern for 2500 years. iranians take what they like from the outside world and figure out a way to make it their own.

>> translator: this is a remake of "catch me if you can" with tom hanks and leo dicaprio. they even copied the cover for the dvd. >> reporter: for "worldfocus," i'm richard o'regan in tehran. >> in tomorrow's segment we'll travel to jamaica for a look at a controversy there over sexually explicit music. that is "worldfocus" for a wednesday evening. remember to visit our website at worldfocus.org and let us know what you're thinking. i'm martin savidge in new york. as always, we thank you for joining us and we look for you tomorrow and any time on the web. we look for you tomorrow and any time on the web. until then have a good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com major support for "worldfocus" has been provided by rosalind p. walter and the peter g. peterson foundation, dedicated to promoting fiscal responsibility and addressing key economic challenges facing america's future. and additional funding is provided by the following supporters --