[Anderson:] You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD here on CNN. some of the other stories that we are following for you this hour. And the Taliban are claiming responsibility for what is another high profile assassination in Southern Afghanistan. A suicide bombing killed Kandahar's mayor, a close ally of President Hamid Karzai. Now, the president's brother was assassinated, you may remember, in Kandahar just two weeks ago. And authorities say a man approached Mayor Ghulam Haidar Hamidi at a city hall meeting then set up explosives in his turban earlier. The new U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan says he is not convinced the Taliban are responsible, although he did add this.
[Ryan Crocker, U.s. Ambassador To Afghanistan:] I would judge that the Taliban is now damaged to the point where they can no longer conduct large scale operations. They have had to kind of regroup and figure out what they can do and and in some cases, that has been assassination.
[Anderson:] Well, the New York maid who accuses former IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of trying to rape her has met with prosecutors. The meeting at the Manhattan district attorney's office was expected to focus on whether the case will go ahead and the doubts over Nafissatou Diallo's credibility. Earlier this week, she gave interviews to "Newsweek" magazine and to the television network, ABC. Strauss-Kahn has denied seven charges of attempted rape and sexual assault. Well, at least 39 people are dead across South Korea as the country gets pounded by heavy rains that are causing mudslides. Rising water levels have cut off many parts of the country. From there, Paula Hancocks reports.
[Paula Hancocks, Cnn International Correspondent:] The death toll has been steady rising here in South Korea as torrential rain continues to pummel the peninsula. Now, this is the rainy season. We're used to rain here, but not to this extent. This is the Han River, which cuts through the middle of Seoul. And usually you'd have the banks up to about 150 meters until you come to the water. And cars have been stranded. Homes have been flooded. As you can see, the Han River is flooding pretty significantly. And over the past 24 hours alone, there's been 400 millimeters, or 15.3 inches of rain, just in Seoul alone. Also, there have been a number of deadly landslides that have been triggered by this heavy rain. There was a deadly landslide near the city of Chuncheon, just two hours east of Seoul. And it's claimed the lives of more than a dozen people. Many of them are college students who were doing volunteer work in the area. They were staying a local inn when the landslide caused the roof to collapse. The local media is referring to this weather as "water bombs," showing that the sheer volume of torrential rain isn't usual. And it's not over yet. The Korean Meteorological Agency has issued a special heavy rainfall alert in the center of the country. One official tells CNN that three quarters of the rain that has fallen during this rainy season has fallen in just the last 24 hours. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.
[Anderson:] Well, doctors gave the Lockerbie bomber about three months to live, so Scotland let him go in 2009. Well, two years later, Abdelbaset Mohmed Ali al-Megrahi appeared on Libyan television at a rally to support Moammar Gadhafi. The man responsible for 270 deaths is in a wheelchair and does look frail. Britain's foreign secretary says the appearance proves the release was a big mistake. So, Colonel Gadhafi has the support of the Lockerbie bomber, but the British government is recognizing the rebels today. We'll be live in Tripoli in about 20 minutes time for you. Up next, we'll be, though, live in Trafalgar Square, where London is celebrating with just a year to go until the opening of the 2012 Olympic Games. Stay with us for that.