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Your World Today

Hamas Claims Victory in Battle for Gaza; Funeral Held for Walid Eido in Beirut; Violence Follows Mosque Bombings

Aired June 14, 2007 - 12:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've never seen a situation more grim than it is today. Everything, almost in every corner of this region, seems to be heading south.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Violent power struggles in the Middle East reach the boiling point. Can U.S. influence help turn down the temperature?

COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: New twist in the Madeleine McCann mystery. Nearly six weeks after the young British girl disappeared, police in Portugal busy again.

CLANCY: Tiger tees off at the U.S. Open. But this year, the course may cause trouble for the world's top golfers.

CLANCY: And immersing children in Chinese. Find out why English is a no-no in this U.S. kindergarten class.

It is 9:00 a.m. in San Francisco, 5:00 p.m. in Praia da Luz, Portugal.

Hello and welcome to our report broadcast all around the globe.

I'm Colleen McEdwards.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy.

From London to Gaza City, Beirut to Los Angeles, wherever you are watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

Palestinian against Palestinian in Gaza. Shia against Sunni in Iraq. And mourning for an anti-Syrian politician in Lebanon.

MCEDWARDS: Much of the Middle East is in turmoil today in a region known for its volatility. This violence seems to be reaching new levels.

MCEDWARDS: We have correspondents across the region covering these stories for you.

Brent Sadler is in Lebanon, where anger is welling up again at Syria as another slain opponent of Damascus is laid to rest. Ben Wedeman, meantime, following the near complete military takeover of Gaza by Hamas militants.

And in Iraq, Karl Penhaul is covering the reprisal attacks against Sunni mosques after a revered Shia shrine is bombed yet again.

MCEDWARDS: First, Hamas claiming victory in its fight for Gaza, saying that the strip of land has been liberated. Militants overran one of the last security headquarters loyal to Fatah right in the heart of Gaza.

Let's get right to Ben Wedeman for details on this.

He's in Nablus. He's in the West Bank -- Ben.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Colleen, it does seem that Gaza has fallen to Hamas, only after just a few days, really, of fighting.

In every confrontation between Hamas fighters and Fatah gunmen, Hamas was victorious. And today it does appear that the final stronghold of Fatah-affiliated security forces have fallen to Hamas.

We've seen pictures coming out of Gaza of members of these Fatah security forces surrendering. They had to strip down some of them to their underwear as they surrendered to the Hamas forces. Hamas gunmen then took over these facilities, in some places ransacking them completely.

And, of course, here in the West Bank, the situation is a bit different in the West Bank, especially here in the city of Nablus, in the north. Really, Fatah does dominate. And what we saw today is Fatah gunmen descended upon, for instance, the offices of the member -- Hamas members of parliament.

There, they ransacked those facilities. We watched as they threw computers, faxes, chairs, desks and tables out the window. And it was really a scene of mayhem.

In the middle of it, the gunman grabbed somebody they thought who had some sort of ties to Hamas and they dragged him away. We do not know what happened to him. What we do know is that from sources here in the West Bank, that the Fatah-dominated security services are on the verge of carrying out widespread roundups of those who are involved with the Hamas movement.

So it seems at this point, Colleen, that Gaza is now firmly in the hands of Hamas. Fatah very much in control of the West Bank. What we have emerging now is two separate Palestinian political entities, and a foreseeable future of profound instability -- Colleen.

MCEDWARDS: And a unity governments that, for all intents and purposes, doesn't exist. Right? I mean, are we still expecting to hear from Mahmoud Abbas at some point?

WEDEMAN: Our latest understanding is that he will not be speaking to the Palestinian people tonight, but certainly the fate of this national unity government, which never really functioned and is only three months old, does seem to be very much in doubt.

We heard that Mahmoud Abbas and the leadership of the Fatah movement is talking about pulling out of the unity government, is talking about the possibility of declaring Gaza to be rebellious territory outside and in defiance of the Palestinian Authority. Mahmoud Abbas really has a dilemma. And so far, he really hasn't shown an ability to deal with the challenges brought up by this crisis -- Colleen.

MCEDWARDS: Understood. Ben Wedeman, thanks very much.

Well, a Palestinian legislator and a Fatah supporter as well, Saeb Erekat, told CNN that a state of emergency must be declared in Gaza. He says the Hamas takeover amounts to a coup against President Abbas, the Palestinian people, and the Palestinian cause itself. Erekat also questions how Hamas is getting all of its weapons.

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SAEB EREKAT, PALESTINIAN LEGISLATOR: I'm really shocked and surprised where all these weapons came from. We don't manufacture it in Gaza or the West Bank, and I believe the situation now is a new page. I think it's really (INAUDIBLE) to speak about the national unity government, or about an authority or anything. This is Mogadishu in a new model in Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCEDWARDS: Well, Fatah and Hamas have been locked in a power struggle since January 2006. That's when Hamas won legislative elections.

Now, some western countries imposed crippling sanctions on the Palestinian government in protest. The U.S. and others consider Hamas a terrorist organization, but supporters see it as a legitimate fighting force against Israeli occupation.

Now, the militant wing of Hamas is responsible for attacks killing hundreds of Israelis over the years. It's claimed responsibility for that. But Hamas also that an extensive social services network. It does help it gain popularity among the Palestinian people, who are so much in need.

CLANCY: All right. We talked about turmoil across the Middle East. Let's shift the focus now to Lebanon, where banks, shops, schools all closing down as Lebanon observing a national day of mourning. Tension very high following the latest assassination of an anti-Syrian figure within the government.

Brent Sadler reports on a funeral for Walid Eido and the mood now in Beirut.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF (voice over): A politically charged, emotional funeral passes through tense streets in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. Veteran opponent of Syria, MP Walid Eido, a Sunni Muslim, was the latest politician to die in a series of bomb attacks spanning two years targeting the anti-Syrian ruling coalition here, decimating its ranks.

Black flags of a one-time civil war -- Sunni Muslim militia -- are carried by enraged by mourners.

Others hurl insults at neighboring Syria, blamed by many Lebanese for having a hand in the crimes. Accusations fly that not only Damascus but also the leader of Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah are allegedly involved.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not only the Syrian regime. It's this man here in Lebanon, Hassan Nasrallah and the federalists. The U.N. should interfere. They are killing us like sheep.

SADLER: Those who support the anti-Syrian majority in parliament claim Syria is conspiring with its Lebanese allies to provoke internal conflict as a means to ultimately topple the western-backed government here. An allegation Syria again officially denies.

(on camera): A chasm divides Lebanon's pro and anti-Syrian political camps, whose bitter and at times explosive feud brought the capital here to a standstill some six months ago.

(voice over): Eido is the fifth MP to be killed by a bomb or a bullet, starting with former prime minister Rafik Hariri in 2005.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It scares the majority that these members of parliament are being killed one by one. And the whole constitutional process will stop because there will not be a quorum or a majority to push through the kinds of changes that they want to do.

SADLER: Hundreds of outstretched arms reach out to help carry the coffins of Eido, his adult son, and a bodyguard.

A defiant Saad Hariri, son and political heir of his own murdered father, vowed Lebanon will have its day in an international court.

"This nation will not be brought to its knees," says Hariri. "We say no to the criminals. God willing, you will be punished."

Opposition parties have all condemned the murder of the MP and nine others. But sorrow following the burials of victims of another apparently political motivated bomb attack fuels anger in a country already gripped by rising tension and fear.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: And joining us now live from Beirut, our correspondent, bureau chief there, Brent Sadler.

Brent, we heard today more denials coming from Damascus, strong denials.

What evidence is there out there? This string of assassinations all seemingly unsolved.

SADLER: That's right. That's been the pattern here throughout not only the last two years, but for decades in Lebanon, where a kind of murder incorporated has been able to get away with lethality without any accountability in any court of law.

That's why the anti-Syrian coalition says that the recent international tribunal that was forced through at the United Nations Security Council just four days ago was supposed, they thought, to protect them. But tragically, that's been proved wrong in this latest political killing, it seems. But at the same time, that anti-Syrian coalition, Jim, is very much bent on following through with that legal procedure through an international court.

CLANCY: All right. Brent Sadler reporting to us there live from Beirut.

And we're going to be getting more on Syria's reaction a bit later here on YOUR WORLD TODAY. Syria's expatriate minister, Buthayna Sha'ban, is going to be our guest -- Colleen.

MCEDWARDS: All right. We'll look forward to that.

First, though, more violence in Iraq following a round of attacks on Sunni and Shiite mosques.

Karl Penhaul joins us now on the broadband from Samarra, which is the site of the Al-Askaria Mosque.

And the bombing of it seems to have touched off yet another round of reprisals and violence.

Karl, go ahead.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Colleen. Certainly.

To bring you up to date, we're at a U.S. military outpost which is just on the edge of Samarra, and about half a mile that way are the ruins of the Golden Dome Mosque. We were out on a U.S. military patrol today and had the chance to go and survey some of the damage, the damages that is once again, as you say, igniting these sectarian tensions across the whole of Iraq because, yes, this is a holy Shiite shrine here in Samarra.

But what happens here reverberates very firmly across the whole country. And now what we saw, the golden dome itself was obviously bombed back in February 2006. What was bombed on Wednesday were the two twin minarets that were left standing.

There's nothing left of those -- smashed concrete, twisted steel, a few fragments of this ornate gold leaf as it once topped those minarets. You can make out in the rubble. But essentially nothing left. Now, the streets of Samarra are relatively calm. A curfew has been slapped in place here.

There is sporadic insurgent gunfire. The insurgents have also been lobbing mortars and firing rocket-propelled grenades at police and U.S. forces throughout the day. But in certainly in terms of the civilian social tensions, all is calm there so far.

Not so, though, in the rest of Iraq. We have reports that at least 10 Sunni mosques have been bombed or burned in revenge attacks. There have also been sectarian gunfights breaking out, particularly in Baghdad and towards the south of the country -- Colleen.

MCEDWARDS: All right. Karl Penhaul for us in Samarra.

Thank you, Karl.

CLANCY: Well, skeptics already bracing for the simmering conflicts in the region to explode. Something that could be much worse. There have been calls for international intervention.

Zain Verjee reports that despite the bleak outlook, it could be an opportunity for the United States to regain at least some credibility in the region.

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ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Hamas using its fire power in an apparent power grab for Gaza. Seizing its Fatah rivals, loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas. As Palestinian on Palestinian bloodshed increased, the U.S. is squarely backing one side.

SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: We are continuing to support President Abbas.

VERJEE: The State Department says the U.S. is giving Abbas around 60 million in military training and equipment to beef up his forces in his struggle against Hamas.

Some Mid East experts say Washington's support has fuelled tensions among Palestinians. Others say the right moves by the U.S. could help its damaged image worldwide.

AARON DAVID MILLER, WOODROW WILSON INTL. CTR.: The administration really decided to be tough and smart, at least on the Arab Israeli issue, I think they could change much of that. But it would require an enormous amount of will and leadership.

VERJEE: Palestinian leaders fear their conflict will fuel a series of civil wars brewing in the Middle East.

EREKAT: What's happening in Gaza could be part of what we are about to witness, the eye of the storm coming to this region.

VERJEE: Underlined by today's deadly bombings in Beirut and Samarra.

MILLER: I've never seen the situation more grim than it is today. Everything, almost in every corner of this region seems to be heading south in a way that will bring consequential changes, which will damage American interests.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Zain Verjee joins us now live from the State Department.

Zain, the U.S., by its own admission, giving $60 million to back President Abbas and Fatah.

Could that have triggered some of this? A reaction, a preemption, perhaps, by Hamas?

VERJEE: Well, we asked the State Department that, Jim, and they really couldn't be any clearer. A State Department official told me this -- and I'm quoting -- "We are not going to pay the rent for terrorism or for the rejection of Israel."

Now, the U.S. says Hamas is not reacting to U.S. support for Fatah, and Hamas is basically just doing what it wants to do. The State Department official also said to me that the U.S. has every intention of continuing to support President Abbas and the security forces that are loyal to him, and that while the details for the support for Abbas' forces may change, the process is going to go forward.

Mideast analysts we spoke to, though, Jim, said, you know what? The U.S. is actually fueling the violence on the ground by supporting one side. They say the U.S. is seen by Hamas to be backing Fatah with a goal of destroying Hamas, so this is what you have, Hamas lashing out and making this power grab.

On another note, Jim, the State Department is just telling us just moments ago that high-level contact has just been made between the State Department and leaders of Egypt and Jordan, and they're having discussions about all this, and it's centering around one question: how can they support Abbas and the modern Palestinian elements?

The U.S. says also that it supports Palestinian moderates that reject violence. And the question now, Jim, is which way will the Palestinians choose to go?

Jim.

CLANCY: Zain Verjee reporting to us there live from Washington, keeping an eye on developments in the Middle East. Very important developments and comments coming there from the American side.

Zain, as always, thank you.

MCEDWARDS: Well, still ahead here on YOUR WORLD TODAY, the search for a missing 4-year-old British girl. CLANCY: That's right. Police in Portugal receiving hundreds of tips about the whereabouts of Madeleine McCann. Will the latest one pan out?

Also ahead...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not one person out of a couple of dozen, including citizens and staff and doctors and nurses, didn't lift a finger to help her. Just ignored her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCEDWARDS: Her desperate cries for help unheeded. The shocking tale of a woman in a Los Angeles hospital and the staff who would not help her, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to CNN International and YOUR WORLD TODAY.

MCEDWARDS: We are covering the news the world wants to know, giving you some perspective as well that goes deeper into the stories of the day.

CLANCY: An update now on that investigation that involved the missing 4-year-old British girl. There's been no sign of Madeleine McCann since she disappeared last month from a resort in Portugal.

MCEDWARDS: Well, now Portuguese police are investigating an anonymous tip. This one was published in a Dutch newspaper.

Phil Black picks up the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Could Madeleine McCann's body be buried somewhere here in this rugged, lonely terrain? It's the latest twist in an investigation that started more than 40 days ago, when the 4-year-old vanished.

This is an area around 10 miles from Praia da Luz, the resort town where Madeleine was taken from her home. According to a letter sent anonymously to a Dutch newspaper, she lies somewhere in this region beneath branches or stones.

This investigation has not been short of tips. Police have received hundreds, many from people claiming to have psychic powers. All of them so far worthless.

But this one may be different. The Dutch newspaper says the letter is very similar to one it got last year that accurately pointed out the location of the bodies of two missing Belgian girls aged 7 and 10. The letter's writer was never identified. Like the first one, the letter referring to Madeleine includes a map marked with an "X".

GERARD VROOLAND, AMSTERDAM POLICE (through translator): Of course they're taking it seriously. It's a very, very serious case. Every tip that could lead to the return of this girl has to be taken seriously.

BLACK: But Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, are upset the newspaper published the letter before telling police. In his online diary, Gerry wrote, "We feel very strongly that this was an inspirational piece of journalism. And even if it were true, is insensitive and cruel. One can imagine how upsetting it is for Kate and I to hear of such claims through the media."

Madeleine's parents have just returned from a tour of countries in Europe and North Africa that included an audience with the pope. They were planning to rest and scale back the intense publicity campaign they desperately hoped would result in their daughter's return. Now they must also deal with speculation her body could be hidden in these hills.

Phil Black, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCEDWARDS: Well, still ahead in business news, Gap and Banana Republic plan to extend their reach into a new part of the world.

CLANCY: Also coming up, they say kids' brains are just like sponges. Well, in this kindergarten class in the U.S., take a look. Five-year-olds are soaking up a new language as fast as they can.

Which one is it?

MCEDWARDS: And in sports, this year's U.S. Open is no walk in the park.

We will explain coming up on YOUR WORLD TODAY.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MCEDWARDS: Welcome back to our viewers joining us from more than 200 countries and territories all around the globe, including the United States.

CLANCY: This is YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Jim Clancy.

MCEDWARDS: And I'm Colleen McEdwards.

Here are some of the top stories that we're following for you this hour.

The scene in Gaza, the militant group Hamas apparently taking over control of most of Gaza after it seized a key Fatah security installation in Gaza City. Palestinian legislator Saub Arakat (ph) blamed a renegade force in Gaza for staging what he is calling a coup.

Now, in the West Bank, a Fatah stronghold, Fatah fighters have ransacked the offices of Hamas lawmakers.

CLANCY: Shia Muslims protesting in cities all across Iraq. They are angered over the bombing of the Askariya Mosque in Samarra Wednesday. Police say ten Sunni mosques have been damaged since that attack, which police in Basra (ph) say sparked sectarian fighting that has left at least four people dead.

MCEDWARDS: Distraught Lebanese buried the anti-Syrian lawmaker Walid Eido, his son, his two bodyguards, as well. It was a national day of mourning in Lebanon. Ten people were killed Wednesday when a bomb exploded just as Eido's car was passing. The Syrian government strongly denies any accusations that it was behind Eido's killing.

CLANCY: As the Middle East appears to be in chaos, we're joined on the line by Butane Shuvan (ph) to discuss some of the situation and specifically the situation in Lebanon. She's a Syrian ex-patriot minister, she joins us on the telephone from Damascus.

Butane, welcome, thanks for taking the time to talk with us today.

BUTANE SHUVAN, MINISTER FOR EX-PATRIOTS: My pleasure, Jim. Thank you for talking to me.

CLANCY: Let me begin here, in Iraq, we've got mosque bombing that is blamed on Sunni militants that are said to get assistance from Syria. In the Gaza strip, we have Hamas taking over complete control of the security services, undermining the government, a coup d'etat according to the president, with arms supposedly coming from Syria.

And in Lebanon, the assassination of yet another Lebanese lawmaker, someone that was calling for an international tribunal to investigate Syrian officials and some of their allies in Lebanon in regards to the political assassinations in that country.

And Syria looks on at all of this and finds itself involved in that, what is the discussion in the cabinet level? What is President Bashar al-Asad have to say?

SHUVAN: Well, this accusation, Jim, reiterated only to justify the intervention in the region and initiating war, that's more dangerous to Syria than to anybody else in the world. I was interviewed one hour after al-Hariri was killed three years ago. And they asked me, who killed al-Hariri, I said anyone who has a stake in making the region a chaotic place like Iraq. And I think now I repeat the same thing.

We were in Lebanon, we are no longer in Lebanon. Nobody in the region listens to these accusations anymore. The plan to make the Middle East a place of chaos, to kill its people to create civil wars, to create sectarian rule, are made by powers who want to decivilize (INAUDIBLE). Not by Syria.

Syria is a country who has a stake in stabilizing the Middle East. After all, 2,500 Iraqis across the board there every day, not to the United States, but to Syria. There's one million point eight Iraqi people in Syria now. Who is carrying the burden, it is Syria. So ...

CLANCY: Syria is definitely carrying a refugee burden Butane Shuvan, but you know -- I think a lot of people in the region are wondering about Syria, about these political assassinations. Many are saying, fine, let the chips fall where they may, investigate. But Syria and the president of Lebanon, who's an ally of Syria, standing directly in the way of that United Nations Tribunal, which is going ahead, but it needs the cooperation.

If Syria is innocent, why not throw open the doors? Why not say, bring the investigators on. Let's find out who's behind it.

SHUVAN: Well, Jim, I think -- don't you think it's a little bit strange that half an hour after the killing of al-Hariri, they accused Syria, while 40 years after the killing of J.F. Kennedy, nobody knows who killed J.F. Kennedy?

I think the mere accusation immediately after the assassination takes place, it is true that these are political assassinations are done by the enemies of the region and Syria is the one country in the region that has been shouting loud that the war in Iraq is going to create chaos, not acknowledgement for Hamas government is going to create chaos. What is happening in Lebanon is going to create chaos.

I think people should listen and think, we are the people of this region, we have a stake in stability and security, those who are carrying out assassinations in Lebanon are the enemies of Syria and the enemies of Lebanon and the enemies of the region.

CLANCY: Butane, all of that sounds great, but you didn't answer my question which was whether or not Syria will throw open the doors and allow the investigators, allow the tribunal to move forward? That is the key right here. Who is behind these killings in Lebanon? Does Syria consider Lebanon to be a legitimate part of its own state?

SHUVAN: ...Syria was the country that cooperated with the investigation and there were ten countries who never cooperated and who were not even named, but Syria was always cooperating very well with the international investigation that was taking place.

The Tribunal, many members of the Security Council said that this is illegal, this is unprecedented, this is a political tribunal and Syria has nothing to do with it. But we went and we are cooperating with the investigation. We have nothing to fear.

Those who killed al-Hariri are carrying out assassination, are destabilizing Lebanon and we stand against this fully in Syria.

CLANCY: Butane Shuvan, Minister for Ex-Patriots from Damascus, Syria. Butane, as always, thank you for joining us, and bringing us some of the perspective, much needed here in what's going on in the Middle East on this, a very tumultuous day -- Colleen.

MCEDWARDS: And to another area of the Middle East now. The Arab League preparing for an emergency meeting to try to end that violence we've been telling you about in Gaza. Foreign ministers getting ready to meet in Cairo. Egypt has been leading the diplomatic effort to try to end the violence between Hamas and Fatah. It appears they are going to try again.

CLANCY: All right, we are going to turn to the United States now. Tell you the story about a woman who died in a place that was built to save lives. Her relatives say she lay in pain for 45 minutes, all of her pleas were ignored.

MCEDWARDS: Yes, her boyfriend and another woman even dialled 911, trying to get someone to help, but they didn't do anything, because they were calling from a Los Angeles hospital.

CLANCY: Ted Rollins has what is, we only say is an unbelievable story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CALLER: My wife is dying.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): By the time her frantic boyfriend called 911 through an interpreter, Edith Rodriguez was on the floor in agony.

DISPATCHER: What do you mean, she's dying?

CALLER: She's vomiting blood.

ROWLANDS: Her boyfriend begged for help. But, to the 911 dispatcher, that request didn't compute, because Edith was already in a hospital.

DISPATCHER: Why aren't they helping her?

CALLER: They're watching her -- they're watching her there and they're not doing anything. They're just watching her.

ROWLANDS: Witnesses say Edith Rodriguez collapsed on the floor of the emergency room at Martin Luther King Jr. Harbor Hospital in Los Angeles. Hospital staff, they say, didn't lift a finger to help, something the 911 dispatcher found hard to believe.

DISPATCHER: Paramedics are not going to pick him up or pick his wife up from a hospital because she's already at one.

ROWLANDS: Eight minutes later, another call comes in to the same 911 center from someone else at the hospital.

DISPATCHER: What's your emergency?

CALLER: There's a lady on the -- on the ground here in the emergency room at Martin Luther King. DISPATCHER: What would you want me to do for you, ma'am?

CALLER: Send an ambulance out here to take her somewhere where she can get medical help.

DISPATCHER: OK, you're at the -- you're at the hospital, ma'am. You have to contact them.

CALLER: They have -- they have a problem. They won't help her.

DISPATCHER: Well, you know, they're -- they're the medical professionals, OK? You're already at a hospital. This line is for emergency purposes only. This -- 911 is used for emergency purposes only.

CALLER: This is an emergency, mister.

(CROSSTALK)

DISPATCHER: It's not an emergency. It is not an emergency, ma'am.

CALLER: It is.

DISPATCHER: It is not an emergency.

CALLER: You have to see how they are treating her.

DISPATCHER: OK. Well, that's not a criminal thing. You understand what I'm saying? We handle...

CALLER: Excuse me. If this woman (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and dies, what do you mean this is not a criminal thing?

ROWLANDS: Less than a half-hour later, Edith Rodriguez was dead. Her siblings say they are furious that their sister wasn't given the help that she needed.

EDDIE SANCHEZ, BROTHER: You go there to get help, and nothing happens. It's like, you get ignored, like -- like if you're nobody.

CARMEN RODRIGUEZ, SISTER: We're just devastated that -- the way she was treated and the way she was left there, like an animal, you know? She's a -- a person. You don't -- you don't do that. Even animals are treated better.

ROWLANDS (on camera): According to the coroner, Edith Rodriguez died of a perforated bowel. There was a surveillance camera here at the hospital which recorded the last 45 minutes or so of her life.

And, according to witnesses, she spent it on the floor vomiting blood. More than a month after this took place, it is still unclear why nobody was there to help her.

ZEV YAROSLAVSKY, LOS ANGELES COUNTY SUPERVISOR: The video is a lot more alarming than the audio. ROWLANDS (voice-over): L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky has seen the tape, which, because of an ongoing sheriff's investigation, has not been released.

YAROSLAVSKY: Not one person out of a couple of dozen, including citizens and staff and doctors and nurses, didn't lift a finger to help her, just -- just ignored her. Even the janitors who were cleaning up the vomit from around the -- the woman who was on the floor, did a very elegant job of cleaning up the vomit, but didn't do a thing to help her. It was just indescribable.

ROWLANDS: The sheriff's department is investigating how dispatchers handled the two calls.

According to a supervisor, they have never had a call for an ambulance from a hospital. They are concerned, however, that one of the dispatchers may have been rude.

The chief medical officer and a nurse are no longer employed as a direct result of what happened.

Since September of last year, the hospital has been undergoing a forced restructuring because of a long history of problems.

While no one from the hospital would talk to us about this case, a letter sent yesterday to the county board said, in part, quote, "We have served thousands of patients well and a few very poorly."

Hopefully, none as poorly as they seem to have treated Edith Rodriguez.

Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCEDWARDS: And much more to come here on YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: We're going to tell you about a group of California pre- schoolers who, the past year or so, spoke only Mandarin Chinese in their class. Now, how did they do that and why? Also ...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIGER WOODS, GOLFER: This is your nation's championship and also probably one of the most difficult tests I think we'll ever face.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCEDWARDS: Golf great Tiger Woods tries to keep his winning streak going at the U.S. Open. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Hello everyone, and welcome back to watching YOUR WORLD TODAY right here on CNN International.

MCEDWARDS: And we're seen live in more than 200 countries and territories all around the world.

CLANCY: Well, Tiger Woods is on the course for the opening round of the 107th U.S. Open Golf Tournament at the Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania today.

MCEDWARDS: Yes, Tiger's on a roll aiming for his third major title in four starts (ph), but as Ray D'Alessio tells us, even the great Tiger Woods can be intimidated when it comes to the U.S. Open.

CLANCY: Say it isn't so.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAY D'ALESSIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Of the four major golf championships, the U.S. Open is unique in many ways. There's even an official U.S. Open philosophy. It reads, "The United States Golf Association intends to make the U.S. Open the most rigorous, yet fair examination of golf skills, testing all forms of shot making."

Rest assured, Oakmont will provide that test and then some. This marks the record eighth time that the U.S. Open will be played here in Oakmont, and the first since Ernie Els victory back in 1994.

The fairways very tight, not to mention the always fun U.S. Open rough, which is five inches in height in some areas, and the majority of the players agree, this year's U.S. Open will be even more difficult than last year's when the winning score was five over par.

SERGIO GARCIA, BEST U.S. OPEN FINISH 2005: I guess this one is not too bad, for a par 78, it's pretty good.

WOODS: This golf course is obviously, had a lot history to it. But I think more than anything, you just know this is your nation's championship, and also probably one of the most difficult tests I think we'll ever face.

GARCIA: There are moments where you will enjoy it but, you know, there's going to be a lot of moments where you're going to struggle and it's not much fun. Making bogeys is never fun.

D'ALESSIO: Sergio Garcia missed the cut at last year's U.S. Open, still looking for his first career major victory, which appears to be a very sore subject for Garcia. In particular, the burning question, when will the Europeans finally snap a streak of majors without a victory -- that streak now at 30.

GARCIA: I know, it's, you know, you guys always asking about that, but if I had the reason why, I -- you know, I'm sure we would have fixed it. The other thing you can do is play and try to win it. And if you don't, the only thing you can do is keep trying.

PADRAIG HARRINGTON, U.S. OPEN 5TH PLACE 2006: Well, there's probably you know, five or six -- maybe even as many as ten that -- that are capable of winning this week, and they're only getting better over the years. So, if they don't do it this year, then they'll do it next year or the following year. D'ALESSIO: And the last European to win a major, Paul Lowery (ph) at the 1999 British Open.

Ray D'Alessio, CNN, Oakmont, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: All right, now for something completely different. You couldn't call it a mad cow, but it has something to do with cattle dip.

MCEDWARDS: Very funny, you should have gone on the golf course I think, this one. A little crazy, maybe it was just hot. You'll get the dip thing in a moment here. There it is -- this is the wayward cow, this is in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, deciding to cool off I suppose, in somebody's backyard pool.

CLANCY: He's in the beef pool. Yes, that's right, we've got 1,000 pounder beef pool. That's 455 kilograms for all our viewers elsewhere around the world. And this is just one of several that escaped from a nearby farm. He just got a little luckier than the others.

MCEDWARDS: Yes, I think he was the only one who made it into a pool. There he is trying to have a swim. Local police did come to the rescue. They helped move this guy out of the pool, got a ramp, got some netting, and apparently sent him back to the farm pretty much unharmed.

Look he's walking out on his own accord.

CLANCY: Time to drain the pool, folks.

Going to get a little shock from that one.

Up next, the art of learning.

MCEDWDARDS: That's right. In the U.S., who says it has to be in English?

CLANCY: In this kindergarten class, all subjects are taught in Mandarin. But for these amazing kids, hey, that's no problem.

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MCEDWARDS: For many children in the U.S., school is just letting out from the summer, and in some states they've been out a while. But some are just getting let out the door for the big holiday.

CLANCY: My favorite time of year. Some California kindergartens we want to tell you about, though, just completing a phenomenal year, phenomenal.

MCEDWARDS: Yes, this is great. They may not have learned their ABCs, but as Dan Simon tell us, what they did learn is pretty incredible. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Of all children's songs here's one you probably never heard. It's in Chinese, Mandarin to be exact. The only language spoken in Angelica Chang's kindergarten class at Star King (ph) Elementary School in San Francisco. It's been that way some the very first day of class, to this day, the very last. It's a full-scale immersion program, all subjects from math to art taught in Chinese.

The idea, if the teacher only speaks in Chinese, the kids will eventually pick up the language. Even the disciplining is done in Chinese. This boy is in trouble for some shenanigans during lunch.

(on camera): If you have a sense they don't really understand, do you ever go to English? How do you make them...

ANGELICA CHANG, TEACHER: No, you don't ever go to English. You don't ever do that. We don't re-teach subjects because you want them to be actively making that knowledge comprehensible to themselves.

SIMON: These students aren't fluent yet, but they've nailed the basics of a really complicated language. Here the teacher wants the students to describe their drawings. The assignment was draw their favorite activity. Josie (ph) says she likes going shopping with her best friend. Julian says he likes camping.

CHANG: I see their little brains working.

SIMON: What makes it all the more remarkable, none of these kids, not even the one with Chinese heritage, come from families that speak Chinese at home.

CHANG: Chinese is a very musical language, and the kids are very in tune to that aspect of the language. So they pick up things really fast.

SIMON (on camera): The kindergarten class here is the first of its kind in San Francisco. In fact, Star King is one of the few public or private schools in the entire country to offer a Mandarin immersion program, a recognition of China's growing influence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know how to read all of it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, cool.

SIMON: For some parents, putting their kids in the immersion program took a real leap of faith.

KHALIAH MITCHELL, PARENT: It's just challenging, and that's what I'm into. I'm into challenging children's minds. You know, I mean, they're like little robots, you know. You can teach them anything.

SIMON: It was sad saying goodbye on this last day of school, but all are expected to continue with the immersion program next fall when these kids enter the first grade as Chinese-speaking students. Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCEDWARDS: You know they say that kids up until about the age of 6 can learn almost every language and learn to speak it without any accent. There's something magical about the brain in that period. It's really cool.

CLANCY: Should have tried it then.

I'm Jim Clancy.

MCEDWARDS: I'm Colleen McEdwards. This is CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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