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Your World Today

Letter From Castro: May be Time to Retire; Pentagon: U.S. Helping Target Kurdish Rebels; Former Rebel and Current President Face Off in South Africa

Aired December 18, 2007 - 12:00   ET

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

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Fidel's farewell. The longtime Cuban leader hints retirement is just around the corner.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Dual effort. The U.S. helps Turkey target rebel positions inside northern Iraq.

CLANCY: Republican face-off. Two of the party's leading presidential candidates get into a verbal battle over the current president's foreign policy.

MCEDWARDS: And sale of the century. A London landmark auctions off anything and everything to the highest bidders.

It is 5:00 p.m. in London, it's noon in Havana.

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

I'm Colleen McEdwards.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy.

From London to Luxembourg, Havana to Helsinki, wherever you're watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

He's been a thorn in the side of America for nearly half a century, surviving numerous attempts to overthrow or undermine his regime, even to assassinate him.

MCEDWARDS: Yes, that's right. Now ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro is suggesting openly for the first time he may actually be ready to retire.

CLANCY: As Rags Martel reports, the news came at the end of a very lengthy letter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAGS MARTEL, REPORTER (voice over): Breaking news, Cuban style. The state television current events program interrupted by a letter from Fidel. The long message ending with a surprise announcement. For the first time, talk of possible retirement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): "My basic duty is not to cling to office. Nor do I want to obstruct the rise of younger people in the party. Instead, I want to pass on my experiences and ideas to others."

MARTEL: The postscript, apparently handwritten and signed by Castro, asking for the letter to be read out on the news.

The Cuban leader hasn't been seen in public since having emergency surgery 16 months ago. His condition remains a state secret. But he has made sporadic television appearances. Looking frail, but alert as he listened to the Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, two months ago, this was the last time he was seen publicly.

It was always thought the end of Castro's presidency would mean the end of communist one-party rule in Cuba, but most observers agree that a stable transfer of power might have already happened. His brother Raul has been running the country since last year. And on the streets of Havana, people are ready for change.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We are prepared now. But who knows what the future will bring. We hope for good things, but we don't expect anything bad.

MARTEL: Castro's letter is far from a formal resignation. There's no indication about how or when he'll step down. But the mention of a younger generation suggests that his brother Raul, who is 76, may not automatically succeed him as president.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Let me take you back almost 50 years, when adoring crowds in Havana cheered Castro's takeover. That was 1959. He still has legions of supporters.

Other Cubans, though have, become a bit disillusioned, even embittered by the resolution. Their neighbor to the north, of course, has long wanted him gone. And we have reaction to Castro's letter in both the United States and the Cuban capital.

Kathleen Koch in Washington, but let's start with Shasta Darlington in Havana.

Shasta, the reaction?

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, this actually hasn't come as such a huge surprise. There's almost been more talk about this abroad than in Cuba. I think even though Castro isn't formally announcing a retirement, technically speaking he stepped aside almost a year and a half ago.

He hasn't been leading massive marches. He hasn't been delivering marathon speeches. He has been writing numerous essays, more than 60, about international topics like global warming. But it's been his younger brother Raul who has appeared at all of the official events, at all of the marches.

So I think Cubans view that a very peaceful transition has, in some ways, already happened. What they are commenting about in this letter is the mention of the younger people, younger generation. Now, Raul is only a few years younger than Fidel Castro. So who might he be referring to -- Jim.

CLANCY: All right. What kind of change do they see and where is it going to come from? Because when you read this last paragraph, he says he wants to turn it over to younger people.

DARLINGTON: That's right. He talks about, you know, this era that he's been a part of. But I think if you look at least for the last year and a half, Cubans would say they haven't seen a lot of tangible changes in their everyday lives, so they're not going to see a big jump from Fidel Castro to the next person, if he were to retire, whether that would be Raul or not.

Continuity has been the key word. However, they will also say that they hope, they expect -- many Cubans hope and expect that once Raul is really firmly in charge and not sort of under the shadow of his older brother, they might see some economic changes, more private enterprise, especially in the area of agriculture. And I think that that is one thing they may be looking forward to.

However, a major issue, the U.S. embargo on the island, is something that won't be resolved here. Most people think that it's going to happen in Washington -- Jim.

CLANCY: Shasta Darlington, there with us live from the Cuban capital, Havana.

Let's turn now to Kathleen Koch and get some reaction in the United States.

We heard there that a lot of people are hoping for change in Cuba. But a lot of the decisions on that are going to be made right where you are at the White House. What do they have to say today?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, the White House is scratching their head over this one. Press Secretary Dana Perino calling it a "interesting letter." But she said it is hard to make out just what Fidel Castro means or what he's trying to say.

Perino said that the United States "... is continuing to work for democracy on the island, and we believe that day will come soon." Now, Perino wouldn't say what prompts that belief on the part of the administration, and the White House also has not said whether or not it's reaching out to the Cuban government for any kind of explanation, any further details on just what this letter means.

Now, we are about to have a press briefing from Dana Perino in about 10 minutes. So, Jim, we'll certainly be pressing her on that, then.

CLANCY: All right. No sudden offer of talks with Havana coming out of the White House, that's for sure.

KOCH: Not yet.

CLANCY: I want to thanks thank both Shasta Darlington and Kathleen Koch for being with us. Thank you.

MCEDWARDS: All right. Well, let's turn now to the Middle East, where there is anger, despair and calls for revenge in Gaza. Thousands of Gaza residents took to the streets after Israeli air strikes killed 11 Palestinian militants. A military commander of the Islamic Jihad group was among those killed. Now, Israeli jets carried out several raids late Monday, early Tuesday, as well, and it says the raids were in response to cross-border rocket attacks from Gaza.

CLANCY: Meantime, the U.S. secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, says the U.S., Turkey and Iraq do share some common interests in stopping Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq. Rice, on an unannounced visit to Iraq, warning anyone against taking any action that could destabilize the region.

MCEDWARDS: Well, Rice's comments come two days after Turkey conducted air strikes in northern Iraq that involved as many as 50 jets.

CNN's Barbara Starr joins us now from the Pentagon with some news that the U.S. may be actually taking a more active role in that fighting than was first thought.

How active a role, Barbara?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Colleen, what we now know from several U.S. military sources is the U.S. provided the key intelligence for those air strikes that Turkey launched against Kurdish PKK rebels in northern Iraq over the weekend. According to several sources we have spoken to, this is part of the stepped-up intelligence-sharing effort that the U.S. promised Turkey several weeks ago in return for Turkey not launching an all-out invasion into northern Iraq to chase down the PKK.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, traveling in Iraq, spoke a little bit earlier today about how important this whole situation is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: This was a Turkish decision, and we have made clear to the Turkish government that we continue to be concerned about anything that could lead to innocent civilian casualties or to a destabilization of the north.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: And that is really the key that she's talking about, destabilization of the north. That's what the U.S. does not want to see.

They don't want Turkey launching some major military maneuvers, so there have been these air strikes. Some Turkish troops, a small number, a couple of hundred, moved into northern Iraq. The Turks say they're pulling out now, they're not there any longer. All of it part of Turkey's effort to go after the PKK and very clearly calling the U.S. effort to provide Turkey the intelligence to do just that, to forestall any larger Turkish incursions.

MCEDWARDS: Yes. Now, I mean, Condoleezza Rice can call it a Turkish decision, but with the U.S. providing intelligence, isn't there concern that this is just going to sort of ante up the antagonism toward the United States?

STARR: Well, it indeed is very likely to do just that, especially in northern Iraq, because as you say, make no mistake, the U.S. provided the intelligence. There are U.S. military intelligence personnel in Turkey, working with the Turks. And when those Turkish fighters -- fighter jets crossed into Iraqi air space, it is absolutely the case that the U.S. knew they were there, didn't necessarily grant approval, but knew that they were coming into Iraqi air space because, of course, that's air space that the U.S. military controls, and the Turks would not be in there if the U.S. didn't know all about it -- Colleen.

MCEDWARDS: Yes, I got you.

Barbara Starr.

Thanks a lot Barbara -- Jim.

STARR: Sure.

CLANCY: Let's turn out now to South Africa, where a divisive contest threatens the famed unity of the African National Congress of Nelson Mandela. ANC members by the hundreds are choosing a new party leader at this hour. This is a vote that pits current president Thabo Mbeki against his former deputy, Jacob Zuma.

Now, the winner is not only going to be well-positioned for the next election. He would almost presume to become the next president. But Zuma has a problem. Though he's expected to win, he has ongoing legal problems. He could be indicted for corruption, which would bar him from taking up the post

MCEDWARDS: All right. Let's get the latest from Polokwane, South Africa. That's where the votes are being tallied.

And our Robyn Curnow is there. She's been following the developments for us and joins us now live.

Robyn, are we getting any closer to a result here?

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In the next hour and a half, Colleen, the party, the 4,000 delegates here in South Africa, in Polokwane, are going to be meeting in the white tent behind me. And that's when we're expected to hear the results of this very divisive leadership battle, a battle that has pitted two camps against each other, that of Jacob Zuma and Thabo Mbeki. A battle that has split down the middle the ANC, the African National Congress.

And during the past few months, while people have battled out and looked to try and put their favorite forward, the government has literally been paralyzed. So this is a very important conclusion to a battle that has been going on for some time now. But as one analyst put it, whoever wins tonight is going to just have won this battle in a longer war for the soul of the of African National Congress.

MCEDWARDS: What about Nelson Mandela, Robyn? Has he weighed in on this?

CURNOW: Colleen, Nelson Mandela has not come near this issue. In fact, he has been very conspicuous by his absence. Now, there are two possible reasons for this.

Nelson Mandela is 89. He is a very old man. And as his people say, retirement is retirement. You don't get involved in bickering party politics when you're 89 years old and on retirement.

But that said, many people have said that the tradition of the ANC, particularly when it comes to choosing leaders, is one of consultation behind back doors where the wise elderly leaders give guidance. And they're saying, where are the leaders? Where is Nelson Mandela to try and bridge the gaps, to try and make peace between these parties?

Now, the fact that Nelson Mandela has not weighed in, that he has not endorsed either candidate, is either indicative of the fact that he is on retirement and doesn't want to get involved, or, perhaps, and I suppose we have got to ask Nelson Mandela this, is maybe he doesn't endorse either candidate.

MCEDWARDS: Yes.

Robyn Curnow, thanks a lot. Appreciate it, Robyn.

CLANCY: We're going to be following that, too. We're going to let you know the results of that ANC vote as soon as it happens.

We're going to talk about politics a little closer to home. Coming up next, a rising dark horse heating up rivalry in the U.S. presidential race.

MCEDWARDS: Yes. Mitt Romney is taking on fellow Republican Mike Huckabee over his criticism of foreign policy under the Bush administration.

CLANCY: Also ahead, sharing hate. Neo-Nazi videos clicked on over 100,000 times. YouTube and its owner, Google, under fire now for failing to remove postings that are illegal in Germany.

MCEDWARDS: And a world leader among the crowds this year at the annual Islamic Hajj pilgrimage. We'll take you live to Mecca, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

MCEDWARDS: We are seen live around the globe this hour. CLANCY: Now, with a little more than two weeks until the first major contest, there's a new national survey out. This one by the newspaper "USA Today" and the Gallup poll.

MCEDWARDS: You've got to bear in mind, though, the first votes are in Iowa and New Hampshire. And, you know, the polls there are sometimes quite a bit different from national surveys. You can't count on them to reflect one over the other.

So with that caveat, let's take a look at the latest national numbers, shall we?

Among Republican contenders, Rudy Giuliani does continue to lead Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Fred Johnson -- effectively tied for second place there.

CLANCY: All right. And among Democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton is still out in front, Barack Obama and John Edwards following on.

MCEDWARDS: Well, Republican Mitt Romney apparently thinks that he has found an opening against his rival, Mike Huckabee, who is now leading in the Iowa opinion polls.

Bill Schneider reports on this rift.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): It all started when Mike Huckabee wrote in "Foreign Affairs" magazine: "American foreign policy needs to change its tone and attitude, open up, and reach out. The Bush administration's arrogant bunker mentality has been counterproductive at home and abroad."

Arrogant bunker mentality? That's quite a thing for a Republican candidate to say about the Bush administration, as Mitt Romney was quick to point out.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I said, well, did this come from Barack Obama or from Hillary Clinton? Did it come from John Edwards? No, it was one of our own. It was Governor Huckabee.

SCHNEIDER: Huckabee explained.

MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I didn't say the president was arrogant. And one of my opponents has -- has mistakenly -- and maybe purposefully -- my position on that. I have said that the policies have been arrogant.

SCHNEIDER: Huckabee wrote: "Much like a top high school student, if the United States is modest about its abilities and achievements, if it generous in helping others, it is loved. But, if it attempts to dominate others, it is despised."

Republican caucus and primary voters may not worry too much about whether the United States is loved. ROMNEY: The truth of the matter is, this president has kept us safe these last six years. And that has not been easy to do.

SCHNEIDER: Sixty-one percent of Republicans approve of the way President Bush has handled foreign policy. Nearly a third are critical. At the same time, about half of Republicans endorse the view that the next president should take the country in a new direction.

HUCKABEE: I have got to show that I do have my own mind when it comes to how this country ought to lead, not only within its own borders, but across the world.

SCHNEIDER (on camera): Huckabee is betting that the desire for change has resonance, even among Republicans. It's a risky bet. He risks being called disloyal to a Republican president.

Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCEDWARDS: And if you want more political news, you can get your fill at our Web site, at cnn.com/politics. You'll find an in-depth look there at all the candidates, the latest polls, blogs from CNN's vast network of reporters on the campaign trail. And those are a great read, let me tell you.

Again, that is all at cnn.com/politics. Do check it out.

CLANCY: All right. Let's take you to Pakistan and politics there. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif out of the running. Pakistan's election next month. He lost his appeal against the election commission. That was the panel that had earlier denied his nomination because of past criminal convictions. Sharif's Muslim League Party slammed the decision, charging the U.S.-backed president, Pervez Musharraf, is afraid of Sharif's popularity.

MCEDWARDS: Well, Belgium's politically sensitive language divide has now found its way into one of its most prestigious beauty pageants, of all places. The newly crowned Miss Belgium, Alizee Poulicek, was booed because she doesn't speak Dutch, and at some point she had to switch to French.

Now, all of this is significant because the language gap between political parties has led this country right into a deadlock. It has been without a government for the past 200 days, essentially because of all of this. The 20-year-old beauty queen spoke in broken Dutch, saying she is trying to learn the language.

Who says what language you speak is not important? It is.

CLANCY: Yes. Well, she's learning how important it is.

MCEDWARDS: Yes, exactly.

CLANCY: Now, everyone loves posting videos on the popular Internet site YouTube. But what happens when the "you" is a neo-Nazi?

MCEDWARDS: Yes. Still ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY, Germany is grappling with that very problem. We're going to show you the solution that the country is trying out.

CLANCY: And then a little bit later, Colleen, we visit London's Savoy Hotel, a place associated with the high life, not the bargain basement. But now everything inside must go and there's no minimum bid.

MCEDWARDS: What's on the block? We'll show you. You're not going to believe who played that piano at one time.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MCEDWARDS: Welcome back to our viewers joining us from around the globe, including the United States this hour. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY and I'm Colleen McEdwards.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. And these are the stories that are making headlines around the globe.

For the first time, Cuba's long-time leader openly suggesting it may be time for him to retire. In a letter read on television, Fidel Castro says this -- he will not cling to power or block the rise of the younger generation.

MCEDWARDS: South Africa's ruling party is choosing a new leader and results are expected soon. Thousands of African national congress members must decide between current President Thabo Mbeki and his former deputy, Jacob Zuma. Zuma is expected to win and that would position him as the likely winner in the 2009 presidential elections, unless corruption charges get in the way.

CLANCY: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice making an unannounced visit to Iraq. She was there at the very time that Turkish troops crossed into northern Iraq pursuing Kurdish PKK rebels. The Turkish forces are now back on their side of the border.

MCEDWARDS: Well, you know, there was a time when the oil fields of northern Iraq produced a sizable slice of the world's petroleum production. The oil is still there, that's for sure, but a crumbling structure and a lack of security has slowed production down to a trickle. Now there's a move to turn on the taps once again. Morgan Neill explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MORGAN NEILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): These are the fields that were supposed to rebuild Iraq. The land around the northern city of Kirkuk holds some 6 percent of the world's oil. But relentless attacks on infrastructure have derailed ambitious pre-war plans for the sector. STEPHEN SCHORK, SCHORK REPORT: When you can't get the oil to the export market, you cannot earn the oil revenue. And when you don't earn the revenue, you can't pay for anything, let alone a reconstruction project.

NEILL: As recently as last year, output was still less than that produced under Saddam Hussein. That benchmark has now been passed. And as world oil prices reach record levels, Iraq is failing to take full advantage. At this dilapidated refinery in Kirkuk, the deputy manager explains his dilemma.

SHINASI KASIM, KIRKUK REFINERY DEPUTY MANAGER: There is very need to our products inside the country, so we must operate oil (ph). We cannot stop this because shortage of spare parts or out of equipments (ph) and -- although it is very old, but we are trying always to operate under capacities (ph).

NEILL: The industry is in desperate need of investment. But the chaos and violence in Iraq have kept most investors out.

SCHORK: You're not going to invest a significant amount of capital, which is what it required in Kirkuk, to get that oil out unless you are very confident that the security situation has been solved.

NEILL: So far, few are willing to say the recent drop in violence across the country represents a solution. Despite a U.S. trained oil protection force, corruption and a flourishing black market remain major problems. Political parties have failed to agree to a national oil law that would regulate revenue sharing between Baghdad and the provinces.

Here in Kirkuk, they're hoping an oil law will bring much needed investment to repair this crumbling infrastructure. At today's prices, proven reserves here are worth more than a trillion dollars.

Aided by the recent drop in violence across the country, export levels are at a post-war high. Nevertheless, four years on, far from paying for the country's reconstruction, Iraq's oil industry has so far been unable to pay for its own.

Morgan Neill, CNN, Kirkuk, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCEDWARDS: Well, much of our attention today is in Kirkuk. And, of course, in Baghdad. But there was another attack in another part of Iraq that you should know about. A guard was killed by a truck bomb near the country's largest dam and its biggest potential disaster. Jonathan Mann has some insight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN MANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Back in the day, it was inevitable, that Iraq would name its largest dam after Saddam Hussein. And now long after Saddam is gone, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers calls it the most dangerous dam in the world.

Start out with its size. About three kilometers long, holding back up to 3 trillion gallons of water. Three trillion. A heck of a lot of water.

But the thing is that the dam was built on top of bedrock made of gypsum. That's a mineral that dissolves in water. A little bit like wet plaster. That was more than 20 years ago and it has been dissolving every since.

The solution has been to pump liquid cement and grout into the bedrock to keep it glued together. U.S. engineers say it's not working and the dam could collapse essentially at any time. The Iraqi government says it's not that big a problem. Not unless you live downstream.

The dam controls the Tigress, which flows in Mosul, Iraq's third largest city, home to about 1.7 million people. If the dam collapses, Mosul would be flooded. And not just Mosul. The water would keep moving downstream for hundreds of kilometers all the way to Baghdad. It, the Iraqi capital, would be under 15 feet of water in places.

The truck bomb Monday that killed a guard on a bridge connected to the dam, well, we're trying to narrow down exactly how far away it was from the dam itself. Some reports say about 200 meters. Some, nearly a kilometer. It makes you wonder what would happen if the bomb had been closer. It makes you wonder what will happen to that big, dangerous dam, anyway.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: All right, Jonathan Mann there with some insight.

Another story making news in France. One of Formula One's biggest names has been pulled from his car drivers' seat by the French police. Twenty-two-year-old McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton was apparently cruising the highways and byways of France with a bit of a lead foot. Police clocked him at 120 miles per hour, almost 200 kilometers an hour, just outside the town of Laon, France's Pikarde (ph) region. That was 40 miles per hour over the legal limit. His driving privileges revoked for a month.

MCEDWARDS: To Germany now where holocaust denial is a serious crime. But that is not stopping some groups from posting hateful contest on, guess where, the Internet. And the vehicle that is distributing this material, well, it is U.S.-based YouTube. Jewish groups are furious, as you can imagine.

And as Frederik Pleitgen reports, they are starting now to fight back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): "Trying to stop us is a bad idea," the lyrics go. "We are the voice of the Arian (ph) Union." This band of neo-Nazi songs, like hundreds of others, is easily available on the German language YouTube site, and that makes this man very angry.

Stephan Kramer is the secretary general of Germany's largest Jewish organization. He says he's been trying for months to persuade YouTube and its parent company, Google, to get tough on neo-Nazi content.

STEPHAN KRAMER, CENTRAL COUNCIL FOR JEWS IN GERMANY: We forwarded critical clippings. They were forwarded to us. We did not get any response. Clippings that we flagged about three, four weeks ago were not taken from the Internet.

PLEITGEN: Since World War II, Nazi ideology has been illegal in Germany. Not only Nazi symbols, like swastikas, or the Hitler salute. Even denial of the holocaust is a crime, too. But all are found on the U.S.-owned YouTube, including this six-part video series we found that tries to prove with bogus science the holocaust never happened. Fake Hollywood gas chambers, in claims, at the concentration camp in Daschau. After the Jewish Central Council complained, Google Germany sent an e-mail promising to block the videos immediately. Five days later, we looked for ourselves.

Here are the icons.

All the videos remained available. This one tries to show the Nazis couldn't have incinerated hundreds of thousands of Jews in Auschwitz by showing how hard it is to set fire to a phone book. "Here you see the proof," he says.

YouTube's parent company, Google, declined an on-camera interview. But in an e-mail YouTube said, it does try to keep content with racial hatred or glorification of violence off the site. And the company "apologized in case content that breaks the YouTube rules has not been taken off the platform."

The company says it relies on a system where users flag problem videos to site managers. The company says it also has filters to prevent once banned content from being posted again. This song, calling for the bombing of Israel, was taken off the site during our research. But the Jewish Central Council says it still finds neo-Nazi videos from almost a year ago clicked on more than 100,000 times. YouTube, they say, isn't trying hard enough.

KRAMER: We will hold them responsible and I'm asking seriously if the owner of YouTube, Google, and the board wants to promote such clippings, specifically the discriminatory and the abiristic (ph) clippings that are on the Internet. And I doubt that they would do that.

PLEITGEN: The Jewish Central Council says it may try to sue YouTube. But that may be difficult because it can't sue in Germany. YouTube is a U.S. company where all speech is protected by the Constitution.

Frederik Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCEDWARDS: Well, a federal judge has ordered representatives of the Bush administration to appear in court. This is going to happen on Friday. All of this to answer questions about the destruction of those CIA interrogation tapes. The spy agency destroyed the videos of the interrogations of suspected terrorist Abu Zubayda and also Abd al- Rahim al-Nashiri in 2005, we learned a month or so ago. And this was just five months after District Judge Henry Kennedy ordered the CIA to preserve all of the evidence regarding the treatment of detainees at the U.S. Naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Now on Monday, Judge Kennedy scheduled a hearing, ignoring a Justice Department call to stay out of the matter. Again, that hearing expected to get going on Friday.

CLANCY: All right. We're going to take a short break here. When we come back, we'll take you back to where it all began.

MCEDWARDS: Just ahead, 2 million Muslim faithful make the trip to Mecca for the Hajj and we're going to take you right to the holy pilgrimage. We'll be there live.

CLANCY: And then a little bit later, how would you like a chair that Katharine Hepburn sat on? Or a piano that Frank Sinatra played. You can own a piece of luxury hotel history if you're the highest bidder.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Hello, everyone and welcome back. You are with YOUR WORLD TODAY.

MCEDWARDS: We're seen live in more than 200 countries and territories all around the globe. And right now we want to turn to the Hajj.

Imagine being one of 2 million on a spiritual journey of a lifetime. Well, this is a reality for Muslims gathered in Mecca for the annual Hajj pilgrimage. And our Isha Sesay is there with them. She is at Mt. Arafat and joins us live on the broadband.

Isha, what's the significance of this trip to Mt. Arafat?

ISHA SESAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Colleen, the second day of the Hajj takes place and the plains of Arafat. It's considered to be the spiritual climax of the Hajj. Over this day, nearly 3 million Muslims have spent the day in prayer and in meditation.

And effectively, Colleen, they have been asking God to forgive their sins. And the belief is that when the sun sets at the end of the second day of the Hajj, if their pilgrimage has been accepted by God, then their sins will be washed away. The slate will effectively be wiped clean. And you could say that they will effectively have been reborn. These have been emotionally charged hours as people, you know, strive to get closer to God.

And now that the sun has set, you may be able to make out just behind me, the pilgrims are now moving to Mcdalafa (ph). Also in the desert. There they will spend the night collecting pebbles that they'll use for the next day's ritual. And also they'll have a chance to eat and get some rest after what, you know, really is considered to be the high point of the Hajj -- Colleen.

MCEDWARDS: Now this year Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is there doing the Hajj. Has anybody had access to him or seen him?

SESAY: Well, we haven't seen him. There have been pictures broadcast on Saudi TV of him doing around the carba (ph) in Mecca. That's a ritual you have to perform before you head out to the deserts to perform the desert rights, as it were. The right in Arafat and in Jimerat (ph) tomorrow, the stoning ritual.

We've seen those pictures there. But certainly here in Arafat, we haven't seen him. We understand from one Saudi official that he would have been in a tented VIP area spending his time in prayer and meditation because everybody must come to Arafat before the sun set. Colleen, if you don't come to Arafat, then your Hajj is not complete and your Hajj will not be accepted. So we can safely say that he has been here somewhere during the day, but we haven't seen him -- Colleen.

MCEDWARDS: Understood. Isha Sesay at the Hajj for us. Isha, thank you -- Jim.

CLANCY: Freedom has a price. And taking other people's freedom away may also have a price. New York media reporting a U.S. millionaire couple found guilty of slavery could lose their mansion. The jury said the couple's house in Long Island facilitated the crimes and should be seized by the government. A jury convicted Mahender and Varsha Sabhnani of enslaving two Indonesian housekeepers. Prosecutors say the two women were subjected to repeated psychological and physical abuse. The couple could face as many as 40 years in prison.

MCEDWARDS: Gosh, awful story.

Well, dozens of United Nations peacekeepers have been expelled from Haiti and they are accused of sexually abusing women and girls.

CLANCY: But the Sri Lankan peacekeepers sent home from Haiti aren't the only troops suspected of such abuses.

MCEDWARDS: Yes, as Brian Todd reports, this is a problem that the United Nations is dealing with in other countries as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): More than 100 U.N. peacekeepers have been kicked out of the U.N. stabilization force in Haiti after being accused of preying on those they're supposed to protect. U.N. officials tell CNN, the Sri Lankan troops were suspected of sexually exploiting women and girls. Two U.N. officials said they would not dispute a report in the "Los Angeles Times," saying soldiers had sex with girls as young as 13, paying them as little as $1 each time.

The officials say they were first made aware of the conduct last summer, investigated it and sent the Sri Lankans back home in early November. I asked Sri Lanka's ambassador to the U.N. if the soldiers will face prosecution there.

PRASAD KARIYAWASAM, SIR LANKAN AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: We are not going to cover up on this, because we are very serious, because we are a very -- peacekeeping-wise, our troops have been doing a good job, and we want to keep up those standards. So any bad eggs, we'll take action.

TODD: One analyst, who monitors peacekeeping operations, says this kind of abuse is a major problem in several nations, including the Congo, where the U.N. deploys.

SARAH MENDELSON, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: What you have in places where there is tremendous poverty and you have an influx of internationals that have some money, because we're not tackling the issue of poverty and lack of education, a lot of these young women and girls view their only natural resource, their only asset is their body and they're using their body as some mechanism to raise money.

TODD: A U.N. official flatly denied that, saying they do train every peacekeeping unit on the conduct and discipline that's expect. But this official said that training is only for the officers who are then expected to train their enlisted personnel. After this investigation, three Sri Lankan officers were among those sent home.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: And coming up next right here on YOUR WORLD TODAY, Savoy trifles. A historical London hotel auctions off its entire contents as it closes for a facelift.

MCEDWARDS: Yes, this is awesome stuff. From a piano that Sinatra played on, to a parquet floor that the queen danced on, it can all be yours, but the price has got to be right.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: In space, no one can hear you celebrate. Astronauts shown here on a historic space walk. This is the 100th space walk ever at the International Space Station. A record of sorts. But there's no reveling there out in space this day. They're inspecting faulty devices that are causing some power problems inside the station.

MCEDWARDS: Well, in legend now. A giant clearance sale is going on and it's just in time for Christmas. In case you're wondering, it is at one of the world's most famous and swankest hotels. CLANCY: That's right. The Savoy. And it's auctioning off its contents before it undergoes a major renovation.

MCEDWARDS: Phil Black check it out to find out which items might just attract the highest bidders.

CLANCY: No reserve.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): It is a name known around the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello. Welcome to the Savoy.

BLACK: For much of its 118-year history, the Savoy Hotel has been the place to stay in London.

KIARAN MACDONALD, GENERAL MANAGER, THE SAVOY: It is the most powerful hotel brand in the world. And I don't say that arrogantly. I say that with a great deal of humility. Because I think it truly carries with it a sense of luxury.

BLACK: Now a little of that luxuriousness can be taken home. The hotel is selling off its furnishings to undergo a major refit. Beds, benches, silverware, light fittings, big and small. Pretty much anything that can be carried away. Three thousand pieces will be auctioned over three days. All of it must go. There are no minimum prices.

And there's a lot of public interest because to buy something from the Savoy is to own something that may have been sat on, slept in or just touched by some very famous people. John Wayne, Elizabeth Taylor, Lawrence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe. They all spent time here. The glamorous guest list goes on and on.

Room 409. That's where Alfred Hitchcock stayed. Just next door, in 410, this room was shared by Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. And just down the hall at 415 is the suite that was used by Katherine Hepburn. Celebrities came to the Savoy from around the world to take in what were long considered the best views of London.

It is a view made famous by the impressionist artist Claude Monet, who lived at the hotel around the start of the 20th century and painted a series inspired by the river Thames and the London skyline. A suite bears Monet's name and its contents are expected to fetch some of the highest prices.

CHARLIE THOMAS, BONHAMS AUCTIONEERS: This furniture, it carries real history and real history, real (INAUDIBLE). And that is (INAUDIBLE).

BLACK: At the Savoy, there is real history behind even the most modest fittings, like garbage bins.

THOMAS: And the reason why they're metal, rumor has it, is that when Winston Churchill came here, he was rather harsh (ph). He was using them as ashtrays.

BLACK: Frank Sinatra tinkled these keys.

SUSAN SCOTT, ARCHIVIST, THE SAVOY: And when Sinatra used to come back after giving concerts in London, it would be quite late at night and the (INAUDIBLE) would be deserted. And he want to unwind, so he'd sit down and play a few tunes.

BLACK: The Savoy's refurbishment will cost around $200 million. The auction will raise just a fraction of that, but it will also provide homes across Britain with some interesting new things to talk about at dinner parties.

Phil Black, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCEDWARDS: Wouldn't you love to own something with that kind of history?

CLANCY: It would be great.

MCEDWARDS: Unbelievable. I love the garbage can. Get me that, will you?

CLANCY: All right. Well, I'm going to take you someplace else that not everybody in the control room wants to go. I'm going to see how this works, because I know some people aren't watching the screens in there.

MCEDWARDS: I've been waiting for this. Scientists in an Indonesian jungle have made a startling discovery. There it is.

CLANCY: A giant rat. This rodent is five times the size of a typical urban rat. Oh, look at this fellow.

MCEDWARDS: It looks like a cat. It was discovered by a team of Indonesian and American scientists. And according to those scientists, discovering a new species of mammal is extremely rare. It is a rat.

CLANCY: It's extremely rare, especially in the 21st century. But if he's five times as big, he's five times as loathed by some people.

That has to be it for this hour.

MCEDWARDS: Yes, not cute.

CLANCY: No.

We've got to say good-bye for now. I'm Jim Clancy.

MCEDWARDS: And I'm Colleen McEdwards. You're watching CNN.

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