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Broadwell Video Surfaces; Day Three of Cross-Border Fighting; Xi Jinping to be China's New Communist Party Leader; China's Wealth Gap Widens; Chinese Economics; Syria to Unite Against Assad; Abu Qatada to Remain in Britain: BBC Director General Resigns; Artist Creates Underwater Museum

Aired November 12, 2012 - 12:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. We are taking you around the world in 60 minutes. Here's what's coming up.

Rocket attacks and air strikes. Tensions escalate between Israelis and Palestinians. We're going to go to Jerusalem for a live report.

The world's largest broadcaster floundering. It is chaotic. More BBC executives are stepping aside after falsely implicating a former British politician in a child sex scandal.

Plus, we're going to take you under water, pretty cool stuff, to a one of a kind museum that is delighting divers off the coast of Mexico and protecting the area's fragile reefs.

But we begin with the very latest on the bombshell story out of Washington. The FBI probe that has led to the resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus. Here's the latest on the players and the events. Here's how it all started.

It started when Jill Kelly, a friend of General Petraeus, contacted the FBI about threatening emails she said she received from another woman. That woman was Paula Broadwell, who wrote Petraeus' biography. Now, she said she used to jog with the General while he was leading the war in Afghanistan. They got to know each other. The FBI checked Petraeus' e-mail accounts and said they had not been compromised. Well, Petraeus was interviewed by the FBI, but it is unclear if Broadwell has been questioned.

I want to bring in -- Jill Kelly, her husband released this statement earlier today. This is the statement. It says, "we and our family have been friends with General Petraeus and his family for over five years. We respect his and his family's privacy and want the same for us and our three children."

We are also now learning that Paula Broadwell revealed information regarding the investigation of the attack on the consulate in Benghazi, Libya. A video of her speaking in Denver has now surfaced on YouTube. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA BROADWELL, PETRAEUS BIOGRAPHER: I don't know if a lot of you heard this, about the CIA annex had actually -- had taken a couple of Libyan militia members prisoner and they think that the attack on the consulate was an effort to try to get these prisoners back. So that's still being vetted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So I want to bring in Suzanne Kelly in Washington.

And, first of all, tell us a little bit about this video that we're seeing. The FBI so far has determined that security has not been compromised. The agents have interviewed Petraeus. But what does it say here when you have this woman talking about the CIA's investigation into Benghazi very publicly?

SUZANNE KELLY, CNN INTELLIGENCE CORRESPONDENT: Well, and you heard for yourself on that piece of video, Suzanne, this information hasn't been vetted. So is this really something that should appropriately be put out in the public arena in the way that it was? And that gets to the very nature of why this relationship was really so messy and so complicated and, in the end, really inappropriate.

But, first of all, I want to say that, in terms of what she said about Libya and the CIA taking prisoners there, this is something that the agency, of course, adamantly denies doing. But the issue really is her extraordinary access to Petraeus. When a woman like this who has written a book about him, who, you know, talks openly about the close access she has and relationship with him says something like that, it takes it to a whole different level and you don't really know if there's somehow more credibility. Is that what General Petraeus told her? That's when all the questions really starts. So it speaks to the nature of just how messy this relationship was, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Do we have any idea about the kind of information that has been revealed? Do we know if she has classified information? Is there any sense at all that there is some sort of security risk?

KELLY: Well, apparently there was no security risk. And that's what we're hearing from law enforcement officials that they had determined that there wasn't, in fact, a security risk. And believe it or not, it's not illegal for the director of the CIA, or another government employee for that matter, to have an affair. But there are other questions that can elevate that affair that can come into play that do need to be investigated.

One of them, of course, would be if that person were having an affair with a foreign national or something like that. But the other would be looking closely at, are other things being exposed that shouldn't be. And, you know, we know from General Petraeus, too, a couple of big headlines here. He's been reaching out to talk to friends throughout the weekend about this, expressing, again, his regret. But he insists to friends that Paula is the only woman he had an fair with. That there were not other women. So I think when you look at the combination of sending threatening emails to this woman, Jill Kelly, the general is insisting that it was just Paula Broadwell, he made a terrible mistake, and now is really focused on trying to fix things with his wife of 37 years.

MALVEAUX: Do we know at all the nature of these threats and these emails? Do we have any sense of how serious this is?

KELLY: You know, we were told actually by -- actually Dana Bash had spoken with someone earlier today, a government source that's familiar with the investigation, who confirmed to her that the tone of these emails was very jealous, but we don't know, you know, much more beyond that. It's kind of easy to speculate. But if you look at the access that Paula actually had to the general, you know, you could go anywhere with it and I'd hate to really speculate. But we do know that they were sort of described by people who were briefed on them as being very jealous in their tone and nature.

MALVEAUX: All right, Suzanne Kelly, thank you so much. We're going to have more on this story. We're going to be following this very closely.

Well, he disappeared in Syria more than two months ago. Now the parents of an American journalist, Austin Tice, they are making a public plea for help.

Plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): During our lifetime, I guess we won't have any high hopes. Really any hopes are for the children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Millions have been rescued from grinding (ph) poverty in China, but the road to real prosperity is proving to be a long one for many.

And a veteran's symphony, almost 70 years now in the making.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Tensions rise in the Middle East as Israel trades fire with its neighbors. Overnight, Israel's military says its air strikes hit key Palestinian targets in the Gaza Strip, including what is described as a terror tunnel and a weapons storage facility. In three straight days of fighting, six Palestinians have been killed and another 30 wounded. According to the Israeli military, more than 110 rockets hit southern Israel injuring at least four civilians.

And today in northern Israel, Israeli military sources report hitting Syrian targets after two days of cross-border fire. Officials say its retaliation for a mortar shells that hit near a military post in Golan Heights. This marks the first time Israel has fired on Syria since 1973. CNN senior international correspondent Sara Sidner, she's joining us from Jerusalem to talk a little bit about all of this that's taking place. And you had a chance, an exclusive, to sit down with Israel's president, Simon Peres, to talk about what is taking place there. It is somewhat alarming, the escalating violence. Does he think that there is really going to be kind of an escalation in Gaza?

SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we asked him that question directly, and he made it sound as if there was not going to be a major escalation, but couch that with saying that they had to see what the proper thing is to do there, because we have been seeing dozens upon dozens of rockets coming in to Israel.

Much of this started really on Thursday with the death of a 13-year- old Palestinian boy who was in Gaza simply playing football outside of his home. He was shot and killed. Now, the witnesses there said that the shots came from Israeli soldiers in a jeep. However, the Israeli military is investigating and they say they do not believe they were in that area, and that they do not believe they were responsible for the death of this child. So that investigation is ongoing,.

But since then, there has been a lot more action with militants in Gaza, first sending an anti-tank missile into an Israeli jeep on the Israel side of the Gaza border. That injured four soldiers, two of them severely. They had shrapnel wounds to the head. And then the fighting started.

Israel returning fire to that same area where that anti-missile came from. That particular blast from the military in Israel actually hit a funeral home. And that's how you see all of these casualties. More than 30 people injured. Four people killed. All civilians there. But then there were air strikes following that, killing two militants and damaging some areas that had some of the militants weapons.

Now, let us go to the president of Israel. We asked him today about the situation in Gaza and the situation with Israel and would we see a major escalation. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIMON PERES, PRESIDENT OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL: Apparently they think they can do both. That this -- it is -- there is a permissiveness. (INAUDIBLE). There is no permissiveness to kill. And if they want to end (ph) their lives properly (ph) and serve their people properly (ph), they cannot be permissive in killing and shooting at us. It's not just killing people. We cannot afford that a million mothers will not have a night's sleep because they have to watch their babies not to be hit by rockets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: And he talked about that for both sides. That if one side keeps sending rockets into Israel, they cannot expect Israel not to defend itself and to return fire. That's the latest situation going on here. We do know that there has been a lot of damage that has happened in Israel. Two houses, for sure, have been hit, and a building. There have also been four civilians injured in Israel.

MALVEAUX: And, Sara, talk a little bit about another threat, potential threat, to Israel, and that is Iran. We saw famously Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel before the U.N. with that diagram, talking about the red line. What was Peres' definition of that red line? Is it the same as the United States?

SIDNER: It's really interesting because all the talk about Iran and it being the most dangerous threat to the world has subsided. We've heard very, very little about Iran from the leaders here in Israel. But we did ask President Peres what he thought about if Israel decided to strike Iran, because here in this country there has been a lot of argument and some investigative stories that have come out that show that Mr. Netanyahu was at odds with his military commanders as to whether or not they could have a strike on Iran, done only by Israel without the help of the United States and have that be a successful one. Here is what the president had to say about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERES: I think that, first of all, we have we all of us (ph) we can without any strike at home. And we have to add (ph) that the time and collect the measures to bring an end to the Iranian danger by economic and political pressure. This is the preference of the United States, and this is the preference of Israel. Now, I believe that with President Obama, the (INAUDIBLE), that all options are on the table. That is his position. And we have to go together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Interesting that he mentioned the president of the United States position. But the prime minister's position has been very similar, although he's been much more hawkish about saying that if these sanctions don't work, that they have to consider whether or not to strike Iran's nuclear program. We do have to say that Iran has constantly said that it is not working on a weapon, but working on its nuclear program for civilian purposes.

Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Excellent reporting, as always, the exclusive. Sara Sidner, thank you. Appreciate it.

Americans tend to spend a lot of money, right, on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but in China, the big shopping day this year fell on a Sunday. Why 11-11 adds up to big bucks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: President Obama will soon have a new Chinese leader in Beijing to deal with. This man, Xi Jinping is expected to take over the Communist Party on Thursday. And next March, he is likely to be named China's new president. Xi first visited the United States back in 1985, met with President Obama earlier this year.

Western analysts generally regard Xi as someone who wants to have good relations with the United States.

Well, China's struggling economy is just one of the many challenges that's facing the country's next leader. While some Chinese have done well in recent years, others are falling further behind because of inflation.

So, imagine this. Paying five times more for rent than you did four years ago. That's right.

Well, CNN senior international correspondent Stan Grant has got an inside look at what is happening, China's widening wealth gap. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STAN GRANT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a little piece of home for China's army of migrant workers. They gather here to dance on street corners. They come to the cities searching for a bit of life.

For some, China's booming economy has been music to their ears. For others, the tune has turned more somber, life in a rundown neighborhood so close to the riches of the new China that they could reach out and touch it, almost.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, MIGRANT WORKER (via translator): We came to work in the city (INAUDIBLE) is the trend.

GRANT: (INAUDIBLE) and his wife, Ge Yaru, have followed the China dream to Beijing. This is where it has got them.

They live in a tiny one-room house with their baby son. There is room for a bed, barely anything else.

And for them, it isn't cheap.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (via translator): Back in 2009, when we first came to Beijing, the house rent was a bit more than about $15 a month. Now, it is five times that.

GRANT: Inflation has hit the poor hard.

GE YARU, MIGRANT WORKER'S WIFE (via translator): Prices are high. Our daily expense is high. It is the same back in home town. Everything is expensive. It's not easy to save money.

GRANT: Like anyone, Ge Yaru dreams of a better life, a bigger house, hopes for her son.

YARU (via translator): He doesn't want a bigger house, but have you to work hard. He has to work hard. I don't have any income, just stay home and take care of the baby.

GRANT: For more than two decades, the China miracle has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. Migrant workers have flocked to communities just like this on the edge of big cities, looking for a better life.

The fear now, though, is that those days may be coming to an end. The economy is slowing. The gap between rich and poor is getting wider.

Analysts here say the poor in China increasingly finds the doors to success are being slammed shut.

Even those who lived the dream are waking up to a new reality, higher bills, longer working hours, more stress.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: CNN international correspondent Stan Grant in Beijing, thank you.

On the other side of China's wealth gap are people who have prospered. They've done well. The country set a record in e-commerce sales for a little known holiday called "Singles Day."

Azadeh Ansari is here to explain what it is. So, yesterday was, like, 11-11, right?

AZADEH ANSARI, CNN INTERNATIONAL DESK EDITOR: Right.

MALVEAUX: Were you up at 11:11 on 11/11?

ANSARI: I was working. I was so ...

MALVEAUX: You've got to make a wish, you know, if you are superstitious in any way. Tell us about this.

ANSARI: Well, it's very symbolic and it's always -- "Singles' Day" is always celebrated on that day because it's 11/11, four, single ones, which means that it's bear sticks. You're unattached, right, more or less?

But what it is is it started as this grassroots movement as a way for singles to combat their -- it's like Valentine's Day. They're like, Valentine's is for couples and we want a holiday for ourselves.

But, as we know, with most of these things, they turn into big business, Suzanne, and it started off -- what they do is, on that day, couples go out. They go wine and dine. They go on blind dates, but they also buy a lot because there's crazy sales going on, online.

And, so, again, the e-commerce sales were through the roof. I mean, we've never seen this before.

MALVEAUX: And this is much more than what we see here in the United States when you talk about Cyber Monday and all these other holidays that we have with shopping. Explain, like, just how big this thing is.

ANSARI: Well, let's put it in numbers terms, right?

MALVEAUX: OK.

ANSARI: So, yesterday alone, in a 24-hour period, the Chinese went online, clicked on their mouses and generated $3.04 billion in revenue.

MALVEAUX: Wow.

ANSARI: And this is a country that, for the longest time, you know, it's really known for its investments and exports and consumer domestic consumption is not something that they're known for, but they really -- there's a push towards that right now.

But Cyber Monday last year generated $1.25 billion, so you can see, I mean, we have a lot of ground to cover right now, so that's coming up.

MALVEAUX: And, so, is this a trend? I mean, are we going see this every year? You think this is going to keep expanding?

ANSARI: Well, not only -- we talked about -- in Stan Grant's piece, he talked about the wealth gap, right? There's also a gender gap that's taking place and the reason for that is that, for many generations, there's been in preference over boys over girls, so now what we're seeing is that, come the year 2020, Suzanne, there will be 24 million more men in China, single men, who are looking for women that just aren't there, and I don't think you can put a price tag on that. You can't buy these women, OK?

MALVEAUX: So, these ladies have many options then.

ANSARI: They do and they have to be wooed with really nice gifts.

MALVEAUX: So the spending will continue. Azadeh, thank you so much.

ANSARI: You're welcome.

MALVEAUX: Well, he disappeared in Syria. Now, two American parents, they are now pleading for their son's release. The latest on a missing journalist Austin Tice.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: After months of pressure by the U.S. for Syrian opposition groups to act together and get their act together, they're finally ending up at -- ending the fighting here, trying to unite against the Assad regime.

The group signed an agreement on Sunday in Qatar saying it's going to not take part in any dialogue with the regime. It's only going to accept a new government. It is called the National Coalition Forces of the Syrian Revolution.

Now, this move comes after the U.S. and the Arab League pressured the opposition groups to speak with one voice.

More than 35,000 Syrians have died in 20 months of civil war.

Meanwhile, a bombing sent huge plumes of smoke -- you can see that -- into the air near Syria's border with Turkey today. A Syrian fighter jet bombed a town. They're trying to win back control of the area from rebel forces.

Now, dozens of Syrians ran from that area scrambling to cross a border fence to escape into Turkey. Thousands of Syrian refugees have fled into Turkey since the civil war began.

The parents of a missing American journalist, Austin Tice, are pleading for his release today. Tice, he last talked to his family three months ago. He snuck into Syria to report on the uprising.

His parents traveled to Lebanon to get a closer look to finding some answers. CNN asked them earlier today if they've learned any more about their son's whereabouts

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARC TICE, FATHER OF MISSING JOURNALIST: Everyone we've spoken, to and we've spoken to everyone we ca, has said the same thing that are unsure where he is. They don't know who he is with, where he is.

We're hoping for answers and we're here appealing to the people in the region to have compassion in their family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Arwa Damon is joining us live from Beirut.

Arwa, it is heartbreaking when you see this kind of thing unfolding. You've got this shaky video that surfaces on YouTube showing who they believe, I guess, is Tice surrounded by armed men walking him up a hill.

What do we know? What do we know about how he is or where he is?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Unfortunately, very little, and that is what has been incredibly difficult for his parents, just this information void that exists on where their son is and who actually has him.

Now, that video that you are referencing there actually raised a lot of questions. It wasn't posted like most extremist videos on jihadi web sites. It was posted anonymously.

The clothing, when being viewed by experts on the matter, that the men who were holding and moving Austin Tice along were wearing, that did not match the dress that most extremists would be wearing inside a place like Syria, for example.

As some people have speculated that he is, in fact, in the custody of the Syrian government. Now, we asked his parents at the press conference earlier today if they had been able to reach out to the Syrian government.

They said that they'd had both direct and indirect contact with them, but the Syrian authorities are denying that Tice is currently in their custody and that is why the parents' plea is so critical to them because they really just want any tidbit of information, any knowledge, who is holding him, is he well, is he alive, and more importantly, how can they get him back?

MALVEAUX: Arwa, do we know if, in fact, it's helpful at all for them to be in the area to be in the region trying to reach out to the Syrian government or other people over there? Are they doing more harm than good? Is this a good idea?

DAMON: Well, it's very difficult to assess that at this point, Suzanne. They've really only just arrived.

They're going to be holding a series of meetings with various individuals who, they think might be able to help them, might be able to perhaps reach people within the Syrian government, within rebel units who may have more of an idea of where Austin could be.

His last known whereabouts were an area called Daraya just outside of the capital, Damascus. Even some of the rebel units, the opposition activists he was moving around with found his disappearance quite mysterious, as well, so it's really hard to gauge that right now.

But most certainly at the least, you know, being in the region, having direct contact with people who can help and, for them, being more accessible for people who may want to come forward with information. That's how they're viewing it at this stage.

MALVEAUX: All right. Arwa Damon, thank you. If you have any more details, please bring them to us. Appreciate it.

When World War II came to an end, one veteran had some time on his hands while waiting for his orders.

And this was the result. A story of how a symphony was composed in 1945, but wasn't performed until 2012.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: A big thank you today to all veterans who served this country with such distinction.

One of those vets is finally hearing an orchestra perform the symphony that he actually wrote decades ago. It traces the sadness, the struggle, and the victory of World War II. Just listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HAROLD VAN HEUVELEN, WORLD WAR II VETERAN: My name is Harold Van Heuvelen and my age is 93 and I'm a veteran of World War II.

In 1945, I was stationed in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the New Orleans Army air base and I was an instructor. The peace in Europe had already been written in April of that year and, so they said we can do anything we wanted to. I decided to write a symphony.

During those 70 years when it sat on the shelf, I'd look at it every once in a while and think, why isn't this being played?

BOB VAN HEUVELEN, HAROLD VAN HEUVELEN'S SON: My brother and I came upon the bound copy of the symphony.

I talked with Senator Carl Levin, the senator from Michigan where my dad lives. Senator Levin wrote a letter to the Defense Department and, the next thing we knew, we had a letter back from the secretary saying we would like to perform this symphony.

MAJOR TOD A. ADDISON, THE U.S. ARMY ORCHESTRA: I was kind of worried what I would see. And I was grateful when I opened the score and saw that it was a tonal piece of music, very accessible, very melodic, neo-Romantic.

It has a special meaning when you sit down and play something and you know exactly what's behind it.

H. VAN HEUVELEN: So the first movement of my symphony is about the sadness of that period, the extreme sadness and sorrow of the Holocaust and the terrible loss of life.

The second movement is sort of being geared for war.

And the third movement is the warfare itself, the boys going to Omaha Beach and invading Germany.

The end of that movement, I have a victory march.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: That is awesome. I love that.

Another story, a fight against terrorism, a big setback for the British government. Radical Islamic cleric Abu Qatada is staying put in England after an immigration appeals court blocked his extradition.

Qatada is accused of funding terrorist groups. Now, British officials have been trying to kick him out of the country for years. He insists he won't get a fair trial in Jordan.

And to Greece where the parliament just signed off on a budget for next year. It includes plenty of spending cuts and those cuts haven't exactly gone over too well with the folks there.

You see a crowd in Athens protesting last night against those cuts, but now that the deal is done, Greece will get its hands on international bailout funds that's going to keep the country from going bankrupt.

And back here in the States, the epic downfall of Lance Armstrong, it continues. The cycling icon has now quit his Livestrong Foundation entirely.

The foundation's statement says Armstrong chose to resign from the foundation to, quote, "spare the organization any negative effects as a result of controversy surrounding his cycling career."

Armstrong previously gave up his position as chairman in the wake of the growing doping scandal, but said he would remain involved. He still insists that never cheated.

The U.K.'s biggest broadcaster making headlines, of course, on its own, drowning in this scandal. The head of the BBC vows to get a grip on his organization. We're going to have a live report from London.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: More heads are rolling at the BBC in Britain. The director-general resigned over the weekend and today the head of the news division has stepped aside at the BBC.

This latest resignation came after a politician was falsely accused in a child sex abuse story by the network.

That's not the only scandal, of course, at the network. A former kids TV host who died last year has since been accused of being a pedophile.

But one man says that the network is going to get their reputation back.

Mark Thompson used to run the BBC and now works for "The New York Times."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK THOMPSON, FORMER DIRECTOR-GENERAL, BBC: Like many people, I'm very saddened by recent events at the BBC, but I believe the BBC is the world's greatest broadcaster and I've got no doubt that it will once again regain the public's trust, both in the U.K. and around the world.

It's a very important institution and I believe that it's full of people with real integrity and talent and I've no doubt that's it going to get back on its feet really soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Dan Rivers is live from our London bureau. Dan, explain to us how they think these resignations will help.

DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think just sort of trying to sort of clear out anyone who could have been held responsible for these calamitous decisions.

The problem is that they haven't actually fired or set aside the people that were involved. The people that have stood aside, so far, Helen Boaden, who's the head of news and her deputy, during this latest decision weren't actually involved at all. It was a completely different chain of command.

So, I wouldn't be surprised if there are more announcements with people either being forced into non-active roles or being forced out of the corporation altogether.

I mean, to put this in a nutshell, basically, what's happened is, on the one hand, they've had one of their own TV personalities who was a pedophile and they didn't put the report on-air and they did put the report on-air which wasn't true about a politician.

So, one thing after another, it left George Entwistle with no choice but to stand down. And now the guy who's been put in as a temporary replacement is a former marketing chief from Pepsi. He's no journalistic background at all.

MALVEAUX: So, it looks like hot mess over there.

Is there any recourse for the folks who came forward who said, look, this TV host abused me as a child? What's the latest with that?

RIVER: Oh, they're lining up to sue not only the BBC, but other institutions, as well, including care homes and hospitals where this abuse was set to take place.

I think the important thing in all this, though, a lot of people are saying that it's important to remember that there are victims in all this. This isn't just the kind of story about the media. This is a story about pedophiles and about their victims and about them spending 40 years trying to get justice basically. And a lot of the people that are suing are saying, it's not about the money, it's simply about getting to the truth and holding people accountable.

MALVEAUX: And, Dan, do we think the BBC essentially is going to survive? Are they going to be able to get over this? I mean people put money in, the government puts money in for this network.

RIVERS: Yes, we all pay for it here in Britain. You have no choice. If you have a TV, you have to pay what's called a license fee. It's a tax, basically. You have to pay for it. There's no doubt the BBC will survive this. It's a complete institution here. It's a sort of bedrock of society in Britain. So there's no danger of it not surviving.

Perhaps what is dangerous is the particular program on which these reports went out or didn't go out may be in jeopardy, "News Night," that's possible that may be axed. And there's going to be some high profile casualties in all this. But the BBC itself will survive. It will be battered. It will be tarnished. But I'm sure it will come back.

MALVEAUX: All right, Dan Rivers. Thank you, Dan.

It's been called the floating city, but right now most of it is completely under water. Check it out. More than 7 percent of the city of Venice, Italy, was actually flooded after recent storms unleashing torrential rain. So, this is the sixth worst flooding the city has ever experienced over a hundred years. In less than 10 years, the United States will overtake Saudi Arabia to become the world's largest oil producer. That's according to a new study from the International Energy Agency. It should happen around 2020. And about 10 years after that, the U.S. is expected to become completely energy independent.

And it's not just artwork under water. These sculptures, they are protecting fish and coral reefs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: One of the world's biggest rock stars is trending on Twitter right now. He doesn't even tweet. U2's lead singer, Bono, says he's going to make an appeal to Republicans and Democrats on a visit to Washington this week. He wants the two parties to avoid cutting funding to development programs. Bono says the cuts would endanger life-saving treatments for HIV/AIDS and nutrition programs formal malnourished children. The two parties are discussing various spending cuts to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff.

You've probably never seen a museum like this before. It is under water art. It's an exhibit that also doubles as an ecology project. Nick Parker, he explains how it work.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PARKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to an underwater world of mysterious figures frozen in time. This unique museum off the coast of Cancun has nearly 500 sculptures sunken in up to 10 meters of water. A growing tourist attraction is also a vital front line in conservation as it diverts divers from Mexico's fragile coral reefs. It's a labor of love for British artist Jason de Caires Taylor, who began the project in 2009.

JASON DE CAIRES TAYLOR, SCULPTOR: I was a diver, and I'd been divining around the world in various places. So I had this vision that I always wanted to create this underwater sort of seascape, and I was also looking into the conservation element of it, that it could be used to create an artificial reef. It started off like a pilot project in Grenada. Again, we started off quite small and we just did a few pieces and slowly it grew.

PARKER: The project, called "The Eye," off (ph) Cancun's marine park officials, who were trying to restore the region's reefs damaged by 2005's Hurricane Wilma.

JAIME GONZALEZ, NATIONAL MARINE PARK: And we thought that by implementing this project, we'll become an icon for Cancun.

PARKER: For his models, Taylor looked to the area around his studio, including local boatmen. Joaquin Sutter (ph) was the inspiration for man on fire, one of the most iconic works.

JOAQUIN SUTTER: People are always telling me, you are not dead yet and you have a statute, you know. We're very happy about it and proud of having this project in the area. PARKER: Taylor has staggered the deployment of the statues over a few years, so that some look cleaner than others. The visual evidence of nature gradually taking over, he has titled "silent evolution." Crucially, the statues are made from a ph neutral material to attract fish and coral, and the cement is high grade to withstand strong currents. For tour operators, the museum is an obvious boon to business.

ROBERT DIAZ, AQUAWORLD: Incredibly popular. Incredibly. We estimate that (INAUDIBLE) 100 percent that visit the park, is about 750,000 people a year, we get into the museum 40 percent.

TAYLOR: The world's coral reefs are facing extreme pressures from all sides. Issues to do with water quality and global warming, you know, are some of the biggest problems. This project obviously can't combat that, but what it can help to do is raise some awareness about the state of our reefs are and pull people's attention to, you know, the underwater scene.

PARKER: Taylor's statues might just be the beginning. Marine park officials say they have a permit for up to 10,000 sculptures, with the arm of drawing enough tourists to be able to close the reef for a time. Right now, the project lacks funding, so it's an open question how much the underwater landscape will continue to evolve.

Nick Parker, CNN, Cancun, Mexico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Pretty cool.

Prince Charles goes to work making a wool carpet during the diamond jubilee trip. We're going to show you the masterpiece up next.

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MALVEAUX: All right, this is my favorite segment. Check out the music that is topping the charts around the world. One of the most downloaded songs from Belgium. It is called "C'est La Vie," which means "this is life."

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MALVEAUX: Nice. Love the beat. (INAUDIBLE), he's a famous folk singer from Algeria. The song also popular across Europe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDI DENCH, ACTRESS, "SKYFALL": I say take the shot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, ACTRESS, "SKYFALL": I can't, I may hit Bond.

DENCH: Take the bloody shot.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MALVEAUX: After four years off the silver screen, James Bond back with a bang. Skyfall, the latest installment of the British spy's adventures set a Bond record this weekend pulling in $87.8 million. Not bad. Also, the seven best November open weekend forever for any movie.

The reality TV world and Silicon Valley are colliding now. The search is on for who can come up with the next great idea.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I never thought I'd ever get here, but I'm here now and I'm going to make an impact.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I always knew I wanted to devote my entire life to technology.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: The reality show is called "Startup Silicon Valley." It is now airing on Bravo. And the woman behind it is Randi Zuckerberg. She is the sister of FaceBook founder Mark Zuckerberg. And the show benefits from the convergence of technology and pop culture. Check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDI ZUCKERBERG, EXEC. PRODUCER, START-UPS SILICON VALLEY": Technology is such a part of pop culture. It's a part of all of our lives. It's a part of how we parent our children. It's a part of how we get jobs. It's a part of how we find love. It's really inherent in almost every aspect, you know. Most people are within an arm's length of their mobile phone like 99 percent of the day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Randi Zuckerberg. She left Facebook in August, shortly after her brother took the company public, to start her own media company.

Several stories caught our attention today. Photos as well. Take a look.

In India, a little girl holds a stick to balance as she tight-ropes in the streets. Many children earn a meager living for their families by street performers.

Earlier in Turkey, police fired water cannons at a Syrian man who crossed the border into the country. His town was bombed by Syrian forces. More than 100,000 Syrians have fled to Turkey since Syria's civil war began just last year.

And in New Zealand, Prince Charles learning how to use a tufting gun. It's used to make carpets. The royal logo is on the one he's working on. It's part of the queen's Diamond Jubilee Tour.