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Syrian Troops Massacred Villages, 287 Killed in One Day; JPMorgan Opens Books; Cuba Fights To Contain Cholera; Tattoo Stops Man From Entering U.S.; Rock Star To Interior Designer

Aired July 13, 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 going on right now:

Gunfire, pipe bombs, fireworks, bricks -- police in Belfast, Ireland, say that demonstrators used al of that against them in violent protests over the last 24 hours. The violence broke out during a pro-British Protestant march in a pro-Irish Catholic neighborhood. Twenty officers suffered minor injuries. Two people were arrested.

To London now. New details we learned about possible murder in one of Europe's wealthiest families. You know from reporting here that Eva Rausing was found dead this week in her home in London. Police initially arrested her billionaire husband Hans Rausing on drug charges. Now, he is also a suspect in her murder.

A formal investigation into the woman's death began today in the Rausing family. They are connected to Tetra Pak, that is the world's biggest food packaging company.

Already in Syria today, 56 people reported killed in fighting across the country including a large explosion in Damascus that some witnesses say was a car bomb. Syrians, they are shaken by what happened today but also yesterday. More people died Thursday, yesterday, in Syria, than any single day since the uprising started a year and a half ago.

(VIDEO CLIP CLIPS)

MALVEAUX: This is a Syrian village of Tremseh. It is not far from Hama, that si the operational center for the rebel up.

Now, you saw that young man crying over the body of an older man, calling his name while fighting is raging in the background. It is so hard to even watch. This is just one moment, just one of the 220 men, women, and children who were killed yesterday in that village alone.

Now, people in one Syrian town, they are reacting now with anger at the United Nations, specifically the special envoy, Kofi Annan. They say the U.N. peace plan that Annan sold really has done nothing but buy this government more time to do this killing.

I want to talk to Mohammed Jamjoom. He's in Abu Dhabi right now.

Mohammed, first of all, I mean, this is a -- it's so hard to see, what we are seeing taking place -- when you see that man crying like that. The Syrians now, the protesters -- they are turning on Kofi Annan. Why are they blaming him?

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, the opposition activists we talked to in Syria say that ever since Kofi Annan has been involved in the Syrian conflict, since he was appointed as the special envoy to Syria, also since the U.N. observers entered the country, they say not only has the violence not ceased, not only has Kofi Annan's six-point peace plan not stuck or the cease-fire been implemented, but they say the violence has only ratcheted up.

And when you see videos like the one we've been seeing today, that are so grisly and so gruesome and you keep hearing about more and more massacres, and more and more alleged atrocities, the Syrian opposition says, Kofi Annan, his peace plan, the U.N. observers, they say they are totally in effective. And that's why there are so many demonstrations reportedly in Syria today.

We're seeing lots of videos of marches throughout the country, not just people there in solidarity with the victims of the massacre yesterday but also calling on the removal of Kofi Annan as the special envoy to Syria, because they want the international community to step in and really do something to stop the violence here -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: So, Mohammed, what is the alternative here? I mean, if they can't restore faith in this diplomatic mission that Kofi Annan has been trying to do -- do they think it's about arms, who is going to win this battle on the streets?

JAMJOOM: Well, that's the key question. You know, today you've seen Kofi Annan call for a cessation of violence saying he was shocked and appalled at what happened. We've seen statements from General Robert Mood, the head of the U.N. observers' mission that is suspended in Syria, verifying what happened yesterday, saying that even aircraft were used in the offensive yesterday. And yet, he says they would like to be able to go to that village and see what happened and further investigate, but they can't do that until violence ceases. And that hasn't happened.

So, the people in Syria are wondering what exactly can be done. They've asked for a while, the opposition groups, for some sort of either a no-fly zone or military intervention from the international community. But they say the powers that need to really step in to do something, that they haven't stepped up to the plate and because of that, they bear some of the burden of what's going on in Syria.

They ultimately blame the Bashar al-Assad regime for what's going on. But they say the international community hasn't helped the people the way they need to -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Mohammed, I want to read a statement. The White House repeated its demand for this -- what they are calling a coordinated international response at the United Nations and President Obama himself, Obama, says that Assad has lost his legitimacy to lead.

Do the Syrian people, do they believe that the United States needs to do more?

JAMJOOM: The opposition activists that we've been speaking with have said for a while that the United States and other world powers need to do more. They believe that the U.N. has been completely ineffectual, that the observers' mission has been ineffectual, that something big has to happen, that world powers need to step in, either with some sort of military intervention or some sort of effective plan to be able to help what's going on there -- either remove Bashar al Assad from power or do some sort of military intervention.

But that hasn't happened. They say they're tired of waiting.

The SNC, the Syrian National Council, which is the main opposition group, said today that all they hear about are people reporting back to bodies whether it'd be in New York or Geneva, that that doesn't do anything. It doesn't stop the atrocities, and these atrocities and massacres have to stop now -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Mohammed Jamjoom, thank you for bringing this to our attention. As always, we appreciate it.

It is the nation's largest bank and a stock probably in your 401(k). Well, now, we're just learning how much JPMorgan lost in a bunch of risky trades. Turns out, it's a lot more than they initially claimed.

In May, the CEO Jamie Dimon pegged the loss about $2 billion. But, today, in a call with investors, Dimon revealed it was $5.8 billion. That's almost triple the original estimate.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

JAMIE DIMON, CEO, JPMORGAN CHASE: We learned a lot. I can tell you this has shaken our company to the core. What happened here is that most of the management team went back and said, let's redouble our efforts to make sure we're running a great company, granular, thoughtful, disciplined every way possible. We could never say we won't make mistakes. We operate in a risk business.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: I want to bring in Richard Quest from London.

So, Richard, he's right. You know, this is a risk business. But how does this affect our investments when you take a look at those numbers today?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: Well, directly, it doesn't. Unless you happen to be an investor in JPMorgan Chase in which case you have every right to be very angry and you would be asking if you were a shareholder why on earth this took place.

If you look at the report that they prepared into it, just about every mistake that could be made in risk management seems to have taken place. The wrong people were given the wrong responsibilities and made wrong decisions, and they did so at an enormous cost to the bank.

But this is the bank's money that's been lost, billions of it. And it's JPMorgan's shareholders who will rightly be furious.

Yes, there is an argument that some banks are too big to fail, that they've had Fed money, that they've been propped up by the central banks, and therefore there is a public policy issue. But everybody I've spoken to today, Suzanne, says this is JPMorgan's stupidity and it's JPMorgan's shareholders that will bear the brunt.

MALVEAUX: So JPMorgan also talked about the fact that they posted almost a $5 billion second quarter profit. How did that actually happen?

QUEST: Well, imagine you've taken a bet. Basically this -- imagine you've taken a bet but it's not just a bet. It's an open ended bet -- one where if things get worse you stand to lose more money.

Now, the other side is if they get better you make more money, but it's never ending. Here is what happened to JPMorgan and this is where it gets really interesting. Back in April, when JPMorgan said the problem they had, everybody else in the market suddenly knew that JPMorgan was virtually naked. They could work out what their position was, what the market was, where they stood, and being the financial markets where frankly you prey on the weak and they are tomorrow's lunch, they went after them.

And what I'm hearing from people is as soon as the other banks realized how Morgan was standing in the market after they had to reveal the barest -- remember Jamie Dimon refused to give details. He wouldn't say anymore.

MALVEAUX: Right.

QUEST: He kept saying, for good reason, his competitors al around him were working out what he was doing and literally preparing to eat his lunch.

And that is one of the reasons because they have been forcing the market in a particular way and it's one of the reasons why the losses have swelled.

MALVEAUX: Richard, tell me one thing. These losses are largely stemming from this London trader nick named the London Whale. Can you tell us about what this, if it has an impact on the European banks and businesses?

QUEST: No. No, again, you know, this is a -- this was a strategy by the bank's admission. It was poorly policy. It was poorly executed. It was poorly -- poor risk management.

The London whale is believed to have gone. In fact, if you look at what they say today -- everybody who was involved has been severed. They use that nice little term of art. Not only that they're not getting any compensation.

And here's the interesting bit: They're hoping to do a two-year claw back on any bonuses that they may have got. And this was a wholesale incompetent, negligent piece of banking which Jamie Dimon admitted as such. And, frankly, he probably has to take some of the blame, too, because the firm management, as it's called, didn't do the necessary oversight -- although perhaps to his credit they were getting assurances from people underneath that things were OK.

MALVEAUX: All right. Richard, thanks for breaking it down for us. Have a great weekend.

Here's more of what we are working on for this hour of NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL:

He once was George Bush's top spy and director of the super secret National Security Agency and could read your license plate from thousands of miles away. Now removed from the government, he is working on the challenges that fragile and failed countries pose for the international community. An exclusive interview with the former CIA director, General Michael Hayden.

Plus, the pride of the USA decked out in uniforms made in China. One lawmaker says we should take these Olympic uniforms and burn them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: All right. Some consider it a scandal. The United States athletes going to London competing in the Olympic Games head to toe in uniforms made in China.

Listen to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. He is beside himself on this point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: I am so upset that I think the Olympic Committee should be ashamed of themselves. I think they should be embarrassed. I think they should take all of the uniforms, put them in a big pile and burn them, and start all over again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: All right. Michael Holmes from CNN International, you and I just did this during the break. My dress? China.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

MALVEAUX: My watch, Switzerland. My shoes, Thailand.

Where are your clothes from?

HOLMES: Slovenia. Not made in China. Made in Slovenia. I'll have you know. Who knew? (INAUDIBLE) just found out.

MALVEAUX: What is the big deal here?

HOLMES: Look, it's a PR blunder, right? It's the American Olympic team going off to the Olympics in London should be dressed in American -- sorry. It's free market economy at work. This is globalization. This is what you get when you have a team that is privately sponsored by Ralph Lauren in this case.

They're going to go like all businesses do for the cheap place to make the clothes and that's all about that profit, isn't it?

MALVEAUX: The Olympic Committee is defending the company and saying, look, you know, this is not like the government decided we're going to sponsor the Olympics and the outfits, that type of thing.

HOLMES: Yes.

MALVEAUX: What do you make of what the athletes -- I mean, how they feel about this, the fact that this is caught up in patriotism and pride?

HOLMES: Others are quite stoic about it and saying, you know, it is a bit of a mix. But, yes, a lot of them are saying, you know, thanks, China. I think one of them said.

You know, the interesting thing when I started looking into this, I'm Australian. Australia's Olympic uniforms? Made in China.

MALVEAUX: Made in China?

HOLMES: And it doesn't end there. New Zealand's were designed in Italy and made partly in Turkey, Italy, and China. The British uniforms is sponsored by Adidas, which is German. And according to some elements of the British press were made in Indonesian sweat shops.

So, we're not the only ones out there. But, you know, I remember it wasn't that long ago there were miniature statutes at the Smithsonian of American presidents that were made in China. We buy cheap Chinese goods because we like cheap Chinese stuff.

And this is sort of a symptom of that. Ralph Lauren goes to where he can get it made cheap.

MALVEAUX: There was an athlete who spoke out about this, an Olympic swimmer, Dara Torres. She said she'd like to see the uniforms made in the United States. I think we have that sound. Let's play that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARA TORRES, OLYMPIC SWIMMER: You know, we all want to see the global economy do well, but here in the U.S. the economy isn't too good either. So, you know, wearing the U.S. uniform going out there representing the United States, it would be nice if it was actually made in the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Michael, was there anything they can do at this point? I mean, Ralph Lauren, you know, Harry Reid is calling them to burn it. I don't think that's going to happen.

HOLMES: The games are like a week and a half off. You have to go do some quick measuring of a bunch of unusually sized athletes, wouldn't you, to get the clothes whipped up in no time. And you probably have to get them overseas to get done in that time.

Look, it is a PR blunder. Wouldn't it be terrific if it was made here? You know, the U.S. trade deficit with China has gone up 18 percent since 2008. And that's going back to last years were the most recent figures.

You know, we keep buying -- you know, textiles, clothes, shoes in the U.S. are up 50 percent from China. So we buy this stuff. You know?

MALVEAUX: Yes, we do. We support it.

Maybe next, after next four years. Maybe next go round they'll think it through. A little forethought.

HOLMES: I think they will. The PR damage that really does here -- there are economic realities and we like a free market economy. Well, this is what happens. But, yes, it's just not great PR, is it?

MALVEAUX: No. Whatever we're wearing we're going to kick some --

HOLMES: Slovenia.

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: USA.

All right. Thank you, Michael.

HOLMES: Good to see you.

MALVEAUX: It's Friday. Probably ready for a nice getaway after a long week at work. I know I am. Well, we have got a list of the world's best hotels from here in the United States all the way to Tanzania.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Welcome back to NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL, where we take you around the world in 60 minutes.

On the music scene here's what's back blowing up in Germany.

(MUSIC VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Coming in at number one this week, it's (INAUDIBLE), singing their hit song (INAUDIBLE), which translates to "Days Like This." The band singing about 30 years together now.

And this hour we want to take you around the world for the best look at places you can vacation and get the most for your money.

Joining us from New York, a world class traveler, Nilou Motamed. She is features director from "Travel + Leisure" magazine.

You've got the best job. How did you get that? That's really sweet.

NILOU MOTAMED, FEATURES DIRECTOR, TRAVEL + LEISURE: It's pretty good job, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Sweet.

MOTAMED: Thank you so much for having me. It is a sweet job. I love to travel. What can I say?

MALVEAUX: We all love to travel. Fantastic.

Give us a little sense here, you're talking about the current issue of "Travel + Leisure", readers rating choices, their choices for best hotels in the world. And you're looking at rooms, locations, service, food, value.

What do you got?

MOTAMED: It is our 17th Annual World's Best Awards. As you said, our readers tell us their favorites around the world. These are globetrotters. They know their stuff.

And so, when they speak, we listen.

MALVEAUX: So what do we know? What are some of the results of these trends?

MOTAMED: Well, one thing we've really found which we love, the idea of looking at trends and seeing what people want to do. They are people are looking for experiences. They are looking for things that feel authentic. And they want to live a little bit on the wild side.

So our first winner is an incredible safari lodge in Tanzania. It's the Grumeti Reserve. I wore an animal print to celebrate it.

And, you know, this is -- people -- going on safari is a trip of a lifetime and this incredible property is really an experience of a lifetime. Not only do you get world class guides. You get to be in a 350,000 acre private reserve. You get tons of animal sightings. So much that you need to take multiple memory cards so you can take so many pictures.

The setting is incredible. The hotel itself is beautiful. The tented camps are some of my favorites. It feels like they're fitted out for royalty.

MALVEAUX: Wow. Royalty. What about number two?

MOTAMED: Well, number two is also great and this is closer to home. This is in Darby, Montana, in the Bitterroot Mountains. The Triple Creek Ranch. This is number two world's best hotel according to our readers.

What the readers love about this is the fact that they can really get outside and enjoy that beautiful rocky mountain nature. You can fly cast, you can do every kind of activity you can imagine even going around by helicopter.

But you can also do something with the chef and learn to cook some local -- maybe something you've caught. There are only about 23 cabins so it is very intimate, very charming, and very lux.

MALVEAUX: It looks gorgeous. It looks quite remote as well.

What's number three?

MOTAMED: Number three is the Southern Ocean Lodge. This is in Kangaroo Island in Australia. Now, it's named for the beautiful, adorable kangaroos there. But you're just going to see kangaroos, you're going to see koalas. You're going to see fairy penguins.

This is really an incredible, very eco-friendly place. It was just built a couple of years ago, and this really changed the -- the game changer on this island, because there's really not much else on the island. It's only about eight miles from the mainland and from Adelaide -- half hour flight from Adelaide. But you feel like you're a world away.

And this hotel really gives you extreme access to nature but also with Wi-Fi and 500 thread count sheets. So, a little bit of both worlds and I like that.

MALVEAUX: Love it. Luxury. Lap of luxury.

Number four, what's number four?

MOTAMED: Well, lap of luxury is this hotel in Rajasthan, the Oberoi Udaivilas. Now, Oberoi is synonymous with luxury. And if you're thinking about going to India, I think going to Rajasthan is a great primer.

This is a great place for someone to go o know a honeymoon. It looks like you're in the middle of a fairy tale palace. Your incredible experience starts at the airport where they pick you up and take you by boat to the hotel.

This is a place where you can get private yoga lessons with their on site yogi. You are really, when you say lap of luxury, this is exactly it, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Nilou, are these affordable? Or you have to earn a lot of money and save up for long time to get to one these hotels.

MOTAMED: I think these are definitely hotels that you do want to go for a special experience. We don't call it affordable. We say they have a great value for money. What they offer in terms of the services and experiences you get is definitely worth the money. But these ain't cheap for sure.

MALVEAUX: OK. A special experience. Special occasion.

Thanks, Nilou. Good to see you. Have a great weekend.

MOTAMED: Nice to see you. Thank you.

MALVEAUX: Fast food. Lack of exercise and your jeans. We all know that these can lead to diabetes. But do you know which country has the most diabetics? It is not the United States.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Welcome back to NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL. We take you around the world in 60 minutes.

We all know that diabetes is a serious disease that can have deadly complications. But what you might not know is that it is striking people in one country far more frequently than anywhere else. And we are talking about India.

More than 62 million people there are diabetic. Now, you compare that to the United States where less than half that number have diabetes. There is another disturbing trend. Indians are often diagnosed in their 20s. That is 20 to 30 years younger than most Americans develop the disease.

Charles Mattocks is a celebrity chef known for making $7 meals. You might recognize him from "The Dr. Oz Show." He is also a filmmaker and his documentary "The Diabetic You" has just wrapped up shooting in India.

Charles, nice to see you in the house.

CHARLES MATTOCKS, CHEF & FILMMAKER: Glad to be back.

MALVEAUX: Yes, very good to see you. Tell us a little bit about what you found in India.

MATTOCKS: Well, India is a very beautiful country and the film that is based on my life with diabetes. I'm going across the country and the world.

MALVEAUX: You are diabetic as well.

MATTOCKS: I am diabetic. I'm type 2 diabetic. I wanted to go to India to see what the rest of the world was experiencing. Why diabetes is so rampant in India.

Actually just last year it was only 50 million people with diabetes, so you're talking about a 12-person increase in just a year.

So, unfortunately, India is experiencing growth and, of course, because of the Western population and Western influences such as fast foods, burger king, our influences, it's spreading to India. So the foods are very rich in sugar, very rich in milk and very rich in other things that allow -- I gained probably two to three pounds, probably five pounds while I was there myself.

Here I'm going to India to talk about why people have diabetes and I gain weight.

So, and then of course exercise, diet, things like that. It is an older -- a lot of the doctors are older doctors and some of the things they're pushing are meds first. That's one of the missions I was truly on because when I was diagnosed, the first thing they try to do is give me some medication and I thought, wow. There had to be another way.

So what I wanted to do was kind of get out here and find out.

MALVEAUX: Sure.

MATTOCKS: How people are living. What other ways are there to fight diabetes especially type 2 diabetes? And it's been an unbelievable journey. We've traveled around the country. We're going to be going to Dubai. We're going to be going to China, which is the second largest population of diabetics and it's just been an unbelievable experience.

MALVEAUX: Tell me about what you found. I understand that they are -- they're diagnosed much later. They're living with diabetes and they don't find out until later in life. Is that right?

MATTOCKS: Well, even in America there are over 54 million people who are prediabetic. There are over 7 million so-called undiagnosed diabetics. The thing is - and a lot of people think that because you're skinny they can't have diabetes so they don't go get checked.

MALVEAUX: Right.

MATTOCKS: A lot of people are walking around and think they're healthy. I thought I was healthy. That's just the thing we try to stress is that early detection, early prevention. If you find out then there are ways you can combat diabetes without having to get on medication and do all the other stuff. Because unfortunately, it's not we'll wean you of medication as you go. It's -- you're going to eventually increase the medication as you go. Some of the things they're trying to do in India is natural foods. Eating, changing the diet. I've met doctors, even doctors in India who lost 40, 50, 60 pounds and were able to reverse the diabetes in a sense. And it brought down the cholesterol and, see, diabetes is a symptom. And diabetes brings liver disease. 80 percent of diabetics die from heart disease. The No. 1 cause of amputation. No. 1 cause of blindness. So it's a very serious disease that we really have to combat. It's a pandemic.

MALVEAUX: Obviously you know what you're talking about. You look great. I know you're doing something right there.

MATTOCKS: You trying to flirt with me?

MALVEAUX: Am I? did it work?

MATTOCKS: It did work. I'm easy.

MALVEAUX: What is your next visit?

MATTOCKS: Well, I'm going to be here in Atlanta. I'm doing a new radio show called the Healthy Dish. I'm working with FitMed Wellnes. We're doing corporate wellness now getting ready to get a new RV and tour the country and be the first RV to test people for diabetes all across the country. Of course I'm working on a new cookbook with the American Diabetes Association. And we're just taking the world by storm here.

MALVEAUX: You are. Good to have you.

MATTOCKS: Thank you so much.

MALVEAUX: Thank you.

MATTOCKS: All right.

MALVEAUX: Former president George W. Bush made him America's top spy and he headed up the super secret National Security Agency to follow your every move. Well now who is he watching? we'll find out in an exclusive interview. General Michael Hayden up next live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Two American tourists and their guide were kidnapped today in Egypt's Sinai region. Officials say the kidnappers want authorities to release a relative who is in detention in Alexandria on drug charges. Americans have been targeted by kidnappers several times this year. In February two tourists were kidnapped and released. The same thing happened in June to two others. Well, today we are learning just how bad off some of the most fragile countries are in the world. Details were just released by the fund for peace and foreign policy magazine in what they called their failed states index. It's a snap shot of social, economic, and political development of every country on the planet. Once again the most fragile countries are in Africa with Somalia and the Democratic republic of the Congo in the worst shape. They are followed by some familiar countries, Sudan, Afghanistan, Haiti, Yemen, Iraq, and Pakistan. Experts say that their instability is having an impact on the rest of us. Retired Air Force general Michael Hayden spent several years leading the national security agency then became America's top spy when president George W. Bush made him the director of the CIA. Now he is working with the fragile states strategy group in Washington. General Hayden is also a foreign policy adviser to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Good to see you again, general. Give us a sense -- first of all we are rebuilding Iraq. We are nation building in Afghanistan. Why isn't the U.S. involved in some of these failed African nations?

GENERAL THOMAS HAYDEN, FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE CIA: Why aren't we involved?

MALVEAUX: Yes.

HAYDEN: Actually there is some work being done by the United States. Several years back we created a new command called Africa Command designed to help us focus some of our resources in this region not for combat purposes but for what we in the military call shaping and what we would call in the fund for peace we'd call it putting the right kind of assistance in the right place at the right time. These failing states, these states under stress aren't real security problems for us at some point in the future.

MALVEAUX: Which states are a security risk to the United States?

HAYDEN: Well, frankly, Suzanne, I thought it most striking. If you look at the list you just iterated there, if you look at the top 13, five of them are safe havens for al Qaeda. Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen. So there is a case right there as to why it's in the American national security interest to pay some attention to these circumstances in these kinds of states.

MALVEAUX: What about Haiti? what about Sudan? Is there a need for the United States to get involved in those failed states, in those countries that we do not have a significant presence?

HAYDEN: Right. No, in Sudan there are moral compelants and you've seen very prominent Americans like George Clooney and others trying to call attention to the human catastrophe going on there. Haiti is closer to home. You have both a human dimension to the problem but you would also have serious migration issues across the Caribbean into the southern United States if Haiti collapsed as a state. So this is all intertwined. Our moral and geo strategic interests sometimes merge together.

MALVEAUX: Can we afford to ignore some of these countries? Because clearly it looks like when you talk about societies that are breaking down - they can't feed their own people that there are security risks that develop as well.

HAYDEN: No. That's the point of the failed state index. Look, as you mentioned, I was the director of the CIA and I have to tell you, Suzanne, on most days the urgent push the important off the page. An index like this gives us a moment or two to reflect on what's important and what we have to pay attention to even though it might not be physically, visibly crying out for attention right now. By the way, this does not always require massive investment. Very often it's just a little prudence. A little investment in time and energy. A little coalition building. A little concern. Use of what's now popularly described as smart power so that at some point later we aren't forced to use hard power to defend ourselves and our citizens.

MALVEAUX: General, while we have you here, obviously someone who's been in the intelligence business as you have with your experience, you look at what is taking place in Syria today. Nearly 300 people killed just yesterday. Do you believe that our administration needs to do more, is doing all it can in terms of collecting intelligence and trying to support the opposition and prevent the blood shed?

HAYDEN: Suzanne, this looks like even from the outside this looks like the problem from hell. I don't think anyone in or out of the administration believes what it is we're doing now, is or will be sufficient. So I fear we and other members, responsible members of the international community are going to face some very difficult choices because right now we have stasis between the government and the opposition at a horrific level of violence and that just can't be sustained.

MALVEAUX: What would you recommend if you were in that position today?

HAYDEN: Well, first of all as an intelligence officer, I'd get to know the opposition very, very well. Who are these folks so we can have some reasonable confidence that what follows the Assad regime isn't as bad or even worse. Frankly, I'm a little troubled right now, Suzanne. This is a bit - the Assad regime against the Sunni's and other groups in Syria are still on the sideline. The Kurds for one, the Christians, the Drus. That would trouble me that this has the earmarks of a sectarian conflict in addition to being one between Democrats and Autocrats. Caution is warranted here but frankly, I think, over time we're going to see ourselves and our friends take more bold action.

MALVEAUX: General, do you think we should be militarily involved and have boots on the ground? Any military?

HAYDEN: I would be very reluctant to recommend that. I would be a voice of caution if I were at that table in the situation room fully realizing that circumstances may make our choices very few indeed and none of them being the kinds we would desire.

MALVEAUX: General Michael Hayden thank you for your expertise and input. Really appreciate that. Good seeing you an always.

HAYDEN: Thank you.

MALVEAUX: The report on the failed states pretty comprehensive covering every country. If you want to read the entire report on fund for peace it is on their website at fund for peace.org.

Doctors in Cuba are fighting cholera infections and for the first time the Cuban government allowed cameras inside the hospital where that outbreak started.

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MALVEAUX: Welcome back to newsroom international where we take you around the world in 60 minutes. Cuba is dealing with a deadly outbreak of cholera. It is the first outbreak of a disease there in more than a century. CNN's Patrick Oppmann, he is the only journalist allowed to go inside the hospitals at the epicenter of this crisis.

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PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At this hospital in the Cuban town of Manzanillo , three patients arrive complaining of stomach ailments. But doctors here are on the lookout for something far more deadly. A rare outbreak of cholera. Alis Neal shows some of the symptoms.

ALIS NEAL (through translator): This morning, I was waiting for the bus and I threw up twice. So I came running here.

OPPMANN: So far, el evento , as it's called here, has claimed at least three lives and sickened over 110 people with cholera, doctors say. Many more people suffer from cases of severe diarrhea.

For the first time, the Cuban government allowed cameras inside the hospitals at the epicenter of the outbreak, and for doctors to tell their stories to CNN.

DR. JULIO CESAR FONSECA, HOSPITAL DIRECTOR (through translator): The first day, five patients came, and then eight. That's not normal that five people would come with the same symptoms. The most critical days were when there were 30 to 32 patients that arrived in a single day.

OPPMANN: Cholera is a waterborne disease that is usually not fatal if treated. It was believed to have been eradicated in Cuba. But Cuban doctors say a hot and wet summer here set the stage for cholera's return.

OPPMANN (on camera): Unusually heavy rainfall flooded these people's farmlands and contaminated their wells. That's how the first outbreak of cholera in Cuba in over a century began.

OPPMANN (voice-over): To halt cholera's spread here, the government has closed contaminated wells and is trucking in drinking water, shuttered food stands that could spread the illness. Temporarily banned, fishing and swimming in waters that may be contaminated.

Dr. Manuel Santin Pena treated patients with cholera in Haiti, is part of a Cuban medical mission there. He says doctors here are gaining the upper hand on Cuba's much smaller cholera outbreak.

DR. MANUEL SANTIN PENA, CUBAN NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF EPIDEMIOLOGY (through translator): The number of cases is evidently dropping. That doesn't make us confident so much as make us intensify all of our preventative measures so that in the next few weeks we can stop the outbreak.

OPPMANN: An outbreak that Alis Neal hopes she can avoid. After speaking to us, she was admitted to the hospital. Cholera tests could take seven to 10 days to come back. A nerve-racking wait as Cuba again battles a killer disease.

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MALVEAUX: Patrick Oppmann, he is joining us now from Havana.

And, Patrick, the people in the capital, are they now worried that this outbreak could actually spread there?

OPPMANN: You know, there is concern, Suzanne, because you'd think this outbreak, which is in a very remote area, if it were to reach a much more populated area, like Havana, where there are many foreign tourists who, of course, would then return to their home countries, that would just be a much, much bigger problem. Cuban doctors are confident that's not going to happen. And yesterday, as we were driving back -- it's about a 14-hour drive to these affected areas -- as we were coming back on the roads, we saw several checkpoints where they're stopping cars, stopping buses, checking people for any symptoms to make sure they don't travel out of the outbreak areas. But, you know, Suzanne, as Cuban doctors told us, until they reach every single person who has cholera in Cuba, the outbreak here will continue.

MALVEAUX: And do they feel that they have this under control now or is this something that they are still very concerned about?

OPPMANN: They're very concerned. They say that the number of cases is dropping. That the preventative measures that they're taking is showing real effects. So they feel that the tide has been turned. But again, this disease kills millions of people every year. It's killed a relatively few number in Cuba and doctors here are hoping to keep it that way.

MALVEAUX: All right. Patrick Oppmann, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

Tattoo checks becoming more common if you're applying for a visa in the United States. Now a man in Mexico says his body art stopped him from visiting his own family.

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MALVEAUX: A man from Mexico thought he was going to be able to visit his wife's family in Texas, right? But when he got to the border, he was denied a visa, all because of his tattoo. That's right. Take a look at this. It seems he had a tattoo on his back which law enforcement officials say drug cartel members idolize. I want to bring in Rafael Romo who's been covering this.

And this sounds kind of strange really because his wife is an American citizen and he's just trying to visit the family and he gets stopped by his tat. Why?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Yes, it should be a very straight forward case based on the fact that he's married to an American citizen, he has three children who are American citizens. But when he goes to the appointment for his interview to get his residency based on the fact that he's married to an American citizen, officials notice that he has this particular tattoo, which is, as you mentioned it before, it's santa muerte in Spanish, "holy death." And that is a tattoo that Mexican drug cartels idolize. It's the tattoo that the criminal underworld in Mexico -- it is very prevalent. And so based on that, his application was denied.

Now, we've spoken with his attorney and he also spoke with one of our affiliates and he says his client, Jose Renarldo Reaz , 28 years old, a mechanic, is not a criminal and he just enjoys tattoo art. Let's listen to what he had to say.

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LANCE CURTRIGHT, IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY: Our clients adamantly deny any gang affiliation. The tattoo is just a way to express themselves. But the council nevertheless is holding the case up while they investigate.

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ROMO: Now we also reached to the State Department about this case. They don't generally go into specific cases. They don't talk about individual cases. But this is what they had to say. They said, "as law enforcement professionals have begun to better understand the relationship of certain tattoos to criminal gang membership, more attention has been paid to tattoos as possible indicators of gang affiliation during the visa process." So they're not saying he is a member of a gang, but certainly it was one factor that was considered and he became disqualified.

MALVEAUX: You let us know when you got an update on what happens to this guy, because it's a fascinating case and we're out of time.

ROMO: Absolutely.

MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Rafael.

You know him for his songs, but Lenny Kravitz, he has another side to him that you might not know -- designer.

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MALVEAUX: Lenny Kravitz, Grammy winner, actor, all around cool guy, but he is not well known for his other job, interior designer. Our Alina Cho, she talked to him about his creations and the future of his brand.

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LENNY KRAVETZ, MUSICIAN (singing): American woman, I said get away.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lenny Kravitz -- rock star, actor.

KRAVITZ, ACTOR: I'm here to help you in any way that I can.

CHO: Interior designer? Why not? KRAVITZ, SINGER/DESIGNER: I was always into my environment, you know, even when I was a little kid.

CHO: I sat down with Kravitz at his palatial Paris home. A place he's called home for seven years.

KRAVITZ: There you go.

CHO: The four-story mansion is filled with all of his favorite things -- art by Warhol and Baskiat , a Lucite piano, his four Grammys, photos of his late mother, actress Roxie Roker, and the couch and chandelier he designed.

KRAVITZ: It always made me feel good. It made the music sound better. You know, the lighting was right. Everything was good. I think it just goes hand in hand with everything that I do creatively.

CHO: In 2003, he founded Kravitz Design. A residential, commercial and product design company with a real office in New York, with real workers and real projects.

KRAVITZ: The same way I make my music. It's the same philosophy. I mean I'm very detail oriented. If you put me in a room that's perfect except for one flaw, my eye goes right to the flaw. It's kind of a sickness. You know, my attention to detail. But that's the way I am.

CHO: He's designed condos and hotel suites in Miami, wall tiles, wallpaper, and these chairs for Kartell called Mademoiselle. Something he calls haute couture meets rock and roll.

CHO (on camera): Does one help the other?

KRAVITZ: Yes. Because when I'm doing music, I need a break from music. It doesn't mean I want to stop being creative.

CHO: I mean, how do you keep it all straight? You're talking about tile designs in between gigs?

KRAVITZ: Absolutely. Absolutely. You have to.

CHO (voice-over): And this is just the beginning.

KRAVITZ: Yes, well the plan is to make it a lifestyle brand. That's been, you know, my dream for this company. In the same way, you know, you would see a Ralph Lauren. When people say that they enjoy something or something gives them pleasure, the music, a couch, whatever it may be, it's just a great gift to be able to share something with other people.

KRAVITZ (singing): I've got to go. American woman.

CHO: Alina Cho, CNN, Paris.

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MALVEAUX: Look for Alina's special "Backstage Pass" from Paris tomorrow, July 14th at 2:30 Eastern.

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

India. These folk dancers performed during a travel and tourism fair in Calcutta. Participants from all over the world plan to travel