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Pentagon Considering Plan to Shrink U.S. Troop Presence in Iraq; How Iraqi Forces' Training is Coming Along; Jordan's King Abdullah Orders Changes to Focus on Security; Opinions from Lebanese Youth on the Middle East; Stem Cell Research Pioneer Resigns over Ethical Violations; Recap of Thanksgiving Day Parade; Changes in Morocco's Social System; Middle East Enjoys American Pop Culture; Never-Published Princess Diana Photos in London

Aired November 24, 2005 - 12:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Car bombers strike in Iraq. More civilian lives cut down in a pressing insurgency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, the reason I ask the question and the reason I'm hard on these things is because I want these soldiers to survive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: A revealing look at U.S. efforts to prepare Iraq's military in the quest for security.

HOLMES: And a new prime minister for Jordan. A major shakeup following a major terrorist strike.

8:00 p.m. in Baghdad. It is noon in Washington, D.C.

Hello, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes.

VERJEE: And I'm Zain Verjee.

A warm welcome to our viewers throughout the world and in the United States. This is CNN International, and this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

HOLMES: Welcome everyone.

Insurgents detonate a car bomb just outside a hospital in Iraq in a region nicknamed the Triangle of Death. And another bomb hits a crowded marketplace south of Baghdad.

VERJEE: The attacks come amid a raging debate in Washington over pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq. And now U.S. military officials say under certain conditions they may recommend troop reductions next year.

HOLMES: More details now on the insurgent attacks ahead of the December elections.

A car bomb ripping through a market in the town of Hilla, south of the Iraqi capital. At least three people were killed, 13 were wounded.

Earlier, as many as 30 people were killed in a car bombing outside a hospital in Mahmoudiya. The U.S. military is calling that attack a suicide bombing. It happened as U.S. soldiers were visiting the hospital to look at ways to improve it.

Elsewhere in Baghdad, three Iraqis security officials were gunned down in separate attacks. Two inside their cars, another outside his home.

VERJEE: The Pentagon is considering plans to shrink the U.S. troop presence in Iraq, but defense officials say it all depends on certain conditions in the country.

Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): If the December elections go well in Iraq and the violence declines, and Iraqi security forces take more responsibility, then U.S. military commanders may recommend a significant reduction in the number of U.S. forces in Iraq for next year. But as the violence continues, withdrawing troops is a careful calculation.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is optimistic.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: I expect that the American forces are not going to be need in the numbers that they're there for all that much longer.

STARR: Top military commanders are more cautious.

LT. GEN. JOHN VINES, COMMANDER, MULTINATIONAL FORCE, IRAQ: I believe ultimately the stability of the government and its ability to support its security forces and provide for the basic functions of governance is the greatest long-term challenge.

STARR: There are about 155,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. About 20,000 are expected to leave shortly after the December elections.

CNN has confirmed that military commanders have drafted an option to gradually reduce levels to about 100,000 over the next year, with perhaps 10,000 troops on standby in Kuwait. But one official warned it's an extremely bold scenario. He says it's "... foolhardy to think we are just going to pack up our tents and head for Kuwait."

Any withdrawal will be gradual, commanders say.

Senior military officials are said to be increasingly concerned that the debate about troop levels will begin to hurt troop morale and worry military family members. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is making it clear he will not endorse a timetable for a withdrawal. It will all depend on what is happening on the ground.

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: If you put yourself in the shoes of the terrorists, if they get to believe that all they have to do is wait because we're going to pull out precipitously, then something enormously valuable has been lost.

(on camera): So far, the violence has not significantly eased. Those more sophisticated improvised explosive devices that were first seen in southern Iraq several weeks ago are now appearing in larger numbers and in new locations, including Baghdad.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: The U.S. ambassador to Iraq says the military is working very hard to train Iraqis to look after their own security. But Zalmay Khalilzad says that will take a while.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZALMAY KHALILZAD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: There is some number of Iraqi forces that can do everything on their own: fight, plan for fight, logistics, communication, all. Substantial numbers of Iraqis need still U.S. help. And the total number of Iraqis, police and army, now is over 200,000.

Of those, a small portion can do everything on their own. A major portion still needs U.S. help. And increasingly, however, our role will be to reduce direct combat role and to increase our support for the Iraqis, with the Iraqis in the lead in the fight against insurgents and the terrorists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE: Our Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson went behind the scenes with Iraqi forces. And he brings us this firsthand look at how their training's coming along.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LT. COL. ROSS BROWN, U.S. ARMY: When did he last clean his weapon?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): A revealing look inside the Iraqi army.

BROWN: That's the answer. But look at that weapon. What did he clean it with?

ROBERTSON: Inside, Lieutenant Colonel Ross Brown's daily battle -- getting an Iraqi army unit ready to fight alongside U.S. soldiers.

BROWN: Yes, tell him -- tell him -- look.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes?

BROWN: The reason I ask the questions, the reason I'm hard on these things is because I want these soldiers to survive.

ROBERTSON: Brown's mission is not easy. The Iraqi officers he's mentoring are not shaping up fast.

BROWN: They didn't do too much work yesterday. They didn't do too much work the day before. They haven't done too much work since they've been here.

ROBERTSON: Sixty miles north, this Iraqi Army officer, Colonel Thear, is about as close to a hero for U.S. troops as an Iraqi can become.

COL. STEVEN SALAZAR, U.S. ARMY: He is an outstanding leader and he is just simply a patriot.

ROBERTSON: So which is the real face of the Iraqi Army -- under- prepared and underperforming or dedicated and on the verge of breaking through?

GEN. MARTIN DEMPSEY, MULTINATIONAL SECURITY COMMAND: Progress is uneven. And it's uneven across the country. It's uneven in units. It's uneven between the Army and the police.

ROBERTSON: Of the 212,000 men and women in the security forces, almost 100,000 are in the Army. Of those, only about 23,000 are battle-ready. That's 30 out of a total of 130 battalions.

According to Dempsey, getting the rebuilding right, making the Iraqi Army strong and cohesive, is more important than rushing training.

DEMPSEY: What we're looking to produce is something that will actually be fully capable and last, and will be something that is an institution of national cohesion as opposed to, you know, 212,000 men and women running around with rifles.

ROBERTSON: Colonel Thear is one of the battle ready battalion commanders. He has taken over from U.S. troops in his area, but lacks even an up-armored Humvee. He is at level two readiness.

COL. ISMAEL THEAR, IRAQI ARMY: We told coalition forces just, we need like support. Still, you know, Iraq Army soldiers don't have helicopter.

ROBERTSON: Level one readiness means no support from U.S. forces required, and that's still hard to find.

DEMPSEY: And I don't know what the particular number today is on level one. But...

ROBERTSON: In the latest offensive, Operation Steel Curtain, close to the Syrian border, 3,000 U.S. Marines led the way, with 550 Iraqi troops mostly bringing up the rear.

Developing the Iraqi Army to this point has been hampered by Iraq's changing political leadership, according to Dempsey. Despite that, he's confident they are on track, as planned.

DEMPSEY: And I am going to get it done in the way that -- that we have agreed is right, and I'm not going to be pressured by the -- what is necessarily a, at the end of the day, probably a healthy debate back in Washington.

ROBERTSON (on camera): Ready or not, the Iraqi Army is coming under increasing pressure to take control. The current recruitment plan expires in the summer of 2007. Likely by then, the Iraqi Army will be standing more alone than it is today.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Employees of the Arabic news network Al-Jazeera are protesting a recent report by a British newspaper. In the story, London's "Daily Mirror" says the United States allegedly planned to bomb the network's headquarters in Doha, Qatar.

The White House vehemently denies the report, calling it outlandish.

Well, the network is demanding investigations into bombing in Iraq and Afghanistan which did hit its facilities. Al-Jazeera has also been asking for the release of a cameraman in prison at the U.S. military facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

VERJEE: Still ahead here on YOUR WORLD TODAY...

HOLMES: Our eye is on the Middle East, and our coverage of that continues. The latest, a major shakeup in the Jordanian government.

Stay with us for that and much, much more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: Welcome back. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

HOLMES: Indeed it is, an hour of world news right here on CNN International.

VERJEE: Now, today's our fourth day of focusing on the changes and the events shaping the Middle East.

VERJEE: That's right. We're going to turn our focus now to Jordan.

King Abdullah has ordered sweeping changes in his own government to underscore his commitment to making security a priority.

Our own Hala Gorani is in Amman, Jordan, joins us now with details.

Surprise? Not a surprise? Expected?

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A reshuffle was expected, Michael, but a complete overhaul of the magnitude that we saw today perhaps not as expected.

We know that the prime minister-designate, Marouf al-Bakhit, somebody who is seen as being capable of dealing with the security concerns that this country now faces after the terrorist bombings on November 9.

Now, the choice of Bakhit emphasizes the role security will play in the new government. He's a former ambassador to Israel, he's a military man. He was the president of a university that forms military officers, and police officers as well.

Now, we're hearing from government sources that the new government -- the shape of the new government might be announced tomorrow, although some others are saying that we'll have to wait until after Sunday.

So this, of course, is something that was expected, as we said. But the magnitude of it, a little surprising -- Michael.

HOLMES: All right. Hala Gorani, thanks very much for that -- Zain.

VERJEE: Michael, as we keep our "Eye on the Middle East," we're going to go live now to Beirut, where Jim Clancy is monitoring the pulse of the Lebanese youth. And he joins us now with some perspective -- Jim.

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Zain.

Well, we're here. This is American University of Beirut. It's about 150 years old. Some think that it is one of the most important symbols, this whole American University system across the Middle East one of the most important factors for the people of the United States right now in trying to get people to understand one another.

But this is a university, make no mistake, where there's real U.S. studies in economics, in political science, mathematics. All kinds of different topics taking in 7,000 Lebanese students, mostly, about 80 percent of them.

Just some of the famous names of people who went here, Hanan Ashwari, the eloquent spokesperson for the Palestinians; Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq. Who's another one? Fouad Siniora, of course, the prime minister of Lebanon right now.

So you can see that this is an important university in the life of Lebanon.

And important also in the life of Lebanon, economics right now. So we are joined by an economics major. She's going to graduate this year. She's only 19 years old, which means she's pretty smart.

You've studied up there, Joumanna Nasr.

Jimana (ph), for the young people here, especially the graduating seniors, it is an issue. Economics is a problem because you've got to get a job and it's not that easy.

JOUMANNA NASR, UNIVERSITY STUDENT: Yes, definitely. I mean, there's definitely a wave. Like, if you could say, a (INAUDIBLE) of students my age that are traveling abroad to seek opportunities abroad, not in Lebanon.

CLANCY: All right. How much you learned in economics class. What's the cause of that?

NASR: There are many causes. Like, economically, you could say that the demand for labor is low, which would make the relative wage in Lebanon be very low compared to abroad. So I mean, you have an opportunity of going abroad and getting a higher wage than most people my age would.

CLANCY: But how about politics? How about security?

NASR: Definitely politics is involved. I mean, you have to focus on creating a system that has more transparency, that is more of a merit-based system, where people are promoted and given jobs based on their actual credentials, not on who you know or who you are related to. I think that's more or less a problem over here in Lebanon. I mean, corruption is rampant. So...

CLANCY: All right. With all of those things, you need some political change as well in order to bring that in, to get that transparency.

I listened to the politicians here this week in Lebanon. It seems like they are all promising that.

How do you hold them accountable? I mean, do you study that, too?

NASR: I mean, yes, of course. You have to study the implications. I mean, when they promise something, you have to...

CLANCY: You don't believe them?

NASR: No. I mean, like one year, two years down the line, you have to make sure that they've actually gone ahead and executed what they -- what they promise. And I think -- I mean, with the whole new changes that are happening -- and I'm -- honestly, I'm very optimistic. And I think that it's up to us as the new generation to guarantee that the situation will change in the future so that students my age will have lots of job opportunities around Lebanon.

CLANCY: Joumanna Nasr, I want to thank you very much for joining us here.

It's kind of part of "Eye on the Middle East." Love your campus here at AUB.

Zain and Michael, I'm going to toss it back to you right now. You have any questions?

VERJEE: Yes, lots, Jim. Let me -- I'll start.

As you've been speaking to the students there, what are their attitudes towards the United States?

CLANCY: Well, I think they have mixed attitudes. A lot of people are appreciative of what they see as a -- you know, the leadership role that the U.S. has taken on human rights and other issues. But at the same time, they see contradictions between what Washington says and what Washington does.

Primary among that they'll tell you is the Israeli-Palestinian issue. They'll also tell you that they disagree with the invasion of Iraq.

They are concerned about the Middle East. They are concerned about the security of their country. As we just heard, it could cost them their job. They are worried about that.

But they also see that they need some of what the U.S. is talking about, some of that democracy and transparency in order to get things working here.

HOLMES: Jim, I'll jump in there. You and I both know Lebanon's a very open sort of society in terms of the lifestyle, the night life, the restaurants, the general verve of the place. But it's also a country that has its own political problems.

Are you detecting as you talk to these students an optimism?

CLANCY: Oh, yes. I think you definitely hear an optimism here.

Right now they are a little bit concerned. You know, Michael, we are on the edge, two weeks away from that Mellis (ph) report.

Syria's withdrawn its troops. But there are tensions between the Lebanese government and the Syrian government. These are two neighbors. Syria much larger than Lebanon, perhaps, much more economically vibrant.

At the same time, both need good relations. And whether -- what's going to happen here when this Mellis (ph) report comes out, some believe that it's going to implicate high-level Syrian security offices, including, perhaps, a relative of President Bashar al-Assad. That could make things here very complicated.

Michael and Zain, back to you.

VERJEE: From Beirut, our colleague here on YOUR WORLD TODAY, Jim Clancy, reporting.

Good job, Jim. Good to see you. HOLMES: All right. Thanks for that.

And we're going to have more from the region a little later in the program.

VERJEE: We're going to take a look at one American export that's becoming increasingly popular there.

So stay with us.

HOLMES: We're going to take a check of what's topping the news in the United States as well. That's up next.

And for the rest of you, a look at business news.

VERJEE: And the toxic situation in China that's left millions without drinking water.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center in Atlanta. More of YOUR WORLD TODAY in a few moments. But first, a look at our top stories.

This breaking story we are following out of Momence, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. It appears as though a train has derailed there. We don't have anymore information on this train derailment, but these are the new pictures coming in.

And this just taking place after last night a metro commuter train collided with a number of vehicles at a crossing station. All this taking place within a 24-hour period. But this being a separate accident, train derailment accident, in Momence, Illinois.

More on that as we get it.

Meantime, in Manhattan, a mishap there at the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The New York Police Department has confirmed that at least two children were injured when a parade balloon -- it appears as though it was the M&Ms balloon -- slammed into a street lamp.

Police say the kids are not seriously injured. It isn't clear if wind played a factor. Macy's is promising a comment later.

Let's check in with Bonnie Schneider in the weather center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Well, President Bush is spending his Thanksgiving Day, like many Americans, having family over and eating a big turkey dinner. The president and Mrs. Bush are spending six days at their Texas ranch. Daughters Barbara and Jenna, who turn 24 tomorrow, are also there, along with former president George H.W. Bush and his wife Barbara.

Today's menu includes free-range turkey and fresh milled cornbread dressing.

Antiwar protesters camping near the Bush ranch won't be eating any turkey today, but instead a traditional Iraqi meal, they say.

Well, this is a working holiday for more than 150,000 U.S. troops on duty in Iraq. The military has brought in thousands of tons of food for the traditional feast. Even in war, and here at CNN we've also tried to help bridge the chasm between duty and Iraq and loved ones back home.

Here's one family's reunion from earlier today on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PFC. MICHAEL WILMOTT, U.S. ARMY: It's tough being away from the family. But being around a lot of good guys, you know, makes this deployment real -- a little bit easier.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: What's your -- what's your schedule like? When do you get to come back home?

WILMOTT: It's up in the air. For me, I'm a little lower on the food chain. So I just go home when they -- when they tell me.

O'BRIEN: And Tiffany, how are you -- how are you managing right now? I mean, as we come up on this time of year and, you know, as Michael said, he's not coming back anytime really soon.

TIFFANY WILMOTT, SOLDIER'S WIFE: It's hard with everything that's going on, his first birthday, my husband's, you know, birthday coming up, Christmas. It's hard, but you just have to take a deep breath and get through it and know that everything's going to be OK. And just live for the best.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right.

More now on a breaking story out of Momence, Illinois. You are looking at live pictures right now of a train derailment.

Apparently, a southbound Union Pacific collided with an eastbound Norfolk Southern. And apparently, there has been some leaking of fuel at that colliding of those trains. And of course investigators are on the scene there trying to figure out just how this happened.

Apparently, it's alcohol that is now being leaked from one of those cars there. That taking place out of Momence, Illinois.

All right. More of YOUR WORLD TODAY right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: A warm welcome back everyone to YOUR WORLD TODAY right here on CNN International. I'm Michael Holmes. VERJEE: And I'm Zain Verjee. Here are some of the top stories we are following. A car bomb ripped through a market in the town of Hilla, south of the Iraqi capital.

At least three people were killed and 13 wounded. Earlier, as many as 30 people were killed in a car bombing outside a hospital in Mahmoudidya, that's just south of Baghdad. The U.S. military is calling it a suicide bombing.

HOLMES: Jordan's King Abdullah has ordered a major shake-up in the government. He appointed a new prime minister and told him to form a new cabinet, after requesting and getting the resignations of the previous government.

The king's choice of national security chief Marouf Al-Bakhit as prime minister, underscores his commitment to security. King Abdullah has urged him to wage an all-out war on Islamic militancy.

VERJEE: A pioneer in stem cell research has resigned his official post, after admitting to ethical violations by his team. Hwang Woo-Suk says two female scientists in his lab donated their own eggs for research. Sohn Jie-Ae has more from Seoul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOHN JIE-AE, CNN SEOUL BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Only months ago South Korean stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-Suk unveiled yet another breakthrough from his laboratory at Seoul National University.

The world's first cloned dog, Snuppy. Hwang won global fame and his creation, Snuppy landed on the cover of "TIME" Magazine as one of the most promising inventions of 2005.

But now, Hwang finds himself in the doghouse. The distraught professor sat down with CNN at two in the morning to shed light on ethical violations in his laboratory.

HWANG WOO-SUK (through translator): It's true that two of my researchers donated their eggs of their free will. I was able to confirm this after May 2004.

JIE-AE: Under international guideline, scientists are discouraged from using employees as donors as a precaution against exploitation. Hwang said he had denied the egg donations because one of the researchers had asked for her privacy to be maintained.

WOO-SUK: But now, looking back, I realize that this will probably be considered my most blatant example of my making the wrong decision.

JIE-AE: Human eggs are need to produce cloned human embryos, which in turn provide human stem cell lines. Possibly providing the cure for such diseases as diabetes or Parkinson's Disease.

Hwang's laboratory is renowned for creating the human stem cells more efficiently than any other. And even making them patient specific, which increases the chance that the newly grown organs will not be rejected.

Even before his announcement, reports of the ethical breach at Hwang's lab had international consequences. A leading U.S. stem cell scientist, Jerrold Shatten (ph) has severed ties with Hwang.

(on camera): To prevent further repercussions and to take responsibility, Hwang has resigned as president of the World Stem Cell hub, an organization he founded to further global cooperation in stem cell research. While he will remain a research at Seoul National, Hwang will take some time off.

WOO-SUK: My current physical and mental condition doesn't allow me to return to research right away. I need time to look back on my past and redesign my future.

JIE-AE (voice-over): South Koreans who treat Hwang has a national hero don't seem to have given up on him. In the past few days, an Internet blog, "I love Hwang," has seen over a hundred offers from women wishing to donate their eggs to his research. But Hwang's troubles may be a wake-up call for ambitious researchers.

ART CAPLAN, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: When this kind of event takes place, I think the scientific community is reminded it isn't just the science and it isn't just the skills of the scientists. You have to lay in an ethics infrastructure that has to permeate the lab, it has to permeate the scientists that you are partnering with.

JIE-AE: And there is anxiety in South Korea that the ethical question surrounding Hwang's work will damage, not only the international reputation of his lab, but the country's growing reputation in cloning research.

SOHN JIE-AE, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: For more on stem cell research, check out our Web site, at CNN.com. Our Web site includes detailed information on the research on the controversy surrounding it.

HOLMES: Well, this is the Thanksgiving Day holiday in the United States. A time for giving thanks, of course, and for enjoying a traditional turkey dinner with family and friends.

U.S. troops in Iraq not missing out completely, at least not on the meal. Kitchen staff dishing out all the usual fare: turkey, ham, mashed potatoes. Banners and colorful displays of turkeys helped bring a little bit of home to the troops.

VERJEE: Another time-honored tradition is Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. The giant balloons used in the New York City parade are meant to float by, but at least two spectators were injured along the parade route when a cable attached to a balloon became entangled with a lamp post.

A woman and an 11-year-old girl were taken to hospital. The balloon was sponsored and it was one of about 30 in the parade. It took 48 volunteers to maneuver the balloon through Manhattan.

HOLMES: Wow, Guillermo Arduino is going to be along now with a lighter side of the Thanksgiving Day parade. It wasn't too pleasant for those people. Tell us what you've got.

VERJEE: Guillermo?

GUILLERMO ARDUINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are going to see what's going on there. What I do know is that the weather was a little bit tough in New York. We'll tell you the details of course in a second.

But we want to know what is going on, what was going on earlier today in New York City. That's why we are going to connect now with Jason Carroll.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it has become a tradition for a lot of American families who watch the Thanksgiving Day parade. It's now all over, from where we are on the upper west side of Manhattan.

There were some thoughts as to whether or not the parade would get off the ground, specifically some of the large-scale balloons. But, as you can see, the weather cooperated and the parade went off without a hitch.

Some of the highlights, Dora the Explorer, one of the large-scale balloons explored her way down the boulevard to screaming crowds and a lot of excited kids who came out to see the parade.

Also another highlight, Charlie Brown, Scooby Doo, another highlight for a lot of the kids who came out here. A few parents as well. Somewhat of a surprise, the character Mr. Healthy Potato Head, seemed to be a big hit with the audience as they came out here and braved the cold weather early this Thanksgiving morning.

There were plenty of marching bands as well. They came from all over the United States, from Hawaii, Oklahoma, and Texas, playing their hearts out to adoring fans. Once again, there were some concerns about the weather. The weather seemed to cooperate, sunny right now in New York, if you can believe it.

A parade that a lot of people seemed to enjoy. I'm Jason Carroll reporting from New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ARDUINO: Thank you, Jason.

(WEATHER REPORT)

ARDUINO: Back to Michael and Zain.

VERJEE: Tell us again why you haven't invited us for turkey? ARDUINO: Because I'm Argentinian and I have some other things to do.

HOLMES: You're Kenyan and I'm Australian.

VERJEE: And what's your point?

HOLMES: Relevance? See you later, thanks Guillermo.

Don't go away. Coming up, we're going to continue to focus on the changes and events shaping the Middle East.

VERJEE: We're going to move to Morocco where social changes is slowly happening through an equity and reconciliation commission.

HOLMES: And then we're going to look at an American export that is proving popular among young Arabs. Recognize that?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: Hello, welcome back. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY, an hour of world news. That's my line on CNN International.

HOLMES: Indeed. All week long we've been taking a special look at the Middle East, focusing on changes taking place in the region.

VERJEE: Geographically speaking, Morocco isn't technically in the Middle East. But the North African nation's widely considered part of, what's called, the broader Middle East because of its language, religion and customs.

As Hala Gorani reports, social change in Morocco is coming slowly but surely.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AHMED BENCHEMSI, ACTIVIST/MAGAZINE PUBLISHER: This one is about secret services in Morocco, it's a kind of diagram of all the secret services we have. Well, they used to be secret before we published it.

GORANI: Ahmed Benchemsi is a free speech pioneer in Morocco. After the death of King Hassan II in 1999, and the ascension to the throne of his more reform-minded son Mohammed VI, this 31-year-old founded a magazine that publishes articles on once-taboo topics, like Morocco's terrorist networks, rereading the Koran, or sexual trends in Morocco.

He's been sued twice for defamation, in what some call, an attempt to financially suffocate his magazine. Despite his legal woes, Benchemsi says he will continue his ground-breaking work.

BENCHEMSI: We are out of 40 years of autocracy with no public information available. So, publishing such things is showing that things are not perfect in this country and this is new. GORANI: And few people test the boundaries of what is now politically tolerated in the new Morocco, more than Nadia Yassine. One of the heads of an outlawed Islamist group called "Justice and Charity," she was put on trial a few months ago on charges of insulting the monarchy. If convicted, she could face up to five years in prison.

NADIA YASSINE, JUSTICE AND CHARITY (through translator): We are sick and tired of the silence from our leaders, she tells me. I claim this trial as my trial. Because it is freedom of speech itself that is being put on trial.

GORANI: But to those in Morocco who say change isn't happening fast enough, officials respond that true democracy should only happen when Moroccans are really ready for it.

RACHID TALBI EL ALAMI, ECONOMIC MINISTER: We are doing our best, but we have to fight first. We have to make all Moroccans equal in education. They should have all access to whole services first. Public services at least. And that moment we go start negotiating how to change the government system.

GORANI: Another way the government here and the king are hoping Moroccans will move forward is by allowing them, for the first time, to talk openly about their past. And the decades of brutal political repression that took place here. In this unassuming building, is the Commission for Equity and Reconciliation.

Driss Benzekri spent almost his entire youth in prison. His only crime, forming an opposition Marxist political group. Released in 1991, this soft-spoken man now heads a commission that helps former political prisoners publicly tell their stories of abuse and imprisonment.

DRISS BENZEKRI, POLITICAL ACTIVIST (through translator): There are stages in the healing process, he says, and I believe the main stage is to talk about it, and to burst the abscess, which is what we've done.

GORANI: But in Morocco, all this new openness is a result only of the king's good will. So does it mean the king can just as easily take everything away?

BENCHEMSI: It's very difficult to take something back from people when they are used to it. And now Moroccans are being used to democracy. And it's a very good thing.

GORANI: Hala Gorani, CNN, Rabat, Morocco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, even though many Arabs may have qualms with U.S. foreign policy, one American export that is very popular is pop culture. More on that, Octavia Nasr, our senior editor for Arab affairs joins us. We were talking before, some of the things that are popular over there in the Arab world generally speaking, are to me, staggering. One thing, "The Simpsons." I mean, this is hardly Arab moral values, family values on display.

OCTAVIA NASR, SENIOR EDITOR, ARAB AFFAIRS: Exactly, "The Simpsons" is a perfect, perfect example. Take a look at some of the pictures as they appear on MBC, the Middle East Broadcasting Center, one of the most popular entertainment channels in the Middle East.

This is not your usual Bart Simpson. I have to warn you, he doesn't cuss, he doesn't swear. He's much cleaner, he doesn't eat pig, he's very, very, very clean Bart Simpson. As a matter of fact, some people are saying this is not "The Simpsons" anymore. I watch "The Simpsons" here in the U.S. and watching those episodes, I personally didn't find them that funny, I have to tell you.

But, in the Middle East, they're extremely popular. And perhaps some people say they are popular just because they are an import of the U.S.

HOLMES: Why, of course? That was the next question. Why is American pop culture? Tell us a bit more about other things that are popular, but also why?

NASR: People are fascinated by American culture. You hear all the time, why do they hate us? Why do they hate us? Well, some say that's not true. Well, they don't. As a matter of fact, they're fascinated by the American pop culture.

Take a look, for example at this program on LBC, another one of the most popular entertainment channels in the Middle East, LBC. This is a program called "Miss Lebanon." This is like a reality show. And it shows these Miss Lebanon" contestants here. And now they are on stage. But also it goes behind-the-scenes. They have cameras on them 24/7.

They show them as they practice dancing, putting on make-up, walking like models. And so far, look at this, if this is not a fascination with pop culture, I don't know what is. And you have to understand, the entire Middle East is glued to their television sets watching this. And when I say the entire Middle East, I really talk about the youth, I talk about the modern people of the Middle East.

It's very important to say that it's images like these that get the clerics of the Middle East and the fundamentalists of the Middle East very upset. And they turn around and really get these people in trouble for what they are doing.

HOLMES: That was going to be my next question. I mean, it's very easy for us to say the Middle East, it's like saying Asia or Europe. These are different countries. Now what may be acceptable in Lebanon, it's not going to work in Saudi, I assume.

NASR: Exactly. Except, you know, what you're missing is that these channels that we just watched are satellite channels, they are everywhere. And as a matter of fact, you look at NBC and LBC. We chose the No. 1 and No. 2 entertainment networks of the entire Middle East. These are watched from Saudi Arabia all the way to Lebanon. And very popular. They have high ratings.

This is, for example, these are ads for new CDs. Look at this. The images that they're sending out. And these are CDs selling all over the Middle East.

And, of course, pop culture is not pop culture without "Material Girl" here. Haifa is her name. She admits that she doesn't have a beautiful singing voice. She doesn't have much of a talent, really except her beauty and her body and her shows as you can see here. And this is some of the decent stuff that we can show.

HOLMES: Can't sing well, but looks great. That sounds like pop stars the world over. Octavia, good to see you. Thanks so much.

NASR: Anytime.

VERJEE: I was laughing and I dropped my mic. "Desperate Housewives" might be coming to the Middle East some time soon.

HOLMES: In some versions.

VERJEE: Do you watch "Desperate Housewives?"

HOLMES: Never, not once.

VERJEE: All right.

HOLMES: Our special week-long series on the Middle East continues tomorrow.

And for our international viewers, join CNN's Jim Clancy and Hala Gorani for a one-hour live special at 16:00 GMT.

To Colombia now, where officials have stepped up evacuations as the Galeras Volcano began erupting.

HOLMES: Around 9,000 people living near the southeastern town of Pasto were told to leave this morning. Evacuations began last week when scientists first warned of an eruption. Ten people were killed in 1993 when the volcano last erupted.

We are going to take a break. More of YOUR WORLD TODAY after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back. Diana, Princess of Wales, was of course one of the world's most photographed woman. Now some photos that were never published are going on display in London.

VERJEE: They were taken for a magazine article, five months before her death. Becky Anderson caught up with a photographer to find out more about the pictures and the larger than life personality they captured.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over) She was the world's most photographed woman. He's the world's most famous fashion photographer. In 1997, Princess Diana took part in a "Vanity Fair" shoot with Mario Testino.

A shoot that became central to Diana's myth and her iconography. She wore some of her most famous evening gowns that she planned to auction later that year. Now, a handful of never-before-seen photos and the dresses are on show here at her former home in Kensington Palace.

I met up with Mario Testino there and asked him how he felt about his time with Princess Diana.

MARIO TESTINO, FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER: Privileged and a little bit innocent about it. I guess I didn't really quite realize what was happening to me at the time. I took it as an assignment. Obviously it wasn't my ideal assignment at the time, because I wanted to be a fashion photographer. And you know, fashion is about models where you can change and do anything you want to.

ANDERSON (on camera): You photograph supermodels all the time. Just how did Princess Diana compare?

TESTINO: If you compare her to a model, I would just rather look at her photograph. And it's nothing detrimental to the models. It's just that that fantasy is almost not that believable. Whereas you look at her, and you know that she had an amazing life.

It's not that you are pretending that this girl lives an amazing life, you really are looking at somebody that we did see other images of her arriving in America, going to Africa, helping the poor, had an amazing banquet. We saw her live a really amazing life.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Candid, provocative, poignant, these are pictures her sons say are the most like her that they've ever seen.

(on camera): Tell us how you broke the ice with Diana.

TESTINO: I did say to her, "you know, I would like to dance like the most normal thing." And we do throw off the mantra or request completely -- things that people would never do them. So, I'm saying to her, "no, no, just dance." And I'm like, "you know, like this." And she's like, "I know what you want, but I just can't deliver, I'm not Peruvian."

ANDERSON: Are those your favorite shots?

TESTINO: They are my favorite shots just because of that, because of the energy, because of the life, because of the carelessness. And for her, I don't know what her favorites were because, I'm sure she must have said to me, "oh I particularly like that," but I don't remember to be honest. I used to, can you imagine, the phone rings and it's Diana. You can hardly really think at that precise moment. You are so, like, oh my god. What do I do?

ANDERSON: And just how natural was she?

TESTINO: Amazing, and regal. You know, very, very, very elegant lady.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: The most photographed woman in the world at one point on every magazine cover, Princess Diana. Thanks for being with us.

VERJEE: That's this edition of YOUR WORLD TODAY. Happy Thanksgiving if you are celebrating Thanksgiving. Food for us.

HOLMES: Yep, time for lunch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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