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Uncertain Road Ahead in Iraq; Saudi Forces Foil Suicide Attack at Oil Facility; State of Emergency After Alleged Coup Thwarted Against Philippine President; Winter Olympic Games Draw to a Close; Ralph Stanley Still Performing After Decades

Aired February 24, 2006 - 12:00   ET

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

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: An uncertain road ahead. A daytime curfew and increased security eases violence in Iraq after days of sectarian rage.
JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: A suicide attack stopped. Saudi security forces thwart an attempt to bomb a huge oil processing facility.

VERJEE: And still going strong at 79. Age doesn't dim this voice from an earlier era. The sound of a living legend in American music.

CLANCY: Right now, is it 8:00 p.m. in Baghdad and Riyadh.

I'm Jim Clancy.

VERJEE: And I'm Zain Verjee.

Welcome to our viewers throughout the world and in the United States.

This is CNN International and this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: Welcome once again, everyone.

We're going to begin with some promising news that's coming to us out of Iraq this hour after day of sectarian violence that has raised fear of civil war.

VERJEE: Government-imposed security measures are helping to keep streets relatively calm. A daytime curfew and beefed up patrols in Baghdad and other regions are stemming the violence that killed at least 132 people since Wednesday. An overnight curfew is now in effect for the entire country.

CLANCY: Mosques all across Iraq used Friday prayers to appeal for Muslim unity, and a top Shia political figure adding his voice to calls for calm.

VERJEE: Abdul Azziz al-Hakim says the bombing of a Shia mosque on Wednesday in Samarra was an attempt to divide Muslims. He says those responsible do not represent the Sunnis in Iraq.

CLANCY: U.S. intelligence analysts are watching closely to see what happens in Iraq, saying the next few days are going to be critical.

David Ensor explains why some feel the mosque attack could tip the odds in favor of all-out civil war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The massive attack in Iraq against Shiite Islam's third holiest shrine has U.S. intelligence analysts in and out of government more worried than ever.

REUEL GERECHT, FMR. CIA OFFICER: I mean, I think this is probably the most dangerous event that has occurred since the fall of Saddam Hussein. It risks, I think, the entire enterprise in Iraq.

ENSOR: The next few days, experts say, could be crucial.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we need to watch for in the next several days is whether some event occurs which could tip it in the direction of civil war, something like further attacks on other Shia sites, assassination of a major Shia figure. Something like that could take this to another level.

ENSOR: Analysts say the attack may have seriously damaged post- Iraq election efforts by U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad to convince Shiite political leaders to accept some key Sunni figures in top jobs at the ministries of defense and interior.

GERECHT: I think if the Americans continue to go down that path, it will be very counterproductive.

ENSOR: But U.S. officials from the president on down are also pointing to a call for restraint from Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the nation's top Shiite religious leader who took the rare step of allowing himself to be filmed to underscore the urgency.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The voices of reason from all aspect of Iraqi life understand that this bombing is intended to create civil strife, that the -- that the act was an evil act.

ENSOR (on camera): Some analysts, including the conservative Reuel Gerecht, argue what happened at the shrine and the violence since then underscores what they say has been true since the beginning, that there aren't enough American troops in Iraq. But no one expects an increase at this point.

David Ensor, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: We're going to be speaking to Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations a little bit later in our program.

CLANCY: Right. And the situation in Iraq is the subject of our question this day. VERJEE: We want to hear from you. We're asking: What can Muslim leaders do to help stabilize the situation in Iraq? E-mail us your thoughts, ywt@cnn.com.

CLANCY: And do keep your comments brief. Include your name and where you're watching us.

VERJEE: Turning now to Saudi Arabia, where suicide bombers tried but failed to attack a large oil processing facility, here we see some images, file images of that plant. Officials say at least two cars carrying the suicide bombers forced their way through an initial entrance of the plant.

Security forces opened fire and three officers were killed. The cars continued into the property and were met by more security forces. Two of the vehicles detonated about 1.5 kilometers from the plant's main facility. All would-be attackers were killed.

CLANCY: Al Qaeda lead have previously called for attacks on oil fields in Saudi Arabia despite the fact that these facilities are heavily guarded.

As Henry Schuster reports, making sure these oil plants stay safe is just as important as keeping the oil flowing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY SCHUSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A terrorist attack on a Saudi oil facility. Until now, the nightmare scenario.

Abqaiq, the target of today's attack, processes two-thirds of crude oil pumped from Saudi wells.

Another tempting target just an hour's distance away, Ras Tanura, the world's largest oil refinery.

Not hard to do, says former CIA officer Robert Baer.

ROBERT BAER, FMR. CIA OFFICER: I could sit down with my training in the CIA and people I know and do a concerted military pack (ph) on Saudi facilities, standoff attacks with rockets and take five million, six million barrels off the market.

SCHUSTER: When we visited the oil facilities 18 months ago, we saw a series of checkpoints, double fencing, security monitoring. Hidden from view, Saudi security forces and air support from nearby bases. Perhaps most importantly, the facilities are spread out over vast distances, making it hard to target a single place.

Aramco's chairman was confident at the time his facilities were well-protected.

ABDALLAH JUM'AH, PRESIDENT & CEO, SAUDI ARAMCO: We always have drills about "what ifs," and, therefore, even a terrorist incident, if it were to happen, it's not going to be worse than an industrial incident in a volatile industry like ours. SCHUSTER: In today's attack the terrorists apparently breached an outer cordon but were stopped about a mile from Abqaiq's main gate. Proof, the Saudis say, that their security system works. Not enough, perhaps, to quell a nervous market which knows that al Qaeda's leaders have called for more attacks on Saudi oil facilities.

Henry Schuster, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: A big Serbian nationalist rally has been taking place in Belgrade where many are expressing support for a very controversial figure, war crimes Ratko Mladic. Organizers claimed to have gathered some 100,000 demonstrators. They don't want him sent to the U.N. tribunal in The Hague.

There's been a lot of speculation recently that he would be finally taken into custody. The European Union's been putting pressure on Serbia, insisting that Mladic be handed over before Serbia can be accepted into the European Union.

Mladic is blamed for the grim seize of Sarajevo, as well as the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, an eastern enclave, during the Bosnian War in the early '90s.

CLANCY: We're going to shift our focus now to Asia, where the political turmoil in the Philippines cause for concern. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declaring a state of emergency. She says her military foiled a coup attempt against her.

Now, that's been followed by protests in the streets and called for Ms. Arroyo to step down. It comes as the country is marking the 20th anniversary of the so-called People Power Revolution.

Hugh Riminton is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Drama and high emotion in the Philippines. Protesters opposed to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo clashing with riot police within minutes of her declaration of a state of emergency. The president says the emergency powers are needed because of a coup plot by rebel officers led by a brigadier general.

GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT (through translator): My countrymen, I declared a state of emergency because of the clear and present danger to the republic that we have discovered and stopped.

RIMINTON: Moments after that announcement, riot police moved in on an existing anti-Arroyo demonstration. The crowds regrouped, marching on the business part of the capital. The protest leaders declaring the state of emergency illegal without congressional approval. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am not aware of any law or any resolution passed by the house of representatives and the senate authorizing the president to issue such a declaration.

RIMINTON: Meanwhile, a separate demonstration went ahead, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the People Power Revolution to topple the dictator Ferdinand Marcos 20 years ago this weekend. The hero of that uprising, Corazon Aquino, repeated her call for President Arroyo to stand down, claiming democracy itself is now at risk.

CORAZON AQUINO: So many of us sacrifice so much to restore democracy. So we do not want to lose that democracy again. So I ask President Arroyo to make the Supreme sacrifice of resigning.

RIMINTON: Senior cabinet members and the top levels of the military head a joint news conference to affirm their support for President Arroyo, but that did not appease the demonstrators.

AQUINO: Let's just remember what happened to Marcos. He had all of the top officials and the military and he controlled everything. And yet, when the people stood up and said, enough is enough, he had to go.

RIMINTON: President Arroyo has faced repeated challenges to her political legitimacy over claims of electoral interference of the 2004 elections. She fought off an impeachment process last year.

Critically, the few details that have emerged of the alleged coup speak only of an attempt to recruit soldiers and armed communist rebels to a joint effort to undermine the president.

(on camera): Although President Arroyo has dramatically raised the stakes at the end of this first day under state of emergency, she still has not been able to silence the voices questioning her legitimacy or calm the concerns that 20 years after the first People Power this is a nation still underperforming and politically adrift.

(voice over): So, instead of celebrating a momentous day, this People Power anniversary would see opposition lawyers discussing a possible supreme court challenge to the powers of President Arroyo.

Hugh Rimington, CNN, Manila.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: Police in southern England say two men and two women are in custody in connection with possibly the largest heist in British history. An armed gang stole at least $44 million from a cash depot on Tuesday, but authorities say the amount may double.

Police in Kent have released sketches of a suspect and are offering a substantial reward for information. Detectives are also searching for information about a vehicle parked at a pub that may have been used in the crime.

CLANCY: Well, at the same time, the city of London's controversial mayor suspended now for a month after a panel ruled that he had brought that office into disrepute. The ruling the result of a comment that Livingstone made in which he compared a Jewish reporter to a concentration camp guard.

A British Jewish group lodged a complaint against the mayor. Livingston says the ruling strikes, in his words, at the heart of democracy and he's considering whether he's going to appeal it.

VERJEE: Coming up on YOUR WORLD TODAY...

CLANCY: We're going to be checking in on all the action from the Alps. Our Torino 2006 update is straight ahead.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.

We want to take you back to one of our top stories, Iraq, where there's promising news out of that country. Sectarian violence had raised fears of civil war, but this day, religious leaders are calling for calm, as well as Muslim unity. Government-imposed security measures are also helping to keep the streets relatively calm.

Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations says that the bombing in Samarra not only attacked a sacred shrine, but also hopes of the Iraqi people to have a secure and a stable future.

Ambassador Samir Shakir Sumaida'ie joins us now from the United Nations.

How dangerous a moment is this for Iraq? Is Iraq on the brink of a civil war, as many have wondered?

AMB. SAMIR SHAKIR SUMAIDA'IE, PERMANENT REP. OF IRAQ TO U.N.: I've never believed that Iraqis are prone to outright civil war or sectarian strife. Iraqis have proved resistant to all attempts of provocation.

Yes, there have been a lot of incidents, and there has been as a result of this despicable crime against a revered shrine in Iraq, there has been an outpouring of emotions. And there were many elements who resorted to violence, which is very unfortunate. But I believe the Iraqis as a whole will not -- will not show any tendency to accept this direction.

VERJEE: Why do you believe that? Why do you...

(CROSSTALK)

SUMAIDA'IE: Well, there are -- there are two things supporting what I say.

One, is the fact that Iraqis have lived not only for centuries, but for thousands of years, intermingled and in a way that accepts each other.

The other one is that, since the fall of Saddam Hussein, there have been repeated attempts to push them to a civil war, including, of course, the assassination of Ayatollah Baka Hakim (ph) in Najaf None of them succeeded, and this one will not succeed, either.

VERJEE: There are Shia militia groups and other militia groups that exist in Iraq today. For example the Mehdi army, the Badr Brigade. How dangerous do you think those militia groups are in undercutting and undermining the message of unity on both the Shia side and the Sunni side?

SUMAIDA'IE: I think it is a serious challenge. Militia groups are difficult to control, and I think they are a very negative factor in the equation.

Political leaders should work hard and speedily to form the government. And I believe they are doing this. They are working as fast as they can to form the government which will be a constitutional-elected government of national unity and should embark as a government once in place on the dismantling of all militias in the country.

VERJEE: What kind of a job do you think the United States has done here in balancing the interests of the Shia, of the Sunni? Do you think that it's hurt the situation and fueled it, or helped it?

SUMAIDA'IE: I think the United Nations has...

VERJEE: The United States.

SUMAIDA'IE: The United States. Well, the United States is deeply involved, as you know, in its forces, and it has invested huge political capital and funds into the situation in Iraq. And, of course, has an interest in the outcome. I believe they are doing as much as they can to persuade Iraqis to make the right choices which will serve Iraq, as well as the United States.

VERJEE: The United States is also heavily invested in the political process. There's been a political fallout to the attack in Samarra, where the main Sunni alliance says it's pulling out of coalition talks for a national unity government.

How much of a problem that is?

SUMAIDA'IE: It is a problem, but I believe it's a temporary one. Everybody in Iraq knows that the only way out of this room is the door of national unity government. And sooner or later they'll come around and recognize that. I believe this is something which is a reaction to the -- to the situation which we've had which will not last.

VERJEE: Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations, Samir Shakir Sumaida'ie, speaking to us from the U.N.

Thank you -- Jim.

SUMAIDA'IE: Thank you.

CLANCY: Well, Zain, all of the action in the Alps drawing to a close as the winter games coming to an end. Well, just one more full day of competition that includes the gold medal hockey game.

Alessio Vinci has been following events in Torino over the past two weeks. He's with us with someone who has a unique perspective on how these games have gone.

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF: Hello, Jim.

Actually, that hockey final will be played on Sunday. And if there is a group of supporters who are not very happy, these are the Canadians here in Torino, because, as you know, they did not make it to the finals. Today, we'll see the semifinals of hockey, with Sweden, Czech Republic and Finland, Russia.

But as you say, just a full couple of more days before the end of the Olympics. And joining me here now is Valentino Castellani, who is the president of the organizing committee here.

Mr. Castellani, thank you very much for joining us here.

Two more days to go. What is your initial assessment on how the games went so far?

VALENTINO CASTELLANI, PRESIDENT, ITALIAN OLYMPIC ORGANIZING COMMITTEE: You know, I was mayor when we decided to bid. I was president since the very beginning of this organizing committee. And I have to say that I'm very satisfied.

I'm sure that we delivered excellent games. Facts demonstrate that. We have the streets full of people that, you know, give their souls to this atmosphere of the Olympic games.

Athletes and the sports are always at the center of these games, as it should be. And I believe that this is, you know, the most important thing that happened in these days.

VINCI: Any surprises? Anything that didn't go as was planned?

CASTELLANI: We had -- the reaction of the territory, the reaction of people exceeded our expectations. We -- of course, we work for this atmosphere. But it was really over our expectations.

VINCI: What about the weather? I mean, it's raining today. It's snowing up in the mountains. Some of the competitions had to be postponed.

CASTELLANI: Yes, but we were very lucky at the beginning. And now at the end not so lucky with the weather. But, you know, this is winter games. So it's possible.

We -- what is important is that Torino rediscovered its mountains and to become the city of the Alps. And we had a very important sport legacy, which is the discovery of the ice balls (ph) in this city, which we remain a legacy of these games.

VINCI: You said that there's been a tremendous participation from the people. I understand that, officially, 900,000 tickets or around 900,000 tickets have been sold. There were about a million that were available.

However, we have seen during competitions, and athletes have been telling us, that even inside some of the venues were not completely full, that there were a lot of empty seats. So what happened there? Were was the disconnect? Distribution problems?

CASTELLANI: No. Of course we are very happy of the ticket sales, because, you know, our budget is -- we met our target. So that's made us very happy.

There are some sports that are not so common, so popular, especially some tournaments. And in the preliminary phases, I believe that it's normal that they are not so attractive. And the structural problem is that the big customers had many tickets in a great advance one year ago. And so, in some cases, that generated a no-show.

VINCI: What you mean is the sponsors had all of the tickets...

(CROSSTALK)

CASTELLANI: NOCs that probably were not distributed, or if it were distributed, they were not used. There was no attendance. We shall share this -- we will share this consideration with the IOC and with the next organizers in order to avoid this kind of phenomenon.

VINCI: Mr. Castellani, thank you very much for joining us.

And Jim, as Mr. Castellani was just saying, the games end on Sunday. However, he said, for him, they will end on Monday, because of course the weather is a problem, and, of course, on Monday, half of the city will obviously try to depart from -- from Torino to reach their destination. That will be another big challenge for the organizers here.

Back to you.

CLANCY: All right. Alessio Vinci.

A lot for Italy and Torino to be proud of. Great Olympics.

Thanks for being with us.

Well...

VERJEE: Are you addicted to your BlackBerry? Because if you are, coming up -- he doesn't have one -- coming up on YOUR WORLD TODAY, a crucial ruling for so-called CrackBerry addicts.

CLANCY: Not addicted to that. If you depend on your BlackBerry, you may want to stick around. Service on your hand-held device if you're in the U.S. could come to a very abrupt end. We'll have details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta. More of YOUR WORLD TODAY in just a few minutes. First, though, let's check on stories making headlines here in the U.S.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is responding to the growing concern over American ports possibly being operated by a Middle Eastern company.

Let's go to our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, who just spoke with Secretary Chertoff a few minutes ago.

Jeanne, hello.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, several reporters spoke to him, Daryn, and he said he is completely on board with a decision to let a company from UAE operate ports at six U.S. ports, although he says he was not involved in the decision. Chertoff says he learned of the matter only in the last few weeks.

Because of the conditions imposed on the deal, Chertoff says it will put the U.S. in a better position security-wise than it would normally be at a U.S. port. And he says if Customs and Border Protection or the Coast Guard are unhappy with the performance of Dubai Ports World, they could, in Chertoff's words, call timeout. He noted, half jokingly, that those organizes have boats and guns.

Chertoff categorically denies that a UAE contribution for Katrina leaf had anything to do with the deal. He called that suggestion illogical, a denial of facts, and he said that is not even the tail wagging the dog, but the tail of a cat wagging the dog.

He said the decision to delay the implementation of the deal will allow the administration to continue to brief Congress on why the administration thinks this was an appropriate judgment -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Jeanne, meanwhile, any reaction from the secretary to the White House report on Katrina?

MESERVE: Yes. Chertoff embraced the findings of the White House report on Katrina and says he is particularly concerned about hurricanes heading into areas only partially reconstructed after Katrina and Rita. He said he will be talking with governors and mayors in the coming weeks to go over their preparedness and response plans and to determine where there are gaps and how those might be covered.

Chertoff refused to spell out exactly when the military might take the lead in the response, saying, we'll know it when we see it. And he said it would be an event even more catastrophic than Katrina -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Jeanne Meserve in Washington, D.C. Jeanne, thank you.

MESERVE: You bet.

KAGAN: Other news today, members of the Teamsters Union are protesting the ports deal this hour in Baltimore. There are at least 15 similar demonstrations going on across the U.S.

The White House is praising the delay by Dubai Ports World. The move allows more time for the Bush administration to convince critics that the transaction will not endanger the nation's security.

President Bush says this is a moment of choosing for the Iraqi people. In a speech to a veterans group today, Mr. Bush again condemned this week's attack on a Shiite mosque in Iraq. And despite the violence and turmoil in Iraq, Mr. Bush expressed hope about the spread of democracy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What separates nations that succeed from those that falter is their progress in establishing a civil society based on free institutions. So as we work for Democratic change across the broader Middle East, we're also working to help new democracies establish the institutions that are the foundations of lasting free societies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The president calls the mosque attack an affront to people of faith throughout the world.

Here in the U.S., a tragic end to an Amber Alert that we've been reporting on all morning. That alert has now been called off and the search for 8-year-old Jared McGwire (ph) has come to a tragic end in Greenacres, Florida.

(NEWSBREAK)

CLANCY: Security consultants say the suicide bombers in Saudi Arabia picked the wrong industry to attack. They say the fact that the would-be bombers never even got near the main building of the plant proves that security is working.

Joining us from London is Saudi security consultant Nawaf Obaid. I want to thank you very much for joining us.

I'm a little bit troubled. I'm troubled because I haven't seen any pictures of the bomb blast scene.

Are the Saudis missing something here? Because their record is not perfect for telling the truth in the face of these kinds of attacks.

NAWAF OBAID, SAUDI SECURITY CONSULTANT: I'm not sure, what do you mean by troubled? You just have... CLANCY: Let me spell it out. Let me spell it out. I have seen when Saudi diplomats were kidnapped and taken, instead of recovering the diplomats, Saudi Arabia simply announced that they were fine, they were home with families; they weren't. I have seen when missiles were fired by Saddam Hussein's forces into Saudi Arabia and they hit apartment buildings, the Saudis reported publicly that the missiles had missed any targets. These are the problems I'm talking about.

OBAID: Yes, but, Jim, that's 17 -- excuse me, that's 16 years ago what you're talking about. Countries do develop over decades. I don't see how this is pertinent to the subject at hand. The fact remains...

CLANCY: I'm saying that we haven't seen any videotape yet. I'm a little bit troubled by that. That's all. That's what I'm saying. It may well be that they're going to allow the news media in there to take some videotape of the scene to reassure people, but right now we're relying, aren't we, on file tape?

OBAID: Well, I mean, if, let's say, let's say for a moment that there was a conspiracy, you would have a dramatic shutdown of the main crude processing plant at Abqaiq, which would shut in approximately six million to seven million barrels of crude today, and that would have a huge effect on the market. The marketers would know but now if something had gone wrong. The fact is that nothing went wrong. I mean, this is a complete vindication of what the Saudi security forces and authorities have been saying over the last three years, that if you're going to attack the Saudi oil industry, the main facilities and so well-protected that the would-be attackers would could not come close to the main facility, and this is exactly what happened today.

Just a fact -- and I'm sure this will be corroborated over the next couple of days -- the main bombing, where the actual Saudi Forces engaged the terrorists, which then ended up by detonating the bombs, happened a kilometer and a half away from the main entrance to the Abqaiq facility. That's a kilometer and a half which would have been another three security checkpoints if they had gone through this one. So it kind of puts into picture what we're dealing with here.

CLANCY: Nawaf, are these facilities, you know, so-called sitting ducks for terrorists who might use missiles, or mortars or other weapons to try to get to them? The industry, as a whole, would seem to be very vulnerable.

OBAID: It would be very vulnerable. I mean, we see like the exact case in point in Iraq, for example. But people need to understand, especially the outside world, about the huge security precaution that the Saudi government has been undertaking over the past three years.

I mean, there's been -- as of this year, there's been over $2 billion just spent on upgrading the securities at the major facilities. I mean, we have from the air, we have from helicopters, to fighter jets covering the air, to as we saw today, to light-armored cars, to security cordons to miles and miles of space between different security layers in order not to get to the main facilities. So we have to put all of this into perspective on what we're dealing with, especially if you're going to attack a major Saudi petroleum infrastructure today.

CLANCY: All right, the latest there. Good analysis from Nawaf Obaid. We're waiting to see some of the pictures that may come in. As he points out, in a couple of days we should know much more about just how effective Saudi security was.

Nawaf, I want to thank you very much for being with us.

Well, the Big Easy getting ready for a big party, Zain. We'll have some -- a little bit of uneasiness, though.

VERJEE: There is. Up next, the countdown to Mardi Gras in a new era. We're going to take you to New Orleans, where so much has happened and so much is about to happen.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: To our viewers in the United States and around the world, welcome back. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY. Despite initial worries that the famed Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans might be canceled in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the first three parades marched down New Orleans historic St. Charles Street on Thursday night. Now the biggest of the night's events was one that was organized by the all-women crew of muses. Its finale was, though, a tribute to the victims, a somber float. Nobody was aboard. It was presented in memory of the loss suffered by the city and the state because of Hurricane Katrina.

(WEATHER REPORT)

VERJEE: As Mardi Gras looms, there's debate over whether it should be looming. Some say it's important for New Orleans to try and do what it does best, which is to party. Others say this noise time to celebrate.

Dan Lothian takes a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The two faces of New Orleans, suffering and celebrating.

KARLIN DUKES, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: I think it's disgraceful that they're celebrating Mardi Gras.

LOTHIAN: In the Upper Ninth Ward, lifelong resident Karlin Dukes is trying to salvage pieces of the home he built with his wife, Yvonne (ph). Mardi Gras is good, he says, but not now.

DUKES: There's nothing to really celebrate about, as far as I'm concerned. With so many people that's having a hard time right now, some people don't even have a house to go to because the house is totally destroyed.

LOTHIAN: Katrina may have hit six months ago, but for some, it feels like yesterday.

(on camera): Many neighborhoods still look like this. And residents are struggling to figure out when or if they'll ever be able to rebuild.

RICK BLOUNT, OWNER, ANTOINE'S: This is what we would consider our main dining room.

LOTHIAN (voice-over): The owner of Antoine's, a landmark French Quarter restaurant, knows the meaning of the word lost.

BLOUNT: All this was gone. All this wall fell.

LOTHIAN: Rick Blount's business was damaged by wind and water. Revenue dried up when the city shut down and the homes of several close relatives were destroyed. But he sees Mardi Gras, not as a slap in the face, but as a lifeline.

BLOUNT: If the rest of the country does not do business with New Orleans now, there will not be a New Orleans to do business with.

LOTHIAN: The show must go on, he says, despite the pain.

BLOUNT: If this was Christmas, would you not have Christmas because you lost your home? I don't think so. For New Orleans, Mardi Gras is what's normal. Mardi Gras is what we should do.

LOTHIAN: It's always been that way. In 1966, about six months after Hurricane Betsy flooded New Orleans, the carnival celebration continued. In fact, natural disasters have never shut it down.

While some argue money for Mardi Gras could be better spent, McHenry Littleton, whose home was heavily damaged by Katrina, says rebuilding and celebrating should not be mutually exclusive.

MCHENRY LITTLETON, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: Our money should be spent to help rebuild New Orleans. That is one factor. But Mardi Gras is a part of our culture.

LOTHIAN: But back on Karlin Dukes' front steps, there is no celebration. He and his wife are focusing on rebuilding their lives...

DUKES: It's too old, anyway, too try and go somewhere else, you know.

LOTHIAN: ... in the city they've always called home.

Dan Lothian, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CLANCY: Will BlackBerry device users be left thumbing the air? Let's get an update now, go to Richmond, Virginia and our own Dan Sieberg -- Dan.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Jim, that's right. Here at the U.S. district court in Virginia, Judge James Spencer has been hearing arguments at a hearing today from RIM, the make of BlackBerry, and NTP, who's been fighting over the patent rights in this case for some number of years.

Today the judge came out and said that he will take all of these arguments under advisement. He did not make a specific ruling on the damages award to NTP or in terms of an injunction. Now, an injunction would effectively start to shut down the BlackBerry service. And that's what NTP has been fighting for.

In this case, RIM argued that it would be very difficult to try and work with an injunction. They do say they have a workaround technology so that some government workers and essential services could continue. But RIM argued that it would be hard to determine who those people were. The scope of it would be very difficult to determine.

The judge also said he was very surprised this even got to this point that it became a court case. He thought this was a business decision that should have been settled outside the court, which is what a lot of analysts had predicted up until this point.

But it was not settled, and so this will now go under the advisement of this judge, James Spencer, and he will come out with another decision on the injunction and the damages in the case sometime in the near future. We just don't know when. Jim, back to you.

CLANCY: All right. Dan Sieberg with an update. BlackBerry users, you can breathe a sigh of relief. Not yet.

Well, banks, as we saw, got robbed of millions, a Saudi oil facility coming under attack, but what if your most precious national assets aren't things but people?

VERJEE: Such is the case of a man in the U.S. heralded as a living treasure for his uniquely American style of music.

CLANCY: Ralph Stanley, right now, is on a bus outside Dallas somewhere touring the country. Saturday, he celebrate his 79th birthday and 60 years on stage. This is our way of saying, happy birthday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

CLANCY (voice-over): With grace and heart, Ralph Stanley's haunting tenor echoes from the high ground of an earlier era. It's a voice he doesn't even claim is his own. RALPH STANLEY, MUSICIAN: It's just -- it's just my own -- the way the good Lord gave it to me is the way I do it.

(MUSIC)

CLANCY: By decree of the U.S. Library of Congress, Ralph Stanley is a living legend of American music.

(on camera): Some people could say, you know, this man really claimed fame at about age 65.

STANLEY: Well, I guess maybe a little later than that.

(MUSIC)

CLANCY (voice-over): At age 73, Stanley's voice was featured on the soundtrack of "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" with the a capella rendition of "O' Death." He's won three Grammys in his 70s.

(MUSIC)

STANLEY: I've done well. I've made a good living but that just sort of put the icing on the cake.

CLANCY: By his own reckoning, the number of Ralph Stanley fans doubled. What he describes as hillbilly music won recognition right alongside him.

(MUSIC)

CLANCY: There's now a Ralph Stanley Museum near his home in Clintwood, Virginia. It documents more than 200 recordings over 60 years, Brother Carter Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys. His success today, a reflection of a simple desire to play the music of his Appalachian home and somehow make a living out of it.

STANLEY: I remember we had went to places back near that time and played the show and then filled our a car with gas and ate supper. We hadn't had not no crowd. With nothing to eat, I don't know.

CLANCY (on camera): That tough?

STANLEY: Now, that's sticking with it, isn't it?

CLANCY (voice-over): Sticking with it, Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys still perform regularly. Although Stanley concentrates most of his performances on vocals, he still thrills fans frailing his own Stanleyfone (ph) banjo.

(MUSIC)

CLANCY: Looking back as he turns 79, Ralph Stanley is not only convinced of who he is, but why he's here.

STANLEY: I think, and I firmly believe, that I was sent to spread this old time stuff through the world. And I believe that's why I'm kept here still doing it.

CLANCY: Like pilgrims, fans flock from around the world. Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys are both tutors and disciples.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Then you can slide it in, right?

STANLEY: You can slide it in or out.

(CROSSTALK)

STANLEY: Nobody perfect.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

CLANCY: But make no mistake, the real proselytizing for old time music happens the moment they take to the stage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Grand Ole Opry mega-star, Dr. Ralph Stanley and His Clinch Mountain Boys.

STANLEY: OK, we're on, boys!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, hey!

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, boys.

STANLEY: Well, I'm proud. I've done well. I done good for an old country boy that walked about three mile each way to school, barefooted everyday, you know, going to school. And I feel like I've come a long ways.

CLANCY: You have, Ralph Stanley. And thanks for taking us with you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: OK. Happy birthday, Ralph Stanley. He's going to be going past New Orleans on his way home from Dallas. He just finished a three-week road trip, 79 years old, still on the road.

VERJEE: And what a nice guy.

CLANCY: Let's -- there's another performer down on the streets in New Orleans right now. You're looking at pictures. That's the Naked Cowboy. Yes, we can tell from here.

VERJEE: We wouldn't have guessed if he hadn't had that branded on his behind, playing the guitar, walking around the streets. It's six months since Hurricane Katrina and Mardi Gras floats and beads and revelry really luring in visitors and maybe Naked Cowboy could help.

CLANCY: All right. We've got to go. I'm Jim Clancy.

VERJEE: And I'm Zain Verjee. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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