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Your World Today

Iraqi Appeals Court Upholds Death Sentence for Saddam Hussein; Vandalized Pipeline Bursts Into Flames in Nigeria; Violent and Turbulent Year in Iraq

Aired December 26, 2006 - 12:00   ET

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

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Death by hanging. An Iraqi appeals court upholds Saddam Hussein's death sentence in the Dujail trial.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Vandalizing a pipeline. For the second time this year, a gas pipeline explodes in Nigeria. Hundreds of people are dead.

GORANI: Remembering the past and looking ahead. Indonesia holds tsunami drills two years after the catastrophe that swept away more than 200,000 people.

HOLMES: And an experiment in driving. What happens when city planners throw out the rule books for the roads?

It's 8:00 p.m. in Baghdad, 6:00 p.m. in Lagos, Nigeria.

Welcome to our report broadcast right around the world.

I'm Michael Holmes.

GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani.

From Aceh to Amsterdam, wherever you're watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

HOLMES: Well, for decades he ruled with an iron fist, instilling fear and crushing all challenges to his regime. And now, within 30 days, his life could end at the gallows. An Iraqi appellate court has upheld the death sentence for Saddam Hussein for crimes against humanity.

Let's go to our own Ryan Chilcote in Baghdad for details.

Ryan, of course the question now is what happens and when?

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michael, according to that decision from the appellate chamber of the Iraqi high tribunal, it pretty much brings an end to the appellate -- the appeals process for Saddam Hussein. That's the most important thing. Now according to Iraqi law, Saddam Hussein must be hanged within the next 30 days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The appeals court has decided to uphold the ruling against the defendants. Saddam Hussein, Barzan al-Hassan and (INAUDIBLE) should hang for crimes against humanity according to Article 12 of the Iraqi criminal law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHILCOTE: Now, Saddam's defense team, as they have said the whole while during the trial, said today that the Iraqi high tribunal itself is illegitimate. They called this decision today to sentence -- to uphold the sentencing to death, they called it unconstitutional. They're really basically criticizing this decision today. As for Saddam, we haven't heard from Saddam Hussein yet, but obviously he himself was defiant throughout the entire trial.

Now, as we said earlier, this, according to Iraqi law, has to be carried out within the next 30 days. The big question of course is exactly what it would look like.

Iraqi law requires a public execution. Now, whether that means that the execution itself is just attended by members of Saddam's defense team, by loved ones, or whether it's videotaped and broadcast on television, that's a decision that the Iraqi government is going to have to make. Apparently there are two camps right now, two different opinions.

Some that think it should be broadcast to give the segment of the population that really wants justice to see Saddam pay for his crimes, to give them some kind of satisfaction. Another part does not want to do that because they're afraid that the government would appear barbaric -- Michael.

HOLMES: Now, I suppose one of the criticisms we're already hearing from some experts in international law is that the Dujail trial was beset with procedural issues, the conduct of the trial was under question. And we're in the middle now of a trial -- it's awful to say, but a more serious matter, if you like, genocide, the killing of perhaps hundreds of thousands of Kurds in the north. And we've heard people say, well, they're not going to be able to commute the sentence, maybe they could stay the execution and allow the Anfal trial to continue.

Is that something the Iraqi government is likely to entertain?

CHILCOTE: A few things, Michael. I think first of all the Iraqi government has made very clear that it wants Saddam Hussein executed. The Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, has said earlier that he believes Saddam should be hanged by the end of the year. So it seems extremely unlikely that the Iraqi government would stay the execution.

The second part there is that Iraqi law does not give -- strictly, according to Iraqi law, it does not give the government the ability to stay an execution. It simply says that it has to carry out the execution within 30 days.

Having said that, what you're talking about, under international law governments have the right to stay executions, to commute sentences, to pardon the condemned. But that really doesn't look very likely.

You know, interestingly, you mentioned the Anfal case that is under way. That's a case where Saddam is being charged with genocide for the deaths of 180,000 Kurds. There are a lot of people that don't like Saddam but would like to see this decision postponed so at least justice can play out there, that justice can run its course in that trial.

That is one thing we'll have to see. But the Iraqi government has been very clear they would like to see Saddam Hussein executed, maybe even hanged by the end of the year -- Michael.

HOLMES: All right. Thanks very much, Ryan.

Ryan Chilcote there in Baghdad -- Hala.

GORANI: Well, the sentence that was upheld today was initially issued for carrying out brutal collective punishment against the men and boys of Dujail after a 1982 assassination attempt against Saddam Hussein in that town.

Aneesh Raman takes us back to the dusty village to tell us what happened that day and how Hussein hit back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): On July 8, 1982, Saddam Hussein drove into Dujail. Crowds running alongside his convoy, women rushing to kiss his hand, bellowing in forced joy. It was the sort of visit Saddam often orchestrated, showing he was a man of the people. But when offered a glass of water in one home, he declined, always fearful of attempts to poison him.

Saddam then spoke to a crowd from atop the local party headquarters about the war with Iran. He was about to find out just how courageous. On this road, six young men were preparing to ambush the dictator.

Mohammed Ali drove one of the shooters to the scene.

MOHAMMED ALI, DROVE CAR IN SHOOTING (through translator): Hassan (ph) came to me, I took him on my motorcycle. I remember he was carrying two pistols. We drove through orchards looking for other men, but we only saw two. Hassan shot with his pistol to give the group a sign to start shooting at Saddam.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): When the convoy reached the orchards, three gunmen started shooting at his convoy from the left side. Saddam's guards started shooting back.

RAMAN: Saddam escaped unhurt. And moments later, villagers desperately tried to prove their loyalty.

But Dujail knew its fate. Immediately, a dictator's vengeance descended upon the village. With icy calm, Saddam himself started interrogating terrified locals. No one's loyalty is taken for granted.

And in the ensuing weeks, thousands of innocent villagers, like Ali, who was 14 at the time, were thrown in jail, tortured, and many others executed. Dujail was destroyed.

Villagers show us barren land that once blossomed with orchards, where the rebel gunmen hid that fateful day.

Ali is lucky. He survived four years in prison. But he never knew what happened to his brothers. They were also imprisoned that day. And it was only after Saddam's fall that he learned the worst.

ALI (through translator): I found a document signed by Saddam in 1985 to execute some of the jailed people who were in the prison. One hundred forty-nine people, including seven of my brothers, 34 of my relatives, and 118 people of my town, they are now forgotten. To god they have returned.

RAMAN: Photos of his brothers proudly hang on Ali's living room wall, casualties of state terror. In sheer numbers, Dujail was not nearly the worst of Saddam's atrocities, but that is of no consequence to the villagers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Saddam should be executed immediately for this because he killed and executed too many.

RAMAN: And now justice may finally come to Dujail, 23 years too late, but sooner than anyone here could have imagined.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Dujail, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Outside the concrete barrier walls of Baghdad's Green Zone where Hussein's trial took place, new attacks took dozens more lives today. Among the dead, a coordinated strike in western Baghdad, three car bombs going off almost simultaneously, killing at least 16 people, wounding 70 others. Elsewhere, a car bomb exploded outside a Sunni mosque, killing another 15 people.

The U.S. military, meanwhile, announced that six more of its troops have been killed, pushing the U.S. death toll in Iraq to nearly 2,980. That is a significant number because it tops the total number of people killed in the September 11 attacks.

All right. To Nigeria now, where a vandalized oil pipeline burst into flames in the main city of Lagos. The Red Cross says more than 200 people were killed. Dozens of them badly burned.

Witnesses say thieves broke into the pipeline after midnight. Hundreds of men, women and children had been collecting leaking fuel in buckets and cans for hours before the explosion. It is the second such explosion this year.

Earlier, we spoke to our Africa correspondent, Jeff Koinange.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN AFRICA CORRESPONDENT: This is what you can call an all-too-often occurrence. It happens so often. I covered this about six months ago, a very similar thing, almost like deja vu.

What we're hearing from the Nigerian Red Cross is that vandals tried to tap into this pipeline that supplies refined fuel into the city of Lagos, and they did this for several hours. People were able to get buckets and buckets of fuel until either maybe someone lit a match or a motorcycle backfired and a flame -- the ensuing flames instantly incinerated.

What we're hearing is 200 so far, but expect that number to rise according to the Nigerian Red Cross because that is what often happens. A lot of people crowd these pipelines trying to get whatever fuel they can.

There was a fuel shortage in Lagos in the last few days, so people were literally taking advantage of the situation. And that's what so often happens. Because there is no monitoring system, people will be instantly incinerated the minute a match is lit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer, but corruption and limited refining capacity often leaves the country short of fuel.

All right. On the retreat. Islamists in Somalia are on the run following an all-out offensive by Ethiopian forces.

GORANI: Well, that tops our check of other stories making news around the world.

Ethiopia's prime minister says his forces are halfway to victory against Islamist fighters. Ethiopian troops are backing Somalia's interim government, which is battling Islamists for control of the country. The African Union has endorsed Ethiopia's right to intervene in Somalia.

HOLMES: Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniyeh has accepted an invitation to Jordan for talks with Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas. The Hamas government leader says he prays the talks will lead to national unity. No date has been set yet for the possible meeting.

GORANI: A Spanish doctor who is treating Fidel Castro says he is recovering from his ailments and does not have cancer. Dr. Jose Luis Garcia Sabrigo (ph) says the Cuban president is responding to treatment "fantastically well." Mr. Castro has not been seen in public since undergoing emergency surgery in July of this year.

HOLMES: Remembering the victims of the South Asia tsunami.

GORANI: A lot more ahead here on YOUR WORLD TODAY, including this. The disaster did happen two years ago, but for the survivors the memories are still very much alive. HOLMES: And they come from all corners of the world to begin a journey of a lifetime. A report from Saudi Arabia as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Well, welcome back to CNN International. Glad to have you with us.

This is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

HOLMES: Indeed, it is. We're seen live in more than 200 countries and territories right across the globe.

GORANI: All right. Here are the top stories we're following here on CNN International this hour.

And, of course, Saddam Hussein's death sentence upheld this day.

At least 200 people also have died in an oil pipeline explosion and fire in Nigeria.

And people are making the -- marking the second anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami.

Now, another grim note from the Iraqi war. The U.S. military death toll in Iraq has now exceeded the number of victims in the September 11th attacks.

HOLMES: Yes. This week's violence has added to one very turbulent year overall in Iraq.

Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson takes a look back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It was supposed to be the year of hope. Election results were being counted, and if the new unity government could be formed quickly, it might just turn the rising tide of sectarian violence. But it was not to be.

By the end of January, it was clear Iraq's Shia majority had won the elections handily but then couldn't agree who would be prime minister. It was a bad start. Without progress there was a power vacuum.

Then, on February 22nd, everything changed for the worst. Sunni insurgents, inspired by al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, blew up a holy Shia shrine. They wanted to start a civil war and the country lurched towards it. Shia TV stations called for revenge, and the first serious signs of sectarian division began to show.

Sectarian death squads stalked Baghdad streets, and frightened families were forced to move. Small refugee camps formed. (on camera): Four months into the new year, and still no new government. Bullet-riddled bodies are showing up on the streets of Baghdad. Many showing the signs of torture. Sectarian killing is becoming the norm.

(voice over): Eventually, Nuri al-Maliki, a Shia, was appointed prime minister. But to get the post, he needed the support of firebrand Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Sadr's militia increasingly blamed for sectarian killings.

June, U.S. warplanes bombed a house where Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is hiding, and the al Qaeda leader is killed. It's what the coalition had been waiting for, a psychological victory against Sunni insurgents.

But the victory was short. Just weeks later, reports surfaced that U.S. soldiers raped and murdered an Iraqi girl, killed her family and burned their house. Attitudes hardened against American forces. Polls increasingly show most Iraqis want U.S. troops out.

(on camera): As the long, hot summer stretched out, sectarian tensions simmered. Mortars were occasionally fired between increasingly divided communities, heightening debate. Is this a civil war?

(voice over): The year's trends are becoming clear. Increasing violence. No one knows for sure how many Iraqis have been killed in the war, but estimates range from 50,000 to 600,000.

In October, an unwelcome record -- 106 U.S. troops killed. It's the deadliest month of the year for American forces.

Then, out of the blue, Iraq's prime minister openly challenged U.S. power. Nuri al-Maliki demanding U.S. troops remove checkpoints in the volatile Shia slum of Sadr City. The checkpoints came down, stymieing a hunt for a kidnapped U.S. serviceman. And without an Iraqi police and army, effectively turned over control of the suburb to a key supporter of the prime minister, firebrand Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his militia.

And if the year wasn't going badly enough, November became another defining month for all the wrong reasons. Again, events center on Sadr City, where the biggest single attack of the war killed more than 200. It's another lurch towards civil war. If the attack in February had primed the powder keg, this put a match to the fuse.

Sectarian violence rocketed again. Death squads killed hundreds a week in Baghdad. Threats rampant, fear palpable. Without trustworthy police and army, vigilantes took control of their neighborhoods.

Even as U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's was met with shrugs in Baghdad, President Bush called Prime Minister Maliki to a meeting in Jordan. He warned he must disarm the militias. Iraqis hoped for much more from the meeting, but they don't get it. Maliki returned to a fractured government. And by December, as President Bush paused to digest the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group in Baghdad, Prime Minister Maliki took the lead, launching a new security plan that put the Iraqi security forces in charge.

But on the political front, Maliki was still struggling to retain control over his government. Any hopes it placed in finding common ground with Sunnis dashed when many Sunni representatives refused to show up at a reconciliation conference.

In 2006, there was plenty of transition in Iraq, mostly from bad to worse.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right. From Google to YouTube, to the wait the Wii launch, 2006 was a blockbuster year for tech stocks.

GORANI: Well, just ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY, we'll take a look at some of the big winners, but also, of course, some of the big losers of the year, and look ahead to '07.

You're with YOUR WORLD TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez at the CNN Center in Atlanta.

More of YOUR WORLD TODAY in just a couple of minutes. But first, a check of the stories that are making headlines in the United States.

We'll start with severe weather.

A lot of cleanup on this day after Christmas in parts of north and central Florida. Severe storms swept the state Christmas Day. Tornadoes and suspected touched down in at least three counties: Columbia, Pasco and Volusia counties.

Dozens of homes were damaged, some of them left in splinters. Trees were uprooted, power lines downed, airplanes flipped over. No serious injuries, though, were reported.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I looked out the window. The wind started coming real hard and just started busting my window. I looked outside and just -- you just see everything rushing around. And then you just see debris flying everywhere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From my point of view, I've never seen anything like this. It's just like a war zone.

I mean, Embry-Riddle took a beating. It happened here at the apartment complex and further on up. How we didn't lose any lives, god was smiling on us today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Let's go over to the weather center now. Bonnie Schneider is following these for us.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SANCHEZ: Meanwhile, Saddam Hussein. No escape from the gallows.

An appellate court in Iraq has upheld the death sentence for the former dictator. The ruling means that he could be hanged within 30 days.

The conviction involves the 1982 massacre in the town of Dujail in Iraq. One hundred forty-eight Shiites were killed there in apparent retaliation for a failed assassination attempt.

Meanwhile, in Iraq, another day, another grim milestone. The Pentagon says a roadside bomb near Baghdad killed three U.S. soldiers. That pushes the American death toll past a macabre measure. The number of American troops killed in Iraq is now greater than the death toll on September 11, 2001.

As of a few years ago, 2,977 U.S. forces have died in Iraq.

An update now from a Spanish doctor who was flown into Cuba to examine Fidel Castro. He says the Cuban leader does not have cancer and is recovering slowly from his emergency intestinal surgery.

Right now there are no plans for any other surgeries, by the way. The doctor, who is now back in Madrid, flew to Havana last Thursday. The president of Cuba had the operation in July. He has not been seen in public since. For now, his brother Raul is in charge of Cuba's government.

He's played a tough guy plenty of times, but California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was no match for the Idaho ski slopes. He is having surgery today for a broken leg. The governor fractured his right femur while skiing with his family over the weekend. The surgery at the Los Angeles hospital is expected to take less than two hours.

And this, the legacy lives on. Singer James Brown remembered today. The "Godfather of Soul" died of congestive heart failure yesterday at the age of 73.

R&B, funk, rap, hip-hop, he was an innovator whose influence is felt in all types of music. Fans around the world are saying goodbye. The Reverend Al Sharpton says James Brown made soul music world music. Funeral arrangements aren't complete, but Sharpton is expected to speak.

And this: The Associated Press is now reporting James Brown was not legally married to this woman who says she's being kept out, locked out, literally, of the home that she says she shared with the singer. Brown's lawyer reportedly says that Tomi Rae Hynie is being kept out of the South Carolina home for estate reasons.

At the top of the hour, in the CNN NEWSROOM, we're going to hear civil rights activist Al Sharpton on this, who is going to share some of his very personal memories of the unforgettable James Brown.

Meantime, YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after just a quick break.

I'm Rick Sanchez.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

GORANI: All right, well, let's talk more about that December 26, 2004, a day that quite literally shook the world. That's when an earthquake equivalent to the power of 23,000 Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs roared to life beneath the Indian ocean. It triggered a tsunami that killed about 230,000 people. It left millions homeless in nearly dozen countries. As far as we know, it was the most destructive tsunami in history. It triggered a record outpouring of aid from all over the world.

But now, two years later, there's still so much more to be done. Those devastated by the tsunami are marking the anniversary by remembering the past today and preparing for the future. Indonesian officials ordered an evacuation drill for residents and tourists of the island of Bali.

In Thailand, a tribute to the 5,000 people who died on the beaches and coastal towns that fateful day. The government also opened a new cemetery for unidentified tsunami victims.

In India, a fishing community marked the moment that their lives were turned upside down. More than 7,000 people were killed in the southern state of Tamal Nadu (ph) alone. Now despite the efforts of closure, this is another memorial ceremony from Thailand that you see there on this screen. It's doubtful anyone who lived through the tsunami or loved someone who didn't live through it will ever forget that day two years ago.

Angelie Rau (ph) looks at how some of them are trying to piece their lives back together.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANGELIE RAU (ph), CNN CORRESPONDENT: But the sea receded and then came a wall of water nothing could withstand. It was one of the worst disasters in human history. Off the West Coast of Indonesia, an earthquake measuring 9.15 on the Richter Scale displaced an ocean of water which swept everything in its path; 232,000 people were left dead or missing across a dozen countries. More than half died in Aceh alone. The civil war-torn province in the north of the Indonesian island of Sumatra was closest to the earthquake fault line. And it's here the wave hit first.

Two years on, and despite a huge global pouring of aid, thousands, like Etep (ph), remain without permanent housing. Her family home is now a temporary barracks. The local authorities tell her the land that's been allocated has yet to be freed for construction, so nothing has been built. Bureaucracy and the sheer scale of the task is hindering progress.

LAWRENCE GREENWOOD, ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK: This is actually not unusual. This is the usual kind of process and pattern for these kind of reconstruction works. Keep in mind, Kobe, even a rich country like Japan, took seven years to rebuild Kobe after the earthquake.

RAU: There's a similar story in Sri Lanka, where less than half the houses planned for the hard-hit East Coast have been built, even less in the northeast, where civil war has reignited. But amid memorials to the dead, new schools and houses are being built. The aid has given hope to many.

Gilley Mangallaga (ph) saved herself by running up a hill that morning.

"We lost everything in the tsunami," she says. We are not unhappy now. We got this house, and we try to be happy. There is some happiness in Thailand, too, as tourists are returning to the once hard hit island of Phuket.

Six-thousand people died in the beach resort of Khao Lak. But Peter Brennan has returned, despite a close call in 2004.

PETER BRENNAN, IRISH TOURIST: I could see big tsunami coming, and then I run. (INAUDIBLE). It put me over trees. Boom, up, up, up, up, in the air, you know?

RAU: But for every story of recovery and reconstruction, and despite the passing of time, for those, like Mananshe (ph), the memories of that day are still sharply in focus. Six-thousand lives were lost from her fishing village on India's southeast coast.

"The mere mention of the word tsunami scares me, she says. It sends a chill down my spine. The waves killed my four children. I can never forget."

Angelie Rau, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Well, two years on, the scale of the tragedy remains almost unimaginable. We may never know exactly how many people died. The United Nations puts the figure at nearly 230,000. Millions were made homeless and many remain so today. In Indonesia alone, the tsunami drove 600,000 people from their homes. Only a third of those have moved back into permanent homes. International donors pledged $6.7 billion in aid. There has been criticism, however, in some cases. The money has been slow in coming and there have been complaints about how some of the aid has been distributed.

Let's put a human face on these staggering figures. I'm joined by Andy Nelson, staff photographer for "The Christian Science Monitor." He spent a lot of time in the tsunami region following its effects on people there. In fact, he just got back from the region a few days ago.

Andy Nelson, thanks for being with us.

I'm going to take a look at your pictures and I'm going to ask you to comment on them for our viewers.

First, a set of pictures of before and after, if you will. Although two years later, it's probably not the after many people would like to see.

Let's pull those up now, and you can comment on them. What are we looking at?

ANDY NELSON, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER, "THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR": This is in Aylalee (ph) in Banda Aceh, and this is sort of ground zero for where the tsunami came through. It was absolute devastation, very little standing. The one building still standing was a hospital that was under construction, and it remained. But everything else had been completely wiped out in the tsunami.

GORANI: Is this the after then?

NELSON: And this is today. You can barely see the top of the building there in the center of the frame. Houses have been built. There's still work that needs to be done in the neighborhood to get it back to the way it was in terms of housing for folks and infrastructure.

GORANI: But there's been some work done there. You see some construction, and it looks like the normal sort of village scene.

NELSON: Absolutely.

GORANI: It looks like the normal sort of village scene. What are people telling you there? Because you followed two families. Tell us what we're seeing there on our screens.

NELSON: This is also in Aylalee, and you can see that the road had been opened by the time -- this was three weeks after the tsunami. A lot of debris had been cleared. If you go to the next picture, you'll see now that there's shops and structures that have been built. So people are definitely rebuilding their lives, and the entrepreneurial spirit in Aceh is coming through.

GORANI: All right, let's take a look at another before and after. What are we seeing here?

NELSON: This is the bridge that crosses the river near Lok Nach (ph). Many bridges along the coast highway, as well as the coast highway were completely devastated. The bridge here, which was a steel bridge, was pushed about 50 meters upstream from where it was standing. So, the power of the wave, you could just imagine what it would take.

GORANI: And today, the bridge is up. Is that a permanent or is that a temporary sort of ...

NELSON: That's a temporary one-lane bridge that's been put up in that same location. So, it enables people to access that stretch of the coastline a little easier.

GORANI: Now, let's get to those two families you've been following. Families you caught up with in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami and again today. Let's take a look at those pictures and we'll have you comment on that.

NELSON: Right. We followed two families to figure out how they were going to access the aid community. One family had lost two -- sorry, had lost three children and their house and they decided to move back into Banda Aceh, into their neighborhood, before everything -- and not really receive aid. So, they actually cobbled together a house on their own where they've lived for the last year.

GORANI: And that's them today?

NELSON: No, this is them in April of 2005. Obviously, losing three children, they had a lot of emotional issues that they were dealing with at the time. And the fact that they wanted to live in that neighborhood was a testament to them wanting to be closer to where they had last been with their children.

So, they have had their two children, but it was a very difficult time. Obviously, Sharira (ph), whose the mother was grieving the loss of her children. And this is today. This was just about three weeks ago.

You know, they're still living in the same location, but they have a temporary structure that's been built for them by an NGO and you can see pieces of the original house, but then much sturdier tin roof and then some permanent houses that have been built for neighbors provided by C.A.R.E. But Sharira (ph) has definitely overcome her emotional issues and the grieving and the memories the past are starting to recede.

GORANI: It's hard to imagine having lost some of your own children in such a tragedy to be able to even have a smile on your face. I looked at your pictures and I saw that some of these people are still wearing colorful clothing, looking like they have some hope with regards to the future. Is that what you found in the communities you visited?

NELSON: Absolutely. I think that the -- for me this is a story of resilience and courage and hope. And I think that whereas in some situations, people may want to fold up, the reality is that these folks that I've been following have really pushed themselves to try to rebuild their lives. I think they've done a really heroic job at doing that.

GORANI: We're going to end with this set of pictures. This is another family, I understand. Tell us about this woman we're seeing there holding a baby. NELSON: This is Resifita (ph), her and her husband would probably be considered middle class Acehnese. Both of them were relatively well-educated. He worked for the local television station, but they -- and they were also living at a home that was their in laws. They didn't actually own the land -- they were renting. So afterwards, they moved into a tent.

The family was intact. They didn't lose any children. They basically lost property. Shortly, they were very lucky in that -- in June, they were able to move into temporary quarters provided by the International Organization for Migration.

Now they're living, you know, a relatively stable life, although they're very concerned about where they're going to live next because they are what are considered the landless. They have -- there's 25,000 people who -- families who don't have land on which to build their homes. So they're very concerned. Moamur (ph) whose the husband here on the left hopes that they'll be able to find this piece of land to build a home.

GORANI: OK, got to leave it there. Andy Nelson of the "Christian Science Monitor" on this, the second anniversary of the devastating tsunami there in that part of world. We're going to take a short break on YOUR WORLD TODAY. Thank you to our guest. We'll be right back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Welcome back to CNN International and YOUR WORLD TODAY.

HOLMES: Thanks for being with us wherever you're watching around the globe. Let's update you now.

Muslims worldwide preparing for one of the holiest rituals in Islam. The annual pilgrimage to Mecca.

GORANI: Well, more than one and a half million pilgrims already have arrived in Saudi Arabia, for the hajj, which culminates on Friday.

HOLMES: Here's Zain Verjee with a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You can see it from high in the sky. A sacred symbol at the core of the Islamic world. Muslims making the hajj, the ultimate physical and spiritual journey to Mecca to see Islam's holiest place up close.

All Muslims have to do the hajj at least once in their lives, if they're healthy enough and can afford it. Millions come to the old oasis town where the prophet Muhammad was born and perform the same rituals he did 1,400 years ago. And all together. From Iran to Indonesia. China to Chad.

SAMI ANGAMI, HAJJ EXPERT: Hajj is representation of community and diversity.

VERJEE (on camera): The pilgrims enter Mecca in a sacred state of purity. The men wear two pieces of unstiff cloth. The women dress simply and they cover their heads.

(voice-over): The rules are very strict. No violence, no sex, no swearing. The first ritual for pilgrims, circle this black cube, the Khaba, seven times, to symbolize that God is at the center of a Muslim's world. Muslims pray in this direction five times each day.

ANGAMI: You are not an individual anymore. You are part of a moving ...

VERJEE: Then, those here head out to the desert to the Mina (ph) Valley, by car or by foot. They camp out and meditate. At sunrise, they go to the plain of Arafat until sunset. The pilgrims pray, asking for forgiveness.

ANGAMI: All equal, all the same, regardless of who they are, where the come from, what race, what language, and they are there calling the name of God.

VERJEE: Next, a dangerous moment in the hajj. Three days of stoning. A ritual symbolizing the rejection of the devil's temptation. It's here that often deadly stampedes happen.

Finally, back to Mecca and around the Khaba and then a return to the pilgrim's regular life with a clean bill of spiritual health and to the feast called Aiyeb, celebrated by all Muslims around the world.

Zain Verjee, CNN, Mecca.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And starting tomorrow, Zain will be reporting live from Mecca. We'll also be focusing on the challenges facing Muslim youth today. Hajj, the essential journey, all this week, right here on CNN.

GORANI: Still ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY. Chaos is spreading through some of the streets in the northern Netherlands.

HOLMES: Traffic lights dismantled, parking zones eliminated. We'll tell you why city planners are giving anarchy the green light when we come back.

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GORANI: All right, let's switch gears now, to a story that's sure to get people talking. The Dutch town -- a Dutch town, rather -- there's more than one, is in the midst of a traffic revolution.

HOLMES: It's all about timing. It's based on the theory that less is more when it comes to safety. Here's Jim Bittermann.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chaos. Chaos is spreading through the streets of the northern Netherlands. Traffic lights have been dismantled. Parking zones eliminated. Curbs have been flattened.

In one county alone, nearly half of all thoroughfares are roads gone wild. With not only the agreement but the encouragement of city planners, elected officials and even the European Union and the architect of this anarchy has become the roadside guru of revolution.

HANS MONDERMAN, DUTCH TRAFFIC ENGINEER: Chaos is an order we don't understand yet. An order is a chaos where we put in the logic later on. In my opinion, chaos and order have quite a lot in common.

BITTERMANN: Hans Monderman is a Dutch traffic engineer who thinks many traffic regulations interfere with safe driving.

(on camera): So you say you don't mind if people break the rules here?

MONDERMAN: I love it.

BITTERMANN (voice-over): It's not like the Dutch have abandoned convention all together. This is still a country where educators insist children as young as 11 should pass driver's exams to ride bicycles.

But what Monderman and many others advocate are traffic systems based on as few signs of regulations as possible, in order to encourage as much individual responsibility as possible. In the Monderman world, only two rules apply. You drive, ride or walk on the right side and those coming from the right have the right of way. Otherwise, everyone in an intersection is equal.

(on camera): Creators of the concept say it depends at least on part in collective insecurity that drivers have to pay more attention when they don't know what people are going to do next.

(voice-over): The question is of course, does it work as intended, to speed traffic and improve safety? The biggest shared space experiment to date is in the Dutch town of Drachten, population, 55,000.

Eight years ago, Drachten began creating what are called traffic calming measures: speed bumps, artificially narrowed streets and the like. Over time, all but three of the town's 15 traffic lights were replaced with traffic circles or shared space intersection. The results, according to city officials, are encouraging.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There have been no serious accidents. Things happen, but mostly, there are -- well, damage on the car or the bicycle but not to the human beings.

BITTERMANN: Not all drivers, cyclists or pedestrians of course like that idea of having to watch out better, the concentration and constant tension that go with scrapping the traffic rules. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not everything what freedom is is good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's danger, I can say that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It makes you pay attention, I think.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, when you think it's dangerous so everybody wants to pay attention.

BITTERMANN: Monderman regularly determines whether people are paying attention by closing his eyes and blindly walking into traffic. "I'm still alive," he says. Indeed, it may take time for many to learn to share, especially without all those signs for reminders. But in Drachten, the city fathers have spotted an unexpected consequence of sharing space on the road. They believe those who learn to be more civic-minded behind the wheel are also more civic-minded when they are not. Jim Bittermann, CNN, Drachten, the Netherlands.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Let me read this very carefully. Now it's usually an insult to be told you look like a dog.

GORANI: But not for these people.

HOLMES: They strutted in with their pets in Israel's annual look-alike contest, judges deciding which owners look most like their canine companions based on a combination of style and appearance.

GORANI: The winning couple took home, what else, a year's supply of dog food. I don't know about that, all right.

HOLMES: Yes, I've got a Golden Retriever. I hope I don't look like that. All right, that's it for this hour. I'm Michael Holmes.

GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. This is CNN. Stay with us.

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