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Your World Today
Luciano Pavarotti Dead at 71; Germany Terror Plot; Missing Madeleine: Some DNA Results In, Police Interview Parents
Aired September 06, 2007 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was one of the greatest tenors of our generation, not a shadow of a doubt about that. He brought in millions, tens of millions, of people to the joys and the passion and the wonders of opera.
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ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: His voice won fans even outside of opera. The world remembers Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti.
JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Three in custody and tracking 10 more. German authorities hunt for suspects plotting attacks on Americans.
SESAY: The motorcade looked official, but the VIP was a fake. A prank by Australian comedians leaves APEC security teams red-faced.
CLANCY: And garbage becoming a means for survival. Dump trucks in Israel change a landscape and a Palestinian territory.
SESAY: It's 7:00 p.m. in the West Bank, 6:00 p.m. in Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
Hello and welcome to our broadcast around the globe.
I'm Isha Sesay.
CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy.
From Sao Paulo to Sydney, Berlin to Beijing, wherever you are watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
SESAY: His powerful voice was so beautiful, it easily captivated classical music lovers.
CLANCY: But as we look back on the man, it was his charismatic personality that helped to bring opera off its pedestal and into the homes of the masses.
SESAY: The world is remembering the tenor many called the greatest of his generation.
CLANCY: Luciano Pavarotti died on Thursday of pancreatic cancer at his home in Modena, Italy. He was 71 years of age. The Royal Opera House in London said in tribute that Pavarotti was one of the rare artists who affected the lives of people in all walks of life.
SESAY: He won crossover fame as a popular superstar, becoming a household name, when he joined Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras to form The Three Tenors.
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JOSE CARRERAS, "THE THREE TENORS": It's a very sad moment not only for the opera world, not only for the people involved with Luciano Pavarotti professionally, but particularly as a friend. I'm very honored that I have been a close friend of his for many, many years. And he had been, of course, one of the greatest tenors ever, one of the most important singers of the history of opera.
He has been a wonderful friend. And I -- it's a very sad moment for all of us.
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SESAY: Well, Jim, Pavarotti once said he had a meager upbringing, but it was rich in happiness.
CLANCY: His childhood love of singing grew when he joined his father, also a tenor, in a local chorus. Pavarotti made a name for himself in European opera houses in the early 1960s and became a true media star in the mid-'70s, singing in stadiums around the world. Even appearing in television commercials.
His 1990 performance with The Three Tenors at the World Cup turned them into an overnight sensation.
SESAY: He seemed equally at ease singing with famous sopranos or the Spice Girls. He said commercialism was a good thing for opera so that more people could enjoy it.
Pavarotti's final aria was last year at the winter Olympics.
Now, Vienna State Opera house is displaying black flags in memory of Pavarotti, and his hometown of Modena, Italy, said it would name the city's theater after its native son.
Well, Jennifer Eccleston joins us now live via broadband from Modena.
And Jennifer, just give us a sense of the reaction to the sad news that Pavarotti has passed away.
JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are all walks of life, and they are coming to bid a final farewell to their homegrown celebrity and musical icon, Luciano Pavarotti, in a public viewing in this majestic cathedral behind me.
It's a loss for Italy, a loss for the music world, a loss of a man with an unstoppable zest for life. That's just some of the reaction for Il Maestro, as he's known here in his hometown after hearing that their very own opera sensation died early this morning in a family home after succumbing to pancreatic cancer.
His adoring fans, however, had some preparation for this day. Last night, the 71-year-old's condition was reported as grave. He had lost consciousness and his kidneys were failing. He was also hospitalized in August for respiratory problems associated with his cancer.
Now, after his final round of chemotherapy, his wife vowed that he would indeed beat the disease and resume his farewell tour which began in 2004. But his illness forced him to cancel the tour and he had not been seen in public since last year -- Isha.
SESAY: And Jennifer, from the people you've been speaking to, what was it about Pavarotti that made him such a force to be reckoned with?
ECCLESTON: Well, he burst on to the opera seen in the mid-'60s, building his reputation as one of the greatest performance of the century. He impressed opera aficionados with his smooth and yet powerful voice and his seemingly effortless ability to hit those high C notes, and performing, also demanding arias.
He also performed not only with opera legends, but with pop stars, like U2's Bono, who today called him today a volcanic force in music. He also won fans with his affable personality, and he used his celebrity to raise millions of dollars for a various number of charities. For that work, he was honored by international dignitaries this day, including U.S. President George Bush, who called him a great humanitarian.
Luciano Pavarotti's body will remain on display in this cathedral, Isha, until his funeral on Saturday.
SESAY: And Jennifer, what do we know of those funeral plans?
ECCLESTON: Well, we do know from -- from the mayor of Modena that it will take place on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. We don't yet know who is on the list of attendees.
We assume that there will be notable figures from Italy. But there also will probably be some smattering of international celebrities. He mixed quite well with the Hollywood set and the rock music set.
The mayor also told us today that his wife had asked that the funeral be dignified, be simple. And he also said that in one of his final conversations with Luciano Pavarotti, the maestro, the tenor had asked that the day be not of mourning. That people not wear black. That it should be something of a celebration -- Isha.
SESAY: All right. Jennifer Eccleston there in Modena, Italy.
Many thanks. Well, go to our Web site at CNN.com for more on Pavarotti. You can find photos of him on stage with some of today's biggest pop stars.
CLANCY: Isha, let's check some of the other stories that are making news around the globe right now.
(NEWSBREAK)
CLANCY: In Germany now, calls for tougher anti-terrorism measures from some quarters as police are still searching for supporters of three suspected Islamic militants who were arrested on Wednesday. Authorities charge they are looking for 10 more people both in Germany and abroad.
Frederik Pleitgen comes to us live now from Ramstein Air Base with the latest.
What can you tell us? Where does the investigation stand right now?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, Jim, the investigation stands at a point where the Germans are telling us that they are still looking for 10 other -- for around 10 other possible suspects in this case. We talked to the German interior minister earlier this morning, and he says not all of these suspects are in Germany and not all of these suspects are German citizens.
And the place I am right now, of course, Ramstein Air Base here in Germany, was one of the places that possibly was one of the main targets of this possible plot. And we were able to speak to some of the people who are on base and who are living around here. And here's what they had to say.
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PLEITGEN (voice over): Security is also tight at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, but since the alleged terror conspiracy was uncovered, soldiers on guard duty here seem to be looking just a little more closely. Ramstein is one of the U.S. military's transport hubs for Iraq and Afghanistan. It may have been one of the intended targets of the alleged terrorists.
While none of the soldiers was willing to talk to us, American civilians working or visiting the base say they are anxious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am very concerned about it, yes. But it's just that I'm not going to let it control my life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're living right next -- close to the base. And it's kind of shocking to see how something could be so close to us. And just a little scared.
PLEITGEN: But Tammy Dean (ph) and Linda Clay (ph), who are both married to U.S. servicemen here, say they feel safe in towns close to the base, even if the news on Wednesday was a shock.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the security on base is pretty good. I mean, we're still proud to be here. And I think it was an eye-opener.
PLEITGEN: An eye-opener for the German government as well. Investigators say the three suspects, two German converts to Islam and a Turk, were motivated by a deep hatred of the Untied States. Officials tell CNN they had acquired sophisticated detonators for the explosives they had stored, explosives made of the same material as those used in the London terror attacks in 2005. And authorities are looking for others in Germany and beyond whom they believe may have ties to the plot.
Officials say investigators have begun sifting through evidence gathered at raids at over 30 locations in Germany over the past two days.
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PLEITGEN: Now, Jim, one of the things that the investigation here is also focusing on is what we were saying in that report just a minute ago, is those detonators. Those are very important in all of this.
Now, one German official told me that the detonators really are very important because the better the detonator is in these plots, the more exact, the more precise they can trigger, possibly trigger these bombs. And they say with those very sophisticated detonators that these terrorists had acquired, that lethal, that very lethal chemical that they were going to turn into bomb-making material, would have had a very, very devastating explosive to go with it -- Jim.
CLANCY: A story we continue to follow there with the help of Frederik Pleitgen on the ground at Ramstein Air Base.
Thank you, Frederik.
SESAY: Coming up, looking for Madeleine.
CLANCY: Police investigating the disappearance of a 4-year-old British girl have a couple of witnesses they still want to question -- her parents.
SESAY: A fake Osama bin Laden shows up at the APEC summit in Australia and winds up in some very real trouble.
CLANCY: And later, they used to work in Israel. Now these Palestinians get by, barely, by taking in Israel's garbage.
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CLANCY: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to CNN International and YOUR WORLD TODAY.
SESAY: We're covering the news the world wants to know and giving you some perspective that goes deeper into the stories of the day.
CLANCY: Well, we've got some developments to tell you about in the case of Madeleine McCann, the little British girl who went missing back in May. Police say they've got the results of DNA tests and they do point to a suspect.
SESAY: Well, authorities say they anticipate an arrest within 48 hours. Also, detectives are interviewing Madeleine's parents separately, but we must stress, as witnesses, not suspects.
Philip Reay Smith has the details.
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PHILIP REAY SMITH, REPORTER, ITV NEWS (voice over): In a case lacking much progress, today's news comes as a development, although it's difficult to know exactly how significant it is.
Today, Portuguese police have announced they will interview Kate McCann on her own this afternoon. Her husband, Gerry, will be interviewed tomorrow.
The news comes a day after police in Portugal received the results of forensic tests conducted in the apartment, but analyzed in the U.K. The evidence is believed to include a spot of blood found on the apartment's wall.
The Portuguese police chief leading the investigation has stressed that both parents are being treated as witnesses, not suspects. But this is only the second time Madeleine's mother has been formally interviewed by police.
The first time was the day after the 4-year-old went missing. On this occasion, she's believed to be bringing her lawyer with her.
It's now 126 days since Madeleine went missing from the McCanns' holiday apartment. Her parents have always believed she would be found alive. And last week they announced they would sue a Portuguese newspaper which claims they'd killed their daughter.
The McCanns had been planning to return to their home in Leicestershire on Sunday, but have now postponed that trip because of the interviews. Nevertheless, a family friend says they view today's news as a positive development.
Phil Reay Smith, ITV-News.
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CLANCY: World leaders now gathering now in Sydney, Australia, for the APEC economic summit. Chinese President Hu Jintao and U.S. President George W. Bush have already held a preliminary meeting on the sidelines of that summit. During their 90-minute talks, the leaders discussed global warming, North Korea, and the problems with the quality of Chinese exports. SESAY: Now a prank pulled by an Australian comedy show is getting worldwide attention this day. The show which is called "The Chaser's War on Everything" managed to breach security and put a fake motorcade within a stone's throw of U.S. President George W. Bush's hotel in Sydney.
John Vause has the story.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The biggest security operation in Australian history breached by a group of TV comedians, including one dressed as Osama bin Laden. Their phony three-car motorcade was decked out with Canadian flags. There was a motorcycle escort, SUVs and bodyguards. It all looked authentic enough to get within 30 feet of President Bush's hotel.
He was inside at the time, and authorities here are not laughing.
DAVID CAMPBELL, NSW POLICE MINISTER: I don't see a funny side to what's happened today. I don't see a funny side at all.
VAUSE: The Canadian prime minister hadn't even touched down in Australia. But, still, the fake convoy went through two security checkpoints and no one realized anything was up until the bin Laden impersonator got out of the car and then police moved in.
DAVE OWENS, DEPUTY POLICE COMMISSIONER: No, I'm not embarrassed at all. What I am is, I'm very angry that such a stunt like this would be pulled.
VAUSE: Eleven people were arrested. They face jail time for breaching the APEC security zone.
ALEXANDER DOWNER, AUSTRALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, they were arrested, so I guess that just shows the security -- the security system works.
VAUSE (on camera): This was all meant to be just a prank, and it seems most Australians thought it was funny. One snap (ph) online newspaper poll found almost 90 percent believe it was a pretty good joke. And they're laughing at APEC security.
John Vause, CNN, Sydney.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: Well, from Australia to the deserts of Nevada, scouring the mountains for a missing multimillionaire.
SESAY: Ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY, the latest on the search for daredevil Steve Fossett. We'll have a closer look at the plane he was in when he flew off the radar.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAY: Welcome back to our viewers joining us from more than 200 countries and territories around the globe, including the United States.
This is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
I'm Isha Sesay.
CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy.
And these are some of the stories that are making headlines.
A great voice in opera fallen silent. Luciano Pavarotti died of cancer Thursday at his home in Modena, Italy. He had been a star since the 1960s. Known for his charisma and for making opera accessible to wider audiences. Luciano Pavarotti was 71 years of age.
ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: Police in Germany scour the country for supporters of three suspects Islamic militants arrested on Wednesday. Authorities say they're looking for another 10 people in connection with an alleged plot to bomb high-profile targets frequented by Americans. Police report finding sophisticated military detonators along with huge stores of bomb-making material.
CLANCY: Movement in the case of little Madeleine McCann. She's the four-year-old British girl who disappeared from a Portuguese resort four months ago. Police say they have received DNA results on blood drops, saliva and hair found in the family's room. Authorities will be interviewing the girl's parents as witnesses, not as suspects, today and tomorrow.
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FRED THOMPSON, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm running for president of the United States.
JAY LENO, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": All right! There you have it, ladies and gentlemen.
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SESAY: All right. Let's talk politics. It wasn't exactly a surprise.
CLANCY: No, it wasn't.
SESAY: No, but a surprising choice as to where he made the public announcement.
CLANCY: Former Republican Senator Fred Thompson there on a late- night U.S. talk show formally announcing what he's been talking about for months, that he's going to be running for the Republican presidential nomination.
SESAY: His official website carried the same message. And he's not wasting any time getting on the campaign trail.
CLANCY: Thompson now begins a two-day tour of Iowa, where political caucuses are traditionally seen as the very start of the nominating process. But has Thompson waited too long to get into the race? John King joins you from Des Moines, Iowa, with more on the now official Thompson presidential campaign.
We heard a mention by other candidates, he looks presidential, he sounds presidential. Is that what has his rivals in the Republican Party worried?
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That certainly is part of it, Jim. And don't undervalue the idea of looking the part, if you will. Fred Thompson is known for his roles on TV and in Hollywood, in the movies. He now wants to look the part of president and appeal to a conservative Republican base that his campaign believe has yet to settle on one front-runner among the eight other Republicans running because of different questions about those candidates.
So what does Fred Thompson say out of the box? He will say to conservatives around the United States of America, I know you're worried that after eight years of George W. Bush the odds now favor Democrats taking back the White House. Not only Democrats taking back the White House, but maybe a Democrat named Clinton. Fred Thompson is trying to tell conservatives he is the candidate who can prevent that from happening.
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THOMPSON: To my Republican friends, I point out that in 1992 we were down after a Clinton victory. In '94, our conservative principles led us to a comeback and majority control of the Congress. Now you don't want to have to come back from another Clinton victory. Our country needs us to win next year and I'm ready to lead that effort.
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KING: Who is Fred Thompson? He's 65 years old. He was born of modest roots in small-town Tennessee. Rose to be a big federal prosecutor.
Was the chief Republican counsel on the Watergate Committee that ultimately forced Richard Nixon from the presidency. Then he was a senator himself in Washington for more than six years, for eight years in all. A lobbyist at times. But, of course, most known for his roles on TV and in the movies.
And now, Jim, getting into this Republican race, some say too late. The Thompson campaign believes the other guys started too early and that, again, especially conservatives in the Republican Party are still looking for a candidate. He has a prime opportunity, they believe.
But because he is getting in a bit late, the first voting about four months away, there's little room for error. So the speech he will give here today, the bus tour in Iowa, then on to New Hampshire and South Carolina, a critical chance for him to seize the spotlight in this Republican race and perhaps even seize the initiative.
Jim.
CLANCY: Well, as he steps into the spotlight, has he really defined his position on issue number one -- what to do in Iraq?
KING: Very carefully. He has been cautious so far. Not saying he would leave x number of troops in Iraq or how long American troops would have to stay. I put that question to him about two weeks ago. And he said the most important thing he believes is the United States should not leave Iraq, as he put it, with its tail between its legs. Meaning that U.S. standing in the world is critical that the United States leave Iraq successfully.
Just how would the Thompson administration do that? Those are the many details still to come in this campaign. Whether the question is Iraq, other key foreign policy issues in the world, and what he would do about taxes and domestic policy, the economy here in the United States, those are questions he has yet to answer in detail.
You noted last night the other eight Republican candidates staged a debate. Fred Thompson says from here on out he will be part of those debates and those will certainly, beginning with Iraq, be the questions he's going to have to answer to prove his credibility on the substance of running for president.
CLANCY: It seemed that this election campaign got started sooner than any in recent memory. Does getting in late really hurt him or not? How do you judge it? You follow these more closely than the rest of us.
KING: Well, he has benefitted from being on the sidelines because he's not muddied up, if you will, not bruised like the other people. The American people tend to get tired of politics and politicians. So the guys who have been running for a long time, people sort of look at them and go, oh, yes, another politician. So he has benefitted from being on the sidelines.
The question now is, though, that he is getting in. Just take this state of Iowa. It holds a caucus system. People go into homes and votes four months from now. It's a very quirky system. You need to have grassroots organizations, supporters who are willing to work very hard for you. Many of the grassroots activists have already signed on with other campaigns.
So getting in late he has benefitted from because his image has not been sullied yet. People are not bored with him already.
But now that he is, Jim, he has a very small window to prove he can raise the money, sign up the activists. Make no mistakes or very few mistakes when it comes to the issues and immediately go from zero to 60, if you will. He cannot have a slow start. He has to start very quickly. CLANCY: All right, John, always great to talk with you and get your perspective on these things, especially as it concerns U.S. politics.
John King there reporting to us live.
KING: Thanks, Jim.
SESAY: Well, let's bring you a little bit more now on that GOP debate that John and Jim were just talking about. As we were saying, the rest of the GOP candidates squared off with their fifth debate last night in New Hampshire. There was plenty of passion about Iraq. Most of the eight Republicans defended the war. That is except for Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who said the troops should be withdrawn. That led to this fiery exchange with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.
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REP. RON PAUL, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Dug a hole our ourselves and we've dug a hole for our party. We're losing elections and we're going down next year if we don't change it. And it has all to do with foreign policy and we have to wake up to this fact.
MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Even if we lose elections, we should not lose our honor. And that is more important than the Republican Party.
PAUL: We're losing -- we lost over . . .
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Both sides got applause from the crowd in Durham, New Hampshire. For the very latest from the U.S. campaign trail and the road to the White House, you can always turn to our website. The address for you, simply cnn.com/politics.
CLANCY: Well, this just in. An invading army is conquering England. The warriors armed with swords, spears, bows and arrows. But, no, this isn't a flashback to the days of William the Conqueror. Oh, no. Our Alphonso van Marsh brings us an update from the front lines.
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ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The Chinese army is invading the British museum. Twenty terra-cotta warriors, buried to protect China's first emperor of the Chin dynasty in the afterlife, are on loan from China.
JANE PORTAL, CURATOR, THE BRITISH MUSEUM: We were able to achieve this agreement where we've got more terra-cotta figures that have ever been allowed out before to an exhibition.
VAN MARSH: Museum curator Jane Portal says the exhibition is part of one of the most important known archaeological discoveries. PORTAL: It's all about the first emperor, who is a very important figure in Chinese history. But people don't really know about him in the west. They haven't heard of Chin Cho Yongvi (ph). He wanted to live forever and he wanted to rule over the whole world. He had a huge vision. And the terra-cotta warriors are just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.
VAN MARSH: Bringing the first emperor's treasures here wasn't easy. Requiring four planes and shipping by trains and truck to a specially-made museum display.
WENDY ADAMSON, HEAVY OBJECT HANDLER: It is a little bit Indiana Jones when you actually first open a crate. It's always in the back of your mind that you must take the absolute care. But you can't -- you can't be scared. Luckily, I don't know the insurance costs of these.
PORTAL: You can see them all close up. You can see how tall they are. They're taller than me. They're larger than life size. The details were done by hand of the noses, the mouths, the beards. All the details of the hair. So each one is slightly different. Some of them have long-sleeved armor. Some of them have short-sleeved armor. Some of them have big noses. Some of them have flat noses.
VON MARSH: Authorities tell a story about how last year at the Main Atum (ph) Complex and Museum in China there was a German art student who was so enamored by these terra-cotta statutes that he managed to dress up like one, breach security and actually jump in and stand among them. His costume so convincing that it took a few minute for security to actually find him. Now, British officials say that won't happen here.
Largely unseen but in place, the curator says, laser and motion sensors, alarms and security cameras. High-tech means to protect ancient warriors that were meant to protect an emperor throughout eternity.
Alphonso van Marsh, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: Well, coming up, we're going to show you one tough way to make a living.
SESAY: They can't work in Israel anymore, so now they report to work at the garbage dump. That story just ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY.
CLANCY: Plus, remembering one of the world's greatest tenors. We're going to speak with an author who wrote extensively about the legacy of the late Luciano Pavarotti.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CLANCY: As we've been telling you, Asia-Pacific leaders gathering in Sydney, Australia, for their annual summit that is known as APEC. Chinese President Hu Jintao and U.S. President George W. Bush already holding bilateral talks on the sidelines, tackling everything from Iran's nuclear program to trade issues. White House correspondent Elaine Quijano is in Sydney and brings us this late update.
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ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Bush calls the U.S./China relationship complex and for 90 minutes today he and China's president, Hu Jintao, had the chance to discuss those complex relations. Afterwards, the two leaders said they discussed a variety of topics, including Iran, climate change and religious freedom. And against the backdrop of product recalls and consumers concerns in the United States, President Bush said the two also discussed product safety.
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GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The president was quite articulate about product safety. And I appreciated his comments.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Also on the agenda, increasing communication on military matters, including a possible future hotline between the two country's armed services. Bush aides hope an announcement on that will come soon.
The president also accepted an invitation from the Chinese premier to attend next year's Olympics taking place in China. Bush aides say the president will attend as a sports fan and not to make a political statement.
Meantime, tomorrow, President Bush will make remarks before Asian and Pacific leaders attending the economic summit before sitting down for meetings with the president of Russia and South Korea.
Elaine Quijano, CNN, Sydney, Australia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Well, an Iraqi official says a pre-dawn U.S. air raid in Baghdad left 14 people dead. The U.S. military says it was conducting an operation in that particular neighborhood. It's a stronghold of the Mehdi army, whose actions have been suspended for six months by its leader, Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Several people were wounded and some houses were demolished in the attack. But the U.S. has made no mention of any fatalities.
CLANCY: A Palestinian landowner calls it an honest living. His neighbors don't want him doing business with Israel. Ben Wedeman has more on growing tensions over a West Bank garbage dump.
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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): This may look like smoldering rubbish, a garbage dump on a baron West Bank hillside, but for Walid Hussein it's a living. He used to work on construction sites in Israel. But since the outbreak of the Palestinian intefadeh (ph) seven years ago, fewer and fewer Palestinians have been allowed into Israel. Walid, and others like him, have found a new way to scrape by, turning their land into garbage dumps.
This is the natural consequence of the economic crisis in the Palestinian territories. Palestinians who used to work in Israel can no longer go there. And in this case, they've opened up their land for Israelis to dump their garbage.
Arab-Israeli truck drivers pay Walid around $35 per truckload of garbage. In Israel they'd pay 10 times that. Walid is sensitive to criticisms from other Palestinians for doing this kind of business with Israel.
"We aren't doing anything wrong," he says. "If we wanted to, we could steal. We could sell hashish. We could do anything."
The mayor of the nearby town complained the area will soon be buried in rubbish.
"Every day," says Ayman Nafe, "we see 20 or 30 trucks coming here, each with at least 15 tons of garbage."
Back at the dump, our welcome was short-lived. We managed to take still pictures of discarded medicine boxes. Many worry refuse from hospitals is being dumped here. Driving away one last shot of another truck come to dump its load.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, on the West Bank.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Coming up, more on opera legend Luciano Pavarotti.
CLANCY: We're going to take a look back at his accomplished career and hear why many consider him the greatest tenor of his generation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CLANCY: You know, we've been talking a lot about Luciano Pavarotti this day, but I think there are no words that can really describe him. It's only his music.
SESAY: Only his music. He was known as the king of the high c's. A beautiful, rich voice and a dynamic presence. But as you say, you really have to hear the man to feel his impact. Let's listen.
(LUCIANO PAVAROTTI SINGING)
SESAY: The unmistakable voice there of Luciano Pavarotti.
CLANCY: The clarity, the richness, all of it, you know, he did. He made a lot of people in all walks of life with his passion for opera, his passion for music.
SESAY: (INAUDIBLE) for life.
CLANCY: He drew everybody in.
SESAY: He certainly did. And we want to share with you these pictures coming to us live now from Modena in Italy. Pavarotti's hometown. Crowds assembling there at the cathedral where Pavarotti's body will be laid in state. His body should be arriving within the hour. And as you can see, a lot of people gathering there to pay their respects to their local son.
CLANCY: Drawing crowds once again, Luciano Pavarotti.
SESAY: Well, Pavarotti's credited for bringing opera to the masses. He was just as comfortable singing classical opera as he was performing with pop stars like Liza Minnelli and Sting. Joining us to talk about Pavarotti's legacy is Anne Midgette, contributing writer for "The New York Times." She also co-authored a book about Pavarotti with his former long-time manager.
Thanks so much for joining us on this day, Anne Midgette.
ANNE MIDGETTE, NEW YORK TIMES CONTRIBUTING WRITER: Thanks for having me.
SESAY: I want to start by getting your assessment of Pavarotti's impact on opera.
MIDGETTE: Well, Pavarotti took a lot of flak in the classical world for selling out, by becoming more commercial. But in a sense, Pavarotti picked up on the tradition of opera, which was originally a populist art in the 19th century. And he was able to extend opera's reach because he had the advantage of modern media at this disposal. So through television broadcast he was able to reach huge audiences.
But what people were responding to was a basic truth of opera since it was conceived, which was a beautiful voice, coupled with a drive to communicate, which is often absent today in modern singers.
SESAY: As you say, though, almost -- he brought opera back to where it should have been, because that's how it was back in the past. And he was able to extend that presence beyond the realms of Italian opera and sing with the likes of the Spice Girls and with Ricky Martin and others like that. You know, it's hard -- it's -- I suppose what I'm trying to say is, many people did discredit him for that. How as he -- as a man, how did he feel about that criticism?
MIDGETTE: I don't think he really cared very much. I think for Pavarotti, the primary thing was to communicate with his voice to as large an audience as possible. And I think he thrived on the intensity of his relationship with his audience. And he didn't care so much if it was an Italian opera or in a stadium. He was happy being able to sing.
And as you said earlier, his voice is absolutely distinctive. He said to me once, you don't mistake my voice for another voice. So, in a sense, he was Pavarotti no matter what he sang.
SESAY: He was part of the Three Tenors, which brought enormous success to those three men. Some actually go as far as saying that the Three Tenors was only a success because Pavarotti was part of that collaboration. How do you see it?
MIDGETTE: Well, it's certainly ironic that he's being eulogized as having shot the fame through the Three Tenors. It should be remembered that Pavarotti had already been singing at arena concerts to 50,000 people for some years before the first Three Tenors concert in 1990.
On the other hand, he has certainly capitalized, perhaps more than the others, on the tremendous and unexpected success of the Three Tenors' phenomena, which became kind of schtick (ph) as it progressed. But the first Three Tenors' concert was quite electric.
SESAY: And I'm intrigued about the relationship between Pavarotti and Placido Domingo, because they're often talked about in the same breath, yet very, very distinct. I mean, will Pavarotti indeed be remembered as the voice of his generation? Because some say Domingo's the one actually with the complete voice.
MIDGETTE: Well, that Pavarotti/Domingo rivalry was certainly played up throughout their careers. And I think it was very real for them when they were younger. I think in this day and age, today Domingo is still singing very well and very cannily. Domingo's artistic reach has far eclipsed Pavarotti's in terms of the range of things he'd done. Pavarotti was, in a sense, a one-trick pony, which I don't say to criticize him because he did that trick so beautifully. But he wasn't quite sure what there was for him after leaving the stage. That was what he lived for. Whereas Domingo was conducting and running opera companies and is a very versatile operatic artist.
SESAY: All right. And again, unfortunately there we must leave it. A great pleasure speaking to you. Many thanks for joining us on this day.
MIDGETTE: Thank you for having me.
CLANCY: Before we leave, I want to take our viewers, you know, halfway around the world from our studios here to Modena, Italy. Once again, the cathedral where the body of Luciano Pavarotti is going to lie in state, if you will. And already crowds are gathering there.
SESAY: They are. They're gathering to pay their respects to their local son, who they took fondly and greatly to their hearts.
CLANCY: With love from Modena and all of us, that's been YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Jim Clancy.
SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay. Stay with CNN.
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