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Mitt Romney makes Controversial Statement About Israel and Palestine; First-Hand Accounts of U.S. Embassy Attack; Trouble Transferring Power; Two Americans Freed from Prison in The Gambia; Clinton Welcomes Aung San Suu Kyi; Obama Vs. Romney: The Afghan War; Miners Strike in South Africa. Italian Rapper Tours U.S.

Aired September 18, 2012 - 12:00   ET

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

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN HOST: -- my friend Michael Holmes is sitting in on the next program. So stay tuned for "NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL."

(MUSIC PLAYING)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hello, everyone, and welcome to NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL. Yes, I'm Michael Holmes, sitting in for Suzanne Malveaux today. We're about to take you around the world in 60 minutes, to give you a sense of what's going on out there.

A prison escape on the border. Authorities blocking roads and offering rewards for the 132 Mexican inmates who just busted out.

And a car bomb explodes in Afghanistan as rage over an anti-Islamic YouTube clip continues to spill over in the Arab world.

But first, a presidential candidate caught on a hidden camera. This is a story everyone's talking about -- Mitt Romney on video, in what he has characterized as off-the-cuff comments.

The left-leaning magazine "Mother Jones" released this camera video you see there, this morning, taken at a closed-door meeting with big donors. This happened back in May in Boca Raton.

The clip shows Romney accusing Palestinians, for example, of having no interest whatsoever in reaching a peace deal with Israel. Let's have a listen to just this part of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FORMER GOV. MITT ROMNEY, R-MASS., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I look at the Palestinians not wanting to see peace anyway, for political purposes, committed to the destruction and elimination of Israel, and these thorny issues, and I say, there's just no way.

All right. We have a potentially volatile situation but we sort of live with it, and we kick the ball down the field and hope that ultimately, somehow, something will happen and resolve it. We don't go to war to try and resolve it imminently.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: I want to bring in my colleague, Hala Gorani now from CNN International. Good to have you here on the same set (inaudible).

HALA GORANI, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You look familiar.

HOLMES: You look familiar to me, too.

Now, you know, we should point out that that clip only shows Romney speaking; we don't have any of the questions that may or may not have been asked to prompt those remarks.

But, you know, here you have a man who aspires to lead the most powerful nation in the world, saying a path to a solution between the Israelis and the Palestinians is almost unthinkable to accomplish. It's just an amazingly pessimistic viewpoint, essentially -- well, literally, saying he'd kick it down the road.

GORANI: Well, he did say that. He also said that exchanging land for peace is, quote, "the worst idea." He also said that Palestinians are, as we heard in that clip, are committed to the destruction and elimination of Israel, that Palestinians have no interest in peace.

And I think what's interesting also to Americans, and to those people who have developed an interest in this story around the world -- because on CNN international it's certainly been making headlines -- it's the difference between what he has told private fundraisers at a $50,000-a-plate dinner in Florida, versus what, for instance, he told our own Wolf Blitzer regarding the two-state solution.

The decision as to where the borders would be, he told Wolf a few months back, as we move to a two-state solution, which I support, that's a decision on borders that will be worked out by Israelis and Palestinians. And he said that within the context of debates in the past.

HOLMES: This has already not gone down well with Palestinians. And Anash Rari (ph), speaking earlier, just saying it was a horrible thing for a presidential, aspiring presidential president to say.

GORANI: Well, to be fair, we don't know what Democrats are saying behind closed doors. I mean, this is something that was leaked, that was not intended to be public, although in this day and age, cell phone videos are pretty much everywhere. So what you say you can expect to perhaps get out there.

But I want to say something about whether or not the foreign policy component of this leaked video might or might not hurt Mitt Romney politically.

What might hurt him is the fact that he's saying one thing in private and another in public. But as far as the U.S.' -- ordinary U.S. voters' position on Israel, there's a 2011 Gallup poll, 63 percent of Americans say their sympathy lies more with Israelis, 17 percent with Americans.

HOLMES: With Palestinians.

GORANI: Another poll conducted a -- with the Palestinians. Another poll conducted a few years ago, 6 percent of Americans say they believe the U.S. should support Palestinians in peace talks. But with regards to that position, that specific position --

HOLMES: I read a quote today, actually, that said nobody ever lost the presidential election by kicking the Palestinians. So it was a quote I read this morning.

So, yes, it, look, there was another thing too, I wanted to talk to you -- apparently jokes about wishing he had Latino heritage as well.

GORANI: Right, that if he were Latino he'd be winning this race. And this is something that's offending Latinos, of course, because it's considered insensitive to use that kind of sort of argument to explain away, perhaps, some of the issues that Mitt Romney's campaign has been having in the polls. And I want to say one thing, Michael. We reached out to the Romney campaign, when I was in Tampa for the Republican National Convention. We spoke to one of the Romney campaign advisers, Jonathan Burkes, on foreign policy; we reached out again today and we were told nobody would be made available to discuss the foreign policy aspect of this leaked video today.

HOLMES: Right.

GORANI: We don't have a response on that today.

HOLMES: Good update. Hala, good to see you. Got to go do your own show on CNN International now.

Hala Gorani there.

And we are also going to get a closer look at more of this video and what it means for the Romney campaign in the next hour of "CNN NEWSROOM." So don't miss that. This story has legs.

We're going to turn now to Libya and the ongoing investigation of that deadly attack at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. We're learning more and seeing exactly what happened during the final hours of Ambassador Christopher Stevens' life.

Our Arwa Damon is in Benghazi. She's spoken with a man who recorded part of it on his cell phone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the first thing that Fahed (ph) says he saw and felt at the consulate compound. The cafeteria building up in flames. It was shortly before midnight, September 11th, the smoke so thick the compound's main house is barely visible.

And then, this (inaudible) breaking through a window, men shout they have found a body. Suddenly one of them cries out, "He's alive, he's alive!"

The crowd cheers, God is great. Rushing for a car, they realize it's a foreigner.

"I was filming the video and I thought it was an American," Fahed (ph) recalls, "but I thought it was a driver or a security guy. I never thought it was the Ambassador."

It's clear from the rest of the video that the man they pulled out was Ambassador Christopher Stevens. Fahed says he was alive but barely. "He had a pulse, and his eyes were moving," Fahed (ph) says. "His mouth was black from all the smoke."

Ten minutes later, rushed through the Benghazi streets in a civilian's car, the ambassador arrived at the hospital, but it was too late.

Dr. Zaid Abu Zeid tells us he got a code blue call, "Patient arrested, needs resuscitation."

DR. ZAID ABU ZEID, ATTENDING DOCTOR FOR AMBASSADOR STEVENS: There was no breathing.

DAMON (voice-over): He, too, did not realize it was Stevens. "The body was covered in soot," he says. "I began resuscitation, but after 45 minutes, the patient gave no signs of life."

The Libyan government vowed to bring those who attacked the consulate to justice, but nearly a week later there are still contradictory accounts of what happened.

The head of Libya's national congress, Mohamed Magarief, says, it was a pre-planned attack, that the government has arrested dozens of people among the members or sympathizers of Al Qaeda and a handful of foreigners. Other senior officials say the 50 were merely brought in for questioning, and there is no evidence of an existing plot.

What is undisputed is that over the past three months, attacks against Western interests in Benghazi increased as have the power of extremist groups, something military officials say they warned the Americans about.

This young man says he arrived at compound just as the firefight began to subside. He says he didn't see any foreigners, just Libyans, members of known extremist militias, bearded, carrying Russian-made automatic machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and lighter weapons.

He was detained by the attackers and says he heard them talking about the assault, celebrating their success. And, he says, before he was released, they also talked about an attack on another location that night, a safe house where the American staff took shelter.

Perhaps we'll never know exactly what happened that night. But it's a far cry from the dreams of so many Libyans when they rose up last year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And Arwa joins us now live from Benghazi. Arwa, you know, it's interesting, they found the ambassador alive, it would appear, and they took him to a hospital. You know, it makes that point that we've been saying, that, you know, people in Libya are not calling for death to America, most of them anyway. There is a love for what America did during the revolution.

DAMON: There most certainly is, Michael, and just about every single Libyan that I have spoken to has been trying to underscore just how troubled, upset and disgusted they are by what took place at the embassy, really wanting the international community, especially the U.S. public, to know that this was certainly not an indication of any sort of widespread sentiment across the country.

What they do also want to see take place, though, is that for the Libyan government with outside assistance, if required, somehow reign in these extremist militias because at this point in time, Michael, the Libyan government in and of itself acknowledges, very openly, that it is incapable of controlling these various groups.

And they have been asking the U.S. and other allies for some sort of help so that this sort of an act of violence does not happen once again.

HOLMES: Yes, and the worrying thing, and you touched on this in your story, these extremist groups getting a foothold which in turn speaks to the inability of the government to secure the country. There is no sort of infrastructure and security. And so they essentially are co- opting militias from the revolution in various places to run more in order.

What is it that the Libyan government wants that they're not getting from the international community in terms of taking control?

DAMON: Well, Michael, this speaks to a lot of the challenges that Libya is currently facing, bearing in mind that this is a nation that effectively had all of its institutions destroyed after the revolution. They effectively crumbled. It's a nation that has to be built from scratch.

There's a phenomenally weak central government and there is no true governmental security apparatus to speak of.

The police force, the military, any sort of groups that exist within the government's so-called base of power are really made up of these revolutionary forces that, rather than be fully absorbed into the government security forces, have, yes, been brought underneath their authority.

But these groups still operate as independent entities and this has allowed the minority of groups that did exist with a more Islamist agenda to gain more power and thrive because there is no central authority. There is at this point in time no one that is really going to hold them accountable for their actions.

And they quite openly state that they can take on any other brigade, any other unit that the government chooses to throw in their direction to try to force them to lay down their weapons.

What the government wants to see is growing support from the international community. When it comes to the bare basics of institution building from security forces to a justice system, but also, if necessary, things like training, things like equipping, but also things like trying to somehow establish more a nationalistic sense amongst these individuals and not a sense of each unit for its own.

HOLMES: Yes, I know that there's a sense there, and unlike Iraq, unlike Afghanistan, international interests, let's say, waned after Gadhafi fell. Arwa, thanks for your reporting from there. Extraordinary as always.

Arwa Damon there in Benghazi.

And here's more now on what we're working on for NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL.

Want to know what's really going on behind the scenes in North Korea? Well, we asked Kim Jong-il's former sushi chef. He should know.

And we'll talk to the most famous rapper in Italy, that's right, Italian rapper, and ask him what it takes to break into the American music scene.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back, everyone.

A female suicide bomber today killed 12 people in Afghanistan, the young woman slamming a car packed with explosives into a van on a road leading to Kabul airport. A group with ties to the Taliban is taking responsibility, saying it was in response to that now notorious anti- Islam film.

I think foreigners were killed in that, by the way. The rise in violence over that film, plus increased attacks on NATO troops by local Afghans have prompted NATO to stop some of its joint operations with Afghans. I talked earlier to a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. TOM COLLINS, INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ASSISTANCE FORCE: Basically, we have a situation here where we have heightened public tension over the events of the last couple of weeks.

And so we've made a call here, a prudent call, we think, and a temporary one to basically reduce the exposure of some of our forces operating in the field. We're not backing away from our Afghan partners or a training mission or anything like that. This is a temporary move that we hope to return to full operations here very shortly.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Yes, and Anna Coren joins us now from Kabul, live. The colonel also said to me that he couldn't say when that temporary -- when the conditions would be right for that temporary lifting of cooperation to start.

I want to talk to you a bit about this, I mean, how this decision to stop some joint operations with the Afghans could impact the fight on the ground. This has been a central part of the strategy to partner on the ground in the field, et cetera.

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure, Michael. And this has been really the cornerstone, the foundation of this whole mission, transferring power from coalition U.S. forces over to the Afghans.

And at the end of the day, the U.S. and NATO forces are out of here, come 2014, whether the Afghan armed forces are ready or not. It might sound quite harsh, quite brutal, but that, in fact, is the reality.

At the moment there are some 330,000 Afghan forces, both army and police. They hope to increase that to 350,000 by the end of this year and then up to 380,000 by 2014.

So, certainly a lot ahead of them. They say that these joint patrols will still have (inaudible) a battalion level or above. So what's happening out on the ground, the Afghans will take the lead. But obviously the timing is everything. These green-on-blue attacks, this uptick in these attacks, Michael, have everybody here on edge.

You know, 51 coalition deaths to date. And then on top of that, the anti-Islamic film. I mean, there's a lot of concern and they are going to take every single measure they possibly can to prevent any more insider attacks.

HOLMES: And that film being blamed for that suicide bombing in Afghanistan. This was a huge bomb. Tell us about what happened.

COREN: Yes, it certainly was. It went off at about 6:45 am this morning. A woman, a 22-year-old woman, drove her car, which was packed with 300 kilograms of explosives, into a minibus which was carrying eight South Africans.

Every single person on that minibus was killed, along with other people standing around. It was at a gas station on a major highway not far from Kabul airport. And the crater was absolutely huge.

And just to give you an idea of the force of this explosion, the engine block of that car was some 100 meters down the road, you know, buildings nearby had windows shattered. The explosion was truly so powerful.

It's worth noting, Michael, that this woman, this 22-year-old woman is Kabul's first suicide bomber. And there are obviously great concerns about how suicide bombers are getting into Kabul, which is supposed to be the ring of steel. There are all of these security checkpoints, which are stationed around the city. But they are getting through. They are penetrating this supposed really tough system to get in and causing a great deal of fear. But it certainly changes the dynamics here on the ground when they are targeting Afghan and Western civilians. They weren't targeting the military. They were specifically after civilians.

HOLMES: Yes, there, foreigners. Anna, thanks so much.

Anna Coren there in Kabul.

Well, he was the sushi chef for Kim Jong-il, and now he's dishing on what life was really like working for North Korea's dear leader. Stick around for that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back, everyone.

Two Americans are being freed from prison in the tiny West African country of The Gambia. One served in the U.S. military; the other taught at University of Tennessee. Both were sentenced to prison for treason. The two will leave the country today with the Reverend Jesse Jackson.

Jackson met with the country's president on Monday. The Gambian president has also been coming under pressure for threatening to execute all of the country's death row inmates by last Friday. Now though, he has put a moratorium on that.

Nine inmates were executed by firing squad last month. They were the first executions, by the way, since 1985 in The Gambia.

The Reverend Jesse Jackson joins me on the phone now from The Gambia.

And thanks for doing so. The release of two Americans didn't seem to be on the agenda when you went there. How did you get their release secured?

REVEREND JESSE JACKSON, ACTIVIST: Well, we got in (inaudible) being there from their families and from the embassy we knew that 37 people were scheduled to die and now because of the moratorium, and he extended their schedule from there. (Inaudible) scheduled to be in prison for 22 lifetimes, are scheduled to come back to America on the 9th, and that's good news.

HOLMES: That's good news, indeed, for those two Americans. And now we've heard that the President Jammeh has been putting these other executions on hold, if you like. Must be a lot of pressure put on him. I know you were there but also African Union and many others are being -- sort of applying the screws on him.

What did he tell you about the executions? Why he was doing them?

JACKSON: Well, he said -- you know, he made the case within the sovereignty of this country and the sovereignty of the government he had the right to execute them. And nine had been. but my point was that the growth of The Gambia and its humane reputation is being swallowed up by the violence.

This country's at 10 percent GNP, the growth of a health care system, universal health care, of its educational system, (inaudible), these acts of execution are the great diversion from the country and therefore you're not likely to invest in a country with that violence, with that instability. I think that these rules will help stabilize this country, regain its reputation and allow it to continue to grow.

HOLMES: The -- he did say that -- and bizarrely in many ways -- that his rationale for carrying out these executions was to try to stop a crime wave on the streets and that it was some sort of deterrent to execute those on death row.

Were you able to sort of gauge his intentions going forward? Because he says he could do it again, if the crime --

(CROSSTALK)

JACKSON: I was --

HOLMES: -- continues.

JACKSON: But you know, the -- we were not here to make a legal case for them as (inaudible). We're here to make a humanitarian plea. My experience (inaudible) gone to Syria, Cuba, Iraq, Yugoslavia.

Whenever you set the captives free, it opens up a window of opportunity for dialogue and democracy (inaudible) dialogue (inaudible).

I'm glad he made the decision. It was his power, his grace and mercy that enabled them. So what I really do know, that 37 people were expected to die, they're now expected to live. And 2 are expected to be in jail for a long time, are now coming home. But there was a great emotional scene. One of the (inaudible) had been in jail for six years.

(Inaudible) today but the had two children, they are dressed up, ready to come home, they're anxious to see their father, their husband. And we're anxious to bring them home. And that's good news. You're going to Tennessee and there's a story now and reason to rejoice.

HOLMES: Good news for those two gentlemen, too. Appreciate that.

Jesse Jackson joining us on the line there from The Gambia, a successful mission for those Americans, at least.

Well, whoever wins the White House this November will have the rather tough task of deciding what to do about Afghanistan. We are going to look at the plans that the two candidates are offering up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back. Democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi from Myanmar, known as Burma, is meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington today. This is her first trip to the United States in more than 20 years. Let's listen for a moment.

(BEGIN LIVE FEED)

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: I had a chance to talk about the work still ahead. And there is a lot of work. I think one of the important reasons for her visit at this time is to remind us of how much more still lies ahead from strengthening the rule of law in democratic institutions to addressing the challenges in many of the ethnic conflicts and in [inaudible] state. The government and opposition need to continue to work together to unite the country, heal wounds of the past, and carry the reforms forward.

That is also key to guard against backsliding because there are forces that would take the country in the wrong direction, if given the chance. So we in the State Department and in the Obama administration are certainly the first to say that the process of reform must continue. Political prisoners remain in detention, ongoing ethnic and sectarian violence continues to undermine progress toward national reconciliation, stability and lasting peace. Some military contacts with North Korea persist. And further reforms are required to strengthen the rule of law, increase transparency, address constitutional challenges.

(END LIVE FEED)

HOLMES: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton there speaking about Myanmar, or Burma, as it's known by some. There have been many reforms in recent months. She's saying there needs to be more done by the regime in the capital of Myanmar, the parliament meeting there, they've had elections, there have been prisoner releases, 500 or so prisoners released this week in are positive signs. Freed from 15 years of house arrest back in 2010 and this is now the start of what is going to be an 18-day trip to the United States. She is going to be busy. Almost 100 events while here, speaking with refugees from her own country.

Let's get back to the war in Afghanistan now. NATO troops today being ordered to stop some joint operations with Afghan army and police forces. This move prompted by that spike in deadly attacks by the troops Afghan counterparts as well as of course the recent violence over the controversial film that insults the prophet Mohammed. How U.S. involvement in the war plays out will be determined by who wins the White House in November. Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence takes a look at just where President Obama and Mitt Romney stand on the longest war in U.S. history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: 70,000 American troops are still fighting in Afghanistan. But will election day affect them one way or the other? we see two candidates moving closer and closer to the point where there's not much space between them.

OBAMA: Our goals should be to complete a successful transition to Afghan security force business the end of 2014.

Next year, Afghans will take the lead for their own security. In 2014 the transition will be complete.

LAWRENCE: There were real differences at the beginning of Governor Romney's campaign last summer when he seemed to criticize Obama's decision to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

ROMNEY: It's time for us to bring our troops hope as soon as we possibly can. I also think we've learned that our troops shouldn't go off and fight a war of independence for another nation.

LAWRENCE: By November he opposed a plan to bring most troops home before 2014.

ROMNEY: I stand with the commanders in this regard and have no information that suggests that pulling our troops out faster than that would do anything but put at great peril the extraordinary sacrifice that's been made. This is not time for America to cut and run.

LAWRENCE: Whomever sits in the oval office will have to decide how the U.S. hands over to the Afghans, and that's where we see the biggest difference, when it comes to talking with the Taliban.

OBAMA: We're pursuing a negotiated peace. In coordination with the Afghan government, my administration's been in direct discussions with the Taliban.

LAWRENCE: President Obama makes a distinction between Taliban and al Qaeda, Governor Romney says he won't haggle with a group that has killed American troops.

ROMNEY: We don't negotiate with terrorists. I do not negotiate with the Taliban. That's something for the Afghans to decide how to pursue their course in the future.

LAWRENCE: There's negotiation versus no negotiation with the Taliban. President Obama announced an end date years in advance. Governor Romney opposed publicizing that date. The president ended the surge this month during the fighting season. The governor would have kept additional troops there through December.

Analysts say neither man has spent much time talking about the war. But Mark Jacobson says it's partly because the big strategic issues like the surge and handover --

MARK JACOBSON, GERMAN MARSHALL FUND: We're looking at execution of the strategy and that doesn't require the same sort of political capital and time from Washington, D.C. that was required two years ago.

LAWRENCE: The two men don't exactly agree on how the fighting affects the nation's finances.

OBAMA: Because after two wars that have cost us thousands of lives and over a trillion dollars, it's time to do some nation building right here at home.

ROMNEY: Of course the return of our troops cannot, and must not, be used as an excuse to hollow out our military through devastating defense budget cuts.

LAWRENCE: So the biggest difference on Afghanistan may be how to spend the money when the war's over. Chris Lawrence, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The sushi chef for Kim Jong-il is dishing out a little bit on what life was really like working for North Korea's dear leader. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. You know we've been reporting now on the striking miners in South Africa at a platinum mine, also at a gold mine. This is a strike that has led to violence more than 40 people, 44 people, have died in recent weeks because of clashes with police. Now, we are getting word from Johannesburg, hearing from one of the striking miner's representatives who has confirmed an offer around 9,000 rand, over $1,000, as a minimum wage per month and about $1,300 for the rock drill operators who do that dangerous, dirty work at the mine face, has been accepted by the workers. He's telling us that they will go back to work on Thursday. I want to emphasize, this is coming from one of the striking miner's representatives, trying to get -- we're receiving comment from the company now to see their side of that. If so, that would be an enormous breakthrough on a deadly strike and one that has also hurt badly the South African economy. We'll keep an eye on it, let's you know.

Well, he fled for his life under the old regime in North Korea, but now Kim Jong-il's sushi chef has returned to the capital city of Pyongyang. He tells CNN North Korea's a whole new world now. Paula Hancocks with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This was the reunion after 11 years. Kim Jong-il's former sushi chef who fled North Korea believing his life was in danger was invited back recently by his son and new leader Kim Jong-un.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I jumped up to hug him, shouting comrade general, and instantly burst into tears.

HANCOCKS: He says he used to play with Kim Jong-un when he was younger and was a trusted chef of his father, traveling around the world for him to buy exclusive and expensive ingredients. Since fleeing to his native Japan in 2001, he has written best-selling books about the family. He claims Kim Jong-un has forgiven him for his betrayal. He also met the first lady, the wife the world only learned about a couple of months ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is just so charming, he says. I cannot describe her voice. It is so soft.

HANCOCKS: He has nothing but glowing praise for the leader, talking before the aura surrounding him and the great man he has turned into, at times sounding like a spokesman for Kim and country. I went window shopping, he says. There are plenty of goods in the shops, that's already a big difference. There was nothing a decade ago. It was totally different. I guess it changed drastically since the Kim Jong- un era started.

Pyongyang has changed over the years but it's a city for the elite and chosen. In the countryside few visitors are allowed to see, it is very different. Food is scarce, and malnutrition high. Also reunited with his North Korean wife and children who he claims want to stay in North Korea. There's no way to know if that's true, but his family's presence in Pyongyang is likely a reason the former chef is nothing negative. He says Kim Jong-un organized a part for him but he doesn't quite remember how it ended after having a few drinks. He does remember, though, that the North Korean leader invited him back whenever he wants, claiming that kind of invitation from Pyongyang is unprecedented.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The most famous musician you've never heard of until now. He has taken over Italy's music scene with more than 12 No. 1 albums and now bringing his upbeat rhythms to the United States. He'll be with us after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: And welcome back to NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL. I'm Michael Holmes.

My next guest is a musician who has taken Italy by storm. Jovanotti has more than a dozen number one albums, more Twitter followers than the pope and he's one of Italy's very first rappers. Have a listen.

(VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Catchy stuff, isn't it? Lorenzo Cherubini, aka Jovanotti, joins me now from New York.

JOVANOTTI, ITALIAN SINGER, SONGWRITER & RAPPER: Hello, Michael.

HOLMES: How's my Italian? That wasn't bad, was it?

JOVANOTTI: You can speak Italian?

HOLMES: No, I just said -- well, your name, that's as far as I'm prepared to go here.

JOVANOTTI: Yes, but you actually wrong -- you're wrong also with the name because it's Jovanotti.

HOLMES: It is Jovanotti. See, I was Jovanotti, Jovanotti. Well, I'm glad to hear that. No, I've been to Italy many times. Beautiful place.

You've had major success there over what has been a 25-year career, but this is the first time you've released an album in the United States. What's the response been like?

JOVANOTTI: Yes, finally. You know, it's -- the response is very good, you know? Everybody is looking at me like an exotic animal, you know, because I actually, yes, do rap and pop music in Italian. And Italian music and Italian language is always connected with opera and Bel Canto, you know, and Bucheli, Luciano Pavarotti. So listening to somebody was using this language for another purpose, but always emotional purpose and romantic and, you know.

It's strange, but I like it. I'm very happy to be here. You know, I'm excited. I love this country. Mine -- the music I grew up with come from here mostly. So been here doing my music, for me, is a dream come true. (INAUDIBLE).

HOLMES: Romantic rap. Now there's a nice thing to -- that's a nice change. You know, you're the first major rap artist in Italy. How did you get involved in that style of music? You obviously do different styles of music. But when it comes to the rapping, how did you get involved in that? And why do you think you're the only one in Italy, or one of the only ones?

JOVANOTTI: You know a rapper -- it really changed my life. When I was a child, when I was like 15, 14 years old, it -- I was maybe one of the first to listen to rap coming from the United States. And I think Beastie Boys, Run DMC, that moment of rap music really changed my life. I discovered that I was a human being, alive, with a body, with a voice. And I started to think to do music. And, yes, rap is different from everything. It is the most revolutionary kind music of the second part of the last century. And I love it. It's so direct, you know. As a man, a human being with a microphone, two turntables, very simple. You don't have to play any kind of instrument. You don't have to -- you know, you just have to get an energy and to -- and the pleasure of doing rhymes. That's about I liked about rap. You could say anything. You know, you can talk about love, you can talk about peace, you can talk about energy, you can talk about politics. Everything is good for rap, you know?

HOLMES: Well, obviously the folks back home love it with the number one albums you've had. You know, it was interesting too that you're also an activist. You and Bono partnered up on a project I think to help countries in Africa get out of debt. And you're going to be part of a benefit in Italy to help recent earthquake victims. How do you merge that -- the music and the activism?

JOVANOTTI: You know, I think music has this power of making the people meet and has this power of enforcing things, you know, like pointing a light, pointing a strong light to things. So you can do it also for something that you believe in. And when I worked for the debt consolation (ph) campaign, I just tell them, you know, I am Italian, I'm big in Italy, I can help you because here we've got the Vatican, here we got, you know, Catholic culture. So I can help you to be strong with your message in my country, you know? And then, you know, I'm a human being. I love music. I think, in music, you can talk with -- for -- about everything.

HOLMES: Yes. JOVANOTTI: On Saturday, next Saturday -- tomorrow we fly back to Italy because on Saturday we're going to have a concert with 200,000 people to help the earthquake zone.

HOLMES: Yes.

JOVANOTTI: And we're going to build -- we're going to build four schools with the money of this concert. So, you know, music can do a lot of things.

HOLMES: It can.

JOVANOTTI: It can be emotional. It's good when you make love, but sometimes can also good when you make life --

HOLMES: Yes.

JOVANOTTI: You know, when you -- when you build something.

HOLMES: Two hundred thousand people. That's going to be a big party. I wish you well. Lorenzo Cherubini, Jovanotti, good to see you, my friend, and best of luck with it.

JOVANOTTI: It's good to see you. I'm very proud to be on CNN. You know, everybody will be very proud of me in Italy for this reason. Thank you.

HOLMES: Arrivederci. Grazie.

JOVANOTTI: Arrivederci.

HOLMES: OK.

All right. Well, a prison escape on the border. I want to tell you about this. Authorities blocking roads offering rewards for the, yes, 132 Mexican inmate who just busted out. We'll have that when we come back.

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HOLMES: Check this out. More than 130 Mexican inmates escaped from a prison near the U.S. border and they are all on the run right now. This happened in Piedras Negras, which is across the border from Eagle Pass, Texas. Police have blocked roads leading into the United States. The authorities say the inmates escaped through a seven-foot long tunnel, yes, just seven feet, that started inside a prison workshop. Must have been enough to get outside the gate. They cut through a chain link fence and took off.

All right, here's a glimpse back in time now to the very beginning of the 20th century. You're looking there at the first color film ever made. It dates back to 1901 or 1902. They're not sure entirely. British photographer Edward Turner actually shot the scenes on black and white film and then used blue, green, and red filters and a special projector to produce the color images. Turner died before witnessing color films really take off. He didn't think that this was all that important. Archivists were able to restore his work using digital technology. Terrific stuff.

Well, tough times for the royal couple these days, of course, but it's not keeping them from dancing on their trip abroad. We've got all the pictures coming up.

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HOLMES: Got a little video for you now before we go of Prince William and Kate dancing. They were in Tuvalu, an island chain in the South Pacific not too far from Australia. That's -- we've got some pictures of Kate dancing in a traditional grass skirt, joining in all the fun. William, he works the arms a little bit there. Yes. Not too bad.