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Libya Attack Looms Over Debate; Teen Taliban Victim Makes Progress; Hacker Wont' Be Extradited To U.S.; Cuban Government to Relax Exit Visa Restrictions; It's World Food Day; Debate Prep; Peace Talks in Colombia; Colombian Rebels Used Kids in War; Topping The Charts With A Bond Theme

Aired October 16, 2012 - 12:00   ET

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

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And hello, everyone. Welcome to NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL. I'm Michael Holmes. I am sitting in for Suzanne Malveaux today. And we're going to take you around the world in 60 minutes, as we do every day.

All right. Let's start with this. I take responsibility. That's what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is saying about the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. The September 11 attack left four Americans dead, including the U.S. ambassador. CNN foreign affairs reporter Elise Labott broke this story with an exclusive interview with Clinton during the secretary's trip to Peru.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: I take responsibility. I'm in charge of the State Department, 60,000 plus people all over the world, 275 posts. The president and the vice president certainly wouldn't be knowledgeable about specific decisions that are made by security professionals.

In the wake of an attack like this, in the fog of war, there's always going to be confusion. And I think it is absolutely fair to say that everyone had the same intelligence. Everyone who spoke --

ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS REPORTER: Bad intelligence, it seems though.

CLINTON: Well, everyone who spoke tried to give the information as they had. As time has gone on, the information has changed. We've gotten more detail. But that's not surprising. That always happens. And what I want to avoid is some kind of political gotcha or blame game going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And we have just got word into the President on this as well. In tonight's debate, as you'll see, he is keeping his thoughts about Libya to himself. Have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, are you ready for tonight? How you feeling about tonight?

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I feel fabulous. Look at this beautiful day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you going to say?

OBAMA: It's gorgeous. Hope you enjoy the weather.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you aware Michelle voted for you yesterday?

OBAMA: Thank goodness.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is Hillary to blame for Benghazi?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Yes, not biting there, as you might imagine. Some high-ranking Republicans disagreeing with Secretary Clinton. Three members of the Senate Armed Services Committee shot off a statement. John McCain, along with Senators Lindsey Graham and Kelly Ayotte released a joint statement. This is what they said. "If the President was truly not aware of this rising threat level in Benghazi, then we have lost confidence in his national security team. The security of Americans serving our nation everywhere in the world is ultimately the job of the commander in chief. The buck stops there."

Well, all this back and forth over the Libya attack come ahead, of course, of the second presidential debate. Is this helping or hurting President Obama? With the debate now hours away, White House correspondent Dan Lothian and political editor Paul Steinhauser join us live from the debate site at Hofstra University. And we should mention, our own Candy Crowley, of course, is going to be moderating this debate.

Dan, let's start with you, if we can. Does the campaign think this is taking the pressure off the White House? Will the timing of the Clinton statement add to the controversy? Do voters even care about this issue?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it just might add to the controversy because, yes, I mean, critics will look at the timing of all of this. Over the last several days, the White House been making the case that there is sort of this separation between what the White House knows about on these issues and what the State Department is in charge of. White House spokesman Jay Carney making it clear at the end of last week that decisions on security issues, security matters, at consulates and embassies around the world, that falls under the portfolio of the State Department and it's something that the White House would not know about in terms of every move. And so this sort of backs that up.

But for the critics out there who have been going after the Obama administration saying that they've really dropped the ball on Libya, I don't think that's going to take care of this. And as you pointed out a while ago, the President did not answer a question on this, but most likely that will come up tonight in some form and the President will have to deal with it.

HOLMES: Paul Steinhauser, let's bring you in now. Let's talk about the debate itself where, as we said, it's that town hall format, questions from voters themselves. And that makes it harder in a way for the President to be more aggressive with Mitt Romney. What are some of the things to look out for tonight?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Exactly. That's something Dan and I were talking about. The president's really going to have to tiptoe here between being aggressive and also playing to the audience. But that's the first of the five things that we're looking at, playing to the audience, connecting with the audience. A very different debate than it was two weeks ago. The candidate who better connects with the audience is probably going to connect better with the audience at home as well and probably win the debate.

Another thing, and, Dan, you and I were talking about this, how aggressive is President Obama going to be? Is he going to be a fighter like Joe Biden or not? And that is a tightrope -- a tightrope he's got to walk. That's another thing we're looking at.

Women's issues. This is crucial as well. Abortion, contraception, child care. Some of the issues that did not come up in the first debate, will they come up tonight? There's a very good chance. And you've seen some new polls that indicate that maybe that gender gap, the President's advantage with women, is dissipating.

Also, a strong performance pays off when it comes to campaign cash. Both these candidates have a lot on the line here, not only with voters, but they need to raise that remaining money to get through the final stretch of the last three weeks. A good performance could mean more campaign cash.

And, finally, listen, the wild card here. Listen, this is an audience asking the questions. So we could get some questions that maybe neither candidate thought about. And that's something to, you know, the candidates are definitely going to be on edge.

Finally, take a look, and Dan and I were talking about this as well, take a look at this, the latest polls here, our CNN poll of polls. Basically dead even when you average all the national polls. Same thing in the states. And I think that makes it even more -- more at stake now because of these tight polls.

LOTHIAN: That's right. And I should add, you know, going into the last debate, everyone was expecting that President Obama would do well. The big question was, how will Mitt Romney perform? And it's much more -- a different dynamic going into this one. Everyone's saying this is really make or break for the President.

HOLMES: Yes, gentlemen, thank you very much. Required viewing. Dan Lothian there and Paul Steinhauser, you'll be watch, I know.

All right, don't forget, you can watch the debate right here on CNN, of course. It is the town hall presidential debate. It is this evening moderated by CNN's Candy Crowley. Our special live coverage begins at 7:00 Eastern.

All right, now we've got an update on that Pakistani girl shot in the head by the Taliban. It's been about 24 hours now since Malala Yousafzai arrived at a British hospital. The medical director there says doctors are impressed by the girl's resilience and her strength, but she still has a long way to go. Today marks one week since a Taliban government boarded Malala's school bus, called out her name and fired three shots at her for being an advocate for girl's education. Our Dan Rivers is outside the hospital in Birmingham, England., where the 14-year-old is being treated.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're told that Malala spent a comfortable night here at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Her condition is now described as stable. There's not really that much more that doctors are saying specifically about her condition other than that she's undergone already an initial assessment from a number of teams here to work out what they need to do. One of the first processes that she'll go through is an MRI, a CAT scan on her brain so they can build a 3-D reconstruction of her head to work out the extent of the damage. Dr. David Rosser is the medical director here. He was upbeat about her future.

DR. DAVE ROSSER, HOSPITAL MEDICAL DIRECTOR: Malala has had a comfortable night. All her initial assessments are being undertaken by the neurosurgical under their members of staff. We've still got some detailed assessments to undertake from very specialist teams who may be involved later on down the line, but we are very pleased with the progress she's made so far. She's showing every sign of being just every bit as strong as we've been led to believe that she is.

RIVERS: He also told reporters that overnight there were a couple of irritating incidents where people tried to get access to Malala. Now, initially, he said those people were arrested. In fact, the people are saying they weren't arrested, that they were well-wishers trying to deliver flowers. But nevertheless, it's highlighted the real jitters about her security. Extra police have been deployed around the hospital here because the threat from the Taliban remains. The Taliban who have already once shot her at pointblank range. Miraculously, she has survived that shooting and is now facing many months of treatment here in the U.K.

Dan Rivers, CNN, Birmingham.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now in Pakistan itself, the pressure on to find those responsible for the shooting. The country's interior ministry tells CNN's Christiane Amanpour that there is a big bounty on the head of the Taliban spokesman who initially claimed responsibility for trying to kill Malala.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REHMAN MALIK, PAKISTANI INTERIOR MINISTER: Today I'm announcing $1 million as the bounty on his head, which is more than, you know, 10 (INAUDIBLE) apiece (ph) of Pakistani 100 million rupees. Because we want to definitely get him. And all of our law enforcement (ph) intelligence agencies are hunting all those who were involved. I've got some of the names which are -- I would not like to mention on record because it may damage the investigation.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN: So you --

MALIK: But let me show my Pakistani nation and the entire world that we will get them very soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: That remains to be seen. As Dan pointed out earlier there, the Taliban, of course, threatening to target Malala again if she does survive this ordeal.

Now, just ahead on NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL, Cubans have endured strict travel procedures for half a century now, but making a trip abroad just got a little easier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I recognize (INAUDIBLE) is a big Bond (INAUDIBLE) Bond fan. And, you know, and that's just that confidence that he (INAUDIBLE) introduced myself. He said (ph), but he didn't have a decent theme song yet (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: How old are you feeling? Duran Duran's John Taylor talks to Becky Anderson about his band's famous Bond theme "A View To A Kill."

Also coming up, Gary McKinnon admitted head broke into computers at NASA and the Pentagon, but he's not going to be tried in the U.S. after all.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back, everyone.

He's on trial for war crimes and genocide, among other things. And former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic is defending himself. He's accused in a 1995 massacre at Srebrenica that led -- left about 8,000 Muslim men and boys dead. That violence happened, of course, during the breakup of the former Yugoslavia back in the 1990s. Today, Karadzic tried to sell himself as a humanitarian and said he should be reward for all the good things he's done.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RADOVAN KARADZIC, FORMER BOSNIAN SERB LEADER (through translator): Everybody who knows me, know that I am not an autocrat (ph), that I'm not aggressive, that I'm not intolerant. On the contrary, I'm a mild man, a tolerant man with great capacity to understand others. But it is true that I was strict towards myself and others in implementing democratic decisions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Many in the public gallery disagreeing with that assessment. Now, because the court can't impose the death penalty, Karadzic will face life in prison if convicted. This could go on for years.

Now to another legal case. The British government blocking the extradition of computer hacker Gary McKinnon to the United States. Britain's home secretary says McKinnon could commit suicide if he is extradited because he suffers from Asperser Syndrome and depression. McKinnon admits he broke into computer as NASA and at the Pentagon. He says he was trying to find out if the government was covering up the existence of UFOs. Nima Elbagir is covering this story for us from London.

Nima, McKinnon has been trying to avoid this for 10 years. This case a big deal for U.S. authorities. The potential fallout? What do you think?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the U.S. did say that in the aftermath of September 11th, they believe McKinnon caused hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage. McKinnon, as you said, maintains he was just looking for evidence of little green men.

Whatever the truth of that case is, what can't be contested is that Theresa May -- the British home secretary's decision to block his extradition is hugely popular here. It's being seen as a courageous resetting of the U.S./U.K. special relationship to more equal footing.

Take a listen to what Gary McKinnon's mother had to say about this, Michael.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANICE SHARP, MOTHER OF BRITISH HACKER GARY MCKINNON: I want to say thank you to Theresa May because it was an incredibly brave decision to stand up to another nation as strong and powerful as America.

It's rare and she had the guts to do it. And I always felt that she had the strength to come through and do this and to also change the extradition treaty to bring in forum so that this hopefully wouldn't happen to anyone else. It's absolutely incredible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELBAGIR: Because, of course, Theresa May has not just blocked McKinnon's extradition. She's also put in place amendments to U.K. law that would allow British courts to block any new extradition requests if they believe that justice could be served in the United Kingdom, Michael.

HOLMES: Yeah, well, there's an interesting angle here. All of this comes after the terror suspect, the radical cleric, Abdu Masri al- Hamza, and others were extradited to the U.S. to face charges, though they also claim health problems. Tell us about that, one of them in particular.

ELBAGIR: Well, one of the terror suspects extradited that was extradited, Abu Hamza, himself was suffering from Aspergers'. The Muslim campaign was pointing out that there was no home office committee put in place to question whether he was a suicide risk and, already, this is really causing a lot of waves here, that why this case, in particular.

Of course, McKinnon is an easier sell and it's very difficult to argue against a troubled genius who was looking after something that most people would find quite comical, evidence of "little green men" versus terror suspects who have been wanted in the U.S. for quite a long time.

So, people already starting to question quite how courageous this decision was on the part of the government, but it is still a pretty big deal. You know, this was the last of the Bush-Blair legacies when they were teamed up together in the war on terror.

This extradition treaty was unpopular when it was put in place, so nobody here is really complaining that it will have been rescinded. But there are concerns by Muslim groups that the message is being sent that McKinnon is more valuable, more equal in front of the law than British Muslim citizens are.

HOLMES: Yeah. As always, thanks. Nima Elbagir, there in London.

All right, now you would think that being the first woman to moderate a presidential debate in more than 20 years might be a bit nerve- racking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: What am I feeling? I'm feeling like sort of ever calmer, strangely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And more from our own Candy Crowley on tonight's big debate. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It just got a little easier for Cubans to travel outside of the country right on the heels of the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis we told you about yesterday.

Raul Castro said two of the biggest travel hurdles are being removed. Our Patrick Oppmann is in Havana. I guess, Patrick, the biggest change is the exit visa. Is there going to be an exodus?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, that's -- we've been hearing about this for so long. Cubans have hoped for this change, hoped for what they call the "tarjeta blanca," the white card here, this exit visa. It's incredibly expensive, incredibly complicated process for them to leave their own country even for short trips outside to visit family member.

There are about a million Cubans living outside of Cuba, so this really comes down to families and it's become easier in the last few years, if not easy, but easier, for Cuban-Americans to come and visit families here on the island, but it still remains very, very difficult until today for Cubans to leave their own country.

So, starting next year, some of these requirements are going to be removed. What we're talking about is literally hundreds of dollars for some of these permits. We're talking about months and months of waiting for approvals. That will ago away for lots of people but not everyone, Michael.

The Cuban government has said that people they've invested in, people like doctors, perhaps, people like engineers, that they've made an investment in these people, so there might be a slightly different process for them.

We haven't heard how that's going to work out. We haven't heard, as well, that some of the many government critics who over the years have complained that they're not allowed to leave and attend conferences or go to places where they might direct some of their criticism back from outside the country at their own government, whether they'll be allowed to leave, as well.

Some of the people have spent years and years here being told they can't leave Cuba, so we haven't heard if this will apply to them. So, it seems like it's going to apply to many people, but not everyone, Michael.

HOLMES: Yeah, what do -- how do you think it's going to be received in Cuban-American communities? Miami, for example?

OPPMANN: You know, you still need a U.S. visa, if you're Cuban, to get one of the U.S.-Cuba direct flights. But I think this does mean, whether people go through third countries, that there will be more contacts between family members. People might be able to see family members that they haven't seen in many, many years.

But at least for right now, it doesn't look like it's going to be kind of that Mariel exodus that we saw or the 1990s rafters' crisis, but certainly more people will be traveling, Michael.

HOLMES: All right, Patrick, good to see you, my friend. Patrick Oppmann there in Havana.

Well, one photographer wants to take you out of your comfort zone and bring you a place most Americans don't think about, Mali.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Did you know that, of the 7 billion people living on this earth, 1 billion go to bed hungry every night? That's one of the more shocking statistics on this World Food Day.

The United Nations established this day to try to mobilize people to stop world hunger. Oxfam is asking people share a meal together today and look at five ways they can reduce hunger.

Now, these are some pictures that folks have been sending in of their gatherings.

Oxfam says people collectively can make a major dent in hunger by following what's called the grow method. We'll get into what that means and how you can help in a bit, but first, let's focus on Mali in West Africa which is in the middle of a perfect storm of tragedies.

The International Rescue Committee is warning of a deepening hunger and humanitarian crisis there. Mali, as you may have seen on this program, has been going through three droughts this past decade and Islamist militant groups ousting the president earlier this year, plunging the country into chaos.

Basic services like health centers, water collection areas and schools have completely stopped functioning in parts of country. Those photographs taken by the International Rescue Committee's Peter Biro. He joins me now from Bangkok, Thailand, where he's based.

Peter, you travel globally for the IIC as a senior communications officer, taking photographs and reporting on these humanitarian crises. How serious is the Mali crisis?

PETER BIRO, SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE: Well, it's a very serious crisis, obviously. It's what you can call a slow-burning emergency.

As you mentioned, they've seen three major droughts since 2005 and people tell me this is the worst they have seen in the last decade.

Overall, you are talking about 19 million people who have daily troubles finding food, who go to bed hungry every day, and, on top of that, you have 1 million children who are acutely malnourished who struggle with life-threatening malnutrition.

HOLMES: I want to talk about some specific photos, but as we do, I mean, we've got one of a small child you wrote about for CNN, first of all, clearly malnourished, without her mother.

First of all,, tell us who this child is and what happened to her.

BIRO: Well, this particular girl was taken in by -- into a health facility in a suburb of the capital of Mali, Bamako. The suburb's called Kati and it's a very densely populated area with villages surrounding it, so there's a lot of malnourished children coming in right now. We've seen a surge.

And this particular girl was called Jebodia (ph). She was 16-months old. When she came in, she was really on the brink of death. She was very, very undernourished. She had hair loss. She had fluid retention, fluid retention under her skin, panting, very, very sick.

And only after a few days she started to get better when my colleagues from the International Rescue Committee and health staff gave her 45- peanut paste which is typically given to children in this state, milk. Another problem is that children like Jebodia (ph) who weighed only 9 pounds. That's 4 kilograms at 16 months. That's shocking. They're prone to diseases and other infections because they're so -- they're weak. Their immune system is so weak.

I talked to her mother and she said that they hadn't seen food much in the past month. They'd basically run out in her village a month ago. And ...

HOLMES: Peter, I will interrupt you so we can get through some more of the photographs, but while we do, I also want you to talk to me a little bit about the politics.

As we said, Mali's got a situation where there was a military coup. The government fell. Islamist rebels took observe the north of the country. After the disaster, how much is the political instability along with natural disasters of drought and the like playing into this? And what's being done to help these kids?

BIRO: Well, obviously, it's a huge problem because, as you said, the north is divided from the south and the north is controlled by a grouping of Islamist militants, some with ties to al Qaeda.

This has prompted a mass exodus. People fled from this area, 300,000 people. And, obviously, that puts a lot of strain. Two-hundred thousand of them have left the country and live in other neighboring countries that also face a food crisis.

Also, it's straining already meager resources of these countries. Another problem that is that health staff have fled hospitals, so a lot of the life-saving interventions cannot be carried out in the north.

HOLMES: Right.

Peter, thanks so much. Great work that you and the International Rescue Committee do. Peter Biro there, joining us from Bangkok.

And let's talk about this. What can you do on this World Food Day to make a difference? Here's what Oxfam suggests. It's called the grow method.

Let's start with cutting down on the amount of food you waste in your fridge by planning your meals, saving leftovers, as well. You know, Oxfam says that a third of all food produced worldwide is wasted. Think about that, a third.

Try to buy fruit and vegetables that are in season. A lot of energy's actually wasted trying to grow food in the wrong place at the wrong time of year.

Here's another one. Eat less meat, less dairy, as well. Cows consume precious natural resources. They actually also require a lot more land than fruit and vegetables do.

And try to buy from small-scale food producers. One-and-a-half- billion people live on small farms worldwide and 70 percent of people who go hungry live in rural areas where agriculture is the main economic engine.

All right. As we've been say, our own Candy Crowley sharing the spotlight with President Obama and Mitt Romney in tonight's debate.

She compares moderating tonight's debate to her competitive swimming years. She says it's all in the stroke when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, both President Obama and Mitt Romney are en route at this hour to Hempstead, New York, for tonight's debate.

Let's have a look. There on the left, you see President Obama when he left Williamsburg, Virginia, this morning. On the right, a look at Mr. Romney when he left Bedford, Massachusetts, just a few minutes ago actually. He's expected to arrive in Ronkonkoma, New York.

Now, we're just hours away, as we've been saying, from tonight's presidential debate, President Obama, Mitt Romney, squaring off at Hofstra University on New York's Long Island.

The debate will follow a town hall-style format, the candidates taking questions from the audience on domestic and foreign policy issues. It's pretty open, actually.

The audience made up of undecided voters chosen by the Gallup organization and the debate moderator, as we keep bragging about, it's our own Candy Crowley.

She talked with Kyra Phillips a little earlier actually about whether she's feeling any pressure as well as how the town hall will work.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY: I mean, here's the format. There are town hall people around. We have selected the questions previously. I'll see them on Tuesday morning.

They will -- we'll call on Alice. Alice will stand up and ask a question. Both candidates will answer and then there's time for a follow-up question, facilitating a discussion, whatever you want to call it, to kind of go.

So, if Alice asks "oranges" and someone answers "apples," there's time to go, but Alice asked "oranges." What's the answer to that? Or will you say this, but what about that?

It's clearly -- I mean, the rules are everywhere and there is time within the segment for each question for facilitating conversation.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right, so, you know, what do you make of this criticism?

I mean, obviously, I've known you for more than 10 years. I know you've got the best reputation in the business, so, now, you're getting a little heat here for what you said. What's your reaction to that?

CROWLEY: My reaction is, we're so close to an election and the election is so close and there are people around these two men that push every button they can to try to get an advantage.

And, so, you know, I understand this. The stakes are enormous. And so this is what campaigns do. They push and shove and pull and, if it's -- you know, moderators become a part of that, ever more, and, you know, society, you know, over the past, you know, couple of election cycles, so it's just a part of it.

But in the end, I think you'll just sort of look at these debates as a continuum and people can judge all of the debates the way they want in the end.

PHILLIPS: This could be for all the marbles. I mean, this debate could decide which way this election goes. Not to put pressure on you, Candy, but I have to ask you ...

CROWLEY: Yeah, no. No pressure here.

PHILLIPS: Are you feeling it? And, if so, give me some of your heart. Tell me what's going through your mind.

CROWLEY: I don't feel as though the election is up to the Tuesday night debate. I think there are many days that can push things.

I think when you look back at campaigns you can look at moments that changed things or moments that began to build things, but I don't think we'll look back and go, boy, that second debate is what did it.

What am I feeling? I'm feeling like ever calmer, strangely. I think this will be fine. I -- you know, I believe, once I get out there -- you know, Kara, I used to swim competitively in high school and college and you are always nervous up on the starting block and the minute you hit the water, all you did was swim. I'm going to swim.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Candy Crowley and Kyra Philips there. Again, you can watch the debate here on CNN. The town hall presidential debate tonight moderated by Candy Crowley. The live coverage begins at 7:00 Eastern.

Well, they were lured in with promises of food and shelter. They ended up abused and exploited by a brutal guerrilla group in the jungles of Colombia. We'll tell you all about that when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back, everyone.

It is possible that Latin America's oldest insurgency could be ending. Peace talks allowed last month between the Colombian government and Marxist rebels are expected to take place this week in Norway. This is the fourth attempt at reaching a deal and it is already off to a little bit of a delayed start, actually, due to what's being described as logistical difficulties.

But both sides apparently believe that victory on the battlefield is impossible after 50 years, half a century, of fighting.

Now, the rebel group, you've probably heard of it. It's known as FARC, a Spanish acronym for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia. It's Latin America's oldest and largest guerilla army, made up largely of the rural poor. Now FARC has been fighting since 1964 for rights such as land reform. They financed their war through drug trafficking and kidnappings and are known for launching deadly hit- and-run attacks. Well, children have been the most vulnerable victims of FARC. The group has forced thousands of Colombian kids to become child soldiers or sex slaves. Our Rafael Romo now looks at the horrors of that practice.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice-over): Sara Morales is only in her early 20s, but already, she says, she's been to hell and back.

SARA MORALES, FORMER CHILD SOLDIER ( through translator): Sadly, I can say that when I was only 11 years old, I was raped by FARC guerrillas. And for 11 years, I was abused and exploited by them.

ROMO: Sara's story may not be unique. This video, confiscated in 2006 by the Colombian Army, shows a large group of children being trained as guerrilla warriors. A practice, a new study says, has grown dramatically. Natalia Springer is the dean of the law school in Colombia. In the last four years, she says, 18,000 children have been forced to join guerrilla groups and paramilitaries in Colombia. Some kidnapped, others lured to the groups by the prospect of food and shelter.

NATALIA SPRINGER, AUTHOR, "LIKE LAMBS AMONG WOLVES": We actually have a humanitarian emergency in Colombia regarding the recruitment of children. And it's a very serious situation.

ROMO: The findings of the study called "Like Lambs Among Wolves," are chilling. Springer says she found 69 percent of those captured are 14 years of age or younger. Some as young as eight. Ninety-eight percent reported they were abused or witnessed atrocities.

ROMO (on camera): What do they do for these groups?

SPRINGER: They are basically installing mines, land mines. They are transporting explosives. They are kidnapping. They are basically involved in all the activities that the adults (ph) are doing.

ROMO: Springer says her team noticed what she calls an alarming new trend, whereas in the past the vast majority of children captured by the armed groups were boys. The percentage of kidnapped girls has dramatically increased to 43 percent. In addition to combat activities, Springer says these girls are subjected to sexual servitude.

SPRINGER: For them, it's a duty to sexually serve their commanders. So by serving their commanders, the identified number of activities that for them were humiliating and for them were difficult to accept.

ROMO (voice-over): The Colombian government does not dispute that children are being recruited in large numbers, but questions the study's statistics.

DIEGO MOLANO, COLOMBIAN FAMILY WELFARE INSTITUTE (through translator): We, the government, have some doubts regarding the total number of 18,000 kids. We believe their sources should be double checked because the statistics should be less than that. But in any case, it continues to be a problem.

ROMO: Springer notes most of the children recruited are essentially illiterate and indigenous Colombians are especially vulnerable. Extreme poverty is the common denominator. Sara Morales, the survivor, says she often thinks about the children who didn't make it.

MORALES: There were a group of 300 children and only 12 of us were lucky enough to survive. There were 300 children who were subjected to all kinds of abuses by the guerrilla.

ROMO: The rest, Morales says, succumbed to disease or died in combat. Many others were forever silenced by land-mines or their own commanders.

Rafael Romo, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: OK. As we count down to the premiere of the new James Bond film, British singer Adele is watching her theme song for "Skyfall" race up the musical charts. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADELE, MUSICIAN (singing): Let the sky fall, when it crumbles. We will stand tall. Face it all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Sounds very Bondish, doesn't it? The song hit a high of number two in the U.K. cracked the top 10 in the U.S. Well, only one Bond themed song has every actually topped the charts. That's a bit surprising, maybe. Duran Duran's "View To a Kill." And that was way back in 1985. Yes, you do remember it, don't you? Becky Anderson met the band's co-founder, John Taylor, and asked him about the moment that he became part of Bond history.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Remind me how you got involved with Bond.

JAMES TAYLOR, CO-FOUNDER OF DURAN DURAN: I'd gone to a party at Langon's (ph). It was the end of Wimbledon week. And I recognized Cubby Broccoli. I was a big Bond -- I was a Bond fan. And, you know, and that -- just that confidence of youth, I went over to him and said -- introduced myself and said, when are you going to have a decent theme song again?

ANDERSON: Did you really say that?

TAYLOR: And he said, you want to do it? And so we -- so he invited me to his office in Mayfair the next day and got me on the phone with John Berry and, you know, it was just one of those amazing deals, you know?

DURAN DURAN (singing): A chance to die. But can we dance into the fire.

ANDERSON: Why do you think the franchise continues to excite people 50 years on?

TAYLOR: Gosh, well, he's just one of the great -- he's just one of the great action heroes, isn't he? And he's like Sherlock Holmes. You know, I don't think we ever -- we see a little bit -- certainly guys, we see a little bit of James Bond in all of us. Just a little bit.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Equally, Duran Duran is still exciting fans 30 years on. And now, John Taylor is telling the story of the band's rise to stardom in his new autobiography.

TAYLOR: Well, you know, I was quite a nerdy kid at, you know, at school. I was Nigel (ph). And I was very much -- I was like Clark Kent.

ANDERSON (on camera): You really were a Nigel (INAUDIBLE).

TAYLOR: Well, it was one of those Clark Kent/Superman moments, you know. And, you know, within a year, I think I changed my name. You know, I'd stopped wearing the glasses. You know, I mean, I was like the least likely too kid at school.

ANDERSON: I want to just relate for our viewers some of what you've written in the book. And I quote you. "I'm a pinup on thousands of bedroom walls, but the fear of loneliness is turning me into a coke head." Just talk to through what you were doing and how you felt at the time.

TAYLOR: None of us had any clue that we were going to become like a teen -- we were going to become teen idols. And that was, you know, careful what you pray for kind of deal because what that -- it created this popularity contest in the band. It sort of created a tension that I was uncomfortable with. Plus -- plus, I just didn't have the off switch that the rest of the band had, you know? They knew -- I mean it could be 5:00 in the morning and everybody would know it's time to go to bed. But I never -- I just didn't have that -- I just didn't have that off switch. I just kept going. ANDERSON: When did you realize just how bad things were?

TAYLOR: It was just -- I just started to struggle with reality. And, I mean, it wasn't until, you know, almost 20 years ago, actually, that a therapist said to me, you're an alcoholic and you need to get sober. I was quite glad to have a diagnosis, actually, because I just thought -- I thought I was feeling bad because I've made all these bad choices. So when somebody says to you, no, no, no, it's not that you -- it's not lack of education, it's genetic and you're, you know, it's -- and there's treatment for it, you know, it was quite a relief, actually.

ANDERSON: What's different these days apart from the obvious, that you're 20 years older?

TAYLOR: Yes, I mean it's very different. I mean we, you know, we -- the money we used to spend on drugs goes on massage, you know, which I think is quite -- you know, it's very age appropriate. A step in the right direction. I mean technology, obviously. You feel a lot more connected. You know, Skype is fantastic. Many, many musician's marriages are being saved as we speak because of Skype.

ANDERSON: Teenaged fans, a blessing or a curse?

TAYLOR: Well, a blessing when they're in the concert hall, a curse when they're outside your bedroom window at 6:00 in the morning.

ANDERSON: Which they were for you?

TAYLOR: Yes.

ANDERSON: How would you describe John Taylor in his 20s?

TAYLOR: Very upbeat. You know, optimist. Very excitable. Easily led. Loves his music.

ANDERSON: And in his 50s?

TAYLOR: Yes, much the same.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Hands up, all of you, who remember when they actually came into fame. Boy.

Well, this man retired 50 years ago, yet he has still managed to make it into the Guinness Book of Records. We'll tell you about him when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: And just before we leave you, live pictures coming to us from JFK. John F. Kennedy Airport. And you know what that is. Air Force One arriving in New York. Marine One is not far away.