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Obama & Romney To Call Netanyahu Today; Private Citizens Help Syria Fighters; Chemical Weapons Moved in Syria; Militants Lose Ground in Somalia; Uruguay Closer to Legalizing Abortion; Testing Kenya's Connectivity

Aired September 28, 2012 - 12:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. We're going to take you around the world in 60 minutes.

He grabbed the world's attention at the U.N. General Assembly. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu standing at the podium with a simple drawing of a bomb by his side, pen in his hand, showing world leaders literally where red lines should be drawn on Iran's nuclear program. Well, today, Netanyahu is going to have the attention of both U.S. presidential candidates. President Obama is going to be making a phone call to the Israeli leader today. So is the man who wants to take his job, Mitt Romney. No doubt in both of the conversations Netanyahu is going to be pressing his case on Iran, specifically what the U.S. and other allied countries need to do to stop Iran from getting a nuclear bomb. So here's what he said before the General Assembly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Where should a red line be drawn? A red line should be drawn right here. Before -- before Iran completes the second stage of nuclear enrichment necessary to make a bomb.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Jill Dougherty, she's joining us from New York.

Jill, first of all, I don't know what your impressions were when you saw that, but it reminded several of us of that old cartoon, Natasha and Boris, Bullwinkle, with the bomb and the fuse and all that. I mean it was really quite a bizarre way to demonstrate this red line. Talk a little bit about what we anticipate, what we expect from this phone call, first of all, between President Obama and Netanyahu.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you know, President Obama decided not to meet in person with Mr. -- with Prime Minister Netanyahu. So that was considered kind of, I guess, you know, a little cold shoulder. So what he is doing is he's going to have the phone call. And although they're not saying it directly, you kind of can feel that maybe this is an indication that there was a little blow-back from that, that he was maybe deliberately not meeting with him. So this is a way of getting them on the page. And after that very important and dramatic speech yesterday by the prime minister, it is important for them to talk. And that's all part of this idea that the United States, Israel, and other countries are working together to try to get -- to prevent Iran from getting any type of nuclear device.

MALVEAUX: Is there a sense, Jill, from the people that you're talking to at the State Department or in the White House that they missed an opportunity here by not having a face-to-face conversation with Netanyahu? That perhaps they could have improved and eased some of the tension between these two leaders?

DOUGHERTY: Well, I mean, I think they wanted to send a message because they feel -- felt that they were being pushed and pressured by Mr. Netanyahu to set that red line. And that was what the speech that Mr. Netanyahu had yesterday was all about.

You know, he said, we -- the only way that you're going to stop Iran is by setting this red line. That red lines don't start wars. That, you know, you really have to put the pressure to them and that ultimately they will cave. So I think, you know, it's very important that they -- that they decide, let's say the -- it was a message that they wanted to send.

MALVEAUX: Sure. And talk a little bit about the relationship between Mitt Romney and Netanyahu. They're -- I mean, they're old friends. They worked back in the day a business consulting company in Boston in the 1970s, and their relationship has evolved over the last 35 years. They're going to be on the phone as well.

DOUGHERTY: Right. And, well, personally, they know each other. It's actually almost 40 years that they've known each other. They were consultants in the 1970s. And so there's that personal relationship. And don't forget that Mr. Romney also went to Israel over the summer and visited.

Israel is very important for him obviously politically because it cuts a number of ways. Number one, theoretically, at least, it could help him to pick up some Jewish votes and that would be important in places like Florida. He also could pick up some Christian -- conservative Christians who support Israel. And then also it gives him a chance to slam Mr. Obama on Iran and try to make the case that Obama is weak on Iran. So it is useful for him on a number of levels.

MALVEAUX: All right. Jill, wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall or listening in on either one of those phone conversations today?

DOUGHERTY: Yes.

MALVEAUX: If you get a heads up or a read-out on them, please let us know. Thanks, Jill.

Nearly 100 people were killed in Syria today. We're talking about today, during attacks between the government troops and rebel fighters.

(VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Most of those people died here fighting in the city of Aleppo. You see those images there. It is the same day that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is hosting the Meeting of Nations. They are dedicate to ending the Syrian civil war and helping the people whose lives have been ruined. Earlier this week more than 340 people were killed in a single day of fighting in Syria. Now, government forces are also reportedly shelling parts of Damascus and Holmes as well.

Well, U.S. intelligence is now showing us that Syria has moved chemical weapons for security reasons. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, he characterized it as limited movement. Said that the stockpiles are believed to be secured by the Syrian military. Now, Panetta says the sites are being monitored by the United States and other countries. He says they're keeping a close eye on the situation. Earlier today, Barbara Star questioned the defense secretary about the development and she's going to be joining us in just a few moments.

Rebel fighters in Syria, they're getting some financial help, even weapons, from people here in the United States. Private citizens. There's a group in D.C. that's figured out a way to send U.S. dollars to the rebels. And the government, well, the U.S. government is not happy about this. Brian Todd has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Outgunned at the beginning, Syrian's rebels have gradually gained strength, taking the fight more directly to Bashar al Assad's regime and scoring some battlefield victories. Could some of those victories have started from this computer in Washington?

BRIAN SAYERS, SYRIAN SUPPORT GROUP: That's where you can actually identify where they conduct -- where they have a stronghold.

TODD: Brian Sayers heads the U.S.-based arm of the Syrian Support Group, a non-governmental group dedicated to helping the Syrian rebels.

TODD (on camera): Why did you want to do this?

SAYERS: Well, you know, I have a son. And he's 18 months old. And I think that -- I saw too many images of what was going on there of two-year-olds that are, you know, white, pale, and lifeless.

TODD (voice-over): On his group's website, you can donate to the Syrian rebels using a credit card or PayPal. The website explicitly states your money can be used by the Free Syrian Army to buy weapons. He says they've raised a couple hundred thousand dollars so far. Most of it from Syrian ex-pats. It's all legal. Sayers, a former NATO political officer, got the Treasury Department to give the Syrian Support Group a license so it can raise money for the rebels without violating sanctions against Syria.

TODD (on camera): It's a way for the U.S. government to allow donated resources from America to get to the rebels without the government directly arming the rebels. Ironically, Brian Sayers works to get those resources there from an office down the hall, which is just three blocks from the White House, just beyond those trees.

TODD (voice-over): Sayers is clear, his group's not directly supplying the rebel with weapons. It can't do that legally. He says the money goes to rebel commanders on the ground, people who they've vetted thoroughly, who buy the weapons. He says those commanders have to sign a proclamation of principles saying they'll follow the Geneva Convention and democratic ideals. CNN contributor Tom Fuentes says it's still dangerous.

TOM FUENTES, FORMER FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: You almost end up with an international "Fast and Furious" program. Oh, we'll send those weapons there and they'll end up in the right hands and we'll be able to track them later. No, you won't. And that's what we have right now in Libya.

TODD (on camera): But how do you know that these people are not just signing your proclamation just to get the weapons and then using it for nefarious purpose?

SAYERS: We use third party contacts on the ground. We use the relationships, the family members, the contacts that our board, all Syrian-American, have had for years.

TODD (voice-over): But they're also providing intelligence. Sayers and his colleague in Canada, Loui Saka , communicate with rebel commanders directly, often after analyzing Google satellite maps of the battlefield.

: Sometimes I help the checkpoints.

TODD: That's Saka discussing how to get salaries and other resources to rebels manning checkpoints in Syria. Real-time communication, aid, resources going directly to Syrian rebel on the ground from a private office in Washington and a basement in Toronto.

Contacted by CNN, the State Department wasn't thrilled with the arrangement. One official saying, further militarizing the conflict is not something the vast majority of Syrians are seeking and that it could potentially lead to greater loss of life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Brian Todd, he's joining us from D.C.

And, Brian, so let's get this straight here. Anybody with a credit card can go to the website, give money, that eventually could end up in the hands of rebel fighters and provide a weapon for those rebel fighters. Is it just as easy as that?

TODD: It absolutely is, Suzanne. He showed me the website yesterday. You can go there with your own credit card. You can use PayPal. You can pretty much give as much money as you want, and that money will get to Syrian rebel commanders on the ground. And basically it's their discretion on how to use it. They can use it for medical supplies. They can use it for communications equipment. But, yes, they can also use it to get, you know, guns, weapons, ammunition, things like that. It's pretty smooth transaction actually.

MALVEAUX: And you, in your piece, it certainly sounds like there are a lot of questions, whether or not this vetting process is really adequate to be putting a lot of trust in some of these guys on the ground.

TODD: Right.

MALVEAUX: We don't even know, really, who some of these people are, but how do they resolve all the weapons -- the tons of weapons that would be left in Syria after the fighting stops?

TODD: Well, Brian Sayers says that they do vet them very thoroughly. They make them sign that proclamation, of course. You know, you can sign a proclamation and just -- and render it meaningless the moment you sign it if you're in a situation like that. It's pretty much chaotic on the ground. So there's no guarantee that these weapons aren't going to be flowing.

And Tom Fuentes, our contributor, said he thinks that they may well just have a chaotic weapons flow because of this. He said that if you look at Libya right now --

MALVEAUX: Sure.

TODD: He says it's not impossible that the weaponry used in the attack that killed the U.S. ambassador came from U.S. sources with the noble idea of overthrowing Gadhafi, but it's still not impossible that those weapons were used in that attack. He fears that this could happen in Syria.

MALVEAUX: And, Brian, the State Department, you said, they're not thrilled with this. Can they do anything to stop it?

TODD: It doesn't look like they can. I mean this group's got a license from the Treasury Department. It is legal. It is money going for a certain cause. And under the perimeters that they've set here, this is legal. You can bet the State Department is watching this. But right now, at least, there doesn't seem to be much they can do.

MALVEAUX: Great reporting, as always. Brian, thank you. Appreciate it.

One more note about Syria. We told you earlier that a meeting was going on between the countries that are dedicated to helping the people of Syria that are caught in that civil war, of course. Well, the United Nations now predicts that the number of Syrian people who fled their homes is going to reach 700,000 by the end of this year. That's about 3 percent of the entire population of Syria too afraid now to go home. The U.N.'s refugee agency is trying to get a half billion dollars in aid, donations to help them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) MALVEAUX: I want to go to a campaign rally. This is Mitt Romney live in Wayne, Pennsylvania. It's just west of Philadelphia. This is at the Valley Forge Military Academy and College. Let's listen in.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: One of our -- one of our national hymns says it well, in my view. "Oh, beautiful for heroes proved, in liberating strife, who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life."

For all of you who have served in our military, would you please raise your hands, and those that are also in the -- military today, please raise your hand and be recognized. Thank you.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

Now, about a year ago I had the opportunity to speak at the Citadel in South Carolina where also another military academy was training young people to consider a career in the military, and just like this group of cadets behind me, they didn't move when I told my jokes, so I didn't -- I learned not to worry about that.

(LAUGHTER)

But -- but at that address that I gave there, I said a number of things that I thought were important. One was that this next century, the one we're now in, must be an American century, and by that I mean that America must continue to lead the free world and the free world must continue to lead the entire world.

There are other models out there, and there are people around the world wondering, should we follow America, and the model of freedom with opportunity that's presented by economic freedom and personal freedom and economic freedom, or should we instead follow the model of a nation like China, for instance, whose economy is growing? Do you understand that China's economy is growing at about 7 or 8 percent? Russia's economy is growing at 4 percent? And our economy is growing at 1.3 percent?

Yes. We're on a very different road than what I think the world expects for the people of the United States of America, and if I'm elected president of this country, I will get us back on a road of growth and prosperity and strength.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

Now, as -- as we've seen over the last year, the world needs American leadership. I think we look around, and we say why is it we're at the mercy of events? Why are we not shaping events? And the other day -- I mean, the other day the president said that, you know, he has a vision for what's going to happen in the Middle East, but there are going to be bumps in the road along the way.

You know, I don't consider 20,000 or 30,000 people dying in Syria just a bump in the road or a Muslim Brotherhood president in Egypt a bump in the road. I don't consider the killing of our diplomats in Libya as a bump in the road, and I sure as heck don't consider Iran becoming nuclear a bump in the road. We need someone who recognizes the seriousness of what's ahead and is willing to lead.

The administration -- the administration has characterized their foreign policy as leading from behind. I call that following.

(LAUGHTER)

It's time for America to lead, and we will lead again.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

Now, it's difficult -- it's difficult to lead the world if we have an economy that's not thriving and putting people to work. It's difficult to lead the world when you have a president deciding to cut our military commitment by $1 trillion. That's 1,000 billion dollars over the next decade. The secretary of defense, as I said, has called that a devastating series of cuts to our military.

You realize that our Navy is older and -- excuse me. It is smaller. Our Navy is smaller in terms of the number of ships that at any time since 1917. And our Air Force is older and smaller than any time since it was founded in 1947. And yet we continue to take funding out of our military.

This idea of $1 trillion in cuts to our military is wrong. When I'm elected president of the United States, we will restore our military. We will not cut our military commitment.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

And let me -- let me --

MALVEAUX: Mitt Romney out of Pennsylvania. It's a very critical swing state.

Back to the development out of Syria. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, he says that U.S. intelligence shows that Syria has now moved chemical weapons at some sites for security reasons.

He just spoke to our Barbara Starr. Barbara at the Pentagon here.

So is he concerned? Is he concerned that this means something aggressive?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we think he is talking about is what you just pointed out, Suzanne, that the Syrian regime, because of their own security concerns, because of the deteriorating security situation inside Syria, has moved some chemical weapons to basically consolidate some of the main sites. They don't have to then guard perhaps as many site.

But I want you to listen to what he had to say because he then offered a bit of a different take on it. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LEON PANETTA, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We do believe that those sites still remain secured by the Syrian military. There has been intelligence that there have been some moves that have taken place. Where exactly that's taken place we don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: So what he is saying on the one hand, Suzanne, is that the U.S. believe the Syrian chemical sites are secure. But then he said -- goes on to say that there have been some moves, and going back to what he says, where exactly that's taking place, we don't know. So it's a little difficult to figure out how the secretary can say everything is secure when he also says there's been some moves and they really don't know very much about it.

This is a very murky picture. Some of our sources are saying that they believe some of these moves have been some other sites again consolidation. But look, it is something that's being watched around the clock.

MALVEAUX: And that certainly would be an optimistic assessment there.

I want you to listen to what the president said last month and see if that squares with what -- with what the defense secretary told you?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. That would change my calculus, that would change my equation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So, Barbara, is the calculus -- is the equation changing here? I mean that's what the --

STARR: Well --

MALVEAUX: The president said the red line. How do you square that with what the defense secretary is saying today?

STARR: Yes. You know, listen to what the president is saying. You're right. You know, a whole lot of weapons moving around.

The Pentagon seems to feel at this point that it is for security purposes security consolidation as we've been saying, but, you know, at what point does that change. At what point do they see the potential for the weapons being moved around and potentially be moved into a situation where they could be used. That's the critical juncture. Our sources are telling us, they don't think it's there yet, but the president also said something very interesting, the regime or other players. As the fighting intensifies in Syria, one of the big emerging concerns is what if the rebels begin to take some of these weapons? What if they gain access to them? Capture a military facility where some of these weapons are. The rebels may be as big a concern right now as the regime.

MALVEAUX: All right. Barbara Starr out of the Pentagon. Thanks.

We're going to have much more on this after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Battles raging today in control of Somalia. There has not been a working government there for decades. Well, right now soldiers from the African Union are fighting against a militant group that has ties to al Qaeda. Now, troops like these from Kenya, they are in southern Somalia right now fighting the militants. Today they say this battle has turned.

Want to bring in Michael Holmes to talk a little bit about this.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

MALVEAUX: Al-Shabaab is the name. Linked to al Qaeda. Is this something that is linked to the Osama bin Laden al Qaeda, or is it a little bit further out? What is this group?

HOLMES: It's linked to the al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb as it's called. The AQIM al Qaeda. They basically share the same ideologies. So they come under the wing. In fact they said last year that they were merging with al Qaeda. It's an ultra conservative Islamic group that was really born out of the chaos of the "Black Hawk Down" era, as you'll recall, where there was no government and, you know, clans were running, everything, and that's where they came from. And, yes, they want Sharia law allied with al Qaeda.

Now, this town that -- it's a city really. Very important place. It's in the southern part of the country, but what makes it important is that it is their only urban base that's left. They control huge parts of the country. But it's the only urban base. It's also a port, and that's why it's important.

They get their weapons in from the port, and they get taxes. It's basically because it's a port, it's their funding. So they're trying to cling on to this place, and that's why the African Union wants them out.

MALVEAUX: Who's in charge? Who is in charge on the ground there?

HOLMES: The Kenyans are running this operation actually. It's an African Union force ostensibly under the auspices of the African Union. But the Kenyans are doing -- you know, they're pretty good, actually. They -- you know, they claim that they've taken most of the city but others disagree. It's a very confusing sort of shifting situation.

MALVEAUX: And it's strange because this fighting is happening. People are learning about this through Twitter, I understand. How does that --

HOLMES: This is -- it's an interesting angle, isn't it. A sign of the times. Folks, the locals knew that this assault was coming in from the sea, which is interesting, too, it's the first sort of amphibious assault that's -- having been in Africa in conflicts like this. But the folks -- the locals here was only getting tweets from the Kenyan, saying stay indoors be safe. And then later on there was a major who tweeted -- actually I know what he tweeted, he said, "Operation Sledgehammer executed as planned." Then he put that out on Twitter.

And it gets even better. There's an al-Shabaab account, Twitter account. And I basically tweeted, they said, you haven't. We're still here.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: The twitter war happening at the same time.

HOLMES: Twitter war happening at the same time.

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: It's bizarre.

MALVEAUX: And who is actually in charge when it comes to the government here? I mean, is there actually somebody who -- and we know that there's fighting going on, but is there control, or is this chaos?

HOLMES: This is -- this is the problem. You and I had this conversation a while ago. There was good news is that they elected their first president. The first president elected inside the country in decades. And this guy pretty much inherited a bit of a poisoned chalice because he is inheriting a country that is really a -- it's a patchwork of different territories with different interests involved.

There's foreign troops there from Burundi, and from Uganda and from Ethiopia and, of course, the Kenyans, well, they've got little patches of it. And then you've for the clans and the militias. You've got the al-Shabaab who control huge areas of land. This is their last city, as I said. And then, and then you've got the pirates. Let's not forget them. They're still active in Somalia. So yes, it's a difficult country for him to run but the West wants this to work. They don't want it to become an al Qaeda haven if you like. And they're pouring all sorts of money in there to try to get goods and services up to make the population love them.

MALVEAUX: All right.

HOLMES: Give them legitimacy.

MALVEAUX: Well, we're going to keep an eye on Somalia.

HOLMES: Thanks.

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: I mean it's just a hotbed of everything.

HOLMES: Yes. Yes. It is.

MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you very much, Michael. Appreciate it.

It's a topic of course that sparked heated debate, but this protest left many in Uruguay speechless. They were women who were naked outside the parliament. They were not going to be ignored.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: All right. Here's a picture that caught our attention. Take a look. Women protesting in the nude outside the parliament. This is in Uruguay. Dozens of them showed up to protest over abortion rights.

Rafael Romo explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SR. LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice-over): It was a protest that left many people speechless. A group of naked women with their bodies painted orange in order to send a message about respect for their reproductive rights.

The scene outside the parliamentary building in Uruguay was one of multiple protests in favor and against the bill that would legalize abortion in the South American country.

Inside the parliament building the debate was heated with legislators split down the middle over the bill. Overcome with emotion, legislator Dario Perez said his conscious as a father did not allow him to vote for the bill.

At the end of a 16-hour marathon session, legislators approved the bill with the slimmest of margins, 50-49.

IVAN POSADA, ABORTION BILL SPONSOR (Through Translator): This law will produce more health benefits and will actually reduce the number of abortions because of the medical and psychological assistance it will make available to women.

ROMO: The Uruguayan Senate is likely to approve the bill and President Jose (INAUDIBLE) has said he will sign it into law.

(On camera): The bill gives women the right to have an abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, or the first 14 in the case of rape, but before getting an abortion, women would have to consult with a gynecologist, a psychologist, and a social worker and consider her options for a period of five days.

(Voice-over): Most countries in Latin America allow abortion, but only in cases of rape, incest, to save a woman's life, or when the fetus is malformed. Uruguay would join a short list of countries where abortion is legal on request up to a certain stage of pregnancy.

JAVIER GARCIA, OPPOSITION REPRESENTATIVE (Through Translator): Abortion in Cuba is legal. However, maternal mortality is twice as high as it is in Uruguay. Legalizing abortion has no affect on reducing maternal mortality.

ROMO: Mexico City legalized abortion in 2007, but the practice is still outlawed in the rest of the mainly Catholic County and in Chile, public hospitals make the so-called morning-after pill available to their patients.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Rafael Romo joins us. Rafael, you and I were talking about this. You had a lot of blurring to do there to even get this on television.

ROMO: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: I mean it caused quite a stir there, but let's talk about the role of the Catholic Church, and are they a dominant force here when it comes to politics and abortion rights?

ROMO: They are definitely a dominant force, and this bill has polarized Uruguay. You look at the Catholic Church groups who defend women's rights, who say that the main -- the parliament mainly composed by men, referring to the size, something that mainly affects women, and so it's the third time around that they try to approve a bill like that. This time in the lower House of Congress they were successful, but it still has to go to the Senate and to the president.

MALVEAUX: It's amazing how similar actually when you talk about this story that it is to the debate that's happening here in this country as well. How is this going to play out? What do we expect?

ROMO: Well, what I heard from my contacts in Uruguay is that what's next is really a formality. That both the Senate and the president, have already indicated that they will sign it into law. The Senate will approve it and the president will sign it into law.

And there's a whole movement to the left in Uruguay. This is the same country that is proposing to legalize marijuana for personal consumption, so that gives you an idea of what's happening there in this South American country.

MALVEAUX: All right. Rafael, good to see you. Thank you.

He is part of the biggest political crisis to hit China in two decades. Well, now Beijing is making sure that his fall from grace is complete.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: In Nepal 19 people are dead after a plane caught fire, crashed just after takeoff in Kathmandu. Official say the plane collided with an eagle before it went down. It is believed to be a factor in the crash, but a full investigation is underway. Brits, Chinese, Nepalese, they were all among those on board, and the British passengers were on their way to begin a hike to Mount Everest.

A politician's fall from grace. China's Communist Party kicks out Bo Xilai, accusing him of corruption and moral crimes. Once a rising star Bo once topped the list of contenders for team of politicians who effectively would rule the country. Well, all that's changed when earlier this year his wife was arrested in a murder case.

Gu Kailai, she was recently convicted in last year's poisoning death of a British businessman. Bo is accused of covering up for his wife. He also faces charges for improper sexual relationship with a number of women and accepting bribes and abusing his power.

Ahead on NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERROL BARNETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So here's the key question. How can you really tell how connected a place really is? What's the visual evidence that shows how active people are online? Well, to find out I decided to conduct a bit of an experiment.

MALVEAUX: Errol Barnett. He is going to join us live to tell us how Kenyans responded to his challenge.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: When it comes to being Internet savvy, Kenya is actually leading the way in Africa. It's regarded as one of the continent's most connected countries. Just how connected are they? CNN's Errol Barnett, he wanted to find out so he came up with an experiment in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARNETT (voice-over): Back in the year 2000 Kenya had a mere 200,000 Internet users in the country. By the close of 2011, though, that number had jumped to 10.5 million Web users. As a result, Kenya is now cited as one of the most plugged in countries on the African continent.

(On camera): So here's the key question. How can you really tell how connected a place really is? What's the visual evidence that shows how active people are online?

Well, to find out I decided to conduct a bit of an experiment. Last night I sent out a tweet simply saying, "INSIDE AFRICA" would be a certain cafe at a certain time and if you wanted to appear on the show, just tell me the password.