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Connect the World
President Zardari Visits Britain
Aired August 06, 2010 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a friendship which will never break no matter what happens, and storms will come and storms will go, and Pakistan and Britain will stand together.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Pakistan's president builds bridges on a visit to England.
But back home, Zardari is accused of ignoring an unfolding catastrophe. Tonight, with millions of people affected by the monsoon flooding, who is doing what and what more needs to be done?
On CNN, this is the hour, we "Connect the World."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: All the chorus of voices asking why President Zardari isn't in Pakistan this week, getting louder by the day. At this hour, we're going to speak with a close comfort on to Mr. Zardari, Pakistan's high commissioner to London on this show this hour.
Also, tonight -
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just being in the waiting room here and seeing all the women, half of them have a wig on. They're marked, you know, we have the same markings.
ANDERSON (voice-over): The sports legend fight off her opponent, Martina Navratilova answers your questions as your "Connector of the Day."
And the connection between debt-laden English football clubs and wealthy sovereign fans. We're going to explain why the two apparently make a good match.
And connect with the program online via Tweeter, my personal address is @beckycnndupe. Log on and join in the conversations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: What's up tonight, should diplomacy take a back seat to a natural disaster? Pakistan's president is weathering harsh criticism if his priorities abroad if some as many as 12 million back home suffer from catastrophic floods.
We're going to begin this hour with Reza Sayah in Pakistan with the worst doesn't appear to be over.
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REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The flood levels maybe going down in northwest Pakistan, but the rising in the central and southern portions of this country.
(on camera): We're in Chachran Sharif. This is a village in the southern parts of Punjab Province. This area that you see behind used to be dry land just several days ago. Now, you have a lake.
Large portions of this community are underwater. Behind me is a mosque, that white building, that's underwater. For the past several days, hundreds of people who live in this neighborhood have moved their belongings to dry land here and this is where they've been living with their huts (ph) and their belongings.
They've also had to rescue their livestock, scores of cows and boats. They've actually put them on boats to bring in on this dry land here to save them. A couple of developments triggered these flood levels here. One, you have the monsoon rains that hit this region earlier this week and then you had the flood waters up north that made their way, and this has been the result.
They call this area the hot land of Pakistan. You have most of this nation's croplands here and officials are telling us much of those croplands are underwater or in jeopardy. But the good news here, the death toll has been relatively low because officials are telling us, people were prepared.
They evacuated early. They're continuing to evacuate, but this situation is far from over. More monsoon rains in the forecast and if they hit, you have potentially another major disaster zone here in this part of the country. Reza Sayah, CNN, Chachran Sharif, Pakistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, as Reza just mentioned. While authorities in Pakistan are struggling with mass evacuations and relief efforts, their president who is over in Europe pressing ahead with state visits despite the crisis at home.
Pakistan's government says it talks Friday with British Prime Minister David Cameron were an important opportunity to (inaudible) about fighting terrorism.
But President Asif Ali Zardari himself perhaps didn't use the best choice of words to reaffirm strong bilateral ties.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASIF ALI ZARDARI, PAKISTANI PRESIDENT: It's a friendship, which will never break no matter what happens, and storms will come and storms will go.
And Pakistan and Britain will stand together and face all the difficulties with dignity and we will make sure that the world is a better place for our coming generations tomorrow. Thank you, Prime Minister Cameron.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, storms will come and storms will go, President Zardari was, of course, referring to diplomatic storms. Will the choice of words just simply add to the voices of his critics out there?
Let's get the government perspective (inaudible). Tonight, we're joined by Pakistan's High Commissioner to the U.K. Wajid Hasan. He shouldn't really be here, should he?
WAJID HASAN, PAKISTANI HIGH COMMISSIONER TO U.K.: Who?
ANDERSON: Your president.
HASAN: Why?
ANDERSON: There's a catastrophic disaster going on in Pakistan. As many as 12 million people displaced, why would the president be here?
HASAN: We have got a government - elective government looking after the affairs of the state. Prime Minister is there.
ANDERSON: He's the CEO. He's the CEO in Pakistan. He should be there.
HASAN: Under the constitution, he's the chief of executive.
ANDERSON: Sure.
HASAN: And he represents the parliament and he's there, and president is visiting for an important international visit. He went to France. He went to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and he's now here. And he had very good, successful talks with Prime Minister David Cameron.
ANDERSON: Let's have a listen to what one Pakistani opposition politician had to say earlier on to me today, Imran Khan, have a listen to this.
HASAN: Well -
ANDERSON: Hold on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IMRAN KHAN, RETIRED PAKISTANI CRICKETER: Are you surprised that people in Pakistan are furious? Everyone across the political dividers extremely angry at what Zardari has done. He's abandoned his country. It just shows carelessness that he doesn't care.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Imran Khan says he doesn't care and he has abandoned his country.
HASAN: Well, it's Imran (harsh) words and (inaudible) politician that (inaudible) listen to him. He is serving the country while he's abroad as well. He's collecting international assistance for the relief operations in Pakistan and he has collected a few million pounds and dollars for the assistance. And he has also done very good work with British government.
ANDERSON: All right, let me tell you - I mean, I can tell you from reporters on the ground we have there and others have there that his reputation is (inaudible) by this trip.
And his opposition - his opponents are going to make such mileage out of his. We should remember there's a catastrophic disaster going on and it could get worse.
HASAN: Well, we know that it's getting worse. It is very difficult. It's a situation that is compounded by this disaster that we had and that's why he's out. He's trying to collect international support and he's being responded very well by the international community.
As I told you about Abu Dhabi, France, the Great Britain now and also - even the Scottish parliament. The Scottish government has donated about a million pound.
ANDERSON: Does he need to come - does he need to travel in order to raise that money?
HASAN: These were all pre-planned and he was not traveling at the time of the floods and he came here -
ANDERSON: But he's traveling now, I mean, the floods continue and they're getting worse.
HASAN: He's traveling now. He is going to launch (inaudible) tomorrow to mobilize more funds and more assistance.
ANDERSON: Let me put this to you. The Pakistani community, it seems to me in the U.K. are pretty disappointed about his presence here.
HASAN: Well, I don't agree with you. It's a matter of fact, he is holding -
ANDERSON: Well, I can tell you a number of lawmakers have pulled meetings with him, (inaudible) with him. Rallies with him here for (inaudible) because they think he should be at home, sir.
HASAN: Let me put this straight. Nobody call off the meeting. They had (inaudible) before the president came here. They had call off the meeting because they had other engagements.
ANDERSON: No, no. I talked to a lawmaker from Birmingham on Wednesday night on this show who said and he didn't want to be at that meeting.
It's Karid Mahmud (ph) and he didn't want to be at that meeting with Zardari because he says Zardari should be at home dealing with this catastrophic disaster.
HASAN: I don't want to get involved in a blame game. Mr. Karid Mahmud, months before David Cameron made that statement or months before the floods came in, had informed me that he's got previous engagement. He will not be able to make it - through that meeting.
And on that -
ANDERSON: All right.
HASAN: It was really deceitful of him to have come on television and said that he is boycotting.
ANDERSON: OK, what do you think - what do you think has Zardari achieved while he's being here?
HASAN: Well, number one, (inaudible) of our friendship between Pakistan and Great Britain and David Cameron was very positive throughout the meeting. We had two meetings.
Yesterday, we had a private dinner with him and also this morning, we had a nearly two-hour long meeting with him and various subjects and issues were discussed including cooperation.
And Cameron, you know, agreed with him that terrorism is a gullible problem and it has to be tackled both globally and reasonably.
And that was the reassertion of what Pakistan has been saying and he appreciated Pakistan's efforts, Pakistan's law enforcing (inaudible) and democratic government's efforts.
And he also said that we will help Pakistan. We got access to EU and other markets to improve, you know, because president wants not aid but trade. That is what Mr. Cameron also said -
ANDERSON: Would you consider this a successful trip despite the harsh criticism your president is getting at home?
HASAN: Only a section of media is harsh to the (president). That's has been doing it since (long).
ANDERSON: This is criticism at home.
HASAN: And you know, you can imagine about the rating of the president and all the media said he`s got 20 percent rating. Today, results announced in the (inaudible) elections, (1PP) in the heartland of Punjab (inaudible) (PP11) seat and the two others independent one. So you can imagine what sort of support we have.
ANDERSON: You're calling this is a successful trip, other would debate that, but we'll have to leave it there because we're going to take - not take a short break, actually, (inaudible). We do appreciate you're coming in.
HASAN: Thanks very much. Thank you.
ANDERSON: Tonight here on "Connect the World." Well, before we do move on, let's return to that (inaudible) prices tonight. The dire humanitarian situation in Pakistan.
We're join now by the U.K. director in Islamic relief to find out what's being done to help those flood victims. Jehangir Malik is on the phone in Birmingham.
So let's start off with what you are doing at this point for Pakistan with your charity. What's the target?
JEHANGIR MALIK, U.K. DIRECTOR, ISLAMIC RELIEF (via phone): Well, we - when the situation unfolded the way of - I've called an emergency meeting and along with the other international aid agencies and set our thousand ambitious initial 2 million pound target considering the situation that was unfolding on the ground.
ANDERSON: Are you getting - let me ask this question, who's contributing to your fund and are you getting enough at this point?
MALIK: Well, as the situation - the scenes that we're witnessing in our screen and listening to on the radio and reading on our papers is unfolding with saying the scale of disaster. Numbers are rapidly rising and the affected areas have gone into from million into up to 12 million right now.
So this then called upon emergency meeting with the other DEC, Disaster Emergency Committee agencies and launched the appeal only just over 24 hours ago, and as we seen the scale of the disaster, more and more responses coming.
It was slow to start with because as all emergencies as like the one in Haiti. We were unsure of the scale of disaster, but obviously as days going by, we realized the scale and the magnitude of (inaudible) of the floods.
ANDERSON: You've heard the high commissioner to the U.K. tonight speaking to me here just moments ago defending the visit by the Pakistani President Zardari. Is this visit here to the U.K. helping or hindering the global fund raising effort. Do you think - should he be here?
MALIK: Well, our mandate as a humanitarian aid agency along side with our other fellow British-based organizations here is purely focused on raising the awareness and raising the - understanding the plight of the people on the ground.
And the people on the plight on the ground need as much assistance from the international community as possible and this is where we are focused in raising their voices of the need at this moment and wherever that assistance can come from we welcome it because it needs to get to Pakistan ASAP.
ANDERSON: We have been reporting as have all the (inaudible) and print journalists this week on how some and I'm going to say some Islamic charities knows that a link to terrorist groups are actively doling out an effort trying to mileage out of this disaster.
I'm not suggesting for a moment your charity is involved in that, but what do you make of criticisms and concerns about the potential for buying (inaudible) during a disaster like this and does it make the job of a charity like yours harder?
MALIK: Well, a charity like us - we've been operating in this difficult area and in other areas around the world, in conflict zones, and politically volatile zones in hugely challenging circumstances.
And Kashmir was - was an area that we'd work and just four to five years ago when this accusation was levied back then. We point ourselves on signing ourselves to be code of conduct for the - across some societies of impartiality, neutrality and once again, (inaudible) because it's purely on humanitarian mission and serving the communities that are in desperate need at this moment in time.
Islamic belief enjoins phenomenal support all the way from his Royal Highness Prince Charles who's made a personal donation to Islamic relief. His - the (Clarence) house called our office on Monday and he made a personal donation to us, and we get contributions from all segment of society and all cross sections of society.
And the member of DEC agencies, we just play focused on what we've got to do and what we've got to do is reach as many of those 12 million people out there as possible. Whatever other people have to do, other organizations that's not our business, our primary business is serving those people that are affected at this moment in time.
ANDERSON: And I hear your words this Friday night out of the U.K. We thank you very much indeed for joining us and it is a crisis that is, the people of Pakistan need your help.
You can find out how you can give money to the flood victims on a special section of our web site cnn.com/impact. You'll find list of charities there that are working on the ground and how to get in touch with them to donate your own money, cnn.com/impact.
Next stop, the story of a fighter, Martina Navratilova spent her life facing tough opponents on the tennis court, but this year, she found herself in a new kind of fight with breast cancer. She's our "Connector of the Day" and that is up next.
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ANDERSON (voice-over): Martina Navratilova is one of the world's tennis legends. Incredibly, Martina has fought for more than 30 years.
The tennis star enjoyed unparalleled longevity in the game, winning more than 350 titles over the course of her career and since retiring, she's gone on to become to prominent commentator, television personality and even artist.
But five months ago, Martina's fast-paced life was given a sudden jolt and she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
MARTINA NAVRATILOVA, TENNIS STAR: I heard on February 24th, which is kind of my 9/11, you don't forget that date when your life basically has changed forever although I did not hear the word cancer, your biopsy was positive and I'm like positive usually is good, but wait a minute, that's not good. What does that mean?
The first thought was - you know, of course, this can't be happening, but you know, it's happening. I mean, I was in denial for about two seconds then I cried for about, I don't know, a minute and then I said, OK, what do we do?
BILLIE JEAN KING, TENNIS STAR: The great thing about it is she caught, you know, her breast cancer early and she got into the solution, and she didn't miss a beat and that's very Martina. She doesn't sit around, wondering or fidgeting, she just gets into action.
ANDERSON: On March the 15th, she underwent a success lumpectomy and less than two weeks later, competed in a meet bicycle portion of the triathlon in Hawaii.
Having recently finished the final stretch of radiation, Martina was continuing to persevere even planning a climb of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Strengths at every turn, Martina Navratilova is your "Connector of the Day."
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ANDERSON: She has been an inspiration to millions of us who watched her on the court, of course. But in the past couple of months, Martina Navratilova is able to conquer one of the biggest challenges of her life and that is breast cancer.
I spoke to her earlier. We started by talking about how she balanced radiation treatment, commentating and playing tennis, all at the same time. This is what she said.
NAVRATILOVA: Actually working during the treatment, I had six weeks and the first two weeks, I was just (inaudible) and the week three, four, I was working and then week five, six, when it's really what the most difficult physically part of the radiation.
I wasn't working again so it was nice to have that break, breaking up of the six weeks and be forced to work and get out of bed and so it was a good combination. It worked out really well, but I'm glad that it's behind me. No doubt about that.
ANDERSON: You came forward with your cancer fight, Martina, in the hopes of inspiring all the women to get regular checkups. What are you hearing back? Are you getting feedback on that?
NAVRATILOVA: I had been getting a lot of feedback. In fact, I've seen some tennis players, but one player, I had her check up the next day after she read about me and they found DCIS (ph). She had the same thing and she got it taken cared of immediately, didn't need radiation.
So - and that's people that I know - that I know personally. I've gotten a lot of comments on Facebook as well as women just walking down the street whether - that either had the treatment or had DCIS or were then encouraged to go to the doctor and check up.
And so - it's been amazing. We also had some negative press and that fairly one woman in U.K. was writing that I was so theatrical about my presentation of my breast cancer. I'm like, OK, you know, you can't win, but actually that's been the hardest thing above the breast cancer.
I was talking about it so much. Now every interview I do, I talk about it, but again, it's a small price to pay for encouraging women to take care of themselves, get those checkups and hopefully, you know, nip it in the bud if there is a problem.
ANDERSON: Sure. Mananne asked a very simple question. She says how did the breast cancer change your outlook on life, if it all?
NAVRATILOVA: It didn't really like change my outlook on life or anything like that, but it sort of reinforced it that, you know, I've had a great life and I'm still going to have a great life. I'm very, very lucky and I count my blessings everyday so just reinforced my outlook, yes.
ANDERSON: How are you doing? I've got a lot.
NAVRATILOVA: Overall, I think - my body handled it really well. I've had some support also homeopathically and the friend support, et cetera and I stayed active.
And now - afterwards, I started feeling my body really getting better. There are some bumps up what I've really felt. My God, I didn't know how tired I was until it wasn't there anymore because it was very gradual.
So gradually my body came back and I'm back to normal, and I was in Aspen a couple of weeks ago and I do like two sports a day, every day, you know. Everything under sun, I'd love it and you know, (inaudible) kid.
Basically, I refuse to grow up. If I can - if I can do that, get away with it, hey, why not, you know. I think more people would like to have my life, you know. Who says, I want to work more. I really want to play more so I'm - I got to do that.
ANDERSON: Get bored or whatever. Now, exactly, Cheryl has a very interesting question. She says, is there anything that you've learned about yourself throughout this process that really surprised you?
NAVRATILOVA: About myself? I think that I am, you know, that I can handle whatever that storm that may so far anyway.
ANDERSON: All right, let's talk about life in general. Becky K. asked the question, which is simply that she says, well, one thing that you've done in your lifetime has given you the most satisfaction, Martina?
NAVRATILOVA: Well, spending a lot of time with my mom in the last two years when she couldn't travel anymore and I had traveled to the Czech Republic. I was there pretty much once a month for three, four or five days at a time sometimes longer and really getting to know my mom, and taking care of her, and giving her the energy to keep living. You know, and getting to know her.
ANDERSON: You can never spend enough time with your parents, I say. Lara asked a question, which I know many, many, many people want answered. She says what is it like to win Wimbledon?
NAVRATILOVA: It's fantastic. It's fantastic - you know, you dream about it and - when you get close, when I was serving for the match against Chris, that was in 1978 and I was serving for the match, you know, the first point.
I ended up serving the game at love. I think I got all first (inaudible) I'm not sure, but your heart just starts pounding. You know, it's like an out of body experience. You hear your heart beating. You hear yourself breathing and it's like you're over here.
And, you know, you're with the ball, but you're also here and you're aware of everything and nothing at the same time because you're just really thinking about just playing that point. But it's like, you know, your life flashes in front of you because you spend so much time getting to that point.
So it all goes into your head, but then you have to shot it out and just play - play that point and it's magic.
ANDERSON: And what a win that was. Listen, looking forward, I hear you've got an award coming up at the U.S. Open and what is this about climbing Kilimanjaro?
NAVRATILOVA: Well, the climb is to help raise awareness for the Sport for Good Foundation and hopefully raise some money as well, and for me, it's an excuse to get to the tallest mountain in Africa, which I've always wanted to do.
So, you know, it's going to be tough, but I'm looking forward to it and I just now have to start training for it. So - yes, and it will be good. I'll lose a couple of bounds around my belly as well so it's all good.
ANDERSON: And she can do it because I've done it. She's a tough one. Kilimanjaro, it is possible. Martina Navratilova over there and you can hear more about the story of her treatment in a compelling special program airing this Saturday at a time shown on your screen, 5:30 p.m. London and you do not want to miss that.
Now, on Monday, your "Connector of the Day" is Usher, the music superstar founded the New Look Foundation. It's a non-profit organization that trains young people in service and allow them to travel abroad.
Usher will talk to you about that and his albums. Hold on to your questions about the foundation. This Monday on "Connect the World."
Tonight, this Friday evening. It's 26 minutes past 9 in London. We're going to take a very short break. We'll be right back.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I was sleeping, I had a knock on my door and I opened my door, and two men were there and gave me a pouch and said, a gift for you.
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ANDERSON: Sid Mortal and Naomi Campbell, they are giving testimonies at the trial of Liberia's (inaudible) on Thursday. Now, it's been a particularly popular animation topic on the web site.
So I before read out some of your comments on this, there is another side to the story there where the other people at Nelson Mandela's home for dinner (inaudible) when Campbell apparently was handed a pouch of diamonds allegedly at least among them Pakistani politician, Imran Khan, whom you had from earlier on this show. Have a listen to what he recalls from that night.
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KHAN: Do you know what? I - it was so long ago, all I remember is - this was a trip - we were invited by Mr. Mandela to come to South Africa to launch what was called the Blue (Train). I think it was a train, which goes across.
So we - we went there and we traveled with him and it was such an honor to meet Mandela. I don't remember anyone else. I don't remember Charles Taylor being there. I do remember Naomi Campbell and of course, Mia Farrow was there.
Quincy Jones, I think, but I don't remember anything or certainly don't remember anything about this diamonds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Imran Khan. Well, your comments on Naomi Campbell. Now many viewers really bashing her and some of you defending her as well.
My miracle say, please Miss super arrogant Naomi Campbell, you hid the diamonds in your cellphone. You never intended to have them sold in any charity auction. That's one of our viewers writing in.
(Inaudible) 854 has absolutely zero respect for Naomi Campbell, but Bombaden (ph) tells, Naomi Campbell is amazing and this is all a lot of hot balloon. She had the diamonds only briefly and then gave them to somebody else. How is that a crime?
You can get your own voice heard on CNN. Head to the website, cnn.com/connect. And let me tell you, we do read all of your comments, and we put as many of them on air as we can.
Just before -- just after half past nine in London. Up next, is this the new face of terror? He's known as a Jihadist rock star. His alleged mission, recruit young men to extremism in radical new ways. We're going to explore the new breed of terrorism around the world, up next here on CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with us.
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ANDERSON: A very warm welcome back. Your with CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson in London for you this Friday evening. Coming up, Washington calls him a "Jihadist rock star." This young Alabama man isn't the only American fighting alongside rebels in Somalia, though. We're going to see what's being done to pull the plug on a US recruiting ring.
Misery follows in the wake of human trafficking. We're going to check back with our man in Asia, south Asia, to see what he has found in India this time.
And he certainly has the money. It may only be a matter of time before Chinese billionaire Ken Huang also has the Liverpool football club. All these stories ahead in the next 30 minutes. First, let me get you a very quick check of the headlines at this point this hour.
Britain and Pakistan are reaffirming strong, bilateral ties. Prime Minister David Cameron hosted President Asif Ali Zardari at his weekend retreat at Chequers. On Friday, they smoothed over a diplomatic row triggered last week when Mr. Cameron suggested that Pakistan was, quote, "exporting terrorism."
Moscow is a sight for sore eyes and throats, it seems. The Russian capital is blanketed in smoke from distant wildfires. Health officials warn the city's 10 million people that carbon monoxide levels are five times what is considered safe. They are asking people to stay inside if possible.
Hip Hop star Wyclef Jean wants to become the next president of Haiti. He announced his candidacy on CNN's "Larry King Live" on Thursday night. His bid is winning praise from many of his fellow Haitians, but he's also getting criticism from actor and activist Sean Penn, who accuses Jean of being a non-presence in Haiti.
A new breed of terrorist has the FBI and Interpol on alert. More than a dozen people now face indictments in the US. They are accused of funneling money and help to the Islamist militant group al-Shabab in Somalia. Let's get CNN's Jeanne Meserve. Jeanne, one of the suspects known as something of a "Jihadist rock star." Am I right in saying that?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's absolutely right. We'll learn a little bit more about him in just a second. But a new State Department report describes al-Shabab as one of al Qaeda's most active affiliates. And these indictments against 14 are part of what the government calls a "pipeline" funneling funds and fighters to the group.
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MESERVE (voice-over): Al-Shabab, a US-designated terror group, on the battlefield in Somalia. Among its commanders, US officials say, two of the indicted men, Jehad Serwan Mostafa and Omar Hammami, both US citizens.
Hammami has allegedly become a propagandist as well, appearing in Jihadi videos.
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OMAR HAMMAMI, TERROR SUSPECT: So, the only reason we're staying here, away from our families, away from the cities, away from ice, candy bars, all these other things, is because we're waiting to meet with the enemy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE (voice-over): An expert on radicalization calls Hammami "a Jihadi rock star, a bridge between two cultures."
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HAMMAMI: Mortar by mortar, shell by shell, only going to stop when I send them to hell.
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FRANK CILLUFFO, HOMELAND SECURITY POLICY INSTITUTE: Someone who has feet in both words, fuses his Jihadi narrative with American culture and rap music. This isn't just someone reciting dusty old texts. This is someone Americans see glimmers of themselves in.
MESERVE (voice-over): Born and raised in Alabama, Hammami was raised a Baptist but converted to Islam as a young man. His mother tells CNN she hasn't talked to him since 2007, and she doesn't know if he is guilty as accused.
Also unsealed, indictments of 10 men from Minnesota's Somali community. All are believed to be overseas training or fighting with al- Shabab. The government hopes the indictments sends a message.
ERIC HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES: If you choose this route, you can expect to find yourself in a United States jail cell, or to be a casualty on a Somali battlefield.
MESERVE (voice-over): But the indictments don't reflect the breadth of the homegrown terror problem. Recently, four young men from New Jersey, Virginia, and Chicago have been arrested for allegedly trying to travel to Somalia to fight.
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MESERVE: Also announced, the arrest in Minnesota of two women, who the government allege raised money for al-Shabab, sometimes through teleconferences. In some instances, the government says they misled donors, telling them their money would help the poor in Somalia, not wage war. Becky, back to you.
ANDERSON: Jeanne, does the US government think that this is the extent of Jihadi militants working out of the US? Or is this just the tip of the iceberg?
MESERVE: I think the government and experts would tell you that this the tip of the iceberg. There were 12 men alleged to be fighting in Somalia indicted yesterday. The number we've heard just from the city of Minneapolis is closer to 20. In addition, you've had all these other arrests that were mentioned in the package in places like New Jersey and Virginia and Chicago.
The thing that's kind of interesting is, initially the real concern was about the Somali community and the number of people from that diaspora who were choosing to go back to Somalia to train and fight. But now we're seeing any number of American-born, American-bred individuals choosing to pick up arms and go fight in that struggle.
ANDERSON: Yes. Fascinating stuff. Jeanne Meserve for you, out of Washington this evening. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson.
And this show is on the trail of human trafficking. One of the world's leading authorities on the subject is traveling across south Asia at present and finding entire families caught in virtual slavery, their young kids forced to work long hours for a pittance.
We've been sharing his journey with you over the past couple of weeks, and the next part of it is up next. This is compelling stuff. Stay with us.
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ANDERSON: I want to reconnect you now with a very special guest of ours here on the show. Siddharth Kara, he's a researcher from Harvard University, traveling through south Asia at present, on the trail of human traffickers. Now, he is sharing what he finds along the way with us, and so far, what he has come across is pretty shocking.
The trip began in New Delhi. He described talking with entire families lured there with a promise of work that would have paid a pittance, but cheated even of that and unable to return home.
From there, he traveled to Bangladesh. Last week, he spoke to us here on the show about all the kids that he saw working in the shrimp industry, brought in from around the country, working for pennies an hour.
Now, he is in the village of Srimangal. That's about 190 kilometers northeast of Dhaka. And when we spoke just a couple of days ago, I began with some things Siddharth mentioned last week about whether he was able to confirm the extent of child labor in the shrimp industry. This is what he told me for you.
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SIDDHARTH KARA, HUMAN TRAFICKING EXPERT: Well, last week I did promise you that I would go down to the bottom of the shrimp supply chain to see if, in fact, the stories of child labor were true. And I did.
I traveled down to southwest Bangladesh, near the Sundarban Mangrove, where the baby shrimp are collected in various rivers there. And I've sent you a few photographs of hundreds and hundreds of wooden boats out in the river on a rainy day.
And roughly, let's say seven out of ten that I counted, were manned by young children. And that to put in fine blue nets into the pretty dirty, fast-flowing water and basically spend the day out there collecting as much baby shrimp as they can, which they then sell to the farmers for about a penny each.
ANDERSON: Siddharth, how do you know those aren't children working with their parents' permission?
KARA: Well, I would actually say, in most cases they probably are working with the knowledge of their parents out of dire need and necessity. That work that they're doing is intended to meet their immediate needs for food and shelter. And apologists for child labor will point this out, and to some extent, I understand and agree.
But every minute that they're spending out there in that river filled with viruses and bacteria and difficult conditions and not in school, means they're not going to have the opportunity to climb up the ladder of human development. And this means that when the shrimp season is over, or other opportunities fall through, they are prime targets for exploiters and traffickers.
ANDESON: All right, Siddharth. You've sent us some pictures of these people working in the pouring rain. Any idea about their daily conditions? And just how tough are things?
KARA: This is about the poorest part of Bangladesh you can find. It's muddy, soppy, very, very poor. The conditions on the river itself are not at all pleasant. Young children were out in the rain, shivering cold, 10, 12, 14 years old. Sometimes even younger. And those are the ones with boats.
I've also sent you photos of the children in families that don't have boats, and they literally walk through the mud out to the riverbanks and struggle in the current to just catch as much as they can by the riverbanks.
And that river, you take one look at it, and you can see it's not exactly pristine, blue Caribbean waters. It's filled with bacteria, so there's a lot of children who come down with all kinds of ailments, all kinds of diseases, which then pulls them out of the income generating category and into the vulnerable to being exploited and trafficked category.
ANDERSON: I know that you're next work might include the investigation of sex trafficking. Just explain what you believe to be going on in the area that you are in now.
KARA: I've been -- sex trafficking has been a main category of my research for a decade now. It was the subject of my first book. And in brothels throughout India, I often encountered Bangladeshi trafficking victims. So I wanted to look into the situation on the other side of the border.
I talked last week a little bit about the situation in the brothels in Dhaka. I went into the rural areas, this is around towns like Khulna, Jessore, and that part of the country, right on the border with India. And did a lot of interviewing in shelters and women's centers with survivors of sex trafficking. And they all told a very similar narrative.
The first step was trafficking to either Dhaka or Calcutta. Here, the young girls were broken, physically and spiritually, through rape, torture, starvation, and forced to have sex with 20 or more men per day.
Once they're broken, they're sent onwards to other urban centers, typically in India. And I even met one girl who was trafficked all the way to Italy, where she was kept in a hotel brothel -- this is a narrative she told me -- for several months, where her clientele were a mix of local Bangladeshis living in Rome as well as Italians and Europeans.
This is an alarming signal of how sophisticated these organized crime networks are, particularly vis-a-vis sex trafficking, because it's so immensely profitable.
ANDERSON: How are you able to confirm any of this?
KARA: I'll start with the second one. It's always a delicate exercise, interviewing a person who says they're the victim of sex trafficking or child trafficking or labor trafficking or anything. I rarely encounter out and out fabrications.
And in particular, the people I'm interviewing have been in shelters for several weeks or months, where they've been working with the local NGO, and their narrative has been recorded a few times, and they're just repeating it to me.
Now, I can't go to Rome and look at that particular hotel brothel she mentions right now. But I've done this enough, after about ten years, where you start to tell certain details get included, and you can tell there's an authenticity to the story. Certain patterns that I've seen several times get repeated, and they betray a certain authenticity to the journey of someone being acquired, shifted to some other place, and then exploited sexually.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Modern slavery, sexual exploitation, human trafficking, call it what you will. We are following Siddharth's journey online. He's been writing a blog for us as well, and he's been posting those interviews.
We're giving you a chance to sound off. And I want to take a moment to respond to some of the criticism that we have received. Bdresal points out, "This is not only in Bangladesh. If you go to India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, they have the same problem." He is one few people concerned that Siddharth Kara is simply picking on Bangladesh.
So, we want to point out again that Siddharth is, in fact, traveling throughout south Asia. You can read about the conditions that he is finding in India, where he began. Follow his travels beyond there, to Bangladesh. And then, of course, leave your own questions and comments. We are reporting what we are seeing on the ground. It's all at cnn.com/connect. Do -- we -- get involved. We really do want to hear from you. It's your show.
I'm Becky Anderson. You're with CONNECT THE WORLD here on CNN. We'll be right back after this very short break.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEPP BLATTER, FIFA PRESIDENT: They have two clubs in the Premier League. They are not in debt. And why? Because they have two sponsors that have taken away the debts. This is Chelsea and Manchester City.
And all the others, even the big Manchester, Manchester they have -- I think they are just able to pay the interest of their debt. But there are clubs, they are not even able to pay the interest of their debt. And this is not correct. This is not good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Sepp Blatter there. The English Premier League is a shining light in European football, isn't it? But all that glitters isn't necessarily gold. These are the figures that have angered the FIFA boss Sepp Blatter.
The latest accounts from the Russian-owned Chelsea show it operated at a loss of $17 million in 2009. The club, though, is now essentially debt- free after its oligarch owner turned his loan into equity. Roman Abramovich acquired the current Premier League champs in a controversial mega deal back in 2003. His money helped propel the squad to consecutive titles in '05 and '06 as Chelsea amassed a sea of red ink.
At the end of the last financial year, Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City faced a net loss of $56.6 million. That is a drop in the ocean for the club's wealthy owner, Sheik Mansour. He's rid the club of almost half a billion dollars in debt.
Elsewhere, the Glazer family of the Untied States bought Man United back in 2003. They're debt is said to exceed a billion dollars. And Indian entrepreneur Saurin Shah is negotiating, apparently, to buy Blackburn Rovers in a deal that could approach $70 million.
And the latest interest in the Premiership comes from Hong Kong. Chinese billionaire Kenneth Huang is reportedly preparing to bid on Liverpool FC. Now, it's saddled with a $376-odd million debt. Huang, though, is prepared to acquire that in order to gain financial control of the club. He heads up sports investment firm QSL. Although it was rumored he had backing from the investment arm of the Chinese government, that is, now, being denied.
According to a recent report released by the governing body UEFA, Premier League club debts are more than the rest of Europe's clubs put together. Yet, international investors, it seems, are as keen as ever to buy into the EPL.
Hamish McRae is an associate editor at London's "Independent" newspaper. He's written that buying into a football club is more than just a financial transaction. So I spoke to him a little earlier on, and I asked him why he thinks that things like sovereign world funds are showing so much interest in what are debt-ridden Premiership sides.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMISH MCRAE, ASSOCIATED EDITOR, "THE INDEPENDENT": They debts -- they seem huge to us. But they're not that big in relation to the wealth that is available to throw at it.
You look at Abu Dhabi. Its -- we don't know its precise figures. It's something like a trillion of assets. That's one thousand billion. The odd few hundred million really doesn't -- isn't big in that context.
ANDERSON: But my argument to you, Hamish, would be this. Is the odd hundred million, when it comes down to it, I guess, when you've got a trillion, it doesn't sound like an awful lot of money. But not every single EPL team is going to be successful. The Man Cities of this world, weren't an awfully big, well-known international team before the likes of Abu Dhabi bought into it. So is this about trophy ownership to a certain extent?
MCRAE: I think there's a bit of trophy ownership in it. It's nice to be flattered, it's nice to be greeted, it's nice to have the limos taking you to the stand, it's nice to shake hands with the stars. I think that is nice.
But there's also a hard-nosed element here. If you look at a lot of these soft-earned well funds, they're playing a very long game. They're not worried about the next six months, or the next two years. They're saying, "Look. If we have a trophy asset, that's one thing. If we have less than a trophy asset, we can turn it into a trophy asset. We will not just buy the players, not just buy the brand. We will buy the coaching, and then we will use that, not just to make money, but also to teach us at home how club football works."
So think of this long. It makes much more sense than it does for a standard European or North American investment.
ANDERSON: So what you're saying is, receipts at the gate, OK. Shirt sales, OK. Even long-term the rights and the money that you get from the - - selling the rights to the game. But what you're saying is, in China, where the game is, I've got to say, not having a great time at that moment. There's something to be learned out of the EPL.
MCRAE: I think China's extremely interesting. They want to do this well. They want to do everything they do really, really well. So if they are serving a dinner, they want to do Chateau le Fete, and the want to do it right.
Now, if they want to buy a football club, they want to do it well. They want to learn from them. And they want to suck all the knowledge and skill they can out of it. And I think in the case of China, it hasn't gotten so well. They've got the players, they've got the coaching, but somehow they haven't got the spirit. Something is missing. Got the skills, but not the drive. And maybe they want to try and learn that. Do not underestimate these people at all.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Fascinating stuff. Hamish McRae on why -- or why, some people would say -- are the big funds and the big investors are buying into some of these debt-ridden EPL clubs here in the UK.
I'm Becky Anderson, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. We're going to take a very short break, and then we'll take you through the lens after that for our World in Pictures, followed by your world news headlines. Stay with us.
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ANDERSON: It's party time as we take you through the lens this Friday evening. Head banging to heavy metal. Hardcore music fans get in the groove at an open-air festival in the German city of Wacken.
Newlyweds, and they are not wasting any time, apparently. Just married Mr. and Mrs. Philpot (ph) raced right on over to the Big Chill Festival in west England for an after party to remember. Sweet, isn't it?
Members of a gay rights group there, called The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence get dressed to the nines. They are celebrating a recent court decision in San Francisco to overturn Proposition 8.
And dizzying heights. These guys make the most of some sunny weather with a ferris wheel ride at a fun fair.
It's a festive Friday here in your World in Pictures this evening. And just before we go, a few of the best of our old videos have been feeding into us here on CNN. And I thought I'd share with you this evening.
First up, there can be a fine line between crazy, it seems, and criminal. This next guy doesn't just step over that line, he speeds right past it. A high-speed police chase in Los Angeles began after a man allegedly walked into a police station and, unprovoked, threatened to blow away a police officer. Then he fled. Police finally subdued him after he drove the wrong way on several streets and sidewalks. Not very clever, was it?
Next, New York state senator Pedro Espada, Jr. encounters enraged protestors in Albany. So what does he do? He throws crumpled bills at the crowd. The crowd, which is chanting, "Hey, hey, ho, ho, Espada has got to go." The lawmaker's under fire for having a bloated payroll with 40 staffers and spending more than 36 grand a week, according to "The New York Post."
And video from Japan of an amazing catch. Game watched by sports fans around the world. Want to know why outfielder Shuichi Murata is nick-named "The Spider-Man?" Watch as he literally climbs the wall to tear down that would-be home run. Good guy. Here you go again. Oh! Fabulous.
I'm Becky Anderson. That is your world connected this Friday. "BackStory," though, is up next right after this very quick check of the headlines here.
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