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Connect the World
The Uprising in Libya; Earthquake Devastates New Zealand City; Four Hostage Americans Killed
Aired February 22, 2011 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOAMMAR GADHAFI, LIBYAN LEADER (through translator): Whoever cooperates with foreign countries in order to instigate war -- war against Libya, the punishment will be execution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: Gadhafi's chilling message to the Libyan people, and as this image shows, to America, as well.
But that grip on power is slipping, as we learned from CNN's Ben Wedeman, the first Western correspondent to make it inside.
Later, rescuers rush to those victims still trapped under the rubble of New Zealand's deadly quake. We'll head there live for you.
And to Somalia this evening, where pirates killed four Americans despite Washington's pleas to negotiate.
Those stories and more tonight as we connect the world.
Well, this hour, Libya's crisis needs the world's attention. We'll be live at the United Nations and we'll hear from the E.U.'s foreign policy chief.
First, though, the situation on the ground for you.
A defiant Moammar Gadhafi says he will fight to the last drop of blood. In a long, rambling speech, Libya's leader told the world that anyone challenging his government deserved to die.
Let's hear, once again, what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GADHAFI (through translator): Whoever cooperates with foreign countries in order to instigate war -- war against Libya, the punishment will be execution. Whoever tampers with the country is also punished by execution. Whoever facilitates the entering of enemies into the country, whoever damages the ports, the airports, has to be executed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Gadhafi was speaking from one of his homes at an army barracks in Tripoli. He was -- that was bbd by the U.S. in 1986.
Well, Gadhafi later erected this statue of a hand crushing a U.S. fighter jet.
Well, crucially for protesters and for the rest of the world, he gave no sign of giving up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GADHAFI (through translator): I have paid the price of my remaining here, my grandfather has fell martyr in the war before I am -- it's not possible that I leave this place. I will be a martyr at the end. That is the tomb of my father, a warrior, Muslim warriors over there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, after that bizarre speech, clocking in at well over an hour, Libyan state TV cut to these images of Gadhafi's supporters rallying in Tripoli's Green Square. We are hearing reports of severe clampdowns in Libya's capital. Eyewitnesses report massacres of opposition supporters, shootings and overwhelmed morgues.
Well, it's difficult to get a sense of what's really going on in Libya at this point. Remember those images you just saw are what the government wants you to see.
But CNN's Ben Wedeman has a different story to tell.
He's the first Western TV journalist to enter and report from inside the country on this crisis.
Here's what he saw in the eastern city of Tubruq, which appears to be firmly under the control of the protesters.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the democracy of Gadhafi. This is the real democracy.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: But Gadhafi no longer controls the eastern city of Tubruq. The old Libyan flag from the days of the monarchy now flies over the main square.
Here, they chant the same slogan heard in Tunis and Cairo, "The people want to topple the regime."
And they don't want to stop there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm talking seriously. I will kill you. Leave us alone. Go away. Don't come back.
WEDEMAN: Tubruq was one of the first cities to rebel against Gadhafi's 42 year rule, ripping down the symbols of one of the Arab world's most repressive regimes.
(on camera): This is what remains of Tubruq's main police station -- a hated symbol of the Gadhafi regime. On the 17th of February, protesters came out into the streets. They were fired upon by the security services. But eventually the people here were able to overpower the police and they came and ransacked this place and then came and burnt cars belonging to the intelligence services.
(voice-over): Edris (ph) says he was brought to this room, the torture chamber in the police station, four times. The police, he recalls, used electric shocks and beatings to extract confessions.
Much of Libya's oil is exported from the east. Local leader Abdullah Sharif warns the people here have a weapon against the regime.
SHARIF ABDALLAH, TUBRUQ COMMUNITY LEADER: Unless this massacre is stopped immediately, we are going to stop the oil with bare hands, with bare hands. Either we burn it or we'll just stop exporting it.
WEDEMAN: Gadhafi isn't giving up without a fight, but then again, neither are the people.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Tubruq, Libya.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
ANDERSON: Ben's report there from Libya.
And later this hour, we're going to get Nic Robertson on the other side of the Libyan border for you. He's at the border with Tunisia.
Well, outside of the country, Colonel Gadhafi is facing mounting opposition from some of his own diplomats, many asking the United Nations to take action. Among them is Libya's deputy ambassador to the UN, who's called for a no fly zone over the country to help protect its people.
Well, Security Council members are now meeting to decide what to do.
Richard Roth is at the United Nations for us tonight, reporting from there.
What do we know at this point -- Richard.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR UNITED NATIONS CORRESPONDENT: The Security Council remains in closed consultations, working on a statement which will condemn the attacks on civilians in Libya and call for humanitarian passage to allow medical aid to get in and refugees to get out. It may also call for some sort of investigation as to what happened in the Eastern Benghazi cities.
The Security Council ambassadors came in several hours ago for their first session, the first meeting ever on any of the North African and Middle East turmoil that has spread like wildfire in the last month-and-a- half. The Security Council may issue that statement within the next few hours if there is unanimity.
Now, the other angle, some would say sideshow, here at the U.N. hallways, is at a time, dueling ambassadors, the current Libyan ambassador to the United Nations surrounded by the media after he finally appeared. He was not seen on Monday, when his deputy denounced Gadhafi in saying that he was committing genocide.
Today, publicly, he was -- he was expressing how he knew him for a long time. He's a former foreign minister. And he had praise for Gadhafi.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABDURRAHMAN MOHAMED SHALGHAM, LIBYAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UN: I think that Gadhafi, he's (INAUDIBLE) he's got to make a decision.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But who's responsible, sir?
People are dead.
SHALGHAM: Yes, he is responsible. All the regime is responsible. I am one of the regime. All -- all of us are responsible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: This ambassador did denounce the violence in Libya. He said everyone responsible. This is, once again, the deputy ambassador. This is today outside the Libyan mission.
The two men may not be that far apart. It's possible that the public voice on the attack is the deputy, because he now is saying to reporters that while publicly, the Libyan ambassador, his boss, really has to keep the stand up befriending Gadhafi, but he is in agreement that something needs to be done in Libya -- Becky, back to you.
ANDERSON: All right, so while the UN, Richard, continues to talk, a U.S. senator has set out four concrete steps that the world can take.
John Kerry is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He says Gadhafi must be put on notice that his actions will have consequences. Now, he wants all oil companies to immediately cease operations in Libya and the U.S. to consider re-imposing sanctions. He believes the U.N. should consider imposing an arms embargo and warns the Arab League that Libya should not be immune from punishment.
Well, tonight, the Arab League has suspended Libya from its meetings and its agencies.
But what about the rest of the world?
Well, earlier, I spoke to Catherine Ashton, who is the European Union's foreign affairs chief, who is currently on a trip to Egypt.
And I began by asking for her reaction to the threats made in Colonel Gadhafi's speech.
This is what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CATHERINE ASHTON, E.U. FOREIGN AFFAIRS CHIEF: It's just outrageous. And, frankly, you know, all I can say is that all these words can be said, but actually, at the end of the day, this is about us trying to find ways in which we can put the pressure on to make sure that Libya, we see the end of violence, that we see people actually being able to move forward with their lives.
Again, I think it's so important now that we see from the UN, particularly, but also the work that we're going to do, find ways to put the pressure on, to try and move away from this path.
Let's hope this is just rhetoric.
ANDERSON: John Kerry has urged four concrete steps on Libya. "The Wall Street Journal," in one of its editorials today, goes so far as to suggest the West might arm demonstrators.
So what, specifically, at this point, do you think the E.U. member states can do?
ASHTON: Well, I should say that one of the first things they've been looking at is what -- is what to do to try and support people and to get E.U. nationals to safety. That's the responsibility they have. It doesn't mean they think any less of the Libyan people themselves.
Secondly, of course we stop doing any of the work we've been doing with Libya, the discussions we've been having on trade and so on. That all stops.
And, thirdly, we come together to see ways in which we can collaborate with the international community. I mean this is an issue that really does need the U.N. to take the lead and for us to be able and willing to...
ANDERSON: Right.
ASHTON: -- go alongside that. And John Kerry has put forward, I think, some interesting ideas in terms of what could happen. But I think we need now, to see what the Security Council itself says...
ANDERSON: All right.
ASHTON: -- and make sure that we align ourselves.
ANDERSON: OK. So you say -- let's go back to what you said. You said the talks on trade must stop and they must stop now.
So are you suggesting that those E.U. members who, for example, sell arms to Libya, should stop that and stop that now for the foreseeable future?
ASHTON: Well, look, what happens is that the E.U. is responsible, as a collective, for negotiating all of our trade deals. It doesn't cover the -- the arms issues. It covers all of the other things that you would expect us to be dealing with. And we're in the middle of negotiations with Libya -- or we were.
What we have done is suspend those, which is what we did do in these kind of circumstances.
ANDERSON: So how does that hurt Libya...
ASHTON: But obviously...
ANDERSON: That's only one...
ANDERSON: -- how (INAUDIBLE)...
ASHTON: -- tiny part.
ANDERSON: Let's just get it clear for the viewers.
ASHTON: Well...
ANDERSON: How does that hurt Libya?
ASHTON: Well, the -- the point is that in any kind of circumstance, if you're saying you're no longer prepared to go on with the negotiations, then the long-term or the medium-term ambitions for the country, in terms of a trade deal, are gone.
ANDERSON: You met the Egyptian prime minister earlier today. You say that discussions are underway on providing Egypt with some extra one billion euros in support.
How will that work?
And what sort of checks and balances do you expect to put in place at this point?
ASHTON: You know, Becky, I've -- I mean I've been in -- in Egypt today to meet with a number of people, the prime minister, the foreign minister, finance ministers and the opposition leaders, the young people from the square, women's groups and so on.
The key message I wanted to bring was we're very keen to support them. We want to be able to find ways in which we can help the people of Egypt. And we want to do it in a way that's going to build the democracy that they want and it's going to help the economy that they need to have.
ANDERSON: Yesterday, you said -- and I quote -- "I will urge the current leadership in Egypt to make progress with constitutional change, paving the way for free and fair preliminary and presidential elections."
You are there in Cairo. You're on the ground.
Do you get the sense that what you want to see is actually what is unfolding there?
ASHTON: Yes, I mean what's very, very interesting is that there's some common scenes that have emerged from all my conversations. First of all, the need for transparency. Everybody wants to be sure that they can see what's going on. Everybody wants to be confident that what is being put in place is going to work and it really is going to build toward democracy.
Secondly, lots of conversations, too, about how do we make sure we've built the institutions that we need for democracy?
By that, I mean making sure you've got political parties that function, making sure you've got independent judges, making sure that it's not just the moment you put your paper in the ballot box, but that the democracy runs before -- through that process and afterwards.
And that, I think, is really interesting, because people are saying we need to think about the time lines for doing that -- when should we have elections, when should we be ready to be able to take that forward?
And that's going to be quite an interesting debate in the next few days and weeks.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
ANDERSON: The EU's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, talking to you there about Libya, and, indeed, about Egypt, where she is currently talking to the administration.
Well, we want to take us back to Libya for the moment, to bring you just a bit of sound that we've just received here to CNN Center.
It's from a trusted eyewitness in Tripoli, someone that we have spoken to before and whom we don't name to protect her safety.
What she describes is done is simply as the background. You'll see a single bullet on a green piece of cloth but it gives you a sense of what is happening in the Libyan capital.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is what the Libyans are doing to us right now. We are civilians. We are at home. We're supposed to be at peace. I just collected this right in front from our balcony. And this is supposed to be a bullet. This is supposed to be killing civilians. This is supposed to be killing peaceful people.
This is what these...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: An eyewitness there in Tripoli.
Some sound that we've just got into the CNN Center.
Extremely difficult, of course, to report on this story.
But we have got Ben Wedeman into the country, the first Western journalist to be reporting from there.
More from him, of course, and from Nic Robertson on the border a little later on.
Now, as we tour the region, Bahrain saw its largest protests, with tens of thousands marching in the capital of Ana -- Manama. The king is offering reforms and meeting with opposition figures after last week's crackdown left at least seven people dead.
In Yemen, student protesters overturned a car in the capital, Sanaa. They tell CNN it happened after they discovered weapons inside. Students are staging a sit-in at Sanaa University, one of at least five protests underway in Yemen.
Long-time president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, is rejecting demands that he immediately step down.
And in Algeria, the government is ending a state of emergency that was first imposed in 1992 to crack down on Islamist movements during Algeria's civil war.
And these are pictures from rallies on Saturday, the most recent video available. Algeria faces protests similar to other nations in the region.
Well, more on the unrest we're seeing coming up, including a look about Libya's oil and essentially how this unrest affects you and me.
Next, though, on CONNECT THE WORLD, New Zealand mourns.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KEY, NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER: New Zealand might be staring down what is its darkest day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The country's prime minister on an earthquake that's claimed at least 65 lives. Up next, we speak to the Red Cross live at the rescue operation there.
Plus, a tragedy on the high seas -- four Americans hijacked by Somali pirates are dead. The latest, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GAVIN BLOWMAN: This is a live earthquake. And you can see the floor is trembling and the -- and the -- the rocks are falling down in Sumner, just outside Christchurch.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The terrifying moment the earth shook violently in Christchurch, New Zealand. With the camera rolling, a brave local reporter describes the destruction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it hurts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's terrifying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: At least 65 people have been killed in the 6.5 magnitude quake. Witness simply couldn't believe what they were seeing, as people ran through the streets, buildings collapsing around them.
Well, Prime Minister John Key has described the situation as heartbreaking. Just six months ago, Christchurch suffered another earthquake.
But as Anna Coren now reports, it was nothing compared to this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The moment the quake hit -- 12:51 p.m. local time, in the middle of the lunch hour. A 6.3 magnitude quake centered southeast of Christchurch, on the South Island, a city in shock. It triggered widespread damage, with buildings collapsed in the center of the city, at least one on fire. The four story Pine Gold Guinness Building pancaked and tipped over. It's home to 200 office workers.
Firefighters rescued this woman from the roof. She was in remarkably good condition. Rescuers also used a crane to pluck people from a balcony 17 stories up, after the building's stairwells collapsed.
Also badly damaged, the city's famed cathedral. This local reporter was able to take a look inside.
HAMISH CLARK, TV 3 REPORTER: Outside, it's completely caved in where the tower was. And if you go upstairs and -- and take a view of another place. Wow!
COREN: Along with the collapsed buildings, power has been knocked out in many places, roads have buckled and the city has run out of ambulances.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Situ (ph) is a solicitor who was stuck under his seat. And he -- I do think he got out because he was trying to get over to me and I -- I don't know if he's got out. I don't -- I don't think they've got him out yet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was about half past four. And I was just coming out of the tollex (ph) and I got (INAUDIBLE) on the landed into the third floor. And what I didn't really know what happened. I mean I heard some people screaming out, which were on the second or third floor. I managed to pull them out through the side.
But I never seen anything like it in my life. And I don't even want to again, to be clear. Well, I -- I can't even believe I'm talking to you guys now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unbelievable. Unbelievable.
COREN: Prime Minister John Key spoke at parliament in Wellington before heading to Christchurch.
KEY: And it's hard to put words around this. I mean this is a city that suffered an enormous earthquake six months ago. But I think we all, in a way, understood how lucky we were that it happened at a time where lives were spared.
But it's the opposite this time. The future (ph) of the city last time, obviously, bore some of the brunt, but nothing like this time, where it's just been utterly devastated. And, you know, the buildings collapsed everywhere. There's (INAUDIBLE) all over the road, all over the place, the roads are in a state of complete disrepair. It's just hard to describe what is -- what was a vibrant city a few hours ago now has been brought to its knees.
COREN: This comes after a stronger quake that hit Blasted Timber (ph). But the damage from today's shallower tremor appears to be far more devastating.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you call out to us, please?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
COREN: According to government officials, rescue teams from around the country are heading to Christchurch and they've also accepted offers of help from overseas. This as the search for survivors unfolds in the days ahead.
Anna Coren, CNN.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, it's just after 20 past 10 in the morning. Christchurch waking up to a new day. But rescuers have been working through the night.
Let's get you the very latest situation on the ground from Carol Ball of the New Zealand Red Cross.
She's the area manager in the Canterbury region.
And she's currently coordinating the volunteers and the staff there.
What are your priorities, Carol, at this point?
CAROL BALL, NEW ZEALAND RED CROSS: The priorities at this point are tasking USAR, that's Urban Search and Rescue, to continue their work and the CBD in the wider region of the city, and also the welfare center, so that the people who are needing to find loved ones or needing assistance have somewhere specific to go to actually register their needs.
ANDERSON: Are you confident that everybody who might have been trapped in this earthquake have actually been rescued at this point?
BALL: I think it's way too early to say that. I am not a direct line of command for the USAR side of it. I am on the welfare side of it. But the reports I'm hearing, Becky, at this point in time, is that it is an ongoing search...
ANDERSON: All right...
BALL: -- and it may be for some time yet.
ANDERSON: What sort of challenges, then, are you facing and what do you need at this point?
BALL: I think the challenges that we are facing is going to be an immediate accommodation. I know that today, there are -- this morning they started very early on asking that international visitors are given priority so that they can go home and thus relieve some of the strain on the city. Accommodation for people is going to be under strain yet again. And the main services, especially in that CBD, are going to be under strain for many, many months to come.
ANDERSON: Yes. And we're watching the pictures as you speak. It's - - it's a terrible situation. Come back to us, Carol, as and when you have more information for us.
The coordinator for the Red Cross in the region there, as you look at the pictures of people being rescued from that earthquake just about 21 hours ago now.
Well, they talked about the dangers, but they were determined to sail around the world. A hostage drama in the Indian Ocean ends in tragedy. The latest details are just ahead here on CNN.
Plus, doing business in Libya -- how the uprising is affecting global markets.
That's all ahead right here on CNN.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: All right, you're back with CONNECT THE WORLD.
I'm Becky Anderson.
It's just after 27 minutes past nine in London.
Now, four Americans whose yacht was hijacked by Somali pirates last week have been killed.
CNN's David McKenzie is following the story from you from Nairobi in Kenya.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A tragic end to a hostage drama off the coast of Africa. Four American sailors who were sailing around the world, who had been taken by Somali pirates late Friday, were killed in the morning hours of Tuesday of Somalia.
CENTCOM, the Central Command of the U.S. military, said that they had been shadowing the S/V Quest, a 58-foot pleasure yacht that had four Americans on board. They were moving by that boat, both by land -- both by the air and on the sea. There had been negotiations going on between the pirates and the American Navy, according to CENTCOM. But somehow that broke down. And in the morning hours, there were shots ringing out from the S/V Quest.
They sent special operations forces to investigate and this is what the vice admiral said happened when they boarded.
VICE ADMIRAL MARK I. FOX, U.S. NAVY: There were no gunshots fired from the boarding team as they boarded, none. And then as they were clearing the vessel, they did kill one pirate as they were clearing it. And then there was another pirate that was -- that was killed in a knife fight.
MCKENZIE: The Navy personnel gave emergency first aid, but they were unable to revive the four sailors.
A very tragic end to this hostage drama.
There are around 700 sailors still held off the coast of Somalia by Somali pirates. And this problem seems not to be going away any time soon.
David McKenzie, CNN, Nairobi, Kenya.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, Washington has condemned the killings. This is what State Department's P.J. Crowley had to say a little earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
P.J. CROWLEY, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: This deplorable act firmly underscores the need for a continued international effort toward confronting the shared security challenge posed by the piracy in the waters off the Horn of Africa.
Our deepest sympathies go out to the victims' families at this time. We will honor their memory by continuing to strengthen international partnerships in order to bring these maritime criminals to justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: P.J. Crowley of the State Department.
You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD.
Up next, Libya, the third ranked oil producer in Africa. But getting to that point wasn't easy even before the violent crackdown.
Ahead, we're going to tell you about the challenges of doing business in Libya and what may happen next.
That and your headlines coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're with CONNECT THE WORLD here on CNN. I'm Becky Anderson in London. Coming up for you, Libya and its all- important oil. The unrest there has sent prices soaring, and there could be a long-term impact as Western nations ponder the difficulty of doing business there.
After that, meet Felix the Forest King. Find out how a boy from Bavaria morphed into a global eco-warrior.
And later, your Connector of the Day has been a stalwart of London Fashion Week for 27 years running. Betty Jackson dishes on her creations, her own wardrobe, and answers your questions. Your Connector of the Day, up in the next half hour.
Those stories are ahead. First, let's get you a very quick check of the headlines.
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has refused to step down during a defiant speech to his country. Gadhafi blamed the unrest on agents of foreign intelligence services and said people who carry weapons against his country would be executed. The EU's foreign affairs chief said she hoped it was just rhetoric.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CATHERINE ASHTON, EU FOREIGN AFFAIRS CHIEF: Just outrageous. And, frankly, all I can say is that all these words can be spared, but actually, at the end of the day, this is about us trying to find ways in which we can put the pressure on to make sure that Libya -- to see the end of violence, that we see people actually being able to move forward with their lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, the unrest in Libya sent stocks tumbling on Wall Street, the Dow Industrials tumbling 178-odd points. Quarter markets also finishing lower. US oil prices spiked six percent off the Libyan news, at one point reaching $98 a barrel.
Rescuers are working through the day trying to reach survivors still trapped by the powerful earthquake in New Zealand. A 6.3 magnitude quake struck Christchurch during the lunchtime rush, killing at least 65 people on Tuesday.
Two American couples hijacked at sea by Somali pirates were killed by their captors on Tuesday. US forces boarded the sailing vessel, Quest, after they heard gunfire off the coast of Aman. Two pirates were killed in a scuffle, while 15 others were detained.
Earlier on CONNECT THE WORLD, you saw Ben Wedeman's report from Eastern Libya. That area appears largely, now, under control of the opposition. Our Nic Robertson is stationed to the west, near Tunisia's border with Libya, and he joins me, now, live. Nic, what are conditions like there?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, at the border, Becky, people are streaming across. Libyans are fleeing their country.
What's very interesting, however, is when you ask them about it, they're clearly very fearful to speak out because Colonel Gadhafi is still clinging to power in this western side of the country, and they say, "Well, we're just coming to visit friends. There's nothing wrong, everything's 100 percent OK, it's 100 percent OK."
Talk to them away from the camera, and they tell you a different story. One man, who told us that he'd come from Tripoli, said "it's very dangerous there, we can hear gunfire at night," he said. "It's not safe for us to leave our houses." He said it's very dangerous, there, for foreigners.
So, the picture that is emerging is one that can be judged by the people crossing, by their numbers. And there are at least several thousand, according to Tunisian volunteers at the border, there. You can judge it by the numbers fleeing, if not by what exactly they tell you. And the Tunisians, here, are doing their best to help them, handing out free food and rides to the next town, Becky.
ANDERSON: A rambling, near-one-hour speech by Libya's leader earlier on today. Nic, did you get any sense from those that you've spoken to how Libyans themselves are responding to that speech?
ROBERTSON: Well, I think the initial sense is that if you can get out of the way, then, get out of the way. It was interesting to see the people coming across the border, today. Most of them were young men. Clearly, they didn't want to get caught up in the violence in any way, shape, or form.
But there's a growing realization, it appears, that Colonel Gadhafi is going to make a stand, and it is going to affect the stability and security of the western part of the country. And the people there are showing that they don't feel safe, because they are leaving.
The blame on foreigners and outsiders for the problem, the demands in telling people that he is the one who sacrificed things for the country, he is the one who's put himself on the line for the country in the past. What have they done, what have their fathers done?
This kind of rhetoric -- the people in Libya are used to this. Long, as you say, rambling. This is vintage Colonel Gadhafi. And the people that recognize it, as I say, are getting out while they can. Becky?
ANDERSON: Nic Robertson, there, on the Tunisian/Libyan border. Nic, thank you for that.
Libya the first major oil exporter involved in this current spate of uprisings across the region. The impact is being felt in world markets, oil prices surging this week. Even before the uprising, Libya posed big challenges for foreign companies, as Jim Boulden now explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Western businesses working in Libya scramble to get staff and dependents out or halt their flights and tours, many will be wondering whether they can remain doing business in Libya.
It's a far cry from 2004, when diplomatic relations between the UK and Libya started to warm, and in 2007, when the then-UK prime minister, Tony Blair, shook the hand of Moammar Gadhafi. The so-called "Deal in the Desert," giving British companies carte blanche to do business with Libya once again.
BP followed Shell and struck energy deal, as did other major European oil and gas firms. Plus, there was a deal that today is worth $130 million for defense communications with the UK arm of General Dynamics.
Libya was also seen as a unique opportunity for construction and infrastructure firms, since so much needed to be built.
DAVID BUTLER, ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT: It's been in a time warp, it's been subject to sanctions for a long time, so it's been about the potential for all sort of -- sorts of things to become developed, whether that's basic infrastructure or it's services, financial services, telecoms and so on.
BOULDEN (voice-over): But Libya is also known for its tiny stock market and a heavily-centralized bureaucracy, even by North African standards.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: All right, apologies. We're going to come out of that report for you. We mentioned earlier that even Moammar Gadhafi's own diplomats are asking the United Nations to take action. Well, Security Council members have been meeting to decide what to do about Libya. Lynn Pascoe, the UN Undersecretary for Political Affairs is now speaking. Let's just listen in for the time being.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: United Nations staff on ground, who are there, have told you -- have they told you anything at all as to what is happening, how grave the situation is on ground?
LYNN PASCOE, UN UNDERSECRETARY FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS: They're very concerned -- they're very concerned about the situation. We are very concerned, also, about our people as well as, of course, all the people that work and are associated with the United Nations.
It's extremely important that the -- that they be kept safe and that they be allowed to continue their humanitarian and other work. There have been calls for evacuations, and I think that that will take place.
I would agree with the characterization that the situation is deteriorating and can get much worse. We hope it won't, but it's very dangerous. Yes, sir?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (off mic): UN staff on the ground, what did they tell you today is the area of marksmen going on today, or was it only yesterday? I mean, I assume they keep you busy.
PASCOE: You didn't hear exactly what I said. I was very clear to say they had seen airplanes going across, they've seen helicopters buzzing the population. They have not reported that they have specifically seen an attack on the population from the airplanes. I don't want to add to anything. I want to be very careful, because we have a small number of people on the ground, and they only see what they can see, of course.
(CROWD TALKING)
PASCOE: And many have been protecting -- under protection.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (off mic): How many are on the ground from the UN, and are you planning to evacuate any of them?
PASCOE: We have said that people can be evacuated. That process is going on at the time. And let me say that they are -- of the international staff, there are fewer than 30 there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (off mic): What do you think about Gadhafi's speech today?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (off mic): Please, please.
PASCOE: I think -- I think anyone that is inciting populations against themselves, asking some people to attack other people, particularly if those -- some of those are peaceful demonstrators, is a very dangerous thing, and a very bad thing to happen.
I think, also, I was quite concerned about threats of various kinds of retaliation that was in that speech. And frankly, I found it a huge concern and very, very serious.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (off mic): Do you condemn this? Do you condemn this, sir?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (off mic): Invocation of civil war by his son? That there might be a civil war breaking out?
PASCOE: We have seen all those statements, and that's why we're so concerned. Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (off mic): Mercenaries. Does the UN know if he's using mercenaries, if Gadhafi is using mercenaries?
PASCOE: Let me just say -- let me just say on the question of mercenaries, members of our staff are concerned that they may be attacked by some of the population and such because of all the stories about mercenaries. So, it -- at least it's alive enough that people on the street believe there are mercenaries there and it has concerned some of our staff members that might be affected.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (off mic): Is it technically possible to send up a no-fly zone over --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (off mic): And does the deputy ambassador recommend it?
PASCOE: I'm certainly quite sure that the political department at the United Nations doesn't have power to set up no-fly zones, that I'm sure of.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (off mic): Attack civilians? What did he say?
PASCOE: I think most of the conversation was very similar to what they have been saying publicly. Justifications about what they're doing. Many of them are totally unacceptable, frankly, of the explanations about what may or may not be happening.
The secretary-general was adamant and very strong on how civilians need protection -- be protected. How violence needed to end and end immediately. Thank you very much.
ANDERSON: You've been listening to Lynn Pascoe, UN Undersecretary for Political Affairs, just taking questions from journalists, there, at the United Nations, saying they've got about 30 people on the ground they are looking to evacuate those, they say. They've heard reports from their staff on the ground who are concerned about the potential for mercenaries being used by authorities, there, in Libya.
As we get more from the UN, of course, we will bring it to you. Waiting on word from the Security Council, who are meeting as we speak.
All right, let's move on. Up next on CONNECT THE WORLD, a boy on a mission. We're going to speak to a young environmentalist who has, well, quite frankly, big ideas. His message is simple. Stop talking, start planting. Back in 60 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Monday, as part of our special focus this week on Germany, we showed you one of the world's most advanced military creations. This revolutionary submarine is designed to hunt down other vessels, and its hybrid engine system makes it one of the most stealthy weapons at sea.
Well, from weapons to warriors. Today, we are switching gears to look at a young German student who's become the latest eco-warrior. Felix is a Bavarian schoolboy whose campaign for a greener future has taken on surprising momentum and, as CNN's Richard Roth discovered, it doesn't look to be slowing anytime soon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FELIX FINKBEINER, 13-YEAR-OLD ENVIRONMENTALIST: My name is Felix. Felix Finkbeiner.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You could also call him Felix the Forest King. A 13-year-old's campaign to save the environment by planting millions of trees.
FINKBEINER: The best thing, what we children can do to do something for our future, is planting trees. So, in short, stop talking, start planting.
ROTH (voice-over): He is a tree ambassador in the international year of the forest. Felix is a celebrity.
FINKBEINER: This is our campaign. Stop talking, start planting.
ROTH (voice-over): His plant for the planet idea started as a presentation for his fourth grade class in Bavaria, Germany, when he was nine.
FRITHJOF FINKBEINER, FELIX'S DAD: And we said, "OK, it's a cool idea," but we didn't take it seriously as parents. It was just a school project.
ROTH (voice-over): Felix now tours schools around the world to attract more children to the cause.
FELIX FINKBEINER: It's not about saving the polar bear. It's about saving our future.
ROTH (voice-over): At this New York City junior high school, Felix tried to explain how to increase public interest.
FELIX FINKBEINER: It's our planning party, it's planting party.
ROTH (voice-over): Felix wants a million trees planted in every country in the world to absorb CO2 gasses out of the atmosphere. Children in 90 countries are planting in his young footsteps.
JONATHAN MEJIA, STUDENT: Well, I think that Felix's presentation was great, because he was really enthusiastic, like making us want to plant trees.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our next speaker is Mr. Felix Finkbeiner.
ROTH (voice-over): It's not just schools. Felix also addressed the United Nations' General Assembly, accompanied by a young tree posse.
FINKBEINER: We know that adults know exactly what challenges we have. And they know the solutions to these challenges. But we don't understand why there's so little action.
ROTH (voice-over): It seemed the United Nations could see the forest and the trees.
FINKBEINER: With this campaign, it's a very powerful campaign to spread the message to all people of the world. This is our campaign.
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations.
FINKBEINER: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm from Nicaragua. Very good speech.
FINKBEINER: Thank you.
ROTH (on camera): What is it like to have a 13-year-old boy lecture the General Assembly?
ABDUL MOMEN, AMBASSADOR, BANGLADESH: I loved that. I loved that, and it awakens our consciousness. You think we talk too much?
FRITHJOF FINKBEINER: I think, why do we need a child to address a serious subject?
ROTH (voice-over): Felix was inspired by Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai of Kenya and her Greenbelt Conservation movement.
WANGARI MAATHAI, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER: How are you? You are the best.
ROTH (voice-over): Richard Roth, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Wangari, she's fabulous. What a good boy. Well, tomorrow's i-List Germany, we'll stick with the eco theme. We'll examine some of the green technology that's changing the world. Wind energy is often cited as one of the most important factors in the fight to help the environment, and one German company is trying to become the biggest maker of turbines. We'll check in with that company and its quest tomorrow.
And for more on our i-List series, including an interactive guide to Berlin and the pieces that you may have missed as we move through the week, head to our Facebook page at facebook.com/CNNconnect.
Up next, one of Britain's most timeless designers. Fashionistas in focus as your Connectors this week, with a woman who has made her name by being both daring and demure.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back. Now, all week, we are hitting the catwalk on CONNECT THE WORLD, bringing you some of the biggest stars from London Fashion Week. Yesterday, we talked with the fashion icon Matthew Williamson and, today, it's the British legend Betty Jackson. Let's get you connected.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): Intelligent, elegant, and quirky, too. Those words often used to describe Betty Jackson. Her designs have been at the forefront of London's fashions for three decades. Yet the British designer herself has largely shunned the spotlight.
Jackson helped put London Fashion Week on the global stage. She was there back in 1984 when the trendsetting event made its debut. And still, Jackson remains a major force in the industry.
Crowned British Designer of the Year in 1985, the mother of two has her own flagship store and has tapped an even wider market with a more affordable collection exclusive to Debenhams.
Already honored with an MBE for her services to fashion, your Connector of the Day is about to branch out even further. I asked Betty Jackson about her plans to go online.
BETTY JACKSON, FASHION DESIGNER: You have a sort of international audience who are really specific and complain about how difficult it is to get the stuff. So, I think we're all quite excited about it.
ANDERSON (on camera): Do you -- do you shop online?
JACKSON: I don't. I think that shopping should still be a sort of pleasurable act. I think it adds to the whole feel-good factor.
I can see it from both ways. I can see that, actually, if you go into somewhere and you find something and you try it on and your experience is great, and you walk away with the goods and you wear it and it's a result outfit, and whatever happens happens. I can see that it's true.
Other people don't have that experience. If you don't have the confidence to go into these sometimes quite daunting places where people will tell you what you ought to look like, what you ought to feel, how you ought to be, it's hideous.
ANDERSON: I believe you haven't missed a London Fashion Week in 27 years. Do you want to be reminded of that?
JACKSON: In a million years, a million years, yes.
ANDERSON: You're a real force behind London Fashion Week when it started. How's -- how has it changed?
JACKSON: Well, it's much more organized, for a starter, because where we started we showed in a car park. So, it's much more organized, which is so fabulous.
ANDERSON: It's always been considered -- or certainly was in the past -- the rather edgy fashion week. Does it still have -- ?
JACKSON: Yes, I think it still is. I think it still is, but I think the problem London had, and I think we're coming out of that now, is that it was always a place where you look for new talent. And the problem with that is new talent doesn't always mean leaving orders of 20 and 30,000 dollars, pounds, whatever currency you're working in.
And, so, people would come to look at London, say, "Oh, yes, wasn't it marvelous, wasn't it quirky, wasn't it original, wasn't it fun?" Go off to Paris and Milan and drop the money. And I think, now, with this new generation of fantastically talented British designers, they've got the plot on that level, and you can no longer do that.
I think we were a little bit more naive and didn't organize our structure. And now, it's not the case. So, they already have agents working for them internationally, and you already have to put down minimum orders before you can get into their showrooms, which is so great.
ANDERSON: Take me back, though. You, the John Gallianos of this world. You must have been having some fun. I'm not suggesting you're not anymore, but was it a lot of fun in the heydays, as it were?
JACKSON: Oh, of course, of course. And it's actually sort of -- it was great fun. It was great fun, but now when you think about it, staying up all night three nights before the collection and not sort of knowing where you -- because it was fun and everybody was having a great time in the studio together -- doesn't sound so great now.
But of course it was. And we lived through a time that was so fantastically energetic and creative in London that I think we were all very lucky to be part of it.
ANDERSON: Looking around at your clothes, which I love, I see a lot of color.
JACKSON: Yes.
ANDERSON: I always see a lot of color in your collections. And yet, you always wear black yourself. Why is that?
JACKSON: I'm incredibly lazy and I think I -- I haven't got any time, so I need it to just be easy. So, if I have to think about putting blue and green together, I'd never get anywhere in the morning.
ANDERSON: How important has it been to take high end fashion to the High Street?
JACKSON: It's very much a part of the way the British want to dress. Very odd thing with the British public. There is only a few people who share delight in new things. It's cool in Britain to recycle, to get sort of secretively something and mix it up with something else. You very rarely get a British woman who would wear head to toe ostentation designer clothes.
So, it's sort of part of the -- it's also, I think, very important to reach a wider market. Our clothes are expensive. They're expensive because they're hand-finished. We don't make 4,000 off them. If we sell 12, we'll make 12 of them, which requires certain skills and time and a little bit extra money and all of that. The fabrics aren't cheap.
All of the things that goes into them, I know, makes them out of reach of a lot of people. So, the collaboration with the High Street is reaching an area that's so important.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Betty Jackson, there, a true class act for you.
And tomorrow night, a designer who is shaking up the industry. Burberry chief creative officer Christopher Bailey is known for his bold shows and daring choices. He's credited for taking one of the industry's most traditional brands and making it one of the most digitally savvy names in the business.
Now, if there's something you'd like to ask Christopher, and I've got to say, we've interviewed before, and he loves viewer questions, so send them in. Head to cnn.com/connect, and don't forget to let us know where you are writing in from. That's cnn.com/connect.
All right, just before we go this hour, there are some new elements coming out of Libya all the time, and we're committed to bringing them all to you. Arab networks are reporting that the Libyan interior minister, Abdel Fatah Yunes al-Abidi announced his resignation. What's more, he's calling on the armed forces to join the revolution and to answer what he calls "the protester's legitimate demands."
Again, the Libyan interior minister has announced his resignation, calling on the armed forces to join the revolution.
Anti-government are sweeping across an entire region. It's a story which can be difficult to report. Journalists face bans, media blackouts, and danger. We, though, are committed to getting you the story out there, and we are doing that with your help. Here's some of the best material that you've sent into CNN.
First up, take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROWD CHANTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: An i-Reporter who wants to remain anonymous filmed this while taking part in a pro-government demonstration in Manama on Monday evening. She says the anti-government protesters are trying to cause chaos in Bahrain.
From Bahrain to Libya.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROWD CHANTING, WHISTLING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: This was sent into us by an i-Reporter from Benghazi. Protesters unveil a banner from the top of a building, "We are hear until Gadhafi leaves," it says, to the delight of the crowd below.
And carrying flags to the streets back in Manama in Bahrain, protesters take a stand in the capital. This sent in from i-Reporter Salam Shabib.
On TV and online, eyewitness accounts of a hugely significant story. If you've come across news where you are, we would love to hear from you. Send us your photos, videos, comments, however you can do it. Go to CNN's i-Report ireport.com. That's ireport.cnn.com.
I'm Becky Anderson, that is your world connected. Thank you for watching this hour. The world headlines and "BackStory" will follow after this short break. Don't go away.
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