Return to Transcripts main page
Connect the World
Caged and in Court; Another European Bailout?; Crisis in Syria; Interview with Pele; Friendly Rivalry; Tiger Woods' Latest Comeback Attempt; Wall Street Fights Back; Euro Zone Rattled Again; Major Child Pornography Bust in US; The Scope of Child Pornography Globally; Dominic Cooper of "The Devil's Double." Parting Shots of Peacock on Fifth Avenue
Aired August 03, 2011 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: Paged and in court -- the sight that Egyptians thought they'd never see, as their former president goes on trial.
But after a long, hard fight for freedom, are Egyptians really any happier with life after Mubarak.
Plus, Silvio Berlusconi insists Italy will survive its financial crisis, but as investors dump its debt, is another multi-billion dollar European bailout beckoning?
And later this evening, football legend Pele reveals to me who he believes is as good as he was in his heyday.
These stories and more tonight as we connect the world.
Well, frail, locked in a cage and at the mercy of a court for not only his freedom, but also for his life -- we begin tonight with a stunning turnaround for Egypt's former strongman, ousted from power six months ago.
Today, Hosni Mubarak became the first dictator deposed in the Arab spring to stand trial in his own country.
Phil Black takes us to Cairo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The former strongman of Egypt, the country's untouchable ruler for 30 years, was wheeled into court on a stretcher and he was kept in a cage, like any other accused criminal in this legal system. Eighty-three-year-old Hosni Mubarak lay there as a prosecutor listed the charges against him.
JUDGE AHMED REFAAT (through translator): Four, committing the crime of killing the protesters with premeditated fashion. They had the intent and the deliberation to kill a number of protesters in peaceful demonstrations that swept across the country.
BLACK: He's also accused of corruption.
REFAAT (through translator): The first defendant, Mohammed Hosni Sayyid Mubarak.
HOSNI MUBARAK, FORMER EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Yes, I am here, sir.
REFAAT (through translator): You heard the charges leveled against you.
What do you say?
MUBARAK (through translator): I deny all these charges completely.
BLACK: Mubarak's sons, Gamal and Ala'a, are accused of corruption, as well. They stood in the cage holding Korans. They also denied the charges against them.
The courtroom was packed with hundreds of people and so many lawyers shouting, demanding to be heard, the judge often struggled for control.
REFAAT (through translator): Please, sit down, gentlemen, lawyers. Sit down and be quiet, please.
BLACK: There were lawyers representing the defendants, the alleged victims and other groups that claimed to have a relevant interest or theory.
FARID EL DEEB, MUBARAK'S LAWYER (through translator): This accused man, he is not Mohammed Hosni Mubarak. This is an historic case. Egypt has been able to call this Zionist American conspiracy to invent this man who looks like the president, but the actual president died years ago.
I would like you to consider this, to -- to carry out a DNA investigation.
BLACK: There was another sign this trial is not going to end quickly. Hosni Mubarak's lawyer declared his intention to call every witness the prosecution has named in its charges against the former president.
EL DEEB: And the number is 1,631 witnesses to be heard here, in the courtroom.
BLACK: He also wants to hear testimony from the head of Egypt's military council, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the country's de facto ruler.
The last time Egyptians saw Mubarak, he ruled over them. Now he appears as an accused criminal -- weak and locked in a cage. It's expected he will do so again, when the trial resumes on August 15th.
Phil Black, CNN, London.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, many Egyptians thought that this day would never come, believing until the last minute that Mubarak would somehow escape justice, or, at minimum, the humiliation of a televised trial. Crowds gathered outside the courtroom today, as you can imagine, including relatives of protesters killed in the uprising, as well as Mubarak supporters, it's got to be said.
Frederik Pleitgen is there in Cairo for you this evening and he joins us now.
Quite the most remarkable day -- Fred, what's the mood in Cairo like tonight?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly was a very remarkable day. And I can tell you, I was inside the courtroom as Hosni Mubarak was wheeled in there. And even the attorneys for the prosecution, the people who are asking for him to be sentenced to death, were absolutely shocked at what they saw, were absolutely; shocked to see him in the state that he was in, to see him so frail and also to see his voice be so weak when he said those very few words that he did say in that trial, which is that he denies all the charges against him.
He had several people tending to him the entire time and, also, his two sons looking over him every once in a while. But certainly suffering. This is -- this was something that put the lawyers in shock, but also put the people watching outside, including some of the relatives of those who were killed in the revolution there.
I want you to listen to two mothers who lost their children in the uprising.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the past year, if we even dreamed that Hosni Mubarak would be put on trial and be put in that cage, they would have tried and executed us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even if they gave us all the money in the world, we don't want it. We want to avenge the victims. We want blood. Whoever killed must be killed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: So, there you can see some very different reactions to what happened today.
But certainly, no one really believed that this was actually going to happen until Hosni Mubarak was wheeled into the courtroom.
Now, there's also some political reactions here in Egypt that I want to give to you. There's one from Ayman Nour, the head of the Ghad Party, who says: "I want to say to all the martyrs who died in this revolution, that they can now lay in peace, because justice will finally be served," Nour said. "This is not just Mubarak's trial, it's the trial of an era."
Then there's the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, which supports some very, very powerful institutions here in this country, saying that it is a unique event in the history of Egypt's political life and a new victory for the will of the people.
Of course, we're going to see whether or not it's actually going to be the will of the people that's served.
But one of the things that seems very clear and that many people are saying, Becky, is that they believe that this really is a pivotal moment in Egypt's history, not just because of the fact that the president is going on trial, not just because of the fact that he might be sentenced to death, but also because this is where we are going to see whether Egypt is capable, the new Egypt is capable of conducting a trial according to the written law or whether or not you're going to have backroom dealings like you had in the old Egypt, under Hosni Mubarak -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Yes, and that's a very important point.
Fred, thank you for that.
Frederik Pleitgen for you in Cairo this evening.
Well, it is hard to overstate -- overstate the importance of the symbol of power in the Arab world forced to answer for crimes against his own people. All across the region today, people were glued to their TVs, including, no doubt, dictators worried about their own political fate.
He's a sampling of reactions, starting with Ivan Watson in Libya.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Very early on, the Libyan leadership here in Tripoli made it clear it opposed the revolutions sweeping through neighboring Tunisia and Egypt. And just last week, Colonel Moammar Gadhafi gave a speech in which he criticized Egyptians saying, instead of humiliating Hosni Mubarak, they should be honoring him. Gadhafi went on to say it would be better if Mubarak was still president of Egypt today.
And many of Gadhafi's supporters here in Libya have echoed those sentiments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): For me personally, I'm not happy about this. At the end of the day, he served the Egyptian people, but the Egyptians did not honor him properly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Officials in Gadhafi's regime insist the colonel enjoys much more support here in Libya than Mubarak did in Egypt. And, in fact, Gadhafi is still clinging to power despite months of NATO aerial bombardment, despite the fact that he is fighting rebels on the ground on three fronts.
KEVIN FLOWER, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: I'm in Jerusalem, where the trial for former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was watched closely by many Israelis. And while the Israeli government had no official reaction to the proceedings, the major television networks broke into regular programming to cover the event and it was the top story on Israeli news Web sites.
Since the overthrow of the Egyptian government earlier this year, Israelis have been watching events in their southern neighbor with a mixture of hope and anxiety. Seeing Mubarak in the dock today reinforced that sense among many.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a lot of uncertainty about what's going to happen now, where (INAUDIBLE) the people of Egypt. So we hope it will be - - that the economy show that -- that people in Egypt do care for the peace treaty agreement we have with them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I care about what will happen in Egypt. I don't care about the Mubarak. But I care about what will happen in Egypt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FLOWER: But, of course, it's not only events in Egypt that gives Israelis pause. They're also anxiously watching events in their northern neighbor, Syria.
ANDERSON: Well, the Egyptian revolution, of course, was all about people power, wasn't it, fueled by the modern tools of social media. You may remember Facebook and Twitter users played a huge role in organizing protests and exposing abuse of the regime.
Here's what some Egyptians are Tweeting today about Mubarak's trial and the uprising that transformed the Arab world.
(ON SCREEN)
February 11, 2011 -- Mubarak steps down
August 3, 2011 -- Mubarak stands trial
AlyyArner
Pro Mubarak thugs clash with other protesters in front of police academy.
(ILLEGIBLE TYPE ONSCREEN)
Ghorum
Once again, Egyptians are making history. Justice must prevail.
Mosaaberizing
Even on a bed in a cage, Mubarak's eye seems to be fixed on arrogance, hands resting on chin. Unbelievable.
Gsquare86
The trial is a show without any substance and I am not confident in the process at all but I was happy to see them in the court.
ANDERSON: Just a sample of what we've seen on the Twitter sphere across the day in reaction to what is our top story today.
Let's get reaction from Egypt itself now this hour, where some people are calling this trial a huge, symbolic victory. Others, though, do remain skeptical about the outcome.
We're joined by freelance journalist, Ethar El-Katatney, who's in Cairo for you this evening.
You have watched the pictures coming out of the courthouse today.
Your reaction as you watched?
ETHAR EL-KATATNEY, FREELANCE JOURNALIST: I think for a lot of Egyptians, myself included, the idea that it would actually happen was -- a lot of us were doubting it. Up until a minute before he walked in, I was seriously that he would, actually. So seeing, you know, your president -- to see your ex-president, you know, Gamal Mubarak, less than, you know, 200 days ago, we thought he would be our next president.
To see him here dressed in white in a cage, you know, from the palace, the throne...
ANDERSON: All right...
EL-KATATNEY: -- from the palace to a cage from the throne, you know, the hospital bed, it was very -- very shocking on a lot of levels.
And then you had, of course, the excitement and then you had silence. And then you had a lot of people actually tearing. You know, how the mighty have fallen.
ANDERSON: This was certainly a moment in history and -- and a symbolically huge moment.
What exactly has, though, the overthrow of Mubarak achieved?
EL-KATATNEY: Well, this is interesting, you know, the transition to a democratic state, on the ground, the reality is that six months on, the lives of Egyptians haven't actually changed that much. There's a lot of frustration, you know. And I do my interviews, especially when you go out of Cairo, in Upper Egypt, there's a huge sense of frustration.
You know, there was a scene a couple of days ago, just before the military actually evicted everyone by force, a very huge mood of frustration. You know, the kind of our lives were hard then, they're hard now, but now there's all this uncertainty and all this fear and all this actual -- but our lives aren't better.
So I think that the trial injected this huge amount of dignity for Egyptians, the feeling that look at what we did, look at what we accomplished and how we brought him down. This is actually what it's accomplished.
But in reality, will this actually affect change?
You know, the symbolism -- you talked about the symbolism, it is huge. But, you know, the trial -- the court -- the session, which went on for hours and hours, how much substance was there actually in there, you know?
It was very -- on a psychological level, I definitely think that it had a huge impact. But on the practical level, I don't think -- I don't think it actually served very much the people who are still protesting...
ANDERSON: Right.
EL-KATATNEY: -- (INAUDIBLE).
ANDERSON: And let's...
EL-KATATNEY: (INAUDIBLE) yes?
ANDERSON: I'm sorry.
Let's remind ourselves that this is Wednesday, August the 3rd. On only Friday of last week, Tahrir Square cleared of protesters by a pretty aggressive military -- a group of military who are effectively running the country at this point.
Let me ask you this, what do you want to see next?
EL-KATATNEY: Well, you know, if the sit-in, the July -- you know, the July 8th sit-in, hadn't actually occurred, I don't think we would have seen a public trial. And I think what's very fascinating about what happened today is that, actually, the lawyer Mubarak (INAUDIBLE), they tried to throw responsibility back to the military, that -- they said that the military has been in charge since January 28th. Both sides called for some (INAUDIBLE) actually be an eyewitness.
So it will be interesting to see the proceedings, what the military will actually do from now on, you know, they have kind of popped the bubble or appeased a lot of people who were, you know, there was all this tension and aggression, kind of, oh, look, something has actually happened.
But in reality, is it?
You know, there -- there are so many developments happened and it's developed in so many ways, snowballed in so many ways, which might not be in the best interests of the military. You know, the Egyptian state can be now -- they're seeing this as look how transparent the military is, you know, the supreme council of armed forces, you know, even had Gamal Mubarak and Halbabila (ph) shaking hands with the officers, if you will, using, you know -- taking photographs.
So it will -- it depends very much on how this reflects on the military, because they are in control. And we should never forget that and always see what kind of actions will be...
ANDERSON: (INAUDIBLE).
EL-KATATNEY: -- we'll be seeing from them (INAUDIBLE) the Egyptian population.
ANDERSON: Good stuff.
EL-KATATNEY: I'm hoping this trial be legitimate and it will actually continue and we will see actual sentences carried out.
ANDERSON: And we hear your thoughts this evening.
And we thank you very much, indeed, for joining us.
Your top story this evening -- caged and in court, the sight that Egyptians thought they would never see, as their former president goes on trial. Egypt's revolution and social media's role in the uprising that is transforming the Arab world.
You're with CONNECT THE WORLD and me, Becky Anderson, in London.
Seventeen minutes past 9:00.
Coming up next this hour, Somalia's desperate situation gets even worse. Amidst spreading famine, the African Union asks the world, where are you?
Then, in eight minutes, one of the world's greatest football players is bringing star quality to the beautiful game in the United States.
And in 20 minutes from now, Italy in the firing line. We've all heard too big to fail, but is Italy too big to rescue?
A closer look at the escalating Eurozone debt crisis after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: And when we come back.
This is CONNECT THE WORLD.
I'm Becky Anderson here on CNN.
A look at the other stories that we're following for you this hour.
The U.N. is talking tough on Syria. Not long ago, the Security Council condemned the government's crackdown on demonstrators. I'm going to take you live to New York in a moment. The UN's statement comes as reports of government action against protesters is escalating in the flashpoint city of Hama.
Now, residents say tanks and moved in and communications there are cut off. Activists say overall, since the uprising began, Syria has killed more than 2,000 of its own people.
Let me get you to the United Nations now and to your senior U.N. correspondent, Richard Roth, who's going to give us an update on exactly what's going on up there -- Richard.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR UNITED NATIONS CORRESPONDENT: The U.N. Security Council has passed its first statement on Syria after months of deadlock. The current president of the Security Council, the Indian ambassador, read the rather firm remarks, after a quick few days of agreement and compromise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARDEEP SINGH PURI, INDIAN AMBASSADOR TO UN: After consultations among Council members, I have been authorized to make the following statement on their behalf. I quote: "The Security Council expresses its grave concern at the deteriorating situation in Syria and expresses profound regret at the deaths of many hundreds of people."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: Now, the United Nations Security Council needs all 15 members to sign on. A very interesting moment here. Lebanon, dominated by neighbor, Syria, was reluctant to sign onto the statement. It did. But then quickly after, in a said -- in a sense, said, we didn't really approve this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAROLINE ZIADE, LIBYAN DEPUTY AMBASSADOR TO U.N. (through translator): The right of the Lebanese people, all the Lebanese people, as well as their minds, stand in support of the sovereignty of Syria, the -- its territorial integrity, the unity of its people and their security and their safety.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: The four European members of the Security Council and others, including the U.S., thinks this statement does send a message to the Assad regime.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK LYALL GRANT, BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO UN: Now, this PRST delivers a clear, ambiguous and united message to the Syrian regime -- barbarous acts must cease in Syria. The country must find its way onto a path of stability. This will only be achieved through the immediate cessation of violence and the implementation without delay of profound political reforms, respect of human rights and fundamental liberties.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: Russia and China refused to go along with a more significant resolution, a call for an investigation of what Syria has done to its own people was also blocked. Thus, in a compromise, Becky, the statement says that people should be held accountable in Syria. No clear mechanism given, though, for that -- back to you.
ANDERSON: Yes.
Richard Roth for you at the U.N. with a story breaking as we speak.
We thank you, Richard.
Well, the United Nations also announcing today that three more regions of Somalia have slipped into famine, including the country's capital, Mogadishu. The entire Horn of Africa is facing an extensive drought, affecting 12 million people. But Somalia has been particularly hard-hit, as the terrorist group, Al Shabab, has been making it difficult for aid groups to deliver food aid there.
All right, don't go anywhere.
Coming up in 60 seconds, my big interview this evening. Now, if you don't know anything about football, I'll guarantee you're going to know this face. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players ever, when Pele talks, the football world listens. What he has to say about the 2014 World Cup coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, the beautiful game is enjoying a resurgence in the United States, where it's long played second fiddle, of course, to American football. Not only did the U.S., though, make it into the finals of the Women's World Cup recently, but America's most storied club is being relaunched after folding in the 1980s. Helping drive the rebirth of the New York Cosmos is one of its biggest stars, an undisputed legend of the game.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
(MUSIC)
ANDERSON (voice-over): His name is synonymous with football -- Edson Arantes do Nascimento, famously known as Pele. The Brazilian star became a national hero after helping his country to World Cup victory in 1958, as a teenager. A prolific goal scorer, he is widely considered the greatest player of all time.
(on camera): The favorite goal you ever scored?
PELE, FOOTBALL LEGEND: Well, I think, you know, I scored 1,283 goals. All was important to me, of course. The -- the -- I think the first World Cup, I played against Sweden in the final, I was 17 years old. I make a beautiful goals. I think for starting my career, these are the ones that were more important.
ANDERSON (voice-over): Pele's career spanned two decades, ending in 1977 at the New York Cosmos, where he played alongside other global stars, including Italian striker Giorgio Chindalia and Germany sweeper Franz Beckenbauer.
FRANZ BECKENBAUER, SOCCER PLAYER: I'm the biggest fan from Pele. He is the greatest soccer player in the history of the sport, maybe the greatest sportsman. Maybe you can compare him only, maybe, with Muhammad Ali.
So I am very proud to play with Pele together in a team.
ANDERSON: It was the most glamorous team in America before it folded in 1985.
PELE: (INAUDIBLE) the rules. (INAUDIBLE) the rules.
ANDERSON: Now, the Cosmos are back, their rebirth spearheaded by Pele and French football legend, Eric Cantona. The club will play its first match in 26 years against Manchester United this Friday, the first step in a plan to win a place in the U.S. Major Soccer League.
(on camera): A big game with Old Trafford coming up.
Do you think the Cosmos can win that game?
PELE: Always you have to trust. You know, I never think before the game, my team is going to lost. Always -- or we're going to lose. You know, always I have confidence, you know.
Of course, it is a -- it is (INAUDIBLE) game. But no one wants to lose. I hope the public will see a nice game.
ANDERSON (voice-over): A respected voice in football, Pele's opinions matter.
(on camera): Who is the best player, Messi or Ronaldo?
PELE: Well, it is -- it is difficult to say, but I think Qatar.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: Do you recognize yourself in any players?
PELE: Oh, yes. Yes. Not serious. Messi is excellent at, you know, dribbling and he have a nice vision.
ANDERSON: Goal line technology, yes or no?
PELE: Well, it is difficult to say. I -- I am part of the FIFA committee. And though some think it is not possible to use the technology, because the humans, they make a mistake, even if you have the phone, if you have a seat, because they talk about the chip in the ball. Sometimes this doesn't work. Of course, you have a lot of things that you can use as the technology. But not an old player in the game.
ANDERSON (voice-over): As for the next champions of the world...
(on camera): Do you think England has got a chance of winning the World Cup?
(LAUGHTER)
PELE: I hope not.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: Who's going to win the World Cup?
PELE: Brazil, of course. We are there for that.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
ANDERSON: I'm not even sure why I asked that question.
Mark McKay is standing by at the CNN Center.
What did I expect him to say -- Mark?
(LAUGHTER)
MARK MCKAY, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Very good point, Becky. I tell you what, you know you've reached superstar status when you can only use one name, like Pele.
How about another? Tiger. By this time tomorrow, Becky, borrowing any weather-related delays or unforeseen surprises, we should have a good handle just where Tiger Woods' golf game is.
One round into the former world number one's latest comeback, Woods tees it up Thursday at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio.
The winner of the last major, the British Open, is on record as saying that it's wonderful to have Woods back on the links. Darren Clarke will, in fact, be in the same group with Tiger for the first round at Firestone.
Injury has prevented Woods from playing any competitive golf since May, but the Northern Irishman says you can't count out Woods as a contender. If you do so, you do so at your own risk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DARREN CLARKE, BRITISH OPEN CHAMPION: He was arguably the best player the game has ever seen. You can check on Tiger, and he was arguably the best player that the game's ever seen.
I've just won one major, and he's got buckets of them and stuff, and it'd be a little bit presumptuous of me to tell him what to do.
But in saying that, he's -- I've told him what I think about what he's doing and golf swing-wise and stuff, and sometimes he takes it in and sometimes he doesn't take it in.
But he has been the best player in the world, one of the best players to ever play the game, and I just hope that he gets -- I genuinely hope he gets his game back up to the level that it was before, because it was awesome.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCKAY: We'll have much more on Tiger in just over an hour on "World Sport," including more from Darren Clarke and his good friend. Becky, I'll see you right after "BackStory."
ANDERSON: Good stuff. Thank you very much, indeed, for that. An hour and Mark will be back here on CNN.
You're with CONNECT THE WORLD, me, Becky Anderson, here this hour. Just ahead, the euro zone rattled again. High borrowing costs threatened to drag Italy down. Hear what Prime Minister Berlusconi is saying about that, up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: You're back with CONNECT THE WORLD here on CNN, the world's news leader. At this point, let's get you a check of the headlines this hour.
Arab media call it the trial of the century. Ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak appeared in a Cairo courtroom today on a stretcher locked in a cage. He pleaded not guilty to all charges against him, including murder.
The UN Security Council has condemned Syria's crackdown on demonstrators. The -- this comes as there are reports that a crackdown is getting carried out ever more intensively in the city of Hama. Residents say tanks have moved in and communications are now cut off.
The United Nations confirms what aid agencies feared in Somalia. Famine has now spread to three new regions of the country. They include sections of Mogadishu and the world's largest camps for displaced persons.
And a dramatic bomb scare put a wealthy suburb of Sydney, Australia on edge earlier. Bomb squad officers spent ten hours at a house and finally freed an 18-year-old woman. Police have not confirmed reports that a bomb was attached to her body.
And Wall Street felt like a fight tonight, and battled for a comeback. At one point, the Dow was close to extending its longest losing streak in more than three decades, then it all turned around. My colleague Alison Kosik is watching from Wall Street for us from the New York Stock Exchange. Alison?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Becky. Stocks clawed their way back from a steep sell-off on Wednesday. The Dow managed to snap an eight- session losing streak after falling triple digits earlier in the session. The S&P 500, that's back in positive territory for the year.
But the concerns about the economy remain. We now have some economists ringing the alarm bells about a possible new recession, and data released on Wednesday didn't do much to calm fears. Reading factory orders and the services sector, that's where 80 percent of Americans get their paycheck, both fell.
Another report showed that layoff announcements surged 60 percent in July to a 16-month high, and payroll processes or ADPs as companies added 114,000 jobs last month. It's slightly better than expected, but still a slowdown from June.
Thursday, we're going to be getting a reading on weekly jobless claims, those are expected to tick back above the 400,000 level, so that could raise more concerns about the job market.
And worries about the US credit rating, they haven't completely disappeared, either. Many traders and investors still think a downgrade is possible despite the debt ceiling deal. Becky?
ANDERSON: Alison, thank you for that.
I want to get you to Italy, now, where the prime minister says, and I quote, "We do not deny we are facing a crisis." Silvio Berlusconi waited until the European markets had closed before he made his speech to Parliament earlier today over fears that the euro zone debt crisis may be spreading to Italy.
Now, that is a very big deal, because Italy is the third biggest economy among the single-currency nations, and Mr. Berlusconi blames speculators for at least some of the uncertainty. Have a listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SILVIO BERLUSCONI, PRIME MINISTER OF ITALY (through translator): It is clear to everyone that the emergency that we had to tackle recently is the direct consequence of a confidence crisis that has hit the international markets.
Uncertainty regarding the euro and uncertainty regarding the financial speculation. This crisis needs to be tackled with determination, without any panic, in order not to worsen the situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Lest we forget why all of this is important, I want to show you something here. Borrowing costs for Italy are soaring to new highs at 6.1 percent.
Italian bonds have jumped dangerously close to what would be a sort of magic number, as it were. It's a 7 percent mark. Let me just take you through, here.
Say we get this mark just about here, it's significant, about 7 percent. That is unsustainable, as far as many economists are concerned.
The yield on bonds Rome is having to pay is near that level, as you can see. And that level is the level that tipped Greece, Portugal, and Italy into this crisis. Let me -- sorry -- and Ireland into this crisis. Let me just bring those numbers up for you so you can see.
How does this compare? We've got Greece, D-day, 23rd of April of last year, its 10-year bond yield jumped to a whopping 8.03 percent on that date.
Yields in Italy soared above 8 percent one day after Dublin -- sorry, I was going to say it again. Why am I saying Italy? Ireland. Yields in Ireland also soared above 8 percent one day after Dublin asked for help on November the 21st. That was, of course, a Sunday.
And Portugal's borrowing costs shot to 8.5 percent. That was back on April the 6th, 2010.
Well, does the surge in bond yields raise a giant question over the whole euro project? Well, Silvio Berlusconi says he's confident Italy can weather this crisis. Just before coming to air, I asked my colleague Jim Boulden whether he bought what Berlusconi is saying. Listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM BOULDEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Italy can survive this if growth returns to the economy, because they need to be able to do -- for people to bring in more money, like any country does.
But the problem is is that he's got very ambitious targets for growth, he's got very ambitious targets to balance the budget by 2014 and, frankly, a lot of analysts just don't believe that can happen.
ANDERSON: What's the bigger picture here?
BOULDEN: Well, we talk about contagion, don't we? And a lot of people thought Spain was next, and then Italy after that. Well, they've all skipped Spain. We've gone right to Italy, haven't we? Just pushed them aside, Italy is such a big country.
But in some ways, because it's such a big country, I think it has -- it's export-led, it's got potential to do things that other countries, Greece and Ireland, couldn't possibly do.
And because it is so big, I think you're going to find that their -- that the rest of the euro zone is going to have to build up that war chest because they don't even want to get close to a fear that Italy could fall.
ANDERSON: Because, of course, this is a G7 or 8, as we call it these days --
BOULDEN: Yes.
ANDERSON: -- country, and when you get to the point at which we're away from the European periphery, here, and really into where it counts --
BOULDEN: Yes.
ANDERSON: -- this is a problem.
BOULDEN: It is. Because it is -- it is the third largest in the euro zone. That's why it has so much debt, of course, as well, because it's such a bigger economy.
So, it has a huge amount of debt, but analysts keep telling us, wait a minute, they have a very manageable way to pay off debt at a very low rate, the one -- the debt that's already out there, over the next couple of years. So, that should be OK.
It's the fear that's in there. It's the -- it's what could happen, which seems to be causing the problem.
So, when Mr. Berlusconi went before Parliament on Wednesday, looking very bold and very prime ministerial, not looking like a man who's about to step down, he said we need to not panic, but we've already put measures into place, and this is enough for now that should calm the markets.
But nothing has calmed the markets in the last couple of weeks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: And keep an eye on those markets, of course. Europe closed at the moment, Asia opening up right about as we speak in the hours to come, Europe back in business on Thursday. Do keep an eye on those global markets, particularly those debt markets.
Coming up, a major child pornography bust that's got global implications. But is it just the tip of the iceberg? We're going to examine the scope of the problem and what can be done to keep kids safe. That is in two minutes from now. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: You're back with CONNECT THE WORLD here on CNN. I'm Becky Anderson in London, 41 minutes past 9:00 for you, here.
Now, federal officials in the United States, they have broken up a massive child pornography ring, arresting 72 people in what they called the largest online child porn prosecution in history.
Well, the US attorney general described a social network dedicated to child porn and a disturbing hierarchy in which members earned elevated status by uploading graphic content.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC HOLDER, US ATTORNEY GENERAL: In order to become part of the Dreamboard community, prospective members were required to upload pornography portraying children under 12 years of age or younger.
Once given access, participants had to continually upload images of child sexual abuse in order to maintain membership. The more content they provided, the more content they were allowed to access.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Disturbing stuff. But even as the officials announced the arrests, the director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement spoke about his mixed emotions surrounding this case. This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN MORTON, DIRECTOR, US IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT: There are days in this job that it's hard to separate a great success from great sorrow, and today is such a day.
It's a day of great success because we have brought an end to one of the worst instances of internet child abuse ICE has ever investigated.
The cynically-named "Dreamboard," in reality, a sophisticated international exchange of unspeakable child abuse is no more, and 72 of its members stand either indicted, arrested, or on their way to jail.
It's a day of great sorrow, because this case is ultimately a tale of the perverse and often violent exploitation of children, very, very young children, to satisfy the dark pleasures of a group of adult men.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Making a good point, isn't he? Well, efforts to break up child pornography rings are not, of course, limited to the United States. In 2009, German police orchestrated simultaneous raids in seven countries, targeting a group that traded illegal content online.
Now, they seized more than 200 computers and 17,000 digital images. They arrested around 22 people.
Well, last year in Canada, a similar story. A 14-month investigation in conjunction with authorities in the US and Germany helped arrest 57 men on charges of trading sexual images and videos of kids.
And just three months ago in Australia, authorities revealed details of a 16-month operation that broke up what they said was one of the largest child pornography rings in the world. They dismantled a massive website, arrested its alleged ringleader, and identified 21,000 computers that had uploaded content to the site.
What can be done to keep our kids safe from these predators? My next guest has dedicated her career, her life, to answering that question. Donna Rice-Hughes is president and CEO of Enough is Enough, an organization with a mission to make the internet safer for kids and families, and she joins me now, live from Washington.
I guess a good day, but you heard --
DONNA RICE-HUGHES, PRESIDENT AND CEO, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: Yes.
ANDERSON: -- the voices coming out of the States. I guess the bigger picture here is how significant is or are today's developments, Donna?
RICE-HUGHES: Well, they're certainly significant in that it's a big victory, obviously, for law enforcement and for families. But it's just the tip of the iceberg.
There has been a perfect storm scenario that has been brewing on the internet, really, since I got involved in 1994, when I was actually exposed to a bulletin board service very similar to this one, in which pedophiles and predators were exchanging child pornography, exchanging information about how to avoid law enforcement detection, and encouraging each other, virtually validating one another to act out.
And with the internet, what's happened is, we've seen a new influx and creation and production of child pornography because it's so easy, now, to take a picture, to videotape --
ANDERSON: Sure.
RICE-HUGHES: -- a child being sexually abused and to upload it right away, and that's the kind of thing that we saw happening here.
And -- it's sad, because we don't have any idea how many kids --
ANDERSON: Sure.
RICE-HUGHES: -- were actually abused in this particular ring.
ANDERSON: Donna, I'm actually quite sick of having to do this story, but I'm -- we will do it --
RICE-HUGHES: Yes.
ANDERSON: -- and we will do again, and we will do it again --
RICE-HUGHES: Exactly.
ANDERSON: -- until we hope that this sort of thing stops. We're talking about tens of people who've been arrested in the US, Germany, Australia, and elsewhere. How many people are indulging in child pornography around the world?
RICE-HUGHES: I think it's very difficult to even put a number on this. The last number I saw as far as the size of the business is that it's over $3 billion, and that's a very large number.
And that's just what is being sold, that's not what is being traded freely, and a lot of these predators will trade freely child pornography. They barter back and forth.
They actually create child pornography on demand. If someone wants a particular image or video, and they can't find it, then they may create it or may have another pedophile in their friend circle create that kind of child pornography and put it up and start to exchange it.
And the other thing is is that people have to realize this, that this is actually the depiction of child sex abuse. So, every time there's child pornography, a child has been abused.
ANDERSON: We know that the internet has no borders, but this child pornography must start somewhere. Where are these films being shot, predominately?
RICE-HUGHES: I don't know that there's any information on that. I would say that it's a global problem.
Any time you have a pedophiles or a predator and a child that's unsupervised, you have the potential for child sexual abuse. Anytime you have child sexual abuse, you have the potential that child pornography will be created and then exchanged. So, it's just that it's snowballing, ongoing problem.
And I think part of the key, here, is that law enforcement -- and they did a great job, here, and they've been doing a great job -- we have to exchange information both at the local, state, national, and government levels all across our nation and really work together.
But prevention is they key, because once these children have been abused, once they're -- the abuse has been depicted and then traded online, there's always that fear that they have --
ANDERSON: Yes.
RICE-HUGHES: -- that it's going to pop up later in life, and it's just an ongoing threat for them. And so, it's a big, big problem.
So, we actually created a program, a curriculum with the Department of Justice, to help adults understand what the dangers are online, all kinds of dangers, from cyber-bullying to keeping kids safe from predators and what they can do to make sure kids are safe.
But when it comes to predation, you can't recognize a disguised predator. They're operating online and offline, and it's a circle and a cycle of abuse, and it is a big problem.
ANDERSON: And defiling a child has got to be one of the worst things that any person around the world would conduct in. Donna, we thank you very much, indeed. We'll be back to you and we will continue to work at this story until those who are involved stop it.
You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD here on CNN. Still to come, the film being pegged as Scarface in Baghdad. Our big interview tonight is with Dominic Cooper, who plays the notorious playboy son of Saddam Hussein in a movie called "The Devil's Double" Stay with us for a rare picture of life inside a dictatorship.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, we've seen extraordinary scenes in Egypt today as former president Hosni Mubarak appeared in court, charged over the bloody crackdown on protesters during the February uprising earlier this year.
Tonight in our big interview, a rare view of another former dictatorship. A new film, "The Devil's Double," takes us inside the regime of Saddam Hussein before the 1991 invasion. It paints a picture of Iraq that is far from what we have seen before.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): Those closest to Uday Hussein called him "Lion Cub," an affectionate term for one of the most feared men in Iraq.
The eldest son of Saddam Hussein was a notorious playboy and, according to numerous accounts, a psychotic and sadist who raped, killed, and tortured at whim.
Latif Yahiya said he witnessed much of Uday's violence after being forced to work as his body double. He was robbed of his identity, even undergoing surgery.
LATIF YAHIYA, FORMER BODY DOUBLE FOR UDAY HUSSEIN (through translator): I had two surgeries, one with the teeth, and one with the chin. This is not my choice. In fact, I didn't wish to do it.
I was forced to do it because he was -- I was threatened he would -- he said that he would rape my sisters in front of -- before my eyes. And he put me in a prison for seven days.
ANDERSON: And the new film, "The Devil's Double," starring Dominic Cooper, is based on Latif's extraordinary story.
DOMINIC COOPER AS UDAY HUSSEIN, "THE DEVIL'S DOUBLE": Look! Look, look! Look at me! We could be twins, no?
ANDERSON: The British actor, who's best-known for his role in "Mama Mia," plays both Uday and Latif and admits he initially struggled to connect with the dictator's son.
COOPER AS LATIF YAHIYA, "THE DEVIL'S DOUBLE": No. If I am going to kill somebody, I want to know why I'm going to do it.
COOPER: Can I get under the skin of and look through the eyes and get into the head of a man who I ultimately despise? And everything I unearthed about him I found truly repugnant and revolting and could not understand the connection with himself and his family and what he stood for, what he did.
And the only way I could do that was by understanding his background, which is getting -- not to empathize or sympathize with, but just to try and assess where the violent hatred and kind of lack of care or consideration to the rest of humanity came from.
And I suppose that was -- for me, I -- the only things I could see were this terrible relationship with his father, who didn't respect him or his military capabilities and certainly didn't want to hand him the reins of power in the future.
That in itself, I think, is probably offensive in terms of the culture, where the eldest son should take the mantle of the father and should become -- should take that position.
I mean, I tried to look at the human aspect of him, his love for his mother, how awful the father was to his mother, and what he was exposed to as a youngster.
And I suppose that they -- which were scenes of violence and torture, and they were -- not that they excused it or not that I felt -- suddenly felt huge care for him because of this terrible upbringing he'd had. It just gave me an inkling of an understanding of where that sort of -- hatred came from within him.
ANDERSON: While the film is pegged as fictional, as a kind of Scarface in Baghdad, the filmmakers did enlist Latif to help Dominic perfect the characters.
COOPER AS HUSSEIN: I want you to be my double.
ANDERSON (on camera): You've played Latif at times opposite Uday in the movie. How difficult was that to do? And again, how did you buy Latif's role, or do you?
COOPER: It was much more about just defining these two people, making very separate distinctions between the two so that the audience was always aware, hopefully, of who they were watching.
And Latif, I looked at and met and spent some time with, but I didn't want to impersonate or go and research him for months on end and study him. I wanted an essence of him, and I wanted him to tell me what his perception of Uday was, and then I could go off and make much more elaborate versions of that were very distinctive.
And it was just a choice of saying and seeing images of Uday and his physical presence and his space being so much more different from Latif, who's a guy ripped from the front lines.
He was a military man, so he'd be much more still, more considered, a voyeur, watches people before making sort sporadic actions as Uday did, changing them vocally, getting a very distinctive vocal tone for the two different men.
COOPER AS YAHIYA: Welcome to Baghdad.
COOPER: I wanted him -- we needed him to be our hero, and all sorts of questions are often raised, and ones in which I spoke to him about, which was when your thrown, when you come from a very modest upbringing and you're very -- you know who you are and you're a family man.
You're thrown into this very lavish, opulent world where you're suddenly all powerful and you're replicating someone who you despise, what do you take on? What do you indulge in?
COOPER AS HUSSEIN: You will have whatever you want! Versace, Armani, Rolex. Everything I own will belong to you.
COOPER: It was very key to keep this man -- I mean, we wanted an essence of that, but we needed a hero. Because otherwise, Uday would run wild with the film. People would become more intrigued by this monster.
ANDERSON: If there was one thing you wanted people to take away from this movie, what would it be?
COOPER: Well, I think it's just to -- the idea of the body double, to understand our ability as humans to merge and to change who we are to survive.
A historical look at this play -- this moment in time, Baghdad in the 80s, being as rich, diverse, and colorful as it was, when our opinion of it is a bit of a sandy desert with huts, which is completely so far removed, I think, that the images of it in this film are so far removed from, I think, what a lot of images in our heads are.
A look into a terrifying dictatorship from a completely different angle. Fast cars, sex, drugs, money, and sort of all the exuberance you can imagine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Yes. Dominic Cooper, there, the star of "The Devil's Double."
Well, our next big interview is a CNN exclusive. We're going to bring you a sneak preview of a new film about Aung San Suu Kyi. Acclaimed French filmmaker Luc Besson talks to me about "The Lady," his much-anticipated film on the Myanmar freedom fighter. Find out why there was so much mystery surrounding the shooting of this movie.
Luc Besson, the creator of "Nikita" and "The Big Blue," coming up amongst our big interviews in the days and weeks to come.
We're going to file tonight's Parting Shots in the category of only in New York. Take a look. A peacock from the Central Park Zoo flew the coop on Tuesday, making it across busy Fifth Avenue and taking up residence here, on the window ledge of a multimillion-dollar apartment.
Well, the bird's presence attracted big crowds and evoked memories of another animal that slipped out of a New York zoo early this year, the deadly Egyptian cobra. Now, the cobra was missing for a week before Bronx Zoo zookeepers found him hiding among the pipes in the reptile house.
As for the peacock, well, zoo officials left him alone. He tried -- well, he got tired, eventually, of his perch earlier today and made his way back home all on his own.
That's -- I'm Becky Anderson, that's your world connected, thanks for watching. The world news headlines and "BackStory" will follow this short break. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
