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Connect the World
Focus on Pakistan; Interview with Yousuf Raza Gilani; Interview with Imran Khan; Half of Young People Out of Work in Spain; More Violence in Syria as International Talks Approach; Novak Djokovic Wins Another Grand Slam Final; IMF Chief Calls on International Cooperation For Ending Economy Crisis; Spain's Unemployment Rate Hits 22.85 Percent; Youth Unemployment High Across Europe; Perspective From Unemployed Young Spaniard; Davos Leaders Discuss Youth Unemployment; Tempers Flare in GOP Debate; Courting Cuban-American Vote in Florida; JPMorgan Head on Republican Presidential Race; Six Months Until 2012 London Games; Parting Shots of Flight Attendants' Bollywood Performance
Aired January 27, 2012 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: It's a three-way power play in one of the world's most volatile countries. Tonight, Pakistan's prime minister and the cricket star who would be PM tell me how the battle lines are drawn.
Live from London, I'm Becky Anderson, on this Friday evening.
Also tonight...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: hopefully -- hopefully it gets better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The hopes and fears of Spain's lost generation, a country where half of its young are now struggling to find work.
And London faces its most important time trial yet.
With just six months to go, is it ready to host the biggest sporting event on the planet?
First up tonight, under fire from multiple fronts, fighting for its very survival -- Pakistan's civilian government is at a tipping point. Tonight, we'll look at the tough questions with some key players, including the prime minister and a former cricket star who wants his job.
First though, a major development involving another big player, Pervez Musharraf. The former Pakistani president and general has just postponed his long promise to return from exile. It was supposed to happen this weekend, but with Pakistani lawmakers demanding his arrest, he probably wouldn't make it far off the people.
Musharraf has vowed to run in upcoming elections, as the government faces its worst political crisis in years. Lest we forget, Pakistan is the most unstable country in the world, with nuclear weapons.
Well, the challenges facing the government are huge and the odds quite intimidating. No civilian administration in Pakistan has ever served its full five year term and things have rarely been this bad in the country's near 70 year history.
Well, Reza Sayah kicks off this special look at Pakistan tonight with a look at whether the government can survive what is a perfect storm of problems.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For weeks, Pakistan's fragile civilian government has been under threat. The danger is not coming from Islamist militants, foreign powers or this country's broken economy. Instead, it's coming from Pakistan's two other powerful institutions, the judiciary and the army, each locked in separate but equally tense stand-offs against the government, conflicts that have plunged Pakistan into its most serious crisis in years.
First came memogate, a bizarre and tangled scandal where Mansoor Ijaz, a Pakistani-American businessman with a dubious past claimed Pakistan's ambassador to the U.S. asked him to write a letter to Washington, calling for the U.S. to help curb the army's power.
Pakistan's civilian government denied playing a role in the letter. Even so, the army was furious. The fallout came quickly. The government sacked its ambassador to the US. The supreme court began an investigation and the civilian government and the army clashed in an unusually public war of words.
If taking on the army wasn't enough, Pakistan's civilian government found itself under scorching pressure from the judiciary, as well. For more than two years, the supreme court had pressed the government to reopen old money laundering charges against current president, Asif Ali Zardari.
In 2009, the supreme court ruled an amnesty, granted to Zardari by then President Pervez Musharraf, was unconstitutional. This month, the judiciary issued a contempt notice to Prime Minister Gilani, demanding an explanation why the government had failed to follow the court's orders.
The contempt notice raised more questions -- could the supreme court strip Gilani of his premiership?
Could the memogate scandal cost Zardari his presidency?
Would the civilian government be able to survive one more year and complete its full five year term or would there be another military coup?
But tensions have eased. In his appearance before the supreme court, the prime minister was respectful. In exchange, the court adjourned the hearing, giving him much needed breathing space.
Meanwhile, civilian and military leaders are meeting again, taking back cutting remarks in their public spat.
But the clash of Pakistan's power circles is far from over. Where things go here depend largely on Pakistani institutions doing what they rarely seem to be able to do -- work as trusting allies instead of suspicious rivals.
Reza Sayah, CNN, Islamabad.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, also easing tensions a little bit this evening, news that the government has staved off a political threat from Pervez Musharraf, incidentally, the last Pakistani general to lead a military coup. Musharraf has lived in self-imposed exile since 2008, when he resigned as Pakistani president under threat of impeachment.
Now just this week, Pakistani lawmakers called for Musharraf to be arrested and tried for treason. Well, that led Musharraf's political allies to reconsider his imminent return.
Here's what Musharraf himself has said about his return over the past couple of years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM FEBRUARY 15, 2010)
PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, FORMER PAKISTANI PRESIDENT: If I can contribute anything to the -- to the country -- and if the people of Pakistan want me to contribute, I certainly would like to look into that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM OCTOBER 1, 2010)
MUSHARRAF: the political alternatives visible in Pakistan do not show any signs of light in the darkness that prevails in Pakistan. I think I can give that light.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM JANUARY 13, 2012)
MUSHARRAF: And I feel that the country needs me. And I feel that the country is going down so badly in all social and economic elements, and from all government -- govern -- a governance point of view -- that it is high time that we bring about another political alternative, which can produce a government with the majority of the people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, that was just earlier this month.
Musharraf may, though, now have been wise to delay his return at this juncture, considering what Pakistan's prime minister just told me earlier today.
I talked with Yousuf Raza Gilani, asking him first, would you arrest Musharraf or have him arrested if, indeed, he does return?
This is what he told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YOUSUF RAZA GILANI, PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER: There's again a wrong per -- a wrong perception. President Musharraf had not -- never been elected president of this country. He was...
ANDERSON: That wasn't my question.
GILANI: -- elected to...
ANDERSON: My question was...
GILANI: -- per...
ANDERSON: -- will you arrest...
GILANI: Yes, I'm coming to the...
ANDERSON: -- him if he flies in this weekend?
GILANI: Yes. I'm coming to the point. But he was fraudulently elected through the referendum, which is not a part of the constitution. And he had never been a popular support. And if he wants to come back, he is mots welcome to come back. But he has to face the charges which, during his tenure, there were charges against him.
ANDERSON: Will that be before or after you face your own charges of over defending the -- the president, as it were?
GILANI: Defending whom?
ANDERSON: The president.
GILANI: Because?
ANDERSON: You face your own charges...
GILANI: I can't...
ANDERSON: -- in court at this point.
GILANI: -- this is not the charges against me. That is the old case, which is pending since a long time, for which the president had already had completed about eight years in prison. And now, as the president of the country, he has a complete immunity, and, therefore, the court decided to - - to send out a letter to the Swiss courts, where we said, according to the constitution, he has a complete immunity, not only inside Pakistan, but also across national immunity, not only for the president, the prime minister and even the foreign minister.
ANDERSON: Do you expect to go to prison?
GILANI: I'm -- if the court so desires, I -- I have no objection. How can the...
ANDERSON: But Prime Minister, I've -- I've heard...
GILANI: Yes, please?
ANDERSON: -- I've heard Imran Khan suggest that the way to win the war on terror, which is so debilitating to Pakistan in the year 2012, is to call a cease-fire on both sides.
Is that something that you would be prepared to pursue?
GILANI: In fact, this is -- this -- he -- he is not in the parliament at the moment and all the members of the parliament, they had discussed this issue. We referred the matter to the parliamentary committee on national security. And certainly, when there will be a joint sitting of the parliament and all the members will be debating on this issue, they will decide what would be the future and what -- what would be the future strategy.
But at the same time, this is not a war or something which we are -- is a proxy war. We are fighting for our own selves, for our own survival.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
ANDERSON: The Pakistani prime minister, who is -- or certainly was, today, at Davos, at the World Economic Forum, speaking to me earlier.
Well, the former cricket star, Imran Khan, has high hopes for his opposition party, predicting it will sweep the next elections. He, too, was at -- in Switzerland at the World Economic Forum today.
And I spoke with him about a number of crises facing his country and asked whether he believes there's a chance of a military coup.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IMRAN KHAN, PAKISTANI POLITICIAN: Absolutely no chance whatsoever of a military coup. Pakistan has moved on. It's -- it's got no takers. And I'm -- I want to -- I -- I really believe that the army does not think that it can take over Pakistan anymore.
ANDERSON: So is this memogate saga just nonsense?
KHAN: No, I don't know what the truth is, because the -- the supreme court had appointed a judicial commission to find out the truth. But somehow, Mansoor Ijaz, the chief witness, was scared away, not to come to Pakistan, fueling rumors that there might be some truth in this.
But anyway, until the guy comes over, I guess the case cannot proceed.
ANDERSON: All right. I spoke to the prime minister , Gilani, today. He told me that if needs be, he would serve time in jail.
He also told me today that Pakistan is stable and open for business.
Is he in a state of denial?
KHAN: Well, things are pretty bad in Pakistan. Yes, he is in a state of denial, because the biggest problem we face is energy. There are -- there's gas shortages. There's electricity shortages. There's massive unemployment because of this. And so, yes, we have a problem there right now.
The -- the good thing is that there is a consensus in people, for a change. This is where my party has suddenly shot up. The reason why my party is getting strength day by day is because people are sick of the old political parties and -- and all the political parties in power, whether in the center or the provinces, and all of them have gone down together.
So in all of the opinion polls, they are headed down southward, because they are not supposed to perform. And so the hope is now this -- this new party, Movement for Justice, which is gaining strength every day.
ANDERSON: It's no secret that you've got close contacts with the military, as does the former president, Pervez Musharraf, who has today officially delayed his return to the country.
Would you consider a coalition with Musharraf in any future government if you are able to build on this momentum of support that you have at present?
KHAN: Becky, look, we don't need any coalition. Our party is gaining strength. And this is a movement which has -- there's -- there's been no precedence of a movement like this in 40 years. Never have such crowds come out -- come out to public rallies like they have in our -- in our rallies. And it's gaining momentum by the day. It -- it could even be a bigger movement than the one 40 years ago.
So we don't need coalition partners. But the problem with Musharraf is that people blame him for the current path. I mean the NRO, the infamous NRO, where all the corruption cases of Asis Abdadi (ph) were -- were given amnesty, him, along with 8,000 people, cases amounting to one trillion rupees, almost equal to our total tax revenue in a year.
ANDERSON: Sure.
KHAN: So all this is blamed on Musharraf. And then the war on terror. And then the Baluchistan mess...
ANDERSON: All right...
KHAN: -- the assassination of Nuba El-Bukhti (ph). So doing an alliance with him would be the kiss of death for us.
ANDERSON: All right, what is the solution for Pakistan at this point?
KHAN: The solution is only one solution -- free and fair elections under the supreme court. We have a politically aware public. We have an independent supreme court. We have a vibrant media. So whenever the elections, you will see genuine democracy coming into Pakistan.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
ANDERSON: Imran Khan speaking to me earlier.
And we've got much more on the Pakistani political crisis, the powder keg that is Pakistan in 2012 on our Web site, CNN.com, including a detailed look at the odds of a military coup.
You heard what Imran Khan had to say about that. You can hear five reasons why other experts say it will not happen. That and more, CNN.com. Check that out.
You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD live from London here on CNN.
Still to come, the police officer who may have been responsible for allowing two foreign aid workers to be kidnapped in Somalia. New details ahead.
Then, the head of the International Monetary Fund says no country in the world is safe from the Eurozone crisis. My colleague, Richard Quest, joins us live with more details on that.
And a last ditch attempt to win over some critical voters -- tempers flare in the Sunshine State, with Republican candidates facing off in Florida.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD here on CNN.
This is the world's news leader.
Welcome back.
Eighteen minutes past nine in London.
Now, a new report out today shows that half -- half of all young people in Spain are now out of work and the overall unemployment report has soared to 22.85 percent there.
Well, that is the highest rate in the Eurozone. And things may be getting worse.
Listen to what a young woman in Barcelona who was lucky enough to have a job three or so months ago told us back in November.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: people are having trouble. Like they have to stay longer with their parents if they don't quite find a job that can fully fulfill the needs of -- the need to -- to be independent from the families. And they can -- that's really frustrating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, in light of today's jobs report out of Spain, we called up Cristina (ph) to see how she's doing now. And well, she didn't have very good news for us, I'm afraid. We're going to bring you her story plus a look at how young people are faring across the continent as this crisis drags on. That is in about 15 minutes time.
First though, a look at some of the other stories that are connecting our world tonight.
And opposition activists in Syria say security forces have killed at least 135 people there over the past two days. Most of them were reportedly killed in the city of Homs, with dozens more in Daraa, which is where this video was shot. The past 10 months, Friday has typically been the day that protesters pour into the streets to demand an end to the regime of President Bashir Assad. And today's violence comes as world powers are planning crucial talks about the situation.
CNN's Richard Roth is at the United Nations for you tonight -- Richard, you've got more.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR UNITED NATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Becky, right now, the U.N. Security Council is holding its most significant meeting on Syria in weeks. You may remember months ago, Russia, among others, vetoed a Security Council resolution that would have taken some significant action toward the Assad regime.
Now, there's a new draft submitted this afternoon, New York time, by Morocco, a new member of the Security Council. And this resolution is designed to endorse, beef up what the Arab League has significantly asked the Security Council to do, have Assad step aside so his deputy can take power, stop the violence and the Security Council resolution, which is now being discussed behind closed doors, where the U.N. flags are, in front of the TV cameras, this resolution has some language that certainly Russia and China are not going to really be happy with. It says that if this resolution is not really implemented by Syria in 15 days, further measures may be taken.
Now, in Davos today, the U.N. secretary-general was there, as everyone seems to be. And he was asked about the Syria situation and the Arab League's referral to New York.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BAN KI-MOON, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: And I'm encouraged that when it comes to the Syrian situation, the League of Arab States have made the resolution trying to resolve this issue through a political process. The secretary-general of the League of Arab States and the chairman of this -- the Qatari prime minister are coming to the U.N. Security Council to brief -- brief them.
I hope that the Security Council will be able to act in a coherent and sane voice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: Germany's U.N. ambassador said the Arab League referral could be a game-changer. China's representative said we'll see -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Well, Richard Roth with the very latest on what is a critical story out of the U.N. in New York for you this evening.
Richard, thank you for that.
One week after a deadly wave of terror attacks in the Nigerian city of Kano, suspected militants opened fire on a police station there. Army units have cordoned off the area. There's no word yet on any casualties.
Meanwhile, the Islamist group claiming responsibility for last week's bloodbath is threatening the country's president. An audio message allegedly by the terror group Boko Haram appeared on YouTube. The reported leader said the attacks that killed nearly 200 were in retaliation for the arrest and torture of its members.
Well, survivors of the cruise ship disaster off Italy's coast will be offered more than $14,000 in compensation. The deal was struck between Costa Cruises and consumer groups. Sixteen people died when the Costa Concordia ran aground. Sixteen others are listed as missing.
Well, new details are emerging about how two foreign aid workers were kidnapped in Somalia back in October. One of the safety advisers now says the kidnappers paid off a police officer who was traveling a Jessica Buchanan and Poul Thisted and the cop handed them over. Well, the two were rescued by U.S. military forces on Wednesday after three months in captivity.
And the head of the French company at the center of the breast implant health scare has been charged with involuntary injury, but not manslaughter. These are the pictures of Poly Implant Prothese founder, Jean-Claude Mas, leaving court today. He was arrested on Thursday. Its implants are known to have caused health problems in Europe and in South America.
Well, coming up, an incredible crash at the Winter X Games. Believe it or not, the competitor brushed off the snow off his shoulders and finished the competition in style.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD live from London.
I'm Becky Anderson, of course.
Twenty-six minutes past nine here Friday evening.
Now, tennis' world number one, Novak Djokovic, reached yet another grand slam final, but it was no walk in the park, I've got to tell you, as Andy Murray took him to five sets at the Australian Open on Friday before the Serb finally prevailed. Djokovic will now face Rafael Nadal in Sunday's final.
Alex Thomas, my colleague, in the house with his -- tonight's valiant effort -- valiant effort by Mr. Murray. Djokovic, though, in the end, simply too much, huh?
ALEX THOMAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, because the funny thing is, we keep referring to tennis' fantastic four in the men's game. Yes, Andy Murray is the lone ranger, really, because he's not won a grand slam title yet, but you could say he almost got closer then ever this time. Admittedly, he wasn't in the final, when he was at the Australian Open the last two years running. But 12 months ago, he got thrashed in straight sets by Djokovic.
Admittedly, the Serb went on to have his best season ever, winning three of the four grand slams, beating Rafael Nadal in all six of their meetings, by the way, which showed how much Djokovic has stepped up a level. And maybe this was evidence that Mari (ph) has stepped up a level to join those other three great names with new coach, Ivan Lendl in the camp.
ANDERSON: Five sets?
THOMAS: Four hours, 50 minutes. But astonishing tennis, 24 hours after Roger Federer and Nadal had produced a semi-final we thought couldn't be bettered. And yet Djokovic and Murray somehow managed it.
ANDERSON: And the elephant in the room, of course, still a grand slam for Andy Murray. Before we go, I don't know, we've got to take a short break at the bottom of this hour to pay for this show, but I just want our viewers to see what happened at the -- what was it, the Winter X Games?
THOMAS: Yes, the Winter X Games, extreme sports on snow. It doesn't need me to do the talking. Just have a look at this.
Look at this competitor here. He didn't quite get off of the snowmobile, a trick that they do so often. They practice over a foam pit, Becky. And that's why he manages to twist himself and fall without hurting himself, thank goodness.
We wouldn't show you him suffering through his injury. He went on, got back on the snowmobile and won gold in the freestyle snowmobiling. I'm sure I haven't got some of that right here.
(LAUGHTER)
THOMAS: But I can't concentrate.
ANDERSON: I'm going to ask you a question which you may not know the answer to and -- and forgive me.
How long has that been a sport?
THOMAS: No, a long time. And it -- and the X Games is getting more and more popular.
ANDERSON: Right.
THOMAS: And, in fact, some of the...
ANDERSON: Well, we'll stay with it.
THOMAS: -- some of the disciplines are now getting into the Winter Olympics because of the crossover.
ANDERSON: That's amazing stuff, what that looks like...
THOMAS: Not the snowmobiles yet.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: Remarkable stuff. And I was so pleased that guy was OK.
Alex back, of course, in an hour's time with "WORLD SPORT" for you here on CNN.
Still to come on CONNECT THE WORLD, a dismal employment report out of Spain. Half -- half of all young people are now out of work. I'm going to speak to one of them about her struggles.
Plus, Republican candidates are preparing to face-off in Florida. We're going to take a look at one demographic which could be key to winning Tuesday's primary.
And in six months, the opening ceremonies for the London Olympic Games will be in full swing. What you can expect to see coming up here on CONNECT THE WORLD.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: Welcome back. And if you are just joining us, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD here on CNN. Let's get you a check of the world news headlines at this point, shall we?
An activist in Syria reports pro-regime forces killed more than 40 people today as violence erupted across the country. They say 135 have died over the past two days. Activists staged large protests in several cities. The UN Security Council is holding a closed-door meeting on Syria this hour.
Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf is delaying a return to political life back home after repeated threats by Pakistan's leadership to have him arrested on arrival from exile. Lawmakers want him tried on charges of treason.
Baghdad is reeling from its deadliest day in a month. A suicide car bomb exploded near a Shiite funeral procession on Friday, 31 people were killed and 60 were wounded. The attacks have escalated since US combat forces withdrew from Iraq last month.
The operator of the Italian cruise ship that crashed earlier this month as agreed to pay survivors more than $14,000 each. The deal could cost the Costa Cruise company nearly $60 million. The disaster has left at least 16 people dead, 16 others are still missing.
The head of the International Monetary Fund says big worries remain about the future of the eurozone. Christine Lagarde also called on the United States and Japan to reduce debt and balance their budgets to help the global economy recover from recession.
Well, Lagarde was speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos in Switzerland where top leaders have gathered to address the world's financial problems. She also spoke to my colleague, Richard Quest, who joins us now live with more details.
No country's immune from the eurozone crisis, yes, we get it, Madame Lagarde. But what are you going to do about it? How is she going to fix it or at least help fix it, Richard?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the first thing she has to do is raise quite a bit of money, and to do that, she's going to have to go to the IMF membership. Some countries like the United States and Canada are saying they will not contribute, it's a non-starter. They believe Europe should foot the final bill.
But Mrs. Lagarde is by no means not determined when it comes to this. She says there has to be a bailout fund, there has to be a Greek debt agreement, there has to be a firewall, and she believes other countries all have a vested interest in its success.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE LAGARDE, MANAGING DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND: The eurozone crisis is not just secluded, exclusive to the eurozone. It's coming from somewhere else in the meantime. But it's also going to have collateral damage, external effects outside of the eurozone.
There's no country in the world that I've visited in the last eight weeks -- and I've visited many -- that hasn't said, "The eurozone crisis is a problem for me, for my economy, for my country, for my growth," and therefore, everybody has an interest in trying to fix the problems of the eurozone and the problems outside the eurozone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: She has a hard sell, and it was interesting when she said the number of countries that she's visited over the last few weeks, as it was sort of anguish, almost, in her voice.
But the work is being done and tonight, Becky, we have -- Greek talks still continuing, looks like there might be an agreement before the -- after the weekend. We have the Euro Summit on Monday, the fiscal compact has been put together and looks like it will now go ahead when they meet on Monday.
ANDERSON: All right, Richard. Listen, stay with us, just for the time being. I'm going to come back --
QUEST: All right.
ANDERSON: -- to you in a moment. Because I want to take a look, now, at some of the problems the leaders in Davos are facing back home, in particular in Spain, which has the highest unemployment in the eurozone.
Now, new figures out today show that 5.2 -- 5.2 million people are out of work in Spain, leading to a staggering 22.85 percent unemployment rate. Well, CNN's Al Good man caught up with one of those people desperate for work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AL GOODMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Spain's economic crisis has spawned many hard luck stories, but Carlos Gonzalez at 29 can hardly believe what he faces. He's one of Spain's 5 million jobless, idle more than two years from his last job installing air conditioners.
At the nearby unemployment office, he's got lots of company. Competitors all for the scant job openings.
CARLOS GONZALEAZ, UNEMPLOLYED (through translator): I come here two or three times a week and have not found anything. I have sent my CV around and visited many companies, but there are no jobs.
GOODMAN: Especially in his line of work, construction, where many projects simply stalled. Gonzalez's unemployment benefits ran out four months ago. To top it off, his bad left knee, already operated on four times, took a turn for the worse.
GONZALEZ (through translator): Doctors have told me to forget about working in construction because if I lift weight, my leg would buckle and I would end up in a wheelchair.
GOODMAN: A far cry from his dreams.
GONZALEZ (through translator): Being unemployed, I can't get married or have kids or become independent. I'm still living with my parents.
GOODMAN (on camera): In addition to being out of a job and having a bad knee, Gonzalez has another big problem. Starting seven years ago, he and his girlfriend have made a $70,000 down payment for a new home that was supposed to be built right here.
GOODMAN (voice-over): Instead, Gonzalez and others are still waiting for the government to approve zoning. To protest, they've camped out here for 485 days. Some even sleep here at night.
Last month, dressed up like houses, they took their plight to the annual Christmas lottery drawing in Madrid. They say they paid for the farmland, but that local and regional governments haven't delivered on their promises. Although they say officials have told them a deal is in the works.
GOODMAN (on camera): You're really committed to being here, aren't you?
GONZALEZ (through translator): Until they offer me a solution for my house, I'm not going to leave.
GOODMAN (voice-over): A country in crisis. And for Gonzalez, an especially complicated time.
Al Goodman, CNN, Moraleja de Enmedao, Spain.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, young people are particularly vulnerable when jobs are scarce. Take a look at these numbers across Europe. Nearly half of all Spaniards under the age of 25 are now out of work, and 46 percent of young Greeks. In France, the youth unemployment rate stands at more than 22 percent, and in Britain, it's about the same. But young people who live in the strongest economy do best of all, with only 8 percent for young Germans out of work. Perhaps no surprise.
Well, here on CONNECT THE WORLD, we've been covering this issue for some time. Back in November, our Digital Producer, Phil Han, set out on a road trip across Europe talking to young people about their job prospects and hopes for the future.
Now, he caught up with a young Spanish woman in Barcelona who was lucky to be employed at the time. Well, here's how she described the situation then among her friends.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINA PARRA, SPANIARD: People are having troubles, like they have to stay longer with their parents, they don't quite find a job that can fully -- fulfill their needs -- their need to be independent from the family and begin. That's really frustrating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Yes, an understatement, I think. In light of today's numbers out of Spain, we called Christina up again to see what she's doing now. Here's what she told us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PARRA: My situation got complicated since the last time we spoke. I had a job in the city. My contract ended, so now I'm looking for a new job, hopefully better.
ANDERSON: Yes, the numbers speak for themselves, don't they? Some nearly 50 percent of youngsters unemployed in Spain at this point. Just how are people coping?
PARRA: I think -- we are not really happy with the situation right now. We hope that with the -- with the new -- politics improves because they've been talking to America and hopefully Germany and solve problems for us.
ANDERSON: How are you and your friends coping, though? It must be really hard.
PARRA: Yes. Yes. Just -- in Barcelona, where I am, we used to share apartments, rent rooms and it got more difficult because to rent apartments, you cannot afford to rent by themselves and they just have to rent homes and share. It's hard.
But we are moving on and hopefully it gets better.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: At least a sense of optimism from her there at the end. The leaders in Davos certainly have got their work cut out for them, haven't they? Let's get back to Richard, there, for some final thoughts.
It can't be any worse for youngsters than knowing they just can't get a job. Is this something that the leaders that you've spoken to have acknowledged this week in Davos or at Davos?
QUEST: Absolutely. It is the top issue once you get away from the eurozone. They are deeply concerned about youth unemployment, inequality, all the issues that could blow up into civil unrest and riot. They know that is a real risk in the future.
So, yes, maybe they're not doing enough about it at Davos, and maybe sometimes there's too much talk about bankers and bonuses. But once you really talk to the prime ministers, the ministers, the NGOs, that's what they say.
Look, people like Muhtar Kent of Coca-Cola, Vikram Pandit of CitiGroup, Jaime Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, the names just go on and on that you get to see here. But they all say the same. Nouriel Roubini. Terribly, terribly concerned that ultimately there will be civil unrest because of inequality.
Ultimately, what they leave here from Davos saying is yes, the call is something must be done. And I think more than a few of them realize they're the ones that have to do it.
ANDERSON: Yes. Richard, I hate to navel gaze on behalf on the network, but you've done a superb job out there, so thank you very much, indeed --
QUEST: Thank you.
ANDERSON: -- for the coverage out of Davos this week, the World Economic Forum, of course, wrapping up over the weekend. Our coverage pretty much wrapped up for the time being. Richard Quest is and has been in Davos for you this week.
You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Coming up, a sunshine state smackdown.
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MITT ROMNEY (R), US PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My father was born in Mexico. My wife's father was born in Wales. They came to this country. The idea that I'm anti-immigrant is repulsive.
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ANDERSON: The race to take on President Obama, well, it's getting a bit personal out there. That's next when CONNECT THE WORLD continues here on CNN. Stay with us.
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ANDERSON: Well, the gloves are off for Republican candidates, at least, in the race to take on Barack Obama for the US presidency. As Karin Caifa now reports, well, tempers flared during Thursday night's debate in Jacksonville, Florida. Have a look at this.
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KARIN CAIFA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After firing shots from Florida campaign stops all day, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich met face-to- face in Jacksonville Thursday night.
ROMNEY: That's inexcusable.
NEWT GINGRICH (R), US PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I found his use of language and his deliberate distortion equally offensive.
CAIFA: The debate marked the final time the four Republicans will share a stage before Florida's primary on Tuesday, and touched on issues crucial to Floridians, like illegal immigration. Gingrich, locked in a virtual tie with Romney in the Florida polls, hit hard at his rival's proposals.
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GINGRICH: I am prepared to be very tough and very bold, but I'm also prepared to be realistic, because I've actually had to pass legislation in Washington.
CAIFA: And Romney shot back at an attack from Gingrich on his immigration stance.
ROMNEY: The idea that I'm anti-immigrant is repulsive. Don't use a term like that.
CAIFA: In a state hit hard by foreclosures, Romney continued to hammer Gingrich for his ties to mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
ROMNEY: He should have been anxiously telling the American people that these entities were causing a housing bubble that would cause a collapse.
GINGRICH: I told the Republicans in the House, vote no. Do not give them any money.
CAIFA: With the focus on the fight between the two front runners, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum sought to present alternatives.
RICK SANTORUM (R), US PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: These two gentlemen, who are out distracting from the most important issues that we have by playing petty, personal politics --
CAIFA: Fifty GOP delegates are up for grabs in Florida's winner-take- all contest on Tuesday.
In Washington, I'm Karin Caifa.
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ANDERSON: Well, one key to winning Florida may be its half a million Republican Latino voters. Many of them are Cuban-American. All four of the candidates say they'd like to see a Cuba free of Castro's rule, but as John Zarrella now reports, for some voters, that's not the most important issue.
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JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Miami's Little Havana. Here, you'll always find someone sipping an espresso or cafe con leche. And when there's an election, you'll always find Republican candidates.
ROMNEY: Thank you so much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My wife --
ROMNEY: You're very kind.
GINGRICH: Newt Gingrich!
ZARRELLA: This is a fertile field of votes, and there has been for half a century one singular issue trumping all others. As the sign on the building reads, For Cuba, Freedom. No serious candidate comes here without preaching a hardline stand against the Castro regime.
GINGRICH: They worry about an Arab Spring in Syria. I don't think it's ever occurred to a single person in the White House to look south and propose a Cuban Spring.
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ROMNEY: It is time for us to strike for freedom in Cuba, and I will do so as president.
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ZARRELLA: For Republican candidates, the Cuban-American vote is critical. According to the Pew Research Center, nearly 60 percent of Hispanic Republican registered voters are in Miami-Dade County alone. More than a quarter million, and most of those are Cuban-Americans.
NINOSKA PEREZ, CUBAN-AMERICAN RADIO HOST: Newt Gingrich y Mitt Romney --
(SPEAKING SPANISH)
ZARRELLA: For decades, Ninoska Perez has been an influential voice both on radio and in Cuban-American politics. Although a nearly 50-year embargo against Cuba has not brought the Castro government to its knees, Perez says any talk of lifting sanctions is the kiss of death.
PEREZ: If a candidate so much as mentions any type of lifting of sanctions or any type of appeasement or closeness to the Cuban regime, I'm telling you, that election is lost.
ZARRELLA: But times may be changing.
TONY JIMENEZ, CO-FOUNDER, ROOTS OF HOPE: Help and power, the youth in Cuba --
ZARRELLA: Tony Jimenez is co-founder of Roots of Hope, a movement trying to connect young Cuban-Americans with their counterparts on the island. Freedom for Cuba is important to Jimenez, but he doesn't see himself or other young Cubans as single-issue voters.
JIMENEZ: More and more each day, people are more concerned with the economy, are more concerned with domestic policy, and the Cuba issue, as important as it is to Cubans, I don't think is dictating who they're going to vote for.
ZARRELLA: But for Republican candidates, at least for now, it's the one issue that guarantees them votes.
John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.
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ANDERSON: Well, the economy isn't just an issue for Latino voters. Florida badly affected by the US housing market meltdown and the financial collapse.
Now, JPMorgan's CEO Jamie Dimon is one of America's most high-profile bankers. In what is an extremely rare interview, my colleague Richard Quest asked him who he thinks will win the Republican race.
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JAMIE DIMON, CEO, JPMORGAN: My thinking it's going to be close. The economy's not doing great. I think that -- I think the candidate is going to be Mitt Romney. I think he's a successful --
QUEST: You think it is going to be Romney.
DIMON: As my personal opinion, I could be dead wrong, but I think he's --
QUEST: So you're -- let's emphasize. You --
DIMON: It's my opinion who the Republican candidate's going to be.
QUEST: Right.
DIMON: Because I think he's an experienced, knowledgeable, successful guy. He clearly doesn't like talking about himself or his money very much, but he'll get through that.
And then you have President Obama, who's also very experienced, great campaigner, great speech-giver, but he's lost some of the independents, some of the youth. And this red state, blue state thing isn't going to happen the same way it happened last time.
So -- and I think the Republican campaign will be better than John McCain was four years ago, so it's possibly going to have a pretty close race. But I don't know.
QUEST: All right.
DIMON: All right.
QUEST: You just alluded to Romney and his money. When you see the numbers, and I'm aware that you obviously earn more than a buck or two yourself, but you are the head of a bank.
When you see the numbers and you see the levels of inequality and you see what -- are you worried that this -- that there is an entrenchment, whether it's in the Occupy or in civil society, the haves versus the have- nots is now becoming an entrenched view within society?
DIMON: Yes, it's become an entrenched view, but here's the parts I agree with, OK? People are angry because a lot of people on Wall Street made a lot of money and their companies went down the tubes, and I agree with them. That's a total disgrace.
And -- but I look at JPMorgan. We never had parachutes, we never had change of control, we've always risk-adjusted results, we've always looked at results over a long period of time, we never had special severance packages and stuff like that. And we've always paid a lot in stock. So, a lot of new rules being promulgated, we were always doing them.
But I do think this -- we're all better off if society gets increasingly equitable. The question you've got to deal with is how do you do that? And I'm going to mention just two.
QUEST: Please.
DIMON: One is progressive taxation, which most people, I know, are very much in favor of. The second, we've got to do a better job is getting people better opportunities. So, if you go to the United States, half the kids in inner city schools don't graduate. And that's the biggest sin we make in our country.
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ANDERSON: Jamie Dimon speaking to Richard earlier. CNN will have live coverage and analysis of results from the Florida primary as you would expect. That will be early Wednesday starting midnight London, 8:00 in the morning Hong Kong time.
You are watching CONNECT THE WORLD here on CNN. It's Friday night in London, 10 to 10:00. Still to come, it will be the center stage for the London Games. Find out what to expect at the opening ceremony when we come back.
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ANDERSON: Well, London 2012 takes shape. We're just six months out from the start of the Games, and preparations are at full pace. Not quite as quickly as you're seeing there, but anyway, you get the point.
The stadium is up and now, so too is the Athletes' Village. This home away from home for the 16,000 athletes and officials that will descend on London was handed over to Games organizers today. Well, our Jim Boulden headed down to the Olympic site for a sneak preview of what we can all expect come July the 27th.
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JIM BOULDEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With British gold medalist Sebastian Coe as tour guide, journalists got a close- up look at the Olympic Park. That is, once past security, including sniffer dogs.
With just six months to the day before the Opening Ceremony on the evening of July 27th, the stadium is ready. So are the aquatic center and velodrome.
But while the Olympic Park in East London is the symbol of the Summer Games, most of the Games happen elsewhere.
SEBASTIAN COE, CHAIRMAN, LONDON 2012: Seventy percent of the Games does not actually take part -- place in the Olympic Park. It takes place in any number of venues, some of them outside of London, some of them temporary. So, we've still got those venues to build. We've got a broadcast center with 60 or 80 studios still to build.
BOULDEN: Also still to be pulled off, finalizing the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. Performers, particularly local children, are being lined up. Academy Award winner Danny Boyle is directing the Opening Ceremony. He said again Friday there is no way London could match what Beijing pulled off in 2008.
And when you add in the Paralympic Games, London has four ceremonies, all under the watchful eye of film director Stephen Daldry. His big challenge: getting the flame to light in the stadium.
STEPHEN DALDRY, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, OLYMPICS CEREMONY: And traditionally in the ceremony, the thing that tends to go wrong is the lighting of the cauldron, and we have a particularly exciting cauldron that we're very excited about, and I'm particularly excited about whether it'll actually happen.
BOLUDEN: Organizers are promising to keep the Opening Ceremony to around three hours. Then, some 10,000 athletes will walk back to the Olympic Village. Their apartments were handed over to organizers on Friday by the builders. All they need now, 16,000 beds, along with 5,000 toilet brushes. Part of the finishing touches on the infrastructure.
JOHN ARMITT, CHAIRMAN, OLYMPIC DELIVERY AUTHORITY: Yes, we're in a very good place. With six months to go, we're 95 percent complete of all our scope of works.
BOULDEN: And organizers say they have some $750 million of contingency still in the bank, even after building the Park, Village, and upgrading the transport links in East London.
BOULDEN (on camera): And with just six months to go, organizers say all of that has cost just a little bit more than $11 billion.
Jim Boulden, CNN, at the Olympic Park in London.
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ANDERSON: Yes, he is. Well, in tonight's Parting Shots, a different kind of in-flight entertainment.
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ANDERSON: Passengers on a recent Finnair flight to Delhi were treated to a surprise Bollywood performance by the flight attendants. They came up with the idea to celebrate India's Republic Day. The video, well, it's been watched by over 700,000 eyeballs on YouTube in the last couple of days.
Finnair says, well, it didn't expect it to be such a hit. We certainly didn't expect stewardesses to be that good, anyway.
I'm Becky Anderson, that was CONNECT THE WORLD. The world news headlines, of course, and "BackStory," as ever, up after this short break. Don't go away.
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