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Connect the World
Phelps Wins Last Olympic Race of His Career; Highlights of Day Seven; Global Markets Up After US Jobs Report; US Presidential Candidates Agree Government Needs to Do More to Fight Unemployment; UN General Assembly Condemns Security Council Over Inaction in Syria; Ebola Outbreak; Brazil Corruption Trial
Aired August 03, 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: Live from the Olympic Park in London, I'm Becky Anderson, with Team GB's golden girls, the first female British rowers to ever win Olympic gold.
And there's no stopping the US swimming sensation Michael Phelps, who continues to make history, winning his 21st medal today.
MAX FOSTER, HOST: I'm Max Foster at CNN London. Also tonight, the UN condemns itself over inaction in Syria. Meanwhile, a violent showdown looms in Aleppo and fears the worst is still to come.
And jailed for life for murdering their daughter. We ask if culture can really be blamed for crimes committed in the name of honor.
ANDERSON: Well, it was the last individuals race of his career, and American swimmer Michael Phelps did it in style, bringing home a record 17th gold and taking his total tally of Olympic medals to 21. Unbelievable, isn't it? That's going to be a very tough act to follow.
And on the first day of competition in the Olympic Stadium behind me, records broken on the track, too. Britain's Jessica Ennis grabbing the fastest time ever by a heptathlete in the 100 meters hurdles.
In the tennis, well, it's going to be a Wimbledon final with Switzerland's Roger Federer set to face Britain's Andy Murray.
For the hosts, there were two more golds in the cycling, and in the rowing, Katherine Grainger ended her 12-year wait for Olympic glory by winning the women's doubles sculls alongside her partner, Anna Watkins. Their success comes just two days after Helen Glover and Heather Stanning became the first British women to row their way to an Olympic gold in the women's pairs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good luck to Captain Heather Stanning and her partner, Helen Glover, from 3-2 regiment, Royal Artillery.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Stanning -- or should I say Captain Heather Stanning -- cheered on to victory by her regiment back in Afghanistan. Well, I'm lucky enough to have both of them with me here at the Olympic Park. Let's see those medals, then. They're heavy, aren't they?
HELEN GLOVER, OLYIMPIC ROWING GOLD MEDALIST: They're really heavy, yes.
HEATHER STANNING, OLYMPIC ROWING GOLD MEDALIST: Frightening.
ANDERSON: I think people are always amazed to see how heavy they are. Has it sunk in yet?
GLOVER: It's still a little bit of a daze, to be honest. We've kind of had this really exciting whirlwind of doing crazy things we never thought would happen to us, but we're loving every minute of it.
ANDERSON: What are the crazy things that you thought would never happen to you, Heather? Like standing on the stage at Hyde Park last night? In front of 70,000 people.
(LAUGHTER)
STANNING: Yes, getting on stage at a concert where you have to wave to people and lead the audience really shout for you is something I never thought I'd do.
ANDERSON: You were the first British athletes at the London Games to actually win a gold, so there must have been a lot of pressure on you. And with the roar of the crowd at the Eton Dorney Lake, did you feel that pressure?
GLOVER: I think the fact that Great Britain hadn't won a gold, it was the elephant in the room leading up to the race. Nobody mentioned. It was like, don't mention the water thing. Heather didn't mention it, my coach didn't mention it.
And we went into the final each individually knowing that there was no gold medal won. But when we crossed the line and the crowds roared, we kind of thought, oh yeah. That's the first gold, that's great!
ANDERSON: That's amazing. And Heather, you must've known that those mates out in Afghanistan were also watching. I know that they rang in almost immediately after --
STANNING: Yes.
ANDERSON: -- the rowing, didn't they?
STANNING: Yes, well, they sent a video message the night before to say good luck, and I was quite touched by that, because I know thousands of miles away from home, it's really nice that they can get involved a little way with the Olympic spirit even though they're on tour. So, it was a fantastic video to watch.
ANDERSON: You only came together as a pair two years ago. When did you know it clicked?
GLOVER: It clicked quite early on. We had raw speed. It was pretty scrappy, wasn't very good to look at, but we managed to somehow get down the track quite quickly. I'd been ranked for two years when we got together in the boat, so it was kind of like a really young, really new combination.
So, it's probably the beginning of potential, but then we kind of came together with some good, tight coaching.
ANDERSON: And you get on. Do you go out?
STANNING: Go out?
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: I mean as -- do you go out for --
(LAUGHTER)
GLOVER: Yes, we get on. I think you have to get on if you're going to be in a boat with someone. We have to share a -- we have to.
STANNING: We choose to, though.
ANDERSON: Well, you're now -- you're telling me a little earlier on that you're a fan in the Athletes Village from now on in, because you've been -- obviously, Dorney Lake is out of London. You're down here in the Village going forward. That's going to be fun.
STANNING: Yes. It's going to be fantastic coming here to the village. Yes, we've been out at Dorney kind of keeping a low profile, but looking forward to coming here and partying.
GLOVER: Yes, it's finally party time.
ANDERSON: The Team GB have done pretty well in the lake, haven't they? As well as expected? Because we've always had a great history in rowing.
GLOVER: Yes, I think definitely as well as expected. I think, yes, maybe one or two crews will be disappointed with their performance, but on the whole, I think we've had a just incredible time.
And we're seeing some of our really good friends and the people we train with every day, we were the first race off, so we got to watch them all going down the track, getting as excited as we were and getting -- getting shiny medals at the end of it. So --
ANDERSON: Did you cry? I didn't actually see the medal ceremony. Did you cry?
STANNING: She did. She cried like a baby.
GLOVER: She was singing the national anthem, and I was just trying to hold back tears.
ANDERSON: Well, let's take a look at the medal table, because it was actually really important today when your friends in the boat, of course, Kathy Grainger and Anna Watkins also winning today. And what happened when they won was that Great Britain were actually vaulted into fourth position, which is historically, actually, where we've best ended up in the medal table.
I know it was a massive pressure on Team GB. I've asked you whether you felt the pressure in the boat. Does the team as a whole feel the pressure, do you think, as host nation?
STANNING: I'm not sure. And if they do, we kind of -- we hold it quite well. I think we kind of feel the pressure of the nation, but actually love it at the same time, because everyone's just been enjoying themselves so much, just watching people walking through the park and going to events.
Everyone's smiling, and they don't care how we're doing. They do, but they don't show it. And they're just loving being here.
ANDERSON: I don't know if you saw the cycling takes -- I know you've been doing other things --
STANNING: Yes.
ANDERSON: -- I just want to bring up the cycling. I know we're being a little bit partisan tonight, but it has actually been a great day for Team GB, and I promise you, viewers, if you're watching anywhere else in the world, we will do the results from other teams tonight.
But particularly in the cycling, Team GB did well. The men's team did well, and Vicky Pendleton also coming in with a gold in the keirin, and I know it's going to be her last Olympics. You guys, I guess, will go on to Rio, will you?
GLOVER: Potentially, yes.
STANNING: Potentially.
ANDERSON: Yes? You're not going to say yes yet.
STANNING: Four years is a long time, but --
GLOVER: Not right now, we're not saying.
ANDERSON: Well, history also made in the rowing on Thursday. Sizwe Ndlovu became the first black rower to compete for South Africa, and if that wasn't enough, he also led his country to its first ever Olympic gold in the sport. Earlier, my colleague Alex Thomas asked him if the news had sunk in yet. This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE SIZWE NDLOVU, SOUTH AFRICAN GOLD MEDALIST: I think out of the four of us, it still hasn't sunk in yet properly. Now and then we keep on reminding each other, saying no, it's real.
MATTHEW BRITTAIN, SOUTH AFRICAN GOLD MEDALIST: Lawrence is -- he's an inspiration to all of us in the crew and, yes, hopefully back home as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Great to see him on our air tonight. Great to have you girls with us. And enjoy the rest of the Games.
GLOVER: Thank you.
ANDERSON: Now you can relax. We can hear the roar in the stadium behind me. For all the latest Olympic news and views, head no further than CNN's live blog. It's your one-stop shop for everything happening at the London Games, constantly updated by our team here on the ground. That's cnn.com and join in the action.
Still to play in the stadium behind me as the athletics kicks off, of course. Plenty more to come this hour here on CONNECT THE WORLD from Olympic Park, including springing into action. South Africa's Oscar Pistorius prepares to be the first man to run in the 400 meters on blades.
That is coming up, along with a whole host of other stories. Now, though, back to Max in the studio for the other big stories of the day.
FOSTER: Becky, Ban Ki-moon warns of a proxy war in Syria as the UN admits to failure. We'll speak to our Elise Labott at the US State Department when CONNECT THE WORLD continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: You are watching CNN, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Max Foster. Welcome back to you.
Now, a British court has sentenced the parents of a murdered teenager to at least 25 years in prison. Prosecutors say they murdered their daughter, Shafilea Ahmed, because of her western ways. Shafilea had also refused to accept an arranged marriage in Pakistan. Outside court, the teenager's friends spoke movingly about the verdict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELISSA POWNER, SHAFILEA AHMED'S FRIEND: Shafilea was an extremely intelligent young lady who we have no doubt would have accomplished her personal ambitions of becoming a lawyer.
Yet, this opportunity was unfairly snatched away from her when her life was ruthlessly taken for reasons we cannot even begin to comprehend, reasons that still other young girls like Shafilea have to face on a daily basis behind closed doors.
If there is one thing that we pray will come from this, it is that her beautiful face and tragic story will inspire others to seek help that makes them realize that this kind of vile treatment, no matter what culture or background they are from, is not acceptable, and there is a way out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, the case against the parents focused on a key piece of evidence, which was the testimony from Shafilea's younger sister. Her distressing court testimony coming up in around 20 minutes, and we'll look at the global problem of so-called honor murders as well.
Here's a look at some other stories connecting our world tonight. US and European stock markets closed higher on Friday as investors welcomed a stronger-than-expected July jobs report. Employers said they added 163,000 jobs in a month, and that was better than economists had forecast.
But it wasn't enough to bring down unemployment. The rate ticked up to 8.3 percent. If there's one area where the two men running for the US presidency agree, it's that the government needs to do better.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But let's acknowledge, we've still got too many folks out there who are looking for work. We've got more work to do on their behalf, not only to reclaim all the jobs that were lost during the recession, but also to reclaim the kind of financial security that too many Americans have felt was slipping away from them for too long.
MITT ROMNEY (R), US PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Today we just a new number from the unemployment report, and it's another hammer blow to the struggling middle class families of America, because the president has not had policies that put American families back to work. I do, I'll put them in place and get America working again.
(CROWD CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Now, the United Nations General Assembly is slamming its own Security Council for failing to take action on Syria's civil war. It overwhelmingly passed a resolution today expressing grave concern over Syria. Although the General Assembly is demanding action, it doesn't have the authority to enforce it.
Let's get more, now, from our World Affairs reporter Elise Labott. She's at the US State Department. It doesn't make the UN look particularly strong right now, does it?
ELISE LABOTT, CNN WORLD AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: No, Max, it doesn't, because this is the resolution that the UN Security Council was supposed to be passing.
Now, after three attempts, the UN General Assembly finally acted, and it did condemn the regime for its use of heavy weaponry against its people, its attacks against children, and its threats to use biological and chemical weapons.
But it also took a swipe at the UN Security Council for its failure to act. And basically, 133 nations voted yes, 31 abstentions. Diplomats are spinning it as saying, well, the overwhelming majority of nations support the political transition in Syria.
But it's largely a symbolic move. The UN General Assembly doesn't have any enforcement power. And now, in the wake of the resignation by special envoy Kofi Annan in disgust, basically, yesterday, everyone's kind of wondering whether diplomacy is dead, whether the UN really has any relevance whatsoever, Max.
FOSTER: Elise at the State Department, thank you very much, indeed, for that. Well, the World Health Organization says the Ebola outbreak in western Uganda is now, quote, "under control." This video is a CNN exclusive. Our David McKenzie got access inside the hospital, shooting dozens of possible cases.
Ebola is one of the most contagious diseases known to man and extremely deadly. The outbreak has killed 16 people since surfacing last month.
It's being called the trial of the century in Brazil, 38 former ministers, lawmakers, businessmen, and bankers all face charges of vote buying. The Supreme Court opened proceeding on Thursday in Brasilia, and prosecutors say the defendants used public funds to bribe members of Congress during the first time of then-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The scandal first surfaced in 2005.
In Beijing, the wife of disgraced former party later Bo Xilai is expected to go on trial next week for her alleged role in the death of British businessman Neil Hayward last November. That's according to a friend of the suspect's family. Gu Kailai and a family aide were charged in Hayward's murder after he was allegedly poisoned following a business dispute. Gu could face the death penalty if convicted.
Plenty more still to come here on CONNECT THE WORLD. Let's go over to Becky, now, though, at the Olympic Park.
ANDERSON: Thank you. Coming up in the show, can this world champion 10,000 meter runner keep up the pace to win Olympic gold?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: You're watching a special edition of CONNECT THE WORLD, live from the Olympic Park. Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson. Linford Christie with me, who's here with us all week -- well, certainly has been, and into next week -- as the athletic, of course, begins. British Olympian here with me.
And again, not to be partisan, but Team GB starting off well in the stadium behind me. We've seen a number of events this afternoon, not least the beginning of the heptathlon. And Jessica Ennis, who I picked to be one of the stars of this Olympics -- you've been out there training with her now for some time. Joint first after three events.
LINFORD CHRISTIE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well definitely. Today's Jess's best day. Tomorrow's when the big girls, they come and they try and close the gap. Coming to the first day, she -- we always expect her to have a big lead, and she continues.
ANDERSON: Linford, remind us why the heptathlon is such a tough event.
CHRISTIE: Well, you've got the hurdles, you've got the shot to get, the long shot, there's just a multiple of seven events. And it's -- I would say a shorter version of the men's decathlon with the 1500 taken out. They've -- the women's got at the end of it all, they've got to run 800 meters, which is pretty tough, especially when you're tired.
ANDERSON: She's top overall, as we come towards the close of what is the Friday of the first week, with the athletics just beginning. We've also got somebody out on the track. Shortly, at about 24 minutes past the hour, one of your picks for this Olympics, Vivian.
CHRISTIE: Well, definitely. I think Vivian, she -- she has not won an Olympic gold medal, and that's what she's aiming for, so she's been world champion and she's swept everything before, but this is the medal that's eluded her.
ANDERSON: This is Vivian Cheruiyot, who of course, 10,000 meters. We had a little look at who she was before we sat down tonight. Her personal best is just over 30 minutes. So, could she finish just before the end of this program? She possibly will.
Who is this talented runner? Max has been taking a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER (voice-over): She's known as the Pocket Rocket. Vivian Cheruiyot is just over five feet tall, a Kenyan runner who hopes to dominate this year's long distance events. The reigning 5,000 and 10,000 meter world champion is competing in her third Olympics, but has never won a medal. She's hoping to change that, and she wants it to be gold.
VIVIAN CHERUIYOT, KENYAN OLYMPIC ATHLETE: That is the only medal that I don't have in my medals. I know it's going to be competitive, but I'll be there, because everybody needs to win a gold, so I'll be well prepared.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: What makes her special?
CHRISTIE: Well, she's swept the boards, and she's -- I think she's double world champion, 5,000 and 10,000, and like I said, this is the only medal she hasn't won. But she beats everyone. That's what makes her special. She can do it and run -- one of these athletes who can run all day.
ANDERSON: Twenty-nine-odd minutes from now, we may be looking at a champion. Let's cross our fingers for her. She's planning to run the 5,000 meters, of course, next week, in the hope of the doing the double. CNN's contributor and former Olympic champion Linford Christie picking her as one of his favorites for that event.
Let's take a look at the medal table for what is going on just behind me here. We've been alluding to the heptathlon, and I just want to bring up exactly where she -- that being Jessica Ennis -- stands in that table at the moment.
There you go. Jessica Ennis, up first there with 4,158 points, some distance ahead of her closest rival, the Lithuanian, there. That's a pretty good position. Like you say, some of the events that she's perhaps not as strong in are up tomorrow, though.
CHRISTIE: Well, definitely, but she's got quite a big lead already, and I think you'll find maybe the second and third place will change hands, but I think Jess will still stay there in the lead. The whole idea is to try to build up as big a lead as possible and hopefully, if you make a mistake, you've got so much points in hand that your opponents cannot catch up.
ANDERSON: It's a big weekend this weekend. Talk me through what we can expect.
CHRISTIE: All right. Some great performance, of course.
ANDERSON: The men, of course.
CHRISTIE: Well, the men and women. Their -- the women's 100 meters final's going to be coming up, of course, with again the Jamaican. We're going to try and see how dominant the Jamaicans are going to be.
Of course, then, we've got the men's final, which -- 100 meters -- the ten final, which everyone's looking forward to. The clash of the titans.
We've also got the 400 meters, men and women. So, we've got a great program ahead. Like I said, this is where the real Olympics starts, and everyone should be glued to their seats, because if you blink, you're going to miss it.
ANDERSON: Well, fantastic. All right. Still to come on CONNECT THE WORLD here, an athletics legend who fell from grace. No one better to talk to us about the Olympic experience than Marion Jones.
And it's being dubbed the social media Olympics. We're going to take a look at the other headline maker of the week, that being Twitter.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: A very warm welcome to our viewers across Europe and around the world. I'm Becky Anderson with a special edition of CONNECT THE WORLD from the Olympic Park.
FOSTER: And I'm Max Foster at CNN London. These are the latest world headlines from CNN.
This video posted online is said to show Syrian rebels battling in Hama.. CNN can't confirm it, but the fighters have reportedly been trying to save civilians caught in intense shelling by regime forces. Opposition activists say at least 120 people have been killed across Syria today.
A British court has sentenced both parents of a murdered teenager to at least 25 years in prison. Prosecutors say Ifikhar and Farzana Ahmed murdered their daughter, Shafilea, because of her Western ways.
The US Labor Department says businesses added 163,000 jobs in July when economists were expecting only 95,000. But the unemployment rate ticked up to 8.3 percent, and so-called under employment rate rose to 15 percent.
A friend of the family says the wife of disgraced former Chinese Communist party official, Bo Xilai, is expected to go on trial next week. Gu Kailai is accused of a role in the death of British businessman Neil Hayward. She could face the death penalty if convicted.
ANDERSON: Welcome back to the Olympic Park where right behind me here, the women's 10,000 meter final is underway, a test of both speed and endurance. And one woman who knows what it takes to bring home a gold medal on the track is Marion Jones.
She became the first woman to win five athletics medals at a single Olympics during the Sydney Games in 2000. She was, though, stripped of them after admitting to taking performance-enhancing drugs in 2007.
Well, she switched codes, as it were, and is now playing basketball. She joins me, now, live from Austin, Texas, with one eye, I'm sure, focused on the first day, Marion, of the athletics. Carmelita Jeter and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce qualifying quickest in the heats today. You must fancy them for medals, don't you?
MARION JONES, FORMER OLYMPIAN: Well, of course. Good to talk with you, Becky. It's going to be so exciting. From what I've seen, the conditions there in London have been very cool, but the times so far in these early rounds have been extremely fast, so -- which tells us that the next day, two days are going to be some exciting athletics.
But certainly, Carmelita Jeter and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce are the favorites going in. Of course, you can't count out the Jamaican Veronica Campbell-Brown, as well as American Allyson Felix, who certainly will be fighting to get on that podium.
ANDERSON: Yes. In the men's, Dwain Chambers headstart for Team GB. Controversial, of course, given that he was banned in the past and only recently won the right to be reinstated. Given your past, do you agree he should be allowed to compete?
JONES: Well, certainly. Nobody would be surprised by my response in that he served his time, he's certainly paid the consequences. Every time he steps on the track, the past is brought up to him. So, he served his time. He deserves a second chance. Obviously, he's shown that he deserves to be competing with the world's best, and I'm actually pulling for him to do as well as he can.
ANDERSON: Does he stand a chance against Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake and the Team USA runners?
JONES: It will be a challenge for him. I've seen him compete in the past. He's obviously up for a good challenge, but those guys are just really blazing up the track.
And I think it's so exciting, because there really is no true favorite. You certainly have the Usain Bolt fans who think that he's going to win hands down, but if you look at the fact that he has been plagued this season with some injuries, his training partner in Blake has beaten him in both events in their trials, and you can't count out Tyson and Justin Gatlin.
So, I'm just really looking forward to these next few days. I've sat through and watched the other sports, the gymnastics, the basketball --
ANDERSON: Yes.
JONES: But now, the fun really begins, and I'm just -- I'm looking forward to it.
ANDERSON: I guess it goes without saying that you miss it, and I'm sure again, you're going to have your eyes squarely on Sanya Richards, who could do the double, of course. She'd be only the third to do it in history, that being the 100 and the 200 meters. Can she do that?
JONES: Oh, certainly she can. And she's motivated by the fact that it was such a hard Olympic experience for her the last time around. She's older, she's more experienced, she has been competing all around the world for however many years, now, and so the cool conditions there in London certainly won't faze her.
But she has kind of a chip on her shoulder in the fact that she didn't perform as well as she had wanted to and as many people had expected her to perform in the last Games. And so, if I was a betting woman, I would certainly put my money on her.
ANDERSON: All right. Do you miss it?
JONES: I do. I'll be honest with you, Becky. I don't follow the sport as much in between the Games simply because I'm so busy. I have family and just doing so many things, but -- and last time, the Games were around, obviously, the situation, circumstances were much harder and difficult for me.
But I have so much history in this sport, and I love it so much. I have a passion for it. And my memories of past Olympics were very good, very fun. People are surprised when I say that, but my experiences were great.
And so, I sit in front of the TV and I cheer with my kids and I point out certain things to them, and so, it's an enjoyable -- it's an enjoyable summer to watch the Games. But I do miss it. I miss being out there. I'm certainly a big-time competitor. Even in my own household, my husband and I go back and forth all the time.
But I'm a fan. I'm a fan of sport, not just athletics and track and field, and I love to see --
ANDERSON: Sure.
JONES: -- the upsets and the surprises. So, yes, I'm -- I'm just -- I'm enjoying it.
ANDERSON: All right. So, you've told me that you're not a betting woman, but if you were, I want you to have a quick look at the medal table now, because both Linford and I have done this, we're betting on who's going to be where at the end of the day. We've got over the sort of water sports, as it were, and into the athletics and track.
Let's bring the medal table up and just give you a sense. The US on 42 at present, matching China on 42. South Korea on 16, and Great Britain on 22 in total. The Chinese with 20 gold, the US with 21. Just give me a sense of where you think the US are going to be at the end of all of this.
JONES: Well, I would guess that the US surpasses the Chinese in that athletics is starting now, and a number of our medals will probably come from the sport of track and field.
Now, I don't know how many favorites or medal contenders on the Chinese side they have in these next several days, but certainly the strength for the US lies in athletics. And the hopes lies in athletics. And so my guess would be that by the end of these next however many days, the US would be on the leader board and remain there.
ANDERSON: Marion, pleasure to have you on. We thank you very much, indeed, for joining us. Marion Jones out of Texas --
JONES: Thank you, Becky.
ANDERSON: -- for you this evening. Well, in just 24 hours' time, the excitement and anticipation will be building in the stadium behind me for the final of the women's 100 meters. You heard us referring to Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce earlier on. The Jamaican hotly tipped to defend her title. But as Pedro Pinto now reports, she faces some stiff competition.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PEDRO PINTO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She's the fastest woman over 100 meters this year, and is in good shape to defend the Olympic gold medal she won four years ago in Beijing.
The biggest rival for Fraser-Pryce is US sprint start Carmelita Jeter, who has never won an Olympic gold, but in 2009, became the second-fastest woman in history behind Florence Griffith-Joyner. The flamboyant American's 10.49-second world record was set back in 1988 when Fraser-Pryce was just 18 months old.
SHELLY-ANN FRASER-PRYCE, REIGNING OLYMPIC CHAMPION: When I line up to run, I don't think about time. I think about execution and running fast, and when I cross that line, that's the time I look.
And then I'm hoping to run really fast at the Olympics, and I hope weather permits. I know it's cold and all of that, but I'm looking forward to an exciting Games. The competition will be fierce. Everybody will be bringing their A game, so it's all about who wants it more.
PINTO: Fraser-Pryce knows the taste of Olympic gold in the 100 meters, but can she become the third woman in history to win it again?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Along with the only British man to have won gold medals in the 100 meters at all four major competitions open to British athletes, Linford Christie, of course -- the Olympic Games, the World Championships, the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games, my goodness gracious me -- sticking with me for the next 25 minutes or so.
Let's get you, though, back to Max in the studio for some other news before we get back and talk sport. Max?
FOSTER: OK, thanks, Becky. The verdict has been handed down in the long-running case which has horrified many here in the UK: why the parents of this teenager are now behind bars. That story coming up in 90 seconds' time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD, I'm Max Foster. Now, in 2003, the dismembered body of a British teenage girl was found on a riverbank months after she disappeared.
Today, nine years later, a British court found her parents guilty of her murder. It's a case that has shocked many here in the UK and highlighted the global problem of tackling so-called honor murders. And Atika has been following this case for us, and Shafilea's parents put away for a long time.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they have been. It was a very complex case and a lot of conflicting testimonies, but ultimately, the jury only took a few days to make a very decisive decision on this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHUBERT (voice-over): In September 2003, 17-year-old Shafilea Ahmed went missing. Months later, her body was found in the River Kent, badly decomposed and dismembered. After an eight-year investigation, her parents, Ifikhar and Farzana Ahmed, were charged with her murder. They denied killing her.
The key piece of evidence: testimony from Shafilea's younger sister, Alesha, who is now 23. Her identity remains protected by the court. Alesha told the court Shafilea had endured years of abuse for daring to defy her parents' traditions, wearing t-shirts, demanding to stay in school rather than accept an arranged marriage.
Six months before she was killed, Alesha said Shafilea drank bleach in this bathroom in Pakistan after she rejected and arranged marriage proposal there. Severely injured, her angry parents brought her back to Britain, Alesha said, but the abuse continued.
Alesha testified that in September 2003, she saw her parents suffocate her older sister with a plastic bag. According to Alesha, she watched as they pushed Shafilea down onto the sofa and stuffed a plastic bag down her throat until she stopped struggling.
After Alesha's harrowing testimony, her mother Farzana suddenly changed her defense and implicated her husband, Ifikhar. She said the day Shafilea disappeared, her husband had beaten their daughter and taken her away, threatening her and her children's lives if she dared to ask again.
But when Ifikhar took the stand, however, he denied it all. He claimed that he had never been violent toward his family and did not know what had happened the day his daughter disappeared. He told the court Shafilea's death was a mystery that had destroyed his family.
The jury did not believe either Farzana or Ifikhar Ahmed. Both were convicted of killing Shafilea. That was a relief to Shafilea's friends, who read this statement to the media.
MELISSA POWNER, SHAFILEA AHMED'S FRIEND: If there is one thing that we pray will come from this, it is that her beautiful face and tragic story will inspire others to seek help that makes them realize that this kind of vile treatment, no matter what culture or background they are from, is not acceptable, and there is a way out.
SHUBERT: Shafilea's death has been called an "honor murder." A crime committed to clean what is believed to be the stain of her shame on a family. Her parents have both now been sentenced to 25 years in prison each, a life sentence. Time to contemplate dishonor and shame in their daughter's death.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SHUBERT: Now, what campaigners are saying is that they should have really seen the warning signs before it came to this terrible moment where her parents killed their own daughter, looking at how she was skipping out on school, how she ran away, and she told care workers that her parents were threatening to take her away to Pakistan for a forced marriage.
These were all signs that campaigners say could have prevented the worst from happening.
FOSTER: It's a really powerful story. Atika, thank you very much, indeed.
Well, many Islamic leaders have condemned the practice and say it has no religious basis, but the UN estimates that each year, as many as 5,000 women worldwide are victims of honor murders. According to Pakistani government reports, between 1998 and 2003, 4,000 women in Pakistan were the victims of such killings.
Similar crimes have taken place in a number of other countries as well, predominantly in Asia and the Middle East, including Egypt, Iraq, and Turkey. But the crimes are by no means limited to countries with majority Muslim populations. Honor murders also have been documented in Brazil, France, Germany and, of course, as we've been hearing today from Atika, the UK.
Joining me now for more on the prevalence of this crime is Irshad Manji. She teaches moral courage at New York University and is the best- selling author of "Allah, Liberty, and Love" on how faith and freedom can be reconciled. Thank you very much, indeed, for joining us.
I just want to look at this term "honor killings." How did that come about? What does it mean, what does it say about the cultural background to this crime?
IRSHAD MANJI, PROFESSOR, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: Right. Well, the word "honor" sounds very honorable to Western ears. But what we in this part of the world mean by honor is the dignity of the individual.
But there are other parts of the world, and you've just named them, in which honor is seen as being about the group and about the reputation of the group. And this kind of honor is found, for example, in Arab tribal areas, where women are told that they are the carriers of shame for the entire family.
So that if a woman under the code of honor is seen to be or even accused of being immoral, accused of shaming, then it's not just she that is being shamed by herself.
Because she carries the reputation of the wider family, she is seen to be shaming a much bigger group, so that the punishment against her has to compensate that wider group, and that is why, in cases like this, murder is perceived to be acceptable by the parents.
FOSTER: And it's so irrational, when you put it like that, as well, but it does seem to be on the up, or are we just reporting it more?
MANJI: It's hard to say, Max. We hope, of course, that it's not on the up, but the fact of the matter is that over the last many, many years, media have under reported this phenomenon.
And so, I think with the heightened awareness about these stories, in various parts of the world, more and more people are beginning to see that all cultural differences are not to be celebrated. That just because something happens in the name of culture does not mean that it must be embraced.
And certainly even here in New York, where I teach young people, a lot of them come into my classroom not knowing that they're permitted to criticize other people's cultures and not just their own. We have to be willing to criticize if we're going to defend the universality of human rights.
FOSTER: Irshad Manji, as ever, thank you very much, indeed, for joining us on the program.
You are watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Let's go back to Becky at the Olympic Park. Hi, Becky.
ANDERSON: Thank you very much, indeed. Still to come, we will take a look at the blade-running South African about to make Olympic history. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Coming towards the end of the day, day seven here in London, the Olympic Park behind me, the athletics still just on, the 10,000 meters underway. In just over 12 hours, the world watches Oscar Pistorius becomes the first amputee to compete in a track event. He'll run in the 400 meters on his carbon-fiber blades. Dan Rivers has more on this history-making athlete.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's known as the Blade Runner. Oscar Pistorius was born without fibulas but, with the aid of carbon-fiber artificial limbs, has become a three-time gold medalist in the Paralympics.
Now, the South African sprinter is making history in the Olympics, the first amputee to compete in track at the Games. His eligibility is surrounded by years of debate over whether or not his high-tech prosthetics give him an advantage.
Pistorius has been competing against able-bodied athletes at an international level since 2007, but this is the first time he's made the cut for an Olympics.
OSCAR PISTORIUS, SOUTH AFRICAN OLYMPIC ATHLETE: I think there is an opportunity for me to win a gold in the Olympics this year in the 4 by 4 relay. I think realistically speaking, though, my times are at least a second off the top-paced guys in the world in the 400 individual race. So, realistically speaking, I've got a work if I ever even want to make a final.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: All right. An incredible first week down at London 2012, and this weekend sees some of the most watched and most talked-about events. The women's 100 meter finals Saturday and the men's 100 meter final on Sunday.
Will the man's -- world's fastest man, Usain Bolt, defend his Olympic title? All up for grabs. Linford still with me. Oscar Pistorius is a controversial one. Would you have been happy for somebody on blades to be running with you?
CHRISTIE: No, I wouldn't have any problem with it, because I know he wouldn't have beat me, so it wouldn't make a difference --
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: He wouldn't have beaten him. He's so arrogant.
(LAUGHTER)
CHRISTIE: But I think it's fine. I think the IFF has been trying to stop him for a long time because they're not quite sure whether he gains and advantage from it, but I think let him run.
ANDERSON: Yes. Women's 100 final, then, Saturday. Take your pick.
CHRISTIE: Got to go for I think Jeter or Fraser. It's got to be those two.
ANDERSON: OK, the American there and the Jamaican. And the men's 100 meter final Sunday?
CHRISTIE: That's going to be something we can look forward to.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: Don't sit on the fence. Come on! There's four obvious, plus Dwain Chambers, who you should be rooting for. He's Team GB.
CHRISTIE: Well, I --
ANDERSON: Come on, break fold. What do you think?
CHRISTIE: I -- to be honest, I think Bolt will be second.
ANDERSON: Right.
CHRISTIE: Only because judging on current form. When you go on current form, then I think he's second. But I think he'll definitely win the 200.
ANDERSON: All right. So the world's fastest man, Usain Bolt, not necessarily going to defend his title, so far as Linford Christie is concerned. But then, what does he know?
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: I'm going for Blake, it's got to be said. His Jamaican teammate. And it'll be fun to see.
The 10,000 meters still underway. They've got about three or four minutes to go in that race. It's going to be one of the big ones. Vivian Cheruiyot, of course, is your pick for that. And stay with CNN for all of the action. "World Sport," of course, is coming up after this how.
And the weekend, we're going to have special coverage from the Olympics as we focus on the marquee events in athletics. It's a special 90-minute edition of "World Report," Saturday and Sunday night at 9:00 in London, 10:00 in Berlin, and midnight in Abu Dhabi, just part of our round- the-clock coverage of news from the Games right here on CNN.
Before we go with you, then, what's been your highlights of the first week?
CHRISTIE: I think just the way Britain's dominated, of course, in the cycling. But again, Phelps making history in the pool, that goes down as my highlight. Best thing of the week.
ANDERSON: It has been absolutely remarkable, 21 Olympic medals, 17 golds. Really --
CHRISTIE: Amazing.
ANDERSON: -- remarkable stuff.
CHRISTIE: Absolutely amazing.
ANDERSON: All right. Linford Christie's with us next week. In tonight's Parting Shots, the Olympics' first golden couple, Chinese mixed doubles partners Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei won the badminton final today, and there was more to embrace -- or certainly to their embrace than just a celebration of their win. The pair a couple off the court, as well.
And I can't say good-bye without acknowledging this man. Linford's just been talking about him. He's inspired me to coin a new word this week: "Phelpian." Now, we define it this way. It is used to describe a beast in human form who performs in a god-like way, neutralizing rivals in his wake.
This superhero has a tendency to break world records and collect gold medals. He also pumps eight times as much blood as the average human and is said to be sustained by 12,000 calorie diet. Please take a shot of Linford Christie, who's sitting here going, "It's me! It's me!"
CHRISTIE: I'm a Phelpian! Definitely a Phelpian!
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: Phelpian! Michael Phelps, we take our hats off to you. This has been the most remarkable -- well, Phelpian is the word -- the word we've coined.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: I'm Becky Anderson, that was CONNECT THE WORLD with Linford Christie with me tonight. Do join us next week, a special CONNECT THE WORLD here form the Olympic Park. Thank you, as ever, for watching from the team here in London and back at the bureau. It is a very good evening. The world news headlines up after this short break.
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