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Connect the World
Top Lebanese Security Official Killed By Car Bomb; UCI To Announce Fate Of Lance Armstrong's Tour de France Titles Monday
Aired October 19, 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: I want to bring you more now on a deadly bombing in broad daylight, which has left all of Lebanon in shock. A car exploding on a busy street in a Christian neighborhood of Beirut earlier today. Eight people were killed, including a top security chief considered an enemy of the Syrian regime.
Neighbor Syria has condemned the blast, but tonight several high profile politicians are accusing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad himself of assassination. One of those politicians is Saad Hariri, son of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafi Hariri. Saad also served as prime minister and is now a leading opposition figure. He's currently in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia joining us now on the line.
Saad, your response to the bombing in Beirut today.
SAAD HARIRI, FRM. LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER: Well, obviously that the GM in Syria will not stop at anything, but to achieve, you know, his livelihood. And as a political - you know, enemy for him, we have always thought that Bashar Assad has killed Rafik Hariri and today he has also killed Wissam al-Hassan who unveiled a big plot in Lebanon that caught the former minister, a Lebanese former minister Michel Smaha (ph) red-handed with about 50 kilos of explosives that were supposed to - they were given by Halim Mamlu (ph) his top intelligence agent in Syria to explode in Lebanon.
So Wissam al-Hassan has paid the price and in the tapes that Wissam al-Hassan had from the arrest of Michel Smaha (ph) they obviously said clearly that Bashar al-Assad, he was the one who gave the orders to Alim Mamdouk (ph) to do all of these actions.
ANDERSON: All right. Well, the Shia militant movement Hezbollah in Lebanon has certainly strongly condemned the bombing today. You're telling me that you have evidence that Syria and/or its allies are beyond this killing. You say it's Bashar al-Assad himself, are you?
HARIRI: A month ago, you know, Becky, Wissam Hassan caught red-handed a former Lebanese minister, Michel Smaha (ph) with 50 kilograms of explosive were due to explode in Lebanon. And fortunately at the time Wissam al-Hassan was able to catch the former minister. And fortunately today, Wissam al-Hassan paid the price of his success just a month ago, a month-and-a-half ago.
This regime is killing his own people. So let alone killing Lebanese, he will not even think twice. So, I think Bashar Assad - and we all know that the threats that were given to Wissam al-Hassan the past few weeks were very obvious from his - from the allies of Bashar al-Asad in Lebanon and outside Lebanon.
ANDERSON: Stay with me Saad. I want our viewers to just get some background to the breaking news story that we've got here on CNN today. This is the first car bombing to hit Beirut in more than four years. The last was in 2008 when three people, including Lebanon's top anti-terrorism investigator were killed in a targeted explosion.
Now in 2007, Walid Eto (ph) an anti-Syrian Lebanese lawmaker and nine other people were killed in an explosion believed to be an assassination attempt. And you may, of course, viewers remember the most high profile car bombing in recent years in Beirut which took place in February 2005 when a massive blast killed the former prime minister and father of our guest on the line tonight Rafik Hariri and 22 others.
Saad, if Syria is behind this bombing in Beirut, what do you think the message from Damascus is tonight?
HARIRI: Well, the message from the massacres today is we will, you know - anywhere you are, if you are against this regime in Lebanon we will come and get you. And today, you know, Wissam al-Hassan after his success in, you know, clearing that plot that Michel Smaha (ph), a former minister, Lebanese minister, who took orders from Ali Mamdouk (ph), obviously they're saying to the Lebanese people that no matter what you try to do, we will keep on, you know, assassinating the Lebanese until you become - or we become what Hezbollah and his allies are.
ANDERSON: Since the war of '76 of course Syria has had an enormous influence on Lebanon. Again, you know, for our viewers' sake if some are slightly confused as to why we're talking Syria and Lebanon in the same voice, we must remind people of that.
Saad, what sort of influence do you think Syria has on Lebanon and its politics today?
HARIRI: You know, Syria today is becoming a proxy of Iran. As, you know, also some of the allies of Syria in Lebanon are proxies of Syria and proxies of Iran. Today, when we are talking about Syria, we're talking about Syria and the allies of Syria in Lebanon. Unfortunately, some of the allies of Syria have gone as far as sending Lebanese to Syria to fight alongside of the regime against the free will of the people which they want to change the regime. And that's a big problem for us in Lebanon.
Syria have always had an influence on Lebanon, but today when the current conflict that is happening, it's affecting, you know, the very foundation of Lebanon. It has never been done that a - you know, some Lebanese fought alongside with the regime for the sake of the regime. You know, we've always fought, you know, wars when we were attacked by Israel, we fought against Israel alongside, but this is - you know, this is the first time something like this is happening. And unfortunately, because Iran is becoming, you know, has its proxies in Lebanon and I believe - you know, I'm a firm believe that Bashar al-Assad today is a proxy of Iran.
ANDERSON: Saad, what happens next. How does Lebanon prevent itself getting sucked into this crisis. How do you, or what would you expect to see next if you were still prime minister, for example?
HARIRI: See, I firmly believe that this regime at the end of the day will fall apart. And we cannot be standing with the regime against the people of Syria. Therefore, our political position has been to stand with the people of Syria because you know the regime is here today, but in a year time or six months time or four months time it will fall apart. And it's the people who will come and choose a new leader for Syria.
We don't want to be, you know, in the middle of - of, you know, a conflict between the regime and the people. We support the people, because what they are trying to get is a democratic president in Syria. Unfortunately, Bashar Assad has done everything and used every single weapon to destroy his own people to stay in power. So we - my actions would be to stand against Bashar al-Assad if I were prime minister, to say very clearly that any - anything that will come into Lebanon, if they are refugees, we will protect them. But if the regime is trying to export its terrorists into Lebanon, we will definitely refuse.
ANDERSON: Saad, we're looking at the pictures of toady's carnage. I mean, it's graphic to look at.
I want to ask you one very specific question, who do you think has the technical ability to carry out a bombing like this?
HARIRI: I think, you know, the regime has many tools in Lebanon. And, you know, I cannot specifically tell you who has the - you know, the capability, but I'm sure if it wasn't the regime - you know, unfortunately, Lebanon is quite in security wise, is not a - it's quite open. So there are many players that can do something like this, but obviously they would be - there would be allies of Syria that would do something like this.
ANDERSON: Saad Hariri out of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia this evening. We thank you very much indeed for joining us.
HARIRI: Thank you.
ANDERSON: Thanks, Saad.
Let's get more on today's bombing and some background as to exactly what happened at the time it happened from Nick Paton-Walsh. He's live out of Beirut for us this evening, Nick.
NICK PATON-WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As you join me, Becky, behind me I can hear continued protest on the street down below outside the prime minister's office. People actually calling for the same, they will support the death of the man they refer to as a martyr, Wassim al-Hassan, surrounded by, frankly outnumbered, by police. But just one of many manifestations of anger on the streets of Beirut tonight against this what appears to be a targeted killing, no official word from the government this exactly what occurred, only the state news agency saying that's the case, but really a capital city here rocking from what frankly must have been its worst nightmare.
Months of fear that the violence next door would percolate across the border, which seep into something like this and today a bomb in the commercial heart of this city, almost like Time Square for many people in Beirut, a real central place. A large plum of black smoke, consternation, many, many injured, and there's a death toll of only three, but the key figure there being this top intelligence official, a man behind many investigations, many enemies as a result, but the key impact of that being that Lebanese people will wake up tomorrow terrify the retaliation could drag their country into that decade which it suffered sectarian civil war here, Becky.
ANDERSON: Nick Paton-Walsh live in Beirut for you this evening.
Well, in light of Friday's bombing it's worth revisiting what is a complicated history between Lebanon and Syria. Syria's army entered the country in 1976 to end Lebanon's civil war. Troops would stay for almost 30 years. In 2005, a UN report blamed Syrian officials for the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister of Rafik Hariri. Syria denies it had anything to do with Hariri's death.
Well, following that assassination, Lebanese protests and international pressure forced Syria to withdraw its forces.
Well, our next guest believes today's bombing is a war by proxy by the Syrian regime that could end up reigniting civil war in Lebanon.
Abdel Bari Atwan is editor in chief of al-Quds Zapan Arab newspaper, which of course is based here in London.
I know that we're going to have some graphics to use on the screen, but first explain to our viewers, you heard Saad Hariri tonight, explain to our viewers what you believed happened today here in Beirut and why?
ABDEL BARI ATWAN, EDITOR IN CHIEF, AL-QUDS: I believe the Syrian regime would like to export the crisis to his neighbors. A few weeks ago he bombed a Turkish village, a mother and four children were killed simply because Turkey was facilitating the volunteers to go and fight against the Assad regime. Today, he is sending a very strong message to his opponents, and also to the Syrian oppositions who are taking Lebanon as a springboard to actually jump into Lebanon to smuggle weapons. So it is a very deadly message. And this kind of assassination could be faced by counter assassination or maybe could ignite a sectarian civil war in Lebanon exactly like the one which is taking place in Syria.
So he like a wounded tiger. He is hitting here, hitting there, hoping to frighten the people who are against him.
ANDERSON: One of the questions I asked Saad, and he couldn't answer it specifically was who has the technical ability to carry out the sort of carnage we've seen here on the streets of Lebanon today? Saad - both Saad and yourself are suggesting this is a war by proxy and that this has got the hands, or the fingerprints of Bashar al-Assad.
But who specifically, what kind of apparatus is there in Lebanon to create this sort of carnage?
ATWAN: Well, I think the Syrian agents are there. Also you have Hezbollah there. You have the Syrian National Party. You have other groups well connected with Syria. So we don't know actually who did it.
But the Syrians are expert of car bombs, assassinating by car bombs. You know, two presidents, Syrian presidents were killed, assassinated by car bombs. And I think Hariri, our prime minister was killed by a car bomb. Journalists, politicians, ministers who are opposing the Syrian regime was killed in the same way.
So, as I said, there are expert, there are masters. Until now, we can't tell actually who is behind it, but...
ANDERSON: OK. So if you are to suggest that there is a message in this from Syria which is effectively be afraid, be very afraid.
ATWAN: Exactly. Exactly.
ANDERSON: What should happen next? I mean, should - is this - is this an extension of what we've been seeing over the last 19 months that the international community needs to say hang on, this is now into another league? I mean, what should happen, what will happen next?
ATWAN: What will happen next? We have actually a very radical Muslim organization, the jihadist organization in Lebanon, those people are...
ANDERSON: How big is that? We're talking into the hundreds, thousands of people?
ATWAN: Thousands of people, definitely, especially in Tripoli. So those people threaten to take revenge from Syrian closest ally which is Hezbollah. So I wouldn't be surprised if those people trying to take revenge for the assassination of the top security chief in Lebanon, Mr. al- Hassan.
So if they are going to do so, try to kill some of the Syrian allies - Hezbollah members, or for example Alawite groups, or the Syrian National Party, it could ignite some sort of a civil war. Lebanon actually in the same place in 1995, a bus was attacked and the same place Asharafia (ph). And that ignited actually a civil war lasted 15 years.
So whether this one, this assassination attempt, which is carried out of desperation will ignite a new civil war and how long it will take, whether it will save the regime, will this will quicken, that was an intervention we don't know.
ANDERSON: Always a pleasure to have you on. We thank you very much indeed.
We've been getting reports of protests outside the capital Beirut. iReporter Ernesto Altamirano captured this video of a riot in Sita (ph). He says people were shouting in the streets, cars could not pass, and people have started burning tires, although he doesn't know how the riot began in Sita (ph), he believes that the riots in Sita are a ripple effect from the protests in Beirut.
You're watching Connect the World live from London. Our top story tonight at least three dead, dozens injured in a car bombing in Beirut while the motive for the attack is still unclear, what is clear that one of those dead is a top security official opposed to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad stoking fears that the violence in Syria is spreading across the border.
All right we're moving on as we close in on the U.S. presidential election, the latest polling figures are in from the key state of Florida. Joining me now from Washington is CNN political. Paul Steinhauser with one debate left to go and less than three weeks until the election, what is the latest poll tell us, Paul?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Take a look at this. This if Florida, Becky. And remember that is the biggest of the battleground states, 29 electoral votes at stake, so the most electoral votes up for grabs.
Here you go, this is our brand new CNN/ORC poll of likely voters in Florida. It was conducted entirely after the first presidential debate and that's about as close as you can get. 49 percent for the Republican challenger Mitt Romney, 48 percent for President Barack Obama, again of likely voters in Florida. This was conducted Wednesday and Thursday night after that second presidential debate.
Becky, basically again all tied up in Florida. Both campaigns spending a lot of money and spending a lot of time in Florida. And of course where is the last, the final presidential debate, which is going to be all on international affairs? The debate will be held Monday in Boca Raton, Florida. I guess there's a Florida theme going here, Becky, huh?
ANDERSON: Good stuff.
All right. We're going to leave it there. Paul Steinhauser for you this evening.
We're going to take a very short break. But when we come back, Lance Armstrong gets ready for perhaps his toughest spotlight that he has ever faced. What will he say to those who have supported him and the charity that he founded? That, coming up after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: You're watching Connect the World live from London. Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson.
A look at some of the other stories making your headlines this hour.
And some really encouraging news on the Pakistani teenager shot by the Taliban simply because she fought for girl's education. Doctors treating her in Birmingham in England say that she's managed to stand up with the help of nurses. For the first time since she was admitted, the hospital has released a photograph as you see here of the young activist.
Earlier, Malala's doctor spoke of her treatment going forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. DAVID ROSSER, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, QUEEN ELIZABETH HOSPITAL: Her skull will need reconstructing either by reinserting the piece of bone that was removed initially, or with a titanium plate. And her jaw bone - her jaw joint may need further work down the line, but that remains to be assessed in a couple weeks time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, coming up in around 10 minutes, more from the medical team looking after Malala. And we're going to get Gordon Brown's reaction to her progress as the former prime minister continues to drive the campaign in support of this incredible, young activist.
Well, at least 19 people are dead and many more wounded after a roadside bomb exploded in northern Afghanistan. The bomb struck a mini bus carrying a group on the way to a local wedding. The victims were mostly women and kids. Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai strongly condemned that attack. So far it's not known who is responsible.
EU leaders have hammered out a deal for a new European banking supervisor. The role is designed to oversee the financial health of EuroZone institutions in order to prevent regional crises from undermining the finances of individual countries. France's president Francois Hollande says it's a step in the right direction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): There was agreement, a good agreement yesterday regarding the time table. The banks taken into account we have a where to put the mechanisms in place progressively. It was a good agreement and that's how it should be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Lance Armstrong's saga seems to be growing every day. We may, though, be closer to answering the big question regarding whether or not he gets to keep his seven Tour de France titles.
Alex Thomas joining me now with the latest on that. And this time last night, Pedro and I were speculating as to whether they would strip him of these titles. What's the latest?
ALEX THOMAS, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, they being the UCI, world cycling's governing body. And they finally announced today that on Monday we should all find out how they're going to react to that astonishing evidence we heard from USADA, the United States Anti-Doping Agency. And of course there was just so much staggering detail in that huge dossier that we've seen, a catalog of other riders and cycling team owners now come out and talk, Becky, about what happened during cyclings dark days of doping, sponsors have started to desert Lance Armstrong in droves. And today also a major sponsor of cycling also pulled out of the sport.
Now interestingly enough, the world anti-doping agency's chief suggest there could be an amnesty for everyone who was involved in doping to come forward just to get a clean slate for cycling. And in the last hour or so, Becky, I've spoken to another top WADA official. And this is what they had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID HOWMAN, WADA DIRECTOR GENERAL: We're here to support the clean athlete. There are far more clean athletes than dirty athletes. And we want to encourage those who have information to come forward without fear. And to do that, they need to be able to have the support of their governing bodies or their national Anti-Doping agencies to do it. And that will make the culture different, just of itself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS: So if people are seeing that with the Lance Armstrong case that almost this is the best policy, because despite everyone saying for years the cheats were ahead of the testers, actually the cheats are finally getting caught, then maybe it's the time for all dishonest athletes out there, which are a minority, to hold their hands up and reveal what they did.
ANDERSON: Fascinating times, isn't it?
High profile sponsor cutting ties with cycling. The Armstrong story behind that?
THOMAS: Yeah, this is Rabobank. And I eluded it to in my first answer there. It's a Dutch company that's had a team riding in the Tour de France for nearly 30 years. And now because of these revelations they said enough's enough we're cutting our ties with the sport. Actually one cyclist say that Miller, a reformed cheat and doping cheat himself has criticized them saying you're pulling out at the wrong time. We've now got young, cleans like this coming through. Cycling has got a bright future.
But Rabobank feels its so damaged by all the revelations they're saying no.
ANDERSON: When are we going to hear from Lance Armstrong again?
THOMAS: He's speaking tonight at a Livestrong cancer charity event in Austin, Texas. Interestingly enough, all the preamble for this event has cut his name out of it completely. He now knows the UCI are going to make their decision on Monday. Is this the time for Armstrong after all those absolute flat denials to change his tune and realize the only way out of this following Nike and Anhauser Busch and all the other sponsors quitting him is to hold his hand up and come clean and admit that these allegations from USADA are correct. He's always denied them.
ANDERSON: That would - that would make a headline tonight. You're going to be here all night if that happens.
THOMAS: Yeah, Don Riddell is there for us at CNN. And he's the man putting in the hard graf later.
ANDERSON: Fascinating stuff. I mean, it's a story that's got so many legs, it continues and it will continue on World Sport of course in about an hour's time with Don and Alex, I guess. Yeah, Don and Alex - Don in Austin, Alex in London at the Livestrong event.
And for much more on this story in about an hours time, of course. You can stick with CNN.
Still to come on Connect the World, it's Friday. What Gordon Brown wants to tell the Pakistani president after the shooting of a young teenager by the Taliban. I speak to the former British prime minister on his campaign for girl's education.
And as another teenager commits suicide over cyber bullying, we're going to take a look at the modern menace sweeping social media. That and your headlines up after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: A very warm welcome to our viewers across Europe and around the world. I'm Becky Anderson, these are the latest world news headlines here at CNN.
A bombing in Beirut has killed at least three people, including a top security chief considered and enemy of the Syrian regime. Syria has condemned the blast, but the former Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri told us in the last half hour he believed Syria carried out the assassination.
Doctors in England say Pakistani teenager and activist Malala Yousufzai is doing well and communicating freely. The 15-year-old was shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating girls' education in her country. The head of her medical team says she's now able to stand up with the help of nurses.
A new poll from the key state of Florida shows Barack Obama and Mitt Romney at an almost dead heat. The US president weighs in at 48 percent, just one percentage point behind his Republican rival. The two face each other for a final debate next Monday.
EU leaders have agreed upon a plan to set up a European banking union. Starting next year, thousands of banks in the eurozone will come under the authority of the European Central Bank. The deal paves the way for the ECB to give bailout money straight to the banks if required in the future.
Well, it's not often we get the chance to report good news, so let's do it, shall we? Let's get more on how the Pakistani teen activist Malala Yousufzai is doing. Our Senior International Correspondent, who's been on this story for the past week or so following her progress as she receives treatment at the hospital in Birmingham, is with us tonight, Dan Rivers. Dan, a good news story.
DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's lovely to be here and do a good news story for a change, yes. Staggering. It's not even two weeks since she was shot at point-blank range through the head, which everyone thought the worst, that she might not pull through.
She's doing incredibly well. But they brought out a picture today, there it is. She's out of the coma, now. She was in this sort of medically-induced coma. She can't speak, because she's still got this kind of tube in her throat. But they think that she can probably speak. They are very upbeat about her recovery, about how she's doing.
Dr. David Rosser is the clinical director of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Here's the update he gave earlier on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID ROSSER, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, QUEEN ELIZABETH HOSPITAL: And it's clear that she's not out of the woods yet. Having said that, she's doing very well. In fact, she was standing, with some help, for the first time this morning when I went in to see her.
She's communicating very freely. She's writing. She has a tracheotomy tube in because her airway was swollen by the pass route of the bullet, so in order to protect her airway, she had a tracheotomy tube. So, she's not able to talk, although we have no reason to believe that she wouldn't be able to talk once this tube is out, which is maybe in the next few days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIVERS: One of the things they're looking at is the risk of infection, where the bullet's -- the track of the bullet through her head and sort of the jaw and neck, the risk of infection. And so, that's one thing they've got to look at.
The bone fragments, as well, that bizarrely weren't actually splintered by the bullet itself, but by the shockwave of the bullet. But all-in-all, it's staggering, isn't it, that she is communicating now so soon?
ANDERSON: It's a Friday. We really need a good news story on a Friday.
RIVERS: It's good, yes.
ANDERSON: Particularly for those who are members of her family, of course. Thank you, Dan. Dan Rivers for you this evening.
Well, around the world, thousands of people are showing their support for Malala. The best way to understand why she is inspiring so many is just to hear her speak. Of course, she can't at the moment, but last year, we spoke to her, and take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALALA YOUSUFZAI, EDUCATION ACTIVIST: My people need me, and I shall raise my voice, because -- because if I didn't raise my voice now, so when will I raise my voice?
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Some people might say you're 14, you don't have any rights. You just have to listen to Mom and Dad.
YOUSUFZAI: No, I have rights. I have the right of education, I have the right to play, I have the right to sing, I have the right to talk, I have the right to go to market, I have the right to speak up.
SAYAH: But what if you give that advice to a girl who may not be as courageous as you, and she says, "Malala, I'm afraid. I just want to stay in my room."
YOUSUFZAI: So, I tell her don't stay in your room, because God will ask you on the day of judgment, "Where were you when your people were asking you, when your school fellows were asking you, and when your school was asking you? That I am being blown up, when your people need you, you should come up, you should come, and you should stand up for their rights."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Isn't she remarkable? We've been asking you to send in your get well messages for Malala. Your response, well, quite frankly, it's been absolutely overwhelming. In fast, in the first couple of hours we received over 1200 comments on Facebook alone. Take a look at just a few of those from around the world.
In the US, Sylvia Adler says, "I admire your courage, Malala! I wish you a speedy and complete recovery. Greetings from California."
From Panama, we got this message from Anabella on Twitter: "Get well at soonest. The future needs brave and resilient girls like you."
Here in Brazil, Alda sent this message: "Be strong, Malala, and never give up against sexism and misogyny."
And in Nigeria, Shola wrote on Twitter, "Our hearts and prayers are with you. Your efforts will not be in vain. Bless you and your family."
And Salbeyah in Singapore had this message: "What you did was brave and you are an inspiration to all the young girls from all over the world to stand for what you believe in."
Finally, in Malala's home country of Pakistan, Hikmat says simply this: "Pakistan is for Malala and Malala is for Pakistan. You are our hero, and our broken nation is praying for your health. Be brave as you always were."
Do keep them coming in. You can tweet me, of course, @BeckyCNN. Include the hash tag #messageformalala or get in touch via Facebook, facebook.com/CNNconnect.
Well, a former British prime minister, Gordon Brown, is the UN Special Envoy for Global Education. He's one of the driving forces behind the Eye on Malala campaign in support of the young activist's cause. I spoke to him earlier on and asked him for his reaction to her progress.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GORDON BROWN, UN SPECIAL ENVOY FOR GLOBAL EDUCATION: I think it's incredible that she's able to talk, that she's moving her limbs, that she's been able to stand up, and she's been able to hear some of the messages of support from all over the world.
And I think her friends are going to be able to tell her today that there's -- what? -- nearly 750,000 people have signed a petition supporting her and what her cause is, which is that every girl should have education.
ANDERSON: Gordon, you've talked about using her shooting as a catalyst for speeding up reform in girls' education, not just in Pakistan, but around the world. You make it sound very simple. It's not, though, is it?
BROWN: I think that she represents and is the symbol, now, for the right of every girl to education. And I think all over the world, girls who have been excluded from schools, whether it's in Africa or Latin America or Asia, will look to her as an icon, not just of courage, but of hope.
And I think around her, a huge campaign is going to develop, which is to demand of the Pakistan authorities -- and I'm going to meet the president on November the 10th with this petition -- that they ensure that a girl can not only go to school, but there's security when going to school.
And then, I think, you'll see in Afghanistan things changing, but you'll also see things changing right across Asia. And there are many other issues associated with this. It's not just the discrimination against girls, it's girl marriage, and of course it's also child labor.
ANDERSON: Sure.
BROWN: All these forces that are preventing girls going to school.
ANDERSON: How do you make sure that girls, young girls, are actually able to get an education going forward? It's a difficult situation. You've got to admit that.
BROWN: We know that when child labor is banned in legislation, it can only be enforced by proper policing. In other words, the governments, the authorities, the teachers, the schools, have got to ensure that this is enforced in practice.
And in India at the moment, Parliament's just about to legislate again to ban all child labor under 14. I think you need a public opinion. I think you need parents, you need teachers, you need members of the public determined that these rights will be enforced.
ANDERSON: You're going to head a delegation of education leaders to Pakistan in November at the invitation of the Pakistani president. What will your message be?
BROWN: They've got to ensure that there is security in schools. They've got to ensure that the money that is going into education is not filtered away as it gets down to the provinces and the state level by either corruption or by a lack of accountability.
And I think that that does need a very vigilant public opinion, but it also needs a government that is determined that opportunity will be there for every child in Pakistan.
Now, I think that there is an awakening as a result of what's happened to Malala that the eyes of the world are now on Pakistan, and people are looking at what the damage that has been done by the Taliban is, but they're also looking at how the government can repair that damage by making sure that every girl and, of course, every boy as well, gets the chance of school.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Yes. Keep those tweets coming in. Gordon Brown, there, talking to me earlier. One just in as we were playing that report, a tweet here to me. "Malala is now a legend in Pakistan and this very reality makes her life more unsafe, and she has emerged as a symbol against the Taliban." Do keep them coming, @BeckyCNN.
Coming up after the break, this teenage girl is just one of many to end her life after suffering years of abuse from cyber bullies. We're going to explore that story after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Social media -- Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, even e-mail -- it's something that so many of us can't live without, isn't it? But for many young people, what should be a source of fun and interaction with friends has a far more sinister side.
Recent studies show that more than 40 -- 40 -- percent of teenagers in the US alone have experienced cyber bullying, and for some, it's too much to bear.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): This is Amanda Todd. Authorities say she's one of the latest victims of cyber bullying. A 15-year-old Canadian teenager, the target of years of persistent abuse.
It's a story she told herself in this YouTube video.
TEXT: I wanted to die so bad... when he brought me home I drank bleach.
It killed me inside and I thought I was gonna actually die.
Ambulance came and brought me to the hospital and flushed me.
After I got home, all I saw was on Facebook -- She deserved it, did you wash the mud out of your hair? I hope she's dead.
Nobody cared. I moved away to another city to my mom's.
Another school. I didn't wanna press charges because I wanted to move on.
6 months has gone by... people are posting pics of bleach, Clorox, and ditches.
Tagging me. I was doing a lot better, too. They said --
I'm stuck. What's left of me now. Nothing stops.
I have nobody. I need someone.
My name is Amanda Todd.
ANDERSON: In a desperate cry for help, she posted this on September the 7th, entitled "My Story: Struggling, Bullying, Suicide, and Self- Harm."
The nine-minute video expressed how she was not only victimized online, but how she was blackmailed and even physically attacked. Standing silent and using cue cards, she described how she became the victim of online attacks after topless photos of her were posted when she was just 12 years old.
She wrote that despite moving schools and even to a new city, the taunts followed her everywhere she went. She attempted suicide and began a ritual of self-harm.
One month after the video was posted, tens of thousands of people had seen it. But despite this, no one did anything. On October the 10th, Amanda Todd took her life.
Despite calls for the criminalization of cyber bullying, there currently isn't any specific legislation that deals with the problem, not in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, or any other country, for that matter.
Police in Amanda's hometown have launched a full-scale investigation. But now others have joined the hunt.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are Anonymous. We are legion. We do not forget. We do not forgive.
ANDERSON: The activist group Anonymous is trying to track down who they think is responsible. Unfortunately, though, for Amanda Todd, it's all too little, too late.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, the Canadian government is looking at proposals to create anti-bullying legislation in the wake of Amanda Todd's suicide, and there have been prosecutions in cyber-bullying cases, but countries have had to rely on existing law, some that don't always fit the crime.
Back in 2010, US student Tyler Clementi killed himself after images of him kissing another man were posted online by his roommate. Earlier this year, that roommate, Dharun Ravi, was sentenced to 30 days in jail for invasion of privacy.
In 2009, a British woman was sentenced to three months after she threatened a teenager with murder. Her crime was recorded as "harassment."
And in Melbourne, Australia, Shane Gerada was sentenced to 200 hours of community work for sending threatening messages to his former best friend, who went on to throw himself off a bridge. Under Australia's law, Gerada's crime was "stalking."
Joining me now is Dan Raisbeck in the studio. He's co-founder of Cybersmile, a foundation -- charity foundation dedicated to helping victims of cyber bullying.
Let's just get a sense of the extent of this problem. When you're talking to youngsters these days, how big an issue is this?
DAN RAISBECK, CO-FOUNDER, CYBERSMILE FOUNDATION: It's pretty much the number one issue a young -- among young people, not only in this country, but pretty much around the world now. It's becoming almost out of control.
The Amanda story is just so harrowing, and when we listen to the Canadian MP lobbying the Senate in Canada asking for a collective response from the major stakeholders, people who really are in control of the internet, what's their social responsibility, if you like, to the victims? Plus the schools, the police force is, as you say, the legal system has yet to catch up with this phenomenon.
ANDERSON: We've been in a cyber world, now, for what? I'd say 15 years? A good -- at least a good decade. And there is nothing to prevent this happening. What sort of momentum is there for legislation? When you say that this is the number one issue --
RAISBECK: Yes.
ANDERSON: -- for youngsters -- and for adults, as well. I've been a victim --
RAISBECK: Yes.
ANDERSON: -- of cyber trolling myself.
RAISBECK: Yes.
ANDERSON: But we're talking about the kids here, those who are the most vulnerable. What's the momentum for change in this?
RAISBECK: Massive. Our charity was formed after both our children were harassed. My co-founder had a far more harrowing time than I did. And we are looking to lobby the government.
We've got a petition on our website, www.cybersmile.org, which gives advice to kids, parents, people of all ages. And we've got a petition on there lobbying the British government for parliamentary debate on the issue.
ANDERSON: Before legislation even if and when we get legislation, we need to give our kids some advice, don't we?
RAISBECK: Yes.
ANDERSON: What would you say to teenagers who are being bullied, who might be bullying? What's your advice?
RAISBECK: Talk to someone. Do not suffer alone. You look at the Amanda case, it's just so heartbreaking. And that she suffered for so long alone.
And I guarantee you, living rooms all across England now, there are kids sitting with their parents on the sofa going through similar experiences, and their parents are completely unaware. It's just scary. The gap in knowledge between parents and children --
ANDERSON: You know what kids are like. If they can't talk to their parents --
RAISBECK: Well --
ANDERSON: -- who can they talk to?
RAISBECK: This is my point exactly. Schools are catching up slowly and integrating cyber bullying education with the IT education at a very young level. We want more than that.
We want -- our organization is -- we're in contact with 30,000 schools at the moment. A massive awareness campaign of the problem. And we want to work with schools to develop workshops for pupils and for parents at a very young age to teenagers to engage more.
The emotional detachment that we're seeing in the way this media's being used is just -- it's got to stop.
ANDERSON: Dan, a pleasure to have you in.
RAISBECK: Thank you.
ANDERSON: Dan's talking about the sort of environment, I guess, here in the UK, wherever you're watching around the world, be aware. This is a problem outside of our shores, here, outside of the shores of Canada, the US. It's sadly a blight all over the world. Dan, thank you.
RAISBECK: Thank you.
ANDERSON: @BeckyCNN is my Twitter address for your comments on cyber bullying. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. When we come back --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC - "BROWN SUGAR," BY THE ROLLING STONES)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Celebrating 50 years in the business, the Rolling Stones get ready to rock London one more time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLIE WATTS, DRUMMER, THE ROLLING STONES, THE ROLLING STONES: Soon we'll be --
KEITH RICHARDS, GUITARIST, THE ROLLING STONES: -- back on --
MICK JAGGER, LEAD SINGER, THE ROLLING STONES: -- stage playing --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Tickets sold out in just seven minutes to see one of the world's greatest rock and roll bands. The Rolling Stones perform in London next month. After five decades at the top, the -- well, the Stones show no sign of slowing down, as Neil Curry reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NEIL CURRY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I was born in the summer of 1962, an event of little consequence in British cultural history. But in the month that followed, there was a phenomenon in the birth of British talent. The Beatles, the first James Bond film, and the first gig by a band which became known as the Rolling Stones in this building behind me in London.
(MUSIC - "BROWN SUGAR," BY THE ROLLING STONES)
CURRY (voice-over): Fifty years on from that first gig at the Marquee Club, the band members are preparing to haul themselves on stage once more to play hits such as "Painted Black" and "Brown Sugar."
WATTS: Soon we'll be --
RICHARDS: -- back on --
JAGGER: -- stage playing for you in --
RON WOOD, GUITARIST, THE ROLLING STONES: -- two --
WATTS: -- cities --
JAGGER: -- that know --
WOOD: -- how --
RICHARDS: -- to rock --
JAGGER: -- and roll!
CURRY: With a total of just four performances in London and Newark, it's not so much a tour, but a celebration of a career which has spanned three generations of fans.
(MUSIC - "PAINTED BLACK," BY THE ROLLING STONES)
CURRY: With a new hits album on the way and a new documentary, "Crossfire Hurricane," about to hit cinemas, the Stones defied their combined 273 years and walked the red carpet with a spring in their step.
CURRY (on camera): Can you tell me what it was like back in those early days, at the first gigs with the Stones?
WOOD: Well, I had so many songs to rehearse, like 300 songs laid on my head in Montauk when I first was rehearsing, Keith and I would stay up day after day and just jam through the songs. And I, luckily, know them all in my head. I was blessed.
CURRY: And what about the stage craft? How did you learn to own the stage?
WOOD: Well, they kind of make you feel welcome and take you under the umbrella of feeling comfortable within the Stones. And luckily, I felt that comfort before I joined.
CURRY: What sets the Rolling Stones apart from other bands?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, they're very, very talented and very clever. And they've been together 50 years. That's quite an achievement. And they make the greatest music in the world.
CURRY: How are you looking forward to the new gigs?
WOOD: Really a lot, yes. The rehearsals in Paris are going fantastic, and we're playing all the old material and combining it with a whole cross-section, right through the years. It's really good fun.
(MUSIC - "IT'S ONLY ROCK AND ROLL," BY THE ROLLING STONES)
CURRY (voice-over): The band's gross earnings broke through the billion-dollar barrier more than a decade ago, and some fans are lamenting the high ticket prices, which start at $150, while others consider it a small price to pay for what could be the last chance to see one of the most essential bands in the history of rock and roll.
(MUSIC - "IT'S ONLY ROCK AND ROLL," BY THE ROLLING STONES)
CURRY: Neil Curry, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: All right. Just before we go tonight, one of our top stories, Malala Yousufzai, the teenage Pakistani activist who is in a hospital in Birmingham after being shot by the Taliban, is making good progress, we are told tonight. We've been asking you to tweet your thoughts to the hash tag #iammalala, @BeckyCNN, and we've got one here.
"Malala is one great story and inspiration for all the world. Should be unanimous 'Time' Person of the Year." I fundamentally agree with that.
Well, in tonight's Parting Shots, if you're a "Star Trek" fan, beam yourself to London right now. For the first time in European history, all five captains will be on stage at the same time for what will be a three- day event tailor-made for die-hard Trekkies.
The event of -- sorry, the highlight of the event will be a Guinness Book of Records attempt to get the largest number of Star Trek characters in one place. That's going to be on Saturday night. Fans will be able to get autographs, see a stunt show, and even attend a Klingon language workshop.
Good luck if you're going. I've got something else to do Saturday night, thankfully.
I'm Becky Anderson, that was CONNECT THE WORLD, thank you for watching. World news headlines up after this.
END
