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Egyptian President Assumes Extraordinary Powers; Cease-Fire Between Israel, Hamas Holding; Violence in Italian Football; FA Rules on Mark Clattenburg Racism Charges; Human to Hero: African Artist El Anatsui; Tough Road Ahead for Husband of Woman Who Died After Being Denied Abortion in Ireland

Aired November 22, 2012 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, and now on "Connect the World": accused of acting like a pharaoh. After brokering a truce between Israel and Gaza, the Egyptian president assumes a sweeping range of powers at home.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN London, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.

ANDERSON: Well, he was hailed as pulling off a diplomatic coup in the Middle East on Wednesday. Tonight he is accused of causing a major blow to the Egyptian revolution. Standing by in Cairo, Gaza, and Israel, CNN's top talents in the region for you this evening.

Also ahead, football marred by violence off the pitch. Two Italians are arrested over a pre-game assault on English fans. And it is no ordinary Thanksgiving. Victims of super storm Sandy get a little help for the holidays.

First up this evening, just a day after brokering a critical cease- fire in the Middle East, Egypt's president is taking extraordinary steps to consolidate power at home. Today, Mohammed Morsi issued a sweeping decree that effectively puts him above judicial oversight. Now, that decree gives him the authority to, quote, "issue any decision or measure to protect the revolution." Well, prominent Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei tweeted this in response. Quote, "Morsi today usurped all state powers and appointed himself Egypt's new pharaoh. A major blow to the revolution that could have dire consequences." We are covering this story from all angles tonight, as well as the truce, of course, between Israel and Hamas.

Reza Sayah live in Cairo for you, Ben Wedeman is in Gaza, and Sara Sidner is in Jerusalem.

Reza, let's start with you. How would you describe Morsi's moves today?

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, these decrees appear to be a pretty aggressive effort by Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi to speed up the establishment of a complete government here in Cairo, including the parliament, and to push through the all-important draft of Egypt's new constitution. Critics of Mr. Morsi are describing these moves as an undemocratic power grab. To tell you about some of the decrees, one of them says that any decision, any declaration made by Mr. Morsi after the month of June -- that's when he took office -- cannot be appealed or overturned. A second decree has to do with the drafting of the constitution. You'll recall that Egypt appointed 100 individuals to draft this constitution, but it's been a tumultuous process, a lot of conflict and friction. Liberal members of the panel dropping out at times in protest, putting this assembly in jeopardy.

This particular decree by Mr. Morsi says that this panel cannot be dissolved. In other words, it's a call on him to get this constitution drafted. And finally, a separate decree says that all senior officials and politicians under the Mubarak regime accused of injuring, cracking down, even killing protesters during the revolution will be investigated again and put on trial again. You'll recall, Becky, that some senior police officials that were put on trial the first time were acquitted, which sparked a lot of outrage, Becky. So this comes 24 hours after Mr. Morsi received a lot of international praise. Now, this has led to a lot of domestic criticism by his opponents, who say that this is the undermining of the democratic process here.

ANDERSON: Yes, of all his opponents, being particularly outspoken Mohamed ElBaradei. I think it would be fair to say he's no fan of Mohammed Morsi, but he described this as a blow to the revolution, and having potentially dire consequences. Is that a fair assessment?

SAYAH: Well, his critics, his opponents, the opponents of Mr. Morsi will certainly say that that is an accurate assessment. They say that this is an undemocratic power grab. The political landscape in Cairo certainly favors Mr. Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood at this point. The panel, the assembly that is charged with drafting this constitution is dominated by Islamists, so the political landscape looks to be in his favor, but he's going to argue that what he's doing is pushing through the democratic process, that all he's doing is following through on the promises of the revolution. So it's going to be an interesting few days when these two sides, his opponents, Mr. Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, face off.

ANDERSON: You're making a very good point here. Whilst his opponents are calling this a blow to the revolution and having potential dire consequences, he says he's hugely supported by an enormous cohort of people in Egypt. All right, stand by for me. Some quick background on Morsi, in case you've missed out. He's a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, a group that was persecuted, of course, for decades under the previous regimes. After the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, the Brotherhood formed a political party, the Freedom and Justice Party, and tapped Morsi as its candidate for president.

Now, he won a runoff in June, becoming the first ever democratic president of Egypt.

Let me go to Israel for you now. We're across the region from this. Sara Sidner joining us from Jerusalem. Morsi has been feted by many for his negotiating role in getting that truce between Israel and Gaza. It was a big moment for him, a big test. After Hosni Mubarak, of course, and his relationship with Israel post 1979, what's the reaction of the Israeli administration to the moves to grant himself extensive executive powers, Sara?

SARA SIDNER, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they haven't said much, because what they're really concentrating on is what has happened here, that there is a cease-fire. The worry that 24-hour period would somehow be pierced by a rocket, and then they would have to react in some way, but that 24-hour period has now held, and so people glad to see that the cease-fire has stayed in place. And what we heard from one of the senior diplomatic officials who I talked to in the evening was that basically, they are very, very excited in some ways that they're able to have this relationship now with Egypt that is very similar, actually, to the one that they had when Mubarak was in power, a relationship where they can at least have Egypt play the role that it played before, as a mediator, and a sort of keeper of the cease-fire. Will the cease-fire last for a very long time? Nobody knows. There is skepticism when it comes to that. But they are glad to see that the Morsi presidency has decided to come forward and play that similar role that Mubarak's regime did in kind of keeping, trying to keep the peace between Hamas and the Israeli government.

ANDERSON: Relief for many, Sara, not just in the region but around the world as they watched those pictures today of Israeli troops walking back from the border. We were well aware that the Israelis were sort of massing their troops early on in the week at the border, with its threat of a ground incursion. We see pictures today of those troops on their way back home.

You say that the Israelis that you've spoken to in the administration excited about the fact that there is this relationship that appears to be holding with Egypt, playing a sort of a moderating role. Do Israelis believe this -- and let's call it a fragile truce at this point -- do they believe it will hold?

SIDNER: The quick answer to that is no. They think that in a few months from now or maybe a year from now, or maybe just one months from now, that we'll suddenly see the same scenario that keeps happening over and over again, which is there is a cease-fire or a truce put in place, and then suddenly rockets come over or there is some blast, something happens here, and then you see this cycle all over again.

We talked to a few different people who came up to us on the streets, people that we talked to while we were reporting on all different sides of this conflict, and people saying things, either they're saying, look, we should have finished the job -- when you give a lot of time for the Hamas and the other militants inside of Gaza, all they do is amass weapons, and we're going to see this again, and we know we're going to see this again, and we think the government should do something about it, should, quote, "finish the job."

On the other hand, there was a poll that was done by a local television station here that showed what people thought of the fact that the truce was put in place, and what they thought of Netanyahu. And his approval rating actually was only 38 percent of the population thought that things had gone well, and so a lot of people just worry that this is just another short term solution to a problem that has been a long term problem. What they really want is a permanent solution, and they do not see that happening. There is not a lot of optimism for that, Becky.

ANDERSON: Sara, stay with me, because I know that we're trying to chase some breaking news on possible arrests on the attack in Tel Aviv just 24 hours or so ago. So I'll let you go. I want to get to Gaza and let's just see whether you can get anything more for us on that. Sara Sidner is in Jerusalem for you.

Let's get some perspective now on all of this from Gaza. Ben Wedeman joining us from Gaza City. If you don't mind, Ben, I just want to sort of reverse into what we're doing tonight. You were Cairo bureau chief for many years. Before we talk about the situation in Gaza today, how would you assess the Egyptian president's moves there earlier?

BEN WEDEMAN, SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, it's not the first time that he surprised people, Mohammed Morsi. If you'll recall, back in August, he dismissed Mohammed Hossain Tantawi, the field marshal who headed the supreme council of the armed forces. That shocked everybody, and now he's shocked everyone again with this decree. But you know, he's got a lot of cards in his hand. The opposition to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is divided. It bickers among themselves. They're highly critical of the Muslim Brotherhood and of Mohammed Morsi's performance so far, but they were beaten roundly at the polls, and Mohammed Morsi is sitting very comfortably on top of a large body of support that will be very difficult to challenge.

Now, tomorrow in Tahrir Square, people are calling for the revolutionaries who brought down Hosni Mubarak to come back again for what they're calling revolution 2.0. But the Muslim Brotherhood, unlike the regime of Hosni Mubarak, has a mass following. They won 51, he won 51 percent of the vote back in June in that runoff election, and he has a lot of power, a lot of influence, a lot of solid backing that through the Muslim Brotherhood. So yes, this may represent something of a step back from the position the Muslim Brotherhood likes to put forward, that they are a democratic organization and believes in change through democratic means, but they have power now, and clearly he is showing that he's the man in charge. Becky.

ANDERSON: Sure. All right, Ben, you are there in Gaza. How are people dealing with daily life the day after the night before, as it were?

WEDEMAN: Well, it's interesting. This evening here in Gaza City, we heard some distant blasts. It was thunder. We heard -- saw some flashes, it was lightning. And people laughed when they saw that, because over the last eight days, they've seen a whole different kind of thunder and lightning. So there is a sense of relief here in Gaza. Many people very happy that they avoided the sort of repeat of what happened four years ago with Israel's Operation Cast Lead, when they sent in the troops, more than 1,400 people were killed.

Among Hamas supporters, there is a feeling that they emerged from this eight-day struggle victorious. Without having Israeli troops come in, they were able to wring concessions from the Israelis, a pledge not to target Hamas officials, not to conduct military operations in Gaza, for Israel to allow for the easing of the crossings between Gaza into Egypt. It does really represent for many people something of an improvement in terms of the conditions here. This evening, we saw a military parade by soldiers of the -- or fighters of the Al Kassam Brigades, the Hamas military wing.

For ordinary people, it's been a much less tumultuous day, so to speak. Lots of people are moving back to the homes they fled from earlier. I spoke to one woman whose house had had the roof blown off of it, and it was now uninhabitable. They have to work to find rented accommodations, but she said she was happy about the cease-fire. She said it -- she hoped it would last 100 or 200 years, because she wants her children to have a bit of peace and quiet. Becky.

ANDERSON: That is -- that is totally understandable. Ben in Gaza tonight, we thank you for that.

As the news is just coming in to CNN, let's get back to the Jerusalem bureau and Sara Sidner. Sara, what have you got?

SIDNER: We were at the bus explosion yesterday, and saw the damage from that, and the 2,000 people who were injured. Now we're hearing that there is actually an arrest. We had heard there might have been an arrest yesterday, but we could not confirm it. We have just confirmed that there has been an arrest. Someone who was from Ramallah, according to the Israeli authorities, they're saying that this person was aligned with Hamas or Islamic Jihad, so a group -- two groups inside of Gaza. And that the device, they knew that it wasn't a suicide bomber, someone with for example a vest on that blew themselves up and then died. But instead they knew there was some sort of package put on the bus, and then that package exploded. Now we know from Israeli police that it was actually detonated by a cell phone. So that is what they're telling us.

They have arrested someone in that bus bombing that injured about two dozen people. Nobody died, but we know that there were several people that were seriously injured. One may have lost a limb. Doctors are trying to save this teenager's arm after he sustained so much damage from the blast, but we do know now that one person has been arrested. They were arrested several hours after this bombing happened in Tel Aviv, and that detonated device, that device was detonated, excuse me, by a cell phone. So this is an interesting twist, because when this happened, as you remember, they were talking about the cease-fire being put in place, and everyone was worried that this would rattle that, that this would stop it from happening. That this would create enough of an alarm on the Israeli side that they could just not go forward with the cease-fire. Now the cease- fire is in place, and we are learning that the person who was responsible for this, according to the Israeli authorities, was indeed someone in Ramallah and someone aligned with the Islamic Jihad or with Hamas. Becky.

ANDERSON: Fascinating news just coming into the CNN Center. Sara Sidner on the case. Sara, thank you for that. I just got a tweet here from an Israeli army spokeswoman who says on her Twitter, this is Avital Leibovich, the person who planted the bomb in Tel Aviv bus yesterday found and arrested. He is an Arab Israeli from Tabey (ph), and was a member of Hamas. That the tweet coming from the IDF spokeswoman, Avital Leibovich. Just here now on Twitter. That news just coming into CNN Center. We'll bring you more details, of course, on this story as we get them.

Still to come tonight, (inaudible) few remaining hospitals in Aleppo. A lifeline for local (inaudible). Now it is part of the devastation. We'll have more on that, and the latest from Syria up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: You're watching CNN. This is CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson in London, just about 20 past 9:00 here. Welcome back.

Syrian rebel fighters say they have captured a military base on the outskirts of an eastern town. The town is near an oil-producing area close to the Iraqi border. Opposition groups now say that at least 40,000 people have died in Syria's civil war.

On Wednesday, a deadly attack targeted a vital hospital in Aleppo. Nick Paton Walsh filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Even sanctuaries in Aleppo could be deadly. Dar Al Shiffa (ph) hospital where the wounded flock itself hit by an air strike Wednesday. The building next to it collapsed. The hospital's lobby, normally crammed with patients, from children hit by shrapnel to injured rebels, caught hard. In the debris, at least 15 dead, including a doctor and two nurses.

Jubilation that one man is found alive, but now there is a question. Where do you take him to?

Doctors in Dar al Shiffa (ph) had struggled for months to keep death at its door. Blood-soaked blankets when we visited in September. Few medical supplies, endless hours, constant bombing.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WALSH: But they persisted even when rounds hit the hospital's maternity ward. Among their patients, an uneasy mix of combatants and innocents (inaudible) choice. There really was nowhere else to run, and so many injured in Aleppo, and now that is left of the hospital (ph).

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD live from London. I'm Becky Anderson and we'll be back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Here on CNN now, millions of Americans are celebrating Thanksgiving as we speak. The celebration has been marked for hundreds of years, commemorating a feast held by settlers and Native Americans.

Well, in New York, thousands turned out to see the annual parade held by the Macy's store. It's made up of hundreds of floats and entertainers, and it's estimated as many as 50 million people watched the parade on TV.

Well, elsewhere in New York, residents of Staten Island, we understand, are having a different kind of Thanksgiving this year. The island hammered of course by super storm Sandy a couple of weeks ago, and many people are still rebuilding their lives, with some help, it's got to be said. Deborah Feyerick met some of the volunteers providing assistance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (On camera): Becky, this really is no ordinary Thanksgiving day, certainly not here on Staten Island and the other parts of the city that were hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. We've seen a lot of ConEd trucks, we've seen a lot of FEMA trucks assessing damage. This on a holiday. A lot of the homes still abandoned. People cannot yet live in them. What's so interesting, though, is a lot of volunteers from religious organizations are coming out, they are trying to help, they are trying to provide a little bit of hope. Here, the Denoyas (ph) are part of the Liquid Church, and they have set up a grill, where they are making a feast, a portable feast, as it were. There are 20 such grills on different parts of Staten Island, here on Midland Beach.

And Gina, you decided to give up your Thanksgiving in order to come and do this. How come?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because Thanksgiving is about being thankful, but it's also about giving, and so we wanted to give back to the community for those who need.

FEYERICK: What's amazing is that your church was able to organize this within a two-week period. They were able to get donations of grills, they were able to get donations of food. People just giving. How does that kind of make you feel?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it makes us feel very good to be behind that. But it's just amazing that so many people poured into giving and loving and just giving back to the community.

FEYERICK: All right. Your husband over here working at the grill. How many people are you expecting to feed today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably about 100, maybe a little bit more, depending on how many people come out.

FEYERICK: And what's amazing is it's not just here but 20 of these all around.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All these sites all around the neighborhood.

FEYERICK: Terrific. Thank you so much and happy Thanksgiving. And really, part of the whole philosophy of this is really to kind of create block parties here on Staten Island, so folks can get a little respite, a little bit of a break from everything that's going on, and there are folks over here, just wanted to take a quick look, also from the church, and they are cleaning up. So it's not just about feeding people, but it's about cleaning up and making this part of Staten Island certainly a little bit brighter and a little bit more hopeful. Back to you, Becky.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Good stuff. And you can find out how you can get involved and help the victims of Sandy from the web site, check it out, cnn.com/impactyourworld. You are watching CNN live from London. Still to come on the show, this used to be a pub in Rome, completely destroyed. It's now a crime scene after masked thugs attacked a group of football fans. What happened up next. And one man's trash is another man's work of art. An African street artist shows us how his work has become world renowned. Your headlines follow this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: A very warm welcome to our viewers across Europe and around the world. I'm Becky Anderson, these are the very latest world news headlines on CNN.

Egypt's president has assumed sweeping new powers just a day after he brokered a critical cease-fire between Israel and Gaza. Mohammed Morsi issued a decree today. Among other things, it allows him to, quote, "issue any decision or measure to protect the revolution."

Israeli authorities have made an arrest in yesterday's bombing in Tel Aviv. An army spokeswoman says the suspect is an Arab Israeli who's a member of Hamas. Two dozen people were injured when a bomb planted on a public bus in Tel Aviv exploded.

Opposition groups in Syria say government forces bombed a hospital in Aleppo Wednesday, killing 15 people, including children, nurses, and a doctor. Activists report another 76 people killed across Syria today.

A rebel leader has now joined talks in Uganda. The talks on the current conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The leader of the M23 insurgents made the trip just two days after his group took over the eastern Congolese city of Goma and announced plans to advance on the capital, Kinshasa.

A Europa League match between SS Lazio and Tottenham of -- the English group, of course, and Lazio being the Italian group -- has ended in a scoreless draw. According to one news agency, anti-Semitic chanting could be heard in the stadium in Rome. It reportedly came from the same section where a banner reading "Free Palestine" was unveiled.

Well, this comes after Wednesday's violence in the Italian capital when two Tottenham supporters were stabbed. One is still in critical condition in hospital. Several others were injured after they were attacked by a group of masked thugs.

Well, Italian football journalist Tancredi Palmeri, who has been following this story from the start, a good friend of CNN, with me in the studio tonight. We know the result, so that's done and dusted, to all intents and purposes. Let's talk about what happened last night, Wednesday. What do we know?

TANCREDI PALMERI, JOURNALIST: Yes. Let's make understand to people what happened. So, we have this bar, it is actually a bar for foreign people, who are usually English, also Americans are going there to hang out. It's in the center of Rome, and it's a place where usually people hang out in the night. Me too, three weeks ago, I was there at this bar.

And so, usually, easily, you can spot easily English people there. Actually, there weren't English people so drunk, like sometimes happens when English clubs travel around in Europe. By 1:00, 40 thugs assaulted this bar, and it was a very planned strategy, with people outside preventing people inside from Tottenham to go out.

ANDERSON: Right. I'm looking -- we're looking, our viewers are looking at the pictures now. It's an absolute carnage scene inside that bar.

PALMERI: Yes.

ANDERSON: What do we know about these assailants?

PALMERI: Well --

ANDERSON: Who were they?

PALMERI: Well, they are still trying to understand, 15 people, apparently, from police, are researching this moment, but feel they are doing, but they are not caught. Two people this afternoon were jailed, and actually, it was acquired out of pride, because these two people were known Roma "ultras," not Lazio.

So, these are like betting the theory that it wasn't an assault from ultras from one club to another, but an assault that could have a kind of intersection of interest, I would say, from different ultras from different clubs. Like it would be the anti-Semitic issue is the one that police are saying.

ANDERSON: Let's have a listen to a couple of fans who spoke to the cameras today this morning ahead of this game after the violence last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the trouble with football, you never know what's going to go on. When you come abroad to foreign countries, you -- trouble comes to you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cover up my Spurs shirt.

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: I heard the police sorted them out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sorry?

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: So, I heard the police do something about it, sort them out?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not good. It's not good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not nice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: English team's got thrown out of Europe a long time ago for this sort of thing, and we seem to, wherever we go now, we seem to be the subject of violence. It's not good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Right. It's been a week of European football, of course, Champions League and Europa League football, and then we get this sort of story, which is so irritating, isn't it?

PALMERI: Yes.

ANDERSON: It's just absolutely wrong. I tweeted earlier on today that the assault on these Spurs fans sounds like the latest attack by what I believe are known as the notorious ultras. They're not uncommon, either to Italians or to traveling fans.

You said the two have been arrested today are affiliated with the Roma club, and I have got to just read out a statement from Lazio today. It says -- reads as follows, "The attackers entered the room wearing helmets that have prevented at present any way of identifying them, so saying they belong to Lazio is entirely without foundation."

As I say, we have subsequently heard that at least two of these men who were arrested were affiliated with Roma. But what -- tell us what we know about these ultras.

PALMERI: Well, the thing is that in the last -- after decades, where every ultra in Italy and also ultras coming from abroad knew that coming to Italy, the authorities wouldn't be that strict. So, they could, I would say, do whatever they wanted.

In the last five years, since the killing of a cop outside the stadium in 2007, the rules have been much more strict. Also, the controls. So, they knew that -- the ultras, they knew that if they would do this outside the stadium or in the eve of the game one hour before they're around, probably they would find enough police.

So, they decided -- they really planned, because it was an absolutely planned attack. To do this against this club that was quite an easy target. As I said, I'm not living in Rome, but I know just by going a couple of times there that English -- I will always find English there.

So, it looks like people with the interest -- people, I would say ultras -- with the interest both from Roma and Lazio that have a huge rivalry, at the interest do this attack. Let's see if it is really the reason of the anti-Semitic issue behind it.

ANDERSON: We're going to leave it there. Tancredi, we thank you very much, indeed, for that. What a story, and one of those stories that you just simply do not want to -- you don't want to talk about.

Earlier, I did tweet about it. I said, "Football is a game, right? This is outrageous." Plenty of you are -- writing into me. My Twitter up here for you. Let's have a look and see just what we've got coming in this evening. A number of tweets here.

"In the future -- " What do we say here? "It's not sports but organized crime and should be treated as such."

"In the near future, men will be replaced by intelligent programs running as a team on TV sets. We'll watch them only on TV." They're just coming in thick and fast, here.

PALMERI: It's the same old thing --

ANDERSON: Yes, go on while I bring these up.

PALMERI: It's a matter of authorities. I mean, when I was there, when I was in this quadrant, as I said, it really in the center, I remember that I spotted at least some three different city patrol, maybe five, six. And apparently, yesterday at 1:00 in a very sensible point, there wasn't any cop, anything. And it took 20 minutes for them to come. So, there was a matter of security, that's for sure.

ANDERSON: All right. Well, look. One from somebody who calls himself wolfo696 tonight, "There was a similar attack in Napoli one year ago when two Germans were stabbed in the back ultras on a scooter." These are coming in tonight. My technology letting me down just a little bit, but do tweet me, @BeckyCNN on this story. Tancredi, it's always a pleasure to have you on the show.

Elsewhere in football, the FA has ruled on Chelsea's recent claim of racial abuse against referee Mark Clattenburg. Mark McKay is at CNN Center. Mark, we know there's a decision. What is it? What did they decide?

MARK MCKAY, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, the English Football Association, Becky, on Thursday decided to clear the English referee of using racist language.

A bit of background here: Chelsea lodged a complaint with the FA. It came last month over what the club called inappropriate language on the part of Clattenburg, the referee, toward their Nigerian midfielder John Obi Mikel. This was during a Premier League match at Stanford Bridge, you'll remember, against Manchester United.

In a statement released on Thursday, though, the English Football Association said it had concluded its investigation into this matter and that no disciplinary action will follow the referee, Mr. Clattenburg.

The 37-year-old said that he is looking forward to putting this all behind him and to concentrate on his refereeing, but Mr. Clattenburg also said, quote, "Racism has no place in football. This experience should not discourage those who speak out -- " or " -- those to speak out on their genuine belief that they are victims of abuse."

Now, the story may not be over. These things don't usually just wrap up in one day with one decision, do they, Becky? The referees' union has called for Chelsea Football Club to actually apologize to Clattenburg and compensate him. As for Chelsea, their view is, they were right to bring this matter to the FA's attention.

ANDERSON: It is an extremely busy day of news. You are back with "World Sport" in just about 50 -- five-zero -- minutes, not least talking about the new man in charge at Chelsea. What a surprise that was. Mr. McKay in the house, "World Sport," five-zero minutes from now. Thank you, sir.

MCKAY: All right.

ANDERSON: We're going to take a very short break on this show. When we come back, creating art from other people's rubbish. We're going to meet the artist finding the beautiful in the mundane.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Right. We're back. Ghanaian El Anatsui is considered one of Africa's foremost contemporary artists. This week's Human to Hero meets the man whose street art adorns the likes of the Pompidou in Paris and the MOMA in New York and finds out how he stands out in what is art's competitive market.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EL ANATSUI, ARITST: I think that art should make people feel -- understand something about material. I use very simple, commonplace material. It's a why of valuing those commonplace materials, as well as trying to lead the human spirit.

Assuming somebody is in very low spirits and meets my work, which is made from very low-quality bottle caps which you normally would see thrown on the street, it should give that fellow some hope that after all, there is something to be alive for.

Renaissance art was more like something that you approach with the eyes. It's about copying from nature. But my predilection was for the abstract works, because I think that they have more challenges in them and have more versatility of interpretation.

I was born in Ghana, southeastern Ghana. My hometown is Anyako. I spent my childhood growing up with an uncle who was a reverend in the Presbyterian Church. And so, I lived in a mission house.

School kind of -- was something brought in from Europe, modeled along European lines. For instance, in artistry, you were taught about European and occasionally Asian art, and not anything about Africa.

So, right from the beginning, I've tried to indigenize my consciousness by way of ideas, by way of materials. And from that point, I've been always working with materials that I see in my environment.

I'm in New York to work on my piece, which is being installed in the High Line in Chelsea. I'm there to instruct the mounting crew on how to get it up.

Oh, yes, I like that. Crisp. But this one, they haven't gotten it yet. Imagine the labor involved in punching holes. This is manually done. You could do a six inch square in about two hours.

(LAUGHTER)

ANATSUI: So, imagine the millions of punches of the nail that went into this.

Well, it's a good thing for one to be seen on this scale. It is challenging because you have so many eyes looking at you now, and that can be very daunting.

I think that an art form should be a replica of life, and life is constantly changing, and I want my artworks to be things which change as the situation demands.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Hello, welcome back. This is CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson in London.

Now, this is a story that I was hoping to bring you a little earlier this hour, but has just been filed, and our correspondent is standing by. It's an important one.

Last month, a woman in Ireland died in agony after being refused an abortion. Suffering a miscarriage, she was told by doctors they could not terminate her pregnancy while the fetus had a heartbeat. Well, her death sparked protests and calls for Ireland to change its law.

Well, new developments are now emerging. Nic Robertson is in Galway, where the lady in question died, and he joins us now. Nic, what do we know?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, one of the interesting things about his situation, and it's a tragic situation, is that Ireland's constitution was amended 20 years ago so that something like this would never happen, that if a woman's life was in danger, then a baby -- the baby could be terminated, the fetus could be terminated.

But now, Savita's husband, Praveen, is a very lonely man and is faced with a very, very tough road ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (voice-over): He has lost his wife and now fears the truth behind her tragic death may be lost, too.

PRAVEEN HALAPPANAVAR, SAVITA'S HUSBAND: There's been some tampering of the medical logs and basically some key information in the medical logs is missing.

ROBERTSON: Praveen and Savita Halappanavar meet in India, married, then set up home in Ireland four years ago. He is an engineer. She was a dentist. They were happy here.

HALAPPANAVAR: She loved dancing. She calls to me to dance with her a couple of times on the stage. We gave a performance, and that will be the fondest memories. I have never gone on a stage. I never had that. I always had the stage fear, to go and speak out. And all the support and the belief she gave me, it was unbelievable.

ROBERTSON: Together, they had dreams of a beautiful future, of children, their children, of having a family.

HALAPPANAVAR: She was looking forward, basically. In a way, she followed that. She's at the right place. That's the reason why. She knew. And she was very well-organized as well. She knew what she wanted in life. And that's the reason why she had decided to settle here longterm.

ROBERTSON: When Savita became pregnant, they were overjoyed. Then, their ordeal began. Savita got back pain. Here at Galway University Hospital, doctors told her she was miscarrying. Her baby would likely die.

Savita's husband says they asked for a termination and were told, "This is a Catholic country. Not while the fetus is alive."

HALAPPANAVAR: So, we requested for a termination. We wanted to go back, go home and think about the next pregnancy, because it was a planned pregnancy. We were so happy. We wanted to have babies.

ROBERTSON: Three days after the request, the fetus died, was removed. Four days later, Savita was dead from a blood infection.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALES (chanting): Our bodies, our lives!

ROBERTSON: Ireland has been outraged. Protests in support of Savita, not just here, but across the world, have urged the country's politicians to update abortion laws to prevent similar tragedies.

There has been political fallout, too. Abortion is a hot-button issue in Ireland. The prime minister is under pressure to get Halappanavar to help the health service inquiry.

ROBERTSON (on camera): Government steps so far have done little to inspire Halappanavar, not just, he says, because they took weeks before announcing an inquiry, but when they did, three of the seven medical professionals on the investigation team were from the same hospital, here, where his wife died. Although they've now been replaced, other issues remain.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Not the least of which, the missing medical records. Records the hospital declined our request to comment on.

HALAPPANAVAR: Basically, I made a request for termination, and then there is no notice of the request on any of the medical logs. And also, there is -- the response from the doctor is not in the medical records, either.

ROBERTSON (on camera): What do you think has happened to it?

HALAPPANAVAR: We don't know. And it's just strange that there is all other information in there. Her request for a cup of tea and toast, and things like an overnight blanket was given. All that is in the medical logs.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): He says he will settle for nothing less than a full public inquiry, where the health service, not just his wife's death, is investigated.

HALAPPANAVAR: Every single family person asked me how could this happen in a country like Ireland in the 21st century? Because it was just so simple. When they knew that the baby was not going to survive, why wait? Think about the bigger life, which was the mother, my wife, Savita. And they didn't.

ROBERTSON: All he wants, he says, is the truth.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON: It may take a long time to get to that truth. He told me that he wasn't bitter and isn't angry, likes Ireland, wants to live here. But when he found out those medical records were missing, then he said his attitude changed. His family is angry. He's beginning to feel angry, how can all this be happening?

ANDERSON: Nic, what is the likelihood of a full public inquiry at this point?

ROBERTSON: It doesn't seem to be forthcoming yet. It -- what appears to be happening is a growing public support for Praveen to find out what happened to Savita. That's what he is campaigning to do, if you will, in a limited way.

This is a man who's never been through anything like this before, doesn't know where to turn, isn't used to talking to the media. At the moment, the cards are very much stacked against him. But I think he hopes that, with public support, he can move the politicians.

But the politicians at the moment are still talking about a health service executive inquiry. That is an inquiry paid for by the people, essentially, who they're investigating. He says -- Praveen says he's worried that could lead to bias. And this -- he doesn't believe right now will lead to the truth, which is all that he says he's after, Becky.

ANDERSON: Fascinating and shocking. Nic, thank you. Nic Robertson, there, in Ireland for you. This story getting a lot of reaction on social media. Do let us know what your thoughts are on this and any other story that we've covered here on CONNECT THE WORLD tonight.

Of course, the team wants to hear from you. Facebook.com/CNNconnect. We read them all, I promise. Have your say. You can tweet me @BeckyCNN. Your thoughts, please, @BeckyCNN, on anything that we've been following tonight.

I'm Becky Anderson. That was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thank you for watching. From London, it is a very good evening.

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