Return to Transcripts main page
Connect the World
Oscar Pistorius Set For Bail Hearing Tomorrow; Google, Topshop Team Up At London's Fashion Week; Nigerian Islamic Group Ansaru Kidnaps Seven At Construction Site; UN Wants Syrian Regime to Face International Criminal Court for War Crimes; Activist Continues Fight Despite Torture in Syrian Detention Center; Arsenal's Last Hope; Danica Patrick First Woman at Daytona Pole Position
Aired February 18, 2013 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: Hours before Oscar Pistorius returns to court charged with murder, new details emerge of what may have happened behind these doors the night the athlete's girlfriend was killed.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN London, this is Connect the World with Becky Anderson.
ANDERSON: Also ahead this hour, back on home soil: Hugo Chavez took to Twitter to announce his return to Venezuela. What he had to say coming up.
And geek chic, how a tie up between a big fashion name and a global tech company gets you a back stage pass at London's fashion week.
First up tonight, just as Oscar Pistorius is due back in court, new piece of evidence emerges. South African newspapers report that detectives are studying a blood-stained cricket bat to see what role it may have played in the death of Pistorius' girlfriend. And that's not all, CNN has learned that Reeva Steenkamp didn't die immediately after being shot four times.
Get right to Robyn Curnow in Johannesburg with the very latest details -- Robyn.
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Becky.
Well, these are the headlines now in South Africa: The Case Against Oscar. And it seems like it is growing and that perhaps that the defense -- that the prosecution has a strong case. We know they wanted to charge him with premeditated murder.
He will be in court facing a bail hearing on Tuesday. How strong is that case? We don't know until we listen in court tomorrow. But these drip, drip leaks, rumors, guesswork have in a way built up some sort of picture of what happened that night. And we must say that a lot of this information is coming from one source officials or local newspaper reports, but it is building up a picture, as I said.
And here is the story that explains how and why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: A beautiful girl, a beach, and a reality TV show which showed contestant Reeva Steenkamp's romantic side.
REEVA STEENKAMP: You fall in love with being in love with love.
CURNOW: She died just days before this aired. And it will continue to run on South African television for the next nine weeks.
Meanwhile, her boyfriend, the double amputee and Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius spent the past few days in this jail charged with her murder, a charge strongly denied by Pistorius in his family. This is his uncle flanked by his sister who struggles to keep herself together as they make a brief statement to the media.
ANTHONY PISTORIUS, OSCAR PISTORIUS' UNCLE: As you can imagine, our entire family is devastated. We are in a state of total shock. We had plans together and Oscar was happier in his private life than I have seen in a long time. We are all grieved about Reeva. And our hearts go out to her family and friends.
Oscar, as you can imagine, is also numb with shock and grief and total pain.
CURNOW: Investigators who have been combing through his home in this high security complex are starting to piece together what they think happened early on Valentine's Day. It was in this bedroom that Steenkamp may have expected to spend the night. According to an official close to the investigation, her overnight bag and an iPad were found in here. Pistorius invited CNN into his room in 2008 when these pictures were taken.
And CNN is also being told that Steenkamp was shot four times through a bathroom door. And authorities say afterwards, Pistorius carried her down these stairs while she was still alive.
As the legal process now begins against the man known as Blade Runner, all of Oscar's future races have been canceled. He was scheduled to run in Australia, Brazil, the U.S., the UK and Russia. And while Pistorius is in court on Tuesday for a bail hearing, Reeva's family says there will be a memorial service for her as producers of her reality show released this farewell message from her, meant to be to the cast, but which now becomes her last words, her last good-bye.
STEENKAMP: I take home with me so many amazing memories and things that are in here, that are in here, that I'll treasure forever. I'm going to miss you all so much. I love you very, very much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: OK. Well, how hard that must be for a family to watch there. It's also the big question for South Africans all watching that show last weekend, and still is why, what was the motive? Was it a crime of passion, of jealousy? Was it that unfortunate mistake? Did he think she was an intruder in a bathroom, or was it perhaps something even more terrible such as steroids triggering a violent rage? All these speculations, all these questions, not a lot of answers for now.
ANDERSON: All right, Robyn, thank you for that.
Well, before last week, many of you who may be watching outside of South Africa may never have heard the name Reeva Steenkamp, but even before she began dating Oscar Pistorius last November, she was a big name in her own right. Steenkamp had a law degree and was a top model who represented the cosmetics giant Avon.
She also appeared in commercials and men's magazines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAGEN ENGLER, FORMER FHM EDITOR: She was a bikini model, beautiful, gorgeous girl, but she had like a -- sort of like a wicked guy's type of sense of humor, you know, so she got it and she kind of understood the industry which she was in. And like really intelligent, so always fun to work with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, the man accused of killing Steenkamp, of course, is well known around the world. Oscar Pistorius has long been an inspiration for people with disabilities everywhere. He's nicknamed The Blade Runner, inspired by the carbon fiber blades he uses as prosthetic limbs. He became the first double amputee to compete in the Olympic Games, made it to the semifinals, of course. Pistorius also took gold in the Paralympic games in London. Well, it came as a total shock when South Africa's hero athlete was charged with murder.
At tomorrow's hearing, defense attorneys are expected to argue there are, and I quote, exceptional circumstances for Pistorius to be granted bail.
Let's get more now on those legal proceedings. We're joined by Stephen Tuson, an adjunct law professor at the University of Witwatersrand. Sir, thank you for joining us. Remember, this is a bail hearing not a trial. No jury, just a judge as I understand it, right?
STEPHEN TUSON, UNIVERSITY OF WITWATERSRAND: That's correct, a magistrate.
ANDERSON: Why is that? Why no jury?
TUSON: The jury system was abolished in our country in the 60s. And we have magistrates presiding over the lower courts and judges in the high court.
ANDERSON: Right, OK.
So what happens Tuesday?
TUSON: Right. It's a bail application. And I expect the first argument will be a legal argument. The state wants to prefer charges or premeditated murder. This is a schedule six offense. It's very difficult to get bail under these circumstances, because the test is higher. Not only does the defense have to show that it's in the interest of justice that they should be released, they are at a higher burden -- they have to show exceptional circumstances exist.
So the defense will try and argue before the magistrate that the facts only warrant a charge -- a schedule five charge or ordinary murder. There, the burden is lower.
ANDERSON: What's the likely outcome, do you think?
TUSON: Well, it's -- there's a lot of speculation and very little fact in the media. We have lots of -- as Robyn said, different views as to what happened. But in principle, if the defense is successful in establishing that this is not premeditated murder, this is murder in the ordinary circumstances, schedule five offense, and then I believe that he has a very good chance of success. He has a fixed address, fixed employment, assets in the country, and he's not a flight risk. He has no previous convictions. There shouldn't be any difficulty.
But if the state succeeds in demonstrating that this is premeditated murder, there's this higher test and it'll be substantially more difficult for him to get bail from the magistrate.
ANDERSON: Oscar Pistorius, the South African athlete due to appear in court in Pretoria on Tuesday for a bail hearing. Your expert on the subject this evening for you out of Johannesburg. Thank you, sir.
You're watching Connect the World live from London, still to come tonight the government says Hugo Chavez is back in Venezuela but he still isn't appearing in public. We're going to hear what Venezuelans think after the break.
Also, a shadowy Islamist group claims responsibility for the kidnapping of foreigners in Africa's most populous nation.
And find out why Google is hitting the catwalk as Topshop at London's fashion week.
All that and much more after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Right. You're watching CNN. This is Connect the World. I'm Becky Anderson. Welcome back.
Now, Hugo Chavez is back on home soil in Caracas, at least according to his Twitter account, that is. The Venezuelan president tweeted his arrival early Monday after more than two months in hospital in Cuba. He tweeted, to be precise, "we've arrived again in the Venezuelan homeland. Thank god. Thank you, dear people. Here we will continue the treatment."
Well, the government confirmed he's back, but he's yet to be seen. In fact, the president hasn't been seen in public at all this year. The only sign people have had of him was this bedside photo with his daughters taken last week in Cuba.
Well, joining me now in Caracas is professor and journalist Carlos Chalbaud. Carlos, people questioning the president's return. What do we know at this point?
CARLOS CHALBAUD, PROFESSOR, CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY: Well, we know as much as you know. Basically, we haven't seen the president in the last two months and seven days. Just this morning the government confirmed that Mr. Chavez is back in Caracas. He's been attended in a military hospital on the west side of Caracas. But until this point, it's the status quo, nothing else has happened until now. We haven't seen the president. We don't know his real health state at this time.
So we have to believe what the government is saying, Mr. Chavez is back in Caracas and he's still in treatment and actually the government said a couple of days ago that Mr. Chavez has lost his most prized talent: his voice. He's unable to speak. Maybe that's why the government doesn't show off Mr. Chavez yet.
ANDERSON: OK, well, what is likely to happen next, if indeed he is on home soil? Will he, for example, be taking the oath any time soon?
CHALBAUD: Chief justice Luisa Estella Morales said today that Mr. Chavez will be sworn president in the next few days in a private session inside of this military hospital. Having said that, if that takes place, Mr. Chavez will be the elected and the president of Venezuela. Mr. Maduro will be, again, the vice president. And then the government will be having time.
In my humble opinion what is going on right now is that the government is trying to gain time, time to move the elections further in the future, time to operate in this political ambiance, which is really strange right now in Venezuela.
As you know, we have more than two months, you know, without seeing the president. And for a country with the largest reserve of oil in the world, $300 billion U.S. dollars economy sized, it's quite awkward the president doesn't show up in two months.
ANDERSON: Carlos, we thank you for that. Carlos Chalbaud, who is in Caracas for you this evening.
Well, Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa and his supporters are celebrating after he was reelected to office for a third time. With more than 70 percent of ballots counted the president claimed the large margin of between 59 and 62 percent of the vote. His closest competitor came in with 23 percent and has conceded defeat.
Well, Nigeria's president is urging foreigners to go about their business as normal promising he'll stamp out terrorism after a kidnapping in the north. Now the Islamist group Ansaru says it captured seven foreign workers over the weekend. The militants attacked a construction site, killing a security guard there.
Vladimir Duthiers in Lagos for you following developments from there.
What do we know about this group?
VLADIMIR DUTHIERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not a whole lot, Becky. But what we do know is that they are a splinter group of the Islamist terror group Boko Haram. They are an offshoot of that organization. Their stated aim is to, in fact, attack foreign targets. They -- Boko Haram themselves have been known to attack churches, schools, security officials in Nigeria, in northeastern Nigeria, this group has targeted foreign nationals and foreign interests.
This in addition to the kidnapping that happened on Saturday, this group has claimed responsibility for a kidnapping of a French construction worker in December of 2012.
Prior to that, the group had also claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of an Italian and a British citizen back in May of 2011. Those two men were held in captivity until March of 2012 when the United Kingdom and Nigerian security forces decided to mount a rescue operation. Tragically that rescue operation ended in failure when Ansaru killed the two captives.
And so this is a group that in their latest release to the press claiming responsibility for these attacks said that their goal, if -- talking to the Nigerian security forces, at the end of their statement they say any attempt or act contrary to our conditions will lead to happenings as in the previous attempt, a threat that if Nigeria or the countries decide to mount a rescue operation they will kill these captives, Becky.
ANDERSON: Vlad, briefly, what is it that they want?
DUTHIERS: Well, what they say is that they are fighting against western intervention in Afghanistan and Mali specifically. They -- and that sort of has people drawing parallels to al Qaeda, because whilst Boko Haram has -- and Boko Haram, the name means western education is sacrilege, this group Ansaru, the name of -- it's a much longer name in Arabic, but what it essentially means is Vanguard for Protection of Muslims in Black Africa. And so what they are saying is western intervention in Mali, in Afghanistan should end. They've made various other claims throughout the course of the last year, but that seems to be their primary goal.
And what we also find very interesting, Becky, is that they have not made any ransom demands. In the kidnappings that they've claimed responsibility for, they have made no ransom demands whereas in the past in Nigeria typically kidnappings that happened in the oil rich south have been for money purposes. These -- this group has not claimed -- or has not asked for any ransoms, Becky.
ANDERSON: Sure, and that was what I was trying to illicit from you, so fascinating, quite a different scenario at least as things stand a present.
Vladimir Duthiers for you out of Lagos.
All right, American country singer Mindy McCready has been found dead in what is apparently suicide. Her death comes just weeks after that of her boyfriend, the father of her 10 month old son. Now authorities believe he committed suicide as well.
McCready found fame in the mid-90s with her debut album 10,000 Angels. Her issues, though, with drugs and alcohol have been well documented. She was 37 years old.
Live from London, this is Connect the World. I'm Becky Anderson, coming up London Fashion Week is the hot event at the moment. Find out how Topshop has been using Google+ to boost their catwalk shows. That after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Over the past week, some of fashion's biggest names have hit the London catwalk. Just in the past 24 hours, the likes of Burberry, Tom Ford and Topshop could be seen on the London stage. And when Fashion Week finishes tomorrow, it's expected to have brought in orders of some $155 million, that is why these weeks are important.
Now for those who couldn't get a ticket to London Fashion Week, technology had the answer this year. Topshop teamed up with Google to show fashion fans what happens on and off the stage. I got a real backstage pass and talked with Topshop's Philip Green to find out more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILIP GREEN, ARCADIA GROUP: The young generation, you know, you go to a restaurant there's four of them, five, six are having dinner or whether they're talking to each other I'm not sure. But everybody has got at least two gadgets in their hands. It's, you know, that's where the world is going.
So as a choice, you know, we've got to be involved with the best technology companies -- Google they are.
CHRISTIAN CUSSEN, HEAD OF MARKETING, GOOGLE Plus, EMEA: The partnership with Topshop came about in the fall where Justin Cooke, the imaginative, you know, creative behind all of Topshop came in just for a general chat. And the ideas became so concrete and so fast that literally the day after we decided to target the Tape Modern (ph) Topshop show as kind of the coming out party for Google+ and Topshop showing off what brands can do with the toolset.
ANDERSON: Because I still want to get behind the scenes. I want to get behind the scenes for real. So come on, let's do this.
JUSTIN COOKE, MARKETING OFFICER, TOPSHOP: I was very fortunate to work on the first ever kind of live Twitter images from backstage at show. We've really taken that on a level. So we're going to have live video. You're going to see all the girls are going to be filmed and projected back in the space for the finale. But this is really, you know, this is advanced. This is like a film set. So the girls are -- everything is being captured. And it means you're capturing it here, but you can share it with people forever on different ways, on Topshop.com when the products arrive in stores six months later, you'll have all this content, all this excitement. This is what it's about.
ANDERSON: There's an allure about fashion shows that quite frankly you'll lose if you let everybody in behind the scenes. Are you worried about that at all?
COOKE: No, I think -- I think.
ANDERSON: The magic, that's what...
COOKE: But I think for me it's -- I'm looking from the other way, I want to take the magic outwards and share it with everyone, because you don't lose what's in the room. The people still have that. But it's like why would millions of people not get to experience that, because not everyone can be at the show. I think that's really what we're talking about. I think great brands make an emotional connection with the customer. And there's so much immersion in the room when the lights go down, when the music changes, we want to share that with everyone.
ANDERSON: How does this toolset work? And what sort of investment goes into providing the sort of technology overall that will work today?
CUSSEN: So the toolset is astoundingly simple. You started to sort of trickle out, really this river of content where you've got the models Cara and Jourdan and Topshop themselves sort of just posting photos and videos through the Google+ stream. You will have a hangout that shows people every single look that was shown on the catwalk and have them tell Topshop's buyers, hey, this is what I'd recommend to you as an everyday consumer what you should put in store for your fall collection.
ANDERSON: What about the UK economy, because you have got thousands of shops here. Things are tough. Again, is the government getting this right? Is the government getting this wrong?
GREEN: I wouldn't want to be the chancellor, let's put it that way. I mean, it's not simple. When you've had 10 years of, you know, spend it's tough. There's no easy solution. So I think you've got to keep it tight. We've got to be smarter, cleverer. Look, you talk to any retailer around the globe, everybody would like to have less stores. So everybody knows in the mix sort of the marketplace itself is changing.
ANDERSON: So you three, you do Facebook, right?
GREEN: Well, that's (inaudible).
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: Can we just see your phone?
GREEN: No.
ANDERSON: Come on, bring the phones in. There you go. That's not his.
GREEN: (inaudible) old fashioned.
But I promise you this, I bet these answer more than anybody else in my company. I was on the phone at 5:00 am to LA this morning to find out how the store numbers were.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: You're watching Connect the World live from London. The latest world news headlines as you would expect here on CNN at the bottom of the hour, plus every movie director dreams of winning one, the golden statue, the most coveted award in the industry as Hollywood gears up for their golden night at the Oscars this Sunday. I speak to one man hoping to take a little statue home.
And Danica Patrick is making history and driving interest in NASCAR's most prestigious event. That and your sports update up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: I'm Becky Anderson. This is CNN. You're watching Connect the World. The top stories this hour.
New details in the murder investigation involving Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius. A South African official tells CNN detectives are studying a blood-stained cricket bat found at his house. Pistorius' girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was shot and killed there last week.
Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has announced via Twitter that he is back home in his country. News comes just days after this photo was released showing him with his two daughters. Mr. Chavez spent two months in Cuba undergoing cancer surgery.
Islamist militant group Ansaru is claiming responsibility for the kidnapping of seven foreigners in northern Nigerian. Some stormed the construction site in Bauchi State over the weekend. A security guard there was killed in the attack.
Well, about 70,000 people have reportedly died in Syria since the uprising there against President Bashar al-Assad began back in March 2011. UN investigators now say they want to punish those responsible. They want to refer war crimes suspects to the International Criminal Court. Nick Paton Walsh reports from Beirut.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Becky, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry into Syria today released their fourth report into atrocities in Syria, and one particular conclusion stood out: they believe the regime's atrocities in the sheer quantity significantly exceed those of the rebels.
Some key parts of the report stood out. They say they documented 12 attacks by regime jet fighters against queues of people standing outside bakeries, clearly a civilian, not a military target. And in fact, defectors from the Syrian Army, they say -- have said they're not even encouraged to distinguish between civilian and military targets.
The report also documents sexual crimes, particularly one specific rape of a 14-year-old girl by regime-affiliated forces near the northern city of Idlib. And it also points out what it believes to be a government policy of razing areas sympathetic to the rebels or held by rebels to the ground.
This report will be put forward to the UN Security Council in March along with a confidential -- a sealed list of who they've identified of being the perpetrators in the chain of command behind these atrocities. Let's listen to what Carla Del Ponte, a name you'll recall from the Balkans, now an investigator to the UN into Syria, had to say about that list today.
CARLA DEL PONTE, UN HUMAN RIGHTS INVESTIGATOR: Of course, we were able to identify high-level perpetrators and we will indicate that in a list that will remain sealed because what we need is that the tribunal taking care, conducting a formal investigation be able to issue an indictment against such perpetrators.
WALSH: Now, while of course this march towards justice for these atrocities continues and will bring great comfort to the victims of those crimes and their relatives, there are, of course, those saying it may not also assist with the international communities other push, and that's to try and get a negotiated settlement to this conflict, unlikely as many say that could be.
Will those perhaps blamed for these atrocities in the Assad inner circle want to negotiate a way out of power if potentially after that they do face some sort of prosecution for war crimes? A big question here, but without doubt, the UN today stepping forward and saying there's no doubt, the regime in the sheer quantity of war crimes they're committing far exceed that of the rebels. Becky?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Nick Paton Walsh on that part of the story for you. Well, activist Zaidun Zoabi nearly died before he was released from a Syrian detention center. He says he was tortured and placed in a cell so cramped there was little room to breathe.
But despite the danger of being arrested again, Zaidun told CNN his story. He explains to CNN's Frederik Pleitgen while he will not stop fighting for freedom in Syria.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Zaidun Zoabi returned home to his family only recently. The human rights activist in Damascus says he spent almost a month in a regime detention center.
ZAIDUN ZOABI, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST: People within 48 hours or 72 hours are not really immune, then people lose mind. And one of the guys who was arrested with me lost his mind, in fact.
There is no oxygen, so I think this is one of the reasons. And then there is the detention you are in. And then there is the torture.
PLEITGEN: Zaidun says the conditions were so bad, he almost lost his life. And he believes lobbying efforts by UN special envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi and reports on CNN help put pressure on authorities to free him.
ZOABI: On day 17, they brought me for interrogation, and they saw a ghost. And possibly because of what Mr. Brahimi has done to release me and what CNN did, too, I think they wanted to change my place. And they did. They got me some medicine, so I survived death by coincidence.
We are an ethical alternative to the regime. We will not copy any of the regime's bad practices. We will not ask for revenge. We want justice. We want life in face of the death culture. We want peace for all of us, even for the guys in the regime.
Just think of that. Does democracy harm them, those who are loyal to the government? Does democracy harm them? Does equal citizenship harm them? Does justice harm them?
PLEITGEN: Zaidun was arrested with his brother, Sohaib, who remains in custody about two months now with no charges and no information on his condition by the authorities.
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Daddy? Where are my uncle?
ZOABI: Your uncle is in jail.
He's just the most peaceful person and the most innocent person you could over meet. He's such a nice guy. Like my mother was telling me yesterday, anyone imagine he's wearing the same clothes for 57 days? She was crying, she was.
(WOMAN CRYING)
ZOABI: It's been 57 days.
PLEITGEN: Zaidun Zoabi says he is aware of the risks he's taking speaking with us. He believes he could be arrested again. But he says he will not hide and will not stop.
ZOABI: Freedom is that instinct that when it comes, you never let go. We can't stop now.
(CROWD CHANTING)
ZOABI: We will never stop until we get our freedom. We want to express ourselves freely. Is that a crime?
(CROWD CHANTING)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Just one family's story out of Syria.
Live from London, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Up next, my interview with Zainab Bangura. She tells me why rape is becoming as powerful a weapon as guns and what she is doing to stop it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Rape has long been connected to war. Now, though, there is evidence that sexual violence is increasingly being used as a weapon, a targeted tactic against women and kids. In a moment, we're going to investigate why with Zainab Hawa Bangura, a former politician from Sierra Leone, now the United Nations special representative on sexual violence in conflict.
First, though, let's take a look at the scale of what is a brutal crime.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(WOMAN SCREAMING)
ANDERSON (voice-over): Speaking the unspoken. During the 2011 Libyan War, Eman al-Obeidi stated she was gang raped by Gadhafi soldiers. In a society where sex crimes are taboo, she'd broken the silence on what was being used as a weapon of war.
(WOMAN SCREAMING)
ANDERSON: Recordings of rape were also found on mobile phones opposition fighters claimed they'd confiscated from Gadhafi loyalists.
ABDALLAH AL-KABEIR, SPOKESMAN, MISRATA MEDIA COMMITTEE (through translator): We were able to confirm that rape was used as a weapon of war because it was systematic.
ANDERSON: These atrocities, of course, did not begin nor have they ended in Libya. The United Nations estimates that during the Bosnian War between 20,000 to 50,000 women were raped. In the Sierra Leone War, the figure is even higher, with up to 64,000 victims.
In Rwanda, it's estimated that half a million women were raped during 100 days of conflict in 1994. And in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN says health centers report 40 women are raped each day in the conflict zone.
Yet there has been little justice, prompting a growing number of people to speak out.
GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR/ACTIVIST: We are here to ask -- it's a very simple thing -- is that a government in Khartoum to stop randomly killing its own innocent men, women, and children. Stop raping them, and stop starving them.
ANGELINA JOLIE, UN REFUGEE GOODWILL AMBASSADOR: We know what the victims of such crimes want but don't often get: justice and recognition.
ANDERSON: To that end, Angelina Jolie, UN refugee goodwill ambassador, has applauded a recent initiative by the British government to bring more perpetrators before the courts for an act that only since 2001 has been recognized as a crime against humanity.
ANDERSON (on camera): What motivates armed forces, whether state-backed or irregular militia, to attack civilian women and children?
ZAINAB BANGURA, UN SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN CONFLICT: They use it basically to humiliate and destroy the opposite side. I think we should understand the dynamics of conflict these, it's within states. And it's within states because certain people disagree on the distribution of resources, on marginalization.
So, it's not a state fighting against a state like we used to see, the first World War, the second World War. It's states within fighting for resources, management of resources.
And so, one of the way they think they could target the opponent, the opposition person is actually target the people who support that person. So, they go after the people who they think you come from the same area with, and they try to degrade and to humiliate them, and that's only to punish them in a way they can't recover.
What we're finding, for example, in Syria, now they are using it in prisons to solicit information from people when they want to know exactly where are the opposition. So, when men are arrested, detained, they're actually sexually abused. We see it in Mali, where opposition abuse other opposition and actually target the women and children of the other parties.
So basically, that's why the United Nations describe it as a tactic of war. That's what they use, and that's why the United Nations in resolution 1820 looks at this as an international peace and security issues.
ANDERSON: We know that rape as a tactic of war is nothing new. You referred to Syria, to Mali, and to resolution 1820, which was passed in 2008. Nobody thought that that was going to be a panacea, but does it -- provide the teeth to actually get things done?
BANGURA: So what has happened at international committees, as I said, the UN has created a legal -- legal framework. What we're trying to do is how national governments can own the situation. That's why we're engaging the African Union region, the sub-region, the organizations.
ANDERSON: Because this can't be a UN issue, can it? It has to be a domestic governmental issue.
BANGURA: We're trying to ensure and emphasize national ownership, leadership, and responsibility, because ideally, it is the government in the country that has the moral and legal responsibility to protect its citizens. So you have to hold them accountable.
ANDERSON: There has been progress, but there are huge challenges. Just how many women have been raped since 2008 and this resolution.
BANGURA: I can tell you, Becky, it's a problem that every day we learn. Because what is coming out now, from what you are discussing, is for example the issue of rape against men. We need to be able to deal with it.
We're learning to understand what do you do with children coming out of rape. If a woman is raped by four, five, ten men one night and she gets pregnant, how is she going to tell her daughter who is the father?
In Bosnia, we have 50,000 women who are on the waiting list who had been raped during the crisis in Bosnia who have not been able to have support. How many prosecutions have been done? Dozens internationally and nationally.
These women need to be supported to heal. These women need to be supported to rebuild their lives. They have to take control and become stakeholders instead of victims. We are still dealing with that issue. That's just one country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(SILENCE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP - "AMOUR")
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): You're not going to ruin your image in old age, are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I'd rather not. What image?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): You're a monster sometimes. Are you out of your mind?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Sit down.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I don't want to. What's going on?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: "Amour," the French drama tackling a big issue that affects all of us: death and aging. It's been nominated for a whopping five Oscars in this Sunday's ceremony, including Best Foreign Language Film.
Well, all this week in the run-up to Hollywood's biggest night, we'll be speaking to film directors hoping to win one of the movie industry's most coveted awards, that being an Oscar, of course. Tonight, I bring you the director of "A Royal Affair," which is a Danish period drama challenging "Amour" for Best Foreign Picture.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP - "A ROYAL AFFAIR")
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Is it true?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON (voice-over): It's a story that has gripped Denmark for generations. A love triangle involving a mentally ill Danish king, his most-trusted advisor, and his adulterous teenage wife.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our affair would change a nation. Forever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Now, this 18th-century scandal has come to the silver screen, thanks to Danish writer/director Nikolaj Arcel. "A Royal Affair" is his first major feature film, and it's in the running for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars.
ANDERSON (on camera): Feels much darker and much grittier than a Hollywood historical or period piece. Was that intentional?
NIKOLAJ ARCEL, DIRECTOR, "A ROYAL AFFAIR": We really tried to stay very close to the characters and be very intimate with them and try to sort of imagine how it would be to be living in that world in that time and experiencing these things instead of just pulling back and looking at all the nice dresses.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP - "A ROYAL AFFAIR")
ALICIA VIKANDER AS CAROLINE MATHILDE (through translator): You recognized me.
MADS MIKKELSEN AS JOHANN FRIEDRICH STRUENSEE (through translator): I would recognize you blindfolded.
VIKANDER AS MATHILDE (through translator): But your costume is not very imaginative.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON (voice-over): The film stars Danish movie icon Mads Mikkelsen in the lead role, but Arcel took a risk in casting two unknown actors as the royal couple.
ANDERSON (on camera): Talk to me about the casting. I'm fascinated. Mikkel, who plays the king, I believe he is still in acting school, and Alicia, who plays the queen, was unknown when you cast her. What were you thinking?
ARCEL: I was trying to find an actress with that certain regal quality to her that had -- and then I found Alicia in Sweden, actually. She had to learn Danish for this part. And she had that special quality. She was a dancer before she became an actress. She was an unknown, but she was so right for the part.
And the same with Mikkel, who plays the king. He was in drama school when we found him. He had never done anything before, but again, when you find somebody who's that right for the part, you can't let that go.
ANDERSON (voice-over): Arcel's mentor, celebrated Danish director Lars von Trier, is an executive producer on the film
ARCEL: I wanted somebody who was totally different from me to have that other set of eyes on the film, and I think that was so helpful in so may ways, especially in the editing, where he came in several times and saw the film and gave his notes, so that was really good.
ANDERSON: Arcel is one of a number of Danish directors influenced by von Trier who are now making their mark on the global TV and film industry.
ANDERSON (on camera): Danish directors have had quite considerable success in Hollywood of late. I'm thinking "Drive" and "Antichrist." What is it about Danish movies that are resonating, do you think, specifically in America?
ARCEL: I think the films are -- have a slight edge that people really love, but they're also quite mainstream in the actual storytelling, as well as "Royal Affair" is. So, I think that that's probably one of the reasons it resonates.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: That's a terrific movie. All this week on CONNECT THE WORLD, we're going to bring you some of the directors who are in with a chance of adding an Oscar to their mantelpiece. The awards, of course, on Sunday.
If you think you know better than the Academy, you can also vote for your favorites on cnn.com/showbiz. Let me show you some of mine: Best Picture, I think, it goes without doubt, I would say at least, looking at "Argo" for that one, and Ben Affleck, who has put together what is, I think, one of the most watchable movies certainly of the year. Big one for him, then, up for Best Film. I think that he will get that.
Actor in a Leading Role, there is now shadow of a doubt that Daniel Day- Lewis is going to get that one. The most tremendous, tremendous moments in "Lincoln," you're going to love that if you haven't seen that film already.
Let's move on. What else have we got here? Actor in a Supporting Role, Robert Dinero, I say. "Silver Linings Playbook," suburb movie, obviously got Bradley Cooper in it as well, plays the father of a bipolar son. Again, a tremendous movie.
What else have we got? Last on the list, let's have a look at the Actress in a Leading Role, it's a really good lineup there, Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook," also with Bradley Cooper, both up for big awards, both getting the nods for the Oscars.
Emmanuelle Riva in "Amour," 85 years old, she picked up a BAFTA the other day. The first time that she was nominated for an award was 42 years ago, phenomenal for her to even be getting the nod by the Academy for Leading Role.
But this is who I think may pick this up: Naomi Watts in a movie called "The Impossible." It's based on a young Spanish family's struggle to survive the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. Al Goodman, our correspondent in Madrid, talked with the film's actors and with the real-life couple who inspired them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EWAN MCGREGOR AS HENRY, "THE IMPOSSIBLE": Boys, come and see this.
AL GOODMAN, CNN MADRID BUREAU CHIEF: In "The Impossible," Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor portray the parents with three sons on Christmas vacation in Thailand in 2004. Maria Belon and her husband, Enrique Alvarez of Spain are the real parents who survived the tsunami with their sons.
MARIA BELON, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: The fears you think you have, they become nothing when something really, really becomes.
GOODMAN: Belon collaborated on the film's script to put in realistic details. It was partly shot on location where the tsunami hit.
ENRIQUE ALVAREZ, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: Even the situation when the wave came, I was playing in the small swimming pool with the kids. Then, the ball went out, and then Lucas was out of the pool just trying to get the ball.
(KIDS SCREAMING)
(WATER CRASHING)
BELON: If I would see the film from outside, I would say I was unable to go through that. But once you are there, you are able of that and more. We have so much strength inside ourselves that it's incredible when you discover that.
GOODMAN: The tsunami separated the family members.
OAKLEE PENDERGAST AS SIMON, "THE IMPOSSIBLE": I'm scared.
MCGREGOR AS HENRY: I know.
GOODMAN: Fear is a major theme in the film.
MCGREGOR AS HENRY: I'm scared, too.
ALVAREZ: If you are by yourself, you have a reason to keep going, then the fear can really take you. But if you have a reason to keep going, like helping your -- or finding your kids and your wife, et cetera, then you have an inner motive, really, to go beyond fear.
GOODMAN: Maria was badly injured, yet while in hospital, sent her oldest son to help other families find their lost loved ones.
BELON: That's the only reason, a sense of meaning of life, is helping each other, taking care of each other. Those moments, hard moments, that becomes really, really -- everything becomes black and white, and you help and you forget about yourself.
GOODMAN: The boys then were just ten, seven, and five years old. The family, shown here at the film's world premier in Toronto last September. The boys like to go surfing. Some family members also attended the recent London premier, along with Naomi Watts.
BELON: I wanted to do this story because of -- many, many people that can't tell this story, so I feel I should be there for them.
NAOMI WATTS, ACTRESS, "THE IMPOSSIBLE": Whether you know about this tsunami or not, it's a story that we can all connect with, the need to survive and who we want to survive for and why.
GOODMAN: All Goodman, CNN, Madrid.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Champions League round of 16 play resumes Tuesday when Arsenal host Bayern Munich. Patrick Snell joining me now. Mr. Snell, it's Arsenal's last hope of a trophy this season. It is quite a formidable challenge, it's got to be said, in front of them. Can they crack the German defense, do you think?
PATRICK SNELL, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: No.
(LAUGHTER)
SNELL: I don't think so. I'm sorry.
ANDERSON: Oh, dear.
SNELL: I know that's not what you want to hear, I know that, Becky. But I do know a bit. Bayern Munich are just formidable. They're scoring goals for fun in their own German Bundesliga, of course, this current season.
And you know, the Champions League is a completely different kettle of fish, but I'm not being convinced by Arsenal. I'm not just referring to their recent FA Cup woes against Blackburn Rovers, either.
Look, Bayern Munich are cruising towards that German title. They've won 18 out their last 22 league games. They won at a count of two-nothing Friday against Wolfsburg for a fourth straight victory.
They're the four-time champions of Europe, and they play with a swagger, and they're still motivated by the fact that they lost the final in their own back yard to Chelsea last May. Does that answer your question?
ANDERSON: Are you apologizing to me that you think that Arsenal may not win this game? I don't care.
SNELL: I can never understand -- I never know whether you're a Tottenham - - are you Tottenham or Arsenal? Settle that for me.
ANDERSON: Oh, please!
SNELL: I know you're Tottenham.
ANDERSON: I've been to every home game bar one this season at White Hart Lane, miserable Saturday afternoons --
SNELL: I know.
ANDERSON: -- in the rain.
SNELL: You've got a great --
ANDERSON: Don't call me a Gooner. Ha! How dare you!
SNELL: I wouldn't, I'm terribly -- well --
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: We're looking at pictures of Arsene Wenger at the moment, and that's a manager in crisis, right?
SNELL: This is a manager who's certainly feeling the pressure. I just think, though -- and he had a little bit of an outburst with the media in London, basically, on Monday ahead of the game, and I think that's -- he had a bit of a dig at one or two reporters.
Someone popped the question to him, "Can you comment on these reports that you've been offered a two-year extension to your current deal?" He didn't like it. He said he should be treated with more respect.
I think, Becky, it's just a sign that yes, he's feeling the pressure. He knows, like everyone, he's judged by results, and Arsenal have won nothing, not even a brass farthing, since May of 2005, when they won the English FA Cup against Manchester United. That's a long time for a club of that stature, Becky.
ANDERSON: You obviously thinking I was a man called Piers Morgan when you were speaking to me earlier on.
(LAUGHTER)
SNELL: Couldn't confuse you two.
ANDERSON: We'll move on. Thank you. Let's just close out with the track tonight. Danica Patrick has made racing history, I believe. Tell us more.
SNELL: She has, yes. She's become the first woman -- another first for Danica -- she doesn't do anything by halves, does she? Becoming the first woman ever to claim a pole position in NASCAR Spring Cup series. Quite incredible.
And you know what? She doesn't half pick her races, either, because she's done it ahead of next weekend's famous Daytona 500 race in Florida, one of the biggest fixtures, really, on the US sporting calendar.
Of course, Danica typically, Becky, sort of playing it down, playing down her achievement saying look, it was only a qualifying lap kind of thing, that isn't actually as difficult as winning a race. But this is fantastic. This is a huge, huge step forward, if you like, in terms of female achievements in that particular sport. Congrats to her, Becky.
ANDERSON: Good stuff. Patrick back in half an hour with "World Sport," thank you, Pat.
Tonight's Parting Shots, just before we go, we've got something that is off the wall, quite literally. A mural by famous graffiti artist Banksy had become a big attraction in North London. It showed a child laborer hunched over a sewing machine make a string of Union Jack flags.
But then, thieves gouged out a whole section of the wall to steal it. Now, the mural has appeared on a fine arts website in Miami, and they expect to sell it for somewhere between $500,000 and $700,000. London locals want it back, but with bidding closing Saturday, this piece of art could end up on someone else's wall very, very soon.
I'm Becky Anderson, good night.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
