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Connect the World
Venezuelans Honor Life of Hugo Chavez; Bolshoi Dancer: Attack Went Too Far; UN Passes Sanctions On North Korea; North Korea Threatens Nuclear Attack
Aired March 07, 2013 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MAX FOSTER, HOST: Hitting back hard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSAN RICE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UN: These sanctions will bite and bite hard.
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FOSTER: Just hours after North Korea threatens a possible nuclear attack, the United Nations take action. But are sanctions really the answer?
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN London, this is Connect the World.
FOSTER: Also ahead on this show, the dark side of beauty. What goes on backstage at the Bolshoi Ballet.
And...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLGA Kurylenko, ACTRESS: And when they ask me where did you learn that, I say Bond.
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FOSTER: Lessons for a Bond girl, actress Olga Kurylenko on how to handle 007.
First tonight, the UN security council has brushed off threats from North Korea and passed tough new sanctions against the reclusive regime. The U.S. ambassador says the sanctions will bite and bite hard. They're meant to punish North Korea for its recent nuclear test and convince it to comply with international demands on its nuclear program.
Just before the UN vote, North Korea said war was unavoidable because of these military exercises now underway between the United States and South Korea.
Pyongyang also made this threat announced on state TV.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Now that the U.S. is set to light a fuse for a nuclear war, the revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK will exercise the right to a preemptive nuclear attack to destroy the strongholds of the aggressors and to defend the supreme interests of the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, the U.S. government didn't bat an eye after that threat saying it's fully capable of defending itself against North Korea.
Let's get more now on the harsh sanctions approved today at the United Nations. We're joined by our senior UN correspondent Richard Roth -- Richard.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Max, hours after that preemptive nuclear strike threat -- it didn't happen -- the security council expanded existing sanctions and impose tougher nuance. There were no speeches. The target with this vote North Korea.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROTH: A handshake between U.S. and China symbolically sealing another sanctions resolution against North Korea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We support the draft resolution to the vote now.
ROTH: For the fourth time, the security council imposed sanctions on a North Korean regime increasingly bellicose after getting the news from New York. The new sanctions compel UN countries to block cash transfers, which pay for nuclear and ballistic missile programs, demand enforcement globally to inspect cargo and stop North Korean arms smuggling, keep closer tabs on North Korean diplomats abroad who are accused of using their privileges to advance illegal weapons programs. And now specify a list of luxury goods that cannot be sold to North Korea, including jewels, yachts and race cars.
RICE: Taken together, these sanctions will bite and bite hard. They increase North Korea's isolation and raise the cost to North Korea's leaders of defying the international community.
ROTH: The recent rocket and nuclear tests have unnerved even North Korea's key ally China. An out of control North Korea is trouble for its neighbor and trading partner.
LI BAODONG, CHINESE AMBASSADOR TO UN: Adoption of resolution is not for the sake of adoption, not for the sake of the sanctions, we want to see full implementation of the resolution. The top priority now is to defuse the tension, bring down the heat.
ROTH: North Korea's front line neighbor urged Pyongyang to cooperate and wake up from its, quote, "delusion of becoming a nuclear state."
KIM SOOK, SOUTH KOREAN AMBASSADOR TO UN: Claiming the right to preemptive nuclear strike, North Korea's provocation, whether rhetorical or physical are completely unacceptable. And we will deal with it resolutely.
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ROTH: The ambassadors all were glad there was anonymity among the security council members, however a big question remains how much will China do to enforce these sanctions? A key neighbor of North Korea, much trade goes through, and in the past diplomats believe Beijing has turned a blind eye despite sanctions that are supposed to be imposed on Pyongyang -- Max.
FOSTER: Richard, thank you very much indeed.
Well, the sanctions may indeed bite, but will they actually change North Korea's behavior. If history is anything to go by, there's not much room for hope.
More now from Anna Coren in Seoul.
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ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: North Korea has certainly upped the ante in the wake of new sanctions passed unanimously by the UN security council as punishment for last month's nuclear test. Pyongyang is threatening a preemptive nuclear strike against the United States and South Korea. Well, it's the first time it's used such language. And it certainly raised tensions here on the Korean peninsula.
We're used to fiery rhetoric out of North Korea, but nothing quite like this. Facing tough UN sanctions, Pyongyang for the first time is threatening to launch a preemptive nuclear strike on the United States and South Korea.
It comes just days after the belligerent state said it would scrape the 1953 armistice agreement that effectively ended the Korean War.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There has got to be some kind of new thinking on how to deal with North Korea, otherwise you cannot get out of this vicious circle of crime and punishment and crime and punishment.
COREN: North Korean expert Chung E Moon (ph) believes the new UN sanctions, some of the toughest it's ever imposed, will do nothing to deter North Korea's determination to become a nuclear state.
The only time sanctions worked was back in 2003 when Pyongyang to agree into six party talks. But after four years and only six rounds of meetings, North Korea walked out and there have been no further dialogue to this day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The United States and North Korea have entered the game of chicken and nobody is willing to make a concession. They are really marching toward a collision course.
COREN: As the UN security council punishes North Korea over last month's nuclear test, Professor Moon says it's now up to the United States to take the first step to getting Pyongyang back to the negotiating table. And the only way to do that is to open dialogue with the pariah state.
He believes the man who can achieve this is the new U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. A year ago, he met with North Korea's nuclear envoy in New York and has established relationships with Pyongyang.
Earlier this week in Doha, he indicated the U.S. was open to conversation with North Korea once it has stopped it's reckless behavior.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that the North Korea might have some kind of a new ray of hope under new secretary John Kerry.
COREN: But not everyone agrees that now is the right time to talk.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we start talking to them at this particular point it will just be seen by everyone, including the North Koreans as capitulating to their threats. So I think this would be very bad timing for us to come out and start engaging them in a dialogue.
COREN: Joint military drills between the U.S. and South Korea will get underway next week. And that's when North Korea claims it will walk away from the armistice, a risky move that could drastically effect any chance of future dialogue.
Well, North Korea is also holding its own military drills, which Seoul has described as unusually large. Well, analysts believe it's highly unlikely North Korea will attack, there are concerns that an armed skirmish could trigger hostilities between the two Koreas.
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FOSTER: Well, should be worried about North Korea's threats. Here's a reminder of the country's nuclear capability. First, it's known the regime has long range missiles. After several failed attempts, North Korea mounted a successful launch this past December. The regime has also carried out three underground nuclear tests just last month and earlier in 2006 and in 2009. But analysts say it's not known if North Korea has the technology needed to mount a nuclear warhead on a missile or to target a missile effectively.
Still to come tonight, from Jordan to jail cell in America, Osama bin Laden's son-in-law is now in U.S. custody. The details of his capture coming up.
Plus, high art and toxic rivalries, the star Bolshoi dancer could spend years in prison. An expert tells us about the scandal that has shaken the world's most famous ballet company.
And...
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MIKE STEENKAMP, REEVA STEENKAMP'S UNCLE: I would like to be face to face with him and forgive him.
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FOSTER: Extraordinary emotions from the family of Reeva Steenkamp who was shot dead by Oscar Pistorius, that exclusive interview coming in around 30 minutes.
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FOSTER: You're watching CNN. This is Connect the World with me, Max Foster, welcome back to you.
Now just months ago, the U.S. Senate confirmed that John Brennan is CIA director. The vote was a 63 in favor and 34 against. That vote just happened, actually. That vote was delayed by a single Republican senator who held the floor yesterday for 13 hours. Rand Paul wanted answers on whether the president has the authority to use unmanned drones against unarmed Americans at home suspected of being terrorists. A short time ago Eric Holder said firmly that it did not. Paul said he was satisfied and the vote has gone forward.
U.S. authorities say they've captured the son-in-law of Osama bin Laden. Suleiman Abu Ghaith, a prominent spokesman for al Qaeda has been brought to the U.S. from the Middle East according to reports and is due to appear in a federal court on Friday in New York.
Let's bring in CNN's crime and justice correspondent Joe Johns.
What are the latest details on this, Joe?
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Max, Suleiman Abu Ghaith is his name, He is said to be a member of the al Qaeda inner circle. 47 years old, married to one of Osama bin Laden's daughters named Fatima. He was born in Kuwait, but stripped of his citizenship after the 9/11 attacks, though it's not at all clear how much, if anything, he may have had to do with the 9/11 attacks. He was taken into custody, held in Jordan, apparently turned over to U.S. authorities only last week, and that's how he made his way to New York.
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JOHNS: Suleiman Abu Ghaith, under sealed indictment in the U.S., a face of al Qaeda terror after 9/11, a known propagandist for the organization and son-in-law of Osama bin Laden. He appeared in scary video recordings in 2001 and 2002.
SULEIMAN ABU GHAITH, OSAMA BIN LADEN SON-IN-LAW (through translator): Oh man of (inaudible), women of (inaudible) this is call for jihad.
JOHNS: More is known about what he has said than what he has done.
PETER BERGEN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: This is a guy who was a high school teacher in Kuwait who shortly before 9/11 popped up in Afghanistan and started, you know, speaking in videotapes alongside bin Laden, made a number of threatening statements about attacks on the United States in the post-9/11 time period and then disappeared from sight. And he's had, as far as I am aware, absolutely no operational role in al Qaeda in the decade since. Well, obviously there are sealed charges against him, maybe there will be something in there, but my expectation is there won't be.
JOHNS: Turkish media reports say that Abu Ghaith left Iran where he was held in what was believed to be house arrest, then to Turkey where he was arrested, but released by the courts, because he had committed no crime there. The trail ended in Jordan where he was taken to custody for good and handed over to U.S. officials last week.
A legal expert says one charge Abu Ghaith is likely to face is material support of terrorism.
KAREN GREENBERG, CENTER ON NATIONAL SECURITY, FORDHAM LAW SCHOOL: That material support charges can be tried in the federal court system as they always have. And they are highly successful in terms of bringing indictments and in terms of bringing convictions.
JOHNS: The fact that this suspect has been brought to New York sends a message that the Department of Justice has not abandoned its sometimes controversial attempts to try certain international terror suspects, especially those associated with the 9/11 attacks, in civilian court as opposed to military tribunals.
GREENBERG: And so the issue is how are we going to resolve it going forward? Because much of the debate about Guantanamo and military commissions has focused on individuals who are already in our custody, therefore, we've been able to avoid the question of what happens when somebody new and of importance and somebody tied to 9/11 or to the 9/11 al Qaeda that attacked us, how are we going to try those people going forward? And we haven't had to answer the question.
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JOHNS: Abu Ghaith is expected to appear in court tomorrow, which suggests the intention of Department of Justice to try the suspect in the United States. This has been, of course, a long running debate. Many conservatives suggesting the military tribunals are better suited for this type of defendant. The argument on the other side, as you heard there, was that federal prosecutors have a great conviction rate on terrorism suspects here in the U.S. -- Max.
FOSTER: Joe Johns, thank you very much indeed for joining us.
Now the United Nations is working to secure the release of 21 UN peacekeepers in Syria. This video posted on YouTube appears to show six of the peacekeepers. One says the group is safe and being cared for.
Peacekeepers were patrolling near the Golan Heights when they were detained on Wednesday by rebels. An opposition leader tells CNN's Christiane Amanpour the men were not kidnapped. He says they were taken from an area with heavy fighting for their own safety.
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AHMED MOAZ AL-KHATIB, SYRIAN OPPOSITION COALITION PRESIDENT: The revolutionaries are completely ready to turn in the peacekeepers to the United Nations under one condition, that the Red Cross should come and pick them up and also the Red Cross should evacuate the injured innocent civilians. We have more than 150 injured innocent civilians who suffered injuries under this savage, barbaric bombardment.
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FOSTER: Well, tonight on Amanpour, you can see more of Christiane's interview with Moaz al-Khatib. That's around 45 minutes from now here on CNN.
Tonight, as the allegations fly in Kenya, presidential candidate Uhuru Kenyatta is seeing his lead shrink from Monday's election. He's still in the lead, but with less than 50 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, the running mate of rival candidate Raila Odinga claims ballots have been doctored. The Odinga camp also say that in some counties, voter turnout actually exceeded 100 percent. And the vote counting technology failed.
Silvio Berlusconi was sentenced today to a year behind bars, but the former Italian prime minister is appealing the decision and may never serve a day in prison. Barbie Nadeau reports from Rome.
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BARBIE NADEAU, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Max, it's been a very busy of time for Silvio Berlusconi. He came two weeks ago within a hair of winning his seat back as prime minister of Italy. And he, today, was convicted of breaking Italy's secrecy laws pertaining to publishing wiretaps in really what amounts to a political vendetta against a foe from the center-left. He of course the center-right leader.
You know, the conviction, one year in prison. He will never have to serve it even if it's upheld after an appeal, because he's over the age of 75. And in Italy, you have to be under 75 to serve time for sentences longer than two years.
But more interesting, though, perhaps for Silvio Berlusconi is an upcoming verdict that we're expecting around March 18. And that of course is in his under-aged prostitution case which is winding down in Milan as well. I think more people would be interested in the outcome of that particular trial, because he faces a much longer sentence.
In that particular instance he's accused of paying a 17 year old belly dancer for sex on 13 occasions. So we'll have to wait and see what happens with Silvio Berlusconi, but he's very busy this month, Max.
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FOSTER: Now a Vatican spokesman tells CNN that no date has been set for the conclave to choose a new pope, but one cardinal, the retired archbishop of Los Angeles, tweeted that an announcement could come soon. The cardinals have been holding pre-conclave meetings in Rome all week. It's one week since Benedict XVI officially left office, becoming the first Pontiff in six centuries to resign.
Those fighting to end modern-day slavery are cheering the signing of legislation in Washington. Just a short time ago, U.S. President Obama signed into law an action that gives authorities the tools to investigate human trafficking and punish those who trade in human lives.
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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today is about young women like Thai (ph) who brought -- who was brought into the sex trade by a neighbor when she was 12 years old. Thai (ph) was rescued with the help of an organization led by trafficking survivors. Today, she's enrolled in college. She's working full time to help at-risk girls stay out of the sex trade.
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FOSTER: The new law stretches beyond U.S. borders. It will provide funding for projects in other nations dealing with issues related to human trafficking. Learn more about CNN's efforts to help end modern-day slavery and what role you can play. Log on to CNN.com/freedom.
Up next on CNN -- on Connect the World, from the Bolshoi theater to a Moscow courtroom, the latest developments in a tale of raw ambition that led to a vicious attack in the world of ballet.
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FOSTER: Tonight, it looks like a complicated crime of passion. The setting: the world's most famous ballet company. This man, Pavel Dmitrichenko, a star dancer with the Bolshoi ballet, is accused of masterminding an attack on his boss. Today, he told a Moscow court he gave the go ahead for the assault, but didn't order acid to be thrown in the face of this man, Sergei Filin, the Bolshoi's artistic director.
Russian media say Dmitrichenko was upset over Filin's refusal to give the lead in Swan Lake to his ballerina girlfriend.
CNN's Phil Black reports now from Moscow.
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PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Max, in court Pavel Dmitrichenko confessed to orchestrating attack against the artistic director of the Bolshoi ballet, but he did not accept responsibility for the way that attack played out, nor the injuries inflicted on Sergei Filin. He said he was unhappy with Sergei Filin's leadership of the dance company and that was no secret. He said he talked about his frustrations with a man he knew, and that man offered to help solve the problem by beating up Sergei Filin.
Dmitrichenko says he accepted that offer. He even admits he helped on the day by phoning the attacker to let him know when Sergei Filin had left the theater and was on his way home so the attacker could be there waiting for him. But Pavel Dmitrichenko had no knowledge the assault would involve tossing sulfuric acid in Filin's face. He said he was shocked to learn the man who had offered to beat up Filin had gone so much further than that.
Sergei Filin is in Germany receiving treatment for the serious burns to his eyes and face. He doesn't know how much of his eyesight will eventually recover.
Pavel Dmitrichenko hinted at his motives during his brief court appearance. He made allegations of corruption. He talked about dancers money being taken away and given to what he described as other interested people. He said he had always fought for fairness and dancer's rights.
There has been no official comment from the Bolshoi since one of its leading dancers implicated himself in a violent attack against its artistic director.
After so many weeks of talk and speculation about the toxic atmosphere and bitter feud at the heart of this dance company, this centuries old, world famous pillar of Russian culture, is now trying to maintain a dignified silence -- Max.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Well, the drama offstage at the Bolshoi illustrates the reality of rivalries. Ballet dancers are highly trained artists who don't get long in the professional spotlight and often earn relatively little money in such a demanding culture how fierce can competition become? Well, someone who knows all about dancers, especially like backstage at the Bolshoi is the arts and entertainment expert for RT's, Martyn Andrews. And he's with me now live from Moscow.
I guess Ballet is very competitive in so many levels, but when you're talking about the ballet company in the world, it's even more fierce than anywhere. Can you just give us a sense of the atmosphere that you've experienced there?
MARTYN ANDREWS, RT'S CULTURE EXPERT: Well, I filmed in the Bolshoi Theater many times over the past six months, especially since its renovation, a $700 million renovation, and wonderful as it is. But as temperatures here in Moscow have been under minus 10 and below for the past six months, they've certainly been high when it comes to tension and energy backstage.
It's quite interesting when, you know, American tourists, English tourists, they come to the Russian capital and they see this fantastic, beautiful ballet production in this gold ornate theater, but behind the scenes it's drama, it's casting issues, it's infight, it's rivalry and it's competition.
I actually spoke to a mother today who has a child training in the Bolshoi training academy. And her answer to me was simply this is what happens when you've got artistic people and tensions brought together, it's one huge tumultuous roller coaster journey.
FOSTER: Is it very, very straightforward, this? That's it's just -- there's so much competition, the frustration builds and then something like this happens, or is there a more complex political game going on behind the scenes there?
ANDREWS: I think it's quite unfair to say that the Bolshoi Theater is just to blame and it happens there. This happens everywhere. My experience, myself as in musical theater in the West End. And, you know, it happens on Broadway, it happens everywhere.
There's actually -- there's a famous joke that says how many actors or dancers does it take to change a light bulb. Well, the answer is 10, but only one to climb up the ladder and the rest of them to point up there and say that should be me up there. That just proves, joking aside, that it's a serious game.
And also, the Bolshoi as you mentioned before with the payscales. Their tickets are selling for thousands of dollars where you've got lead performers earning, you know, vast amounts of money where others are earning very little.
FOSTER: What sort of impact will this event have? Because competition is good in most environments. And it's obviously got very tense there, but do you think -- you know, you're talking about the entertainment world, aren't you, more broadly, and theater more broadly. Do you think this is going to be a bit of a wake-up call, are you getting that sense or not?
ANDREWS: Well, I think that, you know, people within the industry, they know the reality of the profession. And I think it's a wake-up call for people at home to realize that it's not all, you know, glamour and razzmatazz. It's, you know, serious issues, problems with budgets, casting couch, you name it, it's happening right now.
And I think that over the costume issues, and you know, everything is going to happen like this.
FOSTER: Just one last word on the -- you know, it's a wake-up call for the public, but actually they've lost a sense of reality, haven't they, for this sort of situation to happen. I know that you're saying that there is some recognition of the tensions that are there, but this is an absolutely outrageous thin to happen just for career progression, isn't it?
ANDREWS: Well, of course, this is as extreme as you can get, but in the reality, you know, things like this happen every single day on Broadway and the West End. It's just so shocking that it came to the level of this violence. A matter of fact, I was told today as well as the three men who are also questioned and in police custody at the moment, there seems to be a ballerina involved in this possible situation as well. But obviously, a terrible reality check here.
It's interesting to see many comparisons to be made to the Black Swan film that was out. And it sort of proves that television and a Hollywood film can indeed become reality.
FOSTER: Martyn Andrews, thank you very much indeed for your time from RT.
Your world news headlines are coming up.
Also on the show, mourning their leader, how thousands of Venezuelans queued through the night to say their final goodbye.
Plus, what would you say to a person who killed your daughter? The family of Reeva Steenkamp speak exclusively to CNN about their feelings towards Oscar Pistorius.
And the return of a Bond girl. Olga Kurylenko on what's it's like to work with a rather unpredictable director.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: I'm Max Foster, these are the latest world headlines from CNN. Some news just coming into CNN: Venezuelan vice president Nicolas Maduro has declared seven more days of mourning for Hugo Chavez.
He also declared that the body of the late president will be embalmed and laid to rest at the military museum. Dignitaries from around the world have already started to arrive at Caracas for a funeral planned for Friday.
The United Nations Security Council approved tough new sanctions against North Korea aimed at its secretive nuclear program. Measures include blocking the flow of cash that could be used to fund nuclear technology. Before the vote, Pyongyang threatened a, quote, "preemptive nuclear strike," presumably on US targets.
The US Senate has confirmed John Brennan as CIA director. The vote was 63 in favor, 34 against. That vote was delayed by a single Republican senator in a row over whether drones could be used to conduct targeted killings on US soil.
The son-in-law of Osama bin Laden is set to face federal charges in a US court on Friday. Officials tell CNN he is now being held in New York after his capture in Jordan this past week. Sulaiman Abu Ghaith has served as an al Qaeda spokesman.
The former prime minister of Italy is appealing a prison sentence. Silvio Berlusconi was convicted today of publishing a rival's wiretapped conversation. Berlusconi's also on trial over allegations involving an underage prostitute. A decision on that case could come later this month.
A young intern mauled to death by a lion at a California sanctuary is being mourned by her university. Twenty-four-year-old Dianna Hanson died on Wednesday after entering the lion's cage at a cat haven sanctuary in northern California. CNN's Ted Rowlands has the latest.
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TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How are you doing? How is everybody doing?
DALE ANDERSON, OWNER, CAT HAVEN ANIMAL SANCTUARY: How do you think we're doing? It's awful.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): Animal sanctuary owner Dale Anderson kept the gates at Cat Haven locked Thursday, a day after his 24-year-old intern was mauled to death by a lion. Dianna Hanson had been working here for six months, her smile in these photographs seems to show what her father says was an absolute love for the job.
PAUL HANSON, FATHER OF DIANNA HANSON (via telephone): She just loved -- this was her dream come true, working with big cats all day long, nothing but big cats.
ROWLANDS: One of those cats was Cous Cous, a 350-pound, five-and-a- half-year-old African lion who'd lived at Cat Haven since he was a few months old. This is iPhone video of Cous Cous taken by a CNN iReporter in December.
(LION ROARS)
ROWLANDS: Investigators say Dianna was with another intern but was the only one in the enclosure with Cous Cous when he attacked.
P. HANSON: Apparently, the other intern was outside the cage and was not in the cage. She was in the cage, and I don't know why in the world she'd ever be inside the lion's cage. I can't think of any reason why she would do that.
ROWLANDS: Those that knew Cous Cous say he had no history of aggression.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He eats about eight pounds of food a day.
ROWLANDS: He'd been featured on different television shows.
JEFF CORWIN, ANIMAL PLANET: This is a Barbary lion.
ROWLANDS: This is Cous Cous when he was a cub being held by Jeff Corwin on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.
CORWIN: We can't forget how powerful these animals are, and it does strike me as potentially dangerous for someone to be alone with a cat like this. And you can see a tragic outcome when one potentially loses sight on the absolute predatory ability of these incredible cats.
ROWLANDS: Why Dianna was in the enclosure is still unclear. Her father says he does take some comfort knowing she died doing something she loved.
P. HANSON: I have always had a premonition that I would get a call like this someday. But she was so happy and it was her dream, so I've always encouraged her, never tried to discourage her. But I always had this nagging feeling at the back of my mind that someday I'd get a call like this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Tens of thousands of Venezuelans have been lining up to say a final goodbye to President Hugo Chavez, who lost his battle with cancer on Tuesday. Many of them queued through the night. His body is lying in state at a military academy in Caracas ahead of his official state funeral on Friday.
Shasta Darlington joins me now, live from Caracas. And I understand, Shasta, we've had more details about the number of days the country will be in mourning.
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Max. For just the reasons that you listed. People have been waiting so long, they've been spending the night, waiting 12 hours in line so that they can get a glimpse of their comandante.
Some tension -- tensions were actually beginning to rise. It's very hot here. So the vice president, Nicolas Maduro, just announced on television that they've decided to extend for seven more days this period of lying in state so that everyone, these thousands of people from around Venezuela who are still busing in, everyone gets a chance to see him.
There won't be such a push and so much hysteria, because in some cases, it really was getting quite tense. So, that was one of the things he said.
He also made a surprising announcement, and that's that after the seven days, they're going to embalm his body, he said, just like Mao, and put it on display in a museum here in Caracas, Max.
FOSTER: And obviously the reaction -- the pictures are amazing coming out of Venezuela right now. Has it been a surprise to you, this outpouring of emotion, really, in the country?
DARLINGTON: Well, you know, Max, it just confirms what we talk about all the time, but it really humanizes it, because we always talk about what a huge presence Hugo Chavez was on the world stage, how charismatic he was.
But what you see here with these people crying, bowing over this open casket, so many people tried to touch it -- of course, they're not allowed to, they're pulled away. But you just realize that this is very real for thousands and thousands of people.
This is a man they view almost as a father, someone who changed so many people's lives, especially from the poor barrios here in Caracas and around Venezuela. He really narrowed the gap between the rich and the poor.
And for many people, what that meant literally was that they had access to their own home for the first time. Maybe they even got it for free. There were free health clinics, they had access to education.
And it just makes all of this so much more real, seeing these emotional reactions, these -- the people crying in the street. So, it definitely isn't new, but it's something that still is very striking, Max.
FOSTER: Yes, unbelievable scenes. Thank you, Shasta. Well, tributes have also been pouring in from around the world, not just in that country. Far and wide, Hugo Chavez made an impact. Here's a look at what some of our iReporters have been sending us to remember the charismatic Venezuelan leader.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OMEKONGO, IREPORTER, WASHINGTON, DC, USA: He's somebody who really wanted to help others do better, and for that, he should be respected, even by those who did not agree with his policies.
DIEGO MAESTRE, IREPORTER, COLOMBIA: Hugo Chavez became one of the most famous leaders worldwide. Presidents around Latin America recognize in Chavez somebody who did big efforts to make Latin America united.
(MAN SHOUTING IN SPANISH)
SEGIOM, IREPORTER, PHILIPPINES: The late president Hugo Chavez made great efforts to boost trade relations with the Philippines, and Venezuela became the fifth-largest trading partner of the Philippines in South America.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: The former lead detective in the Oscar Pistorius murder case has resigned from the South African police force. Hilton Botha was pulled off the case last month after prosecutors reinstated attempted murder charges against him relating to an incident in 2011. Botha is accused of chasing and firing on a minibus full of people whilst being drunk.
During the Pistorius bail hearing, the defense picked holes in Botha's evidence and suggested he'd contaminated the crime scene. Pistorius is accused of murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on February the 14th.
Oscar Pistorius denies charges against him and is currently awaiting trial. He claims he shot Reeva Steenkamp because he thought she was an intruder and says he loved her deeply. His friends and colleagues have been speaking to CNN, painting rather different pictures of his character.
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MARC BATCHELOR, SOUTH AFRICAN FOOTBALL PLAYER: He would have a trip switch, and he'd get violent and angry and he'd fight with people, and he'd cause a lot of problems. It's like, well, we were waiting for something like this to happen.
KEVIN LERENA, FRIEND OF PISTORIUS: A good guy, could have fun with his mates, and -- but never was he reckless, and never in my company aggressive towards anyone.
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FOSTER: Well, in a CNN exclusive interview, the family of Reeva Steenkamp has also been speaking out. Steenkamp's cousin and uncle agreed to talk to CNN's investigative correspondent, Drew Griffin, about how they're coping with the tragedy and what they would say to Pistorius if they saw him face-to-face.
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DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT (voice-over): The interview took place inside the Capetown home Reeva often stayed, in the back room of her cousin's, Kim Martin's. It is where we interviewed her and Reeva's uncle.
GRIFFIN (on camera): Has the family now realized emotionally what has happened?
MIKE STEENKAMP, REEVA STEENKAMP'S UNCLE: You'd sort of wake up in the morning expecting Reeva to give a phone call.
KIM MARTIN, REEVA STEENKAMP'S COUSIN: It's easier to deal with it if you don't concentrate on anything else other than the fact that Reeva's not here, and at the end of the day, she's not coming back.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): What the family says it does not want to concentrate on is just why Reeva Steenkamp is not coming back. She died in the home and at the hands of her boyfriend, Oscar Pistorius. He is charged with murder, awaiting trail for what he has called an accidental shooting.
Kim Martin says she was as close to Reeva as a sister. There were no secrets. She knew the couple were dating. She also knew Reeva was not in love.
MARTIN: And I knew that in time she would talk to me about it.
GRIFFIN (on camera): But she never did.
MARTIN: No, she never did.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): January 2nd on Small Bay in Capetown, Kim and her daughters finally did meet him at this seaside cafe.
GRIFFIN (on camera): It was the only time she ever met Oscar Pistorius. He barely made an impact.
MARTIN: It wasn't long enough to form an opinion on his personality, you know? Typical Reeva, her and I were chatting and the kids, and what I saw of him, and what we -- that we did speak, he was nice. He did seem like a nice guy.
GRIFFIN: You still think that?
MARTIN: I don't really want to comment on that.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): In what now seems an ominous event, we now know Reeva's own mother had met Oscar Pistorius, too, at least by phone. Oscar and Reeva were driving on a highway, and Oscar, prone to fast cars, was supposedly speeding.
STEENKAMP: She phoned her mum and said to her mum, "Mum, Oscar's speeding." So June took the phone and said, "Let me speak to Oscar," and said to him, "Oscar, hey listen, that's my precious and my only daughter. My precious daughter. And that's everything. That's my angel. And you'd better slow down, otherwise I will get the mafia onto you afterwards."
And Reeva said afterwards, "Mum, he slowed down."
GRIFFIN: Now the family, including Reeva's parents Barry and June, are trying to come to grips with a lot of tales from the past. Former friends of Pistorius speaking out about anger, rage, and guns, early signs that police may have mishandled the crime scene, and the fact that Oscar Pistorius, who's admitted killing Reeva in an accidental shooting, is now free from jail awaiting trial.
MARTIN: So, the less I hear about it, all the other stuff, the better.
STEENKAMP: None of us are going to be represented at the court and the trial. None of us in the family are going to go up. We won't be present. I can tell you that now. And for that reason, it's not about the court case, it's about Reeva.
GRIFFIN: It would be too painful, but choking back tears, Mike Steenkamp did say he one day does want to meet the man who killed his niece.
STEENKAMP: I would like to be face-to-face with him and forgive him. Forgive him what he's done. And that way, I can find what's probably more peace with the situation, but tell him face-to-face.
GRIFFIN (on camera): And you would forgive him, Mike?
STEENKAMP: Yes.
GRIFFIN: Whether this was a tragic accident or whether this was a murder?
STEENKAMP: Whatever the outcome, I feel that my belief -- and if Christ could forgive when he died on the cross, why can't I?
GRIFFIN: You must have seen the reports about things in his past that have come out. Is there any reaction to any of that?
STEENKAMP: The least I know from the outside, the better for myself, that right or wrong, I'm still focused on the one thing, he's forgiven us. And I'm not going to change from that.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): As for what happens to Oscar Pistorius, it doesn't matter, says Steenkamp. Nothing will bring Reeva back.
Drew Griffin, CNN, Capetown, South Africa.
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FOSTER: While Oscar Pistorius awaits trial, he is staying at his uncle's multimillion-dollar mansion in Pretoria, South Africa. The date for the trial is yet to be set. He's no longer required to visit police twice a week under terms of his bail. Instead, authorities will now visit him at his uncle's only occasionally.
Some news just coming into CNN, and voters in Egypt may have to wait a little bit longer for a key parliamentary election, it seems. Egypt's Ministry of Information reports that the country's election committee has canceled the planned start of the ballot that would have been on April the 22nd. It follows a court annulling the original decree by President Mohamed Morsi establishing the date.
You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. When we come back, up close and personal with a former Bond Girl. Our Big Interview with Olga Kurylenko is up next.
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FOSTER: Let's turn to sport news now and a move that could be welcome news to some of tennis's bigger stars. Don Riddell is at CNN Center. Don, what have authorities actually put in place here, then?
DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Thanks very much, Max. Yes, it's absolutely welcome news for some of tennis's top stars. Guys like Roger Federer and Andy Murray have in the last few months been calling for the International Tennis Federation and their own tours and events to increase drug testing, and today, it's been announced that that is going to happen.
The key development is that players are now going to be given electronic biological profiles, and they're going to be tested more, and there's going to be more out of competition testing.
If you look at the stats for the most recent year where we have this kind of information, Max, in 2011, there were only 131 drug tests in all of professional tennis, and only 21 were done out of competition. So, those numbers are going to go up, and it's a very welcome move within the sport.
The players are really concerned. They've seen what's happened to, for example, cycling and how the sport has just lost all credibility, and they want to make sure that doesn't happen to their sport.
FOSTER: Also, Don, in the US, two teams, two completely different sports, but both are having incredible runs, aren't they?
RIDDELL: Absolutely right. And it's interesting to see the players from these two teams are now kind of involving each other on social media as these winning streaks keep getting bigger and better.
Let's start with the Miami Heat. They had already set a club record 15 consecutive wins before they took on the Orlando Magic. They very nearly blew it.
It needed a very late block from Dwyane Wade on the corner, Jones there, to keep Miami in it, and that allowed the man of the moment, LeBron James, to score the winning basket in the last few seconds. So, the Miami Heat's winning streak, Max, now up to 16 games.
Meanwhile, in the NHL, the Chicago Blackhawks have now won 11 consecutive games, but it's 24 games unbeaten in regulation. They also cut it very, very fine, Daniel Carcillo scoring the goal for them in the last minute.
Two very impressive streaks. And as I mentioned, the players are starting to involve each other from each other's teams in the social media interaction. So, LeBron James after that win for Miami took to his Twitter account and said, "Hey Chicago Blackhawks, you guys are awesome! #streaking." To which, Chicago's Patrick Kane responded, "Back at you, LeBron. Keep rolling."
So, they both cut it fine, but the wins keep going. Very impressive streaks, Max.
FOSTER: Good stuff, Don. Thank you very much, indeed. Now, the award season may be over, but the spotlight endures for Hollywood's man of the moment, Ben Affleck. The star and director of Oscar-winning film "Argo" is already back on the big screen, despite wanting to take a break after making his Iranian hostage drama.
Affleck is now starring in "To the Wonder," directed by his mentor, Terrence Malick. Costar Olga Kurylenko explained to Becky Anderson why she, Affleck, and many other actors simply can't say no to the acclaimed filmmaker.
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JAVIER BARDEM AS FATHER QUINTANA, "TO THE WONDER": Love is not only a feeling. You show love.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Terrence Malick is the most remarkable director. What is it about him that makes every actor want to work with him?
OLGA KURYLENKO, ACTRESS: You know, I think apart from the result that we get, basically his movies are so different from everything else, and so, well, visually beautiful, magnificent, and poetic. It's also the way he works and the way he films on set.
ANDERSON: We're talking about lots of unscripted scenes, a lot of ad- libbing. Walk me through that.
KURYLENKO: The script wasn't present -- or wasn't available to us. I only heard the story from Terry. The scenes -- he would come up with -- he would tell us the last minute, because he didn't want us to overthink it, to rehearse. So, he likes the spontaneity, he likes the instinct, he likes the mistakes to happen. He likes the real thing.
And it's refreshing, because you never know where you're going, and in a way, some people it might scare, not knowing where they're going. It excites me, amazingly. I just -- I love that. I love not knowing what I'm going to do.
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KURYLENKO: I think, OK, throw me in. It's like he would just throw you off the cliff into the water.
BARDEM AS FATHER QUINTANA: You feel your love has died? Perhaps it's waiting to be transformed into something higher.
ANDERSON: This movie seems so intense. Had you any sense of what it would look like in the end?
KURYLENKO: I was surprised by the result. I didn't know what to expect. I knew a vague story, but then, anything could happen. And as I said before, Terry, what he does, when he films, he doesn't film just the story he's going to make.
He films the whole palate, and he will do his painting in the cutting room. He doesn't paint while he films. He only gets the colors.
ANDERSON: So, Olga, what would you say to somebody who hadn't seen a Terrence Malick movie before?
KURYLENKO: Huh. Well, if you like unconventional cinema, if you like not to know the answers --
ANDERSON: At the end?
KURYLENKO: At the end. Well, if you actually -- which means, if you actually don't mind thinking and actually maybe going into reflecting on what you've seen.
BARDEM AS FATHER QUINTANA: Love each other, and that love that never changes.
KURYLENKO: It's not a comedy. But I think it portrays a lot of true sides of our lives, and different -- views on different subjects, like faith, God, relationships, love, mental instability. Mental illness.
ANDERSON: Sort of describing all of us, to a certain extent.
KURYLENKO: Describing my character.
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KURYLENKO: And describing all of us, yes.
ANDERSON: Many of our viewers around the world will know you as a Bond Girl in "Quantum of Solace," of course.
MATHIEU AMALRIC AS DOMINIC GREENE, "QUANTUM OF SOLACE": Mr. Bond, she won't go to bed with you unless you give her something she really wants.
ANDERSON: How different was it taking on a role like this?
KURYLENKO: Completely different, but it's completely different from all the movies, not only the Bond films. The difference of course, the Bond movie was a big action film and everything was rehearsed and I had to prepare for two months physically.
And I call it a Bond school, because I went there and I learned so many skills that I've used in so many movies after that, and I come half prepared. People ask me to shoot or to fight or run or anything, and I already know how to do it. And when they ask me, "Where did you learn that?" I say "Bond."
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FOSTER: Olga Kurylenko finishing this edition of CONNECT THE WORLD, thank you so much for watching.
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