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Connect the World
Italian Supreme Court To Retry Amanda Knox; Northern Cypriots Worry About Spillover Effects from Banking Crisis In South; Iraq, Syria Play Rare Friendly In Baghdad
Aired March 26, 2013 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MAX FOSTER, HOST: Amanda Knox is ordered to stand trial again for the death of her former roommate Meredith Kercher. Tonight, is Knox on her way back to jail? I'll be speaking to an expert who wrote the inside story on the case.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN London, this is Connect the World.
FOSTER: Also ahead on the show, thousands take to the streets in the U.S. Capital fired up by one of the most divisive issues facing the country and around the world. Plenty of you are also weighing in.
Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I come from an inner city in East London. And, you know, me getting to drama school and me coming to, you know, a West End theater was a long dream.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: How Prince Charles' charity propelled this big TV actor to stardom.
It's not over yet. The sensational murder trial that captivated the world just four years ago seemed to starting up again. Italy's supreme court has ordered American Amanda Knox to face retrial for the murder of British student Meredith Kercher. CNN's Ben Wedeman has more from Rome.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No cameras were allowed inside, but there was a gaggle waiting outside Italy's supreme court, which at exactly one minute after 10:00 Tuesday morning announced its ruling.
The October 2011 acquittal of Amanda Knox and her former Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito for the 2007 murder of British exchange student Meredith Kercher overturned.
CARLO DALLA VEDOVA, AMANDA KNOX'S ATTORNEY: The motivation behind this decision...
WEDEMAN: Knox's lawyer was shocked, but not bowed.
DELLA VEDOVA: ...is upset, surprised, because we thought that the case was over, but at the same time as she did in the last five years she's ready to continue and we're ready to fight.
WEDEMAN: Through a spokesman, Knox issued a statement which read in part, "no matter what happens, my family and I will face this continuing legal battle as we always have: confident in the truth and with our heads held high in the face of wrongful accusations and unreasonable adversity."
Pleased was Kercher's family whose lawyer says he has only just begun to fight.
"I spoke to Stephanie, her sister," says Francesco Maresca. "She was very happy. I've explained to her that we will start again from the appeal and we'll get a new ruling.
But finality is elusive in Italy's legal labyrinth for crimes of passion or profit, says journalist John Follain who wrote a book on the case.
JOHN FOLLAIN, AUTHOR: You rarely get a definitive ruling on who planted a (inaudible) bomb, or on who killed some top politician. And that's partly because there is a huge system of guarantees built in to protect the defendants. And that's a reaction to the kangaroo courts for the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.
WEDEMAN: Forgotten in all of this is 26 year old Rudy Guede, a native of the Ivory Coast who was convicted to 16 years for Kercher's murder. He appealed his case to the supreme court before and lost.
The supreme court judges now have 90 days to explain their ruling, then the defense and the prosecution 45 days to issue their response. An appeals court in Florence will hear the case, date unknown. Knox and Sollecito needn't be present until the verdict is issued.
This case could go on without a definitive outcome for some time to come.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: We're covering this story from both sides of the Atlantic. Reporter Linda Byron joins us from King TV in Seattle. That's Amanda Knox's hometown and CNN contributor Bobby Nadeau joins us from Italy where Knox is wanted, of course.
Barbie, you were in the courtroom today, weren't you? What was the reaction like when the news came through?
BARBIE NADEAU, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think most people were shocked by the reversal of their acquittal. And, you know, really wonder what happens next, because it's a very complicated case if Amanda Knox's stays (ph) in Seattle. And at this point we've got to really see how this plays out. What -- you know, when the trial is going to begin. If Amanda Knox, she doesn't have to appear at her appellate trial, but she may choose to, according to her lawyers. It's going to be up to her.
The dynamic still is really up in the air, Max.
FOSTER: Linda, will she appear?
LINDA BYRON, KING TV CORRESPONDENT: Well, she's not planning to go over for the trial, that's certainly well known here. Her attorneys have said she doesn't intend to go. She does not have to be there. Boy, I think it would be really tough to get her over there without an extradition battle. And of course that would only be set up should her conviction be reinstated at some point.
FOSTER: Barbie, is that likely? Will there be a case without her appearing, which could lead to an extradition request?
NADEAU: No. You know, we're looking at an extradition order some time down the road. First of all they've got to retry -- the appellate -- the process of this case. And then the Italian supreme court has to once again approve or reject that hearing. So we're looking at at least three or four, maybe five years before there would be an ultimate conviction, a final say on this case at which time if she's convicted and if she's sentenced to time in Italian prison, then you'd begin that extradition battle. But that's down the road, Max.
FOSTER: Your politicians, or the politicians there obviously have bigger things on their mind right now, but could this potentially become a diplomatic row or would it just stay in court, this issue?
BYRON: Well, I think here in Seattle...
NADEAU: I think it already is...
FOSTER: Barbie -- sorry, first...
BYRON: Here in Sea -- oh, go ahead.
NADEAU: I think it really is already on some level a diplomatic row. There was -- it was outrage when Amanda Knox was found guilty in certain quarters of the United States. And there was equal outrage here in Italy when she was acquitted. So really, no matter how this ends up, no matter how this plays out, at the end of the day one side is going to feel they've lost and that justice has not been served.
FOSTER: Linda, what's the view of the Americans, particularly in Seattle? Are they completely convinced that they have an innocent local there? Or what -- how is it -- what sort of support does she have and might she have if she's expected to go to Italy?
BYRON: Amanda Knox has a great deal of support here in Seattle. I think people were convinced by the appeals court this is a very technical community, a scientific community. When the court threw out the DNA evidence and said there was really no substantial evidence of any kind to link her to that murder, people were convinced that she was innocent. And for the most part I think people are absolutely shocked at this decision today.
FOSTER: She's done an interview, hasn't she, which hasn't aired yet. As I understand it, that was meant to have sort of almost deal with this issue in the public realm. But obviously it's all going to be fired up again.
How do you think she's going to handle it? And what about this interview?
BYRON: Well, of course we don't know what she has said, but we do know she has spent the last year working on her book waiting to be heard. When she was first exonerated by that appeals court in Perugia , she came back to Seattle, she went back to the University of Washington for awhile, but when that book deal purported to be worth $4 million came out, she concentrated on writing that book and I think the real expectation was that this would be sort of the definitive word from Amanda Knox on primarily her experience and how she was treated wrongly by the Italian judicial system. One has to wonder whether that might be somewhat dangerous at this point to say those things.
FOSTER: Yeah, absolutely. So we'll see what happens with that.
But Barbie, just outline -- obviously you said it could be years, this process, but briefly what are the next stages?
NADEAU: Well, the Italian judicial system is a three tier system, so every single criminal case is heard at the first level. There's a right to appeal and then there is a final judgment by the supreme court.
Right now basically Amanda Knox's conviction, acquittal of her -- the overturning of her acquittal -- has been sent back to her second level. So she's got to go through the last two levels again, that is the appellate process and then the supreme court.
Right now, though, the -- we are all waiting for the judge's reasoning. We've got 90 days to wait potentially until the judges issue their reasoning and why they came up with this reversal. And then after that, the defense lawyers have 45 days in which to respond. Only after that will we have, you know, the beginning of a court calendar put into place.
But the hearing will -- the appellate hearing will be held in Florence, not in Perugia this time. So at least there is a change of venue.
FOSTER: Barbie in Italy, thank you for joining us. Also, Linda Byron who is in Seattle, very much appreciate your time. We'll be talking about this for years, it seems to come. Thank you very much.
Our top story tonight, Italian judges order a retrial for Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito over the 2009 murder of British student Meredith Kercher.
This is Connect the World. Coming up, angry protests in Cyprus as people are running short on cash. We'll see what's being done to reopen banks shut by a financial crisis.
New details emerge about the mysterious death of this exiled Russian oligarch. That's just ahead.
And do you really know the true story of how Osama bin Laden was killed? All that and much more when Connect the World continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: You are watching CNN. This is Connect the world with me, Max Foster. Welcome back to you.
An epic debate on an emotionally charged issue, one that could redefine the idea of marriage in America. The U.S. Supreme Court is wading into the argument over same sex marriage. The high court justices are hearing two cases this week. Today, they spent 80 minutes hearing legal arguments challenging proposition 8, California's ban on same sex marriage.
The lead lawyer defending the ban says the voters who backed it should be respected whilst a prominent filmmaker says a civil right is at stake.
Hear them now in their own words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES COOPER, PROPOSITION 8 DEFENSE ATTORNEY: We believe that proposition 8 is constitutional and the place for the decision to be made regarding redefining marriage is with the people not with the courts.
ROB REINER, DIRECTOR: I think when it comes to a civil right, and there's no question about this, this is a civil right, this is not something that should be left to the whims of voters. If that was the case, maybe women can't vote, maybe black people should still be slaves. I mean, these are civil rights. And this is the one class of people, the gay and lesbian community, the one class of people in this country that is viewed lesser under the law. And it is up to the courts to decide what is constitutional and what constitutes a civil right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, in 20 minutes, we'll show you why America's top court seems to want to go slowly and why the same sex marriage debate is very personal for at least one California family.
Italy's foreign minister is resigned in protest at the fate of two marines. Julio Terze (ph) says the government ignored his objections to returning the men to India to face murder charges. Italy sent the marines back on Friday reversing a previous position that they should be tried in Italian courts. They're accused of killing two Indian fisherman last year whilst guarding an Italian oil tanker.
Officials in Cyprus say they're making superhuman efforts to reopen banks as promised by Thursday, but they also want to make sure people don't rush to drain their accounts further damaging the battered economy.
Let's bring in Ivan Watson. He's live in Nicosia for us tonight -- Ivan.
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Max. That's right, this is the 11th straight day that banks have been closed in Cyprus. People cannot really access their accounts here as the government continues to struggle with this crisis and trying to figure out how to reopen the banks without allowing whatever is left in these banks from getting pulled out by panicky and scared investors.
Now the government has put out a number of statements saying that the president is setting up crisis management teams, that he's also held exploratory meetings for sending up some kind of an investigative committee that would, as the government spokesman put it, see criminal, civil, and political responsibilities for this great economic tragedy that is hitting this country.
This morning, we saw hundreds if not thousands of young Cypriots out in the streets of Nicosia peacefully demonstrating, calling for people to keep their hands off Cyprus. We also saw hundreds if not more employees of one of the largest banks in the country, the Bank of Cyprus, protesting outside the headquarters of that bank.
And a lot of questions still up in the air about how the banks can reopen, how the government will try to institute the system of capital controls, how some kind of normal economic life can resume come Thursday if, in fact, the banks reopen when they're supposed to.
Some of these banks were supposed to open up yesterday, Max, and they didn't presumably for the government to make more preparations.
In the meantime, today we took a look at a different part of Cyprus, Max. Since 1974, this island has been divided, ever since the Turkish army invaded the northern part of the island. And we went to talk to the other side of Cyprus to see how they view this financial crisis hitting the southern Greek part of the island.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON: The economic crisis has left the Republic of Cyprus reeling with many Cypriots very worried about what the future may bring. In the background, however, there are questions about what impact this may have on one of the oldest conflicts in the eastern Mediterranean, an unresolved dispute that has left this island divided between Greek and Turkish Cypriots for nearly 40 years.
We are now walking across the so-called green line. In 1974, this was basically a front line in a war between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. And it still divides the two communities. We're going over to the northern Turkish Cypriot side to hear what the cousins of the Greek Cypriots think of this economic crisis.
The banks are OK here.
RESAT SARP, TURKISH CYPRIOT UNIVERSITY STUDENT: It's OK. It's nowhere perfect.
WATSON: Right.
Do you feel badly for them?
SARP: Yes.
WATSON: As you can see, the dividing line has grown much more relaxed over the last 10 years. And now both locals and tourists can flow freely between the north and south of Cyprus.
KUDRET OZERSAY, PROFESSOR, EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN UNIVERSITY: In the Turkish cities, we don't -- we are not happy to see these bad economic developments in the Greek Cypriot side, because at the end of the day we are living on the same island and it may have certain negative consequences, repercussions on the Turkish Cypriot side as well.
WATSON: Turkey is basically the only country in the world that officially recognizes the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. And while the Greek Cypriots to the south have major financial and economic problems, here in the north the Turkish Cypriots are experiencing their own political drama preparing for local elections.
This massive flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, it can be seen all the way from Greek controlled southern Cyprus. There are some Cypriots that hope one silver lining to the financial crisis hitting the south might be an opportunity for future cooperation between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, that perhaps this could lead to a resolution of the frozen conflict that has loomed over this divided island for nearly 40 years.
Ivan Watson, CNN, Tashkent, in northern Cyprus.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Death by hanging, that's the finding of an autopsy on Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky. British authorities say pathologists found no sign of a violent struggle. Berezovsky, a longtime Kremlin critic, was found dead at his mansion near London where he lived in self- imposed exile. Some friends say he had been depressed over personal troubles. Medical examiners will open an inquest this week, standard procedure in the case of unnatural deaths in England.
Now to a new account of what really happened on the night Osama bin Laden was killed. A Navy SEAL who took part in the raid in Pakistan is disputing a highly publicized account by another SEAL team member. Jake Tapper has this exclusive report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For a nation still grieving in many ways, it was a well-needed victory in the war on terror.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda.
TAPPER: And for a president running for reelection during a tough economic time, it was touted as his signature foreign policy accomplishment.
JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Osama bin Laden is dead, and General Motors is alive.
TAPPER: Osama bin Laden was dead and the elite squad of men who took him out instantly became anonymous legends and action movie characters.
Details of the raid were sketchy at first, but soon the White House put out an official narrative of what happened.
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It was a firefight. He, therefore, was killed in that firefight. And that's when the remains were removed.
TAPPER: But even after President Obama met with members of SEAL Team 6, he still didn't know the answer to one critical question. Who delivered the shot that killed bin Laden?
In the subsequent days and weeks after the raid, the members of SEAL Team 6 splintered, several of them offering different accounts of what went down inside bin Laden's complex that night.
MARK OWEN, FORMER NAVY SEAL: We both engaged him several more times.
TAPPER: First up was the former SEAL calling himself Mark Owen in disguise on "60 Minutes." His can account as described in his best-selling book "No Easy Day" has his spotting bin Laden's head poking out from a door frame. Another SEAL he dubs the point man fired the first shot, then rushed into the room.
QUESTION: You stepped into the room and saw the man lying on the floor. What did you do?
OWEN: Myself and the next assaulter in, we both engaged in several more times and then rolled off and then continued clearing the room.
QUESTION: When you say you engaged him, what do you mean?
OWEN: Fired.
QUESTION: You shot him?
OWEN: Yes.
TAPPER: But soon enough, a new SEAL emerged on the cover of "Esquire" magazine claiming that he in fact was the shooter and according to his story he stared down Osama bin Laden face-to-face and shot him in the forehead.
Journalist Phil Bronstein wrote the "Esquire" article.
PHIL BRONSTEIN, "ESQUIRE": The shooter rolled into the bedroom on the right-hand side and ultimately right there faced Osama bin Laden less than a foot away from his gun and shot him there three times in the forehead.
TAPPER: But now a third SEAL team six member comes forward with his side of the story as told to one of the few journalists to ever meet Osama bin Laden, CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: The third SEAL's account is actually very close to what Mark Owen told "60 Minutes."
The point man saw bin Laden stick his head out of his bedroom, shot him, mortally wounded him, and then two more SEALs came in and finished him off on the floor, Mark Owen and the shooter in the "Esquire" article. So what the difference here is the shooter in the "Esquire" article, as you said in your piece, shoots bin Laden while he's standing up. He looks like he's going maybe for a gun.
The SEAL Team 6 member I spoke said that's completely false. Bin Laden couldn't have reached for a gun because his guns were somewhere else, which they only found later, that bin Laden was not shot by this guy in the "Esquire" article in the way that it is described.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: CNN security analyst Peter Bergen there speaking with Jake Tapper.
Live from London, this is Connect the World. Coming up, the beautiful game returns to Baghdad. Iraq took on Syria in a friendly. We'll tell you what happened next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: A big day of World Cup qualifying around the globe. Don Riddell is here with the latest on some key matches. Take us through it, Don.
DON RIDDELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks very much, Max.
Yes, 32 games being played this Tuesday on six continents all over the world. The next World Cup in Brazil might still be just over a year away, but we really are getting to the business end now of qualifying. And within the next few months we are going to have the teams knowing that they're going to Brazil for that tournament.
Probably the most intriguing game in Europe is being played in Paris right now. There's about 20 minutes left in that game between France and Spain.
Now this is a Group I match. France actually went into this game, Max, with a two point lead over Spain and an awful lot for La Roja to do. They were held to a surprising draw by Finland just before the weekend. Of course, they are the defending world champions and the team that's won the European Cup twice. And it seems to be going their way at the moment. With about 20 minutes left to go in that game, I can tell you that Spain are leading by 1-0. Pedro, the scorer in that game.
Also an interesting game in Group H between Montenegro and England. This was the fixture that ended the qualifying for the last European championship tournament. In that game, you may recall that Wayne Rooney was sent off for a petulant kick which meant that he missed the first two games of the European Championships. Well he certainly kept his cool on this occasion. He scored for England after six minutes as you can see there. And they are winning that game with also around 20 minutes to go.
England also need this victory, because they are lying currently in second place in that group, two points behind Montenegro. But if these results stand, or at least if these results stay as they are, then both England and Spain will go top of their groups by the end of the day.
FOSTER: And you've been reporting, Don, on -- Don, on all the troubles with Egyptian football over the months and years, but there's been some progress today, some good news.
RIDDELL: Well, yeah, you know it's been a really, really difficult time for Egyptian football in the last year or so. But they are on track to qualify for the World Cup tournament for the first time since 1990. They had a good win today against Zimbabwe winning that game by 2-1 thanks to a late strike from Mohammed Aboutrika, that was a penalty late on in that game.
So they actually remained perfect in their qualifying group. They've got nine points and are very much on track to qualify since they're five points clear of the second place team Guinea.
And it was also an interesting match, because there were fans at this qualification game for the first time since the Port Said stadium disaster last February which left some 70 supporters dead. Egypt have actually played a home qualifier since, Max, but there were no fans allowed at that game last June.
Egypt's interior ministry allowed some 10,000 fans to come into this game, which of course was nowhere near the stadium capacity, but it was important that fans were allowed to see it and they left very happy.
FOSTER: It's on a different level from the World Cup, but this game in Baghdad, a moment in history, really, a fascinating event in itself.
RIDDELL: Well, yeah, I mean, of course very interesting to see Iraq and Syria play each other, two countries with very similar problems, although of course Iraq will be hoping that they are emerging from the decades of sectarian strife that's caused their country so many problems. And this was a very rare match in Baghdad, only the second time that the national team has been allowed to play in the Iraqi capital since the war began in 2003. Some 40,000 fans were there to see it. And they were there to see Ali Rehema scoring the winning goal for Iraq deep into stoppage time.
The Lions of Mesopotamia winning that game by 2-1. And really a terrific occasion in Baghdad there today.
FOSTER: OK, Don, thank you very much indeed for that.
The latest world news headlines just ahead. Plus, how the same sex marriage debate is hitting home, especially in California. And we'll look at what you think of the issue. Our Facebook page is on fire, let's say.
And a trip to the depths of the ocean. And you don't even have to leave your armchair. That's coming up in our Going Green series.
Plus, find out why some of Hollywood's finest are walking on the red carpet here in London today.
(COMMERCAIL BREAK)
FOSTER: This is CONNECT THE WORLD. The top stories this hour. Amanda Knox is vowing to fight after Italy's Supreme Court ordered a retrial for her and her former Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito. The judges overturned their acquittals in the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher. Knox's attorney tells CNN she was upset and surprised by the decision.
Banks in Cyprus are still closed and will be until at least Thursday despite the island's $13 billion lifeline from Europe. Officials say they're trying to come up with just the right restrictions on deposits to insure there's not a bank run.
The US Supreme Court has begun hearing arguments in the debate over same-sex marriage. Tuesday's hearing involved a challenge to California's Proposition 8, which defined marriage as solely between a man and a woman.
The United States says it's taking new threats by North Korea very seriously, adding it's ready for any contingency. Pyongyang today ordered its rocket and artillery units to prepare for war, even listing possible targets.
Tonight, the great debate that's gripping America and being monitored across the world over same-sex marriage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AUSTIN NIMOCKS, VICE PRESIDENT, AMERICANS DEFENDING FREEDOM: And what we need the Supreme Court to do is not try to short-circuit this debate. We need to keep the debate alive. Americans on both sides of this issue are deeply invested in this debate on marriage.
We don't need a 50-state solution presented by the Supreme Court when our democratic institutions are perfectly capable of handling this issue. And that's really what the court is going to decide.
KAMALA HARRIS, CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: The United States Supreme Court since the 1880s has 14 times described marriage as a fundamental right. So, when we're talking about this issue going before the court, we are talking about fundamental notions of freedom, of justice, and liberty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: The US Supreme Court is hearing a challenge to the state of California's ban on same-sex marriage. There's plenty more to come on Wednesday. CNN's senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, spent the day at the high court and joins us live from CNN Washington. If you can, Jeffrey, this is obviously such a big, complex issue at this point. But what's really at stake here?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, what's at stake here is somewhat up for debate, which is what makes it so confusing. The court has many options available to it.
The issue precisely before them today was the California law banning same-sex marriage, known as Proposition 8. And so one option available to the court is they could simply overturn Proposition 8 and order California to allow same-sex marriage.
They could also order that all 50 states have same-sex marriage. Currently, only nine states have same-sex marriage. Or, they could approve Proposition 8 and say that each state can make up their own mind about whether to have same-sex marriage. So there are lot of options available to the nine justices.
FOSTER: And Jeffrey, as you know, polls show a significant shift in US public opinion on same-sex marriage. These are the results of a CNN poll taken last week, in fact. It asks should marriages between gay and lesbian couples be recognized by the law as valid? 53 percent of Americans said yes.
In 2007, only 40 percent did. What's accounting for this strengthening of opinion, this polarizing of opinion as well?
TOOBIN: Well, the gay rights movement has made such enormous progress in the United States. There are many more openly gay people in public life, in the media. The president of the United States, Barack Obama, endorsed same-sex marriage in the middle of the political campaign. He was not at all punished for it.
Young people in particular in the United States overwhelmingly support same-sex marriage. So there appear to be a confluence of circumstances that all are pushing in the same direction.
FOSTER: OK, Jeffrey, do stay with us. Let's head to California now where this debate is so much more than courtroom drama. It's very personal for one family, whose teenage son is gay, waiting to hear from Harvard, and not long ago was suicidal. CNN's Kyung Lah looks at what happens when the dispute takes a seat at the dinner table.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In California's conservative Antelope Valley, a fight inside the Barros home mirrors the debate in the US Supreme Court, just far more personal.
LAH (on camera): Do you regret how you were before?
NARDA BARROS, MOTHER: I regret, yes. You don't realize how far you can go in hurting your own son. I didn't know.
CROWD (chanting): Yes on 8!
LAH (voice-over): Narda Barros cheered the passage of California's Proposition 8 five years ago, the state measure that eliminated same-sex marriage. What she didn't know: her shy and withdrawn 13-year-old son was gay, being eaten alive by a sense of shame over his secret.
BARROS: The most scary part for me was he's -- he tried to kill himself. He was suicidal. I remember nights I had to be with my eyes open.
LAH: Shortly after California banned same-sex marriage, Anthony came out to his family, changing everything for the self-described conservative and religious mother.
BARROS: I think it's very important for a lot of people that are gay now. Why they had to wait so many years to realize this -- under the law, they deserve a marriage like the same rules that we have. And I support my son.
LAH: Her husband disagrees.
JOHN BARROS, FATHER: It's about family. It's about procreation. It's about values. He's not going to be a second citizen in any way.
LAH (on camera): Except he can't get married, according to your beliefs.
J. BARROS: According to what I believe, yes. I'm against it, yes. I am. I have my reasons, and I believe strongly in those reasons.
LAH: What is it like for you to hear your father speak?
ANTHONY BARROS, SON: It's just kind of really hard to hear him say stuff like that. But I know it's a process for everyone. I don't think he realizes how much it hurts me individually that he does not support gay marriage because I would like to get married one day, and I would want him to be there.
LAH: This is quite the list of achievements here.
LAH (voice-over): Anthony, now a high school senior, is a young activist with a Gay-Straight Alliance, but he's also senior class president, on the homecoming court, and finds out this week about his acceptance into Harvard. On the eve of his graduation, this high achiever wants it all, including equality in the home, why he pushed to paint this mural in his conservative hometown.
A. BARROS: How much longer is it going to take if it doesn't get ruled unconstitutional now? How much longer am I going to have to wait to have a marriage?
LAH (on camera): Are you talking to the Supreme Court or to your father?
A. BARROS: I'm talking to both of them.
LAH (voice-over): Kyung Lah, CNN, Lancaster, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Well, in the US, same-sex issue is a divisive issue, but in other parts of the world, being in a same-sex relationship could cost you your life. Right now I want to show you in detail how other countries view homosexuality and same-sex marriage.
Take a look at this map. A dozen countries have laws allowing same- sex marriage and domestic partners, highlighted here in green. They include Argentina, Brazil, Canada, South Africa. Also Belgium, Holland, Spain, and a handful of other countries in Europe.
There are nearly 20 other countries shown here in yellow that offer some rights to same-sex couples, including France, Germany, and the UK, as well as parts of the US and Mexico.
But some 80 countries consider homosexuality illegal, and according to Amnesty International, there are 7 countries where same-sex relationships are still sometimes punishable by death. There they are, shown in red. They include Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen, and parts of Nigeria.
Now, we asked people on our Facebook page whether they thought same- sex couples should be allowed to marry. Within just an hour, we had an absolutely ton of comments. This one from Germany, "What century are we living in? They are people just like me and we need to respect their rights."
From Bulgaria, this comment: "Why shouldn't they? I have yet to hear a valid reason why same-sex marriage will wreck the lives of people involved in it."
Over in Pakistan, "It's disgusting. Please stop supporting this ridiculous thing."
In Cambodia, Sithat writes, "Same-sex marriage is not allowed in my country. However, people are entitled to the rights to do anything that does not harm others."
Nigeria, "Same-sex marriage is against the norms. Such unions should not be blessed by anybody. It's against the law of procreation," says Yusuf.
Finally, down in South Africa, "Same-sex marriage has been legal in South Africa since 2006. About time the US catches up," says Tony Jardim in South Africa.
In Britain, the government same-sex marriage bill passed an early stage in the House of Commons, whilst in France, moves there to legalize a similar measure sent thousands of anti-gay protesters onto the streets of Paris on Sunday.
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FOSTER: Not so different from some parts -- some of the protests, rather, we've been seeing in Washington. Jeffrey, you're in the Washington bureau. What's your sense here? Do some lawmakers in the US feel they are out of step on the issue, or are they not really aware of -- or do they even care about what's going on in other parts of the world?
TOOBIN: Well, I think like some many things in this country, it is very polarized by party. The Democratic party has been extremely unified around support of same-sex marriage.
President Obama supports it. President -- former president Clinton. Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton just last week announced her support for same-sex marriage. If you want to run for office as a Democrat in this country, you basically have to be for same-sex marriage.
Republican party very different. It is true there have been small signs that a few Republican lawmakers are supporting same-sex marriage. A senator from Ohio who has a son who's openly gay announced his support for same-sex marriage the other day.
But by and large, the Republican party is overwhelmingly opposed to same-sex marriage, and I think many people in that party believe that's a political problem because that's -- that view is held by a shrinking number of people in this country. But the issue is still very polarized by party here in the United States.
FOSTER: Jeffrey, more hearings tomorrow. Is there a sense -- have you got a sense of which way the legal system is going on this? Where's the tide going?
TOOBIN: Boy, it -- it was -- it's often you can tell which way the Supreme Court is leaning from watching an argument. Today was very difficult to tell. There were a lot of opinions all over the place and I really wouldn't venture a prediction.
Tomorrow's case is somewhat different. Tomorrow's case involves a federal law passed in 1996 which says that the federal government will not recognize same-sex marriages even in states where it's legal.
I think same-sex marriage supporters are more optimistic that this law will be struck down than they were about today's case, so I think tomorrow we'll know a lot more about which way the court is leaning than we did today about the California case.
FOSTER: And we'll be back with you then. Jeffrey, thank you very much, indeed, for joining us in DC.
Live from London, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Up next, do the right thing. That's Oprah's mantra, and she thinks her best thing is inspiring the next generation. That's what makes her one of our Leading Women.
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FOSTER: She is a media queen known around the world just by her first name. Last week on CNN's Leading Women series, we told you how Oprah Winfrey started her own cable network after leaving her long-running TV talk show. Now, Felicia Taylor shows us how Oprah mentors and inspires.
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FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She's a global celebrity and a media mogul, embracing her fame and the opportunities and responsibilities it brings.
OPRAH WINFREY, CHAIRWOMAN AND CEO, OWN: When people say "You're a brand," I would say, "No, I'm just Oprah." What I recognize now is that my choice to do the right thing and the excellent thing is what has created the brand.
TAYLOR: But Oprah Winfrey has found that being a brand comes with its own set of challenges.
WINFREY: It all begins here.
TAYLOR: Her name and association were not enough to propel OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network, to instant success. After its launch in 2011, it struggled to find an audience, a voice, and a proper role for Oprah herself.
PATTIE SELLERS, SENIOR EDITOR AT LARGE, "FORTUNE": Originally, she picked a lot of the wrong people to build this cable network from the ground up.
WINFREY: Magazine called you the anti-Oprah. What did you think that meant?
SELLERS: Now she has a much more stable crew, and she's running it. And I think she realized at a certain point that she had to step up, she had to own it, so to speak.
TAYLOR: With OWN now gaining in viewers and influence, it's given Oprah a platform to spread her message.
MEHMET OZ, HOST, "THE DR. OZ SHOW": Number one thing people ask me about is dieting.
TAYLOR: Many of those who have worked with her see Oprah as an inspiration and a mentor.
OZ: From the very moment I started playing with Oprah on television, it's been an inspiration to me. It's what I -- I liken it to going to Oprah University, where you literally spend hours and hours with a professor who understands how to communicate with people.
TAYLOR: That desire to lift up and inspire others led Oprah to found a real-life Oprah University of sorts: the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for girls in South Africa.
Though briefly touched by a scandal when a school matron was accused of sexual abuse charges, which the woman has denied, the school has gone on to win praise, providing opportunities for gifted but disadvantaged students.
It also allows Oprah to put into practice her recipe for success.
WINFREY: The ingredient for creating success is building a strong support team, a strong leadership team and a support team that can family them, literally, nurture and family them in such a way that they are emboldened to learn. And that's how you change the world.
TAYLOR: From media to mentoring, Oprah's influence is far-reaching and, she hopes, long-lasting.
SELLERS: Oprah Winfrey will be remembered as one of the most influential women who has ever lived. No one in media, man or woman, has ever done what she did.
TAYLOR: An impact she hopes to make on the next generation of Leading Women.
WINFREY: But just these three things will carry you, if you let them. Knowing who you really are, that's number one. Service and significance equals success, that's number two. Number three, it's so simple but so hard to do. Always do the right thing.
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WINFREY: Always.
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FOSTER: For more on our Leading Women series, head to cnn.com/leadingwomen. The next time, find out about this Leading Lady. She is the Facebook chief operating officer and author of a controversial new book on women in the workplace. More on that next week.
Coming up after this short break on CONNECT THE WORLD, we have our special series on Going Green, plus I'll tell you all about my start- studded afternoon.
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FOSTER: A few months ago, Google added the very first underwater panoramic pictures to Google Maps. They let you virtually explore the Great Barrier Reef. Google teamed up with the Catlin Seaview Service to make -- Survey, rather, to make these images available.
And all this week, CNN is taking you below the sea surface. CNN special correspondent Philippe Cousteau traveled with a Catlin Seaview Survey team of scientists. Today, we get a glimpse of the high-tech underwater camera used to capture those panoramic images.
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ANJANI GANASE, MARINE BIOLOGIST: This is what we use, we use an intervalometer to take a picture every three seconds, and that we do for the scientific transfer.
OVE HOEGH-GULDBERG, LEAD SCIENTIST, CATLIN SEAVIEW SURVEY: I think the SA2 is a game changer because it's automating high-definition images at a scale which has not been done before.
PHILIPPE COUSTEAU, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lead scientist Ove Hoegh-Guldberg was one of the first marine biologists to link coral damage to climate change. And while Guldberg and others have been monitoring the effects of climate change on reefs for decades, they've never been able to do it on such a large scale.
For each 360 degree image the camera captures, a GPS will also record the exact location and camera direction, and it's that information that makes this one-of-a-kind device so crucial to scientists.
GULDBERG: So far, we're only halfway through the Catlin Seaview Survey expedition, but we've collected almost 100 kilometers of transits. This is -- you just can't do that normally. You'd be taking 100 years to do this with normal divers out there with normal cameras. So, getting that technology right has been incredibly important.
We don't have that global baseline for how reefs are doing across the planet. Coral reefs exist in over 50 countries, and they stretch across most of the tropics and subtropics. There's 375,000 square kilometers of reef around the world.
At the end of the three years of the project, I think we will have boosted the resources by, conservatively, tenfold. We'll understand reefs in corners of the planet where they're currently not being monitored.
COUSTEAU: They'll be able to answer when, where and, more importantly, why coral reefs around the world are declining.
GULDBERG: One of the parts of the project is to create, essentially, a databank called the global reef record. And this is where we'll be taking the huge amounts of digital video, physical measurements and so on and putting it into this high-speed computer storage system, and then making it available to scientists across the world.
Because one of the legacies of this -- the Catlin Seaview Survey is to create, essentially, that baseline information that everyone has the rights to use, and then to develop this complex picture of how the world is changing.
Because it's -- we're a small group of something like 15 scientists. This is a job that will involve hundreds of scientists. This is the sort of science we need to do right now to get a real picture on the risk and vulnerability of things like global change to coral reefs.
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FOSTER: All this week, we'll be bringing you more of Philippe's unique perspective on how climate change is impacting the world's coral reefs and all of us as well. You can also catch a special CNN program, "Going Green: Oceans." That's this Friday, 3:30 PM London, 7:30 PM Abu Dhabi right here on CNN.
Now, he is most famous for his role in the hit TV series "The Wire," but Idris Elba has another starring role, as an ambassador for the Prince's Trust. The organization was set up by Prince Charles over 30 years ago to give underprivileged young people a helping hand. Earlier, he told me about the difference it's made to his own life.
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IDRIS ELBA, ACTOR, "THE WIRE": I come from the inner city in East London, and me getting into drama school and me coming to a West End theater was a long dream.
I had focus, partly to do with the Prince's Trust helping me as a young man. When I was about 15, 16, they gave me, I think it was 1500 pounds to help me get into the National Youth Music Theater, and without that experience in my life, my career would've gone in a different direction without a doubt.
FOSTER: Are there any particular stories that struck you in terms of the Prince's Trust?
DAMIEN LEWIS, ACTOR, "HOMELAND": In fact, there's a story today about a girl who got involved in self-harming and suicide attempts, and it seemed like she might well end up on the heat.
The winner of the Samsung Young Achiever of the Year is Afsana Benozir.
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LEWIS: There's people who didn't get a chance to make something of themselves, and actually, she is going into education hopefully very soon and has really turned her life around.
HRH PRINCE CHARLES: I hope today you've had some flavor of just what can be achieved by giving that little bit extra sense of self-esteem and self-confidence, so at a time when so many young are facing such enormous challenges, and I realize just how difficult it is out there, we can at least do something, however small -- I wish we could do more -- to make a difference to people's lives.
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FOSTER: Salma Hayek is trying for change. Before we go we want to let you know about the charity that was co-founded by the A-list actress. She's in London announcing a June concert headlined by Beyonce to fund projects that empower women across the world.
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SALMA HAYEK, ACTRESS AND PHILANTRHOPIST: There's a lot of women around the world who are not living in an environment that dignifies them, that values their life, that values them as human beings, that gives them the right to be free, to speak, to protect their body.
A lot of them are seen as a possession, where people can do whatever they want with them. And we need to empower them, to take -- to understand that they're valuable, precious, divine human beings.
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FOSTER: Salma Hayek says we have the power, and you can hear more of her inspirational interview by logging onto cnn.com/connect.
I'm Max Foster, that is CONNECT THE WORLD for now. Thank you so much for watching.
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