Return to Transcripts main page
Connect the World
UN General Assembly Meets To Curb Human Trafficking; Nawaz Sharif's Party Wins Pakistan Elections
Aired May 13, 2013 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FIONNUALA SWEENEY, HOST: After the celebrations, the hard work begins. Tonight, Pakistani voters tell us what they want to see from their next prime minister.
Also ahead...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEDRO CASTRO, ARIEL CASTRO'S BROTHER: This has killed me. I am a walking corpse right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SWEENEY: The brothers of U.S. kidnap suspect Ariel Castro speak exclusively to CNN.
And, a new star is discovered in space.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN London, this is Connect the World.
SWEENEY: Fresh off a remarkable political comeback, Nawaz Sharif is promising to tackle Pakistan's problems both at home and abroad. He's wasting no time after his center-right party won weekend elections, putting him on track to become prime minister yet agin.
Saima Mohsin looks at the challenges he's facing the third time around.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORREPSONDENT: Within hours of the polls closing, Nawaz Sharif was claiming victory outside his party headquarters in Lahore, but his two previous tenures as prime minister were hardly glorious. If confirmed as prime minister for a third time, Sharif faces some major challenges at home. He says the rise in militancy and terrorism is top of his list of priorities.
AYESHA SIDDIQA, TERRORISM EXPERT: He has to understand this is an existential threat for himself, his party, and for Pakistan. The presence and legitimacy of a political party, a non-militant political party, is critical to create that necessary legitimacy which is needed to fight militancy and radicalism in this society.
MOHSIN: Security isn't his only challenge. The energy crisis resulting in prolonged power outages is damaging industry and business and sometimes provokes street protests. The economy is also struggling. Pakistan's public finances are a mess. Sharif, a steel magnate, is a friend of business and his likely victory has already boosted Pakistan's stock market to a record high Monday.
FARRUKH SALEEM, POLITICAL ANALYST AND JOURNALIST: The classic Sharif plan is infrastructure projects. They would want to concentrate and focus on building waterways, putting up huge dams, perhaps developing urban centers, housing projects. And for that, they'd need a lot of capital. So in essence, it would be deficit financing, which the IMF might not approve of. And that's one hesitancy on the part of the Sharif government not to sign on the dotted line of the IMF agreement.
MOHSIN: Sharif wants to improve relations with arch-enemy India. He says he had a long chat with Indian Prime Minister Mahoman Singh Sunday, but he faces a complex regional and international picture.
SALEEM: I think we would see some moves out of the Sharif government towards India, but I'm convinced that Pakistan's relationship with Afghanistan and our foreign policy with the United States is actually controlled and dominated by the Pakistan military as opposed to the civilian elected government.
MOHSIN: So, will it be third time lucky for the man dubbed the Lion of Punjab? He was forced to step down amid a dispute with the then president in 1993 and ousted in a coup by General Musharraf in 1999.
This time around, Nawaz Sharif says he's matured as a politician and won't make the same mistakes again. He's cried foul in the past, claiming his governments were ousted before they could make an impact. The Pakistani people and the world are watching to see if this time his administration can go the distance in a country that so desperately needs stability.
Saima Mohsin, CNN, Islamabad, Pakistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SWEENEY: So, we heard Nawaz Sharif's priorities there, but what about those of ordinary Pakistanis? We asked some of our iReporters what they'd like the next government to accomplish.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HIRA NAZ, CNN IREPORTER: I believe the top priority for Sharif should be the three Es. By three Es I mean economy, I mean education, and I mean energy. So this pretty much sums up everything in what the policies should be about. Education being the top most priority.
IFRAN RAZA, CNN IREPORTER: The foremost important factor is education factor. He really needs to do something about education system in Pakistan. He needs to strengthen the education system so that it could lead to an enlightened (inaudible) Pakistani.
Another important factor that he needs to address is the law and order situation, which is actually denting the Pakistani image not only in Pakistan, but also abroad.
SYED KAZMI, CNN IREPORTER: Nawaz Sharif should control terrorism and extremism in the region, because it is a basic problem of Pakistan right now. And because of this, foreign investment now is tied up. And they are not ready to work for -- within the country. And because of it, (inaudible) increasing day by day.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SWEENEY: Well, Nawaz Sharif is promising to tackle Islamic militancy, but some critics question his commitment, accusing him of having a poor record of opposing extremists.
So, let's bring in our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson for some perspective. You know the region well. In terms of dealing with the Taliban, Nawaz Sharif has indicated that he's in favor of that. To what practical end, what can he hope to achieve?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, since he has said that, he's also backed away from it a little bit saying if he's going to get into talks with the Taliban, they need to stop their violence first. And one of the things he's indicated is sort of cutting off his support for the so-called U.S. war on terrorism, which is sort of code language in large part meaning an end to the drone strikes in Pakistan would be a popular move for him. And as I found in Pakistan recently, the drone strikes are really creating more anger, and in some cases more terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON: In this classroom, trained child suicide bombers and killers.
(on camera): For their security, we've been told not to show their faces and not to interview them on camera. They've come here to be de- radicalized.
(voice-over): Boys as young as eight, all from poor families, all weaned on Taliban propaganda not about Osama bin Laden, but U.S drone strikes, according to this school official who also hides her face, fearing Taliban attack.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They do drill into them a hatred against the Americans. And the drones, they talk about Americans conducting the drone attacks and killing civilians.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON (on camera): So why it would be popular, we can see there Fionnuala, actually to say he would like to end the drone strikes. It's not something that's going to be easy for him. The United States is doing it in many cases over and above and against the will of the Pakistani lawmakers. So that's going to be a very tough one for him. And in the balance there, aid packages, hugely important -- economy, education for Pakistan.
SWEENEY: I mean, there are a lot of moving parts here. What is his relationship likely to be with the Obama administration? And in terms of dealing with the Taliban in the east of his country that some consider to be more extremist, or more dangerous than the Taliban in Afghanistan?
ROBERTSON: Well, the U.S. embassy in Pakistan has made it clear, they will deal with -- and the State Department as well, obviously, has made it clear they will deal with whichever leadership comes in into Pakistan. And there have been concerns, because he is more right-wing than the last government. He is more religiously conservative. Way back in the past he has called for Sharia law in the country, that would cause concern to the United States.
But if he comes in with a strong government as it looks as if he will, and if he pushes the angle of (inaudible) and if he pushes the angle of rapprochement with India, these are all things that are going to make the United States more comfortable. And that may give him the breathing space to deal with perhaps the more pressing dangerous problem on the Afghan border. But again a problem made more difficult, because it spills into Afghanistan. Soon as two countries share a problem, it makes it a bigger problem.
SWEENEY: Yeah, a lot of moving parts.
Thanks so much there, Nic Robertson, for joining us.
And straight after this program, Christiane Amanpour will be discussing the challenges facing Pakistan with the country's former ambassador to the U.S. Husain Haqqani, that's Amanpour at 10:00 pm in London, 11:00 pm in Berlin here on CNN.
You're watching Connect the World. And still to come this hour, she was trapped under rubble for 16 days and lived to tell the tale. For the first time since her dramatic rescue, Reshma Begum speaks publicly.
Plus, from Saudi Arabia to France, a newly discovered and sometimes deadly virus is spreading. We'll hear more from our medical experts on what it is and how to prevent it.
And their pictures were splashed across the world, suspected of holding three women captive for a decade. Now when Connect the World continues, the brothers of Ariel Castro speak out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What is your brother to you now?
ONIL CASTRO, ARIEL CASTRO'S BROTHER: Monster, hateful. I hope he rots in that jail. I don't even want them to take his life like that, I want him to suffer in that jail to the last extent. I don' care if they even feed him to what he has done to my life and my family's.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SWEENEY: At least 100 clothing factories in and around the Bangladeshi capital have been shut down indefinitely due to public safety concerns. This comes after last month's collapse of a nine story factory building. More than 1,100 people died in that accident. The textile industry is crucial to the economy of Bangladesh, generating about 80 percent of its exports.
Let's bring in CNN's Leone Lakhani. She is in Dhaka.
Leone, what are we hearing about the shutdown of these factories and the likely impact on the industry and the economy?
LEONE LAKHANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fionnuala, about 100 factories are being shut down by the Garment Association. The reason they are doing that is because many workers are basically not working because they're concerned about the safety concerns, they're basically coming into work, clocking in and then leaving. So the garment factory owners have said, look, if you're not coming to work you don't get paid. We're shutting it down as of tomorrow.
Don't know how long this is going to last. So we'll have to wait and see.
There was a shutdown of many factories right after the collapse of the Rana Plaza building on April 24. And that shut down for about seven days cost the economy about $250 million. So we'll have to wait and see whether this has the same kind of impact if these factories stay shut for as long, Fionnuala.
SWEENEY: And on a day when this survivor who amazingly survived for several days just on a little food and water came out and spoke to the public, is there a sense that the government in Bangladesh, Leone, has got a grip on this situation?
LAKHANI: It's going to be very difficult to do, Fionnuala, because there's thousands of factories here, more than 4,500 factories on paper. So there may be many more. The government has come out, they said they're going to set up the committee to increase minimum wage, to improve the safety standards, to improve worker-employee relations. But with thousands and thousands of factories across the country they've only got about 50 (ph) inspectors that can go and check the safety standards of these -- of these kind of factories.
At the same time, when you have stories like the one of Reshma, the girl who was pulled out of the rubble after 17 days, she described her entire ordeal to the press today in a formal press conference. And she had quite a few thoughts of what exactly happened. I just want to share some of the sound bites that she had to say today during the press conference today, Fionnuala.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RESHMA BEGUM, GARMENT BUILDING COLLAPSE SURVIVOR (through translator): I could see light. I screamed so that people would know there was a person alive down here. I did not have any food to eat. I had four biscuits and some water in 17 days.
The people who were with me under the rubble died. I heard people screaming. "Save me. Save me," they screamed. But I couldn't find them. I tried, but I...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAKHANI: Fionnuala, she only joined that garment factory in April, but she said after that terrible ordeal she's definitely not planning to go back to working in the garment industry.
SWEENEY: Not surprising. Thank you very much. Leone Lakhani joining us on the line from Dhaka in Bangladesh.
Well, clothing brands continue to add their voice to the global initiative aimed at protecting garment workers in Bangladesh. H&M, Zara, and Calvin Klein are among the labels that signed on to the "accord on fire and building safety in Bangladesh" this Monday. The legally binding agreement makes these companies responsible for safety inspections and repairs in factories they use within the country.
At least 13 people have been killed and more than 40 injured after a car bomb exploded near a hospital in Benghazi, Libya. Most of the victims are believed to be women and children. Security officials said the blast destroyed eight cars and damaged nearby buildings. Authorities aren't sure who or what was the intended target.
Protests erupted in the Turkish border town of Reyhanli after Saturday's twin bombings left some 50 people dead. Demonstrators are calling on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to step down. The Turkish government blamed Syrian linked terrorists for the attack and has called on the international community to do more to stop violence spilling over Syria's borders.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged more non-lethal aid to Syrian rebels. Speaking at a joint news conference with U.S. President Barack Obama. Mr. Cameron said the world needs to come together to find a solution to the bloodshed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: 80,000 dead, 5 million people forced from their homes, Syria's history is being written in the blood of her people and it is happening on our watch. The world urgently needs to come together to bring the killing to an end. None of us have any interest in seeing more lives lost, in seeing chemical weapons used or extremist violence spreading even further.
So we welcome President Putin's agreement to join in an effort to achieve a political solution. The challenges remain formidable, but we have an urgent window of opportunity before the worst fears are realized.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SWEENEY: Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department now says a possible conference bringing together Syria's government and opposition could slip now from May to early June.
Global health officials are raising concerns about a newly discovered virus called the novel coronavirus that can be transmitted from person to person. Scattered cases were initially reported across parts of the Middle East, especially in Saudi Arabia, but they've not appeared in France.
Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is following developments. She joins us now from CNN Center.
So, Elizabeth, if this virus can be transmitted from person to person, just how deadly is it?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, this virus once you get it is quite deadly, Fionnuala. I'm going to show you some numbers that are going to make two points, all right. So here's the numbers are that around the world since about September we've had 34 cases of this novel coronavirus and 18 deaths. Now, keep those numbers up, because I want to talk about them.
That is a very high mortality rate. More than half the people who got this disease died of it. That's very high.
But what isn't high is that 34 number. Consider, this virus has been out there since at least September. It's been in many different countries. And only 34 people have gotten infected. That means that it's not spreading like wildfire. So the bottom line is, this is a relatively difficult infection to get, but once you get it, it can make you very sick and has a reasonably good chance of killing you -- Fionnuala.
SWEENEY: Reasonably good chance is not very good odds.
Thanks very much indeed, Elizabeth Cohen there from CNN Center.
Live from London, this is Connect the World. Coming up, what more can be done to tackle human trafficking? Well, that's the question being asked of the United Nations today as some big names come out urging more action.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SWEENEY: Human trafficking is a shocking issue and one that CNN has covered as part of our Freedom Project series. Today, a high level meeting focusing on trafficking is underway at the United Nations general assembly. The first of its kind, the two day meeting will hear from victims of slavery as well as activists. CNN senior UN correspondent Richard Roth joins us now live with more -- Richard.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fionnuala, this isn't the first time the UN general assembly has discussed human trafficking, but it's at its highest level of a session and it's an assessment, sort of a pep talk also to get governments to focus even more on this scourge.
Human trafficking, a $32 billion industry around the world. And half of it occurs in developed countries.
President of the general assembly, you see there, Vuk Jeremic of Serbia, while he had some rather strong words on this topic and he told the General Assembly that governments have to do more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VUK JEREMIC, UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT: I believe that we must place the victims of human trafficking at the center of our work. No effort must be spared to bring to an end the servitude of millions while helping the survivors rebuild their lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: CNN has followed and examined the issue of human trafficking and slavery through Freedom Project reports over the last three years. CNN's Jim Clancy is here at the UN to participate in a panel discussion. Also there, Mira Sorvino, UN goodwill ambassador for the UN Office of Drugs and Crime regarding human trafficking. He's been a tireless advocate in this area. And she in part speech, part lecture to the general assembly she said man is an animal and a lot more can be done to help the people and victims involved in human trafficking.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIRA SORVINA, ACTRESS: What are we? How dare we call ourselves civilized if a vast economic market flourishes on our watch, trading in misery, dissenting of lives, minds, hopes and dreams from the small to the adult so that we, the consumers, may enjoy cheaply made products and the corporations who have contracted to third parties, the complicit police and even government officials enjoyed massive cash profits off of goods created by slave labor or a falsified or inherited debt bondage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: The executive director of the UN Office of Drugs and Crime said it's difficult to prosecute on the issue of human trafficking. Oftentimes the victim is far away. There are interpretation issues. There are a lot of complications for local police in pursuing this crime. He said things are improving though. The UN still needs a lot more money in its voluntary fund contributions to help in the fight against human trafficking -- Fionnuala.
SWEENEY: And in terms of those funding, what is the next step for the United Nations after this special session on human trafficking. Where do they go from here?
ROTH: Well, they'd like the legislatures in all of these UN countries to ratify important treaties and protocols. The UN Office of Drug Control executive said there are dozens of countries that have now signed on, but there are still a lot more to do -- a lot more to do.
Saudi Arabia announced that it would contribute $100,000. Many of the speakers here, quite frankly, did not give exactly exciting speeches with real insight. It was really recitations of what they might have done inside their own country.
It's a global problem. And there's going to have to be much more knitting together on this issue to prosecute the criminals behind this lucrative operation.
SWEENEY: All right. And as we heard, half of it being achieved in developed countries.
Richard Roth at the United Nations. Thanks for joining us.
And join us on Friday when CNN takes a look at what this sinister subject looks like in the Philippines. This is a story two years in the making. CNN's new Freedom Project documentary is an eye-opening investigation into an outrageous crime against children.
BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Few of us have ever seen evil up close, but the girls in this story all have. They are just a few of the 1 million children believed to be involved in human trafficking around the world.
My name is Leaf Korlum (ph). Two years ago, I traveled to the Philippines to cover a story about child prostitution. That's when I fist met a woman named Cecilia Florez Abanda (ph). She has committed her life to protecting children and fighting modern-day slavery. She is hoping to convince the Philippine's favorite son, Manny Pacquiao, to lead the battle. But for those fighting for a better world, nothing in life comes easy. And as I would soon learn, in a country like the Philippines, nothing is ever as it seems.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SWEENEY: That is a preview of our new CNN Freedom Project documentary The Fighters will be presented in two parts over two consecutive nights. You can see part one on Friday at 9:00 pm in London. Ahead of that, you can find more at CNN.com/thefighters. There's a photo gallery from Manny Pacquiao's personal photographer and video clips from the documentary. You can also learn how to take a virtual stand against human trafficking with CNN iReport and the End It movement at CNN.com/thefighters.
The latest world news headlines just ahead.
Plus, he's dead to us. The brothers of Ariel Castro, the man accused of abducting three women talked to CNN in an exclusive interview.
A victory parade to say farewell to Fergie. Thousands of fans head to Old Trafford to honor Manchester United's manager.
And from space man to rock star, Astronaut Chris Hadfield gives space a rocking farewell.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SWEENEY: This is Connect the World. The top stories this hour. Nawaz Sharif is promising to strengthen Pakistan's relations with the United States and arch-rival India. He spoke to reporters (inaudible) after his party won weekend elections. And that sets him up to become Pakistan's prime minister for the third time.
The young Bangladeshi woman who spent more than two weeks buried in the rubble of a collapsed building says she'll never work in the garment industry again. She was rescued last Friday, but at least 1100 people died when the factory building collapsed last month. Meanwhile, officials have shut down 100 garment factories around Dhaka because of worker unrest.
Protests erupted in the Turkish border town Reyhanli after the weekend bombings that left some 50 people dead. The demonstrators were calling on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to step down. The Turkish government blames the bombings on a group with links to Syria.
And Manchester United fans are celebrating their latest Premier League championship. They're also saying good-bye and thank you to Sir Alex Ferguson, who's stepping down after more than 26 highly-successful years as manager. And we'll be joining our team at Old Trafford for you a little later in this program.
New footage has emerged of the moments police ended more than a decade of torture and abuse for three women held in captivity. This dramatic mobile phone video shows Cleveland police rushing into the home of Ariel Castro. The video was recorded by two eyewitnesses just seconds after one of the women, Amanda Berry, escaped.
It was a week ago today when Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight, and Gina DeJesus emerged alive having been missing for a decade. Allegedly abducted by 52-year-old Ariel Castro, the women were first chained in the basement, and then later forced to live on the second floor of the house, where they were tortured, raped, and beaten.
Investigators say a six-year-old girl was born in captivity, the daughter of Amanda Berry. Castro is now behind bars, charged with kidnapping and rape.
When the story first broke, Castro was arrested along with his two brothers, Pedro and Onil. As suspects, the police mugshots were broadcast all across the world, but the two brothers were later released and cleared of any involvement in the kidnappings. And in an exclusive interview, CNN's Martin Savidge sat down with them to ask what happened when they were arrested.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You all went to your mom's for dinner.
ONIL CASTRO, ARIEL CASTRO'S BROTHER: Yes, we went to Mom's for dinner.
SAVIDGE: The first sign of trouble for you, when you were riding back in the car with Ariel, the first indication of a problem was what?
O. CASTRO: When he pulled in McDonald's. Around the corner, not very far from Mama's house, he pulled in McDonald's, and I'm wondering why are you pulling in -- in my mind, I'm wondering what -- why are you pulling in here? We just ate? You have to go to the bathroom or anything?
"No," he says. "They pulled me over, they were behind me." I didn't know because it was bright and sunny. I didn't see no flashing lights, I didn't hear a siren.
SAVIDGE: The police were behind you?
O. CASTRO: Yes, sir. And he says, "The cops are back there, they pulled us over."
I said, "What did you do, run a stop sign or a red light or something?"
He says, "No, I don't know."
And by that time, the officer was on his side asking for his ID, and they took his ID, and there was an officer next to me, there, and he hadn't asked me for my ID yet, but I figured he's there. So I go like this, and I go, "You want my ID, too?" And he went for his weapon and held it and I gave him my ID. And I said, "What's going on? I haven't done anything, sir. What's going on here?"
He says, "All I can tell you is that you're in for some serious allegations."
SAVIDGE: What was the first sign of trouble for you that day?
PEDRO CASTRO, ARIEL CASTRO'S BROTHER: I was -- I was sleeping. And I don't -- I don't remember the police in my room. And I -- I was thinking because I had an open container warning, so I didn't know what -- I thought they were taking me in because of that.
SAVIDGE: Let me walk you through a bit of this so that everyone clearly understands. When you were arrested on Monday and brought in, were you told why you were under arrest?
O. CASTRO: Absolutely not.
P. CASTRO: No.
SAVIDGE: You had no idea?
P. CASTRO: No.
O. CASTRO: No. Not for 48, maybe 36 to 48 hours later.
SAVIDGE: Pedro, when did you become aware?
P. CASTRO: Well, there was an inmate that didn't speak English, so I translated for her. So then I asked her, now that I helped you, can you help me?
SAVIDGE: This is to the officer, you said this?
P. CASTRO: Yes. And she said, "Sure, what do you want to know?"
"I want to know what am I being charged for?"
So, she said, "OK, I'll go see."
So, she comes back and she's got a piece of paper written down whatever I was in for, and -- because I didn't have my reading glasses, I looked and I said, "Oh, open containers."
She said, "No, read it again."
And I said, "Oh, kidnapping? What's this, kidnapping?"
SAVIDGE: Could you talk? Were the two of you able to talk to one another while in jail?
P. CASTRO: No.
SAVIDGE: Couldn't communicate?
O. CASTRO: No.
SAVIDGE: You were in separate cells?
P. CASTRO: Yes.
O. CASTRO: They told us not to, so I didn't.
SAVIDGE: Where was Ariel?
O. CASTRO: Ariel was in the front, towards -- more toward the front on suicide watch.
P. CASTRO: He was in cell, what they call a bullpen. How do I know this? Because I've seen it. I'd seen it when they took me to get my medication.
SAVIDGE: Did he ever go past you? Did you ever see him or -- ?
P. CASTRO: I did. Because in -- where he was at, there's no toilet. So, across the -- from my cell, there was one open, so he could -- he came there, used it. I'd seen -- that's when I'd seen him. And when he came out, he said, "Peace," to me.
O. CASTRO: So, evidently that happened with him over there, and when he walked past me, he goes, "Onil, you're never going to see me again. I love you, bro." And that was it.
SAVIDGE: So, when did you become aware of what he did?
O. CASTRO: Well, just shortly after that, when the detective took me into the room and started asking me questions and showing me pictures of the girls. And when he showed me the pictures of the girls, asked me, "Do you know these girls?" He showed me first -- I can't tell you which -- I can't even tell you which one he showed me first, but he said, "Do you -- have you ever seen this girl?"
And I said, "No, I've never seen that girl."
And then he showed me the other one, "Have you ever seen this girl?"
I said, "No, I have never seen that girl."
And he says, "That's Gina DeJesus and Amanda Berry."
And my heart fell. I just dropped, not physically, but I just hit the ground. After he said, "That's Amanda Berry and they were in your brother's house."
SAVIDGE: You knew who these girls were?
O. CASTRO: From the picture, I couldn't recognize -- oh, I told him, "They don't look like the girls that have been pinned up and posted up."
He said, "Yes, that's how malnourished they are."
SAVIDGE: So, you're in this interrogation room and suddenly the police officer has shown you these photos and said that they are in your brother's home, and you were expressing how you felt. It was just -- a physical feeling? What?
O. CASTRO: Oh, it was just heart-dropping. It was just terrible when they said that, when he said that, "It's Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, and they were in your brother's house." I just couldn't believe it because -- there was no signs of anything like that. I'd seen no signs.
SAVIDGE: You had been to the house. You would go to the house.
P. CASTRO: Yes.
SAVIDGE: How often?
P. CASTRO: No, no. Not how often. I don't -- I didn't go to his house very much. But when I did, he would let me in, no past the kitchen. I would sit down and the reason why we go in the kitchen because he had alcohol, and he would take me in the kitchen, give me a shot, and --
SAVIDGE: But he was -- when you'd go in the house, he would be specific, then, to stay in the kitchen? Or it just seemed that you stayed in the kitchen.
P. CASTRO: Yes, I wasn't -- I wasn't allowed past the kitchen.
SAVIDGE: Could you see anything beyond the kitchen?
P. CASTRO: No. Because there's curtains.
SAVIDGE: He had the house blocked off with curtains?
P. CASTRO: Yes.
SAVIDGE: Did he say why?
P. CASTRO: Oh, he told me that what -- I think it was winter time, and he said he wanted to keep the heat in the kitchen because the gas bill.
SAVIDGE: And what about -- could you hear anything in the home?
P. CASTRO: No. The radio was playing all the time.
SAVIDGE: He would play music all the time?
P. CASTRO: Yes. If not the radio, the TV. Something had to be on at all times in the kitchen. So I could hear nothing else but the radio or the TV.
SAVIDGE: Didn't any of that strike you as unusual or strange?
P. CASTRO: No, because Ariel was -- to me, he was a strange dude. I mean -- it didn't faze me none. And another thing, I've seen Ariel with a little girl at McDonald's, and I asked him, "Who's that?"
And he said, "This is a girlfriend's of mine."
SAVIDGE: The daughter belonged to a girlfriend of his?
P. CASTRO: Yes. And then I said, "Well, where's she at?'
"She's at Metro. She's taking care of something at Metro."
OK, so I left it at that, and I left. Because he's with this little girl, and they're going to have breakfast. Then, about three weeks later, I'd seen him -- I'd seen his truck at Burger King, and then again, he's with this little girl. And then I questioned him, "Where's the mother?"
"Oh, she had to do something." So I just let it go.
SAVIDGE: You believed him?
P. CASTRO: I believed him. But I had no idea that little girl was his or Amanda's.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SWEENEY: And for more on this story, go to cnn.com where we also profile Michelle Knight, the young woman whose life remains a mystery after her release.
Live from London, you are watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Next up, meet the double-amputee who says his bionic legs are better than the ones he lost.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SWEENEY: For many, the loss of a limb is a disability, but in this week's Art of Movement segment, Nick Glass meets a double-amputee who feels more able-bodied than ever, and it's all thanks to the world's most- advanced bionic leg.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HUGH HERR, DIRECTOR OF BIOMECHATRONICS, MIT: So, hi again. Hello.
NICK GLASS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hugh Herr is a boyish 48-year-old professor of biomechatronics at MIT's Media Lab. He's helped develop something absolutely extraordinary: the world's most- advanced bionic leg.
GLASS (on camera): So, can I actually see this new bionic leg.
HERR: Sure. Sure, let me --
GLASS (voice-over): Both of his own legs are artificial.
HERR: So, what you see here is a chunk of aluminum and titanium and silicon. It's powered -- this is the battery. What happens is, when I walk, it powers my movement from step to step in the same way that your calf muscle is controlled by your spinal cord. So, we've actually captured the essence of how the lower leg works.
GLASS: In 1982, at the tender age of 17, Hugh Herr lost both his legs to frostbite, trapped climbing in a blizzard.
HERR: I went back to climbing with specialized artificial limbs, and after a year, I was climbing better with the artificial limbs than I achieved with biological limbs before the accident. And this was just an awakening. Because I realized that technology can heal. It can rehabilitate. And in my own case, it actually could extend my physicality.
GLASS: Light and flexible, the bionic leg moves as elegantly as the real one, as if the wearer still had calf muscles and an Achilles tendon. Twelve sensors to measure force, position, speed. Three microprocessors tell the leg how to perform. And in the ankle, a device that behaves exactly like a muscle.
HERR: When I go faster, it gives me more energy. When I go up a hill, it gives me even more energy. When I go down a hill, it takes energy out and brakes automatically for me. I see an extraordinary beauty when that -- that intimacy occurs between human and machine. They should be beautiful, but they need not have a human beauty. They can have a machine beauty.
GLASS: Some 600 amputees, many of them American soldiers, have been fitted with these legs. They aren't cheap -- Hugh Herr's pair cost $120,000.
HERR: People aren't disabled. Technology is disabled. I just -- I don't see disability at all. I see bad technology.
GLASS (on camera): If someone tapped you on the shoulder and said you can have your original limbs back, what would you say?
HERR: Absolutely no. Absolutely not. It's fun having a body part that you can freely manipulate. From my knees down, I'm a blank slate. I can create anything. I can build legs with wings if I wanted to. That's a lot of fun.
GLASS: You look like you belong up there.
HERR: I was climbing since I was six, seven years old. To me, it's as simple as walking.
GLASS: So athletic.
HERR: Do I get a 10?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SWEENEY: One happy man. Coming up after this short break: security is a top priority at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi, as our Phil Black finds out. Stay with us for that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SWEENEY: Russia very much looking forward to next winter's Olympic Games on Sochi, but the Boston Marathon bombings have forced sporting event organizers around the world to take extra security precautions, and Russia is no exception. Phil Black with this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These men are not elite athletes. They're all 40-plus, amateur ice hockey players. They're in Sochi, Russia's Olympic city, so they get a police escort.
And because they're playing in Sochi's new Olympic venue, the Bolshoy Ice Dome, every bus is scanned and everyone is screened as if they were boarding an international flight. But it's even more thorough. Everyone gets a pat-down. Journalists also get the full treatment.
BLACK (on camera): All of this for an amateur hockey match. The Russian authorities say it proves what they've been saying all along, and that is they've been taking security very seriously in this city long before the Boston attack.
BLACK (voice-over): Russia is racing to finish its new Olympic venues by the Black Sea and in the mountains above Sochi. And like all other host countries, its other priority is security.
But international terrorism isn't the only concern here. This country is also dealing with an ongoing security threat within its own borders. Russia will host these Olympic Games while also fighting an Islamist insurgency.
BLACK (on camera): And the fight centers on a region just 500 kilometers that way, across those mountains, in an area known as the North Caucasus.
BLACK (voice-over): It's a place where militants and security forces regularly clash, and from where terrorists have planned numerous devastating attacks in other parts of Russia. The most recent, a suicide bombing at Moscow's busiest airport, killed 35 people in January 2011.
Vadim Mukhanov is an expert on the North Caucasus and the groups fighting there to establish an independent Islamist state.
VADIM MUKHANOV, CAUCASUS EXPERT (through translator): It's clear that having that kind of neighbor sharply increases the risks for the Olympics themselves and for the people who visit.
BLACK: There's also a connection between the North Caucasus and the Boston Marathon attack. Suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev visited there in 2012 and was interested enough in the region's militants to post some of their videos online.
In Sochi, some locals are feeling the shockwave of Boston. This woman says she's worried about security at the Games, and since Boston, she's been avoiding crowded places.
But Sochi's organizers say they still believe they can stage the safest Olympics ever, and this is part of that effort. Sochi's deputy mayor, Anatoly Rykov, tells me this network of CCTV cameras has software that monitors crowd behavior to detect possible threats.
Russia's security services were always planning a massive effort to protect the Olympics here, and they'll now face greater scrutiny after Boston reminded the world big sporting events are vulnerable targets.
Phil Black, CNN, Sochi, Russia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SWEENEY: To England now and Manchester United fans are used to victory parades, but this one is different, as they're also saying good-bye to manager Alex Ferguson after more than 26 years at the helm. Christina MacFarlane is in Manchester, where I gather the parade has ended, but perhaps the festivities have not.
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: That's absolutely correct, Fionnuala. Darkness has fallen here at Old Trafford, but it's been a momentous day for Manchester United Football Club. The stadium just behind me there, about four or five hours ago -- it seems a lot less shorter -- the victory parade bus left here and headed down into the city.
And I have to say, it's been a carnival atmosphere all afternoon. We've seen fans hanging out of trees, off signposts, just to get a glimpse of their heroes as they pass by on the open-top bus. And we were told as well that the finish area where the bus ended up actually had to be -- the whole area had to be shut down because there were so many people trying to pack in there.
The players on the bus themselves had remarked that they've never seen anything like this, not even since the day when they won the Treble back in 1999, have they seen so many fans turn out to support them.
And Sir Alex Ferguson for the second time in 24 hours took to the microphone in what was his last chance to thank the fans. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX FERGUSON, MANAGER, MANCHESTER UNITED: This is fantastic. I'm really -- I'm more pleased for you than anything else. It's fantastic that to get through a 38-week program in the Premier division and win it, and win it in style with a great bunch of players.
(CROWD CHEERS)
FERGUSON: It's a young squad. A lot of good young players there, and they're going to get better, a lot of them. And the big test is to win it three times in a row as we've done before. So, I hope the boys can do that. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: So, a bittersweet day for him, Fionnuala. He's obviously feeling a lot of emotion the last 24 hours. But I would say he's, perhaps, less emotional today when he wanted to give the day over to his players.
It's their 20th league title victory today, and he very much, I think, took a slightly -- a back step today and put his players forward and enjoyed the celebrations with them nonetheless, dancing and singing at the finish.
SWEENEY: All right. And he probably still is. Thanks very much, there, Christina, in Manchester.
Well, astronaut Chris Hadfield has conquered space, and now he's conquering the internet. Why? Well, he has recorded the first music video from beyond the Earth, a remake of David Bowie's 1969 "Space Oddity." Chris Hadfield explains why he made the video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS HADFIELD, CANADIAN ASTRONAUT (singing): This is Ground Control to Major Tom, you've really made the grade and the papers want to know whose shirts you wear.
HADFILED (speaking): When I first flew in space 17 years ago, I've been trying ever since to let people see our Earth in all of its just beautiful glory. We can show people real-time this incredible richness that we are all privy to, that we all live with, but you just don't get to see any other way. The followership on the Twitter feed and everything else really reflects that.
After having served through Expedition 35, it is time to hand over the command of the spaceship to the Expedition 36 crew. Enormous thanks to everybody on Earth that makes this possible. It's been a very special time for us onboard. Thank you very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SWEENEY: A very special time, indeed. In tonight's Parting Shots, it started with a friendly bet. Now take a look at how it ended. This is the Virgin Group founder and chairman Richard Branson performing the duties of a flight attendant aboard a competing airline.
He shaved his legs, donned a skirt, lipstick, and matching handbag in Perth, Australia, for a five-hour flight to Malaysia. Branson was paying up an old wager with his friend and AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandez over their Formula 1 racing teams.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD BRANSON, CHAIRMAN, VIRGIN GROUP: Thanks to my delightful crew for being such -- such great sports today, for teaching us how to serve food, how to walk properly, how to look beautiful, and how to drop a try on Tony's lap.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SWEENEY: But we have to say, the real winners here are the benefactors of the Starlight Children Foundation. The event raised about $200,000 for the Australia-based charity, which helps seriously ill and hospitalized children and their families.
I'm Fionnuala Sweeney and that was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thank you for watching.
END
