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Connect the World
"Angel Of Woolwich" Revisits Scene; First Same-Sex Couple Married in France; Chinese Mother Never Intended To Flush Baby
Aired May 29, 2013 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ATIKA SHUBERT, HOST: Tonight, back to the scene of a gruesome murder. One week on, the Angel of Woolwich retraces her steps on that fateful day.
Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VINCENT AUTIN, NEWLYWED (through translator): Today, the French republic has given these rights back to us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHUBERT: An exclusive interview with France's first same-sex newly weds.
And, Facebook admits failure as it bows to pressure from the anti-hate campaign.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN London, this is Connect the World.
SHUBERT: Tonight, new developments in the murder that shocked the world. First, we begin in France where police say the weekend stabbing of a soldier in Paris was probably motivated by religious ideology.
They have arrested a suspect who is a convert to Islam. And they say he has admitted to the attack on Private First Class Cedric Cordier.
Now reports say the French soldier is out of hospital.
He was stabbed several days after British serviceman Lee Rigby was murdered outside a barracks in South London. French President Francois Hollande says there is no evidence linking the two attacks.
But today marks exactly one week since Rigby was killed. Two minutes of silence were held in his honor on Wednesday with friends and family paying tribute at the scene of his death in Woolwich. His fiancee says she is devastated by his loss. And police are asking anyone who saw what happened last Wednesday to come forward.
Tonight, there are still questions about what the authorities knew. Those questions have a lot to do with this man, one of the two suspected attackers. Michael Adebolajo is a British national of Nigerian descent. He was caught on camera in the aftermath of the attack brandishing a meat cleaver and making pro-jihadist statements.
It later emerged that he was known to British security services and that he had previously been arrested in Kenya in 2010 as he tried to make his way into Somalia.
Well, earlier I spoke to the head of the UK's intelligence and security committee. I started by asking Malcolm Rifkind how concerned he is that Adebolajo apparently was not flagged up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALCOLM RIFKIND, HEAD, UK INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY COMMITTEE: First of all, we need to establish did security service MI-5 have knowledge of these individuals. If so, what kind of knowledge did they have? What is the history? What action might have been taken by the agencies already. There's a whole issue of that kind.
Remember, when intelligence agencies -- and the same applies in the United States -- so when you have counterterrorism effort of a very serious and professional kind, then you're looking at sometimes hundreds and sometimes thousands of people. And the extent to which you scrutinize the actions of any particular individual depends on the intelligence at that time as to how dangerous that person might be.
You have people who are terrorists who might be willing to be terrorists. We have a substantial number of other people who will never be terrorists, but are sympathetic to some of the aspirations of the terrorists, and you have others who simply get carried away with a bit of enthusiasm, but are not any real danger.
So all of these people are people who we have to take an interest in. We have to try and check which category they come into. But you can only act on the basis of the best intelligence you have at any given time as to what actions you're able to take.
SHUBERT: How concerned are you that we might see copy cat attacks? I know there's been some concern about a stabbing of a French soldier in Paris. And there's been some concern about a prison attack on a prison warden here. How concerned are you that we might see either attacks by what we saw in Woolwich, and how do you stop them?
RIFKIND: Sure. What the world faced after 9/11 was the possibility of repeat copy cats of that scale, massive terrorist attacks with massive loss of life. Thankfully, virtually nothing of that kind has happened. Since 9/11, thanks to much of the work done by various intelligence agencies and other law enforcement bodies, and that's something to be welcomed.
So what we're seeing now it's something which is disgraceful, it's awful, but it's limited to the attack on one or two individuals, and that is terrible both for the individual's concern and their families, but also as an example of ongoing terrorism, but it's a different kind of terrorism.
What did the terrorists who carry out these acts hope to achieve? They know by killing one person or two people they're not going to change the world, but what they wish to do is demonstrate that they still have some sort of capability to hurt, but also they hope that the media, the publicity that surrounds these events, may lead others to copy them.
So, yes that can happen. And that's why you have to be vigilant. There's never an end to the task of the intelligence agencies. And however successful they have been, just occasionally something will happen that gets through the net, through the loop.
SHUBERT: And as you point out, they have been very successful...
RIFKIND: Incredibly successful.
SHUBERT: In thwarting many plots. And yet the critics have been asking is this a failure by MI-5?
RIFKIND: Well, in a free society you're entitled to ask these questions. Obviously, I have not the slightest doubt that the intelligence agencies will be asking themselves is there anything we could have done that might have prevented this, because they will feel sad that on this particular occasion an innocent man gets slaughtered in this terrible way and they will be asking, well, could it have been stopped, was it something we should have done, we didn't do.
I've got the slightly doubt they'll be going through that self examination. But what the public expect, quite rightly, is that there also is an independent assessment of the role of the intelligence agencies. And that's why the committee that I chair, the intelligence security committee was set up by an act of parliament. We're not part of the government. And we can criticize.
But we don't just criticize, we criticize if the facts justify it, but if people are being unfairly attacked in the media or elsewhere, if we think it's unfair, then we'll say that as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SHUBERT: Now last Wednesday's murder of Lee Rigby has sent shockwaves through Britain and around the world. But one eyewitness refused to give into fear and confronted the suspects, a Cub Scout leader and mother of two. Ingrid Loyau-Tennett approached both men at the scene and demanded they hand over their weapons.
As the tributes continue to pour in for Drummer Rigby, Ingrid decided to revisit the place of last Wednesday's shocking moments. She let me accompany her. And here's what she had to say one week on.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
INGRID LOYAU-TENNETT: Right. The first was parked about where the English flag and the red t-shirts are. And through the window, I could see the crashed car. I see it crashed in that pole, the right one. And the buddy had been dragged about, yeah, about here.
So I let my bag, because it wasn't going nowhere. And went down and approached the body.
And I went like this to his hands, tried to find a pulse. And there was no pulse. It doesn't mean he was dead, but the lady, the (inaudible) lady said, "he's dead." And I say, "you sure?" He said, "yes."
But maybe it was just no blood here. I wanted to check here. So I wanted to go there, but then he came like this in front of me..
SHUBERT: The attacker.
LOYAU-TENNETT: Yes. Yes.
And he said, don't touch the body. And I just did that. And all I could see here, like his bloodied hands, one carrying a (inaudible) and the other one carrying the knife and meat cleaver.
SHUBERT: I mean, what did you think at that point? You saw a man with bloodied hands carrying weapons?
LOYAU-TENNETT: I didn't think I just thought, OK, this is a situation, obviously not a road accident -- and traffic road accident, yeah. So I stood up like that and I said why? Why I can't touch the body? And he said "he's a British soldier. And I just killed him."
SHUBERT: So what happened when police came? Were you still here at that time?
LOYAU-TENNETT: I could see a police car coming very quickly. And then the two guys run down this way. And the police shoot them I think in the leg. The way they were grabbing their legs, I thought it was in the legs, yeah.
And I was happy that it was so quickly finished.
SHUBERT: And this was the first time that you've been back to the scene since that day. How do you feel coming back here?
LOYAU-TENNETT: I still have (inaudible), yeah. My heart is beating. And, yeah -- I hardly recognized it.
SHUBERT: (inaudible) shoulder to shoulder. No one shall separate us ever. We are one big family.
LOYAU-TENNETT: From the 221FD squadron.
We are British. We complete the world. We've never been feared of anyone and anything so far. Yes, we must stand up and stand for our rights and what we believe is true, and yeah.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SHUBERT: Still to come tonight, tying the knot and making history at the same time, why France was watching this wedding ceremony.
Also, some reprieve for the EuroZone as Brussels backs away from its austerity policy. We find out why.
Also ahead, an incredible story of survival. A newborn baby's first exposure to the world was a toilet then a sewage pipe. Today, his mother tells police what happened.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SHUBERT: You're watching CNN. And this is Connect the World with me, Atika Shubert, welcome back.
Tonight, despite months of protests, a history making wedding in France. Hundreds of guests watched the country's first same-sex marriage ceremony. Some 200 police officers were also on hand Wednesday to make sure there was no trouble and that is because of protests like this one in Paris on Sunday. Same sex couples have fought for years for the right to marry. And the issue has clearly split France.
Today, though, it was all about the happy couple.
Erin McLaughlin, in fact, had a chance to speak with them before they tied the knot in the south of France.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For Bruno and Vincent, it took more than a deep love and abiding commitment to say these vows, it took years of hard work campaigning for legislation to be passed to allow them to become the first same-sex couple to be married in France.
AUTIN (through translator): When French children are born into this world, they are born with the same rights as everyone else. But from the moment you said you were a homosexual, society deprived you of some of those rights just because you were a homosexual. Today the French Republic has given these rights back to us, ones they had taken away and they have put an end to an institutional discrimination.
MCLAUGHLIN: It certainly wasn't a traditional wedding. Protesters set off smoke bombs near city hall just before the ceremony began. There was heavy security. Some 300 guests were frisked before being allowed inside. Hundreds of journalists were on hand as well as friends and family plus activists and a few politicians.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm here because it's for celebrate love.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very important for the friends and the family to be there and to support them, because we know it's very, very complicated because the many media. But it's normal, because it's an important day in France.
MCLAUGHLIN: The law allowing same-sex marriage and adoption in France went into effect on May 18. And while surveys show the majority of people in France support marriage for gays and lesbians, these new legal rights for people like Bruno and Vincent have inspired protests among the country's conservatives.
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets on Sunday to voice their objections to the new law. The march turned violent as the evening wore on and more radical elements joined the fray. Stoking the anger in France, one of the more controversial elements of the new law, gay and lesbian couples can now legally adopt children.
Bruno and Vincent say adoption will be critical to their family's future.
BRUNO BOILEAU, NEWLYWED (through translator): We want a family, so yes it's going to happen that's for sure. We want children. We want to pass down values that are important to us, that we hold dear, that are right. And we want grandchildren and great-grandchildren, a real family.
MCLAUGHLIN: As the definition of marriage continues to evolve, Bruno and Vincent say they hope that other countries like the United States will follow in France's footsteps.
Erin McLaughlin, CNN, Montpelier, France.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SHUBERT: Turning now to Pakistan and a major blow to the Taliban today. Pakistani officials say a U.S. drone strike has killed the group's second in command. Several other militants were also killed in the attack near Marancha (ph) in the north Waziristan tribal area.
Now Wali-ur-Rehman Mehsud had a $5 million U.S. bounty on his head. He was accused of organizing deadly attacks against U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan.
And it's been another violent day in Iraq with at least 30 people killed in a series of attacks. In the north of the country, a Sunni activist was assassinated, one of 10 people found dead in the city of Mosul.
Further south in Baghdad, a car bomb near a wedding party and two other blasts killed at least 20 people, the latest victims as sectarian and political attacks rise across the country.
Now the United States is demanding Hezbollah fighters leave Syria immediately. It co-sponsored a resolution adopted today by the United Nation's top human rights body. This resolution condemns the intervention of militants from Lebanon in Syria's civil war, warning that it could destabilize the entire region.
Hezbollah is fighting to help Syrian troops regain control of the town of Qusayr. The regime intensified its assault today. And it says it has captured a nearby airfield from the rebels.
Now Qusayr is critically strategic to both sides in the war. And some even believe it could be a gamechanger. The town is a principle transit point for rebel weapons coming in from Lebanon, but it is also an important corridor for the regime, linking its power base in Damascus to supportive enclaves on the coast.
Well, the battle for Qusayr has reportedly left hundreds of civilians dead while thousands more may be trapped in their homes. Nick Paton Walsh reports on the hellish conditions there. And we warn you, some of these images are disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Quiet here doesn't mean safety. Qusayr has been bombed for over a week, so intense they bury the dead at night during any lull in shelling. The city of 20,000 civilians encircled, activists say, by Hezbollah militants who have crossed in from Lebanon to help Syria's regime.
The injured packed into basements of ordinary homes where Dr. Qasim al-Zayn does what he can, but it's impossible work. Sometimes a wounded limb can't be treated, so instead must be cut off.
QASIM AL-ZAYN, DOCTOR (through translator): We have to amputate most of the time as we are unable to reconnect the arteries due to the high number of casualties.
WALSH: He fears a massacre here and claims four instances of chemicals being deployed in the city that caused breathing difficulties.
But in these dark rooms of victims mostly of shelling and snipers. For children who stayed put for two years of conflict here, this latest onslaught proves too much.
AL-ZAYN (through translator): The psychological states of children are terrible -- fear, wetting themselves, loss of balance, hyperactivity. They will either be wounded, die or go crazy.
WALSH: In these conditions, he says, for some death is simply a welcome release.
AL-ZAYN (through translator): Just earlier, I was treating a casualty who lost a lot of blood and arrived to us barely with a pulse. We operated on him and he's unconscious. His friends wish martyrdom for him and have been blowing into his breathing tubes for three days because we've run out of oxygen. We've started wishing some casualties just die to end their suffering.
WALSH: The battle for Qusayr is Hezbollah's opening salvo to help save the Assad regime. While the state of this town is mulled by diplomats in far away capitals as people are for now unquestionably alone.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Beirut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SHUBERT: Now to Afghanistan where insurgents have attacked the international Red Cross for the first time since it began operations there in 1987. Officials say militants stormed a Red Cross building in Jalalabad today. One attacker blew himself up at the entrance. And that allowed gunmen to infiltrate the compound.
Afghan security forces rescued seven foreign nationals. Two attackers and a security guard, however, were killed.
Now this is how seriously health experts are taking a strange new virus that has killed more than half of the 49 people it has infected. The head of the World Health Organization calls it, quote, a threat to the entire world. It's been named the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. And it's in the same family as the SARS virus of 10 years ago. The latest victim was 65-year-old -- a 65-year-old patient in France who was known to have traveled to Dubai.
Officials are baffled and worried.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREGORY HARTL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: We don't know how it spread. This is the -- one of the big pieces of the puzzle. As you said at the beginning of your remarks before I came on air. This is of grave concern to us here internationally and WHO, because there are so many unknowns around the virus which so far has killed 55 percent of the confirmed cases. We would believe that the virus has a reservoir somewhere in the animal world, but we don't know which animal. And then we don't know if the virus transmits directly from animals to humans or via intermediaries. We need to find out this and a lot of other information.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHUBERT: That was the World Health Organization.
But another expert we spoke to says, well, the disease is very serious. It also appears to be very difficult to acquire.
Now live from London, this is Connect the World. Coming up, the mother of a baby stuck in the sewage pipe has some major explaining to do. We'll hear her account of the story that is making global headlines.
And a reprieve from austerity in Europe. We find out why Brussels thinks it is now time to change the rules.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SHUBERT: Now the mother of a newborn baby who got stuck in a sewage pipe says she never intended to flush him down the toilet. Well, the baby is now resting comfortably in hospital in eastern China after a miraculous rescue. As David McKenzie reports, it all began when neighbors heard a strange noise.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was the amazing video seen around the world, the race against time to save this baby from a sewage pipe in China.
Today, we have new pictures of the baby resting comfortably, drinking formula and recovering in ICU. Doctors say he should be OK.
Incredible when you consider what he went through.
Alarmed neighbors called first responders when they heard crying and saw a tiny foot.
Tearing away the pipe, they can't reach the baby wedged inside. Pipe and child rushed to a nearby hospital.
Surgeons and firefighters gingerly using pliers to rescue the infant, revealing a newborn boy, afterbirth still attached.
On local TV, police saying it could have been an awful mistake.
UNIDENTIIFED MALE (through translator): The woman started to feel a stomach ache and then she rushed to the toilet. After she stayed in the toilet for awhile, she gave birth to a baby. She tried to grab something to help herself because there was too much blood. She couldn't hold the baby anymore and he slid into the sewage through the hole of the toilet.
MCKENZIE: Investigations are still ongoing. And the boy is recovering in ICU. Police posted these pictures of him online.
They say rescuers brought blankets and formula, deeply touched by his ordeal. Without a name, just Patient 59, an innocent boy miraculously surviving a terrible ordeal against incredible odds.
David McKenzie, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SHUBERT: Now earlier, David told us about how people were reacting to the story within China.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCKENZIE: Mainstream media, it's mixed. There's certainly a lot of local coverage on the story, not as much national coverage. Events like this do happen in China occasionally, certainly that dramatic video is very unusual, but the case of potentially abandoning babies or accidentally abandoning babies which seems to be potentially the case here does happen with reasonable frequency here in China. I think it's that image of the baby being pulled out of that piping that really has gathered people's attention in this case, certainly around the world, and also here in China.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHUBERT: So we want to know what you think about this story. Just head to Facebook.com/cnnconnect and join in the conversation. You can also tweet us, too, at CNN Connect.
The latest world news headlines just ahead, plus has the EuroZone given up on austerity to solve the economic crisis. Well, we look at the change and pact announced today.
And a social media campaign against social media's biggest site. The fierce criticism of offensive content found on Facebook and just how it plays into online censorship.
Also, Nike pulls the plug on those famous yellow Livestrong bands as Lance Armstrong's fall from grace continues. That, plus your sports report right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SHUBERT: This is CONNECT THE WORLD. The top stories this hour. A reprieve from austerity for the eurozone. European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso says several countries, including Spain and France, will be given more time to bring their budget deficit below 3 percent of GDP.
An historic exchange of vows in the south of France. The mayor of Montpellier presided over the country's first same-sex wedding. As the couple were being married, outside, there was a reminder of how divisive this issue has become. Protestors threw smoke bombs just before the ceremony.
And the United Nations top human rights body is condemning Syria's use of Hezbollah fighters in the town of Qusayr. It warned that Hezbollah's involvement could destabilize the entire region. Syrian troops are fighting to regain control of Qusayr from the rebels.
Also, Pakistani officials say a US drone strike has killed the Pakistani Taliban's number two leader. Wali ur-Rehman Mehsud had a $5 million US bounty on his head. He was accused of organizing deadly attacks against US-led forces in Afghanistan.
So, let's get more now on that change of tack in the eurozone. The decision to move away from austerity in favor of growth came as the OECD slashed the forecast for the region. Nina Dos Santos explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the OECD, which is essentially a think tank for 34 of the richest and most developed countries around the world have come out with its second outlook of the year.
And what it's decided to do in that outlook is to cut for the second time its expectations for eurozone GDP, warning that globally this really is the weak spot that needs to be tackled. It's expecting eurozone GDP to fall, as you can see there, by six-tenths of one percent this year in 2013.
And steps that can be taken to try and remedy the situation? The OECD says the European Central Bank across this region needs to step up to the plate and to take more unconventional measures. This means not just cutting interest rates, but engaging in full-on monetary stimulus, like quantitative easing, as we've seen that have had pretty pronounced effects in the United States and Japan.
Now, more worryingly, the OECD hasn't just cut the growth outlook, it's also said that unemployment across this region, which stands at a record of 12 percent and rising, is likely to rise from here on. It says it's the most serious challenge, and it probably won't come down before 2014.
If we take a look at the growth trajectory all the way over the last five years since, of course, the credit crunch, you can see how difficult it's been for eurozone GDP. This was the period of 2008 when, of course, we saw the financial crisis.
But as you can see from where we are here on the end of the chart, we're still well below par when it comes to eurozone growth. And if we break down the countries in this region, especially the big ones, Germany, as you can see here on the blue line, has fared quite a bit better than everybody else. But countries like Spain, France, and Italy are still contending with problems regarding their deficits.
So, that brings us to the subject of austerity versus growth. Today, we saw a major change of tack by Brussels. Take a lesson.
JOSE MANUEL BARROSO, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: The debate about austerity versus growth has been to a large extent futile and even counter- productive. Instead of fueling these debates that are divisive and can only undermine confidence, our capitals should focus on promoting European consensus, which the commission is putting forward with more determined and urgent action on growth and enacting reforms.
DOS SANTOS: So, that was Jose Manuel Barroso there, the head of the European Commission, speaking at a conference in Brussels today, explaining there that, obviously, it's not just as simple as choosing between austerity versus growth.
That the key issue for the European Union is that already 20 out of the 27 countries within this bloc can't adhere to the deficit rules, which is reason why, in the face of slowing growth, rising unemployment, and increased protest against austerity, those in Brussels having to change the rules.
Nina Dos Santos, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SHUBERT: So, let's get a little bit more about the real impact these policy reforms announced today might have. I'm joined by PIMCO chief executive Mohamed El-Erian, an advocate for stimulus, as opposed to austerity measures. Thank you very much for joining us, Mohamed. Let me ask you first: it seems like we've put the brakes on austerity, but why now?
MOHAMED EL-ERIAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, PIMCO: So, we've only tapped the brakes, and why now? Because finally -- finally -- the OECD and the European Commission is getting realistic. So, they've revised down again their forecast for growth. Even at negative 0.6, they're still too optimistic. We think Europe will probably contract by 0.75 to 1.5 percent.
They're suddenly realizing that unemployment is a real issue. So, finally we're getting some realism, but it's not going far enough. And in particular, there's no fundamental understanding that Europe has not just a growth problem, some parts of Europe lack a growth model, which is much -- which is a much bigger issue.
SHUBERT: So, what is stimulus, then, going to do? How is it going to work, and when are we going to see results?
EL-ERIAN: So, we're not going to see much in the short term, because not much is being done. Here's how to think about it. If you look at Europe and start, in the strongest part of Europe, Germany -- Germany is now flat and unemployment is going up. Why? Because Germany's external environment has worsened. So, they're getting headwinds and not enough is being done to stimulate Germany.
Then go one stop further -- in. Go to France, go to Italy. Not only do they have all of Germany's problems, but in addition, they haven't implemented the structural reforms, so they cannot even grow like Germany.
Then, go one step further in, and you get to Cyprus and to Greece, and it's almost impossible to identify the growth engine when you get there.
So, they need a major rethink of the growth approach, and they need a growth strategy, which they don't have as yet.
SHUBERT: They don't have a growth strategy as yet, but I'm wondering, what about countries like Greece, for example, which had so much pressure to stick to these austerity goals, and now it seems they're finally letting the reins loose a little bit here, but doesn't it seem a little unfair to those countries that had to stick so closely to austerity?
EL-ERIAN: I think there's going to be a lot of revisiting. In the case of Greece, it was harder issue because there, there wasn't much choice. Greece got locked out of the capital markets, and there wasn't much choice other than to listen to what the creditors, the IMF, the ECB, and the European Commission was demanding.
When you get to some other countries where it's a choice to impose austerity, that is where there is more flexibility. But without structural reforms, Europe is not going to get very far. They need a combination of a better demand management policy, but critically, a set of structural reforms.
And then for some countries like Cyprus, a completely new growth model. That economy has to be rewired from the bottom up, and that's going to take a long time.
SHUBERT: Thank you very much. That's PIMCO chief executive Mohamed El-Erian, thank you very much.
Well, live from London, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Next up, the Gateway. We go inside the shipyard responsible for some of the world's biggest ships.
And taking on the giant. How a handful of activists managed to get Facebook to say sorry and change its policies. We'll speak to one of them later in this hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SHUBERT: Now, for centuries, we have been trading on the high seas. And even today, about a third of the value of goods transported around the globe are carried in ships. And those ships are getting bigger.
In this week's episode of the Gateway, Becky Anderson visited one of the largest shipyards in Europe, where four new mega vessels are just about to set sail.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the Daewoo Shipyard south of Constanta, engineers are working in the shadows of huge steel structures.
ANDERSON (on camera): This is one of Europe's biggest shipyards. It takes about eight months to build a commercial vessel. They're built from scratch, block by block, using materials sourced from all over the world.
SOON-GIL HONG, PRESIDENT AND CEO, DAEWOO-MANGALIA: At one time, we can build three ships together. But in a year, we can build 12 ships and source the necessary material from Romania or our European suppliers or Far Eastern countries.
ANDERSON: Now, these ships being built here are the biggest in the Black Sea?
SOON-GIL: Yes. This might be the second-largest ship ever built in Europe.
ANDERSON (voice-over): Container vessels have an approximate lifespan of 26 years, and they can be completed in less than 12 months. It'll take the work of more than 5,000 people, 25,000 tons of steel, 500,000 liters of paint.
ANDERSON (on camera): And some of the most sophisticated technology in shipping to date.
ANDERSON (voice-over): Welding, cutting, shaping. The building blocks of the vessel come together like pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle.
DAN MARIN, HEAD OF MARKETING, DAEWOO-MANGALIA: We are splitting the complete vessel into blocks. This is an example of one of the smallest pieces. You can see it's around 300 millimeters by 300 millimeters. There are thousands of pieces in order to build a container ship.
ANDERSON: From the very small to the very large, every part is assembled with precision.
ANDERSON (on camera): This is the bed plate and crank shaft of a container vessel. Now, if you know your engines, get this: at 78 RPM, this engine will generate just over 64,000 horsepower. That is 64 times as powerful as the fastest super car.
ANDERSON (voice-over): And that is what is needed to power up a vessel like the Toconao, which is almost ready to sail.
MARIN: The vessel just returned from a sea trial last week. So after launching from the dry dock, we are moving the vessel to the quayside. It'll trade between America and Europe.
ANDERSON: From a shipyard on the Black Sea to ports around the world, for these giants of global trade, the journey of many thousands of miles begins here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SHUBERT: Well, the Gateway series continues next month on CONNECT THE WORLD, and this time, it will be following the old Silk Road, but on a new mode of transport. Join Becky as she makes the epic voyage across six countries from China to Germany on what has become the fastest and cheapest lifeline between East and West. That's next month on the Gateway.
Coming up after this short break on CONNECT THE WORLD, Facebook is in hot water again. Why activists accuse it of promoting violence against women. We'll update you on the latest.
And Roger Federer has French Open history in his sights. The 2009 champion eyes another clay court title and a spot in the record books.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SHUBERT: Well, Facebook admits it failed to identify and remove hate speech that promotes violence against women. That is in the wake of a mass Twitter protest by feminist groups, and the controversy erupted after activists published an open letter that urged Facebook users to contact advertisers whose ads appear next to this offensive content.
The activist group says more than 60,000 tweets have been sent using the hash tag #fbrape as a result. Now, that content is so offensive that, frankly, we cannot show it to you. But what we're talking about is graphic pictures of battered women and children, with captions like, quote, "slapping hookers with a shoe." Or a Facebook page for members of the so- called, quote, "rapist community."
Now, companies like Nissan have responded to the uproar by yanking all ads from Facebook for now. Dove, whose campaign often revolves around women's self-esteem, has faced criticism for not pulling its ads immediately.
Now, the company in a statement says, "We are working with Facebook to prevent our ads from appearing on these pages. And as Facebook advertising targets people, not pages, we can't select which pages our ads appear on."
Well, Facebook tells CNN that most of the content that sparked the protest is no longer on its site. While most of that offensive content has been taken down, it has raised real questions about censorship of the internet.
One of the women who spearheaded the campaign is Soraya Chemaly from the group Women Action and the Media. Now, Soraya joins us from our Washington bureau. Thank you very much for talking to us. I want to get a sense first --
SORAYA CHEMALY, AUTHOR/ACTIVIST: Thank you.
SHUBERT: -- we can't show viewers these images, but these are incredibly graphic. Can you give us a brief description of exactly how bad this is?
CHEMALY: Sure. First of all, I'd like to just add, these are not offensive images. These are human rights violations that are being used for entertainment. So, what I'm going to describe are the images we didn't use because they would actually do violence to viewers.
They included bloodied women in bathtubs, they included images mocking rape victims. They included women bound and tied up and bleeding and bruised. And there were among them rape videos. And so, I think that we should be super careful with the words that we use in describing what these things are.
SHUBERT: Frankly, this sounds like truly horrific content. Has Facebook's response been enough?
CHEMALY: Well, I want to back up just one step because I don't believe that Facebook -- Facebook is not producing this. Facebook is a mirror. It's a microcosm of our culture. A global culture. In which the violence against women that we're seeing is pandemic.
And so, what -- what appears on Facebook is a function of the production of all of these cultures that are engaged in this space that is public space.
What Facebook did, however, that is notably different, is that it created a content moderation policy, which the world -- the global culture -- does not have. And once it did that, it became an arbiter of the content that appeared, it was making decisions. Facebook said, "We will allow this content and we will not allow this content."
And one of their baseline requirements and one of their baseline commitments in their guidelines was that they wanted to commit a -- they wanted to produce a safe space. But when you actually looked at the words in implementation, there was a double standard. And there was the double standard as it applied in our minds to gender-based hate speech.
So, the images that I describe and the images that we were sharing are populated regularly and every day. So, I realized that the images that we maybe used have been taken down, but the reason that we have focused on this idea of policy and not pages is because unless the fundamental norms are challenged, the norms that allow moderators to make the decisions that they have to make, these pages will continue.
SHUBERT: Sorry, if I could just interrupt for just a second --
CHEMALY: So -- I think that's important.
SHUBERT: It is important, and basically it's saying Facebook needs to do more. So, what can users do, then, to try and get Facebook to change that?
CHEMALY: Well, I think that really there has to be a diversity of tactics, right? So, we believe fundamentally that it needs to have -- we need to have a vertically integrated approach. So, we started in our letter with three demands, one of which was you need to take gender-based hate speech more seriously.
When an image of a woman bathed in blood shows up on your site, it cannot pass moderation. Even if you took the gender out of it, it's graphically violent. But representing that kind of violence as humor or allowing it to pass just because you have free speech issues and you think that it's offensive is unacceptable.
SHUBERT: Yes.
CHEMALY: So, we challenge them to say reevaluate your guidelines regarding hate speech. But two of our three points were very directly focused on training. Because it's in the actual interpretation of words like "safe" and "credible harm" and "threat."
Because men and women in the real world outside of the virtual world experience safety very differently. There are huge gaps in safety assessment that men and women make. So, in the United States, there's something like a 25 or a 27 percent safety gap in how men and women feel in public spaces.
And we take that online. So the distinction between real and virtual is actually -- it doesn't really matter --
SHUBERT: Sure.
CHEMALY: It's irrelevant. A woman cannot afford to not take a rape threat or a rape joke seriously.
SHUBERT: Exactly. This is something that definitely must be taken seriously, and I wish we could go through all those points today, but I'm not -- I'm afraid we're going to have to wrap it up there. Thank you very much. That's Soraya Chemaly for us leading that online campaign. She's in Washington.
Now, we want to hear what your views are on the Facebook controversy. Do you think they should monitor this content or is it a violation of free speech? Get in touch with the team here at CONNECT THE WORLD, facebook.com/CNNconnect or you can find me on Twitter. Tweet me @AtikaCNN.
Nike has further distanced themselves from disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong. Mark McKay joins us now with more. So, Mark, are you surprised with this decision or not so much?
MARK MCKAY, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: I don't think so, Atika. It's one of these things where you kind of saw this coming, and the latest example by Nike is that by the end of the year, they will be basically phasing out any kind of products or support products for the disgraced cyclist's cancer foundation, that of course being Livestrong. But Nike will still support that foundation financially.
The Livestrong Collection, which Nike produces, includes footwear, apparel, accessories. Again, the company saying it'll all be phased out by the end of the year, and it does bring down a nearly decade-long association.
The curtain comes down on an association between both Nike and Livestrong, exemplified by the distinctive -- there they are -- the yellow wristbands, which Nike says number some 87 million that have been distributed worldwide to date.
Of course, the decision inevitably will be seen as the company's latest attempt to distance itself from Armstrong's now toxic legacy. So no, no surprises what happened, but I think many people happy to hear that Nike will still support Livestrong financially, Atika.
SHUBERT: Well, in tennis at the French Open, we actually saw Roger Federer do something he hasn't done in nearly -- how long? -- ten years, I understand. Tell us about that, Mark.
MCKAY: Done something quite well. Yes. If you're looking for a challenger to Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros over the next week and a half, it might come from Roger Federer. He's known to be such a great grass court player, but sometimes it's lost how well he can do on the clay.
And we saw that Wednesday against India's Somdev Devvarman. He learned that lesson the hard way, Federer ripping through the opening set of this match in 23 minutes. It was all uphill for the Indian player against Federer for there.
It was a straight set win. It was his 56th French Open victory. By the way, as you said, it was something that he hadn't done in ten years. This was the most lopsided victory for Federer at Roland Garros in ten years, so he is rolling, and he will roll into a buzz saw and a local, Frenchman Julien Benneteau, in the next round. Federer looking pretty good on that clay Atika.
SHUBERT: Now, I like this next one as well. It's about Mount Everest, and it's difficult climbing that under any circumstances, but I hear there's a woman from India who really deserves some special recognition.
MCKAY: Another one of these great inspirational stories we love to come across, Atika. This one will certainly make you smile. And remember the name Arunima Sinha. She scaled the summit of Mount Everest -- get this -- just two years after having one leg surgically removed when she was thrown off a moving train by robbers.
She is the first female amputee to climb the 8848 meters up Mount Everest. And Atika, she said when she got to the very top, she shouted very loudly. And we are singing the praises of Ms. Sinha. That is an incredible accomplishment, and look at the big smile on her face.
Much more on the world of sport coming up in "World Sport" in about 35 minutes. I'll see you then, Atika.
SHUBERT: Definitely an inspiring story. Thank you very much, Mark McKay.
Well, Justin Bieber may have a need for speed. His Los Angeles neighbors say he's using their gated community as a race track, and police are investigating. Pamela Brown reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Justin Bieber is known for dazzling fans all over the world, but it's his offstage antics that have the pop sensation's California neighbors upset.
(MUSIC - "I BELIVE I CAN FLY" BY JUSTIN BIEBER)
BROWN: For the second time in two months, they accuse the singer of speeding through their Calabasas neighborhood at breakneck speed. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is investigating the latest incident.
STEVE WHITMORE, SPOKESMAN, LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: We got a couple of calls from two witnesses that said that they saw Justin Bieber driving recklessly in his white Ferrari inside the gated community known as The Oaks.
This kind of behavior, if in fact it did happen, this kind of behavior cannot be done by anybody at any time, anywhere.
BROWN: The Sheriff's department says Bieber refused to speak with deputies sent to investigate, prompting this plea:
WHITMORE: Please talk to us, tell us what you believe occurred.
BROWN: TMZ reports Bieber shut the door on someone else who wanted to ring his bell: former NFL star Keyshawn Johnson. The ex-New York Jets player was sitting in his car with his child in Calabasas when Bieber sped by.
He later reportedly confronted the young pop star outside his house, but Bieber fled inside, possibly showing better judgment than he did while driving his Ferrari. In Calabasas, neighbors are mostly concerned about the damage he could do behind the wheel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SHUBERT: I'm Atika Shubert and that was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thanks very much for watching.
END