Return to Transcripts main page
Connect the World
Turkish Anti-Urbanization Protesters Clash With Security Forces; Chime for Change Event Focuses On Women's Rights Around World; EuroZone Unemployment Reaches Record High
Aired May 31, 2013 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: Tonight, generation jobless. EuroZone unemployment reaches a new record high, but one expert says the bloc is in good shape.
Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What can you say if you -- if the person you love the most die and you were the instrument.
ANDERSON: And exclusive interview with the people closest to Oscar Pistorius.
And...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEYONCE KNOWLES CARTER, SINGER: Hi, I'm Beyonce Knowles Carter...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Global stars say it's time for change and take to the stage this weekend in aid of women and girls worldwide.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN London...
ANDERSON: Very good evening to you. Over 26 million people unemployed across Europe. And of that, over 19 million are in the EuroZone. That is a record high.
Today, the European Office for Statistics says Europe's jobless rate is at its highest since it began recording the data almost 20 years ago. The painful figures released after a week that's seen riots in Sweden and today in protests in Frankfurt.
We'll look at those in a moment, first let's have a look at how these number play out across Europe.
In the EuroZone alone, 12.2 percent of people are out of work. If you look at the breakdown that's a shocking 27 percent in the countries lashed by austerity -- Greece and Spain, compared with around about just 5 percent in the countries of Germany and Austria. So the picture not awful all over the place, but pretty bad, isn't it?
This number is EuroZone unemployed. The total number of unemployed not far below the entire population of Australia. And it is the youth that are really suffering with almost a quarter out of work. In some places, it's far worse to be young than in others.
Germany relatively low. It's got to be said youth unemployment at 7.5 percent, but move to France and over a quarter of people are out of work.
But the worst case by far is Greece where the majority of young people are jobless, a whopping 62 percent of them, 6 out of 10.
Protesters descending on Frankfurt today paralyzing the German financial hub. The Blockupy group said that around 3,000 people protested outside the European Central Bank, though police estimated the number at around a half of that.
The group's spokesman said they were acting on behalf of those countries suffering from austerity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROLAND SUESS, BLOCUPY SPOKESMAN (through translator): We said that we think it is legitimate to hold such events of civil disobedience, because the politics of the ECB and the whole troika is leading the living standards for people in many countries in Europe being unbearable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, today's figures come after what has been a week of bold statements from EU leaders. Earlier this week, we heard European commission president Jose Manuel Barroso say that Europe needed urgent reform. And French President Hollande has warned about what the future could hold for the post-crisis generation as he called.
And earlier, though, I spoke to economist Christian Shulz, a regular guest on this show. And he said there is no need to panic. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIAN SCHULZ, BRANDENBERG BANK: Well, the most important steps have already been taken. The labor market reforms that we've seen in Portugal and in Spain addressed the big problem that southern Europe has and that's that older employees are very protected whereas young employees are not in losing their jobs.
So the crisis has led to many young people losing their jobs when it should have been more distributed fairly across the population.
These laws have been changed already. The short run unemployment will rise, but once growth returns, and we're seeing some green shoots, unemployment will come down. And also for young people there will be more chances.
ANDERSON: All right, so you don't expect to see, for example, going forward the sort of scenes that we've seen on the streets of Sweden of late, on the streets of Germany of late. We've seen protests across Greece over the past two-and-a-half years.
I was interested in fact to see what had happened on the streets of Sweden given, in fact, that their unemployment numbers, it seems, are getting marginally better.
SCHULZ: Well, unemployment is always bad for political stability and a social coherence of the society. So this situation should not last for much longer. And if it does, then maybe even short-term measures such as jobs for young people should be taken.
But overall, political stability has actually improved over recent months. We haven't seen the sort of large-scale protests we've seen in Greece, for instance, last year. So there is some degree of hope, I think. We'll have to see how over the summer when the weather is nice these demonstrations will go. But I think that overall there is hope and there are some green shoots that the economy is turning around.
So by the end of the this year, we are certainly expecting unemployment to peak and then gradually come down.
ANDERSON: We've seen the Europeans give Spain, France and the Netherlands a bit of a break this week. How do you see, or read the future competitiveness of Europe? You say you're looking for green shoots in the sort of short to medium term at this point. But how can a zone with very little, if no, growth compete with the likes of the U.S., China and the emerging markets at this point?
SCHULZ: Well, competitiveness is a very broad concept in -- there are many things that play a role. The quality of the products, the distribution networks, and also labor costs. And I think labor costs is really where Europe has made a lot of progress, especially in the periphery. Wages have come down. Labor has become more flexible. This will over time lead to more employment in manufacturing sector, especially where exports play a big role.
And we've seen a lot of progress already in exports. Spain, for instance, Portugal, these countries had huge trade deficits before the crisis. They've balanced their trade already and that without devaluation of the currency. So Europe has...
ANDERSON: Let me ask you one question here, wouldn't they be doing better if they weren't in the euro? I mean, we're already seeing that narrative gaining strength in Portugal.
Whether we like it or not, the southern European countries cannot compete within the EuroZone with the likes of Germany, can they?
SCHULZ: Well, had we had a breakup of the EuroZone already, we would probably be in a much deeper economic crisis in the short-term. Of course you might see some positive adjustments after that because of a low exchange rate. However, the real problems, the long-term problems, the rigid labor markets, the -- all these distribution problems that we have in these countries wouldn't have been tackled at all, and would never have been tackled.
In the long run, these reforms that we've seen, because countries want to try and stay in the euro area would never have happened without the euro. And they will lead to a longer term, much more sustainable growth scenario for the EuroZone.
We think that the EuroZone will exit from this -- from this crisis in a much more dynamic, much more stable way and actually be a leader of growth in the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Interesting arguments. Certainly some will compete with him on that argument and argue. Christian may see some green shoots, but that is slim comfort, of course, for those millions who are unemployed.
Al Goodman has been to a struggling Spanish village where one manufacturer is looking to emerging markets to save his company.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AL GOODMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fernando Jerez can hardly believe how far his family's brick and tile company has fallen in Spain's economic crisis. He says business is down 80 percent. Three of his factories are closed with piles of excess stock.
FERNANDO JEREZ, CERAMICAS SAN JAVIER (through translator): I try not to let this affect me psychologically. I've driven by here many times. And it's painful.
GOODMAN: The fourth factory is open, but just four months a year. It used to run all year around the clock before the construction boom went bust.
It's also been tough for other factories in Toledo province, which makes a third of Spain's bricks and tiles.
(on camera): As factory after factory got into trouble here, they laid off workers by the hundreds. Spain's jobless rate is 27 percent, but in this province, it's 32 percent.
(voice-over): Pedro Rodrigez (ph) is one of them. Starting as a teenager, he tells me, he worked 45 years in brick factories, but was laid off four years ago.
He stops to get food, paying with unusual food stamps newly issued for the neediest people by the local government in Pentoja.
At home, more food arrives from another local government program. His wife has a spinal disorder the requires expensive medicines. Their grown children help out. At 60, he can't find a job.
"Young people look for jobs and are told they're too old at age 30," he says, "so my possibilities are nil."
But Jerez, he's a chance for his business through innovation like this new roof tile with an air chamber that he says naturally lowers the temperature in the building. They're sturdy. And he plans to export them and the technology, too.
JEREZ (through translator): Saudi Arabia, Colombia and Peru care about energy efficiency. And they're building lots of houses.
GOODMAN: Unlike Spain. Jerez see the future abroad and says the glory days for the brick factories here are gone for good.
Al Goodman, CNN, Pantoja, Spain.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Still to come here on Connect the World this evening, violence in the commercial heart of Istanbul. Protesters elude a battle with police in a popular square, but they could still win their case in court.
And the stage is set for star studded global concert in aid of girls and women. We speak to one of the masterminds chiming for change.
And hear an exclusive interview with the uncle of Oscar Pistorius, how the paralympic champion's life with never be the same again.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: This is CNN. Chaotic scenes in Istanbul today as riot police moved into clear protesters from the commercial heart of the city. Now, police fired tear gas and water cannon in Taksim Gezi Park where demonstrators have been camped out for days. Officials say 12 people were injured in clashes. There dozens more were detained. CNN's Ivan Watson was at the scene earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You can see here how the Turkish riot police are going after gatherings of people here in Istanbul's Taksim Square in the heart of the city. Come on over here.
Ordinary civilians being caught up in what's taking place here. An old lady knocked on the ground by a water cannon. Downtown Istanbul, the commercial capital of Turkey, the largest city in this country has really turned into a place of unrest, an explosion of anger that started with demonstrators who tried to hold a sit-in four days ago. They didn't want the park over there to be demolished and turned into a shopping mall. Now, this place has turned into a riot zone. And it's catching an awful lot of ordinary citizens and tourists in the midst of all of this tear gas and water cannons and violence.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, an update to this story, a court in Istanbul late Friday did agree to hear a case against the renovation project. Turkish media, at least saying it's ordered a halt to the construction until the case is resolved.
Well, hundreds more rebels have reportedly joined the battle for a strategic town in Syria. Opposition activists say reinforcements have broken through army lines to reach Qusayr. The rebels control that town, but soldiers backed by Hezbollah fighters are closing in.
Meantime, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is criticizing Russia's military support for Syrian regime saying it hurts peace efforts. Russia has acknowledge plans to send their defense systems to the country and today Interfax news agency reported that Moscow may also supply 10 ultra- modern fighter jets.
Well, Secretary Kerry says the U.S. in still trying to gather details on reports that an American women was among three westerners killed in Syria. But a family in Michigan has already identified her as 33-year-old Nicole Mansfield saying that she went to Syria to help free the people from the regime.
Nick Paton Walsh has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: (inaudible) about Nicole Mansfield came to be in the northern city of Idlib, hotly contested between rebels and regime, other than that which Syria state TV is trying to claim. Now they show pictures of the Volkswagen car she was ambushed in allegedly with a British man, shown pictures of their corpses, quite grizzly I must add, and shown the ammunition they were allegedly seized with too along with the British passport of the man and her American driving license and passport, too.
Claiming they're part of the foreign fueled extremist movement that they say comprises the insurgency. Of course, many in Syria really believe this is a domestic insurgency fighting against years of repression.
But this, of course, seized upon by the regime, part of a propaganda push they'd had in the last 48 hours. President Bashar al-Assad talking to Hezbollah television al-Manar TV hinting that he may soon be getting a delivery of sophisticated Russian missiles, S300, part of his general message there, trying to seem relaxed, trying to seem like he's on the forward foot at this particular time.
But further news emerged today where those missiles actually are. There had been claims that in fact they'd already arrived to Syria. Bashar al-Assad didn't really clarify that, but Russian officials today in Russian media saying that they might not even arrive until autumn, perhaps even 2014. And then of course experts telling us it will take weeks, if not months, to actually get them operational or ready.
So Bashar al-Assad very keen to appear confident on his forward foot there. But of course some holes in really the claims that he's been making -- Becky.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Nick Paton Walsh reporting.
Well, a second suspect in the killing of the British soldier Lee Rigby last week has been released from the hospital. Michael Adebolajo is now in police custody. This is a file picture of the suspect from two years ago. Meanwhile, police investigating the murder have arrested a 42-year-old on suspicion of supplying illegal firearms.
I what a chronically ill woman in El Salvador who was denied an abortion says that she has received permission from the health minister to have a premature C-section next week. Now her case has triggered protests at home and headlines around the world.
Doctors say the woman's baby has severe developmental problems and will not survive outside of the womb. They also say her own life is threatened by the pregnancy.
But abortion is illegal in El Salvador. And the highest court refused to make an exception in her case.
Into Southern California now where crews are battling to extinguish a wildfire near Los Angeles. The fire has burned about 1,500 acres so far. These pictures into CNN in the last 30 minutes or so and it's only about 15 percent contained, thousands of people evacuated from their homes as the flames advanced there.
You're watching Connect the World live from London at just about 19 minutes past 9:00. I'm Becky Anderson for you.
Coming up the right of girls and women take center stage of what will be a star-studded concert that will be streamed live around the world. That's this weekend. We are going to take a look at the line-up for you next.
And FIFA finally takes action on racism. It means tough new penalties for clubs that don't play by the rules.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, we are on the eve of what is -- or certainly will be a start-studded global event here in London, a live concert that will be beamed around the world to a billion eyes to amplify the cause of women and girls. And as we're about to see, it has a cause that's been galvanized by a series of acts too brutal to ignore.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: It began with a shooting of a Pakistani school girl in October 2012.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This attack on Malala Yousafzai sparked outrage throughout much of Pakistan.
ANDERSON: The Taliban's attempted assassination of the young education campaigner sparked what has now taken the shape of a global resolution. This groundswell is calling for the rights of women and girls grew louder in December after a young woman was gang raped in Delhi.
NISHA PAHUJA, INDIAN FILMMAKER: It's sort of like India's Rosa Parks moment, you know. It really is kind of a watershed moment in the history of that country.
ANDERSON: Powerful voices have seized the moment, propelling the momentum for change even further.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They shot her at point-blank range in the head and made her stronger.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This truly is the unfinished business of the 21st Century. And it is the work we are called to do. And let's keep telling the world over and over again that, yes, women's rights are human rights.
ANDERSON: And this rising will now take center stage here at Twickenham Stadium in London where some of the world's biggest stars are adding their voices in a concert called Sound of Change live.
This sellout event is presented by new global campaign Time for Change. Founded by three formidable women.
FRIDA GIANNINI, ITALIAN FASHION DESIGNER: My name is Frida Giannini and I chime for education.
KNOWLES CARTER: Hi, I'm Beyonce Knowles Carter and I chime for health.
SELMA HAYEK PINAULT, ACTRESS: My name is Selma Hayek Pinault, and I chime for justice.
CROWD: Together, we chime for change.
ANDERSON: Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, John Legend and Timberland will be amongst those taken to the stage. Emblazoned with the words "none of us can more forward if half of us are held back."
KEVIN WALL, PRODUCTER, SOUND OF CHANGE LIVE: Most of the people reach out to us to be like -- and we've got a fantastic lineup of both activists and major stars so that we really get the attention of the world.
This is a global issue and it's finally time to have the tipping point.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When this happened, it includes the communities, the world.
KNOWLES CARTER: I'm telling my daughter every day, you know you can be president. You know it's possible.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, we will be there. And I'm joined now by one of the leading advocates on the Chime for Change advisory board. Muna Abusulayman who is one of Saudi Arabia's most popular talk show hosts.
55,000 tickets sold out. Did you expect this sort of reaction?
MUNA ABUSULAYMAN, ADVISER, CHIME FOR CHANGE: Of course. I mean, the most amazing thing is what the -- what Beyonce and Selma Hake and Frida actually brought together, they brought together a huge amount of star power behind it. And people usually think if the stars are interested, there must be something about it that is unique.
ANDERSON: They're all moms, of course. But I don't think that that is the only reason they got involved more, or any of us, who are getting involved in raising awareness for girl's education and women's issues around the world.
There is a groundswell at present. It needs to be taken advantage of, doesn't it?
ABUSULAYMAN: Exactly. I think all the stars that are involved are actually people who are interested in the causes that we advocate for in Chime for Change -- justice, health, education. It's people who have done something whether in their own countries or outside. And therefore, it was this idea of how can we actually do a leapfrog in change? And it's through the fundraising activities that are going to happen.
So we have so many NGOs and so many women who are working on the ground to help themselves, their communities, their countries.
ANDERSON: Let's stop talking the talk and walk the walk I think is the idea. 150 foundations or initiatives that will helped out by the money that's raised around the world for Chime for Change. And this is just the first of a series of concerts, of course.
I have to ask you this, and with respect of course. You're from Saudi Arabia, couldn't you start there with women's issues and girl's education rather than being at Twicketham this weekend? I mean, you get my point, right?
ABUSULAYMAN: Yeah, of course, but I mean the thing is -- first of all, my show is Muna, Middle East from Morocco all the way to Iraq. And so I'm number one in all of these countries. We're the number one social program. And so we deal with all the countries, including Saudi Arabia in the show.
Now as personally, of course I work a lot with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is not the same as it was five years ago. People still stereotype us into this very oppressive patriarchal society, which we do have elements of. But I mean, for example, this year we've had 30 women join our parliament. That's 20 percent quota. That is higher than anybody else, almost, in the western world.
So there's many changes happening in Saudi Arabia...
ANDERSON: And things take time, right?
ABUSULAYMAN: And things take time. I think the most important part for me is the justice element in the Chime for Change. And that's what we have to concentrate in my country, a lot.
ANDERSON: Education, health and justice.
ABUSULAYMAN: All part of what is this Chime for Change that all of us are helping out with. And I hope the concert is going to be hugely successful. I'm growing to crossing our fingers that the weather holds, because it's been miserable in London the past couple of days, but the weather is actually holding at the moment, so...
ABUSULAYMAN: I mean, it's very exciting. I mean, it seems like it's going to be a huge, you know, concert for everybody to come in. 55,000 tickets that have been sold, all of them going to the charity. It is just absolutely amazing.
ANDERSON: And some surprises that not even you and I know about. So stay tuned. Thank you, Muna.
And you can read my thoughts on this, it's at our website, CNN.com/connecttheworld. There you can read my blog, weigh in with your thoughts. And later this hour, much more on the preparations for what is going to be a big event in Twickenham in London this weekend, plus a roundup of the summer blockbusters coming your way.
Before that, of course, bottom of the hour. The latest world news headlines are ahead. And tough new measures tackling racism on the pitch. We have a live report from the FIFA congress in Mauritius for you.
And his grief is, and I quote, unthinkable. Oscar Pistorius's uncle says his nephew is heartbroken. An exclusive update on the man charged with the murder of his model girlfriend. All that, coming up, after this. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Just after half past nine in London, this is CONNECT THE WORLD, these are your top stories this hour.
Riot police and demonstrators have been clashing for hours in the heart of Istanbul in Turkey. Protesters are trying to block the demolition of a park and historic Ottoman barracks to make way for a shopping mall. Late Friday, a judge agreed to listen to their arguments, ordering a halt to demolition.
Unemployment in the eurozone has reached a new record high. The jobless rate now stands at 12.2 percent, with almost one in four young people without a job. European Council president Herman Van Rompuy said youth unemployment would be the top priority at next month's EU summit.
An American woman from the state of Michigan was among three Westerners killed in the Syrian civil war this week. Thirty-three-year-old Nicole Mansfield was a recent convert to Islam, according to her relatives. Syrian state media say that she and the two others were fighting with rebels, but Mansfield's aunt says she only wanted to help people.
And a second suspect in the slaying of a British soldier outside a barracks in London has been released from hospital. Michael Adebolajo is now in police custody. This is a file picture of the suspect from two years ago.
Well, it's being hailed as a moment of football history. The sport's governing body, FIFA, has today approved tough new sanctions to end racism at its congress meeting in Mauritius.
Now, the new measures include the option of points deductions, relegation, or expulsion. Remember that from competitions for repeat offenders. We've seen it before. I think it's good it's back. There'll be observers at games and a hotline for people to report abuse. And any racist individuals will be the subject of a minimum five-game ban.
The man instrumental in pushing through these groundbreaking measures is Jeffrey Webb. He's the head of FIFA's anti-racism task force, and in an exclusive interview with CNN, he told Amanda Davies that today's sanctions are just the beginning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: So, these are the recommendations that have been passed in congress in 2013. Is there room to make them tougher?
JEFFREY WEBB, CHAIRMAN, FIFA ANTI-RACISM TASK FORCE: Yes. Because I think there is some room. I think specifically we could in the future perhaps be more detailed in regards to the fine. We could set minimum fines as well, perhaps in the future.
We think it's a great starting point, and we hope that historically what we -- when we look back at 2013 Congress, that this would be a defining moment in the fight against racism and discrimination.
DAVIES: How disappointing is it for you, even with this process going on at the moment, that the increased awareness of the issue of discrimination in football, that we still get the likes of Mario Balotelli being abused? The likes of Didier Drogba being abused on the pitch? And still, paltry fines are being handed out.
WEBB: It's unbelievable that we find ourselves -- continue to find ourselves in this day and age and that that level of ignorance still displays itself.
But for me, it's -- that was probably one of the most difficult points for me, because that is when I think that FIFA should be able to intervene in some of those cases, and I think now afterwards you will find that FIFA will have the ability to be able to intervene.
DAVIES: We had the incident with Mario Balotelli being abused by Roma fans. Roma have now been fined. If it was to happen again with Roma fans, what happens, in your opinion?
WEBB: In my opinion, then for me, then Roma should be looking as a second offender.
DAVIES: And what does that mean?
WEBB: Second offenders are points deduct -- possible point deductions, expulsions, or relegation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: All right. CNN's Amanda Davies joins me now from Mauritius for more on the latest from FIFA's congress. And Amanda, it's great to get a definitive voice from the organization, given the president's unforgivable equivocation on this over the past few months. How much impact will these new sanctions have, do you think?
DAVIES: Hi, Becky. That's very much the big question. This is undoubtedly a huge step that for the first time we do have these definitive rules, these definitive sanctions as to how to fight racism and discrimination in football.
But almost getting the sanctions ratified by congress is the easy part, and it's now implementing them that is the really big test. And today at congress, the FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, and Jeffrey Webb were both very, very keen to point to the 209-member association's president and to stress to them their role, now, in taking this on and taking this forward and actually taking a hard line in terms of imposing the sanctions.
The concern is that these are not, for want of a better phrase, black or white sanctions. They are very much a few options in the first instance, possible matches behind closed doors, possible docking of points, ultimately possible relegation. But ultimately, it's up to the individuals associations to impose those sanctions.
And I know having spoken to a few people here, a number of federations, for example, wanted to remove the relegation option, because there is a big financial implication of a top league having to relegate one of their top teams.
But it's definitely a step in the right direction. The overwhelming majority want to boot this problem out of football. But I suppose the fact that one person did vote against the sanctions today in congress shows that there is still work to be done, Becky.
ANDERSON: Yes. Let's have a listen to what Sepp Blatter had today -- said today. I know we've just got that into CNN, let's have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEPP BLATTER, PRESIDENT, FIFA: We have heard this exceptional decisions, and we have now three ladies on the board. We have three ladies on the board. Are there any ladies in this room? So, then say something, ladies. At least you.
(APPLAUSE)
BLATTER: You are always speaking at home, now you can speak here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: A bit step forward, it seems, for women today, am I right? What's going on there?
(LAUGHTER)
DAVIES: Yes, a big step forward. That, I suppose, in essence shows what has been so often the problem with FIFA in recent times, Becky, one step forward in terms of reform, two steps back.
Just a couple of hours after history was made at the congress center in the center of Mauritius when, for the first time -- the first time in 109 years of FIFA history, a woman was given full voting powers on the executive committee.
It was Burundi's Lydia Nsekera that was voted on as well as another two women from different parts of the world being voted on for a year each onto this committee.
In his closing speech, Sepp Blatter than came out with that comment, basically suggesting that, well, saying that women speak so much at home, why aren't they speaking up in the congress room? So, that started a whole other sexist debate.
And this was meant to be the congress that was ending the reforms, marking a new chapter in FIFA history, the increased -- improved image and transparency around the world. But yet again, it ends on a somewhat negative note, Becky.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: Just when you thought Sepp Blatter couldn't make any more mistakes in his career, he does. All right. Amanda, thank you for that generally good news out of the FIFA congress today in Mauritius.
So, what do you think about all of this? The team at Connect the World wants to hear from you, facebook.com/CNNconnect, of course. Have your say. You can tweet me as ever @BeckyCNN. What do you think about FIFA's anti-racism sanctions. Are they enough? Your thoughts, please, @BeckyCNN. And the rest of that nonsense that was coming out of there.
Live from London, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. And grisly photos emerge of the killing heard around the world. Oscar Pistorius's family continues to defend him. CNN's exclusive access to those close to him, right here on CNN.
Also ahead, we sit down with Hollywood star Will Smith, and he reveals what it's like to work with his real-life son. That's coming up after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: It was three months ago that star athlete Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend at his South African home. Now, days before he returns to court, grisly photographs of the crime scene have emerged. Now, we don't know who leaked the pictures, but it's raising serious concerns about police conduct in this investigation.
Since being let out on bail, Pistorius has holed up at his uncle's house in Pretoria. CNN's Robyn Curnow gained exclusive access to speak with family and friends of the athlete. This is her report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was Reeva Steenkamp, modeling for the cover of a South African magazine. She was not just a swimsuit model, she was a law school graduate, too. And Oscar Pistorius's girlfriend.
Early on Valentine's day, he shot her dead. He says it was a tragic accident, that he mistook her for a burglar. The state says it was murder. A trial date has not yet been set.
PEET VAN ZYL, AGENT: He was the guy that's been spending many years with Oscar --
CURNOW: For the first time, Pistorius's agent, Peet van Zyl, talks about the tragic events of February the 14th.
VAN ZYL: One phone call to me, 4:00 in the morning, everything changed, yes.
CURNOW (on camera): What was your reaction? Who phoned you, and what did they say?
VAN ZYL: It was most likely his estate manager's daughter, phoned me from Oscar's phone, so I picked up the phone and saw it was Oscar's number and thought it was him phoning me, and just heard this voice of a girl frantically on the other side shouting, "Please, you have to rush to Pretoria, you have to come to Oscar's house."
Trying to make sense of what's wrong. "No, no, someone's shot! Someone's shot!" So, I immediately thought it was Oscar that had been shot, so I said, no, no, no, no. Reeva's been shot.
CURNOW (voice-over): Van Zyl called Ampie Louw, Pistorius's athletics coach.
AMPIE LOUW, COACH: When I arrived at the house, and you see all the police cars and lights, I was standing outside, me and Peet and a lawyer came there. And then -- but later, his sister came and called, Oscar was inside, I could hear him crying in the garage. And Reeva was at the entrance. So, that was terrible for me.
CURNOW: Since then, for the past three months, Pistorius has been living here, at his Uncle Arnold's home in Pretoria.
CURNOW (on camera): When I spoke to Oscar a little bit before we started chatting, he said he had a lot of photos of Reeva, and that he was still pining for her.
ARNOLD PISTORIUS, UNCLE: Yes, he's got photos in his room. He's got photos all over the place. And what can you say if the person you love the most died, and you were the instrument? How would you feel? It's unthinkable.
CURNOW: Also unthinkable is the grief Reeva's family and friends must have. They also miss her, yearn for her as the legal process slowly moves towards a trial.
Robyn Curnow, CNN, Pretoria, South Africa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, as you saw there, the strain on both families, of course, is huge. Robyn also got the chance to speak to Pistorius himself, as you heard, off camera. Let's cross to Johannesburg where Robyn is live for us. What sort of state of mind is he in, Robyn?
CURNOW: Hello. Well, Oscar just seems sad. He's grown a beard. Those around him say he's definitely not emotionally, mentally ready to deal with a trial. That's going to take some time. He spends much of his day housebound.
He doesn't really want to leave his uncle's house, where you saw, where we did the interview. When he does -- he's grown a beard, I think, to hide himself. And he basically spends much of the day doing gym in a home gym. He does a bit of gardening. He started painting, doing a bit of cooking, reading the Bible.
I think many people around him have felt concerned about him, and they've been trying to keep him busy. But everyone fully aware that this is a long road ahead. And one word that his uncle used, and I would probably agree, is that Oscar Pistorius looks haunted by what he did.
ANDERSON: The case around him, meantime, seems to be falling apart. Bad news for the prosecution, and it must be very tough for Reeva's family to be watching all of this.
CURNOW: Absolutely. On Tuesday, we were supposed to have a -- they were supposed to go to court to set a trial date. Also, the contents of the charges of Oscar were supposed to be laid out.
The government -- that the prosecuting authority came out this week saying they weren't ready, that they were still investigating, and that this needed to be postponed. Legal experts telling us this is an indication that the case isn't as watertight as they came out in the first place.
You remember those crazy days inside that courtroom during the bail hearing when the state really was very aggressive, basically saying it was premeditated murder. But it doesn't look that way now. They don't seem to have a case that they can put on the table or contents of the charges, at least, next Tuesday.
In addition to that, we're seeing some photos -- evidence from the crime scene -- being released, leaked, perhaps by the police. Again, an indication of an investigation or a police force that is being sloppy or perhaps corrupt. Either way, not looking good for the state.
ANDERSON: Robyn out of Johannesburg for you this evening. Thank you.
Well, do stay with us here on CNN. We've got your weekly roundup of entertainment news coming up after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Welcome to CNN Preview, your weekly look at the world of music and the movies.
ANDERSON (voice-over): Final preparations are being made for Saturday's celebrity-studded Chime for Change concert at Twickenham Stadium in London, where Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez are among the big names due to perform. This, though, is not the only game in town.
BRAD PITT AS GERRY LANE, "WORLD WAR Z": We're getting out of here.
Just down the road from Twickenham, the global premier of "World War Z" takes place in London's West End on Sunday.
FRANA MOKOENA AS THIERRY, "WORLD WAR Z": Gerry?
PITT AS LANE: Thierry, what is this? Is this thing worldwide? Is anyone doing better than we are?
ANDERSON: Brad Pitt will take time off from hunting zombies to press the living flesh of film fans on the red carpet. And rockers Muse will add a musical note to the event, performing songs they contributed to the film's soundtrack.
If it's not zombies taking over the world, this summer, there's some other form of apocalypse waiting to happen in the movie theater next door. Usually, we can call on Will Smith to save us. This time, though, he's about a thousands years too late, and he has his hands full trying to save himself and his real-life son, Jaden, following a disastrous return to the abandoned planet.
WILL SMITH AS CYPHER RAIGE, "AFTER EARTH": Crash-landed. Two confirmed survivors.
Do you know where we are?
JADEN SMITH AS KITAI RAIGE, "AFTER EARTH": No, sir.
W. SMITH AS C. RAIGE: This is Earth.
ANDERSON: The father and son team took to the soccer pitch for a promotional event in London this week and promptly became an internet sensation with one of the worst penalty kicks in football history.
But their onscreen teamwork is, happily, a more comfortable watch.
W. SMITH AS C. RAIGE: Do not move. Recognize your power. This will be your creation.
W. SMITH: It's the story of a father and a son trying to survive, and for me as an artist, that's something I've always been really interested in trying to do. You create something that has all of the summer candy, you know?
ANDERSON (on camera): Yes.
W. SMITH: It's the blockbuster, it's all of the action sequences and excitement and special effects, but at the center of it is real acting and real performance.
W. SMITH AS C. RAIGE: We must abort this mission.
J. SMITH AS K. RAIGE: You wouldn't give any other Ranger that order!
W. SMITH AS C. RAIGE: You are not a Ranger. You are my son.
J. SMITH: I did rock climbing, running, power core, swimming. I did that for a straight four months. I gained 20 pounds and I grew four inches.
W. SMITH: Working with the kid, I hadn't realized how difficult that is. He had a growth spurt during the movie, and if people look, you'll see the movie, in the beginning of the movie, he's a lot smaller than he is when you get to the end of the movie.
It works out emotionally as you watch it because of the journey and he grows internally. The external growth actually adds a cinematic value.
W. SMITH AS C. RAIGE: Remember, danger is very real. But fear is a choice.
ANDERSON (voice-over): "After Earth" opens in the US this weekend and virtually everywhere else on Earth in the following two weeks.
(MUSIC - "MADE OF STONE" BY THE STONE ROSES)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of things happened that were out of our control.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I could see in his eyes that he had (inaudible)
ANDERSON: The Stone Roses were Manchester's biggest band and inspired a generation of music fans, including the Gallagher Brothers.
UNIDENTIFED MALE: Someone always has got your back.
ANDERSON: Famously fractured, they surprised the music world by reforming last year. Their three hometown gigs sold 220,000 tickets in an hour. Stone Roses fan Shane Meadows directs his documentary about the reunion, revealing the tensions and talents within the band.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I say it's time for people to tear them up again.
ANDERSON (on camera): Well, that is it for CNN Preview, hosted this week from Twickenham Stadium in London. See you next time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, you thought I'd gone, but I haven't, not quite. If you've got a computer-controlled telescope, you might just be able to spot a giant asteroid whiz by Earth in about ten minutes' time -- or less. If you're like me, you don't, so let's go to the World Weather Center. Karen Maginnis has got more. It's not going to hit us, is it, Karen?
KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No. It will not hit us.
(LAUGHTER)
MAGINNIS: But you may be wondering why are we talking about this? There are lots of asteroids, and we see them frequently, at least being reported frequently. And this particular one is going to come within just under six million kilometers from Earth. That's a long way to go to make it towards the Earth. So, no, it's not even coming close.
The size of this is what is so impressive. It is about 27 football fields wide, about 2.7 kilometers in diameter. So, it's a colossal asteroid. And if it were closer, then that would be a whole different story.
But nonetheless, what about asteroids? Well this particular one, if you were to measure the distance between the moon and the Earth, this is about 15 times that difference, and this asteroid, by the way, is called 1998 QE2. The reason it's called 1998? Yes, because it was discovered in August of 1998.
Now, just about on a daily basis, a basketball-sized asteroid will fly by Earth, and about once a year, an automobile-sized one will fly by Earth as well. But about every 2,000 years, a football-sized one.
This particular size that we're looking at? Well, it'll be another million or 2 million years before we see anything again like that. So, scientists are very keen on this, taking a look at it, because it is so spectacularly large.
And being greater than one kilometer wide? Well, that happens once every several million years. But, Becky, we won't see it, but it looks like people who look at outer space will give us lots of information in the next four minutes or so, they'll be looking at that. Back to you.
ANDERSON: Oh, well, tweet me if you see it, @BeckyCNN. Thank you. Thank you for that. Remarkable. And it looks just like a potato, but a very, very big one, apparently
(CROSSTALK)
MAGINNIS: Ironically, it does.
ANDERSON: Thank you.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: Good stuff. All right. I'm sure those who care about these things are going to be very excited about that tonight. And in tonight's Parting Shots from us, at least, she's already an internet sensation, and now, she's coming to a theater near you.
Remember this grumpy puss? Well, her owners want to turn that frown into an iconic look for generations to come. So, they've sold the rights to movie producers, and they insist to our Jeanne Moos that Tardar Sauce, that's her real name, is really a sweet kitty.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, she looks grumpy morning, noon, and night?
BRYAN BUNDESEN, OWNER, "GRUMPY CAT" (via telephone): Absolutely, all the time.
MOOS: You've never seen her not look grumpy?
BUNDESEN: Oh, no, she doesn't smile.
(LAUGHTER)
MOOS (voice-over): Bryan Bundesen is the one who first posted Grumpy Cat's photo online. The cat belongs to his sister. Overnight, fans started adding captions. "I had fun once. It was awful." "There are two kinds of people in this world, and I don't like them."
BUNDESEN: She's like an emotional expression of everybody's bad day.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, Tardar Sauce has already netted her owners a figure in the low six figures as Jeanne says. That pays for a lot of cat food.
I'm Becky Anderson, that was CONNECT THE WORLD, thanks for watching.
END
