Return to Transcripts main page
Connect the World
Senate Reaches Deal On Debt Ceiling; Interview with Man Booker Prize Winner Eleanor Catton; Syrians Struggles Continue Through Eid al-Adha
Aired October 16, 2013 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: Well, the clock is ticking. The Senate has reached a deal. And all eyes are now on the lower house in the United States to see if they will play ball. But even if an 11th hour deal is sealed, tonight we ask has the damage to America's reputation already been done?
Also this hour...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They'd never come across a British girl being trafficked out of the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, it happens everywhere to as many as 30 million men and women globally. And it is time it stopped for good. Tonight, we continue our special coverage on the scourge of human trafficking.
And euphoria in Sarajevo as Bosnia-Herzegovina as Bosnia qualifies for the World Cup. We're going to speak to the footie fans on the road to Rio.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN London, this is Connect the World with Becky Anderson.
ANDERSON: A very good evening. Senate leaders say they've reached a last minute deal to pull the U.S. back from the brink of disaster. Now we are just waiting for two critical votes and the clock is ticking. You see it there on the right-hand side of your screen. At this hour, Republicans in the House of Representatives are meeting to consider the Senate deal that would temporarily end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling.
The full House and Senate could vote on the measure within hours with the Senate expected to go first. The goal, of course, is to get an agreement to President Barack Obama's desk before midnight to avoid a potentially catastrophic default.
Well, Richard Quest is following the very latest developments. He is in New York for you this evening. Deal or no deal? What's in sight at this point, Richard?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The deal is complicated and it classically there's not getting away from the old cliche, Becks, it just kicks the can. But it kicks it past Thanksgiving and it kicks it past Christmas and New Year. So the budget goes until January, the debt ceiling goes to February. And there's to be some conference committee to look at long-standing budget issues to try and reach a resolution.
Frankly, this is the deal that was always going to be done, but it is by far and away less than satisfactory in the long-term.
ANDERSON: Before we talk about the significant, or ramifications of what's going on, just remind us very briefly how we got here. What's been going on?
QUEST: No problem. Simple. The debt rose and rose and rose to the top of the ceiling. The Republicans wanted to ensure that they somehow clobbered President Obama's healthcare initiative. And they did it by taking away the funding, by getting rid of Obamacare funding. They attached, basically, this to the debt ceiling and the budget. And the Republicans would not let go. They continued to do this until the point when the thing nearly went over the cliff.
Finally, of course, the severity of the actions meant that they have basically caved on most of what they were seeking.
ANDERSON: Democracy in action?
QUEST: Absolutely. I mean, yes. No question about it. Democracy in action. It's messy. It's nasty. It's politics. It's nearly taken everybody back into recession. It's democracy, some would argue, at its best and others would say democracy at its very worst.
The market -- I need to tell you about the markets, briefly Becks, the market is up just 153 points at the moment. It was up over 200 points when the deal was announced. And that it should not be taken as a reflection of approval of the deal, it is merely relief that something has been done.
ANDERSON: Despite (inaudible) there's been talk of the threat of another downgrade in the U.S. credit rating. Just how significant would that be?
QUEST: In terms of the financial implications, not significant at all. S&P has already downgraded the United States two years ago. In terms of the credibility, it's a bit of a bloody nose, but they've had a few of those over the last couple of years. So what's one more?
Overall, it's what Fitch was saying in the statement. Fitch is saying that the U.S. institutions and the U.S. government's effectiveness has been seriously called into question.
This is now an issues of credibility. And the ability not to do a deal at the last minute when everybody is waiting to go over the cliff. It's the ability to do a compromise deal in good order. And what Fitch says that simply doesn't exist.
ANDERSON: Let's get out of Washington and take this global for our viewer's sake, of course. It's the ramifications of what happens in the States that will be important going forward.
One economist says that the U.S. Congress has become the biggest threat to the global economy. Stay with me, Richard. I just want to play this out. Laura Tyson chaired the Council of Economic Advisers during President Bill Clinton's administration helping to navigate through a government shutdown in the mid-1990s. She spoke to my colleague Christiane Amanpour a little earlier explaining how things are different this time around with Republicans divided. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA TYSON, FRM. CHAIR, U.S. COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS: President Clinton negotiated with the leader Newt Gingrich. He was a powerful leader. He was able to control his party. It was a failed tactic on their part, they ended up suffering in the polls and they ended up helping to reelect President Clinton the next year, but he had control of the tactic and he had control of what they wanted to get.
Here we have a situation where the Republicans are not united. Boehner cannot raise a deal, as we saw just yesterday. And there are a number of people in his own party who have different demands.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Just how big a threat is the U.S. economy become to the global economy, Richard, do you think? I'm in two minds about this.
QUEST: The global -- the U.S. economy is still the largest economy by some measures, certainly on a per-capita GDP. So that's the core point that we have to remember. The dollar is still the reserve currency, whether or not China, as they says Xinhua news agency said they would like to de- Americanize.
The big difference that Tyson was talking about there and makes very well is when Newt Gingrich closed the government he had his contract with America, first of all, but he was a pragmatist when it came to doing a deal.
What you have in congress now is a bunch of right-wing conservatives from the Tea Party who will go over the cliff rather than do a deal. And you're going to see that in the House vote when it comes up. They would rather continue to hold the line. And that is the substantial difference, Becky, between then and now.
ANDERSON: As we talk we're looking at live pictures of the Senate. We will, of course, viewers get back to Washington as and when we get news of what is going on there. We are waiting for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, of course, to get -- to give us some news. Even if this crisis blows over, Richard, there could, of course, be lasting damage to America's reputation, or at least some people would argue that.
Some countries say the world economy shouldn't be so vulnerable to political theatrics in Washington with China, and you've just eluded to what China has been saying go so far as to call for -- and I quote, a new world order. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: But the threat of a default has given Chinese state media a huge PR opportunity.
Xinhua proclaiming that the U.S. fiscal failure warrants a de- Americanized world.
WILLY LAM, THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: For the past several years, Beijing has been trying to project this soft power, namely that the China model perhaps is the best for the world, particularly for developing countries. So this fiscal mess, which Washington has gotten into I think has provided them with a good excuse, ample ammunition to shoot down the so-called American consensus.
MCKENZIE: It's a message that the Communist Party hopes plays well at home and abroad and pushes their agenda as the world's second largest economy to have more fiscal clout on the world stage.
China's wildly successful export-driven economy creates enormous cash surpluses. And for decades, the U.S. has been the only market big enough and safe enough for China's technocrats to park much of their cash and help their own export market thrive.
Even with the debt ceiling shambles, China doesn't have a quick fix alternative.
YONGHAO PU, UBS WEALTH MANAGEMENT RESEARCH: Unless China's government willing to switching from export-driven model towards more consumption or more balanced growth model, you don't have much choice in fact.
MCKENZIE: A long-term goal of the Chinese government, yes. In the short-term, and even the medium-term, China will have to put up with D.C.'s dysfunction, because it still needs U.S. debt just as much as the U.S. needs China's cash.
David McKenzie, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: What do you make of what we've heard out of China of late?
QUEST: Oh, and this is fascinating, because China knows that the growth is on their side and that the economic shifts are heading their way.
Now if you also add into this equation, Becky, a European Union and a EuroZone that is now getting its act together, with an economic power to rival, if not beat, the United States. You do start to see the potential for a shift.
I'm not talking here about, you know, the end of Pax Americana or anything like that, but I am talking about a shift away from the United States, towards China and Asia and towards the European Union. And that is what you're going to see.
And certainly, the events of the last couple of years and the last few months only reinforce people's decisions to make sure they have plan B.
ANDERSON: Which brings us back to what is going on this hour as we await word from the lower house in The States. Deal or no deal at this point? Has the damage to the States been done?
QUEST: Yes. No question. The long-term damage will take time to come through, but the credibility damage -- to have done this in 2011 and then to have done it again in 2013 at a time of fragile growth -- and Becky, the Dow may be up 150 odd points, but if you look at what happened to short-term bills, their interest rates rose. That's going to have an affect.
If you look at the sort of under the water in the financial markets, very small little cracks were there. They've pulled themselves back from the brink. But Becky it's not what they've done today that counts, its their ability to make the decisions that will shift the fiscal position.
Europe made those decisions. And I was one of the biggest critics of how slow the EuroZone was and the euro group, but to give them their credit, they did make those changes -- a single supervisory mechanism, the ESM. They've come together in a different way. The U.S. isn't even at the front door of making major structural changes.
ANDERSON: It does seem ironic that what two years ago you had U.S. lawmakers really very concerned about what was happening in Europe and very vocal about getting its house in order only for this crisis to have arrived on the steps of Capitol Hill.
Richard, always a pleasure. Thank you very much indeed. Quest Means Business of course is after this show, 45 minutes from now. And Richard will be dissecting the machinations of what is going on in Washington for you and giving you a sense of the impact for you and me for those of us who are watching this from around the world.
Richard, thank you.
All right, live from London this is Connect the World. Coming up, a new phase of relations between Iran and world powers as an offer is made in Geneva. We'll be crossing live there very shortly.
And Edward Snowden's dad has been talking to reporters in Moscow. We're going to tell you what Snowden senior thinks about his son's new home. That after this.
And the story of a young British woman tricked by her boyfriend into slavery. We're going to bring you her remarkable story. All that and much more when this show Connect the World continues. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back. 14 minutes past 8:00 here. A look at some of the other stories that we are following for you tonight.
A plane crash in southern Laos has killed as many as 47 people. Witnesses and the national news services are reporting the crash of a Lao Airlines turbo prop plane which happened at Champasak Province. Witnesses report bad weather in the area. Remnants of a typhoon has still been hitting that region.
Well, in Japan at least 17 people have been killed as Typhoon Wipha pummeled the Tokyo area on Wednesday. The island of Oshima just south of the capital has been hardest hit with heavy rain triggering flooding and landslides.
Rescuers were unable to reach some people, because of road closers. More than 500 domestic and international flights have been canceled at Tokyo's two major airports.
Meanwhile, the death toll from a powerful earthquake in the Philippines continues to rise. Authorities say 144 people died and almost 300 others were injured when the 7.1 magnitude quake struck on Tuesday. The epicenter was located near a town in central Bohol province.
Well, a two-day round of negotiations between Iran and six world powers has wrapped up in the Swiss city of Geneva. Reports suggest Iran is willing to scale back its nuclear activity and allow greater inspection of its nuclear sites in exchange for a deal to win relief from harsh economic sanctions.
Now the two sides have agreed to meet again for another round of talks on November 7.
I want to get you the very latest from CNN's chief U.S. security correspondent Jim Sciutto. He's in Geneva for you.
And Jim, we've seen Iran meet with the P5+1 many times over the last few years. This time it actually seems to be a sense of progress. What's new?
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I've been to a number of those talks over the last several years and these really are talks between the west and Iran unlike any we've seen really in recent memory. But I think it's important to get a sense of what they've achieved here and what they haven't yet.
Certainly on the good side, we heard from a senior U.S. official involved in the talks here that the U.S. and the European side are seeing a candor, a directness and an intensity of negotiations and details from the Iranian side they've never seen before as Iran has presented this proposal.
And from the Iranian side you hears something similar saying that they feel that this can really be a point where you change the very nature of Iran's relationship with the U.S. and the west.
But what is lacking so far, what needs to come as these meetings continue in the next several weeks is considerable more detail from the Iranian side about how they're going to reign in their nuclear program, also senior U.S. official telling us that there's still a big gap on how quickly and how much the west would easy these economic sanctions on Iran.
And that's one of the key disagreements here. Iran wants those sanctions to be eased as its reigning in its program, the west standing by its position that they want to see confidence building measures from the Iranians first.
So these are the things that have to be worked out in the next couple of weeks, but the importance is they are talking. In fact, those talks are going to continue, because the experts are going to be staying here in Geneva working out and working on some of these details that still need to be filled in to this proposal.
ANDERSON: All right, Jim. Jim is in Geneva. Interesting stuff. Lacking substance, I think is the headline message at present. But as he says these talks continue and at least the signs this time are positive. Jim Sciutto there in Geneva.
Well, opposition activists say at least 21 people have been killed after an explosion struck a minibus in the southern Syrian city of Daraa, including four kids. The bus probably hit a landmine as it passed through an area controlled by troops loyal to the government. Now government officials have not yet responded to the allegations.
Well, staying in Syria, there are growing pleas for help. Many Syrians struggling just to get in enough to eat. Things are so bad. That was all religious edicts have reported being issued that would allow hungry citizens to eat dogs and cats despite Islamic dietary laws forbidding that.
Our Hala Gorani reports there was no respite from the crisis even as Muslims marked the Eid holiday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is one of the most important days of the year for Muslims, but in Syria this year, like last, there is nothing to celebrate. At the Atmeh (ph) refugee camp in northern Syria, refugees set up improvised vendor stands, but few people can afford to shop at them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Before the crisis during Eid we used to go to shops and buy items. We were happy. Eid was a wonderful holiday here. Now these days I can't even buy my boy a pair of trousers or shoes or even a loaf of bread.
I have eight children. I can't support them all. We are living in despair.
GORANI: Most people here are struggling to meet the most basic of needs: food, water and shelter. Celebrating a holiday just isn't an option.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We are not celebrating Eid. We have nothing for Eid. We have nothing to celebrate. We used to celebrate with food, drink, desserts. We used to make pastries. Now there's nothing.
GORANI: In Aleppo, residents are doing their best to mark Eid, praying and preparing for the traditional animal sacrifice for the poor. For them, there is at least one sliver of light from an unknown source.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): These sheep were donated to us. God blessed those who gave them. We slaughter them and then divide them up and give them to the poor and to the families who have relatives on the front line.
GORANI: Children ride rickety little Ferris wheels and play in the streets, but use words no child should even know the meaning of.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Eid today is not good, because of the shelling.
GORANI: Trying to play like children everywhere, hoping their lives will be more peaceful this time next year.
Hala Gorani, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, whistleblower Edward Snowden's father, Lon, has spoken to reporters at Moscow's airport. He's -- Edward Snowden, of course, has been in Russia since revealing that the NSA have been keeping tabs on some of its allies.
Now Mr. Snowden said his son is satisfied with his situation, but refused to go into very much detail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LON SNOWDEN, EDWARD SNOWDEN'S FATHER: I'm not going to discuss specifics of my son's circumstances for multiple reasons, other than to say, again, that I'm extremely thankful for his attorney Mr. Kucherena, people like Valentina and others who have been supportive of him. He has a very substantial support network that extends across international boundaries. And I am extremely comfortable with his situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Lon Snowden there.
Well, meanwhile the journalist who worked with Snowden to break the story on the intelligence leaks is leaving his newspaper. Glenn Greenwald announced that he is quitting The Guardian paper for what he describes as a dream journalistic opportunity. He's not revealed any more details just yet.
The founder of the online auction eBay site says he is teaming up with Greenwald for a new media venture.
More on that as we get it.
This is Connect the World. Coming up, she is the youngest Booker Prize winner of all time. We'll be talking to the person who has been breaking multiple records by winning one of the biggest awards in publishing.
And ecstasy for qualifying teams across Europe. We speak to football fanatics hoping to follow their national teams to victory in Brazil in 2014. That, after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, the prestigious Man-Booker Prize broke its own record on Tuesday, handing its literary award to the youngest ever recipient, 28- year-old Eleanor Catton. Now the New Zealander's second novel, The Luminaries, has dazzled. And considering its length its definitely breaking new ground.
I asked Eleanor if she was surprised.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELEANOR CATTON, AUTHOR: It was almost an out of body experience, you know. I think that whenever you've prepared yourself for a really long time for a single moment, you know, when it finally comes it doesn't seem real, you know, just a -- I -- when I was reading what I had prepared to say you're kind of in the event, you know, I was almost outside myself. It was very strange.
ANDERSON: You're the youngest ever winner. And at 832 pages, this is also the longest work to win in the prize's history. The chair of the judge's joked saying, "those of us who didn't read it on ereaders enjoyed a full upper body workout." This is a big, big book.
CATTON: Yeah. And it's -- and the length kind of crept up on me in a way. You know, I was -- I wrote the book in a kind of a Victorian style. And it's set during the 19th Century and it kind of has a Victorian flavor to it.
And that is it -- the (inaudible) I should say of really big novels. And I think that there was something about absorbing the style of that century that meant that I took on the length as well.
ANDERSON: Which is interesting, because this is an era of ebooks, perhaps thankfully for you. And perhaps also an era of ADD, attention deficit disorder. Did it worry you in any way that this was going to be a big, big read?
CATTON: No, not at all, actually. Like I think that I don't think that people do have shorter attention spans than they ever do. I think that, you know, if you look at the figures -- literacy is up all over the world. In fact, more people are reading than ever before.
ANDERSON: One of the critics said today said, and I quote, "Catton is a writer of rare insight and intelligence who is at the vanguard of the evolution of the novel." Do you see yourself at sitting at the Vanguard of the evolution of the novel?
CATTON: I would say that I'm really interesting in testing the limits of the novel -- testing the limits of the form, I should say. And continually playing with it and experimenting with what's been done before.
ANDERSON: This is the last year that the prize is only open to writers from the Commonwealth. And there's been a lot of criticism of that, that American writers might take over going forward. This award will be open to all writers in English. Do you agree? Does that worry you?
CATTON: No, not at all. I think it's the response of fear and shock is quite conservative and weirdly imperial, actually. I think that we're all writing in English and I think that Americans are doing some wonderful work. And that deserves to be considered alongside the wonderful work that's happening elsewhere in the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: A fantastic read. And she is 75 grand better off this evening.
The latest world news headlines just ahead. Plus, how sex slavery is a lot closer to home than you might think. A British woman tells us about her trafficking experience. That's coming up after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: This is Connect the World. The top stories this hour for you. A U.S. Senate leaders have reached a deal to temporarily end the partial government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling. House Republicans are meeting this hour to consider that deal.
How House speaker John Boehner conducted a radio interview in his home state of Ohio a short time ago and said, and I quote, we fought the good fight we just didn't win. Boehner added that he would encourage House Republicans to support the Senate agreement. The House and Senate could vote on it within hours.
A plane crash in Southern Laos has killed as many as 47 people. Witnesses and national news services are reporting the crash of a Laos Airlines servo prop plane happened in Champasak province. Witnesses report bad weather in the area.
The White House says Iran showed a level of seriousness and substance in nuclear talks in Geneva that it hasn't seen before. News agency reports say Iran laid out a three-step plan aimed at breaking the standoff within a year. Talks are set to resume early next month.
In Pakistan, a suicide bomber has killed the law minister of a Pakistani province and seven others as the country marked the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha. Israullah Gandapur was killed in his home as he greeted visitors who had come to celebrate the holiday. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a question for you. Do you love me? Because if you love someone, you make sacrifices for them. We all have to make sacrifices for the people we love, and there is a sacrifice you can make to show me you love me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Chilling manipulation used by human traffickers to entrap victims. Sophie Hayes was one of those victims, and tonight, we continue our ongoing coverage for CNN's Freedom Project, our fight against modern- day slavery. All too often, these horrifying stories seem so far removed. The cold fact, though, is that nobody -- nobody -- is immune.
Tonight, we're going to hear Sophie's story. She was forced into sex slavery by a man she thought loved her. Still fearing for her life, Sophie has asked us to make sure that she remains anonymous.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOPHIE HAYES, HUMAN TRAFFICKING SURVIVOR: "We sat inside a restaurant where we talked and laughed together, and the waiter smiled at me and called me "La bella signorina." Everything seemed perfect."
You're rooting for Kas during the book. The first few chapters, you're like, oh, just want another Kas. And he turns out to be awful.
"This is what you're here for. You're here to help me repay this debt. This is why I asked you to come here to Italy. It's a sacrifice anyone would be happy to make for someone they loved."
It's easy to picture him as someone who's a little bit slimy, a little bit creepy. But I think he's probably just a little bit of a ladies' man.
"I worked seven nights a week from 8:00 in the evening until 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning. I would have on average about 25 customers every night. The minimum was 18, and the most one night was 34, and it wasn't long before my spirit was crushed. I was so weary that nothing seemed to matter, and I didn't care if I was dead or alive."
It happens to anyone, and anyone could be Sophie.
ANDERSON: At one point, you write, "Men like Kas aren't pimps or drug dealers, and girls like me don't work on the streets." Human trafficking to many people is one thing. You've experienced something that was so unreal to you. Just describe the industry, as it were.
HAYES: So often, when we hear of human trafficking, we think about the types of girls that will work on the streets, and already we create a stereotype. And many people ask, why not run away?
What you don't see is what goes on behind closed doors. The violence and the names and the threats, and threats towards the family. They're all the things that people don't really connect with when they very first hear about what is human trafficking.
ANDERSON: Where there is a demand goes the supply. You were supplied by Kas because there was a demand for your services. Who are those clients?
HAYES: The men that came to me were, some of them my own age, some of them were in their 60s, in their 70s, some of them were doctors, lawyers. The worst were police. And the people that you think should be the ones to protect you and stop this are actually the ones that fuel it even more.
ANDERSON: Did you ever talk to any of the clients about who you were, who you really were?
HAYES: Never.
ANDERSON: Why?
HAYES: Kas would tell me that he would send people to come and test me and I should never know who they are. And some of them might act as friends, some of them might want to be my boyfriend, but they could be sent from him.
So, to trust anybody, it just seemed impossible. And it wasn't so much myself, it was actually my family as well.
ANDERSON: Has the man who trafficked you been punished?
HAYES: He was arrested not long after I left Italy, and I only managed to leave because I was so sick and so ill and my parents managed to bring me back -- and bring me back to the UK. He was wanted, he was a known drug dealer and probably had a lot of other outstanding convictions. So, I thought, he's in prison, then I'm safer to a degree.
But he was never actually prosecuted, and at the time, I was still too scared to prosecute, and I didn't know what to do and was told just walk away, go and rebuild your life and just try and build yourself back again.
ANDERSON: Who told you that?
HAYES: That was actually from some of the police and -- that I dealt with in the human trafficking unit, and I think for them it was an unusual case because they'd never come across a British girl being trafficked out of the country.
ANDERSON: What's your best advice to a teenage girl who might get themselves into trouble at this point?
HAYES: With traffickers, they like to isolate their victims and gradually try and strip them of their own identities so that they do become distant from their friends, they do become distant from their families. And it's about them making sure that they keep on speaking to their friends and tell them if something is unusual with the person they're with.
ANDERSON: And for parents, advice?
HAYES: Parents need to understand what the issue is and that the attitude of "it won't happen to my daughter" -- or a son, actually, because this isn't gender specific -- because it does happen. It happened to me.
We teach our children about the risks of going away with strangers. Why not talk about the risks of potential traffickers?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Men you may have assumed were your friends. Well, Sophie just told us she was advised by authorities to keep quiet and not prosecute Kas. She says change needs to come from policymakers. Britain's government has set up a new task force to help stamp out the slave trade. Frank Field is a member of Parliament and chairing that new mission, and he joins me this evening.
It is good to hear, it's a first step. But it's a needed one, isn't it? Because to date, as far as I can tell through this entire project we've been conducting here at CNN over the past couple of years, the authorities have no teeth. The police service here has no teeth. It's not for want of trying, oftentimes, but there's just no teeth.
FRANK FIELD, VICE-CHAIR, HUMAN TRAFFICKING FOUNDATION: Yes, I think that's changing, thank God, and there's a real determination. Three people in government have actually changed the whole debate for us. They see there's an opportunity now, and we've got a clear timetable. Over the next few months, we're asking all those who are interested, what should this bill look like?
ANDERSON: Right.
FIELD: But let's be clear: we want a bill quickly on the statute book --
ANDERSON: Right.
FIELD: -- and working. It'll go into Parliament then, and Parliament will start what's called a pre-legislative stage. Then we will -- the end aim is to have a bill -- operating before the next election at some effect that we see a rise from 8 prosecutions a year to 8,000.
ANDERSON: Eight prosecutions last year in the UK, traffickers. And the Home Secretary here wants 8,000. Which would, I assume, reflect the gravity of the situation just here in the UK.
FIELD: It will do that, it will convince people who may be slightly skeptical, this is a mega problem. It's the second-biggest illegal trade in the world. It will maybe deter people from actually coming here. She also wants their assets. The lawyers who are helping draft this bill want life for those who are actually running this trade.
ANDERSON: And access to the assets -- the foreign assets -- of traffickers for victims.
FIELD: Yes. She wants to -- the whole basis of the bill is to change it away from beating up the victims you actually pick up because they might have minor crimes to actually get onto the big boys and girls in this trade.
ANDERSON: Do you think things are getting worse, Frank, quite frankly, rather than better? I know that there is this legislation forthcoming in the UK and that's a good thing, but are things getting worse in 2013, not better?
FIELD: It's very difficult to say because we haven't actually got the figures. But the government hasn't actually made this breakthrough. And a key thing, really, from this is if we're doing it, can we then persuade other governments similarly to act.
And one of the things we're doing with the consultation is not only the non-government organizations -- now that's key, what they actually want, because they're working with the victims -- we want to hear from those who -- the difficulty to prosecute, and we've got Lady Butler-Sloss, one of the high court judges, a real distinction with her legal team working on this.
What we then want to say, and we will be bringing, who's best at policing? Let's have them in to help shape our bill. Who's best having a commissioner there? All the time drives the senior figure will be in this country, the Home Secretary, helping her make sure this policy is actually driven through properly. Who's been best at getting the assets back?
ANDERSON: Yes.
FIELD: Let's actually learn from -- so there's going to be a -- it's going to be a real international effort. Then show the changes that your program's been bringing about, saying why we need it. But then, hopefully, other countries are going to pick up from us and do the same thing.
ANDERSON: We're doing this all week. We will continue to do this week by week, we will continue to do this month by month and year by year until something changes, because this industry is just wrong. Thank you.
FIELD: Pleasure.
ANDERSON: Frank Field with us this evening. In just a matter of hours, the world's first ever global slavery index is going to be published. Now, this report, complied by the Walk Free Foundation, will give us a clearer picture of the extent of modern-day slavery around the world and the action required to eradicate it.
CNN's going to have the details for you -- I'm actually part of the launch tomorrow night -- as part of what is our ongoing Freedom Project. Support us on this. You are simply supporting those who have no voice and no dignity and no freedom around the world. We thank you for that.
Live from London, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Coming up, we're going to go to Hong Kong, a city desperate to revive its tourism industry in tonight's Gateway.
Plus, fans rejoice in England and in Bosnia-Herzegovina as their teams make crucial victories on the road to Rio.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROWD CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: It has been a decade since the SARS epidemic hit Hong Kong's shores. In a bid to revive its tourism, the city turned to mainland China, offering a new way into its billion-strong population. And now, a travel connection so well-oiled unmasks a new future for Hong Kong. Here's Andrew Stevens from this week's Gateway.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a Thursday afternoon, and for many Hong Kongers, this is where the journey to China begins. From here at the Hong Kong MTR station, travelers can either take either take a cross-boundary train to the border, or an Intercity train straight into China.
CARMEN LI, MTR GENERAL MANAGER, INTERCITY: We're very mindful that we provide the best possible service to our citizens going to China, as well as bringing Chinese people to Hong Kong. And we think that the economic growth between the two places also hinges on how easy transportation is.
STEVENS: Commuters and tourists alike have taken full advantage of just how easy it is. In 2012, more than 100 million people used the cross- boundary service, and 4 million used the Intercity trains. Soon, the MTR will make it even easier when it opens its express rail link in 2015 that will connect Hong Kong with other high-speed rail lines in China.
LI: Ever since 2003 when we had some difficulty due to SARS, and then the government introduced a policy whereby the mainline individual travelers can come to Hong Kong very freely. So since then, we have almost double-digit growth on an annual basis.
STEVENS: Air travel growth has followed as well. HKIA now has 48 mainland destinations, 1,000 daily flights, and more than 100 airlines servicing China, including Hong Kong's flagship Cathay Pacific.
JOHN SLOSAR, CEO, CATHAY PACIFIC: I've learned never to be surprised at how fast China develops. The development has been fast, it's been good development, and I think what you're going to see on the travel side is also good development. The number of passengers who want to go outbound is clearly large and growing.
STEVENS: And if you can't get to your final destination by plane or train, you can hit the road or take to the sea. Passengers can transfer straight from their flight to eight different locations in China by ferry. There's no need to go through immigration, and even their baggage will be checked straight through.
There are also 550 daily bus trips to more than 110 cities in China, as well as private car rentals available. Hong Kong has positioned itself to be a crucial link to helping people to get into every corner of China, and it's good business to stay that way.
SLOSAR: The message here is that a lot of places realize that travel and being a travel hub that people want to go to and find it easy to go to get other places has value. We know that here in Hong Kong. Other places know it, too. What we've got to do is make sure we stay ahead of the competition.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, coming up after this short break on CONNECT THE WORLD, heading for Brazil. Bosnia-Herzegovina make history after they qualify for their first World Cup. Others, of course, will be joining them. We're going to get reaction from their capital, Sarajevo, for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA FANS CHEERING AND SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROWD CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Pack your bags. Next stop, Brazil. These were the scenes in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, last night after the national football team qualified for the 2014 Brazil World Cup after a 1-nil victory over Lithuania. It is the first time the country has qualified for the tournament after it was formed as an independent state nearly 20 years ago.
Well, England also qualified for Brazil 2014, and even though it will be the 14th World Cup the country will play in, its qualification campaign wasn't without hiccups after a number of poor performances. But all that totally forgotten after Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard sealed the deal for England.
So, we're going to get reaction to last night's qualifications from two fans hoping they can travel to Brazil to support their national teams. Darko Brkan is in Sarajevo. He was one of the thousands of Bosnian fans who took to the streets to celebrate last night.
And here in London is Dev Day, who's been anxiously following the England football team and has already booked his ticket for Brazil. Dev, we're going to come to you shortly. First, Darko, where were you last night, sir?
DARKO BRKAN, BOSNIAN FOOTBALL FAN: Well, I was with tens of thousands of people on the streets of Sarajevo. It was definitely a sleepless night --
(LAUGHTER)
BRKAN: -- which probably shows in my face a little bit today.
ANDERSON: Just describe the emotions, if you will.
BRKAN: Well, look, it was -- it is the first time, it's an historic moment for this country, because it's the first time we qualified. And everybody -- I think literally everybody was on the streets all over the country.
And actually, I think the people of this country actually deserve this after all we've been through and after what -- where this country is at the moment. With all the problems, we deserve at least a little bit of a happy break, and this was a happy break for us.
ANDERSON: And it's always good to see how a sporting tournament brings people together. We ought to see scenes like that on the streets of Sarajevo every night, people celebrating, but of course, we don't necessarily. Dev, where were you last night when we took those Poles apart, as it were?
(LAUGHTER)
DEV DAY, ENGLISH FOOTBALL FAN: I was with all my friends down at the pub watching the game. I'm very excited.
ANDERSON: You got your tickets, I believe, already. You bought them before England qualified last night. You were -- that was a little risky, wasn't it?
DAY: Well, yes, because I knew that England would qualify, and also going to Brazil for the World Cup is kind of a no-brainer. So, yes, definitely got it all sorted way before.
ANDERSON: Darko, I want to get to Brazil, but firstly, I believe you haven't yet got your tickets. One assumes you're looking for some at this stage, right?
BRKAN: Yes, definitely. Like pretty much everybody in this country, I want to be there when I hope that history happens again, and I'm going to do my best to make it. The situation in this country is not the brightest one, but everybody's expecting to go there, and I'm already trying to make some plans.
ANDERSON: Good for you. Will there be tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of Bosnians going? What would you expect?
BRKAN: It was until now, every game that we played away everywhere in Europe, it was more of our fans than of the home fans, so I suggest the same will happen in Brazil. Even though it will be a big journey, I think a lot of people will go there.
ANDERSON: I've been lucky enough, Dev, to go to a couple of World Cup tournaments. Not lucky enough, though, to go to a World Cup in Brazil. Before I talk to my correspondent there about preparations, just give me a sense of the excitement that you are now feeling with those tickets, and how many games are you going to, out of interest?
DAY: Well, I don't have my match tickets just yet --
ANDERSON: Right.
DAY: -- but I've gone through the ballot, and I think I'll get tickets that way. I'll be in Sao Paulo and Rio, so definitely I'm putting my tickets, and wherever England go, I'll follow them. It's very exciting. I can't wait to see the moment we've all been waiting for, Brazil World Cup and England being there.
ANDERSON: Do you think that the England team can do it?
(CROSSTALK)
DAY: They've got --
ANDERSON: Can they win it?
DAY: -- a good amount of youth and there's a good amount of experience. I think -- it's a cliche, but I think we've got it. I think if we work hard for it, we can do it.
ANDERSON: Yes, all right. Darko, before I go to Sao Paulo, where Shasta Darlington is standing by on preparations, would you be going to the World Cup expecting Bosnia to win at this stage, or is it more about the tournament itself?
BRKAN: Well, July 13 next year, I think we're in the finals, and I don't know, England, Spain, whoever is with us --
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: Good for you.
BRKAN: -- doesn't stand a chance. Yes.
ANDERSON: Good for you. Listen, I do hope you get the tickets that you want, both of you, in the ballots. Let's get to Shasta Darlington. A lot of excited fans across the world hoping to get to travel to Brazil and cheer on their national teams. Is the country ready for them? Shasta Darlington standing by in Sao Paulo. Is it?
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, the good news is, Brazilians know how to party. Now, the bad news is, they probably won't have everything ready. There's a big deadline looming for stadiums. FIFA wants all 12 of them to be ready by the end of December, and while most of them are on schedule, there are some pretty significant delays.
In Curitiba, for example, a judge has ordered construction to halt there because he's worried about the worker conditions. They've appealed, but they aren't going back to work yet. Another city, Cuiaba, another World Cup city there, they still don't even have the seats to install in the stadium after a huge uproar over the cost -- the prices that they were paying.
And the biggest problem at this point looks like it's going to be mobility. These fans are really excited, but how are they going to follow their teams around the country? These games are going to be played in 12 different cities. This is a huge country, and prices are already skyrocketing.
So, once they fly to Brazil, they're looking at spending thousands of dollars to just fly from one city to the next, even though airports -- they're undergoing these serious and badly-needed reforms, we don't know if those reforms are going to be ready in time, Becky.
ANDERSON: Shasta, logistics aside -- and that's an important story, don't get me wrong -- how excited are Brazilians about the tournament?
DARLINGTON: Becky, they're very excited. They love their football. Brazil's going through a lot of problems right now. There's a lot of popular unrest, a lot of anger with their government. But the hope is that their love for football will overshadow everything else, and everyone will come together for this obviously thrilling tournament.
They are all behind their team. They're hoping that Brazil can pull ahead the way it did in the Confederations Cup, but there are concerns that all of these political issues could cast a shadow, and we could indeed see a repeat of those protests, those massive protests, that we saw during the Confederations Cup, Becky.
ANDERSON: Shasta Darlington in Sao Paulo for you this evening. Shasta, always a pleasure, thank you.
Tonight's Parting Shots. An unexpected traveler in Australia had authorities hopping at Melbourne Airport. A kangaroo bounced into the airport terminal forcing part of it to shut down. The injured animal headed straight for the pharmacy, obviously. It was rescued by wildlife volunteers, and they've given it the name Cyrus, after one of the rescuers.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: I'm Becky Anderson, that was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thanks for joining us.
END
