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Death Toll In Philippines Has Surpassed 3,000; Saching Tendulkar Scores 74 In Final At Bat; Toronto City Council Strips Mayor Of Emergency Management Powers

Aired November 15, 2013 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MAX FOSTER, HOST: Tonight, the changing face of China. The country announces a host of reforms winning praise at home and abroad. This hour, we take a closer look at the impact of change and what it means for the country's future.

Also ahead...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNAITONAL CORRESPONDENT: Many of these refugees have been without basic necessities for over a week. Finally, they are getting assistance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: We'll be live in Cebu for an update on aid efforts in the Philippines.

Plus, the hunt for Egypt's missing art.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN London, this is Connect the World.

FOSTER: Since the late 1970s, it's been illegal for more couples in China to have more than one child. The law helped to control the country's booming population, but it received much criticism too. Some say it led to a litany of social problems, including forced abortions and illegal child trafficking. But after a meeting of China's Communist leaders wrapped up on Tuesday, that law is one of a number that's being reforms.

Let's take a look at the changes, the latest changes the Chinese government has announced. Beijing says it will abolish labor camps. That's where thousands of people have been imprisoned without trial. China also says it will reduce the number of crimes subject to the death penalty. And it plans to relax the one-child policy. Now couples could legally have two children, but only if one of the parents was an only child.

Well, these reform come as China's economy, the world's second largest, has started showing signs of slowing after years of rapid growth.

David McKenzie reports now from Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Authorities released the news late on a Friday evening with simple statements, but they are about laws that have been around for decades. And some of the most hated policies in China. The one-child policy is extremely controversial, and the reaction on the streets was almost immediate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Since the policy now allows it, I will definitely have another child. It's too lonely for a single child.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): When I get married, I would prefer having two children because I'm the only child in my family. My childhood was a bit boring.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): The Communist Party introduced the policy in the late '70s to curb the population overgrowth, applauded by some, but heavily criticized by many for its often horrible consequences, forced abortions, involuntary sterilizations, and a huge gender imbalance. For years the party of resistant calls to relax the law, but faced with a shrinking labor pool and aging population, their hand was forced.

To accelerate growth, couples now can have a second child if at least one of the parents is an only child. But some human rights groups say it's not enough and want it abolished all together. The government has abolished another controversial policy, education through labor camps. Scattered across China, the prisons were used for decades to detain petty criminals, activists, and agitators for up to four years without trial.

A recent CNN investigation exposed widespread abused at one infamous camp. Many felt the brutal system was out of place in modern-day China. The bold announcement showed that the country's new leadership appears willing to shell all laws in a bid to protect its future.

David McKenzie, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Let's take a closer look at the significance of these reforms.

Joining us from Washington, D.C. is Kenneth Lieberthal. He's a senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institute. And has authored many books about China.

And thank you so much for joining us.

Why now?

KENNETH LIEBERTHAL, SENIOR FELLOW, BROOKINGS INSTITUTE: Well, the third plan is convened generally a year after new leadership takes office in China. It's the time for the announcement, especially of economic reforms, but related reforms and the system is meant to operate given the aspirations of the new leadership. So I think this was very widely expected.

The details were unclear, but the general drift of these reforms was really very widely anticipated.

HOLMES: How much impact has been felt in the population? I'm wondering if some of these policies might be a bit too late?

LIEBERTHAL: Well, the two policies that you're piece highlighted indicate both how important some of these changes are and how late and limited they are. The policy to abolish -- they didn't give a date, but they said they will abolish the reforms through labor -- or education through labor system, does not amount to abolishing the labor camps at all. What it amounts to is abolishing the capacity of local officials without any reference to a judicial system to put citizens in labor camp.

They will still be put there through a judicial system. And they indicated that they're going to have to wait awhile before they implement the abolition of the non-judicial path as they develop other means to deal with petty offenses.

So this is hedged. It's not a dramatic change, but it's a change in a good direction.

Same thing with the move from what was a basically one-child per family system in the urban areas to what amounts to pretty much a two-child per family system in the urban areas. This comes very, very late. China is facing a demographic crisis and a historically unprecedented rapid transition from a labor surplus society to an elderly labor deficit society over a period of about becoming 15 years or so.

Demographers have been telling the leaders the for years they have to change this. They are now in a limited way beginning to move toward doing so.

FOSTER: Well, let's just have a look at some of the figures. China's one-child policy has led to a growing gender gap. Look at the latest population numbers. Men make up more than half, almost 52 percent of China's total population while women account for 48 percent.

Now look at birthrates. Last year, almost 118 boys were born for every 100 girls. The studies show the gender imbalance is growing. An estimated 30 million more men than women will reach adulthood by 2020.

So, what impact do you think we will at least see in the next few years? Because there's going to be a positive impact, even if it's not enough.

LIEBERTHAL: I think it's going to be a very minimal impact. There will probably be an addition 1 to 2 million births per year. It's not clear that that's going to result in a better gender balance. The gender imbalance is in part due to the one-child policy, but it's in part also due to just a general preference for male children and the more widespread availability of technologies that enable you to get a pretty good fix on what the gender of a fetus is.

And there is a widespread preference for aborting female fetuses. That obviously produces a lot of social problems. There are going to be a lot of men who can't find spouses, that increases obviously sex work, it increases child trafficking, that increases kidnapping and a variety of other things to get around the social disconnect from having too few women for the number of men in the country.

FOSTER: Kenneth Lieberthal, thank you very much indeed. We'll see what happens over the next few years. It's going to take years, really, to understand what the impact of that will be.

We've been asking you on Facebook for your reactions.

Sebina Sediki (ph) says, "there would have been a total shortage of labor if they stayed on the one child policy."

Sarah Butterlips says, "I think it's seriously immense and worth celebrating. I also think it helps other countries to restore faith and trust in China."

And Kiera Rodriguez says, "if they want to be seen as the 21st Century superpower, they better start acting like it and abolish the 18th Century mentality."

You can have your say at Facebook.com/CNNConnect or you can tweet me @MaxFosterCNN.

Still to come tonight, a legacy of conflict, how a Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka is being overshadowed by allegations of human rights abuses.

Also, one week on in the Philippines, the picture is clearer, but no less tragic. Coming up, we look at where the rescue efforts stand and what still needs to be done.

And he's defiant, but for how much longer? What Toronto, Canada's city council did Friday to corral this controversial mayor.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: The Commonwealth heads of government summit is underway in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo. Some 50 leaders are attending the two day gathering. Meant to showcase Sri Lanka's revival four years after the end of its bloody civil war. But despite a colorful opening ceremony, the summit is being overshadowed by the legacy of that 26-year-long conflict. The prime ministers of Canada, Mauritius and India are boycotting the meeting citing allegations of human rights abuses by the Sri Lankan government.

British Prime Minister David Cameron is attending, but he's not sticking to Colombo's preferred script, which is choosing to become the first leader, world leader, to visit the Tamil dominated north.

That's where government forces finally defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels.

This was a scene in Jaffna as both pro and anti-government demonstrators swarmed Cameron's car outside a library.

He says his visit will help draw attention to the plight of the Tamil minority and has called for international investigations into human rights abuses.

But Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has rejected those criticisms and says his country is perfectly capable of handling its own investigations.

Earlier, I spoke to ITV News international editor Bill Neely. He traveled with David Cameron to Jaffna. I began by asking him what happened on the ground.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL NEELY, ITV NEWS CORRESPONDNET: Well, extraordinary scenes. And certainly David Cameron was not expecting this.

I mean, he's only just arrived in northern Sri Lanka, becoming the first world leader since independence to go there when a crowd of -- well, in the end it was round 200 people basically trying to break through the police line to get to him.

Mostly women, mostly the mothers of men and boys who have disappeared during Sri Lanka's long civil war. They were holding up pictures of their sons, brothers and husbands. They were screaming, some of them were hysterical. Police in full riot gear were trying to hold them back with clubs and batons.

Mr. Cameron was several hundred yards away inside a building and didn't really hear a great deal of it, but that was about to change. Out his car left, the car was mobbed, or at least surrounded by quite a few people and then sped away, but then the rest of the crowd followed on trying to put their point that in Sri Lanka, as they see it, there are no human rights, certainly not or the minority Tamils who live in the north.

So it was extraordinarily emotional scenes and certainly something Mr. Cameron hadn't expected.

FOSTER: And Mr. Cameron has made a lot of this change in the country. How is that message being taken? And realistically will it make any difference?

NEELY: Well, there was tonight a very frosty meeting between David Cameron and the host of this summit Sri Lanka's president Rajapaksa. In fact, while the cameras were rolling there was hardly any interaction, any words between them at all.

Mr. Cameron pledged to send a tough message. President Rajapaksa said he'd have a few questions of his own.

This president is a fairly defiant man. He said today in his speech we'll talk about human rights. He went back to 2009 and the end of the war and he said he had given Sri Lanka the greatest human right, the right to life. So a fairly defiant message. And I don't think he will be moved by any of the scenes we saw today in Jaffna.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Bill Neely. Well, Sri Lanka's civil war spanned more than a quarter of a century. The conflict began in 1983 when ethnic Tamils fought the majority Sinhalese government for independence in the northern part of the country. A ceasefire was negotiated in 2002, but there were additional attacks and the violence escalated again in 2006. The government pulled out of the ceasefire in 2008.

The Sri Lankan military defeated the Tamil Tigers in May 2009 ending the war. An estimated 100,000 people were killed, many of them died in the final months of the conflict.

To discuss the significance of today's events in Sri Lanka, I'm joined by Charu Lata Hogg from the Chatham House Asia program.

Thank you very much indeed for joining us.

There are stories of violence, though, even up to this year as a result of the conflict.

CHARU LATA HOGG, ASIA PROGRAMME, CHATHAM HOUSE: Absolutely. You know, we're talking about a situation where human rights violations are not in the past, but are ongoing. Where credible international human rights organizations, and indeed domestic organizations have published reports of unauthorized and illegal arbitrary detention of those linked to the entity, continuing torture, continuing attacks on the media, political dissent, those who dare to oppose the government have been repressed.

FOSTER: There's been some comment today about we shouldn't have fall on sides here, because within the Tamil community there are lots of different groups and the Tamil Tigers didn't speak for everyone and there's a very complex relationship there. It's actually we're perhaps looking at it from a too simplistic way internationally I've heard.

HOGG: That is correct on one level. But on the other hand, the kind of broad banner statement is the Tamils have been fighting or wanting some sort of autonomy, control over their lives, control over land, policing, (inaudible) which this government promised and has not delivered on. That is the message.

FOSTER: What are your thoughts on this Commonwealth meeting taking place there, because the Canadian prime minister was very quick to step in saying he didn't think it was appropriate, that it doesn't stand for the values of the Commonwealth to be hosting an event in that country.

HOGG: Absolutely. I mean, you've had you know strong reactions by the Commonweath in the past. The Commonweath suspended Zimbabwe, Pakistan, South Africa, but they haven't managed to built consensus and take a decision on Sri Lanka. What's happening in Sri Lanka is certainly an assault on democracy and fundamental rights and human rights indeed.

But I think the message to take away from here is not to sort of labor on attendance and non-attendance, the point is what happens from now, what messages are delivered to the Sri Lankan government what kind of consensus is built within the grouping of 53 countries, 51 of whom are attending, what step which become a stepping stone towards accountability and justice in the long run.

FOSTER: Some people suggesting that the event being held there, what happened with David Cameron today at least puts the country's problems back on the international agenda. But the Sri Lankan government denies the human rights allegations, country's high commissioner to the UK Chris Nonis is reacting to the claims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS NONIS, SRI LANKAN HIGH COMMISSIONER TO UK: We've had a 28 year conflict with terrorists. And finally after 28 years we achieved peace in the country under the leadership of his excellency President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Finally, everyone is free of (inaudible) and hegemony of terrorism.

But one has to understand that there's a tremendous influence from those who funded the terrorist conflict are now carrying out, really, proxy propaganda war.

So, no, it's not surprising at all for the proxy propaganda war is continuing. But certainly what we realize is that over the years as people realize the wonderful reconciliation, rehabilitation and reconstruction program that we are carrying out in Sri Lanka that gradually that proxy propaganda war will lose its currency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: This is the point about the Tamil propaganda, which has sort of come about today that getting the international community to side with them despite their record of violence in those early days, pretty much inventing suicide bombing, for example.

HOGG: Absolutely one should by no means forget the brutality by the liberation tiger of Tamilinum (ph). And you're very rightly pointing out that, you know, the blame lay on both sides. There were casualties in the 2009 conflict, war crimes were committed by both sides, and that should not be overlooked.

You know, the Tamil Tigers are responsible for extrajudicial killing, recruiting children, suicide bombings, killing of political opponents, the list is very long. And the responsibility lies there.

FOSTER: But they don't represent all Tamils.

HOGG: That is true as well.

But I think I would like to come back to the point of, you know, how much freedom exists for the Tamils in Sri Lanka. Why is the north completely militarized? Why are Tamils in detention tortured and abused? Why is the media not allowed to operate freely? Why does the chief justice of Sri Lanka have to be impeached if they take a step, which is -- does not agree with the presidential view?

So, you know, these are all very real issues as well which need to be taken into account.

FOSTER: Chara Lata Hogg, thank you very much indeed for joining us.

Live from London, this is Connect the World. Coming up, relief efforts were wrapped up, but is it getting to everyone? We go live to the Philippines to hear typhoon survivors.

Plus, how unrest in Cairo led to one of the biggest museum thefts in Egyptian history.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: A week after Super Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines, relief efforts are finally picking up. Road crews were out on Friday clearing debris from the streets and making way for desperately needed trucks filled with food and water.

The Philippines national disaster agency says more than 3,600 people have died, another 1,140 are missing according to the Philippine News Agency. And more than 12,000 others are injured.

President Aquino visited a center that was packing relief goods.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENIGNO AQUINO, PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES: Later the problem will be housing all of these people. But right now, it's the basic necessities: food and water. Transport is ready, funding is also available.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: And do stay with us here on Connect the World. We'll have more from the Philppines in around 10 minutes for you.

At least 13 people have been killed and 130 others have been injured after a protest march turned violent in the Libyan capital Tripoli. Reports say members of a militia opened fire on a crowd of people demanding that armed groups clear out of the city.

Witnesses say the militia fired on the protesters with an anti- aircraft cannon mounted on the back of a truck. Militia groups fighting each other in the past week have caused the worst violence in Libya since the fall of Moammar Gadhafi.

Toronto's city council has voted to strip the city's mayor of some of his powers after he admitted smoking crack cocaine.

Rob Rod has lost his emergency powers and the right to appoint and dismiss staff. He insists he won't quit despite council source telling CNN that even his brother is encouraging him to take a leave of absence.

He also didn't do himself any favors yesterday when he used vulgar language to reports.

Let's go to senior international correspondent Nic Robertson. He's in Toronto with the latest developments.

There's a new thing every day, Nic. What new today?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Max, there's a new thing every day. And it probably won't come as any surprise to people who follow this closely that the mayor almost sort of seemed contradictory today. At one point talking about how he may mount a legal challenge to the move by the councilors to strip him of those powers to appoint senior staff, strip him of powers under emergency measure situations here saying that he would take this to court and that would cost the taxpayers money.

But on the other hand, he also seemed to say that he sympathized with the councilors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROB FORD, MAYOR OF TORONTO: If I would have had a mayor acting the way I have conducted myself I would have done the exact same thing. I am not mad at anybody. I take full responsibility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERSTON: But whatever he says about taking full responsibility there, what he is actually doing and the vote went 41-2 -- the two being him and his brother, councilman Doug Ford -- what they're really going to do is make this a very long, drawn out fight. There will be other cuts to his power coming next week from councilors here, that's what's expected. He will be stripped of some financial powers, stripped of some of his staff even.

But if he does take it to court this is going to go long. It's going to be painful for the people here. And really the council members won't get what they want, which is to shut him up and have him moved away completely. He'll have no power, but he'll still be in the office. He'll still get a vote. And as one of them told me today, they'll still have a voice, as problematic as that has been for the city here -- Max.

FOSTER: OK. Nic, another day tomorrow. Thank you very much.

The only surviving child of assassinated American president John F. Kennedy has started a new role. She is now U.S. Ambassador to Japan. Caroline Kennedy is a lawyer, author and mother of three. She starts the job as America pays tribute to her late father who was shot to death 50 years ago this month.

U.S.-Japanese relationship is increasingly important as the Obama government focuses more on the Asia region.

In a career defined by the term century, it might have seemed underwhelming when cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed with 74 runs in his final test match. But the number 74 is nothing compared to 1.2 billion, the population of the country who looks up to him as a legend. Fans turned out to show their support for India's greatest ever batsman as he prepared to retire saying Tendulkar is not just a cricketer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The stadium was silent for awhile and then they realized what had happened and I think everyone was quite sporting about it, you know, considered. And everyone stood up, gave him a hand as he walked out. I think we're still holding hopes he's going to come back and bat again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was crying after he got out. Everyone was just crying. Very, very emotional moment. (inaudible) come to bat again now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last time he probably walked out and walked back to the pavilion, it's always an emotional moment I think for any Indian.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, Tendulkar is the only batsman to score 100 centuries in international cricket. He began his career in 1989. His final test match is against the West Indies in Mumbai.

The latest world news headlines are just ahead. Plus, surviving off the land. We'll have a live report from the Philippines as we learn more about Typhoon Haiyan's tragic impact.

And a priceless artifact is stolen, why a statue made more than six centuries ago might now be lost forever.

Plus, on tonight's CNN preview, the stars of the Hunger Games: Catching Fire fight their way through the London premier.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: This is CONNECT THE WORLD. The top story this hour. China is relaxing its controversial one child policy, but it won't apply to everyone. Only couples in which one parent is an only child will be allowed to have two babies. The decades-old law has been widely criticized for resulting in forced abortions.

Relief efforts are being ramped up in the Philippines. Much of the focus is on the devastated city of Tacloban, where aid is now more available, but other outlying areas are still only seeing limited relief.

An anti-militia protest in Libya turns deadly on Friday as gunfire erupted in the capital, Tripoli. State media reports at least 13 people are dead and more than 130 others have been injured as fighting continued into the night.

Toronto City Council has voted to strip the city's mayor of some of his powers. He's admitted to smoking crack cocaine. Rob Ford has lost his emergency powers and the right to appoint and dismiss staff. He insists he won't quit.

A total absence of food and water. That's the assessment of a Philippine health official on what Typhoon Haiyan did to parts of the country.

A week on, we now know that more than 3600 people are dead, according to the National Disaster Agency's official account. The agency says more than 12,000 people have been injured and more than 1100 others are missing. A spokesman for UNICEF told CNN's Anderson Cooper that helping children recover will be a particular challenge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENT PAGE, UNICEF SPOKESMAN: The health, nutrition, getting them clean water, good sanitation, protection, and we have to consider education also. Schools have been wiped out. And getting kids into child-friendly spaces where they can feel protected, where they can have a chance to play, where they can get a sense of normalcy back in their life after going through such a devastating experience is very important.

We need to get them into child-friendly spaces where they're protected. It helps the kids, but it also frees up the parents to go and take care of the needs, try and find work, try and get money. So, it's very complicated, it's very complex, and everything is inter-related.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, crews have cleared the main streets of Tacloban that was once home to 220,000 people. Many of the survivors have headed to Cebu, where they are receiving food and medical checks. Anna Coren joins us live from Cebu Island. Anna, it does seem to be a momentum of good news on the aid front.

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, certainly, Max. There has been an outpouring of foreign assistance and aid, certainly coming into this airport here in Cebu, which is very much the staging ground of this massive relief operations.

It's 4:30 in the morning here, and I haven't seen so many planes here in the week that we've been covering this story. There's so many C130 Hercules out on the tarmac ready to go. When day breaks, this place will be a hive of activity.

Of the millions of people who have been displaced, Max, so many of them just want to get out of those disaster zones. Many of them are being brought here to Cebu, and we caught up with a boatload of them yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COREN (voice-over): Having escaped death and destruction on a scale never before seen in the Philippines --

SEVRA NARVIA, TACLOBAN CITY EVACUEE: It's just a dead city now.

COREN: -- these survivors carry what few belongings they have down the ramp to safety. Transporting almost 3,000 people from Tacloban to Cebu, this Philippines naval vessel couldn't have come soon enough.

RUFINA BATO, TACLOBAN CITY EVACUEE: I was feeling hopeless. If we stayed there for another week, I don't think we'd survive. Just lucky to be here.

COREN: The ship will continue to sail back and forth, making the slow, 24-hour journey, until everyone who wants to leave gets out of the devastated city.

MAEJOY VERO, TACLOBAN CITY EVACUEE: It's very hard living there. There is no gasoline. The food, the relief is not getting there and all of that water, the milk for the babies, very hard because malls, the stores are being ransacked by the people there.

COREN: While a critical shortage of food and water force many on the boat, others say they had to flee because of serious safety concerns.

BATO: Security is not good. They ransack homes. And they're like savages there already.

NARVIA: It's dangerous there because of those looters. They just -- they will take everything. Our life was in danger. That's why we decided to come here to Cebu.

COREN: Waiting for them on the dock, a meal. And words of comfort and support.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've been in Tacloban for more than one week without food and water. So --

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- this is actually the first time we've eaten properly.

COREN (on camera): For so many of these refugees that have been living without basic necessities for a week, finally, they're getting food, they're getting fresh water, and desperately-needed medical attention.

Where they go from here is a huge problem facing the Filipino government. For those with family and friends around the country, they will be transported. But for those with no relatives or nowhere to go, they'll be taken to an emergency evacuation center.

COREN (voice-over): Like Marilyn Ramirez and her 10-day-old baby. They managed to survive the typhoon but are now homeless. Overwhelmed by the enormous task ahead, she says she will do what she must to rebuild a life for her family.

MARILYN RAMIERZ, TACLOBAN CITY EVACUEE: It's sad. Very sad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Such an enormous task ahead, Max, for the millions who have been displaced, who are homeless, and who now virtually have nothing. But as I say in that report, the Filipino government is really going to have to step up and help these people.

There are emergency evacuation centers being set up, but from what we understand, there are only a few of them. So these people will be flooding into Cebu. They'll also be taken to Manila in the coming days and weeks, and they really need those services to be set up to support them in the months and years going ahead.

FOSTER: There was this concern about security, the lack of supplies coming in, so therefore the security was breaking down. Are the security forces managing to resolve things on that front?

COREN: Look, Max, I think -- the focus is very much getting aid to survivors, the people who haven't been able to get out of those disaster zones. And you have to remember, like the people that we spoke to on that boat, they've been waiting for days to get on that vessel. They'd tried to get on planes, they were completely booked.

These C130 Hercules behind me, they take aid to these disaster zones, they bring back maybe 100 people. Well, there are several million -- up to several million people who are displaced who, if they had a choice, would get out of there. So the task ahead is absolutely enormous.

As for law and order, yes, it's an ongoing problem, and we're getting reports of violence, we're getting reports of rapes. It's not good on the ground, but I guess at the moment, the focus very much is getting food to the people who so desperately need it.

FOSTER: And they're managing to contain disease, are they? Because Medicins Sand Frontieres, for example, who we were speaking to the other night, very concerned about diarrhea, for example, being a problem.

COREN: Yes, without a doubt. We are going to be joining the Royal Australian Air Force, who has set up a makeshift hospital in Tacloban. I was speaking to their staff, and they said it is the only makeshift hospital that is currently operating down there, which is hard to believe.

There are other hospitals in the area, but they're purely providing first aid. So, there is an enormous task ahead for the medical contingency that is coming in. As you say, Medicins Sans Frontieres, they are trying to also get set up, but they're having real difficulties in getting their operations functioning.

I spoke to Save the Children yesterday, and they're obviously also trying to get aid out and ships with medical supplies as well, and they said it took six hours to get their cargo off the plane because there was only one forklift that was operating here.

So, these are the problems that they're facing. There's just such an enormous backlog, and it's just a very slow process. But as far as disease, yes, Max, that is a huge challenge that is facing authorities here.

FOSTER: Anna Coren, thank you very much, indeed, for joining us in the Philippines.

Now, the UN is appealing for more than $300 million in international aid for the Philippines. Countries have promised more than half of that total so far, more than $153 million from more than 30 countries and organizations, along with thousands of private donations from around the world.

But the lion's share of the funding comes from four sources: the UN, the UK, the US, and Australia. They're providing almost three-quarters of the promised aid so far.

The Philippines biggest cargo company, LBC Express, is shipping food, clothes, and supplies to the devastated region. We visited its London headquarters to see how they're dealing with such a huge and often very personal task.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIGUEL VILLA-ABRILLE, UK AREA HEAD, LBC EXPRESS: LBC basically is -- it's the largest Filipino cargo company locally. This is our main hub for our operations here in the UK. We're providing a free service. We're receiving these goods and we're shipping them to the Philippines and then handing them over to the Philippine Red Cross.

We call these Balikbayan Boxes. It's a very well-known practice for Filipinos where they ship goods to the Philippines. We are encouraging people to come here and help us sort these goods out so that when we ship them over to the Philippines, there's no need to sort them out when we transfer them over to the Philippine Red Cross.

ANN PETERSEN, COLLECTING DONATIONS FOR THE PHILIPPINES: I've been contacting my friends here in the UK for assistance and donations. This is something that is most definitely not very useful out there. It'll be too warm for it. T-shirts -- t-shirts and tops are great.

With the help of LBC and their van, we managed to go to some of the big grocery stores and we have literally emptied their shelves of tins. My family is from Tacloban, and thankfully, yesterday we had some really positive news and we know they're alive and well. However, they are also missing a house.

VILLA-ABRILLE: It's coming in in trickles right now. I could say approximately this would be about 10,000 tons that you've got here in the back right now. So we're looking at triple or quadruple the volume.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Now, to find out how you can help those affected by the typhoon, do log onto our Impact Your World website. There, you'll find links to vetted charities and aid groups who are working to help, cnn.com/impact.

And some news just coming into CNN, and the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons has just approved today a detailed plan to destroy Syria's chemical weapons stockpile. In the plans, Syrian chemical weapons will be transported for destruction outside its territory to ensure their destruction no later than June 2014.

Do stay with us. Still to come on CONNECT THE WORLD, lost in the chaos. What's happened to some of Cairo's most treasured artifacts?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: The hunt is on for Egypt's stolen antiquities. Egyptian authorities, Interpol, and UNESCO are all appealing for the return of priceless artifacts they say were stolen by looters. The Malawi National Museum in Cairo was almost completely emptied during violence in August.

Of particular concern is a missing statute of Tutankhamun's sister dating back to the 14th century. Some believe the looting may have been staged just to steal the valuable sculpture.

Zahi Hawass is Egypt's former head of antiquities and the author of the book, "Discovering Tutankhamun: From Howard Carter to DNA." I spoke to him earlier about security and the missing antiquities.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHI HAWASS, AUTHOR, "DISCOVERING TUTANKHAMUN": Yes, when I was head of antiquities in the time of the revolution, I first resigned because I could not protect the antiquities from the looting and from the attack of the people who live near the sites. And that was really a big damage to the Egyptian monuments.

And I told the whole world that they should interfere to try to protect the Egyptian antiquities, because you would believe it belongs to the people all over the world. And everyone, like Interpol and other institutions, should really come to cooperate with us to try to restore the damage that happened in the last two years.

FOSTER: Do you think it was just general looting, or were these targeted thefts?

HAWASS: The major important thing that happened was the looting of a museum. Can you believe? A whole museum, completely looted, 1,050 objects were taken out, and they damaged the coffins and the mummies.

One statue was the most beautiful highlight of this museum. It was a statue of Malite (ph) Akhenaten, she was the daughter of Akhenaten, the one who believed in one god, and he loved at Tell el-Amarna in middle Egypt.

That statue of his daughter was made of red granite. It's about 45 centimeters long, and it's gone. And it was the most beautiful statute I've ever seen showing the young lady putting her finger in her mouth.

FOSTER: Tell us about the sister of Tutankhamun, because everyone knows it. Who would want it? What can they do with it? Where do you think it might be?

HAWASS: I am afraid of two things. A statue like this I hope that the people who took it don't know the value of it. But I'm sure since it never appeared, they know the value of this statue. Two things can happen. Maybe it can go to a private collection, and we'll never know anything about it.

I hope that this -- because no museum in the world and no one really - - no place can buy it. It is resistant. It is known that it was taken from the Malawi Museum. And therefore, I hope that soon we'll be able to bring this statue back from abroad or within Egypt. I hate that it hasn't left Egypt yet.

FOSTER: Because you've lost so much of your collection, haven't you? How much of the collection is left in Egypt for people to come and see?

HAWASS: No, the collection is there. Cairo museums are there. We're talking about one museum. We have in Egypt 24 museums. I really want to tell the people all over the world that this is the first time that actually I can tell the people Egypt is safe and they come to visit.

Because visiting the antiquities now, bringing money for the restoration and to restore the damage that happened for the last three years.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Coming up after this short break on CONNECT THE WORLD, CNN Preview looks at the new "Hunger Games" and some classic rock.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: In tonight's CNN Preview, Neil Curry takes a peek at the new "Hunger Games" movie and finds out how classic rock is Back in Black.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NEIL CURRY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This week's edition of CNN Preview comes from the world premier of "The Hunger Games" here in London. Jennifer Lawrence stars in the second of the four-film franchise. With miserable conditions on the red carpet, the stars are more in danger of catching a cold than catching fire.

WILLOW SHIELDS AS PRIMROSE EVERDEEN, "CATCHING FIRE": Since the last Games, something is different. Here.

JENNIFER LAWRENCE AS KATNISS EVERDEEN, "CATCHING FIRE": What can you see?

SHIELDS AS PRIMROSE: Hope.

CURRY (voice-over): Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark have become celebrities following their success in the arena, and the nation's sweethearts are dispatched on a Victory Tour to help quell uprisings across the districts.

But their retirement is cut short when they're forced to take part in a new Hunger Games, and this time, the competition gets even tougher, with a special edition of the tournament pitting former champions against each other in a battle to the death.

DONALD SUTHERLAND AS PRESIDENT SNOW, "CATCHING FIRE": It got very hard in the Games, Miss Everdeen. But they were games. Would you like looking at a real war?

CURRY: The crowds turned out in London's West End to see the stars of the movie, some traveling across Europe to be there, and others camping overnight to experience the event. Wrapped up in a warm studio, cast and crew reflected on the film.

FRANCIS LAWRENCE, DIRECTOR: I wanted to start to explore other things, more of the consequence of war and things like PTSD and even later on, the idea of reliance on others versus the reliance of self and trust and all of those kinds of things. I think that was a little more interesting to me.

But the idea of celebrity, no matter what, carries through all the way, just because Katniss has become this celebrity and people are looking at her a certain way and expecting certain things.

And it's also been kind of interesting to see how that sort of parallels a little bit with what Jen has gone through with the Academy Award nominations and how people perceive her and how they watch everything she does. And it's been interesting.

CURRY: Lawrence's work on the "Hunger Games" films has been interwoven between awards season recognition for her roles in "Winter's Bone" and most recently, "Silver Lining's Playbook," which won an Oscar and Golden Globe. But her costars help the actress keep her feet firmly on the ground.

JOSH HUTCHERSON, ACTOR: What do you think the best thing -- what he always says to you?

J. LAWRENCE: Yes, anytime I miss a line or mess up a line, now, he's like, oh, I'd better give back that Oscar.

HUTCHERSON: And that --

J. LAWRENCE: I don't think -- it was actually kind of surprising how little --

HUTCHERSON: Were you expecting it to be more of a change?

J. LAWRENCE: Oh, yes. I thought you wouldn't be able to talk to me. No, I'm kidding. No, I'm like -- it was -- made no difference. I just saw him the next day at work and --

HUTCHERSON: We were all super proud and there was like a --

J. LAWRENCE: I think we had one --

HUTCHERSON: -- wow.

J. LAWRENCE: -- I don't even think we had a conversation about it. You guys were like, "Hey, congratulations, that's great."

HUTCHERSON: Yes.

J. LAWRENCE: It was like, cool.

HUTCHERSON: Yes, that's true.

J. LAWRENCE: And then we started talking about, like, farts.

CURRY: More than 1,000 years of music history hobbled down the red carpet the Classic Rock Awards held in London's Roundhouse. Black Sabbath account for a mere 193 years between them. Saxon total 250. But Mott the Hoople boast the finest vintage with 74-year-old Ian Hunter and his band amassing 278 years of performing experience.

IAN HUNTER, MOTT THE HOOPLE: It takes a bit longer to learn the words before you go out, but really, when you get on, the adrenaline's in. It doesn't bother you.

BIFF BYFORD, SAXON: The rapport with the audience these days is as good as it used to be in the 80s, I think.

(APPLAUSE)

CURRY: Black Sabbath were named Living Legends in a year which has seen them reach the top of the album charts.

OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK SABBATH: It's a remarkable -- we never had -- this is our first number one album ever in America both -- I'm just kind of blown away by it all. And all of us are like, wow.

CURRY: Guitarist Tony Iommi says the band members' long friendship is the most important part of their success.

TONY IOMMI, BLACK SABBATH: Maintained the friendship all these years, and it's been great. We've always -- it's been good, all being together and being out again on stage again and play.

CURRY: Jimmy Page accepted the award for Best Film for Led Zep's concert movie "Celebration Day" and in turn presented a special award to punk pioneer and Dr. Feelgood founder Wilko Johnson, who continues to perform while battling cancer.

WILKO JOHNSON, DR. FEELGOOD: -- efforts, and thank you.

(CROWD CHEERS)

CURRY: Rock god Rick Wakeman says classic rock music is enjoying a resurgence.

RICK WAKEMAN, YES: What's very pleasing is it gets some exposure from people like yourself, which maybe ten years ago, it didn't, unless somebody had done something extremely naughty like bite a wombat's head off or something. That was the only time we got mentioned. Now, what's the great thing is people talk about the music.

CURRY: The event ended with a performance from the Darkness, and they're ending this edition of CNN Preview. Join us again next week.

(MUSIC - "I BELIEVE IN A THING CALLED LOVE" BY DARKNESS)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Standing the test of time. That is it for CONNECT THE WORLD, though. I'm Max Foster, thank you very much, indeed, for watching. Have a great weekend.

END