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Connect the World

Day Three Of Pistorius Testimony; Search Crews Hear More Pings In Search For MH370 Black Boxes; African Start-Up: Sock-Maker to the Stars; Oscar Pistorius on Trial; Dutch Priest Killed in Syria; Egypt Sexual Harassment

Aired April 09, 2014 - 11:00   ET

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

BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: We are following a tragic story out of the United States. Today, a mass stabbing at a school in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Now this happened early local time on Wednesday. We are also, of course, other big stories around the world including the search for Malaysia Airlines flight 370 and the unrest in Ukraine.

More on those shortly.

First, we want to cross over to our sister network CNN USA for the very latest on that school attack.

(SIMULCAST WITH CNN USA)

ANDERSON: We're breaking away from our CNN U.S. domestic coverage now.

You're watching Connect the World live from Abu Dhabi with me Becky Anderson, welcome back.

Now, search teams in the Indian Ocean are more optimistic than ever that they are close to finding Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. This is one of our top stories. We will get back to that story out of the States, of course this hour.

Another set of signals was picked up during Tuesday's search here. As you can see from this map, they were located about 27 kilometers from the ones heard over the weekend.

Now search officials do seem confident that the sounds are coming from the black boxes. All they are waiting for now is to find visual evidence of the plane.

How likely is that? Well, Will Ripley is live in Perth with the very latest. And, Will, it is I guess at this point what sounds like a very simple question, but I'm sure a lot more complicated for those in the operation, search and rescue -- search operation here. Just, you know, how likely is it they're going to find evidence of this plane any time soon?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, that's the big question. Because, you know, we keep in mind, you know, we have this promising lead where the Ocean Shield is right now, but every day we're now up to, you know, more than a dozen planes consistently taking off, flying out over the search area scanning for any possible sign of physical evidence of flight 370. This debris field that many experts believe must exist somewhere and yet we just haven't found it.

So we have absolutely no physical, tangible evidence of this plane. But what we do have now are four pings that the experts say likely came from flight data recorders, two pings detected on Tuesday, as you mention, two others detected on Saturday.

So with the lack of physical evidence, the language that we're hearing now from the search chief is the strongest so far. In fact, at the press conference today I asked him if he thought when he joined this search if he thought that he would be announcing that these potential pings have been located.

Here's his answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGUS HOUSTON, CHIEF COORDINATOR, JOINT AGENCY COORDINATION CENTRE: What we're picking up is a great lead, OK. We've got to visually acquire before we can say this is the final resting place. So there's still a way to go.

But if you had asked me, let's say when I arrived last Sunday night, I would have been probably more pessimistic than I am now. I'm now optimistic that we will find the aircraft -- or what is left of the aircraft in the not too distant future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: The bottom line here, Becky, crews are confident, but they're also cautious. They don't want to say anything that could create more pain for the families of the 239 people on flight 370.

But one thing that Angus Houston did say that I thought was so telling is he talked about the preparations that are underway right now here in Perth to accommodate any of the family members who may choose to fly here. He said when they come to visit, we will be ready. He used when, not if, Becky.

ANDERSON: Fascinating. 23:13 local time with you getting towards midnight there, 13 minutes past 7:00 here in Abu Dhabi.

Will, thank you for that.

A dramatic third day of testimony in the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius. Just hours ago, the prosecution took its turn grilling the Olympic athlete known as the "Blade Runner" and demanding Pistorius acknowledge that he killed Reeva Steenkamp.

Watch this exchange between prosecutor Gerrie Nel and Pistorius who is off camera, of course.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OSCAR PISTORIUS, PARALYMPIAN: I made a mistake, my lady.

GERRIE NEL, PROSECUTOR: You're repeating it three times. What was your mistake?

PISTORIUS: My mistake was that I took Reeva's life, my lady.

NEL: You killed her. You shot and killed her. Won't you take responsibility for that?

PISTORIUS: Yes, I do, my lady.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: A court room also saw Pistorius break down once again as he was shown gruesome photos of Steenkamp. Her dead, bloodied and smashed -- her head sorry bloodied and smashed by gunfire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEL: ...famous. I know you don't want to, because you don't want to take responsibility. But it's time that you look at it. Take responsibility for what you done, Mr. Pistorius.

PISTORIUS: My lady, I've taken responsibility by me waiting -- not wanting to live my life, but waiting for my time on this stand to tell my story for the respect of Reeva and for myself. I've taken responsibility, but I will not look at a picture where I'm tormented by what I saw and felt that night. As I picked Reeva up, my fingers touched her head. I remember. I don't have to look at a picture. I was there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: What you're looking at is pictures of Reeva Steenkamp's head there and the family.

For more, let's bring in CNN legal analyst Kelly Phelps. She joins us from outside the court in Pretoria.

I mean, just showing our viewers some of what is going on in court, it's pretty disturbing stuff. One can only imagine what people in court are feeling.

Where do you think this case is at this point?

KELLY PHELPS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, today was a day of two different stories essentially for the prosecution. Pistorius had a strong start to the day, finishing his testimony in chief. And he and his team managed quite successfully to undermine some of the core parts of the state's case, particularly the viability of their claim that it was Reeva Steenkamp who had been heard screaming. They put on record the evidence of neighbors who were much closer to Pistorius's house than the neighbors who testified from the state, none of whom say they heard a woman screaming, one of whom heard a man crying and also about whether or not he was on his prosthetics.

But then we started with cross-examination. And we had always expected Gerrie Nel to come out incredibly. But I have to say I think it was somewhat of a misstep to show those photographs. He got the judges back up against the wall. It was really undermining the dignity of the victim herself and certainly her immediate family members who were sitting in court.

And he could have pursued that aggressive strategy without broadcasting those photographs for the world to see.

ANDERSON: All right. We're going to leave it there. We thank you very much for that. That's the legal analysis of what is an ongoing case reaching, though, as you can see it's conclusion.

Later in the hour, we're going to get a psychological view of the testimony of Oscar Pistorius. Keep up to date with the coverage on CNN on the website, of course, CNN.com. We're live blogging events in Pretoria as the case is ongoing. It's clearly finished for the day at this stage.

And we got news reaction from the courtroom for you online.

I want to update on our developing story out of the United States this hour. At least 20 people are injured when a teenager went on a stabbing rampage at a high school in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. 11 seriously injured victims taken to four hospitals in the area. This was earlier on Wednesday U.S. time. Some are undergoing surgery, we understand at this point.

Authorities say a male teenager, he's a suspect, is in custody. The motive for the attack is unclear. We'll keep you up to date on that story as more comes into CNN Center.

Still to come here on the show, the EU and U.S. may have hit Russia with sanctions because of the crisis in Ukraine, but coming up in about 10 minutes time, we're going to get a look at one country that has not been so quick to take such a hard line with Moscow. That coming up.

And for you this evening, Ukraine remains a country on the edge, but we'll find out why the interim government in Kiev is predicting an imminent end to unrest in the east.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: This is CNN. You're watching Connect the World with me, Becky Anderson.

We are in Abu Dhabi for you, of course, where the show is now calling home.

Let's turn to the crisis in Ukraine. The nation's acting interior minister says the escalating unrest in the east will be resolved within the next 48 hours either through negotiations or by force.

Now a protest leader in Luhansk (ph) pleaded for Russian President Vladimir Putin to send help. He said the city is Russia's last remaining hope.

Meanwhile, Russia played down the tens of thousands of troops stationed near the border with Ukraine, telling the world not to worry.

Well, in Donetsk, protesters still in control of a government building. And Nick Paton Walsh joining us live from the eastern city with the very latest from here.

It is what sounded, at least, like an ultimatum from the acting interior minister in Kiev today. Was it?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think that's pretty clearly how it was taken by those demonstrators about 200 meters from where I'm standing here in central Donetsk. They've taken over the local administration building. And there's been a marked change there, Becky, in the last 24 hours. Yesterday, they seemed disorganized, their defenses there were sort of ramshackle it's fair to say. This morning, today, much more in evidence there's a leadership. There are now multiple layers of defenses that span further away from that building. They seem to even have a press center put in place. They have separate offices for all the little sub-districts in the Donetsk region. They have representation in this sort of parallel administration.

What they don't have is a sizable crowd in their support. Their numbers are still pretty much what they were yesterday. And one organizer there, in fact two men in one of the central offices with very brand new walkie-talkies working for a man known as the Commandant who I didn't actually see, they said they expected tens of thousands over the weekend.

But despite how isolated and small this is, Becky, as you mentioned the reason why it's so significant is because anything that steps slightly over the line here, any risk of bloodshed, any potential flare up of violence could spark what Ukrainian officials here are worried about and that is a Russian military intervention, troops so close to where I'm standing just miles on the other side of that border, Becky.

ANDERSON: Nick Paton Walsh in Donetsk for you this evening.

Live from Abu Dhabi, I'm Becky Anderson, this is Connect the World.

Crimea proving to be costly proposition for Russia's economy. Coming up in our Global Exchange series, how one holiday island in the Mediterranean is feeling the heat from Moscow's moves in the Ukraine. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: You're with Connect the World live from Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson for you.

This is the time of the show where we get to the Global Exchange, take a look at the world's emerging markets.

Today, I want to take a look at Cyprus. And there's a reason for that, because Russia, of course, is in the spotlight at the moment. Russia hasn't been out of the headlines in recent weeks thanks to the ongoing turmoil in Ukraine, although the EU and U.S. have placed sanctions on Moscow. One country that is concerned is Cyprus. Now that's an EU member, of course.

And that is because Russia is a major investor in the Mediterranean island.

As always, our emerging markets editor John Defterios here to explain what is going on in whatever we are choosing to talk about today. This is a fascinating story.

Well, we are seeing the ratcheting up of the political rhetoric between the EU, Washington and Moscow. We've also seen what I would call action rather than I think sanctions from Washington and the EU.

The impact so far and what happens next? Because some of these EU members aren't keen to go much further, are they?

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, in fact, this is where real politic comes into play here. The language has been very tough. In fact, John Kerry was before the Senate foreign relations committee talking about sanctions on the banking sector, the mining sector and even the energy sector in Russia. That's going to be very difficult, particularly for the European Union, which remains very dependent on the natural gas coming out of Russia.

There was even discussion tonight about stopping the south stream pipeline project. It was a $50 billion project bypassing Ukraine going through the Black Sea to Bulgaria and then with natural gas going into the European Union.

Right now, it would be big if it happened. Right now, it's very limited, as you're suggesting. It's targeting individuals and one bank.

Now I spoke to the finance minister of Cyprus, Harris Georgiades and asked what should be the correct response? Because right now it's The Netherlands with $30 billion of investment from Russia and Cyprus with about the same level putting up a wall suggesting let's not rush to action.

He's suggesting a more measured response, Becky. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS GEORGIADES, FINANCE MINISTER OF CYPRUS: We believe that these principles are best served with well thought, cool-headed action and reaction and not with a rushed moved into a Cold War.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEFTERIOS: So, it's interesting, let's not have a Cold War response. And in fact when the first round of sanctions went in, it was very interesting to watch. Rasnov (ph) took a big stake in Pirelli, the Italian tire maker and then Mikhail Fridman, as you know, one of the wealthiest individuals in Russia spent $7 billion on a utility group in Germany to buy its oil and gas unit on the same day that the sanctions were announced.

Now the next big question is what happens to the Russian economy if this continues? Even if the sanctions don't go through, the IMF suggested yesterday it would impact the Russian economy. This is an economy that's growing at almost 3.5 percent in 2012, 1.3 percent last year if we take a look at the chart here. The IMF is suggesting another 1.3 percent when it's supposed to be recovering to 2 percent in 2014.

Now the World Bank went even further, Becky, suggesting if this continues and the tensions are still there that the growth number of 1.3 percent could be a contraction of 1.8 percent. So this could be the most painful response with the tensions in place even without the sanctions for Russia.

ANDERSON: Yeah, that's fascinating, isn't it? Because we are at the same time seeing such positive growth noise coming out of the IMF on so -- on the other countries we've been talking about who have been in trouble of late.

All right, John Defterios about the global exchange.

DEFTERIOS: Well, as Becky knows, one of the key issues here in the region has been how to create a climate for small and medium-sized enterprises and get funding for those small startups.

Well, Africa is growing again. In fact, the International Monetary Fund is suggesting that sub-Sahara Africa will grow about 5.5 percent in 2014 in large part because we're seeing a renaissance, particularly at the SME level. Here's a profile in our African startup about a small company who is the sock maker to the stars.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIBUSISO NGWENYA, SOCK ENTREPRENEUR: Hi. This is Sibusiso Ngwenya, aka celebrity sock adviser. I started (inaudible) with socks in 2013.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE; Sibusiso's store is situated at the hip and happening Maboning (ph) precinct of Johannesburg. The inspiration for his business came from an unlikely place -- his height.

NGWENYA: Yes, the whole sock thing has to do with my height. I'm quite tall. I'm 1.9 meters tall. So I don't find pants that fit me properly. So, I have to show off my socks all the time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And so he created what he calls a definitive urban male sock brand, focusing on premium style and individuality.

NGWENYA: I think one piece that people are going to fall in love is this beautiful Zulu beaded sock. The other one is this one, the African print. Prints are growing internationally. And I think this is going to be a best seller.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At this stage he buys socks, revamps and rebrands them. But the hope is to start manufacturing proudly South African made socks.

NGWENYA: Every day of our lives, we send money out of the country just for a single pair of socks. So that is my main concern. I want to have -- I want to produce value socks locally.

I went into the whole business because I wanted to see people wearing proudly South African socks without considering the business element to it. So, I'm in the phase now of fixing the business element of making sure that I make profits, of making sure that other overheads are covered.

People are loving these. So, I really, really think I should get more of this.

The number one challenge has to be financing. It's not easy to approach any corporate or any individual, especially in summer, and tell them that I want you to fund my sock business.

SIDNER: But he makes use of social media to create awareness and attract investors.

NGWENYA: Social media has made marketing very easy for me. For example, I'm on Twitter, I'm on What's App, I'm on Instagram. They almost work as my business cards, and you can -- you want to buy into the brand way before you even see the product or you even see me, the person. So, the pictures actually tell you the story about the brand.

SIDNER: His socks sell for $5 a pair, and his hope is to sell 1 million units per month. His advice to other entrepreneurs?

NGWENYA: Remain true to your self and do only what you want. Don't allow the world and the current system to dictate to you what success is. If you feel that success for you is selling socks every day of your life, do that. Success is not money. Success is not that big car and stuff. Success is happiness, is you waking up to a happy life every day.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: It is just after half past 7:00 here in Abu Dhabi, welcome back. This is CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. The top stories for you this hour.

And at least 20 people were injured when a teenager went on a stabbing rampage at a high school in the US state of Pennsylvania. Doctors describe some of those injuries as life-threatening. Authorities report that the suspect is a 16-year-old male sophomore and is in custody. The attack -- or the motive, certainly, for the attack is unclear.

Searchers say they hope to find Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in the, quote, "not-too-distant future." Crews heard another set of signals in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday. They were located just 27 kilometers from the first set, heard over the weekend.

Iran and a group of six world powers have wrapped up the latest round of talks on Tehran's disputed nuclear program. Iran's foreign minister says they've agreed on up to 60 percent of the final deal. The next round of talks scheduled to take place next month in Vienna.

The prosecutor in the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius showed the court video of Pistorius firing guns. He also showed a close-up photo of his girlfriend's fatal head wound. Pistorius was vigorously cross-examined on his third day of testimony. The South African athlete admits he shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp, but says it was not murder.

The prosecuting attorney was doing his best to poke holes in the athlete's version of events earlier. Here's a look at some of what happened in court.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GERRIE NEL, PROSECUTOR: You killed her. You shot and killed her. Won't you take responsibility for that?

OSCAR PISTORIUS, DEFENDANT: I took my lady.

NEL: Then say it, then. Say yes, I killed -- I shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp.

PISTORIUS: I did, my lady.

BARRY ROUX, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Mr. Pistorius, did you at any time intend to kill Reeva?

PISTORIUS: I did not intend to kill Reeva, my lady, or anybody else, for that matter. I felt helpless. I wanted to take her to the hospital. I was -- I had my fingers in her mouth to help her try breathe.

(CRYING)

PISTORIUS: I had my hand on her hip, I was trying to stop the bleeding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(GUNSHOTS)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oscar Pistorius as you've never seen him before.

(GUNSHOTS)

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Screams of delight, but listen to the voice of a man who sounds very much like Oscar Pistorius.

PISTORIUS: It's the left after their brain, but (expletive deleted) zombie suffered.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PISTORIUS: I didn't at any point compare it to a human or shooting a human.

NEL: No, you did. You did. You said, "It's softer than brains." Who else got brains?

PISTORIUS: When I did that, I was in that whole sense, since I was referring to a zombie.

NEL: But we can see there is the effect the ammunition had on a watermelon. It exploded. Am I right?

PISTORIUS: That's correct, my lady.

NEL: You know that the same happened to Reeva's head. Have a look at this. I know you don't want to because you don't want to take responsibility, but it's time that you look at this.

PISTORIUS: My lady, I've taken responsibility by me waiting -- I'm not waiting to live my life, but waiting for my time on this stand to tell my story for the respect of Reeva and for myself. I've taken responsibility, but I will not look at a picture where I'm tormented by what I saw and felt that night.

(CRYING)

PISOTORIUS: As I picked Reeva up, my fingers touched her head. I remember. I don't have to look at a picture, I was there!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: You've seen a very emotional Pistorius on the stand in the last two days in cross-examination. What does his behavior in court tell us, if anything, about his psychological makeup?

Well, to discuss that, I'm joined by James Thompson tonight, who's the senior lecturer of psychology at University College London. Sir, thank you for joining us. How would you characterize what you are seeing of Oscar Pistorius in court?

JAMES THOMPSON, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: Well, some health warnings. First, I have not seen the man himself, and like anyone else in the audience, I'm watching a televised trial. And that is really quite a distorting lens, because of course, he is facing certain charges and defending himself against those charges.

Now, in general, it illustrates a particular point that someone who has committed a crime that is -- we know he has shot the person, what's in debate is why and what the motivation was -- is always highly motivated to give an account of themselves which puts them in a good light.

And the duty of the prosecution is to put them in a bad light. So, I know it seems as if we are getting the truth and we're seeing everything as if we'd never seen it before, but we do not really have access to his motivations at the time. We're trying to deduce them through a rather distorting lens.

ANDERSON: And a pretty aggressive cross-examination, it's got to be said, by the prosecution leading to what some experts have suggested as the characteristics of post-traumatic stress disorder. I wonder how you would interpret whether that is what we're seeing.

Let me just get our viewers a sense of what we're talking about here. PTSD is a condition, of course, that people get after living through or seeing a serious, distressing event. It can develop immediately or can sometimes take years for symptoms to appear.

Re-experiencing is the most common symptom of PTSD. A person will relive the event through flashbacks and nightmares, and this can be triggered by memories, words, or objects associated with the bad experience.

Avoidance is another symptom of PTSD, staying away from places that can trigger those memories. It can also include difficulties remembering the event and feeling emotionally numb.

Hyper-arousal, where you are on edge and easily startled is a third major symptom. This can cause angry outbursts and trouble sleeping.

Well, certainly in cross-examination, Oscar Pistorius is being reminded of the events. As you suggest, we are not seeing him, we are seeing just still images of him. But we are certainly hearing his reaction to these memories. Again, PTSD, to your mind?

THOMPSON: Well, it is possible for a perpetrator to get traumatized by what they've done. You might say, that's nothing compared to the trauma they've caused to others. Yes, but sometimes people, particular if they've been drinking or on drugs and so on, and then come back into a relatively normal state of mind, are enormously troubled by what they've experienced even though they were causing it.

But no, we cannot diagnose post-traumatic stress disorder from what someone reports in a trial. One would need to know much more about what had happened and particularly, what the reactions had been in the very prompt period after the event.

To slightly contradict your explanation there, usually, if someone shows trauma, they've been traumatized right from the start. And so, if one was -- if this was a particular important part of the trial, one would find out about how they had been in the days and weeks after the event.

I think where trauma comes up is when we have a public TV show about a trial, then all of us are going to be in a mild way somewhat traumatized by what we come across. So, many people cannot help but have a personal reaction of understanding, of compassion for someone who's in distress for whatever reason.

And we, of course, are not the people making the judgment. That will be done by the judge. But for reasons, now, that --

ANDERSON: Correct.

THOMPSON: -- things have changed and become more public, we are spectators at something which will -- cannot help but both fascinate us and also emotionally stir us up.

ANDERSON: James, always a pleasure. Thank you very much, indeed, out of London for you --

THOMPSON: Thank you, Becky.

ANDERSON: -- this evening. Forty-two minutes past the hour of 7:00 here in Abu Dhabi, nearly a quarter to 8:00 in the evening.

Pope Francis is mourning the death of a fellow Jesuit priest in Syria, 75-year-old Father Frans van der Lugt was gunned down outside -- or inside his monastery in Homs earlier this week. The pontiff said van der Lugt spent the last 50 years in Syria and was loved by the Christians and Muslims he served.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): His brutal killing filled me with profound pain and made me think once again of the many people who suffer and die in that tortured country, my beloved Syria, which has already for far too long been gripped by bloody conflict, which continues to suffer death and destruction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: The 75-year-old cleric and psychologist had been offered the chance to leave, but he chose to stay. Arwa Damon with more on his story. And I've go to warn you, you may find some of the images in this report by Arwa disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Father Frans van der Lugt loved Syria, a country he called home for decades. A people he did not want to abandon.

"We don't want to drown in an ocean of hunger, pain, and death," Father Frans implored from the altar of his church, where both Muslims and Christians sought sanctuary.

By the summer of 2012, old Homs was under intense bombardment and siege. "Sometimes we eat a soup of cracked wheat. These are the olives we eat in the morning and sometimes at night." The 75-year-old Dutch Jesuit priest points to the remaining meager supplies in his monastery. The people suffering, his own.

In February, the UN brokered a brief cease-fire, allowing some civilians to evacuate. But Father Frans stated, refusing to leave anyone behind. On Monday, unknown gunmen stormed into his monastery, killing Father Frans with a single shot to the head.

He had begged the world on behalf of the suffering of Syrians, "We love life, we want to live." But no one listened.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Live from Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. Coming up, many women face sexual harassment every day on the streets of Egypt, and the predators often get away with it. We're going to take a look at what's being done to stop what is this culture of abuse. That up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Women around the world experience sexual harassment, but in Egypt, the issue, it seems, is out of control. In a recent case, a student at a Cairo university was mobbed for wearing leggings. Ian Lee with more from Cairo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A sexual predator films their victim after a mob of male students attacks her at Cairo University. Her supposed offense? Having bleached-blonde hair, a pink shirt, and black pants.

Like the woman in the cell phone video, Layla El Gueretly knows what it's like to be in a deviant's crosshairs. She was attacked last year on the streets in Cairo.

LAYLA EL GUERETLY, ATTACKED LAST YEAR: He got really angry at the fact that I was standing up and just protesting and calling him non- religious. So, he started shouting and yelling, and he started to attack me with a --

LEE: El Gueretly struggled to have her assailant arrested and charged. But the prosecution released him before the trial, tried him in absentia, found him guilty of assault, but to this day, he walks free. The prosecution would not comment on the case.

LEE (on camera): What kind of message do you think that sense, then, to these kind of people?

GUERETLY: They're telling women, you're on your own. And they're saying to the harassers, we're not going to punish you.

LEE (voice-over): Perpetrators of sexual crimes are rarely punished in Egypt.

NAGLAA EL ADLY, NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR WOMEN: Frankly, it is the problem of how society looks at women's issues in general. They don't give big concern about women's rights and women's issues in general.

LEE: Naglaa El Adly and the National Council for Women proposed a new law last year that would protect women and mandate prison time and fines. To this day, it still hasn't been passed.

ABDEL AZIM AL-ASHRY, JUDGE, MINISTRY OF JUSTICE SPOKESMAN (through translator): I believe that if the sexual harassment law is finalized and is presented to the president, there will be no reason not to approve it.

LEE: Judge Abdel Azim Al-Ashry insists the law is important, but says the instability in the country has delayed their work. But laws don't work unless they're enforced. These female police officers are part of a special unit. Founded in 2013, they deal with physical and sexual crimes against women. They admit getting victims to report their crimes is the hardest part.

MANAL ATEF, COLONEL, MINISTRY OF INTERIOR (through translator): To make things easier for the victim, we have three telephone lines and work 24 hours a day. We have a FAX and an e-mail, so there's constant contact with the victims, and we can follow up on their cases and help with anything, including legal advice, psychological and social support, or executing a verdict.

LEE: Layla called the number. She's now hoping she can finally get justice with her attacker behind bars.

Ian Lee, CNN, Cairo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: By no means am I suggesting that this only happens in the Arab world. There is sexual violence, harassment against women all over the world. Anybody who's watching this will know that.

I want to just stay in Egypt for a moment before I get out of the country and take a wider look at this. Getting exact numbers on just how many women suffer from sexual harassment in Egypt isn't easy, but a recent study from the United Nations does give us some idea of the scale of the problem.

All of the women who were questioned, 99.3 percent, said that they had experienced sexual harassment, and many of these women say that sexual harassment and assault have worsened in both frequency and severity following the 2011 revolution.

Also a report published on the website of women living under Muslim law says that 186 women were victims of gang sexual harassment and rape in the Tahrir Square area. That happened between June 30th and June 7th (sic) of last year.

Do remember that when the constitution was adopted earlier this year, it -- one of the most important elements was, of course, the explicit statement that women are equal to men. Does any of this make any difference there, and what is the wider picture?

That's the constitution, and there is that part of the constitution that I was talking about, gender equality more explicit nowadays than it every has been before.

Let's get to our guest tonight. Myriam Sfeir Murad is from the Institute for Women's Studies in the Arab World out of Beirut, Lebanon for you this evening. And I just wonder what you make of Ian Lee's report and of the subsequent numbers from the UN report, 99.3 percent of women reporting sexual harassment in Egypt is just outrageous and unacceptable, correct?

MYRIAM SFEIR MURAD, INSTITUTE FOR WOMEN'S STUDIES IN THE ARAB WORLD: Definitely. It's really outrageous to hear that, especially with all the news that we're hearing about sexual violence and all the human rights violations that are taking places. Yes, it's unacceptable.

ANDERSON: Now, how is the current situation where you are, for example?

MURAD: Well, the situation -- I don't know if you've heard, recently Lebanon has passed a law that criminalizes domestic violence. It was a draft law that was brought together by 60 organizations, along with the very active organization called GAFA (ph), they formed the coalition, and they drafted a law that criminalizes domestic violence.

Unfortunately, the law was accepted with a lot of revisions that actually change the whole purpose of what the law talks about. It does criminalize domestic violence against women, but it also includes other members of the family, not only women. So, it was specifically targeting women, and they changed the law to include all members of the family.

ANDERSON: This is in Lebanon. How do you think the Arab Spring changed things, if at all, across the region?

MURAD: Well, women were very vocal during the Arab Spring. They took to the streets, they demonstrated, they showed that they were present, they had agendas to fight for. They refused to be domesticated, they refused to accept violations that were taking place. They even refused amendments and laws that were discriminatory against them.

The women were very militant and still are. And in that context, I'd like to tell you about the conference we're organizing at the institute, along with the main reform in Egypt, that will discuss all these issues related to constitutional reform related to sexual violence that are taking place.

We have major guest speakers from the US and from all over the Arab world to come and talk about the Arab Springs and the repercussions on women and the activism that women did in terms of political participation in Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, Syria. We have participants from all over the Arab countries, as well as guest speakers from actually keynote speakers --

ANDERSON: OK, good.

MURAD: -- from different countries.

ANDERSON: OK. Well, I'm sure people can find out more online about that, and I applaud you for it, but it does seem shocking that this is a subject that we still talk about in 2014. But clearly we must, and we will until things improve.

With that, we're going to leave it there. We're going to thank you very much, indeed, for joining us. We're going to take a short break. Back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Just before the top of the hour here in Abu Dhabi. Britain's young Prince George on his first royal engagement in New Zealand. He didn't have to greet any dignitaries, just a few key wee babies. Royal correspondent Max Foster with this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Prince George on a crawl-about, a specially-convened playgroup at Government House in Wellington, New Zealand. It was an official public engagement, baby style. Guests included ten local babies, born within weeks of George, who had parents from a cross-section of society, including an American dad in a same-sex relationship.

JARED MULLEN, FATHER: He's a lovely little boy. He was -- yes, he's very intrepid.

FOSTER: George behaved impeccably, apart from one lapse in manners. He stole a plastic block from a little girl called Amelia, who screamed in protest. But it was quickly forgotten.

STEPHANIE VAN HEUVEN, AMELIA'S MOTHER: A happy little boy, getting into everything. Very mobile.

FOSTER (on camera): Little boy? He looked pretty big, from what I could tell.

(LAUGHTER)

VAN HEUVEN: Yes, OK.

FOSTER: He was one of the biggest there, was he?

VAN HEUVEN: Yes, he was one of the biggest there.

PETER HOWE, AMELIA'S FATHER: He's very strong, he's very mobile, very happy, very open. He socialized very, very well.

FOSTER (voice-over): A playdate with destiny. George will one day be king, and these other little ones will be his subjects. But for now, he hasn't got a clue what's going on, and neither do they. It is, perhaps, the most normal he'll ever feel.

Max Foster, CNN, Wellington, New Zealand.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: That closes out our show this evening. I'm Becky Anderson, that was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thank you for watching. From the team here in Abu Dhabi and back at base in the States, it's a very good evening.

END