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CONNECT THE WORLD

Long Recovery Begins For Malala Yousafzai In Birmingham, England; Rumors Of Sebastian Vettel To Ferrari Heat Up

Aired October 15, 2012 - 16:00:00   ET

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


BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: Tonight on Connect the World, as a Pakistani girl shot by the Taliban is rushed to the UK for treatment, across the globe an outpouring of support for the 14-year-old targeted just because she fought for an education.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She is the bright future of Pakistan. And I really appreciate her gesture.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

ANDERSON: Doctors say Malala Yousafzai's recovery could take months. Tonight, what impact her shooting is having right now on Pakistan's fight against extremism.

Also this hour...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The conditions for these beautiful hand-woven carpets that many of us have in our homes are quite horrific.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Forced to work against their will, how our luxury furnishings could be condemning thousands to a life of misery.

And...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN TAYLOR, DURAN DURAN: Went to him and said - I introduced myself and said when are you going to have a decent theme song again?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Duran Duran's John Taylor on how the band took on 007 and survived to tell the tale.

Well her bravery nearly cost the Pakistani schoolgirl her life, but now British doctors say Malala Yousafzai has a good chance of making a recovery. Well, the 14 year old girl was flown to a specialty hospital in Birmingham in England today. She was shot in the head by Taliban militants last week for being an outspoken advocate for girl's education. Well, the attack has triggered outrage and an outpouring of sympathy around the world.

We've got two live reports on this story for you tonight. Dan Rivers outside the hospital in Birmingham with the latest on Malala's treatment and Reza Sayah in Islamabad monitoring reaction to what was a brutal attack.

Dan, let's start with you. What do we understand to be her condition right now?

DAN RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're saying she's stable, Becky. Right now she is being assessed by doctors and surgeons in the Queen Elizabeth hospital behind me. She's been here getting on for four hours now since that flight on an air ambulance provided by the United Arab Emirates.

They've got a number of jobs to do first. There are several teams involved with looking at her and assessing her conditions: imaging trauma, neurosurgery and therapy teams are all involved. And one of the first things they've got to do is to do a CT scan and an MRI scan to build a sort of 3D image of her head to assess how much of her skull has been damaged, and crucially how much of her brain has been damaged, because of course she's been unconscious since the shooting last Tuesday. So they don't really know she has been affected in terms of her ability to move her body and her ability to speak.

But the doctors here are striking a positive note. We had a briefing a few hours ago from Doctor David Rosser. Here's what he said about her prognosis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID ROSSER, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, QUEEN ELIZABETH HOSPITAL: Well, it clearly shows that the doctors, some of whom were people from here in the Children's Hospital, believed that she has a chance of making a good recovery, because clearly it would be inappropriate on every level, not least for her, to put her throw all this if there was no hope of a decent recovery.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERS: We may get some more updates in and out 10 to 12 hours in the morning here, but in he meantime we're told that they are doing everything they can. She is in very, very capable hands, one of the world's leading centers in this kind of trauma.

ANDERSON: Dan Rivers for you in Birmingham this evening. Dan, thank you for that.

Doctors, then, have said Malala will need treatment for a damaged skull as well as intensive neurological rehabilitation. Let's talk more about that with Chris Chandler, who is a prominent neurosurgeon here in the UK.

Malala had a bullet, as I understand it, removed from her neck at the military hospital in Pakistan. They saved her life. She's come here and the work of skull reconstruction and neurorehab will begin. Can you explain the complexities of that treatment?

CHRIS CHANDLER, NEUROSURGEON: Of course. When you have a gunshot wound to the head, to the brain, this bullet transmits all its energy through the brain and can cause terrible damage to the skull and to the brain itself. And if the patient survives that, they often need intensive treatment to save their life, to stop the inevitable brain swelling that can occur as a result of the gunshot wound, and later to reconstruct the skull either with bone or with titanium plate, which is often used in these situation. And following that, the patient often needs a very complicated multidisciplinary team to look after her rehabilitation.

ANDERSON: These UK medics are experts at treating patients with gunshot and blast injuries. This is a specialist center which receives many of the military wounded here. How long is her treatment likely to take? And what do they do first, as it were, in these first crucial hours?

CHANDLER: The first thing they have to do is establish that she's stable. They have to establish her breathing pattern. And at the moment, I understand that she's still ventilated, though I understand that she was taken off the ventilator briefly and did show signs of breathing herself.

ANDERSON: And that's good news.

CHANDLER: That is very good news.

We don't know if she's in a coma still. And it may take considerable amount of time before she comes out of that coma. It's impossible at this stage to actually ascertain how long it's going to take, but there is no doubt that it's very complicated, requires a number of skilled individuals, a very multidisciplinary team which they have in Birmingham.

ANDERSON: The details of her treatment, because of course this is a national health service hospital, the medical director has pointed out that there are issues of privacy, of course, surrounding any patient. And Malala, the details of her treatment therefore will be private. But the medical director did say that he believes she has a good - a chance of making a good recovery.

What's your prognosis?

CHANDLER: It's so difficult at this early stage to make any prognostic statement about their outcome except at this point she has survived, which is excellent news. And at this stage, it really requires time to see what kind of function she has. And that's what they'll be establishing and looking at over these first few days.

ANDERSON: Briefly, the likelihood of a full recovery at this point?

CHANDLER: Impossible to predict. That's the impossible to predict, because you don't know if she's going to wake up afterwards, you don't know if she wakes up whether she's going to have some sort of neurological handicap, and whether that handicap is going to be permanent or reversible.

ANDERSON: Well, we wish her the best. Chris, thank you.

CHANDLER: Thank you.

ANDERSON: Well, Pakistan's foreign minister, interior minister, sorry, says the shooting could mark a turning point in the way her country deals with the Taliban. But some other Pakistani officials have avoided publicly criticizing the Taliban by name.

Our Christiane Amanpour discussed the attack today with Rehman Malik, Pakistan's Interior Minister.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL COCRRESPONDENT: Do you rule out an offensive in retaliation for what happen to Malala, do you rule it out?

REHMAN MALIK, PALISTANI INTERIOR MINISTER: Well, we will continue it and whenever, wherever it's needed we will not only offense, we'll do the real countering action.

But again my point, the world has to see in this way that there is no single directive approach. We do not have a single approach toward the terrorist. We have to have a common approach against a common enemy which realize have failed so far, which have agitated many a time all the forums of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, you can watch Christiane's entire interview with the Pakistani Interior Minister right after this show, Connect the World, that's at 10:00 pm London Time, 11:00 in Berlin right here, of course, on CNN.

Well, let's get more reaction from Pakistan now. Reza Sayah is in Islamabad for you.

Reza, I've heard this shooting described as shocking an unshockable nation. Police have made arrests, I know. Have they caught the gunman at this point?

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They have not caught the gunman. All they're saying is they have detained a number of people, the interior minister saying four people arrested. They have named a suspect, a mastermind that they say he has yet to be arrested.

And then you talk about the reaction, it's something I've never seen before. It's unprecedented simply because the reaction was sparked by a 14 year old girl, just an outpouring of emotion, sympathy and anger. We see rallies, gatherings, prayer vigils throughout the week, maybe the biggest one on Sunday in Karachi. MQM, the powerful political party holding a rally. By my estimation at least 20,000 people there, many of them holding Malala pictures, murals and banners spanning across buildings with her picture, with get well wishes.

We heard a lot of support for Malala, but what we also heard was intense and outrage aimed at the Taliban. Here's a sample of that fury.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAIDER ABBAS RIZVI, MQM PARTY LEADER: We don't want Taliban anymore in Pakistan. And after the Malala incident, this is about time the people of Pakistan stand up.

ASHAR WAQI, STUDENT: The masses that you can see here in these people, they are condemning the acts of Talibans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAYAH: It's clear that the fury and outrage is there. The question is now what? Could this be a turning point for the government in its fight against militants. It's a monster task. And many are skeptical, many say this outrage, this opportunity could fade away, because this is a government that not only has to bolster counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, but it also has to win hearts and minds by improving education, the basic rights that Malala spoke about. Many of this government's critics, Becky, don't believe that this government has the capacity and the political will to do it, but if there's an opportunity this is it, many say.

ANDERSON: And Reza Sayah in Islamabad for you this evening. Reza, thank you for that.

The messages of support for Malala have been coming in from all corners of the globs, let me tell you. This iReport from Pakistani journalist Yasir Kaseem (ph). He took this photo of a vigil that was held in Karachi, which he said working people, teachers, parents, everyone came out to support.

On Twitter, Hala Jomas (ph) from Norway sent in this photo showing her support for Malala as well.

And in the United Arab Emirates, this vigil was held at the Pakistani embassy in Abu Dhabi in honor of Malala.

Here's what one participant had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel sad that she is - why she is attacked. She is still a peace ambassador to Pakistan and her mission is very - her mission is, you know, like she's the bright future of Pakistan. And I really appreciate her gesture.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, in Afghanistan these students made signs wishing Malala a speedy recovery. Schools across the country opened with special prayers to show solidarity. And for you this evening, UNICEF has started a social media campaign for Malala. They're asking their Twitter followers to use the hashtag #standwithmalala. You of course can be part of that.

Well, UN's special envoy for global education says the attack is a tragic reminder that millions of children share Malala's plight, denied even the most basic forms of schooling. Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown wrote a special article for CNN. You can find it on our website. You can also hear from Brown himself right here on Connect the World tomorrow. I'm going to ask him about a new petition he plans to deliver to Pakistani officials next month.

Well, still to come tonight, a hearing begins into the wreck of the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia. And for the first time the captain faces the survivors.

Also ahead, many of us have them, but what - at what cost? How some parts of the carpet industry are stealing the lives of young children.

And it was a recordbreaker for more than one reason, we take a closer look at that giant leap.

All that and much more when Connect the World continues tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: This is CNN and Connect the World with my, Becky Anderson. Welcome back.

Now the pre-trial hearing underway in the case of the Italian cruise ship disaster that killed 32 people. For the first time, survivors and families of the victims came face-to-face with the captain of the Costa Condordia cruise ship which hit rocks off the coast of Italy in January.

CNN's Ben Wedeman reports from Italy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a pre-trial hearing to review the evidence in the case focusing on a more than 260 page report on the disaster by a panel of experts as well as the contents of the so-called black box which recorded data on the ships movements.

Much of the focus since the disaster has been on the ship's 52-year- old captain Francesco Schettino, accused of recklessness bringing the Costa Concordia too close to shore too fast and then panicking when it became clear that the ship had hit a rock.

He's also accused of waiting too long to give the order to abandon ship and then leaving the ship himself before all the passengers had reached safety. His excuse: he tripped and fell into a lifeboat. 32 passengers died in the disaster

Nonetheless, some are coming to Schettino's defense.

CAPTAIN FREDRIK WIJNEN, CONFEDERATION OF EUROPEAN SHIPMASTERS ASSOCIATION: He's a very competent chief. And he did a lot of good things. He made some mistakes, but in circumstances like this, do you do everything right? He did his best. Who has experience in tackling such a big disaster? Nobody has.

WEDEMAN: In fact, Schettino is suing his former employers, Costa Cruises, for wrongful dismissal, claiming that many more people would have died if it weren't for his decision to steer the ship to shallower waters.

Captain Schettino appeared in court Monday. And according to lawyers present, he listened calmly and intently to the proceedings. And at one point met and shook the hands of one of the survivors, Luciano Castro.

Castro recalls, he said, "the only thing he said when I told him that I hoped that the truth will soon be established, he said, yes. It needs to be established soon."

But in Italy's creaking justice system, soon could be a very, very long time.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Let's get you a look at some of the other stories that are connecting our world tonight.

And Syrian state media reporting that the government denies using cluster bombs against the country' people. It comes after the organization Human Rights Watch said it has video evidence of the Syrian air force dropping cluster bombs.

Meanwhile, UN peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi visited Syria's neighbor Iraq where the Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called for a political solution to the crisis.

Meantime, an Armenian plane heading for Syria was forced to stop in Turkey for a security check. The plane allowed to proceed once officials confirmed it was only carrying humanitarian supplies. It's the second time in a week that Turkey has grounded a Syria bound plane in what appears to be the enforcement of an air blockade against al-Assad's government.

A proposed deal for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom is one step closer. The British Prime Minister David Cameron and Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond signed an historic agreement on Monday which puts Scotland's future in the Union down to a simple yes or no vote in 2014. The independence movement has gained momentum in recent years, but a recent poll shows only 28 percent of Scots would actually vote to leave.

Well, the government of the Philippines has signed a peace plan with a major rebel group, paving the way for peace in the country. The president met with the leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to agree on a plan. It comes after years of violence and deaths of more than 120,000 people in the disputed Mendao region.

Ralitsa Vassileva has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RALITSA VASSILEVA, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: God is great, cheered these Muslim rebels in the Philippines after hearing President Benigno Aquino announced a promise for peace.

BENIGNO AQUINO, PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES: This agreement not only marks a new chapter in our history, it now defines the very path we take as a people, one where opinions are heard and hope is shared, where understanding and consensus breed meaningful solutions for all stakeholders, one where every child is offered the opportunity to shape his own destiny.

VASSILEVA: They've been fighting for an independent Islamic state for the last 40 years. And now the Muslim rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front has signed a landmark agreement for autonomy.

MARIA RESSA, JOURNALIST: They formally thrown out their demand for independence. That's a big step. In exchange, the Philippine government recognizes its centuries old fight for their Muslim identity.

VASSILEVA: The deal links to secure peace in the troubled Mindenao region in the southern Philippines and calls for the creation of a new autonomous region of Bang Samara (ph) by the year 2016.

RESSA: To get the region called the Bang Sumara (ph), though, the MILS and the Philippine government will work together to pave the way for a new law that will define this region. So we still have a long ways to go, but both sides (inaudible) and now opening it up to a much wider consultative process that would remain the definition of the Philippine constitution.

VASSILEVA: And even though much work remains, many Filipino Muslims are optimistic the fighting is over.

"We have felt the pain of losing spouses, children and siblings on both sides of the conflict. So we are very happy. And in our belief, the problem in Mindanao has ended."

Ralitsa Vassileva, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, tributes this Monday for the former King of Cambodia. 89-year-old Norodom Sih anouk died in Beijing where he was being treated for ongoing health problems. Sihanouk campaigned for the country's independence from France and served as prime minister, president, and king of Cambodia at different stages.

Well, this year's Nobel Peace Prize - sorry, let's start that again - this year's Nobel Price for Economics has gone to Americans Alvin Roth and Lloyd Shapely. They received the award for their work on complex models which efficiently match supply and demand we use for example to match students with schools, or organ donors with patience needing transplants. Well, the two men will join the - share the $1.2 million prize.

We're going to take a short break as we are want to do on this show at this time. When we come back, though, the hottest driver on the Formula 1 circuit may be jumping ship. Where could Sebastian Vettel be headed next?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Just when you thought we'd had enough excitement for one season in Formula 1, it seems a world champion may be on the move. Let's bring in Don Riddell from CNN Center for a closer look at what is going on.

Mr. Sebastian Vettel surely not on the move.

DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: well, you would think not, wouldn't you? I mean, she's such a great driver for Red Bull and he's been so successful with them, Becky, and he could be on the brink of a third consecutive F1 title with the Red Bull team. But all the rumors emerging from Italy over the weekend suggest that he could be a Ferrari driver in 2014, that is a year from now, partnering Fernando Alonso. I mean, that really would be a super team.

It has to be said that the principles of both teams have today played it down, though. Christian Horner at Red Bull saying without a shadow of a doubt he believes that Vettel will be at Red Bull in 2013. Luca DiMontazemello (ph) at Ferrari said it's not his ideal situation to have two roosters in the same hen house. Of course most teams work very well with one great driver and one not so great driver. It doesn't tend to work so well when you've got two absolutely brilliant drivers in the same team. So we will see.

But it will be hard to see him leaving Red Bull, but they say there's no smoke without fire. I guess one reason that this story might just have emerged , and that's because Vettel of course won his third consecutive Grand Prix in Korea over the weekend, putting him six points clear of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. There's just four races left to go this season. Maybe it's some kind of scheme to unsettle Vettel and Red Bull at this late stage of the game.

ANDERSON: Well, maybe he just wants a new challenge. Who knows.

All right, well we'll keep one eye on that.

Don, Lance Armstrong's attorney is saying that his client might be willing to try a different approach to prove his innocence. What's going on here?

RIDDELL:: Well, I think might is the operative word here, but Tim Herman, Lance's attorney, is saying that he might be prepared to take a lie detector test to prove his innocence. This is of course in lieu of the fact that Armstrong is not going to be challenging the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's report which came out last week with sworn testimony from 26 people saying that Armstrong is a serial doper.

Remember, USADA described it as the most sophisticated, successful and professional doping program in the history of all sport when Armstrong was a rider for the U.S. pro Postal Service team.

It does sound rather ridiculous to think that they would go down this road when they're not going to use more traditional methods to try and disprove these allegations, but that is what they're saying, it's something that they would may be consider.

And of course a cynic would say, well you know what, a really good liar can beat the lie detector test anyway. So I'm not sure how much validity there would be in them doing this if that's what they decided to do.

ANDERSON: Yeah, this story is not going away any time soon. Don, thank you for that. Join Don in about an hour for World Sport. He'll be talking with a former teammate of Lance Armstrong's with the U.S. Postal Team just about an hour from now.

You're watching from Connect the World live from London. Coming up, the latest world news headlines for you, plus a startling fact that really does bring home the horror of forced labor around the world.

Also ahead on this show, we take a look at the cutting-edge technology that makes Japan's bullet trains a cut above the rest. And --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN TAYLOR, CO-FOUNDER, DURAN DURAN: None of us had any clue that we were going to be like a teen -- we were going to become teen idols. And that was a careful what you pray for kind of deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Duran Duran's John Taylor takes me through the highs and the lows of being a pinup.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: A very warm welcome to our viewers across Europe and around the world. I'm Becky Anderson, these are the latest world news headlines from CNN.

A Pakistani girl shot by the Taliban is now receiving medical treatment abroad. The 14-year-old blogger and activist Malala Yousufzai arrived at a specialty hospital in England earlier today. Doctors say she has a good chance of a good recovery.

The ex-captain of the shipwrecked Costa Concordia faced survivors for the first time at a pretrial hearing. Thirty-two people died when the cruise ship hit rocks and sank off Italy's coast back in January. Captain Francesco Schettino is accused of manslaughter but has not been formally charged.

The Syrian state news agency reports the government denies possessing cluster bombs. This after Human Rights Watch has said it has footage showing Syrian forces using cluster bombs against the country's people.

And Muslim rebels and the Philippine government signed a framework deal aimed at ending a 40-year insurgency. 12,000 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front will lay down their weapons in exchange for an autonomous region in the south.

A shocking 21 million men, women, and children around the world are in forced labor. Think about that for a moment: 21 million. This is what that means. At any given point in time, anywhere in the world, 3 out of every 1,000 people are trapped in horrendous jobs trying to pay off a debt, unable to escape.

Modern-day slavery is just wrong. CNN's Freedom Project is committed to bringing you the facts, the victims' voices, but also the success stories. The award-winning documentary "Death in the Desert" uncovered evidence of unimaginable abuse. But a year on, we are witnessing real change. A reminder for you of what we found.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's impossible to know how many would-be refugees have perished in the Sinai in their quest for a better life. One aid group believes more than 4,000 Eritreans alone have died. For every refugee that finally crosses through the fortified border into Israel, many others don't.

This man had a lucky escape from the traffickers, scrambling over a wall at the camp where he was held. He asked us to hide his identity, even though he's now safe in Cairo and registered as a refugee with the UN. He says Bedouin smugglers threatened to steal his organs if he didn't come up with the money they demanded for his release.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Because I am an orphan and they could not ask anyone for ransom, the dealer threatened me to sell one or two of my kidneys for $50,000 each.

PLEITGEN: The Bedouin gangs run a worldwide extortion racket. While the kingpins operate in Sinai, they have associates in many countries who serve as middle men and funnel ransom money to them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, this year, "Stand in the Sinai," we saw how the battle against the traffickers is progressing, how tribal leaders are banding together to stop the slaughter and put an end to an horrific trade in human suffering.

Well, one of the world's experts on human trafficking is Siddharth Kara, who's been exposing bonded labor and other types of slavery for over 15 years. The products made by bonded laborers can be anything from clothes to cigarettes to carpets, things we come across, of course, every single day.

I spoke to Siddharth and started by asking him to define what is quite simply a scourge on our world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIDDHARTH KARA, HUMAN TRAFICKING EXPERT: Bonded labor is without question the most extensive form of slavery in the world today, and the basic definition is like this: a peasant, a poor person has to borrow some money or take some credit at some point from a landowner or contractor.

At that point, the repayment of that credit occurs through their labor, but under very oppressive conditions. And when those conditions rise to the level of slave-like exploitation, you have bonded labor.

ANDERSON: OK, which industries are we talking about, and which industry, as it were, has the biggest problem?

KARA: Even though South Asia is the home of bonded labor, the products that are made by bonded laborers span the global economy. So, some of these key industries are things like hand-woven carpets, frozen shrimp, cigarettes, granite for your counter tops, tea and coffee, rice. The list goes on and on and on of the products that are distributed throughout the global economy.

In terms of the industries that have the most number of bonded laborers, we're thinking of things like agriculture and construction, usually.

ANDERSON: All right. Let's talk, then, about hand-woven carpets. Let's start there. How are these carpets being produced by bonded laborers? What are the conditions?

KARA: The conditions for these beautiful hand-woven carpets that many of us have in our homes are quite horrific. You can imagine really run- down, filthy, dangerous, ramshackle carpet looms spread across rural areas in South Asia, and people locked inside, held in bondage.

Children, especially, completely locked inside, living, sleeping, working in these dangerous conditions, many times 14, 15, 16 hours a day under very, very exacting working conditions.

ANDERSON: How many kids are we talking about?

KARA: Oh, tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of children, without question. I myself have seen thousands of children, documented dozens and dozens of them in detail.

But we're talking about an -- across South Asia, tens if not hundreds of thousands of children working seven days a week, 14 or more hours a day, force and coerced and beaten in many cases to weave these beautiful carpets.

ANDERSON: How did you get access to these factories to see what was happening, Siddharth?

KARA: That is a very good question. As you can well imagine, the owners of these factories are not keen to have people poking around and looking into what's going on. So, it takes a lot of time to cultivate relationships with contractors, with security guards, and other things that allow someone like me to enter into these factories and witness and document what's going on.

Sometimes, it's just not possible, and either at gunpoint or batonpoint, we're turned away. But many times I'm able to get access into these carpet factories and have sent some photos that I've taken of children working, again, in these very horrific conditions.

ANDERSON: Are we talking about the same sort of carpets that we find in luxury stores in the West? Have you traced --

KARA: Yes.

ANDERSON: -- this supply chain?

KARA: Absolutely. Very good question. We are talking specifically and only about carpets that are exports for luxury sale to the West. It could be high-end retail stores, it could be boutique stores.

And yes, I have documented and traced the supply chain of carpets made at a specific factory by slave children in South Asia all the way to the retail point of sale in New York, in Los Angeles, in London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Siddharth Kara, there. One organization that's working to end child labor in the carpet industry is called Good Weave. Find out how you can help. Have a look at the Facebook page, facebook.com/CNNconnect.

Well, it's not just carpets which have the power to steal young lives. You might not have considered it before, but climate change is fueling modern-day slavery, we're told. In Bangladesh, kids are forced to spend long days in muddy water fishing for shrimp. Much more on that coming up tomorrow in the second part of my discussion with Siddharth.

And remember, you can find out a lot more about the CNN Freedom Project on the website, cnn.com/freedom.

Still to come tonight on the show, Japan's bullet trains are famous the world over for their speed and efficiency, but what about their safety? More on that after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Despite traveling at over 180 miles an hour, not a single Japanese bullet train derailed in last year's tragic earthquake, and there have been no fatal accidents in over 40 years of operation.

As part of our continuing series of programs getting behind the scenes of some of the world's busiest transport hubs, Paula Hancocks went to meet the engineers whose work behind the scenes keeps the trains running safely and on time every time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): March 11, 2011, the fourth-largest earthquake on record hit Japan and tested the resilience of the entire country, including its rail network.

YASUYUKI NAKAMURA, EAST JAPAN RAILWAY COMPANY (through translator): At 14:46, the earthquake struck. Because I've never experienced such a strong shake before, I rushed into this control room in the operation headquarters. What I first thought is whether the Shinkansen could safely stop and the passengers would be able to go home unharmed.

HANCOCKS: At the time of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake, there were 27 Shinkansens in operation. None of the trains derailed, and not one passenger was injured.

The technology put to use here in JR East's control center stopped the trains before the largest tremor hit.

NAKAMURA (through translator): Shinkansen stop in about one and a half minutes after a quake. A seismic instrument senses a preliminary tremor and activates the Shinkansen's brakes. By the time a big quake strikes, a Shinkansen will have slowed down to a speed slower than the normal trains running in Tokyo.

HANCOCKS: It was a defining moment in the Shinkansen's 30-year history that Katsuya Kuwabara says has been built on safety.

KATSUYA KUWABARA, EAST JAPAN RAILWAY COMPANY (through translator): The number of technical accidents is virtually zero.

HANCOCKS: Aboard this high-speed data collection train, Kuwabara and his team aim to keep it that way. It's called the East Eye. Every ten days, it inspects the tracks, communications, and electrics of JR East's Shinkansen lines. And it does so while traveling at the speed of a bullet train, more than 200 kilometers an hour.

Data is examined in real time onboard. If any irregularities are found, they are immediately reported to the control center. Nothing is left to chance.

KUWABARA (through translator): It has been passed down over generations, like DNA.

HANCOCKS: A DNA built on speed and safety.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: As we count down to the premier of the new James Bond film, British singer Adele is watching her theme song to "Skyfall" race up the music charts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC - "SKYFALL," BY ADELE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: That rather -- Shirley Bassey-esque song has climbed to number 2 in the UK, but is already the most popular song on iTunes in Finland, in Italy, and in Greece. Only one Bond theme has -- theme song has ever topped the charts: Duran Duran's "View to a Kill," and that was back in 1985.

I met the band's co-founder, John Taylor, a little earlier this month, and we began by talking about the moment that he became part of Bond history.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC - "VIEW TO A KILL," BY DURAN DURAN)

ANDERSON: Remind me how you got involved with Bond.

TAYLOR: I'd gone to a party at Langan's. It was the end of Wimbledon week. And I recognized Cubby Broccoli. I was a big Bond -- I was a Bond fan. And that -- just that confidence of youth, I went over to him and said -- introduced myself and said, "When are you going to have a decent theme song again?"

ANDERSON: Did you really say that?

TAYLOR: He said, "Do you want to do it?" And so we -- so, he invited me to his office in Mayfair the next day, and got me on the phone with John Barry. And it was just one of those amazing deals.

(MUSIC - "VIEW TO A KILL," BY DURAN DURAN)

ANDERSON: Why do you think the franchise continues to excite people 50 years on?

TAYLOR: Gosh. Well, he's just one of the great -- he's just one of the great action heroes, isn't he? And he's like Sherlock Holmes. I don't think we ever -- we see a little bit -- certainly guys, we see a little bit of James Bond in all of us. Just a little bit.

(MUSIC - "ORDINARY WORLD," BY DURAN DURAN)

ANDERSON (voice-over): Equally, Duran Duran is still exciting fans 30 years on. And now, John Taylor is telling the story of the band's rise to stardom in his new autobiography.

TAYLOR: Well, I was quite a nerdy kid at school. I was a Nigel. I was very much -- I was like Clark Kent.

ANDERSON (on camera): You really were a Nigel, right?

TAYLOR: Well, I was -- it was one of those Clark Kent/Superman moments, you know? And within a year, I think I changed my name. I'd stopped wearing the glasses. I was like the least likely to kid at school.

ANDERSON: I want to just -- relate for our viewers some of what you've written in the book. And I quote you: "I'm a pinup on thousands of bedroom walls, but the fear of loneliness is turning me into a coke head." Talk me through what you were doing and how you felt at the time.

TAYLOR: None of us had any clue that we were going to be like a teen -- we were going to become teen idols. And that was a careful what you pray for kind of deal, because what that -- it created this popularity contest in the band. It sort of created a tension that I was uncomfortable with.

Plus, I just didn't have the off switch that the rest of the band had. They knew -- it could be 5:00 in the morning and everybody would know, it's time to go to bed. But I never -- I just didn't have that --

(LAUGHTER)

TAYLOR: I just didn't have that off switch. I just kept going.

ANDERSON: When did you realize just how bad things were?

TAYLOR: It was just -- I just started to struggle with reality. It wasn't until almost 20 years ago, actually, that a therapist said to me, "You're an alcoholic and you need to get sober."

I was quite glad to have a diagnosis, actually, because I just thought -- I thought I was feeling bad because I'd made all these bad choices. So, when somebody says to you, "No, no, no, it's not that -- it's not lack of education, it's genetic and you're -- it's -- and there's treatment for it." It was quite a relief, actually.

ANDERSON: What's different these days, apart from the obvious, that you're 20 years older.

TAYLOR: Yes, it's very different. We -- the money we used to spend on drugs goes on massage, which I think is quite -- I think that's very age-appropriate, a step in the right direction. Technology, obviously, you feel a lot more connected. Skype is fantastic. Many, many musicians marriages are being saved as we speak because of Skype.

ANDERSON: Teenaged fans. A blessing or a curse?

TAYLOR: Well, a blessing when they're in the concert hall, a curse when they're outside your bedroom window --

(LAUGHTER)

TAYLOR: -- at 6:00 in the morning.

ANDERSON: Which they were for you, right?

TAYLOR: Yes.

ANDERSON: How would you describe John Taylor in his 20s?

TAYLOR: Very upbeat, optimist, very excitable. Easily led. Loves his music.

ANDERSON: And in his 50s?

TAYLOR: Yes. Much the same.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(LAUGHTER)

ANDERSON: John Taylor.

It took less than 10 minutes and broke at least two records. This weekend, YouTube recorded more than 8 million people tuning in to see a skydiver make the leap of his life.

Austrian Felix Baumgartner broke the sound barrier and the record for the highest free fall after he stepped from a balloon on the edge of space. In tonight's Parting Shots, let's take a moment to relive those spectacular moments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAUNCH ANNOUNCER: At this time, we have begun balloon inflation. Capsule systems are green, instrumentation's green, payload's green, medical systems are green.

There's the release --

(APPLAUSE)

LAUNCH ANNOUNCER: -- and there's the applause. A successful rise!

FELIX BAUMGARTNER, STRATOSPHERE JUMPER: Just sitting there and you -- you thought about that moment so many times, how it would feel and how it would look like. And this was way bigger than I anticipated.

BAUMGARTNER (on radio): I'm going over.

ANNOUNCER: Underway. Speed 725. Speed 729.

BAUMGARTNER (on camera): I had it under control when I went off. I did a slow rotation, and then it started spinning so violent, it spun me around in all different directions. When you travel at that speed, with that suit that's pressurized, you don't feel the air at all, so it's hard to predict what you have to do. I really had a hard time to get it under control.

ANNOUNCER: Showing Felix stable.

(APPLAUSE)

ANNOUNCER: And -- Felix is --

(CROWD CHEERS)

ANNOUNCER: -- Felix is a new world-record holder!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Quite remarkable. I'm Becky Anderson, that was CONNECT THE WORLD, thank you for watching. World news headlines back after this, so don't go away.

END