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Editor’s note: CNN will publish a full exclusive interview with AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli on Friday May 17 at 1200 ET, where he says he thinks he was treated unfairly in England, finds it hard being a global icon and admits having a love for women and fast cars.

(CNN) — Leading international soccer player Mario Balotelli has had enough — the AC Milan striker has vowed to walk off the pitch next time he is racially abused at a football game.

Boateng: Racism in football must end

Webb: Racism sanctions will send message

FARE: ‘Erratic’ Sepp Blatter should quit

U.S. star Jozy Altidore was subjected to racial abuse during AZ Alkmaar’s cup win at Den Bosch in the Netherlands. The match was halted and the crowd were asked to stop the abusive chanting before the action resumed.

AC Milan’s Kevin Prince-Boateng walked off the pitch after being racially abused during his side’s friendly game with Pro Patria earlier this month. The midfielder was praised for his actions by FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

Serbia was ordered to play one under-21 match behind closed doors and was fined $105,000 by European football’s governing body UEFA for racial abuse in a match with England. UEFA president has appealed the verdict of his organization in the hope of seeing stiffer punishments administered.

Chelsea and England captain John Terry was charged by UK police after allegedly making racist remarks to Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand in October 2011. Terry was cleared of the charges in a London court in July 2012.

Liverpool’s Luis Suarez was banned and fined by the English Football Association after Manchester United’s Patrice Evra claimed the Uruguayan racially insulted him during a match, also in October 2011. Suarez flatly denies Evra’s claims.

Brazilian World Cup winner Roberto Carlos walked off the pitch while playing for Russian team Anzhi Makhachkala against Krylya Sovetov in June the same year, after having a banana thrown towards him in the closing stages of the match.

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Racism in football

“But this time I think I’ve changed my mind a little bit. If it’s going to happen one more time, then I’m going to leave the pitch because it’s so stupid.”

Juventus midfielder: Stop racism

Hayatou: Good example key against racism

FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s remarks on racism in football are the latest controversial quotes to be attributed to the head of world soccer.

In 2004, Blatter — seen here with Brazil star Marta — angered female footballers with his suggestion for how the women’s game could be made more appealing. “They could, for example, have tighter shorts,” said the Swiss. “Let the women play in more feminine clothes like they do in volleyball.”

In 2010, when England captain John Terry, who is married, was reported to have slept with the partner of his former Chelsea teammate Wayne Bridge, Blatter responded: “If this had happened in, let’s say, Latin countries then I think he would have been applauded.”

In 2008 Blatter was ridiculed after defending the desire of Manchester United’s highly-paid star Cristiano Ronaldo to join Real Madrid. He said: “I think in football there’s too much modern slavery in transferring players or buying players here and there, and putting them somewhere.”

Blatter performed a U-turn on the use of goal-line technology and apologized to the English Football Association after an incorrect decision during the 2010 World Cup. Despite replays showing a shot from England’s Frank Lampard had clearly crossed the line in the last-16 clash with Germany, the goal was not awarded.

Blatter had earlier refused to take action when Thierry Henry’s blatant handball denied the Republic of Ireland a place at the 2010 World Cup finals. Even the France striker admitted the fairest solution was to replay the playoff match.

In December 2010, Blatter was heavily criticized for suggesting gay football fans should “refrain from sexual activity” if they wished to attend the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal. Blatter later apologized and said it had not been his intention to offend or discriminate.

Blatter clashed with fellow members of FIFA’s executive committee when he suggested the 2022 FIFA World Cup could be played in January to avoid high temperatures in Qatar. The 75-year-old said the move would “protect the players and also the spectators.” Qatar flatly rejected Blatter’s suggestion.

In December 2010 Blatter insisted that FIFA was “not corrupt … there are no rotten eggs” despite two of his executive committee members — Amos Adamu, pictured, and Reynald Temarii — being suspended for accepting bribes in the lead-up to the vote for awarding hosting rights for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. He called England “bad losers” after losing out to Russia.

Blatter stood unopposed for re-election in July after his former ally Mohamed bin Hammam quit the race days before the ballot after being accused of offering cash for votes. The Qatari, a top FIFA official, has been banned from football.

Blatter faced a criminal investigation after winning the 2002 FIFA presidential election, being accused of financial mismanagement by 11 former members of the ruling body’s executive committee, including his 1998 election rival Lennart Johansson, left. However, prosecutors dropped the case due to a lack of evidence.

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Blatter: A controversial leader

AC Milan’s Mario Balotelli reacts to racist abuse from the visiting Roma fans at the San Siro on Sunday. It was not the first time the Italian-born striker has been racially abused in Serie A.

Serie A side Lazio has already been punished four times in the 2012-13 season due to racist offenses by its fans in European matches.

“I don’t care what game it is — a friendly, Italian league or Champions League match — I would walk off again,” the Germany-born Kevin-Prince Boateng, who has represented Ghana, told CNN in an exclusive interview in January after he walked off in protest at racist abuse he was subjected to in a friendly match.

“I’m sad and angry that I’m the one that has to take action,” added the AC Milan midfielder. “All the people who support me would support me in a big game. Players like Rio Ferdinand and Patrick Vieira have supported me and I just want to say thank you.”

At the end of January, Boateng had a new teammate after AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi sanctioned a $30 million deal to sign striker Mario Balotelli from Manchester City. Berlusconi had previously branded Balotelli a “rotten apple.”

La Stampa newspaper estimated that the signing of “Super Mario” could have been worth 400,000 votes in Berlusconi’s bid for re-election in Italy back in February.

Before moving to England, the Italy-born Balotelli played for AC Milan’s rivals Inter Milan, and during one Serie A match against Juventus the Turin club’s fans once shouted: “There are no black Italians.”

Soon after Balotelli returned to Italy, Inter Milan were fined $20,000 after racist chants from their fans about the AC Milan’s striker at a match against Chievo. Inter play AC in the Milan derby on February 24.

“Berlusconi is an opportunist, who will say anything to win short-term support,” Italian historian John Foot — the author of the authoritative book on Italian football “Calcio” — told CNN, in reference to the AC Milan owner’s support for Boateng after the player walked off the pitch. “His comments are hypocritical at best, especially given his alliance with anti-immigrant and far-right parties, and his comments on Barack Obama (he called him ‘sun-tanned’),” added Foot. Berlusconi is pictured in the center, wearing a scarf.

Soon after Balotelli returned to Serie A, Berlusconi’s brother Paolo — during a political rally — invited the public to an upcoming AC Milan match and was caught on camera — the video was featured on the website of Italian newspaper La Repubblica — saying: “OK, we are all off to see the family’s little black boy.” Paolo is pictured here, wearing glasses.

“I don’t think you can run away, because then the team should have to forfeit the match,” FIFA president Sepp Blatter told Abu Dhabi’s The National newspaper. “This issue is a very touchy subject, but I repeat there is zero tolerance of racism in the stadium, we have to go against that. The only solution is to be very harsh with the sanctions (against racism) — and the sanctions must be a deduction of points or something similar.”

Two days after Boateng’s walkoff, some sections of Lazio’s crowd at Rome’s Olympic Stadium were heard making monkey noises at Cagliari’s Colombian striker Victor Ibarbo. However, the majority of the home crowd jeered and whistled to drown out the racists.

In 2010, Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o suffered racist abuse from Cagliari fans when playing for Inter Milan in a Serie A game. The Sardinian club was subsequently heavily fined.

In 2005 the Italian authorities banned Paolo di Canio — then playing for Lazio — and fined him almost $11,000 for his use of a straight-arm salute. “The sports court decided that it was an act of racism,” the head of Italy’s Observatory on Racism and Anti-racism in Football, Mauro Valeri, told CNN. “The ordinary court, however, did not intervene. For me it’s racism, for the Ministry of the Interior, no.” Di Canio is now manager of English club Swindon Town.

While English football embarked on a program of stadium reconstruction after the 1980s disasters at Bradford, Heysel (pictured) and Hillsborough, Italian football has been arguably hampered by a lack of stadium redevelopment.

Of Serie A’s big clubs, only Juventus has built a new stadium in recent years.

The Italian Ministry of the Interior has introduced an identity document — “tessera del tifoso” — for supporters to counteract hooliganism. In order to buy match tickets, fans must present their document, with the system designed to ensure away fans can’t buy “home” tickets for games.

Owen Neilson is writing a book about Italian football grounds, “Stadio: The Life and Death of Italian Football.” “If a stadia revolution is undertaken in Italy — as it has happened in England — a layer of culture unique to Italy will be tarmacked over, with ‘Juventus Stadium’ type replacements,” said Neilson. “Football will be changed again in favor of profit and central figures in a club’s history, such as Giuseppe Meazza (who played for both AC Milan and Inter) or Romeo Menti (Vincenza), will be moved from the spotlight . That will be a real loss.”

“The Football Italian Federation, FIFA and UEFA must empower fan-based initiatives that are capable of creating a culture of self-regulation,” Professor Clifford Stott, who has advised governments and police forces internationally on crowd management policy and practice, told CNN.

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Italy’s complex racism problem

Throughout the season Italian football has been plagued by racist incidents as the country struggles to deal with the problem.

Only last month, Inter Milan was fined around $60,000 by European governing body UEFA after its fans were found guilty of “improper conduct” after racist chants were directed at Tottenham’s Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor.

In February, Roma’s fierce city rival, Lazio, received its fourth UEFA charge of the season for racist behavior with the club accruing fines of up to $300,000

Lagos, Nigeria (CNN) — At least 20 insurgents were killed Friday as Nigeria’s military carried out an aerial bombardment of suspected militant Islamist camps in the country’s northeast, a Defense Ministry spokesman said.

The raid by Nigerian Air Force jets and attack helicopters is part of what the military says is a “massive deployment” of forces this week to tackle insurgent groups, including Boko Haram.

2012: Who are Boko Haram?

Asked whether the military had inflicted any casualties on the insurgents, Olukolade said, “definitely so. Conservatively speaking, over 20 dead so far.”

Members of the armed forces have suffered only minor injuries, according to Olukolade.

“The operation continues, we are injecting even more troops and resources into those areas,” he added.

The military operation was announced Wednesday, a day after President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.

The president blamed “terrorists” aimed at “rebellion,” causing “fear among our citizens and a near breakdown of law and order in parts of the country.”

cnn_storypgraph11″He also noted a rise of insurgent violence in eight other states, including Nasarawa, where scores of police officers were killed last week.

“Insurgents and terrorists,” including Boko Haram, are trying to destabilize Nigeria, Jonathan said.

“The military operation will focus on tracking down criminal elements within the vicinity of border communities prone to terrorist activities,” Olukolade said Wednesday.

He did not confirm the number of troops deployed or which units are involved in the military operation.

Much violence over recent years has been blamed on Boko Haram, the name of which means “Western education is sacrilege.”

On Friday, a spokesman for the U.N. human rights commissioner told reporters that Boko Haram could face war crimes charges for alleged ethnic and religious cleansing in Nigeria.

Addressing reporters in Geneva, Rupert Colville urged it and other extremist groups to stop “cowardly attacks” against civilians, security forces, Nigerian officials and foreign nationals.

According to Human Rights Watch, the group has killed more than 2,800 people in an escalating campaign to impose strict Islamic law on largely Muslim northern Nigeria.

The U.N. human rights office is calling on Nigeria’s government to respect human rights principles during security sweeps, following reports of heavy casualties in some parts of the country.

Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country, with a population of nearly 175 million according to the CIA World Factbook, and is the political and economic powerhouse of West Africa.

CNN’s Laura Smith-Spark and Greg Botelho contributed to this report.

Editor’s note: CNN will publish a full exclusive interview with AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli on Friday May 17 at 1200 ET, where he says he thinks he was treated unfairly in England, finds it hard being a global icon and admits having a love for women and fast cars.

(CNN) — Leading international soccer player Mario Balotelli has had enough — the AC Milan striker has vowed to walk off the pitch next time he is racially abused at a football game.

Boateng: Racism in football must end

Webb: Racism sanctions will send message

FARE: ‘Erratic’ Sepp Blatter should quit

U.S. star Jozy Altidore was subjected to racial abuse during AZ Alkmaar’s cup win at Den Bosch in the Netherlands. The match was halted and the crowd were asked to stop the abusive chanting before the action resumed.

AC Milan’s Kevin Prince-Boateng walked off the pitch after being racially abused during his side’s friendly game with Pro Patria earlier this month. The midfielder was praised for his actions by FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

Serbia was ordered to play one under-21 match behind closed doors and was fined $105,000 by European football’s governing body UEFA for racial abuse in a match with England. UEFA president has appealed the verdict of his organization in the hope of seeing stiffer punishments administered.

Chelsea and England captain John Terry was charged by UK police after allegedly making racist remarks to Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand in October 2011. Terry was cleared of the charges in a London court in July 2012.

Liverpool’s Luis Suarez was banned and fined by the English Football Association after Manchester United’s Patrice Evra claimed the Uruguayan racially insulted him during a match, also in October 2011. Suarez flatly denies Evra’s claims.

Brazilian World Cup winner Roberto Carlos walked off the pitch while playing for Russian team Anzhi Makhachkala against Krylya Sovetov in June the same year, after having a banana thrown towards him in the closing stages of the match.

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Racism in football

“But this time I think I’ve changed my mind a little bit. If it’s going to happen one more time, then I’m going to leave the pitch because it’s so stupid.”

Juventus midfielder: Stop racism

Hayatou: Good example key against racism

FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s remarks on racism in football are the latest controversial quotes to be attributed to the head of world soccer.

In 2004, Blatter — seen here with Brazil star Marta — angered female footballers with his suggestion for how the women’s game could be made more appealing. “They could, for example, have tighter shorts,” said the Swiss. “Let the women play in more feminine clothes like they do in volleyball.”

In 2010, when England captain John Terry, who is married, was reported to have slept with the partner of his former Chelsea teammate Wayne Bridge, Blatter responded: “If this had happened in, let’s say, Latin countries then I think he would have been applauded.”

In 2008 Blatter was ridiculed after defending the desire of Manchester United’s highly-paid star Cristiano Ronaldo to join Real Madrid. He said: “I think in football there’s too much modern slavery in transferring players or buying players here and there, and putting them somewhere.”

Blatter performed a U-turn on the use of goal-line technology and apologized to the English Football Association after an incorrect decision during the 2010 World Cup. Despite replays showing a shot from England’s Frank Lampard had clearly crossed the line in the last-16 clash with Germany, the goal was not awarded.

Blatter had earlier refused to take action when Thierry Henry’s blatant handball denied the Republic of Ireland a place at the 2010 World Cup finals. Even the France striker admitted the fairest solution was to replay the playoff match.

In December 2010, Blatter was heavily criticized for suggesting gay football fans should “refrain from sexual activity” if they wished to attend the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal. Blatter later apologized and said it had not been his intention to offend or discriminate.

Blatter clashed with fellow members of FIFA’s executive committee when he suggested the 2022 FIFA World Cup could be played in January to avoid high temperatures in Qatar. The 75-year-old said the move would “protect the players and also the spectators.” Qatar flatly rejected Blatter’s suggestion.

In December 2010 Blatter insisted that FIFA was “not corrupt … there are no rotten eggs” despite two of his executive committee members — Amos Adamu, pictured, and Reynald Temarii — being suspended for accepting bribes in the lead-up to the vote for awarding hosting rights for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. He called England “bad losers” after losing out to Russia.

Blatter stood unopposed for re-election in July after his former ally Mohamed bin Hammam quit the race days before the ballot after being accused of offering cash for votes. The Qatari, a top FIFA official, has been banned from football.

Blatter faced a criminal investigation after winning the 2002 FIFA presidential election, being accused of financial mismanagement by 11 former members of the ruling body’s executive committee, including his 1998 election rival Lennart Johansson, left. However, prosecutors dropped the case due to a lack of evidence.

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Blatter: A controversial leader

AC Milan’s Mario Balotelli reacts to racist abuse from the visiting Roma fans at the San Siro on Sunday. It was not the first time the Italian-born striker has been racially abused in Serie A.

Serie A side Lazio has already been punished four times in the 2012-13 season due to racist offenses by its fans in European matches.

“I don’t care what game it is — a friendly, Italian league or Champions League match — I would walk off again,” the Germany-born Kevin-Prince Boateng, who has represented Ghana, told CNN in an exclusive interview in January after he walked off in protest at racist abuse he was subjected to in a friendly match.

“I’m sad and angry that I’m the one that has to take action,” added the AC Milan midfielder. “All the people who support me would support me in a big game. Players like Rio Ferdinand and Patrick Vieira have supported me and I just want to say thank you.”

At the end of January, Boateng had a new teammate after AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi sanctioned a $30 million deal to sign striker Mario Balotelli from Manchester City. Berlusconi had previously branded Balotelli a “rotten apple.”

La Stampa newspaper estimated that the signing of “Super Mario” could have been worth 400,000 votes in Berlusconi’s bid for re-election in Italy back in February.

Before moving to England, the Italy-born Balotelli played for AC Milan’s rivals Inter Milan, and during one Serie A match against Juventus the Turin club’s fans once shouted: “There are no black Italians.”

Soon after Balotelli returned to Italy, Inter Milan were fined $20,000 after racist chants from their fans about the AC Milan’s striker at a match against Chievo. Inter play AC in the Milan derby on February 24.

“Berlusconi is an opportunist, who will say anything to win short-term support,” Italian historian John Foot — the author of the authoritative book on Italian football “Calcio” — told CNN, in reference to the AC Milan owner’s support for Boateng after the player walked off the pitch. “His comments are hypocritical at best, especially given his alliance with anti-immigrant and far-right parties, and his comments on Barack Obama (he called him ‘sun-tanned’),” added Foot. Berlusconi is pictured in the center, wearing a scarf.

Soon after Balotelli returned to Serie A, Berlusconi’s brother Paolo — during a political rally — invited the public to an upcoming AC Milan match and was caught on camera — the video was featured on the website of Italian newspaper La Repubblica — saying: “OK, we are all off to see the family’s little black boy.” Paolo is pictured here, wearing glasses.

“I don’t think you can run away, because then the team should have to forfeit the match,” FIFA president Sepp Blatter told Abu Dhabi’s The National newspaper. “This issue is a very touchy subject, but I repeat there is zero tolerance of racism in the stadium, we have to go against that. The only solution is to be very harsh with the sanctions (against racism) — and the sanctions must be a deduction of points or something similar.”

Two days after Boateng’s walkoff, some sections of Lazio’s crowd at Rome’s Olympic Stadium were heard making monkey noises at Cagliari’s Colombian striker Victor Ibarbo. However, the majority of the home crowd jeered and whistled to drown out the racists.

In 2010, Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o suffered racist abuse from Cagliari fans when playing for Inter Milan in a Serie A game. The Sardinian club was subsequently heavily fined.

In 2005 the Italian authorities banned Paolo di Canio — then playing for Lazio — and fined him almost $11,000 for his use of a straight-arm salute. “The sports court decided that it was an act of racism,” the head of Italy’s Observatory on Racism and Anti-racism in Football, Mauro Valeri, told CNN. “The ordinary court, however, did not intervene. For me it’s racism, for the Ministry of the Interior, no.” Di Canio is now manager of English club Swindon Town.

While English football embarked on a program of stadium reconstruction after the 1980s disasters at Bradford, Heysel (pictured) and Hillsborough, Italian football has been arguably hampered by a lack of stadium redevelopment.

Of Serie A’s big clubs, only Juventus has built a new stadium in recent years.

The Italian Ministry of the Interior has introduced an identity document — “tessera del tifoso” — for supporters to counteract hooliganism. In order to buy match tickets, fans must present their document, with the system designed to ensure away fans can’t buy “home” tickets for games.

Owen Neilson is writing a book about Italian football grounds, “Stadio: The Life and Death of Italian Football.” “If a stadia revolution is undertaken in Italy — as it has happened in England — a layer of culture unique to Italy will be tarmacked over, with ‘Juventus Stadium’ type replacements,” said Neilson. “Football will be changed again in favor of profit and central figures in a club’s history, such as Giuseppe Meazza (who played for both AC Milan and Inter) or Romeo Menti (Vincenza), will be moved from the spotlight . That will be a real loss.”

“The Football Italian Federation, FIFA and UEFA must empower fan-based initiatives that are capable of creating a culture of self-regulation,” Professor Clifford Stott, who has advised governments and police forces internationally on crowd management policy and practice, told CNN.

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Italy’s complex racism problem

Throughout the season Italian football has been plagued by racist incidents as the country struggles to deal with the problem.

Only last month, Inter Milan was fined around $60,000 by European governing body UEFA after its fans were found guilty of “improper conduct” after racist chants were directed at Tottenham’s Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor.

In February, Roma’s fierce city rival, Lazio, received its fourth UEFA charge of the season for racist behavior with the club accruing fines of up to $300,000

(CNN) — Mario Balotelli has delivered his verdict on his time in the English Premier League — he couldn’t be happier to have left England.

The Italian international, who quit Manchester City for AC Milan last January, endured a tumultuous two-year spell in England with his life being played out on television screens and splashed across the pages of the tabloid newspapers.

Car crashes, throwing a dart at a youth team player, fireworks being set off in his bathroom and a training ground bust-up with the manager were all par for the course for football’s “enfant terrible” during his time at City.

Read: Bye Bye Balotelli

The 22-year-old, who describes himself as just a “normal guy,” insists his treatment at the hands of the British press crossed a line.

Balotelli: ‘I will leave the pitch’

Balotelli: I’ve had enough of racist abuse

Mourinho on the enigma of Balotelli

“Yes,” Balotelli told CNN when asked if he was unfairly treated in England.

“But I’m not here to talk about if I’m unfairly treated. I don’t care. I’m out from England, I’m happy that I’m out from England. That’s it.

“I’m really happy now. I have my family near me and my friends. I can relax and find my privacy, more than in England, where I was alone.”

Read: Mancini sacking no surprise

Despite the off-field misdemeanors, former manager Roberto Mancini constantly defended the player even though Balotelli’s behavior tested a relationship which stretched back to when the Italian-born forward was a raw and talented 16-year-old at Inter Milan.

However, the deterioration in the pair’s relationship led to the striker being sold by City for $30 million to Milan. Mancini was relieved of his duties only last week following a season in which City failed to win a trophy.

Back in Italy, Balotelli still attracts headlines, although he insists not all of the extraordinary incidents he has been linked with are factually correct.

Twitter became a minefield of rumor and speculation with tales of Balotelli driving around Manchester, throwing money at homeless people — just one of the untrue stories to have been concocted.

Read: Balotelli threatens to walk off

“The stuff that they said in the newspapers that I did in England in the past, few of those are real,” he said.

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David Beckham calls it a career

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“The others are really just the imagination of the journalists. But when you create an icon of a person in that kind of way, after everyone thinks you are like this and if you lie about it, everyone just thinks that it is all true.

“So maybe that’s why they think I’m crazy and do crazy things? Sometimes I dream to be alone and that nobody would talk to me.

“A love of women I think is normal. Cars? I like fast cars and I don’t see the problem if I like fast cars.

“Some things have happened in my life, some stuff unfortunately happened and they went on the newspapers straight away. But I don’t see anything that would make people think that I’m bad or I’m crazy. I’m a normal guy.

“But I understand that football is really important and that everybody watches it. When you’re famous you have to do photos or autographs, especially for the kids.”

Read: Match stopped due to racist abuse of Balotelli

Back in Italy with his friends and family, Balotelli feels more comfortable and able to live freely in a way he found difficult to do so in England.

But he admits that his past transgressions count against him and that general public has preconceived notions about his personality.

“Of course, even if you’re the best in the world then some people don’t like you and some people like you,” added Balotelli.

“What is important for me is that the people who know me for real, know Mario how he really is.

“People who don’t know me, they read newspapers and they watch TV. Television is made to give a lot of opinions, so I can’t show the real Mario to everybody.”

Since joining Milan, Balotelli has scored 11 goals in 12 games.

Editor’s note: This article is part of The Fighters, a series of reports from a full-length film that premieres on CNN International TV on May 17 and 18 at 1900 HKT; 2200 CET; 2200 ET. The documentary is a result of two years of undercover work and filming in the Philippines.

Manila, Philippines (CNN) — Bolly is working the streets, watching clubbers spill from one bar to the next when he spots his next mark — two westerners in one of Manila’s most notorious areas.

It’s a little after 10pm when Bolly sees me and my cameraman — though he doesn’t have a camera visible with us on this night — rolling out of a sports bar known for its bounty of women offering ‘companionship’ in Edsa, Manila’s unofficial red light district. He strides over quickly, waving a little white flier in our faces.

The street is teeming with people after an evening rain. Pedestrians dodge neon-bathed puddles while darting behind and between passing cars.

On the sidewalk, several homeless families have bedded down on cardboard for the night. On the block ahead, we see teams of girls in tight-fitting cocktail dresses and school girl uniforms standing in front of karaoke bars, calling out to western businessmen to come inside and join them for a little fun.

Ride-along on a human trafficking raid

Cecilia Flores-Oebanda is presented with The World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child by Sweden’s Queen Silvia on April 28, 2011.

Manny Pacquaio, with Oebanda, meets girls rescued from human traffickers. The girls shared their stories with Pacquaio, who also spoke at congress in support of an anti-trafficking law.

Oebanda with President Jimmy Carter at the 2008 Skoll World Forum where she recieved the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship

Oebanda meets with Desmond Tutu in 2008 while both were speaking at the Global Philanthropy Forum.

Oebanda receives the 2005 Anti-Slavery Award at Chatham House in London on November 29, 2005. The award was presented by Lord Bill Brett, director of the International Labour Organization.

Oebanda speaks before the Philippine Senate during deliberations about the Magna Carta on Domestic Workers in 2002. The legislation was designed to improve conditions for domestic workers in the country.

Oebanda attends the first Southeast Asian Consultation, meeting to draft legislation on domestic workers in 2005. The meeting was organized by the Visayan Forum.

Oebanda is seen in the late 1990′s working in poor communities of Manila with the Child Watch Network.

Oebanda’s first day outside prison, with her children on February 26, 1986. She was captured while fighting for rebel forces against the dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos.

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Anti-trafficker attracts power brokers

“Hello friends. Where are you going?” Bolly says. “I know where there lots of girls. Cheap drinks. This way,” he says, thrusting the pamphlet into our hands. Bolly is a recruiter for a number of nightclubs in the area.

“We are looking for young, pretty girls” my cameraman asks, playing the part. “Where can we find them?”

Bolly grins broadly. “OK. I take you.”

We make small talk as Bolly happily walks us the several blocks to the first bar.

My photographer and I don’t tell our new friend that we’re actually working at the moment; on the lookout for evidence of forced prostitution or children being sold for sex. It’s part of the two year-long investigation CNN embarked on as part of its Freedom Project, an initiative to help the battle against modern-day slavery.

It’s estimated 800,000 people are involved in prostitution in the Philippines. The government and NGO estimates on the number of women trafficked range from 300,000 to 400,000 and the number of children trafficked range from 60,000 to 100,000.

Manny Pacquiao is known the world over for his boxing abilities, but in the Philippines he’s also a national hero beyond the ring. Click through to see moments of Pacquiao’s life.

Pacquiao, center, and his wife Jinkee, right, display their certificates of candidacy at the election office in Alabel, Sarangani province, in the southern island of Mindanao, on October 2, 2012. Pacquiao registered to run for reelection as a congressman for the southern province of Sarangani, with Jinkee filing to stand for vice-governor.

Pacquiao attends a plenary session discussing a proposed reproductive health bill at the House of Representatives at Congress in Quezon City, east of Manila, Philippines, August 6, 2012.

Pacquiao gestures during a prayer rally at the Araneta Coliseum in Manila on July 28, 2012. The prayer rally was a way for Pacquiao to thank his fans and supporters for the blessings he received.

Pacquiao gives a sack of rice and relief goods to a woman after floods struck in Glan, Sarangani province, southern Philippines, June 17, 2012.

Pacquiao speaks to flood-affected residents at an evacuation center in Cagayan de Oro City, a southern island off Mindanao on December 23, 2011.

Pacquiao is conferred the rank of lieutenant colonel by Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista, left, and Brig. Gen. Alex Albano, right, in Manila, on December 5, 2011.

Pacquiao sits with fellow lawmakers during the 15th Congress at the House of Representatives in Quezon City on July 25, 2011.

Pacquiao shakes hands with a Special Forces Operation Course student during the 49th Special Forces Regiment anniversary at Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, north of Manila, on June 27, 2011. During the event, Pacquiao received the Honorary Special Forces Warrior Badge, and wore the exclusive Special Forces uniform popularly known as the “Tiger suit.”

Pacquiao looks toward Congressman Edcel Lagman, right, at the House of Representatives on May 18, 2011.

Pacquiao speaks at a news conference during the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines in May 2011.

Pacquiao and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid exchange flags in Washington on February 15, 2011.

Pacquiao waves as he joins hundreds of other runners in Manila on October 10, 2010, to raise funds and environmental awareness to help revive the Pasig River, a heavily polluted major waterway that cuts through the city of 12 million.

Pacquiao joins Harry Reid, a Nevada senator, on the campaign trail at the Orr Middle School in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 29, 2010, ahead of the midterm U.S. elections.

Pacquiao tries out whitewater rafting to promote tourism in his district in New La Union in Maitum, Sarangani province, on August 14, 2010.

Pacquiao attends a session of the Lower House as congressman representing his home district of Sarangani during the State of The Nation address of President Benigno “NoyNoy” Aquino on July 26, 2010.

Pacquiao listens during the turnover ceremony for the new commanding general of the Philippine army at Fort Bonifacio on July 23, 2010.

Pacquiao takes his oath of office as congressman at the provincial capitol in Alabel, Sarangani province, on June 28, 2010.

Pacquiao holds his daughter Queen Elizabeth as he talks to members of the media during his victory party for winning a seat in parliament — held jointly with her birthday celebration — at a convention center on the southern island of Mindanao on May 15, 2010.

Pacquiao celebrates with local officials during his proclamation as congressman of Sarangani province in May 2010.

Pacquiao plays billiards at his recreational center in General Santos, Mindanao, in May 2010.

Pacquiao places his ballot into a vote-counting machine in Kiamba, Sarangani province, on May 10, 2010.

Pacquiao greets supporters during a campaign rally in Kiamba in April 2010.

Pacquiao, center, greets supporters with presidential candidate Manny Villar, right, and vice-presidential candidate Loren Legarda, left, as he starts his campaign for Congress in March 2010.

Pacquiao poses with his certificate of candidacy next to his wife, Jinkee, after filing in the town of Alabel, Saragani province, on December 1, 2009.

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Pacquiao outside the ring

In these rarely seen photos, taken by Manny Pacquiao’s personal photographer James Dayap, we take a glimpse at the boxer’s training regimen for the Timothy Bradley fight in June 2012, which would become one of the most controversial bouts of his career.

Pacquiao was awarded the title “Fighter of the Decade” for the 2000s by the World Boxing Organization (WBO), World Boxing Council (WBC) and the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA).

At the age of 14, Pacquiao moved to Manila, the Philippines, and started boxing. For a time, he lived on the streets.

Pacquiao trained in Los Angeles for the welterweight title match against Bradley.

The WBO welterweight title fight was held on June 9, 2012, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The fight ended with Bradley winning a split decision that sparked controversy throughout the boxing world.

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Pacquiao in training

The girls giggle, somewhat embarrassed. I force a smile, but another patron, who hadn’t heard the quip gets up from his chair and smashed his shoe down on the husky insect.

The girls groan and the manager pretends to cry. This is too weird. Time to go. My photographer and I race through our San Miguel Lights and leave.

Bolly is there outside the door. He leads us through a labyrinth of roads and alleys. Fifteen minutes later, near the Manila port, we arrive at a strip club.

We’re seated near the front of the stage, where two girls sway in a bored dance. This time instead of the girls sitting in a line, the manager brings them to us.

More than a dozen girls in skimpy cocktail dresses line up in front of us. The manager shines a flashlight across each of their faces. He tells us to select one.

“No, that’s okay. I don’t want one,” my photographer says.

In the back, smaller than the others, I see a young girl, hiding behind the others. I can’t tell if she’s frightened or uninterested. “Her.”

The other girls part way. She hesitantly makes her way to sit beside me. She orders an ice tea. When the bill arrives, we’ll find out it cost us $22. How old are you? I ask “18,” she says.

“Really? You look younger.” She doesn’t budge. “18,”

“Do you like working here?” She looks forlornly at the stage. “Yes.”

How long have you been working? “Three months.”

Despite our best efforts, she has no interest in giving up information to two white strangers.

Editor’s note: This article is part of The Fighters, a series of reports from a full-length film that premieres on CNN International TV on May 17 and 18 at 1900 HKT; 2200 CET; 2200 ET. The documentary is a result of two years of undercover work and filming in the Philippines.

Manila, Philippines (CNN) — Manny Pacquiao is not a god, but that doesn’t stop millions of Filipinos worshipping him.

Since his first professional fight at 16, Pacquiao has amassed a formidable professional record of 54-5-2.

He is arguably the most famous person in the country’s history, a world title holder 10 times over and the first person to earn belts in eight separate weight divisions, and in 2012 was one of the highest paid athletes on earth, earning upwards of $62 million, more than Tiger Woods, Lebron James, Roger Federer and Cristiano Ronaldo.

In these rarely seen photos, taken by Manny Pacquiao’s personal photographer James Dayap, we take a glimpse at the boxer’s training regimen for the Timothy Bradley fight in June 2012, which would become one of the most controversial bouts of his career.

Pacquiao was awarded the title “Fighter of the Decade” for the 2000s by the World Boxing Organization (WBO), World Boxing Council (WBC) and the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA).

At the age of 14, Pacquiao moved to Manila, the Philippines, and started boxing. For a time, he lived on the streets.

Pacquiao trained in Los Angeles for the welterweight title match against Bradley.

The WBO welterweight title fight was held on June 9, 2012, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The fight ended with Bradley winning a split decision that sparked controversy throughout the boxing world.

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Pacquiao in training

Pacquiao: I want to be a public servant

Child advocate wants Pacquiao’s help

Ride-along on a human trafficking raid

Born in 1978 in a small village called Kibawe, Pacquiao lived with his mother and five brothers and sisters: “When I was young my parents were jobless. We had no home. Sometimes we can’t even afford to have a single meal a day,” says Pacquiao.

“When you see my slippers, one is green, one is red. And they had holes. I would walk the streets to sell, that’s how I made my living as a kid. I felt sorry for my mother. I wanted so badly to study. I stopped though and pursued boxing.”

At 14, Manny moved to Manila where he says he lived for a time under a cardboard box in a city park.

He found work as a servant for a rich man. Luckily, he was treated well, he says. When he began boxing as a teenager, he admits having to put rocks in his pockets to make the minimum weight of 105 pounds (47kg).

When he was 16, Pacquiao decided to pursue a professional boxing career. At 4’11” and weighing 98 pounds, it’s unlikely he struck much fear in those early opponents. But his fast fists and unrelenting toughness quickly earned him respect.

He gained global recognition in 2001, when as a late replacement, he beat IBF Super Bantamweight title holder Lehlohonolo Ledwaba. Pacquiao won the fight by technical knockout to win the title, his second major boxing world title.

Ten years later, I’m standing in the middle of the MGM Grand’s casino.

“Do you want to meet him?” The question came across the table from a documentary film producer, who was profiling Pacquiao.

It was May 6, 2011, the night before the champion would defend his WBO Welterweight title against Shane Mosley. The Las Vegas strip buzzed with energy, gamblers and partiers just getting started as it neared midnight. Of course, I said yes.

As we got off the elevator and walked down the hallway to his penthouse suite, I had the same feeling you might get when entering a special, reverential space. Two bodyguards flanked the door. They recognized my friend and let us pass.

I had expected a reverential, ascetic scene. A peaceful room dotted with his family and close friends speaking in hush tones, careful not to disturb their leader as he prepared to do battle in less than 24 hours.

Government: 100,000 sex workers are kids

Cecilia Flores-Oebanda is presented with The World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child by Sweden’s Queen Silvia on April 28, 2011.

Manny Pacquaio, with Oebanda, meets girls rescued from human traffickers. The girls shared their stories with Pacquaio, who also spoke at congress in support of an anti-trafficking law.

Oebanda with President Jimmy Carter at the 2008 Skoll World Forum where she recieved the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship

Oebanda meets with Desmond Tutu in 2008 while both were speaking at the Global Philanthropy Forum.

Oebanda receives the 2005 Anti-Slavery Award at Chatham House in London on November 29, 2005. The award was presented by Lord Bill Brett, director of the International Labour Organization.

Oebanda speaks before the Philippine Senate during deliberations about the Magna Carta on Domestic Workers in 2002. The legislation was designed to improve conditions for domestic workers in the country.

Oebanda attends the first Southeast Asian Consultation, meeting to draft legislation on domestic workers in 2005. The meeting was organized by the Visayan Forum.

Oebanda is seen in the late 1990′s working in poor communities of Manila with the Child Watch Network.

Oebanda’s first day outside prison, with her children on February 26, 1986. She was captured while fighting for rebel forces against the dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos.

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Anti-trafficker attracts power brokers

What I found instead was a mob. At least 100 people had packed into his hotel room. Most were Filipino well-wishers. As we tried to make our way in, someone told us Pacquiao and his wife, Jinkee, had retreated to the bedroom. We left, but I wasn’t disappointed. I figured I would soon get to know him well in Manila.

That night I had drinks with his security guard. I wanted to get to know the man I would be covering. I wanted to hear what he was like from a person who was often closest to him, his bodyguard, in an unguarded moment.

He offered little dirt. “Manny is a very nice guy. Very good to the people around him. He believes he is here for a purpose. That his rise means he has a responsibility to take his position and do something good with it.”

Pacquiao won the fight easily. I watched it from the media room. Afterwards, Pacquiao felt good enough to perform a concert at the Mandalay Bay Hotel across from the MGM Grand Casino.

He said: “I consider my experience in life as an advantage in all that I do. I was down there and I have made my way up here now. I have experienced it all. I was trained through all the hardships of life, so I feel the pain of the poor.”

In 2010, shortly after being elected as a congressman from Sarangani district, he had given a speech in which he argued the country must do more to organize and fund the efforts of anti-trafficking agencies. Immediately, he began working with the Visayan Forum, at the time, the largest anti-trafficking charity in the country.

2012: Last rites for PCs?

class=”expCaption”Who will win control of Dell?

Dell’s humble beginnings

Dell has been trying to counter losses in its PC division by shifting to enterprise solutions, which includes hardware like computer servers, software for business applications and technical support to service clients.

How self driving car changes everything

Transportation confronts its Kodak moment

The future of transportation: Global View

“I think the biggest disruption we are going to see is the drop in driver’s licensing among young people, said Doug Newcomb, former editor of Road and Track Road Gear. “I think we are really seeing a big shift in America’s love affair with the car. I talk to most young people… they are not interested in driving.”

Part of the explanation may lie in the latest driving technology. According to Paul Nunes, Director of Research at the Accenture Institute for High Performance, automatic transmission has killed the car.

Editor’s note: H. Gilbert Welch is a professor of medicine at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and a co-author of “Overdiagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health.”

(CNN) — I first saw the headline early Tuesday on Real Clear Politics, a political news site where I generally start my morning. It’s not where I expect to see a story on breast cancer.

Then I checked my e-mail messages — they all seemed to be about Angelina Jolie’s op-ed. Students in my undergraduate class wanted to discuss it in our next session. Colleagues expressed concern and wondered what the right response was. People I don’t even know sent e-mails.

One, from a research fellow at the International Agency for Research on Cancer, nicely summed up the general concern: “I fear that this disclosure will motivate other women to undergo preventive mastectomy, even though they do not need it.”

Wow. Maybe I should read it.

I did. I found it to be a moving story and understood her choice. What I couldn’t understand initially was the concern expressed by others.

As the day wore on, the story dominated the news. I didn’t fully appreciate how much Ms. Jolie is admired and respected and had neglected to consider just how powerful a celebrity personal anecdote could be.

If American women saw themselves in Angelina Jolie — then that would be a problem. Because the logical next question is: Should I get a preventive mastectomy?

Then I realized something was missing in her piece; something that should have been printed in big black letters:

NOTE: This story is not relevant to more than 99% of American women.

Angelina Jolie reveals double mastectomy

CNN anchor: I have breast cancer

Support pours in for Angelina Jolie

Why? Because more than 99% of women do not have BRCA1 — or BRCA2, for that matter.

Editor’s note: David King has a PhD in molecular biology and is the director of Human Genetics Alert, an independent watchdog group. He focuses on the ethical and social issues raised by genetics.

(CNN) — Today was a strange day. I’m used to handling the brief but overwhelming burst of media attention that comes with new stories about medical breakthroughs and ethical issues. But I don’t often get an accompanying deluge of passionate e-mails and phone calls from people who had read my comments, denouncing me for criticizing science, especially medical research that “can save millions of lives.”

There is definitely something special about this idea of “therapeutic cloning,” something that has a religious feel to it. Most of those messages come from people who have family members suffering from some of the diseases that we are told will be cured, and it’s hard to have to pour cold water on people’s hopes.