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Brazilians Call For Impeachment of President Rousseff; Pakistani Taliban Claims Deadly Attacks Against Christian Churches In Lahore; Likud Part Warns Supporters It Could Lose Tuesday's Election; The political Street Art of Tel Aviv

Aired March 15, 2015 - 11:00   ET

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

BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: Well, some news just coming in to CNN. And we are getting reports that at least two teenagers from London have been detained

in Turkey suspected of plotting to join ISIS.

Let's bring in Arwa Damon from Istanbul. Arwa, what do we know at this point?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, according to a Turkish official, on March 13 British police shared intelligence on two

young men suspected of trying to go to Syria. The official says that they were born in '96 and '97, teenagers really at this stage.

Now, at the same day that their names were given over to Turkish intelligence, on Friday Turkish intelligence managed to intercept them and

a third individual who was deemed suspicious by Turkish intelligence working at the airport's risk analysis center. They were all taken into

custody.

According to the British police, officers that had alerted the Turkish authorities and that's how they were able to intercept these men, but they

also said that their families at this stage have been kept informed of developments. They are currently in detention in Turkey still, but expect

to be deported back to the UK within the next few days.

Now Turkey is saying that it acted upon this intelligence immediately upon receiving it. (inaudible) as an example of how the country is able to take

action when intelligence is shared.

European nations have been quite critical of Turkey's inability or unwillingness to try to prevent the flow of foreign fighters crossing from

Turkey into Syria. Turkey for its part has said, look, when you give us the intelligence we are acting on it. And they are saying that at this

stage over the last few months there has been a bit more progress when it comes to intelligence sharing.

Arwa Damon on the story as we get it.

And let me just read you what we've had from Britain's metropolitan police. They say officers were informed that two 17-year-old men from London were

missing on Friday. In a statement, the Met Police said, and I quote, "inquiries revealed that had traveled with a third male aged 19. Officers

alerted the Turkish authorities who were able to intercept all three males preventing travel to Syria. They remain in detention in Turkey."

So that's the latest from the Met in the UK and also on the ground from Arwa Damon.

Well, the stage is set in Lausanne in Switzerland for what could potentially be a historic diplomatic agreement. U.S. Secretary of State

John Kerry is en route this hour. Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif touched down today. The two men will sit down in hopes of securing a deal

over Iran's nuclear program before time runs out, a self-imposed deadline of March 31 looms.

But for any deal to work, both men have to overcome opposition at home. And Republicans in the U.S. Congress are leading the charge in Washington.

And Senator majority leader Mitch McConnell had this warning for President Obama on CNN a short while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, (R) KENTUCKY: Look, the main point here I think everybody needs to understand is the president is about to make what we

believe will be a very bad deal. He clearly doesn't want congress involved in it at all. And we're worried about it. We don't think he ought to make

a bad deal with one of the worst regimes in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, for the latest out of Washington I'm joined now by CNN's Erin McPike. And it will come as no surprise to our regular viewers that

there are members of the U.S. right who are actively trying to stymie these negotiations. Today, the White House again warning the Senate to stop

interfering, insisting the deal that Kerry is negotiating will allow the U.S. to retain significant leverage with Iran.

Erin, with a self-imposed deadline of late-March, the window for a general framework, of course, is closing. Whichever way you look at it, who has

the momentum at this point?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, Becky. Let's just point out here that the White House has insisted for months that they don't want

congress to meddle in this deal. And Denns McDonough, the White House chief of staff wrote this letter to Bob Corker who chairs the Senate

foreign relations committee. He is a Republican in congress. And I want to read part of that letter to you now, because it's very interesting in

just how strong McDonough is telling Corker to back off.

He writes, "we believe that the legislation would likely have a profoundly negative impact negotiations, emboldening Iranian hardliners, inviting a

counterproductive response from the Iranian moshlis (ph), differentiating the U.S. position from our allies in the negotiations. And once again

calling into question our ability to negotiate this deal.

I would also point out that Secretary of State John Kerry has been saying that it may be that the Republicans are even wrong, that they cannot stand

in the way of an executive agreement, but congress is very much trying to get itself involved. And there are some Democrats who think this is a bad

deal too.

ANDERSON: Erin McPike is in Washington for you this evening.

Well, the U.S. has been slowly shifting away from its stand on Syria that President Bashar al-Assad must go.

In an interview with CBS News, Secretary Kerry may have delivered he last rites to that policy now that conflict there is entering its fifth year and

has hollowed Syria's population by 15 percent. He told CBS that the U.S. will have to negotiate with Assad in the end and is looking for ways to

pressure him to agree to talks.

Was this a diplomatic trial balloon?

Well, this potential new strategy as amateur video shows at least 18 people killed and 100 others wounded after Syrian war planes conducted four air

raids in the city of Douma in northern Damascus, that according to the London-based Syrian observatory for human rights.

Well, the small island nation of Vanuatu is facing an uphill battle to recover from one of the most powerful storms to ever make landfall. The

aid group Oxfam says Tropical Cyclone Pam destroyed or badly damaged nearly 90 percent of the homes of Vanuatu's capital. Six people confirmed dead,

but that number is expected to rise, I'm afraid.

Earlier, we spoke with the president there. He says his nation is in desperate need of humanitarian aid and has called on the world to pitch in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN LONSDALE, VANUATU PRESIDENT: Cyclone Pam has really devastated our whole nation of Vanuatu. So far we have six confirmed casualties, and we

have about more than 13 injuries, which they are now in the hospitals.

Buildings, especially in Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu, most of the buildings are down or damaged. Main centers in Port Vila have (inaudible)

most of the buildings are now down. That has been destroyed by cyclone.

Vanuatu is now in a state of emergency. Communications in Port Vila are slowly to be restored. And it's very difficult for me here in (inaudible)

in Japan to catch up with them in Port Vila. Telecommunications is still very, very poor.

It will be sometimes he had (inaudible) communications (inaudible) restored.

At the moment, the overall extent of the damage -- we cannot (inaudible) how much dmage has been caused to other islands. But Port Vila itself,

especially on the island of (inaudible) groups, we still need have confirmations and all the houses and whatever had been destroyed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, Vanuatu's president there speaking to CNN just a few hours ago from Japan.

Well, he says even he is having trouble communicating back home in the aftermath of this major natural disaster.

More on this at the bottom of the hour.

Well, turning to Pakistan for you now where the Taliban are claiming responsibility for deadly bombings on a Christian community in Lahore. The

attacks targeted two churches during Sunday mass, killing at least 14 people.

Witnesses say a suicide bomber blew himself up outside one of the churches after a security guard stopping him from entering. The other blast

happened a short distance away.

As journalist Michelle Stockman reports, the bombings are fueling growing Christian anger towards the government.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE STOCKMAN, JOURNALIST: 500 people in each of the churches at the time, as you said, and a time of mass at midday. And we understand that

two suicide bombers exploded their vests and at least 14 people were killed, 78 people injured among the injured worshipers and police

officials.

After the blast, street protests had broken out across the country by a Christian community who is devastated at yet another attack on their

community.

And we've seen by local media their protests in Karachi and Peshawar. Protesters were carrying crosses through the streets blocking off traffic.

And in Lahore, they were trying to jump on to the hospital gate where the injured were taken and chanting anti-government slogans. The police

eventually brought out water cannons to disperse the crowd.

Now the prime minister has come out to strongly condemn that attacks. And analysts say that the government has reached out in recent months to

Christians communities to try and help them get security at their churches and also how to create the security measures themselves. But, again, to

the Christian community here, they're feeling increasingly marginalized and targeted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Still to come tonight, protesters in the streets of Brazil call to impeach the president. How did the country that had a booming economy

and hosted the World Cup get here? We'll take a look for you.

First, though, which party is leading opinion polls ahead of Tuesday's vote in Israel. And why might that lead not matter much in the end? We're

going to take you inside Israel's complex coalition deals after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

OREN LIEBERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Israeli politics is all about where you sit in this room. This is the knesset, the Israeli parliament, the

legislative branch of the government.

And of the 120 seats here below me, the most important seat is right at the center of that U. That's the prime minister's seat. But it's all the

seats around that one that determine who gets to sit there.

Here in Israel, voters don't pick a particular politician, instead they vote for a political party. But no one party will win an outright

majority. In fact, the most successful party in the upcoming elections may win as few as 25 seats, less than a quarter.

So what happens here is that right after the elections, all of the political parties meet with the president. And they tell the president

this is who we want for prime minister, this is who we'd like to work with in the upcoming government. That person, then, has a chance to put

together a coalition government, to put together a majority of the seats here through political wheeling and dealing and trading political favors

for support.

Because of the way this works, winning the most seats doesn't guarantee if you're the next prime minister if you can't make the right deals.

Now technically, 61 seats is enough here in the knesset, but most prime ministers want more than that. They want a coalition of 65 or 66 seats just

so they have a more secure administration.

Often times in Israeli politics it can come down to one or two of the smaller parties in the upcoming election to decide which way the election

goes. Because they can sometimes have that influence, these smaller parties are called the king makers. And they determine who gets to sit in

the prime minister's seat and who doesn't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, Oren on the complex workings of the Israeli electoral system joining me now from Tel Aviv where the prime minister, current prime

minister Benjamin Netanyahu's supporters are getting ready for what is a last ditch rally. And the prime minister himself expected to speak. Who

is his audience this evening, Oren?

LIEBERMAN: Becky, this is very much a right-wing rally here. And it's a last push, a final rally here to make sure that right-wing voters are

energized and they come out -- I'm sorry, there's sound check here, so it's getting a bit loud -- but to make sure that they come out on Tuesday and

vote.

We saw a similar rally here last week when it was the left-wing that came out and sort of tried to energize their voter base and make sure that they

all came out on election day. Now it's the right's turn. They've all seen the latest election polls where Netanyahu's Likud Party was trailing by

about four seats to the main left-wing opposition, that's Isaac Herzog's Zionist Union. And they know they have to get out there.

As you just saw in the piece, what's important here is not to overtake the Zionist Union, it's important to have a strong showing, according to

Netanyahu, so he is put in charge of forming the next coalition, that's what this is all about here, energizing that right wing to make sure they

keep it close on Tuesday and have a chance to form that coalition government -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Oren, you are -- well, and just as you stop speaking -- your competition speaks as well. Let's carry on, then, see if we can get you.

As we heard in your report the figures in the polls don't necessarily indicate a victory, of course, two Israeli TV final polls, but the Zionist

Union slightly ahead of Likud, channel two of prime minister's right-wing party trailing 22 seats to 26, channel 10 has Isaac Herzog and Tzipi

Livni's center alliance -- center-left alliance taking 24 seats to Mr. Netanyahu's 20. That would be the lowest Likud has polled this election

seasons.

Neither party projected to win an outright majority, which of course raises the likelihood that Israel's political future could once against be swung

by the fringes.

So, let's talk about those likely king makers if you can hear yourself speak.

LIEBERMAN: Well, one of the parties that's most viewed as the kingmaker here -- and again I apologize it's very difficult to hear you here as they

mic check, but one of the parties that's viewed as the most important kingmakers here is a guy named Moshe Kahlon with his Kulanu Party. He's

viewed as the center here. Over the past few days we've seen Netanyahu try to court him. Netanyahu tried to bring him over to the right and that's

because of exactly where he is ideologically, exactly where Kahlon sits on the political spectrum. He's right in the middle. Both sides want him.

And because of how some of the other parties shake out, it could very much be Moshe Kahlon, the Kulanu Party, right in the middle there, that decides

who takes this election.

They're not expected to win that many seats, somewhere between eight and 10, but those eight and 10 seats out of a total of 120 could be absolutely

critical in that coalition government for either side here, Becky.

ANDERSON: Oren Lieberman is in Tel Aviv for you this evening. We're going to have more from Oren in about 20 minute's time when we go walkabout in

Israel's liberal heart, Tel Aviv, to look at some very political street art as you will see in that later report. There is a lot of anger and a lot of

disappointment in many quarters when it comes to Israel's politicians.

And the major brewing crises at home and abroad at the next prime minister, who ever that may be, will have to deal with. Our broken down in the top

five key issues on CNN.com. That is CNN.com.

Live from Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World with me, Becky Anderson.

Coming up, formerly a refugees in four years fleeing Syria's civil war. On this anniversary of the conflict, what life is like for them.

And protests in the streets of Brazil against the country's president. Could she really be impeached? Find out why demonstrators are so angry.

You're watching CNN. It is 19 minutes past 7:00 in the UAE. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: In southern Brazil, at least 41 people are dead after a bus carrying worshipers to a religious event plunged more than 300 meters into

a ravine. 12 people are injured, four of them are kids. Witnesses told local media that the driver lost control what with a curvy stretch of the

highway, but the cause of the crash is still under investigation. More on that of course as we get it.

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

Well, at this hour protesters taking to the streets in Brazil. Demonstrators are gathering in Brasilia, in Rio de Janeiro, in Sao Paulo

and dozens of other cities across the country. They are furious that the Brazilian president who is facing a stalled economy and a corruption

scandal. And they are calling for her impeachment.

So, just how did Brazil get here? Shasta Darlington with be with us shortly, but first take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It wasn't that long ago, a booming Brazil surpassed the UK as the world's sixth largest

economy, foreign investors flocked to the South American giant, its large offshore oil reserves and global sporting events.

Last October, President Dilma Rousseff won reelection in a tight runoff race.

So why have thousands of people now vowed to take to the streets in protest while the president's approval rating sinks below 25 percent?

Here is the president's take?

DILMA ROUSSEFF, BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Our country is going through some very difficult problems, but we are a country with a

solid base.

DARLINGTON: For critics, the answer is different: economic recession and political corruption.

Brazil is bracing for a protracted recession and high inflation that many blame on mismanagement during Rousseff's first presidential term.

At the same time, the state-run oil company Petrobras, once the darling of investors, is hammered by a massive corruption scandal. The highest court

is investigating dozens of politicians, most of them from the ruling coalition, as part of an alleged bribery scheme whereby construction

companies paid millions under the table for lucrative contracts with Petrobras.

Rousseff herself hasn't been implicated, but she was the chairwoman of Petrobras when much of the alleged corruption took place.

Now, many Brazilians say they'll march to demand her impeachment.

Concerns are growing we could see a repeat of the massive demonstrations of 2013.

On Thursday, Rousseff addressed those concerns.

ROUSSEFF (through translator): We have to treat protests in Brazil with complete calm. Everyone has the right to protest and to criticize whoever

it may be. There is just one thing that we cannot accept, that this turns into violence against other people or anyone's property, be it public or

private.

DARLINGTON: Impeachment is unlikely, but it's in this toxic climate the Rousseff will have to introduce austerity measures aimed at shoring up the

economy and putting it back on the path to those boom times.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, Shasta is in New York this evening. She joins you from there for more on this.

And, Shasta, at the center of much of this is a corruption scandal at Petrobras, as you rightly point out, that really goes to the very heart of

most Brazilians. And Ms. Rousseff, head of Petrobras for seven years as you rightly pointed out when much of the corruption is believed to have

taken place. She hasn't as you again rightly point out been implicated. What does she say about this issue -- before we talk about the wider

economy?

DARLINGTON: Well, Becky, she points out that it's the federal police under her -- while she's been president -- that are investigating, that are

following through. So her argument has always been we will not allow corruption. we are ensuring that all of the proper institutions have the

resources they need to carry out an investigation. And she claims that under previous governments, before her Worker's Party came to power, that

that wasn't always the case.

So she argues that she had nothing to do with it and that the proof of that is the fact that these investigations are being carried out. And this

isn't the first corruption investigation. In her first term, she also sacked a number of ministers who were implicated in a previous

investigation.

The problem is this is just snowballed. More and more people in her party in her ruling coalition have been implicated while at the same time the

economy is doing poorly.

So, you know, what we're seeing today is all of these people out on the street. And many of them are probably those who never voted for her in the

first place, but they're being joined by others who are frustrated with the economy and the fact that more and more corruption is being revealed,

Becky.

ANDERSON: Well, she fought a good fight, of course, and won a second term as president late last year when the economy was in equally as poor a

state.

As you point out, many of her detractors will be out on the streets. But how many more are joining them? We're looking at some 62 cities across the

country where protests have at least been called for. How many people do you expect out on the streets? And just exactly who are they?

DARLINGTON: Well, Becky, they're -- the organizers are saying they'll get 100,000 out on the streets today. We'll see. They've already kicked off

in dozens of cities, including the capital Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro where tens of thousands gathered on Copa Cabana Beach. And what you'll see is

they're carrying the Brazilian flag, wearing the national colors, and singing the national anthem.

Now this, of course, was organized with the idea that they're demanding the impeachment of the president, but it was largely organized by right-wing

and center-right groups and parties and sectors of society, again those who never voted for Dilma Rousseff in the first place.

So what we're kind of seeing is a breakdown that we saw during the elections where the country is really being divided along particularly

class and geographic lines, where the poorer sectors, and the poorer regions of the country tended to vote for Rousseff -- and they were out in

a separate march on Friday, by the way -- and the wealthier tend to vote -- they voted for other parties, and they're now out on the streets today.

I should be clear that there are plenty of crossovers and people who are getting more and more frustrated.

But if we do get those numbers that they're talking about, it will be significant that not only are that many people out on the street, but they

feel this strongly about it, that they're willing to go out there.

And again, so far they've been peaceful, which is good. That means their message won't be undermined. And it also means that hopefully we won't see

those kinds of clashes in violence that we did see back in 2013, Becky.

ANDERSON: Well, Brazil amongst your latest world news headlines, which are just ahead.

Shasta, thank you.

Plus, Syria's civil war entered its fifth year this month. Ahead, life for the millions of people who have fled the fighting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: You're watching Connect the World with me Becky Anderson. The top stories this hour for you here on CNN.

Three British teenagers are now being questioned in London after they were detained in Istanbul in Turkey. They've been arrested on suspicion of

preparation of terrorist acts and are suspected of trying to cross into Syria to join ISIS. Officials say they investigation is ongoing.

Brazilians are taking to the streets in major cities across the country. They are angry at President Dilma Rousseff. They're even calling for her

impeachment over frustration over the stalled economy and a corruption scandal that's boiling over there.

Two bombings targeting a Christian community in the Pakistan city of Lahore have killed at least 14 people. The blast erupted at different churches

during Sunday mass. The Pakistani Taliban are claiming responsibility.

And the Paris kosher super market that at the center of a hostage siege in January has reopened. Amedy Coulibaly killed four people inside the store

before he was shot and killed by police. His attack came after two gunmen assaulted the offices of the French magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Well, the president of Vanuatu is asking for international aid to help his nation recover from a devastating cyclone. This is just a glimpse of the

destruction left by Cyclone Pam. The storm ripping through the South Pacific country late Friday into early Saturday.

Well, CNN's Ivan Cabrera has been following the storm and the devastation it's left in its wake. And Ivan, the brunt of this storm, I know, may be

over, but the damage again reminding us of the devastation, an actual phenomenon like this, can leave in its wake.

IVAN CABRERA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, no question about it. And you actually said a glimpse of what has been happening there. And that is

absolutely correct. I don't think that we have yet found some of the remote islands and some of the damage that has had to have happened because

of those winds. And so it's going to take awhile to get the help to those people that desperately need it, but I think we're going to talk about

villages that have been just wiped away unfortunately because of the storm.

Let's show you some of the pictures and then we'll update you on the tropical cyclone here and where it is and where it's headed.

Look at these images coming in. Again, when you talk about Vanuatu, yes there are some concrete structures and that's where the journalists were

and that's where a lot of people evacuated to, but there are some islands where we don't have concrete structures. There are some islands where

people could not get out of the way and they just basically had to hunker down and hope for the best. And we are hoping for the best for them,

because my goodness 300 plus kilometer per hour winds. That is hard to survive in a major city, in just a concrete building let alone when you're

talking about folks that are exposed like that.

Back on the map, it's 120 kilometer per hour winds. We're done with the storm as far as the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. This is the final

advisory. Not to say that New Zealand won't get gusty winds. I think for places like Gisburg (ph) here across the Bay of Plenty. Auckland still

seeing some gusty winds, but the worst of the storm is now pushing to your east.

So, certainly nothing like what they saw in Vanuatu, which as I mentioned, 325 kilometer per hour winds. And that being the equivalent of a category

5 storm that has never happened, that has never happened in Vanuatu. So this is a historic event that is underway.

And take a look at some of the rainfall here, although that not the worst of it. It was the wind, Becky, and it was the storm surge, which would

likely be several meters and coming in very quickly.

So at this point, we are done with our tropical cyclone. This is the last advisory on Pam, thankfully, now sparing for the most part the North Island

of New Zealand -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Ivan, thank you for that.

If you want to help the people, viewers, in Vanuatu, devastated by Cyclone Pam, you can use the website CNN.com/impact. And you will have seen this

before, you'll find a list of organizations who are there on the ground at CNN.com/impact. Do use that if you can help.

Well, Iraqi forces continue their operation to reclaim the city of Tikrit from ISIS militants, but it is the city of Ramadi that has been under a

major ISIS offensive the past few days. A double suicide attack there killed two members of the Iraqi special forces.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: According to senior officials in Anbar Province, at least two suicide bombers attacked a

building used by Iraqi security forces in the city of Ramadi. According to the deputy head of the provincial council in Anbar, he says that this

building -- he described it as strategic. He said that security forces use it for monitoring and also as an outpost used by snipers. He said the

eight story building was attacked by these two bombers driving bulldozers.

Now the first bomber, he said on Saturday, struck the concrete barriers around the building opening up the way allowing the second suicide bombers

to strike the building and flattened the whole building.

Now this is the latest in a series of attacks that we've seen taking place in Ramadi over the past few days, starting with that offensive carried out

by ISIS on Wednesday, a complex and coordinated attack using multiple suicide car bombs and also more than 150 mortars striking the city

according to officials there.

Now for months, ISIS have been trying to gain control of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, this vast desert province, predominately Sunni,

that most of that province is under the control of ISIS.

Officials say as ISIS is coming under pressure by the Iraqi forces in Tikrit, it is striking back in Ramadi, sending a message that the group

remains strong and is capable of carrying out deadly attacks against the security forces and the Iraqi government.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, Syrians have now seen four years of bloody conflict. It is a grim anniversary of that country today. Peaceful protests began March

15 in 2011. On that day, thousands of Syrians started calling for Bashar al-Assad to step down. He steadfastly refused.

Well, fighting and violence soon escalated. Human rights groups estimate the conflict has claimed more than 220,000 lives and forced nearly 4

million Syrians to flee the country.

While the UN and others have been unable to broker peace, opposition forces have become increasingly split, as you know, between dwindling numbers of

mainstream Islamists and jihadist fighters with links to ISIS and to al Qaeda well, the conflict now affecting the stability of neighboring

countries, including Iraq and Lebanon of course.

Well, life is not easy for those who have chosen to flee Syria's four year civil war. Here is a look at their journey.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More than 3,800 Syrians have fled across the border here to Turkey, running for their lives.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what is life here life?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Life is bad here. No water, no food, no home. There is disease. Children get ill.

DAMON: Crammed together six families, their feet caked in mud, mothers trying to provide their children what comfort they can.

WATSON: This was the town's main hospital. It was hit, locals say, by war planes on December 31, one of several civilian targets to be pounded by

air strikes in just the last couple of weeks.

DAMON: So we're just right now on the very edge of this makeshift camp. And you can see these crude tents that people have strung up for shelter.

It has just started to rain now. It's just a plastic tarp.

WATSON: There are around 7,000 refugees living in freezing tents like this on the edge of Syria waiting to be allowed into Turkey. And they are but a

fraction of the hundreds of thousands of refugees living outside Syria as well as many more displaced inside Syria itself.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The monitors are trying to shout out to the soldiers on the other side of the front line there to

clear the road, to clear the barricade. It's clearly a road that's not used often now. The soldiers over there seem to be very nervous.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The shelling and the air raids on the rebel-controlled parts of Aleppo means that any building

anywhere in this part of the city could be hit at any time. In fact, this building was hit just 20 minutes ago.

DAMON: "They fell in that area," 11-year-old Dee (ph) points to where artillery from Syria slammed into the hillside in northern Lebanon.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, there's not many places in the world where you can feel how fierce and intense fighting

was if you go there after the fact.

But Babr Amr is certainly one of those places.

DAMON: That village on the hilltop over there, that is Syria, the actual border, it's even closer to us. Under normal circumstances, refugees would

never be settled this near to a border, this near to a front line, but they had no other options.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Lebanon has been absorbing refugees for nearly two years now. Winter is setting in and

fighting is picking up around Damascus, sending more people across the border. The country simply can't take any more.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, interesting, eh?

And today, the U.S. secretary of state into its fifth year now this conflict. The U.S. secretary of state says that the U.S. will have to eal

with Assad and negotiate with him in the end.

Have your say, let's find out what you think about that story and others. CNN Connect the World wants to hear from you. Facebook.com/CNNConnect.

You can have your say that way or @BeckyCNN. That is @BeckyCNN. You can always tweet me.

Well, in tonight's Parting Shots, we take you back to Israel and straight to the streets of Tel Aviv for a look at some of the city's political

street art. As you might expect, just days before a closely fought vote, much of the graffiti takes aim at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but

not all of it as Oren Lieberman now reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIEBERMAN: Is there a sense what difference this makes, this street art makes?

GUY SHARETT, TEL AVIV STREET LINGUIST, STREETWISE: I think that for many Israelis, they just pass in the street in their busy life. Not everybody

stops to smell the flowers. But sometimes you get it in osmosis.

We see the leaders of the big -- the politicians, the Israeli politicians today, almost all the map of the whole map of the Israeli politics. And

then they are standing on what we call in Hebrew "pompas" (ph).

LIEBERMAN: A plunger in English.

SHARETT: A plunger, exactly.

LIEBERMAN: A toilet plunger.

SHARETT: A toilet plunger, not very -- not very nice, in a way, the connotation.

LIEBERMAN: This isn't pro or anti-any politician, this looks to me just to be anti-politicians, all of them.

SHARETT: I think it captures what many Israelis feel that like we're fed up of this. We're fed up of wars, but we're also fed up with these people

selling us dreams and hopes that in the end, you know, it doesn't happen. We're still stuck in this limbo here.

And Benjamin Netanyahu is here, but he's not that prominent in the composition. I don't see that he's like Jesus in the Last Supper or

something like that.

So this is Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and she's showing things in different places in the city.

There were issues about the expenses of their residents. And they made a clip with mister kind of a TV home fixer. They invited him over and showed

him the cracks, and actually it's not that fancy and it's dilapidated and shabby.

So, people were really mad at it -- lots of them -- because they did not show the second floor, which is more swanky. And they made Sara Netanyahu

showing things. And some places she showsa homeless person on a bench. In some places just like here nothing.

LIEBERMAN: Politics changes so fast in Israel and yet these pieces of art change even faster. They're so culturally sensitive that that's how fast

they move.

SHARAETT: Yeah. And you have to know the context. You have to know who this guy is, against Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel.

Stay hungry, stay foolish. I think lots of people feel that the government prefers us not to know stuff. So we cannot contest what they say.

For example, money that goes to government, you need to know how to get the information. Staying foolish means to get only news from the newspaper.

And hungry, I guess also when you're poor and you're hungry and you need to look for food in the rubbish like here, you don't have time to deal with

protests.

LIEBERMAN: Oren Lieberman, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: In Tel Aviv.

I'm Becky Anderson, that was Connect the World from the UAE. From the team here, a very good evening.

END