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Connect the World

Dutch, Russian Investigators Offer Contradictory Reports on MH17; A Preview of Democratic Party's First Presidential Debate; Former Saudi Intelligence Minister Questions Russia's Involvement in Syria; Addis Ababa's Housing Boom; The Missing iPhone that Showed up in Yemen. Aired 11:00a-12:00p ET

Aired October 13, 2015 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:10] BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: Shot out of the sky over eastern Ukraine. We're learning new details about doomed flight MH17. But

questions remain about who fired the missile that brought the plane down. We're going to give you an update on that up next.

Also ahead...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The consequences of it are not clear. We don't know what Russian intentions are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: I sit down with Saudi Arabia's veteran diplomat Prince Turki al-Faisal. His warning to Russia as Moscow ramps up military action

in Syria.

And...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I sit down with them. I talk to them. I hear their stories. And mostly I actually try to inspire them by telling them

my story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Refugees arriving in Austria get a helping hand from volunteers from all walks of life. One woman knows what they are going

through. She's Fatima, originally from Iraq, now thriving in Austria, and determined to inspire others with her story.

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

ANDERSON: Very good evening from the UAE. It's one minute past 7:00 or so.

We begin with the investigation into the downing of flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine. 15 months after the plane was shot down, the Dutch safety

board confirmed what has long been suspected, (inaudible) brought the plane down over territory controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

Now, a 298 people on board, you will recall, were killed.

Investigators say the missile blew up outside the cockpit immediately killing three crew members, here you can see reconstruction of the plane.

And investigators say the missile likely Russian made, but Russian officials are challenging the findings.

Well, for some analysis, let's bring in Jill Dougherty from Moscow. She's a research fellow at the International Center for Defense and

Security. Jill, it seems at least that it may have been Russian made (inaudible) fired from eastern Ukraine bringing down that plane. What we

still don't know is who fired it. No blame apportioned, at least not yet - - correct?

JIL DOUGHERTY, INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR DEFENSE AND SECURITY: Correct. And that really wasn't the responsibility of this safety board.

Their responsibility was to find out how it happened, and there were some other questions involved, one of them really key why was that plane flying

in that particular space when you had a conflict zone below?

So those are some of the main things. So, going through them, they do believe -- they say according to this -- the indications that they have

coming from the evidence, the physical evidence and everything else, that there was a missile, a BUQ missile, which is manufactured by Russia, that

exploded very close to the cockpit, killed the crew, the pilots I should say, and then brought down the plane, that it was fired from the eastern

part of Ukraine, they're not saying who was in control of that area at that point, and then also, they say, Ukraine should have closed that airspace,

that it was simply too dangerous and they should have realized out of caution they should have done it.

Now, Becky, at the same time, in fact just a couple of hours before, you had the Russian company that manufactures the BUQ missile saying almost

a complete reverse, saying that that missile came up -- it should have, according to their modeling, mathematical modeling, it should have come on

the right side of the plane and that it came from areas controlled by the Ukrainian military.

And they also say that that missile was not in the inventory of the Russian armed forces, that it was kind of an older one from 1986, and so

the Russians didn't have it and presumably the rebels wouldn't either.

So, you can see what's happening. You know, Russia is not accepting this report. It's been undermining a lot of even the preliminary

indications of what would be in that report.

ANDERSON: All right.

Jill Dougherty is in Moscow for you. We're going to carry on with a little bit more on that story, but I do want to get to United Nations where

the Ukrainian foreign minister is holding a news conference. I'm sorry, it's not that. We are waiting on that as well.

As we mentioned, Israel's cabinet has been holding an emergency meeting to discuss the growing tensions and violence there. A couple of

things going on this hour, as you can tell.

Let's get you live to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

(ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER CONFERENCE)

[11:10:13] ANDERSON: All right, you've been listening to Benjamin Netanyahu holding a press conference after a cabinet meeting saying that

leaders need courage to stand up to extremists. He said we believe in coexistence. It's easy to break the ties that keep us together. Don't be

tempted, he said.

This after, well, really quite a chaotic day. Israel considering new emergency security measures to try to stem the worst outbreak of violence

in years.

Police say at least three people were killed today in what was a new wave of stabbings, shootings and car ramming attacks by alleged Palestinian

assailants. Two of the attacks. Let's bring up a map, please, if we can. Two of these attacks happened in Jerusalem including the deadliest of the

day. Police say two men armed with a knife and gun attacked passengers on a bus killing two.

To the west, and I will get you a map, I promise you viewers, Israeli police say two stabbings occurred around Ranana (ph), a city near Tel Aviv.

They say another stabbing attack happened south of Tel Aviv in a town of Halon (ph).

So, as this map sort of struggles to keep up with me, let's get you to Ben Wedeman who is live in Bethlehem for you tonight in the West Bank.

Just describing what has been another, you know, very disturbing and chaotic day. And we have just heard from the Israeli prime minister. Your

thoughts on what he said.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We heard him say yet again that the Palestinian Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian

president as well as Hamas and the Islamic Movement of Israel. He said they are guilty of incitement behind this violence. This is something

we've heard from him before.

But what is not being heard a real sort of ways to deal with this violence. Keep in mind, Becky, that for instance back in 2004, 2005 Israel

built its so-called separation barrier, that helped to a large extent to stop suicide bombings. Israel has installed its Iron Dome system that

stops missiles from being fired out of Gaza, but what they don't have in place is a system to stop individuals self-motivated so far with no obvious

connections to any group, whether it's Fatah, Hamas, or Islamic Jihad from engaging in this spate of attacks that has really sent a wave of terror

among ordinary Israelis, especially the residents of Jerusalem.

And we've heard that -- you know, we've seen, for instance, opinion polls saying that 73 percent of Israelis polled are either dissatisfied or

strongly dissatisfied with the prime minister's handling of this current outbreak of violence. And it doesn't appear at this point that he's been

able to come up with any clear way to deal with it, because it's very difficult, as I said, to stop somebody who for whatever personal, political

reasons goes on these rampages as we saw so vividly today in Jerusalem.

ANDERSON: Ben, briefly, the prime minister promised, some might say threatened, if they are not of his ilk, tougher security measures. What

happens next?

WEDEMAN: Well, they're talking about the possibility of sealing off certain neighborhoods in east Jerusalem.

For instance, Jebl Muqabra (ph), a neighborhood in East Jerusalem where three of the attackers from today come from. And we've seen in the

past that they have demolished the houses of the attackers.

They're talking about imposing stronger penalties or punishments on the families, or the parents of minors who engage in these attacks, but

it's still -- but the problem is you're getting into this cycle whereby, for instance, here in Bethlehem we've had some very violent clashes going

on today. And apparently a 27-year-old Palestinian man from this town was killed. And there's going to be a funeral, the funeral will be followed by

a protest, which will be followed by clashes, which very well could end, result in the death of more people.

So, people are getting killed on both sides. Both sides are feeling the pain, but there's not much in the way of mutual understanding or

looking at the real causes of this current outbreak of violence. It's very much a focus on what's going on in a given day -- Becky.

[11:15:12] ANDERSON: Ben Wedeman is in Bethlehem for you this evening. Thank you, Ben.

Still to come on this show tonight, inching ever closer, Iran's parliament makes a decision on the nuclear deal with the west. We've got

the latest on what is this historic agreement up next.

And U.S. Democrats seeking the White House gets their turn under the white hot spotlight. We take you live to Las Vegas for a preview of

tonight's CNN debate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. 18 minutes past 7:00 in the UAE. This is Connect the World with me Becky Anderson on CNN. And this historic nuclear

deal between Iran and world powers has cleared what is a major hurdle. Iran's parliament has given it the green light, but there may still be

obstacles ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Approved. With that, the Iranian parliament passed a bill allowing the government of President Hassan Rouhani to implement a nuclear

deal agreed with six world powers in July.

161 Iranian MPs voted in favor of the motion in Tuesday's session with 59 against and 13 abstentions. 40 lawmakers didn't attend the session.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had called on the parliament to approve or reject the deal before it was implemented.

And in a country with deep political divisions, debate over the merits of the bill, and by extension the nuclear deal itself, was tense.

Observers believe that the MPs opposed to the deal wanted to delay implementation in an effort to undermine President Rouhani's key foreign

policy success. The government has spent a lot of political capital and two years negotiating a deal that would curb Iran's nuclear program in

return for the lifting of international sanctions that have battered the Iranian economy.

The bill will now be passed to the 12 member guardian council for final approval before it becomes law.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[11:20:40] ANDERSON: Well, for now, the Iranian government and its backers at home will celebrate overcoming a major obstacle to putting the

nuclear agreement into practice, which they hope will revitalize the country's ailing economy and end what has been its decades-long

international isolation. That is Iran for you.

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

Coming up, Russia's role in Syria is growing to the disapproval of regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia. We speak to one of the most senior

members of the Saudi Royal family on why it matters.

And we head to Ethiopian bustling capital Addis Ababa where a housing shortage is causing concern for government and businesses alike and

sparking what are some creative solutions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN DEFTERIOS, EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Building, paving and construction: Addis Ababa is growing and growing fast. High end apartments

and tall glass buildings are rising up where shacks once stood.

And a new metro line cuts through the city, just another symbol of development in the Ethiopian capital, but with rapid progress comes new

challenges.

[11:25:02] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, one of the critical new challenges to the government is the lack of houses.

DEFTERIOS: In 2011, the UN said the capital needed 300,000 new homes. The government says it is making progress.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is one of the largest sites of the housing construction projects. And this site we have more than 10,000 house units.

And we are expecting to house about more than 50,000 people here.

DEFTERIOS: Urban renewal projects like this are sprouting up all over the city. This is one of the newest, costing around $4 million. Once

completed, it will house nearly 3,000 people.

Yet, despite these developments, some say the government can't keep up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They figured out very fast that this can't be solved by those, let's say, governmental programs. Therefore, they are

looking more and more to new approaches, new technology, alternatives where the people are involved and placed in.

DEFTERIOS: Professor Dirk Doneth (ph) of Bahaus University (ph) in Germany has been working with the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture.

Together, they've been coming up with more innovative ways to plug the housing gap.

This structure in the middle of the city is one of their more successful developments. It's cheap to build and multipurpose.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here, we need the house to raise the income level of each household. So each house is not a house, it's a house plus where

people can, let's say, generate income from the house itself.

DEFTERIOS: Brook Techlehaminat (ph) is the architect behind the concept. He believes that shelter alone is not enough. There needs to be

social mobility as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need houses like this, because building a house is extremely expensive. And then the fact construction method that we use

has to be easily adaptable by the house building himself or herself so that they can in due time you know learn the technology, which is very easy to

adapt. And then in due course, they start -- they finish the house by themselves.

The key issue here is it's also very important issue is for this prototypes can exist within the existing urban fabric, in the urban tissue.

You don't have to destroy anything to build this house.

DEFTERIOS: Building homes for future generations is what Brooke (ph) wants. Same for the government. And it's what Addis Ababa needs.

John Defterios, One Square Meter, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:31:09] ANDERSON: You're watching CNN. Bottom of the hour at least in the UAE. This is Connect the World with me Becky Anderson. The

top stories for you this hour.

Dutch investigators say a Russian made missile brought down Malaysian Airlines flight 17 over Ukraine. The Dutch Safety Board has just released

its finding from a 15 month probe of the crash that killed 298 people. But the company that makes the missiles, as well as Russian officials, dispute

this account.

The Israeli government is considering new security measure to try and count the escalating violence between Palestinians and Israelis. At least

three people were killed in multiple attacks on Tuesday.

Turkey is still on edge following Saturday's bombing in Ankara. Earlier, a bomb squad was deployed near the capital's main train station, a

controlled explosion was carried out on a suspicious package, which turned out to be a false alarm.

British Prime Minister David Cameron is planning to intervene in the case of Carl Andre (ph) who faces 360 lashes in Saudi Arabia. The 74-year-

old was caught with homemade wine in his car. His family say they are worried the lashes could kill him. The spokesman says Prime Minister

Cameron is writing a letter to the Saudi government.

You're looking at live pictures of the stage in Las Vegas where U.S. Democrats running for president will face off in the campaign season's

first debate in a matter of hours. My colleague Anderson Cooper will be the moderator. Front-runner Hillary Clinton will be at the center podium.

She'll be surrounded by four other candidates, perhaps five is there is a last minute announcement from Joe Biden.

CNN's Jim Acosta joins us now.

And despite being dogged by controversy, not least that of Benghazi, this is, Jim, Hillary Clinton's to lose surely tonight at least with the

lineup as advertised, correct?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Becky.

And just to get one thing out of the way, it's not in the cards for Vice President Joe Biden to be here tonight in Las Vegas. The White House

has already said he'll be in Washington today. He's not coming to Las Vegas for this debate.

But you're right, this is a big moment for Hillary Clinton. Remember, she has not been involved in a debate like this since 2008 when she was

squaring off with Barack Obama. And there are already signs that she's starting to look past her Democratic competition and towards the Republican

field.

After she landed here in Las Vegas last night, she went right over to a big labor protest that was taking place outside of Donald Trump's hotel

here in Las Vegas. She joined that protest. She made some remarks, said it's not entertaining to insult women and minorities, as she said. And he

was really going after Donald Trump instead of her other Democratic opponents in this field.

But her advisers say that he strategy at this point is to, you know, because they're well aware of the controversy regarding Benghazi, the

controversy regarding her use of a private email account when she was secretary of state, she wants to cut through all of that noise and start

talking about the issues that she cares about, that she thinks Democratic voters want to hear her talking about, because they know that those

controversies have really damaged her standing in the polls to the benefit of Bernie Sanders.

The independent Vermont Senator who Caucuses with Democrats, self- described Socialist, he has really captured the imagination of the progressive left, of the Democratic Party. He's doing quite well. He had

a crowd of 13,000 people in Tuscon, Arizona just the other day. And so it could be a boisterous crowd for Bernie Sanders here in this debate ball

later on tonight.

But Bernie Sanders' advisers, what they're saying is that they want him to sort of come across as presidential. They know the knock on Bernie

Sanders inside the Democratic Party is that we like Bernie Sanders, we like some of his ideas, but he's never going to be President of the United

States, that's what a lot of Democrats say.

So, Bernie Sanders wants to have his ideas accepted as being mainstream, as being serious. And so that will be tested tonight.

And for these other candidates, Becky, Martin O'Malley, the former governor of Maryland, Lincoln Chafee, the former governor of Rhode Island,

Jim Webb the former Virginia Senator, they've really struggled to gain any kind of traction in the polls and so what they want to do is have one of

those breakout moments, and all they have to do is look into the last GOP debate on CNN when you had Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina. They had some big

breakout moments and those moments translated into larger poll numbers.

So, for Hillary Clinton it's sort of do no harm, try to stay on top, but maybe don't look too past that Democratic field just yet. She hasn't

gotten through this contest of Democratic caucuses and primaries. She would like to go after Donald Trump, but she just can't do it just yet.

[11:35:35] ANDERSON: Yeah, all right. Well, let's see whether we get anything of substance on the issues that may count for our international

viewers. That foreign policy, of course, being perhaps the most important.

Jim, thank you.

Don't miss the Democratic debate happening right here on CNN. Our live coverage from Las Vegas starts at 1:00 a.m. London time. You can

catch the replay later Wednesday at noon in London. We'll also air that again at 8:00 p.m., 9:00 in Central European Time, that's at 11:00 here in

the UAE.

Russia's military action in Syria has alarmed many around the world, particularly in this region, none perhaps more so than Saudi Arabia.

While, Russia backs the Assad government, Saudi Arabia is supporting the other side of the conflict, or perhaps other sides, providing some

Sunni rebels with weapons and funds in their fight against al-Assad.

In Russia -- in Syria, Russia is aligned with Iran, a staunch opponent of the Saudi government.

So, what do the Saudis make of Russia's recent moves in Syria? Well, I put that to Prince Turki al Faisal, the former head of Saudi

intelligence. This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TURKI AL FAISAL, FRM. HEAD OF SAUDI INTELLIGENCE: I think it's a mistaken step.

ANDERSON: Why?

AL FAISAL: Because the consequences of it are not clear. We don't know what Russian intentions are. They say they want to fight terrorism,

that's fine. But they didn't choose to coordinate and did it unilaterally. And the way they've done it made it appear to be that

they're there to help Assad sustain himself in power when he was losing power.

The uncertainty about where that is going is what makes me say that it is a mistaken step.

ANDERSON: If you were still in public office, still running the intelligence services, and had an opportunity to speak to President Putin,

what would your message be?

AL FAISAL: My message would be to Putin don't make enemies of 1.25 billion Muslims who have come to see Russia as supporting the most brutal

and bloodthirsty regime in recent times in Syria. That identification will not help Russia either maintain a position in the area, or keep Russia safe

from retaliation.

Russia has a sizable Muslim community. To think that bombing and siding with Assad is going to keep terrorists from those areas in Syria, I

think, is mistaken. Inevitably some of them will want to go back and take up arms against the government that is seen to be helping Bashar al-Assad.

The other thing I would say to the Russians is what brings you with a theocratic imperially ambitious government like Iran's to interfere in the

affairs of Arab states that they are interfering and to put your hands in their hands when they are inciting unrest and sectarian differences in the

Arab world?

ANDERSON: Will you concede that at this stage there is an opportunity to do business with Russia and Iran, Saudi Arabia's classic foe, in order

to help stabilize this region?

AL FAISAL: We have dealt with Iran and reached out to Iran throughout the past 30 years since the revolution and it is only in recent years that

Iranian expansion of its interference in Arab affairs that has given us pause as to where our relationship with Iran is.

And therefore, continually we pressed Iran not only to talk about what we disagree about, but to do something about it. And there has never been

any hesitation on the part of the kingdom to talk either publicly to Iran or privately.

[11:40:23] ANDERSON: At a time when it could be useful for Saudi and Iran to start talking, they've had the awful incident of Hajj. Do you

concede that Saudi Arabia made mistakes and that the subsequent rhetoric, the ratcheting up of rhetoric was as a result of those mistakes and that

more perhaps could be done, possibly an apology for example?

AL FAISAL: This is an enormous event that happened in the most sacred spot in the Muslim world. And the kingdom has never shirked its

responsibility either to provide the best services to the pilgrims or if things happened there to reach the clearest and the most transparent

reporting on what happened.

Let us wait for the report to come out before we reach any conclusions.

But not to sensationalize the issue and try to use it politically, because we have political disagreements between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, Saudi Arabia's Turki al Faisal speaking to me here in Abu Dhabi.

Live from the UAE, this is Connect the World. Coming up, the train of hope: volunteers in Vienna are helping thousands of refugees every day as

soon as they pull into the station. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:45:07] ANDERSON: You're with CNN. Connect the World with me Becky Anderson. Welcome back. Quarter to eight here in the UAE. It's

always been difficult to begin a new life far from home surrounded by unfamiliar faces, but the challenge is even tougher for refugees struggling

to overcome hardship and immense loss. Some Austrian volunteers are trying to ease the process for thousands of people arriving in Vienna every day.

They call their organization the train of hope.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FATIMA AL MUQTAR, TRAIN OF HOPE: I sit down with them. I talk to them. I hear their stories and mostly I actually try to inspire them by

telling them my story.

My name is Fatima al Muqtar. I'm originally from Iraq. I moved to Austria in 2006. I know how it is to be in a foreign land where you don't

know the language, where you don't know the people. And I just wanted to make that easier for them through my Arabic skills and my German skills.

I started with Train of Hope from the very beginning. I actually went there because I know exactly how these refugees are feeling. This is why I

would like to give back because I got so much from Austria, because I was all alone and with my brother and it was very difficult, but people here

were very welcoming.

GEORGE GASHAUER (ph), TRAIN OF HOPE: My name is George Gashauer (ph). I'm the transport coordinator at the Trains of Hope. We pretty much are

the first contact with the refugees in Austria. So people come over the border and what we try to do is we provide them with as much empathy as

possible at the same time providing them with information, legal advice. We provide them with medical aid if they need it. We provide them with a

missing persons service. And we also provide them with food and shelter.

We have so many different dynamics working here. You have everything from conservative Muslims working together with radical anarchists. You

have Catholics working together with transgenders and gays. You have Syrians working together with Afghanis.

AL MUQTAR: At the beginning it's very difficult to earn their trust, because they've been through a lot and they learned not to trust people

very easily, especially through their journey in Hungary, most of them. And so it takes me awhile. Sometimes I just have to sit down with them and

joke around first and play with their children, so we can break that barrier.

GASHAUER (ph): Austria traditionally is seen in the wider media image as a very right-wing conservative, very conservative attitude towards

migration. When you speaking to a lot of the people here, I think they're trying to show to Vienna and to Austria and to themselves that there is a

completely different side to Austria, that it's a very open-minded society, that anyone can come and join.

AL MUQTAR: I've been through a lot myself. I wish that there were some people at Train of Hope who took care of me when I was going through

all these things, and I wish that someone there would have heard my story.

Refugees and people who are from different countries and from Muslim countries can actually be a success in other countries, it's just a matter

of language barrier and culture barrier that can be broken very easily from both parts.

What's been going on right now and they're saying that it's -- there are way too many people. I don't believe that. I mean, we -- this is our

duty towards humanity, this is our duty as humans. We have to take care of each other when its going bad somewhere else. And it can easily be us

someday and then we might need their help, and it goes like that. We're all living in one place. There shouldn't be any boundaries and any borders

and anything keeping us from saving each other.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Live from Abu Dhabi, his is Connect the World.

Coming up, the mobile phone that literally went mobile. You've got to see this. A woman's phone got lost in New York and ended up in Yemen.

How, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:52:30] ANDERSON: Well, in tonight's Parting Shots this is one of the most remarkable stories I've heard in a very long time. It is the

story of the mobile phone that literally went mobile. A woman in the United States lost her iPhone. And when it resurfaced it was sending her

startling images from war torn Yemen. My colleague Mara Walker (ph) has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARA WALKER (ph), JOURNALIST: An image of a child smiling with a gun, another with this girl cradling an assault rifle.

The day these photos appeared on Maura's iCloud account was the day she called the FBI. But these photos are not the place where Maura's (ph)

curious story begins, it actually starts in the Hamptons just east of New York. After a long night out, Maura couldn't find her phone. CNN isn't

using her last name to help protect her identity.

Maura opened the Find My iPhone app and soon found her wayward device not far away in New York City's Harlem.

Maura tried to call the phone with no luck. It vanished from the tracking map and she gave up on it completely until she got a tracking

alert from an unlikely place.

MAURA, OWNER OF MISSING IPHONE: I couldn't quite believe the little phone made it all the way to Yemen.

WALKER (ph): The same Yemen where more than 2,300 civilians have died in the last six months due to ongoing and brutal conflict.

And if the mere fact that Maura's phone was in Yemen wasn't strange enough, new photos began streaming into her iCloud. Men posing with

Jambia's (ph) in their belt, curved daggers, essential to any tribesman's wardrobe. Notes written in Arabic.

MAURA: But there were a few pictures that came in with -- that showed young children holding sort of -- what looked to me to be big guns. So I

found that a little alarming initially. Just, it's not something you see every day.

WALKER (ph): Maura's family contacted the FBI just in case.

Maura got in touch with a journalist friend, Will McGrath, who detailed her account in The Atlantic Monthly.

An initial wave of confusion and alarm slowly turned into fascination.

WILL MCGRATH, JOURNALIST: You know, some of the pictures that were showing up on the phone or things written into the phone, you know, turned

out to be love poetry or you know a prayer or pictures of, you know, this kid posing at a construction site. They seemed like things that I probably

did as a teenager as well.

[11:55:02] WALKER (ph): Maura had access to a peculiar portal, seemingly looking through a key hole into the world of a family halfway

around the globe in Yemen.

MCGRATH: You know, the more time we spent with the pictures, it seemed like you start to see some things that are pretty universal. You

know, you see families hugging each other, you see people taking pictures of their food and their dinner, you know, like might show up on any

American's Instagram feed.

WALKER (ph): Then, without warning, the photos stopped, the notes ceased. The phone, the portal, went silent.

MCGRATH: It's quite likely that the phone broke, it's -- you know, electricity right now in Yemen is very touch and go. So it's quite likely

that the people who are taking the photos simply don't even have electricity or internet access.

WALKER (ph): There was no way to know, no matter why the photos stopped. For Maura and McGrath, the images and notes humanized a distant

unfamiliar place. Yemen may be mired in conflict, but people still took photos of their families, and a picture doesn't always tell the whole

story.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, you can follow the stories that the team is working on throughout the day by using the Facebook page, Facebook.com/CNNConnect.

If you are a regular viewer you will know that. And you will know the drill as far as getting in touch with me is concerned. That is Twitter.

And you can tweet me @BeckyCNN. That's @BeckyCNN. Don't forget, the Democratic Debate happening right here on CNN. Our live coverage from

Vegas starts at 1:00 a.m. London time. You can catch the replay later Wednesday at noon in London. And we'll air it again at 8:00p in London.

That will be 11:00 here in the UAE.

I'm Becky Anderson for the team here and those working with us around the world. It's very good evening.

END