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Connect the World
Russian President Supports U.S. Diplomatic Efforts; The Many Faces of Trump; The Middle East's Quentin Tarrantino; Jose Mourinho Sacked at Chelsea Football Club. Aired 11:00a-12:00p ET
Aired December 17, 2015 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:0016] BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: Sacked after a slump. Jose Mourinho ditched by Chelsea Football Club.
We're going to get the details from our sports desk for you in just a moment.
Also ahead this hour, applauding a fragile deal. Libya's warring factions finally sign. We look at what this means ahead.
Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED AMLE: sometimes I wake up and I'm, you know, I'm dreaming this?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Living the dream, we talk to the man some hail as the Middle East's answer to Quentin Tarantino.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World with Becky
Anderson.
ANDERSON: Well, a very good evening. It's just after 8:00 here in the UAE. Let's get more on what is breaking news this hour. And Chelsea
Football Club's manager, Jose Mouinho, has just been sacked, although a statement on the club's website says they, quote, parted company by mutual
consent.
He led the club to the English Premier League championship last year, but this year has been a struggle, to say the least.
From Special One to sacked one, CNN World Sport's Patrick Snell joins us now with more details.
Whether you are a football fan or not, you know about Jose Mourinho. For weeks, it's been a question of if, not when. Why today, Patrick?
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Becky. Yes, I think a case of Chelsea desperate now, you might say, looking for almost
certainly an interim one to continue that theme, but with a view for their forthcoming Premier League match with Sunderland next up on the weekend,
this is a move by Roman Abraovich, the club's billionaire owner from Russia, to get a new man in place, albeit an interim one, as soon as
possible.
And look at the fallout, Becky, after what happened from that now crucial, but now pivotal league game, the one that would be the last of
Mourinho's second return to Chelsea, the defeat to Leicester City when Mourinho came out afterwards and he used the words ""betrayed by my players."
He used that word betrayal. He used it before. He has hinted at it before during his previous stint at Real Madrid. That, for me, the final
straw, when you hear that word being used and of course that is highly, highly significant.
So the timing of it, I think, was inevitable. Yes, he's got them through to
the round of 16 of the European Champions League, where they'll Paris Saint-Germain of France in February, but I just want to pick out something
from the club's statement which we've had within the last few minutes, and it uses that terminology, if you like, departure by mutual consent,
deciding to go our separate ways.
But the club adding that it wishes to make it clear that Jose does leave on good terms, will always remain a much loved and respected,
significant figure at Chelsea.
Now, remember, he has brought huge success to a club, the club has never tasted anything like it. The most successful manager in Chelsea's
110-year history, winning three Premier League titles, three league cups, an FA Cup. But he never won the big one with Chelsea, namely the European
Cup, Becky.
ANDERSON: Was he betrayed by his players?
SNELL: I think they let him down, there's no question about that, the players let him down. They're guilty of at times undisciplined on the
field of play during the early tumultuous weeks to this Premier League season, but I
think he let himself down with his own conduct, conduct destabilized, no question about this, by that whole saga of the Eva Carneiro, the club doctor.
Let me take you back to the very first game of the season. A bright, sunny day in West London. Chelsea hosting Swansea. The game ended 2
apiece. And in the last few minutes of the game, basically Mourinho labeling his medical team,
including Carneiro, as naive for treating star Belgian international Eden Hazard in a game that Chelsea were trailing. They were trying to save --
they were already down to ten men. She is now seeking legal action against the club. That certainly destabilized early season methodology if you
like.
Let me just show you the dire state of affairs for the club that Roman bought, Roman Abromovich, of course, will not like seeing this. This is
embarrassing to a club of Chelsea's standards. They have really untold sums to spend when you compare them to most Premier League clubs.
Becky, look where they are.
You and I we're blinking in disbelief. They're in 16th place. They are one point above the dreaded drop zone by my mathematics. And that is
just not good enough for Chelsea.
Yes, as I said, he's got them through to the round of 16 in the Champion's League, but this is now a relegation battle, let's not sugarcoat
it.
[11:05:06] ANDERSON: This will be a popular move amongst fans of almost every other Premier League team, because he is such a wind-up.
Despite the run of bad form, though, not all Chelsea fans are going to be happy, he transcends mere footballing coach doesn't he? Some might say he
transcends mere mortal. What is it about him that makes him the Special One?
SNELL: It's the engaging way he has the world's media eating out of the palm of his hand, Becky, at times. He just comes out with these
nuggets. He's box office entertainment. He's refreshingly honest as well. And don't make any doubt about it, he is one highly sought-after coach.
In 2004 he won the European Cup with Porto. He won it again with Internationale in Milan in Italy and he was trying to win it with a third
club.
He is very sought after. He's only 52 years of age. There will be a queue, there will be a line that long stretching back I don't know how far
to secure his signature. But he doesn't build dynasties, if you prefer, and that was all the talk going into the new season. Remember, he just signed a new four-
year contract ahead of the new season. They just won the Premier League title by eight points last season at a canter.
I tell you what, I think a little bit of complacency ahead of the new season. They didn't bring in the players they should have done. There's
that failed attempt to bring in John Stones from Everton. And now they are paying the price.
But Mourinho is box office and of course there's all sorts of names now being linked with potential successors to him.
Let's show you just a few of those names possibly in the frame to become the next manager of Chelsea. I believe it will be an interim
appointment, that's why I think Guus Hiddink, the former Holland manager, he has had a spell, of course, in charge of Chelsea before he won the
English FA Cup with him in 2009.
Juande Ramos, I don't know how popular he will be, Becky, a former Tottenham manager as well. He had a brief spell with Real Madrid as well.
Long-term they're probably looking at Pep Guardiola, of course, the popular Spanish -- former Barcelona manager, now about Bayern Munich,
always seems to get linked with these kind of positions.
I suspect, though, the two Manchester giants are eyeing up potentially Guardiola.
And Carlo Ancelotti, maybe a case of once bitten, twice shy. Remember, he won the FA Cup and the Premier League, uniquely double for
Chelsea there, first in the history in 2010.
What did Chelsea go and do the following season? They dismissed him too, Becky.
ANDERSON: Patrick, you called him box office stuff. What's this cost Celsea, given that he was still in contract?
SNELL: Well, there was some speculation of a possible $40 million payoff. I don't believe that's going to be the case at all. I believe
there's some kind of understanding that if he secures a job in the forthcoming weeks then it is all relative to that.
Chelsea of course haven't made that kind of information public. It's certainly not in the club's statements I have in front of me, but they will
have been working behind the scenes when a club says you're working to a departure by mutual consent, then of course the financial package will have
been thrashed out. And let me make it very clear, Jose Mourinho will not be out of work for long. And he'll certainly be rather on a good terms
with his bank manager as well, no question about that.
ANDERSON: Yeah. Yeah, likely not out of pocket as you likely point out.
Patrick, a pleasure. Thank you.
Well, as I say, those of you who aren't massive football fans like Patrick and myself, I know this story will have been resonating with you as
well because what a big character Jose Mourinho is.
All right, you can get the latest, the very latest reactions, to the sacking
of the man once known as The Special One and probably will be going forward on our website, that is CNN.com/international for the latest news and
analysis. And boy, will there be a lot of that.
Right, I want to turn you now to what the UN calls a first step towards peace in Libya. Delegates from the country's two rival factions
have just signed a UN-backed deal to form a unity government. They put pen to paper in
Morocco, prompting cheers from those attending the signing ceremony, but the agreement
still faces opposition within both governments.
For more on what this means, CNN's international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson joins me now from London. You're reported from and about Libya
on numerous occasions.
Nic, we've talked about this deal. These are faltering first steps, aren't they, at this point? We should be excited, but we should be
concerned?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDETN: A Christmas present come
early, as how one Libyan source put this to me just a few minutes ago. This is what everyone wants, but it's not ready. And this plan, as they
see, is not addressing some of the key issues.
This is about getting the two governments in a country, the Islamist leaning government of Tripoli and the internationally recognized, or
formally we can now say, internationally recotnized government in Tobruk in the east of the country to come to agreement here.
But there isn't full agreement between both these governments.
But what for the international community they have now have and that this is significant going forward is there is one government, one point of
departure, one body that the international community can go to and respond to. If this new government says we need security help, which has been
promised in the run-up to this agreement, then now the international community can say legitimately we're dealing with one government here.
They have asked for help. We can provide that help.
But the reality is not just you not have both -- all members of both governments signing up to this, but you have a city like Tripoli, the
capital, where presumably this government will have to sit, that's run essentially by militias. There is no security force to go in and push
those militias out. Those militias haven't signed up to this agreement. That's a significant factor in all of this.
So a faltering step going forward, yes. Something everyone wants, yes. Can this really work right now? I think that is a huge, huge
question, Becky.
[11:11:22] ANDERSON: Nic Robertson is out of London for you this evening on what is an incredibly important question, but great analysis,
Nic, thank you very much indeed for that.
Still to come tonight, Vladimir Putin threatens continued war in Syria, but says he would welcome peace. We'll bring you some highlights of
the Russian president's annual address in Moscow.
And a possibly new clue in the Paris terror attack investigation pointing towards the terrorists using an application that you may have on
your own mobile phone. More on that just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:15:15] ANDERSON: Special One no more: Chelsea Manager Jose Mourinho has been sacked. He led the club to the Cnglish Premier League
title last season. But Chelsea, well, they have been struggling this season. We're going to get
you more on this story throughout the hour.
Moving on, though, to Russia at this point. And Russian President Vladimir Putin says diplomacy is the only way to end the war in Syria, even
as he signals that Russia's military operations there may be far from over.
Mr. Putin gave his annual news conference in Moscow on Thursday. He lashed out at Turkey for downing R russian warplane along the Syrian
border, you may remember, last month, calling it an enemy act.
He also rejected international efforts to force Syrian President Bashar al Assad from power, but he did throw his support behind a U.S.
peace initiative.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We think that the Syrian people alone should determine who they want to rule them, under
which standards and which rules. So in general, and I will say an important thing now, we support the initiative of the United States,
including the one on preparation of the UN security council resolution on Syria. It's this draft resolution that the secretary of state brought with
him.
In general, we agree with it. I think Syrian authorities will also agree with it when they look through the draft.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: All right. Well, CNN's Matthew Chance spent the day on a Russian warship off the Syrian coast. He brings us an extraordinary look
now at Moscow's fierce campaign of air strikes, also so-called terrorist targets.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are getting extremely rare access to Russia's military operations both inside Syria
now, off its coast as well, because they brought us a couple of miles off the coast of Syria and we're standing on the missile cruiser, the Moskva
(ph), which means Moscow in Russia, it's a key vessel in Russia's military operation because it provides air defenses for the very frequent air
strikes that are being carried out right now by the Russian air against various targets inside Syria.
Latest figures from the Russian defense ministry is that in the past two days that since we arrived with the Russian military in Syria, there
have been more than 100 sorties carried out by the Russian air force, striking at 287 strongholds of rebels. That's what they call it. Rebel
camps and training areas and things like that, rebel strongholds. 40 strikes against oil installations as well. And the defense ministry saying
that in the past couple of days, more than 400 rebels, including ISIS and members of other rebel groups as well, have been killed as a result of
those Russian air strikes.
And so it gives you a sense of just how intense those air strikes are.
And from all the evidence we've seen in the past couple of days, there is very little sign at all that that intensity is going to let up.
Matthew Chance, CNN, on board the Moskva (oh) missile cruiser in the eastern Mediterranean.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, let's get more, then, on the thinking out of Moscow at present on this. Our former CNN Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty
joining us once again this evening.
So, Jill, President Putin vows to continue air strikes in Syria as long as the regime, the Syrian regime, continues its own military
operations. But he says he will also support the U.S. peace initiative that he says was discussed with John
Kerry this week.
I guess we should start with that. What do we know about that U.S. peace initiative? Because we were talking earlier this week about John
Kerry trying to narrow the divisions, weren't we, between Washington and Moscow on any peace deal.
JILL DOUGHERTY, FRM. CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Right.
Well, it's all the details of this political transition period that the United States and Russia want, and I think it was very important, you
just played that piece of tape from President Putin, saying that he thinks the Syrian
government could accept that. That is good news, because obviously that's key. And Russia does have influence with the Syrian government so that's a
good sign.
In fact, just today I have to note that Secretary Kerry spoke with the minister of foreign affairs, Sergey Lavrov, about that meeting in New York,
a very important one that will take place tomorrow.
So, the whole thing would be try to, again, agree on the details of that. They already agree on rewriting the constitution, going to
elections. But there's some critical things like who from the opposition will be part of that. And we might get a little more clarification on
that, because some groups could be considered terrorists, some are not terrorists and that's a big issue of defining exactly who among the
opposition would be at the table.
[11:20:04] ANDERSON: Jill is out of Moscow for you this evening. Matthew, of course, embedded with troops in Syria.
All right, live from Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World. Coming up, all the latest on the end of Jose Mourinho's second tenure as Chelsea
manager and who might replace him. I'll put that question to the Bleacher report's Chelsea correspondent. Yes, there is one.
Plus, up next, the Silk Road takes us back to the time of the Vikings. We look at their ancient trade routes and what's known as the gold of the
north. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Updating you now on what is our top story this hour, whether or not you are a footballing fan, you know his name: Jose Mourinho.
Well, he's been sacked as manager of the Chelsea Football Club, that happened just seven months
after he led the team to the English Premier League title.
But this year hasn't gotten off to such a strong start. More on that a little later. So much for this year.
CNN has been traveling along the Silk Road, an ancient trade route that connected east and west. Well, today, of course, modern technology
has changed things somewhat. But culture and art are still flowing along the Silk Road as much as ever. CNN's Sumnima Udas has traveled to the
Baltic States to find out more about what is known as the gold of the north, that is amber.
She found demand for the precious material there still very high.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUMNIMA UDAS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: After every storm, Franz Christianson takes his net and heads out to the beach in the search
for Baltic Gold.
"You need a storm that blows the wind onto the shore. It is the big waves that sort of push it off the ocean floor. And once the weather
settles after the storm, sort of like now when you have these slow swells rolling onto the shore, that will push the amber in."
Christianson has been collecting amber over 50 years. He describes collecting it as a gold fever, a rush and for him, his livelihood.
Christianson owns a small workshop where he polishes, shapes and eventually sells the amber. And surprisingly in this small store on the
northern tip of Denmark, his biggest customers come from China.
"In the last year and a half, we have had a lot of Chinese visitors, and they buy a lot of amber. Amber has become very popular."
One of those customers is Peng Wan, a student in Denmark. She recently launched an amber exporting business to China, because of the
growing interest back home.
PENG WAN, CHINESE STUDENT: In China, because the market, amber market, is very big there is that a lot of (inaudible) people they make the
fake amber, and so some consumers, they are afraid to buy directly from Chinese markets because they
know that I'm in Denmark so I can just buy for them because there is no quality problem.
UDAS: Recent growing demand from China has pushed the price of amber up so much so that its price can be compared to gold. And this has opened
up a valuable market for Danish jewelry makers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very natural to go into China. The House of Amber has always, for a long time, been selling a lot of amber to
Chinese customers here. And amber is one of the five or seven British (ph) treasures, that means a lot Chinese understand about amber before they even
see the amber.
UDAS: From the rugged landscapes of Scandinavia, to the vast provinces of China, the trading ties of the ancient Silk Road are being
rebuilt as commercial avenues of tomorrow.
Sumnima Udas, CNN, along the Silk Road.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Live from Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World. Coming up this evening, we have the story of two Dutch bloggers who picked up the
streets with a Bible disguised as a Koran. What happened is coming up.
Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately, our a lot of Arab audiences don't believe in (inaudilble) films.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: We'll meet the filmmaker who is trying to change that perception.
Plus, his latest movie that's sure to leave you on the edge of your seat. All that in about 20 minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(HEADLINES)
[11:33:06] ANDERSON: We'll get you more now on the sacking of the Chelsea
manager, Jose Mourinho. This comes just seven months after he led the club for the Premier League title.
They have lost, though, nine of their 16 league games so far and they are just one point above the relegation places. After their most recent
defeat on Monday, Mourinho said he felt betrayed by his players.
Let's get more on this from Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent, Gary Hayes, joining me from London. He said he felt
betrayed by his players. I've just been looking at so much of what has been hitting Twitter in the last hour and a half, Gary, since this
announcement was made.
And so many of the Chelsea fans agree with him. Is he right?
GARY HAYES, BLEACHER REPORT: Yeah, I think he is. I think just a prime example is Eden Hazard on Monday night. He took that little knock to
the hip and within ten seconds showed he couldn't played anymore. And I think that just showed that there are certain players on what, you know,
mentioned Hazard specifically, but it was other players in this team that, you know, just weren't up for the fight. And I think, you know, Mourinho
when he says he feels betrayed he feels these players have let him down massively.
But it's not just Mourinho they've let down, they've down the club.
ANDERSON: Well, as we were saying a little bit earlier on in the show, there will be fans from every other single football club in the
Premier League who will be rejoicing today.
Such a polarizing figure, isn't he. Why?
HAYES: Well, I think he's a guy who -- you either love him or hate him. If you're a Chelsea fan, you're going to love him, because he wins
trophies. And he came in ten years ago and ruffled the feathers of the Premier League and UEFA and the rest of Europe and you know the elite
didn't like it. And,you know, he put Chelsea up there where Chelsea -- many clubs feel they don't belong and Mourinho did that job. And, you
know, Roman Abramovich is a symbol of, you know, the modern game and he's got all this money that splashes around and Mourinho did it and he did it
with his chest out and he didn't really take any prisoners in that.
And I think when you see people like Arsene Wenger that maybe a bit more diplomatic, people expect managers to be like that, but Mourinho is
this brash character and he worked for Chelsea and, you know, that's why others didn't like it.
ANDERSON: They had such a season last season. To a certain extent they have had such a bad run of form this season. To a certain extent many
people are surprised that he lasted so long. Was that the owner? Was that Roman Abramovich keeping him in the chair when perhaps others might have
gotten rid of him earlier on?
HAYES: Yeah, I think so. I think, you know, you look at the track record over the last ten years, that no manager has been this bad at
Chelsea, but again no manager has been as good as Mourinho either.
But I think as well that the fans have a role to play in this. You know, we saw in the Champions League again Dynamo Kiev there was this
rousing reception for him when everyone thought it was going to be the end then and you know the theory is that saved his job, because the fans were
behind him all the way.
And you know they're still behind him now, because he is Jose Mourinho. He's the special one. And he has got that relationship with the
fans that many managers don't have. So, I think it was partly to do Abramovich wanted to give him time to turn things around, but then also the
fans.
ANDERSON: So what happens next for the Special One and for the club? Let's start with the Special One. Where does he go? What does he do next?
HAYES: Well, I think this is the issue with him is that he's burned his bridges at a lot of major clubs.
You know, I can't see him going back to Madrid and, you know, given the circumstances he left three years ago. In Italy, he talks about maybe
Inter Milan, but they're doing well under Roberto Mancini.
He's not going to go to Bayern Munich. Paris Saint-Germain, maybe, in the summer, but he doesn't want to be in France, he wants to be in a major
league. He's burnt his bridges with a lot of big clubs in those leagues. So it remains to be seen.
But one we can be certain of is he's going to be laughing all the way to the bank, you know, a reported 40 million pound payout.
ANDERSON: Lots of suggestions about who's going to take over. Will he go to Man U, just out of interest?
HAYES: Well, that's a concern for Chelsea fans, because Van if they allow van Gaal is not, you know, completely enamored himself with himself
with Manchester United at the moment. So, if they, you know, allow van Gaal to go in the summer, then Mourinho is going to be sitting there
waiting. So, he's got, you know, an excellent relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson, so I wouldn't put him past him to go do that.
ANDERSON: Right. Thank you, sir. Gary in the house for you this evening.
And viewers, if you want to find out who may be taking over, who's the runners and the riders, as it were, check it out on the website. CNN.com.
You'll find an awful lot more analysis there as the hours move on.
All right, we will move on and there are new clues in the Paris terror attacks investigation. A source briefed on the proceedings told CNN
investigators believe they have found evidence that some of the terrorists used encrypted messaging applications to plot the attacks.
Now, they include apps that you may have on your own phone, viewers, like WhatsApp, for example.
Well, it's a growing trend of, quite frankly, tension now between privacy and security. To discuss that, let's get CNN's Samuel Burke for
you live out of New York this evening.
Firstly, before we talk about privacy versus security, explain how these apps work.
SAMUEL BURKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Becky, they use what's called end- to-end encryption. And it's not just WhatsApp, it's also apps like Telegram, which these officials are also saying they discovered on the
phones of the terrorists.
And what end-to-end encryption means, it's just the sender and the receiver who can view the message. Even if the government goes to these
tech companies and says we have reason to believe these people are terrorists, they're sending messages, something is pending, it could happen
soon, even the tech companies don't have the keys to go in and get the information. That's end-to-end
encryption.
But something interesting was also told to us by these officials, Becky. They also said that some of the plans for this attack, they have
evidence that shows was also planned on nonencrypted apps, nonencrypted messages services.
So even if the government had been able to get into these phones, they weren't able to see this information ahead of time, unfortunately, whether
it was encrypted or unencrypted.
So, you are seeing two sides of the same coin there. On the one hand, you want governments being able to get access, but even when they can get
access, it seems, it's not always able to help them.
ANDERSON: Now, the head -- very briefly if you can answer this one, the head of the FBI said that they -- these apps were at the heart of the
terrorist trade craft. How will authorities balance what is a very pressing issue of privacy versus security for all of us going forward?
BURKE: What I hear from the big tech companies is that quite frankly they didn't balance it. You had the revelations from Edward Snowden and
the NSA. You also had the Sony hacking attacks. As a result of those two things, consumers really want this privacy and the governments did a poor
job of really giving people enough privacy before.
And now you've seen the pendulum swing the other way.
But tech companies also tell me, look, we don't want to have to give information over to one government. What happens if another government
comes to us and it's a government that's repressing its people, repressing freedom of speech, repressing dissidents, we don't want to have to give
them our information as well.
[11:40:09] ANDERSON: Samuel Burke is out of New York for you this evening.
I'm in Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World. Thank you, Samuel.
Coming up, we will introduce you to the Emirati filmmaker who is being called the Quentin Tarantino of the Middle East. How he is hoping to help
change the perception of Arab films. That is just ahead. Taking a break, back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Jose Mourinho, widely regarded as one of the world's most successful coaches, has been sacked. Formerly dubbed The Special One, that
is no more.
Love him or hate him, you cannot ignore him. Mourinho led Chelsea to the
English Premier League title last season but the club has been struggling this season.
We're going to continue to bring you the latest developments on what is this breaking story right here on CNN. Do stick with us through the
hours to come.
Big films are flocking to Abu Dhabi, an increasingly popular shooting location in the Middle East. Just think Star Wars part of the movie shot
right here.
One director, in particular, is pushing to grow the local industry and he is
getting noticed. CNN's John Jensen reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those stories about what happened...
JOHN JENSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's remote deserts and towering skyscrapers are already making Abu Dhabi a premiere backdrop for Hollywood
films shot in the region.
MAJID AL-ANSARI, DIRECTOR: Producer and director.
JENSEN: But director Majid al-Ansari wants the world to know Emiratis can make their own movies too.
Enter the world of Zinzana, a new psychological thriller produced in the UAE. It's about a man locked in a jail cell, tormented by an evil
character posing as a police officer: not the typical slapstick comedy or soap opera so commonly produced in the Middle East.
AL-ANSARI: I think the biggest kind of message I want to put out there with Zinzana is that we can think out of the box and this is what
this film is.
JENSEN: Zinzana, al-Ansari's his first feature film, premiered this year. It's played at festivals around the world. And with its suspenseful
dialogue and rhythmic cuts, some are already calling this 28-year-old Quentin Tarantino of
the Middle East.
How does it feel?
AL-ANSARI: Amazing. It is unbelievable. In a sense sometimes I wake up, do I believe this?
JENSEN: It took al-Ansari a year-and-a-half to make Ainzana. Abu Dhabi's Image Nation produced the film. And while budget and censorship
are not a challenge here, he says, getting local residents into theaters could be.
AL-ANSARI: Unfortunately, a lot of audiences don't believe in Arab films.
JENSEN: The Gulf region does not have a big local film industry, but al-Ansari is hoping to change that.
You don't need a political message to do that, just a good story that entertains, he says. So vital for parts of the Middle East torn apart by
conflict.
AL-ANSARI: I wanted to give them something that's different than talking about their current situation. You know, fingers crossed, it gives
them one hour and a half to escape the troubles they're in.
JENSEN: Escape into a gripping plot and not just the cinematic backdrop of the UAE.
John Jensen, CNN, Abu Dhabi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Live from the UAE, this is Connect the World.
Well, a story of two Dutch YouTube bloggers next to took to the streets with
a bible disguised as a Koran. What happened next in their social experiment is coming up.
Plus, we look at the many facial expressions of U.S. Republican presidential
candidate Donald Trump. And believe me, there are many. Stay with us for that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:50:28] ANDERSON: A reminder of our top story this hour, one of the world's most valuable football clubs, Chelsea, has fired its manager,
Jose Mourinho, just seven months after he took the team to the top of the table in the English Premier League.
This season, though, the team languishing 16th out of 20 places.
Remember, the bottom three are relegated every year.
This is CNN, you're watching Connect the World with me, Becky Anderson. Welcome back.
All this week we've been talking about attitudes towards Muslims around the world. Here is the story of two young Dutch social activists
who carried out a rather controversial experiment, challenging perceptions of Islam. Have a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (subtitles): If you respect my commands and abhor my laws, you will eat the flesh of your own sons and the flesh of your own
daughters.
It is (inaudible) for a woman (inaudible) you will harm to (inaudilbe).
If two men sleep with each other they will both have to be killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Following the Paris attacks, we noticed that there's a lot of fear mongering going around and a lot of media out that's
covering the Islam in a negative way, so we decided, all right, let's go -- let's go buy a bible and we actually have it -- we have the book right here
that we used in the video.
You can see. So we made this cover. We put it around our copy of the bible, which sadly is in Dutch, otherwise we'd read a couple of passages to
you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: we highlighted them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we went around reading verses to the people in the city.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you compare this to the bibles, what are the main differences?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Quran sounds more aggressive. (inaudible) cutting of people's (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: the bible is more positive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The story in the bible is sold very differently.
UNIDENTIIFIED FEMALE: the world si changing and I think they need to adapt to it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people around us, a lot of people that seemed biased or a lot of people that seemed prejudiced, they don't know as
much about the koran or what is in the books or about the religion itself, they just know what the media keeps telling them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we have a little surprise for you. These beautiful verses from the Korean are from the bible.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seriously?
UIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow, (inaudible).
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: In tonight's Parting Shots just before we go, the latest U.S. Republican presidential debate had a lot of political talk and
posturing didn't it. And in the case of one brazen candidate, some messages were unspoken, but still crystal clear.
Jeanne Moos explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Just two months ago...
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I swore I wouldn't do another faces of Trump story. But here it is. The sequel because who could resist this?
BUSH: He gets his foreign policy experience from the shows.
MOOS: Cartoonists can't resist. Nor can an expert on facial expressions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was just blown away with how comfortable he was dismissing his rivals.
BUSH: But he's a chaos candidate.
MOOS: The New Yorker had already dubbed this one the stretched cheerio. Saying Trump makes the kind of faces that would have gotten me
sent to my room as a kid. He even faced down the audience when booed.
TRUMP: Who would be -- I just can't imagine somebody booing. These are people that want to kill us, folks.
MOOS: The Daily Show tweeted Trump using debate to prove he hasn't had botox, to which someone replied, he clearly thinks with his lips, but are
Trump's faces premeditated?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Undercut his rivals. I think there's a sense in which yes, it's premeditated. He's certainly camera savvy. On the other
hand, what he's giving away in the face is very spontaneous, very pronounced...
MOOS: So you're saying it's a premeditated but spontaneous expression?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Only the Donald could pull that off.
MOOS: One critic tweeted Trump should get it over with and stick out your tongue and get moose antlers. Well, guess what? The Donald sort did,
the tongue, not the moose antlers.
As Trump gave Jeb Bush a playful slap post debate, photographers caught him sticking out his tongue without apparent malice. Here's a fun
little quiz. See if you can pick out the guy who wasn't actually on the debate stage.
BUSH : ISIS was not a...
TRUMP: Am I talking or are you talking, Jeb?
BUSH: I am talk right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You talking to me?
BUSH: I am talking.
TRUMP: You can go back. You're not talking.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) do you think you're talking to?
MOOS: You're talking to the guy who talks with his face, Jeanne Moos, CNN.
BUSH: But he's a chaos candidate.
MOOS: New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[11:55:33] ANDERSON: Well, I sat down with four young Muslims students on Wednesday at this time to get their take on Donald Trump and
all the other Republican presidential candidates and the rhetoric coming out of the states at this point. In case you missed it, we put it up on
the website for you. You can find all that and much more by heading on to CNN.com. That is CNN.com.
That is a really, really interesting discussion we had last night. So do check it out.
And do let us know what you thought about the debate and all of the stories that we cover for you. The team here who worked with me always
want to hear from you. That's at Connect the World team. Get in touch on our Facebook page, that is Facebook.com/CNNConnect. And you can tweet me,
if you're a regular viewer you'll know this, @BeckyCNN. That is @BeckyCNN.
That's it from us for this evening. CNN, though, of course continues after this short break. That was Connect the World from the team here and
those working with us around the world. Thank you for watching.
END