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Prostitutes in France Protest New Anti-Prostitution Law; Bangladeshi Writer Latest Victim in Hacking Death; Inside Life of Families Used by ISIS as Human Shields; Going Walletless in Beijing. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired April 07, 2016 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[11:00:12] ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He shouted, "I am shot, get me," Abu Isra (ph) says. The memory of that moment so painful he
can no longer control his emotions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: A living hell -- families tell CNN of the horror of being used as human shields by ISIS, our exclusive report is next.
Also ahead tonight, shot and hacked to death -- outrage in Bangladesh after another secular activist is murdered.
And some prostitutes protest in France after the country outlaws paying for sex targeting clients of the world's oldest profession.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World with Becky Anderson.
ANDERSON: A very good evening at just after 7:00 here in the UAE. We begin tonight on the front lines against ISIS in Iraq.
Village by village, government troops are recapturing territory as they lay the groundwork for what could be their biggest confrontation yet with ISIS
by far.
Iraq's military released this video showing soldiers advancing on the ISIS stronghold of Mosul. It's Iraq's second largest city with a huge civilian
population. Well, not only are there concerns about civilians being caught in the
crossfire in an assault on Mosul, but also about ISIS using them as human shields.
CNN's Arwa Damon filing exclusive reports from Iraq all week and has heard firsthand the horrors of life under ISIS rule.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The latest arrivals at this refugee camp are not those who fled ISIS, there are those who say ISIS used
them as human shields and didn't let them leave.
They are from a handful of villages the Iraqi army recently recaptured from ISIS.
The men are kept at the camp's mosque, a security precaution amid-concerns ISIS fighters may be among them.
"ISIS put five families into each home in the middle of the village," Abu Isra (ph) recalls.
Like many here, he does not want his identity revealed. He still has loved ones at the mercy of ISIS and has already witnessed and lost too much.
Abu Isra (ph) and his family could hear the army's advance, hope finally that they would be saved. But in the fierce clashes, Abu Isra's (ph) young
brother was hit as he pulled his knees away from the window.
"He shouted, I am shot, get me," Abu Isra (ph) says.
The memory of that moment so painful he can no longer control his emotions.
"He said I don't want to die," But he bled out in Abu Isra's arms.
With us, Abu Isra (ph) is able to leave the mosque grounds. And we head to see the rest of his family. He says they did not flee when ISIS first
arrived nearly two years ago, because his elderly mother could not run away.
"A mother who has buried her son, what is left?" She now questions. "At least god spared the rest."
Their stories of life under ISIS make your skin crawl.
Abu Isra (ph) worked at a hospital in Mosul.
"I was forced to keep working. He said if you don't, I will leave your head on the hospital gate," he tells us.
Once, he was stopped in the street and forced to witness a public mass execution. In another instance on the way to the market, he says, "we saw
people hanging from the electricity pole. We asked why. They said they were trying to leave. If you try to escape, this will be your fate."
The women also hide their faces, but little can hide the lingering fear, the overwhelming psychological trauma or the pain.
This woman says the house ISIS held her family in as the Iraqi army advanced was hit by u a mortar. She was injured. Her 15-year-old son
killed.
Her last image of him with blood coming out of his eyes, nose, mouth.
It's all memories, she says, before it becomes too much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, Arwa is now in Irbil in Iraq and joins us live this hour.
Disturbing accounts in what is your latest report on the ground there, Arwa.
What else were you told by those that you'd been speaking to?
DAMON: Well, they are in an impossible situation, Becky, especially Abu Isra (ph) who you saw there. He works in Mosul. So, he was able to give
us a sense of what the civilian population there was going through. And those accounts you heard him telling us about the executions in the street,
the killing, the threat that sense of living in constant fear for yourself, for your children, for your
loved ones. This is something that Mosul's residents are going through in a much more
amplified and intensified fashion, quite simply because ISIS's stronghold on that city, Iraq's second largest, is that much tighter.
And as these Iraqi security forces attempt to advance on Mosul, worth noting, though, at this stage, Becky, that they have only managed to
recapture a handful of villages and are quite aways away. This is something that is potentially going to be the biggest challenge for them.
How do they take on an enemy like ISIS with ISIS's capabilities given the reality that there are 1.5 to 2 million people who still live in Mosul.
And that is why, as the commander of the Nineveh operations was telling us, they have to be very surgical when they do actually reach Mosul.
But as I was saying, that is still quite a long ways off.
But the grave concern right now is the civilian population and how ISIS might continue to attempt to use them as human shields.
ANDERSON: Clearly any strategy needs to understand just how many people are around and will be affected by the possibility of a full on assault.
But I think what's important to point out with your reporting is that you are speaking to civilians who have been so hurt by this conflict in Iraq.
How concerned are they about the possibility of a full on assault whenever that might be?
DAMON: You know, you speak to these people who have fled, or you speak to people who are not in Mosul, who have relatives in Mosul, who have been
able to sporadically get in touch with them or catch up with them.
And they will tell you that many of them are both terrified because of the potential consequences of the kind of combat that an assault on Mosul would
see, but at the same time they don't want to keep living like this. It's not a life that they actually have under ISIS. They do want to be able to
go out and breathe and be normal and actually have a future that they can believe in.
They are stuck in an impossible both physical and mental space between wanting to be free from ISIS's clutches, but being terrified of the
potential price they may end up having to pay when the battles do commence in earnest.
ANDERSON; Arwa Damon is in Irbil in Iraq, not far from the front lines. Another battle being waged -- thank you, Arwa -- to save what is being
called the most dangerous dam in the world.
Next, Arwa will take us inside the massive structure near Mosul. She went to find out how after all the fighting around this dam it's even standing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAMON: Workers are drilling burr holes. This one will go down 150 meters or around 500 feet. Drilling that particular distance takes about a week. And the machines go up and down along the length of the dam, breaking up
and then repouring cement to try to ensure the stability of the dam's foundation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: I want to get you to the front line against ISIS in Iraq. That premiers Friday 4:00 p.m., that is 7:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. Only on
CNN, of course.
Well, Iraq's prime minister says this is the year of final victory over ISIS. A bold predication given the militant's iron grip on territory still
under their control.
Coming up, I'm going to take an in depth look at the military group and get some perspective from our frequent guest on this show, Fawaz Gerges. Even
if ISIS is defeated militarily, will its destructive and poisonous ideology die with it? That conversation is just ahead.
Well, Belgian police have released new images of the third suspect in the Brussels airport attack. What you see here are security camera videos
showing the suspect wearing a hat and walking from the airport in the hours after that attack.
Belgian authorities issued a wanted notice for the suspect. They've appealed to the public to provide information.
Well, let's get you to CNN's Alexandra Field who is in Brussels.
And I want to queue up this latest video again, Alex. Just walk us through what we are seeing here and what we know about the man, quote, in the white
hat.
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he is the man that prosecutors still cannot find. And that's why they are releasing this video. From the
beginning they identified him as the third airport attacker, but they say his bomb never detonated.
They don't know where he is now, but they do know where he went in the immediate aftermath of the blasts at the airport.
They've released this strong of video that was collected from various surveillance cameras. It show him outside the airport. It then shows him
on foot in Zavantin(ph), which is the neighborhood near the airport.
By the time he reaches that neighborhood, however, he has lost that white jacket, gotten rid of that white jacket, that was being used to identify
him and still many of those surveillance pictures that were released from inside the airport.
From Zavantin (ph), they pick him up on another surveillance camera, that one in the neighborhood of Sharbeek (ph). and you might remember us
talking about Sharbeek, because of course that's the neighborhood where investigators say the Brussels bombers were building their explosives.
Over a course of two hours from the times the bombs explode at the airport, they are able to see this man on various cameras. But at 9:50 in the
morning, they record the last images of him. Investigators say they don't know where he
is now. That's why they've released those images. They want people who may have been in those neighborhoods to try and think back, remember if
they could have possibly seen this person, and if there is any chance perhaps anyone took a picture of him, maybe even inadvertently, Becky.
ANDERSON: It's an appeal by the investigators. Meantime, some fresh lines in this investigation. What do we know at this point?
FIELD: Look, at this point, Salah Abdeslam, who was the Paris bombing suspect who was found in Molenbeek in Brussels just last month remains here
in Brussels right now. And we're learning that it could be another four to six weeks before he's extradited to France despite the fact that the
extradition has been agreed to by all parties. First, the European arrest warrant has to be lifted. He remains here. He will then go to France.
Other developments in the wider investigation relaly here take us all the way to Copenhagen. this is not directly related to the Brussels attacks or
the Paris attacks, but we are learning this morning that police in Copenhagen, along with Danish security forces, have arrested four people
who have suspected ties to ISIS in Syria, and Becky, this really just talks to the larger effort that we're
seeing in a number of different countries now to try and root out identify, find people who could have links to this broader network Becky.
ANDERSON: The very latest from Belgium and beyond. Alex, thank you.
Well, a top U.S. intelligence official says Europe is still not doing enough to tackle the terror threat. Pamela Brown as first to speak with
him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS PIEHOTA, DIRECTOR, U.S. TERRORIST SCREENING CENTER: It's concerning canning that our partners don't use all our data. We provide them with
tools. We provide them with support. And I would find it concerning that they don't use these tools to help screen for their own aviation security,
maritime security, border screening, visas, things like that for travel. We find it concerning.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've now seen two ISIS terror attacks in Europe, more recently in Paris as well as in Brussels at the airport and
the metro station. Would the U.S. watch list have prevented the terrorists identified in those attacks from slipping into the United
States.
PIEHOTA: It depends. Now, and I say it depends, because if they were on our list and they were properly identified, they may have been caught at
our borders. They may not have been granted access to our country. So, I can say that I would hope that our screening network would have caught
them. Nothing is 100 percent foolproof, I will tell you that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, in an exclusive interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, the Belgian prime minister defended the experts of his country and other
European countries in the fight against terror. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHEL (through translator): I'm going to be very clear. In this fight against terrorists, against these enemies who are hiding, who are more and
more professional in their way -- in the way they communicate, everywhere in the world, including in Belgium, there are successes and there are
failures.
We are working with hundreds of investigators. We have been working with them for the past months. Our intelligence services are mobilized. And I
think that we need to do everything we can do to improve international cooperation within Europe and also beyond Europe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The Belgian prime minister speaking to Christiane.
Well, a young blogger has been hacked and shot to death in the capital of Bangladesh, Nazim Mudin Samad (ph) is the sixth secular writer on -- or publisher to be murdered in Bangladesh in the last 16 months. Police say
he was on his way home from class when a group of attackers carrying surrounded him. Well, the attackers fled the scene on a motorcycle. And no
arrests have been made.
Ivan Watson is reporting on this story from Hong Kong. And he joins me now live.
And Ivan, the latest in what has been a string of horrific attacks and murders of people guilty only of exercising their right to freedom of
expression. What do we know of the details of this latest particularly vicious attack?
[11:15:05] IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, a friend of this murdered writer says that last year the writer was so worried about
his personal safety that he actually went into hiding for several months. Clearly, those precautions were not enough to protect him.
Bangladeshi police tell CNN this was clearly a pre-planned attack. He was ambushed on his way home from university evening classes in the capital
Dakka Wednesday night, and that's when this brutal murder was carried out.
And what's so disturbing about this is that it fits very much the pattern of at least five other murders of prominent secularist writers and
publishers killed in very similar fashion over the past 16 months in Dakka.
Fellow classmates and writers. They say that Nazim Mudin Samad (ph) that he wrote in defense of women's rights, that he challenged religious
extremism and he appears to have been killed like his predecessors for expressing those ideas, Becky.
ANDERSON: Why are bloggers being killed in Bangladesh?
WATSON: That's a question that I posed to the Rafita Ahmed. Now, she is the widow of a prominent atheist writer, the founder of a blog in
Bangladeshi language and in English language called Muqto Mona (ph). And she narrowly survived an ambush that killed her husband and left her
severely wounded in Dakka in February of 2015.
And listen to excerpt from our interview conducted in the U.S. in December.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAFIDA AHMED, 2015 ATTACK SURVIVOR: i had four stabs, machete stabs on my head.
WATSON: Why do you think these people attacked you?
AHMED: We have got to a point where criticizing Islam is becoming a very big crime, or a sin in Bangladesh.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Now, Becky, freedom of expression watchdog groups, the shrinking community of intellectuals and writers that describe themselves as free
thinkers in Bangladesh. They are are making appeals to the Bandladeshi government to crackdown more on whoever is carrying out these attacks on
providing more protection. We have been in touch with the police, they have insisted that in the past they have not been asked to protect some of
these writers after they have gotten threats. They have also refuse suggestions that perhaps ISIS or al Qaeda are active in Bangladesh, a
majority of Muslim country. Instead, they say that this and other attacks against religious minorities, non-Sunni Muslim religious minorities in
Bangladesh over the past year, are the work of homegrown extremist groups, and they do point to several arrests that have taken place.
But clearly that's not enough and this young man just the latest victim, another person killed, most likely, for daring to express criticism or
questions in writing in social media -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Ivan Watson on the story tonight. Ivan, thank you.
Still to come on this show, The Masters tees off. Golf's iconic tournament is underway. So, who will win the green jacket? We're going to tell you
who to watch, coming up. Taking a very short break. Back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:30:42] ANDERSON: Right, you're with CNN. This is Connect the World with me, Becky Anderson. A very warm welcome back. It's 20 past 7:00 in
the UAE where we are broadcasting from.
Let's get you back to our top story now -- the threat of ISIS. Just today, we had reports on as many as 250 Syrians taken away by the terror group
near Damascus. Those numbers, it seems, may be higher. Meanwhile, the Iraqi army is taking its first tentative steps towards trying to recapture
Mosul from ISIS.
Theses troops are the first to even get inside the same province as the city since their fellow soldiers fled in a chaotic retreat two years ago.
You may remember the road there is long and very risky.
And this only comes after thousands of airstrikes like these with Russian and U.S. coalition jets hitting the terror group in Syria and in Iraq.
That's hitting hard.
Well, now this is all that the analysts say remains of their territory. The U.S. calculates that ISIS has lost 40 percent of its territory since
the American-led bombings began.
Well, let's welcome back one of our regular guests, now, Fawaz Gerges. He's in London. And you have recently, Fawaz, published this book, "ISIS:
A History," looking at how the group formed and where it is likely headed.
And I want to discuss that. But before I do, I just want your response to news that as many as, if not more than, 300 Syrians it's reported have been
kidnapped by ISIS just outside of Damascus.
Are you surprised by that? This doesn't look like a group that's on the run.
FAWAZ GERGES, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: No, I'm not surprised, Becky.
Not only they have kidnapped more than 300 people outside of Damascus, about 30 miles from Damascus, they are basically now carried out in Asia
attacks on one of the leading major airports in Deir ez Zor, because when ISIS lost Palmyra and other small towns, what ISIS does is to try to really
carry out major spectacular attacks to divert attention from the losses.
Even though, Becky, as you said, ISIS is bleeding, it's on the retreat, it's losing commanders, killed fighters, territories, 40 percent of
territories in Iraq, 20 percent in Syria, this is not the beginning of the end. The battles for Mosul has not started. Despite all the reports you
have heard, this is a long and costly battle. The battle for Raqqa, the de facto capital of ISIS has not also started. So this is really we have to be very cautious when we say the
Syrian army or the Iraqi army are basically waging fights against ISIS . The big battles are yet to start.
ANDERSON: I want to discuss your newly published book and the conceit of that. I have been reading it. It's a great read.
Are groups like ISIS an inevitably? Are they bound to manifest following a very literal interpretation of religious texts? And what I mean by this is
okay ISIS may be able to be defeated by bombs, or perhaps not as the case may be this time, but is the fundamental ideology behind them simply
impossible to erase?
GERGES: Well, really you're asking a very complex question, Becky. But let's relate it to Syria and Iraq. Let's say in one year ISIS is dislodged
from Mosul and al-Raqqa. Mosul is the second largest city. This does not mean that ISIS will disappear. Remember, al Qaeda in Iraq. Think of how
many times, Becky, you and I we talked about al Qaeda in Iraq established after the U.S.-led invasion
of Iraq and defeated by 2007.
Yet ISIS revived. It has the capacity to revive, because the ideology, it is -- and why the ideology? You have a breakdown of the state systems.
You have a developmental crisis. You have a creeping sectarianism. You have lack of hope, development crisis and what this ideology, we call it
Salafi jihadism, it's a radical militant Islamist ideology, it offers itself as an alternative.
So first of all, you have to fill the vacuum of security, the vacuum of ideas, reconciliation, rebuild the state and offer alternative that people
who are going to ISIS would not go.
So without really tackling this vacuum, the vacuum of ideas, security, economics, and social crisis, fortunately this ideology is here to stay and
will likely gain more converts even if ISIS is defeated in one or two years without really rebuilding the state system, rebuilding the institutions.
ANDERSON: Right. So, you're arguing that this vacuum in security and repression in the Middle East has helped lead to ISIS, but the point is
this, isn't it, that we always see extremism flourish here when there is a void of political control. The fact is, dictatorships have, and do,
suppress groups like ISIS. There is an argument that goes that perhaps more of those are needed in this region. Your response.
GERGES: My response is simple, Becky. It's nonsense. ISIS, al Qaeda affiliates, all these non-state actors are a product of two causes:
political vulnerabilities, political authoritarianism, tyranny, a lack of political hope and
economic vulnerabilities -- abject poverty, blockage in the system, systemic corruption.
So, even if you improve the economic situation, you have to give people hope, you have to convince people they have a stake in the future.
Remember the rallying cries of the Arab Spring: freedom, justice and dignity. We're not talking about democracy a la France or a la the United
States, we're talking about people you just reported on a case in Bangladesh where a person basically was hacked
to death. This tells you how basically the lack of transparency, the lack of accountability and the lack of institutions encourage these extremist
groups, because ISIS, or al Qaeda, are nourished in chaos, in closed environments, in politically authoritarian environment.
So my argument is very simple, not only you have to improve the well-being, the quality of life of people, you have to let them express their voices.
Of course, I'm not suggesting you don't need institutions, you don't need police, you don't need the military, of course. But political
liberalization is as important as economic liberalization.
ANDERSON: And you point out time and time again in the book that these were secular demonstrations back in 2011 hijacked after that by sectarian
thought and ideology.
All right, Fawaz, before we came to you, we were discussing the latest on the
manhunt for the third suspect of the Brussels airport attacks. And I just want to remind our viewers what he looks like. This is him inside the
airport just before the deadly blasts there.
Police in Belgium combing the country for him right now. And this hour, or the past couple hours, they have released new video of what happened to
this man and what his whereabouts were after this CCTV footage.
There is some speculation, Fawaz, that Europe simply hasn't been able to get its act together to deal with this terror threat. And criticism coming
specifically from the U.S. earlier today.
Do you buy that?
GERGES: Yes. I buy it in Belgium and France. I mean, think about it, you're talking about the third suspect. Salah Abdeslam, Becky, the person
who was a key player in the November 13 attacks in France basically went to the same
neighborhood in Brussels for four months. He was under the nose of the Belgian security forces, and yet they failed to arrest him until two just
weeks ago.
This third suspect I fear -- I mean, here you have the prime minister of Belgium saying we are not a failed state, a security failed state. Imagine
a prime minister saying that, no, we have not failed as a state.
There is a security vacuum. I mean, the security forces in some countries but let me go and address a bigger question, even if you address the
security concerns, there are major challenges in Europe where you know European more than I do, in terms of social marginalization, in terms of
exclusion, in terms of social ghettos, and some communities unfortunately some European communities of Muslim origins live in ghettos, in their own
ghettos, and that's why ISIS and al Qaeda and these nihilistic movements are able to mobilize and for their own nihilistic causes.
ANDERSON: Fawaz Gerges, a regular guest on this show. Your analysis is extremely important for us. Thank you.
The latest headlines just ahead.
Plus, protests over a new law in France. Lawmakers say is meant to help prostitutes. We are live in Paris just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(HEADLINES)
[11:33:54] ANDERSON: And Cyprus has agreed to hand over the Egyptian man accused of hijacking a flight en route from Alexandria to the capital of
Cairo. The man diverted the plane to Cyprus where it landed. Saif el-Din Mustafa used a fake suicide belt to force the plane to change course.
There were 55 passengers on board, you may remember.
Well, CNN's Ian Lee has been following all of the developments and joins me now live from Cairo. What's the latest, Ian, on when this man is likely to
be back in Egypt?
IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, Cypriot officials say that they are going to start their process as soon as possible, but
they cautioned that it could take up to 60 days.
But this is a man that the Egyptians want. He has caused a lot of damage to Egypt's economy because the tourism industry here relies on airport
security.
You may remember last October when ISIS blew up a plane in Egypt's Sinai. A lot of countries banned flights because of that, citing airport security.
And so when this incident happened again, it raised a lot more questions, even though the Egyptians came out and said that -- and showed the video
saying that he went through the proper procedures. At the end, he didn't have a bomb, that he was just
basically an idiot. Despite all of that, it has damaged Egypt's reputation so far.
So, this is a person they want to get back and they want to try here in Cairo.
[11:35:20] ANDERSON: Ian Lee in Cairo for you this evening. Thank you, Ian.
Let's get you to France where there is controversial over a new law, making it illegal to pay for sex.
Some prostitutes who have their own union there are protesting the new rules. It would fine anyone caught purchasing sex and can even force
offenders to go to classes on the apparent harms of prostitution.
I'm going to get you to CNN's Jim Biterrmann following the story for us from Paris to explain, Jim, exactly what is going on.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, this is a part of an effort that's been going on really since back in 2003, and with
some intensity in the last two or three years, that parliamentarians had been trying to limit the number of prostitutes that you see on the streets
of France. There are estimated to be about 40,000 prostitutes, sex workers in this country. And so the government has finally come up with something
that has passed both the lower house and the upper house here, a law which now goes after the clients of the prostitutes.
Of course, the prostitutes, at least some of them, say that's bad for business, of course. If you're going after our clients and you can fine
them 1,500 euros for the first offense and 3,750 euros for the second offense, then it's not going to be good for business at all.
And also the prostitutes say it's going to force some pretty risky behavior like, for example, clients may be in order to avoid getting arrested may
invite prostitutes into this homes, which is, as prostitutes say, is actually more dangerous.
Now, the people behind this law say, wait a minute, what about sex workers, what about people that have been brought here illegally, that have their
passports taken away and they estimate 80 percent, rather, of the prostitutes in the country are people who are sex slaves. What about them?
So, the law actually makes a provision, which makes it easier for prostitutes to come out of the practice of sex, or the profession of sex,
that in fact they can have a five year residency -- sorry, six months residency permit if they say that they are going to attend classes that
will educate them out of the profession of prostitution.
So, it's a law with varied facets. There may be some unintended consequences here. It's modeled after what takes place in Sweden. But
there may be some things happening that the prostitutes don't like, but there may be some things happening that the government doesn't like either
-- Becky.
ANDERSON: Jim Bittermann is in Paris for you. Thank you, Jim.
Well, the 80th Masters is underway in Augusta in Georgia. The tournament known for its history and of course the iconic green jacket worn by the
winner. This year the field is wide open, but all eyes are focused on the so-called big three -- Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Jordan Speith. McIlroy
a four-time major champion is looking to complete a career grand slam with a win at Augusta.
Day, newly crowned world number one wants to win back to back majors. And last year's champion Speith hopes to top the leader board again.
So, you are bang up to date.
Who will win the coveted green jacket then? Let's cross to World Sport's Don Riddell to bring us up to speed on the opening round -- Don.
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT CORRESPONDENT: Well, you've picked three guys that could win it. I could probably name you about a dozen more. As you
say, it's wide open. It's the most stacked field that I can remember here. And you can make so many cases for so many players. Even all the way to
the 45-year-old Phil Mickelson who has won three times here before. Familiarity with this course is a huge plus and he's in terrific form as
well with the lowest scoring average this season, Becky.
But you know you're focusing on the big three. I think you're right to do so, any one of those would make a fantastic champion and it's going to be
really interesting seeing how they get on.
Rory McIlroy is actually going out in the last group. He's really kicking his heels for most of the morning. And actually he said he wasn't really
surprised he was out last, because that's how he's been grouped the last three or four years. So, he's made sure he's got a new jigsaw for his
house. And he can get working on that today.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
Don, any of us who allege to play the game, and I say that loosely termed, play the game as far as I am concerned, will understand just how painful it
can be to scratch around that course.
For professionals, I know, the anguish can be quite something else on a scale that you and I really couldn't understand.
[11:40:04] RIDDELL: Yeah, it's true. And we don't often get to hear about that. But you're absolutely right, for the amateurs among us, we know that
it can be an emotional roller coaster, it can damaging for your mental well being. We love it and we hate it and sometimes both at exactly the same
time.
But it turns out that the pros feel exactly the same way. And we got quite a rare glimpse into that mindset this week from the world number one, no
less, Jason Day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RIDDELL: He's a major champion and on top of the world rankings, but ahead of his latest attempt to win The Masters tournament at Augusta, Jason Day
revealed that just a few years ago he was thinking very differently about the game he loves.
JASON DAY, WORLD'S NUMBER-ONE RANKED GOLFER: I was sitting across the road in the bus. I had my agent, my wife and a sports psychologist. And we're
just sitting there. And I'm like I just do not like the game right now. I'm just having a very, very hard time picking up the golf club to even
just enjoy myself out there.
So we have come to the conclusion of just going and saying this might be my last Masters ever playing. I may as well enjoy it.
RIDDELL: It was quite an admission and a rare glimpse into the mind of a top professional. Golf is a notoriously mental game. Confidence can be
fragile and the margins between success and failure can be razor thin.
BRIAN KATREK, PGA.COM WRITER: These guys have their main battle, as you know, with self-doubt. And that battle is going to manifest itself in a
lot of different ways.
I would imagine that a lot of these guys have thought about quitting the game at one point or another.
RIDDELL: They might not always admit it, but most golfers can relate, even the legends who have seen it all and won the lot.
TOM WATSON, 2-TIME MASTERS CHAMPION: The game is frustrating. And it's a hard game at times. Sometimes it's very easy. You practice your routine,
you practice your swing so to make it as easy as you can, but you know if you're a realist that the game is never easy. Never.
RIDDELL: But few people actually believe that Day would have walked away from the game. It was just talk, a fleeting moment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you really believe that?
JACK NICKLAUS, 8-TIME MASTERS CHAMPION: Somebody as talented as he is, ever green (inaudible) obviously he would have had to have his head
examined, because he is really good player.
If he was ever thinking about, you know, quitting the game it had to be when he was about 11-years-old.
RIDDELL: And to prove the point, just how did Day perform here in 2011 when he was so disillusioned with the game?
DAY: So, I went out there and finished second. And then I loved the game again.
RIDDELL: And that's just it, confidence comes and goes. Sometimes the harder you try the harder it gets. It's why it's so intensely maddening,
but it's also why we love it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RIDDELL: Isn't that interesting, Becky.
Funny, I don't think we would have ever heard such an admission from Tiger Woods when he was in his pomp. And I think that's why it was so remarkable
that we heard those thoughts from a current world number one. But I think that's
just why we love Jason Day even more. He's immensely popular, a hugely talented golfer. And we're very pleased he didn't walk away, because he's
a man in form with a great chance here this week.
ANDERSON: Yeah, makes it really human, doesn't it. And it makes me realize that there are other people who find this game extremely painful.
But as you say, roller ride, rock and roll when you're playing golf.
All right, good stuff. Good to know the professionals struggle, too.
Still to come -- thanks, Don.
Still to come if you think talking to your friends on social media is a little overrated, well you can have them just listen to you instead. I
want to explain Facebook's latest change, up next.
And no wallet no problem. Thanks to technology, you can live without cash or card in Beijing. How? We're going to show you how a cashless day
turned out for one of our correspondents fairly well I have to say.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:46:20] ANDERSON: Get this, a major literary discovery four centuries in the making. Experts say that this rare first folio is the real thing, a
nearly 400-year-old copy of the first printed collection of 36 of William Shakespeare's plays. It was found in an historic home in Scotland. And
that brings the number of known surviving first folios to 234.
The timing of the discovery quite fitting as the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death is just a couple weeks away.
Well, from the ancient words of The Bard, to the latest in technology. This is Connect the World. I'm Becky Anderson. Welcome back.
Imagine being able to do this: broadcast yourself all over the world from anywhere you like. Well, now you can. All you need is to open up the
Facebook app on your phone. Apparently, Samuel Burke is going to fill you in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMUEL BURKE, CNN MONEY: Yeah, Becky, this is every Millennial's dream, not only live on CNN, but also live on my Facebook page at the same time.
It's no surprise that Facebook stock popped with this news that they are rolling out a bunch of new features for the Facebook live platform, the
ability to draw on videos but the real news here for investors is that they are replacing the
Facebook Messenger button on the app and giving this important real estate to the Facebook live platform.
And even though these videos aren't making any money yet, analysts say they think it's going to be a cash cow. Advertisers are always looking for new
places to put ads around video online. So, this could be the perfect spot.
What's really surprising here is that Twitter had Periscope and they looked like they were the leader. YouTube, well they only allow you to live
stream on Samsung phones. So, Facebook is really chugging ahead and becoming the leader , rolling this out in more and more countries and with
more and more features and every time I'm live streaming on Facebook and Twitter and comparing it there's
way more engagement.
So, posting your videos an hour later is very passe. It's all about live, Becky.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Good stuff.
Thank you.
Well, pretty much wherever we take our phones our wallets go along with us, don't they. So, of course there is never a good time to lose either
especially not your wallet, cash cards and all.
But it turns out there may be one good place to let go of it, or lose it. CNN's Will Ripley ditched his when he went out and about in China.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I just ordered Jinbing (ph), Beijing's favorite breakfast food. People queue up here every morning to get their
hands on this. But right now I don't have my wallet.
Luckily here in China with my smartphone, I don't need it.
Paying for my breakfast takes just a few seconds. So I scan the QR code. And it's processing the payment. All set.
From tiny street vendors to large chains, a huge amount of businesses in Beijing are accepting mobile payments.
The most popular, AliPay from Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and messaging app WeChat.
So, you just pay your water bill with your phone?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. You're going to pay now.
RIPLEY: That easy?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.
RIPLEY: CNN producer Shen Lu (ph) uses WeChat to pay utilities, even rent.
I use it to hail a taxi.
I am on my way to meet Gu Yu, co-founder of a new payment app, Mileslife.
GU YU, CO-FOUNDER, MILESLIFE: Hi.
RIPLEY: Hey, I'm Will.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice to meet you.
RIPLEY: Nice to meet you.
He says many urban Chinese just don't bother with credit cards. They prefer to pay by phone, putting China's mobile commerce way ahead of other
major economies like the U.S. and Japan.
YU: China doesn't have really a really lucrative credit card system. So China just skipped credit card and goes to mobile payment.
RIPLEY: Something he calls a late developmental advantage. For me, it means no wallet, no problem.
YU: You can totally survive without cash.
RIPLEY: So, we can split the taxi fare using our phones?
YU: Yeah, yeah, it's called (inaudible) in Chinese.
RIPLEY: Ride sharing?
YU: Yeah.
RIPLEY: Convenience comes with a catch. The Chinese government monitors and censors social media apps, including mobile commerce.
Is there a concern about the government monitoring your economic activity?
YU: I think normal citizens it don't. I think human rights activist they have huge concern on this.
RIPLEY: Chinese citizens are used to the government knowing where they travel, who they call and now what they spend. It doesn't stop hundreds of
millions of Chinese from making mobile payments totaling hundreds of billions of dollars. And the service is expanding beyond big cities. A
growing market even in China's slowing economy.
So, saying I forgot my wallet isn't an excuse anymore?
YU: No, no.
RIPLEY: But what if your phone battery dies?
YU: No, that's really cute. That's not cute, that's a real problem now actually.
RIPLEY: Mobile apps even allow us to split the checks. A day without my wallet has never been easier.
Will Ripley, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Oh, I love that idea, going dutch by your app. All right, good stuff.
Let's crack on moving towards the end of the show here. This is Connect the World with me, Becky Anderson. Coming up, before we leave you tonight,
why Donald Trump's popularity is great for one business. Guess where? In Mexico. That's up next.
And how much do you think a harry potter fan would pay for a muggle's chair? I want to tell you in a second, but you might need to take a seat
before I do that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Right, 53 minutes past the hour here in the UAE. You're watching CNN and Connect the World with me Becky Anderson. Welcome back.
Donald Trump has said numerous times that he wants to bring jobs back from Mexico to the United States, but at one small factory in central Mexico
business is booming thanks to Mr. Trump.
Raphael Romo explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a factory bustling with activity with workers pouring liquid plaster onto molds, painting, refining and creating
all kinds of different designs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a very manual process.
ROMO: This mask factory in central Mexico has been busier than ever in the last few months. And it's all thanks to the unexpected popularity of not a
Mexican, but an American presidential candidate.
Take a look at the strands of artificial hair neatly placed and quaffed by this worker.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We weren't making this mask with actual hair, and some of our customers asked for it, and it has to be the hair. so, this is the
deluxe version.
ROMO: You've probably already guessed. It's Donald Trump's mask and this factory executive believes demand will only grow in the next few months.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We think maybe because of the polls that he will be the candidate.
ROMO: The last shipment of the Donald Trump mask came out of this factory two weeks ago. It was 10,000 masks, 80 percent of them were sold in the
United States and the rest here in Mexico.
There's only one mask beating Donald Trump's in sales, that of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the drug lord captured in January after a spectacular tunnel
escape from prison last summer.
The mask that comes with the prison outfit has been flying off the shelves.
[11:55:23] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, totally sold out. We sold El Chapo masks in customs in all Mexican territory in all America U.S. territory and
we sold in Australia, for example.
ROMO: Wait, wait, wai, El Chapo masks being sold in Australia?
There is still a chance for Trump to compete with El Chapo, but only if he can win the Republican Party's presidential nomination.
The great irony, making a fortune off of two highly controversial men whose only thing in common is dominating the headlines.
Rafael Romo, CNN, Hutapec (ph), Mexico.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: But is the world ready for more Trump, do you think, or at least more of his face? Let us know what you think on our Facebook page at
Facebook.com/CNNConnect. You'll know that if you're a regular viewer, and I hope you are.
You can always head there for clips and snippets from the show including an interview I did with one reporter about how the so-called Panama Papers
leak may be linked to the Syrian civil war. Learn all about that on the page and get
in touch with me on Twitter if you want to. Tweet me @BeckyCNN. That's @BeckyCNN.
In tonight's Parting Shots, a plan for you. Take a shabby wooden chair, sit
on it for awhile and then sell it for a few hundred thousand dollars. Sound good? Well, there is just one hitch, it will only work if you're JK
Rowling. That is this chair. And she sat it on it as she wrote the first two Harry Potter books. She signed it and graffited with the words you may
not find me pretty, but don't judge on what you see. I wrote Harry Potter while sitting on this chair.
Well, it was sold to an anonymous bidder who paid, well you might want to sit down for this one, $394,000.
I'm Becky Anderson. That was Connect the World.
END
