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An Inside Look at Saudi Aramco's Plans; Fragile Ceasefire Holding in Damascus; London Mayor Criticizes Trump; Dilma Rousseff Vows to Fight Impeachment; The Unseen Cost of Displaced People. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired May 11, 2016 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:19] BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: A country in turmoil, but in the Syrian capital life goes on. This hour, we are live in Damascus where we speak to
one of the last Americans living there.
Also ahead tonight...
BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See here is the giant blot.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN MONEY: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The blot is the largest in the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: A rare look inside the world's largest oil company as Saudi's Aramco gets ready to go public for the first time in its history.
And...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are affected and really it's families like our families that have to flee from our homes because of a tremendous
hurricane, volcano or other natural disaster.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: (inaudible) homeless. why the number of internally displaced people around the world has surged to record highs.
I'm Becky Anderson. This is Connect the World. It is just after 7:00 in the evening. Amid the horrors of the Syrian civil war, any news of
relative calm anywhere in Syria is certainly welcome, isn't it. The United States and Russia remain far from agreeing on what the political future of
Syria should be or what the solution shoudl be, but they are working together to strengthen what has been a very fragile cease-fire, effects of
that can be seen in places like the Syrian capital Damascus. And it is there where we find CNN's senior international correspondent Frederick
Pleitgen. He joins us now live.
Where are you? And what have you learned while you've been there?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Becky.
I'm in the area Abo Romanei (ph) area of the Syrian capital f Damascus. And it's I would say an upper middle-class neighborhood, really residential
place and also one that has actually seen a lot of shelling in the past. And where since the cease-fire has been in place, many people are going
back out on the streets, cafes are opening. You might be able to see it behind me. There are people who
are going out. And it's also home to a man who is somewhat of a novelty here in Syria. His name is Thomas Weber. And you are by all accounts
American here in Damascus. Why are you still here, people will ask?
THOMAS WEBER, AMERICAN RESIDENT OF DAMASCUS: Because I'm enjoying the city. It's a most beautiful city. We're very happy to be with you downtown
in the old city and I hope we showed enough new areas of Damascus.
The people are fantastic. The city is fantastic. It's just the best place to live.
PLIETGEN: But you, yourself, have had some close encounters. I mean, it's not safe, safe as far as fighting close by is concerned.
WEBER: No, we have had fighting in the Gutha (ph), which is outside park area that surrounds Damascus, but we've had our fair of rockets coming in
our neighborhood and same thing with mortar shells. And they've wiped out pretty close to our house.
But we've been safe and we lost one neighbor and outside of that it's been a safe time.
PLEITGEN: You know, we stand here and it's remarkable to see people coming back out on the streets, shops open, but one of the things you just told me
is that from this neighborhood, about 80 percent of the apartments are empty
because people have fled.
WEBER: Very, very true. And it's been that case for the last five years - - four to five years. And if you look at any of the apartment houses that we have here, you see 80 percent of the apartments are closed up. The
people all gone outside. Lebanon or many of them to Syria, I mean, out of Syria to Europe or even America. You know, they've just migrated back out
of Damascus.
These are the people we hope we have a long-lasting peace will come back to Damascus. This is the brain drain we had. Many of the businessmen,
engineers, doctors, et cetera have all left and we just hope and pray with a long-lasting peace we will have them return very soon.
PLEITGEN: You told me you came here I think in 1975 it is.
WEBER: My first year.
PLEITGEN: And you fell in love with the city, you said, on day two, I think, because you had a bad landing when you came in here. What is it
like to see Syria in a state that it's in right now with so many people fleeing, with people internally displaced.
WEBER: It's a shame. It's really a disaster. I cry all the time. And it's just a sad situation that's going on.
And again, let me repeat, I just hope there's going to be a long-lasting peace, we'll get the displaced people that are in Syria coming home again,
rebuilding their home, rebuilding their lives and the millions of people that are overseas and we hope that they're going to be coming back.
All we hope and pray for is that the western world and the governments of the west will help support a long-lasting peace. We overlook it. We need
it desperately.
[11:05:05] PLEITGEN: All right, Thomas Weber thank you very much for being here. Thank you.
WEBER: Yes, thank you very much for having the opportunity.
PLEITGEN: And, Becky, as you can see, people here out on the streets as we have said, you know and the thing is not everybody here necessarily
believes that the cease-fire is going to last. They hope it will, but the people we're speaking to as long as it does last they're going to take
advantage of it, Becky.
ANDERSON: Fred Pleitgen is in Damascus for you this evening. And that American resident of Damascus that Fred was speaking to has remained in
Syria, of course, but millions and millions of people have had to flee their homes or even the country altogether.
Later in the show we'll bring you my interview with a senior adviser to Staffan de Mistura, the UN special envoy for Syria. I'm going to talk
about the record numbers of people displaced not just in Syria, but around the world.
Moving on for you tonight, and three car bombs have gone off today across Baghdad. The biggest and most deadly hit a market in the Sadr City
neighborhood. Dozens of people are dead. You can see how powerful it was, shops and streets all completely destroyed.
ISIS claiming responsibility for that explosion.
CNN's Arwa Damon has covered Iraq extensively. She's been there recently back monitoring developments from neighboring Turkey today. It does
certainly feel and seem and when -- and you see these images, they certainly mark what is an uptick in violence at present.
Arwa, why?
ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it could be for a number of reasons, Becky. We've been seeing various attacks none as deadly
as this one that ISIS claimed responsibility for, the vast majority of them targeting the country's Shia population. Sadr City is a predominantly Shia
neighborhood, very impoverished, a overcrowded slum of the capital Baghdad home to some 1 million people.
But ISIS going after these so-called soft targets.
Now U.S. officials and the U.S. military are saying that this is an indication of ISIS weakening in other parts of the country because of the
offensive led by the Iraqi army and therefore ISIS in turn wanting to create havoc where it can.
But others would look at this and say that it's an example of how ISIS is able to morph and change its tactics, really going after the Shia civilian
population trying to re-inflame those ever existing sectarian tensions within the Shia and Sunni communities.
And it wasn't just that attack that took place in Sadr City in the morning, Becky, there were just a short while ago two other attacks that happened,
one of them also at the entrance of a predominantly Shia neighborhood, the neighborhood Qadmiya (ph). There, at least 11 people killed, 20 wounded,
another happening in a western Baghdad neighborhood, a mixed neighborhood, there at least six people killed, 28 wounded.
No claim of responsibility for those two attacks, but you can imagine what this kind of violence is doing to the psyche of the Iraqi population,
Becky.
ANDERSON: Yeah, of course.
Arwa Damon, monitoring events in Iraq from Turkey for you today. Thank you, Arwa.
Well, let's get you some of the other stories on our radar, shall we? And Bangladesh has executed a top leader of banned Jamaat Islami Party.
Motiur Rahman Nizami was hanged for crimes committed during the country's war of independence from Pakistan in 1971. The 73-year-old was killed
after he -- his appeal was rejected by the supreme court.
U.S. lawmakers demanding answers from Facebook over accusations that it manipulated its trending topic section, because of political bias against
conservatives. Now, the Republican chair of the senate commerce committee is calling for CEO Mark Zuckerberg to respond.
Facebook says an initial review finds that there is no evidence the allegations are true.
London's new mayor says he hopes Republican Donald Trump doesn't win the U.S. presidential election. Sadiq Khan spoke to our chief international
correspondent Christiane Amanpour about the Republican candidate and being a Muslim in the west.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SADIQ KHAN, MAYOR OF LONDON: London has chosen hope over fear. I'm really proud that London chose unity over division. And my message to Donald
Trump and his team is that your views of Islam are ignorant and it's possible to be a Muslim and to live in the west. And it's possible to be a
Muslim and to love America. i've got family members who are American.
We have often been to America on holiday. My kids used to love Disneyland. And I'm scared of some of the rides, but they used to love going to
Disneyland. We still love going there. I've been there as a minister.
I'm not exceptional. So, for Donald Trump to say Mayor Khan can be allowed, but not the rest is ridiculous, because there are business people
here who want to do business in America who happen to be Muslim. There are young people here who want to study in America who happen to be Muslim.
There are people here who want to go to holiday in America who happen to be Muslim and around the world.
Now by keeping the impression that Islam and the west are incompatible, you're playing into the hands of the extremists.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You've said that you actually want to do business and go and learn from and exchange ideas with
mayors of great American cities like in New York or in Chicago.
Would you go under a Donald Trump presidency?
KHAN: Well, I'm not sure if he'd allow me to go because I may have members of entourage who are Muslim. But the point is this, it's not just about me.
It's about the message it sends from the greatest country in the world.
And what is the story of America?
And I think you know, I think Donald Trump doesn't get the history of America. My point with respect to Americans is, look, you know, I think
you've got a choice when it comes to the elections in November. You've got a choice of hope over failure. You've got a choice of unity over division.
You've got a choice of somebody who is trying to divide, not just your communities in America but divide America from the rest of the world.
And I think that's not the America that I know and love.
And So, of course, I'll travel to America. But I'm hoping that he's not the guy that wins.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: You can see the rest of Christiane's interview with London's new mayor on
Amanpour, that at 10:00 p.m. in Abu Dhabi. I'm sure you can work out times locally for you. That is only on CNN, of course.
Well, it's a political day of reckoning for Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff. Yes, hours from now the senate will vote on whether to proceed
with an impeachment trial.
And let's get you some live pictures of the debate in Brasilia. If the motion is approved, Rousseff will be forced to stand down for 180 days.
The Brazilian leader, though, remains defiant saying she will fight using all the means at her disposal.
My colleague Shasta Darlington reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Dilma Rousseff, once a popular Brazilian president, the first female to hold that office,
now facing possible impeachment.
Rousseff grew up in an upper middle class family from southeastern Brazil. Following a
coup in 1964, a teenaged Rousseff joined the resistance movement against the military dictatorship. In 1970, she was arrested by government forces,
jailed and tortured by her captors.
When the charismatic leader of the Workers Party, Luiz Inancio Lula Da Silva was elected in 2003, Rousseff was appointed minister of mines and
energy and was chair of the state-run oil company Petrobras. In his second term, Lula Da Silva groomed her to be his successor.
In 2010, Rousseff won the presidential election with 56 percent of the vote. Her approval rating soared to nearly 80 percent by 2013. But a year
later with the economy tanking and Petrobras in the midst of a giant corruption scandal, she just barely won reelection.
In the meantime, dozens of politicians in her party and coalition were charged for bribes and money laundering amounting to billions of dollars.
Lula da Silva was called in for questioning.
Rousseff wasn't implicated in the probe, but millions have taken to the streets demanding she step down, protesting institutional corruption and
economic woes. Now she's likely to face an impeachment trial for allegedly manipulating the federal budget to hide a shortfall ahead of 2014
elections.
In an exclusive interview, CNN's Christiane Amanpour asked Rousseff if she thinks she'll
survive.
DILMA ROUSSEFF, PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL (through translator): I wish to tell you one thing, more than just thinking that I will survive, I will fight to
survive not just for my term in office, but I will fight, because what I'm advocating and defending is a democratic
principle that governs political place in Brazil. Who found the impeachment process against me? All of them are being charged for
corruption charges, especially speaker of the house. My life was turned upside-down. They looked everywhere to find something against me, and
there's no corruption charge at all against me.
DARLINGTON: But in the meantime, her vice president, Michel Temer is already waiting in the wings ready to take over as soon as the senate
approves the impeachment motion.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: So what happens next? Well, Shasta is in Brasilia and has more -- Shasta.
DARLINGTON: That's right, Becky. The session here at the senate got a slightly late start today about an hour, that was partly because traffic
was blocked all across the city. It was very difficult to get here.
We've seen the President Rousseff and her supporters really throwing in their last-ditch efforts to try to stall this with an appeal to the supreme
court that hasn't been responded to, with her supporters out on the streets in various cities last night, some of them burning tires, but at this
point, with the senate session open and with this really kicking off, it looks like it's the beginning of the end for Rousseff. So what will likely
happen is we'll this vote tonight, a majority will vote to launch that impeachment trial and she will be notified and she will be asked to step
down.
Tomorrow morning we might see her vacating the presidential palace, sort of defiantly walking down the ramp. She gets to keep the presidential
residence while the trial is going on. And then the vice president Michel Temer stepping in and really likely taking some quick steps to try and calm
markets. What we've seen is every time it looks like the impeachment is going through the markets get excited. He has got to send a message
quickly that he has the right people in place to adopt measures that are market friendly, get the economy kickstarted and get some investment coming back in.
So, that will be his first order of the day. And Rousseff, in the meantime, is going to really set up a bunker in her -- in the presidential
residence to try to defend herself until the very last day, Becky.
ANDERSON: 11th hour in Brasilia.
Shasta, thank you for that. Shasta Darlington for you on that story.
Right -- what -- here's a puzzle for you. Now, what do a plastic bottle, and a box of tissues have in common? We'll explain that up next for you.
And later, caught on camera. The British queen makes some unguarded comments about Chinese visitors.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Right, you're watching CNN. This is Connect the World with me Becky Anderson. 19 minutes nearly past 7:00 here in the UAE.
Now, before the break I asked you what these two things have in common -- a bottle of water and box of hankies. Figure it out? Well, the answer is
they, like so much in our lives, are linked to these: barrels of oil. Both use the commodity to get made or -- and/or moved around.
The cost of a barrel of oil has more than halved over the last two years. Look at the long deep slide here as for why it's simple economics. More
oil is being tapped than the world has a use for.
So it may be slightly confusing to learn that the world largest oil company Saudi Aramco wants to pump even more.
CNN Money's John Defterios got rare access inside what is a relatively secretive company, I think we could say, to find out why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN MONEY: Even in this remote patch of desert the giant Saudi Aramco is present. The Shayba field, in the fabled Empty Quarter,
will soon hit a major milestone producing one million barrels a day.
[11:20:03] MOHAMMED AL-GHTANI, ARAMCO: We have just scratched the surface here in Shayba, and this is a frontier area. We have many other frontiers
in the kingdom -- the Red Sea, the north, here in the empty quarter in the south. So, there's great potential.
DEFTERIOS: Whether it's onshore, or its mega offshore facilities, the kingdom is ready to lift the cover off its crown jewel. A tour of Saudi
Aramco's vast compound in Dhahran is all part of that effort.
An engineer describes what sits beneath the desert sands and Gulf waters, the bigger the blot, the more crude there is.
This is a rare peak into the inner workings of the energy giant. It's part of the operation center maximize reservoirs in the oil fields. Aramco was
once shrouded in secrecy, but that is begining to change.
The company is being pried open by this man: deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and its playing a central part in what he calls his 2030 vision.
Through an IPO, the prince is hoping to unlock over $2 trillion dollars of value, an ambitious goal after the steep decline in oil prices. If all
goes to plan, by 2018, up to 5 percent of the company would be listed in New York, London and Hong Kong.
AMIN NASSER, CEO, SAUDI ARAMCO: As we are privatizing other industries in the kingdom, privatizing let's call it the crown jewel is something
important and is a vote of confidence in what we have.
DEFTERIOS: As we explore the country's new discoveries over 500 kilometers south of Aramco's headquarters, one is well aware the heat is on. The
government burned through $115 billion of cash reserves last year and now has less than $600 billion of money on hand that the IMF says could be
depleted by 2020.
Aside from the work being done by Saudi Aramco and fields like Shayba, other regional players want to grow their production. In fact, by the
early part of next decade, Iran and Iraq's combined production could match that of Saudi Arabia's, altering the competition within OPEC.
Which could make Aramco's master plan, including the IPO, an even bigger challenge.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, joining me from one of Aramco's main hubs, it's the city of al-Khabaa (ph).
John, good to have you with us. Is there -- there seems to be a lot of emphasis on Aramco to
deliver the plans that the deputy crown prince has for this vision 2030. Is it too much emphasis and or
pressure do you think at this point?
DEFTERIOS: Well, what's interesting,, Becky, it's very clear that deputy crown Mohamed bin Salman wants to use Saudi Aramco almost as a Trojan horse
to kind of roll throughout the country, surprise people, as a center of excellence, to set the example for the rest of the country in terms of
employment and delivering. That's the burden on Saudi Aramco.
But it's always delivered, Becky. It's been a very discreet company with the lowest cost production and the best reservoir management in the world.
But it's interesting with this targeted $2 trillion IPO they want to extract value out of the company and reinvest through Saudi Aramco to
create 500,000 jobs over 10 years. Get this, 200 SMEs, 50 tech companies serving almost as an incubator and even showed off yesterday we were in
headquarters a port that will create 80,000 jobs.
It doesn't sound like an energy company, but in fact the deputy crown prince assigned the chairman of Aramco not only as a minister of energy,
but industry and minerals as well.
It is a burden on Khaled al-Falih, to deliver the track record of Aramco right through the economy, but every day, Becky, it's very interesting you
look at the Arabic and English favors, it is 2030 vision every single day. People are starting to buy into the fact this is the only game in town to
move beyond energy to break that addiction that the deputy crown prince has been talking about.
ANDERSON: Yeah, John Defterios in Saudi for us this evening thank you.
Well, indeed, not everybody is convinced that Saudi Arabia can pull off what really is an almost total economic overhaul, including the man who
predicted the huge crash in oil prices that we are seeing right now.
He is arguing that the kingdom is heading towards financial disaster, not transformation. Find out why and see if you think he's right. That is on
CNN.com, that's online, CNN.com. An interesting read there. See what you think.
Now, the kingdom has relied on oil as its key foreign policy tool for decades, hasn't it, but Washington is now a lot less dependent on Saudi oil
and that is change that's been seen at times as an unshakable alliance, but not everybody thinks the relationship should be left to wither. Among
them, the former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Frank Wisener who is with us now from New York.
Good to have you with us, Frank.
Following President Obama's last trip to Saudi, and it will be his last trip to the GCC, one assumes, you felt compelled to write an article
entitled "Why America still meeds Saudi Arabia." Explain.
[11:25:18] FRANK WISNER, FRM. U.S. AMBASSADOR TO EGYPT: The United States does still need Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia's been an ally, a friend, a
part of America's global network, now for many, many decades since President Roosevelt first met King Abdulaziz.
We've depended heavily on Saudi Arabia for influence in the Middle East, for a stable supply of oil to international markets. We've depended on
Saudi Arabia to fight in the war against terrorism. It's been a wide ranging relationship as important to us today as it ever was.
ANDERSON: OK. All right. Well, you know, far as the oil is concerned, the states can look
after themselves these days. And as we have just heard from John with this Vision 2030 there ain't going to be a lot of oil going forward being pumped
out of Saudi. It seems the vision is a post oil reality.
Frank, let me bring in something you wrote recently in an op-ed on the national interest website. That quote, "to launch reckless attacks against
the nation that has been a steadfast friend of the United States since its founding 70 years ago is to imperil our own security and our own standing
in the world," end quote, is what you write. Sir, I'm sorry, but that does seem a little overblown, doesn't it. Saudi may be a good friend to the
United States, but essential to American security many will argue it is most certainly not going forward.
WISNER: I wouldn't argue that. I believe it is essential. If you start with the premise that the United States has core interests at play in the
Middle East, with the catastrophe of the Arab Spring and revolutions which followed, one of the very few poles of stability left in the region, is
Saudi Arabia. And we have long-standing ties to that country.
I also don't agree that the oil issue is not a matter of prime concern for the United States, not for us, as importers, but as fuel that makes the
international economy, of which we're a vital part, function. So the capacity of Saudi Arabia to be a predictable and sensible oil supplier is a
major issue of importance to the United States.
ANDERSON: OK. All right.
Well, you've also written about the political tone in the U.S. election season. And you suggested it's becoming hostile to Saudi Arabia.
Let me play you something that Donald Trump said last year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Saudi Arabia, I like the Saudis. They're very nice. I make a lot of money with them. They buy all sorts of my stuff, all kinds of toys from
Trump. They pay me millions and hundreds of millions.
But you know what, they make a billion dollars a day, folks, and whenever they're in trouble our
military takes care. You know what we get, nothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: That's a drum he's been beating and still is that Saudi must do more to earn American help.
Sir, you now serve with what's known as the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, set up
you admit to inform the views of U.S. policymakers and lawmakers. You are in the business effectively of strategic communications.
Given Trump's rhetoric, how would you expect relations between the U.S. and this region, specifically Saudi, to develop under a would-be Trump
administration?
WISNER: Well, I have to disagree with the candidate rather frankly. Mr. Trump's assertion that Saudi Arabia puts nothing into the relationship is
flat wrong. The Saudis are critical partners of ours. There would be no path it to peace in either Iraq or Syria without Saudi Arabia. There would
be no stability in the Gulf between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which is important to the flow of oil. Without Saudi cooperation, there would be no
intelligence sharing that deals with serious terrorist threats.
Saudis put a great deal, and we count on them for a great deal. That doesn't mean they're not problems. We don't have deep disagreements. We
talk about those disagreements. But my argument to you and to everyone is that those disagreements can be discussed respectfully, sensibly, wisely,
without calling into question the fundamental relationship that brings our two countries together.
ANDERSON: Why America still needs Saudi Arabia, explained by Frank Wisner. Thank you very much indeed for joining us. it's been a pleasure having you
on the show.
Donald Trump has coined a new nickname for Bernie Sanders after the Democratic candidate's win over Hillary Clinton in West Virginia. I'm
going to update you on the race for the White House. That's up next. Stay with us. Taking a very, very short break. Back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(HEADLINES)
[11:33:50] ANDERSON: Queen Elizabeth has been caught on camera making comments about the Chinese officials who visited Britain with president Xi
Jinping last year.
The queen said they were, quote, very rude. Well, CNN's royal correspondent Max Foster has the details of the exchange joining us from
London.
Storm in a tea cup, Max, or something more?
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's extraordinary. If we show you the footage you sort of need to make up your own mind. What is
very unusual about this, is that we never really get a sense of what the queen says in these sorts of
conversations, because the royal cameraman who filmed this is normally further back just picking up the ambient sounds, picking up the atmosphere.
But this is was a moment where the queen went into a conversation with the police commander who looked after the most recent Chinese state visit to
the UK, which on the face looked as though it went smoothly indeed, but maybe we'll be able to listen to the sound and you can see for yourself,
Becky.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUCY D'ORSI: Quite a testing time for me. I did. It was, I think, at the point that they walked out of Lancaster House and told that the trip was
off.
QUEEN ELIZABETH: They were very rude to the ambassador.
D'ORSI: They were, well, she was -- Barbara, she was with with me. And they walked out on both of us.
QUEEN ELIZABETH; Extraordinary.
D'OSRI: It was very rude and very undiplomatic, I thought.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:35:10] FOSTER: So, a lot of tension behind the scenes clearly, Becky, at that time and a sense that the queen agreed that they were very rude as
well.
We never hear her opinions as you know, she's expected to stay above politics outside diplomacy so she can retain her position as an independent
head of state.
ANDERSON: Max Foster in London for you tonight. Thank you, Max.
Well, The Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has racked up another win. He scored big in West Virginia out front over frontrunner
Hillary Clinton on Tuesday. Clinton still enjoys a comfortable lead in the delegate count, but Sanders shows no signs of dropping out of the race, and
that forces Clinton to split her focus between him and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Well, Trump easily captured wins in West Virginia and Nebraska on Tuesday, all building up to those incredibly important conventions in July. Our
senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns is tracking the Democratic race and joining me now live.
By the way, Trump coining a new nickname for Sanders calling him Crazy Bernie, something of a compliment giving that he is talking about him at
all, I would suggest, no?
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I would think Crazy Bernie is definitely not considered to be a compliment, Becky, though, Trump who likes to label his
opponents and critics with nicknames started using it while suggesting he might consider focusing on Sanders because Sanders
continues to perform well in the primaries.
Just last night Sanders did defeat Hillary Clinton in the West Virginia primary, and that Sanders' win in West Virginia, while it's quite
interesting, it does not change the dynamic of the race for the democratic nomination because Hillary Clinton continues to lead in the pledged
delegate count for the convention.
Still, it does show the former secretary of state's weaknesses. She lost badly with men voters in
that state. She did not have a demographic backstop, if you will, since it's a state with a relatively small
minority population. She does well with black voters, but there aren't that many in West Virginia.
So, there are warning signs for the Clinton campaign and when you look at the latest Quinnipiac
polls in some of the battleground states like Florida and Ohio and Pennsylvania, Clinton appears to
be running neck and neck with Donald Trump in the hypothetical match-ups, Becky.
ANDERSON: And if you put Sanders up against Trump I think I'm right in saying this he actually beats him in one if not two of those states. So,
what is that telling us about how things are shaping up going forward?
JOHNS: Yeah. It is an interesting dynamic, and Trump actually addressed that suggesting that the reason why Bernie Sanders' numbers are high
against him, because Trump has not focused on Bernie Sanders.
And I also think it's true that Hillary Clinton with her high negatives has attracted a lot more attacks than Bernie Sanders. has and if we were to
actually get into a general election situation where it was Sanders versus Trump, the picture might be much different very quickly, Becky.
ANDERSON: Fascinating. All right.
What can we expect between now and these conventions? For our international viewer who
may be new to the machinations, transfixed and fascinated by what has been going on to date, of course
we still have six months until the election and these important conventions up in July. What happens next?
JOHNS: Well, there is still the race for the California primary, which is the biggest state of all as it were in terms of delegates and the
expectation so far is that Hillary Clinton will, in fact, end up with enough delegates to become the nominee. And at that time, we'll start
seeing the true pivot toward the general election.
Donald Trump has already started with that. He's named, for example, Chris Christie as his, if you will, the transition manager, presuming he were to
win. He's also named a chief operating officer to handle all the money because now he's starting to raise money for a general election. And we'll
see some of that presumably with Hillary Clinton as well, assuming she does consolidate and become the
presumptive nominee on the democratic side.
So, we'll see a lot of inside baseball and probably more attacks, quite frankly, from Donald Trump and we'll see some of that presumably with
Hillary Clinton as well, assuming she does consolidate and become the presumptive nominee on the Democratic side.
So, we'll see a lot of inside baseball and probably more attacks quite frankly from Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton trying to respond to those.
ANDERSON: Yeah. I think Crazy Sanders is probably going to be the least of it, isn't it?
All right, thank you, Mr. Johns.
27.8 million, that is the number of people who were displaced by conflict and disaster in 2015, one year alone.
Now, according to a new report from the Norwegian Refugee Council, the total number of internally displaced people worldwide is the highest it has
ever been. Earlier, I spoke to Jan Egeland. he is the secretary-general of the council and a senior adviser, importantly, to Staffan de Mistura,
the UN special envoy for Syria.
And I began asking him why that number is so high?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAN EGELAND, SECRETARY-GENERAL, NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL: Really two reasons. People are displaced because of horrific wars that are not
protecting at all the civilian population.
So in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, but also in Nigeria, in Sudan, in Congo it's the civilian population that are being attacked by the armed actors. And the
second reason is that natural disasters are really creating havoc in vulnerable communities, altogether, 19 million times people were displaced
by disasters last year, and more than 8 million times by conflict last year.
ANDERSON: We hear a lot about refugees and about migrants, we hear less about internally displaced people. How is an individual, and that could be
you or me, affected by a life of displacement?
EGELAND: Well, it's so important to record internal displacement because there are twice as many those displaced become refugees within their own
country if you like, as those who become international refugees and cross a border. It's -- people are affected and
it's really it's families like our families that have to flee from our home because of a tremendous hurricane, volcano or other natural disaster and/or
an armed gang, group, government army coming to torch our house or to bomb us like happened in Yemen last year.
So millions are displaced within their own country and into endless misery and uncertainty because of armed violence.
ANDERSON: Jan, some of the highest number of conflict driven IDPs, as you point out, include Colombia, the DRC, Nigeria, as well as those that
perhaps make the news in Yemen, in Syria and in Iraq.
Some of these have been on the the list every year since 2003, since the list was put together. That is disgraceful. If the report highlights
anything, it is the glaring absence of political solutions to address the issue of displacement, isn't it?
If this is intended as a wake-up call, what is it that you are asking national governments and global policymakers to do?
EGELAND: Well, I think we're asking the Security Council of the United Nations to act as a
security council, maintaining and promoting peace and security for ordinary civilians. We're asking the great powers and the regional powers to not
bring fuel to the fires, but really, enforce peace, peaceful settlement of conflicts.
Indeed, Becky, there are 200 nations or nation-like states in the world. Ten countries every single year produce new displaced people. We should be
able to make peace in places like South Sudan, a new nation, in Nigeria where a terror group has created havoc in large populations or in Yemen
which was the worst country last year in terms of displacement. It was a totally senseless war with too many international actors acted on each
side of that conflict.
ANDERSON: Yeah, 1.7 million people displaced by conflict in Eastern Ukraine and so the story goes on.
Let's hope we don't have to talk about these sort of record-breaking numbers with you again this time next year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[11:45:03] ANDESON: Jan Egeland speaking to me earlier.
Well, live from Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World. Coming up...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM BARRACK, REAL ESTATE MOGUL: If the Republicans don't change the dialog, they will go the way of Tyrannosaurus Rex. They will not be
relevant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Why real estate mogul Tom Barrack supports Donald Trump and we are off to South Africa where a unique distillery is tapping into a growing
demand for specialty drinks, that's next in what is this week's African Start-Up for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMIR DAFTARI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Catering to growing consumer demand for artisanal goods and quality, Durban's first craft
distillery aims to capture the distinctive taste of South Africa's Surf City.
UNIDENTIIFED MALE: Durban is an incredibly exciting place to be at the moment with an amazing creative energy.
DAFTARI: Located in the up and coming Station Drive precinct, Distillery 031 was founded in 2013 by creative brand strategist Andy Roll (ph).
The company offers a portfolio of limited edition spirits that comprise vodka, spiced rum, absinthe and aperitifs.
Roll (ph) has given these vintage staples a refreshing twist by incorporating uniquely African botanical infusions such as baobab and
roybos (ph). Pure sugar cane juice and molasses found locally make up the base ingredients. This is miexed with water to become a mash. Yeast is
then added to the mixture, which converts the sugars into alcohol.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE; So once the mash is fermented, we transfer it into our stills and we start the distillation process.
DAFTARI: Starting up the business called for patience and resilience.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of our biggest challenges was the licensing process. In order to get our license, we had to wait for almost two years.
And during this time, we had to pay rent on the distillery, but we weren't able to sell any spirits and generate any revenue.
DAFTARI: Rolls (ph) innovative solution was to refurbish a derelict three story clothing factory into a mixed use development. The building houses
the distillery and leftover space has been rented out to generate an additional source of income.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The average price of one of our bottles is about $20. And we
currently sell in and around 2,500 bottles per month.
DAFTARI: To showcase the diversity of his spirit range, he's expanded the business to include
a bar and a restaurant.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For us it's very important that we engage with our customers face
to face and give them the opportunity to sample our product.
DAFTARI: The gourmet street food menu has been designed specifically to accompany signature cocktails. As the founder of this startup, Roll (ph)
is in high spirits when discussing future plans for his crop distillery.
He wants to take the brand overseas and expand production facilities to meet increasing market demand for the products.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Developing countries need to focus on innovation and quality, rather than simply low cost and that's something that I'm really
proud to be part of.
DFATARI: Amir Daftari, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: You're watching CNN. This is Connect the World with me Becky Anderson. Welcome back.
Now, U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump often touts his success in business, doesn't he, on the campaign trail. He has had some
notable failures as well and Trump is still resisting calls to release his tax returns telling the Associated Press there is nothing to learn from
them. Read into that what you will.
Still, one prominent real estate mogul says Trump's background makes him the perfect choice for the White house. CNN Money's Cristina Alesci
reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN MONEY: Tom Barrack may not be your typical Trump supporter -- he's rich, he lives in L.A. and he has immigrant roots. And
yet...
You're one of the few people in the business world that is really supporting very publicly
Donald Trump. Why?
BARRACK: I, as a user of the system, am also angry with the system. I'm not angry at the people who are implementing the system, I'm not angry at
President Obama. It's really, really difficult unless you have somebody who's chipping away at all of these bureaucratic pieces.
ALESCI: What are you angry about?
BARRACK: if you sit here in Los Angeles, you have 150,000 homeless, 90 percent of them are vets. you have a public school system that doesn't
function. You have a Social Security system that's going to be bankrupt.
The only hope that we have is to send a few warriors into that field who will chip away and ask the right questions.
ALESCI: That's why Donald Trump is making some Republicans uncomfortable.
BARRACK; If the Republicans don't change the dialogue, they will go the way of Tyrannosaurus Rex. They will not be relevant.
ALESCI: Barrack met Trump in the 1980s when the two were negotiating real estate deals.
You've also supported him because of his business acumen. But when it comes to certain deals that he has done, they really haven't panned out all
that well.
For example, four business bankruptcies.
But Barrack says Trump has learned from failure.
BARRACK: You look at the entirety of his track record, he's an outstanding businessman. As a real estate guy, he came back in spades. And as he
built the brand, as The Donald became more celebrity-oriented over "The Apprentice," the value of his real estate empire became greater and
greater.
ALESCI: Despite his own success, Trump attacks other businesses like Ford and Carrier.
TRUMP: maybe we don't buy Fords anymore, who knows?
Is Trump pro-business?
BARRACK: Of course he's pro-business. But he's attacking the companies because at the heart of all of this is that human emotion. And I think
what makes him so interesting to me is as big a personality as he is, his heart really sits in the shoes of the average guy, and that's not rhetoric.
So far within the realm that he is dealing, it appears that what he's done is more presidential than the other 35 candidates he was running against.
So I'm not sure what more presidential is.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[11:55:24] ANDERSON: Answers on the back of an envelope.
Well, entrepreneurs are looking out for that cracking business opportunity they think could go
stratospheric, out of the box or this galaxy thinking. Well, think space hotels.
if you have $25 million to spare, yes, you heard me right, you could check in.
More on that story and some of those on the show and other that team is working on, do use the Facebook page, that is Facebook.com/cnnconnect.
You know that. And you can get in touch with me on Twitter. Tweet me @beckycnn. That is @BeckyCNN.
That's your fill tonight or nearly.
Because Dubai is often seen as a city brimming with glitz and glamour, but in tonight's Parting Shots one former tour guide shows us that you don't
have to scratch very far beneath its shiny surface to unveil a whole other side of the city.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dubai has become quite synonymous with incredible architectural projects and tourist attractions.
Four years ago while I was working part-time as a private tour guide, I would usually take guests out on a tour of the older districts and
neighborhoods of the city. There aren't really too many publications about the actual city. So I decided to create a series of books based on
those tours, which are in essence the photographic journey through the older districts and neighborhoods of Dubai.
The general idea was to introduce and present a side of the city that embodied a more humble and normal aspect of everyday city life.
Dubai is well known for its multiculturalism and ethnic diversity. It's one of the few places in the world where you can see such a diverse mix of
nationalities and identities all dressed in their home country attire walking around and it's completely normal and no one cares.
The end goal of it all is really just about helping provide a deeper understanding of the city and
being able to offer some insight into a side of Dubai that many tourists don't have access to and don't really know too much about.
My name is Jalal Hasina (ph) and these are my parting shots.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: And that was Connect the World with me, Becky Anderson. A very good evening. Thank you for watching from the team here. We'll see you
tomorrow.
END
