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Bombings Target Baghdad Markets; No Date to Restart Syria Peace Talks; Vote Scheduled for E.U. Membership; World Powers Set to Arm Libya Unity Government; Moscow Supports Fights against Terror, Not Assad; Megyn Kelly Goes Head-to-Head with Donald Trump; Iranian Model Questioned on Live TV; Tutankhamen Scans Contradict Each Other. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired May 17, 2016 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Tonight: carnage in Baghdad as a wave of horrific bombing attacks tear across the city. We'll look at
what's behind the new wave of deadly violence.
Plus --
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "I think reconciliation like this is the only way forward."
ANDERSON (voice-over): A rebel in Syria tells CNN that only they can end the fighting there and not diplomats on the other side of the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: We're live in Damascus for you.
Also Donald Trump taking on "The New York Times" but is the man some call a master media manipulator biting off more than he can chew this time?
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ANDERSON: Hello, I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi just after 7 o'clock here. This is CONNECT THE WORLD. We begin in Baghdad this evening, where
we have seen bomb after bomb go off across the Iraqi capital.
So far we've confirmed 28 people have been killed. The explosion targeted three different neighborhoods.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON (voice-over): You're looking at the aftermath of one of those attacks at a market in alshab (ph). ISIS has said it was behind the
bombing there.
The terror group has been responsible for a surge of violence in the capital as it loses ground elsewhere. Our senior international
correspondent Arwa Damon has covered Iraq extensively over the past decade or so, this hour following the very latest from Istanbul.
What do we know of the details at this point and why this is happening now?
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, that attack that happened in the marketplace, the one that ISIS claimed
responsibility for, the attacker in that instance, went into the marketplace, began throwing grenades and then detonated the suicide belt
that he was wearing.
This is something that has been a trend over the last few weeks, ISIS going in after these various different soft targets, and it was a trend that was
repeated throughout the day in other parts of Baghdad.
Yet another attack in the southern part of the capital and then once again in the Shia slum of Sadr City, where according to Iraqi officials, a car
bomb exploded. This is the same neighborhood of Baghdad, where just last week, dozens of people, many of them women and children, were killed in a
marketplace.
Why this upsurge in violence now, much of it being claimed by ISIS?
Well, U.S. officials say that it is because ISIS is feeling pressured and it is on its back foot. But ISIS is an entity that has been known to morph
and adapt itself to the various different threats that it is facing.
Some would say that despite the fact that it had been losing territory, in crucial parts of Iraq, by focusing its efforts on attacks in and around the
capital, it is perhaps trying to draw Iraqi security forces away from other front lines.
But also that ISIS could be trying to capitalize on the existing political vacuum, the political chaos that is currently fairly rampant when it comes
to Iraq's system of governance. And ISIS is an entity that also knows very well the power of trying to exploit the preexisting sectarian tensions.
It also sends a very terrifying message to the Iraqi population that, even at this stage, they are not safe from the violence, that ISIS can continue
to target them even in the capital, that arguably should be among the best secured cities in the entire country -- back to you.
ANDERSON: Arwa Damon on the story for you this evening hour, thank you.
We are tracking two other main stories in the Middle East this hour.
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ANDERSON (voice-over): The U.S. and its allies now say they'll consider supplying weapons to the Libyan government to battle ISIS. The political
chaos there has created a security vacuum, allowing thousands of ISIS fighters to flood into the country.
[11:05:00]
ANDERSON (voice-over): On Syria, efforts to revitalize the peace process have again hit a dead end. Talks about the conflict in Vienna concluded
without any kind of resolution aside from a vow to strengthen an all but broken cease-fire.
But on the ground, the Syrian military claims some rebel fighters are putting down their weapons. Fred Pleitgen reports from Damascus.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Like so many places in Syria, the Qadam neighborhood in Damascus is scarred by five years of war. But now some
civilians are returning.
"I was forced out of here three years ago. This is the first time I'm able to go back," this woman says.
The Syrian army says a local reconciliation project helped silence the guns here, enticing some rebels like this man to lay down their arms.
"I think reconciliation like this is the only way forward," he says, "even though it might take some time for many rebels to latch onto the idea."
The Syrian military claims between 150-200 rebels have defected in Qadam, leading to a dramatic drop in violence.
PLEITGEN: As can you see, there's widespread destruction here in this front line neighborhood but, believe it or not, the military commander for
this district says it could have been even worse. They wouldn't have had the reconciliation program and that the fighting would have gone on even
longer.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): But the United States and the U.N. are skeptical of programs like this one. Instead of local projects, they want to strengthen
a nationwide cease-fire in Syria and jumpstart the political reconciliation process for the whole country.
Many rebel factions also don't trust the Syrian government, believing they'll be locked up or worse if they lay down their guns.
This member of the Qadam reconciliation council shows me lists of names he claims proves that many rebels are taking up the government's offer.
"The names in green are the ones who have been accepted into national reconciliation," he says. "So they are now free to go anywhere without
fearing punishment."
While this project may have yielded some results, in this neighborhood of Syria's capital, the U.N. believes only nationwide reconciliation, backed
and supervised by powerful nations like the U.S. and Russia, can overcome the distrust between the warring factions and move the effort to end
Syria's civil war forward.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: And Fred Pleitgen joins me now live from Damascus.
So, Fred, just how realistic is this?
PLEITGEN: Well, it seems as though the effects of projects like this one - - and it's not just the Syrian government that's trying this. The Russians are trying this as well.
When I was recently on Russia's military base in Latakia, they said that they had already broken dozens of local cease-fires of local reconciliation
efforts.
But it seems as though the effects of that are marginal at best because there's two things that we have to keep in mind.
On the one hand, there's still so many rebels out there who simply don't trust the government enough to lay down their arms and go back to the other
side. And at the same time, of course, a lot of the political things that they want simply haven't been achieved. A lot of them, of course, want the
president, want Bashar al-Assad to step down. The Syrian government says that's not going to happen.
And so their underlying qualms in many of these cases simply have not been resolved. But I think the main issue U.S. and the U.N. have with this
thing is that they say that local projects like this, in effect, undermine the greater struggle to try and get a cease-fire for all of Syria going
because, in effect, what happens is it divides a lot of the rebel ranks, with some of them trying to latch onto this.
Others sticking by their old position of remaining with the opposition. And at the same time, it makes it difficult for the U.N. to have a unified
position. They say there has to be one single entity fighting for this. And then the U.S. and Russia backing it up, it's the only way to do it for
the whole of the country -- Becky.
Frederik Pleitgen is in Damascus for you. And we're going to return to the topic of arming Libya's government in about 10 minutes' time.
U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby is my guest on that. More, as I said, in about 10 minutes' time.
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ANDERSON: All right. For some of the other stories on our radar this evening and the U.S. States of Kentucky and Oregon are holding their
presidential primaries right now the in the Democratic race.
Hillary Clinton is hoping to stop Bernie Sanders' momentum with a win in Kentucky. Clinton has a big lead in the overall delegate count.
Up to 31 athletes could be banned from competing in the Summer Olympic Games. It comes after the International Olympic Committee retested more
than 400 doping samples from the 2008 Games in Beijing. They are waiting on 250 --
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ANDERSON: -- retests from the 2012 London Olympics.
Sinead O'Connor has been found safe after going missing for more than a day. A search was launched near Chicago after the singer failed to return
from a bike ride on Sunday morning. Police haven't given any details about where O'Connor had been or how they located her.
Britain's prime minister says ISIS is probably in favor of his country leaving the European Union. It was perhaps his boldest statement yet as he
campaigns against Brexit.
David Cameron painted a very bleak picture of life outside the E.U., adding that Britain would lose trade, jobs and income if it goes solo. And now an
all but telephone poll for the "Daily Telegraph" newspaper shows the Remain campaign is gaining ground, suggesting 55 percent of people surveyed say
they want to stay in the E.U.
And on the Backing Brexit or Out stood at 40 percent. That's still, though, four out of 10 people who will be voting in the U.K. Mr. Cameron
addressing a World Economic Forum event just hours ago. CNN's international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, joining us from London.
What else did the prime minister have to say today?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, Becky, maybe before we get to that, let's look at the polling just a little because I
think we have to be cautious with polling in Britain. If we go back to the general election of last year, the pollsters were woefully inaccurate.
There is telephone polling and there is Internet polling. And the telephone polling does trend to give the Out campaign less support. The
margin is much closer at Internet polling, where pollsters generally believe people are more truthful and the margin between the In and the Out
camp, the Ins have it but it's just shading ahead.
It's statistically too close to call and there's even another poll out today that says actually the Leave campaign itself is ahead.
So I think we have to be a little cautious about the polling, which explains why David Cameron is campaigning so vociferously today, talking to
business men, talking up the business angles.
And what he was doing today where he said was sort of busting some of the myths that the Out campaign put forward, it would be easy to renegotiate a
better trade deal with the European Union once we leave.
He said here are the statistics; more than 40 percent of British exports go to the European Union, only 8 percent of European Union exports come back
to Britain. So he said on the basis of that, let's face it, if you're going to negotiate a new deal with the European Union, they're going to
have a stronger hand.
He said there's also a chance of losing banking service sector, insurance, banking, other financial services, would lose that service sector to the
European Union. So it was a lot of caution in what he was talking about today. And the overall effect, he said, would be worse for the Britain
public if they voted to leave the European Union. This is what he said.
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DAVID CAMERON, PRIME MINISTER, GREAT BRITAIN: I think when very respected organizations are saying as clearly as they are that output would be lower,
growth would be less, unemployment would be higher, prices would be higher, we would see a hit to living standards, that there is a very clear
consensus that leaving the E.U. would have not just a short-term effect on confidence and investment and growth but actually would have a longer-term
effect as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Now the Out campaign were also getting their message out, the flamboyant former mayor of London, Boris Johnson, saying that the whole
deal that Cameron was putting forward was a bigger stitch-up than the Bayer tapestry, that famous tapestry that depicts the Battle of 1066, when the
Normans crossed the Channel from Europe and defeated the British in battle.
He said that immigration was making the common worker in Britain worse off, that the FTSE 100 companies, their bosses were earning more, the British
workers less, blaming that on the system and on immigration -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Nic is in London for you.
Thank you, Nic.
At just before quarter past 7:00 local here, quarter past 4:00 of course in the U.K., still come tonight, Donald Trump isn't holding back his anger
over a recent "New York Times" article. His attorney is now demanding from the newspaper.
And Libya's political chaos, terrorist militia and multiple governments, who is running what?
And who's calling the shots?
Let's analyze that, up next.
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ANDERSON: Welcome back. You are watching CNN. This is CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson.
I want to take you back to a story on Libya now, an incredibly important one. It's been 24 hours since the United States and other Western powers
said they will consider providing the country's internationally recognized government, they say, with weapons to fight ISIS and other militia.
Things, though, very complicated on the ground with more than one government running the show. Let's go to Nick Paton Walsh in London to
break this down for us. Nick has spent a lot of time in Libya and was recently just there.
What do you make of Kerry's announcement, this legitimate government needs weapons to fight a -- an enemy in ISIS and that sanctions should be partly
lifted in order to help them out?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Well, there is an urgent need to, Becky, no doubt about it because a 10th of Libya's coastline, all
2,000 kilometers of it, is more or less under some sort of ISIS control, particularly around the stronghold city of Sirte.
So Europe's known it's had this problem for well over a year now. But seems to be finally them trying publicly to do something about it. But we
don't suddenly see weapons arriving tomorrow. Far from it.
What they're saying is the broad U.N. sanctions against Libya for arms that were to try to prevent weapons falling into the wrong hands could be lifted
if the legitimate government asks for them in a kind of well sculpted, I think was the Kerry phrase, way.
Well, there's a huge problem there and this legitimate government is one of three that claims it has the right to run Libya. It's the newest one. It
turns up at a naval base over a month ago now and it's slowly trying to get its tentacles into various parts of the institutions inside Libya.
But it has a really tough job ahead of it because just as we saw in Tripoli ourselves, the banking sector is under extreme pressure right now, hard for
people to get cash out of bank accounts, to collect their salaries. Banking officials not quire sure which of these governments necessarily to
listen to.
So John Kerry I think faces a second hurdle, too, when this legitimate government makes a request potentially, who of the many militia fighting
inside Libya actually answer to them.
We know there's a real pressing need for these weapons but we also know that unless that legitimate government actually has some sense of
representation on the ground, some broad mandate, the West is going to be struggling to give them weapons and know they're going to go into safe
hands -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Kerry described this U.N.-backed government as the legitimate government and he said that legitimate government should not be made the
prisoner of nor should be victimized by the virtue of the U.N. action.
You were in Libya just recently, Nick.
Do Libyans buy this, the third entity as it were, that they are told will be running the country, a puppet, many people in this region say, of the
U.N., the U.S. and the E.U.?
Do they buy it as legit on the ground?
WALSH: Well, I think those Libyans who are not invested in either the Tripoli based government or the Tobruk based government out in the east
simply want to see daily life get better. There are crippling power cuts, as I mentioned --
[11:20:00]
WALSH: -- a shortage in cash, daily life is abhorrent, frankly, very hard, has been for a long time.
So I think some people see the deduction of this new third government, bearing in mind the West has previously considered one of the other two
governments to be legitimate as well in the past, they consider this third attempt to perhaps be a bit to get things moving again.
Remember John Kerry's statement yesterday doesn't have an immediate, practical consequence necessarily. But it does say to people inside Libya
who are perhaps on the fence, if you want things to get better with international support or perhaps weapons to assist your fight against ISIS,
that's pretty urgent right now because we saw ourselves, ISIS are pressing hard against the major city of Misrata to the east of Tripoli.
If you in Libya want to get international assistance, well, it's this third government that you have to get yourself behind. But there's a broader
perhaps concern amongst all of this.
Some of the signs we saw there were the perhaps remnants of the old Gadhafi administration, bureaucrats from back then are finding themselves back in
the mix because of this third government or simply because of the chaos. That's going to lead to some suspicion.
And frankly now, there's been chaos for so long in Libya it's very hard to suddenly button things up again and switch the lights on effectively --
Becky.
Nick is in London for us this evening. Thank you, Nick.
So Secretary of State John Kerry then said the decision to arm the being government needs to be, quote, "carefully sculpted."
So how's that going to be done?
Joining me now is John Kirby he is the U.S. department spokesman in Washington.
Carefully sculpted.
What do you mean by that?
JOHN KIRBY, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: Thanks, Becky. Thanks for having me.
What the secretary means is that we have to have an appropriate balance. Obviously the government of national accord is now the official government
there in Libya. And there is a process by which they can ask for an exemption to get some training and equipping, some material assistance to
help them fight terrorists.
And we want to make sure that we are, the international community, not just the United States, doing what we can. But we also have to be mindful that,
as Nick just reported, it's still a dangerous place.
And it's still attractive space for terrorist groups like daish. And so whatever we provide, however it's provided, and on what timeline that it's
done in a way that we can be very careful and measure that this material isn't getting into the wrong hands.
And we don't have firm answers for that right now, Becky. This announcement just got made yesterday. We have to let the process go
forward. Frankly, there haven't been any official requests from the government of national accord right now. So we have to let these requests
come in and evaluate them on an individual basis.
ANDERSON: Can I just pick you up on one thing, you're calling this an internationally recognized government. You used to call -- the U.S. used
to call the government in Tobruk the internationally recognized government. But let's assume that this is the one that you're talking about, the GNA.
It isn't supported, is it, by the Russians, the Egyptians, the Emirates, for example?
So it does seem a bit loose to be calling this the internationally recognized government.
Are you sure that everybody's on board with all of this?
KIRBY: Well, yesterday's meeting had 20 countries and four international entities, including the Arab League and the Emirates were there. So it is
-- you know, 20 countries is -- that's not insignificant.
Now I can't sit here and tell you that every single nation in the world sees the GNA the way the United States does and the way those other 20
countries do.
But clearly coming out of yesterday's meeting in Vienna, there was an international community consensus that this was the government, the
official government in Libya and this was the government that needed to be supported.
ANDERSON: Exactly what sort of military kit is being requested by the GNA -- I'm wondering at this point as you carefully sculpt the argument and --
for this military kit, for the GNA, who exactly it would go to on ground?
KIRBY: Well, so the prime minister al Shiraz spoke to this a little bit yesterday. And he talked about this security force called the presidential
guard, which is sort of their official internal security service.
And so what we would envision -- and again, there's been no request by the prime minister yet to the U.N. for specific assistance. So it's a little
premature for me to speculate about what would be asked for and what would be provided.
But obviously it would be intended, according to the prime minister himself for this presidential guard force, this internal security force that they
have stood up there by the GNA.
Now I will tell you that obviously -- and this gets to the balance that Secretary Kerry was talking about, whatever they request, we're going to
have to evaluate those requests, based on the need, based on the threat that we know they're facing from terrorist groups, including daish inside
Libya.
And so you'd want to make sure that whatever's being provided, based on the ask, is actually in alignment with the mission that the presidential guard
and the internal security forces --
[11:25:00]
KIRBY: -- have to accomplish in terms of protecting their own sovereignty and their own people.
ANDERSON: We know that in the east of late General Haftar (ph), who is the commander of the army associated with the government, as it were, that was
running in these has been pretty successful of late.
Now I'm assuming this presidential guard has nothing to do with General Haftar.
Am I right in saying that?
KIRBY: Well, I'm not aware of the internal dynamics and the security force apparatus, I'm not aware of any linkage there. But this is -- but your
question raises a much larger issue. And I'm glad you raised it.
This is a time now for Libyans to come together, to -- all of them, whether it's on the -- in the security sector or in other sectors of government.
This is the time for all Libyans to come together, support the government of national accord and help Libya move into a new phase here.
The Libyan people have suffered for far too long. Humanitarian access is still a problem. Terrorism's still a problem. This is the time now for
everybody whether -- again, regardless of what sector they're in, to work together for a better future for all --
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: And you're absolutely right. So let me just stop you there. With respect, you're absolutely right. This is a time Libyans tell us for
security in the country, an army that will be able to work to secure the country.
But with a security on the ground, a police force on the ground, are you in the U.S. convinced that the GNA and its presidential guard, an entity that
has been plastered together as it were by the U.N., the U.S. and the E.U. primarily, is the right organization to do that for Libyans on the ground?
That's really the most pressing of questions I think --
KIRBY: No, I understand the question perfectly and it's a good one. Look, this is the entity that the prime minister of the government that is now
recognized by the international community to be the government in Libya, this is the internal security force that he wants to focus his efforts on
in terms of trying to protect his own people. And so we're going to respect that. These are decisions now that the Libyan people have to make
and the Libyan government have to make.
It's not going to be -- while we certainly, the international community, is going to take a look at the request and make sure that they're properly
vetted and aligned with the mission, it's not going to be for us to proscribe to the prime minister exactly what unit and what force is going
to get the assistance.
These are the decisions that the Libyan government and the Libyan people have to make and we're going to respect that. Now clearly, this is a
security force that he has designated to look after the internal security Libya and so, again, we're going to respect that.
ANDERSON: All right. With that, we're going to leave it there. This is an incredibly important story, not just for our viewers in this region but
for our viewers around the world. So I'm going to talk to you again. For the time being, though, thank you. We appreciate your time.
KIRBY: Great. Great to be with you, Becky.
ANDERSON: Just a few moments ago you heard from our Nick Paton Walsh.
Thank you, sir.
All next week, we're going to bring you his incredible reporting from inside Libya. I'll give you a preview of that now.
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WALSH (voice-over): A steady stream of casualties, quite unlike anything this city is used to. One witness said they saw what looked like four
armored SUVs containing Western-looking soldiers.
Simply can't imagine how under-resourced things are here.
Perhaps ISIS are using this passage of human life into Europe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Tune in tomorrow at this time for that report from Nick Paton Walsh.
Your latest world news headlines are just ahead. Plus a Middle East monetary mystery comes to an end. A full scale of how much U.S. debt Saudi
Arabia owns is revealed after four decades.
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ANDERSON: You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. At least 43 people have been killed in a series of bombings in three Baghdad neighborhoods. Is claiming
responsibility for at least one of those attacks. The terror group has been behind a surge of violence in Iraq as it loses huge chunks of
territory we are told.
Britain's prime minister says ISIS is probably in favor of his country leaving the European Union. In one of his boldest statements against so-
called Brexit so far, David Cameron painted a bleak picture of life outside the E.U., adding that trade, jobs and outcome would all be lost.
(HEADLINES)
ANDERSON: The U.S. and Russia vowing to strengthen the fragile cease-fire in Syria. The talks in Vienna didn't do much to revitalize the peace
process. Russia's foreign minister says Moscow is backing the Syrian army, not President Assad, in its war against terrorism.
I have the Lebanese foreign minister on the line for us this evening, he joins me from Vienna where he's been at those talks.
Thank you, sir, for joining us. A disappointing end to another set of talks.
Would you agree?
GEBRAM BASSIL, LEBANESE FOREIGN MINISTER: Actually, it's not only what we say but what we write. It's what we do.
Are we able really to have peace and stability back again in Syria?
The question is really unanswered today because we have to have the will for a real political solution. No one will back on a military solution.
As long as we have terrorists gaining ground and as long as we have, along with this massive influx of refugees, I think this is an issue that needs
more seriousness and dealing with.
ANDERSON: Is anybody talking about those displaced Syrians?
Lebanon has a huge, huge cohort of Syrian refugees.
When you sit around these tables at these talks, do you feel that anybody cares?
Is there a solution without their return?
BASSIL: It is -- we are talking of 200 refugees per square kilometer, something that no one country can bear. But this is beyond Lebanon. This
is beyond the geography of Lebanon. This is about emptying the region and Lebanon from its people and leaving it to terrorists.
So whenever we have this phenomenon, it cannot be contained on one ground. It cannot but reach Europe and the rest of the world.
[11:35:00]
So this is not about Lebanon only. It is about a culture of diversity that Lebanon is spreading versus a culture of hatred and violence that daish is
fostering and spreading along with some support, some political support, some financial support.
And as long as this is put in an equation where we have to get rid of a person in order to get rid of a terrorist organization, this will not
slide. We have to leave it for the Syrians, for the Syrian people to have their say. They will have to choose their future and the international
commission will have to provide the necessary conditions for the free elections to happen in Syria. This is the only solution --
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: Well, that's not -- that's simply not happening at present --
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: Yes, that's simply -- sorry. That's simply not happening, though, is it.
You were -- you're at those talks. Take us inside the room.
Where is the disconnect?
Is it between U.S. and Russia, for example?
BASSIL: It is a clearly political competition on the regional level and on an international level but we cannot play with such an ideology. We cannot
test our political abilities by allowing such an ideology to fly and land all over.
This is something uncontrollable. We cannot use it in our political competition to gain ground or to gain some political profit. That's why we
have all to show enough seriousness that, first, we have to eradicate terrorism, stop completely the flow of refugees and then we can deal on the
state or geographical basis, where we said, the Syrians, we provide for them this kind of free solution.
Politically, yes; military, no. Only we use the military to fight the terrorists. And we cannot also have the luxury of defining who is
terrorist and who is not. As long as we are leaving the room for terrorists to have a margin of being identified as such or no, they will --
(INAUDIBLE) to the extent where they can reach Europe. They can reach any other place in the world.
This is e-terrorism.
ANDERSON: OK. And with that, we're going to leave it there, sir. But we do absolutely appreciate your time in what has been clearly a very busy day
for you there in Vienna. Thank you.
Two U.S. states are holding contests in yet another round of presidential primaries. Kentucky and Oregon are having their say. Front-runner Hillary
Clinton has spent a lot time in Kentucky, hoping to pull out a win against her rival, Bernie Sanders there.
On the Republican side, likely nominee Donald Trump has his sights set on a different battle. His attorney is now demanding that "The New York Times"
retract its story about Trump's behavior towards other women -- or towards women; sorry.
Another attorney has already suggested he may sue. CNNMoney's Brian Stelter has more on this story from New York.
This -- quite remarkable.
Where do things stand at present?
Is it -- "The New York Times" is pretty -- clearly in Trump's crosshairs at present.
Has he bit off more than he can chew at this point, though, do you think?
BRIAN STELTER, CNNMONEY SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Well, for two days he has been attacking "The New York Times" with very harsh language, calling
it a failed news organization and saying the article about him was a false hit job, a hit piece.
It was not an entirely false story; there's been no request for corrections from any of the sources for the story. But because one of the women quoted
in the story, the lead anecdote in the story, actually, she came forward, saying "The Times" had spun her words to make them sound negative when they
weren't actually negative.
And that's what gave Trump an opening to criticize the story and criticize it harshly and tell his fans not to believe a word of it.
However, what "The Times" is raising is (INAUDIBLE) hear Hillary Clinton raise in the fall, probably even before then. Trump's behavior with women,
his treatment of women in his businesses over the years, is going to remain a campaign trail issue, even if "The Times" maybe overplayed this story or
did not handle the attacks from Trump very effectively. This is going to remain a theme of the campaign. And frankly, gender in all its forms, is
going to be a big theme of the campaign as we see a female nominee of the Democratic Party most likely versus Donald Trump.
ANDERSON: FOX News has accused Trump of making sexist remarks against one of its female anchors. But he still sat down with her for an interview,
airing tonight.
Is the timing significant here?
STELTER: I think it is significant. This is the interview with Megyn Kelly --
[11:40:00]
STELTER: -- that's been long awaited. In the past Trump, has spoken viciously about Kelly, attacking her in highly personal terms. At one
point FOX said that Trump had a sick, extreme obsession with her. These are wild words to hear but they have reconciled. You'll see the interview
here. It's going to be airing in the United States in a few hours.
I think what it shows is Trump trying to strike a deal, right. He was critical, he was tough with her but now he sits down with her. He shows
that he is willing to make peace. Maybe that's a sign of his, I don't know, his foreign policy plans.
ANDERSON: Fascinating. All right, Brian. Thank you for that.
STELTER: Thanks.
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ANDERSON: Well, it been a mystery in the world of economics for four decade.
How much U.S. debt is Saudi Arabia holding?
Well, now the figure's been revealed. Just shy of $117 billion, it's a huge amount but well behind the $1 trillion China and Japan each own.
(INAUDIBLE) economic relations have been in the spotlight recently. Sources told CNN, Riyadh threatened to sell off American assets if Congress
passed a bill to let 9/11 victims sue foreign governments.
Right, Paul La Monica is with us out of New York this evening.
Let's start with this debt then. If we've learned anything, it is that this debt is actually a lot smaller than a lot of people had suggested.
Why the release of these numbers and the release now?
PAUL LA MONICA, CNNMONEY DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we finally -- yes, we have the release of all of these numbers for having increased
transparency in the Treasury market.
What I think it's important to note, Becky, is that even though that $117 billion number sounds huge, as you point out, it's not as big as some
people speculate is the real actual number that the Saudis may own because they may hold treasuries in other countries, Switzerland perhaps, maybe
Belgium.
China's treasury holdings, for example, a lot of people think that it's even bigger than what's reported because of holdings in places like
Belgium.
ANDERSON: All right. Good stuff. Thank you for that. We're going to follow this story. It's called follow the money, I guess, and we'll make
sure that Paul's on it for you and stay on it, keep an eye on the price of oil, of course, for the moment as well, important story for Saudi, the U.S.
and the rest of us and hovering around relatively high levels at around 47.5 bucks on the barrel.
Right. Live from Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD. Coming up an Instagram star offends Iran's hardliners for not wearing a headscarf.
We're going to have more of the details on a new social media crackdown up next.
And one of civilizations greatest mysteries just got more mysterious. Why scans of Tutankhamen's tomb are baffling experts.
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[11:45:00]
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ANDERSON: You're with CNN and CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson, 44 minutes past 7:00 here. An Iranian model who became famous for her
stunning blonde good looks has run afoul of the country's hardliners for posting pictures on Instagram without a headscarf. Let's call into several
media reports.
Alam Arab (ph) is one of a number of Iranian models caught up in a sting operation, targeting social media. The crackdown comes amid a growing
divide between Iran's youngsters and the country's hardliners: 60 percent of Iran's population of 80 million is under the age of 30.
Let's talk more about the social media crackdown in Iran. I'm joined from New York by the Iranian American journalist and commentator, Negar
Mortazavi (ph).
Thank you often joining us. Talk me through what you believe is going on at present.
NEGAR MORTAZAVI (PH), JOURNALIST: So I think, like you said, there a divide between a very young population, which is Iranian society, even
within the population there's of course a widening divide between the older revolutionaries or the more religious and strict and traditional segment of
the society, which is shrinking, and then the younger one, who wants to be more modern, open to the world and are interested in these -- what is
called by the hardliners "the Western way of living."
ANDERSON: Now the headscarf has been the topic of convention in Iran not just over this story but for some time. Tell us more about those arrested
and why the authorities cracked down now, you think.
MORTAZAVI (PH): So the way we try to understand it is that there's a gap within the Iranian political structure, the hardliners and the moderates.
The hardliners have suffered a few important defeats, political defeats in the past few years. People voted for a moderate president three years ago.
Then he started open negotiations with the U.S. They cut a historic deal. Then the Iranians again voted for a moderate parliament just a few moments
ago and these have been a series of political defeats that the hardliners have suffered.
And this is sort of their political comeback and also a demonstration of power to the society that we're watching you, even though you're on social
media, you're posting stuff. It's very public. We're not going to let that happen. We're going to have a crackdown and sort of monitor it and
maybe contain it to bring it back to the more traditional revolutionary.
But I don't think it going to be very successful.
ANDERSON: You don't.
Why not?
MORTAZAVI (PH): Because it something that I think even the hardliners have acknowledged that is just -- it's happening. The gap is so wide and it
keeps widening. And the society is just -- that part of the society is so big and now so powerful that there is no way that you can force like even
the president, the modern President Rouhani, has said you can't force this old way of living or traditional or strict religious way of living on this
young society.
If they close it --
(CROSSTALK)
MORTAZAVI (PH): -- in one section -- yes.
ANDERSON: Yes, sorry. I interrupted.
My point was going to be you can because you could censor or shut down the social media platforms if you wanted to. I see where you're going. But if
that were the case and there is an example being made, a warning, a shot across the bows, as it were, what's the point, if they -- as you suggest,
have already conceded that whether like it or not, social media is out there. Whether they like it or not, there will be a Western influence as a
result of that.
I'm not sure why you think there will be any point in this sort of messaging at this point?
MORTAZAVI (PH): That's for the hardliners. It's their own way of exhibiting their power. There's also this struggle within the political
structure; the hardliners have been trying to block or close all these social networks, Facebook has been blocked for a while, Twitter has been
blocked for a while and Instagram, interestingly, has been one platform that the moderates have been able to keep open. They've been fighting for
it.
And this is the hardliners' take on now that they can't close Instagram, at least let's monitor some people and let's do some crackdowns so that people
don't feel so free and comfortable posting public stuff on it.
ANDERSON: Good stuff. Pleasure having you on. Thank you. Let chat again.
Live from Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD.
Coming up, can digging into ancient history, can new technology help solve one of mankind's greatest mysteries?
We'll try to peer deep into the burial chamber of King Tut, up next.
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[11:50:00]
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ANDERSON: You're with CNN. This is CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. We've got a couple of minutes left of this show. It looks like
a 3,000-year-old mystery will remain that way, at least for now. Two radar scans of Tutankhamen's tomb, looking for hidden chambers, disagreed with
one another. Nick Glass digs into the story for us.
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NICK GLASS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The north wall of the burial chamber of Tutankhamen, is there a hidden chamber behind it?
DR. NICHOLAS REEVES, EGYPTOLOGIST: I'm pretty cautious as a scholar. I don't stick my neck out too often. But I'm prepared to stick my neck out
here, because I think there is something to investigate. If I'm right, well, fantastic. But let's cross that bridge when we get to it.
GLASS (voice-over): Despite the skepticism of other Egyptologists, Nick Reeves is still sticking by his theory. This story, of course, begins back
in 1922 with the tomb's discovery by another obsessive middle-aged British Egyptologist, Howard Carter.
We still have the original plate glass negatives, a tomb filled with strange animals, statues and gold, everywhere the glint of gold.
Carter, posing as he prepared to break into the burial chamber, marveled at the treasures but was also puzzled. The architecture, the layout was odd.
For a royal tomb, it was surprisingly compact, just four chambers.
And strangely, after descending the steps, you turned right into the burial chamber, usually a sign that the occupant was female.
These stunning high-resolution images were made by Factum Arte, a specialist art company commissioned to make a replica of the tomb. They
published the images online in 2014, the walls with and without the paintings; in effect, a unique relief map of the surface.
With these scans, Nick Reeves could analyze the underlying bedrock. In the west wall, he detected the ghost of a door and, intriguingly, he found
another one in the longer north wall.
And this is where his theory becomes seriously provocative. The image has the mummified Tutankhamen in white on the left, his mouth about to be
opened so he can speak and eat in the afterlife.
Performing the ritual with a special tool is his successor, the pharaoh Ay. But Reeves contends that we've simply misidentified the pharaohs, beginning
with Ay.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's got a little double chin. This is identical to portraits of Tutankhamen.
GLASS (voice-over): So if Ay is Tutankhamen, who then is the mummy with the false beard?
Reeves points to a laugh or smile line at the side of the mouth, a physical trait found in sculptures of Nefertiti in middle age.
NICHOLAS REEVES, EGYPTOLOGIST: I look at this now and I think, how can anybody have thought this was anybody else but Tutankhamen opening the
mouth of his predecessor, Nefertiti?
GLASS (voice-over): The original ground-penetrating scans last November suggested that there are hidden chambers. But the most recent scans in
March suggested exactly the opposite, that --
[11:55:00]
GLASS (voice-over): -- there's nothing there.
The Egyptians are planning more scans.
REEVES: This could be nothing. It's just been a wild goose chase. But on the other hand, if I'm right in my reading of the evidence suggesting there
might be the burial of Nefertiti behind the north wall, surely that's worth -- that's worth going the extra mile.
GLASS (voice-over): Nick Glass for CNN.
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ANDERSON: Remarkable stuff. Incredible and amazing new discovery about Ancient Egypt. British archeologists have uncovered what they say is the
youngest mummy ever from that period. It was inside a coffin that was found around 100 years ago, the contents originally mistaken for mummified
organs. But researchers now say it was actually a mummified fetus.
For more on that, head to facebook.com/cnnconnect. That's our Facebook site and you can, well, just find more there. Lots of stuff there.
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ANDERSON: Right. Well, I've been told he is around here. But I can't seem to find Waldo anywhere. If you see someone -- and it really could be
anyone -- sporting a red and white jumper, let me know, all right?
While you keep on looking, in tonight's "Parting Shots," one man's journey to Waldo in a whole new way.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): I have been exploring the world since the '80s, where apparently humanity didn't have much luck finding me.
After some thought, I decided to share my work on social media. People constantly tell me I made them smile, I won their hearts or that my one
post with a few words made their day a little better.
I love everywhere I have been. Every one I have met. Every experience I have had.
Good things come for those who spread love. I don't know where I will be next but definitely I dream yet to be conquered to (INAUDIBLE) my
adventures all over the world.
There are so many countries, cultures, languages and people, I want to observe them all. So, for now, I would say that my future plan is to
spread the love to the whole world.
Hey, I'm Waldo Found and these are my parting shots.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: I'm Becky Anderson. That was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thank you for watching from the team here. It is a very good evening.
END
