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Explosion Rocks Hotel in Mogadishu; French Ship Detects Underwater Signal in Mediterranean; Leave Campaign Proposes Britain Adopt Australia- like Immigration Policy; Donald Trump Announces Plans to Visit UK; Kenya's Eco Post Turns Waste into Construction Material; Abu Dhabi's Budding Street Art. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired June 01, 2016 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:12] LYNDA KINKADE, HOST: Potentially a step closer to answers in the Mediterranean Sea: French authorities have detected what they say is an
underwater signal from one of EgyptAir's black boxes.
Also ahead, a major health scare, political chaos and now another economic blow. Brazil dives deeper into recession just ahead of the Olympics.
Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think the political press is among the most dishonest people that I've ever met.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Donald Trump lashes out at the media once again. We'll have more on his latest tirade.
Hello and welcome to Connect the World. I'm Lynda Kinkade.
We may now be a step closer to finding out why EgyptAir Flight 804 crashed into the Mediterranean Sea. French investigators say that an underwater
signal they've detected is definitely from one of the flight's black boxes.
The plane disappeared as it was flying from Paris to Cairo just under two weeks ago. 66 people were on board that flight.
CNN's Ian Lee is with us live from the Egyptian capital of Cairo. Ian, great to have you with us.
Last week the plane's manufacturer AirBus said it detected a signal. Was it from the same place, is it the same signal?
IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lynda, this is a different signal that was announced the detection of last week. This was the ELT, an
emergency locater transmitter, which activates within -- right when the crash happens and then lasts for a couple hours.
The signal that French investigators are saying they have detected is from one of the black boxes. This is likely sitting on the sea floor of the
Mediterranean. It was located by underwater listening devices that can detect that ping sound.
Now we don't know which box has been detected. We don't know if they've detected both of them, or if it is just this one.
But also, there is a special ship coming to the Mediterranean, it should be there within a week. This ship has the special devices needed to go to the
depths of up to 3,000 meters, 10,000 feet, and retrieve items on the floor of the seabed.
Now it is important to note now that investigators have detected the signal. They haven't actually found the box yet, that is going to be the
task for investigators in the coming days before the ship gets there. There is an Egyptian submerssible on the site in the Mediterranean that can
go to those depths, it has cameras, it will likely go down to try to confirm that the signal is from the black box, which investigators are
saying.
But if this is true, if they are able to get the black box, if it is in working order, this will be huge for the investigation.
KINKADE: Right, so it could take a week for them to get to potentially where
the black boxes are and then they have to find the exact location.
Do we know how much battery life could be left?
LEE: It really is a ticking clock, a race against time. As this plane crashed on May 19th, that was two weeks ago. And the battery life on these
black boxes is 30 days. So once those 30 days run up, that battery, that ping sound, goes away and it will be that much more difficult to find them.
Well, they found one, it seems like. Now, the quest will be to find the other black box. Typically, they could be in the same area, but depending
on the current in the Mediterranean they could be spread out. It really depends on how the plane broke up and fell apart.
But another key part of this investigation will be trying to find the fuselage. Is this black box located near the fuselage? That will offer
more hints, more clues to exactly what happened to this plane.
KINKADE: All right, Ian Lee for us reporting live from Cairo, thank you very much.
Well, now to a humanitarian breakthrough in Syria. Desperately needed aid is finally reaching civilians in Daraya just outside Damascus. The
International Red Cross says a relief convoy entered the town today for the first time since 2012. It posted a picture on its Twitter page, a stark
reminder of how years of war have left much of the town in ruins.
Daraya has come under repeated attack by the regime as it tries to drive out rebel fighters. Russia says it helped broker a 48 hour truce to
allowed aid deliveries.
Iraq's prime minister says concern for the fate of civilians in Fallujah is slowing an army offensive to retake the town from ISIS. Soldiers and
allied militiamen are surrounding the town, but haven't yet stormed the center. Just today, UNICEF warned that 20,000 children are among the
civilians trapped in that city. The UN says ISIS is already using some families as human shields.
Barbara Starr has more on the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): Syria's youngest caught in the line of fire in Idlib. Rescue crews work desperately. A small body pulled from the wreckage. At
least 23 people were killed in airstrikes, one hitting near a hospital.
The Russians deny they conducted the strikes.
Across Syria and Iraq, civilians caught in the middle as ISIS tries to defend its turf.
In Fallujah, the last major ISIS stronghold in Anbar Province west of Baghdad, Iraqi forces are pushing from the south and east, Iranian- backed
militias from the north. The U.N. says there are heavy civilian casualties as ISIS callously uses them for protection.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are also reports of several hundred families being used as human shields by ISIL in the center of Fallujah.
STARR (voice-over): Iraqi and militia forces not yet in the city center. There are thousands of booby traps and mines laid by ISIS.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they're being used as human shields as the U.N. report indicates, that means that they have absolutely no way out and
they're going to be pawns in the struggle between ISIS and the Iraqi government as well as the Shia militias and it is going to be one of the
worst scenes that we can possibly imagine.
STARR (voice-over): It's significant the Iraqis are staying to fight in Fallujah, not running away as the battle intensifies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We think that the state of play is much improved from a year ago. You know, a year ago here in Iraq, the barbarians were at the
gate. Baghdad was actually threatened and, in theory, was in direct danger of being invaded by these animals that we call ISIL. Now we've driven them
back.
STARR (voice-over): But from the top U.S. commander, continuing caution.
GEN. JOSEPH VOTEL, CENTCOM COMMANDER: I am being very pragmatic in this as I think we will continue to work through more obstacles, we'll continue to
see some setbacks. But I think we'll also see some continued progress.
STARR: There is another complication: Iranian-backed Shia militias are also in the fight to retake Fallujah, a Sunni town. A lot of concern that
sectarian violence could break out.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: There is another complication: Iranian-backed Shia militias are also in the fight to retake Fallujah, a Sunni town. A lot of concern that
sectarian violence could break out -- Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, let's get more on the fight against ISIS. Frederick Pleitgen is following developments from London. Thanks for being with us,
Fred.
We are hearing about a new offensive underway in northern Syria. What can you tell us about that?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're absolutely right, Lynda. ISIS really is under siege from various
locations. They're under a lot of pressure as well, not just in Fallujah, but also in the northern part of Syria. And really that offensive there in
northern Syria is very, very important. It's in a region called the Manbij regionwhich is , named after a town that's in that area. It's close to
Aleppo, also fairly close to Raqqah, but even more important right there on the border between Turkey and Syria. And it's the last swath of land
that ISIS still controls where it has a border with Syria.
And the reason why the U.S.-led forces, or U.S. supported forces, or the Syrian democratic forces, are trying to take that place is they want to
stop ISIS from replenishing their ranks through that very porous border between Turkey and Syria, something they've identified as being very important, the Russians have also said is very
important, and now it really appears that a push to try to seal that border is underway.
The Syrian democratic forces, which is a force that's made up of mostly Kurdish fighters, but also some Arab tribes as well, they say that in the
past couple days they've managed to take back some 16 villages and farms, but they also acknowledge, Lynda, that it is still a long way from being
able to seal that border fully.
But certainly that area there, very, very important. It's really hard to overstate how important that area is, Lynda.
KINKADE: Right. So, significant development there.
Just now back to Iraq, Fallujah was the first city to fall to ISIS. UNICEF, as I mentioned earlier, has warned that 20,000 children are thought
to be in that city. Talk to us about the humanitarian crisis?
PLEITGEN: Yeah. It's absolutely disastrous if you listen to what the UN says.
They say that in total there's some 50,000 civilians that are still trapped in there, 20,000 of them children.
You've had the issues that you've had over the past couple months, that city has been under siege, people not getting enough food, water, certainly
by far not getting enough medicine. So, they're already in a dire state as well. And now you have the fighting coming very close to there. And once
the Iraqi forces are able to enter that city and ISIS really fights back, we're probably going to see some pretty bloody urban combat with the
civilians most probably still trapped in the middle.
And as far as the 20,000 children that are still in there are concerned, the UN believes that ISIS is trying to force at least some of them to go to
the front lines and fight against the Iraqi security forces that are coming in, which obviously would put them more in harm's way than they already
are.
So, a very, very dire humanitarian situation and the UN is really warning about what could happen to these civilians if the fighting does intensify
the way that people believe it will, Lynda.
[11:10:25] KINKADE: OK. We'll have to leave it there for now.
Frederick Pleitgen, thanks for staying across that for us.
Well now to some other stories on our radar. Police in Germany have arrested three Pakistani men after more than two dozen women reported they
were sexually assaulted at a weekend concert near Darmstadt. Police say the number of reports could rise as more women come forward.
Wel, former Miss Turkey has been given a suspended sentence after being convicted of insulting the country's Prsident Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Merve Buyuksarac was sentenced 14 months for insulting Erdogan on social media. That sentence was suspended for five years provided she doesn't do
it again.
A 16-year-old Chinese boy has been arrested in Dubai after Chinese state media report that he hid in the cargo hold of a nine-and-a-half Emirates
flight from Shanghai. He reportedly thought he could make a fortune by begging for money on the city streets.
In three weeks, Britons will vote on whether or not to leave the EU. And there's a passionate debate as the referendum approaches.
Brexit supporters have unveiled a new immigration policy which would require new immigrants to speak, quote, good English and have the skills
for relevant jobs.
Under their plan, Britain would shift to an Australian style points based immigration system ending the free movement of people we see in the EU.
For more on this story, I'm joined by CNN's international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson. Nic, for those not familiar with the Australian-style
immigration system just explain what this would mean?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the idea would be, and this is a concept that's being sold here by Boris Johnson and Michael
Gove, two of the heavy hitters for the leave campaign, what they're saying is, is we will only allow in the people that we have jobs for that you'll
have to show up and you'll have to be qualified for the vacancies that we have.
You know, for example, Australia will allow in so many thousand lawyers a year, so many thousand IT workers. But of course in Australia this is an
effort to sort of boost immigration. But here in Britain, it will been idea to control immigration, to limit it, to bring the numbers down setting
a threshold of qualifications and a quota that would obviously have to vary depending on which particular job is needed filling in Britain, and also
that caveat as well that people would have to be able to speak good amount of English to come here as well.
This is seen for them at least for the leave campaign as a strong selling argument to all those people who are trying to make up their mind whether
they're going to vote to remain or vote to leave.
This obviously calculated to get them to say let's ok let's vote to leave and we'll get this tougher immigration system in place.
KINKADE: Right.
But so Nic, why is this leave campaign targeting immigration? Will this hit a nerve with voters?
ROBERTSON: Well, that's the plan. I mean, look, you can really see that if you look at what the remain campaign has managed to do, they've sort of
won the argument. I mean, won is perhaps a strong term, but they've been able to make a strong case why in economic terms it's probably better to
stay in the European Union, because there's uncertainty outside that, seems to be a winning argument
perhaps winning a few people over towards the remain campaign.
On security, more secure if you're in part of the European Union there's more sort of intelligence sharing, that's a narrative that seemed to sort
of win some ground.
But on immigration it's kind of the Achilles heel for the government and in the general election campaign last year, David Cameron promised to bring
immigration down to tens of thousands. Well, the figures this year are back up in the hundreds of thousands, 330,000, 184,000 this past year from
the European Union.
So, it's seen as vulnerable on immigration, that he can't control it. And people equate these high
levels of immigration with longer lines waiting to see a doctor harder to get their kids into the school of choice, more difficult to get jobs.
So, this is what makes a government vulnerable, that it doesn't have a narrative that says we can bring it down and it strikes a cord with voters
because they see it as some of the ills of the country. So, that's why the leave campaign hope it's a winning argument -- Lynda.
KINKADE: Right. And for the people in the remain campaign, the people that want to stay in the EU, they are making the arguments that wages would
be lower they're left, and security could be worse.
[11:15:05] ROBERTSON: Yeah. And they're making the argument as well that, you know, that what's being -- what might work for Australia in terms of
immigration doesn't work here. David Cameron would also say look, one of the things that he did manage to negotiate when he went to the European
Union and negotiated it on four points was that if people knew migrants coming to Britain from the European Union would have to work here for four
years, before having full access to the benefit system in the UK.
So, you know, he would sort of edge people away from saying that we're totally -- that the country is totally, if you will, at the mercy of
immigrants coming here for economic benefits only. And yes, the government would say, you know, change, change the system of immigration, pull us out
of the European Union, and there's economic uncertainty that we've certainly heard from a number of business chiefs, from a number of people
in the banking sector, who have stood behind David Cameron, the prime minister.
Of course no side here has really been able to sort of show concretely that their statistics are correct. And this is, obviously, what gets a lot of
people here difficulty in making up their minds.
It's not that they don't hear the arguments, they don't know who to trust and they don't know which way to turn and that's a tough thing for a lot of
people right now.
KINKADE: It certainly is. And no doubt, we will hear from both sides in the coming weeks with the referendum still many weeks away.
Nic Robertson, great to have you with us. Thank you.
Well, from the UK to Brazil the country's economy has plunged even deeper into recession just over two months before the Olympic Games. We'll have a
live report from Rio just ahead.
Plus, the low price of oil may be good news for many of us, but will it cause trouble at a
major meeting of crude producers on Thursday? We'll preview that just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: You're watching CNN, and this is Connect the World with me Lynda Kinkade. Welcome back.
More bad news for Brazil. There are just 66 days until the summer games and South American powerhouse isn't looking so powerful anymore.
Government figures show the economy shrank 5.4 percent in the first quarter of this year, plunging Brazil even deeper into recession.
Unemployment also shot up to 11.2 percent between February and April. In real terms, that means 11.4 million Brazilians are now out of work.
Our Shasta Darlington is live for us in Rio and joins us now. Shasta, Brazil was once one of the
fastest growing emerging markets, but the economy continues to tank.
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Lynda. And it couldn't be at a worst time.
You know, back in 2009, when Rio bid to host the Olympic Games, it was an emerging economy, it -- Brazil was the B in BRICs, and the Olympic Games
were really supposed to be a platform where it could highlight its growing political and economic clout. And instead, the whole world is watching as
it seems to implode both politically and economically.
These latest figures show that Brazil is firmly headed into a second year of recession. A lot of people are actually calling this a depression.
And it's even affected the Olympics in some unexpected ways. Brazilians have less purchasing
power, that means ticket sales are not doing well. Only 67 percent of tickets have been sold, that's a lot lower than what we saw at London just
two months away from the games. And organizers say they're optimistic, Brazilians are late buyers, but they are going to have to
really start pumping up these games and get people excited about it if they hope to fill those stands, Lynda.
[11:21:03] KINAKDE: Yeah, a lot of work still to do there. But they've also got a lot of problems politically speaking as well. Another minister
forced to resign, now more than half of the 594 members of congress face some kind of legal challenge.
DARLINGTON: That's right, Lynda. You know, one of the biggest, if not the biggest challenge facing the acting government right now, is this
corruption probe. The President Dilma Rousseff has been suspended to face an impeachment trial and her replacement Michel Temer, the interim
president, is hoping to get the economy back on track. He wants to put some pretty unpopular economic reforms through congress to do that, and
yet, his party is just as involved in a long running corruption probe involving the national oil company, as the suspended President Rousseff,
which means he isn't building the investor confidence he hoped and a lot of people are asking how can we really be certain his government will be
left standing. Do we want to give him and his economic reforms the kind of support that they need to get passed.
So, what we're finding is that Brazil is in just as an uncertain situation as it was a month or two ago, Lynda.
KINKADE: Yeah, it's a difficult situation all around. Shasta Darlington, great to have you with us. Thank you.
So, you may be wondering how Brazil ever got selected to host the games. Now, the International Olympic Committee picked Rio de Janeiro in 2009 over
competing bids from Tokyo, Madrid and Chicago.
Rio previously had been rejected as the host for the 2004 and 2012 Olympic Games. The IOC cited three main reasons for selecting Brazil. It's unity
between the three levels of government, the fact that South America never hosted the Olympics before and for the Brazilian way of celebrating sports.
Well, clearly, Rio isn't the only city to confront major challenges in the run up to the games, but they are certainly starting to pile it up. Let's
talk more about all of this with Ed Hula. He's the founder and editor of the new site Around the Rings. Great to have you with us, Ed.
ED HULA, FOUNDER AND EDITOR, AROUND THE RINGS: Thank you for letting me be here.
KINKADE: Pleasure.
There is a lot going on in Brazil right now. The corruption, the government, a major health crisis with the Zika virus. You've got the
worst recession since the 1930s, and a lot of Olympic venues, there's questions over whether they are going to be finished and sewage problems.
Is this Olympics cursed?
HULA: Well, they have more problems in the run up to these games than we've seen with anything in the recent games -- the health crisis the
construction, the corruption, the absence of an important leader for the government to lead the way for Brazil into the Olympics, I think is all
very difficult situation for the Olympics, for Brazil, for Rio de Janeiro. They're doing the best they can but they have got a lot of problems to deal
with in the final 60 odd days.
KINKADE: And you've covered so many Olympics. There are always problems with venues, questions over whether venues will be completed in time. This
is no different. But there's also issues around sewage.
HULA: Well, the venues are pretty much all done, but things that will not be left will not be
completed include the sewage problem. The Rio de Janeiro are the first Olympics to be held on the
Atlantic Ocean. Out of all the Olympic Games, incredibly only one so far on the Atlantic Ocean. And they might have taken it as a point of pride to
say we're going to clean up the bay, we're going to clean up the pollution, but it's not going to happen for these games.
It's 60 percent, 50 percent treated, and people will just have to be careful.
KINKADE: Careful indeed if they show up. I mean, Shasta mentioned in her -- when we spoke to her just a short time ago, ticket sales, only 65 or 67
percent of tickets have been sold for the the Olympics, even less for the paralympics, about a third of tickets have been sold, the government is
going to give them away. Will tourists actually show up?
[11:25:02] HULA: Well, the estimate that we've been hearing is 500,000 people traveling to Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics. I don't think it's
going to get anywhere near that number, probably a few hundred thousand visitors. There are plenty of tickets still to be bought in overseas
markets. I think that's one indication that there is a weaker demand for tickets, perhaps fueled by the fear about
Zika. I think it's all a perfect storm, anything that -- bad that could happen to Rio de Janeiro seems
to be happening at this point.
Zika I think is going to have an effect of scaring away visitors, spectators, not necessarily the athletes, but many visitors may be having
second thoughts about going to Rio right now because of that Zika concern.
KINKADE: And no doubt -- and some athletes have said they're not going to go. Some leading athletes have said they're worried about the Zika virus,
too, because they may be planning on starting a family, and we heard all those doctors and scientists from leading universities like Harvard and
Yale try to call for these Olympics to be postponed or canceled. Is that unprecedented?
HULA: It is unprecedented. But there have been major sports events that have been moved because of concerns about health. The women's World Cup in
2002 was moved from China over fears about swine flu virus. So, it has happened before.
It won't happen to the Olympics this time around. We've heard about professional golfers saying they don't want to compete necessarily in Rio
because of their concern about Zika, but on the other hand our reporter in Europe just talked with two of the Brazilian women who will be competing in
golf at the Olympics, and they're ready to go.
They have no concern about Zika and they want to play in Rio in the Olympics in 2016.
KINKADE: Well, we should see how this all pans out. Ed Hula, great to have you with us. Thank you.
HULA: Your welcome. Thank you.
KINKADE: Well, live this just in to CNN. We've got some new information, a story out of
Somalia. A huge explosion has rocked the Ambassador Hotel in Somalia's capital is Mogadishu. A senior Somali police officer says it appears the
terror group al Shabaab is behind that attack. He says gunmen stormed the hotel after the car bomb exploded.
We will continue to follow this story and we will bring you any updates as soon as we have them.
We're going to take a short break. We'll be right back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(HEADLINES)
[11:31:17] KINKADE: The U.S. government is warning Americans traveling to Europe to be aware of the risk of potential terror attacks on the
continent. The alert issued by the U.S. State Department does not mention a specific threat, but does say large public gatherings could be a
potential target for terrorists.
CNN's Erin McLaughlin has more on the story from Brussels.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the U.S. State Department has made it clear that this latest alert is not response to a
new or specific threat, but rather, a more general warning to U.S. citizens traveling in Europe about the potential for a terrorist attack on the
continent. It names some big events specifically, including the Tour de France, the Catholic Church`s World Youth Day in Poland, as well as the
European soccer championship in France, known as Euro 2016.
Now, Euro 2016 has been particularly important one for French authorities, considering intelligence officials believe that may have been the original
target of the terror cell behind the Brussels attacks. And French authorities really taking no chances when it comes to security preparations
for that, deploying some 90,000 security personnel just yesterday.
At the Stade de France, they held a security exercise, one of dozens of exercises to be held throughout the country, designed not only to get
security personnel ready for Euro 2016, but also to assuage the fears of the public. French authorities have expressed confidence in their
preparations security-wise for not only the matches to be held in stadiums, but also the fan zones, large outdoor spaces where fans will be able to
enjoy the matches as well.
Worth mentioning that French is still under a state of emergency and that has been extended through Euro 2016. The U.S. travel alert is expected to
expire August 31st.
Erin McLaughlin, CNN, Brussels.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, Donald Trump has just announced he will soon head to Britain. He's going on the very day the country tallies votes on the
Brexit referendum. It's a rare step for him into international waters and it comes alongside new poll numbers that may be boosting his confidence.
A new CNN poll of polls shows Trump and Hillary Clinton in a very tight race. Should they face each other in a general election this fall among
registered voters, Clinton holds just a 2 percent lead. So days to go until the next primary contest in California, the Democratic front runner
briefly stepped away from her battle against Bernie Sanders to zero in on her Republican rival.
Clinton is taking a page out of Trump's old playbook to confront him head- on. While he lashes out at a long-time favorite target the media. Here is Jason Carroll.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think the political press is among the most dishonest people that I've ever met.
CARROLL: Donald Trump going off the rails on the media again.
TRUMP: What I don't want I when I raise millions of dollars, have people say, like this sleazy guy right over here from ABC -- he's a sleaze in my
book. You're a sleaze because you know the facts and you know the facts well.
Excuse me, I've watched you on television. You're a real beauty. Find out how much Clinton has given to the veterans. Nothing.
CARROLL: The rant during Trump's press conference announced he raised $5.6 million at a January event and distributed it to more than 40 veterans'
charity.
TRUMP: I wasn't too involved in picking the organizations other than I gave $1 million to the marines, the law enforcement marines.
[11:35:02] CARROLL: Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump's likely opponent in the general election, responding to Trump's public media scolding.
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's bragged for months about raising $6 million for veterans and donating $1 million himself, but it
took a reporter to shame him into actually making his contribution and getting the money to veterans.
CARROLL: Her campaign pouncing, trying to draw a contrast on veteran issues.
CLINTON: Much of the work that I have done has meant tens of millions of dollars in increased benefits to veterans and their families as well as a
personal commitment.
CARROLL: This as the public gets a glimpse into Trump's business tactics outlined in the now defunct Trump University so-called playbook -- 400
pages of training material released as part of a class-action lawsuit reveals how team members were instructed to identify students with the most
money and urged to, quote, "close the deal on the most expensive package, the gold elite, costing nearly $35,000."
The lawsuit alleges students paid their money and never learned a thing. The newly-released documents cast light on how the university was marketed,
but what they don't show is what happened in classes after the sale was made.
TRUMP: I have a judge who is very, very unfair. He knows he's unfair. And I'll win the Trump University case.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, let's bring in Dylan Byers, a senior media reporter for CNN politics. Great to have you with us, Dylan.
Firstly, just looking at this poll showing Clinton only slightly ahead of Trump still a long way out from the November election, but can she take
much hope from that poll?
DYLAN BYERS, CNN POLITICS: Well, look, I think if Hillary Clinton looking ahead and what sort of the map looks like both in terms of delegates and
then also in terms of the popular vote and just demographically where she can sort of expand the map in areas that
Donald Trump can't. I think taken altogether there is some comfort there for the Hillary Clinton campaign.
But they're also looking at a candidate who has spent the last ten months sort of up-ending every single expectation that both his competitors and
the media and also the GOP establishment had about just what he could achieve and what he could pull off.
So, they are by no means resting on their laurels. They're going to fight very hard. They're looking at every single state that could possibly be in
play. You know, Donald Trump has even sort of intimated that he could turn the very blue state of California red. I
don't know how serious that is.
But look, there's not a single state, not a single vote that Hillary Clinton's campaign isn't taking seriously and isn't going to fight for.
At the moment, Donald Trump is, of course, much latter, he's dominating the media narrative. Hillary Clinton is sort of only dipping her toe in trying
to find ways where she can sort of wrest control of the narrative back from him. But I think she is going to become a lot more aggressive in terms of
taking him head-on and offering an alternative to his message probably after the conventions in late July.
KINKADE: And Clinton, of course, has weighed into Trump's donations to the veterans. Her campaign, we hear, is going to dig up all the disparaging
remarks that Trump has ever made about veterans. Could that hurt?
BYERS: Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, when it comes to Donald Trump, there's sort of a wealth of
material. I mean decades of material to work with in terms of opposition research, everything from Trump University towards his own business
practices towards, you know, his bankruptcies, his sort of history with Atlantic City casinos. I mean, there's really a lot of material here to
work with.
Now, of course, for Hillary Clinton, there's a lot of material for Donald Trump to work with in terms of her own past and her own history. I mean,
if you want to know what the next five months of American politics are going to be look like, it's going to be really ugly. There's going to be a
lot of digging up dirt and then a lot of mudslinging. That's what we have to look forward to. I think it's going to be a very negative campaign,
it's going to be less a campaign about trying to convey a positive message and more about trying to strike fear in the hearts of American
voters not to vote for the person on the other side of the aisle.
KINKADE: Right. So it's going to get pretty nasty looking ahead.
And also looking ahead there is some talk on whether Clinton should take on Bernie Sanders as
vice president. But some -- a few supporters of the opinion it's Bernie or bust.
BYERS: That's absolutely right. There's sort of the die-hard Bernie faithful who really don't like hillary Clinton a whole lot more than they
like Donald Trump. For them, Bernie Sanders has offered an entirely different message, of course the democratic socialist message, and they
like that. They view him as an outsider.
For them Hillary Clinton is very much an insider with him or bust. I do think once we move into the general election and once voters are given a
choice between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, and Hillary Clinton really tries to make the case she does stand on the side of those progressive
ideals that Bernie Sanders has espoused, it's going to be harder and harder for those Bernie Sanders supporters to sit on the sidelines and not turn
out to the polls to vote against Donald Trump.
But, of course, we'll just have to wait and see.
Now as for whether or not she would make him her vice presidential candidate, I think that's a long shot. I think she's looking at more
moderate candidates. I think she doesn't fundamentally believe that Bernie Sanders would be beneficial to her campaign. I also think she will be
looking for a younger vice presidential candidate, someone who can bring a little bit more energy on to her ticket.
[11:40:24] KINKADE: Although he certainly has the vote from a lot of young people. We'll have to see.
Dylan Byers, great to have you with us.
Well, now to some breaking news just out of Somalia. A huge explosion has rocked the Ambassador hotel in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. A senior
Somali police officer says it appears to be the terror group al Shabaab who is behind that attack.
For more, Robyn Kriel joins us on the phone from Nairobi.
Robyn, what else are you learning?
ROBYN KRIEL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What I can tell you there is this attack be is ongoing. As you said, first, a very large explosion near
the gates, or at the perimeter of the hotel, and then a shooting ensued.
We understand that some gunmen did go into the hotel and began shooting.
Now, this just to give you a bit of context, this is the -- this is at least the 12th attack on or near a hotel complex since 2015, so if this
does indeed turn out to be the Somali terror group al Shabaab, then this is their typical modus operandi starting with a large explosion and then going
in on foot carrying guns and trying to kill anyone they can.
The Ambassador Hotel, Lynda, is a hotel popular with Somali politicians including members of
parliament, also a large number of Somali diaspora who would have returned to the country given the relative security would have likely been staying
there.
We're also hearing there is a possibility that there could be some westerners inside as well.
So Somali security services however are responding and we'll let you know just as soon as we get more details.
KINKADE: OK, Robyn Kriel for us with that breaking news update. Thank you so much.
Well still to come, artists from all over the world were brought to Dubai to do something
that's normally against the law there.
And in this week's African Start-up, we'll meet one entrepreneur whose business is turning rubbish into revenue in Kenya. Those stories just
ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: You're watching CNN. And this is Connect the World with me Lynda Kinkade. Welcome back.
Oil prices are hovering around $50 a barrel, that can be good news for oil companies. But some countries it's still painfully low. You may remember
oil was well above $100 a barrel just two years ago.
OPEC members are meeting this Thursday so what shall we expect to come out of the meeting?
CNN Money's emerging markets editor John Defterios gives us a preview at the pump.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[11:45:10] JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: The 13 members of OPEC will convene in Vienna in a much better place than they were back in
December where prices were falling fast. It only got worse at the start of the year when prices dropped to a 12-year low of $27.11 a barrel. Today's
range of around $50 can be described as a Goldilocks scenario if you will, not too hot to encourage higher cost producers to return, but not too cold
to clobber most OPEC members with the exception of countries like Angola and Venezuela which are facing major economic challenges.
Now for this reason, don't expect a big change to this big number coming out. This is the OPEC production on a daily basis, 32.7 million barrels a
day, that's the highest in eight years. Even talk of freezing output to prop up prices has quickly melted away with the price recovery.
But the pressure remains on producers outside of OPEC, especially the United States. U.S. production, for example, has dropped like a rock.
8.77 million barrels a day, that's off nearly a million barrels off the peak and that's expected to continue to fall.
Now, that may be the production scenario, but of course we're watching the geopolitics within OPEC very carefully, particularly between Saudi Arabia
and Iran.
This will be the first meeting for Khalid al Falih as the minister of energy. He replaces Ali al- Naimi who was there for 20 years, so a big
change.
Meanwhile, Iran's minister Bijan Zangeneh is determined to take the country' production to
its pre-sanction level that we last saw in 2011. He wants to do so by the autumn.
So, as of late, dissention amongst the members has led to price falls after the meetings. Let's see if they can break this curse this time around.
John Defterios, CNN Money, Abu Dhabi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well in Kenya, one woman's start-up is helping to recycle waste, protect the environment and create jobs. CNN's Amir Daftari has the
success story of Eco Post.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMIR DAFTARI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: On the outskirts of Nairobi, piles upon piles of garbage. Kenya's capital produces more than 2,000 metric tons of waste
every day. Yet, for this entrepreneur, the more waste the better.
All I see is nothing but rubbish but you see something different.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I see a lot of money. This is wealth. Yeah. With (inaudible) so it's actually a resource.
DAFTARI: That resource is at the heart of her business.
This is Eco Post, a start-up that recycles waste and turns it into multipurpose poles and planks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a product that will replace timber, it's better (inaudible) because it will save 400 acres of forest by
manufacturing over 100,000 poles, which we have used for fencing and other building materials.
We've gotten a lot of sign companies who are approaching Eco Post to provide signage, considering (inaudible) expanding road network.
DAFTARI: Environmentally friendly products usually come at a premium, not with Eco Post.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, products are cheaper and better and with currently we cannot meet the demand, so we are planning to scale up and
produce as many more and help Kenyans to save our environment, save our forests, and help. It's a win/win situation using this product.
DAFTARI: Eco Post may be winning now, but it wasn't always like that.
Lorna left a secure banking job to take a gamble on garbage.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I remember I wrote to my -- I wrote my letter for resignation
but I kept changing it, then I would move it again. It was -- it was really hard decision to make, but eventually I took -- I got some courage
and went and tried.
DAFTARI: Her passion was not only to create a business that was profitable, but
environmental too. It required research into various industries from engineering to construction, not easy especially when you only have $4,000
to start with.
UNIDENTIIFED FEMALE: It was very difficult the first days. And there were times I could not even pay for rent, we could not manage to buy enough
material to produce.
But thank goodness time has gone by, we've been able to recycle more, we've been working with a lot of youth and groups and now we are profitable and
sustainable.
DAFTARI: Today Eco Post employs 50 people, producing 400 seven-foot holes a day.
But as the company grows, so does Lorna's ambition.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In five years we would like to be integrated risk management company. We want to employ over 50,000 people in this country,
then we want to scale up our business into Africa and even countries outside of Africa.
DAFTARI: Taking rubbish and turning it into revenue, it's a dirty job, but Lorna is definitely happy to do it.
Amir Daftari, CNN, Nairobi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:52:16] KINKADE: Well, it's been described as Switzerland's construction of the century and took 17 years to complete. The Gotthard
Base Tunnel, the world's longest and deepest, was inaugurated with a lot of fanfare. It's 57 kilometers long and runs underneath the Swiss Alps. The
leaders of Germany, France and Italy were among those who made the trip on the first journey.
Well that is certainly an incredible achievement, but public transport isn't always so ambitious. Take the humble bus journey. Sometimes you can
be left standing at your stop waiting and waiting and nothing. And then three buses turn up.
Well, over in Estonia it turns out the same may be true when it comes to the Olympic athletes as well. A set of triplets are all headed to Rio to
compete in the same event.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RHIANNON JONES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Seeing triple, these three sisters from Estonia hope to make
history running in Rio this summer.
With their blonde hair, blue eyes and matching outfits, it's easy to see Laila (ph), Lena, and Lily Luik (ph) are identical triplets.
There have been twins at the Olympics before, but these marathon running sisters aim to be the first set of triplets to compete in the games.
LELA LUK, RUNNER: We love dancing, we love swimming, and maybe that's why we love to be -- so active and that push us to easily to professional
sports.
JONES: The triplets came to the sport late at 24. They're now 30. They train together regularly and say they root for each other in competition.
LELA LUK, RUNNER: I am happy when my sisters are doing well and win some competitions and then I'm also happy. It's boring when you're alone. And
when sisters are together I feel that I have a more unity maybe and support each other.
JONES: And when asked if they expect to medal.
LENA LUK, RUNNER: We would love that. It's like our dream also.
LELA LUK: Yeah, but we know that we have to be in reality and we know it's very hard to compete against Kenyan and (inaudible) runners.
JONES: Regardless this trio to Rio says their goal is to finish together, set personal bests, and end the race with a smile.
Rihanna Jones, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, the Connect the World team is always looking at many more stories than we can actually fit into the show. So to check out the other
things we're following head over to our Facebook page, that's at facebook.com/CNNconnect. And you can also get in touch with me directly on
Twitter. You can tweet me @LyndaKinkade.
Dubai is well known for being an ultra clean, ultra sleek city with this impressive skyline, but given how much effort goes into its image there
isn't a lot of tolerance for graffiti, but in today's Parting Shots we look at how that may be changing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's quite unique, because it's the first in the Middle East that has
gathered so many artists in one space.
Artists were free to create what they wanted.
I use destruction as a medium operation, to release and reveal what's underneath. In Dubai, I'm getting the inspiration from the history of the
Emirates, trying to bring and make the history of the place visible.
My name is Vils. I'm from Lisbon, Portugal. And this is my work.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, before we go, recap of our breaking news this hour. A huge explosion has rocked the Ambassador Hotel in Somalia's capital Mogadishu.
A senior Somali police officer tells CNN that militants from the terror group al Shabaab seem to be behind that attack.
Gunfire was also heard bursting out over the city as well. We will have a live report on the ongoing situation there just after this break. So, stay
with CNN for that.
I'm Lynda Kinkade, and that was Connect the World. Thanks so much for watching. Stay with us for the next edition of the International Desk.
END
