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Connect the World
President-Elect Trump's Transition Defends Process; China's Obsession with Trump; Death Toll Rises in Aleppo; Migration Increases into U.S. from Central America; World Worries About U.S. Commitment to Climate Change Under Trump. 10:00a-11:00a ET
Aired November 16, 2016 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[10:00:13] BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Democracy, like all human institutions, is imperfect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN MANN, HOST: It's complicated. Barack Obama talks democracy on his final overseas trip as U.S. president before handing over to Donald
Trump in January. His next stop, Berlin for Air Force One. We're live there in a moment.
And we go to New York as the Trump transition turmoil continues.
Also ahead, the terror of every day life for the children of Syria. As the death toll rises in Aleppo, we hear from UNICEF this hour.
Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAVI AGRAWAL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Scenes like the one behind me have become common across India.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: India's currency chaos. The frustrations of routine commerce with a sudden shortage of rupees. We're live in New Delhi with details.
Hello and welcome to Connect the World. I'm Jonathan Mann.
A soon to be retired veteran of the American democratic process has just wrapped up a visit to the nation that created democracy itself. Speaking
in Athens in just the past few hours, U.S. President Barack Obama thanked Greece for its many contributions to the world from its political ideals to
the invention of western theater, as we know it.
He also addressed uncertainty about the direction his successor might take on NATO.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: And today's NATO, the world's greatest alliance, is as strong as it has ever been. And I am confident that just as America's commitment to the
Transatlantic alliance has endured for decades, whether it's been under a Democratic or Republican administration, that commitment will continue,
including our pledge and our treaty obligation to defend every ally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: This is Mr. Obama's final overseas tour in office. Next stop Berlin where we find our Atika Shubert.
Atika, what kind of visit are they expecting there? I mean, this is, after all, a lame duck president whose successor has already disavowed his
policies.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's true. But there is no shortage of things to talk about. This is a trip for President
Obama to meet with his closest ally, Chancellor Angela Merkel, here in Germany. She is the foreign leader
he has worked closest with. And she really becomes the strongest leader in Europe to defend a lot of those liberal policies, internationalist
policies, that now seem to be under threat by President-elect Donald Trump.
So, there is a lot to discuss.
In addition to meeting with Chancellor Merkel tomorrow in a one on one meeting, President
Obama will also be meeting with other EU leaders on Friday. The leaders of Italy, the UK, France
and Germany. So, it is a farewell tour of sorts, but also a way to reassure those leaders here in Europe that those important alliances will
remain, but also to give them a very realistic view, perhaps, of what may be coming with the next administration.
MANN: Now, Angela Merkel is making some headlines of her own when it comes to her future. What can you tell us?
SHUBERT: Well, there's been a lot of speculation as to whether or not she will run again for chancellor for another term. The general election here
in Germany next year.
We had indication of that last night on the Amanpour show on CNN. And listen to what one of her senior party politicians had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NORBERT ROELTGEN, GERMAN POLITICIAN: She will run for chancellor and she is absolutely determined, willing, and ready to contribute to strengthen
the international liberal order.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHUBERT: Now, to be clear, nobody speaks for Chancellor Merkel except for Chancellor Merkel. She has not officially said whether or not she'll run
again. And a statement by her spokesperson said she will make a statement when the time is appropriate.
So, we're waiting to see what happens next. But what is clear is that there is an increasing pressure on Angela Merkel to run again and to really be,
in the words of some of the editorials coming out since Donald Trump was elected, the last defender here in Europe of a much more internationalist
and liberal view. It will be her job to do that if she chooses to run again, and also to keep the European Union united, which is not easy job in
the face of Brexit and so many other challenges, Jonathan.
MANN: Let me just ask you more about that. I mean, to what extent have germans and
other Europeans gotten used to the idea of a Trump White House?
SHUBERT: Well, you know, it is interesting. We took to the streets of Berlin and asked people -- most people, we asked them what they thought of
President Obama. Most people thought, well, he didn't quite live up to expectations but overall, did a good job.
When it came to President-elect Donald Trump, however, a lot of people said they just didn't know what to think. A lot of people said they hoped that
what he said on the campaign trail would be different than what he would do as president. Their biggest worry were
things like climate change agreements, which is something Germany champions. They fear Donald Trump may take the United States out a lot of
those agreements.
So there is a wait and see approach here in Germany, but a lot of concern as to what might happen next, Jonathan.
[10:05:31] MANN: Atika Shubert live for us in Berlin. Thanks very much.
For his part, Donald Trump says he's spoken to many foreign leaders as he works on building
a new administration. The U.S. president-elect says his transition process is going smoothly despite reports to the contrary.
Trump is using Twitter to lash out, in fact, at the media, specifically The New York Times denying reports of bickering and backstabbing among his
transition team as they discuss key cabinet posts.
But there does appear to be a power struggle underway as Sunlen Serfaty reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President-elect Donald Trump's transition team continues to turn over, now purging key members of
their staff.
MIKE ROGERS, FRM. REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN: Sometimes in politics there are people who are in and people who are out.
SERFATY: Multiple sources saying Trump's son-in-law and close adviser, Jared Kushner, is at the center of the in-fighting and trying to oust all
Chris Christie associates from the team.
ROGERS: The people who have been asked to move on have some relationship with Chris Christie. In my case, I was hired by him. And so there's a whole
series of about five of them that fit that criteria that were asked to leave in the last few days.
SERFATY: Kushner has a complicated history with Christie. His father, Charles, a real-estate developer, spending a year in jail after being
prosecuted by Christie, then a U.S. attorney in 2004, for tax evasion, witness tampering and illegal campaign contributions.
But a high-ranking Trump insider is dismissing reports of infighting and says the purge of Christie loyalists is being mischaracterized.
Trump, too, is pushing back, defending the transition as "very organized process taking place as I decide on cabinet and many other positions. I am
the only one who knows who the finalists are."
Meanwhile, a source with close knowledge of the transition says that Kushner could likely end up with a top national security clearance as a key
adviser to Trump, fueling concerns over nepotism and a potential conflict of interest as Kushner's wife, Ivanka, will manage Trump's empire. And as
the waiting game continues over key cabinet slots, a potential roadblock for one of Trump's top contenders for secretary of state, former New York
Mayor Rudy Giuliani. According to transition sources, Giuliani's lucrative consulting firm is being looked over by Trump's transition team, to whether
his business ties with several foreign governments would complicate his confirmation.
SEN. RAND PAUL, (R) KENTUCKY: Well, I think it is worrisome some of the ties to foreign governments, because that was a big complaint about many of
us with Hillary Clinton.
SERFATY: Meantime, Donald Trump breaking protocol, again, as president- elect. Ditching his press pool of reporters, slipping out for a late-night steak dinner with his family Tuesday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MANN: And Sunlen Serfaty joins us now, live from New York, with more.
Sunlen, help us out with Kushner. He's hardly a household name but he certainly seems like he ought to be.
SERFATY: You know, that's absolutely right, Jonathan. And I think very quickly here in the
United States, and potentially around the world, he is turning into a household name. I don't think it can be overstated just how much Donald
Trump, President-elect Donald Trump, trusts his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. It has been apparent over the course of the campaign. He
was constantly by his side. And we know according to accounts behind the scenes that he was one of his top advisers, informal
advisers throughout the campaign. And it appears that that role will really carry over into his time when Donald Trump takes the helm at the
White House.
He has a key role, Jared Kushner, in the transition, advising Donald Trump, helping him go through names of these top cabinet positions. And there has
been sources that have told us that Donald Trump is potentially looking into the potential to keep him around in some formal capacity in the White
House.
Of course, there are conflicts of interests there that might rise up because, obviously, he is married to Ivanka Trump, who will be taking over
the empire, the Trump empire here in New York and elsewhere. So, a lot of big questions about his role, but one thing we know, Jonathan, is that he
remains very involved and will be going forward.
MANN: Just to put this in context, Bill Clinton put Hillary Clinton when he was president in charge of his administration's health reform. John F.
Kennedy put his brother, Robert Kennedy, into the cabinet as attorney general. So, how unusual are the arrangements that seem to be emerging for
Trump's children and for Jared Kushner in U.S. politics?
SERFATY: Yeah, I think that there is some past precedent for this and I think that the Trump transition team will probably point to those few times
for some precedent laying here.
But there is a lot of controversy on the fact that Jared Kushner or really any of the kids, would be involved in top level stuff, because most
notably, because you have this entanglement with many of the Trump business ventures. You know, there has been talk about setting up a blind trust.
Donald Trump has said how he would like -- he will hand over everything to his children.
But, of course, if Jaren Kushner is in the White House or in some sort of formal capacity, and since he is married to Ivanka Trump, that creates all
sort of questions. And I think just now the transition team is starting to realize how much they have to start answering these -- all those questions
I think that over the next few weeks, we will get more seem to be emerging for Trump's children and Jared Kushner in U.S. politics.
I think just now, the transition team is starting to realize how much they have to start answering these -- all those questions, I think over the next
few weeks, We will get more -- we'll understand more, what sort of role Jared Kushner will be taking on and certain how Trump will be managing all
of this, given how many business ventures he has, how many kids he has, and we know how involved they like to be, as well.
MANN: Sunlen Serfaty in New York, thanks very much.
Still ahead, much more on what a Trump presidency could mean for the United States and the world. He's called global warming a hoax and threatened to
rip up the Paris climate accord. Does he really intend to cancel U.S. climate change commitments once in office?
Also, Trump wants millions of illegal immigrants out of the United States, but his deportation
threats have triggered a surge in border crossings. We're live on the U.S.-Mexico border ahead.
Now, some other stories on the radar today, the Iraqi army tells CNN that ISIS has attacked a neighborhood in Mosul previously declared liberated.
Mortar fire killed two civilians and wounded seven other people, including children.
Attacking freed area in a common ISIS tactic.
17 security forces died in Myanmar's Rakine State in an operation that state media say killed about 70 militants. The government says it's going
after terrorists, but its forces have been accused of targeting Rohingya Muslims, a minority group who faced years of persecution.
In Indonesia, police say they will investigate a blasphemy complaint against the Christian governor of Jakarta. Islamic hardliners accuse him
of insulting their religion after he quoted from the Koran during a campaign speech. He has repeatedly apologized.
In Syria, the director of a children's hospital in Aleppo is pleading for mercy as the regime escalates its attacks on the eastern part of the city.
Syria's White Helmets say the death toll from the regime blitz has soared to 30 people. Medical staff say at least nine barrel bombs struck
hospitals and a blood bank in the Al Shara (ph) neighborhood.
You can hear that, that's the sound of children as they flee an area hit by air strikes. Wednesday marked the second day of heavy bombardment by the
regime.
A text message was sent to residents of eastern Aleppo, warning them to flee or risk death. Meanwhile, Syrian Presidnet Bashar al-Assad is
expressing cautious optimism about the incoming U.S. president. He gave a rare interview to a Portuguese television station.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BASHAR AL-ASSAD, PRESIDENT OF SYRIA: We are cautious in judging him, especially as he wasn't in a political position before. So, we cannot tell
anything about what he is going to do.
But if, if, let's say if, if he is going to fight the terrorists, of course we're going to be in line, a natural align with the Russias, with the
Iranians, with many other countries who want to defeat the terrorists.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: A natural align. Our Will Ripley is tracking developments in Syria from neighboring Turkey and he joins us now from Istanbul.
Will, let's start first of all with this brutal attack and the battle for Aleppo. What can you tell us?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, day two certainly has proved so far to be far more deadly than the first day, where a lot of the attacks were
focused on outlying areas around the perimeter of east Aleppo. This time, the areas were targeted were very highly populated, several hospitals,
schools and you saw the heartbreaking video of those children who, this is a whole generation of children who have grown up never really ever feeling
safe because they hear airplanes overhead, the inevitable explosions follow and sometimes they hit so close that children are killed. And we know that
there were children amongst the nearly 30 people who died in east Aleppo today.
The children's hospital was targeted, according to the director of the hospital, with 20 barrel bombs. They caused significant damage. They
destroyed two ambulances at another hospital that was also targeted. The central blood bank was targeted, a blood bank that distributed 1,500 bags
of blood just last month to 10 different locations around eastern Aleppo. That blood bank now crippled.
But what is really striking, and what really brings home the terror that people on the ground, the civilians the medical personnel are going through
was this quote, a statement that was released from the director of the children's hospital. I'm going to read it for you in part.
It says, quote, "a horrible day for the children's hospital. Me and my staff and all the patients are sitting in one room in the basement right
now trying to protect our patients." He went on to say, "pray for us, please."
They were trapped in that basement for several hours, unable to even get to the surface because the planes were overhead and the explosions were
happening all around them. Jonathan, these doctors actually feel less safe in the hospitals than they do in the their own homes. I interviewed
another doctor a couple days ago and he says every time he goes into work, they always feel that there is that risk that they could be targeted and
attacked by the Syrian regime.
[11:15:46] MANN: And now the Syrian regime is feeling bolstered by the election of President-election Trump. What should we read into Assad's
comments, and even Trump's own comments previously? I mean, does a Damascus-Washington alliance look like a serious possibility in the region?
RIPLEY: It is striking. And, for many people, troubling to hear the president of Syria for the last 16 years, Bashar al-Assad, who won
reelection a couple of years ago in a very controversial election, that -- where a lot of allegations that it was rigged and controlled, although
Syria denied that, he is now saying that perhaps he could work with the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, saying they could be natural allies in
the fight against terrorists.
But the definition -- his definition of terrorists is very different from what the United States' definition has been. Because the U.S. has armed
and supported these moderate rebel groups that oppose the Syrian regime, the regime that is attacking and bombing locations in east Aleppo full of
civilians right now.
Donald Trump has said in the past during the campaign that he does not believe that it would be an effective strategy for the United States to
fight ISIS and fight the Assad regime at the same time and has hinted that along with Russia, he could cooperate, the United States could cooperate in
the fight against ISIS.
But when you are cooperating with a regime that over the course of the last five years since the Syrian civil war broke out, has been accused of using
horrific tactics against its own people, the civil war killed nearly 500,000 people since 2011, talking about dropping barrel bombs, cluster
bombs, rockets, these bunker buster bomb that is can go through two meters, six-and-a-half feet of concrete, not to mention allegations from both sides
that chemical weapons are being used against civilians, to think of the United States partnering with the Syrian regime, it would be a complete
about face, a very drastic change in policy for the United States.
MANN: Will Ripley live in Istanbul. Thanks very much.
The war in Syria has scarred an entire generation of children. We're live in Jordan coming up to hear how UNICEF is trying to help.
And could a historic agreement on climate change be on the verge of collapse? How Donald Trump's comments on the environment are (inaudible)
experts.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:20:13] MANN: Have a look at the scene in the capital of Iran, Tehran, where 400 deaths are blamed on thick smog choking the city. Look at this.
Officials suggest the pollution in Tehran is at dangerous new levels. Pretty easy to see why.
Iran's supreme leader has even told residents to stop driving their vehicles during days when the
air quality is this bad.
Live from CNN Center, you're watching CNN. This is Connect the World. I'm Jonathan Mann. Welcome back.
U.S. President Barack Obama spoke about the urgent need to address climate change just a short time ago in Athens, but the approach of his successor
could literally, excuse the pun, be a sea change.
Remember when Donald Trump told CNNthis?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT: I am not a believer in climate change. Now, it's gone global warming and climate change and now they call it
actually extreme weather, that's the new one, because weather seems to be more extreme. But actually if you look, a lot of the big floods and
a lot of the big things in 1890, they had the greatest flood, in 1904, they had the greatest rainstorm, you know, look, it is weather.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: It is weather, and it is changing. CNN digital columnist John Sutter joins us now to talk about this.
Now, we just learned this week as Donald Trump was preparing his team to enter the White House that this is the warmest year, 2016 is going to be
the warmest year on record. What will a President Trump, what effect will he have on a warming planet?
JOHN SUTTER, CNN DIGITAL: I think it is pretty clear that he can make it an even warmer planet, like based on statements like that, which are, you
know, essentially in the past he has denied that climate change is caused by humans. This is very solid science at this
point. You know, burning fossil fuels, we're heating up the atmosphere, there are all sorts of negative consequences for that.
So, I think people who follow this issue closely are very troubled by these statements and
by the possibilities that he could pull back some of the regulations Obama has put in place, and sort of tinker with the international negotiations,
which are ongoing right now in Morocco that he could sort of set the world off course.
We've been making extreme progress on climate change in the last year especially with all of the world's leaders coming together and agreeing
that we need to limit dangerous warming and cut back on fossil fuels. And I think, you know, everyone is sort of nervous about what a President
Trump could do on this issue.
MANN: Now, not just random remarks. He has specifically addressed three different policies that he plans to introduce. He wants to withdraw the
United States from the Paris accords on climate change. He wants to end funding for the UN climate fund. And he essentially, in the
United States, wants to gut the Environmental Protection Agency.
Those are three big things. Which one do you think we should be watching most closely? Which seems the most troubling to you?
SUTTER: They're all monumental. To me, the Paris agreement on climate change, which was adopted a year ago in December and now has been ratified
by more than 100 countries, including the United States, I think the Paris agreement it is the North Star for this issue, because it sets the goals.
It says that the world has agreed that we want to limit warming to 2 degrees Celsius or if possible even lower than that, 1.5 degrees Celsius.
And what that means is basically, we have to be off of fossil fuels in the second half of the
century. So any moves that you see President Trump making towards, you know, developing coal resources in the U.S. to drilling offshore on federal
lands in the ocean, like any new fossil fuel development, anything that's not pushing rapidly towards renewables like
wind and solar, you can say that's moving away from the goals of the Paris agreement.
So, I think all the other policies feed into that one umbrella, which is the really important one to watch.
MANN: And he's not the only actor. I mean, the United States pollutes more, but it influences other nations more, as well -- nations like India,
nations like China, or the European Union. What do you think the reaction will be from their governments if the United States behaves this way?
SUTTER: You know, I've been talking to some people who were at the climate talks that are ongoing in Morocco, which are about the Paris agreement.
And say that there is a mood of determination really among the delegates who are there. You see China and the EU stepping up
to try to be the new leaders on this issue. But we've also seen it took decades for this agreement to be put in place. We saw other climate
accords, including Kyoto, fall apart essentially because the U.S. wasn't participating.
You know, the U.S. is the second largest emitter in the world and so what the U.S. policy is or isn't doing really does affect how these other
countries move. I will make one other technical point on the Paris agreement, which is that it's -- Donald Trump would have
about a three or four year delay in actually pulling the U.S. out of that agreement now that it has been ratified, now that it is international law.
But he could essentially, because a lot of the stipulations in it are voluntary, he can just sort of choose not to play along with it. And that
would send the same message essentially as formally pulling out of the agreement.
MANN: Wow. OK. John Sutter, thanks very much for this.
[11:25:02] SUTTER: Thank you.
MANN: The latest world views headlines just ahead, plus, immigration across the southern
U.S. border it's on the rise. Is it the Trump effect? We're live in Texas.
Plus, India's cash crackdown turns into a cash crisis. A firsthand look at the country in economic turmoil.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(HEADLINES)
MANN: In India, a government plan to tackle corruption is having unintended consequences. The decision to scrap the 500 and 1,000 rupee
notes has plunged the country into economic chaos. Cash shortages and long lines and bank machines are being reported across the country.
Our Ravi Agrawal reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAVI AGRAWAL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: If you want to gauge the mood of a country, speak to the taxi drivers, or in New Delhi, the auto
rickshaw guides.
I hail one of the three wheelers for myself. Meet Servaish (ph). He's 22 and has been driving
these taxis for five years. I ask him a common question in these parts.
Can I ask how much you were making in a day before all of this happened?
1,000 rupees.
And how much are you making now?
500 rupees.
[11:30:06] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 500 rupees.
AGRAWAL: That's because India has a cash crunch.
Scenes like the one behind me have become common across India. Long queues of people lining up to exchange their old notes for new ones at banks and
ATMs, but really this is just one side of the story.
The reality is that hundreds of millions of Indians, nearly half this country's population, is
unbanked and that means they have no bank accounts, no credit cards, everything they buy and sell is in cash.
And that's people like Servaish (ph). He's never been to a bank. He lives day to day on small change from his job. And because the rich have less
cash, less is trickling down to him.
India's move to change currency notes was designed to crack down on rich people with hordes of cash, what's known here as black money, income that
is off the books and untaxed. But only 3 percent of Indians qualify to pay income tax. Servaish is part of the other group, the 97 percent.
"What's income tax?" He says. "I can barely make ends meet anyway."
A small snack during the day, samosas and tea, is a luxury in times like these. He's been struggling to get rides all day.
Are you still in favor of Mr. Modi's move?
Yes, he says. The fat cats will suffer. They are hording cash. How long can you survive on half pay, I ask?
Let's see, he says.
As evening falls, Servaish (ph) keeps cruising for a ride. While India cracks down on corruption, people like Servaish (ph) are collateral damage
this week, and their stories seldom told. But I'm struck by his optimism. I guess the night is darkest before the dawn.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MANN: And it is evening in New Delhi, where we find bureau chief Ravi Agrawal.
Ravi, tell us where you are. What's going on around you?
AGRAWAL: Jonathan, I'm just in central New Delhi, and I'm standing right in front of an ATM that was open just two minutes ago, and then they
shuttered the gates behind me. I have got about 50 people standing behind me who are still quite confused. They don't really know what's happened.
They're still waiting here, despite the fact the ATM is closed, and probably just trying to figure out
what just happened.
And really, this is indicative of the mood here over the last few days. Sometimes ATMs have cash. People line up, and they find out there isn't
enough cash. They disperse. And there is a rumor, hey, more cash has arrived. More people line up.
So this really is a sense of confusion here right now. We were told 5 or 10 minutes ago that this ATM behind me only had 100 rupee notes, not the
new 500 notes, not the new 2,000 notes. So, a real sense of confusion and a lot of disappointed and frustrated people here -- Jonathan.
MANN: Confusion and chaos. Is the problem the government is trying to solve worth this?
AGRAWAL: Well, that's the big question, and that's what everyone is wondering.
The reason why the government made this a surprise move, the reason why it didn't broadcast
the fact it was doing this, was that it wanted to shock the system. There are a lot of people in India who have what is known as black money, money
that is unaccounted for, untaxed.
So the government wanted to ensure that these people were caught by surprise that their money, which is unaccounted for, would be worthless
overnight.
This was Modi's big move. This was one of the things that he ran on two years ago. And that's what he's trying to sort of bring to life now
through this move.
Now, the problem is that in trying to hurt the rich people, the rich, corrupt Indians who have been stockpiling cash. He's also hurt, as you saw
from the piece we saw a few minutes ago, he's also hurt middle class Indians, poor Indians, Indians who don't have bank
accounts, Indians who only use small change. And now, they're struggling with all these decisions that are coming together right now this week.
There's a lot of opposition to this move. There are a lot of people who are stand by the prime
minister's move. But the opposition in parliament is quite angry. Today was the first day of the
winter session of parliament. A lot of strong words were seen and heard. And we're expecting the prime minister to respond to those words in the
next couple of days, Jonathan, but really it is a tense situation here. It's an economic story, but it's turning into something more. It's a
larger sort of moment of frustration here in India.
MANN: From a distance, it would seem given India's size, given its enormous population, given the hundreds of millions of people who live in
rural areas where there aren't a lot of banks or bank machines, all of this was predictable.
AGRAWAL: Yeah, exactly. It was predicted.
I mean, the thing is, this is a big city. New Delhi is India's biggest city. It has more than 15 million people living here. And this is the
problem we're seeing here in New Delhi. And these problems are being mirrored across the country in smaller cities, and then you've got rural
India, which doesn't have anywhere near the same amount of coverage with banks or
ATMs, and most people there don't even have bank accounts. So, you can only imagine the trickle down effect that people there are seeing, because
they only have cash that is in circulation. When you take 80 percent of the cash in circulation off the market, well, you're suddenly left with a
situation where there isn't enough do go around.
And the question is how quickly can the government inject new cash into the system. As we're seeing right behind me right now, it is not as easy as
the government may have imagined. There are problems.
[10:35:53] MANN: I'm just curious, I'm really struck by the driver you interviewed for your report. I mean, how many of the poor, the people who
are bankless, the people who are really on the worst end of this, how many of the poor support this?
AGRAWAL: Well, it's really hard to gauge. And I guess in this day and age, it is really hard to stick your neck out and put numbers on any of
this.
But I have to say, Jonathan, from speaking to a lot of people stuck in lines over the last few
days, from speaking to Servaish (ph), the auto-rickshaw driver and a number of his friends, they're actually in favor of the move. That's what
surprised me, despite the fact that they are so badly hurt, despite the fact that they're making half what they usually made, they're struggling to
make end's meet and eat as you saw from that report, and despite all of that, what they're saying to me is that this is worth it because those fat
cats, the guys who are stockpiling cash, they're going to be hurt.
And the fact that that is worth so much to these poor Indians is really important. And this is the other side of the story, Jonathan. The fact
that this government, the Narendra Modi government, it knew this in some senses. It understands, perhaps, the psyche of these poorer Indians, and
that's what they're trying to market towards, you know, to say, we're going to go after the fat cats, we're going to fix these problems that no one
else did. That's their bet.
But you balance that with the fact that there are a lot of frustrated people behind me. And for now, they're saying, well, go ahead with this.
The question is, how long? What if this goes on for weeks longer? That is the bit question here. And we just don't know how it'll turn out.
MANN: Ravi Agrawal on the streets of New Delhi, thanks very much.
One of the top stories we're watching for you this hour, the U.S. president-elect trying to
hammer out his cabinet. The situation in Afghanistan will be one of the major challenges he faces, as our Ivan Watson reports. Donald Trump will
be commander-in-chief with a conflict with a dubious distinction.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is America`s longest war, the conflict in Afghanistan. It begun 15 years ago,
after the September 11 terror attacks orchestrated by Osama bin Laden. The al Qaeda was a guest and ally of Afghanistan`s ruling Taliban in 2001.
Less than a month later, U.S. warplanes attacked the Taliban and after barely six weeks of airstrikes, the Taliban was on a run, abandoning Kabul
to Afghan fighters allied with the U.S.
(on camera): I was here on a day 15 years ago when U.S.-backed rebels liberated the Afghan capital. It was a day of hope and euphoria coming on a
back of a swift military victory. I did not expect it would lead to 15 years of constant war.
(voice-over): In the years after their defeat, the Taliban regrouped and fought back against new Western-backed governments in Kabul. And now, in
its 15th year, the war against the Taliban has caused at least 2,380 American lives, killed of tens of thousands of Afghan civilians and caused
an estimated $780 billion taxpayer dollars.
And yet, Afghanistan was barely discussed the recent U.S. presidential debates, though Donald Trump did say this to CNN in October 2015.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT-ELECT (via telephone): I would leave the troops there begrudgingly. I`m not happy about it, I will tell you. But I would
leave the troops there begrudgingly, yes.
[08:10:02] WATSON: There are currently around 9,800 U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan, as well as several thousand other foreign troops from the
NATO military alliance. Most of the conflict is now being fought by Afghan security forces. Today, the Afghan capital is plagued by kidnapping, and
it`s also the frequent target of Taliban and ISIS terror attacks.
NAJIB SHARIFIA, DIR., AFGHAN JOURNALISTS` SAFETY COMMITTEE: I could never imagine, you know, that the Taliban will be back at the gates of Kabul.
WATSON: Political analyst Najib Sharifia, he was just 19 years old the day U.S. airstrikes drove the Taliban from the city.
SHARIFIA: It was probably the happiest day of my life.
WATSON: But his expectations for Afghanistan have shrunk with time.
SHARIFIA: The assumptions that Afghans had from the United States is this the world`s most powerful and richest country. It will come to Afghanistan
and it would rebuild Afghanistan, things that not turned out to be the way we thought.
WATSON: Though Afghans voted successfully in several national elections over the years, success of Afghan governments have been plagued by
allegations of rampant corruption and infighting. The last 15 years brought education for millions of girls, construction of highways, airports and for
the first time, a national cellphone network.
But many of these advances are now at risk. The Taliban controls or now battles to control territory that`s home to more than a third of the
country`s population, according to U.S. military estimates, including this former U.S. outpost west of Kabul, abandoned by U.S. troops to the Taliban
several years ago, and now dissolving into the dust of a country often called "the graveyard of empires".
COL. RICK FRANCONA (RETIRED), DEFENSE ANALYST: If the Trump administration made a decision that they were going to pull out its forces, I think there
would initially be a collapse of the Afghan government in Kabul and we would see the Taliban probably swift into power again.
WATSON: When President-elect Trump takes office, he`ll face a difficult question here, should he keep risking U.S. lives and treasure on what often
feels like America`s forgotten war.
Ivan Watson, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[10:41:09] MANN: Another challenge for President-elect Trump much closer to home: illegal immigration. Migration from Central America into the U.S.
is on the rise. So much so that officials sent 150 more agents to the Texas border to help handle the influx. Violence in their home countries,
poverty some of the traditional reasons people are fleeing. But now there is another factor: Trump himself and his plans to build a wall.
Let's get more in from Polo Sandoval in Texas, close to the border with Mexico.
Donald Trump is spurring migration?
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Even before he was elected into office here, Jonathan. And whether or not that is a direct factor, down here in
South Texas, it really depends on who you ask. But first consider some of these numbers that are truly mounting. For example, in August, about
37,000 people crossed the border illegally, about 39,000 people in September, and last month, 46,000.
You add it all up, and that's already exceeded what we saw in this very region of South Texas about two years ago during the last migrant surge.
Later today, even more families expected to cross. This is the Rio Grande. It divides the countries. That land over there is in Mexico, where there
are many more mothers, fathers and children staging, getting ready to enter the United States illegally again.
But again, that question, why? Well, we came here to find out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL: It's the second south Texas border surge. And there are hardly any empty seats on the unmarked buses that pull into McAllen central
station. Thousands of undocumented central American families fleeing crime and poverty are again saturating America's immigration system.
They turn themselves into authorities at the border, are processed, then released wearing an ankle monitor and the promise of returning for a court
date. What is it that brings you to the United States?
CARLOS CARDONA, UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT: (in Spanish)
SANDOVAL: He says the level of crime in his country is what brings him and his son Juan Carlos here.
Before heading north Carlos Cardona and his 4-year-old son made a brief stop at a shelter that opened its doors during the immigration surge of
2014. It is run by Sister Norma Pimentel.
SISTER NORMA PIMENTEL, HUMANITARIAN RESPITE CENTER: The violence instead of diminishing has escalated, so we have families fearing for the lives of
especially their kids.
SANDOVAL: Volunteers have been walking these families from the bus station to the shelter and back for two years now. What's new are the numbers we're
seeing lately. If you hear from some of the officials here in south Texas, they will also tell you that there is another reason why so many people are
rushing to the U.S.
MAYOR JIM DARLING, MAYOR MCALLEN, TEXAS: They all know about President Trump. They all know about a wall. When you talk to them. They know that.
SANDOVAL: Mayor Jim Darling suspects it's no longer just violence and poverty in central America fueling the new wave. DARLING: If you talk about
building the fence and we're not going to allow people in, you better get over here now before January and the swearing in ceremony.
SANDOVAL (through translator): Back in the shelter these new arrivals are weighing in.
So, who comes here fearing that Donald Trump planned to build a massive border wall?
Among the crowds we found 17-year-old Diriam Fuentes and her father. Fuentes tells me she fears being returned to her native Honduras. On the
banks of the Rio Grande more migrants emerge out of the darkness and turn themselves into authorities. It's an unending flow of families arriving
night and day.
PIMENTEL: There is a big fear in the community about what's going to happen. Ultimately, we have to respond to the fact that they're human
beings.
[10:45:03] SANDOVAL: Carlos Cardona and his son are starting the U.S. stretch of his journey like so many others who are now in their shoes, they
face an uncertain future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL: And back out here live here on the U.S.-Mexico border, the 150 additional agents that were just mentioned, those additional agents are
already busy this morning. Their focus, their main assignment will be processing all these families. The objective here, according to
the Department of Homeland Security is to essentially send the local agents back out into the field, Jonathan, because they are the ones who are
familiar with the terrain, familiar with this river, and know exactly what to expect come today and tomorrow.
MANN: Now, the idea of the border wall is so controversial among Americans, but it sounds like among the migrants you're talking to, they
think it is going to work, it is going to stop them.
SANDOVAL: They are also worried about that, too, Jonathan, especially if Donald Trump goes through with this promise to build a wall in this
particular region here. Many of them are concerned that it will perhaps be even harder for the relatives that they left behind in Central American
countries to make it here on to U.S. soil. But of course something that is often talked about, both in Mexico and here in the U.s., is the moment that
you build a 3 meter wall, then essentially, people are going to use a 4 meter ladder to be able to get over that wall.
So, ultimately, there is much debate in this part of the United States and also in Washington, but what people in this part of the U.S. are dealing
with are a humanitarian issue that, as you just saw, has faces and real people involved -- mothers, fathers and children.
MANN: Polo Sandoval in the border lands for us. Thanks so much.
Live from CNN Center, this is Connect the World. As U.S. President Barack Obama makes his last overseas visit in office, we look back at some of his
most historic moments abroad.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I beep my phone, I print a slip at the tool and I've paid for my coffee.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In 2007, Bevin (inaudible) founded the Y Group (ph) with a vision to replace people's wallets with their phone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wanted to get rid of my wallet. Surely, we can put that phone to the mobile device and allow people to do transactions on
their phones.
UNIDENITIFIED FEMALE: Growing up on a farm in the small town in Escort (ph) in South Africa, (inaudible) recalls his family living month to month,
all the while, harvesting his own ideas.
UNIDENITIFIED MALE: I was 23 at the time. And I was walking around, I had a whole folder of ideas that I've kept in the past (inaudible) and I used
to build these business plans and these business models and look at them and say, which would work?
UNIDENITIFIED FEMALE: And together with engineer and co-founder, Bartholomew Koch (ph) developed one of the world's first mobile transaction
payment systems.
In 2007, essentially you were ahead of the curve. Did that work against you or was it in your favor?
UNIDENITIFIED MALE: I think, you know, obviously at that stage, it worked against us. The App Store concept wasn't around in 2007. So, the concept
that we had to download an app from a mobil site, there were very few apps because people didn't know about the app store and the app concept. We
actually bought our first coffee off our phone in 2008.
So we were way ahead of the Apple Pay and (inaudible) and other players to launch a mobile payment app on the market.
And that led us to actually failing, that idea failing because it was too early.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For (inaudible) and his team had to go back to the drawing board to secure the survival of a business that received thousands
of dollars in funding from investors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As with every idea, first you have to be agile and change. First on the market (ph) needs (inaudible). And for us we looked
at it and said the biggest biggest challenge that's going to face the growth of mobile going into the future is the
retailer's ability to integrate to all the different mobile transaction apps.
UNIDENITIFIED FEMALE: The disappointment of dumping the original business idea didn't deter (inaudible) and his team. He says his company remains
competitive.
To date, the Y Group (ph) has processed more than $420 million, with the presence at 10,000 retail stores in South Africa. It facilitates more than
1 million transactions per month.
UNIDENITIFIED MALE: Globally, there's very few -- we don't have anyone who is doing the extent that we're doing. We are sitting on gold. And it's
about how do we harvest it, how do we take that internationally? So, we've appointed a global (inaudible) out of the UK, out of London. We have also
got guys in Europe, we've got guys in Ghana, in Nigeria. So, we're expanding the product into other markets.
Absolutely, this product, I believe, can be valuable anywhere in the world. That's just about how quickly we can scout it and get it into to market.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Y Group (ph) staff has grown from 25 in 2012 to 125 people
today and with big ambitions, it seems (inaudible) and his team might just be rolling their way on to the global stage.
(inaudible), CNN, Cape Town.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MANN: Have a look at this: a massive sink hole that appeared over a week in a Japanese city now completely repaired. That's before on the right.
Look at that hole. On the left, what it looks like now. Subcontractors worked around the clock filling it in with sand and cement. And in less
than a week, the road reopens to traffic.
The hole was 30 meters wide, 15 meters deep. IT was full of water. It swallowed traffic lights and cut power to 170 homes and now it is history.
Tell that to your local city officials when it seems they can't fit the pothole out front.
Live from CNN Center, you're watching CNN. This is Connect the World. I'm Jonathan Mann. Welcome back. Donald Trump spent a good deal of his
presidential campaign talking about China.
And now, Chinese netizens are obsessing over the president-elect and his granddaughter.
Jeanne Moos has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What do a pheasant and kid speaking mandarin have to do with the perception of Donald Trump being
China?
TRUMP: China. China. China.
ALEC BALDWIN AS DONALD TRUMP: It's pronounce "Gina".
MOOS: While the Ginese seemed captivated by both Trump's grandchild and his lookalike. The crest of the golden pheasant residing in a Chinese zoo bears
such a striking resemblance to the Donald's hair that the pheasant's photo went viral.
A bird lover in the U.S. actually made an attack ad featuring a golden pheasant.
ANNOUNCER: He has threatened to ban all big migration.
[10:55:03] ANNOUNCER: Huge flocks of birds migrate here every year. They bring bird flu, eat our worms.
MOOS: But enough with Trump's golden mane and the golden pheasant.
How we're going from pheasants to peasants.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
MOOS: Trump's grandchild reciting a Chinese poem called "Sympathy for the Peasants" has aroused sympathy for the president-elect in China.
On Weibo, China's version of Twitter, comments range from "Impressive. You go, girl." To, "The talent for marketing must be genetic, huh? She just
melted countless Chinese people's hearts."
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
MOOS: Arabella's mom, Ivanka Trump, posted videos of her then-4-year- old then speaking mandarin months ago, but they've just now gone viral in
China. Ivanka told "The South China Morning Post", "I have an incredible Chinese nanny who is teaching her."
In this video, Arabella portrays a white rabbit.
(SPEAKING FOREING LANGUAGE)
MOOS: A white rabbit, a golden pheasant.
ANNOUNCER: Is this who you want as the next president of the United States?
MOOS: Apparently so. He's now president-elect.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MANN: If it is Parting Shots, you won't see hair like that.
We bring you shots of a parting U.S. president, one who made history in Myanmar when he became the first sitting commander-in-chief to visit back
in 2014.
Earlier this year, Barack Obama broke ground again in Cuba. This photo of him alongside
Cuban President Raul Castro, may seem casual but it is an image many thought the world would
never see.
And how about this in Berlin in 2013? Obama spoke at the Brandenberg Gate 50 years after John F. Kennedy uttered his famous line, "ich bin ein
Berliner." Things weren't always so warm. This 2009 photo with then- Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, it speaks a thousand words of its own.
Remember you can find more details on that trip, as well as all the other stories our team is following, on our Facebook page. That's at
Facebook.com/CNNConnect.
I'm Jonathan Mann. You've been watching Connect the World. Thanks for being with us.
END
