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Connect the World
Electoral College Set to Vote Today; UAE Diversifying Investments; Thousands Evacuate Aleppo; Central, South America's Forgotten Migrant Crisis. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired December 19, 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)
[10:00:12] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we are -- we will stay here now. And we don't know if we will leave.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAULA NEWTON, HOST: Thousands evacuate east Aleppo, the fate of others, though, some sick and injured, remains unclear. A live report on the
situation there.
And just ahead...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: The electoral vote -- and I never appreciated it until now, how genius it was.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Genius, he says. The next president of the United States praising the system that cemented his victory. Today, the electoral college casts
its ballots to make Donald Trump's win official.
Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Putin perceives trump as plain, weak and controllable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: we hear from the russian president's archrival on how the Kremlin is attempting to influence Washington. That view later in the program.
Hello and welcome to Connect the World. I'm Paula Newton in New York. Becky is off today. We do also have breaking news from Paris. We will
bring you the Christine Lagarde verdict very, very shortly.
But meantime, to our top story. They've been trapped in a place likened to hell itself. But right now, there is hope for thousands of Syrians as they
make their way out of east Aleppo.
Now, a total of 20,000 people have made it to safety. That's according to Turkey's foreign minister. Those move today include those 47 children who
some of you may have seen, who were stranded in an orphanage, some of whom were critically injured.
Now, this desperate exodus was only made possible after a complex quid pro quo deal. The Syrian government has demanded that people be allowed leave
two predominately Shia towns north of Idlib, as well. But the process has hit some delays. On Sunday, a number of busses were set on fire as they traveled to Shia villages. And
as some leave eastern Aleppo, the fate of many more remains unclear.
Now, in the past hour, the UN Security Council has backed sending observers into the city to report on the fate of those who remain.
Now, that decision comes with the backing of Russia, which as we've been telling you about, is
still playing a crucial role in this conflict.
Now, Muhammad Lila joins us now live from the Turkish/Ssyrian border. Muhammad, you've been following this progress for the last several days.
If we go to our latest news about the UN being able to have some observers on the ground, from what you can tell, will that change anything? Will it
get people out sooner?
MUHAMMAD LILA, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, absolutely, it could be a very important step in making sure that these evacuations continue
without one of these groups taking matters into their own hands.
Look, all weekend, this evacuation plan was on again and off again and back on. It even got to a point where it was hard to keep track. And the
reason for that was there are so many groups fighting on the ground right now. You have all of the opposition groups that are fighting the Syrian
government and the Syrian army, as well as Iranian groups that are on the ground. But then amongst the militants, you have groups that are fighting
amongst each other.
So, it is difficult to police all of this and get those guarantees on the ground, that these evacuations will be able to be carried out safely.
What this UN security council resolution means is that monitors will now be on the ground, and they will be able to add an extra level of security and
an extra guarantee to both sides as an independent party that the evacuations will take place on time, and that they'll take
place simultaneously. So both sides feel like they're getting a fair end of the bargain.
NEWTON: And it does represent movement, as hard as it is to believe sometimes. We also hear now that Iran, Turkey and Russia will have a
meeting in Moscow. . And Muhammad, they say very vaguely tha they're going to be discussing the future of Syria. But as you see things on the ground
right now, everyone is saying that, look, this is not, by any stretch, the end of the civil conflict in
Syria.
LILA: Well, let's talk about that meeting for a second. This meeting was actually supposed to
be held next week, but they moved it up to be held tomorrow. And we just got word a short while
ago that it won't just be the foreign ministers of those countries meeting of Turkey, Russia and Iran, it will also be the defense ministers, as well.
And that is key, because it implies there is not just a diplomatic negotiation level going on, on the diplomatic and political level, but also
on the military level.
And another thing to keep in mind is that Turkey's president, Erdogan, has spoken with Russia's Putin several times over the phone over the last two
weeks or so. They must have spoken at least six or seven times. So, there is a very high level of diplomatic
negotiations going on. And all of these represent some positive indications that we may very slowly -- and I was to emphasize, very slowly
-- be inching towards some kind of agreement on the ground that could lay the groundwork for some sort of cease-fire moving forward.
[10:05:13] NEWTON: Yeah, and I can hear it in your voice, Muhammad, you, as well as everyone there, I'm sure, begin very cautious. And it has to be
noted, as well, the United States seems not to be involved in any of these negotiations thus far. Our Muhammad Lila who continues to follow those
fast moving developments on the border for us. Appreciate it.
Now, an east Aleppo evacuee has told CNN that conditions on the buses are just absolutely terrible. He saying he shared his seat with three other
people. And it is a sign of how stretched the precious resources are in Aleppo. When you're talking many times, they don't even have food or
water for several hours, and they're freezing cold.
Now, another example, a makeshift hospital that wasn't given enough ambulances to evacuate
patients. Simon Israel from ITN has this report. But we want to warn you, first that some of what you're about to see might be upsetting.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIMON ISRAEL, ITN REPORTER: They said they needed 50 ambulances for 120 patients, today, they were promised only two, under the renewed evacuation
plan. Yet, in every corridor in every corner on every inch of floor lie the injured, the sick and the dying in this makeshift hospital basement.
He's been waiting a week and the bleeding won't stop. As the hours tick by, still no news, no ambulances, no buses. The desperation, the urgency
increases. This man wants his friend to be treated as a priority, now they've been told only two ambulances will be coming.
"Two cars are only enough for four cases. Nothing more than that. The rest of the injured people are still in the only field hospital left inside the
city. The rest of the injured are all over the streets and no one are listening to our calls."
And then there are the babies whose cries have barely heard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): She's two months old, just arrived here in the hospital. They were at the checkpoint for three hours and the
weather was very cold. They couldn't cross and they came back, just cramps now, there's no pediatrician and no basic medicines.
ISRAEL: Their releases from Aleppo has been hanging on one crucial condition, the freedom of hundreds of others in the besieged pro-Assad
villages of Foua and Kefraya. A convoy of buses was laid on.
But then a Sunni extremist faction intervene and set fire to the fleet before it could reach those villages.
"We won't let you evacuate this year, you pick," said one attacker, "they've only come out when they are dead."
Back in the rebel enclave of eastern Aleppo tonight, all hope has been crushed. And the sick and the injured have returned to their precarious
existence.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Now we are cleaning the hospital preparing all the rooms to start working again. And we are -- or we will
stay here now. And we don't know if we will leave. And no hope but all to leave.
[08:20:24] ISRAEL: But that is not the picture Syrian state TV is broadcasting tonight. It shows half a dozen buses with it said militants
and their families waiting a checking to cross into the west of the city and free them. Yet one person can be seen on the coaches or on the road
side.
The injured and the vulnerable are supposed to be their priority in an evacuation from a war zone where civilians and fighters live alongside each
other. Tonight, by any account they were not.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: On our radar today, the Syrian girl who has given the world an insight into the
horrors of eastern Aleppo is out of harm's way. Now, you may have followed her on social media, 7-year-old Bana Al Abed (ph) and her family were
evacuated to a rural area outside the city. Thousands of people have followed her tweets about living -- what it is like to actually live under
that constant bombardment.
Neighboring Lebanon is officially under new leadership. Saad Hariri is returning to power as prime minister after President Michel Aoun invited
him to form a new government.
Now, Hariri promises to make is returning to power after he was invited to form a new government. He promises to make the international community
share the burdens of those displaced Syrian refugees.
Ten people, including a Canadian tourist, are dead after an attack in Jordan. Dozens were injured. The four attackers were killed by police.
Authorities found suicide belts and explosives in a house used by those attackers. Jomana Karadsheh has the latest from Amman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[10:10:23] JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jordanian authorities are saying the attack was a terrorist attack carried out by a
group of attackers. There were several shootings in southern Jordan.
Now, the worst shooting incident was in and around the castle in the city of Karak. This is a 12th Century crusader castle, one of the main tourist
attractions in southern Jordan.
What happened there, according to authorities, was that a number of gunmen moved in to position themselves in this castle, that's on a hill top
overlooking the city. They opened fire on security forces. A gun battle ensued and they were surrounded.
Now, when the operation ended, we heard from security authorities here, to say that at least four
attackers, they describe as terrorists, were killed. They say they found a large amount of weaponry on them, automatic weapons and ammunition.
Now, in a House, in a nearby town, they say that the terrorists were also using, security forces say that they found suicide belts, as well as
explosives.
The majority of the casualties in this attack were members of the Jordanian security forces, but there were also civilians and one Canadian tourist was
killed
This sort of attack is rare in Jordan. This is a country that itself with its security and stability in the midst of this turbulent region. But over
the past year, authorities here say that they have foiled several terror plots, including one by ISIS.
Now, it is unclear who is behind Sunday's terror attack, but Jordanian authorities say they are investigating this. They are trying to identify
these attackers and their affiliations.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: That was Jomana Karadsheh there from Amman.
To Paris now, where we are just beginning to digest a verdict. Christine Lagarde, chief of the
International Monetary Fund, has been found guilty of negligence.
Now, she was convicted in her involvement in a long-running fraud case. The court ruled she gave preferential treatment to Bernard Tapie, a
supporter of then President -- French Presidnet Nicolas Sarkozy.
Now, the court did not punish Legarde, declining to impose a jail sentence or a fine. But Legarde's lawyers say she may appeal. And the IMF board
says it will meet soon to dicuss the ruling.
We want to go straight to our senior international correspondent Jim Bittermann, who is live for us in Paris as this verdict has come in.
I mean, Jim, there is no doubt that this has been a humbling experience for Madam Legarde, embarrassing in some ways, but will it be punitive at all in
terms of weighting its significance?
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, in fact, as far as the French courts are concerned it is not punitive at all. In fact, it is
expunged from her criminal record. So there is nothing to indicate that she was even found guilty in her record.
Of course, the court found her guilty in the public record. We know that is the case. It should be emphasized that this court is not a criminal
court, it is an administrative court, basically looks at how government ministers and government officials handled their jobs while they
were in office. And if there is anything to reproach, they go after that.
In this case, she was accused of negligence in two different areas. First, in the construction and creation of this arbitration panel that awarded a
huge amount of money to this French businessman. And secondly, then she didn't -- she was negligent in that she didn't challenge the ruling of the
arbitration board once it came out. It was awarded 400 million euros to Bernard Tapie who was the central figure in this.
And the court said she wasn't guilty, was acquitted of the first charge of negligence, but
she is guilty of having not challenged, not appealed the verdict of the arbitration board after it came down.
So that's what is -- the court ruled today, but there is no penalty of any sort. And like I say, there's nothing on her criminal record that
indicates that she was guilty of anything. In fact, it's on the public record that she was guilty of anything.
So, this does put the ball in the court of the IMF. What are they going to do? Well, the IMF spokesman said that they have met before when cases have
come up here in France, and they would probably meet again in the very near future, but he didn't say when. And what kind of action they would take,
it would be up to them. It is hard to say.
NEWTON: OK. And we will continue to digest this throughout the day. Madame Lagarde was not there for the verdict. She did give emotional
testimony and really discussed how five years of this trial has taken its toll.
Our Jim Bittermann there through the next hours will continue to follow the implications. Appreciate it, Jim.
Still to come, the latest on Russian hacking claims. What will Donald Trump do, and what does the Kremlin have to say about it? A live report
from Moscow.
Plus, Vladimir Putin's arch rival talks with CNN about the hacking scandal and he warns ties
between Mr. Putin and the U.S. president-elect can could take a very dangerous turn.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:17:39] NEWTON: You're watching CNN. And this is Connect the World. I'm Paula Newton here for you live in New York. Welcome back.
Now, this year, we saw one of the most unpredictable presidential elections in U.S. history to say the least. It was full of very dramatic twists and
turns.
And technically, yup, brace yourself, not over yet. The final votes will actually be cast today when members of the electoral college are expected
to certify Donald Trump's win.
Now, you know, normally, this would be considered just a formality, but not this year. There are some intense, grassroots lobbying underway for
electors to vote against Trump, even if he won the state they represent.
Now, it is extremely unlikely that Trump will be denied the White House, but some Hillary Clinton supporters are still holding out the last little
shred of hope.
Following it all, our Jessica Schneider. She's live in Lansing, the state capital of Michigan, a state that was incredibly close.
And yet, Jessica, what does this all mean? Is there -- as we just said, there really is very slim chance that anything will change, right?
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. You know, any shakeup or surprise, Paula, is highly unlikely. In fact, 37 Republican electors
would have to change their vote to even put this election into question. But you know, this is a largely
ceremonial process that we don't usually talk about. But this year, we are talking about it because Democrats have looked to cast some question, given the recent revelations
of Russian hacking. Also, the fact that Donald Trump won several states by a narrow margin, including right here in Michigan, where he won by just
about 10,000 votes. And, of course, the fact that Hillary Clinton actually got about 2.5 million more popular votes.
All of that said, however, it looks like Donald Trump will be sailing to a smooth victory on his path to 270 today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Donald Trump getting one step closer to officially becoming the next president of the United States today, all 538 members of
the Electoral College casting their ballots across the country. The typically ceremonial process in the spotlight, since some are urging
electors to go rogue and block Trump from the office. For that to happen, though, 37 Republican electors must switch their votes, a scenario seen as
highly unlikely.
JOHN PODESTA, FORMER CHAIRMAN, HILLARY CLINTON CAMPAIGN: The question is whether there are 37 Republican electors who think that -- that either
there are open questions or that Donald Trump, based on everything we know about him, is really unfit to be president of the United States.
[10:20:14] SCHNEIDER: So far, only one elector, a Republican from Texas, has said he will not cast his vote for Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's time to pull the brake.
SCHNEIDER: Some Republican electors say they've gotten thousands of letters, even death threats, after pledging to vote for Trump, regardless
of outside pressure.
MICHAEL BANERAN, MICHIGAN ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTER: It's utter hypocrisy, because I don't think that, if the roles were reversed, most of these
people would be OK with electors being faithless.
SCHNEIDER: Trump fighting back, tweeting, "If my many supporters acted and threatened people like those who lost the election are doing, they would be
scorned and called terrible names," after praising the Electoral College over the weekend.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT-ELECT: The electoral vote, and I never appreciated it until now, how genius it was.
SCHNEIDER: Meanwhile, the president-elect's top aides continue to question Russia's interference in the U.S. election, now asking for a unified
presentation from U.S. intelligence agencies.
REINCE PRIEBUS, INCOMING CHIEF OF STAFF: If there is this conclusive opinion among all of these intelligence agencies, then they should issue a
report or they should stand in front of a camera and make the case.
SCHNEIDER: President Obama speaking out about the hacking operation in a new interview.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The issue now is not re- litigating the election. The issue now is for us to learn lessons so that we don't have an ongoing situation in every election cycle where you have
substantial foreign influence in our campaigns.
SCHNEIDER: Team Trump questioning the president's motivation.
KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP SENIOR ADVISOR: It seems like the president is under pressure from team Hillary, who can't accept the election results.
SCHNEIDER: Four bipartisan senators continue to press for a select committee to investigate Russian interference in the election.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: This is serious business. If they're able to harm the electoral process, then they destroy democracy. Which is based on
free and fair elections.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER: Now, electoral college voting is already underway in several states. It will start here in Michigan at 2:00 p.m. Again, this is
largely a formal, ceremonial process, where the votes are practically set. But despite that, we are expecting protests throughout the country. Those
people looking to give one last push to try to sway those electors -- Paula.
NEWTON: Yeah, so interesting as this is unfolding, something that was just supposed to be
a formality now is taking center stage.
Our Jessica Schneider watcing it all there from Lasing, Michigan, appreciate it.
Now, yes, what we've been telling you is a bit different to kind of digest. Perhaps you haven't looked into it, Americans don't actually cast direct
votes for president, leaving that job to the small group of electors that Jessica was talking about.
Now, if you still want more information about all of this, just go to our website for some answers. We'll explain the process and tell you what
would happen in the extremely unlikely scenario that the electoral college goes rogue.
For that, turn to CNN.com.
Now, we want to get to more on those claims that Russia hacked the Democratic National
Committee emails before the U.S. election. The Kremlin is telling the U.S., as they've been doing for days, perhaps even weeks, prove it. We
want to go straight to our senior international correspondent Clarissa Ward, who is watching all of this from Moscow now.
I mean, Clarissa, you and I both know that this has likely emboldened Russia. The point is, what does it all mean, though? Has it set a
dangerous precedent?
CLARISSA WARD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think that has yet to be determined, Paula. I think whether or not the Russians are
officially admitting to participating in these hacks, which they're certainly not, and they're saying there is
absolutely plausible deniability, given that the U.S. has not really officially released any physically tangible evidence, but there is
certainly a question of whether this could now carry over into other elections. We've seen or heard reports of Russian interference in other
countries, not just the U.S -- in the Baltic states, particularly. And next year, of course, in Europe, you have very crucial elections taking
place in France, in Germany.
So there is a sense, absolutely, that there could be reason for concern, that this kind of meddling could continue if it doesn't -- if it isn't met
by some strong, sturdy response. And from what we heard from President Obama during his press conference just on Friday, it doesn't seem like
there is necessarily going to be any strong, sturdy response, or at least, rather, one that the public would know about, because for obvious reasons,
President Oobama explained, that even if they do retaliate, they're not going to broadcast it in the same way that if the Russians were responsible
for this hacking, as they say they are not, they certainly will continue to deny it.
So it's sort of ongoing situation where you have a he said/she said. The Russians refusing to
acknowledge having played any role in it. But at the same time, Paula, I do think underlying this, there is a sense that they're enjoying this as it
is playing out. They're enjoying the chaos that it seems to be leading to, the political divisions we're seeing in the U.S. The squabbling between
intelligence agencies taking place in the U.S. The rattling of democratic institutions.
This is music to their ears, even if, officially, they don't believe Russia had any part in it, Paula.
[10:25:21] NEWTON: Yeah, especially as they've been quite brittle and sensitive over the
years about people taking shots at what they call their democratic process there in Russia.
And of course I have to ask you, Donald Trump is not giving this one second of thought, it seems. We have an inauguration in a little bit over a month
now. In terms of the view from Russia, are they expecting this to just change, that they will have a completely different relationship and won't
have these accusations thrown at them without proof?
WARD: Well, I think it is fair to say that the Kremlin is not overly worried about what the Obama administration might do as a result of these
hacking allegations, because they see that, you know, next month, there will be a new president.
I would also say that the Kremlin is definitely optimistic that the relationship will be a lot
better between President-elect Trump and President Putin than it was between Putin and Obama.
At the same time, i think that the Russians understand that anything can happen. And that Donald Trump is not necessarily a known commodity. He is
something of a wild card. He can be quite erratic. And that this so- called bromance may not actually last for a long time at all.
I think what a lot of people don't understand is that the predilection that the Russian state media
showed about Donald Trump was less about a love affair with Donald Trump than it was about a deep seated resentment and antipathy for Hillary
Clinton, who the Kremlin sees as a warmonger, as a Russophobe, as potentially dangerous for the world order, as somebody who likes to
instigate regime change, as somebody who potentially triggered protests after an election here in Russia back in 2011.
And so for a number of reasons, the Kremlin made it clear, or Russians made it clear, who
their preferred candidate was. But as I said, that was more a reaction to Hillary Clinton than it was to Donald Trump. And I do think it is too
early yet to see just how this relationship will play out. There are a number of complex issues, whether it is the annexation of Crimea, whether
it is Syria, that even if Trump and Putin are more on the same page, it will take some diplomatic effort to iron out the differences between these
two nations, Paula.
NEWTON: And we will continue to see, again, Donald Trump really not talking much about the hacking allegations as they relate to any kind of
proof. Clarissa Ward there from Moscow, appreciate it.
The latest world news headlines just ahead.
Plus, it tastes like good wine, it smells like good wine, but is it fake? We'll meet the man who is trying to sniff out Britain's bogus beverages.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(HEADLINES)
[10:32:12] NEWTON: As we approach the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Soviet Union, we are taking a closer look at Russia today.
Now, a prominent critic of Vladimir Putin has weighed in on the hacking scandal. He tells our Nick Paton Walsh, Mr. Putin is using it to send a
very powerful message.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A few know Putin better than his odds Nemesis. Russia's richest man turned its most famous
political prisoner of modern times. Mikhail Khodorkovsky warns that the Kremlin use of attack to influence the U.S. election, this is just the
beginning.
MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY, KREMLIN CRITIC (through translator): For Putin it was very important not so much to demonstrate on direct influence on the
American election process, because it's not very possibly in reality, but to show that it's capable of such influence. And now with the help of
western press that actively brings this to life. He will use this card in his relations with his counterparts from democratic countries as a threat
to influence election process.
WALSH: Khodorkovsky has been locked in a near mortal struggle with Putin for over a decade and in short when he challenged Putin politically lost
badly. Yet, he remains and a key student of his enemy's character on what that may mean to his apparent 'bromance' with Trump.
KHODORKOVSKY (through translator): Putin perceives Trump is playing weak and controllable. Trump perceives Putin is clear and sincere. As soon as
they feel themselves being deceived and they are too quite emotional people they might be a very serious conflict. That's what I definitely wouldn't
like to happen.
WALSH: And in the heart of Moscow and Washington relationship will be Rex Tillerson, secretary of state nominee. His time as Exxon oil giant chief
open in Russia led him to a very closely with the Kremlin may be two closely with its top players.
WALSH: That's not a problem his close relationship to one of the most powerful man in the Kremlin, Igor Sechin.
KHODORKOVSKY (through translator): I'll say I have, I don't know for whom this is a problem. The fact that he knows them too well could be a problem
for America and it could be a problem for Sechin and Putin. And the issue here depends on value.
I know from my own experience that business and politics, especially international politics are absolutely two different things. When you
actually go into international politics everything changes completely. There's no rules, common rules, at least, and there's no enforcement
mechanism that could enforce those rules.
So, here one has to be guided by values. The only beacon of life.
[10:35:02] WALSH: Khodorkovsky once communist youth activist has married the post-Soviet rise and fall of this homeland small businessman, turned
oil giant, persecuted and prosecuted into pecuniary and then in Russia's ubiquitous GULAG and most famous political prisoner where he learned,
oddly, in jail that there is goodness at the heart, even society's most desperate.
KHODORKOVSKY (through translator): The president's administration wants to make it my punishment harsher, so they tried to make different convicts say
all sorts of lies about me. But none of them agreed, no one.
And when I asked them why, they say that that's because I haven't done anything bad unto them so they weren't able to set me up. They might have
made a mistake, behaved wrongly, had a difficult life, but still had something in their soul you can rely on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Always interesting to hear from him. That was our Nick Paton Walsh bringing you that report.
And we will continue with our special coverage of Putin's Russia all this week on everything from Moscow allegedly interfering in the American
election to annexing Crimea and its role in Syria. That's right here all week on CNN.
Now, on to a very unusual crime. During the holiday season, a lot of people are stocking up the wine cellar, as you would. But are wine
drinkers getting what they pay for? There is such a thing as wine fraud. And now in the UK, the Queen's wine merchant has hired a specialist to find
those fakes.
CNN's Nina Dos Santos introduces us to the Sherlock Holmes of the wine industry.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN MONEY: Welcome to Berry Brothers, the UK's oldest wine merchant. A million cases of the best vintages worth over a billion
dollars housed under one roof.
And sniffing out the sour grapes is Philip Moulin, the firm's first wine detective
PETER MOULIN, WINE DETECTIVE: We're about to enter the holiest of holies this is where the rarer of our reserves are stored. It's 1875. So there
are three magnums. And they were actually bottled by us.
DOS SANTOS: Armed with his magnifying glass and twenty years' of experience, Moulin's job is to keep these cellars forgery free. He can
spot a Chateau Lafite from a Chateau lafake.
MOULIN: So, if you look at a label and if it's from 1945 and it's absolutely pristine there's a chance it could -- it might be too good to be
true.
DOS SANTOS: Sometimes the wineries tell him what to look for, often he relies on instinct.
MOULIN: Outwardly the label it looks fabulous. There was nothing within this, which led to think that it was anything but right, except for the
glaringly obviously spelling mistake in the bottom left hand corner. There's an M instead of an N.
DOS SANTOS: But he never takes risks.
MOULIN: It's not worth us risking 300 years of good reputation for the sake of one bottle that might be fake.
If we're uncertainly, it doesn't come in.
DOS SANTOS: Some of this wine is worth a lot of money, and it's China that's buying more than ever, taking in $1.8 billion worth of it in the
first nine months of the year. And where there's a growing market, there's a growing opportunity for forgers.
MOULIN: Relatively naive markets who are learning from scratch -- and they'll buy a book, they may see an article on television which mentions
Chateau so-and-so. There's a perception that that is the right Chataux to have in their cellar, so they go out and buy it. And they don't know
exactly what to look for in terms of whether or not it's real.
DOS SANTOS: Real or replica, not all fakes taste foul.
When you open up some of these wines, what are they like?
MOULIN: It's a very good question. Very often, they have been done to a forumla. They've been done to a recipe. And that recipe involves using
good wine.
You know, so, you know, the more expensive the wine purports to be the better the wine that will go into faking it.
DOS SANTOS: In vino veritas, or as the old Latin adage goes, in wine there is truth.
Well, that's not always the case these days, which means that traders like these have to go the extra mile to look out for the labels that lie.
Nina Dos Santos, CNN Money, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Live from New York, this is Connect the World. Coming up, going beyond oil. We look at why diversification is key for the Arab world in
2017.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:42:40] NEWTON: On to the Middle East now. You know, 2016 has been a tumultuous year for the region, as you can imagine. Syria's budding civil
war and, of course, the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
Now, the Arab world also has been hit, of course, by all that volatility in the global oil market. John Defterios looks at the economic challenges
facing the region next year.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Raging wars, political turmoil and socioeconomic uncertainty: challenges that coupled with low oil
prices have made 2016 a year to forget for many countries in the region. Will the next 12 months be any
better?
DIMA JARDANEH, HEAD OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH, MONA: We see similar head winds as a challenge to the region, the same as 2016. And I would highlight that
we still expect fiscal consolidation to take place, which would lower government spending.
DEFTERIOS: Let's take a closer look. Saudi Arabia is still facing major financial troubles and growing less than 1 percent. The UAE is set to
remain resilient, above 2 percent, but well below its recent average.
And after allowing its currency to float freely, Egypt has paved the way for IMF funding that should stabilize around 3.5 percent.
So, what needs to be done to get the region back on track? The former regional head of the
IMF says it comes down to two major structural changes.
MASOOD AHMED, PRESIDENT, CENTER FOR GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT: One, they have to rely less on oil and more on other kinds of activities for their income.
Some of them, like the UAE, already quite diversified. Others, less diversify, need to push to try and develop those industries.
Second big transformation, in oil exporting countries, most of the nationals look for work in the public sector. Going forward, the public
sector is not going to have the financial resources to be able to absorb all these nationals.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now, our emerging markets editor John Defterios joins us from Abu Dhabi live.
You know, they're still dealing, those governments, with that lower price of oil. How do they expect to deal with that in 2017?
DEFTERIOS: Well, you know the saying, Paula, never waste a good crisis, and that's certainly apropos in the Gulf states, the six members of the
Gulf cooperation council in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE is no exception to that.
In fact, it's fair to say even before the oil crisis, there are many of the investment funds like Mubadala who started to diversify for two reasons: to
lower the dependency on oil, but also to create local jobs. Let's give you a taste of what Mubadala, for example, has been doing over the last five
years. We have four of the 50 investments on the screen led by the Cleveland Clinic of Abu Dhabi, for example. It's the first foray for the
U.S. medical center overseas. You see Yahsat, this is a satellite provider, providing satellite communications to, for example, telecom
operators.
Global Founderies is a chip manufacturer. It's based in California, but has major plant operations in New York, Germany and throughout Asia. And
Strata, the Gulf carriers order planes. Well, this is a company that provides parts to those plane makers. So, 50 different operations, a fund
that got up to as big as $60 billion.
And it doesn't stop there, Paula, they're actually now going to merge a couple of the sovereign funds, Mubadala and IPIC (ph) in 2017, a sign that
consolidation is on the way, but they also want that diversification to continue.
And you get weight with the merging of the operations, of course, and the buyer's market.
NEWTON: And we were talking about those sovereign funds. I mean, they always invested
heavily in the United States. Since the financial crisis of 2009, has that changed at all?
DEFTERIOS: Well, I think it's fair to say they're tilting more to the east now. In fact, they defined it as a Silk Road strategy, which goes from
the Middle East into South Asia, Central Asia, and then stretching to China.
But it is not just an economic or business strategy, it is a political strategy as well, to tilt both ways. Here is the group CEOs Mubadalah,
Khaldoon Al Mubarak.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KHALDOON KHALIFA AL MUBARAK, GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIEV, MUBADALA: these markets, again, are markets we are entering: China, Russia, obviously Asia,
Korea, southeast Asia. These are very attractive markets that are growing and that we are finding the right platforms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: Khaldoon al Mubarak with our Becky Anderson at the recent Middle East business forum here in Abu Dhabi, and real money, by the way,
Paula, $10 billion in a fund for China, and another $10 billion for a fund in Russia, as well.
Back to you.
NEWTON: Diversification in 2017. OK, we get the message. Thanks, John. Appreciate it.
DEFTERIOS: For sure.
NEWTON: Live from New York, this is Connect the World. Coming up, the other migrant crisis. We take you to Costa Rica, where the government is
facing a humanitarian nightmare. You don't want to miss this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DEFTERIOS: You're watching CNN, and this is Connect the World. I'm Paula Newton. Welcome back.
Migration, of course, has been a hot button issue that of course has gotten tons of attention this year. But many people immediately think of those
crossing the Mediterranean so desperate to reach Europe, but another migrant crisis is unfolding a world away. Our Shasta Darlington has more
in this report from the CNN Freedom Project.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The buzzing border town of Paso Canoas, the main crossing between Costa Rica and Panama long an
important trade and tourist route.
In recent months, however, the town has seen an unprecedented influx of migrants. Tracking north from South America. Thousands of them many
originally from Africa and the Caribbean bound for the United States.
Closing a logistical and humanitarian nightmare for the government of Costa Rica, Communications Minister Mauricio Herrera Ulloa spearheading the
effort to process them.
MAURICIO HERRERA ULLOA, COSTA RICAN COMMUNICATIONS MINISTER: At this moment Costa Rica is absolutely overwhelmed with immigration situation. No one
were prepared or was thinking in the possibility that received 10,000 people from Haiti or for Africa.
DARLINGTON: Cy Winter of the International Organization for Migration is in charge of border management for north, south and Central America. He
worries that migrants will lose patience with the bottlenecks and look for another way across the border putting them at risk for human trafficking.
CY WINTER, INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MIGRATION REPRESENTATIVE: I can't get through the front door so they go through the window. And by doing that
they end up unknown to the state, and so a country doesn't know the person, the person doesn't have access to the services of the country. And that's a
core vulnerability that can be capitalized on by traffic.
DARLINGTON: Costa Rican officials say they're trying to process the migrants as quickly as possible. They're admitting 1 to 200 day, but there
is a waiting list several weeks long before migrants can receive a laissez- passer, the document that allows them into the country.
Once the migrants finally have those papers in their hands they're brought here to this warehouse that use to hold fertilizer. But now they can hold
up to 250 people, they get free meals, a roof over their head and a mattress to sleep on.
The shelter is just a few kilometers north of Paso Canoas. Many here say they were on the road for months before getting stuck on the Costa Rican
border. They're tired, frustrated and running out of money and they've heard the situation on Costa Rica's northern border isn't any better.
That's because Nicaragua has closed its borders to documented migrants, forcing thousands there into deplorable conditions and makeshift shelters
and tent villages.
WINTER: The Costa Rican authorities are working to accommodate. They've got some 5,000 people and they're expecting that the number will rise.
DARLINGTON: To stem the growing human trafficking concern in Costa Rica, the government has been cracking down on trafficking. At the same time, IOM
officials are trying to prevent human trafficking from happening in the first place.
They are meeting with migrants offering counseling and advice as new arrivals continue to pour in. Like these brothers who just arrived in Costa
Rica, optimistic and unaware of the backlog they're about to face.
WINTER: They, of course, want to go to the United States. That's all they're talking about. If they proceed as they are, i if they do run the
risk of becoming vulnerable, I thought them that they could easily become victims of labor exploitation.
DARLINGTON: None of the migrants I spoke with had even heard the term human trafficking. Winter says many people in this population are so accustomed
to being exploited but they don't recognize it as modern day slavery.
And to tens of thousands of migrants on the move throughout Central and South America, he fears this crisis is not likely to end any time soon.
Shasta Darlington, CNN in Paso Canoas, Costa Rica.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now, encourage you to get the stories from our teams around the world. We've got a lot of them out there. Don't forget to go to our
Facebook page at Facebook.com/CNNconnect.
In tonight's Parting Shots, we say good-bye to the glamorous Zsa Zsa Gabor. Now, the former beauty queen was known for her many marriages and her
candid ways, leaving us with quotes like, I never hated a man enough to give him his diamonds back.
Michelle Turner looks back at a life lived in the celebrity headlines.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She became one of the most recognizable figures in Hollywood with her trademark gown elaborate jewelry
and Hungarian accent famous for being famous. While Zsa Zsa Gabor's acting career was perhaps undistinguished, the former beauty queen's outspoken
ways grab headlines.
ZSA ZSA GABOR, ACTRESS: While everybody tell the truth, that's why everybody hates me because I tell the truth, people don't like to hear the
truth.
TURNER: Gabor and her sister Magda and Eva immigrated to the United States from Hungary. But unlike Ava who started on TV's Green Acres, Zsa Zsa
didn't immediately have showbusiness aspirations. A five-year marriage to hotelier Conrad Hilton produce a daughter Francesca that made her a great
aunt to a later generation to celebrity sisters, Paris and Hilton. After she divorced Hilton, Zsa Zsa married actor George Sanders. She said that
union became her catalyst.
[10:55:41] GABOR: They put me in a talk show, I met this George Sanders, the next day I have Life cover, a Look cover and all the covers and Jim
approached me in Jim studio if I want to, I said, yes.
TURNER: Zsa Zsa went on to make more than 50 films, including 1952 Milan Rouge.
She also appeared in the Orson Welles classic Touch of Evil, but it was her off screen appearances that gabbed the most attention. In 1989, Gabor
generated a media sensation when she was convicted of slapping a Beverly Hills policeman. She was sentenced to three days behind bars.
Gabor parlayed the attention into TV and movie appearances, including a cameo in the "Naked Gun Two and a Half." In fact, it was once joked that
Gabor played herself more often than any other role. The acting roles dwindled in her later years but that didn't keep Gabor's name out of the
press.
A car accident in 2002 left her partially paralyzed and she was subsequently in and out of the hospital for a series of health cares.But it
was her marriage to Prince Frederic von Anhalt, her ninth husband that provided plenty of bizarre tabloids father.
Von Anhalt who married Gabor in 1986 once claimed to be the father of Ana Nicole's Smith's daughter after the actress's death. But turn the test
later this proves that claim. In 2011, he announced an unusual plan to make Gabor who was 94 years old at the time, a mother again using an egg donor
and surrogate mother. A plan Gabor's daughter Francesca called weird.
It was many one of many disputes Francesca had with von Anhalt whom she once accused of taking Gabor away from her. The two would eventually reach
the truths over the Gabor's care in July of 2012.
As her personal matter still made headlines well into her 90's, Zsa Zsa Gabor will perhaps be remembered as a professional celebrity who seemed
happiest living life on the front page.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: That was our Nischelle Turner. I'm Paula Newton. And that was Connect the World live from New York. Thanks for watching. We'll have
more news right here on CNN.
END
