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Connect the World
China Warns of Arms Race if THAAD Implemented; Hospital Attacked in Kabul; Atlanta School Fights Child Trafficking with Education; Poachers Kill White Rhino Inside French Zoo; WikiLeaks Releases CIA Code. 10:00- 11:00a ET
Aired March 08, 2017 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:12] BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: Tonight, a bombshell from Wikileaks claiming the CIA can use your phone, your computer, even your television to
spy on you and make it look like the Russians did it.
Much more on that is coming up.
Plus, this Donald Trump's first big test abroad? Well, China thinks so as it warns Washington and Pyongyang that they are on a collision course.
And imagine a world without women. Well, I am still here, but what if I wasn't? Up next, we have got some great coverage of International Women's
Day for you.
A very warm welcome, just after 7:00 in the evening in Abu Dhabi. This is Connect the World with me, Becky Anderson.
Cell phones, laptops, iPads and smart TVs, you may never look at your everyday consumer
electronics the same again after hearing the new bombshell claim from Wikileaks. It says the CIA is turning these devices into cyber weapons to
spy on people around the world, even using a U.S. consulate in Europe as a secret base for hacking operations.
CNN's Brian Todd begins our coverage this hour in Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Some of the CIA's most sophisticated and effective spying tools apparently pride open with the
help of WikiLeaks. The anti-secrecy group says it's obtained thousands of files and lines of code from the CIA's massive hacking operation.
WikiLeaks says the documents show the CIA's team of hackers have developed malware to be able hack into almost a device people use and can remotely
control iPhones, iPads, Android devices, taking video from their cameras, listening with their microphones.
ROSS SCHULMAN, OPEN TECHNOLOGY INST., NEW AMERICA: We should be worried if they're used against non-intelligence targets. TODD: The CIA is not allowed
to spy on Americans inside the U.S.
But privacy advocates worry other agencies may be using the same tools, WikiLeaks says there is one CIA hacking operation called Weeping Angel that
can even tap into an enemy's Samsung smart TV.
(on camera): They can turn my TV into a spying device. What happens when I turn it off?
SCHULMAN: When you turn it off, it's not actually off. A lot of people remember the little red light.
TODD: Right.
SCHULMAN: That means there is a computer in there, it's listening for the remote to call back again to turn on. So, what the CIA can do is they can
latch into that, even when the TV is off, they can still listen to the microphone that's in the television.
TODD (voice-over): WikiLeaks says CIA hackers can bypass encrypted messaging apps like Signal or Telegram just by cracking the phones
themselves. According to WikiLeaks, the CIA explored the possibility of hack into the software of modern cars.
SCHULMAN: It can be accessed from outside and perhaps taken control of. And this can do a whole lot of things of playing the music to taking control of
the car entirely and crashing it if you want to assassinate somebody.
TODD: WikiLeaks says the CIA uses the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, as a secret base, where CIA hackers spy on people in Europe, the Middle
East and Africa.
The White House and the State Department wouldn't comment. The documents released by WikiLeaks have not been authenticated by independent experts
and the CIA says it won't confirm their existence.
WikiLeaks says some of these hacking techniques would allow the CIA to mask their hacking to make it look like someone else did it.
One former CIA analyst says if this claim is true, WikiLeaks has dealt a significant blow to U.S. national security.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every time a place like WikiLeaks blows our ops, it means that the bad guys evolve and they use countermeasures to defeat the
abilities of the United States to spy on them and to track them, to target them, and so forth.
TODD: WikiLeaks says there's a broader security problem here, that if the CIA can get its hands on these hacking tools, then the bad guys can, too,
that cyber criminals, other hackers, hostile countries hacking teams will be able to hack into our phones, TVs and computers. Contacted by CNN, the
CIA says it does not comment on the authenticity or the content of purported intelligence documents.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Brian Todd is reporting for you out of Washington. Well, we are covering all angles of this for you.
Dana Magnay is in London, outside the Ecuadoran embassy where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been holed up for years, and global affairs
correspondent Elise Labott is in Washington tonight.
Let me start with you, Di. We were promised further comment from Julian Assange. Any word?
DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No. We were told yesterday that they would be holding a press conference, but we don't know whether
that will happen today. We have had a tweet from WikiLeaks where they say that what has been revealed so far is
just 1 percent of what they have on the CIA documents, so there is a whole load of leaking left to do.
This information that was released yesterday has been heavily redacted. WikiLeaks has gone through all of it and analyzed some of it and made sure
that nothing particularly sensitive has been leaked, i.e. particularly sensitive (inaudible) let's face it, Becky. But
they say that they have basically disarmed these cyber weapons.
But that is presumably what they are trying to do with the rest of their trove of data.
ANDERSON: Elise, what's been the response in Washington?
ELISE LABOTT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, interestingly enough, Becky, it's been very muted. Now, the CIA, as Brian Todd reported, is not
authenticating the documents, but even the White House has been kind of silent about it. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer wasn't saying
anything, and then said any leaks are bad.
And this kind of puts President Trump in a difficult situation, because you'll remember during the campaign when there was all these leaks about
Hillary Clinton from WikiLeaks, Donald Trump as a candidate was saluting them and saying I love WikiLeaks. Now he's confronted with the very threat
of his CIA that he was praising before. So, it's a very delicate balance for him. And the White House is being noticably very silent about it.
ANDERSON: I love WikLeaks. It's amazing how nothing is secret today. Not, my words, as you rightly point out, the words of the new U.S.
president during the election campaign.
Di, what do we, you, me, and the viewers then do if anything to ensure that the internet of
things isn't spying on what we're doing?
MAGNAY: Well, one very easy thing that we can all do is that we update our software. And Apple comes out today and said our latest update does fix
many of the bugs that were in the system. And that is always what you have to do to keep your security as good as ever is make sure that you've got
the latest updates and not delay installing them, which I know that a lot of us do.
Also, if you have a smart TV, for example, don't connect it to wi-fi, switch it off, the story
about Samsung TV, for example, don't connect it to wi-fi, switch it off. Switch off the voice activation.
Let's face it, the story about Samsung TV, the Weeping Angel line, which the CIA supposedly together with Britain's MI-5domestic intelligence agency
here put together in 2014, through which they could then spy through Samsung TV.
Well in 2015, Samsung came out and said it is possible that we can listen to you through our
voice recognition software, and you should be aware of that as the consumer. So, it's not entirely novel that smart TVs can listen to what
we're doing and it shouldn't really come as much of a surprise that western intelligence agencies or any intelligence agencies can listen in to our
smart devices, which are constantly plugged in on wi-fi wherever we go.
ANDERSON: Right. And you say it shouldn't come as a surprise, but quite frankly it does, Ithink. Just how damaging are these alleged links at
least for the CIA?
MAGNAY: Well, I think they're damaging in the terms that - you know, U.S. people - but not only U.S. citizens and foreign citizens, but also the bad
guys, if you will, terrorists are knowing how the CIA is using their tools to spy on them.
And so it does kind of give them an indication of how to work around it. I think in terms of the CIA is always kind of trying to update it's tools. I
don't think the long-term damage will evolve, but, you know, certainly it's a symbolic low. It could be a short-term big blow, it's supposed to be the
largest leaks of these type of documents in history, some companies like Apple and Samsung and some cyber experts are saying it's not that big of a
deal.
But symbolically, especially given what the White House has been doing and saying about
leaks, and saying about leaks, it's a very big blow to the U.S. government.
[10:10:05] ANDERSON: Elise Labott is in Washington, Diana outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London where as I said, Julian Assange, the founder
of WikiLeaks, is holed up. No word from him as of yet. Thank you, ladies.
From the digital battlefield to the very real one in Mosul. And the ultimatum to surrender or die, that this is the strong warning Iraq's
leader Haider al-Abady gave to ISIS. He visited the war-torn city after Iraqi forces made some big gains.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAIDER AL-ABADY, IRAQI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Daash militants should either flee or be killed. They have two options, either
to surrender - and we promise them that they will have fair trials - and a second option is that they will be killed. They have no other option.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, let's bring in CNN's Ben Wedeman for more on this. He joins me now live from Irbil.
Ben, some pretty strong words there from al-Abady. Do we know how ISIS is reacting to all of this?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, we haven't heard any reaction. I suspect that the hard we have heard that the hardcore of
ISIS's choice is to die. But we understand that many ISIS members are very unhappy with the current situation. We spoke to the wife
of an ISIS fighter yesterday that he told us that her husband was so tired of fighting that he shot himself in the foot and sold his weapon and ran
away from Mosul, because he simply couldn't put up with it any more.
So, there are divisions between ISIS fighters and foreign fighters in the ranks of ISIS. But I don't think they really listen too closely to that
call, the fighting has been intense. Iraqi forces have advanced about 300 meters into the western Mosul's old city, but the fighting was very
difficult.
They encountered 19 ISIS suicide car bombs, which they blew up, but we understand they're also taking a lot of casualties and many civilians have
already been killed as a result of the fighting and the bombardment in central western Mosul - Becky.
ANDERSON: Ben Wedeman is in Irbil for you this evening. Thank you, Ben.
Well, from Iraq to Afghanistan now. More than 30 people are dead and some 50 injured after an
attack on a military hospital there. Gunmen stormed into the compound, terrifying patients and hospital workers inside.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has covered Afghanistan extensively. He is monitoring the situatoin today for you from Beirut - Nick.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Becky, around 9:00 this hospital, this hospital Sardar Mohammed Daud Khan, really a key part of the
Afghan security force's medical infrastructure, just a stone's throw away from the U.S. embassy, found itself under assault.
Four attackers, we understand, a suicide bomber at the southern gate, allowing the other three
inside, dressed as medical personnel, perhaps with their weapons concealed went floor to floor, the death toll now at 30 dead, and 50 injured. Quite
staggering, frankly, that this heart of what should be the securest part of the Afghan military's base could come under this kind of sustained attack.
Now commandos rushed to the scene and say it did take them six-and-a-half hours because their main concern was keeping patients, doctors and
personnel safe. Well, those people do - are included amongst the casualties in this instance.
The key issue is who is behind it? You would normally suspect the Taliban. It is the time of year, March, where the weather warms up and often a
spectacular attack, as they would call it, is launched like this to herald the beginning of what's known as the fighting season. The warmer weather,
which can, in fact, lead to an uptick in violence.
Instead, the Taliban quickly came out on Twitter and said, no, we're not behind this. They, in fact, denied any responsibility and instead we saw a
statement from ISIS in Afghanistan who do have some sway in the country's east. They, in fact, came forward and said their commandos were behind
this attack.
That is, perhaps, a substantial move for them in terms of trying to show their ability to penetrate the heart of the capital there, particularly
something that should be as well secured as this. And it strikes probably at the heart of morale of the Afghan security forces. They're experiencing
record casualties right now.
Just think about this: between January and November of last year, over 6,000 police and
soldiers died in the Afghan military and police forces, over 11,000 were injured. Those are record numbers. And it comes at a time, too, where
we're seeing more of the country coming under insurgent patrol, 10 percent according to one U.S. inspectorate, is actually under Taliban control, a
third contested by the Taliban, and only just over half actually controlled fully by the government.
Perilous months ahead for Afghanistan - Becky.
[10:15:03] ANDERSON: Nick, remarkable and I have to say depressing statistics. Thank you.
Still to come on this show, the showdown over missile defense between China, South Korea and the United States.
Plus, CNN's Freedom Day, coming up fast. We'll have a lot more later in the show. Here's how students around the world are getting involved.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOY: Freedom means that you have the right to do what you want to do, not what anyone else wants you to do.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE; To me, freedom means the ability to be all that you can be. It also means fighting for the freedom of others so that they
too...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCAIL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Now to another twist in the murder of Kim Jong-nam, the half brother of the North Korean leader. The victim's son has now appeared in a
video online. South Korean intelligence confirmed his identity to CNN. It comes as Malaysia's prime minister
directly accuses North Korea as the killing.
Ivan Watson has more for you now from Kuala Lumpur.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Nearly a month after the half brother of North Korea's dictator was poisoned to death in Kuala
Lumpur airport, this video emerged showing the murdered man's son, Kim Han- sol.
KIM HAN-SOL, SON OF KIM JONG-NAM: My name is Kim Han-sol from North Korea, part of the Kim family. Here is my passport.
WATSON: He is soft spoken and matter of fact about what Malaysian officials say it was the
assassination of his father with VX Nerve agent.
HAN-SOL: My father has killed a few days ago. I'm with my mother and my sister. And we're very greatful to...
WATSON: The short video is censored and does not identify Kim's location, but a virtually unknown group claiming to be Cheollima Civil Defense
published this statement expressing gratitude to the governments of The Netherlands, China, the U.S. and a fourth unnamed country for
helping move Kim's family to safety.
The governments have failed to comment to CNN.
In this 2012 interview with Finnish TV, Kim says he was born in Pyongyang in 1995 and educated mostly at international schools outside of North Korea
where he befriended students from countries that the North Korean regime views as enemies.
HAN-SOL: In my school in (inaudible) where I went, we had people from United States,
South Korea, and these are countries that we have been having a lot of conflicts with and a lot of tension. But then we turned out to be really
great friends in the end.
[10:20:03] WATSON: Meanwhile, one of North Korea's few international friendships is getting stormy. Malaysian investigators wanted to question
three North Koreans in connection with the airport assassination. They are believed to be hiding in here behind the walls of North Korea's embassy
in Malaysia. Relations between these once friendly governments are rapidly
deteriorating.
Malaysia expelled North Korea's ambassador on Monday. Then Pyongyang announced at least 11 Malaysian citizens would not be allowed to leave
North Korea, prompting Malaysia to announce a similar travel ban on all North Koreans currently in Malaysia.
And for the first time on Wednesday, Malaysia's prime minister publicly accused Pyongyang of
carrying out the airport assassination.
KAJIB RAZAK, MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER: We didn't pick a quarrel with North Korea. It was never our intention. But when a crime has been committed,
then especially when chemical weapons are used in Malaysia, we are duty bound to protect the
interests of ordinary citizens.
WATSON: North Korea maintains it has nothing to do with this assassination, but as the investigation into this shocking murder
continues, two governments are effectively holding each other's citizens hostage.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, China's top diplomat says the U.S. and North Korea are racing towards a head-on collision, just like two freight trains and
neither side seems willing to change course.
Well, the warning from China's foreign ministry comes after North Korea launched four ballistic
missiles, you'll remember that. The Trump administration calling North Korea a pariah state and then delivered the first components of a missile
defense system to the south, to South Korea.
Well, China strongly opposes that move saying it could kick off an arms race in the region and it said it's time to apply the brakes.
North Korea, also on the agenda at the UN Security Council this hour, tracking tensions in the region, with Alexandra Field in Seoul for you, and
Matt Rivers in Beijing.
Stand by, Matt.
Alexandra, what is the latest from there?
ALEXNDRA FIELD, CNN CORREPSONDENT: Well, at this point, we know that the actions
of the North Koreans have raised alarms throughout the region and as far as all the to the United States. And that is why the UN Security Council is
hing this closed conversation about North Korea.
Look, they were quick to come out and condemn the missiles that were launched from North Korea. You will certainly hear some of those
sentiments echoed, you would imagine, inside that closed conversation today along with condemning the missiles, the missile launch. You have heard the
UN Secruity Council the up security council in their statement earlier this week saying that they will look at
whatever further actions could be available, and certainly pointing out the fact that these missile launches are in direct violation of the previous
resolutions passed by the Security Council.
The launches have been condemned by the U.S. They have been condemned by Japan. They have been condemned by South Korea. They have been condemned
by China.
President Donald Trump was on the phone with some of his allies in the region earlier this week after those launches and he committed that they
will move forward with this U.S. missile defense system, the first pieces of which began to be installed earlier this week, that has certainly
rankled a big neighbor in the region, China. I know that Matt will talk to you more about that. It has also caused some distress right here in South
Korea for some who say that this is a measure that's moving along too quickly. They wanted this to pass through parliament, but both sides going
ahead with this installation now, Becky.
ANDERSON: Well, Matt, then as this UN security council meeting kicks off and we are monitoring that for news, what is the perspective in Beijing?
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, in Beijing, they are not happy at all with this deployment, although it's interesting because
while they have used a lot of tough words against the United States, they have seemingly saved their toughest against for the South Koreans by
flexing their economic might to show their displeasure over this deployment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RIVERS: China's government won't officially say it, but its state-run newspapers will. A Wednesday Global Times editorial wrote, quote, Beijing
will make South Korea feel the pain. This is the price the country must pay for the THAAD deployment.
You can interpret feel the pain to actually mean hurt South Korean business, something China seemingly has been doing since THAAD was first
announced. For months, South Korea has accused Beijing of carrying out systematic economic punishment. They have banned
certain South Korean cosmetic imports and they've denied visas to South Korean performers.
Until THAAD, business was good. Now a difference.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anybody can see that change. And many Korean businessmen are worried.
[08:25:05] RIVERS: China has firmly opposed the deployment but has denied any THAAD-prompted retaliation, though it's hard to call the recent rough
stretch for Korean retail giant Latte (ph), a coincidence. Just last week, the company agreed to hand over a South Korean golf course where THAAD will
be deployed. Since then, at least 23 of its China-based stores were shut down for what authorities called fire safety infractions.
In Seoul, Chinese tourists are a staple. They come by the millions each year, fistfuls of money in tow. But South Korean officials say the Chinese
government recently banned national tour operators from coming here. The effects were immediate. This man says sales at his small souvenir shop
have dropped about 50 percent.
"We have been hit hard by THAAD," he says. "But if we stop the deployment like China wants, we might as well be a colony."
But standing up to China might be tough right now. South Korea is in the throes of a massive corruption scandal, and a presidential election looms
later this year. A politically divided South Korea has been out marching nearly every weekend recently at either protests or rallies like this one,
so the big question is how much popular support is there right now to push back against China and there's
clearly a lot to deal with domestically as well.
And even if there was political will, it's not clear what South Korea could really do. There's talk of filing a complaint with the World Trade
Organization or maybe denying visas to the Chinese, but that wouldn't really hurt the world's second largest economy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope this situation can be finished in the near future, but who knows.
RIVERS: CNN spoke with a Korean diplomat this week in Beijing who stressed the THAAD issue should just be a political difference and shouldn't affect
mutually beneficial trade, but he also said his government is planning for broader retaliation moving forward if and when THAAD gets built, the
China/South Korean relationship gets worse.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RIVERS: And, Becky, it's hard to overstate how important China is to the South Korean economy. It is South Korea's largest export market and most
experts that we have spoken to will tell you that you can fully expect China to use that leverage if this deployment goes forward as planned.
ANDERSON: Matt, I know that the U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is heading to China.
Alex, he's also on his way through South Korea.
What do those in Seoul hope to get out of this talk by the Secretary of State?
ANDERSON: Look, there is - sure. Certainly it's an optimistic sign for people here in Seoul
that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is making his first official trip to the region. And it certainly speaks to the seriousness of the threat that
is being confronted by South Korea in conjunction with the U.S. and other allies like Japan in the region.
The secretary of state has said that this visit will be about addressing the growing nuclear threat from North Korea. A spokesperson from the State
Department has said that it will be necessary, perhaps, to talk about new ways to approach this problem.
What is clear to everyone watching around the world here, Becky, is that North Korea's missile and nuclear program seems to becoming more
sophisticated and that the speed of development is accelerating. We're talking about a country that has done two nuclear tests in the last year
and launched some 20 missile - Becky.
ANDERSON: From Beijing and from Seoul, our correspondents on the story for you tonight. Thank you both.
The latest world news headlines just ahead for you.
Plus, what would happen in a world without women? Just think about that for a minute. After the break, we'll have more on the impact of women
around the globe on what is this International Women's Day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(HEADLINES)
[10:33:04] ANDERSON: Well, around the globe, marchers are out demanding gender equality as the world marks International Women's Day. Some are
pondering this: what would the world be like without women?
In the United States, a protest called A Day Without A Woman is planned to demonstrate just how important our daily contributions are. Yes.
Well, the strike, organized by the same group behind the Women's March that followed the
U.S. presidential inauguration, women are asked to skip work and take the day off from paid and
unpaid labor.
Well, CNN's Shasta Darlington, we told her she's got to be at work, because she has got to watch the celebrations from Rio de Janiero.
I believe they haven't yet kicked off, but what should we expect from the partying town, Shasta?
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORREPSONDENT: Well, Becky, you said it, this is a day that is being marked around the world, here in Brazil and
really much of Latin America, the big protests and demonstrations will kick off this afternoon,
but we have seen action around the globe.
You can take a look at Belgium and Ireland, for example, where there's been a big focus on reproductive rights, on abortion rights. In Brussels, we
saw women in big marches carrying signs saying, my body, my choice. In Ireland, similar, a country where abortion is virtually illegal in all
circumstances, they're wearing black, demanding constitutional changes that will give them more access to abortions.
Really, we have seen these demonstrations around the globe from the Philippines and India, to Italy. A huge march in Australia, thousands
taking to the streets. A lot of focus on reproductive rights and also on gender equality in the workplace. These are going to be the big issues
here in Brazil later today, taking a look at some new figures that were released to coincide with International Women's Day, some statistics that
show that here in Brazil, one in every three women has been the victim of violence or threats of violence, another study that shows that women are
still earning just .80 for every dollar that a man earns in the same job.
In neighboring Argentina, the focus is also going to be on domestic violence, where more than 300 women were victims of what's called femicide
last year, deadly domestic violence, Becky.
So, big issues and women really focusing on the institutions and the governments that they hope can help affect change - Becky.
[10:35:42] ANDERSON: Shasta Darlington on what is a huge global story today out of
Rio for you.
Well, here in the Gulf, challenges for women obviously remain. But there is progress. In Abu
Dhabi, the federal national council is made up of 18 percent women, and it's president, yep, a woman. That's doctor Amal Abdullah al Kubeisi (ph).
And women representative the UAE around the globe, too.
Earlier, I spoke with Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE's ambassador to the UN and president of the world body's exeuctive - women executive board.
Well, I began by asking her just how important it is to have women in government and how to attract even more women into service. This is what
she said.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LANA NUSSEIBEH, UAE AMSSADOR TO THE UN: Thank you very much, Becky. It's a pleasure to be here with you this morning, celebrating International
Women's Day, but not only celebrating, I think it's important to note that today weare trying to accelerate our efforts to achieve gender equality and
empowerment around the world.
At current rates, according to recent data, the world economic forum data, at current rates we would not close the gender gap until 2186, and that's
simply too long to wait.
So today is an opportunity for a call to action to step up, men and women, for change around the world.
Now, the reason we know that to be important the reason you highlighted at the beginning of this interview, which is in the UAE, we know that this
model works for us. It doesn't just work as a national strategy, it works as a global smart foreign policy strategy, and it is integrated into our
security, economic, political, social development model.
So, the same data that shows that it would take almost 100 years to close the gender gap globally shows that in the UAE we have the most empowered
women in the region, we have the smallest gender gap in the region. Women are the most literate in the region, over 66 percent of our population are
women in the workforce.
AS you rightly pointed out, we have the first speaker of parliament who is a woman in the region. And she's made great strides in that regard.
A third of our cabinet are women, and also in non-typical roles, whether it's the military, the judiciary, as judges, as police officers, women are
breaking every glass ceiling in the UAE, and this is integrating into a holistic devleopment model that has made our model we believe in the region
a counter to extremism and terrorism and unfortunately extremists and terrorist ideology in our
region ties itself very much to the subjugation of women.
This is a counter to extremism and terrorism in our region, it is an opportunity for hope at a time when we are facing enormous and very
protracted global crises.
So I think the UAE model really is a model not only nationally, but it could be a model that we humbly offer to the world as an international
model for why integrating women into your economies, into your societies, is not only the right thing to do it's the smart thing to do.
ANDERSON: Now, you make some really good points here. But let's be frank here, the
Middle East, as in other parts of the world, is an area, a region where women do clearly face challenges. The Wilson Center, for one, highlights
issues of physical violence in some countries, in parts of the region women are being pushed out of public life, the new constitutions of Egypt and
Tunisia, for example, are very vague when it comes to women's rights.
So, as a role model, how can the UAE help affect change?
NUSSEIBEH: By showing why it works when you integrate women into your workforce. I think we want to show by doing, not by preaching. And I
think that's always been very much - and we do it quietly, because the model works for us. I think we very much respect the diveristy and the
plurality of different countries and their systems.
What we're showing is that you can be a modern country, a Muslim, a tolerant country with over 200 nationalities residing side by side, and,
yes, women can lead in that country by example. And because of the example set by the leadership, by her highness Fatima (inaudible) and her national
strategy to empower women, by the prime minister's commitment just at the last World Government Summit that in five years he wants 50 percent of his
cabinet to be women.
So, there are men and women at the top who are advocating for change, because it makes sense. And I think showing by doing is the est way that
the UAE can show that this model really does bring more sustainable peace and more sustainable economic and political development.
I mean, the numbers are also there. If people who like data can look at the data.
McKenzie (ph) shows that we could increase our global GDP by $12 trillion by 2025 just by closing the gender gap in the workplace. In the meaner
region, that's an increase of 15 percent over projected long-term growth.
So, for the data buffs, the numbers are there to show that integrating women into your economies makes economic and business sense.
We also know in terms of our work here at the United Nations, in terms of peace agreements, in keeping the peace, that when women are at the table,
peace agreements are more likely to last 15 years, rather than fail after five.
So we have those numbers as well. When women are integrated at the table, and women peace and security efforts, and as you pointed out, our region is
going through a challenging time, when women are integrated in those efforts, the peace agreement is more likely to last 15 years, because women
bring integrated perspectives into the negotiations, it's not simply about power sharing, it's about education, communities, access to water, access
to justice, the issues you've raised - domestic violence. Justice should be something that is applied even after a
conflict has ended, that's something my country has never had to have a debate about. We we very much believe country has never had to have a
debate about, we're at the forefront on this issue both in our support to UN women, the entity here in the UN that's mandated to lead the charge on
global equality, and our support for that entity has been there at the outset from 2010.
And my role as president of the executive board, that's something that I am very much integrating in the facilitation of dialogue amongst member states
on this issue.
So we lead by doing. We put our financial commitment where we believe it to be practical and
applicable. And we want to show that the data shows that this isthe right model around the world.
But again, we offer our model humbly, taking into account that every society evolves at its own
pace in it's own way, and we are not perfect ourselves.
ANDRESON: Ambassador, who am I to argue with anything that you have just said on what is International Women's Day. It's been a pleasure having you
on. Thank you.
NUSSEIBEH: Congratulations, Becky, on International Women's Day. Thank you for the work that you do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: the ambassador speaking to us earlier.
Live from Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World. Coming up, teenagers join the fight against human trafficking and leave their school to lobby the
government.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:45:49] ANDERSON: We are just a few day away from My Freedom Day on March 14. CNN teaming up with youngsters in every part of the world for
what we hope will be a unique student-led day of action against modern-day slavery. While, the students at a school in Atlanta in the States already
know a lot about the plight of human trafficking, because their school has a club focusing on different ways they can help stamp it out.
Lynda Kinkade went to meet some of them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Atlanta, the center of America`s civil rights movement in the 20th century, today, home to many
victims of modern day slavery.
It`s a global issue these teenagers are determined to fight locally.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone`s going to be volunteering.
KINKADE: Founded in 2011, this club at the Atlanta International School was the idea of a couple of students who had a passion for social justice.
Now they`ve stirred a movement among young people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone in this entire room is going to be working with us.
KINKADE: From bake sales, to selling fair trade chocolate, these students raise funds and awareness.
(on camera): What do students learn about modern day slavery by selling this type of chocolate?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, we just want to put the message out, that fair trade, getting chocolate that`s been produced ethnically without human
trafficking, is so much easier than a lot of people think.
KINKADE (voice-over): Child labor and modern day slavery are just some of the issues being discussed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, question?
KINKADE: The group meets in their lunch break every Wednesday. It`s led by three students, including Kit McCarthy (ph) and Amelia Castillo (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was really surprised at the scale of the issue.
KINKADE (on camera): As you start to learn about this, what surprised you most?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that it surprised me most that it was such a problem that hit so close to home.
KINKADE: When you speak to people your own age, how do you explain this issue? It`s a pretty tough issue to talk about.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I would say the first step is to make it approachable. Labor trafficking of children is just the most devastating
part of it to me, because it`s everywhere. It`s in everything we do, in our phones, in the food we eat, in the clothes we buy, and it just impacts us
daily anytime we purchase something, every time we consume something, and I just didn`t know.
KINKADE (voice-over): This group, now one of the most popular social clubs in school.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s an issue that my school I feel gets very little male representation. And I feel it`s important for both genders to be
involved and to take action.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I see things like I see a t-shirt, for example and be like, maybe someone was taken from their family and had to be forced to
make that shirt, rather than it being made fair trade.
KINKADE (on camera): And it`s not just about raising awareness and raising funds, you also lobby government. Explain how that works.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We take a group of students down to the capital. Everyone splits up and goes to their representatives and you know, writes
them, they can write them notes, letters and things about why they think, you know, why this issue is so important.
[08:35:06] KEVIN GLASS, ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL CHOOOL: Our task as educators is to get every single child, every single teenager on earth
engaged in social activism to make this world a better place.
KINKADE (voice-over): Kevin Glass, headmaster of the Atlanta International School, hopes these students will take the lessons learned here and share
that knowledge, passion, and activism, as they move through college and into the workforce.
(on camera): What do students bring to the table to tackle this issue that adults don`t?
GLASS: They bring this absolute unvarnished honesty, without any veneer of political correctness, you know?
And they challenge us, the adults, to wake up, that this is a real issue, and we have to do something about it. Their power is phenomenal.
KINKADE (voice-over): Lynda Kinkade, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, Thursday's My Freedom Day report comes to you from here in the UAE. Students here using performance to raise awareness. You can
catch that report on this show, that's 7:00 p.m. Abu Dhabi time, of course, 10:00 a.m. if are watching in New York.
We're bringing you Connect the world live from Abu Dhabi this evening. It's time for a little breather. We'll be back after this very short
break. Please don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:52:04] ANDERSON: You're with CNN. This is Connect the World with me Becky Anderson. 10 to 8:00 here in the UAE. A grisly crime at a zoo in
Paris has left the staff heartbroken and in shock. Poachers broke into the wildlife park and shot and killed a rhino for its horns. Staff members
found the body of the endangered white rhino in its enclosure, one of its horns had been sawn off. It's believed to be the first such attack inside
a zoo in Europe.
The details now from Jim Bittermann.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Becky, in fact behind me are the remaining two rhinoceroses that are left. Gracie, 37 years old,
and Bruno, 5 years old. Their partner, 4-year-old was Vince, was killed yesterday, overnight, by someone who came into this enclosure, broke in,
went through three perimeters of security, including an outside fence, two wooden doors and a steel door to get into their pen, which is backed in the
back there. It's hard to see through the trees.
In fact, there's an autopsy going on, had been going on all throughout the day by the forensic police, who are looking for any kind of clues as who
might have done this.
The rhino was shot with three bullets to the head. And the horn, as you said, was sawn off apparently with a chain saw and the poachers managed to
get away, unnoticed as far as anyone can tell. There are surveillance videos that are being analyzed and there may be other clues that we don't
know about. But in fact for the moment there's no clues as to who the poachers were, Becky.
ANDERSON: And my sense, I think I'm correct in saying that there has been no experience like this before in a zoo in Europe. This must have stunned
those working there. It's an awful story. What's been the response of staff?
BITTERMANN: Well that's exactly correct, Becky. This has not happened before. The people here were stunned and shocked and very saddened by all
this. In fact, one of the people, the zoological director here was saying in fact you expect animals that are kept in an enclosure like this one
should be safe, should be apart from the kinds of things that we hear about happening in Africa, where in fact more than 1,000 rhinos are killed each
year.
Here in Europe, one would think that in preservation parks like this that they would be safe, but apparently not. So, in one of the things they are
really worried about now, and in fact, they've alerted immediately, they alerted other park directors across the continent. They're worried that
this could generate copy cat kind of actions in other zoological parks. So, it's a big fear, I think. And they're going to step up security here,
of course. And I suspect they'll probably have to step up security everywhere else.
[10:55:11] ANDERSON: Jim Bittermann, on what is a truly awful story. Jim, thank you.
Well tonight's Parting Shots for you. We are remember that it's International Women's Day.
Take a look at this, some well aimed action by a group of women who are well used to hitting their target.
The Swedish women's soccer team are posting pictures of their new jerseys, with feminist
quotes, taking the place of their names. The campaign is called hashtag #inyourname. All the
inspirational messages are quotes from famous Swedish women.
Captain Lotta Shellen (ph) kicked off the campaign by tweeting her jersey slogan, "never look down on someone unless you are helping her up."
Well, midfielder Lisa Dalkovist (ph) has an equally strong message, and it's about women believing in themselves. While Olivia Shawl (ph) is
celebrating small acts of kindness. Her jersey reads, ""everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind, always."
Well, Sweden's football association says it hopes this initiative will inspire and motivate other women to stand up for each other and themselves
and to show that nothing is impossible. A message worth bringing home on this International Women's Day.
And from International Women's Day to CNN's My Freedom Day, which we've been talking about throughout this hour. Do remember that is March 14. We
are asking people, you, your kids, specifically around the world, what does freedom mean to you? Let us know and help stamp out modern-day slavery.
Right, that's tonight's show for you. You can get in touch with us of course at Facebook.com/cnnconnect.
I'm Becky Anderson, that was Connect the World from the team here, particularly my female colleagues tonight, thank you for watching, good
night.
END
