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New Ransomware Attack More Sophisticated Than Wannacry; Qatar Will Not Concede to GCC Demands, Causes Stalemate; Fake TIME Magazine Cover at Trump Golf Courses; Six Charged with 1989 Hillsborough Disaster Deaths. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired June 28, 2017 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[11:00:09] BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: The Gulf widens: the UAE threatens to destroy trade with Doha unless demands are met and the clock is ticking.

Plus...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't believe now the GCC can play any end role.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: The survival of the Gulf's only functional trading bloc is at stake, and it is rippling the markets.

And held for random, hackers unleash a global cyber attack demanding money to clear and release infected computers.

A very warm welcome, this is Connect the World. I'm Becky Anderson for you. This week in London, and we begin with Qatar's roaring diplomatic

emergency, which really is a lot like this.

Here is the tiny Gulf country, just like in real life, as it were, is being squeezed harder and harder and harder, hour by hour, day by day, by its

neighbors hoping it'll give in to these, their demands.

Now, if you need reminding, here they are. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, want them to cave in. Qatar claims they are

all refusing to budge and inch on them, and Qatar was given just 10 days to follow along with them.

But deadline, what deadline? Because weekends, at holidays, it's not even clear when those days even run out.

Well, as always on Connect the World, we are on every side of what is going on here. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is in Qatar's capital Doha. Nic Robertson

is back in this show's home town as it were. Abu Dhabi, that is at the center of this crisis right now. Jomana, let's start with you, the Qatari

FM, the foreign minister, has been in Washington looking to drum up support for Doha, and it seems at least the he is encouraged by the U.S. reception.

What has he said?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Becky, he's saying what we've heard Qatari officials say from the start of this

crisis, that they are open for dialogue, that they want to resolve this crisis. He also responded to those comments we heard from the Saudi

foreign minister about the list of demands being non-negotiable. And according to the Qatari foreign minister he says that's unacceptable. He

says that that defies the principles of international relations saying that this is not how it works.

He says that these countries have issues with Qatar. They have made accusations. He is asking for the evidence saying that that has not been

provided. What they've seen is this list of demands that now they describe as really unrealistic, unacceptable, while the other side is saying it's

non-negotiable.

And throughout, Becky, as you know very well, throughout this crisis Qatari officials have been saying that they this is not about combating terrorism,

that this is just a pretext to go after Qatar, to force this country to change its foreign policy, a foreign policy that has really irritated its

bigger and stronger neighbors like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. And these officials, including the foreign minister, have said

that they will not do that, they will not have other countries dictate what Qatar's foreign policy should be.

So, really, it is very difficult at this pint, Becky, to see how this is going to be resolved. And it really is from the rhetoric that we are

hearing, the statements from Qatari officials, it's really looking highly unlikely that they will agree to this list of sweeping demands, at least in

its current form.

ANDERSON: Nic, you're in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. Many of our viewers will have been taken back by, or taken aback, by the vitriol of

this crisis. Let's see it from the UAE's state minister for foreign affairs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANWAR GARGASH, UAE STATE MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: The alternative is not escalation, the alternative is parting of ways. Parting of ways is

because it's very difficult for us to maintain a collective grouping with one of the partners in this collective grouping through this platform, or,

you know, is actively promoting what is an extremist and terrorist agenda.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:05:04] ANDERSON: The words of Anwar Gargash. Nic, just how significant is what Mr. Gargash said? And what are the consequences at

this point?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, the consequences are that this standoff, this situation gets worse, that it escalates, that

perhaps, you know, the United ARab Emirates trading partner, Saudi trading partners is maybe asked to choose between trading in Doha or trading with

this much bigger collective of countries.

You know, the reality is here, as Jomana says, neither side is backing down. Both sides believe in their position. Secretary of State Rex

Tillerson yesterday, who met with Qatari foreign minister, met with the Kuwaitis, as well, who are trying to mediate here, and who has called on

all sides to act in good faith and to negotiate in good faith.

The way that the Saudi foreign minister characterized the situation yesterday saying that, you know, they don't like putting this -- these kind

of restrictions on a sisterly country, but they feel after all this time, and this is what I've heard from Emirati diplomats here, as well, that

there is a sense that this has been going on for a long time. They've talked about it moderately behind closed doors, but now they've decided to

draw a line.

But there's no doubt about it, that this is a situation that is -- that's escalating, that there isn't a mediator in the middle here who is able to

bridge the gap. Neither side is really talking about bridging a gap at the moment.

So, you know, the only thing you can see is an escalation. And how can you escalate what is an economic and political standoff, is by escalating

those economic and political stakes. And Qatar, being much smaller relative to those other countries, is under a huge amount of pressure.

ANDERSON: Nic Robertson is in Abu Dhabi, Jomana, then, is in Doha.

The UAE, of course one of the lead architects of all of this. And his man in Moscow, Omar Ghobash, has been threatening to take things up a notch

again, even up to kicking Doha, Qatar, out of what is a local and very rich club, the GCC.

To ask about the sense of doing that, we are pleased to have Omar with us now.

Before we get into this, Omar, let's just have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REX TILLERSON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We hope all parties will continue to talk to one another.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: All sides should keep talking in good faith, says the secretary of state, visited, of course, by the Qatari foreign minister in the last

couple of days.

Your words don't sound much like good faith. You seem to want to take the sort of us or them approach, telling other countries you're either friends

with you, club of the UAE, Saudi, Egypt, Bahrain, or you're with Qatar. Why is that?

OMAR GHOBASH, EMIRATI AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA: Can I first say that, you know, it's not me personally making any kind of threats or raising the

pressure. I'm simply representing a particular position. The position of the United Arab Emirates and, you know, our allies.

I don't think that we are taking an either/or approach. I mean, we're taking what we would suggest is the position of the international community

on something that has been going on for -- since -- ever since September 11, and even in the 1990s, I'd say, which is that we must stop the funding

and the support of extremist narratives and extremist activity.

And so actually we would be surprised, and we are surprised when we see, for example, our Turkish friends and Iranian friends, standing alongside

extremist groups, including al Qaeda, which will come to the support of the Qatari government at this time.

ANDERSON: Where is the evidence to date that the Qataris have been funding terror. This is one of the narratives that's come out of this list of

grievances. They say show us.

GHOBASH: Right. Well, if you take simply the list of individuals and entities that we jointly came out with, the Egyptians, the Saudis, the

Bahrainis, and the Emiratis, there is a list of 59 individuals and 12 organizations all accused of terrorism and extremism. These are people and

entities that are based in Qatar. And so, you know, one of the questions we have to the international community is what further evidence do you need

if these people are walking around freely in Qatar and are described, essentially, as guests of the government.

These are people who are listed as terrorists on, you know, by the United States, by the European Union, and by the United Nations. So, really what

further evidence do you need? Surely that is enough at this stage.

ANDERSON: Among the demands that were delivered five days ago now, and we're going to talk about a deadline going forward, among those was that

the group, including the UAE, want Qatar to shut down al Jazeera, its prized news network.

The United Nations, no less, decrying what the UAE is asking for there, because it would, quote -- and I'm quoting the UN special rapporteur for

freedom of expression here -- strike a major blow against media pluralism in a region already suffering from severe restrictions on reporting and

media of all kinds.

Given that, is there any chance that that demand would be withdrawn?

GHOBASH: The demand is not likely to be withdrawn because it's actually a very specific and important demand, it's actually one of the critical

demands that we have of the Qataris. Why is that? And why is it that we are asking them to do this, because it isn't a question of freedom of

speech, and we know that the Qatari government itself does not support freedom of speech in its own territory, there's a very famous case of a

Qatari poet who is 15 -- sentenced to 15 years in jail for suggesting in a poem that the Arab Spring should reach Qatar, so that's one issue.

The other issue is that really allowing al Jazeera to continue at the current state would be a blow for hate speech and those who want to provide

extremist ideologies and narratives to the region.

So, if that is the case, then, you know, at least the United Nations should be aware of what kind of speech it is supporting.

I don't think anybody in the region really has a problem with freedom of speech, but as long as it is the freedom of speech that is responsible and

has a sense of the context.

It's extremely important. Freedom of speech in our area is always being used as something to beat us with, but actually we have very, very

sensitive issues. For example, the sectarian questions and the tribal questions. Wars can be set off through speech. And that is what we're

saying to the Qataris.

ANDERSON: What do you say to those who say -- who shriek double standards here, that the -- within this list of demands, you said is high up there on

the agenda is the closing down of al Jazeera. When there's no offer on the part of the Saudis or the UAE, for example, to close their own state-led

media organizations down.

GHOBASH: Have you watched any of our TV?

ANDERSON: I do, of course, I live there.

GHOBASH: Not particularly exciting, not particularly inflammatory. So, yeah.

Well, we haven't heard from the Qataris. I think that they have -- they have already stated that they think that these demands are particularly

unreasonable.

The question we have is, is it genuinely an unreasonable demand, to stop providing support for extremist ideas and for extremist individual. Kind

of ridiculous to me.

ANDERSON: The Muslim Brotherhood is a big -- a group designated by the UAE and by the Saudis, not designated, of course, by the UK and the U.S. nor by

the Qataris. The Qataris say it's a movement, not a terror group. Again, with respect, is that another -- is that one of the demands that might be

sort of stepped down -- are there any concessions worth considering here, because at this point the Qataris say these are unreasonable demands.

GHOBASH: Is it really unreasonable to ask the Qataris to stop funding terrorism and extremism? That in itself is a ridiculous response to say

that that is unreasonable.

The Muslim Brotherhood has a particular history in our region. It is regarded as a terrorist organization by various governments in the region

and outside, for example, Russia proceeded us by labeling them a terrorist organization in 2006.

So, this isn't so clear cut that it isn't -- that it is simply a political party or political movement. It is a cult like organization that still

reveres ideological like, say, (inaudible) who is the father of extremist violence in our region.

ANDERSON: Let me just remind our viewers that the UK is actually road back on its 2014 assessment with the group and they've said that as a rite of

passage for violent militants, now suggesting that political islamists were a firewall against violent extremism and should be engaged with, either

when in power or in opposition.

GHOBASH: We engage with Islamists all the time, and that's -- and because it actually concerns us, because the intention is to acquire power in our

region, we are much better acquainted with the tools than the British government, I would say.

ANDERSON: Tell me about this deadline.

GHOBASH: Yes.

ANDERSON: A set of demands were delivered five days ago with a 10-day deadline. So, are we talking Monday and is there a certain specific time?

And what happens after that?

GHOBASH: My understanding is that it will be the third, the 3rd of July, it is a deadline essentially to put something out there that we can

actually aim towards.

The Qataris have still not responded to any of our demands. They have stonewalled as far as we can see. And so, you know, really we are just

waiting patiently to see what they are going to say.

ANDERSON: What would your best guess be for the next action, should the Qataris not concede to what they are say are completely unreasonable

demands?

GHOBASH: My guess is that you'll see no reaction whatsoever. And we will all get together and sit and think about what are the appropriate next

steps.

This is not something that is, you know, particularly well planned in the sense that we are intending to, you know, destroy Qatar or hurt Qatar in

any way. In fact, you know, our hope was, always, that they would come to the table and say, look, you know, we agree to a certain set of principles

of 2014, the ruler of Qatar had signed that agreement, you know, acknowledging that there were errors in the past that al Jazeera had

supported extremism, that the Qatari government had also supported extremist movement and that they were going to take a step back.

So, the question is will they be able to come forward now and say, yes, we now agree that we're going to accept an international mechanism to actually

begin to control this issue.

[11:15:32] ANDERSON: The message from the Qataris -- and this is the final question to you -- has been -- it seems, certainly, that the reception that

they've got from the Secretary of State Tillerson in the U.S. has been a good and supported one. They believe they've got support from the EU, not

least the Germans as well. Does the UAE, Saudi, Bahrain, Egypt and those others in the region have grouped together in support of these demands.

Does it feel well supported by the international community?

GHOBASH: First of all, I would like to say that Secretary of State Tillerson is the leading global diplomat. So, we would expect nothing less

from him.

And we do appreciate very much the U.S. attempts to mediate and find a solution to this problem.

But we also think that we've got a lot of support simply by the argument that we are fighting extremism. This is something that has been demanded

of the region. And this is really the first time that you see collective action being taken. And remarkably we're taking that collective action

against one of our own. You know, you might expect that we would do it further afield, but we're actually saying to ourselves and to our own

society that we are no longer going to accept this. So, it's extremely important turning point in our region and the world should know about it.

ANDERSON: With that, we're going to leave it there. Always a pleasure having you on. Thank you very much indeed.

The UAE's man in Moscow today for you in London.

Later on Connect the World, we're going to take a look at the crisis shaking what is this Gulf Cooperation Council and see if it can weather

this storm.

CNN's emerging markets editor John Defterios, who the ambassador knows very well, will be here with me in just under 10 minutes time.

Still to come tonight, a cyber attack wrecks havoc on government agencies in some of the world's largest companies. And it's not over yet. Who is

at risk and what's being done to stop it?

And later, a bizarre sight in Venezuela. A rogue police helicopter flies above the Supreme Court, unleashing a hail of gunfire. We have the latest

on a country in chaos. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: You're watching CNN. This is Connect the World with me, Becky Anderson. Welcome back.

There is a monstrous virus infiltrating some of the world's largest companies, not here, I have to say. Europol says it isn't over yet,

though.

Ransomware infects computers and locks down hard drives. This attack demands a $300 payment in BitCoin. It's believed to have taken hold in

Ukraine. And look at these behind, or been hit, the world's largest advertising agency, London-based WPP. In Russia, oil and gas giant

Rosneft. U.S.-based pharmaceutical company Merck targeted, as was U.S.- based food and beverage company Mondelez, which owns the Oreo and Cadbury snack brands. And the largest Danish shipping firm Maersk reported its

tech systems were down across multiple sites.

And that is just the tip of the iceberg, as I mentioned. Europol says this attack on international businesses has called infections worldwide has not

been stopped.

Joining me now is CNN's Isa Soares. What's the scope of this?

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is absolutely huge. And we're talking -- when you talk -- look at some of the companies impacted,

they're big, well-known companies. We're not talking about small companies.

You think how are they going to manage to get out of -- given how much revenue they may lose from this, you cannot touch these computers, but

we've also heard in the last 45 minutes that the Russian central bank has seen isolated cases there.

So, this is the spreading -- it hasn't spread to what we've seen to Asia, but look, this is the map we've put together to get a sense of the spread.

It started in Ukraine, going through eastern Europe, then western Europe, then the Americas to Mondelez, and that source has also been hit in

Argentina, Becky.

So, this is widespread. And it's widespread because in many ways it is more sophisticated than the previous ones we've seen. You touched on that

just briefly.

Previously, the previous attack, the petia (ph), only took your documents and that was it. This one takes your hard drive and holds on to it. So,

it stays dormant in your computer. Than it asks you for that $300 payment.

And you think, OK, I'll pay -- companies may want to pay -- companies may want to pay for that, because it's not very much.

But what I've been hearing from experts, one expert at Essentia (ph) was basically saying to me this is just a ruse. The money, they're not doing

it for financial gains, because he said to me 45 transactions to date, $10,000 they've made so far. But this is not the reason for it. They're

not doing it for gain.

ANDERSON: Then what are they doing it for?

SOARES: He thinks there is a bigger play here, it's basically a dry run, that they're seeing how quickly authorities react. Because as we saw from

those companies and that list there, Becky, everything from banks, from big international companies -- we know in Ukraine airlines affected, too. So,

the network is huge. So, they're wanting to see how quickly that works.

ANDERSON: Last time we saw something like this, but clearly, you know, this could be -- this could be on a much wider scale. We got a very quick

fix. It's called a vaccine, I think, a virus vaccine.

SOARES: Yeah, exactly.

ANDERSON: Is there one available for this?

SOARES: Well, this is what makes them more sophisticated, because the previous one, as you're mentioning, there was a kill switch. You can cut

it and it doesn't spread. So, if your computer has it you cannot spread it to anyone else. You kill it right there. This one doesn't have it.

But what we do know is that in the last hour or so, we've spoken to a U.S. security analyst who has been able to find a temporary vaccine. Now, he's

on holiday in Israel, a cyber conference in Israel. And his parents basically called him up and said have you heard about this? So, he got

hold of the ransomware from a friend and he was able to reverse engineer it.

And what he found in it is if your computer has a certain file called perf in it, it basically boots out the ransomware, because what ransomware was

is it encrypts data, so before it starts encrypting it looks for this. If you have it, it boots it out.

So, it works -- it's a temporary vaccine because it works if your computer hasn't been infected yet. The ransomware is there, but it hasn't started

working.

If you already lost the money, well, it's really hard -- it's really hard to go back and try to do anything else.

And another point I want to make on this, why these guys may not be as clever as, you know, many are making out to be, they used crypto currency

to get their payment. We already know that. But they also use email accounts. And what I've been hearing from experts, I've been calling

pretty much for hours now on end is if these guys were really professionals, they'll be using the dark web to communicate. But these

guys aren't. They're using email accounts. And now those email accounts have been cut. They've been -- a German company basically found that they

were -- the hosts of these email accounts and they shut them down.

So now, if you've paid and you want your data you can't have it, because there's no way to communicate with them.

ANDERSON: Fascinating stuff. Thanks for doing the sourcing on this. It's all in the last hour. Fantastic stuff. Thank you very much, indeed.

Venezuelan president Nicholas Maduro is calling it an armed terrorist attack. Right now, security forces hunting down a rogue police officer.

He is suspected of stealing a helicopter and attacking the Venezuelan supreme court building and the interior ministry strafing them and dropping

grenades.

Well, President Maduro says no one was injured.

The suspect, this man, has identified himself as Oscar Perez and says he represents a coalition of police, military, and civil officials that is

demanding that the president step down.

Well, lots of trouble in Venezuela these days -- violent protests, shortages of food and medicine. Journalist Stefano Pozzebon has been

following all of this and he joins me now. It isn't actually clear exactly who this guy really is or what his real motivation is. Do you have

anything else for us at this stage?

[11:25:48] STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Absolutely, Becky. Nothing is exactly clear in these particular incident.

What we know so far is that Oscar Perez was a former helicopter pilot of a special like a SWAT unit within the criminal police who yesterday was

allowed to fly for two hours in the center of Caracas, which is a heavy militarized area and he was able to fly well over the presidential palace,

the parliamentary, national assembly palace and the supreme court, and even able to drop some grenades, up to four, according to the information

ministry of the Maduro government. He dropped up to four grenades on the building of the supreme court. Despite this, no one got injured and there

were no reported big damages.

Now, the information ministry is talking to the press saying that they're still hunting down Mr. Perez, but at the same time there is no mention of

the other people who took part in the video where he denounced the reason why he's doing his action and the opposition leaders have denounced that

Maduro is staging a coup, to try to push forward for some constitutional change that they say are a breach of the democratic powers down in

Venezuela.

ANDERSON: So, just then for context, remind us of what is the wider story in Venezuela today?

POZZEBON: The wider story is a country that used to be one of the richest in the region, Venezuela is a massive oil power, is a member of the OPEC,

and in the early 2000 enjoyed one of the greatest oil boom in its history.

Since the fall of the oil price about five years ago, things turned really, really ugly. And now Caracas has had to drop imports of basic goods, such

as food, medicines. In Caracas, it's really hard to find that normal stuff like toothpaste, milks, aspirin, for example. So, it's a country that he's

(inaudible) in the most dramatic economic crisis of his history, and this leads to a massive fall of the support of President Maduro who is currently

deeply unpopular.

Lots of people are taking to the streets, lots of people are asking for election as early as possible. And this is why, for the past three months,

Venezuela has been tangled with unrest, and after -- to more than 70 people have been killed, Becky, since these latest waves of protest erupted in the

first of April 2017.

ANDERSON: Stefano, pleasure having you on, sir. Thank you for that. The latest world news headlines, viewers, are just ahead.

Plus, how the crisis over Qatar is impacting the economy of the wider region. Can a GCC stay afloat? And if not, what are the consequences?

We'll ask CNN's emerging markets editor John Defterios. That after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[11:32:21] ANDERSON: Well, the ambassador's words just the latest chapter in what is this ongoing crisis on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia's foreign minister

said the list of demands sent to Qatar were not negotiable. Adel al Jubeir says it's now up to the, quote, Qataris to amend their behavior.

But Doha says allegations the government supports terrorism are baseless and calls the list of demands a threat to its sovereignty.

And, of course, this crisis having a major impact on the stability of what is known as the Gulf Cooperation Council, or the GCC.

CNN's emerging markets editor John Defterios joins me now.

John, just explain what is going on and its likely consequence.

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Well, it's fascinating, becky, because most of the attention so far has been honed in on Qatar and

the economic fallout. You talk to the ambassador, Mr. Ghobash, and he was talking about perhaps extending the list of sanctions. But I think it's

time to start taking a step back look at the bigger picture. The Gulf Cooperation Council, most people don't talk about it. They've lowered

barriers amongst themselves. They tried to have better political integration. They were talking about an economic monetary union, which

didn't happen.

But this is a threat to the survival, perhaps, of the GCC. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEFTERIOS: Also known as the GCC, it has six members: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwai, Bahrain, and Qatar. Three members,

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain, have imposed a diplomatic and economic boycott on Qatar. It has plunged the GCC formed in 1981 into its greatest

crisis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Within the GCC, Saudi Arabia has been the dominant actor. It is not only the biggest and the oldest and the economically and

militarily most powerful, but it views itself as the rightful diplomatic spokesman of the Arabian peninsula and in the region. And you have smaller

countries that do not necessarily buy in to this big brother formula.

DEFTERIOS: The GCC has had some success, a common single market, which lowered trade barriers and allowed free movement of people. It has big

plans: a 2,000 kilometer rail network worth $200 billion, discussions on a single currency, and from next year the introduction of value added tax, or

VAT.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm quite bearish. I think it's going to be a very difficult crisis. If there is an agreement that fulfills the requirements

of the three Gulf countries and that satisfies Qatar as not having sacrificed its sovereignty, then I think the GCC survives, but it still

limps. And how all parties deal with it will determine the future of the GCC.

[11:35:12] DEFTERIOS: With over 50 million people, the GCC is a tenth of the size of the European Union, but what it lacks in size, it compensates

by sitting on two-thirds of the world's proven oil reserves.

The GCC as an entity has played no role yet in trying to resolve the crisis with Qatar, therefore many accuse it of lacking any formal structure and

dispute resolution mechanisms, raising questions about its future.

ABDULLAH BIN HAMAD AL ATTIYAH, FORMER QATARI DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: In my opinion, we will never agree with their conditions. We have our own

divinity (ph). I think, you know, the GCC is out of question. Even the (inaudible) of GCC, even I don't hear him. I think, you know, they have --

you know, I don't believe now the GCC can play any role. Unfortunately, the GCC has been eliminated.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: The former deputy prime minister speaking to you just recently. How does this internal crisis impact the trade bloc's clout externally?

And what, if any, could the market, the wider market fallout be here?

DEFTERIOS: Well, it's interesting, because you look at the European Union, you're looking at better than 500 million consumers. This is a tenth of

it. That makes a big difference.

It had a lot more clout...

ANDERSON: It's a rich tent.

DEFTERIOS: That's exactly what I was going to say. It had a lot more clout, because it sits on two-thirds of the world's proven oil reserves.

But with oil at $50 or less right now, of course that's been watered down. Even the U.S. energy independence going forward. They had big plans.

Those things have been side tracked. Monetary union didn't happen at all.

And I think what's very telling about this, the VAT director -- look, we're almost into July of 2017, that's supposed to be rolling out hopefully in

the first quarter of 2018. The bankers I've spoken to on the ground there, they're not gaining anything from the individual ministries of economy or

the ministers of finance. That's a very bad sign. The Qatari Real was at an 11-year low. That was something to flag that stabilize going forward.

But I think there is a danger. And I think we have to market.

Most people from the outside world looking in tend to lump everything together in the Middle East. These have been the safe havens of the region

before. So you had Syria, Libya, Iraq in turmoil. These have been the safe havens. There's a danger, and I think even for the broader airlines,

if they're not careful, this filters in to the bottom line of other countries. And that what I think is the potential danger as the ambassador

suggesting we're singling out one in the effort of terror financing, that's how they see it, of course, but they could be hit with a broader brush of

danger, which could hurt it economically going forward, particularly oil prices don't respond.

ANDERSON: Fascinating stuff. John, thank you.

This is a story, which at present isn't going away. There are five days until what was a deadline imposed by the UAE, Saudi, Bahrain, and Egypt on

Qatar. At present the message, as we're getting from Doha is, there will be no concessions. So, let's see as this continues. John, thank you.

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations says she believes a White House warning stopped Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from carrying out a

chemical weapons attack. Nikki Haley is testifying before the House foreign relations committee. Here is her exchange with the Republican

congressman Ed Royce.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ED ROYCE, (R) CALIFORNIA: Have we seen Assad's regime take any steps in response to that warning?

NIKKI HALEY, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UN: Well, I can tell you that due to the president's actions we did not see an incident. What we did see before

was all of the same activity that we had seen prior for the April 4 chemical weapons attack. And so I think that by the president calling out

Assad, I think by us continuing to remind Iran and Russia that while they choose to back Assad, that this was something we were not going to put up

with.

So, I would like to think that the president saved many innocent men, women, and children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has more on the latest U.S. surveillance of Syria.

Barbara, what are your sources telling you?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, as you would expect, the U.S. military keeping a close eye on this air base in Syria and

other potential locations where they might think there might be some sort of chemical capability. U.S. (inaudible) planes always on watch, always

ready to present options to any president of the United States.

But Defense Secretary James Mattis also pretty much saying the same thing, they think that Assad has pulled back.

So, one of the key questions is what really made him pull back? Yes, the president's warning by all accounts played a significant role, but that

message, that warning was also delivered to Moscow. And we know that Russia is trying to make sure it continues to exert its influence on the

Assad regime.

So, the Russian pressure on Assad may have also played a significant role here, because Russia knows if there's another chemical weapons attack, this

will bring the wrath of the world down on Assad, that this war could expand. Russia does not want to see that. By all accounts, Russia likes

it just the way it is, having its influence on the Assad regime and conducting its own military operations in that country.

It's not looking for any upset of that. And so it looks like maybe Assad, in part, did respond to both U.S. and Russian pressure -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Well, that's certainly the perspective from Washington.

Barbara, thank you.

This is Connect the World. Coming up, criminal charges in relation to Hillsborough nearly three decades after what was this football tragedy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: It is a quarter to 5:00 in London. You're watching CNN. This is Connect the World with me, Becky Anderson. Welcome back.

Now, six people have been arrested across Europe in what is an anti-terror operation. Raids took place in Spain in the United Kingdom and in Germany.

Four of the six were arrested on the Spanish island of (inaudible). They're alleged to have raised funds and recruited fighters for ISIS.

Well, Europe has struggled with the consequences of hundreds of people traveling to Iraq and Syria to pursue a life of jihad. German-born

journalist Souad Mekhennet has interviewed some of the world's most dangerous terrorists over a number of years. In her latest book, she takes

a look at why people of a similar background to her have turned to terror.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOUAD MEKHENNET, JOURNALIST: I was born in Frankfurt as daughter of a Moroccan father and a Turkish mother of Arab descent. I grew up with a

family that actually wanted us always to interact with other people and people from different cultures.

And then in the early 90s when I was a teenager, I saw the houses of Turkish guest workers burning. I was really afraid of my life and my

parent's lives and I run back home and told my parents, you know, pack your stuff. They burned the Jews here during the Third Reich and we are going

to be the next.

So, the book I Was Told to Come Alone is basically on one hand explaining the reader how my life was as the daughter of Muslim migrants in Europe.

And then I took the readers with me on this journey into the world of jihad, because it was also a totally new world to me. I had to learn how

to speak to those men, how to dress.

Some of those men and women whom I interviewed who have joined ISIS, al Qaeda, or even the Taliban, they came of a similar background.

The interviewed I had with a commander called Abu Yusuf (ph), he grew up in Europe. He spoke a lot of languages fluently and had studied, and he told

me I tried to be part of the society I grew up in, but they didn't want me and then he ended up in some circles of people who radicalized him.

When I sit wit those guys, they don't discuss religion with me. We spend a lot of time discussing politics. And religion is just, you know, turning

into something for them that they use as an excuse for the actions they're taking. In fact, they see themselves, especially those who came from

Europe, as victims first.

President Trump and others, people who are in important positions: words matter. If you say things that make people believe they can no longer be a

full member of the U.S. society or the European societies, then this is only playing into the narratives of ISIS.

I don't know how I, as a child, or as a teenager would have reacted if some person with a compelling narrative, if some recruiter would have shown up

at that time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: It is a day that many here in the United Kingdom will never forget: April 15th, 1989. 96 Liverpool fans went to a football game at

Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield and they never came home.

Well, now nearly three decades later, six people will be charged with criminal offenses, that includes one former senior police officer who is

charged with 95 counts of manslaughter.

Now, this all follows an inquest that found the fans were unlawfully killed. Theresa May, prie minister, spoke about the new developments in

parliament earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Today will be a day of really mixed emotions for them. But I welcome the fact that charging decisions have

been taken. I think that is an important step forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Let's get you to Warrington, which is in northern England. CNN's Alex Thomas is there -- Alex.

ALEX THOMAS, CNN WORLD SPORT: Becky, the families of the Hillsborough Stadium tragedy always simply say they want three things: truth, justice,

and accountability. And although they've taken another step closer to it, the process has taken so long that if you consider the youngest victim, 10-

year-old John Paul Gilhooley, he would have been celebrating his 40th birthday next year. So, for more than a quarter of a century the relatives

have been battling to get to this point where six individuals are finally facing criminal charges.

And of the list of names, the two most significant are David Duckenfield, the police commander on the day of the match between Liverpool and

Nottingham Forest, his first experience of policing, of being in the charge of the policing of such a huge sporting fixture. And also Norman Bettison,

who was at Hillsborough, but not on duty on the day, but went on to become a really senior police chief and a key figure in the two conflicting

narratives that emerged about who was to blame.

As you've already mentioned, the initial inquest said the killings, that the deaths were accidental. That was quashed, although not for a couple of

decades, and then a second inquest that lasted more than two years, the longest in UK legal history, finally declared that the 96 were unlawfully

killed.

We heard earlier from the relatives -- sorry, Becky, after you.

ANDERSON: No, go on. Go on. I think you've got some sound. So, let's hear it.

THOMAS: Yeah, because, you know, there's two -- there's some leading figures in the Hillsborough family support group, Margaret Aspinall is one.

You saw them all celebrating quite vocally last year after that inquest hearing. It was more muted today, but no less significant. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TREVOR HICKS, DAUGHTERS WERE KILLED AT HILLSBOROUG: A mixed bag. A couple of names that we didn't expect and a few that we think have been omitted.

And as Matthew said already, we need a bit of time to go away and look at all the due process and whatever.

But, you know, we move another step forward. There will be six people facing criminal charges who might have done if we hadn't of been resilient

and all stuck together and fought this long fight.

[11:50:12] MARGARET ASPINALL, SON WAS KILLED AT HILLSBOROUGH: What has been achieved today will change things for the good of this nation. And I

think that's the legacy of our 96 that they will have left behind on their behalf.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS: That was Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son, James, died at the Hillsborough tragedy, and before that Trevor Hicks who had teenage

daughters, Sarah and Vicky, who also died, just three of 96 tales of football fans who went to a game and never came home to their loved ones,

Becky.

ANDERSON: Alex on the story for you in Warrington (ph) in northern England. Thank you.

You're watching Connect the World live from London. The American president surely has two favorite hobbies, right, playing golf and complaining about

fake news. Well, now he's putting the two together, and it makes a great story. It's right here up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: This is CNN, Connect the World with me, Becky Anderson. I've been reminding you that we are in London this week, back home in the UAE

next week. Our Parting Shots for you today.

U.S. President Donald Trump often complains about what he calls fake news, doesn't he, but now we are learning that a fake issue of TIME magazine with

Mr. Trump on the cover is displayed at some of his golf clubs.

Get this, Jeanne Moos, explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Which of these is a fake Trump Time magazine cover is it a? Is it b? Or is it c? The answer is c and you could

see it hanging on the walls of at least four Trump golf clubs according to the Washington Post.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How in the world? Very impressive looking. It's fake. It's totally fake.

MOOS: The exclamation points are a giveaway. The apprentice is a television smash. Trump is hitting on all fronts even TV. But there was no real Time

magazine issue dated March 1st, 2009.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The design is all wrong if you know Time magazine's design you can tell for a bunch of different reasons the thinness of the

border, the placement of the headlines.

MOOS: Time confirmed it's a fake. Why would rich bother inflating Trump's press?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody felt the need to gild the lily, to add basically a fake extra thing on top of what was real.

MOOS: President Trump has a love-hate relation with Time. He even got packed poising for it.

TRUMP: Look, Time magazine is no friend of mine except they put me in their cover so much, not because I like but because they like selling magazines.

MOOS: Starting in 1989 he's been on the cover 14 times.

TRUMP: I think we have the all-time record in the history of Time magazine.

MOOS: No. That record belongs to Richard Nixon he was on the cover for 55 times. The magazine says it asked the Trump organization to remove the

phony cover from their properties. A White House spokesman told the Post, "We couldn't comment on the decor at Trump's golf clubs one way or

another."

But the internet is commenting with jokes like "my guess is that at real Donald Trump has a few of these in his wallet." Sports illustrated invited

readers to put yourself on the covers of SI, so I did before President Trump points fingers.

[11:55:13] TRUMP: Fake news.

MOOS: He better cover his own face. Jeanne Moos, CNN.

TRUMP: Fake news, folks. A lot of fake.

MOOS: New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: There you go.

What do you think about Donald Trump's fake issue of TIME magazine, or any of the other stories that we brought you this hour. You can discuss those,

you can comment, you can give us your feedback. We love it all, it's Facebook.com/CNNConnect. Get in touch with me on Twitter, that's

@BeckyCNN, of course.

I am Becky Anderson working with a fabulous team around the world here in London, in Atlanta, and back at base in Abu Dhabi, thank you for watching.

We will see you same time tomorrow.

END