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Mueller Denies Obtaining Unauthorized E-Mails; ANC Set To Pick Zuma's Replacement; Protests Continues Over U.S. Jerusalem Decision
Aired December 17, 2017 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:23] HANNAH VAUGHAN JONES, CNN ANCHOR: Unlawfully obtained? A trump transition lawyer accuses Special Counsel Robert Mueller of unauthorized
access to thousands of e-mails, but, Mueller says that everything is above board. Next, a report from Washington as the Russia investigation is back
in the spotlight. Also --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACOB ZUMA, PRESIDENT OF SOUTH AFRICA: Why should Mandela (INAUDIBLE) --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: His swan song as South Africa's President Jacob Zuma prepares to leave office, who will lead the ANC ahead? We're live in Johannesburg and
(INAUDIBLE) front here estimate a staggering 6,700 Rohingya were killed in Rakhine State in a span of just one month. This hour of peak to the
humanitarian organization about the ongoing crisis in Myanmar.
Hello and welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Hanna Vaughan Jones, live here in London for the next hour. We begin with a new attack on the integrity
of the U.S. investigation into Russian election meddling and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. The dispute involves thousands of e-
mails obtained by the Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The Trump transition team is now saying through its lawyer that those e-mails were unlawfully
obtained. But, special counsel's office is firing back in a rare comment on the ongoing investigation, saying that it followed all the proper legal
channels. Our Dan America is at the White House now with the very latest.
DAN MERICA, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Good morning, Hanna, that's right. The Trump transition team is accusing Robert Mueller's investigation of
illegally obtaining e-mails during the transition period, which is the time between when Trump is elected to when he became President. The accusations
alleged that Robert Mueller's team went through the general services administration, a pretty benign agency here in Washington that provides
hardware to the government, to obtain these e-mails.
Now, a General Services Administration lawyer tells BuzzFeed that the Trump transition team was aware of the fact this could happen that law
enforcement could access these e-mails. And it's also important to note that these e-mails were housed on a government server. Also noteworthy is
that the special counsel's office is chosen to respond to these accusations, something they rarely do.
Here's what Peter Carr, spokesman for Robert Mueller, said in a statement, "When we have obtained e-mails in the course of our ongoing criminal
investigation, we have secured either the account owner's consent or appropriate criminal processes." It's important to note this isn't
happening in a vacuum.
While the accusations are labeled, many Trump supporters on Capitol Hill and in conservative media are accusing Robert Mueller of everything for may
coup to being biased. And this is feeding into the idea that Robert Mueller possibly could be fired in the coming weeks. The White House has
denied that and it remains to be seen what President Trump actually thinks about these new accusations. Hanna?
JONES: Dan Merica there for us at the White House.
For meanwhile, President Trump looks to be on the verge of his first big legislative win. He touting the finalized Republican tax bill as a great
Christmas gift to the middle class. The critics say that the bill does far more to cut the taxes of corporations and the wealthy, it's expected to be
voted on by the House of Representatives on Tuesday of this week followed by the Senate soon after.
And then, of course, it will go to President Trump if it's passed there for signing. Stay with us for more on all the new developments in this Russia
investigation, we will have much more insight and analysis into all of the later age on in the show.
Now, the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel continues to spark outrage in the Muslim world. Indonesia saw its biggest
protests since the decision was announced earlier this month, the tens of thousands of Muslims marched to the U.S. embassy in Jakarta calling for a
boycott of U.S. and Israeli products. Many of them wave Palestinian flags.
Well, our Oren Liebermann and our Arwa Damon are standing by for us in Jerusalem, Let's start with you, Orrin, the protests, of course, as we
just heard going on across the Muslim world but there the center of all this in Jerusalem where you are? How this decision even sunk in yet?
[10:05:01] OREN LIEBERMANN: CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the decision of self may have sunk in terms of the reactions we're seeing, we expected protests
and we've got them. They continue now into their second week. They've also -- it has sunk in also in the sense of the wider region and that the
Organization for Islamic Cooperation held that emergency meeting in Istanbul and recognized the State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its
capital.
What hasn't sunk in and what we don't know yet is the extent of the fallout which we're continuing to see to this very day. There were more protests
against Trump's announcement into caught them in the northern West Bank and we're expecting more throughout the week, especially as Palestinian
factions including President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction have called for a day of rage when Vice President Mike Pence is here during the week
visiting Jerusalem on Wednesday and Thursday.
So, that is all a continued fallout. Where does it lead? Nobody there quite knows yet. What we've seen so far is six Palestinian kills -- sis
Palestinian's killed in confrontation with Israeli police and forces according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, four in Gaza, two in the
West Bank.
The four in Gaza includes a wheelchair-bound Palestinian who the ministry says was shot in the head. The Israeli army says they're looking into that
case and the two in the West Bank includes a Palestinian who Israeli police say stabbed a border police officer. That number could very well rise as
the protests continue, that's the reality of the situation here. When does it end or where does it lead? That part is harder to determine because
it's really the street leading this. The Palestinian public who is still angry at Trump's decision and that Israel for hailing that decision, that's
the part we don't know yet, Hanna.
JONES: And Oren, before we go over to Arwa for more details on this, I want to do ask you about this embassy if indeed it does actually happen and
a U.S. embassy is built there in Jerusalem. Is there a site that's been picked out for this building and what construction company would actually
want that job?
LIEBERMANN: I can't imagine it would be too hard to find a construction company that's either in line with Trump's views or something like that,
that would take that job on. There are a few sites that have mentioned these possibilities. One, itself as the current consulate site, simply
switching that to the embassy and upgrading the building itself and its capabilities there.
Another option is a piece of land not far away from the consulate that's been leased to the Americans by the Israelis for 99 years at the cost of $1
a year, specifically for the purpose of building an embassy there. They're options, though it's important to note that President Trump did sign the
waiver saying the embassy is not moving for at least six more months, saying embassy move itself would take years.
JONES: Oren, thank you. Let's go over to Arwa Damon now who's at the Damascus Gate for us in Jerusalem as well. Over the Trump administration
insists that this embassy move, this recognition of Jerusalem is a recognition of reality. But I guess that reality for America is very, very
different for the millions of people who will be practically impacted affected by this decision on the ground.
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And of course, it's a reality depending on how you are looking at the current situation. For
Palestinian, that declaration by President Trump and the especially given the reality that America was meant to be a mediator in these potential two-
state solutions from their perspective though was as is if Trump decided to simply hand Jerusalem over to the Israelis.
And depending on which generation of Palestinians you talk to, Hanna, the opinions are quite varied. How they react to the situation is really
defined by what they have been through and what they remember of their own portrayed history.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAMON: Above 70 year old, Husain Athlon's bed is a wall decoration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
"I made it out of my love for the original place," he recalls, "My love for the Al-Aqsa Mosque, for the Dome of the Rock." He designed it 25 years
ago, well before he lost his legs to diabetes, before he lost his sight before President Trump declared the U.S. would recognize Jerusalem as the
capital of Israel. Driving a sharp knife into an already festering wound for Palestinians.
Three generations of the Athlon's family were born here. The Colonia refugee camp started as a tent city. Over the decades its where a lot of
residents built it up, adding on floors as families grew.
If densely packed population feel like they have just been left to fester as the State of Israel thrives.
"I don't cry about stones, I cry about the place, about the memories," Husain, tells us. The Athlon's are originally from the peak tress city of
Jaffa, right on the Mediterranean coast, it's a total contrast from where they are now.
Manchi was its more their most neighborhood, today a part of Tel Aviv. The most prominent building left of its Palestinian history is the Mosque.
Outside we meet a taxi driver Ahmed (INAUDIBLE).
[10:09:51] DAMON: His family's home was actually just down the street, there, whole square here is now a parking lot used to be lined with homes
and also a school. He takes us into the Mosque to see a handful of photographs, before and after.
This is approximately where we are just filming from and you can see on this photograph just how close the houses were to the shoreline.
In Ahmed's heart and in his mind, this is still Palestinian, though he believes that they can coexist alongside Israel.
"I know from experience that some of them can be convinced that we have rights, we can live together," he explains. "We can accept living
together, we cannot accept that they replace us." It's a tempered view compared to that of others who live within the Palestinian territories
where the experiences are just too raw like those within the Athlon household.
It's one of the last photos she has of her son. Shahanah Athlon wants to scream each time she remembers him. Her son was shot and killed on this
building's rooftop in 2014, during a massive Israeli nighttime raid as they searched for three missing Israeli teens. All she wishes for the now 4-
year-old her son left behind is that he will have a chance his father never did, to get an education and to live in a Palestine that isn't consume by
the anger that eats at their souls.
"They killed my cousin, our friends, one relative jumps in speaking of the Israelis. For me to go tomorrow and say hi to them as if nothing happened,
impossible." Impossible, too, for the population of (INAUDIBLE) to give up on what they viscerally believe is their own land. The checkpoint here is
one of the main ones into the West Bank, along the separation wall. Clashes like these and elsewhere throughout the Palestinian territories are
growing in the aftermath of Trump's Jerusalem declaration.
The pain of the Palestinians defined differently for each generation, for each individual. For Husain Athlon, now blind but through his darkness,
there is a repeating vision of the waves breaking on Jaffa's shore, of fishing, of the era we saw in the photographs. He imagines going to Jaffa,
to his house that used to be on its shores.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
And for so many Palestinian, Hanna, it's so difficult for them to envision a future that they do keep on looking for those images that life that
either they, their parents or grandparents speak to them about. But there's also a recognition that they do somehow have to push through this,
that they have to do whatever it is that is realistically within their means to try to hold on to what it is that they do have. Of course, the
big question is going to be, now, that they have lost faith in the United States as a mediator who is going to be stepping into that role and at what
price is it going to come.
JONES: Arwa Damon, live for say, in Jerusalem. Arwa, thank you.
Now some other stories on our radar today. Just days before Christmas, at least seven people are dead and more than two dozen injured after two
suicide bombers attacked a church in Pakistan. One attacker detonated his vest, the other was shot before he could blow himself up. An ISIS
affiliate is claiming responsibility.
A deadly landslide in Southern Chile buried most of the small rural village under mud after hours of torrential rain. Five people have died and rescue
crews in Villa Santa Lucia are still scrambling to find 15 others who are believed to be missing.
Austria's Freedom Party is entering government next week, making Austria the only country in Western Europe with a far-right party in government.
It's part of a coalition with the Conservative People's Party whose leader, Sebastian Kurz, will become Austria's new chancellor.
The battle for South Africa's future is playing out right now in Johannesburg, as delegates at the African National Congress decide what
direction the country will take. They're choosing the ruling party's new leader who will likely then become the country's new President and succeed
embattled Jacob Zuma. His government has been embroiled in a series of corruptions scandals for some time now. David McKenzie is in Johannesburg
following all of this confronts for us. David, bring us up to speed with the latest today and the time frame for actually nominating a successor to
Zuma.
[10:14:48] DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the time frame has slipped consider be, Hanna, we here trying to get our way in and
if we can go slowly together, try to get our way into what should be an open session of nomination of these Presidential candidates for the ANC.
This is like more than 24 hours delayed, a lot of this process has been cloaked in secrecy, the press are led in on occasion for the more public
moments.
I think they're trying to really make sure that there are no disputes in the courts after this vote which is a crucial one for the ANC and for South
Africa. Jacob Zuma, the embattled President of South Africa opened this conference. He said that this is a time for healing within the ANC, but
despite all the allegations against him, he blamed others for their problems. The media, big business, even those within the ANC, but he said
they should let bygones be bygones.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZUMA: Not long time ago Congress felt I should be talked to, to step down. And I want to say to you all here comrades that I bear no grudge, you are
my comrades we're expressing our views.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCKENZIE: So, we're trying to get into the session now, but basically what will happen next that they all nominate the Presidential candidates. They
can even take nominations from the floor. So, it is a Democratic process, but Hanna, as one person told me, just over 4,000 people or just under
5,000 in fact, are making the decisions for more than 50 million South Africans. So, it is a crucial time for this country, Hanna?
JONES: And David, he may have said let bygones be bygones, so, what's the effects? But do we suspect there are deals being done on the sidelines too
to secure some sort of immunity from prosecution for Zuma? Should his term come to an end earlier than expected?
MCKENZIE: Well, even one of the former Presidential candidates said that there's a lot of money changing hands in local media at just moments ago --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just put into --
MCKENZIE: Yes, I'll put it on, thank you.
And so, there are these allegations swirling as we just moved through this pretty tight security, and they're checking our cameraman. So, Hanna,
there have been allegations swirling around about this session and if also been a great deal of legal cases that have really -- and they're pushing us
along now -- legal cases that have been put against some of the candidates and they are far few fewer people who are now voting for the next
President.
So, this decision which is much delayed and still very contentious will be a key sign whether the ANC can break away from Jacob Zuma or it can be more
of the same. And many South Africans have been telling me they want a new direction from Nelson Mandela's party. Hanna?
JONES: Dave McKenzie, making it through the real tight security there at the ANC conference in Johannesburg. David, thank you.
Still, to come on the program tonight, the Russia collusion probe is under attack from the Trump transition team. We dig into the claim that
Mueller's office tainted the investigation in the way it obtained e-mails. Plus, the horrors witnessed by Myanmar's Rohingya continue to come to
light. We drill into the details of a new report, that's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:20:57] JONES: Hello, then, you're watching CNN and this is CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Hanna Vaughan Jones, live in London, welcome back. And more
now on the new developments in the U.S. investigation into Russian election meddling, Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office is denying accusations
from the Trump transition team that it unlawfully obtained thousands of e- mails.
Some critics of President Trump is suggesting the claims could be a pretext for firing Mueller. U.S. Secretary -- Treasury Secretary, rather, Steve
Mnuchin appeared on CNN's "State of the Union", just a short time ago. Our Jake Tapper asked him if he would be alarmed if the President did fire,
Mueller.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVE MNUCHIN, SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY, UNITED STATES: I haven't heard the President -- I was with that -- at dinner last night with the
President, Vice President. I haven't heard anything about this, any firing but we got to get past this investigation. It's a giant distraction,
nobody has said that in any way this impacted the outcome of the election.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR, STATE OF THE UNION: But, when you say you got to get past it, did you think it should run its course?
MNUCHIN: I think it should be over quickly since I think there's nothing there, it should be over quickly and people want to focus on other things.
TAPPER: But, is -- does that include the President firing Mueller when you say you want it over quickly or should it be allowed to run its course?
MNUCHIN: I don't have any reason to think that the President is going to do that, but that's obviously up to him.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: OK, let's dive into all of this, Brian Karem is a CNN Political Analyst, can't speak today. An executive editor for Sentinel Newspapers,
he joins me now --
BRIAN KAREM, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Hanna.
JONES: -- from Washington, Brian, good to see you. Let's talk about these e-mails then, whether they were obtained legally or not. Is it was all
above border and it was all legal, why would the Trump transition team want to highlight the fact that they've got something to hide?
KAREM: Gee, why would someone who's at the very heart and center of an investigation want to keep you from having the investigation? That's a
tough one, isn't it? And you know, I love Mnuchin saying, you know, "Hey, there's nothing here trust me, I'm part of it, don't worry about. It's
just like the Wizard of Oz., don't pay attention on the man behind the curtain. It's garbage. It's simply another attempt to -- for them to
deflect, defend and otherwise distract you from the obvious that the investigation is ongoing. There's are even four indictments, two people
that have pled out. So, I mean, this is not going anywhere, it's actually just beginning.
And I don't think -- the President has always said he's not going to fire Mueller because that would raise a storm of which no one wants to deal with
and it would be a constitutional crisis. However, I do believe he's trying to smear Mueller for his base and I think he'll hold on and play whatever
card he can in that regard for as long as he can.
JONES: Right.
KAREM: But the simple fact of the matter is they didn't obtain them illegally, that's a non-story. In your -- when you're part of the
transition team, those e-mails are government property. And the government now has them. So, where exactly is there a problem with that? That there
isn't, that's just more, you know, high wind and the trees, blue smoke and mirrors, please don't pay attention to reality, listen to what I say and
not what is really going on. We'll probably see it in --
JONES: Yes, whenever the less -- I just going to say that Trump's lawyers are still going to be focused on this, especially for the next week or so
in the run-up to Christmas because we understand that they are going to be meeting with Special Counsel Robert Mueller over the course of the next
week. The Trump administration is trying to say that this is a sign that the Russia probe is winding down. Do you think that that's the case or is
this just picking up?
KAREM: Well, you know, I don't -- I don't know where they get that idea that it's winding down. For everybody else who's watching and it looks
like it's just now ramping up. It's only been going for a few months and like I've said, you have four people that have been indicted. Two have
pleaded guilty and are cooperating with the investigation. He's following a peel the onion type of approach or follow, you know, go up the ladder in
the chain of command.
And so, he started -- we know that Manafort was one of his key people that he wanted to look at. I think right now, Jared Kushner has a lot to worry
about. He's got a -- he's trying to hire a crisis P.R. team. So, obviously, he thinks there's something to worry about. (INAUDIBLE) that's
probably going to be one of the next dominos that we're going to look to see whether or not it falls and that could come sooner rather than later
and everything that the President does is merely an attempt to smear the results of this investigation and I don't think it's winding down, I think
it's only ramping up.
[10:25:21] JONES: OK. Well, the President will want to focus though on tax reform because he's -- it looks to be on the cusp of actually getting
through his first and big legislative win. Our Jake Tapper, also spoke to the U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin that we hear for just some time
ago on about this tax overhaul bill and who is really going to help? Whether it's going to be the wealthiest or the big Christmas give away for
the middle class that has been told by the President. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TAPPER: What percentage is going to the middle-income people, the President Trump keeps talking about?
MNUCHIN: Jake, the numbers are very complicated in different people will present it different ways. As you know, there are distribution of taxes,
the distribution is staying very similar, and this is all about fixing a broken tax system. So, this will be very large tax cuts for working
families and very large tax cuts for businesses to make them competitive.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: Brian, this could be something of a poise and chalice strive for Donald Trump because even if he does get it through and he gets that big
win that he so desperately needs, it's not popular and if it proves to unfold that it's not actually a Christmas gift at all for the middle class,
then this could backfire.
KAREM: Yes, and there are people on the Democratic side of the fence who are saying, well, let it -- let it pass. And then, when it fails he'll own
it? Of course, he's never really owned anything, he'll find a way to blame somebody else, that's, we would expect that. But the fact of the matter is
it's going back to the old Ronald Reagan supply-side economics, where is if you cut -- they're assuming that the economy is going to grow at a certain
rate and they're also assuming if they give cuts to businesses that they'll reinvest it into their business and create jobs and there's no information
that's ever supported that.
If you cut, you know -- if you cut the taxes to corporations they give it to their stockholders and to themselves they don't reinvest, that so, the
rich get richer, the poor get poorer. You may get this year a bump and not a very large one or not at all if you're in the middle class. But I assure
you that in the future it's going to impact you negatively. I think most people realize that, even the Republicans who've actually read the bill.
And there are plenty of them who haven't read this bill, there plenty of them who don't really know what's in it and they're all meeting to decide
what's in it, to decide the fate for the American working class and it's not going to be pretty. This will not go down well.
JONES: We will wait to see how this plays out over the coming days in the run-up to Christmas. Brian Karem, thanks so much, Brian, we appreciate it.
KAREM: Thank you very much.
JONES: Now the latest world news headlines are just ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD. Plus, the suffering of Myanmar's Rohingya could be even worse than
we thought. Thousands dead, many of them young children. We will have the very latest on it next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:31:44] JONES: You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD here with me, Hanna Vaughan Jones from London. The top stories this hour, the office of
Special Counsel Robert Mueller, is denying an accusation from the Trump transition team that it unlawfully obtained thousands of e-mails for the
Russia investigation. Mueller's spokesperson says, they secured all e- mails through the proper channels.
U.S. Congressional Republicans, meanwhile, may give President Trump, something he's been asking for, a tax overhaul bill he can sign before
Christmas. The House and Senate are expected to vote next week.
All eyes are on South Africa, as delegates of the ruling African National Congress vote to choose their new leader and the country's next likely
President. Current President Jacob Zuma's -- his term lasts until 2019 but that could be cut short amid corruption allegations.
Britain's Prince Harry has interviewed former U.S. President Barack Obama, part of the Royals' stint as guest editor of BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Kensington Palace, says the interview focuses on helping future leaders that set to air December 27th.
Multiple wildfires continue to burn in Southern California and the Thomas fire moving across Santa Barbara County is the third-biggest wildfire in
modern California history. Our Miguel Marquez, filed this report.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This Thomas fire is the fire that just will not quit. I want to show you what's happening in the hills just above
Santa Barbara now. We're going to turn the light off, so you can get a better sense of what's happening here. You can see those fires burning up
in the hills, the foothills just over Santa Barbara and Montecito.
Firefighters have been working this area for over a week. The winds, they were not cooperating with them, at first, they were blowing it toward the
ocean they had the Santa Ana winds, blowing at a hot dry wind toward the ocean, blowing the fire along with it. Then they had a let up for a couple
days during the week and they were able to light some backfires, do some burnout operations and get rid of some of that undergrowth, but then those
Santa Ana winds came back and that's what they're dealing with right now.
As winds topping out at 20, perhaps 30 miles per hour, though I will tell you, we were up in those hills earlier. Know it even that high and were --
they are very steep and there -- where you have ravines, those winds can get whipping 30, 40 miles per hour that we felt very tough winds.
Right now, this is the thing that they're dealing with, no winds whatsoever but if they can make it through the winds, then they believe that they will
be on -- be able to get on top of this Thomas fire and finally put it out. Miguel Marquez, CNN, Santa Barbara, California.
Shot, burned, and beaten. That is how thousands of Myanmar's Rohingya were killed according to a new report by Medecins Sans Frontieres or Doctors
Without Borders. At least 6,700 Rohingya were killed in the first month of the military crackdown, the group has reported. 730 of those were children
under the age of five.
Joining me now to talk more about this is Dr. Nathalie Roberts, head of emergency operations at Medecins Sans Frontieres, as she joins me on Skype
from Paris. Nathalie, thank you very much for being with us. The statistics are shocking, those figures. First of all, talk us through how
you manage to collate that evidence and how confident you are of the accuracy of those figures?
[10:35:10] NATHALIE ROBERTS, HEAD, DOCTOR AND OPERATIONS MANAGER, MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (via Skype): Yes. So, about 600,000 Rohingya refugees
have arrived or just over 600,000 arrived in Bangladesh. Since the end of August -- and we have teams on the ground that be (INAUDIBLE) with them in
the camps in Bangladesh. And we've been hearing since the beginning some horrific stories of what happened to the people fleeing from Myanmar.
This survey actually then went around these camps and spoke to about 2,500 families. So, population about 11,000 people where we started to ask the
questions, what exactly what happened to them inside Myanmar? What was the situation for their family inside Myanmar? And we came out with these,
these very consistent stories, we asked people to detail quite horrific details of what happened to their family members. What we found this, this
huge proportion of people that had a family member killed in some fashion in some very violent passion.
Of course, this isn't -- we haven't spoken to every single member, there's 600,000 refugees arrived in this period, but we spoke to such a significant
proportion that we're very confident that we can extrapolate this figure across the entire population.
JONES: Natalie, what we're talking about here is ethnic cleansing, it's genocide and words really do matter I guess in this case. How important is
it for the next generation of Rohingya as well, that the world, the international community recognizes the scale of the crisis and of the
genocide that's gone on here, so that they can potentially get some justice down the line?
ROBERTS: It is a very significant episode. I mean, this is not the first time this has happened. These types of episodes have happened neither,
when we've talked to them for we been working within Bangladesh and this has happened on previous occasions, most on previous occasions and this is
just one of the more significant episodes. And clearly, these people have been targeted based on their ethnicity and really this kind of episode of
cleansing of trying to eradicate this ethnic group from this part of the world.
JONES: Yes, CNN has actually been to Bangladesh and seen the scale of this -- of this catastrophe up close. Clarissa Ward, our correspondent went to
Bangladesh in November she saw the incredible risks that the people were taking to get out of Myanmar. Lastly, let's take a listen to a part of
Clarissa's report and then we'll talk on the other side of it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT: Assalamu alaikum, assalamu alaikum. How are you? How many hours have you been on the boat?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
WARD: Since early morning? Do you know how to swim?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
Ward: No one does, yet the raft is full of children.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: A raft there full of mothers and children fleeing their home. Natalie, from your experience and what you've seen on the ground, are these
just the lucky few? Do we have any real idea of how bad things really have got in Rakhine State?
ROBERTS: We still don't know what's happening at the moment inside Rakhine State. I mean, these days we came out with -- were from one month period
from the end of August to end of September. We know there's probably still people inside Rakhine State who may want to flee but who don't have the
possibility to flee.
And we also think this is quite underestimated numbers quite conservative figure that we don't have the information from these people, but we also
don't have the information from the families where the entire family was killed. We only managed to get information from people who have at least
one family member, many whose have managed to make it as far as Bangladesh.
JONES: At the latest reports, Natalie are that Myanmar and Bangladesh, the two countries have come to some sort of agreement to try to move the
Rohingya back to Myanmar. Is that something that the Rohingya people want? Do they want to return to what they consider their homeland, even if they
are -- when they're there in a stateless position?
ROBERTS: Well, when we speak people on the ground, what they really want, they do want to go home everybody wants to be where they come from and
their home village. But they consider themselves citizens of Myanmar.
The moment they don't want to return back into that situation where they don't feel safe. So, they're pretty much stuck in this -- in this
situation where they, they have to be in Bangladesh because it's where they're safe and for the moment even the situation on the ground in
Bangladesh it is very precarious and very difficult for them. They would like to go back to their villages --
JONES: That's all for Natalie Roberts, thank you so much, we appreciate it. Sorry, I'm not sure if I just talked over you then, my apologies if I
did. Natalie Roberts is the head of emergency operations with Medecins Sans Frontieres, with this appalling report and figures of the situation
currently in Myanmar, thank you.
You are watching CNN and this is CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with us, we'll be right back after the short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:42:04] JONES: As a case like nothing ever seen on Australian soil, those words after police arrested an Australian citizen accused of helping
sell products from North Korea including missile parts to international buyers. All this, they say apparently to get around international
sanctions and generate income for the North Korean government. Cameron Price of Seven Network has the details.
CAMERON PRICE, REPORTER, SEVEN NEWS: Cast that surrounded by federal police, a suspected agent of North Korea in our own backyard.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NEIL GAUGHAN, ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE: This man was brokering the sale of missile componentry and technical expertise from
North Korea to other international entities. A missile componentry actually existed in the guidance of ballistic missiles.
GAUGHAN: Officers seizing computers, disk drives, and documents from the home of Chan Han Choi, charging him on the U.N. and Australian law for
assisting a weapons of mass destruction program.
MALCOLM TURNBULL, PRIME MINISTER, AUSTRALIA: This is a very, very important arrest, these -- the charges that are being laid, are of the
gravest nature.
PRICE: The accused lived the 29 years in South Korea, moved to Australia 30 years ago in 1987, later becoming a citizen. Police allege he began
offending nine years ago, brokering sales of missiles componentry, technical expertise, even coal, gemstones, and oil. The AFP confirming at
least half a million dollars was wired to Pyongyang but deals were in place for millions more.
Little Elsie is known about Chan Han Choi, neighbors at his (INAUDIBLE) apartment say they've hardly seen or spoken to him. But authorities have
been quick to point out he's not a North Korean spy.
GAUGHAN: We know now the charges sound alarming, but let me be clear we are not suggesting there on any weapons or missile componentry that it came
to Australian soil.
PRICE: Experts say this shows the rogue nation is becoming desperate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: North Korean government is indeed is very hungry for cash at the moment and there is a market for weapons of mass destruction.
PRICE: Chan now behind bars ahead of a court appearance later this week. Cameron Price, Seven News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: The accused and his lawyer have yet to make a statement, Chan was due in court on Sunday morning but according to Australian media, he did
not appear and did not apply for bail.
Now, there's more political drama in the United States after another high- profile adviser leaves the White House. A former reality T.V. star Omarosa Manigault-Newman has resigned. Our Randi Kaye has more now on her
departure.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At the White House, Omarosa Manigault- Newman's job was to reach out to African-Americans, improve relations and get their support for the President's agenda. But if you listen to the
reaction to her work and her, you might think she did more harm than good.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[10:45:09] SUNNY HOSTIN, SENIOR LEGAL CORRESPONDENT, ABC NEWS: Truth be told she's really a pariah in the African-American community. She's always
sort of been the villain and her job is the director of outreach in the African-American community was almost a slap in the face to the African-
American community.
KAYE: On The View, co-host Whoopi Goldberg, piled on.
WHOOPI GOLDBERG, CO-HOST, THE VIEW: I hope that you find your people because maybe they're looking for you. She does been so nasty to so many
women and so many women of color.
HOSTIN: Yes.
GOLDBERG: You know, so many women of color --
KAYE: Women like radio and talk show host Wendy Williams.
OMAROSA MANIGAULT, FORMER POLITICAL AIDE, WHITE HOUSE: Did you have a nose job?
WENDY WILLIAMS, HOST: No.
MANIGAULT: It looks like you had a nose job.
WILLIAMS: No.
MANIGAULT: No, I mean, I just look at before and -- honey, before and after, before and after --
WILLIAMS: But, but if I can suggest because the only thing that I have had done to my face is a little Botox, I would suggest for you some Restylane,
the lines stay. They say good black doesn't crack, it's cracking.
OMAROSA: And I would -- and I would suggest a wig that doesn't fluff my head three inches, that --
KAYE: After she took the White House job, Spike Lee had an especially strong reaction. Slamming her on Instagram, posting this picture of her
wearing a clown nose. And despite all her claims she supported President Trump only to help the black community.
MANIGAULT: I will never forget the people who turned their backs on me when all I was trying to do was help the black community. It's been so
incredibly hard.
KAYE: Omarosa Manigault-Newman was also known for hostile exchanges with the community including one at a gathering for the National Association of
Black Journalists earlier this year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, here we go -- here we go --
MANIGAULT: Ask your question, but don't lecture.
KAYE: As for her assertion that she saw things in the White House that made her upset --
MANIGAULT: I have seen things that have made me uncomfortable, that have upset me, that have affected me deeply and emotionally that has affected my
community and my people.
KAYE: At least one late night critic simply had enough.
TREVOR NOAH, HOST, THE DAILY SHOW: Oh, when she says, "her people", does she mean reality show stars? Because she was not fighting for black people
in the White House. My people, slow down, Omarosa parks, slow down. You can roll hard with President Trump for a year and then come back to the
neighborhood like -- that was really weird, right?
Anyone else notices that? It was just me, anyone? Oh, and if you're wondering whether black people were buying it, just ask Robin Roberts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bye Felicia.
KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: Live from London, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD, coming up to this hour, you can't see it and you can't feel it but thousands of people
are paying hard cash to join the Bitcoin craze in South Korea. We break it all down for you next.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you might normally find him partying in the USA but this time it's in Riyadh. After Saudi Arabia invited one of
Hollywood's golden men to celebrate the silver screen.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:50:38] JONES: You're watching CNN and this is CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Hanna Vaughan Jones, live for you in London, welcome back.
I would have no central bank and no major regulators but Bitcoin's popularity and value are surging. As more people worldwide take the risk
and buy into this virtual currency. Our Paula Newton, reports now on how the craze is sweeping South Korea.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I didn't really realize how much ahead of the curve they are here in South Korea when it comes to
Bitcoin and other virtual currencies. But for a few reasons, is also beginning to worried the government, take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Bitcoin may be a virtual currency but here in South Korea, the kimchi premium is all too real. So, this is kimchi, spicy fomented
cabbage, it's a staple side dish here. So, what's the kimchi premium?
Bitcoin is in such high demand on Korean Won exchanges, traders say, South Koreans can pay a 15 to 25 percent premium on global prices just to get a
piece of it.
KIM DUOYOUNG, MANAGER, COINPLAY: Pay, see us gambling in some place, they try to earn more money by using exchanges.
NEWTON: So, to understand the bitcoin frenzy, South Korea is as good a place to start of any. Virtual currencies might be a fringe play
elsewhere, in South Korea, they're mainstream. At least a million people buy it, trade it, cash it in, it's everyday banking and investing for
everyday people. None more enthusiastic than college student like Isaac Chung. Even between classes right now, checking his virtual currency
portfolio, he's made thousands of dollars already.
ISAAC CHUNG, STUDENT, SOUTH KOREA: It's like the stock market, but it's like ten times, 100 times faster.
NEWTON: Is it more addictive?
CHUNG: Definitely, you like the emotions related to this, it's more like inflated than like what you get in like a normal stock market because it's
on like 24/7. You have to be constantly on the radar of what's going on. So --
NEWTON: How popular is it on campus right now?
CHUNG: The speculative frenzy is pretty huge right now, the Bitcoin is this right now, the Bitcoin price is that right now
NEWTON: Bitcoin prices are so obsessively tractive, Bitcoin exchanges like bit some have open storefronts and customer service bays to make trading in
virtual money much easier.
Three of the top 15 virtual currency exchanges are located here and on any given day South Korea accounts for more than one-fifth of all bitcoin
trades done around the world. The government says, they worries that virtual currencies are corrupting the country's youth with so many small
investors all in, it could be a crash out.
So, just like the kimchi, this is a mating tree of problem. The government is already working to ban new virtual currencies, ban the sale of Bitcoin
futures contracts and other derivatives and maybe in future taxing virtual currency transactions and profits.
And there are other uniquely mating tree of problems, South Korean government fears virtual currencies are arming North Korea with new
financial weapons, making it easier to hack or launder money and it warns North Korean hackers will aggressively target virtual currency exchanges in
the year to come.
All good reasons to keep a keen eye on Korean exchanges as virtual currency goes from market niche to market obsession.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Get getting back to the North Korea problem, you know, the issue here is also that they're mining Bitcoin and virtual currencies and it's
also giving them a leg alp when other countries are trying to impose financial sanctions on them. I want to point out that when we were
shooting the kimchi segment in the restaurant that even the manager in the restaurant said, he was invested in Bitcoin. So, when we say it's
everywhere, it's everywhere.
JONES: Riyadh, continue to roll out the red carpet for A-listers from across the world. This time to celebrate the announcements that Saudi
Arabia will open its doors to cinemas after 35-year ban. It was truly Saturday night (INAUDIBLE) with Mr. John Ttravolta himself, starring as
himself in a one on one conversation with an audience that's was just as static as he was to be there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[10:55:07] JOHN TRAVOLTA, ACTOR: When I heard there is this amazing coincidence of film and theaters, cinema being allowed back after 35 years.
It sealed the deal because I felt like, well, I'm the privileged one.
JONES: Well the actor not alone in feeling that way as the laidback event seemed to be just what young Saudi's needed as to feel a newfound sense of
artistic freedom
AJWA ALJOUDI, BROADCAST JOURNALIST: This is only the beginning of the cinema in Saudi Arabia because when they just announced it last week, now
they're bringing John Travolta, can you imagine what's going to happen in the next few months. So, that's going to be huge, just wait for it. Saudi
is coming.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: Of Saudi Arabia's artistic world is evolving but of course still has many, many boundaries. To meet a cartoonist choose pushing these lines
and many more stories that matter to you, do check out our Facebook page, that's facebook.com/cnn/connect. I'm Hanna Vaughan Jones, and that was
CONNECT THE WORLD, with me live in London. Thanks so much for watching.
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