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Jose Mourinho Sacked by Manchester United; Trump Wishes Michael Flynn "Good Luck" on Twitter; Ceasefire Begins in Strategic Port City of Hodeidah; Fed Widely Expected to Hike Rates on Wednesday; Yemeni Mother Receives Visa to See Dying Son. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired December 18, 2018 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00] BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome. You're watching CORRECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson live from Abu Dhabi where it is
7:00 in the evening.
And tonight, we begin with football and a shake-up at one of the world's biggest clubs. One of the game's best-known managers getting his walking
papers. Manchester United has sacked Jose Mourinho with the club languishing in sixth place in the English Premier League. Well off the
pace of the league leaders and far short of what is expected from a club of United's stature. Well, the last straw, a loss to fierce rivals Liverpool
on Sunday. Mourinho was once a rock star among managers with an undeniable swagger and charisma. But Man United's tepid performances of late had many
suggesting he'd lost his mojo. Alex Thomas begins this part of the show with a look back at Mourinho's time in Manchester.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEX THOMAS, CNN WORLD SPORT (voice-over): At the start it seemed to be a dream partnership for both United fans and Jose Mourinho. The first hungry
for a return to the glories of the Alex Ferguson era, the latter chasing the legacies of the legendary Scotsman who retired five years ago.
JOSE MOURINHO, THEN-MANCHESTER UNITED MANAGER: (INAUDIBLE) that I chose and solid records in the Championships League.
THOMAS: The man who famously once called himself a special one was given the money to assemble a star-studded squad, which at one point included
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and United paid a record amount to sign talented midfielder, Paul Pogba, now a World Cup winner this France. In his first
season in charge, Mourinho helped the club win two significant trophies, including UEFA's Europa League.
MOURINHO: Of course, Champions League is bigger than Europa League but that's the last trophy. And the last trophy is the one where the feelings
are under the skin.
THOMAS: But there was no silverware last season and United finished second in England's Premier League, a massive 19 points behind local rivals
Manchester City. The current EL campaign has been even worse. Reports of locker room unrest including a falling out with Pogba and, and Mourinho's
move wasn't helped by two defeats in United's first three games.
MOURINHO: Three memberships and I won more Premierships alone than the other three managers together. Three for me, and two for them. Who
respect, who respect.
THOMAS: After almost 2.5 seasons at the helm, Mourinho leaves United sitting in sixth place.
MOURINHO: This is the not dream job, this is reality. And I'm in the latter, Man United manager.
THOMAS: United, a global football brand, is closer to the bottom of the table than the top. Mourinho's old intrepid dream is over. Alex Thomas,
CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, the clubs says that they will appoint a caretaker manager until the end of the season while they search for his Mourinho's successor.
Joining us now to talk about the sacking and its fallout, Kris Voakes, who is Manchester United correspondent from goal.com. How are United fans
reacting, sir?
KRIS VOAKES, MANCHESTER UNITED CORRESPONDENT, GOAL.COM: There's a little bit of surprise, particularly about the timing. A lot of them thought that
it would happen later in the season. And, yes, it's fair to say that the timing is the most surprising thing about all of this. A lot of people
weren't happy with the way that things were going under Mourinho and quite frankly the style of football wasn't what they were after. So, a lot of
them aren't particularly disappointed that he's gone, but, yes, in terms of timing it's a little bit of a shock.
ANDERSON: Yes, it was a question of when not if, wasn't it? So why do you think now? I mean, after all, they're through in the UEFA Championships
League, that is financially extremely lucrative for that club. I now they're languishing in sixth place in the league. But, you know, Champions
League is a big deal. A lot of people said that that might be enough to just keep him through into the new year. So, why do you think he's being
booted out now?
VOAKES: Yes, this United regime is normally held on and held on for as long as possible. They did so with David Moyes. They sacked him after
they were out of the Champions League and couldn't reach the top for again. They did the same with Louis van Gaal, wait until the end of the season
when they won the FA cup and they just missed out on the Championships League.
It looked as though they would do exactly the same again and certainly that seemed to be the feeling around the place. But the way that he's
completely lost the team in the past two or three weeks in particular, there's just no cohesion now at all.
[10:05:00] Clearly, they weren't on his side and I think they realized that they were in danger of just seeing the season slip away quietly through the
spring months. Didn't fancy their chances of seeing enough PSG with Mourinho at the helm and I think that's why they're going through it now.
ANDERSON: Yes. Kris, statistically Mourinho was the -- I think I'm right in saying -- the second-best manager the club has ever had, but this was
the club's worst start, of course, since 1990. So, nobody at this point filling the shoes of the legend that is Alex Ferguson, the club's most
successful manager ever. Who is in the running at this point? Who's going to get the job?
VOAKES: It's a really difficult one. Certainly, in the interim at least. Because there's certain managers who might be good fit for United who are
already in a role. Particularly Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, a lot of talk about him in the last few hours. But he's only just signed a new deal with
Molde. He's expected back for the season there in March. In the longer term all routes seem to Mauricio Pochettino, they told the manager, he
didn't rule himself out when he spoke earlier about the situation in United. Albeit he tried to distance himself a little bit. He seems to be
the one. Although he's not won nothing at Tottenham, he does at least have that profile of somebody who plays the game in the right way and likes his
teams to play expressive football. And that's exactly what United have missed during the days of Mourinho and Louie van Gaal before.
ANDERSON: Yes, no Spurs fan is going to want to hear what you have just said. There are other big names in the running. I know Zinedine Zidane,
people like that. I mean, Arsene Wenger, and there are a number of highly- rated, perhaps Wenger not so much these days, but highly rated coaches out there. So, it remains to be seen, I guess. This one will be a big talker.
Sir, thank you. The United correspondent at goal.com, thank you.
Well, a highly anticipated court hearing begins in Washington next hour. A key cooperating witness in the Russia investigation will learn his fate for
lying to the FBI. Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was a member of Donald Trump's inner circle. You will remember not only serving
in his administration, but also his campaign and transition.
Now, if Special Counsel Robert Mueller has his way, Flynn will walk out of court a free man. Mueller is recommending no jail time citing Flynn's --
and I quote, substantial help in the probe. Let's bring in CNN White House reporter, Stephen Collinson, for more on this. President Trump wishing
Michael Flynn good luck this morning. He will be interested as the rest us will be to see exactly what happens. What's your bet at that point?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, given the strong recommendation for Mueller that Flynn gets no jail time, that would seem to
be the most likely outcome. Perhaps there will be some kind of probationary sentence, some community service for Flynn.
I think this is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, because even though he was only in the White House for a matter of a few weeks, Flynn
will be the first White House official sentenced in the Mueller investigation into alleged Russian collusion, collusion with the Russians
during the elections, and it's a sign that the probe is getting closer and closer to the President himself.
Donald Trump has been trying in recent days to create the impression that Flynn was put under intense pressure by the Mueller probe to testify
against him. In that tweet in which he wished Flynn good luck this morning, he said it will be interesting to see what Mueller said in court.
I think what be more interesting and what we probably won't get today is what Mueller told -- what Flynn told Mueller and was blacked out in the
sentencing memos we got from the special counsel a few weeks ago. That's really the most interesting part of this and that's, I think we're going to
have to wait a little bit to learn.
ANDERSON: Lying about his Russia contacts wasn't the only thing that got Flynn into trouble, of course. He also lied about his efforts to work on
behalf of the Turkish government and now two of Flynn's former business associates, Stephen, have been charged as well. They're accused of
lobbying U.S. politicians to extradite Turkish -- the Turkish cleric who is living in exile in the U.S. Stephen, Flynn's associates weren't charged by
Mueller, but the prosecutors how does this all tie in with the Russia probe? Russia isn't the only country, of course, linked to Trump's inner
circle during transition and afterwards of course.
COLLINSON: That's right. These cases were brought by federal authorities. We've seen throughout this case that when Mueller has uncovered what he
believes is wrongdoing, he sort of farmed it out to other jurisdictions. Another example of this is the case of the president's lawyer, Michael
Cohen who was prosecuted for tax and fraud charges by prosecutors in New York.
[10:10:04] But what all this has done, Mueller has created a picture of the behavior of the President and the behavior of other officials in the
transition through these prosecutions of other people. And you could argue, as many conservatives do, that the Turkish issue, for example, is a
lobbying case completely distinct from the Russia investigation, has nothing to do with it. But Mueller is building all of this in together
into one big picture.
ANDERSON: Stephen is in Washington where the time is 10:10 in the morning. It's 7:10 here in the UAE.
Next, a country made almost unrecognizable in the last four years. Tens of thousands of people have been killed by war and 20 million people are going
hungry we are told. Many of them kids. Now, for the first time there is finally hope for peace. I'm talking about Yemen. As we speak, a fragile
ceasefire is holding in the port city of Hodeidah. These pictures show you what things were like there just two days ago.
Now the ceasefire was agreed last week between leaders from Yemen's internationally recognized government and Houthi rebels and it's literally
a life or death matter. Because most foreign aid to Yemen comes in through Hodeidah. Sam Kiley is here in Abu Dhabi with me. You've been working
your sources both on the ground in Yemen and locally, of course, the UAE part of the Arab coalition supporting the internationally recognized Yemen
government. What do you understand to be going on the ground?
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the good news is that there is a ceasefire now for the people of Hodeidah, that may not feel
very, very different. We are getting information that they can see aircraft in the sky, both there's a coalition aircraft, both drones and
manned aircraft, very sporadic shooting particularly on the eastern edge of the city. That kind of thing, frankly, is going to be expect.
What we are hearing though and you've been hearing from officials too is that certainly from the UAE's perspective, this is a UAE dominated zone of
operations from the coalition's perspective, they're absolutely adamant that they are going to stick to the ceasefire rules.
From the Houthi side there is an expectation that it could be a bit scrappy and the UAE have warned if it does get scrappy, they will hit back hard.
But there is an implementing process. The port will be -- idea is it will be free of military personnel by the end of the month. And the whole city
by a week later. If that happens, things will have gone much better than anybody anticipated.
ANDERSON: Were there anymore about the agreement that was made in Sweden and we just saw images of that and we have to applaud the fact that the
handshake was there and the ceasefire has now been implemented, but it's what happens next really, isn't it? Yemen's rivals will exchange prisoners
within roughly a month. That is according to the U.N. special envoy to Yemen. There is also been an agreement to form a joint committee to
address the situation in Taiz. And there will be more consultations next month, as you have pointed out.
We know there is a deadline to get troops away from three of these ports and then evacuate the city as a whole by about the seventh of January. In
practical terms for the average Yemeni, what happens next? And you and I have both been told there's a massive deficit of confidence in -- in the
Houthi, certainly from the coalition side.
KILEY: Massive deficit, also among humanitarians. There is a very generalized anger directed at the Houthi's for manipulation of aid, for the
taxation of aid coming in through the port. Which of course was their principal source of income. The Houthis, of course, responded that's how
they're able to administer the territory under their control. So, in material terms, if that port opens up and then the road all the way east to
Sanaa, which is the capital, opens up, then some of the hardest hit areas by the shortage of food -- not yet a famine, there's a danger of a famine -
- but the harder hit areas can be reached and bubble food delivery can be done with far less manipulation.
But at the same time whether you're looking at the coalition-controlled areas or the Houthi-controlled areas, a lot of the food distribution, a lot
of the economic life in both sides is controlled by war lords. Getting them to understand that they've got to put their weapons down and give up
lucrative income flows is going to be the long-term political challenge. But in the immediate term, humanitarian relief is what it's all about.
ANDERSON: Humanitarian relief is what it is all about. And just finally, to get that relief on the ground to people who need it most, we've been
told there will be a massive need, for example, the clearing of mines.
[10:15:00] I think the coalition has said it's cleared something like 30,000 --
KILEY: 300,000.
ANDERSON: 300,000 to date. They reckon the place is littered with mines. So, this is not going to be easy, is it?
KILEY: No, it's going to be extremely complex and savvy. There'll be a lot of innocent people killed by mines, as we've seen in legacy or places
going back to the second world war across the Sahara and particularly now in Afghanistan and Iraq.
But the real effort is not just going to be focused on moving food around, but this is the interesting part. It is actually in paying salaries.
There is enough food in Yemen but there isn't money to buy them and it's not very sexy in terms of donors. They like to be able to give something
material to people and feel good about it. But actually, what the U.N. is calling for from the coalition and from the international community more
widely is the salaries for the payroll that went back to 2016. Get money into the system and people can start looking after themselves.
ANDERSON: Fix the central bank, get the cogs moving wants again so far as the economy is concerned. Excellent, thank you. Sam Kiley in the house
for you. We'll have a lot more on the situation in Yemen coming up.
We're going to tell you about the quest to let one mother from Yemen visit her dying child in the United States. An effort being blocked by the U.S.
government's travel ban. And I will also be talking with Peter Salisbury of the International Crisis Group. He was widely considered the top
international analyst on the country about exactly the sort of stuff that Sam and I have just been talking to. What's happens on the ground and what
happens next.
Still to come, stock selloff, oil slides, U.S. president Donald Trump has some advice for the Federal Reserve. We break down a dramatic 24 hours for
the markets. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: All right, we're just about a half hour into Tuesday's trading session in the U.S. Stocks, well they are just in positive territory,
slightly higher by about a fifth of 1 percent, give or take. In fact, I apologize, just over 1 percent. That's after a selloff Monday taking the
Dow, the S&P, and the Nasdaq down over 2 percent putting them on track for one of the worst Decembers on record.
[10:20:04] To parse it all, CNN's John Defterios on the set. And my apologies, markets up just over 1 percent now, but given where they have
been -- if anybody thought they were going to buy and a dip they bought it seems. This is not impressive. And for the month things are looking
pretty bad. Why?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNNMONEY EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Well, Becky, we've been into and actually officially in a bear market since this summer. There's a
saying in the market you can't fight the force. The force is behind the Federal Reserve right now which is trying to fend off inflation which is
around 2.5 percent. There's full employment in America with the unemployment rate just at 3.7 percent.
So, since the end of 2017 they've raised interest rates seven times. So, this economic cycle which has lasted eight years, a bull run which has been
fantastic led by technology is coming to an end. We see this rotation into the bond market because the U.S. Federal Reserve is raising interest rates.
Now there's a lot of pressure on the Federal Reserve not to do anything right now and it's coming from the U.S. President. The U.S. President
thinks this is wise to have them think again, think twice before they try to raise interest rates again.
But in a sense, it boxes the Federal Reserve into a corner because the credibility, its independence is essential. And this is why you see this
real fear in the market today with that correction we saw of 2.5 percent yesterday and a 20 percent correction since August, which is, you know, a
fairly decent selloff.
ANDERSON: Absolutely. And look, you know, with ten years after the recession of 2008, people have been saying for months and months, that is a
pretty long what we call bull run. I mean, these markets were ready for a correction historically, so perhaps we shouldn't be surprise.
DEFTERIOS: No.
ANDERSON: But as investigators sold off stocks in anticipation of this fed hike, U.S. President Donald Trump -- as you were pointing out -- was doing
what he could to make his preference clear. He warned this morning that a rate rise would be, and I quote him, yet another mistake by the bank and
suggested officials fill the markets rather than watch the data.
And this is -- this is the U.S. President who very much likes to get involved. What do we expect from the meeting? What kind of reaction
should we expect to that tweet?
DEFTERIOS: Well, this is a Federal Reserve board chairman that he selected in Jerome Powell known in the markets as J Powell. I think he has to try
to shut out all the noise that's coming from the White House right now in the last hour on the first movers we heard from Alan Greenspan, the former
Federal Reserve chairman. He said he used to put your months on to make sure he didn't hear anything from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue which is where
the White House is. He has to now hold the course.
But this is an interesting comparison, because last month when I was at the OPEC meeting -- actually 10 days ago -- you saw the U.S. President putting
pressure again on OPEC. It actually played to the favor of Saudi Arabia saying, look, I have to stand up for my organization and do the best thing
for the wider groups of producers. And that's what they did. Remember they cut production by 1.2 million barrels a day. This is not dissimilar.
The louder Donald Trump gets, you can see all the Federal Reserve presidents, the regional presidents sitting around the table saying, look,
it's our credibility on the line, but what are the underlying figures we're watching. It's inflation, it's full employment, and that interest rates
need to be normalized after that great financial crisis of 2008, Becky. We had historically low interest rates and this is what drove money into the
stocks and why we see the rotation into the bond market. Bank of America/Merrill Lynch was suggesting it's the biggest rotation we've seen
in the month of December ever. So, this is quite a severe move out of stocks.
ANDERSON: We always say inflation the nemesis of the bond markets, of course. The bond markets love a rate hike and the stock markets don't want
that. So, you can see again why the moves are happening.
You talked about OPEC and you talked about the OPEC groups and we've got, you know, we need to retain our own credibility and we have to work for the
good of the organization. It didn't work, did it? Because today oil is below $49 on the barrel and that is despite what happened when producers
and allies agreed to that production cut, of course. So, what is behind what is going what is going on in the oil markets? That's very precedent
to the region we live in here.
DEFTERIOS: Yes, absolutely. First and foremost, those cuts that OPEC talked about don't take place until January. So, 1.2 million barrels a day
will come into the market in January. But this again is a U.S. narrative. First and foremost, there's concerns about a slowdown in the United States
next year. What the U.S. Federal Reserve is going to do on interest rates impacting that growth. Number two, the U.S. production is extraordinary if
you look back at history. Let's look at the latest monthly report and this why we saw selling today.
The latest weekly number we have for U.S. output, Becky, is 11.7 million barrels a day. It sounds like a big number, but it surges right past
Russia and Saudi Arabia. 8 million barrels of that is shale. So, I went and looked back. Over the last three years U.S. has added 4 million
barrels a day. It's the equivalent of adding almost an Iraq to the market alone just on the gain.
[10:25:03] And they're expected to add another 1.5 million barrels in 2019. So, the U.S. is surging ahead. Can you imagine if Saudi Arabia, Russia,
and the other OPEC producers and the other partners in the non-OPEC agreement, decided not to cut. If they bowed to the pressure of Donald
Trump, we'd be in a much worse situation right now.
The final concern is the daily demand growth is expected to be 1.3 million barrels a day. That's already lower than 2018. Looking forward to 2019, I
think the folks at OPEC know that number's in jeopardy because of the slowdown, the tensions with China right now, and I have to think that
Brexit will play into European demand and European growth in 2019 as well.
ANDERSON: Fascinating. John keeping an eye on those markets for you and we are in the house here in Abu Dhabi where we are with CONNECT THE WORLD
of course.
Coming up, the story of a family tragedy, but now some hope for a mother who just wants to visit her dying child.
And a glimmer of hope as the relentless war barrels on. We're talking Yemen with one of the country's foremost experts as roaring sides begin a
ceasefire.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: You're watching CNN. This is CONNECT THE WORLD, I'm Becky Anderson for you. For those of you just joining us, you are more than
welcome.
We want to go back to one of our top stories, that fragile ceasefire in Yemen. One of the major casualties of the war there has been the breakdown
of the healthcare system.
[10:30:01] That breakdown forced the father of 2-year-old Abdullah Hassan to bring the boy to the United States for medical treatment when it was
discovered that Abdullah had a life-threatening brain condition. Well, sadly Abdullah is now on a ventilator with very little time left. His
mother wants to see him for one last time. And just moments ago we learned that she will be able to do just that. Abdullah's father, Ali Hassan,
joins me now with their lawyer, Saad Sweilem, who is with the Council on American-Islamic Relations. And, sir, if I can start with you. Ali, what
is your reaction to this news that we've just got about your wife?
ALI HASSAN, FATHER OF AILEEN YEMENI CHILD: To be honest, it's the best news I've ever had.
ANDERSON: How long has this been going on, sir?
HASSAN: Say it again, please.
ANDERSON: How long has this process been going on? How long has it been that you've been in the states without your wife with your son?
HASSAN: It's been almost three months without my wife with her son.
ANDERSON: That must be terribly hard. How is Abdullah.
HASSAN: Abdullah is really in bad condition right now.
ANDERSON: So, this is clearly not an easy time for Ali. What we do now know is that Abdullah's mom will be able to join them. Assad, why has this
taken so long? And what do you think is behind this decision today?
SAAD SWEILEM, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: It's taken so long because of the Trump administration's travel ban, Muslim ban. You know, she's been
applying for this visa for well over a year. It's taken, you know, much too long. And I think what's behind this decision is the outrage and the
support that the family received from the public when they became aware of this American boy who's on his deathbed, a U.S. citizen, his father also a
U.S. citizen, and this mother and this wife who say cross the world unable to be there with her child. I mean, I think that speaks to people.
ANDERSON: If you were to describe U.S. authorities as having a lack of compassion, would that be close to the mark?
SWEILEM: Absolutely. I mean, it's been for months doctors here have been sending letters to the embassy explaining Abdullah's condition and the
urgency that they needed to have the mother here and they were receiving the same sort of just general response about the application being
processed. But you know, with all of that said, we are grateful, we're thankful that she's now received a visa and there's nothing more important
right now than, you know, thinking of her and her coming here and being with her son one last time.
ANDERSON: How long will it take her to get to the U.S.? What's the plan?
SWEILEM: We are working on it. We are working ton right now. As soon as we get off, we're going to try to book her a flight as soon as possible and
get her here.
ANDERSON: I want to remind our viewers about how this travel ban came about. Viewers, you may remember as a candidate Donald Trump called for a
total ban, a total ban on all Muslims going into the U.S. As president, several versions of that idea were, of course, repeatedly struck down by
the courts because of its religious bias. The current ban affects seven countries, five of which are like Yemen and contain a Muslim majority
population. But this ban also includes Venezuela, North Korea which of course do not. So, this June the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the ban saying
the President can stop citizens from certain countries for national security reasons. Ali, what is your message to U.S. authorities today?
HASSAN: That everyone that listened to us here, all the families, they're supposed to be together. There's no -- there's no parents should be
separate from each other.
ANDERSON: I'm going to let you guys go because you want to get your wife in and you want to ensure that she gets to see your little boy. We wish
you all the best. Thank you both of you, Ali and Saad and all the family - -
HASSAN: Thank you.
SWEILEM: Thank you.
ANDERSON: -- of the little 2-year-old boy that we've just mentioned fled Yemen's war, a brutal war. It's been a conflict which has been
particularly merciless towards kids, of course. Millions are facing cholera and famine. But at midnight last night, the ceasefire between
Yemen's government and Houthi rebels offered a glimmer of hope. It went into effect in a strategic port, a crucial entry point for humanitarian
aid. Now, the move is a major win for last week's U.N. sponsored talks in Stockholm.
[10:35:03] But the special envoy that brokered those talks warns that peace is still far off.
Let's get some insight from a leading expert who knows the country inside and out. He's worked as an analyst and journalist focusing on Yemen for
more than a decade and has worked closely with the Yemen forum at Chatham House. Peter Salisbury joining us now. You are approaching this deal I
know with cautious optimism.
During the recent talks in Sweden you wrote and I quote, things could continue to go well but they could also still go off the rails, even now or
in the next few weeks. U.N. Security Council should prepare for ever eventuality.
Do you stick by those words?
PETER SALISBURY, SENIOR CONSULTING FELLOW, CHATHAM HOUSE: Absolutely 100 percent. So, we saw this ceasefire being announced and coming into force
at midnight Yemen time last night. Couple hours of fighting, but really so many factors could -- could break the ceasefire at any given moment. And
this is just going to be a high-wire act for the U.N. envoy and the UN Security Council, the wider international community really needs to keep up
the pressure that got us this deal in Sweden last week.
ANDERSON: And there's certainly a deficit of confidence on both sides. We do know from the Arab coalition side in an op-ed from the Jaber Al Lamki,
the official from United Arab Emirates National Media Counsel in an op-ed piece for us, writing that the Houthis were forced to the negotiating table
through military pressure by the Saudi and UAE coalition.
He writes, and I quote. The Houthi rebels have showed this work they will only respond to force, and so we must continue to be strong in order to
finish this war for good.
The ceasefire holds at present on the ground what are your sources telling you? What are the expectations here?
SALISBURY: Well, for the time being, that the ceasefire is in place. But, again, the ceasefire is meant to be governor wide. So, it's around the
entire Hodeidah governorate, not just around the city. Where you've got lots of little front lines, lots of little flashpoints, just lots of places
where one little gunshot, one little bit of mortar fire could lead to a rapid escalation.
And we've got the issue of the fact that this aspect of the conflict is just one part of the bigger war. So, we've had air strikes across the
country. We've got the Houthis launching missiles into Saudi Arabia and launching missiles at their rival forces elsewhere in Yemen. So, there are
just so many triggers that could undo this right now. And from either side. I understand that sort of the UAE is going to take a very strong
stance on what brought people to the table here. But similarly, the government of Yemen, which is backed by the Arab coalition had really to be
forced to sign this deal as well. So, no one really that keen on the deal and lots of triggers that really could just undo everything at any given
moment.
ANDERSON: As we understand it, there is a 31st of December deadline when the Houthis are obliged to hand over a number of ports, including Hodeidah.
And then on the 7th of January, pro-government forces and Houthis should completely evacuate Hodeidah. For people on the ground, for the average
Yemeni, how will life change over the next two to three weeks before these talks reconvene? And you and I were both with Martin Griffiths recently
and he was very inclined to minimize expectations sort of in the short- term. So, for the average Yemeni what's going to change?
SALISBURY: Well, this deal hasn't been so much about making things better as preventing things from getting really sharply worse. So, the big fear
was that a battle for Hodeidah ports and city would cut off this vital trade corridor that brings in about 70 percent of all goods shipped into
Yemen.
Just a week or two ago, the U.N. released new data on hunger in Yemen showing up to a quarter of a million people basically starving to death and
the loss of the port would have increased that number significantly. So, at the moment what the U.N. and what the U.N. envoy are trying to do is
stop things from getting really, really badly worse. So, in the next couple weeks it's really about just preventing things from going horribly
wrong.
After that, the hope is that if the port is neutralized, if it becomes a demilitarized zone, the coalition will allow trade to flow into it more
freely.
[10:40:00] And prices in local markets will drop increasing the amounts of food that people can access on average. In turn helping people with this
hunger crisis. But that's a much longer-term process. So, again, it's really about preventing the worst possible outcome rather than people
seeing major tangible benefits in the very short-term.
ANDERSON: Pre-'18 a particularly grim year for Yemen. In April U.N. Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, called Yemen's civil war world's worst
humanitarian crisis. In August, you'll remember, a bomb killed 44 children on their school bus and just two weeks later a Saudi led coalition air
strike killed 26 women and four children -- sorry, with children and women fleeing their homes.
And we've just spoken to the father of a young boy who has his kid in the States who's very, very ill. Who simply couldn't get the help that he
needed in Yemen. He's a U.S. citizen himself. So thankfully for him he's able to get out of the country and use the healthcare services in the U.S.
But things have been really, really tough. Those horrific examples just the tip of the iceberg.
So, as we head into 2019, let's be brutally honest. Not all stakeholders on the ground including war lords who make money out of this sort of
conflict environment are going to want things to improve. What are your predictions for next year?
SALISBURY: Well, that's quite right. The odds are really stacked against peace in Yemen. And something that's important to note about the deals
that were signed in Sweden last week are that when you read the texts, both parties were actually very keen to make sure that the deal for Hodeidah and
a separate deal for a prisoner swap were not seen as precedence for a wider political process. These were purely humanitarian issues, they said, and
they shouldn't be seen as part of a wider political process.
And I think that really tells us where we're at. They refused to sign a framework peace deal, the government of Yemen in particular refused to sign
the framework peace deal. The envoy has been working on peace plan, sorry. And when we go back into talks at the end of the January, we can expect
things regardless of the outcome in Hodeidah to be sharply tougher because you've been moving towards some kind of political settlement.
So, realistically in 2019 if we're really, really lucky things don't get badly worse. And if we're less fortunate and the ceasefire does unravel
around Hodeida, we could see mass starvation. And those really are our choices. A very difficult grinding political process and things remaining
pretty bad on the ground or things becoming catastrophically bad in terms of the humanitarian crisis while the conflict worsens and the political
process grinds to a halt again. They're not great choices.
ANDERSON: No, they're not great choices are, they? But your insight is incredibly important to us. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.
Peter Salisbury is out of London for you today.
Live from Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD. Coming up, the special one no longer, what could come next for Jose Mourinho? We speak to a man who
just might know, his biographer. Stay with us.
[10:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, today marks exactly four years from the 2022 World Cup final to be held in Qatar. This is the Lusail Stadium. The bowl inspired
structure is among the stadiums that await a potential 1.5 million football fans. Of course, we'll be bringing you coverage of the preparations over
the next four years.
Well, another huge football story in the immediate. Manchester United looking for a new manager after sacking Jose Mourinho. The man once known
as the special one was brought in to return United to sports pinnacle. Safe to stay didn't work out that way. Joining us now, Rob Beasley, the
author of "Jose Mourinho: Up Close and Personal" a biography of the manager. He's on Skype from Warwick in England. What went wrong? You
know the guy.
ROB BEASLEY, AUTHOR,"JOSE MOURINHO, UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL" (via Skype): Well, I know him very, very well. I spent 12 years traveling around the
world with him and he's one of the most successful managers of his generation. Yes, he's been sacked by Manchester United today. I'm pleased
about that because looking at him at Manchester United was looking at an unhappy man struggling to get his methods across and his ideas across to a
team that's maybe not capable of fulfilling everything that he wanted.
It's no surprise to anybody that this hasn't been a happy marriage there, that's been obvious and the results, we've seen that in the players'
performances and it's been obviously in the manager's demeanor. So, it's been good news all around for Jose and Manchester United.
ANDERSON: Yes, certainly the fans will say that, most of them, I think. Look, they've had their worst start since 1990. Statistically he is
actually second most successful manager they've ever had way behind Alex Ferguson. But look, you say, you know, effectively wasn't given the
support to play the football he wanted to. Other people will say he was given quite a lot of support and quite frankly his style of football
doesn't work anymore.
BEASLEY: Well, I'm not sure about that. Because if you think, if you look at the Manchester United squad, the biggest surprise at Manchester United's
recent history was that Alex Ferguson won his final with well that squad, and the problems with that squad have not been addressed. They've changed
three managers now and the vast book of the squad is still the same. What they haven't addressed is the dramatic fall in the standing of the squad.
If you look at Manchester United's squad, I would argue that probably maybe one in Manchester United squad are really the goalkeeper is the only one
that would challenge to get in any of the other top 16 in the Premier League. To get in any of the top --
ANDERSON: Hold on a minute. Paul Pogba had a good run during the World Cup, sir. I mean, really, let me ask this question because we're going to
run out of time. Hang on.
(CROSSTALK)
BEASLEY: -- incredible season for Manchester United. Do you think Jose Mourinho tells Paul Pogba go out to old Trafford or away games and play
free kick straight in the touch line ten yards away from a player?
ANDERSON: Why don't you answer that question. Why don't you answer that question by telling me what's going on in his head? No, no, sir, hang on a
minute. You know the guy. You've asked a question, I wonder if you can answer. What is going on in his head? How does he deal with the players?
A lot of people say he never had the respect for this -- for this club which has such a history. You know the guy. What will he be going through
today and what's been going through his mind over the past few weeks?
BEASLEY: He will be disappointed obviously. He won't have any regrets. He doesn't do regrets and he would walk on and he'll walk straight into
another job. But talking about -- back to what you are saying earlier about Paul Pogba. Yes, he looks like a decent player at the World Cup.
But remember he had Presnel Kimpembe alongside and N'Golo Kante behind him protecting him. If you got called out with some of his extravagances, all
of his mistakes. So, is completely -- you can't compare Paul Pogba playing for France and the players he had around him and the quality of that team
that won the World Cup with the quality and the Manchester United team and Manchester United squad is no comparison at all.
ANDERSON: It's got to be something to do with the coach surely. Part of that has something to do with the way he's managed. Doesn't it? Be that
as it may.
BEASLEY: Yes, you've got accept that that Jose hasn't been able to work his way at Manchester United.
[10:50:00] But by the same token you're talking about Marouane Fellaini and there's a lot of people obviously dancing on his grave saying their good riddance (INAUDIBLE), he just pops the bus. But anybody with
any sense in football will look at his track record. He's won the title in four different countries, England, Portugal, Spain, and Italy. He's one of
a handful of managers that won the Championships League with two different clubs. Those clubs being Inter Milan and Porto.
ANDERSON: Sure.
BEASLEY: Not a great massive team like Real Madrid or Barcelona.
ANDERSON: No, I understand.
BEASLEY: So, his achievements, 25 major trophies in his career. He's been at Manchester United for 2.5 years, he's got two trophies, he would argue
three.
ANDERSON: All right, Rob.
BEASLEY: Now, if you compare that with Mauricio Pochettino who is being picked to replace him, he came to England in 2013. He's at Tottenham.
He's been at Tottenham for 20 --
ANDERSON: I understand. I'm a Spurs fan myself. I know exactly where you're at.
BEASLEY: (CROSSTALK) The Manchester United team --
ANDERSON: Didn't mean he's not going to win anything this year. Doesn't mean he's not going to win anything this year. This has been marvelous
having you on, sir. I've got to take a very short break. I'm going to have to let you go. Come on again when we find out where Jose Mourinho
goes next and I'll have another chat with you.
BEASLEY: Liverpool have won nothing --
ANDERSON: Thank you. Rob, I'm going to have to leave it. Thank you, sir. Rob Beasley in the house. He can talk.
This is CONNECT THE WORLD. Still to come, it's much more than a museum. We'll take you on the tour of the Louvre Abu Dhabi after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: All right, I've got a couple minutes for you and that is enough time to do potting shots. It's home to some of the most recognizable art
in the world. But the Louvre Abu Dhabi is a lot more than a museum. Have a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ABDULLAH AL QASSAB, COMEDIAN: That is beautiful to have such tolerance and mix of color. Isn't that great?
ANDERSON (voice-over): Abdullah Al Qassab is in full flow. The Emirate comedian is one of the MCs at the battle of styles. A dance contest
bringing together performers from around the world. This cross-cultural event is very much in keeping with the venue where it's being held, the
Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Just a year after it first opened its doors, the museum has welcomed over a million people. But they don't all just come for fine works of art.
SARA AL MAHMOUD, PROGRAMMING OFFICER, LOUVRE ABU DHABI: I just want to see this place to be filled with people from around the world. Emirates
interacting with foreigners and interacting with tourists and make this really a cultural hub which is what we aim for this place to be.
[10:55:01] ANDERSON: The Louvre Abu Dhabi was conceived to be far more than the state-of-the-art museum. It was designed to be a focal point
around which a local art scene would grow and flourish.
SHAMMA AL BASTAKI, EMIRATI POET: Curious listener. Grasp the idea of light.
ANDERSON: Shamma Al Bastaki is a young Emirati poet forging her career. She's being commissioned by the museum to be part of a spoken art series.
She calls it pop-up poetry.
AL BASTAKI: Consists of waves. And though the ather had grown somewhat shadowy, the waves remain.
AL BASTAKI: The Louvre Abu Dhabi is the first to support local artists in many different fields and not just the visual arts or fine arts is really
important. And I'm very proud of the Louvre Abu Dhabi for taking that step-in venturing in this realm of experimentation that no other museum has
dared to do, at least a museum of this stature and level.
AL QASSAB: And guys show my your --
ANDERSON: Back on the main stage, Abdullah Al Qassab has taken over proceedings. For him performing at the museum is about altering
perspectives.
AL QASSAB: The Louvre Abu Dhabi has changed the mindset in their had about the Louvre. And then it actually adds value to the performance of the
Louvre and overall it tells you, hey, the Louvre is not just a museum. And the whole area gives you that feeling like, wow, there are more
opportunities right now.
ANDERSON: More opportunities for performers local and international. The Louvre Abu Dhabi houses some of the greatest works of art in the world.
The year on it hopes to showcase some of the greatest artists as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: I'm Becky Anderson, that was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thank you for watching.
END
