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Connect the World

Boeing Under Scrutiny; Netanyahu & His Allies; Plight Of Saudi Activists; Initial Report On Ethiopian Airlines Crash Released; Ethiopia: Crew Followed Procedures But Couldn't Control Jet; Boeing Says It Will Review Ethiopian Airlines Report; Netanyahu Meets With Putin Days Before Israeli Elections; Israeli PM's Meetings With Controversial World Leaders; NYT & Washington Post: Some Mueller Investigators Frustrated With Barr's Summary Of Findings; Suspect In NZ Mosque Attack Faces 50 Murder Charges; Huawei CEO: Fight With U.S. Government Is Good For Company; Ex-Nissan Boss Ghosn Arrested On New Charges; Activists Make Dramatic Call For Help; Global Study: Poor Diet Kills More People Than Smoking; Anti-Brexit Activists Beam Message On Dover Cliffs. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired April 04, 2019 - 11:00   ET

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

DAGMAWIT MOGES: The crew performed all the procedures repeatedly provided by the manufacturer but was not able to control the aircraft.

BECKY ANDERSON, ANCHOR, CNN: The report may be preliminary, but the findings are damning. Ethiopian investigators are calling for Boeing to

take immediate action. Also this hour ...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: We've never had a greater friend than President Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: With the Israeli election just five days away now and the revolving door of controversial leaders meeting with the Israeli Prime

Minister not slowing down one bit. More on the later. Also, locked up for campaigning for women's rights. It's a story we've been following every

step of the way here on Connect The World. We'll speak to Loujain al- Hathloul's brother. She was the face campaigning for women's rights to drive in Saudi Arabia and paid a dear price.

Hello and welcome. You're watching Connect The World with me Becky Anderson live from Abu Dhabi where it is seven o'clock in the evening.

Now, we begin with the initial report released by Ethiopian officials on the fatal crash of a Boeing 737 Max passenger jet last month. And the

findings point the finger directly at Boeing, 157 people were killed when Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 went down just minutes after takeoff near

Addis Ababa.

It was the second crash of that model aircraft in less than five months. Well, this morning investigators revealed their preliminary findings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOGES: The takeoff roll appeared very normal. The crew performed all the procedures repeatedly provided by the manufacturer but was not able to

control the aircraft.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, the airline later released a statement commending the flight crew of the doomed flight. It said in part, "We are very proud of

our pilots' compliances to follow the emergency procedures and high level of professional performances in such extremely difficult situations."

Boeing's response to the report was brief. It said simply, "Boeing will be reviewing the published report as it is released." Well, CNN Business

Editor At Large Richard Quest's reaction to what is this preliminary report.

RICHARD QUEST, ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Judging by what the Minister said and what we've heard that they were

qualified, that they operated the aircraft exactly as Boeing had intended, including the MCAS fixed. Remember from Lion Air, switch off the

stabilizer trim machinery motor and you should be all right. Well, apparently they did that and they weren't all right. So for some

inexplicable reason, they switched it back on again. We'll get the details of why in the full report.

So from that point of view, yes, the focus does turn firmly, fairly and squarely on Boeing. And to that extent, Boeing has, of course, is already

doing exactly what they've recommended in this report which is look at the MCAS and review and make changes and look at the certification process and

the verification before you allow the plane to fly.

ANDERSON: Well, it's Richard Quest. I'm joined now by American Airline Pilot Captain Dennis Tajer. He's a Spokesman for the Allied Pilots

Association and he joins us now via Skype. We appreciate your time, sir. What do you make of the details of this preliminary investigation?

DENNIS TAJER, SPOKESPERSON FOR ALLIED PILOTS ASSOCIATION: Well, the details have our attention. If the pilots in fact did the procedure that

Boeing told us after the Lion Air crash would cut the MCAS system out of the loop, then that's an important information for us. For weeks we've

been saying since the Ethiopian tragedy that we wanted all the details from that crash before we would have additional confidence in the aircraft.

Of course software changes training, information from this are very important and might I add is as Richard pointed out, if the procedure that

Boeing had given us, we had confidence in, if after that procedure was executed, the pilots still struggled with the recovery of the aircraft, the

condition that the MCAS monster essentially and place the aircraft had to be repaired so the aircraft could return to stable flight.

If in fact the pilot its struggle to return the aircraft the stable flight through using manual trim controls, we want to know every detail.

[11:05:10]

So we will not come to any conclusions, but we're ready for the details.

ANDERSON: Dennis, given what we have learned to date, is this a plane that you would be comfortable flying today?

TAJER: Not as designed, no. That's why it's grounded. We'll be looking at the software changes that Boeing has briefed us on, not all of the

details but we like what we're seeing so far. We have a training hump to get over as well. How do we get pilots trained in understanding the new

system? And then, of course, details from the Ethiopian crash and what recovery issues were going on that may go beyond the MCAS system.

These are all things that our pilots are asking out on the line, so no we're not confident in the aircraft but it's part for that reason when we

build that confidence and the pilots being the last line of defense say, "Yes, let's go." I just signed a log book yesterday after flying and

that's my affirmation, the aircraft is good to go. We will have that same commitment when and if the regulators and the manufacturers and our

airlines say yes to this airplane will be the final yes in that because we're on board with our passengers protecting them.

ANDERSON: Ethiopian Airlines commending the flight crew today saying and I quote, again, "We are very proud of our pilots' compliances to follow the

emergency procedures and high level of professional performances in such extremely difficult situations." How difficult would it have been for

them, sir?

TAJER: Well, we know from the Lion Air tragedy which we have more details on, there was an extraordinarily complex emergency that was occurring.

Multiple alerts going on and even Boeing has said you just simply run this runaway stabilizer checklist. You're ignoring the fact that there are many

distractions in the cockpit and you have to identify that problem.

In Ethiopian case it sounds as if they identified the problem, how quickly we don't know but they followed a procedure and let's not forget there are

human beings in the cockpit. You don't just simply trigger to a conclusion. It takes time to process. So we're aware of that as pilots

and we're going to want to see the details and certainly our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to our brother pilots there in the entire

passenger group that was on that aircraft.

ANDERSON: Yes, of course. Boeing reviewing the publish report as it is released, they said what do you want as a pilot Boeing to do next.

TAJER: Well, what they're doing now in the last several weeks has had us at the table. We want every bit of information on the new design of the

MCAS. We want training, training that is more than a 10 or 15 minute iPad course, training that has multi levels of texture to it even if a simulator

is not possible to have with us, we have our experts in what is available.

So we have to have training that we believe in and that it's not just a drive by quick course to get the airplane flying again. In addition to

that, we want these Ethiopian details as they're coming out today so that we can find out if there are questions that we are not even known to ask

about this.

So we have taken off our watches. We have placed our calendars in the drawer. There's no rushing this. When we say yes and all of the other

parties say yes, then the airplane will fly. But until and unless that happens, we're right where we need to be.

Boeing needs to have full disclosure with us and we're not interested in the past in regards to liability and whatnot. We're interested in making

that airplane safe going forward and we're going to stay in our lane on that and we're going to be loud and proud as our profession's calling is to

protect our passengers. We're the last line of defense just as our brothers and sisters across the (inaudible) in the pilot profession.

ANDERSON: How would you describe the response and performance of Boeing and indeed the FAA since this horrific incident?

TAJER: Well, certainly after the Lion Air tragedy, we were very, very vocal in our distrust of the relationship. They withheld information from

us. The information was critical coming up to - and then they provided us information as we flew the aircraft prior to the Ethiopian tragedy. After

that, our company American Airlines and Boeing have been right at the table giving us every detail about the software changes and every bit of

information that we've asked for including simulator time for our safety experts at their engineering simulator in Seattle.

[11:10:04]

So they have conducted themselves as a safety culture should, but we continue to ask questions. We'll ask more after these details come out

because in fact if the pilots on Ethiopian aircraft had initiated the checklist just as an American Airlines pilot would have yet the aircraft

was not recoverable, those are one of the points that we're going to be asking some serious questions about what additional training do we need and

let's talk about that today.

ANDERSON: American Airlines Pilot Captain Dennis Tajer, we really appreciate your time today, so thank you for joining us here on CNN

International. And viewers you will hear from the CEO of Ethiopian Airlines within the next hour that here on CNN.

Well, the first wrongful death lawsuit connected to the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 has been filed against Boeing. Samya Stumo, a 24-year-

old American woman was killed in the crash. Her family is suing Boeing as well as Ethiopian Airlines and Rosemount Aerospace which they allege

manufactured a defective part on the plane. We've not yet heard a response from any of those companies.

Well, families or the other Boeing crash are demanding compensation from the airline Lion Air. That airline is required by Indonesian law to pay

more than $88,000 to each of the victim's families but Lion Air is demanding that the families sign a release promising not to sue the airline

or Boeing for more money.

Well, lawyers representing two dozen families sent a letter telling the airline that that release is unfair. More than 30 families are suing

Boeing in the wake of that crash. The letter makes reference to the Ethiopian Airlines crash well saying in part, "Rather than spending your

time and trying to strip bereaved families of their legal rights, perhaps you should have been more concerned with remedying defects on the Boeing

737 MAX. The adage rings true: 'Never underestimate the power of greed.'" CNN has tried to contact Lion Air but we haven't had a response.

You're watching Connect The World. I'm Becky Anderson for you. Still to come eight days left, so are they still at sixes and sevens? Will British

lawmakers hope to overcome their differences for the sake of Brexit? Then he's in one of the biggest political fights of his life. So what is

Benjamin Netanyahu doing in Russia just days before Israel's elections? We're live in Jerusalem and in Moscow for you just ahead.

[11:15:00]

Welcome back, everybody. It is quarter past seven here in the UAE. I'll get you back to our top story, important one, and the release of the

initial findings of the investigation into the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. CNN Richard Quest joining me now. He's actually on assignment

in Oslo in Norway. I know that you have just spoken to as I understand it with the CEO of Ethiopian and what did he say?

QUEST: Hello, yes, Becky, the CEO is walking a tight line between obvious relief at the fact that this report, this preliminary report says that the

pilots did everything that they could, that the plane was airworthy, the pilots were properly trained, that they did all of the right things that

Boeing said they should have done but they were still unable to control the aircraft.

And Becky what the report says, and I'm still digesting it now, what the report - it never actually uses the phrase MCAS as such, but it talks about

three uncommanded nose-downs. And what that means is for some reason, the plane had a nose-down situation. The pitch went lower.

And Becky there are only a few reasons why this would have happened and it happened after a particular device called the angle of attack indicator

sensor went wrong. We don't need to explain bit for bit. What we need to understand is how one led to the other let to the result and that is all

pointing fingers once again, Becky, at Boeing and the MCAS' safety system.

ANDERSON: Boeing releasing a statement that says simply Boeing will be reviewing the published report as it is released. What do you make of

that?

QUEST: Well, it's interesting because essentially there has been such coverage of this, Becky, because of what happened with Lion Air and with

this one. Though we pretty much have got a good idea of the overarching view and what Boeing is saying, of course, is that they're going to follow

through on the two recommendations in this report, one saying that the maneuvering system needs to be reviewed and secondly that there needs to be

more testing and a higher grade of testing before the plane is allowed to fly.

And I asked the CEO of Ethiopian and he said, "Look, I will be the last person that needs to be convinced that this plane is fit to fly, because it

was my staff, my passengers and my aircraft that crashed." So I think he won't be alone. I think every one of the airliners that have it will want

not - you as much as you can, they will want gold plated guarantees that this thing is safe to fly.

It's going to be months, Becky, before we get the final report that will have chapter and verse, but we've got a pretty good idea now.

ANDERSON: Richard, standby, let me just bring in Oren Liebermann who was an experienced pilot and our correspondent of course out of Jerusalem. You

have read the details of this report, Richard and I just discussing what he makes of those details and Boeing's response. Your thoughts at this point?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, what jumps out at you in reading the details timeline and this is a second by second timeline of

this six minute flight is how strikingly similar this was to the Lion air crash and how much the two pilots tried on board to right the aircraft and

to keep it flying. First about the pilots themselves, multiple times they tried to trim the aircraft nose up to keep it from diving, but they were

fighting a system that four times in the course of this flight tried to trim the aircraft nose down thinking that it was about to stall.

But that was based on a faulty indication. The plane was otherwise flying normally. The aircraft systems trimmed the plane into a dive and that is

what the pilots were fighting. In the last three minutes of the flight from the cockpit voice recorder, from the flight data recorder, this

preliminary record details that both pilots together tried to pull back in the aircraft yoke to keep it flying. In the end they were unable to and

the aircraft as we know crashed killing all on board.

One of the things the Minister of Transport pointed out earlier today is that the pilots followed the emergency procedures offered by Boeing for the

737 MAX 8 aircraft and we have a sense of that here.

[11:20:05]

The pilots recognizing there was an issue with the automatic trim, recognizing there was an issue as the plane tried to trim its nose

downward, deactivated the electric trim system and tried to trim the plane manually. Unfortunately, at the speed the aircraft was flying, having

spoken to 737 pilots, the manual trim wheel is simply physically impossible to operate so it didn't work and just a couple of minutes later, the plane

crashed.

Again, Becky, what's stunning here is how similar this is to the Lion Air crash. Everything checked out in the ground. The plane left the ground

normally, but within two minutes after takeoff, there was this angle of attack sensor that began to give faulty readings to the pilot on board the

aircraft. That's exactly what happened on the Lion Air flight and it's what we're seeing happen here.

The pilots on board the Lion Air flight, the pilots on board the Ethiopian Air flight, battle the aircraft's automatic flight control systems to try

to keep the aircraft flying. In the end all of this will increase scrutiny of Boeing end of the FAA. If they knew there was a problem, why didn't

they ground the aircraft in the first place.

Now, it is worth pointing out that this report, this preliminary report does not mention the MCAS system. That's an automated anti stall system,

that's the focus of the Lion Air investigation. This preliminary report doesn't mention that system. But in describing what the pilots were

fighting on board, it comes very similar to a description of that system from Boeing in the line air preliminary report. Again, striking how

similar these flights were both of which ended fatally crashing, killing all on board both 737 MAX 8 aircraft.

ANDERSON: Yes. Oren, standby. I want to get back to Richard and just to remind our viewers exactly where we are at this point, the preliminary

report shows significant similarities we are told between Ethiopian Airlines and the Lion Air crashes. The preliminary report on the Ethiopian

Airlines 737 MAX accident that killed all 157 on board shows the similarities with the plane's computer system pushing the nose down four

times in a steep 40 degree dive.

Now, Richard, the report is not yet been publicly released but a copy of the report obtained by CNN on Thursday, it does not come to a finding of

probable cause. A final report, of course, could take what, as long as a year to produce?

QUEST: Oh, yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. This one could take some time, because they're going to have to go into the details of exactly how. The final

report will need to go into the details of the interaction of the pilots with the machinery, with the software and give a much completer - it'll be

hundreds of pages long, probably, and it'll go into much more detail after tests, because they'll also test the software patch that they put in place.

Becky, you gave a very good summary of the situation and I showed moment ago I did speak to Ethiopia Airlines' CEO. And bear in mind, he runs a

first class airline and always has. That airline is exceptionally well thought of. And the latest criticism of training, of pilots, of planes has

been hurtful to them so he was not surprisingly feeling vindicated. Listen to what Tewolde Gebremariam had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TEWOLDE GEBREMARIAM, CEO, ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES: Yes, Richard. We have always been confident on our pilots. We have always been confident on our

trading standard, global standard. As you know we have one of the best audition academy with the state of the art training technologies comparable

to the rest of the world and we have always been confident on that.

But today we're very proud of our pilots, because it is proved in the preliminary report that they have done beyond what they are expected to do

and today was a day light for us to prove wrong all the speculators with false allegations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Becky, that the upshot of today as the CEO said that we've got this preliminary report, it's 33 pages long. Some serious questions, by the

way, need to be asked of the Ethiopian authorities. They did a press conference to comment on the findings of the report without actually

releasing the report. But we have now seen it, Becky, and we've sort of got a pretty good idea of what happened and now, of course, it's up to

Boeing to fix the patch, the FAA to verify it's safe planes to be flying again. It won't be for some time.

ANDERSON: Richard Quest is on assignment in Oslo in Norway, Oren Liebermann is in Jerusalem and Oren we're going to catch up with you after

what will be a short break.

[11:25:06]

Thank you to both of you. You're watching Connect The World. Coming up, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is showcasing his relationship

with Russia just ahead of crucial elections back home. It's not the first time he is welcome the support of strong men. And then we're going to tell

you about an Israeli party that's being called the surprise story of the elections and explain how they could be kingmaker. You're watching CNN.

This is Connect The World back after this.

Well, you're watching CNN. This is Connect The World with me, Becky Anderson. Welcome back and some breaking news for you this hour. The

preliminary report on the Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX accident that killed all 157 on board last month shows significant similarities to the Lion Air

accident last year with the planes' computer system pushing the nose down four times into a steep 40 degree dive.

The report has not yet been publicly released, but a copy of the report was obtained by CNN on Thursday. The report does not come to a finding of

probable cause, a final report could take as long as a year to produce, but that which we have seen paints a graphic picture of the last minutes of the

flight including as the two pilots tried in vain to end the dive together. The report out as I say a preliminary report at this point.

[11:30:03]

Moving along with his political career on the line, Benjamin Netanyahu is in Russia. Just days before Israel's crucial elections as he continues a

series of meetings with some of the most controversial leaders in the world. Today he met with strong man, Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Mr.

Netanyahu said he was grateful for his personal friendship, the common values that they share. Just last week, Mr. Netanyahu was in Washington

for talks with President Donald Trump. He received the gift of U.S. recognition of the Golan Heights something no other country in the world

has done.

And you may also remember these pictures from just days ago when Mr. Netanyahu and Brazil's far right President visited the Western Wall, one of

the holy sites in all of Judaism. Israel's Prime Minister also made headlines back in 2018 when he welcome the Philippines strong man Rodrigo

Duterte who faces allegations of crimes against humanity for his drug war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NETANYAHU: We mark that this is the first visit by the President of the Philippines in the history of Israel.

RODRIGO DUTERTE, PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES: We share the same passion for human beings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Let's talk more about today's meeting in Moscow, Matthew Chance, there, Oren Liebermann in Jerusalem. I'll come to you momentarily, Oren.

First to you Matthew, what was this meeting all about?

MATTHEW CHANCE, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, I think you've hinted at the probably the main reason which was to underscore

Benjamin Netanyahu's diplomatic credentials internationally. Russia, of course, a major power broker in the region with the support for Bashar al-

Assad in Syria. And this was a great opportunity to show the close personal relationship that Benjamin Netanyahu enjoys with Vladimir Putin of

Russia.

What they discussed quite interesting, I mean, I'm sure they discussed Syria and Iran's entrenchments, as Israel likes to call it inside that

country through Hezbollah, other group including its own revolution regards. But they also discussed at some length the handing back of the

remains of an Israeli soldier that took place a few days ago.

He was killed in 1982 during Israel's war in Lebanon and it seems that the Russian forces together with Syrian forces, were instrumental in locating

the remains of that Israeli soldier, and finding him apparently at some danger to Russian forces according to Benjamin Netanyahu who spoke about

this when meeting Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin, and returned his remains to Israel.

Vladimir Putin is saying that he was very happy that Israel will be able to give them the necessary military honors and that his close relatives will

be able to now bring flowers to his grave. Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had asked Vladimir Putin for help to locate the remains of this Israeli

soldier a couple of years ago, so it's a long running operation and express his gratitude to the Russian president for that help.

So that was the reason for the cameras for him to be here, but of course just five days before the Israeli election, this was underscoring

Netanyahu's political contacts overseas.

ANDERSON: Yes. And Oren how are the optics of this trip going down back home?

LIEBERMANN: When it was first released that the remains had been found, everyone here basically rush to say this wasn't political. The remains of

soldiers, the remains of Israelis and Jews are sort of held in sacred status here, so those are brought back when they can. Perhaps everything

then follow, the trip to Moscow, the ceremony with Putin, the visit with Putin, and that Netanyahu will make it back in time for the funeral.

That certainly has a bit of the optics of electioneering here with just, as Matthew pointed out, five days until the elections and Netanyahu

underscoring in very big ways as you pointed out at the beginning of this segment how great of a relationship he has with world leaders essentially

regardless of how controversial they are.

ANDERSON: This is Blue and White Party polling neck and neck with the Prime Minister's Likud, but we can't stress enough, of course. In Israeli

politics, it is all about building coalitions. Neither candidate will win out right and so, Oren, it boils down to who can gather enough support from

other parties to govern, of course. So given that who appears to have the upper hand in this closing lap as it were?

LIEBERMANN: Well, it looks like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party is building a bit in the polls and it has seems to have overtaken the

Blue and White Party, its rival party in a couple of the polls. But as you've pointed out, it's not just who has the biggest party. It's who can

form the coalition and crucially who is the kingmaker.

[11:35:00]

The kingmaker this year, maybe a party called Zehut, the surprise story of this election.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIEBERMANN(off-camera): This is what Israel's anti establishment vote looks like. A diverse mix of young pot smoking renegades and older

religious voters.

The followers of the Zehut Party led by Moshe Feiglin are the surprise story of the 2019 elections and they have one big demand, legalizing

marijuana. They see weed as the tip of a libertarian platform. But beyond the bong is a very different agenda.

Moshe Feiglin entered politics as a religious Zionist firebrand. He's called for building a third Jewish temple on temple mount, a site holy to

Jews and Muslims where even a slight change to the status quo can spark tensions. He says Palestinians and non-Jews should have a choice, declare

allegiance to Israel or the country will help you leave.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are plenty of Palestinians either in the Gaza or the West Bank who don't want to declare loyalty and don't want to leave.

MOSHE FEIGLIN, LEADER, ZEHUT PARTY: So now you're touching a different point, touching a point of justice who this land belongs to and we know

from history, from the basic history of Israel that the Land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what do you plan to do with those don't declare allegiance in --

FEIGLIN: They'll have to decide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN(off-camera): Feiglin is unafraid to lecture those who don't share his worldview or his interpretation of history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FEIGLIN: It's not a question of security. It's a question of justice, who the Land of Israel belong to and if you don't --

LIEBERMANN(off-camera): And no one in the international community has accepted Israeli's sovereignty in the West Bank of (inaudible).

FEIGLIN: That's nonsense. That's nonsense.

LIEBERMANN(off-camera): Well, it's a statement of fact. No one in the international community has accepted Israeli's sovereignty in the West

Bank.

FEIGLIN: So I'm telling you again, that is nonsense. Check your - you should go back to your history lessons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: The party's platform spans the political spectrum. On the right, they favor a one state solution, a Jewish-Israel from the

Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, including the Palestinian territories. On the left, they advocate a separation of religion and

state. Those different positions could make them equally unpalatable in a coalition to either the two biggest political parties.

LIEBERMANN(off-camera): Barely a blip on the political radar two months ago, Zehut is forced itself into the political conversation. They are now

polling around five or six seats and they could decide the next Prime Minister.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN(off-camera): Gantz or Netanyahu?

FEIGLIN: Whoever will give us more, that's what (inaudible) go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN(off-camera): Feiglin seems to relish the role but for now, he's focused on election day and making sure his upstart campaign doesn't go up

in smoke.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIEBERMANN: There are, again, a number of policy positions here and they do have an incredibly thoroughly laid out policy, I would say perhaps more

so than any other political party. But there are a number of positions they have that simply almost come out of nowhere.

For example, Becky, he advocates ending U.S. military aid to Israel, some $3 billion or $4 billion a year, which he makes Israel relying on the U.S.

and allows the U.S. to influence Israeli foreign policy. It's those sort of positions that make him an outcast essentially in Israeli politics and

some might say a radical.

ANDERSON: Oren Liebermann is in Jerusalem few folks. Oren, thank you for that. And Matthew in Moscow. I appreciate it. Well, the team of never

leaks is now leaking. For nearly two years we have virtually nothing from the Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team as they investigated the Trump

campaign's ties to Russia. Well, now some are sharing their frustrations about the way that Donald Trump's Attorney General is summarizing their

findings.

President Trump just use William Barr's summary to claim total exoneration on collusion allegations and obstruction of justice. But both the New York

Times and Washington Post say Mueller's team actually wrote multiple summaries themselves and their findings were more damaging to Mr. Trump

than Barr let on.

Well, the Post says Mueller's team meant for their summaries to be made public very quickly and would need minimum redactions, if any. A top

Congressional Democrat spoke with CNN earlier. This is what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM SCHIFF, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: Those summaries may be among the most carefully drafted worded parts of the entire report by the Mueller team.

They know that most Americans aren't going to read all 400 pages. They're going to look to those top lines and so they were probably wordsmith very

carefully, which means that any deviation by Barr to give perhaps an overly optimistic picture of the President's behavior, particularly as to

obstruction would have concerned the members of that team.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, Barr has said he'll release a redacted version of the Mueller report by mid-April.

Well, let's get you up to speed in some of the other stories that are on our radar right now.

[11:40:00]

And New Zealand police say suspect in the horrific attack on two churches in Christchurch will be charged with 50 counts of murder and 39 accounts of

attempted murder. He is due to appear in court on Friday when he will be formally charged. Authority say more charges are still being considered.

The CEO of Chinese technology giant Huawei tell CNN he is glad his companies at odds with the U.S. government. He says his company had gotten

complacent and the conflict has cause the management to fix internal problems. Lawyers for the company were being caught in New York today for

a status conference in the bank fraud sanctions violations and obstruction case against the company.

Ex Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn was rearrested on Thursday. Japanese prosecutors are now accusing Ghosn of diverting $5 million of Nissan's

funds into a subsidiary that he control. Ghosn is waiting trial on charges. He understated his earnings and abuse to his position. He denies

any wrongdoing.

You're watching Connect The World. I'm Becky Anderson live from Abu Dhabi for you. Coming up, the trial of nearly a dozen women's rights activists

including this woman, Loujain al-Hathloul continues in Saudi Arabia. We'll going to speak to her brother up next.

You're watching CNN. I'm Becky Anderson. Welcome back and if you're just joining us, you are more than welcome. It's just before quarter to eight

in the UAE. Now, she's been locked away for nearly a year where she says she's been tortured and sexually harassed, all of this her family says, for

speaking up for women's rights.

Loujain al-Hathloul appeared in a Saudi course on Wednesday. She's one of 11 women facing charges related to their activism. Loujain campaign to end

the kingdom's ban on driving. Well, her family has been advocating for her release and her brother, Walid al-Hathloul, joins me now from Toronto, in

Canada. So thanks for joining us. What happened in court yesterday as far as you understand?

WALID AL-HATHLOUL, BROTHER OF LOUJAIN AL-HATHLOUL: So what happen is Loujain submitted her defense on the charges that she is facing. It's a

document that consists of 50 pages and so what happened at the end of the session, one of the member of the public prosecutor came in and deny the

allegation of torture, alleging that they have launched an investigation on that but they are denying the allegation of torture, not just for my sister

but all other women who faced torture.

[11:45:00]

ANDERSON: All right, well, let's deal with that and then we'll deal with the charges, because I want to read a quote from an article your sister

wrote in The New York Times in January which is where these allegations arose. This has some upsetting details.

"My parents visited Loujain at the Dhaban prison in December. They asked her about the torture reports and she collapsed in tears." This is written

by your other sister, of course. "She said she had been tortured between May and August. She said she had been held in solitary confinement,

beaten, waterboarded, given electric shocks, sexually harassed and threatened with rape and murder."

Well, we reached out to Saudi Arabia. They did not respond to CNN's request for comment on the torture allegations. They have previously

denied allegations of torture of any form. So you are saying today that in court yesterday the prosecutor refuted those allegations, correct?

AL-HATHLOUL: Correct. Yes, they refuted, they denied the allegation of torture. But I wanted to add something, I'm not sure how they came up with

this conclusion because they are claiming that they are the one who launched the integration during her arrest. But in fact those who are

doing the interrogation were from the State Security when she was taken to the secret facility, and they are the one who launched the interrogation,

not the public prosecutor. And then at the end of the day they say that we did not see any signs or evidence of torture.

ANDERSON: Walid, a few of the charges against your sister or others have actually been made public, but CNN has seen a six-page charge sheet for her

case and these are some of the charges: activism against male guardianship laws, contact with foreign journalists and diplomats and these are cited as

incriminating evidence, applying for a job at the UN and being in contact with human rights group Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. How

did she defend herself against these so called charges?

AL-HATHLOUL: So what we did is we didn't see any sign or there's no law that prohibits that kind of action or wrongdoing. And so we show them that

these are international organization and there is no law that prohibits that.

ANDERSON: She represented herself as I understand it, why?

AL-HATHLOUL: Sorry. Can you repeat the question again?

ANDERSON: She didn't use a lawyer, why?

AL-HATHLOUL: Well, we did not see that we are in need for a lawyer. We came up with civil lawyers but her decision decided to go with no lawyer.

It's my father who was defending her at the end of the day.

ANDERSON: Walid, in your Twitter account, you say that you've been pressured to stop speaking out about the trial. Can you just explain?

AL-HATHLOUL: So there are a few people who approached my parents yesterday after the trial. They claim that they are very close to the state and they

asked my parents to ask us, my sister and I, to stay silent. And in fact, we stayed silent for eight months, we thought that being silent would solve

the issue. We found out at the end of the day, that this made the case even worse and that's why we speaking up now. At the end of the day, we

didn't have any options but to speak up.

ANDERSON: What happens to Loujain and the others now? This was the third hearing and as far as I understand it, it was expected that that will be

the last hearing and that a verdict would be delivered. What's the situation as you understand it?

AL-HATHLOUL: So for my sister's case, her next trial will be on April 17 and this one I don't think it's going to be the final one. We can't say

anything because there is lack of transparency.

[11:50:00]

We don't know what to expect, but I don't expect it's going to be the last trial. The one coming on April 17 is going to be where the public

prosecutor going to respond to the defense of my sister Loujain.

ANDERSON: Did your sister request bail yesterday?

AL-HATHLOUL: Well, that was actually last week where we requested a bail. But so far the judge said that he's still studying the case and he hasn't

made any decision so far. So it's been more than one week to study the case.

ANDERSON: How is she holding up, finally? What's her state of mind?

AL-HATHLOUL: Like she was disappointed especially after yesterday's trial when she heard that the public prosecutor is denying the allegation of

torture, so she was disappointed.

ANDERSON: Walid, we're going to leave it there. We thank you very much indeed for joining us and updating us. You're watching CNN. This is

Connect The World. Still ahead, Brexit is a conundrum that's baffled British lawmakers for years. Well, now activists are sending out a

dramatic call for help. Find out what up next.

If you want to live longer, eat more fruits, nuts, that may not seem surprising yet there's a study that says a poor diet causes more deaths

than tobacco smoking or high blood pressure. The 27-year analysis says not eating healthfully and not eating healthy foods is a bigger problem than

eating foods that are bad for you. So if you think avoiding sugary drinks and red meat makes you healthy, think again. It is more important to make

sure you eat a whole load of grains, fruits, nuts and seeds, apparently.

The study says improving our diets could prevent 11 million deaths each year. By the way, the country with the lowest number of diet related

deaths was Israel with France Spain and Japan also scoring - while Uzbekistan and Afghanistan were the worst in diet related deaths.

We want to end with what people on the internet sometimes call a mood, a feeling that captures the essence of today's Zeitgeist, especially among

youngsters. As so called mood is often showcased by the great art form that is the meme or it can be displayed like so beamed in giant letters

onto a landmark older than Britain itself. The Cliffs of Dover.

[11:55:03]

This is how a group of anti Brexit activists feel about what's happening in Parliament right now. Now, whatever side of the Brexit divide you're on,

I'm sure at times you've been able to relate. The projection is not by the way a reference to the band Abba who had a hit song called SOS. But since

we are on the topic, the opening lyrics to that song are, "Where are those happy days? They seem so hard to find." Almost feels a little eerie,

doesn't it?

And those are your parting shots this evening and you can always follow the stories that the team is working on throughout the day by going to our

Facebook page. That's facebook.com/cnnconnect. I'm on Twitter @BeckyCNN. I'm Becky Anderson. That was from the team working with me here and those

working with us in our programming hubs around the world, it is a very good evening.

[12:00:00]

END