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Connect the World
Hong Kong Police Fire Tear Gas, Clash With Protesters; Radio Traffic Reveals Moment Before Tanker Seized; Marking 50 Year Since Historic Moon Walk; Iranian Tanker Seized By U.K. Had Panama Flag Withdrawn; All Eyes On Ireland's Shane Lowry At The Open Championship; A 9,000-Year-Old Village Stuns Archaeologists. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired July 21, 2019 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[11:00:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No challenge is intended. No challenge is intended. I want and expect the ship for security reasons.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is totally and utterly unacceptable.
MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Today we've seen no indication that the Iranians are prepared to fundamentally change the direction of their
nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Tonight clashing over tankers. It looks like an action movie. Iranian commandos swooping in over a
British ship claiming they've got every right to do it. But have they? We are all over it. That is ahead. Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The eagle has landed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Voice from the moon exactly 50 years ago. We did it. So where to next? We beam in an astronaut and time traveler Chris Hadfield about
what it all means then from we did it to they did it. Algeria winning the Africa Cup, plus all the latest on the open championship from Northern
Ireland.
It is 4:00 p.m. in London, 7:00 at night here in Abu Dhabi. They're half for -- a half-hour ahead in Tehran. I'm Becky Anderson connecting you and
your world through all of those locations live from CNN's buzzing Middle East programming center here in the UAE.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
ANDERSON: All right, we are though following breaking news from Hong Kong at this hour. And I want to bring you these pictures live. Police
clashing with protesters and using tear gas to disperse the crowds. CNN's Matt Rivers is on the streets of Hong Kong watching this unfold. Just over
the past half hour or so. What have you been witnessing, Matt?
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Becky, bear with us. I have to have my mask on at this point because police did just fire tear
gas. Let me get out of the flame and I'll be showing you the protesters. Now, all the way on the other side, if we zoom in, you can see that's the
front line of protesters, Becky, as we see yet another night of violence here in Hong Kong.
It's been several weeks of this at this point. Not every time does it get violent but what we have seen tonight is a lot of violence between police
and protesters. We see the police move back. The protestors come back up. They get relatively violent. They throw things, bricks. They've charged
the riot police and the riot police have responded with tear gas, Becky.
It's been at one of the more violent nights over the last several weeks of protests here in Hong Kong. Sometimes they're violent and sometimes
they're not. There was a very peaceful protest earlier today, some 400,000 people according to organizers were out in the streets.
Several thousand people remain here at this point and they have not dispersed as of yet. It has gotten extremely violent here on the streets.
We should say this is not reminiscent of the vast majority of protesters but these people are angry about a number of different things, a
controversial extradition bill that would send suspects here in Hong Kong to mainland China which they say opens up ordinary Hong Kong residents to
Beijing's notoriously opaque legal system.
They're afraid of their democratic style freedoms being taken away by Beijing increasingly encroaching upon Hong Kong. These are people,
thousands of which are still out on this who are angry and they are upset with what Beijing and the Hong Kong-based government have been doing over
the last several weeks.
If you thought these protesters are going to go away, you would be mistaken at this point. The protesters are still out here, the momentum is still
here, and my question, Becky, which I don't have an answer to at this point is where does it go from here. How does -- how do the police disperse
these protesters? When do they decide to go home? So far they're not showing any signs of that as teargas still is being very liberally used.
ANDERSON: Matt, we're going to get back to you and because clearly, this is the sort of evolving situation. Matt on the ground there in Hong Kong
where we see another night of protests, another Sunday night of protests and the fear is that this could get quite messy. Thank you, Matt, for the
time being. Back to you a little later.
To this region now and what can be seen as an extraordinary risky game of tankers playing out a game of tankers, playing out a game that could end up
having very few winners. Here's the very latest for you.
[01:05:16] We've got our hands on an audio recording from a British maritime security firm which gives us a critical insight into what happened
right before Iran seized a British flagged tanker on Friday. I'm going to play that for you in just a moment.
A reminder the tanker is still in Iranian custody and Britain warning of robust action if it is not released. Covering all sides of what is an
incredibly important global story for you. Matthew Chance is in Khor Fakkan on the Gulf of Oman, the waterway that where the British flagship
was seized.
David Culver is in London for you and Ramin Mostaghim has a view from Tehran. Excuse me. Matthew, we're learning more about how this vessel was
seized and according to the Iranians at least, why, what do you know?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. In fact, we already had a good visual idea of how it was seized because
Iranian television made no -- made no secret of it. They broadcast images of every stage of what must have been a highly planned military operation
to take control of that British flagged oil tanker.
We saw fast patrol boats circling the Stena Impero. And then masked gunmen, masks special forces lowering themselves by rope onto the deck of
the -- of the tanker from a helicopter that was hovering above. And so you know, as I say, the Iranians have been putting this out there already.
Now, what's also emerged as you mentioned are these audio recordings of radio transmissions between the Iranians, the British tanker, and a British
warship as well that was too far away to actually intervened but actually spoke to the vessels, the tanker, and the Iranian Navy directly. Take a
listen to what they all had to say to each other.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you obey, you will be safe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I reiterate that as you are conducting transit passage in a recognized international strait, under international law, your passage
must not be impaired.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No challenge is intended. No challenge is intended. I want to inspect the ship for security reasons, over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: Well, that was the Iranian Navy saying to the British warship that no challenge to this tanker was intended, but that must have been just
moments before those dramatic images took place and that dramatic boarding by Iranian Special Forces of the Iranian Revolution regard actually
happened.
So it gives us a very dramatic perspective on this extremely dangerous and volatile incident in the Persian Gulf region.
ANDERSON: David, the U.K. has written a letter to the U.N. Security Council to call on Iran to release that tank. It reads in part, "Current
tensions are extremely concerning and our priority is to de-escalate. We do not seek confrontation with Iran but it is highly -- it is unacceptable
and highly escalatory to threaten shipping going about its legitimate business."
Is it clear what Britain proposes to do next?
DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Becky, for one, as you and I have been talking about, they have been trying to stress here, and
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is among those who has put this forward that this is going to be diplomatically handled. They don't want to go the
military route. Yet you hear some of the very strong wording that they use nonetheless.
This has been a very stressful weekend for U.K. leaders. There is no question. They've had at least two COBR meetings. The national security
leadership has been coming together trying to figure out the diplomatic way that they can move forward with this, meeting that have lasted for many
hours.
And we know on the back end they've had this back channeling with different international partners, everything from the United States, to others within
the U.N. Now, Foreign Secretary Hunt did point out that in his words this is a tit for tat and I want you to listen in to some of the most recent
sounds that we have from him. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEREMY HUNT, FOREIGN SECRETARY, UNITED KINGDOM: They see this as a tit for tat situation following Grace I being detained in Gibraltar. Nothing could
be further from the truth. Grace I was detained illegally in Gibraltarian waters because it was carrying oil against E.U. sanctions to Syria.
The Stena Impero was seized in Omani waters in clear contravention of international law. It was then forced to sail into Iran. This is totally
and utterly unacceptable. It raises very serious questions about the security of British shipping and indeed international shipping in the
Straits of Hormuz.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:10:31] CULVER: The Foreign Secretary there stressing that they find this to be completely unacceptable and yet they're using those strong
words. It was also interesting Becky that he tweeted out on Saturday, the Foreign Secretary did, that he had a conversation with Iran's Minister,
Foreign Minister Zarif.
He says that in that conversation he said that he was extremely disappointed with Iran because he said just a week ago he was talking with
Sharif and Zarif according to the Foreign Secretary had reassured him that they were working to de-escalate the situation.
He says the actions this past week show that was not the case. He's asking for these actions over words here going forward so it's interesting to see.
ANDERSON: That's fascinating. Ramin, the U.S. Secretary of State says the door is still open for Iran to negotiate this is the widest story here,
these tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Some say that the U.K. being co- opted into this spat at present. But Pompeo is saying negotiate without any preconditions but he insists the ball is in Tehran's court. Have a
listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: They see this as a tit for tat situation following Grace I being detained in Gibraltar. Nothing could be further from the truth. Grace I
was detained illegally in Gibraltarian waters because it was carrying oil - -
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: All right, OK, you've heard that one. Apologies, a bit of a technical glitch. Ramin, Mike Pompeo insisting the ball is in Tehran's
court and what he said was you have to behave like a normal nation. How is that sort of rhetoric being viewed in Iran?
RAMIN MOSTAGHIM, REPORTER, LOS ANGELES TIMES: It is viewed as a rhetoric warmongering because Iran is not -- Iranian theocracy is a revolutionary or
regard itself as revolutionary. So America is not missing a normal country as they -- as we can call it normal.
It's a revolutionary country. It's what they say they claim to have -- cherish the lofty ideals. So now here after -- less than 24 hours de-
escalation and even after Iranian damaged old tanker released from Saudi Arabia, and just be expected -- observer expected that de-escalation will
continued.
But now we are back to the rhetorical war and Speaker of the Parliament in Iran Ali Larijani said that this was in retaliation tit for tat. We are
coming back to the tit for tat policy and we don't know what is -- what would be the next step but we can't be sure that the Iran -- Iranian
revolutionaries are bracing for further sanctions by the British or others. But they try to drive a wedge between England, Europe, and America. That's
also their policy. Whether they are -- they will be successful or not, we don't know. Becky.
ANDERSON: OK, Matthew, the Iranian regime are no fans of the British. They've got a storied history let's say. Many people suggesting that the
Brits, the U.K. has been co-opted with this sort of tanker wars into what is a bigger wider story here the tensions between Washington and Tehran
since Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the nuclear deal and imposed these swinging sanctions.
Look, these tip for tat, eye for an eye by Iran, a familiar tactic. The question is are we looking at a wider confrontation here?
CHANCE: Well, we're certainly looking at that -- at that potential. I mean, the British say they want to keep this diplomatic in its nature.
They're not considering military options but at the same time they are moving in another warship into the region to protect British shipping and
they're speaking to their allies -- I mean read into that the United States in into measures that can be taken to protect other British ships in the
region.
And so even this war incident would on its own be something that could potentially spiral into something much more dangerous. But when you set it
against the backdrop of the escalating tensions more broadly in the region particularly the tensions between the United States and Iran, the fact that
the United States has been deploying additional military forces into the region that the Iranians and the Americans have both downed each other's
drones, that the U.S. has accused Iran of attacking oil tankers with limpet mines. All this adds up to a very, very volatile tinderbox type of
situation.
And it's easy to see how this kind of incident could be the spark that lights that that fire. And so and it is something that's very dangerous
and I don't think any options at this point are off the table.
[01:15:56] ANDERSON: Matthew is there with the Gulf of Oman behind him, an extremely busy waterway and one that seems to be becoming a lot more
difficult to navigate for many of the -- many of those who are doing their business in those waterways. To you, to David, and to Ramin, thank you.
Still to come this hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEIL ARMSTRONG, AMERICAN ASTRONAUT: One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Those famous words beamed down to us from the moon half a century ago. We take a look back but also a look at what comes next in the
space race with one of the world's coolest astronauts. That is just ahead.
And the Irish have a reputation for knowing how to party and now celebrations could be insightful one Irishman as the Open Golf Championship
is wrapping up. Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What you see here is the building. We are inside of a large room over 9,000-year-old building.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: A remarkable discovery outside Jerusalem giving the world a unique window into life during the Stone Age, but the history under threat
from the present day. That is all still to come on CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson. It's 17 minutes past 7:00 here in the UAE. This is our
Middle East broadcasting hub. Back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:20:00] BRUCE MCCANDLESS, AMERICAN ASTRONAUT: I guess you're about the only person around that doesn't have T.V. coverage of the scene.
MICHAEL COLLINS, AMERICAN ASTRONAUT: That's all right. I don't mind a bit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Ground control speaking to Astronaut Michael Collins there. His colleagues Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin taking their first steps on the
moon, doing what no others had done before. You can see them proudly planting their American flag on the rocky moon surface. It's estimated 94
percent of Americans watching T.V. tuned in for the event.
Well, half a century later, that historic mission being celebrated around the world. This weekend, the lunar landing here beamed on to the
Washington monument. In Houston, fireworks were set off over NASA's space center at the exact moment 50 years ago that Neil Armstrong took his first
step on the moon's surface. That moment continuing to inspire space travel.
The crew of Expedition 60 lifting off from Kazakhstan to celebrate the anniversary. The astronauts joining another crew at the international
space station. While I'm sure they'll be doing lots of exciting work up there, it will be hard to beat this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS HADFIELD, CANADIAN ASTRONAUT: This is Ground Control to Major Tom. You've really made the grade and the papers want to know whose shirts you
wear. Now it's time to leave the capsule if you dare. This is Major Tom to Ground Control.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Beat that. Chris Hadfield, a.k.a. the Singing Astronaut on board the International Space Station in 2013 with his rendition of David
Bowie's Space Odyssey. He's the first Canadian Astronaut to walk in space and by far the one with the best voice. He's going to be (INAUDIBLE).
Chris joining me via Skype. Space Oddity a song that captured the spirit of the space age in the week's leading up to the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Nice voice, Chris. You say as a child living on an Ontario corn farm, you were inspired by the Apollo 11 mission. What was it exactly that inspired
you?
HADFIELD: Becky, you mentioned 93 percent of the American market was watching. I think it was the largest viewed television event worldwide,
including here in Canada and even across Russia or the Soviet Union at the time. And I was one of those hundreds of millions of people watching
around the world.
I just thought, this is -- this is something that used to be just pretend and fantasy and science fiction. Now it's real. You can actually do these
things. You can be a person that can leave Earth and go to the moon.
It was like someone kicking a door open that could never be closed again, and I wanted to go through that door. And it changed my decision making
for my whole life. It helped me choose what to do next for my whole life.
ANDERSON: And you did. Just tell us briefly. Give us a flavor. What's it like up there?
HADFIELD: It is as magical as David Bowie imagined it would be and as Neil, and Buzz, and I experienced. Number one, Becky, you're weightless,
which is like having a superpower. You can fly. Number two is you're doing something really hard but doing it well. So there's a great feeling
of catching a wave of really being good at something.
And then the third is you go around the world every 90 minutes. So you cross over the UAE, and 45 minutes later -- 45 minutes later you're on the
other side of the world. You get a sunrise or a sunset every 45 minutes. It's a beautiful, exquisite, and extremely informative way to understand
our planet. So that combination, it made it even better than I dreamed it would be as a nine-year-old boy.
ANDERSON: That's remarkable, fantastic. There are lots and lots of questions about why we haven't gone back to the moon. My colleague Brian
Stelter recently interviewed Michael Collins, one of the Apollo 11 astronauts. He says he disagrees with a return trip to the moon. Have a
listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[01:25:01] COLLINS: I used to joke that after the flight of Apollo 11 that NASA sent me to the wrong place. Actually, I thought NASA should be
renamed the National Aeronautics and Mars Administration and I bring that notion with me over the past 50 years I'm still looking for Mars and I'm
thinking it's getting closer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, it's getting closer. Are we getting closer to Mars?
HADFIELD: It's just a question of shifts and technology and rocket ships, Becky. And we are. We're getting better at it. But it's still a long
ways away. It still -- it takes a while and the risks are still kind of overpowering to go as far as Mars.
But we've been living in space. You mentioned the Soyuz launch here. We've been living in space continuously for the last 19 years 50 nations of
the world together. We're just in the cusp now of not doing what only what the Apollo 11 crew did to go camp on the moon briefly, but actually to
start settling permanently in another place besides Earth.
We have a lot to learn on the moon before we're going to be ready to launch the across that huge many hundreds of millions of kilometer kind of ocean
that's going to take us all the way to Mars. We'll get there eventually but it takes a little patience. No place that we've ever first explored
has been settled within a day. It takes a while.
ANDERSON: Sure. There's a mission from the UAE 2021. I know Elon Musk on the private sector is also looking for opportunities there. I mean, it's a
different world these days, isn't it, with the -- with the private sector so invested in the space industry.
I do want to ask you this. You know, when we talk about why it is that we haven't gone back, five to six percent of the U.S. population say the moon
landing never happened and it was all a fake to which you say what?
HADFIELD: I say I pay attention to the 94 to 95 percent that actually used their brains so just disregard the people that are choosing to be
deliberately stupid. There's overwhelming evidence. Where -- the half- million people that watch the launch, where do they think the Saturn V rocket went. I mean it's just ludicrous.
So don't pay attend to the small sparking, deliberately uninformed minority. Pay attention to the educated, inspired, thoughtful, curious and
people that really want to do something with their lives, and they're right across the UAE, in the Arab world, and all around the world.
I just did a show on astronaut selection for the Arab world and I think it'll really help let people see how they turn themselves into someone who
could be trusted to do what Neil and Buzz and Mike did, or to be that first person who's going to go all the way to Mars and plant a flag from the
world there. I think that's the next great step and we're really well on our way.
ANDERSON: And Chris, we spoke to a couple of astronauts from here who've been chosen for the next big mission on the ISS and they are extremely
excited about that opportunity. And as I say Mars next as far as the UAE is concerned. Sir, you're an absolute pleasure. Thank you.
HADFIELD: My pleasure. And Neil Armstrong was a musician as well. He played the ukulele. He didn't have all that strong a voice but I was just
carrying on Neil's mission.
ANDERSON: Fantastic. You got a great voice. Thank you, mate. Well 50 years after man's first steps on the moon, the event is still considered
one of the most significant for mankind. It's hailed as a U.S. victory. But the team that conquered the moon was made up of some of the brightest
minds on the planet at the time, and amongst them was Egyptian-American space scientist Farouk El-Baz.
We spoke to him about the mission last year. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FAROUK EL-BAZ, SCIENTIST: I was the man responsible for the justification, for the selection of the landing sites for all missions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go for landing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 3,000 feet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eagle looking great.
EL-BAZ: When we're sitting there watching the screens and waiting for Neil Armstrong to land on the moon for the first time, we were all flying with
him.
ARMSTRONG: Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.
EL-BAZ: So I met all King Faisal, and Sheikh Zayed, and Sheikh Khalifa and everybody in the Middle East were delighted to know that there was a
representative from their world that is part of the missions to the moon. I wasn't really thinking myself as an Egyptian or anything. I was thinking
myself as a human being
Thinking well he went -- we've kind of land on the moon and my god, it is wonderful that I played part of that, magnificent accomplishment. We
didn't think of ourselves making history.
[11:30:10] But we were thinking of taking humanity with us. We're taking human beings and the mental capacity of humans all the way to the moon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Cnn.com/space is full of fantastic material. What an anniversary to be celebrating, obviously one that has resonance around the
world as we connect the world for you here on CNN.
One of the topic of waiting for takeoff, imagine you're sitting on a plane, waiting for it to take to the air. You got the window seat, and well, you
look outside and see this. A man on the wing of your plane as the plane is preparing to take off.
Well, the man then, tried to get into the cabin and frighten passengers in Lagos, Nigeria. What would this belief? Authorities say the man was
arrested.
After the break, we're connecting the worlds of space with sports as baseball fans in Texas turn up in astronaut attire. We get you to Northern
Ireland for the latest on the golf, and then, we return to the story that seized of that seized British tanker with a world-renowned expert in the
highways of our seas.
Richard Mead will explain a little-understood but vital part of our global economy, maritime shipping. That's up for grabs after this short break.
Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:35:06] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN "BREAKING NEWS".
ANDERSON: Let's just get you more from Hong Kong where we are following "BREAKING NEWS" right now. Riot police trying to disperse crowds of
protesters. Authorities have been firing tear gas in the past couple of hours as they move through the narrow streets.
Protesters, again, demanding the government entirely scrap a controversial extradition bill. Things looking relatively quiet at present, but this is
a bit of a tinderbox. Certainly has been -- there have been pretty dramatic scenes over the past hour or so. And thousands of people came out
for what we're expected to be peaceful demonstrations earlier on Saturday.
It's the seventh consecutive week of mass protests in Hong Kong. We'll get you more on that, of course, as the evening goes on.
Let's get you back to what is an international crisis in the Persian Gulf or Iranian Gulf, depending which perspective you are seeing it. From a
British flag to oil tanker, remains in Iranian custody at this hour.
Three days ago, Revolutionary Guard commandos stormed the ship and diverted it to Iranian waters. To no one's surprise, the U.K., and indeed the U.S.
see this as an escalation of existing tensions with the Gulf nation.
Let's take a moment to look at this crisis through a different ends. The hyper important but off the overlooked world of shipping. It's important
to understand just how busy these waterways are. They are in constant use as you can see here.
But who exactly owns all these ships? Where are they headed? Where have they've been? And what's onboard?
To expand on that is no one better than Richard Meade, he's the managing editor of Lloyd's List, one of the foremost shipping news publications in
the world. And we've just been looking at the most remarkably dense map of boats, ships, moving across these waterways. It's almost -- it's almost
too busy for these vessels it seems to move.
What's going on? You know, where are they from, where are they going? What's onboard, Richard?
RICHARD MEADE, MANAGING EDITOR, LLOYD'S LIST: The short answer is everything. I mean, the international shipping industry collectively
carries 90 percent of global trade at one point or another. You're talking about trillions of dollars of cargo being transported every day from
finished goods like T.V. screens, and trainers in containerized ships to the energy supplies of the world in tankers and dry bulk commodities like
coal and iron ore and steel. You know, this really is the backbone of globalization that you're witnessing there on your screen.
ANDERSON: Yes, fascinating. Iran almost definitely responding to the U.K. seizing one of their ships about two weeks prior to this latest incident on
Friday. People calling an eye-for-an-eye, tit for tat, it's certainly a tactic that experts say we might be familiar with so far as Tehran is
concerned.
But there's an important detail to the earlier incident, this is the grace one at the incident when the British seized a ship of Gibraltar that had
its Panamanian flag withdrawn a few days before it was taken.
Now, this is a tiny nation, Panama, just about 4 million people, and yet, it sails the largest shipping fleet in the world. Could you explain for us
first why Panama?
MEADE: Absolutely.
ANDERSON: And second, what's the relevance here?
MEADE: Panama is the largest flag in the world. And just to explain what the flag signifies, any ship trading internationally has to fly a nation-
state flag. Now, where you choose to flag your ship is dependent on a number of factors. I must stress most of these are legitimate and we're
talking about a globalized industry where the vast majority of these ships are conducting legitimate business. And as I say, they are the backbone of
globalization.
But, has to be said, there is a persistent opaque sub-sector, shall we say, of international trade. And if you were wanting to flag your vessel and
keep it away from prying eyes, you know, you could do worse than going to Panama.
Panama is a good flag, largely, but I think, it's fair to say that they have had some problems in terms of due diligence, in terms of understanding
where their ship owners come from. Certainly not the worst. I mean, you could be looking at the likes of Togo and Tanzania for some of the really
murky end of shipping that still exists today.
[11:40:14] ANDERSON: Explain this to me. If I were a tanker, and I turned off my AIS system -- the captain of a tanker and I turn off my AIAS system,
which is the Automatic Identification System. Probably, we kin to a GPS system for those of us who aren't in the shipping industry. Why would I do
that? Why is it -- what does the AIS system do and why would I turn it off?
MEADE: Well, the short answer is you probably shouldn't. There are legitimate reasons why you might security situations are one. But
generally speaking, just simply for the safety reasons, you keep this AIS signal on.
We use the AIS signal at Lloyd's this to be able to track world trade. And every ship has one over a certain tonnage. And we use it to understand
where these ships are going and it will retain some sort of information about the cargo and another ship and its destination.
Now, what we've seen recently is a series of attempts to turn AIS off. Now, generally speaking, this is to mask some opaque business. And I think
it's interesting some of the rationale that's been coming out of Iran over the last weekend in terms of them apparently wanting to protect safety.
The Iranian fleet has been engaging in subterfuge for the last several months in terms of trying to avoid international sanctions against its own
cargoes of oil. And they will turn off AIS signals, they will engage in what we call ship-to-ship transfers where sanctioned oil is taken from an
Iranian ship transferred to a non-Iranian ship under the cover of no AIS signal.
Low and behold that oil then appears somewhere else as non-Iranian crude. It's a -- it's an age-old tactic. It's not entirely foolproof, but I
think, what we see is these attempts to avoid the light of some of these people trying to attempt to understand what's happening.
ANDERSON: Sure.
MEADE: And they move quickly enough for it to be not an issue by the time somebody catches up with them.
ANDERSON: Richard that leads me to my next point. As you can see in this map, I'm just about to bring up by the barrel. The Strait of Hormuz is the
busiest all shipping route in the world. Iran's oil minister insisted today that recent incidents have had no impact on the country's oil
exports. So, he did add a yet in there. He was also sure to mention that no one could replace Iranian oil in the market. So, is he right or is he
posturing?
MEADE: That is with respect at a nonsense. The Iranian crude oil flowing on tankers internationally has reduced significantly since sanctions were
imposed on it. This is not a new story. They have been trying to avoid international sanctions by using opaque practices for months.
But you can only export so much of that on the dark underbelly of shipping. So, no. I mean, it is absolutely having an impact on the ability of Iran
to ship oil to its few remaining customers.
We've seen some of it end up in China, some of it goes to Syria. Most of it is sanctioned and they will try pretty much anything in order to get the
last remaining dregs of oil to the few customers that are prepared to buy it.
ANDERSON: Richard Meade, and as you're expert on the -- on the shipping industry, from Lloyd's List, sir, your analysis extremely important to us.
And even more uncertainty in the Middle East. British Airways announcing Saturday suspending flights to Cairo for seven days. B.A. says it's a
security precaution and didn't cite a specific threat.
Well, the U.K. foreign office is warning of a "heightened terrorism risk to air travel." German airline, Lufthansa also suspended Cairo flights
Saturday, but trips resumed today.
We're live from Abu Dhabi. This is CONNECT THE WORLD. Coming up, there are sporting celebrations and there is Algeria winning Africa's biggest
football tournament. We have the scenes that you have to see to believe.
And later, researchers say they are, I quote, "astounded" by this 9,000- year-old village. A Neolithic mega-city unearth outside Jerusalem.
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[11:46:46] ANDERSON: Oh, yes. The return of champions. The winners of Africa's biggest football tournament, the Africa Cup of Nations returned
home on Saturday to the color, the cheers, and the celebrations of tens of thousands of fans. They rode in an open-top bus through Algeria's capital
city, basking in the glory of their 1-0 win over Senegal. That was Friday, and it scooped them their first title since 1990.
Well, you would never see those sort of scenes after a golf event, right? Well, celebrations might not fall too short of that when the Open Golf
championship wraps up today. We may be, just maybe about to see a new Irish winner. And it's someone you may not even have heard of.
CNN's Alex Thomas live for us in Portrush in Northern Ireland, where the weather continues to have been less than ideal but won't be enough to
dampen the celebrations, Alex, if Irishman Shane Lowry wins, correct?
ALEX THOMAS, CNN INTERNATIONAL SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there'll be a huge party no matter what happens. But now it seems almost certain that
Lowry will be the first Irishman to win an Open on the island of Ireland in the more than 150 years of Open Championship golf history.
The only other time this tournament has come to Northern Ireland was 68 years ago when Englishman Max Faulkner won. And in terrible conditions
here on Ireland's north coast at Royal Portrush on the final day of action of this tournament, Lowry has kept his head better than most.
Seconds before you came to me, we heard loud cheers from the hone nearest our live position here because he has got a huge following. As far as the
north of Ireland are concerned, and the Republic of Ireland. This isn't north and south, this isn't Britain versus Ireland, this is just one Irish
island right now.
When you play golf as an amateur here, you just play for one Ireland. A bit like the rugby team. It's not split between Northern Ireland and the
Republic. So, it doesn't matter what the accents are like around here. Everyone will raise a glass to Lowry's victory. A long timing coming, a
talented amateur who won the Irish open before even turning professional, which is very rare indeed.
You might have heard the gasp here that makes it sounds to me like Lowry might have missed another putt. He was so far ahead after an astonishing
performance in the third round on Saturday, Becky, it makes no difference. And a bit of a damp script today almost literally and figuratively. The
conditions have been so bad that no players behind Lowry have made a run at him.
He's not really come under so much pressure. But they won't mind that around here. He's got about a couple hours still to play before lifting
that Claret Jug, the first major success of his career.
ANDERSON: Good for him. And those conditions won't be bothering him at all. Good old Northern Ireland. A windy, blustery day and one for the
north -- for the local -- for the local guy to take advantage of. Thank you, Alex.
Before we move on from sports, a little time for a football move, unlike anything that we have seen before.
13-year-old George Warburton taking inspiration straight from The Matrix with this. A spinning, flipping shot, landing the ball in the back of the
net. And giving -- and giving some professional players -- I have to say a serious run for their money. Super impressive, can he do it twice? I
wonder.
Live from Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD. Coming up, a once-in-a- lifetime discovery here in the Middle East.
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[11:50:44] JACOB VARDI, ARCHEOLOGIST, ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY: It's a mega-site. If I compare it to modern days, it's -- it can be equivalent to
a Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, and when we talk about the size. It's amazing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, archaeologists believe that they have unearthed what was once a bustling Stone Age metropolis. The amazing find could soon be
covered up once again. We're going to get you inside that dig site, up next.
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ANDERSON: Well, we've taken you to the moon and back this hour. I'm now connecting you to an ancient past, really very ancient. Veteran scientists
astounded by their latest find near Jerusalem. A 9,000-year-old village. The size of a stone-age metropolis.
But as Michael Holmes found out, history marches onwards.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Just off a busy highway just outside Jerusalem, a remarkable find. A Neolithic village from the
latter part of the Stone Age. 9,000 years old, a discovery that has astounded veteran archeologists.
VARDI: What we have herein Motza is the game-changer.
HOLMES: Archaeologist Jacob Vardi has been doing this a long time and couldn't believe what was lying just below what was a vineyard.
VARDI: It was hard for me to accept this in the beginning. But archeological evidence don't lie. What you see here is a building. We are
inside of a large room over 9,000-year-old building.
HOLMES: No one had any idea what was here until Jerusalem needed a new highway. In this part of the world, an archaeological survey always comes
first, and even experts used to finding amazing things in this region were stunned, not just by the village they found, but the size of it. Home they
believe two perhaps 3,000 people.
VARDI: But not only that we found the village, it's a mega-site. If I compare it to modern days, it's -- it can be equivalent to a Jerusalem or
Tel Aviv, and when we talk about the size. It's amazing.
[11:55:09] HOLMES: One of the most remarkable things about this site is how ordered it is, early city planning if you like. You've got house,
house, house, line ways between the houses, and here the equivalent of one of the main roads.
VARDI: We have areas that were probably kitchens. With stone tools, the grinding stones, and mortars that used to process the lentils.
HOLMES: What they have already learned from this village about that period 9,000 years ago is enormous. The structure of society more complex than
expected. The agricultural knowledge much greater, the tools more advanced than they imagined.
And they've only just begun. The follow-up research and cataloging will take years and much, much more will be learned. Vardi says it is the
highlight of his career, nothing could top this.
VARDI: It is a once-in-a-lifetime project, and I couldn't hope for anything better than this. It's an amazing discovery.
HOLMES: As with a highway plan that led to the discovery of this place, that road is still needed. After the site has been meticulously
documented, cataloged, and digitally surveyed, some of it will be preserved for tourism and study. The rest, while that highway will still be built
and much of a 9,000-year-old village will disappear once again. Michael Holmes, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, for your "PARTING SHOTS" tonight, I want to take you back to the historic Apollo 11 mission. Not up to the moon though, but here to
the Johnson Space Center in Houston, in Texas.
This was the Apollo Mission Control Center. And to celebrate the mission's 50th anniversary, NASA has restored the room to look just how it did during
that moon landing. Right down, you get this, to the cigar ashtrays, folks.
Well, tune in Monday for our special program "FIRST STEPS: FIFTY YEARS AFTER APOLLO 11". It's all soul-stirring stuff, isn't it? You take me to
the moon and back every day, folks. We've got you off to a cracking start here on CONNECT THE WORLD this week. Up next, there is a lot more sports
news with Patrick Snell.
Stick around for the latest on boxing, formula one, golf, women's surfing, and a lot more. From us, it's a very good evening.
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