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Global Markets Staging Recoveries After Monday's Panic; White House Pitching Stimulus Options to U.S. Lawmakers; Italy Locks Down Entire Country Over Coronavirus; Sanders and Biden Face Off on Mini Super Tuesday; Coronavirus and Oil Price War Combined Spook Investors; U.S. State Department Scolds Russia and Saudi Arabia; Israel Says Everyone Entering Country Must Self-Quarantine; U.S. Airlines Scaling Back Flights Over Coronavirus Cancellations; Coronavirus Now in Every EU Country; Interview with Henrietta Fore, Executive Director, UNICEF, Idlib Fighting Displaces Hundreds of Thousands of Children. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired March 10, 2020 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A historic day on Wall Street. Measures were taken to halt trading for 15 minutes after the opening bell as the stocks fell too
far, too fast.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: True carnage, this was a disastrous day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: President Trump in cleanup mode today, Monday's market crash stirring fears of global recession. Then --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: All of Italy is now effectively a red zone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Lockdown and isolated. Italy and Israel take drastic measures against the coronavirus pandemic.
And catch me if you can. Can Bernie Sanders stop Biden's surge this mini Super Tuesday?
ANNOUNCER: Live, from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
ANDERSON: It is 10:00 a.m. at a shaky New York Stock Exchange, 3:00 p.m. in locked down Rome and it's just past 6:00 in the evening here at CNN's
Middle East programming headquarters in Abu Dhabi.
A momentary sigh of relief in the global marketplace. We are seeing partial recoveries all over Tuesday after Monday's utter panic. The latest rallies
in markets coming in the U.S. where trading began about a half an hour ago. Though these numbers don't make up for all of the ground lost, investors
had already been hammered by coronavirus fears. But they since had the added tremble of an oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia. That
made for historic losses for U.S. stocks showing their worst days, Monday since the 2008 recession.
Well, those crashes have the White House pitching stimulus options to lawmakers in the hopes of halting a recession. President Trump hinted at
those proposals on Monday. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're also going to be talking about hourly wage earners getting help so that they can be in a
position where they're not going to ever miss a paycheck. We'll be working with companies and small companies, large companies, a lot of companies, so
that they don't get penalized for something that is not their fault. It's not their fault. It's not our country's fault. This was something that we
were thrown into, and we're going to handle it and we have been handling it very well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, that is President Trump Monday evening. Let's bring in Julia Chatterley, always on top of things at the New York Stock Exchange,
watching what has been wild swings in the oil markets. John Defterios over in London, to weave together what are these many political strands in all
of this. Kaitlan Collins standing by at the White House.
Julia, let me start with you, a little light relief, but the President short on detail at this point. So how sustained do you believe these rises
in stocks are today?
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR, FIRST MOVE: I'll call it temporary relief, Becky. What did you call it, shaky markets. It's shaky up and down
as opposed to side and side. I mean, we're just seeing incredible levels of volatility on a daily basis. And, Becky, to your point, it is hopes of
whatever the White House says today about targeted stimulus measures, payroll tax cuts, whatever they can come up with, a bit of stabilization in
oil prices. And simply just the fact that we had what the worst day of trade since December of 2008. Things got so beaten up and shaken up
yesterday, that to see a bit of a bounce back in stabilization today makes sense.
Making a prediction beyond today, quite frankly, is impossible. I think the only thing I can promise you is ongoing volatility. As one big money
manager said to me, look, until we see a stabilization in cases, case numbers, clarity, on quite frankly what is going on here, the leadership,
we're going to continue to see the market volatility. So, Becky, we're up some three, three plus at this moment. We were limit up before the market
opened earlier. All I'll promise you at this stage is volatility, for now, green.
ANDERSON: All right, we'll let's keep an eye on these markets. Julia, thank you.
John, after what was the biggest one-day rout in oil prices since the 1991 Gulf war, we are today seeing a good bounce. It has to be said in prices on
the markets. But given the underlying concerns about global growth, what chance that this is anything but a short-term bump in oil prices unless we
see calmer heads prevail in Riyadh and Moscow?
[10:05:05]
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Oil today, Becky, is quite indicative of what you're talking about. Because we had a rally of 8
percent in Asia. They saw a gain of 2 percent. Now stabilizing with a gain of 7 to 8 percent. I can tell you one thing, within the oil circles in the
community, nobody likes $30 a barrel. You almost stared at the cliff yesterday as we got to 31. And the last time we were feeling that number
was back in 2016, which created a shock throughout the global community.
A lot of energy, bravado, if you will, tough words coming from Saudi Arabia, Russia, saying we can survive for years at $30 a barrel. That is
not the reality. And in fact we now see the first olive branch, if you will, from the Russian energy minister, Alexander Novak. He's the one that
walked out of the meeting in Vienna on Friday, saying the doors are not closed. We're open to other agreements that are on the table.
But a senior source that was in that meeting room said it got way too emotional and it clouded the discussions. Also suggesting that the long arm
of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman, could be felt in Vienna because this is where that number of 1.5 million barrels a day on
the cut and extended it to the end of 2020 came from. And they were not going to budge with the half-brother chairing that meeting, the minister of
energy from Saudi Arabia. That was a nonstarter from Russia.
But we're starting to see the rebuilding of the bridge, if you will. And that's why we have stability in the market. But we have to remind everybody
we're down nearly 50 percent from that peak in early January after the U.S./Iran tensions. We've had a huge correction when it comes to oil.
ANDERSON: Yes. The U.S. Department of Energy sent a very blunt message as I understand it to both Saudi Arabia and Russia. Saying and I quote here,
these attempts by state actors to manipulate and shock oil markets, reinforce the importance of the role of the United States, as a reliable
energy supply to partners and allies around the world.
We do understand the White House has released a statement saying that Donald Trump and Mohammad bin Salman have spoken. What do you make of that
statement? It sounds much like a scolding.
DEFTERIOS: Yes, I would say the same, Becky. Using the word manipulation of the energy markets is a pretty bold statement. I don't think targeted at
Russia, but specifically their ally Saudi Arabia. And we see that the Russians have been frustrated by the fact that U.S. shale production has
gone to 13 million barrels a day, that's been their target. It's not a new target by Russia.
But Saudi Arabia, we're seeing reports of this -- listen to this number, Becky. They're talking about putting another 2.5 million barrels on to the
market in April. That would flood the market. Another source within the OPEC community was saying they're gambling with the future of Saudi Arabia
and the OPEC plus membership entirely. Because that would penetrate right through $30 a barrel very likely with that sort of push into the market.
Some are calling it shock and awe, and that Saudi Aramco would pull that oil out of storage.
The big question now, multibillion-dollar question, Becky. Does it stay in storage or does it actually make it to the market? Is it a negotiating ploy
to bring the Russians back to the table, kind of scare the daylights out of the United States and let cooler heads prevail? I'm not so sure at this
stage of the process.
ANDERSON: John Defterios is in London. Kaitlin, we've been discussing that Monday we saw the S&P 500 lose significantly. If I can put a dollar figure
on that, it was something like $1.87 trillion. And the U.S. President likes to use these markets as a barometer to how the economy is doing. Oftentimes
we'll talk about how well the economy is doing and these markets are doing under his stewardship. So how is the President spinning what we have been
seeing?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it turns out that 8 percent drop in the stock market was enough to make the President change
his tune on this. Because for weeks, White House officials have been insisting the economy does not need any kind of relief, any kind of
stimulus here, that it was going to be able to weather this because it was strong.
That changed yesterday after you saw what a devastating day it was in the markets and that's why you saw President Trump make that rare appearance in
the briefing room yesterday. Where he said his officials are going to Capitol Hill. They're going to present these plans, their hope for economic
relief while speaking with lawmakers today.
But it's a pretty rosy assessment from the White House. Because so far, Democrats of course are in charge of the House. They've been pretty cool to
any kind of ideas that the White House put forward so far. They've been incredibly critical of the administration's response so far. So the
question is, can they make an agreement going forward? Because we know the White House team is likely to present -- the President called dramatic.
[10:10:00]
But it seems far from exactly what it is they're going to be saying to lawmakers today. Because we know the things that they've thrown around are
paid family sick leave, potential tax cuts, or targeted relief for certain industries that are hardest hit by this, like these airlines, cruises,
hotels. But so far, you've heard some lawmakers say that they don't believe a tax cut is what is going to be helping here.
So far, the President has leaned on the Federal Reserve saying that they should cut the rates, but you saw when they did lower rates, it didn't
really do a lot to mitigate the trauma and the fear that you're seeing these investors show in the stock markets.
So there is still a lot of questions left, even though what we're seeing by the White House sending officials to Capitol Hill to talk to lawmakers
about this today is a concession from the White House. That, yes, they are going to have to take some kind of measures here. Because they are
concerned about what it is exactly the impact of this coronavirus could have on the U.S. economy that the President is hoping to run on come
November.
ANDERSON: The White House says that the President hasn't been tested for the coronavirus, despite being in close contact with lawmakers who have
since put themselves in self-quarantine after known exposure to someone infected at the CPAC conference. So U.S. Congressman Doug Collins shook
hands with the President on Friday. We've also seen both of the Democratic front-runners brush off concerns that they are at risk, despite warnings
that the virus affects older adults.
Kaitlan, sports events increasingly being played with no spectators. Even game shows have stood down audiences. We are deep into campaign season at
present. Will rallies on the campaign trail be targeted next?
COLLINS: Well, to give you an answer to that, the campaign told us last night they're going to actually announce another rally today. Now it's not
clear when it's going to be held, where it will be held or if it will even ultimately happen. But right now they are proceeding as planned, even
though when we have been pressing these officials that are on the coronavirus task force, do you really think the President should be holding
rallies, getting -- it's not necessarily if they're worried the President himself is going to get infected, but of course, it's his supporters.
They're in large groups here, big crowds. This is exactly what they have been warning against. And if you go to the rallies, there are a lot of
supporters who skew older.
Right now health officials have been really cautious to not say yes or no, that they should be holding these rallies. But the campaign feels like they
should be moving forward as planned. So we're waiting to see where that is going to be.
As far as the President being tested, yes, he did interact with two lawmakers who are now self-quarantining. I think the calculus of whether or
not he's going to be tested will change if one of those lawmakers does test positive. So far some of them have not, some are awaiting results. That
could change the calculus. But right now they say they don't think he needs a test.
ANDERSON: Kaitlan Collins is at the White House, thank you for that.
Well, let's have another quick look at the big board. We are seeing green arrows pointing north across the board. This is a better day for U.S.
markets. These are the European markets for you -- that's the Dow. Let's got those European markets up as well, rebounding, this is towards the
close of play. After a disastrous day as well on Monday. This is the story across the board there. You can see that London market up too, and bit
percent, and the others following suit. So that's the story as far as these markets are concerned.
Tentative show of confidence though, comes despite the news that every country in the European Union now reporting cases of coronavirus. And the
EU's fourth largest economy, Italy, now enforcing a total country wide lockdown. The Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte says the move will protect its
population, especially the most vulnerable ones.
And Israel requiring a 14-day self-quarantine for everyone entering the country, including its own citizens. I want to bring in Elliott Gotkine who
is at the Ben-Gurion airport in Tel Aviv and CNN's Vatican correspondent Delia Gallagher who is in Rome. And I want to start with you, because it
was quite remarkable when we heard late in the evening -- yesterday evening around dinner time I think, Italian time, that this total lockdown was
going into place. I think that many people thought how can that work, exactly what does it mean -- Delia?
DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're absolutely right. You read the minds of the millions of Italians who heard that announcement.
And actually I'm here in Rome's residential Prati neighborhood to show you how it's working -- regular Romans on lockdown. This is an area, Becky,
that's normally buzzing with people. There is a restaurant here that's very popular.
[10:15:00]
As you can see, only a handful of people have come out, but people are allowed freedom of movement. They are asked to stay inside, but they are
allowed to move for what the government is saying necessary reasons, work, health or something like going to the supermarket. In fact, after the Prime
Minister's announcement last night, we saw a rush on supermarkets in major cities like Rome and Naples, people obviously concerned. But the government
tried to quell their fears saying that transportation of goods is going to continue to be allowed. So the supermarkets should be able to be stocked.
But otherwise they are asking people really to use their responsibility here in helping to stop the spread of this virus. Especially by not going
into other regions. They want to contain the regional contact.
But within cities, people are being allowed to move around, but they're being asked to stay one meter apart from each other and not to gather, even
in small groups if they don't maintain that difference. So really, a huge disruption for the lives of many Italians. Difficult to stay inside all
day, Becky. There are things people need to do, mothers with children at home are wondering if they can go to the park. So really, a lot of very
daily basic things that we all take for granted suddenly in Italy have been put to a halt -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Stand by. I want to get to Elliott, who's that Ben-Gurion airport. A quiet day one assumes in Tel Aviv. Just explain what we
understand to be going on now in Israel.
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Becky, with the obvious exception of countries such as Italy, the measures enacted by Israel are among the most
sweeping of any country in the face of this growing coronavirus pandemic. What the Israeli government has said is that anyone coming into this
country whether they are an Israeli national or foreign national, they will have to self-isolate for 14 days. And if you are a foreign national, and
you are unable to self-isolate, then you simply won't be allowed in the country. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that he was taking these
measures for the good of the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Any who arrives in Israel from abroad will enter a 14-day isolation. This is a
difficult decision. But it is essential for safeguarding public health and public health comes first. This decision will be valid for two weeks. At
the same time we are making decisions to maintain the Israeli economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOTKINE: And the impact of coronavirus and those latest measures is probably most obvious here at Ben-Gurion International Airport, easily the
main port of entry for the country of Israel. This is the arrivals. Now usually you'd expect to see dozens of people streaming out from those
doors. You would expect to see banks of people lined up here, waiting to receive their loved ones, their friends or their colleagues. But as you can
see, it is eerily quiet. And if you want the numbers that go behind that anecdote, Becky, I can tell you that arrivals are down something like two-
thirds compared with normal days, and departures compared with the daily departure numbers of just 2 1/2 weeks ago were down 90 percent, 9 - 0
percent.
ANDERSON: That is absolutely remarkable. I departed myself from that airport a couple of weeks ago. It was busy at this time. Thank you.
And Delia, the European Parliament has just canceled all non-call activities and with Cyprus now detecting two cases of coronavirus, every
country in the European Union now has the virus. What has the coordination been from the EU to support Italy in all of this?
GALLAGHER: Well, certainly we have seen support from the World Health Organization, from the European Health Organization. People have been here.
They have been helping to organize the statistics and the communications. And to give a general sense that things are under control. So certainly,
there is some go back and forth between Italy and European countries.
Of course, a lot of European countries are looking to Italy as a kind of test case and saying at what point do you start really closing things down.
They are saying that you know, the sooner the better. What happened here in Italy as we had a gradual shutdown. So we have the north first just on
Sunday, and then just this morning for the rest of the country. So what Italy is doing, Becky, is really being watched by not only the rest of
Europe, but obviously by the rest of the world. Particularly the area in the north, the economic stronghold and the real concern for the health
infrastructure there.
But now in the rest of the country, doctors here in Rome saying, look, we can't handle the kind of numbers they were having in Milan. Milan has the
Lombardy region where Milan is one of the wealthiest areas for health infrastructure. They've got the best ones. So here in Rome and in other
places around Italy, that's really the concern.
[10:20:00]
Will the hospitals be able to hold these numbers, if they continue to rise -- Becky?
ANDERSON: Delia Gallagher is in Rome for you today.
Let's get you up to speed on some of the other virus hot spots that are on our radar right now. And Chinese President Xi has visited Wuhan, which is
the epicenter of course of the coronavirus pandemic and that's for the first time. He says the city has turned the tide, according to state media,
all 16 temporary hospitals there have closed. The World Health Organization says 70 percent of cases in China have recovered.
Well, Iran has confirmed more than 8,000 cases and nearly 300 deaths. Health officials recommending that people avoid any form of gathering. The
supreme leader has canceled his Persian new year speech. India, meanwhile, has evacuated 58 of its citizens from Iran.
And Delta Airlines has become the latest U.S. airline to slash its schedule. There's been a sharp decline in bookings because of the
coronavirus. The airline says it's cutting up to one fourth of international flights. American Airlines also cutting back more than half
of its Transpacific bookings. You're up to date.
Coming up, for U.S. Democrats, it's yet another Super Tuesday. Can Bernie Sanders pull off another Michigan miracle?
And as the coronavirus takes hold in Europe, governments are worried about it spreading into migrant camps. We speak to the woman in charge of
protecting those migrants and the most vulnerable of refugees up ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: In the home of the U.S. auto industry, Bernie Sanders is hoping for a jump start. Voting is under way in what could turn out to be a
crucial day in the Democratic presidential race. This is Super Tuesday 2 and features Democratic presidential races in six states. But keep your eye
on Michigan in particular. That is where Bernie Sanders scored a surprise victory four years ago. And observers say he needs to win there again if
he's going to stop Joe Biden. Sanders says Democrats are looking for a new approach.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT) DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A campaign like Joe's, which is frankly the same old, same old establishment politics,
supported by the wealthy, and I know, they got all the governors in the center supporting them. Does anybody really think that that is going to be
the campaign of excitement and energy that's going to grow the base that we need to beat Trump. I don't think so.
JOE BIDEN, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look, I view myself as a bridge, not as anything else. There is an entire generation of leaders you
saw stand behind me. They are the future of this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[10:25:00]
ANDERSON: Well, we've got Ryan Nobles standing by in Detroit for you. Arlette Saenz is in neighboring Ohio, where Biden and Sanders will both be
campaigning this Tuesday ahead of next week's primary.
So Arlette, let me start with you. This has been a complete sort of 180 as far as this race is concerned. Bernie Sanders out front until last Tuesday
-- Super Tuesday number one. What chance Biden can wrap this up effectively come tomorrow morning?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, Joe Biden's campaign is hoping they can repeat a little bit of the imagine Magic from
last week on super Tuesday. And they are cautiously optimistic heading into these contests this evening, specifically looking at Michigan. An adviser
tells me they expect it's going to be a close contest. There was a poll yesterday that showed Biden with a 15-point lead over Bernie Sanders in the
states. But they do think it is going to be very tight between the two candidates, pointing to the fact that Bernie Sanders won there in 2016 and
that he's had an on the ground operation in the state for quite some time.
And what the Biden campaign told me is that if there say deficit in Michigan, they are looking to make up that deficit in votes by running up
the score in states like Mississippi with a large African-American population, very similar to a lot of those southern states, which Joe Biden
won last week.
Now, in Detroit last night, you saw Joe Biden with three of his newest endorsers, Cory Booker and Kamala Harris. His former rivals officially
backing Biden's candidacy and also the governor of Michigan. He's also picked up support from the lieutenant governor of Michigan, who actually
voted for Sanders back in 2016, but this time around he is supporting Joe Biden.
And you heard Biden talk about the way that he views his role in this party. Saying that he is a bridge to the future generation of Democratic
leaders. That's something that we could hear Biden stress over and over again. But certainly they are going to be keeping a close eye on Michigan
tonight as it is the biggest prize in this contest. And the Biden campaign argues that Bernie Sanders, it's his night to prove that he is still viable
in this race as Joe Biden has quite a bit of momentum behind him.
ANDERSON: Sorry, I've just lost my microphone. Thank you for that.
Ryan, I wonder is there any change in tone from either Sanders or his supporters as he now sort of changes into what is effectively the underdog.
RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Really, no, Becky, and that might be part of the problem for Bernie Sanders. Is that he's like a big battleship
that's been forging along for the last 40 years and it's very difficult to pivot a battleship quickly. And he basically has one message that's the
same message that he's been telling even before he was a candidate for president. Talking about economic inequality and talking about basically
revolutionizing the American political system.
And at this point, you know, it's clear that there is a moderate coalescing in the Democratic field that is pushing against that thought of a
revolution. That there are many Americans, particularly American Democrats, that would just like to return to normalcy after the presidency of Donald
Trump. So I think that what we're dealing with right now is Bernie Sanders hoping that there might still be some magic left in this campaign.
And, you know, you point to Michigan as being the place where that turn around is possible. I mean, the polls do look bleak. But they also looked
bleak here four years ago, 2016 he was down by double digits. But somehow was able to turn it around and win. So they're hoping for that miracle here
tonight in Michigan. But even if he loses here tonight, even if he loses every state on the map, they say he'll continue on, particularly so he can
get head-on debate with Joe Biden on Sunday -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Yes, fascinating, to both of you, thank you. Our live coverage of so-called mini Super Tuesday starts 4:00 p.m. in New York. That is
midnight here in Abu Dhabi, right here on CNN.
You're with CONNECT THE WORLD, I'm Becky Anderson for you. Still ahead, Wall Street and global stock markets rebound after what was yesterday's
panic induced sell-off. But will this rally that you are looking at here on the big board last?
[10:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: All right, this is the story on the big board in New York. The Dow Jones industrial average up about 2.5 percent, but that is
significantly lower than the markets opened this morning. So we continue to watch as investors clearly still concerned about where we are at.
The White House pitching their stimulus measures to U.S. lawmakers today. They could include a temporary payroll tax cut, expanded sick leave and
help for the travel industry. This all coming as we see more examples of the severe impact of the virus.
You are looking at the streets of Rome, nearly empty, after Italy expanded its lockdown of the hard-hit northern regions to the entire country.
But in China, words of optimism from President Xi Jinping. He visited Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak and said the spread of the virus in
China has been basically contained.
Right now coronavirus is in every EU country, as Cyprus detected its first two cases today. All the while, refugees coming from Turkey are still
trying to make the journey over to Europe through Greece where thousands of migrants are already stuck in overcrowded camps of which the Greek
government has described as a, quote, ticking health bomb.
Henrietta Fore is the executive director of UNICEF, which is the United Nations agency responsible for providing humanitarian aid to children
worldwide, and she joins us from the U.N. this hour. And it's a delight to have you on, Henrietta. If there is any group of people that can afford to
catch this virus least, of course, it is refugees. What are you doing to prepare and where in the world are your biggest concerns at this point?
HENRIETTA FORE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UNICEF: Thank you, Becky. So coronavirus is on the top of everyone's mind. The most important is to have
some clean water, to have some soap and to have some hygienic facilities. So we're working around the world to try to make sure that the clean water
and the hygiene is there, so that children's lives can be saved.
ANDERSON: Ambassador, Jim Jeffrey, the U.S. special envoy for Syria, and the anti-ISIS coalition said on Tuesday that they have not seen an outbreak
of coronavirus among the people of Idlib. But he stressed that visibility into the situation is low, perhaps unsurprisingly. Does that worry you?
FORE: Yes, it does. As you just said, Becky, anywhere that people are crowded together, so in Idlib, it's humanity upon humanity. When I was
there at the border at Bab al-Hawa, we were just packing hygiene kits for families. And so, what is in that is laundry soap. It's a comb. It's
toothpaste, toothbrush, all of those hygiene -- it's basic in developed economies.
[10:35:00]
It is not if you're in a refugee community and many of these families were middle class or they were farmers, and they have now all come into these
areas. We've been averaging about 6,000 children a day that have been coming in to that Idlib area. So it's very crowded and it's not a good area
if the coronavirus comes into it, it will be very, very hard. It will be a great burden on the health situation there.
ANDERSON: And I know that you were in Idlib recently. Do you know of any cases on the ground?
FORE: We did not hear of any cases from our partners. They were telling us other stories of deprivation, but it was not on coronavirus.
ANDERSON: The Greek island of Lesbos being thrown into the front line of this refugee crisis, of course. Have a listen to my colleague CNN's Phil
Black reporting from on the ground there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So this is the friction on the island of Lesbos. On one hand, the migrants who hate where they live, who say that
noria is no good. And then on the other hand, the authorities, the people of Lesbos, who believe their quality of life has suffered unduly because of
all of this and they just want it to end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Germany announcing that it will take up to 100 children from Greek refugee camps. Is that enough effectively? I mean, are you -- I'm
sure applauding what the Germans are doing. But quite frankly that sounds like a very small number given the people on the move. What's your message
to the international community.
FORE: So, Becky, it is that if the international community can step up and help and take these refugee children, it will really help. It would also
help if they can take a refugee family. It is good when families stay together. So for refugees, for migrants, for those that are also still in
the camps in Syria, if the international community can step forward and repatriate their citizens, it would be enormously helpful and powerful.
These camps are not in the place where they are good environment. They are not the schools, the sanitation, the nutrition, the health that you would
expect and protection services are not always available. We are trying very hard with building latrines and other areas to keep these children and
young families safe, but we need help and we really could use help from host countries to invite these children and families in.
ANDERSON: You're appealing for this help, are you getting it, though?
FORE: Not enough. We are appealing for it, so we need help in terms of countries that will take in refugees and migrants and those from the camps.
We need help on funding. For Syria alone we have $300 million of an appeal and its only 15 percent funded. So we need all of the help we can get, and
we need it now. It's really getting to be a desperate situation.
One of the other things that strikes you among many of those who are in these camp areas and crowded situations is there is a toll on the mental
health. It is not just when the guns go silent, but the children have wounds that you do not see. They're terrified and as a result, we have lots
of help that we need to give these children and their families.
ANDERSON: With that, we'll leave it there. We thank you very much indeed for joining us --
FORE: Thank you, Becky.
ANDERSON: -- Henrietta Fore. Taking a short break. Back after this.
[10:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): Farming remains a pillar of most economies in Africa. The majority of production comes from small farms that heavily rely
on rain. So if it doesn't rain, the farmers have a problem. They need to prepare and minimize the negative effects. Muthoni Masinde is a computer
scientist in South Africa who created a website and mobile app that warns farmers about looming drought conditions.
MUTHONI MASINDE, FOUNDER , ITIKI DROUGHT PREDICTION TOOL: I grew up in a village and I noticed that the farmers in the village do not have any form
of science to tell when to plant or even where to plant and when. So they use indicators of their watch or the sensitive environment. They watch
insects. They watch (INAUDIBLE) and then they make a decision. I think it's rain two weeks' time, so they prepare their land.
ANDERSON: The tool combines ancient African knowledge with scientist data, for example, from weather stations to come up with predictions. Masinde has
partnered with the South African weather services, the universities of Free State and KwaZulu-Natal.
Today, the project is recruiting a group of community liaison officers to collect knowledge from the local farmers. Masinde says the app has been a
great success. It's currently being used in three African countries, by over 10,000 farmers. The majority of which are in Kenya, where Masinde is
from, but also in Mozambique and in South Africa.
MASINDE: The first on is the information that are given to our upper scale farmers.
ANDERSON: Mother of four has been invited to speak internationally, and she's won numerous awards for her work. Her project has received funding
from both the South African and the American governments.
MASINDE: And my means to avoid what (INAUDIBLE) go through. We call it innovation valley of death. Come with innovation, dive into the valley and
never come out. They can stand on the rooftop and say, I did it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're with CONNECT THE WORLD.
Well, the nationwide coronavirus lockdown in Italy has spilled over into the world of sports after several days of playing games in empty stadiums.
The Italian government is now gone a step further and canceled all sporting events in the country until at least early April. Alex Thomas with more on
this action that is being taken in Italy, which could, let's face it, it could be in other places going forward.
ALEX THOMAS, CNN WORLD SPORT: Absolutely, Becky. I mean, only last week the President of Juventus and Inter Milan, to Italy's biggest teams were
here in London, insisting Serie A, that top football division would continue. Now it's been suspended and that means massive implication for
the whole of European football. We're going to discuss it next in "WORLD SPORT."
ANDERSON: Fantastic. Taking a very short break folks. Back after this.
[10:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
[10:57:10]
THOMAS: Becky, it feels like we're heading towards a period where no big sports events will have fans present. So then people will start questioning
whether there's any point in carrying on with them at all.
ANDERSON: Yes, no, very good point. Thanks, Alex.
Coming up on CONNECT THE WORLD, we look at these extreme measures being taken to contain the coronavirus.
Plus, the latest look at the markets after what was yesterday's bloodbath. Stay with us.
END
