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Connect the World
300,000 People Displaced From Their Homes; Explosion In Beirut Last Straw For Some Lebanese; Deadly Blast Is The Latest Crisis To Strike Lebanon; French President Visits Lebanon In A Show Of Support; Lebanon Investigates What Detonated Ammonium Nitrate; Russia Planning To Approve COVID-19 Vaccine Soon. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired August 06, 2020 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is "Connect the World" with Becky Anderson.
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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Welcome back. Within the hour the leaders of Lebanon and France are expected to speak about the future of
Beirut and indeed the country. This comes just two days after an explosion ripped a hole in the city's port and sent a destructive short wave across
Beirut.
Well, new satellite images reveal the crater it left is some 124 meters in diameter. When he arrived earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron brought
a promise of support and a bit of tough love. Mr. Macron warns French aid will not go into corrupt hands and he will ask for what he calls a new
political pact from Lebanon's leaders.
Well, the blast claimed at least 137 lives and left thousands of people wounded. The rest of the city it's time to pick up the pieces of their
lives with a hope for a better tomorrow is dwindling. CNN's Ben Wedeman reports.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: George Faraoun has come with a friend to see what they could salvage from the remains of his
parents' apartment which looked directly on to Beirut Port.
Tuesday's blast turned it into a moonscape, a panorama of utter destruction. Dried blood marks the spot where his mother was resting in bed
when the explosion sent a wall slamming on top of her. She's still in hospital. This was his parent's retirement home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE FARAOUN, BEIRUT RESIDENT: This is their life, everything they did here. And look what happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WEDEMAN: Given the damage, they probably will never be able to move back. Many neighbors were badly injured, others killed. In addition to the dead
and the wounded, many, many people have lost their homes. According to the Governor of Beirut, more than 300,000 people in the city have been made
homeless.
People are packing up and moving out. While others try to salvage what they can, the area near the Port is now a hive of activity as an army of
volunteers like Maggie Demerjian has launched into a massive cleanup effort. Perhaps to show themselves that despite this country's mountain of
woes, good will prevails.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAGGIE DEMERJIAN, VOLUNTEER: Lebanese people doesn't deserve this, we are good people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WEDEMAN: They have come from all over the city, handing out food and water, pitching in wherever, however they can. Officials believe the blast
emanated from a warehouse filled with 2750 metric tons of ammonium nitrate, sitting there under lack security for six years.
The government has promised a quick transparent investigation. Yet going back decades, Lebanon has witnessed a series of high profile assassinations
and rarity if ever has the truth emerged.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAD ACHKAR, BEIRUT RESIDENT: This accident here, this crisis, for 20 years I thought the investigation - no conclusion, no results.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WEDEMAN: And no confidence among many here that the truth will ever be known. Ben Wedeman, CNN, Beirut.
ANDERSON: Let's get you live to Beirut now where Arwa Damon is standing by. Arwa, as Ben reports there, the experience of one family reflected by so
many. That is the reality for so many in Beirut today as the rescue of so many continues to go on. What's the latest there?
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Becky, there is still a lot of anger and criticism being leveled understandably so at the
government because people feel like the government is not doing enough at this stage.
So they are continuing to turn towards each other. There are volunteers from all over the country who have come here to the capital to try to help
out. And videos posted to social media are showing this ongoing cleanup effort where you have people out there with shovels, some are out there
even with their bare hands trying to clean debris off the street, trying to help especially the elderly clean out their shattered homes and apartments.
[11:05:00]
DAMON: And of course in the midst of all of this you have the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron who is touring some of the devastated
areas along with his Lebanese counterpart where we also then heard from a number of these volunteers themselves who were down there, this rage toward
the government being expressed once again.
Now, yes, President Macron did promise that the aid that France would be sending would not fall into corrupt hands, but there surely going to be a
lot of questions as to how France even thinks that it can assure that. And not to mention that too the Lebanon's corruption problems are so endemic
that it is going to take a lot more than just this pledge of trying to put pressure on the Lebanese authorities by the French to really change the
perspective among the Lebanese towards their government.
Many of them still even though all indications are right now that this explosion was caused by negligence, by the fact that the Lebanese allowed
this stockpile of ammonium nitrate to remain at the Port for six years, and that there wasn't any foul play at hand, and that is all lending itself to
even more anger towards the government at this stage.
But a lot of people are still grappling to try to come to terms with this. It is so large, the effect of it so massive, that for many people it is
still extraordinarily surreal at this stage.
ANDERSON: And many people saying they just cannot envision that life will get better. But it will eventually. And as you rightly pointed out, there
is a sense of resilience from those in Beirut, I mean; they're getting on with sorting this out themselves, Arwa.
DAMON: They are. And this is what is so beautiful about the Lebanese. Because they have been through so much devastation and heartbreak over the
course of the last you few decades, but at the same time, you do get this sentiment of how much more can we take.
How much more can we be expected to take? How much strength is we expected to be able to find among ourselves to keep going through increasingly
difficult circumstances without catching a break?
Because for the Lebanese, it is not just the impact of this devastating explosion, it is the impact of the downward spiraling economy, the country
on the verge of bankruptcy, the Coronavirus pandemic. I mean even before this explosion, international organizations were estimating that some 70
percent of the Lebanese population was going to be in need of humanitarian aid.
Now you can only imagine how much worse that situation actually is? And so even though, yes, people are out there, they are coming together, and that
is a phenomenal thing to witness, there is also this sense that this blow that was dealt to the people to their very heart and soul and destructive.
And so while there is this effort to try to get through this, to try to put it all back together, I mean people are reeling in a way that they haven't
in the past.
ANDERSON: Arwa Damon is in Beirut for you. Arwa thank you. Well, for some people living in the region, the blast in Beirut quite frankly is the last
straw for them. In what's becoming a common sentiment some young people are ready to leave like this woman who says that she can't wait to get out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YARA GEADAA, LEBANESE COMMUNICATION EXECUTIVE: I just want to get out of this region. I just want to get out. I was telling my boyfriend yesterday,
I'm going, I'm leaving tomorrow. I can't - I can't - I can't stay here. It was the worst thing that ever happened to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, my next guest echoes what you just heard there. In a message that went viral on social media, Sara El-Yafi writes and I quote,
it is disgusting that the Lebanese people constantly have to guess who wants to kill them and they never truly find out because they live in a
world where so many hostile actors benefit from killing them.
And Sara El-Yafi joins us now live from Beirut. Can you just explain why you wrote what you wrote Sara?
SARA EL-YAFI, PUBLIC POLICY CONSULTANT: Thank you, Becky. Every time a catastrophe happens in this sort of magnitude, whether a booby-trapped car,
whether it is a political assassination, whether it is any type of terrorism, we are left one wondering through a list of so many different
potential culprits, which one was this time?
And they're all very rational choice, I mean, we are country in direct and open conflict with Israel. Moreover, we are under Iranian military and
political tutelage. We also belong to a region where several parties have an interest having Lebanon explode, whether it is Syria or Israel or Iran
or anybody that has any meddled strategic interests in Lebanon.
[11:10:00]
EL-YAFI: At the same time, we are ruled by the most incompetent bunch of mafia political class, the incompetence of the rulers, and only an
objective international investigation might ever be able to give us any answers.
And the reason why we've never gotten any answer about any of the assassinations or terrorism plots or any sort of catastrophic event that
has happened over the course of the past three decades is because it has been a local investigation that was left to the current political class to
find the culprits and we never do.
So it is very disgusting as you just read from my article, it is very disgusting that every time something happens in my country that I have to
sit back along with my countrymen and countrywomen to start devising different what people would call conspiracy theories about who wants us
dead this time you think?
And I know that a lot of people are talking about this as a for sure this is an accident. And while a lot of evidence points to it being an accident
of negligence, we can't rule out that it was not a premeditated attack either. We cannot.
But having said that, whether or not it was an attack or whether it was an accident that is a debate and that will be - that could be resolved through
an investigation. But what is not a matter of investigation is the absolute guilt of the entire political class. This is the irrevocable truth.
Each and every leader, each and every political representative of the Lebanese political rulership has blood on his and her hands every single
one of them. And every single one of them must be brought in front of a criminal court and tried in an international court of justice. That is the
irrevocable truth because whether or not it was --.please go ahead.
ANDERSON: And you went on to say exactly this in the article that went viral, justice can only be found in the destruction of its political
system. You said retribution must be served on the platter of the annihilation of each of its henchmen massacring politics. Those are really,
really strong words and clearly you feel more than strongly about this.
Look, French President Emmanuel Macron for what it is worth says that he is calling for a new political pact from Lebanon's leaders in order that he
and the international community provide support. Do you have any confidence that Macron might be Lebanon's savior and that things will change this
time?
EL-YAFI: It is undeniable that Lebanon and France have a very friendly and fraternal and historic relationship. And in fact President Macron is not
the first French President to come to the aid of Lebanon in a crisis. His predecessors President Mitterrand and Chirac did the same they even pay
really heavy price for trying to maintain peace in Lebanon in 1983 where 53 French soldiers were killed at the post in Beirut following a terrorist
attack that targeted them.
So everything that President Macron is saying is very diplomatic and very much in line with our historical ties. The only difference with anything
that we've ever lived in history right now is that this is not a catastrophe in the sense that because when we say catastrophe, we insinuate
a type of powerlessness behind it.
There is no powerlessness here, this is a disaster that could have been absolutely avoided had we not been ruled by corrupt wended and sold
cowardly political class. I can understand that we would feel desperate and call for rewriting of pact had we been victims of like a natural disaster
beyond our control.
But this is neither divine punishment nor a meteoroid nor an earthquake that hit us. This disaster is a manmade disaster, Lebanese manmade disaster
that could and should have been controlled and avoided and it wasn't because of the political hanta and mafia that are ruling us.
This disaster occurred fully at the hands of the corrupt ignoring cowardly and criminal Lebanese political class. The culprits have clear names, they
have clear faces, they have clear posts in jobs this is a result regardless or not whether it was an attack or not, this is the result of mafia
rulership's stable ignorance and criminal negligence.
[11:15:00]
EL-YAFI: Rewriting of a pact with anybody that is currently in line or that is currently in rulership is out of the question. Unless he means to
rewrite a pact with the Lebanese people, I don't know how he plans to do that since - I mean, either they are homeless or they are jobless or they
have been murdered.
I mean, what we are currently living is something even I believe even if you were to do a Hollywood movie out of this, probably the producers would
tell you to tone it a bit down because it doesn't look very realistic.
It doesn't look very realistic for you to be a victim of the most atrocious economic crisis the world has ever witnessed in contemporary history, plus
2750 tons of ammonium nitrate exploding at the Port of Beirut.
ANDERSON: Sara, sorry, I'll have to take a break. But we hear your words. We understand your emotion. And we wait to see what happens next? Sara,
thank you.
EL-YAFI: Thank you.
ANDERSON: Coming up on "Connect the World", Lebanese have been protesting the government and its handling of the failing economy over the last two
years. So what happens now after so much of its capital city was leveled?
And he may not have arrived on a big white horse but the French President looked like a hero to many people lying Beirut shattered streets details on
that after this.
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ANDERSON: Welcome back. Here are the usual headlines on Lebanon, economic crisis exploding in free-fall, the currency plunging, financial collapse.
It is a laundry list of facts and cliches that doesn't cut it to getting you to what that really means.
Let me show you. Over the last few months, the value of the currency has gone down, way, way, way down. It used to take 1500 Lebanese pounds to buy
$1 of food or medicine or what have you. Now it takes that and that and that and that and that and five more of those. 8,000 Lebanese pounds to buy
that exact same amount.
No one is being paid anymore, they have the same salary to buy stuff that is effectively four, five, maybe more times more expensive.
[11:20:00]
ANDERSON: And do remember, Lebanon buys 80 percent of what it needs from the outside world. So it is affecting pretty much everything. And all that
if you're lucky enough to even have a job. One in three people are out of work. The country was already seeing months of protests over the economy
and corruption when the pandemic hit and now this.
The devastation can be scaled down to just one scene. This is a cafe in Beirut, it is called "Home Sweet Home", it is full of customers. And this
is the cafe following the blast totally destroyed windows blown out, seating area reduced to rubble and the back room completely full of debris.
CNN's Nina Dos Santos is with us on the economic angle of this. And sometimes it is just easier - it is such a big issue to get your head
around when you talk about a country on the verge of if not in collapse that sometimes it is easier just to take a micro snapshot. But you've been
looking at the bigger picture for us.
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is true Becky, when you put it in those stark terms of how much it costs to buy basic goods? This is the
reality for so many Lebanese at the moment obviously coping with a twin tragedy now. One that was also just like the economic tragedy that has been
unfolding there over the last couple of years entirely potentially manmade.
That is why some people are saying that this could be the Chernobyl moment for a country like Lebanon, a manmade non-natural disaster that has pushed
people past the brink when they were already economically exhausted.
Beirut state the explosion could have not come at a worse time for Lebanon. The country has been in dire straits since last year when its banking
system described as a Ponzi scheme began to disintegrate last year, pushing unemployment up, the currency down and bringing thousands on to the streets
in protest.
Even before the blast, half of Lebanon's population swollen by Syrian and Palestinian refugees was estimated to be living in poverty many were also
living in the dark thanks to rolling blackouts. Now aid agencies are sounding the alarm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAMARA ALRIFAI, SPOKESWOMAN, U.N. RELIEF & WORKS AGENCY: It is an economic crisis, a financial crisis, a political crisis, a health crisis, and now
this horrible explosion. So there are many layers to what is happening in Lebanon that is constantly testing the ability of the Lebanese and the
refugees who live in Lebanon to be resilient.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANTOS: Much of the immediate concern comes from the supply chain. The Port of Beirut where the explosion occurred is the main maritime hub for a
nation heavily dependent on goods from abroad. 60 percent of all imports pass through it and it is where grain is stored, prompting food shortages
in a market ravaged by souring prices and years of corruption.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALRIFAI: In the last few months, the Lebanese society has suffered greatly from an economic and financial crisis. And the Lebanese and refugees who
live in Syria have found it more and more difficult to buy food and to buy goods.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANTOS: With financial support from gulf countries drying up, Hezbollah plays a more prominent role in its politic, Lebanon defaulted on some of
its debt in March. At the time the Coronavirus also took hold. It tried to gain a $10 billion loan from the INF, but those talks stalled last month
and Lebanon's credit rating was cut to the lowest rang by Moody's on a par with Venezuela now one revenue driver tourism has also been badly hit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PIERRE ACHKAR, PRESIDENT, LEBANON'S HOTEL FEDERATION FOR TOURISM: It is a disaster for Lebanon for the economy and especially for tourism. We were
maybe 5 percent to 15 percent occupancy because of Coronavirus, because of the political problem with the Arab countries. And unfortunately what
happened yesterday is a real disaster.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANTOS: Straddling the geopolitical fault lines of the Middle East, Lebanese is no stranger to turmoil or tragedy. But the effects of this
massive blast will shake this economy to its already fragile foundations.
So Becky, how did Lebanon get to this situation? Well, a lot of it has to do with the legacy of the 15 year long bloody Civil War which ended three
decades ago and since then extreme inequalities have been building up in the system and also what is said to be endemic corruption.
As we just heard there, that had a big impact on the banking sector, also on the currency, the country defaulted on its debt. People had capital
controls imposed meaning that they just saw their savings wiped out without being able to get access to that cash in the bank just as they were losing
their jobs. And prices were rising in the hundreds of percentage points at one point.
[11:25:00]
SANTOS: So all of this combined puts Lebanon in a very fragile position. Some people are indeed speculating it has come to the juncture where there
is either revolution or reform. You saw the French President Emmanuel Macron there on the streets of Beirut speaking to people and facing down
their anger.
And he was very clear that when it comes to potential financial aid for this stricken country, yes, it could come from some quarters like France,
but reform would have to be explicit as a result and part of that deal. Becky.
ANDERSON: Yes, fascinating. Well, we are awaiting comments from the French President who will be alongside his Lebanese counterpart at a press
conference. That is set up that's the podium and we're keeping one eye on that for you. As soon as we see Emmanuel Macron, of course we'll bring you
his words.
Well, for one woman in Beirut, a day of celebration turned into a serious of terrifying moments all caught on camera. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh shows us
a scene and talked to this couple.
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a perfect picture wedding shoot, the glowing bride posing for photos a short walk from the luxury
wedding venue in downtown Beirut. As the smiling doctor Israa Seblani looks down at her bouquet, horror strikes, her big day blown away in an instant.
The couple and the video crew run for cover, destruction all around them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISRAA SEBLANI, BEIRUT BLAST SURVIVOR: At that moment, one thing I thought about now I'm losing my life, I'm losing my husband, and now I'm going to
be buried and they're - now I'm going to die. Now I'm waiting the moment how I'm going to die. Is it going to be fast? Am I going to feel it? Am I
going to be--
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KARADSHEH: 29-year-old Seblani a U.S. resident came back to her native Lebanon to get married. The original plan was to have the wedding party in
the United States, but her husband Ahmad Sbeih he has been waiting for his U.S. visa for three years with immigration laws getting stricter by the day
under the Trump Administration. The couple says they didn't want to be apart any longer.
And finally settled on celebrating their marriage in Beirut with friends and family in the city where their love first blossomed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEBLANI: At that moment, that beautiful place I was in where the people were dining in the restaurant, shopping, walking, it turned out into a
ghost town filled with dust, shattered glass. People yelling and bleeding it was a nightmare.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KARADSHEH: Seblani did a final run through of the bridal suite where she inspires her husband in night after the party. When the couple returned,
the red rose petals thrown off the bed were all that remained of the romance they had envisioned.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AHMAD SBEIH, HUSBAND OF SEBLANI: Of course we are alive we can continue and don't be sad or anything, we will continue and we will make it.
KARADSHEH: And Israa this is very emotional for you.
SEBLANI: I don't know what to tell but trust me, there is no word to describe really what I feel. No matter how I talk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KARADSHEH: In a city where life was turned upside down in seconds, Israa and Ahmad are just grateful to be alive. Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Istanbul.
ANDERSON: Up next, a masked crusader visits a shattered Beirut. The French President brings a message of hope may be even change. We're expecting to
hear from him in the next few minutes, I will tell you all about that just ahead.
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[11:30:00]
ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching "Connect the World". And we're waiting on a press conference from Emmanuel Macron; the French President is
in Beirut.
As we speak, he has been through the city and quite frankly sort of mobbed by people treating him somewhat like a savior this afternoon. He is there
surveying the devastation from that explosion on Tuesday evening and with the message about a path forward.
He says that there must be reform attached to any aid that Lebanon might expect to get going forward from the international community. We want to
hear more from President Macron, so as soon as he starts speaking, we will get you to that speech.
All right, waiting for that any moment like so much of the rest of the world, I've been trying to get my head around the scale of the Beirut
blast. Here's what I came up with. See what you think. An explosion so powerful in Lebanon's Capital, it generated seismic wave's equivalent to a
magnitude 3.3 earthquake.
But if you look at a map of Beirut and even that comparison can't prepare you for how far the damage spread. Damage at the epicenter of the blast was
most devastating. In Beirut industrial water front drone footage shows everything flattened within a few hundred meters. From the immediate port
area, shockwaves then raced into Beirut's neighborhoods and shopping districts but the impact was strong enough to flip over cars.
As its force rippled across the city, structures within one kilometer suffered heavy damage. Here is St. George hospital, a kilometer from the
explosion, it had to shut down from all the damage, several nurses died. Zoom out three kilometers away, many buildings suffered damage and broken
windows.
At St. Marine's Church (ph) three kilometers away, you can see the impact as the priest runs for cover and debris for. The explosion even caused
damage nine kilometers away above the presidential palace and the city's international airport.
And was so powerful, it was heard and felt some 240 kilometers away on the Island of Cypress. Well, as Lebanese officials investigate, the U.S.
President once again claiming without proof that it could have been an attack. Here is what Donald Trump said on Wednesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It seemed like it based on the explosion I met with some of our great generals and they didn't feel
that this was not a some kind of a manufactured explosion type of event. This was a - seems to be according to them, they would know better than I
would, but they seemed to think that it was an attack, those - have known.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: To be clear, neither the U.S. military nor the Lebanese government has made such a claim and say all evidence points to an
avoidable accident. Probably by now you've seen that catastrophic explosion at least once. Let's take a different look at what was an unbelievably
terrifying moment.
[11:35:00]
ANDERSON: You slow these images down, and you look very, very closely, there are in fact many clues as to what was behind that colossal blast. Sam
Kiley has been investigating. Sam, what have you got?
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Becky, you talk about slowing down the videos and looking for clues that are exactly what
Chris Hunter, Former Major in the British Army attached to British Special Forces and who continues to be a bomb disposal expert in the Middle-East
has been doing on behalf of CNN.
He took a very, very close look at all of those videos, and this is the report we've done based on his analysis.
In a land so often cursed by violence, a catastrophe, more likely the product of human incompetence than malicious design. At the core of the
Beirut explosion government officials fear is some 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate, a common ingredient for fertilizer.
But mixed with fuel or sugar, it can be a precursor for homemade bombs. They have been used by the IRA and terrorists worldwide. Anti-government
extremists used two tons that killed 168 in Oklahoma. Chris Hunter is a decorated bomb disposal expert. He served with British Special Forces and
still works in Iraq and Syria.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS HUNTER, FORMER BRITISH ARMY EXPLOSIVES EXPERT: What you can see is a series of sparks and flashes sort of - the base of the actual flames and -
in the smoke. And that's consistent with something like fireworks kicking off. If it's confined - shipping containers, then one you could get is
effectively a giant pipe bomb.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KILEY: But that he says was just the detonator for the vast ammonium nitrate explosion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTER: Moments later of course we see the explosion itself. And that's preceded by that sort of very brilliant red colored smoke coming up as
well. And that's consistent with chlorates and nitrates of the type used in fertilizer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KILEY: Lebanon's Prime Minister has vowed investigations and punishment for whoever allowed this to happen. Hunter says that the white smoke further
suggests it was an accident. A fuel mix used in terror attacks would be black but the shockwave still supersonic.
So in his expert opinion, the blast that flattened so much of Beirut was not an act of malice. But that doesn't explain how the firework store or
ammunition dump caught fire, much less why.
One of the other things that Chris was telling us is that the existence or presence of those grain silos so close to the epicenter of the blast
probably saved Beirut from even greater damage if that's even possible to conceive of because a lot of downtown, a lot of the southern edge of
downtown was partly protected by those silos acting as a blast wall.
And when you look at the bulge in the white cloud that so illustrates that blast, you can see a kind of benevolent smile within it which made Hunter
think was actually created by the brief arresting of that massive blast by those grain silos, Becky.
ANDERSON: Yes, and those questions that you posed about what it was that actually set this ammonium nitrate off will clearly be at the center of
this investigation and investigation many Lebanese say they have absolutely no confidence in. Many people telling us they want to see an international
investigation launched at this stage, Sam.
KILEY: Yes, and I think that follows the steady collapse of the Lebanese state. As Nina was reporting earlier on, a lot of it goes back to the civil
war 30 years ago. But actually 30 years is plenty of time to rebuild a country. Others have recovered from civil war.
But the administration of Lebanon has actually got worse and worse to the extent that this ammonium nitrate was being stored there for six or seven
years despite the complaints of local customs officially.
Even the intervention of the judiciary was unable to move it, the judiciary washed their hands of it, that indicates really that the Lebanese who are
suffering from 80 percent collapse in their local currency and generalize administered a mayhem really have no faith in a government to investigate
itself.
This is a country that has had numerous political assassinations. Among them, Former Prime Minister Hariri, the results of an investigation into
his murders was soon to be revealed or published or reexamined, he's got much faith in that making any kind of conclusions either.
[11:40:00]
KILEY: I think this really could be a moment for the Lebanese people at least when they say we have systemic failure in our system of governance.
The question then is how do they put the creature back together again?
This was carefully sewn together, a communitarian constitution that came out of the civil war balancing the interests of Sunnis and Shia, Christians
and Jews in a very complex tapestry. That is an easy - but my goodness from the Lebanese perspective and indeed internationally we can see it too in
Macron hinted that today, it looks very badly frayed if not ruined beyond recognition. Becky?
ANDERSON: And the French President who we are waiting to hear from tweeting this morning as he arrived in Lebanon, - Lebanon, you are not alone. Some
44,000 people have signed a petition, Sam, demanding France take over Lebanon, again restore the French mandate. We've been discussing whether
that would be a solution at this point.
KILEY: I think it's really a reflection of desperate times. The very few Lebanese around you can remember the French mandate much like the sort of -
you can take in Africa, in which we build. You have no experience of colonialism makes any things better than this at the time of civil war or
disaster.
But what that really indicates is a deep and abiding frustration. It is conceivable perhaps that one of the things the Lebanese might do is have an
internal national conference to rewrite its constitution to allow the emergence of a new generation, a less secular generation, the sort of
generation that we were seeing on the streets into October the 17th last year in Lebanon.
We've seen similar cries coming from people in the streets in Iraq. There is across the Arab world, the generation of people who are heartily sick of
the influence of religion in politics, of the corruption. They want what they see the rest of the world has got and is just, it will peer at their
fingertips on line, but not in their real lives, Becky.
ANDERSON: And you make a very good point. Because what we hear day after day from a generation in Lebanon is quite frankly what you hear off times
across this region from Iraq, Syria to Lebanon. Be where you are.
Thank you, Sam Kiley on the story for you, an attack or an accident. Whatever the investigation into the Beirut blast reveals, it will be met
with a loud call for reform. We'll take a look at what we know so far.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:45:00]
ANDERSON: We are waiting for Emmanuel Macron, the French President along with his Lebanese counterpart. He is a short from Beirut, and this where
the French President is today. He has been - he arrived earlier this morning, he has been out on the streets to see for himself witness the
devastation caused by that explosion at the Port on Tuesday.
Somewhat mobbed by many people on the streets, sort of treating him as somewhat of a savior, some sense that the Lebanese at this stage are
looking for a magician because of course it is tough.
One of the Middle-East's great scientists of culture art and finance, a refuge for others in the region struggling so badly with its political and
economic woes more on that of course, the press conference and the response from the French President as we get it.
The ammonium nitrate blamed for the explosion arrived in Beirut over six years ago on a Russian owned vessel and it never left the port. Nic
Robertson reports on the investigation into what caused it to detonate now.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Too soon to know if this explosion was an accident or an attack. But what we do know about the
devastating detonation that has killed more than 100 people and injured thousands of others is staggering.
At its core, ammonium nitrate shipped into Beirut aboard this relatively small Russian-owned cargo vessel late 2013. The 86 meter MV Rhosus was also
even flagged, had to arrive from the former Soviet Republic of Georgia via Istanbul loaded with fertilizer. Was on route to Mozambique but ordered
into Beirut port for sea faring violations.
The Cargo Ammonium Nitrate Fertilizer is so dangerous. U.S. forces have the Afghan government banned its use in 2010 because it was being used to kill
U.S. troops. Once in Beirut Port, MV Rhosus its owner abandoned the ship and crew.
According to the captain, he left us in a knowing dangerous situation doomed to hunger. The captain also telling radio free Europe MV Rhosus was
impounded for failure to pay fees. The 27, 150 tons of ammonium nitrate then shifted to a warehouse. Why so much and why such a dangerous bomb-
making precursor was still there six years later are central to the government's investigation?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HASSAN DIAB, LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER: Facts will be announced about the dangerous warehouse that has existed since 2014, meaning from six years
ago. But I will not jump into any conclusions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: President Trump told reporters his generals think it was an attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They would know better than I would, but they seemed to think that it was an attack. It was a bomb of some kind.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Although hours later, the D.O.D. dialed back the bomb theory. Three U.S. officials telling CNN, they didn't know what the President was
talking about. However, Lebanese officials are still investigating.
One intelligence officer said the theory they are working on is the explosions were triggered by a bomb and are scrolling through footage of
the explosions searching for clues. One reliable regional intelligence source told CNN the ammonium nitrate storage was well-known to Lebanon's
international partners who pressured the government to get rid of it.
Already in tatters economically, politically and medically, Lebanon long a quadrant of vex competing interests, has much at stake in figuring out who
is to blame. If the investigation finds it was an attack, not an accident, the government may have a sliver of hope, navigating the immense anger of
people who have suffered so much only to be thrown into such a hell again. Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
ANDERSON: You're watching "Connect the World". I'm Becky Anderson from our Middle-East Broadcasting Hub here in Abu Dhabi where the time is 10:28.
Still ahead this hour, Lebanon's measures to control Coronavirus are being complicated by the blast in Beirut. The country's Health Minister says, we
should expect, that is coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:50:00]
ANDERSON: While the cleanup from the blast in Lebanon continues, so does the risk for more Coronavirus infections. The Health Minister tells state
media there that the interactions between the thousands of wounded and doctors without protective equipment may increase the case count in the
coming days.
Even with emergency response supplies on the way from the international community, equipment of course was lost in the explosion. And hospitals are
damaged and crowded with the influx of injured.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health reporting 209 new Coronavirus cases on Tuesday that was the day of the blast of course. And 146 new cases on
Wednesday, the day after. Any day now Russia could approve the world's first Coronavirus vaccine despite overwhelming concerns over its safety and
effectiveness.
Russia's Health Ministry said it was working to approve it for public use as early as next Monday. Frontline health care workers would be the first
to get vaccinated with a planned nationwide rollout in October. But Russia has not released any scientific data on its fast tracked testing raising
concerns that human testing of the vaccine may be incomplete.
So is Russia putting national pride over safety to have another so-called "Sputnik" moment during this pandemic? Well, a new Coronavirus testing
facility at Moscow's main airport is certainly trying to do just that. CNN's Matthew Chance gained exclusive access.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the new front line in Russia's war on COVID-19. We gained exclusive access to the
rapid testing being introduced at Russia's airports. Soon every passenger could be screened like this in what Russia says is another example of its
scientific edge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREY KASHUBSKY, EMG DIRECTOR, RUSSIAN DIRECT INVESTMENT FUND: This is the leading edge of everything in the diagnostics. It is called point of care
system, so it can be used everywhere wherever people are needed. And you are the witness it takes one hour.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: Well, those behind this new technology in Moscow say that the tests can be used in global airport around the world including in the United
States, a way of resuming flights they say, while protecting the safety of passengers.
Of course what that means is that in the future every journey - oh - could start or end likes this. Russia has been casting itself at the forefront of
efforts to tackle the global Coronavirus pandemic as well as mass testing. It's poised to approve what it says will be the world's first COVID-19
vaccine developed to break neck speed at this Moscow Research Lab.
It claims of Russia's world beating medical advances ring hollow to critics like Anastasia Vasilyeva. The Russian Doctor turned prominent opposition
campaigner in a broadcast, so concerns on a popular online show. It seems more like propaganda she told me than progress.
[11:55:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANASTASIA VASILYEVA, DOCTORS' ALLIANCE: We're the first but this vaccine is not safe, it is not effective because they didn't do the necessary
investigations with this vaccine.
CHANCE: Why do they need to be the first?
VASILYEVA: I think it is Russia the big and strong country and put in the big and great President, he just want to be the best President maybe in the
world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: Right, the moment of reckoning. There are concerns about the accuracy of Russian testing too. Officials admit early cases could simply
slip through. Negative. Relief from Russia could prove premature. Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
ANDERSON: Well, patent of the Coronavirus pandemic appears to be changing in the United States at least. White House Task Force Coordinator Dr.
Deborah Birx says that the virus is now spreading in both rural and urban areas and that is causing new areas of concern including a nine major U.S.
cities.
Those cities are seeing early warning signs that Coronavirus cases will spike. Despite those concerns, U.S. President continues to downplay the
pandemic, so much so that Twitter and the Facebook are both cracking down on his accounts for posting misleading information. He is also spreading
false claims during his press conferences such as this statement about kids and the virus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: If you look at children, I mean, they are able to throw it off very easily and it is an amazing thing because some flu, they don't. They get
very sick and they have problems with flu, and they have problems with other things. But for whatever reason, the China virus, children handle it
very well. And that's according to every statistic--
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, despite warnings over his false Coronavirus claims, overall the President thinks that things are going well. When asked how long the
pandemic could last, here is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Absolutely there is no question in my mind it will go away. Please go ahead, hopefully sooner rather than later.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: While the President ignores the advice from his COVID-19 Task Force, Dr. Anthony Fauci again warns that the numbers don't lie. He tells
CNN an increase in positive test results show that the virus in the U.S. is still spreading.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: It's a clear indication that you are getting an uptick in cases
which inevitably as we have seen in the southern states leads to surges and then you get hospitalizations and then you get deaths. So it is a pretty
good predictor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Dr. Anthony Fauci there. That's it from us. A couple of hours, it's been packed, hasn't it? I am Becky Anderson that was "Connect the
World" from this team, it is a very good evening we will leave with Auld Lang Syne from Beirut.
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[12:00:00]
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