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Fragile Ceasefire Between Hamas and Israel Holding, Clashes at Mosque Where Latest Tensions Began; COVAX Delays Impacting Africa; Eurovision Returns a Year First-Ever Cancellation. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired May 21, 2021 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:24]

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: This hour, we're live on the ground in Gaza. Less than 24 hours after Israel and Hamas struck a cease-fire. The big

question, what happens next?

African countries scrambled by new vaccine supply chains as supplies dry up due to COVAX shortages.

And Eurovision is back. We'll be speaking to team Iceland who won't be performing live after a band member tested positive for COVID-19.

(MUSIC)

A very warm welcome. I'm Becky Anderson. Welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD."

Even as the cease-fire between Hamas and Israel holds, we are seeing new clashes where the latest tensions began.

Hundreds of Palestinians were outside the al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, waiving the Palestinian flag and the flags of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Israeli police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades. They say they were responding to rioters who threw Molotov cocktails and stones. Twenty people

were hurt, two seriously.

Now, here is something different. The Gaza City skyline quiet for the first time in 11 days.

Overnight, Palestinians took to the street to celebrate the cease-fire, which was broken by Egypt. Both sides and leaders around the world are

welcoming the end to a conflict that killed more than 200 people, most Palestinians, although welcomed a new phase in what is a long and bloody

cycle.

Stopping the fighting for now is a far cry from lasting peace. The latest tensions exposed fault lines that have been around for a very long time and

could bubble up again.

We will have the scene from inside Gaza just ahead.

First, though, Nic Robertson near the Israel/Gaza border with reaction there.

And, Nic, what do we know about how this cease-fire was broken and whether it is expected to hold at this point?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, it had Egypt at the forefront, Egyptian intelligence officials who appear to work with the

U.N., with Qatar, with the Jordanians, with the French and with the United States as well. Although it seems that the Egyptians were at the forefront,

it did have broad international backing.

We know that two Egyptian teams are coming to the region, one to meet with Palestinians, one to meet with Israeli officials, to go through the details

of the cease-fire agreement. Prime Minister Netanyahu speaking earlier today said there were details about the conflict and about the agreement

that aren't public.

We know from President Biden that part of this deal or part of the structure around the deal is to help rebuild Gaza. But he did put very

serious caveats on that. He said we will deal with the Palestinian Authority, the Fatah political organization, not Hamas. He said, we're not

putting the money in the hands of Hamas to rearm and reequipped themselves.

The difficulty with that, of course, is that Fatah does not have a big presence in Gaza and is not the dominant influence there, Hamas is.

When you're looking at how all of this is playing out in Israel, I've talked to a lot of people around here who are disappointed with Prime

Minister Netanyahu and the government taking a ceasefire. They think that Hamas should have been dealt a much harder blow. But it does seem like they

are packing up and getting ready to get their troops out of the area.

Just over my shoulder there, you can see a line of artillery vehicles, those were spread out across this field just 24 hours ago. Now they're

lined up. Most of the troops are gone, there's no security here. So signaling from here is the armor that was pulled in a little over a week

ago is getting ready to pull out, Becky.

ANDERSON: Nick, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said today, and I quote, Hamas can't hide anymore, adding what was will not be again.

A cease-fire is, of course, an emergency solution to what is a long-term problem. I've been speaking to key stakeholders over the last 11 days about

the path forward.

[10:05:02]

Have a listen to what the Egyptian foreign minister told me earlier in the week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAMEH SHOUKRY, EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: There is a desire from all of those who I have spoken to to reach a cease-fire and thereby provide the

opportunity for the resumption of peace negotiations, to resolve the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: And that view, Nic, echoed by the Jordanians who we have spoken to, by the p.a., we spoke to the Palestinian prime minister last night, and

others around this region and, of course, it has to be said, around the world, as well. The Palestinian cause certainly front and center for many,

and perhaps we're hearing more about that than we have for years.

The question is, of course, what happens next at this point?

ROBERTSON: You know, I think a lot of experts are looking at this now. People who have been either engaged in trying to bring peace to the Middle

East over the past number of decades. People who, you know, write papers and work for think tanks so they advise their governments, particularly in

Europe, particularly in the United States.

And they're all saying, look, the situation is this here. You have a stasis within the political situation in Israel. There have been four elections,

failure to form a government after all of those, the fifth election on the cards. A prime minister who really seems to have sort of run out of

political road.

In talking to some of the people, we were talking to today. You might have felt they were Netanyahu supporters. At one point, now, they say, look, we

need a change in leadership, so you've got a political vacuum or inability to move forward on the Israeli side.

And on the Palestinian side, the Palestinian Authority president is not popular, has just blocked Palestinian elections. They would have been the

first in about 15 years. So you have political stasis there, as well.

And the broad agreement is, there aren't the political players in this region, in the key positions at the moment to try to do what the

international community wants, which is begin to lead their populations to make the fundamental and massive compromises that will need to be made over

land rights here, that are part of the root of the clashes that we've seen in Gaza, that come no way to being solved by putting a cease-fire to stop

the shelling coming -- rockets coming out of Gaza and the shells and the missiles going back in.

So it is absent -- most analysts will tell you, it is absent the political leadership here on both the Palestinian side and the Israeli side to lead

their people and make those compromises, Becky.

ANDERSON: Nic Robertson is on the ground. He's at the border with Gaza.

Hadas is in Jerusalem. She is on the phone with us now.

And tensions ahead of the conflict, of course, extremely high in Jerusalem. Many say that was the flashpoint, the provocation for what we've seen over

the last eleven days. And now, once again, we are seeing action on the ground. Israeli police firing rubber bullets at Palestinians in response to

what they called riots in the Al Aqsa compound.

What do we know about what is going on there at present, Hadas?

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): So I'm standing right outside of the entrance to the Al Aqsa compound in the old city of

Jerusalem. Right now, it is calm, but a few hours ago, it was the opposite of calm. There were violent confrontations at the compound. Israeli border

police firing stun grenades and rubber bullets at Palestinians in the Al Aqsa compound after Friday prayers. Actually, one of our producers was at

the scene and police say they were responding to a riot by what they say were hundreds of Palestinians.

But we saw pictures of thousands who had gathered in the Al Aqsa compound, chanting in support of Gaza. They were waving the Palestinian flag, the

green flag of Hamas, as well as the flag of the Islamic Jihad.

They were shouting support both for the ceasefire, but also for the campaign from Gaza that preceded the ceasefire. We know that dozens of

border police entered the compound. They are firing stun get grenades and rubber bullets to people gathering there, and forcibly removing people from

the site, including journalists who were trying to clear them from the site.

A police statement said that a riot broke out after the prayers, people were throwing stones as well as Molotov cocktail at those forces. The

Palestinian Red Cross has said 20 were injured.

Right now, things are calm right here. But this just goes to show you that the tensions, that the militants in Gaza said were a part of the reason why

they fired those rockets towards Jerusalem, 12 days ago.

[10:10:06]

Those are still very much here, very much alive, and they can become a flame at any moment here. But despite what we saw this morning, things are

calm here. The cease-fire is holding. And there is a sense among some Palestinians that they have asserted themselves.

But I still think that the most significant development over the past 24 hours, despite these confrontations we saw at the Al Aqsa compound here is

the cease-fire. But of course, the most obvious question is, where do we go from here? What will be done to try to address these underlying issues

behind this conflict?

We know that the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to arrive here in the next few days. He's said to speak to the Israeli,

Palestinian, the regional players, as well. We'll have to see how this plays out and if this will actually solve anything, bring us closer to any

sort of long-lasting peace or whether we will just continue this tortured cycle -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Hadas, while a fragile cease-fire is in place for now in Gaza, and as you describe these sort of impromptu scenes, as it were, in

Jerusalem, you are making the point that this cycle is so familiar. Conflict, temporary truce, and conflict again.

That cycle most likely has not been broken. And I want to bring Nic Robertson back.

That won't happen until the symptoms shift from the symptoms, Nic, to the root causes of this conflict. You and I have been discussing that,

according to Palestinian prime minister who spoke to me Thursday on the show. This is his view.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMAD SHTAYYEH, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY PRIME MINISTER: The most important issue is the causes of this conflict. This conflict has been

ongoing for so many years. There has been many attempts to end it. This process has totally failed because of the Israeli measures against our

people, whether it is land confiscation and others.

So I think the issue is the causes of the conflict, that needs to be settled and not the symptoms of the conflict. What we are looking at is

symptoms of issues rather than really causes of the main issue, which is Israeli occupation, Israeli seizure in Gaza, Israeli measures against Al

Aqsa mosque. Israeli measures against Sheikh Jarrah, Israeli measures against our people everywhere.

This occupation should end and the sufferings of our people in Gaza, in Jerusalem, in the West Bank, in the refugee camps of Lebanon should also

stop immediately. Otherwise, it's a cycle of violence.

Every time we come to truce, to quietness, then Israel is there for their political purposes, they come to a now round of attacks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: The problem, as you pointed out, Nic, is that there is a vacuum in Palestinian leadership, in Ramallah, in the West Bank. Inept,

inefficient, corrupt, is what many will describe the P.A. and when I say "many," many Palestinians who I have had on this show over the last 11 days

make exactly that point. A vacuum in leadership that Hamas has filled over the past couple of weeks, many Palestinians chanting for Hamas and against

Mohammad Abbas, who is the president of the P.A.

The wider picture here is that until Palestinians have a seat at the table, in any negotiations going forward. We can talk about a two-state solution.

We can talk about a one-state solution. It doesn't matter what it is that everybody else thinks is right for this region going forward.

The Palestinians need a voice, correct?

ROBERTSON: Yeah, what Hamas is trying to do is to set about to make sure that they are the dominant voice within the Palestinian community. I

remember interviewing at that time, their political leader over a decade ago, Khaled Mashal.

And the message he was desperate to communicate, he was having an interview with CNN, he wanted his message to be heard in the United States, and that

message was, we are more popular than Fatah. We represent the people. We were dually elected in Gaza.

Obviously, that is a lot of scrutiny over that and questions raised. But that was his political point that we represent the people and we have a

political voice. We're not just a military organization. And we want to have a voice at the table for negotiations.

[10:15:00]

So, you know, one of the -- one of the ways that you would, if you're a peacemaker, try to aim at, would be a place where Hamas had given up any

desire to fight their way out of this situation and decided to just go to the negotiating table and talk and use politics alone. And of course, that

is one of the hardest things to do in any negotiations, not just the get the group itself to do that, to get the real hard-liners in the group to

say that weapons don't work, but to get the other side to say, okay, we trust you enough that you're actually going give up weapons and come to the

table.

But unless you have the representatives of the people on the street, at the table, you're never going to arrive at a solution that will meet the

desires of the people on the street. And the cycle begins to repeat itself. And you need strong leaders on both sides to be able to -- to be able to

build that trust in your own community that you're doing the right thing in the negotiations.

And we've seen today, our experience here has been many people have not been happy, even with a cease-fire. Never mind the consideration about the

huge concessions and leaps of faith it would take to bring Hamas politically to the table. But these are the sort of far-reaching visions

that the diplomats who think that they can be a solution, but you have to walk towards it.

And one last point, Becky. The real smart voices on this are saying, just keep this situation alive long enough until there's better political

leadership to be able to walk down that road, because it doesn't exist today.

ANDERSON: Nic Robertson is on the ground. Nic, thank you.

Israel says it hit 1,600 military targets in Gaza before the cease-fire. And then the tense truce began.

Well, Ben Wedeman has seen this scenario play out over and over again in his decades and reporting and joins us now from Gaza on the phone.

And, Nic, just -- Nic, sorry -- Ben, just describe what you are witnessing there in Gaza?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Right now, Becky, I'm in a street where a series of buildings were destroyed at

about 1:30 in the morning on the 16th of May. At least 42 people were killed in the bombing here.

And I'm speaking to some of the people who were nearby, some people who had relatives in the building. And one man told me that they received no

warning whatsoever. And he said quite simply, our lives are cheaper than a phone call from the Israeli military to tell us to get out.

I mean, what I'm looking at are just mountains of rubble and twisted metal and the remains of people's lives. Carpets, paper, books, clothing, all

spread around, between the rubble, between the twisted metal.

I spoke to one woman who lived just down the street and she told me when she was woken up at 1:30 in the morning, she thought it was judgment day.

She thought she and her children -- and she's a teacher in a local school - - she thought they were all about to die. This is, of course, the fourth war between Gaza and Israel since December 2008. And there's a sense of

shock here at the moment.

People are coming. Finally, they can go out, walk around and look at how much destruction was wrought in the few 11, 12 days of fighting. And it is

breathtaking.

Hamas, for its part, considers this a victory. They feel that they were able to disrupt life in Israel, that they were able to paralyze much of the

southern part of the country, shut down Ben-Gurion Airport.

And their attitude is, simply, Becky, that we have survived, therefore we have triumphed. It's a hollow triumph. But many people here, not all

people, I must stress, share this opinion, but I don't think that may be the case to the many who have lost loved ones during this bloodshed, during

this war -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Ben Wedeman is on the ground in Gaza. Ben, thank you.

Up next, a big pledge from the E.U. as the G20 Global Health Summit works to boost vaccine access around the world. The head of a major international

pharma group joins me next to talk about that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: The European Union is pledging to supply 1.3 billion vaccines to low and middle-income countries. This news coming a short time ago at what

is the G20 global health summit.

Now, this on the back of COVAX shortages, largely due to the COVID catastrophe in India, where the world's biggest vaccines producer is based.

Alongside new supply chains, South Africa and India are calling for the World Trade Organization to temporarily suspend vaccine patents. The U.S.

supports this waiver proposal, but the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations calls U.S. support for that

waiver plan disappointing. Those measures now outlined in a letter to G20 leaders from COVID-19 vaccine makers.

Briefly, they are keen to, one, step up dose sharing. Two, continue to optimize production. Three, call out trade barriers to be eliminated. Four,

support countries' readiness. And five, drive further innovation.

My next guest runs the IFPMA. Thomas Cueni joins me now from Basel, in Switzerland.

And it is good to have you with us.

Many leaders, including the U.S. president, argue that a vaccine patent waiver is needed to shrink this vaccine inequality gap. No one is arguing

that that is the only solution, and those five steps that you have outlined are all clear.

But why not concede, sir, that a patent waiver would also be a key tool. The industry's unwillingness to sign up to that shrieks of big pharma

protecting its own, does it not?

THOMAS CUENI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURERS & ASSOCIATIONS: Not quite, because we knew from the

beginning that developing vaccine within a year would be a challenge. We also knew that scaling up capacity would be a huge challenge. That's why,

already a year ago, the companies committed to work in partnership, partnership with governments, but also partnerships with each other.

And that's exactly what's happening. We have almost 300 steel contract partnerships, most of them including tech transfers. That's happening on

the basis of an established leader framework, and companies are scaling up manufacturing.

ANDERSON: It is the human thing to do, said Joe Biden, when against the better judgment of many of his own administration and having been lent on

heavily by big pharma organizations, he believes, that a vaccine waiver is a solution.

[10:25:08]

Again, not the only solution. Not the only key tool in the toolbox, but one that is the human tool. So I think it's -- it's difficult for our viewers

to understand why it is that the industry won't concede that. And the only argument appears to be that it wouldn't be good for the shareholders.

CUENI: No, that's not the argument. Our concern is really it would disrupt rather than help the efforts to scale up. Because what we see is this huge

amount of partnerships between big pharma and biotech, between innovative manufacturers and industrialized countries and developing countries.

And literally, we are on track within a few months, scaling up manufacturing from more than 2 billion doses by the end of May, most likely

11 billion doses by the end of the year the waiver would not add a single dose, but it would but all tech transfer, which is far more than the IP. It

is sharing of knowledge and know-how, it's joint training of skilled workers.

And we have seen some of the most experienced contract manufacturers in the U.S. or in Europe, how challenging the biological process of vaccine

manufacturing is. That's why I'm delighted that countries start dose sharing. I'm equally shocked that we see rich kids vaccinated in our

countries, whereas people in Africa are left short.

We really need to call on solidarity. But we also need to optimize the production and we need to tackle the trade barriers. Those are the problems

short-term and not the IP.

ANDERSON: That's short-term. This IP wouldn't be waived until the back end of the year. So I think it's slightly misleading to talk about the short-

term and still not concede that the IP waiver is important. Let's just be quite clear here. What we do know is that, for example, Kenya, just days

before running out of vaccines, with less than 2 percent of the population vaccinated.

Just how correspond are you about this current situation?

CUENI: I'm very concerned by the current situation. That's why we need to focus on addressing and tackling the current situation. But I also agree

that we feed to be better prepared for the next pandemic. We need to make sure that there is manufacturing capacity, for example, in Africa.

I was recently a speaker at the African manufacturing summit, and we are a part of the COVAX manufacturing task force. Companies are willing to sit

down and talk about, what can we do jointly in terms of technology transfer, voluntarily licensing. But as I said, taking away patent short-

term wouldn't help you. Long-term, I think it would jeopardize all the goodwill happening right now and it would hinder rather than transfer for

the next pandemic preparedness.

ANDERSON: That is not the position of the South Africans, for example or the Indians, for example, who had this proposed and accepted at the WTO.

Sir, thank you for joining us.

We're taking a very short break. Back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:31:06]

ANDERSON: Britain's royal princes, William and Harry, are both condemning with BBC over its bombshell interview with their late mother in 1995. It's

the one where Princess Diana revealed her relationship with Prince Charles had broken down.

An independent inquiry found that journalist Martin Bashir used, quote, deceitful methods to secure that interview and that the BBC covered it up.

The princes say the interview led to their mother's divorce and death. Prince Harry says he turned to alcohol and drugs to try to get over her

loss.

Well, Max Foster following this closely. He's live, very close to London.

And a damning report, as a result of this investigation and damning indictments from both princes, Max. Explain.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, so you got the fundamental deceit on Martin Bashir's other half. It was accepted that broke

journalistic and BBC guidelines. What Prince William was speaking more to with his statement late last night was the way the BBC covered it up. The

result of that being that Diana never knew that she had been deceived, in those last years of her life. And it affected her mental health.

This is what Prince William said in a very powerful statement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE WILLIAM: It brings indescribable sadness to know that the BBC's failures contributed significantly to her fear, paranoia and isolation that

I experienced in her final years with her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: So, Prince William doesn't think that Diana would have said what she said in that interview if she hadn't been deceived. No one is

questioning that she wanted to do this interview. That she was speaking truth to power, but she was doing so based on false evidence and lies.

Prince Harry also coming out with a brief statement. We've also been hearing from Prince Harry and how he was affected by Diana's death as well.

In a powerful interview she's done with Oprah Winfrey on a streaming series with mental health, and he talks how you say about how he turned to alcohol

to escape those feelings in the years after Diana's death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE HARRY: I was willing to drink, I was willing to take drugs, I was willing to try to do the things that made me feel less like I was feeling.

But I slowly became aware that, okay, I wasn't drinking Monday to Friday, but I would probably drink a week's worth in one day on a Friday or a

Saturday night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Martin Bashir standing by the interview and playing down, really, what happened here. But we can see from all of those around Diana how

deeply affected everyone was by what started out as that lie with those bank statements.

The police, Becky, are also going to look at the evidence again, this report, this independent report from Lord Dyson, to see if it's worth

investigating as a criminal investigation, as well. So it might not be over yet.

ANDERSON: Prince Harry also accusing the monarchy of conspiring with the media to smear Meghan in what was a bullying claim. We have heard that

before from him. I mean, resurfacing that, as well.

Max, thank you.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:36:42]

ANDERSON: Millions of Eurovision fans will be celebrating this weekend. The annual pop music competition is back after being cancelled last year

because of the coronavirus pandemic.

COVID still putting a damper on the event, but the finals are on Saturday. The fan favorite from Iceland seen here in the video for their song "Ten

Years" unfortunately will not perform because one of the members tested positive for COVID. They are still in the competition and will use footage

recorded during a recent rehearsal in the final.

Well, the band's lead singer, Dadi Freyr was surprised to hear about his band mate. He joins me now from Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, where

Eurovision, of course, is taking place.

First of all, how is your hand doing?

DADI FREYR, LEAD SINGER, DADI & GAGNAMAGNID: It's doing very well. Nobody is feeling any symptoms and feel good.

ANDERSON: Well, that's good news. How did you feel when you found out that he had tested positive and that you wouldn't be able to compete?

FREYR: We've been planning on coming here, like we were supposed to compete. Last year, when the competition was canceled. So, it's been a very

long process and the point was really to get to experience how it is to compete.

I've heard that it's like a very unique experience to actually compete in Eurovision, so that was the thing that we were most excited about. So,

yeah, didn't feel great.

ANDERSON: Yeah, you're still a part of the competition, of course. Your rehearsal footage will be played instead of a live performance. Just tell

us about the song.

FREYR: The song is written for Eurovision. Like, the performance and video in mind when I wrote it. We even had drawings of how the actual states was

going to look like, so I could write it specifically for that state and specifically for this six-piece performance group that we are.

And the lyrics are about my wife and my relationship. We've been together for ten years. And it's going good.

ANDERSON: Good. You talked about this being a unique competition and a unique event. And it certainly is. I mean, it's gained such stature, let's

call it over the years.

Mostly, it is, you know, an awful lot of fun. But it is a really big, flashy event. And you were a favorite to win.

And who do you see as your biggest competition?

FREYR: The bookmakers are saying Italy and France. And I think they have a very good chance. I also think Switzerland could be there.

ANDERSON: Well, did you watch the competition growing up?

FREYR: Yeah. It's a pretty big thing in Iceland, because we're a small country with few people and this is an event where we like, where we can

compete on an even playing field, like Germany and Spain and Italy all of those big countries.

[10:40:01]

So it's, yeah, it's a thing that Icelanders get excited about.

ANDERSON: Yeah. Not just compete, you've had some serious success. You're also very good at football, of course, which is -- which is amazing. But

you're right, I mean, Iceland has played -- has really gained some serious credibility in this competition.

Look, we wish you the best. I'm sorry that you can't be playing live. These are COVID days. The competition is on. How did you feel, by the way, about

your rehearsal performance? Because that's what the viewers are around the world will see.

FREYR: Yeah, I'm really happy. Like, right before we did that rehearsal, like, we knew that we had one chance to get a recording that we could use

if we couldn't. And we never thought that was going to happen. But still, right before we started, I said to the guys like, this might be us

competing in Eurovision. So let's perform like that, then.

And I think we all did a really good job. There's a few lighting and camera moments that I would have changed, but the essence of the act is there.

ANDERSON: Listen. You can't change it now. We wish you the absolute best.

I'm sorry you can't compete live, but do have fun, in the experience, at least. And we will be -- well, we'll be rooting for everyone. I can't say

that we'll be rooting for any one single competitor, but good luck.

Well, it wasn't maintain to be trash, but a shot by Sebastian Munoz was quite literally rubbish. He made a hole in one, but not where he went to. I

do love it when we tease these sports stories for you. Social media going nuts about this one.

CNN's "World Sport's" Alex Thomas has more. Explain.

ALEX THOMAS, WORLD SPORT: Well, this was on the first day of the PGA championship, Becky, this is the second major of the men's golf season.

Kiawah Island is off the South Carolina coast. You've got the wind howling in off the island. It can make the best players look a little bit foolish

and we're live there with our own Don Riddell a little bit shortly.

ANDERSON: The weather looks excellent there. You are in London, where it is blowing a hoolie, as far as I can tell. We were just talking to Max

Foster and he really is very wet. So I'm sure you would rather be there where your colleague, Don Riddell, is at present, yeah?

THOMAS: Absolutely.

ANDERSON: Good stuff. Well, we're glad you're there. You've got "World Sport" after this break, and I will be back with CONNECT THE WORLD after

that.

Stay with us.

(WORLD SPORT)

ANDERSON: Well, maybe it's -- it's coming your way. Who knows?

THOMAS: Fingers crossed.

ANDERSON: Exactly. It's a weekend. I hope you have a lovely weekend. Thank you very much, indeed.

That's "World Sport", and we are back with CONNECT THE WORLD after this.

END