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Connect the World
Shocking Upset: Saudi Arabia top Argentina 2-1; German Football Assistant Loses Major Sponsor over Armband Ban; CNN Speaks with Recon Team Targeting Russian Forces; Witnesses: Sexual Violence used against Protesters in Iran; Beijing Tightens COVID Measures as new Outbreaks Spread; Former Icons of Game Describe Impact of Messi and Ronaldo. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired November 22, 2022 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: A jaw dropping results kickoff the day here in Doha. I'm Becky Anderson. Hello and welcome back to our
special coverage of the World Cup here on "Connect the World". We begin with some breaking news.
For all of you watching from Saudi Arabia don't worry about getting to bed early tonight because tomorrow has just been announced as a public holiday.
That is after the Falcons ranked 51st in the world used a pair of second half goals to stun Argentina one of the favorites to win the World Cup.
The final score of 2-1 sent the Saudi team and their fans into jubilant celebrations few expected the match to even are competitive, and a Saudi
win was all about unfathomable. Argentina got a first half penalty from Superstar Lionel Messi and what is expected to be his final World Cup.
But several other chances eliminated due to off sides; Argentina, now face a tougher road to even get out of the group stage. Let's bring in our Don
Riddell who was at the match, and is now with fans at the - here in the heart of Doha.
Let's just start with the atmosphere of that match, as I understand it 88,000 in the Lugsail Stadium that's an awful lot of people and there were
an awful lot of Saudis at that match. What was the atmosphere like after this upset?
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORTS: Becky it was just incredible. I mean, I was lucky enough actually to be sat near a huge contingent of Saudi fans. And
it was just deafening, absolutely deafening. I would say that the Argentine fans out numbered them, maybe two to one, maybe even three to one.
And so it was a terrific atmosphere inside the stadium throughout the match. But once the Saudis got in front, and then and then held on to it.
It was just absolutely amazing. And nobody saw this coming Becky. You're absolutely right, such an historic and epic upset.
I was kind of laughing before the game because they were all these prayer rooms around for the Saudi fans to pray in before and even during the game
at halftime. And I was just thinking to myself, you know, they're outnumbered in the stadium. They're going up against Messi the God they're
going to need a helping hand from Allah.
And boy, did they get it? And yes, I think the Saudi fans absolutely deserve the public holiday tomorrow. I suspect quite a few of them will use
it making travel arrangements to get here for the weekend for their second game, because who would want to miss what's going on now with the Saudi
team?
ANDERSON: Absolutely. Now they got Mexico and Poland. Of course, this looked like a sort of reasonable group for probably, let's face it, the
Argentinians and the Mexicans likely to go through but all bets are off at this point.
You make a very good point. It's a 6.5 hour drive, from Riyadh to Qatar now that the blockade is off. And that was a whole sort of diplomatic and trade
rift between Qatar and Saudi between 2017 and 2021. That is not an unreasonable drive for many Saudi fans that aren't already here to do.
There are though as you rightly point out an awful lot of Saudi fans here already. What are they telling you about the potential? How they feel about
how far their team could go at this point?
RIDDELL: To be honest, I'm not sure anybody's really planning for kind of what happens next. I think they're just reveling in the moment of now. I
mean, you know, there's the false bravado you would expect before the game oh we're going to beat them 5-0, or maybe let Messi score one but I can't
believe that any of them really believed that was actually going to happen.
So I think, to a certain extent, they were just kind of stunned afterwards, but they were describing it as a dream. You know, they would have been
thrilled with a draw but to actually be there in the stadium and see them beat Argentina and Messi towards the end they were chanting we beat Messi
not we'd beat Argentina. We beat Messi.
And you have to remember, I think Becky, you just described it as arguably the greatest upset in the World Cup, maybe even one of the greatest upsets
in sports history. They were going up against Messi, Argentina, some of the best players in the world.
Nobody in this Saudi squad plays football outside of Saudi Arabia. One or two of them have tried over the years to play their trade in Europe and
Spain for example it hasn't worked out.
[11:05:00]
RIDDELL: They've come back to play in Saudi Arabia. And look at what they just achieved is absolutely remarkable.
ANDERSON: Don Riddell is down in the suit. Thank you, sir. Good atmosphere down there. Our Senior Sports Analyst, Darren Lewis was also at the
matches, let's bring him back now. I spoke to you last hour and we were just - we were talking about the quality of the Saudi team. I mean, the
second goal was an absolute screamer?
DARREN LEWIS, CNN SENIOR SPORTS ANALYST: It was indeed and it was scored by a guy they nicknamed "The Tornado" our wonderful goal to grace any top
match. And I think as far as the Saudis are concerned, they celebrate him. They have done for so long.
He's 31 years of age. He's a guy who has been through the wars. He's played in European football as well. But a buddy is a guy who epitomizes what
Middle Eastern football is all about resilience and quality, and guile and strength.
And I think as far as the Saudis are concerned, just listening to Don there obviously, this explosion of joy around the region. In the last hour we're
talking about in 1993 in Cameroon, burst into the scene and inspired some many people who are adults who became children and the children who wanted
to get into the game. I think that's what today will do.
ANDERSON: So you and I have been discussing this. And I want our viewers to hear this because, you know, this was a - when the host nation Qatar won
this bed. They said it was a tournament not just for Qatar but for the region. And we've talked about the fact that for year's people has asked me
and I live in the region.
People really liked football in this region. Well they do? They are absolutely passionate about it. So the fans exist. You see quality of
football, like you've seen today from that Saudi team, certainly in the second half and it was a bit of a game in two holes but certainly in the
second half. It was grit and determination, some quality football here. Are we seeing the emergence of a sort of new footballing global footballing map
as it were?
LEWIS: I think we certainly are seeing a rise of another superpower. I definitely believe so. I think that with the investment--
ANDERSON: Saudi - you're talking about the region?
LEWIS: --about the region, absolutely. I think as far as a region is concerned, we are seeing countries investing in good players, attracting
top coaches. Herve Renard who is the Saudis coach has won the Africa Cup of Nations twice with different teams, the Ivory Coast and with Zambia.
Carlos Queiroz who coaches Iran, he is used to be the Assistant Coach at Manchester United. They are attracting top coaches that had the
infrastructure in this is quite key. They also had the patience in Herve Renard's post match press conference he said.
Well, I've been here for three and a half years. The President's never put any pressure on me. The prince has never put any pressure on me. He has
simply given me the job and said, you make us better and that's what they've invested.
People talk about the money, the Aspire Academy, but the patience is key because with that patience, you can yield the kind of result you had today.
ANDERSON: And listen, let's be quite frank. I mean, the Saudis were got absolutely thumped by the Russians in 2018 in the first game 5-0. And back
home, they didn't like it much. This is a nation with a storied history. I mean, it's not their first World Cup by any stretch of the imagination.
And it's a team if you are, were a young Arab back in the day, you sort of get behind the Saudis, because it was one of the few Arab teams that would
make it to the last sort of - to the qualifying round. At this stage, you know, we hear so much criticism about this region, and sports.
And look, you know, I'm sure you've got thoughts on that. I've got thoughts on that. But it would be unfair to criticize this region for its passion
for sport. And the flipside to the sort of sports washing criticism that you see is, for example, be in sports who have invested, as I understand
it, 11 billion in sports rights around the world, 8 billion of that has gone to European leagues, some of which are lower leagues.
When you watch here, or in Abu Dhabi, where I live, you get to see second, and third, division football, as we used to call it. So there is a really
positive story about the investment from this region that is going into global football, isn't it?
LEWIS: And I think when you look at that sport, it almost mirrors politics in some respects because, you know, some would say that maybe there is fear
about the rise of Middle Eastern football. Members apprehension, because if they become a superpower in the game, then the other established entities
if you like, can't compete.
But when you see what we saw today, and you see the other young players coming through you see that the investment because all of those rights that
you're talking with the money that it comes in.
[11:10:00]
LEWIS: It goes into the Aspire Academy and the other academies that are able to produce these top players. And Herve Bernard gave an insight into
that today and he will say, look, we've made history, not just on the pitch, but off it as well, because the new generation of children will have
looked at that and want - will want to be a part of that.
So all of the money that you've been discussing all of the investment, it translates directly into a future for this region that could see even
stronger and for maybe even a year's time.
ANDERSON: No one region should own this game and the more the better as far as I'm concerned.
LEWIS: Absolutely.
ANDERSON: And that's coming from a Brit from a young English woman who wants to ensure that England still sort of or at least at some point reign
supreme. I was going to say reign supreme still reigns through their reigns if they've had a good start.
Here's a quick fact for you as we close this out. The last three teams to beat Argentina at the World Cup have gone on to win the competition. We're
not betting people but if you were would you put the money on the Saudis at this point?
LEWIS: I bet them to come out of the group. Probably not go as far as the final.
ANDERSON: They've gone onto the final two have gone to win. One Croatia have gone into the final it's always a pleasure. Thank you very much
indeed.
Well, Saudi no stranger to the green of the World Cup hit since 1994. The Kingdom has qualified for six World Cups including this one here in Qatar
and this year's tournament was the easiest for the fans in green Falcons as they're known when it comes to being in the stands.
The countries are neighboring each other Riyadh less to Doha less than a seven hour drive away. As I said, and fans out there pickup traveling by
land, sea or air. Will despite the proximity the fact that the Saudi fans are even here does remind us that football is sometimes a lot more than the
action on the pitch.
It was, of course an incredible performance one of those games that makes the World Cup so special. But this was about so much more than football.
This image of the Amir of Qatar, the leader here, wearing a Saudi scarf is so symbolic and here's why?
Until 18 months ago, Qatar and Saudi had fallen out big time and I mean big time along with three other Arab nations. For three years Riyadh had
boycotted this tiny Kingdom of Qatar. They shut down their border with it; they closed their airspace for it. They had squeezed them both
diplomatically and economically and that cost this tiny Kingdom this tiny state billions of dollars.
Well, today that rift is well and truly over. Saudi Arabia has now clinched its biggest football win on Qatari soil. It's biggest football win ever.
This is what some fans told me earlier.
(BEGIN VODEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (on camera): How do you feel?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel absolutely amazing. It was a beautiful game. We did them with Messi. Argentina actually one of the favorite to win the game
there were unbeaten 36 games, but guess who beat them?
ANDERSON (on camera): Argentina and Saudi let me come talk to you. Hey, you're holding on to this flag like you're never gonna let go of it? You're
going to sleep with it tonight?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. And I hope from the bottom of my heart that Saudi will be on the final.
ANDERSON (on camera): Not everybody wearing a flag today is from Saudi Arabia. There's a lot of Arabs wearing Saudi flags today. How good was that
match?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tomorrow and tomorrow and all year number one.
ANDERSON (on camera): How good was the match? How good?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Normal. Normal. Argentina today - go out.
ANDERSON (on camera): You think you can go all the way you can win the World Cup?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes no doubt.
ANDERSON (on camera): Seriously?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know it's a huge occasion for our boys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Pure emotion. Well, to some of the fallout from the "onelove" armband controversy FIFA's banner the symbol for inclusion is costing
German Football Association a major sponsor. German Supermarket, John Rivet, now calling me ban scandalous and unacceptable and ending its
cooperation with the DFB immediately the chain added that it's still supporting the players.
One American journalist didn't wear the armband, but did show up at the cup with a rainbow shirt on Monday. He says he was briefly detained by police.
[11:15:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRANT WAHI, U.S. JOURNALIST BRIEFLY DETAINED IN QATAR: I showed up at the stadium last night. And instantly, I was pushed aside by the security
guards at the media entrance and I was told explicitly, you need to take off your shirt. That's a political statement, and you cannot enter because
of that.
They continue to try to get me to take off my shirt. They stood above me as I sat and angrily yelled at me. Only after about 30 minutes did a commander
come down and let me through wearing my shirt and he apologized as did FIFA.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Germany's Interior Minister says FIFA's ban on the "onelove armbands" is a big mistake that tears the heart of fans and she says she
will come to Doha to discuss the issue and the U.S. Secretary of State also weighing in.
Antony Blinken and the Qatari Foreign Minister signed a letter of intent on human rights and labor practices. Blinken says Washington will continue to
work with Qatar on the issues long after the World Cup is over. He was asked specifically about the armband issue while he was here in Qatar
earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: It's always concerning from my perspective, when we see any restrictions on freedom of expression. It's
especially so when the expression is for diversity, and for inclusion. And in my judgment, at least, no one on a football pitch should be forced to
choose between supporting these values and playing for their team.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Antony Blinken speaking here earlier today. Well next up, a heart wrenching update from the scene of a devastating natural disaster where
schools have been toppled and parents still looking for their missing kids and risking their lives for a big payoff. CNN talks to reconnaissance teams
in Ukraine who put their lives on the line in the battle to retake Kherson, more on that after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: "Connect the World" coming to you live from the World Cup in Doha all this week and we are tracking developments for you both here and of
course on our other top international stories this hour, including the growing disaster in Indonesia.
The death toll from Monday's earthquake is now approaching 300 and could go higher with rescue is frantically searching for people still alive in the
rubble. Well, a government official says most of the dead so far are children. CNN's Anna Coren reports.
[11:20:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): After 30 seconds of the earth violently shaking, a man in shock picks up his phone and starts filming.
The building has been destroyed. Everything has collapsed, he says. He walks through what's left of his village in Cianjur district in Indonesia's
West Java province after the earthquake.
As the injured sick dazed and bloodied are the screen for those few trapped under the rubble. Where's my child, where's my child, a mother cries, while
little girl sobs mama, mama. The 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck the mountainous region about 75 kilometers southeast of the nation's capital
Jakarta, at around 1.20 pm on Monday.
It's shallow depth at 10 kilometers meant rate destruction on the surface. While multiple landslides buried homes. At the regional hospital staff
yelled for people to evacuate, fearing it would also collapse. Outside a makeshift triage center was set up as countless injured were brought in
waiting for medical treatment.
Doctors say most of the injuries were head traumas and fractures. But for this mother of seven seeking treatment, her priority was for her missing
child. The children were downstairs and I was upstairs getting laundry she explains, everything collapsed beneath me and I was crushed beneath this
child. One of my kids is still missing. My house is flattened. Good God.
According to Save the Children, dozens of schools were damaged. Students were in class at the time of the quake having come in from lunch books and
bags just left by those who were lucky enough to escape. Suddenly the wall fell and the students were screaming and crying explains his teacher. There
was dust everywhere.
The students grabbed each other and ran out of the building. A search and rescue team's comb through the rubble, Indonesian President Joko Widodo
visited the disaster zone to pay his condolences and offer compensation to the victims. He told the tireless crews to keep searching for any survivors
and outcome that's looking more and more unlikely. Anna Coren, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, Russia and Ukraine again blaming each other for shelling around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Now Ukraine says Russia 560
shells overnight in Nikopol District, which is an area that is come under repeated attack over the past week.
Today the Kremlin accused Ukrainian forces of shelling the nuclear plant, its spokesperson expressing "extreme concern over safety there". The United
Nations has just released an updated casualty toll for the war in and of itself almost 6600 Ukrainians dead and more than 10,000 injured since
Russia's invasion in February.
Ukraine's re-taking of Kherson marked one of the biggest turning points of this war. Special reconnaissance units played a very big role in the battle
for the city and for the nearby villages. Sam Kiley talked to some of the troops in what is this exclusive report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Pensive hyper vigilance, these foreign volunteers are reconnaissance soldiers,
reliving weeks of fear and final victory in the battle for Kherson. Many are veterans of the --campaigns against ISIS in Syria. Now they work beyond
the frontlines, deep into enemy territory for Ukraine.
MACER GIFFORD, UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES: We would get so close to the Russians that we could hear them talking. We could hear them cooking their
food and chopping the wood to build their shelters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: --it's like observation textbook where they wrote what's going on.
KILEY (voice over): Andriy's military call sign is sneaky. And that's what the recon units under his command must be. Getting spotted here during the
campaign to catch at Kherson is nearly fatal. But they may cough with a trove of stolen documents and Russian technology, all leading to moments
like this, the obliteration of a Russian command center and the surrender of a Russian Senior Sergeant, a paratrooper abandoned by his comrades in
retreat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were shooting with artillery he's hit and one more guy a Captain. Russians take the Captain but left him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that him?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, platoon commander.
KILEY (voice over): He tells them he's been hiding out for six days, and then warns the Ukrainians that Russian aircraft could attack.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said "run out from here because aviation is shooting at this place".
[11:25:00]
KILEY (voice over): They'd been bumming here a lot, he says, he's injured but now safe. Russian airstrikes on their abandoned positions were a
constant danger for the recon units during the grinding advance on Kherson over the autumn. Stinger anti-aircraft missiles the mixed blessing, missing
with one can attract retribution from the air.
Recon is about gathering intelligence and hunting targets using drones to fine tune artillery. For months bringing in strikes like this trying to
force the Russians to run and suddenly across the whole front that's what they did run. In chasing the Russians out crossings like this have often
been hit with artillery and our immortal gamble. Survival the giggling relief but the rewards they say worth it.
DAMIEN RODRIGUEZ, UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES: Well, yes, of course when I see villagers, you know, they've seen the Ukrainian military for the first time
and who knows how long eight months at least? Yes, of course right, you get a little teary eyed you say. Everybody crying and thanking us for helping
their village and yes, of course it gets --.
KILEY (voice over): Sam Kiley, CNN near Kherson City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, still ahead, another CNN exclusive as protests rage in Iran and continue to rage. We are hearing new disturbing allegations that
security forces there are using sexual assault as a punishment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching "Connect the World". I'm Becky Anderson for you. The UN's human rights chief is calling the situation in
Iran critical. As authorities there tightening their noose on protesters. The UN says more than 300 people have been killed in the past two months of
protests including more than 40 children.
Now later this week, the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva will hold a debate on the protests in an attempt to establish a fact finding mission on
the regime's crackdown. It is expected to be attended by diplomats by eyewitnesses and even by victims and that couldn't be more important. Since
the beginning of this protest movement in September, Iran's regime has unleashed a campaign of utter repression.
[11:30:00]
ANDERSON: I want you to tell CNN sexual violence is being used to suppress to demoralize and in some cases to blackmail protesters. CNN's Nima Elbagir
has this exclusive report for you. But I have to warn you her report contains detailed descriptions of sexual violence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Over these mountains is Iran, a regime that has succeeded in cutting
many of its people off from the outside world, but disturbing stories detailing the authorities' brutal retribution, systematic sexual violence
against anti-regime protesters have begun leaking out.
We've come here to the Kurdish region of Iraq to try and find out more. This is Hannah, not her real name, a Kurdish Iranian woman recently
smuggled out of Iran, she fears for her life. After taking off and burning her headscarf on the streets, she was arrested and detained by Iranian
intelligence officers. They choose the women who were pretty and suited their appetite.
Then the officer would take one of them from the cell to a smaller private room. They would sexually assault them there. Hannah isn't only an
eyewitness, she also was violated.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel shy talking about this. You can still see what the policeman did. Look here on my neck. It's purplish. That is why I'm
covering it. He forced himself on me.
ELBAGIR (voice over): Then a fight broke out with another protester drawing away Hannah's attacker, Hannah and others can hear screams and they believe
a woman was raped in an interrogation room. Hannah sketched out the police station as she remembers it. She estimates 70 to 80 men and women were
together in a main hall that accessed four private interrogation rooms.
It was in these interrogation rooms, she says that she was assaulted and others were raped. CNN was able to locate the police station through
Hannah's description, eyewitness corroboration and geo-location using key landmarks. It's in the Islamabad neighborhood of Urmia. Based on this
testimony and speaking to a number of sources, a pattern of repression comes into focus.
Police sense is used as filtration points, moving protesters from one location to another. Often families left not knowing where their loved ones
are held. One Iraq based Kurdish militant opposition party pack identified over 240 people who they believe are missing within this maze of detention
centers.
Human rights organizations believe the number is higher in the thousands. Some of the victims as young as 14, many are men supporting female
protesters, their punishment as severe as the women's.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They brought four men over who had been beaten, screaming intensely in another cell. And one of the men who was tortured
was sent to the waiting room where I was. I asked him what all that screaming was about. He said they are raping the man.
ELBAGIR (voice over): Based on witness testimony, CNN traced the location to an Iranian army intelligence headquarters, voiced here by a translator.
A 17 year old boy sent CNN a voice note following his imprisonment. We are withholding his name and location for his safety.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When a security guard heard me discussing the rape of the other inmates, he started torturing me all over again. They tortured,
raped me from behind.
ELBAGIR (voice over): Even as authorities visited sexual violence on protesters, regime figures accused female protesters of prostitution of
"wanting to be naked". Of the incidents of sexual violence against protesters inside Iranian detention facilities, most occurred in the
Kurdish majority areas to the west of Iran, home to a historically oppressed minority.
Disturbingly in some cases, the rapes were filmed and used to blackmail protesters into silence. There has been a real escalation where female
protesters are, as you can see here, being openly assaulted, often sexually. But the Violence against Women like the protests are not confined
to the Kurdish areas.
They are often focused on locations where the protests are most intense, like here in the capitol Tehran. One of these stories is our Armita Abbasi,
a typical 20 year old on social media sharing her love of animals. In social media posts appearing under her name Abassi like many young women in
Iran criticize the regime openly after the process began.
[11:35:00]
ELBAGIR (voice over): Unlike most she did it without anonymity. It didn't take long for security forces to find and arrest her. Abassi disappeared.
Soon after, whistleblowers began to post on various social media platforms, medics sharing eyewitness accounts of what had been done to Abassi.
First of all, they say there were a few plainclothes men with her and they did not let her out of their sight. Even during a private medical
examination they were there. She was my patient. I went to her bedside they had shaved her hair. She was scared and was trembling.
When she first came in, they said it was rectal bleeding due to repeated rape. The plainclothes men insisted that the doctor right that the rape was
from prior to her arrest, and then after this issue was becoming obvious to all, they changed the entire scenario altogether.
The details of these leaks were confirmed to CNN by an insider at Imam Ali Hospital, where Abassi was brought to be examined. In a statement the
government said Abassi was treated for digestive problems. The medics who treated her said that was not true. The Iranian regime denies the rape,
accusing her of leading protests and allegation which could see her face the death penalty.
At this usually busy border crossing between Iraq and Iran, it is deceptively quiet. Those who can cross tell us the noose is tightening on
protesters. Authorities have for decades used sexual torture against Iranians and it appears once more a familiar pattern, sexual violence
deployed to enforce an assertion of moral guardianship.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, CNN Chief Investigative Correspondent Nima Elbagir joining us now. That's a very, very disturbing report to watch but an extremely
important one. Mina, how are these victims doing now? How are they coping with what has happened to them?
ELBAGIR: I mean, it's extraordinarily difficult in any environment it especially in such a conservative environment. And it is really much of
that conservatism, which has allowed rate to be weaponized in the way that it is being weaponized against protesters. When we reached out to Iranian
authorities to comment on this piece, they chose not to respond.
But many inside Iran who were speaking to say that they have responded without using words which is in this escalation in their clamp down this,
this sense that there is no recourse for protesters outside of Iran that there is no escape from the Iranian regime.
But and yet so many people we speak to despite that were brave enough to share their stories with us were brave enough to get their voices out via
voice note like that 17 year old boil via intermediaries and messages.
People are trying very; very hard Becky to continue what they believe is their right which is to fight for basic human rights inside Iran and as the
clampdown escalates that doesn't seem to be going away, Becky.
ANDERSON: Just earlier today, here in Qatar, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the Iran protests have and I quote him here "galvanized
the world". But quite frankly, let's be quite clear here. It is unclear what the world the U.S. others believes it will or can do next to help
protesters to end this.
You've spoken to people who've been involved put their lives on the line here. How are they telling you? What are they telling you about how they
believe this will end?
ELBAGIR: So I mean, some people went as far as to call statements like that hurtful, that to say that the Iran, that the process, the anti-regime
protests inside Iran have galvanized the world. When it is these young men and young women and their fathers and their uncles and their mothers who
are allied alongside them, they are the ones who are galvanized.
So many people that we speak to both those who fled to safety and what little we can try and get out from inside Iran, find themselves isolated,
they find themselves desperate in the face of a world that really has battered any ability to influence or exert further pressure on the Iranian
regime.
The sanctions regime was so all encompassing, really that in so many ways it's unclear what card Secretary Blinken or other world leaders and foreign
secretaries what card can they actually play?
[11:40:00]
ELBAGIR: There is very little that those inside Iran believe can actually tangibly help them in any of these statements. All they know all they say
to us is that it's clear that the regime is afraid that they believe that these protests are an existential crisis, and that they are responding with
the maximum amount of cruelty that they can muster in this moment, and that cruelty is only escalating.
ANDERSON: Nima, thank you, to you and the team. I know you will be the first to recognize the people working with you on what is an extraordinary
report. And I know you'll continue to press authorities on this and continue with the sort of reporting that you do. Appreciate it. Thank you.
Well, we now know the identities of the five people killed Saturday when a man opened fire inside an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs in Colorado.
They are Kelly Loving, Daniel Aston, Derrick Rump, Ashley Pough and Raymond Green Vance. 19 more people were injured.
The suspect faces murder and hate crime charges, two people in that nightclub managed to take the gunman down. Well, earlier we spoke with one
of them a war veteran. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD FIERRO, SUBDUED CLUB Q GUNMAN: This whole thing was a lot. My daughter, wife should have never experienced combat in Colorado Springs and
everybody in that building experience combat that night. Not to their own accord, but because they were forced to. I told the mayor I'm not. I'm not,
I'm not a hero. I'm just a guy that wanted to protect his kids and his wife. And I still didn't get to protect them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, the nightclub massacre has shattered the sense of security. Well, members of that LGBTQ community, it was one of their few safe havens
in Colorado Springs. Colorado's governor, the first openly gay man elected governor in the United States says it is time to unite and rally behind
those who are suffering.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JARED POLIS, COLORADO GOVERNOR: It's easy and tempting just to tune the crazy talk out and we all see it whether it's your Twitter feed or Facebook
page or comments in the media. But I think it's too dangerous to tune out. We need to call it out aggressively and say it's not OK to say that some
group of Americans are somehow the enemy just because of who they are, who they love. We're all in this together; we need to focus on unity. We need
to focus on the true belief that we all value care about and love one another.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: We're seeing Colorado Governor. I'm Becky Anderson. You're with me for a special "Connect the World" from Doha in Qatar. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:45:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We should not accept the fact that the climate crisis has been decided for us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Young people the center of the climate change debate a hallmark of COP27. The annual climate change conference held in Sharm el-
Sheikh Egypt this year featured a dedicated pavilion for children at first for COP.
OMNIA EL OMRANI, PRESIDENT, YOUTH ENVOY AT COP27: I think the children and youth pavilion is such a historical accomplishment here in Egypt. We are
affected the most and we need to be part of the agenda.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Omnia El Omrani, a 27 year old medical doctor and training is now in charge of making that happen.
OMRANI: I've just been recently appointed as the COP27 President Youth Envoy. My role is to be the link between what young people need when it
comes to integrating their voices and solutions directly into the negotiation process.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Egypt was not her first Climate Change Conference; El Omrani attended COP24 and COP25 as part of a medical delegation for
students, that's when she realized a need to bridge the gap between youth leaders and decision makers.
OMRANI: We're inviting the policymakers to come to us and see how we can work together because it's about being equal partners. We are being
continuously excluded from the decision making processes that can drive the urgency to climate action.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: During the conference, another first for young people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Youth and all marginalized groups will be most hit by the impacts of the climate crisis.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Young leaders collaborated with ministers sharing their concerns and offering their ideas to help mitigate the impact of the
climate crisis.
OMRANI: Coming out of this roundtable there will be key policy us coming out of adaptation, mitigation, loss and damage of climate finance, you want
to see them implemented on the global level.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The UAE's Minister of Climate Change and Environment attended one of the discussions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've invested about $40 billion outside the UAE and renewables.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Next year, the UAE will host COP28. El Omrani says there's a plan in place to hold leaders accountable beyond the two week
conference here in Egypt.
OMRANI: If their commitments are inadequate we as young climate activists and advocates, we know how to be vocal, be specific and be very persistent
in our own demands.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Leaders, listen to ask children please, whose kids first.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: El Omrani says she's confident, these voices can and will be heard even from the youngest of leaders.
OMRANI: World leaders to take on as to be inspired by the word that some people are doing. We believe that this is our future and we are also
responsible for the current generations to come.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Welcome back, you're watching "Connect the World". I'm Becky Anderson. We'll try and doubling down on its zero COVID policy. Its capital
is tightening containment rules for people entering Beijing. And Shanghai says that it will follow suit this Thursday. CNN's Selina Wang is with the
very latest for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): More COVID restriction is across China as the country battles a surge in infections. From here in
Beijing to the economic engine of Guangzhou in the south to the mega city Chongqing in the southwest.
China is reporting more than 20,000 COVID cases per day. Now that's low by international standards, but considered very high here in zero COVID,
China. Beijing's largest district is urging residents to stay at home. The city has shut down many parks, malls and museums.
The city is quiet more areas where cases have been found are going into lockdown. And now a 48 hour negative PCR test is required in Beijing to
enter public venues. That's a tightening from the previous rule of a 72 hour COVID test. China has been keeping up its harsh border control rules
as well. But it's even getting harder to travel within the country.
Beijing is now requiring domestic travelers arriving in Beijing to take three PCR tests and quarantine at home for three days. Shanghai also
tightening rules for people entering the city. New rules state that anyone who entered the city less than five days ago will be barred from entering
public places.
The government recently made an announcement that it would take a more precise targeted and scientific approach to zero COVID and gave people some
hope that there could be a reopening. But there's been no clear roadmap for how local governments are supposed to get there.
[11:50:00]
WANG (voice over): There's still pressure to keep COVID cases low. So for now, cities are still sticking to the same brute force tactics of
lockdowns, quarantines, and mass testing. The vaccination rate for China's elderly is also still lagging behind.
And authorities have said of swift opening up could lead to widespread deaths and the overwhelming of China's health care system where resources
are an evenly distributed. There's also a political element to this as well. Xi Jinping has tied his personal leadership to the success of China's
zero COVID policy. So there is no easy or fast way out of zero COVID for China. Selina Wang, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Right, back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDRIY SHEVCHENKO, FORMER UKRAINE FOOTBALLER: In my career up to 20 years ago, I had some incredible moments woke up 2006 was a very high moment not
just because we play well also because it was so many Ukrainian fans and I was - love to see Ukrainian flag in every study and in the world to come
and support the team. And that feeling for me is just united people to get, the united all Ukrainians together.
Derailed pressure when become Ukrainian national team manager and that was a real pressure because to be for long time, Capitan and here like flags, I
took that responsibility and come manager and I tried to put some important target and then reach that final European cop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, that was Andriy Shevchenko of Ukraine giving us his favorite World Cup memories. And do stay tuned all week to hear from other
stars that have graced what is this amazing tournament; they call the biggest sporting festival in the world, the World Cup now.
Throughout this hour we've been following what has been an amazing result here, the victory of Saudi Arabia over Argentina earlier today. It's
enormous for the Gulf nation because let's not forget who they be Lionel Messi, possibly the best player to ever grace a football field in what is
possibly his last World Cup. It's a similar situation for his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
These two players have wowed us for nearly two decades. And I spoke with some other legends of the game, including Shevchenko about their impact on
the sport. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHEVCHENKO: I think we were so lucky when we saw some reality between these two players and how many great nights and then great games that we saw
these two players provide to play in a way how it play.
WAYNE ROONEY, FORMER ENGLAND FOOTBALLER: I think it's Cristiano - Messi are probably the best two maybe in the history of the game. And two calls to
records the pin-breaking is incredible.
[11:55:00]
ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC, FORMER SWEDEN FOOTBALLER: The day they will stop football is that they are piece of football will be gone because they're
part of the history in this game. And there have been on a top level for a long time, which people don't understand. Because when you have players
that comes up on a high level, extreme level, they're there for a couple of years and then they slow down. And I'm on a level you don't discuss because
I'm above both of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: We couldn't make him up. Well, Saudi Arabians feeling at home in Qatar alongside hosts. Qatar, the kingdom is the only team to have a squad
made up of entirely domestic based players. So for Saudi Arabia to score, what has been an iconic victory, so close to home, makes that extra special
and is already bringing pride to football fans across the Arab world.
Dubai's ruler tweeting, and I quote, "it is a victory killer performance Arab Joy, a thousand congratulations to the Saudi national team which make
us happy, entertained and overjoyed. Well the player that scored the second goal celebrated with a back flip.
So with this win, it is safe to say the World Cup has been turned up, side down. Well, that is it for us today here in Doha. I'll be back same time,
same place tomorrow. But our coverage continues, stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
