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New Rescues Nine-Plus Days after Earthquake in Turkiye; NATO Ministers Meet in Brussels; Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon Announces Resignation; U.S. Blacklists Companies Linked to Chinese Military; Eurasia Group's Ian Bremmer Says Ukraine Conflict Is on Dangerous Escalation Path. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired February 15, 2023 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says his country will remain committed to helping Ukraine with

sophisticated equipment.

As the death toll in the Turkiye-Syria earthquake continues to rise, images of rescue teams finding survivors under the rubble offer a glimmer of hope,

we're live in Istanbul.

And Nicola Sturgeon is resigning as Scotland's first minister, saying her decision was not a reaction to any short-term pressure.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ANDERSON: I'm Becky Anderson. Welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD in Dubai this hour, at the World Government Summit, the conference where leaders across

the business and political world gathered to discuss future trends in tech and global finance. We'll get you more on that in a moment.

First up, our top story, the NATO secretary general says Ukraine has a window of opportunity to tip the balance in the war and time is of the

essence. Any moment now, Jens Stoltenberg is scheduled to hold a news conference with the president of Poland. We will get you that live when it

happens.

He earlier welcomed new pledges by allies, which include more heavy weapons and military training. His comments came to after NATO defense ministers

met in Brussels met for two days of talks. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Russia's cruel and unprovoked war in Ukraine plunged Europe

into its worst security crisis in decades.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The outcome of this tragic and unnecessary war is profoundly important to Ukrainian security, to

European security and to global security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: On the battlefield, fierce fighting persists in the eastern town of Bakhmut. Fewer than 5,000 civilians remain in the embattled city.

Meanwhile, Russia is dismissing a disturbing new report that alleges its government is operating an expansive network of camps, where it has held

thousands of Ukrainian children since the start of the war. Moscow calls the report absurd.

Clare Sebastian joins us from London with more on that.

First, let's bring in David McKenzie tonight, who has the very latest from Kyiv -- David.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, this fighting in the east is very intense. As we have been talking,

about Becky, particularly in Bakhmut and to the south to north of that, a very strategic area.

Now the Ukrainian officials have now basically cut off Bakhmut from civilians and the press. They say it's for the safety of those and not an

attempt at censorship.

In particular, the roads leading into that town are under -- or could be under Russian fire. So it's extremely dangerous.

You mentioned that that town is down to a few thousand people, completely depopulated, during the very fierce fighting as people fled Bakhmut.

The NATO meetings have been crucial, coming at a crucial time, because there's been a great deal of talk in the last few days about whether the

NATO allies of Ukraine can supply the very basic ammunition between the larger caliber ammunition that is needed to withstand wave after wave of

Russian attacks in that zone.

So Becky, they were relatively obtuse about exactly how they're going to do that. But they do say they maintain their support for Ukraine and that

solidarity is vitally important, Becky.

ANDERSON: David in Kyiv in Ukraine, David, thank you.

Clare, you are reporting on the following strand out of London.

What more do we know about this disturbing study?

The U.S. State Department says the Kremlin's goal is to erase Ukraine's culture and identity. Of course, the Kremlin is entirely denying this.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Becky, this is a report that comes from researchers at the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, backed by the

U.S. State Department.

And in a sense, it's not a surprise, even though it is shocking, because Ukrainians, including the president, have been warning for months that

there are --

[10:05:00]

SEBASTIAN: -- thousands of children being forcibly deported to Russia. This gives us a lot more details about what happens when they get there.

The research has compiled open source data, high definition satellite images, things like that. They say that at least 6,000 children have ended

up in Russian custody at some point over the last year and that many of them have ended up in a network, they say, camps essentially.

They identified 43 facilities, most of which were former summer camps, now used, they say, mainly for the political reeducation of these Ukrainian

children, exposing them to things like patriotic, cultural, very Russia- centric material.

In two cases, in two different camps, they found that they were given specific military education, including the use of firearms. Take a listen,

Becky, to what the State Department spokesperson, Ned, Price, had to say about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NED PRICE, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: The network of facilities where these children are sent is, vast spanning from Russian occupied

Crimea, across Russia itself, from the Black Sea region to its far east.

Putin seeks to rob Ukraine of its future by taking its children. Russia's system of forced relocation, reeducation and adoption of Ukraine's children

is a key element of the Kremlin's systematic efforts to deny and suppress Ukraine identity, its history and its culture.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: The State Department also said in a statement, Becky, that the unlawful transfer and deportation of protected persons, that, of course,

includes children, is illegal under the 4th Geneva Convention and constitutes a war crime.

Russia's response, though, as was said, through the embassy in Washington, calling the comments by Ned Price absurd and in their statement saying, "We

remind that Russia accepted children who had been forced to flee with their families from the shelling and atrocities of the armed forces of Ukraine.

"We do our best to keep minors in families and in case of absence or death of parents and relatives, offer to transfer orphans under guardianship. We

ensure the protection of their lives and well-being."

Now I should note that the report does say that, in many cases, these children were sent to these camps with the consent of their parents but, of

course, consent, giving consent in the context of war is problematic in itself.

There are instances that they know that children were not returned to their parents on time or at all, and that hundreds of children in these

facilities have an unknown status. So extremely problematic and really a picture of how Russia is trying to use, allegedly, the very youngest

Ukrainians to further its war aims.

ANDERSON: Clare Sebastian is in London for you.

Clare, thank you.

Nine days after the devastating quake in Turkiye and in Syria, more victims are being extracted from heaps of debris. The number of lives lost now tops

41,000.

As the hours pass, rescues are becoming more rare but incredibly crews are still finding people alive, after more than 200 hours buried beneath piles

of cement. As the focus shifts from rescue to relief, the U.N. is using a newly opened crossing to bring supplies to opposition held northwestern

Syria.

CNN's Nada Bashir picks up with today's developments from Istanbul.

Let's start with these rescues, because, while we continue to see people being extracted, there is a sense of a glimmer of hope, isn't there, but

you have to ask how long workers hold out any hope, of any further rescues at this point.

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Becky. It is remarkable that we are still seeing these rescues so many days on since the earthquake. It

is worth noting that, in northwest Syria, the White Helmets said days ago that they were no longer hopeful that they would find survivors.

But here in Turkiye, search and rescue teams say they are still hearing voices beneath the rubble and they are working around the clock across

various regions now, hoping that they will be able to pull out survivors.

Still of course, there are thousands of people still waiting for news of their loved ones. But the window for finding survivors is closing and that

is a concern now as the focus shifts to this becoming a recovery effort.

And of course, as you mentioned, there are relief efforts, too, for the thousands of survivors from southeast Turkiye. They have lost absolutely

everything. The devastation is really hard to grasp.

And we are already seeing many from that region now being evacuated here; in Istanbul, hundreds are expected to arrive later today. We are seeing

some being put up in university dormitories, others being housed by volunteers, like one family we were fortunate enough to meet yesterday.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASHIR (voice-over): Eight days on and the scale of the destruction is still difficult to grasp.

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BASHIR (voice-over): The landscape, permanently changed; the death toll, still rising. Those who made it out alive, now grappling with a devastating

new reality.

For Semir and Amal, it is a reality that's painful to come to terms with.

They fled their apartment with 3-year-old Lina (ph), and 7 year old Yousef (ph), seconds before the building collapsed. Now they found temporary

shelter in the home of one generous Istanbul resident living overseas but their trauma is difficult to overcome. And memories of the quake still

haunt this family.

SEMIR CEKIC, QUAKE EVACUEE (through translator): Our friends and relatives are still under the rubble. The whole family is gone.

AMAL CEKIC, QUAKE EVACUEE (through translator): Yousef tells me, "Mom, I don't have a room. I don't have a house. No toys, no friends. I want to go

back to school."

Lina (ph) is constantly crying. She's my only daughter. She's changed a lot.

BASHIR (voice-over): The chances of finding survivors beneath the rubble is getting slimmer by the hour. But in Turkiye, hope persists, with more

miraculous rescues over the past 24 hours.

But as the days pass by, the focus is shifting to recovering the dead and helping the living.

BASHIR: As you can see here, these volunteers have formed a human chain to carry these boxes of donations into this truck. They're being loaded, ready

to leave this distribution center in Istanbul, and head straight to southeast Turkey.

Now according to coordinators at this center, there are some 20,000 volunteers working around the clock across two centers here in Istanbul.

They've been working for the last week, sorting through thousands of (INAUDIBLE) and donations all (INAUDIBLE) sent to people impacted by the

earthquake.

BASHIR (voice-over): But coordinators here say they need more support and fear they will be forgotten by the international community.

BASHIR: Were you scared when it happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

BASHIR: Scary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

BASHIR: Very scared.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

BASHIR (voice-over): And while acts of generosity may go some way to help, for those who have lost everything, the rebuilding is just beginning.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASHIR: When it comes to the question of rebuilding, the Turkish government itself has a significant challenge ahead. According to

authorities, some 50,000 buildings have now been deemed unsafe and require immediate demolition.

Hundreds of other buildings are still being assessed with thousands of experts examining them. Of course, there is a sense of backlash growing

against the Turkish government, questions mounting as to whether the president's government could've done more to prepare for a catastrophe of

this scale. Becky.

ANDERSON: Nada in Istanbul, Turkiye. Thank you.

Less than an hour from now, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley is planning to formally launch her 2024 bid for the White House. This is a

little more than four years after she resigned as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. under the Trump administration. She is now the first Republican to

challenge her former boss for the party's nomination.

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NIKKI HALEY, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N. (voice-over): It's time for a new generation of leadership, to rediscover fiscal responsibility,

secure our border and strengthen our country, our pride and our purpose.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Haley served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under, Trump. Her announcement comes three months after the former president

announced his third bid for the White House in November.

Haley will likely face stiff competition from other potential GOP candidates. Big names including Florida governor Ron DeSantis and former

vice president Mike Pence widely expected to declare their own bids at some point.

Well, out of the blue, Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon has (INAUDIBLE) people today. What's behind her shock resignation, we'll take a

look at that just ahead.

And later, U.S. senators are set to get a classified briefing on China as the balloon dispute inflames tensions between the two countries. All, that

coming up, after this.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:15:00]

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ANDERSON: "I am a human being as well as a politician."

With those, words the first minister of Scotland announced that she is stepping down. A short time ago, Nicola Sturgeon appointed the personal

toll of the job during a surprise news conference in Edinburgh. She has led the pro independence Scottish National Party in the country's devolved

government since 2014.

She says that she will stay on in the job until a successor is in place. CNN's Bianca Nobilo is watching all of this from her vantage point in

London and she joins us now live.

It's a shock exit. Only last month she said that she had, quote, "plenty in the tank."

What is the realpolitik as we understand it behind this decision, Bianca?

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: The speed in the abruptness of it definitely came as a shock. Especially as you say Becky, given that

Sturgeon has said that she had more gas in the tank just a few weeks ago.

But there had been chatter about whether or not she would be the one to lead her party into the next general election in Scotland, which would

happen in January 2025 at the latest.

In terms of realpolitik, this is key. She dismissed the notion that it would have anything to do with these political pressures that have been

swirling around her lately; namely, we've had this controversy that erupted in Scotland over a double rapist ending up in a female prison, because of

how they identified.

The British government then overruled that. But that got her into some real political hot water. And there's also been investigations into the finances

of her party; her husband has given a large loan to the SNP.

And also any politician, who's at the front line of politics for over a decade -- and she's been leader of the SNP and first minister for eight

years, deputy before. that -- can't be untarnished. You begin to be plagued and dragged down by events, as your political capital gets less and less.

ANDERSON: Fish for (ph) Scottish independence from the U.K. is or was a founding goal of Ms. Sturgeon's Scottish National Party.

I wonder without her, as the champion of the movement, whether there will be an incentive for Scots to actually try and go their own way?

NOBILO: This forms the backdrop to the decision as well because the SNP and the sentiment toward Scottish independence has been wavering in the

polls lately. There has been a poll recently which showed that the majority were significantly in favor of Scotland remaining in the United Kingdom,

rather than breaking off and going it alone.

Now Sturgeon's mission, this entire, time has been making Scotland a nation in waiting and trying to obtain that independence.

But one of the issues might be the fact that she has linked her governance with independence so strongly, that if her government starts to be dragged

down by the cost of living crisis, another internal political dispute, it also harms the cause for independence.

There's long been a pressure in Scotland to take this outside of the day to day domestic politics and actually make this a cross party movement, to try

and make the country independent, rather than making it so tightly to the fortunes of the Scottish National Party.

[10:20:00]

NOBILO: And this is part of probably why Sturgeon is stepping down at this point. She even hinted at it. She wants to approach the next election in

Scotland as a de facto referendum on Scottish independence.

But some disagree. They don't think that's the best way to approach and it could potentially even harm their cause, Becky. So some might argue that

Sturgeon's stepping down at this point might be the best thing for independence as well.

ANDERSON: Fascinating. All right. Thank you, Bianca.

Today, the U.S. Senate is taking a hard look at its relationship with China. They're learning more about any possible threats that it could pose

to the United States and its allies.

Senators there on Capitol Hill are receiving a classified briefing on all of that today. Just yesterday, senators heard more about a suspected

Chinese spy balloon and a string of other flying objects that the U.S. military has shot down in North American airspace this month.

CNN politics congressional reporter, Lauren Fox, joining us now live from Capitol Hill, with more.

Lauren, what senators can expect to hear today?

Do we understand?

What do we know about these briefings?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Becky, I just talked to Senator Dick Durbin, this Democratic whip, here in the Senate, the number

two ranking Democrat.

He told me the expectation of today's briefing is going to be much broader than what they heard yesterday. Yesterday was really about those objects

that have been shot out of the sky by the U.S. military over the last two weeks, four objects in total.

That was the topic yesterday. Today, the topic is really more broadly on the relationship between the U.S. and China and the ways in which China is

extending its military capabilities, its capabilities in research and development.

So this is going to be a much closer focus on the U.S. relationship with China. And I expect that the spy balloon is going to come up in this

briefing. But it will not be the only topic discussed today, Becky.

ANDERSON: OK. Lauren is on Capitol Hill for us, where the time is 21 minutes past 10. Thank you.

Over the, weekend the U.S. restricted six Chinese companies with ties to military aerospace programs, from buying U.S. tech without government

approval. CNN's Selina Wang has more from Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're hoisting the balloon up for a big moment. It's a maiden flight for China's first high tech giant

balloon. State TV says it's for both military and civilian use.

"If we can master this technology," the narrator says in this 2015 state media documentary, "it might become the killer move in global competition."

Fast forward to 2023 --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy crap. They just shot it.

WANG (voice-over): Now the world's attention is on China's balloons. The U.S. Commerce Department has blacklisted six entities tied to China's

military aerospace programs from obtaining U.S. technology without government authorization.

And the balloon launched in this documentary was made by one of the blacklisted entities, Beijing Nanjiang Aerospace Technology. We try to find

the place. We've geolocated a possible address for one of its factories.

WANG: According to state media, they've got a balloon factory on the outskirts of Beijing, so we should be getting close now.

This appears to be the exact spot from the state TV documentary. You can even see the same view of the mountain ranges behind me. But if you look

here, it looks like there used to be buildings here but now it's just this empty space. And there is this metal gate and barrier over this area.

We actually spoke to multiple villagers around here. None of them have heard of a balloon factory in specific. But when we showed them the state

TV documentary, they said it was definitely filmed to this area. And two of them said that they know several of the factories in recent years have been

torn down.

WANG (voice-over): We don't know if the balloon that was spotted over the U.S. this time around has anything to do with the six blacklisted

companies. But Beijing Nanjiang Aerospace Technologies balloon has flown over the U.S. before, according to state media.

In this 2019 state media video, a co-founder of the company, scientist Wu Zhe, points to a computer screen, showing the trajectory of an unmanned

airship flying around the world.

He says, "Look, this is the United States."

Beijing claims the balloon that intruded U.S. airspace earlier this month was only for civilian research purposes. But U.S. intelligence officials

claim the balloon is part of a fleet of Chinese surveillance balloons.

The general manager of the Beijing based balloon company told state media in 2015 that the balloons can be used for military purposes --

[10:25:00]

WANG (voice-over): -- if they carry telecommunication or surveillance equipment on board.

Scientist Wu Zhe also founded Eagles Men Aviation Science and Technology Group or EMAST, another balloon maker on the U.S. blacklist.

In this 2017 state media report on EMAST, the anchor touts that these airships can carry a large number of detectors and communication equipment

for surveillance or reconnaissance for both military and civilian use.

CNN has reached out to all six Chinese entities for comment but none have responded.

DREW THOMPSON, SR. RESEARCH FELLOW, LEE KUAN YEW SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY: This balloon program is not just for surveillance but also for strike and

the potential for dropping warheads, including hypersonic glide vehicles from high altitudes.

WANG (voice-over): This week, Beijing has made accusations of its own, saying the U.S. has illegally flown balloons over Chinese airspace more

than 10 times since last May, a claim the White House immediately denied.

ADM. JOHN KIRBY (RET.), COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: There is no U.S. surveillance aircraft

over Chinese -- in Chinese airspace.

WANG (voice-over): The U.S. is now on high alert for airborne objects in its airspace, putting China's near space ambitions on the world stage --

Selina Wang, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD, with me, Becky Anderson, coming to you tonight in Dubai. Coming, up as NATO doubles down on its

support of Ukraine in Brussels, are we hearing warnings of where this ends here at the World Government Summit?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IAN BREMMER, EURASIA GROUP: This is been going on for almost a year now. And it has been virtually straight escalation.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Our full conversation is after the break.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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ANDERSON: Welcome, back I'm Becky Anderson in Dubai, you're watching a special edition of CONNECT THE WORLD, live from the World Government

Summit, here on what is being, what is going on that in the next hour.

This, hour the NATO secretary general says there are no signs that Russia is preparing for peace. Jens Stoltenberg warned that Russia is launching

new offensives in its nearly year old war in Ukraine.

NATO defense ministers have been meeting in Brussels; Stoltenberg welcomed allies' pledges of support, including heavy weapons and military training.

He cautioned the Ukraine conflict right now as a grinding war of attrition. And says time is of the essence for Ukraine's very survival.

The war has been a key discussion point here at the World Government Summit in Dubai.

[10:30:00]

ANDERSON: Earlier I sat with Ian Bremmer, a leading political scientist, who heads a consulting firm on political risk. He gave me his view on the

biggest risk to all of us right now, from the escalating war in Ukraine, to technology and how those two are intertwined. I began by asking him where

we stand in this conflict. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BREMMER: We're in a very bad position. And when I say, we I mean the world. I mean, this is been going on for almost a year now and it has been

virtually straight escalation.

Escalation in terms of the Russians' commission of war crimes on the ground. In terms of the number of troops that they are committing, that

they're losing and that they're committing to the field.

Escalation in terms of the West's commitment of heavy weaponry, that they said a few months ago they wouldn't give to Ukraine and now they are.

What has changed?

Just the passage of time. And also escalation in the sense that Putin's outcome, irrespective (sic) of what happens on the ground in Ukraine, his

outcome globally, he's becoming a pariah for the West. And he can't get out of that.

ANDERSON: A pariah for the West?

BREMMER: And not for the rest.

ANDERSON: And not for the rest.

BREMMER: And not for the rest.

(CROSSTALK)

ANDERSON: -- in Kyiv --

BREMMER: -- oh, no --

ANDERSON: -- and this region and way further afield from this is that we didn't need to be where we are.

Thoughts?

BREMMER: Thoughts, first of all, Russia is, of course, the Plus in the OPEC. And if you are the Emiratis, the Saudis, you haven't changed your

relationship with them on the global energy production front one iota since the war has started.

Also, let's keep in mind, issues that matter to people here -- Iran, the Palestinians, Yemen -- How much do Americans actually care about that

compared to Russia?

Compared to Ukraine?

Compared to white people in Europe?

I mean when they see that $100 billion is just being deployed to help these people who have been invaded, clearly illegally and are facing an

existential threat, I really care.

But do I care as much as I do for all of the underprivileged people around the world that don't happen to be white?

Revealed preferences are saying that the United States and their allies do not. And that clear hypocrisy, in the way that human beings are treated, is

being shown and responded to by developing countries all around the world.

ANDERSON: Elon Musk sits squarely in that world of technopolarity, as you described it. We heard from him here at the World Government Summit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, CEO, TWITTER: Artificial intelligence is something we need to be quite concerned about and really, be attentive to the safety of AI.

(INAUDIBLE) what are the biggest risks to the future of civilization?

It's AI. AI's a double -- you know, It's both positive and negative. It has great, great promise, great capability but also with that comes great

danger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: What did you make of what you heard?

I know you know him, I know you are in touch with him.

What did you make of what you heard?

BREMMER: There's no question that he is one of the most important players on the global stage today not just in terms of technology but in terms of

how we think about the future of the planet, geopolitically.

And it's very interesting, I'll give you one specific example, you think about the war in Ukraine, which you started this interview with me on. I

think there's a pretty reasonable case to be made, if it wasn't for Elon and it wasn't for Sachin Sinha at Microsoft on the cyber side, that

Zelenskyy would not still be in power today.

That Ukraine would've fallen. Think about how enormously different the geopolitical environment would be.

(CROSSTALK)

ANDERSON: Remind us how they were involved.

BREMMER: Well, the Russians started attacking Ukraine on February 23rd, these massive cyber attacks hit the cloud that was being stood up

completely by Microsoft. Not by Ukrainians; they didn't have the ability to do that. And they were able to actually beat those defenses back.

The Russians then tried to shut down all the communications capabilities the Ukrainians have, to effect a fight, to have the government communicate

and to have the soldiers talk to their commanders.

And when that fails, Elon is in there with Starlink. And suddenly, they actually have communications capabilities. You take away those two things,

I mean, it's a very hard argument that Zelenskyy's still in power.

Remember, NATO was much slower in willingness to provide -- the first few weeks of the war, NATO was saying this guy's going to -- he's going to lose

power. That was the presumption and part of it was the Ukrainians fighting courageously and part of it was the technology factors.

The reason I mention this, is because the decisions to support the Ukrainians were not made because of some NATO treaty obligation or because

these tech leaders are responsible to citizens for some reason. It's because they chose to do that. In part it's easier to do that because

Russia is seen as a rogue by the West.

ANDERSON: These tech giants are not accountable to nor responsible for the likes of you or me or governments.

[10:35:00]

BREMMER: We're products.

ANDERSON: What are the implications of that?

For you and me?

BREMMER: One of the biggest implications is that, when I started my graduate work, back in 1989, the Wall came own and my country, the United

States, at that, point was the principal exporter of democracy in the world.

With hypocrisy and frequently making mistakes but nonetheless, that's how the Wall came down, that's how we beat the Soviets. Today, less than 30

years later, we, the United States, have become the principal exporters of tools that destroy democracy. And not intentionally and not the government.

But these companies, because they're not accountable to people, they're accountable to their bottom lines. They're accountable to effective

algorithms that can maximize engagement, scrape as much data as possible, sell as many advertisements as possible.

And they don't want to destroy democracy; that just happens to be an unfortunate side event. But the fact is that we don't want them to destroy

democracy. Our governments don't want them to destroy democracy and they don't know what to do about it.

That is the single biggest impact that it has for you and me and a lot of other people around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Ian Bremmer, speaking to me earlier from the World Government Summit.

China's top diplomat is on an eight-day tour of Europe. He is in Paris to meet with the French president Emmanuel Macron. He'll also visit Russia,

ahead of the one year anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

He will also attend the Munich Security Conference this weekend, where U.S. secretary of state, Antony Blinken, is expected to be present.

It would provide a chance for them to meet in person, for the first time since tensions flared after that suspected Chinese surveillance balloon

entered American airspace.

At least four people, including a, child are dead after a new round of flooding, landslides and high winds on New Zealand's North Island.

Officials say some 9,000 people have been displaced from their homes.

The country, of course, is still recovering from the devastating rains and flooding that hit Auckland last month. The recent damages are at least

partially attributed to the effects of climate change. That is what New Zealand's climate change minister had to say to Parliament earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES SHAW, NEW ZEALAND CLIMATE CHANGE MINISTER: And I have to say that, as I stand here today, I struggle to find words to express what I am

thinking and feeling about this particular crisis.

I don't think I've ever felt as sad or as angry about the lost decades that we spent bickering and arguing about whether climate change was real or

not, whether it was caused by humans or not, whether it was bad or not, whether we should do something about it or not because it is clearly here

now. And if we do not act, it will get worse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, Cyclone Gabrielle, is the third national state of emergency in the country's history.

Police have identified the three Michigan State University students shot and killed on campus.

Brian Fraser was a sophomore from Detroit, Arielle Anderson was a junior, also from the Detroit area and Alexandria Verner was a junior from the

small town of Clawson in Michigan. U.S. President Joe Biden says Americans' hearts are with those students and their families.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a family's worst nightmare. It's happening far too often in this country. Far too often.

While we gather more information there's one thing we do know to be true. We have to do something to stop gun violence ripping apart our communities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Still to come, Tiger Woods returned to competitive play, is the golf superstar ready for more wins?

More on that, after this.

(WORLD SPORT)

[11:000:00]

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