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Connect the World
Wagner Founder: Bakhmut all but Surrounded; Ukrainian Reconnaissance Unit Told to Leave Bakhmut; Prime Minister Han Duck-Soo: China has Changed; ADNOC raises around $2.5 Billion from IPO; Iconic Photographers tell the Story of Year of War; Abu Dhabi's Program to Nurture Female Golf Phenoms. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired March 03, 2023 - 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: This hour we take you inside the Palestinian village that's been the scene of recent settler violence as
the Israeli Defense Forces tries to regain that control.
First up, Bakhmut still stands but the Founder of the Wagner military groups says Ukrainian town is all but surrounded. That comes as a vital
supply bridge is blown up overnight by Russian forces. On the diplomatic front G20 diplomats have gathered in New Delhi where the United States has
warned it would be aggressors who might attempt to imitate Russia on the international stage.
But George's sentence Alex Murdaugh to two consecutive life sentences for killing his wife and son. The jury took just three hours to return a guilty
verdict on Thursday. And a juggernaut IPO is on the horizon for Abu Dhabi. Its national oil company ADNOC has drawn record demand that is now valued
at $50 billion.
All right, you're with us for the second hour of "Connect the World". Israeli troops have prevented dozens of pro-Palestinian activists from
trying to visit Huwara calling the area a closed military zone. Well, the Israeli protesters there in a show of support for the West Bank village,
which was torched earlier this week by Israeli settlers.
Tonight we take you inside Huwara ground zero in the battle between an emboldened Israeli far right and Palestinians and ask has it become a
symbol of resistance against Benjamin Netanyahu's right wing government? Well, CNN's Hadas Gold shows us how that violence built up and begins to
answer that question.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is the Palestinian village Israel's far right Finance Minister said needs to be erased. Huwara where
Israeli settlers tried to do just that on Sunday, revenge attacks after the killings of two Israeli brothers by Palestinian gunman hours before, days
later, the smell of burning rubber still lingers in the air as residents clean up shattered glass, burnt out cars, black and buildings one
Palestinian man killed in the ensuing chaos.
Huwara has long been a flashpoint for violence between Israeli settlers and Palestinians partly due to the highway that runs through it. Residents say
Sunday was some of the worst attacks they have ever seen.
NAHAWAND DAMIDI, HUWARA RESIDENT: They usually attack us by throwing stones. If we tried to defend ourselves they will use weapons. But last
time was different. Wherever you look there bullets fired everywhere.
GOLD (voice over): Security cameras outside of residence home show masks settlers gathering flammable material to set this home on fire the door
literally melting. 10-year-old Lamar Abu Saris said her room's window was broken by three big stones.
LAMAR ABU SARIS, HUWARA RESIDENT: Mom had us in our room and went to the rooftop to see what's happening. We heard them breaking the windows of the
house. We didn't do anything to them.
GOLD (voice over): Her two-year-old sister jumps when she hears the noise outside. Beep fire she whispers a seeming reference to the car set ablaze
that her family's auto repair shop their mother Hana saying her children are traumatized.
HANA ABU SARIS, HUWARA RESIDENT: They burned the cars and stop three bullets towards me and we're screaming death to Arabs. We will wipe out
Huwara.
GOLD (voice over): A few days later, that phrase "Wipe out Huwara" echoed by the Israeli Finance Minister and settler Leader Bezalel Smotrich.
BEZALEL SMOTRICH, ISRAELI FINANCE MINISTER: I think the village of Huwara needs to be erased. I think that the State of Israel needs to do this and
God Forbid not private people.
GOLD (voice over): Smotrich later tweeting he didn't mean it and only wants to, "Act in a targeted manner against the terrorist and supporters of
terrorism".
NED PRICE, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: These comments were irresponsible.
GOLD (voice over): The U.S. State Department calling his original comments repugnant and disgusting. At least a dozen settlers have been arrested
according to Israeli police, and there's now a heavy military presence in town.
Israeli soldiers telling our team to stop filming because it's a closed military zone, as Israeli authorities still search for the gunman who
killed the two Israeli brothers and to keep Israeli settlers out of town.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, Hadas joining us now from Jerusalem. How's the international community reacted to this recent violence and those comments
by Smotrich?
[11:05:00]
GOLD: Well, we've seen a lot of the sort of afraid to say become typical condemnations of violence and levels of concern. We do know that
specifically to Huwara the U.S. Special Representative for Palestinian Affairs Hady Amr was visited there a few days ago.
And actually today, the EU Special Representative for Palestinian Affairs brought a delegation there as well and mentioned on the ground that the EU
has intervened. He said at the highest levels for both Israel and the Palestinian authority to try and calm situation.
But what are most interesting to me were the statements from the U.S. State Department from Ned Price, because I can recall the last time I heard as
strong of a rejection as strong of a statement from the U.S. administration against a specific Israeli Minister.
It's bringing to mind the years of Ariel Sharon, when he was a Minister of Defense, and the American government essentially wouldn't talk to him. And
so I'm very curious to see whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will come out and condemn Smotrich's comments that are what Ned
Price essentially told Netanyahu he thinks he should do.
And we haven't heard anything from Netanyahu specifically about what's Smotrich about his comments specifically condemning them or anything like
that. There's a question whether actually, the Attorney General will come out and ask for the police to investigate Bezalel Smotrich for incitement
to violence, Becky.
ANDERSON: Has Huwara become a symbol of resistance against Benjamin Netanyahu's right wing government and what happens next there?
GOLD: Well, I mean, right now, Huwara is a closed military zone, and it appears it will stay as such for the foreseeable future I think either
until the Israeli authorities say that they've captured the gunman who killed those two Israeli brothers who were shot and killed on Sunday and
until they feel as though the situation in Huwara is calmer.
To also add to the understanding of where Huwara sits, not only does it sit along that main route that both settlers in Palestinians use in the West
Bank, but it's surrounded by several Israeli settlements that are known to be particularly nationalistic so all of this sort of combined together
gives you a recipe for essentially violence.
But I do think that Huwara has been sort of picked up especially by the Israeli left as a symbol of resistance, because actually, during these
anti-judicial reform protests, these anti-Netanyahu protests in places like Tel Aviv, we've been hearing chants of where were you in Huwara?
Those are chants that are being chanted towards the police when they come to respond. Essentially, the protests are saying, you're out here in force,
you're out here, you know, keeping us from protesting, trying to keep the violence down from protesters in Tel Aviv. Where were you in Huwara, while
settlers were setting fire to homes, while children were inside, Becky?
ANDERSON: Hadas Gold is in Jerusalem. Hadas thank you! Huwara, then emerging as a sort of rallying cry for Israelis and Palestinians opposed to
the far right movement in Israel. Journalist Barak Ravid covers the Middle East for AXIOS. He's joining us now from Tel Aviv. And it does seem that
Huwara is a sort of rallying cry not only for Palestinians, but for left wing Israeli activists. Is that how you see it at this point?
BARAK RAVID, DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT, WALLA NEWS: Hi, Becky. I think that what we saw in Huwara - because this is not the first time that we see such
attacks against by settlers against Palestinians, maybe that - reaction in Israel is different because many of the - many people obviously on the
left, but also people in the center see what happened in Huwara, as an example of the phenomenon - around for too long.
Because a lot of the people who are involved in this program in Huwara are people who support members of the government, they're part of the base. And
they live in many ways what we see right now here is a song--
ANDERSON: Barak I'm going to stop you because our sound on this is awful. I don't think our viewers will be getting what you are saying and that will
be a shame. So let's see if we can reestablish with you and get the communications better so that your analysis and insight is so important to
us. Let's see if we can reconnect. Barak Ravid is with us out of Tel Aviv.
Well, earlier we heard from CNN's Hadas Gold. If you want to read more on her reporting, do subscribe to our Newsletter "Meanwhile in the Middle
East" that'll give you the latest on what's making news throughout the region specifically in Israel, Palestine at cnn.com/mideastnewsletter.
Well, you're watching "Connect the World". Still ahead, a key Bridge into Bakhmut blown up by Russia. What both sides are saying today about the
intense battle for the Ukrainian city? And the conclusion of a trial that has captured America's attention for weeks a judge hands down his sentence
for the man from a powerful Southern family convicted of killing his wife and son.
[11:10:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, Russian forces have blown up a key supply bridge in Bakhmut. This video shows the damage Ukrainian police say they hope to
repair it within days. But that bridge attack comes as the Founder of the Russian Wagner Military Group says his forces have all been surrounded the
city.
Yevgeni Prigozhin posted a video of himself near the city making a personal appeal to Ukraine's President to order a Ukrainian withdrawal. Well, the
commander of one Ukrainian unit in Bakhmut says they have already been told to go, take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the middle of the night, the - birds unit received a combat order to immediately leave Bakhmut for a new place of combat
operations. We're going to following the order.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Melissa Bell connecting us this out from Kyiv. You've just heard that Ukrainian soldier there. I mean, just how close is Bakhmut to
falling and how significant would that be?
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think it's important to remember that that commander we just heard from Becky lead reconnaissance unit. So the
rest of the Ukrainian Armed Forces as we understand continue their fight. That isn't to say that things aren't getting desperate.
Certainly they have been getting more desperate by the day. We've seen these images of Yevgeni Prigozhin, the Head of the Wagner Mercenary Group
now claiming urging Ukrainians to leave the town as quickly as they can because his men are moving in like - in a pincer movement he says
threatening to be there sooner.
We've geo located that image he is to the north of Bakhmut not in the center as he claims just as his men that we saw in a video they posted
yesterday who claimed to be in the center were actually just outside on images geo located by CNN.
So I think it's important to remember that what the Ukrainians are saying for the time being is that they continue to defend this town and a huge
cost them. Those supply routes of course, a huge hit to their efforts to do so. Because of course they were down to a couple of supply routes. That
bridge was key to getting in and out because all that's left for the time being are dirt roads. So clearly they're on the back foot.
We asked one Ukrainian soldier yesterday what he believed would be the length of time they'd be able to hold out, given the nature of these much
more experienced units that are coming out on the Russian side? He said it could be two days it could be 20 days. It's impossible to tell Becky.
ANDERSON: Melissa Bell is in Kyiv in Ukraine for you. Well, the Russian Foreign Minister has been doing the Kremlin's bidding on the world stage.
At an earlier gathering of top G20 diplomats in New Delhi Sergey Lavrov was pushing his boss's narrative about Ukraine's invasion of - Moscow's
invasion of Ukraine when this happened?
[11:15:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: You know, the war, which we are trying to stop and which was launched against us using the Ukraine,
Ukrainian people of course, it influenced the policy of Russia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Make of that what you will at the same time there is no outright condemnation of Russia's war coming from either G20 as a group or from the
QUAD that's four Foreign Ministers of Australia, India, Japan, and the U.S. they also met in the Indian Capital.
Well, as the U.S. Secretary of State makes his way back to Washington. I want to bring in CNN's Kylie Atwood live from the U.S. State Department.
Blinken, Antony Blinken, Kylie meeting with his counterparts on what is known as this QUAD, this is a U.S. led alliance of Australia, Japan, India
and Russia.
They talked about and sorry, and India. They talked about Russia. But we didn't get a sort of outright condemnation. But most of the incendiary
comments though were directed at China today. Just explain where we're at and what you took away from these Blinken meetings?
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well listen, what we've heard from Blinken, over the course of the last two weeks here really is a
pretty full throated criticism of China particularly because the United States is watching so closely because they believe that China is
considering sending lethal assistance to Ukraine, and sorry, to Russia to then go to Ukraine.
And so what we've seen from the United States is them really trying to rally allies around this concept that it would be awful if China actually
did that. And interestingly, we heard from Chancellor Scholz of Germany this week, reiterating the messages we've heard from the U.S. that China
shouldn't move ahead with that support.
So it was interesting to see Blinken on this trip, you know, with the QUAD again, be pretty critical of China, but listen to how he put it during that
meeting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: If we allow with impunity, Russia to do what it's doing in Ukraine, then that's a message to what the
aggressors everywhere, that they may be able to get away with it too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ATWOOD: Now, obviously, the Secretary of State has to be a little bit careful in terms of his language, when he's critical of China when he's,
you know, with countries that are so closely intertwined with China.
In some cases, they are also allies of the United States, but they have this really strong economic tie and reliance, really, as you will know,
Becky, on China. So it's a little bit of a delicate dance that the Secretary of State has to do, sort of depending on who he's talking to,
depending on who is audience is.
ANDERSON: Kylie Atwood on this story for you, thank you. When it comes to Ukraine and Russia from the battle for Bakhmut to the kind of wider story,
you can get constantly changing updates on Russia's war in Ukraine. Just head to cnn.com you'll find it all at your CNN App.
It was a very big fish in a small pool from a density of prosecuting attorneys and a private attorney himself arguably the most famous in his
small U.S. South Carolina town. Some say he got away with embezzling millions from his clients and partners and that his family had ties to a
string of questionable deaths in the past decade or so.
Well, a lot of people thought that he'd got away with murder. But now, a jury has handed disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh a guilty verdict stunning
some by the speed of their decision. And reassuring others that a rich well connected white man can be put in prison for the rest of his life. And that
is the sentence a judge has just handed down about an hour ago.
Well, South Korea has many international challenges to deal with to name a few. There's North Korea a hostile neighbor with clear nuclear ambitions
and then there's a spillover effect of the growing tensions between the U.S. and China over Taiwan.
Seoul has its own economic rivalry with Beijing, which is also flexing its military muscle in the region. South Korea is among the world's top
semiconductor makers at a time when the U.S. is trying to limit their sale to China. Well for that reason CNN's Richard Quest spoke with South Korea's
Prime Minister Han Duck-Soo about these challenges. He says China has changed.
[11:20:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAN DUCK-SOO, SOUTH KOREAN PRIME MINISTER: China is not the country. It used to be when they started and the market opening and liberalizations in
economic policies. China is a huge and important global player. But maybe sometimes China is not compliant with that kind of, you know, expectations
a lot of countries would like to have about China. For example, we hope that China will be more aggressive and more active in reducing the tensions
on the Korean peninsula.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: South Korean Prime Minister speaking to Richard Quest. Well, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has ordered a big increase in food
production. According to state media there Kim issued the order at a party meeting on Wednesday. Amid concerns many in the country will soon be facing
shortages in basic food supplies CNN's Paula Hancocks with the details from Seoul.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Food insecurity has been an issue in North Korea for years. In fact, the United Nations has given repeated
warnings of a population that is largely malnourished. But what is happening at the moment appears to be particularly dire.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANCOCKS (voice over): Concerns about North Korea's food crisis are growing. Reports from multiple sources say deaths due to starvation are
likely.
LUCAS RENGIFO-KELLER, THE PETERSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS: Probably its worst point since the famine in the 1990s, which killed three
to 5 percent of the population.
HANCOCKS (voice over): Attention is being paid at the very top. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un held a Workers Party meeting this week calling
for a fundamental change in farming and state economic plans. But many say it is his regime its chronic mismanagement and isolation that has caused
this crisis.
LINA YOON, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: We're really talking about three years of no imports of fertilizer. There have been no imports of tools or components to
fix the outdated machinery that they have.
HANCOCKS (voice over): An extensive shutdown of borders due to the COVID pandemic meant almost no food or aid was getting into the country. Only in
recent months as minimal trade restarted with China. South Korean officials said last month they believe deaths from starvation are occurring in
certain areas. They've provided no evidence. Its Rural Development Agency estimates that the North's food production dropped almost 4 percent last
year from the year before.
RENGIFO-KELLER: Food has dipped below the amount needed to satisfy the minimum human needs. So, as it stands by that measure, even if you
distributed food perfectly equally, which is totally inconceivable, you would have hunger related deaths.
HANCOCKS (voice over): Speaking to South Korea's foreign minister last week, he said Pyongyang has to decide to help its own people.
PARK JIN, SOUTH KOREAN FOREIGN MINISTER: The only way that North Korea can get out of this trouble is to come back to the dialogue table and accept
our humanitarian offer to the north and make a better choice for the future.
HANCOCKS (voice over): The regime's focus remains on its nuclear and missile program. Seoul's Ministry of Unification says if Pyongyang had used
the money spent on launching missiles last year for food, it could have bought one million tons, more than enough to cover the annual food
shortage. But that focus is unlikely to shift.
YOON: As the time goes on the capacity for North Koreans to endure hardship becomes harder and harder. Their resilience, you know runs up and their you
know, their resources also decreased.
HANCOCKS (voice over): Kim Jong-Un has said that the next few years will be crucial in trying to solve the farming crisis. That is something that
experts agree with. However, he also said that North Korea needs to have tighter state control of agriculture. Many experts do not agree with that
saying that a large part of the reason why North Korea is in this situation in the first place is years of economic mismanagement. Paula Hancocks, CNN
Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now. And firefighters in Hong Kong spent the night
battling a blaze in a skyscraper; at least two people were hurt. Officials say the fire broke out on a hotel rooftop that is under construction in a
shopping district, that falling debris you see spark fires in other buildings.
Human Rights advocate says the premier league should take a closer look at the Saudi wealth fund that took over Newcastle United. A court filing - the
club's Chairman as a sitting minister of the Saudi government and is the international official says the league needs to re-examine assurances that
the kingdom would not control the club.
[11:25:00]
ANDERSON: Well, the man who came in second in Nigeria's presidential election says he will go to court to challenge the vote. Atiku Abubakar of
the People's Democratic Party says the election of Bola Tinubu who was neither free nor fair. The third-place finisher Labour Party's Peter Obi
has already announced his own legal challenge to the votes. You're watching "Connect the World", I'm Becky Anderson.
Coming up Abu Dhabi state energy giant is going public and the gas share price is set for what's shaping up to be a massive IPO. Plus, over the past
year the world has been stung by powerful and sometimes disturbing images from Ukraine's frontlines. Up next, I'll speak to one of the photographers
who captured some of these moments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Abu Dhabi's main energy company ADNOC has raised about two and a half billion dollars from the initial public offering of its gas business
that values the oil and gas giant at about $50 billion. It will become Abu Dhabi's largest listed company. ADNOC says the Orderbook could top to $224
billion exceeding demand for Saudi oil giant Aramco's 2019 IPO.
Well, my next guest is the President of Energy Intelligence, a global energy information company, Alex Schindelar tells us it's the biggest IPO
attempted to date rivaling some of the biggest we've seen. And Alex joining us now live from London.
Dr. Sultan Al Jaber has made it clear since he came at to ADNOC as CEO, that value from the IPO will be key to this national oil company's long-
term prospects. What's your initial analysis of the response to this sale?
ALEX SCHINDELAR, PRESIDENT, ENERGY INTELLIGENCE: Hi, Becky, great to be here. Well, I think we look at this as a confirmation that the world is
actually quite interested in investing these types of assets. As you mentioned, when Dr. Sultan Al Jaber came into the position as CEO in 2016,
he made it his mission to make sure that they were getting the most value out of Abu Dhabi's assets.
And he's gone through a series of IPOs over the last couple of years to make sure that Abu Dhabi is getting the most value out of ADNOC. And so,
the IPO of the gas unit is the biggest that he's been able to put out to date. And by the attention it's attracting it shows that actually investors
are quite interested.
ANDERSON: Yes, and you make a very good point because we talked about energy diversification. So, the big oil companies are talking about the
need for energy security and that the reason why there is investment still in the oil and gas industry. You hear it all over this region and abroad.
[11:30:00]
ANDERSON: There is appetite; it seems for big oil and gas at this point, what's the prospect for the industry at this point? I'm really interested
to get your analysis.
SCHINDELAR: Well, I think apodictic pick the right moment, because I think as you mentioned, energy security is raised to the top of the agenda for a
lot of companies and governments around the world and including financial institutions. So, this is the moment for gas right now. The Europe needs
gas, Far East needs gas.
And I think a lot of companies and countries are reassessing the role that gas is going to play. So, I think planning on the atmospherics of gas being
a very important part of the future energy mix going forward. This is an amazing time to launch this.
And I think the attention that it's getting underlines the tidal shift they're seeing in the market. If potentially this funds to market 12 months
ago, you may not have seen maybe the same volume of kind of interest in this. So, I think they picked it very smartly, to do it now. And I think
that again, the interest is confirming that they actually picked the right moment.
ANDERSON: Of course, there will be many comparisons made to the Aramco IPO, the big Saudi and Oil Company. And there is of course, a key difference
here in that ADNOC has said it won't IPO. Its mother company why is that doing you believe?
SCHINDELAR: Well, you know, we have had a lot of conversations with the national oil companies about this differentiation strategy. And as I think
many people may remember, when Saudi Aramco Saudi Arabia is 100 percent state owned Oil Company and the biggest oil producer in the world decided
to go public, they were going to IPO.
And they did IPO the mother company that this was handed down by the Crown Prince and a sort of shocking interview he did, with very little warning.
And, and that was a strategy that I think people thought was quite radical giving potentially an ownership in the mother company. After that, ADNOC
embarked on a very similar thing.
And they said very clearly, we are not going to IPO the other company, it's partially about making sure it retains full control. It's partially about
the way that the company is actually structured. It's partially about how the parts of the ADNOC already existed and could be sort of made ready for
an IPO.
And I think it's shown that over time, the ADNOC model works pretty well. And we've been able to get a lot of value off these component parts over
time. And to date, like you said, we have not heard any indication that ADNOC willing to consider a change in IPO in the mother company itself.
ANDERSON: Be that as it may, as you look at this gulf region, of course, there's COP28, here at the end of the year. And so much talk about how
energy diversification is now embedded into the economic growth pillars of both the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Do you believe that the Gulf is finally seen beyond oil sort of nationalism as it were resource nationalism? And if so, what is it? What does that mean
for the future of this region and indeed, for an organization like OPEC?
SCHINDELAR: It's a really important question, because it's hard to understand the IPO without understanding the history of nationalization.
And I think the next generations of leaders that are in charge right now, in the Gulf have realized it's extremely important to make sure that their
economies are fits, or something that happens beyond oil.
It doesn't mean they're going to stop producing oil now, but I think they all realize that given certain number of scenarios, it may be difficult to
make sure that oil has a lifetime that goes into multiple generations from now. So, they've all been very busy at diversification, I think they've all
realized it's extremely important to monetize what they have now.
Because if oil is left in the ground, it's not going to be worth anything and they need to pull it out of the ground, and therefore, making sure they
extract value out of what they've got today is really, really important. So, they are getting the message. I think they're looking around the world
and looking at their consumers of energy.
They're looking at Europe and looking at the Far East and saying, these countries are putting policies in place that could have an impact in the
way that hydrocarbons are consumed. So, they've got to be ready for what comes next. And so, they they've been moving in the last say a couple of
years to develop industries that are greener both greening up hydrocarbons, but also investing in things like solar wind.
[11:35:00]
SCHINDELAR: The UAE is a massive industry. So, they wind through their renewable energy company. And Saudi Arabia is doing the same in its region
by investing in big solar and wind projects to, so they're getting the message and money's flowing in.
And I think that's only going to be better for the world because the more we get green technology, it's going to be more affordable, it's going to be
able to help us deal with the bigger climate challenges that we're seeing.
ANDERSON: Good to have you sir. Thank you. We started this hour talking about a village in the occupied West Bank called Huwara. It's where two
Israeli settler brothers were killed days after a massive Israeli military raid in nearby Nablus killed at least 11 Palestinians.
Well, in response to their deaths and Israeli settler rampage ensued where at least one Palestinian was killed. His name was Sameh Aqtash, he was 37
years old. And just days before he was killed, he was volunteering in Turkey to help those impacted by the earthquake.
Well in a CNN interview today, his brother said Sameh Was constantly racing to do good". He had also traveled to India and Bangladesh to volunteer with
Muslim communities. And he built a mosque and two water wells in Uganda.
Sameh Aqtash is survived by his wife and young children, two sons and three daughters. Coming up, I look back at the war in Ukraine through the lens of
eight renowned war photographer, these images up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, it's been over a year since Vladimir Putin sent Russian troops into Ukraine. And since then, we've seen some iconic and powerful
images, capturing the pain, heartbreak and the loss that this war has caused. Well, this image here shows the ruins of a building in Kyiv that
was hitting the first days of the war.
As you can see, it's completely torpedoed like many of the buildings around the country. Well, here you can see an elderly woman evacuated across the
remnants of a destroyed bridge in Irpin, a suburb just north of Kyiv that was heavily pounded by Russian attacks early on in the war.
She clearly posed no threat yet civilians are always impacted by conflict. And this is a woman holding her baby in a basement of a maternity hospital
in Kyiv. At this point at the war the attacks were constant and this was the only safe place for moms and children to take refuge.
And this final image was shot just two days after Russia had invaded Ukraine. The young woman inside the van is called Yulia; she looks
petrified because she was on her way to the battlefield.
[11:40:00]
ANDERSON: She had no experience fighting, no idea how to hold a gun, but she was still heading to defend her country, astonishing. The person behind
the lens who captured these powerful images is Pulitzer Prize winning photo Journalist Lynsey Addario and she joins me now from London.
Thank you. Your images are extraordinary. You've been on as I understand five assignments to Ukraine, each spanning three to six weeks in what are
serious conflict zones. Just describe those assignments, if you will.
LYNSEY ADDARIO, PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING PHOTOJOURNALIST: I mean each one has been a little bit different. Initially, the first trip into Ukraine was
before the war started, I went in on February 14, 2022. It was still unclear whether the war would begin. There were 100,000 troops at the
border. So, it was most people anticipated that that first trip was six weeks long. Obviously the war started on February 24.
I was out in the east in Severodonetsk quickly made my way back to Kyiv and ended up covering the constant missile strikes and eventually artillery
strikes on the Capitol and around the suburbs of Kyiv civilian casualties, this mass rush to volunteer.
Each trip has been has been different, different geographical locations from Zaporizhzhia, in the south to Donbas in the east. My most recent trip
was five weeks long through June and part from January through part of February, mostly in Donbas at the frontline.
ANDERSON: What's been your most memorable moment?
ADDARIO: I mean, I definitely think in the beginning of the war, when the war was really inching closer and closer to Kyiv where Russian troops were
really just right outside of the Capitol. It was a very intense period. And I would say that on the Sunday morning of March 6, when I went out to cover
what I thought would be a civilian evacuation route, civilians fleeing.
I ended up covering the death of a mother and her two children and a church volunteer who had gone to escort them to safety. And that was an attack
that I myself was in a mortar round landed really just directly between us not more than about 30 feet from each one of us. And really, I think it's
very different.
I've covered war for two decades. And I would say it's, it's very different to come upon a scene and to try to have to piece it together. And to
understand what happened, then to be in the midst of the attack and to watch rounds being bracketed onto a civilian evacuation route intentionally
with the intention of killing women, children and vulnerable.
ANDERSON: What are you looking for when you're on the ground in conflict? I mean, you know what makes a powerful image and it is images like yours,
which are so important, as a chronicle of conflict. Just give our viewers a sense of what's in your mind?
ADDARIO: Yes, I mean, I'm looking for various things. First of all, my job is to document what's happening. So, I'm always looking for facts. I'm
looking for how to tell a story on a given day. I wake up, I read the news, I see what's happening, and I listen for what's happening on the ground.
I'm looking for ways to tell that story in an evocative way and in an emotional way, a way to connect the viewer with what's happening on the
ground. I think our viewers are really jaded, the world is sort of jaded to violence right now, we've been looking at images of war for 20 years, if
not longer.
And I think it's very difficult to make a photograph that sort of breaks through that monotony or, or that sort of routine of all the violence that
we see. And so, I'm always looking for something emotional and something to tell the story.
ANDERSON: You have referenced the fact that you've been doing this for two decades. I mean, you've got to have a storied career over more than 20
years covering Afghanistan, Iraq, the climate crisis around the globe. You've just explained what you're looking for in an image. When you look
back over your career, what have you learned through your lens?
ADDARIO: I mean, I have recently had a retrospective in New York City and had to sit with sort of 20 plus years of images.
[11:45:00]
ADDARIO: And, and I think, on one hand, it's sort of heart breaking that that people, innocent civilians, and women and children continue to get
killed in wars across the world that they have no part in. People continue having to flee for their lives, you know, refugees; the amount of refugees
that this war has made in Ukraine is extraordinary.
I think what I've learned is that, you know, fundamentally we are all very similar. You know, we all just want sort of safety and security for our
families, our children, we want peace, we want shelter food provision. And I think that there are so many people that are affected by these wars, who
just want to live in peace and that's sort of heart breaking to me that that continues to go on.
ANDERSON: Lynsey, it's good to have you on. We are as you and I have been talking showing images of your work, it is absolutely remarkable, keep it
up. It's important stuff, thank you very much indeed.
ADDARIO: Thank you.
ANDERSON: Folks, we are going to take a very short break. The time here in the UAE in Abu Dhabi is quarter to nine. More to come, you're watching
"Connect the World" I'm Becky Anderson.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Let's lighten things up a bit for you. In 2016, HSBC Bank and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council had an idea; they would invest in making Abu Dhabi
into a golf powerhouse. So, they set up the future Falcons program to begin teaching kids how to play that first year in 2016.
So fewer than 100 girls take part in that program now tens of thousands of female golfers have taken lessons through that program and I got a chance
to speak to a couple of the best of them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice over): Meet the UAE's new generation of golfers. 14-year- old Sara Ali, 12-year-old Maya Gaudin and Maya's little sister, eight-year- old Willa, also a rising star.
MAYA GAUDIN, 2021 WOMEN'S CLUB CHAMPION AT YAS LINKS: One's ever hit with me about to 280.
ANDERSON (on camera): 280.
ANDERSON (voice over): They're among a group of talented juniors hoping to make it big.
ANDERSON (on camera): How good are these courses in the UAE?
GAUDIN: They're really in prime condition. You're not going to get any better condition courses than you are in the UAE.
ANDERSON (on camera): So, if you had one piece of advice for aspiring golfers, what would it be, Sara?
SARA ALI, UAE LADIES NATIONAL TEAM GOLFER: Try and work your butt off really like, do it work your butt off, but do it correctly.
ANDERSON (voice over): Sara hopes to be the first female Emirati to go pro and is honing her game in tournaments like this one at - and across the
region while American Maya who grew up here in Abu Dhabi has played with some of the most famous golfers and on the best courses in the world.
[11:50:00]
ANDERSON (on camera): As we come to this, does this remind you of St. Andrews in any way?
GAUDIN: Yes, its welcome bridge, when Andrews was set.
ANDERSON (on camera): You were in - game right, it was cold.
GAUDIN: I was like a snowboard. And they were like, Maya, it's beautiful out. It's only raining a little bit.
ANDERSON (on camera): Is that your Scottish accent?
GAUDIN: I am not going to spike at it.
ANDERSON (voice over): The youngsters are members of the future Falcons program, which has introduced more than 80,000 kids to the game, 7000 of
whom are young Emiratis part of a wider push by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council to encourage mass participation in recreational sports and to
identify a new generation of sporting stars.
ALI: Well, the future Falcons is my first ever competition. And I actually didn't want to go to it because I was scared. But my mom told me, I should
go and try and that's how I started going to more competitions.
ANDERSON (on camera): There's a real push to encourage young girls and boys through sports here. You were what seven and three quarters when you won
your future Falcons competition, which meant that, you got to tee off with?
GAUDIN: Rory McIlroy, I don't know, the golfing Gods, the wind every grass with hair was with me that day. And I just had been shot maybe five feet to
the pen. I surprised myself. And then I got this Yoker Rory McIlroy. He was so kind to me, he was very generous.
ANDERSON (on camera): Who do you aspire to men or women? Doesn't matter which, who the golfers that you really aspire to?
GAUDIN: I definitely aspire to Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and Lydia Ko, or even Nelly Korda. Nelly Korda, I really want to look at her swing, her
swing is one of the best swings ever.
ANDERSON (on camera): She can be a great golfer but how do you develop that emotional mental side, Sara?
ALI: Even if you're just practicing or playing a game against someone, you just you have to really, really focus no matter who's against or like I
said on the chipping green or anything.
ANDERSON (on camera): Maya told me about dad's golf. Not as good as hers. Let's just say that. How your mom and dada golf?
ALI: My mom doesn't play. Same as my dad I can be him so very hard to.
GAUDIN: See, we're in the same boat; we're in the same boat.
ANDERSON (voice over): Now their parents can be beaten, the pair are nearly ready to tee off against the best in the world and pin down a spot on that
pro circuit.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, more drama in the very public spat between the British Royal Family and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the couple have now lost
their UK home after being evicted by King Charles. CNN's Max Foster reports.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: This story has been bubbling up all week ever since the Sun newspaper headline that Harry and Meghan are being
evicted from Frogmore cottage decision apparently made by the king after Harry published his memoir. Prince Andrew according to the Sun has been
offered Frogmore instead.
This was a cottage gifted to Harry and Meghan by the Queen. They have spent nearly $3 million renovating it. But in future they won't be able to sell
it when they come to the UK or benefit from the security that comes with it. The palace isn't saying anything about this, only a royal source
telling CNN that this is a private family matter.
But Harry and Megan have confirmed to CNN that it has been requested that they vacate the residence. We'll have to see whether or not they come over
to the UK in May for the King's coronation neither the King's office nor Harry Meghan's office have even confirmed that Harry and Meghan have
received an invite Max Foster, CNN London.
ANDERSON: And that's it from us. CNN of course continues after this short break. But from those working with me here in Abu Dhabi and the teams
around the world, it's very good evening.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
