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Israeli Protesters Block Main Roads around Tel Aviv; Protest Impacts U.S. Defense Secretary's Israel Trip; Georgia's Ruling Party to Withdraw "Foreign Agents" Bill; UNESCO Initiative to Rebuild Mosul Heritage Sites; U.S. Stocks Higher ahead of Friday's Jobs Report; U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Rise More Than Expected. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired March 09, 2023 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:05}
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: This hour anti-Netanyahu let me start that again this hour anti-Netanyahu protesters in Israel blocked major roads leading
to Tel Aviv Airport, where the U.S. Defense Secretary touched down earlier today. I'm going to get you on the ground shortly.
But first air raid sirens sounding across Ukraine at least 11 people were killed in Russian strikes the likes of which have not been seen in weeks.
Georgia's ruling party says it will withdraw legislation that led to mass protests. Speaking to CNN the country's president described the bill as
Russian politics. And an Indonesian Football Club Security Office was sentenced to one year in jail for negligence. That is after 135 people died
last year in one of the world's deadliest stadium crushes.
You're with us for the second hour of "Connect the World" wherever you are watching you are more than welcome. In Israel in the last few hours,
protesters demonstrating against President Benjamin Netanyahu blocked one of Tel Aviv's main highways disrupting the trip of a very high profile
visitor to Ben Gurion Airport, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Now these demonstrators are up in arms over proposed reforms to the judiciary and to an escalation of violence in the West Bank. Austin's trip
couldn't have come at a worse time for Mr. Netanyahu, who heads the most right wing government in his country's history.
That backdrop, leading people to ask is the U.S. relationship with Israel shifting? We'll CNN's Hadas Gold gotten up close look at what is going on,
on that highway at least a little bit earlier and she filed this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This is the main road leading to the main terminal of Israel's biggest airport, Ben Gurion Airport. But
today the protesters who have been coming out for weeks now have decided to bring their day of disruption here.
Their goal is to essentially try and almost shut down the airport not only to disrupt the passengers to make them aware of why they're protesting. But
also because today is the day that U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is supposed to be landing here to meet with officials.
But also Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to take off from here after meeting with Austin to fly for an official trip to Italy.
And so the protesters here essentially trying to prevent that from happening, Benjamin Netanyahu may instead be arriving to the airport by
helicopter.
These protesters though amongst them we've talked to former military pilots, former fighter jet pilots who say that they feel as though they
would no longer fight for a country if they don't believe it is any longer a democracy.
Now, the traffic is still moving, albeit slowly. We've also spoken to some passengers who have had to get out of their cars to take their suitcases by
hand and walk all the way up to the terminal in order to make their flights but some of them they are receptive to the demonstrators here saying they
understand what they're fighting for that they supported, of course, all of this related to the judicial reforms that the Netanyahu government is
trying to undertake.
They essentially wanted make it possible for the Israeli parliament, the Knesset to overturn Supreme Court decisions with a simple majority. But
these protesters say that they will continue coming out to the streets, they will continue these days of disruption until they stop these reforms
from going through.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, Hadas Gold is in Tel Aviv and Oren Liebermann is at the Pentagon. They're both back with us this hour. Hadas, you've talked about
the disruption today? We are now seeing more protests about the conflict in the West Bank as well chanting about Huwara, for example, these protests
are certainly widening beyond judicial reform, correct?
GOLD: Yes, and after we were at the airport, we headed to into central Tel Aviv to the main highway that cuts north and south across Tel Aviv and
protesters managing also to completely stopped traffic along this massive highway for I would say at least an hour if not more.
[11:05:00]
They took over both in north and southbound lanes before it took quite a heavy police presence, I would say dozens of officers as well as Mounted
Police, essentially having to squeeze them off of the highway.
I do have to say that the protests that we saw today were less violent than the protests from last week. That was the first time where we really saw
Israeli police having a heavy hand using water cannons, stun grenades against the protesters. This time, they didn't end up using the water
cannons, although they had them at the ready.
But you still saw and felt the tension in the streets. And you're right, because one of the chants that they've added to their rotary of chants
along with democracy and shame, and that they don't want Israel to become a dictatorship is the chant "Where were you in Huwara" this is, of course, a
reference to that Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank, where there's two Israeli brothers were killed.
And then just hours later you we saw that Israeli settler rampage, setting fire to homes and cars and one Palestinian man being killed. And this chant
"Where were you in Huwara" being directed at police essentially saying there's a massive police presence here against us protesters were waving
flags, where were you when Palestinian homes and regular citizens were being targeted by Israeli settlers.
And while much of these protests are still very much focused on the judicial reforms, very much focused on Benjamin Netanyahu and his right
wing government, it is starting to bring in also what's been happening in the West Bank and what's been happening with this increasing level of
violence?
We already have record levels of both Palestinians and Israelis killed so far this year, we're only in March, that is all coming together in these
overall protests, which have definitely been much more focused recently on judicial reforms, but that now they're bringing in the concerns that the
everyday citizen has here, or at least the people who are against Benjamin Netanyahu and his government about the direction that this right wing
government is taking Israel Becky.
ANDERSON: Let me bring it Oren at this point. Thank you Hadas! Oren this is the backdrop to the U.S. Defense Secretary's trip to Israel. This is on the
back of a number of stops that have been uncomplicated, let's call them across the Middle East.
The complicated part of this trip has come when he goes to Israel, he's had to delay and reschedule not only delay, but then sort of reschedule where
he goes to Israel? What did we hear from Lloyd Austin today? He met with the Prime Minister, as I understand it.
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: And the Defense Minister and you're absolutely right to point out the sort of fascinating turn that this
whole trip has taken. The easy part of the trip was the visits to Egypt, Jordan, and even his unannounced trip to Iraq.
It is the complicating visit of the trip is for his trip to Israel, where he's had to change his plans change the location of his plans, because of
the ongoing protests against the government in the plans of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
So he met with Netanyahu. He met with Defense Minister Yoav Galant, and it's no surprise where he began the comments there. Stating that the U.S.
has an ironclad commitment to Israel security, and standing by Israel's right to defend it also pointing out that the U.S. and Israel the
militaries there will expand cooperation, expand exercises.
We saw the large scale exercise just a few weeks ago. But then his comments turned where he did criticize Israel's plans for judicial overhaul this
statement in his meeting, his press conference even with Galant a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: As President Biden who said, the genius of democracy - of American democracy and Israeli democracy is that
they are both built on strong institutions, on checks and balances, and on an independent judiciary. And the President also noted that building
consensus for fundamental changes is really important to ensure that the people buy into them so they can be sustained.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIEBERMANN: That's a veiled swipe, but only very slightly veiled that Netanyahu's plans for a judicial overhaul, which is what sparked the
protests in the first place. Also worth noting that Austin said Israel's allies, the U.S.'s allies and partners need to do more to support Ukraine.
He pointed out that Israel has provided non-lethal aid, but then strongly suggest it was time for Israel to go a step further and called on our
fellow democracy to do more. And that was interesting because democracy there was very similar as although he didn't say Israel, clearly what he
was referring to there, Becky.
ANDERSON: Oren Liebermann on the story for you. Hadas and Oren thank you! My next guest has written several books on Israel and he spoke recently, on
a panel in Jerusalem warning of deteriorating ties between America and Israel. He asserts that both countries have had for a very long time and
incentive to paper over their profound differences.
[11:10:00]
But now he says things are changing "What we are now seeing, he says is that differences are bubbling to the surface. This is not new. This is just
a kind of the apex and it is going to get very dark out there". Daniel Gordis is Senior Vice President at Shalem College joins me now live from
Jerusalem. Before we explore a little further the conceit of your argument here, Daniel, I do just want to get your reaction to Lloyd Austin's
surprisingly outspoken remarks in Israel today thoughts?
DANIEL GORDIS, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, SHALEM COLLEGE: Well, I think that many Israelis will actually welcome those remarks. Ambassador made a kind
of a much more veiled swipe a few weeks ago; President Biden has hinted that he's not happy with this.
But the Israelis who are trying to get Bibi Netanyahu to come down off the tree, so to speak, understand that he will only do so if he can declare
some sort of victory. Or if he can portray his decision to back away from the judicial reforms as somebody that was beyond his control.
Having an ally and a superpower like the United States, making it very clear that they cannot support an Israel that is not a first world
democracy is actually of benefit to Netanyahu and helping him back away without enraging his political partners.
So it may be a swipe at Netanyahu but in a certain ironic kind of a way, it's more of a swipe at Netanyahu's political partners for pushing this
through. And it may actually in some way, help Netanyahu back down, which many people think he actually wants to be able to do.
ANDERSON: Our question tonight is the U.S. relationship with Israel shifting, given what you have just said? Let's just - let's just explore a
little further the conceit of your argument. And I, you know, I was fascinated to hear you talk the other day.
You talked about profound differences between Israel and the U.S. coming to the surface bubbling up; you say you're not surprised by this. There's been
some papering over these differences until now. Just explain a little further what you mean by that?
GORDIS: We've always pretended that Israel was kind of a small version of the United States just in a very different neighborhood. Both were
democracies though both had freedom of religion, both had freedom of assembly, and so on and so forth.
But the truth of the matter is that the United States and Israel, which are two of the relatively few countries in the world that were founded within
an explicit purpose, were founded with very different purposes.
Thomas Jefferson was quite explicit that the United States was seen as an experiment in human self-governance, that he Jefferson hoped would actually
one day become a universal model. For a number of decades that actually looked like that was happening.
Francis Fukuyama wrote a book called "The End of History", in which he essentially claimed that some sort of liberal democracy and free economy
was beginning to be the model across the world. Now, that didn't happen. But that was clearly Jefferson's dream.
Israel was never about being a model in human self-governance. Israel was always a country that was created for a much more particularistic purpose,
not a universal purpose, but a specific purpose related to the Jewish people.
The Balfour Declaration that England issued in 1917 said His Majesty's government views with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national
home for the Jewish people. That is not when in the course of human events, and Israel's Declaration of Independence begins, the land of Israel was the
birthplace of the Jewish people. It's a much more ethnic centric country. But it has all of the apparatuses of a modern democracy, at least so far.
Now, as long as American Jews and American leaders and Israeli leaders at the same time wanted to keeps support from both countries going in both
directions. It made sense to focus on the ways in which the countries are similar, and to kind of, as you said, paper over the ways in which they're
different.
But over the course of time, the balance the very delicate dance that Israel has always had to do being both completely democratic and distinctly
devoted to the flourishing of the Jewish people, recognizing that there's 20 percent of Israeli citizens who are not Jews, and they're having full
legal rights and so forth.
That delicate dance has become more and more difficult to do, especially as Israel's highly nationalist, political wing has become more entrenched. And
what we're seeing in this government now is that they are completely unabashed about a project that would reduce the rights of minorities that
would make Israel very dissimilar from American democracy.
And Bibi Netanyahu actually let them into the chicken coop so to speak in order to guarantee his reelection and contrary to what he expected he is
not able to control them the way that he had assumed that he would.
[11:15:00]
ANDERSON: Yes, and you and you've described them as a very different kind of right wing. You've said something that looks a lot like a gang of thugs.
Thomas Friedman, writing an op-ed in the New York Times today to the point that you've just been making entitled American Jews, you have to choose
sides on Israel.
We've had an op-ed recently by Michael Bloomberg heavily invested in the sort of high-tech miracle that was Tel Aviv, or has been Tel Aviv. And the
Israeli economy, really, you know, questioning whether decisions don't need to be made on the U.S. side at this point about the relationship going
forward.
I was fascinated to hear you suggest that actually, you know, the U.S. position at the moment may just be doing Netanyahu a favor. But should this
right-wing government continue? Should Netanyahu not take the lifeline, as you've suggested that, to a certain extent, the Biden Administration is
offering him, what happens next sir?
GORDIS: Well, there are a number of very, very dark scenarios. The best scenario is that the protests continue their members of Netanyahu's own
political party the Likud understand that the keep pushing these reforms through is to flirt with very serious danger of violence.
And so, some sort of compromise is reached, or at least the process is slowed down. And that's what many people are out there protesting today are
calling for, they're calling for what in Hebrew was called - they're calling for slow it down, let's begin to have a conversation. Let's see
where we can talk to, you're just ramming this through, and that's going to explode.
Another very dark possibility, as I just suggested is violence, Israel has a history of political violence. It's like Rabin's assassination in 95, is
the most obvious example. But there have been other assassinations as well. And everyone here is very nervous that with last Saturday night, 160,000
people protesting in Tel Aviv, that's the kind of gathering that it is impossible to secure.
So, it would take only one crazy person on the far left or the far right to do something terrible. And then where this government would have gone,
where this country would go was really very hard to imagine. But it would be to a very bad place. The other dark scenario is that this actually just
gets pushed through.
And this does become the law. That leads us to a number of different scenarios, we already have pilots and members of Special Forces saying that
they're not going to show up, they're not going to train, they're not going to carry out missions. If the army of this country begins to fall apart,
many people have said literally today, that's the end of the country.
This is not a country that can survive without its military being highly disciplined and highly responsible. So, we're already seeing cracks in the
military. It's interesting, of course, that the military here is supporting what people are calling the left. It's not really the left, but people are
opposed in the military to the right wing government, by and large, not what one has seen in other countries that have taken a turn you
authoritarian.
But look, the major problem is let's just imagining that this happens. So, the Knesset passes a law which says essentially, there's no judicial
review. And then the Supreme Court says we actually declare that law essentially unconstitutional. Israel is then in the middle of a huge
constitutional crisis, where it's not clear who actually controls how does this play out.
Let's say somebody takes a case to the Supreme Court about some action of the military. And the Supreme Court, which often does get asked to rule on
these kinds of issues, says the military, the military should or should not do X, Y, or Z comes the government in the form of the minister of the
defense and says, no, the government spoke.
And so the Supreme Court has spoken, the government has spoken, the military has said, by and large that it will follow the court, which would
then create a huge constitutional crisis where the parliament has ruled the military and the court are ignoring the parliament. And where that leads
us, really, nobody knows. There is absolutely no roadmap for where that takes us.
ANDERSON: This is absolutely fascinating. I wonder whether Thomas Friedman is right, whether American Jews have to choose a side on Israel. I leave
that open for discussion @beckycnn. It's good to have you on sir. I'm going to have to take a break. It's, it's been a fascinating conversation. Thank
you.
You can follow all the latest from the Middle East on our website. Hadas Gold has a story up now with more than those protests that she encountered
on the roads of Ben Gurion Airport and what they are calling a day of disruption that @cnn.com or on your computer, your app on your smartphone.
[11:20:00]
Well, however you will choose to get them. Up next on "Connect the World" Georgia says it is scrapping its controversial foreign agent bill. So why
the opposition leaders are say that they will not stop their protests that are after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Now to Ukraine where every alarm across the country has been activated following a massive Russian attack overnight. At least 11 people
were killed and more than 20 were injured after Russia showered Kyiv and other major cities with unprecedented barrage of missiles. It is a clear
escalation in Moscow's air assaults once again targeting Ukraine's critical infrastructure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YURII IHNAT, UKRAINIAN AIR FORCE SPOKESPERSON: This is an attack like I don't remember seeing before. Different types of aircraft are used,
strategic, long range, make 31. There were 81 missile launches.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: There are protests leaders in Georgia say they have no plans to stop their demonstrations. Two days of large protests resulted in Georgia's
ruling party agreeing to withdraw its controversial foreign agent bill. Now critics saw that act as a threat to the country's democracy and say it
would stifle press freedom.
Opposition leaders want that built formally withdrawn. And they are calling for the release of dozens of protesters who have been detained. Georgia's
president also opposes the law. Here's what she told CNN about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SALOME ZOURABICHVILI, GEORGIAN PRESIDENT: There is no need for the slow it comes from nowhere. Nobody has asked for it. There is no need to have more
registration of the non-governmental organizations. And the presentation of this law calling these people including myself, by the way, foreign agents
is something that looks very much like Russian politics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: CNN's Salma Abdelaziz has been following the developments in Georgia for us. And the president now suggesting this, this has got the
whiff of Russian politics to it. Protest leaders say they have no plans to stop their demonstrations. What do they want to get from the ruling party
at this point?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think it's an indication of just how divided the politics are there. This concern that there is influence,
Russian influence making its way into Georgia the opposition lawmakers saying they absolutely do not trust this ruling party, the Georgian dream
party rather. They don't want to see this bill simply just withdrawn from parliament.
They want to make sure that it is scrapped outright that it cannot be presented again. And it's because again of this fear that this bill which
requires any foreign, any groups rather civil society groups or media organizations that receive 20 percent or more of their funding to be
registered as foreign agents.
[11:25:00]
There's fear that that would weaken civil society that that would weaken independent groups that that could marginalize and stigmatize, this very
important, independent branch that sort of acts as checks and balances. I want you to take a listen to how one representative of the opposition
explained why they're going to continue taking to the streets, Becky.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIGA LEMONJALA, DROA OPPOSITION PARTY: We are ready to go on with the protest, because it's not about particular organizations. It's about
Georgian, European and Euro Atlantic aspiration. And we're not going to put that that the tissue under question. It's, it's universal way of Georgia.
It's a choice of Georgia and Georgia should be the Member of the European Union and NATO.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABDELAZIZ: We're also hearing this chorus of support from the European Union, which has said that this bill could violate the norms of the EU the
standards of the EU. We've also heard from the United States State Department it released in a statement that it stands alongside the people
of Georgia and went on to say that this bill could really stigmatize independent groups and harm the democracy of Georgia, Becky.
ANDERSON: Salma, thank you. To a world exclusive interview now an American citizen being held in Iran's notorious Evin Prison is speaking to CNN from
behind bars. Siamak Namazi has been in custody there since 2015. And claims he has been left behind by the U.S. government. He made a heartfelt plea
for help in his phone conversation with my colleague, Christiane Amanpour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIAMAK NAMAZI, EVIN PRISON, IRAN: The very fact that I've chosen to take this risk and appear on CNN, from Evin prison. It should just tell you how
dire my situation has become by this point. I've been a hostage for seven and a half years now. That's six times the duration of the hostage crisis.
I keep getting told that I'm going to be rescued and deals fall apart or I get left abandoned. Honestly, the other hostages and I desperately need
President Biden to finally hear us out, to finally hear our cry for help and bring us home. And I suppose desperate times call for desperate
measures. So, this is a desperate measure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Siamak Namazi and you can watch the full exclusive interview with him at 6 pm London time that is 10 pm here in Abu Dhabi only on CNN. You
are watching "Connect the World" with me Becky Anderson. Coming up a city that was once reduced to rubble is now reviving its most prized treasures.
I'm going to speak to the woman behind that effort just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:30:00]
ANDERSON: U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says his country is opposed to Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank. And he also called on
Palestinian leadership to combat terrorism and comments after meeting Israel's defense minister and prime minister.
Austen's meetings in Israel were moved to a location outside Tel Aviv as protesters who oppose Israel's judicial overhaul plans, blocked roads
leading to and from Ben Gurion Airport. Ukraine's president is calling it a difficult night for his country after Russia fired an unprecedented 81
missiles at Kyiv and other major cities.
At least 11 people were killed five of them in this strike on a residential area in Lviv. Moscow says it was in retaliation for an alleged Ukrainian
attack on Russian soil last week. And after days of protests, Georgia's ruling party says it will withdraw its controversial foreign agent law.
Well, protest leaders said they will continue demonstrations until it is formally withdrawn and police release everyone who has been arrested.
Where the brutality of ISIS once reigned in Iraq city of Mosul, church bells now ring out across the city, symbolizing a message of hope. It is
sites like this church that were targeted and ultimately destroyed during the battle for the city chipping away at its religious and cultural
diversity.
But now, a plan to revive them under UNESCO's revives the spirit of Mosul initiative. The group has partnered with the UAE to reconstruct heritage
sites, including churches, and mosques. Among the most notable of those restorations the casting of new church bells for the Alsace Church, which
was cast at the same foundry that made those at Notre Dame's Cathedral in Paris.
Well, I'm absolutely delighted to say that UNESCO Executive Director, Audrey Azoulay, who has just returned from a trip to Iraq, joins me now
live on set. And you have just returned from Mosul. Just explain what you saw there, and how the reconstruction project is going.
AUDREY AZOULAY, DIRECTOR GENERAL, UNESCO: I saw something very important. As you said, the Old City, the country in general, Mosul, in particular,
was completely destroyed, especially the Old City, by the occupation, by the consequences of the occupation by ISIS. And Mosul used to be a city of
diversity of co-existence, a city of heritage, a city of knowledge, and all this was reduced to destruction.
So that's why UNESCO launched this initiative to build on the human dimension of the reconstruction, the knowledge, the heritage, the people.
And what I saw there was for me very moving, because sometimes people wonder what the UN is about the UN organization, do they really change
life.
And here we saw the direct impact on people, those symbols, the bells, also the unruly mosque that used to be the places where the so-called Caliphate
was established. Also, the very important training programs, the jobs that were created by that. So I saw signs of hope, and beginning of possibility
to live together again in a society that was traumatized by ISIS.
ANDERSON: And we started with the bells and the church story because it is a story of the reconstruction of the mosque that perhaps people know more
about. But I wanted to ensure that people really understand the extent of the project in reviving Mosul. And as you rightly pointed out, getting back
to the spirit of tolerance and diversity that that city once has, we outlined at the top.
The project is in partnership with the UAE. And the country's former UAE delegate to UNESCO, who is now back as Minister of Culture here said a
while back. And I just want to quote something personally here.
[11:35:00]
He said the outcomes of the revive and the spirit of Mosul partnership include not only physically rehabilitating these historic sites, which are
foundational to Mosul's cultural fabric and spirit of peaceful co- existence.
They also include the creation of sustainable community spaces of employment opportunities, as you just pointed out and capacity building for
Malawi's, the people of Mosul. Talk about the importance of a partnership like this, if you will.
AZOULAY: First, I have to thank the UAE. Because when we had this idea of launching this initiative at such a large scale, you know, it's the largest
operation directly implemented by UNESCO, probably in its history. We found the UAE as a superpower since the beginning. It was then joined by the
European Union, and many other countries or organization, but the UAE were there at the very beginning.
And we worked in a partnership not only with them to support the financing of the project, but very importantly, with the people of Mosul, by training
young people to relearn the traditional techniques to rebuild the historic houses or the mosque or the churches the way it was.
For instance, asking the Malawi's if they wanted --, same as it was before, which means leaning, it was leaning - had very an iconic image for Iraq and
for the Arab world, and over 90 percent of them asked for a leaning one. So, it was really a partnership through UNESCO between member states and
Iraq.
ANDERSON: We are less than two weeks away from hitting the 20-year mark since the start of the Iraq War. So much destruction has been rained on
that country's since then. You were in old Baghdad, as I understand it during this trip as well. And I just want to get your sense of what you saw
there and describe the sort of spirit that you felt and where UNESCO's ambitions are in Iraq in its entirety in terms of cultural heritage and
reconstruction.
AZOULAY: It was important for me to walk in the old part of Baghdad to walk by the famous al Muthanna Abbey Street, with its cafe with its library. And
what I heard is a, the Iraqi people want to go back to normalcy. They want to return to a more normal set after those 20 years of wars and
devastations.
Of course, it will be a long path, but it's their wish. And our support at UNESCO is linked to, for instance, supporting the education system, a lot
of children were still out of school were supporting the government to bring them back to school also, the return of all the cultural objects that
were looted from museum from archaeological sites.
And there are results; I must say there are a lot of objects that are returned not to Iraq. For instance, I had the pleasure to be in Washington
for the restitution of a tablet of Gilgamesh, you know this, the tale of the tale, the epic, epic story, which influences all the civilizations, it
was stolen. But it was retrieved by the American authorities and returned to Iraq.
ANDERSON: Audrey, I wanted to also just get a chance to talk to you about a couple of other things Turkey, not least where I know that you will be, you
know, fully engaged in working about what it is that UNESCO can do with regard to the destruction wrought by the earthquake there.
And of course, Ukraine, which is so important. So please come and join me again. It was so important to just get a sense of what's going on in Iraq
and the work that you've been doing this. I'm glad that's what we focused on tonight.
But it's important that you come back and talk to us about the other projects that you're on. Thank you very much indeed for joining us. It's
such a pleasure to get a positive story out and I really admire the work that you do. So, thank you very much indeed.
AZOULAY: Thank you.
ANDERSON: "Connect the World" will continue after this short break, stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:40:00]
ANDERSON: The Chester Zoo in the United Kingdom is on its way to becoming a conservation powerhouse. Last year it was able to devote $30 million
towards conservation programs. And it's paying off as you will see in today's Call to Earth report. The zoo is in the midst of a baby boom
providing new hope for the preservation of some of the world's rarest species as a girl from that part of the country. I'm very proud of this
piece.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): The small northern English city of Chester might seem like an unlikely place to find some of the world's most
endangered animals. Since the 1930s Chester Zoo has grown a reputation as one of the best in the world for conservation with a targeted aim of
preventing species extinction.
MARK BRAYSHAW, CURATOR OF MAMMALS, CHESTER ZOO: There's a huge biodiversity crisis at the moment. I mean, we're losing species at a phenomenal rate.
And some of these species we're not even aware of them. We don't know their sort of role. And so you know, by taking species out here now we don't know
the long term impact.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Well, the gold standard for Chester Zoo is to breed species to reintroduce to their natural habitat. In many cases
now the urgent focus is on creating a safety net population in captivity.
BRAYSHAW: Always into the zoo action is an ark. And we might be in a situation where actually species habitat has gone and they're not going to
go back into their natural habitats. We have to sort of look at other places we can put them back into, balancing up you know, any sort of impact
that you know that might have.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Luckily for the preservation of some of these critically endangered species, the zoo is in the midst of a baby boom
a birth for the world's rarest chimpanzee, triplets for the Madagascan fossa, a greater one horned Rhino and Malayan taper and finally, in
addition to the zoo's family of marsupials.
Increased mining and deforestation in Papua New Guinea have seen the wild population of good fellows tree kangaroos more than halved over the past 30
years. So, the birth of a new Joey and Chester provides a glimmer of hope for the future of the species.
DAVID WHITE, TEAM MANAGER, TWILIGHT SECTION, CHESTER ZOO: So, the first time we saw it, it was tiny, you know, sort of just slightly larger than
the Jelly Bean, very underdeveloped. I mean, to be honest, you wouldn't even realize it was a tree kangaroo. But then subsequently, month after
month after month, you can really plot that development eyes appear in, then suddenly it's actually looks like a tree kangaroo now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Much of Chester's success in breeding is attributed to its onsite endocrinology lab.
KATIE EDWARDS, LEAD CONSERVATION SCIENTIST, CHESTER ZOO: I oversee our conservation physiology and reproduction team and our wildlife
endocrinology lab, which is the only one of its kind at a zoo in Europe. That mostly means we measure hormones in our animal dung. So for something
like the tree kangaroo, we'll take samples every day, then we'll run them about once a month so that we can measure reproductive hormones in our
female.
[11:45:00]
It helps us pair together the visual clues or behaviors that the team see with the physiology of the animal what's happening inside, so that we can
make sure that we are putting the male and female together at the best possible time to give us the best chances of a successful breeding.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): The lab is yielding such impressive results that zoos around Europe are sending in dung samples from their
animals for analysis at Chester. And there's hope that Chester's conservation focus can be a model for other zoos to follow.
BRAYSHAW: Our scientists have just a new model for what the future zoo could look like, you know, which sort of incorporates all of these facets,
sort of direct conservation where the fundraising model and actually the health and well-being of the visitors who visit. So certainly, Chester Zoo
has been so successful at what it does and we share all that information and want all zoos to do the same.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: And for more Call to Earth stories on conservation projects around the world, do you get to cnn.com/call to earth. Just ahead, the DOW
moving higher suspense somewhat building for Friday's U.S. jobs report up next to look at what the numbers could mean for Fed rate moves. That is
what these investors will be mindful off and that is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Physical abuse of women has been a problem throughout human history. But now it's also spilled into the digital world where new dangers
lurk behind the screen. Doxxing is a new term in our lexicon and here is exactly what it means, the online practice of exposing personal information
about others which had previously been kept private. Well, as CNN team shows us this practice has targeted some young female activists.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): The internet, a place with endless possibilities and all sorts of content, happy memories, your rivals, DIY,
lots of food, and all just adorable. But in the midst of the joy there is also darkness. Personal information is rife in the digital world. And if
yours is ever maliciously divulged without your consent, well, that's Doxxing.
MARWA FATAFTA, MENA POLICY MANAGER, ACCESS NOW: Doxxing derives from the word docs or documents and it comes from the hacking culture of dropping
documents. It's sharing someone's information online without their consent, and often with the malicious intent to attack them and undermine them. That
could include for example, sharing someone's home address, financial information, telephone number, intimate photos, private photos.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): To find that information Doxxers might go through search engines, social media histories or Data Broker websites. And
in some cases, they hack.
[11:50:00]
KARIMA NADIR, HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATE: It started in 2019 with the just the initials of my name, to say that this kind of woman wants to ruin our
morals, want to ruin our religion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Karima Nadir is a human rights advocate in Morocco. She says she endured a year-long defamation campaign in the
form of many online articles. And in tandem Karima was also doxed. In the midst of the lies, true personal information was published online without
her consent.
NADIR: In 2020, it goes to calling me a whore, a person that seeks with everybody that had sex for money. They were like mentioning the city and
the neighbor that I was living at. And after that, it went for to even discuss my right of being a mom; they ended up by publishing the birth
certificate of my son. So, I've decided to change my home, and to go live in another neighbor.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Doxxing takes a cultural dimension.
FATAFTA: For example, a woman's picture without a veil can be shared on social media. And when you look at the photo itself, it's very benign, is
very innocent and doesn't really violate the platform's terms of services. But looking at the social and cultural context in which this Doxxing is
taking place can be very dangerous and life threatening to this woman.
FATIMA DERBY, FEMINIST ACTIVIST: Somebody posted a photo of me and somebody else on Twitter, with a caption saying, these are the two lesbians who have
started a non-sense agenda in Ghana, take a good look at their faces.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): In activist Fatima Derby case, the weapon of choice was a photo as Fatima shared a picture of her solo supporting
LGBTQ rights in Ghana. She and the friend she tagged as the photographer got attacked. The docs are combed through Fatima's friends Twitter, and
posted a picture of both of them. In a comment, the attacker invited others to share their names and addresses.
DERBY: Because I was panicking. My palms were sweaty, and like my head fell hot and my head is - because I'm like, what is this? What I if somebody am
going to show up at my gigs? But given the context, given the increasing violence that LGBT people in Ghana were facing, especially at a time that
was extremely dangerous, extremely violent, it created a sense of un- safety, you don't always watching, it was a harrowing experience.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, two days later, Twitter took down the post, shifty TV did not respond to CNN team requests for comments. Well invest is a mulling the
latest weekly U.S. jobless claims just out they rose more than expected, this ahead of Friday's monthly jobs report for February. The big question
now for investors what could be next for U.S. interest rates?
Well, Fed Chief Jerome Powell says no decisions been made yet about steeper rate hikes that came during his congressional testimony on Wednesday. Let's
bring in Matt Egan from New York. What are we looking at here? Is this assignment the Feds efforts to call the world's biggest economy are
actually coming good.
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Maybe Becky, you know, it's been amazing just how strong the jobs market has been in the United States, and despite the fact
that the Federal Reserve is doing everything it can to slow this economy down. What came out today is that initial jobless claims as a proxy for
layoffs.
As you can see on the screen, they spiked in the last week rising by 21,000 that lifts claims to 211,000, the highest level since late last year. Now,
we don't want to overreact to any one weekly number, because these stats can be a bit noisy. But we have seen a flurry of layoffs.
Challenger Gray and Christmas put out a report today showing that employers have cut almost 181,000 jobs so far this year that is five times what they
did the same period of last year and the most since 2009. Now the question is whether or not this increase in jobless claims is the start of a new
trend, a trend that would signal some weakness in the jobs market.
Claims are not yet at alarmingly high levels. They're nowhere near that. Economists would say that there needs to be something like 300,000 weekly
jobless claims for that to signal anything like a recession. And again, we're nowhere near that. All of this of course is coming ahead of
tomorrow's big monthly jobs report from the government.
[11:55:00]
And economists they expect that the United States added about 205,000 jobs in February. Now that would mark a significant slowdown from January when
there was this blockbuster gain of over a half a million jobs. But still 205,000, that's a very healthy number.
The unemployment rate Becky is expected to stay at 3.4 percent that is tied for the lowest since 1969. Of course, these numbers are going to factor in
to what the Fed ends up deciding to do later this month in terms of raising interest rates.
ANDERSON: Always a pleasure, sir. Thank you. That's it from us from the team working with me here in Abu Dhabi. It's a very good evening coming up
next on CNN "One World" tonight with Lynda Kinkade.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
