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Connect the World

Deadly 7.5 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Eastern Taiwan; Uganda Court Refuses to Overturn Harsh Anti-Gay Laws; Eight Detained Over Deadly Istanbul Nightclub Fire; High-Stakes Vote Today on Future of Disney's Board; People Strategizing Over where to Watch Solar Eclipse. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired April 03, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: You are watching live pictures of the White House with the deaths of world Central Kitchen aid workers in

Gaza triggered outrage in the Biden Administration. It is 5 pm here in Abu Dhabi, 9 am in Washington. I'm Eleni Giokos and this is "Connect the

World".

Also, buildings collapse, people trapped. These are also live pictures that were getting wiped from Taiwan. The country has been rocked by the most

powerful earthquake to hit the island in 25 years. And dozens of people were killed in a nightclub fire in Istanbul. We'll have the latest on that

investigation.

Right stock markets in New York will open in about 30 minutes or so we're checking in on the DOW futures and as you can see, we're off to a slight

negative start. But of course markets closed lower yesterday, it took a 400 point nosedive on the DOW in yesterday's session, investors continue to

worry about the Federal Reserve and whether it's going to cut interest rates later than expected.

Of course, oil prices are a big concern. Now we're following the aftermath of that powerful earthquake which has brought death and destruction to

Eastern Taiwan. Officials say at least nine people were killed and more than 900 others injured after huge tremors rocked the island and triggered

landslides on Wednesday.

And you can see here the power of that earthquake the strongest since 1999, which brought down buildings and also damaged roads. Now 75 people trapped

inside tunnels were rescued by emergency responders, about 137 people are still trapped. The majority of them are in a mining area.

We got CNN's Hanako Montgomery joining us from Tokyo to bring us the latest and watching the aftermath of this earthquake. And also in the moments that

it occurred. Can you give me a sense of what we're learning this hour and the status of the trapped people?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, of course, Eleni. So as you mentioned, I mean, the scale of this devastation, right, we're still

hearing details about it. But this is the largest earthquake, to have shaken Taiwan in 25 years. So Taiwanese authorities have told us that at

least nine people have died more than 900 have been left injured.

We also know that of the nine who died, all of them were killed in Hualien County, which is located on the eastern coast of Taiwan, and it's very

close to the epicenter of this earthquake. This is where we're seeing most of the significant devastation. Now for some context, Hualien County is

known as a tourist hotspot.

It is known for its also rural area, and it's also where Taiwan sees most of its earthquakes occurring. We also know like you mentioned 137 people

are still trapped in Hualien County most in a mining area. Authorities have not been able to confirm whether they've gotten those people out.

But we know that the Taiwanese Defense Ministry has deployed military troops and is also working with local governments to try to get those

people out to try to get those people to safety. Now the Taiwanese government is also warning about aftershocks. They're saying that in the

next several days, we could see aftershocks with magnitudes ranging from 6.5 to 7.0.

So this is really significant, Eleni and you know, as someone who lives in a really seismically active country Japan, these aftershocks are no joke,

they can be just as powerful, sometimes more powerful than the first initial earthquake and you never really know when the shaking is going to

stop.

So it can be very traumatizing for those people in Taiwan right now. Also, we know that because of these aftershocks that are still occurring across

the island plans for a Tomb Sweeping Day. Tomb Sweeping Day which is a holiday in Taiwan. It's a time when people in many Chinese speaking parts

of the world go to visit their ancestor's graves and pay their respects and say hello to their loved ones.

But again, because we're seeing these aftershocks right shake Taiwan. Many people have to cancel their plans because they just don't know whether

they're going to be safe, Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yeah, it's really quite traumatic. The images that we're seeing we're getting right now from Taiwan. The rescue operations still ongoing,

Hanako really remarkable effort there by the emergency services on the ground.

[09:05:00]

Hanako Montgomery joining us right now, moving on and hailed as heroes who were just returning from a full day's mission. These are the faces of the

seven World Central Kitchen aid workers killed by an Israeli strike on Monday. The NGO says they were hits despite coordinating their movements

with the IDF.

Israeli military's Chief of Staff has apologized for the attack, saying it was a grave mistake caused by misidentification. But in a blunt statement

Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said he was outraged and that quote, Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver

desperately needed help to civilians.

Israel has also not done enough to protect civilians. He also recognized that this is not an isolated event. The U.N. says at least 196 humanitarian

workers have been killed since the war began. I want to bring in Senior International Correspondent Melissa Bell who's in Jerusalem for us.

We've also got White House Correspondent Arlette Saenz standing by. Melissa I want to start off with you in the faces the names of these aid workers

that were killed, Israel calling it a grave mistake. But what do we know more about exactly how this could have happened?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, all we have for the time being, Eleni is a preliminary. The results were rotted the IDF

have the results of a preliminary investigation. And it was on the basis of that you heard from the Chief of the General Staff of the IDF last night

Herzi Halevi explaining, giving a very fulsome apology in English on video and explaining that this had been a misidentification.

Also vowing that this sort of thing would not happen again and there had been so many questions over the course of the day, of course, Eleni about

what sequence of events could have allowed this very clearly marked convoy that was coordinating its movements with the IDF to be targeted, and it

appeared repeatedly.

So we have to wait until we get the full investigation. But Israeli authorities of -- has said that they will provide full transparency on this

but all the -- so I think that you've heard that outrage expressed by -- President Biden himself. I'm standing here by the way outside the Knesset.

I feel I should explain the noise around me, Eleni.

This is the end of four days of protests against the way the government here has prosecuted the war in Gaza. And to the images that we saw

yesterday of the strike that killed those humanitarian workers, the World Central Kitchen workers, I think these are images that are further fed.

The anger of the crowds that he saw out here in Jerusalem last night, many thousands of them out here in front of the Knesset to say their

displeasure, not just at the fact that the hostages, and within 130 of them have not been brought home. But that so much is being done in their name

that they simply don't agree with for the most part, Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yeah, Melissa, thank you for explaining what is going on in the streets in Jerusalem, as you say outside the Knesset then we can hear the

protest is quite loud. I want to go to Arlette who's standing by. Look, we've seen strong condemnation from the U.S. President, the -- harshest

language used, frankly, using the word outrage, something we've really heard from Biden on this issue.

But could you give me a sense of whether this is going to result in some kind of consequence for Israel. When they talk about accountability, what

would that mean in for the U.S.? And how they would implement accountability on Israel, if at all?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that really is the big question whether the deaths and the outrage over the deaths of these

workers with World Central Kitchen, whether that will alter President's strategy and approach in any way when it comes to handling the conflict

between Israel and Hamas, and also the relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

But as you mentioned, these statement from President Biden really amounted to his sharpest language yet, relating to Israel's operations in Gaza,

senior administration officials told CNN that the death of these workers really raised the frustration of President Biden and his top advisors to a

whole new level.

And that was evidenced in that statement released last night where the very first words the president wrote was, I am outraged a word that he is rarely

used in this conflict. As you noted earlier, the president also used a statement as a chance to call out Israel saying that they have not done

enough to protect civilians, not done enough to protect humanitarian aid workers.

And noting that this is not an isolated incident that there have been many deaths of humanitarian aid workers and he said that is part of what

complicates the dynamic in trying to get more aid into Gaza that Israel has not done enough to protect these aid workers.

[09:10:00]

And he said that yesterday's incident simply should not have happened. But in addition to the statement we also know President Biden has called Jose

Andres, the Head and Founder of the World Central Kitchen to express his condolences for the loss of life, including one dual U.S.-Canadian citizen.

But this really lays bare further tension between the U.S. and Israel as it continues its campaign in Gaza to root out Hamas, the U.S. and President

Biden have increasingly warned Israel about the need to take greater care to protect civilians, to protect those humanitarian aid workers.

We've seen them begin over the course of the past month really to speak in much blunter terms about the suffering happening first of Palestinian

civilians in Gaza at this time. Of course, President Biden is also facing domestic pressure here at home with Arab, Muslim and young voters quite

frustrated with his handling of the conflict in Gaza.

But one big question going forward is what President Biden does now. Will this alter his strategy in any way he has called? As you noted for that

swift investigation and accountability to be held for the deaths of the seven aid workers, but it's unclear at this moment, whether the U.S. is

ready to take any different types of steps when it comes to their approach to the war.

GIOKOS: Yeah. Melissa, look, this is a small part of what the New York Times editorial from the Founder of the World Central Kitchen said. We have

communicated extensively with Israeli military and civilian officials. At the same time, we've worked closely with community leaders in Gaza as well

as Arab nations in the region.

There is no way to bring a ship full of food to Gaza without doing so. Where does the organization go from here? We know they say they are going

to suspend operations. But what does that mean?

BELL: Well, it means a great gap is left in the aid getting into Gaza, what they've done had been quite remarkable, the idea that you would make this

makeshift chatty, get all the authorizations, as you mentioned a moment ago, as you those words are due to the many different layers of agreement,

you would have to have to get a ship full of aid off to the coast of Gaza.

And then into the strip itself, coordinating with the IDF, or all the way, but also with local Palestinian authorities to try and get safely in and

out of wherever you're trying to deliver that too is really a remarkable project of logistics and determination and courage. They had a particular

role, you know, we've seen them as journalists, wherever there's disastrous, these people tend to be.

This particular charity, aiming as they do to get food to the hungry fast, whether it is a natural disaster or the war in Gaza, where the war in

Ukraine and I think that is what made them so key, such an important key to what's been happening in Gaza and getting around. The many layers of

authorizations that U.N. agencies have struggled with over the course last few months, but it's also in a way what made them so vulnerable, Eleni.

GIOKOS: All right Melissa Bell, great to have you on thank you so much for that updates. Now, a bid by human rights activists in Uganda to overturn

some of the harshest anti-gay laws in the world has failed. The laws passed last year -- gay marriage and also brought in a sentence of up to life

imprisonment for same sex acts.

Pro-gay groups had asked Uganda's Constitutional Court to throw out the laws, but the five judges have sided with the government. They did -- find

certain parts violated a person's right to health, as well as privacy. I want to bring in David McKenzie, who's been following this for us from

Johannesburg.

David, look, many would say this isn't actually a surprising decision. But what else can gay activists do right now? Can they take this further and go

to the Supreme Court?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I expect they will go to the Supreme Court, Eleni. And on some level, it is in fact a

surprising decision, a similar law in 2014 that also legislated against the rights of LGBTQ Uganda and was struck down by a Constitutional Court.

In this case, though, the judges as you say, around they accepted the law and its constitutionality and frequently gave the context of Uganda,

Ugandan social norms and conservative nature as reasoning behind going the route that was criticized by one of the lawyers who put forward this case

at the Constitutional Court.

They are now looking at their options. But even before this law was passed, even before it was now challenged and accepted, there has been a great deal

of harassment of LGBTQ Ugandans in that country. We investigated this issue and late last year I spoke to several Ugandan to actually flee the country

to seek asylum in Kenya. Take a look.

[09:15:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He felt like if he can cut me into pieces, it would be better.

MCKENZIE: Adrian's father tried to kill him for being gay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are knives, he stabbed me. In Uganda when they kill someone in LGBT community, it's not a big deal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mom came herself and she told me, you know what, you are not welcome here. You are not part of our family.

MCKENZIE: Betrayed by their families pursued by the police. They fled into Kenya on foot or by bus, often in the dead of night. Now they're afraid to

go out. They keep the curtains shut from prying eyes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel at any point, I'm left nowhere to go. If I go outside there, they will notice that I am LGBTI sooner or later I'll be

dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE: So people like that we talked to in Kenya and who have fled across the continent, including here to South Africa. I feel now that the

options are rapidly closing. Kenya itself has proposed at least one lawmaker has proposed a homophobic law similar to that of Uganda that has

yet to make it into parliament.

But there is a feeling amongst people from this community, Eleni, in the continent that they have less space and fewer rights and certainly this

decision will make that even worse for them today, Eleni.

GIOKOS: David McKenzie great to have you on the story. Thank you so much. And just ahead NATO is talking about flying the flag for long term Ukraine

support. We'll tell you what that could mean for Kyiv after this. Plus, the search for bodies is over in horrific fire in Turkey now to the search for

answers. We're live from Istanbul, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Making sure Ukraine has weapons for the long haul in its fight against Russia is a major topic today among NATO Foreign Ministers. Their

meeting in Brussels and America's top diplomat is with them as Russia intensifies its attacks on Ukraine. NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg says the

alliance needs to give Kyiv a commitment to ongoing support and rely less on voluntary contributions.

I want to bring in CNN's Nic Robertson for the latest on this developing story. Nic, NATO chief Stoltenberg saying the alliance must ensure Ukraine

receives weapons for the long haul. So let's talk about how this can be achieved in practical terms of what kind of packages are we looking at

here?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, it's talking about shifting the dynamic of support. You know what's been happening until

now is you know the war started, no one was really ready. They dipped into their existing arsenals, their military arsenals all the NATO allies and

partners.

By the way they make up 99 percent of the military support is going to Ukraine, and they gave them inventory that was available in the French over

the weekend talking about sending several 100 fighting vehicles, armored fighting vehicles.

[09:20:00]

These have been previously used. They're not brand new. Dipping into old inventory but what's required now for Ukraine to fight the war and for

armament manufacturers to have serious ongoing commitment so that they can open up new production lines and step up armament productions.

Ukrainians need more artillery shells. Somebody has to make them right. And this is where they're at. And this is what Stoltenberg is talking about, in

essence, $100 billion worth of military commitment over five years. Now, this may not be easy in NATO has just gotten bigger 32 nations the first

time the Swedish Foreign Minister there at the meeting.

That's also the 75th anniversary of NATO. The big leader's summit will be in Washington later this summer. That's where we'll get the decisions sort

of ratified of what's discussed at the moment. So maybe no major headlines out of this meeting, but it will work out who's going to pay what and

that's been another issue at NATO.

We know for example, the Hungarians are not keen on giving money to Ukraine to help it fight a war against Russia. There may be others, this issue of

sharing the financial burden. Some countries have been giving more military aid to Ukraine than others. The Scandinavians and Baltics for -- others

think they've been giving more.

But there are some there definitely is giving less. So is getting this commitment, getting agreement around the table, getting the wording for a

future communique. That will I am some of those do some of that burden sharing out but of course getting that agreement. Yeah, that will take some

work.

GIOKOS: Absolutely, Nic, always great to have your analysis on the show. Thank you. Nine people are now under arrest in a fire that killed 29

workers renovating a nightclub in Istanbul. The Mayor's office says the owners had not asked for a permit for the work. The club is in the basement

of a residential building, and the workers became trapped when the blaze broke out.

The youngest victim we're learning was just 17 years old. CNN's Scott McLean has been on this story and he joins us now from Istanbul with more

as Scott, who are the nine people that were arrested and what are the authorities saying right now?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Eleni, yeah, so of the nine most of them have connections to the club either in management or their employees or

their partners in the clubs. Some are also related to the renovation work as well. And this the renovations were going on perhaps because it's

Ramadan perhaps because it's quiet around here.

And when you see the pictures, it is difficult to imagine the horror that took place inside that building. We spoke to one neighbor who actually

thought that the fire when it first started was in her building in a panic. She jumped down off of her balcony and when she got down, she saw that it

was the building next door that was burning and when she saw the smoke and the fire, she thought that perhaps she had arrived in hell.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCLEAN (voice-over): The camera trembles as neighbors capture the raging fire across the road. Hours later the human cost becomes tragically

apparent as firefighters pull bodies out one by one. All afternoon police investigators and exhausted firefighters came in when wondering what went

wrong.

All told at least 29 people were killed. All of them were workers doing renovations on a nightclub housed in the bottom of this 16 storey apartment

block. Slick masquerade nightclub looks out of place on the ordinary looking residential street -- lives next door and heard screams on the fire

first started.

I used to go to the nightclub from time to time she says. Bar had one entrance and an exit. There's only one way in and one way out.

MCLEAN: From here you can see quite clearly where the fire would have started on these lower floors and then raced up the side of this building.

There have been several people detained already as part of this investigation including the business manager of the club and the person

responsible for doing the metalwork renovation inside.

Now, in addition to the fire crews on scene, there are also three occupational safety experts here doing their own investigation into what

went wrong.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Across the road, the neighbors invite us to see the aftermath from their vantage point they asked not to be identified. It's

like a maze inside. There are so many casualties because they couldn't escape she says. The workers were kids trying to earn a bit of money.

I cried a lot because I saw these young guys entering the club in the morning before I went to the doctor. I am so sorry this happened.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[09:25:00]

MCLEAN (on camera): So I want to show you some pictures, Eleni, that have just been released from the Istanbul Governor's office that shows the chart

inside of that club, you can see just about everything is blackened from the smoke and the flames. And it seems to square with what the neighbors

told us that this is a sort of a labyrinth cavernous type place.

You cannot see any natural light in those pictures, you can't see any windows. It is certainly not clear where the entrance or the exit might

actually be. And obviously in this case, the people who were trapped either could not access it or could not find it in the chaos of all of this. We

have also gotten some the names and the ages of the victims, they range from 17 to 64 years old.

There are at least 4 people who were in their 20s. Most of them have been buried already as is in line with Islamic tradition. And of course, they

are still investigating the cause. And so a lot of people will be watching closely to see how exactly this started, Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yeah exactly Scott and just seeing the images almost impossible to get out of that nightclub from what we've just seen. So Scott, thank you

very much for bringing us an update there. Well, let's get you up to speed on some of the stories that are on our radar right now.

In London police say they have identified three men suspected in a stabbing attack on exiled Iranian journalists Pouria Zeraati last Friday. But the

men managed to flee the country within hours of the attack, Zeraati and anchor at the U.K. based channel. Iran International is recovering from leg

injuries.

Janet Yellen is set to make her second visit to China as U.S. Treasury Secretary and she will make stops in Guangzhou and Beijing to meet with

economists, students and business leaders. Treasury officials say they expect frank discussions about what the U.S. considers unfair trade

practices by China.

And still to come some of the biggest names in music speak out against the threat of artificial intelligence in the industry. And a boardroom battle

at Disney could shake up the Magic Kingdom and we'll explain what is happening there in just a moment, stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:00]

GIOKOS: All right. And you're looking at live pictures of Wall Street's opening bell and the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange, always

starting with claps not much to clap about today though, markets starting the day on a negative footing. And that is because we've also seen quite

resilient numbers on the private ADP payrolls.

And essentially showing us a bit more resilience in the market, again, pointing to the fact that the Federal Reserve might take a bit longer to

cut those interest rates. As you can see, starting off the day, slightly lower. DOW Jones lost around 400 points last week. OK, so moving on as

well.

I'd like to take a look now at other stories that are on our radar. We've got Star Wars, which basically has absolutely nothing in the real life

battle looming at Disney a high stakes shareholder meeting later on today, just a few hours in fact to decide the future of the entertainment giant's

board. All eyes will be on that activist shareholder Nelson Peltz is a critic of CEO Bob Iger and wants to be on the Disney board himself.

Peltz is a billionaire businessman and investor who founded trying partners a multi-billion dollar asset management company. We've got Hadas Gold,

bringing us the latest on what I guess will be quite an interesting vote expected to happen in around three hours from now, activist shareholders

trying to get a seat on the board. How will this go, Hadas?

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Eleni, it's great to be back on air with you. But yeah, this is turning out to be one of the if not the most

expensive proxy battles in history, Eleni, more than $60 million have already been spent just on this shareholder about a battle and it goes to

show you what's at stake.

It's the possible future direction of Disney and potentially even could have an effect on the tenure of Chief Bob Iger. And as you noted, there are

competing slates for the board of directors so it's not just trying management. There's also Blackwell's Capital. But of course the real

challenge comes from -- and Nelson Peltz who wants himself and a Former Disney Executive Jay Rasulo to have two spots on the board.

Now, Peltz has been successful at these types of battles in the past, but they've been at places like Procter and Gamble and Heinz. Now Nelson Peltz

has no media or entertainment experience, but that's not stopping him from criticizing what he says are real problems with Disney strategy now.

This is despite the fact that Disney stock price has surged nearly 50 percent over the last six months. He's saying that the film strategy he

says doesn't work. So there's been flops and he says what he doesn't like what he calls woke film strategy woke films and things like that.

He's worried that Iger could stay on longer than 2026 and says there's no real succession plan and we saw how that worked out with Bob Chapek, who

you know, lasted only two years before Bob Iger came back. And he said he wants to see the company achieve Netflix like margins on streaming.

I mean, who wouldn't want Netflix like margins on streaming. Now these are all issues though, that Disney and Bob Iger have identified. And Disney

says that they are in the middle of a major turnaround plan. But this battle has turned into something really huge. Normally these types of

shareholder votes are sort of state affairs.

You know, we not many people outside of that world pay attention to them, but this is getting major attention. We've had people from Star Wars George

Lucas, Laurene Powell Jobs, even members of the Disney family throwing their support behind Iger and the Disney board. But Peltz has some big

names in his side as well.

First of all, Marvel had Ike Perlmutter has given his voting power actually over to Peltz and now some people say that's personal because Perlmutter

was ousted by Disney, but other people like Elon Musk have thrown their support behind Peltz as well. You know, Elon Musk, even posting on X his

platform formerly known as Twitter, earlier today, throwing his support behind Peltz.

But, Eleni a really interesting element for me in all of this is actually the power of the retail investors because unlike other companies, greater

shares of shareholders in Disney are your regular individual retail investors. These are just normal people who might have 10, 15, 30 shares of

Disney because they love the company and they care about it.

A normal company might have like 15 percent, and Disney has more than 35 percent. So as a result, they've had to really treat this campaign like a

political campaign. They've been advertising on the podcast on Google searches, sending out direct mailers and leaning on Disney intellectual

property, like their characters to try and get the vote out.

Now we are already hearing from Reuters and others that that they think that Disney is going to pull ahead and win. But even if Bob Iger and Disney

wins, just the fact that this has gained so much traction goes to show you that there's still a lot of dissatisfaction out there right now with Disney

strategy, Eleni.

[09:35:00]

GIOKOS: Yeah, it's absolutely fascinating story watching that Disney share price right now it's up three tenths of a percent Hadas, great to have you

on the story and great to see you back on in. And I'm sure we'll be seeing you very soon again. I want to move on now and some of the biggest names in

music are calling on the industry to protect artists from the threat posed by artificial intelligence.

Now more than 200 artists including Billy Eilish, Kacey Musgraves, Ja Rule and Bon Jovi signed an open letter addressed to developers and tech

companies. Part of it reads we must protect against the predatory use of AI to steal professional artists' voices and likenesses, violate creators'

rights and destroy the music ecosystem.

And still to come, they call football the beautiful game but sometimes it has a very ugly side. The Turkish Super League is looking for some answers.

We'll explain after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Cities in the so called path of totality are doing what they can to get ready for the solar eclipse officials in our console want to ensure the

safety of those visiting the area to witness this rare event. Now they're expecting an increase in traffic and adding extra emergency personnel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY COY, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR OF CRAIGHEAD COUNTY: We've kind of been putting out ahead of time to kind of treat this especially if you

live here. Treat this like a winter storm event for instance fire department they may change from taking a big engine to a medical call to

taking more of a truck or a SUV to a medical call that allows them to get there a little easier a little quicker.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Maine's Governor says her states has been preparing for the eclipse since last year and is expecting up to 40,000 visitors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANET MILLS, GOVERNOR OF MAINE: We expect tens of thousands of people to travel to Maine to enjoy this incredible event. And we couldn't be more

excited to welcome them. But we want to make sure to the residents and visitors alike enjoy the eclipse safely anywhere in the state of Maine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers shows us which regions are expected to get the very best view, take a listen.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm going to show you both the European, the American model and kind of give you an idea if you want to find totality

and you really, really do because if you just miss it by 1 percent or 2 percent, you don't get the full effect. But there's your totality right

across parts from about Texas all the way up to Maine.

31.6 million people are already in the path and you don't even have to move. But you may have to move because we have a storm system that's going

to develop here along the Gulf Coast. Both models American model and the European model doing the same thing.

So there's your totality and white unfortunately is the computer's idea of where the clouds will be. That's the American model. Here's the European

model much better these are most of the Ohio Valley could be clear.

[09:40:00]

But what you have to understand is that this time of year is the time of year that we have climate to logically the most clouds out there. It's

spring, so will we see rain likely in some spots as we get closer. Saturday and Sunday, plan your trip accordingly, you likely will have to move from

many locations to the best ones. And right now, probably close to the Mississippi River. We'll see.

GIOKOS: All right. So its message there avoid the cloud cover. But you can join us Monday for the total solar eclipse as it travels from Mexico across

America and into Canada. Our special coverage starts at 12 pm Eastern, that is 5 pm in London, 8 pm in Abu Dhabi. Now this sounds like a tall tale, but

I promise you it is not to the home of Oktoberfest could be home to 20,000 Elephants.

Now bear with me, Botswana wants to deport the pachyderms to Germany as retaliation that's after Germany proposed banning the import of hunting

trophies like tusks from elephants. Germany is one of the largest importers of hunting trophies in the European Union.

But the President of Botswana says his country faces an overpopulation of elephants and they're destroying crops and villages, even trampling people.

And Botswana says trophy hunting helps control the population. Now they almost walked away from the Turkish Super League, but cooler heads

prevailed at the Fenerbahce.

Now the football club was justifiably upset after its players were attacked during a match last month by fans of a rival team. We've got Amanda Davies

joining us now to give us a little bit more info. Look, the Turkish League has been plagued by other incidents of this violence this season. Take us

through it.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, it was a big threat from Fenerbahce who are Turkey's most successful clubs side in terms of domestic titles

won. They called an extraordinary Annual General Meeting for Tuesday saying they were going to vote as to whether or not to withdraw from the Turkish

Super League.

The equivalent of the Premier League or La Liga or Serie A, a lot of people said that would have been quite a major step because of the repercussions

what does it mean for the players, for salaries for their competition in Europe. It seems that ultimately, when everybody met and discussed it, they

have voted to remain for now.

But that perhaps is the interesting thing. They want a change in the culture of Turkish football. We've seen a lot of trouble from the fans

storming onto the pitch. We saw an attack of a referee in December, didn't we? And we've said they have shelved it as a concept for now until the next

board meeting in just three months' time. So they're back to action a little bit later on in their fight for this year's championship goes on,

Eleni.

GIOKOS: All right, Amanda, we'll see you after the break. And I'll be back at the top of the hour.

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[09:45:00]

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