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Connect the World

UK Police: Two Dead in Car Ramming & Stabbing at Synagogue; Israeli Threatens Mass Firing, Program Cuts During Shutdown; Youth-Led Protests Rock Many Cities Worldwide; Eyeing Wall Street's Reaction to Government Shutdown; Afghan Women Footballers Fight for Recognition. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired October 02, 2025 - 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)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, just in from the scene in Manchester, in England, after at least two people were killed in an

attack outside a synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. It's 02:00 p.m. there, it's 05:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi.

This is our Middle East Programming Headquarters. I'm Becky Anderson. You're watching "Connect the World". Also coming up this hour, Israeli

forces detain activists attempting to get aid into Gaza from the Global Sumud Flotilla, sparking international outcry.

And U.S. President Trump ramping up his threat to use the ongoing government shutdown to fire federal employees en masse. Well, the stock

market in New York opens about 30 minutes from now, a very mixed picture on the futures markets. It does, though, seem as though investors are mostly

shrugging off this U.S. government shutdown.

More on those markets at 09:30 local time, half an hour from now. We are following breaking news out of England. Two people are dead after a car

ramming and stabbing incident outside a synagogue in Manchester. Police say the suspect was shot by firearms officers and is believed dead.

Bomb disposal experts are now on the site. Now this happened on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the year in Judaism. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is

heading home after attending a European summit in Denmark at the time of the incident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The attack in Manchester this morning is absolutely shocking and all of our thoughts with those affected. I'm on

my way back to London. When I arrive, I will chair an emergency Cobra meeting. I'm already able to say that additional police assets are being

deployed to synagogues across the country, and we will do everything to keep our Jewish community safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well Clare Sebastian following developments for us from London. Clare, what more are you learning at this point?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Becky, just to take you through what we know about how this unfolded, police say they were called to the

scene of this synagogue in the north of Manchester at 09:31 this morning. Everything seems to have developed very quickly from there.

They say they were called by an eyewitness who had seen a man drive a car into bystanders, essentially, and then stab one person, they said. We did

hear originally, about four injuries. Now we know, according to greater match the police, that two people have been killed, two members of the

public, and three are in a serious condition.

Shots were fired at the scene, police say, but a third person believed to be the suspect. They have not confirmed yet whether that person is deceased

or not, that they say he is believed to be because of they say suspicious object on his person, and a bomb disposal unit is at the scene, according

to police.

So, in that sense, this is still unfolding a major police presence. And of course, on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, reactions

have been flooding in King Charles says he is deeply shocked and saddened to learn this horrific attack. We've heard from the Israeli embassy in the

UK, which called it abhorrent and deeply distressing.

The Muslim Council of Britain has also come out and said, we unequivocally condemn this act of violence and it is now a national issue. The British

Prime Minister says that he is adding extra police resources to Jewish sites and communities and take a listen to the -- take a listen to Sadiq

Khan, the Mayor of London.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SADIQ KHAN, LONDON MAYOR: People should be allowed to go about and practice their faith knowing they're going to be safe. Unfortunately, too many

Jewish Londoners, Jewish people across the country, Jewish people across the globe, don't feel that way, and that's heartbreaking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: So that was the Mayor of London. This is now, of course, a national incident, and we can bring you a still image of what's believed to

be the suspect in this incident. It was taken from cell phone video. If we can bring that up now, we don't know for sure. This is still all just

coming in from eyewitness accounts.

You can see there's something there on his -- around his waist. We don't know what that is, but as we said, police have said that they believe that

he is deceased, but cannot confirm that yet, because of what they called suspicious items on his body. And we know from that eyewitness video that

they were trying to move people back at the scene.

So obviously this is a worst-case scenario. We know that security had already been stepped up at synagogues and Jewish sites around the country.

Now we're hearing of extra security in place, and clearly on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, really a cause for concern.

[09:05:00]

And obviously the prime minister has come back and is chairing an emergency government meeting today.

ANDERSON: Yeah. Clare, good to have you. I want to bring in the Former Chief Superintendent of London's Metropolitan Police Dal Babu, and you have

extensive experience policing in the UK. Let's just get your reaction to what we know to date and the response that we understand?

DAL BABU, FORMER CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT OF METROPOLITAN POLICE: Yeah. I mean, first of all, I'd like to extend my sympathies to the victims of this

horrific attack. It appears that we have a suspect who appears to have been killed by police, although that's not being confirmed at the moment,

because they have some concerns about what he was wearing might be an electronic device or an explosive device.

So, there has been some caution about the individual last time I was aware, but I think that things may have moved on, but they -- we know that sadly,

there were serious injuries, and two people have lost their lives. So, in Britain, as you'll be aware, the gun controls are very, very strict.

So, we're seeing attacks against people, mass attacks where knives are used, and obviously, if a gun had been used, this would have been -- its

horrific as it is. It would have been even more horrific if somebody had had access to a gun. So, guns are extremely difficult to get hold of, and

this, this knife attack, is now being investigated by Greater Manchester Police.

And we have 43 forces across the country, and Greater Manchester is one of the biggest forces and has probably one of the biggest Jewish populations

outside London.

ANDERSON: Yeah, absolutely. We've just seen that image released of the suspected gunman you've described. Well, what we believe we see there. Just

walk us through then how the police will be prioritizing their investigation. What will happen first?

BABU: Well, the police will have an intelligence cell. They've had the incident. They will control the area so it's a crime scene, so people will

not be allowed to go into that scene while they collect evidence. The intelligence cell will then focus on the individual.

They'll try and establish whether this is a person acting on their own, whether they're part of a wider group of people, and then it's about

providing reassurance. We know that the London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has extended his sympathies to Andy Burnham, who's the local mayor and is

helping and offering services from the Metropolitan Police if they're required.

And I think now it will be about reassurance. We know Yom Kippur is a sacred day for the Jewish community, and that the police will want to

ensure that they are able to provide reassurance to communities across the country. And it must be quite a frightening time for the Jewish community

across the country.

So, although this happened in Manchester, which is about 180, 200 miles away from London, it will have an impact across the whole of the country.

And so, you will have reassurance patrols by police officers on the Jewish Sabbath and for the foreseeable future.

ANDERSON: Yeah, and we are reporting that security is now heightened at synagogues across the country. You did explain that Manchester has one of

the biggest Jewish communities outside of London. Just how difficult will that additional security be for the police to achieve? Just what goes into

that?

BABU: Well, I think what the police will want to do is move resources from the jobs of police officers doing and have make a risk assessment around

individual synagogues in maybe Jewish schools, other Jewish venues. And then make a decision about whether they need to have a permanent patrol

there, whether they can have people, police officers visiting in ad hoc way, driving police patrol cars there.

So, they'll make an assessment of all the venues. But I think what the Jewish community would like to see and have indicated is a significant

police presence while the police are investigating and trying to establish whether this is a lone individual or whether this person is part of a wider

group.

When we've had these kinds of attacks in the past, and thankfully, they're very rare in Britain when we've had them, there's always a desire to find

out, is this part of a larger. Is it a terrorism incident? Is it a person with mental health issues who's acted individually? So, the intelligence

cell that police have will try and gather all that data and then make a decision about deploying resources that they think is appropriate.

[09:10:00]

ANDERSON: Yeah, it's good to have you. Your experience extremely valuable as we continue to cover this story.

BABU: Thank you.

ANDERSON: And for our viewers, you can get more of this, of course at cnn.com, and on your CNN app. Well, most of these ships in the

international aid flotilla that set out to break the Israeli blockade in Gaza have been intercepted by the Israeli military. Some of the boats

appeared to be hit with water cannons.

These pictures were shared on a live stream by the flotilla organizers. The Israeli military says it will deport the volunteers. Well, protests have

been staged around the world against the halting of the flotilla. This was the scene, for example, in Madrid earlier. Other demonstrations were

reported in cities from Buenos Aires to Rome to Istanbul over the past 24 hours.

Well, CNN's Paula Hancocks is here. And Paula, activists say they've lost contact with all but one ship at this point. So just let's step back. What

do we know?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, this was the largest flotilla that we have seen. There have been many attempts to try and break

this 18-year blockade that Israel has around Gaza. This is the latest. There were more than 500 activists, you had well over 40 vessels.

Now the Israeli military say at this point they've stopped all but one. That one is at a distance, and they're monitoring it, but they were very

clear that they weren't going to let any of these boats through.

The Global Sumud Flotilla itself said that that they were carrying food, water, baby formula and medicine. They wanted to take that to the people of

Gaza. What Israel said is that it was more of a stunt. They said it wasn't to deliver aid. It was more of a provocation.

And so, what we've heard from GSF is that they believe there was one ramming incident they know, and we have seen images of water cannon being

used against these ships to prevent them from getting to where they want to go to. Now, all of these individuals had recorded something beforehand,

saying that, if I -- if you are watching this, effectively, I have been detained.

It is illegal, and they believe this was an illegal attack by Israel, and there was one particularly famous activist on board the Swedish Activist,

Greta Thunberg. Let's listen to her video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRETA THUNBERG, ACTIVIST: If you are watching this video, I have been abducted and taken against my will by Israeli forces. Our humanitarian

mission was nonviolent and abiding by international law. Please tell my government to demand my and the other's immediate release.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: Now the Israeli forces filmed her and showed her early on, saying she is safe, she is healthy. They're very well aware that there are many

eyes on this flotilla, that this is they're under international scrutiny when it comes to this at a time when that very isolated.

ANDERSON: This comes, of course, as Israel's Defense Minister announced what he called, and I quote him here, the last opportunity for Palestinians

to move south from Gaza City as Israel continues its assault there. What's the situation? And have we at this stage, heard any more about the

potential for a ceasefire, a plan that was, of course, announced by Donald Trump on Monday with the Israeli Prime Minister in Washington, Hamas now,

of course, as we understand it, looking at that plan.

HANCOCKS: I think the quote is positively reviewing. This is the quote that they have put out there. They have met. Let it be known that they are

discussing this, that they are taking it seriously. We know that they had been meeting with officials from Qatar, from Turkey, from Egypt.

There is significant pressure being put on them to say yes to this deal, but there are significant red lines for them. For example, they don't want

to demilitarize. They don't want to lay down their arms. They have said in the past, this is a significant red line. We will not agree to it, and

that's one of the points in this 20-point plan.

They most probably will not want to release all the hostages within 72 hours, because then they have lost all of their leverage. So, there are

very significant parts of this plan that Hamas will not want to agree to. But of course, the pressure is on Hamas because everybody else has agreed

to it.

The Arab and Muslim nations have agreed to it. Israel has agreed to it, at least publicly. It would be difficult for Hamas to say no. So, at this

point, we understand that they are in discussions with different mediators, with different elements within the region, and as far as the U.S. President

is concerned, he said they have three to four days, so potentially that's the end of this week.

ANDERSON: Good to have you. Thank you. In the coming hours, President Donald Trump will hold a key meeting to decide which federal agencies could

face cuts, as the U.S. government shutdown drags on in a statement posted to Truth Social.

[09:15:00]

President Trump and advised Republicans to use the government shutdown that he says was forced on them by the Democrats, to, quote, clear out dead

wood, waste and fraud from the government in order to save billions. Well CNN's Reporter joins us now from Capitol Hill and Camila, you are in the

thick of it on Capitol Hill there. What are you hearing behind the scenes?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Becky, Senate Democrats and Republicans still cannot come together to pass a bill that will keep

the government open. So, at this point, it's at a stalemate. Senate Democrats are really dug in, saying that they really are not willing to

negotiate when it comes to Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year.

And they're saying that they will only support a spending bill if it is included in that bill. Now this has been a very big point of contention,

but something that has just really elevated this and made it more high stakes right now that the government is closed is the fact that the White

House is threatening to do mass layoffs and start cutting programs within federal agencies.

As President Trump has talked about, he doesn't really know which federal agencies will be impacted, but that is a lot of the discussions on Capitol

Hill is how federal workers are going to be impacted, and also federal agencies and what the long-lasting impact of this will be.

Now, at this point, there are no votes set on the House or the Senate side, but there are expected to be Senate votes tomorrow, and a lot of Democrats

and Republicans say that they remain hopeful that some type of compromise can come underway to really get back and keep the government open.

Because at this point, there is really no talks are going on that really show that there's a compromise that both sides are willing to make at this

point.

ANDERSON: Camila DeChalus, thank you very much indeed for joining us. Our reporter on Capitol Hill. Well, the U.S. government shutdown hasn't put the

brakes on President Trump's immigration crackdown. ICE operations say, I know are still being funded and carried out.

The agency's tactics are facing increasing criticism and allegations of brutality after a string of violent arrests have been caught on camera. New

video from inside a New York Immigration Court shows masked ICE agents grabbing and shoving journalists. One reporter pulled from an elevator;

another knocked to the ground.

At least one was injured and carried out on a stretcher. ICE claims its agents are responding to risks over their safety. Well, a CNN investigation

has uncovered a sharp rise in people posing as ICE agents during President Trump's second term. There have been at least two dozen incidents so far

this year, many of the impersonators used fake badges and masks to rob assault or even kidnap victims.

Critics say the Trump Administration's policy allowing masked. ICE agents have made it easier for criminals to copy their look and exploit fear. You

read that full investigation now at cnn.com on the website CNN digital, and on the app. Well ahead on "Connect the World", hope is fading on the fourth

day of rescue operations in Indonesia, as dozens of people remain missing inside a collapsed school. More on that is after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:20:00]

ANDERSON: Well in Indonesia, authorities have made the decision to change a rescue operation at a collapsed school to a recovery operation. Heavy

machinery will now be used to remove rubble and find bodies. At least five people have died in that collapse. Five students were pulled out alive, but

hopes are now fading for the 59 people still missing. CNN's Ivan Watson has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A rescue from the ruins. Indonesian emergency workers have been digging and cutting in a

desperate effort to find dozens of boys trapped since their school suddenly collapsed on Monday. This mother's prayers answered when rescuers plucked

her son from the rubble.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought there was only a 20 percent chance he'd make it, but I kept saying, in the name of God, my child is strong. My child is

strong. I kept reciting praises for the prophet.

WATSON (voice-over): But for too many other families, an agonizing vigil that's now turned to despair. Officials bring in heavy machinery and

announce they've detected no more signs of life. Parents line up to give DNA samples to help identify bodies of young victims.

This woman's 17-year-old son, Ahmed, is among those missing. My hope is fading, she says, I need them to find his body soon, so that he can be

buried beside his father's grave. The Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School was a four-story building in the Indonesian City of Sidoarjo, students were

gathering for afternoon prayers on Monday as construction workers were reportedly pouring concrete on the roof of the school.

That's when the building collapsed. A top Indonesian government official now calls this a wakeup call. Authorities say they've launched an

investigation into the cause of this deadly disaster. Ivan Watson, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Morocco's Parliament meeting today focused on health care and education, spurred on by days of youth led violent protests. Now,

demonstrators accuse officials of putting billions towards 2030 World Cup preparations, instead of crumbling infrastructure, job creation and social

services.

Now authorities say protests have led to hundreds arrested and some 260 officers injured. CNN's Hanako Montgomery reports on multiple protests led

by youngsters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Moroccans taking to the streets and demanding an end to corruption better health care and education

reforms. The nationwide youth led protests have rocked the North African nation for several days. This video shows a police van suddenly ramming

into demonstrators in the City of Oujda, the fate of those involved remains unclear.

The government issued the statement this week saying it's open to dialog, quote, within institutions and public spaces to find realistic solutions.

That's according to Reuters. Over in Madagascar in East Africa, another movement led by young people has swept the island nation, this time over

water and power cuts.

And not even the president dissolving the government has put a stop to the unrest. The United Nations says at least 22 people have been killed and

more than 100 injured, but the government rejects those numbers. Morocco and Madagascar are the latest in a number of youths led uprisings in

different parts of the world.

In Kathmandu, Nepali Gen Z, led tens of thousands of protesters into the straits two weeks ago, furious over government corruption. In Indonesia,

protests swelled after a 21-year-old was killed by police in August. Elsewhere, crowds took to the streets in the Philippines and France and in

several of these protests, this skull flag has been raised.

MONTGOMERY: So, what does the flag mean? Well, it comes from Japan's best- selling manga One Piece.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): In the story the flag is the Jolly Roger of the Straw Hat Pirates who don't just hunt treasure but also fight oppressive

powers and demand freedom. For protesters, that message hits home.

EMMAS MUHAMMAD FIRDAUS, MURAL ARTIST: This is a symbol of warning for the government, so they have to look at their people.

[09:25:00]

Many Indonesians are hoisting the "One Piece" flag because they want the government to listen to them.

The protests around the world may have different origins, but the anger is the same. That's why young people have turned.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): The protests around the world may have different origins, but the anger is the same. That's why young people have turned

this skull flag into a global banner of defiance and freedom. Hanako Montgomery, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Let's get you up to speed and some of the other stories that are on our radar right now. And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned

European leaders about Russian drone attacks during a European summit in Copenhagen. Denmark put a temporary ban on civil drone flights after

suspicious activity last week.

At the summit, leaders discussed fortifying a strong and secure Europe amid Russia's war with Ukraine, Pope Leo has called for global action to tackle

climate change at a conference outside Rome. He said damaging the natural world is incompatible with the Christian faith.

The pope paid tribute to his predecessor's pronouncements on the environment, and has indicated that he will continue Pope Francis's efforts

to draw attention to climate crisis. Well, two delta regional jets collided on a taxiway at New York's LaGuardia Airport on Wednesday night.

Delta says one plane's wing struck the cockpit of the other in a low-speed crash, sending one person to hospital. New York Port Authority says

operations there were not affected. You are watching "Connect the World" with me Becky Anderson. Still to come, the shutdown of the U.S. government

enters day two.

No deal is in sight, with Wall Street set to open just moments from now. We're going to take a look at how the impasse over federal funding is

impacting investor sentiment, that after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. You are watching "Connect the World". And these are your headlines. UK police say at least

two people were killed during a car ramming and knife attack outside a synagogue in Manchester.

Three others suffered serious injuries, according to authorities, the suspect was shot by firearms officers and is dead. The attack comes on Yom

Kippur, the holiest day of the year in Judaism. Well, the U.S. government will remain shut down throughout the coming day as lawmakers on both sides

of the aisle refuse to compromise over funding.

The next Senate vote is expected on Friday, but no breakthrough is expected before next week. Meanwhile, the White House is heaping on the pressure by

threatening the federal workforce with more layoffs.

[09:30:00]

Or 30 seconds out ahead of the opening bell, U.S. investors appear to be mostly shrugging off the government shut down as we await trading to get

underway. These are the futures and it is worth noting. The Dow and S&P both closed at new record highs on Wednesday. There are still signs,

though, of an economic and political uncertainty in the U.S.

Gold, considered safe haven by many investors, also in record high territory. Wednesday, its prices climbed 47 percent this year. Well, I

didn't hear it in my ear, but I'm assuming that the bell has rung on Wall Street. It is just after half past nine there, half past five here.

Let's discuss all of this with Mohamed El-Erian. He's Chief Economic Adviser at Allianz. How do you read the full picture as we listen to the

bell being rung here? How do you read the full picture here? Markets seem relatively unfazed by this shutdown. Do you see warning signs out there?

MOHAMED EL-ERIAN, CHIEF ECONOMIC ADVISER AT ALLIANZ: So first, markets are unfazed because they believe it will not last. They believe that it will

not have any permanent economic effects, and therefore markets can continue focusing on what they like to see, which is an AI revolution and the

likelihood of the fed cutting interest rates again.

So that's what the markets are seeing. Beyond the market. What we have to recognize is that we're in the midst of rewiring, Becky, not just the U.S.

economy, but the global system. And therefore, the range of potential outcomes has widened quite a bit, and uncertainty is quite high.

ANDERSON: Well, let's focus on what you just alluded to, which is this sort of alignment of geo tech and geo-economics, and I'm talking AI and advanced

tech here. OpenAI's valuation, for example, has surged from 300 to 500 billion following a deal in which current and former employees sold roughly

6.5 billion dollars' worth of shares.

These being sold to a consortium of investors, including Abu Dhabi's AI Investment Fund, MGX, that's $100 billion investment fund. And they told

CNN in a statement, quote, MGX is pleased to be a core partner to OpenAI and to continue building on our strong relationship as a significant

investor across multiple funding rounds.

This is a massive relationship. Sam Altman, the OpenAI CEO, just here in region last week, he met with the UAE President and the national security

adviser. He received an honorary AI degree from the AI university here. And this is following billions of dollars in investments.

The UAE has this very strategic partnership between the UAE and the U.S., as do other big gulf country, Saudi Qatar, and beyond. How do you see this

alignment between geopolitics, geoeconomics and geo tech sort of fitting together here and impacting investor sentiment?

EL-ERIAN: So, let's start with the UAE and AI. The UAE is the leader in putting AI in every citizen's hands. That's how they think about it. And

for good reason, AI is a productivity enhancer. It is a labor augmenter. It allows us to do things better, and the UAE has taken the lead in trying to

diffuse.

And that's a critical word, diffuse AI technology throughout the economy. And to do that well, that entered into partnerships. More generally, a lot

of money is chasing the AI promise. And you see this at every stage, not only in terms of the content, which is OpenAI, but also in terms of the

enablers, the data centers, other things that will enable AI to grow.

Now, I suspect Becky, like every innovation we've seen in the past, there will be overproduction, over consumption. That's what tends to happen when

you have a general-purpose technology. But that should not in any way denied as a very significant impact, not just on the economy, but on issues

of national security as well.

ANDERSON: Yeah, it's fascinating, isn't it? Let's get back to what's going on in the U.S. very specifically. Because again, you know, investors will

be searching for indications about what the U.S. economy is up to. One sign of concern hiring plans at U.S. companies are at their lowest level, as I

understand it, since the great recession through September, companies announced hiring plans for around 200,000 roles.

[09:35:00]

That's a 58 percent drop from last year and the lowest year to date tally since 2009 now. What do you put this down to.

EL-ERIAN: So, the U.S. is living in a low-hire, low-fire environment, so companies are not hiring, but they're also not firing. Why uncertainty has

been high? That's the first thing, particularly policy induced uncertainty. Here you're talking about tariffs, you're talking about industrial policy.

Second, they're not sure about the impact of AI yet on their labor force, so they are just waiting to see how things play out. The concern, Becky, is

this low-hire, low-fire configuration is not a stable one. And what we're starting to see is a decoupling of strong GDP from a weakening labor

market.

And that's a phenomenon that you and I, I suspect, are going to be talking about for a while, because it has massive economic, social and political

implications.

ANDERSON: I want to close this interview out with just an excellent "Financial Times" piece that you wrote, and I want to quote for our

viewers. From that quote, the growing influence of geo-economics makes for a more volatile environment for policymakers, business and market

participants with a much wider set of potential outcomes to consider. Can you just unpack briefly for us what you meant by that?

EL-ERIAN: Yeah. I mean, you know, I grew up in a world where there were two unifying principles, economic, logical principles that impacted corporate

decision making, that impacted market outcomes and that had a huge convergence influence on politics and geopolitics.

Today, we are seeing economics in the backseat, and what's driving economic policy is not economic logic, but it is geopolitical issues and domestic

politics which makes economic outcomes more uncertain. You've seen it with tariffs. You're seeing it with industrial policy.

You're seeing it with the attack on institutions. The list goes on. So, companies right now have to worry a lot more about what's coming out of

Washington, what the geopolitics are like, what the tensions between China and the U.S. are like, what's happening elsewhere, and less about economic

issues, which means noncommercial considerations start deciding outcomes, and that's a very uncertain environment.

I was with a CEO that said the only certain thing is uncertainty, and even that is looking strange.

ANDERSON: And we know how distressed CEOs markets as a whole are by uncertainty. So that's a very powerful statement that you've just quoted

there from a CEO. It's good to have you as ever. You know this is really news our viewers can use, and we appreciate your insight analysis on that.

Thank you. Still ahead. If you are in need of a little inspiration, can only sport can provide. Our Amanda Davies has hit it by getting exclusive

access to players named in the first Afghan women's refugee team. More on that after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:00]

ANDERSON: Well, since the Taliban took back control in Afghanistan in April of 2021 the women's national football team has not played on the

international stage. Their players are now scattered around the world, living in exile, but FIFA has announced the first Afghan women's refugee

squad for a series of friendlies.

My colleague Amanda Davies has been spending some time with some of them, and she joins us now to explain, Amanda.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Thanks Becky, yeah, football is a sport that put this group of incredible women in danger. When the Taliban went

back into power, they had to burn their shirts. Many of them buried football trophies in their gardens, but equally, it is what saved them and

their families.

It was the conduit they were able to use to escape Afghanistan and have been scattered around the world, players in Australia, players in the

United States, players here in England, in Portugal, in Italy, but they have not been able to get back to representing their country, to pull on

their national team shirt and run out onto a football pitch, because the Afghanistan Football Federation, run by the Taliban do not acknowledge them

and will not name a team to represent their country.

So, they have been fighting a really hard-fought fight for the last 4.5 years to be able to get back on the international stage. They're not all

the way there. They are going to be dubbed the Afghan women's refugee team, and that is significant progress. They'll be playing in this tournament in

Dubai in a couple of weeks' time.

But this is a group of women who are not only doing this for themselves, they are doing it for the women of Afghanistan, and they want to get what

they deserve. They feel they deserve. They do deserve, and they're not going to stop where they are. But we spent an incredible couple of days of

them as they got the call to say they had been selected to represent their country once more.

And we've got more of that story coming up in just a couple of minutes in "World Sport". I hope everyone can join us for it.

ANDERSON: Super. Yeah, absolutely, please do stay with us for that. That's "World Sport" up after this. Short break, I will be back at the top of this

hour for the second hour of "Connect the World". Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

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