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Gaza Ceasefire Starts 72-Hour Clock for Hostage Release; Officials Hopeful Ceasefire Will Allow More Aid into Gaza; Venezuela's Opposition Leader Wins Nobel Peace Prize; Judge Blocks Trump's Deployment of National Previously to Illinois; French President Expected to Announce New Prime Minister; Trump on Iran's Possible Impact on Ceasefire; Global Assessment Reports Gloomy Details of Species Decline; Banned YouTube Users Allowed to Return. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired October 10, 2025 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:45]
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome to the second hour of the show from our Middle East programing headquarters here in Abu Dhabi. I'm
Becky Anderson. The time is just after 6:00 in the evening.
The ceasefire in Gaza is now in effect and forces are pulling back but will still be present in the enclave. The U.S. is planning to send 200 soldiers
to the region to ensure this fragile deal holds.
Well, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Venezuela's opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado. The White House criticized the committee's
decision for passing over Donald Trump.
And save the birds. More than half of the world's bird species are in decline, according to a new report. So what should the world do?
Well, after two years of war in Gaza, a ceasefire is now in place. Israeli troops have begun to pull back. As that has happened thousands of displaced
Palestinian families are moving north.
These are live images of those Palestinians moving north.
The ceasefire officially went into effect at 12:00 p.m. local time in Gaza and in Israel just about five hours ago. That moment started the clock
moving on the 72-hour countdown for the hostage and prisoner exchange that was agreed upon in the deal brokered by the United States.
Well, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke earlier, thanking U.S. President Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I wish to thank President Trump for his global leadership and his tireless efforts in
formulating the plan for the release of the hostages. Once again, he has demonstrated his great friendship toward our people and our nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, CNN chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward back with us from Tel Aviv this hour.
And Clarissa, I want to bring up a map for our viewers. These are the lines of withdrawal agreed upon for the initial stage of the deal. What happens
next?
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, that's the million-dollar question. And what's interesting, because I've been
putting in calls for the last 24 hours to the UAE, to Qatar, to Israeli officials, to various Palestinians who could potentially be tapped to be
part of this technocratic governing force that would ostensibly assume power at some point inside Gaza.
And what I am being told by absolutely everybody is that we can't start to talk about phase two until phase one is complete. Phase one being
ostensibly the next now I guess 67 hours. But that crucial 72-hour window whereby ceasefire takes effect. Israel pulls back to this so-called yellow
line, 20 living hostages are handed over, 28 deceased hostages are hopefully also handed over, and of course, 1700 Palestinian detainees who
have been held since October 7th are released and 250 Palestinians serving life sentences are also released. So there are a lot of moving parts.
Now, we know that what will be crucial to what comes next, Becky, is this so-called international stabilization force. We heard the Pentagon
yesterday talking about the fact that CENTCOM, Central Command, will be sending 200 U.S. troops to the region, who will be working alongside
Egyptian, Qatari, Turkish and UAE forces to try to put together a kind of force that will essentially work to facilitate in any and every way they
can these next phases of this so-called plan.
And one Defense official telling me crucially that a big part of this would be about facilitating the secure distribution of aid, which has been so
lacking inside Gaza, but which now there's a little bit of a question mark, right, because the IDF has pulled back and it's international aid
organizations going in, who is ostensibly protecting or managing security in those spaces.
[10:05:14]
Now that the IDF has pulled back, now that Hamas is in effect incumbent upon them to disarm and essentially recuse themselves of leadership inside
the Gaza Strip. So there's a big question mark on that specific issue and what exactly that stabilization force will look like, where it will be
based, how quickly that aid will then be able to get in. In the last 24 hours, we have seen some 500 trucks going in, which is a far higher number
than we have seen in a very long time indeed.
But suffice it to say, there are still a lot of balls in the air. The momentum is there, the goodwill is there. But as this Defense official told
me, we're basically building the plane at the same time as we are flying it, Becky.
ANDERSON: Let's just do a little bit more on the detail that we do have at this point. Israel has published the names of the 250 Palestinian prisoners
due to be released. How is this hostage-for-prisoner exchange going to take place? What details do we have at this point?
WARD: So we know that for Israel's part, there are three hospitals in particular that have been gearing up for this moment. For quite some time
they've been involved in the two other ceasefires when hostages were released and so they have developed some expertise around this. They are
waiting and prepping to ensure that everything that can possibly be done to give the hostages as warm and as secure a welcome as possible will be done.
It's important to underscore of those 20 hostages who are still alive, who are expected to return, two of them are in bad health. We know of the 250
Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences, the most well-known person who, it was anticipated might be on the list, Marwan Barghouti, is not on
that list. There are, however, a number of other senior Hamas operatives who are on the list. We're told that roughly 100 of them will be returning
to the West Bank. Others will be deported to third countries.
And we're still waiting, Becky, to get more clarity on the exact choreography of how the release from the prisons, the release of the
detainees, the return to Gaza, the release of the hostages, and, crucially, the searching for the deceased hostages, the 28 hostages who have been
killed over the last two years. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today signaling for the first time that it may take a bit more time than that 72
hours to locate them and get them out properly, Becky.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you, Clarissa. Thank you. Clarissa Ward is in Tel Aviv in Israel.
Well, relief agency officials say they are hopeful that the ceasefire will, of course, allow for a sustained increase in aid reaching people in Gaza.
In fact, the head of the UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, says they have enough food, enough aid, sorry, for the entire
population of the enclave for three months ready to go. The U.N. says it plans to dramatically scale up the food and services reaching Gaza over the
next two months. The questions, though, do remain about where, when, how and what kind of assistance will be allowed in.
Let's discuss this now with James Elder. He's the spokesperson for UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund.
And before we talk about scaling up and surging this humanitarian effort, I just want to get from you, because you and I have been talking regularly
since you've been in Gaza and over the last two years. Just give me your reaction, if you will, to the ceasefire agreement. How hopeful are you that
this is going to hold?
JAMES ELDER, SPOKESPERSON, UNICEF: Becky, I have to tap into the hope from Palestinians, which is immense. Now they're very savvy to watching 2024 and
all those ceasefire agreements get blown up before parents had a chance to promise their children a night of safety. But the reason their hope is so
great, of course, is that Palestinians have had everything taken from them. Homes, loved ones, the ability to protect your children, the ability to
feed your children.
They've had their dignity stripped away. The one thing they have is hope. So, yes, when I was in Gaza 24 hours ago, joyous scenes driving through and
seeing children for the first time, you know, wall-to-wall smiles. So there's immense relief. They, too, they absolutely know that there's a lot
to be done and the devil is in the detail.
[10:10:01]
But for now, as your images showed, they're voting with their feet. They're heading home. They're back to the rubble.
ANDERSON: Yes. And their parents suggesting, and I really want to underscore this, a sense that they can breathe once again. There's hope.
There's relief. But the sense they can actually breathe is, you know, important.
The biggest needs in Gaza right now are those that we should talk about, particularly for kids. Just explain what you understand to be the most
important issues now.
ELDER: There's a famine. So nutrition, the damage is being done, you know, malnourished children end up quite frequently being stunted. That has a
cognitive decline. So we are looking at irreversible damage if this doesn't stop. So getting nutritional food to children. But also to mothers, Becky.
One-third of all births in the first half of this year were to malnourished babies or to babies who went straight into incubators.
The second one, it's winter -- winter is coming. So two years of this, children's immune systems have been compromised like never before, Becky.
They're shattered. Right? So, UNICEF, this is a big thing we've looked at. We've been planning this since summer. A million blankets, every child
under the age of 10 to get a -- to get a winter pack. Every baby to get two winter packs.
You add malnourished children living in tents to the cold and the rain, then we start to again see massive deaths on the ground just like the
20,000 children killed from the airstrikes above.
ANDERSON: What about schools? I mean, we have heard from the head of UNRWA who says more than 600,000 kids in Gaza are waiting to get back to school.
Is this -- is that realistic in the foreseeable future at this point?
ELDER: It's a great question, Becky. I think one of the reasons Palestinians have this hope for a better future, but they know that the
better future is synonymous with education. And there is a reason in that ceasefire a few months ago why things return so quickly. They started
rebuilding Al-Shifa. People talked about, you know, supermarkets being full. That's based on something. That's based on an education rate. That's
based on engineers and on doctors and on nurses and on computer scientists. One of the highest literacy rates in the world.
But education, like agriculture, like the economy, like healthcare, has been under attack. So, yes, as you say, as UNRWA says, as UNICEF says, it
is fundamentally critical. 90 percent, 80 percent of schools are damaged or destroyed. Will do temporary learning spaces, anything. But the level of
trauma, which is unprecedented, we can't even start to treat post-traumatic stress syndrome in children because it's being intercepted. There is no
post yet. It's day-to-day trauma that has to start with a classroom.
If Gaza is to rebuild, if Palestinians are to take agency again, education is that bedrock.
ANDERSON: That's right. The U.N. aid chief, Tom Fletcher, who I've spoken to, you know, so many times since he took his role here, has said that
170,000 metric tons of food, medicine supplies are ready to be surged into Gaza. The plan is to dramatically increase food assistance and services
into Gaza in the next couple of months. The detail on logistics not clear at this point.
What do you know? I mean, will this once again be a U.N. mechanism? How is that going to work?
ELDER: Yes, it's not as complicated as you imagine. It's straightforward. If Israel, if they allow trucks to flow and if they open multiple entry
points from Israel, so both those things are political decisions, not logistical. Open lots of entry points and allow 1,000 trucks a day, then
the U.N. will do what they did in the ceasefire, what they did in Afghanistan, what they've done around the world.
So it's very, very simple. If Israel will facilitate this aid to flow, then we solve this problem fairly quickly. Not the trauma, not the education,
but the nutrition, the tents, the winter clothes for children very, very quickly. A lot has been talked about looting. Tom Fletcher has talked about
looting. It's been a reality. Looting occurs when you deny a population food, water, medicine, everything for three months and then allow a few
trucks in down one route. Get rid of that. Enable, like we did in the ceasefire.
There's no black market when you flood the Gaza Strip with aid. So if we're allowed to do our job, then yes, the United Nations and those very bright
Palestinians living in tents under fire, then this starts to change very, very quickly. But Israel has to show that political willingness.
ANDERSON: I hear you say if so there are still outstanding questions about just how this is going to work and who is guaranteeing what at this stage.
It's good to have you, though, James, and I can see your enthusiasm, you know, what feels like, you know, a real intersection at this point. We
can't say that the war is over for good at this point because there's a lot of work to be done but the ceasefire is in place. If you can see the
hostages, see those Palestinian prisoners released and get this humanitarian surge in, it's going to make an awful lot of difference
obviously.
[10:15:05]
It's good to have you, sir. Thank you very much indeed.
James Elder in the house for you.
Right, U.S. President Donald Trump thought he was a contender, but the Nobel Committee went a different direction. The woman known as Venezuela's
Iron Lady is now the latest Nobel Peace Prize recipient.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOERGEN WATNE FRYDNES, CHAIR, NORWEGIAN NOBEL COMMITTEE: The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2025 to
Maria Corina Machado. She is receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Maria Corina Machado is the leader of the Democracy Movement in Venezuela. She was a presidential candidate in Venezuela's 2024
election. But President Nicolas Maduro's regime blocked her from running. In the past year, she has been forced into hiding due to serious threats
against her life.
Well, my colleague Isa Soares is following this story for us from London.
What more can you tell us about Maria Corina Machado, Isa?
ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, Becky. Look, in the eyes of many Venezuelans because this is a win, I think it's important to say, and
this is something I know we'll hear from her, not just for her, but indeed for many Venezuelans. The millions who, Becky, have left. But she is, in
the eyes of many, she is a formidable and pretty fearless opposition leader who, like you said, has faced death threats, intimidation, as well as
relentless attacks. And she is continuing to hold stand firm of course.
We, like you mentioned, she has, you know, she wanted to throw her hat in the ring for president. The courts, Maduro's courts denied her that. She
found a way around it, working with Edmundo Gonzalez, who is in exile -- is in exile in Spain, and together they took to the streets of Venezuela, not
just in Caracas, by the way, across the country. And they poured millions of people really standing there.
And often she would stand on top of cars where she could, with a Rosary in hand, and she really led this movement. So you can imagine what this moment
means for her as she continues to be in exile in Venezuela. Under the pressure of Nicolas Maduro, many of her colleagues have been arrested,
Becky.
I want to play a little clip of this moment when the Nobel Committee called her and told her she had won. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations to you, Maria.
MARIA CORINA MACHADO, 2025 NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER: Oh, my god. Oh, my god. Well, I -- I have no words.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And she did -- it was amazing hearing that. She said she had no words. But then she said, I hope you understand. And I think this is really
important. I hope you understand that this is a movement, Becky. This is an achievement of a whole society. I certainly do not deserve it.
She has tweeted in the last, what, 20, 30 minutes or so. Let me tell you what she says. "This recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is a
boost to conclude our task to conquer freedom. We are on the threshold of victory. And today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people
of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve freedom and
democracy.
"I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support for our cause." And that last
line, Becky, says a lot really, the fact that dedicating not just the people of Venezuela, but also to President Trump, who clearly was hoping
that he would get it, he clearly didn't. But we have seen a campaign in the last several months from his administration to go after the Cartel de los
Soles.
Secretary Rubio saying Cartel de los Soles is led by president -- by President Nicolas Maduro. And this has many questioning whether this is
about democracy or whether this is about regime change, Becky.
ANDERSON: Appealing to Donald Trump personally. Let's see how that lands after he had, of course, lobbied so hard for the prize himself.
Good to have you, Isa. Thank you so much.
We're going to take a very short break. Back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:21:31]
ANDERSON: We are closely following President Donald Trump's moves to address what he says is out of control crime in some U.S. cities. Right
now, the Trump administration is appealing a federal judge's ruling that blocks the president's National Guard deployment in the Chicago area for
two weeks.
Now that ruling came after another judge temporarily stopped the administration from sending guard members to Illinois, one of several legal
battles over the president's push to deploy troops to cities that he calls war zones.
Have a listen as Illinoi's lieutenant governor reacts to all of the legal maneuvers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JULIANA STRATTON, ILLINOIS LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: The Donald Trump administration, first of all, brought the matches. They set it on fire, and
then they now want to send the National Guard. And that's just pouring gasoline on this fire. The judge said that's not something that should
happen. And I'm grateful for the ruling that came out. It's only temporary. But please know we will continue to stand up and we will continue to fight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: CNN's Whitney Wild, following the story for us from Broadview, Illinois, which is just west of Chicago.
There is an awful lot of legal back and forth in this story. Just break it down for us, if you will.
WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we know now is that this judge, April Perry, a Biden appointee, has decided that the Trump
administration cannot federalize the National Guard to move throughout Illinois. And that includes right here at in Broadview.
We are outside an ICE facility where yesterday, before the ruling came down, there were several members of the National Guard who were clearly
visible. Over my shoulder, if you take a look here, you can see this facility, this has really been the flashpoint, Becky, for many of these
protests. And as you see, it's very quiet. We've seen some federal agents coming in and out of this building. But so far this morning we have not
seen a single member of the National Guard.
Meanwhile, yesterday, there was also a ruling over this fence that you see over my shoulder. This fence has been here since September 22nd. It was put
up after there were clashes between protesters and law enforcement here. The city of Broadview had pushed the administration to take this fence
down. Again this was put up by ICE. They were asking ICE to take it down, concerned about the imposition it puts on the people who live and work
here, but also their ability to react in an emergency, like a fire or if an ambulance needs to get in and out of here.
There was major concern that that would be a dangerous imposition. A judge agreed and has now told both sides, Broadview officials, as well as the
Trump administration, to come back today at 2:00 Central with their plan for how this fence is going to come down. So that's another major
development here today.
This is -- this ruling that limits the National Guard, that puts this temporary restraining order on their ability to move throughout Illinois as
federalized by the administration is a major win for Illinois leaders. Here's more from Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KWAME RAOUL, ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL: I'd like to thank the heroes behind me who have stood up not just for the citizens of the city of Chicago, the
citizens of the city of Broadview, citizens of the state of Illinois, but I might add that this is an important decision not just for the state of
Illinois but for the entire country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[10:25:12]
WILD: Becky, this follows similar rulings that we saw in California, in Portland, Oregon. This case here in Illinois will now go to appeal. So we
will see what happens after that, Becky.
ANDERSON: Good to have you, Whitney. Thank you.
Well, France could get a new prime minister today. French President Emmanuel Macron is due to announce his choice. That person will face the
uphill challenge of pulling the country out of political gridlock. Now, of course, this follows the shock resignation of President Macron's ally,
Sebastien Lecornu, on Monday.
And Melissa Bell has been with us all week, and she continues to follow what is the latest political turbulence for us. She joins us now from
Paris.
Melissa, there are reports that the French president could appoint the prime minister, who just resigned. So just explain what's going on here and
who we might expect to lead the country going forward. The government, that is.
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. The very prime minister who announced his resignation on Monday was urged by
President Macron to stay on and try and see what he could find by Wednesday, then went on French television Wednesday night to say there
would be another prime minister within 48 hours. Might be that actual prime minister given another chance.
Even now, the heads of all the French political parties, apart from the far-right and the far-left, are holed up with President Macron inside the
Elysee Palace trying to hammer something out. We understand the French president had supper last night quite late with Sebastien Lecornu and then
hammered out what he hopes will be a deal acceptable to everyone. This is according to French press reports.
Becky, looking at what kind of budget might be acceptable to all of those main moderate parties. Looking also at the suspension of some points of
that very controversial pension reform. You'll remember the last couple of years we spent so much time in the street seeing the protests. In the end,
it was forced through parliament. There is word that there could be some negotiation on suspending some of those elements in order to get members of
the left on.
Then what we expect to hear is either that they've managed to find some kind of agreement and therefore, yes, the idea that Sebastien Lecornu might
be given another go at forming a government on the basis of that agreed upon budget and those reforms in order to try and get a budget through, of
course, before the end of the year because it is by Monday that it has to be finalized in order that it can be presented to parliament in time to be
in place for 2026.
Becky, that's one scenario. Another is that this meeting goes very badly, and we heard a number of the heads of parties speaking on French radio,
television, in the press today, very critical of this latest attempt, last ditch attempt to try and find consensus. So we'll see.
The alternative to this agreement being found, and we should hear fairly shortly, Becky, would be a dissolution of parliament. Those are essentially
the two options we have before us. And we should know within the next couple of hours which of those is going to be. But finally, this latest
period of instability will come to an end and we'll have some certainty at least of what to expect over the next few months for at least until the end
of the year, Becky.
ANDERSON: All right. Well, stay on it, Melissa. We can rely on you to report on the decision as soon as it is made. Thank you. Melissa Bell is in
Paris.
When we come back, we'll discuss the role regional actors like Iran may play in President Trump's Middle East plans. That is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:30:59]
ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. The headlines for you this hour.
And the Israeli military says a ceasefire is now in effect. And its troops in Gaza are beginning to pull back behind the lines agreed upon in the U.S.
brokered deal. We're also hearing from the head of Gaza's largest hospital that the bodies of at least 33 Palestinians have been recovered in Gaza
City as the IDF begins to withdraw.
Well, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised her,
quote, "tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela, and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition
from dictatorship to democracy."
Well, at least one person is known to have died after a powerful earthquake struck the Philippines earlier. The magnitude 7.4 quake was centered off
the coast of one of the country's southernmost islands. It briefly triggered a tsunami warning, which has since been canceled.
Well, more now on our top story. The Israeli military says its forces are beginning to pull back behind the lines in Gaza, set out by the ceasefire
deal. But the IDF says, and I quote, "Troops will continue to be present in various areas of the devastated enclave." Strikes continued overnight with
a series of airstrikes on Khan Younis in Southern Gaza. Despite that, though, some displaced Palestinians say that the ceasefire really has given
them a sense of hope.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Throughout the war, we lived through extremely difficult conditions, but after the ceasefire was
announced, we finally felt a bit of relief and peace of mind. Although we lost our children and our homes, we are happy and pray that God will
compensate us with something better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to visit Israel on Monday. That is according to Israeli police. Monday is also the day that
could see the hostages being released.
Well, as the Gaza ceasefire takes hold and the U.S. president gets set to head to the Middle East, questions over the role of other regional
countries, including Iran, are coming into focus. Earlier this week, President Trump alluded to Iran's role in the Gaza peace plan and saying
that the U.S. destruction of Iran's nuclear site allowed for a deal to be made.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This deal would not have been possible, or if it was, it would have a tremendous cloud over it because
you have a country with a nuclear weapon that was not obviously very friendly, and the power of nuclear weapons is something that we shouldn't
even be talking about. It's so massive. And so by doing that, we now have something where actually Iran and I, and Iran and a number of people have
been talking about a deal, but it's a very much different Iran.
And frankly, we've had a -- we've had some very good conversations. And as you saw, they blessed the deal. They put out a few hours ago a statement
that they agree with the deal and they blessed the deal. That's a tremendous thing. I believe if they had a nuclear weapon, it would be a
whole different. Even if we made the deal, it would be -- it would have -- literally it would have a very dark cloud over it because of what could
potentially happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, despite the president's comments, details around Iran's possible role in the peace plan and its regional role do remain unclear.
Joining me now to discuss this is Vali Nasr, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, professor and author of "Iran's
Grand Strategy: A Political History."
Before we get on to what Trump said because I want you to sort of pick that apart for me, I would like to start with your take on this Trump brokered
peace plan for Gaza, which, of course, is the through line to any prospect for further peace in the Middle East. Your take?
[10:35:02]
VALI NASR, PROFESSOR, SCHOOL OF ADVANCED INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: I think it's a big win for President Trump because he's
already achieved something that his predecessor could not do, which is to force Israel to accept a ceasefire when it was in the middle of a war and
he didn't want to do so, and also to basically rally America's allies around the region to also support the deal from the Arab side and push
Hamas to agree to it.
So the fact that Hamas agreed to release the hostages, the Israelis agreed to cease fire and release prisoners is already a big win. It's much farther
than the United States has come since the start of the Gaza war and the Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7th, 2023.
ANDERSON: Well, of course, you and I know, as do our viewers, that the detail on -- the further detail on the rest of this sort of 20-point plan
is rather sketchy at present. But what do you make of Donald Trump's view on Iran's acceptance of the peace deal? We heard him talking there earlier.
Is he overstating Iran's statements do you think?
NASR: No, I don't think so. But also, it goes to the point you just raised. I mean, everybody understands that this is not a peace deal. This is a
ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement. It has to go a lot farther and a lot more has to happen before the ceasefire and prisoner exchange actually
metamorphoses into a peace deal. So what Iran has supported and that I think is doing so because its new friends in the region, Qatar, Saudi
Arabia and Turkey, were behind this 20-point plan, asked it to do so was to support the prisoner exchange and support the ceasefire.
And I think Iran's game plan, much like Hamas's, is not to give Israel the excuse to blame a failure of President Trump's initiative on Iran. Iran's
own relationship with the United States is right now very, very tenuous. There might be talks. There may not be talks. There might be resumption of
hostilities. And the last thing Iran wanted was for President Trump to blame Iran for the collapse of his Gaza initiative.
So the Iranians played it very cleverly. They basically put the onus on the Arabs and the Palestinians to deal with this. And they said we're not
standing in the middle. And if there's a ceasefire, cessation of hostilities, that's a good thing.
ANDERSON: Iran and the U.S. have halted nuclear talks. Overtures during the U.N. General Assembly a week or so ago failed. What do you make of the lack
of a deal and talks going forward? And is this going to be an issue for the IAEA (PH) down the line?
NASR: Yes, it is. I mean, obviously we're in a very tense period because the United States did bomb Iran's nuclear program that halted conversations
between the two sides, but there is still ambiguity about where does Iran's nuclear program stand? What is the future of the program? Will Iran decide
to rebuild the program? How far will it go, and how will the United States handle Iran?
There was no meeting of minds in New York. Iran was put under new U.N. sanctions, draconian sanctions, that has made the issue tense. But it
doesn't mean that there's not a pathway to negotiations going forward. The United States doesn't want a deal, wants Iran's nuclear program to go away.
Iran also needs a negotiated settlement to this crisis. So I think the door to diplomacy is not closed.
ANDERSON: Amwaj, which is an Iran watching site based out of London, has new reporting that Moscow has, quote, "conveyed an alleged Israeli desire
to avoid renewed rounds of hostilities." With Iran, do you expect this position to hold? I mean, how concerned are you that there is, you know, a
clear potential at this point? A lot of people talking about it. There is a -- there is a risk that there could be further hostilities. Should we be
concerned?
NASR: I think the risk has been -- yes, I think so. I think the risk has been quite serious for the past two months, largely because Israel's attack
on Iran did not really settle anything. It did weaken Iran. But Iran also attacked Israel with its missiles. Iran's nuclear program was downgraded,
but did not end. The regime in Tehran did not fall, so the expectation was that the very tenuous ceasefire President Trump helped negotiate after he
bombed Iran could break down fairly easily.
And I think if this news is actually true, it means that Israel is signaling to Iran, let's back away from the -- from the edge right now.
Israel has its hands full with this Gaza plan, with the aftershock of its attack on Qatar. And I don't think it's in a mood to start a new phase of
the war with Iran. And it's basically signaling that to Iran. If this is actually true, I think the Iranians would welcome it. But this is not the
end of hostilities between Iran and Israel. It just means that the second round may not happen imminently.
[10:40:02]
ANDERSON: I'm going to say goodbye. Vali, it's always good to have you. Good to see you in Paris. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.
We are entering a period of unknown. This was Vali Nasr just a week or so ago. "The Middle East has fundamentally changed since October the 7th. And
the power balances have shifted now with this ceasefire."
And we have been talking about whether we really have any clarity on how the next six months to a year can go. And there is no clarity at this
point. But stick with us because we will provide you insight and analysis going forward.
Your food, your drinking water, and in many cases, your paycheck may depend on the natural world. That's why we should all care about the seas and the
birds and the trees. They are struggling. Up next, I speak to a biologist who will explain just what is at stake for all of us in what is the
biodiversity battle.
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ANDERSON: Well, you like me may have an inherent appreciate for nature and a general understanding of how important it is to the richness of our
lives. But it isn't just about enjoying our natural environment. Nature is everyone's business. That was the theme at the International Union for
Conservation of Nature Congress in Abu Dhabi that I participated in this week.
And it opened my eyes to some huge statistics. According to the IUCN over half of the world's GDP is moderately or highly dependent on nature. When
you consider International Monetary Fund estimates, that means that almost $57 trillion of the world's economy this year will depend, to some extent,
on the natural world around us.
Just think of the bees that pollinate the crops we eat and the forests that regulate the rainfall that provides us with the fresh water that we drink.
So I think that proves why we should care about and act on alarming warnings that the IUCN is giving in a new report out today.
More than half the world's bird species are in decline and global warming is pushing Arctic seals closer to extinction. And those are just two
worrying examples.
Jon Paul Rodriguez is with me here. He's the chair of the IUCN's Species Survival Commission.
I was fascinated to spend time with you and your colleagues this week. I mean, it's really, really opened my eyes. Let's start with your newest
report and the alarming details on species in decline. It also revealed that 100 additional wild bee species have been classified as threatened.
And it goes on.
[10:45:06]
Walk us through how we got here.
JON PAUL RODRIGUEZ, CHAIR, IUCN SPECIES SURVIVAL COMMISSION: Sure. Well, thank you so much for the invitation. You know, I'm one of the few people
who look at the red list updates in a positive light, right? Try to look at them in a positive light. What I feel is that we cannot conserve what we
don't know and that list is the best source of information that exists on the world, not only about threatened species, but about all species,
because it really is not a list/ It is not about threatened species.
It's a database with all the knowledge that we have, the distribution, the abundance, the threats, the solutions for conservation. So once the red
list gives us what the status is and what the threats are, then we can start thinking of what to do about it.
ANDERSON: And that's exactly the sweet spot, isn't it? Because, you know, we've got to be positive about things and you've got to start thinking
about what the solutions are and what these nature based solutions are for the world. So what is next for species conservation?
RODRIGUEZ: Well, I think what's next is to recognize that nature is very powerful and she can recover if we give her a chance. You look at examples
like fishery exclusion zones in the Caribbean and other parts of the world. Once you set aside a bit of the ocean, fish increase the numbers to the
point that they produce more fish to be caught outside of the reserve than used to be fished before.
When you have a forest and you let it recover through natural means, maybe through a little bit of an effort with an improvement with local species or
threatened species, it also comes back. So for me, the, you know, the reason that I'm here and how I keep my spirit up is to recognize that
nature really can respond with our help.
ANDERSON: So industries that cause an awful lot of biodiversity loss represent more than $7 trillion, as I understand it, in economic value. And
that makes this issue so much harder to address. What economic solutions are you suggesting?
RODRIGUEZ: Yes, well, nature, I mean, like you just said, the figure of the industries that are affected negatively by diversity is much larger than
the figure of what we spend conserving biodiversity. The number of people involved in both industries is also very dissimilar. So what I really think
that we have to work on is in tipping the balance a little bit towards conservation, increasing the support to people, focusing on local
solutions, we know how to do conservation.
We've done it before. We've rescued many species from the brink of extinction with resources, with knowledge, and with kind of a premeditated
plan. And we need to do more of that.
ANDERSON: The IUCN says that climate change, climate crisis, is now threatening 43 percent of the natural world heritage sites. I mean, our
viewers will wonder how this is happening and what's being done to protect these sites, and just describe for us what these sites are, if you will.
RODRIGUEZ: Yes, well, heritage sites are sites that are especially unique either naturally or culturally, and these are places that, of course, have
been around for a long time and are very susceptible to --
ANDERSON: Give us some examples.
RODRIGUEZ: Well, like, I'm from Venezuela, I live in the -- Canaima National Park is a world heritage site and also in our country, the city of
Coro is a cultural heritage site. And like those, there are many around the world where they protect both, you know, historical transformations of the
landscape by people, but also landscape not transformed by people.
The climate change and biodiversity are very closely connected. I mean, biodiversity can be a solution to climate change. If we invest in
regeneration of forests and other forms of recovery, mangroves, then some of the carbon that is in the atmosphere can be controlled. If we don't
protect biodiversity and we allow it to be destroyed and forests to be felled and to be burnt, then climate gets worse.
ANDERSON: Why have we talked so much more about climate crisis and not enough about biodiversity in the past?
RODRIGUEZ: If you knew -- if I knew the answer to that, you know, I've been really thinking about that a lot.
ANDERSON: Yes.
RODRIGUEZ: I think that we feel that climate is something closer to our daily activities. Climate affects our survival in a more explicit way. You
know, energy is something that we use for everything that we do. And I think it's closer to our existence, of our -- of our natural life. I think
biodiversity is often seen as something that is abstract and we're disconnected from especially people in cities.
ANDERSON: So here's where I see an opportunity, because this is what U.S. President Donald Trump said about climate change during his U.N. speech
last month.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It's the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world, in my opinion. Climate change, no matter what happens, you're involved in that.
No more global warming, no more global cooling. All of these predictions made by the United Nations and many others, often for bad reasons, were
wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Look, I said I thought there was an opportunity in this. I mean, you know, that's not to suggest I'm not concerned about his comments.
[10:50:02]
And many of our viewers will be concerned about his views and how they will further impact the fight for climate change. But my point was, you know,
there's less discussion, it seems to me, about biodiversity. There is a lot of discussion about climate crisis. There are naysayers out there who say
this is just a moral crusade from activists, and I just wonder whether in raising the -- this raises the opportunity to have a better discussion
about nature and biodiversity, which is all around us and everybody gets.
RODRIGUEZ: Yes, absolutely.
ANDERSON: You know, and the science based sort of, you know, stuff is there on climate change. It's just not everybody is prepared to accept it. But
you don't need a scientist to tell you how important biodiversity and nature is.
RODRIGUEZ: Yes, I think in IUCN we really are moving towards not speaking of both as separate themes. We speak of them as a unique theme and our
president, Razan Al Mubarak, always has represented us in both spaces, in the biodiversity and the climate. And I think that's the key. The key is to
recognize that they're both sides of the same coin. And unless we look after biodiversity, we won't be able to look after climate.
ANDERSON: And it was at COP28 here in Dubai that -- it was the first time that I saw that those conversations coming together and conversations about
how do we provide sort of finance to tackle climate and indeed biodiversity loss.
It's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.
RODRIGUEZ: No. My pleasure.
ANDERSON: And thank you for your work that you do for all of us.
RODRIGUEZ: No, thank you.
ANDERSON: Ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, there could be second chances for previously banned YouTubers. That new policy is just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, YouTube is giving previously banned users the opportunity to create new accounts. Past rules barred users from continuously posting
misinformation about COVID-19 and the 2020 U.S. election outcome. But these prohibited users may now return and perhaps even earn money on the
platform.
Now, this follows an investigation by Republican lawmakers into potential pressures on tech firms by the Biden administration.
CNN tech reporter Clare Duffy joining us from New York.
Just explain what's going on here.
CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Becky, I mean, this is just the latest example that we've seen of a major social media platform pulling
back on some of its content moderation efforts. Now, this comes after YouTube in recent years has done away with those rules that you mentioned,
which previously prohibited repeatedly posting misinformation about COVID- 19 and the outcome of the 2020 election.
And now it says it wants to give users who were banned from the platform for violating those rules a chance to return. So users as of yesterday will
have started to see the opportunity to apply for a new account on the platform. If they're approved, they'll have to start fresh so they'll have
no followers.
But what I think is really interesting and important to note about this is that those users, if they're approved, will be able to re-upload old
content as long as it complies with YouTube's current guidelines. So we could potentially see users re-uploading content about COVID-19 or the 2020
election that previously contributed to their banning, but no longer violate YouTube's rules. And this is -- YouTube says this is an effort to
give those users a second chance.
But I do think it is important to note that this comes, as you said, amidst pressure from Republican lawmakers.
[10:55:05]
We've seen many of these big tech platforms starting to sort of realign their moderation efforts and their policies around the perspectives of
President Trump and other conservatives. YouTube actually announced this policy change in a letter to House Republican Jim Jordan, who had led this
investigation into whether the Biden administration had pressured tech companies to take down certain kinds of content.
And YouTube did, and that letter point the finger at the Biden administration saying that it did feel pressured to take down some of these
kinds of content. So potentially a second chance for some of these YouTube users. But I think it's important for youtubers to be aware, too, as
they're watching the platform, that they may start to see some of this content, this misinformation that previously was banned back on the
platform, Becky.
ANDERSON: Good to have you, Clare. Thank you very much indeed.
Well, that's it for CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with CNN. "ONE WORLD" is up next. From those working with me here it is a very good evening. And those
working with us around the world wish you the very best.
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END
