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Qatar's Ruler Accuses Israel of Ceasefire Violations; VP Vance Expected to Speak in Israel; The Cases of Gaza Medics Detained by Israel; Trump's Hopes for Quick Second Putin Summit May Be Stalled; Interview with Former Colombian President Ivan Duque on Petro-Maduro Feud; Fresh Claims about Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew in New Giuffre Book; Real Estate Firm Based in Germany Obtains First Sharia Licenses; Mahmoud Khalil Fights Ongoing U.S. Deportation Case. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired October 21, 2025 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to the second hour of the show from our Middle East programming headquarters. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi,
where the time is just after 6:00 in the evening.
U.S. vice president JD Vance has arrived in Tel Aviv today. He joins U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. There is -- there is U.S. pressure
being put on Israel to keep up its end on the ceasefire deal.
Well, tensions between U.S. and Colombia continue. The Venezuelan president now saying that his country will not stand for attacks on its neighbor.
Jeffrey Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre releases a posthumous memoir with harrowing details revealing years of abuse and attempts at getting justice,
including interactions with Prince Andrew, which he denies.
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ANDERSON: The U.S. vice president is expected to speak to reporters in Israel soon about the fragile but still-holding ceasefire in Gaza between
Israel and Hamas.
JD Vance, arriving a few hours ago, with a visit aimed at shoring up the truce and looking ahead to phase two of president Donald Trump's 20-point
peace plan for Gaza and the Middle East.
He's been meeting there with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and president Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, both of whom met with freed Israeli
hostages earlier today.
Well, the truce survived its first major test after deadly weekend attacks, with both sides accusing the other of violations. The ruler of Qatar, a
principal player, of course, in ceasefire talks, today blasted Israel for what he says are ongoing truce violations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAMIM BIN HAMAD AL THANI, QATARI EMIR (through translator): We hereby reaffirm our condemnation of all Israeli violations and practices in
Palestine, particularly the transformation of the Gaza Strip into an area unfit for human life, the continued breaches of the ceasefire and the
expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Paula Hancocks is back with me this hour.
Is it clear what the U.S. delegation in Israel hopes to achieve?
I mean, you've got three key players dispatched to Israel over the past 48 hours.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. vice president going to Israel at this time is significant, because he is the person that would go at the
end of a deal when there is something significant to announce, when they can say that phase B of this ceasefire agreement is going ahead.
It appears as though, at this point, he is there almost symbolically, to keep this on track. As you say, we did see an outbreak of violence with
deaths on both sides over the weekend. It was short-term. It was short- lived violence.
But it just shows how fragile this ceasefire is. And many analysts are saying that that might not be the last test of this ceasefire that we see
going forward.
So the expectation is that the U.S. president, Donald Trump, his credibility is linked to this. His legacy is linked to this ceasefire deal.
So he has sent his two IC (ph) to Israel to make sure that it remains on track, because there are concerns that it could be derailed. We will be
hearing from him shortly.
Interestingly, he's giving a press conference before he has met, we understand, with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. So he's
definitely come with a message to say.
ANDERSON: We talked a lot when we were in Sharm el-Sheikh, when Donald Trump was able to, you know, see the hostages released, those live hostages
who were released and talk about, you know, a new dawn for not just Gaza but for the Middle East as a whole.
And we talked at the time about the importance of maintaining momentum, not least with the second phase, as you rightly point out, of this deal. That
momentum is absolutely crucial, of course, for those who are in Gaza.
What's the situation on the ground at the moment?
HANCOCKS: Humanitarian aid groups that we've spoken to say it's not enough. It was always going to be a race against time to get enough
humanitarian aid into Gaza. They say they need a flood. And what they're seeing is a trickle. They are not seeing what was agreed in the ceasefire
agreement, which was 600 trucks of humanitarian aid a day.
[10:05:00]
We have asked COGAT, the Israeli department that is in charge of this, what their figures are.
How much is exactly getting in at this point?
We haven't heard back. We're hearing from the Gaza side, the media office saying that they believe less than 1/6 of what was promised is actually
getting in. They're expecting more than 6,000 trucks; less than 1,000 have got in since that ceasefire began.
And so this is a critical time to try and secure that aid for those people who so desperately need it. And of course, there are other concerns as
well. You have families that are trying to go back to where their house was. It may not still be standing but they want to put their tent up in
their plot of land.
And we have seen loss of life of almost a dozen members of one family because they crossed the yellow line, which is where the Israeli military
withdrew to as part of this phase A. but it appeared they didn't know that they were crossing this line.
So there are many difficulties on the ground in Gaza, despite the fact that there is a ceasefire.
ANDERSON: Yes. And that surge in humanitarian aid absolutely baked into this ceasefire deal. Of course, it was, you know, get those hostages out,
live; return the, you know, those bodies, who -- of hostages who are deceased. That hasn't, of course, happened as of yet.
The Palestinian prisoners, numbers of them, have been released. Hamas has not disarmed. I mean and so it goes on.
Part of this deal, though, in the first instance, was that surge in humanitarian aid. We will continue to monitor the situation. Thank you.
Well, the ceasefire is bringing to light the heroic efforts of Gaza's doctors and medical staff and the challenges they have faced during what
has been this two years of war. Some of them have been detained by Israel and remain in custody.
Nada Bashir looks at the plight of one of those detained doctors and the calls for his release. This is her report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Gaza's leading pediatrician, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya. From the outbreak of the war in Gaza,
his lifesaving work providing emergency medical care had been widely documented and shared with the world.
This footage was filmed in November 2024. Dr. Abu Safiya had been on an almost-daily basis recounting the harrowing realities inside Gaza's Kamal
Adwan hospital, where he was director as the facility became the focus of an Israeli military siege on northern Gaza.
Just weeks later, he would be detained by Israeli troops. At the time, Israel claimed that he was suspected of being a, quote, "Hamas terrorist
operative" and the hospital was used by Hamas as a command center. But no evidence has since been provided linking him to the militant group.
Now his legal team says his detention has been extended by another six months.
BASH: This behind me is Israel's controversial Ofer military prison, where Dr. Safiya is currently being detained. NGO Physicians for Human Rights
Israel says the renowned medic has not been brought before a judge nor interrogated nor even informed of the legal grounds of his detention.
A lawyer for the NGO has also reported that Abu Safiya has been subjected to abuse and starvation and has had medical care withheld, despite a
preexisting heart condition.
BASHIR (voice-over): The Israel prison service declined to comment, specifically on Abu Safiya's detention but provided a statement, saying,
"All inmates are held according to legal procedures and their rights, including access to medical care and adequate living conditions, are
upheld."
Those closest to him, however, have been left with little reassurance over his treatment or his possible release.
"My innocent father is facing great suffering and humiliation," Dr. Abu Safiya's son, Elias, says.
"He's not guilty. He's not a criminal to deserve these forms of torture and deprivation inside the prison. My father was simply a doctor, who was
committed to providing medical and humanitarian care to children, patients and the wounded. He is not guilty of anything to justify his detention or
to be used as a bargaining chip in negotiations."
With the recent ceasefire deal, there had been hopes that Dr. Abu Safiya, along with other Palestinian health care workers, would be released and
returned to Gaza.
Among those who had been desperately waiting for positive news is Aya (ph). She says her father, Dr. Marwan al-Hams (ph) and her sister, nurse Tasnime
al-Hams (ph), were both abducted earlier this year. Their whereabouts or possible detention by Israeli forces remains unclear.
"Where is the protection of doctors rights during war?" Aya (ph) says.
"Is it their crime that they are humanitarians treating the wounded and the sick?
"What did they do?"
CNN has reached out to the Israel prison service for comment on those cases.
[10:10:00]
The detention of health care workers from Gaza, like Dr. Abu Safiya, is viewed by many humanitarian organizations as part of the systematic
targeting of Gaza's health care infrastructure by the Israeli military.
The Israeli military has rejected claims that it detains medics on the basis of their profession. In a previous statement, it said such
allegations ignore the activity of terrorist organizations in Gaza.
The U.N. World Health Organization and several NGOs, however, have widely documented assaults on medical staff and facilities in Gaza since the war
began. The charity Medical Aid for Palestinians says an average of two health care workers a day have been killed since the start of the war.
Meanwhile, NGO Health Care Workers Watch Palestine says at least 115 health care workers from Gaza are still believed to be held in Israeli detention
facilities, including at least 15 senior specialist doctors.
Israeli nonprofit Physicians for Human Rights Israel has also reported accounts of torture and starvation while in detention.
While Israeli authorities have offered little clarity over the fate of Gaza's detained medics, calls for their release are growing louder both at
home and internationally. And as the fragile ceasefire continues to hold, the need for unhindered access to medical care for so many remains
desperate -- Nada Bashir, CNN, in the occupied West Bank.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: With the U.S. vice president JD Vance in Israel, a shaky ceasefire in Gaza and stop-start progress on ending the war in Ukraine,
U.S. President Donald Trump's foreign policy agenda is packed.
His much-awaited or anticipated meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, though, may be delayed indefinitely. Last week, Mr. Trump touted
plans to quickly set up a summit with Putin in Budapest in Hungary.
But sources now telling CNN that a preliminary meeting of the two foreign ministers involved -- that would be Marco Rubio and Sergey Lavrov, of
course -- has been put on hold. President Trump had this to say about his current view on the war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: Just a few weeks ago at UNGA, you said that Ukraine could possibly win the war and --
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, they could. They could still win it. I don't think they will but they could still win it. I never said they would
win it. I said they could win. If we make a deal, that's great. If we don't make a deal, it will be -- a lot of people are going to be paying a big
price.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: All right. Well let's bring in Stephen Collinson, who is CNN's senior reporter on politics. He's live in Washington this hour.
Look, Donald Trump was looking to use the momentum of his success with the Gaza ceasefire deal, tenuous as that might now be, to make some progress on
a Russia-Ukraine deal.
What evidence at this stage is there, that he's actually made any further progress or even whether he has a defined or robust position on the terms
of any deal, Stephen?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, not very much. And the reports that have come out of the call between the president and Putin
last week and the summit with Zelenskyy in the Oval Office seem to suggest that we're not really any further along than we were.
The Russians still insisting that Ukraine must give over all of Donbas and the Ukrainians insisting that's an impossible and dangerous position for
them to take.
And the president, apparently seeking a quick deal, whatever's in it. And it doesn't seem like it's very viable. Secretary of state Marco Rubio spoke
to the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov. And it appears that that didn't push things any further.
So I think we're seeing almost parallel things right now in Russia-Ukraine. And regarding the Middle East, is that the administration is trying to fill
the gap, if you like, with things that look like momentum but aren't really adding to the process moving forward.
You were talking earlier about JD Vance in the Middle East. So that is a time-honored tactic of diplomacy, just to try to keep things alive. But it
seems that there's no momentum on the Russia front. And if they hope to get momentum from the Middle East front for Russia, that seems to be stalling
as well.
ANDERSON: Yes, it's fascinating, isn't it?
Look, it has been -- it's been a busy week, 10 days, very busy 10 days, given that he was in Israel and in Sharm el-Sheikh, where I am, just 1.5
weeks ago. And it -- just in the last 24 hours, for the U.S. president, the U.S. and Australia signing an $8.5 billion rare earth minerals deal.
[10:15:00]
We know that securing supply chains for critical minerals to choke off China's near-complete hold over the stuff is a priority for Donald Trump.
He sees this as a national security issue and, you know, his supporters concur with him on that.
And even his critics, I think many will say, you know, it should be a big priority.
This goes down as a big win for him, does it?
COLLINSON: I think it goes down as a smart move to try to get alternative sources of rare earths minerals from countries other than China. You're
seeing it not just with Australia but in a lot of the other so-called peace deals that the administration is trying to close and other diplomacy.
A lot of it is motivated by getting minerals and raw materials from other countries to try to establish other supply chains. This deal with
Australia, I think, is a positive for the administration.
But there's a big question about how quickly you can get out the stuff from Australia and how long it will take to even get permits and mining and if
there's enough material there to counter China.
I think what all of this does, really, is pose the question of why Donald Trump initiated this big trade clash with China, because what it's done,
it's allowed Beijing to initiate the great lever it has over the United States.
Its chokehold on the supply of many of the rare earth minerals from its own territory and elsewhere in the world to which the United States doesn't
really have a good answer. These commodities are vital for the U.S. defense industry, high-tech industry. And China has used it as leverage on Trump
ahead of his meeting with Xi.
That's expected to take place perhaps next week. So I think a small win. But there's a bigger own goal by the administration in kicking off this
trade war with China.
ANDERSON: Before I let you go, can you just unpack for us what you understand to be policy -- or thinking, at least -- on the Venezuela and
Colombia files for this Trump administration?
COLLINSON: Yes. So I think what's going on is there's been a lot of talk about, well, MAGA doesn't like foreign escalations. But I think the best
way to look at what's going on in Venezuela and Colombia is more as an extension of U.S. domestic policy.
So when the administration is blowing up these speedboats that it says are drug traffickers, that's part of the border strategy that, the attempt to
cut down drug trafficking in the United States.
The whole reason, I think, why the administration is interested in Venezuela is because it's one of the great sources of migration into the
United States. If they could somehow topple Maduro, that might cut off one of the sources of migrants and give the United States somewhere to send
people back to.
There's a much wider, obviously geopolitical game going on with the administration, trying to impose its writ on the Western Hemisphere, not
just in its pressure on Venezuela, on Colombia, the bailout of Argentina.
So I think we're almost going back to the days of the Monroe Doctrine, when the United States sees the Western Hemisphere as an extension of its own
zone of influence.
And then you have people like Stephen Miller, the anti-immigration czar, and the White House, who sees this foreign policy in the Caribbean and the
wider area as basically an extension of cracking down on migrants.
ANDERSON: Yes. It's fascinating. I'm going to do more on this after this, after this very short break, Stephen. For the time being, thank you.
Well, as the war of words between the U.S. and Colombia escalates, I'm going to speak to Colombia's former president, Ivan Duque, who has his own
choice words for his successor. That is after this.
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ANDERSON: Well, as the relationship between the United States and Colombia appears to turn sour, Colombian citizens are becoming increasingly worried
about the impact on their lives.
And it could be severe if U.S. president Donald Trump makes good on his threats to cut subsidies and raise tariffs in retaliation for what he sees
as a failure to control drug trafficking.
Well, the aid amounts to around $450 million annually for -- it's unclear what exactly Trump plans to cut out of that. As far as tariffs go, the U.S.
is Colombia's biggest trading partner, accounting for around 30 percent of exports every year.
Well, the feud looks nastier by the day as the two leaders clash over U.S. strikes on civilian boats in the Caribbean. The Trump administration has
claimed, without evidence, that these boats are drug boats.
But Colombian president Gustavo Petro accused Mr. Trump of murdering an innocent fisherman in one of these attacks and the barbs did not stop
there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They are a drug manufacturing machine, Colombia. And we're not going to be part of it. So we're going to drop all money that we're giving
to them. It has nothing to do with them stopping drug production.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUSTAVO PETRO, COLOMBIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (through translator): I've spoken with two U.S. governments, directly with President Biden and through
envoys with the Trump administration. The attitude toward me has been different. The attitude with Biden was decent and extremely rude and
ignorant with Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, prior to Mr. Trump's second term, Colombia and the U.S. had a good relationship. In 2022, it was designated a major U.S. non-NATO
ally. Well, fast forward three years and to today. And the Colombian ambassador to Washington has been recalled back to Bogota for
consultations.
Well, my next guest is Ivan Duque, the former president of Colombia, who was in office from 2018 to 2022.
And he's pointing the blame, the finger of blame for all of this at his successor, writing, and I quote him here, "The crisis with the U.S. is the
result of Petro's verbal aggression and mismanagement. His closeness to Maduro" -- the Venezuelan president -- "and his attacks.
"The White House put the free trade agreement and thousands of jobs at risk. Parallel diplomacy must be activated urgently."
And the former president joins us now live from Bogota.
I mean, Colombia and U.S. had a good partnership under your presidency. Just unpack this spat for us, if you will. I mean, Donald Trump calls
Colombia a drug manufacturing machine.
Is it?
IVAN DUQUE, FORMER COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT: Well, Becky, thank you so much for having me. I think what's important to say is that Colombia and the United
States have enjoyed 200 years of relationship.
And over the last four decades, that relationship has strengthened in a bipartisan and bicameral way but also not depending on which party has the
administration.
We've enjoyed strong relationship with Republicans and also with Democrats. And the fact is that, also, I worked with president Trump in his first
administration and also with President Biden.
And we shared values, we shared principles and we shared actions against narcotrafficking. We also defended democracy against dictatorship of
Nicolas Maduro. And we always saw the fight against drugs as a co- responsibility issue where, yes, Colombia is one of the main suppliers of cocaine.
[10:25:00]
But also United States is one of the main consumption markets around the world. So we worked jointly. What has happened in the last eight months in
a verbal aggression by Petro on different issues -- and Petro just wants to break the relationship in order to use this for the 2026 presidential
election.
ANDERSON: Let me just unpack some of these threats, because these tariffs could be swingeing. And you know, most of our viewers will understand, you
know, how tariffs, increased tariffs, might impact the people of Colombia.
And then there's the pulling of aid, Ivan. Colombia remains the most heavily land mine-affected country in the -- in the Americas. And as I
understand it, since 2017, the U.S. has provided $147 million to support humanitarian demining in Colombia. There's that and other humanitarian
programs that could be severely hurt by U.S. cuts.
Correct?
DUQUE: Well, what I have said, Becky, is that it's very important that any reaction from the U.S. administration on Petro has to be individualized and
not to create a collective punishment. We're heavily dependent on our trade with the United States.
The United States is one of the main sources of investment, is one of the main sources of intelligence and military support but also aid for multiple
purposes, including demining. So that's very important.
And I think the parallel diplomacy that we have seen with the former presidents, with the institutions, with the abbreviations, all of that has
been helping the U.S. not to embrace the collective punishment.
So I am an optimist that I hope that there's not going to be additional tariffs on Colombia that will harm thousands of jobs. And I think it is
more likely to see individualized sanctions on Petro's administration members. That's the way this should be handled.
Otherwise, in Colombia, the U.S. is very popular and the relationship is very strong. Anything that would harm this will have a very negative
effect.
ANDERSON: Petro has tried to distance himself from Venezuela. Maduro now says he has Colombia's back. Take a listen to the leaders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICOLAS MADURO, PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA (through translator): Colombia knows that we are one and the same, Siamese brothers.
And whatever happens with Colombia happens with Venezuela. And whatever happens with Venezuela, happens with Colombia. As a military officer from
the Colombian armed forces wrote to me two weeks ago.
If they touch Venezuela, they touch Colombia.
We are one homeland at heart. And I don't say what I'm saying lightly. I know what I'm saying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETRO (through translator): It angers Mr. Trump that I don't support the Americans with the Colombian army to invade Venezuela. No, sir. What stupid
Colombian could think of helping to invade where his cousins, his nephews and his fellow Colombians are?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Are Colombia and Venezuela, to your mind, one and the same?
DUQUE: Well, I think we share history and we share a lot of social and economic relationships. But Colombia cannot side in favor of Nicolas
Maduro, who's a dictator, who's also a narcoterrorist and who has now a reward of $50 million if he's brought to the U.S. justice because of his
illegal activities.
I think Colombia has to keep on defending the lawfulness of the democratic charter. Colombia needs to keep denouncing the dictatorship. And if
Colombia sides in favor of Maduro, it would break its tradition as a state that have always defended democracy and the rule of law.
Maduro is a major threat, Becky, and Maduro wants to use Petro as part of his diplomatic reaction to any attack. And I think that's just reckless,
because that would put Colombia in a very difficult position and also in contradiction with the democratic values that Colombia has embraced over
the history.
ANDERSON: Yes. So I just want to get your further thoughts on drug trafficking. And as this policy of going after narcotraffickers, which the
Trump administration see as terrorists, the U.S. strikes have been on seven alleged drug boats this week. Those have killed several people. And these
attacks include Colombians.
Do you agree with the U.S. position, its actions, its policy, its tactics at this point?
[10:30:00]
DUQUE: Becky, the most important thing to recognize is that this is not new. We have been doing interdiction exercises in the Caribbean with many
countries and the United States for almost a decade.
We have the Orion (ph) campaign and every time there's an interdiction, if it's a vessel, if it's a plane, there are warnings. If the warnings are not
followed, there can be an action, which can be to attack. So I don't think this is new.
I think the fact that the U.S. is deploying more personnel, more technology, more capabilities, it's a good deterrent method for the
cartels. Obviously, there's always going to be a great debate about this.
But even in the case that Petro has just recently mentioned, that there was a fisherman, well, it happens that that fisherman had a very difficult
criminal record so far. So yes, there has to be more proofs and more evidence on interdiction. That's fine.
But those interdictions have been occurring for a long time. And I support them because they are a very effective deterrent method against the
cartels.
ANDERSON: Let me just try and get a sense from you of whether the dressing-up of this policy -- and I'm very -- this is very specifically
about Venezuela from the Trump administration -- really has any merit.
I mean, Donald Trump is accusing Venezuela of being a narco state. Former Biden -- the national security director for the former president, Joe
Biden, for the Western Hemisphere, told CNN, "Over 95 percent of the cocaine that flows into the U.S. comes from Colombia."
So I wonder if you can stand up that number.
And that Venezuela itself has never needed to develop a native drug- producing industry, given it has large oil and gold reserves.
Under your presidency, what was Venezuela's drug activity?
DUQUE: Well, first of all, as I said before, the fight against cocaine has always been a core element between the United States and Colombia. Colombia
is the main supplier. The United States is the main consumption market. So that's why we have always worked jointly.
Now Maduro and the dictatorship, they have been involved in narcotrafficking operations for a long time. We have denounced the
existence of the Cartel de Los Soles (ph) for a long time.
Actually, as you know, I denounced that in the United Nations. So now I think what's new is that, for the first time, the United States has
formally declared the Cartel de Los Soles (ph) as a terrorist organization.
And all of this structure, led by Nicolas Maduro. So that's something new.
And now all the methods that are being applied in order to deter the threat are very important because there's a connection between the Colombian
cartels and Venezuela, because they have provided a safe haven for FARC, for ELN and other organizations, which is a violation of the resolution
1373 of 2001 after September 11th.
They have been providing safe haven to those terrorist organizations. So I believe this new method of declaring them a cartel, having two
interdictions in the Caribbean, and also raising the threat for the cartels in order to operate with fast boats in the Caribbean, I think it's the
right way to go. I think it's lawful.
And I think, yes, it can be controversial. But it is also going to involve many other countries based on the Orion (ph) campaign that has been taking
place for almost a decade.
In the case of Colombia, we need to maintain the U.S. support on intelligence on all the offensive strikes against the cartels. And that's
why we have to separate the Petro administration for the long-lasting, bipartisan and bicameral relationship that Colombia has enjoyed with the
United States.
ANDERSON: Yes, you've clearly got real concerns about what happens next. Meantime, the ambassador in Washington has been recalled for consultations
as we are reporting it. So we wait to see what happens next on this story.
It's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.
Well, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. There is a lot more ahead. Stay with us.
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ANDERSON (voice-over): Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. Here are your headlines this hour.
And it's U.S. vice president JD Vance in Israel today and he is expected to address the media within the next few hours as he tries to shore up the
fragile Israel ceasefire. He is joined by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and president Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
The ceasefire in Gaza still holding, despite both sides accusing the other of violations.
Well, in the United States, an appeals court has handed the Trump administration a legal victory after ruling that it can deploy National
Guard troops to Portland, Oregon. Two Trump-appointed judges sided with the administration, while a third dissented, saying the decision erodes core
constitutional principles.
Well, an explosive new book hitting shelves today is set to heap fresh scrutiny on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Britain's Prince
Andrew. "Nobody's Girl" is a posthumous memoir from Virginia Giuffre.
In the book, she says that she feared she would, quote, "die as a sex slave" at the hands of Epstein. Let's bring in CNN's royal correspondent,
Max Foster. He's live for us in London this hour.
It's good to have you, Max. Thank you. We.
What have we learned that is new from this book?
MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: Well, a lot of it was out there. She brings it all together. But it really is, I have to say, Becky, a really
harrowing read when you go through it, page to page. There are some quite gruesome scenes in there.
I'll -- you know, I'm going to -- I'm going to speak to one of them at the moment just to warn you but -- because it speaks to, you know, the scale of
this problem that Virginia Giuffre wants to expose, you know, now that she's gone. But it's all in this book.
So she describes being trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein to, quote, "a man who raped me more savagely than anyone I'd met before, anyone I'd had before."
It's worth noting that the U.S. edition has a different description of who this man was. So the U.K. edition has him described as a minister. She
describes him in the U.S. edition as a prime minister.
He repeatedly choked her until she lost consciousness and, quote, "took pleasure in seeing me in fear of my life."
So this is the sort of stuff that's in there. She doesn't name the prime minister and she doesn't name most of the men that she writes about in this
book. And her coauthor, Amy Wallace, says that's because it shouldn't be up to survivors to out their abusers. It should be up to the authorities,
Becky.
And that's why they want the so-called Epstein files released. So this speaks to this much bigger story about what we know about Epstein and his
crimes.
ANDERSON: Where do things stand with any kind of investigation by the British royal family into the alleged conduct, of course, of one of their
own?
FOSTER: Yes. So Prince Andrew and Epstein are the two people she does mention in this book. Prince Andrew, actually, she said his team tried to
hire trolls to undermine her, to hassle her.
And the investigation you're talking about is a police investigation here in the U.K. about an email that was reported in the British media,
suggesting that Prince Andrew was trying to dig dirt on Virginia Giuffre around the time that photo came out of the two of them together, suggesting
she had a criminal record.
[10:40:07]
And he actually handed over, allegedly, the Social Security number and the date of birth of Giuffre to the police officer in the palace at the time.
Plot thickens, I have to say today on that, Becky, because now there are reports that that police officer was later elevated to a senior position in
the palace, is currently working there at the moment. The Metropolitan Police haven't confirmed that on the record.
But the palace sources have effectively confirmed that they've been alerted to this. But it's a police matter.
But this is contagion, isn't it, for the royal family. They were hoping this would have been dealt with by dealing with the titles last week. But
it keeps overshadowing everything they're doing.
And if it is this very senior member of the palace staff that we think it is, then the contagion goes right into the heart of the palace and whether
or not that then-police officer escalated this inquiry from Prince Andrew.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you, Max. Plot thickens. Thank you.
Well, as people look to diversify their investments in what are rather uncertain times, a groundbreaking deal is opening new opportunities to
Muslim buyers. We're going to talk about where and how up next.
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ANDERSON: Well, there's been a major investment breakthrough between European and Arab nations. A real estate company based in Germany but also
with offices here in Abu Dhabi has acquired the first sharia licenses on the continent, opening new opportunities for Muslim investors in Europe.
Standard Land is the name of that firm. And I have with me the chairman and the founder, Rainer Schorr.
It's good to have you. And for our viewers who are maybe new to the world of Islamic finance, I think it's really important that we that we just
explain what's going on here. You've just received the only two sharia licenses ever granted for real estate products in Europe.
Explain the significance of this and how you went about securing these licenses. This is a complex process.
RAINER SCHORR, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, STANDARD LAND: It is indeed and, at Standard Land we put the words "Made in Germany" to a completely new
dimension with this, because we are based in Luxembourg and in Abu Dhabi.
But the underlying assets are primarily in central Europe and primarily they're in Germany. Germany went through a significant real estate crisis,
a crisis in the magnitude much more than in the last 100 years. It's unbelievable. It's a shortage in -- 1.2 million apartments are missing.
This is a 500 billion investment gap, which has to be filled.
[10:45:05]
And I do a lot of business with the Middle East over the last three decades. And though it was for us a completely natural move also to offer
access for sharia money.
ANDERSON: Yes. Let's talk about the market, because, the Islamic finance market is huge. Allied Market Research found that the Islamic finance
market was worth something like 2.5 trillion in 2023. That's the base year of study. That forecast is for Islamic finance to grow, to be worth some
7.7 trillion in a decade.
What's driving that?
And how does the real estate market benefit?
SCHORR: Globally, in the last six months, everybody sees a shift a little bit away from the U.S. dollar as the main currency. This applies in
particular here for the GCC countries.
We can see it in the gold price. We can see it somehow in the bitcoin prices. And the natural currency is the euro. But Europe is -- also has
some struggles in some countries.
But Germany is the most well governed country in Europe by far, with a prospective over the next 10 years, given the new economic stimulus by
Chancellor Merkel, 1 trillion, an extra 2 percent economic growth secured by the government --
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ANDERSON: -- smarter than a lot of other European capitals, let's be quite clear about that.
SCHORR: One hundred percent.
ANDERSON: But it's going from a very low base, of course. And you've talked about the damage that's been wrought on the real estate market as a
whole. I mean, you argue there's a wave of interest in Europe instead of in the U.S. for investments.
Do you see Europe in line to get a bigger bite of that massive projected investment than the United States, this Islamic finance market?
SCHORR: We tackle, actually, the Western and the Islamic financing market, because we don't want to keep somebody out. The U.S. and the private equity
firms like Blackstone are heavily coming to Europe. They want to shift 40 percent of their AUM to Europe --
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ANDERSON: management.
SCHORR: -- management to Europe. And Europe is -- in particular, Germany - - and in Germany you have two things where you can invest. First is real estate. And second are the small and mid-cap companies, where we have
millions in Germany.
ANDERSON: So you're making a good play for an argument that says Europe is -- Europe is a good investment these days. And you're making a very
specific play about Germany being a very robust investment opportunity.
There will be those who disagree with you. But certainly, you know, you are forecasting good things to come.
I want to get your sense of the real estate market as a whole, because, just as we are discussing the opportunities in Europe and what you say is a
move of money out of the U.S. -- not just in real estate, by the way but in other U.S. assets.
So the real estate market, for example, here in the UAE and in Saudi is very robust at present. And there is a -- there was an aggressive
opportunity provided by the UAE and Saudi for incoming investment into this real estate market here and in the kingdom.
What do you make of the potential for these two markets?
SCHORR: Well, this is an interesting question, in particular coming from Germany. I just came from a conference, a super return at the DIFC (ph).
And there was also in real estate podium from Saudi and from the UAE.
And both were saying in particular in UAE, in particular in Dubai, that the market is overheated and there's an oversupply coming and there will be
certainly a correction.
Saudi went through the roof and the rents went through the roof and they put in a rent cap in Riyadh just recently, a couple of weeks ago. And so a
lot of investors from Saudi are scared about this situation and this enhances a little bit the shift of money to, let's say, a politically
independent country like Germany.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you. It's a fascinating market. It's been, you know, fascinating to hear your sort of, you know, your insight into just
how significant, one, the licenses that you've just got are and the significance and scale of the market that is out there. And we'll check in
with you and see how it's going.
SCHORR: Thank you.
ANDERSON: Thank you.
Still to come, we're following a high-profile U.S. deportation case playing out in Philadelphia courtroom this hour.
[10:50:00]
What does the future hold for pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil?
That is after this.
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ANDERSON: Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is spending his first day locked up as he begins serving a five-year prison sentence. The 70-year
old waved goodbye to supporters while being driven from his home to a prison in southern Paris.
He was president, of course, from 2007 to 2012. Last month, a court found Sarkozy guilty of conspiracy for a scheme to get funds from Libya in
exchange for diplomatic favors. Sarkozy still denies any wrongdoing and he does plan to appeal. This marks the first time since 1945 that a former
leader of France has spent time behind bars.
Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate, the center of a high- profile deportation fight with the U.S. government, is at a Philadelphia court this hour. Now you may recall the Palestinian activist was arrested
back in March.
He's one of the first high-profile activists swept up in the Trump administration's crackdown for what they claim is anti-Semitic behavior on
college campuses. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is following this story for us from Washington.
Priscilla, what do we know at this stage about what is an extremely complex legal story?
Just get us back up to date here.
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Extremely complex, with multiple twists and turns. But the crux of the hearing today, before the
appeals court, was whether he could be detained again and removed.
Mahmoud Khalil has been released from immigration custody. He had been held in detention for over 100 days and then released over the summer. But the
question is whether the court that decided, that even had the jurisdiction to do so. And that was where the substance of the arguments were today.
Did the New Jersey court have the jurisdiction to block the administration from continuing to detain him or otherwise allow him to be released with
bail or not?
Because, again, Mahmoud Khalil was moved by the federal government to Louisiana.
So this got quite weedy in terms of who can do what here and whether it's the right venue, because the reason that this case has had so many twists
and turns is because it's playing out in so many different venues.
It's happening in federal courts but it's also ongoing in immigration court, which falls under the Justice or -- under the Justice Department
and, therefore, under the executive branch. So you can see how this becomes a massive puzzle as to where he should be asking for relief.
And that was something that the panel of judges were asking the attorneys today, whether, for example, this was an effort to take a second bite of
the apple by continuing this in the federal court system or whether it's something that he could get relief in the immigration court system because
of his ongoing case there.
Now his attorneys have said that, by detaining him, well, first of all, that the administration does not have the basis to detain or remove him.
But by doing so -- this is a quote from the attorney.
"Mr. Khalil is being deprived of speech."
Now, of course, Khalil was a very prominent pro-Palestinian activist here in the United States, arrested in March. The administration used an obscure
law, saying that he posed a risk to foreign policy. But his attorneys have contested that and said that there is no basis again for his detention or
removal.
[10:55:03]
So this is the case that is ongoing. But it is important because it has bigger implications. It wasn't just Khalil who was arrested earlier this
year on these grounds but also other activists and other universities.
This has been a cornerstone of the immigration agenda by the Trump administration.
So while we're talking here about one individual, who has a very complicated court case that is playing out in multiple venues, it also
speaks to the grander agenda here by the Trump administration and what they may try to achieve with other activists who they have detained.
So again, we don't -- this is ongoing. We do not have a ruling yet from this appeals court. Those tend to take some time because it was a panel of
three judges. But we do expect that we'll hear from Khalil later this morning when he exits court.
ANDERSON: Well, thank you for unpacking the complexities of this. It's an important case. You say it's not just Khalil. It is -- has implications for
others. And it is squarely in the -- in the file on immigration and various other files with this Trump administration. It's good to have you. Thank
you very much indeed.
That's it for CONNECT THE WORLD, folks. Stay with CNN. "ONE WORLD" is up next.
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