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Connect the World

Trump Weighs Seizing the Key Fuel Hub of Kharg Island; Qatar Seeking End to War with Least Possible Damage; Oil Prices Climb After Iran Warns Against U.S. Ground Invasion; Netanyahu Orders Expansion of Buffer Zone in S. Lebanon; Rights Groups Issue Warning Over Demolition of Litani Crossings. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired March 30, 2026 - 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: U.S. President Donald Trump floating the idea of taking Kharg Island a key hub for Iran's oil

production. As a result, crude prices are surging. It is 09:00 a.m. Monday in Washington. It is 05:00 p.m. in Abu Dhabi.

I'm Becky Anderson from our Middle East programming headquarters here in Abu Dhabi. This is "Connect the World". Well, the stock market in Europe

opens about 30 minutes from now. Futures do look slightly higher ahead of a holiday short and trading week. Let's see what those markets look like on

the open bottom of this hour.

We start with U.S. -- the U.S. President's wavering statements and latest threat on potentially escalating the war with Iran. Donald Trump posting

just a short time ago on social media that the U.S. is in serious discussions with a quote, new and more reasonable regime in Iran, while

also threatening to obliterate Iran's electric generating plants, oil wells and Kharg Island, a key Iranian oil transit hub.

Well aboard Air Force One on Sunday, he told reporters, sending ground troops to seize Kharg Island is a possibility, while telling the "Financial

Times", he wants to quote, take the oil from Iran. Here are more of those comments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: So, we've had very good negotiations today with Iran, getting a lot of the things that we they

should have given us a long time ago. We'll see how it works out. But they're very good moving along very nicely. Well, they're agreeing with us

on the plan. I mean, we asked for 15 things, and for the most part, we're going to be asking for a couple of other things.

But you never know with Iran, because we negotiate with them, and then we always have to blow them up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, Iran's Foreign Ministry disputing the claim that talks are going well, calling the 15-point U.S. proposal unrealistic and

unreasonable. Well, this all coming as thousands more U.S. troops arrive in the Middle East and air attacks across the region show no signs of easing.

We've got Alayna Treene at the White House for you. Matthew Chance is in Doha, in Qatar. Alayna, let me start with you. How does this morning's

social post by the U.S. President compare to last night's FT interview?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, look, I think what you're hearing from the president is all of the things that the military

and the Trump Administration really has been preparing for. And at different moments, you're hearing completely different things from him.

At one moment, he's calling for diplomacy, saying he believes diplomacy is going to work. That was yesterday, but then today, you know, threatening,

potentially, you know, obliterating, in his words, Iran's energy facilities talking about potentially going after Kharg Island, that key island off the

coast of Iran that is responsible for 90 percent of Tehran's oil experts.

Look, this is all lining up, though, Becky, with all of the conversations I've been having with people in that building behind me, which is that they

say that the president sincerely does believe, and he sincerely hopes, that diplomacy and negotiations, substantial negotiations, I should say, are

actually viable and a way to find an off ramp to this war.

However, they also say, if diplomacy fails, and we'll have to see whether or not that actually happens. Of course, I will say the Pakistanis have

said that they're hoping to have talks with the U.S. and Iranian them serving as a mediator in the coming days. But if that fails, they have a

number of different plans that have been circling around the Pentagon and the military about what could happen next.

I think the key thing to consider here, though, of course, is our reporting shows that if the president actually still wants a swift end to the war and

to find a way out of this, decisively, all of the plans that involve doing so, the military plans, will likely involve ground troops.

And that has really been a line that many people in this administration have not wanted to cross, let alone, I should say, for the people on

Capitol Hill, Republicans and many conservatives throughout the country who have been wary of this war and are even more so concerned about the idea of

having boots on the ground. And so, all of this coming at a point where we are hearing completely different and conflicting sides to this from both

sides.

[09:05:00]

You know, on one hand you have the United States saying that the Iranians have agreed to most of the 15-point plan that they had given them. I should

say it was passed on through the Pakistanis as the intermediary with Iran, then saying that, no, these are unreasonable and they're excessive.

Now, some of the things that we've reported that were in that 15 plan include limits on Tehran's defense capabilities, a cessation of support for

proxies and an acknowledgement of Israel's right to exist. That's in addition to knowing what we've heard the president say repeatedly, which is

he wants them to commit to never obtaining a nuclear weapon.

These are all things that the Iranians have previously had before them and had rejected. And so, it's hard to see really how this goes from here, but

we are kind of in that, you know, middle point, hitting a fever pitch of really needing to see whether or not diplomacy is actually something that

can happen at this time.

ANDERSON: Thank you. Matthew, let me bring you in the Qatar Prime Minister, who is also the foreign minister, of course, was in Washington over the

weekend. What was his message and does it align with other countries around the Gulf?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, first of all, Becky, the message of the Qatari leadership is one which is

conciliatory. They want an end to this conflict with the least possible damage as they possibly can. This is a country that is extremely

vulnerable.

It is heavily dependent on energy, oil and gas production and export, and it notes that its gas fields, its energy production facilities, are

incredibly vulnerable to attack by Iranian drones and missiles. Should this war escalate further, Iran has vowed to strike out even more than it

already has been against the Gulf states.

The Gulf Arab states like Qatar, like Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman. If the war inside Iran escalates further, they've said they'll target

energy infrastructure. They've said that they'll target sort of educational institutions in retaliation for the attack on Tehran University over the

past couple of days.

And that's absolutely terrifying to governments and people in this region. They've already suffered billions of dollars' worth of losses as a result

of the war. So far, there's been a mass exodus from the UAE, from Qatar, from other countries, of expatriates and workers and things like that.

They've really seen economic damage and reputational damage as a result of this conflict that could get much worse before it gets any better,

particularly if this conflict escalates.

So, hearing President Trump make that additional threat today about lashing out, about attacking energy infrastructure in Iran, desalination plants,

which create fresh water on which this whole region is dependent, really sends shivers of concern through people and governments across this Persian

Gulf region, because they know that Iran has the capability and the will to do exactly the same back to them, Becky.

ANDERSON: -- condemnation from Qatar on the strikes on desalination plants, of course, in Qatar overnight. Matthew, some optimism from Pakistan as lead

mediator, negotiator on these talks that we -- but we hear about alongside Egypt, Turkey and GCC heavyweight, Saudi Arabia.

How do you assess what we are hearing from the quote, quad at this point?

CHANCE: The quad, right. Well, I mean, look, I mean, there was some optimism, I suppose, during those discussions that some progress towards

de-escalation could take place. But you know, there's also a lot of skepticism that these negotiations are not going to end well, at least not

for the moment.

Alayna was already talking about the 15-point U.S. plan that it suggested, to bring the conflict to an end, the terms of which have been dismissed by

the Iranians as unreasonable, unrealistic and excessive. The foreign ministry spokesman making that point just earlier today.

Iran has its own five-point plan, which it says could end the conflict as well. But that's equally unrealistic. It involves things like war

reparations from the United States. The U.S., abandoning its military bases in the whole Middle East, and a recognition that Iran will have control and

sovereignty over that strategic Strait of Hormuz.

[09:10:00]

Some things, yeah, things that are just are just not on the table and are not going to considered by the United States or by Israel. And so publicly,

at least, it seems that room for compromise is non-existent. There's no public sense that a compromise is in the offing.

What is in the offing is more and more escalation troops from the United States coming to the region, and kind of remarks like we saw from President

Trump, really fueling that sense that things could get a lot worse before they get any better, Becky.

ANDERSON: Yeah, 10 past 4, in the afternoon in Doha. We are into the second month of this war. 10 past five here in the UAE, another jump in the price

of oil, as tech Iran warns against a U.S. ground invasion. And President Trump tells the FT wants to quote, take the oil in Iran.

Well, Brent Crude prices have skyrocketed their highest since Russia's full-scale invasion of -- in 2022. Here's how the U.S. oil benchmark is

fairing. Well, that's the global benchmark is faring at present, and that's the U.S. benchmark. They're above 100 now, and that's significant.

My next guest is an expert on energy strategy and economics. Robin Mills is the CEO of Qamar Energy. Joins me now from Dubai. Good to have you,

particularly in region as we assess what is going on. President Trump told the FT, then I quote him here, Robin, to be honest with you, my favorite

thing is to take the oil in Iran.

But some stupid people back in the U.S. say, why are you doing that? But they're stupid people. That's just one of the headlines that's pushed oil,

I guess, higher in the past session. What do you make of that threat?

ROBIN MILLS, CEO OF QAMAR ENERGY: Well, for the U.S. to cut off Iranian oil exports, that's very easily done. Of course, we hear all this talk about

capturing Kharg Island in the Northern Gulf, where Iran exports from. But the U.S. could, of course, simply just stop tankers on the high seas, as it

did with Venezuela.

That bit isn't difficult, but taking the oil so the U.S. controlling it, selling it, that's something else entirely. It is spread out over dozens of

fields in Iran which cover a wide range of terrain, some foreign land and so on so completely different proposition to actually control them.

ANDERSON: That's interesting. I think we'll sort of hold that thought on Kharg Island, because that has been obviously a big threat by the U.S.

President for some time. We've got to see how that plays out. Meantime, Iran backed rebels in Yemen, the Houthis have launched their first salvo

towards Israel.

We do know that they can cause a massive impact on the southern end of the Red Sea to the west of Saudi, if the Houthis were to up end shipping there,

what's the risk to the global economic crisis that we are already seeing from Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz?

MILLS: Right. So, you know, Saudi Arabia is now shipping about 5 million barrels a day out through Yanbu, which is a port on the Red Sea. It has a

pipeline there. So that's been critical. When you think we've lost 20 million barrels a day coming out of the Gulf, for to get 5 million of that

back through the Red Sea is still helpful.

And that oil mostly is going to Asia. It's going south, through the Bab al- Mandeb Strait, as you show on your map. Now the Houthis, of course, have blocked that straight in the past. They could probably do so again. At the

moment, they've joined this war against Israel, but not against Saudi Arabia.

So those tankers are continuing. But if the Houthis do block the strait, then there's more of a problem. The oil has to go north through the Suez

Canal and take the long route around Africa to Asia. That adds at least two weeks to sailing time. So, more and more disruption.

And of course, if they attack the port of Yanbu directly and were to disrupt it. Then some of that oil export cut off entirely.

ANDERSON: Yeah. I want to pursue this sort of you know how Gulf producers have and may mitigate some of this going forward. You've made the argument

that gulf oil producers should invest in alternatives to the strait. Saudi and the UAE have oil pipelines that are being pressed into service, but

anything else is a long-term project.

What do you see in the immediate future? And do you agree with some analysts that the sort of global markets, particularly the energy market,

has been sort of misunderstood, and that you know, oil at 150 is not inconceivable at this point, possibly higher?

[09:15:00]

MILLS: Yes, so look at -- as you say, it takes time to build these alternatives. The first thing to do for the UAE -- squeeze as much as they

possibly can out of the two pipelines that they do have. Perhaps they can get a bit more through, and that would help. But any other pipeline, and

certainly one pipeline that is helping out Qatar or Kuwait or Iraq is going to turn down.

So yes, 2, 3, or 4 years solution that's really a post war thing, not a -- not another thing that can solve the problem right now. And absolutely, you

know, as you say this, the market is still, I think, not fully acknowledging the enormous loss of supply. It will take, still some weeks

before these missing tankers show up in Europe or don't show up, and the price impact spreads elsewhere.

So yes, I think a price of $150 -- if there isn't a good resolution, it's entirely possible.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, Robin. It's always good to get your analysis a very good opinion piece in what is the local but global media here, the

National today, well worth a read. Thank you. Let's connect you folks to Lebanon and where Israel is scaling up operations as it targets Hezbollah.

You're looking at smoke rising above Beirut over the past few hours, following strikes there, mid-afternoon there, of course. And on the ground,

Israel's Prime Minister is ordering the expansion of a what he refers to as a security buffer zone in Southern Lebanon in response to what he suggests

are these continuing cross border attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We are in a multi arena campaign. We are striking with immense force against Iran and its proxies.

We are achieving great accomplishments, achievements that are creating visible cracks in the terrorist regime in Tehran.

In Lebanon, I have now instructed to further expand the existing security zone in order to finally thwart the threat of invasion and to push the

anti-tank missiles fire away from our border.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Jeremy Diamond is in Jerusalem. Jeremy, what is Israel aiming to achieve at this point?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Israeli Prime Minister said that his goal is to expand this security zone, a buffer zone

inside Southern Lebanon to distance Israel's northern residents from the threat of anti-tank missiles by Hezbollah.

As well as to prevent the possibility of an offensive action cross border ground operation by Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force that has been a fear in

Israel since October 7th, that Hezbollah could attempt to, kind of, you know, draw inspiration from the October 7th attacks and carry out a similar

attack on Israel's northern communities.

We haven't seen any evidence that Hezbollah currently has those capabilities or that intention to carry out such an attack. We certainly

have seen their ability and willingness to use those anti-tank missiles, which can be fired from a distance of up to about 10 kilometers away

towards those northern communities in Israel, as well as towards Israeli soldiers who are invading Southern Lebanon.

And indeed, that is what we are currently witnessing. Is kind of a slow moving, creeping ground invasion of Southern Lebanon by Israeli forces that

are going deeper and deeper into Lebanon still, it seems operating only a few miles into Lebanese territory for the time being.

But it seems like the intention is to continue to push that offensive perhaps as far as that Litani River, which at its furthest point is about

20 miles away from the Israel-Lebanon border. We have seen that so far, six Israeli soldiers have now been killed by Hezbollah fire.

Over the course of the last three weeks of the fighting between these two sides, two Israeli civilians have also been killed by Hezbollah rockets.

And we've been witnessing the extraordinary impact on the humanitarian situation in Lebanon caused by not only this Israeli ground operation

displacement orders for all of Southern Lebanon, but also those Israeli air strikes in the Lebanese capital of Beirut.

Human Rights workers are now warning that Israel's demolition of those crossing points along that Litani River are threatening to cut off tens of

thousands of residents living in Southern Lebanon from essential supplies. 20 percent of Lebanon's population has been displaced so far, according to

UNICEF, and we've seen more than 1100 people killed, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

And of course, all of that being intensified by the continuation of this conflict. It seems like the Israeli Prime Minister, with this expansion of

the buffer zone is aiming to try and put more pressure on Hezbollah, put more pressure, as a result, on Iran as well, and also on the Lebanese

government, which the Israeli Prime Minister wants to take the lead in disarming Hezbollah ultimately, something that has not happened as of yet,

Becky.

[09:20:00]

ANDERSON: Good to have you. Jeremy, thank you. All right, folks, still to come, some TSA agents in the states started receiving their back pay today.

Will that help shorten wait times at U.S. airports. We are live from one of the country's largest airports for a closer look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: We are keeping a close eye on whether today could finally bring some much-needed relief for TSA workers and airline travelers at U.S.

airport. Some TSA agents have started to receive their back pay through an executive order signed by President Donald Trump.

Tens of thousands of workers have missed multiple paychecks since what was the partial U.S. government shutdown that began on February the 14th. And

as we've been reporting, that resulted in a number of agents calling out sick, leading to staffing shortages and long security lines across the

United States. Here's more from one TSA officer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLOS RODRIGUEZ, TSA OFFICER, REGIONAL VP OF AFGE NORTHEAST: My co-workers and I have been working for 43 days without being paid, and we have never

wavered in our commitment to secure the fly in public and keep our oath to the American people of protecting the transportation systems and their

lives while we have been worried about who is protecting our families at home. So, the situation is dire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well CNN's Ryan Young following this story for us. We've just heard from one TSA agent is clearly been extremely difficult for the staff.

How are the airport security checkpoints now looking at Atlanta, Hartsfield, where you are, now that some of those workers are starting to

receive back pay, at least?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first things first, the some of the TSA agents that we spoke with said they still

haven't received money yet they believe they'll get it sometime this week, but the money hasn't actually hit the account.

And speaking with some TSA agents offline, they're saying the back payments for what they owe now is going to be more than what it originally was. So,

they're still in dire straits when it comes to the financial aspects about this. So, you really do feel for them. But here at the airport, you can see

no lines, no waiting.

This is a tremendous difference from where we were last week. This place was hit hard on Sunday and Monday, but you can now see some of the I.C.E.

agents who are working the lines here, some TSA agents here as well. There's a lighter air here in the airport.

People are smiling because the waits about four minutes to get through any security checkpoint here. That's unbelievable, considering some of the

people showed up here for hours before their flight. That's not something they have to do right now, because it's easy breezy.

But let me tell you something. There are people who are still upset, still angry, and they know exactly who they want to blame. Take a listen.

[09:25:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's a common a mutual feeling with everybody. I mean, it's kind of common sense, you know, nobody's getting paid, but they

are getting paid, you know, so they're delaying it, you know, they don't have a rush on it, because they're not missing bills.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think that they should be holding the American public hostage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They need to get off vacation and get back to work. They need to pass everything and get moving again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Yeah, those are people who are upset with the American Congress, who went on vacation for their Easter break. Folks are not happy about how this

all played out. It's been very interesting to watch, whether they're red, blue, Democrat or Republican. They do not care.

They are angry about it. But the good news so far, before spring break, before major events in this country, we do have open lines here at

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Becky.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, Ryan. Thank you. Ryan Young in the house for you. Still to come on, "Connect the World" with me Becky Anderson, U.S.

stocks poised to open higher today, as Treasury yields tumble. And oil continues to sort what is in store for these markets and for consumers.

That is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi, and you are watching "Connect the World". It is just after 04:30 in the afternoon here.

We're taking a bit of a technical hit. We'll be back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:00]

ANDERSON: Let's see how stocks are getting on at the open for you today. And you see all the three major indices are trading high by about four

fifths of 1 percent on average. Well, we have already seen oil prices higher this session. The U.S. benchmark up above $100 a barrel, the global

benchmark, Brent trading at just above 114 in fact, nearly $115 on the barrel, briefly hitting $117 earlier.

As I say, they DOW, the S&P 500 in the NASDAQ had been on track for their worst month in a year. Though, we are seeing gains in early trading. U.S.

Treasury yields moving lower amid growing fears over growth. Joining us from London is Paul Donovan, Chief Economist for UBS Global Wealth

Management.

Help us out here, when you look at the mix in those markets that I've just described. What are you seeing and why?

PAUL DONOVAN, CHIEF ECONOMIST FOR UBS GLOBAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT Well, I think the financial markets generally are trying to look more towards the

positive, to exclude the negative tail risk scenarios. That's been a general tendency.

And so, I think what we're seeing here is equity markets are reflecting, perhaps a degree of hope that the war in the Gulf will be coming to a

conclusion, that there will be some kind of deal done, which involves some kind of reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. We've also, of course, had some

positive news that Iran is letting certain ships through the strait.

Saudi has increased the amount of oil they're exporting through Red Sea ports. So, there's been some positive news as well, which I think is

helping to buy the equity markets a little.

ANDERSON: Right. And I'm sure that will suit Donald Trump, who has a sort of form on this, doesn't he? He made a lot of comments on Sunday that was

an attempt to sort of pump these markets. Certainly, he'll be delighted to see those equity markets higher. But look the kind of fundamental wider

picture here, including the International Energy Agency calling Iran's closure, effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the biggest oil shock

in history.

And you're right to suggest we're getting a few ships through, but it's not a lot. Nothing like what's needed. And the oil that's going through the

pipelines, nothing like a sort of regular kind of trading day. I just wonder whether you believe there's been a fundamental misunderstanding

about the magnitude of the shock for the global economy.

DONOVAN Well, you find this a lot in financial markets, that there is this reluctance to price in really extreme scenarios. And so, I think what

you're seeing at the moment is sort of, to use the very British expression, a bit of a phony war. As far as the financial markets themselves are

concerned, because at this stage, you still have very few physical limitations.

Certainly, as far as developed economies are concerned, oil is still there because there are inventories and stockpiles. Now that doesn't last, but

it's there for now, and so it's not immediately evident that you have the negative effects. We think about consumers again in developed economies,

consumers have got the means to deal with a higher oil price for three months, for six months, by scaling back on their savings rate.

So, we saw the German inflation numbers came in higher, as expected today in March. But what's going to happen there is the German consumer is

probably going to carry on spending and just adapt their savings rate for the time being.

[09:35:00]

So, for the time being, the real economy is not necessarily -- badly affected. The risk is that you get to a tipping point where consumers

aren't prepared to scale back any further. The physical shortages of oil start to become more and more apparent, and then you would move into a more

negative scenario. But I think that that's probably a few months away.

ANDERSON: Fascinating. Paul, certainly not a phony war in Asia. Markets broadly lower clear impact at this point. I think you're right to point out

there are still reserves around. For how long is the question? So, for how long does this conflict go on? Is absolutely prescient for investors and

these markets at this point.

Always good to have you. Thank you very much indeed. Well, NASA says its plan to launch its first crude lunar mission in over half a century this

week is 80 percent go. Four astronauts due to embark on a 10-day mission flying around the moon on board this the Artemis II moon rocket.

It will take them deeper into space than any human has been before. Their aim is to test NASA's systems ahead of its planned moon landing mission in

a couple of years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINA KOCH, ARTEMIS II MISSION SPECIALIST: Really, the question is not should we go, but should we lead, or should we follow. That's how I see it,

because everyone, many, many countries, have recognized the value that there is in exploring further into the solar system, to the moon and on to

Mars.

They recognize that not only can we gain all these extremely tangible benefits, but that we have the opportunity to answer the question that

could be the question of our lifetime, which is, are we alone?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: We'll CNN's Jackie Wattles has more details on NASA's upcoming lunar mission.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACKIE WATTLES, CNN SPACE AND SCIENCE WRITER (voice-over): After 50 years, NASA is sending humans on a path back to the moon. It's a multi-billion-

dollar mission called Artemis II, and it's a critical test run before landing. So essentially, it's a very expensive fly by.

WATTLES: But we already landed on the moon back when we were still using rotary phones. So why all this bus for just a test run? And why not just

land again? Well, there's a few big reasons why, and the first one is financial.

WATTLES (voice-over): NASA began the Apollo program in the 1960s, back then, astronauts used a fully integrated system, rocket command module and

lunar lander. Lander is the important thing here. Private contractors helped build Apollo, but NASA maintained oversight and control, and this

was the height of the space race with the Soviets.

The Apollo program was a huge national investment, but NASA doesn't have Apollo money anymore. For Artemis, NASA has built the Orion spacecraft and

a rocket to get crew from earth to lunar orbit. But for the lunar lander, the agency decided to bring in SpaceX and Blue Origin.

It's up to those companies to figure out how to get the astronauts from NASA spacecraft down to the moon's surface.

WATTLES: NASA wrote a check to SpaceX and Blue Origin for a few billion dollars each, and they're supposed to be taking that money and figure out

how to build a functional lunar lander. But they still have a long way to go, at least. That's how it appears.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The burning fragments that fell from the sky after SpaceX starship exploded.

WATTLES (voice-over): Still, one of these vehicles is supposed to be part of NASA's actual moon landing later this decade.

WATTLES: Reason two, NASA doesn't have all the tools it needs for a touchdown. For Apollo, we landed near the moon's Equator, and since the

program ended in 1972 the U.S. has only been sending astronauts to low Earth orbit, first with the space shuttle and now with space access Crew

Dragon capsules.

WATTLES (voice-over): But for Artemis, NASA's long-term goal is to eventually build a base on the south pole of the moon. Why the South Pole?

Well, it's home to water ice, an incredibly powerful space resource that can be converted to rocket fuel or even just used for drinking.

It takes more fuel to land at the South Pole, the terrain is more rugged, and there are a lot of communications and power issues to sort out.

WATTLES: Reason three, Orion is chunky. It's a big, heavy spacecraft.

WATTLES (voice-over): And the reason NASA built Orion the way it did has a lot to do with politics and jobs. But the thing to know is, because it's so

big, Orion can't go into low orbit around the moon all by itself.

WATTLES: That makes lunar landing more complicated. So, to get to the moon and back, NASA needs a pretty powerful lunar lander that's nimble enough to

navigate such a difficult mission.

WATTLES (voice-over): Both SpaceX's and blue origins, lunar landers may still be years away from flying with a crew.

[09:40:00]

SpaceX plans to put its starship mega rocket, which was originally designed for Mars travel, up for the task. That vehicle is still a prototype.

Meanwhile, Blue Origin is building a more traditional looking lunar lander, but the public hasn't had a chance to see it fly just yet. The company is

still working to get a test flight off the ground.

WATTLES: Keep in mind, a successful Artemis II mission will be an incredible achievement, and it's important for astronauts to test systems

and equipment on Orion, but NASA and its partners still have a lot of work to do before astronauts can take that next small step on the moon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, no need to adjust your TVs. You are looking at video from Western Australia, where a powerful weather system stirred up dust storms

that turned the skies red. That system also produced an ex-tropical cyclone, which left a trail of destruction, leaving the area completely cut

off from water supplies and power, unbelievable.

Well, I tell you what these fans are seeing red at Tottenham. Igor Tudor was only appointed Tottenham boss last month, and yet, after 44 days in

charge, spurs will be looking for yet another manager after he and the club mutually agreed to part ways. Amanda Davies joining me now.

Look, I am a Totten fan, White Hart Lane lead list. At least the so-called team that calls that stadium home is leadless. I mean, Amanda, one has to

wonder whether there needs to be wholesale change at the club itself, not just, you know, who is coaching a team that is sort of loosely held

together at this point?

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah. I mean, I feel, Becky, I need to apologize, because coming on air, talking to you with everything going on

in the news agenda. I want to be bringing you good news. I mean, although I don't know you might see this as good news.

ANDERSON: I do.

DAVIES: Some people saying, 44 days, such a short period of time, but a long overdue departure. So yes, the view very much, is this going to be now

a short-term solution, a manager coming in to try and save spurs from relegation? I mean, if things are bad now, the idea that Tottenham would be

relegated for the first time since 1977 really does take it into another realm, isn't it?

But we're just that point away from them being in the relegation position. Or do they try and find a longer-term solution? And as you said, the whole

scale changes. That will get things going in the right direction, but will perhaps take even further. So that we're looking at some of those things,

it's fascinating, as you know --

ANDERSON: -- good.

DAVIES: -- like spurs. Will it not be in this position?

ANDERSON: Yeah, no, we should not be. And if you you're looking at those. And so let me know if you find some answers, please. I'd be interested to

hear some solutions. Thank you for that. Let's stick around for "World Sport" -- I'm back after that with "Connect the World".

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