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Quest Means Business
Indonesia Executes Eight Prisoners; Nepal Earthquake Death Toll Passes 4,600; State of Emergency in Baltimore; Nigerian Forces Say 293 Women, Girls Rescued; Backlash Over Indonesian Executions; Congestion at Kathmandu Airport; DHL Team Helps UN Distribute Aid; Obstacles to Nepal Relief Efforts
Aired April 28, 2015 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:08] RICHARD QUEST, HOST: Eight people are executed by firing squad. One life is spared. Indonesia ignores appeals from the
international community.
Nepal's prime minister declares the country's on a war footing in its search and rescue operations.
And in Baltimore, a state of emergency has been called, a curfew imposed, and the national guard has been called in.
I'm Richard Quest in New York.
Good evening. Tonight, a program where three stories dominate the agenda. In Indonesia, eight prisoners, most of them foreign nationals,
have been executed by firing squad. It's sparked diplomatic outrage from countries across the globe.
In Nepal, the world is united in trying to save as many lives as possible. The help is arriving, now the task is to get it to those who
need it so urgently.
And in the United States, a state of emergency across the city of Baltimore after a night of rioting. President Obama today says the country
faces, in his words, "a slow-rolling crisis with urban poverty and inequality."
All these stories deserve our full attention tonight. All of them have major implications around the world. So, we'll be bringing you in-
depth coverage of all three.
In the last few hours, Indonesia has put to death eight convicted drug smugglers on an island in central Java. Here are the images of those who
were executed today by firing squad. Most of them were foreign nationals. Two were Australians: Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, seen here in the
top left of our corner.
The most high-profile presidents in today's executions, these men were accused of leading the so-called "Bali 9" drug smuggling gang. Indonesia's
president has refused repeated calls for clemency. Today, of course, it's too late. They've been put to death.
Local reports say authorities have, for now, spared the life of Mary Jane Veloso. She's the Filipino woman who was also set to face the firing
squad. There's now evidence that perhaps she was framed, and now, somebody has come forward and said that they were responsible.
So, to CNN's full coverage of these stories. Saima Mohsin is with us, live from Bangkok in Thailand. The appeals were made, they were ignored.
The firing squad has done its dastardly deed. Tell us more.
SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Richard, the --
(AUDIO GAP)
MOHSIN: -- to that sense of --
(AUDIO GAP)
MOHSIN: -- afternoon, families were told it would be their last visit with their loved ones. Incredibly emotional scenes as they took that vote
to what is known as Execution Island. And very sinister scenes, too. The grim arrival of those ambulances telling the tale of what was to come.
We weren't given a time at first for the executions. And then later, the attorney general caved into pressure, talking on television saying that
they would take place at the stroke of midnight.
Now, up until that moment, Richard, we understood that nine people would face execution. Various nationals and Indonesian nationals all
convicted of drugs-related crimes. And then, at the last minute, we're told, a contact between two presidents, the president of the Philippines,
President Aquino, and President Joko Widodo, a conversation took place at the 11th hour, and then there was a stay of execution for Mary Jane Veloso.
Now, just very quickly, a bit about her. She is a --
(AUDIO GAP)
MOHSIN: Allegedly, Mary Jane didn't know that it had drugs sewn into it, and all along, she has professed her innocence. And then today, this
other woman, Christine, the god-sister, came forward to Philippines police and confessed to framing, effectively, Mary Jane Veloso. All of course,
all of these are allegations --
(AUDIO GAP)
[16:05:11] QUEST: -- from Bangkok with the first of our major stories tonight.
The death toll in Nepal has now passed 4,600, and that number is expected to rise as information comes in from more remote parts of the
country. Like this village, about six kilometers east of Kathmandu. Some buildings have been completely flattened. Officials fear there are many
more scenes just like it.
The quake has affected 8 million people, 9,000 are injured and Nepal is struggling to get and deploy desperately-needed aid. The only runway at
Kathmandu's airport is completely log-jammed, as you can see here. The country's rugged terrain and poor weather conditions are hampering delivery
of supplies.
Ivan Watson's live and joins us from Kathmandu this evening. The situation since we left you yesterday, in terms of the recover and --
operation, is it getting better or pretty much the same?
(AUDIO GAP)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: --time to find people who still may be trapped alive underneath the rubble.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON (voice-over): Deep in the debris, a ray of hope. Rescue workers flown in from Turkey reach a man trapped by the earthquake in
Kathmandu.
(AUDIO GAP)
WATSON: Injured and dehydrated --
(AUDIO GAP)
WATSON: A successful rescue for a stricken country that has seen its most treasured monuments destroyed in the blink of an eye. Amid the death
and destruction, there are other stories of survival. People like Tanka Maya Sitoula, a mother of four rescued after being trapped in the rubble of
her home.
WATSON (on camera): You were trapped for 36 hours. Do you have any injuries?
(WOMAN SPEAKING NEPALI)
WATSON: That's incredible!
WATSON (voice-over): She's now reunited with her husband of 15 years.
WATSON (on camera): You never lost hope that your wife was alive.
(MAN SPEAKING NEPALI)
WATSON (voice-over): "Never," he tells me. "I was only worried she might get hurt during the rescue.
At disaster sites across the capital, Nepalese police are working alongside rescue teams from around the world in a race against time. A
struggle to find more survivors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kathmandu has a very poor infrastructure, so the buildings are a very poor quality. That's what makes people suffer the
most. Most of the houses are damaged. And also, the health infrastructure is too bad, so when we rescue people, when we get them to the hospital,
it's all very low-quality health services.
WATSON: But three days after the earthquake, the weather isn't making this work any easier. The aftershocks and difficult conditions are putting
some people here on edge.
(CROWD SHOUTING)
WATSON: A small group of protesters scuffles briefly with police after accusing the government of not doing enough to help victims of this
natural disaster. This is a beautiful country, but it's also very poor, and it's clear it will take a long time for these people to dig their way
out of this terrible mess.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON: So, Richard --
(AUDIO GAP)
WATSON: -- problems and --
(AUDIO GAP)
WATSON: -- this remote --
(AUDIO GAP)
WATSON: -- aftershocks. Now, there are only a handful of helicopters, about 19, to our count, that can operate in the air to try to
reach some of these people, so you recognize some of the problems there.
There are some bright spots. The electricity. It started coming back on here in parts of Kathmandu, and the cell phone networks started to work
a little bit better as well. But there's still an awful lot of work to be done.
(AUDIO GAP)
QUEST: -- for us this evening.
And the third major story that we are following tonight is just 300 kilometers from this studio. The third story is in Baltimore, where a
curfew is due to come into effect across the city in just a few hours from now.
[16:10:02] These are live pictures. It was around this time yesterday when you and I were talking that pockets of protesters began to
throw rocks at police, burn cars, and loot buildings. Now, state of emergency is in place, and during some candid comments in a news
conference, President Barack Obama says the United States must invest more in its cities of the problem is to be fixed long term.
We'll be talking and looking at all these three major stories in much more detail in the hour ahead. And as we've been reporting, despite a
flurry of last-minute pleas for clemency, Indonesia has carried out its threat to execute eight drug smugglers.
Now, the international backlash. What will those countries whose citizens have been put to death, what will they do in response? A special
QUEST MEANS BUSINESS tonight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Nigerian armed forces say they have rescued 293 girls and women from the Sambisa Forest. Now, we cannot confirm if they are the same
missing schoolgirls who are amongst this group. Official Twitter accounts of the country's armed forces says the troops took three terrorist camps.
We can bring in CNN's Christian Purefoy, the correspondent normally based in Nigeria. Today, he's on the line for us in London. Christian,
what do we know? Do -- the core question. Look, whoever they've got, they've got people who were being held in captivity. But the core question
is, do we believe that they are the missing schoolgirls?
CHRISTIAN PUREFOY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Yes, it was the Nigerian minister being extremely cautious about giving any
details away. And this is simply because they've sort of -- the Nigerians say that the Nigerian government has made promises before and not kept to
them.
So this time, officials are being very cautious about what they're saying about this. And they've specifically said they cannot say that
these are the Chibok girls. They are being screened and profiled. We don't know how long that will take or how much information.
So, all we've really got to go on is that 200 girls have been rescued, 93 women have been rescued from this Sambisa Forest, which is sort of
notorious, Richard, as one of the main hideouts for Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria. But the military have sort of had an ongoing offensive in that
region. They say they've taken out three terrorist camps.
It's -- Richard, it's astonishing for several reasons, but the main one is that these girls, whoever they are, have been rescued alive.
QUEST: Right.
PUREFOY: Because Boko Haram is notorious for being an extremely brutal terrorist group, Richard.
QUEST: Well, on that point, one imagines -- well, I don't know, you tell me -- that this was not sort of a gentle walk to pick them up. Do we
know if this was an all-out armed fight to rescue them?
PUREFOY: Well, we've had several reports recently of the Nigerian military trying to get into the Sambisa Forest and actually retreating
because of landmines and Boko Haram doggedness in their defense, if you like.
But obviously, if they've managed to go in, we've heard reports that it's sort of a flash operation. The girls were rescued this morning --
this afternoon, sorry. That it was probably quite a quick operation to get in there and get them out. The longer these fights go on for, the more
people get killed. So, that really is all we've got to go on.
[16:14:57] But again, Boko Haram in their defenses, they've been going back against this ongoing military offensive in the region, have been
killing people, throwing them in ditches. They're notorious before of going into dormitories and killing students in their sleep.
So, the fact that these girls managed to get away. And -- there's one thing. We have had no clue where these Chibok girls have been or are,
depending who these girls are. It's one year on, now. It has to be remembered, they have been missing for one year. The anniversary was a few
weeks ago.
There is a lot of hope out there that these girls will be rescued. But whoever these girls are -- because hundreds of people have been
kidnapped by Boko Haram -- there'll be some very happy families, Richard.
QUEST: Christian, come back when you've got more to tell us about who they are. Thank you.
Now, to our top story, of course, and one of the big three stories we're following tonight, the executions of eight convicted drug smugglers
in Indonesia. The country may well face an international backlash over the deaths of the prisoners.
Two were Australians that were put to death. Canberra is not ruling out sanctions against Indonesia. That's possibly unlikely at this stage.
An Australian trade delegation has been canceled.
A French citizen had his execution delayed. President Francois Hollande said there will be consequences if he faces the firing squad. The
European Union as a whole could become involved. The death penalty is outlawed in the EU.
Brazil has recalled its ambassador after Indonesia executed one of its citizens in January. It also rejected a new Indonesian envoy to the
country. Stan Grant joins me now from Sydney in Australia. Stan, good to see you, sir.
The situation -- all right, the worst -- Tony Abbott has made noises, he made appeals. Do you think Abbott and the Australian government will
actually do anything now?
STAN GRANT, SKY NEWS AUSTRALIA CORRESPONDENT: It has never been done in the history of the relationship between Indonesia and Australia,
Richard, for the Australian ambassador to be recalled. There is increasing pressure now for, indeed, that to happen.
Now, last year, Indonesia recalled its ambassador from Canberra at the height of spying allegations between Australia and Indonesia, that
Australia was spying on the then-Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. It is now the expectation that we may see the Australian
ambassador withdrawn from Jakarta.
This has become an extraordinarily political process. Putting aside the legal implications and the appeals and the appeals for clemency, what
has really come to be a feature of this case is the tension between the new Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, and the Australian government.
Now, Joko Widodo at times has not taken the phone call of Australia's prime minister. He has not returned letters from the Australian prime
minister. They have met on occasion. There have been constant appeals from Australia for clemency in this case. They've been denied.
Joko Widodo sees this, Richard, as a very strong stance in his country. He's a new president. He's a president who doesn't come from the
military or political elite. This is very much about establishing his strong-man credentials, standing up --
QUEST: All right.
GRANT: -- to Western countries. Here in Australia, Australia sees the strength of that relationship, the importance of that relationship, but
it is no doubt going to be tense.
QUEST: With that in mind, Stan, where do the people -- as much as one can ever say that, in terms of Australia -- do -- is it your gut feeling
that the popular support is for Australia to make a measured act against this?
GRANT: Richard, there have been two aspects to this. One is the human plight of the two men, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran. Two men
who, over the ten years that they were in prison in Bali clearly had reformed, rehabilitated, were remorseful. Even the prison wardens in Bali
had attested to that.
The appeals for clemency were denied. It moved the hearts, I would say, of the majority of the Australian people.
Then, the rather political implications. The obstinacy of the Indonesian government, the attitude of the Indonesian president. That also
has shifted and hardened the mood here in Australia. Already we've seen some comments from members of the government, members of the opposition,
which have indicated that the Australian government will take a very, very tough stance on this issue.
Up until now, the government has focused very much on trying to win mercy, to win clemency, to save the men from the firing squad. That has
failed. Now we will see the political response. Undoubtedly, I think it is going to be a tough one.
But Australia then enters uncharted waters in a relationship with a country of over 250 million people, Australia's largest, nearest neighbor.
A country that Australia looks to increase its trade with. But a relationship, as I've said before, Richard, that is going to be sorely
tested.
[16:10:00] QUEST: Stan Grant from Sky News, joining us from Sydney. Stan, thank you for that analysis. I appreciate it.
As our program continues tonight, we return to Nepal and to the question of the airport at Kathmandu. It's the only major way to get help
and aid into the country. It's congested. But of course, running an aid operation through an airport is much more difficult than you might expect,
and we'll show you why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Imagine all the food, the water, and the medical supplies that Nepal currently needs. It's got to help 9,000 wounded people, and probably
many more, some deeply, seriously, critically injured.
Now, imagine this fact: there is only one runway at Kathmandu's international airport. Tribhuvan International Airport, it's about five
kilometers east of Nepal's capital. It's got just the one runway.
It's fairly long, it's a sophisticated runway in that sense. It's 3,000 meters long, so it's long enough to take the large, powerful jets.
It's big enough to land international wide-body at that sort of altitude and that sort of length.
But nine medium-to-large aircraft can be parked, loaded, unloaded, or boarded at the airport at one time. Nine planes at one time. Nine. By
comparison, London's Heathrow can take more than 180 panes at once.
So, you're getting an idea of the size and the scale. DHL, part of Deutsche Post, has sent a disaster relief team to Nepal 48 hours after the
earthquake to help the United Nations distribute aid. DHL were the perfect company to go. They'd actually practiced with the Nepalese government
exactly this sort of rescue operation.
I spoke to Christof Ehrhart, the company's global head of corporate responsibility. Ultimately, DHL is in the business of getting packages
from A to B. That's logistics, what's needed to handle all the supplies coming into Kathmandu's airport.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTOF EHRHART, GLOBAL HEAD OF CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY, DHL: As I understand so far, most of the relief goods still are coming in in the
bellies of commercial airplanes. There's much more goods coming in in the next few days, I learned from the team which is deployed since yesterday,
in cargo airplanes.
We will see lots of goods which were asked for, there's an immediate need for them. But also other stuff just comes because people want to
help. And very often we have to repackage those things in a way that they can be brought to the people in need.
So, we have invented, to give you a concrete example, a tool which we call a speed ball. It's a package that you can attach to a helicopter that
consists of some food, some blankets, maybe a knife. Some other stuff, like pots, you need to survive as a family of four for a few days.
We can fly that into remote areas and drop it from a helicopter onto a water surface, for example, without things being destroyed. That's things
we've learned in other cases, such as in Haiti or in the Philippines, and it works very well.
[16:24:58] QUEST: A question. It's fascinating listening to you, sir, absolutely fascinating, because the critics -- the armchair critics
always say, why does it take so long to get the goods in? Why does it take so long? Why is the airport congested? Why can they not get the goods to
where people need them? So, sir, with your vast experience, what would you tell them?
EHRHART: I would say that we are in a lucky situation, that usually there is more help coming in that can be digested in a short period of
time. And when at the same time, infrastructure is broken, it's not so easy to put things within a few hours to the place where they are needed.
We have to identify the biggest needs, we have to find where infrastructure is still working. We have to make sure that things are
stored in lot sizes that fit the capacities of the vehicles which are appropriate to be used, like in a helicopter, and can you go on.
I would say with a kind of a prologue, sometimes you have to go slow in order to go fast. We go slow in the beginning, and then we're going to
go fast later on with all of the precautions being taken, all the preparatory steps being done.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: The view of the airport. Now, Mark Goldring is the chief executive of Oxfam, joins me now, live from London. Mark, the -- you have
enormous experience. Oxfam has, all the major agencies do. This is really about logistics, isn't it? Besides the money to pay for it all, it's about
logistics, nuts and bolts.
MARK GOLDRING, CEO, OXFAM GB: Yes. The public around the world are responding very generously, both to Oxfam and through other organizations.
So, as you say, while we continue the flow of money, the real issue is to get equipment into the country. But even more challenging, to get
equipment around the country.
We've got a good response going now in the Kathmandu Valley, which is where millions of people have been affected. But the real challenges is to
get to the remoter areas, the rural areas. And we're getting teams there, now, but we're not yet getting supplies in volume.
QUEST: And you've -- I don't know if you heard the head of CSR at DHL just then.
GOLDRING: Yes.
QUEST: They're obviously extremely experienced logistically at getting the airport running again. But you need helicopters and trucks and
things to then onward take the goods.
GOLDRING: You do, indeed. It is just an issue of capacity. At this stage of an emergency, you always get the reaction around the aid should be
getting out faster. But the roads are narrow, there are few of them. Many of them are damaged, and many of the most affected communities are well
back off the road.
Helicopters are really important, but they have a low carrying capacity, and there's a limited number of them. And we've seen in the
Everest rescues, what they can do is limited by both the weather and their size. So, the real challenge now is to get the roads open again, get
equipment moving on land as well as by helicopter.
QUEST: I'm sort of, in some sense, I've seen this many times from the comfort of the studio, I'll be honest about that.
GOLDRING: Yes.
QUEST: And I know, now, one of the fears that you're going to be having, of course, is that of disease, infection, and those. Is that as
much of a risk as it might be in other parts -- in other earthquakes?
GOLDRING: No. There are, of course, terrible casualties, but the casualties themselves, when they're caused through an accident like this,
don't cause disease. The real challenge is water is interrupted and sanitation is broken down.
So, at Oxfam, right across the country, we're trying to give priority to getting water and sanitation back up and running. And many other
agencies are collaborating on that.
So, the challenge is getting people food, getting people shelter, getting water and sanitation. And then in due course, supporting the
recovery. And it's getting out of the valley, so that means the roads, the communications, are all important.
But we've got to remember that Nepal had a poor infrastructure before this happened, and it had weak buildings, and they together have really
aggravated the damage. But progress is being made, and although we're going to have a couple of days of real challenge of getting stuff out of
the airport and into the villages, progress is happening.
QUEST: Mark, thank you for putting that in perspective. I appreciate it. Thank you.
GOLDRING: Thank you.
QUEST: So, the other major story that we are watching for you in detail tonight. Tensions are running high in the US city of Baltimore.
It's a violent night of demonstrations. The US president says social inequality must be tackled together. We'll explore that with a Nobel Prize
winner after the break. It's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS on Tuesday.
[16:09:53] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There's more "Quest Means Business" in a moment when we're going to hear how the U.S. president's calling for
action in inequality. And a Nobel Laureate tells me what Congress must do to end inequality.
Also you're going to hear from a climber on the side of Mt. Everest - a climber waiting for news of his friends and colleagues on the other side
of the mountain.
Before that, this is CNN and on this network the news always comes first.
Indonesia has executed eight drug smugglers, brushing aside intense international condemnation. They include the ringleaders of the so-called
Bali 9. At the last moment authorities delayed the execution of a Filipino woman who insists she was duped into carrying drugs.
A logjam at the Kathmandu Airport is preventing some critical relief flights from landing in Nepal. More than 4,600 people have been confirmed
to have died since the earthquake struck. That number is certain to rise as rescuers dig through collapsed buildings.
The U.N. says nearly a million and a half people are in need of food.
Nigerian armed forces say they've rescued 293 girls and women from the Sambisa Forest. A Nigerian military spokesman could not confirm if the
missing school girls are among the group. The official Twitter account of the country's armed forces says troops destroyed three terrorist camps.
Iran has seized a commercial cargo ship after it ignored Iranian warning shots. It happened in the Strait of Hormuz as Maersk Tigris which
is a Marshall Islands flagship that was sailing towards the Persian Gulf. The U.S. Navy says it's monitoring the situation. The Iranian media says
the country's port authority has an ongoing financial dispute with the ship's owners.
This time yesterday when you and I were together, the U.S. city of Baltimore was descending into violence and chaos and we brought you the
details and the pictures.
Today, Baltimore is a city that remains on edge. In the last few hours, this was the sort of (AUDIO GAP) protesters gathering in front of
lines of riot police. Curfews to fall in place from 10 p.m. local time and it's going to stay in place all week after violence last night.
President Obama said this is a slow-rolling crisis and it will not be fixed until America confronts its problems with urban poverty and
inequality.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: If we really want to solve the problem, if our society really wanted to solve the problem, we could. It's
just it would require everybody saying this is important, this is significant. And that we don't just pay attention to these communities
when a CVS burns.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
[16:35:13] QUEST: Now Baltimore sits in the middle of the U.S. state of Maryland. Join me at the Super Screen and you'll see what I'm talking
about. Those - the lives of those in the city are vastly different to many of those living around the rest of the state.
They have Washington, D.C., we're up here of course in New York City. But in this area of Washington D.C. District of Columbia and you've got
Maryland and you've got Virginia.
Now, nearly a quarter of Baltimore's residents live below the poverty line. And the state as a whole which includes wealthy suburbs of
Washington, D.C.
Just look at the difference - Baltimore 23.8 whereas in Maryland generally the level is under 10 percent. Now that's reflected in the
income gap. Put it into perspective - each year the average household in Maryland takes in $32,000 - more than twice of that in Baltimore --
$41,000, $73,000. Puts it into perspective.
And then when it comes to finding work, the average state unemployment rate. Take Baltimore - the average rate is 8.4 percent, in Maryland
overall, it's 5.6 percent. That 3 percentage point difference is huge when you think that unemployment has been falling in the United States. This
number is even below and far closer to the national average.
One resident told Miguel Marquez the scenes from her city could play out across the country.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What do you tell Americans who are watching Baltimore tonight? What is this city?
Female: This could have been their city. The death of killing black men in this country is going to go through this - this could have been
their city and it's going to be their city because this is a reactionary situation. People are doing things they're feeling right now.
You put - you can only put so much into a pressure cooker before it pops. And what has happened now, people are reacting about the conditions
they're under. This could have been New York, it's been Ferguson, it's going to travel.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
QUEST: `This could have been your city' - a sobering message when you look at the map. Marc Morial calls the situation in Baltimore a state of
emergency of massive proportions.
MARC MORIAL, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE AND FORMER MAYOR OF NEW ORLEANS: Hey, Richard, how you?
QUEST: Good evening to you, sir.
MORIAL: Good to see you, good.
QUEST: You are - you know who you are.
(LAUGHTER)
QUEST: The National Urban League.
MORIAL: And you're Richard Quest.
QUEST: I am. You served as the mayor of New Orleans from 1994 to 2002. When that lady says, "This could have been your city" to other
cities in the U.S., is she right?
MORIAL: She's telling the unvarnished truth. I mean, we've had 12 incidents - high-profile incidents in the last 18 months involving death or
injury to unarmed young men.
But here's the point, Richard, I saw the unemployment numbers. Here's the truth - that in 33 of the 70 largest cities in America, the black
unemployment rate exceeds 15 percent. So in inner cities, the unemployment rate, the sense of being locked out of the economic mainstream is huge.
QUEST: So - because obviously this is - we are primarily a business program here -
MORIAL: Yes.
QUEST: -- and we're putting it in that context. This is not just, if you like, a police versus young black men issue. This is - has - economic
undertones to it.
MORIAL: There's some economic undertones. And the reason why is we've had a recovery - strong private sector job creation in this country -
yet the recovery is leaving many behind. And many of those folks happen to be in inner-city urban America.
QUEST: But there's been no shortage of money spent. I'm not going to get into a political debate here, because - you know - Republican and
Democrats well obviously it's an election time coming up. But money has been spent and there are plenty of policies in place. So what's failing?
MORIAL: The scale of many of those policies is not wide enough. You take the work the Urban League does - highly successful job training
programs in 17 cities - 4,000 slots when there's probably a need for 40 to 50,000 slots.
So I think it's not a complete picture to say well we've spent money. I think there hasn't been enough investment, and when there's not
investment, you don't get the return. And the return we want is low unemployment all across the board.
QUEST: Do you worry that some of the scenes that we saw in the last 224 hours - for example, the burning of a CVS drugstore - which I think
you'd agree is criminality -
MORIAL: We all condemn it, period.
QUEST: -- it's criminality - right. But that in many ways diverts attention. Pardon the pun - it puts a smokescreen because people say
they're criminals.
MORIAL: Exactly. It diverts attention and it diverts attention away from the vast majority of peaceful, responsible protesters, diverts
attention away from the investigation in the death of Freddie Gray and diverts attention from the underlying economic challenges.
[16:40:05] QUEST: But in this election - let's go to the election then. In this election, which will be the more popular policy? A strong
conservative policy that says law and order or a liberal agenda policy that says more help for the disadvantaged.
MORIAL: So I think, Richard, --
QUEST: Well you're the answer.
MORIAL: -- we - here's what I'll tell you. What we need is policies that step away from polarization. Low unemployment, across-the-board
benefits business, benefits the economy, benefits us all. That's the issue. So when you have high levels of unemployment, it is a drag on
overall economic growth.
QUEST: Nobody would disagree with you, but middle America may prefer the long arm of the law and the hard sound of - if you like - the
handcuffs.
MORIAL: So, many parts of middle America that you might reference have also been left behind by the economic recovery. They may be working
but their wages are depressed. They may be working but they no longer have benefits.
So what you see with the economic challenges of Baltimore is the tip of the iceberg of a broader challenge. The President called it income
inequality. One might call it lack of social mobility. There are many ways to term it, but the fact is, is that we need additional economic
inducement in this country and I think it needs to be targeted at urban cities.
QUEST: We'll talk more about that, sir. Thank you very much -
MORIAL: Thanks, Richard, always.
QUEST: Thank you very much. Now, Joseph Stiglitz is the Nobel Prize- winning economist. He won the Nobel Prize for economics. Professor Stiglitz told me America's inequality problem is undeniably getting worse.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
JOSEPH STIGLITZ, NOBEL PRIZE-WINNING ECONOMIST: It is really quite striking. We used to say that inequality - the growth of it - was like
watching grass grow. But in the United States and in other countries, it's been growing very rapidly.
The top 1 percent is now getting twice the share that they got 35 years ago. The top 1/10th is getting - 1 tenth of 1 percent is getting
three to four times the share that they got before. These are the only groups that are doing well in an economy like America.
QUEST: So what policies do you advocate? And we're really talking not so much about principle, but about policies that will help redress this
balance that you would look forward to seeing from candidates in the presidential election.
STIGLITZ: Well let me first point out that this inequality is not just a matter of economic forces - inevitable forces. If we look around
the world, those economic forces - globalization, technology - are affecting all of the advanced countries in a basically similar way.
But the United States has wound up with the highest level of inequality, and among the lowest levels of equality of opportunity. And
this inequality is actually weakening our economy and undermining our democracy, dividing our society.
QUEST: But at some point -
STIGLITZ: Now, there are -
QUEST: -- well, yes, but they're going to face the polls. The electorate want to know. So what policies do you want to see?
STIGLITZ: Well there's no magic bullet, but what I would focus on are three things. First, the inequality that has been created as a result of a
large number of laws, regulations, deregulation of the financial sector, corporate governance that has allowed the top 1 percent to cease a larger
and larger share of the pie, trade laws that unfairly advantage corporations relative to ordinary workers, bankruptcy laws that, again,
favor the financial sector relative to ordinary citizens.
All these things have helped shape the distribution of income before tax and transfer. And this is an important point -- we're not just talking
about redistribution, we're talking about how our economic system works to result in a very unequal distribution of income and tax and transfer.
The second part is more - a better tax system. You know, it makes absolutely no sense to have those who speculate - say speculate on land -
pay lower taxes than those who work for a living. It's not like that tax preference is going to lead to more land -
QUEST: Right.
STIGLITZ: -- what it does do is divert resources from more productive uses.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
QUEST: Professor Joseph Stiglitz on inequality. Always good to hear Professor Stiglitz, and always good to have Paul La Monica with a -
PAUL LA MONICA, CNN MONEY DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, sir.
QUEST: Sir, U.S. markets posted some good gains - up 72 points after a little bit of a wobble in the first hour and a half or two of trading.
But, frankly, the markets are nothing compared to what happened with Twitter, where the shares were halted, they fell sharply, they then
recovered. What happened today?
LA MONICA: A huge debacle for Twitter. Only in 2015, you have to love - Twitter earnings were released early, leaked by someone on Twitter -
someone at about 3:07 p.m. putting up the numbers from the release. It looked like sales were really bad - lower than estimates.
[16:45:14] QUEST: When was it supposed to come out?
LA MONICA: Come out right after the market closed. So it was about an hour early, Twitter and the NYSE quickly halted the stock as a result.
They then released the official numbers, and the official numbers were in line with what this person put up on Twitter.
So whoever had it, it wasn't a hoax - these were legitimate numbers.
QUEST: Right. But was it - was it a fat finger released by accident from someone at Twitter or their PR agency or something? Or did somebody
hack in, do we believe, to get the numbers out?
LA MONICA: Right now all we know is that the Twitter person who put the numbers up - hashtag# - I'm sorry -- @sign Solarity Financial Market
Intelligence platform - they claim that they didn't hack or leak, they just found it on the website.
Twitter is saying that they're investigating it, but it was not a leak.
QUEST: In a word because we're tight - in a word, how were the results?
LA MONICA: The results disappointing. Sales mis-forecast, guidance lower. You have to wonder the business model - I think there are still
many questions about it even though the user growth finally above 300 million which is what a lot of people had been waiting for for a while.
QUEST: You always manage to get it just perfect. Thank you, sir.
LA MONICA: Thank you.
QUEST: When we come back, the rescue operations on Mt. Everest after that deadly avalanche. We're going to look at how important it is to
Nepal's tourism industry that Everest continues to draw in the climbers. This is "Quest Means Business."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: High-altitude rescue efforts are continuing on Mt. Everest after the avalanche which was triggered by aftershocks of Saturday's
Nepalese quake. China has now cancelled all climbs on its side of the mountain. Mt. Everest itself is the jewel of Nepal's tourism industry and
its economy.
CNN's Claire Sebastian now takes a look at the enduring appeal of the world's tallest mountain, and does so through the eyes of those who've
climbed it. And in doing so, also looks at why Nepal is so heavily dependent upon it.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
CLAIRE SEBASTIAN, CNN PRODUCER: This is how Everest Base Camp usually looks at the start of the spring climbing season.
And this is now. The gateway to the top of the world buried under piles of rock and ice. For those who've made it to the top, the tragedy is
personal.
REBECCA STEPHENS, FIRST BRITISH WOMAN TO CLIMB EVEREST: I think it's completely heartbreaking actually because I'm in this country full of
extraordinary people that I have felt very close to on the mountains.
SEBASTIAN: Rebecca Stephens was the first British woman to climb Mt. Everest in 1993. Seventeen years later, Bonita Norris followed in her
footsteps.
BONITA NORRIS, MOUNTAINEER: What made me want to go was Everest. It is obviously that thing around the world - that symbol. And I wanted to
climb Mt. Everest.
[16:50:06] SEBASTIAN: For Nepal it's much more than a symbol.
STEPHENS: Now there are a lot of Sherpas in that area that are dependent on Everest - from those who actually work on the mountain and
then all the tea houses and the small hotels and things that support trekkers as well.
So if you were to pull that away, it would be pretty devastating.
SEBASTIAN: Nepal actively markets itself as a destination for adventurers. The mountains featuring prominently in videos like this
produced by the Tourism Board.
The Tourism Ministry says 800,000 tourists visited Nepal in 2013, around 100,00 of those for mountaineering or trekking.
U.K.-based Jagged Globe runs about a dozen trips to the Nepalese mountains every year. On their latest tour they lost one of their own team
members - Google executive Dan Fredinburg.
SIMON LOWE, MANAGING DIRECTOR, JAGGED GLOBE: Emotions are running high and everyone's immensely distressed, but people who have been prepared
to face those risks before will face them again, and I'm sure people will return to Everest.
SEBASTIAN: This is the second disaster on Everest in as many years. Last year climbing season was cancelled after an avalanche killed 16
Sherpas.
NORRIS: You're helpless. You're also helpless in comparison and then when you start to think, `My God, these risks that we take.' They are - we
just don't get it. Nobody conquers Everest at all. We are very lucky to reach the summit I think.
Male Voiceover: Edmund Hillary is presented with a gold medal -
SEBASTIAN: A sentiment echoed by Edmund Hillary, the first man to reach the top. "It's not the mountain we conquer, it's ourselves," he
said. Climbers say that is the enduring appeal of Everest. Claire Sebastian, CNN London.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
QUEST: Now we're all watching the images and wondering what it is we can do to help. Well when we come back, you're going to meet the fashion
designer Prabal Gurung who is doing something about it. He's going to tell me exactly what it is he's doing. He has personal ties to the country and
he's joining me next to tell me about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: We've all been moved by the scenes of devastation and misery in Nepal. Now for the fashion designer Prabal Gurung the images are
particularly painful. Gurung grew up in Nepal and is now based here in New York.
After seeing the damage, he's launched a relief fund that's already raised more than $300 thousand online. Prabal Gurung joins me now. Sir,
good to see you. Thank you for -
PRABAL GURUNG, FASHION DESIGNER: Thank you for having me.
QUEST: First of all we need to ask and we must ask - your family - are they safe
GURUNG: Yes, they're safe and they're doing fine, as fine as anyone in this particular situation can be.
QUEST: What's your understanding at the moment of how bad it is there?
GURUNG: It is absolutely terrible. I can't even begin to tell you. You know, the more news comes by and the more - of all Mosambi (ph) and my
friends back home in Nepal and we've been via e-mail and Facebook and we've been talking and all our friends are there. And, you know, the death toll
has risen to like I think more than 4,000 dollars and expected to grow more - I mean 4,000 people, well yes.
And so, and more than that it's also now we are just getting news from Kathmandu, the city in the capital right? But it's a village - it's
completely wiped out - 90 percent of the village is completely wiped out and it is, you know, it's difficult. Infrastructure is so bad, it is
difficult to get in there and, you know -
[16:55:00] QUEST: And here you are in New York, a fashion designer which is frankly worlds-end opposite to being there. But you decided you had to
do something.
GURUNG: Yes. I just want to say this thinking however - yes, fashion seems like a completely different - the opposite part --
QUEST: Yes.
GURUNG: -- of what we - what I'm doing right now. But actually it is not. I'm part of the -- of the -- Council of Fashion Designers of America, but
they are the first one who jumped in with a $10,000 pledge to this, and they've continuously done that.
So the minute I heard the news about this earthquake, I mean, for me, you know, non-action was not an option at all. I had to do something. I would
go absolutely crazy. My friends, my family - everyone is there. So my group of friends that I went to school with in St. Xavier's School back
home in Nepal, we all - they're all over the world and some of them are in Nepal. We got together on Facebook, started a forum and started talking
what can we do?
And I said, listen, I'm going to launch this. Let's go have a foundation called Shikshya Foundation Nepal. Now it was, you know, I established for
education and now we're using that foundation to raise the money from CrowdRise.
QUEST: So you've already been involved - I mean, you've recognized the significance of the power that you have to raise money in these things.
GURUNG: You know, I did - what I realized is because of what I love to do, I have a platform. I have a platform and an audience. I don't know
whether it's 10, 15 hundred - it doesn't matter. I have an audience. And I feel anyone who has an audience, it is your duty to be able to do
something.
QUEST: You have an audience and you've now got $360,000, give or take, and it will probably go considerably more. What are you going to do with the
money or what will be done with the money? How are you going to direct I mean (ph).
GURUNG: The reason - first of all, there's - we have zero overhead and 100 percent of the profit is going to -- directly to the people. So right now
we have recognized two or three local organizations. A friend of ours was a doctor who has been - has gone through the center part of district there
which is absolutely devastated and has taken doctors there.
So we're going to do that. We'll recognize another team and another team. So we are getting feedback from everyone as to who is going to be needing
the most.
QUEST: I think the quote of the interview from you is your comment - doing nothing was not an option.
GURUNG: Yes it is and I hope the government also does something.
QUEST: Thank you, sir.
GURUNG: Yes, sir.
QUEST: This is "Quest Means Business." We'll be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Three major stories brought to you this evening on the program and we will continue to follow them in the hours ahead. And that's "Quest
Means Business" for tonight. I'm Richard Quest in New York. I'll see you tomorrow.
END