Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Trump Tangles With Chief Justice Of The U.S.; U.S. & Iran Trade Blows As Relations Worsen; Rain Falling In Areas Impacted By Camp Fire; Celebrity Chefs Serving Meals To Fire Victims, First Responders; Afghan Drought Forces Families To Sell Children; Nissan Board To Decide On Sacking Chairman. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired November 22, 2018 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00] JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Plus, the virtual classroom now bringing an education and hope to the Rohingya children in the sprawling camps of Bangladesh. Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. Great to have you with us for another hour. I'm John Vause and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
In an extraordinary back and forth, Donald Trump and the Chief Justice of the United States are in a war of words about judicial independence. The President was publicly rebuked by the justice after complaining about so-called Obama judges. This all began on Tuesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, you go to the ninth circuit and it is a disgrace and I'm going to put in a major complaint. This was an Obama judge. And I'll tell you what. It is not going to happen like this anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Chief Justice John Roberts responded to a press inquiry on Wednesday. We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges, what we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them. That independent judiciary is something we should be thankful for.
That brought this response from President Trump. Sorry Chief Justice John Roberts you do have Obama judges, and they have much different point of view than the people who are charged with the safety of our country. Please study the numbers. They're shocking.
Growing tension between Tehran and Washington. A commander with Iran's revolutionary guard has warned that the U.S. bases in Afghanistan, the UAE, and Qatar, and U.S. aircraft carriers in the Gulf are in range with Iranian missiles. The head of the Guard's airspace division was quoted in saying, they are within our reach and we can hit them, if they, as in the Americans make a move.
Just a day earlier, the U.S. President accused Iran of being a major threat to Middle East stability as well as American citizens with the track record far worse than any crime which may have been committed by Saudi Arabia. Part of a rambling justification by Donald Trump to ignore a CIA report which concluded the Saudi Crown Prince had ordered the brutal murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Iran's foreign minister seems to troll the U.S. President on Twitter posting this. Mr. Trump bizarrely devote the first paragraph of his shameful statement on Saudi atrocities to accuses Iran of every sort of malfeasance he can think of. Perhaps we're also responsible for the California fires because we didn't help rake the forest. Just like the Finns do.
Relations between Tehran and the U.S. went from bad to horrendous in May this year when President Trump withdrew from the Iran Nuclear Deal and tough economic sanctions were re-imposed in the Islamic republic. Well, for now on this, CNN Global Affairs Analyst and Executive Editor of the New Yorker Web site David Rohde is with us from New York. David, thanks for taking the time.
DAVID ROHDE, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Thank you.
VAUSE: Back in July, The U.S. President -- excuse me -- tweeted this. to Iranian President Rouhani, never ever threaten the United States again or you will suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before. We are no longer a country that will stand for your demented words of violence and death. Be cautious.
OK, so does this threat from Iran about U.S. bases and aircraft carriers being within range of their missiles, does that rise to this level of consequence you've ever seen before? How serious is this claim coming from the revolutionary guard?
ROHDE: To be frank, it's not clear to me. It's not new. The Iranians have made this kind of threat before. What's not clear to me is what is the definition of what you know, President Trump considers a serious threat. You know, he's talked this way about striking North Korea, he's looked at you know, military options for invading Venezuela but he hasn't taken military action. So I don't -- I don't know frankly what that line is. And there's a danger, you know, that's -- if you make these threats, as the President of the United States, but you don't follow up on them, that can lead your enemies to not -- to not fear the threats.
VAUSE: Yes, which seems maybe the reason why you get the statement from the Iranian foreign minister mocking the President and sort of trolling them in Twitter. It seems Iran has also been emboldened because of the support they're receiving from Europe over the Nuclear Deal. Here's part of the report from Reuters. Iran on Wednesday praised European efforts to maintain business with Tehran despite U.S. sanctions, citing constructive meeting with British and French officials in Tehran this week on setting up a way to conduct non- dollar trade.
This is referring to the negotiations for the special purpose vehicle basically in trading mechanisms for European countries to avoid those secondary U.S. sanctions if they do business with Tehran. It's a sign of just how isolated the U.S. is now when it comes to dealing with Tehran.
ROHDE: Yes, and you know, there were these new sanctions announced but there are waivers the U.S. had to issue immediately for some of the largest purchasers of Iranian oil, primarily China. And so, right now, the sort of you know, very tough sanctions that the White House has talked about have not had a major you know, impact in terms of decreasing Iran's oil exports. I do think the sanctions could hurt over time but right now you know, the Iranians and the Europeans together are essentially floating the Trump administration and you know, saying they won't be intimidated by President Trump's rhetoric.
[01:05:23] VAUSE: Which also leave the U.S. with the Saudis and Donald Trump on Wednesday had some very kind words once again for the Saudis. Oil price is getting lower. Great! Like a big tax cut for America and the world. Enjoy! $54.00 was just $82.00. Thank you to Saudi Arabia, but let's go lower.
The only problem with that statements is that the President is completely wrong. The Saudis actually slash production earlier this month to try and drive up the price of oil. And you mentioned this. The only reason for you kn0w, the big decline in the price is because those buyers, those big buyers of Iranian oil received those exemptions for from the U.S. -- from sanctions. So you know, firstly, is Donald Trump eager to that or was he deliberately trying to mislead here?
ROHDE: I would say he's deliberately trying to mislead. I can't get into the you know, the President's head but he's -- I think he's trying to defend -- you know, defend an awkward political position the United States where he is giving Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approval for a stank sanctioned murder of Jamal Khashoggi, of a journalist. And that is not popular in the United States. It's not popular with Republicans in Congress. You know, it's very unprecedented to have you know -- you know, an American President say murder does not matter.
VAUSE: (INAUDIBLE) sort of the Europeans in the Iranians on one side, the Americans and the Saudis on the other, I mean just how effective of an ally is Saudi Arabia when it comes to trying to contain Iran?
ROHDE: So you know, the Trump administration and the President have built you know, their Middle East policy around Saudi Arabia of being an effective ally. They expect Saudi Arabia to deliver and back you know, a Middle East peace deal potentially between the Israelis and Palestinians. They expect the Saudis to you know, intimidate Iran and to somehow check them in the region, and they expect the Saudis would be an effective ally to counter Isis. If you look at the war in Yemen, the most you know significant military effort the Saudis have led, that has been a complete disaster.
So this reliance on the Saudis, this belief in the Trump White House that the magic you know, solution to so many challenges in the Middle East is Saudi Arabia, I find that very hard to believe. But that is the strategy and the reason you know, that they are giving MBS the passes. First of all, oil the U.S. needs that oil, the world economy needs that oil. And second, this is a choice of the Trump administration to be so utterly reliant on Saudi Arabia in the Middle East and I'm not sure that reliance on Saudi Arabia is going to work.
VAUSE: OK, David, we'll leave it there. We're out of time but thank you so much. It does seem to be one of those strategies which seems to be maybe misplaced at best. Thank you.
ROHDE: Thank you very much.
VAUSE: The U.K. government is warning of serious diplomatic consequences after a British student was sentenced to life in prison accused of spying in the United Arab Emirates. The family of 31-year- old Matthew Hedges says he had no legal representation and was forced to sign a confession written in Arabic, a language he neither speaks nor reads. Hedges was held in solitary confinement for six months adding to the anger of the British government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THERESA MAY, PRIME MINISTER, U.K.: We are of course as he is deeply disappointed and concerned at today's verdict. And I realize how difficult and distressing this is both for Matthew Hedges but for also for his family. We will continue to do all we can to support them as they considered next steps and we will continue to press this matter at the highest level with the Emiratis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Hedges has the right to appeal for a retrial under Emirati law. To northern California now, heavy rains are expected through Friday, and for nearly one million people in towns and communities which have been left decimated by the so-called Camp Fire, the bad weather is bringing fears of flash floods and mudslides. CNN's Nick Watt reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Some are ignoring the warning to leave hunkering down others like Linda Baker and her granddaughter Cami moving out to stay with family.
So you two are up to Arizona then.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, but I don't know how we're going to get there yet. We're not sure yet.
WATT: This fire started nearly two weeks ago, now also taking a toll on firefighters, physically --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been out there for 24, 36, 48 hours so you really don't get that opportunity to clean out your lungs a lot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of our lungs are hurt. Almost every single one of us comment about how their lungs hurt.
WATT: -- and emotionally.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just want to thank everyone not just the firefighters but all the civilians who helped out throughout the entire process.
[01:10:04] WATT: And the financial cost, well, CalFire was allocated $443 million by the state to fight wildfires for the year starting July 1st and burned through nearly all that budget in just two and a half months, fighting summer fires like the gigantic Car Fire which burned nearly 360 square miles and destroyed more than a thousand homes. So the state gave CalFire an extra $243 million. That extra money also now near running out and it's supposed to last another seven months.
So far, fighting the Wolsey fire and the Camp Fire, the most destructive and deadly in the state's history has cost $130 million and it's still smoking.
The issue is going to be the intensity of the rain. If within any one hour period we get about a half inch of rain and forecasters tell me that is very possible, that is when we could see debris slides and mudslides triggered. And that is what everyone here is afraid of. Nick Watt, CNN Chico, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The very latest on the weather forecast, Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins us now. OK, so we've been looking at this rain. We've been told for a couple days now that it's going to be heavy. How is it looking now?
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, it's like a catch-22, John. You know, on one hand, we do want the rain but with it comes a whole slew of problems including mudslides, debris flow. We've talked about that for several days now and it looks like this potential is increasing. Look at this image coming out of Paradise, California. The rain has arrived in this area and so have the threats. There it is. We have flash flood watches and warnings in effect for much of Northern California including the Butte County region. We also read a report that some of these flood potentials are also complicating the forensic efforts across the paradise region with the recent fires.
Now so many areas are susceptible to mudslides considering that there's a lot of steep terrain in the region including in Ventura and Los Angeles County in the southern sections of the state. Locations downhill from the burn areas are most susceptible so a lot of people living in the valleys and it only takes about 13 millimeters of rain in an hour or less to cause this flash flooding and there is several years after the burn event that flash flooding and mudslides can occur. So this is not an out problem but it lasts only or it'll last continually over the next couple of years as more and more storm systems move in for the winter.
Here's the first set of winter weather. Pacific moisture streaming in off the ocean. There's Butte County and you can see Paradise in the middle, that has seen rainfall. How much have we experienced already? Well, fortunately over 30 millimeters of rain has settled into the area for Butte County, Eureka, and the Humboldt County region over 30 millimeters. The rain has fallen even further south into San Francisco and Sacramento as well. But guess what, there's more rain in the forecast. You can see we have an additional over the next five days an additional 50 millimeters of rainfall so we're clearly putting ourselves in this mudslide and debris flow risk over the next several days.
The good news out of all this, John, is that we're going to build up our winter snowpack across the Sierra Nevada mountain range which is crucial as we head back into summer months next year when we start to melt the snowpack and bring us fresh water to fill up the reservoirs.
VAUSE: It's just a cruel twist after such a long drought and such an awful fire when the rain comes it has this potential to do so much harm and damage. Derek, thank you.
VAN DAM: All right.
VAUSE: And it will be a bittersweet Thanksgiving on Thursday in California. Those wildfires have claimed more than 80 lives, hundreds remain missing, more than 13,000 homes destroyed and hundreds of thousands have been evacuated, many living in emergency shelters, most facing an uncertain future. But at least for some survivors, there will be a hot meal turkey and all the trimmings. The World Central Kitchen founded by the renowned Chef Jose Andres and supported by a small army of volunteers plans to serve up 15,000 meals, four shifts, three locations.
Among those bringing a little Thanksgiving Day joy is Tyler Florence with the Food Network. He joins us now from Chico, California. Tyler, thanks for taking the time to speak with us.
TYLER FLORENCE, CHEF, FOOD NETWORK: John, thanks so much. Good to see you. How are you?
VAUSE: I'm good. I'm good. And thank you for what you're doing. But you know, let me just say this. This seems to me to be a lot more about -- a lot more than just about a hot meal. This sends a message to the survivors you're not alone, you're not forgotten, we're with you. You know, these meals come with a great big site serving of care.
[01:14:49] FLORENCE: John, thank you so much for bringing that up. I think it's very important especially when natural disasters happen like this that there are people that swarm around those that have been affected and are suffering so much loss to let them know they're not alone. And there are people in the community that really care about them. And it's amazing what a warm meal will do to someone who's at -- you know, just going through so much personal drama right now.
So, it's amazing, tomorrow we're at -- we're at Chico University, and -- Chico State University. And we're going to be feeding 15,000 people here tomorrow. Four different chefs, also four or five different centers around the area.
We're taking care of the American Red Cross, the Boys and Girls Club tomorrow, and also the Butte County Fairgrounds that are -- that are right now housing hundreds of animals that were -- you know, evacuees themselves. Horses, and llamas, and goats, and -- because it's a fairly -- you know, rural farm area here in Northern California.
But it's going to be amazing, we have hundreds and hundreds of volunteers, including my love, with daughter here, Dorothy. That got a chance to come up from San Francisco. And we're super excited about this.
Guy Fieri is here. Jose Andres is coming in tonight. And tomorrow, we're going to be putting together an amazing feast for a lot of people who really deserve it.
VAUSE: And good on your Dorothy for helping out, as well. You know, the former California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, he tweeted this out, "I'm taking over your kitchen, Chef Jose Andres. Thank you for all you're doing for the victims of our fires and the first responders."
Like Governor Schwarzenegger, you're a Californian, as well. There are a lot of Californians who are chipping in, this is literally. Thousands of people volunteering in their own community and coming together in what? Little more than a week since this idea came up?
FLORENCE: This is what I love about World Central Kitchen is how nimble they are. It's a lean agency, I would even say it's relatively scrappy. But how fast they can get into a community that's been affected by a national disaster, reach out and organize, food distribution. And to be able to kind of get hot food where it needs to be as fast as possible.
The fire happened a week ago, tomorrow. And by Sunday, last week, they were on the ground and serving a thousand meals with less than -- you know, 72 hours. So, it's pretty amazing how fast they can mobilize and get the community together, and just to support.
VAUSE: With that in mind, how difficult will Thanksgiving be? Especially, for those who survived the fire, but may have lost a relative, or a friend. That person could be among the missing, perhaps their home was destroyed. It seems this will be a day with a lot of really tough emotions for a lot of people.
FLORENCE: There's a lot of emotions that are happening now in the Chico community. We've been here on the ground, myself, my staff for a week now. And we been serving 7,000 meals a day, 8,000 meals a day, dropping off to different centers that FEMA set up, the American Red Cross has set up, and the Boys and Girls Club. And you get a chance to kind of walk around and talk to people. And it's like -- it's like live PTSD.
They don't really even understand what just happened because of how fast the fire had just ravaged the community of Paradise. And now, they're on a whole new reality. And they don't even really understand what that means.
Information is hard to get around. Accurate information is hard to get around. When you can go back. There's a lot of people that are living in parking lots with start to rain fairly heavily today. So, we're going to make sure that these people get inside. But it's a -- it's a pretty heavy disaster that happened on our community, and it's going to be really, really sad. But I think -- you know, one step at a time, one day at a time, if we -- if there's anything that we learned from the 2017 Wine Country Fires, a little closer to where I live in San Francisco, is that -- you know, you really have to count your blessings, like you're alive, right?
VAUSE: Yes.
FLORENCE: That's the most important thing. Like you have -- whatever you have on you, it may be just like the clothes you have on your back, but some to start. And the community in California, we will make sure that everybody here has a -- has a voice to be heard, has an opportunity to kind of get themselves back as fast as possible and a community around them to support them for sure.
VAUSE: Yes. Well, Tyler, to you and your daughter Dorothy, there, as well. And I guess to the thousands of volunteers that turned out to make this happen, thank you and happy Thanksgiving.
FLORENCE: All right. Thanks so much. You want everybody happy Thanksgiving?
DOROTHY FLORENCE, DAUGHTER OF TYLER FLORENCE: Happy Thanksgiving!
VAUSE: Thanks, guys.
A record drought in Afghanistan is forcing some parents to do the unthinkable. Sell their children to feed the family. Nick Paton Walsh, has this exclusive report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's not record violence. The Taliban control of territory they're fleeing. Not ISIS, or unparalleled airstrikes by the coalition that has finally forced them from their homes. They're instead, running from drought.
A record dry spell, forcing more families in Afghanistan from their homes this year than the war has. And as if Afghanistan hadn't already broken all superlatives for its misery, this is what it's driving them too.
Meet Mamareen, and his 6-year-old daughter, Akila. You'd think a tiny family united under plastic sheeting. But desperation means it hasn't turned out that way. Mamareen have sold Akila for $3,000 to this man, Najmuddin, who will give her to his 10-year-old son, Sher Agha. Listen to how they got here. Mamareen, first.
"I fled my village," she says, "with my three children because of severe drought. I came here thinking I will receive some assistance, but I got nothing. To avoid starvation among my children, I gave my daughter to a man for about $3,000, but I've only got $70 so far.
I had no money, no food, and no breadwinner. My husband was killed. She doesn't know that I sold her. How could she know? She's a child. But I had no other choice."
"What if Akila tries to run?" We ask. "Whether in tears or laughter," she says, "Akila will have to go. Who would sell a piece of her heart, unless they really have to."
Akila's buyer, Najmuddin, thinks buying a 6-year-old girl is an act of charity.
"Her family don't have anything to eat," he says. "They were hungry. I know, I'm also poor, but I'm sure I can pay it off slowly, in two or three years." The cameraman asks, "But aren't they children?"
"It doesn't matter," he says. These things happen here. Even an old man marries a younger girl. It happens." Najmuddin also fled the drought. The U.N. says, it has put 275,000 people on a move this year, about half from around the area of Badghis.
"The wheat, crop, has failed us," he says. "We couldn't grow melons. All the other crops failed because of the drought. We lost our livestock, the sheep, cows, and goats, all died of hunger as there wasn't any fodder for them."
Around the camp, we hear this kind of horrific story repeated. Here, this man sold his 4-year-old daughter to a 20-year-old man to settle a debt. It is a world of survival and unimaginable choices, where families must betray each other just to live.
And winter is ahead, promising to be colder as arid, and hungrier, too. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:22:26] VAUSE: His time as chairman of auto giant, Nissan, may soon be coming to an end. But that might be the least of Carlos Ghosn's problems to once all-powerful auto boss is being held to that Tokyo detention center, accused of financial misconduct. The very latest and live report when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:25:17] VAUSE: Carlos Ghosn future as chairman of Nissan will soon be decided by a boardroom vote. Right now, he's in a detention center in Tokyo accused of financial misconduct, including underreporting his compensation and misusing company assets.
Nissan has been investigating, going for months after a tip-off from a whistleblower. CNN's Senior International Correspondent Ivan Watson, following all of this from Hong Kong. Ivan, Ghosn is being held, but he actually hasn't been formally charged at this point. Even though, it does seem like his time as chairman at Nissan is likely to come to an end. So, how is this all expected to play out in the coming hours?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We don't really know. We'll just have to wait until we hear a statement from Nissan itself, about the future -- the career future of this former titan of the automobile industry who's had a very dramatic fall from grace now since his arrest on Monday.
We know that he stands accused of misrepresenting his earnings over a five-year period ending in 2015. Accused of underreporting some $44 million. The equivalent of that was the earnings during that time. He's accused of misappropriating company funds, as well.
As of now, he's still, technically is chairman of these three automobile companies. Renault, Nissan, and Mitsubishi, which have an alliance, which have this complicated network of shared, of stocks, and stakes in each other's companies.
But what we are expecting is that as a result of this board meeting that's taking place in Tokyo, that likely Ghosn will be stripped of his chairman position over Nissan.
We are hearing that Mitsubishi is investigating, conducting an internal investigation of Ghosn, as well. And that their moves to strip him of that post there.
We know that Renault has appointed an acting CEO. That was another position that Ghosn had at that company. And we know that the French finance minister has argued that Ghosn cannot continue running that company given the charges that he is now facing. But he has not been formally stripped of his position there just yet.
And we're still waiting to learn from the Japanese prosecutors about the extent of the potential charges he's facing. We're still waiting for them to file formal charges against him.
We have learned from the French embassy in Tokyo, John, that the French ambassador visited Ghosn on Tuesday. We haven't gotten a chance to hear from any defense attorneys hearing his response to any of these accusations against him yet. John?
VAUSE: And he is not only senior executive facing these accusations of financial misconduct. Ivan, we'll -- again, check in with you again in the coming hours to find out what's going on. Appreciate it.
Well, he left everything behind fleeing Myanmar, including any chance of an education for their children. But after the break, technology, determination, and some out of the box thinking is bringing the classroom to the refugee camps, and giving hope to Rohingya children.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:30:49] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody.
I'm John Vause with an update of the top stories this hour.
Donald Trump firing back after a rare public rebuke from the Chief Justice of the United States. John Roberts defended the judiciary and pushed back against the President's criticism from what he called Obama judges. Trump says rulings against him are making the country unsafe.
The U.K. government warning of serious diplomatic consequences after a British student was sentenced to life in prison, accused of spying in the United Arab Emirates. The family of Matthew Hedges says he had no lawyer at the hearing and was forced to sign a confession in Arabic, a language he does not speak or read. Under U.A.E. Hedges still has a right to appeal for a retrial.
The British Prime Minister will return to Brussels Saturday for continued negotiations to finalize the draft Brexit agreement. Spain is threatening to veto the draft unless issues over Gibraltar are handled separately. Meantime, the Irish parliament approved the deal in what was a symbolic vote.
A plan to send hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar has been put on hold because not one person was willing to voluntarily leave the safety of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. That's where they fled last year during a crackdown by Myanmar's military which the U.N. described as a textbook case of genocide.
The refugee camps are not without problems. Authorities in Bangladesh restrict access to basic services including education raising fears of a generation of Rohingya children which could be lost.
But maybe not now. In recent months, activist Rajiv Uttamchandani traveled to Cox's Bazar twice with a plan to build virtual classrooms which are now up and running.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I see everyone and I look at everyone as virtually new scientists. All of you guys, have the potential to be scientists or engineers or great personalities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And the founder of HER, the Humanity Education and Rights Academy Rajiv Uttamchandani is with us right now. Good to have you back.
RAJIV UTTAMCHANDANI, FOUNDER, HUMANITY EDUCATION & RIGHTS ACADEMY: Good to see you -- John.
VAUSE: We last spoke -- what -- July? I think.
UTTAMCHANDANI: It was July 9th.
VAUSE: In Los Angeles. Yes.
Back then, you were about to head off to the refugee camps. The plan was to set up these virtual classrooms, put up a satellite, use the Internet. If the teachers couldn't go to the classroom you basically sort of beam them in via satellite.
UTTAMCHANDANI: Right.
VAUSE: Didn't go according to plan as things often --
UTTAMCHANDANI: Not quite. VAUSE: -- do in Bangladesh.
UTTAMCHANDANI: Right.
VAUSE: So you came up with Plan B --
UTTAMCHANDANI: Indeed.
VAUSE: -- which seems, you know, even better. So what happened and what is Plan B?
UTTAMCHANDANI: So we were trying to get the permission to install our satellite dish in the camp itself to host these live virtual classes.
We could not get the permission for various reasons, so we decided to go to Plan B which was that we'd deliver these classes asynchronously. We prerecord all of our lessons. We upload in a shared Google drive and a colleague of mine, who lives in Cox's Bazar, then downloads those classes on a weekly basis, brings them to the camps and they have their lessons for the whole week.
VAUSE: This worked actually better.
UTTAMCHANDANI: This worked out to be better in fact.
VAUSE: Why?
UTTAMCHANDANI: Because when you teach these classes, they're fairly complex. Whether it be English, science, engineering which is what we're offering now. So the translator has full pace -- full control over the pace of the classes, to play and pause our videos whenever he wants to.
And it works out so much better that way. We don't have to worry about time difference. We don't have to worry about continuity. We just go.
VAUSE: Kids go their own speed.
UTTAMCHANDANI: Exactly.
VAUSE: Let's take a look at one of your recruits. The teacher, I think an teacher, he's in Siberia.
UTTAMCHANDANI: Yes.
VAUSE: This guys is actually teaching these kids, he's giving these lessons and he's in Siberia.
UTTAMCHANDANI: From Novosibirsk in Siberia. Yes, indeed.
VAUSE: That's incredible. I mean, so obviously you need more teachers though.
UTTAMCHANDANI: Yes, we do.
VAUSE: OK. So from anywhere?
UTTAMCHANDANI: Exactly. Anywhere in the world, for all kinds of academic disciplines. Again, the goal is to provide quality and full secondary school education to these children.
VAUSE: Ok. So a couple of kids, I want to listen to them, because they've actually taken the English class there in the camp.
UTTAMCHANDANI: Right.
VAUSE: Here we are. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE ROHINGYA REFUGEE (through translator): We have learned English today. We have learned five things to become a scientist. We have learned very well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE ROHINGYA REFUGEE (through translator): We need some more good picture and video lessons. If we get an English class we will be able to understand talking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Ok. So this has been going -- what -- a couple of weeks?
UTTAMCHANDANI: Yes. A couple of weeks, exactly.
[01:35:02] VAUSE: How are the kids progressing. How are they receiving all of this?
UTTAMCHANDANI: Oh, they love it. I think -- I built a relationship with them, you know, over the past couple of months since I visited.
VAUSE: Yes.
UTTAMCHANDANI: So for them to see me once again over there and not only myself but other colleagues of mine from other parts of the world who look completely different from they do. And for them to see that there are people who care about them.
We went in there. We gave them a promise that we would hold their hands, provide them with quality education. And come what may, we deliver that and the kids are really progressing very well. I'm very proud of that.
VAUSE: Because there were sort of classrooms before but they're kind of informal. They weren't really structured.
UTTAMCHANDANI: Right.
VAUSE: And the Bangladeshi government doesn't want these kids going to the education system because they don't want these refugees to become permanent residents of Bangladesh. Is that right. So that's why they're restricting the access to services.
UTTAMCHANDANI: Right, exactly.
And most of the learning over there is primary school education. So you have kids that are 13, 14, 15 years old who have nothing that satisfies their hunger for learning. That's the void that we wanted to fill.
VAUSE: And you know, these kids really wanted to learn.
UTTAMCHANDANI: They do. Very much so. They're hungry for that. They're thirsty for that.
VAUSE: Ok. What you have done in the last -- it's taken a while but, you know --
UTTAMCHANDANI: It's taken a while.
VAUSE: -- it sort of all came together in the last couple of weeks. You managed to start up two learning centers, basically catering to what -- 300 kids. They're equipped with electric fans, laptops, LED televisions with microphones and speakers.
And not only (INAUDIBLE) which is kind of really cool, it's fully powered by these solar panels which you guys have installed. I mean these are kids who didn't get much of an education when they were in Myanmar before because of, you know, the policies of the Myanmar government.
And now they're looking at these classrooms which must be something completely and totally new to them. But what is the reaction been just to the equipment and everything which is being decked out?
UTTAMCHANDANI: I mean they were surprised. And I've got to mention my partners (INAUDIBLE) Foundation. So they helped set up the groundwork for this and we really helped reinforced the structure of the classroom and really bring in the technology over there. So kudos to them for just the excellent job.
The kids once they've seen the TV screens, we show them all kinds of videos, pictures -- you know, I teach astronomy to them so I show them pictures of the cosmos. They've never seen anything like this before.
So I think for them to have been traumatized as much as they have and lost everything, but realized that in a way, in terms of education that they're receiving better education in these learning centers than they were back home. And that's a significant accomplishment and they really realize that.
VAUSE: Ok. At the moment, what are the classes and where do you want these classes to eventually grow to? What are you looking at?
UTTAMCHANDANI: So we're offering science, engineering, critical thinking, leadership and English, of course -- English-speaking skills (ph).
So we want to offer more courses. And we want to eventually once we finish this pilot program, we should be in the next three to four months then offer that, not only in other parts of the refugee camps in Kutupalong but other refugee camps around the world as well.
VAUSE: That's a great idea. Very quickly, there's been a lot of concern about this repatriation plan.
UTTAMCHANDANI: Yes.
VAUSE: It's now seriously on hold because no one wants to go back to Myanmar.
UTTAMCHANDANI: Right.
VAUSE: How confident are you that it is really on hold or at the very least, no one will be forced to go back to Myanmar who doesn't want to go?
UTTAMCHANDANI: So I've spoken with my colleagues, both in government and in military in Bangladesh and they've assured me at least that despite the fact that they will likely continue this process of trying to repatriate the Rohingya back to Myanmar.
That they will never do so unless anyone wants to go, which is a powerful statement that they made. Of course, they probably can't make that statement officially.
VAUSE: Yes.
UTTAMCHANDANI: But I trust them in that respect.
VAUSE: Which is very different than what we're seeing -- I mean just here in the United States where people --
UTTAMCHANDANI: Yes. It's very different. Because -- and that's the respect that I have for the Bangladesh government. Because it's overwhelming to handle 1.3 million additional people as opposed to here where we're freaking out about 6,000 or 7,000 and sending people back without even any concern about where they come from.
VAUSE: 1.3 million people from one of the poorest countries in the world.
UTTAMCHANDANI: Exactly. Put that into perspective, right?
VAUSE: Rajiv -- thank you. Well done.
UTTAMCHANDANI: Thank you so much -- John.
VAUSE: Congratulations.
UTTAMCHANDANI: Thank you -- sir. Thank you.
VAUSE: After the break, preparing for a race war. And exclusive CNN investigation has revealed how Donald Trump's words are fueling fears of a looming white apocalypse among South Africa's ultra-right.
[01:39:09] (COMMERCIAL BREAK) VAUSE: For better or worse, when an American president speaks, his words are heard around the world. And now a CNN investigation has found Donald Trump's words have had a disturbing impact in South Africa, stoking fears among ultra-right groups of a looming white apocalypse fueling racism and hate.
David McKenzie has this exclusive report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID MCKENZIE: The Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia -- even in its bloody aftermath, a young woman killed by a neo-Nazi -- President Trump refused to pick sides.
Donald Trump, President of the United States: What about the alt- left, they came charging at the -- as you say the alt-right. Do they have any semblance of guilt?
MCKENZIE: Facing mounting criticism, the President would eventually condemn hate groups but not before his initial comments were echoed by white supremacists globally.
SIMON ROCHE, SUIDLANDERS OF SOUTH AFRICA: How these people, these right-wingers in the U.S.A. restrain themselves in the face of such antagonism I really don't know.
MCKENZIE: That's an audio message from a South African sent from Charlottesville back home to his followers. This photo places Simon Roche at the scene. Surrounded by Nazi flags, he's in the corner wearing a hard hat.
ROCHE: The time is now for you, white men, to arise.
MCKENZIE: And he took to the alt-right media for support.
ROCHE: Help us to continue to fight the good fight.
MCKENZIE: A constant theme.
ROCHE: We represent the white people of South Africa who are presently being told that they can expect to see a genocide.
MCKENZIE: For Roche and his group, the Suidlanders, the warning is more than just rhetoric. On a remote farm in South Africa, they are preparing for an all-out race war.
What does it feel like for you to have your family here hiding in the bushes?
ROCHE: If this was a real world situation, (INAUDIBLE) would be very disturbing. But if you're prepared for it, it is not that bad.
MCKENZIE: It is a drill, of course. Here catsup replaces real blood.
But make no mistake, Roche is deadly serious about his founders doomsday prophecy. ROCHE: There is a pervasive sense among certain sectors of
historically white societies that those societies are being diluted on other people's turf.
But see, when you use a term like "diluted", I think Nazism. I think eugenics. I think all of these horrible things from the past. Why being diluted a problem.
That's neurotic. The societies are in democratic terms being diluted.
We are a preparing for a storm.
Like the canary in the coal mine of the same anxieties and distresses that are being experienced in western Europe and in the U.S.
MCKENZIE: So a lot of oxygen comes from support in the U.S.
ROCHE: Yes, terrific oxygen.
MCKENZIE: Oxygen in the form of an inaccurate tweet from the U.S. president.
[01:44:57] There it was, a tweet from left field. "I've asked Secretary of State Pompeo to closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations and the large scale killing of farmers."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not really, you know, at the end of the day about any kinds of facts or data. Once Trump put out that tweet, attention was draw to this theory of white and South African farmers under attacked and being genocided (ph) in a way that had never happened before.
MCKENZIE: A South African myth connecting white supremacist worldwide in videos, in chat rooms, on far right Web sites and increasingly in the mainstream.
David McKenzie, CNN -- near Welkom, South Africa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: When we come back, the outrage machine never rests as actress Sarah Michelle Gellar found out, some people are just looking for an excuse to be angry.
Also ahead, movies and pop culture classics and the studio that made them has been in business for more than 100 years. We'll go inside Universal Pictures in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: It's the world's fourth oldest movie studio, an American icon. Since 1912, Universal Pictures has been making some of the most memorable films of all time. "Jurassic Park", "Jaws", "Back to the Future".
Cyril Vanier now shows us how this company has earned a place in the 100 club.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Movies can touch the outer reaches of space, revive a distant past, and take us on a journey back in the future all in less than two hours.
CHRISTOPHER LLOYD, ACTOR: Where we're going we don't need roads.
JEFF PIRTLE, DIRECTOR OF ARCHIVES, NBCUNIVERSAL: This is the iconic courthouse square which has been on Universal's back lot since 1948. Right up here is the clock tower where Doc Brown was able to catch the lightning bolt to energize the DeLorean, going right down the street to send it back to the future.
VANIER: In 1912, Universal began making films, churning out an average of one a week. But it wasn't until 1931 with the debut of "Dracula" when Universal made its mark.
BELA LUGOSI, ACTOR: My blood now flows through here veins.
PIRTLE: It's a little known fact that Dracula was actually marketed as a romance, back in 1931. So you can see one of the marketing tips here is to ask the audience this question-- what is a Dracula's kiss?
VANIER: The horror film genre may have scared audiences but they saved Universal during the darkest days of the depression. In recent times, franchises have proven to be fan favorites and final juggernauts. "Fast and Furious", "Despicable Me", and the granddaddy of them all, "Jurassic Park".
In 2011, the company was bought by Comcast and 2017 was Universal's most profitable year in history, taking in $1.28 billion dollars in earnings.
RON MEYER, UNIVERSAL STUDIOS: It's an incredible group of people that really run and work in this company. And it's the reason this company has survived for 100-plus years. And I believe we'll survive hopefully for another 100 years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: And Cyril Vanier will host the half-hour special featuring the stories of all five global brands in this year's "100 CLUB". That's Saturday at 2:30 a.m. on the U.S. East Coast, 7:30 in the morning in London, 3:30 in the afternoon in Hong Kong.
[01:49:59] So now here's proof that on social media, you could offend at least some of the people all the time as actress Sarah Michelle Gellar of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" fame found out.
And here's the crime -- posting these photos from a 2007 modeling shoot with the caption, "I'm just going to pin these up all over my house as a reminder not to overeat on Thursday. #thanksgivingprep."
Cue the outrage. It wasn't long before the deeply offended were sounding off with remarks like this. "Your caption is problematic. I suggest you should research on eating disorders, the mental health issues that go along with them, how diet culture is harmful to women. Girls look up to you and you should be mindful of the message you're sending."
Or like this, "Just FYI, the holidays are one of the hardest times for those struggling with eating disorders and body image issues. You're definitely not helping."
Even though most of the comments on her Instagram account were positive, Gellar issued a groveling apology anyway. "It came to my attention that some people think I was fat shaming with this post. That could not be further from my intentions. I love Thanksgiving. And unfortunately, my eyes are often bigger than my stomach and I tend to eat so much I make myself sick. This is a joking reminder to myself not to do that. I'm terribly sorry that people were offended by my attempt at humor. Anyone that knows me know I would never intentionally shame anyone on any basis. I'm a champion of all people."
This is just the latest example of online outrage forcing a high- profile apology for what seems to be a harmless, innocent statement.
Last month, astronaut Scott Kelly, brother-in-law to Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was forced to apologize for this highly-offensive tweet. "One of the greatest leaders of modern times, Sir Winston Churchill said, 'In victory, magnanimity.' I guess those days are over."
The trolls on Twitter went nuts. They went after Kelly for quoting a war-time leader who they consider to be a racist and say he's partly to blame for a famine in India which killed millions.
And Kelly was quick to apologize. "Did not mean to offend by quoting Churchill. My apologies. I'll go and educate myself further on his atrocities, racist views which I do not support. My point was we need to come together as one nation. We're all Americans. That should transcend partisan politics.
But then fans of Churchill were left outraged. "Scott Kelly, please read a good biography of Churchill before making pronouncements on his atrocities and racist views. He committed no atrocities and his views on race 100 years ago cannot be judged by today's standards." Which just proves the point.
Someone somewhere will always find a reason to be outraged about something. Just like they were in an episode of "South Park".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD: Social justice, one two, three. I want a BPT. It is just the way to be for me. And you. Your hateful slurs are through. I call (INAUDIBLE) on you. We'll fight until your PC black and blue.
We are language police, fighting bigotry. Hurtful words can suck our (INAUDIBLE) because it's PC for me and you. Yes. Yes, bro. Yes. PC.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Joining us now from New York is Mr. Manners, Thomas Farley, an expert in etiquette and communication. Thomas -- thank you for being with us.
THOMAS FARLEY, EXPERT IN ETIQUETTE AND COMMUNICATIONS: Thank you -- John.
VAUSE: I think Sarah Michelle Gellar caved. She shouldn't have apologized. You think she did the right thing. Why are you right. And I'm wrong?
FARLEY: Well I -- let's start off by saying I do not think in my heart of hearts that what she posted was in any way an attempt at fat shaming. I don't think that was what she was going for at all. And I think clearly her fan base agreed.
If you look at the comments, I think there are about 7,500 in all at this point of her two million follower based on Instagram, are largely supportive. But I think this really is a great case study as you mentioned in the setup that you really can't please all the people all the time. And there are some who are that genuinely offended, concerned that this sets up unrealistic expectations particularly for young women when it comes to their own bodies.
So the idea that this could be inspiration with this photo was the area of concern. And I think she certainly didn't (INAUDIBLE) on those and for that reason I applaud her maturity in deciding to apologize.
VAUSE: Yes. But if you look at exactly what happened to Scott Kelly, the astronaut -- someone is always going to find a reason to be annoyed. If Sarah Michelle Gellar has said, you know, just relax and eat up this Thanksgiving then she would have been, you know, criticized for encouraging obesity.
FARLEY: That is so true. And I think unfortunately we're living in an age where women in particular seem to get their inordinate share of this sort of criticism.
So whether it's for being too fat or too skinny, no woman really seems to be able to escape this kind of venom on social media. And I think it's endemic of the age that we're living where people just feel, especially in an anonymous setting to be able to say whatever they want, whatever they feel. And there is this terribly heightened sensitivity which I think is unhealthy for us as a culture.
[01:55:02] VAUSE: Where did this rush to criticize come from? Are people just out there looking for a reason to be outraged?
FARLEY: I think social media has given everyone a platform. And along with that platform, people want listeners. They want followers. They want people to retweet and like their comments. And I think every little bit of snark, every little bit of insight, every little bit of, you know, pun that you might on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", or "I know what you ate last summer", or "I know what you ate last Thanksgiving", somebody suddenly becomes an automatic comedian.
So I think people who have way too much time on their hands are looking to fill it with all this venom that we do see in social media.
VAUSE: I mean we could say it's not even real. I mean it's not even genuine because it's just so easy to fire up a tweet and be done with it. And you set up this chain reaction and there's some sort of gratification or satisfaction from doing that.
FARLEY: Yes. I don't -- I don't, in this particular case, I don't want to take away from the genuine feelings of sadness and upset by women and men who feel that this was fat shaming and their feelings certainly are legitimate if those are feelings that they themselves have.
But for those who are simply looking to troll and to turn this into an opportunity to gain more followers or to gain a laugh, that I think is where the unfortunate area is. Clearly this is not what she was aiming for. But I'm willing to believe that there are many who are genuinely offended by that. And it's not for me to tell them they shouldn't be offended.
VAUSE: Ok. Fair point. It just also seems to mostly happen on Twitter.
Thomas -- good to see you. Happy Thanksgiving, by the way. Don't overeat.
FARLEY: Thank you -- John. Thank you. I won't. I promise.
VAUSE: Of course, feel free to tweet me.
Ok. The leaning Tower of Pisa seems to be leaning a little less these days. About four centimeters less compared to 17 years ago which means it's back to the original position from the 19th century.
Engineers have been trying to stabilize the tower for years and now it seems the Leaning Tower of Pisa could continue to lean for another 200 years, they say.
You've been watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Stay with us. You'll have a lot more news after a very short break. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Hello, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
Ahead this hour -- what checks and no balances. The U.S. President picks a presidential fight with the Chief Justice of the United States.
[02:00:01] Also a five-minute trial leads to a lifetime sentence in prison for a British academic accused of espionage in the U.A.E. And decision day at Nissan.
