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Parliament Rejects All Eight Alternatives to PMs Plan; British Lawmakers to Hold New Brexit Debate Friday; Airline Unveils 737 Max Software Fixes After Fatal Crashes; Inside the Training Simulator for 737 Max; CNN Joins Rescue Team to Reach Flood Victims in Mozambique; Venezuela Crippled by Second Major Blackout in Past Month; U.S. Proposes Cuts to Special Olympics Funding; Solskjaer Promoted from Caretaker to Permanent Manager. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired March 28, 2019 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00] JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to this special edition of CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Julia Chatterley. Outside Britain's
Houses of Parliament here in London where there remains no consensus on how to move forward on Brexit.
CYRIL VANIER, CNN HOST: And I'm Cyril Vanier here at the CNN center in Atlanta. As Boeing unveils overhaul for its troubled 737 Max planes.
CHATTERLEY: It's the day after an eventful 24 hours here in Westminster. There were hopes that Wednesday might provide some clarity, even perhaps
some unity. But it ended in more confusion and division. Prime Minister Theresa May offered to resign if her party backs her twice-defeated Brexit
deal before lawmakers failed to agree on an alternative option. They had a menu of eight different alternatives. They included giving voters a second
referendum on EU membership and leaving the EU without a deal in place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BERCOW, SPEAKER, U.K. HOUSE OF COMMONS: In respect of Mr. Baron's motion B, Brexit's no-deal, the ayes were 160, the nos were 400. So the
nos have it.
So the nos have it.
So the nos have it.
So the nos have it.
So the nos have it.
So the nos have it.
So the nos have it.
So the nos have it. Order. Order.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Eight nos there if you lost count. So the mother of Parliament is looking weary and many wonder if she is up to the job of
taking Britain out of the EU. The leader of the House of Commons says the Brexit debate will continue on Friday. So there is plenty for to us unpack
but no resolution of course. We'll get the reaction from Europe with Erin McLaughlin who is in Brussels for us right now. But first Bianca Nobilo
joins me here in Westminster. Bianca, just in the last few minutes perhaps a suggestion that the way to get a vote past is breaking down discussion
about the current arrangement and getting the U.K. out of the EU with the future relationship. Talk us through how this might happen and work.
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At the moment, the Prime Minister's deal is two parts. And it comes as a package. You have the Withdrawal
Agreement which is essentially the divorce deal. That covers the amount of money that the U.K. is paying the EU for leaving. It covers the transition
period and various other loose ends. And that's huge. It's 585 pages burnt in the brain. I've read.
And then the other part is the declaration on the future relationship. Now that unlike the Withdrawal Agreement is not legally binding. It's
essentially imprecise and aspirational in nature, and it's a declaration about what the future relationship is going to look like. So the Prime
Minister's team is currently thinking if we break those apart and focus just on the divorce and put the future relationship to one side for a
moment, can we get enough support to move that through Parliament? The thinking being that the Labour Party, the official opposition, want to see
a permanent customs union, a much softer Brexit with close assignment to the EU as the majority of the MPs in the House of Commons. So that would
be covered technically in the future relationship, not the divorce deal.
So if Britain just needs to leave and needs to get something approved by tomorrow then that could just be the Withdrawal Agreement and crucially in
the EU conclusions about how the process is going to work. They say it's only the Withdrawal Agreement, not the Political Declaration that needs to
be passed by tomorrow's deadline in order to get the longer extension. So this could be the loophole that everyone is looking for.
CHATTERLEY: Killing two birds with one stone, perhaps bringing some of the opposition Labourites onboard with the option of messing around with the
future relationship going forward. But also crucially perhaps ruling out a no-deal exit here, at least until May the 22nd.
Erin, come in here. We just heard from Bianca there suggesting that perhaps this could be a work around getting some kind of vote done by
Friday of this week. And as I mentioned there perhaps ruling a no-deal exit at least between now and May 22nd. How is that going down in Brussels
do we think?
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think at this point, Julia, if they manage to get the withdrawal deal across the line, I think that
certainly would be a welcome development here in Brussels. The Political Declaration -- as Bianca was just saying there -- is seen as aspirational.
[11:05:01] It's also open ended. Any of the eventualities that were being explored in Westminster last night could be possible under the current
terms of the Political Declaration. So that is actually the state of play there in London. I think plenty of people here would be scratching their
heads but nevertheless welcome that as an outcome. Because at this point there is lots of frustration and concern about what Brussels saw unfolding
there in Westminster. They are looking out across the English Channel, trying to find some clarity and coming up empty at this point. Take a
listen to what Margaritis Schinas, the spoke person for the European Commission had to say earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARGARITIS SCHINAS, CHIEF SPOKESMAN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: The commission takes note of the indicative votes in the House of Commons last night.
This is part of an ongoing political process in the United Kingdom which we fully respect. We counted eight nos last night. Now we need a yes on the
way forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLAUGHLIN: And at this point there is very little the EU can do to help this process. And that is by design. Keep in mind what played out last
week at that critical EU summit when the 27 EU leaders gathered around the table and decided to create a new cliff edge. I'm being told here by
diplomats that they didn't create the cliff edge thinking -- the April 12th cliff edge thinking the U.K. was going to be able to get its act together.
There is very little hope for that. They created the new cliff edge in order not to be blamed for Brexit for a no-deal Brexit. That's really a
priority for the EU at this point.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, the technical term, cliff edge thinking. We could do with a bit more urgency behind the thinking if that's what it is. Erin
McLaughlin, thank you so much for that. And of course Bianca Nobilo there too. All right, so let's bring in journalist, writer and broadcaster,
Gavin Esler, joins us now. Great to have you with us.
GAVIN ESLER, JOURNALIST, WRITER AND BROADCASTER: Very nice to be here.
CHATTERLEY: You were listening to that discussion. What is the likelihood that perhaps this vote of separating the current arrangement and the exit
with the future relationship might bring in the Labourites here? Because the rumor was that it was discussed with Jeremy Corbyn and he was like,
nothing doing.
ESLER: Well I have to say, the only thing I'm certain of today, is that it's a beautiful day here in Westminster. It's a beautiful spring day.
Everything else you can take with a pinch of salt if you choose. But, look, the Labour Party may have many flaws but they are not stupid. They
can understand that this is a stunt. This may go through. It's possible. I think if it does, it will go through with a lot of people holding their
noses and will hate this deal. So that's hardly a way to run a country. So I suspect the Labour Party general would not fall for it.
CHATTERLEY: But it is a way ultimately of agreeing that the U.K. is going to leave the EU and it leaves the future up for debate here. As we saw
from the votes last night what was close was two things, one was a closer relationship between the U.K. and the EU, a so-called customs union as
we've called it, or the possibility of a second referendum here. So it leaves both options arguably on the table for Labour.
ESLER: I think you're absolutely right. But those two could be taken together. There is a move to say if we get a customs union type deal, a
softer Brexit, then we should vote on it. It wouldn't be either or. In other words, if the other half does and things fall away, Parliament could
coalesce around those two things, which is at least a possibility. And that would give us all a chance to vote on the practicalities of the
Brexit, but in principle. But without knowing any of the details people voted on a couple of years ago.
CHATTERLEY: You know, it's interesting, you said Labour aren't that stupid. But ultimately there are 17.4 million people, the majority of the
country that said that they wanted the U.K. to leave the EU.
ESLER: Three years ago. That's the problem. I mean, the people have changed their minds. Some of the voters passed on. A whole generation
over the age of 16 is now able to vote because they are now over the age of 18. It's quite clear from opinion polls that we, while there was a vote in
2016, you know there was a vote in 1979 which put Mrs. Thatcher in power. We respect that but don't live in 1979 or 2016. I think people have moved
on.
CHATTERLEY: Wow, so you're saying actually that now this process is taking so long that actually we have given the change, the shift in voter
sentiment -- that the polls are suggesting at least -- perhaps going back to a second vote is in some way justified. It's a bold call.
ESLER: I think it is. Also I think some people think, oh, if we get it over the line -- which the government keeps saying -- it will be finished.
That's when Brexit will start to -- the negotiations will start. This will gone go on for years. And I think people are fed up with it. And if they
want to bring it to an end there are those possibility.
CHATTERLEY: So we're talking about almost taking Theresa May's, adding on perhaps a future customs union arrangement, a much closer relationship.
[11:10:00] And then saying fine, this is the package. This is Brexit. Here it is.
ESLER: Well you may have solved -- you may have solved it on this glorious day.
CHATTERLEY: I think we just did it together.
ESLER: We'll have to see. I mean, MPs are many, many really good people in there trying to do their best for the country. And there are others who
just simply want to be leaders of the Conservative Party. Because what has brought this about is 40 years of infighting within the Conservative Party
which unseated Margaret Thatcher, unseated Cameron and is unseating Theresa May, unfortunately. Time to bring that to an end.
CHATTERLEY: That's the risk. That it's about leadership battle perhaps more than anything else. Fantastic to have you with us. Thank you so much
Gavin.
That's it from Westminster for now -- Cyril. Of course I'll hand it back to you. You know you're having a look at the day's other top stories.
VANIER: Yes, Julia, thank you for the coverage. We'll cross back shortly to get more on Brexit from London.
Still to come on the show, two recent crashes, similar circumstances and more than 300 lives lost. Now Boeing is making changes to one of its
planes. And we take you inside the 737 Max training simulator. The only simulator in Ethiopia for the aircraft that crashed two weeks ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many times to people said to you, why rugby?
CHRIS MATTINA, RUGBY UNITED NEW YORK: A lot of times. People are always like, that's crazy or how did you get involved in it. You know, I just
love the game.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Chris Mattina is New York born and raised. But the player pro rugby here is here is extra special.
MATTINA: It's been amazing so far. Just to be back at home and be around all my friends and family and have them come out and support us and be
watching on television has been unreal.
MIKE TOLKIN, HEAD COACH, RUGBY UNITED NEW YORK: Having the New Yorkers on the team is really big. We have some native guys playing for us and that's
been a real treat for them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Head coach Mike Tolkin is also New Yorker. But there is a member of his coaching staff who not only breaks the mold but crushes
the idea that a woman can't coach men.
TIFFANY FAAEE, ASSISTANT COACH, RUGBY UNITED NEW YORK: It's huge, and honor and comes with responsibility.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VANIER: You're watching CNN. This is CONNECT THE WORLD. Well back. I'm Cyril Vanier.
Scrambling to reinstall confidence in some of its fleet. Boeing has unveiled an overhaul and upgrade from the automated anti-stall system on
its 737 Max planes. It's an attempt to fix a problem that may have led to two recent crashes which took between them almost 350 lives.
On Wednesday U.S. Department of Transportation officials addressed two separate Senate panels about this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CALVIN SCOVEL, INSPECTOR GENERAL, U.S. TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT: Clearly confidence in FAA as a gold standard for aviation safety has been shaken.
ELAINE CHAO, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: I am of course concerned about any allegations of coziness with any company, manufacturer, whatever. The
FAA is a professional organization.
[11:15:00] But these questions when they arise, if they arise are troubling. Because we should have absolute confidence in the regulators
that they are certificating properly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VANIER: All right, Jessica Schneider joins us live from Washington. She's been following all of this. Jessica, for as bad, for as catastrophic as
all of this has been for Boeing's image it's getting to be just as bad for the FAA which certifies those planes.
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and you saw it right there. I mean, that was Elaine Ciao, the Department of Transportation
Secretary, answering questions. But the FAA was also under fire on Capitol Hill Wednesday. So the inspector general for the DOT said that the agency
actions had, what he said, quote, shaken confidence in the entire industry. And he even said, that many are unsure if the FAA still represents that
gold standard as it had previously had its reputation really built on. And then you heard the transportation secretary say it there, she found it very
questionable that certain safety features in the cockpit were optional rather than required on those 737 Max jets.
You know, but once the FAA acting administrator got up there and testified, he pushed back and he defended Boeing's decision not to require additional
pilot training after that initial rollout of the new software on the 737 Max jets. And then the FAA acting administrator also explained why they
waited so many days to ground those jets after the Ethiopia crash, grounding them right here in the U.S. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL ELWELL, ACTING FAA ADMINISTRATOR: I can't speak to the reasoning that the other nations took. I know that in communication with those
countries they in our request what data might they have, they did not have any data for us.
The United States and Canada were the first countries to ground the aircraft with data for cause and purpose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHNEIDER: So Elwell really saying there that really the FAA waited to ground those planes until they had the hard data from the crash site in
Ethiopia, including some physical evidence. But, Cyril, he wouldn't disclose exactly what that data was. And there is still no word yet when
the 737 Max jets could be back up in the air and not grounded anymore -- Cyril.
VANIER: You know, Jessica, I listened to that sound bite several times and what surprising to me, is you could also just flip it. Another way of
saying that exact same things is that other countries decided to be cautious. They just decided to be cautious when they saw that there were
similar circumstances in two separate crashes involving the same plane. And the U.S. decided not to be cautious. That's another way of saying the
exact same thing.
SCHNEIDER: Right. But the Department of Transportation Secretary, Elaine Chao, you didn't hear it in her sound bite there but she said, look, we
were looking for the hard data here before we decided to ground these planes. And she said, you could also look at it conversely. When would we
decide to put these planes back up in the air if we didn't also have the hard evidence? So she said, these other countries that grounded them
immediately after this crash, if they didn't have the data, well how do you even know when to put the planes back in the air if you also don't have the
data? So she was really looking at its data point to data point when they finally had the hard data that they needed to ground them, that's when they
put them down.
VANIER: Meanwhile -- and this is important -- Boeing is now being proactive and they want everybody to know that they are fixing the software
on their planes.
SCHNEIDER: Right. Their sort of launching this PR campaign, if you will. So they invited about 200 pilots and executives to their site just outside
of Seattle on Wednesday. So this is the software update that adds right data from a second sensor on the nose of the plane that measures the tilt.
Since really the excising software, it only had the data from the one sensor. So Boeing adding that to its software.
But it also said that it plans to make that alert that tells pilots if the two sensor are contradicting each other, standard on all aircraft in the
future. Because it's been exposed lately that this safety feature was actually only optional and many airlines chose not to purchase it. So
Boeing rolling out that overhaul of its software system in front of all those 200 pilots and executives yesterday. And, Cyril, they plan to submit
that software update for certification to the FAA by the end of this week. Presumably, at some point soon, once the FAA signs off it, it could be
implemented. And maybe that will get things started as to putting these planes back up in the air perhaps.
VANIER: Yes, certification that's become kind of a buzzword in this story.
SCHNEIDER: It is.
VANIER: Jessica Schneider reporting from Washington, thank you so much.
SCHNEIDER: Thanks.
VANIER: Pilots of the 737 Max have said that they're training on the plane was a short self-administrative online course. Which by the way, made no
mention of the new software system or how to disable it. Additionally, there was only one training simulator in Ethiopia for the aircraft. CNN's
Robyn Kriel got an exclusive look inside that simulator.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBYN KRIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We are strapped in for a flight onboard on Ethiopian Airline's flight simulator at the airline's
aviation academy. This is the only simulator in Ethiopia for the Boeing 737 Max 8. The aircraft that crashed two weeks ago killing all on board.
The simulator we are told was purchased in January of this year.
[11:20:00] Chief pilot, Johannes Hailemariam, takes us through a brief preflight checklist before takeoff. Within minutes the simulated flight
has begun. Flight ET 302 took off in a similar way. From Bole International Airport nestled in rolling green and gold hills. It was at
this point 6 minutes into the flight and still climbing to cruising altitude that if Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 encountered major problems.
It eventually crashed into a field south of Addis Ababa. How and why this happened is under investigation. And it was also at this point the 13-
minute mark that Lion Air flight, nearly 5 months before, began its tragic and deadly descent as well.
Our simulator journey, however, continues safely. But on-board Octobers Lion Air flight the automated MCAS anti-stall system was trying to force
the nose down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This what we call QRH, quick reference on the book.
The chief pilot, Hailemariam, shows us the flight manual for a 737 Max 8. This manual contains everything a pilot needs for a flight or at least it
should.
A source with knowledge of the aircraft says there is no information inside about the new MCAS system. A pilot onboard a flight encountering
problems could have found all kinds of emergency procedures and systems descriptions. But according to our source nothing on the MCAS.
Inside this simulator, as safe as it is, our flight progresses smoothly. Chief pilot, Hailemariam, flies the plane manually. Effortlessly even.
But if an actual flight were to experience a MCAS failure, the pilot would be left wrestling the airplane.
These levers particularly, the pilot pulling up the system, pulling down in a tug of war. One that, according to our source, the aircraft doesn't know
to stop fighting.
Robyn Kriel, CNN, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VANIER: Great reporting there from our team, both Jessica Schneider and Robyn Kriel.
Starting next week the Southeast Asian nation of Brunei will introduce brutal penalties for acts that are not even considered a crime in most of
the world. Gay sex and adultery will be punishable by death by stoning beginning April 3rd. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is following this -- Salma.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER: Cyril, this is shocking. But it's to be expected. The small island nation of Brunei had said in 2014 that it would
begin to implement Islamic sharia law into its legal code. And it has quietly done so over the last several years. Up first in 2014 there was
outrage.
The sultan of Brunei is one of the wealthiest men in the world and he owns properties all over, including the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel. So at the
time people were calling for demonstrations, to demonstrate against his investments around the world. But now here we are a week away from seeing
new laws being implemented, including the one you have mentioned. Stoning to death by those found guilty of adultery or acts of homosexual sex. And
also the cutting off of a hand or a foot if you are accused of theft. These are absolutely shocking and barbaric forms of punishment, according
to human rights groups. Who say that this will take Brunei back to the dark ages.
And it's particularly concerning for the region at large. Malaysia, Indonesia, the neighbors of Brunei, are moderately Muslim countries.
However we are seeing a rise of ISIS in other areas like the Philippines for example. So human rights groups are calling, Cyril, for an absolute
halt immediately of these changes -- Cyril.
VANIER: Salma Abdelaziz was monitoring the situation there for us from London. Thank you, Salma.
And coming up in the show, it is nearly the end of March. But it could also be the end of May. The British Prime Minister puts her career on the
line for her Brexit deal. More from Julia Chatterley in Westminster next.
And there is a permanent manager in charge of one of the most popular football clubs in the world. Who is it? We'll tell you in a moment.
[11:25:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: You are watching CNN and this is CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Julia Chatterley. Welcome back to the show.
Back me to sack me. That's the message from the Britain's Prime Minister. Who says she'll resign if -- and it's a big if -- MPs vote for her Brexit
deal. It's not clear when or if the third so-called meaningful vote might be held. Lawmakers agreed to all of nothing last night despite the being
the ones who wanted to take control of the Brexit process. There will be more discussions Friday.
The British papers though have just one face on the front. Let me show you. That face is Theresa May looking stoic there on the front of the
"Sun". As you can see, the message "I'm off. Now back my deal". Easier said than done. Though they did coin the phrase "Threxit" not Brexit,
"Threxit", Theresa May is off.
"Daily Mail" asking the right question in light of the challenge that represents. "Will Her Sacrifice Be in Vain?" Quite frankly, because it
still looks like she doesn't have the votes.
And my personal favorite of the day, "The Guardian". "Parliament finally has its say, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no." Yes, I'll stop now there
were eight. Let's get context here and Anne McElvoy is senior editor at "The Economist" and joins me now. Fantastic to have you with us. We've
been talking on the show in the last half an hour about the prospect of not necessarily Theresa May's exact deal going through.
[11:30:00] But separating the exit package from the future arrangement, the so-called Political Declaration. Will that fly? And will she get Labour
votes doing that?
ANNE MCELVOY, SENIOR EDITOR, THE ECONOMIST: Well the one reason that it might -- it sounds very complicated, but everything is as you see by the
no, no, no example there. We know what we are against here in Britain. It's like trying to find out what we're for is the tricky bit.
And I suppose if you that what would happen is that you could have solutions that grouped around maybe staying in the customs union. So kept
your trade very closely aligned with the EU.
You would also get around that bit, the back stop or perhaps you'd have to sort of accept that was part of the deal. So there is more likely a
customs union-based solution. And anyway, the Political Declaration is a bit of a rubber instrument, where you can you bend it one way and bend it
another. The problem with that is, it's brilliant if it's designed by technocrats. As soon as you put it in the House over there behind us, let
alone to the public at large, they'll say, hold on a minute, this is getting ridiculously complicated. I really wanted to be in or out or soft
or hard Brexit. But something very, very convoluted. It's like an insurance policy where it's all in the small print.
CHATTERLEY: You mean vested interest and politicking takes over when it gets to the Houses of Parliament here.
MCELVOY: That's a good point.
CHATTERLEY: The question for me -- and you and I have discussed it already off camera -- does it fulfill Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition's
ambition here, which is to see a general election go through if the Labourites are allowed to back some version here of the deal that Theresa
May's presenting.
MCELVOY: I think Labour MPs like something that's customs union based. They like to say I can deliver something called leave to my constituency
and Labour often working class or industrially based Labor constituency. But --
CHATTERLEY: But it's a softest form of Brexit.
MCELVOY: It is. Yes, and I think you could make an argument that it's barely Brexit at all. And before you know, it's Brexit in name only, as a
Brexiteers would see it. But your questions are really interesting. Because Jeremy Corbyn I don't think wants that at all. I think what he
wants is really -- he says he supports a second referendum. Well there would be a referendum but it would be confirmatory, it wouldn't be a nice
clear yes/no, one of the kind that we had before. And it would get him closer to general election. Which is really what I think his aim in all
this is. The worry would be that it's a kind of messy stabilization package. Whereas a Labour leader who is in a bit of a man in hurry. He
wants to destabilize things, get the voters out and hopefully from his perspective saying the Conservative have failed, try me.
CHATTERLEY: What is the answer here? How is this going to play out? Because I feel like for days and days now vested interests, around in
circles, Parliament unable to agree. The government having leadership ambitions rather than actually focusing on what the British people asked
for. How does in play out now? Where do we go from here?
MCELVOY: I think the obvious clear way forward would be for more MPs to come on board, back the deal, hold their noses as some of the Brexiteers
have done this week. The problem is that Northern Ireland unionists, the DUP propping up Theresa May's government are not moving. They may yet. I
mean, we keep saying those things won't happen and then they do that's why we've been the screen for about two months of our lives.
But I think that's one way that gets is off. She now stands down. There's a Tory leadership contest. You get a leader. That's the leader that's
going to fight Jeremy Corbyn. Simples, only the simples. The difficulty is if those numbers are not there, then the next -- as you've indicated
very clearly -- the other options are more complicated and they will cause more vested interest and more divisions. The funny thing is they also glue
Theresa May in office. She said she'd only go if she gets her deal through. If she doesn't, she won't.
CHATTERLEY: The suggestion is she's going to be hanging around for a while. Anne, thank you so much for joining us here. For me, the path
leads to an extension. Whichever way, if you want to avoid a no-deal exit here and Parliament has said now three times it doesn't want see a no-deal
exit. It looks like a longer extension. We'll continue to debate and a lack of clarity will continue too. And the voices are very passionate.
Cyril, back to you.
VANIER: Not unlike the voice of the Speaker of the House if you ask me. Julia thank you we enjoyed listening to the guests. I hope you're getting
comfortable on that chair. Because I think Brexit is going to keep you there a while, especially if you are right about the extension.
All right, coming up after the break on CONNECT THE WORLD --
BECKY ANDERSON, CORRESPONDENT: The water is outwards of eight meters high. The water would have been well of towards the top of these trees.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VANIER: CNN is on the ground in Mozambique where aid workers are struggling to reach some rural communities in the wake of cyclone Idai.
Coming our Becky Anderson hitches a helicopter ride to survey the damage.
[11:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VANIER: Nearly two weeks after cyclone Idai ripped through Southern Africa, fears of a second wave of disaster are steadily growing. Health
officials have now confirmed five cholera cases -- that's never good news - - around the devastated port city of Beira, Mozambique.
The storm slammed the area with destructive winds, heavy rains and it left much of Beira submerged in water. The World Health Organization says that
Mozambique will begin a cholera vaccination campaign next week. They've prepared nearly a million doses. Aid groups estimate that about 90 percent
of the Beira was destroyed. CNN's Becky Anderson joined a helicopter aid drop and witnessed the scope of this devastation.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's been nearly two weeks since cyclone Idai brought destruction in this area. And the search and rescue
team set up here in a makeshift operation at Beira airport are still identifying people who've received little if no help. We've just found out
that one of the teams is doing a fuel drop, an emergency fuel drop to one such community. So we're going to go along with them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) This is an area 70 miles to the west of Beira. Their huge population was affected where the water level came up in
just a few hours on this massive downpour. The river rise was about 16 meters above normal.
ANDERSON: When you look down almost everything has been affected. The roofs are down. The trees are down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some of the isolated communities already with small amounts just enough to try and keep them alive. What these guys have been
doing, they've taking supplies across the river in the bay. But one of those boats got washed away the other night. They lost it.
ANDERSON (voice-over): On the ground that vital fuel we're bring in helping to fuel boats to get to those in critical need.
(on camera): The water was upwards of eight meters high. So the water would have been well up towards the top of these trees.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they're in the branches.
ANDERSON: Eight meters?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, from water level eight meters.
ANDERSON: That's amazing. So just in the past three days the waters have receded.
These guys are doing roughly ten to 12 trips a day now taking aid across here. There are 1,200 families on the other side there, who have had
nothing.
You can see the vegetation there and the rocks exposed a little further out. These guys are saying that the water levels have dropped so quickly
now that this is actually becoming a much more dangerous trip in a boat like this.
Hey, guys.
[11:40:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So what he was saying is after straight after the flood, there was no food and no shelter, nothing. And since the
aid has arrived, they have tents, they have some food and we've given them a water purification system.
ANDERSON (voice-over): More than 40 people's lost lives in this one small community. The fear is that many hundreds, if not thousands, in the region
could also lose their lives if more isn't done and fast to prevent hunger and chronic disease. Becky Anderson, CNN, Beira, in Mozambique.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VANIER: Venezuela is suffering through another massive power outage. It is the second blackout month. And embattled President Nicolas Maduro
claims it sabotage by national assembly leader and self-declared president, Juan Guaido. But others blame government mismanagement for this. Mr.
Maduro now plans to ration electricity.
Meanwhile, Russia has confirmed that its military personnel are in Venezuela and that they will stay, quote, as long as needed. This after
the U.S. President warned Moscow to get out of Venezuela. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is following that story from Moscow. Let's begin though with
Paula Newton. She's on the ground in Caracas. Paula it's the second time this month that you go through a blackout of this kind. Tell us what's
going on.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and unfortunately that means there is certainly a larger risk of having political and social unrest here. I
can't tell you, Cyril, exactly how tense it is on the ground. I mean, the city, the country is trying to recover. But President Nicolas Maduro, as
you were saying, has told them to expect electricity rationing and certainly rolling blackouts. Which is kind of a departure from what he
would normally indicate.
What's significant here is that the government is not in and of itself comfortable or confident in the fact that it can bring stable electricity
to this country. That is all in all different. What it does here, Cyril, is it really leaves people that are incredibly vulnerable at their breaking
point.
I want to you listen now to dialysis patients that we visited with yesterday. Even though the power is back on, it will take them days at
least to get back on a regular dialysis schedule. Take a lesson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We urgently need a generator here permanently.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): My life and the life of everyone here depends on that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It's been more than eight days since I had dialysis. You can see on my face what my situation is like. I
feel bad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: You know, those are people, Cyril, I have to tell you waiting in the blazing sun with no cover. And they can feel their bodies
deteriorating without dialysis. This has happened here for years. But now with these rolling blackouts and the government actually admitting that it
will have trouble keeping stable power to this country over the next few months, they know that the worst may be yet to come -- Cyril.
VANIER: Yes, Paula, those situations are just dramatic as far as the hospital care is concerned because that's a black and white situation. If
you don't have it there's going to be loss of life. We can't quantify it but it's pretty much a certainty that some people will lose their lives.
Paula, thank you so much.
I want to go to Fred for the Russia angle of this story. Fred, 100 troops have now landed as of a few days ago in Caracas. Two more Russian planes
and now Russia is admitting to all of this.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they certainly are. And it's quite interesting because the foreign ministry
admitted to this a couple of hours ago. But just a couple of minutes ago we actually also got a reaction from the Kremlin as well.
And of course, President Trump yesterday was asked about all this and said that Russia needs to get out of Venezuela. And the Kremlin currently
taking some issue with that. Saying that they have every right, as they put it, to develop, as they say, bilateral relations was Venezuela. Both
in the economic realm but also in the military realm as well. And that certainly seems like one of the things that they are doing.
Now the foreign ministry, as I said, came out earlier and essentially confirmed that yes, Russia does have troops on the ground in Venezuela at
the moment. Here is what the spokeswoman for the foreign ministry had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIA ZAKHAROVA, SPOKESWOMAN, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY (through translator): Russian specialists came to Venezuela in accordance with the
bilateral agreement on military technical cooperation. This is a document which no one has revoked yet. The Russian side did not violate anything.
Neither international agreements nor Venezuela's law. Russia does not change the balance of power in the region. Russia does not threaten anyone
unlike Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: So there you have the reaction from the Russian foreign ministry saying this doesn't change the balance of power in the region. But
essentially saying, that those soldiers that are on the ground there for the Russian federation are going to stay there as long as they need to stay
there.
[11:45:00] Now one of the things that you heard her say and the Russians keep saying, it that there's military technical cooperation. We know that
the Venezuelan military has some Russian gear. There might be some maintenance going on for that Russian gear. However the Russians have not
said specifically what those forces are doing there on the ground.
It's quite interesting to see those military plane that actually flew into Caracas. One of them, of course, is that troop carrier the Ilyushin 62,
that apparently is still on the ground there in Caracas. The other one though was a heavy transparent aircraft, an Antonov 124 that is capable of
developing, for instance, spare parts for military gear. But again, at this point time the Russians are not saying what exactly those forces are
doing on the ground except to say there is the military technical cooperation that is ongoing between the two countries -- Cyril.
VANIER: Right, right, right. They say they are not there for military operation. Just cooperation. Fred Pleitgen in Moscow. Paula Newton in
Caracas with the update in the Venezuelan capital. Thank you so much to both of you.
This is CONNECT THE WORLD. Coming up, the temporary coach gets a promotion at Manchester United. News from the world of football when we return.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VANIER: Welcome back you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Cyril Vanier. And we want to go to a story close to our hearts here on this show. Abu
Dhabi, which is the show's home base as you know, just hosted the biggest Special Olympics games in history. Thousands of athletes with intellectual
disability from 190 nations gathered in the city and they competed in Olympic type sports, from badminton, to volleyball, to martial arts. But
now the non-profit organization may see its financing cut by a major donor. CNN's Stephanie Elam reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dustin Plunket faced some hard times as a child, at home.
DUSTIN PLUNKET, SPECIAL OLYMPICS ATHLETE: Nobody in my family really knew how to support me because of my cleft palate and my intellectual
disability.
ELAM: And at school where he was bullied until he discovered Special Olympics. Some 20 years later, not only is he an athlete, he's also an
outreach manager and inspirational speaker for Special Olympics Southern California.
PLUNKET: 90 percent of seniors on high school campuses say that Special Olympics made of an impact and that's why the fund is so important to us.
ELAM: The funding that Plunket is worried about is federal. The Department of Education's proposed budget for 2020 would eliminate all
grant money for the non-profit. Dropping it from more than $17.5 million to zero. Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, took heat from Congress as she
defended the cuts.
REP. MARK POCAN (D), WISCONSIN: Do you know how many kids will be affected by that cut madam secretary?
BETSY DEVOS, U.S. SECRETARY OF EDUCATION: Mr. Pocan, let me just say again, we had to make difficult decisions with this budget.
POCAN: Again, this is a question of how many kids not about the budget.
DEVOS: I don't know the number of kids I also know that I -- I think.
[11:50:00] POCAN: That's 272,000 kids. I'll answer it for you that's OK, no problem. It's 272,000 kids.
DEVOS: Let me just say that I think the Special Olympic --
ELAM: In response DeVos release add statement saying, quote, the Special Olympics is not a federal program. It's a private organization. I love
its work and I have personally supported its mission. Because of its important work it is able to raise more than $100 million every year.
There are dozens of worthy non-profits support students and adults with disability that don't get a dime of federal grant money. But given our
current budget realities the federal government cannot fund every worthy problem. Particularly ones that enjoy robust support from private
donations.
A spokeswoman confirmed to CNN that DeVos does support the non-profit privately and did donate part of her salary to the Special Olympics after
opposing a cut in funding to the organization in her first budget.
TIMOTHY SHRIVER, CHAIRMAN, SPECIAL OLYMPICS: This is the third year in which the administration has proposed eliminating the funding for our
movement our education work. So it's not a complete surprise.
ELAM: And the organization's bipartisan support has helped protect its funding.
SHRIVER: If this funding were removed our programs in over 6,000 schools would be sadly devastated. But we have no expectation that that will
happen. And we are firmly committed to ensuring that it will not.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VANIER: And that report there from Stephanie Elam. And it's important to note here the cuts have not gone into effect and still require approval
from Congress.
OK, we have some breaking news that we're following. The Saudi government says it has temporarily released some of the 11 detained women's rights
activists currently on trial in Saudi Arabia. Rights groups and a source familiar with events on the ground identified those released as Aziza al-
Youssef, Rokaya Mohareb and Eman al-Nafjan. Several countries and human rights groups had been calling for their release. The women are facing
charges over human rights work and contact with foreign journalists and diplomats.
Now yesterday at this same time, in this show, I spoke one of the activist's brother, who told mean about the charges that his sister is
facing. And you may be surprised at what is considered a crime in this case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALID AL-HATHLOUL, BROTHER OF JAILED SAUDI DISSIDENT: Most of the charges are related to her human rights activism. Like dealing with Human Rights
Watch, contacting them and contacting the Amnesty International. These are the charges that she is facing. One of the charges is actually applying
for a job at the United Nations. That's a charge.
VANIER: Well that is an official charge, applying for a job at the United Nations? That is written black and white as an official charge.
AL-HATHLOUL: Correct, correct. Yes, that is in the list of charges that she applied for a job at the United Nations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VANIER: You heard that right. And we checked. It is in the charging document. He also alleges that his sister has been tortured and sexually
harassed by Saudi officials. We'll continue to follow this story for you right here on CNN.
Now to end the show, some big news from football's Premier League. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been named of the permanent manager of Manchester
United. Solskjaer has been caretaker/manager since December when Jose Mourinho was sacked. His success the past four months that the club to
promote him to the job permanently. CNN World Sport's Patrick Snell honors me with his wisdom and his presence.
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Too kind.
VANIER: Patrick, each time this happens in any sport really, and for any club when you have a legendary player that then moves on within the club
and stays with that family it's a great story for the fan base.
SNELL: It really is. You know, you used the word permanent there. As permanent as it gets at the top-level European football.
VANIER: Permanent for now.
SNELL: He is under three-year contract. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, a popular Norwegian, revered former player. But let's just show you why the club has
made the move to make him a full-time deal as it were at the club.
He was appointed interim head coach shortly before Christmas last year. But you know, these stats don't mislead. He's won 14 from 19 games in all
competition. He's brought back the feel-good factor at Manchester United, Cyril, and his win rate is highly impressive at just under 74 percent. Big
game Saturday in the Premier League. United hosts Watford. He'll want to get off to a flying start in his permanent reign.
But I also want to just get a reaction from the man who made this decision, the club's executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward. Saying, more than just
performances and results, Ole bring a wealth of experience, both as a player and as a coach, coupled, with a desire to give young players their
chance.
And that's really crucial I believe given the ethos of the club.
And a deep understanding of the culture. This all means he's the right person to take Manchester United forward.
[11:55:00] Exciting times. The fans are very happy. Excited as well applies to his former teammates. None other than David Beckham taking to
Instagram earlier describing it as amazing, amazing news.
VANIER: He should. Lots of questions not that much time. So let me make it simple. What are the expectations for him this season, can he meet
them?
SNELL: Win, win, win. That's is what I mean by ethos at the club. The club, look, under the Alex Ferguson it won the Premier League title 13
times during his reign. They haven't won it since 2013. This is Britain's biggest football club. They demand and expect success. It's a massive
global brand. And I'll tell you what, it's just a question of getting that top four finish. And I say just, because it's really competitive out
there. Now when he took over, United were 11 points off the top four. Seemingly out of the hunt. Why is the top four significant? Because the
top four clubs in the English Premier League qualify for next season's Champions League and the lucrative pot of financial gold that is. So that
is a minimum requirement, I believe, for Solskjaer to deliver a top four finish. And by the way, winning the Champions League would be nice. They
produced the miracle in Paris recently against Paris Saint-Germain that through to the last eight of that as well.
VANIER: Winning the Champions League, I'm sure they'd like that. I'm sure that would be nice.
Patrick Snell gracing us with his presence as I said. Love having you on the set. Thank you very much.
Thank you for watching. Stay with CNN.
END
