Return to Transcripts main page

Connect the World

Colorado Supreme Court: Trump ineligible for Office Due to Jan 6 Insurrection; Netanyahu: IDF "Will soon go into Rafah"; Tucker Carlson's Putin Interview to Release in Coming Hours; Supreme Court to Hear Arguments in Trump Ballot Case; Qatar Beat Iran to Book Spot in Final. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired February 08, 2024 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Is Donald Trump constitutionally barred from being President again? Well, the U.S. Supreme

Court will consider this landmark case in the next hour. These are live pictures for you. It is 9 am in Washington, 6 pm here in Abu Dhabi. I'm

Becky Anderson. You're watching "Connect the World".

Also ahead voting has ended in Pakistan's general election. The day has been marred by Taliban violence at some polling stations. A U.S. drone

strike in Iraq takes out a Kataib Hezbollah leader responsible for attacks on American troops. We're live at the pentagon for more details on that.

Plus, we are also monitoring a volcano in Iceland spewing pools of lava for the second time this year.

Well, the markets in New York will open in about 30 minutes from now, if these are any indication, the futures markets for you showing a mixed open.

We are less than an hour away from the U.S. Supreme Court case that has the potential to append this year's U.S. presidential election. The historic

hearings set to determine whether Colorado can classify Donald Trump as an insurrectionist and disqualify him from running for office.

Trump's lawyers are appealing a decision by the Colorado Supreme Court that tries to do just that. Based on the 14th amendment of the U.S.

constitution, which says no officer of the United States who's engaged in an insurrection shall hold any public office. It is a case that could have

nationwide implications.

Let's bring in CNN's Legal Analyst, the Criminal Defense Attorney, Joey Jackson, with an international audience in mind. Sir, can we first discuss

how unusual this case is that a former U.S. president is trying to get onto a ballot in a state where the court has disqualified him? Let's just give

our viewers a sense of the significance here.

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yeah, Becky, good to be with you. It's huge, right? That's the best way to describe it. Because you can have a

front runner for his party removed from the ballot that would mean that no voter in the 50 states of the United States would even have the opportunity

to vote for him. So just think about that, right. And so the next question becomes how can that happen?

Well, how it can happen is, as you described, Becky and looking at the constitution of the United States, there's an amendment right, the 14th

amendment, Section 3 says if you've engaged in insurrection, you cannot hold public office.

And so Colorado had a five day hearing in which they heard evidence with respect to January 6, that's what we're speaking about. January 6, the

after Trump had lost the election. He was encouraging right supporters, etcetera, to not certify the vote. That's the question.

There are many factual arguments as to whether you engage in insurrection or not. States are what they're doing, not only Colorado, we've seen it

throughout the country are really in terms of not allowing him to appear on the ballot, looking at initiatives to use that 14th Amendment, Section 3 to

do just that.

Colorado did so, they're courts, every state in the country has their own independent courts, their own governor, their own judicial system. The

reason the Supreme Court is weighing in Becky is, because you need uniformity, you need guidance. Imagine if Colorado removes him California

doesn't. New York does -- you know New Jersey doesn't. You can't have that. And so the determination of the Supreme Court will be whether he should be

removed, whether he should not.

ANDERSON: Right.

JACKSON: And that will provide guidance to all 50 states. And so that's the issue before us today.

[09:05:00]

ANDERSON: Joey, good job mate. There is therefore, a lot at stake in this case, not just for the former president, but for the Supreme Court itself

as well. How do you expect the justices to handle this?

JACKSON: Yes. So that's absolutely right. So remember, the Supreme Court is composed of nine justices. And what occurs is you need five of those

justices to ultimately make a decision. We know that the balance of the court is six to three conservative liberal. What on earth does that mean?

It means that the conservative justices may be more inclined to support and otherwise adopt Republican initiatives.

That means that that holds that Trump will be put on the ballot, and they will find a way that is the court to say that that Colorado ballot

initiative to remove him has to be rejected. And so, we're looking to determine whether the court evaluates this case on the legal merits, or if

there's any hint of politics here, which certainly can undermine the democratic process.

And so that's what we're looking for, as we have this oral argument today, where the judges will ask probing questions of the litigants to determine

whether or not he stays on the ballot. That is Mr. Trump or is removed.

ANDERSON: Joey briefly, he the Former President Donald Trump will not be there today. If you were advising him what would you have told him?

JACKSON: Exactly that Becky stay, far away. If this is not about politics, it has to be about what the law means, what the law says. This is not a

time for him to wax poetic right to campaign or anything else. It's a time for the Supreme Court of the United States to give a fair, reasonable

interpretation as to what Amendment 14 Section 3 means.

And whether or not in all the various arguments and there are many, it would exclude him from the ballot or permit him from the ballot. A decision

will not be made today to be clear, this is simply oral argument. Thereafter Becky the court will render a written determination and

indications are that'll happen before Super Tuesday.

What does that mean? Super Tuesday is March 5th and it's a date where you have about 15 states in the 50 United States who are voting. So it's often

good to get guidance before that many states vote as to whether individual states can make this determination, whether it's lawful to remove him or

whether they have no authority, they being the states to remove him at all. This is Colorado, but the implications of this decision will be felt

throughout the remaining states in the United States to be clear.

ANDERSON: Fascinating. Good to have you, sir. Thank you very much indeed. Ominous warnings from the U.S. and Iraq after a U.S. drone strike in

Baghdad on Wednesday. Here's the deal, the strike killed the commander of an Iran backed militia that carried out the deadly attack on American

forces in Jordan last week.

Three U.S. service members remember were killed. Iraq accusing the U.S. of violating its sovereignty and of quote, dragging the region into dangerous

repercussions, or Washington for its part warns there will be more retaliation to come. And now the Iraqi military says it's tempted to

terminate its mission with the United States.

CNN's Natasha Bertrand is following these developments for us from the pentagon. What can you tell us about the strike, the commander who was

killed? And what happens next with regard relations with Iraq at this point?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, Becky, this is part of the response that President Biden authorized last week in response to

that drone attack on that U.S. outpost in Jordan that killed three American soldiers last month. And what we're told is that this was a drone strike on

a vehicle that was traveling in Eastern Baghdad last night, a rocky time, local time.

And it was carrying this Kataib Hezbollah commander, whose name is, Wisam Mohammed Saber al-Saedi. And he was apparently in charge of logistics for

Kataib Hezbollah, for example, for finding the drones and rockets that this group has been using to carry out its attacks on U.S. and coalition forces

in the region.

So he was a very high value target for the U.S. And when the moment presented itself, and when central command had the opportunity to hit his

vehicle, they simply took it. And so this was pre authorized by President Biden. There was someone else in the vehicle. However, we have not yet

confirmed who that was; according to Iraqi police sources as well as U.S. officials. There were no civilians that were injured in this drone strike.

But look, the Iraqis are clearly not happy about this. And they have released a statement saying that they again believe these strikes violate

Iraqi sovereignty. They have said quote, that they believe that this really undermines the all understandings that the U.S. and Iraq have with each

other. And that it is a new aggression by the United States.

[09:10:00]

The U.S. and Iraq are currently in talks to determine the future of the U.S.'s presence, its true presence in the country. And so, this is likely

going to be a main topic of discussion as they are trying to figure out the path forward here for the U.S. to either stay in the country or draw down

its true presence there, something that the Iraqi government has been calling for several weeks now in light of these increased U.S. strikes in

the country.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, Natasha. Thank you. Well, at least 14 people were killed including five children in Israeli airstrikes in Rafah that is

according to an eyewitness based partly on speaking to health officials in Rafi. He tells CNN the strikes targeted several residential buildings in

the city, which is in Southern Ghana right up against the border with Egypt.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israeli troops will soon launch a ground offensive in Rafah as well. That comes despite warnings both from

the United States and from Egypt's foreign ministry which says targeting Rafah, which is packed with more than 1 million displaced Palestinians will

put them in danger.

Mr. Netanyahu says Rafah is Hama's is last bastion and insists the group must be completely destroyed. He of course dismissed a counter offer by

Hamas, to proposals for truce, a temporary truce on the release of hostages.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We haven't committed to anything. We haven't committed to any of the crazy demands of Hamas, the

numbers of terrorists with blood on their hands. There is not a commitment. There has to be a negotiation. It's a process. And at the moment from what

I see from Hamas, it's not happening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: CNN's Jeremy Diamond is live in Tel Aviv. Well, Hamas says it has a delegation that has now arrived in talks for further sort of negotiation

on Gaza. This comes after the group, of course offered a counter proposal on Wednesday. You've heard the response there from Benjamin Netanyahu.

Antony Blinken is now left the region suggesting that he feels quite positive about where these negotiations are going. And what sort of

evidence does he have for that, given what we've just heard from Netanyahu?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it probably relies on the fact that there has always going to be rhetoric outside of

the confines of the backroom negotiations that are actively happening.

And so, while it's important to take note of statements like those that the Israeli prime minister made last night, it's also important to look at the

substance of what was actually proposed by Hamas, where Israel actually stands in this. And what the willingness actually seems to be by the two

sides to bridge the gap.

And when you look at as we talked about yesterday, that phase one portion of this proposal counterproposal from Hamas, the fact that it is quite

similar to what Israel agreed to in that broad framework, with a few very, very notable and important exceptions, there does seem to be some room for

these two parties to perhaps be able to move forward.

There is still, of course, this major, major gap beyond the number of Palestinian prisoners who would be released, the type of Palestinian

prisoners who would be released, there is still this enormous gap between the two sides over whether or not these hostage negotiations are actually

going to lead to a temporary ceasefire or to a permanent ceasefire that would end the war and see the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza.

But nonetheless, there has been a significant narrowing of the gap on the substance of these issues. And we should note that the Israeli prime

minister, even as you describe the Hamas's counterproposal, as delusional, he said that Israel will not surrender to their crazy demands. He also made

-- he also did not close the door to future negotiations entirely.

And so, it does seem like these two parties are still willing to engage in talks with Hamas showing up in Cairo today to engage in further

discussions. And the Israeli Prime Minister also seems to try and squeeze out more military pressure over Hamas. And that may also be part of a

negotiating strategy as he threatens to move into Rafah next, where Hamas's most senior leaders may perhaps be hiding in tunnels, which could be one of

Hamas's last remaining strongholds in Gaza.

And where of course, they're also 1.3 million people estimated to currently be living there. The Israeli military threatening to move there next could

put significant pressure on Hamas. But of course it shouldn't just be viewed in the context of negotiations. It should also be viewed as

something that poses a significant threat to the 1.3 million people who are living in that city, who are sheltering there, many of them in enormous

tent cities that have sprung up on the outskirts of that city.

[09:15:00]

And that's why we're seeing Egyptian officials raising concerns about that potential military operation. And I'm told that the secretary of state

yesterday in his meetings with Israeli officials also raised concerns and pressed Israeli officials for plans on how they plan to mitigate the harm

to civilians. If indeed, that is the next step of this military operation.

ANDERSON: Yeah, this does seem to suggest that tactically this could be Benjamin Netanyahu buying time for that operation in Rafah an operation, as

you rightly point out that has been heavily criticized both by Egypt and by the United States as risking further loss of civilian life Jeremy good to

have you thank you.

Well, the polls may be closed in Pakistan now, but everything that happened during the campaigns and especially on Election Day have not ended leaving

many concerns in the country. And could Tucker Carlson's controversial interview with Vladimir Putin shed any light on the Russian president's

thinking about Ukraine, more on that is after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Right. You're watching "Connect the World". I'm Becky Anderson, the time in Abu Dhabi for you is 18 minutes past six in the evening. Well,

in a year where billions of people are scheduled to go to the polls half the world's population effectively. It was Pakistan's turn to hold its

general election today. Polls have just closed there. That's in the last few hours.

And the country is still dealing with the violent attacks at some of the polling stations yesterday and indeed today, dozens of people have been

injured and at least 30 have been killed after several explosions. The country of course has also been struggling with more of the political

crisis with its popular Former prime minister Imran Khan held in jail and barred from running.

Not to mention there are problems with the economy, significant problems with the economy and other militant attacks. Also mobile services and the

internet access have been suspended. For the latest let's get you to CNN's Anna Coren. Anna, the polls are closed, but we all have Pakistan's

political upheaval. What are voters and politicians hoping for as far as an outcome on this election and whether that outcome will be seen as anything

like free and fair?

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's what voters want right, free and fair elections, whether they get it is another thing. But I think

ultimately its stability Becky. It's been a tumultuous two years for Pakistan after the ousting of Former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

[09:20:00]

And really that is what this country is craving. We've just heard from Pakistan's caretaker prime minister, who congratulated the country's 128

million voters for their, quote, successful conduct and high turnout even though we don't have the numbers in the general elections, claiming that it

signals public commitment to shaping the future of the nation.

And you mentioned those reports of violence and multiple terror attacks in a number of provinces across Southwestern Pakistan, targeting polling

stations and security personnel. Of course, the threat and terrorism was the reason authorities gave for shutting down internet and mobile services

across the country.

They had several parties crying foul. And we heard from Pakistan's Human Rights Commission and Amnesty International criticizing that decision as

quote, a blunt attack on rights to freedom of expression. So, as I say, it has been a tumultuous two years, the most popular politician Imran Khan, he

remains behind bars disqualified from running.

And in the past few weeks Becky, we've seen him convicted in three cases and handed lengthy sentences. His supporters believe this is part of a

state crackdown on Khan as well as his party. But look, many analysts believe that it's his predecessor, Nawaz Sharif, who will be elected Prime

Minister. This would be his fourth term in office.

He's never actually completed a full term and his most recent stint back in 2017, saw him fall out with the all-powerful military. He was accused of

corruption disqualified from holding office and forced into exile. Well, the political winds have changed and with the blessing of the military,

Sharif, almost certainly become Pakistan's next Prime Minister.

Becky from analysts that we've spoken to, he is seen as a pragmatist and a businessman. And he will certainly need to apply all of this considering

that the country is going through the worst economic crisis in recent history. Inflation has soared to a record high of nearly 40 percent. And we

know that Sharif wants to strengthen relations with the U.S. and with China.

Invested in infrastructure projects, he's even made overtures to mending bridges without rival India. Look, there's a lot of anger in Pakistan over

Imran Khan, disillusionment in the political system and the overarching power of the military. But there's also a sense of exhaustion and

resignation among the population that just wants stability restored.

But I should just mention, Becky, that critics are saying these elections are one of the least credible in Pakistan, 76 year history. And that alone

will undermine any political economic stability required, really to govern this nuclear armed nation. Becky?

ANDERSON: Yeah, good to have you, Anna. Thank you. Well, another country heading to the polls in 2024 is Russia. But that doesn't mean Vladimir

Putin will have a lot of opposition a Russian presidential hopeful, who is against the war in Ukraine has just been barred from running. Russia's

central election committee has ruled that Boris Nadezhdin did not have enough legitimate votes to challenge Putin this march.

The committee is also recommending that his campaign bank accounts be frozen. Well, the kremlin is pushing back on a claim by right wing media

personality Tucker Carlson that no western journalists have tried to interview Vladimir Putin about his full scale invasion of Ukraine. Moscow

says that is false.

The former Fox News host made that claim as he promoted his interview with the Russian president. He is or certainly was in Moscow and that interview

is set to post online in the coming hours, since the announcement Carlson has faced backlash from journalists around the world. We are live in Kyiv

with CNN's Fred Pleitgen. Carlson has been accused in the past of asking softball questions of major figures.

So I wonder what we might expect of him this time. But I do think it's important to point out that this assertion from Tucker Carlson that, you

know, journalists who are based in Russia and indeed journalists from around the world have simply not pitched for interviews with Vladimir Putin

since the outbreak of his offensive, his war on Ukraine, that is simply absurd. Isn't it?

[09:25:00]

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, yeah, well, it is. It is absurd. And you're absolutely right. I mean, I spent

most three years in Russia. And I can't even tell you the amount of times that we pitched interviews with Vladimir Putin, and people in our company,

many of them pitched interviews with Vladimir Putin, as well. And certainly we know that other networks have also done the same thing.

So it certainly isn't from a lack of trying that no interviews with Vladimir Putin with western media have happened since he started the war

here in Ukraine. And I think there are two sorts of assertions that Tucker Carlson made, Becky that a lot of people have been criticizing.

On the one hand, he was sort of hinting that he believed that people in the United States didn't know what was really going on in Russia because they

weren't listening to Vladimir Putin, because what he's saying isn't sort of being broadcast internationally.

But of course, we hear from Vladimir Putin on our programs all the time, whether it's his speeches in international forums whether or not it's

speeches elsewhere, interviews that he gives out to you for instance to Russian media. There is certainly a lot of Vladimir Putin on the airwaves

around the world. And definitely, a lot of people have been pitching interviews as well.

And I think another thing that the kremlin also said to the Spokesman Dmitry Peskov they said that they specifically chose Tucker Carlson for

this interview because they believed that it would be beneficial for them. I just want to listen into what Dmitry Peskov said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DMITRY PESKOV, KREMLIN SPOKESMAN: We receive many requests for interviews with the president. There is no desire to communicate with such media

outlets. And there is hardly any point in it. There is hardly any benefit from it. He has a position that differs from the others.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: So, this begs the question, is it possible conceivable that Tucker Carlson could be manipulated by Moscow at this point?

PLEITGEN: I don't, I don't know -- that he would be manipulated or whether or not it requires a lot of manipulation. It's unclear what exactly Tucker

Carlson asked Vladimir Putin. And I think in general.

We're going to have to wait and see what kind of questions he asked whether or not those are going to be tough questions that we're going to hear from

Tucker Carlson. Certainly some of the things that he said in that video that he put out didn't exactly hint to the fact that he was going to hold

to Vladimir Putin's feet to the fire if you will.

But certainly in interviews with Vladimir Putin would usually pick up some nuances possibly about his thinking about the war in Ukraine also about

American politics as well. So we're going to have to wait and see, but there were certain assertions by Tucker Carlson, for instance, where he

said that the world's media wasn't trying to report from Russia.

Well, we know that, of course, our colleague, Evan Gershkovich, from "The Wall Street Journal" has been in jail for a long time for doing just that.

And also, there was a protest in Moscow the other day of wives of soldiers asking for the soldiers to come home where a bunch of international

journalists were detained.

So international media is trying, but as far as his interview is concerned, it's absolutely clear, Becky, that it's not the international media that

doesn't want to talk to Vladimir Putin. It's Vladimir Putin who only wants to talk to Tucker Carlson, Becky.

ANDERSON: Yeah, fascinating. Good to have you, sir. Thank you. Still to come on "Connect the World" with me, Becky Anderson, the highest court in

the United States, we'll hear an historic argument or historic arguments today on whether to ban Donald Trump from the ballot box, a closer look at

that, its significance and its potential consequences coming up. Plus another eruption at daybreak lights up the skies over Iceland. These are

live pictures for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:00]

ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi for you. Time here just after half past six in the evening. Let's get you back to our top

story this hour in less than a half hour from now. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for the case that could completely upend this

year's U.S. presidential election, an issue whether or not Donald Trump should appear on the ballot.

Well, the State of Colorado is barred him citing a provision in the U.S. constitution which says that no officer of the United States who has

engaged in an insurrection shall hold any public office. Now, though the court is dominated by conservative justices, there is so little history of

cases like this that caught observers say it is difficult to predict how the justices will decide.

We have team coverage of what is this momentous hearing. Marshall Cohen is in Washington D.C. Kristen Holmes joins us from Mar-a-Lago where Trump is

currently staying. He had the option to appear today. He isn't going to and we will discuss that, Kristen shortly. Marshall, though, let me start with

you. What happens in court today doesn't stay in court today. This is a really big test, not least, for the chief justice. Just explain what we

should expect today and how significant this is?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: That's right, Becky, this is a huge moment for our nation, where we will eventually answer the question of is Donald

Trump even eligible to run again, for President of the United States. As you mentioned, the Supreme Court arguments are within the hour. There are

no cameras in the court.

But there is an audio feed and we will all be able to listen. And what you will hear are three different sides here. You've got the challengers who

filed this lawsuit representing a bipartisan group of voters from Colorado, Republicans and Independents who have argued that this insurrectionist ban

applies to Donald Trump because of what he did on January 6th.

Then there's of course, the Trump side. They have many different defenses that they are mounting. They've argued that the band doesn't apply to the

presidency. They've argued that January 6th was not even an insurrection it was a riot but not an insurrection. And they've argued that all of his

comments that day, no matter how incendiary, they were protected by the first amendment.

And then Becky the third side here is actually the State of Colorado, the secretary of state, the top election official there, her office is a part

of this lawsuit. If you have to take him off the ballot, they'll be the ones required to enforce that. They are in court today to defend the

process that took place in Colorado, there was a trial. There was an appeal. And after all about those procedures, the conclusion was that Trump

is disqualified.

So three parties here, nine justices, as you mentioned, the court has a super majority of conservatives, including three appointees of Former

President Trump. But this is so unprecedented, so historic, we're going to have to wait and hear how they chew on this. What questions do they ask,

how do they approach these novel constitutional questions is going to be incredibly fascinating, Becky.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, Marshall. Kristen, let me bring you in. I just want our viewers to hear from the former president who is where you are in

Mar-a-Lago; this is what he said earlier.

[09:35:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They want to have, you know, the Supreme Court rule or vote to take me out

of the race. That would be a very terrible thing to do. It's about to vote. It's about our Constitution. You can't take the votes away from the people

that would be so bad for democracy, that would be so bad for our country, and I can't imagine that would happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: After -- say sounds awful. Be that as it may. Kristen, does he have a point?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Becky, he's always going to paint this as political as election interference. There is no surprise

there. What is surprising is how his team is approaching this case so differently than how they have approached all of these other legal cases.

We saw him go into those courtrooms by choice and both the civil defamation case in New York and the civil fraud case in New York.

He was yelling. He was storming in and out of the courtroom muttering to his lawyers. All of this is kind of an attempt to turn these courtrooms

appear -- courtroom appearances into campaign stops. That is obviously not what he is doing today. He is going to give remarks at Mar-a-Lago before he

gets on a plane to Nevada, where he is expected to win the caucuses tonight. Another juxtaposition here as we talk about both the legal and the

political and how they really come together as one.

But we are told that the reason for him not attending is, because it is an indication of how his team is handling this much more carefully than

they've handled other trials. They had Luke court, which was practice court for these arguments for two days. They have been filling in Donald Trump

throughout the week, his lawyers calling him giving him kind of an update as to what exactly this was going to look like.

But he's not going to be there. And he's not going to be sitting there facing events where he appointed one third of the justices causing a rather

strange dynamic so all of this to say that we don't know what Donald Trump is going to say during his remarks. He could go completely off of message.

But we are told that they are trying with their client Donald Trump to handle this in a very careful and measured way.

ANDERSON: There will be those watching who say good luck to that team. Not my words. I'm just anticipating what people watching around the world might

say. Kristen, it's good to have you as ever, thank you. Still to come two football heavyweights have booked their places in the Africa Cup of Nations

final this weekend. We'll look ahead to the clash of the super eagles and the elephants. We've also got coverage of the Asian Cup final.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:00]

ANDERSON: Remarkable images coming in from Southwest Iceland right now as a volcano there erupts for the third time in two months. Just look at those

images, remarkable stuff as scientists say, the ground started rumbling before daybreak, then molten rock began spewing about a half an hour later.

They say the eruption is not likely to pose a direct threat to the nearby town of Grindavik. Iceland has more than 30 active volcanoes.

Well, some news from our region, defending champions Qatar book their place in the Asian Cup final with victory over Iran to set up a meeting with the

tournament's surprise package and first time finalists, Jordan. Qatar definitely did it the hard way against Iran, Iran's golden generation as

they've been dubbed taking the lead after just four minutes with a brilliant overhead kick from Sardar Azmoun.

Three time champions Iran were aiming for their first final appearance since 1976. It wasn't though to be more prepared to be thrilled if you are

joining football fans in Abidjan this Sunday after a month of great games in Africa.

The African Cup of Nations has reached its final weekend, the country's vying for the crown Nigeria and host nation, Ivory Coast. Well, it's hard

to say which team is better, the Super Eagles, or the elephants. Let's get the assessment of Amanda Davies, who joins me now, Amanda?

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: I have to say Becky these are two Confederation tournaments that are going against the odds pretty well for

the host, not only Qatar who of course, appointed their coach just well less than a month before the start of the Asian Cup. The Ivory Coast sacked

their manager midway through this tournament at the end of the group stage.

And somehow they've pulled themselves together turned it round, and have booked their place in a final way. They're going to take on the three time

champions Nigeria. On paper, you have to say this is Nigeria's to lose. But the momentum, the support as you can see very much behind the Ivory Coast.

What I do know it promises to be an incredible final weekend of action both in Qatar and the Ivory Coast. And of course a huge weekend in Las Vegas for

the Super Bowl. And we're looking at all of it in just a couple of minutes in "World Sport".

ANDERSON: Well, that's amazing. Who do you say coach, an overpaid coach where you can just get on with it yourselves. I love it. I love these

stories. And it's great to see their hosts those nations getting through to the forum. But you -- I mean literally, I would not have bet on Qatar and

Jordan but they go. It's great to see you, looking forward for the weekend. Amanda is back with "World Sport" after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

END