Return to Transcripts main page

Connect the World

Gang Violence Escalating, Humanitarian Crisis Unfolding; LATAM Passenger: People "Flew Through Cabin"; E. Jean Carroll could Object to Trump's $91.6 M Bond; "Zone in Interest" Filmmaker Condemns Israeli-Hamas War; Moto GP Kicks Off 2024 Season in Doha. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired March 11, 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: With no ceasefire deal inside and as Ramadan begins in this region and around the world, we are live from

Doha for you, the only location where negotiations between Israel and Hamas have yet been successful. It's 4 pm here in Qatar. I'm Becky Anderson. You

are watching "Connect the World".

Also happening this Monday, Sweden's flag flies at NATO Headquarters completing a process that Russia didn't want to see the world reacting to

violence in Haiti. Now the U.S. Secretary of State is headed to Jamaica for an emergency meeting. And the Princess of Wales apologizes after her

editing on this photo causes major controversy.

Earning markets in New York will open in about 30 minutes from now. Futures are pointing to a lower opening in what is a data heavy week traders it

seems not optimistic ahead of Tuesday's U.S. Consumer Price Index report that will give us some insight into the U.S. inflation fight.

Well, I'm here in Doha today on what is the first full day of Ramadan in much of the Arab world. This is the place where the first and so far only

temporary ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war was reached back in November. But as we start our newscast, there is a no truce for Gaza and a new vow

from Israel's Prime Minister that a ground incursion in Rafah is going to happen.

Israel's hardline government had earlier called the beginning of Ramadan, the deadline for the start of a ground operation unless a hostage release

deal was reached. Now, I've got a stress. Israeli official say today that a ground operation is not imminent, but the possibility of it happening

during Ramadan has not been ruled out.

So is this Muslim holy month begins a tense waiting game in Gaza and around the region, increasing fears that what is already a humanitarian

catastrophe will get exponentially worse. Well, Scott McLean is connecting us tonight on the stories. Scott, in Gaza, hunger worsens with famine, a

real concern for hundreds of thousands of civilians as Palestinians mark the start of the holy month of Ramadan, some fighting talk from the Israeli

Prime Minister. What are we hearing at this point?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, so Becky, this goes back to well, I mean, it goes back a few weeks now the Americans have been trying to put

increasing pressure on the Israelis to do more to get aid into the territory and also to negotiate an end to this war, or at least a temporary

ceasefire to allow the hostages to get out and more aid to get in to lessen the humanitarian crisis.

That is ongoing right now. President Biden said in an interview on Saturday with MSNBC that going into Rafah militarily would be a red line for him.

But he also gave comfort to Israel by saying that he would never leave Israel on its own and would never cut off all weapons.

And so clearly, that wasn't much of a threat to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who made very clear in a subsequent interview yesterday

that they would, in fact, go into Rafah and we have just heard from the Israeli Prime Minister this morning in an interview on Fox News, actually,

just a few minutes ago, where he said that frankly, the demands being made by Hamas right now are nowhere in the ballpark.

We know from the Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh that they are insisting that no hostages will be handed over unless a ceasefire that is agreed to is

permanent. And among other things, an IDF withdrawal from Gaza also takes place. Netanyahu also pledged not to take his foot off the gas in terms of

military operations on the ground.

And he was asked about the rift that seems to be publicly being exposed between Netanyahu and Biden. He said that the public perception of that

rift is hurting the war efforts. And Becky, he was also asked him this Fox News interview about a moment that took place on Thursday after President

Biden Secretary or State of the Union address, excuse me, where he was talking to Senator Michael Bennet from the State of Colorado and to the

Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

[09:05:00]

And apparently he didn't realize that he was on a hot mic. And he said this to the two men. He said, I told them Bibi, and don't repeat this. But you

and I are going to have a come to Jesus meeting. Now, on Saturday, the President was asked about that. And he said that it means a serious

meeting.

And that Netanyahu knows exactly what he meant? Well, the Israeli Prime Minister was asked whether he did, in fact, now on Fox News just a few

minutes ago, and this is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Well, I don't know exactly what the President meant. But if he meant by that, then I'm pursuing private

policies against the majority the wish of the majority of Israelis, and that this is hurting the interests of Israel. And he's wrong on both

counts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLEAN: I think that was the wrong piece of sound that we played there. That was from his interview that he gave just yesterday, with Politico and

the German outlet to build as well and in that interview.

Becky, it's also worth pointing out that he didn't rule out the possibility of expanding military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying that

the people who have been displaced from their homes in Northern Israel will be able to go back if they can do it diplomatically to bring some kind of

peace and safety to that area he will.

But otherwise, he says that they will do it militarily. Obviously, this is very concerning, considering that Hezbollah dwarfs Hamas in terms of

military capabilities. The Israelis have said that they believe that there are hundreds, maybe thousands of rockets in people's private homes in

Southern Lebanon within striking distance of Israel and Hezbollah itself claims to have some 100,000 fighters amongst its reserves.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, sir. Thank you. One historic day is one more nation is embraced by NATO. Russia's invasion of Ukraine now in its third

year has pushed Sweden to abandon a long held position of neutrality. It is now the second country to join the Alliance since the start of this war.

And it goes almost without saying that an expanding NATO is likely the exact opposite of what Russia's President wanted to see on his doorstep

when his troops entered Ukraine. Well, it marks the end of a drawn out and contentious journey to membership. CNN's, Melissa Bell can put that for us

into a wider context for us, Melissa.

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's been an easy road to accession for Sweden. You'll remember that it was Ankara, Turkey.

That was staunchly opposed up for a long time. And it took an awful lot of wrangling. You'll remember in Vilnius last year at the NATO summit at four

in the end anchor to put down its objections.

Essentially, it had said that it was objecting to the fact that a country that it considered harbored Turkey Kurdish extremists should be allowed

into NATO, these objections in the end are overruled. And so this historic moments you're quite right, there's no other word for it.

When you look at those pictures, they really are remarkable. It was last year, Becky, that Finland of course joined NATO becoming the 31st member of

the alliance with its more than 800 mile border with Russia. I mean, talk about the opposite of what Vladimir Putin must have been seeking when he

first entered Ukraine and there you have it now, Sweden as well.

And it's an important moment Ulf Kristersson, the Swedish Prime Minister was in Washington, of course on Thursday, Becky, to officially hand over

the accession documents to Secretary Blinken, he was also invited to the Secretary -- to the State of the Union, by the President afterwards in a

show of solidarity. This is what he had to say about his country's official accession to the alliance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: That demonstrates also that NATO's door is open. It's for NATO allies, the applicant country to decide

it's not for Russia to decide.

ULF KRISTERSSON, SWEDISH PRIME MINISTER: We should not be naive. And I think we're more we're more aware of the risks that they pose to us now

than we have ever been before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELL: And you heard there, of course, Jens Stoltenberg as well, the Secretary General of NATO, it is not for us to be afraid it is for Russia

to be afraid. I think, as we watch this very solemn an important moment for NATO. It's important also to reflect on what we've been hearing from Poland

over the course of the last few days.

It was the anniversary, the 25th anniversary of Putin's accession to NATO on Friday. The Foreign Secretary held a press conference to celebrate the

moment in which he spoke of the possibility of Western troops find themselves in Ukraine.

[09:10:00]

You'll remember that President Macron had attracted the ire of many European NATO counterparts when he suggested that this should not be

excluded the Polish Prime Minister at welcoming what he'd done, which is to begin a debate about how individual European countries or NATO allies can

consider what more help they can bring to Ukraine at a time when things are looking so difficult for the Ukrainian side.

But for NATO, as you heard Jens Stoltenberg say, an important message of unity of strength in the wake of what has been a catastrophic Ukrainian

invasion by Russia. And that has, in a sense galvanized the allies so much, Becky.

ANDERSON: Melissa Bell on the story. Melissa, thank you. Well, now to a CNN exclusive that is raising alarm on the frontlines of Ukraine. Sources tell

CNN that Russia pumping out nearly three times more ammunition than the U.S. and Europe combined for Ukraine, saying that Russia is making

artillery shells around the clock. CNN's, Katie Bo Lillis joining us now from Washington. What do we know at this point?

KATIE BO LILLIS, CNN REPORTER: Yeah, Becky. So what I've learned are some pretty staggering numbers that really illustrate how much more quickly

Russia has been able to ramp up its defense production for its war in Ukraine in ways that have in some ways left the U.S. and the and the West

behind.

Now, the most important number here is artillery shells, a senior NATO official telling me that Russia is making somewhere on the order of 250,000

artillery shells per month, adding up to a total of about 3 million a year. Now compare that to the 1.2 million that the U.S. and Europe are on track

to produce in a year.

And this is showing up on the battlefield Ukraine has been forced to ration its artillery fire, we were told that Ukraine is firing about 2000 rounds a

day compared to 10,000 fired by the Russians. And in some places on the 650 mile front, Becky, we're told that the ratio is even worse.

Now, this is important, because artillery is the number one metric that U.S. and Western officials are watching as they try to get a sense for how

Ukraine is performing in this conflict. This is a war that is expected to really be won or lost on just plain old artillery being traded back and

forth across the frontlines.

So the math really matters here. And officials tell us that Russia has been able to ramp up its production so much more quickly than the democratic

west, in large part because it's basically acting as a managed economy. Putin can essentially just order these factories to get to work and start

producing more stuff.

And so we're told by the NATO official, by the senior NATO official that Russian factories are now operating 24/7 in rotating 12 hour shifts, this

is now defense is now the largest part of the Russian economy. Some questions, of course, about how long they can sustain this in the long run.

It may have some consequences for them down the track, but at least for now, perhaps the next 18 months, they're on pretty solid footing, according

to this official. And so for Ukraine, this really comes down to whether or not the West whether or not Europe and the United States are able to ramp

up their production and match what the Russians are producing.

And at this point, there are some real questions about whether or not that's going to happen that money in the United States obviously has run

out. Republican opposition in the Congress has stalled additional aid. And so for Ukraine, the question now is what the U.S. Congress do is and what

happens in the presidential election in November?

ANDERSON: Good to have you, thank you. Was gang violence escalates in Haiti, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling to Jamaica today

for an emergency meeting with Caribbean Leaders on the crisis. Gangs have been carrying out highly coordinated attacks that threaten to topple

Haiti's government.

The Chaos has also forced tens of thousands to flee their homes and the Haiti with a growing shortage of basic essentials. CNN's Patrick Oppmann

joining us says he's in Havana, Cuba today. What is Antony Blinken hoping to achieve at this point, Patrick?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the U.S. and others have been calling on the Haitian government what remains of the Haitian government.

Ariel Henry, the Prime Minister who cannot return to his country at this point, to form a transitional government to reach out to the other

politicians and political parties.

And one forms something of a unity government with the eventual goal of holding elections probably in 2025. It seems very optimistic. We have so

much chaos and violence on the streets right now. But they're hoping that would make way then for us, perhaps from Kenya that is already approved,

sending 1000 soldiers to arrive in Haiti and begin to restore order.

[09:15:00]

Of course the situation on the ground in Haiti, it looks very, very different as these gangs working together, instead of fighting each other

as they usually do to topple the government and attacking places like the National Palace like Interior Ministry and even in parts of the City of

Port au Prince, where embassies are like the U.S. Embassy, the Canadian Embassy and others, that up until now then probably the most closely

guarded places in that country.

So you know, over the weekend, seeing the U.S. military bringing a helicopter in the dead of night to take out non-essential personnel and

bring in additional security to guard the embassy, other diplomatic missions, also evacuating the personnel. And what we're hearing is that

there are simply too many diplomats and aid workers trying to leave them there are helicopters at this point.

Of course, they are the fortunate ones because for the Haitians caught in the crossfire, not having access to food, being at the mercy of the gangs,

in what increasingly is looking like a failed state. There is no escape for the Haitians who have suffered so much over the last week as the situation

the security situation in Haiti has simply spiraled out of control.

ANDERSON: Patrick Oppmann -- the story for you ahead of that meeting with Caribbean Leaders for the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Will just

ahead on "Connect the World" the Princess of Wales speaking out today about a photo that sparked more than 1000 words possibly even 1000 conspiracy

theories, that is after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: The Princess of Wales has gone public about a photo which picture agencies pulled on Sunday. Here it is. Or today, Princess Catherine is

taking responsibility and offering an apology after news groups said that this image appeared to have been manipulated. Kensington Palace released a

post on X from the Princess that says quote like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing.

I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion. The family photograph we shared yesterday caused. Well CNN Royal Historian Kate Williams joins me

now from London and it did create confusion for which she is apologizing. Let's take a look at Kate, what went wrong here?

This video for our viewers shows what many people have been suggesting as an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte hand and zip are

looks as if it's off on Kate's sweater.

[09:20:00]

Now these are small things but it is clear from this which is the instruction kill from -- kill photo images for major news agencies that

this is serious. Now these agencies clearly saw an issue with what they believe was manipulation, be that Photoshop or AI. The problem here is, of

course that nobody has seen the Princess for some time.

And this was an effort it seems to show that she is okay. So just provide us some context for this for those who are perhaps a little confused as to

what's going on here?

KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL HISTORIAN: Well, yes, Becky, ever since we heard that the Princess was in hospital, she had surgery in early January. We

haven't seen her since. And the Internet has become a wild west of rumors, speculation the most outlandish lurid speculation that you could imagine.

And this was really getting so intense, there were photographers following Kate, she needs her privacy, she's just getting over surgery. It's clearly

very severe surgery, she needs time. So obviously, Kensington Palace thought the best thing to do was to put out a photo saying she's fine with

her children, and very happy.

And the problem is that this photo has fueled the fire, the conspiracy theories are even greater because of this digital altering. And just as you

were saying, it is serious that these photo agencies, reputable photo agencies, Getty, AP, they're also we won't use this anymore.

And that is unprecedented because the Royals always do a little bit of filtering. A Christmas photo recently was Prince Louis was missing a finger

and you know Royals used portraiture we go right back to Elizabeth the first. She didn't look like she did in the Armada portrait, they always

touch up.

But this is obviously very serious. And actually, I was just talking to an expert about this. And his opinion is that it is -- it's not just

Photoshop, it is actually an AI photo. And that's what he's saying. So of course, this is just adding to the speculation and the panic, and it is

really a PR disaster for the Royals.

ANDERSON: Yeah, and I just wonder what you think this? I mean, this is a mess up. Best I guess we should explain. And I guess we've heard from the

princess today, we still haven't seen since. Of course, she went into hospital for, as you say these procedures back in January. What are these

mess ups, do you think?

Say about the palace's credibility at this point? Certainly Princess Catherine is never, sorry, has gone against the never complain. Never

explain dictum, hasn't she? I mean, normally it's like silence.

WILLIAMS: Yes, well, she did speak out. And I think that was very important because it was spiraling. So her words have helped the matter. They dampen

the flames a bit. It sounds very much to me, like her voice. She's apologizing. But they're also people saying, look, this is too complicated.

No amateur photographer would do this kind of changing. And if it is AI, as some people are saying, that's very different to adding a little bit of

Photoshop. So obviously, Kate is saying it was me, but I think many people think it wasn't. And certainly I think there's going to be more and more

speculation.

And they're probably going to have to put out another photo. But this one that was actually snapped on a phone was actually like a normal photo.

Because otherwise I think people are getting -- people are worried and they're concerned and the speculation just goes greater and greater.

And it's really, it must be so hard for Kate, she's had this severe surgery, she just needs privacy and the internet is panicking. So I think

for the Princess's privacy and also for the good of the royal family. I mean, it just seems like we can't, people are saying we can't trust them

anymore.

We can't trust their photos for the good for them. I think they do have to put out there a photo, whether it's the original of this, they said they're

not going to or simply a photo of Kate sitting down at home, something that is just on a phone and just snapped out there and given to us because

otherwise it's going to go even more wild.

ANDERSON: So many authentic non AI -- All right, good to have you, always a pleasure. Thank you. Let's get you up to speed focus on some of the other

stories that are on our radar right now. And in Indonesia, rescuers are looking for survivors after flash floods and landslides tore through the

island of Sumatra, killing at least 26 people.

That is according to the disaster agency officials there nearly 80,000 people have been displaced. They say from the severe weather with more rain

expected in the coming days. We're following a developing story out of New Zealand where 50 passengers from a LATAM Airlines flight received medical

treatment.

That's because their plane experienced what the airline calls a technical event in the air. Our Pete Muntean on the story for you, CNN's Aviation

Correspondent he joins me now what are we hearing from those involved?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: More passengers are describing a violent drop but there's some mystery here as to the cause.

[09:25:00]

This was initially described a strong turbulence that kind of incident that keeps making headlines. But I want to read you the statement from airline

LATAM that was operating this flight, Flight 800 between Sydney and Auckland.

It says there was a technical event during the flight which caused a strong movement. Technical event leaves a lot of room for interpretation and

investigators will want to know if something happened in the cockpit to the controls or to the autopilot. This was on a Boeing 787 not the 737 Max like

we saw during the Alaska Airlines door plug blowout two months ago.

But even still Boeing says it's working together more information about this incident and is standing by to support and investigation. This plane

was to go on to Santiago Chile, and the latest data from FlightAware shows that the plane remains in Auckland. Technical event or not, passengers are

describing this like a severe turbulence incident.

One telling Radio New Zealand blood was on the ceiling and people flew and broke the ceiling of the plane. First Responders treated 50 people in total

who were on board this flight they say 12 are taken to the hospital, one patient in serious condition. But the bottom line here is that the National

Transportation Safety Board and the U.S.'s turbulence is the number one cause of injuries on commercial flights.

It's really underscoring the need to keep the seatbelt buckled. Even if the seat belt sign is on, you never know what could happen be in severe

turbulence or a technical event like LATAM is describing here.

ANDERSON: And we are all told those of us who fly you know when you're in your seat, keep that seatbelt on. Good to have you sir. Thank you, funny

stuff. Will Donald Trump be held to his court bond of more than $90 million?

So it may all depend on the victim who won a case against him. Trump does not want to pay her, more on that coming up. And why the start of the

MotoGP racing season here in Doha is not the biggest cause for celebration on the track. We'll tell you why later this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:00]

ANDERSON: And Ireland Inc. ringing the Opening Bell today a week or so away from St. Patrick's Day with a focus on Irish and U.S. businesses and the

economic relationship between the two countries. Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Doha in Qatar today and you are watching "Connect the World".

The markets have just opened with the bell they're sounding and they are lower.

As you can see, trade is bracing for new information on the inflation fight. Is that data heavy week this week that information the CPI comes out

tomorrow Tuesday. And we will bring you that of course when we get it. But these markets really slightly concerned about what will happen with

inflation and therefore, ultimately what happens with interest rates.

All right, well Donald Trump could find out today whether his bond remains as he appealed the judgment against him in E. Jean Carroll's defamation

case. Now Judge Lewis Kaplan gave Carroll until today to object to the $91.6 million bond that Trump posted last week. As Trump appeals, Carroll

will not be able to get the $83.3 million she was awarded by a jury.

If Carroll does oppose the bond, both parties have to be in court at 3 pm Eastern Time. Well for more on the pending decision, let's get you to

Marshall Cohen and he joins us live from Washington. Let's just remind ourselves Washington, D.C. Marshall of course, let's remind ourselves is

it's only one of a number of significant payments, fines, call them what you will that Donald Trump has on his play at this point. So what happens

next?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Yeah Becky, it's almost hard to keep track of the criminal cases, the civil cases, but that's why we're here to break it

all down. So as you mentioned, E. Jean Carroll this is the columnist who sued Donald Trump for defamation. We are here today because a jury

determined that Donald Trump was liable for sexually assaulting Ms. Carroll in the mid-1990s at a department store in Manhattan.

The jury also determined that Donald Trump defamed Ms. Carroll when he claimed that she made it all up. For those damages, the jury awarded more

than $80 million to Ms. Carroll and Donald Trump is appealing that decision. As part of the appeal he had to post a bond, which he did on

Friday with the help of an outside insurance company that helped underwrite the bond.

That was for $91 million, which is the $83 million judgment plus some interest. The purpose of doing that is that so he can pursue his appeal.

And E. Jean Carroll won't get the money until the appeal is resolved. So if Ms. Carroll has any objections with that arrangement, she has 90 minutes

from right now to raise that objection in court. If she does, the judge said that he will hold a hearing later this afternoon.

If she does not have any issues with the arrangement, the judge would still need to put his final stamp of approval on it. And then of course, all eyes

will turn to this appeal, which could take a while to resolve, Becky.

ANDERSON: Do we have any idea what E. Jean Carroll's thinking is at this point?

COHEN: Well, you know, I'm not sure what she's thinking about exactly how to pursue this appeal. That's obviously up to her and her attorney. But I

would point out that they might have even more material if they want to think about broadening their litigation. They've done it before they might

do it again.

Because just over the weekend, Donald Trump said some of the same things that this jury determined was defamatory. Over the weekend, he was at a

campaign rally in Georgia. And he said that this story was made up that she made it all up. That's exactly what the jury said was defamation. So

they're probably watching Trump on the campaign trail and thinking that they might have more goods to go after him with, Becky.

ANDERSON: Thank you. It's good to have you. Calls for peace in Gaza made their way to the red carpet as some of the world's biggest celebrities

descended on Hollywood for the Oscars on Sunday night. Now a number of stars including Ramy Youssef and Billie Eilish donned a red pin with a hand

and black heart symbolizing their support for a ceasefire.

And after the winning the Academy Award for Best International Film "Zone of Interest" Director Jonathan Glazer condemned the Israel Hamas war. In

his acceptance speech Glazer pointed out the present day parallels to his movie which is set during the holocaust and follows the life and evil of a

Nazi family. Have a listen.

[09:35:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN GLAZER, WRITER & DIRECTOR, "ZONE OF INTEREST": Right now we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by

an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people. Whether the victims of October -- whether the victims of October the

seventh in Israel, will the ongoing attack on Gaza all the victims of this dehumanization? How do we resist?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well meanwhile, outside the theater, pro-Palestine protesters held signs and waved flags disrupting traffic on route to the show. Well

you're watching "Connect the World" with me Becky Anderson out of Doha, Qatar for you this evening. Coming up how last night's showdown between

Liverpool and Manchester City made the title race in the EPL wide open.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Right, welcome back. This weekend marked the start of the 2024 MotoGP season. And if you're a follower of the sport, you will know the

Qatar where I am here today is the first stop for the 22 Ryder race, but the spikes took to the track in Doha. The start of the racing season was

not the only thing to celebrate. Racism fans were also marking 75 years of MotoGP racing.

Now look while I would not even think about getting on one of those rockets disguised as bikes, I can still appreciate the beauty of this sport. I'm

sure you can too, check this out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON (voice-over): This is man and machine, the essence of MotoGP. The adrenaline fueled motorcycle event that roared into action this year with

the season opener in Qatar this past weekend.

DANIEL ROSSOMONDO, CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER, MOTOGP: We have two gladiatorial figures, the -- riders and we have to think and it's -- limit.

ANDERSON (voice-over): That's Chief Commercial Officer Daniel Rossomondo, whose job it is to satisfy loyal fans and attract a new generation. In 2023

MotoGP introduced sprint races, half the length of the main event on the Saturday of every Grand Prix weekend.

ROSSOMONDO: It has been wildly successful leading to over 20 percent global growth in our -- dealership.

ANDERSON (voice-over): That growth leading to a new partnership with CNN's Parent Company Warner Brothers Discovery driven to success by a multimedia

approach.

[09:40:00]

ANDERSON: What's the impact of new technology and AI on the sport?

ROSSOMONDO: I mean AI is at the forefront of what we're doing right now. This order is an unbelievable testing ground for both technologies that's

going to be delivered to the consumer. Those things on the bike are ultimately going to make their way onto the street.

ANDERSON (voice-over): What the fans want is speed and skill. Now more than ever, enhanced by technology that is blurring the lines between man and

machine like never before.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, speaking of motorsport this weekend, Saudi Arabian Formula One Grand Prix was a great success, especially for superstar Max

Verstappen. He already seems to be on track for a fourth straight F1 driver's crown. But the events most dramatic storyline was about an

understudy. Ferrari's, Oliver Bearman, who stepped in last minute to replace Carlos Sainz who underwent appendicitis surgery at just 18-years-

old.

Bearman is now the third youngest F1 driver ever. And the youngest to race for Ferrari, came in seventh place, the best race result for a debut since

2015. Congratulations to him. We'll be back after this short break with a lot more news on CNN. You get "World Sport". And we will be back top of the

hour for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

END