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"New York Times:" Donald Trump Taxes Show Massive Losses, Years Of Tax Avoidance; Armenia-Azerbaijan Fighting Shows No Signs Of Letting Up; Nagorno-Karabakh Dispute Flares Up; Misery In Syrian Camp For Thousands Who Lived Under ISIS. Aired 10-10:45a ET

Aired September 28, 2020 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:20]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A bombshell "New York Times" report says Donald Trump didn't pay any federal income taxes for 10 to 15 years before his election.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This story was a total fake, it's totally fake news.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Money talks, wealth whispers and Trump attacks. We unpack the latest draw dropping report on the White

House.

And Armenia and Azerbaijan clash over disputed territory, what we know and why it matters, that is ahead.

Also tonight, CNN takes you inside the dire conditions of Syria's Al-Hol refugee camp amid COVID, now bracing for an even greater disaster.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.

ANDERSON: It is 10:00 a.m. in D.C., it's 5:00 p.m. in Moscow and it's 6:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. We are right now 36 days and counting away from

Election Day in the United States of America and we are watching America split down the middle between red and blue, Republican and Democrat.

Yet again, as we finally see inside Donald Trump's tax returns. We are going to connect you to how both sides see that and let you decide who is

right and who is wrong.

Well, there is just over a month until that U.S. election but we begin with the story that has been years in the making, in simple black and white

being read worldwide. The New York Times is reporting on what it calls Donald Trump's long concealed chronic losses and years of tax avoidance.

We're going to lay out both sides of this important story. First, here's what the paper is saying and why it matters. This is the big figure to

focus on even though ironically it is relatively tiny. $750, the amount Mr. Trump paid in federal income taxes in both 2016 and 2017 according to the

Times.

OK, so, who in America would have to pay more than that annually? Well, almost everyone working hard and playing by the rules. The average bill is

$12,000, usually, around 30 percent of yearly income. Meaning, what Mr. Trump reportedly paid was less than 16 times the American average.

Mr. Trump's bill was indeed far less than that of the countries nurses, drivers, teachers, firefighters, police officers and farmers. And just

think of the challenges they have had to face in all of this during this time.

Well, "The Times" has cited a plethora of expense claims which we will go on to explore this hour. But some hit home harder than others. Some

example, the $70,000 claim forgetting Mr. Trump's hair styled. That's more than the average American family would make in a year.

Here's another important number for you, zero. The amount of federal income taxes Donald Trump paid in 10 out of the 15 years since the year 2000. The

Times says he did that by reporting losses that were far greater than his gains. Well, this was the president's response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Yeah, basically -- well, first of all, I've paid a lot, and I paid a lot of state income taxes, too. The New York State charges a lot, and I

paid a lot of money in state. It'll all be revealed. It's going to come out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When?

TRUMP: But -- after the audit is -- after the -- I'm being -- they're doing their assessment. We've been negotiating for a long time. Things get

settled, like in the IRS. But right now, when you're under audit, you don't do it. You don't do that.

So we're under audit. But the story is a total fake. And all of their stories -- this one -- you know, we had the same exact questions, usually

asked by the same people, and that took place four years ago, you remember.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, let's take a look back at exactly what Mr. Trump said then four years ago about his taxes. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The only years that anybody's ever seen we're a couple of years when he had to turn them

over to state authorities when he was trying to get a casino license and they showed. He didn't pay any federal income tax. So, if --

TRUMP: That makes me smart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:05:10]

ANDERSON: This was the president's response to this New York Times' story and I quote here. "Fake news". Trump Organization Lawyer Alan Garten also

told the Times that quote. "Most if not all of the facts appear to be inaccurate." Without by the way specifying which, and he requested the

documents obtained for the story.

Also, don't forget, this is all coming out just before the first presidential debate between Mr. Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden.

It is also worth remembering that for many years, the president has lashed out at the New York Times itself, indeed saying, it is failing and he's

taken every opportunity to show just how well to do he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: On the mansion on the top of the hill, right next door. In the mansion --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: So, this could all be a major challenge for brand Trump. A president who has built his reputation on being a successful businessman

who has always put finances first.

And speaking of some of those challenges right now, Joe Biden's camp has indeed spoken out. The Democratic presidential nominee's deputy campaign

manager Kate Bedingfield was on CNN earlier. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE BEDINGFIELD, DEPUTY CAMPAIGN MANAGER FOR JOE BIDEN: I mean, look, it's the latest reminder how clear the choices here, between in this race,

between Park Avenue and Scranton.

You have in Donald Trump a president who spends his time thinking about how he can work his way out of paying taxes of meeting the obligation that

every other working person in this country meets every year.

You know, with Joe Biden, you have somebody who has a completely different perspective on what it means to be a working family in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, the campaign also releasing this video online. It's a message speaks for itself.

So, that is pretty much everything you need to know, the facts and the politics. We have connected you to it all.

CNN's political analyst Julian Zelizer tweeted about these bombshell tax revelation, saying, I quote. "Looks like the president's finances alt like

one massive shell game. But now Treasury is part of the action."

Julian joins us now by which you meant, what's up?

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, the questions about his practices and record. Meaning, is he really a successful businessperson?

This doesn't look so good.

But now, in addition to a shady record or a broken record, we have questions if he pays his fair share, is paid his obligations to the

country. And according to this story in the records, he hasn't.

And so, I think this is going to fuel a narrative that we're going to hear about from the Biden campaign for weeks to come.

ANDERSON: Here's a question then, last month, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed the Congress would get President Trump's tax returns from the next

Treasury Secretary if Biden were elected. The New York Times now one step ahead it seems.

Is the New York Times during the work of Congress at this point -- why was Congress not able to obtain these documents from the Treasury under this

current administration?

ZELIZER: Well, it's difficult to obtain the records and obviously, executive powers is a -- is a pretty awesome thing to prevent Congress from

moving forward but there will be fair questions. There's questions have the Democrats focused on the right issues in the past few years and why didn't

it make the tax returns the priority or a priority during investigations into the presidency especially since there are connections about how

presidential decisions have been made and the relationship with Trump properties and investment?

So, I think it's a fair question and one that Speaker Pelosi will probably address.

ANDERSON: Your good friend of the show and historian at Princeton to boot. So, I want to just as sort of follow the money here and dive into the

archives. Bill Clinton, as I understand it, paid some $63,000 in his first year as president. Barack Obama paid 1.8 million give or take. Donald

Trump, just to remind everyone, a mere $750. The average American pays around $12,000 a year.

[10:10:24]

ANDERSON: I just want you to provide some context here. How shocking is that $750 figure?

ZELIZER: Well, the figure is shocking especially since President Trump is much wealthier than many of these other candidates. He has a vast business

operation.

So, for many Americans to see that he paid $750 compared to what all the other presidents have paid since they started to return -- show their tax

returns which started with Richard Nixon, undermines the idea that he is somehow great populist. He's more of a plutocrat and he's one whose record

is not so great on top of that.

So, this is not usual, this is not normal and it kind of feeds some of the suspicions people have been talking about now for years.

ANDERSON: Let's be quite clear about this, because it's the impact, isn't it? That we are most focused on with less than 40 days until this election.

Only 24 hours out now before the first of what will be three presidential debates. None of this is a legal as far as I can tell.

So, question is, will this in any way dent the base?

ZELIZER: Well, look, some of this is being investigated according to The New York Times in terms of a very large refund that he received. This is

part of the ongoing investigation wing we've been hearing about, so we don't yet know if everything was on the up and up.

But no, I don't think the base is going to care nor will they believe this. I do also think that in the next few weeks, while Democrats might focus on

this issue, the media can easily get distracted and President Trump will help them do that.

We had a million bombshells during this presidency, remember the Mueller report and often they don't have lasting effects.

So, I don't think it's inevitable this transforms the political landscape. A pandemic that has lasted for months didn't do that. So it's unclear

whether this story will.

ANDERSON: And timing of course it seems is no coincidence. As I say, the first presidential debate is tomorrow.

In their report, the New York Times wrote ultimately Mr. Trump has been more successful playing a business mogul than being one in real life.

We know how Joe Biden will go in on this in the debate, one it seems. How do you think Donald Trump will handle this story in tomorrow's debate?

ZELIZER: He'll attack the attackers, that's what he does every time. So, we should expect that. He'll argue this is a fake story. He'll argue this is a

story that really skews information to get him and he'll try to present himself as a victim. This is always where he goes in difficult moments and

he tries to connect that argument with the sentiment of his supporters who he says feel the same way.

And so, I think that's what we're going to hear about in the debate when this comes up and then he'll quickly turn attention to -- you know, a lot

of attacks on Biden from family to his record.

ANDERSON: Always a pleasure, Sir. Thank you for joining us. Julian Zelizer in now.

So, I told you viewers last week at this time to put it in your calendar so you'll know that it's coming up. The first of three debates between Joe

Biden and President Trump now just a day away. It'll be broadcast at 3:00 in the morning for example if you're watching in the UAE live right here on

CNN. And we will break it all down for you on CONNECT THE WORLD. That's the first debate and the times shown there locally on your screens.

Well, an issue not so on the list of debate topics this week, the climate crisis. Wildfires fueled by hotter, dryer weather are now ripping through

Napa Valley in California. Craig Battuello's family has raised grapes there for more than a century.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG BATTUELLO, NAPA VALLEY VINEYARD OWNER: it's a cremation. The hill where the rum our winery is, (INAUDIBLE) that a lot I know all the trees

there. And the -- they were dissolved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, he said it wasn't time to evacuate, not yet. However, police are racing to get people out of the area. The sheriff's office

tweeted this video from one of the deputies on the ground, morning people never wait until the last second to evacuate.

[10:15:13]

ANDERSON: As I say, climate change will not be on the list of topic debates Tuesday but there will be lots to discuss. And no doubt, and we know for

sure one of them will be the pandemic actor Sean Penn's non-profit is helping to fill the gaping holes in COVID-19 testing in the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN PENN, FOUNDER, COMMUNITY ORGANIZED RELIEF EFFORT: The grade of this administration, of this presidency is that they're killing people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Coming up in a second out of CONNECT THE WORLD, Sean Penn's scathing criticism of the Trump administration in my conversation with the

actor on the other co-founder of the group cold CORE.

Plus, the simmering tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, erupt into an armed confrontation. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. It is 15 minutes

past six here at our Middle East broadcasting hub in Abu Dhabi. Taking a very short break back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELMAR MAMMADYARO, THEN-FOREIGN MINISTER OF AZERBAIJAN: The fight is still continues because you cannot make the truce unilaterally because the other side is still continuously attacking our position. And

the most warning part that they also attacking civilians on the line of contact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: The Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan on this show four years ago. And now, a new flare up in fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan shows no

sign of letting up. Both sides blame the other for firing the first shot over the weekend in the long disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. It is

located within Azerbaijan but it's run by a majority group of ethnic Armenians. Both sides say they are gaining ground but claimed dozens of

civilian casualties.

Well, the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh has been simmering for decades. Nick Paton Walsh has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: A conflict that's run hot and cold for decades is again a flame.

Fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan again fled in the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region Sunday, escalating with dozens dead.

Each side blamed the other for starting it and attacking civilians, claims CNN can't verify.

Azerbaijan said five from one family died in shelling by Armenian forces and another 19 were hospitalized. Armenia accounted that 14 civilians were

injured by tank fire and shelling. Armenia said Azerbaijan fired first.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Azerbaijan forces launched a large scale aggression, including missile attacks along the line of contact with our

talk, Nagorno-Karabakh.

[10:20:04]

WALSH: The same kind of claim made by Azerbaijan.

ILHAM ALIYEV, PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN (through translator):It is no secret that the first fire including artillery fire was opened by Armenia and the

first to die were Azerbaijani servicemen.

Azerbaijan gave a decent response to the enemy and the enemy could not move an inch.

WALSH: Here, Azerbaijani drones target Armenian forces positions but it risks spiraling as both sides have powerful ambitious backers.

While Russian President Vladimir Putin called Armenia's Prime Minister to urged calm, Moscow has long supported Yerevan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Turkey remains fully in solidarity.

WALSH: And Turkey has also long supported Azerbaijan and refused to call the mass killings of Armenians a century ago a genocide.

Turkey's president tweeted it would quote, "Stand by as Azerbaijani brothers and sisters with all its means as it always has done.

Years of fury over the enclave which is inside the borders of Azerbaijan linked to Armenia by one long road rose in July after clashes which

Azerbaijan says killed a dozen.

Sporadic outbreaks of violence have occurred since the six-year war over the enclave ended in 1994.

Now, both countries have imposed martial law. Azerbaijan called up reserves Monday after Armenia called for general mobilization on Sunday.

We expected Azerbaijan to start a war, says this reserve. Lately they've been talking about it all the time with their war rhetoric and we gather

here to help, to go and support our army.

In the past, diplomats have calmed tensions fast but in an imbalanced and troubled world, the usual statements haven't worked yet.

The U.N., U.S., E.U. and NATO have all called on both sides to immediately stop fighting, a test of their power to prevent a return to a hugely

volatile region of the full blown war of the 90's.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: (INAUDIBLE) seems to be the case is conflict caught in a wider global play. Let's connect you to that with Nick now. What is the wider

story here, Nick?

WALSH: Essentially, it's about the continuing fraying relationship between Turkey and Russia. A few years ago, rewind back, they were relatively

close. Almost too close in fact it seem for other NATO members to consider where Turkey should be in that alliance.

They've fallen out and then now found themselves in the size of the lines in Syria, where the Russian backs the regime and the Turkish have been

backing some rebels in the north, and in Libya, too, where Turkey backs the U.N. recognized government in the west of the country and Russia

predominantly backing the forces in the east, too.

Here the latest battlefield, Azerbaijan versus Armenia through Nagorna- Karabakh simmering for decades but there's something about it seems the last few days. Possibly it found its roots months ago in earlier clashes in

July where Azerbaijan lost a number of civilians, it said.

But there may be something more in Azerbaijan's confidence here through the words of Turkey, who simply said they need to continue assisting Azerbaijan

until it can free lands that should really be Azerbaijan's tt are currently occupied by Armenia in the eyes of Turkey.

That's a wide scope operation potentially and that at some point, possibly Russia may hold into view backing its long-term ally of Armenia, that could

calm things down or it could be a whole new phase of this conflict in a very volatile region, as a one of three front lines Turkey and Russia are

facing each other across now, Becky.

ANDERSON: Yes, fascinating. Nick Paton Walsh with us on this show. We're also joined -- thank you, nick -- by one of the people who tried to bring

this to an end. Matthew Bryza is a former U.S. Mediator in the dispute over the area Nagorna-Karabakh. He joins us from what looks like a very

beautiful Istanbul today. It's a pleasure having you on.

Are we further than ever from peace? Just help us get some context on all of this, if you will, Matthew.

MATTHEW BRYZA, FORMER U.S. MEDIATOR NAGORNA-KARABAKH: Sure, Becky, it's great to be with you. Thanks for having me.

Yes, I think we are further from peace then in since 1994, when cease-fire was brokered by Russia to end the Nagorna-Karabakh war, but how the heck do

we get here?

When I was the mediator at that time, there was -- there was an agreement in principle between the then president of Armenia Sarkissian and then the

current president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, on a framework. It was an agreement in principle but on a framework with several key factors that was

a logical way forward.

And what the president said at the time was but we have some very -- you know, some important details we still have to finalize. Those details never

got finalized, so when Armenia's new prime minister after the Velvet Revolution came into power, Nikol Pashinyan, he was a fresh voice. He had

real rapport with President Aliyev and there was optimism things were going to move forward.

[10:25:02]

BRYZA: In fact, after their first meeting in late 2018, both leaders made a joint announcement saying we need to prepare our people for peace.

But in the subsequent year, I think Prime Minister Pashinyan has been under terrible political pressure at home. Unable to consolidate his Velvet

Revolution and he's reversed himself and says he no longer favors those principles preliminarily agreed.

And I think Azerbaijan is frustrated. And who shot first? We'll never know but I think that both sides have been moving heavy weapons and armored

vehicles toward this line of contact for the last few weeks and a fuse was lit and we are where we are now and it is far from peace and I think the

fighting is going to continue until either Armenia stops Azerbaijan's operations or Azerbaijan consolidates the positions it's gained so far.

ANDERSON: Well, so you argued in an op-ed for the Atlantic council, that and I quote you here. "It may fall to Ankara and Moscow to fill a

diplomatic vacuum and convince their respective allies to return to the negotiating table."

Following on from Nick's analysis, is this a time when Russia and Turkey would be prepared to sort of come together to try and find a solution to

this?

And a second question to you, sir. You must have contacts at state in the U.S. We've seen a -- you know, a sort of statement from Mike Pompeo on

this. Is this something that the U.S. has any real interest in at all? What's their position?

BRYZA: Well, Becky, those two questions are interrelated and the answer I'm going to give to your second question helps answer your first one.

So, traditionally, the United States has had a lot of interest in what happens in the south caucuses and circularly in the Nagorna-Karabakh

conflict for a lot of reasons, the side strictly not wanting to see loss of life.

I mean, there are strategic infrastructure that passes from Azerbaijan near Nagorna-Karabakh into Turkey and onward to Europe. This is energy, oil and

gas pipelines driven largely by B.P. by the way. Its rail transport, road transport, it's an air corridor that the U.S. relied on during the war in

Afghanistan and their fiber optic cables.

And so, that there are interests at play. But this time around, the Trump administration has not been focusing on this conflict, neither did the

Obama administration, frankly. I think the high point of focus was in the George W. Bush administration.

So, that's the point of that op-ed you're so kind to cite. If the U.S. is not there to participate, there's a vacuum. The Minsk Group which is co-led

by United States, Russia and France can't really do a lot I think if the U.S. isn't really engaged.

So, de facto you've got Russia that's supporting Armenia and you've got Turkey that has long supported Azerbaijan under the mantra we are one

nation and two states. So, that vacuum I think is being failed as we speak by Russia and Turkey.

ANDERSON: And this is fascinating. It's always a pleasure having you on. Your insight and analysis is absolutely invaluable. I have to take a break

at the bottom of this hour so I'm going to leave it there for the time being. If this continues, we'll have you back. Thank you, sir.

BRYZA: Thank you.

ANDERSON: It's one of the most vulnerable places in the world for the spread of a deadly virus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JABER MUSTAFA, AL-HOL CAMP CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATION (through translator): World powers cannot control this pandemic. How can we control it in a

crowded camp?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: We take you to the fragile and forgotten population in Syria and the squalid camp they now call home, bracing for a coronavirus outbreak.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[10:31:11]

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's called Al-Hol, a camp that sprung from nowhere, now the size of a small town. The wind and

sand mercilessly blow through the tents in the baking heat of the Syrian summer.

The living conditions are horrendous. It's filthy. There's little access to medical care. Clean water is scarce. Food is rationed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: A vivid description from CNN's Arwa Damon of the suffering the Al-Hol camp in Syria. It may be one of the few places on earth where people

aren't rattled by the coronavirus pandemic. Tens of thousands of mostly mothers and children at the overcrowded camp already face misery and

hopelessness from malnutrition and other diseases.

COVID-19 is not yet widespread at the camp near the border with Iraq. But the pandemic doing so much damage to global health and commerce, there is

little international support to assist the camp and its many residents there with past ties to ISIS.

Well, CNN has got a rare look inside this notorious camp. Jomana Karadsheh joins me now with the details, Jomana.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, you know, when we visited the Al-Hol camp, my team and I were there in March of 2019. And this was in

the final days of the so-called caliphate, when you saw the tens of thousands of people who were making it to Al-Hol camp.

And Syrian, Kurdish officials at the time were telling us that they are very concerned, that they are going to be the ones left with this burden of

dealing with the humanitarian crisis. And here we are, Becky, two years on and they still are -- almost two years on, and they are left alone dealing

with this. They say -- they say they're getting little international support. Their concern has always been that this is a camp that will always

be affiliated and associated with the ISIS. So, no one's going to rushing to help the people in Al-Hol camp.

And as you mentioned, COVID-19 hasn't really taken hold in the camp but the knock on effect, the impact of the pandemic has been deadly especially for

the children.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAMON: For its residence, this camp in the desolate part of northeastern Syria feels more deadly than the raging global pandemic.

There are things worse than COVID-19, these women from Morocco tell us. The problem is the camp itself and what it's doing to the children.

Shunned by the world in the Al-Hol camp, an open air prison for those who once lived under ISIS's so-called caliphate. The women say, they're cut off

from the outside world and know little about the virus.

CARIBBEAN, AL-HOL CAMP RESIDENT: If you hear something can take your life, you'd be worried about it. But we are surrounded with death, we are

surrounded with death every day.

DAMON: There's been at least two confirmed cases amongst residents so far, but in this overcrowded city-like camp, there could be more.

Some aid groups have been providing support here but the burden has been largely left to the Kurdish authorities who are not equipped to deal with

this on their own. They fear an outbreak would be catastrophic, almost impossible to control.

MUSTAFA: World powers could not control this pandemic. How can we countrol it in a crowded camp?

DAMON: Medical access in the camp has plummeted with COVID-19 restrictions and as more and more health care workers tested positive. Only five out of

24 clinics are still operational. Nowhere near enough for the more than 65,000 residents, the vast majority of them children.

For the youngest, the impact of the healthcare crisis has been deadly. Eight children all under the age of five died in less than a week from

preventable illnesses like complications of malnutrition and diarrhea, but even that was not enough to push the international community into action.

[10:35:08]

DAMON: Aid has always been a slow trickle to displace that many view as justified punishment for those who chose to join a terror group.

And while some small repatriations have taken place, a larger scale effort to take back the nearly 10,000 foreign ISIS women and their children has

not.

CARIBBEAN, AL-HOL CAMP RESIDENT: I want the world to sit and just think about what's best for the children and stop looking at us like a trap, and

as human beings.

My government, my international community, please hurry up and take us the heck out of here.

DAMON: Even this clinic that is state open, can only provide limited care.

Jasmiya Mohammed says she's not slept in three days. Her 2-month-old cries out in pain.

JASMIYA MOHAMMED, IRAQI AL-HOL CAMP RESIDENT (through translator): This child is going to die and they're distracted with this corona. I brought my

daughter here because she had diarrhea, and the doctors told me they have no treatment for her. We will all die if we stay like this.

DAMON: Jasmiya says this miserable existence makes her long for life under ISIS.

MOHAMMED: It was definitely better than this life here in the camp. No disease infected us. Even when we were starving, it was much better than it

is here.

DAMON: As conditions deteriorate, as COVID-19 slowly spreads, perhaps the most lethal threat is the ideology left to fester in these fertile grounds.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KARADSHEH: And you know, Becky, when it comes to that ideology and the pretty much non-existent deradicalization of the camp and its residents, it

is also complicating the task for health care officials and the camp administration in trying to educate people about the pandemic.

We've heard this from the officials at the camp and from the Red Crescent who are basically saying that a lot of the camp's residents, these women

believe that they are immune to COVID-19, that it is something that God has sent to target the non-believers, so this even is making their task right

now much more difficult.

ANDERSON: Jomana Karadsheh on the story. Jomana, we appreciate it, thank you.

You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD live from our Middle East broadcasting hub here in Abu Dhabi. We will be right back after this. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Alexandria is Egypt's second city but around 100 B.C. it boasted the largest population on earth. For centuries, visitors from

India to England have left their mark on Alexandria's diverse culinary scene.

LAILA HASSABALLA, CO-FOUNDER, BELLIES EN-ROUTE: When people travel, the food travels with them and this is why there are so many influences here,

not just from the mediterranean countries but also from east Asia.

[10:40:07]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From upscale dishes to quick bites, Alexandria offers visitors endless options. But for a truly authentic taste of the city, look

no further than fish. And that's what Laila Hassaballa and Mia Nezar, two foodies from Cairo --

HASSABALLA: I would like to have a boat.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- came to find.

HASSABALLA: I think I would make a great pirate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In 2016 the pair ran food tours in Cairo which became so successful that they're branching out here, and Alexandria's culinary

highlight will be essential to their latest line-up.

Sea food in Alexandria is very diverse, because obviously you've got the main source of seafood right. And having a seafeedood meal here is kind of

an event. It's not just a regular meal you would have on a daily basis.

MIA NEZAR, CO-FOUNDER, BELLIES EN-ROUTE: I can't describe it. I just hope that people can see it on my face.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because it's the city's star attraction, finding the perfect restaurant is paramount for Laila and Mia's new food tour and

nowhere better reflects the city's love affair with seafood than Balbaa.

HASSABALLA: We just got here at Balbaa. One of the most famous seafood places in Alexandria. Yes, everybody knows it. Yes, everybody drives all

the way from all over Egypt to come here.

Today, we are going to have some fantastic seafood and we're very, very excited.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As with most mediterranean cities, clam, shrimp and squid are staples here. Diners will also see parallels in dishes like

tagen, a fish stew similar to those found everywhere from spain to greece but Sangari is an Egyptian specialty.

NEZAR: Sangari is basically a method of cooking.

HASSABALLA: They butterfly it but you also stuff it with vegetables, you actually open it up from its back rather than its stomach. So that's really

what makes it distinct to the Egyptian way of cooking.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But the most important part of eating seafood is not what's ordered but with who. Because the secret to the city's culinary

scene is its people and perhaps the most authentic Alexandrian experience of all, gathering together over a good seafood platter.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, if you are a regular viewer of this show, you will know that I am a long-suffering Tottenham Hotspur fan. And the North London

Football team making headlines over the weekend, not the sauce any Spur's fan fancies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, now, is he going to go to the monitor and make a subjective call. No, he's going with -- and now that is judged the handball

and a penalty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's an absolute disgrace, an absolute joke. New Castle fans will be ecstatic, I can understand that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's all down to Callum Wilson. And he has done it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: And in it goes. And let's be totally objective, Mr. Don Riddell, don't let anyone's life long support sway you. Fair decision or not? It is

my show, don't forget.

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: Most football fans would -- yes, most football fans would agree that it was not a fair decision, Becky. And

life's not fair, neither is football. That was New Castle's first shot on target in the whole game and came in the 97th minute.

Eric Dier had his back to the ball, he couldn't have got out the way, it certainly wasn't intentional but the rules have been tweaked, they've been

rewritten, which means that if the ball hits you there, it's a penalty, end of story.

A lot of people are really, really unhappy about it, even the New Castle manager, Steve Bruce, was unhappy about it, even though it benefited his

team in that moment.

You would think that football right now with coronavirus and supporters not in the stands would be trying not to alienate and upset the supporters but

unfortunately with this rule, they have and they're going to be stuck with it for at least a season.

ANDERSON: You have got a lot more ahead in "WORLD SPORT". Thank you for that objective view, sir. Don Riddell in the house with "WORLD SPORT" after

this short break. I'll be back at the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END