Return to Transcripts main page

Connect the World

Violence Broke Out At Lekki Toll Gate In Lagos On October 20; CNN Sheds New Light On Nigeria Protests Violence; Bangkok Sees Worst Night Of Violence In Five Months; U.S. To Withdraw Thousands Of Troops From Afghanistan, Iraq; Biden Suggests Offering Iran "Credible Path Back To Diplomacy"; Some Concerns Over China's Vaccine Push. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired November 18, 2020 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: This hour a CNN investigation to uncover the truth in Nigeria against a backdrop of the shocking inequality

brought into new focus by this year's pandemic. One story has been emerging again and again.

We've seen it in cities across the United States brought on by the killing of George Floyd in May and continuing with the movement that shows no signs

of dissipating. We've seen that sense of indignation in Nigeria, too the issue at the crux of these protests, police brutality and a feeling among

people that enough is quite simply enough.

On the forefront of the latter has been the Royal Television Society's TV Journalist of the year CNN's Senior International Correspondent Nima

Elbagir who joins us now from London with some exclusive reporting, Nima.

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks Becky. Well, in Nigeria thousands of young people have been protesting as part of a

movement to end police brutality called end SARS. It has been largely peaceful what it had been largely peaceful up until October 20th when the

army and police opened fire on protesters.

The army denied this, the Nigerian Army calls any reports that they opened fire on civilian's fake news but a new CNN investigation, a team that has

been going through hours of footage and spoke to over 100 witnesses has found evidence that that official narrative is simply untrue. I have to

warn our viewers, Becky, that the images that we're about to show them are very disturbing. The Nigerian government denies this happen. A peaceful

protest turned deadly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The police killed the peaceful. They started shooting at our doors.

ELBAGIR (voice over): CNN investigated the events at Lekki Toll Gate the night of October 20th in Lagos Nigeria. After analyzing hours of footage

we're going to tell a story that is radically different than the one that the authorities are telling.

This is - he was one of the demonstrators having fun livestreaming the event. He, like many others, gathered in a peaceful demonstration of

discontent after weeks of protests against what they called systemic police brutality and corruption. What he and the protesters did not know is that

the army is already on its way.

This is a military garrison on the south side of Lagos. We know through analyzing footage they left at 6:29 pm heading towards Lekki Toll Gate. We

can see here the Nigerian government forces approaching the protesters are gathered on the other side of the gate. As Nigerian forces get closer you

can see shots.

At 6:40 pm we start hearing gunfire. We know this from the time stamp and data on this video. Here's another angle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are releasing fire. They are releasing fire.

ELBAGIR (voice over): Nigerian authorities say they fired blanks into the air and not at protesters, but CNN obtained video that appears to show the

army shooting towards the crowd here and at the top of your screen here. In the midst of the chaotic scenes is DJ Switch, a Nigerian celebrity and

activist. She is broadcasting live on Instagram.

DJ SWITCH, NIGERIAN PROTESTER: I wanted people to see what was happening had. I didn't want anybody to come and twist the story.

ELBAGIR (voice over): Witnesses tell CNN ambulances were stopped from entering by Nigerian authorities. You can see here people at the scene

trying to conduct CPR.

[11:05:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please explain to me how in this part of the world do you shoot at protests with live bullets?

ELBAGIR (voice over): CNN has verified that these bullet casings are from live ammunition. They are of mixed origin. Some are Serbian, this one from

2005. Nigerian military sources verified to us that these ammunitions that are currently in use by Nigeria's army and in collaboration with the

reporting network we were also able to procure Serbian export documents proving that Nigeria purchased weaponry from Serbia for almost every year

between 2005 and 2016.

The shooting continued past midnight. Eyewitnesses tell us it wasn't just the army. At this point they say police arrived and opened fire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My leg is broken, and police are still shooting at us. If I don't make it through the night, let it be known that I died fighting

for our freedom.

ELBAGIR (voice over): So why were live rounds used at a peaceful protest? Many family members of those still missing are asking that question as they

hunt for answers of the bodies of their loved ones. Elijah's brother Victor was at the protest that night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw that my brother Victor was shot at Lekki Toll Gate and enter into the office - I don't see him. We are trying our best just to

find him. There's no way to find him.

ELBAGIR (voice over): What we're about to show you is incredibly graphic, but it's also incredibly important. This is Elijah's brother Victor. The

data in this footage shows it was filmed at 1:04 am at Lekki Toll Gate and Elijah says he received a call about his brother's death around this time.

This place is Victor exactly at the location of the protest on the night witnesses say they were shot at.

This is important because Nigerian authorities deny anyone was killed at the scene. Since this incident CNN has contacted over 100 protesters and

family members.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They pointed the guns at us and started shooting.

ELBAGIR (voice over): We asked what they heard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We heard gunshots from behind the toll.

ELBAGIR (voice over): And felt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was shot and it went through my back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELBAGIR (on-camera): Many are in hiding. Some have fled the country. CNN tried to share these findings with the Nigerian Army but received no

response. Lagos state authorities would not comment on our reporting until they said a judicial panel of inquiries presents its findings. The wait for

answers here continues.

The Nigerian Army has called these and other allegations fake news, Becky. We are still trying to reach out to them for comment and they have

repeatedly not engaged with us. However, while before a judicial tribunal a Nigerian Army General testified there's no way officers and men will kill

their brothers and sisters.

I repeat no way. We have those who constantly seek to drive a wedge between us and between the citizens of Nigeria, but as you saw there, Becky, the

findings on the ground do not fit with the narrative that the Nigerian Army and other Nigerian authorities are putting forward. Becky?

ANDERSON: Nima Elbagir on the story and thank you, Nima. Well, as you saw in Nima's report, DJ Switch was in the thick of things that night on Lagos

and I've been streaming on Instagram live when the shooting began. She shared her experience on the app afterwards.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DJ SWITCH, NIGERIAN DJ: I especially want to thank a few people who at the risk of their own safety came out to get me as my own life was being

threatened. My life was being threatened for - for speaking up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, DJ Switch is now in hiding but is bravely joining us to speak about what happened that night and what has happened since, and we

thank you for doing that. The videos that you posted have had made you a target, and there are claims that the Nigerian Army is being trailing you,

threatening your life and forcing to you flee the country. The army has denied those claims saying, and I quote, there are bigger fish to fry, end

quote. Tell us what you saw that night and what is going on now.

SWITCH: Well, thank you for having me, Becky.

[11:10:00]

SWITCH: Thank you for giving us your platform to continue talking and sharing this story. What I experienced that day was the worst experience in

my life. The Nigerian Army that is supposed to protect us came with no warning, none, nobody - no representative to come speak to us first. They

came with guns blazing.

We heard gunshots from behind the tollgate because we were on one side of the tollgate, and we heard gunshots from behind and people running so what

we did was just to go down and sit down and just stay still, wave our flags, because we - we believe that if we waved our flags they would see

that we are not here to cause any harm.

We're not here to cause any troubles. We're just here protesting as is our right to do so, so there was no warning, nothing. They came shooting.

People were just dropping. I can't even explain that to you. It was such a chaotic scene that most times I find it difficult to close my choice

without seeing those scenes.

And after they leave the Nigerian police came, SARS to be precise, because looking at the uniform, the ones we could see, and especially one man that

was putting on white. I don't know who he is or something, but he had like a pistol, kind of like a small gun and he was just shooting across. We were

just running for our lives. That's the short story of it really.

ANDERSON: Just after the Lekki Gate incident I spoke with the Lagos State Governor. Have a listen to what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BABAJIDE SANWO-OLU, GOVERNOR OF LAGOS STATE: Becky, I generally believe there will be change for two reasons, one, you know what happened

especially in Lagos is extremely unimaginable. That's number one.

Number two, it was - it was a clarion call, you know, for all of us in government, you know, especially, you know, understanding and realizing,

you know, what the youth or what they truly want us to be doing, so it hit all of us like a ton of bricks and it was just a wake-up call.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Your response to what you just heard there?

SWITCH: With no due respect, I actually challenge the Governor of Lagos State to just say the truth. They know the truth. It's been out there. They

are conflicting stories with each other. Nigerians have died. This is not a time to play games.

Families are looking for their loved ones. To be honest with you with regards to me I don't know how to feel because on one hand I'm grateful I'm

alive today. On the other hand, I - I don't know if I should say I'm lucky. It's almost like I'm saying the others were not lucky.

It is time that we own up to the things that we're supposed to own up to. The Governor had a responsibility to the citizens of Lagos State and he

should say the truth.

ANDERSON: Nigeria's President on Tuesday vowed to prevent a repeat of what have been these wider anti-police brutality protests through dialogue and

through listening, he says, to all stakeholders. I just want to ask you how his comments make you feel.

SWITCH: To be honest, Becky, at this point I do not hold what the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria says to any - I can't hold it to heart.

Nigeria is a dictatorship with a democratic face, and I think that is primarily to - to please the international communities.

It is our right to protest anything that we see and change that we demand. The Nigerian government has used force from the beginning starting with

trying to infiltrate a peaceful protest with thugs. That didn't work out, and then they moved to bring in the military in.

So the same government that says that they had had banned SARS, and this is going for four to five years now they keep banning the same SARS is saying

that he want to have a dialogue. The president hasn't even come out once to address the shooting at the tollgate.

[11:15:00]

SWITCH: So, no, Becky, I do not take his words to heart. We need action and we need change and most importantly we need accountability.

ANDERSON: You've said about this whole experience and I quote here, it is cause for what I believe is just. It is shock at the response of my

government towards the people it is sworn to protect. It is courage to speak up no matter what, and for me the will to see justice, accountability

and a change in Nigeria, no matter how much is offered to me or threats to me. Do can you believe that change will come, and how long do you think you

will need to stay in hiding for?

SWITCH: To be honest, I will start with the - with the fact that the will is there. This generation, as we like to call ourselves, we call ourselves

- that means speak up unlike the past where they have oppressed our parent. They have misinformed our parents because we didn't have social media back

then.

They owned the media houses, they owned the newspapers but this is a different generation and this goes to the end where I said that I believe

strongly that Nigeria will change. It's not a sprint. It's a marathon and now the Nigerian people, especially this generation, they are speaking up.

The shock for me was to see that for the first time something that gave me such belief. I never thought I would see Nigerians come together with the

same voice, speaking one voice, demanding change, demanding an end to police brutality.

I never thought that our government, first time they are seeing this, would respond with the action with which they did, seizing the passport of - for

example, arresting their own. Chasing people out of town and literally out of the country, and I believe that the fact that I have been given a second

chance at this life.

I don't know what will happen to me. I don't know what will happen to my career or my bookings. Everything is gone. I don't know, but what I do know

is this. The fact that I have this chance I will use this opportunity to tell the story no matter the length, no matter the breadth I would use the

opportunity to tell the story.

My hope is to go back home. I don't want to run anywhere. People think that I have sought some sort of asylum. That's not a fact. But you can't chase

down anything, those things are not important. I want to be able to go home but I want to make sure that I've - bring my story out and story of other

witnesses out under oath.

And then when I'm done I go home. If they want to pick me up at that point there's nothing to try to silence me for anymore. So if they still want to

pick me up, no problem.

ANDERSON: With that, we'll leave it there. We thank you very much in deed for making the time--

SWITCH: Thank you.

ANDERSON: --to speak to us today.

SWITCH: Thank you, Becky.

ANDERSON: Thank you DJ Switch.

SWITCH: Thank you.

ANDERSON: Well, protests also embroiling the Thai Capital. Have a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is not, look at my mouth. This is not compromise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: The protesters there are scoffing at the King's declaration that Thailand is the land of compromise. More on the worst violence the country

has seen in five months. That's ahead. Plus, the U.S. plans to withdraw thousands of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. We'll look at some of the

potential consequences of what is being considered a controversial move coming up. Then--

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chinese vaccine companies are making every effort to promote vaccine research and develop. Several vaccines are already entered

Phase III clinical trials.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, China is a big player in the drive for a COVID-19 vaccine. Coming up, why some health officials say they are concerned about Beijing's

methods?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:20:00]

ANDERSON: You're looking at the worst night of violence in Thailand in more than five months of protests. For the first time live ammunition was used.

Police are investigating. They say their offices did not use live rounds or rubber bullets. More than 50 people were injured in the clashes.

Well, this happened as parliament voted on amending the military-drafted constitution, but the people's motion to pave a way to curb the King's

power was rejected. Channel 4's Jonathan Miller has more on the anger that is consuming the Thai Capital.

JONATHAN MILLER, FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT, CHANNEL 4 NEWS: Tear gas hung heavy in the sultry tropical night. Jets of water cannon laced with

stinging chemicals slicing through the choking plumes driving protesters back before they would advance again, taunting riot police behind the razor

wire and broken barricades with chants of slaves.

You slaves of the dictatorship, wave after wave of demonstrators, most without gas masks to protect them, surging out and washed back again, an

angry human tide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the government - wait for this to go away, they are going to have to think again! They are running out of options here, but

there is no sign at all of the compromise - King into those just two weeks ago.

MILLER (voice over): This the most violent night in five long months of protest. A pitched street battle outside Thailand's parliament the home of

what was once a messy but functioning democracy. As the food soldiers rinsed off the stinging irritants, parliament was debating proposed

amendments to a constitution written by the military which at its heart preserves the sanctity of Thailand's Monarchy, revisions that the upper

House of Senators handpicked by the army are unlikely to permit to see the light of day.

But without reform these protests will not stop, and when the King told us two weeks ago that Thailand is the land of compromise, those ranged against

him scoffed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thailand is not land of compromise! This is not land of compromise. This is not. Look at my mouth. This is not compromise. Look

at that. Look at this. What they are doing to us is not compromise. There's no mercy. This is no mercy for us. There's no mercy for the Thai people.

MILLER (voice over): Earlier pre-democracy protesters breached barricades near parliament. Police vanished allowing direct confrontation with the

King's ultra royalist yellow shirt supporters who come to demand the Former Junta's Constitution remains untouched.

Maha Vajiralongkorn is exalted in this constitution as enthroned in a position of - but there is clamoring for reform belief he is all too human

and tails of regal - have embittered many ties left - by this pandemic. Futile ground for heresy and rebellion, the hunger games salute remains the

symbol of defiance here in this increasing Dystopian Kingdom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: That's Jonathan Miller reporting. Still ahead, Donald Trump making major decisions that will have lasting effects long after he leaves

office. We will discuss his controversial plan to withdraw thousands of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. That's next.

Also, a meeting of like minds, at least when it comes to Iran, we'll tell you about the U.S. Secretary of State's visit to Jerusalem and how American

policy towards Iran could change under a Biden Administration?

[11:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: While Donald Trump is still refusing to concede the U.S. Presidential Election, he is making major decisions that could have lasting

implications long after he leaves office. The Trump Administration moving ahead with what is a controversial withdrawal of U.S. troops in both

Afghanistan and in Iraq scheduled just days before President-Elect Joe Biden's Inauguration.

2,500 American troops will be left in each country once the draw dawn is complete. Well, the move has been met with criticism by some lawmakers on

both sides of the aisle who worn there could be dangerous consequences. CNN's Sam Kylie connecting it all on the ground for us and who has spent a

lot of time in both countries now he is in Dubai for you tonight what are the implications of this drawdown, Sam?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, if you take Afghanistan first, I think that's probably the most controversial, that

nearly halves the number of troops there from 4,500 to 2,500, and that's a significant blow to future military plans. They knew this was in the

offing.

The Trump Administration had signaled that it would be downsizing its military there, not least because there are ongoing talks between the

Afghan government and the Taliban brokered by the United States to which had been attached an understanding or a demand from the American side that

at the very least the Taliban reduced violence and disassociate itself completely from Al Qaeda before there's any substantial international troop

reduction.

But this is now going to happen willy-nilly, it would seem, so that is going to cause problems for the Afghan position certainly in these

negotiations. Ashraf Ghani the President of Afghanistan said that he welcomed continued meaningful, a rather loaded term there I thought,

meaningful military cooperation with the United States.

Perhaps suggesting that there is a tipping point at which the contribution becomes almost meaningless. I don't think 2,500 troops though should be

sniffed at. In Iraq the reduction is about 500 troops. They were already trying to get out under pressure from the central government and the

Iranian - sorry, the Iraqi Foreign Minister has welcomed the move. This is what he said.

[11:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAUD HUSSEIN, IRAQI FOREIGN MINISTER: The Iraqi Prime Minister and the U.S. Secretary of State America have agreed to withdraw 500 of its forces

bringing the total number of Iraq to 2,500. We're now in the fourth and final stage of the U.S. withdrawal and no more foreign military operations

will be carried out on our territory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KILEY: No more foreign military operations, well, that will be interesting to see how the Iranians respond to that who have a very profound influence

on the very substantial numbers of Iranian-backed militia in that country, notably Hezbollah, one of whose leaders was killed alongside Qassem

Soleimani in American air strike in January earlier this year, Becky and they have stepped up through these militia groups attacks on the United

States.

And indeed on central government target at a time and the central government continues to fight against the so-called Islamic State. For the

Biden Administration, both of these moves will be seen as somewhat hand- tying unlike some other developments across the Middle East, while controversial, for example, his signal of wanting to go back into the Iran

Nuclear Deal could actually have been aided by previous policies of the Trump Administration giving him a little bit more leverage.

A bit of a carrot, a bit more of a carrot to offer the Iranians if they come back into the fold, Becky, but that would be dependent on them dialing

back on their nuclear program.

ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely, and that's something that we're about to discuss further for the time being, Sam, thank you. Sam Kylie on the Iraq and

Afghanistan leg of Trump policy, a diplomatic first under way in Jerusalem. It is part of the Trump Administration's efforts to realign strategic

partnerships in the Middle East.

And Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is there to witness that firsthand. He's meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Bahrain's Foreign

Minister, Abdullatif Alzayani the first minister ever from that country to visit Israel.

One thing they all have in common. They view Iran as a threat. Pompeo says a pressure campaign on Iran is working, and the U.S. will impose additional

sanctions in the weeks and months ahead, but, of course, the Trump Administration's days are numbered so could there be big changes in store

when Joe Biden takes over in January?

Well, Iran is already looking ahead. The Foreign Minister Javad Zarif says Iran is ready to discuss how the United States can rejoin the nuclear deal

abandoned by Donald Trump but only if sanctions on Iran are lifted?

So my next guest an expert on U.S. policy towards Iran says getting it right is very difficult. Karim Sadjadpour says Barack Obama's memoir was a

reminder that the lone policy that has worked over the last four decades is the combination of pressure and diplomacy.

He says Obama initially tried only the latter and failed and Trump tried only the former and failed. Karim is a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie

Endowment for International Peace and he joins me now from Washington.

So we've just sort of laid out where you believe the Former Democratic President was at when it comes to Iran and where you believe Biden might

go? I will offer Tehran a credible path back to diplomacy Joe Biden said recently in a CNN op-ed. If Iran returns to strict compliance with the

nuclear deal, the United States would rejoin the agreement as a starting point for follow-on negotiations. I wonder what you think that path might

look like.

KARIM SADJADPOUR, SENIOR FELLOW, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT: I think first, Becky, we have to begin with the premise that the Biden Administration is going to

be inheriting a pandemic and the economic crisis associated with it. And so, you know, when it comes to foreign policy, they are really looking to

stamp out crises and de-escalate rather than court crises.

So either a full return or a partial return to the JCPOA, the Iran Nuclear Deal is certainly a priority for the Biden Administration, and it will

partly depend on how Tehran chooses to react? If Iran wants to play for hardball and ask for compensation for Trump-era sanctions or if Iran wants

to show that it's not vulnerable or weak and wants to try to provoke the United States to build leverage of it's own, then I think that's obviously

going to hamper the Biden Administration's ability to go back to the JCPOA.

ANDERSON: As I suggested ahead of the inauguration in January of Joe Biden and our discovering who the foreign policy team might be. There are some

weeks, a couple of months while the outgoing administration still has opportunities to continue its policy on Iran?

[11:35:00]

ANDERSON: What do you expect we might see next and over the next couple of months from Washington?

SADJADPOUR: So, I think what the Trump Administration is going to try to do is to continue to slap sanctions against Iran, not for its nuclear behavior

but its quote, unquote, support for terrorism, its domestic human rights abuses and its missile program.

And essentially what they are trying to do is make it more difficult for a Biden Administration to remove those sanctions against Iran because, you

know, Iran will not have changed its regional behavior, its approach to its missile program or its domestic, you know human rights abuses.

There's essentially four decades of continuity when it comes to Iran's regional practices, its human rights abuses, so I think in some ways what

the Trump Administration is trying to do is make it more difficult for a Biden Administration to go back to status quo ante.

ANDERSON: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Israel right now meeting with the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Bahrain's Foreign Minister.

This is a first, and this is, you know, a continuation of what has been a series of historic moments following the signing of the Abraham Accord, the

normalization of relations between the UAE and Israel and Bahrain and Israel. Have a listen to what Pompeo, part of what Pompeo had to say today,

and he is alluding here to the Abraham Accords.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: This agreement tells maligned actors like the Islamic Republic of Iran that their influence in the region is

waning and that they are ever more isolated in this shall forever be until they change their direction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: What do you make of what he said? What does it tell us, and I wonder whether as we pursue the bones of a Biden policy on Iran you are

convinced that Joe Biden will go further than just talking about nuclear power but will include the maligned behavior on the part of the Iranians

and its ballistic missile program in any deal going forward?

SADJADPOUR: You know, obviously, a Biden Administration is going to pursue U.S. national interests first, and there's various ways of looking at U.S.

national interests, but certainly in the Middle East you look at the things - the types of things that Iran is doing.

Just one example is Syria. Iran's support for Bashar Assad has led to really the greatest humanitarian crisis in modern times, over 600,000

people killed. Half of Syria's entire population has been displaced.

We're talking about 13 million people, and that has a profound impact not just on regional security but the refugees flowing into Europe, you know,

which create existential problems for the European Union, so, you know, Tony Blinken you know who one of Joe Biden's longtime advisers, has said

that the world doesn't organize itself.

American leadership is important to the world to organize itself, and, likewise, Middle East crises, Middle East conflicts don't resolve

themselves, so I think you'll see from the Biden Administration essentially U.S.-led diplomacy partnered with European allies and regional partners to

try to if not resolve some of these regional crises to eastern ameliorate them and try to ameliorate the humanitarian suffering.

ANDERSON: Yes, a place at the table for the U.S.' regional allies on any negotiations with Iran going forward, I think most people here in this

region will agree and certainly you and I have had this discussion before is critical.

I spoke with Trita Parsi yesterday who I know you know well who argues that Joe Biden needs to be acting right now in order to mend the relation

between Iran and U.S. He says he can't wait until January of 2021. Have a listen of what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRITA PARSI, AUTHOR & EXECUTIVE VP, THE QUINCY INSTITUTE: One of the requests that the Iranians had was to be able to get a $5 billion loan from

the IMF to be able to fight the virus. The United States put a stop to that. He can reverse that decision. In return the Iranians need to do

confidence-building measures in order to improve the atmosphere.

[11:40:00]

PARSI: This would be investments into the atmospherics of diplomacy, those are things that can be done right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Do you agree?

SADJADPOUR: Well, I think one of the important insights from Barack Obama's memoir is when he talks about his outreach to Ayatollah Khamenei Iran's

Supreme Leader, and weeks into his presidency Obama writes a letter to Khamenei and essentially says let's work together, let's said aside our

differences.

He essentially presented to Khamenei a path to a better relationship between U.S. and Iran, a path to normalization, and Obama writes that

Khamenei's response was tantamount to a middle finger, and so the reality here is that it's very difficult for the United States to unilaterally

improve its relationship with an Iranian regime which needs us as an adversary for their own internal legitimacy.

So this is the challenge that any U.S. administration faces on one hand you're trying to de-escalate with Iran. You don't want a conflict, but how

do you manage an adversary which wants you for their own internal legitimacy to remain adversaries, so these are not issues which you can

really resolve very easily.

ANDERSON: Very briefly, was that frankly naivety on the part of Barack Obama, and is that ultimately the issue off times with Washington in the

Middle East in that it just doesn't get it?

SADJADPOUR: I think one of the things that were important about Obama's outreach to Tehran is that it exposed the fact that the problem lies - lies

in Tehran, not Washington, and I think the arrival of the Biden Administration removes an important pretext.

Iran is no longer going to be able to use Donald Trump as a pretext for their internal economic failures, for their repression, for the regional

aggression. And I think the court of public opinion is once again going to shift and understand that the challenge here is Tehran's behavior, not

Washington's.

ANDERSON: Karim, always a pleasure. Thank you, sir. You'll hear more from Karim in the weeks ahead. Ahead on this program tonight or today the giant

fish at risk in the Amazon and the biologists racing to save it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: A call to earth is a call to action for the environment to share solutions to critical issues like global warming, deforestation, plastic

waste.

[11:45:00]

ANDERSON: This week it's all about the food we eat showcasing some of the remarkable people working to protect our threatened fish stocks in rivers

and oceans around the world. Well, today we travel to - deep into the Amazon to meet a biologist racing to save one very special species of fish.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Snaking through the waters of the Amazon are river giants, creatures three meters in size weighing up to 200

kilograms. The Arapaima is one of the world's largest freshwater fish and for generations it has been a major source of food in these parts.

However, earth's populations have grown and modernized the species has fallen victim to overfishing and become nearly extinct in certain areas,

Arapaima fishing is now illegal in Brazil unless it's done sustainably as part of community-based conservation programs.

Jaoa Campos-Silva along with NGOs and partner organizations helped put those programs in place. The Fisheries Biologists have been working for

more than a decade to help protect the fish. For him it boils down to empowering the local communities and leaders to take action for example,

guardian-protected areas from illegal fishers, closing river-connected lakes to fishing and hunting had and introducing a careful management to

fishing.

JAOA CAMPOS-SILVA, FISHERIES BIOLOGIST: This is very interesting because actually this model is quite simple, very simple actually. For a long time

people were excluded from the conservation perspective, but actually they play a very important role to sustain and maintain the forest. We are

talking about a paradigm shift. Conservation should mean a better life for locals.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): In the last ten years, he says it has all helped Arapaima numbers rise fourfold while protecting other wildlife in

the Amazon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are we talking about a success?

CAMPOS-SILVA: In this case motivation started to make sense. Now local people say we need to protect the environment. We need to protect nature

because marked by a reverse means a better way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Campos-Silva says benefits go beyond only conservation; increased income from sustainable fishing is invested into

infrastructure and health care. Women are also able to earn incomes through bigger roles in Arapaima management.

CAMPOS-SILVA: So this is a true fish of change that have been promoting a new social program.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Arapaima saved from extinction and in turn protecting the livelihoods and communities across the Amazon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: And we will continue showcasing inspirational stories like this as part of the initiative at CNN, and do let us know what you are doing to

answer the calls and use the #calltoearth. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:50:00]

ANDERSON: Well, stunning news a few hours ago about the quest for a Coronavirus vaccine. Pfizer and BioNTech say that they have completed Phase

III of their vaccine trials and will ask the FDA and the states to distribute their vaccine to the public. Now the application for Emergency

Use Authorization will be made this week on Friday.

Well, CNN's Fred Pleitgen spoke to the CEO of BioNTech just a short time ago. And he joins us now live and what did he tell you? And is it clear

when this vaccine can be widely distributed? That's, of course, is the $64 billion question at this point.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, probably even more than that, you're absolutely right Becky. And he said that he

believes with that the way things are going right now that they are probably going to get approval after filing for that emergency use

authorization with the FDA fairly quickly.

They seem fairly confident with that with all the positive data they have been getting, 95 percent efficacy and 94 percent efficacy in older

participants of their trials, people who are 65 and above. So he believes that authorities are going to look at this, and they are going to see the

data and make a decision fairly quickly. Let's listen into what Ugur Sahin had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UGUR SAHIN, CEO, BIONTECH: Based on this - on this positive results, of course, FDA and other authorities very motivated to do this as fast as

possible and depending on how fast this is really accomplished, we might get an authorization or conditional approval already in 2020 which might

have us to start the distribution of first vaccines batches already in 2020.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: So a possible conditional already vaccine being handed out in 2020 on a conditional basis. He says the big push is going to start in

early 2021 though and his exact words were that he's confident that if everything goes according to plan that we, the world, could have a fairly

normal summer 2021 and winter 2021 as well so he's essentially saying it could be the beginning of the end of the pandemic. Becky?

ANDERSON: Is it clear yet, and I wonder whether this came up in conversation, whether once one is vaccinated that one doesn't ever contract

the virus again? Where do we stand on that?

PLEITGEN: Yes, that's not clear yet and he says obviously the reason for that is because they are still at the beginning of their research in many

ways. They know that this vaccine works. They are not exactly sure how long it will work, but they certainly know at least in the initial stages it is

definitely going to protect people to a great degree. Let's listen to some more of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAHIN: Risks for getting COVID-19 if you are vaccinated is less compared to having no vaccine. Of course, you have a very promising and encouraging

result.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: But it isn't yet clear, Becky, how long that immunization will last? And one of the things that he sort of floated that could be the case

is that maybe the Coronavirus in the future will be - will become something that's controllable, where you just every year have to get a booster shot

for your vaccination to make sure you don't contract the Coronavirus.

Becky, there's one more thing I wanted to mention because it's something we talked so extensively about yesterday, because we talked about the

difficulties of shipping this Pfizer vaccine because it has to be shipped at minus 70 degrees Celsius, and apparently they are working on that as

well.

Ugur Sahin told me in that interview today that they are already working on a new formula for the vaccine to possibly be able to ship it even at room

temperature in the future. Becky?

ANDERSON: Yes. That would be quite a development. Thank you for that. China, pushing ahead to develop its own COVID-19 vaccines, one of which is

being tested here in the UAE, but as CNN's Ivan Watson reports several experts are cautioning against cutting corners.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: China is a big player in the global race to develop a Coronavirus vaccine. As of now, Chinese

companies have five different experimental vaccines that have advanced to Phase III trials in different countries around the world. The Chinese

government has declared vaccine development a top priority.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHO LIJIAN, SPOKESMAN, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY OF AFFAIRS: Chinese vaccine companies are making every effort to promote vaccine research and

development. Several vaccines have already entered Phase III clinical trials.

[11:55:00]

LIJIAN: The Chinese government has also been actively supporting Chinese companies to cooperate with other countries in vaccine research and

development.

WATSON (voice over): The Company Sinovac calls its candidate CoronaVac and it's being tested on volunteers in Brazil, Turkey and Indonesia and though

it is still in the experimental phase. The Indonesian government announced plans to start administering millions of doses to citizens as early as next

month under Emergency Use Authorization.

The company Sinopharm has two vaccine candidates which are being tested in the Gulf, North Africa and South America. Among those who volunteered for a

Sinopharm experimental vaccine, the UAE's Foreign Minister and the Ruler of Dubai who both tweeted about it.

A top executive at Sinopharm says some 350,000 people in China have already taken one of its experimental vaccines. CanSino Biologics' experimental

vaccine was co-developed with the Academy of Military & Medical Sciences and it has been approved by the Chinese Military.

It's also being tested in Russia, Pakistan and Mexico. The Mexican government says it has an agreement to purchase 35 million doses of

CanSino's product. Finally the government of Uzbekistan reportedly announced it will be conducting Phase III trials of an experimental vaccine

developed by Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceuticals.

Some health experts are concerned about vaccines being widely distributed for emergency use before Phase III trials are complete.

DR. PETER JAY HOTEZ, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: This is the part that I worry about with both the Russian vaccines and the China vaccines is the

quality control and all of the assurance to know that these vaccines are being adequately tested for safety and efficacy, and, unfortunately, we

don't have a lot of information about that.

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: It really is important that we don't take shortcuts to the science. These protocols are there for a reason. They

are there to protect people.

WATSON (voice over): That sentiment echoed this week by one of the authors of a study on Sinovac's vaccine candidate. CoronaVac would be an attractive

option, he wrote, however data from Phase III studies will be crucial before any recommendations can be made. Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, finally, if you've goggled anything in certain parts of the world today, you'll have seen this tribute to an Icon of Arab Cinema.

Google is marking what would have been the 71st birthday of the legendary Egyptian Actor Ahmad Zaki with its latest doodle.

And you'll notice referenced his best known films from boxing drama Black Tiger to Caberea meaning the crab as well as references to Smile, the

picture will come out fine and four on an official mission.

One of the all-dime greats, this the was Zaki three years before his death winning best actor at the Cairo International Film Festival for his role in

"Mr. Minister" and this wonderful image is today his parting shot here on CONNECT THE WORLD. Thank you for joining us. Stay well. Good night.

END