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Car Bomb Kills Sanctioned Putin Supporter; Zelenskyy Warns Of Russian Attacks Ahead Of Independence Day; Western Leaders Call For IAEA Visit To Nuclear Plant. Aired 10-10:45a ET

Aired August 22, 2022 - 10:00:00   ET

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

[10:00:34]

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice over): Amid fears of a nuclear disaster in Ukraine, we speak with the head of the International

Atomic Energy Agency in just a few moments.

The car explosion heightening tensions in Russia and in a case of who done it, questions about the perpetrator remain unanswered. And.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LI MENG-HAN, OWNER, CHINGCHUAN ORCHARD (through translator): Some kind of political issue between Taiwan and China, we simply want to grow fruits and

sell them at a good price.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Farmers the latest to be hard hit amid continued tensions between Taiwan and China.

I'm Becky Anderson. It's 3:00 p.m. here in London, it's 6:00 p.m. in Abu Dhabi. Hello and welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD. Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is warning that Russia could launch major attacks this week ahead of his nation's Independence Day on Wednesday. Kyiv and other

cities have banned mass events for fear that they would be targets of Russian missiles.

But it's the volatile situation in Russian controlled Zaporizhia that has much of the world holding its breath. Ukrainian authorities say more than

40 shells landed near Europe's largest nuclear power plant on Sunday. The area coming under fire again despite international please, for it to stop.

Well, western leaders over the weekend stress that independent inspectors must be allowed to visit the plant and assess how safe or unsafe it is.

Well, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency also weighing in, Rafael Grossi saying earlier this month any military action that

jeopardizes nuclear safety must stop immediately. He says fighting near such a large nuclear facility could to lead to very serious consequences.

Last week, French officials said Vladimir Putin agreed to allow an IAEA mission into the facility. It's not clear when that could happen.

Well, Rafael Grossi joining me now live from Vienna. It's good to have you, sir. Firstly, can you confirm reports that Vladimir Putin has indeed given

permission to allow an IAEA visit into the power plant?

RAFAEL GROSSI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY: Thank you very much nice to talk to you. As always, I can say that we are in the

midst of a very active intensive consultations with Ukraine, of course, and also with Russia in order to get to the plant, in order to facilitate this

visit, it's a very complex operation, as you can imagine. It's a place that as you were describing so vividly in your introduction, is in the midst of

a warzone.

So it's something that has never been done before to send a group of international inspectors, I will be leading the team, I hope. So, we are

precisely these days discussing with both sides in order to get to it and we are making progress.

ANDERSON: But at this stage, you do not have a confirmation that you can visit that plant, correct? From either side.

GROSSI: You know, there is a -- there is a principle in diplomacy you may have heard about that says that nothing is agreed until everything is

agreed. Which means that to get this operation together, there are so many -- it's like a jigsaw puzzle. We have the technical experts that have to be

there, we have to agree on a number of terms of reference for this mission, what are we going to do? What are the objectives of the visit.

Then you have all the logistics, as I was saying it's a warzone. Then all of these has to come back together to gel if you want. And at that point,

we will have a confirmation. As I said, we are in the middle of this. So bear with me please in the sense that in the middle of the conversations,

the negotiations which are very difficult, I will not be able to say I have now today a confirmation for you. But it's going to -- I hope happen and

very soon.

ANDERSON: So, how big a risk does this plant pose at this point?

GROSSI: The risk is very big, of course. We have said it.

[10:05:01]

It's known you have said it. International media has confirmed this biggest nuclear power plant in Europe with six reactors. So, tens of thousands of

nuclear material there. And the mere fact that there is active conflict there is shelling taking place there potentially affecting not only the

installations themselves, but also a number of servicing activities, including the supply of energy and electricity to service the plant and

thereby cool the reactors and provide a number of indispensable functions that are dependent on the whole system working normally.

And there is nothing normal in the middle of a war. So, the danger that something may go astray or something unexpected may happen is, of course,

unsustainable. And we have to provide a degree a modicum of stability, at least, and so far as the plant is concerned. The rest of the war, of course

is beyond my authority,

ANDERSON: You will be aware that the Turkish president was in Ukraine last week, and he warned of concerns of a Chernobyl style disaster. Do you share

those concerns?

GROSSI: Well, I would say I share the concern about a nuclear accident. When it comes to making comparison, comparisons, sorry, given the technical

nature of my job, I have to separate a little bit the figures of speech with their reality, this is an active nuclear power plant. So in many

respects, things could happen, that would be more serious than would happen in Chernobyl.

Same time, it is from a design point of view, from a safety point of view is a much -- is a more robust installation. So, I guess that when people --

I'm not talking about President Erdogan, maybe that was his idea. But when people make these kind of comparisons, there is a risk that we mislead

people, the risk of a nuclear accident exists. We cannot say what magnitude it could have. But potentially it could be very, very big. So we need to

prevent it.

ANDERSON: You have described a situation in grave terms. And you've also been critical of both countries. What is the IAEA demanding Ukraine and

Russia do with the plant at this point? And both sides have been pointing fingers at each other, who do you blame for the insecurity out the plan at

this point?

GROSSI: Well, it's not -- I'm not -- I'm not a judge. I'm not an arbiter. I'm not a referee. I am the head of the international recession that cares

and has a central responsibility, safety and the security of nuclear installations all over the world. All I'm saying, I've described the main

red lines, if you want, as seven pillars of nuclear safety. I will -- I will not go into each one of them. It's very technical. But one central

thing is that you should not do any harm.

You should not kinetically physically attack, or do anything in the vicinity or to the plant. And unfortunately, what we see out of the

information we get from one side, and the other side is that there has been unfortunate shelling. So, this is something that is unacceptable. It's

something that is contrary -- runs contrary to every conceivable. And let me say something because some people say you see how dangerous nuclear is.

Any, any basic infrastructure installation of a country, that is the target or in the vicinity of targets of artillery or military operations becomes a

danger itself, be it about pharmaceutical or petrochemical or whatever kind of installation. So, what I'm saying now is let the IEA come. And I hope, I

think that we have made progress since the last time we spoke, you may remember that just a few days ago, I had the opportunity to brief the

United Nations Security Council.

Of course, there, there are enormous differences. And there are acrimonious debates there. The 15 members and of course, Ukraine was there. And it was

a very difficult debate, but there was something interesting. All of them said one thing, the IAEA must go. This -- on this, there is no doubt. And

this is why we must prepare to go there, ascertain the facts, do some repair work, we establish the indispensable connections that we have with

the plant.

[10:10:02]

Work on the safety and security systems to check that they are in order, talk to the staff there has been a lot going on about the staff being --

working under the address and the pressure of the control of the occupying country. So, all of this is the kind of thing I'm going to be addressing

when I come in a few days. God willing.

ANDERSON: I wanted -- and thank you. I want to turn to the Iran Nuclear Deal because I've got a number of questions. And that before I do that, my

colleague, Sam Kiley, is in Zaporizhia and he spoke to a former power plant worker just last week who had serious concerns about the safety of that

plant. He said, he put up 70 percent chance of a catastrophe on that plant. Do you -- do you share that sort of concern?

GROSSI: Well, having a numerical, like you said percentage is a bit of an arbitrary speculative thing. But since we are in a war, you can go from

zero to 100 in a second. And this is the problem that you may have. If you all of a sudden, because of shelling because of an attack, you have a

complete cut off from the plant, from the external power supply and you find yourself without the necessary cooling functions and then emergency

cooling systems kicking, then you have this big installation running on emergency, running basically on petrol to cool it down, then you are in a

very dangerous place.

So, 70, one, zero. I don't know. I don't want to get into that. What I can tell you is that what we have in Zaporizhia is not sustainable, it must

stop and the IEA can do a lot to at least mitigate this risk.

ANDERSON: Thank you. Let's turn to the Iran Nuclear Deal. The IAEA is clearly a very important part of these negotiations. Iran has said that the

ice probe into unexplained uranium particles needs to be closed. In order for Iran to rejoin the deal. Last week, I spoke to Russia's ambassador to

Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov who said the issue is settled. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKHAIL ULYANOV, RUSSIAN PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION IN VEINNA: It just seems to be settled, at least in their last

response. Iranians do not touch this issue. And actually, we have a good solution which was elaborated to these participation of E3, Russia and

other countries in the course of the (INAUDIBLE) negotiations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Are you prepared to drop that probe?

GROSSI: Well, drop dropping probes is not something that the IEA does or will ever do without a proper process before that would allow us to do

that. This is very simple. People say, are you prepared to drop it? Well, the key to these lies on a very simple thing, will Iran cooperate with us?

Give us the necessary answers, information, access to people in places so that we can clarify the many things that are still in need for

clarification.

When that happens, I wouldn't say we will drop anything. We will provide a report clarifying what happened. And then these things will be put to rest.

So this idea that we are politically going to stop doing our job is unacceptable for us. People may have opinions about that. And we respect

these opinions. We have an obligation, a legal obligation, which is to clarify many things that Iran has seen to clarify.

And someone -- when people are saying is the IEAA prepared to -- the -- I would be the happiest man in the world if I could clarify these things. But

for this, Iran must cooperate with us. We are ready to reengage because we have been trying for a long time as you know, we are ready. The only thing

we want is for this because it's a -- it's a cause of concern, not only for the JCPOA or the rest of the world because if we have a control such an

ambitious and strong nuclear power program with areas that are unclear, I don't think we can be, you, know satisfied. So, I hope --

(CROSSTALK)

ANDERSON: OK. You've made that clear.

GROSSI: -- these qualifications will come.

ANDERSON: In June you published a report saying that Iran failed to provide technically credible answers into your investigation.

[10:15:02]

So, again, I'll put this to you. Are you willing to close a probe -- that probe without receiving those answers?

GROSSI: Absolutely not. Absolutely not. I -- we had this report we want -- we want to be able to clarify these things. But so far, this is why I sent

it published this report. So far, Iran has not given us the technically credible explanations that we need to explain the origin of many traces of

uranium, the presence of equipment at places. Let -- us let us remind our audience about this. What we found was traces of enriched uranium and

information about a considerable amount of equipment in places that had not been declared as places that were nuclear activity was being conducted.

So it's very simple. Let us have an explanation. If there was nuclear material there, where is it now? If there was equipment there, where is it

now? And at that moment, we will be able to have a report saying, yes, we have clarified this issue. We are not in the business of artificially

creating things. When we don't have more questions to put, we simply stop putting questions. But insofar as there's no clarity in what we are asking,

we will continue.

ANDERSON: Rafael Grossi, it's good to have you on stuff. It's always a pleasure, your analysis and insight. Thank you.

GROSSI: Always a pleasure to talk to you also. Thank you very much.

ANDERSON: Thank you.

GROSSI: Thank you.

ANDERSON: And do be sure to check out the latest news about Iran in CNN. Meanwhile, in the Middle East newsletter today, we are taking a closer look

at how Tehran is mending relations with -- for example, the United Arab Emirates with the UAE Ambassador set to return to Iran after more than six

years. cnn.com/mideast newsletter is where you can sign up for that extremely important stuff.

Well, Ukraine is a country on alert for many reasons, of course, especially with Russia now saying it knows who murdered Daria Dugina. She was the

daughter of a prominent supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin killed in a car bombing this weekend near Moscow. Now, you've got the

Russian security service quoted by the country's state news agency TASS claiming a Ukrainian agent is behind her murder.

The Ukrainians have been saying wasn't them. Many questions Russia's elite as seen rattles. Right now we have Frederik Pleitgen live from Moscow. And

Fred, just give us an idea first of who she was and her father's relationship with Vladimir Putin.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, certainly. I think both the father and daughter are very influential here in Russia

and quite important figures. Daria Dugina, in her own right, was a commentator here in Russia, very much subscribing to, you know, what Russia

is doing in Ukraine towards sort of an expansionist policy and also defended Russia's military action in Ukraine as well.

She is someone who very frequently was on Russian state media in her own right. But also, of course, in many ways, a tie to her father as well. Now

he's extremely prominent here in Russia. He's known as an idealogue and philosopher they say whose thinking appears to be very close to that of

Vladimir Putin. There are some who say that he might have influenced Vladimir Putin in some of his thinking towards Ukraine.

Some of that expansionist thinking especially when it comes to the Donbas area, and Russia trying to integrate that area into the Russian Federation.

And of course, her father who some believe may have actually been the target of this -- of this murder. He's of course extremely angry and he has

already called for revenge. I just want to paraphrase for you a little bit because he literally just put out a statement a couple of minutes ago,

Becky.

He says, our hearts yearn for more than just revenge or retribution. It's too small, not the Russian way, we only need our victory. My daughter laid

her maiden life on her altar. So win, please. So he's obviously calling for an escalation of the war in Ukraine of Russia's special military operation.

There are others within -- especially the upper echelons of Russian state controlled media but also in politics who are also calling for tough action

against Ukraine.

The Ukrainians, for their part, have denied having anything to do with this. They denied that yesterday already. And today, once again, they came

out and said that Russia appears to be living in a fictional world. That's an adviser to Ukraine's presidential administration. But you can see,

Becky, how all of this could very much really inflame things between Russia and Ukraine even more than then of course, already, the current situation

already is.

So, clear, this is something that could have massive repercussions and certainly something as you mentioned, very correctly mentioned that has

clearly sent chills through the entire echelon, the upper echelons especially Russian state controlled media and politics as well, Becky.

[10:20:06]

ANDERSON: Fred Pleitgen is in Moscow. Fred, thank you. Well, the west's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine has remained strong and largely

united. But officials across Europe are worried the consensus could start to be strained as the continent faces a potentially bleak winter. For a

closer look at that head to the Web site cnn.com or find that all on your CNN app. Well, coming up. Political tensions rise in Pakistan as police

investigate former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Why his supporters are now threatening to take over the Capitol. And why some of Taiwan's farmers filled out for it in the middle of recent

diplomatic tensions between Beijing and Washington. It's 3:0 in the afternoon here in London, I'm Becky Anderson. You're watching CONNECT THE

WORLD. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. Well, as tensions growing in Pakistan as police investigate whether former Prime Minister Imran Khan violated anti-terror

laws, this after Mr. Khan threatened to take action against a police chief and a magistrate during a speech on Saturday. He responds to the arrest of

a former aid, government regulator called hate speech and his band live broadcasts of his speeches.

Right now Khan supporters gathering outside his home in Islamabad now vowing to take over the Capitol if he's detained. Let's get to CNN producer

Sophia Saifi who is in Islamabad. And can you just explain what this investigation means and how can supporters have reacted?

SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN PRODUCER: Well, Becky, this goes back to Saturday night, like you mentioned when he made these statement says, of course been a

political crisis brewing here in Islamabad and across Pakistan of course since April when Khan was ousted in a vote of no confidence. What's going

to happen is that Khan's lawyers went ahead and filed a protective bail, which basically means it's a preemptive bail that's filed to Islamabad high

court, which means that the court -- that nobody can arrest him to at least Thursday this week.

It's not going to go to the courts. And it's the court's decision, whether the police can actually take out a warrant and go ahead and arrest him.

Khan's supporters have come out, his senior leaders have said that this is a red line. Khan is a red line and the corporate protests across the

country. Khan has already -- had already announced rallies across Pakistan. We have to obviously understand that on Sunday night, Khan's party, the PTI

had won by election of a seat that had become vacant in the city of Karachi, and that by election was won by a huge margin.

Khan obviously has a lot of power in the province of Punjab as well. So, the more popular support he's getting it appears the more the spot -- this

political crisis seems to get a more murkier.

[10:25:07]

So there is -- we're going to have to see happens on Thursday. There's a huge crowd of people that came out in the suburbs of Islamabad and Bani

Gala. Outside Khan's residence we saw visuals climbing the gates to greet his supporters. So he does have this widespread, very grassroots support

across Pakistan. That's not going away anytime soon. He's claimed that his aid was tortured. His life's features have been banned.

He's saying that he's being censored, channels that were sympathetic to him have been banned. They've also been reports that while Khan's speech was

being broadcast on YouTube, on Saturday night that that was blocked. We have reached out to YouTube ourselves. We haven't received a response from

YouTube or from the government. We do have independent internet watchdog saying that there was a discrepancy and Pakistan, this kind of accessing

YouTube at the moment of when Khan's speech was taking place.

So, it's ongoing and we just have to wait to see how this plays out. At least on Thursday, Becky?

ANDERSON: Sophia Saifi is in Pakistan. Thank you. Well, elsewhere in the country, southern Pakistan and during another round of deadly flooding.

Officials in one southwest province report floods killed at least nine people over the weekend. These are some of the images. At least 15 others

died in Karachi where authorities have suspended public services and urging businesses to close.

Experts attribute the extreme weather to climate change. And similar scenes playing out in neighboring India. At least 32 people there have lost their

lives as intense rains cause flash floods and landslides across several northern states. Hundreds of villages have been inundated sweeping away

houses and leaving residents there stranded.

Well, villages in Afghanistan's Logar province near the Pakistani border also digging through rubble after flash floods. Government officials say at

least 20 people are dead and 3000 homes have been partially or fully destroyed.

And in Sudan, the death toll from flooding this year is now at 79. The government declared a state of emergency Sunday after heavy rains in six

states. Officials say that nearly 150,000 people across the country have been impacted by torrential rains and flash floods since the start of what

is now the rainy season.

You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson. Ahead, some farmers in Taiwan say they are paying the price for a series of recent visits by

U.S. politicians. What they say they are stuck in the middle of in what seems to be a growing GOP political disputes.

Plus, a summer drought in Spain reveals a rarely seen Historic Site. Why archaeologists are racing to examine it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:30:18]

ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in London. The time here is just before half past 3:00. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Well, Taiwan is

touting what it calls democracy chips. During a visit from an American politician, Indiana governor Eric Holcomb met with Taiwan's President

earlier on Monday. They discussed business opportunities with Taiwan saying it wants to build reliable supply chains for its semiconductor industry.

Those so-called democracy chips. This comes as tension with China grows. Blake Essig joining us from Tokyo. Governor Holcomb's trip to Taiwan, the

third by a U.S. delegation this month and follows on the heels of course of Nancy Pelosi's visit. Why is U.S. putting so much emphasis on the so-called

-- let's use the term again democracy chips, Blake.

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, look, in part, it's because when it comes to the semiconductor industry and technological independence,

these democracy chips, there's a fierce competition between the United States and China and while those previous visits by U.S. lawmakers focused

on reaffirming U.S. support for Taiwan. This current visit led by Indiana governor Eric Holcomb is all about state-based economic cooperation between

Indiana and Taiwan with a specific focus on semiconductors after arriving on Sunday, today was his first full day on the Democratic Island.

And he met with Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-wen who addressed the media following her meeting or the Paris meeting to talk about the importance of

building sustainable supply chains for semiconductors. And to counter threats from China. Here's what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TSAI ING-WEN, PRESIDENT OF TAIWAN (through translator): Economic security is an important pillar of national and regional security. Taiwan is willing

and able to strengthen cooperation with Democratic partners in building sustainable supply chains for democracy chips.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ESSIG: And when it comes to those so called democracy chips, which as you've just heard is what Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen called them

today. Perhaps it's a not so subtle reminder to the international community in terms of exactly what's at stake is cross strait tensions between China

and Taiwan worsen and really show no signs of improvement, Becky.

ANDERSON: We saw China's response to Pelosi's trip. It was quite the show of strength style military drills that we witnessed. How's the country

acting towards Taiwan this time around?

ESSIG: Well, Becky, we're still waiting on an official response from Beijing regarding this most recent visit by U.S. officials but you have to

imagine that a response is coming based on what we've seen previously, of course, every time we've talked about Beijing's reaction to these U.S.

congressional delegations visiting Taiwan along with this fiery rhetoric, it was their military response that really made headlines.

But Beijing's retaliation didn't stop there. Immediately deciding to also tighten the economic screws on Taiwan as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ESSIG (voice over): In a small township in the south of Taiwan, farmers like Li Meng-han are battling more than Mother Nature to make a living. But

geopolitics, that's something is hard work can't change.

LI: It's some kind of political issue between Taiwan and China. We simply want to grow fruits and sell them at a good price.

ESSIG: A reasonable request, but one that just got a whole lot more difficult. Following how Speaker Nancy Pelosi's recent stop in Taiwan.

NANCY PELOSI, SPEAKER OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: We will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan.

ESSIG: China reacted by flexing its military muscle, executing at least six days of live fire drills, while at the same time exerting its economic

power over this democratic Island. This time going after what some consider low hanging fruit.

ESSIG (on camera): Citrus fruit like this Kamala was included on the most recent list of Taiwanese items banned from entering China. Beijing says the

reason is because of excess pesticides. Accusations that farmers here deny. It's a move that experts say less about healthcare or the economy is all

about politics.

LI: I didn't see the band coming so fast. We were caught off guard so soon.

CHIAO CHUN, AUTHOR, FRUITS AND POLITICS (through translator): We all know that politics is behind the bands. This is a politically motivated economic

sanction on Taiwan to exert economic pressure on Taiwan.

ESSIG (voice over): The latest sanctions on fruit and fish went into effect on the same day Speaker Pelosi met with Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen.

Sanctions that will cost farmers like Li a lot of money. And a things don't change could force him and other farmers to let employees go.

[10:35:06]

SUN TZU-MIN, GENERAL MANAGER, MADOU FARMER'S ASSOCIATION (through translator): It's been hard for farmers, a sudden ban to put everything on

hold. The Pomona trees can live for decades and their fruits gets sweeter as the trees get older, so it's impossible for farmers to abandon them.

ESSIG (on camera): Each year, roughly 72,000 tons of palm oil are produced here in Taiwan. Only about seven percent are exported to China. The vast

majority of being sold and processed here locally in places like this.

ESSIG (voice over): A small number on paper, but one that will have a big impact on farmers financially and mentally.

CHUN: I think psychology is a bigger factor here. And they can say that they have banned a large number of food items from Taiwan didn't want to

go.

ESSIG: Well, Pelosi is now gone, the impact of her visit still being felt, with farmers forced to get creative by transforming the pomelo into

something different to make up for that loss revenue or sources either.

CHUN: Taiwanese people shouldn't suffer from the tension between the U.S. and China. They always come and then they leave the next day. But the

impact is felt here by Taiwanese farmers.

ESSIG: It's the collateral damage of world powers going toe to toe. Whereas is usually the case. It's not the politicians that suffer but everyday

people just looking to pick some fruit and feed their family.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ESSIG: One item that Beijing hasn't banned and can't produce domestically is the semiconductor. Taiwan's most valuable export to China and something

that China relies on in its technology race against the United States. So well, China hasn't responded to this most recent visit by U.S. officials,

the fact that it's focused on improving the partnership between the United States and Taiwan around semiconductors, the democracy chips probably won't

sit well in Beijing, Becky?

ANDERSON: Ysh, absolutely. Blake Essig on the story for you. Thank you.

Well, to Somalia now, where at least 21 people are reported dead and nearly 120 others injured in a terrorist attack in an upscale hotel in Somalia's

capital. Al-Shabaab is claiming responsibility for the attack in Mogadishu which started on Friday and lasted more than 30 hours. The terror group

striking just a few months after U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to redeploy troops to Somalia to counter al-Shabaab's growing presence there.

CNN's Larry Madowo following this story for us from Nairobi in Kenya, this was a truly horrific event that unfolded over the weekend and it must be

said it really -- the strength of al-Shabaab is growing in Somalia and of course controls large areas of the country. How big a threat are they to

the security of the Horn of Africa, Larry.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Becky, they seem to be an even bigger threat to the security of the Horn of Africa right now than was immediate

previously thought. Because this is the first time that al-Shabaab has attacked with Somali capital since the election of the new government there

which is promised to neutralize the terror group. We got to remember that al-Shabaab has been described by one senior U.S. official as our Canada's

largest global affiliate.

The U.S.-Africa command estimates that it's got between five and 10,000 fighters in Somalia. And it's been carrying out attacks not just in

Somalia, but also here in Kenya, once in Uganda, and has recently been reported to be advancing into Ethiopia. There's been some attacks on the

Somalia-Ethiopia border. So instability in Ethiopia means instability in the region. This is why the U.S. has been carrying out recent airstrikes

against al-Shabaab.

Targeting it as recently as two Sundays ago. 39 al-Shabaab fighters were killed. But this one really gripped the nation but also reminded the whole

world of how dangerous al-Shabaab remains. They blasted away into a hotel that's very popular with government officials. They were shooting civilians

as they were trying to escape, and then they blew up some stairs to trap people on upper floors.

They took hostages and essentially engaged security forces in Somalia for more than 30 hours while loved ones waited outside to see what was going to

happen.

ANDERSON: Larry is on the story for you. Thank you, sir.

Well, next up. Calling for calm with their fans planning protest ahead of huge match against rivals Liverpool. Manchester United's manager preaches

unity more than that after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:41:31]

ANDERSON: Well, in some parts of the world drought conditions are having an unexpected effect revealing hidden treasures and pieces of history. Have a

look at this. More than 20 warships have been exposed along the Danube in eastern Serbia. Experts say the ships were scuttled by Nazi forces during

World War Ii and still contain ammunition and explosives.

And in southwestern China, a small island containing three Buddha statues is now visible above the waterline the statues are thought to be at least

600 years old.

And in Spain dozens of upright stones arranged in circles and are visible for only the fourth time since their discovery.

Lots for the archaeologists to get their teeth into there.

Well, calling for Manchester United to remain just that as the club prepares to face Liverpool tonight. Their manager wants to avoid a repeat

of scenes like these from last year when fan frustration over ManU's Glazer ownership exploded onto the page. Tensions maybe even higher this year,

given what has been a -- what I want to call it a disappointing start to the season. But I think that's the sort of that over eggs slightly how

they've pitched off --

(CROSSTALK)

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: You know, sometimes the opening to your show writes itself. The top story.

ANDERSON: Yes.

DAVIES: I mean, there's only one place for us to start on World Sport today. And you don't ever need any extra emotion for Manchester United's

against Liverpool but with talk of protests, the politics, the players under pressure. There's a real sense that today is going to be another real

kind of full stop in a marker, in Manchester United moving forward. Everybody's aware of the significance about it. We'll wait to see there's

calls that the protests are not violent, they're peaceful protests.

But we saw what happened in May last year when the game was cooled off at such late notice because the fans know that if ever there's a game with

eyeballs on it, it's this one and this is where they want to really make their feelings known about the Glazer ownership. But yes, there's so much

to discuss with both of these two sides at the moment and that is very much where we're heading with World Sport today.

ANDERSON: And that is up after this short break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WORLD SPORT)

END