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Connect the World
London Protests Over Israel's Judiciary Plan; Man Who Inspired Movie "Hotel Rwanda" being Freed; U.N. Report Details Horrific Treatment of Civilians; U.S., Canada Reach a Deal on Decades-Old Asylum Agreement; Biden Arrives at Parliament Hill in Ottawa; Dubai Art Exhibition Showcases Wood as Primary Medium. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired March 24, 2023 - 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)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, this hour protests in London for the Israeli Prime Minister's visit. We are live outside of
Downing Street. But first, the United States has launched a retaliation strike in Northeast Syria after an American contractor was killed by a
drone attack.
The U.S. says that drone was Iranian made. A report by the United Nations documents, dozens of summary executions of Russian and Ukrainian prisoners
of war. And this hour U.S. President Joe Biden will meet with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Welcome to our second hour of "Connect the
World". I'm Eleni Giokos. I'm in for Becky Anderson.
Now Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in the UK this hour in search of allies amid soaring controversy at home. The British Prime
Minister Rishi Sunak expressed solidarity with Israel but also stressed the importance of democratic values. He referred to the Israeli government's
plan to weaken the courts. Mr. Netanyahu had little to say as he left the meeting, take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Netanyahu is democracy under threat in Israel?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you break the law last night?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Well, the judiciary plan is prompting huge protests in Israel. And as we're seeing in London CNN's Salma Abdelaziz has been with the crowds
all day. Salma good to see you! I want you to break down what you're seeing what you're hearing from the crowd behind you; I know that it's been going
on largely all day.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I'm sorry, Eleni. It's very loud here. But I wanted to bring you in the middle of this demonstration here in
Central London. It's a very small just a few dozen people a very small but vocal crowd that is making it known that protests are going to dog Prime
Minister Netanyahu anywhere he goes.
They also had a message for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. They want him to stand up and speak out condemn these judicial reforms that these protesters
here feel is going to harm Israel's democracy, it's going to erode the checks and balances of the country, these protesters saying give Prime
Minister Netanyahu autocratic like powers.
I want to introduce you to one of the protesters who are again, being out here all day, I'll be tall. You're an Israeli citizen, but you live here in
London, your family is here. And you told me you've never really gotten involved in politics. What made you come out today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. I'm not yet and I've been out to visit outside of Israel for more than eight years now, and have never been
politically active. But people are here from across the political spectrum. And really, this goes beyond politics. This is existential to us.
And this is basically harming our democratic - very foundation of democracy in Israel, which is a very fragile democracy as it is. It took so long to
build. So we're here to protest against it and maintain that life as good as we can maintain it like in the Middle East.
ABDELAZIZ: And what did you hope would come out of this three day visit? What did you want the British government? What did you want Prime Minister
Rishi Sunak to do during this visit?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, I think that the lease would be a reprimanding of a sort of the Prime Minister and to clarify that in order to maintain the
friendship between the UK and Israel, which is founded and based on the Democratic nature of Israel.
We have to be very careful with what we do with democracy with what we do with the judicial system, which is so very important to maintaining
democracy and keeping it alive. And this is basically where we are.
ABDELAZIZ: Thank you so much for your time. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you. And Eleni that's the kind of the message you're hearing
repeated here. Many of these protesters say they never imagined as Israeli citizens.
Because some of them are members of the Jewish community that they would come out in a foreign country in London and protest against an Israeli
Prime Minister's visit with Israeli flag, but that's just how threatened how worried they are about these judicial reforms.
They say they could lead to the persecution of minorities, to corruption to the eroding of a system and a country that they feel that they have to come
out today and they want the UK to follow suit with the United States and step up that condemnation.
I know you read from that Downing Street statement earlier Prime Minister Rishi Sunak emphasizing some of that but it's simply not enough just that
rhetoric is simply not enough for these protesters here.
[11:05:00]
They wanted to continue to echo that sentiment on the ground in Israel. They want that to follow Prime Minister Netanyahu anywhere he goes.
GIOKOS: Well, voice is certainly getting louder in terms of the discontent against these potential judicial reforms. Salma Abdelaziz thanks you so
much. Well, Israel shift to the riots has left some Jews in the U.S. feeling alienated. We have a fascinating analysis of that today in our
newsletter "Meanwhile, in the Middle East". You can just go to cnn.com/mideast newsletter, be sure and click subscribe. While you're
there, it has fantastic read very insightful.
Proportionate and deliberate action that is how the United States is describing airstrikes it launched in Syria after a drone attack killed a
U.S. contractor there. Video posted on social media is set to show the aftermath of the U.S. strikes, five U.S. service personnel and another
contractor were injured in the drone attack, which the U.S. says was launched by Iranian proxies.
And it happened in Northeastern Syria in an area where some 900 U.S. troops are deployed. We have Oren Liebermann at the Pentagon for us, as well as
Nic Robertson, who is back with us this hour from London.
Great to have you both on the show! I want to start off with you Oren, just some of the feedback, the statements from the United States, saying they're
going to keep a very close eye on what is going on. But also saying proportionate, deliberate, strikes, making sure that this isn't going to
cause any form of escalation, but it's the messaging of by keeping a close watch, which becomes interesting?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, there has for a long time been friction between U.S. forces in Syria. And as you point out,
there are a large number of them about 900 spread across just a few different bases or operating posts as part of the ongoing campaign to
defeat ISIS.
And the Iranian proxies that are in the region that have been in the region essentially, under the watchful eye of Russia and the Assad regime in
Syria. There has been friction in the past; we have seen the Biden Administration carry out strikes against Iranian forces in the past.
In fact, just a month or two into the Biden Administration the first known military action was a similar sort of strike against Iranian proxies in the
region following rocket attacks against U.S. forces.
Of course, this attack with a one way UAV or a suicide drone had far different consequences. One U.S. contractor killed five service members
injured and one more U.S. contractor injured. We have learned a short time ago that those five service members are in stable condition, two of them
treated on site, three of them take into coalition medical facilities in Iraq.
But this gets at the friction and the tension there between U.S. forces and Iranian proxies and how quickly that could escalate. The U.S. was not going
to let this one go unanswered, carrying out what it called a proportion and deliberate response to this, but also warning that if there are more
attacks from Iranian proxies that the U.S. can continue to attack.
In terms of how frequently something like this happens we just got an insight into that. General Erik Kurilla the Commander of U.S. Central
Command said just yesterday that there have been about 78 rocket and UAV attacks against U.S. forces in the Middle East since the beginning of 2021.
That works out to about one nearly every 10 days. So this is frequent but Eleni of course, not all of them have this sort of tragic result.
GIOKOS: All right. Thank you so much, Oren Liebermann. I want to go to Nic Robertson now. Nic, if you could give me a bit of insight in the background
in terms of what we're seeing, you know, as Oren just said, the numbers are interesting. The frequency of these attacks occur one every 10 days since
2021. The perspective here the context, could you break that down for us?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, Syria is in a very changing situation, if you will, at the moment, the President Bashar
Al Assad is sort of going through a rapprochement with his Arab neighbors. It's been a long time coming.
And the earthquake in Syria helped precipitate that. So that end of itself will bring a change to interests on the ground. Because rapprochement when
it comes through will look a lot like rebuilding and it will look lot like a greater influence for those Arab nations inside of Syria. This is not
something that Iran sees in its interests that doesn't directly potentially tie it to the strikes on the U.S. base that perhaps has to deal with
ongoing U.S. Iranian tensions.
But there are so many different threads in play here that effectively dead nuclear talks that are going on with Iran that the United States is trying
to become part of again, formerly known as the JCPOA. Iran is way out of compliance on that deal. Very close is believed to having weapons grade
nuclear material. That's a major concern in the region.
[11:10:00]
But then you have the United States and Iran through proxy through intermediaries, trying to come to an arrangement over four Americans who
are being illegally held in Iranian jails at the moment. So, there are many different things in play here, which can militate against escalation, and
which could move towards escalation here.
But you know, I think what we've seen the U.S. say here about the proportionate response and targeting weapons and intelligence gathering, I
think the speed of the response tells us the level of concern that there is for this type of weapons system, a drone, that is on a one way mission,
it's packed full of explosives.
And if you have an intelligence gathering operative on the ground near the base, who is watching in real time, and can direct the drone in real time,
which there is a real potential for here, because Iran has this technology. That's incredibly dangerous. It can mean in the future more than just one
fatality. And I think that's why you see the speed of the response, the strength of the language at the moment.
GIOKOS: Nic Robertson, thank you so much. Great to see you! Now the man, who inspired the movie Hotel Rwanda, is being released from prison. Paul
Rusesabagina had his 25-year prison sentence commuted by Rwanda's President after he asked for clemency. He was convicted of terrorism related charges
in September of 2021.
His arrest happened the year before while he was traveling internationally, and what his family claims was a kidnapping. The 2004 movie depicts his
efforts as a hotel manager to save Rwandans during the 1994 genocide of Tutsis by Hutu rebels. Larry Madowo is following the story for us.
Larry, we were covering his arrest quite extensively. And we heard a lot of outcry, international outcry in terms of the way he was let to Rwanda, the
judicial process, and now he has been he's going to be freed. He's going to be released from prison. Take us through the why, the big why.
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There seems to have been a lot of behind- the-scenes negotiation here Eleni between the Rwandans, the Qataris and the Americans, because what the Iranians are saying now is that the process of
his release is underway. And we have a confirmation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Qatar that he will then travel to Qatar before
eventually going to the United States where he's a permanent resident.
Even though President Kagame had initially said that they will not be bullied by anybody to release Paul Rusesabagina, because he was - Rwandan
law and charged under Rwandan law and centers under Rwandan law. It seems to have kind of over the last few days, over the last few weeks, these
negotiations have borne fruit.
And I think one of the interesting things here is that royal Qatar, which has been an interesting player in this whole thing, President Kagame has
just recently in Qatar, he's a close ally, and friends of the Emir of Qatar, and that appears to have worked here.
Obviously, the U.S. Influenza and the U.S. power have also been useful. And so, he's getting commuted, he's getting the rest of his 25-year sentence
commuted. But the Rwandans are very clear that if a sentence getting commuted means that if you repeat the same offenses, you're going to go
straight back to jail to serve the rest of your sentence.
So Paul Rusesabagina and 18 other people who he's accused of - that sentence were commuted. As useful background here for our viewers is that
he went to jail for terror related offenses, because of his involved politically with the MDC.
That is a Movement for Democratic Change in Rwanda. It's got an armed wing that Rwanda accuses of terrorism related offenses in the country. And
that's how he ended up on trial and in jail, even though this trial was criticized as a sham trial by many international observers.
GIOKOS: Yes, and inciting violence of the rhetoric, you know, that he was formed, it was really quiet a fascinating story. That being said, the
judicial process was definitely under the spotlight. What is interesting here that you had a lot of people involved to secure this commuting of the
sentence as well? And it comes in the context of what is happening in Rwanda politically. There are a lot of questions around the viability of
opposition parties, whether they do stand a chance.
MADOWO: That is always some of that hangs over the leadership of President Paul Kagame. The lack of an independent opposition, the lack of an
independent for a civil society, the lack of an independent media of the country and so, this was seen and that backdrop. And Paul Rusesabagina is
an interesting one because he's hugely famous internationally.
He was played by Don Cheadle in Hotel Rwanda that won an Oscar nomination. He's also a dual Rwandan Belgian citizen; he's also a permanent resident of
the United States.
[11:15:00]
So his case was automatically going to get a lot of international attention. And how he ended up in Rwanda is also an interesting case here.
He was traveling from Dubai, believed to be going to Bujumbura and Burundi. And that's why his family says he was kidnapped.
He ended up in Kigali and then facing trial. Whether this means that there's an opening up of the democratic space in Rwanda, it's hard to tell
at this point, because this is just one famous inmate in Rwanda. This many others, opposition figures, journalists, whose cases are still under
question, whether they did face a fair trial and whether their sentences are proportional to whatever crimes that are accused of Eleni.
GIOKOS: Larry Madowo, thank you so very much for that inside. Great context there! Well, coming up next on "Connect the World", the smallest victims,
it'll be, I'll be speaking with U.N. Human Rights officials in Ukraine about the treatment of children caught up in the war.
Plus, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to CNN ahead of his meeting with the U.S. president. Hear his approach to threats from China as
well as other issues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: And your report by the U.N. paints a grim picture of the war in Ukraine. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights says it has
evidence of thousands of cases with civilian non-combatants were tortured, sexually assaulted, or killed by Russian troops and their allies.
The U.N. also identified hundreds of cases where Ukrainian men, women and children just disappeared while under Russian occupation. The U.N. also
says it's gravely concerned about the treatment of children. CNN has tried to check Moscow's claim that no Ukrainian children have been forcibly
deported to Russia.
President Vladimir Putin is facing an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Courts based on allegations that it did happen. David McKenzie
went to an orphanage in southern Ukraine to find out more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Approaching the southern frontline in Kherson, in the liberated city, many
have fled; it's deceptively quiet, until the relentless terror the often indiscriminate, almost daily Russian shelling. We've come to investigate a
very deliberate horror of the Russian occupations.
MCKENZIE (on camera): So, the children who stayed here were under five years old mostly, this orphanage had more than 40 children here.
[11:20:00]
MCKENZIE (voice over): Elena was a nurse here for 17 years. Not a single child is left. I feel emptiness, emptiness, everything has just stopped,
she says. The children had everything, they were so happy, the children were happy. Now it's just silence and small reminders of them their names -
because some children's home isn't our crime scene.
They warned us to collect their clothes, says Elena. The Russians and collaborators called in the evening and said to prepare the children for
the morning. The buses arrived at eight. The heart-breaking scenes captured for Russian propaganda shared on a Russian MPs telegram channel.
The bewilder children taken from their beloved nurses in October, transported to Russian occupied Crimea or Russia itself, say Ukrainian
investigators. But instead of hiding this alleged war crime, Russians advertised it. Children will be taken to safe conditions in Crimea, he
says.
I'll definitely go and visit. Investigators said was part of a pre- meditated Russian mission to take Ukrainian children to even targeted hospitals.
MCKENZIE (on camera): There was a lot of pressure by the Russians to take these children. Weren't you afraid?
MCKENZIE (voice over): It was scary. Very, very scary so much pressure, says --. Twice a day they demanded, we show them lists of the kids to take
to Russia. So, Ola and her team came up with an extraordinary deception. They had orphans in the ICU. And they forged medical assessments saying
healthy children were severely sick.
But even faked and emergency ventilation, she says. We understood that the Russians and collaborators would not forgive us, she says, we knew there
would be serious retribution. We understood this, but they took the risks and manage to save children. And the critical care nurse took it a step
further. Tatiana says she fell in love with one of the orphan children. She worked desperately to keep the child off the list.
MCKENZIE (on camera): How are you?
MCKENZIE (voice over): Now she's adopting Kira.
MCKENZIE (on camera): Nice to meet you.
MCKENZIE (voice over): We met them at home, a Ukrainian mom with her treasured Ukrainian child. Kira is almost ready to walk.
MCKENZIE (on camera): What does she mean to you?
MCKENZIE (voice over): She means everything to me, says Tatiana. I don't even know to be honest. I can't imagine my life without Kira. This awful
wall has given her a precious gift. David McKenzie, CNN, Kherson.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: Oh, what a story. Let's dig deeper into some of these allegations of Russian treatment of Ukrainians. Joining me now is Matilda Bogner, the
Head of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. You just heard the story that our David McKenzie reported on orphanages where
Russian troops came in, took children that had to fake severe illness to save some of these very young kids, some of them toddlers.
It's just one of the many atrocities that we've been hearing about and your monitoring mission has also unraveled some of these very serious issues
that are happening on the ground. How important is the report that you've conducted right now in terms of keeping people safe in terms of finally
getting some kind of justice down the line?
MATILDA BOGNER, U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING MISSION IN UKRAINE: It's very important, it's very important that we monitor that we document and then we
publicly make known the findings that we have. In this type of situation where there are violations of international humanitarian law. In many
occasions that war crimes, as well as other forms of violations of human rights, that people are aware of what is happening, as you said this can
lead to accountability.
So, we hope that it will lead to criminal accountability, but also other forms of accountability to ensure that victims receive reparations received
forms of compensation and support for what they've been through. But also very importantly, that it helps to prevent future atrocities from taking
place. Unfortunately, we've seen so many atrocities during this war. We don't want to see any more.
GIOKOS: Absolutely. Just on that, look the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin facing war crime charges including the overseeing of the abduction of
children. This report gives that evidence right; it builds the evidence that can be used in court.
[11:25:00]
BOGNER: Well, we have documented a number of cases. The ICC is focusing specifically on children who have been taken to the Russian Federation or
those that have been deported. And we have documented a number of cases where children, such as you were mentioning before, those who are in
institutions who are orphans, and so on, have been taken to the Russian Federation.
One needs to look at each individual case very carefully. There are cases where children have gone to the Russian Federation that will not be
deportation or a violation of international humanitarian law. But there are other cases where it is, sometimes children have been held in play.
So, they have been in places where hostilities are ongoing, and they did need to be evacuated for their own safety. But under international
humanitarian law, that should be temporary. And the power that that takes those children that evacuate those children should then bring the children
back.
So the priority in these cases is to ensure that children are able to be reunited with their families. And that requires mechanisms to be put in
place to allow that to happen.
GIOKOS: Hopefully, there's a window of opportunity to get some of these children back. I was looking at some of what your report entails. And it
runs from August 2022 till January 2023. It's far ranging. It's - rising a lot of the time. Take me through some of what we've seen and how serious
the situation is on the ground right now.
BOGNER: Well, one of the reports looks at the situation for prisoners of war. We've found that prisoners of war are subjected to summary executions
subjected to torture and ill treatment. And they can face horrific conditions while being in termed or detained. Unfortunately, we found that
there have been significant violations on sides, summary executions, torture and so on.
And we call on both parties to the conflict to improve that situation to prevent further violations as well as to open investigations and hold the
perpetrators to account. We also look in the other report at a whole range of other violations, including enforced disappearances arbitrary detention.
We have documented more than 600 cases of enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention since the 24th of February last year, and until the end
of January this year, which had been carried out by Russian Armed Forces or other security services. And we've documented over 91 cases that have
happened within government-controlled Ukraine by Ukrainian forces.
Again, both sides need to investigate these cases need to stop further cases from happening. We've also looked at conflict related sexual
violence; we found that there are two main forms. One is sexual violence that happens as a part of torture. So, this can be against prisoners of war
or against civilian detainees, those who have been often impossibly disappeared or arbitrarily detained.
That is one group of people that have been subjected to sexual violence. On the other hand, it's the type that we've heard more about in the media,
which is sexual violence that happened in areas that were occupied by Russian forces against women, and sometimes against girls.
These are usually cases of rape, sometimes gang rape, or other forms of sexual violence. These are some of the worst atrocities that we've
documented in these reports.
GIOKOS: And thank you for bringing them to light. And to you and your team for the important work that you're doing on the ground. Matilda, thank you
so much. Matilda Bogner there for us!
Well, coming up U.S. President Joe Biden is meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as the two countries strike a major deal affecting
asylum seekers. Plus, what Buckingham Palace is saying about King Charles's visit to France after Thursday's violent protests in Paris, stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:30:00]
GIOKOS: Welcome back to "Connect the World". I'm Eleni Giokos. I'm in for Becky Anderson. These are your headlines this hour. British Prime Minister
Rishi Sunak expressed the importance of democratic values when he met today with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu. You refer to the Israeli
government's plan to weaken the courts.
Mr. Sunak also reaffirming his country's ties with Israel protests is underway in London against Mr. Netanyahu's visit. The UAE says it launched
retaliatory airstrikes after an Iranian made drone killed a U.S. contractor and injured six other Americans in north-eastern Syria. This video is there
to show the aftermath of the U.S. strikes.
There are unconfirmed reports of deaths of pro-Iranian fighters. Some 900 U.S. troops are in Syria to assist in the fight against ISIS. Ukraine says
it is planning a counter offensive around the besieged city of Bakhmut. A Ukrainian general says Russian forces there are exhausted. Meanwhile, in
the north Russian troops pounded the Sumy region with more than 100 rockets and artillery shells.
Right, U.S. President Joe Biden will be getting a red-carpet welcome in the Canadian capital of Ottawa at any moment now. The Canadian Parliament will
be holding an official welcome. And this is a ceremony that will be led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; the two men are due to hold bilateral talks
on immigration as well as other issues. Mr. Biden will then address parliament.
This comes as the U.S. and Canada strike a major deal on how to divert asylum seekers crossing their borders. Paula Newton is joining us now live
from Ottawa, Canada. Paula, we're waiting for things to get underway but already a deal as some kind of headway in terms of the question on asylum
seekers, take us through this.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, what's interesting here is that U.S. officials were hoping to say for several weeks that they did not expect a
deal like this. And yet this is a political win for Canada that I had been seeing more people enter from the U.S. illegally into Canada, as many as a
40,000 last year.
I have to say though, Eleni that number pales in comparison, in terms of what's going on at the southern U.S. border. And for that reason, Canada
has agreed that they will take more asylum seekers from the United States into Canada at legal ports of entry. I want you to listen now to my
interview with Justin Trudeau yesterday in talking about what this deal might look like, take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: There, there's a lot of work being done and we hopefully being able to make to make an announcement to
reassure Canadians and Americans that we continue to handle migration serious.
NEWTON: And will that include taking migrants that sometimes even present themselves at the southern border or taking migrants directly from the
United States?
[11:35:00]
TRUDEAU: Canada is always willing to do more. We're a country that has been built like the United States on welcoming people from around the world. We
just need to make sure we're doing it in responsible, proper ways to continue to have our citizen's positive towards immigration, as Canadians
always are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: You know, at issue here, Eleni is, how much of a difference this is going to make. The United States continues to stress that look, the
migration issue is a hemispheric one that Canada needs to do its part. Canada saying it will come to the table to try and alleviate some of the
pressure in general in South America, Central America and of course, on that U.S. southern border.
This is all setting the stage for what is a fairly intimate affair. Really, these two leaders go by the names of Joe and Justin. I can tell you, the
president is now about 20 minutes behind schedule, but I do see some movement down there. So, we should have that official welcome to parliament
shortly just coming up in the next few minutes, Eleni.
GIOKOS: Always slightly late, right. In terms of the question on other geopolitical issues, China interference has become, you know, a very big
topic, we saw what happened with hearing the TikTok CEO yesterday. And they seem to have consensus on that. The question is what do they do as allies?
NEWTON: Yes, and the issue, again, is that the U.S. is pushing Canada to do more when it comes to continental defense. So, you'll remember that Chinese
balloon flew through Canada first before it entered the United States. And Canada has retrieved Chinese surveillance buoys in the Arctic as well.
All of this to say that it gives the United States really the leverage to push with Canada to say, look, we need you need to spend more on
continental defense, and we want you to be our partner in this in the years to come. I want you to listen again to Prime Minister Trudeau and him
talking really in quite blunt terms about the threat that China now poses.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUDEAU: There are other places where we're going to have to be stiff competition to China in terms of market access, in terms of investments in
the Global South. We need to be able to show that the western democracies are there to make those investments and there is competitive to China.
But there are also areas in which we're going to have to directly challenge China, whether it's on human rights, whether it's on security behaviors,
whether it's on cyber-attacks or concerns like that. We're going to have to continue to be wide eyed and clear about the threat that China poses and
wants to pose to the stability of our democracies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Yes, think about those words, Eleni right, poses a threat to our democracy. Top of mind here in Canada right now is whether or not China
interfered in elections here in 2019 and 2021. Justin Trudeau under a lot of pressure to call for a public inquiry, he stopped short of that.
But right now, on the table between the United States and Canada will be strategies to try and counter those kinds of aggressive moves by China. I
think you might be able to hear the helicopter; the president is on the move. We do expect this welcoming ceremony to happen in the next few
minutes early.
GIOKOS: Look, my ears perked up when you said you know we have to be a competitive force against China in the Global South. I have to say that is
going to be a tough one there. You know, both the U.S. and Canada have lost a bit of their competitive edge. But we will get you back on and we'll talk
about this as we wait for Justin and Joe to meet Paula, as you phrased it earlier. Great to see you!
NEWTON: Thanks.
GIOKOS: All right. Hundreds of people are under arrest across France after more than 440 police officers were injured in clashes with protesters on
Thursday. Demonstrations over controversial pension reforms turned violent. And that's prompting King Charles, the third to postpone his plan states to
France, state visit to France.
The British monarch was due to set off this Sunday, but Buckingham Palace says his visit to Germany next week will go ahead. We've got Melissa Bell
standing by for us in Paris. Regardless of what Macron has said, on why this is necessary, stating his case people are still out on the streets.
These protests are, you know really fascinating to watch.
And it really just hinges on so much of this process, basically pushing through something that wasn't actually voted on even within parliament,
Melissa. I then like guess, I wonder what happens next here? Is there a sense that these protests will dissipate at some point?
MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: I think that's probably what the government is counting on that there'll be at some point to sort of tiring
of this. But for now, there's no sign of it, as you say Eleni, in fact, ever since the announcement was made just over a week ago, that this reform
would be pushed through without a vote.
We've seen these spontaneous protests every single night, not just in Paris, but in other French cities as well. And already protesters are
calling together. Again, yesterday was the ninth official day of protests and of strikes. Of course, we have another big day ahead of us on Tuesday.
[11:40:00]
Hence, the postponement of that visit Emmanuel Macron has been speaking to that from Brussels where he's been attending an EU summit, leader Summit,
where he said that this was common sense. To reach out to Buckingham Palace this morning to postpone this visit, King Charles the third and the Queen
concert were due to arrive on Sunday morning, and stay till Wednesday.
There had been going to be a dinner at Versailles. All of that now postponed said the French president out of a sense of friendship and of
respect, given those ongoing protests and again, with Tuesday expected to be another big day on the streets of Paris and of other French cities, no
sign of that stopping, no sign of that fervor stopping not just the numbers going up.
But the anger that we saw yesterday, spilling out into that violence, nearly thousand fires lit across the French capital. And again, those
scenes expected to be repeated on Tuesday. I guess the question is, how long the unions can maintain that momentum that popular anger and continue
getting people out on the streets are given also, the strikes that continue to cause such havoc.
It is lines of gas stations; it is rubbish still piled high on the streets of Paris. How much longer that goes on, where public opinion stands with
regard to the disruptions to daily life and to the sights and smells of the French Capital, frankly? So for now, though, a battle of wills very much
between the two sides and no signs that the protesters are backing down, Eleni.
GIOKOS: You know, look, Macron has to make the budget balanced in some way. This is clearly a numbers game. This is about making sure that pensions are
affordable. What is going on economically, that they had to take this day?
BELL: Well, this was remembering a president who had come in on a reforming platform back in 2017. And this had been one of the flagship reforms that
he'd proposed. He tried in 2019; Eleni by harmonizing what is a very complex pension system according to the different professions that hadn't
gone down.
Well, people have come out into the streets COVID, all of that had forced them to back down. Hence this new proposal, which really looks at rising
that retirement age, and raising the number of annuities that people have to complete in order to qualify for that full state pension.
There are those the unions at the helm, who say it is inherently unfair, and will be punitive for those who are the least well off the blue collar
workers. And that is what made them so angry. And it's what you hear from the protesters. I think one of the striking things that occurred to me
yesterday, but also on the eight other days of major protests, planned protests here in Paris, is how many young people are out there.
This is a vast spectrum of the French public that is out there. And bear in mind that of course, it isn't just the fact of this reform the way it's
been pushed through. But that reforming president himself, remember the - so much of that anger was still out there. And he's very much targeted on
the French president himself, his manner, the nature of his policies.
And the fact that a lot of French people, the people that you hear, I don't see on the streets, the placards speak to the fact that he's being referred
to by many, as the president of the rich that there are those who consider there were other ways to fill the gaps in the pension system going forward.
That would have been less inherently unfair.
The French government says this is urgent; we have to get this fixed. And it is they say the simplest way of doing it but that disaccord, that
fundamental disagreement and the crystallization of so much anger around the person of the president really driving those protesters to feel that
this will be a key moment in trying to make the rest of his second term, as difficult as they can, Eleni.
GIOKOS: Yes. Melissa Bell, thank you very much for breaking that down. Good to see you. All right, the U.S. president has just arrived at the Canadian
parliament where he will meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to speak to lawmakers. We have live pictures coming through from Ottawa, Canada, as
you can see the most - coming in.
We're waiting for Joe Biden. He will be addressing parliament. And then, of course, all the big topics include the issue of asylum seekers, trade, big
one on Chinese interference, climate change, these are all on the agenda, an increase in defense spending. This is what these two allies will be
discussing.
It is important time for both Justin Trudeau and Joe Biden to align themselves on some of these global issues and we'll be bringing you that as
it happens. There you go. That is President Joe Biden coming out and greeting his counterpart, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa.
All right, so we will be monitoring this are all the big headlines coming out of this meeting. And of course, they've already reached an agreement on
immigration.
[11:45:00]
And we'll be hearing more on that as the days go on. All right, we are going to bring you more stories as well. Europe's banking stocks taking a
tumble today. What is behind the dip when we come back? We'll be breaking down some of those bad numbers today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: Welcome back. European banking stocks tumbling today in a sign that investors are still nervous about the recent crisis. Some banks could spill
over into the wider financial sector. It is not only that concern, you've had the European Central Bank as well as the Bank of England hiking rates
by a quarter percentage point. So did the Federal Reserve as well.
So, you've got interest rate hikes, you've got worries in the banking sector that spilling over into sentiment. DOW Jones in the U.S. is down
slightly. But what we're seeing over in Europe, footsie 100, down 1.2 percent, DAX and Germany also coming under pressure, and the Paris CAC is
down almost 2 percent.
It's a stock share of Deutsche Bank that is really creating a concern that's reigniting investor jitters as well, with German lenders shares in
retreat. We actually saw Chancellor Olaf Scholz very quick to say there's no reason to be concerned. Those were his words.
But here's the thing. It's the credit default swaps that actually started to see a spike today that is insurance coming through on their debt. And
that spite showing that perhaps there is concern about the health of Deutsche Bank; don't forget we had some worries about Credit Suisse last
week.
We saw the collapse of SVB in the United States. The question is not so much about a bank being too big to fail, but perhaps too interconnected to
come under pressure. We've seen all central banks coming in and saying they are ready to create liquidity to help the banks. Anna Stewart standing by,
Anna, what is going on, so much going on with the banks, it is worrying.
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Yes, it feels like we're actually ending the week where we started because at the beginning of this week, despite the
takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS, you know two huge Swiss banks. We saw a lot of market jitters on the Monday despite clearly, regulators central
banks, governments are prepared to step in and ensure that banks remain solvent and that deposits remain safe, whether it's in the U.S. or Europe.
It didn't actually do much for market jitters. We've had a really volatile week and today we're seeing a lot of stress in Deutsche Bank shares. Now
this has been one of the most stressed-out banks, I'd say in this whole market turmoil in terms of the banking sector. They were down earlier today
around 15 percent.
They've come back in little bit from those lows, but not a huge deal as you can see there. And actually, the whole sector has been dragged down through
the day.
[11:50:00]
We saw a sharp rise in the cost of credit default swaps that the insurance on a lender's bonds against default. So that was certainly a telling sign
and the share price really has been troubled today. Why? Why this bank? Well, it's interesting if you consider versus Credit Suisse. It is a bank
that had a lot of issues in the past in terms of various scandals.
But this one has restructured and that is why we've seen leader, German Leader Chancellor Olaf Scholz come out and say that this is a modernized
profitable bank. Nothing sees here. I'm not sure that'll do enough to steady those nerves, though.
GIOKOS: Yes. That's what we're hearing from more policymakers, nothing to see here when it comes to the banking sector. Anna Stewart, thank you so
much. We are going to a very short break. We will be tracking Joe Biden and Justin Trudeau meeting happening right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: "Would you rather be Happy" is an exhibition at the Firetti Contemporary Gallery in Dubai that features six artists who use wood as
their primary medium. Sawsan Al Bahar is one of those featured, a Syrian Palestinian artist. She explores the constant change and renewal that
occurs with the nature. I want you to have a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAWSAN AL BAHAR, SYRIAN-PALESTINIAN ARTIST: "Would you rather be Happy" at Firetti Contemporary? While there's this play on the word wood, wood, as
would you like to but also wood as a tactile material that is very much symbolic of nature. This been inspired by the Philosopher Henry Thoreau who
said, I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees.
If we take that as an inspiration point, it brings the presence of nature to our interior spaces. I think fall is the season that really represents
time for all of us and reminds us of the changing of the environment. But for me, my parents moved here when I was quite young, I was about six years
old from Damascus.
My mom is originally from Palestine. And I grew up here with them always telling me, we're going to go home. And so, I kind of grew up with this
feeling of temporariness, really this idea that home for many of us not just myself in the Middle East for various reasons for political and social
and military and cultural reasons, economic reasons become always elsewhere.
I have been using 3D printing as a process in my practice. I work with my brother who is fabricator and computational designer. And he was telling me
you know you can 3D print wood. With 3D printed them in wood flat on a on a 3D printing bed, they come out four millimeters, almost like a sheet of
paper.
Then we put them in the oven, the actual oven like in my kitchen oven, they become quite almost like in glass states, which means they're fluid enough
that you can bend them. I used wood stain in different shades and varieties to not only bring out these colors, but also to bring out the texture and
the material of wood.
It's really interesting to have so many different disciplines and see how different artists use this material in different ways. Whether it's the
work of Laura who basically turns with the charcoal which you know, again adds a different color and tactility, the work of - for example.
[11:55:00]
He leaves it there for you to immediately see it and recognize the contrast it makes with paint because it's you know, wood has a texture and has a
grain and has a tactility that many other materials don't have. And then on the other end of the spectrum, we have the work of - is more like
representing nature through the seasons, from fall to spring through the use of different colors and different motifs that really evoke the
landscape as it changes throughout different seasons.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: Beautiful and thoughtful. The current exhibition finishes at Firetti Contemporary this weekend. But you can still see Al Bahar's
magnificent leaves sculptures for a few more weeks at the gallery. Well, that's it for "Connect the World". I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi. CNN
continues after short break, have a fantastic weekend.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
