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Chad's President Visits Niger To Mediate Between Captive Nigerien President And General Behind Revolt; Missile Hit Zelenskyy's Hometown Of Kryvyi Rih; Mar-a-Lago Worker To Be Arraigned In Miami Court. Aired 10- 10:45a ET

Aired July 31, 2023 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:33]

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: I'm Becky Anderson live from London for you. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Coming up this hour.

International efforts begin to quell the Niger coup. Pakistan mourns after devastating bombing kills scores.

Typhoons across the Pacific cause mass flooding.

And later this hour. A dramatic upset at the Women's Football World Cup.

Well as the West African nation of Niger remains in political limbo, leaders from around the region taking different approaches to brokering

peace. The president of Chad travelled Tunisia earlier meeting with his counterpart in the army, as well as the general who led the revolt in an

effort to mediate a deal. Meanwhile, ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States gave the country's current leaders a one-week deadline to

reinstate the president threatening to use force if that doesn't happen.

Well, CNN following all of the efforts with Larry Madowo in Nairobi. Kylie Atwood is in Washington, D.C. for you. Larry, let's start with you. Just

get us up to speed on developments over the weekend, if you will.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We saw these massive anti-French pro- military protests in the army in the Nigern capital. A lot of people were holding Russian flags that said long live, Niger, long live, Russia and

denouncing France. They see the French, the former colonial master of the country as an exploitative force. And they see the former government that

President Mohamed Bazoum as that that enabled the continued influence of France and the countries.

Called France a freak that influenced the France has on its former colonies and in Francophone Africa, so to speak. And many of these people are tired

of international meddling in their situation. They want all foreign militaries out of the country. The French have about 1500 troops in the

nation. The U.S. has about 1000 troops involved in counterterrorism operations, and they don't want any of them there.

They were even critical of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, that has given the military junta there one week. They either

instead President Bazoum or they will use force. They've done that before once in the Gambia. And that was effective. So, the people on the street

though, seem to support the military. Listen to this one man.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OUHOUMOUDOU MAHAMADOU, PRIME MINISTER OF NIGER (through translator): It is a country that would not be able to withstand this kind of sanction.

Economically, it is going to be disaster. Socially, it is going to be a disaster because Niger is a country that relies heavily on international

partnerships.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO: That is the prime minister of President Bazoum. He is technically still the elected prime minister of the country, except he's been speaking

in Paris. Speaking to those specific ECOWAS sanctions, the closing of the borders, the no-fly zone, the freezing of assets, the cancelling of

financial transactions. The West African states have tried to isolate Niger to make sure that they can force the military junta into negotiating and

back into the barracks.

That is why president -- the transitional president of Chad Idriss Deby was in Chad -- was in Niamey talking to General Abdourahmane Tchiani and

talking to President Mohamed Bazoum trying to get them to agree on something. He said that in depth discussions, Becky, but they didn't talk

about any actual white smoke. What is the progress toward this peaceful resolution that he's talking about? We just don't know.

ANDERSON: Yes. We're going to talk a little bit more about what progress might look like, in a moment, Larry. Thank you., Kylie, U.S. Secretary of

State Antony Blinken has welcomed the intervention of ECOWAS. So that's very much just sort of diplomatic term to be frank. What's at stake here

for the U.S.?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: There's a tremendous amount at stake here for the U.S. First of all, the U.S.-Niger relationship

has a question mark over it right now. We have heard from the Secretary of State in recent days, saying that the relationship between the U.S.-Niger

when it comes to the economic relationship, and also the military relationship depends on there being a democratic and constitutional order

in the country.

That is obviously not something that we're seeing at this moment. So, we continue to ask if there will be any changes to that relationship between

the U.S. and Niger. And then when it comes to just, you know, U.S. concerns over what this could turn into. Obviously, there are concerns about

terrorist groups reconvening in the area. Those are things that the U.S. military will watch for incredibly closely.

[10:05:06]

And we should know that the U.S. has not actually pulled any of its assistance at this point. But they have been very clear in the last week or

so in condemning any violent takeover of order at this time. And so, this is just an area that we continue to watch, Becky.

ANDERSON: Kylie, thank you. With more on the global diplomacy then, I want to bring in CNN's Nic Robertson who's sit with me here in London. This coup

in Niger, part of a broader story. A geopolitical game of chess really taking place between western assets on the one side, Russia, China, on the

other. Kylie, very specifically talking to the counter terrorist strategy which is, you know, lies at the heart of what the U.S.'s relationship with

Niger in the past has been about.

There are also, of course, a lot of assets in the ground in Niger which makes it an incredibly important part of the world. Why is this region so

strategically important? Let's just lay that out, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: I think one of the reasons that it's important is the counterterrorism, if you will. Niger, in

a way is a gateway to the north through the Suhail to Libya to the coast with the Mediterranean and onwards to Europe. So, it's not only important

because it's a pathway for -- the likes of ISIS and al Qaeda who've been largely pushed back into the ground in a lot of places.

It's a -- it's a place for them to operate and perhaps get a bigger foothold. Just a decade or so ago, I was meeting in Niger with U.S.

officials who were running counterterrorism and border operations. And since then, that airstrip in Agadez in the north of Niger has been built.

So you have on the one hand, those important security interests there, but as you say, it's what's inside the ground.

And we know that Russia has been growing its interest in Africa through Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner Mercenary boss and his interests. And we know

as well that China has made many significant inroads, and is very much in Africa, looking for these mineral assets.

ANDERSON: Larry made a really good point in his reporting just earlier. He said, the question is at this point, you know, we are seeing mediate --

mediation efforts. But what would progress actually look like, Nic? It really depends on which prism you're coming out that through, of course,

doesn't it?

ROBERTSON: It does. And it's interesting that in this context, the Kremlin is saying, look, you need a return to democracy, both sides need to respect

that in Niger at the moment. You have Putin's proxy Prigozhin, saying that there's room here for Russia's interests in Russia to exploit. You have

people on the streets in the army and the capital saying we would rather have Russia, we think that the French interests here, the U.S. interests in

terms of counterterrorism have just been too slow. They're flat footed.

And they say -- and this is the Prigozhin cell that Russia can do this counterterrorism stuff much, much more effectively. So, what does progress

there look like? As you say, it depends on the prism you come from. Certainly in the terms of the African states, they can ill afford to have

Nige turn itself over and become another model of a coup, where a coup can be allowed to take place and be successful. So, there were concerns there

on that --

(CROSSTALK)

ANDERSON: You bring up Prigozhin and this is a man that we've seen very involved in the Ukraine conflict until recently, as pulled away from that

we are hearing. What we do hear from him, and that is not very much these days, is about Africa. We've heard, you know, just in the last 24 hours

from him, to your very point. Kyiv has said that Saudi Arabia will host Ukraine talks taking place in Jeddah as we understand it this coming week.

Moscow says it will be monitoring them but will not be involved. What do you understand to be the aim here, Nic?

ROBERTSON: I think what we're looking at here is in part, Saudi Arabia, the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been wanting to have a stake in

bringing mediation because he gives heavily to Ukraine in terms of humanitarian support. It was $400 million, just a few months ago. I think

it was April this year. He has very good connections with Putin in Moscow. He has very warm relations right now with President Xi in China.

These are all influential players and parts of that conflict. Now can he actually deliver something now when it really appears that no one is ready

on the battlefield to give in? Zelenskyy wants the Russians out, the Russians are saying we can't talk about peace, because we're still being

attacked by the Ukrainians without actually remembering that they illegally invaded an annex part of a -- part of Ukraine.

So, it does feel somewhat like play is holding but if we remember just a few months ago President Zelenskyy attended the Arab League in Jeddah where

he was given a very warm forum to put forward his peace proposal and ideas.

[10:10:11]

So I think this gives President Zelenskyy the opportunity, again, to perhaps put his 10-point peace plan which involves Russia exiting the

country back on the central agenda. But I don't think anyone should look at this and think that there's going to be a rapid change of events, but to

have a forum where peace can be discussed, I think many countries, particularly in the Global South, would think that it's positive.

And for Saudi, out of all of this, you may get some stability in the oil markets, and it's the price of oil that's critically important for the

Crown Prince.

ANDERSON: No. And for that very reason and everything that you just, you know, pointed out, there is a real role here for Saudi are worthy to take

it on. But like you say, don't expect a conclusion to this conflict at the back end of that meeting, but it's going to be interesting to see what

happens certainly. Thank you very much indeed.

Well, as Russia voices what it calls serious concern over the coup in Neger that Nic and I have just been discussing. It also says it is intensifying

its attacks on Ukraine. This comes in response to alleged drone strikes in Moscow. Now the Kremlin says three drones were intercepted on Sunday but in

a business area in the west of the Russian capital was hit and furious. Officials are once again rolling out Russia's threat of nuclear conflict.

Former President Dmitry Medvedev says that Moscow would have to use a nuclear weapon. If Kyiv's ongoing counteroffensive is a success. Well,

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is on the ground in Ukraine where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown has been hit by missiles. Kyiv blames

Russia. Ukrainian officials say at least four people have lost their lives in the attack with more than 40 injured. Have a look Nick's report.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It's startling really to see the number of injured involved. Over 50 and for

dead, including a 45-year-old woman and her 10-year-old daughter and two men as well. Now one of the witnesses, Natalia Balaba (ph) from her

apartment block near where one of these missiles landed described how her husband was knocked off her feet and how a child was basically safe because

they were in the bathroom.

And indeed, another missile landing near a polytechnic for economic and technological studies where another witness described how there was nobody

in the building where the missile landed, but they simply didn't have time even to respond. This startling, frankly, because it appears to be an

escalation by Russia to hit civilian areas. Kryvyi Rih as you said, Volodymyr Zelenskyy's, the president of Ukraine's hometown, a vast,

sprawling industrial town quite far at this point since the front lines have changed away from the fighting.

But clearly a place that Russia today wanted to inflict damage upon. Now it's important to point out now when we talk about Ukrainian, it seems

Ukrainian drone attacks on areas like you showed the video there Moscow city in the Russian capital, that pales into insignificance compared to the

daily damage being done to Ukraine by often indiscriminate, blatantly vicious Russian missile strikes.

But the images that emerged from Moscow city and upscale class towered financial district, a sign really of the opulence that Russia has tried to

maintain on the global stage over the past decade. That being hit by Ukrainian drones that frankly, a year ago you wouldn't even thought could

possibly get through Russian air defenses. That is indeed a deep psychological blow. And one, I'm sure that the Kremlin feel they have to

respond to in some way.

Despite the fact strangely today, their spokesperson Dmitry Peskov calling those drones attacks and act of desperation. But we are here in the south

Zaporizhzhia where Ukraine continues to push forward in its counteroffensive, some slow and at times reverse progress, particularly to

the east of these front lines. But the tempo of this war certainly rising at this moment as Russia feels itself potentially, in his motherland more

under attack.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday that the war is gradually returning to Russia. But it is quite clear that we will continue to see this blatant bid

by Russia to impact a civilian toll on Ukraine regardless of how they're faring on the battlefield here.

ANDERSON: Nick Paton Walsh reporting for you. Well, a work up at former President Donald Trump's home in Florida and he is facing federal charges

in a Miami courtroom any time now. This is part of the classified documents case that Trump is already charged in. Carlos De Oliveira is the property

manager at Mar-a-Lago and he's accused of falsely telling FBI agents that he did not help move boxes of documents at the estate.

Joining us now is CNN's Evan Perez who is in Washington, D.C. And just if you will, explain how this fits into the rest of that investigation into

what happened at Mar-a-Lago.

[10:15:09]

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Becky. The -- this is the property manager of Mar-a-Lago. The former presidents of

state. And he is accused of being a key part of this effort by the former president directed by the former president according to prosecutors to

delete surveillance state that would have shown the movement of some of these boxes, some of which contained classified information.

That's now of course at the key that at the center of this of this case of this prosecution against the former president who face an additional three

more charges in that superseding indictment that was unsealed. Last week, De Oliveira is facing four charges including obstruction and a couple of

concealment charges. He appeared -- is appearing in court at this hour in Miami for his first appearance.

We don't know if it's going to be an arraignment. He's still trying to find a Florida-based attorney to represent him down there. And of course, all of

this, if there's any more delay, bleeds into, of course, the former president's plan to try to delay this trial as much as possible, perhaps

beyond the 2024 election. Of course, once we have this proceeding completed, we'll see whether the judge decides that there's any more impact

on that trial schedule.

Of course, De Oliveira is in that new indictment. He's listed as pressuring a -- an I.T. worker, somebody who could have deleted that surveillance

tape. We now know that, Becky, that prosecutors sent a target letter to that person who's identified only as Employee 4. He apparently provided

some of that information that is now used in that indictment. Of course, we'll wait to see what Tavares' first appearance is in this next hour.

Becky?

ANDERSON: Yes. We should see him many times soon. Thank you. Well, coming up. As one typhoon weakens in China, emergency plans are underway for the

next big storm. Where is it and where is it projected to go? More on that is coming up.

And who was behind a terror attack on a political rally that killed more than 50 people in Pakistan? More on that after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: The death toll is rising now after her terror attack in Pakistan with a dozen of the victims under the age of 12. More than 50 in total were

killed when a suicide bomber set off an explosive vest in a political rally on Sunday. CNN's Ivan Watson explains what we know so far.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There was an evening of death and carnage in a small Pakistani town not far from the border with

Afghanistan on Sunday.

[10:20:03]

Pakistani Police say a suicide bomber detonated eight to 10 kilograms of explosives near the stage of a political party gathering. At least 54

people were killed. 12 of those victims under the age of 12 and many more wounded. The fathering involved a right-wing Islamist political party that

goes under the acronym JUIF. It is part of the governing coalition in the national government.

Up until now, there has not been a formal claim of responsibility. Here's what one man had to say who arrived on the scene of this deadly blast

shortly after it took -- it took place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I was in close proximity when the blast occurred. Upon arriving at the scene, I was confronted with a

devastating sight, lifeless bodies scattered on the ground while people cried out for assistance amidst the bloodstains surrounding. People were

picking up bodies on their own. Around four to 500 individuals had gathered here to attend the convention, organized by the JUIF Party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: That deadly acts of political violence tragically, they do take place in Pakistan. And there's a whole range of different organizations and

ideologies that have been affiliated with this kind of violence in the past. For example, in January of this year, there was a suicide blast that

targeted a mosque in a police compound in the western city of Peshawar. Scores of people killed and that was claimed initially by the Pakistani

Taliban, which then denied responsibility for the attack.

One of the deadliest suicide bombs in modern Pakistani history was back in 2018. It targeted another political party in Balochistan province and the

Pakistani branch of ISIS claimed responsibility for that terrible attack. The Pakistani Prime Minister has denounced this act of violence and

expressed his regrets. And there are concerns that there could be more violence on the horizon, as Pakistan is expected to hold national elections

this autumn.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.

ANDERSON: And let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now. And the Danish government exploring the

possibility of illegally intervening in Koran burnings. And other circumstances where countries and religions are being insulted. Danish

officials say they oppose the desecration of the Koran but recent public protests where the --where their holy book was decimated forced 15

countries to issue condemnations against Denmark.

An Indian railway officer is under arrest often after opening fire on a moving train headed to Mumbai. Four people were killed including another

railway constable. Police said the suspect apparently pulled an alarm and jumped off the train after the attack. So far, no motive in that shooting.

Well, U.K. has announced new plans to expand drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea. The Prime Minister says he hopes it will help the U.K.

obtain domestically sourced energy. He also announced plans to build two new carbon capture and storage sites in the North Sea.

Well, authorities in eastern China are starting to put emergency measures in places. A typhoon gathers strength in the Pacific. You can see here

Typhoon Khanun hit southern Japan in the next two days before it heads for the Chinese coast but forecasters say its track at this point is uncertain.

China meanwhile dealing with the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri. It is one of the strongest storms to hit the country this year, forcing hundreds of

thousands of people to evacuate their homes as CNN's Laila Harrak now reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAILA HARRAK, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Rescuers and speedboats zoom across the water in southeastern China. It's the best and a times only way to

access cities flooded by recent heavy rains. The boats navigating the tight streets at times floating up to the front doors of homes to ferry stranded

residents to safer ground. Officials say over the weekend, more than 500,000 people have been evacuated from the region, where a powerful storm

named Doksuri made landfall as a typhoon Friday after battering the Philippines.

It's since been downgraded. But officials are warning of torrential rain and hazardous flooding for any city in his path. And that includes Beijing,

which has been doused with heavy showers that are expected to continue until Tuesday. Authorities have urged residents in the Chinese capital to

stay indoors. Now thousands of people have already been evacuated from areas with flood risks.

[10:25:01]

Authorities say there could be potentially hazardous conditions like those seen in other parts of the country. In Eastern China, security camera

footage captured a man caught in rushing waters on a street. A bus driver stopped to help him as the breeze surrounds them. But the man is eventually

dragged out of the water with the help of some people passing by.

In the southern part of the country, some residents are taking stock of the damage and trying to salvage what they can from their water-logged homes.

But that break may not last for long as another powerful storm could possibly make landfall in China later this week.

Laila Harrak, CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, as we said emergency plans still underway for this incoming Khanun which is the sixth typhoon expected to hit China this year. CNN's

Meteorologist Jennifer Grey joining us now. Its track is uncertain. What do we know at this point?

JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is uncertain, you're right. We know that it is going to head towards the China coast. We just don't know how

close it's going to get, how long it's expected to stall out because it is expected to stall out once it gets a little closer. And then it's expected

to head to the north. So, depending on how close it is to the coastline, and when it makes that turn to the North will make all the difference in

how many impacts or how big the impacts will be felt along the China coast.

So right now, the remnants of Doksuri is headed to the north. So the bulk of the rainfall has wrapped up for places around Beijing. Now most of the

moisture is well to the north, but we had 200, 300, 350 millimeters of rain in just about a 48-hour times frame. And a lot of these areas received

about a month's worth of rain and just that short amount of time. So the result of that are the swollen rivers, we saw a lot of the debris of

floating around the rivers, the cars, small homes or shacks pushing down the river.

And so, very dangerous scenario that unfolded here around Beijing with all of this rainfall coming out once. So the forecast accumulation over the

next five days takes the bulk of the rain across northern China, around Beijing, we're looking at about 25 to 40 additional millimeters of rain. So

really not a whole lot of moisture left with this, the bulk of it will be to the north. But the one that you're talking about, the second one right

here with winds 200 -- 50 -- 15 rather, kilometers per hour. Gusts of 260.

It's moving to the northwest right now at 15 kilometers per hour. It is going to cross over Okinawa, impact the southern islands of Japan. It is

going to weaken a little bit as it heads to the west. But you can see by this cone of uncertainty, there is a lot of uncertainty with the storm. So

we're really not sure how long it is going to sit here just off the coast. If it decides to stall out sooner rather than later, you're going to have

bigger impacts across the southern islands of Japan.

If it decides to stall out a little closer to the coast then you're going to have bigger impacts for China. So, it all depends on when that stalling

takes place and when it decides to head to the north. So here are your forecast wind gusts. This is Friday, 3:30 local time, and you can see the

strongest gusts still staying offshore, but we still could pick up some pretty significant winds on the coast and then this particular forecast

model has it shifting to the north, just offshore.

But like I said before, still a little too early to tell. We'll be watching this closely throughout the week.

ANDERSON: Yes, keep an eye on it for us. Thank you very much indeed. Still to come. In a country facing deadly gang violence and daily abductions,

U.S. authorities are now trying to track down and missing American aid worker and her child.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:31:46]

ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me Becky Anderson out of London for you. Today we are waiting on a decision by a

Delaware judge examining Elon Musk's compensation package at Tesla. They helped him become the richest man in the world. Report say the 2018 deal is

potentially worth more than $50 billion. Attorneys for Tesla shareholder who brought the suit had argued that the package was excessive and wasn't

needed to incentivize Musk.

Linette Lopez joins us now in New York. She is a senior correspondent at Business Insider. You've reported on Elon Musk for years, somewhat of a

thorn in that man's side to a certain extent. Just explain to us what this case is all about, Linette, if you will. And how on earth it is that this

package for Musk was approved by what some are charging a very compliant board?

LINETTE LOPEZ, BUSINESS INSIDER SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, let me take you back to 2018 Actually, and that's when I really started covering Tesla. The

Model 3, it's, you know, current kind of hot-selling vehicle was coming out of the factory. And there was a real pressure on Musk to deliver and he

wasn't quite meeting it. He didn't really -- 2018, 2019, people thought the company might go bankrupt and Elon admitted that himself.

So, imagine the board approving this compensation package during that time, like he was not really performing as the greatest CEO or as even as the CEO

we know him as today. But the board is stacked with his cousin, people who are close to Elon, they don't question his actions. And I think

shareholders -- large shareholders see that Elon basically owned the board. And that the judgement that was, you know, the judgement that was made in

that compensation deal was really all Elon, very much people under his thumb. And not necessarily great for shareholders.

ANDERSON: So, I just wonder how things have changed. I want to talk to you about X, otherwise known as Twitter. But before we get there, what's

changed since 2018, because we're five years on at this point reporting this story now.

LOPEZ: Well, the biggest thing that changed was Elon's China factory and his ability to sell cars into the Chinese market, that he's selling more

cars in China now than he is in the United States. So that's what really gave Tesla that out of the dark hole that it was in in 2018, 2019. But, you

know, what's interesting about the China market is a lot of the things that the deficiencies and problems that people saw in Tesla's cars here in the

United States.

Those problems are in China and still with the cars, but they're getting resolved because the Chinese government is getting very, very involved in

making sure that Tesla does recalls when it has problems with its systems.

ANDERSON: That was fascinating. Let's talk about X as its to be known now.

[10:35:02]

Rapper Kanye West legally changed his name to Ye, of course. That is account reactivated over the weekend on the social network. That was some

pause for controversy.

LOPEZ: Oh, Lord. I didn't even know that.

ANDERSON: I just wonder, you know, what -- what's the strategy here? I mean, there are -- there are -- those who are showing X is now, you know,

on the top of the otherwise known as Twitter building, the San Francisco authorities don't like that very much. Some have suggested it's blinking

like an SOS at this point. I can't stand that up myself. But what's the strategy here?

LOPEZ: You know, Elon is a power user of Twitter. The power users of Twitter do not have necessarily the same experience as regular people. You

know, Elon just has millions and millions of followers who hang on his every word and the Twitter that he sees or used to see, is not like the

Twitter that everyone sees. So, the problems that he wanted to solve were very specific Elon problems.

How can I make this Web site better for me? How can I like it more? And how can it be better for people who think like me? So, I think ultimately, what

X is going to be calm is something more like truth social which is Donald Trump's megaphone and it's like a playground for a single narcissist and

all the people who wish he was their dad.

ANDERSON: Or he will argue. This is taking the brand in a -- in a much wider direction of course.

LOPEZ: Sure. He can argue whatever he wants.

(CROSSTALK)

ANDERSON: -- social media. Yes, absolutely. Thank you.

LOPEZ: He can argue whatever he want. Yes.

ANDERSON: Still to come. Where is a missing American nurse and her child and who's taken them? In a video taken before she was kidnapped in Haiti,

this American aid worker explains why she was so glad that she was there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Well, it is unknown where an American nurse and her child are after they were kidnapped in Haiti on Thursday. Now this of course is a

country facing the reality of very violent gangs and daily abductions. The White House says it is closely monitoring the situation but Haitian

authorities say they do not know who has taken these two. CNNs' Paula Newton has more on the missing aid worker.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: -- she and her child were taken on Thursday and while the U.S. State Department tells CNN that they

know certainly of the abduction that they're working with authorities on the ground. The hard part is to determine exactly who took her in -- and

her child. In many cases, this is for ransom. And right now the charity itself not saying much other than to release this statement. I'll read it

for you now.

Alix is a deeply compassionate and loving person who considers Haiti her home and the Haitian people her friends and family.

[10:40:03]

Alix has worked tirelessly as our school and community nurse to bring relief to those who are suffering as she loves and serves the people of

Haiti. In the name of Jesus.

As I said, that was from the charity. And again, this is a woman who the charity says came to Haiti to try and help what is right now a

deteriorating situation with so many of the young people turning to gangs, apparently, more than 80 percent of the capital Port au Prince has a

stranglehold on -- by those gangs. And this is the kind of problem that so many Haitians deal with day after day after day, abductions and kidnappings

being so common.

I want you to listen now, though, to this nurse from New Hampshire, in her own words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALIX DORSAINVIL, NURSE FOR EL ROI HAITI: Sandra invited me to come to the school to do some nursing for some of the kids who said that was a big need

that they had. At first, I didn't think that there was going to be much of a need there. But when I got there, there were so many cases. Patients are

such a resilient people. They're full of joy and life and love. And I'm so blessed to be able to know so many amazing patients.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: You know, again, she was there as a nurse, someone who could bring her skills and her talents to people who desperately need them. Even to

operate as a charity right now, Poppy, we spoke to aid organizations, it has become so dire with so many clinics and hospitals closing. They were

operating a school out of there. And what is also disturbing is it seems from what we know, to have been targeted.

So they were at what they call their Christian campus, which is just outside of the capital and she and her child were taken directly from

there. And these places are not without security. But again, someone happened to know exactly where she was and that she was there with her

child.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: That was my colleagues speaking to Poppy Harlow on CNN earlier. I'm Becky Anderson in London for you.

World Sport is up next. I'll be back at the top of the hour with the second hour of the CONNECT THE WORLD show. Stay with us.

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