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Dangerous Flooding Hits Gulf Region, Dubai Gets Year's Worth Of Rain; U.K. And German Diplomats Urge Israel To Avoid Escalation; Palestinians Returning To Northern Gaza Face Israeli Fire; U.S. Senate Showdown Over Mayorkas Impeachment; Iran Braces For Possible Israeli Attack; U.K. Likely To Criminalize "Deepfake Porn" In England And Wales. Aired 10-10:45a ET

Aired April 17, 2024 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:14]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST (voice-over): A year's worth of rainfall in a matter of hours brings Dubai to a standstill. Welcome to our

second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi in the UAE, where the time is 6 in the evening.

Also ahead this hour, the foreign ministers for the U.K. and Germany were in Jerusalem today, urging restraint.

Will Israel heed the call?

The Gaza health ministry says dozens have been killed in Israeli airstrikes over the past 24 hours.

Plus more chaos at the U.S. Capitol, the impeachment trial against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas begins today.

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ANDERSON: Chaos at one of the world's busiest airports, where travelers are being told don't come unless absolutely necessary, Dubai international

airport was forced to temporarily suspend operations amid unprecedented rainfall.

Here you can see jets finding it difficult to wade through the floodwater at the airport, where nearly 100 millimeters of rain fell in just 12 hours

on Tuesday. People struggling to even get to the airport amid an historic weather event, which saw the heaviest rainfall in the country's history.

Shopping malls were affected and roads turned to rivers as drivers got stuck on superhighways. One 70 year-old man, sadly, he lost his life after

his car was swept away in one of the Emirates in the flooding. Derek Van Dam joins me now, live from the Weather Center.

What happened here, is it clear at this point?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN WEATHER ANCHOR: Well, we've got repeated rounds of rain over the same area in a short period of time that brought the deluge to

Dubai, as well as the UAE; 24 hours ago is when the worst of the weather hit them.

But just look at how the storm system not only brought the multiple rounds of rain to Dubai but it raced across the Gulf of Oman, impacting the

southern portions of Iran and into Pakistan as well.

So this is an area that we're looking for a potential for more flooding going forward, just west of Karachi. And we'll show you that in just one

moment. I mean, rainfall totals, there are impressive.

Keep in mind this part of the Middle East is not normally this wet, especially at this time of year. So to see this amount of rain in a 24 hour

period leads to scenes like this. We know authorities are indicating that over 40 people have lost their lives in Pakistan alone, thanks to this

torrent of debris, mud and water that is just so fast moving.

You cannot traverse that. That is just simply dangerous and that will take down buildings and sweep away vehicles at a moment's notice.

Now further south into Amman, the same storm system that rotated through the area brought heavy rainfall to the northern sections of the country as

well. Look at that, nearing 300 millimeters of rainfall.

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ANDERSON: Eleni Giokos joining me now, from what continues to be an -- a deluged Dubai.

[10:05:05]

Where are you at this point?

And what have people been going through where you are and around the city- state of Dubai?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Look, I'm in -- I'm in what feels like a river but, frankly, it's just a residential street.

(INAUDIBLE) is quite an affluent area, completely drenched in water.

In fact, so many homes have actually been flooded here. So the torrential rains that Derek was describing brought with its wrath of catastrophe

yesterday, where roads were shut down, people unable to get to the airport, people trapped in vehicles for so many hours.

And of course, infrastructure damage and the overall impact on the way that people been able to conduct their livelihoods over the past day and even

bleeding into today.

I mean, you see what people are going through here, people working from home and schools are shut. I want you to take a look at some of the images

that basically describe how Dubai dealt with the torrential rains yesterday. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS (voice-over): Powerful storms, torrential rainfall bringing Dubai to a standstill, disrupting the lives of thousands. Among the towering

skyscrapers, the rain fell so heavily and so quickly, streets were turned into rivers, highways into lakes; cars submerged, underwater.

People stuck for hours on the main road to the airport, forced to abandon their vehicles as the floodwater rose. And at Dubai International Airport,

planes battled against flooded runways. Emirates Airlines halted all departing flights from Dubai on Wednesday with incoming flights being

diverted to neighboring countries.

Severe weather also affected other Gulf states. In neighboring Oman, at least 18 people died in flash floods, according to the country's national

committee for emergency management.

GIOKOS: This region is known for it's hot and dry weather. That is why scenes like this are completely unprecedented. We're talking about four

inches or 100 millimeters of rain in the course of 12 hours. That is what Dubai normally experiences over one year.

Now this is also record rainfall since data began around 75 years ago. Dubai is known for its dazzle. It's known for its innovation. Impacting

many ways (ph), infrastructure has been overlooked because it simply cannot cope with this type of rainfall.

And with climate change becoming a reality globally and also here in the Middle East perhaps that needs to change.

GIOKOS (voice-over): Rain is expected to taper off in the region. But a few showers may linger Wednesday before dry weather returns.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: Right, so cleanup is currently underway, as we said. I've got Fred (ph) and I've got Salah with me as well. I mean, these are residents here

in Um Sikkim, taking a walk actually. I caught them walking around and enjoying the day. Salah here also had flooding yesterday.

Yes?

SALAH TAHLAK, JOINT COO, DUBAI DUTY FREE: Yes. Yes. For me, as an Emirati, first time here ever -- I'm 58 years old and never seen this in my life. I

mean, I've seen this, I've been in the U.S., I was studying in the U.S.

But I've never seen in the U.S. and Dubai. But I must say, I was in touch with the head of Dubai police, Lieutenant General Abdullah, Abdullah Marri.

And he said, don't wait (ph), Salah. We will come to you. And I know because I've seen a lot of people calling me, are you OK?

Are you OK?

So I think the whole thing they're working Dubai, whether it's (INAUDIBLE), RPA (ph), (INAUDIBLE) all working. But it's so fast happening. And it's --

the amount of rain I've never seen in my life, as I said.

It's like in my house, more than 1.5 feet. Everyone is like flooded, my cars. But I must say, I'm so lucky. But some of the neighbors, they don't

have electricity. But then the municipality of the government of Dubai, they're all working in and then different teams, different parts, part and

parcel of Dubai.

So it's happening.

GIOKOS: It's happening. I know.

TAHLAK: We have to just be patient that they're going to come --

(CROSSTALK)

GIOKOS: They're going to clean up. Meanwhile, we're just enjoying strolls. I mean, it's a tale of two worlds, right?

And you have complete destruction and people trapped in cars and really harrowing stories. And what we're seeing today.

And you work in Abu Dhabi, so you couldn't even get to work?

FRED (PH), FLOOD VICTIM: Yes. Well, I started completely flooded out. So there was no point in going to work. There's a lot of cleanup and safety

going on. You can walk here and see cars being swamped. And I'm looking for my son, who's off in a kayak.

So it's like the contradiction. But I have to say that I've been very impressed with how Dubai has handled this storm as such. And so very

impressed with the overall effort. While this is quite fine -- (ph)

GIOKOS: Yes, quite fine at the end of it, all right. But as we said, it's a tale of two worlds right. You have destruction, you have infrastructure

that wasn't able to handle this kind of rain. Dubai really needs to think about what that would mean in the future if you get rainfall like this.

[10:10:03]

I mean, the kind of flooding and the damage that we've seen, it really is an eye-opener, Becky.

ANDERSON: Eleni Giokos on the -- those are streets in Dubai with some of the neighbors from that area. Thank you.

Well, to the latest efforts to defuse tensions here in this region, with Israel being urged to show restraint. That's the message coming from the

top British and German diplomats, who are in Israel today as the world awaits Israel's response to the weekend attack by Iran.

Israel is vowing to act but also facing intense pressure from its allies not to further escalate the situation. Israel's foreign minister today told

his British and German counterparts that Iran's Revolutionary Guards should be declared a terrorist organization.

And he is asking for new sanctions on Iran's missile program. We're getting a first look at the firepower Iran launched at Israel this past weekend.

Jeremy Diamond shows us one of the hundreds of missiles and drones shot down by Israel and its allies over the course of that unprecedented attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is just one piece of an Iranian ballistic missile that the Israeli military says Iran fired toward Israel

over the weekend at 36 feet long. This is just the fuel tank for that missile.

The Israeli military says more than 120 ballistic missiles were fired at Israel in this attack only a handful of them actually making it through

Israel's air defense systems.

And the Israeli military believes this missile was likely intercepted. You can see the holes in the sides of this fuel tank. This missile was actually

found in the Dead Sea. It was recovered and it was taken to this base in southern Israel.

But now Israel says it must respond it must reestablish deterrence. They say this attack cannot go unanswered.

The only question now is how the Israeli military will respond and when?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: And as yet, that is unclear. Jeremy Diamond reporting for you there.

Iran's president today called his country's attack on Israel limited and punitive. And again, warned of a fierce, severe response if Israel strikes

Iran in retaliation. Remember Iran's attack was in retaliation, they say, for the suspected Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in neighboring

Syria that killed top Iranian commanders.

Nic Robertson back with us this hour from Jerusalem.

I just wonder what came out of the foreign ministers' visit today and what the public sentiment for any retaliation is inside Israel at this point.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, there is sentiment for retaliation.

There's sentiment because people are really worried about what can happen. But there's also a sentiment by three-quarters of the people here that, if

Israel does retaliate, that could weaken the support from countries like Germany and U.K., who've got their foreign secretaries here in Israel

today.

And equally, weaken support from the United States. So yes, on the one hand, they want to know that the country does -- can reestablish deterrence

with Iran. But they don't want to do it over cost of that international support.

And that international support was what kept them safe over the weekend by having the British Air Force, the Royal Air Force, U.S., others, the French

all contributing to take down those missiles, most of them before they can even get into Israeli airspace.

But to the point of the foreign secretaries coming here, I think, look, I mean, you often get one foreign secretary coming and then another coming.

But, hey, here you have the British and the Germans teaming up together, which I think tells you two things.

One is the immediacy. They both want to be here. They both want to have their voices and they both have a similar voice on urging Israel to not

escalate tensions in the region. The British foreign secretary, David Cameron, said that Israel, he believes, is going to strike.

But the message was very clear. Don't do it in such a way that you escalate, escalate attention.

So you have this joint joined up message that they're bringing in, which is quite unusual to have the two foreign secretaries here together. But also

you get the joined up effect of Israeli officials telling them that what they want back from the international community.

They both met with the foreign minister. They met with the defense minister. They met with the president of Israel as well. And they met with

the prime minister of Israel, who thank them both for what their countries have done over the weekend.

But made it quite clear. He is listening to them but Israel will make its own decisions, he said gum.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translator): I thank our friends for their support for the defense of Israel.

[10:15:00]

And I say this: both support in words and support in actions. They also have all kinds of suggestions and advice. I appreciate it. But I want to

make it clear. We will make our own decisions. And the state of Israel will do everything necessary to defend itself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: But I think what's at stake when the prime minister and his war cabinet made that decision is what they decide to do, can they read Iran's

decision about what to do back accurately?

Because they crossed the red line with Iran that they had never crossed before. And unless Israel really understands why that is, they can't

predict how Iran will respond to whatever they do, even if they try to calibrate it down.

Iran is saying that there's going to be a very clear, very strong response for anything. This is the dilemma that faces the Israeli prime minister.

Again, why?

Because if he gets it wrong and escalates, he will lose that support from his friends, which the public of this country don't want to see happen.

ANDERSON: Nic Robertson on the story for you out of Jerusalem.

Thank you. Nic.

Meanwhile in Gaza, 56 people have been killed in the last 24 hours, according to the health ministry there. That includes nine killed outside

of Gaza City after an Israeli airstrike hit a six story building.

In Rafah, seven were killed in the Yabna camp. The al Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza also targeted on Tuesday.

This video obtained by Reuters shows emotional scenes in and around the hospital walk. There, families mourn the loss of their loved ones.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): My brothers were sitting by the door and my brother was wounded and his cousin, too, and I lost my son.

I do not have a house nor a husband nor anything anymore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Oh, people of the world, what is happening is wrong.

Have mercy on us. Stop the war. Stop the war. Children are dying in the streets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, the Gaza health ministry reports that more than 14,000 Palestinian kids have been killed in Israeli attacks since October the 7th.

CNN has, as ever, reached out to the IDF for comment on this strike but has not yet received a response.

Displaced and desperate, thousands of Palestinians in Gaza are yearning to return to their homes. And as my colleague CNN's Jomana Karadsheh tells us,

some of them are undertaking what is a very dangerous journey to get there.

And I have to warn you some of the images that you are about to see in Jomana's report are graphic. And you may find them disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their day started with rare excitement and joy after months of hell. They thought

they were returning to the homes they were forced out of months ago.

On foot and in carts, thousands of displaced Palestinians on the move again, some with their most valuable possessions. They said we can go back

home to Gaza City today, Iman says.

With her son and cats, she took to the road. No one knows where the news came from; there was no official announcement from the Israeli military

that civilians would be allowed back into northern Gaza.

But a rumor enough for those left homeless, shattered by war, now facing a looming Israeli offensive on Rafah, where the majority of Gazans have been

pushed into. People here say they don't even know if they have homes to go back to.

Little Omar holds his tiny brother's hand and carries a bag of flour. Our house is gone. I'll live in a tent, Omar says. I just want to go home. If I

die, so be it. Death has become a reality the youngest here have been forced to accept. And on this day, they've had to accept that there will be

no going home.

The crowds were turned away. Fear and panic as people run back. They say Israeli soldiers opened fire as young men tried crossing the checkpoint

with women and children. Several were injured, among them five-year-old Sally. She was in her mother's arms when she was shot in the head.

Two young men tried to cross with us, her mother Sabrine says. Soldiers started shooting and firing. They shot her in the head. My daughter was so

scared. I was holding her. Then I put her on the ground to walk. She wasn't responding. Then I saw all the blood on my hands.

[10:20:00]

The Israeli military has not commented on Sally's injury. They said the north remains a war zone and returns not permitted. Sally clings on to

life, unconscious on the hospital floor, with the muffled cries of another injured child next to her.

And at a hospital nearby, another young boy, back from a different nightmare, one no child should ever endure. Eleven-year-old Nimr was out

getting aid for his family when he says he was shot and detained for two weeks, taken to Israel where he underwent surgery. Still in pain and shock,

he shows the camera his horrific scars.

The day they took me, the soldier kicked me with his boot, he tells his mother over the phone.

NIMR (ph) (through translator): My head still hurts. He kicked me with the metal tip of his boot. I was shot in the stomach, lying on the floor. He

hit me with no mercy. I'm waiting for the day to grow up, to be a resistance fighter and hit him like he hit me.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): The Israeli military has not responded to CNN's specific questions on Nimr's account. This is the first time in 15 days

he's hearing his mother's voice. I've missed you so much, he cries. They didn't let me see you. I wish I hadn't come back, Nimr says. I wish I had

died -- Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: If you would like information on how to help with humanitarian relief efforts for Gaza and Israel, please go to cnn.com/impact. You'll

find a list of vetted organizations providing assistance.

That's cnn.com/impact. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. Still to come, impeachment articles against Homeland Security

Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas are scheduled to be presented today in the U.S. Senate. More on that is after this.

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ANDERSON: U.S. Senate Republicans appear deadset on moving forward with impeachment articles against the current Homeland Security chief, Alejandro

Mayorkas. Republicans contend that Mayorkas' southern border policies have been detrimental to national security.

It has been since 1876 that a cabinet member has been impeached. Majority leader Chuck Schumer has not said much on how he plans to handle an

impeachment trial. But at some point, Democrats are expected to make a motion to dismiss the articles.

[10:25:02]

Joining me now is Annie Grayer. She lives on Capitol Hill -- I suppose she -- lives --

You're live on Capitol Hill. I don't think you live there. If you do, that's worth reporting as well.

(LAUGHTER)

ANDERSON: Just explain what is at the heart of this impeachment trial, if you will.

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN CAPITOL HILL CORRESPONDENT: The heart of this is Mayorkas' handling of his job.

Republicans are very upset with how Mayorkas has handled the border and they blame him for the uptick in border crossings and violence around the

border that we've seen.

But constitutional experts and legal scholars say that disagreeing with how Mayorkas has done his job, disagreeing with policy, it does not rise to the

high level of an impeachable offense of high crimes and misdemeanors.

Democrats, meanwhile, call this entire impeachment effort a sham and are looking to end this trial quickly.

The question will be, when the Senate comes in at 1:00, how Leader Schumer handles this. He's getting pressure from Republicans to at least hold a

trial and let Republicans air out their grievances here.

Democrats, of course, want to put this behind them quickly. So we will see what happens at 1:00 pm when the Senate comes in and the senators are sworn

in, officially as jurors.

ANDERSON: All of this, of course, happening amid what is an extremely dysfunctional House. And that is really important here for our viewers to

understand.

What's the latest with the speaker Mike Johnson's attempt get aid packages for Ukraine and Israel through, which some will suggest puts him very much

in the crosshairs of a number of Republican lawmakers who want to see the backside of him?

GRAYER: We still have not seen bill text for that package. We know what speaker Johnson's plan is but he has not gotten -- he has not presented to

his conference the actual bill text for these foreign aid bills, because Republicans can't agree.

I mean, we're dealing with such a narrow and divided majority in the Republican House, where any one member can derail any piece of legislation.

And there is nothing more contentious than foreign aid in this House Republican conference.

So Johnson's intention is to put separate bills on the floor for aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. But we have not seen that text yet. And the

House is running out of time, because they are not supposed to be in session next week. Members are supposed to get 72 hours to read a bill

before voting on it. So we're now looking at the earliest text comes out today -- which, again,

it still hasn't -- would be Saturday. And all of this Johnson is navigating, trying to save his job as members are threatening him for his

handling, specifically on foreign aid. And that could potentially cost him his job.

ANDERSON: Good to have you. Thank you. Coming up, Iran issues harsh new warnings against Israel as Tehran braces

for a potential strike. More on that is after this.

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[10:31:06]

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ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson.

Well, Iran's president Ebrahim Raisi is warning that any attack by Israel will be dealt with, quote, "fiercely and severely." Raisi spoken at an

annual military parade in Tehran earlier on Wednesday.

The commander of Iran Air Force also said its aircraft are at 100 percent readiness for any operation.

Those warnings come as Israel continues to weigh how it will respond to Iran's unprecedented attack, which Tehran says was in retaliation for an

Israeli strike on Iran's consulate in Damascus earlier in April.

Well, the United States expects that Israel's military response will be limited in scope. Meanwhile, it's -- that being Washington -- it's planning

to impose new sanctions targeting Iran's missile and drone program. All of this raising the specter all of an all-out conflict between Israel and Iran

in a region already on edge.

My next guest is Narges Bajoghli, the author of "How Sanctions Work: Iran and the Impact of Economic Warfare." She's an assistant professor at Johns

Hopkins University and joins me now, live from Washington.

And it's good to have you. This is, it seems, a watershed moment in the Middle East for a number of reasons. Iran has been threatening to attack

Israel since the founding of the Islamic Republic back in 1979.

Talk me through what you understand to be the thinking behind the Iranian and IRGC response in what was this multi-stage attack overnight, Saturday

into Sunday.

NARGES BAJOGHLI, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: Iran had approached this attack over a span of about 13 days. And the lead up to it,

it took the issue of the bombing of its consulate to the U.N. Security Council and invoked international law.

And when that did not go anywhere, then it began to make preparations and let neighboring countries in the region know that it was planning an

attack.

Now the attack that it ended up conducting on Saturday night into Sunday was a multi-pronged attack, not only because of the different kinds of

weaponry that was used and sort of making it a theatrical (ph) attack through the various kinds of drones and ballistic and cruise missiles.

But also embedded within the attack were, especially with the use of the slower drones that it fired, an attempt to create a spectacle that showed

that Iran was willing to attack Israel in this way.

And then messaging to neighboring countries and especially the populations of neighboring countries, that it was the only country in the region both

to (ph) and willing to attack Israel in this six-month long war with Gaza.

ANDERSON: And it was certainly a spectacle, spectacular in its nature. Thankfully, did very little damage ultimately and no loss of life.

What does this operation tell us about the strength of the Revolutionary Guards in the Iranian establishment?

Have they completely consolidated control of what is known as the Nisam?

And please explain for our viewers purposes what that is.

BAJOGHLI: Sure. So since the revolution in 1979, there has been a effective difference between the Nezam or the system and regime as a whole and the

governing states.

[10:35:00]

The governing state, there's usually elections that are held every few years to determine the presidency and other elected bodies of the states.

And then (INAUDIBLE), which is defined by the supreme leader's office and the different military establishments within the country.

Up until Trump's maximum pressure sanctions on Iran that began in 2018, there was a tension between the -- those who had been elected into office

in Iran, who wanted to have negotiations with the West, for example, that led up to the nuclear deal.

And those who were within the military and especially the Revolutionary Guards and those closest to the supreme leader's office, who were arguing

for much more forceful approach.

The maximum pressure sanctions under the Trump administration and then the fact that the Biden administration continued it was read in Iran as an

existential crisis and as a form of warfare.

And so therefore, in the preceding six years, what we've seen in Iran is a hardening of the political culture in the Revolutionary Guard. And

especially their intel apparatus has taken over almost all governing institutions within the Islamic Republic.

And so what we see, for example, in the attack weekend, is a (INAUDIBLE) of that.

ANDERSON: Yes, and that is a really important point. And we'll explain. The IRGC commander has spoken of, quote, "a new equation" where Iran will

directly target Israel if any of Iran's assets are targeted.

Does the IRGC really have the capacity to carry out this threat?

Or is this just an attempt to reassert deterrence?

And when it talks about its assets, is it talking about its assets which are very specifically Iran-based or are we talking here about that wider

axis of resistance, its proxy groups around the region?

Very specifically here I am wondering about Hezbollah, based, of course, in southern Lebanon and active in Syria.

BAJOGHLI: Right. So what has been happening in Iran is -- and with vis-a- vis Israel -- is that there has been a shadow war between these two countries for quite some time now.

And what we saw on Saturday is the shadow war, which came out of the shadows and came into sort of the very forefront of how we're seeing the

region today.

Iran and its allied groups across the region, which are -- which they call themselves the axis of resistance -- have been studying warfare with

Israel, have been engaged in a shadow war across the region for the past many years.

And so the way that they chose to attack on Saturday, the fact that it came just from Iran and not the other allied members of the axis of resistance,

is an attempt for Iran to show that it is willing to engage directly with Israel.

However, at the same time, signaling very forthright, both to the United States and neighboring countries, that it does not desire a full-out

confrontation or a full-out war.

Now the other part of your question is that Iran has developed a entire litany of partners, groups throughout the region, both -- many of them non-

state actors, many of them including Hezbollah that have had decades of developments in weaponry and have been engaged very directly what's warfare

with Israel from the 1980s onwards.

And so part of Iran's deterrence strategy throughout the years -- these are the Israel, the United States -- has been it has these allies across the

region. And so the threat is that if there is confrontation, it would be a region wide war.

ANDERSON: Narges, it's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.

We're back after a quick break, stay with us.

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[10:41:20]

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ANDERSON: Well, the risk of AI-created deepfakes is becoming a growing concern and the U.K. could soon make certain versions of these digitally

altered videos criminal.

A draft new law for England and Wales would make creating sexually explicit deepfakes without consent a criminal act, even if the person who created it

doesn't intend on sharing it. CNN's Clare Duffy explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: In England and Wales where this new law has been proposed, it's already illegal to share non-consensual

deepfake pornography that violators of that law can face jail time.

And this new proposed law would be a step further. It would make it illegal just to create this content in the first place. And violators could face

fines, could face having criminal charges on their record for the future.

Now this comes as the U.S. and the E.U. are also taking similar steps trying to get a handle on this. One of the most harmful applications of AI

technology.

But I do think it's interesting that in this U.K. case, we're seeing them go after the people who are creating this non-consensual deepfake

pornography but not the platforms that are enabling them to create that content.

I do think that is sort of an avenue that lawmakers could or should be looking at as they -- as they seek to get a handle on this going forward.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, that's it for CONNECT THE WORLD. Thank you for that. "MARKETPLACE ASIA" is up next.

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