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Powerful Earthquake Rocks Tibet, at Least 126 Dead; Donald Trump Jr. Visits Greenland; Netanyahu Vows to "Settle Accounts" after Three Israelis Killed; Prominent Palestinian Doctor Detailed by Israeli Military; U.K. Political Leader Wants U.S. Ambassador Summoned over Musk Comments; Meta Prepares for Trump; A.R. Rahman's Musical Journey. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired January 07, 2025 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Well, welcome to the second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. Time here is 7:00 in
the evening.
Coming up, a normally peaceful and remote region shaken to its core. Rescuers in Tibet are racing against time to find survivors of a deadly
quake there that has claimed at least 95 lives.
Multiple Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians have been reported in several parts of the occupied West Bank, with cars and homes lit on fire.
This after gunmen killed three Israelis and injured eight others earlier on Monday in what is the latest round of violence in the region.
Donald Trump Jr. has arrived in Greenland weeks after his father ruffled feathers somewhat by renewing his desire to obtain control of the Danish
territory. President-elect Donald Trump had expressed interest in buying the island during his first term as president, calling it an "absolute
necessity for national security."
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ANDERSON: Well, complicated, difficult rescue operations are now underway in Tibet after a powerful earthquake rocked the region. The magnitude 7.1
quake hit in a remote area and was also felt in Nepal, in Bhutan and in northern India.
Chinese state media report at least 95 dead and 130 at least injured. More than 100 aftershocks have followed the quake. Marc Stewart with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The moment, a deadly earthquake strikes a remote region of Tibet, shelves emptying out as people
flee a grocery store. The 7.1 magnitude quake hitting Tuesday morning near the Himalayan border with Nepal. The epicenter around 50 miles north of
Mount Everest, turning hundreds of houses into rubble.
Destroying cars and motorbikes and causing landslides, cutting off mountain roads. Anna Guo, an 18-year-old tourist from Sichuan province in China shot
this video when the quake hit on her way to visit the Tibetan base camp of Mount Everest.
ANNA GUO, WITNESS: I was waiting in line and we heard something. Then we realized it was an earthquake. It got stronger and stronger and the
windows started shaking. People started panicking. We have never felt an earthquake that strong before.
STEWART (voice-over): Guo fled the area with her tour group on a bus and they're now sheltering in a nearby city a few hours' drive away. Now in the
towns and villages around the epicenter of the quake, the number of fatalities is mounting. And a major rescue operation is underway.
As emergency workers try to dig people out of the rubble and treat the injured survivors. Chinese state media says at least 200 soldiers from the
People's Liberation Army have been sent to the area and another 1500 are on standby. Rescue teams expected to work into the night, facing the
challenges of darkness, cold weather and high altitude.
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ANDERSON: Well, sadly, all too often, in a remote area like this, the victim count rises. And we have just heard that the number of dead is above
100 now. Marc Stewart joining us live from Beijing.
What is the latest on the rescue efforts there?
STEWART: Well, Becky, this is something that will likely take place throughout the night. But there are these ongoing obstacles facing these
crews.
First of all, altitude: we touched on it briefly but the altitude there is about 14,000 feet. You can be in very good shape and still have a hard time
breathing. So a big focus is with aerial assistance. We know that a drone has been used.
We know that the Chinese air force has brought in a very large air cargo plane to try to help give some guidance about what to do on the ground. A
big struggle still is to get (INAUDIBLE).
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ANDERSON: Apologies, we do seem to be having some technical issues with Marc Stewart. Stay with CNN both on TV and digital. And as we get more on
what is going on there in the aftermath of that quake, you will get it first here on CNN.
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ANDERSON: And at least 126 now dead after that powerful earthquake rocked the region.
Well, right now Donald Trump Jr. is visiting Greenland. His high profile trip comes just hours after his father expressed interest again in the
United States, buying what is the Danish territory. The younger Trump spoke to reporters a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP JR., FORMER PRESIDENT'S SON: Here as tourists; seeing it looks like an incredible place. We've been talking about going for a while.
I was actually supposed to be here last spring for some of the stuff I do on my free time. But just really excited to be here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Very specifically saying here as a tourist in his own free time. Joining me now from Nuuk, Greenland, is Kuno Fencker, who is a member of
Greenland's parliament and is the Siumut party's spokesperson.
It's good to have you -- the second largest party. Apologies. Good to have you. Denmark's foreign ministry says that Donald Trump Jr.'s trip is not an
official visit. And he just said there that he was here just visiting in his free time.
What do you know about why he is there?
KUNO FENCKER, SIUMUT SPOKESPERSON: Well, what I know about it is that my good friend has been in the U.S. and met with the Trump administration and
knew about his private visit here. And he's chaperoning him right now.
And as you probably know, Greenland's economy needs to be diversified. That's why we are building airports in Nuuk, here recent (ph) and out of
where our civilization lives instead of the former U.S. air bases.
So Donald Trump Jr. and even his father and other administration from the U.S. are extremely welcome here in Greenland as visitors, of course, and
also maybe more officially in the future indeed.
ANDERSON: Well, you say that he's meeting Eric Jensen.
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The leader of your party, who you say, am I right in saying, has spent some time with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, who else will Donald Trump Jr. be
meeting?
Is it clear?
FENCKER: Though there's nothing official, no official meetings, only private meetings, I guess. So it's all the way up to Donald Trump Jr. to
meet whoever he wants privately. And as far as I know, there's no official meetings at all. But ... yes.
ANDERSON: But you have suggested that there might be more official meetings in the future.
Greenland's prime minister says the territory is, and I quote him here, "not for sale and will never be for sale."
How do you feel about Donald Trump suggesting that it might be for sale?
He'd like to buy it as the U.S. president.
How do you -- how do you and your constituents feel about this matter?
FENCKER: Of course, it's -- we know about Donald Trump's rhetoric and we absolutely understand that rhetoric. And it's about how you define what he
is saying in regards to controlling Greenland.
We are, of course, aware of the geopolitical situation in the world. And we can see that, with the Pituffik Space Base, which is a U.S. air base in the
north Greenland, should be quite important for the American security and also Canadian and Greenland and maybe also the world. That is absolutely
true.
So we understand that we need to protect this island and also our allies and North America. In regards to ownership, we can disagree here quite a
lot because we are working on creating a sovereign country, which is Greenland. And we want to create the state of Greenland.
But we would like to cooperate even with Denmark and the U.S. maybe in a double compact, a free association agreement. But the main goal here is
that Greenland should be Greenlanders' decision on what kind of state we would like to be and also who we should cooperate with.
And our nearest allies, which we, you know, we have been under the Danish realm for many years. They annexed us in 1953 without referendum. And, of
course, we would like to give the Greenlandic people the possibility of a referendum for independence or statehood or any kind of organization,
political organization.
ANDERSON: It seems to me that you believe the United States can play a role in your parties and many in Greenland, who support your party's
ambitions for independence, correct?
I mean, there are also a lot of minerals. There's a lot of resource underneath the country at present. You depend on subsidies from Denmark.
So can you just sort of lay out for us what the sort of quid pro quo might be, more than just national security interests for the United States in a
Trump administration, helping you in your ambitions for independence?
FENCKER: Well, independence is a big word. So we are using statehood or we are not looking for utopia here in Greenland. We know that we are not
capable of defending our own island or even keeping the sovereignty of the island with few people and with no military.
So we need to cooperate with a bigger brother, if you can say that. And the United States is already here in Greenland and the kingdom of Denmark is
already here. But we need to diversify our economy and be economically self-sufficient.
And that's why we are working on tourism. We are working on critical minerals. We are working on fisheries. We are working on sustainable energy
supply to the rest of the world and so forth. And we are open for business.
And, if Trump is talking about a real estate agreement, the U.S. is renting a big area of land in north Greenland and it should be just very normal to
pay for that. So we would need our economy to add up so that we can have a good, prosperous Greenlandic people here in Greenland.
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ANDERSON: You suggest very briefly that that Eric Jensen, the leader of your party, is meeting Donald Trump Jr. in his capacity as a private
citizen, as a visitor. I mean, he's meeting him and he's showing him around.
But do you understand whether or not there have been conversations about a Trump administration reaching out further and taking a more active role in
Greenland's future?
I mean, the reason I ask this is that many people are suggesting that this is overreach on the part of the president-elect in suggesting he'd like to
buy Greenland. Others suggesting this is just bluster from a man who will be president in less than two weeks.
What's your sense?
FENCKER: Well, in regards to meeting our chairman of the party, Siumut, Erik Jensen, is misinformation. So that has no hold in reality at all. And
as far as I know, there are no political meetings with Donald Trump Jr. He's visiting on a private matter here in Greenland.
And as I said in the beginning, we are, of course, also open to more official meetings in the future, when president-elect has been inaugurated.
And we have shown -- we have seen his social media posts and, we, of course, interpret them in different kinds of ways.
But according to what kind of rhetoric he has been showing in the past, we are absolutely ready and easy in regards to maybe negotiating with the U.S.
in the future, when Greenland has decided on what the -- to become an independent or what kind of state we want to be.
ANDERSON: Kuno Fencker joining us now, a member of the Greenland parliament, joining us here live on CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky
Anderson. Thank you very much indeed for joining us, sir.
Next hour, we are expecting to hear live remarks from president-elect Donald Trump. He is expected to speak at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida
on the day after Congress certified his election win. CNN's Jeff Zeleny following this story for us from West Palm Beach in Florida.
And before we talk about what we can expect him to say, what did you make of what you just heard from our last guest on Greenland?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, I think the bottom line is, as we've been saying, Greenland is not for sale. But I
think that the, you know, the fact that Donald Trump Jr. is going there, he's a very, noted outdoorsman. He spends a lot of time hunting and things.
So he was planning on traveling there anyway.
But look, I mean, I think that this is something that really we'll probably spend more time talking about than actually merits because it simply is not
going to be acquired, is not going to come to fruition by the president- elect.
ANDERSON: Yes. I think, talking through a sort of national security lens in the U.S. Base issue there, perhaps there's some there's some momentum in
that. But, as you, as you rightly suggest, it is not for sale at present.
What can we expect Donald Trump himself to say a day after he was certified and a couple of weeks out from his inauguration as U.S. president?
ZELENY: Well, one thing, there are, of course, many questions to be asked of the president-elect as he begins to assume office here in less than two
weeks.
But January 6th, since we saw that play out yesterday, what is his plan for pardoning the many people who were arrested and serving time for the
insurrection four years ago?
That is certainly a question facing him but also his agenda.
First and foremost, what is his exact plan for?
He's been talking about what he plans to do on the first day in office, you know, some big, sweeping immigration overhauls, a lot of other things.
We'll see how much he can actually get done.
So I think just laying out his priorities from tax cuts to immigration to the economy to a variety of other matters, we really haven't heard much
from him really this year at all with -- except from his musings on social media. So we'll see if he takes questions in about an hour or so over at
Mar-a-Lago.
ANDERSON: Good to have you, sir. Thank you very much indeed.
Jeff Zeleny in the House. Still to come, a violent day in the occupied West Bank.
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A deadly shooting sends tensions there soaring. More on that coming up.
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ANDERSON: Well, there's been a fresh explosion of violence in the occupied West Bank. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a cabinet meeting
about it today. This is following a deadly shooting which killed three Israelis. He's vowing to track down those responsible after gunmen attacked
two cars and a bus on Monday.
In the hours that followed, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported multiple Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians across the West Bank. CNN's
Jerusalem correspondent Jeremy Diamond following all of this for us. He joins us now live.
Settler attacks have been on the rise on the West Bank, especially after October the 7th. But things were pretty dicey before that.
Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to quote, "settle accounts."
What's the latest, Jeremy, as we understand it?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: No doubt about it.
And we have also seen, as these Israeli settlers have repeatedly taken advantage of moments when Palestinian militants have carried out attacks
against civilians in the West Bank and used that as an opportune moment to go on rampage and revenge attacks against Palestinian civilians living near
their settlements.
And that is exactly what we appear to be seeing now in the wake of this attack by Palestinian gunmen. Just yesterday, along Route 55 in the
occupied West Bank, firing at cars and at least one bus, killing three people, two women and one man, as well as injuring eight others, including
the driver of that bus.
And in the hours that followed, we saw a familiar scene, which was these Israeli settlers setting fire to vehicles, throwing stones at the homes of
Palestinians in other areas of the West Bank, presumably at people who had nothing to do with those Palestinian attackers who carried out that attack
yesterday.
The Israeli government is also vowing that it will carry out some form of retribution for this attack. That was carried out just yesterday with the
Israeli prime minister convening his security cabinet today to discuss the security situation in the West Bank.
The Israeli military's chief of staff also vowing to intensify Israeli military operations there. And last year was one of the deadliest years for
Palestinian civilians, with over 500 Palestinians, civilians and potentially militants, who were killed over the course of 2024.
And we also saw, of course, a very deadly year for Israelis. At least 34 Israelis were killed last year, 19 of whom were civilians, 15 of whom were
soldiers -- Becky.
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ANDERSON: Over the last couple of weeks, there's been other fighting taking place in the West Bank, this time between Palestinian militants and
security forces of the Palestinian Authority. Now there are Palestinians who are accusing their government, largely absent, of selling them out.
What's happening there?
DIAMOND: Well, look, trust in the West Bank among Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority and its security services was already, you know,
very, very low before any of these operations began.
But there's no question that these operations by Palestinian security forces are, you know, being viewed in that same lens by many Palestinians
in the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority, though, says that it is working to root out, you know, militant activity, in the city of Jenin in
particular.
And this was one of the heaviest Palestinian security operations in the West Bank that we have seen in quite some time that has taken place over
the course of roughly the last two to three weeks.
What we have traditionally seen over the last year has been intensive military operations by the Israelis in some of these cities in the West
Bank that are hotbeds of militant activity. It has been much more rare to see the Palestinian Authority security services go in and conduct these
activities.
And one of the reasons for that may be that that they are trying to show the incoming Trump administration, in particular, that they are capable not
only of rooting out extremism inside the West Bank but also potentially to show that they are capable of having a governance role inside of Gaza in a
postwar scenario.
The Israeli government, of course, has opposed the entry of the Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza following the war.
But the Palestinian Authority has repeatedly made a case for governing inside of Gaza, potentially even as part of some kind of a unity coalition
with other Palestinian factions, including discussions around a potential role for Hamas as well -- Becky.
ANDERSON: That's right. Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv reporting. Thank you.
I'm sorry; he's in Jerusalem.
Well, he came to be known as the voice of Gaza's decimated health sector. Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, pictured here, had been one of the few remaining
doctors in northern Gaza. He documented the horrors taking place inside his hospital in the wake of a renewed Israeli offensive.
He was a familiar face to many, near and far until a week ago. That was -- or 1.5 weeks ago, Dr. Abu Safiya and other medical personnel were arrested
by the Israeli military when troops raided Kamal Adwan hospital. He has not been seen publicly since December the 27th.
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ANDERSON (voice-over): This eerie video surfaced online. It appears to show the doctor walking toward a tank ahead of his detention, wearing his
white medical coat, amidst the devastation surrounding him. Now those who know him say that this image encapsulates his persistence and his
dedication to his patients throughout this war.
The Israeli military has said Abu Safiya was, quote, "apprehended for suspected involvement in terrorist activities and for holding a rank in the
Hamas terror organization."
And Israel says Kamal Adwan and other hospitals have been used by Hamas in their war effort, although it did not provide evidence to support its
claims.
Well, CNN had been in regular contact with Dr. Abu Safiya since October before he went missing. He told us the military had fired on the hospital
on a daily basis and raided the facility at least six times since the 5th of October.
Numerous medical and humanitarian organizations have called for his release, saying it is a violation of international law. One group inside
Israel, Physicians for Human Rights, said it had requested a lawyer to meet with Abu Safiya to assess his condition and the circumstances of his
detention.
That request was rejected by the military until at least January the 10th. That is the end of this week. Well, here's what the group's executive
director told us earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUY SHALEV, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PHYSICIANS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: We have, a lot of evidence that support our concern to Abu Safiya's health and well-
being. We know that he's probably going under military and Shin Bet investigations that we suspect might include torture.
And we know that Abu Safiya is not a young person and he suffered an injury lately.
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He needs his medication. He needs medical attention. And we are very concerned about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, along with pleas from health workers, regular people online are calling for his release. #FreeDrHussamAbuSafiya has spread
quickly on social media, with people recording themselves holding up signs, some with the caption, "Health care is not a crime."
So far, nothing has changed but institutions like Physicians for Human Rights are not giving up. Here's their message to the Israeli government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHALEV: To release all medical professionals held in Israeli facilities. These people need to be with their people, with their patients, taking care
of people who need their attention in Gaza, where the health care system is decimated. That is the basic requirement.
And I think that everyone in the global community and especially, I would say, the medical global community, we've seen a lot of response from
doctors all around the world, demanding the release of Dr. Abu Safiya.
We expect more pressure from international organizations, from national medical associations, to put pressure on the World Medical Association.
And then on the Israeli Medical Association, to make sure that their colleague, our colleague, a doctor from Gaza, is released, together with
130 more medical professionals being held in incarceration facilities in Israel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, we will be right back.
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ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson, just after 7:30 in Abu Dhabi, the broadcasting from our Middle
East programming hub.
It wouldn't be an overstatement to say just about everyone is waiting to see how Donald Trump's second term in the White House plays out with
America's allies. He's going to take the oath of office, of course, in less than two weeks.
But the U.S. president-elect already reviving talk of America taking over Greenland, for example. He's also renewing his suggestion that the U.S.
could make Canada the 51st state.
Well, at the same time, one of Trump's closest advisers is creating political turmoil in the U.K. amongst other places, America's closest ally,
of course.
Elon Musk has been attacking the British government over a years-old scandal and that has got one of the U.K.'s political leaders urging the
government to summon the U.S. ambassador over Musk's comments.
[10:35:00]
So the U.S. foreign relations pot is already on the boil.
CNN Politics senior reporter Stephen Collinson has been writing about Donald Trump and his ally, Elon Musk, saying, and I quote, "In Trump's
first term, when he made foreign policy by tweet, America became a force for global disruption."
"Musk's prominent role in his second administration may make those four years seem stable by comparison."
Well, Stephen joins us now live from Washington, good friend of the show.
Always good to have you. Look, I mean, the comments about from Donald Trump himself about China and Greenland sort of pale into what feels like sort of
insignificant bluster to a degree, when you actually consider where Musk is at the moment, not just on the U.K. but on Europe as a whole.
What do you make of what we're seeing?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I think what we're seeing is Elon Musk actively supporting far right and extremist elements in
some of Europe's democratic societies.
You're seeing that in the U.K., where he has intervened in this whole issue of the grooming cases.
You're seeing it in Germany, where he's supporting very vocally the AFD. I wouldn't be surprised later on, as we get closer to the French elections,
whether he comes out more in favor of the right wing of Marine Le Pen there. He clearly seems to be trying to destabilize some of these
governments.
Now Musk, you might argue, is a private citizen. He can say what he wants even though he has great influence, of course, from his business and
because he owns one of the big social networks.
But I think what's different here is that Musk will soon be a de facto member of the U.S. government itself. He's going to head this Department of
Government Efficiency in the second Trump administration.
So then the question becomes, is Musk and everything he's saying, is that an expression of U.S. foreign policy, of Trump's foreign policy?
Or is it just Musk freelancing?
And I think that's a big question for some of these governments who have been trying to work out how to deal with Trump.
ANDERSON: Yes. They were trying to work out what comes next in the next four years under a -- with the U.S. under a Donald Trump. What to do about
Elon Musk is a very, very new problem to them.
What's your sense of where the world's richest man and, as you say, you know, about to become a de facto member of the Trump administration with
this DOGE, you know, under his -- under his auspices?
What do you make of where Europe stands and what they might do next at this point?
COLLINSON: Well, it's very difficult because you have to work out, if you look at Keir Starmer, the British prime minister's point of view, for
example, he has to work out how to have a working relationship with Trump to try to spare the U.K. from the worst what some might see as the excesses
of Trump on trade policy and in other areas.
But he's got huge pressure from inside the U.K. to respond to Trump, who's not that popular. And Musk has been making some pretty hard line comments
about Jess Phillips, one of Starmer's ministers.
So he has a tightrope walk, a tightrope to walk there. I think the same is true in Germany, where you've got this election that will unfold next
month. And Musk is creating all sorts of turmoil. Some of the German leaders believe that he's interfering in their affairs.
So you're going to have Europe, who's already concerned about Trump's tariff policy, whether he'll stand up for Ukraine, his attitude toward NATO
-- they're surely going to come under pressure for more defense spending. And they've got this question of how to defend their territory.
One thing to watch, I think, and Trump, as he speaks in the coming hours and days, does he stand up for what Musk has been saying?
Or does he begin to get a little irritated that Musk is getting all the headlines around the world?
And so far, he isn't.
ANDERSON: Yes, being described -- he's being described by some as co- president. Look, I mean, you know, one of the things that Musk is doing is hosting one of the -- Germany's AFD's leading voices on his X platform just
this week.
It's going to be really interesting, as you rightly point out, to hear from Donald Trump in the next hour. That is when it is scheduled, Donald Trump's
press conference from Mar-a-Lago. And perhaps we will hear more about his foreign policy at this point. This coming, of course, a day after his -- he
was certified as the next U.S. president.
[10:40:00]
Certification of the U.S. election happened just yesterday on January the 6th. Good to have you. Thank you very much indeed,
Meta making major changes to prepare for Donald Trump's incoming administration. And we'll have a live report on new appointments and
reforms to that company's social platforms. More after this.
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ANDERSON: In a marked shift toward the Right, Meta, the company, is making major changes to its leadership and social media platforms. Its CEO, Mark
Zuckerberg, says he is getting rid of fact checkers on Instagram and Facebook in favor of user-generated community notes.
He says he wants to restore free expression and remove political bias.
Plus, in a second appointment in a week, he's added Donald Trump's longtime friend, Dana White, to Meta's board. Clare Duffy has more on how Meta
appears to be preparing for Donald Trump's incoming right wing administration.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: So Meta is rolling back some of its content moderation practices. In particular, it is getting rid of its third
party fact checkers, which the company started its partnerships with in the wake of concerns that foreign actors were manipulating the platform.
Using them to spread disinformation and sow discord among American voters around elections. But now the company is getting rid of those fact checkers
and it will instead rely on user generated context labels that will be added to posts. They're called community notes.
This is something that Elon Musk has done on X since he took over two years ago. And Joel Kaplan, who is one of Meta's top Republican executives, he
recently took over as its top policy executive. He announced these changes on FOX News this morning. Let's listen to how he described the system.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOEL KAPLAN, CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS OFFICER, META: So somebody can write a note. And then the way it works is different. Different people on the
platform can sort of vote on that note. And if you get people who usually disagree, who all say, yes, that sounds right, then that note gets put on
the post and people see it.
X has been doing it for a while. We think it's working really well and we're going to adopt that system.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DUFFY: So now Meta says that this is an effort to address mistakes that its content moderation systems have made, that they have been too
restrictive. And Meta said it has censored some voices.
And, you know, this is -- Mark Zuckerberg says this is an effort to increase free expression. But I think it also looks pretty clearly like an
effort to appeal to the Republican voices, including Trump, who have accused the company of censoring conservative voices -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Yes, Mark Zuckerberg himself very specifically describing the adoption of these community notes as similar to X, which, of course, is
owned by Elon Musk.
Meanwhile, Dana White of UFC fame has joined the board. Now it is no secret that he is a big mate of Donald Trump's.
[10:45:00]
What does what does he bring to Meta?
DUFFY: Yes, it's really interesting. And you know, we know that Dana White is a friend of Trump's. He stumped for Trump on the campaign trail. We also
know that, as head of the UFC, he's sort of the leader in this competitive fighting space, which Mark Zuckerberg has really taken up as a hobby.
So it's possible they know them -- they know each other from that space as well. Dana White says that he is really interested in social media and AI
and he is looking forward to joining the Meta board to engage on those topics.
But I do think that we can see this as part of a broader shift within Meta's top ranks toward the Right, this effort to cozy up to Trump, to
appeal to Republicans ahead of the changing administration.
We've seen a number of other efforts from Meta on that front. We saw Mark Zuckerberg visiting Trump at Mar-a-Lago. The company has said its going to
donate $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund. This is just another thing that sort of pushes Meta in that direction, I think.
ANDERSON: Well, after the break, I catch up with award-winning composer A.R. Rahman, the man behind "Slumdog Millionaire's" iconic score, including
the song, "Jai Ho," about how the movie changed his career forever.
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ANDERSON: Well, a giant of Indian music and the composer of a soundtrack we know so well, A.R. Rahman is the mastermind behind the music of the
movie "Slumdog Millionaire."
In partnership with KM (ph) Music Conservatory, he has just launched the Bharat Maestro Awards to celebrate Indian classical music.
But before he became an inspiration to musicians around the world, that infectious "Jai Ho" tune was just in his head. He sat down with me at
Berklee Abu Dhabi and explained how he brought that iconic piece and so many others into the world of film.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ANDERSON (voice-over): It's this fusion of influences, an alchemy of old and new, east and west, that sets A.R. Rahman apart, a composer, multi-
instrumentalist, global superstar who redefines Indian music every time he takes to the stage.
It was the film "Slumdog Millionaire" and its chart-topping "Jai Ho" that sent A.R.'s fame stratospheric. "Jai Ho," garnering two Oscars for a talent
shaped from an early age.
A.R. RAHMAN, MUSICAL SUPERSTAR: So my journey starts with going to recording studios with my father, who was a composer/arranger, at the age
of 5 or 6. He passed away. He had left equipments and stuff, so he used to take it and set up for people.
So mom said, why do you have to set up and you can learn this, you know, you should take up your father's legacy. And then I started getting
lessons.
ANDERSON: You've talked about dad and you know how important dad was and his influence in your life.
What about mum?
RAHMAN: Mom is a superstar.
[10:50:00]
Because when I think of how what she went through and how strong she was in protecting me from many, many things, which would have, you know, affected
my career or my musicality, she was like a protection for me.
So she would say, this friend is useless. And I feel always she's been my friend but she's right. And so this was her thing. All the girls used to
write love letters and she would tear them up.
(LAUGHTER)
RAHMAN: I was like, where are the girls?
ANDERSON: Don't distract him.
RAHMAN: Exactly.
ANDERSON (voice-over): Shielded from unwanted distractions, A.R. honed his craft, first composing advert jingles before Bollywood came calling.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ANDERSON (voice-over): Film scores for films like "Roja," "Bombay," established A.R. as one of India's leading composers.
DANNY BOYLE, FILMMAKER: You have an idea of how much it's needed.
RAHMAN: Yes, I think the song --
ANDERSON (voice-over): And caught the eye of a British film director, changing A.R. Rahman's life forever.
RAHMAN: I had this, I think, email saying that, you know, my friend Danny Boyle wants to meet you. I think it was from Shekhar or -- and I was looked
at, who's Danny Boyle?
So then I went, when I was working in England, you know, "Trainspotting" was a very famous. So I'd had that cassette. I had not watched the movie.
And then I checked. Danny has this amazing quality of extracting, you know, having a great soundtrack for his movie. So I know that I was in good
hands. So he -- we try to meet and for like months and finally one day I got a message.
Hey, A.R.
I said, I'm in Bombay.
He said, I'm in Bombay, too. So we went there for breakfast and he comes with a DVD and he says, this is my movie. It'll be a great honor if you do
this movie. And the rest is history.
BOYLE: So I want to start the guitar late. Let me see. Option piradan (ph).
(MUSIC PLAYING)
RAHMAN: Then we met and, in two weeks we finished the whole.
ANDERSON: Two weeks? Two weeks?
RAHMAN: (INAUDIBLE). Yes. So it was a combination --
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
RAHMAN: -- combination of working in England and Mumbai and Chennai and New York all at the same time.
ANDERSON: Did you know?
RAHMAN: No.
ANDERSON: You really didn't?
You did not know that this was going to be as big a movie as it was, that the soundtrack would be --
RAHMAN: No --
ANDERSON: -- as big a deal as it was?
RAHMAN: I was just doing the score. I was doing a documentary. And nobody knows that it's Danny Boyle's movie or anything.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ANDERSON: You have recently announced that there will be a "Slumdog Millionaire" musical.
RAHMAN: So Danny Boyle and we -- both of us jammed about this ages ago. And you know, Danny is such an incredible visionary on, even on paper (ph).
And so hopefully Danny will be interested. He's going to come in and we will make this amazing because whatever he touches is gold.
ANDERSON: Stuff we will recognize from the movie?
And a new twist, you said
Can you give us any more information about that?
RAHMAN: No.
(LAUGHTER)
RAHMAN: No.
ANDERSON: Just to know there's a twist?
RAHMAN: Right. But definitely there will be more songs.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ANDERSON (voice-over): As A.R. works on a "Slumdog Millionaire" musical, we can't forget the iconic "Jai Ho." So, of course, I had to get him to sit
down at the piano and spill the secret behind the melody.
ANDERSON: Are there certain notes and themes that make a successful score?
RAHMAN: So when I come from India and, there we have the ragas. Ragas are like modes, right?
So there are certain ragas, you make anything on that, it turns into gold, like --
(MUSIC PLAYING)
RAHMAN: So if you take "Jai Ho," my mother's favorite melody is the love story where (INAUDIBLE).
(MUSIC PLAYING)
RAHMAN: So if you look at this one, these intervals are there. And if you look at "Jai Ho," so.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ANDERSON (voice-over): Always a pioneer, A.R. continues to push music creativity.
[10:55:00]
He recently created a scent-based VR movie, a metaband of virtual singers. All that while nurturing the talents of a new generation of Indian
musicians to follow in his footsteps.
RAHMAN: India has got like now what, 1.4 billion people, the largest. But when I see people, we are divided by caste and religion and all that stuff.
Not everywhere.
I said, why, how do you demolish this social and these boundaries is by educating, making people empowered. So now we have children who are part of
my orchestra. They go abroad playing stuff. Their leader, the charming, that's one of the best things which ever happened in my life.
We're going to see them. I get motivation to live in all the dark darkness of the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: And we want to take you to Atlanta right now. A ceremony is underway at the Carter Center as the 39th president's casket is set to be
moved to Washington, D.C., this hour.
Jimmy Carter's remains will be flown to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland and then be transported to the U.S. Capitol, where he will lie in state in the
Rotunda ahead of his state funeral on Thursday.
Well, that is it for CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson. Thank you for joining us. More after this.
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