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U.S. Retail Sales Surge; China Posts Unexpectedly Strong 5.4 Percent GDP Growth In Q1; Judge Orders DOJ to Detail Efforts to Return Mistakenly Deported Man; Massachusetts Immigration Attorney Born in U.S. Told via Email to Self-Deport; Sudan's Civil War Enters Third Year; Abu Dhabi Global Health Week. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired April 16, 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.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to the second hour of the show with me, Eleni Giokos, live from our Middle East

programming headquarters in Abu Dhabi, where it is just after 6 pm in the evening.

Coming up this hour, American president Donald Trump told FOX News he would, quote, "love to" deport American criminals to El Salvador, adding

that it's something his administration is looking into.

These comments follow the wrongful deportation of an American man, who a federal judge ruled must be returned to the United States.

China has posted unexpectedly strong economic growth in the first three months of 2025, just before the full force of Donald Trump's tariffs took

effect. That sent an upbeat message to Beijing about how it plans to weather its ongoing trade war with Washington.

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GIOKOS: Rushing to buy before the Trump tariffs kick in: that's the picture of consumer spending in the United States, with March retail sales

surging 1.4 percent from the month before. That's the biggest gain in more than two years.

But analysts believe the boost will be short-lived. They anticipate reduced spending in the months ahead, as U.S. consumers bulk at higher prices

brought on by the tariffs. This news coming as China reveals better than expected economic growth, along with a pointed warning about the future.

We'll have much more on that in just a few minutes. First, I'd like to bring in Vanessa Yurkevich, who is in New York with more on that retail

sales report.

And Vanessa, it is pretty evident that Americans are trying to beat the tariffs. If you dig deeper into this retail sales report, it seems that

purchasing of vehicles, the auto sector did phenomenally well in the month of March.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And pun intended here, really these retail sales were driven by people buying cars

and car parts because they were just so worried about what higher tariffs would mean on the price of a vehicle.

So retail sales, as you said, really skyrocketing; 1.4 percent in the month of March. That's really just such a dramatic increase from the 0.2 percent

in retail sales we saw in February year over year. Retail sales up 4.6 percent.

But economists really were forecasting that they were expecting this big retail sales report because people were trying to go out and get these big

ticket items. As I mentioned, cars up 1.8 percent in the month of March, retail sales there, and 8.8 percent year over year.

Also, furniture and clothing, these were two areas where people were spending a lot because a lot of furniture here that is purchased in the

U.S. and a lot of clothing comes from trading partners like China, which is currently being hit with that 145 percent tariff.

So again, consumers trying to get ahead of those tariffs taking effect in the month of March. They took effect this month. However, they were trying

to get ahead of those tariffs in the month of March.

Worth noting, though, that, without the auto spending, without the spending on cars, retail sales would have been up 0.5 percent in the month of March

compared to where it is right now, which is 1.4 percent. So you can just see how much of this was driven by that.

We also heard from Ford, who said that they saw really gangbuster retail sales in the month of March alone. So really, that is tracking exactly with

what we're seeing in this retail report.

Now economists believe that we could see another strong retail report in April as, again, people were trying to beat some of these higher tariffs

that were coming at the middle of this month. But they expect then consumers to really pull back on spending as these tariffs really settle

in.

The summer months are obviously when people do a lot of traveling, a lot of vacationing. We did see in this report that people were doing a little bit

of spending at restaurants and bars, maybe trying to have their last hurrah before tightening their budget.

But April could look similar. But it's those summer months that economists are warning we could see that significant pullback in consumer spending.

[10:05:00]

GIOKOS: Yes, we're going to see it being priced in a lot more in the coming months. Just on consumer sentiment, it is on a three-year low. I

mean people are worried about inflation, worried about what tariffs could ultimately mean. This is a new reality for consumers, that, frankly,

account for 70 percent of the U.S. economy.

YURKEVICH: Yes, certainly. And I think you have to look at that separately. Right. Consumer sentiment signals that consumers are not

feeling great about the economy. But this retail report signals spending because of it, trying to get ahead of the sort of doom and gloom that they

see coming.

And as you mentioned, consumer sentiment at just really incredible lows not seen since the 1950s or so, as people and businesses and Wall Street are

all just trying to make sense of where this trade war story goes.

We know that there is that 90-day pause on those reciprocal tariffs that a lot of consumers and businesses were worried about. But 90 days will be

over before you know it. And then there's a new reality that many people are going to be facing.

And I think consumers, along with businesses and Wall Street, as I mentioned, just really hate uncertainty. I think it's really human nature

that we like to be able to plan for what's coming.

And for everyday Americans, saving is important but also knowing how much they really need to be spending in their household budget every single

month is incredibly important.

GIOKOS: Well, it was one way to describe what we're seeing on a global level and that is just immense uncertainty and absolutely no visibility

right now. Vanessa, so great to have you with us. Thank you so much for breaking those numbers down.

In the meantime, China posted better than forecast economic growth in the first quarter of 2025, with GDP reaching 5.4 percent. Analysts expected

that number to be 5.1 percent. What's important to note here is the GDP report does not include the impact of president Trump's additional

reciprocal tariffs on Chinese imports.

Analysts are now downgrading their growth forecasts for China as those tariffs start to take effect. We've got Anna Stewart, who's back with us

this hour.

You know, breaking this number down, the Chinese are really good at knowing how to strategize when it comes to not only subsidizing certain sectors,

you know, ensuring that they flood the markets with money. There's certain things that the Chinese can actually do to try and bolster their economy.

But what will be interesting to see is how they're able to handle dealing with these tariffs and what it will ultimately mean for their GDP.

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They have a big toolkit. They've placed tariffs, of course, retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. But they've got a lot

more to work with. You're right, China is extremely good particularly at creating monopolies and very strong areas in certain sectors.

One of them is rare earth minerals. This is something president Trump is actually now probing. But already China has placed export restrictions on

seven rare earth minerals. Now these are 17 elements that we all ignored in chemistry --

(CROSSTALK)

GIOKOS: -- my periodic table --

(LAUGHTER)

STEWART: -- 17 elements that are pretty unpronounceable and that you would not really remember. However, they are vital for things like cars, for

smartphones, for MRI machines, also for defense.

And that is why they are so critical when it comes to the U.S. So by placing export restrictions on these rare earth minerals, that is a very

powerful tool. And, of course, they could always go further. They could put export bans on some of these materials.

And China has such a huge monopoly, not only do they mine 61 percent of these global rare earth minerals but they actually process more than 90

percent of them. And when it comes to certain ones, which we call heavy rare earth minerals, it's 98 percent.

GIOKOS: Your chemistry and science teacher would be very proud of you.

STEWART: I know.

(LAUGHTER)

STEWART: Get a star for me today.

GIOKOS: You were telling me about gadolinium before we came on air and, frankly, it's used in MRI machines.

But you know, it's effectively telling us that China has so much leverage over the rare earth market on a global level that these tariffs and

reciprocal tariffs against the United States could be actually quite catastrophic for so many sectors in the United States, because, what other

choice?

There is no one else in the world that processes this level of rare earth.

STEWART: And listen, no one could disagree that the U.S. needs to do something about this. And they have actually been investing a huge amount

of money, particularly when it comes to defense.

You can mine rare earth minerals in the U.S. However, it's costly. It takes a lot of time, particularly with the processing, and this will take many

years --

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GIOKOS: -- 15 years to actually build a processing plant, you know, once you start mining.

STEWART: Exactly, long beyond the current U.S. administration. So while you can put those -- sort of put those initiatives into place, it's not

going to fix the immediate problem.

So the current spat we're potentially seeing over rare earth minerals, that could be a really powerful weapon in this trade war. And China's

potentially holding sort of the key cards here.

GIOKOS: Yes, exactly. And we've just had that retail sales number out. Right. You saw a huge by buying of cars and so forth. And then what I was

doing, you know, since these trade tariffs came along, I was -- I literally actively went through my cupboard to see how many labels I could find with

made in China.

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And even, you know, expensive clothing you'd find somewhere tucked away, made in China. It goes to show the supply chain in the textile industry and

so many of the products that we use, China has this dominance.

How do we wean ourselves off this?

And I think what the United States is trying to do is find a way to bring industrialization back. But to your point, it's going to take time.

STEWART: It's going to take years. And it's not just the "Made in China" labels even. It's the things you don't see. It's the very small raw

materials and components that are hidden somewhere within a product that you have no idea about.

Global supply chains are highly complex. It takes many years to shift them and it will take a very long time to build up industrial strength in the

U.S. if this is what they want to do, if they want to go back to sort of industrial economy from years before.

If they want to build all of their own cars and all of their own parts and all of their own phones, that will take a really long time and a lot of

money.

GIOKOS: Absolutely. OK, then one last point, in terms of what we're pricing in for Chinese growth down the line, there has been a downgrade.

We're anticipating slower growth. We also know what slower growth means out of China for the rest of the world, because a lot hinges on Chinese supply

and demand, frankly.

STEWART: A huge amount. And I think we can expect to see Beijing also intervene to try and prop up certain markets.

But, of course, this U.S.-China trade war is going to impact everyone. And we're already all in it; 10 percent tariffs on most of the world, 90 days

for potentially more tariffs to kick in. And yes, I think we will all feel this incredible tension across the world's supply chains.

GIOKOS: Yes. And I mean at the ending of these supply chains, we know what that's done. We had a taste of that during the pandemic. And that was

obviously a different situation in many ways.

But we're seeing hallmarks of that. Right. Once you destroy supply chains, it's very difficult to get them back. The word "recession" has come up many

times for the United States.

And I wonder what we're seeing in terms of the dynamics from a global perspective, because we've got this risk aversion that has really come back

in full force. And we're seeing what's happening with the U.S. bond market as well.

What is your sense, what are your analysts telling you?

Because I know you're on the phone, like, you know, getting information from everyone.

Is there a sense of actual fear in the market right now?

STEWART: There is. And there's fear from real businesses that we speak to day in and day out. I mean, today I was at the Abu Dhabi Global Health Week

conference, which is a great opportunity to speak to both ministers, government but also, you know, analysts and, of course, big CEOs.

This time it was pharmaceutical companies and trying to see from their perspective off record, you know, what they're doing to try and build

resilience here, they have learned lessons from the pandemic. They do have two sources, say, for certain components and raw materials.

But this is beyond that. There's only so much proactive sort of strategy you can apply to something like tariffs, which will impact absolutely

everything and already is. We're already kind of seeing it sometimes in the supply chains now. We're going to see a lot more in the next few months and

we're going to see it in the earnings reports.

GIOKOS: We'll look out for those. Of course, Nvidia came out with that warning as well. So that's pulling down the markets today in the U.S. Anna

Stewart, great to have you with us.

STEWART: Pleasure.

GIOKOS: Thank you so much.

Well, I want to get you up to speed now on some other stories that are on our regional radar right now.

Lebanese president Joseph Aoun says he hopes to see Hezbollah lay down its arms this year. These are the first comments he has given for a timeline on

the group's disarmament. The United States has been pushing for this as it tries to broker a lasting peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon.

But Aoun says Israel's presence in southern Lebanon gives Hezbollah a pretext to keep up its militancy.

Meantime, Israel says its military will stay in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria indefinitely. Defense minister Israel Katz says that will be part of any

temporary or permanent solution to the conflict. His comments come amid ceasefire negotiations in Gaza.

Hamas says it has lost contact with the militants holding the last known living American hostage. The group says Edan Alexander was being held in a

location bombed by the Israeli military. But CNN cannot independently verify that claim.

Alexander has been at the center of negotiations for a new ceasefire agreement. Last weekend, Hamas released a propaganda video in which

Alexander appealed directly to Trump, asking why he has not been released yet.

And still ahead, deporting Americans to El Salvador; Donald Trump doubles down on his plans to target so-called homegrown criminals.

And she's a U.S. citizen who also happens to be an immigration lawyer.

So why has she been told to leave the country?

We speak to her. That's coming up next.

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GIOKOS: Donald Trump is reiterating his desire to deport American citizens to El Salvador if they are violent criminals. He explained his goals in an

interview with FOX News channels Spanish network. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RACHEL CAMPOS-DUFFY, "FOX NOTICIAS" ANCHOR: Could we use it for violent criminals, our own violent criminals?

TRUMP: I call them homegrown criminals.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: The homegrowns.

TRUMP: I mean, the homegrown, the ones that grew up and something went wrong and they hit people over the head with a baseball bat. We have and

push people into subways just before the train gets there, like you see happening sometimes.

We are looking into it and we want to do it. I would --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: It follows a meeting with El Salvador's president earlier this week, who has invited the U.S. to use its notorious mega jail to imprison

deportees for a fee. Meanwhile, the battle continues over the wrongful deportation of a Maryland father to El Salvador due to what the Trump

administration calls an administrative error. The U.S. federal judge overseeing the case says there's no evidence the administration is

following her order to facilitate Kilmar Abrego Garcia's return.

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GIOKOS (voice-over): And as you can see, there's growing public anger over the case. Abrego Garcia's wife says her children have now spent several

harrowing weeks without their father.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER VASQUEZ, WIFE OF KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA: As we continue through Holy Week, my heart aches for my husband, who should have been here, leading our

Easter prayers. Instead, I find myself pleading with the Trump administration and the Bukele administration to stop playing political

games with the life of Kilmar.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Well, the U.S. attorney general is digging in on the Trump administration's position, insisting Abrego Garcia will not be coming home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAM BONDI, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: He is not coming back to our country. President Bukele said he was not sending him back. That's the end of the

story. If he wanted to send him back, we would give him a plane ride back.

There was no situation ever where he was going to stay in this country. None. None. But he's from El Salvador. He's in El Salvador. And that's

where the president plans on keeping him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Crime and justice correspondent Katelyn Polantz has more from Washington.

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KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The federal judge, Paula Xinis, said before that the U.S. government must facilitate

the return of Abrego Garcia to the United States so he could be deported to somewhere that's not El Salvador or his case looked at further.

But before that, what she determined after a hearing yesterday in federal court in Maryland, quite a tense hearing for the government, is that the

updates they're giving on how they're facilitating Abrego Garcia's return, that has not been enough for the judge.

And so now she wants answers. This is the classic type of thing that a judge would do. And Judge Paula Xinis says that she believes she has the

Supreme Court at her back in ordering this.

So what is happening now is that, over the next several days, basically until the end of April, there's going to be fact-finding questions that

Abrego Garcia's attorneys will send to the Trump administration; document requests.

[10:20:00]

And also, they're going to be able to, according to the judge, put officials from the Trump administration, the State Department, the

Department of Homeland Security, immigration authorities under oath to ask them questions about the situation of this man, who was removed from the

country on a flight to El Salvador in mid-March.

All of this is a question of how much due process to someone like this, Abrego Garcia, a person who should be deported from the United States

according to the immigration system, but cannot go there, how much more can he be looked at, especially by the courts, the government, the Trump

administration?

They have said that they've tried to remove the domestic obstacles so they would send a plane if El Salvador wanted to return Abrego Garcia to the

U.S. But that isn't something that the president of El Salvador wants to do. And so they haven't done much more and they haven't given much more

information to the federal courts.

So now Judge Xinis is asking for those answers. This is going to continue in court and the question will remain over this case as well.

How much will the Trump administration try to test their luck or push back on judges' orders?

They say the courts should not be directing how they conduct their foreign policy, especially with El Salvador, in this situation -- Back to you.

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GIOKOS: It's a remarkable story about a U.S. citizen, who's also an immigration lawyer, getting a pretty alarming email from the Department of

Homeland Security. This is what Nicole Micheroni received last Friday.

The email begins with the words, "It's time for you to leave the United States."

It goes on to say, "DHS is terminating your parole. Do not attempt to remain in the United States. The federal government will find you. Please

depart the United States immediately."

Experts say that removing American citizens from the U.S. is clearly illegal. Homeland Security says the email was sent by mistake but it's

still deeply concerning. Nicole Micheroni joins us now live from Boston.

Nicole, great to have you with us. It's a pretty alarming letter to receive.

What was your initial reaction when you read this?

NICOLE MICHERONI, IMMIGRATION LAWYER AND U.S. CITIZEN: It is an alarming letter to receive. My initial reaction was that it was not for me, it was

for a client. I opened the email, looking for a client's name or some case information.

And it took a few moments before I realized that that wasn't there and the email was addressed to me and there was nobody else that it could have been

sent to.

GIOKOS: So from what we understand, though, DHS has said this was sent in error.

Does that mean you do not have to leave the United States in seven days or they will find you?

Because that is, as I quote from, from the letter they sent.

MICHERONI: Whether or not it was sent in error, I do not have to leave the United States in seven days. I am a U.S. citizen. I was never granted

parole. I don't need parole as a U.S. citizen. So this email should not apply to me. And I was not planning on leaving the United States. However,

it is very concerning that it was sent to me.

GIOKOS: Yes, it absolutely is. I mean, getting that warning and the language that was used. But this is pretty indicative of what other people

that are in these situations are getting.

Are any of your clients getting warnings right now and how are you dealing with it?

What kind of legal recourse can you take?

MICHERONI: Yes, a few of my clients are getting warnings right now. I've also heard from a lot of other people that have gotten warnings like this.

As far as legal recourse goes, it depends on the individual person receiving this email.

Some people entered on parole that got it and having other lawful means of staying here, a lot of them are waiting for court dates before an

immigration judge. A lot of them have applications for another form of status pending.

Some of them have already been granted a different form of status. There's also people that received this email that were not admitted on parole and

are U.S. citizens. I'm not the only one. Other people in some other form of statuses have the right to remain in the United States.

GIOKOS: Nicole, what is concerning is that you are a U.S. citizen. You were born in the United States. You received this; it was in error. That's

what they've said.

The point is these mistakes seem to be happening and notable, Abrego Garcia's currently stuck in El Salvador, which by the way, they've admitted

to be an error.

How concerned are you that these mistakes could happen and then upend people's lives and instill fear, whether you're an immigrant or a U.S.

citizen?

MICHERONI: I'm very concerned about that. Abrego Garcia is a great example. The government has also admitted that that's an administrative

error. And these administrative errors keep happening and they really impact people. Deportation is a serious consequence of these sort of

things.

[10:25:10]

GIOKOS: Yes. I mean and notable for me is that there is no will to bring him back into the United States.

Going forward and seeing cases like this emerging -- and you spoke about legal recourse -- what are the legal channels that could be pursued?

Frankly, the United States is a bastion of justice. That's how it's viewed around the world. But I think that perception is now being questioned.

MICHERONI: Yes. So in immigration proceedings, deportation is generally something that happens via an immigration court. I've been telling people

that generally they have the right to see an immigration judge. This email is not a requirement that you self-deport within seven days. There are

oftentimes other options.

And immigration law here is really complicated. So people need to talk to somebody that understands the legal system and can go through their

individual options.

GIOKOS: So Nicole, quickly tell me what your clients are telling you, what you're hearing -- the fear, the worry, the concern.

MICHERONI: So over the last few months, there's definitely been a big increase in people that are afraid. Our office has been getting calls that

we've never gotten before. There are U.S. citizens calling us that are afraid to travel. There are students calling us that are afraid to travel.

Everybody that's here on any type of visa or lawful permanent residence, they're all very concerned and worried about how the immigration crackdown

is going to impact them.

GIOKOS: Nicole, great to have you on. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us. Much appreciate it.

And still to come, two years into a civil war with no signs of slowing down, fighting in Sudan has triggered the worst humanitarian crisis in the

world. We'll tell you about that just after this short break. Stay with CNN.

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GIOKOS (voice-over): Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Eleni Giokos. These are your headlines.

In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court in the U.K. has decided that legal definition of woman does not include trans woman. The court unanimously

ruled that transgender women with a gender recognition certificate in the U.K. should not receive special protections as a woman under the 2010

Equality Act.

After much negotiation, World Health Organization members have reached an agreement to prepare for future pandemics.

[10:30:05]

The proposal includes measures such as global collaboration on research, supply chains and logistics, so the world will be ready for the next

pathogen.

U.S. President Trump recently signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from those talks and the WHO.

The Trump administration is looking now to close nearly 30 embassies and consulates. And that's according to an internal State Department document

obtained by CNN. Many of them are in Europe and Africa.

Embassies in Malta, Luxembourg are on the list, as well as five consulates in France, two in Germany and one in the U.K.

Happening this hour, the U.N. Security Council is meeting to discuss its mission in South Sudan. It comes as key players have announced plans to

ramp up aid to Sudan, two years into its brutal civil war that has killed tens of thousands of people.

During a conference in London, Britain and the E.U. vowed to donate $750 million for humanitarian aid efforts. Other nations, including the UAE,

Egypt and Kenya, have pledged millions more. The conference co-chairs are calling for an immediate ceasefire and the return to a civilian-led

government.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LAMMY, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: Very simply, we have got to persuade the warring parties to protect civilians, to let aid in and across

the country and to put peace first.

BANKOLE ADEOYE, HEAD, POLITICAL AFFAIRS, PEACE AND SECURITY, AFRICAN UNION: The African Union calls on all belligerents to stop this war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Sudanese officials have complained that no representatives from either of the warring parties were invited to the conference. Rights groups

have accused both the Sudanese army and rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces of war crimes. But most atrocities have been blamed on the RSF.

The U.N. says the fighting in Sudan has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with no end in sight. Hundreds of thousands of people

have been forced to flee. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You are looking at images of a famine-stricken camp where families forced out of their home by war

were attacked by a militia accused of genocide.

This video verified and geolocated by CNN shows the Rapid Support Forces known as the RSF, attacking the sprawling Zamzam Camp in the Darfur region

of Sudan, forcing thousands of hungry and desperate people to flee for their lives.

This is what we know right now. The RSF raided the camp, killed dozens of people, set fire to tents and marketplaces, deliberately targeted health

clinics and killed at least nine medical workers, according to Relief International, an aid agency.

This satellite imagery shows that the RSF carried out a scorched earth policy across an area of 165 football fields. The RSF, which is seen here

celebrating, has denied targeting civilians.

Now Darfur, the region where this took place, is the epicenter of a genocide that was reignited when a civil war broke out between the RSF and

the Sudanese army. That war is now entering its third year and it has triggered what the U.N. calls the world's greatest humanitarian crisis.

Once again, those with a Black or African tribal identity are being systematically hunted and killed by Arab militias like the RSF, in what has

been determined to be a genocide by the U.S. State Department. And there is no end in sight to this conflict.

Millions of people are unseen, battered, bruised, bombed and besieged, denied medical care and basic services, while the warring factions only

exacerbate the suffering -- Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.

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GIOKOS: Abu Dhabi Global Health Week kicked off in the UAE capital on Tuesday, bringing together thousands of healthcare leaders and innovators

to explore the future of health as well as longevity.

Central to this year's event is the launch of the HELM cluster, announced by the crown prince of Abu Dhabi. The HELM cluster, or Health, Endurance,

Longevity and Medicine cluster, is an ambitious initiative that aims to position Abu Dhabi as a global hub for medical innovation, pharmaceutical,

manufacturing and biotechnology by 2045.

It is expected to contribute over $25 billion to the Emirates GDP, attract more than $11 billion in investments and create 30,000 jobs. For more on

this big announcement, I'm now joined by the head of the HELM cluster, Fatma Almulla.

Fatma, great to have you with us.

FATMA ALMULLA, HEAD, HELM CLUSTER, ABU DHABI GLOBAL HEALTH WEEK: Hi.

GIOKOS: Welcome to the show. All right. So this is very ambitious. It's quite exciting. You've got this big cluster which is called HELM and it's

focusing on longevity, medicine and other things. Tell me what kind of innovation you're planning to attract and what HELM actually is going to

stand for in the UAE.

ALMULLA: So like you mentioned, but our niche is clear with longevity, wellness and better health at its core. Our aim is to enable advanced

therapies, genomic medicines and AI-powered diagnostics.

Our aim also is to position Abu Dhabi as a global leader when it comes to life sciences and it's across four main areas, which is very important:

biotech, pharma, medtech and digital health.

GIOKOS: The UAE is actually becoming a leader globally when it comes to longevity and the medical space. And we also know that it really has

massive ambitions in terms of the AI space.

How does that plug into what you're planning to do at HELM?

It's all very important. And UAE has the right to win in this market. This market, which is estimated currently at 7.7 trillion, the life sciences

market, it's expected to grow until 40 trillion from 7.7 trillion to 40 trillion by 2045.

And UAE has a lot of advantages that make it part of this global, let's say, marathon. For example, UAE has more than 90 percent of global pharma

companies actually existing in UAE. We have the second largest national genome project in the UAE as well.

And our clinical trial approval time usually doesn't take more than 28 days. And we have a strategic location as well, that third of population,

of the world population, around 33 percent of the population can be accessible within four hours' flight from UAE.

So you've got, I mean, you're leading on so many fronts. So this makes complete sense. I want to talk about potential becoming a manufacturing hub

for pharmaceuticals and what the ambitions are on that front.

Because if you're going to be doing the innovation locally, you can frankly, you know, increase supply chains dramatically from the region.

ALMULLA: Yes. So we hope to work with all global pharma companies who want to expand to Asia, Middle East and Africa. And also we work with the

startup companies, not only the global pharma companies.

Even for startups, for example, we can partner them with accelerators like Hub71, who will help them to access mentorships and funding opportunities

in the country. And all this will contribute and will add benefit.

GIOKOS: Do you think that you're going to start seeing an influx of a lot more companies that want to enter the space that have exciting innovations?

ALMULLA: Yes, definitely. Especially with the announcement of this cluster, people will see the opportunity and they will understand that we

have a very strong ecosystem.

We're not working alone. It is a broad initiative led by three big entities in the countries. One is the Department of Health, the Department of

Economic Development and Abu Dhabi Investment Office. And we have this ecosystem that is powerful, integrated and supported by the government.

[10:40:00]

And it's focusing on four areas. One is the regulations, also infrastructure, the talent development and finally the R&D facilities. So

we have partners with many. For example, in the manufacturing, we have KIZAD for manufacturing and we have Masdar City for innovation.

And we have Abu Dhabi's airport, Abu Dhabi airport, free zone for logistics. When it comes to regulators, like, for example, Department of

Health and ADDM (ph), help us with anything related to IP protection and clinical trial readiness.

So it's all -- it's a system and we're working together. You cannot achieve something like by working alone. And this is something that we have the

privilege and it's rarely that you can find it in one country. And we have this in the UAE.

GIOKOS: I'm just wondering about the AI push, right. And everything to do with artificial intelligence and how it's being integrated. And they say

that the medical industry has actually been the most disrupted by AI sector.

ALMULLA: By 2045, it's expected that the use of AI in healthcare is going to increase by 45 percent.

GIOKOS: That's incredible.

And you want to be part of that story, don't you?

ALMULLA: Exactly. That's one of the areas we're focusing on, digital health and AI and healthcare as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: President Trump's ongoing trade war has fueled a nationalist surge in Canada and just one example of that is a Canadian superhero making a

comeback. Paula Newton reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRIS HOLDEN-REID, ACTOR: Happy Canada Day, folks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, Canuck. Get moving. There's a holiday crowd out there and we have less than three minutes.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR-CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Canada's comic book superhero, Captain Canuck, is back and this time, he's

taking on U.S. president Donald Trump.

In this 50th anniversary issue, Captain Canuck fights to protect Canada's independence from the U.S.

"Canuck's" co-creator, Richard Comely, says he wanted to bring the maple- leaf-covered hero back after Trump said he wanted Canada to become the 51st U.S. state and started his trade war with allied countries.

RICHARD COMELY, "CAPTAIN CANUCK" CO-CREATOR: All of a sudden, Trump gets into -- into office and he starts talking about annexation and tariffs. And

yes, all of a sudden, Canadians are looking to Captain Canuck as a symbol.

And it's basically, to them, Captain Canuck symbolizes independence. No thank you. We have our own independent -- we have our own symbols.

NEWTON (voice-over): Since 1975, Captain Canuck has been a symbol of Canadian strength, with story lines about fighting off foreign powers and

groups who tried to take over Canada.

COMELY: Never -- never, in any of those stories, was it America that was going to be taking over Canada.

NEWTON (voice-over): Captain Canuck has been popular in Canada for years, with a countless number of comic books, spin-offs and even a web series.

Comely says he has received lots of new interest in the character since political tensions began to rise between the U.S. and Canada.

COMELY: So in a sense, we have Mr. Trump to thank for a bit of resurgence.

NEWTON (voice-over): Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: Right, a revitalization there of a superhero in Canada. Fascinating.

All right. I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi. Thanks so much for joining us for CONNECT THE WORLD. "MARKETPLACE ASIA" is up next.

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(MARKETPLACE ASIA)

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