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U.S. and Ukraine Sign Critical Minerals Deal; Tariffs Will Cost GM up to $5 Billion in 2025; Thousands Storm U.N. Facilities in Gaza in Search of Food; Israel Strikes Outside Syria's Capital; Big Week of Earnings Reports for Big Tech; Deadly Storms Flood Property in Oklahoma; India- Pakistan Tensions; U.S. Deadline Looms for UNESCO Membership Decision; The Impact of AI on Culture; Ice Bucket Challenge Revived for a New Cause. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired May 01, 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): Welcome to what is the second hour of the show from our Middle East programming headquarters here in Abu
Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson and the time here is just after 6 in the evening.
After weeks of negotiations, the United States and Ukraine sign what is a critical minerals deal.
A week of economic data and earnings starting to paint a clearer picture of the financial impact of president Trump's tariffs on the U.S. economy.
And as officials warn of famine once again in Gaza, thousands stormed U.N. facilities in search of food.
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ANDERSON: Well, we start with a long-awaited deal between the U.S. and Ukraine now over the line after months of tense on-again, off-again
negotiations. Washington and Kyiv signed a, quote, "economic partnership agreement," giving the U.S. access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals in
exchange for establishing an investment fund in Ukraine.
Well, on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the deal, saying, quote, "It signals clearly to Russia that the Trump administration
is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine over the long term."
Let's bring in CNN's global affairs analyst, Kimberly Dozier.
Kimberly, Donald Trump has been trying to hammer out this deal since he returned to the White House in January.
What do you make of the details and language of this deal?
Certainly more supportive of Ukraine than many might have expected.
KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: It definitely shows a shift in the White House, a shift in what president Trump thinks of the Ukrainian
situation.
The fact that Ukraine has signed on to a business deal, that helps Trump turn to his supporters and say, I got something back for this, is a big win
for the president and therefore a big win for Kyiv.
When now Putin tries to say, we don't want to make peace without X, Y, Z and continues bombing, especially bombing areas where some of these proven
mineral reserves are, now president Trump has a vested interest in it in a way that past presidents, who don't see everything through the lens of
business, don't.
Back in 2022, there were already a lot of U.S. businesses on the ground doing deals in Ukraine, not particularly about minerals but technology, et
cetera. That didn't protect Ukraine from the invasion at the time.
Now fast forward to this deal. This means president Trump has skin in the game in a way that he didn't before. And Ukraine hopes to build on that.
ANDERSON: And you're right to say, you know, you can chalk this up as a win for Donald Trump. He did famously say he was going to get this conflict
between Russia and Ukraine, the war on Ukraine, sorted within hours of coming into office. He hasn't done that yet.
But certainly you can chalk this up as a win. No response as of yet from Moscow; the language in this deal document notably harsher on Russia than
in the past by this Trump-led U.S. administration.
Does that suggest Trump is toughening his stance on Putin as he tries to strike a deal to end this conflict?
DOZIER: Well, it's a little bit like turning an aircraft carrier. It takes a while to turn. We are seeing some indications like that one-on-one
between president Trump and President Zelenskyy at Pope Francis' funeral. It looked intense.
It looked like the two men were seeing eye to eye and that perhaps president Trump was starting to create that personal relationship that he's
never had with Zelenskyy, the same way he feels that he and Putin were attacked unfairly with the Russia investigations.
Now he seems to be starting to see Ukraine as being attacked unfairly by Russia, because, you know, every time president Trump called for a stoppage
of Russian attacks in social media, the answer from Russia was a volley of hundreds of drones and missiles hitting Kyiv and across the country.
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And so while Moscow might not have taken those tweets very seriously, Trump does.
And I think this is what we could start to see in terms of, you know, as long as things keep going in the right direction, in terms of Trump feeling
like Kyiv is showing him respect and Putin isn't.
We really could start seeing a sea change toward the more traditional GOP in support of a democracy that's being menaced by the Russian autocracy.
ANDERSON: How do you expect this news to go down, then, in Europe?
DOZIER: So I just spoke to a Ukrainian scholar just before coming on air. And they said, at least in Kyiv, there are mixed feelings because they feel
like they've been attacked and now they've had this extracted from them, blackmailed in a sense. But they are happy for the assistance.
And if this leads to continued weapons from the U.S. That's a good thing. European officials I've spoken to are like, as long as we can keep the
White House somewhat onside and in support of this war, we can keep up our support.
One European official told me that one of the problems is that they don't have enough of their own manufacturing capacity to build these weapons
inside Europe. A lot of the weapons are built by U.S. manufacturers, which requires approval by the White House.
So that unless they bring on these lines of you know, Patriot-style missiles being produced in Ukraine, in Europe, which takes a couple of
years, they've got to keep buying them from Raytheon, Boeing, et cetera.
And the White House could have said no to that if the relationship with Kyiv had broken down. So this is good news, you know, from the Europeans.
They're not very happy with a lot of the things coming out of the White House. But this is something they can build on.
ANDERSON: It's fascinating. Just yesterday we had the Kremlin spokesman saying that a settlement of the Ukraine conflict -- and I quote Dmitry
Peskov here -- "too complex to be achieved overnight," despite U.S. mediation efforts.
Dmitry Peskov was applauding those U.S. mediation efforts; obviously, you know, his audience one person, Donald Trump. But suggesting this can't be a
conflict or a peace deal that is expedited. So let's see where that lands going forward.
But like you say, good to have you. And the fact that this is a result, at least in the first instance for the Trump administration, keeps -- and
keeps Donald Trump with some skin in the game is an important point. Thank you.
Well, while Americans in the world brace for the full impact of the Trump tariffs, the head of the largest U.S. automaker is revealing the looming
cost in actual dollars.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra says the tariffs will slash her company's earnings between $4 billion and $5 billion this year. This is the first
such forecast released by a major company and was delayed a few days after president Trump signed an executive order, easing some auto levies, details
of which we don't have.
Well, it comes a day after a report showing that the U.S. economy actually contracted in the first quarter of this year; president Trump blaming his
predecessor, Joe Biden, while his economic advisers played down those numbers.
One economist says the 0.3 percent decline may actually be sugarcoating what is to come, because importers and consumers are stockpiling goods
ahead of the tariffs. He says the second quarter GDP could be brutal.
We'll get another big indicator of the state of the U.S. economy tomorrow, when the April jobs numbers are announced. Keeping a keen eye on that
report, Matt Egan. I want to bring him in at this point.
Matt, let's start with these auto earnings; very specifically, GM. We heard from her today on CNN, speaking to Erin Burnett, our colleague.
What did she say about her company and tariffs very specifically?
MATT EGAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR WRITER: Yes, Becky, GM is making it clear that these tariffs from the president of the United States are going to eat
into their bottom line.
GM, as you noted, really is one of the first major companies to lay out in detail just how much these import taxes are going to cost them, saying that
it's going to cost this company between $4 billion and $5 billion this year alone.
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Keep in mind, the tariffs are designed to help American manufacturers. And so it's telling that they're saying it's going to hurt them financially.
Now GM also slashed its annual profit guidance, in part because Mary Barra is making clear that they are not necessarily going to pass along the costs
from these tariffs to consumers in the form of higher prices. Thus, that's why it's going to eat into their bottom line. Take a listen to what Mary
Barra told Erin Burnett earlier.
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MARY BARRA, CHAIR AND CEO, GENERAL MOTORS: We do know that there's more conversations going on.
For instance, the negotiations going on with Japan and South Korea, China and many of the other countries that impact from a supply chain
perspective. So we think that there's more impact potentially.
But again, right now, the clarity that we got was so important because it allows us to make decisions for our footprint in the U.S. and in North
America, to be able to respond to the tariffs and make sure that we have a growing and strong U.S. auto industry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
EGAN: So GM clearly talking about the impact here of the tariffs.
And it's just it's not just GM. Right. We've heard from a number of major corporations in the last 24 hours or so, McDonalds reporting its weakest
sales since COVID; Harley-Davidson abandoning its financial guidance, all because of tariffs. Becky.
ANDERSON: You're keeping your eye on those jobs numbers. They are, of course, out tomorrow. Investors will be keenly awaiting those as well.
What are we expecting?
EGAN: Well, Becky, you know what's notable is in the last 24 hours or so, we've gotten three indicators on the U.S. jobs market and none of them were
good. Yesterday we learned from ADP that private sector hiring slowed more than expected in April.
There's just this morning the jobless claims numbers. They ticked up to a nine-week high. And Challenger, Gray and Christmas, the outplacement firm,
they pointed out that U.S.-based employers, they announced 105,000 job cuts in April.
Now the good news is that actually represents a significant drop from March. The bad news is that's more than 60 percent higher than April of
last year. In fact, looking back in history, this is the third highest number since Challenger, Gray and Christmas started tracking this back in
the 1980s.
The only two times that were higher were in 2020 during COVID and in 2009 during the Great Recession. And year to date, employers have announced a
significant number of job cuts; again, more than at any point since COVID.
And we've seen it in a number of different sectors, technology moving up. But most notably government layoffs have gone dramatically higher, as DOGE
has cut federal spending, federal workers' grants and research, as well. Nonprofits, another indicator of the DOGE effect there.
And when we look at where these layoffs are taking place across the country, what stands out is that the eastern part of the United States, so
far this year, there's been more than 200 percent increase in job cut announcements. And that has been led by Washington, D.C., which again has
been most impacted by DOGE.
Now all of this sets the stage for tomorrow's much more closely watched government jobs report. And that is expected to show that U.S. payroll
growth slowed sharply in April.
A significant decline is expected, to about 135,000 jobs added -- although, Becky, I would note that the unemployment rate is expected to stay
relatively low at 4.2 percent.
I do think, though, that some of these announcements from corporate America, some of these indicators on the labor market, make you wonder how
long the unemployment rate can stay this low -- back to you.
ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. Good to have you, sir.
EGAN: Thanks, Becky.
ANDERSON: Well, thousands of people stormed U.N. facilities in Gaza on Wednesday night, searching desperately for food. The enclave is on the edge
of famine, an entirely manmade crisis that is growing rapidly worse. A warning you may find some of the following images disturbing.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): There is no food, no nothing. Death is easier than this life.
ANDERSON (voice-over): Well, Israel has enforced a total siege of Gaza now for nearly two months, refusing to allow a single truck carrying food or
medical aid into the Strip. Israel says it is to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages. Human rights groups say starvation is being used as
a weapon of war.
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ANDERSON: CNN's Jerusalem correspondent, Jeremy Diamond, joining us now from Tel Aviv.
Jeremy, just get us up to speed, if you will.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are watching as the humanitarian situation in Gaza is quickly heading for a full-blown crisis.
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And we are seeing several of the telltale signs of impending famine in the Strip.
First, you look at the child malnutrition, acute malnutrition diagnoses among children in the month of March. They shot up 82 percent from the
previous month. We still don't have the numbers for April. But you can expect that they are going to continue to rise once again.
That is one of the telltale signs when the most vulnerable members of a population start to face acute malnutrition. Famine is often the next step
or one of the next steps.
Then you look at the fact that the World Food Programme has said that all of their warehouses, that previously had food that had come in during the
six weeks of ceasefire, that saw a surge of aid.
That all of those warehouses are now barren; 47 community kitchens, which were supported by food from those warehouses, expected to now shut down
imminently.
On top of that, you see these scenes from late last night, which were reported to us by Khader Al Zanoun, a Palestinian journalist who works with
us, seeing thousands of desperate Palestinians storming a U.N. school and several U.N. warehouses in Gaza City, looking for any remaining supplies
that they could possibly grab.
You can hear in some of the videos that he shared with us gunfire being heard as armed men -- it's not clear exactly who -- tried to keep people
out of these warehouses or to chase them away.
But these are all of the kind of telltale signs that you see when civil order is breaking down. There is not enough food. The prices in the markets
for the little food that remains have shot up skyward, with a bag of flour going for at least $100, according to several people who we've spoken to
inside of Gaza.
All of this indicating that Gaza is truly barreling toward full-blown catastrophe at the moment.
ANDERSON: Jeremy, good to have you. Thank you.
Well, the Syrian government condemning, quote, "foreign intervention" in the country after Israel carried out a rare strike on the outskirts of
Damascus. This amidst deadly sectarian fighting between forces loyal to the government and the minority Druze community in and around the town of
Sahnaya, where the attack took place.
Excuse me.
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ANDERSON (voice-over): Well, at least 11 people have been killed in the violence over the past several days.
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ANDERSON: Ibrahim Al-Assil is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute. He joins us now live from Washington.
Excuse me, Ibrahim.
Just explain what we understand to be happening on the ground in this area.
IBRAHIM AL-ASSIL, SENIOR FELLOW, MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE: Great to be with you, Becky.
Over the last two to three days, sectarian violence erupted inside Syria, specifically between Arab and Sunni communities against Druze communities,
in different areas in southern Syria.
The violence erupted after an audio clip went viral -- unverified; we don't know where that clip came from -- included offenses against Prophet
Muhammad. And then the clashes started.
Some accuses that they were Druze militias attacked security checkpoints first. Others say different Sunni militias attacks the Druze communities
first. But now we are at a point where there are attacks and counterattacks among so many different groups that sometimes people in neighborhoods don't
know who is fighting against whom.
ANDERSON: Now this is fascinating because this is what's going on domestically within the sovereign state of Syria. Meantime, Israel trying
to position itself as the protector of the Druze minority since the fall of Assad and claims it was targeting -- and I quote them here -- "an
extremist group in the area."
So to your mind, how welcome is this intervention by the Druze community, Ibrahim?
AL-ASSIL: It's widely condemned. There are, of course, factions among the Druze who asked for this help. But the majority of the Druze do not want
regional intervention because it complicates the matter further.
The fear or the risk from the Israeli attacks, that it's likely to reregionalizing the Syrian conflict again. Syria today is not at an open
war anymore but it's in a postwar limbo, where it's still that the communal peace is very fragile.
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The state clearly cannot maintain security. And then there is the issue of radicalization, the issue of the difficulties of disarmament and
demobilization.
And in the background, we've heard repeatedly from Israeli officials that they want to keep Syria weak and fragmented. And I think that's the
strategic purpose of the Israeli intervention here, not to solve this issue, not to protect the Druze but to keep Syria far from any national
reconciliation.
And try to intervene between the Druze and the Sunni communities inside Syria.
ANDERSON: I mean, Israel has already expanded operations inside Syria. And when you talk to people around the region, there is a suggestion, there is
an intention to further expand those operations.
Syria, Ibrahim, in the middle of Israel and Iran's proxy war still, to be honest.
With Assad gone, how vulnerable is Syria to Israeli intervention as it expands its war operations across the region?
AL-ASSIL: Extremely vulnerable. The Syrian state is very weak. We're talking about a country that just finished or it's still, in a way, in a
context of a civil war that went through 13 to 14 years, not only a civil war but a regional war with also other global forces, like the Russians and
the Americans intervening inside Syria.
Syrians are trying to regenerate their national identity, to reach a process of national reconciliation. And, of course, that's facing immense
challenges inside Syria.
Any regional intervention, military intervention is complicating that process, is preventing Syrians from being able probably to reach any sort
of reconciliation and preventing the central government from improving or proceeding with that process.
And here also, I want to include or conclude with a point that, while also the Syrian government, there are so many question marks about their
rhetoric and their efforts on the ground, I think the statement by the interior ministry had some religious lines that reflected it probably does
not represent all Syrians.
However, it is important to allow Syrians to find an exit out of this without further complicating this and without risking regionalizing the
Syrian conflict again.
ANDERSON: Important insight. Ibrahim, always a pleasure. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.
You're watching CNN's CONNECT THE WORLD from our Middle East programming hub here in Abu Dhabi.
Still to come, blockbuster earnings from Microsoft and Meta moving the markets, with two more reports from tech giants coming later today. We're
going to break down what has been a crucial week on Wall Street that is coming just ahead. We will be back after this.
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ANDERSON: Well, after a volatile April, Wall Street kicking off a new month in the green. Investors' eyes are on Big Tech with four of the so-
called Magnificent Seven reporting earnings this week.
Numbers released on Wednesday by Microsoft and Meta after the bell show, both companies zooming past estimates and their shares reflecting some real
appetite and interest.
Today we're also awaiting reports today from both Apple and Amazon after the markets close for the day. CNN's Anna Stewart live in London.
Boy, did Microsoft and Meta get out of the gate earlier on today. I think their stocks are back a little bit. But five minutes into the trading day,
Microsoft's earnings were up more than 10 -- sorry; share price was up more than 10 percent.
Better than expected earnings reports from both and some pretty bullish comments from the Meta chief, Mark Zuckerberg.
Just how significant is all of this?
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean fantastic earnings for both. And really it is driving Wall Street ever higher. I think those share
prices are still pretty high. Maybe falling back slightly from the open.
But fantastic revenue beating expectations from analysts, even beating their own expectations, frankly. Meta's revenue up 16 percent year on year,
Microsoft up 13 percent. You can see Microsoft shares are up 9 percent.
And much of the success here Becky down to AI, which won't be a huge surprise for Microsoft. It's all about Azure, the cloud computing service,
which, of course, is so important for artificial intelligence for many different companies.
It's also invested in entities like OpenAI. It has a huge exposure when it comes to artificial intelligence. And for Meta, they're very excited.
They're making progress on AI glasses and, of course, Meta AI, which is now actually a standalone app as well as integrated into some of their
services.
And you're right, the CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, feeling pretty bullish. He says they think they're well positioned to navigate the macroeconomic
uncertainty. The major theme right now is how AI Is transforming everything we do.
We've heard it before. We'll keep hearing, I think, through the earnings season. Meta, of course, also does have a big court case going on in the
U.S. with the FTC, who claim that it's built an illegal social media monopoly. So it's not all good news behind the scenes but certainly great
news today, great news for those investors.
ANDERSON: And what about the impact of tariffs?
Microsoft and Meta both beating expectations.
Did we get any sense of whether these companies are rattled by tariffs?
STEWART: So these two are pretty interesting. They are more insulated than many tech companies, given they're more based on services than products. So
they're less impacted by issues around global trade, supply chains, global trade wars.
It was interesting that Meta's CFO said the company has experienced some reduced spend in the U.S. from Asian based exporters, so they're seeing a
little bit of impact here. But you're not really seeing it really in the numbers at this stage.
However, that is set to change the earnings for the Magnificent Seven continues today. As you say, we've got Apple and Amazon coming out after
the bell. Now for both of those, we expect to see some sort of tariff impact.
And, of course, we'll be looking for any comment on how these Big Tech companies are trying to limit their exposure to tariffs.
For Apple, of course, who make most of their iPhones in China and import them into the U.S., will they be looking to make more of those in India,
for example?
Now they have been exempt from the 145 percent tariff in China for phones imported. But they still have a 20 percent tariff. That's still pretty big.
So we're expecting to see much more interesting tariff comment, I think, later today.
ANDERSON: And what will Amazon say itself about how it is alerting consumers to any increases in prices as a result of tariffs?
That's been a big talker this week. Let's see what the company itself says when its numbers are released, if they say anything at all. Thank you,
Anna.
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ANDERSON (voice-over): Let's get you up to speed, folks, on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now.
And American film director Martin Scorsese is producing a documentary that will feature Pope Francis' final on-camera interview film. The film, called
"Aldeas -- A New Story," will chronicle the work of the late pope's nonprofit cinema program.
Well, rallies all across the world today on May Day, also known as International Workers Day. In Greece, demonstrators marched to demand wage
hikes and stronger job protection. Thousands also set to take to the streets in all 50 U.S. states to protest against the Trump administration's
policies.
Well, heavy flooding with severe storms in Oklahoma forced the governor there to declare an emergency in parts of the state on Wednesday. Take a
look at this. Streets and vehicles submerged since first responders conduct water rescues. At least two people, sadly, have passed away.
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You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson.
Coming up, after Pakistan said it had credible evidence India was about to launch an attack on it, I question the Pakistani official behind that
announcement. More on that after this.
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ANDERSON (voice-over): Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson. Your headlines.
And after months of negotiations, Washington and Kyiv have signed an economic deal that will give the U.S. access to Ukraine's rare earth
minerals. In exchange, the two countries will establish a joint investment fund, which will help pay for Ukraine's postwar reconstruction.
U.S. President Donald Trump tried to downplay a report Wednesday showing the U.S. economy is contracting. He said in an interview with NewsNation
that trade deals with several top Asian trading partners are pending. So far, no deals have been announced, with higher prices on products set to
kick in next week.
Thousands of people stormed United Nations' facilities in Gaza on Wednesday night, searching desperately for food. Gaza is now once again on the edge
of famine, an entirely manmade crisis, after Israel refused to allow any food aid into the Strip. Human rights groups say starvation is being used
as a weapon of war.
ANDERSON: Well, India says it is closing its airspace to airlines from Pakistan in the latest of what is a series of reciprocal moves between the
two countries. The U.S. and China calling for restraint as tensions swiftly rise following last week's massacre in Indian-administered Kashmir. Here's
what the Indian prime minister had to say about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NARENDRA MODI, INDIAN PRIME MINISTER: India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends
of the Earth. India's spirit will never be broken by terrorism. Terrorism will not go unpunished. Every effort will be made to ensure that justice is
done.
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ANDERSON: Well, on Wednesday morning, Pakistan's information minister, very early in the morning, 2 am, claimed that his government had, quote,
"credible intelligence" that India intended to carry out a military attack on Islamabad within 36 hours. He did not say what that intelligence looks
like.
Earlier, I spoke to the minister, Attaullah Tarar. He said he could not reveal more details. Take a listen to what he did tell me.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATTAULLAH TARAR, MINISTER FOR INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING, PAKISTAN: We had a very reliable, very authentic intelligence at the operational level.
Obviously, operational details cannot be shared. But we had confirmed reports that India will attack Pakistan.
And this is not the first time. And let me also share that, had I not at that point in time shared this information very timely with the world, with
the international community, so you see, when you communicate things, sometimes they act as a deterrent.
So I think as a responsible state and as a nonpermanent member of the U.N. Security Council, we had to share the information very timely.
ANDERSON: Are you suggesting that now that you have shared what you describe as this credible intelligence with the international community,
which is why, I guess, you made the announcement at 2 am in the morning so that the international community were awake to get that information, do you
now believe that India is unlikely to attack?
Because, look, these are, as I say, serious allegations, suggesting that India will attack Pakistan.
You are now saying you don't think that's likely anymore?
TARAR: Correct.
What I'm saying is there are three forms of deterrence. One is your capability, which is our very strong military. And we've always defended
our motherland. We've always acted in self-defense. We've never been the aggressors.
Second is the resolve, which is the resolve of the nation, resolve of the people.
And third is the communication. So communication plays a big part in averting a crisis. And not only making the international community aware
but our local population aware of what is going on right now.
So I think Pakistan, because Pakistan has always been desirous of peace, Pakistan has always wanted peaceful coexistence. But having said that, we
have a right to defend ourselves. India, after the Pahalgam incident, blamed Pakistan without any evidence.
And Pakistan had offered for an investigation a fair and transparent investigation into the matter. But they kept pointing fingers. And in the
past they've used such incidents to attack Pakistan. So this is not the first time they've done this before, in the past, exploiting such incident
to their advantage.
ANDERSON: India insists that this attack was cross-border and it blames Pakistan. You say that there's no evidence to substantiate that.
Do you have any evidence to completely write off the idea that those involved in this were militants who are based in Pakistan or allied with
Pakistani groups?
TARAR: The Indian government so far has not been able to pinpoint a single group which was involved.
You see, they will have to tell the world who was involved. You can't just say that Pakistan is behind this. And our prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif,
while speaking to the passing-out parade at the military academy, said that we're open to a fair and just and impartial investigation, meaning thereby
that we have clean hands.
ANDERSON: You've talked about the importance as far as Pakistan is concerned, that the international community is aware of what is going on.
U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio spoke of the need to condemn the terror attack and encourage your FM to work with India to de-escalate tensions and
reestablish direct communications.
Is there any sign of that?
TARAR: We've expressed our desire to conduct an impartial inquiry to prove a point that, you know, we had nothing to do with this.
Now the situation diplomatic -- is diplomatically is very clear. We're engaged with our friendly nations. We are talking to them. We are telling
them what our perspective is. And let's see how the situation unfolds in the near future.
But in all this situation, Pakistan is neither the aggressor nor the provocateur. Pakistan has not contributed to the escalation. And we are
only saying that we have the right to self-defense and we will defend ourselves.
ANDERSON: You said that India was going to launch an attack on Pakistan in 24 to 36 hours. This was in the middle of the night Tuesday.
[10:40:00]
Do you still believe as we speak today that that is likely to happen?
TARAR: The situation is fluctuating. Sometimes escalation is high, sometimes it's low, sometimes it's diplomatic engagement. It's an ever-
evolving situation. And we keep receiving intelligence reports.
Having said that, our armed forces are on alert. Our armed forces are ready and we're conducting our exercises. And there are much details of
operations which are at operational level, which I can't divulge right now. But having said that, our armed forces are on alert and they are always
ready to defend their country.
ANDERSON: With respect, I need a yes or no.
I guess at this point, do you still believe that there is likely to be an attack before, for example, midnight tonight, given that two days ago you
said that there is credible evidence that there will be an attack on --
(CROSSTALK)
TARAR: Yes, there could be a possibility. Yes, yes, based on the information that we have and the kind of strategies that we have here, the
way we are watching developments in India, yes, there is a possibility. And that is why I said that Pakistan is always well prepared to defend and the
armed forces are also ready for self-defense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Right. And just after we conducted that interview, CNN reported a conversation between India's defense minister Raksha Mantri and his U.S.
counterpart Pete Hegseth.
Following the call, India's defense minister released this statement, saying, and I quote, "Pakistan has been exposed as a rogue state fueling
global terrorism and destabilizing the region. The world can no longer turn a blind eye to terrorism."
CNN has been requesting interviews with multiple Indian officials and departments to hear their perspective on the matter.
On our air tomorrow on this show, I'll be speaking with Kanchan Gupta, who is a senior adviser to the Indian ministry of information and broadcasting.
So do join us for that.
Well, strengthening shared humanity through culture, that is the mission of UNESCO.
What does that mean in the era of Trump?
Well, I'll discuss that more with the organization's assistant director general for culture after this short break.
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ANDERSON: Well, a key deadline fast approaching for the Trump administration to decide whether it will stay in UNESCO, the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. I'm sure you'll have heard of it as UNESCO.
It comes amid U.S. president Donald Trump's upending of American commitments on the global stage. UNESCO Assistant Director General for
Culture, Ernesto Ottone Ramirez, joins me now.
And we are in the middle of a complete shift in global culture.
I mean, you know, you are seeing this sort of the term, "global culture wars" sort of front and center at the moment.
[10:45:00]
The U.S. is due to decide by Monday whether to stay in your organization after raising concerns of anti-Semitism and the organization acting against
American interests.
What's your response to that?
And what would be the impact, if any, of a U.S. withdrawal, Ernesto?
ERNESTO OTTONE RAMIREZ, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR GENERAL FOR CULTURE, UNESCO: Well, you know, the director general has been very clear in this sense. We
prefer to have every country around the table. And that's the case.
U.S. came back last year, as you know. And since they have been at UNESCO, it brings new voices. And there is a dialogue, a debate. So we truly hope
that multilateralism in culture, education, science means something for every country. So we will see what happens.
It's up to them and member states can take whatever decision they want. But we truly believe that it's better to have everybody on a table, discussing
and trying to find solutions.
ANDERSON: I just wonder, as part of these global cultural headwinds -- diversity, equity, inclusion efforts being pulled back across the board; it
seems there's a retreat from the idea of shared humanity, which is at the heart of UNESCO's core values.
How do you deal with that?
And let's leave the U.S. aside and its decision, you know, aside; nothing you can do about that at the end of the day.
Do you sense, amongst other members, a pivot somewhat in the direction that this Trump administration is lurching toward or not?
OTTONE: I will not put every aspects on, on what is happening in the U.S. No. No, no. I will not say that there is a change, a pivotal moment. No,
the world has changed, you know.
When we had three years ago the former minister of culture in Mexico, (INAUDIBLE) 2022, after 40 years that we didn't have the occasion to have
it, well, what has changed in these three years?
ANDERSON: A lot.
OTTONE: We were dedicated to restore Mosul. As you know, we have finished the project of the reviving the --
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: -- support.
OTTONE: And it was the recovery after a disaster that happened. And we were hoping that we are in another timeline, where we are more concerned
about prevention and preparedness.
ANDERSON: And that was 2022. Of course, since then, we've had major conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, for example.
The world's military spending is just its highest figure ever recorded by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, $2.7 trillion in
2024.
You and I were together at the culture summit here, the Abu Dhabi culture summit just earlier on this week. And we talked about culture in a period
of peace and/or insecurity. And we very specifically talked about where UNESCO can focus its efforts in this era.
How much damage is all of this doing, for example, to cultural heritage sites and to culture within these areas (INAUDIBLE)?
OTTONE: It's huge. It's huge, I have to say and not only right now we have 54 conflicts around the world that are affecting part of the identity, the
heritage; the intangible cultural heritage of communities also is very strong.
What we see is two elements. First is that UNESCO, for the first time, we are in the middle of some of those crises. Normally in UNESCO historically
came after a conflict. Now we are in the middle. We have a bureau in Kyiv and we are doing the monitoring of every destruction that is happening.
We have bureau in Ramallah, looking at what's happening in Gaza, inscribing sites that are in danger.
And so we are in a different moment. It's the first time that we are in the middle of the conflicts. So it will allow us to prepare for whatever comes
after, for the recovery, and not to wait the end of a conflict to start to think how we rebuild or how we recognize (ph).
And the second is that, last year, we celebrated the 70th anniversary of the 54 Convention on Heritage in Crisis. And in two weeks in Paris, we're
going to have the first meeting, civic, military, to try to build with the military also new forces that allow us to do our work of protection, of
cultural heritage.
ANDERSON: That's fascinating. So forces that will protect heritage sites during periods of war. Fascinating.
AI, at Abu Dhabi's annual culture summit this year, we contemplated what it means to be human in a post-human world.
Now if you and I had been having that conversation a decade ago, five years ago or even perhaps three years ago, I think that would have sounded very
sort of apocalyptic.
[10:50:07]
"Star Wars" like perhaps or "Black Mirror" like. But it's not anymore. AI Is having a real impact on the creative industries and culture as a whole.
What are your predictions for the future and where do you see the risks and opportunities?
OTTONE: Well, there are two issues, as you mentioned. There is no black and white. Today, what, I'm coming from China. We had the form of (ph)
museum, more than 120 directors of museums, discussing about artificial intelligence as giving some solution of what we are.
And it's helping a lot in Africa. We're working with artificial intelligence to do the inventories, do the museography. It took us 10
years. Now we do it in two months. So we cannot say that we are not using it.
But for artists and the creative industries, we are in charge also of the protection of copyright and the cultural rights of artists. And today,
since 2021, UNESCO and our member states, take -- propose these ethics of artificial intelligence. That was adopted unanimously.
All member states were very clear that we have right now the opportunity to put where are the limits and what should be the part, the human part, that
should remain in the creative sectors and should be well justly remunerated so that we don't lose this touch about that somebody is creating something.
You know, the algorithms come from somewhere. And it belongs also to this shared humanity that we have to protect. The diversity is important --
diversity of content, of languages. And that's something that we should all work together.
ANDERSON: Reimagining what it means to be human in a post-human world is worth everybody having to think about at this point.
It's always good to see you. It was a terrific culture summit this year.
(CROSSTALK)
OTTONE: Great pleasure.
ANDERSON: Organizing in conjunction with UNESCO. So thank you for that.
OTTONE: Thank you.
ANDERSON: Glad to have you.
You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. There is a lot more ahead. Stay with us.
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ANDERSON: Britain's King Charles has shared his thoughts on dealing with his cancer diagnosis. The king hosted a reception in honor of community-
based cancer support groups on Wednesday at Buckingham Palace.
And in a statement, Charles said that, while receiving a cancer diagnosis can be daunting and frightening at times, quote, "the darkest moments of
illness can be illuminated by the greatest compassion," end quote.
And he went on to say that having cancer gave him a deeper appreciation for the organizations that he supported before he got sick. Both the king and
his daughter in law, Catherine, Princess of Wales, were diagnosed with undisclosed forms of cancer last year.
Well, the Ice Bucket Challenge, a viral campaign that raised millions for ALS research in 2014, is back, being revived by students at the University
of South Carolina to raise awareness about mental health issues.
Their #SpeakYourMIND campaign was launched on Instagram in March to raise funds for the nonprofit Active Minds and to change mental health norms.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALES: We were nominated by Ethan Thompson for the USC #SpeakYourMIND Ice Bucket Challenge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have 24 hours.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it got me.
[10:55:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. It's a challenge to help awareness for mental health problems. So if you or a loved one is suffering, don't be
afraid to speak up and spread awareness.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the USC #SpeakYourMIND Ice Bucket Challenge.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
You ready?
Three. Two. One.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I nominate Presley Forney (ph) and Kayla Benfield (ph).
You guys have 24 hours. Oh!
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ANDERSON: Who do you nominate?
That's it for CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with CNN. "ONE WORLD" is up next.
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