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Connect the World

Trump Presses Ahead with Resource-Driven Foreign Policy; Saudi Arabia Hopes Issues Can be Resolved Through Negotiations; Gold Prices Hit Fresh Record High; JD Vance to Host Greenland-Denmark-U.S. Meeting; Multiple Fatalities in Thailand as Crane Collapses onto Train; Iran's Internet Blackout to Last Up to Two More Weeks. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired January 14, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, you are looking at recent images of protests in Iran as U.S. President Donald Trump considers

his next move against the regime. And a U.S. official now says American personnel are being told to evacuate the region's largest U.S. military

base in Qatar, at a time when geopolitical tensions in this region and around the world are sky high.

Let's take a look at what is going on beneath the surface. Welcome to "Connect the World". I'm Becky Anderson with a special edition of the show

from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. It's 05:00 p.m. here. I'm at the Future Minerals Forum, where the global competition for resources is unfolding,

namely, over critical and rare earth minerals, which power everything, of course, from AI and electric cars to defense technology.

This has reached new heights as President Trump pursues a resource driven foreign policy in Venezuela who doubles down on his bid to take over

resource rich Greenland, he says that anything less is, quote, unacceptable, before his vice president hosts officials from the self-

governing territory later today.

Well, the U.S. is positioning itself against China's global reach and its domination over the minerals sector. This is a central theme we'll be

exploring throughout our two hours in all the global flash points with our key news makers and experts. Now, though, straight to our news out of Iran,

we are getting a sobering picture of the crackdown on anti-government protests as the U.S. President issues new warnings against the regime.

A U.S. based Rights Group now says more than 2400 people have been killed and 18,000 arrested since the protests erupted more than two weeks ago. CNN

cannot independently confirm those numbers, and state media is reporting the nearly week-old internet blackout will continue for up to two more

weeks.

What we are seeing, though, are images of the violence inflicted on protesters during this period. This disturbing footage shows people

searching body bags to identify their slain loved ones. The head of Iran's judiciary tells state media that protesters charged with violence or quote,

terrorist activities will be given priority for trial and punishment.

Sham trials and executions are known to be common in Iran. U.S. President Donald Trump warning the regime, don't do that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We will take very strong action if they do such a thing, when they start killing thousands of

people and now, you're telling me about hanging. We'll see how that works out for them. It's not going to work out good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: And this Just In. A U.S. official has told CNN that some personnel at the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East have been

urged to leave that base in Qatar. The official described it as a quote, precaution, as the U.S. considers military action against Iran.

Right. Let's get you bang up to speed and exactly what we understand as we begin to get videos and images out of Iran. Paula Hancocks has been

following developments for us all week from Abu Dhabi, and she joins us now, Paula, what are we learning?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Becky, as you see that death toll rising. There are also now concerns about those who have been detained by

Iranian authorities. We had some clarification from authorities today about how they see those that they have detained.

Human Rights Groups believe that more than 18,000 have been detained at this point. Now, we have heard from the head of the judiciary that they are

going to consider anybody who was arrested after January 8th. This is last Thursday when that internet blackout was installed and the brutal crackdown

against protesters began anybody arrested after that time, they are going to consider as part of an internal war.

We're also hearing from the head of the judiciary that they are going to prioritize any of these cases of what they consider, quote, terrorists.

[09:05:00]

So, these are obviously concerning words from the authorities about how they are going to treat thousands of protesters who are currently in

prison. We also have heard some very disturbing news from two Iranians within the country and others anecdotally saying that the Iranian

authorities are actually starting to charge loved ones to retrieve the bodies of those that have been killed.

Now, we did hear in the case of the 23-year-old fashioned student, Robina Aminian, who was killed last week, we heard from her family saying that

authorities were now looking for them to try and get money, as they had taken the body of their daughter and their niece.

So, a very disturbing stories coming out of Iran at this point, of course, unfortunately, neither of those factors would be new for Tehran. We have

seen these in previous protests as well, Becky.

ANDERSON: Good to have you. Thank you. Well, a short time ago, I spoke with Saudi's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs here, Adel bin Ahmed Al-

Jubeir. And I asked if he expected any U.S. military action against Iran, and if the kingdom was communicating anything to the U.S. about their views

on that. Here's what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADEL BIN AHMED AL-JUBEIR, SAUDI MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: We believe in dialog, and we believe in solving any disagreements at the

negotiating table. And we believe that instability does not support the prospects for development in any region. We hope that issues can be

resolved in that manner.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: I press him about whether Saudi believes that the regime is at its weakest point so far and what might happen, should it be toppled?

Here's what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL-JUBEIR: It is really up to the Iranian people to decide. I don't think that I'm in a position to tell another country how it should be governed.

ANDERSON: But the kingdom is watching the situation very closely at this point, I see.

AL-JUBEIR: I believe everybody is watching the situation very closely, and everybody is hoping that the situation can be resolved in a manner that

minimizes any kind of damage.

ANDERSON: Is there any enthusiasm here or in this region for American military action at this point?

AL-JUBEIR: I believe that the region has suffered a lot in terms of conflicts over the past 50, 60 years, in particular, over the past 20

years, whether you look at Syria, whether you look at Lebanon, Gaza, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, in other areas, and the region needs

stability, and the people of the region would hope are working towards generating that stability, so that we can focus on development and nation

building rather than conflict.

So anytime we have an opportunity to work on trying to calm things and mediate things. We do this. We've done it in Syria. We done it in the past,

in Lebanon. We're working in terms of Gaza with the international community. We're trying to mediate in Sudan and Somalia, in Yemen, in other

places, between India and so our objective is stability and calm, so that we can focus our resources on building a better future for our people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Adel Al-Jubeir speaking to me here at the Future Minerals Forum just a little earlier today. Well, the U.S. State Department says that a

detained Iranian protestor may be executed today. A relative told CNN, 26- year-old Erfan Soltani is believed to have been detained by plain clothed police officers and was not allowed a lawyer or a retrial after being

sentenced to death.

Isobel Yeung spoke to his family member about his fate. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISOBEL YEUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It must be incredibly raw for you. You've only just received this message. Your cousin is due to be executed

extremely soon. How are you feeling?

SOMAYEH, ERFAN SOLTANI'S FAMILY MEMBER: I was in so much shock, I cried so much. Now that you see me, I am in complete shock. I keep feeling as if I

am in a dream.

YEUNG (voice-over): Somayeh says that she is living in fear that her family member is about to be executed by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Erfan

Soltani is 26 years old, and he's believed to be the first anti regime protestor in this latest uprising to be given the death sentence, according

to Human Rights Organizations.

[09:10:00]

YEUNG: What is it that he's been protesting for? What does he want to see happen in Iran?

SOMAYEH: He has always wanted people to be at least free in the most basic aspects of life. He has always fought for the freedom of Iran, and today we

see him standing under the gallows.

YEUNG (voice-over): The protests that Erfan took part in were huge and they turned violent. To date, about 2000 protesters have been killed, according

to a U.S. based Rights Group, but that figure could be much higher.

YEUNG: The Iranian state media has said that these protesters are rioters. Was Erfan using violence?

SOMAYEH: Erfan has never resorted to violence I always witnessed that all the destruction being carried out was done by the regime itself. In order

to execute young people, they fabricate accusations against them.

YEUNG: Human Rights Organizations say that he was arrested on Thursday and that he was given the death sentence just two days later. They said that he

wasn't allowed access to a lawyer, and that his execution has been expedited without trial. Tehran's prosecutor on Friday said that some

protesters could be given the death penalty.

Iranian state media says that rioters have killed dozens of members of the security forces, but we've not been able to contact the Iranian government

for comment. Somayeh says that there's just one person who could save Erfan from being killed, and that's President Donald Trump, who's threatened

military action if protesters continue to be harmed.

SOMAYEH: My request is that we need Trump's help by the second, we need Trump's help by every second. People trusted Trump's words and came to the

streets. I beg you, please do not let Erfan be executed. Please.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, it may be some 800 miles from here, but Iran is understandably on the minds of those here in Riyadh. I want to discuss the

geopolitical landscape in the region and the critical resources beneath it with the Saudi Minister minerals. That is up next here on CNN. I'm Becky

Anderson. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: We're back at the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, which is positioning itself as a global hub of diplomacy and deal making for what is

one of the dominating stories of 2026 so far, and is likely to be so going forward. The global competition for critical minerals and rare earth

elements.

The Trump Administration increasingly looking to this region for partnerships in its goal to bolster U.S. resources for its national and

economic security, a stated goal of the Trump Administration.

[09:15:00]

And here in Saudi Arabia, the Arab world's largest economy, there is an estimated $2.5 trillion of untapped wealth underneath the ground, including

what is to be believed to be the fourth largest reserve of rare earth elements in the Jabal Sayid mountain a market China currently dominates.

Well geological surveys also point to millions of tons of gold, of copper, of zinc, of lithium, and more. The kingdom looking to its mineral wealth to

diversify from oil and petrochemicals, and wants to quadruple the size of the sector by 2030. And the man leading that charge and ideally positioned

to discuss this is Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef, who's the Saudi industry, sorry, Saudi Arabia's Industry and Mineral Resource Minister.

It's good to have you. It's been fascinating to be here. I mean, the platform and the initiative, bringing together, sort of a cross section of

the ecosystem that is the global supply chain for critical minerals. And the kingdom set on redefining the global mineral and mining map.

The ambition is huge as a major player, both domestically and with partners around the world in the global minerals supply chain. A year ago, you said

here that progress wasn't sufficient to match that ambition. A year on, is that still the case? I mean, where are the priorities?

BANDAR BIN IBRAHIM AL-KHORAYEF, SAUDI ARABIAN INDUSTRY AND MINERAL RESOURCE MINISTER: Thank you, Becky. It's really great to be here, and thanks also

for your presence with us here. I mean, the ambitions are really, huge. We started this whole event as an event to support our overall strategy of

mining and minerals, but it was very, very at an early stage, we understood that this could become much bigger than just Saudi and we are happy to see

it in five years, become what it is today. It is --

ANDERSON: -- Davos of mining and minerals.

AL-KHORAYEF: Yeah. Well, I think that the mining sector and minerals, specifically in the future of minerals, deserve to have such kind of level

of event that all stakeholders really should come and address the challenges, but also look at the opportunities.

ANDERSON: Let's talk about the domestic story here, and then we'll talk about the sort of global partnerships and collaboration that we see the

kingdom developing around the world. Just briefly, give me a steer on where the domestic story is at present.

AL-KHORAYEF: Domestic story is really very positive. We are very overwhelmed with interest globally. I just met with the Canadian

representative, and when I looked at the data, I realized that the one of the most active players in the rounds that we have offered was Canadian

companies. There is a lot of also international players. So --

ANDERSON: -- inward investment. Yeah.

AL-KHORAYEF: Inward investments in exploration, actually, the fact that number you talked about the 2.5 trillion was a result of efforts made by

the government through the Saudi geological survey. But a lot were coming also from private sector data that we have collected from private sector.

So, the momentum is great, and we are actually starting to see good results. The discussion that we have had with international players when

they first came to the Future Minerals Forum. We learned, you know, great deal of things that we need to adapt to. I would just do two examples of

things that we have been able to react to the market.

One is the large players said, you know what? We are not in the exploration phase. We don't do a lot of exploration. We need other junior players to do

that, and they will come later. This led us to create a program for junior explorers, which we launched last year, actually in the Future Minerals

Forum, with a budget of almost $180 million to help the small and medium explorers come to the market.

The second example is the size of the areas that we were offering, everyone said, you know, these sizes are not big enough. And we actually worked very

hard to change the regulation, and we now have -- are able to offer much bigger plots of lands for exploration, for --

ANDERSON: Let's talk rare earth elements, the refining of which is very much dominated by the Chinese at present. And these are things in

everything that we do and use going forward, and particularly for the defense industry, particularly for F-35s, precision munitions, very, very

important to the U.S. as it identifies and tries to dominate this supply chain for national and economic security.

[09:20:00]

We signed a deal with the Pentagon to construct a rare earths refinery here in the kingdom. Also signed a strategic framework with the United States

during the Crown Prince's recent trip to Washington. I wonder how the kingdom is positioning itself between American strategic interests and

Chinese dominance over the sort of scope of this industry.

AL-KHORAYEF: Oh, that's a good question. I think I need to really clarify the dominant is really in the commercial activities. So, we talk about

technology. Technologies are available one way or another. There's a lot of research being done. There's a lot of ideas. The challenge is the economics

behind it. So, the Chinese players have been able to start at a much earlier stage where they became more and more economically, very, very

competitive.

But the technology is available, and this is what we have realized. And this is what Maaden, for example, with Barrick in their Jabal Sayid

deposits, started to look at different options of technologies where we identified a company on the U.S., which ended up actually being a target

for the Ministry of Defense or Ministry of War, Department of War, where they have actually invested in that company offered an off-take agreement

and the flooring.

So, when you bring this package, then the technology becomes more and more competitive, and can be -- the projects can actually come to light.

ANDERSON: Critical minerals, rare earths increasingly central to geopolitics on an almost daily basis. We see Donald Trump's resource driven

foreign policy playing out in real time, whether that be Venezuela, the wider Americas, Ukraine, the DRC, Greenland, the geopolitical gambits are

clearly with intention, and all lead back to China.

Will supplier countries, you will be one of those, but you form a much broader part of the supply chain, but will supplier countries that we see,

some suggest being sort of strong, armed by the Trump Administration at this point? Will they be forced to take sides, do you think? And what does

that mean for geopolitics and global tension going forward?

AL-KHORAYEF: I think the attention is already there, I think, but people are very practical. Saudi is a country that has been very neutral. I mean,

the fact that we are bringing in more than 100 countries.

ANDERSON: Including China and Russia here, I mean this is the forum --

AL-KHORAYEF: Including China and Russia, yeah. And the U.S. and everybody is here. I think it's the underlying message that we are trying to bring is

collaboration is key. Nobody can do anything alone. When we look at the value chain, regardless if it is a very advanced value chain in technology

or defense or very basic value chain, you will need multiple players to make things more accessible to their global needs.

ANDERSON: A McKinsey Report, which was released here at the forum, shows a decline in the value of mining deals in Africa over the last five years. At

the same time, this report highlighting that we've seen a tripling of deals in Latin America that decline in investment in Africa, as I understand it,

is very much about risk perception.

Capital hates risk. We've been talking here, and I've run a number of panels here about mobilizing capital for what is an under invested industry

in mining and minerals. Africa sits on huge reserves of lithium, of cobalt, of copper, all massively important as transition minerals going forward.

How can Saudi help, and what's being done to unlock that capital? Where do you see the kind of blockages in the pipes, as it were, to ensure that

these countries are getting the sort of investment they need to economically empower themselves.

AL-KHORAYEF: Well, Saudi took a very aggressive approach since the beginning, from the early days of the Future Minerals Forum, we made it

clear without Africa, there is no energy transition. We need to be working very hard as a global community to help Africa bring up its resources, and

this is what we have been doing.

I think today, seeing the world bank actually accommodating this direction and actually being part creating its own mining strategy is key, which they

talked about yesterday, and one of the pillars is actually mobilizing investments.

[09:25:00]

Of course, it's not going to be done just with the World Bank, but with more investments coming from, you know, investment banking and so on. But

without that political drive, I think for Saudi for example, joining with other countries like U.S. or some European countries, definitely it will

bring to Africa more endorsement in terms of the risk profile.

ANDERSON: So going forward, in the future, 2030, plus, plus, post, post. Well, in the past, we've talked about Saudi and its oil diplomacy, will we

be talking about Saudi and its minerals diplomacy? Do you see, is it? Is it that intrinsic are minerals and mining that intrinsic to the Saudi economy

today and going forward?

And which mineral or metal or element is it that you believe we'll be talking about when we think about the kingdom going forward?

AL-KHORAYEF: Well, I will quote, Prince, His Royal Highness, bin Abdulaziz Salman, our energy minister. And he said, in our last version of the Future

Minerals Forum, he said we used to talk in the past about energy security. The future is going to be talking about mineral security.

It's definitely going to be at the spotlight, and therefore we are ready to make sure that we are contributing in the right way. Definitely, minerals

are used in a wide range of products. I mean data centers alone, and AI is just, you know, few years back, even when we started the Future Minerals

Forum, we were only talking about energy transition.

Now we are talking about AI and data center. And these are huge consumers of minerals.

ANDERSON: You have a huge responsibility -- I've been tracking your success. You don't get scared. And it's going to be fascinating to see the

development here. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.

AL-KHORAYEF: Thank you --

ANDERSON: Well, gold prices, talking about precious metals, gold prices rallying today, and are a big focus here in Riyadh. Next, I want to speak

with the World Gold Council on what's moving this precious metal. More on that, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. We're here at the Future Minerals Forum. You're watching "Connect the World". And

I want to get you to Wall Street now, where the U.S. trading day is set to begin.

[09:30:00]

Black Spade Acquisition bringing the opening bell there in New York today. And we will let these markets settle as that bell gets rung, and we will

see how stocks are getting on at the open. We're excited. I don't know who it is from Black Spade. I think we need to find out.

Very excited ringer of the bell there on Wall Street today. All right, let's bring up the market for you in the DOW JONES of about an eighth of 1

percent very little movement. They're still below what will be a key psychological level of 50,000 just above that 49,000 level.

It's been higher, of course, this isn't a record high at this point. Let's take a look at the gold price for you. We have seen gold inching up in this

the year of 2026, mirroring its actions, certainly in the first quarter of 2025, up nearly 1 percent today at 4640 spots to zero.

The precious metal kicking off the week strong, climbing above 46,000 you can see that, sorry, 46,000 when it gets to that level, people will be

rich. 4600 now that is a new record. Much of that came after the U.S. Justice Department launched a probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome

Powell, which somewhat rattled the markets, not as not as damaging to the stock markets, as some had feared.

But certainly, rattling investors sufficiently to get that price higher. Here at the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, gold very much in the

spotlight with the current geopolitical and economic uncertainty, investors, of course, will be looking for some stability. China added

steadily to its reserves.

Russia leaned on it to offset western sanctions, of course, and across the Middle East and the global South, governments stockpiling, in part,

shielding themselves from dollar dominance. Well, those are some of the reasons for movements. Let's discuss this. David Tait is here with me.

He's the CEO for the World Gold Council. It's good to see you here. Precious metals in amongst those critical minerals and rare earth elements,

at what is a really impressive gathering here. 2025 was a great year for gold, hitting record highs.

We're seeing that push continue, of course, has the move higher been driven ultimately by the sort of usual suspects, rates the dollar, Trump's

economic policies and the uncertainty that's created? Or are there real structural factors here at play that we should discuss?

DAVID TAIT, CEO OF WORLD GOLD COUNCIL: There are a variety of reasons why the gold has gone higher, and it deserves some explanation. Everyone will

refer to Central Bank buying, and that has been roughly 1000 tons over the last three years. That has been a major driver.

And I'll come back to why in a second, there have been the normal geopolitical stories that you see. You've seen Trump, you've seen tariffs,

you've seen the wars, various wars and conflicts. They come and they go, but they're all part of that mix. I would not say they're a primary driver,

despite people's perception that gold is driven by them.

You've got the reforms that we have been conducting in the institutional markets to make gold more accessible to many of the fund managers around

the world, which I think is having an effect. Many people have been prohibited from trading gold because it's quite an expensive from a capital

perspective, asset to trade.

But that's falling away. We've also got a few reforms. China has de regulated its insurance market over the last year, so they are starting to

invest in gold for the very first time, and that's a $5 trillion market just beginning. You've got the Japanese passing down a ton of money from

old people to young people, and confronted with inflation and geopolitical risk for the first time in 30 years.

And you've got the Indian market plowing this money into gold. ETFs 23 have opened in the last year. But the main reason, is a fear of debt spiral. And

I believe it's very, very strongly the fact that, as you may have noticed, last April, when Mr. Trump introduced his tariffs, the entire U.S. yield

curve jumped up 2 to 30s all jumped.

And at that moment, I believe the administration, or at least the finance orientated administration, realized that their likelihood of entering a

debt spiral where you can't afford the interest on the interest on the interest and it runs away, was right before their eyes. So that's why I

believe you got an intervention that steepened it and gave them options again.

[09:35:00]

And I think it's that inherent fear that has driven much of the buying including the central bank buying.

ANDERSON: Let's talk about the central bank buying. You said you wanted to come back to that.

TAIT: Yeah, it's central banks have been predominantly buying east of Dubai. Put it that way, the major central banks have accumulated a lot over

the years. So, it's been the developing central banks predominantly have been doing this. They've been doing it for a variety of reasons.

Some you could say FOMO, looking at the big guys and saying, well, they've got it. I've got to have it sort of belief. And the others who run it, much

like you or I would run your own personal account. OK, I need a diversifier. I need something that's going to be -- keep me safe, that I

can anchor my currency.

Many of these developing nations have obviously suffered through devaluations in their currencies, volatility in their currencies, bouts of

inflation, bouts of unsettledness in their economy or their geopolitical landscape. And so, they have been adding to those reserves to give them

that stability.

Do I expect them to continue? Yes, do they chase the price? No. They tend to be more patient and sit underneath it. But I do think, sorry, I do think

it's going to proceed.

ANDERSON: Yeah, I'm not going to ask for investment advice, per se, because that's not what we do on CNN and on this show. But if you had a forecast

for back end of this year, what would it be?

TAIT: It would definitely be higher. To be honest. It amuses me a little bit that you get some of the -- and I come from investment banking. So, I

qualify that, the investment banking economists predicting when the gold price is trading.

ANDERSON: 4600.

TAIT: 4600.

ANDERSON: Yeah.

TAIT: By Christmas, it might be 4800. Wow, it's going to be higher. It could be a lot higher, given the percentage gains at the moment.

ANDERSON: Yeah.

TAIT: I see only one scenario where it might -- people might temper their enthusiasm.

ANDERSON: What would that scenario be?

TAIT; If Mr. Trump, as I believe they are doing, forcing interest rates down, to force high levels of growth, tolerating a decent level inflation,

to inflate away the debt. If he manages that, and he manages to project the long-term sovereign debt coming off from the 27 trillion in --

ANDERSON: It's interesting.

TAIT: That might be an interesting scenario.

ANDERSON: Key focus here at the forum is also mining and production, of course. Can gold mining production keep up with demand? And where do you

see the sweet spots around the world?

TAIT: Yes, I do believe it can keep up. I think with this gold price going up, the more opportunities are making themselves obvious. Up until the I

say, three years ago, many of the gold miners were looking at closing the very deep pits because they were uneconomic. Now, more opportunities that

are presenting themselves.

You're seeing a swathe of investment into the industry. I'm hoping that the investment really does support the industry going forward, that it's not

squandered. This is an enormous -- and I do believe the sweet spot is now.

ANDERSON: We've seen in the past, you know, the exploitation of or the exploration, the mining of an asset like gold in country, the value and the

exploitation of that taken out of country, and it doesn't get reinvested. The communities in those countries don't get to see the sort of value and

profit and sustainable sort of an equitable growth opportunities that they might.

Do you see that changing going forward, where these opportunities exist in these emerging economies?

TAIT: Yes. I do nearly 95 percent of all employees at least the World Gold Council members are 31 in our association. 95 percent of the people

employed in country are locals. Enormous amounts of 66 billion gets plowed back into those economy economies over the last year -- over last year.

And I think just short of a billion dollars goes directly to the services that people on the ground. I've literally, just in case I ever got asked

this, of course, I've traveled extensively to go and see these the plowing back into these communities. We are making an enormous push.

My members do make an enormous push to invest back into those communities. And it's a license to operate. They need to do this. They will do it, and

have been doing it. The thing I'm trying to address at the moment and my membership addressing, is the flow of illicit gold emanating from artisanal

and small-scale gold mining that flow is sponsoring wars.

And I'm working with G7 governments, U.S., Canada, France and the UK, to try and get this on the G7 agenda. It's incredibly important. We're working

on a pilot with the Ghanaian government as well at the moment. It's worth noting that the Ghanaian governments, as an example, are terrified of what

a higher gold price will do to them, even though they're the largest producer in Africa.

Why? Because 65 to 75 percent of their water course is already polluted. If the gold price goes to -- $10,000 they simply put not many people will be

left not digging.

[09:40:00]

And so, the exponential decline in what remains of their water course will be accelerated.

ANDERSON: What's the reticence by G7 in not getting this on to the agenda, or what's residence been in the past?

TAIT: It's -- would you, I mean this in a polite way, largely, most people do not understand even what artisanal mining is. Most recently, the UK

government has woken up to the illicit flows of gold, sponsoring wars. Mr. Putin as an example. But many people don't understand the complexities, or

in the ground problems or on the ground problems.

But most recently, I've noticed G7 and let's say G20 governments have become aligned on this flow of gold. One -- G20, because it's in their

countries, and the problems, G7 because they want to stop wars. And I'm trying to get in front of them to try and make this case.

ANDERSON: Fascinating. It's good to have you here. Enjoy --

TAIT: -- Thank you very much.

ANDERSON: See you. Have you back on. Top diplomats from Denmark and Greenland are due at the White House next hour. As Donald Trump presses on

with his campaign to acquire Greenland. Will get you bang up to speed on that, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Welcome back. I'm Christina Macfarlane in London, where we are following developments in

Thailand this hour, where at least 32 people have been killed after a construction crane collapsed north of Bangkok, hitting a moving train and

causing it to derail. Kristie Lu Stout has the details.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Disaster struck Wednesday morning in northeastern Thailand when a crane collapse derailed a train, taking lives

and injuring scores of people, and this is the aftermath. Footage from the scene show carriages overturned next to the tracks with smoke from the

train cars pouring out.

Emergency workers clamor over the debris to search through the damaged train cars, but had to pull back when the crane started shifting. The train

was traveling from the Thai capital of Bangkok to the Province of Ubon Ratchathani. It was derailed after a construction crane fell onto its

carriages, causing multiple casualties.

The Thai Transport Minister says that there were 195 passengers on board, and those killed were in two of the three carriages hit by the crane, and

when the crane collapsed, it was working on an elevated, high speed rail project. It's one of several under construction in Thailand.

A full investigation has been ordered and is under way as the community searches for answers, as well as the remains of their loved ones. Kristie

Lu Stout, CNN.

MACFARLANE: Donald Trump is pushing back on the notion that his campaign to obtain Greenland for the United States threatens the existence of NATO. The

U.S. President, making an early morning post on truth social today saying quote, NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the

hands of the United States anything less than that is unacceptable.

[09:45:00]

He argues that if the U.S. doesn't take Greenland, Russia or China will. Well President Trump's two cents coming as the Foreign Ministers of Denmark

and Greenland prepare to head to the White House to meet with U.S. Vice President and Secretary of State, that is set to begin less than an hour

from now.

Greenland's Prime Minister also signing off before that meeting, making his position clear once again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENS-FREDERIK NIELSEN, GREENLAND PRIME MINISTER: Greenland will not be a part of the USA. We choose the Greenland we know today, which is part of

the Kingdom of Denmark. Now we are faced with a geopolitical crisis, and if we have to choose between the USA and Denmark here and now, we choose

Denmark. We choose NATO. We choose the Kingdom of Denmark, and we choose the EU.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well, in a new sign of the level of strain this showdown is causing, Denmark's Defense Ministry and the government of Greenland

announced today that there would be an increased military presence in and around the island, citing security tensions.

CNN has learned Venezuela has freed at least four Americans who were imprisoned there. It's the first known release of Americans from Venezuela

in custody since the interim government led by Delcy Rodriguez began freeing dozens of detainees. The move comes as part of an effort to meet

demands from the Trump Administration, which is calling for the release of all political prisoners following the capture of ousted President Nicolas

Maduro.

Well, the Maduro regime had a long history of detaining Americans to be used for political leverage with the U.S. government, but a Human Rights

Group says progress remains limited. Just 56 detainees freed so far out of more than 800 still being held. Stay with us. More news strikes after the

break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: Now we told you earlier this hour about the nearly week-long internet blackout in Iran, and word today from state media that it could

last up to two more weeks. It's made getting information from Iran very difficult, and as Bijan Hosseini tells us, the blackout has spawned a high

stakes technology battle involving the regime and Iranians trying to get their stories out to the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BIJAN HOSSEINI, CNN CREATOR (voice-over): Iran is experiencing one of the most severe internet shutdowns we have ever seen.

HOSSEINI: Independent monitoring groups like net block show that Iran's connectivity dropped significantly on January 8th, effectively cutting some

90 million people off from the outside world.

ALP TOKER, DIRECTOR OF NETBLOCKS: In Iran, we've seen that internet connectivity has been disrupted and services really highly limited. There's

a baseline of connectivity around 1 percent of ordinary levels that we've tracked before.

HOSSEINI: What is that 1 percent?

TOKER: We understand that authorities have reserved an amount of connectivity for their own uses. This might be to track what's happening

externally outside the country, or to publish posts and online content to tell their version of events to the outside world.

HOSSEINI: This isn't the first time that Iran has shut down their internet. But experts say this time around is a lot more sophisticated.

TOKER: So, it's amongst the most severe internet disruptions we've tracked around the world. If we look at 2019, we see that, you know, the capability

is there, the ability to switch off networks.

[09:50:00]

But we saw that this was quite a manual process. Basically, a central authority picking up the phone, instructing individual operators to switch

off service. And then fast forward to 2025, during the Israel-Iran war, and you now see near total automation of the process. So, this is the gateway,

really automating the process of switching off the network, and it's almost an instantaneous process at that point.

HOSSEINI: Toker says in the past, many Iranians were able to get around these restrictions using software like VPNs or even driving to the borders

to connect to neighboring countries cell towers. He added that those methods no longer work reliably as government censorship has evolved and

monitoring has become increasingly dangerous.

So, some people have placed their hope in satellite internet terminals, like Elon Musk's Starlink, which can bypass local telecom networks. But

even when satellite signals are available, accessing from the ground still remains the biggest challenge.

AMIR RASHIDI, MAAN GROUP: Using a Starlink itself is not a difficult thing to do, it's just, you have a satellite, you're putting it, you connect some

cable and push some buttons, and that's it. The problem is you need to have that device in a country like Iran, this is not something that you can go

to the market and easily purchase.

We're talking about the authoritarian country. In this context, even purchasing this kind of technology is a big challenge, is a huge challenge.

There is market, black market, but again, it's difficult, plus it's very expensive. So, you can imagine how much money a family or a group of people

need to pay for the device and also to pay for the subscription.

HOSSEINI: On January 13th, Starlink began extending free access for users in Iran. And experts tell CNN that they believe there may be some 50,000

Starlink receivers in the country, but using Starlink can be incredibly risky, as terminals can be detected and users can be identified if

protection methods fail.

Experts also say there's evidence to show that Iran is disrupting the satellite connection itself. It's something that we've never seen this

regime do in the past.

TOKER: There have been clear attempts to jam connectivity styling terminals, and we've also seen this during the Ukraine -- Russia's war in

Ukraine. So, it very much looks like a transplant of the same type of jamming technology. It looks at the same level of sophistication, possibly

indicating information sharing between Russia and Iran.

HOSSEINI: One hopeful technology that could help the people of Iran circumvent government restrictions is direct to sell, which means users

could bypass the hardware terminals on the ground and connect their mobiles directly to the satellites.

TOKER: Direct self-satellite technology is a very compelling technology. This is the great idea, the dream of internet freedom, that you could beam

internet into a country. People's phones will light up, and they will be able to communicate and restore democracy in that country.

Now, it's not quite there yet. This needs a new generation of satellites. These satellites are much bigger than the previous generation of Starlink

satellites. Nevertheless, some of them are in orbit and have been trialed are in use. But I think it's fairly clear that these satellites, aren't in

the right orbit right now to supply that to Iran. So, switching Iran is not necessarily capability that exists right now.

HOSSEINI: It is worth mentioning that none of these options replace a fully functioning internet, and they all carry serious risk. We don't know when

or if internet access will be restored in Iran. But as the country remains dark, one thing is clear, silence is being imposed at a time when people

are trying to be heard.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: All right, let's get you up to speed on some other stories that are on our radar right now. We're watching for rulings from the U.S.

Supreme Court on several major cases. Among them, the legality of President Trump's use of emergency powers to impose tariffs.

The supreme court is expected to unveil decisions next hour. Venezuelan officials, including Acting President Delcy Rodriguez, have suddenly

returned to X, signaling a reversal on Nicolas Maduro's nationwide ban on the platform. Maduro blocked the site in 2024 after a clash with owner Elon

Musk.

Maduro called the move temporary, but access never returned. Saks global, the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue, has filed for bankruptcy

protection. The luxury retailer has struggled with a heavy debt load since it brought out a rival, Neiman Marcus for $2.65 billion in 2024.

Uncertainty in the U.S. economy and shoppers, disillusionment with the luxury market have also hurt the company. Well finally this hour, new data

shows 2025 was the third hottest year on record.

[09:55:00]

That news coming as Copernicus, the European service that monitors climate change released its final climate data for last year. We're also learning

that last 11 years have been the warmest on record, with the past three years being the worst as average temperatures exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius.

That was the temperature limit set by the Paris Climate Agreement to prevent the climate crisis from worsening, and that is it. I'm Christina

Macfarlane in London. Stay with us. The second hour of "Connect the World" is just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END