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Connect the World
Nobel Prize Winner Machado Visits Trump at White House; Iranian FM & Trump Claim Executions Are Not Taking Place; Calls for Calm in Minneapolis After New I.C.E.-Related Shooting; Trump Says He Spoke with Venezuela's Acting President; Ugandans Cast Vote in Crucial Presidential Rematch. Aired 9-9:45a ET
Aired January 15, 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)
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Venezuelan Opposition Leader Maria Corina Machado is meeting with President Trump at the White
House in a few hours. It is 09:00 a.m. in Washington. It's 02:00 p.m. in London. I'm Christina Macfarlane, and this is "Connect the World".
Also coming up anxious hours in Iran. People there, brace for U.S. military action. But is the U.S. President showing signs of backing off. Four
astronauts are back on Earth this morning. So, what prompted an early end to their mission? And we are live in Saudi Arabia at the Future Minerals
Forum, where the global competition for rare earths is the focus.
And we're going to take a quick look at the stock market, which opens in New York in about 30 minutes from now. A bit of a mixed picture, but mostly
a higher start, as investors are waiting for another batch of earnings report. So, we'll bring that to you in about half an hour's time.
But we start with what appears to be a calm a day in Iran. The government there reopening airspace after claims from both Iran's Foreign Minister and
U.S. President Donald Trump that executions of protesters are not taking place. The most prominent case 26-year-old, Erfan Soltani, who the U.S.
State Department was due to be hanged on Wednesday.
His family says he's still alive, but also says to their knowledge, he's still due to be executed. It's difficult to get any information out of Iran
with the internet blackout, which is there now one week old, but U.S. based Rights Group reports security forces have killed 2400 protesters.
And we've of course, been seeing disturbing images of relatives looking through body bags to identify their loved ones. Iran's Foreign Minister
appeared on Fox News Wednesday and disputed western media accounts of the death toll.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: The exact figure would be announced very soon, perhaps tonight, by our authorities.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're saying less than 1000 people?
ARAGHCHI: No, no, hundreds of people. I certainly deny the numbers and figures they have said. It is an exaggeration, it is a misinformation
campaign, only to find excuses to do another aggression against Iran.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well despite what appears to be a calmer day, President Trump hasn't ruled out military action on Iran, yet. Paula Hancocks is joining me
with all of the latest from Abu Dhabi. So, Paula, let's just dig a bit more into what President Trump is saying about the execution of Erfan Soltani,
not happening in Iran now. And what that means going forward?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christina, what we've been hearing from the U.S. President is that he's been told there will be no more
killings. He's been told that there will not be an execution. We've just had another post in the last few minutes on Truth Social as well, quoting
Fox News, talking about the fact the execution isn't going to go ahead because of President Trump's warnings.
He says, quote, this is good news. Hopefully it will continue. So, on the face of it, it could be read as further along the road of the off ramp that
there may not be military intervention. But of course, take yourself back to June, when there was tension between Iran and the U.S.
We did hear the U.S. President saying that he would decide within two weeks whether or not to carry out military strikes on the nuclear facilities in
Iran, and then just a couple of days later, those strikes took place. So, we still don't know. He has said that all options are on the table.
He has said that we will watch and see so that military intervention has not been taken off the table. At this point, we understand from people
familiar with the situation that is, national security advisers are fairly split on what should be done. So, everything is really up in the air at
this point.
We have been seeing though Iranian officials trying to control the narrative, as you mentioned there, the foreign minister saying that the
death toll is far less than the death toll that we are being told by Human Rights Groups. It is undeniable, though, that we are receiving horrific
images out of Iran of countless body bags of people having been killed in the street, but the Iranian officials are trying to control the narrative.
[09:05:00]
We're also hearing from the head of the judiciary talking about that 26- year-old Soltani, who was due to be executed on January 14th and was not saying that he was never sentenced to death. In fact, he was just his
punishment was going to be imprisonment. So, at this point, it is difficult to ascertain exactly where this appears to be going.
Anecdotally, we are hearing on the ground that protests have decreased. But of course, it is extremely difficult to get real time information out of
Iran, as that internet blackout is still ongoing, Christina.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, well, we will, of course, continue to keep across it. Paula, thank you for now. Minneapolis is calling for calm after another
shooting involved a federal immigration agent that sparked protests. U.S. Homeland Security says an I.C.E. agent shot a man in the leg for allegedly
resisting arrest and assaulting the officer.
Minneapolis officials say the man was taken to the hospital with non-life- threatening injuries. Demonstrators faced off against law enforcement after this latest shooting. Minneapolis has already been rocked by the deadly
shooting of Renee Good last week by a federal agent.
And CNN has been speaking with Minneapolis residents. Here's how one woman describes the fear and uncertainty she feels amid the recent events.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From my house, like where I live in my apartment, they come in without warrants, without official anything. They just come in and
barge into people's houses, gun armed up, with no one being spoke to or anything masked up. This is kidnapping, and everything above that is not
OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What does it feel like, you know when you wake up in the morning? Are you scared? Are you anxious?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am very scared. I'm worried that I'm not even able to go to school and feel safe, and just walking outside my building or even
walking outside my front door before heading outside the building is very scary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, in just a few hours from now, President Trump will meet with Venezuelan Opposition Leader Maria Corina Machado at the White House.
The high stakes talk comes a day after Mr. Trump held what he describes as a long call with Venezuela's Acting President Delcy Rodriguez, the first
time he said he's ever spoken with her.
Meanwhile, we're expecting to hear from Rodriguez later today, when she delivers a State of the Nation speech. All of this, as the Trump
Administration officials say, the U.S. has officially started selling Venezuelan oil. CNN's Alayna Treene is covering all angles for us from the
White House today.
And Alayna, the president has had a busy week, of course, keeping one eye on Iran whilst also focusing on Venezuela. And the meeting with Machado is
going to be very interesting today.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: It absolutely will be. It a very big moment, not only for Machado, of course, and the people of Venezuela,
but for the president and his team as well. I'd remind you that there was a lot of people who were taken aback and surprised, including many
Republicans, in addition to Democrats on Capitol Hill.
For example, when the president the day that the operation to capture Nicolas Maduro and the strikes in Caracas had happened and been carried out
just hours later during a press conference in Florida. President Trump kind of dismissed this idea of having Maria Corina Machado, the opposition
leader, potentially be the one to go in and try to lead the people of Venezuela.
He essentially said that he wasn't sure if she was respected enough or would receive enough support from the Venezuelan people to be an effective
leader. And I should note that's despite her previously having won the election in Venezuela and multiple polls showing that she's very popular
and continues to be there.
So, this is going to be a big moment. Now, I will say, in the lead up, in all of the discussions in the lead up to that operation, in earlier this
month. The president's team and the administration had been working closely with Machado. However, Machado had told Fox News recently that the last
time she had actually spoken directly with President Trump was not since back in October.
So, it's been months since they've had some serious negotiations. So, what we are told is that the president and her going to be meeting over lunch
today here at the White House. I would remind you as well that Machado received the Nobel Peace Prize in the 2025 prize, something that, of
course, was something that Trump had openly coveted, and has openly coveted for years now.
She had actually mentioned as well that she, you know, not only had dedicated that prize to President Trump, but that she was thinking of
bringing it to the White House today, potentially giving it to him. I should note that, that is against the rules of the Nobel Committee.
Trump, in response, had said that he would be honored at such a gesture. All to say that's just one element of what we might be looking for today,
but what's going to be very much important is how involved Machado is in some of these discussions. It does appear that she was pretty much left out
of a lot of the discussions in the lead up to that operation.
[09:10:00]
And now as they look for the next steps of what the future of Venezuela is going to look like, Machado is obviously going to be a very important
person. I do want to reiterate what you brought up, though, Christina, this idea that, or the fact that the president had a conversation with
Venezuela's now Interim Acting President Delcy Rodriguez.
We have to be very careful to note that, of course, she is a Maduro loyal as she was Maduro's Vice President. And so, he said that he they had a
great conversation. Trump called her a terrific person. It's very interesting to see how the administration is going to navigate all of this.
We know that their strategy as of now is to try and kind of coerce cooperation with Rodriguez and the interim government there, but in the
future, they do want to see a democratic process, open and free and fair elections in Venezuela. Machado will likely be a very big part of that.
And so, this conversation will be a very important moment to see what the future of, you know, what Venezuela is going to look like and what the
government could potentially look like in the future down the line.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, these two leaders very much vying for the president's attention. It seems at the moment, we will, of course, keep close eyes on
today's event. Alayna, thank you. Our crucial presidential rematch in Uganda today between singer turned politician Bobi Wine and the country's
current leader, who aims to prolong his nearly 40-year rule.
Long time President Museveni took a landslide victory in their previous encounter at the polls in 2021 but wine claimed they were rigged. Let's
stay on the story of CNN's Larry Madowo in neighboring Kenya, who has been following this for some time. Larry, there were, I believe, some long
queues and widespread delays today, has voting now closed?
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Voting should have closed in the last hour, but the Electoral Commission in Uganda said anybody who was in line
by 04:00 p.m. would be allowed to continue voting. This is after some major delays and huge technological problems with what are known as BV case in
Uganda that is biometric voter verification kits.
These were imported at the cost of hundreds of millions of dollars to make sure that there's no rigging, there's no ballot stuffing, but many of them
have failed today. The Electoral Commission blamed on technical glitches, and said they were working to fix them, but in the meantime, allowing
electoral officials to identify voters from the manual voter's role and allow them to vote.
The Opposition Leader Bobi Wine says this is a problem because it will allow the government, the military, the police, the security system, to
allow the government to essentially help the government ballot stuff and rig the vote. He says the last vote in 2021 was rigged, and he's afraid
that this might happen again this time.
Interestingly, President Museveni voting today also raised concerns about the failure of this biometric voter verification kits, and said he would be
looking to why that happened. Was it deliberate? Because President Museveni also claims that in 2021 Bobi Wine and the opposition stole votes that they
ballot staff in parts of the country.
MACFARLANE: So, what are the expectations then, do we think? Can we expect a different outcome from 2021 given this is a rematch, essentially.
MADOWO: It is a rematch between the president of the pop star and President Museveni is widely expected to win this vote. And Bobi Wine told CNN this
week that if President Museveni rigs this election, like all the science points to him doing that Ugandans must resist, they must rise up and demand
the victory.
And he repeated these comments today after voting, raising concern about the environment here, for instance, the internet was shut down, and that
raises major concerns about accountability and transparency in this election, Human Rights Groups, the opposition have called this a sign of a
repressive regime.
Again, this happened in 2021 but this time, the Uganda Communications Commission ordered the internet shut two days before the election,
ostensibly to avoid the spread of disinformation and misinformation fake news, to avoid any kind of calls to incitement to violence and avoid
electoral fraud. But many people are not reading it like that, Christina.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, well, Larry, we appreciate your, reporting. Of course, we're going to follow it, see where it goes for now. Thank you. Still to
come, NASA just carried out its first ever medical evacuation from the International Space Station. We'll take a look at this unique mission, and
check in on the crew member in question. Plus, Eleni Giokos joins us from Saudi Arabia.
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, and we're seeing a scramble for resources, where countries are desperately trying to secure access to critical
minerals and supply chains. Right after the break, we'll be speaking to Dominic Raab, the Former British Deputy Prime Minister and a lot more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:15:00]
MACFARLANE: Four crew members aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule are back on Earth after NASA's first ever medical evacuation from the International
Space Station. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Splashdown of crew 11 after 167 days in space, Dragon and NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Kimiya Yui of JAXA and
Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov are back on Earth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, the capsules flashed down in the Pacific Ocean earlier today, just off the Coast of San Diego. NASA isn't releasing details of the
health issue that prompted the crew to return ahead of schedule, but all of them have now emerged from that capsule and are being assessed at a
hospital onshore.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JARED ISAACMAN, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: The crew member of concern is doing fine. We will share updates on their health as soon as it's appropriate to
do so. Over the past five months aboard the International Space Station Crew-11 completed a series of demanding and productive mission objectives.
The crew spent more than 850 hours on scientific studies, including research on bone loss and microgravity and the long-term storage of
cryogenic fluids in space with direct applications in medical and industrial fields.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, for more on this, let's bring in Cosmologist and NASA Advisor, Paul Sutter. Paul, great to see you. I feel like this is slightly
shrouded in mystery for those of us on Earth who don't quite understand what would have prompted such a return to Earth.
So, can you explain perhaps, how you think the astronaut in question is feeling having experienced this health issue and why you think NASA will
you know, will they ever reveal what the problem was?
PAUL SUTTER, NASA ADVISER: Actually, don't suspect NASA will ever reveal. Of course, the astronaut in question has freedom to reveal their own
medical diagnoses, but just like on Earth, we have laws protecting our medical privacy, and those laws extend to orbit, and so NASA, as an
official policy, is never going to release these details.
And so, it's not the privacy or the secrecy isn't meant to, like, stir up controversy, or it's just someone had a medical event, and they have the
right to disclosing their own medical information, and that right is not given to anyone else. But what I suspect they're feeling is a large mix of
emotions.
One, I hope they have a swift and speedy recovery, and I bet they're hoping for that too. I think they're glad to be back on Earth where they can get
the medical attention that they need, but their mission was cut short by about six weeks. And as an astronaut, you spend years preparing and
training for one specific mission.
This is an opportunity of a lifetime. Only a few 100 people have ever gone to space, and you get to be one of those lucky few, and to have that
mission cut short, I'm sure it has to cut a little bit.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, definitely mixed emotions. I mean, we heard a little bit about it just then, but can you tell us more about what this SpaceX cruise
mission into space was about, and what they managed to accomplish even with the time cut short?
[09:20:00]
SUTTER: Absolutely so they de part this mission, Crew-11 was part of a regular rotation of crew coming in and out of the International Space
Station. The ISS our space station, which involves many international cooperation and collaborators, has been continuously crude for over two
decades.
This is one of the longest running live human science experiments ever. This is the place where we are putting our first step into space. This is
the place where we are learning how to live and work in space at a long- term capacity. And so, part of that is rotating crew in for six months at a time, nine months at a time, bringing fresh crew in, taking old crew out,
running experiments, maintaining the space station.
So right now, with the departure of Crew-11, there are still three astronauts on board the International Space Station, a skeleton crew, as
you will, that will keep the space station maintained until Crew-12, the next scheduled replacement comes up in later February.
MACFARLANE: Yeah. I mean, this recent medical issue one would imagine is going to become more important as these missions get longer. We know, you
know, Elon Musk has expressed an interest to go to Mars, which is going to be quite a challenge, I'm sure.
But isn't it important to have a medical person, a doctor on board as part of this crew? I was surprised that they didn't actually have it with this
recent crew.
SUTTER: Yeah, the strategy that NASA employs is to diffuse responsibility. So that every crew member has some level of medical training, something
above an EMT, but below, say, an emergency room doctor or nurse. So somewhere in between, plus, there are medical supplies on board, there are
medical equipment on board for diagnoses.
There is a flight surgeon assigned that is on duty 24/7, they rotate in and out at mission control, so they are in constant communication with the
crew. We have to keep in mind this is the most remote human outpost. Even though the space station is only 250 miles above the surface, it is the
most inaccessible place that humans could possibly be at our present time, like so it's hard to send even more equipment, more sophisticated
equipment.
You can't send an MRI machine up to the space station. We certainly, we just don't have that kind of capacity, and we can't reserve an entire slot
just for an on-call doctor. Resources are just too precious here. So, what this is giving us is information. The best possible outcome for me is one,
that all the astronauts lead happy, healthy, natural lives, and two, we now have real world experience.
We've been simulating this, we've been testing this, we've been preparing for scenarios like this. Now we get to operationalize it. Now we get to see
it play out in real time. We get to stress test our procedures. So now we have more information about how to take the next step, about how to live
and work even longer term in space.
MACFARLANE: Yeah. I mean, all of this as well serves to remind us just how brave these astronauts are and why I personally will never be going to
space, personal preference? Paul, we appreciate your analysis, your comments. Thank you.
SUTTER: Thank you so much.
MACFARLANE: OK, let's get you up to speed on some other stories that are on our radar right now. The Trump Administration says phase two of the
ceasefire plan for Gaza is getting underway. That's despite Israeli opposition. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff says the focus is in this
phase is on demilitarization, new governance and reconstruction.
A committee of Palestinian technocrats has been selected to run Gaza until a reformed Palestinian authority can take over. Into Highland, two people
died when a second construction crane collapsed just one day after a crane fell into a moving train, killing at least 32.
Local officials say the Thai building firm, Italian Thai Development PLC, was connected to the construction projects in both instances. Reports from
Ukraine say President Obama Zelensky has declared a state of emergency in the country's energy sector. Waves of Russian strikes, particularly on
Kyiv, have left people without power amid freezing winter weather.
And I want to bring you some breaking news just now. The U.S. has seized another oil tanker in the Caribbean. U.S. Southern Command announced the
seizure of the Veronica on social media. This is the sixth sanctioned oil tanker that the U.S. has boarded and taken control of since early December.
It's part of the U.S. effort to assert control over the flow of oil into and from Venezuela.
[09:25:00]
Well, several NATO countries are planning joint exercises with Denmark, which is responsible for Greenland's defense. This comes as U.S. President
Donald Trump ramps up threats to annex the Arctic territory. Officials from Denmark and Greenland say there's a fundamental disagreement with the Trump
Administration over the future of the island.
That assessment comes after constructive meeting with U.S. Vice President, JD Vance and Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, at the White House on
Wednesday. Well, despite the differences, they plan to keep talking to try and find a way forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARS LOKKE RASMUSSEN, DANISH FOREIGN MINISTER: Here, our perspectives continue to differ, I must say. The president has made his view clear, and
we have a different position. For us ideas that would not respect territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the right of self-
determination of the Greenlandic people are, of course, totally unacceptable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: OK, coming up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN YERGIN, VICE CHAIRMAN OF S&P GLOBAL: There's been almost a panic in Washington about minerals and particularly rare earths.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: A look at how China's control of the critical minerals market is driving policy in Washington.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: Welcome back. I'm Christina Macfarlane in London, and you're watching "Connect the World". These are your headlines this hour. U.S.
President Donald Trump says executions of protesters are not happening Iran. And the Iranian Foreign Minister denies protesters are being put to
death.
President Trump says he wants to wait and see what happens before ruling out threatened military action on Iran. In the coming hours, President
Donald Trump will welcome Venezuelan Opposition Leader Maria Corina Machado to the White House to discuss her country's future following the capture of
Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces.
The meeting comes after Mr. Trump surprised many by allowing Maduro is Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to step up as acting president. U.S. President
Donald Trump warns he might invoke the Insurrection Act, which would put U.S. troops on the ground in Minnesota.
This comes as officials in Minneapolis urge people to stay calm after a man was shot in the leg for allegedly assaulting a federal immigration officer.
The man's injuries are not life threatening. Tear gas and stun grenades were used to control the protests that erupted after Wednesday's shooting.
And I want to take you to the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which is being held at a pretty interesting time in geopolitical
relations. My colleague Eleni Giokos is there.
GIOKOS: It is indeed.
[09:30:00]
Markets in the U.S. are about to open, and of course, a lot of excitement about what we're seeing with regards with critical minerals, it is fueling
the AI race in a very big way. And of course, the S&P 500 has been quite choppy, but reaching that 7000 level. We also have those initial jobless
claims numbers out today.
And there we go, trade just beginning in New York, initial jobless claims coming out, and 198,000 for the month of January, lower than anticipated.
So, another key piece of economic data that could drive the Federal Reserve's decision in terms of interest rates. So, I want to circle back to
one of our top stories of the week, President Trump's threats to bring Greenland under the control of the United States.
So, what does Greenland have that the U.S. wants. The answer is quickly becoming one of the most important international stories of our time, and
yes, it has oil as well as gas, but it also has ends flush with highly sought after minerals. The White House sees those deposits as America's way
to compete with China, which effectively controls the global supply of rare earth metals right now.
And here at the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, Washington's every move is under the microscope.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YERGIN: Certainly, with minerals, it's a scramble. There's almost a panic since last April and Liberation Day in Washington, when they came out with
the tariffs and then the Chinese responded with controls on rare earths. There's been almost a panic in Washington about minerals and particularly
rare earths.
And this scramble is very much caught up in the competition between the United States and China, because China has such a dominant role in mining
and even more so in processing. And this has now become very strategic and has been brought home in a way that just had not been appreciated or
thought about before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: People here in Riyadh are also keeping a close eye on what's unfolding in Iran, and particularly the risk that it poses to countries
right here in the Gulf.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM KRANE, FELLOW OF RICE UNIVERSITY AT BAKER INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY: It's hard to tell where this goes, but if you're sitting on this side of
the Gulf and you're hosting huge events, like the one we're sitting in now, or you're trying to bring foreign investment in, you know, it doesn't look
good, it's not promising.
GIOKOS: Yeah, so, I mean, that's why the region is very worried. It's trying to capitalize on resource story. It's trying to learn investments.
And you're saying that, you know, whatever happens in Iran could impact that narrative.
KRANE: I mean, if it gets bad enough, it could be derailed. I mean, these countries are the war the world's oil storehouse, you know, they're worried
about sort of the, you know, plateauing of oil demand, and eventually oil demand is going to tail off. Oil is going to be less and less important to
these economies in the future.
They need to diversify their economies. There some success in this. The UAE is a pretty diverse economy now. You know, Saudi, Qatar, Oman are making
some progress. Kuwait is way behind. Bahrain, somewhat diversified, but they all need to move beyond oil. I don't think they want to get rid of
oil, but they need other businesses, and to do that, they need political stability.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: All right, my next guest is Dominic Rabb, the Former UK Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary. He's now the Head of Global Affairs
at Appian Capital Advisory. Dominic, great to have you with us.
DOMINIC RABB, FORMER UK DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Great to be here.
GIOKOS: I mean, look, it's been quite a week, hasn't it, and we're going to get into the critical minerals issue in just a moment. But importantly, the
whole region has been on edge with regards to Iran not knowing how this week would end, and it seems that things have de-escalated.
Do you believe that the worst is over, or President Trump is reassessing plans?
RABB: Look, I think the context is we're six months on from the 12-day war, conflict, as it's known with Israelian U.S. air strikes, particularly on
nuclear facilities, but other military facilities in Tehran. The Iranian regime has been convulsed by that certainly weak and although we don't know
quite the extent, and now we've seen these protests bubble up.
I think what the U.S. is trying to do is a combination of encouragement, tacit encouragement to the protesters, the deployment of hard power that
we've seen, but some strategic ambiguity, because it doesn't want to be drawn into what the U.S. calls forever wars. And there's bipartisan support
for that position.
GIOKOS: Right. We started this year of seeing, you know, Maduro being ousted Venezuela on top of the agenda. You've got oil assets there that's
not going to go to the United States, but importantly, a critical mineral rich nation as well, that's going to be very important for the United
States to secure those critical minerals and to pump into the global market.
Well, Venezuela's got all sorts of resources, oil and gas, critical minerals, particularly bauxite and various other minerals, the
infrastructure around those is very under developed, so I wouldn't in the same way as oil and gas. You might see with a more friendly, benign regime,
a rush of investment.
RABB: I'm not quite sure you would expect to see that for the mineral side, also --
[09:35:00]
GIOKOS: -- capital, because you guys invest heavily, and you're in Latin America, would you invest in Venezuela -- political stability?
RABB: Well, I think -- Yeah, I think you need a whole range of conditions. Because what we're -- when we invest, and we look at about 1000 projects
each year, we probably only invest in three to five, and that's because we need all the conditions to be in place.
Now stability, legal, political stability, is obviously very important. I think there is another -- but you're right. Latin America is a hot
jurisdiction right now. It's attracting a lot of investment. We certainly see it as a target jurisdiction going forward. There's also a lot of gold
in Venezuela.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
RABB: And this may well cross the geopolitical lens of the United States, because the Venezuela army inside in hot with the Colombian drug
traffickers smuggle a lot of illicit gold out, and we know Marco Rubio, is a Senator from Florida, was very seized of that issue.
GIOKOS: Yeah. So, let's talk about Greenland, because President Trump is not letting up. And we saw the Danish Foreign Minister as well as the
Greenlandic Foreign Minister, yesterday speaking in Washington, D.C. And are we seeing, you know, personnel in Greenland.
Do you think that's the right approach? Do you think this is about security, or it's about critical minerals?
RABB: Well, the interesting thing is that critical minerals are right at the intersect of national security in a way that mining hasn't been before.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
RABB: And look, Greenland's got a whole host a range of critical minerals. It's a very small population, but he's also got a high level of indigenous
population. And some of the problems with extracting and making Greenland part of the supply chain solution has been getting through that thicket of
regulation around that.
So, I think there's, as well as the diplomacy and the tensions between Denmark, Greenland and the United States. There's a whole range of other
technical legal issues.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
RABB: So, but look, it's an area of interest. We've looked at Greenland before is a jurisdiction to invest in. There's a lot of lot to be said for
it. There's a lot of attractions. Equally, as I said, there's quite a lot of technical obstacles to overcome.
GIOKOS: OK, fascinating. Let's talk about China dominating the processing of critical minerals. You know, in some cases, up to 90 percent, many have
said here at the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh that people have been sleeping at the wheel for decades and decades, and now the dominant force
is China. Can the world catch up?
RABB: Yes.
GIOKOS: And how long will it take?
RABB: Well, it'll take years. And one of the challenges for the west is to have that long term lens, the concentration of staying power the Chinese or
the command economy has. But for example, at Appian Capital, what we would look for is three essential ingredients.
And we just done a public private partnership with the World Bank, the IFC, they're investing a billion dollars in alongside Appian Capital. And I
think that's a good example of the kind of public private partnership you need, seed capital provided by a government or an international
organization, unlocking private sector investment.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
RABB: And the final bit of it, is this balance between onshoring and friend shoring. And we're here in Saudi Arabia, one of the interesting things in
recent weeks and months is on top of the rare earth mountain pass deal in the United States. The U.S. and the Saudi's are now collaborating on
building a refinery here in Saudi.
That's a good example of a bit of onshore and a bit of French drawing.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
RABB: You'll need those ingredients for an effective solution.
GIOKOS: Alliances, right? Very quickly, there's a lot of excitement here. Everyone saying that mining is back in fashion and it's in vogue again. Do
you believe it is out there?
RABB: -- look this critical mineral challenge we need to mine something like as much in the next 30 years as we have in that last 70,000.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
RABB: So put it this way, it is right at that inflection point between geopolitics and commercial investment, economic reality. And I think that
makes it very attractive, very interesting. And I'm sure we're both going to be following it very closely.
GIOKOS: Yeah, very closely. Dominic Rabb, thank you so much. So good to have you with us. All right, Christina, we'll be back right after the break
to bring you more news. I'm here in Riyadh at the Future Minerals Forum. And I'll see you in a bit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:40:00]
MACFARLANE: Welcome back. Just days after parting ways with their manager, Xabi Alonso, Real Madrid were handed a shock defeat at the Copa del Rey to
a second division side as things go from bad to worse for Los Blancos. Patrick Snell is joining me. Patrick, what happened?
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Hi, Christy, yeah. Alvaro Arbeloa, the new, the latest Real Madrid Head Coach must be thinking, what have I got myself
into? Because his team were not expected to lose in the Copa del Rey last night to second tier Albacete.
It was a crazy game. Yes, Real Madrid, Christy, they did rest a whole host of stars, including superstars like Kylian Mbappe, for example. And that
decision backfired, because the last thing they needed this of all weeks after parting ways with Xabi Alonso, is to go and suffer a shock defeat in
the cup.
Well, that's exactly what happened with the home side winning. It was virtually the last kick of the match. Incredible scenes there. Historic win
for Albacete, but for Real Madrid, it's not a good look, and already, am I saying this Christy? After one game, there's already more than a modicum of
pressure on the new head coach to see how he handles all the fallout.
MACFARLANE: New records.
SNELL: Hope not for his sake, but we'll have it all on "World Sport" as well.
MACFARLANE: Looking forward to that, perhaps not if you're a Real Madrid fan. Thank you, Patrick. "World Sport", up after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
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