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Latest Round of Trilateral Talks Underway in Abu Dhabi; CNN Understands Former Prince Andrew has Moved Out of Windsor; Mandelson to Resign from House of Lords Amid Controversy; Doctors Risk Arrest to Secretly Treat Wounded Protesters; Sheriff Aware of Possible Ransom Notes Linked to Guthrie. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired February 04, 2026 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: The UAE insists that multilateralism can still deliver, or at least that is the message from
here at the World Governments Summit. A vision for a multi polar world of economic diversification, food and humanitarian security and a web of
partnerships that reach far beyond this region was global tensions melt.
This summit is emerging as a stage for real influence, where diplomacy, ideas and power are on full display. It's 06:00 p.m. here in Dubai. I'm
Becky Anderson, this is "Connect the World". Also coming up this hour, questions around some major household names after the release of the latest
round of those Jeffrey Epstein files.
We have the details for you this hour. And the stock market in New York opens about 30 minutes from now. Futures indicating a mixed start. We will
get you back there about a half an hour from now. Before we get back to the World Governments Summit, want to let you know of another story that we are
following very closely.
In just moments, Donald Trump's Border Czar Tom Homan is expected to speak in Minneapolis, that city has been, of course, at the center of I.C.E.
operations and anti-I.C.E. protests now for weeks. We're going to monitor what Homan has to say, and I'll get you any new developments as they
happen.
Well, a second round of trilateral peace talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States now underway in Abu Dhabi. The talks follow what Ukraine
says is the largest missile and drone attack this year by Russian forces knocking out power to tens of thousands of people in what is the bitter
cold of the winter.
In a social media post, Ukraine's Chief Negotiator says that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is pushing for a quote, dignified and lasting peace.
One of the biggest sticking points involves Moscow's demand that Ukraine cede the rest of the Donbas region, which includes Donetsk and Luhansk.
Fred Pleitgen is connecting us tonight from Moscow. What is Russia looking to get out of this next round of talks? And who do we understand is
attending, Fred?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Becky. I think for the Russians, territorial concession certainly the most
important thing. But I think there's a lot of sticking points that certainly are still left security guarantees, also for the Ukrainians,
where the Ukrainians said that, from their perspective, they've signed off what the U.S. wants to do with those security concessions or with those
security demands.
But at the same time, the Russians, of course, have not signed off on that yet. So that's certainly something that still needs to be sorted out.
Membership in any organizations like NATO, of course, off the table anyway. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant also a big question as well.
One of the things we know is that for the Russians, Kirill Dmitriev, who has been functioning, de facto, as Russia's main negotiator, he certainly
has arrived there in Abu Dhabi to take part in those negotiations. We also know that for the U.S. side, Steve Witkoff, of course, has been so
instrumental at pushing negotiations to get to where they are right now, moving from essentially two sets of bilateral negotiations between the U.S.
and Ukraine.
And the U.S. and Russia to now this trilateral format, which the U.S. hopes will really push things forward and maybe lead to a peace agreement. And
then, of course, for the Ukrainians, you have Rustem Umerov, the Head of their National Security Council, who made that statement saying that the
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, wants what he calls a dignified peace.
But at the same time, of course, as you've noted, Becky, one of the things that could really hamper these talks is the fact that there have been these
big attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure over the past couple of days. One of the numbers that I just got a couple of minutes ago seems
staggering.
The Ukrainians saying that there have been 217 attacks on energy infrastructure in the first couple of days of this year alone. So that
certainly is a big number, as we see on our screen right now, those talks apparently ready to get under way. We see some footage of the last set of
talks that happened a couple of days ago.
So, the Ukrainians certainly want to push this forward. They want a ceasefire as fast as possible. They want to get to some sort of agreement
as fast as possible. The Kremlin doesn't seem to be in the same kind of hurry as the Ukrainians are. We heard earlier today from Dmitry Peskov, who
is of course, the spokesman for the Kremlin and for Vladimir Putin.
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He says that the Russians are going to keep what they call their special military operation going, including pounding the Ukrainians until an
agreement is reached. Nevertheless, the U.S. negotiators are trying to push this forward. Jared Kushner, of course, the president's son-in-law, also
very much in Abu Dhabi, trying to move things forward.
Those main sticking points, though that's something that we've heard from both sides, Becky, really seem to be quite difficult as especially as far
as the territorial concessions are concerned.
ANDERSON: Yeah, and those talks going on in Abu Dhabi, as you say, about an hour or so from where I am tonight, here in Dubai, and we will keep a keen
eye on anything that is coming out of that. All right, it's good to have you. Thank you. Well, the fallout from the latest release of the Epstein
files not going away.
With several well-known figures from business, politics, entertainment and royalty now facing sharp scrutiny. Further documents detailing Bill Gates
is ties with the convicted sex offender were released last week. Melinda French Gates, who divorced the Microsoft co-founder in 2021 says her ex-
husband has questions to answer over his ties to Epstein.
Bill Gates was also asked about the latest documents in an interview with CNN affiliate Nine News. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL GATES, MICROSOFT CO-FOUNDER: I was foolish to spend time with him. I was one of many people who regret ever knowing him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've no doubt seen the allegations, including some of them in the last 24 to 48 hours. Are they true?
GATES: No, the apparently Jeffrey wrote an email to himself. That email was never sent. The email is false. So, I don't know what his thinking was
there. Just reminds me, you know, every minute I spent with him, I regret and I -- you know, apologize that I did that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And in the United Kingdom, CNN understands that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, has now moved out of his
sprawling long time, Windsor home following fresh pressure after his inclusion in the latest release of files. Donald Trump, meantime, wants
Americans to move on from the Epstein files.
Take a listen to this interaction between the U.S. President and my colleague, Kaitlan Collins. She pressed him about the extent of redactions
in what was the last batch of released documents. Have a listen.
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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: On the Epstein files, you talk about Democrats who were in there. Elon Musk was also in there,
and so was your Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, and correspondence that he had with him. Did you read those new files that were published by the
Department of Justice?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: -- I have a lot of things. I'm doing. A lot of things. I don't know you mentioned two names.
I'm sure they're fine. I'm sure they're fine. Otherwise, it would have been major headline.
COLLINS: A lot of women who were our survivors of Epstein are unhappy with those redactions that came out. Some of them entire witness interviews are
totally blacked out. Do you think that they should be more transparent?
TRUMP: -- They thought they released too much. You know, I heard that, and you tell me something else. I think it's really time for the country to get
onto something else. Now that nothing came out about me, other than it was a conspiracy against me, literally, by Epstein and other people, but I
think it's time now for the country to maybe get on to something else --
COLLINS: What would you say to people who feel they haven't gotten justice, Mr. President?
TRUMP: -- something the people care about. Yeah. What do you say? Go ahead, CNN --
COLLINS: What would you say to the survivors who feel like they haven't worse?
TRUMP: You are the worst reporter. No one to see. CNN has no ratings because of people like you. You know, she's a young woman. I don't think
I've ever seen you smile. I've known you for 10 years. I don't think I've ever seen a smile.
COLLINS: Well, I'm asking you about survivors of Jeffrey Epstein, Mr. President.
TRUMP: -- you know why you're not smiling? Because you know you're not telling the truth and you're a very dishonest organization, and they should
be ashamed of you.
COLLINS: These are survivors of a sexual abuser.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, let's stay on this with CNN's Senior International Correspondent Melissa Bell. Revelations hitting the highest levels of UK
government. The spillover from the release of this latest batch is, you know, quite monumental at this point. What is the latest on the Former
British Ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, Melissa?
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is monumental. I think that's quite right. And the other nature of it is that it is sort of
death by 1000 cuts, because there is such a large quantity of material out there, more and more keeps coming out on particular individuals.
And of course, here we're talking about Peter Mandelson. He is to lose his peerage. We understand he will no longer be Lord Mandelson. We spoke about
this yesterday, Becky. And the fact that he had been found as a result of some of those leaked emails to have disclosed to Jeffrey Epstein sensitive
information that he had as business secretary back in 2009 in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
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He passed on market sensitive information to Jeffrey Epstein about the British government's attempts to try and steady their ship. Then in another
email exchange, we see that in 2010 Jeffrey Epstein came to him to ask him what he knew about the European bailout of Greece.
He replied, we understand it's nearly ready, and should be announced tonight, again market sensitive information that he had no business passing
on to a third party, never mind one that was outside the United Kingdom. Now that is now the subject of an investigation by the Metropolitan Police
looking into the question of how he conducted himself when he was in office.
Of course, as you'd expect, it's Wednesday afternoon, so prime minister's questions were entirely dominated by this. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: To learn that there was a cabinet minister leaking sensitive information at the height of the response to the
2008 crash is beyond infuriating, and I'm as angry as the public and any member of this House. Mandelson betrayed our country, our parliament and my
party.
Mr. Speaker, he lied repeatedly to my team when asked about his relationship with Epstein before and during his tenure as ambassador. I
regret appointing him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BELL: Pretty damning there for Peter Mandelson. You'll remember that he had had to resign from his post as the British Ambassador to Washington back in
September, again, as a result of revelations that emerged from the Epstein files then and simply with every new revelation we've understood more about
the nature of their relationship.
There are also in those documents suggestions that he received money from Jeffrey Epstein, something he says he has no recollection of, also that
they engaged in sort of speculation and conversations about delicate British government business, namely, the attempts by the Labor Party to
form a coalition after the 2010 general election.
The nature of the conversation about Gordon Brown, who is under pressure to resign back in 2009 as prime minister, he was seeking out advice. This is
remembered, a man who's been at the very heart of the labor machine now for decades, Becky. And the fact that he should have been so closely involved
with Jeffrey Epstein, of course, a huge embarrassment to Keir Starmer, who has appointed him to all of these many jobs, not least the Washington job
that he resigned from, in September.
And of course, now this is an issue that the Conservative Party intends to make political hay of because of the questions that it raises about the
prime minister's judgment, Becky.
ANDERSON: Good to have you, Melissa, thank you. Well, an update on what is happening in Minneapolis. Promise you that let's check in Border Czar Tom
Homan speaking. Let's just listen in.
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TOM HOMAN, WHITE HOUSE BORDER CZAR: -- everyday throughout this country. President Trump made a promise, and we have not directed otherwise. I heard
rumors we have untrue. Given that many public safety threats on our communities, many of which poured across the border during the Biden
Administration, it makes sense to prioritize public safety risk right now.
Again, prioritization doesn't mean you forget about everybody else, but we have a criminal here and non-criminal here. The criminal has to be arrested
first, because they're the biggest threat to the community. My goal, with the support of President Trump, is to achieve a complete draw down and then
this surge as soon as we can.
But that is largely contingent upon the end of the illegal and threatening activities against I.C.E. and its federal partners that we're seeing in the
community. We will not draw down on personnel providing security for our officers. I will not let our officers be put at risk.
So, we will not draw down on personnel providing security and responding to hostile incidents until we see a change in what's happening with the
lawlessness of the impeding and interfering and assaulting of I.C.E. and border officers. It against the law to forcibly assault, resist, oppose,
impede, intimidate and interfere with federal law enforcement, including I.C.E. officers and border patrol agents.
-- law enforcement to threaten them and their families because they're executing their sworn duties to enforce immigration law that Congress
passed is unacceptable. And it's shameful and incomprehensible to me that any that this one lawful and threatening behavior is being tolerated by
anyone.
As far as what I saw yesterday, the road blocks being set up, you're not going to stop I.C.E.
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You never stop border patrol. The only thing you're doing is irritating your community and want to go get groceries or pick the children up or
whatever. I talked to the chief of police, and he committed to taking swift action on those illegal road blocks. They're illegal. We shouldn't tolerate
them.
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ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Dubai for you. Iranian, still reeling from the regime's bloody crackdown on anti-government
demonstrations, even now badly wounded protesters are targeted for arrest if they seek care in a hospital. My colleague, Jomana Karadsheh spoke to a
doctor inside Iran who is forced to care for patients in secret while also trying to avoid arrest himself, and he is not alone.
And a warning for you, some of the images in this report are graphic.
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JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a night of horror, the gun fire, chaos and fear captured in this video, a scene that was
replicated across Iran. Many of those who barely escaped the regime's onslaught are still on the run, with security forces hunting down the
injured and those who ate them.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened on January the 8th and 9th, the scenes at the hospitals were like those end of the world Hollywood movies.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): This doctor, we're not identifying for his safety as part of an underground network of medics treating injured protesters
inside Iran.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Government hospitals were controlled by security forces and monitored by cameras. If injured people went there and were identified
as protesters, staff on duty had to report them and they would be arrested.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Never have the wounded needed their doctors more than they do right now, with activists reporting more than 11,000 injured
in the most violent regime crackdown in the history of the Islamic Republic, with the widespread use of live ammunition and military grade
weapons.
It's also extremely dangerous being a doctor in Iran right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The doctors who didn't cooperate were detained, or the next day, security officers would summon them, or they were thrown out.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Images like this have emerged showing injured protesters too scared to go to hospitals, being treated in secret. Some so
desperate have also been reaching out to Iranian doctors abroad for help. Hospitals are no sanctuary in the Islamic Republic.
Security Forces have raided facilities like this one in the City of Ilam, and that was even before the most vicious and bloody clamp down on the
protests began on January the eighth. Since then, the doctor and others say it was the feared Revolutionary Guards who took control of hospitals
searching for injured protesters.
Reports of security forces detaining protesters from hospitals are widespread. The U.N. and rights groups have also raised concerns about the
arrest of doctors.
KARADSHEH: Speaking with us could mean prison for you or even worse, why did you agree to speak with us?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've locked the door with five different locks. I expect that at any moment as I give this interview, they could break in and arrest
me. I've chosen to put my own safety second and make sharing information about the injured and the war crimes that have occurred my first priority.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): The risks he is taking, he says, fighting back tears are nothing compared to the young protesters who paid the ultimate
price.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I promised myself to be a voice for the injured and for those who have been killed. I promised myself to make sure the voices are
heard by the world.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Voices like that of 16-year-old Arams (ph) family. He was shot in the head. They killed him, these relative cries as they try
to speak out at the hospital, they are silenced. These are the voices the regime doesn't want the world to hear.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: And Jomana Karadsheh reporting for you. Let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now. And Saif al-
Islam Gaddafi, the son of Former Libyan Dictator Muammar Gaddafi has been killed in an apparent assassination.
Gaddafi is political adviser, says he was shot by four masked assailants at his home in North Western Libya. Aged 53 Gaddafi was once seen as the heir
apparent to his dictator father, who was executed after his regime was toppled in 2011. There are new details emerging about the missing 84-year-
old mother of NBC television host Savannah Guthrie, seen here.
TMZ says it received what appears to be a ransom note. They turned over to investigators. It's not been verified, but at least one of the local
newsrooms in Arizona says they received a ransom note as well. Well, the man convicted of attempting to kill Donald Trump when he was running for
reelection is due in court for sentencing today.
Ryan Routh was arrested in 2024 after a Secret Service Agent spotted him stalking Mr. Trump on a Florida golf course armed with a rifle. Prosecutors
are asking for life in prison. Well U.S. markets open just 20 minutes ago. Let's see how these stocks are getting on in early trading.
Futures were indicating a mixed open, and that is what we have, the NASDAQ off as is the S&P. Keep an eye on those tech stocks. We have seen a bit of
a fall off over the last couple of trading sessions, and that may be the reason for that NASDAQ drop again. Also, we're looking at some jobs numbers
today.
We will keep an eye on those for you, those markets for you, and get you a good look at those in the hour to come. I'm Becky Anderson, live in Dubai.
Another hour of "Connect the World" starts just after this short break.
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Stay with us.
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