Return to Transcripts main page
Connect the World
Billionaire Emaar Developer Mohamed Alabbar on Iran War; Three Dead Amid Suspected Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship; Employees & Passengers Scramble on Spirit Airlines Demise; Last Minute Bailout from Trump Administration Failed to Materialize; United Airlines Boeing 767 Strikes Truck While Landing; U.S. Gasoline Prices Still Rising Amid Iran War Uncertainty. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired May 04, 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: This is the Strait of Hormuz normally one of the world's busiest waterways, but right now still
effectively closed to shipping, despite President Trump's promise that the U.S. military would guide ships through.
It is 05:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. From our Middle East programming headquarters, I'm Becky Anderson. You're watching "Connect the World". Also
coming up this hour in Russia, new Intel suggesting the Kremlin is tightening security around Vladimir Putin as Moscow prepares for its annual
World War Two victory parade.
And Spirit Airlines in the U.S. shuts down as the price of jet fuel soars amid the Iran war. The stock market in New York opens about 30 minutes from
now. The picture at present mixed to slightly lower back there for the open at 09:30 local time. Well, we start with conflicting claims about what is
happening today in the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. Central Command reporting two U.S. flagged merchant vessels transited the strait after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the U.S.
military will guide merchant ships through. Earlier Iranian media reporting its forces had prevented U.S. ships from entering that strait.
Well recent shipping data showed the choke point nearly empty of merchant vessels. Also happening just hours ago, the UAE, where I am here today, is
accusing Iran of targeting a tanker belonging to the Abu Dhabi state oil firm, ADNOC as it tried to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
All right, let's unpack all of the latest developments with Nic Robertson, who is in Islamabad. And Nic, frankly, we're hearing a lot of you know, we
will do this. We will not allow that, but in the Strait of Hormuz today, not a lot happening. What more can you tell us about what is going on?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, I think that sort of diplomatic track that the Pakistani authorities here are trying to
negotiate and still seems to be in play is also running in parallel with what President Trump has tried to put into play today, this project freedom
that's supported by CENTCOM.
15,000 service personnel, 100 aircraft, guided missile destroyers to help guide and encourage, it seems, commercial vessels that are in the Gulf to
get out and escape the Iranian blockade through the Strait of Hormuz that what we're witnessing today, following President Trump, putting that into
play as of today, was these sorts of competing narratives that point to an escalation.
The IRGC saying that their firm and rapid response prevented U.S.-Israeli enemy vessels getting into the Strait of Hormuz. The CENTCOM, saying that
no U.S. vessel was hit by Iranian forces. And as you say, the UAE pointing to drones attacking one of a vessel carrying its energy supplies out of the
Strait of Hormuz.
So, it does appear you get an escalation of tensions coming out of it. I think at the crux before this sort of escalation of tensions earlier today.
I think a lot of people were trying to understand, what is it that CENTCOM is doing. What is it that President Trump intends to try to bring about by
project freedom?
And Emmanuel Macron, the French President, spoke to this earlier today, and seemed to sort of make clear some of the miss sort of understandings or the
difficulties in understanding that he says. This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: We're not going to participate in any operations using force within a framework, which, for my part, doesn't seem
clear. But what we want most of all is a joint reopening between Iran and the United States. That's the only solution that will allow us to
permanently reopen the Strait of Hormuz, allow free navigation and do so without restrictions, nor tolls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Yeah, restrictions and tolls. That's what Iran insists it wants to have. President Trump seems to be trying to find ways to challenge that.
[09:05:00]
As I say, the diplomacy still playing out right now we're waiting for Iran, and we heard this from the foreign ministry spokesman a little earlier
today, for Iran to respond to President Trump's response to Iran's position. You get the sort of step-by-step diplomacy, but that's where we
are.
And when you look at a day like today, you wonder, therefore, how disruptive that's going to be to this diplomatic track.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you, Nic. Thank you. Well, in a speech, the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, who's also Head of ADNOC,
Sultan Al Jaber, said earlier quote, closing a vital artery like the Strait of Hormuz does not affect the region alone, but shakes the entire global
economy.
And our position, he said, is firm and clear, it is unacceptable to hold the strait hostage and use it for threats and economic blackmail. The
freedom of international navigation is non-negotiable and not subject to bargaining, and the legal status of the strait as an international waterway
must not be changed.
Well, the force behind Dubai's iconic skyline, Mohamed Alabbar, the billionaire developer of the Burj Khalifa, amongst other things, spoke to
me about the challenges that the Iran war poses to the UAE and the wider world. I asked him if it changes the way, people think about the country
and what it means for investment and stability in the Gulf. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MOHAMED ALABBAR, CEO OF EMAAR PROPERTIES: This war is a global issue for India, for the U.S., for China. And I really believe my basic common sense
is that the world cannot afford that this thing continues because, you know, if we were talking about Hormuz entrance or other source of energy to
the world, I mean, I think the whole world is at stake.
And I believe, I'm not sure, but I believe the world want this to end very quickly.
ANDERSON: And you've previously said that Dubai has nothing to fear from this conflict. I just want to get a clearer picture from you of the real
estate market, then at the beginning of May 2026, in terms of property transactions and of retail demand. Do you think this war has in any way
impacted the UAE's safe haven status?
ALABBAR: To be honest, I really think it says strengthen what UAE is all about. Because we know about the UAE rule of law, good infrastructure, good
health care, good education, beautiful place, good quality of life, you name it. But what we didn't know is that the UAE can defend itself in the
most incredible way, which is a new thing that we didn't know now, is there is a bit of a slow down?
Of course, we've gone through this situation. But can good organization handle a bit of a slow down after 40, 50 percent growth on an annual basis,
if you are keeping your debt at check? Of course, we are in a country where not only economic growth is tremendous, and tourism and services, but
you've got healthy banking system.
You've got a government that has almost zero debt. You know that the country that can deploy anytime they want. So, you sit in a beautiful
situation. Come on. You take a bit of pressure. Life is full of pressure. So, can't you take a little bit of pressure? Shame on us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: And we will have more of my conversation with the Emaar CEO next hour here on "Connect the World". And more from here and around the region
coming up. In Moscow meantime, overnight, a Ukrainian drone hit a high rise building in the center of the Russian capital, just days before Russia's
Victory Day parade, marking the end of World War Two.
We're live in Moscow with CNN's Fred Pleitgen. Fred, give us the details on that drone that hit what was a high rise building in an area, as I
understand it, with foreign embassies. And what if anything will be different about this year's Victory Day parade?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. First of all, you're absolutely right. This is a fairly upscale neighborhood with a
lot of foreign embassies there. It's also called the Mosfilmovskaya neighborhood, indicating that it's also the place where one of Russia's
main movies producing areas is as well.
And so, this is really a place that is fairly close to the center of the Russian capital. I wouldn't say it's exactly in central Moscow. It's still
about 6.5 kilometers away from the Kremlin but this drone actually did do substantial damage. And there was a loud boom that could be heard here in
the city.
I would say it was around 11:30 p.m. close to midnight last night. And as far as the authorities are concerned, Becky, they say. And this comes in
the form of Moscow's Mayor, Sobyanin, saying that this drone caused a lot of damage to that high rise building. There were no casualties.
But in the aftermath of that explosion that took place of that drone crashing into that building, there was a lot of debris that was scattered
along the road that is there, which is actually a pretty large road here, in the sort of central part of Moscow.
[09:10:00]
So, this is definitely a wakeup call for the folks here in the Russian capital, certainly for the Kremlin as well, also announcing that two other
drones that were flying towards the Russian capital were apparently shot down by air defenses. And the question that you posed, Becky, is really a
key one for the Russians right now.
And that is that Victory Day parade that's coming up on May 9th, of course, by far, one of the most important holidays here and remembrance days for
the Russians. That parade has already been drastically scaled down by the Russians. They have acknowledged that that is due to security concerns
because of the aerial attacks that have been going on by the Ukrainians on Russian infrastructure.
But also one of the things that we've gotten over the past couple of hours was a text message by the Russian telecom company saying that there could
be severe restrictions also on telecommunications, on things like, for instance, text messages, but certainly also on outdoor internet
availability as well in the run up to that holiday, and on the holiday itself, they're saying from May 5th to May 9th.
So clearly this is something that is of grave concern to the authorities here in Russia, with that ongoing Ukrainian drone campaign really taking a
toll on Russia's infrastructure, on critical infrastructure, and certainly first and foremost, on the oil and gas infrastructure, but then also
security reverberations, as we can see in the Russian capital as well, Becky.
ANDERSON: Good to have you, Fred. Thank you. Well still to come, passengers aboard a cruise ship in the North Atlantic are facing an anxious wait as
authorities scramble to determine what was behind the deaths of three people on board. An anxiety for drivers across the U.S. is the price they
pay for gasoline heads into the stratosphere. We'll take a look at how people are coping.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Three people have died, and at least three others are sick following a suspected outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship in the
Atlantic Ocean. Now, the ship, the MV Hondius, is currently anchored in Cape Verde off the West Coast of Africa, having begun its journey in
Argentina.
Local health authorities are not allowing passengers to go ashore. It isn't yet clear how the infections occurred. Larry Madowo joining me now from
Nairobi with more than 170 passengers, as I understand, and 71 crew on board. What do we understand their status to be and what do we know about
what has occurred to date?
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We know that there are two crew members on board the ship who are also exhibiting symptoms that are consistent with
hantavirus. There is only one confirmed case. This is a British national who is currently undergoing treatment in Johannesburg.
[09:15:00]
But two other people on the crew right now, one is Dutch, one is British, are exhibiting symptoms and they require urgent medical care, according to
the operator of this Dutch flagged ship, ocean white expeditions. Authorities in Cape Verde are not allowing anybody off the ship.
They've been there since Sunday, though they've sent medical crews on board to take care of them. There's a press conference ongoing shortly in Cape
Verde. Maybe we'll find out if there's a decision. But the operators say they're considering sailing to either Las Palmas or Tenerife.
So that they can disembark and get some medical treatment to these two crew members who require urgent medical assistance. This ship has been sailing
for the last seven weeks. It started off in Ushuaia, that is in Argentina. It's often called the end of the world. And many cruise ships that head on
to Antarctica begin there.
They've gone on to Saint Helena, the British Overseas Territory, and other parts of the Atlantic before they ended up here on the West Coast of
Africa, and there are a lot of passengers here. There are 23 nationalities, 19 Brits, 13 Spaniards. There's 17 Americans.
Most of the crew appear to be Filipino. 38 from the Philippines. And one American travel blogger who's on the ship posted this tearful video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- story. We're not just headlines. We're people, people with families, with lives, with people waiting for us at home. There's a
lot of uncertainty, and that's the hardest part. All we want right now is to feel safe, to have clarity and to get home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MADOWO: So much uncertainty, Becky, for so many people who signed on to this beautiful cruise that takes 42 days according to an itinerary posted
on ocean expeditions website, ocean wide expeditions. They go through some of the most beautiful remote islands, following some migratory bird
patterns.
And hantavirus, ideally does not transmit from human to human. Humans can catch it if they come into contact with rodents like mice or rats, usually
through the saliva, droppings or urine. And it's not clear how this could have happened again. The World Health Organization, Becky, saying it is
still working with authorities there, doing more lab testing, epidemiological investigations and gene sequencing to know exactly what
happened here.
ANDERSON: Yeah, understood. good to have you. Larry, thank you. Well, thousands of passengers and employees are in limbo today after the collapse
of Spirit Airlines now this is a troubled carrier which never fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic and has been hit hard by the recent
soaring fuel costs due to the war in Iran.
The Spirit was hoping for a $500 million bailout from the Trump Administration, which would have given majority shares to the government,
but a key group of investors rejected that plan. Well, now 17,000 workers are out of a job, and thousands of travelers are left frustrated or
stranded.
CNN's Aviation Correspondent Pete Muntean is in Washington, D.C. I mean, the idea of half a billion-dollar bailout for a single airline certainly
sparked a huge sort of backlash from the airline industry, Pete from Republican lawmakers. So, what happens now?
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, the only thing that can happen now is for Spirit to liquidate its assets, fly the airplanes into
the desert and hopefully recoup some of the losses by selling off parts and pieces of the airline. It does not seem like Spirit is going to come back
and rise from the ashes here.
Even though there is a crowd funded push on social media for folks to essentially buy Spirit Airlines trying to raise half a billion dollars on
their own. The reality is it will probably take way more than half a billion dollars to save Spirit. That was only going to keep it in business
for a little bit while longer.
Remember, Spirit has this history of bankruptcies, and frankly, the airline did not reinvent itself after bankruptcies. Spirit is known as a ULLC, an
Ultra Low-Cost Carrier where essentially everything was extra. And that model really fell out of favor as other airlines like Delta and United
essentially went up brand that got people sort of to a more upper crust type of flying experience.
So, it made it very hard for Spirit to continue to maintain profitability. It wasn't profitable for a very long time, and this is the end result. So
many people with tickets booked now cannot fly. If you have a voucher on Spirit, a credit on Spirit, you're probably not likely to get it back.
And some big questions now for employers, sorry, employees, rather, whether Spirit, the employer will honor their benefits, retirements, et cetera. So,
this has created a fair amount of chaos. Spirit not exactly a huge airline, but it was one that had a lot of notoriety. It was the butt of jokes on a
lot of late-night comedy shows.
There were a lot of fights on Spirit Airlines that people can remember.
[09:20:00]
So, this is something that will have some pretty big reverb, thankfully though. All of the other major airlines in the United States have
essentially honored Spirit travelers who were stranded by offering them well discounted fares so they could at least get home over this past
weekend, if you have a trip further out, you may be SOL.
ANDERSON: And Pete, what I've got you. Can you just tell us about what's going on with United passengers? I mean, it's the landing gear on one of
the planes clipped a bread truck, as I understand it. Just fill us in on the details on that.
MUNTEAN: It's quite a dramatic case here, Becky, and you see in the video of a bread truck on Interstate 95 just east of the Newark Liberty
International Airport. There's the driver, Warren Bordley (ph), singing along as the landing gear comes into view there, and you can see the truck
essentially toppled onto its side.
Big questions here, clearly this plane was too low on the final approach there, as it was coming in to land at Newark from Venice, Italy. But some
big questions here about why it was too low on the approach. What caused this plane to get so low that it clipped a truck, also a lamp post.
Can't find in recent memory where a U.S. commercial flight hit something on landing on the highway below it. So, we may be witnessing a first here in
modern aviation history. Of course, investigators will dig into this pretty deeply.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
MUNTEAN: We have the granular data, the preliminary data, open-source data, that shows that this plane was at about 125 feet over the highway. It
buttresses the right up to the runway threshold, right up to the beginning of the runway there. But investigators will want to know what's on the
flight data recorder.
Was there an effort to correct this lowness on the glide path, on the approach path, and did the pilots have any sort of interplay or
conversation about being too low? Did they essentially see what was coming in front of them? Clearly, Warren Bordley (ph) did, because he looked right
in that video, his respect of right our screen left and saw something coming.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
MUNTEAN: You could hear the jet. You could see the landing gear out of his left window, so he saw it coming. Did the pilot see it coming? That's the
big question now. And they will want to be -- they will likely be interviewed by the National Transportation Safety Board.
ANDERSON: And he did that classic thing, when you feel something above you -- in his vehicle, didn't he? I'm glad he's safe. Good stuff. All right.
Thank you very much indeed, Pete. Well, in the U.S., drivers are feeling the pinch from rising gasoline prices. CNN's Gloria Pazmino is more now on
how everyday Americans are coping with what is a mounting price.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've been speaking with drivers throughout this entire week, and here in Queens, where we are right now,
we've encountered a lot of taxi drivers, Uber drivers, they told me, they especially feel like they don't have a choice, right?
They have to fill up the tank in order to go to work. Many of them told us, then, even if they're making their usual income, they're spending a lot
more money on everything else, right, food has gone up, gas is going up, so they're just trying to stay afloat. I spoke to a man who told me that
sometimes filling up the gas all the way up to full might mean that he doesn't get to have lunch one day.
Another person told us they work a six or seven day during the week in order to try and stay afloat. So, a lot of frustration among drivers,
people directing their frustration at the administration and worried that the conflict in the Middle East is continuing to drag out, and that prices
may not come down anytime soon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh yes, that's the reason why we have to work through now the seven days. Because when you think about the gas price, you go to
the store, you want to buy the food, the grocery, forget it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guys getting involved in a stupid war. I think that's had a direct, obviously a direct effect on the cost of everything here.
PAZMINO: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, we're only like putting small amounts of gas in at a time in hopes that the prices are going to come down again soon.
PAZMINO: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really, it sucks. Gas going up every single day now from $3.16 hours for dollar, 45 and the same price. So, it's a fact of everyone,
not only me.
PAZMINO: Now let's break down the numbers. The national average is trending right around $4.45 for the gallon, and that is an increase of 35 cents in
just the past week, and an increase of almost $1.50 since the war in Iran started back in February. New York is seeing some of the highest numbers
here at this gas station.
[09:25:00]
We're seeing $4.45, so right on trend with the national average and $5.43 if you get the premium option. If you're in California, you're paying some
of the highest prices, $6.10 a gallon. And experts warn that even if the conflict in the Middle East end soon, even if the Strait of Hormuz were to
open soon, it would likely take months for prices to come down and for the oil markets to stabilize again. Gloria Pazmino, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now. And Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is in
hospital in critical but stable condition. The news came Sunday evening in a statement from his spokesperson, it did not say why the 81-year-old is
hospitalized.
Giuliani was dubbed America's Mayor after the September 11th terror attacks on New York's World Trade Center in 2001. Well, a truck driver shown in
this split screen escaped with minor injuries when a United Airlines plane clipped his vehicle the Boeing 767, which was landing at New York Liberty
International Airport in New Jersey, was traveling at more than 160 miles an hour.
It managed to land safely with no reported injuries among the 200 passengers. GameStop says it wants to buy eBay for 55.5 billion dollars.
Now this is a video games retailer of course, it says it wants to rival Amazon, so it's making what's seen as an audacious move, trying to take
over a business nearly four times its size.
eBay has recently pushed to reinvent itself in the face of rising competition. With this Strait of Hormuz effectively close, how is the
largest fertilizer producer in the Middle East navigating these times? And should you be worried about your grocery bills wherever you are watching in
the world? That is after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. You are watching "Connect the World". These your headlines, is our U.S. Central Command
reports two U.S.-flag, merchant vessels. Vessels successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the U.S.
military will guide merchant ships through that waterway.
Well Iranian media earlier reported its forces have prevented U.S. ships from entering the strait. CNN has learned that the Kremlin is beef up
security around Vladimir Putin. A report from a European intelligence agency obtained by CNN says the Kremlin is worried about the possibility of
a coup or an assassination attempt on the Russian President.
[09:30:00]
The collapse of Spirit Airlines in the U.S. has left 17,000 people out of work and travelers, thousands of travelers stranded or holding tickets they
can't use. The financially troubled carrier never fully recovered after the COVID-19 pandemic and soaring fuel costs proved to be the final blow.
Well, that is the bell on Wall Street, and that is the opening this Monday morning. Southern Company ringing in the trading day. The futures were
indicating a pretty mixed open, to be honest. Very little real sort of news out of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, nothing out of Pakistan, to speak of
a little bit as we've been reporting on the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices slightly higher.
And you see these markets, the three main markets, actually the NASDAQ looks as if it may be trading a little bit higher today, but ultimately
these markets are off just slightly. Now you see the NASDAQ down as well. All right. Well, the market is moving around a little bit.
We've talked a lot about how the Iran war is impacting oil supplies and oil prices, and those have a significant effect, of course, on the stock
markets. Still no sign of those prices falling today. But there are other commodities beside oil that can't take their usual route to market right
now, either.
A third of the world's trade in fertilizer is shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the U.N. interrupting those supplies has enormous
consequences, excuse me, for agriculture not only driving up prices but also threatening global food supplies. Well, Ahmed El-Hoshy is here with
me.
He's the CEO of the Abu Dhabi based Fertiglobe, who's which is the largest fertilizer producer in the Middle East. It's good to have you. Let's just
start with the impact on fertilizer moving through the Strait of Hormuz. I mean, how significant an impact is this over the past eight weeks, and
what's the state of play as we speak?
AHMED EL-HOSHY, CEO OF FERTIGLOBE: Sure -- thanks for having me, Becky. So, it's a very significant move. As you said, about almost a third of urea
fertilizer goes through the Strait of Hormuz, and the world is reliant on that. It goes all over the world. It goes to the Americas, it goes to South
Asia, East Africa, as well as Australia.
Also, there's some knock-on effects with the fact that 21 percent of LNG exports go through the Strait of Hormuz. So that increases gas prices
globally for other fertilizer producers outside. Also, sulfur, 47 percent of the world's sulfur goes through the Strait of Hormuz.
That's a very key component in phosphate fertilizers. So, a lot of direct and indirect effects, and we're in the middle of the season in the northern
hemisphere right now. The good thing is that a lot of pre buying was done before February 28th but farmer balance sheets are very strained right now.
And as this continues, it could become very problematic.
ANDERSON: The U.S. has said it plans to, and I quote here, sort of guide ships through what is this incredibly important choke hold that leaves a
lot of unanswered questions, of course. Meanwhile, Fertiglobe, your organization, has switched to land cargo as I understand it, rather than
using the strait. Just walk me through the logistics of mitigating this issue.
EL-HOSHY: Sure. So, our biggest mitigant is actually that about a third of our production sits in Abu Dhabi within the Strait of Hormuz, typically
going by vessel, but two thirds sit outside. So, we have production in Egypt and Algeria that's continuing to produce and sell to global markets.
So that's our first mitigant is the fact we have that diversified footprint for what's in Abu Dhabi, we usually send product by 30,000, 50,000-ton
vessels. Now we'll resort, you know, to trucks, to truck, actually product to vessel to ports outside of the Strait of Hormuz, and you're talking
about a truck holding 20 to 25 tons per truck.
ANDERSON: Wow.
EL-HOSHY: So logistically, it's much more involved in terms of being able to get anything close to run rate, that will not happen. So, we're, you
know, very slowly making these movements. Obviously, we have some contingency plans in place, but you're talking about kind of some higher
freight costs, but much, much lower deliveries than what we typically have.
ANDERSON: So, as we look at the sort of diplomacy at present, it does feel as if things are in limbo to a degree. So, there is a risk of a prolonged
conflict. How much runway do you have as a company?
EL-HOSHY: So, what we've done is we've worked within we're part of XRG, which is kind of international holding company that's wholly owned by
ADNOC. So --
ANDERSON: Which is national company here --
EL-HOSHY: Which is national oil company here. XRG and ADNOC, we have interests in another company called ADNOC logistics and services, and I'm
in very close contact with their leadership and their CEO to find opportunities to get product out via truck, and then also seeing, you know,
if these C, you know, the C bound corridors could work.
[09:35:00]
So, we're exploring all of the above, but what we've done is really focus on storing products so continuing to be able to produce so that you know,
as we get product out, even if it's not as quick, once the strait hopefully opens, we can get product out to the market in times for potential seasons
in the southern hemisphere.
ANDERSON: That's fascinating. One of your four production facilities is in Al Ruwais.
EL-HOSHY: Yeah.
ANDERSON: Which is a complex just outside the City of Abu Dhabi.
EL-HOSHY: Right.
ANDERSON: That was targeted by Iran over the past eight weeks. How has that affected your production?
EL-HOSHY: So thankfully, had no harm to our assets. Everybody's safe, obviously, you know, around ADNOC refining was impacted, and some of our
other neighbors, we've been focused on protecting our people. And there a lot of defenses around that part of the country, that part of Abu Dhabi in
the southwest area.
ANDERSON: How challenging has the last eight weeks been for you, personally and professionally?
EL-HOSHY: I mean, it's been challenging, you know, with, you know, a lot of late nights. And I think it's not just challenging for me, it's challenging
for our entire organization. And I have to thank the leadership of ADNOC, as well as the country here to help support us and make sure that we can
continue as much as normal under the circumstances.
And obviously it's been good that it's been quiet the last few weeks, and our focus is to try to get fertilizer to, you know, global farmers, so that
they can potentially have it ahead of planting. And just to give you a sense how important this is, nitrogen fertilizers are responsible for
feeding four out of the world's 8 billion people via the increased crop yields.
ANDERSON: Wow.
EL-HOSHY: So, if a farmer doesn't get that fertilizer in time doesn't put it in the ground in time, they may not plant, and then you could end up
having, you know, a supply effect on crop yields, and actually have an increased price effect and potentially add to global hunger.
So, this is a very important issue that we have to focus on with the Strait of Hormuz and try to create green corridors or something, to ensure that we
can get product out to the market.
ANDERSON: And the U.N. Of course, looking at a kind of a similar idea to the grain initiative that they had out of Ukraine during the Russia,
Ukraine issue. And we can have that discussion another time as well as we see that whether or not that develops. It's good to have you.
Thank you very much indeed. We kept fertilizer as an issue sort of squarely on the map, as we've been reporting on the past eight weeks of this war.
And it's really good to have you come in and just provide some sort of substantive insight for us. Thank you very much indeed.
EL-HOSHY: Yeah, thank you.
ANDERSON: Well, the title race going down to the wire in the Premier League as the fight at the other end of the table is an interesting one. Tottenham
Hotspur my team pick up a huge three points they needed that. We're going to do that, more after this -- support --
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, this week, we are going inside the world a K-pop as part of the CNN Original Series K-Everything. Actor and producer Daniel Dae Kim
finds out how South Korea has come to dominate all things pop culture, starting with the explosive rise of Korean music.
He spent the day with the members of all day project in Seoul. The band debuted just last year and already has a devoted fan base. Have a look at
this.
[09:40:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait, this is so cool.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you all right --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look -- Wait, this is so cool --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- so this is Bailey (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So are these, like, boxers are, like, sewn in --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- like signature style to lay your pants.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hate to interrupt.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow. That's beautiful.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a big day for the five members of all day project.
They're releasing an EP their first, six new tracks, that means more marketing. Media and a whole lot of new merch.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you've been doing well, let me hear some noise. I'm still nervous because I don't know how you'll react.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a special private listening party for a few lucky fans before the EP officially drops. In Korea, they call this a
comeback, no matter when a group's last music was released.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When we see them at fan signs, and like people who come frequently to these events, we obviously recognize them just comfort
and see familiar pieces.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like, Stacey (ph) -- you came with a bunch of signs that you wrote for them which they read.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, I know. I know --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's exciting, right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, it made by day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just so in love with them. I listen to their music like for 4000 times every day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think I've ever been obsessed with a band like this. The thing It reminds me of is beetle mania, these clean-cut boys from
England, and there was a lot of teenagers cheering for them. There's a lot of cynicism in the world today. There are a lot of things that are a little
darker.
There's nothing wrong with the brightness and the innocence of like a teenager just loving music and loving musicians who make it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: It's down to the wire in the Premier League with battles at the top and the bottom of the table. Tottenham Hotspur picked up a huge win
over Aston Villa on Sunday that saw them leapfrogged West Ham to just get out of the relegation zone. And what is going on up top is fascinating.
Amanda Davies has more football action on "World Sport" after this short break. I'll be back in 15 minutes with more "Connect the World".
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
[10:00:00]
END
