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One World with Zain Asher
Dubai Gets A Year's Worth Of Rain In 12 Hours; Back And Forth Strikes Happen Between Iran And Israel; Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Pushes Back At His Accusers; House Speaker Mike Johnson's Job On The Line; Boeing Remains On Spotlight. Aired 12-1p ET
Aired April 17, 2024 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:29]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Dubai, one of the world's busiest cities, completely grinds to a halt after a massive flood.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: "One World" starts right now. Much of the Gulf region is hit by exceptionally heavy rain, stranding
people and flooding homes.
ASHER: And the Israeli Prime Minister pushes back against international pressure not to escalate tensions with Iran, saying that Israel makes its
own decisions.
GOLODRYGA: Plus, the first U.S. cabinet secretary to be impeached in nearly 150 years is about to face trial in the Senate. The accusation? Failure to
tackle the migrant crisis at the southern border.
ASHER: All right, coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. You are watching "One World". A deluge in the desert. Yep, you heard that right. It's causing severe flooding in
Dubai right now, where a year's worth of rain fell in just 12 hours yesterday, leaving much of the city underwater. The United Arab Emirates
experiencing the heaviest rainfall in 75 years.
ASHER: Yeah, look at these images. These are images you would never expect to see out of Dubai. Roads completely turned into rivers. Some drivers
simply abandoning their cars, wading through the water to get to higher ground.
And chaos ensued at the world's second busiest airport, which is obviously in Dubai. The tarmac at Dubai International Airport completely, look at
that there, completely submerged. Officials there telling travelers, do not come -- do not come to Dubai unless absolutely necessary.
GOLODRYGA: Emirates Airlines, I mean, first of all, just take a look, if we can go back to that image. That is the airport there. In the distance, you
see a plane on the runway. It looks like a river, actually. It was forced to temporarily suspend passenger check-ins, causing long lines, flight
delays, and weary travelers at the airport.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KANISH KUMAR DEB BARMAN, PASSENGER FROM INDIA: We are uncertain about what's in the near future, whether we will be able to go home, whether we
will be able to provide, you know, have some rest. I don't know. I'm not able to get through. It's a totally difficult situation. I'm trying. I want
to go home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: CNN's Eleni Giokos is in Dubai and filed this report a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRSPONDENT: I mean, as you can see, this is unprecedented. This has never happened in Dubai to this extent. We had
around four inches of rain in around 12 hours. That is as much as Dubai basically receives in a year.
We have seen roads completely flooded, people trapped in their homes, unable to leave, and of course, infrastructure incapable of handling this
type of waterfall. And of course, the airport has been dramatically impacted.
We've seen images of aircraft unable to take off and land effectively. We spoke to one woman that was basically dropped off on the side of this
highway with her six-year-old daughter, unable to get to the hotel.
She had bags. She basically had to go through this floodwater to find refuge. She said that her flight was not only delayed, but also had to go
circles until they eventually were diverted to Abu Dhabi, which is around an hour from here, then impossible to come to Dubai.
It is unbelievable to see this kind of impact from the rainfall. And what, of course, we've been hearing from authorities is incredible clean-up time
now. It's a sunny day in Dubai. That will help a little bit. Let me tell you, the city has come to a grinding halt.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Our thanks to Eleni for that report. We want to bring in CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam for a look at the impact on the entire Gulf
region. So, Derek, if there's any optimism, is that it's a sunny day and perhaps the water will start to dry up. But give us your take on what a
surprise, if any, this flooding was. Was it anticipated? And I would imagine that there's no infrastructure there to take in this amount of
water.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, sunny in Dubai now. But the storm system that brought the heavy rainfall to Dubai and the UAE has moved
eastward and it's impacting portions of Iran and Pakistan, as well. So, this area also getting impacted by flooding rains, which you'll see some of
the video in just one moment.
Look at that. Rainfall totals there, 130 millimeters in southern Iran. This is what it looked like today in Pakistan with flooding. Unfortunately,
authorities saying that the flooding has taken 40 lives from this recent round of extremely heavy rain.
[12:05:00]
Even southern Oman, or I should say northern Oman, are receiving impressive rainfall totals approaching 300 millimeters. So, how much more rain is to
come? Yes, it is done in Dubai, but the storm system that shifted eastward continues to bring precipitation to the southern portions of Pakistan and
into Iran, even Afghanistan, as well.
So, another 15 to 25 millimeters on top of what's already fallen. That means the potential for more flooding. Found this interesting. In 12 hours,
Dubai received more rain than they do on average for the entire year. And in their 24-hour period, they approached 140 millimeters. That's a lot of
rain. We've all seen the videos. Tremendous effort for people to just navigate this for an infrastructure that's not used to this type of water.
But there was more rain just to the south of Dubai. This is in a location in the UAE that received 254, the most rain that has ever been experienced
in a 24-hour period in the UAE. And records go back 75 years. I found that interesting as well because they didn't discover oil. This actually
predates oil discovery in the UAE.
And so, that's really saying something in the context of climate change and the climate crisis because as we continue to extract that oil from the
ground and we burn the fossil fuels emitting these greenhouse trapping gases into our atmosphere, we continue to warm our atmosphere. And that
causes an increase in atmospheric water vapor.
In essence, the atmosphere can hold more water. That leads to more heavy rain events and more frequent extreme heavy rain events like what we saw in
Dubai and what's playing out in Iran and Pakistan right now. Back to you.
GOLODRYGA: Derek Van Dam, thank you so much.
ASHER: All right, a tense waiting game taking place right now in the Middle East as the region collectively holds its breath to see how exactly Israel
is going to be responding to this weekend's unprecedented attacks by Iran. The international community continues to urge restraint.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, but just a short time ago, Benjamin Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting that while he appreciates the advice from allies, Israel
will be making its own decisions when it comes to any response.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I thank our friends for their support for the defense of Israel. And I say this,
both support in words and support in actions. They also have all kinds of suggestions and advice. I appreciate it, but I want to make it clear. We
will make our own decisions and the state of Israel will do everything necessary to defend itself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Top diplomats from Britain and Germany visited Israel today urging caution, and the U.S. is promising to impose new sanctions on Tehran, as
well. I want you to listen to what the U.K.'s Foreign Secretary David Cameron had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: It's clear the Israelis are making a decision to act. We hope they do so in a way that does as little
to escalate this as possible and in a way that, as I said yesterday, is smart as well as tough. But the real need is to refocus back on Hamas, back
on the hostages, back on getting the aid in, back on getting a pause in the conflict in Gaza.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: This is Iran's President is once again warning that any attack by Israel would be dealt with fiercely and severely. Ibrahim Raisi spoke at
an annual army parade earlier Wednesday. He called his country's weekend strikes on Israel limited and punitive.
ASHER: Yeah, you'll recall that Iran fired more than 300 drones and missiles towards Israel in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on an
Iranian diplomatic complex in Syria, in Damascus earlier this month. The European Commission President says the world is even more precarious and
menacing now after Iran's attack on Israel this weekend.
I want to bring in CNN's Nic Robertson who joins us live now from Jerusalem. So Nic, it's been about five days -- five days since Iran
launched those attacks. Just in terms of Benjamin Netanyahu's calculation here, obviously his goal and his priority, I would imagine, is not to
trigger any kind of regional war. But at the same time, he does need to send a very clear message to Iran. Just from the Israeli perspective, is
there any risk in waiting too long before responding here?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You know, some people say that this would work to the government's advantage to wait for a while
and let, in their words, Iran sweat it out, wonder what they're going to do. If he waited for months, he could really harness the international
diplomatic support that he's been getting over Iran's attack.
Iran has been roundly criticized. You were mentioning Ursula von der Leyen there. We've heard criticism coming from the two visiting foreign ministers
today of Iran. There's a lot of criticism of Iran's actions over the weekend. And the longer Prime Minister Netanyahu works, the more that
perhaps that diplomatic effort.
[12:10:00]
We've heard him and his ministers here today say that they want the G7 to take a stronger line against Iran. They want the U.N. to sanction Iran.
They want the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to be described and sanctioned, if you will, as a terrorist organization. All of these things.
But I think in terms of military response, it allows Iran to prepare more. We understand that they're sending another naval ship to the Red Sea that
has sophisticated weapons and monitoring equipment on it. Talking to sources in the region, Hezbollah is making its preparations north of the
border.
No one's saying that they want an open escalation or conflict, but it allows Israel's enemies to sort of pre-set and prepare for whatever Israel
might do. I think the big question on a lot of people's minds here is, if Israel misread Iran's desire to cross -- to read Israel's targeting of
their consulate in Damascus two weeks ago, if they misread that Iran would read that as crossing a red line, can this war cabinet and the prime
minister correctly tune in to what Iran will do.
Now, everything has changed. There was a paradigm shift and deterrence is not on Israel's side, and of course they want to reset it. But how do they
know how Iran is -- will respond? That's the international community's concern. That's what you're hearing. That is perhaps why this deliberation
that the prime minister is taking is going on so long.
ASHER: All right, Nic Robertson, live for us there. Thank you so much.
GOLODRYGA: Well, it could be a watershed moment in the Middle East. Let's bring in Ronen Bergman. He's a staff writer for "The New York Times"
magazine. He's also the author of "Rise and Kill First", the secret history of Israel's targeted assassinations, a must-read. And he joins us now live
from Tel Aviv, Israel.
Ronen, I was speaking with you just hours after that initial strike in Syria against the IRGC members that launched this issue right now with the
back and forth between Iran and Israel. And to Nic's earlier point, while the response to Iran's unprecedented strike was no doubt a success, many
are suggesting that there was a miscalculation perhaps on Israel's part in terms of what Iran's response would look like.
Given that, given that we're on the precipice of Passover, that five days have now passed since Iran launched its strike, are you surprised that it's
taken this long to see any sort of response from Israel?
RONEN BERGMAN, STAFF WRITER, "NEW YORK TIMES" MAGAZINE: The question if I'm surprised or not is marginal. I think that the chiefs of the military are
very surprised because the spirit that came from the cabinet up until maybe three hours after Iran launched -- not yet hit, but launched the first wave
of drones from Iranian territory towards Israel was a spirit.
A very firm, proactive, maybe aggressive spirit saying it doesn't matter what damage those drones and cruise missiles and ballistic missiles will
do, even if 100 percent, the IDF said that 99 percent but even if 100 percent theoretically were intercepted, Israel was planning to strike--
strike immediately and strike back fiercely. And the military was very ready to this and also, I think, promoted and supported and still
supporting a very aggressive reaction.
We need to bear in mind that the leaders of the military, the same Chief of Staff that already took responsibility about this -- partly responsibility
for what happened on October 7th. You know, maybe they want to also show that this will not happen again and they want to resurrect Israeli
deterrence.
Now, this has dragged, first of all, because they wanted all the IDF air force devoted to the interception. Then, a phone call from Biden and other
things, Israeli officials are saying, we are not under pressure, we will do this at the right time, at the right place, we choose.
But usually when such a language is chosen, the right time, the right place, that means that it's more or less over about the Israeli strike.
Now, it can happen, of course, but I think that the dilemma that the Israeli cabinet has gone through during the last week is, what is the gap
between the lower bar?
[12:15:00]
So do something of significance -- significance, and this something needs to, from the Israeli point of view, needs to be against the Iranian
territory, because if it's not, then it's not equivalent to what happened in Israel.
But not high enough to ignite another Iranian reaction, so deteriorate the region into war that Israel doesn't want to go to it, while the liberty,
where is that fine line between not too low, but not too high? Time passed, I think, I'm not sure it's about the holiday, but as any hour that passes
is diminishing the chances that Israel will strike back, at least not now.
ASHER: That's correct. That is very interesting. But just going back to what you said a second ago about where is that gap, right, between
responding not in such a way that it ignites another response from Iran, but also it has to be a meaningful response.
Just in terms of Israel's options, in terms of targets in Iran, in terms of looking at Iran's oil-producing facilities, for example, Iran's nuclear
facilities, its military installations, what is the ideal target, the ideal sort of Goldilocks target, or targets plural, I should say, for Israel to
go after at this point?
BERGMAN: Yeah, I don't think that if Israel calculates where is the bar, so do something significant, but not too significant, it will target the
Iranian nuclear facilities or some very important critical infrastructure like oil or electricity, because this will, for sure, ignite an Iranian
response that maybe will be even more extensive than the first one.
I think that they were discussing a few possibilities, as my colleagues at "The New York Times" and myself yesterday, sorry, this morning, in this
morning's paper we laid out, there were a few, like five main possibilities. One would be a cyberstrike.
A second, a strike on Iranian asset but not in Iran. And third is a limited, but maybe symbolic act, they call this the idea of kinetic, so an
actual bombardment of some kind of site inside Iran, but again, not too big, or resort to the old tools of the shadow war, secret bombings,
explosions, assassinations, or do nothing. Those are mainly the main five.
The point is that the IDF and most of the security cabinet are in consensus that Iran should not, according to their perception, should not be allowed
to rewrite the rules of the game. Iranians basically wanted to show Israel cannot continue the assassination of Iranian senior officials, even if they
are stationed in Syria.
Israel wants to preserve the exact same thing, that they are able, without risking a regional war. The problem is that while both sides are drawing
those lines, there's a severe risk of miscalculation and deteriorating into this war that either side wants.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, both sides want to have the final say and the final word here and whatever response looks like. And we didn't even touch on
Hezbollah and whatever role it could have. We saw that some 18 IDF soldiers were injured today after a drone strike in Israel, up far north. Ronen
Bergman, thank you so much.
ASHER: Thank you, Ronen.
GOLODRYGA: We appreciate your time.
ASHER: All right, Russian missile strikes in northern Ukraine have claimed at least 14 lives. The hospital was among the buildings that were damaged
in Chernihiv.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: That's what it sounded like inside the hospital. Emergency services say there may be more people stuck under the rubble, as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Meanwhile, Ukraine's President says the country needs better air defenses to counter attacks like a broken record. We keep talking about
this, for example, like the one that destroyed the largest power plant in Kyiv region just last week.
In an interview with PBS, he suggested NATO countries should help defend his country the same way they did when Israel was attacked by Iran over the
weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Is Israel part of NATO or not? Here's the answer. Israel is not a NATO country. The
NATO allies, including NATO countries, have been defending Israel. They showed the Iranian forces that Israel was not alone. And this is a lesson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: All right, aid to Ukraine is also putting U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson in the hot seat.
[12:20:00]
GOLODRYGA: That's right. This after a second Republican member of Congress threatened to oust Johnson for his handling of legislation to send aid to
Ukraine and Israel. Johnson says he will put separate foreign aid bills on the floor, including one for aid to Ukraine, with votes on Saturday.
ASHER: Some Democrats say that Johnson's plan to separate Ukraine and Israel aid wastes precious time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADAM SMITH, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: I think it's unlikely I would support vacating it. We'll see. I mean, the big thing is I want to vote on Ukraine.
More to the point, I want Ukraine to get the aid. You know, we've waited months longer than we should have for highly questionable reasons. Now,
we're down to the last minute. Ukraine's hanging on by the fingernails. You know, we got to put the Senate bill on the floor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: On the day his impeachment trial is starting, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is pushing back at his accusers.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, House Republicans sent articles of impeachment to the Senate yesterday over his handling of the southern U.S. border crisis.
Mayorkas says Congress needs to work on passing bipartisan legislation that addresses the problem and that he simply can't do it alone.
ASHER: His trial in the Senate begins in about an hour or so from now. Democrats who control the Senate hope to quickly dismiss the articles, even
as Republicans want a full trial. Let's bring in our Melanie Zanona, who is on Capitol Hill to sort all of this out for us. Melanie, this is primarily
about politics, right? It is about differences of opinion over policy. That is it. What sort of precedents does this set?
MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well, look, there is no question about how this is going to end. But there is a question about how quickly
they get there. There have been Democrats, even some Republicans like Mitt Romney and Lisa Murkowski, who have signaled that they just don't have the
appetite to convict Mayorkas. They do not believe that these policy disputes amount to high crimes and misdemeanors.
So, at some point, Democrats are expected either a motion to dismiss the trial or a motion to table the trial all together. Now, there had been some
negotiations between the two parties about seeing if they can come to an agreement to allow some speeches and some votes from Republicans prior to
getting to that dismissal point. But they were not able to come to an agreement.
And so, we are expecting the Republicans are going to try to offer some sort of votes, dilatory tactics, procedural motions to try to drag this
out, to try to make their point in the way that they are not going to be able to make in a full trial, as they have been demanding.
So, we'll see how this all plays out. Senators are going to be sworn in at around 1 P.M. today. Just a lot of uncertainty about how it will play out.
And again, this is a really rare moment to see a cabinet official impeached. This has not happened in nearly 150 years, even though it is not
expected to result in a conviction. There is some concern about the precedent that this might now set for future Congresses.
GOLODRYGA: And Mayorkas isn't the only one whose future is in question right now. Perhaps his is more secure than where things stand with the
House Speaker, Mike Johnson, really getting pressure from some of the hardliners within his own party. He said just moments ago that he's going
to put a foreign aid supplemental bill up for vote this Saturday.
We have pressure on getting aid to Ukraine, obviously, and what really triggered this this week was the Iranian attack on Israel over the weekend.
Are we in a place where now we'll see Democrats actually step up and rescue him and save his speakership, unlike what they did to his predecessor?
ZANONA: Yeah, it's looking increasingly likely that Speaker Mike Johnson is going to have to rely on Democrats, whether that's to get these foreign aid
bills over the finish line or to save his own speakership.
He did announce that he's moving ahead with this contentious plan to have four separate votes on these foreign aid bills, and then they're going to
try to package them together, merge them together into one piece before they send it over to the Senate. But that has sparked some serious backlash
amongst his right flaked.
In fact, I saw some of those conservative hardliners walking into the speaker's office moments ago to let him know that they're not going to be
supporting that package or the procedural vote, which means he will need Democrats to get it over the finish line.
At this point, though, Democrats are divided over what their strategy is going to be. They said they want to see details of those bills before they
make any commitments about whether to save his speakership or put this plan over the finish line. So, a lot to look out for. But clearly, Mike
Johnson's job is on the line right now.
GOLODRYGA: Wow.
ASHER: Melanie Zanona, live for us there. We'll be watching. Thank you so much.
GOLODRYGA: Never a dull day. Meantime, also in Washington right now, aircraft manufacturer Boeing continues to be in the spotlight after a
Boeing engineer turned whistleblower said the company took unsafe shortcuts in the production of two airplane models.
ASHER: Yeah, lawmakers are holding hearings on safety issues at Boeing. There have been a string of alarming issues, of course, which we've covered
extensively with their planes in January. How could anyone forget a door plug flew off an Alaska Airlines aircraft in midair? And that led to the
grounding of all the 737 MAX 9 jets in the U.S. that have that door plug feature. One of the witnesses testifying today is the Boeing whistleblower.
[12:25:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAM SALEHPOUR, BOEING QWHISTLEBLOWER: I found gaps exceeding the specification that were not properly addressed. Ninety eight point seven
percent of the time. I want to repeat that. Ninety eight point seven percent of the time, the gaps that they were supposed to be shimmed, they
were not shimmed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: That hearing is currently ongoing, and of course, we'll keep an eye on it and bring you any new details as we get them.
ASHER: All right, still to come. For thousands of displaced Palestinians, it was a day that started actually with rare joy -- the day they would
return to their homes in northern Gaza. But it ended in despair. The story of that desperate journey ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Back now to the situation in Gaza, six months into the Israel Hamas war, thousands of Palestinians are trying to get back to their homes
in northern Gaza.
ASHER: Yeah, but getting there is actually a very dangerous business. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh brings us their story. And of course, we do want to warn
you that some of the images you are about to see are graphic and they are disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Their day started with rare excitement and joy after months of hell. They thought they were returning to the homes
they were forced out of months ago on foot and in carts. Thousands of displaced Palestinians on the move again, some with their most valuable
possessions.
They said we can go back home to Gaza City today, Iman says, with her son and cats she took to the road. No one knows where the news came from. There
was no official announcement from the Israeli military that civilians would be allowed back into northern Gaza.
But a rumor enough for those left homeless, shattered by war, now facing a looming Israeli offensive on Rafah, where the majority of Gazans have been
pushed into. People here say they don't even know if they have homes to go back to. Little Omar holds his tiny brother's hand and carries a bag of
flour. Our house is gone. I'll live in a tent, Omar says. I just want to go home. If I die, so be it. Death has become a reality. The youngest here
have been forced to accept.
[12:30:00]
And on this day, they've had to accept that there will be no going home. The crowds were turned away. Fear and panic as people run back. They say
Israeli soldiers opened fire as young men tried crossing the checkpoint with women and children.
Several were injured, among them five year old Sally. She was in her mother's arms when she was shot in the head. Two young men tried to cross
with us, her mother, Sabrine, says. Soldiers started shooting and firing everywhere. My daughter was so scared. I was holding her. Then I put her on
the ground to walk. She wasn't responding. Then I saw all the blood on my hands.
The Israeli military has not commented on Sally's injury. They said the north remains a war zone and returns not permitted. Sally clings on to
life, unconscious on the hospital floor with the muffled cries of another injured child next to her. And at a hospital nearby, another young boy back
from a different nightmare, one no child should ever endure.
Eleven-year-old Nimr was out getting aid for his family when he says he was shot and detained for two weeks, taken to Israel, where he underwent
surgery. Still in pain and shock, he shows the camera his horrific scars. The day they took me, the soldier kicked me with his boot, he tells his
mother over the phone.
My head still hurts. He kicked me with the metal tip of his boot. I was shot in the stomach, lying on the floor. He hit me with no mercy. I'm
waiting for the day to grow up, to be a resistance fighter and hit him like he hit me.
The Israeli military has not responded to CNN's specific questions on Nimr's account. This is the first time in 15 days he's hearing his mother's
voice. I've missed you so much, he cries. They didn't let me see you. I wish I hadn't come back, Nimr says. I wish I had died. Jomana Karadsheh,
CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:36:09]
GOLODRYGA: All right, welcome back to "One World". I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher. This week marks a very grim anniversary. One year since fighting broke out between the Sudanese armed forces and its
paramilitary rival, the Rapid Support Forces. The head of the U.N. says that crimes against humanity may be being committed in Sudan as the
violence escalates. He also reports of hostilities in Al Fasha, the capital of North Darfur, are causing deep alarm amid a desperate humanitarian
situation in Sudan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL: And let me be clear, any attacks on Al-Fasha would be devastating for civilians and could lead
to a full-blown intercommunal conflict across Darfur. It would also upend aid operations in an area already on the brink of famine, since Al Fasha
has always been a critical U.N. humanitarian hub.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: At a recent aid conference in Paris, France's donors pledged more than two billion dollars to help Sudan's civilian population.
ASHER: All right, time now for The Exchange. Our next guest says that aid for Sudan needs to be ramped up significantly. Kelly Clements is the U.N.
Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees. She actually just got back from a visit to South Sudan and says the country that has received the largest
number of refugees fleeing from the war, that's South Sudan.
All right, Kelly, thank you so much for being with us. Our television screens over the past six months have been filled with images out of Gaza,
obviously out of Israel after October 7th, and to a certain extent, Ukraine as well. The world has largely forgotten, I think it's fair to say, about
what is happening in Sudan right now.
That country, obviously on the brink of famine. So many people going hungry right now. Just in terms of children -- children simply not having enough
to eat. If I was to walk through, just to remind our viewers what is happening in that country right now, if I was to walk through the streets
of Khartoum or Darfur right now, what would I see? What would I experience?
KELLY CLEMENTS, U.N. DEPUTY HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES: Well, thanks for having us on the program and thanks for bringing attention to Sudan
because indeed, as you've mentioned, this war has been largely under the shadows of other crises, Ukraine, the Middle East and so on.
And if you were to walk through Khartoum now, you would see devastation. You would see few civilians out. You would not see the humanitarian aid
community in any numbers because it's largely an inaccessible place for people to come in and provide the kind of support that they do with other
partners.
And you would see houses and apartments that are abandoned because people have quite literally run for their lives with very little with them. And
the majority that are on the move are women and children. We see 8.6 million people that have been forcibly displaced from this war that started
a year ago, 1.8 million have gone to the seven neighboring countries, 7000 kilometers of border.
And then the vast majority have been internally displaced. But there are many, many more people in need. We estimate about 17.7 million people, both
inside Sudan and those neighboring countries, are in need of immediate humanitarian aid and protection.
GOLODRYGA: According to the U.N., Kelly, only six percent of the money that has been allocated or said that needs to go to help this crisis has been
allocated. As you mentioned, the high displacement numbers over eight million people. In fact, this is viewed as the highest displacement crisis
right now in the world. Sixteen thousand killed, 18 million food insecure. Why do you think it's not getting the attention globally that it deserves?
[12:40:00]
CLEMENTS: Well, the competing priorities, of course, but as you've mentioned, it's the scale, it's the complexity and frankly, it's the
brutality of this war on people, on individuals. Now, Paris and the announcements that were made on Monday were more than welcome.
International solidarity and that that $2 billion that was pledged in support. But that those resources need to move really quickly to be able to
save lives. You know, we talk about people on the move. People are still leaving to places like Chad, 1800 a day. And what I saw in South Sudan, in
the north and rank, people are continuing to cross those borders, as well.
We have to tell the story of individual lives that are touched, that are affected, that are lost and the trauma that people are experiencing and why
the international community needs to step forward and do more. I think it's quite literally difficult for the international attention to remain focused
on a war that continues to rage on for a longer period of time. But this is something we need to continue to talk about in the case of Sudan because of
regional stability and really because of global stability, as well.
ASHER: Yeah, I mean, you're right about the sort of competing international crises. I mean, the world has just so much on its plate right now in terms
of which crises to pay attention to. But it's also because the crises that take place in Africa are largely forgotten by the international community.
I do want to talk about the refugees. As you touched upon, there's a lot of people going to Chad, going to South Sudan. These are countries that just
don't have the bandwidth to take in, not just take in refugees, but really offer refugees the life that they deserve. So, walk us through what sort of
assistance the international community is giving to countries like South Sudan and Chad, or what sort of assistance should they be given?
CLEMENTS: Well, and to recognize both countries and others that have kept their borders open to save lives, that is something that obviously widely
recognized and widely praised. And in the case of Chad and South Sudan, they have welcomed their brothers and sisters and they say more are
welcome, as well. But like you've said, these are two very poor countries.
People are arriving in places with really literally nothing that they can help to rebuild their own lives, but also the host communities that are
trying to give them the meager resources that they have. So, it's everything from a safe place to sleep, clean water, food assistance, some
of the psychosocial support to deal with the trauma, the incidents of rape and gender based violence is widespread in this war.
And so for us, with the international partners and the local partners in particular, which are so much in the lead on this response, we're trying to
support the governments who are welcoming refugees. Now, in the case of Chad, there were already 400,000 refugees before the war broke out a year
ago. Then add another 700,000 new arrivals and you can tell in these very fragile environments with very few services available how difficult that is
to cope.
Same for South Sudan, 300,000 refugees before April of last year. Now, they have 630,000 people that have arrived. Some South Sudanese returnees that
haven't lived in South Sudan for many, many years also needing to be received, to receive support, to receive transport to their places where
they came from.
But literally, they don't have the tools they need, the mechanisms they need to be able to rebuild their lives. And some of those include things
like education, which are as important in emergencies like this as food and water.
Kelly, thank you so much for the work that you're doing on the ground. Obviously, you just got back from South Sudan and you are shining a
spotlight on the plight of refugees from the people who have left Sudan to go to South Sudan. So, thank you so much for your work. We appreciate it.
Kelly Clements, the U.N. Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:46:36]
ASHER: All right. An organization located in Benin's financial capital is working to kickstart the country's economy through education, innovation
and technology.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, Seme City is helping to unlock the full potential of young people. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLAUDE BORNA, MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER, SEME CITY: Our objectives are creating jobs, ensuring that our young ones are
contributing to the development of their country because they have the mindset, they have the skills to really make a difference and be change
agents.
UNKNOWN: Claude Borna is the Managing Director and Chief Innovation Officer for Seme City, a rapidly growing innovation hub aimed at positioning Benin
as a regional leader in Africa's education and technology sectors.
BORNA: We see young graduates coming to the job markets and there is this gap between the skills that they have and what the job market requires. The
schools that we have have a very strong practical components. From the beginning, students work on projects, they do internships, they work with
companies, they solve problems.
CLARE HAZOUMI, TEACHER, AFRICAN DESIGN SCHOOL: Our teaching approach revolves around real time subjects, enabling students to comprehend the
functioning of the contemporary world, assess the challenges faced by governments, entrepreneurs, companies and schools and devise solutions.
Through interactive sessions, students engage directly with these entities, gaining insight into real time issues. Additionally, students are tasked
with addressing problems relevant to Benin, Africa or the global context in their professional projects.
UNKNOWN: As well as promoting STEM education throughout Benin, running programs with local schools and offering in-house undergraduate programs,
Seme City aims to bridge the gap between ideas and funding.
BORNA: We started with an idea of creating a place where we would put students and entrepreneurs together. And the missing link, which is very
interesting, was research and doing research in Africa that really is contributing with very concrete solutions to advancing issues.
UNKNOWN: One of Seme City's success stories has been Extech Lab, a start-up harnessing the power of X-ray technology to develop solutions for Africa in
fields ranging from climate change to health care.
SIDOINE BONOU, HEAD OF RESEARCVCH PROGRAMS AND EXPERIMENTAL PLATFORMS: Here, we use the technique of X-ray technology to be able to characterize
materials at an atomic level. From their composition, we can assess the properties and consider possible applications. From here, we are able to
develop new products, new molecules, et cetera, whether in the fields of agriculture, health, environment, energy and so on.
BORNA: We really feel that we're making a difference. The issues that we're tackling are so serious and important that there is no place for
competition. There is room for collaboration. There is room for doing some things together so that we can have greater impact in Africa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:52:16]
GOLODRYGA: Well, in just a few minutes, the U.S. Senate is set to begin the impeachment trial of U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
The House of Representatives sent over articles of impeachment yesterday. The Democrat-controlled Senate is likely to quickly dismiss the charges
without a trial.
Now, Republicans voted to impeach him over his handling of the U.S. southern border. Democrats are calling it a political stunt. So, let's
bring in CNN's Stephen Collinson, who's joining us from Washington. Stephen, a lot to question in terms of the Republican calculus, one on the
military aid that is being held up and whatever bill may likely be up for a vote on Saturday.
The other is obviously what's taking place now in the Senate with the articles of impeachment for the Homeland Secretary coming through
yesterday. Just walk us through what Republicans are hoping to gain out of what is likely just to be a be a political stunt. What some may say is just
a waste of time because the Senate clearly will not take this up.
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICAL SENIOR REPORTER: Well, I think political stunts is largely what this Republican majority in the House has become
famous for. Often, there are members of that majority, the very tiny Republican majority that have come to Washington to make a splash and to
make some noise and are not particularly interested in -- interested in legislating.
That's not to say that the issue of the border is not a crisis. There have been high numbers of undocumented migrants coming to the border over the
last year or so. And you can criticize, I think, the Biden administration's handling of it.
But most constitutional scholars, including some on the right conservatives who have been involved even in defending former President Donald Trump
during his impeachments, say that the allegations that are being brought against Mayorkas do not rise to the level of impeachment. This would be the
first cabinet official impeached since 1876. So, you can see how unusual this is.
I think that to a great extent, the Republican majority, the far right pro- Trump members of that body, they wanted to impeach somebody in revenge for Donald Trump's two impeachments when he was in office and after he left
office over the January the 6th incident. So, they couldn't get the President.
There is an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden, but it's not getting very far. So, Mayorkas is a politically convenient target. And
there is a political gain, I think, for some of those far right members to go back to their constituents and say, look, we impeached the Homeland
Security Secretary.
ASHER: So, Chuck Schumer is expected, though, to move very quickly to dismiss these charges. If and when, maybe I should say when, when that
happens, what will the likely GOP reaction to that be?
[12:55:00]
COLLINSON: Well, you're right, it's going to probably go rather quickly. Schumer has said in the last few minutes that he's going to call a vote to
dismiss the charges right from the top. There was some question whether this would be a slightly difficult vote for some Democratic senators who
are running for re-election in tough places.
Bob Casey, for example, in Pennsylvania, John Tester in Montana, that could be used against them in their re-election campaigns in really states where
Trump is expected to do quite well. But I think we're going to get a lot of noise from Republicans. They'll be going on conservative T.V.
They'll be sending out fundraising appeals saying that the Democrats aren't taking the border crisis seriously. But the Democrats have ammunition
themselves because the Republicans blocked what would have been the most conservative immigration bill at the behest of Donald Trump a few weeks
ago.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, and that is something the President's been saying. Also, theatrics, some split screen. You may very well see a scenario where you
have Democrats saving Mike Johnson and his House speakership position, given the turmoil there over this supplemental aid bill that is up for a
vote on Saturday.
As we said before, never a dull moment in Washington, never a dull moment in politics here. Thank you so much, Stephen.
ASHER: Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: And thank you so much for watching this hour of "One World". I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher. Amanpour is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
