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Hala Gorani Tonight
UK Prime Minister Seeks Brexit Extension Until June 30; Boeing CEO Accepts Blame for Two Deadly Crashes; Saudi Arabia Detains 7 Activists, including 2 U.S. Citizens, Final Polls Released Before Tuesday's Israeli Vote; Russian Military Pushing for Control in The Arctic Region; U.K. Pm May Seeks Brexit Extension Until June 30; Vacationing Family Discovers Hidden Camera In Airbnb; Trump Returns To U.S.-Mexico Border; Udaipur Music Festival Attracts World-Class Talent.. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired April 05, 2019 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00] HALA GORANI, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Live from CNN London, happy Friday. I'm Hala Gorani. Tonight, a new request to delay Brexit.
Theresa May wants to leave on June 30th. The EU is not so sure. Also, ahead this hour, President Trump will arrive on the U.S.-Mexico border to
inspect a portion of the border wall. Also, a rare look at the military base at the heart of Vladimir Putin's Arctic ambitions. That story is
coming up this hour.
The stage is set for an extraordinary summit next week where the EU will decide whether to allow an extension of the UK's membership. British Prime
Minister Theresa May asked the EU for more time, again, she's hoping for a delay to Brexit until June 30th as he tries to negotiate her way out of a
political crisis here in the UK. But as always, with Brexit, nothing is guaranteed. You'll remember the EU already allowed an extension until
April 12th and it seems like they may not be feeling overly generous on this one.
A source tells CNN, European Council President Donald Tusk will only offer a yearlong-flexible delay instead. And the French seem to be leaning
toward a non. Remember, all it takes is one veto and the U.K. is out in a week. Let's take a look at the latest developments for you. Erin
McLaughlin in Brussels for us tonight. Hadas Gold is outside the Houses of Parliament in London.
You received a statement, Hadas, from Downing Street, what does it say?
HADAS GOLD, CNN REPORTER, EUROPEAN POLITICS, MEDIA AND BUSINESS: Yes. So earlier just about an hour or so ago, we received a statement from a
spokesperson of the Labour party. This comes after two days of talks between the Labour party and Theresa May's Conservative party trying to
find some sort of cross-party consensus on any sort of deal that could win the majority.
At first, they described these talks as constructive, but the Labour party put out a statement just about an hour ago saying we are disappointed that
that the government has not offered real change or compromise. We urge the prime minister to come forward with genuine changes to her deal in an
effort to find an alternative that can win support in Parliament and bring the country together.
And just a few minutes ago, Hala, we received a statement from Downing Street saying that in fact, they say they have put forward serious
proposals and are prepared to pursue changes to the political declaration in order to deliver a deal that is acceptable to both sides.
They say they are going to hold further talks this weekend with the Labour party and that they're seeking to not only deliver on the Brexit vote but
also to avoid participation in the European elections where in that letter to Donald Tusk, Theresa May said -- acknowledged that by that June 30th
deadline, they would have to put up candidates for the elections that are taking place in May. So, we are getting some different statements here
going back and forth through Labour and the Conservative party.
These talks will continue through this weekend where Theresa May is hoping to be able to go to the European Union next week with some sort of result,
Hala.
GORANI: Before I get to Erin, we know what the EU position is on this. If you're a member of the EU, you participate in these elections. The
elections are in the third week of May. The Prime Minister is saying she wants to find a way to avoid taking part in these elections. How would
that work? How would that practically unfold if she leaves on June 30th?
GOLD: They would have to get a deal together, passed through Parliament and if it is a change, which it seems like it will be to the original
Brexit deal, make sure that the EU is signed onto all of this and make sure they are out before those elections take place. But I do believe you have
to submit candidates for these elections pretty soon in the next week or so before those elections actually take place in May. In terms of the timing,
I don't know how that can work because getting anything through Parliament is a little bit hard right now.
Theresa May has tried three times with her own deal considering she technically has a coalition majority in Parliament and hasn't been
successful yet. It might be sort of a pie in the sky dream that these talks with Jeremy Corbyn will come to anything. But there's a lot of
pressure going on both sides trying to get something through. As far as it seems, nobody wants the U.K. to stand in these parliamentary elections in
Europe.
[14:05:00] GORANI: I'm confused, Erin. If Theresa May is asking for an extension until June 30th and the European elections are May 23rd, 24th,
you're going to have to take part. For whatever reason, if another extension is request past June 30th, these MEPs, members of the European
Parliament need to be able to take their seats. What is the EU saying?
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's basically the EU's position, Hala, speaking to sources here in Brussels, and they've been
telling me that it's difficult to see any scenario in which the united kingdom would not take part in those elections even if she does form some
coalition with Labour which people are deeply skeptical of. Some sources telling me they would still require the U.K. to participate in case that
coalition fell apart.
It was a welcomed development today in her letter requesting that June 30th extension that she included the idea that the U.K. is making the necessary
steps to pave the way for the UK's participation in those elections that was very much welcomed here in Brussels. Her own extension request letter
was preempted by the President of the European Council Donald tusk. A source told me he's tabling his own proposal suggesting a long flexible
extension is the way to go for Brexit.
Something that could be narrowed once the United Kingdom does in fact ratify the withdrawal agreement, the thinking there being that the leaders
don't want to have to come back to Brussels for another make or break Brexit summit every month as time drags on --
GORANI: Just jumping in, Erin, basically the EU is saying, stop coming back every three or four weeks asking for extension. If you want one, it
will be a long one, we'll make it flexible, so in case we get a deal, we can end it then and there. But don't come back and ask us every three or
four weeks. That's the EU position. The other thing that the --
MCLAUGHLIN: That's Donald Tusk's position.
GORANI: Yes, right.
MCLAUGHLIN: That is not --
GORANI: And France is saying something quite similar.
MCLAUGHLIN: Yes. France is saying something different. France is saying something different, the delay here I think is messing with us. France is
saying different. What France wants to see is a majority which doesn't exist at this point. And that's France's conditions in order to grant any
sort of extension at this point. Donald tusk is taking a softer view. I'm told that Germany is in line -- more in line with Donald tusk's thinking
but wants to see more details from Theresa May.
I think at this point all eyes on Brussels are still on what happens with Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn talks before taking any concrete steps. There
was a discussion today in Brussels between the EU ambassadors, different positions were talked about. But nothing is definitive just yet.
GORANI: France is saying certainly no short extension, a long extension if there is some sort of plan, we would consider. Not on board with any
shorter extension. In the same way Donald Tusk is saying he is not on board. And then we have Jacob Rees-Mogg who is one of the hard core
Brexiters in this country, saying if we have to endure a longer extension, let's be disruptive, especially, if there's a long extension, it leaves us
stuck in the EU, we should be as difficult as possible.
We could veto any increase in the budget, obstruct the army and block Mr. Macron's schemes. This is a man who when he campaigned for Brexit said the
U.K. was under the influence of Brussels bureaucrats and had no power and now, he's tweeting out that they have all this power some people have
pointed out.
GOLD: Right. He's tweeting out that somehow, they will be able to influence everything or be the thorn in the side of the European Union.
Erin has noted previously that this is something that's raised a lot of eyebrows in the EU. This idea of having to sit for elections and sitting
in the Parliament itself, then what happens, what happens then once -- if a Brexit deal is agreed upon and they leave the European Union, do those
people suddenly leave.
[14:10:00] And I've talked to a lot of pro-Brexit members of the public here, why are we spending time on these elections if they're going to leave
soon, but the law is the law in the European Union and that's adding the complicating factor to all of these dates that we were talking about
earlier that they would have to send candidates to these elections that will take place in May and they will go through it.
We have already heard from Nigel Farage he plans to run for the Brexit party in the European Parliamentary elections. This is another fun date to
look forward to in this Brexit saga. And they will go through it. We heard about plans to run for the Brexit party in the European Parliamentary
elections. This is another fun date to look forward to in this Brexit saga.
GORANI: I can only imagine EU countries not looking forward to having him back in the European Parliament. Thanks very much, Hadas Gold and Erin
McLaughlin.
To Boeing now, the pressure is on Boeing and its continuing to build, in fact, following two fatal crashes involving its 737 Max planes. "The
Washington Post" is now reporting that regulators are ordering the company to fix a second software problem with the plane.
Boeing tells CNN the problem is relatively minor and not related to the anti-stall software it says played a role in both of the Lion Air and
Ethiopian Airline crashes that killed 346 people. Tom Foreman is in Washington with more on what we learned from that preliminary report. And
also, what Boeing is saying it's going to do to fix the problems. Tom?
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This current change, let's talk about this, the latest report here, they're describing work that would involve
working on the flaps of the plane, if you take a look at our model here, they're the red parts back over there, very critical in controlling of the
plane. They're calling this a minor problem. Maybe the fix itself is minor.
But arguably, there's nothing involving Boeing right now and this line of airplanes that is minor because this preliminary report that came out of
Ethiopia has set everything ablaze because the pressure on Boeing now over the fundamental mistakes is so intense here in Washington right now that
you can just feel it and Boeing is reacting to that right now, Hala.
GORANI: And the Boeing CEO is saying he's sorry and promising to fix the issues. This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DENNIS MUILENBURG, CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, BOEING: We add Boeing are sorry for the lives lost in the recent 737 Max accident. It's apparent
that in both flights the maneuvering characteristics augmentation system, known as MCAS, activated in response to erroneous angle of attack
information. It's our responsibility to eliminate this risk. We own it. And we know how to do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: And, Tom, that begs the question, then, after the first crash.
FOREMAN: MCAS is a system that relates to some sensors on the front of the plane right up here. They're on the left or the right. Only one of them
was feeding into that system. That's one of them right there. What was happening is this would determine the angle of the plane. If the plane
started tilting way up in the air like this and it was in danger of stalling, this automatic software machine would pull it back where it
belongs, this computer would pull it back to where it belongs.
If you get a bad reading off this, and this is what the preliminary report from Ethiopia says what happened, the indicator was saying it was heading
75 degrees straight up in the air, it was not. But that kicked on the computer apparently and that made the plane start nosing down. And then
the crew started fighting it and back and forth it went in the air.
By the time they were finished, the report says, it ended up at about 40 degrees headed down and it went into the ground at nearly 600 miles per
hour. This is what Boeing has to overcome.
There are many people who may not under avionics, they not understand law or certification, they understand the raw terror of this happening and the
fatalities that followed. Until Boeing can convince people that they have these problems completely solved with this line of airplane, as you noted,
even having dealt with it from back last fall, when it happened off Indonesia, once Boeing gets that settled, maybe they're OK.
Until they do, until they convince the flying public, pilots and airlines that they have this under control, Hala, I don't see a way that these
planes get off the ground again. If they don't get off the ground, that's an existential issue for Boeing.
GORANI: Certainly. And it's going to take a lot to get people's trust back. Thanks very much, Tom Foreman with the very latest on that. To the
Middle East now. Saudi Arabia has launched a new crack down on dissent. It is arresting a group of activists today, including two dual U.S.
citizens. According to two sources familiar with the events. This is Salah al-Haidar pictured here with his mother, a prominent women's rights
activist, Aziza al-Yousef, there he is on the right.
Al-Haidar is one of seven writers and social media bloggers detained by Saudi authorities.
{14:15:00] Many of them have spoken out in defense of women's rights and their fellow activists and they were as many people have remarked, they
were pretty middle of the road intellectuals and commentators and this new round of arrests is the first time Saudi Arabia has targeted dissidents
since the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year.
Fawaz Gerges Joins me now, he's the chairman of contemporary Middle Eastern Studies at the London School of Economics. Thanks for being with us. This
is -- comes a few days after a few of these Saudi Arabia female activists were released, not the more prominent ones, Loujain al-Hathloul. But
others, so there was a little bit of hope there. And now all of a sudden, we've gone back.
FAWAZ GERGES, CHAIRMAN OF CONTEMPORARY MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES AT THE LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: It doesn't make sense. It's irrational. It's
counter productive. As you said. Just a few days ago three political prisoners were released on bail. In fact, there are credible reports that
the King of Saudi Arabia is considering an amnesty for all political dissidents.
This is a serious report. The arrest of the seven or eight political bloggers, they're not even dissidents. They are really mainstream bloggers
and writers who call for women rights. They don't represent a threat to anyone other than leadership to Saudi Arabia. The fact that they live in
Saudi Arabia tells you a great deal.
GORANI: What's going on? Is this coming from the top? Are these overzealous kind of security or intelligence forces?
GERGES: If you tell me, it doesn't make sense. It's irrational because they do not represent a threat. So obviously dissent is basically
forbidden. This is a message to all writers and bloggers, you cannot really challenge the rules-based system. You have very zealous security
forces.
GORANI: This is another level. Because actual dissidents who are writing against the regime, the family, are one thing, but here you have pretty
mainstream bloggers and commentators who express solidarity with the women's rights activists. In fact, Salah Has a home in Virginia and he
lives in Saudi Arabia with his wife. Another one is a dual U.S. citizen, Badr al-Ibrahim. This also tells you they are not concerned with the U.S.
authorities.
GERGES: Not at all. The fact is, again, for the Saudi viewers and the international viewers, they are not dissidents. They are not criticizing
the government. They do not represent a threat to the security of Saudi Arabia. They're calling for women rights. Khadijah al-Harbi, another
prominent feminist writer was allegedly arrested.
GORANI: Loujain al-Hathloul is still in captivity.
GERGES: Salah al-Haidar, both are dual Saudi-U.S. citizens. And this is the first wave of arrests after the killing of Khashoggi.
GORANI: Meanwhile in Libya, another country in the Arab world struggling as well. What is going there?
GERGES: What is happening in Libya is a military leader by the name, Khalifa Haftar,
has ordered his forces to seize the capital, Tripoli. He controls most of the eastern part of Libya. And his forces have almost come within 25 miles
of the perimeter of Tripoli. It is a big gamble on the part of General Haftar.
Haftar has an ambition, he wants to unify Libya under his own authority using both carrots and sticks, the reports that we have, he has captured
three major towns around Tripoli. Not by fighting.
GORANI: It is civil war, potentially, here again?
GERGES: This is the fear. This is a huge gamble. Either it will be a divisive turning point, Haftar controlling, unifying Libya or the country
descending into all out war. Might take on it, there is no military solution. You have powerful militias that are all over Libya, and Haftar
fails to capture Libya, as seems to be the case, because one of the most powerful rival militia is mobilizing to stop the General Haftar.
So, there's a real danger that Libya could descend into all out civil war again renewed civil war in Libya. This represents a major threat to
international peace and security.
GORANI: There's no sort of encouraging part of the Arab world it seems these days.
GERGES: Algeria.
[14:20:00] GERGES: At least it's a peaceful apprising that has -- the system itself really in tatters. The Algerian people have won the day.
This is --
GORANI: I'm still waiting to see --
GERGES: And Tunisia is -- so there are bright -- there's a light at the end of the underlying. Agency and the will of the people are still there,
Hala.
GORANI: Thanks so much. Still to come tonight, the final polls are out before Israel's elections, we'll see which party has a slight edge and tell
you why some people want to boycott the vote all together. We'll be right back. Why some people want to boycott the vote all together. We'll be
right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Now to Israel where the final polls have been released before Tuesday's crucial elections. Benjamin Netanyahu's main rival has a slight
lead. But the Prime Minister still stands a good chance of winning a record fifth term. Michael Holmes in Jerusalem explains why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Today is the last day. The polls can be reported legally in Israel. And all the major newspapers as you might
imagine have one, the consensus is putting Benny Gantz's Blue and White party back in the head-to-head lead, just a handful of seats ahead of
Benjamin Netanyahu and Likud, depending on the poll. One to five seats ahead.
As we know of course, the Israeli elections are about coalitions, whether Netanyahu's Likud party or Gantz's Blue and White party are given a chance
to form a government. They are both going to be courting parties to come on board and get them to
that magic number of 61 so they can govern. There's one block of parties that could get 11 seats. Which neither party is courting. We're talking
about the Israeli-Arab parties.
Ahmad Tibi electioneering like any other politician in Israel ahead of next Tuesday's vote, not in Hebrew, but Arabic.
AHMAD TIBI, PRIME MINISTER CANDIDATE, ARAB MOVEMENT FOR CHANGE, ISRAEL (through translator): The more Arabs vote, the more chance to weaken the
parties on the right.
HOLMES: Tibi is perhaps Israel's best-known Palestinian politician. And has an important electorate around 20 percent of Israeli voters,
TIBI: We should be there in order to try prevent more racism and to bring the voice and to bring the voice of this community, of this minority to the
most influential place in Israel, the Knesset.
HOLMES: One Ahmad Tibi's goals isn't winning voters to his party, it's getting them to vote at all. A mission made more difficult after a new
nation-state law passed last year which made no mention of equality or minority rights and statements like this from Benjamin Netanyahu.
[14:25:00] BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER, ISRAEL (through translator): Israel is a Jewish democratic state. Of course, it respects the individual
rights of all its citizens, Jews and non-Jews alike. It's the nation state not of all its citizens but only the Jewish people.
HOLMES: Most of Israel's Arab citizens, its Palestinian citizens have never felt they've had much of a political voice in this country and even
less so after that comment from the Prime Minister basically saying that they're not equal citizens here. And that has led to some to call for a
boycott of this election.
RULA MAZZAWI, BOYCOTT ELECTIONS CAMPAIGN (through translator): We are Palestinians and we can't be part of the colonial system and the second
reason we should boycott is that for the last 71 years, we didn't achieve peace or stop the siege on Gaza.
HOLMES: One of the best-known Palestinian rappers, Tamer, released a plea for the youths to ignore boycott calls and vote and it's been widely shared
on social media.
Neither Netanyahu's Likud or Benny Gantz's Blue and White party say they will ask Arab-Israeli parties to join a coalition despite polls suggesting
those parties could win between 8 and 11 seats in Knesset. Ahmad Tibi says he doesn't want to join a coalition either. But says he'll do anything
short of that to stop another Netanyahu government.
TIBI: I will be a preventive block to Netanyahu. We will not support Netanyahu.
HOLMES: On election day 2015, Benjamin Netanyahu was widely criticized for an alarmist warning to supporters that Arabs were voting in droves. The
message from politicians like Ahmad Tibi and Rapper Tamer is, yes, vote in droves.
Hala, one big issue is turnout and whether those calls for a boycott resonate on election day, low turnout and the potential power of the Arab
block cold be dented. Big turnout and their support or their opposition in the Knesset could become crucial going forward. Hala?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Thank you, Michael Holmes in Jerusalem. The latest front line in Russia's push for global influence is a large area of frozen tundra.
Moscow opened a new military base that is closer to Alaska than it is to Moscow. Fred Pleitgen was given an exclusive look at Russia's Arctic
ambition.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Racing north across the frozen Arctic Sea on a Russian army chopper. The Russians are
making a huge effort to upgrade their military infrastructure in the Arctic. Several of their bases are fully operational and right now they're
flying us to one of their most modern ones. They call this space Northern Clover. The Russian army has already deployed coastal defense rockets here
and specialized Arctic anti-aircraft systems built to perform in the cold.
CAPT. EGOR OGARKOV, RUSSIAN ARMY (through translator): This is complex is adapted for much harsh weather conditions at the Arctic. It works in
temperatures as low as negative 50 degrees.
PLEITGEN: It's all part of Vladimir Putin's long-term strategy to dominate the Arctic. This place has a clear mission to defend and enable Russia's
interests in the Arctic north. As the ice here becomes weaker because of global warming, those economic interests are becoming more important. The
Northern Clove base is in a strategic location in Russia's Arctic far east. It seems remote until you look at the world from the top and see that this
base is one of Russia's closest to U.S. territory.
The base can house up to 250 soldiers. Aside from its weapons arsenal, it also has high-powered radars to make sure America and its allies don't come
close. Russia is pouring major resources into its Arctic endeavor. It's the only country with a fleet of nuclear ice breakers to open up and
control Arctic trade routes that could make trade between Asia and the West much faster and cheaper.
And Russia is tapping into natural resources in the Arctic, like liquid natural gas, even
deploying floating nuclear power stations to fuel its Arctic ambitions.
MAJ. VLADIMIR PASECHNIK, RUSSIAN BASE COMMANDER (through translator): Our base performs radar control, monitors the air space, secures the route and
eliminates damage to the environment.
PLEITGEN: The Trump administration seems woefully ill equipped to counter the endeavors while Moscow is fortifying its position in this area, America
and its allies lack the same ice breaking power of Russia's fleet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: And that was Fred Pleitgen reporting. Still to come we'll be live at the Mexican border as Donald Trump arrives to see the first section of
his border wall, but he may see a big Trump inflatable baby inside, or as well. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:54] HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Let us return now to more Brexit chaos. Theresa May has asked the E.U. to delay Brexit for a second
time conceding that the U.K. is preparing to take part in European elections. But many say Brussels is likely to reject the proposed date of
June 30th. Instead proposing a one-year flexible extension.
Would granting an extension even achieve anything? Quentin Peel is an associate fellow at the Europe Program at Chatham House. She wants until
June 30th, but the elections are in May. That means the U.K. has to take part. I mean, no matter what she says because the E.U. is not going to say
fine, you can leave June 30th, don't take part in E.U. elections, right?
QUENTIN PEEL, ASSOCIATE FELLOW, EUROPE PROGRAM AT CHATHAM HOUSE: I think I've made that absolutely clear that taking part in the European elections
is a precondition for getting any extension beyond the date. She's still saying, oh, but I've got a plan. I'm going to get it through before that
date.
She obviously is really uncomfortable with holding those elections. And I don't think it's just the principle. I think she's worried that her party
could get really clobbered.
GORANI: But also, Labour is unhappy. She reached a hand out to Labour saying, let's talk. Let's find to compromise. And the opposition is
saying, there's been no compromise.
PEEL: They came out today saying there hasn't been any offer of any real change. Now, Downing Street is saying, oh, we're ready to change. But
apparently --
GORANI: Change what though?
PEEL: Yes. Well, the political declaration is what --
GORANI: I see.
PEEL: -- Labour wants changed. It's not binding. But it would at least maybe pin down the long term direction we're going in. But I don't think
they're going to get it.
GORANI: Quentin, you said the most likely outcome is that yearlong flexible extension. I'm not allowed -- my producer won't let me call it a
flex tension. I think he's tired of jargoning of words.
But it's a flexible extension. In other words, we'll give you a year, unless we can come up with a deal before then.
PEEL: Yes.
GORANI: And then it becomes a shorter extension.
PEEL: Absolutely, I think if they get on the deal --
GORANI: Is that the most likely?
PEEL: -- get the deal through parliament and let us not forget it's been rejected, resoundingly, three times. If they could get that through before
the European elections, maybe they can pull them off at the last minute, but they're going to have to legally go ahead with the planning process and
I would confidently expect they'll be holding them.
GORANI: Because when you have to put up candidates for these elections, it's in April, right? It's this month.
PEEL: The whole point of the date we've got next week, April the 12th. It's the last day at which they can, officially, call the elections. And
April the 25th, I think, is the last day for announcing candidates.
GORANI: Now, you have the troublemakers. And that will be a big issue for the E.U., the Jacob Reese-Mogg and the Nigel Farages. Jacob Rees-Mogg is
essentially saying, if we're forced into this long extension, we're going to be as disruptive as we can. We're going to make problems for the E.U.
The E.U., really, doesn't need that headache right now.
PEEL: Well, it's the Conservative Party and therefore the government in Britain is all over the place. They are really at each other's throats.
But they don't actually know what they want. I mean, we've had one of the leading Brexiteers, Bernard Jenkin, today saying, I would prefer a long
extension to the deal that she's trying to get us to approve. On the other hand, Jacob Rees-Mogg says, we're going to make trouble. It looks like a
government that has very little life left in it.
[14:35:02] GORANI: I wonder, so France is playing bad cop a little bit here? Angela Merkel and Donald Tusk were a little more conciliatory. But
they're saying, we are against a long extension if there are no concrete plans attached to that. But are they just trying to strengthen the E.U.'s
negotiating position here, perhaps?
PEEL: They're raising the pressure. There's no doubt. But what pressure can she respond to? There is one potential compromise I can see out there
and that was the one that got the largest number of votes last week in parliament. It is to say, we will let your deal go through provided you
put it to a referendum.
If that could bring together, if you like, the pros of (INAUDIBLE) -- the British parliament, that would be a plan then she could go and she'd say,
I'm going to get it through, and I'm going to have a referendum --
GORANI: But what would be the question?
PEEL: The question would be my deal --
GORANI: My deal --
PEEL: -- or remain.
GORANI: Right. But then Brexiteers will say, our desired outcome isn't even in the question and we won in 2016.
PEEL: Well, then the big question is, would the British parliament dare to put on the order paper a question which says, or no-deal pressure?
GORANI: So three options?
PEEL: But that would be against an overwhelming majority in parliament who know that a crash out would be terribly destructive.
GORANI: Quentin Peel, as always, thanks so much for joining us this evening. I appreciate your time.
Her I do may have been more love, but MacKenzie Bezos is definitely walking away with money from her marriage to Jeff Bezos and we mean a lot of money.
$35 billion with a "B," and it will make her the world's fourth richest woman.
Jeff Bezos is the CEO of Amazon and the wealthiest man on the planet. The couple announced the terms of their divorce Thursday. But besides
exorbitant amount of money, the deal also it involves the control over a big chunk of Amazon shares.
Brian Stelter joins me now from New York. And, Brian, there's Amazon, there is an interest in the Washington Post as well. Does the -- do the
terms of this divorce affect the businesses at all?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: They will not, at least not as far as we can tell because this seems to be a pretty amicable
arrangement. You read about Bezos's love life in the National Enquirer three months ago. He's dating a new woman. This could have gone very
badly for all parties involved.
But they seemed to have struck a deal where everybody is winning. The headline I saw about this morning, in USA Today said, after finalizing his
divorce, Jeff Bezos remains richer than everyone else on earth. Anyone of us on earth that is.
So it does sum up the situation pretty well. MacKenzie Bezos is walking away with about $35 billion worth of stock. As you said, that makes her
one of the wealthiest women in the world. The number three or number four when I do the math.
As for Jeff Bezos, he'll still have about $110 billion worth of Amazon stock that makes him still the richest man in the world. And so both sides
kind of coming away here winning. Bezos also walks away -- Jeff Bezos, with all of the Washington Post and all of Blue Origin.
And so Amazon, the Post, they don't seem to be affected, even though this divorce has been generating headlines for months.
GORANI: So she did not get 50 percent of the holdings of the couple, right? I mean, why not?
STELTER: And that's -- right. That's what curious. Because in Washington State, under the law there, she could have received 50 percent of any
earnings in the marriage after the day of the marriage. Well, Amazon was founded after the couple wed in the early 1990s.
GORANI: Sure.
STELTER: I think this was a compromise, a negotiation clearly, a very rich negotiation and a situation where both sides can come away very happy. I
mean, I don't know about you, Hala, I wouldn't know what to do with $35 billion. So even though, I guess, theoretically she could have commanded
70 billion, she has more than enough.
And look, it's in both of their interests for Amazon and for Jeff Bezos to keep doing well. Because all of this money is tied up in Amazon stocks.
So that's the interesting X factor about this.
Right now, the stock is up $200 from where it was when this divorce was announced. So clearly, the company has not been hurt and the investment
community.
But I think people are curious about what Jeff Bezos's future is going to be. And they're also curious what MacKenzie Bezos is going to do with $35
billion of stock. Is she going to announce a philanthropy effort the way say Bill and among the Gates have and other tech billionaires have? I
think that part remains to be seen.
GORANI: Yes. $35 billion, I think there is sometimes such a thing as too much money, to be honest with you. You're never going to spend it. Yes,
maybe she'll give some of it away. Who knows what she does with it? Clearly though the two, as you mentioned, sounded pretty eager to put a --
put a bow around this and wrap this up and move on. So good for them.
Thanks very much, Brian Stelter in New York as always.
STELTER: Thank you.
GORANI: We now turn to a traveler's nightmare. A family from New Zealand was vacationing in Ireland, staying at a home they found on Airbnb. To
their shock, they discovered a livestreaming camera was hidden and what looked like a smoke detector. It was recording everything they were doing.
[14:40:00] When they called the owner of the property, he initially hung up on them. And Airbnb wasn't much help either. It took several weeks for
the company to offer them a refund. That's, by the way, after they talked about their issues with this apartment on social media.
Ahiza Garcia of CNN Business is following this story. So, first of all, how did the family find out that they were being filmed from that -- what
looked like a smoke detector?
AHIZA GARCIA, CNN BUSINESS TECH WRITER: So they were looking for a wireless connection. And the husband who is in IT discovered that there
was this camera and that there was a live feed. And then based on the positioning of the video, they were able to find that the camera was in the
smoke detector or the alarm system, and -- but so terrifying to think if they hadn't done that sweep, they would have been recorded potentially and,
you know, would have had no idea.
GORANI: Yes. So they were being livestreamed? I mean, this wasn't something that was recording them for later playback? This was actually a
livestream that someone was accessing from another location?
GARCIA: Yes. It appears to have been a live feed of kind of what was happening in the room. And as you pointed out, I mean, this is something
that Airbnb was not super quick to respond to. It wasn't until the family posted about it on Facebook and alerted -- people were informed about it
that Airbnb kind of put out a response. And so in response, they said that, "Airbnb policies strictly prohibit hidden cameras in listings and we
take reports of any violations extremely seriously. We have permanently removed this bad actor from our platform. Our handling of this incident
did not meet the high standards we set for ourselves, and we have apologized to the family and fully refunded their stay."
GORANI: So, as you mentioned, they didn't initially say this, they said this when the story gained traction because the family posted about their
problems on social media. I guess for ordinary travelers who book properties on Airbnb, in the end, you're staying in someone's private
house. So you kind of -- is it always a risk? You just never know, really, what they have set up in their smoke detectors or whether or not
they have hidden cameras?
GARCIA: Yes. I mean, absolutely. It is a risk. You know, I mean, there was also the infamous case of Erin Andrews, right? Where she was recorded
in a hotel room. So, I mean, there's kind of always a risk that with as technology becomes ever present, that you have to be super careful.
An interesting note though is that the family is actually currently staying in an Airbnb in Budapest as they continue their travels.
GORANI: All right. I'm sure they've done a sweep of that place. Thanks very much, Ahiza Garcia, for joining us.
Still to come tonight, U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the U.S.- Mexico border. What he says about his earlier threat to shut the border down? We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:45:04] GORANI: A plane carrying the American president, Donald Trump, has just landed at a naval air facility near the Mexican border. The trip
is billed as a visit to see the first section of what he is calling his border wall. But he'll actually see a replacement fence that was
authorized before he took office.
Earlier this week, President Trump had threatened to close the border, you'll remember. But before leaving the White House today, he said that is
no longer necessary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- has to act. They have to get rid of catch and release, chain migration, visa lottery, they have to
get rid of the whole asylum system because it doesn't work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: There you have it. We're covering the story from both sides of the border. Our Nick Watt is in Calexico, California. Paula Newton is in
Mexico City. Talk to us about what the president is visiting today, Nick, there. I see there are other reporters gathered in anticipation of the
arrival of the president.
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he is visiting that wall or fence whichever way you want to look at it. The Trump administration says that
that is the first section of President Trump's border wall completed last fall. Other people say, well, it looks kind of like a fence and also it is
replacing fence that was already there and it was earmarked for replacement back in 2009.
But, of course, this was a huge campaign promise of President Trump to build the wall, so he is very eager for people to think that that in fact
is a wall. There is a protest here as well that's turned into a dance party at this point. There were speakers, there's a big inflatable baby
Trump over the other side of the shopping mall where we are.
And, you know, a lot of the people here are saying, we don't need a wall. What we need are jobs, health care. We need the environment cleaned up.
There are problems in this country, but the border is not the problem and a wall is not going to solve it.
Also, this is a tiny little town on the U.S. side of the border. Calexico. Mexicali on the other side. A million people. This little town relies on
people coming across from Mexicali to shop in this mall, to really keep this place going. And local officials have said that if President Trump
closes the border, as he has threatened to, then this town will be strangled. Hala.
GORANI: Right. We'll get back to you in a moment, Nick. And, Paula Newton, you are in Mexico City. and the president really kind of did a --
not a 180, but certainly a climb down on his threat to close the border saying, I'll give Mexico a year to address these issues I'm having problems
with. What is the reaction in Mexico to what the president said about the border closure?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hala, the president here has been very clear. President Obrador is saying that, look, I'm going to
react by not reacting. Having said that, he claims that his administration isn't doing anything different here. That they have more of a humanitarian
approach to this and that they haven't changed their policy, that they are working cooperatively with the Trump administration.
I can tell you behind the scenes, though, Mexican officials are trying very hard to communicate more with the Trump administration to say, look, this
is how many people we are apprehending, not where Nick is at that southern border of the United States, but the southern border of Mexico and that's
where Donald Trump is saying all the problems originate, those are those central American migrants who seem to get more and more desperate by the
days to get into those caravans or on their own or with smugglers to make it up to that northern border.
One thing is true that the homeland land security secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, has basically said, look, we are happy. IN the last few days,
we've had more communications. There are more apprehensions and that seems to have been what tipped the president over into saying, OK. I will climb
down here. I'll give them a year. I won't close the border right now.
GORANI: And, Paula, and, Nick, we're seeing Air Force One there now on the tarmac. We're waiting for the president to emerge. He has landed in
California.
And, Nick, you were saying, I was seeing behind you, there was kind of a bit of a carnival atmosphere, a bit of a protest that seems to have morphed
into a line dance event. What is the mood of people there on the ground as the president is using that particular town to make a point about a
campaign promise that some are pointing out really hasn't materialized because that's not the wall he promised, in fact?
WATT: Well, listen, people in this town were scared that President Trump was maybe going to use today to announce that he was closing down the
border. He is not going to do that. We don't think. But with President Trump, you are never entirely sure. He has gone back and forth on that all
week.
And this morning he was saying, I never changed my mind, maybe I will close it down. That's what people are concerned about here.
And, listen, you know, the CBP here says that this border fence, wall, whatever you want to call it, does help and apprehensions of family units
are up 400 percent over the last year, apprehensions of unaccompanied children are up 25 percent.
[14:50:08] But what people here are saying is a wall is not going to solve those problems. What they want in this town is actually the money to go
rather to a wall, to go to refurbishing the point of entry so that people can move more easily back and forth across the border. And also, the
border patrol can catch the drug smugglers who usually come through those ports of entry.
So people here relived that he's not going to close down the border, but they know that this was a big campaign pledge. They know he has this
border in his sights and that makes them concerned. Hala?
GORANI: All right. Certainly, this is a photo-op that the president will hope will be distributed far and wide there as we continue to wait for the
U.S. president, Donald Trump, to emerge from Air Force One and he'll be making his way to the location where Nick Watt is reporting from.
Paula Newton, as well, you were talking about how Mexican officials were kind of taking this with a grain of salt these threats. Over the last few
years, their approach, it seems, has been to say, well, we'll let him talk. We'll let him say what he's unhappy with, but not react too rashly. And
there's the president, by the way, of the United States. He's clapping. Waving there at the people assembled at El Centro, California, a naval base
there where Air Force One has landed. And there he is making his way down the steps. There you have it.
We'll continue covering this presidential visit to the U.S.-Mexico border on CNN. Do stay with us. Nick watt, thanks very much. Paula Newton in
Mexico as well. We'll have more after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: We are exploring this week the "Travel Trends" that are catching on in India. You've heard about the world's most famous music festivals,
of course, Glastonbury or Coachella.
Now, some organizers in India are also hoping to attract crowds to some lesser known destinations. Here's Cyril Vanier.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CYRIL VANIER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): The romantic city of Udaipur. Here, as if by magic, Rajput era palaces float above the water
and the sound of music lends ambiance to the midday calm.
SANJEEV BHARGAVA, DIRECTOR, UDAIPUR WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL: Rajasthani music has absolutely endless roots because our music in Rajasthan is very, very
precious and it's very old. It's heritage music.
VANIER: Inspired by the musical pedigree of the Indian state, Sanjeev Bhargava started the Udaipur World Music Festival in 2016. An annual
showcase of local and international acts.
[14:55:01] This year, some 130 musicians from 14 countries are playing over three days.
Bhargava says that in India, large-scale multiday festivals like this one are increasingly being staged across the country as a way to draw locals
and foreigners alike to lesser known cities.
BHARGAVA: Udaipur, to me, it was not only beautiful, but it was absolutely (INAUDIBLE) as far as cultural world-class events are possible.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
VANIER: With a name to democratize music, Bhargava decided to make the event free to the public. Seeking funds from private and public sponsors.
SHASHANK SUBRAMANYAM, FLAUTIST: Well, I've heard a lot about this festival and I know the director very well. And it's beautifully created -- on does
not so often get to listen to music in this environment. It's very rare. And the audience too is a good mix of Indians and the Europeans. So it's
an excellent festival to be a part of.
BHARGAVA: Music festivals to me is not just a stage and people performing and an audience listening. To me, music is actually congregation of
creative people. People who have great (INAUDIBLE) and I want them to interact with my artists.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: There you have it. We're going to have a lot more after a break. More on what's going on with Brexit. As we've been reporting, the U.K. is
requesting an extension of the deadline to June 30th. That would complicate matters with regards to European elections, of course, that are
scheduled for the third week of May.
And also, it's not a given that the E.U. will grant the U.K. this extension that it's requested. What impact will it have on markets and businesses as
well? That's all coming up on "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS." As well as the latest on the visit of the U.S. president to the U.S.-Mexico border.
Do stay with CNN. I'm Hala Gorani. If it's your weekend, have a great one, and I'll see you Monday. And if not, have a great rest of your week.
"QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
