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CONNECT THE WORLD

The Case Of The Vanishing Prime Minister; Hariri's Party Says It Still Considers Him Prime Minister; Trump's Visit In China; Donald Trump Heaps Praise On Xi Jinping; Professor Suspected Being Linked To The Kremlin. Aired 11-12p ET

Aired November 9, 2017 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:12] This is CNN Breaking News.

BECKY ANDERSON, CONNECT THE WORLD, CNN: Well we begin with breaking news about a world more bizarre than ever. The case of a vanishing Prime

Minister. Lebanon, a country now so dysfunctional that even after its prime minister resigned, his own political Party just in the last few

minutes announcing that it still considers him the prime mister. This is in the other day, it may look like any other politician stepping aside, but

Remember Hariri went to Saudi Arabia, a whole set of country to tell the world he was leaving his post as prime minister. It's all pretty weird and

he's been pretty hard to pin down ever since. CNN Ben Wedeman in the Lebanese capital Beirut to break down what is a remarkable situation.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Remarkable Becky and very confusing. And now it does appear that certainly the rest of the

Lebanese government does consider Hariri remains the Prime Minister. That is what the President of the republic Michelle said and the speaker of the

Lebanese parliament (inaudible). And we're getting confusing signals from the Prime Minister's movement itself. The future movement. And there's

still no clarity as in this will, prime minister, depending how you look at it, will return to the country. Now, this comes at just -- we just heard a

few minutes ago that Saudi Arabia has called upon its people, its citizens in Lebanon to leave the country as soon as possible. That comes from a

spokesman for the Saudi foreign ministry. This isn't the first time that Saudi citizens have been advised to leave Lebanon in the past, because of

political uncertainty. Similar calls have come. But if you look at the totality of events in terms of crisis in Lebanon and some of the statements

from senior Saudi officials, definitely this might not be the best time for Saudis to remain in Lebanon. But despite about all of that, it does appear

that many Lebanese who are so accustomed to one crisis after another are merely getting on with their lives.

ANDERSON: It does feel this is a country held hostage to history, can you just provide some wider context on this for us.

WEDEMAN: Well, it's important to keep in mind that Lebanon is a very small country, a country where many of the regional powers as well as the super

powers have basically funded and fought proxy wars using Lebanese blood and wealth. And so for many Lebanese, they another round of foreign

interference in their affairs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WEDEMAN: Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri surprise resignation Saturday on a Saudi finance news channel from the Saudi capital set off yet another

crisis here. Underscoring once more just how much this small country on the Mediterranean is hostage to the machination of others. Hariri who is

closely align with Saudi Arabia and also is dual Lebanese-Saudi citizens accused Iran of interfering in Lebanese affairs. It's not at all clear

when he'll return home. His resignation was followed by a statement by a Saudi minister that Riyadh considers Lebanon's government at war with Saudi

Arabia due to the presence of pro-Iranian Hezbollah ministers in the cabinet. This latest twist has taken even Lebanese by surprise says

University lecturer and blogger (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A broken war torn country with no strong constitutions. Saying Lebanon is launching a war on Saudi Arabia is completely baffling to

most people who live here.

WEDEMAN: Equally baffling for many as the Saudi demand that Hezbollah, not to mention military force, be ejected from the government.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hezbollah represent a large part of the Lebanese people, says Ali, a pensioner out for his morning constitutional. They're

represented in parliament and it's natural they should be part of the government.

[10:05:03] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you say to half of the country who supports Hezbollah? Do we want to see half the country fighting half the

country? That is called civil war.

WEDEMAN: The Lebanese already had their civil war from 1975 to 1990 generously fueled by outside forces. Indeed the Lebanese had to deal with

invaders and interferes since the beginning of recorded history says, political satirist, (inaudible). Been there. Done that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It doesn't bother me because it's not just the Saudis. It's everybody. Iranians, American everybody.

WEDEMAN: The more this change in Lebanon, the more they stay the same.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEDEMAN: And tomorrow we understand that Hezbollah is going to make a speech in which he will comment on current affairs, the current crisis. So

stay tuned Becky.

ANDERSON: We absolutely will sir. Ben Wedeman on the case in Beirut. Ben, thank you.

On the campaign trail, China a big punching bag. Donald Trump blasting Beijing constantly over unfair in the way it trades stealing jobs and

amount to, quote, rapping the American economy. That hot talk has all but disappeared in the lavish trappings of Beijing's golden hall. We've got a

very different President Trump. President Xi Jinping rolling out the red carpet for him. CNN Jeff Zeleny is with the President. He has the details

from Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: President Trump receiving regal welcome in China with new signs the flattery from President

Xi Jinping may be working. Softening his once stern stance on trade.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't blame China.

(APPLAUSE)

After all, who can blame a country for being able to take advantage of another country for the benefit of its citizens? I give China great

credit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: Those words a far cry from his rhetoric on the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: China's taking our jobs, our money, our base, our manufacturing. We can't continue to allow China to rape our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: On the edge of China square, inside the great hall of the people today, Mr. Trump business practices instead pointing a finger at his

predecessors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I do blame past administrations for allowing this out of control trade deficit to take place and to grow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: The two leader met for hours during the President's two-day visit to Beijing. Mr. Trump called for a vibrant yet fair trading relationship

and announced pledges of 250 billion in American business agreements here. Yet North Korea's nuclear ambitions dominated the talks on the most

consequential stop of the president 13 days Asia tour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Together we have in our power to finally liberate this region and the world from this very serious nuclear menace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: President Xi said China was committed to denuclearizing the Korean peninsula but stopped short of saying what else he would do to squeeze Kim

Jong-un economically. Mr. Trump became the first president since George H.W. Bush, not to insist that Chinese president take questions from the

press at a joint news conference, but Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that President Trump did discuss human rights with his Chinese counterpart.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REX TILLERSON, SECRETARY OF STATE: The President also committed to promote exchanges and understanding between our peoples and had a frank exchange of

views on human rights issues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: President Trump's first state visit to China was intentionally filled with personal touches. To a dinner with his host he brought along

this video of his 6-year-old granddaughter Arabella speaking mandarin. President Xi praise her skills with an a plus.

(END VIDEO)

ANDERSON: Jeff reporting Trump just tweeting in the months and years ahead I look forward to building a stronger relations between the United States

and China. End tweet. CNN Kaitlan Collins traveling alongside President Trump. She joins us now live from Beijing. A U.S. President who we might

have thought just a year ago when we considered what he was saying about his great foe, the second super power, we might be surprised to have seen

this. What's behind this narrative? What's the U.S. strategy on this trip?

[10:10:07] KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly we saw the President really touting the chemistry that he feels he has with

Chinese President Xi Jinping during this trip. Lots of pageantry. Lots of flattery. Lots of praise. They really rolled out all the stops during

this visit. But this could be because the President really truly realizes that he needs China's help if he is going to have them exert more pressure

on North Korea. Those were his two main goals for this trip here in Beijing as he wraps these two days up. It was to get them to fully

implement those United Nations sanctions on North Korea. Clearly North Korea took the priority as you just saw from my colleague Jeff Zeleny's

reporting. The President softened his stance towards China on that trade imbalance saying not only does he not blame China, he praised them for

doing so and instead blamed past United States administrations. We really saw that President Xi was running the show here after they delivered the

two joint statements today where neither of them took any questions from reporters. It's not such a surprise from China, but it was quite a

surprise from the President. And when I asked the press secretary Sarah Sanders why they weren't taking any questions, she said the Chinese

insisted that they take none.

ANDERSON: All right. Well, that the trip and that is the situation so far. For the time being, Kaitlan thank you for that. Even in China

President Trump can't escape the Russia investigation. Pressure mounting on President Trump's fired national security, one Michael Flynn. Remember

him? CNN's Michelle Kosinski is live in Washington with more. Michelle?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, SENIOR DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT: CNN is now told by multiple sources who are familiar with this that Flynn has expressed

concern about the potential legal exposure now of his son Michael Flynn Jr. who like his father is under scrutiny by special counsel Robert Mueller.

Flynn's concern over this could factor into decisions about how to respond to Mueller ongoing investigation into Russian is meddling in the 2016

campaign. As well as business dealings of key Trump campaign advisers, Becky.

ANDERSON: What last legal questions the special counsel focusing on regarding Flynn?

KOSINSKI: Well, two witnesses who have themselves been interviewed by Special Counsel told CNN Jim Sciutto that questions regarding Flynn are

focused on his and his son's business dealings, including their firm's reporting of income from work overseas. This the foreign agent's

registration act that requires people who are acting as agents for foreign entities to publicly disclose their relationships with those entities and

any financial compensation they get for that work. Flynn Jr. serves as his father's chief of staff and top aide and he was actively involved, in his

father's consulting and lobbying work at their firm, Flynn Intel Group. That included joining his father on overseas trip including one to Moscow

in December 2015 that is when Flynn dined with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a black tie gala for Russia today television network. Flynn

senior is also under scrutiny for undisclosed lobbying during the campaign on behalf of the Turkish government. Flynn's alleged participation and

discussion about an idea forcibly removing Turkish cleric who has been living in exile in Pennsylvania, this according to sources. In the past we

should say a spokesman for Flynn has denied that such discussions happened.

ANDERSON: So Michelle, what happens next in this investigation?

KOSINSKI: Well, Flynn's business dealings have been the subject of federal investigations since back in November. Even before Mueller was appointed

as special prosecutor. It's not clear that either of the Flynn's are going to face any charges once the investigation complete. At least at this

point. Flynn's attorney didn't respond to request for comment. Flynn Jr. lawyer decline comment although Flynn Jr. just tweeted just this past

Sunday, quote, the disappointment on your faces when I don't go to jail will be worth all your harassment. Becky?

ANDERSON: Fascinating. Michelle always a pleasure. Thank you. Meanwhile a key person tied to the Russia investigation is nowhere to be found. This

man could be the professor, the possible link between Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign. Can we see him? If you haven't seen him, Nic Robertson

has him in this report that he just filed.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

[10:15:04] NIC ROBERTSON, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CNN CORRESPONDENT: Professor Joseph Mifsud fitting the description of foreign contact one in

the FBI's affidavit against candidate Trump former policy adviser George Papadopoulos has disappeared, laying low. He was last seen around Rome

Link University where he was working three days after the affidavit was unsealed. The FBI affidavit alleges in the spring of 2016 Mifsud told

Papadopoulos that the Russians, had thousands of e-mails relating to Clinton. The day before he disappeared, Mifsud told the Italian magazine

Papadopoulos claim was baloney. I absolutely exclude the fact that I spoke of secrets regarding Hillary Clinton.

Yet it appears to fly directly in the face of what a former associate of his told CNN. That they bragged to him that the Russians had a bunch of

stuff on Hillary right around the same time that Mifsud was meeting with Papadopoulos mid-April last year. The associate says that Mifsud had

appeared to enjoy being the center of attention. Indeed Mifsud has been getting a lot of attention from the Russians for several years. The

Russian ambassador to London in 2014 whom he introduced Papadopoulos to days after he'd become an adviser to Trump.

Mifsud was a participant, attending conferees in Russia, occasionally giving speaking roles often reserved for low qualified delegates. It was

following an engagement in Moscow, April of last year that Papadopoulos alleges Mifsud told him the Russians had dirt on Hillary. The FBI

affidavit states the Russian government and its security and intelligence services frequently make use of nongovernmental intermediaries to achieve

their foreign policy objectives.

That description of nongovernmental intermediary does appear to fit Mifsud. His former associate says that Mifsud's proclivity for self-aggrandizement,

name dropping, passing on pretty much anything he was told could had led him to the used as a go between.

Until he hit the headlines las week, his career had been unremarkable in the extreme with a checkered professional track record. However Mifsud

credential were enough to him to be offered a teaching position at the University of Sterling in Scotland. Since being dragged into the lime

light as a controversial link to possible Russian malfeasance, he is become an object of ridicule in Russia, one host calling a retired bottom feeder

diplomat. Such character assassination is suspicious and further cloud's Mifsud's already shaky reputation. Nic Robertson, CNN.

(END VIDEO)

ANDERSON: Still ahead tonight, another political blow for the British Prime Minister. What prompted Theresa May's call, for a second resignation

in her cabinet in just a week? That is up next taking a very short break. Back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:21:10] ANDERSON: Well President Trump isn't the only world leader with a heap of problems. Britain's Prime Minister has had a rough few days.

Theresa May has just appointed a new international development secretary after Priti Patel was forced from her post. It was the second in cabinet

resignation in just a week. Patel admitted she had secret meetings with Israeli officials while on holiday. That came on top of a series of sexual

misconduct accusations and then another crisis. Foreign secretary Boris Johnson under fire after diplomatic blunder involving a British citizen

imprisoned in Iran. As to the meetings Patel had, she had floated an idea that would contradict Britain's long standing policy on the Middle East.

CNN's Diana Magnay has the details from London for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rarely has the Nairobi throw flight path been so avidly trapped. Rare for a government minister to get this type of

escort for the short trip to number 10 Downing Street. So why, you ask, does this one? Because Priti Patel, until just a few hours ago,

international development secretary, appears to have been less than transparent about a series of meetings she held with Israeli officials

while she was on holiday in Israel last summer. Controversial because the foreign office in number 10 like to know when their ministers meet when

meeting with other country's senior officials, in this instance Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in their down time.

When the Israeli leader came to visit Prime Minister Theresa May last week it seems she still haven't been inform. Didn't know Patel had floated the

idea of sending aide to the Israeli defense forces to support humanitarian operations. Impossible for Britain given at it views Israel's occupation

of the heights as illegal. It was only on Monday that Patel issued an apology for failing to follow the usual protocol having told Theresa May

that he'd actually held 12 separate meetings in Israel which might seem like official business on her family holiday. Two days later there had in

fact been more meetings at which point Mrs. May felt that she needed to summon Priti Patel back.

In an exchange of letters accepting Patel's resignation the Prime Minister said as you know, the U.K. and Israel are close allies right we should work

closely together, but that must be done formally and through official channel. Theresa May' government has the sacking of Patel a rare assertion

of authority over a cabinet that is in short supply. Dianna Magnay CNN, London.

(END VIDEO)

ANDERSON: CNN Dana Stewart following all the developments from 10 Downing Street. If you didn't know better and you might say that politics in

Britain is broken. Certainly since the Brexit vote. It seems we've had a drip, drip of bad news. Just how damaged is Mrs. May and her minority

government?

ANNA STEWART, CNN PRODUCER: Well, it's not looking good. If you look at this, she is lost two cabinet ministers in a week. That just looks

careless, doesn't it? Also she was already facing a lot of pressure before any of this happened. Both from inside Downing Street with her cabinet

over the direction she is taken with Brexit, from the opposition parties and also from Brussels where negotiations resume today. A few moments ago

we did see the replacement for Priti Patel. She was just leaving having been promoted to international development secretary from a fairly minor

role in the work and pension department. So we'll be seeing whether that is enough to steady the ship here at Downing Street.

[10:25:12] ANDERSON: Ana Stewart outside number 10. Thank you. Coming up, a bizarre and tumultuous week in the Middle East, from missiles

launched to a very strange and sudden resignation of Lebanon's Prime Minister. We'll break all of that down for you. Up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:30:15] BECKY ANDERSON, CONNECT THE WORLD, CNN: Well, it has been a momentous week in the Middle East. A Prime Minister has resigned but no

one really knows what happened. A young crown prince has unleashed an anti-corruption campaign in Saudi Arabia. Unprecedented. Houthi rebels in

Yemen have lobbed missiles at Saudi Arabia prompting Riyadh to lob rhetorical fire bombs at Iran and its allies. Do you follow? One man is

following all that is colleague John Defterios. You've got some new reports, John.

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: We're getting clarity on the number being investigated due to the corruption and the depth of the

embezzlement itself. We've been working on an official number into the last 35-40 minutes of 49 detained. Now the Attorney General's office said

they brought in officially 208 individuals. They released seven already. So the official number as of today is 201. There were some very big

numbers tossed about 24 hours ago suggesting that the embezzlement could be in the range of $800 billion. There's suggesting that it is widespread but

we are looking at around $100 billion tonight. Not $800 billion, but $100 billion.

ANDERSON: Which is an awful lot of money.

DEFTERIOS: Still a lot of money. They're saying it stretches back decades. The thing that stood out is they're suggesting that the

investigation started three years ago. It's been a long week. Its day five since the announcement early Sunday morning. I think locally the

reason that is interesting is because it predates King Salman in the thrown. It is the time of King Abdlah who passed away in 2015 and the

crown prince before him. Quite fascinating that they've been probing this for a while. They came down like a hammer with the crown prince in the

position right now. We have a scale that it's been going back for decades.

ANDERSON: I interviewed the foreign minister a couple days ago. And the Attorney General have said this is only the beginning of this. This would

get wider. That was a couple days ago. We have seen the numbers are wider and deeper than we first initially thought. And this campaign now not

limited to Saudi Arabia. What more do we know?

DEFTERIOS: This is something we found out last night. Significant in sense that they decided to request the central bank of the United Arab

Emirates to start scanning the accounts of the original 17 that have been in the Ritz Carlton hotel plus two other high profile members of the ruling

family. Just limited to the 19. The UAE made it very clear, because of its independence they're not going to freeze those accounts, but they will

scan the accounts on behalf of the central bank. I think it's also very important again in a regional context to suggest, why did they come to the

UAE, the UAE is involved in the embargo against Qatar and involved in, the battle of Yemen. A very trusted partner they're getting the temperament to

see outside of Saudi Arabia, what is out there with those 19 major investors? The prince is one of those at $17 billion. Going back to the

$800 billion, it seemed high when they crossed yesterday and I will tell you why. Bank deposits in the country officially at the end of 2016 were

$430 billion. About $450 billion in 2017. It's extra ordinary to think they would freeze up the whole banking system. I think for the

international community watching tonight they would say this is $100 billion, it is a $650 billion economy is perhaps manageable.

ANDERSON: If you want to look at this positively, and with some optimism and with some sort of confidence, you would say look, flagged widely by the

young crown prince back in the summer and he spoke on Arabic speaking TV saying he was going to go after those who were indulging in the assets of

the country. This is the year of elite indulgence is over. But you talk about the international community. I mean, we have seen the impact

certainly on the local markets here. Those who believe this cleanup is overdue will be I'm sure supportive of this. But how concerned will the

international community be about doing business in the country going forward?

DEFTERIOS: It's a crucial question. There's two ways to see it. The reining agency put out a report today on the very subject. They said near

term political uncertainty, obviously this is rattling the cage and people don't nowhere we're going next, how deep it will be. The Attorney

General's statement earlier in the week was suggesting this is the end of phase one without answering how much longer it's going to be. As an

international observer that we are, an international investor, they had 3,000 of them in Riyadh when we were at the investment conference

suggesting how many different phases are there going to be, but Fitch was suggesting we've all known and I've been covering the country for 20 years

and we've all known about the corruption in Saudi Arabia.

[10:35:16] Even journalist in Saudi Arabia are saying we never reported on it. It's actually the right time to really shake things up, get to the

bottom of it, suggest the ruling family, members of the ruling family are not immune from it a well. Let's cleanup once and for all. I think they

need benchmarks. $100 million is something that can be managed. The $650 billion economy is large. It back dates decade, but it can be cleaned up.

$800 billion that will be a very different story.

ANDERSON: As we say that story has been knocked back with the announcement by the Attorney General. In juts how many people are involved in this

probe, now 208, seven as you say have been released and so we're looking at 201 individuals, asset to the tune of $100 billion. We know finally, John

that this anti-corruption commission is very much wrapped up in the vision for Saudi going forward and how it diversifies and modernizes its economy

while we acknowledge now it seems that this idea of this anti-corruption probe has been going on for some time. Just remind us of the context of

2030, this vision for the country going forward and why it's important to this young crown prince in his early 30's to ensure that a younger

generation is determined that what they do in the country, they will benefit from effectively.

DEFTERIOS: I look at it as three key pillars to the 2030 plan. The vision 2030 was launched 18 months ago. Its economic reform to diversify away

from oil. He was the second leg of that is a more moderate interpretation of Islam which he announced at the summit as well. One of those key

announcement was allow women to drive and Jun 2018 you are in Jeddah when he made the announcement. But the third leg he is suggesting is not

business as usual in the past. We've been trying to reform since the 1970s. We never live up to the promise. We plan to live up to the

promise. But the third leg is that, is that everybody's going to be held accountable in the future. Now, outside observers are saying this is a

power grab, he knocked out some key players in the ruling family, but they're suggesting now we're going to let it go through the due process and

the court of law. It's a good test for Saudi Arabia to be candid to see if the legal system holds up to the challenge.

ANDERSON: John Defterios is in the house for you. We have been consumed by this reporting, haven't we?

DEFTERIOS: Seems like a long week.

ANDERSON: Saturday night local time. I don't think John's had been to bed since then. I certainly haven't. Thank you John.

Earlier in the show we were talking about Lebanon and the political crisis there. Part and parcel of the news that we've been covering over the past

three or four days or five day serve. The country is a battleground for a proxy standoff between Iran and Saudi Arabia. But they aren't just butting

heads over Lebanon, those two. They are also divided over Yemen, a country right here in the gulf that is two years into what is a bloody civil war.

Devastating, struggling with devastating cholera not to mention famine. Earlier this week the U.N. calls for the Saudi led coalition to immediately

lift the blockade. One is preventing humanitarian aid from entering the country, something I pressed the Saudi foreign minister on just days ago.

This is what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADEL AL-JUBEIR, SAUDI ARABIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: The coalitions looking that mechanisms that will make the inspections regime in Yemen more

efficient while at the same time increasing the capacity to bring in humanitarian supplies into Yemen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Let's dig a little deeper on this. The ruler (inaudible) with me, she is the deputy editor of the financial times joins us from CNN in

London. This could be a very wide ranging discussion let's talk about your -- just your analysis of the past four or five days in what has developed

since the weekend when we saw the announcement of an anti-corruption commission, the arrest of so many high profile characters, a ballistic

missile launch on Riyadh from Yemen and the resignation of the Lebanese Prime Minister there on Saudi backed TV. Your analysis briefly. If you

will.

ROULA KHALAL, DEPUTY EDITOR, FINANCIAL TIMES: Becky, thank you. You might have missed couple of other events, but essentially the way I see it is

there are various elements that all points in one direction that are not necessarily link.

[10:40:01] What I mean by that is that you have a young leader in Saudi Arabia who is consolidating power. What happens internally with the anti-

corruption purge, if part of this is consolidation of power? Now you also have a young leader Saudi Arabia who wants to assert his authority in the

region and therefore has decided that he will stand up to Saudi Arabia. Now, Saudi Arabia has been standing up to Iran, but not as aggressively as

they want too it now. The victim in all of this appears to be Lebanon. Because --

ANDERSON: Right. Ok. Roula in your most recent article about Saudi Arabia's ambitious forms, you said and I quote, what King Salman is

building with one hand he could be destroying with the other. I guess you're talking there about what he is building so far as sort of foreign

policy, this muscular approach to Iran on the one hand with what he is trying to build so far as this modern and diverse economy on the other. I

hear this from both these critics and to be honest his supporters. Who say, you know, while we may support what he is doing, is it too much too

fast? Let me provide sort of devil's advocate on this one as it were to account the balance. If he doesn't get on with it, the alternative is as

ever in this country, there'll be sort of drip feed of ideas, you know, back to consensus politics and nothing will change.

KHALAL: I understand that argument. And I think definitely Saudi Arabia does need drastic change. Saudi Arabia needs transformation. There are

elements of the crown prince's policies that are handled properly. That, for instance, would be on the social front where I think he is taking

matters step by step, introducing entertainment, for instance, and then saying women will drive, but they will drive next year. So he appears to

be mindful of the potential backlash, but also of Saudi society. Now, let's take on the other, hand that is going on with Iran. Declaration t we

want to get tough with Iran needs to be followed by elements and factors that allows Saudi Arabia to be tough with Iran, so today for instance.

ANDERSON: Who what -- keep going, give examples. What do they do?

KHALAL: Two examples. One would be in terms of foreign policy and I think the other one would be in terms of the economy. So I was telling you about

foreign policy. Getting tough with Iran is also necessary in the region. It is perfectly understand ae that Saudi Arabia needs to stand up to Iran.

But you have to think it through. You have to think of what are the elements that I have in order to be able to stand up to Iran. How do I go

about it? So today Lebanon is in the midst of a crisis. It doesn't even know where its Prime Minister is. Whether the Prime Minister can return.

It doesn't seem to have been real preparation within Lebanon for what is about to unfold and no one knows what it is. Let's take the economic

front. On the one hand, there are very important, very serious domestic reforms that the crown prince want to implement and has started. The

necessary diversification from oil. Cutting waste, trimming subsidies. All of these measures are important. But then if you round up a whole

bunch of very big businessmen in Saudi Arabia without transparency, without accountability, what message are you sending to investors?

ANDERSON: Ok. I hear what you say. You trust your investment in Saudi Arabia?

I hear what you're saying. And also you will hear from the Attorney General that this probe has been on going behind the scenes, because quite

frankly they didn't want to reveal that it was going on and they say that due process will be revealed. There will be accountability. And the legal

process will be followed. So we are yet to see how this develops. You are making some very good points. It's a pleasure having you on. Thank you.

Live from Abu Dhabi. This Connect the World, coming up, an Egyptian wonders is resurrected we'll go inside a stunning recreation of an ancient

pharaoh's tomb. That is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:47:29] ANDERSON: Indiana Jones dashing and handsome and almost always about three seconds from death. But of course searching for ancient

treasure isn't often as they (inaudible) as it is in the movie, in fact in some ways, its way more cool, because it's totally real. Brilliant minds

to connect us to a past we all share in what is a truly beautiful piece here. Nick Glass quite literally enlightens us.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

NICK GLASS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The magic is seeing this with candlelight. A man with an obsession to document the tomb of an ancient Egyptian

pharaoh, Seti the first.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The tomb actually tells us how the people from 3 1/2 thousand years ago, think different things, how different philosophy the

way they thought can be read through the evidence that is on the walls of these tombs and if we can really build a dialogue that, crosses time and

use technology to help that, I think that is an incredibly exciting moment.

GLASS: Just a room, you think. But what a room. The hall of beauties. What just as astonishing is that this is, in fact, a facsimile? A precise

re-creation in a museum in Switzerland of how the room look exactly 200 years ago when the tomb was discovered. Adam's specialist art company has

made tomb facsimiles before. They scan the tomb in 2009 and made a replica now installed as tourist attraction in Egypt. The same methods we use for

Seti's tombs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're now making high resolution molds using 3d printing technologies from laser scan data that have never involved any

contact at all.

GLASS: No contact at all?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zero contact at any point in any of the operation.

GLASS: The Seti replica was milled in an art shop in Madrid and a fine flexible skin added. The facsimile was assembled in panels. Set's tomb

was discovered in 1817 by an Italian circus strongman and an adventurer known as the great Belzoni. The vivid decoration entrance him and as a

record of series of water colors was painted. Soon whole sections of the wall were hacked off as trophies. This fragment ended up in the British

museum. This original relief of the goddess (inaudible) with her feather head dress is from a museum in Florence. The only way you can tell she is

the real thing is she is under, protective glass. The copies aren't.

[10:50:43] This is what Set's tomb looks like now as virtual reality. Still absolutely extraordinary, multiple rooms and a decent of over 130

meters into the rock. Still the longest and deepest tomb in the Valley of the Kings now damaged. Once decorated but now patchy and in places almost

entirely bleached of color. For this exhibition, they've made facsimiles of several rooms from Set's tomb as they are now. It is the first Egyptian

trained in the new digital technology use from making the facsimiles. She sent four months scanning the tomb last year. What was it like?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Being in the tomb the first time was insane. It was just magical. It was closed and nobody could have seen it for about 40

years. And then all of a sudden I get to go inside it. I was, like, what? You know, it was one of those, like, dream comes true sort of. When I

entered here the first time, I was, like, I feel like I'm in the tomb. The only difference is there's not enough dust. It's just the same feeling.

GLASS: But arguably the high point of this exhibition is the regeneration of the hall of beauties, with color back in his cheeks just as he was found

way back in 1817.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is resurrection.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In a way it is. Without becoming Disney land or whatever in a scientific and well-informed way, the facsimile can prove

this, what we said, this added value can show more than what you can see in the tomb.

GLASS: They still resume scanning other rooms in Seti's tomb early next year. The long term aim is to make a facsimile of it all in places in the

Valley of the Kings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to remember the Egyptians didn't want the tombs to change. They made them to last for eternity. Never to be visited.

(END VIDEO)

ANDERSON: Up next, amazing, huh? A cultural cornerstone right in our own back yard. That is next.

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[10:55:33] ANDERSON: We are now parting shots this evening, a moment to reflect on what surely is set to be a cultural cornerstone. Earlier this

week we gave you a first look inside the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Ten years in the making and so impressive. It really is a work of art. This was me,

one of just a very lucky few to go take it all in at the official ground inauguration. Surrounded by royals and top dignitaries last night. Like

French President Emmanuel Macron. The museum a 30 year partnership with France, that aims to bring cultures together and show humanity in a new

light. I have to say this absolutely remarkable. It's well worth a visit. I'm Becky Anderson. That was Connect the World. From the team working

with me here and those working with us around the world as ever, very good evening. Thanks for watching. Same time. Same place. Sunday. This is

the end of our working week.

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