CNN.com - Transcripts (2024)

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well It's 5 pm in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson. You're watching a special edition of "Connect the

World".

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And it's 9 am in New York. And I'm Omar Jimenez. There were two major stories we're following for you on this

Thursday for one jury selection is about to resume in Donald Trump's hush money trial the process while it is still moving, there's still a lot to go

it is going much faster than initially thought.

ANDERSON: And the EU's top diplomat warns that the Middle East is on the brink of a regional war, is G7 foreign ministers meet in Capri for talks.

JIMENEZ: I'm outside the Manhattan criminal courthouse in New York. We're day three of Donald Trump's hush money trial begins next hour should begin

within the hour at this point if everything goes as it has been to this point, jury selection resumes when court convenes with seven jurors chosen

so far, five more needed and as many as six alternate jurors also will be expected.

We are expecting. We've been expecting Trump to arrive but his motorcade did arrive a little bit earlier a few minutes ago, but we do expect him to

address the media before heading inside the courtroom. We're going to have much more on the trial in just a few minutes, Becky.

ANDERSON: Well the World Food Programme says the Erez crossing into Northern Gaza has been used for the first time to get food in 25 trucks

carrying around 400 metric tons of food and flour entered the enclave. Meantime, the first aid shipment to Gaza via Israel's port of Ashdod has

also gone in.

The Israel Defense Forces say eight WFP trucks carrying flour were inspected at Ashdod entered via the Kerem Shalom crossing now. This is a

small piece of good news but it comes amid repeated dire warnings of famine in the strip. Well Sigrid Kaag is the veteran U.N. diplomat who has taken

on the immensely challenging job of trying to prevent famine by ensuring that aid reaches the people of Gaza as quickly as possible.

Kaag is on her fourth trip to the enclave and if you listen carefully during what is this exclusive interview, you can hear the buzzing of drones

and that is because she is in Rafah, a city in Southern Gaza bracing itself for Israel's long threatened incursion. Just last night 10 people from one

single family were killed in an airstrike there. Kaag and I began our discussion by talking about the conditions that she is seeing in Gaza.

SIGRID KAAG, SENIOR HUMANITARIAN AND RECONSTRUCTION COORDINATOR FOR GAZA: Our assessment is a collective one severe damage to all facilities, health

facilities, schools, housing, nearly 70 percent is destroyed and you see that everywhere. People are living in makeshift conditions. I would call it

fairly do dehumanizing the shelters, makeshift tents.

They're trying to make do with the entire trauma and the absence of anything that any human being would consider regular. Clean water,

sanitation facilities, and the opportunity to have a shower, all that is no more. So people are surviving at best and that is a tragic sight.

ANDERSON: Israel is threatening and offensive on Rafah where you are. So let's just start there. What evidence have you seen that Israel is planning

to evacuate and protect civilians there? Have you witnessed the provision of shelter for the more than a million Palestinians who are in the area of

Rafah ahead of any assault?

KAAG: No, I think we have to hear make a distinction here of possible preparedness by the Israeli side for a military campaign against Rafah

there seems to be a very distinct political military intent. At the same time, we've seen some people already that are packing up themselves.

So it's a voluntary move further up north or direction Gaza City or Khan Yunis it is not something that U.N. facilitates. It's, of course, a looming

sword of Damocles hanging over the civilians of Gaza. At the same time it is -- I would call a devilish dilemma, because we do always want to shield,

we want to protect and we want to provide the types of assistance but this is an Israeli decision.

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ANDERSON: Does it worry you I mean, you must be very, very concerned about what happens next.

KAAG: It's profoundly worrying at a number of levels. Already it is extremely difficult to meet the needs currently of the entire population.

They're deeply affected, impacted. There the war endured the orphans. We know that in the north, the conditions the food insecurity, have been

approximating famine like conditions, we're dealing with a catastrophic situation.

ANDERSON: And that is just part of a wide ranging interview can watch the rest of that exclusive interview from Rafah next hour where we discuss

where the humanitarian aid will go next after these new routes have opened. The challenge of getting even more aid in and plan albeit in their infancy

about the reconstruction and recovery of Gaza.

Once the fighting stops the damage, according to the U.N. so far amounts to some $20 billion. And that is if the conflict were to end now and there is

no end in sight. Well efforts to negotiate a pause in the fighting to allow in more aid and free some hostages seem to be hitting a bump Qatar says it

is reevaluating its role as mediator.

Doha played a key role in the last ceasefire, of course. However, the talks have now largely stalled. And the Prime Minister says there's only so much

Qatar as a mediator can do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN ABDULRAHMAN AL THANI, QATARI PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: We're always working with our partners such as

the United States, Egypt in order to bridge this gap and to present proposals in a constructive manner. But at the end of the day, the role of

mediator is very limited. The mediator cannot present things that the parties decide not to adopt or accept.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, that is the PM also the Foreign Minister of Qatar speaking earlier. Now we are hearing at least 14 people were killed earlier this

week in a strike on a refugee camp in central Gaza. Eight of them were children, hospital officials say. CNN'S Jeremy Diamond has more on all of

this for us from Tel Aviv.

I want to get to a situation on the ground in Gaza. And I've just been talking to Sigrid Kaag, about the horror. That is the enclave and the

horror that continues to be the enclave. Let's just talk about Qatar first and foremost here. What would it mean if it were to step back from these

mediation talks?

We had been anticipating at least a temporary ceasefire during the period of Ramadan that is now over the Eid holiday is of course also over as one

it seems, you know, these talks are seemingly going nowhere at this point.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right. And that is indeed the critical context for all of this, Becky, is the fact that over the

course of the last several weeks, hope has since turned to pessimism as we have watched these talks sputter and stall, and ultimately backslide over

just the last week we saw as Hamas' latest counter proposal made us took a significant step backwards from where the negotiations have been.

The basis of these negotiations for months now has been the release of 40 hostages in exchange for a six weeks ceasefire with other key details still

being worked out, but now Hamas offering less than half of those less than 20 hostages for that same period of time. And amid all of this both Israel

and the United States have been trying to put more pressure on Qatar.

For Qatar to in exchange put that pressure on Hamas. Hamas, of course, maintains a significant presence in Qatar. That's where its Political

Leader Ismail Haniyeh resides and the Israelis in particular have wanted to Qatar to threaten Hamas' banks to threaten Hamas' ability to live in Qatar,

if it does not start to move at the negotiating table.

And as that hasn't happened yet, Qatar is now saying that it is reevaluating its role as mediator amid all of that pressure. Interestingly,

those comments from the prime minister who also serves as foreign minister came after Steny Hoyer, a top House Democrat said that the U.S. should

reevaluate its relationship with Qatar, if Qatar doesn't bring that enormous pressure to bear on Hamas.

And so this leaves us in a position of uncertainty. Of course, Qatar while he played a key role in the last ceasefire agreement, it is not the only

mediator involved. Egypt has been involved and increasingly involved I should say in over the last couple of months.

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And so we will see if Egypt starts to step in perhaps as the more central mediator where this leaves Qatar, where this leaves Qatar's role with

Hamas, as well as its role with United States a lot of uncertainty a lot remains to be seen, Becky.

ANDERSON: And I think it's fair to say that Qatar has since the outset of this conflict repeatedly issued statements calling out U.S. Congress, men

and women lawmakers who have been accusing Qatar of funding Hamas of not playing an honest broker in these Qatar calling on lawmakers in the U.S. to

desist from spreading what they call dis and misinformation about their role they call it critical at a time when these mediation efforts are at

such a delicate stage.

I spoke to Sigrid Kaag, earlier today and our viewers will hear more of that interview. A little later, Jeremy, she described the threat of an

assault by the IDF on Rafah as a Damocles sword over the heads of Palestinian civilians who are effectively holed up in that southern city in

Gaza now.

We know overnight, there has been an attack as an Israeli strike, which has killed, a significant number of one family. There's also been a deadly

strike on another refugee camp, which is, as we now know, killed many children. What are the details as you understand them?

DIAMOND: Yeah, that's right, Becky, unfortunately, this week has seen multiple strikes carried out by Israel, according to hospital officials and

witnesses on the ground that have killed children and I want to focus your attention first, on this strike that happened on Tuesday in the Al-Maghazi

refugee camp, where eight children many of them playing foosball on a crowded street in that area were killed by what hospital officials say was

a drunk strike.

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DIAMOND (voice-over): A moment frozen in time, the bodies of at least four children splayed around the foosball table, laughter and shrieks of joy

silenced in an instance, blood now marking where they stood only minutes earlier. Shahed no way, Shahed my beloved cousin screens from behind the

camera.

10 year old Shahed is one of those children, her bright pink pants unmistakable in the arms of the man carrying her away. With her family's

consent, CNN has decided to show Shahed in life and death in order to give a face to this wars deadly impact on children. At Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital,

those who can still be saved arrive alongside those who cannot.

Amid the chaos, Shahed pink pants dangling as a doctor confirm what is tragically obvious. But Shahed is not alone. She is one of eight children

who died on that crowded street in Al-Maghazi. The hospital says they were killed in an Israeli airstrike. By publication time the Israeli military

said only that the incident is under review.

One after another their small bodies arrive at the hospitals more and into the arms of grieving parents. His eyes swollen and red, the father of nine

year old Lujain recounts his daughter's last moments playing foosball with her friends. This is my eldest daughter, he says. A drone strike hit them

while they were playing their old children.

Hours earlier, Yusif was one of those children playing alongside Shahed and Lujain when he was suddenly killed in a war he did not choose, his mother

still clinging to her son. Neither does this boy who cannot believe his brother is dead. He is still alive, he cries, don't leave him here.

Amid the outpourings of grief there is Shahed her blood stained pink pants once again impossible to miss. Dear God, what did they all do? One man

praise, what did they all do?

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DIAMOND (on camera): And overnight, Becky, that airstrike in Rafah killed a family of 10 people, 5 of them were children. And all of this, of course,

simply underscores just how unprecedented this war has been in the history of modern warfare in terms of its impact on children.

Nearly 14,000 children have been killed in just six months of war every 10 minutes in Gaza according to UNICEF a child is injured or killed, Becky.

ANDERSON: Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv, Jeremy, thank you. Well, right now the following words are reverberating across this region and indeed the

wider world. The Middle East is on the edge of a regional war. That is a warning spoken by the EU's top diplomat sending a chill through the G7

foreign ministers meeting on the Italian Island of Capri. Here's more of what Josep Borrell said a little earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEP BORRELL, EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF: We have to ask Israel for a restrained answer to the Iranians' attack. We cannot escalate. We cannot go

step by step, answering every time higher to a regional war. I do not want to exaggerate, but we are on the edge of a regional war in the Middle East,

which will be sending shockwaves to the rest of the world, and in particular to Europe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: And all the EU's Foreign Policy Chief is also urging more support for Ukraine. CNN's Barbie Nadeau is watching all of these developments. She

is live for us, from Rome this afternoon. So a warning, frankly, to stop you in your -- keep in mind much of the world has been calling for

restraint as Israel ways how to respond to Iran's weakened attack.

And this, you know, some will say, a distraction to what is going on in Gaza, could Josep Borrell's warning accelerate the cause of restraint at

this point. I'm wondering you know what his point is at this stage?

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Well, you know, the leaders or the foreign ministers who are meeting on Capri right now have their plates full, there

are so many problems they have to deal with and discussing, you know, starting with, of course, trying to get Israel to convince him to show

restraint in their retaliatory action.

But you know going into this, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza was going to be the priority. And now they're also talking about sanctions as sort of

targeted sanctions they need to focus on with regard to Iran. But at the end of the day, one of the biggest conversations we've had today, certainly

in Capri is what about Ukraine, you know, this has become sort of the forgotten war.

And one that's so very important, especially here in Europe, the Secretary of State, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the Ukrainian

Foreign Minister who was an invited guest there. And he had a couple of words to say at the end of that meeting, let's listen to what he had to

say.

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ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: But in this moment, it is urgent that all of the friends and supporters of Ukraine maximize their efforts to

provide with Ukraine with what it needs to continue to effectively defend itself against the Russian aggression. And in particular for the United

States, that means passing the supplemental extra budget requests the President's made for Ukraine that we hope will be before the house this

weekend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NADEAU: And, you know, Becky, this is very, very important, especially in the context of Europe, where a lot of countries, a lot of people are here

are getting tired of supporting Ukraine, but it becomes, you know, much more than just a financial situation. It's a geopolitical situation.

And this foreign minister meeting in Capri right now is of course, paving the way to the bigger meeting the G7 either will be held in the Southern

region of Puglia in June and it's only anyone's guess what the world is going to look like by then, Becky.

ANDERSON: Barbie Nadeau on the story for you. Thank you. Well, here in the United Arab Emirates and in neighboring countries people are trying to

recover from what have been deadly downpours that have drenched this region earlier today. This was the scene at Dubai International Airport now the

world's second busiest, of course, still filled with stranded passengers.

The huge backlog is due to delayed and canceled flights. Airport officials now predict it will return to full operations within 24 hours. This was the

UAE's heaviest rainfall in 75 years. At least one person sadly was killed after his vehicle was swept away in another emirate, while the massive

flooding brought much of the area to a standstill.

Eleni Giokos joins me now with the very latest on that cleanup. At the airport, she's live at Dubai International Airport. And just describe

what's going on there and how quickly things are likely to bounce back?

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ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Becky, I just want to show you I'm actually on Sheikh Zayed Road, which, is a key artery leading to the

airports. And as you can see up about four lanes are just, you know, basically turned into a river. I want to show you how deep the water

actually is.

And then here next to me, you've got recovery efforts, these pumps have been put in place that eventually divert the water to the sea as well as to

the desert and into drains. Now in terms of what we're seeing at the airport I spoke to the CEO of DXB Dubai International Airport Paul

Griffiths a short time ago, and he said this.

He said logistics are incredibly intense and getting aircraft into position for takeoff has of course been one of the biggest issues and then you had

over 1000 flights that canceled and if you take the numbers into consideration around 300 people in one aircraft 1000 flights canceled.

We're talking about hundreds and thousands of people that were left stranded not only at the airport, but also people trying to get out of

Dubai. Now in terms of the slow recovery process that Paul Griffiths was telling me about. He's saying over the next 24 hours, they will be returned

to normal operations.

It is a slow recovery. It is a huge effort. Part of the problem is getting people to the airport. You know moving through floodwaters like this, we

were on this road at this spot yesterday -- it was touch and go. The water level was so much higher and incredibly dangerous. The water levels have

receded.

As you can see it's a sunny day. This is the weather that we used to and definitely not the record rainfall that we saw on Tuesday that brought

Dubai to a standstill and horrific images of cars submerged underwater. And in this specific road, people that we spoke to were stuck for eight hours

on Tuesday. So things are clearing up, cars on the road, people trying to get to the destination.

ANDERSON: Eleni Giokos is in Dubai for you. Thank you. Well still to come, jury selection resumes soon and Donald Trump's criminal trial. We'll live

from the courthouse in New York for you with the look ahead at today's events. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIMENEZ: All right everyone, welcome back to CNN. I'm outside the Manhattan criminal courthouse in New York where Donald Trump is seated in the

courtroom. The judge is on the bench and court is beginning on this day three of jury selection for his hush money trial officially it has gaveled

in.

Now seven jurors have been selected so far. 12 jurors though are required and likely up to six alternates, the next group of potential jurors is

going to be brought in today to start filling the remaining seats and it's anyone's guess how long this process will last. But to this point, the

judge has seemed to optimistically indicate opening statements could start as early as Monday. We will see.

[09:25:00]

We got a lot to talk about. So I want to bring in Lynn Sweet. She's the Washington Bureau Chief for the Chicago Sun-Times and has been closely

following Trump's trial. Lynn, I really appreciate you taking the time. And now look, the judge here has scheduled a hearing next week on social media

posts that prosecutors argue violate Trump's gag order here. What more do you know about that?

LYNN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF FOR CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Well, I don't have anything more to add except a prediction that they won't stop even

with the pending gag order looming above a Trump because no threat so far has stopped him in this or other trial. The things that would stop other

people in the midst of their criminal trials just don't have the same impact here.

But here's the thing to watch for, if and when a judge finally does, and this case might be the one slept significant sanctions on Trump other than

a monetary fine that he can easily handle.

JIMENEZ: And that was, of course, the line that we've seen him draw. He's not allowed to speak about the jurors, but he quoted someone else speaking

about the jurors. And of course, I think that's going to be among the things that the prosecutors bring up here. Obviously, this trial isn't

happening in a vacuum here.

Republicans that maybe had doubts about Trump seem to be falling in line and it said they would, even knowing what they know about what's happening

have said that they would back the GOP ticket here. Why are we seeing that?

SWEET: Well, I'm still trying to analyze all this, you know, someone like a Former Attorney General Bob Barr saying he would back Trump, Chris Sununu,

other Republicans who have been for months now telling us in detail from their own experience and observations and why Trump is not fit to serve a

second term.

Now we're saying they're going to back him. This just shows the plus side of Trump's strength and sway over the Republican Party. I think I'm

analyzing this and projecting that the Biden team has got to be disappointed that these Republicans at the least won't choose to remain

silent or tried to just take an invisible stand.

But to go public and answer questions about their support is very emboldening for Trump and I would say disappointing for the Biden

operation.

JIMENEZ: Yeah, and Lynn, before we go, obviously, look, Trump's trials have played one way politically, but I guess the question now will be how this

will play if he actually is convicted? It's all part of this discussion that people are having around this trial with of course the legal aspects

of this.

But Lynn Sweet I have to end it there for right now. Thank you so much for being with us, really appreciate it -- to come a long delayed Ukraine aid -

- Speaker Mike Johnson politically who's under fire from members of his own party, that more next.

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JIMENEZ: Right now court is in session on this day three of Donald Trump's historic criminal trial in New York. The prosecution and defense will

continue to vet prospective jurors to select a jury of 12 along with up to six alternates.

Now today, a brand new batch of 96 potential jurors will return for questioning. Seven people have already been selected to serve on the jury.

Five more and as many as six alternates are still needed. The judge has said at this pace opening statements could start Monday though that might

be optimistic.

We will see. CNN's U.S. National Correspondent Brynn Gingras is also outside court here in Manhattan. Alright Brynn, so walk us through what

happens next now the court is in session.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah Omar, well you know, we're getting real time updates from our colleagues inside the courtroom.

As you said, court is now in session. And what we're learning from our colleagues is there's actually one impaneled juror who has now expressed

some concern about being fair and impartial and is having those discussions now with the judge.

So we'll see as this kind of continues, will we now have six jurors? And will she be dismissed? So we'll have to wait and find that out. But as of

now, you said it, there are seven impanel jurors on this jury four men three women and so they are looking and trying to get down seven more and

as many as six other alternates.

So it's going to be the same process that we saw happen on Monday and Tuesday, 96 already sworn in prospective jurors are going to come into the

courtroom, and the judge is going to flat out ask can you be fair and impartial. And that number is going to be whittled down.

Remember, on Monday, it was more than half of the people are about 50 -- more than 50 rather, people said that they couldn't and they were

immediately dismissed. So we'll see what those numbers look like from 96 to what?

Well after that, and then it gets to those 42 questions that are going to be answered by each person from the judge. You know, where do they get

their news? Have they been to a Trump rally? What are their opinions about the former president?

And then again, that numbers going to go down. And from there, that's when both have defense and the prosecution can ask those more pointed questions.

They have 30 minutes to ask a group of those prospective jurors. And we saw from Tuesday the questions really were talking about -- you know are from

the prosecution, are they able to follow the judge's instructions?

Do they have any strong opinions about the fact that there is a tabloid publisher of adult film star a former attorney who's admitted to federal

crimes? Can they -- you know be impartial about those people being witnesses? And from the defense, we saw them really scrub through people's

social media trying to see their opinions about the former president, who was the defendant in this case, of course.

So it's another busy day inside that courtroom. And again, the latest update that we are getting is trying to see if now this seventh person

wants to stay on the jury and what the judge will say about that. So we'll keep you posted Omar.

JIMENEZ: Thank you, Brynn. And it does appear that juror; he's going to be excused. You're saying she has concerns because aspects of my identity have

been out there. And she's concerned she will not be able to act fair and impartial. As you were just mentioning, that was part of why she wanted to

have that discussion with the judge.

And of course highlights the dynamic here that this is not happening in a vacuum and is part of the questioning that both the prosecution and the

defense are trying to figure out if these prospective jurors can actually do their jobs impartially here? We will keep an eye on that.

Meanwhile, a number of foreign leaders are making sure that they have a good relationship with whoever is in the White House come 2025 in between

campaigning and court appearances Donald Trump is taking advantage of this and meeting with those leaders before he's even beneficially nominated, as

the Republican candidate Brian Todd reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Between court dates he's acting like a man who's back in the White House. Former President Trump had dinner

Wednesday night with right wing Polish President Andrzej Duda at Trump Tower in New York. The latest in a series of private interactions Trump has

had with foreign leaders or diplomats.

He's basically been holding court at his various properties in New York and Florida. Hosting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at Mar-a-Lago last

month heaping praise on the hardline leader in videos posted on Orban's Instagram account.

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DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They said this is the way it's going to be and he's the boss. He's a great

leader, fantastic leader.

TODD (voice-over): That meeting drawing the scorn of the man who is in the White House.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: You know who he's meeting with today and down to Mar-a-Lago Orban from Hungary? Who stated

flatly he doesn't think democracy works, he's looking for dictatorship.

TODD (voice-over): Trump had recent phone calls with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and the King of Bahrain. But it's not just strong men

who are queuing up to meet with Donald Trump. British Foreign Minister David Cameron came courting at Mar-a-Lago in recent days. Why the shadow

diplomacy, analysts say the foreign leaders are hedging their bets for the possibility of Trump returning to the Oval Office.

EVELYN FARKAS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE MCCAIN INSTITUTE: Foreign leaders will also want to make sure that they have some kind of knowledge of

President Trump and what his intentions are vis-a-vis their country and the country's interests before he gets into office that they signal that

they're not going to be adversarial towards President Trump should he get into office or at least to collect intelligence.

TODD (voice-over): CNN and other outlets have recently reported that foreign diplomats in Washington are frantically trying to set up meetings

with Trump's allies, and that Trump's aides are encouraging other nations to send their emissaries to Mar-a-Lago.

It's not unusual for an opposition presidential candidate to meet with foreign leaders, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney traveled overseas to do when

they were running for president. But there's a risk for Trump if he uses these meetings to undermine President Biden.

TIMOTHY NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: We know that Donald Trump doesn't truly respect red lines. So of course there is a risk that he is

going to engage in some perspective foreign policymaking in these negotiations.

TODD (voice-over): And that would be a violation of the Logan Act, a law making it illegal for an American citizen to engage in foreign policy

without the authorization of the current president. And analysts say these meetings carry a significant and rather obvious risk for the foreign

leaders and diplomats meeting with Trump the risk of angering President Biden and souring their relationships with him if he wins office again.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Thank you, Brian. And the judge in this case -- just said we just lost what probably would have been a very good juror in saying that this

person was intimidated by the press highlighting some of the nature of this not happening in a vacuum. We've got more news after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. It is just before 20 to 6 in the evening here in Abu Dhabi. If you think of wearable tech, you could be forgiven for

thinking of a smart watch or fitness tracker, but it can be so much more than that. In Japan one university professor is pushing the boundaries of

where wearable tech and its potential as Anna Stewart finds out in this month's decoded.

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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Japan, one man is reimagining what wearable tech could be at the University of Tokyo

Professor Masahiko Inami and his team has developed these robotic arms.

STEWART: How does it work?

MASAHIKO INAMI, UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO: This consists of four extra robotic arms. Actually, this is attachable and detachable. And so this arm has

several motors, here, here and here. And these arms, it's controlled with this small device.

STEWART: This device? Wow. Yeah. Lend me a hand or several.

STEWART (voice-over): OK, Professor Masahiko Inami took inspiration from the concept of "ji*zai" Japanese term meaning to move freely.

INAMO: Are you ready?

STEWART: Are you ever ready to have more arms? I was ready as I'll ever be. It feels heavy, but not too heavy.

INAMO: I try to enhance our ability by using technology. This is the concept of "ji*zai".

STEWART: Oh, I can shake my own hand. This is so strange. The movement is good, so you can -- you can move in all sorts of ways. Imagine the

possibilities with these arms, the things I could do.

INAMO: Our arms have not so much power. So arms are to enhance our dancing ability.

STEWART: It's for dancing?

INAMO: Yeah it dancing.

STEWART: I love this. I love this. I always thought my dancing was limited by my by my skills. But perhaps it's been limited by not enough arms.

INAMO: A ballet dancer tried our system. She said she can dance more than one hour because her inspiration can be affected by extra limbs. Because

robotic arms are moving like this so her next motion can be induced by moment of robotic arms. And so it stimulated her imagination to create her

next motion.

STEWART: Where do you see the technology going in the future? What would you like to be able to do with the arms?

INAMO: So currently, so arms are for dancing but so in near future maybe it can help our daily tasks of course, we are able to establish new type of

sports superhuman sports.

STEWART: Superhumans?

INAMO: It is superhuman.

STEWART: Superhuman Olympic with six arms?

INAMO: Right. Sometimes six-arm ping pong.

STEWART (voice-over): It's hard to envision where wearable technology is going. From health monitors to AI assistants to jetpacks clearly the

potential is endless. The question is how will we change with it?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: World Sports with Amanda Davies is up next with news of last night's games in the UEFA Champions League, super stuff. And I'll be back

at the top of the hour with a second special hour "Connect the World".

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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(WORLD SPORT)

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