Follow Christiane on social media:
What time is Amanpour on CNN?
Check showtimes to see when Amanpour is on CNN where you are. Or watch online.
Russia must respect Ukrainian choice, says Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt
By Mick Krever, CNN
A day after Ukrainians elected pro-Western billionaire Petro Poroshenko, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that Russia must “accept the reality” that an “overwhelming majority of them have made their choice.”
That choice is Poroshenko, who says that European integration is his priority. He has declared victory, and his main opponent has conceded.
“I don’t think the Russians were particularly happy about this particular election. But it has taken place and it has created, or produced, a very clear verdict.”
“And obviously the people of Ukraine want Petro Poroshenko as their president, and he wants to take the country closer to the European Union. That has to be accepted by Russia as well.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated on Monday that Moscow would recognize the result of the election, but he also raised questions about how the campaigning and election were conducted.
‘We are not going to elect a dictator,’ says former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa
By Mick Krever, CNN
Egypt is not “going to elect a dictator,” Former Foreign Minister Amr Moussa told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Monday as Egyptians went to the polls.
Former Egyptian military chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is expected to win the presidency.
“We are not going to elect a dictator,” Moussa said. “We are going to elect a president under the stipulations of a constitution.”
His comments came in response to a statement by el-Sisi’s sole opponent, Hamdeen Sabahi, that if elected he would release “all the innocent people who were convicted according to this unconstitutional law” – referring to a controversial demonstration law enacted last year.
“He said I am going to release all innocent people, meaning that he's not going to release the non-innocent people,” Moussa said. “And who determined that? Only the courts can determine that.”
An optimistic view of a supremely difficult election
There are difficult elections, and then there is Ukraine's election:
This Sunday, voters will seek to legitimize their post-Yanukovych era by electing a new president.
But unbearable pressure from Russia has come very close to scuppering it – first annexing Crimea and then encouraging pro-Russian separatists to destabilize eastern Ukraine by declaring independence, and shedding blood in some parts.
Nine hundred observers from the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) will be overseeing the election, because a truly free and fair poll will be vital for peace and stability.
“I expect elections in Ukraine to be largely okay in the overwhelming number of districts,” Wolfgang Ischinger, representative of the OSCE for Ukraine, told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an interview that aired Friday.
“But there are huge obstacles in the east, principally in two of the districts. And I expect that voting there will be either patchy or maybe impossible for many citizens. So we will not have a totally perfect vote.”
Despite imperfection, he said, the election of a new president represents an enormous opportunity.
“If he or she reaches out to those living in the east and explains to them that he wants to be their president also, I believe that that can change things in a significant way.”
Just weeks ago, there were significant concerns that Russia could launch a full-scale invasion of eastern Ukraine. Now, Ischinger said, he is buoyed by attempts to calm the situation.
“I am extremely excited about the fact that some of the so-called oligarchs in the country are now also finally, you know, waking up and dispatching their workers and using some of their financial resources to help create an atmosphere of calm, an atmosphere that will allow people to go to vote without being intimidated. Intimidation is a big problem here.”
Ukraine remains a very divided country, and chaotic, country. Just this week 16 people were killed on an attack on soldiers in the country’s eastern Donetsk region.
But there is no indication, Ischinger said, that eastern parts of the country genuinely want to break off – a claim backed up by public opinion polls.
“I traveled myself to Donetsk to speak to the mayor and to local oligarchs and other people,” Ischinger said. “I can tell you that I have not found a single responsible person in Ukraine who advocates, who really advocates as a serious plan, a division, a carving of Ukraine. I have only found people who wish to keep Ukraine together.”
“What people in the east are so tremendously unhappy about is that they feel left alone by Kiev. They want a different government. They want different leadership.”
“But I don't believe that people in the east, at least not those that I have had a chance to meet, really want to leave Ukraine.”
What will be critical for the country, he told Amanpour, is that the country’s governance is reformed.
“Constitutional reform in Ukraine, including in particular this item of decentralization, is the key, the principle job for post-election Ukraine.”
‘That is a lie’ – Marine Le Pen disputes reports of Father’s comments
By Mick Krever, CNN
Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s far-right National Front party, disputed on Friday reports that her father suggested Ebola as a possible cure for Europe’s immigration problem.
“Madame, this is a lie,” Le Pen told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. “That is a lie, a maneuver, a campaign maneuver. He never said that.”
Ahead of European Parliament elections, Jean-Marie Le Pen – founder of the National Front – reportedly said the deadly Ebola virus could help step global population and help Europe’s “immigration problem” in the process, according to French media.
“He was not speaking about immigration,” Marine Le Pen said. “He was speaking about the fate of humanity as a whole. That is what he said.”
Rogue Libyan general: Salvation or menace?
It's called “operation dignity.” It started as a rogue campaign by a former Libyan general to purge the chaotic country of extremist Islamist militias – and the government that is said to support them.
Now, an array of Libyan military, tribal and political leaders have jumped on General Khalifa Haftar's bandwagon, even though he's played all sides.
As one said, “The dilemma is that no-one trusts him but everyone likes what he's doing. We want the Islamists out.”
So could General Haftar and his "Operation Dignity" be just what the doctor ordered? Or could he drag Libya back into a military dictatorship, much like General Abdel Fatah El-Sisi in neighboring Egypt?
“I have decided to face this threat and those who are against the Libyan people, and we hope that the Libyan tribes and the civic institutions in Libya do support us,” General Haftar told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour Thursday on the phone from the eastern city of Benghazi.
“I want for Libya to be together, and I did not come out only to provide security for Libya. And I want for the Libyan society to be safe and secure. Personally, I do not want political power. But I want the safety and security of my country and my people.”
Click above to watch Amanpour’s interview with General Haftar.
‘That is a lie’ – Marine Le Pen disputes reports of Father’s comments
By Mick Krever, CNN
Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s far-right National Front party, disputed on Friday reports that her father suggested Ebola as a possible cure for Europe’s immigration problem.
“Madame, this is a lie,” Le Pen told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. “That is a lie, a maneuver, a campaign maneuver. He never said that.”
Ahead of European Parliament elections, Jean-Marie Le Pen – founder of the National Front – reportedly said the deadly Ebola virus could help step global population and help Europe’s “immigration problem” in the process, according to French media.
“He was not speaking about immigration,” Marine Le Pen said. “He was speaking about the fate of humanity as a whole. That is what he said.”
Memories of Maidan
Ahead of crucial elections that will determine not just Ukraine’s future, but the stability of the whole region, it's important to look back and remember exactly how all this started.
It began back in December, when then-President Viktor Yunukovych backed out of a partnership deal with the EU after pressure from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Producer Andrew Tkach and independent Ukrainian filmmakers “Babylon 13" have made a new short film, Memories of Maidan – a ground-level view on the front lines of Kiev’s Independence Square.
The voices of ordinary Ukrainian protesters relive their gripping memories of Maidan – the tsunami that brought Ukraine and Russia to the brink of war, saw Crimea annexed, and precipitated the deepest chill between Moscow and the West since the Cold War.
Click above to watch.
An extraordinary story of Holocaust defiance
In the late 1930's, Adolf Hitler's storm troopers marched into Czechoslovakia and the Jewish population found itself on the Nazi hit-list.
That is, until a young British stockbroker named Nicholas Winton went to Prague and saw for himself the plight of the children.
For nearly 50 years, Winton hardly spoke of what he'd done – saving 669 children, most of them Jewish, from certain death.
He has since reunited with some of those children, now all grown up, and many with children of their own.
Winton has just turned 105.
Click above to watch.
Euro elections: Tilt to the right?
Europe is heading to the polls in an election that could be a turning point for politics on the continent.
Radical right parties within the European Union are expected to win a much higher representation in the European parliament than in years gone by.
Why U.S./China cyber escalation could be good
By Mick Krever, CNN
A escalation of cyberespionage between the United States and China could be beneficial by forcing a change in actions, former U.S. counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Wednesday.
“I actually hope it does result in escalation and tit-for-tat, because we need this issue resolved,” he said. “And we can't go on the way it's been.”
“This first step by the United States will undoubtedly result in an escalation of this issue. And we need to do that. We need to have this issue resolved one way or the other. If the Chinese are going to keep hacking into our companies, then we're going to have to do something about it.”
Clarke, now out of government, has authored his third straight-from-the-headlines novel, “Sting of the Drone.”
@camanpour on Twitter
