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The Us President Scolding NATO Leaders For Failing To Meet Their Commitment To Spend 2% Of Their Gdp On Defense, Croatia Secured Their First Ever Trip To The World Cup Final Beating England 2-1 In Extra Time On Wednesday; NATO Summit: Donald Trump Meets Angela Merkel after Calling Germany a Russian 'Captive'; Dramatic New Video Shows Rescue Operations; At Least 195 People Killed In Japan Flooding; Campaign To Make "American Idiot" Great Again. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired July 12, 2018 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MAX FOSTER, HOST, CNN NEWSROOM: Day two of the NATO Summit in Brussels, we'll see more fireworks from the US President before he heads to London. We're live from both locations with the very latest.
JOHN VAUSE, HOST, CNN NEWSROOM: In the World Cup final, Croatia stuns England to secure a spot in the Championship Game. We'll recap yesterday's actions and look ahead to the finals. Hello and welcome to the news around the world, I'm John Vause in Los Angeles.
FOSTER: And I'm Max Foster in London, "CNN Newsroom" starts right now. Well, the US President will be arriving here in the UK later on today in about six hours, we believe and while preparing for that moment, Prime Minister Theresa May already vowing to strengthen ties between the US and the UK describing them as long-term very special allies.
Donald Trump's visit will come on the heels of a summit of course in Brussels where he slammed NATO allies for not contributing more to defense spending and he called Germany a captive of Russia. Mr. Trump's barrage of criticisms of the NATO alliance members and also, members from here in Europe concerned many people about NATO unity, especially ahead of his upcoming summit with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin on Monday. Jeff Zeleny has more details on that view.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: President Trump standing alongside some of America's most loyal allies at the NATO summit, but standing alone in his remarkable confrontation with Germany.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: That Germany is totally controlled by Russia.
ZELENY: The President bluntly suggesting Germany is beholden to Russia because of a pipeline beneath the Baltic Sea. Germany is the biggest European market for Russian gas exports.
TRUMP: Germany as far as I am concerned is captive to Russia because it is getting so much of its energy from Russia. ZELENY: It's the latest example of how the Trump doctrine includes
driving a wedge in the world order by upending Democratic led institutions in place since after World War II. German Chancellor Angela Merkel who grew up in Soviet era communist Eastern Germany said she didn't need a lecture on being captive to Russia.
So coming together later for a face to face meeting, their tensions were clear. After a day of rejection, deflection or misdirection, considering Trump's warm embrace of Russian President Vladimir Putin that worries allies. The President also scolding NATO leaders for failing to meet their commitment to spend 2% of their GDP on defense. Only five of the 29 nations hit that goal.
TRUMP: Many countries owe us a tremendous amount of money for many years back where they're delinquent.
ZELENY: Trump calling on NATO members to double their military spending to 4% and by the end of the day, even asking on Twitter what good is NATO? Still Trump joined NATO leaders in signing a joint communique with sharp words for Putin. In part, the statement said, "Russia is challenging the rules based international order by destabilizing Ukraine, violating international law and attempting to undermine our institutions and sow disunity." Though such a statement is standard fair for summits, it was notable that Trump signed on, considering he rarely criticizes Russia and walked away from the G-7 meeting last month in Canada without signing that communique.
Along with acrimony, plenty of smiles and handshakes, too. As First Lady Melania Trump accompanied the President on the first stop of a seven-day European tour.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
FOSTER: Jeff Zeleny there. Let's find out what's happening today there in Brussels. Nic Robertson is over there. Take us through the morning's events and what you expect from the President. I know he can be pretty unpredictable, but what are you expecting?
NIC ROBERTSON, INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR, CNN: Pretty unpredictable and he certainly got into that unpredictability early yesterday. I think the shock waves have rippled through. The communique has come out. You can probably hear behind me one of the press conferences going on right now. Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO Secretary General beside another one of the delegates speaking.
But what we're expecting President Trump to do today is have a number of bilateral meetings and perhaps, the most significant one would be the last of it before he leaves to head off to London where he will be meeting with Petro Poroshenko, the Ukrainian President. Obviously, hear the Ukrainian President on that point of the German gas pipeline was quite outspoken a couple of days ago in Kiev, but a summit there saying that what - this pipeline is detrimental to Europe's interest, detrimental to US interest, detrimental definitely to Ukraine's interest there.
So undoubtedly, that subject may come up in that bilateral, but obviously what they'll be looking for there will be the United States reassuring Ukraine that it has its back, listening to the Ukrainian leader for President Trump's meeting later in the week with President Putin in Helsinki because obviously, the Ukrainian leader will have a few on that. So, I think these are the events for today, but I think the shockwaves that we saw yesterday perhaps no one is going to ...
[02:05:14]
ROBERTSON: ... say this 100% certainty, perhaps most of that is done and dusted, these bilateral seem to be the bigger part of President Trump's agenda today at least as far as we know, Max.
FOSTER: He came in all guns blazing, but in terms of communiques and what's going to be announced, anything substantial is going to change because of what he said when he came in.
ROBERTSON: No. What we understand is the communique was agreed a couple of days in advance. It was agreed more readily and more easily than the NATO Summit in Wales in 2014 where you also have the NATO Summit in Warsaw in 2016 was signed off essentially on the US side by Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the National Security - Trump's National Security Adviser, John Bolton. They signed off on it and broadly speaking, it amplifies what NATO has been trying to do which is make yourself ready for a potential confrontation later, so future ready for new types of hybrid warfare for fighting terrorism - these sorts of things, but the second paragraph on this communique I think is perhaps is the most striking one. It says, NATO can expect essentially turbulence going forward and pointing the finger very clearly at Russia as Russia is trying to breakup up the world rules based order.
So, I think having that as a second paragraph of the joint communique is perhaps in its way NATO's marching orders for President Trump, what it would like to see or how it would like to see him view and tackle that summit with President Putin in Helsinki over the weekend.
FOSTER: Obviously, we're all looking ahead to President Trump's summit with President Putin on Monday. How much talk is there of that and how the NATO meeting actually plays into that climax really of this European talk?
ROBERTSON: Yesterday, I was talking to the Prime Minister of Estonia, the Foreign Minister of Latvia, Baltic nations, both of which very keenly feel the sort of - the heavy hand of Russia close to their border and their message for President Trump was very, very clear. And I think this is echoed throughout the NATO allies here. That is presenting a united face of NATO is hugely important, not something President Trump has really done so far. He really shows up divisions.
But having a very strong message for President Putin that President Putin should only respond to pressure to understanding that he is facing power, then that would be - they would like President Trump to focus on how President Putin has handled Crimea by annexing it - his illegal crossing into Ukraine, breaking international law there. That President Trump needs to be very clear with President Putin. There is a price to pay for that action and that President Putin must adhere to the Minsk Agreement agreed in Belarus a couple of years ago that would allow for a ceasefire to take hold in Ukraine. Ukrainian government sovereignty to retake control of the borders with Russia.
To make it very clear that there should be no backsliding on Russia's part from this. And I don't think at the moment, anyone here is particularly confident about what President Trump is going to say when he gets there. They just really don't know how to gauge his mood and attitude towards President Putin.
FOSTER: Okay, Nic, thank you very much indeed. Before he meets President Putin and after Brussels, Donald Trump comes here to the United Kingdom, a country in turmoil over Brexit as the President puts it himself and that's without the football.
He'll have tea with the Queen, talks with the Prime Minister Theresa May have been praising the relationship with the US saying, "There is no stronger alliance as two nations. We are safer, more prosperous and more creative when we work together." That may be, but many Brits have no intention of rolling out the red carpet for President Trump. Security is extremely tight with large demonstrations planned and the US State Department is so concerned, it's warning Americans in the UK to keep a low profile in case all of these demonstrations turn violent.
While many protesters are saying, they're just Federal up with Donald Trump's bad mouthing of London and the western liberal order and they have been planning this visit for months now, it's pretty organized, lots of people expected to turn out. Here is Erin McLaughlin.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This isn't the dignified welcome that a US President visiting London has come to expect. A giant balloon, a caricature of Donald Trump as a baby. Organizers say it was inspired by the President's Twitter account.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's clear from Donald Trump's tweets and apart from anything else, is that he is a deeply ...
[02:10:16]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... insecure individual about his own personal shortcomings. And so we decided that what we need to do was get right down on Donald Trump's level and speak to him in a language that he understands, which is personal insults. We had to do something which we knew him and the rest of the world, and our own government, could not miss.
MCLAUGHLIN: It's hard to miss the so-called Trump baby blimp. Each element designed to mock and make fun. The orange hued skin, the yellow bouffant hair, the tiny hands gripping the cell phone ready to tweet.
London mayor Sadiq Khan, an outspoken Trump critic, cleared it to fly in the name of free speech, a move not everyone agrees with. Piers Morgan tweeted, "If Obama was still President and someone suggested flying a giant black baby balloon over parliament, Sadiq Khan would brand it racist and offensive and stop it." This Trump balloon is a hypocritical disgrace.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think whenever his detractors go after him, it makes him double down, and it actually encourages him to keep going and to prove everybody wrong. So, I think that is the effect of the balloon will have.
MCLAUGHLIN: But campaigners say this is not just about Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whether he sees it, whether he reacts to it, we don't really care. It's about lifting the spirits of the nation. And it's already doing that, you know, it is just putting smiles on the faces of people who had started to despair about the state of politics.
MCLAUGHLIN: The blimp was crowd funded, nearly $40,000.00 so far. Organizers say the money will be used to get the blimp on the road, so that wherever Donald Trump goes, a giant baby balloon is sure to follow. Erin McLaughlin, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Brian Klaas is with me. He is a fellow of Comparative Politics at the London School of Economics. He is also author of "The Despots Accomplice," and co-author of "How to Rig an Election," and a critic of Donald Trump. I think everyone knows that though. Is this an appropriate display of distaste though for the President. You know, he's been invited once that invitation has been accepted, surely everyone should respect it and respect the leader coming in.
BRIAN KLAAS, FELLOW OF COMPARATIVE POLITICS, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: I think this is democracy in action. People don't have to agree with the President. They do have to be peaceful and I hope that the protests stay completely peaceful, but it is their right to protest and there are a lot of things that Donald Trump does and says that are at odds with basic western values.
And I think that's what we're seeing in the streets of London beyond the sort of animosity towards some of his domestic policies for example. It's about Donald Trump the person himself.
FOSTER: If there was a similar sort of display against Theresa May over the White House, a really insulting balloon, people here probably would be offended though, wouldn't they? So, why is it okay if it's Donald Trump?
KLAAS: I think that depending on your political view, we are either offended or delighted by this display, but I think that's just part of democracy. I mean, they are protesting the US President wherever they travel and I will note that the one time that there was not protesting of a US President was his first foreign visit to Saudi Arabia when the commerce secretary said how great it was that there was no protest, and that was a place where if you protest, you might get beheaded. So, it is something where I think we should celebrate the fact that people are able to express peacefully their political views and that's what we'll see today and I hope that there is still a productive diplomatic arrangement between the two countries because it is in everyone's interest to maintain the special relationship between the US and the UK.
FOSTER: But if it must turn violent? How damaging do you think that will be for the UK?
KLAAS: I think it will be damaging internationally in terms of reputation. I think it will distract from the important work of diplomacy. I hope it doesn't happen. I believe that the organizers are trying to ensure that it doesn't. There will be a major security presence in (inaudible) ...
FOSTER: Theresa May's statement ahead of this visit was very much focused on trade, really pushing that. We can obviously understand where that is because she is concerned about Brexit, but actually, is she going to be able to sign a trade deal with the United States because of the Brexit deal that she has come up with already? What is she playing there? What's the diplomacy she is planning?
KLAAS: So Brexit makes the US more important economically to the UK because if you're going to downgrade your partnership with your largest trading partner, you need to find somebody to fill in the cuts. The US is attractive in that way to Britain. That being said, Donald Trump is engaged in a rapidly escalating trade war with not just China, but also with the European Union. So, the idea that he is going to all of a sudden give the gift of some beneficial trade deal to the UK to help it during the Brexit period, I think is a misreading of how Trump sees trade.
He sees it as a very transactional short-term what do you give me, what do I get in return and that's not simply out of the benevolence of trying to help an ally.
FOSTER: In terms of the trip, him coming here, you study him, Brian Klaas, you follow his Twitter quite closely, I follow you on Twitter and you respond to his tweets. Are you in any way predicting what ...
[02:15:16]
FOSTER: ... sort of grenade he is going to throw in when he arrives here?
KLAAS: Well, I think it will be interesting to see whether he talks about things like he has in NATO with having commitments with the UK by the way is one of the countries that does actually meet its 2% target spending for defense per GDP, so that's something that he could praise. It will be interesting to see if he lashes out about the protests.
He has a thin skin personality sometimes, and he may end up responding to the protest in America's biggest and closest ally. That's the big X factor in addition to the fact that he hasn't been particularly close to Theresa May. They have had a somewhat icy relationship since that initial visit that she went to in Washington where she famously held his hand and was lambasted by some in Britain for that. FOSTER: His mother was a big fan of the Queen. He has often talked
about that. Do you think that's a big moment for him when he goes to Windsor and meets the longest serving head of state?
KLAAS: Yes, and Donald Trump really likes these moments of sort of pomp and circumstance where you have - I mean, he wants the carriage ride down the mile in Central London. He didn't get it. But meeting the Queen, I think will be important to him. For Brits, there are some who will think this is appropriate. There are some who will think that this is a person who should not be held toe to toe with the Queen, but this will be a striking moment in international diplomacy nonetheless.
FOSTER: Absolutely. Brian, thank you very much indeed. You're with us for a couple of hours and we'll be speaking to one of the protesters as well in the next hour. We'll have more on NATO and the President's visit to the UK in just a bit. Now, though back to John in Los Angeles. John?
VAUSE: Max, thank you and with that, we'll take a short break. Coming up here, reunited families. Some young immigrant children are now back with their families, for them the nightmare is over, but for others, they are still in limbo.
Also, a hard fought victory in extra time gives Croatia their first ever trip to a World Cup final.
And that is the moment when Croatia secured their first ever trip to the World Cup final beating England 2-1 in extra time on Wednesday. The Croatians will now face France who last won the World Cup back in 1998 and they're making their third appearance in a title match, 1998, Patrick Snell, what were you doing back in 1998, do you remember?
[02:20:16]
PATRICK SNELL, HOST, WORLD SPORT: I was watching Epic Kick that year at the World Cup tournament. It was compelling stuff as well, a bit like Russia 2018, thanks, John, yes, let's reflect on history in the making for Croatia's national football team. They reached their first ever World Cup final. What's really impressive about this in just their fifth tournament since becoming an independent nation as well, defeating England in the semifinal on Wednesday, the free line back made a great start to this game taking the lead after just five minutes. Kieran Trippier taking full advantage with a sublime free kick there for 1-0 England.
No other talk of Croatia supposedly being physically and emotionally jaded after two recent penalty shootout victories. It turned to be way off the mark, even Perisic acrobatically leveling for his country in the second half, and the outstanding interval line winger, a whisker away from scoring again, only to be denied by the woodwork. It was an outstanding performance for him. It really was.
The match settled in extra time, Perisic two else with the header, taken up for Juventus striker Mario Mandzukic. Super Mario in the 109th minute wins it for his country, the Croatian manager, Zlatko Dalic, a massive career moment. Heartbreak for the English and their young squad. Their hopes were so high ahead of the semifinals. While Croatia and their footballers though, too busy writing their own special piece of history.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZLATKO DALIC, MANAGER, CROATIA FOOTBALL TEAM (Through a translator): They've shown character. When we started our preparation six weeks ago, I insisted on that in particular and I said it publicly. I cannot teach these players football. They played fantastic football.
As the tournament progressed, they've gained confidence, they are stronger than I am in terms of mentality, psychological strength. I've said this tournament will be won by a team with character, who execute on the pitch what their coach tells them.
(VIDEO CLIP ENDS)
SNELL: Actually quite a back story too, Zlatko Dalic, really interesting stuff. He only actually took over the national team late last year and his impact was quickly felt as he oversaw the Croatians qualifying for the Russian World Cup with a playoff victory over Greece.
The 51-year-old managed the UAE's Al-Ain for three seasons before that taking them to the Asian Champions League final in 2016. Now though, it's all about the World Cup final for him. That's what he has got to look forward to next.
France, the '98 winners, confirmation, they will face Croatia on Sunday in Moscow seeking to win their second title as the Croatians go all out for their first. They are brimming with confidence and motivation, too.
This is really interesting. This is a post match nugget I want to tell you about, Luka Modric, one of Croatia's many star players actually rather revealing insights after the win over the three lines. He felt that some sections of English media had actually underestimated his country and that served as encouragement for the victory. So that's really interesting insight there from Luka Modric.
Of course, the Croatians looking to win their tournament for the first time ever just an achievement to get to the final. What an achievement. Let's get out to Zagreb and join Hrvoje Kresic, a reporter for CNN's affiliate station, N1, Hrvoje, a few hours for this all to sink in, what would a carnival scene celebration like overnight, tell us about that and of course what the achievement means to the people of Croatia?
HRVOJE KRESIC, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT, N1: Well, this is incredible. It's difficult to believe. Nobody believes this is actually happening. Croatia sleeps now at the moment because everybody was awake up until early morning hours, up until 5:00 a.m., 6:00 a.m. I was awake up until 5:00 a.m. and now I have to cover a government meeting, so the world didn't stop. It's going on as it usually does, but Croatia is celebrating and I guess, pretty much quite a lot of people would be calling in sick today in order to maybe get through their hangovers and the consequences of (inaudible) ...
SNELL: Yes, just incredible - we're just looking at those scenes there in Zagreb, the Croatian capital, scenes of joy as Croatia really do pull off a magnificent achievement. It is a star studded team. We just heard from the head coach, Zlatko Dalic, he's got stars like Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic. These are huge stars in World Football and really Croatia's manager has done a spectacular job just gelling them, getting them to perform so effectively at this level. And it will be Croatia taking on France in the final, Sunday in Moscow. We actually did lose our guest, Hrvoje Kresic. We do thank him for his contribution though and we will be trying again the next hour to bring him back.
For now, though, I want to send it back to John Vause in Los Angeles.
[02:25:05]
VAUSE: I thought that was a very short interview. It didn't last very long, so it must have been some technical problem.
SNELL: It captured the emotion though, the overnight celebrations really.
VAUSE: Thanks, Patrick. Well, we'll head back to London in a moment for the very latest on the NATO Summit. Also ahead, what's waiting for the US President when he arrives in London? Also, dramatic new video of the rescue of those boys trapped in a cave in Thailand - what is giving divers the most trouble, the most concern. That's next on "CNN Newsroom."
Welcome back, everybody to "CNN Newsroom." I'm John Vause with an update on our top stories this hour. The second day of the NATO Summit, the second day of meetings is set to begin shortly. For the first day, it brought blistering criticism from the US President directed at allies and their defense budgets, which failed to meet 2% of GDP. He also called Germany captive to Russia after signing an energy deal with Moscow.
In the coming hours, British Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to release a Brexit blueprint detailing the strategy agreed last week by Cabinet. This should outline how the UK could lead the European single market while retaining the flexibility Britain need to sign trade deals with the rest of the world.
Sunday's World Cup final in Moscow will pit underdogs Croatia against power house France. Croatia earned their first ever trip to this title match after beating England 2-1 in extra time in Wednesday's semifinal. England and Belgium play on Saturday (inaudible) won.
More now on NATO, President Trump and his visit to the UK, back to Max Foster in London. Hey, Max.
FOSTER: John, the next question is, what happens next? Will the US President have the same confrontational astute for the next round of NATO meetings today? There are two happening in the next few hours. First Mr. Trump and other NATO leaders will meet with the Presidents of Ukraine and Georgia, both are pushing for membership in NATO. Then the talk turns to Afghanistan, the NATO's operation resolute support.
President Trump will then head to London and he will meet the British Prime Minister Theresa May again and have tea with the Queen, and then he's off to Helsinki, isn't he to meet President Putin. Victoria Hewson joins me now. She is the Senior Counsel of the International Trade and Competition Unit at the Institute of Economic Affairs. First of all, your thoughts on the NATO meetings first of all?
VICTORIA HEWSON, SENIOR COUNSEL, INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND COMPETITION UNIT, INSTITUTION OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS: The NATO meeting seems to have not gone terribly smoothly yesterday. President Trump took his beautiful course of action in these international meetings by being on the front putting his particular views of a country in the case that defense spending and the Russian influence in Germany. Which you know, these are not unreasonable points actually.
[02:30:12]
FOSTER: But nothing substantive comes out of that. It's arguably a lot of hot air as his critics would say, you know, he's criticizing Germany but then he comes out meeting with Merkel and everything seems fine.
HEWSON: No. That's right. And in fact all of these things, you know, the contributions that are laid down by treaty. Anyway, so this is, you know, this is -- this is just talk at the moment.
FOSTER: OK. So when it comes here to London, we cannot really talk about his visit to London now without talking about the blimp, can we? Because the blimp has been much in the news over the last week. This is insulting according to some Trump fans. I have to call them that and also non-Trump fans because they're arguing that this is a visiting head of state who've accepted to visit. This is immature. What's your --
HEWSON: No. That's right. I certainly wouldn't count myself as a Trump fan, but I do find the blimp a bit childish a bit embarrassing. You know, he's been head of state of our closest ally and our biggest single trading partner, and ultimately it's counterproductive. These things don't -- the tantrum from the things that he sets out to do, and if anything it just encourages his base to rally behind him.
FOSTER: Do you think it can be more harm than good because that low the debate?
HEWSON: Well, it does lower the debate. It distracts from the really important issues to do with fresh at the moment trade policy and, you know, if we can't cement a really close and productive relationship with the United States at the moment then we really will strike all key advance our independent trade policies --
(CROSSTALK)
FOSTER: -- Theresa May though undermines her own argument there because she's come up with the Brexit policy which in effect goes to experts, you know, doesn't allow her to pursue a U.S. trade deal outside the European Union?
HEWSON: Yes, that's absolutely right. Now, obviously, we haven't seen the full white paper which is due out at some point today. But from what we've seen so far as it's being trailed, it would -- the common rubric idea, the complete harmonization, the E.U. regulations and standards on goods which make it actually fairly pointed to try to do a trade deal with the United States at the moment because we couldn't offer any of the things that the United States --
(CROSSTALK)
FOSTER: -- what -- this whole meeting today and tomorrow (INAUDIBLE) is about cementing trade relationships which she's on her mind in her own Brexit plan?
HEWSON: Well, the official position from her hand is that an international trade policy is still possible. And they specifically reference potential accession to the TPP in the check of statement. Now, I think that is a pipe dream and the more of that (INAUDIBLE) but, you know, the prime minister has to keep that going. And the still of the same this idea that you can do a trade deal on the surfaces only even if you can't affect small goods. Again, that's a pipe dream. It's completely unrealistic. But it's always possible that, you know, this motor rubrics that divide the E.U. and we will proceed either with a normal free trade agreement or, you know, hopefully, in our footing it's always possible that we will end up with meeting in which case we will need the trading relationship with the United States and the rest of the world even more.
FOSTER: Is Donald Trump listening to this, perhaps he is in his hotel, you never know. He does watch CNN News International when he's traveling. We know that because he's criticized us before. But if he's listening to that he might be quite frustrated with the idea that Theresa May is inviting him here to talk about trade when he can't do anything substantive with it and he's already frustrated with the European Union anyway, isn't it?
HEWSON: No. That's right. And I think, you know, the ambassador Johnson has already made comments the fact that the check statement left the idea of the U.K.-U.S. trade deal, I think he said it would be up in the air. So, yes, and, you know, the U.K. and the U.S. have setup a joint working group to work on this free trade agreement. If that's going to turn out it will be just wasted the (INAUDIBLE) that isn't great to be honest.
FOSTER: On the British side, there's a lot of debate about how this -- actually, there's been a lot of discussion on trade and all the work towards a trade deal. When you speak to the American side though, you don't get the same impression. What's your understanding of how hard they got with any sort of trade deal that might come out of all of this?
HEWSON: Well, I have to say this, the joint working group has been setups. It's been very preliminary for obvious reasons. But I think there's a lot of support for it within Congress and at state level where, I mean the state has recognized that. There's a lot of inward investment in both directions, and an awful lot of trade, and an employment on both sides of the Atlantic that the rest on these really strong trade links that we have. So I think that would be a lot of enthusiasm for it and it would be taken seriously if it can be done properly.
FOSTER: OK. Well, thank you very much. We look forward to his visit here. We'll wait to see whether or not these demos are as large as predicted, John. You never quite know. There's certainly lots of people have registered to come demonstrate here. And of course, he's going to be flying between all the different locations, so he may not see all of it.
[02:35:12] JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes. And look at those huge demonstrations back here in the Iraq War, you know, when George W. Bush was president. You meet the, you know, the tens of thousands of people that filled the streets. You can't imagine how many people will turn out when Donald Trump actually hits London. But I guess -- I'll say we'll see. Thank, Max. The Trump administration is implementing a new policy making any asylum seekers almost certainly to generate controversy and legal challenges. Those claiming asylum for fear of gang or domestic violence will now be rejected immediately. Even immigrants with legitimate fears of persecution could be turned away if border officers determine they entered the U.S. illegally. Meantime, more immigrant children taken away from their parents at the border have been reunited with their families on Wednesday. The government says all those under the age of five who are eligible to return to their moms and dads will be back by early Thursday. Ed Lavandera talked to some parents who have now got their children back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Two fathers, one from Guatemala, the other were from Honduras were some of the few who have been reunited with their children in El Paso, Texas. Pablo Ortiz says he was separated from his three-year-old son on April 30th and says he was only able to speak with him three times. He says they were going to deport me but since my child was here, I couldn't leave him. I wanted to take my child, how am I going to leave him? He's little. This man who only wanted to be identified as Roger says his son was taken away from him in February. They took me by the arm, he says. They took me by my shoulder and took me to a small room. I saw when they took my child because there was really a small window.
In Arizona, Jose Rodriguez hugged and kissed his three-year-old son after being separated for 40 stays. He says his son has asked, daddy, where were you? Rodriguez described the experienced as a nightmare. We're humans. We're not animals, he says, and not even animals are separated from their child. How are humans going to be separated from their kid? Trump administration officials say the process of reuniting separated families is moving slowly in part because of efforts to verify that children are being placed with their biological patterns. The Secretary of Health and Human Services says, he's proud of the work the federal government has done to bring families back together. ALEX AZAR, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: One
of the great acts of American generosity and charity what we are doing for these unaccompanied kids who are smuggled into our country or come across illegally, and so we don't have anything to hide about it. We just have to protect privacy.
LAVANDERA: For the lucky families who have been reunited, the trauma seems far from over. One mother told The New York Times her three- year-old son didn't know who she was. He didn't recognize me. My joy turned temporarily to sadness. Another mother said her three-year-old daughter cried for the social worker and tried to escape her mother's embrace. An embrace many parents are still waiting for. Ed Lavandera, CNN Brownsville, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, learning new details about the cushy jail cell home for Paul Manafort, the former chairman of the Trump campaign facing a dozen charges on financial accounts. The details were made public after Manafort and his legal team applied for his trial to be delayed or move, or even have the charges dropped because he was unable to prepare for trial at least in part because of the jail's harsh conditions. His lawyer said, Manafort had been living in solitary confinement. Manafort's angry response from prosecutors who told the court, Manafort had been bragging on phone calls that he was being treated like a VIP. He wasn't living in his cell, but a private self- contained living with his own bathroom and shower with telephone, laptop.
He was exempt from wearing a prison jumpsuit. And now, it looks like the good life may be coming to an end as judge ordering a transfer to another not so nice prison facility over the objections of Manafort's legal teams. Still ahead here, dramatic new video shows the harrowing rescue mission inside that cave in Thailand. The toughest challenges which divers were facing underground and underwater. Also, a different kind of rescue in China, how this man was buried alive and how long it took him to freeway himself?
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[02:42:02] VAUSE: Well, another admission from Facebook on the secret collection of user's data. The social media giant says it allowed Russia's Mail.Ru which has ties to Kremlin to collect information from Facebook subscribers. The Russian company was among 61 firms which were given extensions. The Facebook policy changed in 2014 was meant to stop the practice. The company's had access to the names, gender, location, and date of birth of Facebook users, and their friends. Facebook says, they found no evidence Mail.Ru misused the date.
Some of the boys rescued from that flooded cave in Thailand have seen their parents for the first time in weeks. The boys are in the hospital isolation room waiving to their families on the other side of a glass partition. Doctors say three of the boys have mild cases of pneumonia, but most will be discharged about a week. We're also getting our first look at just how dangerous and painstaking the rescue operation was. CNN's Matt Rivers has details.
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MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For the first time, a video released from inside the cave of one of the most daring rescues of all time. You can see how muddy the water is as divers disappear under the surface, diving, swimming, and trekking miles into the cave through darkness. They reached the boys and then the hard work begins. Loaded onto stretchers one by one over three anxious days, they're dragged across sharp jagged floors. At times, they're pulled on top of a tube sucking water out of the cave part of an operation that made this rescue possible in the first place. Where it's too steep, pictures show the boys hoisted through the air, a pulley system attached to a hanging stretcher. Below, rushing water makes for a swift current under foot illuminated by rescuer headlamps.
It's all incredibly dangerous, flooded passage ways, the definition of peril heartbreakingly illustrated with the death of former Thai Navy SEAL, Saman Gunan. He died after bringing oxygen supplies into the cave just days before the rescue began. His Navy SEAL brothers carried on their mission in his name, diving, swimming, and carrying the exhausted kids and their coach for hours until they could make it out far enough for initial medical treatment. A final picture shows the last eerily illuminated steps heroes freeing the team from their subterranean prison.
NARONGSAK OSOTTANAKORN, MISSION COMMANDER (via translator): This unit is not only with Chiang Rai, Thailand, it's a global unity. This incident was more than a life-saving mission. It's gone beyond that. It is the unity of all nationalities.
RIVERS: All that led to this, 12 boys and their coach weak but healthy recovering. Some of them seen for the first time in this video from inside the isolation ward of a Chiang Rai Hospital. One flashes a peace sign, others stand and talk. Some make the sign for I love you with their hands likely aimed at their parents on the other side of the glass.
[02:44:55] The doctors won't let them hug their kids for a few days yet. But the mere sight of them, the first time in 18 horrific days is enough to elicit tears of joy. This improbable reunion, thanks to the bravery and the skill of the rescuers. The men who delivered the good news the whole world wanted to hear.
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RIVERS: And something worth noting here is that the video that was given to us at the rescue by the Thai government doesn't include the point where the divers had to bring the kids and their coach underneath the water in order to get them out. Those are the parts that rescuers say were the most difficult.
And so, as treacherous as that video looked, it wasn't even the hardest part. Matt Rivers, CNN, in Chiang Rai, Northern Thailand.
VAUSE: And the last rescue are out of the cave is being praised for his part in this incredible operation. And Richard Harris, an Australian doctor and underwater cave Explorer was also dealing with his own tragedy.
He found out his father died shortly after the boys and their coach made it out of the cave safely. Australia's prime minister spoke to Harris, by phone thanking him for his.
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MALCOLM TURNBULL, PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA: Thank you so much for your extraordinary work, and we know it's a tough time for you at the moment, so -- you know, lots of love there.
RICHARD HARRIS, THAI CAVE RESCUER (via telephone): No worries. No, the big heroes in this are these children and the Thai Navy SEALs who were looking after them. They are the toughest blokes and kids I've ever had the privilege to meet. So, yes, they are the ones responsible for these own (INAUDIBLE), and really their own safety. And without them being in the state they were in, we couldn't have done anything. So that's where all the credit really lies, I think.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Harris was one of 20 Australians who were part of the rescue contingent.
One of the deadliest natural disasters in Japan has now killed at least 195 people. Heavy rain and flooding inundated cities in a matter of hours late last week.
Thousands of responders could face more danger in the days ahead. Details from Paula Newton.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The search goes on in flood-ravaged parts of Southwest Japan. Several people are still unaccounted for, and everyday rescuers declare more lives lost.
The rescue operation is now 75,000 strong, involving police and the defense force. The rain that wreaked havoc and brought so much heartbreak has now stopped but there are still a risk. Damaged infrastructure complicates the rescue effort and there's the possibility of more deadly landslides.
Here in one of Japan's hardest-hit prefectures, Hiroshima, a river clogged with debris overflows Tuesday morning, forcing yet another round of evacuations. 23,000 more people told to immediately leave their homes.
Canceling an overseas trip Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the devastated areas. He met with people who'd been forced to take shelter at an evacuation center.
The rising waters forced 2 million people from their homes. Thousands of houses are damaged, thousands more still without power. Here, in Okayama Prefecture, life as it once was is at a standstill. Operations at a Mitsubishi and Panasonic factory were temporarily halted. That's as smaller businesses too can only begin to pick up the pieces. Paula Newton, CNN.
VAUSE: In China, a man is in stable condition after being pulled from rockslides that buried him top to toe. He was trapped on Monday as heavy rains collapsed the highway in China's Sichuan Province. Rescuers started digging right away, and soon, they uncovered his head from the mud. It took about an hour-and-a-half to pull him out entirely, there is.
Derek Van Dam joins us from evacuation center, he was lucky. I was (INAUDIBLE) on the storms.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN INTERNATIONAL WEATHER ANCHOR: That is incredible footage.
VAUSE: Yes, wow, lucky guy.
VAN DAM: Glad to see -- glad to see that he got out alive, and he's doing well. Considering the circumstances, John.
VAUSE: Yes.
VAN DAM: You know, we had such an incredible past 36 hours over Eastern China, and into Japan, as well. The flooding that you saw in the video just a moment ago, the rockslides. But now, we've got the remnants of what was Typhoon Maria. This made landfall about 36 hours ago, with winds of about 185 kilometers per hour, that's equivalent to a weak Category 3, Atlantic hurricane but it created quite a punch.
Look at these waves, eight to nine-meter waves crashing on the shoreline of the Fujian Province in Eastern China, and it created quite a scene, of course, disrupting travel across that area. Heavy rain, heavy wind, bringing down trees, power lines and causing all kinds of havoc across the area.
Now, the storm system has lost its energy, it's lost its moisture source which was the Western Pacific. It's moved inland and is now basically starting to rain itself out. But it's going to get caught up in a frontal boundary system. And I'm bringing this up because look at where the moisture is actually headed towards Northeastern China.
So, places like Beijing, anywhere in that general vicinity has the potential for extremely heavy rainfall as we head into the weekend. That's where the remnant low of what was typhoon Maria will travel over the next two days.
And with it brings rainfall totals in excess of 150 to 200 millimeters. You can see that narrow swath of precipitation right around the Beijing region.
Now, we're going to focus on that area because the forecast remains very wet -- very active for Beijing and Northeast China. You can see right through the course of the weekend. Maybe a break by Sunday but more thunderstorm activity expected on Monday.
Now, the tropics across the Atlantic are also very active, we have the remnants of Hurricane Chris, still, Category 1, racing off the East Coast. It may impact Nova Scotia and Iceland over the next 48 hours, believe it or not. And that low, you see the bottom of a portion of your T.V. screen is actually the remnants of what was Tropical Storm Beryl.
And there's still some moisture and circulation associated with that. National Hurricane Center has a 50 percent chance of development, but we do not anticipate that to be a factor for the weather along the East Coast of the U.S. So, spared at least two tropical systems at the moment for the U.S. We'll see where time leaves us, right?
[02:51:04] VAUSE: Yes, absolutely, Derek, thank you for the update.
Still, to come here, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex step onto the international stage. Their first official visit to another country as Madame.
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VAUSE: The Duke and Duchess and Sussex have just completed a two-day visit to Ireland. Newlyweds packed in a lot, but mostly, they were just charming. Anna Stewart went along for the ride.
ANNA STEWART, CNN JOURNALIST: It was the first official international trip for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex since they got married back in May. And it's a great example of how the royal family who can't exercise any kind of political view publicly can still exercise soft power.
Ireland is, of course, one of the many E.U. member states that the U.K. is negotiating Brexit with. And this trip has really raised interest and how British influence here in Ireland.
In a speech, Prince Harry actually spoke about the special relationship U.K. has with this country.
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PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: Have each other's closest neighbors, the U.K. and Ireland's relationship is unique. Our shared history is long and complex. There have, of course, the in challenging and at times tragic periods of that relationship. Tomorrow, we hope to have the opportunity to reflect from some of those difficult passages in our history.
Where we visit quick -- where we visit Chrome Park and the family memorial. On this visit, we will also celebrate just how much unites us. This is a very special relationship between two proud sovereign countries.
STEWART: And its relationship that's celebrated by many people here in Ireland to many came up, catch a glimpse of the happy couple.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Harry loves Russia.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is like did you seriously buy those? We're like, yes, they're from us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I stay more life. My legs were shaking so much, they can barely stand up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I told her she was so beautiful and I shook her head, and she said, "Thank you."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it's really amazing meeting them, they really an inspiration, and (INAUDIBLE) we love them.
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STEWART: In addition to meeting, lots of people here in Dublin, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex also took time to reflect on some of the most difficult moments in Irish history.
They went to a museum where they saw some artifacts from the Bloody Sunday Massacre, and they also took time to go to the Irish Famine memorial here in Dublin.
[02:55:02] VAUSE: So finally, when Donald Trump arrives in London, he'll be greeted with a blast from the past. Green Day's American Idiot, was a hit 14 years ago. And now, it's climbing the charts again. Talk about coincidence or not, here's Jeanne Moos.
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: It's not nice to suggest the President of the United States is an American idiot that British critics are trying to make this 14-year-old song by Green Day, number one in Britain.
Just in time for President Trump's visit to the U.K., the campaign to make American idiot great again asks how cool would it be to have this as a U.K. number one, are you in? Enough we're in on Amazon U.K. to make the song number one on the most prestigious official singles charts, American Idiot has been bouncing up and down in the high teens and low 20s.
It's been fighting a soccer song, lifting up support for England in the World Cup until England lost. Back in 2004, American Idiot was seen as targeting President George W. Bush, and the media after the invasion of Iraq. But now, the song's title has been plastered on a mock-up of Melania's jackets joining the Trump baby balloon in a one, two humor punch aimed at embarrassing President Trump.
"Wow a song and a balloon that'll teach him." tweeted in an impress commenter. But long before, critics started using American Idiot to insult him, Donald Trump gave it a rave review.
Back in 2010, Donald and Melania Trump attended the opening night of the Broadway musical American Idiot which Trump called an amazing theatrical experience, maybe less amazing if American Idiot is now directed at you. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
VAUSE: Proving yet again, there's a tweet for everything. Thank you for joining us. I'm John Vause in Los Angeles. Remember to connect with me anytime on Twitter.
Mike Scioscia is back with a lot more news live from London, after a quick break. But me, see you next week. Bye.
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