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Hala Gorani Tonight
President Trump Willing To Meet With Iranian President Rouhani; G7 Sidesteps Climate Agreement But Macron Pledges Funds As Amazon Continues To Burn; Interview With Johan Eliasch On Preventing Another Amazon Fire; Macron Calls For Talks Between U.S. And Iranian Presidents; Iran, China Trade, Climate Talks Dominate Summit; Boris Johnson's First G7 As U.K. Prime Minister; Weekend Demonstrations Take Violent Turn; Harvey Weinstein Trial Delayed Until January; How Rwanda's Macadamia Nut Is Becoming Popular In Japan. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired August 26, 2019 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:22] HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Hello, everyone. Live from CNN London on this Monday, I'm Hala Gorani.
Tonight, Emmanuel Macron wants Donald Trump and Iranian President Rouhani to meet within a few weeks. How realistic is that plan?
Plus, Donald Trump says Russia should be allowed back at the G7. Other world leaders do not agree.
And CNN is live in the Amazon rainforest and we are getting a look at just how severe the damage is from this year's wildfires.
G7 summits are supposed to be buttoned-up. The economic powers get together to talk about making more economic power, among other things.
However, this summit, the one that just wrapped up, hours ago in France, was anything but. Big, global disputes dominated the agenda.
Let's start with the U.S. and Iran. French President Emmanuel Macron is trying to bring the two sides together. He suggested that the American
president, Donald Trump, and Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, should meet in the next few weeks, very quickly. Something Mr. Trump did not reject.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't know the gentleman. I think that -- I think I know him a little bit, just by watching over the
last number of years, what's happened. Tell you one thing, he's a great negotiator.
But he -- I think he's going to want to meet. I think Iran wants to get this situation straightened out. Now, is that based on fact or based on
gut? That's based on gut.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, that was Iran.
Then, there was talk about Russia. Now, Russia has been out of the G7 for five years. Why? Because it annexed Crimea. This was punishment for
that. But President Trump says they should be let back into the group.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I mean, a lot of people are smart. A lot of people say having Russia, which is a power, having them inside the room is better than having
them outside the room. By the way, there were numerous people during the G7 that felt that way. And we didn't take a vote or anything, but we did
discuss it. My inclination is to say, yes, they should be in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, perhaps one of the biggest threats to the global economy currently is the U.S. trade war with China. But Mr. Trump says the two
countries want to get back to the negotiating table. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you trust that they are sincere on this?
TRUMP: I do. I think they want to make a deal very badly. I think that was elevated last night, very late in the night. I see an alert. Or, as
you would call it, "breaking news." And it was that the vice chairman -- we're not talking about somebody from China at a low level. The vice
chairman of China came out, that he wants to see a deal made. He wants it to be made under calm conditions, using the word "calm." I agree with him
on that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, and then there's the concern about those wildfires, scorching the Amazon rainforest. When asked what the U.S. is doing to help
with climate change, Trump said he's more concerned with growing the U.S. energy sector instead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're the number one energy producer in the world. Soon, it will be by far the number one. It's tremendous wealth. And LNG is being sought
after all over Europe and all over the world, and we have more of it than anybody else.
And I'm not going to lose that wealth. I'm not going to lose it on dreams, on windmills which, frankly, aren't working too well. I'm not going to
lose it. So, Josh (ph), in a nutshell, I want the cleanest water on earth. I want the cleanest air on earth. And that's what we're doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, we'll get to the climate change in a little bit, but let's tackle some of these other issues. Joining me now is CNN's Jim Bittermann.
He's on the CNN (ph) Biarritz, France. Ben Wedeman is in Beirut, covering the push to calm tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Will a meeting happen
between Trump and Rouhani?
Richard Quest is here with us in London, to talk about the trade war with China and also, Richard, the impact on stocks today and the Dow Jones,
doing a little bit better than it did last week.
I want to start with you, Jim Bittermann, in Biarritz. First, the big headline to emerge, that it was a very wide-ranging summit and G7. On the
ground, what is making the most waves in terms of -- and we heard from the U.S. president and the French president just a few hours ago. What's the
big headline?
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think Iran's got to take that cake -- or headline (ph). Because I think that,
you know, that was really the big surprise here, the idea that Emmanuel Macron took this incredible gamble of bringing the Iranian foreign minister
to Biarritz, and just introducing that idea to Donald Trump a few hours before the conference was to begin.
[14:05:07] And it looks like it may have at least paid off a little bit. If the intention was to lower tensions between Iran and the United States,
then maybe they've taken a step in that direction.
If they had it in their mind -- if the French had it in their mind, that they were going to put the two men together -- and by the way, the foreign
minister says this was not the idea, either they were going to put the foreign minister together with Donald Trump -- that was not on from the
very beginning.
So they did succeed with a gamble that Macron took. It does look like they've opened up a path, that there's sort of -- it's (ph) through some
kind of a discussion down the line.
One of the things that Donald Trump said, in addition to what you just played there, that little bit you just played, he said they'll -- he could
meet with Rouhani if the circumstances are right. And he said, "They have to be good players," referring to the Iranians.
So he's put some conditions on it right there. And I think he could -- knowing the way that Trump operates, these things could change, the
conditions could be modified at some point down the line -- Hala.
GORANI: And I wonder, Ben Wedeman, what the reaction of Iran is here because President Trump is known for making statements or seeming to agree
to a proposal or a plan, and then days, sometimes hours later, reversing course. What are we hearing from Tehran on this?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we're hearing from the Iranians is that they wouldn't necessarily be opposed to
some sort of meeting that might advance Iranian interests.
And certainly this is a very dangerous moment in the Middle East. You've had, in the last 48 hours, what appear to be Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon,
on Syria, on Iraq and on Gaza. And you've had Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, saying that if Israel flies any more drones over Lebanon or
in Lebanese airspace, it is going to try to bring them down, which will obviously spark a wider conflict.
And so the reaction -- certainly, Lebanon, to the prospect or the possibility that President Trump might meet with his Iranian counterpart,
has been met with a fair amount of relief. I was watching the news shows here in Beirut this evening, and reaction has been one that they're hoping
that somehow, some sort of regional war can be avoided.
Because President Trump, in a sense, is listening to two different tracks. On the one hand, Emmanuel Macron, the French president, is trying to coax
him to some sort of meeting or agreement, so to speak, with the Iranians. But President Trump, also, is listening to Mike Pompeo, his secretary of
state --
GORANI: Yes.
WEDEMAN: -- National Security Advisor John Bolton, Netanyahu, who, when it comes to Iran, are all hawks. So it's a question of who's he going to
listen to. And President Trump seems to listen to many different people at the same time -- Hala.
GORANI: All right. Certainly, and take different positions, depending on the day, sometimes.
Richard, on China, we've gone from practically insulting the leader of China, to saying he's basically a good guy and that China wants a deal
badly. They reached out, though China has not confirmed that part of the story. Stocks are up. Should we be optimistic?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, no, no. There's no -- I mean, there's no reason to be optimistic. After last Thursday and Friday's
debacle, where you had, within the space of a few hours, China's tariffs, the U.S. increasing existing tariffs and the promise of more tariffs to
come.
The market has basically -- what you're seeing now is the market pricing in long-term uncertainty and no deal, that's taken -- in this case, not Brexit
but China and the U.S.
GORANI: And it hasn't made up the ground it lost last week?
QUEST: Look, this is just a bounce. This is just a -- somebody's decided to come in and do a little bit of whatever. But the reality is, there's no
appetite at the moment. Even though the market is looking cheap, there are some areas that are looking extremely good value. But there's no appetite,
from what I'm hearing, for anybody to do any serious buying. Now --
GORANI: Why don't they believe Trump when he says, "Talks are back on, it's looking good"?
QUEST: Because he's said it before and it fell apart. Because in the space of 24 hours last week, he completely and utterly poured gasoline on
the flames.
GORANI: They don't trust him anymore?
QUEST: It's not a question of trust.
GORANI: They don't trust his -- he'll be consistent?
QUEST: That's right, absolutely. They do not -- there is no certainty. And there's one other very important point, that possibly, Donald Trump is
determined to see this through so that the Chinese do not get away with some mercantilistic trade, "Well buy more vegetables." But instead, he's
actually going to get a full-throttle deal.
[14:10:09] GORANI: Jim Bittermann, the other headline that emerged was on Russia. Donald Trump was asked -- he was asked pretty pointedly, "Why do
you blame Russia's exit?" Or the fact that it was removed from the G7+1, because somehow Barack Obama had been, you know, played by Vladimir Putin,
when in fact it was punishment for annexing Crimea.
But he still supported the idea of having it returned to the exclusive group of leaders, even though other leaders within the G7 don't think it's
the right time.
BITTERMANN: And I would say all the other leaders of the G7 other than Donald Trump think that. Basically, I don't think that's going to happen.
And Trump said that the way he portrayed it, here in the news conference, was that Mr. Putin was kind of taking this personally. He'd want to hear
from all the leaders because he's been so humiliated, Russia's been humiliated by being kicked out of the G7.
But this is not the way the other members of the G7 see it. They basically see it as that they -- Russia's got to do something to change the situation
in Crimea and the Ukraine, otherwise they're not going to get back in.
One of the things -- one of the very few items that were highlighted in this one-page statement -- there was no final communique, but the one-page
statement that came out was the Ukraine. And there's going to be some negotiations going on between the Germans, Ukrainians and others, to talk
about what they can do to help out the situation there.
But it's clearly something that, especially for the Europeans, when you see another European country, Russia, invading another country and you just
can't turn your head to that and that's what happened, that's why they're kicking (ph) -- it had nothing to do with Barack Obama -- Hala.
GORANI: Yes, absolutely. That was factually incorrect. He repeated that a few times, though said that the annexation of Crimea happened on Barack
Obama's watch.
Ben, last question to you on Iran. What is the next step now? Is there -- has -- even though Iran is skeptical and others are skeptical perhaps, has
this reduced tensions enough that people in the region maybe can breathe a little bit easier?
WEDEMAN: Well, I think people are hoping to breathe a little bit easier, Hala. But at this point, it's anybody's guess. President Trump did not
reject the idea of some sort of meeting with President Rouhani. But at the same time, you have so many other factors at play in terms of the Israeli
election, the Israeli military operations in Syria and Lebanon, Iraq and Gaza.
And all of these could certainly throw into the air, any cards that might be shuffled at the moment regarding some sort of meeting between the
Iranian and American leaders.
So it may have sort of held out the possibility of a calming of tensions. But at the moment, certainly, the possibility of a broad regional war is
higher, at least viewed from Beirut, than it has been in many, many years. And, as I said, President Trump can blow hot and cold. It depends, the
(ph) last person he spoke to.
He's going back to Washington, he's going to be back in the company of Mr. Bolton and Mr. Pompeo, and he certainly is very attentive to what Prime
Minister Netanyahu has to say. So the optimistic hints we heard at that press conference today in France, may be history tomorrow -- Hala.
GORANI: All right. Ben Wedeman in Beirut, thanks very much.
Jim Bittermann in Biarritz and Richard Quest, who we'll see on "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" at the top of the hour, here in the studio with us. It was a
wide-ranging summit there.
And we'll talk about one of the other headlines to emerge from this summit, and that is what is happening in the skies above Brazil and the G7
countries, pledging money to help Brazil fight these wildfires, destroying the Amazon. Is it enough? We'll be speaking to an analyst and an expert
on that. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:16:27] GORANI: The G7 summit wrapped up a few hours ago, and the leaders of the world's major economies put out a concluding statement that
addressed all of their common problems, except climate change.
However, the French President, Emmanuel Macron, did announce an emergency fund for the Amazon fires. The richest nations in the world came up with
$20 million to help countries affected by the fires. Brazil alone has seen more than 80,000 fires this year. It's more than previous years.
What is going on there? How bad is the damage? Nick Paton Walsh joins me now, live from Porto Velho, Brazil with more.
And I understood you flew over the worst of the wildfires in the last 24 hours. What did you witness, Nick?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hala, the destruction is quite devastating, to be honest. In a three-hour journey
yesterday, we barely got a chance to see a lot of the forest canopy. It was obscured by the intense smoke, belched out by these flames.
And these were fires that were raging then, fires that were new, here's what we saw.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATON WALSH (voice-over): There's little below but ghosts. And even they seem to have been given up on. These are the newest fires in the worst-hit
state in the Amazon. We didn't see, below us, any of the 43,000 troops Brazil's president has pledged to the fight. In fact, in some places, it's
so bad you can't even see how bad it is. That'll suit, just fine, those who'd rather ignore the world's most urgent environmental crisis.
No matter how high you are, you can't escape the smoke. We even close our air vents inside the plane to stop it. The sun made this green paradise
over millennia. But now, barely peeks through the smoke of its destruction.
PATON WALSH: Well, these apocalyptic sights are kind of like the warnings about what might happen if the world doesn't do something about the climate
crisis that you keep hearing. But instead, it's right below us, right here and right now.
PATON WALSH (voice-over): More startling is how much of this immense jungle people have managed to destroy in so short a time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unbelievable.
PATON WALSH (voice-over): They had help: fires that they lit, and that happened naturally in the dry heat but usually peak later in the year.
ROSANA VILLAR, SPOKESWOMAN, GREENPEACE BRAZIL: This is not just a forest burning. This is almost a cemetery because all you can see is dead.
Amazon, it's extremely fundamental for the water system, for all over the continent. So if we cut off the forest, in some years, we're not going to
have rain on the south of the country.
PATON WALSH (voice-over): We find another area where the damage is fresher and easier to see, raging in straight lines, swallowing everything left on
the plane.
And when you look at this, you learn something about yourself. Do you see a crisis, impacting every fifth breath you take and killing the future? Or
do you see what man must do to nature to enrich himself and live better?
The answer means little below, where the fire burns our heritage and suffocates our future, regardless of how we feel about it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PATON WALSH: Now, it is extraordinary, here, to feel the kind of lack of sense of urgency to some degree, in a town like Porto Velho where, every
morning, we wake up to see the sky enshrouded by smoke from those fires.
[14:20:08] You can feel it in your eyes, you can breathe it in, you can taste it in the air. Often -- I've got so accustomed to it now, frankly,
it's when I wake up in the morning and leave my hotel room, that you suddenly smell it again.
This is a real and serious emergency, Hala. And it's one, frankly, that the squabbling we heard amongst the richest seven nations, isn't really
inclined to fix -- Hala.
GORANI: All right. And we'll be asking an expert, a little bit later, if what was pledged to help to combat these fires is enough. If it will even
make a dent. Thanks very much, our Senior International Correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh is in the Amazon.
Let's bring in Tom Sater. He's at the CNN Weather Center.
Tom, with you, I just want to get an idea of the scale here.
TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: OK.
GORANI: What are we -- the scale of the problem and why it's worse this year than in previous years.
SATER: Well, it's worse, Hala, this year over last year. Now, when you look at the broad picture here, there are decades where it has been much
worse, believe it or not. It was terrible in the '80s into the '90s and then policy came through.
And we are still seeing this. I mean, it's interesting to note, you know, wildfires do not burn at right angles. So these are, 99 percent, all set
by man. But if you go back to the year 2000, month by month, nature has a way of refreshing itself and doing some housecleaning with fires. We have
seen many more years that are worse.
But we do believe that the reason this year, you may have an 85 percent increase over last year is that there was a local state, the state of Para,
had a news article that an organization declared August 10th a day of burning. And it was open, the field, for any rancher or farmer, to get out
and show support behind the president, Bolsonaro, to say, "Hey, we're all for economic development and we're going to put our environmental concerns
behind."
When you go back and look, since the last 40 years, everything in red here has been deforested. That's the size of France. But let's break it down,
year by year. This is August 23rd. You can see the fires in Bolivia, northern Argentina.
Let's go for the same date last year, and we're going to go back -- this is 2018. Let's go back, 2017. Let's go to '16, let's go to '15. So we're --
we are seeing that there are some years, even though this is the dry season, even one more year, you start to get an idea. We have these fires.
Now, some seasons are drier than others. But a dry season doesn't mean you get fires, it just means the conditions are favorable. So these, we pretty
much have seen an increase in a couple of states. State of Rondonia, notice 10,000 fires over, you know, 3,000 last year.
The largest state, state of emergency, for Amazonas now. You can start to see an uptick. So part of this could have been, with this organization
that said, "We're just going to start burning."
But again, we've got a bigger issue. And that is what I believe is more gluttony here. Because when you go back and you look at the deforestation
over the years, this is where we are today. You'll start to see areas that have been deforested in the light brown, and vegetation in the green. This
is 1987.
We have tens of thousands of hectares that have been burned and scorched and deforested, and they're abandoned. They're not being used. I'm all
for forest management and I understand you've got, you know, beef is a big commodity here. But we've got to do something about this. There are some
big problems in Bolivia too.
So conditions are going to stay like this, Hala. We haven't even reached the peak of the fire season until the middle or end of September. These
fires are going to be burning until November at least.
GORANI: Tom Sater, thanks very much. Yes, not good at all.
Joining us now is Johan Eliasch, she's the chairman of the sporting goods company, Head. He wrote a column in "The Telegraph," titled "We will never
save the rainforest until a living tree is worth more to Brazil than an incinerated one." He writes, quote, "No matter how many troops President
Bolsonaro deploys, the burning will only stop when the root causes are addressed."
If you're wondering what the root causes are, why it's so bad this year compared to other years, Johan joins me now.
So what are the -- why is it worse this year than in previous years? Why is it so bad? We're paying attention because the deforestation has become
such an issue.
JOHAN ELIASCH, FOUNDER, THE RAINFOREST TRUST: Well, it is -- or the rainforests have been neglected for many, many years. Strangely enough, it
doesn't have a funding mechanism on a global scale, which (ph) can be a (ph) problem.
And that's the only way that we can deal with the rainforest. We need a comprehensive performance (ph) space, funding schemes that will enable
developing countries, indigenous peoples to make a standing (ph) team more valuable and to keep (ph) up all (ph) sectors (ph).
GORANI: Yeah. And the president, the Brazilian president, Bolsonaro, has been criticized. Does the buck ultimately stop with Bolsonaro on this? And
if so, how?
ELIASCH: Well, it's not only Bolsonaro. I think there are many countries -- rainforest nations that need to address this. What it would take
Brazil, what has happened over the last nine months or so, is totally unnecessary and basically, people are being given free card (ph) to slash
and burn and illegal logging. So the authorities have not tried to police it.
[14:25:26] GORANI: Right. So it's a policing issue when it comes to the - - how bad the situation is on the ground, just in the last year. But as you said, the -- I mean, some of it is arson but a lot of is clearing the
forest for farming, for grazing, for cattle. How do you tell people on the ground, "Don't do this, give up your livelihood" -- you know, your
immediate livelihood so that ultimately, the earth's environment can be preserved? How do you do that?
ELIASCH: That (ph) is why you have to create alternatives. That is where you may --
(CROSSTALK)
GORANI: Yes, but that's not a short-term thing. That takes a long time. You need good leadership for that.
ELIASCH: Yes. This has to be sustainable. it has to be long-term. It means that landowners need to be incentivized to give up (INAUDIBLE)
rights. (INAUDIBLE) for instance, with rainforests. I've got some (INAUDIBLE) the Amazon, harvesting (ph) rights for fruits and nuts to the
indigenous population so that it creates livelihood. And that way, they become custodians of the forest.
There are other ways, like Cool Earth have done more to protect rainforests across the planet and the (ph) organization, (INAUDBLE) co-founded. And
that is the support (ph) with health initiatives, education initiatives, fresh water (ph), et cetera, to make their lives better.
(INAUDIBLE) in another way, incentivize people to --
(CROSSTALK)
GORANI: I'm having a bit of -- I'm having a bit of trouble with your audio, so I'm just going to ask you one quick last question, very briefly.
The G7 said they'll pledge $20 million. Enough, won't make a dent? What do you think?
ELIASCH: It will (ph) make a dent, but it's a fresh start. And I think what happened with Macron's initiative, was fantastic. And we also have a
prime minister, now in the U.K., who really understands the importance of the rainforests. And we've had some greater changes in the last few days,
about initiatives, the need for a global comprehensive funding scheme --
GORANI: Right (ph).
ELIASCH: -- to avoid deforestation (ph). And it's -- I -- hopefully, the beginning of something great (ph).
GORANI: All right. Johan Eliasch, thanks very much. We really appreciate you joining us, appreciate your time on this important story.
And as I mentioned, CNN is live in the Amazon, and we'll be returning in the coming hours to Nick Paton Walsh, who flew over some of the devastation
today and brought us his story.
[14:28:08] Still to come tonight, the G7 summit in France has wrapped up. But with the U.S. president skipping a talk on climate change, where is
U.S. leadership on some of the biggest global issues? We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:41] GORANI: The G7 summit has wrapped up in France. And once again, President Trump has been driving the headlines after refusing to
attend a session on climate change and the fires in the Amazon, Mr. Trump held a news conference alongside the summit host, the French president,
Macron, and was keen to talk at length about Russia. Also responded to a question about Iran and the trade war with China.
Josh Rogin, CNN political analyst and columnist at "The Washington Post" joins us from Biarritz.
So, Emmanuel Macron -- well, if he pulls this off, people will say he's some sort of diplomatic genius. But it's far from certain that he'll be
able to do it. He says he wants the Iranian president and Trump to meet within a few weeks. Realistic?
JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. I think the diplomacy surrounding the Iran issue at this weekend's G7 is emblematic of the entire conference,
and that there was a lot of talk and very little actual substantive progress.
And even though Iranian prime -- foreign minister, Javad Zarif, came to Biarritz, and even though the president of the United States said he was up
for a talk, there's no indication and no evidence that I see that any real progress was made.
In fact, after Macron announced that all seven leaders had agreed to a letter or terms for proceeding, President Trump denied that he had even
discussed it.
And despite what President Trump said in his press conference today, you can be sure that that meeting between the leaders of the United States and
Tehran will not happen until or unless Tehran does several significant things that I'm doubtful they're ever going to do.
So it sounds nice to say that the idea of a meeting is in the offing, but I wouldn't hold your breath.
GORANI: Yes, and I'm not, actually. Because I want to keep breathing.
What about China, Donald Trump said China wants a deal badly. He said essentially, that the U.S. side was contacted, though, China is not
confirming this. Should we have any reason to hope that this trade war is going to -- or that the tensions, at least, will decrease as a -- as a
result of what the president said today?
ROGIN: No. I think the smart money is on the U.S.-China trade war getting a lot worse before it gets any better. Again, all we saw this weekend was
a lot of messaging. And on the China trade issue, a lot of confused messaging, back and forth and up and down and sideways.
And at the end of it all, we're basically back where we started. There's no real new talks announced, the two sides, the U.S. and China can't even
agree on, whether or not, they're open to the new talks.
And overall, the fundamental issues that are causing the trade dispute have not changed one iota with neither side showing any willingness to back off
their positions.
And it's an -- it's just a situational problem that when you get to one of these conferences, the president is bringing up the China issue and talking
about it a lot, so the markets and foreign leaders and journalists scramble to figure out what's new. And I think what we can say is, at the end of
the three days, not much is new. And the U.S.-China trade war is here to stay.
GORANI: Right. And certainly, we saw a bounce on the market but nothing to write home about with the Dow not making up some of the ground that it
lost last week.
And Russia, though, the U.S. president, very forthcoming on his belief -- his firm belief that Russia should be readmitted into the group of seven --
G7 plus one. But all the other leaders of the world's most powerful economies are saying this is not a good idea. Russia has not changed its
behavior. It was punished -- it was expelled because it annexed Crimea, it's not done anything to reverse that.
So what is the president -- why is the president of the United States --
ROGIN: That's exactly right.
GORANI: But let me ask you this. Why is the president of the United States so intent on getting Russia back into this group?
ROGIN: You know, it's a fascinating part of the G7 that the president, not only said that he's for inviting Russia to the G8 -- G7/8 when America
hosts next year. But he also said that many people inside these meetings agreed with him.
And White House officials told me that those people included, not only the leaders of the Italian delegation, but also French president, Macron.
[14:35:02] And now, Macron has denied that publicly, OK? But there's a difference between what the White House is saying and what Macron is saying
publicly. And the feeling here is that there is some sort of disagreement over, whether or not, Trump was -- who have led to believe that France
would be more supportive and then had the rug pulled out from under him.
Regardless, the president's long-held position is that he wants to include Russia in these organizations because he thinks that Russia is needed and
engagement with Russia is needed to solve big problems. That's not a crazy or new idea from President Trump.
But the entire G7 is based upon the idea of using collective power and collective economy -- economic power to set rules of the road and follow
those rules and Russia is not following those rules. And to let Russia back in without having to follow any of those rules and undermine the very
purpose of that G7 was created in the first place.
GORANI: And the president, again, raising eyebrows by suggesting the following idea, that the next G7, which the U.S. is hosting, should be held
in one of his golf clubs in Florida, which -- I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, raises some ethical issues because the U.S. president would be,
potentially, profiting from his position as president of the United States.
GORANI: Yes. It would be a stark instance of public corruption, if it were -- it were to take place. That doesn't mean it won't take place. And
I think what you see here is President Trump making every interaction in every conference, in every trip that he goes on, really about himself.
And, you know, this is something that in Washington we've been dealing with for the last three years and we're, sort of, used to. But when he brings
the show on the road and when he travels to countries and meets with leaders, and they sort of realize that, really, is all about him and his
interests and his companies and his brand. It warps and corrupts the discussion of foreign policy in that direction. And, of course, that's
what President Trump wants.
And, you know, the best we can say about this weekend's G7 conference is that, it was better than last year. OK? It didn't devolve into a
diplomatic disaster, OK? But that's a very low bar to meet.
And, you know, if President Trump wants to have a successful G7 next year, he's going to have to try to do something to show that he can be a world
leader and that the G7 has some relevance in a world where he and European leaders disagree, where Europe and Russia disagrees. But we all agree that
we have these shared problems and these shared economic interests.
And, you know, that didn't happen this year here in Biarritz. But, at least, it didn't turn into a total interjacent (ph) shouting match. I
guess that's the best thing we can say about this one.
GORANI: On the surface, certainly, it was cordial. Is it raining in Biarritz right now? I can't tell, but you look -- is it?
ROGIN: It's misty. We're by the lovely beach side and we're getting a nice beach mist, which we're enjoying this evening.
GORANI: All right. Have a good trip back home. Thanks very much, Josh Rogin.
The freshest face of this year's G7 Summit, so to speak, was British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, who replaced Theresa May in Downing Street just
last month.
With a threat of a no-deal Brexit looming in October, Mr. Johnson used his closing news conference to reiterate his position on Brexit that is not
very popular in parliament.
Anna Stewart has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He may not be the smoothest political operator, the Britain's prime minister, certainly,
knows how to put a smile on the face of his counterparts receiving a particularly warm welcome from U.S. president, Donald Trump.
You know who this is? Does everybody know? He's going to be a fantastic prime minister, I can tell you that.
STEWART: The president says he will do, and I quote, "A very big trade deal with the U.K. A win for Johnson and, yet, the prime minister still
plucked up the courage to rebuke the president over his trade war, albeit, gently.
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: It's fantastic to see that. But just to register the faint, sheeplike note of our view on the trade war.
We're in favor of trade peace on the whole, and dialing it down if we can.
STEWART: Then there was the other Donald to deal with, E.U. council president, Donald Tusk, who kicked off the summit with a dire warning for
the prime minister.
DONALD TUSK, E.U. COUNCIL PRESIDENT: And I still hope that Prime Minister Johnson will not like to go down in history as Mr. No-deal.
STEWART: Johnson managed to turn that frown upside down.
JOHNSON: So far in this -- in this G7, I think it'd be fair to say, Donald, that you and I have been in completely glutinous agreement on most
of the issues that have been raised.
STEWART: Outside the busy meeting schedule, the prime minister even found time for a dip.
JOHNSON: Let me give you a metaphor, I swam around that rock this morning, OK? Now, from here, that huge rock there. From here, you cannot tell that
there's a gigantic hole in that rock. There is a way through. Now, I point to the E.U. --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you go through?
[14:40:00] JOHNSON: I point to the -- I point to the E.U. --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a hole, is there?
JOHNSON: There's a way through. And you -- but you can't find the way through if you just sit on the beach.
STEWART (on-camera): All jokes aside, the optics around Boris Johnson's first summit as prime minister are important. The return to Downing Street
with assurances from the leaders of the United States, Canada, Japan, amongst others, about a future trading relationship after Brexit. But he
also returned having scored highly on his charm offensive, displaying a natural aptitude for showmanship that actually put the U.K. front and
center of the G7 summit.
STEWART (voice-over): And highlighting the difference with his reserved predecessor, Theresa May, who won the moniker, Maybot, for her wooden
performances. Little wonder, the prime minister has a spring in his step.
JOHNSON: Fantastic. All right.
STEWART: Anna Stewart, CNN London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Still to come. Petrol bombs, guns drawn, and water cannon on the streets of Hong Kong. Pro-democracy protest take a violent turn once
again, and a number of worrying first.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Hong Kong's government is warning of great danger after a dramatic and violent shift in pro-democracy protests. It's the 12th consecutive
weekend of demonstrations and it saw both protesters and police deploying new tactics. A group of protesters threw petrol bombs and attack police
with metal poles. Police responded with water cannon and drew their guns. The protesters, though, are saying they will not back down.
Andrew Stevens is in Hong Kong.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hong Kong is counting the cost of what police described as the most violent weekend yet in the pro-
democracy demonstrations which now stretch into their 12th week.
Police say that they were confronted with radical and violent acts on a new level over Saturday and Sunday. Most of the violence happening on Sunday.
Police said that they were targeted by petrol bombs, by people hurling iron bars at them, as well a -- as well as paving bricks as well. They
responded with also new levels of force.
For the first time, live ammunition was used. Police say that officers were chased by a mob when they went to investigate a report of property
being damaged. They were lightly armed and six officers drew their weapons, one fired into the air to de-escalate the mob around them.
Also, police saying that they made some 86 arrests over the weekend. The youngest just a 12-year-old boy. He potentially faces charges of unlawful
assembly. There are also 21 police injured during the weekend demonstrations, and police said that it was, indeed, a new level of force
used against them.
Water cannon were also deployed for the first time against the protesters. This as the protests reach towards the longest ever stretch of civil
disobedience seen in Hong Kong.
[14:45:07] Previously, in 2014, the Occupy Movement lasted for 79 days. This Tuesday, the pro-democracy movement against the government of Hong
Kong and also by definition and extension, the government of Beijing will hit 80 days.
And as things stand, there is no end in sight, there is no communication between the protesters and the Hong Kong government. And as we have seen
this weekend, the violence continues to escalate.
Andrew Stevens, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: The sexual assault trial of Hollywood producer, Harvey Weinstein, scheduled to begin next month will be delayed until January. In court
today, Weinstein entered a not guilty plea to a revised indictment. This is why there's been this delay. That could open the door to testimony from
another accuser, actress, Annabella Sciorra.
Our Jean Casarez is standing by live in New York. What's -- so explain to our viewers why this case that was supposed to start in September is now
delayed until January.
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's because of a brand-new indictment. The prosecution went to the grand jury, it was unsealed today,
and there are two new charges of predatory sexual assault. In other words, a conviction would mean that Harvey Weinstein is a predator, and you need
more than one victim to have someone be a predator, because they're predatory.
Now, the question is, the defense is saying that this is a last-minute tactic to try to ensure a conviction. But prosecutors are saying that they
need an additional witness to testify toward predatory sexual assault. Well, a source has confirmed with CNN that that would be the actress,
Annabella Sciorra, who was on "The Sopranos" and Gloria Allred was, actually, at the hearing today, parsed her words very carefully in a press
conference afterwards, saying that she is now representing her and the prosecutors have asked the actress to testify.
Now, he's already charged with two counts of predatory sexual assault, criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape, first degree rape and
third degree rape. There are two alleged victims that the jury will have to find guilty or not guilty on that he sexually assaulted and/or raped
them. One of two. Annabella Sciorra would be a witness for the predatory sexual assault.
Now, we've got new information too. It's just been unsealed that the judge has granted three other women to testify on prior bad acts. Similar to the
Bill Cosby trial, where women come in and the jury will not discern guilty or not guilty but they will tell how Weinstein sexually assaulted them.
And it shows a pattern of conduct so the jury then -- can then say, this shows intent, this shows an absence of accident, and it shows a pattern of
behavior through the years.
So you've got a lot going on here. You've got, in a sense, women from all directions. The defense says that they are going to move to dismiss these
new charges, and they believe that this shows the desperation of the prosecution.
GORANI: Right. And Annabella's -- do we have confirmation that the actress, Annabella Sciorra will testify or is that still speculation at
this point?
CASAREZ: It is still up in the air, because the prosecution -- the defense is going to file motions to dismiss the charges, which would dismiss her.
The judge will have to rule that she can testify.
But so far, an indictment has been returned on two new charges of predatory sexual assault and both indictments, by the way, the prosecution is asking
to consolidate. So it's very confusing. But the fact is, the prosecution is trying to build up, beef up their case.
GORANI: How much time could he spend behind bars if he's found guilty?
CASAREZ: Life. He's facing life in prison. They're all serious counts, every single last one of them. And the judge, of course, to not have an
appellate issue from right in the beginning is allowing the trial to now start January 6th. It was supposed to start in about two weeks.
GORANI: Right. Jean Casarez, thanks very much with the very latest from New York.
CASAREZ: Thank you.
GORANI: We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:50:07] GORANI: It's slowly becoming a top exports for farmers all the way in Rwanda. In our latest special East -- Africa Looks East, CNN's
Eleni Giokos tells us how Rwanda's macadamia nut is seeing popularity in markets halfway across the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN BUSINESS AFRICA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thirteen years ago, the Rwandan government planted its very first one of these, and
today, the macadamia nut is growing up to be one of its newest exports.
MOMOKO HARADA, MANAGING DIRECTOR, RWANDA NUTS: The success of the macadamia industry in neighboring country, such as Kenya, this brought the
idea to grow macadamia here.
GIOKOS: Momoko Harada also believed in this idea. In 2012, moved with her family from Japan to Rwanda to become the managing director of Rwanda Nuts
Company. With $300,000 put into the business by a collective of individual Japanese investors, it's become the first company from Rwanda to export
processed macadamia nuts to the international markets.
Harada sees Rwanda as fertile ground for this business because for, one, the Rwandan climate enables the trees to flower year-round.
BERNARD LASHEN, MANAGER, SHAMI FARM: We have this variety that we have here is very suitable to this land.
GIOKOS: Shami Farm is part of Rwanda nuts network of more than a thousand Rwandanese farmers who supply nuts to the company. The farmers are paid
just over $2 per kilogram of these raw, unshelled nuts.
HARADA: Once the nuts are sorted and graded and packaged it, we export to United States and Japan.
GIOKOS: Harada says Rwanda nuts processes about 300 tons of nuts and shells a year. But the factory actually has a capacity to process 1,000
tons.
JEAN MARIE VIANNEY MUNYANEZA, RWANDA NATIONAL AGRICULTURE EXPORT DEVELOPMENT BOARD: So the market is growing quickly. Even the buyers,
they're out there. They are willing to pay for good produce.
GIOKOS: Even though Rwanda has officially passed the million dollar mark, Harada knows its macadamia nuts still need to make up for lost time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: And now this interesting development in the environmental category. A giant pumice stone drifting towards Australia right now could,
in fact, help heal its endangered Great Barrier Reef.
Look at this massive sheath of volcanic rocks. Sailors first spotted it earlier this month. Days after an underwater volcano is believed to have
erected near the pacific island of Tonga.
The so-called pumice raft is the size of New York's Manhattan. Scientists say it could have a positive effect on microorganisms at the Great Barrier
Reef which has seen half of its coral killed in recent years due to climate change. It's not often that we get the reports of positive climate news.
And finally tonight, 76 days, it is how long it took an endurance athlete to paddle board across the Pacific from San Francisco to Honolulu. Antonio
de la Rosa paddled more than 4,000 kilometers to raise awareness about pollution in our ocean.
Jim Mendoza of our CNN affiliate shows us just how he did it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: aloha. Welcome to Hawaii.
ANTONIO DE LA ROSA, SPANISH ENDURANCE ATHLETE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you doing?
DE LA ROSA: Fine.
JIM MENDOZA, REPORTER, HAWAII NEWS NOW: This was Antonio de la Rosa's first contact with another human being since he paddled away from San
Francisco on June 9th.
The 42-year-old ultra-endurance athlete from Spain is the first person to cross the Pacific Ocean as a standup paddleboarder.
[14:55:06] DE LA ROSA: It's a record for me and for everybody.
MENDOZA: He covered about 2,500 miles of Open Ocean using wind, currents, and elbow grease.
DE LA ROSA: No, no motor. No, no, no, only -- the motor is -- this is the motor.
MENDOZA: His vessel, the Ocean Defender, is a combo paddle board and small boat with a sleeping cabin, storage bins and a solar panels for power.
DE LA ROSA: GPS, one inside and one outside, computer.
MENDOZA (voice-over): De la Rosa packed enough supplies for a 90-day trip. He estimated it would take about 70 days to make the pacific crossing. He
did it in 76.
GoPro cameras documented his days and nights at sea. There was no escort vessel, so he was all alone. He estimates he lost about 10 pounds but
never got sick despite very little sleep.
DE LA ROSA: Every hour, I get up, checking the GPS and checking the direction, moving the system.
MENDOZA: Hurricane Flossy didn't hit him, but it did push him off course.
DE LA ROSA: During one week, I washed to the north, to the north, and I say, oh, what happened?
MENDOZA: Loaded down, the Ocean Defender weighed more than 1,000 pounds.
DE LA ROSA: It's difficult moving this kind of boat with very small paddle.
MENDOZA: He says the view out there was breathtaking, but he did encounter floating plastics, nets and discarded line.
DE LA ROSA: With this GoPro --
MENDOZA: De la Rosa has done other extreme adventures.
DE LA ROSA: Every year, I think, OK, what I do next year? I love this kind of life.
MENDOZA: He once rode across the Atlantic Ocean. Now, he's conquered the Pacific.
DE LA ROSA: Aloha, the Pearl of Hawaii. Adios, amigos.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, there you have it. What's he going to do next? Maybe take a break.
Thanks for watching tonight. I'm Hala Gorani. Stay with CNN. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
