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Swedish & Finnish Leaders Visit after Applying to NATO; Bank Offers Strong Support for Finland & Sweden to join NATO; Russian Soldier Apologizes to Widow of Man he killed; IDF: No Decision on Criminal Investigation into Journalist's Death; China Moves Entire Village into Quarantine; Stocks Under more Pressure a Day After Major Sell-Off. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired May 19, 2022 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

SAULI NIINISTO, FINNISH PRESIDENT: As NATO allies, we will commit to Turkey's security just as Turkey we will commit to our security. We take

terrorism seriously. We condemn terrorism in all its forms, and we are actively engaged in combating it.

We are open to discussing all the concerns. Turkey may have concerning our membership in an open and constructive manner. These discussions have

already taken place, and they will continue in the next days.

24 February, I said that the masks have fallen, and we see only the cold faces of war. Russia's war in Ukraine has changed Europe and our security

environment. Finland takes the step of NATO membership in order to strengthen not only its own security, but also in order to strengthen wider

transatlantic security.

This is not a way from anybody. Like you, Mr. President said NATO is protective defensing, not a threat to anybody. At the same time, we must

not forget that at this very moment, the prey people of Ukraine are fighting not only for their own freedom and democracy, but for our common

security.

Finland, together with the EU and the United States, stands firmly behind Ukraine. So Mr. President, once again, I want to thank you for making

history with us. Thank you.

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Thank you.

MAGDALENA ANDERSSON, SWEDISH PRIME MINISTER: Mr. President, thank you for welcoming precedent minister and me to the White House. The bonds between

Sweden and the United States, they are strong and long standing. And as you know, Swedes first set foot in your home state of Delaware in 1638.

And we were one of the first countries to recognize United States as an independent nation in 1783. And since then, our countries have developed a

deep and long standing friendship, for family ties, trade, and mutual interests and I personally is very much one part of this.

But most of all, our shared values and beliefs, and democracy and freedom, values and beliefs that are now being put to the test and today, the

situation in Ukraine reminds us of the darkest days of European history.

And I must say that during dark times, it is great to be among close friends. And over these past months, we have shown transatlantic unity and

strength at its best. Together, we have responded forcefully to Russia's aggression, and provided unprecedented support to Ukraine.

We have not flinched. And Mr. President, I want to thank you for the massive U.S. support to Ukraine and for your sustained engagement in

European society. President Niinisto and I have come here at a historic moment for our countries.

And for Sweden after 200 years of military and non-alignment, Sweden has chosen a new path.

Yesterday, Sweden and Finland submitted our formal requests to join NATO and Russia's full scale aggression against the sovereign and democratic

neighbor. That was a watershed moment for Sweden.

And my government has come to the conclusion that the security of the Swedish people will be best protected within the NATO alliance. And this is

backed by very broad support in the Swedish parliament.

And with Sweden and Finland as members, NATO will also be stronger. We are security providers with sophisticated defense capabilities and we are

champions of freedom, democracy and human rights.

[11:05:00]

ANDERSSON: We have a long tradition of extensive military cooperation with NATO, including all missions. And we are right now ramping up our defense

spending, and we will reach 2 percent of GDP as soon as practically possible.

And, Mr. President, your support for our country's NATO aspirations for our security or of fundamental importance, and we look forward to a swift

ratification process by NATO members.

And we are right now having a dialogue with all NATO member countries, including Turkey on different levels to sort out any issues at hand. And

the United States descend that is crucial in this regard.

And last Sunday, I hosted a delegation headed by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell in Sweden. And later today, President Niinis and I will

meet Senate Majority Leader Schumer and other leading members of Congress.

And we greatly appreciate the broad and strong support expressed by both parties in Congress. But, Mr. President, our countries also work closer

together when tackling global challenges.

And Sweden, like other Nordic countries, has shown that emissions reductions can go hand in hand with economic growth. And in Sweden right

now, the green transition creates thousands of jobs, through investments in battery factories, green mining, and fossil free steel production.

And I actually brought the precedent the unique example of this, a candleholder made, or the world's first fossil free steel.

And what we see in Sweden right now is that previously neglected areas are no longer struggling with unemployment or depopulation, but how to build

housing, infrastructure, and schools quick enough to meet up with the expansion. And here I see fantastic opportunities to cooperate between the

Nordic countries and the United States. And I'm also proud that Sweden contributes to the U.S. economy and the prosperity of the American people.

Swedish companies are active in every single state, creating more than 350,000 jobs in the United States. And we are the 15th largest investor.

Mr. President, I want to thank you for your leadership in our joint efforts to promote democracy throughout the world, because democracy requires

constant work and safeguarding.

We have to win every new generation. And let me conclude where I started. Peace and stability in our part of the world is a common security interest

for us, for you, and for the rest of Europe.

And we stand here today, more united than ever, and we are committed to strengthening our bonds even further. And Sweden is prepared to shoulder

its responsibility as an ally in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Thank you.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNNI HOST: All right, these are live images from the Rose Garden. We just heard from PM, the Swedish PM Magdalena Andersson, also

from President Joe Biden, as well as Finnish President Sauli Niinisto.

Talking about this momentous day, how they describe it. It is a historic moment both countries officially applying to join NATO President Biden

talking about NATO's relevance, that they will try and ratify these applications as quickly as possible to try and push through the Senate.

And then of course, talking about the elephant in the room just what a big challenge Turkey might be. That was mentioned by the Finnish President. I

have Stephen Collinson standing by for us to talk about all these details that have come through.

And I want to actually start with what the Finnish President said. And he said that Turkey and Finland have strong and good bilateral relations, that

they're committed to Turkey's security.

And they are currently in discussions in terms of assisting them with any concerns they might have. We also heard similar messaging coming through

from the Swedish Prime Minister that they're currently in talks.

[11:10:00]

GIOKOS: How significant is this because I have to say that all three leaders sounded pretty confident that this, these applications will be

ratified swiftly.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: I think there is a feeling in Washington that the Turkish objections that have slow the sort of process

of pushing this nomination forward at the start can be overcome.

The Turks, of course, are worried they say that Sweden and Finland have not done enough to crack down on what they regard as Kurdish terrorist groups

in their countries.

I think there's a sense that President Erdogan is trying to see what leverage he can bring to bear because, of course, the accession of a new

member of NATO needs the agreement of every single current member of the alliance.

So in that sense, leaders do have some leverage. And Turkey, of course, is going to try and do what it can. But I don't think there is a feeling in

Washington that long term, this is going to stop these two countries coming into the Alliance.

GIOKOS: Yes, that's exactly sort of the messaging that came through from President Biden, I have to say, this was one comment that really struck me.

And he really stressed this, those new members joining NATO is not a threat to any other country. This is about building defenses.

And I was reading your piece online, when you were talking about sort of what this would mean for Russia that has been very vocal about the fact

that it doesn't want to see NATO borders, being expanded specifically what he calls seen as a threat on his side.

It's interesting the messaging that you're seeing, but also the perception that this is going to have from a global perspective as well.

COLLINSON: Right. Well, NATO always says that it's a defensive alliance. And that is true and has been borne out through history. That is not the

way Russia sees it, clearly, because NATO has expanded eastward taking in a lot of countries that used to be in the Warsaw Pact during the Cold War.

But I think it's important to see, to think about what has happened here. These are two countries, that all through the standoff between the Soviet

Union and the West, although they were allied to the west, and clearly part of that block, they didn't see the need to go into a defensive alliance,

NATO, because of their feeling about what threat was posed to them by Russia.

Now they do. They've seen Russia march into an independent country on its borders and one of the reasons that was possible, because that country,

Ukraine was not a member of NATO. So that is what's changed the popular feeling in these two countries.

And you have to say that if Russia's goal in moving into Ukraine, as some people believe was to ultimately weaken NATO, it's backfired spectacularly.

It's a huge strategic reverse for Russia, that now it's doubled, effectively, the territory, you know the border that it has the direct

border with NATO countries.

And you know beginning of this crisis, there was a lot of thought about whether President Joe Biden will be able to bring NATO together.

Not only has he done that he's expanding the alliance. And that is one of the great geopolitical takeaways, I think, of this whole Russian invasion

of Ukraine.

GIOKOS: Yes, it kind of reminded me about, you know, the really big debates happening under the Trump Administration. And he said that in recent years,

you know, dots had arisen, was it relevant, effective and needed, and it is all those things right now.

And he was talking about a much stronger alliance. And it's also really interesting in terms of the messaging, right. He's going to really big trip

to South Korea, and Japan. He's meeting with these two leaders; this is sending a strong signal globally. COLLINSON: Yes, one of the goals of the

Biden Administration was to restore those alliances that were frayed during the Trump Administration.

Former President Trump saw NATO and U.S. alliances for example, with South Korea and Japan, which are a cornerstone of Washington's position in the

Pacific more as protection rackets than mutual defense alliances.

There are a lot of people who feared that had Trump won a second term that he would have actually tried to pull the United States out of NATO, which

would have caused a huge political showdown in the United States, and of course, would have played directly into President Putin's hands.

So what Biden is doing before he leaves right now for Asia is saying, look, we've bolstered the U.S. position in Europe with the alliance system that

is crucial to the peace of the West.

And what we see as from their point of view, a clash between the world's democracies, and the world's authoritarian states like China and Russia,

he's going to deliver that same message in Asia.

He's also going to have a meeting of the quad leaders, Australia, India, Japan and South Korea. While that is not a military alliance anywhere nears

the sort of formality of NATO.

[11:15:00]

COLLINSON: It's a bloc of likeminded democracies that are, you know, getting together to form an informal front against China and the strategic

priorities that it has in Asia. So this is at the center of the Biden administration's foreign policy.

Of course, there is a doubt. You know, it's possible that President Trump or another like-minded Republican leader could move into the White House

after 2024.

And there will be big questions about whether under an America first policy that would be restored in American foreign policy, whether U.S. attitudes

towards these alliances will be quite so strong.

GIOKOS: Stephen Collinson, thank you so very much for that insight. Good to see you. Now, more on the first war crimes trial held in Ukraine since the

start of Russia's invasion.

It has been adjourned until Friday earlier; the Russian soldier who pleaded guilty to killing an unarmed Ukrainian civilian was condemned by the

victim's widow. We'll hear that exchange in just a moment.

And in meantime, Ukrainian military officials say efforts are continuing to evacuate soldiers from inside the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. That

appears to be a tacit admission that soldiers are still inside the plant.

Russia says 1730 soldiers have surrendered from the plant since Monday. Ukraine won't confirm that number. Melissa Bell joins us now following both

of these stories from Kyiv.

Melissa, I really want to start with his trial because hearing that apology by the Russian soldier to the widow was really a big turning point in the

courtroom. Could you explain what kind of detail he gave in the lead up to the shooting?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just to set the scene of what Vadim Shishimarin is accused of, you have to cast your mind back to the very

first days of the war he was traveling in a convoy of tanks coming across the border.

It hit a landmine he and several other men according to the prosecution fled and assault stolen car found themselves in a village. And the order

was given to Vadim Shishimarin to shoot this unarmed civilian by one of the people traveling in his car that is the prosecution's case.

And we heard from Vadim Shishimarin as well, as well as another soldier traveling in the car with him. Both of whose statements appear to

corroborate that version of events.

Today for the first time Vadim Shishimarin that 21 year old very young Russian soldier found himself face to face with the widow of the man he

killed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you please tell me what did you feel when you killed my husband?

VADIM SHISHIMIRIN, RUSSIAN SOLDIER: Ashamed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you repent?

SHISHIMIRIN: Yes, yes, I acknowledge my fault. I understand that you will not be able to forgive me. But I am sorry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One more question. Why did you come here? Did you come to defend us from whom? Did you defend me for my husband you killed?

SHISHIMIRIN: Our - gave us an order to move in as a column. I didn't know what would follow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BELL: That answer are almost as poignant really as the questions being asked by the victim's widow, Eleni because they remind you of the context

of the early days of those war, not just the chaos and confusion in cars like the ones that was carrying Vadim Shishimarin and the other young

soldier that we heard from today in court, another prisoner of war whose version of events again backs up.

What Vadim Shishimarin has said, who's pleaded guilty to killing that unarmed civilian? But both explain the scenes of chaos that led to that

killing. And you heard in that exchange, as well, Vadim Shishimarin answering that point, remember that the special operation as defended by

Vladimir Putin was never called a war. And really what the widow is alluding there to is what they believed what those soldiers believed they

were coming across the border to do, so really quite an extraordinary moment.

They're in court. Now Vadim Shishimarin is facing life in jail. That is what the prosecution has asked for. But interestingly, the widow there that

you just heard from Katarina, Shellie Purvis said that while she would not forgive Vadim Shishimarin believed he should spend his life in prison.

She did say that the one alternative that would be acceptable to her would be an exchange or Vadim Shishimarin for one of the Azovstal prisoners of

war currently in the hands of Russian forces.

[11:20:00]

GIOKOS: Incredible sacrifices injured there. Melissa, on that note on Azovstal, the Russians are telling us over 1000, almost 2000 soldiers, in

fact, what they are saying the Ukrainians haven't confirmed this number, but they've also said that they're continuing evacuations. What more do we

know about what's happening there?

BELL: Well, what we've been hearing, of course, we've been hearing from the Russian side, and specifically from the leaders in the Donetsk People's

Republic, where those soldiers are physically now being held in a pre-trial Detention Center confirming what we'd suspected yesterday that the

straightforward prisoner exchange that Kyiv had been hoping for, is not what's going to happen.

Rather, what it looks like is that these men and women are going to be put on trial on the Russian side of the front line in that Donetsk People's

Republic.

We've also been hearing, though, again, from those Russian officials and leaders of the Donetsk People's Republic, that not all of the Azovstal

fighters are amongst the evacuees, which suggests that some of them may have stayed inside.

It is unclear at this stage, whether they've been killed or taken away, or whether they're resisting this, we simply don't know because for the time

being Eleni, we haven't heard any confirmation of that from Ukrainian authorities.

GIOKOS: Yes, it's a developing and evolving situation. Melissa, thank you so much for bringing us those details. Now looking ahead on "Connect the

World" slammed again, the global markets coming under more pressure. A little later, we'll ask if the world is facing a grim slowdown and a food

crisis. And up next what London Metropolitan Police are saying about Party Gate and the British Prime Minister, stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: The Israeli Defense Force says no decision has been made yet on whether to launch a criminal investigation into the death of Al Jazeera

journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. The veteran reporter was shot and killed last week while covering Israel's military operation in the West Bank.

We've got Atika Shubert joining us now from Jerusalem. This is pretty significant saying they have not made a decision on whether to launch a

criminal investigation into her death.

And of course, there's been a lot of finger pointing since this tragedy. Give us a sense of what's going on?

ATIKA SHUBERT, JOURNALIST: Yes, we were hoping to get some more details this week. But what we have now is the statement from the Israeli to

Israeli military saying that there has been no immediate criminal investigation that has been launched in the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh.

[11:25:00]

SHUBERT: Normally what would happen in this kind of thing is if you have an Israeli soldier that's been involved in a death in area that is not

considered an active combat zone, then this would immediately trigger a criminal investigation. However, according to the IDF because Shireen Abu

Akleh was considered to be in their words in an active combat zone, they see this as a reason not to immediately trigger an immediate criminal

investigation.

There is still however, an ongoing internal investigation and in that internal investigation, they have, for example, taken the weapons of the

soldiers that were there.

And they do also appear to have narrowed down to one particular rifle that may have been involved. However, in order to either confirm or disprove

that they would need the bullet to match the ballistics to match all the forensics.

And for now, the Palestinian authority has rejected any joint investigation with the Israeli military, because as the Palestinian authority says they

simply do not trust the Israeli military to investigate their own soldiers.

Now, once the IDF the Israeli military's internal investigation is done, they will then pass their findings on to the military Attorney General's

office. And it is in fact the military Attorney General who will decide whether or not the military police will continue to have an official

criminal investigation. But we're not at that stage yet. And I think frankly, there's not a lot of hope. I just spoke to one of the groups -

this is an international Israeli legal advocacy group.

And they say of the Palestinian cases that are brought to Israeli forces 70 percent of them never see any investigation much less a trial, Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yes, Atika, as this is, you know, happening on the sidelines because this is such an important story. We were seeing a lawmaker that

resigned, citing what happened to Abu Akleh.

And it's pretty jarring to hear his thoughts. And I have to say that so many people have really voiced their concerns on the handling of the

situation.

SHUBERT: Yes, this may have been the final straw for this member of the Knesset, Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi she is from the Left Party of Meretz. She's

an Arab Israeli member of the Knesset.

Let me just read you out a quote from her resignation letter. She said "The scenes from the temple mount of violent policemen confronting a crowd of

worshipers and the funeral of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh led me to only one valuable conclusion no more. I cannot continue to support

the existence of a coalition that disgracefully harasses the society I came from".

Now she has resigned as a member of that very diverse governing coalition of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. And with her resignation, that means he

has only now 59 members in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.

This means he now has a minority government. It doesn't topple his government, but it does make him substantially weaker. And of course, it

makes the opposition stronger.

They can for example, push to dissolve the Knesset and call for another round of elections which would be if that happens, the six elections in

nearly three years, so Israeli politics still quite in turmoil.

GIOKOS: Yes, Atika Shubert, thank you so very much. And just ahead on "Connect the World" we're keeping an eye on those volatile markets. And

we're checking the economic fallout on global food security; a lot happening there visa the markets right now.

DOW Jones is down 1 percent. It was a bloodbath in the markets yesterday. And again, you can see red across the board; we'll bring you more on the

story right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:30:00]

GIOKOS: London's Metropolitan Police has ended its so called Party Gate investigation. Downing Street says British Prime Minister Boris Johnson

will not be receiving any further fines. He was fined last month for breaking his own COVID laws in Downing Street in June 2020.

Let's get right to London, where CNN's Bianca Nobilo is standing by live for us. Bianca these findings have implicated people right at the top. But

the message not no further fines, does that mean that we have an idea of what exactly has played out and Boris Johnson is not further implicated?

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Almost nearly, so we now know 126 fines were issued. 73 of those went to women 53 of those went to men. The Prime

Minister received one of those fines so did his Chancellor, Rishi Sunak.

And we now know that those fines were 100 pounds, they were reduced to 50 pounds if they paid quickly. And they were for things ranging from the

Downing Street Christmas party, Garden party; bring your own booze events and the Prime Minister's birthday party.

The key here is the fact that the Prime Minister hasn't received an additional fine, there was an expectation that that could be possible and

could add even more pressure onto his very perilous leadership, although he does seem quite safe at the moment, mainly because of lack of a successor

in the worthy political distraction of Ukraine.

Prime Minister's wife Carrie Johnson did not receive a fine; there was talk about that too. And we know we should remind our viewers Eleni that it's

not normal. It's not routine for the metropolitan police to investigate COVID-19 rule breaches.

But the fact that they investigated this was because there was sufficient evidence that those who were breaking the rules were aware that they were

breaking the rules.

Now the reason why it's not quite all done up in a neat bow and Boris Johnson say for the time being is the fact that this now means that the

senior civil servant Sue Gray can publish her full report, the official report into the breaking of rules in Downing Street during the COVID 19

pandemic.

So Eleni, we've had the interim version of that report, and it was damning. It cited leadership failures at the very top hypocrisy, unjustified actions

when the rest of the country were being asked to make huge sacrifices for themselves and for their family members and also a drinking culture in

Downing Street.

So when we see that full report that could well add more pressure and more unpleasant admissions for the Prime Minister to deal with. But I would say

at this point, he has weathered so much and so many scandals over the past six months to a year and without any real momentum building to get rid of

him. He does seem like he has made it through Party Gate pretty much unscathed.

GIOKOS: Bianca, thank you so very much. Good to see you. Now let's get you up to speed on some other stories that are on our radar. These are Iranians

chanting after the country's leaders cut subsidies on basic food and supplies. The resulting price hikes has sparked a week of protests.

The subsidy reforms are aimed at stabilizing prices affected by the Ukraine or and U.S. sanctions. Now in South Korea, they say North Korea sent three

of its largest cargo planes to China this week. It is believed the planes picked up badly needed supplies to help Pyongyang deal with its recent

COVID outbreak.

North Korea has recorded 2 million fever cases in the past week. That announcement indicates all the residents of this village need to go to a

quarantine center.

And you can see them lined up with their luggage. CNN has not been able to confirm this with the local government and nearby city reported 30 cases on

Wednesday.

[11:35:00]

GIOKOS: Up next on "Connect the World" it has been a while since George W. Bush made headlines. But when you hear what he accidentally said during his

speech on Wednesday, you will know why he is suddenly going viral. And golf second major the PGA Championship is underway. But we'll tell you why it is

a practice round that has the golf world buzzing today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Stocks are mostly tumbling again in the U.S. as well as Europe. But the NASDAQ is dragging itself out of the red, it's one day after a massive

global sell off the worst day for the market since the early start of the pandemic.

The DOW Jones now down around six tenths of a percent. Its clawing backs some of those losses, but still very much in the red. And we saw big losses

in yesterday's session.

Right, so what's rattled the investors is pointing to of course, the issue of inflation. We've been discussing this for quite some time, as well as

the potential of a recession.

We know high prices are hitting the world's big economies like the U.S. and the UK. But you want to combine that with Russia's war in Ukraine battering

the global food system.

And what you have is the Bank of England warning that food prices could be apocalyptic for the poorest among us. CNN's Matt Egan joins us now live

from New York, Matt, good to see you.

You know, a lot of investors that this is a word that a Central Bank governor should not be using apocalyptic because it really does send

shockwaves through the market because it means more risks on the horizon. I want you to give me a sense of what the U.S. and Europe are experiencing

right now and how that could create a contagion effects into so many other markets.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, you know, it is a really big issue right now, just the cost of living means that paychecks are not going as far as they

used to. Consumer prices in the United States are rising at the fastest pace in years after so many years of very little inflation.

In fact, so little inflation those central bankers were concerned about deflation. Now we have all of these price spikes, not just in the United

States, but as you mentioned, in the UK and in many different developed economies.

And that's causing a lot of unease among investors, certainly among voters. We've seen President Biden's approval ratings take a huge hit in large part

because of concerns about inflation and gas prices.

As you can see, being at record highs, that is a really big issue here. And one of the problems I think for emerging markets is that if growth slows

down in the United States, it slows down in Europe that's going to spill over to emerging markets.

[11:40:00]

EGAN: And that means that other countries, they need be growing slower because the United States is buying less stuff from them, for example, in

China, so there is a relationship there.

But inflation is also just as we showed on that map earlier, we're seeing these incredible price gains in some countries around the world, Argentina,

Lebanon, prices are just going up rapidly.

And this is particularly painful to families when you think about food and energy costs mean that that is stuff that people need, and they can't just

buy less of it. So they have to eat those costs.

And Eleni, I think one other issue we have to talk about is the strong U.S. dollar; the dollar has gone up very dramatically.

And while that is nice for U.S. consumers as they travel overseas, it means their dollars going further. It's painful for countries as they import

stuff that is priced in dollars like oil. It's also a problem for emerging markets that have their debt priced in dollars, because it means it's going

to be that much harder to pay down that debt. So there are so many different factors Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yes, and really well put, because when you have a stronger dollar, it makes everything a lot more expensive for emerging markets when they see

their own currencies weakening. Matt, thank you so much for that insight. Good to have you on the show.

Now former U.S. President George W. Bush is going viral today. And that's thanks to what some are calling a Freudian slip. It happened while he was

delivering a speech on Wednesday. Have a listen as the former president who ordered the U.S. invasion of Iraq criticizes Vladimir Putin for invading

Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, 43RD U.S. PRESIDENT: The result is an absence of checks and balances in Russia and the decision of one man to launch a wholly

unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq. I mean, of the Ukraine, correct anyway. 75.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Interesting times, OK. CNN World Sport is up next with just the cutest story today is the start of the second major of the golf here, the

PGA Championship and Indian golfer, Anirban Lahiri almost didn't make it.

His wife was very pregnant and Lahiri said he would miss the event if the baby hadn't been born yet. But the little boy arrived just in time for him

to walk onto the course, Wednesday.

That's very sweet video. But the excitement didn't stop there. World Sports Coy Wire is here to tell us what happened next. What a whirlwind Coy, I

have to say incredible images we're seeing. You just talk about new baby by the way.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, and practicing the golf swing with the baby, that is impressive. But listen to this. As you mentioned the

whirlwind have to be in there with his family, Lahiri zooms his way to Oklahoma to get in a practice round ahead of the PGA Championship.

Tiger Woods walks up to him and says hey, want to join me and Lahiri says, I'm not turning that then in --. We will get the latest Eleni on Tiger is

on the course right now. Our Don Riddell is there live for us.

We'll talk playoff hoops, hockey and more. But I do have a tip for Lahiri; do not rock the baby like you're practicing your golf swing after the baby

is --. I learned that the hard way with my daughter Wrenn.

GIOKOS: I know right and it's a new baby. You should not be swaying. I mean, where were the nurses?

WIRE: That's right.

GIOKOS: Anyway, Coy, we'll see you right after the short break. Thanks so much stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:00:00]

END