Return to Transcripts main page

Connect the World

Russian Strike Hit Cities Beyond Front Lines; Western Weapons Help Ukraine Strike Russian-Led Territory; UAE President Meets Macron In Paris To Focus On Energy Deals. Aired 10-10:45a ET

Aired July 18, 2022 - 10:00:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:26]

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice over): The first ever read warning amid a heatwave. Deadly Heat waves in the U.K. whilst in southern

Europe, wildfires for thousands to evacuate. And.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Seems like this are becoming commonplace across Ukraine and the reality is anytime anyplace a

deadly Russian missile could come crashing into your building.

ANDERSON: Russia continues to target Eastern Ukraine as the Ukrainian president alleges treason from within his own government. Plus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): New body cam video released by the Uvalde mayor shows the frantic first moments police arrived on scene at Robb

Elementary.

ANDERSON: Anger and frustration after a new report on the Uvalde school massacre underscores failures by law enforcement.

It's 3:00 p.m. in London. I'm Becky Anderson. Hello and welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD. And if you are living here in the U.K. and you step outside

today, you'll feel what could be the hottest day in British history with temperatures soaring towards 40 degrees Celsius. And the U.K. Met Office

warning the Tuesday could be even hotter with 43 degrees possible in some areas. Now there are worries that a drought could come next.

Several areas across France could also break records Monday and the unprecedented heat is complicating efforts to put out wildfires there. More

than 14,000 hectares of burn so far, and 24,000 people have been evacuated from their homes. The E.U. has mobilized several aircraft to help fight

fires across the continent from Portugal to Albania.

Italy also dealing with wilting heat as wildfires raging parts of that country and the drought there continues. Let's kick this show off with

Barbie Nadeau who has the latest from Rome for you.

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Becky, this situation across Italy continues to be very worrying with these rising temperatures and really no

relief in sight. We're not even seeing temperatures go down much over the evening hours. And that's causing a lot of problems. Number one, people are

afraid to use their air conditioning because of the rising energy cost. A concern they won't be able to pay for it once the summer is over.

We've also seen a lot of tourists behaving badly in cities like Rome where they're jumping in the fountains which of course comes with a fine, but

we've seen some good initiatives too. Some cities have offered free admission to swimming pools for the elderly so that they can have an

opportunity to cool off, get out of their homes. And we've seen some water restrictions in places like Milan. They've closed all the ornamental

fountains in order to try to conserve water.

In other cities are lowering the water pressure so you don't have to conserve water because the city will do it for you. We've also seen the

incredibly difficult situation with the drought, especially along the River Po which is a fundamental river across this country that goes from east to

west. A lot of people -- a lot of farmers use that for irrigation of their -- of their farmland. And its use for hydroelectricity.

And we've seen that river at an all-time low this year. And we don't see any relief in sight which is very concerning for a lot of people here.

Becky?

ANDERSON: Well, the Met Office in the U.K. has issued its first ever read warming -- warning for extreme heat. Transportation officials in London

advising people not to travel if they don't have to. CNN's Nada Bashir is braving the elements in London. Thanks for joining us. Officials held a

crisis meeting over the weekend to address the heat and was supposed to have another one today. Do we know what has come out of those meetings?

NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL REPORTER: Well, we've heard some details from officials over the weekend, Becky, particularly from the newly

appointed Health Secretary Steve Barclay, who said that he has been in close contact with hospitals, with health care officials over the ambulance

services to ensure that those systems are up and running, ready to cope with the intense pressure that is expected to be placed on the healthcare

service as a result of this extreme heat that we are seeing here in the U.K.

Now for many of our viewers in the Middle East, perhaps 40 degrees and some of that's 104 degrees Fahrenheit may be the norm in July and August. But of

course here the infrastructure simply isn't ready to deal with this level of heat in the U.K. And that is certainly the message we've been hearing

from government officials who have called on people to take extra precautions.

[10:05:002]

We heard from that emergency meeting between government officials looking at ways to really mitigate the risks of this extreme heat both on a

personal level of course, in terms of the infrastructure. We do know course from National Rail, that there are severe disruptions to train lines, the

tube lines here in London. But we also heard from the Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, he spoke yesterday and said that actually, people just need

to use common sense.

Take extra precautions, string water check in on the elderly, and especially with young children as well to ensure that they're coping well

with this heat. And obviously to stay indoors, stay out of the extreme heat that we are seeing. But I have to say, we're in Hyde Park here today. It is

extremely busy despite what I can say is very intense heat here today. Many people have come out to sunbathe to enjoy the riverside to go swimming,

have an ice cream, despite warnings for them to stay at home.

And we spoke to some of them earlier today. They said that their plans won't be deterred despite the weather that we are seeing. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Worried about the train being canceled, my trains already canceled, so I'm going to try and get on a different one and hope

that it's not piped out, hope for the air to come. Well, we weren't going to go to the (INAUDIBLE) the queue is massive. And we were too hot stood in

the sun. So, we changed our mind. We're just going to head home earlier rather than chilling out for that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm from America. So I'm used to air conditioning. So, a little, we're all right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, we spent some time indoors at the V&A Museum. And we're just here for like five minutes to see the Diana Memorial. We've

already had one ice cream. I think we have four more to go. We are trying to limit our time out in the sun, trying to stay indoors as much as

possible. But we planned our vacation several months ago. So, we also want to see a little bit of London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, I was in that park with my kids yesterday, and let me tell you the cues for ice cream and indeed for water were really, really long.

Tomorrow could be even hotter. For those that you spoke to, are they heeding the advice to stay cool and hydrated?

BASHIR: Well, we've spoken to many people here, they are heeding the advice to stay hydrated, stay in the shade as much as they can. But of course, as

I mentioned there, lots of people are here sunbathing, enjoying the weather while they can braving the intense heat. But tomorrow, as you mentioned, is

set to be even hotter according to Met Office projection. So, there is some concern there. We've heard from government officials really stressing that

people do need to take those extra precautions.

And of course, this is something that the U.K. is going to have to get used to. The message that we've been hearing from experts is that this extreme

weather that we're seeing is only going to get more frequent and more extreme as global climate tends to warm over the coming years. Becky?

ANDERSON: We're going to do more on that now. Thank you, Nada. Dr. Fredi Otto is a climatologist at Imperial College London. She says the

temperatures would be lower if we didn't burn so many fossil fuels, and she believes we must prepare for more extreme heat or many people will die.

Freddie Otto joins us now. Extremely heat. One of the events that scientists feel confident is influenced by climate change. Can we just

explain how and why?

DR. FRIEDERIKE OTTO, CLIMATOLOGIST, IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON: Yes. So there are several lines of evidence that we have that why we are so confident

that climate change is playing a big role here. And the most basic one is really basic physics. Because we know how greenhouse gas molecules trap

heat. We know that the atmosphere overall is getting hotter. And that does mean we are seeing across the globe, more frequent heat waves, heat waves

are getting hotter, cold waves are getting fewer and cold waves are getting less cold.

But -- and this is also the -- another line of evidence is what we observe our weather records. And particularly in the U.K., we have a very good

weather records, long temperature time series. And we see everywhere that extreme heat has been increasing in recent years. And it's increasing

faster and faster with increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Then we have climate models and weather models where the laws of physics are implemented in computer models that show that with burning fossil

fuels, temperatures are increasing. And then we have lots of studies on individual heat extremes of recent years that show how much hotter and how

much more likely they have become.

ANDERSON: Yes. Critics will use last year's summer in the U.K., which frankly was rather cold and wet to suggest that this -- what you've -- what

you've just laid out is not the case on a sort of year by year basis. What you're saying is that the stats suggest and increasingly warm up period, do

they? And that was --

(CROSSTALK)

OTTO: Well, it is not just the stats. It's also really basic physics.

[10:10:00]

And of course every weather event has an element of the chaotic nature of weather. So, because of climate change, we see hotter heat waves, and we

see more of them. But that doesn't mean that there are no cold summers. And also, even in a changing climate, you can still break cold records. But

that does doesn't disprove climate change. It's just a very unlikely event whereas what we're experiencing right now here in London is now a very

common event.

ANDERSON: Are policymakers ready for this?

OTTO: They should be but particularly looking just at the Tory leadership debates right now, they are not. And --well, we talk about climate change

when it's uncomfortably hot in London, but the rest of the year, the topic has been basically removed from the agenda because of the war in Ukraine

and other crisis. And I think what we really have to learn and policymakers have to understand is that we cannot blame -- yes, just that we have to

tackle these crises together, because they will only get worse otherwise and climate change particularly.

ANDERSON: Briefly, there is fear of a drought in nearly half of Europe and I include the U.K. in this. This you will suggest is part of the ripple

effect, is it, of this extreme heat. What are -- what other effects could it bring about?

OTTO: So, drought is a more complex phenomenon, the heat. So, while we do see in southern Europe, the Mediterranean actually a decrease in rainfall

that is also associated with climate change. And many other parts of Europe, we don't see a change in rainfall. But of course with temperatures

as highest this, the water that is there, that is in the soils is evaporating faster and so soils are drying out much quicker. And heat waves

always have a strong impact on agriculture ecosystems.

ANDERSON: With that, we'll leave it there. We thank you very much indeed for joining us.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has suspended two top government officials in accusing dozens of their subordinates of treason. Prosecutor general and

the head of the State Security Service have been replaced temporarily while an investigation is carried out.

Meanwhile, Russian forces intensifying the shelling of Ukrainian defenses in the Donetsk region in the east. Ukrainian military says several attempts

to win more territory have actually been foiled. As this war rages on Ukraine's juvenile, prosecutor's office says 353 children have been killed

and almost 700 have been injured. You're looking at the aftermath of a deadly attack near Kharkiv where a missile reportedly hit a house and a

school.

Our senior international correspondent Ivan Watson is in central Ukraine. Mr. Zelenskyy's home and he joins me now live at least his hometown. There

was a funeral held this weekend for one of the many kids who've been killed. Ivan, tell us more.

WATSON: That's right. The funeral was held on Sunday and it's for four year old Liza Dmitrieva. She was one of at least two dozen people killed in this

cruise missile strike that Russia carried out on Thursday against the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia. Many more people wounded and as you

pointed out, according to the Ukrainian government, at least 353 children have been killed since Russia invaded this country on February 24th of this

year.

That's more than one child a day. Not to mention the Ukrainian children who have been wounded in this vicious war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr

Zelenskyy also went on to say that his government had counted more than 3000 cruise missiles that had been fired at Ukraine and that is part of a

phenomenon that we've seen growing of both sides in fact, using long-range, a deadly weaponry.

And of course, as we've heard in the case of this little four year old girl, civilians are paying the price for this kind of lethal weaponry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON (voice over): Russia is raining rockets and missiles down on Ukrainian cities. A campaign of long distance violence carried out daily.

In just the last week, the Russian military hurl deadly weapons it Dnipro, Kharkiv, Nikolaev, Odesa, Vinnytsia and many cities and towns in between.

[10:15:07]

The July 14th strike on the central city of Vinnytsia took place mid morning on a Thursday. The attack killed at least 24 people including

children and wounded many more. But the Russian military is also firing near daily salvos at places like the frontline city of Mukolaiv.

WATSON (on camera): Seems like this are becoming commonplace across Ukraine and the reality is anytime, anyplace a deadly Russian missile could come

crashing into your building.

WATSON (voice over): The governor here accuses the Russian military of firing repurposed S300 surface to air missiles at his city.

VITALI KIM, GOVERNOR OF MYKOLAIV: And that's because it is like a strategy of Russian to scare civilian people to make panic.

WATSON: In recent days, missiles hit a hotel, a hospital, two universities and this elementary school.

WATSON (on camera): The challenge is the deputy principal here, she says that this part of the school was actually built more than a century ago.

Look what's left of it.

WATSON (voice over): The missile war is different from the furious artillery duels being fought along front lines because the missile strikes

hit far from zones of active combat in communities like the southern port city of Odesa that can otherwise sometimes feel relatively safe. There was

no obvious sign of a Ukrainian military presence at the National University of shipbuilding in Mykolaiv targeted by at least four missiles on Friday.

If they want to scare us by terrorism, it won't work, this resident says. Some people will leave for their safety he adds, but those who are ready to

sacrifice everything for the defense of our country will stay.

Ukraine is carrying out its own devastating long distance strikes with the help of long-range weapon systems provided by the U.S. and other Western

allies. Repeatedly pounding what Kyiv claims was a Russian ammunition depot in the Russian occupied town of Nova Kakhovka this month. An attack that

Moscow claimed killed at least six and wounded many more.

Those lucky to survive left to pick up the pieces, victims of a vicious war with no end in sight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: Now, Becky when we're talking about that civilian population here in Kryvyi Rih, this city has accepted more than 61,000 internally displaced

people, Ukrainians who have fled fighting and Russian occupation in different parts of the country. They're still getting organizers here say

around three to 500 new arrivals every day. People who've been forced to flee their homes.

I spoke at length with an endocrinologist, a doctor from Russian occupied Kherson. That's a city to the south of here. And he described fleeing with

his grandmother, their homes there about 10 days ago living for months under Russian occupation with the cell phone networks and the phone

networks to the rest of Ukraine being cut off with Russian soldiers in the streets of their cities, yelling at people for speaking their native

language.

Ukrainian saying that they only could speak and write in official documents in Russian describing how the occupation authority there was trying to

convince doctors like himself to work for the occupation authority, and that he and other doctors working for the state healthcare service

collectively declined and then after being threatened, recognize that there was no future for them in that city and the man broke down weeping.

He had gone for months without being able to see his parents on the other side of the frontlines. That is just one story of a family who have seen

their futures, their lives really devastated by the uncertainty, fear and trauma imposed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Becky.

ANDERSON: Ivan Watson is on the ground for you today. Thank you.

Well, the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan heads to Iran on Monday for talks with President Ebrahim Raisi. Russian President Vladimir Putin

will join them in Tehran on Tuesday. All three leaders are involved in Syria with Russia and Iran supporting the Syrian regime while Turkey helps

some of the rebel groups. NATO member Turkey has also tried to play a mediating role in Russia's war on Ukraine while Iran has been highlighting

its close relationship with Russia.

Iran is denying White House allegations that it plans to supply Moscow with drones to use in Ukraine.

[10:20:04]

Well, after the break, a damning report on the police response during the Uvalde School shooting in Texas. You'll see a chilling video showing just

how long it took police officers to stop the shooter on the scene.

Well, after months of protests and the outing of the president, Sri Lankans are still struggling for simple essentials like a tank of petrol. Details

on that are just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now. The UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed is

meeting his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Paris today. The two-day visit focusing on energy deals as much as anything else. The French

president's office says the country is trying to diversify its fuel sources away from Russia because of the Kremlin's war on Ukraine.

Indian lawmakers have begun casting ballots to elect the country's president. It's a largely ceremonial role. The ruling BJP has nominated a

veteran politician who if elected, will become the second female president and first ever to hell from a tribal community. Results expected on

Thursday.

Well, the trial of former Trump advisor Steve Bannon is underway in Washington. He faces two contempt of Congress charges. One for not turning

over documents to the January the 6th committee. The other for refusing to testify before the panel. His charge carries a minimum sentence of 30 days

in jail.

A new preliminary report into the mass shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on May the 24th. Outlines multiple systemic

failures and what investigators call an overall lackadaisical approach by law enforcement on the scene. Nearly 400 officers responded to the school

but they took more than an hour to stop the shooter as he opened fire inside a classroom, killing 19 students and two teachers.

Shimon Prokupecz Shimon prepares shows us new police body cam video taken as the mass shooting unfolded. And I must warn you that this new video that

we have that you're about to see is disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANIEL CORONADO, UVALDE POLICE SERGEANT: (BLEEP) Shots fired. Get inside. Go, go, go.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): New body cam video released by the Uvalde Mayor shows the frantic first moments

police arrived on scene at Robb Elementary. This video taken by Uvalde Police Sergeant Daniel Coronado as he made his way inside the building. But

within moments more gunshots.

CORONADO: Shots fired inside the building.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which building?

[10:25:56]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anybody in there?

CORONADO: Take cover, guys.

PROKUPECZ: After taking cover outside, Sergeant Coronado gives his first update on the situation to responding officers.

CORONADO: OK, guys. He's armed inside this building. We have him contained. He's going to be on the building on the west side of the property. Careful

with the windows facing east right there.

PROKUPECZ: Minutes later Coronado tells dispatch what he believes is happening that the gunman is in one of the school's offices, not a

classroom.

CORONADO: Male subjects in the school on the west side of the building. He's contained. We got multiple officers inside the building at this time.

He believe he's barricaded in one of the -- one of the offices. They're still shooting.

PROKUPECZ: But as the minutes continue to tick by the urgency first seen by the initial response fades away. Instead Uvalde Police Officers are seeing

hunkering down waiting for more backup. Critical moments passed by at a time children were still alive in the classroom. At one point you can hear

Sergeant Coronado asking for permission to open a door into the hallway where armed officers are already inside.

CORONADO: Officers inside the building. Am I clear to open the door here on the south side of the building?

PROKUPECZ: It's after this moment that we learned that Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo is inside the

building as other officers crowd around looking for guidance. Arredondo has been a central figure in the state's investigation of the shooting. DPS

director Steven McCraw calling his actions on the day of the massacre a "abject failure."

As more officers arrive and more inaction, you can hear police begin to seek direction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are we doing here?

PROKUPECZ: We also have video from officer Justin Mendoza, who also arrived on the scene at 11:58. local time. Police help the first students and

teachers from a nearby classroom escape the building. At the same time Sergeant Coronado can be seen helping children escape from a window

outside. At this point it and had been nearly 25 minutes since police first entered the building. More than 12 minutes later we get our first glimpse

of Chief Arredondo in the hallway of Robb Elementary.

You can hear him pleading with a gunman to give up but seemingly unaware that children may still be inside the classroom.

PETE ARREDONDO, FORMER UVALDE CONSOLIDATED INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT POLICE CHIEF: Let me know, are there any kids in there or anything? This

could be peaceful. Could you tell me your name? Anything I can help, please?

PROKUPECZ: Moments later a critical piece of the puzzle on the camera of Officer Mendoza. 911 dispatch gives a chilling account from a student still

in the classroom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do have a child on the line.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait. What was that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's going to be room 12 (INAUDIBLE) in a room full of victims at this moment.

PROKUPECZ: And yet even with that information, six minutes go by without any sort of response. Then we see Arredondo with a set of keys, trying and

failing to make entry into a classroom near where the gunman is barricade. Eventually handing the keys off to another officer who does make entry.

More heavily armored officers arrive but no one gives the order to go in.

Then suddenly a new round of gunfire.

But after those gunshots, Arredondo again tries to talk with the shooter.

ARREDONDO: Can you hear me, sir?

PROKUPECZ: And again minutes later.

ARREDONDO: Sir, if you can hear me please put your firearm down sir. We don't want anybody else hurt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know I know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what we're doing. We're trying to get him out.

PROKUPECZ: After no response. Police still stand around without much urgency. Over the course of the next nearly 30 minutes we see more officers

arrived. The video obtained by CNN cuts out moments before police reach the classroom and kill the shooter at 12:51 local time.

By then many young innocent children and their two teachers were dead.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[10:30:16]

ANDERSON: Well, since that report was released Uvalde's acting police chief on the day of the shooting has been placed on administrative leave as

authorities investigate whether he should have taken command of the scene on that day.

I'm Becky Anderson in London. This is CONNECT THE WORLD. We will be back after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: All right. I'm Becky Anderson in London. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. London's time is just after half past 3:00. And extreme heatwave

scorching points all across the globe, including this capital city today. The U.K. bracing for possible record high temperatures. Both today Monday

and tomorrow. The mercury could reach 40 degrees Celsius for the first time.

Well, high temperatures and tinder dry conditions also fueling wildfires across France, Spain, and Portugal. Chad Myers, CNN's meteorologist joining

me now. Look, you know, we saw people out on the serpentine they're on the pedalos. I mean clearly enjoying that someone hopes that they are hydrated

and they're wearing some SPF but these are deadly conditions for a part of the world not used to them. How much longer could this heat wave go on,

Chad?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Probably another 36 hours for Britain, maybe a little bit less for Wales, a little bit less for Scotland, Ireland

because there's a cold front coming by. So right now our temperature in London is 37. That's at the bottom of the hour. At the top of the hour,

they were 36. So just in the last 30 minutes, the temperature has already gone up one more degree.

And we know that at least six, half a dozen are above 37 across the U.K. right now. And we're still not to max heating. And you said we could break

the all time record. We could break 40. That would be the first time ever. And obviously we're looking at some of these high temperatures. The hottest

temperatures ever there at the Cambridge Botanical Gardens. Likely that is going to fall.

We will likely be higher than that in maybe more than one location. But also France, France and Spain and Portugal, they are also dealing with this

heat as well. Temperatures are in the 30s and 40s. Now Spain you get a little bit of help tomorrow from 40 to 41. Somewhere down around 36 or 37.

That's helpful. But the good news is, Becky, with this is that the air is not muggy. The air is fairly dry and that's why this air is getting so hot

because there aren't clouds that pop up in the afternoon to stop the sun from coming down.

[10:35:05]

So although it's a little bit more comfortable on your body you are also dehydrating quickly, like the ground is dehydrating as well with the

drought across most of Europe, even though you may not feel like 115 or 37 degrees, 38 degrees, 40 degrees C because the air is cool. Your body is

still perspiring, even though you may not be able to feel it. Look at that. Look at what's going on with the fire danger across parts of the Iberian

Peninsula across parts of Italy, all the way even into Eastern Europe.

Hot weather for the next couple of days. Watch it go away, though, at least for the northern half. The southern half, you're not going to get a lot of

help, maybe one or two degrees lower, but not a lot of help. But certainly some cooler air coming in for the middle part of the week for all of

Northwestern Europe. Becky?

ANDERSON: Always good to have you, Chad. Thank you.

MYERS: You're welcome.

ANDERSON: Well, Sri Lanka's acting president has declared a nationwide public emergency. This comes as protests continue over the country's

deepening economic crisis. The acting president says he made the proclamation to protect public security and maintain essential supplies and

services. It gives the military and police a wide-ranging search and arrest powers. Parliament is set to hold nominations for a new president on

Tuesday.

Well, protest over soaring inflation and shortages of basic necessities are now in their 101st day in the country. They hit a tipping point after

protesters took over government buildings and force the president to resign recently. Will Ripley takes a closer look at how the economic crisis and

this has been some time in the making is impacting daily life in Sri Lanka. Have a look at this.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm in Colombo at one of the few gas stations that's actually pumping petrol right now. We had to drive

around past at least two or three before we found this one and we could spot the fact that it was open because the line was stretching not even

around the block but like several blocks down.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY (voice over): In Sri Lanka these days they say petrol is more precious than gold. Which explains the heavily armed guards.

RIPLEY (on camera): I've never seen anything quite like this. We've been talking to people waiting in these lines. Some of them waiting as long as

six days.

RIPLEY (voice over): Like 19-year-old Anuda Gunasengha (ph).

RIPLEY (on camera): I'm Will.

RIPLEY (voice over): He just graduated from high school.

RIPLEY (on camera): How long have you been waiting here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Since Monday. Like six days.

RIPLEY (on camera): Six days?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

RIPLEY (on camera): So how do you live? What do you do?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sleep in car. My dad, he is so -- we basically switch like two days each in the queue.

RIPLEY (voice over): Like pretty much everyone else here. He's been doing this for months.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People shouldn't have to do this, you know? Just suffer in the queue for so long. And then just get fuel for the basic necessities.

RIPLEY (on camera): Do you have any trusts left and politicians in your government?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: None, none. Not at all. Theys stole money by fooling us and then we are the ones who have to suffer while they have the lead luxury

lives.

RIPLEY: All right. Yes. Sure.

RIPLEY (voice over): The fuel ran out three cars before he made it to the pump. He has to wait two more days.

RIPLEY (on camera): The price is so expensive, it has skyrocketed because the fuel is in such short supply. So people are spending in a lot of cases

almost their entire income just to fuel the vehicle that they use to get around to make a living. It's hard to imagine that people have been living

like this for so long here. You can understand when you stand in the midst of all of this may have the anger, the anger on the streets hear from

people who just want to be able to live a normal life and don't want to have to spend days waiting in line for something basic, like fuel, like

food, like medicine.

Will Ripley CNN, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD. A Sunday comeback at St. Andrews. Details on the winner of the Open Championship is in our sports

update after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:43:36]

ANDERSON: Well, for that and more inspiring stories about the next generation of climate environmentalists. Visit cnn.com/glowing. Let me do

that again. cnn.com/goinggreen.

Well, it was a result that nobody expected, not even the man himself Cameron Smith, but it did happen. The Australian golfer surprises

competitors and impresses supporters at St. Andrews. The question is what happens now after getting his hands on the coveted Claret Jug. World

Sport's Patrick Snell joining me from Atlanta. This was 150th anniversary of the Open. So this is a very special Claret Jug this year.

There are though, already lots of rumors swirling about what Mr. Cameron Smith does next.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Becky, if you're going to pick one Open Championship to win, it will be the 150th, right? And at the home of golf

St. Andrews and it was a lovely little anecdote as well, when he revealed that his father had considered coming to travel and from Australia watch

his son play, but then chose not to. I guess he's going to regret that decision for a long time to come.

But to your point, yes, it wasn't long after he got his hands on the coveted Claret Jug that he was asked that question. Was he going to

consider joining the Saudi-backed and highly controversial LIV golf series? It was all rather awkward. We're going to play you that clip in World Sport

in just a few moments from right now because it is one of golf's biggest talkers and we're monitoring the Cameron Smith situation to see what

happens very closely indeed, Becky.

ANDERSON: You are such a tease. Good for you. That is WORLD SPORT after this short break I'll be back after this. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END