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U.S. Launches Retaliatory Airstrikes After Attack In Syria; London Protests As Netanyahu Doubles Down On Judicial Plan; Iran's Push To Reduce Isolation Overshadows Protest Movement; Investigating Russian Denial Of Forced Child Deportations; King Charles Postpones France State Visit; President Biden Visits In Canada For Talks With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; Internet Of Things Promises Smarter Cities In The Future. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired March 24, 2023 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:39]

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: I'm Eleni Giokos live from Abu Dhabi and this is CONNECT THE WORLD.

Coming up this hour, President Joe Biden authorizes airstrikes in Syria after a suspected Iranian affiliated drone kills a U.S. contractor and

wounds five American troops.

The Israeli prime minister's visit to the U.K. was met with protests over his judicial overhaul overshadowing his diplomatic trip.

The French government and its people enter a showdown over anti-pension reform protests not letting up. So far nearly 500 people have been

arrested.

Well, the U.S. says it launched retaliatory airstrikes after an Iranian affiliated drone attack killed a U.S. contractor in northeastern Syria, and

it says more such strikes could come if warranted.

This video posted on social media is said to show the aftermath of the U.S. airstrikes. There are unconfirmed reports of deaths of pro-Iranian

fighters. The drone attack also injured five U.S. service personnel and another contractor.

Natasha Bertrand is following the story for us from the Pentagon. She'll be joining us in just a moment, and we've got Nic Robertson in London with the

wider diplomatic analysis.

Nic, great to have you on. I want you to tell me about this attack., the significance of this, and of course the timing.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: We know that the drone was essentially on a one-way mission. Therefore it had -- it was packed

full of explosives, and that was very precise way of accurately targeting whatever this group wanted to target within the compound of the U.S. base.

More accurate than indirect fire a rocket, for example.

The response coming very quickly. A decision taken by President Biden to authorize that but really, really clearly indicates that tensions are

already high, that the United States has a very clear set of potential targets, places that it wants to hit in eventuality as something like this.

They haven't gone after the perpetrators precisely who had the drone or where the drone was launched from, but they've gone after other groups who

perhaps have ammunition stores or have been working intelligence on the ground for these affiliated groups, these groups that are affiliated with

the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

So it's the United States' position is this is something that is coming and being directed by Tehran, holding them responsible, but targeting their

groups on the ground. And it's not clear precisely what's been hit. It was in a rural area, but in the past when the United States has responded this

way, it has hit ammunition stores. And you can see here a sort of huge explosion fireball and perhaps what we can see are secondary explosions

coming off of that.

So again, this could be an ammunition dump that was hit precision targeting intended not to create additional casualties or to bring about an

escalation.

GIOKOS: Yes. That's the point, right, the concern about an escalation. This was an Iranian affiliated drone. That's the intel we have right now.

Nic, what about retaliation and push back from the Iranians?

ROBERTSON: You know, I think there is -- there are other things that are going on in the background for right now, for example, United States

through intermediaries is talking to Iran to try to get a tiny handful for U.S. citizens that are being held illegally in Iranian jails. Get them

released. Now there's something in that deal for Iran as well. And we saw Iran just less than two weeks ago try to put pressure on the U.S. by saying

the deal was done.

Now word came back from U.S. officials that was wrong, that was not the case. The sense is that the moment in the region that a deal could be

close, so if there were an escalation here on the ground that could potentially delay that, which would delay the release of the Americans but

could also delay any benefits Iran wants to see out of such a deal. So both sides have an interest in not escalating it further.

[10:05:03]

The United States is sending a very, very, very clear message. National Security Communications director John Kirby was speaking earlier to CNN and

he said, we're watching very, very closely, and I think that's the clue here, that there is a huge amount of scrutiny being put on these Iranian

groups because they have formed attacking U.S. troops in Syria 78 times since 2021.

So they're being watched very, very closely. And so the response is intended to send a very, very clear signal, that signal we're watching.

This is what will happen if you do it.

GIOKOS: Exactly. We've got Natasha Bertrand who's going to give us a bit more insight into this, and we just heard from Nic that these types of

attacks are common. We've actually seen so many of them transpire in Syria specifically on military U.S. bases. The U.S. said it took proportionate

action to limit the risk of escalation.

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Eleni. So what we're told is that the facility is that the U.S. targeted in this airstrike

yesterday, they were essentially housing, according to U.S. officials, munitions and there were also used for intelligence gathering purposes by

these Iranian proxy groups, and this is not the first time that the U.S. has carried out these kinds of strikes against these Iranian proxy groups,

including in Syria.

President Biden ordered a similar strike back in August of last year, and that is because the U.S. currently has about 900 U.S. troops that are

stationed in Syria as part of the anti-ISIS coalition. But as Nic mentioned they have come under attack by these Iranian proxy groups about 78 times

since the beginning of 2021, so the U.S. feels now that it really needs to start responding proportionally, not necessarily escalating, but letting

Iran know that these Iran-backed groups -- I should say no, that this is unacceptable, and National Security Council coordinator for Strategic

Communications John Kirby, he did tell CNN this morning how the U.S. is viewing this. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, COORDINATOR, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS: We've got militant groups that are supported by Iran, that

are the ones conducting these attacks against our troops and our facilities. We're going to continue to do whatever we can to defend

themselves. And if we have to retaliate like we did yesterday, we'll do that.

We don't seek a war with Iran. We're not looking for an armed conflict with that country or another war in the region. We do seek to protect our

mission in Syria, which is about defeating ISIS and we do seek to make sure we can protect our people and our facilities against these Iran backed

groups.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERTRAND: So the U.S. obviously taking this very seriously and it comes at a moment of really heightened tension between the U.S. and Iran, especially

given that growing defense partnership, military partnership between Iran and Russia, that kind of give and take where Iran is providing munitions to

Russia, Russia is also giving additional weapons to Iran that U.S. officials worry could be proliferated throughout the region to these are

Iran backed groups in Syria and elsewhere.

So this coming at a moment when the U.S. is really trying to send a message they have done so in the past, but clearly has not deterred Iran -- Iran-

backed groups and Iran from conducting these kinds of attacks, so we will have to see whether they change their force posture in the country. No sign

of that yet, but we are expecting a briefing today at the Pentagon on this very subject -- Eleni.

GIOKOS: All right. Natasha Bertrand, Nic Robertson, thank you so much.

All right. Controversy is following Israel's prime minister to the U.K. Prime Minister Rushi Sunak expressing solidarity with Israel, to Benjamin

Netanyahu, but calling for an easing of tensions in the West Bank. He also stressed democratic values and mentioned Israel's controversial plan to

weaken the courts.

Mr. Netanyahu is now vowing to personally work on pushing through the plan, which opponents say threatens Israel's democracy. There have been

widespread protests in Israel and we are seeing them in London as well.

We have Salma Abdelaziz. She's been in the midst of those crowds.

Salma, look, Netanyahu's visit to London prompting protests there as well. Basically in a show of the discontent that people are feeling with the

judicial changes, I guess a very different picture on what you're seeing on the ground versus in the boardroom with Rishi Sunak.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely Eleni. We're in the middle of a very small protest here in Central London. It's just a few dozen

people but I brought you into the middle of the crowd just to give you a sense of what's going on here. They were chanting, shame, shame, shame,

Bibi a little while ago. They've been chanting democracy. People are holding signs that say Bibi does not represent us. Bibi is not fit for

office.

There's a true sense among these protesters that this judicial reform, this judicial overhaul that Prime Minister Netanyahu is pushing through is a

threat to Israel's democracy, that it erodes the checks and balances of that country.

[10:10:12]

And many of these demonstrators actually have family back in Israel or hold Israeli citizenship themselves, and they said we never imagined -- some of

them are telling me, we never imagined protesting against Israel, against an Israeli prime minister here in London, but that's exactly what's taking

place. That's how concerned people are and these protesters feel they're echoing the sentiment, they're echoing the outrage that's been taking place

in Israel.

Months, of course, now of tens of thousands of people taking to the streets against this judicial overhaul. They wanted to see Prime Minister Rishi

Sunak really step up and speak out to Prime Minister Netanyahu, urge that condemnation that we've heard from the United States, carry that

condemnation during this visit.

And we do have a statement from Downing Street about the meeting that took place earlier today between Prime Minister Sunk and Prime Minister

Netanyahu. I know you read a bit of it, but of course, it outlined the international concern around the violence in the West Bank. And here's the

key bit, Eleni. I'm just going to read it straight out.

"Prime Minister Sunak emphasized the importance of upholding democratic values that underpin the relationship between the two countries." That's

the statement from Downing Street. That's the portion about this judicial overhaul bill that is so deeply controversial, but it's simply not enough

for these protesters.

They feel that the international community needs to stand by those demonstrators back home who feel that Prime Minister Netanyahu is getting

diplomatic cover, if you will here in the U.K. The government and 10 Downing Street doesn't really against step up and speak out and just

carries on business as usual.

I have to point out one other thing that everybody is bringing up, too, which is the trade agreement that was signed between the U.K. and Israel

just a couple of days ago. Everyone here feels like that means London is just carrying on business as usual.

GIOKOS: As usual. Yes. Salma Abdelaziz., thank you so much for that report.

Well, Israel's shift to the right has left some Jews in the U.S. feeling alienated. We have a fascinating analysis of that today in our newsletter

"Meanwhile in the Middle East." Just go to CNN.com/MiddleEastNewsletter. Be sure and click subscribe while you're there. It's a fantastic read.

Now to another major development in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia and Syria could be on the verge of resuming consular services. That's what Saudi

state TV is reporting. This news comes just two weeks after the kingdom agreed to resume diplomatic ties with its former foe Iran. The Saudi

foreign minister says he and his counterparts in Tehran will meet soon to reopen their embassies,

Now meantime, Iran's diplomatic push to minimize its global isolation has overshadowed the protest movement inside the country.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh joins us now from London.

You've been covering the protest action, the unrest in Iran extensively since it began and now seeing the mending relationship between Saudi and

Iran, that's gaining big momentum. What does it mean for the region? And what does it mean for the people who are still protesting anyone?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Eleni, I can tell you that the timing of this agreement after years of negotiations that have

been taking place really took a lot of regional experts by surprise, and there's a lot of reasons that really pushed these two countries to finally

reaching this deal. We'll have to wait and see if this is going to hold and how it's really going to translate on the ground in the Middle East, and

the various proxy conflicts these two countries have been involved in.

But it certainly comes at a time and anywhere the Iranian regime has been under immense pressure domestically, arguably facing one of the biggest

challenges to the rule of the clerical establishment since 1979 with these protests that were sparked just over six months ago with the death of 22-

year-old Kurdish Iranian woman, Masha Jina Amini, while in the custody of the Morality Police. And we have seen the response of the regime.

The brutal and violent crackdown on these protests. Hundreds of people have been killed, more than 20,000 people were detained. You had the executions

of protesters after unfair trials and the horrors that have been and continue to unfold in Iranian detention facilities. I mean just this week,

Eleni, we heard from a top U.N. human rights official on Iran saying that the human rights violations committed by the Iranian regime could amount to

crimes against humanity. And you know, while you're not seeing the kind of countrywide mass protests on a daily basis that we were seeing a few months

ago, this doesn't mean that this is over.

[10:15:06]

It is far from over for the regime. The anger of the people is only continuing to grow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARADSHEH (voice-over): This is an image Iran wants the world to see. Crowds of faithful followers cheering their supreme leader as Ayatollah Ali

Khamenei ushered in the Persian New Year in a ruse this week trying to turn the page on one of the most turbulent years the clerical establishment has

ever faced, as he used the occasion to once again dismiss his people's uprising as riots in a foreign plot.

Painful scenes like this one played out across the country. Grieving families marking this year's Nowruz remembering loved ones lost in the

ruthless crackdown on protests. At the grave of Masha Jina Amini, whose death six months ago in Morality Police custody sparked a national

uprising, mourners sing an old Kurdish revolutionary song. "We will not fall, our voices rise, we sacrifice for life and existence."

For many, this was a time for renewed daring demonstrations. The chants of woman, life, freedom echoed through the streets of Kurdish cities, and were

met with bullets that injured dozens, according to activists. The regime's repressive force may have pushed the country wide protests underground, but

it hasn't crushed the will of the people.

HOLLY DAGRES, SENIOR FELLOW, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: Iranians see every opportunity these days, every big event as an opportunity to protest. The

clerical establishment is walking through a minefield, and it's any wrong step it takes will lead to this explosion of anger, of people in the

streets on mass.

KARADSHEH: With a regime unwilling to address the grievances of its people and an economy crumbling under Western sanctions, analysts believe it's a

matter of time before mass protests erupt again. Internationally the regime is facing isolation, talks to revive the nuclear deal have stalled, and the

West continuing to confront Iranian proxies in the region has imposed more sanctions in the wake of the violent crackdown on protests and Iran's

support for Russia's war in Ukraine, but the regime may have found a new lifeline in its March 10th China brokered agreement with longtime regional

foe Saudi Arabia.

DAGRES: This is an achievement for regional diplomacy, at least defusing tensions for the time being. The truth is that by the Saudi Arabia

recommencing ties with Iran it is essentially giving the clerical establishment a lifeline and it is giving support to a regime that

protesters want isolated.

KARADSHEH: While the regime appears to be trying to put out some of the many fires in the region, those raging at home may be harder to suppress.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KARADSHEH: And you know, Eleni, as we're seeing the regime trying to mend ties with some of its neighbors, Iranians and a lot of activists feel that

it is more important than ever right now for Western countries to do more to support the protest movement, to support people inside the country. And

they say it's not just about statements supporting them or issuing these sanctions that we are seeing the country continue and the regime continued

to be hit with by the West.

They say it can do more. They want them to downgrade diplomatic relations. They want them to -- they want the E.U. to declare the Revolutionary Guard

Corps a terrorist organization. They feel that now is the time for the West to do more than just talk and issue statements of support -- Eleni.

GIOKOS: Jomana Karadsheh, thank you so much for that reporting.

Well, up next on CONNECT THE WORLD, Ukraine says Russian troops are getting exhausted and we'll tell you where the Ukrainians say they may be launching

a new counteroffensive in just a moment. And it appears Paris can wait. It will have to for King Charles III. How French pension protests are

disrupting the British monarch's travel plans.

Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:21:37]

GIOKOS: Well, there's plenty of action on the battlefield in Ukraine today. Russian forces have launched a wave after wave of rockets and artillery

attacks in the Sunni region in the north and hitting residential buildings and a school. At least two people were killed.

And Ukraine says it is preparing for a counteroffensive around the besieged city of Bakhmut. A Ukrainian general says Russian forces there are

exhausted and suffering major losses.

I want to bring in CNN's David McKenzie, who's on the ground in Odessa in Ukraine.

David, the timing of a counteroffensive in Bakhmut which we know has been terrorized over the past while will be important, especially if they say

that Russian forces are exhausted.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Eleni, certainly this is the view of one senior commander of the Ukrainian

military of the state of play in that very intense fight that has lasted many months around Bakhmut in the east.

Right now we are in the south of the country, in Odessa, just a relatively short drive away Russian positions around Kherson, and you remember about a

week ago, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin and the top deputy with the allegation that they deported

many, many children from Ukraine into Russia and into occupied Crimea. And that that constituted a war crime.

At the time the Russians -- the Kremlin called it unacceptable but we went closer to the frontlines to find out just what have transpired with one

case that could end up at the ICC.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Approaching the southern frontline in Kherson. In the liberated city many have fled, it's deceptively quiet. Until the

relentless terror. The often indiscriminate, almost daily Russian shelling.

We've come to investigate a very deliberate horror of the Russian occupation.

(On-camera): So the children who stayed here were under 5 years old mostly. This orphanage had more than 40 children here.

(Voice-over): Olena was a nurse here for 17 years. Not a single child is left. I feel emptiness, emptiness. Everything has just stopped, she says.

The children had everything. They were so happy. The children were happy. Now it's just silence. And small reminders of them. Their names still on

each locker. The Kherson Children's Home is now a crime scene.

They warned us to collect their clothes, says Olena. The Russians and collaborators called in the evening and said to prepare the children for

the morning. The busses arrived at 8:00. The heartbreaking scenes captured for Russian propaganda, shared on a Russian MP's Telegram channel. The

bewildered children taken from their beloved nurses in October, transported to Russian occupied Crimea or Russia itself, say Ukrainian investigators.

[10:25:04]

But instead of hiding this alleged war crime Russians advertised it. Children will be taken to safe conditions in Crimea, he says. I'll

definitely go and visit.

Investigators said it was part of a premeditated Russian mission, to take Ukrainian children and even targeted hospitals.

(On-camera): There was a lot of pressure by the Russians to take these children, weren't you afraid?

(Voice-over): It was scary. Very, very scary. So much pressure, says Olha Piliarska. Twice a day they demanded we show them lists of the kids to take

to Russia. So Olha and her team came up with an extraordinary deception. The head orphans in the ICU and they forged medical assessments, saying

healthy children were severely sick. They even faked an emergency ventilation, she says. We understood that the Russians and collaborators

would not forgive us, she says. We knew there would be serious retribution. We understood this.

But they took the risks and managed to save children. And a critical care nurse took it a step further. Tetiana says she'd fell in love with one of

the orphaned children. She worked desperately to keep the child off the list. Now she's adopting Kira (PH),

(On-camera): Nice to meet you.

(Voice-over): We met them at home. A Ukrainian mom with her treasured Ukrainian child.

TETIANA PAVELKO, NURSE: Kira.

MCKENZIE: Kirs is almost ready to walk.

(On-camera): What does she mean to you?

PAVELKO: Kira. (Speaking in foreign language)

MCKENZIE (voice-over): She means everything to me, says Tetiana. I don't even know to be honest. I can't imagine my life without Kira.

This awful war has given her a precious gift.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCKENZIE: Tetiana and Kira live in a part of Kherson in the southern part of the city that is regularly shelled it must be said and they are just

happy to be together.

Just a short time ago, it's interesting, Eleni, the other person who faces an arrest warrant, Maria Lvova-Belova, who is a deputy in some ways of

Putin on these matters, had a very different tune. She said that there are 56 children from Ukraine who were in, quote, "health resorts" resting and

recuperating, that they are trying to get back to Ukrainian children. Maybe some pressure coming to bear from that ICC warrant.

The President Zelensky of Ukraine saying that perhaps as many as 15,000 children have been deported to Ukraine. Not all of them, the most serious

case like we covered, they don't know where those orphans ended up in Crimea or in Russia -- Eleni.

GIOKOS: Very sad story, David. Thank you so much for that report.

All right. France would have been the first state visit of the reign of King Charles III. Now he's postponing that planned trip after protests over

French pension reforms turned violence on Thursday, but Buckingham Palace says the British monarch and queen consort will still go ahead with next

week's scheduled visits to Germany.

All right, let's head to Paris, and we've got CNN's Melissa Bell.

Melissa, we've seen the protest action on the back of these pension reforms, but I want to take a step back and dig a little deeper in terms of

the underlying reason for parliament to push this through without a vote and Macron is saying this is a necessity. Is this going to be a vital part

of what keeps the French economy stable in the future?

There's got to be some sort of argument as to why they're taking such aggressive moves to change laws without having consensus.

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: There's a lot of debate here in France, Eleni, about exactly the urgency there was to reforming the pension

system this radically and this quickly. You're quite right. The parliamentary timetable to begin with was considered extremely fast. Even

the body that monitors France's pension system cast into doubt whether or not it was an urgent need to reform or rather it was longer turned, and

thing had to be looked at.

The argument of the French government is that it is in deficit to the tune of about 1.8 billion this year. That will rise to more than 13 billion in

2030 if unreformed and beyond 40 billion by 2050. That was the reason for the urgency. There's been a lot of disagreement about whether those figures

are accurate, given all the parameters that they take into account, and there have been those trade unions amongst them, but also some French

economist who said first of all the urgency was not there.

It needed some kind of addressing over the near future at some point because of the demographic changes that are happening in France.

[10:30:07]

Back in 2000, Eleni, there were more than two workers per retiree paying into that pay as you go system. That has gone down to 1.7. It's due to go

down to 1.2. Everyone accepts that at some point, this very generous system that has meant that France has one of the lowest risk to pensioners of

poverty in Europe needed to be addressed.

Now there are those who say there were other ways of doing it. What the unions say is that this is a system by raising the retirement age on one

hand to 64, but also increasing the number of years that someone has to work to get a full pension. They say that penalizes the blue-collar

workers. It is a fundamentally unjust reform.

There are those who argue there were other ways of addressing. Taxing the wealthy, giving up corporate tax breaks, trying to fund it through general

taxation rather than the kind of reform we're seeing now.

It's the source of a great deal of debate as you heard no doubt over the course of the last few weeks, and indeed that disagreement erupting into so

much of what we saw here on the streets of Paris -- Eleni.

GIOKOS: There are so many ways to balance the numbers and clearly this is a concern about how they will do it.

Melissa Bell, thank you so much.

In the meantime, Mr. Macron says that he believes E.U. banks are safe due to existing strict regulation systems and relatively low exposure to

American assets. E.U. markets coming under pressure right now.

I'm just taking a look at what Paris CAC is doing, down 2 percent.

All right, U.S. President Joe Biden is in Canada. We are live in Ottawa as the two countries unveiled a major agreement for asylum seekers. That's all

coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD. Here are your headlines this hour. The U.S. says it launched retaliatory airstrikes after an Iranian

made drone killed a U.S. contractor and injured six other Americans in northeastern Syria.

This video is said to show the aftermath of the U.S. strikes. Some 900 U.S. troops are in Syria to assist in the fight against ISIS.

Britain's prime minister called for a de-escalation of tensions in the West Bank in a meeting with his Israeli counterpart. Rishi Sunak also stressed

democratic values and referred to Israel's plan to weaken the courts. Benjamin Netanyahu's visit, prompting protests in London.

Ukraine says Russian forces are growing exhausted around Bakhmut and Ukraine is considering a counteroffensive in that city. Meanwhile in the

north, Russian forces pounded the Sunni region with more than 100 rockets and artillery shells.

[10:35:05]

All right, next hour, the Canadian parliament will hold an official welcome ceremony for U.S. President Joe Biden. He arrived in Ottawa Thursday,

making his first official trip to Canada since entering the White House. Mr. Biden will meet with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss

a range of topics, including immigration. Later he'll address the Canadian parliament.

All this coming as the U.S. and Canada reach a major agreement on what to do about asylum seekers. We have Paula Newton, who's live in Canada, the

Canadian capital of Ottawa for us.

Two allies that largely agree on so many things are largely aligned. But they also have differing views on some of the major issues.

Paula, I want you to take me through what we've seen thus far and what else is expected on the agenda.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Eleni. What's so interesting is that even between these two close allies and remember these two men go by Justin

and Joe and the relationship is very tight and yet immigration itself, Eleni, as we have seen so many times can become such a wedge issue. Now,

although U.S. officials had a cautioned us to lower expectations in the week before this summit, it does seem like they have a deal for that

northern border.

Again, the numbers miniscule compared to what's going on in the United States southern border, but apparently here in the U.S. agreeing to make a

deal with Canada.

I want you to listen now to part of my interview with Justin Trudeau yesterday afternoon in talking about what the details of that deal might

entail. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Do you think you'll have a deal, though? And when we drill down to the details, do you expect that perhaps some migrants will be able to go to

regular border crossings in Canada and be received that way because, as you know, right now, they would be turned back to the United States?

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: There's a lot of work being done, and we are hopeful of being to make an announcement to reassure Canadians

and Americans that we continue to handle migration seriously.

NEWTON: And will that include taking migrants that sometimes even present themselves at the southern border or taking migrants directly from the

United States?

TRUDEAU: Canada is always willing to do more. We're a country that has been built like the United States on welcoming people from around the world. We

just need to make sure we're doing it in responsible, proper ways to continue to have our citizens positive towards immigration, as Canadians

always are.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: So, Eleni, despite that immigration deal, there are still a lot of issues to iron out. There is a full bilateral meeting with members of

Cabinet from both countries, and Joe Biden, as you said, will address parliament in the coming hours and a gala dinner tonight, Eleni, as well

with Canadian celebrities.

A jampacked day between these two allies where they're hoping to get some substantive issues sorted out -- Eleni.

GIOKOS: Are you going to the gala dinner as well, Paula?

NEWTON: I'm not invited. I did see some celebrities, though, last night at restaurants. I can assure you it will be fun for everyone involved,

including the president and the first lady.

GIOKOS: Paula, thank you. And of course we'll be monitoring the conversations and of course the press conference we'll be covering as well

later in the day. Thank you, Paula Newton.

All right, coming up, Lionel Messi does something only one other man has done and scores the winning goal. We'll show you the history-making moment.

Exciting times. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:34]

GIOKOS: We have seen how the internet of things is transforming daily life in our homes, but smart cities are taking shape as well.

Anna Stewart heads to the heart of expo city for a look at how new technology is shaping our futures.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's difficult to imagine our present lives without the internet of things. The question on how it will

shape our future, however, has brought me here.

(On-camera): So this is what a city of the future looks like.

(Voice-over): In 2021, these grounds hosted the Middle East's first World Expo. These events are known to unveil big ideas and structures. For Expo

2020 Dubai it's this, the world's largest unsupported dome at the heart of this highly connected city.

(On-camera): Well, this is something else. Wow.

HELMUT VON STRUVE, CEO, SIEMENS MIDDLE EAST: What you see here, this is the Al Wasl dome. Al Wasl in Arabic is connecting, but in the night it's the

biggest 360 projection display globally in the world. You see those pots, those little structures, these are all the projectors and they are also

obviously managed by our technology to optimize the cooling because they create a lot of heat when they are actually operating.

STEWART (voice-over): Organizers say this made Expo 2020 Dubai the most digitally connected in world expo history. Here IOT enables more informed

city planning when paired with AI.

VON STRUVE: Artificial intelligence can say within 20 minutes, 30 minutes, there will be maybe 150 people walking this direction so you can already

start cooling the building down to optimize it.

STEWART (on-camera): So by the time that people get there --

VON STRUVE: It's cooling.

STEWART (voice-over): It turns out that the internet of things is much more than a smart kettle. It's the ability to track electricity consumption,

irrigation, air quality and more.

VON STRUVE: My wish is that IT helps us to become more sustainable, especially in cities. Cities already are using an enormous amount of

energy. And then if we can help with our technology to reduce the amount of energy that's being used and increase the efficiency, increase the safety

and security, I think that is a dream.

STEWART: With more innovative solutions like these at our fingertips the internet of things is paving the way for a more efficient tomorrow.

Anna Stewart, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: All. We've got "WORLD SPORT" coming up for you after the short break and we'll be back with more CONNECT THE WORLD at the top of the hour.

Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WORLD SPORT)

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