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Connect the World

WHO Chief: 61 Percent of Health Facilities in Sudanese Capital Closed; CNN Talks to Navalny's Daughter about his Condition; Zelenskyy has "Meaningful" Phone Call with Xi; Republicans Unveil AI-Generated Ad Criticizing Biden; Biden Meets with South Korean President at White House; Private Spaceship Presumed Lost after Moon Landing Attempt. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired April 26, 2023 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: This hour humanitarian crisis developed in Sudan as violence continues to impact ordinary civilians. But

first your headlines this hour Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Chinese Counterpart Xi Jinping have spoken for the first time since

Russia's invasion.

They exchanged views on the conflict with China reaffirming support for peace talks, and the country will also send a special envoy to Ukraine.

ISIS-K leader who planned a suicide bombing at Kabul's Airport, which killed 13 U.S. service members and more than 170 Afghan civilians, has been

killed by the Taliban.

Big trouble for one of the leading regional banks in the U.S., First Republic says depositors pulling money out of the bank at an alarming rate.

And later this hour, the biggest football game of the year Manchester City take on Arsenal in a top of the table clash could decide who lifts the

Premier League Title.

Welcome to the second hour of "Connect the World"! I'm Lynda Kinkade. Good to have you with us. The continued violence in Sudan is having devastating

consequences for its civilians caught in the crossfire. Even before the fighting broke out, nearly 1/3 of the population was already in need of

humanitarian aid.

Now the country is running out of food, fuel and other vital supplies. Crucially, more than a dozen hospitals are out of service, even as the need

for medical attention soars. CNN's David McKenzie who has been following the developments and joins us now from Johannesburg good to have you with

us, David! So this humanitarian crisis is growing worse by the day. The hospital system virtually collapsed. Most of the hospitals now closed. What

more can you tell us?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've been speaking to doctors, Lynda in Khartoum, several of them who described this horrific situation

that medical personnel have to deal with. You're right. More than two thirds of the hospitals in Khartoum have been shut down.

We spoke to a doctor, a senior doctor in the eastern part of the Capital Khartoum, she says they are getting a very large deluge of casualties at

all times civilians with multiple gunshot wounds. And these are the kinds of situations they're describing that they can't even sterilize their

instruments between the surgeries because so many people are coming in.

And it's not just simple surgeries she said they're very complex, often hour long surgeries. There is 20 or so staff that is left there. She's

working with work round the clock for more than 11 days now. And despite the cause of ceasefires and the statements about ceasefires, people still

keep coming in and running low on almost every kind of supply, Lynda.

KINKADE: Yes. So tell us, David, if you can, how are they getting in the supplies that they have got?

MCKENZIE: Well, they're lacking bandages, medicine, they actually rationing the dosage of medicine giving to people including pain relief. They are

short of sterilization equipment. They're short of absolutely everything, even food for themselves and for those in the hospital.

Now Save the Children, some time ago said that, in fact, forces that didn't indicate which are blocking aid coming in to those hospitals. And that's

very difficult because of the general chaos to resupply the surgeons that are doing their work.

They've even had to deploy youth from the area to surround the hospital to protect it from the widespread looting that is happening in Khartoum to

protect both the surgeons and those inside and from supplies from being stolen.

Many of them are sleeping in that hospital to try and save people's lives. But as Dr. Al-Hassan (ph) told us, she said they're not even sleeping. It's

more like they are fainting, and then kind of bringing themselves up to continue this difficult work. I think in the next few days if the situation

doesn't improve, you're going to face almost unthinkable conditions in those hospitals that are still working Lynda.

KINKADE: Yes it's hard to imagine David McKenzie for us reporting on this story from Johannesburg thanks very much.

[11:05:00]

Among the countries people are fleeing to be Chad, the UNHCR says it's mobilizing for large numbers of refugees fleeing fighting, and at least

20,000 people have already crossed the Sudan's western border with Chad.

I want to bring in the Representative of the UN Refugee Agency in Chad. Laura Lo Castro joins me now from N'Djamena, the Capital of Chad, good to

have you with us. So I just mentioned some of the numbers there 20,000 refugees from South Sudan already making their way into Chad. And they're

from villages close to the border; many, many more are expected in the coming days. What can you tell us about the numbers the sheer volume of

people?

LAURA LO CASTRO, UNHCR REPRESENTATIVE IN CHAD: Yes, for the moment -- good morning or good afternoon. For the moment, the number of people that we

have been in contact with is indeed, roughly about 20,000. I was at the border myself.

Last week, just immediately after the events in Khartoum, and I could witness myself people crossing the border, and many of them crossing the

border with all their belongings. I mean, whatever they could carry with them, sometimes even a bed, you know, and blankets and some food.

So for the moment, we started the registration, the proper registration with the government of Chad. And the counting since confirming the first

estimate for one province of about 12,000 refugees that have crossed the border and then there is another province affected where we have, you know,

we managed to get to the border yesterday.

And we have about 6000 more refugees, and then news is coming from here and there of groups of refugees crossing the border. Our impression is

definitely that the situation not improving, we will see more refugees crossing in the coming few days.

There are places where arrivals are continuous. So every day you see people crossing with whatever they can carry along. And they are all settling very

close to the border, which is of course a concern for the safety of the refugees and also for the country itself.

So we are going to replan, to do as fast as we can then you know, relocation, a little bit farther away from the border. But for the moment,

you know what our operational figure remains 20,000. But we started the fixing and the registration so every day will have you knows we see a new

situation unfolding.

KINKADE: So 20,000 refugees, so far, many more expected in the coming days. You mentioned in the pre-registration of these refugees arriving into Chad.

What comes next? How much support is there for these refugees fleeing?

CASTRO: So I mean, you can imagine these are much marginalized areas of the country in Chad, so very close to the border with very small villages that

do not have any facility, so any access to any service.

And so for the moment, the plan now of UNHCR, together with partners is to provide the humanitarian -- immediate humanitarian assistance to the people

at the border. Because you know, we have a lot of women, lots of children, they have nowhere to stay basically they stay on the trees.

So we are organizing a humanitarian assistance center, we register at the moment to the person who is registered, we provide some food and we provide

some basic non-food items at the same time, we are struggling to find water, but we are trying to provide water because water was the first and

most important need.

And so in fact, we have mobilized the international NGOs. We are working with IRC. We are working with Premier Regions and the other MSF. There is a

big mobilization within the UN family but also with the NGOs, because the government has no means to take care of them. So this is why -- let's say

the beginning we are getting organized.

And now we're to the next step is going to be to move this population voluntarily, of course, but to move them to camps that exist in the

country. I want to remind you that there are already 400,000 Sudanese refugees in Chad in 13 refugee camps.

So at the beginning, we'll try to move them to the existing camps but we expected to have to create a new refugee camps which is an operation that

is extremely costly of course, as you can well imagine. So for the moment we are mobilizing all possible, you know resources but we will be coming up

very quickly with an appeal to the international community because once again the funds are starting to be short.

[11:10:00]

KINKADE: And I understand I mean, you mentioned you're working with other NGOs. But you're also working with other governments in the region. What

sort of financial aid and other support are they offering?

CASTRO: For the moment, no, for the moment, we are preparing to do together with the government of Chad that we are going to launch an appeal for

support. And that is going to be probably next week is going to be an interagency appeal for the needs of the refugees that are already in the

country, but also the ones that are expected to come very soon. So we really hope that, indeed that the situation will mobilize donors and

countries represented in Chad.

KINKADE: All right, we'll leave it there for now. Laura Lo Castro from the UN Refugee Agency in Chad we really appreciate your time and wish you and

your team all the very best.

CASTRO: Thank you.

KINKADE: And for our viewers, be sure to go to our website for much more news and analysis on Sudan. There's a must read story up right now and

Sudan's warring generals and why some analysts say the West miscalculated over their true ambitions, setting the stage for what is this bloody

conflict we're seeing right now. That's at cnn.com on your computer. You can also go through the CNN app on your Smartphone. There are also ways

that you can make a difference there.

Well, is there new hope for talks in Ukraine? Still ahead on "Connect the World" what China's President had to say in a call with his Ukrainian

counterpart? We'll tell you how Russia reacted. Also the Kremlin's fiercest critic tries to play down life in solitary confinement as he faces more

trials in Russia.

His daughter has been speaking to CNN will have her view next. And the world watched in horror as Kabul Airport came under attack two years ago.

Now a crucial new update from the White House the details coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: One of the Kremlin's most outspoken critics could end up in prison for decades. A spokesperson for jailed opposition figure Alexey Navalny

says he faces two new trials in Russia, one on charges of extremism the other terrorism. His daughter says prison officials are denying him food.

CNN's Anchor and Chief U.S. Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto has been speaking with Navalny's daughter and joins us now live from Washington.

Good to have you with us, Jim, and we appreciate you've had this conversation with Navalny's daughter. What is she saying about the sort of

conditions that he is facing right now?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, their family concerns are severe now. This is already a Russian regime that is attempted

to poison him to death with Novichok and now you have him in a Penal colony where according to his daughter Daria.

[11:15:00]

He's being denied food that they have prison food and then they have the ability to buy food at the canteen there because the prison food is not

particularly good or sufficient. But she says that a new rule he's operating under is our limits to that food as well as demeaning activities

like letting him buy the food and then destroying it in front of his own eyes. Have a listen to what she said to me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAIRA NAVALNAYA, ALEXEY NAVALNY'S DAUGHTER: One of my dad's attorneys has confirmed that according to the new rules that they specifically drew up

for my dad, he is now illegally limited to the amount of food that he can purchase in the canteen, which doesn't seem like this big of a problem.

But the food and the Russian prison system was bad and my dad has had some problems with losing weight. And now the situation has gotten so ridiculous

that he buys the food which is you know, oats. It's nothing it's not that he was sure it's and he fights the oats, that oats are brought to him shown

to him and then are just destroyed so he can't eat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: And of course the concern is his weight has been dropping and there are concerns that this may be the intention right Lynda to impact his

health so much that he doesn't survive his time in that Penal colony.

Of course this is happening is there's yet another -- it's called a trial but the family does not believe that this is at all a functioning legal

system there a trial for additional charges which would then lengthen his time behind bars and frankly that the sad fact is Lynda, they're fearful

that he won't survive that time behind bars.

KINKADE: Yes, they're really obviously trying to make him weak as he faces potentially decades behind bars. Jim Sciutto, good to have you with us.

Thanks so much for sharing that interview with us.

SCIUTTO: Thank you Lynda.

KINKADE: We're doing get your hopes up for peace talks in Ukraine that's Russia's message after China said it was sending an envoy to Ukraine to

work on a political settlement. Today, China's President Xi Jinping talked with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the first time since

Russia invaded Ukraine.

Mr. Xi of course met with Russian President Vladimir Putin last month. And along the frontlines in Southern Ukraine a tense and uncertain waiting game

is unfolding around Zaporizhzhia where Ukrainian forces say Russian troops are on the move and civilians are being evacuated from Russian held areas

ahead of an expected counter offensive by Ukraine. But exactly when and where that might happen is still anybody's guess. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh

reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Change is in the air. But here in -- Russia is the same and its intensity

and clumsiness of bombing. It's not clear if this tiny town is a launch pad for Ukraine's counter offensive, but Moscow pounds it just to be sure.

A similar story here too on a riverbank near Kherson the reportedly Ukrainian forces may be crossing into occupied areas. Their officials

claiming "Impressive results" on Tuesday, a Russian airstrike hit even though it's unclear what they struck.

Ukraine's otherwise kept quiet about its big assault despite some opaque social media videos suggesting movement. Russian troops are according to

one Ukrainian official from the occupied town of Melitopol, definitely on the move.

IVAN FEDOROV, MELITOPOL, UKRAINIAN MAYOR: A lot of you see that they relocated to them make two great big bases for Russian troops. All of these

bases located on a seaside or is obviously more than hundred kilometers from the front line.

WALSH (voice over): He joked about how common accidents are there for Russians, one overturning this launcher, especially on the railway, vital

for military supplies.

FEDOROV: Made the three weeks there is no electricity on the railway. And they use old diesel trains. And a few days ago, something happened with

diesel trains and it was a great fire and now there is no diesel.

WALSH (voice over): When you say something happened you mean there was an explosion and you know something about that?

FEDOROV: Something happened.

WALSH (voice over): We spoke to one local man who fled the city four days ago. Proper Russian troops aren't there yet. It's just a newly mobilized

who would not fight if they weren't threatened by being shot failed discipline. Everyone local suspects everyone else if something even people

who would drink have vodka with you can't talk to you now.

[11:20:00]

Still, Moscow keeps up with what it calls evacuations. This is another episode of Ukrainian children being sent to what Russia calls safety. Here

43 from an area right in the path of the counter offensive, packed off to Moscow's ally Belarus for a two-week break.

Others in the past were offered a similar trip, but held for months. Ukraine has said 20,000 have been deported already. And it's led to a war

crimes indictment against Russian President Vladimir Putin. It's unclear what comes next for them. And the town in the crosshairs they leave behind

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, it was an attack that horrified the world coming right as Western nations may they chaotic withdrawals from Afghanistan. Now the

White House says the mastermind of the 2021 bombing of Kabul Airport has been killed by the Taliban. Though he was not mentioned by name, it's

widely believed the White House was referring to the Head of the so-called ISIS-K group, an affiliated organization active in Afghanistan.

The attack left 13 American service members and more than 170 Afghans dead. Oren Liebermann has been following the reaction and joins us now from the

Pentagon. So, Oren, the mastermind behind the Kabul attack that left these 13 U.S. servicemen dead, these 170 Afghans killed. He's now dead, killed by

the Taliban. How is the Pentagon reacting? What are they saying?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's interesting, we got a statement fairly late last night from the Defense Department which says

that the United States had no role in this operation, or whatever happened there that led to the death of the senior ISIS-K leader. So that's telling

in and of itself that there was no co-ordination or co-operation with the Taliban, at least according to the Defense Department, in what led to the

death of this ISIS-K leader.

Although the White House didn't say when this had happened, DOD saying this happened sometime in early April. What's unclear is how exactly the Taliban

killed this senior ISIS-K leader; whether it was a targeted attack they were going after this leader or whether it was simply infighting between

ISIS-K and the Taliban.

Last month, it was General Erik Kurilla, the Commander of U.S. Central Command who said the ISIS-K has been carrying out more attacks throughout

the region in which they are active, that is Afghanistan and some of the surrounding countries. But also, that their goal was to attack U.S.

interests outside of Afghanistan, although ultimately it says they'd like to carry out an attack on the U.S. homeland.

They are far from being able to do so and would more likely try to target U.S. interests abroad. Broadly speaking, that seeks to ISIS-Ks intent, but

the White House saying this is one of several senior ISIS-K leaders who have been killed since the beginning of the year.

Even those who are critical of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan have praised the death of this senior ISIS-K leader. For example, Representative

Michael McCaul, the Republican Head of the House Foreign Relations Committee says that this is one terrorist dead and that itself is a good

thing.

But it doesn't absolve the Biden Administration from the responsibility of how the withdrawal from Afghanistan was handled, and the deaths of the 13

U.S. service members and more than 170 Afghans in that suicide bombing and the closing days of the withdrawal.

In fact, CNN also spoke with a father of one of the Marines who was killed in that attack, who had largely the same sentiment. It's good that the

world got rid of a terrorist in this case. But again, what he wants to see is more accountability, more responsibility taken from not only the White

House, but also the Pentagon and the State Department, Lynda.

KINKADE: Yes, and of course, Oren, just talk to us more about given the fact that the U.S. is now out of Afghanistan. How difficult, how

challenging it is to gather intelligence for the U.S. and its allies, on ISIS-K, on other terrorism related groups right now, given they don't

really have a presence there?

LIEBERMANN: It's much more difficult because it has to be done essentially, from above, spy satellites and drones flown in from far away and what the

Biden Administration has called, it's over the horizon capability. They point to a very small number of actions that the U.S. has taken the

targeted killing, the assassination of Zawahiri in Kabul several months ago. But there isn't much more to look at in terms of kinetic activity that

the Biden Administration has carried out since the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

And General Kurilla again, the Commander of U.S. Central Command has pointed out, it is much harder to gather Intel to act on that Intel now

that the U.S. is out. So that remains one of the ongoing challenges for the military and more broadly for the U.S.

KINKADE: Oren Liebermann for us at the Pentagon, good to have you with us. Thanks so much. Well, still to come, getting out while they can. Still

ahead, people fleeing Sudan as a precarious ceasefire is about to go into its final day we're going to go live from one of their stop off points when

we return. Stay with us. You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:25:00]

KINKADE: Welcome back to "Connect the World". I'm Lynda Kinkade, good to have you with us. Well, your headlines this hour. The presidents of China

and Ukraine talk today for the first time since the Ukraine war began. Volodymyr Zelenskyy described their phone call as long and meaningful.

Xi Jinping says China will send a special envoy to Ukraine to help facilitate talks. The Russian Foreign Ministry and the White House are both

skeptical about any negotiations. Vladimir Putin's most famous critic could spend the rest of his life in a Russian prison. The spokesperson for jailed

opposition leader Alexei Navalny says he faces two new trials in Russia, one on charges of extremism, the other terrorism.

If convicted of both Navalny could end up with a combined sentence of 65 years behind bars. The United States says the Taliban has killed the leader

of an ISIS affiliate that was behind the horrendous attack on Kabul airport almost two years ago. 13 American service members were killed as well as

more than 170 Afghans.

The terror leader had been released from prison only days earlier when the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. Well, countries are scrambling to get

their citizens to safety while a ceasefire appears to be at least partly holding in Sudan. His evacuees are arriving in Saudi Arabia by ferry.

Foreign nationals are leaving by the hundreds before the truce expires on Thursday. Thousands of Sudanese of course are also trying to find their way

out. The first off for many of these evacuees is Djibouti, where our Sam Kiley is right now. Sam, good to have you with us! So, tens of thousands of

people are fleeing Sudan right now, foreign nationals as well as Sudanese. Explain what you've been seeing.

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lynda, that what has been going on during this period of a sort of ceasefire, in which there

has been quite a lot of violence, particularly in Khartoum, but enough of a permissive environment, as far as certainly the British and other

authorities are concerned to continue with evacuation flights of their citizens.

Those are the international passport holders from the United Kingdom and in numerous other countries. France has pretty much finished theirs. They say

the Germans have finished theirs in evacuating relatively small numbers in the hundreds of their own citizens and other people who make it to those

evacuation points.

Americans are not conducting any evacuations at the moment saying that they don't think it's safe enough to use an aircraft encouraging their citizens

to remain in hiding in place. Now there could be some 16,000 Americans in Sudan.

[11:30:00]

But at the same time, there is a very significant movement of people 20,000 people from Sudan into a neighboring Chad, very large numbers have also

moved, many of them already refugees from South Sudan actually moving back into South Sudan. There have also been significant movements into Egypt and

into Ethiopia.

Most striking images have emerged of pictures rather of a video of people arriving in Jeddah because now Port Sudan is becoming the focus for

evacuation certainly by ship. The problem with that is, of course, you've got to get to Port Sudan. That's a 500-mile, 800-kilometer journey from

Khartoum.

But a French frigate has docked there successfully taking 500 people, more than 2000 people were taken out by the Saudis, among them, a relatively

small number of Saudi citizens have big international movement there. The United States sending three warships to Port Sudan, Britain sending two

doesn't seem that there'll be any real prospect of some kind of military intervention wouldn't be necessary since the authorities in Port Sudan are

cooperating.

It seems very efficiently with evacuation efforts. The real problem there, then there is people getting to Port Sudan, of course, above all, you've

now got a massive population of Sudanese who are facing the prospect of renewed fighting when the ceasefire such as it is, ends in about 24 hours,

Lynda.

KINKADE: And it's not the only problem facing Sudan right now. We have been speaking about this lab that has been seized by one of the warring parties

that has huge fears for the pathogens that could escape polio, cholera, measles, what more can you tell us about that?

KILEY: Well, this has fallen into the hands of one of the warring parties, the W.H.O. World Health Organization is concerned that if there's fighting

in that National Laboratory, if there is a compromise of the biosecurity, then there could be a leak of these pathogens.

Now, the pathogens they're talking about, as you rightly point out with polio, measles and cholera, the last two are endemic anyway, in Sudan.

Polio has been pretty much eradicated or entirely eradicated from Sudan, although it's resurgent in one or two other African countries.

So, if that were to get out, that would be extremely bad news for the polio eradication programs and bad news, indeed, for anybody contracting it. The

other two are less of an immediate worry, because particularly cholera is in any case endemic.

And if it were to get a grip, it could do so on its own. But clearly if it got out of that laboratory and began infecting people that could accelerate

a cholera outbreak. And cholera takes a grip very, very strongly on exhausted vulnerable people who have limited access to clean water. And

that would define everybody in Khartoum and much of the rest of Sudan at the moment, Lynda.

KINKADE: Yes, huge fears there, Sam Kylie for us in Djibouti. Good to have you on the story for us covering those developments. Thank you. I want to

get you up to speed on some other stories on our radar right now. And Singapore has executed a man convicted of trying to traffic one kilogram of

cannabis.

Human rights activists, the European Union and the U.N. are all condemning the sentence. Singapore has some of the world's harshest drug laws, while

many other countries are adopting more lenient approaches to cannabis. Iranian state media reports a senior cleric was shot and killed in northern

Iran.

Ayatollah Abbas Ali Soleimani had been a representative that of the Supreme Leader and would eventually have helped pick his replacement. Three others

were wounded in the attack. The suspect is in custody. German and British fighter jets intercepted three Russian aircraft over the Baltic Sea.

The German military says the Russian planes were in international airspace without transponder signals. Germany and the UK are patrolling the region

as part of their NATO commitments. Republicans are using AI to paint a bleak picture of what America could look like if Joe Biden wins re-

election.

On the moments after Mr. Biden announced he would seek a second term, the Republican National Committee released a video depicting dystopian future

for America under Biden. It includes computer generated images of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Economic chaos from bank failures and drug fueled

crime, making U.S. cities unlivable.

With more on the artificial intelligence at work here, let's bring in CNN's Clare Duffy. Good to see you, Clare. This is an incredible ad, this AI

generated political ad, the first time we've seen an election ad like this. It certainly looks like a clip from a far-fetched movie.

[11:35:00]

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH WRITER: That's right, you know, these AI images have become really convincing, really real looking over the past year or so. And

the thing about this, it's so interesting is that, you know, political ads have used sort of manipulated imagery for a long time. But AI tools have

made it so much faster, so much cheaper, so much easier to create these kinds of images.

And experts say that AI generated audio and video is not far behind. Now look, in this case, Republicans acknowledged the fact that AI was used for

this image. But the thing is that the big question for me is that what happens if this technology falls into the hands of bad actors with a

political agenda who don't wish to disclose that AI was used. And so, I think there's a big risk going into this election cycle of AI generated

imagery, really sort of misleading people, especially online.

KINKADE: And that, I mean, that is a real concern, especially given that we've already dealt with the misinformation campaigns of previous

elections. We've also been speaking clear in recent weeks about other AI generated images, of course, also the song, the Drake and The Weekend song

that were pulled from Spotify.

And then the photograph that won the Sony World Photography Contest, the pace of this technology is incredibly fast. Is there any regulation right

now?

DUFFY: There isn't. And you know, even some of the experts and some of the executives of companies working on this technology have acknowledged the

fact that in a lot of ways, this technology is sort of moving faster and evolving faster than humans can keep up. And at this point, regulators are

really only in the early stages of starting to acknowledge that they need to get a handle on this.

But as we've seen with other technologies, social media, for example, it can take a long time for regulators and lawmakers to, you know, get enough

of an understanding of how the technology works and of the potential harms to begin to regulate it. So, it seems like it's still a far way off.

KINKADE: Yes, it certainly -- it's hard to keep pace with it really. Good to see you again. Clare Duffy thanks so much. Well, I want to take you back

to the White House right now where a high stakes bilateral talks are underway. The meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and his South Korean

counterpart President Yoon Suk-Yeol comes amid ongoing provocations from North Korea.

China's growing influence and of course, that recent leak of Pentagon documents. Now the discussions will be followed by a joint news conference.

The two leaders are also set to unveil a new agreement in response to the North Korean nuclear threat.

Senior Biden Administration officials say the so-called Washington declaration is meant to help boost U.S. South Korean cooperation on

military training, information sharing and strategic asset movements. Let's take a listen to what they had to say.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Mr. President, a friend, we're honored to celebrate with you the 70th anniversary of our alliances

with you with Korea. And the President Eisenhower said all those years ago, he said, "Security of an individual nation in a free world depends upon the

security of his partners".

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

BIDEN: And today I'm proud to say Mr. President, I think that our partnership is ready to take on any challenges you may face. We see it in

Indo Pacific, where alliance is the linchpin of regional security and prosperity.

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

BIDEN: And we see it. We see an Indo Pacific where our alliance was the linchpin of that security. We see it in our defense of democratic values

from the ROK leading the next summit for democracy, through our shared commitment to stand with Ukraine as a defense democracy against Russia's

assault.

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

BIDEN: We'd also say in the way we're doubling down on our cooperation as allies, even as the DPRK ramps up its challenges.

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

BIDEN: And we see it in our growing economic cooperation, ROK businesses are investing billions in United States together for building the future

everything from electric vehicles and batteries to solar power to semiconductors.

[11:40:00]

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

BIDEN: Mr. President, I want to thank you and your courageous, principled diplomacy with Japan was strengthened our trilateral partnership makes an

enormous difference.

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

BIDEN: I'm looking forward to our meeting today and most importantly, I'm looking forward to the future our country will forge together. Thank you

for being here.

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

YOON SUK YEOL, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT: Mr. President, thank you very much for your warm welcome once again. It is indeed meaningful for me to talk to

you here at The Oval Office. This is the very place where the presidents of the United States strive to realize a nation that embodies the spirit of

the constitution written by --.

I suppose that many important decisions regarding the Republic of Korea were also made at this office. I believe I was only able to be here today

as a consequence of all those moments of history.

The journey of the ROK USA last over the past seven years proves that our predecessors' decisions were right and wise.

Korea rose from the ashes of war and has become one of the leading countries of the international community now the ROK U.S. alliance is not

only the linchpin of peace and stability on the Korean peninsula, but also across the globe.

Mr. President, our alliance is an alliance of values based on our shared universal values of freedom and democracy. It is not a contractual

relationship of convenience only seeking for interest guided by our shared values, our alliances everlasting partnership. The ROK U.S. alliance is

also resilient, together we can resolve any issues between us, do a close consultation.

This is the reason that the ROK U.S. alliance is now transforming into a true global alliance. Mr. President, attempts to alter status quo by force,

supply chain fragmentation and disruption, challenges in food and energy security are threatening global peace and stability.

[11:45:00]

As a value alliance we kept together play a critical role in navigating through all these challenges Mr. President. Mr. President, our summit talks

today will set a historic milestone for the alliance marching a new towards the peace and prosperity of the world as a global alliance.

BIDEN. All right, thank you all.

KINKADE: U.S. President and South Korean President there at the White House just a few moments ago. Well, still to come here on "Connect the World"

banks need deposits to survive, but one U.S. bank says its deposits are drying up. Well, that could mean for the entire banking industry in just a

moment.

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KINKADE: Welcome back, I'm Lynda Kinkade. Good to have you with us. Well, Brazil's ex-President Jair Bolsonaro has just wrapped up his testimony

before Federal Police. He's being investigated for his role in the January 8 riots. Those riots shook the country just moments after the far-right

Bolsonaro lost the presidential election and President Lula da Silva took office.

Thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalized government buildings, including the Supreme Court and presidential palace. He has

denied any responsibility. Journalist Julia Vargas joins us now from Sao Paulo with more on this. Good to see Julia. So, Bolsonaro's testimony is

just wrapped. The big question is whether he cited this violence, what did he have to say?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, JOURNALIST: Well, we do know that today's testimony centered around one specific post Lynda. It's supposed that the president,

former president shared and then deleted from his Facebook account, it was approached by someone else that he was trying to according to his

attorneys; they told us that right after his testimony he was trying to send to a private WhatsApp channel, his personal file.

And then accidentally shared this one post on to his profile on Facebook where he has millions of followers. That post Lynda called into question

the integrity of voting machines in Brazil and also the result of the election. So that's what happened to date. Today's testimony was centered

on this one post, but there are many other threads, that will certainly be part of this investigation.

Bolsonaro wasn't trying to hide how he felt about the election, the election system in Brazil over the past few months, almost going back to a

year. It's hard to pinpoint when he started to ramp up the rhetoric saying that the Supreme Court was siding with one party or another asking whether

paper ballots would be put into place.

And saying that he wouldn't accept the result of the elections if paper ballots weren't implemented something that Brazil by the way hasn't done

for many, many years. There's also a very important document that was found, a draft document that was found in his justice minister home after

January 8.

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That called for it was a draft decree that proposed a coup to bring back the military kind of imposing a state of military as the president was

still out of the country. President Lula had just been, instead of using Nazi rule that Silva had just been sworn in.

And you remember Bolsonaro left the country just days before Lula was inaugurated, he skipped inauguration again, taking another page out of

Donald Trump's playbook and left for Florida. There's also a question here. What was he doing Florida?

Why did he leave at that time and not participate in this traditional handing over of power, the peaceful transition of power that we see in

western democracies? Instead, he left for Florida. And the Justice Minister that wrote the draft decree that I just spoke about, also was in Florida at

some point.

So, we expect those points to be part of this investigation in further days because his attorney said that the president, the former president has made

himself available for further questioning, even though today's session only lasted about two hours in Brasilia, this is what we can expect to see as

the investigation unfolds.

There are many other people on the investigation. 1300 were arrested and another hundred are starting to be looked at by the Supreme Court, Lynda.

KINKADE: Certainly, interesting watching this play out, we will continue to follow it. Julia Vargas Jones, good to have you on the story. Thank you.

Well, Microsoft's nearly $70 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard has been blocked by UK regulators. The British antitrust watchdog says the deal

would harm competition in cloud gaming.

Shortly after that ruling Microsoft saying "We remain fully committed to this acquisition and we will appeal". Activision Blizzard CEO meanwhile,

calling it far from the final word on this deal. Well, there are growing signs that first republic bank in the U.S. could be edging close to

collapse.

First Republic says its customers pulled their deposits out of the bank at a staggering rate during the first quarter deposits falling by more than 40

percent. Well, that news sent its stock tumbling yet again hitting a record low. The bank stock price has been near $150 per share less than two months

ago. It's now trading around six.

Our Business Correspondent Rahel Solomon is tracking the story and joins us now live from New York, good to see Rahel. So, this is a new record low for

first republic bank virtually in free-fall.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Lynda, good to be with you. Look, shares had been on a tumble since March. And we know of course what

happened in March, right, the fall of Silicon Valley Bank. And the beginning of what had become a bit of a banking crisis here in the U.S. and

even beyond.

So, the concern, of course, after this Monday, essentially is when the company reported earnings and we can show you the stock performance over

the last 12 months or so you can see that before March, the stock price had been relatively stable and then of course, the follow up SVB.

The concern here of course, beyond just the fact that deposits fell at a staggering rate, as you pointed out, is that first republic and SVB, the

failed SVB have a very similar profile. A case in point they have very concentrated depositor base, and they have a lot of deposits on their

books.

SVB had a lot of deposits on its books that were beyond the insured level $250,000 for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. And so, the concern

is could first republic face a similar fate as SVB did? And so that is really the concern. I should say that as of March, the company First

Republic had about two thirds of those uninsured deposits on its books.

The company said this week, that level is actually closer to 27 percent. So, what do they do now, Lynda? While the company said it is trying to

strengthen its balance sheet with different measures, we can show you here slashing headcount up to 25 percent, reducing executive compensation,

condensing office space, cutting back on non-essential projects, all of these things.

But will it be enough? Investors don't appear convinced as the stock continues to fall. There's some reporting that the bank is also looking for

a rescue deal and that the U.S. government is not willing, at least not at this point to intervene. And as at least as it stands right now, it looks

like there's more trouble ahead.

KINAKDE: Yes, certainly, it's going to take a lot of restructuring to kind of help the situation. Rahel Solomon, good to have you with us. Thank you.

What would have been the world's first private Moon landing appears to have failed? The Japanese company behind the HAKUTO, our lander says it has not

been able to make contact with the craft since its landing attempt almost 24 hours ago.

[11:55:00]

They fear it crashed into the lunar surface. The lander was carrying a rover built in Dubai which was the first Arab built moon in spacecraft.

Only the U.S. Soviet Union and China have been able to successfully land a craft on the moon. Well, much more up next, stay with us, we'll be back in

just a moment.

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