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Palestinian Gunman Kill Four Israelis; Zelenskyy: More Long-Range Weapons Needed; Race Against Time; Biden Angers China by Comparing Xi to "Dictators"; Call to Earth: The Edge of Extinction; Reaction to Plea Deal for President's Son. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired June 21, 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)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: This hour hundreds of Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank. At least one Palestinian man
is dead violence in the West Bank surging this week following raids by the IDF in Jenin and after the killing of four Israeli settlers on Tuesday.
Also in your headlines this hour there's new hope in the search for a missing submarine after banging was heard by rescuers, additional air and
sea resources are being deployed to assist in the ongoing search near the wreck of the Titanic.
Ukraine says it wants to make bigger steps in its counter offensive. Zelenskyy says Ukraine needs success on the battlefield to get more aid
from its international partners. And self-proclaimed misogynist online influencer, Andrew Tate appeared in a Romanian court today after being
indicted on rape and human trafficking charges.
Palestinians are calling for urgent intervention from the U.S. and other countries after a spike in deadly violence in the West Bank. The latest
outbreak happening a short time ago the Palestinian Health Ministry says a man was killed when hundreds of Israeli settlers attacked his village.
And a Palestinian official says settlers attacked other areas in the West Bank overnight injuring dozens of people. This deadly escalation sparked by
the shooting deaths on Tuesday of four Israeli settlers by Hamas militants. Hadas Gold back with us this hour from Jerusalem, Hadas?
HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes Becky, it's been quite a worrying few days starting with that Israeli military arrest rate in Jenin
on Monday that turned into a much larger and lengthy gun battle that involves everything from militants using roadside IED bombs to the Israeli
military using an Apache helicopter to provide gun coverage.
Then we have the Hamas attack that killed those four Israelis wounding four others them saying that's directly in response to what happened in Jenin
and then the settlers overnight and into today just even the last few minutes last few hours, we're seeing more settler attacks, mostly
concentrated on villages around the Israeli settlement of Eli, where that attack that killed those four Israelis took place.
We are hearing, as you noted, of one Palestinian man being shot and killed. It's not clear yet who was responsible, whether it was any sort of police
or military or whether it was the settlers who were there. We were there actually at the scene of this shooting attack and some of the villages that
had been burned talking to villagers.
And we actually as we were leaving, we were being warned that as the funerals were taking place for at least one of the settlers who was killed,
that there could be more violence after the fact and that turned out to be true. But take a look at what some of the locals there told us earlier
today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GOLD (on camera): The attack started here at this Hamas restaurant that's part of a gas station complex just outside the borders of the Eli
settlement in the occupied West Bank. The attackers came to this restaurant shooting through to the restaurant, killing the first of the three victims
including two teenagers.
The fourth victim was killed at the gas station that's just in front of us. Israeli officials saying that another four people were injured and say it
was the work of two Hamas operatives who came here in a car.
The first of the gunman was shot and killed by an armed civilian who happened to be on site and the second gunman managed to get away steal a
car that triggered an hour's long manhunt by Israeli forces before he was cornered and shot and killed as well just north of here.
But here at the scene, we are still seeing evidence of the bloody scene from the night before. We are seeing bullet casings on the ground medical
gloves medical equipment as well as bloodstains and here on the restaurant itself you can still see it is riddled with bullet holes, including this
one bullet hole that managed to make its way through and smash this window. The Mayor of Settlement Ari Elmaliach said they want the Israeli government
and army to take greater action now.
ARI ELMALIACH, MAYOR OF ELI: The cell division in the last 15, 20 years nothing would happen you nothing. This gas station Arabs, Jewish everyone
come to buy or to buy it from the soul go to buy from the homeless everybody's.
GOLD (on camera): Just up the road villager Nigel Weiss says she also hasn't seen violence like this in decades. Her house was damaged during the
ensuing Israeli settler attacks.
[11:05:00]
NAJLA AWAIS, RESIDENT OF AL-LUBBAN ASH-SHARQIYA: We felt last night danger which we couldn't describe terrified like during the days of the Second
Intifada, which was the last time our house was attacked.
GOLD (on camera): Hours after those attacks on the gas station and restaurant that killed those four Israelis, Israeli settlers rampage
through Palestinian villages like this one of Al-Lubban Ash-Sharqiya (ph) burning as you can see dozens of cars, parts of these cars just completely
melting off.
In fact, we're here the morning after, and there is still smoke smoldering from the fires. We've been speaking to villagers here that say their homes
were damaged. Palestinian officials say that at least 37 Palestinians were injured mostly as a result of stone throwing.
Villagers were talking to here saying they haven't seen violence like this against their property against their homes since the days of the Second
Intifada, and that they now live in fear of what can come.
There's now a big push especially on the right wing of the Israeli a political spectrum and the right wing of this current government for a much
bigger and broader military operation in the occupied West Bank than what we've seen in the past that could lead people here fear to even more
violence.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLD: And Becky, we just heard from the Israel Defense Forces regarding the latest settler attacks in one of the towns near that settlement not far
from where we actually filed the report. They're saying that the IDF condemns the serious incidents of violence and destruction of property,
saying that the Israel police have now opened an investigation.
But they have not yet made any mention of the Palestinian who was shot and killed or of the about 10 or 11 others who were reportedly injured as a
result of the settler attacks just today, Becky.
ANDERSON: What happens next?
GOLD: Well, the big question right now is whether the Israeli military and the Israeli government will push forward with a much broader military
operation. And that is really where the question lies. We're hearing from figures like Itamar Ben-Gvir, the National Security Minister, the far right
flank of this Israeli government.
And actually the Mayor of Eli told me himself, this is what he wants to. He actually told me that he is disappointed in Benjamin Netanyahu in the Prime
Minister, because he feels as though not enough is being done. There's a question you know, we've been seeing these daily raids taking place by the
Israeli military.
They say they're targeting militants before they can carry out attacks while they're stockpiling weapons. But now there is a push for something
much broader. And that's why I think you're hearing of a lot of people feeling as though they're already back into the Second Intifada, not only
because of the level of violence because of what they fear what they think might be happening with a much bigger Israeli military presence in the
occupied West Bank than what is currently already there.
ANDERSON: Hadas Gold is across the story for you. Thank you. Well, heavy fighting continues across areas of Sudan after the latest failed 72 hour
ceasefire. This video from the Sudanese Armed Forces shows soldiers firing RPGs at "Rapid Support Forces" in Khartoum.
The Doctors Union there says one of the main hospitals in Khartoum was attacked, damaging the rooms and the two ambulances were stolen. Previous
ceasefires in the past few months have not stopped what is a bloody conflict between the Sudanese army and that paramilitary group. The
fighting has forced millions of people to flee their homes.
And you can get that and more out of this region in our "Meanwhile in the Middle East Newsletter" it drops three times a week today, the newsletter
highlights this year's Arab youth survey which finds more young people view China as an ally of their countries in this region than the United States.
You can access that newsletter by scanning the QR code on the bottom of your screen. I'm going to be biased. It's my colleagues here who are behind
that newsletter and it is a jolly good read. Please sign up. Right now we are also watching for more developments in our other big story.
The hunt for the Titan Submersible cruise scaring the North Atlantic of Newfoundland in Canada say they heard bagging sounds on Tuesday propelled
by this new hope they are rushing to expand search efforts. The vessel carrying five people were missing on its descent to toward the Titanic's
wreckage on Sunday. CNN's Paula Newton picks up the story for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A sound of hope in the search and rescue of the missing submersible with five people on board according
to an internal U.S. government memo, sonar picked up banging sounds underneath the water Tuesday at 30 minute intervals.
TIM TAYLOR, PRESIDENT AND CEO, TRIBURON SUBSEA: Regular 30 minute intervals are a man-made thing. It's not a natural occurrence. It doesn't happen like
that in nature. It is a good sign of hope.
NEWTON (voice over): The memo was not clear as to when the banging was heard on Tuesday, or how long it lasted.
[11:10:00]
TAYLOR: So you can triangulate on noise. Again, it's only happening every 30 minutes. They only have a data update every 30 minutes, so if it was
happening every minute, it'd be a lot easier and lot faster.
NEWTON (voice over): However, time continues to be a critical factor as the vessel's oxygen supply dwindles.
JAMES FREDRICK, U.S. COAST GUARD: We will do everything in our power to effect a rescue.
NEWTON (voice over): So far, the U.S. Coast Guard says it has searched an area about the size of Connecticut.
FREDERICK: Getting salvage equipment on scene is a top priority.
NEWTON (voice over): The U.S. Navy is sending a flyaway deep ocean salvage system similar to the one pictured here for retrieving heavy underwater
items like the small submersible. Onboard OceanGate CEO and Founder Stockton Rush British Adventurer and Businessman Hamish Harding one of
Pakistan's richest men, British businessman Shahzada Dawood, and his 19 year-old-son Sulaiman Dawood and the vessel's pilot French Submariner and
Ex-Navy Officer Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
DAVID GALLO, SENIOR ADVISOR, RMS TITANIC: I was in a bind with anybody, it would be Paul-Henri Nargeolet, he would do everything he can and without
panic, to work his way out of that situation.
NEWTON (voice over): As the ongoing search and rescue continues we're learning of concerns in 2018 regarding the planned expedition of the
submersible to that Titanic wreckage site, in the letter obtained by "The New York Times" and addressed to the OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, the man
underwater vehicles committee of the marine technology society raised these concerns.
Our apprehension is that the current experimental approach adopted by OceanGate could result in the negative outcomes from minor to catastrophic
that would have serious consequences for everyone in the industry.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: CNN's Paula Newton reporting from Canada for you. Well ahead, Ukraine's President says he wants his country to make bigger steps in its
counter offensive. And one of his fighter pilots say these could help. In fact, he thinks F-16s could be the game changer for the entire war. More on
that is coming up.
(COMMECIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tells the British Prime Minister that his forces need more long range weapons to help fight the
Russians while its pilots plead for F-16s to help battle Russian air superiority.
Now this comes as Moscow claims its troops repelled Ukrainian attacks in the Zaporizhzhia region. Zelenskyy also telling the BBC wants Ukraine to
make bigger steps in its counter offensive.
[11:15:00]
Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister says troops are nearing their way forward meter by meter. Our Fred Pleitgen is in Kyiv. And you are keeping an eye on
what is happening both on the ground and these comments by Ukrainian pilots who say they need this F-16s.
And this is not a new call of course, it's not a call heated as of yet by the West by the U.S. and, and Western countries. But this is not new. This
is a call that the Ukrainians have been making for months. Fred, just tell us what the very latest is where you are?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, first of all, you're absolutely right. It is a call that the Ukrainians have been
making those pleas for that F-16s four months now. They say that they urgently need them.
And one of the things that we're finding though is that that call is becoming more urgent by the day. And one of the reasons for that is what
you mentioned, Becky that the Ukrainians are saying that right now, they literally know their way forward.
It's an extremely tough fight for them. And the main thing that they have to contend with and the main threat to their ground forces right now is
Russian air superiority. Its Russian jets in the air that are preventing in many cases, Ukrainian jets from operating near the front line.
And then of course, near the front line Russian combat helicopters and Russian jets as well that are able to bomb Ukrainian positions. That's why
the Ukrainian says they urgently need Western jets preferably they say F- 16s built by the United States here's what we're finding.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN (voice over): Ukrainian SU-25 attack aircraft given the goal to assault Russian positions against all the odds Ukraine's air force is still
very much in the fight pilot Alexei tells me.
PLEITGEN (on camera): Are you helping the ground forces now a lot in the south with counter offensive operations?
OLEKSIY, UKRAINIAN AIR FORCE: Yep, yep.
PLEITGEN (voice over): The missions extremely dangerous, especially for frontline attack aircraft. Ukraine's ace is trying to keep Russian air
defenses off balance.
OLEKSIY: We lost many young pilots from our brigade. This taught us to change something and day by day we try to fly not the same as yesterday.
PLEITGEN (voice over): While Kyiv says its counteroffensive is progressing the battles are tough and gains hard to come by. The biggest threat Ukraine
says Russian airpower, this video purporting to show a Russian combat helicopter taking out a Ukrainian vehicle.
The Ukrainian say Russian interceptor aircraft like the advanced SU-35 often stopped their old MIG-29 jets from operating near the front lines.
This MIG-29 pilot who asked us to hide his face and use only his call sign juice tells me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can be like a maverick. But these results the proper hardware you can't win.
PLEITGEN (voice over): The Ukrainian say they need F-16s from the U.S. and its allies to level the playing field and to fully utilize the air launch
missiles the U.S. has already given them. In between the taxing wartime missions pilots are already learning the basics of the F-16 hoping they'll
be able to fly them in the future.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are trying to improve our English skills. We are flying simulators. So at the moment we have like improvised simulators of
F-16 almost all bases.
PLEITGEN (voice over): The pilots say for them it's a matter of life and death. The attrition rate among combat aviators extremely high both Oleksiy
Squadron Leader and his wing men killed in combat he says.
OLEKSIY: When it's an explosion of your colleague my eyes in real time. It's a shock to -- it's a shocking picture. Yes. And is a really big
difficulty in this situation. It's how to sit in aircraft again, again and again and again.
PLEITGEN (voice over): But when the call comes, they say they will be ready and back in the seat taking the fight to the Russians.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN: So there you can see Becky the huge price that Ukraine's air force pilots and of course also so many others in the Ukrainian air force -
- in the Ukrainian Armed Forces are currently paying and this war in Ukraine.
The attrition rate not just of course, among pilots, but general among the Ukrainian military is one that throughout the course of this war has
already been very high. And we see that also as these counter offensive progresses. Ukrainians once again saying the progress that they're making
is very slow, very difficult to come by.
You have Vladimir Putin today saying that he thinks there's even a -- right now in Ukrainian offensive operations because the Russians are holding them
back.
[11:20:00]
And for the Ukrainians, they say getting their hands on Western jets would make a huge difference so that they could obviously be more effective in
the sky, but then also to keep their pilots alive, Becky.
ANDERSON: Fred Pleitgen is on the story for you out of Kyiv in Ukraine today, thank you, Fred, while Ukrainian forces are fighting in the moment.
Government, charity and business officials from dozens of nations are currently meeting in London, trying to help Ukraine planet's post war,
recovery whatever that is.
So far, billions of dollars in aid have been pledged including more than a billion from the U.S. to help rebuild Ukraine's power grid and other
critical infrastructure. Well, the Romanian judges adjourn the case of online influencer, Andrew Tate and his brother until Friday. Those men
appeared in court today, charged with human trafficking and rape.
On his way to court, Tate told reporters he believes in God and the justice system. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz has the very latest for you.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Tate brothers strolled into a courthouse on Wednesday after Romanian prosecutors indicted the pair and
two others on charges of human trafficking, rape and setting up a criminal organization. Despite the seriousness of these allegations, the brothers
didn't seem to be taking it seriously at all.
Tristan Tate seen smoking cigarette that carefully curated image of bravado on show, they continue to horrify and captivate. Take a look at who Andrew
Tate is.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREW TATE, BRITISH-AMERICAN MEDIA PERSONALITY: I do believe if I had to predict the future that they will charge me.
ABDELAZIZ (voice over): Another chapter in the saga of divisive social media influencer, Andrew Tate. Now he, his brother and two female Romanian
citizens have been indicted in Romania. Prosecutors say the charges are human trafficking, rape and setting up a criminal gang. The Tate brothers
and the women have been under house arrest during the criminal investigation for alleged abuses against seven women, accusations they have
denied.
But who is this self-proclaimed misogynist? Back in 2016, Andrew Tate found his first claim to notoriety when he was removed from the British reality
TV show, Big Brother with no public reason given.
TATE: You'll learn a lot more by being quiet.
ABDELAZIZ (voice over): In the years since Tate turned his attention to online creation where he shot to internet fame racking up at least 11.6
billion views on TikTok mostly for his views on masculinity, gender roles and wealth.
TATE: I don't think the world has ever been equal. I'm saying that the modern society we live in has been built by men. All the roads you see, all
the buildings you see everything around you men built.
ABDELAZIZ (voice over): Like this video where the former kick boxer speaks about his version of so-called equality.
TATE: You had a completely different role.
ABDELAZIZ (voice over): Tate rhetoric prompted concern from critics about his influence on teenage boys before being suspended by most major social
media networks last August for violating their policies. Controversies around Tate and his brother slowly became a legal issue as Romanian
prosecutors pursued claims of human trafficking and rape.
Just before his December arrest, Tate became embroiled in a Twitter spat with Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg over his car's emission.
TATE: I'm actually -- . Please bring me pizza and make sure that these boxes are not recycled.
ABDELAZIZ (voice over): Now as the brothers await trial, Tate's Twitter has since been reinstated, with more than 6.9 million followers reading his
every word. Commentators wonder whether it may take more than a clever tweet to change the tide.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ABDELAZIZ: Now, the judgment was adjourned to Friday, the brothers were in court for judges to discuss first of all their preventative detention,
they've been under house arrest. So what takes place with that and to set a trial date this case is expected to potentially take many years? But
meanwhile, Andrew Tate continues to draw eyeballs online.
He's tweeted dozens of times since the indictment was announced including one video which had racked up at least 4 million views for many parents for
those concerned about his influence. Every time he's in the headline, and seems to draw even more attention to his misogynistic views online. Salma
Abdelaziz, CNN, London.
ANDERSON: You're watching "Connect the World" with me Becky Anderson live for you from our programming hub here in the Middle East. It is 24 minutes
past seven in Abu Dhabi. Still ahead a possible sign of life, the search ramps up for the missing submersible in the North Atlantic. We are live in
region up next. And later a plea deal for the son of U.S. President Biden, not everyone is happy with the terms of that deal, more on that, after
this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:25:00]
ANDERSON: Right. You're with "Connect the World" with me Becky Anderson. Time here in Abu Dhabi is 27 minutes past seven. Wherever you are watching,
you're more than welcome. Your headlines this hour, banging sounds picked up by solar devices are now offering new hope as the rescue crews scour the
North Atlantic for that missing Titanic submersible.
Time now is running out and the U.S. Coast Guard says five people aboard the Titan have about a day's worth of oxygen left on the vessel. Multiple
outbreaks of violence are reported in the West Bank after the shooting deaths of four Israeli settlers by Hamas government on Tuesday.
The Palestinian health ministry says a man was killed today when Israeli settlers attacked a village. And another Palestinian official says that
settlers attacked Palestinians in spots across the northern West Bank overnight, injuring about three dozen people. Well a failed 72 hours
ceasefire in this Sudan is once again prompted a heavy fighting.
This video from the Sudanese Armed Forces reports to show soldiers celebrating after allegedly capturing rapid support forces vehicle in of
German. Previous these fires over the past few months have not stopped the conflict between Sudanese army on the one hand and the paramilitary Rapid
Support Forces or RSF. The fighting has forced millions to flee their homes.
Well, two former employees of the missing Titan sub operators say they voiced concerns years ago about the vessels initial design and safety.
These revelations come as more crews scour the North Atlantic after those banging sounds were heard underwater. The subs with five people on board
were missing on Sunday, while exploring the wreck of the Titanic.
CNN's Miguel Marquez joins us now from St. John's in Canada. Firstly, what's the latest on this rescue operation if indeed that is still what
this is?
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It very much is still, there was a Coast Guard ship that left just a few hours ago. It is
on its way to the rescue site now or to the area where they are searching. There was another large commercial ship, that horizon Arctic that left very
early this morning. It was carrying the equipment and gear from three U.S. military planes.
C-17 is very, very large military cargo planes that landed here in St. Johns and brought a ton of gear through quite literally if not many tons of
gear that were put on that ship to move out there.
[11:30:00]
They are the Canadian Coast Guard and other ships are now sweeping the bottom of the ocean using side sonar trying to get a sense of if that
submersible is down there, the banging that they thought they heard yesterday, but four hours half hour apart, they kept hearing banging. They
think it was something, they moved resources to that area, they put a remote operated vehicle down there to try to get to the source of that
banging, but they found nothing.
So they're going back to square one now putting more buoys in the water listening, and listening and listening and hoping that this comes to a
happy conclusion, Becky?
ANDERSON: What do we know about these safety concerns, Miguel?
MARQUEZ: So a lot of this was tied up and there are a couple of different things. That the employees sued and counter sued the company after they
were fired for raising concerns what they say was raising concerns about the safety of this particular capsule, it's a carbon fiber capsule, it has
been untested.
But maybe more importantly, the industry itself is a very small number of companies and individuals that do this sort of stuff. The industry itself
is sort of self regulates. They had sent a letter to OceanGate early on in the process of this, expressing concern about this vehicle and that it was
not up to standards, and they warned that it could have catastrophic results.
What we don't know is, this was back in 2018 or so, we don't know what steps OceanGate or others took to assuage or to address those concerns,
both from the employees and from the industry. So it's a bit of a gray area still, but there were certainly concerns raised very early on about the
construction, the material and the construction of this submersible and whether or not it would truly operate at these depths, Becky.
ANDERSON: Let's just be quite clear at this point. This is a huge operation at present. How long those are involved expected to carry on? We've been
told that as we understand it, this, this sub had some 96 hours' worth of oxygen. And we know that that is clearly running short at this point.
MARQUEZ: Yes, so by tomorrow morning, within the next 12, 20 hours or so, one would expect that they would run out of oxygen. That said it is not
clear what is happening down there. If they continue to hear noises, if they continue to get some sign of life from somewhere, you know, two miles
or more beneath the ocean, and then they will continue looking.
My sense is they want to find it no matter what, no matter how this has, whatever's played out or how this plays out, they want to find that
submersible and find out what happened to it. So they will keep looking at sounds like but right now there's great urgency.
You can even sense it here on the ground from people who come by and ask us what's happening and concerned about what if anybody is alive down there.
What they must be going through, it is pitch black, very, very cold and running out of oxygen. Just a very, very bleak picture of what these people
if they are alive are going through right now. Becky?
ANDERSON: Absolutely. Miguel, thank you. In the next hour on CNN, our own Tom Foreman, we'll take a closer look at those safety concerns surrounding
OceanGate's submersible. The New York Times says that experts both inside and outside the company warned of potential dangers as Miguel and I have
just been discussing, OceanGate has yet to comment more on what is this developing coverage at the top of the hour?
Well, China is lashing out at the U.S. after President Joe Biden compared his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping too when I quote him here dictators.
Biden made those remarks in unscripted comments at what was a fundraiser on Tuesday night. And of course, this comes just after U.S. Secretary of State
Antony Blinken's visit to Beijing earlier in the week to Thor.
What are increasingly tense relations between the two superpowers? China calling the comparison absurd and irresponsible thing amounts to and I
quote here "An open political provocation". CNN White House Reporter Kevin Liptak has been following this story for us and he joins me now from
Washington.
We've heard the perspective of those in Beijing. What's the White House saying about what happened and what was said?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: I think its notable Becky; the White House isn't clarifying these comments. They're not walking them back.
I did talk to a few officials here this morning. They were surprised that the president said what he said in a public setting. But they aren't
necessarily saying that he was wrong.
[11:35:00]
And now the president did make these comments in the backyard of a house. He was talking to democratic donors yesterday in California. And I'll just
read you a little bit what he said. It's not on camera. But he did say, the reason why Xi Jinping got very upset in terms of when I shot that balloon
down with two boxcars full of spy equipment in it, is he didn't know what was, it was there.
No, I'm serious. That's what a great embarrassment for dictators when they don't know what happened. And so, I think the president really going
further than he has previously in laying out his true view of his Chinese counterpart. And I think, you know, perhaps more notable than the content
of those comments is the timing coming.
As you said after the Secretary of State Antony Blinken is returning from China for what U.S. officials said were very constructive meetings,
including with President Xi that had really prefaced what U.S. official's hope is a thought and relations between the U.S. and China after they had
really deteriorated over the last several months.
And even President Biden has said that he is hopeful that he himself will meet President Xi in the coming months now whether these comments derail
all of that work that had been going on behind the scenes remains to be seen, as one U.S. official said to me this morning, that'll be up to China,
Becky.
ANDERSON: Kevin, always a pleasure. Thank you very much indeed. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in New York today. He is scheduled to lead
celebrations for the International Day of Yoga at the headquarters of the United Nations. And later this week, Mr. Modi will address the U.S.
Congress and will attend a state dinner hosted by President Joe Biden.
Well, it's been just over a month since U.S. officials braced for what they expected to be a significant influx of migrants as the pandemic era
immigration policy known as Title 42 came to an end. But in the week since the flow of people has slowed in the U.S. while a surge is taking place
instead, across the border in Mexico. CNN's David Culver has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): On the Texas Mexico border, U.S. law enforcement patrol the tranquil waters of the Rio Grande. The flow
of migrants here slowing to a trickle since Title 42 ended in May. On sidewalks in El Paso that last month were covered with migrants, today,
only a handful camped out.
But travel more than 500 miles south into places like Mexico City, and the numbers are rapidly rising, overwhelming for the Catholic nuns who run this
shelter. Sister -- says at night, every aspect of the shelter floor. Inside and outside covered with the thin mattresses you see stacked around us.
CULVER (on camera): Wow, the Mexico City, which is very far from the border, as she sees it, has now become a border town, but in the center of
Mexico.
CULVER (voice over): The migrants here spend their mornings trying to get an appointment with a U.S. asylum officer using the CBP One app. getting a
confirmed date, really impossible for some.
CULVER (on camera): You can tell it's crushing her and I said so what are you guys going to do and they said, just wait, wait for the date.
CULVER (voice over): Maria Jose Camacho and her husband -- from Venezuela arrived two weeks ago in Mexico with their four year old daughter living
here for the past several days.
CULVER (on camera): They feel like after Title 42 expired, that it's now much more difficult to try to cross.
CULVER (voice over): Title 42, a pandemic era immigration policy allowed U.S. officials to immediately expel migrants who crossed illegally without
processing their claims for asylum. Those same migrants would often try and try again until they got in. Now Title 8 back in full effect.
Sure it gives migrants the right to claim asylum. But those who fail to qualify, risk being banned from entering the U.S. for at least five years.
The result, migrants are flooding into Mexico where they then wait to figure out how they can get into the U.S.
CULVER (on camera): And you can see encampments have already taken up most of this little square here. You can see along the street, you've got an art
gallery, a nice restaurant. But then just turn the corner here and look down the sidewalk. You can see tents and families who have been set up for
days and weeks with nowhere else to go at this point.
[11:40:00]
CULVER (voice over): We drive an hour outside Mexico City, where a government run shelter is set up to handle the overflow. Officials tell us
most hear from Haiti, makeshift medical stations. This little girl is complaining of a sore throat. Her dad says she does not want to eat in five
days. They pass the time doing chores and playing sports.
Their cell phones sit in a web of chargers; battery power fuels their chances of getting an online CBP appointment. Eventually, they move on.
CULVER (on camera): So you can see these folks here are going to be boarding the bus. They're going to go meet with Mexican authorities and get
paperwork that allows them asylum in Mexico. Basically, they're trying to find more time so as to then continue on their journey to get closer to the
U.S. southern border. Eventually get an appointment with a U.S. asylum officer. And they hope enter the U.S. legally.
CULVER (voice over): Since Title 42 expired, migrant crossings are down. For now at least we visited Eagle Pass Texas, Mainstreet quiet. But Texas
Congressman Tony Gonzalez warns what we saw building up in Mexico, will push north.
REP. ANTHONY GONZALES (R-TX): So it's almost calm, I say calm, there's 800 apprehensions a day just in the Del Rio sector. On the other side of in the
Mexico side, it's just building up building up, the Cartel will adapt and then that will be the next thing that they send over.
CULVER (voice over): U.S. border officials warn as more migrants either failed to qualify for asylum or grow frustrated waiting, they're turning to
cartel controlled smugglers to get across. The congressman is proposing a bipartisan approach to counter that.
GONZALES: So I'm of the mindset stop sending them down that route, send them another route. Worked visas, makes sense to me remove the politics in
it, remove the, you have access to vote or have access to social services and say, hey, do you want to have a job? We have a job for you link up the
two.
CULVER (voice over): Back in Mexico City, we find Maria Jose and their daughter walking a busy commercial street carrying a sign and candies.
CULVER (on camera): We're a Venezuelan migrant family. And we're asking for your support.
CULVER (voice over): They tell me they're out here three hours, twice a day.
CULVER (on camera): She was a nurse in Venezuela and so, doing this resorting to having to sell things. It's different as she points out, but
if you'd rather do this than just ask for money.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CULVER: Now, given the buildup of migrants that we're seeing right now, in Mexico, one group in particular seeing this as an opportunity that is
Mexican cartel back smugglers. And we've seen in the past, of course, they've trafficked folks using the back of cars and trucks, in particular
containers from trucks.
Now, according to U.S. officials, they're seeing recent cases of migrants following smugglers into the U.S. by swimming through the Pacific Ocean at
night. Shows you just how increasingly desperate and dangerous some of these journeys are. David Culver, CNN.
ANDERSON: And nine Egyptians arrested over the migrant boat tragedy of Greece will remain temporarily in custody until their trial. The crew
members of that boat are facing human trafficking charges. They were arrested by Greek authorities after that boat capsized last week killing at
least 82 people, hundreds are still missing.
And we have a lot more on what is an incredibly important story online. CNN visits a remote mountain village in Pakistan where nearly two dozen
residents who boarded that boat, hoping for a better life remain unaccounted for. That is @cnn.com. And consider, you know, the idea that
the Mediterranean is effectively a morgue at this point.
This just in, there has been an apparent gas explosion in Paris, you're looking at the pictures just in -- . Here Paris city official says several
buildings have caught fire. We're watching the story closely. We will get you more details as we get them. An apparent gas explosion in Paris, these
images just in two hours, you can see the emergency services they're dealing with that incident.
We've got no more detail as of yet. The more we get of course; we will get that to you as soon as we have it here at CNN emergency services in Paris
after what is an apparent gas explosion there. Well, coming up, we see how a crate of 3000 Snails flying across the Atlantic could provide hope for
this species survival. That is after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:45:00]
ANDERSON: Right. Throughout this week here on "Connect the World", Call to Earth is featured looking at species facing the threat of extinction. Our
guest editor Gerardo Garcia has developed a reputation for pulling species back from the brink through a number of breeding and reintroduction
programs and he's based in Chester Zoo in the UK.
He's worked with Komodo dragons and Indonesia giant frogs in Montserrat and salamanders in Mexico. Today, though, we join him as he travels to Bermuda
to focus on some of the animal kingdom's less acclaimed members, have a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): In a small collection of shipping containers just outside Chester Zoo in the UK, Gerardo Garcia is looking
after a plethora of news, frogs, salamanders and snails. As Head of Ectotherms, he is in charge of almost 60 percent of the animals in the
entire zoo, but offered the creatures that have almost zero scientific information known about them.
GERARDO GARCIA, HEAD OF ECTOTHERMS, CHESTER ZOO: Bermuda snails in this case, what we tried at the beginning of the project is addressed about the
longevity, the lifespan of the animals, number of clutches they can produce, the diet it require, the marketing techniques that builds a full
portfolio of great bull toolbox of conservation that it helps with our partners are developing the best habitat in the world to release them back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Since 2013, Gerardo has carried out much of his field work in Bermuda with two native species of snail, the greater
and lesser Bermudan land snails.
GARCIA: So here they are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the ones that go into Bermuda?
GARCIA: Yes, -- rest of them snails are beside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we got in about 3000?
GARCIA: Yes, 3000.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A mix between adults and juveniles.
GARCIA: Yep.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Having grown up in the containers at Chester Zoo, the snails are now making the 3000 mile journey to Bermuda,
where Wildlife Ecologist Mark Outerbridge is waiting for them.
MARK OUTERBRIDGE, WILDLIFE ECOLOGIST, DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONEMENT, BERMUDA: Bermuda's biodiversity is has its roots, its origins with many other
islands. So we're talking about relatively small land area and in Bermuda's case, a very small land area in the middle of the ocean. And unfortunately,
we have evidence that we have lost species in Bermuda they are extinct.
One of my main roles in this job is to try and prevent further extinctions. I started with about 80 odd species; the list has now grown to over 300
that are on the protected species list.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Starting with only 60 of those snails, Gerardo's team has since bred and released more than 100,000, one of the
biggest wildlife reintroductions in history.
[11:50:00]
Now he's returning to one of the release sites, Trunk Island to check on their progress and work out if the area will be suitable for releasing
their smaller cousin.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was this the first spot?
TREVOR RAWSON, CONSERVATION MANAGER, TRUNK ISLAND: So this was the first spot we ever released the snails, we brought a bunch of palm fronds here.
We saw how much they were feeding our palm fronds in on port Thailand, sorry, so far, so good. Let's see if we can find anything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can see one right now.
RAWSON: You can see one there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): A careful rummage through the fallen palm leaves reveals a thriving community of the greater Bermudan land sales and
indicates the perfect location to release the lesser sales.
GARCIA: Many people would ask why to bother about snails. And the question is why we bother about any other species that we have on the planet. Every
single one, animals and plants, every single one has a role to play. We may, we don't know, we may don't understand. We may, we underestimate the
role.
But everybody has a very important ecological role. But one of them is regulating all the materials, they need it. That is part of the ecosystem,
you remove that piece on the system, and it's not working functionally correct. So today may now proceed with the snails is important. But this is
important for any other species that we have in the planet.
When we started the problem with Bermuda snails or the zoo, we were just right at the edge of the stature of the species. That's as close as we
were. Today, we can say that this is a process of recovering; we're going in the right direction.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: And to see more of his work in Bermuda, do tune into what is the full documentary. Call to Earth, the edge of extinction airing this weekend
on CNN. I'm Becky Anderson, you're watching "Connect the World", back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Reaction continues to come into the plea deal reached by President Biden's son. Yesterday it was announced that Hunter Biden will
plead guilty to tax charges and settle a gun charge. Some are saying that is not enough. As CNN's Paula Reid explains, top Republican leaders believe
the deal shows a two tier system of justice.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA REID, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The DOJ's years long investigation into Hunter Biden nearing a potential end. According to a
letter filed by federal prosecutors, Hunter will plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and strike a deal to resolve a separate felony gun
charge.
According to court documents, Hunter Biden owed at least $100,000 in federal taxes for 2017 and at least another $100,000 in 2018 but did not
pay the IRS by the deadlines. His lawyer says he eventually paid the bill along with fees and penalties. On the tax charges according to CNN sources,
the Justice Department has agreed to recommend a sentence of probation as part of the deal.
On the gun charge, prosecutors allege a 2018 incident in which Hunter Biden possessed a gun despite his drug addiction and violation of federal law.
Biden has admitted to struggling with drug and alcohol addiction as early as 18 years of age.
[11:55:00]
The deal allows him to enter a diversion program. Hunter has been in and out of rehab numerous times before. House Republicans seizing on the news.
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): My first reaction is it continues to show the two tier system in America. And if you are the president's leading
political opponent, DOJ tries to literally put you in jail giving prison time. If you are the president's son, you get a -- .
REID (voice over): Republican presidential hopeful and former Vice President Mike Pence also weighed in.
MIKE PENCE, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: While I welcome these charges and the guilty plea, I have a sense that this will do very little
to allay the concerns of millions of Americans that we just simply don't have equal treatment under the law.
REID (voice over): In an interview Tuesday, Biden's lawyer Chris Clark called the investigation dogged but fair.
CHRIS CLARK, ATTORNEY FOR HUNTER BIDEN: This was a five year very diligent investigation pursued by incredibly professional prosecutors, some of whom
have been career prosecutors, one of whom at least was appointed by President Trump and there, no one has ever said they're not competent, good
or diligent.
REID (voice over): The Hunter Biden investigation has been overseen by Trump appointed U.S. Attorney David Weiss. In a letter, Weiss made it clear
that he has ultimate authority over the criminal investigation. Asked about the DOJ deal on Tuesday, the president expressed support for his son.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you spoken to your son today?
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I'm very proud of my son.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: That was Paula Reid reporting there. You've been watching CNN, I'm Becky Anderson, this was "Connect the World". From the team working
with me here, it's very good evening.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:00]
END
