Return to Transcripts main page

Connect the World

Russia-North Korea Negotiations; Cuba Uncovers Russian War Trafficking Ring; COVID Mutations; U.N. Chief Calls for Africa to Be "Renewable Energy Superpower"; Kenyan President Wants More Climate Finance for Continent; Delhi Neighborhood Uprooted Pre-G20; Crime Rises in Arab Israeli Community; Wisconsin Pier Collapse. Aired 10-11 ET

Aired September 05, 2023 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): I am Becky Anderson live from Abu Dhabi. The time here is 6 in the evening. This is CONNECT THE WORLD.

Coming up this hour, the U.S. says Russia and North Korea may discuss a potential arms deal.

Countries pledged big money at the Africa Climate Summit.

India prepares to host the G20.

And Carlos Alcaraz advances into his third consecutive a U.S. Open quarterfinal.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ANDERSON: U.S. officials are sounding the alarm on a possible meeting between North Korea and Russia to discuss an arms deal.

The Kremlin is refusing to comment about the meeting but intelligence officials saying North Korea's leader could be heading to Russia very soon

to meet with president Vladimir Putin, who is believed to be seeking more firepower for his war effort in Ukraine.

Let's bring in Oren Liebermann. He is standing by at the Pentagon in Washington.

Let's have a look at this.

As the U.S. understands it, what would Vladimir Putin want from the North Korean leader?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The Russian side of this equation, Becky, is a simple one. Russia, according to U.S. officials and

according to what the U.S. sees, it is simply looking for more ammunition, artillery ammunition as well as other types of ammunition, such as anti

tank ammo.

That will be especially crucial for Russian forces, given that Western tanks have started to arrive in the battlefield and U.S. tanks are expected

to arrive within the next couple of months.

So Russia is just looking for ammunition. We have seen North Korea do something very similar before. Several months ago it was North Korea that

gave Wagner artillery ammunition. That after the now deceased former leader of Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin said his forces did not have enough.

So they came in agreement with Pyongyang, to supply their forces. Now instead it's Russian president Vladimir Putin looking for artillery ammo

for his own forces. As this has become a battle of attrition there on front lines that move only a little bit, that artillery ammo is crucial for the

fight. Russia needs more and it's looking to North Korea to provide it.

ANDERSON: What does North Korea want from Russia at this point?

LIEBERMANN: North Korea and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to U.S. officials, are looking for essentially advanced technology, help

with their satellite program. Just recently North Korea's second attempt to launch a spy satellite into orbit failed.

So they are looking for help in that department, according to U.S. officials, and they are also looking for help trying to advance their

nuclear submarine program. North Korea currently does not have nuclear submarines.

But it's certainly on their wish list of technology they are looking for. So they are looking for Russia to try to advance their understanding and

their work in that field. We have seen this relationship slowly -- or perhaps rather quickly -- move forward, from Russian defense minister

Sergei Shoigu's visit to Pyongyang in July.

Then according to U.S. officials, there was another visit by a Russian delegation and now it's gotten to the level where the leaders could meet in

Russia though the U.S. is not clear on what exactly or where even that meeting could happen.

But it's a sign of how these two are moving their relationship forward in ways that will certainly would or could affect their battlefield in Ukraine

and improve or advance North Korea's military and its capabilities, Becky.

ANDERSON: Oren Liebermann reporting from the Pentagon. Thank you.

Cuba says it has discovered a human trafficking ring that recruits its citizens to fight for Russia. Authorities say Cuba is not part of the war

in Ukraine and they are working to, and I quote them here, "mutualize and dismantle the network." Patrick Oppmann joins us now from Havana.

The network, as the Cubans refer to it, what do we know about this?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a striking step because right up until last night, when the statement was released, Cuba has been a very

staunch defender of the Russian war in Ukraine, blaming NATO and specifically the United States for the beginning of that war.

But something of an about face here when they say they do not want their citizens to become cannon fodder in this war. And essentially confirming

what has been rumored from months, that if you are a Cuban citizen, you will get, for Cuba, a nice paycheck.

[10:05:00]

OPPMANN: We are talking about $2,000 a month, perhaps even a road to citizenship in Russia if you join up and fight as a mercenary in Russia's

war.

But Cuban government saying they do not allow their citizens to be mercenaries in any war and that they are working to dismantle what they

call a trafficking network, that was essentially recruiting Cubans here in Cuba and amongst the large Cuban community in Russia to fight in this war.

There have been reports in the last several days of Cuban citizens who were essentially tricked, told they were going to be some sort of other kind of

work involved in the war but not on the front lines.

When they got to Russia, they were given a rifle and told to report to the front. So this is an interesting development because Russia has been

promising lots of economic aid to Cuba since the war began. It seemed to be bringing these countries closer together.

This apparently though has reached a do not cross line for the Cubans, which is they do not want their citizens to be fighting in this war and

very clearly saying now that they will not allow that to take place.

ANDERSON: This war has been going on now for 18 months.

Do we know how many Cubans we are talking about here and how long this network has been operated?

OPPMANN: It's not something really Russia has been hiding. We should point out that we have asked the Russian ministry of defense for a statement on

this. But up until now, they have been putting out releases and pictures of Cubans joining up and the Cuban government has been keeping quiet about

that.

Apparently now there have been some allegations and there could be anywhere from dozens to hundreds of Cubans that have had some involvement now on the

Russian side of the war.

But now that there are allegations that people have been tricked, we are talking about very young men who do not appear to have very much military

training and yet they find themselves on the front line of a very real war.

The question becomes, what happens to those Cuban recruits?

Are they allowed to come back to Cuba?

Are there any arrests that have taken place?

Not surprisingly it's not clear at all but it will be interesting to see how this impacts what appeared to be an improving Cuban-Russian

relationship.

And even though the Cuban statement is not mentioning the Russian government by name, certainly this cannot be going over well in Moscow,

where they have been pouring millions of dollars in economic aid to Cuba. But the Cuban government is balking at the idea of sending their citizens

or their troops to fight in Russia's war.

ANDERSON: Patrick Oppmann on the story out of Havana. Patrick, thank you.

In that very real war, one person killed and three others wounded in Russian attacks on Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya. And Russia says it

shot down at least three drones targeting Moscow that were launched from Ukraine early on Tuesday.

Russia's defense ministry also claims a drone was destroyed over Crimea. Meanwhile, Kyiv is calling the Kremlin's conditions to revive the Black Sea

grain deal, quote, "blackmail."

On Monday, Vladimir Putin told his Turkish counterpart, president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that Moscow won't re-enter the agreement until Western

restrictions on Russia's agricultural exports are lifted.

The White House says U.S. First lady Jill Biden is experiencing mild COVID symptoms after testing positive for the disease. President Joe Biden has

tested negative for the virus. Both were in Delaware for the Labor Day weekend. An administration official tells CNN the president will continue

regular COVID testing.

And so far there are no changes to his schedule. He is expected to depart for the G20 summit in India later this week. The first lady's diagnosis

comes as there is renewed attention about COVID-19. New tests from two teams of U.S. scientists have yielded a bit of good news.

They have founded the highly mutated BA.2.86 variant might not be as troublesome as experts have feared, making it more of a scariant, as it

were. So many variants, scariants, mutations, look, folks, It's hard to keep up, isn't it? Fortunately health reporter Jacqueline Howard is doing

that for us.

It is interesting that we are once again talking about COVID-19. Perhaps there would be no surprise, given that we are pushing toward the winter

period. People coming back from holidays, congested airports, the Labor Day weekend, the rest of it in the U.S. I just wonder how much surveillance is

going on at present.

[10:10:00]

ANDERSON: The scientists are telling us about this new variant at this point.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH CORRESPONDENT: That is right. I think as we continue to live with this virus, we will continue to see these kinds of

conversations happening, especially heading into fall and winter.

As far as surveillance, we are not seeing surveillance at the level that we did in the early days of COVID-19. But there are still some programs, like

there is wastewater surveillance that is happening to really track what kind of variants are circulating and which one is the dominant variant at

this time.

There are some programs that are taking wastewater from airplanes and testing those as a part of surveillance efforts. What we do know, there

have been some small rises in reported cases. But we are nowhere near a major surge right now.

As you mentioned, we are hearing of some prominent figures like here in the United States, first lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19. And when

you do test positive, the rules are still the same, to isolate for at least five days.

And by day six, you can end isolation and symptoms improve between day 6 and 10, wear a mask unless you have two negative tests 48 hours apart.

Thankfully, with preliminary lab tests here in the United States, some of the variants that we are tracking -- this is not a dominant variant but

BA.2.86 was one that scientists were concerned about because it is highly mutated.

But thankfully lab tests here that are preliminary have found that this one may be less contagious than scientists fear. And we do suspect that the

updated COVID-19 vaccines releasing this fall will still offer some protection against that variant and others that are circulating. So that is

good news for now, Becky.

ANDERSON: Good stuff. Thank you very much indeed.

Still to come, CNN's at the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, where the continent is landing some major investment deals toward clean energy

projects. A live report on that is up next.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ANDERSON: Welcome back, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me Becky Anderson.

The UAE pledging $4.5 billion dollars to support clean energy projects in Africa. This is the largest commitment so far at the Africa Climate Summit

in Nairobi, Kenya.

Heads of state, climate scientists, other key leaders gathering for what is a three-day event to address the climate crisis and propose green

development in Africa and beyond. U.N. chief Antonio Guterres says Africa is home to 30 percent of the world's mineral reserves, which are critical

to renewable and low carbon technologies.

[10:15:00]

ANDERSON: He, along with other leaders at the summit, are pushing Africa as a destination for green investment as the world tackles the climate

crisis. For more on this let's bring in CNN's Larry Madowo on the sidelines of the summit.

What are we hearing about the support first and foremost in financial pledges from -- and we have reported the UAE -- that and others?

And of course we have heard about pledges before. We need to talk about sort of what happens on the ground and how these are converted into

tangible progress.

Is that clear as of yet?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's not clear. We have to be honest. The $4.5 billion commitment from the UAE is a big one in the renewable energy

projects here in the continent, which tracks with what the U.N. secretary- general Antonio Guterres was talking about.

They need to make Africa a renewable energy superpower, pointing out that, over the last two decades, only 2 percent of renewable energy investments

have come to the continent, despite the massive potential that exists on the continent.

Again, at every environmental meeting, there have been commitments. But after, if that money does not come and if it doesn't come fast enough. But

here is also another perspective.

People want that money to go to the people at the grassroots, the people who are affected with by climate crisis here in Africa. Nancy Ornolo is

here with me.

$4.5 billion committed from the UAE on clean energy investments on the continent.

Where should that money go?

NANCY ORNOLO, GENDER AND CLIMATE CHANGE EXPERT: Thank you so much, Larry. I am really glad about the commitment of this money. But most of the time

when we talk about renewable energy of the solar, we are talking about the industrial use --

(CROSSTALK)

MADOWO: -- factories?

ORNOLO: Yes. But then my concern is like, how do you get this solar energy to the households?

Because of what evidence that the households provided the solar power, actually children are able to read and actually their output has been

better. At the same time, at the household level, most of the time women are in charge of the energy at the household level.

And a majority of countries, around 6 percent of the population of this part of continent, still use firewood.

So how do we transition to clean energy?

Because the firewood, the cost of firewood, we have seen that it leads to most of (INAUDIBLE), you know. So how to ensure that women can have access

to clean energy.

MADOWO: So we should not be thinking about building huge factories, build solar industrial plants when people are still using firewood to cook?

ORNOLO: I think we can do that because (INAUDIBLE) Kenya has really invested a lot in clean energy to drive this electricity but we do not just

leave it at there. How to ensure that everything we do go to the local level and then we can message through transformation of livelihoods.

MADOWO: Another big commitment today came from the U.S. John Kerry announced $30 million to African countries to support them for climate

resilience, food security initiatives. But that seems like a small amount considering the need here.

ORNOLO: Yes. And we had these promises before and we welcome that. But one of the things as you said, that is considering the many countries in

Africa, how much of that money is going to go to the country level and if it comes to the country level, how much does that go to subnational level

and how much actually goes to the local level?

MADOWO: So Kenya has a model to make sure that any finances coming for adaptation actually reaches the people on the ground?

ORNOLO: Kenya at the moment has a very interesting program called (INAUDIBLE) locally climate action which is a premier project in the

continent. So basically Kenya is looking for money at the international level.

The government of Kenya is also investing finances in climate change. Then Kenya has got a (INAUDIBLE) system from 2010. So this money goes to the

counties. When it goes to the counties, (INAUDIBLE) take it down to the wards (ph) because Kenya has got like 42 (ph) wards.

MADOWO: As the smallest unit of representation at the grassroots?

ORNOLO: Yes. (INAUDIBLE) thing about this taking climate finance to the people, we have a different system whereby the locals actually decide what

they want to invest in.

Do they want to invest in water, in energy, in (INAUDIBLE)?

So what Kenya is doing is even training the local people to write their own proposals in the way that suits them and also using their local knowledge.

MADOWO: (INAUDIBLE) Nancy Ornolo, thank you so much.

And Becky, that is one thing I have heard here, speaking to a lot of participants. They want to make sure that all these high level

conversations and John Kerry and Ursula van der Leyen and all these African presidents, that the money actually gets to the people that are most

affected by the climate crisis on the continent.

ANDERSON: And that makes total sense. And it is good to hear these conversations, Larry. Thank you.

As these pledges come in, the Kenyan president is calling for changes in global financial institutions due to the massive climate stresses on the

African continent.

[10:20:00]

ANDERSON: Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM RUTO, PRESIDENT OF KENYA: What we are saying is that distress is a reality and it is -- it comes as a result of two reasons.

Reason number one is that we are accessing development resources from capital markets at five times what advanced countries' access development

resources from these institutions are paying.

And number two is that we are spending more resources managing the effects of climate change, managing drought, managing cyclones, managing mudslides.

What is happening in the Sahel, what is happening in southern Africa.

As I told you last time we had a chat, the Horn of Africa, Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, we lost 9.5 million heads of livestock because of

drought. So we are spending inordinate resources trying to manage the effects of climate change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: And Mr. Ruto has ideas on how to meet these challenges. We discuss those ideas in what is our full conversation. You can get that next

hour on CNN. Second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD for you with me, Becky Anderson.

People in parts of New Delhi are going to have to figure out how to get by without deliveries, food services and the like for a few days. The G20

summit begins Saturday and it will restrict the movements of people in the Indian capital.

That is not the only change the city is seeing. When leaders of the world's largest economies arrive, they will find a neighborhood uprooted. CNN's

Vedika Sud with this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VEDIKA SUD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A bulldozer tears down Savita's home in Delhi. Helpless and distraught, she looks on, recording on

a mobile.

Her daughter is just off-camera; trying to comfort her.

"Stop crying, mother, or you will fall sick," they say.

Savita is just one of tens of thousands who have been rendered homeless in the lead-up to the big G-20 meet in Delhi, where Indian Prime Minister

Narendra Modi will want to be seen as the voice of the global south.

SUD: When world leaders arrive in New Delhi this weekend, they won't see some of the slums that would have fallen on their route. Instead, what they

will see is this: statues and fountains that are part of the government's massive beautification drive that activists say have displaced the poor.

SUD (voice-over): Almost three months after this mass demolition drive, we meet Savita. She's as inconsolable as she was on the morning bulldozers

rolled into the neighborhood.

"Our children were hungry. They were thirsty. We had no place to cook after the demolished our homes," she says.

Amid the rubble, Savita's family camped under a tarpaulin sheet. They were homeless for almost six weeks.

"We knew we were building our homes in an unauthorized colony but people have been living here for over 40 years now. Why didn't authorities

demolish these homes earlier?

Why now?" she asks.

In a document submitted in court, the Delhi government stated it intends to rehabilitate those impacted by the eviction in new homes. But that hasn't

happened.

Human rights activist Harsh Mander says the Modi government is showing no urgency in rehabilitating the poor.

HARSH MANDER, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST: What strikes me most is that India, the Indian -- Indian state, is ashamed of what's ostensible poverty. It

doesn't want poverty to be visible to people who come here.

SUD (voice-over): In July, the Indian government, in a written response in Parliament, denied any links between the demolitions of homes and the G-20

summit.

CNN has reached out to both the Delhi and central governments. We have yet to receive a response.

About 200 meters away from the G-20 summit venue, Jayanti Davy (ph) scavenges for the buried remains of her belongings under the rubble of her

home.

"Our home, a small eatery, a grocery store, everything was destroyed," she says. "People say authorities have cleared out the settlement because of

the G-20 summit." She now runs a tea stall along with her husband. Since June, they've

been spending nights in this makeshift shelter.

"We're so angry but our poverty makes us powerless. We can't speak up," says Jayanti.

Now plants shroud the rubble that's still scattered around Jayanti Devi's home. High walls have cordoned off the land where Savita once lived.

[10:25:00]

SUD (voice-over): Amidst the noise and grandeur, the voices of the marginalized grow even softer -- Vedika Sud, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Notably absent on the list of leaders expected in India for the G20 is Xi Jinping. The Chinese president also skipping an ASEAN summit

happening in Indonesia right now.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting along with leaders from across the region. The

Myanmar crisis sits high on the agenda there. Concerns over Taiwan's status and tensions on the Korean Peninsula should also be topics of discussion.

You are watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. Time here is 25 past 6. Coming up, predominantly Arab towns in Israel are undergoing a wave

of murders committed by members of their own community. How the government is responding. That is just ahead.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ANDERSON (voice-over): Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. You are watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Wherever you are watching, you are more

than welcome. Your headlines this hour.

The Kremlin is refusing to comment on a potential meeting between president Vladimir Putin and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. U.S. officials are

warning that Kim may travel to Russia to discuss providing weapons and ammunition for Moscow's war on Ukraine.

Africa is landing some major investment deals at its climate summit in Nairobi in Kenya. Today, the UAE pledged $4.5 billion to support clean

energy projects on the continent and the U.S. pledging an additional $30 million.

India facing scrutiny ahead of this weekend's G20 summit in New Delhi. Security restrictions on food and delivery services are being compared to a

COVID lockdown. Activists accuse officials of trying to evict and demolish slum communities before dignitaries arrive.

[10:30:00]

ANDERSON: So far this year, more than 160 Arab citizens of Israel have been killed in violence, mostly attributed to organized crime. It has

become so bad the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is talking about sending in the Shin Bet, the country's internal security service to try to

take care of it.

CNN's Hadas Gold joins us live from Jerusalem with more.

Just explain what is going on here and what we understand to be behind what is a rising wave of deadly violence.

HADAS GOLD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this has gone under the radar internationally because it's not directly connected to the Israeli-

Palestinian conflict. But these numbers are incredibly alarming when you compare the same period in previous years.

This is a very, very alarming crime wave that Israeli authorities attribute to organized criminal gangs. But it's claiming victims as young as 3.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOLD (voice-over): A mother's anguish, her grief still fresh.

"Enough," she cries. "We want to live in peace and quiet. We want to find who is behind all of this. Why, why, why kill these kids?"

Sajida Musala's (ph) son, Ali, was murdered just last week, a year out from a stint in prison. An Arab citizen of Israel, he is one of the latest

victims in an alarming crime wave that is rocking the Arab community across the country.

At a recent protest in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, thousands turned out to call for equal justice. Arabs make up around 20 percent of Israeli

citizens. Many speak fluent Hebrew and also identify as Palestinian.

But they say Israeli authorities are not treating their cases the same as Jewish ones.

Dashika (ph) says she blames police, government and the law. Her son was set to be married soon. When we ask whether the police had made any

progress on the case, she says not yet and stops, overcome by emotion.

GOLD: These coffins represent the more than 160 Arab Israeli citizens of Israel, who have been killed thus far this year. These numbers far eclipsed

previous years for the same period.

And these coffins, many of them have messages, saying what their victims were doing when they were killed. Some of them say, "I was out getting a

pizza." "I was studying for my university exams."

And these citizens, they say that this government is not doing enough to protect them.

GOLD (voice-over): In addition to targeting, killings and innocent civilians, including children, have been caught in the crossfire. Badiya

Hefasi's (ph) daughter, Johara (ph), was an antiviolence and women's rights activists, killed last year when a bomb exploded under her car.

Her mother, who identifies as an Arab Druze Israeli citizen said the police have made no progress.

"I feel like a neglected stranger in a completely neglected, dictatorial country," she says. "I don't have a sense of belonging."

The reasons behind the violence (INAUDIBLE) gang warfare, loan sharking, an influx of guns and, activists say, a vacuum in the Israeli policing of Arab

communities and fear of cooperating with police investigations.

Israel police declined our request for an interview. Arab Israeli politicians like Ahmad Tibi say far right ministers are to blame,

especially minister of national security Itamar Ben-Gvir. He himself was convicted of anti Arab racism.

AHMAD TIBI, ISRAELI KNESSET MEMBER: This man, who is a convict and a terrorist according to the Israeli court, is leading the police, fighting

the police, the police fighting him. Because of this failure is a lot of bloodshed in our streets, in our community.

GOLD (voice-over): In the early 2000s, Israel successfully fought a crime wave spurred by organized criminal Jewish gangs. Prime minister Benjamin

Netanyahu says that he will do the same with the Arab community.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: We will use all means, including the Shin Bet, including the police and all means to defeat this

crime. We eliminated organized crime in Jewish society in Israel and we will eliminate organized crime in Arab society in Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLD (voice-over): If they don't, these citizens argue, their anguish will ricochet back into the Jewish communities' back yard and these coffins will

be theirs to carry.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLD: We asked the Israeli police for an interview, to speak to somebody who is dealing with this and they declined our request for a interview.

Now the Israeli police last month did undertake a major raid. They said that they made at least 80 arrests to question suspects as well as

confiscating weapons and millions in shekels in cash that they confiscated. Itamar Ben-Gvir, for his part, the minister of national security, has said

that his proposal for a national guard will help the situation.

[10:35:00]

GOLD: He wants the Shin Bet involved. And his advisor recently told "The New York Times" that their proposals will work out and they will see a

difference in time, they say.

ANDERSON: Yes, that is a very controversial initiative, of course, that national guard initiative.

Separately, Hadas, we have just received word from the White House, who are, as we understand, it nominating a new ambassador to Israel. This is

Jack Lew.

What we know about him?

GOLD: Yes, Jack Lew is a very high-profile person to be nominated for this post to replace the former ambassador, Tom Eisen. It goes to show you I

think how important the U.S., the Biden administration sees this position, ambassador to Israel, considering the election campaign is essentially

already underway.

And, of course, opening things up to a nomination, confirmation hearing this will have to go through, this could open up this administration to a

lot of criticism. Now Jack Lew has quite an impressive resume.

He is a former Secretary of the Treasury under Obama, a former director of the Office of Management and Budget, a former chief of staff. And in the

last few years, he's been working in private equity.

Another thing that's interesting about Jack Lew is that he's an observant Jew. He keeps the Sabbath. There've been interviews with him talking about

how he would walk from synagogue to the White House in order to go to work.

And so it is interesting to see an orthodox Jew being nominated for this position but some things that might potentially rankle some Israelis here

is his involvement in helping to craft the Iranian nuclear deal in 2015.

That has opened him up to criticism from Republicans. He's made very public comments about how he is a massive supporter of the two-state solution,

saying that that is the only way forward for a secure and democratic future in Israel.

There will be, of course, a lot on his plate. The judicial overhaul is still ongoing here. The tensions between the Biden administration and

Netanyahu's administration are still ongoing. And, of course, a possible looming normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

ANDERSON: As we understand it from our sources, that is certainly in the early phases, if ever that is going to happen. But you make a very good

point. The file is a very, very busy one for any incoming U.S. ambassador to Israel. Thank, Hadas.

The European Union pushing Iran to release an employee detained in that country. The E.U.'s top foreign policy chief says the Swedish citizen works

on behalf of the European Union. Josep Borrell says a man has been illegally detained in Iran now for the last 500 days.

Gabon has been suspended from the central African bloc ECOWAS following its military coup. The head of the bloc says military's power grab is not the

solution to problems affecting the country.

He criticized the coup leaders for threatening peace and security in the region. The suspension comes as Brice Oligui Nguema was sworn in as Gabon's

transitional president on Monday, despite international condemnation.

Coming up, the Spanish phenomenon, Carlos Alcaraz, continues to improve his net worth. We will talk tennis scores and dollar signs in "WORLD SPORT."

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ANDERSON: Labor Day in the U.S. is typically a time for end of summer parties. But the venue here may not have been the best idea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON (voice-over): Between 60 and 80 people were gathered on a pier at the University of Wisconsin on Monday when the pier collapsed. Six people

were injured, none of them thankfully seriously. And investigation is now underway.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Now in the U.S. state of Mississippi, look at this big guy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON (voice-over): A group of hunters has broken the state record for the longest alligator ever captured. It's more than 4.3 meters long, weighs

a third of a metric ton. Alligators can be found across Mississippi and hunting them is legal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Saudi Arabian football clubs will be facing off at home and away for the first time since 2016. The Asian Football Confederation made the

announcement on Monday and it is a move that fits into the ongoing detente between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

It means that the Iranian fans will be able to watch international stars like Cristiano Ronaldo compete live, of course.

Some say that there is no stopping him. Carlos Alcaraz, stepping into his third consecutive U.S. Open quarterfinal after beating Italian player

Matteo Arnaldi in the round of 16. The Spaniard continuing his defense of world number one.

Coy Wire joining me live from Atlanta, "WORLD SPORT" coming up after this.

And I know you're talking about that. It does just seem like yesterday we were talking about this superstar tennis player.

Now he is starting to clean up, right?

COY WIRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he's a monster. Like that alligator you just showed. He's only dropped one set this entire tournament so far,

Becky. Just 20 years old.

He joined Andre Agassi as the only other player since 1968 to make it to three straight quarterfinals at the U.S. Open before turning 21. There is

though another 20 year old who could throw a wrinkle in things. American Ben Shelton will be facing off against fellow American Frances Tiafoe in a

matchup.

And this kid, first full year on tour and he had to get his passport for the first time to travel all over the world, compete with the best of the

best. But here he is with an opportunity to move on so we're guaranteed at least one American will be moving on to the semifinals and maybe find

themselves in a date with Carlito, Carlos Alcaraz, who's absolutely en fuego lately.

(LAUGHTER)

ANDERSON: Brilliant. There's no bad thing to have some U.S. players on what is a huge tournament for the States. Thank you, mate. "WORLD SPORT"

coming up after the short break. We are back at the top of the hour.

[10:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

[11:00:00]

END