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Connect the World

U.S. Official: More Ceasefire Talks in the Coming Days; Russia Launches Large Drone and Missile Bombardment on Ukraine; Kremlin Denies Pavel Durov Met with Putin in Azerbaijan; AAA and TSA Predict Record Labor Day Weekend Trial; General Director of Esports Joins me at 10 on "Connect the World". Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired August 26, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, this is the scene in Arlington, Virginia, where Former President and Republican nominee Donald

Trump will be participating in a wreath laying ceremony to mark the third anniversary of the bombing at Kabul Airport. That will be any moment now.

It is 09:00 a.m. in Virginia. It's 05:00 p.m. here, back at base in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson. You're watching "Connect the World" also

happening over the next two hours, Israel and Hezbollah exchange fire as fears escalate of a wider war, even as the U.S. says progress is made in

Gaza talks.

Ukraine hit by a new massive bombardment in one of Russia's biggest attacks on the country to date, and after the Founder of Telegram is detained in

Paris the Kremlin denies President Vladimir Putin met him in Azerbaijan.

Well, the stock market in New York will open about 30 minutes from now. It's 09:00 a.m. now, the markets, of course, open at 09:30 and the futures

markets at least pointing to a mixed open in New York. More on that bottom of the hour.

We start with this region where I am on a knife's edge after weekend cross border attacks between Hezbollah and Israel happening as Gaza ceasefire

talks grind on in Egypt after Israel launched what it calls pre-emptive strikes, its prime minister bluntly warned quote, what happened today is

not the end.

Hezbollah's leader says a first phase of attacks to retaliate for the killing of a top military commander recently is over, but that more may

happen in the future, all fuelling genuine concern that a wider war may still erupt in this region.

And in Cairo, negotiating teams are still trying to hammer out remaining issues for a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza. A U.S. official

revealing new details of the deal and reports progress, but says there is still work to be done on the sticking points.

Well, we've got an awful lot to unpack here with our team of correspondents. Ben Wedeman connecting us from Beirut today. Nic Robinson

is in Tel Aviv, and we'll start with Nada Bashir, who is in Cairo, monitoring those talks. And the U.S. Nada seems optimistic about the

progress of these talks. They do those seem to be the only party feeling that way. What do we understand to be the situation at this point?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, you're absolutely right. Becky, we've heard from a U.S. official telling CNN that while there continue to be

differences, while there continue to be sticking points between Israel and Hamas, forward progress was reportedly made over the course of these

weekend talks.

And while there are still those differences, this U.S. official told CNN, they are seen as potentially surmountable. We are expecting further working

level discussions to continue over the course of the coming days to try and iron out those finer details.

U.S. officials say that they are working on the quote, nuts and bolts of this proposed agreement, that those discussions will continue in the hopes

of future negotiations take place between delegations from both Israel and Hamas. And of course, there is a sense of urgency now mounting on both

sides, as well as on mediators to try and get some sort of concrete agreement between both sides.

But as I mentioned, there are still significant sticking points and differences. The Hamas delegation, which was present here in talks on

Sunday, has now departed Cairo, we received a statement yesterday evening following their departure, saying that they continue to wish to see a deal

which reflects the proposal put forward by U.S. President Joe Biden in late May.

A deal which they have repeatedly said now that they agreed to in early July. And they reiterated some of the key areas that they want to see

guaranteed, namely, the full withdrawal of Israeli forces in any sort of post war situation.

And also crucially, guarantees that after an initial six week pause in fighting as part of the first phase of this proposed agreement, that there

would be a transition in the second phase to a permanent ceasefire, and at this stage, this is not something we have heard endorsed by Israeli

officials just yet.

And of course, there are significant questions around the presence of Israeli troops. We know that the Israeli delegation put forward a revised

proposal for a reduced number of Israeli forces to be present and deployed along the Philadelphi Corridor that buffer zone separating Egypt from

Southern Gaza.

[09:05:00]

There is a debate, according to U.S. officials, around whether or not this area, this corridor, would be considered to be as a populated area, an area

populated by civilians, or whether we would perhaps exclude that from other parts of Gaza, where Israeli forces would be expected to withdraw.

So those discussions are still very much ongoing. It remains to be seen whether Hamas' outward statements, public statements, which essentially

presented a rejection of Israel's proposal translate to what is going on behind the scenes as these working level discussions continue as you said,

Becky.

U.S. officials do appear to be optimistic, but we've been hearing from Egyptian officials over the last week saying that those differences are

still significant, still wide gaps between Israel and Hamas. We do expect, according to officials, for this latest proposal to be put forward to Hamas

Leader Yahya Sinwar, it's unclear the timeframe for that, how long it will take, perhaps for us to see a further response from Hamas officials.

But again, that pressure is mounting, not only as the situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, but also, of course, as there continues to be

concerns around the regional security situation as well.

ANDERSON: Nada, good to have you there. Thank you. Ben, let me bring you in at this point as these talks continue, if that indeed is what is going on

in Cairo, a major escalation over the weekend between Israel and Lebanon based Hezbollah. What's the situation as we understand it? I mean, we've

got a piece written by our colleague today, Israel and Hezbollah stepped back from the brink of a wider war, for now at least. What's your sense?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, Becky, I think we've stepped back from the brink, and in fact, we heard Hassan

Nasrallah, the Secretary General of Hezbollah, last night, say that after a month of people on edge, they can now take a breath and relax.

It appears that both sides are claiming success. That Hezbollah said that they struck the Headquarters of Mossad and the signal intelligence unit of

the Israeli military unit 8200 Nasrallah said that everything we planned, we achieved, and the Israelis say that none of their bases were hit.

So, it appears that now we are back to where we were before all of this. But however, Hassan Nasrallah, in his speech last night, did say that

another escalation has not been taken off the table.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HASSAN NASRALLAH, HEZBOLLAH LEADER: The result is satisfactory and achieves the intended goal, and if the result is not enough, from our point of view,

then we retain the right to respond another time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEDEMAN: And now we're back to where we were before. Today, there have been five Israeli strikes on targets inside Lebanon. One appears to have been a

failed attempt to kill a local Hamas leader. Hezbollah has claimed that it struck surveillance equipment at an Israeli military position in the

central border area.

Hezbollah has made it clear that it will stop firing at Israel as soon as the war in Gaza comes to an end, and of course, that all depends upon the

until now dismally unsuccessful American efforts to bring a ceasefire and a final halt to the fighting there.

So, as I said, we're back to where we were. Daily exchanges of fire between the two sides. There are more than 100,000 Lebanese who have had to flee

their homes on this side of the border, more than 60,000 Israelis on the other. So, after all of this tension of the last month, we're back to the

rather deadly daily routine here Becky.

ANDERSON: Yeah. And Nic, let me bring you in here, because, as Ben rightly points out, I mean huge displacement of people on both sides of that border

between Israel and Lebanon. The threat to Israel from Hezbollah, of course, still exists, whether or not this is the end of this phase of attacks by

the group. What Israel said about these weekend strikes and what happens next?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, a tremendous political pressure internally on Prime Minister Netanyahu to get the 60 to

80,000 residents back to that northern border where they've been forced to leave since October 7th and Hamas' attack back then.

[09:10:00]

And that doesn't look like it's in about to happen. The minimum they're looking at is for Hezbollah to pull back 10 kilometers from the border.

That's not happening. But I think from Israel's perspective, what happened on over the weekend, the fact that they had enough intelligence to -- they

say, to know that Hezbollah was about to do its big strike of retaliation, and that they were able to pre-empt it, and according to Israeli officials,

not receive any damage.

It sorts of paints a picture as we saw earlier in the year, when Iran had that big multi layered strike against Israel, and Israel, along with

allies, was able to defend itself, and very, very few missiles actually got through. Now, Israel says it defended itself this time. It didn't need its

allies to do it.

So, from Israel's perspective, it's really sort of reinforced its deterrents in the region, that it's actually able to stand up for itself.

This is how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu characterized it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: The Israeli army destroyed thousands of short-range rockets, all of which were intended to harm our

civilians and forces in the Galilee. Additionally, the Israeli army intercepted all of the drones that Hezbollah launched at a strategic target

in central Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: And I think one of the telling things for us, I suppose, standing here in Tel Aviv and for many Israel, is -- you know, the claims

by Hassan Nasrallah that there was meticulously completed their attacks on one of the sites that Ben just mentioned it.

I can actually see from where I'm standing here, a couple of miles away, in Tel Aviv. There was no apparent impact. There were no sounds of impact.

There were no signs of impact. Really does seem to reinforce that a narrative that's being propagated for Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon

certainly does not match at all the perceptions that are abundant here in Israel.

ANDERSON: To all of you, thank you. And you can follow developments in the region in our "Meanwhile, in the Middle East" newsletter, there is a

gripping story up now about a released Palestinian prisoner who tells CNN he was sexually abused in an Israeli prison. You keep that and sign up for

the newsletter by scanning the QR code on the bottom of your screen.

Well, Ukraine's President is calling a new massive bombardment, one of Russia's biggest attacks on his country. President Volodymyr Zelensky says

that more than 100 missiles and about the same number of drones targeted more than a dozen Ukrainian regions overnight. At least four people were

killed, including a British citizen who worked for Reuters news agency. Ryan Evans, a safety adviser and former soldier, was staying at a hotel hit

by a Russian missile.

Right now, you're looking at footage of Ukrainian forces shooting at a Russian drone. Ukrainian officials say energy facilities across the country

have been shelled, knocking out power in cities, including in the capital of Kyiv. Let me bring in CNN's Salma Abdelaziz, who is across all of this.

What more are we learning about these latest Russian attacks, where, how they were launched, and on what?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely Becky. And I think sense that invasion that surprised assault into Russian territory in Kursk about

three weeks ago, Ukraine has been bracing for some sort of Russian retaliation, and that seems to come today, in the form of this massive

barrage of missiles and drones, 100 missiles and 100 drones, according to President Zelenskyy, that targeted or attempted to target all across

Ukraine.

Ukraine's air force acted quickly to intercept those but of course, there were consequences, including four people killed power outages across the

country. The main target here was Ukraine's energy infrastructure. And of course, many, many families sent into bomb shelters, hiding underground,

hiding in metro stations, taking shelter wherever they can, as these air raid sirens, of course, sounded all across the country.

And the intention behind this, Ukrainian officials say, is to make ordinary life difficult, if not impossible for Ukrainians, even those who are very

far from that battlefield, but that battlefield very much continues to move. President Zelenskyy, while also addressing this barrage, did update

people with the latest movements in Kursk, where Ukraine is, of course, continuing to claim some wins. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: I have just spoken with Commander in Chief, Syrskyi, and there is an advance of our troops in the Kursk

region from one to three kilometers. Two more settlements were taken under control. Active actions are underway in one more settlement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:15:00]

ABDELAZIZ: So tiny gains there a few kilometers, a couple of settlements. It, of course, you have to remember is happening in the context of Russian

gains in Eastern Ukraine. You have to remember Russian forces are barrelling on through in that Donetsk region in Eastern Ukraine. There are

evacuation orders in that location, families are fleeing from this assault.

And I also want to take you one last location here, Becky, Kramatorsk. This is important. This happened over the weekend. Kramatorsk is an area that is

used by journalists as a base in order to cover the conflict, and that's exactly what a Reuters crew was doing. They were staying at a hotel in

Kramatorsk, Hotel Safire, when it was struck over the weekend by a Russian attack.

Several members of this Reuter crew -- Reuters crew, rather, were wounded, and one person their security adviser, a British national you did mention

his name was killed in this attack. Reuters is appealing for more information. Is issuing condolences to his family, and President Zelenskyy

says that this was a deliberate attack on journalists. He is accusing Russia of making it more difficult, more dangerous for reporters to cover

the story.

ANDERSON: Thank you, Salma. Let me get you to Arlington National Cemetery in the States now, where Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump is

participating in a wreath laying ceremony to mark the three-year anniversary of the bombing at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan that killed

13 U.S. service members. ISIS-K claimed responsibility for that attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Order.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, they see first of three wreaths to be laid this morning. That's the Arlington Cemetery. Former President Trump will lay each one of

those, we are told. And this comes ahead of a busy week on the campaign trail. As the clock ticks down to the U.S. presidential election in

November, the Trump and Harris campaigns will be heading to battleground states over the coming days.

Trump will be in Michigan later today, and the Democrats head to Georgia this week, where they hope to build on their momentum coming out of the

DNC. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez closely watching Harris campaign. Alayna Treene as ever, following the Trump campaign for us today. Alayna, let me

start with you with these pictures coming to us live from Arlington National Ceremony. Donald Trump, the Former President, paying his respects

to the 13 service members killed during the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

And he is also, of course, trying to sort of somewhat lay the blame for the chaotic Afghanistan war withdrawal on the Democrats and for -- you know for

that reason, at the feet of Kamala Harris, of course, at this point.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, that's exactly right. I think you know -- this has been a key issue for the Trump campaign, a huge part of

their messaging, particularly when Biden was still the one atop the ticket and he was the candidate that they were facing.

They argued that Biden's handling of the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan was completely botched. That led to the killing of the service

members that he is honoring there at national -- Arlington National Cemetery today. And really using it as a sign that Donald Trump is better

for the troops, better for the military than the Democrats.

[09:20:00]

Now, with Harris now a top of the ticket and having become just last week, the Democratic presidential nominee, what Donald Trump and his team have

tried to do is argue that she is to blame for that withdrawal as well.

And this is something we've seen kind of across the board, with the Biden Administration policies, given that Harris is the Vice President, they're

trying to argue that she is somewhat of a mastermind behind many of President Joe Biden's policies, and that she is also should equally take

the blame for anything that they are arguing, any policies that they are criticizing from that time.

Of course, as vice president, she doesn't call the shots, but that is essentially what they are trying to do. And this is really an issue again,

that Donald Trump has focused on very closely. He's trying to argue that this shows that Harris would not be fit to serve as president when it comes

to kind of the commander-in-chief role.

And you've seen him use that exact rhetoric in recent days to really needle Harris. And I think, you know, Donald Trump should, is expected to make

some sort of remarks here at the end of this ceremony. I think you'll hear some of that language from him in just a few moments.

ANDERSON: Donald Trump participating in the wreath laying ceremony here for three wreaths for the -- of course, families of three U.S. service people

killed in that withdrawal. Priscilla, let me bring you in at this point as we continue to look at these pictures from Arlington.

The Harris campaign says it has raised over half a billion dollars, 540 million, to be precise, since her she launched her presidential bid. What

more do we know about these -- this money? After all, it's going to be hugely important as we get into this run towards the election. Who's

donating at this point?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is what's notable about this is that there are a lot of first-time donations. In fact, according to

a campaign memo, a third of the donations were from first time contributors. And the reason that is important is because that's the type

of momentum that they're going to want to continue over the course of the next two months.

I'm told that there are conversations being had among Harris advisors in terms of how they do that. Of course, grassroots donations can be a little

harder to predict than tapping into some of the big-time donors. And so, they have to capitalize on key moments, and one of those moments for them

did happen last week with the Vice President closing out the Democratic National Convention.

Again, according to this memo, that speech marked the best fundraising hour since they launched the Harris presidential bid. So of course, this is a

massive sum of money, $540 million. They already have some plans for how they want to use the money in the -- in their coffers.

$370 million for example, at least that much is going to be reserved for television and digital advertising between Labor Day and Election Day. The

intent there, of course, a flood the airwaves. Try to take up as much space as they can over the course of the next two months and trying to relay

their message.

But in addition to all of this, it's also making sure that they keep up their fund rate that I'm sorry, their volunteers and their travel blitz to

these battleground states, including Georgia, where the vice president is headed this week, a state that President Biden only won by less than 12,000

votes in 2020.

ANDERSON: It's going to be fascinating. We are into that a final leg, as it were. Good to have you both. Keeping us bang up to date and what is going

on with these two contenders. Thank you. Well ahead of global social media powerhouse reportedly being held by French authorities, since Saturday, the

debate over his arrest and protecting free speech, that is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:25:00]

ANDERSON: Well, the Kremlin is denying President Vladimir Putin met with the Founder of Telegram during a state visit to Azerbaijan last week, the

messaging apps. Russian born CEO Pavel Durov was detained in Paris on Saturday after his own visit to Azerbaijan. He remains in French custody,

and the Kremlin says it has yet to hear specific allegations from the French authorities.

Now, Durov's arrest was reportedly related to criminal activity flourishing on the app. But it is sparking new debate about free speech online. CNN's

Clare Duffy joins us more -- with more on that. And Clare, let's just be quite clear at this point. What do we know, firstly, about the allegations

against Pavel Durov in France?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Well, Becky, we don't know a lot just yet. As you said, these charges are related to the lack of moderation on

this platform and the spread of illicit material. Telegram is a messaging app that's encrypted, which means there's privacy baked in by design.

People can have these private conversations that the app doesn't necessarily have a ton of control over, and that's by design. CEO Pavel

Durov has become something of a champion for free speech. He's also been known as the Mark Zuckerberg of Russia, although he doesn't live in Russia

anymore, he sort of likes to flaunt his lavish lifestyle online.

But what's interesting about this platform, and you see this sort of challenge of this free speech debate, is that Telegram has been used by

people in places like Iran, where free speech is restricted. It's become a really important tool in Ukraine for citizens to get warnings about air

raids.

But that privacy also means that the platform has been used by drug traffickers, by money launderers, by terrorists, by far-right extremists.

And the app has really started to gain growing scrutiny as it's grown you see that number on the screen there 900 million users on this platform.

Now Telegram does have some control over what people do on the platform. It previously shut down communication channels related to Hamas, related to

organizers of the U.K. riots that we saw recently, and the platform says that it follows EU law, including the new Digital Services Act that put new

requirements on online platforms to moderate harmful content.

So, we'll have to see what more French prosecutors say about what they're looking for from the platform here, what information they want or what

these charges are?

ANDERSON: He, of course, resides in Dubai these days. He's at least a dual citizen of the UAE and France, if not other places. So, he hasn't been

living in Russia for some time. It's fascinating, interesting that other social media platforms like Facebook and X have been pressured to crack

down on illegal content their CEOs not arrested.

Thank you for the time being. Clare Duffy is on the story for you. We are watching oil just ahead find out why the price of crude is jumping, and

it's not only about rising Middle East tensions. More on that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:00]

ANDERSON: You're watching "Connect the World". I'm Becky Anderson for you just after half past five in Abu Dhabi, which means it's just after half

past nine in New York. Markets there reacting to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's offering of what it was is the strongest affirmation yet

that a rate cut is coming next week.

The size of that relief, of course, remains open to question. Let's take a look at how these stock markets are faring at the start of the week. And

well, I'm little worried about our S&P graphic there, so ignore that one for the time being, the DOW and the NASDAQ. Not a bad start if you are

hoping these markets go higher.

Of course, not everybody is. Some people betting they will go lower. And the U.S. dollar halting its recent slide against other major currencies

like the euro and Sterling. Keep in mind the greenback is still way down for the month, but it does appear to be in recovery mode today, firming

slightly after touching new multi month lows on Friday, when the head of the Fed announced, in his words, the time has come for a shift in policy.

And oil prices quite somewhat higher today. That's partly due to the escalating tensions that we've been reporting on in the Middle East, but

there is a new worry, and that's a worry coming out of Libya. Bloomberg reporting that Libya's Eastern government says it will shut down all oil

production and exports in a dispute with its Tripoli based rival over control of Libya's central bank.

And that will have a significant impact on the supply of oil, of course, on the markets. Well U.S. travelers for the upcoming Labor Day weekend will

have a lot of company, according to AAA and U.S. aviation agencies. Millions of Americans are expected to hit the highways and the airports as

they mark the unofficial end of summer.

CNN's Tom Foreman has more on that from Washington D.C. It's always busy. Just how busy will it be this September? Tom, is it clear at this point?

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: About percent higher, according to AAA, and in fact, it's interesting. You should talk about oil prices going up. One

of the reasons it's higher is because prices are about 2 percent lower than they were last Labor Day, including gas prices being a little bit lower.

Lots and lots of Americans will drive to be an awful lot of driving going on out there. And their top destination they're going to be the northwest

part of the country, Seattle on up into Alaska. Some people go there for cruises, that sort of thing.

[09:35:00]

So, we're going to have a lot of traffic on the highways, and they're warning people about the peak times to avoid leaving. Thursday afternoon,

early evening. Friday afternoon, early evening. Those are going to be really, really crowded times in certain areas, in particular around

metroplexes.

But internationally, they're going to have about 17 million screenings at the airports to see people who want to get on the planes out there. So, as

I like to say that 17 million times people saying that, do you have anything in your pocket? International travel is a little bit down.

But in terms of international, top place are going to be Vancouver B.C., up in Canada. That's not just barely across the border. That doesn't feel

terribly international in a way. But then Rome, London, Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam, places like that. We'll see a lot of Americans coming around

this holiday, Becky.

ANDERSON: Good to have you. Thank you, sir.

FOREMAN: Yeah.

ANDERSON: Australians can finally put their phones on silent after leaving the office and not worry about missing a work email or phone call. Imagine

that. That is due to a new law that took effect today, protecting their quote, right to disconnect. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout, with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For all of Australia's beauty and relaxed reputation, it might be hard to imagine that

many people here feel overworked. But according to some lawmakers, Australians are working an average of six weeks unpaid overtime every year.

And so, the government has stepped in to protect people's right to disconnect. As of Monday, people won't have to answer out of hours, calls,

texts or emails.

RACHEL ABDELNOUR, ADVERTISING INDUSTRY WORKER: I think it's actually really important that we have laws like this. We spend so much of our time

connected to our phones, connected to our emails all day, and I think that it's really hard to switch off as it is.

STOUT (voice-over): Around the world, ill-defined job expectations and constant connectivity has allowed our jobs to encroach on our private

world. The gray areas remain. There may be times the boss still requires an answer, but workers can now defend their right to disconnect in court if

they want to.

DAVID BRENNAN, FINANCE WORKER: We are professionals. We're well paid. We're expected to deliver, and we feel we have to deliver 24 hours a day if we

have to. So, the phone's always on, computer's always on, and we're working.

STOUT (voice-over): Australians likely won't forget work entirely after they leave the office, but more people may feel like they don't have to be

always on, meaning more time to enjoy what is already a fortunate place to be. Kristie Lu Stout, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, right in the world of sport, the death of Former Football Manager Sven-Goran Eriksson and the impact that he had in England and

throughout European football, that is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And now, welcome to the stage the first ever Esports World Cup Club Champion Team Falcons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, you're looking at the first ever Esports World Cup Club Champion Team Falcons took home the prize on Sunday night in Riyadh in

Saudi Arabia, a life changing $7 million more than 1500 gamers from around the globe competed for eight weeks.

And what was this inaugural event, and some notable names in attendance during the closing ceremony, including Saudi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin

Salman, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, and football. Well, I can call him legend these days, Conor, Cristiano Ronaldo, the cup drew in more than 500

million viewers, making it the most watched tournament so far this year.

But if you missed your chance to this time around to showcase your skills in games like Tekken 8. This event will return to the capital next year in

July and August. And coming up in the next hour of "Connect the World", the Global Director of Esports, and a member of Team Falcons, Grant Rousseau,

will join me to talk about the event.

And what it was like coming out as champions in what was the first ever Esports World Cup? What it's all about for those of you out there who are

new to this, and many people are? Well, finally, some sad news from the world of sport. Former England Manager Sven-Goran Eriksson passed away

Monday, at the age of 76.

He revealed earlier this year that he'd been battling terminal cancer. There has been an outpouring of reaction from the football community.

Patrick Snell joining me now. And this was a man who wasn't just prolific in club soccer or European soccer, this was a truly global football sort of

icon, really legend, really Patrick.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, you're absolutely right, Becky. Highly respected, a wonderful gentleman, a class act on and off the field

of play. And he won titles in various countries, a whole plethora of different countries, during his highly distinguished career.

And he led the English National team to the quarterfinals at two World Cups and one European football championships as well, Becky, back in 2004. As

you can expect, the tributes have been pouring in. They've been coming in as you would expect, thick and fast over the last couple of hours.

Will be getting to those really poignant statements as well from Sven- Goran's family. And we're going to be joined by the distinguished football guest, Henry Winter on CNN "World Sport" coming your way in just a few

moments, Becky.

ANDERSON: Wonderful, wonderful! All right, look, folks, please stay with us. So, we taking a very short break. Patrick, back with the "World Sport"

after this. We'll be back top of the hour for more "Connect the World". Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

END