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Russia Says it has Recaptured Key Kursk Region Town; Fink: There's Nothing Wrong with a Market Pullback; Israel Maintains Blockade on Humanitarian Aid Entering Gaza; Walmart Feels the Heat in China After Reportedly Demanding Discounts to Cope with Trump's Tariffs; Real Madrid Eliminate City Rivals Atletico on Penalties. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired March 13, 2025 - 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)

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: This is the scene in Canada where G7 countries are meeting to discuss Ukraine and a potential ceasefire

proposal that Russia could react to any time now. It is 09:00 a.m. in La Malbaie, Canada, it is 05:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Eleni Giokos, and

this is "Connect the World".

Also coming up, Donald Trump's trade war is escalating, and concerned for the economy is growing, with major U.S. CEOs speaking out. And the Former

President of the Philippines is in custody at The Hague. Right, let's check in on the stock market futures in New York. Markets will be opening in

around 30 minutes.

And as you can see, we've got red or round it is new tariff threats that are coming through from the Trump Administration that is causing pressure

once again, a very different picture to what we saw yesterday, when there was a bit of reprieve after we've seen a month-long slide across the board

in the United States.

We'll check in on those numbers in around 13 minutes from now. Now, the Kremlin has broken its silence on the U.S. backed plan for a 30-day

ceasefire in the Russian-Ukraine war. It doesn't like it an aide to President Vladimir Putin says Moscow doesn't want a temporary truce because

it would give the Ukrainian army a breather.

Kyiv has said yes to the proposal. This comes as Russia says its forces have taken back a key town in the Kursk Region, which had been occupied by

Ukraine. And that's according to Russian state media, the Kremlin saying the operation to oust the remaining Ukrainian forces from Kursk is in its

final stage.

I want to go live now to Moscow and we've got CNN's Fred Pleitgen standing by for us. Fred, what more are we hearing from the Kremlin about the

ceasefire proposal?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly seems as though, right now, the Kremlin is not necessarily on

board with that ceasefire proposal from the Trump Administration -- already mentioned some of the things that that Kremlin aide said, Yuriy Ushakov,

who was interviewed earlier today by Russian state TV, where he was essentially saying that he believes that the ceasefire would only give

reprieve to the Ukrainian army.

He also says that what the Russians want is negotiations for a longer-term solution. One of the things, Eleni, that the Russians have been talking

about is their security interests as they put it, being taken into consideration. And there the Russians are saying they want to come to some

sort of agreement before a ceasefire takes place.

And there's certain things that the Russians have been talking about, obviously, some of the territories that they've already taken so far in the

war against Ukraine. They obviously want to keep all of those. But at the same time, they also want to talk about some of the other factors, like,

for instance, a possible NATO presence in Europe, which is something that the Russians say, both the U.S. and Russia agree, is not a good idea.

Here's what that same Kremlin aide had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YURIY USHAKOV, RUSSIAN PRESIDENTIAL AIDE: The Americans and we think that there can be no talk about NATO in the context of the Ukrainian settlement

and in the context of Ukraine's future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: At the same time, Eleni, there's also signaling that's going on here from the Russians and various other spheres. Obviously, one of the

things that we've seen from the Trump Administration over the past couple of days from Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.

But also, from President Trump himself, saying that right now the ball is in Russia's court, and the next thing you know, Vladimir Putin is seen in a

combat uniform down near the -- where the combat is taking place in the Kursk Region. The Russians, they're saying that they want to continue their

offensive operations.

There certainly none of that is looking as though a ceasefire, at least from the Russian side, at this point in time, is imminent, Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yeah. And also want to ask you about what we've been hearing from the Russians with regards to recapturing a key town in the Kursk Region.

Give us an update on what's happening there, and what does it mean for Kyiv amid pressure to negotiate an end to the war?

PLEITGEN: Yeah, it's the biggest town that the Ukrainians were able to take in their lightning offensive that they launched a little over, half a year

ago there in the Kursk Region in the southwest of Russia, obviously towards the northeast of Ukraine. The town is called Sudzha only has about 5000

inhabitants normally, but it was certainly the key main hub, the Russians say, for the Ukrainian military.

And there have been military operations going on in that town and around that town over the past couple of days, and it was today, actually that the

Russians now said that they've taken the entirety of that town. We don't have confirmation of that from the Ukrainians just yet.

The Ukrainians, however, even yesterday, had acknowledged that their troops were on the verge of being pushed out of Sudzha. But what you've been

saying is absolutely correct and absolutely key here for the Russians as well.

[09:05:00]

They believe that they are on the verge of expelling Ukrainian forces from all of the Kursk Region. They say that that's something that could happen

within a matter of days, is the way that Russian officials have put it just a couple of minutes ago. So, they certainly believe that right now, they

are moving forward, and that the initiative is on their side.

And one of the interesting things. And this goes back to the ceasefire discussion as well, Eleni, that Putin said yesterday, as he said, look, the

Russians should think about creating a buffer zone on Ukrainian territory towards the Kursk Region, which obviously could mean months of more combat

operations there to come, Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yeah, all right. Fred Pleitgen thank you so much for that update. Now as Ukraine's future hangs in the balance, America's top diplomat U.S.

Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, is at the G7 meeting in Canada, and that's where he's expected to update the foreign ministers of the leading Western

democracies about his talks this week with Kyiv and Saudi Arabia.

We've got CNN's Alex Marquardt covering the G7 for us in the resort town of La Malbaie in Canada. He joins us now live. Alex, we're seeing some of the

live pictures coming through as this meeting is set to get underway. And listen, it's a time of rising tensions. We're seeing retaliation coming

through from key allies, the Trump Administration at the core of this.

And what are we expecting to hear from Marco Rubio? What do you believe the key message is going to be?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think there are, really, there are two main strains here, if you will, the

discussion over the Ukrainian war and the ceasefire there, and then really the broader implications of the threat of tariffs on Canada and on the EU

that will also, of course, be discussed.

But when it comes to that ceasefire talk, Eleni, of course, the U.S. and Ukraine are very much on the same page on this need for an immediate, at

least temporary, 30-day ceasefire to then work towards a more peaceful resolution. Now, whether the U.S. considers this response from Ushakov to

be the official Russian position that remains to be seen.

I've asked both the White House and the State Department for their reaction to Ushakov's comments essentially pouring cold water on the ceasefire

proposal. What Secretary Rubio has made clear in the past few days is, as he says, the ball is very much in Russia's court, the onus is on Russia to

accept this proposal, and if they don't, then Russia is very much the impediment to this peace process.

Secretary Rubio saying just yesterday that it would be highly unfortunate and make their intentions clear. Now that ceasefire proposal is going to

make Secretary Rubio's arrival here a little bit softer for him, the Canadians, the Europeans, very much backing these efforts to get to a peace

deal in Ukraine.

At the same time, we have these huge tariffs, threats of more tariffs against both the Canadians and the Europeans, that is not going to go down

well. And Eleni, this is where the rubber meets the road in U.S. foreign policy groups like the G7, NATO and others, very much the backbone of U.S.

foreign policy for the past few decades.

And now that is being upended, those groups being antagonized, if you will. So, this could make for a very rocky G7 summit for Secretary Rubio, Eleni.

GIOKOS: And as you say, really important meeting. And we're seeing some live pics there. We've got Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, taking

some pictures. You know, Alex, it's a really interesting time, because, as we've mentioned, you've got these big, overarching macro themes,

geopolitical tensions that are playing out.

You've got the war in Ukraine, you've got the issues coming through in Gaza, and then you've got allies that are being confronted by the United

States. And I think this is going to be really fascinating to see how Marco Rubio handles this, because they need allies on their sides.

And we mustn't forget that even the United States was talking about perhaps getting Russia back into the G7. How do you -- I mean in terms of the

energy there, and the atmosphere in terms of what these foreign ministers are expecting from the United States?

MARQUARDT: Well, I think there's frustration, there is confusion, there's going to be -- there going to be a lot of pointed questions being put to

Secretary Rubio. And in addition to what we were just talking about, Ukraine tariffs. There's also the very specific issue and antagonism when

it comes to the Canadians.

We've heard President Trump for weeks now talking about how Canada should become the 51st state that has been, of course, rejected wholeheartedly

across Canada. We've heard very angry comments from Prime Minister Trudeau, his successor, Mark Carney, and the Foreign Minister Melanie Joly.

And Joly was the first meeting for Secretary Rubio this morning. They sat down just about an hour ago. Again, if they were talking about Ukraine,

they were very much on the same page, but Joly has had some of the most pointed comments about the Trump Administration, not just about tariffs,

but about this concept of Canada becoming the 51st state.

[09:10:00]

This is what she told our colleague, Christiane Amanpour just a couple days ago, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELANIE JOLY, CANADIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: We want to make sure that we defend who we are as a country, and we've shown -- we've been shown too

much disrespect by the Trump Administration at this point, calling us a 51st state, calling our prime minister, governor.

This is not only a personal issue between Prime Minister Trudeau and President Trump. It's way more than that. It is much more than just the

political rhetoric. It is a fundamental threat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: Eleni, those are very strong words from one of America's closest allies and Rubio's direct counterpart. We asked Secretary Rubio, on his way

here, how he was going to approach this conference, and he told us that this meeting is not going to be about how we, the U.S., are going to take

over Canada, but just the fact that a U.S. Secretary of State has to say that is just remarkable.

So again, this could be a rocky summit for Secretary Rubio, and you can be sure that he would like to focus more on the issues that all of these

countries agree on, joint security Ukraine again, rather than those like this idea of Canada becoming a 51st state, which, of course, you would

probably rather ignore, Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yeah, exactly. But the undercurrent of these tensions between the U.S. and Canada absolutely there. And as you say, tough questions are

expected. We'll be monitoring the G7. Alex Marquardt, great to have you with us. Thank you so much for the analysis.

Well, the trade war between the U.S. and many of its partners is quickly escalating just hours after President Donald Trump imposed 25 percent

tariffs on all steel and aluminum imported into the United States on Wednesday, the European Union and Canada hit back. Europe was the first to

strike with retaliatory tariffs on $28 billion worth of U.S. goods, and that's including boats as well as bourbon.

And Canada announcing more than $20 billion in retaliatory measures on U.S. goods, that includes steel and aluminum products as well. And this just in

Champagne, is in the administration's crosshairs now, Mr. Trump has just taken to social media to threaten 200 percent tariffs on European alcohol.

CNN's Kayla Tausche is following the story for us from Washington. Trump Administration imposes tariffs on steel and aluminum. Everyone hits back.

Trump Administration hitting back as well. I mean, this is truly a tit for tat scenario that's playing out, and I think a lot of questions about what

this ultimately means down the line, Kayla.

KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Eleni. And this is a tit for tat trade war that is evoking a lot of Deja vu

from President Trump's first term, when he went after steel and aluminum imports, as well as many of those specialized items from Europe.

Europe has been -- and Canada and Mexico have been retaliating on the U.S. in kind, and that is something that we're hearing CEOs say are starting to

hurt American consumers and American businesses. But advisers to President Trump say that he is not taking no for an answer and that he is not

listening to dissent among his advisers.

Many of his economic officials have been wary of reciprocating in this way. They are advocates of introducing tariffs that match the tariffs that other

countries have on the U.S., but not essentially unilaterally starting these types of spats. We will see whether any of those officials are able to get

to President Trump and encourage him to change course, or whether President Trump will continue in this effort to try to get a deal.

I spoke with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink yesterday in an exclusive interview, and I asked him about some of these tariffs specifically on Canada and

Mexico. And I said, wasn't the USMCA trade deal supposed to fix a lot of these issues? And he said, yes, but it didn't have that result, Eleni.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAUSCHE: We've seen what the markets have done in recent days, the treasury secretary says this is a detox period for the American economy and for the

markets. How would you characterize it?

LARRY FINK, CEO OF BLACKROCK: Let's put it in context. The last three years, we've had incredible run on the equity markets since COVID. So,

we've had one of the largest market increases in the indexes than we've ever seen. And so yes, there is a lot of uncertainty -- a lot of the

uncertainties coming here from Washington.

But that being said, there is nothing wrong with a market pullback. There is nothing wrong with a 5 or 7 or 10 or even 50 percent market pullback. I

look at that as a buying opportunity, because I'm very bullish in America.

[09:15:00]

And I believe the opportunity over the course of the next 10 years, with the U.S. leadership, our leadership in AI, our leadership across so many

industries, our leadership in medicine across the board. No country in the world has opportunities that financing a smart, new idea where people can

get capital to do it.

Small, medium businesses can get capital from banks could get capital now from the capital markets. Yes, there is a lot of uncertainty. And yes, the

markets feel really squishy at the moment, but I have --

TAUSCHE: I have much uncertainty. Can the market sustain? Can the economy sustain before this, moves into something looking like a recession?

FINK: I mean it depends on the duration of a recession. Could we have a one quarter or two quarters of market of a flattening of our economy as we try

to reset the economy? Absolutely. Could we see elevated inflation in the next two quarters? Yes, but I'm looking beyond that.

If we are able to unlock private capital, as I wrote about in an editorial, if we could reinvest back in America, if we could build more factories and

plants in America that will restart and rekindle the next wave of a bull market.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAUSCHE: So that is Larry Fink, the CEO and Chairman of BlackRock, which is the largest money manager in the world, suggesting that the next 6 to 12

months could be very bumpy for the economy and the jury's out on what happens after that, Eleni.

GIOKOS: All right. Kayla, great to have you with us. Thank you so much. And coming up, humanitarian experts warn power cuts and border closures in Gaza

are threatening the progress that was made over the past six weeks of the ceasefire agreement. We explain the ramifications, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: In Doha, senior Arab diplomats have met with U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff pushing for alternative proposals to President Trump's vision

of Gaza's future. Qatar says they put forward a reconstruction plan that has the backing of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the UAE.

It outlines a rebuilding effort to run until 2030 at a cost of $53 billion and envisages Gaza staying under Palestinian governance. Witkoff, has

agreed to consult with them on Gaza's future, even though the White House has already rejected the Arab plan. Mr. Trump's proposal, which politicians

around the world have condemned, is for the U.S. to take over the enclave and develop it as what he called a Middle East Riviera.

Meanwhile, in Gaza, the U.N. is warning Israel's closure of key border crossings now in its 10th day, is putting the lives of 2 million people at

risk and undoing the progress that was made during the first six weeks of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

[09:20:00]

This comes days after Israel cut electricity to the last facility in Gaza receiving Israeli power, affecting a desalination plant vital for the

strips drinking water supply. Joining us now live is Olga Cherevko from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Olga, really good to have you with us, and really important to get a sense of what's going on, on the ground with the blockade that we're seeing of

aid. You're in Gaza City. We're hearing about rationing. We're hearing about aid running out, specifically food supplies. Could you describe what

you and people in Gaza are experiencing right now?

OLGA CHEREVKO, U.N. OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS: Absolutely. Good afternoon, Eleni, and thank you for having me. As you

said, I'm in Gaza City. I actually just arrived today from -- And the situation we're now actually in day 12, since no cargo has been allowed to

come in.

And you know when the ceasefire took hold, and during these six weeks of ceasefire, we were able to mobilize our systems. We were able to scale up

our systems and provide a lot of life saving aid to the people. And with that, there was hope. I saw hope in people's faces, in the way they spoke.

And now, when I'm walking around and talking to people, that hope is being replaced by fear, by alarm that our supplies are running out. And it's 12

days too many to have no aid coming in. And once they're gone, we will know no longer be able to provide this aid. So, this is a very serious

situation, and --

GIOKOS: Yeah. Absolutely and, I mean, what's absolutely petrifying about this? You've got electricity that's cut specifically to the desalination

plants as well. You've got water shortages that have emerged Rafah was open during the ceasefire, a lot of aid coming through. What is the timeline?

Because you're saying this is urgent, and alarm bells should be ringing. What kind of time are we talking about? But before we worry about famine

again?

CHEREVKO: Look, there -- the every day that goes by, it increases the risk to undo any and all progress that we've achieved. And so already, as I

said, we're in day 12. And that is 12 days to many. So, every hour, every day that goes by, that risk increases. And, you know, as you mentioned, and

we've had to reprioritize, we've had to cut, we've had to close some bakeries.

All of these things, obviously, we're, you know, we're shuffling the way that we are providing assistance, and it's disrupting the way that we're

providing assistance. And again, some things once they run out, once the assistance runs out, that's it. There's nothing. So, the alarms are

ringing, and they're ringing at all times.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

CHEREVKO: And they must be allowed in. It's really, it's that simple,

GIOKOS: Yeah, and Steve Witkoff, the U.S. envoy, is currently in Doha for talks, and they're talking about the day after, for Gaza, while we're

seeing this going on. What kind of hope is there that we could see a second phase to the ceasefire and perhaps a third phase? I mean, is there any hope

that these negotiations are going to bring about some kind of resolution?

CHEREVKO: Our -- of course, the most important thing for us is, one is to open the crossings and to for the ceasefire to hold, to continue holding,

that eventually the ceasefire must be permanent. So, this -- these are the things that we need right now to be able to reach the people, all of whom

are relying on us for assistance.

The entire population here is in need. They've endured months and months of unimaginable conditions. So, the aid must be allowed to come in, and the

ceasefire must continue to hold.

GIOKOS: You know, you've spent four years in Gaza. We've seen a blockade like this, quite a few times, specifically since the beginning of this war.

You've also written an article, and you say that those who are bringing relief to Gaza are falling into despair, and then something keeps you going

and waking up every day to help those who need it most in Gaza.

Despite this despair, you mentioned, I mean, do you feel any sense of hope? Are you, you know, are you and other aid workers in a state of despair

right now, and does it feel different this time around?

CHEREVKO: I think the ceasefire brought us a lot of hope, and we were able to show the world and provide this relief and mobilize our systems quickly

and efficiently, and that is the important component of our ability to reach the people.

[09:25:00]

So that component must remain and the hope, you know, they say hope, guys last, and there's always going to be hope. You know what? What I remember,

I met a woman a few weeks back, and she told me, we as cousins, the only thing that we have, while most people, they look forward to a future of

future.

What we do is we hope for the past to return, to go back to the pre-war situation and how we lived before.

GIOKOS: A U.N. report was just released, and it accuses Israel of carrying out genocidal acts against Palestinians through the systematic destruction

of health care facilities. What is your response to that, having spent so much time in Gaza?

CHEREVKO: So, what we have always called for, and we have been very direct, and we've spoken out against -- we've spoken out for protection of

civilians, for protection of infrastructure, for all parties to uphold their obligations and to ensure that civilian harm is minimized.

And this, we continue to call for this, and we will -- this is what needs to happen, and this for us again, as humanitarians, we need to make sure

that we can access the people and we can provide the assistance to them.

GIOKOS: All right. Olga, thank you so much. I wish you all the best. Much appreciated for your time.

CHEREVKO: Thanks.

GIOKOS: All right, still to come a Wall Street watching with concern as a trade war started by the White House keeps on escalating. The president now

threatening the European drinks industry. We'll bring you in updates on what it is, right after this. Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos, live in Abu Dhabi, and you're watching "Connect the World". Now, a brand-new CNN poll out today showing

concerns about the U.S. economy are growing in the first months of President Trump's return to office.

[09:30:00]

As markets slide and investors worry in response to Mr. Trump's escalating trade war, the poll found that 51 percent of those surveyed think Trump's

policies have actually worsened economic conditions in the country. Right, we're a few seconds to go before the market opens the new the U.S. Let's

listen in. We've got the live pictures from the New York Stock Exchange.

All right, OK, so this morning, we're expecting a lower start to the markets across the board. Yesterday was a better than anticipated. Today we

had a softer than expected inflation number that came to the 4, and of course, we saw a little bit of an increase on the DOW, the NASDAQ, as well

as the S&P500, after we saw a bad month for the stock markets in the United States.

And again, we're now back into negative territory because of more tariff threats that are emerging. This escalating trade war is causing a lot of

worry on the markets, and it's been reflected in the way that market participants are responding. DOW JONES down four tenths of a percent,

NASDAQ, as well as S&P firmly in the red.

Right, the U.S. President as well, focusing on tit for tat trade war a short time ago. Firing back at the European Union, which yesterday unveiled

its response to his tariffs on steel and aluminum. In a social media post, Mr. Trump threatening a massive 200 percent tariff on wine, champagne and

alcohol from the EU unless it rescinds the 50 percent tariff it imposed on U.S. spirits yesterday.

CNN's Business and Politics Correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich is live in New York with the latest. Honestly, what a stunning clap back from the

President. I'm just taking a look at some of these spirit firms, alcohol firms, and they're all much lower. I just don't know how much of this we

can possibly --

And you know how much of this the markets can actually can actually price in. Vanessa, take us through what we're seeing?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it's pretty impossible on both sides of the equation here.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

YURKEVICH: I mean the markets right now and investors are really trying to understand sort of two tales of the economy right now. On one hand, you

have the president who has ignited a global trade war.

As you mentioned, threatening to put a 200 percent tariff on French wines, champagnes, things that U.S. consumers, arguably drink a lot of, because

the European Union retaliated with their own tariffs on things like whiskey here in the U.S. because of the steel and aluminum tariffs that President

Trump put in place.

Now you see markets there digesting that picture down slightly, but at the same time, we are getting good consumer news here in the U.S. Just

yesterday, consumer prices fell, and today we got producer prices. That's what producers pay businesses pay for wholesale items that fell

substantially.

And so, we're seeing two pictures play out, lower prices for Americans, but the threat of an escalating trade war that could increase prices for

Americans. And you've been seeing markets for really the past two weeks now, trying to grapple with these two different scenarios that are playing

out at the same time.

Eventually they are going to collide, but you can see their markets down just slightly, trying to really digest all of this news that's coming out

this morning.

GIOKOS: Yeah, there's a lot, as you say, markets, companies, CEOs, are trying to digest what this ultimately means. And I think there's so much

uncertainty. We just don't which industry is going to be hit next. But Walmart is feeling the heat from the president's tariffs.

What can you tell us about how it's impacting? And this is a really important example of how it can hit one of the largest multinationals in

the United States.

YURKEVICH: Yeah, exactly. And Walmart is often considered the bellwether for the U.S. economy here in the U.S.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

YURKEVICH: Because so many people shop at Walmart for affordable prices. But we're learning that Chinese officials are telling CNN that Walmart

executives were in the country trying to get the producers there to lower their prices to offset tariffs, because at the end of the day, it's

consumers that are going to have to pay those higher prices.

So, Walmart executives were in the country talking to producers, trying to get them to lower prices on production. And this is something that does

happen regularly. Big companies are always trying to negotiate prices with their producers of products. But the different scenario that we're in right

now is that there is a very high tariff on exports coming from China to the U.S. 30 percent and upwards.

So, Walmart, for their part, says that they were doing this to try to save their consumers money. Here's what they said in a statement, they said our

conversation with suppliers are all aimed at making our purpose a reality for millions of customers.

[09:35:00]

And we will continue to work closely with them to find the best way forward during these uncertain times. Now, Walmart is not the only company --

GIOKOS: What I tell you --

YURKEVICH: -- to grab --

GIOKOS: Yeah.

YURKEVICH: Yeah. No. I was saying Walmart is not the only company grappling with this.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

YURKEVICH: Yeah.

GIOKOS: Yeah. I wanted to say that they're all going to be reviewing the supply chains, right? That's the point, you know, to try and figure out how

they can localize.

YURKEVICH: Yeah, and we know that in the first trade war, let's say in 2018 a lot of companies did make the move -- to move a lot of their supply chain

out of China when there were tariffs and reciprocal tariffs going back and forth. But ultimately, the U.S. relies so much on production out of China.

It is very difficult to move entire supply chains. We know that businesses in the past couple months have been looking into this, but for Walmart,

really, the biggest retailer here in the U.S. to be struggling with these tariffs, that certainly says a lot.

GIOKOS: It absolutely is. Thank you so much for breaking that down for us. Vanessa, good to see you well.

YURKEVICH: Thanks Eleni.

GIOKOS: Well, Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is now in the custody of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. A group of his

supporters showed up outside a detention facility in the Netherlands as he arrived on Wednesday. Hours earlier, he released this video from the plane

that flew him to the Netherlands.

Duterte is facing murder charges related to his ruthless and deadly war on drugs, but he said he'll take responsibility, quote, for everything and

protect the Philippine police and the military. Melissa Bell reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Far from the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, the country's former president now in The

Hague and accused of crimes against humanity. His dramatic arrest in Manila on Tuesday, the result of an international criminal court warrant only

served after a U turn by the country's current President, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

RODRIGO DUTERTE, FORMER PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT: My order to them was that, if they are holding a gun, kill them immediately, so there will be one less

criminal.

BELL (voice-over): Dubbed the punisher. Duterte oversaw a brutal years' long crackdown on drug pushers that allegedly left thousands, dead. More

than 6000 people were killed, according to police data, but independent monitors believe that the number could be into the tens of thousands,

including bystanders caught in the crossfire.

DUTERTE: What is the crime that I committed?

BELL (voice-over): Duterte has repeatedly denied the extrajudicial killing of alleged drug suspects, and although the verdict could take years, his

arrest is significant. First, because the former Filipino President will be one of a very small number of former leaders to have ever been taken to

trial, but also because the Philippines had actually withdrawn from the ICC under Duterte in 2019.

The court argues, however, that the crimes were allegedly committed when it did have jurisdiction. And the ICC has plans for other world leaders too,

though it relies on the cooperation of national governments to execute its warrants. It's seeking the arrest of both Israeli Leader Benjamin Netanyahu

on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for Israel's actions in Gaza, and Russian President Vladimir Putin for his invasion of Ukraine.

Outside the ICC celebrations of a step that some say means that justice will at last be done. Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: All right. We're going to a very short break. We'll be back right after this. Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:00]

GIOKOS: Welcome back. Real Madrid continues to find themselves on the right side of history in the Champions League, not without controversy though, as

they beat their city rivals Athletico on penalties in the round of 16. We've got Amanda Davies joining us now. So, Amanda, what happened?

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Oh, Eleni, we always use that phrase, there's something about Real Madrid and this competition, they just find a

way to win in Europe. But -- heartbreak once again for their great Madrid rivals, Atletico, as you said six times now in this competition, they have

been knocked out.

Nobody could have predicted it was going to be like this, a bizarre double kicked penalty for Atletico, for Julian Alvarez meant that his ball hitting

the back of the net was ruled out. That gave the momentum the advantage to Real Madrid. And it really is a tale of two very different sides of one

city.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

DAVIES: And that's what we're looking at in just a couple of minutes in "World Sport".

GIOKOS: Yes, and a lot more. Amanda, we look forward to hearing the sports update after the short break. And I'll be back at the top of the hour with

more "Connect the World". Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

[10:00:00]

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