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Syria Withdraws Troops from South after Days of Deadly Clashes; Hundreds of Israeli Druze Cross Golan Heights into Syria; Trump Fires Epstein Prosecutor Maurene Comey; Growing Push for Further Action on DOJ Findings from Epstein Files; U.K. and Germany Sign Friendship Treaty; Kremlin Monitoring Western Missile Deliveries to Ukraine; U.K. Doctor in Gaza Battles to Keep Patients Alive; Astronomers Detect Rare, Massive Black Hole Collision. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired July 17, 2025 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): And welcome to the second hour of the show from our Middle East programming HQ here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky
Anderson. Time just after 6 in the evening.
Syria says it is withdrawing troops from a flashpoint southern city after days of deadly clashes with the Druze minority group there that triggered
military action from Israel. So far, the ceasefire does appear to be holding but it is unclear whether that will last.
Gaza's only Catholic Church was hit this morning by an Israeli airstrike that reportedly killed two people and injured several more. The church is
famously known for its close connection with the late Pope Francis, who would call the parish almost daily since the start of Israel's bombardment
of Gaza.
Pope Leo XIV said he was, quote, "deeply saddened" by the incident.
And Maurene Comey, a federal prosecutor in Manhattan and the daughter of the former FBI director, James Comey, has been fired from her job in the
Southern District of New York. She was a prosecutor in the case against accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and, more recently, against Sean
Diddy Combs.
The reason for her firing not immediately clear.
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ANDERSON: Let's get you to Syria now, where a ceasefire does appear to be holding between the Syrian government and the Druze Arab minority group
after days of deadly clashes. It is unclear whether that truce will last.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON (voice-over): You can see Syrian military vehicles leaving Suwayda in southern Syria, where clashes first erupted last weekend. Syrian
president Ahmed al-Sharaa says his country is not afraid of war but agreed to a renewed ceasefire to protect his people, he said.
AHMED AL-SHARAA, SYRIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The Israeli entity, known for its repeated attempts to destabilize us and sow division,
once again seeks to turn our land into a battlefield of chaos and to dismantle the fabric of our people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, the truce followed intervention from the United States as well as these Israeli strikes on the Syrian capital, with Israel saying it
was acting on Wednesday to protect the Druze. More now from CNN's Jeremy Diamond.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Israeli bombs rock the Syrian capital of Damascus, striking the defense ministry in an
area near the presidential palace. At least three people were killed and 34 injured in the strikes, according to the country's health ministry.
The defense headquarters suffering a serious blow but the true cost of these strikes may not yet be known. Threatening to derail new U.S. brokered
security talks between Israel and Syria.
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We think we're on our way toward a real de-escalation and then hopefully get back on track in helping Syria
build a country and arriving at a situation there in the Middle East that's far more stable.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The attacks came after days of clashes in Syria's southern city of Suwayda, between Bedouin tribes and the Druze community, a
religious minority whose members also live in Israel and Lebanon. Dozens of people have been killed in the clashes in recent days. Syrian troops soon
entered Suwayda with the government saying it was looking to stop the violence. But some Druze leaders saw the approach of government forces as a
threat. And so, did Israel, which struck approaching Syrian tanks, rocket launchers and trucks carrying weapons, saying it was acting to prevent a
massacre against the Druze.
But Israel isn't just striking to protect the Druze.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We are committed to keeping Southwestern Syria a demilitarized zone.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Israeli troops captured this buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli occupied Golan Heights after the fall of the Assad
regime last year. But Israel has also demanded Syrian troops remain out of Southern Syria altogether.
In Israeli-held Golan Heights, the large Syrian Druze community here is deeply impacted by attacks on the Druze in Suwayda.
FAEZ SHKEIR, ISRAELI DRUZE: My wife is in Syria. My uncles are from Syria and my family is in Syria in Suwayda. I don't like to see them being
killed. They kicked them out of their homes. They robbed and burned their houses but I can't do anything. It's very hard on me.
DIAMOND (voice-over): That sense of helplessness, driving hundreds of Druze to take matters into their own hands, pouring across an Israeli
security fence and into the Syrian buffer zone on the road to Suwayda -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[10:05:09]
ANDERSON: Shadi Abou Karam is a Syrian Druze and political analyst. He joins us now from Berlin for his perspective.
And Reda Mansour, an Israeli Druze and former Israeli ambassador, joining us from Isfiya.
Thanks both for joining us.
Shadi, let's start with you.
Firstly, are you and your family OK?
And has anyone, you know been impacted by these clashes?
SHADI ABOU KARAM, SYRIAN DRUZE, POLITICAL ANALYST: First, thank you for asking. Gladly, my family are OK and are safe. This morning we received
some images from our village. My home and our shops got burned.
But like we, I mean, we don't care about, like, you know, material losses, you know. We're really saddened for the loss of the lives. And let me honor
all the martyrs of Suwayda, the province, like fighting for the dignity of this land.
This is the only province like, refused to get involved in this bloodbath in Syria. And now it's being this -- the price of that choice.
ANDERSON: And just how is the community feeling at present?
KARAM: I cannot explain -- I cannot explain how bad, like how they -- how outrageous they feel, how angry they feel now after what happened, because
we thought, like for what we did for the last 15 years, you know, for not participating in this war and to open our doors, you know, to refuge all
the people coming from different places in Syria.
We thought that would be, you know -- I don't want to say like a justification to stay out of this war, you know, but like what happened was
a shock because we didn't call for this war. We didn't need it.
We were all the time calling we need to be like a one state, one respectful state, built on one constitution, respect everyone in Syria. None of Druze
leader or Druze public figure or political figures were calling, you know, to federalization or like, even like until recent, you know, after what
happened in coastal region.
Some started to call for the international community, you know, to protect people and not just in Suwayda in Syria.
ANDERSON: Right.
KARAM: Let me -- let me be clear.
ANDERSON: Yes.
Ambassador, let me bring you in. Israel intervened, it says, to protect the Druze community, which is a community split on whether or not they wanted
support from Israel. And Israel attacked Syrian government buildings in Damascus as well.
What do you make of the official line from Benjamin Netanyahu as to his intentions?
And do you believe that this has made the Druze -- and you an Israeli Druze yourself -- feel safer?
Or has this sadly just unleashed more chaos?
REDA MANSOUR, FORMER ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO BRAZIL, PANAMA AND ECUADOR: Yes. Well, Becky, I want you to know that the images that we we've been
seeing in the last three days here in Israel, in the Druze community and in the general Israeli public, are images of a Druze genocide, not less than
that.
We are watching groups of jihadis shouting that they want to convert the Druze. They want to exterminate the heretics, burning holy places, going
into the central hospital of Suwayda, killing the doctors, the nurses and the sick people in the hospital. Everybody was slaughtered.
And this is the kind of images that we are seeing from Israel here. And I want to tell you that if something moved the Israeli conscience for this
attack to happen is the scene of that elder sheikh, Druze sheikh, that was -- his mustache was cut. He was 80 years old.
And in the Jewish Israeli imagery, this has immediately turned on the Holocaust memories. The first thing that the Nazis did is to cut the beards
of Jewish rabbis. So the Israeli response, in a great sense, wasn't about strategy, about long-term interests.
It was emotional. It was seeing the Druze in Israel in agony, hurting, don't know what to do. We called on the Israeli government to intervene.
They asked al-Sharaa government to stop immediately these attacks. They did not respond. And so Israel escalated until he understood that Israel will
not stop until he calls his forces back to other areas of Syria.
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ANDERSON: Shadi, you've just heard the ambassador's view there.
What are your thoughts on Israel's involvement?
KARAM: I firmly reject any justification for Israeli intervention. And we condemn Tel Aviv using Suwayda as a pretext to expand its ongoing
aggression against other parts in Syria.
What happened, Israeli bombed some tanks and armored vehicles after, let's say, over 30 hours, of all the convoys were going to Suwayda. So if Israeli
forces like were really into protecting Druze, they would bomb this convoys before they arrive to Suwayda.
But what happened, it's a rule of engagement, was forced by Israeli forces after Bashar al-Assad ran away. That -- it was an unofficial agreement but
it was forced on Ahmed al-Sharaa state that there was no heavy vehicle, no tanks, nothing.
And they are now escalating to disarm all the south region. So it was not in favor of Druze Israelis. They're not protecting Druze. They are using
this, Israeli, they didn't bomb Syria two days ago. They have been pumping Syria for years and years now. And this is just like a use of another
political leverage of what happened now in Syria.
ANDERSON: And Ambassador, you've heard Shadi's view there. And there are critics of Israel who will say that the country is trying to foment
discord, to try to secure more land in southern Syria.
This isn't really, critics suggest, about protecting Druze. And I've heard your position with regard that al-Sharaa also calling Israel out quite
firmly. The U.S. is calling this a misunderstanding.
What are your thoughts on that?
And do you really believe strikes on Damascus very specifically were necessary?
MANSOUR: Well, I want to tell you, Becky, that what you're watching here is the Druze tragedy in live TV. The Druze have a culture. Every Druze is
very loyal, very patriotic to his country. So what you're going to see here is an Israeli Druze, very proud of his Israeli identity, very proud of what
Israel is doing.
And on the other side, I understand Shadi is Syrian. He cares about his Syrian community. And we are in the middle of this tragedy.
But one thing I can tell you, if Israel did not do what it did, Julani (ph) forces would not have left Suwayda. They called on help from all over Syria
from 17 different provinces. People poured thousands of volunteers and they would have not finished this operation without killing thousands of Druze.
The only reason why this stopped was the Israeli bombardment. Now if we want to talk strategy, yes, there are strategic interests of everybody
here. Pay attention that the Turkish military has been in northern Turkiye, northern Syria, for a few years now. Nobody talks about that. They are
oppressing the Kurds.
They are doing whatever they want. But nobody's covering this. I'm a Syrian historian. I'm studying Syria for the last 25 years. And I think the major
problem here is not the strategic games between Israel and Turkiye and not the strategic games between what the American administration want and what
the Gulf states wants.
The tragedy of Syria that since the '50s, the Sunni majority did not find a way to integrate minorities. This is not a new story. In the '50s, there
was another president, Adib Shishakli, who, exactly like al-Sharaa, tried to break the Druze by force and sent his air force to Suwayda, bombarded
Suwayda, killed thousands of people.
And only after a very difficult struggle, the Druze managed to bring him down from power and he ran away to Brazil and the Druze sent somebody to
assassinate him there.
ANDERSON: right.
MANSOUR: So this is not Druze, new Druze story in Syria. The Sunni majority needs to find a way.
We are all supportive of new Syria, stable Syria. We wish them the best in this new government. But they need to find, understand, first of all, that
30 percent of your society is minority. You can't have a Sunni Islamist government without including them.
And if you don't include the Druze and the Dauris and the Kurds and the Christians, you will not be able to create this modern new Syria that you
are talking about. So it's not just --
[10:15:00]
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: Let me -- let me.
MANSOUR: -- just --
ANDERSON: -- let me get -- mainly respond to you.
I mean, al-Sharaa himself -- hold on, sir. Al-Sharaa himself has said that this is not the way to create a new stable Syria, in calling out Israel and
its attacks on Damascus and on the community of Suwayda. That was al- Sharaa's line.
Shadi, let me just give you a chance to respond there.
KARAM: Becky, I would ask Sharaa, like, what's the right way to build a new state, to continue doing this with one color state and one color
government and having one voiceless female minister, bringing her -- to put her as like a Christian minister, as like a decoration, you know, on
Christmas tree?
This is also not the way. Suwayda, with all the religious and political leaders since day one, they were asking to be a part of this government and
not as a part, like, you know, to give a piece of this cake as a part, as citizen building a state for all the Syrians, despite all their religious
background or ethnicity.
But I mean, this is a lesson the authoritarian regime, they will never learn. And I just would like to confirm something. The jets and the
airplane jets who's bombing Gaza and Palestinian will never liberate Suwayda. And this is -- will never happen.
The use of Suwayda, to justify what they are doing, it's putting us in dangerous (sic). And it's in a direct fight with another component in
Syria. This is what my dear friend is not understanding and the Israeli are using now.
And they did yesterday, with this fabricated scene, you know, to send someone from occupied lands in Palestine, to send them like to do the newly
occupied lands in Syria as they send people like, you know, from outrageous (ph). It's really fascinating.
But please stop because we are trying to build a new country. We suffered for decades from the dictatorship. Please stop supporting the new
dictatorship and let us build a new country.
ANDERSON: I really appreciate both of you joining us today with your very different perspectives on what is going on. It's important to have both of
your views and we will continue to cover what is an extremely important story. Thank you both for joining us.
The U.S. secretary of state, Marco Rubio, says the U.S. is on its way toward a de-escalation in the days-long conflict in Syria, posting this on
Wednesday.
Quote, "We have engaged all the parties involved in the clashes in Syria. We have agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and
horrifying situation to an end tonight."
This was last night.
He said, "This will require all parties to deliver on the commitments that they have made and this is what we fully expect them to do."
And underscore the fact that he said "all parties."
Well, last hour, I spoke to CNN's Kylie Atwood at the State Department to break down the U.S. position and why Syria matters. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a few pieces of this, not the least of which is that the Trump administration
made a really bold decision earlier this year to, in the encouragement of some regional players, to roll off U.S. sanctions on Syria.
To effectively, in their perspective, give president al-Sharaa an opportunity to rebuild Syria. There was some doubt about that position but
it is what they did, effectively what they're still doing, because some of those sanctions are still in place. They're working to roll them back now.
But because they did that, of course, maintaining a stable Syria is important to the United States because it helps to maintain a stable region
writ large. But it also puts their credibility on the line.
The decision that the Trump administration made here, the bet that they made on president al-Sharaa here, as you were speaking about earlier, the
Trump administration officials, Marco Rubio, Ambassador Tom Barrack, who is the special envoy for Syria, they have been intimately involved in what we
now see as this ceasefire in southern Syria.
President -- excuse me -- president Trump turned to the secretary of state yesterday during a meeting in which Rubio said that both parties had agreed
to specific steps to bring the fighting to a conclusion. That was before we saw the ceasefire in effect. So he was clearly, very intimately involved in
the discussions that were underway.
[10:20:00]
We now obviously have to see if this is able to hold and what measures can be put into place to make sure that this doesn't happen again; because, of
course, this has been an ongoing conflict that Syria has seen for some time now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, still ahead, a main prosecutor who was on Jeffrey Epstein's child sex trafficking case is abruptly fired. And she happens to
have a well-known last name.
Plus, Donald Trump erupts in fury as he tries to make the Epstein case go away.
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ANDERSON: One of the federal prosecutors who worked on the case of suspected sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein has been abruptly fired. That
prosecutor is Maurene Comey. She also worked on the case against Sean Diddy Combs.
If her last name is familiar, well, that is because she is the daughter of former FBI director, James Comey, who was fired by president Trump at the
start of his first term. CNN chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid is here with me.
It's good to have you again, Paula. Thank you.
What is -- what's going on here?
PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: So a source familiar with this matter says that it had become untenable, the Justice Department
says, for having this young woman continue to work there because her father continues to go after the administration.
Now we have seen them fire many people who are not in line. They believe with the ideology of president Trump or have been involved in
investigations into president Trump.
But the timing here is curious, because James Comey has been criticizing Trump since he was fired by president Trump in the first Trump term. And
this firing of Comey comes as the administration is facing enormous pressure to release additional materials from the Epstein case.
And we see the president possibly trying to lay the groundwork to maybe make Ms. Comey or the Comey family a scapegoat here. He suggested that all
the uproar over Comey -- excuse me, over Epstein, has been created by Hillary Clinton, James Comey, former President Obama.
When the fact is that this controversy has really been driven by the president's supporters, who, for years, have been asking some legitimate
questions about the Epstein investigation and also promoting, in some cases, full-blown conspiracy theories.
And it was his own attorney general who promised to release additional information and then recanted. So it's unclear if they wanted to, if they
could pass responsibility on to anyone else for this.
But at this point, it appears that Ms. Comey is certainly the latest in a string of people to be let go because she was not -- her family was not
displaying loyalty to the president. That is not how the Justice Department is supposed to work but we continue to monitor, see if they try to put more
responsibility on her or her larger family.
ANDERSON: Is there any suggestion that she just wasn't doing her job well at all?
[10:25:03]
REID: No. No suggestion. I mean, she has been on some of these really high-profile cases, including the Epstein investigation. She also worked on
the prosecution of Sean Diddy Combs.
I mean, this is someone who, people who know her, say she's really, really good and she wouldn't be getting these plum assignments if she was not a
competent prosecutor.
Instead, she seems to be put in this bucket, according to at least one source familiar, with other really competent prosecutors who the Trump
administration does not believe can support their mission.
And you can't underestimate the fear and distrust of the so-called "deep state" or people who have just worked in government or, in any way,
advocated against the president's interest. I mean, that is something that runs deep at the Justice Department.
But the timing here, given how long her dad has been criticizing president Trump, raises a lot of questions about whether this is a long game that
they are playing, to try to pin some responsibility on her and or maybe her dad.
ANDERSON: Paula Reid on the story, thank you.
Washington lawmakers are calling for more transparency on the Epstein investigation. This comes as the fallout from a U.S. Justice Department
memo on the issue shows no sign of fading amongst Republicans or certainly some Republicans.
An angry president Trump calling them "weaklings," falling prey to Democratic BS. He said in a Truth Social post, he claims the conspiracy
theories, as he now calls them, are a product of the, quote, "lunatic Left."
CNN's Kevin Liptak joins us live from the White House.
And if our viewers are struggling to get their heads around this, because the Epstein case was one that Donald Trump was very exercised by, before he
got elected president, they will be, you know, understandably confused at this point. I just want to read out what our colleague, Stephen Collinson,
said about this Truth Social post.
Quote, "In seeking to defuse a conspiracy, Trump created a new one, nonsensically accusing Democrats of being behind the storm -- even though
Epstein was charged with sex trafficking by Trump's own first term Justice Department."
Can you just unpick what's going on here?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and I think the other reason that it's so confusing is that Donald Trump has stocked his
administration with people who were fueling the Epstein conspiracy to begin with.
People like the FBI director Kash Patel; his deputy, Dan Bongino, who, on his podcast essentially convinced his listeners that there was much more to
this case than was being told in the public, that this was essentially a cabal of very powerful people, who Jeffrey Epstein conspired with to
sexually abuse minors.
And now that they're in office, now that they're in positions of power, the president and his deputies don't seem willing or able to provide his
supporters the answers that they thought that they were going to get when he was elected to office.
And so it really is a problem of the president's own making. It's a web that he laid for himself. And now he's having a lot of trouble extricating
from himself. You hear him starting to accuse Democrats of peddling this hoax.
And certainly Democrats are seizing on this. They want to do as much as they can to potentially cause this rift to widen between the president and
his supporters.
But you know, when the president calls his supporters "weaklings" -- he also used the phrase "foolish and stupid" yesterday -- it's not necessarily
causing this to go away in the way that he, I think, hoped it would.
And so you hear, for example, calls from Laura Loomer. She's a conspiracist but she's also very close to the president. She's very frequently in the
Oval Office, talking to him. She's now calling for a special counsel to look into all of this.
The president was asked about this yesterday and he said he had nothing to do with it. So it's not precisely clear where exactly that idea is going to
go.
You hear an enormous amount of pressure now being piled on the attorney general, Pam Bondi. She has said essentially that this is case closed, that
there are no more documents or information to be released.
But you hear people like Mike Johnson, the House Speaker, really close ally of president Trump's, saying that she should do everything she can to
provide as much information as she can and be as transparent as possible going forward.
So it's not exactly clear how the president is going to wiggle out of all of this. I mentioned Pam Bondi there. She has been in the headlines really
for the last week for this case. So I think it is notable actually what she's doing today.
She's heading to Alcatraz Island, the former prison on the other side of the country, in San Francisco Bay. President Trump has said he wants to
reopen that as a prison. Clearly, I think trying to divert the attention somewhat from this brewing controversy.
[10:30:00]
ANDERSON: That's certainly a compelling picture story, that one, isn't it?
Thank you very much indeed. Good to have you, Kevin.
Up next, the U.K. and Germany sign off on a wide-ranging treaty to strengthen ties from transport to defense.
And Ukraine's president talking about fresh plans to beef up his country's arms production. Plenty to cover after this.
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ANDERSON (voice-over): Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. Your headlines for you.
And Syrian government officials and leaders from the Druze and Arab minority group renewed or announce a renewed ceasefire on Wednesday after
days of deadly clashes. The truce following intervention from the U.S. So far, the ceasefire does appear to be holding.
However, Israel's prime minister has vowed that Israel, quote, "will continue to act as necessary" after his country carried out attacks
Wednesday on Syria in support of the Druze Arab minority group who live there.
The U.S. Senate has signed off on some of president Trump's DOGE spending cuts. The chamber passed it in the early hours of this morning. Only two
Republicans opposed the $9 billion in cuts to USAID and public broadcasting. They were senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski.
The bill now returns to the House for final approval before landing on the president's desk.
Well, a federal prosecutor who worked on the case of the suspected sex trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein, has been abruptly fired. She's Maurene Comey.
Comey is the daughter of the former FBI director, James Comey, who was fired by president Trump at the start of his first term. CNN has reached
out to the White House and DOJ for comment.
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ANDERSON: The U.K. and Germany have signed a wide-ranging friendship treaty as part of Friedrich Merz's first trip to London as German
chancellor. The agreement aims to deepen ties between the two countries in a number of areas, including defense, transport and irregular migration.
Merz's day trip is the latest effort from the U.K. to reset relations with the E.U. following last week's visit by French president Emmanuel Macron.
This all, of course, in the context of the -- of Brexit and the U.K. leaving the E.U. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen has more on this story.
Let's just talk about what exactly this treaty covers, if you will.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there. Becky. And I would say that this is obviously in the context of Brexit and
trying to rebuild ties with the European Union, European Union countries, specifically bilateral ties in this case between the United Kingdom and
Germany.
[10:35:00]
But, of course, all of this in many ways is also a reaction essentially to two people, one being the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and his war in
Ukraine and the uncertainty that that brings in Europe.
But then, of course, also U.S. president Donald Trump and some of the uncertainty that he has brought with trade relations between European
nations and the United States but, of course, also defense relations between the U.S. and some of its NATO allies as well.
With some of these European countries openly asking whether or not the United States would necessarily defend them if they were attacked by an
outside power, possibly Russia, if that conflict were to escalate.
So right now, this treaty that the two countries have forged and signed today, it really is a landmark treaty. None of this has ever been done.
Nothing like this has ever been done between the United Kingdom and Germany.
And as you've noted, it covers things like irregular migration; also, cooperation in the energy sector. But I would say the key and the core of
this treaty and by far the most important part of it is the defense part of it.
And there there's one sentence that really sticks out, which essentially says that a threat to one of these countries is necessarily seen as a
threat to the other country as well. It was quite interesting to listen to Keir Starmer, the U.K. prime minister, calling Germany one of the United
Kingdom's closest allies. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEIR STARMER, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: I see it very much as evidence of the closeness of our relationship as it stands today. The strength of our
values, the strength of our joint approach but also very much as a statement of intent, a statement of our ambition to work ever more closely
together, closest of allies.
And whether that's on defense, security, trade, the economy, energy covers so much in this treaty. And so this is a really historic signing of a
historic agreement. And it's very, very good to welcome you here in order to do so. Thank you so much.
FRIEDRICH MERZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR: Thank you so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: Keir Starmer there, speaking of Germany, as one of the United Kingdom's closest allies. Of course, that's the kind of talk that really we
hadn't heard in a very long time here in Europe.
It was quite interesting, as I read through some of the things that were in that treaty, some of the things that the Germans and the U.K. want to work
closer together on. Some of them are longer-range weapons, for instance. Some are also unmanned aerial systems; in other words, drones.
But also there is talk of strengthening NATO's eastern flank as well. So a wide-ranging treaty, really one that brings the U.K. and Germany closer
together. And, of course, it comes right on the heels, Becky, of the U.K. making a similar treaty also with the French as well.
Because one of the things, of course, that we know, Becky, that we've seen since president Donald Trump has taken office in the United States, is that
you've really seen a very close cooperation between the U.K., Germany and France.
And then, of course, Poland as well, really trying to take the reins as far as European security is concerned. Becky.
ANDERSON: Yes, yes, absolutely. Fred, good to have you, sir. Thank you.
Ukraine's wartime president is laying out fresh plans to boost his country's arms production. Volodymyr Zelenskyy calling for a 10 percent
increase in domestic-made weapons within the next six months.
Well, this comes as his reshuffled cabinet pledges to boost Kyiv's military strength against the backdrop of these Russian attacks.
Well, for its part, the Kremlin says Western arms deliveries to Ukraine will be closely watched in the coming days, especially shipments of long-
range missiles. Earlier this week, the U.S. president all but ruled out sending long-range missiles.
But U.S. Patriot air defense systems and other weapons are on their way with the help of NATO allies. At the same time, president Trump has now
given Moscow a 50-day deadline to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine. More details now from CNN's Matthew Chance, who is in Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what Russia's 50-day window in Ukraine looks like.
Overnight, hundreds of drones pounded towns and cities across the country. The biggest attacks of the entire war, say Ukrainian officials. Despite
President Trump's sanctions threats, the Kremlin is showing no sign of letting up.
Russia is not changing its strategy, the Ukrainian president posted on X. Demanding more air defense systems, more interceptors and more
determination. Russian President Putin inspecting a metals factory in Magnitogorsk, nearly 1,000 miles from Moscow, hasn't even commented yet on
the U-turn in Washington.
But his officials are brushing off concerns over sanctions and even European deliveries of U.S. weapons authorized by President Trump.
DMITRY PESKOV, KREMLIN SPOKESPERSON (through translator): It's business. There were supplies before and no one stopped them. It's just a question of
who pays. Now some Europeans will pay for them.
CHANCE (voice-over): And Russia seems to believe it has the upper hand. Latest footage from the Russian defense ministry purports to show its
forces, quote, "successfully" advancing and improving tactical positions along the front lines in Eastern Ukraine.
[10:40:08]
By the time President Trump's 50-day window for a peace deal has closed, the Kremlin may have significantly tightened its grip -- Matthew Chance,
CNN, Moscow.
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Well, ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, as Gaza's only Catholic Church is hit by Israeli strikes, CNN hears from a British doctor on the front lines in the
enclave.
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ANDERSON: Two people have been killed after strikes hit Gaza's only Catholic Church. Several more are injured, including the parish priest.
Pope Leo XIV was deeply saddened by the deaths and has renewed his calls for an immediate ceasefire.
This Holy Family Church is known for its deep connection with the Vatican, as the late Pope Francis called the parish daily throughout Israel's
bombardment of Gaza to check in on the Christian community there and to offer his support.
Well, Israeli military said it was aware of reports of damage to the church, adding that the circumstances of the incident are under review.
But a British surgeon, who has been working in Gaza, is capturing daily life in a video diary for CNN. Nada Bashir brings us that. But a warning
for you, some of the images that you are about to see you may find disturbing.
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NICK MAYNARD, SURGEON, MEDICAL AID FOR PALESTINIANS: I am just over halfway through my full spell (ph) in Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis and
this is my third trip out here since October 7th to Gaza. And it is much worse than previous visits.
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dr. Nick Maynard has been traveling in and out of Gaza for around 15 years. He's been recording diary
entries exclusively for CNN. Together with our own footage from inside the hospital, we have pieced together a firsthand look at the humanitarian
crisis unfolding inside Gaza's hospitals.
MAYNARD: There's a massive aerial bombardment just to the east of Khan Younis and the whole operating room was shaking.
BASHIR (voice-over): Doctors here are not just treating wounds from bombs and bullets, they are fighting to keep their weakest patients alive as
hunger spreads.
MAYNARD (through translator): Does it hurt?
Where does it hurt?
Where does it hurt?
MAYNARD: He's very sleepy, isn't he?
BASHIR (voice-over): A blockade imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip has thrown the enclaves 2 million people into the midst of a catastrophic
hunger crisis. As a result, doctors warn Gaza's most vulnerable, including children are starving to death.
MAYNARD: It made me cry seeing them, my tears in my eyes, literally.
[10:45:00]
The expression, skin and bones doesn't do it justice. They're -- they have no muscle mass at all. Every single rib visible.
BASHIR (voice-over): What we are about to show you is distressing. Baby Zainab (ph) is just five months old. Her sunken cheeks and wrinkled skin a
painful indicator of just how malnourished she is. Her helpless cries almost two weeks to hear.
MAYNARD: What is her weight?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now 21 pounds. Before at two months, she was (INAUDIBLE). She losing weight.
BASHIR (voice-over): Zainab (ph) is just one of so many babies now at risk of death in Gaza.
MAYNARD: There've been four newborn babies in the last couple of weeks who've died as a direct result of malnutrition. Their mothers, they're too
malnourished to produce milk. There are inadequate amounts of formula feed, healthcare workers who tried to bring in formula feed and had it
specifically confiscated by the Israeli border guards.
BASHIR (voice-over): In response to CNN, the Israeli government said it is working to allow and facilitate the transfer of humanitarian aid to the
residents of the Gaza Strip and is actively assisting these efforts, including the entry of food.
But almost all the aid coming through is being distributed by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is backed by both the
U.S. and Israel. It's at these sites that hundreds of Palestinians have been killed as they desperately attempt to secure what little aid is being
made available. Many of them suffering from injuries that Dr. Nick Maynard says indicate a pattern.
MAYNARD: One day they come in with gunshot wounds to the head, another day they come in with gunshot wounds to the neck. The other day we had four
children admitted all of whom had been shot in the genitals.
BASHIR (voice-over): CNN has reached out to the Israeli military but has not yet received a response.
MAYNARD: All the families of these victims, they all tell exactly the same story, that is the Israeli soldiers shooting them and the quadcopter
shooting them.
BASHIR (voice-over): But after more than 21 months of constant bombardment and with at least 1,400 medical workers killed during that time, according
to the group, Medical Aid for Palestinians, fatigue and the fear of being targeted pervades.
MAYNARD: Some colleagues have lost 20 or 30 kilograms in weight. So they are exhausted mentally, they're exhausted physically, they're hungry all
the time but they cope.
BASHIR (voice-over): And while doctors here work around the clock to save their patients from both bombs and bullets, their patients they say are
often then lost to hunger -- Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, a seventh medical evacuation for children from Gaza has been carried out by the Jordanian armed forces; 35 patients and 72 family
members left Gaza for Jordan, the largest group evacuated since the first one back in March.
So far, 112 children have been evacuated to Jordan as part of a pledge to treat 2,000 sick or wounded kids. Jordanian officials tell CNN ongoing
Israeli operations in Gaza have made it difficult to ensure the safety of the patients during the transportation.
The technical and logistical challenges have also hampered their efforts. However, they remain eager to help more child patients.
Back after this quick break.
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[10:50:00]
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ANDERSON: Well, Donald Trump -- excuse me; let me start again.
Donald Trump says, thanks to him, Coca-Cola has agreed to change its recipe and use cane sugar, removing the high-fructose corn syrup for Americans.
The company has not confirmed the change but said they, quote, "appreciate president Trump's enthusiasm."
Coke switched to the syrup decades ago to save money. Trump has a well- known devotion to Diet Coke. Let's get you to CNN's Anna Stewart, who is in London and she's keyed into this story.
So did he or didn't he?
What's the real deal here?
Is it all a cola conspiracy?
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I mean, we've had this statement from president Trump on Truth Social. But, of course, the statement from Coca-
Cola didn't really confirm it, just saying they appreciate the president's enthusiasm for the drink. And they will update on any new innovations or
offerings from the brand.
So we don't really know. But as you say, for years now, high-fructose corn syrup has been used in the recipe for Coca-Cola -- Coca-Cola, sorry -- in
the U.S., unlike here in the U.K. were actually just says sugar on the back. But I believe this is beet sugar and a mix of cane sugar.
In Mexico, it's cane sugar. And frankly, it depends how expensive sugar is in any given market as to what Coca-Cola will use. Sugar is very expensive
in the U.S.
Now some point to the fact that perhaps corn syrup is more processed and may not be as healthy. Coca-Cola has defended their use of corn syrup
today. They say on Twitter -- sorry; X -- it's safe. It is the same number of calories. It's metabolized in a similar way.
Perhaps it's not all to do with health as to why president Trump is campaigning on this on the sides of all sorts of other things. He says in
his Truth Social post, it's just better.
Now regardless, Becky, of whether this is true or not, it is causing a little bit of fizz in the markets. So for some of the largest corn
processors, we are seeing stocks down today. For instance, Archer Daniels Midland is down about 2 percent at this stage.
It's also worth thinking about some of America's big corn farmers, particularly those in areas like Iowa and Nebraska, states that very much
voted for Donald Trump.
And then you've got the issue of, if they did make this switch, switching from corn syrup, using more cane sugar, where are they going to get all the
extra cane sugar from?
Because the U.S. makes tons but they don't use they don't make everything they use. The biggest export markets for them are Brazil and Mexico, both
of which are very much targeted by president Trump right now in terms of tariffs; particularly Brazil, which is looking at a 50 percent tariff come
August.
ANDERSON: I promised that you we're keyed into this. And so you were. Thank you very much indeed.
And I think, before I go, it's worth showing this image. Coca-Cola chairman James Quincey presenting Trump with an inaugural Diet Coke bottle ahead of
his second swearing-in, because it is indeed Diet Coke that the president drinks. Thank you. Anna.
Well, an international team of astronomers discovered a rare, massive collision between two huge black holes in outer space. This is according to
new research that says the two black holes combined to make a massive one larger than the size of 200 suns.
It is considered the largest merger of its kind, at least of the kind that we have ever recorded. CNN's Tom Foreman all over this like a rash.
Just how significant is this discovery and what are you learning?
And why should we care?
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a big thing because this is something we've never seen before. Theoretically, black holes this size are
too big to be made by collapsing stars, which many black holes are made by. Not big enough to be the center of a galaxy, which other black holes do.
So the question is, were these two that combined already the result of previous mergers of other ones?
And the reason we don't know is because our ability to detect these things at all only started just about nine years ago, the first time we were able
to see what -- to detect these, because you can't really see them.
What you're looking for here -- it's a little technical, Becky, but it's really interesting. Think about the idea that that Einstein proposed of
space and time being almost like a sheet out here. Right. And you have a marble sitting on it somewhere.
And if that marble moves fast enough, it might make a tiny, tiny ripple on that sheet. That is what they measured here. And the measurement between
these two different stations in the LIGO system, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory, was so, so, so, so tiny that you can barely
see it.
[10:55:08]
But enough for them to know it's happened. And it's changing our concept of black holes, how they exist, how they might affect our universe. This is
very big news in the space world. And maybe big news in our lives the longer it goes on.
ANDERSON: Tom, you have 30 seconds.
Why did it take so long for researchers to notice this?
FOREMAN: Because we really didn't have the tools to do it. We had the concept that it was out there. But even Einstein, when he proposed this,
said, I don't think it can be measured. It's too small. And yet now we finally have the tools to do it. And they've been discovering more and more
of these.
It's really using the most precise tools we've ever developed in the history of man to measure one of the biggest things in the universe and we
can still barely see it.
ANDERSON: Amazing stuff.
FOREMAN: Yes.
ANDERSON: Thank you sir. What a pleasure you are.
And that is it for CONNECT THE WORLD this evening. But do stay with CNN. "ONE WORLD" is up next.
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