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Connect the World
More Western Nations Preparing to Recognize Independent Palestinian State; Ukraine's President: Kyiv Hit by 300 Plus Russian Drones & Missiles; Tehran's 10 Million People Facing Dire Water Crisis; Investors: Fed Interest Rate Cut Could Come in September; Kim Le Court Makes History at Woman's Tour De France. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired July 31, 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)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, this is the scene in Gaza where at least 60 Palestinians were killed while they were trying to
get desperately needed aid. It is 04:00 p.m. there. It's 02:00 p.m. here in London. I'm Becky Anderson. This is "Connect the World".
Also coming up, the U.S. President's Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff is back in Israel in a renewed attempt at diplomacy. An overnight Russian
attack on Kyiv leaves six people dead and many others under the rubble of an apartment building. And the White House holding the line on tariffs as
President Trump's deadline of August, the first looms.
Well, the stock market in New York opens about 30 minutes from now, and don't be surprised to see a strong opening, at least on the NASDAQ and the
S&P today. That's after earnings from Meta and Microsoft putting some wind into stock futures ahead of that bell, back there at 09:30 local time.
We start with the war in Gaza and another attempt at diplomacy by U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East Envoy. Steve Witkoff arrived in Israel
a few hours ago, meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It is his first visit to the region since May.
His trip coming during a week that has seen the world recoil at the shocking images of emaciated children in Gaza, nearly 90 kids said to have
died of starvation. And this is growing international pressure is placed on both Israel and Hamas to end the war.
With more Western nations saying that they are prepared to recognize an independent Palestinian state, the latest being Canada. At a U.N. hosted
meeting Arab nations telling Hamas to lay down its arms, while many people in Gaza face starvation, the fighting, though, goes on.
The death toll since the start of the war has topped 60,000 this week, according to local health officials there. Our Ben Wedeman following
developments for us from Rome, and he joins us now. Let's start with Steve Witkoff strip, and we're seeing a renewed push at this point, clearly been
for a ceasefire.
This in the wake of these images of starvation, devastating scenes out of Gaza. Just remind us where we stand on the diplomatic front at this point.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we -- just last week, Becky, we were reporting that the United States and Israel had
withdrawn their negotiating teams from Doha, the capital of Qatar, alleging that Hamas was not being flexible enough.
But clearly, I think these images from Gaza, which are getting starker by the day, have even moved the heart of President Donald Trump, who recently
said that's real starvation stuff. I see it, and you can't fake that. That's contrary to, of course, the claims by Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and other Israeli officials and spokespeople insisting that there is no starvation.
But I think at this point, those claims, those allegations, are simply falling flat. Nobody is really convinced at this point that the situation
in Gaza has not really just reached rock bottom, if that's possible, after 20 months of this war. And I think the pressure is building on President
Trump and sort of European countries in general, that something has to be done to finally bring this war to an end.
And I think what we're seeing is that, as happens with all American Presidents who have dealt with Benjamin Netanyahu. At a certain point, they
just get so frustration, frustrated with an Israeli leader who many of them have made it clear they simply do not trust. And therefore, I think the
pressure is mounting.
We're seeing, of course, France expressing a willingness to recognize a state of Palestine. Canada as well is going to announce this at the U.N.
General Assembly meeting in New York in September. The UK has conditionally expressed a willingness to recognize a Palestinian state.
So, we are seeing momentum building. The question is, will all of this global momentum, this negative publicity about Israel, will it be enough to
move Prime Minister Netanyahu, who, of course, has this coalition that's composed of several extremely hard weighing -- hard right-wing extremist
ministers?
[09:05:00]
Will he be moved by all of this, or will he, in his desire to remain in power, stick with his coalition partners, come what, May, Becky?
ANDERSON: Yeah, Ben, of course, Netanyahu is officially sticking to his goals, which are, get the hostages out and finish off Hamas. And just this
week, Arab nations have called on Hamas to disarm, in New York, a whole slew of nations, Saudi, Qatar, Egypt, and it goes on say they see no role
for Hamas going forward after this war has ended.
This war, of course, has not ended at present, but this is a significant move, if not one that we've heard spoken about by various Arab nations in
the past. What do you make of that statement in the declaration coming out this big New York summit? And what's the likely response or reaction from
Hamas at this point?
WEDEMAN: Well, I think Hamas, as sort of its position, has always been a bit ambiguous, or certainly in recent months, expressing a willingness,
perhaps, to hand over power to a technocratic administration in Gaza. It's significant that these Arab countries are saying, basically, give up your
arms, surrender essentially, and pass it all over to the Palestinian authority.
But let's be honest, the Palestinian authority is an empty shell with no authority to speak of. It exists at the grace of Israel, and Israel
essentially has rejected the idea of a two-state solution for quite some time. They have free reign in the West Bank. So, the idea that somehow the
Palestinian authority is going to be able to replace Hamas is rather unrealistic.
And also, let's keep in mind something else, you mentioned at the top of the show 60,000 dead in Gaza, at least since October 2023. We're talking
about almost 20,000 children killed. It is unrealistic to think that out of this, out of this war, you will not have something perhaps even more
radical than Hamas emerging.
Keep in mind that, of course, that you know you can get rid of Al Qaeda and ISIS takes over. You can get rid of Hamas, something else will take over. I
think a dynamic has been set in place whereby these Arab regimes who don't like Hamas, who made it clear for quite some time that they're opposed to
the Muslim Brotherhood, out of which Hamas emerged.
But at the same time, these are regimes who themselves have very shaky legitimacy. They would like to see Hamas disappear just as much, perhaps as
the Israelis. But the fundamental reasons why Hamas exists and whatever comes afterwards, Hamas 2.0 still exist and are only getting worse. And
therefore, it might be a change of name, but the problem that resulted in the creation of Hamas hasn't been solved.
ANDERSON: Ben Wedeman following the story for us as ever Ben's experience of the Middle East over the countless years that. He's been commentating
and reporting on and from there, always extremely important for us. Ben, thank you. The White House is ramping up the pressure.
Meantime, ahead of its tariff deadline tomorrow. The Trump Administration saying that this time there will be no extensions. Some of America's
biggest trading partners, like China and Canada and Mexico have yet to reach an agreement. South Korea, however, has managed to strike a deal in
inverted commas that would see a 15 percent tariff on its imports to the United States.
Here's how the markets across Asia close, and you can see Seoul's index down a little over a quarter of 1 percent. The SHANGHAI and the HANG SENG
Index is well -- down well over 1 percent as investors wait to see what happens in the final stretch of these negotiations. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout
with more.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: U.S. President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with South Korea right before the August 1
tariff deadline. Now he says the deal includes a 15 percent tariff on imports from South Korea, and that's down from the 25 percent rate
originally due to kick in on Friday.
The deal also includes a $350 billion investment from South Korea into the U.S. and the purchase of $100 billion worth of liquefied natural gas and
other U.S. energy products.
[09:10:00]
Trump also said the South Korea would accept U.S. products, including cars, trucks and agriculture with no import duties. Now the U.S. Commerce
Secretary Howard Lutnick, provided more details on the arrangement on the social platform X. He wrote this, quote, South Korea's reciprocal and auto
tariff rate will be set at 15 percent.
They will also not be treated any worse than any other country on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. Steel, aluminum, and copper are not
included and remain unchanged, unquote. On Facebook, the South Korean President Lee Jae Myung fleshed out the investments in the deal.
He said this quote, the $350 billion fund included in the trade agreement will strengthen the foundation for strategic industry cooperation. In
particular, $150 billion of this fund is dedicated to shipbuilding cooperation, which will firmly support our companies' entry into the U.S.
shipbuilding industry.
And the name of this project, MASGA, or quote, Make American Shipbuilding Great Again. Look, there was a lot of pressure on South Korea to reach this
deal before the deadline, especially when its export rivals had already done so. Here's the regional context.
Now, Japan's deal with the U.S. set the bar at a 15 percent tariff while offering a hefty investment. And the Philippines and Indonesia, they
settled for 19 percent, Vietnam at 20 percent meanwhile, Thailand and Cambodia have been clashing at the border. A ceasefire was announced on
Monday.
And Lutnick told Fox News that there is a deal with both countries, but provided no further details. Now, Thailand says no deal has been officially
announced, but expects one soon. Now talks to China for trade truce extension, those are ongoing. Now, South Korea is America's seventh largest
source of imports.
It's also a key strategic ally. Analysts note how North Korea and the U.S. military presence in the Korean Peninsula didn't appear to factor in the
trade deal, but that will likely come up with the two leaders meet. Trump, says the South Korean President will visit the White House, quote, within
the next two weeks. Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.
ANDERSON: Well, markets in the United States will open about 20 minutes or so from now. I'm going to check in on those and get you a much deeper dive
with an economist this hour on these trade negotiations and on the fed's decision to hold interest rates steady.
Also important to note those markets will also open lightly reacting to strong earnings from some of America's Tech Titans. All that coming up in
about just less than 20 minutes time. First up, though, we are following major developments in the war on Ukraine. A six-year-old boy and his mother
were among at least six people killed in the latest barrage of Russian attacks on Ukraine's capital.
Well President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Kyiv was pummeled by more than 300 Russian drones and missiles. Overnight, scores of people were injuries.
Well authorities reported 27 impact sites, including this nine-story apartment building, which took a direct hit.
Emergency crews pulled this man out alive from underneath the rubble as they continue what is a frantic search for survivors. Well CNN's Nick Paton
Walsh joining us, live from Eastern Ukraine. Nick, Russia has been making sort of piecemeal advances to a degree for months on the front lines.
It's summer offensive now, does appear to be shifting into higher gear. And I've heard you talk about this, of course, over the past weeks. Just get
his bang up today and what you see and what you hear at this point.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I mean the overnight assault on Kyiv, an example, Ukraine officials saying of
those 300 drones being essentially targeted to one space, trying to overwhelm the capital's air defenses and that apartment block where so many
of the dead hailed from, that six-year-old boy dying in the ambulance as they tried to whisk him to hospital.
Casualties across the country, and we're just hearing, in fact, in the last hours, a daylight strike on the Eastern City of Kramatorsk, a focus of so
much Ukrainian military activity, a lot of their infantry soldiers based out of there trying to hold back Russia's advances.
One killed in a strike on a five-story building, frankly, level their huge devastation, part of Russia's increasingly strategic gains along that
eastern front line, Pokrovsk were there close to encircling forces that have held off a month-long assault by Moscow, Kostyantynivka to under
similar threat, Chasiv Yar to the north of Kostyantynivka, a high ground town fought for by Russia for well almost a year plus, now.
Russia now claiming to have taken it that disputed by Ukrainian officials and analysts who suggested the flag raising we've seen may, in fact, be in
a different part of the area there, but persistent progress, not just reported, but visible from Russia too.
[09:15:00]
And we saw quite how that looks when it comes to the saturation of attack drones around Pokrovsk, when we worked in the last few days.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH (voice-over): After dusk, the war has fallen silent, but got deadlier. This tiny military medical unit near the town of Pokrovsk, which
Russia is close to encircling, is waiting for patience, in total darkness and quiet, just for survival. That bright light, we're told, is a Russian
spotter drone, and look at how their other attack drones riddle the dark. The first warning is gunfire. Ukrainians aiming at Russian drones.
WALSH: We just have to keep every kind of light source or heat source indoors in case Russian drones are passing overhead, and that makes it
impossible, frankly, to go outside for this unit to welcome in the wounded, instead listening to the eerie noises in the dark, trying to work out
what's a threat and what's not.
But imagine how hard it must be for those actually at the front lines trying to bring wounded out with constant drones above them. Well, that one
landed so close. You can actually smell the explosive now in the night air.
WALSH (voice-over): The medics tell us this is a quiet night in the skies, but no injured here is no relief.
WALSH: The fact that you haven't had patients tonight isn't necessarily a good thing. It might mean they can't get out.
DMYTRO, MEDIC, UKRAINIAN 35TH MARINES BRIGADE: Yes, it's true, because we often learn there are casualties. But the evacuation is difficult. The
rescue vehicle goes and gets hit. Even an armored vehicle doesn't guarantee a timely evacuation.
WALSH (voice-over): Dawn is when the injured usually come when the changing light disrupts drone cameras. But the only patients, six men with suspected
concussion after their vehicle was hit by a drone on the road who drove straight here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where are the worst injured?
WALSH (voice-over): Some of the badly wounded trapped, as this video shows Ukrainian wounded evacuated here two days earlier by police from the front
line. Their injuries infected after the long wait. Daylight doesn't stop the hunt, we rush to our car to leave, but there's a problem. Two elderly
locals hear the noise. One runs and the other braves it out.
WALSH: So, our car won't start, and we've just noticed locals running away from a drone, and so we're trying to get out of here as quickly as we can.
WALSH (voice-over): Our vehicle is under a tree, but SUVs are a priority target. We managed to go. The need to leave when you have to abandon your
life is constantly creeping up on people here. This is Dobropillia, where, yesterday, the normal bus service ran, but today it's canceled. And the way
out is with the police in an armored van, the drones closing in fast.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why did you decide to leave today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just like everyone else.
WALSH (voice-over): You, Katya (ph) explains she and her baby son truly have nowhere to go, no plan for what's next. It's happened that fast. Days
before Russian drones struck many civilian targets, like this coffee shop. But every day, the map of where police can go is changing.
This is -- a flame, Russian troops on its edges. Police taking out those who, like many here, simply didn't see things changing so fast. As they
leave, they use this device to intercept Russian drone signals
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The highway.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our one?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
WALSH (voice-over): And recognize that one is flying above the same road they are on.
[09:20:00]
But the escape options are shrinking. Ukraine normally catches Moscow off guard, but now Russia's summer offensive is shifting the ground beneath
their feet, perhaps irreversibly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH (on camera): And Becky, that's the point really about what we've been seeing over the past weeks, the incremental, slow gains that have been of
little consequence have now built into something that is clearly changing Russia's control and progress on the front line and improving its strategic
situation, whether they've taken chance of yards they claim today or not.
We're going to think here more claims and possibly more reality of Russian progress in the days or weeks ahead. It is beginning to take significant
effect, Becky.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you Nick thank you very much indeed. Well, next up on "Connect the World", after years of severe drought, a city of 10
million people could be about to run out of water. We've got a live report on what that could mean and what can be done to prevent it, after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: 10 million people who live in Tehran are facing a potentially dire water crisis. Experts say it could be just a few weeks before what
they are calling day zero when the Iranian capital runs out of water. Now the country is experiencing one of its worst droughts on record.
But that's not the only reason that water is scarce. There is a host of other factors that have played a part, including poor water management and
the demands of a large farming industry. I want to get you more on this. CNN Chief Climate Correspondent, Bill Weir, joining me now.
And Bill, let's just do a bit of a deep dive on this and get a sense from you as to what has led to this very specifically?
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Well Becky, it's really a confluence of events. It goes back really, to the revolution, when
agricultural workers seized some of the land they had been working on, which set up generations of legal conflict, which means there wasn't a lot
of investment into infrastructure around agriculture.
90 percent of the water use in Iran, even though a lot of small farms there, goes to agriculture to grow thirsty crops like wheat and pistachios,
those sorts of things. And meanwhile, in order to support the growing population, booming cities like Tehran, they had to pump groundwater to the
point where some parts of that city are sinking centimeters a year as a result of all that water being pumped without replacement there.
So, it is a confluence of mismanagement climate change. Of course, they have a drought now for five years. Record high temperatures near 50 degrees
Celsius, all leading up to this real crisis.
ANDERSON: How are authorities coping? What are they doing?
WEIR: Well, there's immediate sort of mitigation, which includes water tankers rolling into neighborhoods.
[09:25:00]
They cut the water pressure by almost half into -- which means, if you live on a high floor and a high rise, you might not have any water at all. This,
of course, will separate the haves from the have nots. Those who can afford storage for their water to ride out these they've had a national holiday,
one day to hoping that it will decrease water demand.
They're considering maybe a week off for the country, encouraging people to leave the city and decrease both water and electricity demands, and they're
praying for rain. But in terms of water transfers, big water transfers, like they did in South Africa in the past, or desalination projects, like
Israel relies on in the Middle East, those are expensive.
They take time, and one expert our team talked to use the term water bankruptcy at a certain point you get past getting back to normal, if you
can't recharge these aquifers in a holistic way. And again, this isn't just Iran. This is happening India. Happens in Mexico City. The American West is
dealing with these stresses as well. A real wake up call for everyone.
ANDERSON: So, it's good to have you, Bill. Thank you very much indeed. Well, were in the House, well ahead on "Connect the World" pressure, what
pressure more the fed doesn't budge on interest rates despite massive pressure from Donald Trump for a cut. But will the fed hold its nerve on
rates in the months ahead?
More on that is coming up. Plus, we are only hours away from President Trump's latest tariff deadline. That is, of course, -- first. So, who's cut
a deal and what this all means for the prospects for the global economy? That is what I'll be asking an expert in international trade, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in London this week, and you are watching "Connect the World". Well, the United States ramping up pressure
on its trade partners, ahead of President Trump's declared Friday deadline to reach agreements.
He is now threatened, or he has now threatened, to impose a so-called Russia penalty on India for buying Russian oil. Posting, I don't care what
India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together for all I care.
[09:30:00]
Well, the opening bell is just about to ring. That's the group from Figma, encouraging a big roar today as we await that bell, investors say go.
Investors keeping an eye on the Trump White House as it steps up pressure ahead of Friday's tariff deadline. We've been telling you about that this
hour.
Plus, Wall Street also looking ahead to whether the Federal Reserve might move on interest rates in September. That's when some investors are
anticipating the U.S. Central Bank's first rate cut of the year. On Wednesday, of course, the fed held rates steady for a fifth straight
meeting, despite plenty of pressure on Fed Chair Jerome Powell, that was from the president.
Of course, Donald Trump wants to see rates come down, and he has made no bones about that. Two members of the fed's rate setting committee also
wanted a cut. It is worth noting that kind of fed dissent is pretty rare. Well, Richard Baldwin is a Professor of International Economics at the
International Institute for Management Development IMD in Lausanne in Switzerland.
It's good to have you sir. So, let's start with what the fed's up to. Do you share the view of many feds watches who predict the first fed rate cut
of the year is likely to come in September?
RICHARD BALDWIN, PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS AT IMD LAUSANNE: Well, I think we still have a bit of uncertainty. And as everybody knows,
the inflation rate is substantially above the target. And we just got a big surge in GDP, so it doesn't look like the economy's dumping.
So, both of those give you an idea that you want to wait to see if you're going to lower the rates some more. If the economy had been continuing to
slow, there might have been a stronger case for it.
ANDERSON: Right.
BALDWIN: September, we'll find out a lot before then.
ANDERSON: And let's just do this, couple of dissenters on the rate setting committee. I mean, I've been watching these fed meetings for years. I am
well aware that this sort of dissent, two members of the rate setting committee is very rare. Just how significant is this?
BALDWIN: Well, I think you could say just about everything about the Trump second administration is pretty rare. One of them, one thing I think you
have to keep in mind is these people are also looking potentially to be promoted to chairman next year. So, in some sense, this is a job interview.
And I mean, I'm not -- I don't want to disparage their personal views. There's, you know, we are talking about the future, and nobody really knows
that. But I think there's this extra element that some people may be wanting to please President Trump, because they may be the next in line.
ANDERSON: You've alluded to this, but I want to do more now. We do not know where this U.S. economy is headed, primarily, and according to Fed Chief
Jerome Powell, because it's still early days in Trump's tariffs, meaning that, in Powell's words, there are many, many uncertainties left to
resolve, he said, speaking to their effect on the U.S. economy.
Donald Trump, look, Donald Trump acknowledges some short-term pain, perhaps he says, but says medium to long term, at least. The benefits to the U.S.
economy outweigh the risks of rising prices to consumers. Where do you stand on this?
BALDWIN: Well, I think it's just completely wrong. I mean, basic economics, what we've learned for decades now is raising tariffs across the board is a
bad idea. All it does is make the poor and undermine the competitiveness of your industry. Now, the thing is, if you want a tariff to, say, protect
steel, or tariff to protect semiconductors, that's one thing.
That's how countries normally use it. It's how Japan, France uses it to protect their food. But this 15, 20 percent all the way across the board,
isn't protecting any particular sector. It's raising the prices for everybody. Moreover, only about 10 percent of the American middle-class
work in the sectors that can be protected, because, remember, you can't put tariffs on services.
You can only put them on goods. And only about 1 out of 10 of the middle- class work in these kinds of sectors, the other 90 percent all they see is a lower, higher cost of living, and therefore more difficulty making the
pay stretch through the end into the month.
ANDERSON: I'm having a look at the markets. I'm certainly getting our viewers a look at the markets as they've opened this Thursday, a day ahead
of this tariff deadline. So many unknowns at this point, no rate cut from the fed. The fed clearly concerned, or at least most of the fed committee
concerned, about where these trading tariffs sort of wars are going to lead this U.S. economy.
And yet we have the DOW, the S&P and the NASDAQ, or higher. The NASDAQ, but to the tune of one and a quarter percent.
[09:35:00]
Look, that is tech heavy. We've had some strong earnings from Meta and Microsoft ahead of the bell today. So, I get that, but I wonder what your
sense is as you look at these indices and you see where investors are placing their bets. What's your sense of the fact that they seem to be
unperturbed by the whole kind of tariff trade rhetoric?
BALDWIN: Yeah.
ANDERSON: Are these just sort of short-term gains as quickly as possible before the whole thing sort of, you know, gets corrupted as it were. What's
your take?
BALDWIN: No, no, no, I don't think that's quite I mean, that's an element. And again, we're talking about the future. So, nobody knows, but think
about it this way, that where the tariffs have landed, and pretty much all the important ones have landed right now. So, we know where they are.
They all landed pretty much where the market expected them be. And although they're high and they're not good for the American economy, in my view,
they certainly aren't disruptive in the sense of, you know, pushing over the cart. The other thing is, tariffs reduce the competition for American
companies in America, and therefore tends to be good for their share values.
And so, the fact that the stock market is not tanking is not a problem. What happened in April, it was everything looks so chaotic. It was so
unexpected. It looked like policymaker had gone crazy. Now it's really pretty predictable what's going on. He says stuff people don't believe him.
What he does is in between. And so, the rest of the narratives about AI and all that, that's taking over and allowing the market to go forward. That's
how I would read it.
ANDERSON: It's fascinating, isn't it? Yeah, I think you're on point. It's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed. Richard Baldwin, in the house
for you folks. Let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now. And 25 passengers were injured on board a Delta
flight after turbulence forced the plane to make an emergency landing.
The plane was enroute to Amsterdam from Salt Lake City when it was diverted to Minneapolis, where firefighters and paramedics met the plane at the
gate. Turbulence once again to blame. Well, a radioactive wasp nest was discovered at a site in South Carolina that once made parts for nuclear
bombs in the United States, that's according to a report from the Department of Energy.
Officials say it doesn't pose any danger, but a watchdog group says the report is at best incomplete, since it doesn't detail where the
contamination came from and how the wasps encountered it. We animated TV comedy "South Park" celebrating some of its biggest ratings in years thanks
to what was -- what it was, quite some Trump takedown in its season 27 Premier.
Parent company Paramount says 5.9 million viewers watched. That is the best for a season Premier since 2022. The White House called the episode a
desperate attempt for attention. Well still to come, a seven-way battle for the finish line at the Women's Tour de France and a stage winner who made
history for her country. That is next on "World Sport".
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:40:00]
ANDERSON: Vogue magazine is facing criticism after using an AI generated model in its August issue. This is the ad for guests that has people
talking. Paris based AI marketing agency, Seraphinne Vallora used algorithms trained to mimic runway looks, fashion campaign photos and
studio lighting, the result this stunning model, but she is not real.
While Vogue discreetly notes the image was made by AI. It's done little to quell the criticism, and while it may have cut costs, fashion insiders are
concerned about how it could become a destructive trend for the industry. That's the sort of story we'll be doing more of in the days and weeks
ahead, believe me.
Well, there was a dramatic spring to the finish on the fifth stage of the Tour de France Femmes, and it ended with 29-year-old African cyclist Kim Le
Court making history. Amanda Davies with us for more on that. Fill us in, Amanda.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Becky, you know, it's been a sensational week for women's sport.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
DAVIES: We've been talking about it. How do I improve on that? Well, I also get to talk about probably my favorite country in the world, as we've
already discussed this week, Mauritius. Kim Le Court became not only the first African, but the first Mauritian to win a stage of the Tour de France
Femmes.
It's a sensational story. 29 years of age, she actually gave up on road cycling because she didn't feel she was cutting the mustard. But came back
to it in 2023, won a stage at the Giro d'Italia this year, and has now become the first African ever to win a stage at the tour and as you can see
by the following pictures, get her hands on that yellow jersey.
We are still midway through the race, though. There is still some distance to go, but a fantastic moment.
ANDERSON: Wow.
DAVIES: And a fantastic milestone for women in sport.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
DAVIES: And we've got plenty more coming up in just a couple of minutes.
ANDERSON: Amanda and I both lucky enough to have been to Mauritius recently. It is a gorgeous place, and we wish her the absolute best.
Congratulations. More on that coming up in "World Sport". I am back in 15 minutes with the second hour. If you're a regular viewer, you will know
here -- "Connect the World".
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
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