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Israel to Call Up 60,000 Reservists for Gaza City Takeover; Israel Moves Forward with Settlement Plans in West Bank; Netanyahu Lashes Out at Australia and France; Trump Says "Better" if Putin and Zelenskyy Meet without Him; China Sees Opportunity as Ukraine Talks Grind On; The Afghans Left Behind after U.S. Withdrawal; Trump Escalates Attacks on Cultural Institutes; Londoners and Activists Criticize Chinese Embassy Plans. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired August 20, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to the second hour of the show from our Middle East programming headquarters. I'm

Eleni Giokos, live in Abu Dhabi.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is berating Australia and France over their pledges to recognize a Palestinian state.

Russia says discussing Ukraine's security without Moscow is a, quote, "path to nowhere."

This, as president Trump keeps pressuring the Kremlin to meet with President Zelenskyy.

And we are tracking Hurricane Erin as it threatens to send destructive waves and storm surges to the U.S. East Coast.

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GIOKOS: Well, Israel is gearing up for its planned takeover of Gaza City. The military says it will be calling up 60,000 reservists in the coming

days. The operation could see up to a million Palestinians forcibly displaced to southern Gaza, raising fears that Israel may be planning to

fully occupy the enclave.

World leaders are calling on the Israeli prime minister to step back and stop the violence. There is a ceasefire proposal on the table right now,

one that Hamas has agreed to.

But so far, Mr. Netanyahu has not responded. And now he's lashing out at countries speaking out against him, calling Australia's prime minister

"weak" and accusing France of anti-Semitism over their plans to recognize Palestinian statehood. CNN's Jerusalem bureau chief Oren Liebermann joins

us live this hour.

Oren, where do things stand right now with this planned takeover of Gaza City?

Any chance for a ceasefire before that happens?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF AND CORRESPONDENT: Eleni, mediators right now are waiting for a response from Israel and, of course,

specifically from prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

He's only made one oblique reference to Hamas accepting the proposal several days ago. He said he had seen the reports of Hamas' acceptance but

he hasn't indicated which way he'll go. So that remains an open question as the clock is ticking here.

There's clearly a push by mediators to make this happen, putting forward that new proposal from Egypt and Qatar that is virtually identical from

everything we have seen and everything we have heard to the proposal that was on the table a month ago, one that Israel had accepted from U.S. envoy

Steve Witkoff.

So it's unclear now why Israel would not accept a proposal that, from everything we see, looks very much like what had accepted a month ago.

Still, an Israeli official says they're demanding the same goals they've had for a while now. That is the destruction of Hamas, the release of all

the hostages.

But, no, no answer yet as we await that step. In the meantime, though, the Israeli military preparing for the operation, it announced, and that the

security cabinet approved just a few weeks ago and that is the occupation and takeover of Gaza City.

The military saying today they will call up 60,000 more reservists as part of this operation and extend the service of 20,000 other reservists. In

total, there will be 120,000 reservists, as well as active duty troops in Gaza.

So you get the sense of the scale of this planned operation, one, a military official says, has already begun, at least in its preparatory

stages. And we have seen -- we have seen the bombing of Gaza City already begin over the course of the last few days.

So as we wait for a response from Israel to the latest proposal on the table, we don't have that marked optimism that we had a month ago.

And yet, at least they're trying to open the door to ceasefire negotiations to see if it's possible for at least a 60-day ceasefire that might lead to

a permanent ceasefire. But as that happens, Israel is pressing forward with its plans to escalate the war.

GIOKOS: Yes. All right. Oren Liebermann, thank you so much for that update.

Well, Palestinians don't just face mass displacement in Gaza. It's happening in the West Bank, too. Israel has been expanding its illegal

settlements in the Occupied Territory for years. And it may be about to get worse.

The government has approved plans to build thousands of new housing units in an area east of Jerusalem. This plan, known as the E1 Settlements, has

been frozen for decades due to international opposition. It would connect the Maale Adumim settlement to Jerusalem, making a future Palestinian

capital of East Jerusalem virtually impossible.

[10:05:00]

But now the plan has been pushed through by far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich. Here's what he had to say when he announced the

settlements last week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEZALEL SMOTRICH, ISRAELI FINANCE MINISTER (through translator): They will speak of the false Palestinian dream. We will continue to build a

fulfilling Jewish reality. This reality definitively buries the idea of a Palestinian state, simply because there is nothing to recognize.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Well, my next guest is Israeli human rights lawyer Michael Sfard. He is involved in bringing litigation challenge to the E1 settlements. He

joins us now live from Tel Aviv.

It's really great to have you with us, Michael. And you're involved in challenging the Israeli government on the approval of the E1 plan. I want

you to walk us through what you're doing right now.

MICHAEL SFARD, ISRAELI HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER: Well, thank you for having me. I think E1 is like no other plan for expansion of settlements in the West

Bank. It is basically a very long and sharp blade that would be stuck into what is supposed to be the future Palestine, Palestinian state. It will

have huge effect.

It will be having immediate effect on hundreds of Palestinians, Bedouins, who are residing in the area and basically will be forcibly displaced from

that area. If the plan is executed, it will have indirect implication on thousands of other Palestinians in the Jerusalem periphery by completely

isolating Jerusalem.

That was once a political, cultural, economic center for Palestine. And now is being isolated and separated from the West Bank. And, of course, it will

further, in action of Palestine, creating small islands of Palestinian residency areas.

So this is really an affront to any plans for a future, viable Palestinian state. And what we're doing now is we're -- several Israeli NGOs, Ir Amim

and Bimkom, that have objected the plan on behalf of hundreds of Palestinian residents of the area.

We're planning on filing very soon a litigation -- judicial challenge in the Israeli district court in Jerusalem, trying to stop this plan for

taking effect.

GIOKOS: Yes. I mean, really interesting. You mentioned Ir Amim and they called the settlements, quote, "an apartheid reality."

You've basically said that it basically means that a Palestinian state cannot exist if E1 -- if they go ahead with E1. But at the same time,

finance minister Smotrich says it buries the idea of a Palestinian state. And it seems that this is the strategy.

How successful do you believe you will be with this litigation?

SFARD: Look, these supports (ph) are a very difficult arena for Palestinian causes. We had in the past several successes. And I'm not --

you know, I'm a lawyer and I go to court in order to win.

At the same time, I think it is of utmost importance that there is an international pressure that would be put on the Israeli government to stop

this plan from being materialized.

It is a plan for cleansing the Jerusalem area until Jericho. For Palestinians, it is an ethnic cleansing plan. It is a war crime. And at the

magnitude that it will take place, it could amount to a crime against humanity.

So governments around the world must put pressure and use the leverage they have on the Israeli government to stop this plan from taking effect. Now

Israeli courts are also you know, vulnerable to political pressure. They hear what's going on in the -- in the world. And if there is a real, you

know, cry to stop this man, that would definitely help.

GIOKOS: In terms of international pressure, we've seen the Australian prime minister as well as the French president, saying that they will

recognize a Palestinian state as early as the UNGA. So in other words, next month.

And Netanyahu called the Australian prime minister "weak." I want you to take a listen to all that he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: what I say is that Israel, of course, increasingly, there is global concern and global concern because

people want to see an end to the cycle of violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: And hearing this, this is in response to Benjamin Netanyahu's statements.

Do you think this kind of pressure is being noted by Benjamin Netanyahu, being noted by the international community?

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Look, I find it very difficult to get into the head of Benjamin Netanyahu. He seems like, you know, an Israeli Darth Vader. He completely succumbed to

the dark -- to the dark side of the force.

I don't know if he is -- if there's anyone that can impact him except his very radical, racist coalition partners. But it is utmost importance that

leaders around the world speak out, because it does have an effect on the Israeli public.

And I don't think that most of the Israeli public buys the Netanyahu alibis and the Netanyahu allegations, that criticism of Israel is unfair, biased

or anti-Semitic.

In fact, as an Israeli and as a Jew, I am -- I feel abused when Netanyahu uses the anti-Semitic, anti-Semitism allegation card. He actually commits a

crime against the very sacred fight against anti-Semitism by calling every criticism of Israel (INAUDIBLE).

And when we're dealing with --

(CROSSTALK)

GIOKOS: Let me ask you this, Michael. Yes. Let me ask you this, because I just -- and we can touch on Gaza because we need to -- we need to get to

that as well.

Benjamin Netanyahu says that the recognition of a Palestinian state, particularly by France, is fueling anti-Semitism.

What's your response to that?

SFARD: Again, I think this is completely unacceptable. Israel is committing Israeli forces; the Israeli government are committing grave

crimes in Gaza. We are starving people. We are forcibly transferring people from where they -- where they reside without any commitment to allow them

get to get back.

We don't -- we kill people and we bombard civilian objects and civilian infrastructure on a scale unseen before. So criticism of that behavior is

not just justified but it's an obligation of the international community to stop these atrocities.

And we have -- we, as a human race, we have made a commitment after the Second World War, never again to allow these kind of atrocities to take

place. So calling this kind of very benign, very careful criticism anti- Semitic, anti-Semitism is a complete, complete lie.

GIOKOS: I want to talk about Gaza because we know that 60,000 reservists are going to be called in to go to Gaza City. It will bring the total of

reserves to 120,000. We've got images of Palestinians now preparing to be displaced once again.

At the same time, we've also seen a lot of people getting out in the streets across Israel, wanting to see the end to the war, wanting to see

the hostages back.

What is your sense in terms of the response to deploying more reservists, more soldiers into Gaza?

SFARD: The continuing of the war in Gaza really splits the Israeli society, not evenly. It is clear from all the polls that the large majority

of Israelis want this war to end now with a -- with a hostage deal to end the war completely.

And now -- but Netanyahu has a solid parliamentary majority, although he would not go to elect -- for elections because, again, according to all

polls, he will lose in a landslide. So he uses -- he exploits, he sticks to this parliamentary majority and sticks to his position and basically

carries out the plan that his far, far right partners are demanding.

That he will carry out a plan to cleanse the Gaza Strip, to push all the Gazan residents, all two millions of them, to a very small enclave in the

southern tip of the Strip as a preparation for their deportation outside the Strip.

This is a plan that has already been talked about. The ministers and Ben- Gvir are openly talking about it, openly pursuing it. And the minister of defense has already announced this humanitarian city plan, which is

basically an a huge internment camp for the Palestinians in preparation for their deportation.

So again, we're dealing with massive crimes against humanity that are planned.

And it is -- it is the obligation of the international community to stop it. Israeli reserve soldiers by their hundreds are speaking out about the

consideration of refusing to go because of these very harsh realities, because this war is also endangering the lives of the Israeli hostages.

[10:15:00]

Mr. Netanyahu has completely disregarded their safety. So we're seeing a, you know, a boiling point that is coming very rapidly toward us in coming

days.

GIOKOS: Michael, thank you so much for your insights and for joining us today on the show. Really appreciate it. Thank you, sir.

Well, it's supposed to be a time of joy and celebration but there were mixed emotions at a school graduation in an orphanage village of Gaza. And

you can see children waving diplomas as well as flags, watching dancers perform, while others broke down in tears.

At the ceremony on Monday, according to Palestinian statistics, the number of orphaned children in the enclave has risen to nearly 40,000 since

October 7th, 2023. About 17,000 of those children have lost both parents and many are living in dire conditions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. WAFA ABU JALALAH, DIRECTOR, ORPHANS' VILLAGE (through translator): Our orphans lost education, lost the sense of safety. They reached difficult

levels of psychological stress during this war after they lost their mothers, their fathers and their homes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: The war in Gaza has taken its toll on the education system. According to the United Nations, more than 95 percent of all school

buildings in Gaza have been damaged, with nearly 88 percent needing reconstruction before even functioning again.

All right, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD live from Abu Dhabi.

Still ahead, did president Trump really end six or seven wars as he claimed?

This week, we assess his claims with CNN's Stephen Collinson.

Plus, why an Alaskan man may have walked away the big winner in last week's high-stakes summit between Putin and Trump. We'll explain. That's just

coming up.

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GIOKOS: Russia's foreign minister is throwing cold water on the prospect of security guarantees for Ukraine without Moscow's participation.

Sergey Lavrov today saying that any such discussions are, quote, "a path to nowhere." And he talked just before NATO military chiefs convened virtually

to talk about security guarantees.

In Washington, the White House continues to push the prospect of a face-to- face meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, something Moscow so far has not committed to. President Trump says if it does happen,

he would not be in the room.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I had a very successful meeting with President Putin, I had a very successful meeting with

President Zelenskyy and now I thought it would be better if they met without me, just to see.

I want to see what goes on. You know, they had a hard relationship, very bad, very bad relationship. And now we'll see how they do. And if necessary

and it probably would be but if necessary, I'll go and I'll probably be able to get it closed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:20:04]

GIOKOS: Stephen Collinson joins me now.

Stephen, always good to see you. I want to start off with this White House push for a Zelenskyy and Putin meeting.

Do you think there's a realistic chance of that happening?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I think what the Russians are doing is what they always do, is that they show interest in a

meeting or a negotiating track. And they feel under pressure, perhaps from president Trump, to move toward that.

But then it gets bogged down in the details about what is not acceptable, where it should be, who should be there. And this just prolongs the entire

process.

And, of course, that is in President Putin's interest right now because his forces are making advances in Eastern Ukraine. And the Russians are very

interested in talking while they fight.

It will be interesting to see if Trump loses patience about all of this delay. He's trying to push things ahead very seriously and quickly, because

he wants to get a win.

Does he start to feel, as he said before, that Putin is tapping me along?

But right now, the White House seems to be saying completely different things than the Kremlin. So it's difficult to see if it happens right now.

And then you have the whole question of whether it should be a two-way meeting or a three-way meeting. President Trump seemed to be in favor of a

three-way meeting. And then he spoke to Putin on the phone the other day and now he's in favor of a two-way meeting.

So it does seem that the Trump White House, despite its protestations, is much closer to the Russian position on all of this than the European and

the Ukrainian one.

GIOKOS: So Stephen on FOX, president Trump spoke about one of the reasons that he wants this deal with Russia and Ukraine to happen. And I want you

to take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I want to try and get to heaven, if possible. I'm hearing I'm not doing well. I hear I'm really at the bottom of the totem pole. But if I can

get to heaven, this will be one of the reasons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: So he wants to get to heaven. One of the reasons he wants to get to heaven, I think I have a lot of questions. But I think for me it

basically shows his -- is his ultimate motive to get this done, to go to heaven. I'm not sure why. Analyze this for me, Stephen.

(LAUGHTER)

COLLINSON: Well, I mean, I think the president was joking in a way. He does actually have a sense of humor. Let's talk about the audience that

he's addressing there. That's FOX News, very conservative. A lot of evangelical supporters in the Republican Party watch FOX News.

So I think that has something to do with it. You know, Trump says all sorts of things. And most of them, I think it's a good idea to take them with a

pinch of salt and step back and say, what is he really saying here?

And I think he's potentially just addressing the audience. I do think, though, there's a very strong part of this is that Trump wants a peace deal

for his own glorification. He wants a win, his interest in racking up quick wins.

And I think that's one reason why he's not too interested in the details of this. And that's where the whole thing could fall down, because he's

talking very casually about land swaps.

Putin wants to take land in the Donbas region in the northeast of Ukraine, which he hasn't taken on the battlefield. And that's unacceptable to

Ukraine.

And what is a land swap?

It's basically telling a person that now lives in Ukraine that you're either going to have to leave your house or you're going to become a

Russian. So all of this is far more complex in detail than it is, you know, in arranging nice, big photo-op summits, which is something the president

is very good at.

GIOKOS: All right. Stephen Collinson, good to speak to you. Thank you.

China is snapping up Russian oil originally meant to go to India. Demand in India has dropped since president Trump imposed additional tariffs on

India's exports to the U.S. for importing Russian oil and gas. And so far, those tariffs do not apply to China.

Beijing, meantime, is keeping a close eye on the negotiations over Ukraine. Experts believe China is looking for cracks in Western unity and eventually

for an opening to launch an invasion of its own. CNN's Will Ripley explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As U.S. president Donald Trump poses for talks with Ukraine's president, China's

leaders see something very different. Opportunity.

Observers of Chinese leader Xi Jinping said what's at stake is nothing less than reshaping the world order, perhaps even tilt the balance of power

toward Beijing. When it comes to Russia's war in Ukraine, China's official position

remains objective and impartial, even promoting peace talks.

[10:25:00]

But on China's tightly controlled social media, comments like these are meant to cast doubt on America's traditional alliances and they're being

allowed to go viral.

"Trump doesn't give a damn about Europe. Trump loves Putin so much he did everything he could to become president just to protect him and keep him

safe."

A popular pro-Chinese government researcher predicts, "Cracks in the Western alliance will continue to deepen. NATO's role will be weakened. The

E.U. and Japan will continue to be marginalized and Ukraine is destined to be the biggest loser."

All of it rattling nerves here in Taiwan, a small island claimed but never controlled by China's communist leaders.

VANESSA CHEN, TAIPEI RESIDENT: I cannot predict what Trump is going to do. I do feel like we are like one of the items on the list that can be traded

for Trump's -- for his own good.

RIPLEY (voice-over): "I do worry that Taiwan's security will be traded away," he says. "But I also believe there will be other ways for Taiwan to

protect itself."

Trump claims President Xi personally promised not to invade this island democracy, at least while Trump's in office.

TRUMP: He told me, I will never do it as long as you're president. That -- President Xi told me that.

And I said, "Well, I appreciate that."

But he also said but I am very patient. And China is very patient.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Taiwan's government says it's "continuously committed to improving its self-defense capabilities," recently holding its largest

ever military drills, putting billions in U.S.- supplied weapons on full display.

Chinese commentators certainly took note when Trump cozied up to Russian strongman Vladimir Putin in Alaska, saying NATO's role is shrinking and the

West is fracturing, something Xi Jinping may have predicted even before Trump's reelection.

We dug up this Russian state media footage from the Kremlin more than two years ago. Xi is on camera telling Putin, "Change is coming that hasn't

happened in 100 years. And we're driving this change together."

The world is bracing for what comes next.

RIPLEY: Observers say Beijing is definitely watching for an opening here. Trump's warm approach to Putin could weaken unity between the U.S. and

Europe, some fear and that is something that China would welcome. It could give Xi Jinping more room to maneuver here in Taiwan.

Beijing has vowed to take this island democracy by force, if necessary -- Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: A man in Alaska is scratching his head following last week's summit between presidents Trump and Putin. And he says the Russian

delegation gave him a new motorcycle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK WARREN, MOTORCYCLE GIFT RECIPIENT: It's so absolutely, astronomically random that it was hard for me to understand why this happens. Matter of

fact, I still don't know why.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Random, interesting. OK. Mike Warren says, a week ago, two Russian journalists saw him riding his Ural motorcycle and asked to talk with him.

The Ural company was founded in Russia but the bikes are now made in Kazakhstan and distributed from Washington state.

Warren says he explained to the reporters how he had trouble getting parts for the bike and, days later, he received the new motorcycle, told it was a

gift from the Russian government. Brand-spanking new.

All right. Still to come on CNN, four years after the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan, CNN is on the ground there to see the impact on the civilians

left behind. That report coming up after this break.

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GIOKOS (voice-over): Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Eleni Giokos. Here are your headlines.

Russia's foreign minister says any discussion of security guarantees for Ukraine without Moscow's participation is, quote, "a path to nowhere."

Sergey Lavrov speaking as NATO military leaders are meeting virtually today to discuss those guarantees, which they say are a key condition for ending

the war.

Israel is moving forward with its plans to take over Gaza City. The Israeli military says it will be calling up 60,000 reservists in the coming days

but says the main forces used in the operation will be active-duty conscripted troops.

Hurricane Erin is bringing life-threatening rip currents to the United States' East Coast, triggering a state of emergency in North Carolina and

beach closures across multiple states. Just shy of category three, the hurricane is not expected to make landfall.

A bus accident in Afghanistan has left dozens dead. The bus was traveling to Kabul when it crashed, bursting into flames and killing 76 people,

including 17 children. Passengers on board were recent deportees from Iran, their journey part of the ongoing Iranian program to remove undocumented

migrants.

GIOKOS: This month marks four years since the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan. Since the U.S. withdrawal back in 2021, former allies have

been stranded there as president Trump's travel ban leaves fewer and fewer opportunities for them to leave. Isobel Yeung has the report for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISOBEL YEUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here in Afghanistan, the remnants of war are everywhere.

YEUNG: These guys are trying to clear this whole field of landmines that have been left by decades of war. Just got to watch where we're stepping,

because, anywhere beyond these red flags, they're still potentially contaminated and could have unexploded ordnance.

YEUNG (voice-over): Deminers work around the clock.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (from captions): There were three accidents in an accident happened in the past.

YEUNG: Oh, wow.

And how often a civilian accident is happening in Afghanistan?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (from captions): On a monthly basis, we have witnessed more than 110 people. Most of them are children involved with the accident,

unfortunately.

YEUNG: So over 100 civilian accidents every month?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (from captions): Well, we think monthly basis, yes.

YEUNG: Wow. It must be dangerous work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (from captions): Yes. This is the reality of Afghanistan.

YEUNG: This guys here has just found some sign of metal. So they're digging a little further to try and find out whether that's a mine or not.

Very hot, dangerous work up here.

YEUNG (voice-over): Every week, the deminers collect unexploded ordnance and explode them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one.

YEUNG (voice-over): But invading countries have left more than just bombs in their wake here.

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YEUNG (voice-over): Hundreds of thousands of Afghans worked with the U.S. government during their 20-year war here as translators, drivers, civil

society workers and doctors.

Following America's chaotic withdrawal under the Biden administration in 2021, the U.S. set up a refugee program that would provide a path for

Afghans to move to the U.S., a lightning rod for many Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN MILLER, HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISOR AND DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF FOR POLICY: The United States of America never, ever made a promise, written

or unwritten, to the people of Afghanistan that, if after 20 years, they were unable to secure their own country, that we would take them to ours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YEUNG (voice-over): When Trump returned to power this year, he canceled refugee programs, dismantled the office dedicated to helping Afghans

relocate and barred them from entering the U.S. altogether.

YEUNG: We've been speaking to a lot of those individuals across the country but, sadly, because of security concerns, most of them we're having

to speak to on the phone.

[10:35:00]

YEUNG (voice-over): On paper, the U.S. says they are still processing cases for people who worked with the U.S. military directly. But many, like

this man, are stuck in Afghanistan, living in fear. We've disguised his voice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (from captions): I know that the Taliban is searching for me. I am hiding. I can't go outside freely. If they find me, I'm

confident that they will imprison me. They will torture me. They will kill me. Donald Trump became U.S. president. He signed executive order and all

our cases stopped.

We stood with U.S. forces side by side for a long time. But now they banned us.

Why?

Where is the justice?

YEUNG: So we've been in touch with one woman who has agreed to meet with us.

She says that it's very risky that she risks running into the Taliban. She risks traveling by herself. And she's very scared. But she says it's worth

it because she really needs to share her story.

YEUNG (voice-over): As a doctor, this woman worked for American Charities. With recent USAID cuts, she lost her job. She now feels that her

relationship with U.S. organizations has put her and her family's life in danger.

YEUNG: You're clearly terrified. You came here, you were shaking.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (from captions): Yes. During the way, I saw many Taliban. And I am very afraid from them.

YEUNG: What is it like as a woman living in Afghanistan right now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (from captions): The situation is very bad for the Afghan woman. And we don't -- I don't have any job. Going to the bazaar,

not going to the shopping, we can't. Everything. Just we are in the home and we are afraid from every second of the life we are spending, is very

dangerous.

YEUNG (voice-over): Her communication with the State Department has stopped. The last email she got was in January, just days before Trump

returned to the White House.

YEUNG: How did you feel when you saw the news that Trump was canceling these programs?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (from captions): All the night we are crying. It was very difficult to accept like this.

YEUNG: You felt like this was your lifeline.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (from captions): Yes, yes. It broke our heart.

YEUNG: President Trump has said that he needs to protect the borders, that he needs this America First policy to ensure that it's not dangerous, that

no one dangerous enters the U.S.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (from captions): No, I am not agree with this. They broke his promise to Afghan women and Afghan girls.

YEUNG: What does it feel like?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (from captions): We're feeling bad because we trusted it. And we working with them for 20 years. And they promised us, too. We

must be moved from here to America.

YEUNG: What is your message to president Trump?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (from captions): Please, please, please, please start the cases again and also please support the Afghan girls or women because

now it was very difficult for us. It was very dangerous. And I'm not feeling safe in here.

YEUNG (voice-over): The U.S. State Department told us they're unable to comment on individual cases or internal operations of refugee processing

and that the president is, quote, "committed to helping those who helped us" but that their "first priority is always the safety and security of the

American people" -- Isobel Yeung, CNN, Afghanistan.

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GIOKOS: Much of the U.S. East Coast is seeing dangerous surf conditions as Hurricane Erin inches closer. While landfall is not expected, dozens of rip

currents have forced beaches to close. A state of emergency has been declared as massive waves and storm surge is expected to reach the Outer

Banks soon.

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GIOKOS: Well, U.S. president Donald Trump has escalated his attacks against the Smithsonian museum.

In a social media post. Trump alleged the museum was too focused on the negative aspects of history, including, quote, "how bad slavery was."

This follows the White House's announcement for a sweeping and unprecedented review of the Smithsonian Institution, which runs major U.S.

public museums. The Trump directive aims to focus more on American exceptionalism, remove partisan narratives and restore trust in cultural

institutions.

David Blight is a professor of history and Black studies at Yale University and joins us now live from New Haven in Connecticut.

Great to have you with us, sir. I firstly want to start off with what you make of president Trump's comments and allegations and this move to shift

the narrative.

PROF. DAVID BLIGHT, HISTORY AND BLACK STUDIES, YALE UNIVERSITY: Well, what the world should know is that the president of the United States is a

profoundly ignorant person about American history.

And history is full of examples of power possessed by people of great historical ignorance. And that's what we're experiencing.

The attack on the Smithsonian, represented most recently by last week's letter, directing them, demanding a complete top to bottom review of eight

of the 21 Smithsonian museums that deal with history.

Is not only unprecedented, it is really an attempt by the executive branch, by the White House and their many allies to control the American past.

[10:45:00]

It is an attempt to establish, without being too flamboyant, a kind of truth ministry. Now I doubt they're going to ultimately get away with it

but that's what they're trying to do.

GIOKOS: Yes, because, I mean -- and the attack isn't just on these institutions and museums. It's also, you know, president Trump came after

universities until they ceded to the demands of the president.

Do you think that we'll see something similar with these institutions?

BLIGHT: We already have seen it.

One director of the Smithsonian museum, the national Portrait Gallery, has been, in effect, forced to resign. The staff, I can tell you from many

personal connections of the Smithsonian, is fearful for their jobs.

The director of that is the secretary of the Smithsonian, Lonnie Bunch, is in direct conflict now over this. So, yes, they're not going to stop. In

fact, the letter last week written by three people that Trump appointed to the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian, shows that they are stopping at

nothing.

They want to try to roll back about 60 to 70 years of revolutions and historical scholarship and teaching of American history and the

representation of American history in museums and at historic sites.

They want -- they believe they can somehow roll that back. They call it wokeness. We call it good history. They may succeed if indeed they can

instill a deep enough fear.

GIOKOS: Yes. And I mean, as you say, it seems like, you know, we're starting to see some institutions being impacted.

And you've said this, and I quote, "It's time for historians to leave their libraries and their classrooms and publicly, strongly defend history

itself."

Do you think they'll change anything?

Are you expecting that to happen?

BLIGHT: We're trying. We really are. Especially those of us in senior positions with relative job security. I have just publicly challenged the

president of the Heritage Foundation to two public debates with historians.

And it is the Heritage Foundation in Washington that is behind so much of this at the Trump White House. I would just say this, too. There's much

more at stake here than just American history. It's the enlightenment itself.

What the Trump people want to do is roll back the great achievements, the great creeds, the great ideas of the Enlightenment -- liberty, equality,

reason, consent, the idea of rule of law.

They really want to return us not only to some vision of American greatness in the 1950s, they would prefer a pre-American revolution society of

control from the top, either by a monarchy or an autocracy. And if we don't start understanding that and talking about it in those terms, we are truly

in trouble.

GIOKOS: Yes. David Blight, thank you so much for joining us today. And I'm sure we'll be speaking on this topic again very soon. Thank you, sir.

Well, China wants to build the biggest embassy in Europe, right in the heart of London. The sprawling $300 million complex holds secret rooms that

British officials want to know more about. And Chinese dissidents in the city are frightened for their safety. We'll bring you an update on this

right after this break.

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[10:50:00]

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GIOKOS: The British government is set to decide in the coming weeks whether to allow China to build the biggest embassy in Europe in the heart

of London, a symbol of China's growing stature on the global stage. But residents and activists say the new embassy represents a threat to them.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hong Kong activist Carmen Lau looks nervously at the building behind us.

CARMEN LAU, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL ADVOCACY ASSOCIATION, HONG KONG DEMOCRACY COUNCIL: My heartbeat right now is actually quite fast.

ABDELAZIZ: We are standing at the gates of what could become China's new embassy in the heart of London. Critics have dubbed it a super- embassy.

ABDELAZIZ: If the proposal goes ahead, China will invest millions in what would become the largest embassy in Europe on the sprawling 5.4- acre Royal

Mint Court. Beijing bought the historic parcel of land in 2018 for around $312 million.

Lau fears the site will be used to spy on, harass and potentially detain and torture opponents of the Chinese government, including herself. Fears

the embassy has dismissed.

Lau fled Hong Kong for London about four years ago, she says, after she faced persecution for speaking out against the Beijing government.

Hong Kong police later issued an arrest warrant for Lau, accusing her of incitement to secession and collusion with foreign element, charges she

denies.

Now she says her sense of safety has been shattered yet again. This is why in February her neighbors received the sheet of paper, a wanted poster

promising a reward for information or --

LAU: Or take her to the Chinese embassy.

ABDELAZIZ: Take her to the Chinese embassy?

LAU: Yes.

ABDELAZIZ: And what's the reward?

LAU: It's 1 million Hong Kong dollar.

ABDELAZIZ: And when you think about that embassy being right there and getting posters like this?

LAU: Yes, it's not hard for everyone to imagine if I got taken into this site, what would happen to me. They could do whatever they want.

ABDELAZIZ: This 2022 video speaks to her concerns, it shows a pro- democracy protestor being dragged into a Chinese consulate in the English

City of Manchester and beaten up.

Lau's fears of a Black site grew after a blueprint of the mega embassy showed several rooms, including the basement area, marked redacted for

security reasons.

The current Chinese embassy says it needs more space and called opposition to its plan "despicable slandering" by anti-China elements and unfair.

Chinese officials also noted that the U.K. is seeking to rebuild its own embassy in Beijing. The United States says it is deeply concerned that

China will exploit the critical infrastructure of one of its closest allies, that's according to a senior administration official.

British officials have asked Beijing to provide more information on the redacted areas and clarify how it will address the concerns of local

residents.

This whole --

MARK NYGATE, ROYAL MINT COURT RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION: All the way along here. All the way along to the end.

ABDELAZIZ: All the way over there.

NYGATE: Yes.

ABDELAZIZ: Like Mark Nygate.

And your flat is just right there?

NYGATE: Yes, yes, yes. And I said, I'm closer to Beijing now.

ABDELAZIZ: His flat is just a few feet away from what could become a housing block for dozens of Chinese embassy staffers and their families.

ABDELAZIZ: Do you feel like you'll have your privacy?

NYGATE: No, not at all. Not at all. Yes. You -- we were told we've had to put our blinds down, if people want their privacy.

ABDELAZIZ: China says it aims to foster friendship and cooperation between Britain and China. The U.K. is expected to make a decision the proposed

embassy in the coming weeks -- Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: All right. A retired auto worker in Michigan has experienced a reunion that he never expected with a wallet he lost more than 10 years

ago.

Richard Guilford was repairing a car on a Ford factory line when his wallet fell out of his shirt. And then he said he and his coworkers searched

dozens of cars, hoping to find it with no luck.

The wallet was a Christmas gift from his sons. It contained $15 in cash, his work ID, driver's license, lottery tickets and gift cards worth $275.

Guilford says he never expected to see it again.

But just a few days ago, he received a Facebook message from Chad Volk in Minnesota, asking Guilford if he'd lost his wallet. Volk had found it in

the engine of the car he was repairing, safe and sound.

[10:55:02]

Volk mailed it back to Guilford, who says the act of kindness, quote, "restores your faith in humanity."

All right, that's it for CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Eleni Giokos. Stay with CNN. "ONE WORLD" is next.

END