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Hala Gorani Tonight
Global Warming: Greenland's melting glaciers; Dutch authorities probe courtroom suicide at The Hague; "Going Green": Saving the world from growing piles of e-waste. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired November 30, 2017 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:01:08]
CLARISSA WARD, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Clarissa Ward in for Hala Gorani live from CNN London.
Tonight, the special bond between the U.S. and the U.K. seemingly shaken. How a series of anti-Muslim retweets from the U.S. president has sparked a
diplomatic rift between old friends.
Also, ahead, a swift downfall for one of news' biggest names, what we know about allegations against former NBC host, Matt Lauer.
And, a global warning, Greenland's dazzling landscape is simply melting away. My special report from ground zero of climate change.
Two allies clash, as the U.S. and U.K. locked in an unheard of spat. At the center of the international diplomatic disagreement, tweets. You've
likely heard that the U.S. president retweeted a U.K. group widely considered to be far-right extremists.
MPs here in London called out Mr. Trump in stark language from the House of Commons. Of course, Donald Trump is hitting back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: The president of the United States is retweeting very disturbing anti-Muslim videos from a highly controversial and
indefensible source.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: These videos which by the way, CNN has not verified reportedly showed Muslims murdering a teenager, smashing the
statue of the Virgin Mary, and beating at a stable a boy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even for a president who likes to stoke Twitter controversy, these latest images are offensive.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump has been condemned by a top ally.
THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I'm very clear that retweeting from "Britain First" was the wrong thing to do.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: The president firing back that Theresa May should focus on combating radical Islamic terrorism in her
country rather than focus on him.
CUOMO: British politicians and the mayor of London don't want President Trump to come to the U.K.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Action is needed now. Not a slap on the wrist. Cancel the state visit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You cannot stand up to horrible racism or pretend to do and invite the man into the front door.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They were originally posted by the leader of a far- right ultranationalist political group in the U.K. called "Britain First."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The group that counted among its supporters the assassin who killed the British MP Jo Cox last year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is like the president retweeting the Ku Klux Klan. You know, this is the mainstream organization.
BOLDUAN: Once again, the White House is defending the president.
SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Whether it's a real video, the threat is real and that is what the president is talking about.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By sharing it, he is either a racist, incompetent or unthinking (inaudible).
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WARD: Well, you just heard Labour MP Stephen Doughty's strong words from the U.K. House of Commons. He joins me now from London. Thank you so much
for being with us on the program.
You certainly weren't mincing your words and neither were many of your colleagues in the houses of parliament today. What made you decide to come
out so forcefully on this?
STEPHEN DOUGHTY, BRITISH LABOUR MP: Well, I think isn't just a regular Donald Trump Twitter storm. Let's remember, this is a far-right racist
organization. The individual that he was retweeting is a convicted criminal and indeed is facing further charges and has a court date set for
December.
And it's absolutely extraordinary for the president of the United States to be sharing this type of information effectively endorsing it. He is
rightly received condemnation from the prime minister, members of the cabinet, and indeed from all political parties in the House of Commons
today.
WARD: Was there anyone in the House of Commons who was actually defending the president?
DOUGHTY: No, and I think it's quite a significant shift actually in public attitudes here as well. In fact, I did an interview earlier this evening
with an individual representing Republicans abroad.
[15:05:11] So, normally she's been a staunch defender of the president, but said that this time he had simply gone too far. And this would be the
equivalent of Theresa May, the British prime minister coming over to America and retweeting concept from the Ku Klux Klan.
WARD: As some of your colleagues have called for the state invitation to the president to be rescinded, do you agree with that notion? Would like
to see that happen?
DOUGHTY: I always argued that President Trump should not have been invited on a state visit in the first place. I think it was wholly premature and
foolish decision at the time. We haven't offered a state visit so quickly in a presidential term in the past.
It's usually been a number of years into their tenure and maybe a second term before that's offered. It's an honor that we choose to offer to those
that we have the closest and strongest respect for. And President Trump simply doesn't fit the bill on this occasion.
WARD: Are you concerned, though, given that this is or has historically been considered to be a special relationship, it's obviously of crucial
importance to the U.K. as it finds itself going through these rather painful Brexit negotiations, the U.S. is an important trade partner, are
you concerned at all that this could jeopardize that special relationship?
DOUGHTY: Well, I think he special relationship has endured through many different presidents, many different disagreements on policy areas and
other issues. I'm a friend of America. I love America and Americans. I have traveled all across the United States and I have huge respect for the
American people.
But we have to call out when a president is using racist and sexist language, when he's retweeting a far-right organization, and let's not
forget, he is sharing content here from a convicted criminal and somebody who is facing further charges in the U.K. It's simply unacceptable, and
his attitude today is quite frankly being unacceptable.
WARD: Prime Minister May did come out in a very rare rebuke of the president to say that he should not have retweeted those tweets. Is that
enough? Would you like to hear more from Prime Minister May?
DOUGHTY: Well, I'd like to hear her say that the state visit will no longer go ahead at this time. I realized that's a difficult position for
the prime minister to be in given that she did prematurely offer that in the first few weeks of the presidency.
But the fact is that he has crossed a very, very significant red line here and not acceptable to be doing this potentially prejudices a criminal
investigation let alone the kind of hurt and offense this causes too many in this country, and the hate and division that it seeks to sow amongst
British Muslims and indeed across the world.
WARD: All right. Thank you so much, Stephen Doughty, for joining us this evening.
Well, Nic Robertson has been following all of the reaction and the fall out for the U.S. He joins me now in London. I mean, it's sort of incredible
to hear him say that there is no one on any side of the aisle who was defending President Trump today. How unprecedented is this in the history
of this U.S., U.K. special relationship? Have we ever seen anything like this?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It's been through its ups and downs, of course. It's had its desperate moments, but in recent
modern history, I think this is unprecedented to have this cross-house support for a position which is the relationship as Theresa May has
established it needs something of a course correction to the point the state visit shouldn't happen.
I mean, this is a relatively popular position already for MPs in this country to take and President Trump has exacerbated it. You begin to get
the sense that while Theresa May talks about an enduring relationship.
And Stephen Doughty there talks about the same thing it's going to be something of an endurance test for British politicians to get through a
President Trump presidency. So, yes, this is without recent historic precedent.
WARD: Could the state visit be rescinded? If so, what would the ramifications of that be?
ROBERTSON: I think it's very unlikely. I think it's very interesting that Theresa May has state to launch and that was the point that this opposition
Labour MP was making that she's state to launch in the early days of President Trump's presidency by being the first world leader to go and
congratulate him at the White House after his inauguration just days later.
She got caught up in controversy immediately as he announced his Muslim travel ban just as she was there. But what Theresa May has done and the
narrative that's being created by the government is of enduring in this relationship.
But it's also sidestepped the other issue that President Trump threw off and rightfully condemned for backing or appearing to back right-wing
organization in Britain. Theresa May didn't criticize him.
And we haven't heard criticism of him essentially overnight doubling down on -- and throwing back at Theresa May and essentially saying in a tweet,
"Don't look at me, look at yourself, get your own house in order."
[15:10:00] So, she sidestepped that. Can you rescind a state when it's offered? The word of the moment is no. It's been offered and accepted.
Does it slide diplomatically down the road?
I think there's every hope for Theresa May. She's invested a lot politically. She's on the political ropes, disastrous election called last
summer. Brexit not going very well --
WARD: She doesn't have a lot of options.
ROBERTSON: A divided party the knives have drawn for her. This is a damaging distraction that she just doesn't need right now.
WARD: Let me just ask you because it seems like people are no longer shocked by anything, and yet this did seem to shock many. When you speak
to politicians, diplomats, how are they recalibrating the way in which they need to deal with America given the volatility and unpredictability of this
president?
ROBERTSON: I think so many countries have given the United States this huge amount of latitude because it is a respected world power, the world
power, the leader of the free world is how the president of the United States is often talked about.
But when push comes to shove, countries will always look to their own domestic interest. Theresa May was looking to domestic interests when she
wants in a sort of really highlight the special relationship because of going through Brexit, wanting to show that there is a great relationship,
good trade there.
But you know, intrinsically what it will come back to for many countries, and it will come back to for her is protecting her own political
liabilities, pressing her Britain's own agenda.
But I think if we look at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Japan who recently hosted President Trump. He invited him to the golf course. They played
golf. They ate burgers. They signed baseball hats together. Yet a few days later after that convivial environment of mutual --
WARD: Comradery.
ROBERTSON: Yes. A few days later in Danang, Vietnam, when President Trump had talked about, you know, ready to do bilateral trade agreements and in
the early days of his presidency had withdrawn the United States from this fledgling TPP, Transpacific Partnership, Shinzo Abe had been so friendly.
A few days before in President Trump's face in Danang reckoned the TPP with the 11 remaining nations. That was an absolute slap down for President
Trump, the United States. He was looking after his own national interest. That's the way the countries are going deal with the United States in this
term.
WARD: See if we something similar from Prime Minister Theresa May. Nic Robertson, as always, thank you so much for joining us.
It's been a chaotic day for U.S. diplomacy in addition to the backlash over President Trump's retweets of anti-Muslim videos. There's now speculation
that U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson may be on his way out.
Elise Labott is our global affairs correspondent. She joins us live from New York. Elise, what are you learning?
ELISE LABOTT, GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Clarissa, you know, look, this is the, you know, kind of bloomer in Washington that continues
to grow. First, it started that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was unhappy in the job.
Then, you know, there was a lot of ideas that he -- that the president wasn't happy with him. I mean, this has continued for months all the way
back from July. We are hearing -- U.S. officials are telling us and there have been several other reports that there are some plans in place if and
when Secretary Tillerson were to leave.
There's consideration of Mike Pompeo, the CIA director moving over to take his place at the State Department. Senator Tom Cotton on the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, he is a veteran himself, would take over director of the CIA.
Now we have to be clear that Secretary Tillerson doesn't have an out date. You know, not only is the White House saying that these -- there are no
personnel announcements, State Department spokesperson, Heather Nauert, had a briefing just moments ago said that Chief of Staff General John Kelly
called the State Department, Secretary Tillerson to say these rumors that he is being removed are not true.
And that Nauert said that Secretary Tillerson is continuing to serve at the pleasure of the president, staying in the job. However, we have been
hearing a lot about disaffection of the State Department, low morale.
There are reports that a lot of foreign service officers are leaving in large numbers. Today, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was the
latest of a list. A very harsh editorial saying there is a mass exodus.
Now, the numbers don't necessarily indicate an exodus, but I can tell you covering the State Department for more than 17 years, morale very low, and
I think the foreign services really looking for Secretary Tillerson to come out and talk to him about his thoughts.
Right now, a lot of speculations that Secretary Tillerson could be gone by the end of the year. Elise, just quickly while I have you, what do people
of the State Department make of this latest debacle with the retweets of the anti-Muslim propaganda? Are they concerned that this could endanger
American diplomats at all across the globe?
LABOTT: Very much so, Clarissa. In fact, you know, fresh in their minds was those horrible anti-American protests in September 2012. You know, it
was the day after that Benghazi attack on the consulate.
[15:15:00] But this was about an anti-Muslim video that was posted on the internet and you know, you saw these violent protests and when these videos
were retweeted, officials are saying, listen, we don't see anything yet. There were no incidents reported.
But there was a lot of concern yesterday at the State Department and at the White House that those retweets could have a horrible affect and could have
some protests. So, thankfully, nothing happened. But you know, those protests in 2012 show that just a simple internet video can have unintended
and sometimes violent consequences.
WARD: Important to remember that. Elise Labott, thank you so much joining us from New York.
Well, still to come tonight, a CNN exclusive on a slave auction in Libya compels the French president to take action. We will go live to the Ivory
Coast for all the details on Macron's latest move.
And chilling accusations of sexual harassment pile up against a major American TV personality. Matt Lauer says he is sorry but claims some of
the reporting about him isn't true. We will dig deeper after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WARD: U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with South Korea's president again today. It's their second conversation since North Korea's latest missile
test. The Trump administration is threatening the North with more sanctions. But as CNN's Will Ripley reports, there's no sign that the
North is ready to back down.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New images of North Korea's massive new intercontinental ballistic missile, the
(inaudible) 15. Kim Jong-un who stands 5'7", dwarfed by the 18-wheeler transporter erecter launcher.
North Korean television broadcasting a slick, highly-produced video of the overnight launch, a dramatic, menacing sight intended to intimidate. North
Korea pushing President Trump closer than ever to the most agonizing foreign policy choice facing his administration, try to stop Kim Jong-un's
menacing nuclear advance with maximum pressure or military muscle.
The (inaudible) 15 blasted through the earth's upper atmosphere, 10 times higher than the International Space Station theoretically putting within
striking range the entire U.S. east coast, including New York and Washington.
North Korea boasting Kim Jong-un declared with pride that now we have finally realized the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear
force. Also claiming the 23rd missile test of the Trump presidency reconfirmed the safety of the warhead in the atmospheric re-entry
environment.
[15:20:10] DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It is a situation that we will handle.
RIPLEY: President Trump tweeted Thursday, "The Chinese envoy just returned from North Korea seems to have had no impact on Little Rocket Man. Hard to
believe his people and the military put up with living in such horrible conditions."
Russia and China condemn the launch. China's leader giving no indication he is willing to take any actions that would destabilize Kim Jong-un's
government. Recently sending a special envoy and even a gift to the North Korean leader.
A North Korean Official telling CNN diplomacy with the U.S. is off the table for now until Pyongyang fully demonstrates its nuclear capabilities
including a possible above ground thermonuclear test.
A threat first made by North Korea's foreign minister in September, reiterated by a senior diplomat in Pyongyang last month.
(on camera): Should the world prepare for North Korea to detonate a nuclear device above ground?
RI YONG PIL, SENIOR NORTH KOREAN OFFICIAL (through translator): The foreign minister is very well aware of the intentions of our supreme
leader, so I think you should take his words literally.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Analysts have accused North Korea of bluster, saying the nation risks absolute destruction if it goes to war with the U.S.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham telling CNN's Wolf Blitzer this --
SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: We have to go to war and stop this, we will.
RIPLEY: Each provocation pushes Trump closer to one of the most critical presidential decisions since the end of World War II, accept North Korea as
a nuclear power or take action that risks triggering a military conflict with potentially unthinkable consequences. Will Ripley, CNN, Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WARD: A CNN exclusive on a slave auction in Libya is leading to action. French President Emmanuel Macron says the CNN footage, quote, "revealed a
crime against humanity." He says the U.N., E.U., and the African Union will work together to get migrants out of Libya and help them return to
their home countries.
Melissa Bell joins me now live from Abidjan in the Ivory Coast where the French president is attending a summit. Melissa, you have been speaking to
various regional leaders about their response to this exclusive CNN report. What have you been hearing?
MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, for a start, Clarissa, the fact is that it is CNN's investigation that has placed this
issue at the very heart of these discussions here in Abidjan. We're talking about meeting of the leaders of the African continent and of the
European Union.
Eighty African and European heads of state and government met here in Abidjan to discuss in series the youth and its future here on the African
continent. But in fact, the question, the scandal of those slave markets in Libya as a result of those images.
Now you're right. Emmanuel Macron led efforts to get something done. He called that emergency meeting that was held here last night, and that
included crucially not only African leaders and European leaders and the United Nations as well, but also perhaps most importantly Libya's
leadership, which was there to contribute to finding a solution.
What emerged from that meeting was those -- were those concrete steps that are now to be taken inside Libya to rescue those many migrants who remain
trapped. So, it was Emmanuel Macron's initiative that led to concrete action, but it was very much the indignation of the leaders of sub-Sahara
in Africa. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOUISE MUSHIKIWABO, RWANDAN FOREIGN MINISTER: For something as outrageous as what is going on in Libya, nothing is ever fast enough or drastic
enough.
NANA AKUFO-ADDO, GHANANIAN PRESIDENT: When states behave in this manner, there should be consequences especially when you belong to an organization
that is trying to promote the service of human right and is trying to promote good governance. These are all enshrined in the (inaudible)
Charter.
ABDOULAYO DIOP, MALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Frankly, none of us have really realized the magnitude of what was happening. That's why these images
really came as a reminder for all of us that we have maybe crossed a line, that something need to be done to stop it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BELL: Now that sense of shock, outrage, disbelief, Clarissa, that this could have been happening on the African continent and in the words of
Emmanuel Macron, these were Africans mistreating Africans. That has come as an enormous shock here on the African continent.
So, to that action that was announced here last night, the question is, how will it unfold in the coming days in Libya.
[15:25:02] Now the closing remarks here at the summit a little earlier, it was the head -- the chairman of the African Union, who spoke about the
numbers because it is unclear just how many migrants are currently trapped in Libya.
And what (inaudible) as he closed this summit, Clarissa, was that he believes that there were 400,000 to 700,000 migrants currently in Libya who
needed urgent help. The question is, how those measures of going into rescue them, airlift them out and offer them the opportunity of going home
or where possibly asylum applications might be genuine, have some chance of getting through, getting them to Europe in a fast track system, how that is
going to play out in the current days is the crucial question.
WARD: A crucial question indeed. Melissa Bell, thank you so much.
We are learning that some South African migrants have already gotten safely out of Libya. A report from Reuters says 250 migrants were repatriated to
Cameroon a week ago. The deal was brokered by the European Union and the International Office of Migration.
One of the returning migrants says black people are, quote, "seen as merchandise and sold like chickens in Libya."
Let's change gears now to look at the swift downfall of a famous American TV personality. Multiple women have accused Matt Lauer of NBC News of
sexual harassment. Lauer now says there are no words to express the sorrow and the regret that he is feeling and the pain he has, quote, "caused
others by words and actions."
Lauer goes on to say that, quote, "Some of what is being said about me is untrue or mischaracterized, but there is enough truth in these stories to
make me feel embarrassed and ashamed. I regret that my shame is now shared by the people I cherish dearly."
Lauer was fired on Tuesday. But the chairman of NBC News reportedly knew "The New York Times" and "Variety" were working on in-depth investigations
on Lauer. Disturbing accounts have since been published. So, what did NBC News know and when?
CNN media reporter, Hadas Gold, joins me now live from Washington. Hadas, I mean, that is the question. What did they know? It's hard to believe
they didn't know it for quite some time. What are you hearing?
HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA AND BUSINESS REPORTER: Clarissa, that is the question everybody is asking. NBC News is claiming that it was only on
Monday when the first woman came formally forward to NBC's HR Department with her allegations. They said that was the first formal complaint that
they had.
They have actually been pushing back on reports that this is a sort of everybody knew culture and NBC saying that we can say unequivocally that
prior to Monday, current NBC management was never aware of any complaints about Matt Lauer's conduct.
You can see that they say current NBC management. So, that leaves open the question of whether previous NBC management was aware of any of this sort
of conduct. What we're seeing now, though, are more women coming forward.
"New York Times" today had a report of two more women who came forward to NBC News with more allegations that are quite disturbing including of
sexual acts within the NBC building, within the office.
So, clearly, this is a story that's going to continue as we hear of more allegations and as we hear more about the response from NBC.
WARD: And Hadas, I mean, it's just incredible. It seems like every week we hear of a different major name in U.S. media falling as a result of this
sexual misconduct. I'm just wondering do you expect this story to keep on going? Are there more names to be revealed or are we sort of nearing the
end of this now?
GOLD: There are more names to be revealed. I myself in my reporting have had women come to me saying, you should look into this person, you should
look into this other person all across the media.
Now not all of them may be of Matt Lauer stature, somebody who brings in a $20 million plus salary per year and is part of a huge franchise like the
"Today Show," but they are all across from producers to reporters to editors, and we are seeing this across all these other industries as well.
I don't think that his wave is stopping anytime soon. It's been going on now for more than a month and if you really think about it, this is sort of
a new wave of women coming forward in the past few years.
WARD: All right. Hadas Gold, thank you so much for joining us.
GOLD: Thank you, Clarissa.
WARD: Still to come tonight, the arctic is melting and fast. It's causing damage thousands of miles away. We traveled to Greenland to see for
ourselves. Our exclusive report coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN HOST, HALA GORANI TONIGHT: For our next story, we take you to one of the most beautiful and remote locations in the world -
Greenland.
It isn't a place that normally features on the news, but this is a story that will likely affect everyone on earth. The Arctic is heating up twice
as fast as the rest of the world. And as the ice melts, it is causing sea levels to rise dramatically.
We traveled there to see the damage firsthand.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WARD (voice-over): Imagine a world where you can sail right up to the North Pole where the largest ice sheet in the northern hemisphere is simply
melting away.
JASON BOX, CLIMATE SCIENTIST: The melt is winning this game.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've now broken all-time records for three consecutive years.
WARD: As oceans continue to rise, flooding the streets of American cities half a world away.
BOX: What happens in the Arctic doesn't stay in the Arctic.
WARD: Imagine a world where hurricanes and heat waves wreak havoc.
Politicians deny the problem as temperatures continue to rise.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a hoax. I mean, it's a moneymaking industry, OK?
BOX: Greenland is an epicenter for climate change.
WARD: What if I told you this is already happening? Right here right now. We are the primary cause and that only we have the power to stop it.
This is Greenland, though you will find very little greenery here. Home to some of the most stunning wildlife on the planet, the world's largest
island is more than 80 percent made up of pure ice.
(on-camera): It's only from the air that you really get a sense of the scale and the enormity of this ice sheet. And what's just staggering to
imagine is that in the center of the island, this ice is 2 miles thick.
(voice-over): It looks as though time has stood still for thousands of years. But this environment reflects the big changes in our world's
atmosphere. As the planet gets warmer, the Arctic is heating up at double the rate, and Greenland, in particular, is warming even faster.
Jason Box is an American climate scientist who has been coming to this remote corner of the world for more than 20 years.
BOX: The amount of water that is produced all across this landscape has increased. Like, it has doubled in the last 50 years.
WARD (on-camera): Doubled in the last 50 years?
(voice-over): Everywhere you go in Greenland, you can see and hear the ice sheet melting. Sometimes a drip. Sometimes a roar. Its surface is etched
with fast-flowing rivers that carry the meltwater deep down to the bed.
[15:35:16] BOX: This water cascades down thousands of feet and eventually makes its way to the bed. And it's heating the bed of the ice sheet.
Everything is kind of stacking up that the ice is going faster than forecast.
WARD: And no sign of slowing down?
BOX: The melt is winning this game.
WARD: And the more Greenland melts, the more it speeds up the melting process.
Take the large melt lakes that are forming on top of the ice sheets, stunning to look at, but bad news for the ice. These lakes are deceptively
beautiful because whereas the white of the ice actually reflects the sunlight, the piercing blue of the lakes actively absorbs it, heating them
up and then accelerating the rate of melt.
Perhaps the clearest example of this vicious melt cycle can be seen in Greenland's many glaciers. A glacier is a mass of thick ice that moves
under the force of its own weight, like a slow river into the sea.
But as meltwater moves through the ice, it softens it, draining to the bed where it then lubricates the movement of the glacier.
We got a rare close-up view of one of Greenland's fastest-moving glaciers. Named Helheim after the Viking realm of the dead, it's vast and
unforgiving.
BOX: This is one of the most productive glaciers in Greenland. It's about three Golden Gate Bridges wide and it drains on the order of about 40
billion metric tons per year. It's like almost astronomical amount of water that this is delivering from high on the inland ice sheet down into
the sea.
WARD: Between August of last year and August of this year, New York University scientists say Helheim retreated a whopping 2 miles, the
furthest retreat inland they have seen in a decade. You can see vast chunks of it crashing into the water, a process called calving.
(on-camera): And what does that mean for the sea?
BOX: There is hundreds of glaciers like this in Greenland and many of them have, like, doubled in speed. So, the rate that Greenland is decanting
into the ocean has really gone up in ways that surprise the science community.
WARD (voice-over): And it's not only scientists who have been surprised. Fifty-six-year-old Tobias (ph) has been hunting with his dogs in Greenland
his whole life, just like his father and grandfather before him. Only, these days, there is far less life for dog sledding.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They move very fast. Fifty years ago, all - maybe from here to 500 meter and more is glacier. So, we can start dog sledding from
down - from sea.
(on-camera): Is that something you have seen with your own eyes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I can see it is. Now, we cannot hunt (INAUDIBLE) from dog sledding. Only boat.
WARD (voice-over): This year, Tobias has to take his dogs off the ice and back to town for the summer. He doesn't know if his grandsons will become
hunters.
But if the recent past is anything to go by, the future looks bleak. Warming in the last century has been faster than at any time in the past
several million years.
(on-camera): How concerned are you by the scientific data that you've collected, by the changes that you've seen here?
BOX: What concerns me most is this concept of committed loss. So, the amount of CO2 excess in the atmosphere due to humans burning fossil fuels
mainly, that commits us to more than 1 meter of sea level rise.
WARD (voice-over): That's roughly 3 feet. And this is where the rest of the world comes in. Greenland doesn't play by Las Vegas rules. What
happens here doesn't stay here.
As temperatures increase and the melt accelerates, Greenland has become the largest source of sea level rise globally.
This year, after decades of decline, the amount of ice lost in Greenland was roughly equal to the amount gained. But Box says this is an anomaly.
And that even drastic cuts in carbon dioxide emissions won't be enough to stop the continued melting.
(on-camera): Someone said that if Greenland is the canary in the coal mine, the canary is dead.
BOX: The canary is dead, in that it indicates it's time to get out of the mine. In other words, we have a problem. And now's the time to start
developing that response.
[15:40:10] WARD (voice-over): At Summit Station, weather patterns and climate change are the focus of much of the research.
A remote American outpost funded by the National Science Foundation, it is perched at 10,600 feet on the very top of the Greenland ice sheet.
The only way to get there is on a US military plan. A two-hour flight from the nearest airport of Kangerlussuaq, it lands on a runway of snow using
giant skis. All equipment and personnel have to be flown in at great expense.
(on-camera): It doesn't get much more remote than this. And with the high altitude, the science that is being done here at Summit Station requires
enormous resources and sheer physical effort.
But this place is uniquely positioned to answer a crucial question. Has the Arctic reached a tipping point?
Engineer Zoe Courville explains that its ioslation is, in fact, its greatest asset.
ZOE COURVILLE, ENGINEER: It's a very pristine site and it's free from local influences of pollution.
WARD: Do you think Summit is important to study of climate change specifically?
COURVILLE: We've been making measurements since 1980 here. But we've also drilled to bed rock. So, we have an ice core that extends back 140,000
years.
WARD: 140,000 years?
COURVILLE: So, we're actually standing on 2 miles' worth of ice below. And we can use the ice cores like you would use tree rings to get an idea
of past conditions of climate were like.
And we can use what happened in the past to try to predict what's going to happen in the future.
WARD (voice-over): But Summit's hefty price tag has made it a possible target for proposed budget cuts. The Trump administration wants to slash
funding to the National Science Foundation. And many fear that Summit could be the first casualty.
BOX: I think it's the politics of short-term gain, long-term environmental pain.
WARD: Box is frustrated by the White House's lack of commitment to climate change studies and its decision to withdraw from the Paris Accord.
(on-camera): Some people will say, listen, look back over the history of the planet. There have been ice ages, there have then been huge heat
waves. There's a natural extreme fluctuation in temperatures, and that's just part of living on planet Earth. What do you say to that?
BOX: It's true that there are natural cycles in climate, but what is happening now is human activity has become the dominant agent of change for
about the last 150 years.
The climate change we observe today is at least 80 percent due to human activity. We are now a force of nature.
WARD (voice-over): And not a force for good. For millennia, mankind's presence in Greenland has been dwarfed by the dramatic scenery and by the
extraordinary living creatures we share this unique habitat with.
But in recent history, the balance of power has shifted; and with it, the responsibility to do something.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WARD: Well, you can get much more on this fascinating story. Our colleagues at CNN Digital have put together some incredible interactive
information. You can find out how fast the glaciers have been melting, how the rest of the world will feel the impact, lots more great footage.
Do head to CNN.com/Greenland for that. And you can see the second part of our series Friday right here on this show.
Well, still to come tonight after a break, the shocking courtroom suicide of a war criminal reopens wounds from the 1990s Bosnian War.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:46:27] WARD: It was a dramatic and shocking scene at The Hague as a convicted war criminal told the court he was drinking poison.
While Dutch authorities investigate his death, different reactions show the divisions from the 1990s Bosnian War hasn't completely healed. Our Atika
Shubert reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Slobodan Praljak was one of six convicted war criminals in court for the last day of the
International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia.
As he heard the judge upholding his sentence, Praljak stood up and drank from what looked like a small glass vial. He then told the court, I just
drank poison. I am not a war criminal. I oppose this conviction.
The judge immediately suspended proceedings. The court television abruptly ended. Paramedics rushed Praljak to hospital. Too late. Tribunal
officials announced his death several hours later.
Over two decades, the tribunal has indicted more than 100 suspects of war crimes, like Praljak, without such a security breach.
So, how was he able to bring the poison in? Dutch police have declared the courtroom to be a crime scene as they investigate.
Praljak was one of dozens held in a special UN detention facility in The Hague. The court also has stringent security screenings, but small amounts
of liquids are allowed in.
But for those in Bosnia, still divided and scarred by the war, the question was not how Praljak killed himself, but why. Bosnia's Croat member of the
presidency, part of the fragile power-sharing structure established in the aftermath of the war, defended Praljak and rejected the tribunal's verdict.
"In this way," he said, "he has shown what a great sacrifice he is willing to make in front of the whole world to say that Slobodan Praljak is not a
war criminal."
Thousands were killed in the violent dissolution of Yugoslavia. And the war hit the area of Bosnia particularly hard. Praljak was a former Bosnian
Croat general. He was charged with targeting Bosnian Muslims, particularly in the town of Mostar.
But the court ruled that he and several others were also part of a criminal conspiracy to annex territory in Bosnia with the help of the president of
neighboring Croatia, by conducting a campaign of ethnic cleansing, forcibly removing Bosnian Muslims into detention camps in squalid conditions.
In Mostar, for some survivors, the tribunal, despite its dramatic end, gave some measure of justice.
This survivor said, "we victims know the best what they did and how they did it. Justice is possible, but slow. I am glad it finished like this.
Mostar at least gets some satisfaction."
The International Criminal Tribunal was established to deliver justice and some measure of closure for victims, but by rejecting his verdict and
taking his life in the courtroom where justice was to be handed down on the last day of proceedings, Praljak had the final word, rekindling the very
divisions that fueled the conflict.
Atika Shubert, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WARD: More to come, including holidays are coming up, and some of you may get some new electronics. But what's going to happen to your old device
and how is the growing pile of high-tech waste going to affect us all.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:51:37] WARD: Most of us are increasingly dependent on technology in our daily lives. And that means we throw away a lot of devices.
In fact, next year, it's estimated there will be a staggering 50 million tons of new electronic waste. But what if we repaired our devices instead
of replacing them. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UGO VALLAURI, CO-FOUNDER, RESTART PROJECT: We are increasingly surrounded by small electrical and electronics, which fill every function in our daily
life. We're so used to just using them that we don't realize the gigantic environmental impact of just one mobile phone has.
My name is Ugo Vallauri and I inspire people to repair their broken electrical, so that we can reduce electronic waste and save the planet's
resources.
Restart is really about fixing our relationship with electronics, so that we're transformed by way of repairing. We have witnessed with our own eyes
in other parts of the world that people can fix things and products are given an extra lease of life just by applying a bit more patience and
skills and not just giving up when the first problem arises.
The Restart Party is a community event where volunteers with a technical background share their skills by collaboratively repairing with
participants. So, taking products apart, identifying faults, and trying to find the solution.
It's a hymn towards repairing, reusing, up-cycling, at times, things and really thinking of a world where throwaway no longer needs to exist as a
word.
e-waste or electrical waste is made of all the products that have either a batter or a plug that people tend to accumulate. And when they stop
working and they no longer need them, often just keep them somewhere because, frankly, it's really hard to know what to do with them.
People think that components might be reused, but actually that is very rarely the case. That's why, ultimately, our message is that the most
ethical product is the one you already have in your pocket, and that's the greenest fun you'll ever have.
The resources of the earth are finite. And every time we can avoid an unnecessary manufacturing of a product, we're contributing to making the
earth a better place.
I always get inspired when there is a eureka moment when you hear the sound of a motor maybe of a vacuum cleaner work again and people start clapping
and collectively cheering the act to repair.
Restart wants to be a platform for change. And even a small act of repair at a community event is a reminder that we have a strong potential for
really big impact.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[15:55:00] WARD: OK. Who wouldn't want to host the party of the year. Windsor Castle may have scooped the coveted location for Prince Harry and
Meghan Markle's wedding venue, but there is still the bachelor party and honeymoon spot up for grabs.
And Australia is making its case. Its tourism minister tweeted that he's already planned an itinerary for the royal fiances, an adventure holiday
for Harry and an island stay near the Great Barrier Reef for the happy couple.
Whether the pitch is enough to entice the couple down under, well, we will just have to wait to find out.
And before we go this hour, the closing bell is just about to ring at the New York Stock Exchange after yet another record for the US stock market.
Barely a month after it hit the 23,000 mark, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has rocketed above 24,000 for the first time.
All told, the Dow has soared nearly 6,000 points since President Trump was elected. And the NASDAQ and S&P500 are near record territory as well.
And there'll be much more coming up on this in a few moments. "Quest Means Business" will have the day's final numbers and full coverage of the
markets' incredible surge.
Thank you so much for watching tonight. I'll be back tomorrow same time same place with the second chapter of our exclusive reporting out of
Greenland.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END