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CNN International: Pope Francis Speaks At G7 On Artificial Intelligence; Biden Signs 10-Year Security Pact With Ukraine; Leaders At Odds Over Abortion In G7's Final Communique. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired June 14, 2024 - 11:00   ET

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

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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Hello, and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Ahead in the CNN Newsroom, the Pope, President, and artificial intelligence, an unusual combination coming together at the G7 summit. We'll look at why AI is topping the agenda today. The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down a law aimed at stopping mass shootings in the United States. And Scotland's Tartan Army is having the party of the century, as their team opens Euro 2024 against hosts Germany later on today. We'll take you live outside the stadium with the latest.

And we begin this hour in Italy, where artificial intelligence and its impact are the focus on day two of the G7 summit. This comes a day after Mr. Biden signed a 10-year security agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The deal is seen as a bridge to NATO membership for Ukraine. Meanwhile, Mr. Biden is also trying to keep language about reproductive rights in the G7 leaders' communique. That's at odds with right-wing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni who holds the presidency of the G7.

Also joining the summit was Pope Francis who made history by becoming the first Pope to attend the G7. There he called on world leaders to set up some guardrails on artificial intelligence, warning against creating a society that puts too much power in the hands of machines and algorithms. He says, I'm quoting now, "Political action is urgently needed" end quote on AI. The Pope pressed G7 leaders to work to ensure that AI serves humanity instead of harming it, a task he acknowledges is a difficult one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE FRANCIS, SOVEREIGN OF VATICAN CITY STATE (Interpreted): It is difficult for a political power to take on this duty in their project of the nation and even more common project for all humankind, present and future. There is always temptation to make everything uniform.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson is in Monopoli, Italy, and joins us now. So, have we gotten the reaction from perhaps Russia on the pact between the U.S. and Ukraine as well as the loan from G7?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah. I think we have. I mean, look, we've been seeing an escalation in rhetoric coming from the Kremlin over recent weeks that perhaps began to become more apparent when the United States agreed to allow Ukraine to fire U.S.- supplied weapons systems just over the border into Russia, because Russia was using the safety of its own territory to launch missiles into civilian buildings in Kharkiv and then in the northeast of the country.

Where are we now today? Well, President Putin has said the world is very close to -- or the West is very close to a point of no return, and we're seeing him put naval assets in Cuba, very close to the United States, as an obvious message there. He'll be taking a trip. He is expected to take a trip to North Korea, North Korea, one of those countries that's helping Putin with weapons to fight in Ukraine. I mean, these are all signals coming from the Kremlin that are intended to send a message that Putin isn't happy about what's happening.

Another announcement that came yesterday was from the White House about additional sanctions to, again, limit Russia's ability to get the technology to make the weapons that they're using to kill civilians in Ukraine. So, yes, I think in broad terms, we can say that the Kremlin has responded by this -- with this forward-leaning message coming from the Kremlin, sort of, as we've seen in the past, an unspecified threat, but nevertheless saying you're going too far. We don't like it.

WHITFIELD: The U.S. made it very clear its position on assisting Ukraine. But, the U.S. also is stressing the importance of reproductive rights and want some sort of language or acknowledgement to be in the G7 communique. What would that be?

ROBERTSON: Yeah. That really follows on from the G7 communique in Hiroshima from May last year.

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These texts, the communiques, the agreement, if you will, that everyone signs up to at the end of the G7 and other big summits, the many, many pages long, paragraph 43 detailed the rights -- female reproductive rights, including abortion, including follow-up support after abortions. And Giorgia Meloni, the President at the G7, doesn't want the language of abortion in this communique. And it's something that's very important for President Biden. It's important to him in his beliefs. It's important to him electorally at home. We've also heard from President Macron of France, who said that he was disappointed that the language wasn't going to be used in the communique.

But, what U.S. officials, what White House officials are saying is, look, the final communique is something that is agreed by everyone, by consensus, is the word. And while they're not saying if the word abortion will be in the communique, they are reaffirming that it's important for President Biden, and the implication is that this is language, meaning and implications that won't be lost because the President wants to see it expanded upon, followed up from the last G7. The idea of the G7 is that they take an issue and move forward with it and improve, not just drop it by the wayside.

WHITFIELD: OK. Now, let's talk about artificial intelligence, which was of great importance today because the Pope made it so. Why is it so important to him?

ROBERTSON: There were many reasons. But, the Pope sees the world as somewhere that could be a lot more equitable. He sees the haves, the have nots, the big multinational companies that make massive profits, and the developing parts of the world where people are struggling to find water, to find food, and he would like to make it a more equitable place, and he believes that AI is a way to level up, if you will, to make sure that development is equitable. And he said, no single country should be left behind. No single group of people should be left behind.

So, his message to the G7 leaders is AI is powerful. It's a scientific tool. God, if you will, gave us the intellects to be able to come up with scientific developments, to be able to come up with the ideas that have developed AI. And he would like to see it used for good, rather than, let's say, being used for automated weapons systems where AI is literally choosing the target, aiming the gun and firing the gun.

And the language that we're hearing from the White House about AI and the sort of center of the discussion there really mirrors that. They're saying, look, what we want to do at the G7 is to try to find a way where we get some commonality on the governance of AI, more joined up approach to it, which, it's a global issue, you have to approach it globally, and at the same time as well, make sure that it's done and its benefits are felt across the world. The scientific advancements, the healthcare advancements, the agricultural advancements, all these things that AI can bring, make sure they reach everyone. So, it's a common language here. But, of course, they got to find common agreement.

WHITFIELD: All right. Nic Robertson, thank you so much.

All right. Israel will not join a trilateral framework proposed by France to de-escalate tensions along the Israeli-Lebanon border. That's according to Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, who accuses France of having hostile policies toward Israel. Hezbollah says it fired dozens more rockets at Israel today in response to an Israeli strike on a Lebanese village that killed one woman. Israeli police say there was some damage to property and cars from the latest Hezbollah attacks, but no casualties are reported.

Let's get more now from Oren Liebermann in Haifa, in northern Israel, and Paula Hancocks in Tel Aviv. So, first to you, Oren. In just the last few minutes, we learned the U.S. will impose sanctions on an Israeli group that they say is blocking humanitarian aid into Gaza. What more do we know about that?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: So, these are sanctions directed at a group called "Tzav 9", which is the word referring to an order from the Israeli military calling up reservists. That is the name of this far-right organization that has attacked, looted and set fire to humanitarian aid shipments from Jordan that go through the West Bank, and then are destined for Gaza. In fact, in rolling out this list of sanctions, the State Department pointing specifically to May 13 of this year when this organization, "Tzav 9", not only attacked and looted a group of two trucks, but also then set fire to those trucks and destroyed the aid that was intended for the people of Gaza.

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The Biden administration has made it clear that getting humanitarian aid into Gaza to the Palestinian population is one of its absolute priorities, and has criticized the Israeli government for not allowing in more aid. Well, one of the reasons aid has been slowed down is groups like this. So, the administration rolling out these sanctions. It is not the first time we have seen the administration sanction Israeli extremists that are targeting the Palestinians or humanitarian aid. But, it is still a noteworthy moment and shows the anger from the White House and from the Biden administration at organizations like this that are trying to stop the desperately needed aid from getting into Gaza.

WHITFIELD: All right. Oren Liebermann in Haifa, thank you so much.

Paula, let me get to you there in Tel Aviv. Tell us about in that U.S.-backed proposal on the table. Israel is not sending a delegation to ceasefire talks.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, at this point, Fred, it really does seem as though it is in limbo. Israel deciding that it is not the time to send a delegation. And what we're hearing really from the Biden administration is that they're putting the blame for this feeling of limbo, this feeling of stepping backwards squarely on Hamas' shoulders. They had an official response on Tuesday, Hamas, and they had suggested a number of amendments. And you could hear the frustration in the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's voice as he was discussing it, saying some of these are workable, some are not, also questioning whether the Hamas was negotiating in good faith, given that they are now asking for amendments on things that they'd agreed on before, according to Secretary Blinken.

And also, the U.S. President, Joe Biden, who has really put his face, his name, his voice on this proposal. He is very much tied to it. He was asked about it at the G7 in Italy. Let's listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Biden, did you all have a chance to discuss a possible ceasefire?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you confident it's going to be done soon, sir?

BIDEN: No. I'm not -- I haven't lost hope, but it's going to be tough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: So, the mediation does continue with the help of Qatar and Egypt, the key mediators, really, in this process. But, the Biden administration is giving the impression that they feel that the goalposts have been moved by Hamas at this point. Now, Hamas, for its side, says that they believe that they have shown necessary positivity. They say that the changes that they are asking for are in the interests of the Palestinian people. Now, we know one of the changes they're asking for is a timeline on the permanent ceasefire in Gaza. We know that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been keen to keep that vague. Certainly, the first phase of this proposal is for a six-week ceasefire. And then, through negotiations, it's expected to evolve into a permanent cessation of hostilities.

But, it appears as though Hamas is looking for more clarity and more guarantees that that will happen, also pushing for more guarantees that there will be a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. At this point, the first phase, the first stage of that proposal is only that the troops should pull out of the populated areas. So, there are differences of opinion. We've heard from Blinken saying that these -- there are discrepancies. He believes the discrepancies can be narrowed, but there is not a guarantee that they will be. Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then, Paula, a week after four hostages were rescued, now the Prime Minister has visited the base of that rescue mission, what happened?

HANCOCKS: Well, certainly, from the Israeli Prime Minister's point of view, this was a success, this military operation to rescue those four hostages, and he has visited one of those units that helped with that. So, he is trying to publicize just how successful it was. Of course, on the other side, when you look at the devastation and the death left in Gaza, it was anything but. We know hospital directors and Gaza officials say that more than 270 Palestinians were killed in that operation. There was also an Israeli soldier killed in the operation to rescue those four hostages.

So, there is two very different ways of looking at it. And in fact, even within Israel, there were very different ways of looking at it. The parents, the families of those hostages still being held in Gaza are not calling for more of these rescues. They are calling for a deal. There have been constant protests calling for this deal, many calling for Netanyahu to step down as well. But, they're not looking for these kinds of military operations. They're saying they want intense negotiations. They support Secretary Blinken in his push to get this ceasefire and hostage deal through. Fred.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Paula Hancocks, thank you so much, in Tel Aviv.

All right. One of the rare efforts supported by Republicans in the U.S. to stop gun violence has been struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. More on that and a potential Trump ruling, straight ahead. And is this the end of the Info Wars platform? A bankruptcy court will determine what happens to Alex Jones' controversial platform and his other assets.

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WHITFIELD: The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down a federal ban on bump stocks which allows the shooter to convert a semi-automatic rifle into a weapon that can fire at a rate of hundreds of rounds a minute. Then-President Donald Trump pushed for the ban in response to a 2017 mass shooting which killed 58 people at an outdoor music festival in Las Vegas.

I want to bring in CNN's Senior U.S. Justice Correspondent Evan Perez. Evan, great to see you. So, the Supreme Court just ruled on that Trump-era ban on bump stocks. What can we understand about the court's ruling and the dissent from Justice Sotomayor?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR U.S. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Fredricka. This is a pretty technical ruling from the Supreme Court. It was a six-three ruling. So, the conservatives and the liberals are obviously on opposite sides of this. And the real -- the basic part of this is that the -- Clarence Thomas, the Justice Clarence Thomas, he wrote the ruling and essentially focused on the issue of how these bump stocks work. What they do is they take a semi-automatic gun, a firearm, and they allow you to fire hundreds of rounds much more quickly. And the criticism people on the left, people who want them banned, is that they effectively make them more of an automatic handgun or a rifle or machine gun, which are technically banned in the United States, or can only be gotten with a specific licenses.

And so, Clarence Thomas, the Justice who led this ruling, really focused on the mechanics of this and said that it's not actually making it into a machine gun. And from the perspective of conservatives, they view this as something that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, which is the agency that wrote the ruling or the regulation, they view this as something that you can't just ban under a federal agency, that it has to come from Congress. And so, you can see what this is. Obviously, the effect here is that gun rights are expanded, again, by this conservative court.

Justice Sotomayor pushed back strongly. She said that the majority's ruling flies in the face of the standard rules of how federal agencies interpret federal laws.

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And so, she was focusing more on the issue that essentially ATF and any other federal agency is allowed to interpret laws and make new regulations, and that this did not go beyond this. I will point out, as you just noted, this was something that was actually passed by the Trump administration in 2017. And the irony of this is that -- this very regulation had actually been studied and worked on during the Obama administration. They had decided not to do it because of these very concerns that Clarence Thomas cites and what the conservatives have ended up doing here.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. And so, Evan, what is this further reveal, perhaps, about the leanings of the court?

PEREZ: Right. Well, I mean, I think it shows you where they are firmly on the issue of gun rights. Again, this is more of a technical ruling and it kind of focuses on the administrative states the power of federal agencies to essentially create new regulations that conservatives view as a as passing new laws, right, bypassing Congress. And so, that's one part of this.

It really does show you, though, Fredricka, that in order to pass any gun laws in the United States, you're going to have to get Congress to do it, which, of course, is an extremely difficult thing to do with where Republicans are on the issue of gun rights, no matter what happens with these mass shootings, which, as you know, in this country are a regularity. Things happen all the time. Numbers, dozens of people get shot. And Congress kind of just shrugs and moves on. And so, at some point, if you want to ban these devices or do any other kind of regulation, you're going to have to get conservatives to get on board.

WHITFIELD: All right. Evan Perez in Washington, thanks so much.

PEREZ: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right. The U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down the ban on bump stocks coming on the same day demolition began on the site of a school massacre in Florida. The building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is finally coming down, more than six years after a gunman murdered 14 students and three faculty members in the classrooms, in the hallways. Demolition was delayed so the evidence inside could be used in the trial to convict the shooter, who is now serving life in prison without parole. It's expected to take several weeks to complete this demolition.

CNN's Carlos Suarez is joining me now from Parkland, Florida. Carlos, I mean, this has to come with a mixed bag of emotions. What are people expressing that they're feeling?

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Fred. Good morning. So, it has been an incredibly painful and emotional day for the folks that live in the Parkland community, especially the parents, the family members of the students that were killed in this massacre back in 2018. Now, a good amount of progress has been made on the demolition of the building where the shooting happened. You're taking a live look right now at the corner of the building there that's been taken down. The workout here got underway at about 8:30 this morning, and is expected to last several weeks.

Now, two white tents were set up just outside of where all of this is happening for the families to witness the start of this demolition. Now, some of them wanted the building to be taken down all along, and others had said that they wanted it preserved. As you noted, Fred, the 1200 building has not been touched since the mass shooting. At first, it was preserved as a crime scene for the trial of the Parkland shooter. And then, in the last year or so, the families of some of the victims, they've coordinated tours of the 1200 building with bipartisan members of Congress. They had the Secretary of Education come out here. The FBI Director was here at one point. Even Vice President Kamala Harris paid a visit to the building here. All of this in an effort to try and pass school safety measures, not only at the state but at the federal level.

Here now is Lori Alhadeff. She is one of the Parkland parents, her daughter was killed in the shooting, talking about the emotions of watching as these construction crews got to work here this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LORI ALHADEFF, DAUGHTER ALYSSA WAS KILLED: When the crane hit the building, it just honestly ignited that pain even further. I know this is part of our healing process with the building having to come down, and I want the building to come down. But, I just keep thinking about my beautiful daughter Alyssa and the 16 others that were murdered on Valentine's Day six years ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SUAREZ: So, this process, Fred, is going to take several weeks, and the Broward County School District has not said if they plan on building a permanent memorial to honor the 17 students and faculty members that were killed in this shooting.

WHITFIELD: All right. Carlos Suarez, thank you so much.

[11:25:00]

A bankruptcy court in Texas will decide what happens to the media company owned by Alex Jones. Alex Jones is the right-wing host of the controversial Info Wars outlet. He infamously claimed the 2012 Sandy Hook School massacre in Connecticut was fake, and that the child victims were actors. The families of those victims successfully sued Jones over those claims. He now owes the families $1.5 billion in compensation. Jones and his company filed for bankruptcy protection, and the families are asking for the judge to liquidate his company.

Joining us now with more on all of this is CNN's Hadas Gold. Hadas, good to see you. So, what more can you tell us about the hearing?

HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. So, Fred, as we speak, actually, this hearing is ongoing in Houston. A bankruptcy judge is hearing the arguments, and he may as well rule today that not only have Alex Jones' personal assets already been requested to be liquidated, that his company as well. This is -- his company is called Free Speech Systems. It is the parent company of the infamous Info Wars conspiracy theory platform.

And what the families are requesting, they're requesting that the court appoint a court-appointed trustee who will liquidate these assets so that the proceeds from those sales will help go towards paying that $1.5 billion -- almost $1.5 billion that they are owed. Those families have not seen a single cent from the amount that they awarded in those 2022 trials. And even if all of these companies are liquidated, even if Alex Jones' personal assets are liquidated and all of that money goes to the families, that will only make a small dent in what they're overall owed.

What's important to know is even if the judge rules that these companies should not be liquidated, they will still be owed that money, and it will still come to them in some way. And most likely, for a very long time, Alex Jones will be paying these. But, what's important here is that if the judge rules today that these companies must be liquidated, it will essentially take Info Wars out of the hands of Alex Jones. What's really interesting actually, it's just in the last two days, the families also requested that Alex Jones' social media accounts, his X/Twitter account will also be liquidated, arguing that this Twitter account -- his X account is essentially like a customer base.

It will be really interesting to see how the judge rules from that. Now, Jones, for his part, for the last few days has continued airing his shows, has continued peddling lies about who is behind these cases. He was broadcasting even on his way to Houston to court. Now, for the families, they actually -- I spoke to one of the lawyers for the -- some of the Connecticut families, and he says that they are trying to find the most amount of accountability that the legal system can deliver, and that the money is just one component of that, and not the most important component of it. For them, the most important component of this is to essentially try to get Alex Jones' damaging lies and conspiracy theories that he continues to peddle off of the airwaves.

WHITFIELD: So, Hadas, is there -- I mean, pending the judge's decision, but is there still a possibility that the Info Wars could still remain in business, perhaps under someone else's leadership? What could potentially happen?

GOLD: It's -- I mean -- yeah. So, they would be taking these companies to liquidate them. The lawyers that I spoke to do not believe that Info Wars would continue to exist, as we see it today. But, that doesn't mean that Alex Jones himself won't be still allowed to go on whichever platform he wants, create a new company, something like that, and continue to peddle his lies and conspiracy theories. He had Tucker Carlson and Russell Brand on his show yesterday. He could go, team up with Tucker Carlson and go with him. He is allowed on the platform X. He could still broadcast on X.

But, what they're trying to do is just dismantle as much as they can of Alex Jones' empire. And again, it is still important to note that he will still continue to owe money to these families. Now, there are -- the plaintiffs have been arguing that Alex Jones has been trying to move his money around, give some of it to his father, try to route business through to his father, through to others, and they trying to get as much of this money that is owed to them as possible, unlikely that even in his lifetime, though, Alex Jones' will to pay this for almost $1.5 billion that he owes these families.

WHITFIELD: All right. Hadas Gold in New York, thanks so much.

All right. Pope Francis has shown the world that he has a sense of humor, but he actually had a serious message when he met with some of the biggest comedians on the planet, and that meeting happened right there at the Vatican. Plus, a historic new chapter in South Africa. We'll take a closer look at the newly elected parliament, which includes an unprecedented alliance.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. You're watching the CNN Newsroom. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. And here are some international headlines that we're watching today.

Northern China is dealing with extreme weather due to record temperatures and severe drought. In Beijing, they could see temperatures over the average of 30 degrees Celsius next week, possibly getting 39 degrees. That's 102 degrees Fahrenheit. Chinese officials say the weather threatens to impact agriculture in the north and central provinces. This year was the hottest spring on record, while 2023 was China's hottest year on record.

And officials in northeast India tell CNN that heavy rains and landslides have killed at least six people and left 2,400 tourists stranded. A local official says the state would provide support to those residents impacted by the flooding. Local officials say deadly flooding from heavy rainfall has also brought havoc to the Bengal region.

And South Korea and the U.S. are concerned over a potential trip by Russia's Vladimir Putin to North Korea. The two countries held an emergency phone call over the possible visit, and in a press release, they said Mr. Putin's visit should not undermine stability in the region. They also warned that North Korea should not deepen military cooperation with Russia, which would violate a UN security resolution.

And before Pope Francis headed to the G7 summit in southern Italy, he met at the Vatican with more than 100 comedians from 15 countries. Whoopi Goldberg, Chris Rock, Jimmy Fallon and Conan O'Brien are among those who were invited. The Pope's message to them, they have the power to spread peace and unite people with laughter.

CNN's Vatican Correspondent Christopher Lamb has the latest live from London. Christopher, great to see you. And it's nice to see that the Pope has a great sense of humor, although we've seen it in other ways. But, this one really trying to help bring, I guess, some global peace through humor. I mean, that was pretty perfect. What is this all about?

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, this was the kind of conclave of comedians in the Vatican that Pope Francis organized. He had invited a whole range of talent from across the world, and he did have an important message to give to them. He said to them, you rouse people to think critically. You speak to people about problems large and small. He is saying that humor and comedy has an important role to play in making the world a better place, to put it bluntly. Francis, of course, is a Pope with a sense of humor, as you said. He

started off his meeting by saying, I could just -- I could have just come in and pull the funny face rather than give you my speech. But, he did give that speech and then he met with each of the comedians individually.

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You mentioned Whoopi Goldberg. She has actually asked the Pope to have a cameo role in Sister Act 3, and she said afterwards that she was going to email the Pope to follow up on that. But, the Pope, as you can see, met with the comedians and he had some laughter, listened to some jokes. And he was there to really to emphasize that message that the Pope -- that comedy and that humor are important tools for building peace, for making the world a better place. And it was an unusual gathering at the Vatican --

WHITFIELD: Yeah.

LAMB: -- but part of the Pope's outreach to the world of culture and to comedy.

WHITFIELD: Really unusual. I mean, it's so pleasant to see these pictures and just to see all those comedians kind of clamoring around, trying to get him to smile. And I was going to ask you, what are they saying to him? Because it sure looked like more than just, Hi, nice to meet you. So, thanks for those remarks. Whoopi invited him to maybe be in her next film.

OK. So, now let's turn to what is a very serious matter and the Pope's concerns about artificial intelligence. So, while at the G7, he was turning to these global leaders about warnings that he wants them to stand behind, as it pertains to artificial intelligence. What was his overall message?

LAMB: Well, the Pope was giving a very strong message to the world leaders about the dangers of artificial intelligence, particularly the use of automated weapons systems. That is robot killers. And he is the first Pope to go to a G7 and address this gathering of world leaders and to talk to them. Now, Francis has in the past talked about the dangers of AI. He has called for a treaty to regulate its use. He is not saying that AI is bad, per se. He is saying it's a tool that can be used for good or for ill. But, he also called for joined up political action on this topic.

Now, France has said that politics is sometimes seen as a dirty word or a distasteful topic, and politics can be petty. But, he emphasized how politics should be about charity and serving the common good. And that's why I think the Pope decided to make that historic trip to the G7 to emphasize that the world leaders do at their disposal the chance to take positive action and to tackle this very important development of AI which is going to be the big challenge for humanity in the years ahead.

WHITFIELD: All right. Christopher Lamb in London, thank you so much. LAMB: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: From rivals to teammates, South Africa is entering a new chapter in its political history. For the first time ever, the country will form a multi-party coalition government. Here are live pictures right now of the newly elected parliament. South Africa's public broadcaster says the African National Congress has agreed to form a government of national unity with three other parties. This includes its largest rival, the Democratic Alliance, the ANC, which is the party of the late Nelson Mandela, lost its majority in May's national election.

Larry Madowo has been tracking this story for us. He is joining us live now from Nairobi, Kenya. So, Larry, how soon will this coalition come together and actually start governing?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's already coming together. It's happening right now. The first sitting of parliament just elected a new Speaker. Right now, they're electing a Deputy Speaker. And then the next order of business is to elect the next President of South Africa. I'll get to that a little later.

But, this is a historic moment to see South Africa's ruling party, the African National Congress, go into a coalition, they're calling it a government of national unity, with the DA, the center-right party that some in the country criticized as representing the white minority. In fact, it excludes two of South Africa's best known political names that were number two and number three and number four in the last election last month. Jacob Zuma, the former President and his MK party, as well as Jacob Zuma of the Economic Freedom Fighters, who refused to go into any coalition that represents, according to him, white monopoly capital in South Africa. But, this is DA leader explaining the task ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN STEENHUISEN, DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE LEADER: Even if this marks a hopeful and historic moment for our country, it is important that we are honest with each other about the scale of the challenges that lie ahead. South Africa has the highest unemployment rate in the world. It has one of the highest crime rates in the world. Logistics and infrastructure is in an advanced state of decline, and corruption is endemic. None of us should expect these problems to be solved overnight. It will take years of sustained hard work, perseverance, maturity and cooperation across all sectors of society.

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MADOWO: The Democratic Alliance saying it is joining the ANC and government to save South Africa from the path of decline.

WHITFIELD: And then, Larry, what might this mean for President Cyril Ramaphosa? MADOWO: It means he gets to keep his job. In fact, after the Deputy Speaker is elected, which should happen imminently, they will elect Cyril Ramaphosa as the next President of South Africa one more time. This was up in the air. Some wanted him to resign after leading the ANC to lose the majority for the first time in 30 years. But, as part of this coalition agreement with the GNU, the government of national unity, he gets to be elected President, but he then has to bring in all these small parties together to form a coalition government.

So, they said what they've signed today is a statement of intent. The actual fine details will come together in the days and weeks ahead. But, he has kept his job. It is not going to be an easy government when you have people who were in the opposition, now in your government, and they come in with two very different viewpoints, very different ideologies. And they put you there. They brought you to the dance. So, you have to pay attention to them.

WHITFIELD: All right. Larry Madowo, thank you so much.

All right. Coming up, Donald Trump is now the same age as when President Joe Biden took office in 2020. Details ahead on Trump's upcoming birthday rally in Florida.

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WHITFIELD: Former U.S. President Donald Trump celebrated his 78th birthday a day early, on Thursday, surrounded by congressional allies in Washington. The scene of House Republicans singing Happy Birthday, right here, is in stark contrast to Trump's last visit to Capitol Hill more than three years prior when his supporters attacked the Capitol building. Later today, Trump will celebrate his birthday at a rally in West Palm Beach, Florida.

CNN's Alayna Treene joining us right now live from Washington. Good to see you, Alayna. So, Donald Trump talks about the Biden's age all the time, but now he doesn't want to talk about his own. What's going on?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, look, Fred, I mean, Donald Trump is turning 78, and it is a milestone, but it's also not exactly something he wants to discuss in election -- in an election that is so focused on both of the candidates' age and where their mental acuity and fitness is being called into question. Now, Donald Trump did kind of allude to this last week at his rally in Las Vegas, I was there on the ground, and his supporters spontaneously, I should say, broke out and saying Happy Birthday for him. And he kind of joked. He was like, look, I'm going to read you some of what he said. He said, there is a certain point at which you don't want to hear Happy Birthday, and he went on to say, you just want to pretend the day doesn't exist.

And he was joking. He didn't say that completely seriously. But, that is in line with what I'm told. It's kind of how he is marking this occasion.

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And look, 78 is a very significant number. As you mentioned, Fred, it is the number or the age that President Joe Biden was when he took office. Actually, if Donald Trump were to win the election in November, by the time that he was sworn in, he would be older than Biden was at the same period four years ago. And so, it would make him the oldest President to take office in history. So, clearly, this is a big deal.

And again, age is a very big part of this election. Now, Donald Trump and his team have repeatedly attacked Joe Biden over his age. They've questioned his physical fitness. Donald Trump often mocks Joe Biden on stage at his political events. He often talks about his mental competency. He also often suggests that age is sometimes also just a number and that it really does depend on your mental competency. That's something he also talked about on Sunday at that Las Vegas rally.

But, I will also add that we are seeing increasingly Democrats attacking Donald Trump over this as well. They argue that he is not the same man that he was when he was in office that we've seen -- that they've seen a decline in him and that he stumbles during his speeches. He often forgets where he is or once referred to President -- former President Barack Obama rather than President Joe Biden. All things that they're trying to use to attack him, similarly to how the Donald Trump's campaign is attacking Joe Biden. And so, we're kind of seeing this all play out. And I think today is just a great marker for that, noting that the President is -- the former President is turning 78.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then, Alayna, endorsements are really important to Donald Trump, and he wants Taylor Swift's in those endorsement, and he won't stop talking about her. Is he going to get his wish? This might be a birthday wish for him.

TREENE: I mean, look, it's so interesting, because we've seen this before with Donald Trump. He often sees something and he becomes fixated on it. And recently, this has become Taylor Swift and her support of Joe Biden. And I do want to be clear, Fred, Taylor Swift has not endorsed Joe Biden this cycle. She did endorse him in the past election. And we know that the Biden campaign was trying to see if she would endorse him again.

But, she has been supportive of him in the past. And it's something that has graded on Donald Trump. And a big part of that is, and we know from just covering him so thoroughly over the past several years, that he cares a lot about celebrities, about Hollywood elite, about people who have a huge fan base, who could have swayed, particularly when Taylor Swift case, with young voters, and that is something that really bothers him. He often seeks the approval and the sway of a lot of these people. So, to not have it and also to be concerned that Taylor Swift could endorse President Joe Biden, it's something that's still, as you can see, Donald Trump is preoccupied with.

WHITFIELD: All right. Alayna Treene, thank you so much.

All right. Coming up, Scottish football fans are licking their lips in anticipation. Their team opens Euro 2024 against host Germany later on today, and the Tartan Army is having the party of the century. We're live in Munich straight ahead.

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WHITFIELD: All right. It's finally here, the opening day of the 2024 European Football Championships, and all eyes are on Munich where hosts Germany kick off the tournament against Scotland in just about five hours from now.

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24 countries in all will be competing to be crowned Europe's best for the next four years. Gareth Southgate's England side, runners-up at the last year Euro, are tournament favorites.

Let's go live now to Munich and CNN's Fred Pleitgen, who is outside the stadium. OK. What's happening?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Fredricka. Yep, outside the stadium, outside the legendary Allianz Arena, which is, of course, normally where the legendary club Bayern Munich play, and the gates to this arena are going to open in about, let me check, about 10 minutes from now. There is already a lot of Scotland fans and Germany fans who are lined up that way, trying to get in. We got in ahead and that's why we're already inside the secure area.

And you're absolutely right. The Scots have already been very loud, very vocal inside the city center of Munich. In fact, there was one German press report that I read that apparently they managed to drink all of the beer in some of the bars, and you have to drink a lot of beer to be able to empty a bar a year in Munich, here in Bavaria. So, the Scots, definitely very good vibes coming from them.

But, in general, we were down there a couple of hours ago, and we did see some pretty good vibes in general between the German fans and the Scottish fans, everybody, obviously, very merry, very much looking forward to this tournament beginning. And ahead of the tournament beginning, I managed to speak to the head of the tournament, the director of the tournament, also a legendary German footballer, Philipp Lahm. And here is what he said what he believes are the most important things he hopes this tournament will achieve. Let's listen in.

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PHILIPP LAHM, FMR. CAPTAIN, GERMAN NATIONAL TEAM, & TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR, EURO 2024: We want to show our diversity, also our -- that we are tolerant and open for everyone. Everyone can come to us, celebrate with us in a safe way.

PLEITGEN: Yeah. I think it is obviously always important for a tournament like this to go peacefully and for that to be ensured by the authorities. How do you view the way that things -- the security concept now that things are going?

LAHM: We want a peaceful tournament, and I'm very optimistic. We talked with the police and everything, not only in Germany, also around with all the qualified nations, with state police, we talked about and we -- I'm sure that we will have a peaceful tournament, a tournament of joy and happiness.

PLEITGEN: We did have a poll here in Germany where, not the majority, but quite a few people said they wanted more white players in the German national team. But, the German national team, it's important for them to be diverse, isn't it?

LAHM: It's very important. And when I look back in 2010, the national team was very was -- with migration background players, and that's good. They are very talented. And in a team, it's normal that you have one goal, and for a young boy, it's normal that you play with other players from other country. That's normal in a football team.

PLEITGEN: What do you think the chances are for the German team?

LAHM: I think they have -- now they have a clear system, how they want to play. They have to play us. They have experienced player. They have player with very big talent like Wirtz and Musiala. Now, it is so important that they create a team spirit, and you have -- as a fan, you have to feel it and then I think the German team, they have a big chance to -- also to the final.

PLEITGEN: At the end of all this, I think it's a month-long, the tournament, right --

LAHM: Yeah.

PLEITGEN: -- what would it take for you to say this was a really successful tournament for Germany, for Europe, and for football, because it's also an advertisement for football as well? Isn't it?

LAHM: The most important thing is a safe and secure tournament. That's very important, the most important thing. And then I hope that we feel a new or a better cohesion not only in Germany, also in Europe, more -- we feeling, not a -- I -- and -- that's -- I think that's very important.

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PLEITGEN: Philipp Lahm there speaking to me earlier. We are now a little over two hours ahead of kickoff, Fredricka, and of course, a little over three hours. I'm sorry. I'm already getting -- people are shaking their heads around me, a little over three hours ahead of kickoff. And the Germans certainly are favorite in this game. But, judging by the Scottish folks that we spoke to the city center of Munich, they believe their team have a fighting chance, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, have fun out there. Fred Pleitgen, thank you so much.

All right. And before we go, one more thing. It seems Taylor Swift is in her earthquake era.

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A video of the megastar's Edinburgh show on Saturday doesn't do her fans justice, as they literally made the earth move, according to the British Geological Survey. As a matter of fact, earthquake readings were detected almost four miles from Murrayfield Stadium on each of the three nights that she performed there. This isn't the first time Swifties have made an earth-shaking impact. Last year, Taylor Swift fans caused seismic activity equivalent of a 2.3 magnitude earthquake at her two shows in Seattle, Washington. So, both shaking it off and shaking it up.

All right. Thank you so much for spending your day with me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Stick with CNN. One World is up next.

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