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Connect the World

European Crews Rescue 1,000 Migrants From Mediterranean; Turkish Voters Go to Polls With Future of Constitution at Stake; Barcelona Completes Trebles, Wins Champion's League; Reading Rainbow Visits Israel; Koreans Skeptical of Government's Handling of MERS Outbreak. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired June 07, 2015 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:09] NICK PARKER, CNN HOST: Polls are now closed in what could be a decisive Turkish election shaping the future of this man and the country as

a whole.

We are live from Istanbul in just a moment.

Also ahead, an idyllic location for discussing the world's most pressing problems. The G-7 summit begins in the German Alps with a threat of ISIS

and the crisis in Syria high on the agenda.

Plus, a global love affair with book. Reading Rainbow goes abroad with its first shoot overseas, proving kids everywhere love to read.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is Connect the World.

PARKER: Thanks for joining us.

We begin in Turkey where just in the past hour, polls have closed in the country's parliamentary elections. The ruling Justice and Development

Party is expected to take most of the seats, but the big question is how many?

A total of 367 seats or more out of the 550 up for grabs would mean that President Recep Tayypi Erdogan's party could make changes to the

constitution without a referendum.

But as Arwa Damon reports, the success of Erdogan's party could well be determined by how the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party performs in

polls today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It has become cliche to call an election in Turkey critical. And yet it is that time again, and the

outcome of the June 7 vote is a defining moment for this country's future.

ALI CARKOGKI, ANALYST: This is the parliament that's going to decide or shape the next constitution, which may or may not allow for a presidential

system. And that a lot depends on the composition of the parliament in that sense.

DAMON: Those who oppose President Tayyip Erdogan shutter at the thought that his party could get enough seats and overhaul the constitution to

potentially allow Erdogan to stay in power indefinitely.

This is not a political rally, it's opening of a local municipal building, but the president is making an appearance. His Justice and Development

Party will do well in these parliamentary elections, but how much power he actually has will be determined by the success or failure of the Kurdish

Party.

For the first time, the HDP, the People's Democratic Party, is not running individual candidates, but as a party. That means they must cross a 10

percent national threshold for their seats to count. If they fail to cross that threshold, then they get nothing and the seats are divvied up among

the parties that do.

Already, Erdogan's party, known as the AKP, is looking at getting around 330 seats. This means they can unilaterally take any constitutional

changes to a referendum. But, if the Kurds fail to cross that 10 percent and are out of parliament, that means that Erdogan's AKP gets more seats,

more power.

And for some, that is terrifying.

CARKOGKI: People who had never voted for a Kurdish party in the past are now considering they're actually telling to their friends and neighbors

that, you know, they will vote for the Kurdish Party because primarily they are opposed to the current AKP government.

DAMON: Also at stake is the future of negotiations on the Kurdish issue. Closer than ever before to resolution, if the Kurdish party is out of

government, that process could falter. But the HDP is confident.

ERTUGRUL KURKCU, PEOPLE DEMOCRATIC PARTY CANDIDATE: The only thing that our party is doing bad for the government is that we are stripping Tayyip

Erdogan of the hopes and dreams of becoming a modern sultan in the Middle East. But we don't need sultans, what we need is a broader democracy.

DAMON: But it is still going to be a tight race for the HDP to reach that 10 percent threshold. And there are valid concerns about election

violence. The headquarters of the HDP in Marcin (ph) and Adana (ph) were attacked in May.

There is so much at stake, not just potential fears for Turkey's stability, but also for some its democratic identity.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PARKER: And Arwa joins us live from Istanbul with the latest.

Arwa, so polls have just closed. We understand that that crucial 10 percent figure was fairly close heading into this in terms of whether it

could be achieved. We won't ask you to speculate as votes are being counted, but what would the president do with these powers if he was able

to reach that 330 magic number, do you think?

DAMON: We don't really exactly know what sort of potential presidential system is being envisioned at this stage. Those details have not yet been

disclosed. But the polls did just close. We are right now in the courtyard of a school where some of the counting is underway.

This most certainly does promise to be very close.

Of course the concern amongst Erdogan's opponents is that the system that would potentially be put into place, this presidential system, would allow

him to stay in power indefinitely and would also erode at the checks and balances that are currently in place when it comes to power in this

country. There are widespread concerns, Nick.

And a number of voters that we were speaking to throughout the day were openly saying that they were, yes, casting their own votes for the HDP, for

that pro-Kurdish party, not because they believe necessarily, per se, in its ideals, although some of them did when it came to the protection of

human rights and women's issues, two things that many do believe the AKP has failed to safeguard, but because they are concerned that the AKP could

end up with those seats and that the HDP would not make that crucial 10 percent threshold.

Everyone here, suffice to say, is going to be watching the outcome of these elections very, very closely.

And many people also concerned, Nick, that no matter which way the vote goes, there could be some sort of reaction, violent or not, but people are

worried about what's going to happen once those results are announced.

[11:06:26] PARKER: Yeah, I wanted to ask you about the public mood such as it is at the moment. Is it tense? Is it a polarized atmosphere? What's

been the mood as voting took place today?

DAMON: Well, this is a country that has been polarized for quite some time now, for the last few years it's become increasingly noticeable. And yes,

the atmosphere is tense. Some polling stations that we went to, people seem to be fairly relaxed, others they were visibly tense. There was an

argument that broke out at one of them that we actually not allowed to film at and we were eventually asked to leave the premises.

And voters there began arguing amongst themselves as to whether or not the media should be allowed into the station, as to what the value was of

having the press there. And that really kind of underscored the mood that exists here.

This is a country whose future at this particular point in time, until those results are announced, is unclear. And it's also a country whose

future is going to potentially be unclear even after the results of these elections are announced. And that is playing into people's mood and psyche

quite significantly at this stage.

PARKER: Arwa Damon reporting live from Istanbul. We'll be sure to check in with you as the day progresses. Thanks very much for joining us.

The spread of ISIS, the Greek debt crisis, the war in Syria, global health scares, these are just some of the pressing issues on the G7 agenda today.

Leaders of the world's chief industrial nations are meeting right now at a castle in the German Alps for a summit ahead of the talks.

U.S. President Barack Obama says tackling the conflict in Ukraine, and Russia's alleged involvement there, was a priority.

But there are disagreements within the group over sanctions and whether or not to send arms to the Ukrainian government.

Russia, as you may recall, was forced from the G8 last year over that annexation of Crimea.

For more, let's bring in CNN senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta. He's just across the border in Austria. And Jim, certainly the issue of

Ukraine and Crimea overshadowing the summit again. What are the main fault lines between the G7 members on this?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORREPSONDENT: Absolutely, that's right, Nick. And as you mentioned, there are worries in Europe that perhaps they're taking this

isolation, this economic isolation of Russia too far, that because these sanctions haven't really changed Russian President Vladimir Putin's

calculus, then what is the point exactly is the question that you hear from some European leaders.

But the president of the United States had come to this summit, to this G7 summit in the Alps to persuade his European leaders, the leaders of the G7,

to hold firm, to stand their ground and to stay the course when it comes to these sanctions on Ukraine. The president earlier today before these G7

meetings got underway, had a bilateral meeting with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the White House provided a readout of that meeting saying

that essentially the president and Merkel came out of that meeting in agreement, that the duration of sanctions on Russia should be clearly

linked to Russia's abiding by a ceasefire agreement and respecting Ukraine's sovereignty and that is exactly where the president would like to

see things go right now.

There are some people who are wondering, well why don't they ramp up the pressure on Russia and pass new sanctions?

The White House understands there's clearly no appetite for that at this point. And so I think that they will feel this is a win if they get out of

this G7 summit by just holding this coalition of G7 members together to maintain that economic pressure on Russia. We should point out even though

he is no longer a part of the G8, Russia was kicked out of the G8 last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin is weighing in on this controversy.

He was giving an interview to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in which he said that only an insane person in a dream could contemplate

Russia attacking NATO.

So Russia once again Putin once again, poking at the United States and poking at these G7 members who have isolated Russia economically -- Nick.

[11:10:31] PARKER: Jim Acosta reporting live from Austria just across the border from where that G7 summit is taking place. Jim, thanks very much

for joining us.

ACOSTA: You bet.

PARKER: Several European countries are rescuing a new wave of migrants right now stranded in the Mediterranean. The British navy says it rescued

more than 1,000 people today alone. Nearly 3,500 people were saved from rickety boats on Saturday.

The international organization for migration says that migrants are taking advantage of improved weather conditions to sale from Libya in search of a

better life.

Let's bring in CNN's Isa Soares. She joins us now from the Greek island of Kos.

And Isa, it seems there's a lot of migration taking place just this weekend alone. What can you tell us about the latest developments in this wave of

migration?

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Nick. Yeah, like you mentioned, the numbers have increased because look at this weather. The

seas are much calmer and this is high season for a lot of smugglers to be operating.

But like you pointed out, operation is now currently underway -- navy vessels from the UK, Spain and Italy.

There are about 20 to 40 -- to 50 miles off the coast of Libya trying to rescue some 14 vessels out there in the seas.

This is the second day, Nick, second day, a very large operation. The one happening right now, the spokesman from the UNHCR said he expected between

1,000 to 1,500 migrants to be rescued today in this current operation.

If you remember on Saturday, another very large operation, with some dozen vessels, navy vessels being sent out. On that day, on Saturday, they

rescued 3,850 migrants, Nick.

And the numbers going into Italy are increasing by the day. And the nationalities, interesting, are changing. We were looking at how it's

changed last year. This year seem to be led by a lot of people from Eritrea. Compare that to last year, majority from Syria.

And let me tell you why, because Syrians are changing their route. The new frontier for them now is going via Turkey, which is just over my right

shoulder. For them, for smugglers, that a much faster route than going via the Mediterranean onto Italy, Nick.

PARKER: Yeah, interesting development in the changing patterns of human trafficking there.

And Isa, you're in Kos, which is obviously a focal point for some of, you know, this wave that's taking place at the moment. What are you seeing in

terms of how sort of local residents and the town is reacting to these thousands of people?

SOARES: Well, there's definitely solidarity and people feeling very sympathetic to the number of people arriving, Nick. But, you know, as you

know Greece is under huge amounts of pressure economically. They can't even pay the International Monetary Fund for the bailout funds that they've

been receiving. So you can only imagine how important tourism is for the likes of -- an island such as Kos. It has 30,000 inhabitants. And they

depend on Tourism. Is is their bread and butter. Yet every day they are faced with new reality and that is hundreds of migrants arriving. UNHCR

says on average 600 migrants arriving a day.

We have seen boats, little dinghies really of migrants arriving desperate to make it here. A lot, I've spoken to a lot of the migrant here, a lot

from Syria, a lot from Afghanistan, a lot from Pakistan. When I asked them where do you want to do. They tell me they want to go to Norway. They

want to go to Sweden. A lot want to go to Germany.

So, what the authorities are doing, they're trying to process them as quickly as possible on to Athens, because the biggest fear, Nick, that the

arrival of migrants here will impact tourism and that would be even harsher, they say, to the Greeks.

But of course people are being very sympathetic, doing what they can, giving food, water every day going to visit them at this abandoned hotel

that they're all staying.

So it's very tough times, but they said that Europe needs to do more, needs to act faster together, Nick.

PARKER: And obviously that's a story we'll be staying on top of at Connect the World. We've been following this closely. And we'll continue to check

in with you, Isa, in the days ahead.

Thank you very much for joining us, joining us live from Kos in Greece.

And still to come tonight, more cases of the deadly MERS virus are being reported in South Korea as fears grow over the government's handling of the

crisis. We'll have the latest from Seoul later in the show.

And as we've been reporting, big changes could be coming to Turkey's government. Next, we'll talk about today's election with a columnist from

a leading newspaper. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:17:27] PARKER: Welcome back. You are watching CNN. And this is Connect the World with me Nick Parker.

Let's get more now on our top story. We are awaiting results from Turkey where today's parliamentary election could lead to big changes in how the

nation is run.

Mustafa Akyol is a columnist for the English language Hurriyet Daily News and author of the book "Islam Without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty."

Mustafa joins us live now via Skype from Istanbul.

Mustafa, as we've been reporting, the ruling party of Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seeking to reach 330 seats today to be able to bypass other parties and

take a referendum on expanding his executive powers directly to the electorate. What do you think is behind this move? And what do you think

he intends to do with it? It's seen as defining Turkey for the next 10 years.

MUSTAFA AKYOL, HURRIYET DAILY NEWS: Well, we will see whether that will happen tomorrow morning when they have the count. I mean, the election

ended just an hour ago. And we will get the initial results in just a few hours. And we will see.

It is actually unlikely, but it's early to judge that they AKP, the ruling party, will have 333 seats, which is a huge number in the Turkish

parliament. And it depends more on -- less so on them, but more so on the Kurdish party and its performance.

But why Erdogan wants that? Well, President Erdogan thinks that he doesn't have enough power to create the Turkey of his dreams, although he's

probably the most powerful leader in the whole democratic world. He thinks that Turkey needs a new system called a presidential system, but not like

in the U.S., it will be a presidency without very little checks and balances. And that was his golden dream while campaigning for this

election.

PARKER: And let's focus a little more on Mr. Erdogan, because obviously he's a pivotal figure in today's story. And I just wanted to bring some of

our audience up to date.

Today's election could play a big role in shaping his legacy. He's been president for less than a year since last August. Before that, he was

Turkey's long time prime minister serving in that role since 2003. He founded the Justice and Development Party just two years before that in

2001.

So, I think, you know, the big question from our point of view is does he have a prevailing strategy in his leadership. Is there something that can

be connected throughout the last decade or so that he's been such a huge figure in Turkey?

AKYOL: Well, President Erdogan, of course, is the most pivotal personality in Turkey in the past 13 years. And his era began with an era of reforms

and a bid to enter the European Union and bring the European Union criteria for Turkey. And people like me supported Erdogan vigorously at the time, I

should say.

But the more Mr. Erdogan dominated the system, the more he got power, the less he got interested in reform, and going back to his more ideological

narrative seeing the world through enemies. He recently got convinced that there is an international conspiracy to topple him, and the opposition

forces inside Turkey are the pawns of this conspiracy. And that is really not a healthy political outlook. And that is one reason, not the only

reason, but one reason that Turkey is very polarized today between the supporters of Mr. Erdogan and the opponents of Mr. Erdogan who can be

bullies sometimes, and very fanatic in their own ways.

What we need actually is to diffuse this central power and have a culture of consensus, and make a constitution altogether like the Tunisians did,

for example.

But the outcome of this election, will this bring out that sort of reconciliation? I doubt. But ultimately, we will see tomorrow morning.

[11:20:57] PARKER: It's worth pointing out that these elections are deemed largely free and fair and democratic. So, if Mr. Erdogan is able to reach

these number of seats to overhaul the constitution, would that not just be an expression of popular will, you know, the tyranny of democracy?

AKYOL: It would be, but I think Turkey now fits in to what political scientists call ill liberal democracy in the sense that we do have free and

fair elections, and Mr. Erdogan's AKP have been winning them, no doubt about that. He's popular. No doubt about that.

But there are other things to democracy, liberal democracy, such as rule of law, free speech, checks and balances on the elected, and that's the part

that we have a big problem with.

And Mr. Erdogan thinks democracy is only about elections. And when he wins the elections he has a right to tell the media what to write and also in

redesign the judiciary and all those aspects of liberal democracy do not mean much to Mr. Erdogan and his supporters. And I think that's the

concern right now.

He had a very popular reelected, populist government, but half of the society feels intimidated and threatened by that. And that's why just

winning elections will not be Turkey's problem -- problem solver, what we need is a national reconciliation.

Will Mr. Erdogan bring that? I hope. He hasn't brought that in the past few years, for sure.

PARKER: Mustafa Akyol joining us live via Skype from Istanbul. Thank you very much for your analysis. Fascinating story. Thank you.

AKYOL: Thanks for having me.

PARKER: And you can, of course, follow the election in Turkey online. We'll have the results as and when they come in. And we'll look at the

various parties and find out more about what's at stake.

For our continued coverage, just go to CNN.com.

Live from Atlanta, this is Connect the World. Coming up, huge hitting, clutch play and a come from behind win. It's a big weekend for sport. Don

Riddell will joins us to discuss.

Plus, the U.S. television show Reading Rainbow is still trying to get children to read. And now it's broadening its horizons all the way to

Israel. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PARKER: You are watching Connect the World. Welcome back. I'm Nick Parker.

Now, we all have shows from our childhood that make us feel nostalgic. And Reading Rainbow was a mainstay of children's educational TV for 26 years.

But now it lives on in the internet. Its goal has always been to get children to expand their horizons through reading. And now the show itself

is expanding its own horizons by filming outside the U.S. for the first time.

Oren Liebermann has that story from Tel Aviv.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[11:25:13] LEVAR BURTON, HOST, READING RAINBOW: It should have been a perfect summer.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Millions of children have learned to love reading with LeVar Burton, the host of Reading Rainbow, one of the

longest running kid's shows in PBS history.

Now the host has a new audience, he's taken his team to Israel for the show's first ever international episode.

BURTON: Out here in the Judean desert, far from the modern comforts...

LIEBERMANN: Burt visiting a Bedouin village in the West Bank, drinking tea with a local family, then from the desert to the beach where he spent a

morning exploring Tel Aviv.

On his last day in Israel, Burton reflected on the people he met.

BURTON: Warm, openhearted, full of hospitality, frustrating, bullheaded and insistent on maintaining long held grudges that make no sense to me as

an outsider.

LIEBERMANN: Burton has used celebrities and popular characters to get kids interested in books. The highlight of the show has always been Burton

reading to a group of children.

BURTON: Jeremy, don't...

LIEBERMANN: At Hand-in-Hand, an integrated school in Jerusalem, his audience was Israeli and Palestinian.

BURTON: It was an amazing day. I think those kids are -- and my hope is that those kids are the future of this region of the world and that their

willingness to look beyond labels and to embrace on another as human beings, I hope that becomes the model for generations to come.

LIEBERMANN: Shooting the episode took Burton all over the country, brought an international flavor to this classic American show.

Oren Liebermann, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PARKER: We'll have the latest news headlines just ahead. Plus, the growing fear over a new and deadly virus in South Korea. What's being done

to contain MERS. We'll look at that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:30:02] PARKER: This is Connect the World. The top stories we are covering this hour.

Polls have closed in Turkey's parliamentary elections. The ruling Justice and Development Party is expected to take the most seats, but the big

question will be how many. If President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party wins more than 367 seats, it would allow him to gain more executive power.

The British navy says it -- it says one of its ships has rescued more than 1,000 migrants in the Mediterranean so far today. It says people from 11

ships have now been brought in while those from three other vessels are still being rescued as we speak. We're told some 3,500 people were rescued

on Saturday.

More new cases of the deadly MERS virus are being reported in South Korea. There are now 64 confirmed cases of the Middle East respiratory syndrome

and five deaths. More than 2,000 people are under quarantine and hundreds of schools are closing as a precaution.

The leaders of the world's chief industrial nations are meeting for a two day summit in the German Alps. The fight against ISIS, the global economy

and the conflict in Ukraine are among the big issues on the agenda. Thousands of protesters have also turned up, campaigning against inequality

and poverty. Some 17,000 police have been deployed to secure the summit grounds and contain those demonstrations.

For more now, I want to bring in CNN's Karl Penhaul who has been out talking to protesters today. And Karl, things got very violent, you might

say, yesterday when police opened fire with pepper spray on those demonstrators. What's been the mood like today as the leaders have

actually been sitting down for the agenda?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORREPSONDENDT: Yeah, there was quite a lot of pushing and shoving yesterday, Nick, and that as you rightly says

the police opened fire with pepper spray on some of the front runners in the demonstration.

Today has been very different. Rather than a single mass demonstration, the protesters have been cat and mouse with the police all day. Many

different groups of protesters broke up into small groups, a few hundred here, a few hundred there, to try and make it the 18 kilometers up to

Castle Elmau where the G7 leaders are meeting.

Why have they got it in for the G7 leaders? Well, it's pretty simple. There are many different groups here, but they are united under one banner.

And they say the G7 leaders are fat cats. They are members of the elite, they're elite politicians who just want to divide up the world and the

economy for their own benefit. And they say that there should be more of that sharing around.

And so today, we saw groups trying to blockade one of the highways that leader into Garmisch through logistics was going to be brought up to the

castle where the G7 are meeting. The police surrounded that demonstration, shut it down.

And then there was another group a little further one that did manage to blockade the highway for a short while. They had a peaceful sit-in on that

highway. And then the police drafted in trucks of riot police, literally trucks of riot police to pull them off the street and take them away. And

then later in the afternoon, several hundred came together in Garmisch town center.

And again, a march surround the town and towards the site of a prison of where -- an impromptu prison, in fact, where police have put a lot of

containers together and were holding the people that were arrested this morning, Nick, but in general terms peaceful today.

PARKER: Karl Penhaul reporting to us live from southern Bavaria near where those protests are taking place. Karl, thanks for joining us.

There are growing fears that the South Korean government is not prepared to handle the MERS crisis. The public wants transparency, and they do not

think that they are getting it. Kathy Novak reports from Seoul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHY NOVAK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORREPSONDENT: The MERS virus in South Korea, the biggest outbreak outside of the Middle East, the death toll on

the rise, new cases confirmed every day.

The message to the public: take precautions. But many were asking how can we protect ourselves when we aren't being given all the information.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's spreading too fast. And also the government is not really caring about our country, I think.

NOVAK: Citizens particularly frustrated that the government refused to name the hospitals affected.

KIM YONG-JIN, JOURNALIST: They are in panic because the government did not publish correct information and the hide -- or most everything about the

names of hospital.

NOVAK: Investigative journalist Jim Yong-jin's website published its own map. It got 600,000 page views in two days. Ten times the normal traffic.

Now, almost three weeks after the first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome was confirmed, the government has finally bowed to the pressure

and revealed the names of 24 facilities that were, or may have been exposed, to the virus.

A bow, too, from the head of one of the hospitals apologizing to the people infected under his watch. Visiting one of the quarantine centers,

President Park Geun-hye said people should trust that the government is trying its best to prevent the spread of disease. And the government

repeatedly promised transparency.

YOUNG-JIN: There is no transparency.

NOVAK: Kim says last year's Sewol ferry disaster lead to a fundamental lack of trust in the government's ability to handle a crisis. According to

a Gallup Korea poll, the president's approval rating dipped six percentage points last week.

The government has renewed its plea for trust from its citizens. It's now trying to track down anyone who visited the 24 facilities it has named.

And with the vast majority of people quarantined, isolated in their own homes, authorities are using cell phone GPS to monitor their movements.

Kathy Novak, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PARKER: Let's change gears here and turn our attention to what's been a big weekend in sports. The men's final is underway at the French Open

tennis tournament in Paris. And depending on who wins, it could be one for record books.

World Sport's Patrick Snell joins me live now from the studio.

So, Patrick, Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka. What's the latest. And also what's at stake?

PATRICK SNELL, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: There's an awful lot at stake, Nick. They are in the third set currently. And Stan Wawrinka has a short

while ago he had a commanding lead in taht third set. He lead by 5-2. And this is what's at stake here. We're going to update our viewers now. I'm

going to tell you this. It's one set all currently.

And I'll also say this, that Novak Djokovic is looking to make history. He's looking to win the one major, or grand slam tournament, if you like,

that he hasn't won. And if he can win the French Open, he will complete what's known as the career grand slam, that is to say that he will have won

every major, every one of the four majors that these top pros play in a calendar year.

And there is the very latest. I direct our viewers to that. This is dramatic, because Stan Wawrinka, the 2014 Australian Open champion, has

just taken the third set. And the Swiss player, who spent much of his career in the shadows of Roger Federer, could be on the brink of a second

slam title here. He is currently two sets to one up. He dropped the first set 6-4. He's hit back superbly. And is now two sets to one up. And huge

pressure now on Novak Djokovic, the Serbian world number one player, remember Nick, and I'm just wondering to what extent that energy sapping

five set thriller against Scotland's Andy Murray in the delayed semi-final that spilled over into Saturday is taking its toll on him. We shall see.

Very really interesting stuff going on right now in Paris.

PARKER: Pretty dramatic development, indeed.

And on the women's side, not even the flu could hold back Serena Williams from another benchmark in her already glittering career.

SNELL: Another benchmark, another grand slam title for her. Number 20 now.

You look at these images. And you can see quite clearly the joy and the elation. You think, you know, at some point it would become fairly routine

for her. It's not. Each slam title, this is number 20 for the record, means an awful lot to her. This is her third French Open crown for the

American. And what's really, really significant here is for me she is still head and shoulders above all her so-called rivals.

And the scary thing for her opponents is that she's 34 later on this year. She clearly has Steffi Graf's all-time open era mark of 22 in her sites.

She was telling us over the weekend that her trainer, her coach, has pointed her out to the fact that they need to go on and eclipse Steffi

Graf. She looks in really good shape to do that. She's got the Wimbledon Open -- Wimbledon tennis championships coming up, then it's the U.S. Open.

Can anyone stop Serena Williams? It's going to very tough.

PARKER: It would seem.

And in football, we finally get to talk about some action that took place on the pitch. Barcelona just too good for Juventus at the Champion's

League final.

We have a peace from Amanda Davies who was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: This was a night where football was front and center, once again, after all the controversy of the last 10

days the champions of Spain and Italy stepping up to remind us why we love this game.

There were moments of brilliance, hustle and bustle and ultimately a Barcelona win.

Juventus have been chasing this trophy for 19 years, but for much of the first half they were left chasing their shadows. All the pre-match buildup

surrounding Messi, Neymar and Suarez, it was Ivan Rakitic who stepped up to put Barca ahead.

And to Juve's credit, they kept on going. They didn't crumble until Alvaro Morata pulled them level early in the second half.

Messi didn't make the score sheet himself, but with his usual masterful best, it was his surging run that lead to Suarez's second for Barca before

Neymar made it three, giving Barca their fifth European crown and completing their treble of trophies this season.

[11:40:12] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am -- I feel very ,very grateful. I have to thank Barcelona for this moment. I am the happiest man in the world.

Oh, I don't -- can't describe this feeling.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They came really close. I feel really bad for Pirlo. I feel really bad for Gigi (ph) and all the guys. They had a great game.

UNIDENITIFIED MALE: I think the three strikers we have: Messi, Suarez and Neymar, they're just amazing and they make the difference in every game.

DAVIES: So, what an end to a first season in charge for the Barca boss Luis Enrique. He said in his program notes that this was the game that

would determine the kings of Europe. And it's his Barcelona that reigned supreme.

Amanda Davies, CNN, Berlin.

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PARKER: Quite a scene there.

And in fact...

SNELL: Poor Amanda.

PARKER: Yeah, right.

I've got to ask, what was your take on the match?

SNELL: I thought it was great game. It was just what football needed after all that FIFA corruption, the allegations we've been seeing there.

The really ugly stain on the beautiful game, but it was a wonderful performance from Barcelona, because when Juve asked a question of them 10

minutes into the second half, when Alvaro Morata got Juve back into it 1-1, they dug deep, they showed their class and they showed just how

desperately, Nick, they wanted this treble.

It's their second treble in six years. They did it under Pep Guardiola in 2008, 2009. And now Luis Enrique, remember in his first season as

Barcelona head coach, has gone and done this, fantastic. And it's quite incredible to think that there is now potential speculation about his

future at the club. There was the reported friction earlier of the season of his relationship with Lionel Messi. I don't believe for one moment

Enrique will move on, but you know what I've been wrong before. We'll see.

PARKER: Not that often. I thought your prediction was pretty close in the end.

SNELL: I went for 2-1. We both did.

PARKER: I was 2-0. I think you were (inaudible) closer. But anyway.

SNELL: Well, Neymar -- for the record, that third goal game in the seventh minute of injury time.

PARKER: That's true.

SNELL: I'm saving it.

PARKER: Patrick, thank you very much for joining us. Much appreciated.

Don Riddell will have much more on these stories along with the latest on the FIFA scandal. That's coming up on World Sport starting in around 20

minutes from now.

And let's stick with sports for tonight's Parting Shot. A rare feat courtesy of a horse with a misspelled name. American Pharoah charged into

the history books on Saturday, winning the Belmont Stakes. That's the third and final event in horse racing's Triple Crown, which includes the

Preekness and the Kentucky Derby.

American Pharoah is the first horse, get this, to win all three races in 37 years and just the 12th ever.

Jockey Victor Espinoza also made history: at 43, he is the oldest jockey to win a Triple Crown and the first Latino jockey to win it.

I'm Nick Parker, thank you so much for joining us on Connect the World. Stay with CNN.

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