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Connect the World

North Korea Claims ICBM Test; Putin, Fight Against ISIS Intensifies in Raqqa, Mosul; South Sudan's Growing Refugee Crisis Ignored. 11:00-12:00p ET

Aired July 04, 2017 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:11] BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: A wild claim, a dangerous provocation. The latest missile test in North Korea is both. What we know and what we

don't about the military moves in one of the most secretive places on the planet.

Also, bridging a divide, or trying to, at least, the German foreign minister is on a shuttle diplomacy mission in the Gulf. Will there be a

breakthrough in the Qatar crisis? More on that later this hour.

Plus, the fight against ISIS intensifies as the terror group suffers losses in Raqqa, in Syria, and in Mosul in Iraq. A live report from Iraq is just

ahead.

You're watching Connect the World. I'm Becky Anderson. Hello and welcome. We are in Abu Dhabi for you.

We begin this evening with atomic nightmares. The designs North Korea has on keeping you up at night. It wants these scenes to do just that.

This, it claims, is the launch of its first ever intercontinental ballistic missile. That, it boasts, can strike, quote, anywhere in the world.

Well, the hermit kingdom wants us to think it's soared some 3,000 kilometers into space, eight times higher than the international space

station's orbit, before slamming back down to Earth, except that we don't know if any of that is true.

There are deep doubts about their bombastic claims. One thing, though, is crystal clear: everyone's exasperation. It's Pyongyang on one side, and

very much so the rest of the world on the other.

And now, more and more, as CNN's Suzanne Malveaux tells us, it's Pyongyang versus Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Trump defiant in his response to North Korea's 11th missile launch this year, tweeting

about North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

"Does this guy have anything better to do with his life? Hard to believe that South Korea and Japan will put up with this much longer. Perhaps China

will put a heavy move on North Korea and end this nonsense once and for all."

The president prodding China to do more to confront North Korea, coming one day after a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The White House saying in a statement that President Trump raised the growing threat of North Korea's weapons program. The Chinese offering a

more critical take. Noting that the U.S.-Chinese relationship is being affected by some negative factors.

President Trump issuing this stern warning on Friday after meeting with the president of South Korea.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The era of strategic patience with the North Korean regime has failed. Frankly that patience is over.

MALVEAUX: National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster confirmed publicly that the U.S. has updated its military options against Pyongyang.

H.R. MCMASTER, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We can't repeat the same approach -- failed approach of the past. The president has made clear to us that he

will not accept a nuclear power in North Korea.

MALVEAUX: The president's posture towards China clearly changing in recent weeks. Trump appearing to lose faith in Beijing's willingness to take on

North Korea.

TRUMP: I wish we would have a little more help with respect to North Korea from China but that doesn't seem to be working out.

MALVEAUX: Trump warning in April that he is willing to take unilateral action if China does not do more to contain the threat.

REX TILLERSON, SECRETARY OF STATE: They have a diplomatic responsibility to exert much greater economic and diplomatic pressure on the regime.

MALVEAUX: This growing tension coming as President Trump prepares to leave for the G-20 Summit this week in Germany, where he is expected to sit down

with President Xi and the leaders of Japan and South Korea, two other countries that the U.S. considers essential to confronting Kim Jong-un.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, lets get you on the ground, shall we in South Korea's capital, which is just 200 kilometers from Pyongyang, a distance at the

speed the missile was zooming through the air. It could cover in less than eight minutes.

CNN's Paula Hancocks is in Seoul for us.

Paula, we started this hour by saying what we know and what we don't know about the military moves as it's often described one of the most secretive

places on the planet. Helps us out. What do we understand at this point?

[11:04:56] PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, clearly North Korea has claimed this a successful ICBM. And up until this

point, U.S. and South Korean officials have not denied it.

what we're hearing from the South Korean joing chiefs of staff is that they are still analyzing the data, they're still looking through whatever they

look through, the satellite images, the radar, the human data that they have. And they are trying to figure out whether or not this was an ICBM.

So, they're not denying it, which is significant.

What we're also hearing from the JCS is that today's launch did have an improved launch range from the May 14 launch. Now, when they launched a

test on May 14, all the experts said that that was the most significant advancement in the nuclear weapons program of North Korea to date. So,

what JCS is saying is that this is even more significant than that.

So, it has to be taken seriously. It is being taken seriously by the United States. We understand from senior administration officials telling

us that there are meetings ongoing at this point there are meetings with defense officials trying to figure out exactly how they should respond if,

in fact, they confirm that this is an ICBM.

Here in North -- in South Korea, as well, we have the president of the country Moon Jae-un saying that North Korea should not push itself to the

bridge of no return.

So, there some serious concerns about this launch today -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Whatever timing of this launch, coming as it does ahead of the U.S. President Donald Trump's trip to the G20 meeting where he will meet

with his Chinese counterpart.

HANCOCKS: Well, I think North Korea has made sure that it will be talked about for the next few days. It is inevitable that it is going to be very

high up on the agenda now at the G20, all the leaders that are going to be meeting there will be discussing Pyongyang. And that is what we have seen

in the past, the head of something important, just after something important, on the day of something important. It was July 4 in North

Korea, even though it wasn't quite in the United States. Could that be significant?

President Moon Jae-un himself, as well, of South Korea, said it was disappointing that they did this just a few days after he came back from

the summit in Washington. At that summit in a press statement standing in the Rose Garden next to the U.S. President Donald Trump. He did say North

Korea come back to the negotiating table. And then just a few days later, you have this significant test launch by North Korea.

So, yes, a lot has been made of the timing, because it is such a significant time at this point. But, of course, some experts would also

caution that North Korea has made it clear it will continue to test its capabilities. It wants to develop its nuclear and weapons program. To do

that, it has to keep testing, that's what every country around the world has done, or has needed to do -- Becky.

ANDERSON: 12:07 a.m. in Seoul in South Korea, seven minutes past 7:00 here in the UAE.

Paula, thank you.

More on this this hour as we consider how the U.S. President Donald Trump will craft his narrative on North Korea when he meets with his Chinese

counterpart at that G20 meeting later this week.

Right. Signed, sealed, delivered, but content as yet officially unknown. Unusually in this age of email all eyes here in the Gulf are on an old

fashioned letter. Qatar sent its response to the four Arab states boycotting it via mediator Kuwait on Monday.

24 hours later, a key member of that quartet, the United Arab Emirates, says it still has no idea what that response is.

So, what is at stake in this month old crisis? Put simply, this is a regional standoff with the potential for global shock waves from the multi-

billion dollar energy and aviation businesses all the way to the battlefields of Syria and Libya to name just two hotspots that could be

affected.

To break this down for us, CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is live in Doha where the Qatari foreign minister has just spoken. And here with me in Abu Dhabi our

international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson.

Jomana, Qatar's foreign minister just wrapped up a press conference during which reporters like yourself were hoping to learn more about whether his

country had conceded to the demands made by the others in the region to stop alleged funding of terror, to put an end to the perceived use of media

to incite the same, and to distance itself from Iran. Is it clear whether it's prepared to change its ways in any way?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And we asked him just that, Becky. And he really would not disclose the content of that letter

that he hand delivered yesterday to the emir of Kuwait saying that that letter is now with the Kuwaitis who are the mediators in this dispute and

it was up to Kuwait to decide if it was going to disclose and when it will disclose the content of the letter.

But he said that their response was basically along the lines, or within the framework of international laws and in a way that it preserves Qatar's

sovereignty, something, as you know, we have been hearing from the Qataris all along, an indication that they will most likely not be agreeing to the

list of demands, at least in the current form, or the form that we saw it in about 10 days ago.

He said basically that Qatar has done its part, it has responded, and now the ball is in the court of the Saudi-led alliance. When he was asked

about what he expected to come out of that meeting tomorrow in Cairo, the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Saudi-led bloc, he really said it

was unpredictable. He described this whole crisis as unpredictable. And he said we've done our part, now we have to wait and see what comes out of

that tomorrow.

He says there is only one resolution for such a crisis, and that comes through dialogue. He says all disagreements end at a negotiation table.

[11:11:15] ANDERSON: Jomana Karadsheh just out of that press conference in Qatar.

Nic, Germany's foreign minister has been shuttling around the region. He was here in the UAE earlier on today presumably trying to get a measure of

just how deep this regional crisis is and what's at stake for countries like his own in terms of diplomacy and business should things deteriorate

further.

Remind us what -- why what goes on in the Gulf doesn't stay in the Gulf?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Because there are so many countries around the world, Europe in particular -- and let's not

forget that Sigmar Gabriel, the German foreign minister, will be back in Hamburg in a couple of day, G20, reporting to them what is heard.

He will be wanting to find out what is next. Is this going to get messy and ugly? Are the financial screws, as we've heard, that could be turned

as a result of Qatar's response here. Are they going to include screws that could affect European businesses that, let's say, trade in both Saudi

Arabia and Qatar. Are they going to be given a choice of them or us, take it or lose it, you know, choose to go with us or go with them? But if you

go with them, then there's going to be a financial price to pay.

So, I think he's trying to get a sense of the depth of what could be coming here as well as reinforce that message that we know that they've

been hearing from all international partners, which is, yes, combat terrorism, yes, combat extremism, that's important, but get the GCC house

in order, because we around the rest of the world don't want the business repercussions.

ANDERSON: So, we're hearing from the German foreign minister that it is important that there is a dialogue here.

What we hear from the two sides in this, what we might call the quartet of Arab states on the one hand, and Qatar on the other, is that there is no

wiggle room here. There is no dialogue, because the demands, as Qatar see them, are breach international law, they beach their sovereign rights. And

on the flip side, you have four countries who say -- alleging -- that Qatar is funding terrorism, is way too close to Iran, supports groups like Hamas,

Hezbollah and the Muslim Brotherhood, designated here.

There doesn't seem to be any wiggle room in this?

ROBERTSON: You know, there doesn't on the surface. And certainly the language that we've heard from all parties leading up, as you say, puts

them poles apart.

The 13 demands, as Qatar says, are just way, way beyond the scope of what they're willing to give into.

But I mean, let's look at what's happening right now, let's break it down and slow it down, because that's what they're doing. This letter was

handed over to the Kuwaitis, the mediators, but, you know, the diplomacy is moving slowly here. You would expect the Emiratis and the Saudis, the

Kuwaitis, the mediator, just to hand it over and they will get on with their business.

So, I think there is a sense of sort of slowing this down. Let's take our time. Let's look at it. Let's take our time and not rush into a decision.

But the reality is where can they find compromise? What can they shed away? Can this issue of Iran be hedged in such a way that both sides can

feel comfortable with the language that emerges. Can both sides be comfortable with a language that could emerge over al Jazeera? You know,

can both sides share the burden of what the implications could be? If you insist on this for us, then we insist on that same monitoring, or whatever

it is, for you. Is that the way that this can go?

I think by the fact that we have a two-day pause, we can breathe a little bit in that pause, but of course it's tomorrow Cairo, Wednesday foreign

ministers decide and speak. That's the moment this thing turns left or right.

ANDERSON: And let's just -- one fact I saw out there today, which I think sort of sums this up. You know, just consider the Qatar sovereign world

fund, by all accounts, is -- owns more asset in London alone than the Queen does, for example. That gives just a sense of where Qatar is invested and

how bilateral trade could be affected should there be a call by the quartet on a sort of them or us basis.

Nic, thank you.

And in a move that will be read by many as the tiny Gulf nation, reminding us of its huge footprint on, for example, the global energy market. Qatar

has just announced plans to increase its already massive gas output by another 30 percent, 3-0 percent, over the coming years. It's already the

world's largest producer of liquified natural gas.

I'm going to get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are right on our radar right now.

And Volkswagen says it's starting to export its cars to Iran to go on sale in August. It's the first time the German company will sell cars in Iran

in 17 years. Germany and other nations began easing trade restrictions after the country signed the landmark 2015 nuclear deal.

New Jersey governor Chris Christie had his day in the sun and now he is feeling the heat. These pictures of him lounging on the beach Sunday

triggered a storm of controversy back home in the states, because Christie had closed all state beaches to the public amid a budget dispute. That

partial government shutdown is now over.

The U.S. celebrating its independence day today. You're looking at a parade route in Michigan, which is featuring Vice President Mike Pence.

Meanwhile, President Trump spending a morning at his golf course in Virginia. Later, he and the first lady will host a picnic at the White

House for the military families.

Well, the U.S. president preparing for his second foreign trip, this one is pivotal, because he'll be meeting the Russian president for the first time.

A preview of the G20 summit in Hamburg is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: U.S. President Donald Trump meets Russian President Vladimir Putin face-to-face this week for the first time.

The two leaders won't just be sitting down for a quick coffee and a chat. A spokeswoman for the Kremlin says their get together at the G20 in Germany

will be a, quote, fully fledged bilateral meeting.

Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin have a lot to discuss. There is this new missile test from North Korea, no less. And then of course you've got the thorny

subject of Syria. Many relations between Moscow and Washington, of course, have splintered over accusations that Russia interfered in the U.S.

election.

Well, our Nic Robertson with me again along with Ivan Watson from Moscow.

There were talks today between Mr. Putin and the Chinese President Xi Jinping. And that is certainly going to affect any discussion with the

U.S. president, Ivan.

[11:20:25] IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And, you know, one of the things that the Russian and Chinese leaders were

discussing was, of course, this North Korean missile launch.

And they issued a joint statement effectively with their foreign ministers where they both express concern about the launch of the missile, Becky,

because both countries are signatories to United Nations security council resolutions that bar North Korea from nuclear weapons tests and from

ballistic missile launches. So, they're bound to basically at least express concern, but they stopped short of condemning the missile launch.

Then they both issued a statement calling for a step-by-step peace process, essentially, on the Korean Peninsula. And the Russians backed a previous

Chinese proposal, which would call for North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons tests, its missile launches, in conjunction with the U.S. and South

Korea suspending large scale military exercises, which is something that Washington has opposed in the past.

It went on to say that both Moscow and Beijing oppose the presence of essentially of U.S. on the Korean peninsula, and they do not want the U.S.

to use North Korea's weapons programs as a pretext to add more military assets on the Korean peninsula. Both Moscow and Beijing have opposed the

deployment of the U.S. THAAD missile defense system, which is something that U.S. says is justified in response to North Korea's belligerence

effectively -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Ivan, how would you describe the attitude from the Kremlin going into this meeting and the would-be atmosphere, as it were?

WATSON: You've got a top Kremlin aide, whose name is Yuri Ushekov (ph) who said that basically U.S.-Russian relations right now are at zero level.

And, though, Presidents Trump and Putin have had a number of phone conversations, he said it's very important for both of these leaders to sit

down face-to-face.

The evolution of Moscow's reaction to the election of Donald Trump has been really fascinating to watch. He's the first American president that I've

seen elected who was toasted, essentially, by some of the most anti- American politicians here in Moscow, toasted with champagne. And the initial excitement about his election has dimmed somewhat as Trump has

entered into political minefields in Washington over alleged ties to Russia, which Russia denies, of course.

This might be a chance to try to talk about a whole raft of issues that Washington and Moscow do not see eye to eye on, notably Ukraine, notably

Syria. And there are a number of other issues as well.

One of the narratives that's come out of the state media here in Russia is that Trump himself is hemmed in by opposition forces within Washington,

within the political establishment in the U.S., that block his desire to develop stronger relations with the Kremlin, with Moscow -- Becky.

ANDERSON: If, indeed -- thank you, Ivan.

Nic, if, indeed, that narrative is correct and he's hemmed in, it's difficult for him to develop -- and I'm talking about Donald Trump here --

to develop better relations. How will that effect, his approach to meetings that he'll be having to any discussions at G20 that will affect

U.S. foreign policy going forward.

ROBERTSON: I think we've already seen H.R. McMaster, Trump's national security adviser, lay out already Trump's approach. And that's the one

that we're familiar with, with Trump, which is he's going to make it up on the moment. There's no fixed agenda. So that he will get into that

meeting with President Putin and decide there and then on the cuff.

Look, that worked really bad for him in his conversation with Sergey Lavrov and the ambassador Kisylak inside the White House when -- in the Oval

Office when photographs of that meeting were leaked.

But for the advantage for both Putin, not to go on too long here, but the advantage for both Putin and Trump on this, of course, is they can try to

get beyond the current rhetoric and narrative the Kremlin is getting driven crazy even by the questions that keep coming to them about this thing

that's happened in the United States and that thing that's been said about the Kremlin and they have to keep -- they want to get beyond that. They've

made that abundantly clear.

[11:25:10] ANDERSON: Nic, this is only Donald Trump's second foreign trip. You were in attendance, as it were, as part of a press corps on his first -

- on the first leg of his first trip, which was, of course, to Riyadh. An incredibly important meeting, the back draft of which I think we are

feeling across the Gulf still. Many people say that Saudi and its allies emboldened by the reception that they got from Donald Trump in this new

U.S. administration. He was feted, it has to be said.

ROBERTSON: Hugely. And he played to that. Every other stop along the way, he talked about how grand it was and wonderful.

ANDERSON: He won't be at G20. He's certainly not going to get the same sort of...

ROBERTSON: When he gets to G20, they're going to be remembering the G7. And that was the end piece of that tour. And I was there as well. And,

you know, you heard the Italian prime minister actually saying at the start of the last day of talks, we've got to be professional about these talks to

get some concrete agreements, these negotiations have to be professional.

The message, the subtext, was President Trump is not being professional. He hadn't turned up with proper preparation, it appeared, on his position

and policy on the climate change. He said, let's park that and I'll tell you all about it when I leave. Well, a week later, he decided not to

endorse the Paris climate accord.

So, his walking in to the G20, climate change, the Paris accord, is a big part of the G20. His last meeting are the ways with these leaders was

negative, because he separated himself sfrom everyone else. And he's going to face the same on trade, and he's been critical of Angela Merkel on

Trade explicitly. And she's the host.

ANDERSON: Guess where Nic Robertson will be tomorrow. You've got it? First let of Donald Trump's second foreign trip, as he was there on the

first leg and last leg of what was the first trip. Welcome to the world of the international diplomatic correspondents pool.

ROBERTSON: I'm glad you've got it straight.

ANDERSON: I think I have.

ROBERTSON: You have.

ANDERSON: Hard to keep up.

Good stuff. Fantastic. Our website is where you can learn more about how the U.S. president is perceived by the world. White House reporter Stephen

Collinson has written a revealing essay called "The world looks past Donald Trump," that is CNN digital. You know where you can find that.

The latest world news headlines are just ahead. Plus, taking the fight against ISIS to the very heart of its last remaining stronghold. We'll see

how the militants are losing ground in both Syria and Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:31:30] ANDERSON: To what coalition leaders say, or call, a key milestone now in the fight to liberate Raqqa from ISIS.

U.S.-backed Syrian rebels have breached a strategic wall surrounding the old city. And they are getting ready to move in.

Now, the old city is the last holdout of ISIS in Raqqa in Syria, the militants' self-declared capital. ISIS also being cornered in the city of

Mosul in Iraq. Iraqi forces there expected to fully declare victory within days.

Let's get the very latest now from Nick Paton Walsh following developments in both Syria and in Mosul in Iraq from nearby Irbil in northern Iraq --

Nick.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is potentially a sign of how fast the progress of the Syrian Kurds and Arabs backed with

U.S. ground and air support around the city of Raqqa, actually is, that they've managed to breach the old city walls.

A statement from the coalition telling us pretty much all we know about the success about operation, talking about two large holes breached in that

wall that dates back to the eighth century AD, that (inaudible) wall which marks about eight kilometers of territory around that old city.

Now, it had been, we're told, mined substantially and was being used as a potential defensive position, but we're told that these holes have meant

that the SDF, that Syrian-Kurdish and Arab force backed by the U.S. and managed to bypass a lot of that and are moving now forward, potentially

only 3 kilometers from the city center of Raqqa.

Now that is, of course, a very different pace of progress that we saw to the fight against Mosul that's now eight months old and still in its very,

very final stage clearing ISIS out of pockets in the old city.

But Raqqa a different task. It is the sort of so-called capital of the caliphate, so deeply symbolic. But potentially inside it there are many

less civilians than there were when Iraqi special forces moved against Mosul, 50,000, one estimate, another as high as 150,000. But only 2,500

ISIS fighters, according to the coalition.

So, potentially a swifter task here, and one that U.S. has had well over a year to thoroughly prepare for, that it would appear to be tackling it

quite swiftly, Becky,

ANDERSON: Nick Paton Walsh on the stories for you.

Well, U.S. air strikes have been instrumental in the campaign against ISIS in Raqqa. CNN's Muhamma Lila had access to the USS George H.W. Bush when

it was on operation in the Gulf in May. He got this insight into what is the air and sea war in Syria.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MUHAMMAD LILA, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're the unseen faces in the war on ISIS. America's fighter pilots 30,000 feet in

the sky, providing critical condition air support to troops down below.

We were given exclusive access to the USS George H.W. Bush, home to a strike force of more than 40 F-18 fighter jets and the pilots who fly them.

(on camera): We're walking on the air deck right now. Take a look around. You can see the massive firepower that's all around us. This is the most

advanced ship in the entire U.S. fleet. In fact, just from this runway to my side, they launch anywhere from 12 to 20 airstrikes against ISIS targets

every single day.

SCOTT WELLS, U.S. NAVY: It's a pretty unique experience for sure. LILA (voice-over): Scott Wells spoke to us down below in the ship's hangar bay,

with engineers working around the clock. For him, the hardest part of the job isn't actually the job, it's being away from his wife and two young

daughters for seven months straight.

(on camera): How do you stay in touch?

[08:35:06] WELLS: Via e-mail, pictures, occasional phone calls. But while we're underway, there's no Skype, chat, Facetime, anything like that. So,

it's very challenging.

LILA (voice-over): The ship runs like a small town powered by twin nuclear reactors. With a crew of 5,000 on board, there's always activity, with

launches during the day and with infrared lighting at night. By the time the deployment is over, the military says the pilots on boards will have

dropped more than a million pounds of bombs in Iraq and Syria.

JAMES MCCALL, COMMANDER AIR GROUP: At the end of the day, we need to make sure we're putting bombs in correct positions to take out ISIS.

LILA: But that hasn't always happened. The Pentagon has been dogged by accusations that its air strikes have killed hundreds of innocent civilian

since the campaign began three years ago. One monitoring group says that number is well over a thousand. The U.S. military maintains that it takes,

quote, extra ordinary measures to mitigate the loss of civilian life.

REAR ADMIRAL KENNETH WHITESELL, U.S. NAVY: Thank you --

LILA: Kenneth Whitesell is a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. He spoke to us while F-18s were taking off below.

WHITESELL: The war is very -- not a clean business. Some of the times, you know, a motorcycle or a car can come into an area where the weapons fall.

LILA: Most air strikes are planned days, even weeks in advance. But right up until the last second, a pilot can abort the mission if they see unusual

activity on the ground.

MCCALL: When something comes up and they see someone who they haven't identified on the ground, they know we're not going to drop that bomb. That

bomb can wait maybe an hour, maybe another day, maybe another week.

LILA: For the pilots on board, it's a responsibility weighing heavily on their shoulders, knowing their decisions can mean life and death.

Muhammad Lila, CNN, on board the USS George H.W. Bush.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, the pope's pediatric hospital in Rome is offering to admit Baby Charlie Gard into its care and keep him on life support as his parents

decide their next steps.

Now, this little boy is at the center of a controversy. He is on life support now in a London hospital. But a legal battle gave his doctors the

right to take him off his ventilator. His parents wanted to take him to the U.S. for experimental treatment.

CNN's Diana Magnay joins me now from London. And Di, this story drawing attention not just from the likes of us ordinary people around the world,

but from world leaders as well. Explain.

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It has. And it's such a dreadful story in the UK. If you, as a parent, disagree with a doctor's

decision over the appropriate care for your child, then it goes to the courts. And ultimately, it is in the courts who decided what they believe

is in the child's best interests. And in this case, the ruling is -- and that's gone all the way through the court system -- that little Charlie

Gard should be taken off the life support machine that has kept him alive really for most of his short, 10-month life.

Here's a look at his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAGNAY (voice-over): The tubes that keep him alive will be turned off soon. His parents' last hope, to take him to the States for highly experimental

medical treatment, blocked by the British and European courts. Their last wish refused -- to take him home to die.

CHRIS GARD, CHARLIE GARD'S FATHER: He's a true fighter, he's a soldier. He will fight. He will fight to the very end. He's still fighting.

But we're not allowed to fight for him anymore. Our parental rights have been stripped away. We can't even take our own son home to die. We've been

denied that, do you not think we've been through enough.

MAGNAY: Little Charlie Gard was born healthy but diagnosed the following month with a rare genetic disorder, a form of mitochondrial disease which

has left him, doctors say, with irreversible brain damage.

CROWD: We're still fighting! We're still fighting! Save Charlie Gard! Save Charlie Gard!

MAGNAY: At the weekend, protests in London against the decision to turn off life support. And after the pope sent a message to the parents from the

Vatican saying he was praying for them in the hope that their desire to accompany and care for their own child until the end will be respected, now

Donald Trump has weighed in, too.

If we can help little Charlie Gard as per our friends in the U.K. and the pope, we would be delighted to do so.

(on camera): Charlie's case is extremely complicated. The treatment that the U.S. is offering is called nuclear side bypass therapy. It's never been

tested on a strain of the disease as rare as Charlie's is. And even the U.S. specialist is offering it says he thinks it's unlikely to reverse

Charlie's brain damage.

And that's why the British courts ruled the way they did. They said they didn't want Charlie to be the subject of medical experimentation if there

was no chance of him getting better, that his rights to die with dignity must come first.

(voice-over): But that's not the way his parents see it. Sadly for them, the pleas of a pope and a president already too late.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[11:40:19] MAGNAY: His parents feel, Becky, that he has been stable for a long time that this legal process has gone on. He could have gone to the

states, he could have tried out that test -- that therapy and if it didn't work, it didn't work. But they don't want to see him suffer either. But

the courts ruled the other way.

Now you wonder whether President Trump's offer really amounts to much, however good meaning it -- well intentioned it clearly is, you know, he has

no authority over the British court system.

There is, now, no legal recourse for the family left, so you can be sure that the doctors at Great Ormond Street are working very hard to put in

place an end of life plan that the parents can agree to where they start withdrawing treatment that is -- puts the child first, but is also bearable

for the family, Becky.

ANDERSON: Diana Magnay on what is a very sad story. Di, thank you for that.

You're watching Connect the World. I'm Becky Anderson. We are up for you from Abu Dhabi. Coming up, horror stories from South Sudan. Amnesty

International says brutal atrocities are fueling a refugee crisis. More on that after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: It is the world's newest country, but in almost six years of existence, South Sudan, I'm afraid, has spent roughly half of them consumed

by what is an increasingly brutal civil war.

One place has suffered particularly in the past 12 months. The equatorial region, as it's known in the south. The UN says it's home to the world's

fastest growing refugee crisis.

Well, Amnesty International says close to a million people are on the move trying to escape. Civilians have been hacked to death with machetes, their

homes burned. Girls have been raped.

Senior crisis response adviser Donatella Rovera. And Donatella, if you can, describe what Amnesty's research has seen first hand in this key

region.

This, of course, is the country's bread basket and had escaped until now the worst of current civil war.

DONATELLA ROVERA, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: Yes. I've just come back from South Sudan having spent a month there speaking to civilians who have

survived the most brutal attacks. I've spoken to people who have seen their relatives shot dead, hacked to death, to children who witnessed their

mothers being raped, women who were raped in front of their children in their home or when they went out to the rural areas trying to find food.

I was also on the border with northern Uganda where 2,000 people cross every day from the equatoria (ph) region into Uganda to try and find

safety. This is an area where not only people were able to feed themselves, but he was feeding much of the rest of the country. And I met

people who were basically surviving on mangoes, they had no other food.

ANDERSON: Donatella, we know that this kind of violence doesn't happen in a vacuum. A confidential report to the UN Security Council obtained by the

French News Agency, AFP last year, spoke of, and I quote, well established networks through which weapons procurement is cooredinated from suppliers

in eastern Europe sand the Middle East and then transferred through middle men in eastern Africa.

A United Nations Security Council effort, Donatella, to put an arms embargo on South Sudan failed last year. What is the international community doing

to put a plaster on this, if nothing else?

ROVERA: Well, the question is what is the international community not doing, which it should be doing, to put a stop to the violence? Obviously,

first and foremost it is the leaders of South Sudan, President Salva Kiir, and opposition leader Riek Machar who need to reign in their fighters.

But certainly, the message of impunity that the international community has been given to the perpetrators in South Sudan by failing to put on an arms

embargo by failing to impose sanctions on certain leaders, that message what has fueled the conflict.

We are talking about, as I undestand it, both sides here committing crimes, correct?

ROVERA: Absolutely. However, the overwhelming majority of the abuses in this particular region in the equatoria (ph) are being committed by

government forces. That's not to say that the rebels are not committing abuses, they are, and Amnesty International has documented those. I -- you

know, I spoke to people -- you know testified about that. And that those are in the report.

However, for the most part, people at the receiving end of the unspeakable brutal act by government forces and their aligned militias.

ANDERSON: So what is preventing the international community doing anything about this?

ROVERA: Well, probably (inaudible) your factors. One is that there is not so much interest in the crisis in South Sudan, even though, as you said, it

is the fastest growing refugee crisis. But the refugees are not turning up on the shores of Europe and so it's not so urgent for the international

community.

Secondly, there is a lack of political will to impose the pressure that needs to impose basically the international community has allowed the South

Sudan government to get away with murder, quite literally.

In the six years that this country has existed, for more than three government forces are being -- have been killing people and the

international community has done nothing. Impunity has fueled the conflict, there is no doubt.

ANDERSON: You say that the eye is off this crisis, because these refugees are not either turning up or sadly washing up, which is just so dreadful it

could hardly bring yourself to say it. But it's got to be said washing up on the shores of Europe.

How, then, is what is an already fragile state, and its neighbors, coping with this refugee crisis?

ROVERA: Well, they're not coping very well, because you know the humanitarian crisis has reached catastrophic proportions. There are

millions of people in South Sudan who are on the verge of famine, suffering acute malnutrition, which is going to have an impact on -- especially on

children who are growing up for years down the line.

People are crossing into neighboring countries from the equatoria (ph) region, people are crossing into northern Uganda, which is hosting people,

but cannot offer so much in terms of humanitarian aid. The international community is providing some humanitarian aid, but fairly minimal, so people

are basically preoccupied with two things: how can they keep safe? And how can they feed their children, or at least prevent their children from dying

of starvation. That is what I heard every day from, you know, men, women, and children all over -- all over the region that I spoke to.

[11:50:08] ANDERSON: Shocking stuff. All right, thank you for joining us.

Live from Abu Dhabi, you're watching Connect the World. I'm Becky Anderson. Coming up, a comfortable win for Venus Williams at Wimbledon,

but a press conference that brought her to tears. That and all the rest of the news from southwest London after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Well, in tonight's Parting Shots it is day two at Wimbledon as the world's best tennis players take to the pristine manicured lawns in

southwest London, one person safely through to the second round is Venus Williams. She won a game in straight sets, but it's an incident thousands

of miles away that had her in tears at the press conference afterwards.

Here to explain is World Sport's Christina Macfarlane -- Christina.

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, Becky, Venus Williams started the championship yesterday under a cloud of controversy. It was just a few

weeks ago in mid-June when she was involved in a car accident that led to the death of a 78-year-old man. Now, the police found that she was

responsible for that accident and she now faces a civil lawsuit and possible police charges as well.

She came into that match yesterday knowing all of that. And she did manage to get through it in straight sets, although it was a bit of a challenge

for her at time. She had to take five set points, for instance, to take the first set before winning it in the second. She's kept a relatively low

profile coming in to this championship, and we haven't really had an opportunity to see and feel -- to see for ourselves how she's feeling about

this.

Well, yesterday we had that chance. In the press conference after the match, you could really tell how much this was weighing on her. Take a

listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VENUS WILLIAMS, TENNIS STAR: There are really no words to describe like how devastating and -- yeah, I am completely speechless and it's just --

yeah, I mean, I'm just -- maybe I should go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah (inaudible)...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Becky, it's kind of difficult to watch that again. And even though tennis, you know, really seems trivial by comparison to what's

happened, it is important because the, you know, how she handles this from here on in is going to impact the outcome of the tournament. She is one of

the favorites to take the title. She's a five-time former Wimbledon champion. And because he sister, Serena, is out of the competition this

year having a baby, she, like many other tennis players, are looking at this as a wide open contest, and one that she's going to want to win.

The question is, how long can she go on with this sort of emotion weighing on her?

ANDERSON: Yeah, absolutely.

Roger Federer takes to the Centre Court today, Christina, for his opening round, attempting to go for an historic Wimbledon title. News?

MACFARLANE: Yeah, well, he's out there on court as you speak, Becky. He's actually just taken the first set. I would say that, you know, it's been

14 years since he took his first Wimbledon title, and his last was five years ago. And now at the age of 35, he's a father of four, he is back as

the favorite, once again, at the All England Club. Can you believe it? People are asking, as they always do with Roger Federer, how does he do it?

Well, I always answer, he is the king of reinvention.

You know, Wimbledon has changed over the decades. I remember watching him against Pete Sampras back in 2001 and back then, Becky, as you may remember

it was a bit of a serve and volley game. Now the game has changed completely. Federer has changed with it. And he is in contention with

that big four on the top of the pile to go forward. And as I say, he's looking pretty good out there on court right now.

ANDERSON: Yeah, good stuff.

All right, Christina, always a pleasure. Thank you for that. I'm Becky Anderson, that was Connect the World. Thank you wherever you are watching

for being with us.

CNN continues after this. Quest express top of the hour for you.

END