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Connect the World
New White House Communications Director Ready to Deliver President's Message; Tracking Down Emin Agalarov; Princes Remembering Their Mother, Princess Diana, Turkish President Erdogan Hopes to Ease Tensions Between Qatar and Neighbors; Three Israelis Killed in Friday's West Bank Stabbing Attack. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired July 23, 2017 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:00:15] ROBYN KRIEL, CNN HOST: At this hour, American lawmakers wanting to make sure Donald Trump can't go easy on Russia. The American president
is bringing a new face at the White House, but will it do anything for his image? We are all over that. Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I found eight people dead at the back of that trailer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KRIEL: Eight dead and thirty injured, packed at the back of a trailer, parked in a Wal-Mart parking lot. We have details still ahead. Then...
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This the first time that the two of us have ever spoken about Harry's mother.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KRIEL: We all know them as princes, but they were -- they are two boys who lost their mother, Harry and William on their lost of Princess Diana just
ahead.
Hello and a warm welcome to Connect The World. I am Robyn Kriel in Atlanta sitting in for Becky Anderson on this Sunday. The new White House
communications director says that he is ready to deliver what he calls President Trump very compelling message to the American people. Anthony
Scaramucci, a financier with no political experience has officially joined the Trump team. Sean Spicer, the former press secretary is out. CNN's Jake
Tapper spoke to Scaramucci about his new job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI, WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: There is obviously a communications problem because there are a lot of things that we have
done as it relates to executive orders, bills that have been signed, economic progress. I don't want to cite all the economic data, but the
economy is super strong. Business optimism is way up. And over the next six months, we are going to have phenomenal achievements with the president. I
still think we are going to have healthcare situation done. One of my closest friends is the secretary of treasury. I'm very confident on tax
reform. If the president gets those two pillars done, which I predict he will over the next six months, you and I hopefully will sit down around
Christmas time and will be having a different conversation about the presidency, the communication coming out of the White House, and our
achievements. And so, these things, they could go up and down, Jake, as you know. The president is an experienced business person. He is a very
effective politician. And I just think we need to deliver the message a little bit differently than we have been doing in the past. And my
prediction is that this stuff is going to start to come to fruition quite quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KRIEL: Also, on the White House agenda, dealing with a bill that congressional leaders have agreed to vote on that aims to further impose
sanctions on Russia, to punish it for meddling in the election. The bill could land on the president's desk as soon as August. And Jake asked
Scaramucci if Mr. Trump will sign it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCARAMUCCI: We got to ask President Trump that. You know, it is my second or third day on the job, but my guess is that he is going to make that
decision shortly. But you know, there are a lot of questions out there, Jake. And in this is another thing that I don't like about the process.
This man, our president, he has phenomenal instincts, a lot of the stuff that people are said in the mainstream media that was supposedly true,
turned out that it was not true. I think it was three or four weeks ago, there were 17 intelligence agencies that were saying something. Then we
realized that there are only four intelligence agencies. And I'm not saying four intelligence agencies is insignificant, I am just saying there is a
lot of disinformation out there, you know. Somebody said to me yesterday, I won't tell you who, that if the Russians actually hack the situation and
spilled out those of those e-mails, you would have never seen it. You would have never had any evidence of them. They are super confident in their
deception skills and hacking. My point is all of the information isn't on the table yet...
(CROSSTALK)
SCARAMUCCI: Let me finish, let me finish.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anthony, you are making assertions here. I don't know who this anonymous person who said that if the Russians have
actually done it, we wouldn't be able to detect it...
(CROSSTALK)
SCARAMUCCI: He called me from Air Force One and he basically said to me, hey you know, this is -- maybe, they did it, maybe they didn't do it.
TAPPER: Hold on a second, this is exactly the issue here. We have experts, the U.S. intelligence agencies, unanimous, vote Obama appointees and prompt
appointees, the director of national intelligence, the head of the national security agency, the head of the FBI, I mean, all of these intelligence
experts saying Russia hacked the election. They try to interfere in the election. No votes were changed, but there was this disinformation and
misinformation campaign. President Trump is contradicting it and you're siding with President Trump.
[11:05:08] SCARAMUCCI: Well, I didn't say that I was siding with President Trump, he hasn't made the decision yet to sign that bill one way or the
other. And so, when he makes that decision, I will 100 percent side with him because I am his communications director, and I'm his advocate on a
show like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KRIEL: To get more now, joining us from Charlottesville, Virginia, is Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia,
and from Moscow, our Clare Sebastian who is covering Russia's reaction to all of this. Thank you both so much for your time. Let's start with this.
Sean Spicer's replacement as White House press secretary, as Sarah Huckabee Sanders, she says President Trump will support the new Russian sanctions
bill. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We support where the legislation is now, we will continue working with the House and Senate to
put those tough sanctions in place on Russia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KRIEL: Larry, I would like to ask this of you. Huckabee Sanders says that the president will sign this, which she says no decision yet, mixed
messages already in the communications department?
LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Yes, there is nothing new about that with the White House. And of course, in the
end, President Trump will make his own decision, probably on the day up. So who knows what he will do. But if he does not sign it, assuming the bill
actually makes it to his desk -- if he does not sign it, he will suffer a considerable political penalty. It will once again emphasize the very
peculiar relationship that this president of the United States has with our chief international foe, Russia.
KRIEL: Well, let us go now to Russia. Clare, what is the reaction to this news of the sanctions, and of course, that President Trump, according to
Huckabee-Sanders is going to sign this bill?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Robyn, we're off the ground yesterday how they viewed this new agreement in Congress, or that new bill
on Russia's sanctions. And we go to very economical response, just two words, quite negatively from Kremlin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov. But those
words perhaps deliberately understated, Robyn, because Russia has never meant its words on sanctions before in the past, and in the past few years
when sanctions have been introduced from the U.S. and the European Union. They call them everything from politically motivated to a violation of
international law, have repeatedly that they served no other purpose other than worsen relations. And they deserve the right to retaliate.
This is really happening, this new bill, at a situation, where there is already kind of heightened mood over sanctions because there is a parallel
dispute going there. Russia is fighting to get the return of its diplomatic compounds in the U.S. that was seized in December in the round of sanctions
imposed by the Obama administration over election meddling. Those talks are ongoing. But Russia has said that packages of measures in retaliation for
that is in the works, and it would be ready to retaliate if the new bill and sanctions comes in. So quite negatively, it is understated, but I think
that you can read into that, that Russia is really in no mood to take this lying down.
KRIEL: Let's part sanctions for a moment. And, Larry, I want to return to you and back to the exchange between Jake Tapper and Scaramucci. First of
all, what do you think is Scaramucci's performance thus far in your view as very new to the job, particularly in comparison to Sean Spicer, who is no
longer holding that position? And what do you think is in his language, for example, using the words intelligence agencies and insignificant in a
single sentence? Give us your thoughts on this thus far.
SABATO: I'm tempted to say meet the new boss same as the old boss, except that Scaramucci is much more polished. He is more than eloquent than Shawn
Spicer ever was. He is better at delivering the Trump message, but his main message so far at least in that Jake Tapper interview was he was
extraordinary. People should watch that. His main message so far is that President Trump is the greatest thing since sliced bread and cream cheese,
and he loves the president of the United States. It is ironic because he was a major critic of President Trump. And just last night, purged his
tweets, many, many tweets critical of President Trump, and also taking liberal positions on gun control, Hillary Clinton, and lots of other
things. So this is fascinating. He shares a lot of characteristics with President Trump that is he is very bold and aggressive, but you have to
look behind every word and check every word.
KRIEL: What about that sentence that he used? He said intelligence agency and in the same sentence, he used the way insignificant. I realized he was
talking about foreign intelligence agencies and perhaps specific incident. But what is the danger of using words like this together for someone as
powerful as his job?
[11:10:13] SABATO: Well, he is mistaken about that, but that is another subject. Before, he was talking about the four big ones in the United
States. The point though is that Scaramucci is making the same mistake that President Trump made during the campaign and the transition, and early in
his presidency. He is dicing the American intelligence agencies. The president depends on the information they are able to produce especially
when they all agree about something. When the intelligence agencies are opposed to you and your president or you're in a presidential
administration, you have got a giant problem. You need them just as much as they need you.
KRIEL: Dicing the American intelligence agencies. We do appreciate both of your time. Clare Sebastian live for us in Moscow, Larry Sabato for us in
Virginia. Thank you both.
SABATO: Thank you.
KRIEL: We have tracked down one of the key figures associated with that now infamous Trump Tower meeting where Donald Trump's eldest son-in-law and the
campaign chairman met with a Russian lawyer. That meeting was set up on behalf of Emin Agalarov on the left here, according to e-mails released by
Donald Trump, Jr. And our Matthew Chance just caught up with them in Riga Latvia. Thank you so much for your time, Matthew. What did you find out?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are in Riga Latvia, which is a short distance from the capital Riga. And it is where there is a festival that
is underway involving mainly stars from the former Soviet Union and Emin Agalarov, who of course originally -- a big name in the music industry here
in this regional of the former Soviet Union. And of course, he has come to the floor, as you were mentioning, because he was a key figure in
apparently setting up a meeting between Donald Trump, Jr., Donald Trump's son that is, and a Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya. She said she was
there to discuss the options. But there has always been a suspicion bolstered by the fact that e-mails said this, that this was a pass, a way
that the Russian authorities may have been sort of reaching our to see whether the Trump campaign, as it was, in June of last year, were you know
kind of prepared to possibly work with the Russians to discredit that political position at that time with Hillary Clinton.
And officially, he is not giving any comments on this. We have spoken to his lawyer extensively in the United States and they said he is not going
to comment either. And so, we decided to approach him on the street literally here to try and get a response from Emin. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: Did you arrange that meeting Donald Trump, Jr., and the Russian lawyer?
EMIN AGALAROV, SINGER: Come join me for the show tonight.
CHANCE: Yeah. We will do that. Any comments?
AGALAROV: Excellent, excellent.
CHANCE: The American wants to know whether the Trump administration...
AGALAROV: Can I have a drink first?
(CROSSTALK)
AGALAROV: See me after the show. Thank you very much. Guys, thank you very much.
CHANCE: I'm just going to go now.
AGALAROV: Thanks. Enjoy.
CHANCE: Thank you. Did your family...
(CROSSTALK)
AGALAROV: Talk to my lawyer.
CHANCE: Always taunting. You said you wouldn't comment.
AGALAROV: So I wouldn't comment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: All right. He said he wouldn't comment, the lawyer. And of course, as you saw there, Emin Agalarov, his father, Aras Agalarov, the former
business partner of Donald Trump, Sr., the president of the United States. They staged the Ms. Universe competition together in the Russian capital of
Moscow. He wouldn't comment on any of these reports either.
KRIEL: Well, an amazing exchange there, Matthew. It appears that perhaps partying over politics is what Agalarov is interested there. But what does
the Kremlin said thus far about the allegation of collusion?
CHANCE: Well, yeah, as you saw there, Emin Agalarov is kind of laughing off the suggestion that he was involved in any way with collusion with the
Trump campaign team. The Russians themselves who of course is alleged who were behind this. And I'm not laughing at all. They didn't think it was
funny. They dismissed first of all out of hand, saying it was ludicrous that there is any kind of collusion between the Kremlin or the Russian
authorities and Trump campaign, as it was then. They called it like -- they would like to call it political schizophrenia. They say that basically it
is a madness affecting the political environment in the United States, what the Russian issue has of course become so toxic. And it is very frustrating
for the Russians because they thought that Donald Trump was going to be the president who would turn around the relationship between Moscow and
Washington. Remember, when he was campaigning he promised to make things better, wouldn't it be great, he said if we can go on with Moscow.
But, of course, because of the blissful situation, he has been completely unable to do that. If anything, the relationship is worse now than it was
before President Trump. And in the Kremlin and in the upper echelons of power in Russia, they are immensely frustrated.
[11:15:31] KRIEL: Matthew, thank you so much, live for us there. British princes, William and Harry, say that they regret the last phone call that
they have with their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. In a new documentary for ITV and HBO, the duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry reveal
that they were in a rush to end the conversation, so they could go and play. Their mother died in a car crash, August 31, 1997. Diana: Our Mother,
Air, Life, And Legacy celebrates her life and work 20 years after her tragic death. Here is a look at some of their happier memory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE HARRY, WALES KCVO: My mother was -- everybody says to me, you know, said she was fun, give us an example. All I can hear is her laugh in my
head. And that sort of crazy laugh is just pure happiness shown on her face.
One of the things she said to me was you can be as naughty as you want, just don't get caught. She was one of the naughtiest parents. She would
come and watch us play football and smuggle sweets into our socks. And then, when she is walking back from a football match and having lots of
funny packets of starburst and just the whole shirt was bulging with sweets. And I see her looking around and at the top box, all in, lock it
up.
PRINCE WILLIAM, DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE: There are a couple of memories I have. She organized when I came home from school to have Cindy Crawford, Christy
Tellington, and Naomi Campbell. I was probably 12 or 13-year-old boy. I was red. I fumbled. I was completely sort of lost track.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KRIEL: Nina dos Santos is in London with more. Nina, I have to admit, as a mother, I did tear up watching that amazing exchange. I have never seen the
British princes speak so candidly. Is this a sign of things to come that they are losing that upper left.
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Robyn, they have been clear that these conversations are really a part of this documentary that will be
airing on ITV tomorrow evening, but the main public will of course -- BBC will also air its own documentary with some very candid comments of the
princes later. As obviously, the whole of the country marks the 20th anniversary since her passing in August 19, 1997. You could just hear there
them talking very fondly about their late mother, saying that she was a joker, that she was fun, she encouraged them to be naughty as long as they
didn't get caught. She sometimes like embarrassing them a little bit, in a pleasant way, as you could hear there with a series of supermodels that
Prince William had posted on his bedroom wall, but also dressing them up in fun little outfits, she had a real sense of humor. What was also obvious in
this documentary is some footage that we haven't seen before of the princess, their mother. You saw in the opening shot there of Prince William
holding a picture of Diana, holding him as a two-year-old on her head. And he says, at one point, in this documentary, Harry, you were in the picture,
too, because she was expecting already Prince Harry at that point.
So there are some shots of life behind the walls in Kensington Palace that we have not seen before. It is very heartwarming, but there is also very
poignant message that I think has grabbed everybody's eyes and ears this weekend, which is they really regret having cut short their last
conversation with their mother because they wanted to go and play. And Prince Harry says in this documentary, I just wish I had spoken more to
her. I don't remember what my last words were, but I just remember they were just too short.
KRIEL: Nina dos Santos, of course, most little boys don't want to be on the phone talking to their parents at that age. I know that Harry has spoken,
Nina, about being traumatized and feeling a tremendous amount of guilt, which is what he has referred to there, traumatized by having to walk
behind Diana's casket when she was buried. And he is trying to send a message, isn't he, of opening up really and talking about his psychological
issues?
[11:20:17] DOS SANTOS: That's right. And about two months ago, he opened up to a mental health charity. In fact, both he and Prince William, as well as
the Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William's wife, Catherine Middleton, she is also part of this initiative where they tried to bring together a
charity to make people more aware of mental health issues, and basically to say it is OK to say that you have mental health issues, even one of the
biggest heirs to the thrown, Prince Harry has said that he admits he had counseling for a while, about 10 years, not all that long ago, to cope with
the aftermath of his mother's passing, even though it had happened so many years before he buckled it all up. And in fact, it was Prince William, who
urged his younger brother to seek help.
So this is all part, yes, it is a slightly more open younger generation of royals who are very keen to make sure that they can embrace causes that
people can relate to, that they themselves can relate to. So painfully there with the passing of their mother 20 years ago, that obviously is
still fresh in their minds, fresh in the collective memories, this country prepares to remember the late Diana, Princess of Wales. But also, when you
look at a documentary like this, it is also hot warming to hear from Prince William who talks about what kind of grandmother Princess Diana would have
been. He says some very, very heartwarming things such as she would have been a great-grandmother. She would have loved the children, but on the
other hand, she was naughty, she would have been a nightmare of a grandmother. She does come along, bath time, there would be water and
bubbles everywhere and she would have left us to clear up the mess. But she always had being somebody who is fun and somebody you would remember.
And that is what all of this about, this particular documentary. And the next one that will be airing soon on BBC, it is about remembering their
mother and sharing their collective memories of their, but the rest of the country, and of course, the rest of the world. Robyn.
KRIEL: Yes, she is the kind of grandmother who feeds her grandchildren sweets right before bed. Thank you so much, Nina dos Santos. And again,
Diana: Our Mother, Her Life and Legacy, celebrates Princess Diana. That is a documentary coming up. There is a whole lot more ahead of this hour.
Up next, a grim discovery in a Wal-Mart parking lot, what police are calling a deadly case of human trafficking. Plus, violence between
Israelis and Palestinians, world leaders weigh in. We have a live report from Jerusalem.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:24:56] KRIEL: Returning here to the U.S. and a horrific discovery in the state of Texas. Eight people were found dead in the back in a semi-
truck in San Antonio, 30 others were pulled out alive from the truck, but are now in the hospital. Police were calling this a case of human
trafficking. Our Polo Sandoval is following all of this for us live from New York. Polo, what more do we know about this case.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, Robyn, we do or at least we are trying to find out more about who those individuals are and were who are in
the tractor trailer rig. Many of them often times are from Mexico, Central American countries, who are heading north in search of a better life. In
this case, however, eight of them not surviving that journey. We are about to hear from San Antonio's police chief as he describes the horrific scene
in a Wal-Mart parking lot this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM MCMANUS, SAN ANTONIO TEXAS POLICE CHIEF: Late last night, we had a call from a Wal-Mart employee that there was a tractor trailer that was in
a parking lot here. He was approached by someone from that truck who has asked for water. He came back with water, called the police, we arrived on
the scene, and found eight people dead at the back of that trailer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL: There are 30 individuals still at the hospital right now. We understand at least two of them are young 15-year-olds who are being
treated for dehydration, also heatstroke. As tragic as this is, unfortunately, we have seen this happen before. For example, in 2013, 19
undocumented people were found in the town of Victoria, Texas, also in the tractor-trailer, under very similar circumstances. It was extremely hot in
South Texas yesterday afternoon leading up to that discovery. And that is really important to keep in mind here, Roby, because these individuals
again, many of them are from Mexico and Central American countries who across the U.S.-Mexico border. And then, they have to make their way onto
that pipeline, that smuggling network, that then branches out throughout the rest of the country. However, they can't just ride in a front seat of a
vehicle because border patrol, a federal agency, is still stationed inland manning checkpoints to try to prevent drugs and undocumented people from
making their way north.
So the only resort there as for many of these individual to instead is ride in a trunk or in this case a tractor-trailer rig. And that was a death
sentence for these eight individuals. So the key here will be to speak to those 30 survivors as well as the driver who is currently in custody right
now. And of course the main question, Robyn, who was heading this, what was very inhumane human smuggling network.
KRIEL: Presumably, it must have been awful for those people 30 people who survived this. It could not have been a slow death by any means for the
people who did die. Do you have any idea where this tractor-trailer was headed or how this pipeline moves on from there, where would they go to
next?
SANDOVAL: Sure, it is a great question. There are about -- it is about 193- kilometer stretch from the border to San Antonio. That is one of the first major cities, at least in the South, where many of these, the human
smugglers will actually stop and then these individuals can then get out of these vehicles. And then continue their journey. They go all over from
California to New York, and everywhere in between. So of course that will be key, in trying to find out where many of these individuals work, having
covered these situations before and having spoken to foreign officials.
I can tell you the next step will be for U.S. officials to reach out to the consulates after they are able to identify. They are perhaps from Guatemala
or El Salvador, and then begin that process of returning those remains back to their native country, and ask where the 30 survivors after they're able
to undergo that medical treatment potential deportation as well. But again, this is at the heart of the issue of what is the politically charged debate
about immigration. These are the people who are in the middle of it. Many of them have lost their lives.
KRIEL: Polo Sandoval, thank you. It is a horrendous, gut-wrenching story of people desperate for more in their lives and having their lives stolen from
them. But CNN knows that human trafficking is a plague. And that's why we're leading the way against it with our Freedom Project. And you can find
all of our world-class special reporting at CNN.com/freedomproject, go there for more information on stories, many stories just like that.
Just ahead, can Turkey ease tensions between Qatar and its neighbors? This president giving it a try.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:32:03] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, PRESIDENT OF TURKEY: The crisis that has started between our friends in the gulf region has saddened us. Since the very
beginning, we have been working sincerely for the solution of this crisis. And we will work to the very end to avoid the problems between these
brothers being offensive and permanent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KRIEL: Welcome. This is Connect The World. This is just about half past the hour now. And that was Turkey's president, Erdogan, before he left on a
two-day mission to the Persian Gulf. He is hoping to ease tensions between Qatar and several of its neighbors. Mr. Erdogan started out by meeting the
King Salman in Saudi Arabia, which has been leading a boycott against Qatar. After Saudi Arabia, he will stop by in Kuwait, which has been trying
to mediate. He will end his trip in Qatar, an important Turkish ally. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates accused Qatar of
supporting terrorism, a charge that Qatar rejects.
Our Ben Wedeman has been following developments for us on his visit from Istanbul. Ben, thank you. President Erdogan has been saying he has been
working sincerely. Do you believe that his visit will deescalate tensions or make it worse?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, given that Turkey has been pretty much backing Qatar in this dispute with those four
Arab states. The fact that he is meeting and meeting first off with King Salman of Saudi Arabia does indicate that there is a willingness to somehow
talk down this crisis. Now, he is going on, as you mentioned, to Kuwait which has been the mediator, one of the mediators in this dispute and
finishing up in Qatar. And we have seen other signs that there are attempts for instance the United States. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson did
some shuttle diplomacy in the gulf trying to deflate this crisis. The United States and Qatar did agree to measures to cut the financing or to
stop the financing for terrorism. Qatar did agree to amend a 2004 antiterrorism law to make it harsher. So there is some forward progress.
And as I have said, the fact that he is meeting with King Salmon and they seemed very differently on this conflict does indicate that Erdogan may not
be mediating in this instance, but he is in a sense extending an olive branch to try to end this. Robyn.
KRIEL: Will this olive branch, in your opinion, touch on the military base contention? I realize that a major bone of contention was the Turkish bases
in Qatar. Any idea whether he is willing to budge on that?
[11:34:51] WEDEMAN: Keep in mind that President Erdogan is not somebody who budges easily. He is quite obstinate on these matters. And the question of
the Turkish base in Qatar is fairly minor in the grand scheme of things, given that the complaints of the four Arab states have to do with Qatar's
supposed support for terrorism, support for Hamas and the Muslim brotherhood. The Turkish base, which was agreed upon between the two
countries, Turkey and Qatar, back in 2014, and it was only with the beginning of the crisis that Turkey send a few hundred troops to that base.
I don't think Erdogan is really going to give much ground on that particular issue. I think his desire is to address broader complaints of
the four errors dates and not give any inch of the troops in Qatar. Robyn.
KRIEL: Any idea, Ben, about the situation on the ground in Qatar? We have seen people talking about flying dairy cows in, but is it really bad on the
ground with the sanctions?
WEDEMAN: No. We heard a speech that the Qatari leader the other day, and the speech saying life is going on pretty much as normal. Keep in mind that
Qatar for instance isn't like Gaza under siege. There are no people suffering from malnutrition. It is one of the wealthiest states, not only
gulf, but in the world. They can handle it. And of course, Qatar has been receiving aid being flown in, not just aide, just supplies being flown in
and coming by ship from Turkey as well as Iran.
And keep in mind that Iran and Turkey are really the heavyweights in the region. The gulf states may have a lot of money, but they don't have much
else. Turkey and Iran are massive economies with huge populations and very large armies. They are not to be trifled with. So with those two countries
behind Qatar, this crisis may fizzle out.
KRIEL: Thank you so much. CNN's Ben Wedeman live for us there in Istanbul. And a big story for us here on Connect The World. For more on the crisis in
the gulf and all of the international that we are bringing you at this hour. You can head to our Facebook page, that's Facebook.com/CNNConnect.
Let's get you up to speed on some other stories that are on our radar right now. The activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is reporting
that government airstrikes in a rebel region near Damascus. This is the same region where cessation of hostilities went in to effect on Saturday.
The days of rain has led to flooding in parts of Northeastern China. Tens and thousands of people had to leave their home because of the storm. It
is not over yet. More rain is forecasted for Wednesday.
Anger continues to grow in Poland over the legislation that will let the government four Supreme Court justices into early retirement and pick up
their replacement -- to pick their replacements rather. There were protests on Saturday and thousands are expected to rally in Warsaw in the coming
hours. Critics say that this bill would undermine the court's independence.
The city officials in Toronto, Canada have lowered the price tag for a staircase in a local park. They originally said that it would cost at least
$65,000 to build, so a resident built the stairs himself $500.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a person around here which is kind of a homeless person. I asked him to help me because I am 73 years old, can't do
this much anymore. So within 14 hours, we build the steps.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KRIEL: Seventy three years old and 14 hours to build that, amazing. The city tore down those steps though, calling them unsafe. And their building
used it $10,000.
Let's head back to the Middle East now, where funerals are underway for three Israelis killed in Friday's West Bank stabbing attack. There is a new
violence centers on one of its holiest sites in Jerusalem. The chief of the Arab League now says that Israeli is playing with fire in its response to
the flare-up, which has also left four Palestinians dead. And Israel's addition of cameras to already contested metal detectors threatens to raise
tensions even further. The United Nations Security Council is set to address the situation on Monday.
Our Oren Lieberman joins us now live from the Jerusalem. Oren, explain to us why metal detectors and cameras why this is getting everyone so upset at
that particular holy site.
[11:39:48] OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this isn't just about metal detectors or cameras. It is about the holy site behind the metal
detectors, arguably the holiest site in Jerusalem. Now, the Muslims have a noble sanctuary, and the Jews as the temple mount. It is in the old city,
it is a large part of what the old city is considered such a sacred place. The agreement that governs is called the Status Quo. It is under Israeli
protection but under Jordanian custodianship, which means any decision there should be done in cooperation with the Jordanians and probably the
Palestinians as well.
The putting in of the metal detectors, which was a response to Israeli police killed about a week and a half ago at that site, was a unilateral
Israeli move perceived by the Palestinians and by the Arab League as we have now seen as a way for Israel to impose its own control and its own
measures, without consulting with the wider region. That is why this is so sensitive. It is not metal detectors. It is the control of the holy site.
And that adds a religious layer already political conflict. And that is we're seeing such widespread demonstrations. Robyn, right now, it is a
critical moment here. And as you pointed out in the lead-in, there are a lot of moving parts. The Arab League has weighted, the U.N., the U.S. is
involved here. The White House is in talks with the prime minister's office here, Prime Minister Netanyahu. There are a lot of parts here to try to
deescalate the situation today, tomorrow. These are critical days and it could move in either direction. If the right moves are taken, it can
deescalate and take out a lot of the tension. The wrong moves and we can see another round of violence starting here over last the week and
continuing. Robyn.
KRIEL: Oren, you are talking about deescalating, but the Israeli prime ministers call to destroy the attackers' house, what does this mean in
terms of ramping up or de-escalation as you said?
LIEBERMANN: Well, that has been one of the numbers of steps. That is actually a fairly routine measure by Israelis destroying the homes of
attackers. He did say that they will do that as soon as possible. It will still take weeks or months. But again, that is a fairly routine measure
from the Israeli security forces that we have seen in the past. There was also a roundup or a sweep in the West Bank, 25 Palestinians arrested by
Israeli security forces. The Israeli military official says some of those they believe were going to carry out imminent attacks. Some of those they
say were members of Hamas. On top of that, Palestinians have frozen security coordination and other cooperation with Israelis. That is how
tense this is right here and everything is sensitive. We will see how this plays out over the next few days, Robyn. And everyone's expecting that this
could get worse quickly.
KRIEL: All right. Thank you so much, Oren Liebermann keeping an eye on the situation going on there. We do thank you.
Parting shot, our time is almost up. Our show is coming to an end. So let's call it a wrap with two people talking their life together. Just a warning,
the video you are about to see may make you want to cringe. A crowd of excited friends, family, and a nearly married couple, a Mercedes, what
could go wrong? Well that, maybe. We will agree with the guy who we had to clean out there. Fortunately, the bride and groom were not harmed in the
making of that video.
Well, from that rather awful stuff for them, it really is time for us to go. We do appreciate it. You have been watching Connect The World with me,
Robyn Kriel, live from CNN's Worldwide Headquarters in Atlanta. Thank you so much for watching us and joining us at this hour. We will back tomorrow,
same time with Becky back here.
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