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Microsoft Disabled Fake Websites Tied to Russian Hackers; Trump on Mueller Probe Says "I Could Run It If I Want"; Battling Inflation, Venezuela Debuts New Currency; Venezuelan Refugees Face Violence and Tighter Borders As They Flee; Pope to Meet with Abuse Survivors in Ireland; First Priest Face the Charges in Chile Scandal; Taliban Deny Firing Mortars during Afghan President's Speech; Fishermen Pitch in to Help Kerala's Flood Victims. Aired 11-12p ET
Aired August 21, 2018 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00] BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: Hello, welcome, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson for you this week in London. And we
begin with a warning from one of the world's biggest tech giants. That Russia is broadening its attacks on American democracy just months before
the midterm elections. Microsoft says it's uncovered six fake websites linked to a Russian military intelligence unit. It says hackers were
targeting the U.S. Senate and conservative think tanks. Now experts say it shows the Kremlin isn't just focused on partisan cyberattacks, but also on
disrupting U.S. democratic institutions in general.
Well Russia denies knowledge of the hacking. Let's do more on that and bring in Fred Pleitgen who is in Moscow for reaction from the Kremlin.
We're also joined here in the studio by CNN Money's Hadas Gold. Fred let me start with you. The Kremlin is saying they know nothing of this.
Correct? Have they said anything further?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, they really haven't said very much further. They said they know about any sort of
attack. They know nothing about what the Kremlin and what Russia has to do with this. It's quite interesting because, Becky, essentially what the
Russians are saying is the same thing that they've been saying over the years. Since 2016, since this whole complex of possible election meddling
and interference in American politics has come up. They said look we're not being provided with enough information. The U.S. officially hasn't
told us what sort of information it actually has. What is exactly out there. And it isn't sharing that with the Russians and therefore the
Russians say there is little they can do.
Now there was a conference call earlier today with the spokesman of the Kremlin, with Dmitry Peskov where he essentially says just that. I want to
read a little part of that to you.
And I quote, our reaction has already become traditional. Of course, referencing what I just said. We don't know which hackers they are talking
about, we don't know what is meant about the impact on elections.
It was interesting because he also went further, and that CNN asked him about these six fake websites that were apparently discovered by Microsoft.
And to comment on that. He said he had nothing further to add. That he did not know what exactly "Fancy Bear" even is and what exactly any sort of
Russian intelligence services has to do with it. So, the Kremlin obviously with that complete denial once again. And once again saying that as long
as it doesn't officially get more information from the U.S. intelligence services, from the U.S. government, that there is very little that they can
do. But again, a full denial coming from the Kremlin. Something that we've become accustomed to hearing from the Kremlin -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Fred, standby. Hadas, we've been hearing about latest alleged hacking from Microsoft itself and not from the intelligence services. How
did Microsoft end up playing gate keeper?
HADAS GOLD, CNNMONEY REPORTER, EUROPEAN POLITICS, MEDIA AND BUSINESS: So, this actually stems back to it 2016 when a judge in Virginia ruled that
this "Fancy Bear" group posed a persistent threat. And this judge actually pointed a special master with the power to authorize Microsoft to seize
some of these fake websites, almost as soon as they were registered. So, Microsoft could go to the special master and say, hey, we found these
websites, we need to take them down.
But this tactic is actually sort of an old school almost copyright tactic. It's similar to an Apple -- Apple company for example going to a store that
sells computers, but with the Apple logo. Even if they don't sell Apple computers, Apple can say you're using our logo, making it look like it's
our products, you can't do that. With Microsoft, these websites were looking like they were using Microsoft products, looking like they were
part of Microsoft in some way. Maybe using domain names that looked too much similar a Microsoft Outlook product and that's how they were able to
say, you're spoofing us, it's not OK. We want to take you down.
ANDERSON: So, Microsoft being empowered -- let me get this straight, because effectively this is a software issue. Correct? To all intents and
purposes.
GOLD: Right. It's a software, and pretty much the reason they were able to get them to be taken down is because they said you are making it look
like you are us, you are our product and that's not how these things work. And so, we're going to take you down now. They happened to be Russian
hackers who happen to be targeting conservative groups and other groups that promote democracy around the world and tend to be anti-Vladimir Putin.
But the tactic that they use is sort of an old school tactic to combat these hackers.
ANDERSON: "Fancy Bear". What is this, viewers? It's the group behind the 2016 hack of the Democratic National Committee. Cybersecurity firms say
that attack was directed by a Russian military intelligence unit. A group that conducted a review of that hack concluded that "Fancy Bear" was also
behind malware used against Ukrainian troops. And the world governing body for athletics says it also accessed their network. Fred, I guess this begs
the question how feasible is it that a Russian military hacking group would remain operational even after detection two years ago?
PLEITGEN: It never really stopped operating. At least as far as we know. And certainly, there was never any legal action here in Russia or any sort
of action it try to get any of this to stop. For the precise reason I guess that we're hearing from Dmitry Peskov what we're hearing from him.
That he's saying, look, we don't know what the group is, we've never heard of it. We have no idea how exactly it would be linked to Russian
intelligence services.
[11:05:00] Now this group "Fancy Bear" operates under a variety of different names and it's known to be quite an elusive organization as well.
Some of the hacking tools that it uses apparently are tools that it makes in-house. So, it's not someone that really operates very much there out in
the open, very difficult for experts for anti-cybersecurity people to also come to terms with. So, this is a group that has known to sort of be quite
elusive to security operations, also to other people online who are trying to stop these things, who are trying to find out more information about it
as well.
So, certainly a group that has been operating for a very long time that still seems to remain potent even now. And certainly, with Microsoft so
publicly ringing the alarm bells and saying that it had stop this. That's certainly is something that seems to indicate that not only has the group
not stopped operating, but the fact that it hasn't slowed down, either -- Becky.
ANDERSON: So, we continue to dig on this story but emphasizing -- as Fred has pointed out -- that the Kremlin deny any knowledge of what is going on.
Hadas, all of this is drawing attention to other aspects online. For example, the EU wants to ramp up its fight against terrorists' content.
Now Facebook, Twitter and YouTube could face new laws. The European Commission has asked tech companies to remove terrorist propaganda within
an hour. But while it's says its seen progress, it's says it's not enough. It's planning to propose new laws this autumn.
I thought this was fascinating. Because clearly tech companies are waking up to just how compromised their platforms can be. But as far as the EU is
concerned at this point it seems that the scale, depth and breadth of the problem calls for more swenging action. Which is for all intents and
purposes very much ahead of what's going on in the States.
GOLD: This is what we've seen a lot of times with these sort of tech and social media companies when it comes to both terrorist content and also
privacy and data. That Europe tends to be more willing to put regulations down, over the United States, which tends to be a little bit behind on
regulations. But this new draft legislation, which has not been released yet. Includes even potentially stiffer penalties and fines. And it brings
to mind the laws in Germany right now when it comes to hate speech. That some companies can be fined as much as $60 million if they do not remove
this content. So far, no company has been fined to that extent at all.
But it just goes to show how willing these governments are to take a step and start to regulate these companies. And I think that's why we're seeing
some of these efforts like for Microsoft, to try to get ahead of these government regulations. Because the last thing they want is more laws,
more fines and anything that can hamper their business development. And so, if they want to get in front of that, then they need to start ramping
up their own, really self-regulating and to say we can control some of this ourselves.
ANDERSON: Too little, too late, some will say regulations should have come a lot sooner. Others will say -- very different situation here in the EU
as opposed to the U.S. as you rightly point out. Hadas, thank you.
GOLD: Thank you.
ANDERSON: And welcome to London.
Well we've got more on the story as well as all the points that we have covered over on our website there. We also have a concise breakdown of
hacking incidents since the 2016 U.S. Presidential campaign and Russian interference in that election. The facts over at CNN.com.
Well Microsoft says a massive coordinated effort is needed to shut down Russian interference, but that could be a tall order as the U.S. President
himself is still casting doubt that Russia is even involved. As Abby Phillip reports, Donald Trump also suggesting he could take action against
special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Trump insisting he could intervene in the special counsel investigation if he
chose to. Telling "Reuters", I can go in and I can do whatever. I can run it if I want. But I decided to stay out. But on Twitter and at public
events the President continues to try to denigrate the probe. Going so far as to call the lawyers working for Robert Mueller thugs who are enjoying
ruing people's lives. Mr. Trump also casting doubt on a potential sit-down interview with Mueller, after spending months telling reporters he wants to
speak with investigators.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Would you be willing to speak under oath to give your version of those events?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 100 percent.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are you going to talk to Mueller?
TRUMP: I'm looking forward to it actually.
PHILLIP: The President now echoing the concerns of his attorney, Rudy Giuliani, that an interview could be a quote, perjury trap. Saying it's my
word against Comey and he's best friends with Mueller, so Mueller might say, well I believe Comey. And even if I'm telling the truth that makes me
a liar. That's no good.
RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: How do we know what the truth is?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You're talking about whether or not the President asked James Comey to go easy on --
[11:10:00] GIULIANI: Yes, because --
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And James Comey says he did and the President says he didn't.
GIULIANI: That's right. And they will possibly charge him with perjury should he give that answer, that's why I'm saying in situations like this
the prosecutors, the truth is relative.
PHILLIP: The debate over an interview coming as sources tell CNN that the President was unsettled that he did not know that the conversations between
the White House counsel, Don McGahn and Mueller lasted 30 hours over several months or that his legal team did not conduct a full debriefing
with McGahn after the fact. Giuliani now claiming that President's lawyers did know the details after sources say the President thought the revelation
made him look weak.
GIULIANI: At the time, John Dowd got a complete version of what McGahn said.
PHILLIP: Giuliani also downplaying the significance of McGahn's testimony.
GIULIANI: I knew not to worry about it, because if the President had said anything criminal to the counsel of the White House, McGahn wouldn't be
there. McGahn as a matter of legal ethics and possibly even law would have to quit.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well it's time of turmoil for the Catholic Church, hit first by scandal over abuse by the clergy and then criticism of the church's
response. Well now the Vatican says Pope Francis is taking action and will meet with some who have survived that abuse when he travels to Ireland this
weekend. The Pope has been under pressure to do more after a scathing report last week alleging abuse by hundreds of priests in Pennsylvania.
Well this comes a day after the Pope wrote a letter addressing the issue. Critics say his words should be backed up by action. Let's go to CNN
contributor Barbie Nadeau in Rome. Is this a watershed moment? Do you think there's a prospect that real action will now be taken to treat this
sort of abuse that we have seen documented once again as a crime and not just as the church has suggested in the past, a sin?
BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well if history provides any lesson, I don't think it probably will make much of a difference. You know, when we
talk about the church in Ireland. It's not entirely surprising that Pope Francis said he'll meet with victims. In 2009 there was a report not so
different from the Pennsylvania grand jury report. That report pointed out 30,000 victims of the church in Ireland. So, his troubles are vast and
varied, not just limited to the United States. Not just limited to Ireland but around the world we've had time and time again these things that erupt
momentarily. The survivors of clerical sex abuse want something more concrete than prayers and words. They want a lot more. But they'll have
to tell the Pope themselves and the Pope will have to see if that's something he's willing to do.
ANDERSON: And it's fascinating, Barbie, because when this story first came out and we reported it on this show last week or earlier around, we also
suggested that the Vatican very rarely announces whether the Pope would -- what he's doing, let alone whether he would meet victims. They've
announced that he will do that in Ireland. Why do you think that is? Is that because of this report and the timing of this report, do you think?
NADEAU: I think there is pressure on him to at least look like he's doing something proactive. Now he meets victims on almost every trip he's gone
on recently. And as the Vatican told us today, it's up to the victims to tell the story of what happened what they told the Pope. What the Pope
said to them. The Vatican will not be making a statement about any of the details of that meeting with the victims. And the victims may well hold
their own press conference. We've seen that time and time. We saw that with the victims in Chile, for example, who gave press conferences and have
talked various media outlets about what the Pope said to them. So, the Vatican is providing the opportunity for the Pope to speak to the victims
and for him to listen to them. But we aren't going to get a final word from the Vatican about what goes on behind closed doors in that meeting
Becky.
ANDERSON: Barbie is in Rome for you today where it is 5;14 in the afternoon. It is 4:14 in London. We'll have more on crisis facing the
Catholic Church ahead as we go to Dublin. Which is, of course, awaiting the Pope's visit and we'll talk there to our senior Vatican analyst, John
Allen. So, do stay with us for that.
We'll get you up to speed now. Queue music, I want to get you up to speed now on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now.
[11:15:00] And an Italian coast guard ship carrying 118 migrants has been allowed to dock in Italy but not disembark . It comes after a stand-off
between the Italian and Maltese governments left the ship stranded in international waters for five days. Italy's interior minister says, or
ministry at least says to CNN that the migrants won't be allowed to get off the ship until it's assured that they will go elsewhere.
More emotional reunions are taking place between families separated by the Korean War before a final farewell on Wednesday. Many of those who cross
into North Korea on Monday haven't seen their relatives in nearly 70 years. Of the 57,000 who had applied for these reunions, only 89 families were
selected.
Iran has unveiled its first home-designed and manufactured fighter jet. State media shows President Hassan Rouhani in the cockpit during its first
public display. The jet set to take its first flight on Wednesday to mark Iran's day of the defense industry. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh joins us live
from Tehran. Apart from the sort of headline and the positioning so far as Tehran is concerned. What do we know about this new equipment, Nick?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not a lot. As you said, it is the first domestically produced air jet that Iran has put out.
And they are talking about how a reminder of Iran's power in the region, let me quote Hassan Rouhani, the head says how basically this is a reminder
of Iran's power and how Iran is not someone necessarily who can be confronted here. I paraphrased entirely there.
But don't you know really read too much I think necessarily into this being an enormous technological leap forward. There are some analysts looking
into the similarities of other designs being seen in the past. And as you well know, sanctions are taking a significant impact upon Iran at this
particular point. What is important though is the symbolism of this. This is Iran showing that its defense industry here has not been damaged in its
progress by those sanctions. It's showing it's able to entirely domestically produce something to boost its air defenses. Iran's air force
is not a regionally one of the kind of top few.
I think it's certainly fair to say and also, don't underestimate the symbolism of Hassan Rouhani sitting in that particular jet. They've had a
complicated few months, of course, since Donald Trump said he was going to pull out of the nuclear deal. The moderates within Iran's government here,
include Mr. Hassan Rouhani himself and his foreign minister, Javad Zarif. Who I spoke to a couple of days ago.
Made the argument that a diplomatic deal, the nuclear deal was important, with the West. Now that's collapsing around them to some degree despite
other signatories of that deal still want it yet to be sustained. Some people are sort of staying they're having to take slightly more
conservative positions and certainly Mr. Rouhani, President Rouhani sitting in that Qaher jet, as it's called, is certainly a way of suggesting that
Iran's defense is paramount to him -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Nick Paton Walsh is in Tehran in Iran for you today. Still to come, why a toilet roll can cost millions in Venezuela as the country
fights back against hyperinflation with a new currency. We ask will it work? That's up next.
[11:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: It is 4:20 in London. You're watching CNN. This is CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. For those of you just joining us you are
very welcome.
Venezuela debuting a new currency to challenge its runaway inflation. The new sovereign bolivar cleaves five zeros from the former currency's value.
It is pegged to a new crypto currency called the petro. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro says, this is all a, quote, revolutionary formula.
Others though not convinced. IMF experts warn that Venezuelan inflation could rise to 1 million percent by the end of 2018. That's a million
percent. You heard me right.
Two break down how this will all play out we are joined by John Defterios. Maduro calling this revolutionary, and that's a word for it. Is it?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNNMONEY EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Well in fact, it could be a revolution against it if he doesn't get it right. He's promising a
great kind of pot of gold at the end of the rainbow in two years because of the new program. It's quite extraordinary if you think about it. This
could almost become a Harvard Business School case study in a few years because he's lopping five zeros off the currency and pegging it to a petro
currency that nobody can really see or get an understanding of. It's lacking in transparency. And most importantly, as you know, in the
currency market it's all about trust.
Though you can you understand the strategy of trying to knock off the zeros, because for the average Venezuelan, life is very confusing. So, we
brought on a kilo of rice to give you a sense. A kilo of rice in Venezuela goes, to U.S. dollars, for about 33 cents for the kilo. But in the
Bolivares, as they call it, it goes for 2.5 million. If you want a chicken about 2.5 kilos, you're looking at 14 million bolivars.
ANDERSON: John will be shopping this afternoon. I mean that's remarkable.
DEFTERIOS: It's incredible but is remarkable. So, you can understand why he's trying to bring some normalcy. But you have this case in Turkey, as
you know a few years ago. And President Erdogan said, look, this is ridiculous when they're away with a currency like that. He did reset it
and there was a lot more trust in the plan that he had in the central bank at the time.
ANDERSON: But pegging this to a crypto currency known as the petro, as you say. I mean, markets hate not knowing what's going on. They hate a lack
of transparency. And this is exactly what that is.
DEFTERIOS: Yes, and in fact, his timing couldn't be worse. Because we've had the crash in crypto currencies right across the world. This is a
currency that people don't understand being linked to the petro. As you know, Venezuela has this vast wealth of reserves. It has better than 300
billion barrels of reserves right now. But the story really is, Becky, what has happened to their oil production over the last 10 years. So, you
go back to 2008 they were pumping out 3.2 million barrel as day. I looked at the OPEC figures from last month and look at the production now, 1.3
million barrels a day. It's unprecedented in the world of oil to lose nearly 2 million barrel as day. More shocking perhaps is at the end of
2017 they had production of 2 million barrel as day. They've dropped 700,000 and projections that I see they're going to drop another 400,000 in
the next six months.
So, it's a complete mismanagement of Petroleos, the state oil company. This is what they depend on 90 percent for their revenues and he's
revamping the economy based on the petro currency, which people don't understand.
ANDERSON: Cleaning five zeroes, pegging this new currency to a crypto currency called the petro. And you rightly point out that crypto currency
had a difficult time of late. And not seemingly doing anything about where this economic disaster is fundamentally pivoted. What does he need to do
next? And will he get support? And from where?
DEFTERIOS: Well, he's almost taking the position as many others in the emerging-markets now because of the very aggressive stance of Donald Trump.
He wants to lean away from the dollar. Steven Hanky, professor from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore who is a specialist in the emerging markets
currency, says you have to go to dollarization basically make the American dollar your currency, or introduce a very stringent currency board. I
don't think either one of those options is going to be accepted by Nicolas Maduro.
[11:25:00] Go back a few years, his predecessor Hugo Chavez had the benefit of $100 plus oil, at one point $147. He was laved sheeted onto
Venezuelans. Maduro doesn't have that option right now, he's dealing with $70 oil. The subsidies they had in place he's trying to wean them off of.
He has no control over inflation and he's not going to go through these other two options that I think they're the most solid at this stage. I
just don't see it's on the table.
ANDERSON: John Defterios for you today with his bag of rice.
DEFTERIOS: I come on with -- that's one of your tricks.
ANDERSON: It is one of my tricks. I'm glad you went shopping.
Many aren't waiting to find out if the new currency is going it take off. They are hoping to leave the chaos behind in Venezuela by fleeing south.
But they're facing more and more danger on the way out. CNN's Lynda Kinkade has this report on the people and countries struggling with
Venezuela's mass exodus.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Thousands of desperate Venezuelans fleeing the economic and humanitarian crisis in their homeland. But their
journey to a better life has been met by growing hostility from their South American neighbors. The mass exodus is increasing tensions in countries
like Peru, Ecuador, Brazil and Colombia.
On Saturday, angry residents of a Brazilian border town attacked a group of Venezuelan migrants, setting fire to their camp, according to state media.
It comes after local business owner was allegedly robbed by Venezuelans. The demonstrations forced more than 1,000 migrants to flee back across the
border to Venezuela on foot. The Brazilian government said it's committed to helping Venezuelans and says it will try to spread migrants throughout
the various states. It also announced the deployment of 120 personnel from the country's national force, to the border to help quell the violence.
Meanwhile in Ecuador, a new rule requires Venezuelan citizens to enter the country with a valid passport. Since some started their journey before the
rule went into effect, they're stuck in limbo at the border. Many only have identity cards used for travel to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia
under normal circumstances. Some migrants have expressed frustration and desperation as they try to enter Ecuador.
GABRIEL MALAVOLTA, VENEZUELAN REFUGEE (through translator): I'm here with my wife hoping for some kind of humanitarian measure from the Ecuadorian
government that allows us to enter with our ID card, so we can continue our journey to Peru.
KINKADE: Other migrants are taking their chances crossing the border on foot After being turned away at the border for not having a passport.
AYLIN AGUILAR, VENEZUELAN REFUGEE: We have to come on foot because the immigration officials are not going to give us an answer. They're not
going to stamp any documents. We have come illegally we are practically illegal without papers, without documents, nothing.
KINKADE: Many of the migrants are headed for Peru, which has one of the fastest growing economies in the region. The United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees says that more than half a million Venezuelans have crossed into Ecuador through Colombia since the beginning of the year.
They estimate that the number is growing with some 30,000 entering in the first week of August alone. Lynda Kinkade, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Coming up more on the important journey ahead for Pope Francis. He's going to meet with victims of clerical sexual abuse amid demands that
he do more to stop such horrific crimes from ever happening again. That after this.
[11:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: You're watching CNN. This is CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson in London where it is just after half past 4:00 in the afternoon.
The Pope, Pope Francis preparing to travel to Ireland this weekend where the Vatican now says he will meet with survivors of sexual abuse by clergy.
The visit comes in the wake of the Pennsylvania grand jury report, which details decades of sexual abuse accusations against priests and cover-ups
by bishops, involving more than 1,000 child victims. Some say the Pope's letter is not enough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHAUN DOUGHERTY, ABUSE SURVIVOR: You know, he said he abandoned the little ones. And today in his statement he abandoned us again. You know, he
didn't call for any actions. The grand jury report called for actions. The victims are calling for actions, the parishioners are calling for
actions. But the Pope hasn't called for any actions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Let's get you to Ireland where this controversy appears to be, well casting a shadow somewhat on the Pope's visit. John Allen is our
senior Vatican analyst and editor of the website Crux which covers the Catholic Church. Joining us now by Skype from Dublin. And John, the Pope
writing a letter in the wake of the report out of Pennsylvania acknowledging the church's failure to act. Our last speaker there alluding
to what he wrote in part this.
We were not where we should have been, that we did not act in a timely manner, realizing the magnitude and the gravity of the damage done to so
many lives. We showed no care for the little ones. We abandoned them.
What's the church going to do about insuring it never happens again, John?
JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST (via Skype): Good question, Becky. You know, here in Dublin I have to say it feels like deja vu all over
again. I remember very well when the clerical sexual abuse scandals erupted here in 2009 and 2010. That time, too, a Pope, in that case
Benedict XVI, wrote a very plaintiff letter on the scandals in that case addressed specifically to Irish Catholics. Expressing deep sorrow,
expressing a desire to get this right, and pledging concrete action to make sure this could never happen again. Flash forward, almost ten years later
another Pope in this case, Francis, is getting set to travel to Ireland. He, too, puts out a letter to abuse survivors and to the people of God as
he put it, saying more or less the same thing. Different language but striking the same points.
[11:35:00] And you know, you quoted someone in your package. I mean, I've heard that same sentiment. That is, we don't want words, we want action.
I have heard that over and over again in the streets of Ireland.
We all know what that action needs to be, Becky. This is not rocket science. The trick now, if you ask survivors and abuse victims and
reformers in the church. They will tell you the most important piece of unfinished business is accountability. And not just accountability for
clergy who abuse minors. But accountability for bishops and other senior officials who cover it up. That's what the church doesn't have. That's
what the Pennsylvania grand jury report has pointed to. As a chronic and ongoing problem. People want to know how the church is going to plug that
hole. And I will tell you this, my sense is if the Pope comes to Ireland on Saturday and doesn't directly and concretely address that question, this
trip is going to be styled as a massive failure.
ANDERSON: John, you've alluded to and we have been hearing many survivors say that the Pope's words are just that -- words. For our viewers' sake,
let's just hear from a man in Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM VAN SICKLE, SEX ABUSE SURVIVOR: To just tell me you're transparent, to just tell me you're standing by my side. To wait this long to come forward
when this knowledge has been in the church for many, many years falls way short of any kind of vindication or comfort for me. I can't reconciliate
with the Catholic Church until the bishops, the cardinals and the Pope makes its stand and wipes out this problem within the church.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: That survivor echoing your words and the words of so many others, including one survivor and activist in Ireland who told me last
week that the church must treat child rape and abuse as simply a crime and not a sin. The Pope's trip to Ireland then couldn't be more timely.
If you were advising them I guess you've just told us what you were tell him to say and do insure that people genuinely believe that he wants some
accountability. I guess that begs the question -- and we don't know what we're going to get from the Pope this weekend. But why hasn't the church
done anything to date? You've probably forgotten more about the Catholic Church than many people around the world will ever know. Why is it that
the church is so reticent to move beyond an apology for what had happened back in the day? And what, who knows may be happening still.
ALLEN: Well look, I mean in some ways the church has made enormous strides. I mean in terms of adopting an aggressive system to prevent,
detect and respond to child abuse, I mean I know Interpol officials, I know child and welfare experts who are completely non-Catholic, have nothing to
do with the Catholic Church, who would today say in many ways the Catholic Church is in the vanguard of trying to get that right.
But the problem is that as welcome as all that progress is, it is not a comprehensive fix until there is also a system for responding not to the
abuse itself, but to the cover-up. That is for bishops and other official who turn a blind eye. Because until those management failures are punished
with the same severity as the abuse itself, nobody is going to buy that the Catholic Church has turned a corner on this question. And you know, again,
that was the central issue in the Pennsylvania grand jury report. That is why today there is mounting pressure on Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington
who was flagged in that report for his record during from period -- from 1998 to 2006 when he was bishop of Pittsburgh. And there are three cases
in which Cardinal Wuerl, then Bishop Wuerl, allegedly knew of predator priests among his own clergy and did not take action, did not report them
to police or other authorities. Until the perception that that kind of breakdown is punished with the same resolution as the crime itself. People
are not going to be satisfied.
So, you ask, what would my council to Pope Francis be? Well look, that's sort of above my pay grade, Becky. But I mean in all honesty, all I can
tell you is the mood on the street here is that if Pope Francis comes to Ireland, spends 32 hours here and then goes home, without giving people not
only assurances, but some indication of what the plan is at some level of detail, of how that accountability is going to be achieved, people are not
going to be happy.
ANDERSON: Fascinating. John's in Dublin, in Ireland where the Pope will be this weekend, as John says, for 32 hours. A very timely visit.
Another place where there have been allegations of sexual abuse and cover- up by the church is Chile. Now the first priests there is about to be prosecuted. CNN's Patrick Oppmann looks at how the scandal is being dealt
with there.
[11:40:00] PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Once a high- ranking official in the Catholic Church in Chile, former priest, Oscar Munoz Toledo, now faces charges for the alleged sexual abuse of seven
minors. He is the first priest arrested in a scandal that has believed to involve more than 200 alleged victims and threatens to further blacken the
church's name in Chile. Munoz's lawyer disputes the charges against his client. Chilean prosecutors have been conducting raids on church buildings
following in internal Vatican report that said for decades church officials in Chile had known about cases of sexual abuse and led a massive cover-up,
even destroying records.
EMILIANO ARIAS, CHILEAN PROVINCIAL PROSECUTOR (through translator): We found evidence of the destruction of documents, and that aside from being
circumstantial evidence of a cover-up itself, that's also a crime. That could be a crime of concealment or of destruction of information.
OPPMANN: In January while visiting Chile, Pope Francis defended a Chilean bishop accused of concealing the abuse, saying he had been, quote,
slandered.
But after Vatican investigators said church officials in can Chile had help to cover up tens of cases of sexual abuse by the clergy, the Pope
apologized and met with some of the victims. All 34 of Chile's bishops were summoned to Rome where they offered the Pope their resignations. The
first mass resignation in the history of the church.
The Pope ultimately accepted the resignations of five bishops, including that of the bishop he had defended. But prosecutors say the church is
still failing to cooperate with their investigations. Accuser Juan Carlos Cruz met with the Pope but said the church's actions are falling short.
JUAN CARLOS CRUZ, ACCUSER (through translator): Here these Chilean bishops convinced us what was happening were sins or failings. No, they are crimes
and felonies and they should pay with jail time.
OPPMANN: Chilean prosecutors say there are 158 bishops, priests and lay people under investigation. It's still not clear how many if any will pay
for their alleged crimes. Patrick Oppmann, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: An update on the trial of the former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort for you. The jury has sent another message to the judge.
Just in the past few minutes asking what happens if they can't come to consensus on one single count? The judge is about to instruct the jury to
continue deliberations, to see if they can reach a unanimous conclusion. They are in the fourth day of deliberations. Manafort is charge with the
18 counts of tax evasion, bank fraud and hiding foreign bank accounts. Keep your eye on that one, of course, for you here on CNN. It's 11:42 a.m.
in Washington, and the more we get on that of course you'll be the first to hear.
Live from London, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD, I'm Becky Anderson. Does this look like a cease-fire to you? We'll till you about a new mortar
attack in Afghanistan just days after the President there called for a truce.
[11:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD, 5:45 in the evening here in London. I'm Becky Anderson for you.
To a message now sent loud and clear in Afghanistan. The Taliban are denying this attack in the capital. Dozens of mortar rounds were fired
interrupting President Ashraf Ghani's EID address. Now this comes just days after Mr. Ghani offered to call a cease-fire with the Taliban. The
attack the latest in a recent wave of violence in Afghanistan. CNN's Sam Kiley tracking this from Abu Dhabi and joining me now with more, all too
depressingly familiar. So, should we be surprised that the talk of a cease-fire over EID is simply that, Sam, talk?
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well there has been some success at the end of Ramadan, when there was a successful cease-fire,
Becky. So, there's not all talk. I think this is probably to be seen as sign the offer of a cease-fire coming perhaps as seen as a sign of weakness
by insurgent groups of the Ghani government. Particularly after Ghazni was at least temporarily mostly overrun. That of course, as you know, Becky,
is the strategically important town between Kabul and Kandahar right down in the south on that main route north-south.
Today's incident has been claimed -- we haven't been able to verify this ourselves -- but a multiple Twitter accounts claiming to be associated with
the so-called Islamic State branch in Afghanistan claiming responsibility for this. Government officials saying that two fighters from this group
were killed. And that others up to four may have been captured. Which is unusual I have to say. Some of these Islamic State fighters tend not to be
captured and to go down fighting and most often using suicide vests. Nonetheless this attack came right in the middle of Ghani's speech. He did
apparently remain composed and say this sort of operation wouldn't pull Afghanistan's off their stride. But I think the central government really
is appearing to lose the initiative and by extension that means that the American-led coalition in support of them is also somewhat certainly on a
tactical level perhaps been forced on to the back foot -- Becky.
ANDERSON: I want to point out a sobering statistics that shows just how violent Afghanistan remains. The United Nations says civilian deaths in
the country were at the highest in the in the first half of this year since the U.N. began documenting them in back in 2009. Almost 1,700 civilians
killed, 3,400 injured in fighting between the government and the Taliban and ISIS, as you are alluding to here. That death toll is up 1 percent
from the same period last year. And Sam, more than half of these resulted from ISIS attacks. Many of them suicide bombings. What is their scope and
their strength on the ground in Afghanistan? When we talk Afghanistan, we so often talk about the government versus the Taliban. Will it be a cease-
fire? What happens next? Can they sort this thing out? What is the strength and scope of ISIS?
KILEY: Well the Islamic State, Becky, have been trying to get a foothold. They call themselves the Khorasan part of ISK ,as they're being called,
Islamic State Khorasan, which is the term for Afghanistan. They've been trying to get a grip. They have pockets quite close to Taliban areas,
particularly -- not so much in the south. Quite a lot in the east. Pockets here and there. And what they've done is try to trade as they did
in Afghanistan on their ultraviolence, which has not gone done well at all with Afghanistan local communities. Right at the beginning, they did some
spectacular mass murders using high explosives of indigenous Afghan people that they had captured. And that went extremely poorly and as a
consequence of that and other rivalries.
It's really the Taliban that's been taking most of the fight to Islamic State. Because of course, Islamic State's interpretation of hard-core
Islamism is a wide divergence, both with the Taliban and with the traditions of ordinary Afghans in those regions.
But at the same time, I think we can see these very spectacular, particularly sectarian attacks they targeted Shia, worshippers in mosques,
causing mass murder using suicide bombs most recently. I think more than three dozen were killed in a mosque attack, deliberately attacking Shia,
mostly from the Hazaras ethnic group. Trying to sow this conflict, trying to exacerbate it, much as they did elsewhere in the Middle East.
[11:50:00] But at the moment they're in pockets and it's really the Taliban that have been keeping them suppressed, Becky.
ANDERSON: Fascinating. Sam Kiley's out of Abu Dhabi for you today. Sam, thank you for that.
Still ahead on this show, we're going to get you to southern India, the southern Indian state of Kerala where hundreds of fishermen are being
hailed as heroes amid the worst flooding there in nearly a century. Their story is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back, just before the top of the hour in London, the top of the 5:00 hour as it were. It's 10 to at the moment. I'm Becky Anderson
in London.
A rising death toll and a massive cleanup ahead. India's Kerala state is facing a nightmare scenario after the worst flooding there in nearly a
century. Nearly 400 people have been killed, and that number is expected to rise. Dozens of people are missing, authorities handing out medicine
and disinfectants to troy to ward off disease. Heroes, though now emerging from what is this deadly natural disaster. Especially the fishermen who
are pitching in to rescue those who are stranded. CNN's Michael Holmes reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the southern Indian state of Kerala, the focus is shifting from rescue to
relief. Hundreds of thousands of people have been moved to relief camps across the state over the past week. As the state saw its worst flooding
in a century. Many of them were rescued by fishermen. According to the Kerala state government, some 2800 fishermen across the state voluntarily
rushed to help victims when the floods hit last week. CNN spoke with one of them. Arun Michael who says he was able to rescue about 1500 people
despite some man-made obstacles.
ARUN MICHAEL, FISHERMEN (through translator): Some people wanted to remain in their homes and just wanted food and water. They were reluctant to
leave their homes. Some people were actually mocking me. I had to beg them to evacuate.
HOLMES: But Michael says he was insulted by some victims he was trying to help, because they were suspicious of him. The volunteers have been widely
praised however on social media. And the state government is now offering the fishermen about $40 each for each day of their efforts, plus any boat
repair costs. But Michael says he doesn't want it.
MICHAEL (through translator): My boat and engine are severely damaged. But I don't want anything from the government. I went there voluntarily to
save people. I didn't do it expecting benefits from the government.
HOLMES: Michael says he decided to go out and save people because what happened to the victims could happen to anyone including himself. Michael
Holmes, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Just time this evening for your parting shots. In the Muslim world celebrating EID, one of the most important holidays in the Islamic
calendar. In Jerusalem thousands of worshippers flocked to Al-Aqsa compound to offer prayers during the annual feast, which marks the end of
the Hajj.
[11:55:06] In Bangladesh this holiday saw days of preparations with thousands of cattle arriving in Dhaka on boatswain trucks for the
sacrificial slaughter of animals during the four-day holiday. Muslims share meat with family and friends as well as donate to the poor. A
snapshot of some of the EID celebrations across the Muslim world. We'll bring you more in the coming days. For more stories from the Middle East
and across the world do use the Facebook page for exclusive reports and in- depth interviews, that is Facebook.com/CNN-connect. I'm Becky Anderson. That was CONNECT THE WORLD, thanks for watching me and the whole team here.
END
