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Trump-Kim Summit Abruptly Ends with No Agreement; Trump Faces Firestorm Over Former Fixer's Revelations; Israeli Attorney General to Announce Decision on Indicting Netanyahu; Pakistani Prime Minister Says They Will Release Indian Pilot as a Peaceful Gesture; Brexit Heartland Frustrated by Political Stalemate; Syrian Civilians Stuck in between Warring Sides; 20,000 Children Living in Slavery in Ghana. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired February 28, 2019 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00] CYRIL VANIER, CNN HOST: Welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Cyril Vanier, in for Becky Anderson. And there is a lot to cover this
hour.
The abrupt end of the second summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, the fallout from the explosive testimony by President Trump's former friend
and personal lawyer.
But first, I want to tell you about breaking news that we're expecting this hour. Israel's Attorney General is expected to announce whether he intends
to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption charges. Now that would be a political earthquake just two months before Israeli
elections. We will two to Jerusalem live when that decision comes down.
But for now, CNN is learning new details on the sudden end to the high stakes summit in Vietnam between the U.S. and North Korea. The U.S.
President left the meeting empty handed. He says they broke down when Kim Jong-un insisted that all sanctions be lifted. Sources say Donald Trump
was warned by his advisers that North Korea would not budge on that demand but Mr. Trump was sure that Mr. Kim was ready to make a deal.
Meanwhile, the President is returning to a political fire storm back in Washington, as his former lawyer and fixer, that man there, Michael Cohen,
appears on Capitol Hill for a third day. Yesterday, Cohen's testimony was very much public, and it was very much explosive. He accused Donald Trump
of criminal activities while in office.
And we have teams across the world to cover this. Let's start with Michelle Kosinski who traveled with President Trump to the summit in Hanoi
-- Michelle.
MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Cyril, right. It's hard to believe less than 24 hours ago, we were thinking, you know,
something had to come out of this summit. For them to come here, it seemed like both sides had to be ready to walk away with something. And it seemed
the only question left was what is it going to be? What is each side going to give up to come to some agreement? Now of course we know the surprise
ending to this very Trumpian cliff hanger is nothing.
They could not even agree on the definition of denuclearization at this point. Could not even finish the summit which was supposed to end with
lunch together and a signing ceremony but there was nothing to sign.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KOSINSKI (voice-over): The President traveled 8,000 miles and comes away empty-handed. A Vietnam summit with Kim Jong-un quickly turned south,
leaving the President with no distraction from Michael Cohen's damaging testimony.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They wanted the sanctions lifted. In their entirety. And we couldn't do that.
It was a very productive two days but sometimes you have to walk.
MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I wish we could have gotten a little bit further but I'm very optimistic.
KOSINSKI: There were good signs early. Kim Jong-un keeping denuclearization on the table.
KIM JONG-UN, NORTH KOREAN LEADER (through translator): If I'm not willing to do that, I won't be here right now.
KOSINSKI: But after many pleasantries on camera, talks in private did not lead to any break through. A working lunch and signing ceremony that had
been on the schedule never happened. An abrupt end to talks overnight. With the White House saying, no agreement was reached at this time. But
the respective teams look forward to meeting in the future. The President did make one stunning headline. Letting Kim off the hook for the death of
American hostage, Otto Warmbier.
TRUMP: Those prisons are rough. They're rough places. He tells me that he didn't know about it. And I will take him at his word.
KOSINSKI: The summit itself largely overshadowed by testimony back home.
MICHAEL COHEN, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S FORMER ATTORNEY: I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a con man. And he is a cheat.
KOSINSKI: Explosive allegations by Trump's long-time lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen. The President responding this morning, slamming the
Democrats, for holding the hearing, while he was here at the summit.
TRUMP: And it was pretty shameful.
He lied a lot, but it was very interesting, because he didn't lie about one thing, he said no collusion with the Russian hoax.
KOSINSKI: Cohen's testimony upstaged any kind of progress the self- described deal maker hoped to gain in his second summit with the North Korean leader. The U.S. was hoping for more concrete steps from Pyongyang
toward a deal that is verifiable and enforceable. Only time will tell now whether the future holds more of this.
TRUMP: Rocket man is on a suicide mission for himself.
KOSINSKI: Or this.
TRUMP: I'd much rather do it right than do it fast.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOSINSKI: The outcome now is just further proof that Trump's insistence on a top-down approach to this incredibly complicated and decades-long problem
is not necessarily going to work out the way he intends and hopes -- Cyril.
[10:05:02] VANIER: All right, Michelle Kosinski, reporting live from Hanoi, Vietnam, thank you very much.
I want to turn now to Christiane Amanpour, our chief international anchor. Christiane, the U.S. President says that he had to walk away from this
summit because Kim was just asking for too much. Does that make, in your view, the summit an unequivocal failure or does it just mean we have to
accept the ups and downs of diplomacy and deal making?
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, look, I think that when you have two major leaders here to discuss a specific issue and
to come away with nothing, you can't call it a success. You don't want to call it a total failure because you want to give some oxygen to the ability
for this process to continue.
But a lot of people have been, from the very beginning, skeptical of a process, of starting from the top-down. In other words, that they started
at the pinnacle, the two leaders meeting, without any defined agenda, without any defined points that they could then sort of sign and come away
with. And generally, these kinds of negotiations don't operate like that. You have to start at the bottom of the pyramid, with a long and large group
of negotiators, of experts, you have to be willing to spend, you know, days, weeks, months, and perhaps years, to come to a proper comprehensive
nuclear agreement that will satisfy both sides. Because it will have to satisfy both sides, it will have to be a win-win situation. That is the
art of the deal, in the very realest sense and that didn't happen.
It certainly didn't happen the first time and people say it doesn't matter because we have the two leaders meeting, developing a decent relationship
between themselves, and chipping away at that very, very high and long wall of distrust between North Korea and the United States. But then for the
second time, for there to not be any meaningful or at all progress or substance, that's a problem, and it will be definitely a problem if there
was a third summit and even less came out of that.
So we are going to wait to see. We are, as I say in the immediate spin zone time frame after the summit. We've only heard from the President of
the United States, from the Secretary of State, whose main point is that they couldn't sign a deal. They wouldn't sign a deal, on anything, because
Kim Jong-un wanted everything, i.e. the entirety of the sanctions to be lifted.
I've spoken to former negotiators. I've spoken to experts around this. And they are kind of skeptical that he would have asked for all of that as
an opening position and therefore we have to see how the North Koreans spin this once Kim Jong-un gets home. He is staying here in Vietnam for another
couple of days, as part of an initial visit to Vietnam. And so we might not hear the North Korean interpretation of what happened for a few days.
We're not sure about that. But we just don't know when we might hear.
Meantime, allies and others, China and the others in the region are all expressing various levels of perplexity. How did this happen? How did
this get to this point? And all are saying, well, you know, we're just going to keep going and we're going to keep trying, and all the rest of it.
But look, nothing was achieved. And we're waiting to see what might happen in the upcoming attempted talks. But there is not each a plan for that.
No timetable for any more talks. No delegations. No parameters yet.
VANIER: Christiane, stand by, please. Because I want to get the South Korean angle on this and Paula Hancocks is in Seoul. Paula, if diplomacy
breaks down, hypothetical, then South Korea will be the country left holding the pieces. So what are you learning on your end?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Cyril, we know that the U.S. President already spoke to South Korea's President Moon Jae-in when he was
on board Air Force One leaving Hanoi. And he effectively asked him to be a mediator, once again, to try and be a mediator, to talk to the North Korean
leader Kim Jong-un and to report back to the U.S. President as to what he said. Now this is a role that the South Korean President is very
comfortable with. It's one that he has had all along. But clearly, the South Koreans are disappointed that there has been no decision at the end
of this meeting.
They had a lot riding on it. Kim Jong-un was supposed to be coming to Seoul. It was going to be an historic visit. The first time that a North
Korean leader was going to come to the South Korean capital. And everybody that I had been speaking to, back in Seoul, had said that they were waiting
to see how successful this meeting was, before they finalize the plans for Kim Jong-un to come to Seoul. We don't even know if that's going to happen
now as there was no agreement.
And of course the military drills are supposed to be come up very soon between the U.S. and South Korea. It wasn't clear whether or not the U.S.
President has actually suspended them or canceled them, as he did after Singapore. So certainly there will be some scrambling with that as well.
Trying to figure out whether or not these drills that the U.S. President clearly doesn't support and was complaining about how expensive they are,
and he's not being reimbursed by South Korea, we still don't know for sure if they're going to go ahead -- Cyril.
[10:10:00] VANIER: So with that in mind then, I want to go back to you, Christiane, before I move on to Washington and I know the dust hasn't
settled on this yet and we're a few hours post-summit. You said, you putting your best, we're still in the spin zone. But you have covered
these big sort of power moves before, and what does your gut tell you? Do you think we are at a turning point where it is all downhill from here? Or
do you think we're still very much in the process, and we just can't judge for now?
AMANPOUR: I'm not sure that we're very much in the process, because then you would have some tangible -- tangible goals, some tangible parameters
and framework. I think it is still very much in the, you know, sort of operational, trying to get it off the ground stage. Although we just don't
know. Because we're not hearing all the details.
You know, on the plane back to, out of here, Secretary of State Pompeo, he said -- he sort of berated some of the journalists on the plane, saying,
you know, I've just been listening to a lot of uninformed speculation. Well it's all well and good for him to say that, but when expectations are
somewhat raised, when we understood that they were hoping, maybe even to ask and decide on, you know, liaison offices in each other's capitals. Or
maybe setting the ground work for declaring finally an end to the Korea War, a formal end. Or maybe even perhaps an inventory, or the idea that
North Korea might produce an inventory. You know, all of these things were floated by the United States, and by the negotiators before this began.
Now, we're hearing, in the full sort of 20/20 hindsight, that U.S. advisers were telling President Trump that it is going to be very difficult to get a
deal, that Kim Jong-un wanted the moon, and the stars, and everything else. So it's very hard to understand this expectations game that the U.S. is
playing now.
I think what's very clear is that some are saying that partly the issue of Michael Cohen's testimony played an intrusive role in these negotiations.
In that President Trump didn't want to look like he was giving away the shop, as a reaction to this testimony, and therefore, may have missed the
opportunity to sign off on some other sort of peripheral but important things that the North Koreans were offering up. Let's say the
dismantlement of Yongbyon which the President said was offering. That is their main nuclear power plant. Let's say other things that may have been
on the table but not the whole ball of wax. The President apparently may have felt that he couldn't have even done the small bits because of the
pressure that he was facing in Washington.
And furthermore we've heard from the former U.S. negotiator that the North Koreans watch very, very closely the political goings-on in Washington.
They know the exactly kind of body wound that the President has now sustained from the Michael Cohen testimony. And maybe they're thinking,
who are we making a deal with? Will this person still be around in a couple of years? And there is precedent for that belief. Because when
Secretary Tillerson, as he was back then, Secretary of State, wanted to visit Pyongyang, in 2017, before all of this sorted out, the North Koreans
reversed pointblank. They said no, because we think he's going to be fired.
So they are wily. They are savvy. They have their own parameters as well. And it's hard to know how this is going to be resolved. Paula just
mentioned the military exercises that President Trump talked about. Let's just play the sound bite as to what he said about it, during his press
conference.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: So those exercises are very expensive. And I was telling the generals, I said look, you know, exercising is fun and it's nice and they
play the war games. And I'm not saying it's not necessary, because it's some levels, it is. But in other levels, it's not. But it is a very, very
expensive thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: So we're not quite sure what he said, but certainly, Secretary Pompeo mentioned that on the plane, as he left here. And he seemed to
indicate that the President would stand by that. That these war games or military exercises, what everyone wants to call them, which are designed to
start again, the annual ones in the spring, may not go ahead. And that is something that the President's more hardline advisers were quite shocked
about. Because that's what he agreed with Kim Jong-un in their private meetings, no one else, just translators in Singapore. And they were quite
concerned we understand, what the President might say to Kim Jong-un, alone in meetings here in Hanoi, and therefore, those alone meetings were
significantly cut short -- Cyril.
VANIER: All right, Christiane Amanpour, out chief international anchor. I want to thank you for your analysis. And since Christiane is looking to
the other side of the world as well, and the other story that was unfolding at the same time, the public testimony of Michael Cohen.
[10:15:00] I want to go to a man who watched all, what was it? Stephen Collinson, five, seven and a half hours of it, public?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right, just over seven hours, in fact, it felt a lot longer, during that hearing. But it was certainly
one of the most intense and explosive hearings by a subordinate turning against a president since the Watergate era in the 1970s. I think, Cyril,
the most interesting take-away from it was that it wasn't just about Russia. We got our first real glimpse of the legal problems that the
President could be facing because of the tactic of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, to farm out various investigations --
VANIER: So Stephen, in that case, let me interrupt you. Let's do this. Let's look at the Russia angle first. Because we also have Matthew Chance
who is with us from Moscow and then we'll look at the non-Russia angles which are numerous, plentiful, and potentially dangerous for the President.
On Russia specifically, because this is the biggest political problem for Trump, right. The potential for collusion with Russia. And on that count,
Michael Cohen had not much evidence to offer. He said I have my suspicions, but that's about it.
COLLINSON: Yes, the President us saying that Cohen said that there was no collusion, or he didn't have evidence of collusion, in that hearing. He
did however raise a few new pieces of information. He said that he believed that the President was on a telephone call with Roger Stone, his
long-time political adviser, who told Trump, who was then the Republican nominee, that there were going to be some new disclosures from WikiLeaks,
of e-mails that would embarrass Hillary Clinton. And he said that he believed that the President new in advance about that meeting in Trump
Tower, between members of the Trump campaign team and a Russian lawyer promising dirt on Hillary Clinton's campaign.
He didn't bring proof of that, so we don't know if he has corroboration, or if Robert Mueller the Special Counsel has corroboration. So, but you're
right, on the key issue of Russia, there wasn't that much new. The question is, the bigger legal exposure in the long-term to the President,
may not be about Russia, and that's what is so interesting about what took place yesterday.
VANIER: Yes, that's very interesting. And you're going to fill us in on that in just a second. First, I want to go to Moscow then. Matthew
Chance, Russia was hanging over the Michael Cohen testimony, as it has been hanging over the Trump presidency for two years now. What was the Russian
reaction to what was said yesterday in Washington, if any?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean there's been a very muted response, I mean at best. I mean the other
aspect of the interaction with Russia and the Trump campaign, or President Trump, or the Trump organization, was this building of a Trump Tower in
Moscow negotiations that were under way. We now know throughout the Presidential campaign. We were earlier told by Michael Cohen than those
negotiations stopped in January 2016. That He since said they went on until much later until June. Despite the fact that Donald Trump, when he
was the candidate, was consistently saying in public that he had no business dealings in Russia. Nothing in the cards.
Why did he do that? Michael Cohen said for two reason. First of all, he did not believe that he was going to win the Presidential election and so
he thought it would never be a problem. And secondly, he wanted to pursue this business idea, this business plan, because he stood to make hundreds
of millions of dollars in that property development scheme.
And in terms of what the Kremlin's response to that has been, well they've acknowledged that they were approached by the Trump organization back in
2016, for help in that project. They said they didn't give any help. They directed them towards an economic forum in St. Petersburg, a Russian city.
They've since said in the past 24 hours, look, we had no idea that Donald Trump was personally taking an interest in this, yet alone directing it.
And that is certainly not what we were told the Kremlin says. And so they have attempted to sort of distance themselves even further. And as to the
other allegations of collusion, of hacking, I mean the Russian position on that has been consistent, that they got nothing to do with it. And none of
the testimony that Michael Cohen gave yesterday to that Congressional hearing will have put the Kremlin in any -- under any additional pressure -
- Cyril.
VANIER: All right, Matthew Chance in Moscow. Stephen, we don't have much time left, but I want you to explain real brief, if you can, why you said a
moment ago that it turns out from yesterday's hearing the biggest legal trouble for the President might not be collusion at all briefly.
COLLINSON: Right, so Michael Cohen effectively accused the President of committing a crime while in office by reimbursing him and he brought a
$35,000 check along for hush payments that were made before the campaign, during the campaign, before the election, in an alleged infringement of
campaign finance laws.
[10:20:00] That brings us into the White House.
And he also accused the President of taking part in activity that could amount to bank fraud and other financial crimes in the Trump organization.
That's being looked at by prosecutors in New York. That is something that even when Robert Mueller gives his report and moves on, that will still be
threatening the President, and could even threaten him and his organization even after he's left office.
VANIER: All right. Stephen Collinson in Washington, Matthew Chance in Moscow, I want to thank Paula Hancocks with us earlier. Thanks to awful
you. I told you we had a lot to get to this hour.
And now will continue to follow these stories throughout the hour. But there is another major story that we're following. Is it an olive branch?
Another escalation? Pakistan, prepares to offer a goodwill gesture to India, but deadly skirmishes continue. We'll have a live report from New
Delhi coming up.
And Benjamin Netanyahu heads back, as the world waits to hear if he will be indicted on corruption charges. We're live in Jerusalem, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VANIER: You are watching CNN and this is CONNECT THE WORLD. You are watching CNN and this is CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Cyril Vanier. Welcome
back.
Any moment now, we are expecting a landmark development out of Israel. The Attorney General is due to decide whether to indict Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu on a series of corruption allegations. It would be a momentous move, especially with elections just weeks away in Israel. Mr. Netanyahu
denies the allegations and he has a strong ally in this man, Donald Trump, who called him a great Prime Minister at the end of talks in Hanoi. Oren
Liebermann is in Jerusalem. First of all, tell us what you're looking out for.
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we're looking for is a statement from the Attorney General. An Attorney General who was appointed by Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and is now expected to announce his decision on whether to indict the Prime Minister, his intention to indict the Prime
Minister, in three ongoing corruption investigations. Investigations that have now lasted years.
Police have already said they have enough evidence to indict the Prime Minister on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate
cases. The decision is now the Attorney General's. We've been here all day. The expectation is that it's coming today. But the Attorney General
seems to be working on no one's schedule but his own.
[10:25:00] However, Netanyahu has already launched an offensive against the expectation, or the potential of these charges, last night. He said a
charge of bribery in one of these cases would be, quote, ridiculous, and he has said that twice now that the whole house of cards will fall. So the
offensive from Netanyahu, from his Likud Party has already begun against this anticipated decision. And we should be clear here, Cyril, of those
three charges, bribery fraud, breach of trust, it is bribery that is big one. Breach of trust, less so. It is that bribery charge that Benjamin
Netanyahu has already begun targeting.
VANIER: Tell us a little bit more about that. I mean there's the -- start by telling us about the Prime Minister's reaction this morning, reaction to
something that actually hasn't happened yet.
LIEBERMANN: Well, Netanyahu has been lobbying against these, fighting these investigations for a long time now, and this has been no exception.
He continues to fight against these, essentially now, the crux of the arguments against these or that the Attorney General has succumbed to
pressure from the media and the left. Implying there is no way the Attorney General would have come to these decisions independently. He has
simply given in to all of the pressure from the media and the left.
Netanyahu and his party have long accused the media and the left of orchestrating a witch hunt against him. And this is the strategy at least
right now that they're taking to fight back against the announcement from the Attorney General which we're expecting. We also saw one of Benjamin
Netanyahu's friends, his ally, President Donald Trump chiming in on his trip to Vietnam. Here is a portion of what Trump said when asked about the
situation Benjamin Netanyahu is in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I just think he has been a great Prime Minister. And I don't know about his difficulty, but you're telling me something that, you know, you
people have been hearing about, but I don't know about that. I can say this, that he has done a great job as Prime Minister, he's tough, he's
smart, he's strong. He is very defensive. His military has been built up a lot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIEBERMANN: Of course, why is this decision so important? Especially for Netanyahu's future? It is because elections are just five weeks away.
Netanyahu seeks a fifth term in office and a decision on the announcement from the Attorney General about an intention to indict could be a major
blow to the Prime Minister as he seeks another term there.
VANIER: Oren Liebermann reporting live from Jerusalem. I know you're watching this carefully and if there is any development on the front, we
will come straight back to you. Thank you, Oren.
Coming up, mixed messages from the sub-continent, Pakistan appears to offer India an olive branch. But the Indians claim fresh provocation from their
neighbors. We head to New Delhi next.
[10:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VANIER: OK. Recapping our top stories. U.S. President Donald Trump has left Vietnam, abruptly cutting short his summit with North Korea's Kim
Jong-un. When Mr. Kim demanded that sanctions be lifted. Mr. Trump says the two sides will keep talking, and maybe a denuclearization deal can be
reached some time or other.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: And he has a certain vision, and it's not exactly our vision, but it's a lot closer than it was a year ago. And I think, you know,
eventually we'll get there. But for this particular visit, we decided that we had to walk, and we'll see what happens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VANIER: And the President returns to a Washington that is still buzzing about Michael Cohen's explosive Congressional testimony yesterday. Mr.
Trump was upset that Cohen's testimony overshadowed the North Korea summit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your response to Michael Cohen?
TRUMP: Well, it's incorrect and you know, it is very interesting, because I tried to watch as much as I could. I wasn't able to watch too much
because I've been a little bit busy. But I think having a fake hearing like that and having it in the middle of this very important summit, is
really a terrible thing. They could have made it two days later, or next week. And it would have been even better, they would have had more time.
But having it during this very important summit is sort of incredible. And he lied a lot. But it was very interesting, because he didn't lie about
one thing, he said no collusion with the Russian hoax. And I said I wonder why he didn't just lie about that, too, like he did about everything else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VANIER: Michael Cohen arrived a short time ago for another day of questions from lawmakers. But this session on Thursday will be behind
closed door, not televised to the world like yesterday's was.
In a bid to de-escalation tensions with India, Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan, says his country will release a detained Indian pilot as a
gesture for peace. The pilot was captured after his plane was shot down over the disputed region of Kashmir on Tuesday. The Pakistani military is
claiming four of its civilians are dead and two more wounded after fire from India into Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. The Indian army has
responded saying in a statement, that Pakistan initiated the attacks on Thursday morning. Nikhil Kumar joins us with more from New Delhi --
Nikhil.
NIKHIL KUMAR, CNN NEW DELHI BUREAU CHIEF: So, Cyril, yes, there has been this development today, with the Pakistani Prime Minister saying that he is
going to release this Indian pilot who has been in Pakistani custody since yesterday. That's when there was this aerial dog fight really between
Pakistani jets and Indian jets above the line of control. That's the de facto border in the disputed Kashmir region.
That followed 24 hours -- sorry, that was just about 24 hours after India said that it had sent its jets across the line of control into Pakistani
territory, to strike what it said was terror camp. That hasn't happened since 1971.
All of this has led to a gradual uptick in tensions over here. And today, with the Pakistani Prime Minister saying that he is going to release this
prisoner, there is now hope that when this pilot does return, that that might help deescalate tensions over here. Because at the end of the day,
it doesn't matter how it begin, how conflict starts, in the South Asia, between these two country, the fact that both of them possess nuclear arms,
the concern is always, how will it end?
VANIER: Yes, and what is India's posture at the moment? Is it an aggressive posture or are they ready to follow Pakistan's lead that we
don't want a war and we want to settle this without violence, without further violence?
KUMAR: Well, Cyril, India's stand from the beginning of this, has been that India has not been out to pick a fight with Pakistan. But that what
India has been doing is that it has been conducting anti-terror operations, and the context here is very, very important.
[10:35:00] Because before all of this happened this week on the 14th of February, earlier this month, there was a massive car bomb in Indian
administered Kashmir, 40 Indian paramilitaries were killed in that car bomb attack. The worst attack on Indian forces there since the late 1980s.
India says that this was only the latest example of terrorism affecting its forces, its people, that it said emanates from Pakistani soil. It
identified a terror group that it said was active from within Pakistan. It in fact accused Pakistan of having a direct hand in the attack. Pakistan
denied it. India said, well, we need to see action on these terror groups. And India says that the only reason it sent its jets across two days ago,
was to strike the terror camp, not to pick a military target, not to go after civilians.
Pakistan, of course, says that this was India being aggressive and that it's retaliated. So you have two different stories and two different
justifications for what happened. But at the end of the day, with the coming possible release of this pilot tomorrow, it's opened up between all
of these narratives from the two sides, it has opened up the window for potential de-escalation. Because, again as I say, for all of the tension,
for all of the animosity, nobody around the world, nobody in India, nobody in Pakistan, wants this to escalate into a spiral, where it is
unpredictable. Where we don't know how it ends, given nuclear weapons.
VANIER: Well, the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, heads the Nationalist Party. So Pakistan is perhaps even more -- the way he handles
it, for his domestic audience, is even more sensitive for him than it would be for any Indian Prime Minister. What signals does he need to send
domestically?
KUMAR: Well, I think he needs to send, particularly given the fact that we're only weeks away from the declaration of election results, elections
here, general election. Where Mr. Modi will be seeking another term in office. He needs to send a message that he is a strong leader. It is
something that he has campaigned on again and again. So he needs a narrative that works for him domestically. And I have to say, that talking
to people here, talking to officials here, if you look at what is on the media here, over the past two days, there has been this narrative, that by
sending Indian jets across the line of control, two days ago, that he had demonstrated that. And this follows of course, the last big uptick in
tensions, which was in 2016, when India said, that if it sends ground troops around to hit terror targets on the other side of the line of
control. Back then -- that you will recall -- India had one narrative that worked very well for Mr. Modi and his government, that they had sent
troops across.
Pakistan had a different one. Pakistan said that Indian troops never crossed the line of control. That in fact, it was just an exchange of
fire. At the end of the day, the two narratives meant for both country's leaderships, they had what they needed to say to their domestic audiences.
This time, we'll have to see what happens, once the pilot returns. And what happens after that. Whether that is enough for Mr. Modi to show that
he is a strong leader -- Cyril.
VANIER: Thank you, Kumar, reporting live from New Delhi, thank you.
And right now, the British Prime Minister is hosting the King of Jordan. Now, as you might imagine, Brexit is one of their biggest talking points.
But however she might try to assuage the international community, at home, there are groups of people who are getting more and more restless. Phil
Black explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Margate was once a popular, even glamorous holiday stop. But it was well forgotten, neglected. There are clear signs
of recovery but a common view here is the EU has never done anything for this town. So there are people here who desperately want Brexit and
they're pretty steamed up because the Prime Minister is allowing for a possible delay, and the opposition leader is now pushing for another
referendum.
(voice-over): Sunny, warm, February days are rare in Margate. And you don't usually see over-excited English people taking off their clothes at
this time of the year. It's a summer holiday town. And like other seaside communities around the U.K., it's known tough times since cheap flights to
Europe lured many tourists away. That decline is a popular theory for explaining why so many people in this patch of Southeast England voted for
Brexit. Almost 64 percent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can't beat it anywhere in the world.
BLACK: We meet proud resident, Jackie and Martin Lanham, when they take a daily cruise along the coast. Both are passionate Brexit believers who
hate the idea of delaying the process further.
MARTIN LANHAM, MARGATE RESIDENT: It is very simple. Europe needs us more than we need them. That is something that you cannot get the Theresa Mays
of this world to understand.
BLACK (on camera): So I'm guessing you're not a fan of the way Theresa May has handled this?
MARTIN: Absolutely in no way. She is an idiot.
BLACK (voice-over): We easily found more disappointed Brexit cheerleaders enjoying the sunshine outside Margate's waterfront pubs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just dragged on and on and on and on. And now it is just not --
BLACK (on camera): It could drag on longer if they extend it.
[10:40:00] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. It may never happen.
BLACK (voice-over): EU lovers here can be like good weather in February. Difficult to find. Except for Rob Yates.
BLACK (on camera): You don't support Brexit?
ROB YATES, LABOUR ACTIVIST: No, I'm an ultra-Remainer.
BLACK (voice-over): Whose beachside window certainly declared, block Brexit.
(on camera): Is it fair to say that not everyone in your town likes the windows of your apartment?
YATES: I think that is quite fair. There are some people that do not agree what I'm doing. They find it quite arrogant. I think what I'm doing
is showing that this is a political discussion which hasn't ended yet.
BLACK (voice-over): The rarest least of all is the regretful Brexit voter. But we caught one. Meet 80-year-old Colin Sackett.
(on camera): You voted for Brexit.
COLIN SACKETT, MARGATE RESIDENT: I did. Like millions of others. But you know, I never put enough thought into it. Did I? Are you a gambler?
BLACK: Not with stakes this high, no.
SACKETT: Yes, nor I. But I do dabble a little bit now and then and I have an uneasy feeling about it, put it that way.
BLACK: Brexit supporters in Margate, hope breaking with the EU would quickly bring sunnier, happier time for their community. More than two and
a half years after the referendum, they still can't be sure when or how or even if they will get what they'll get what voted for.
For the messy, last minute and possibly delayed Brexit process, the people we spoke to clearly blame the government and specifically the Prime
Minister. Many of Margate's armchair tacticians believe Theresa May has bungled the negotiations from the very beginning. They are tough critics
who fear the political dream may never be realized. Phil Black, CNN, Margate in southeast England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VANIER: Phil Black has been doing amazing reporting across Britain in the run-up to Brexit. We'll be right back after this. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VANIER: ISIS will be defeated in a week. That's what the commander of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces is saying. The SDF has pushed ISIS
into a tiny portion of land close to the border with Iraq. The question now is how many civilians are stuck in harm's way in between ISIS and the
SDF? Ben Wedeman has been looking into that, he is in Syria. Ben, tell us what you're seeing.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we've been seeing, Cyril, for the last at least week is that almost every day,
hundreds of people coming out of that last enclave occupied by the Islamic state. Some of them in very bad shape, wounded, some suffering from lack
of food. But despite all of this, some among them who remain loyal to the Islamic state.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Day after day, trucks ply the dusty track from him Baghouz, delivering a cargo of misery, pain, despair and humiliation.
[10:45:00] The only aid and comfort here provided by volunteer medics from the Free Burma Rangers.
JASON TORLANO, FREE BURMA RANGERS: She came out of the front lines and she is missing her left leg above the knee and she's missing another part her
foot on the right. And she's also got some other shrapnel wounds throughout her body. And her whole family was killed.
WEDEMAN: Most of the badly injured are children. And women. But some still resist help from those they see as infidels.
TORLANO: Do you see it? You can smell it. She doesn't allow it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last night I tried nursing her along.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She doesn't allow it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think she's saying that she's waiting for her husband to come. And her husband wouldn't agree with this.
WEDEMAN: Resentment quickly resurfaces. Oman Amasis's him husband is still with ISIS inside Baghouz. She says she fled only because medicine
and food are no longer available.
Planes and mortars are bombing us every day, killing children, she tells me. They're not dropping milk and chocolate on us.
Thousands have left ISIS's last enclave. And more are expected to come.
(on camera): These are some of the men who have surrendered to the Syrian Democratic Forces. But it's still not clear how many men, how many
fighters, how many women, and how many children are still left inside that tiny encampment that is what remains of the state that called itself
Islamic.
(voice-over): Disease, war, hunger and death, now stalk the last speck of land controlled by ISIS. It's subjects, willing or otherwise, cast off, in
its dying days.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN: And, Cyril, as you mentioned, the commander of the SDF did say that perhaps within a week, they will be able to announce victory. We've
heard similar predictions in the past. It's not at all clear at this point when this operation to clear that last pocket of ISIS will actually come to
an end.
VANIER: Ben, tell me a little bit more about the people who are coming out of this last ISIS enclave. Because they're being filtered, some of them
are suspected of perhaps having had ISIS sympathies, you spoke to a woman who clearly did, and how are those people then handled?
WEDEMAN: As far as the women and children go, they all end up in the camp, to the north of here, in a place called al-Hol. A camp which is now very
crowded with more than 50,000 people, more than 50 children have died as a result of exposure, malnutrition, the cold, and disease. So the
authorities in this part of Syria are struggling with dealing with them.
It is an internment camp. They are not allowed to leave, because of suspicions of their sympathies, and many of the women you speak to, and the
children, continue to express faith in the vision of the so-called Islamic state. As far as men are concerned, they're sent to a separate camp, where
investigations will continue. And foreign nationals, particularly those from western Europe, and North America, are put in a different facility.
Because obviously, the intelligence services of their respective countries are very interested to know more about them and get as much intelligence as
they can out of them.
But of course, the problem is, that many countries have made it clear that they don't want those foreign nationals back. So it's becoming a real
burden on the authorities in this part of Syria, and there's no clear solution in the medium or long-term, what to do with all of these people.
The Iraqi, the Syrians, as well as the foreign nationals, who have lived under ISIS, for years -- Cyril.
VANIER: Ben, well, that's fascinating. How do you tell who is who? Who may have had or who may still have ISIS sympathies? And when they do, how
do you deal with them? Ben Wedeman, reporting live from Syria, thank you so much.
Up next, thousands of children in Ghana are living in bondage. We'll see how the slave trade has managed to survive there. And meet those trying to
stop it.
[10:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VANIER: Slavery runs deep in Ghana's history. Horrors that were supposed to stay in the past, but some 20,000 children are still living it every
day. As our Nima Elbagir reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lake Volta, Ghana, just before the dawn. A column of boys heads off to work.
All of them slaves. The International Labor Organization estimates there are 10 million children living in slavery around the world. 20,000 of
them, they say, work here, on this lake.
CNN was granted unprecedented access on board a boat. Where these child slaves labored daily. Some so young, it's almost unbelievable. Typically,
the children tell us they're shouting from Samuel, the man they must call master. But with our cameras trained on these children, Samuel only casts
a watchful eye. As the boys look back, fearfully. A fishing net snags on an underwater branch, without a word, Adam, who doesn't know his own age,
understands what he must do. These underwater dives can be deadly can be deadly. Children are set to be caught up in the nets or tree branches and
often drown. There is no telling how many unnamed bodies lay at the bottom of this lake.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE CHILD: (through translator): When he says you should die, you have no option. The fearful part is that you might not come back.
That's what I fear most.
ELBAGIR: Back on land, Samuel explains how he justifies putting children like Adam in such danger.
SAMUEL, THE MAN THE CHILDREN CALL MASTER (through translator): If one of them dies while working on the lake, I sit down with the parents and we
talk. We all know that working on the lake is very dangerous and anything can happen. In this world, if you don't set the trap, you can't catch
fish.
ELBAGIR: Despite the dangers and the laws in Ghana against slavery and forced child labor, rescues here of children facing violence and abuse
remain few and far between. PACODEP a local nonprofit does its best to identify and rescue child slaves. Pulling up alongside fishing vessels and
with the help of a policeman, forcing their way onboard.
With so many children on the lake, and sparse resources to liberate and care for them, George Achibra's job can seem overwhelming. But by day's
end, Samuel agrees to release all six boys under his control. Instead of fishing, Samuel will become a farmer.
[10:55:00] GEORGE ACHIBRA, PROJECTS COORDINATOR, PACODEP: I think this is their best way. If we give him anything, like money, nets, or anything, it
means we're encouraging him to go for more children. But if we are taking him off the lake, into grounds work, it means he can't go for it, can't
affect children, and use them on the lake anymore.
ELBAGIR: But in the long term, the children here will need much more. The government of Ghana needs to commit funds to register every vessel on this
lake. And those working on them. To end this scourge.
Nima Elbagir, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Nima Elbagir has been doing fantastic work on this issue, on the continent and beyond. The CNN Freedom Project works to expose realities like those
in Ghana to end modern day slavery. Now, you can see their full documentary, "TROUBLED WATERS" throughout the weekend. It premieres Friday
at 7:00 p.m. in London, that's 11:00 p.m. in Abu Dhabi.
I'm Cyril Vanier that was CONNECT THE WORLD. From the team here in Atlanta, London and Abu Dhabi, thank you for watching.
END
