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Iran's Foreign Minister Arrives In Biarritz Amid G7 Meeting; Trump Admits Second Thoughts On Trade War With China; Iran Denies Israeli Airstrikes Hit Iranian Targets In Syria; Police Use Tear Gas As Protesters Throw Petrol Bombs; U.N. Has Called For Myanmar's Military Leaders To Be Investigated For War Crimes, Genocide; Macron Says Protecting Environment Is G7 Priority. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired August 25, 2019 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:00] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

RICK FOLBAUM, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Hello and welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD, I'm Rick Folbaum at CNN center in today for Becky Anderson. And

this hour we begin with breaking news. In an unexpected move, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived in Biarritz, France just a

short time ago, the city where all of the G7 leaders have assembled for talks this weekend.

Iran state media says he was invited by France and right now he is said to be meeting with his French counterpart. Iranian officials say there will

be no negotiations with the U.S. and so far the U.S. is not commenting on the surprise guests. Our Senior International Correspondent, Jim

Bittermann is in Biarritz and International Diplomatic Editor, Nic Robertson is also following developments in southern France.

Gentlemen, good to talk to both of you. Nic, I guess it's not technically party-crashing when you've been invited by the host but how big of a

surprise is it that the Iranians have shown up there?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, it didn't seem to be a huge surprise to President Trump when he was asked a question about

it but of course by then the Iranian Foreign Minister had landed in Biarritz. Would it have been a surprise for him to have found out about

this last night? It really isn't clear.

I mean, what is clear is that this has been held closely -- a closely guarded detail. We know that the Iranian Foreign Minister was meeting with

President Emmanuel -- French President Emmanuel Macron, the host of the G7 here meeting with him on Thursday. We know that Emmanuel Macron has been

pushing to ease tensions between the United States and Iran.

We know that earlier today Emmanuel Macron said that at the dinner last night there was agreement between all the leaders that they didn't want

Iran to have nuclear weapons and that they believed and were all in agreement that they were all concerned about tensions in the Straits of

Hormuz and the Persian Gulf.

So -- but there's been some confusing mix messaging through the day since then. And that perhaps does point to this issue of how much did people

know -- these leaders know and when did they know. At one point, it appeared as if the French President had got the backing of all the leaders

to get into dialogue for the G7 with Iran.

President Trump said, no that wasn't the case. And then it became clearer that Emmanuel Macron who was saying that he was speaking for himself and

for the -- for the French nation. I think there's a lot more to learn about this but it does appear to have been something that certainly wasn't

scripted and certainly wasn't expected by the people following the events here.

FOLBAUM: Nic, it's no secret that Iran is hurting from those sanctions that have been placed on them by the international community. Can the

Iranians make any headway? Is that partly why they're there, try to get some relief.

ROBERTSON: Oh beyond any shadow of a doubt that if Iran is here, it is because they are trying to find a way through what the United States is

terming you know, tough sanctions on Iran. They've really been -- the United States has really been ratcheting up sanctions on Iran and pulled

out of course of the joint nuclear agreement last year.

And this has been financially hurting Iran. They are very keen, desperate if you like, to find a way out of this. But they're not going to do it in

a face-to-face negotiation with President Trump or any American officials as best we can see.

And it's into that void that President Macron has been stepping in too much it seems to the chagrin at times of President Trump. President Trump has

said you know, that President Macron means well but it's really down to the United -- you know it's something the United States to set its policy on

Iran.

But it does seem that the French president is making headway here. But we don't know the details of what's being discussed between the two the French

Foreign Minister and the Iranian Foreign Minister at the moment.

We perhaps -- that perhaps will become clear later. But undoubtedly it is that economic pressure on Iran that leads Iran to try to find a way out of

that pressure.

FOLBAUM: Jim, you covered these global summits for a long time. Can you remember any other occasion when such a controversial player has shown up

unannounced?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I can't say I do, Rick. To tell you the truth, I should have probably been a little bit more

wary. I traveled down here in the same plane as a top French diplomat, and he told me on the plane, he said be prepared for surprises and at that

point, I must say that expectations for this summit was somewhat lower. And I -- surprises from our president. He said, you wait and see.

[11:05:12] So he might have had some inkling that this was all going to happen. And we did see -- as Nic just pointed out, we did see the Iranian

Foreign Minister in Paris earlier in the week. And so it may have all been set up at that point.

Now, one of the things that should be said here is that if it is the case that that Macron has pulled us off to surprise for the Americans, this will

be yet another one of these opportunities that Macron doesn't seem to miss in order to one-up the American president.

He's done it several times in the past. He did it at lunch -- at the opening lunch that they had as the summit was --- even before the summit

was about to open. So once again, it looks like methanol may have pulled off a surprise here on the Americans. Whether or not the Iranian will

speak to the Americans, the Iranian Foreign Ministry, he says, no. But he's clearly speaking right now to the French.

So that's going to be something that we'll have to watch and see how this comes out. The Europeans, it should be said, are very much in favor of de-

escalating the conflict with Iran. They believe the JPCOA, the nuclear dustbin, a nuclear development treaty that was signed with Iran, was being

respected by Iran, and that the sanctions of the U.S. imposed shouldn't have been imposed, and they've been fighting against that for some time

now.

So -- and it should be also I suppose be said that the French do a great deal of business with Iran so that's part of the -- that's probably another

factor in the equation here. But yes, this is a real surprise. Rick.

FOLBAUM: So the Iranians sort of -- sort of stealing the headlines there in France. But Jim, I'm wondering if you could touch on briefly some of

the other storylines that you've been following during this G7.

BITTERMANN: Well, the big issue here, no question about it up until this moment has been trade. Basically, the whole idea of Donald Trump's trade

war with China, how that's affecting world economies, and all of the leaders other than Mr. Trump have been saying that that's -- an escalating

battle with China is not something that the world needs right now as the economies are slowing down everywhere.

And at breakfast this morning, it's appeared perhaps like Mr. Trump had heard the message or at least taken on board. He said -- he was asking do

you have second thoughts about this trade war with China? He said I have second thoughts about everything.

Now, that doesn't say too much but in fact, they've all been working on the American President here I think quite vociferously, trying to get him to

deescalate the trade battle that's going on with China because it's having an impact everywhere, Rick.

FOLBAUM: Jim Bittermann and Nic Robertson, gentlemen, thanks very much. A little excitement there at the G7 Summit, we appreciate your insight and

reporting. Let's dive into one of the issues weighing heavily on Mr. Trump during this G7 Summit not to do with Iran, but instead, Mr. Trump's quest

to write what he describes as horrible trade deals and his top priority is China.

Jim was just talking about that. That squabble has really developed into a full-blown trade war with the latest escalation sending U.S. markets

plunging on Friday. Mr. Trump giving his take earlier in France. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, are your allies pressuring you about the trade war with China?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, not at all. I think they respect the trade war. It has to happen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are having second thoughts on escalating trade war with China?

TRUMP: Yes, sure, why not.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Second thoughts -- yes.

TRUMP: Might as well -- might as well --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have second thoughts about escalating trade war with China?

TRUMP: I have second thoughts about everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you concerned about how the market is reacting?

TRUMP: No, the market is doing great, our country is doing great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOLBAUM: The White House now trying to spin those second thoughts, comments, saying that Mr. Trump didn't hear the question and that his

second thoughts were actually about whether to raise the tariffs even higher. Joining us now to talk about all of this, CNN Political Analyst,

friend of the show Julian Zelizer.

Julian, always good to talk to you. And let's start off with the U.S. President's assertion and he really has been talking about this since his

campaign that the United States has been taken advantage of in trade deals for years. Let's just start off with that premise. Is he right? Has the

U.S. historically gotten the short end of the stick?

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think he has many people who agree with him. There's many people in the business community before

President Trump came into office who have been complaining about trade practices, who have been unhappy with the way that China handles policies,

and so that's one issue.

The second issue is how President Trump is handling this and the way in which he is using the tariffs and threats of tariffs to try to obtain

leverage.

FOLBAUM: So Mr. Trump's book when he was a civilian before he assumed the presidency was called the Art of the Deal. Is he showing the business

acumen that led to a lot of Americans voting for him in 2016?

[11:10:07] ZELIZER: Well, his business acumen is not clear. He's had a lot of failures in business and so we have to remember that is a big part

of his record. But being president is different than being a business person. And when you raise a threat against another country, it has quick

ramifications, it can affect the stock market, it can affect the way workers are suffering here in the U.S. and it can undermine international

relations.

So there's not many people who are very pleased right now in either party with the way in which he is using this as a way to get leverage on China.

FOLBAUM: You mentioned the markets and part of what's spooking the markets is the President's tweet last week that he was ordering U.S. companies to

leave China. It's something that he insists he has the right to do constitutionally speaking, tweeting at critics that the emergency economic

Powers Act of 1977 actually grants him that presidential power. But does it? Can h order U.S. companies to stop doing business with China?

ZELIZER: Well, that's a very liberal interpretation of the 1977 legislation which was really intended for countries that were in some kind

of more immediate conflict with the United States and it has not been used for tariffs. That said, presidential power has expanded greatly since the

70s. Presidents have used that law in all sorts of ways.

So I think some of his critics might be surprised that he has more leeway than they think if he really wants to go to this place. But he will have a

lot of criticism including from business, from conservatives who don't want a Republican president tampering with business decisions this way.

FOLBAUM: The U.S. presidents are often identified by their overall sort of approach to foreign policy running themes or doctrines as professors call

them the Truman Doctrine, the Nixon Doctrine etcetera. What is your sense now of what the Trump doctrine looks like?

ZELIZER: Well, it's still an America first doctrine. It's what the United States best interests our guide policy. This is a president who is not

very comfortable or interested in international relations and international alliances and he's more interested in bilateral agreements as we're seen at

the G7.

But if there's one word for me that characterizes his approach, it's chaos. It's to create ongoing chaos to sow confusion and to try to use that to the

advantage of the United States and to his administration, not clear that's working at all but I think that's how he thinks of foreign policy.

FOLBAUM: Finally, Julian, we got word this morning that another Republican has decided to enter the race to perhaps win away the Republican nomination

from Donald Trump in 2020. We know that Bill Weld the former Republican moderate governor of the State of Massachusetts has announced that he's

running and now Joe Walsh who was a former congressman and now a radio talk-show host, a former Trump supporter who is now apologizing for his

support for President Trump, he says he's going to run too.

Do you expect to see more moderate Republicans or anti-Trump Republicans joining this race?

ZELIZER: The odds are still very low. Major Republican voices in the party have not been interested in challenging the president, and just the

opposite, they've lined up behind him. And anyone who is going to do this realizes the president will come after them. There'll be a cost. So I'm

not sure any Republicans are going to take that step.

The major ones like John Kasich of Ohio, those would be the people who could actually challenge him and so far they have not wanted to enter the

race.

FOLBAUM: Julian, thank you. Julian Zelizer joining us from New York today. Great to talk to you. Thanks very much.

ZELIZER: Thank you.

FOLBAUM: As the G7 leaders meet in France, Russia and North Korea flexing their muscles. Both touted weapons tests Saturday. Moscow says it fired

two ballistic missiles from submarines in the Arctic Ocean as part of combat while Pyongyang claims to have tested what it calls a super large

multiple rocket launcher.

State media released these images of Kim Jong-un supervising Saturday's test which the U.S. believes was another short-range missile launch. U.S.

President Trump says that he's not happy about the North Korean launches but claims that they do not violate any agreements.

And still, to come, Israel says it hit Iranian and Shiite militia targets inside Syria, but Iran denies its positions were hit. The evidence Israel

is providing and the attack it says it foiled. Plus smoldering embers bear branches, this is all that remains in parts of the Amazon. The rainforest

is burning at its fastest rate in years. World leaders say something must be done.

[11:15:06] Also, two years on from what rights groups have called crimes against humanity, refugees in Bangladesh camps holding peaceful rallies

demanding rights from the country that drove them out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOLBAUM: Welcome back. You're watching CNN. This is CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Rick Folbaum. A high-ranking Iranian official is denying that Israel

struck Iranian targets in Syria overnight. On Saturday, Israel said it foiled what it described as an imminent real-time attack by Iranian forces

and Shiite militia.

Residents in Syria telling CNN that the sounds of the blasts seemed to be coming from near the Damascus Airport. An Israeli military spokesman says

that Iran had been preparing to launch killer drones at targets in Northern Israel. And there are also reports of an Israeli drone allegedly damaging

a neighborhood in Beirut, Lebanon.

Ben Wedeman is there with more on that in just a moment, but first, let's bring in Senior International Correspondent, Sam Kiley. He's live from

Jerusalem on the airstrikes in Syria. And Sam, what do we know about this plot the Israelis say they foiled?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Rick the plot they say was foiled just a little bit before midnight last night and they were

very quick, unusually quick to come out last night and claimed responsibility for this attack.

And that is because in the Israeli opinion, it posed a new and clear and present danger to Israeli territory, and they pointedly pointed the finger

-- deliberately pointed the finger at the Iranians. And then first thing this morning, this is what the Israeli Defense Force spokesman said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN CONNICUS, SPOKESMAN, ISRAELI MILITARY: The IRGC, Kurd's force commander Qasem Soleimani plan to launch these killer drones from Syria and

attack Israel just like he has attacked airports and oil fields in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and additional places all over the Middle East. We hold the

Iranian and Syrian regime's responsible for this attempted attack.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KILEY: Now, Rick, they also put out unusually again a photograph of what they described was being the -- as being the Kurd's compound in the village

of (INAUDIBLE) which is quite a long way south east of Damascus saying that that was guarded and all personnel were indeed Iranians, not even

suggesting that they were members of a Shiite militia like Hezbollah.

[11:20:14] They also put out another graphic a simple map showing that it was that location that was struck on Thursday night, but also pointing out

that there was a closer village, closer to the Golan Heights, closer to the Israeli border with Syria where they boiled another attempt to launch

drones last Thursday.

They would not so say though, Rick, how they foiled that plot but merely in both cases, they said they posed a clear and imminent danger. And in the

case of the one in (INAUDIBLE), they conducted these airstrikes last night. And for now, at any rate, obliterated the threat.

One also has to bear in mind that Benjamin Netanyahu who in the middle of an election campaign was very quick indeed to comment on these airstrikes

repeating last night the hint that Israel could strike at Iranian targets anywhere in the world, a statement he had made when asked whether or not

they had also attacked over the last few weeks locations inside Iraq where mysterious airstrikes also hit Iranian or Iranian backed targets, Rick.

FOLBAUM: All right, well, everything seems to always happen with the backdrop of politics in the State of Israel. Let's go to Ben Wedeman in

Beirut. And I want to talk to you, Ben, about these reports of an Israeli drone strike in that country. What do we know about that?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know, Rick, is that shortly after midnight, there were two drones that came down in

what's known as Dahyeh which is the southern suburb of Beirut. One of these drones hit the roof or fell on the roof of the building that contains

Hezbollah's media office.

And about 45 minutes later according to Hezbollah's spokesman, another drone came down in an adjacent empty lot and exploded causing damage in

adjacent buildings as well as the Hezbollah media office. However, there were no casualties in this case.

Now, the Israelis have yet to comment on this incident either claiming it or discs claiming it, but Hezbollah officials are telling me that they

believe they are Israeli drones. It's not clear at all what route they took. Now, normally Israel does violate Lebanese airspace -- rather

Israeli warplanes do on their way to strike targets in Syria and certainly, there are reports that Israeli warplanes were overhead over Beirut today.

Now, the Lebanese President Michel Aoun and the Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri have described this incident as a violation of Lebanese

sovereignty. And just right now, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah is giving a televised address and he has described the situation

with Israel in his words as very, very, very dangerous. We'll see if he has any further comment however on this incident.

It is significant -- if it wasn't -- if they were Israeli drones because there have been no Israeli airstrikes whether by drones or airplanes on

targets in Lebanon since the 2006 war between Lebanon -- rather Israel and Hezbollah. Rick?

FOLBAUM: I'm glad to have both of you with me right now because you have so much experience between the two of you reporting from this part of the

world. And I just wonder, Sam, if I can get your reaction to the news that the Iranians showed up in France unexpectedly or at least unexpected to

most different countries -- they were invited by France, but showed up at the G7 Summit. What's your take on that and what do you think might or

might not be accomplished by it?

KILEY: Well, clearly the French intent and they are the point diplomatic element for a sort of pan-European alliance particularly involving a

Germany but also the European Union and backed by China and Russia to try to get the Iranian deal the anti-proliferation deal done with Iran back on

track.

They're very out of step indeed with the and very frustrated by the American decision taken in May last year by the Trump administration to

withdraw from that deal. And I think that this meeting is intended to signal that level of discontent at the G7 but also to try to continue to

pull the Iranians back from the brink as well.

They have been stepping up some of their operations against allies and shipping but potentially in the Arabian Gulf. They're also -- the French

are trying to flatter effectively the Iranians into being present in the same town at least is where the G7 is conducting these meetings and try to

get them to feel that even if the Americans aren't going to wrap their arms around them, maybe the rest of the world can just so that they could keep

this nuclear deal on track. Because if it doesn't continue to prove any kind of material benefit to the Iranians, the Iranians have made it very,

very clear that they will return to their nuclear -- their nuclear program they've always, of course, denied that they have a nuclear weapons program,

Rick.

[11:25:02] FOLBAUM: They say it's for a domestic use only. Sam Kylie, Ben Wedeman, in Jerusalem and Beirut respectively, gentlemen, thanks very much.

You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Still to come, clashes in Hong Kong, and then police draw their guns and fire a live shot into the air. What

happened that led to the confrontation, that's just the head.

Also, their villages were burned to the ground in a country they called home. Two years on now Rohingya, refugees remember a violent military

crackdown, and asked to finally be seen as citizens.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:30:00] FOLBAUM: You're watching CNN this is CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Rick Folbaum. Welcome back. And to Hong Kong now, and a disturbing

confrontation between protesters and police, CNN affiliate i-Cable captured this video of protesters chasing police with metal pipes. Then, police

drawing their guns and pointing them towards people. Take a look.

These are the kinds of scenes that people have been afraid would eventually play out in Hong Kong. A spokesman telling CNN that police fired one live

shot -- just one, into the air.

This incident comes after police used a water cannon for the first time during the last 12 weeks of protests. Authorities say a group of

protesters had broken away from the main march to an area not approved by police and they used bricks, traffic cones, and street railings to create

barricades. And later, threw petrol bombs and bricks.

Police say the water cannon was used against the barricade, not directly on the protesters.

Andrew Stevens is there in Hong Kong with more on these latest clashes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We've been witnessing very tense scenes here for the past 30 minutes or so. Protesters are

slowly moving up of the police line, have been responding with volley after volley of tear gas. And you can see now, the petrol bombs are being thrown

by protesters.

At least half a dozen when you've seen in the last 30 minutes or so. And we've also seen pockets of protesters who are being -- who are being --

preparing those. So, those petrol bombs actually on the site.

Police at this stage, still using tear gas and other another projectiles. So, we can't confirm exactly what they are, but we've seen them flying

through the air. We have -- perhaps, several hundreds of protesters at the front line here, but behind them, there are several thousand more.

There's a rhythmic beating of whatever they can find to get the message across, to keep the spirits, if you like, of the people here on this front

line up. But at the moment, the police are just using tear gas and some sort of projectile.

Behind that first line of police, we have seen hundreds of others have moved down the side at the moment, but they are -- it looks, at this stage,

at least, preparing to make a much bigger move.

Andrew Stevens, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOLBAUM: Well, survivors say entire villages were burned, man slaughtered, women and girls raped. The United Nations and Human Rights Watch say it

was nothing short of genocide. And ethnic cleansing. We are now two years on from the military crackdown in Myanmar's Rakhine State that drove

hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims from their homes.

And today, thousands of those refugees rallied in Bangladeshi camps, marking the painful anniversary and demanding that Myanmar grant them

citizenship so they can return home.

For more on this, I want to bring in the deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division Phil Robertson, who joins us now via Skype. Thanks

for joining us today and it's my understanding, Phil that Bangladesh has set up a voluntary return plan but not a single Rohingya decided to leave.

What's preventing them from going home?

PHIL ROBERTSON, DEPUTY ASIA DIRECTOR, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH (via Skype): Well, you're right. On the 22nd of August, no one went back despite the

vans and buses put on by the Bangladesh authorities.

The reason is that they don't have any trusts in the Myanmar authorities. They don't have any guarantees of security, they don't feel that they are

going to get citizenship status that they will again be persons who will be stateless in their own country.

And also, because they would eventually be locked down in internally displaced person's camps like over 120,000 Rohingya who are still in

central Rakhine State.

It's not a very good offer that the Myanmar authorities are offering to these refugees and these refugees have said, "We're not going to go for

it." Despite the efforts by the Bangladesh authorities to encourage them to do so.

FOLBAUM: What kind of conditions are they living in, in these Bangladeshi camps? What's it like there?

ROBERTSON: Well, it's very, very difficult. I mean, we're talking about temporary structures. These are -- these are plastic, they're bamboo,

their tarp -- any strong wind could really knock them down. The great fear is, of course, that -- you know, one day we may see a full-fledged typhoon

come through that area, they're prone to flooding, there is issues related to distribution, difficulties with sanitation, you name it.

This is incredibly crowded area, it's very, very difficult for people to move around in them. And for older people, and people are disabled, it's a

-- it's an absolute disaster.

[11:35:03] FOLBAUM: Your organization, Human Rights Watch, and many others are called this genocide two years ago, a systematic ethnic cleansing.

What is your view on the international community's response? Has enough been done to try to bring those responsible to justice?

ROBERTSON: Oh, the U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL has fallen down at every step of the way in bringing perpetrators of these attacks to justice. What we have

seen is the U.N. Security Council fail time and time again to have any sort of significant action.

What we've been calling for is for the U.N. Security Council to refer Myanmar to the international criminal court. That's not happening. Many

countries around the world, we've pushed them to try to have financial sanctions, other sanctions against the top military commanders who ordered

these crimes against humanity. That's not happened.

There's not even a global arms embargo against Myanmar military. You know, and countries like Australia, are still doing training with the Myanmar

military. India, Israel, and others are selling them weapons. I mean, there's been very, very little action that I could call movement towards

justice for the Rohingya.

FOLBAUM: What is the cause of this at the U.N.? Is this just a general bureaucracy in such a huge world body? Or is there a country or countries

that are standing in the way of something meaningful being done?

ROBERTSON: Well, quite clearly, China is blocking any action at the U.N. Security Council. And we suspect that Russia is supporting them in doing

that. But, you know, it goes farther than that.

I mean, various countries around the world, members of the European Union, United States and others, could be doing much more, and they -- and they

simply have not.

There is been no justice. There is been no prosecutions of the army and the police that committed these atrocities. Frankly, the reality is that,

so far, the Myanmar military has gotten away with this completely.

FOLBAUM: Meanwhile, the Rohingya population, we've described the conditions that they're living in as they live in these camps in

Bangladesh. Describe their state of mind. How are they holding up after suffering so much loss, so much trauma?

ROBERTSON: Well, you've put your finger right on it. The trauma -- the trauma is tremendous. And you know, many of these people are still

suffering. They don't have any sort of services that deal with the psychosocial problems that they have.

The reality is that in many cases, you know, these people are having hope that they will eventually be able to go home. But, day by day, they lose

more hope. And the reality is that the government of Myanmar, I think, is trying to wait them out. They would like to have them stay in Bangladesh

permanently. And increasing, we're going to see the Bangladesh authorities getting to a point where they no longer want to be the hosts for over a

million refugees.

FOLBAUM: It's heartbreaking to see the faces of those people who are clearly suffering so deeply. Phil Robertson is the deputy Asia director

for Human Rights Watch, joining us via Skype to shed light on this important story. Phil, thanks very much.

ROBERTSON: Thank you.

FOLBAUM: Still to come, taking trash from the streets to literally build a cleaner future. After the break, we'll meet a man helping who is helping

to create a greener skyline for Singapore.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[11:40:46] ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Singapore, a city- state just half the size of London, and one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Once just a small seaport, this city built on trade

is constantly evolving. And here in Singapore, construction is changing thanks to this man. He's building a greener future into the very fabric of

the city.

ALAN LEE, FOUNDER, ELMICH: I'm Alan Lee, the founder and chairman of Elmich.

SOARES: Over 30 years ago, Alan, quit the corporate ladder to start his own business, Elmich.

LEE: Let's check the another one.

SOARES: At its factory, recycled plastic taken off Singapore streets and landfills is delivered in the form of pellets. The recycled material is

made into building products.

LEE: The use of recycled materials helps reduce the disposal of waste material and exploitation of new resources.

SOARES: Last year, the company used 4,000 tons of recycled plastic. Saving around 23,000 cubic meters of landfill space.

LEE: What do you see here is our drainage cell. It's our most popular product.

The use of plastic drainage cells, instead of gravel or green roofs make the roofs lighter, giving it more flexibility, more efficient buildings.

SOARES: Since 2008, all new developments in Singapore have had to plant greenery within their design. Resulting in the city witnessing a boost in

the number of green roofs and walls.

LEE: Singapore is promoting urbanization through technology and green building design. Not as an afterthought, but as a key building block of

tomorrow's buildings.

SOARES: And Alan's company is leading the way with projects including one of the world's largest green walls. And Southeast Asia's largest green

roof at Universal Studios, Sentosa.

Just like the city in which he lives, Alan is always looking to the future. Well, I like to see a lot more eco-friendly buildings around. Not just

through the use of recycled materials, but also through renewable energy. Additional greenery.

SOARES: Innovating new products to stay ahead of the curve and serve sustainability in Singapore.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:45:17] FOLBAUM: Welcome back. The French president says one of the priorities for this year's G7 summit is protecting the environment.

Emmanuel Macron specifically pointed to the Amazon and the devastating fires that are burning up the rainforest right now. The French president

says the G7 will do all it can to help the Amazon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): There was a true convergence to say that we all agreed to help as quickly as possible

the countries that were affected by these fires. There were several.

This morning, Columbia called out to the international community and we must be present, and we will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOLBAUM: Fires are burning the Amazon in eight countries now. Smoke fills the air, choking cities, making it very difficult to breathe. Nick Paton

Walsh reports now from Brazil.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This morning, Port of Velho has woken up to a startling change in its environment from

just a day before.

Let our cameraman just pan around here. You can see the sun, red. But, literally, 24 hours ago, you could see a bit more of this river, frankly.

And our visible, I would say, is down to about maximum half a mile.

So, we just keep panning in this direction. This is -- you know, about an hour after the sun first crept up. And the forest canopy pretty much

invisible once you get away from the river banks. We're going to turn now over to the other side of the bridge, so we can show you exactly what it's

like from the other perspective.

You could see this river before, and now, it's basically just the barges and nothing else. This is a key city in the worst affected states by the

forest fires. And as I talk to you, my voice is beginning to crack up because of the content of smoke in the air. You can smell it very vividly,

and it's a sign of the challenge ahead for President Bolsonaro's 43,000 troops here on their way here.

We saw military planes landing, the day before behind one over there, but the challenge is extraordinary. And it's weather patterns, it seems,

really that it causing smoke to move around. Is there wind? Is there rain? How does this cause this city to be affected like this in just one

night?

Now, we heard from police yesterday that some of these fires started deliberately T night indeed. That's when you see the surge in the flame

that adds to many who say, the reason this year is so bad, is because the Brazilian government has been saying to people, "It's OK to deforest. You

can use the Amazon as a source of riches."

And that may be the reason why people are out there setting fires at night to create more farming land they can use to grow cattle. We saw that over

there to feed the cattle, creating some sense of richness in this broadly poorer part of Brazil.

The question though is with all the global pressure on the Bolsonaro government, can the army do the job? Well, it's extraordinary that they've

been putting fletches of a couple of C-130 aircraft, throwing water on to the fires.

The sheer volume of flames out there is quite extraordinary. The pope, who has called for urgent action here, saying these are the vital lungs of the

planet, in his noon press in the Vatican this day.

But, whether or not that is heard in this deeply religious country, whether that changes the dial of public opinion here. We seem split between those

who realize this is really what we all need to breathe.

One-fifth of our breaths has oxygen from the Amazon rain forest. But every minute, 1-1/2 football field's equivalent is being deforested. These are

startling numbers that barely bring home the fact that this year, there's 85 percent more fires than there were a year before.

This emergency here, you can smell all around you. And the question, I think, for people now is whether the Brazilian government has this by

itself with his army's capabilities? Does it need outside help, and does it at its core have the political will to deal with these, not

unprecedented, but extremely bad fires?

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Port of Velho, Brazil.

FOLBAUM: For more on the fires in the Amazon, Tom Crowther joins us now. Live via Skype from Zurich, Switzerland. He is a climate scientist and

professor with ETH Zurich.

Good to talk to you, Tom. Thanks very much. The G7 leaders say that they are all in agreement to help the countries affected by the Amazon as

quickly as possible. What can they do?

TOM CROWTHER, PROFESSOR OF ECOSYSTEM ECOLOGY, ETH ZURICH (via Skype): Well, that's a really incredibly important move. Because essentially, many

of the northern hemisphere's rich countries have done -- had become prosperous by using our natural resources.

And now, we're hoping that tropical countries are not going to use theirs in the -- in the benefit of all of us for climate change. So, absolutely,

it's necessary that the rest of the political world compensates those countries for all of the -- for preserving and protecting those forests.

They could, you know, local people can make a lot of money from just clearing that forest and using it for livelihood, and they can make their

own livelihoods.

And so, we need to be able to compensate those countries for their losses, which benefits all of us in the long run.

[11:50:16] FOLBAUM: The French President Emmanuel Macron, says that the objective must be reforestation. But as we've been talking about that

doesn't really fit with Brazil's president's plan. He has said and continues to say that the Amazon is open for business. So what do you do?

CROWTHER: Yes, it's an incredibly worrying situation because, of course, globally, as a global community, we need global scale restoration. We need

to restore forests across the globe to help to offset climate change.

But restoration necessarily means that we need to conserve what we already have. And if we're going to be losing old-growth forests at the same rate

that we're gaining new young forests, we're having a net loss.

So, it's absolutely a top priority right now to save those existing forests. I think political pressure can be incredibly important. And also

every single one of us can play a role. Because there are many small projects and NGOs, and restoration companies all across the tropics that

are doing incredible work. And it's easy to find them and simply donate funds because they are urgently in need of that -- of that funding so they

can do really responsible and sustainable restoration. So, we can all do our part very easily.

FOLBAUM: Let's talk about the role of climate change versus the role of deforestation. What do you think deserves more of the blame here and what

impact does the warming of the -- of the climate -- the warming of the planet have to do with these fires.

CROWTHER: So, it's worth noting that fires are natural. They're a natural part of the cycle, and particularly, in this dry season, they're -- they

are very prevalent. But, of course, as we drive climate change, those conditions are getting warmer and drier. Particularly, in those wet

tropics.

And this is obviously going to increase the prevalence of fires. But the real spike that we've seen this year seem to be associated with the change

in political movement as we can -- as it is becoming increasingly easy for farmers and landowners to remove existing forests to use it for cattle

grazing.

So, it's a combination -- it certainly is a combination of political decisions and ongoing climate change. And ultimately, it all comes

together to feed the same focus. We need political action so that we can stop this deforestation which contributes to climate change, and that will

stop the resulting fires and the feedbacks that can take place.

FOLBAUM: What kind of advice would you have Tom, for viewers who are concerned about the environmental impact that they and their families have?

And what can they do to reduce the burden that they may be placing on the environment?

CROWTHER: So, of course, we've all got our role to play. It's every single one of us is responsible for climate change. And so, everything we

can do to minimize our emissions is the highest priority. But, of course, once we've done that, it's also really, really valuable. And there's some

really tangible ways to get involved by drawing carbon out of the atmosphere. An ecosystem restoration is our best solution to do that.

There are thousands of projects out there around the world right now restoring forests, but also restoring peatlands and wetlands and grasslands

that can draw in a huge amount of carbon. And they are all urgently in need of funding.

So, every single one of us can with a click of a button, donate and really have a tangible impact.

FOLBAUM: climate signs --

CROWTHER: And we can also do --

FOLBAUM: I'm sorry, go ahead.

CROWTHER: Sorry.

FOLBAUM: No, no, please.

CROWTHER: Well, I'd say -- I'd say political pressures is the other thing. Would the weight really be mindful of the way we vote not just for our

political parties, but also the way we spend our money? That's another way of voting. And if we can promote companies and organizations that are

environmentally friendly and have a positive impact, it can be really powerful.

FOLBAUM: Thank you, Tom. Tom Crowther is a climate scientist, he's also a professor with ETH Zurich, joining us via Skype today. An important story,

Tom. Thanks very much.

And CNN also has some tips for you, you can go to cnn.com, and you can learn what you can do right now to help the Amazon.

And in today's -- in today's "PARTING SHOTS". This amazing shot, Liverpool beating Arsenal on Saturday in a match that pitted the Premier League's

early frontrunners against each other.

Once again, Mo Salah was the superstar, scoring two goals. CONNECT THE WORLD recently sat down with the star and discussed a number of issues

including women's rights in the Middle East, but also some lighter issues.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Growing up, who was your footballing idol?

MOHAMED SALAH, FORWARD, PREMIER LEAGUE CLUB LIVERPOOL: Ronaldo, Zidane, Totti.

[11:55:02] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who is your funniest teammate?

SALAH: Dejan Lovren.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Favorite T.V. series?

SALAH: Game of Thrones and La Casa de Papel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your mobile phone background?

SALAH: My daughter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who is your favorite musical artist?

SALAH: Drake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you had a superpower, what would it be?

SALAH: Flying.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Favorite food?

SALAH: Kushari.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Score goal or giving assist?

SALAH: Giving assist.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOLBAUM: I'm Rick Folbaum. That's CONNECT THE WORLD. Thanks for watching.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOLBAUM: I'm Rick Folbaum. This is CNN News now. Iran's Foreign Minister is meeting with his French counterpart on the sidelines of the G7 summit.

Javad Zarif, making an unexpected visit to France, where leaders of the world's major economies have been gathering. Iran's Foreign Ministry said

there will be no talks with the U.S. during this trip.

END