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Kurdish Forces Say They Made a Deal with Assad Government; Defense Secretary Says Trump Orders Remaining U.S. Troops Out of Syria; Situation in Syria Worsening as Alliances Shift; Erdogan Says Turkey Moving Forward with Plans for Manbij; Macron and Merkel Call for Halt to Turkish Offensive; Multiple Witnesses to Testify on Capitol Hill this Week; Boris Johnson Addresses Parliament After Queen's Speech; Queen Sets Out U.K. Government's Legislative Agenda; Canadian Rugby Players Help with Typhoon Recovery Effort. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired October 14, 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]

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome. You're watching connect world. I'm Becky Anderson live from our Middle East broadcasting hub here

in Abu Dhabi. A busy show for you so buckle up as the clock counts down to the Brexit deadline. We hear from British Prime Minister in just about a

half hours' time.

But first in the past 24 hours the world has seen the situation in Syria, unraveling at breakneck speed. And the latest developments bring to mind

an ancient proverb that says the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Well the Kurds have made a deal with Damascus, their old nemesis after the United

States decided it was time to suddenly leave. And we are just learning that Kurds in the region say they are in the process of agreeing a

memorandum of understanding with Russia.

Syrian President Bashar al Assad's troops are already in the north of the country to, quote, liberate the areas entered by the Turkish army and its

hired mercenaries, end quote. So why does this all matter? Well throughout the eight yearlong Syrian civil war, the area in the north has

been a haven for the rebels, for the Kurds and for the displaced alike. And now for Assad to be invited in, it's a huge victory in his fight to

regain control over the entire country.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration pulling nearly all U.S. troops from the war-torn country. It is a development that has paralyzed the fight against

ISIS and surrendered American and Kurdish battlefield gains. And it's a move welcomed by the Turkish President who says his country will continue

to move forward with its plans in Syria.

CNN covering the situation in Syria from all angles. With our team throughout the region. Nick Paton Walsh, Arwa Damon, Ben Wedeman and

Clarissa Ward standing by with the details. I want to start with you, Nick, because you've been on the ground in north Syria for the past 72

hours. I know now the security situation is such that you have pulled out. Reflect, if you will, on exactly what you have seen and heard in the past

three days.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I've never really seen a change in circumstance unfold quite so quickly on a battlefield or in a

country like that. In literally 24 hours we've gone from a Syria where the Americans were comfortable, were thinking the Turkish operation would be

limited, where sat on some of their bases to nowhere they are leaving in the next day or two in a combination of grounds and air moments, I

understand.

It has been extraordinary to see how the Turkish decision to cut that highway between the west and east precipitated this American withdrawal, we

think. The scope of the Turkish push with the Syrian rebels they are backing who U.S. officials say are mostly extremists, former, ISIS, former

Al Qaeda. That has led to a degree of terror amongst Kurdish civilians on the ground that nobody really expected. And then what have what we saw

today. Which is the Syrian regime who began last night during this political understanding, they got through the Syrian Kurds to start edging

north.

We heard this morning that they'd gone from Al Hasakah, where they have a strong hold, up to Tal Tamir, a town we were in just 24 hours earlier. It

was so strongly Syrian Kurdish. The fallback for the fight for the border town of Ras al-Ayn that Arwa's been reporting near for so long. They

swarmed into there and then the rumors began to spread that they would eventually take over where they had a strong presence. That began to feel

very pro-regime last night and even possibly head towards the border with Iraq.

I don't think at this point the Syrian Kurds wish to stop them. The regime and their Russian backers are really their only hope, frankly. Their

poorly armed and their facing a NATO Army with some pretty ruthless Syrian rebels on the ground who don't even seem to take prisoners, according to

some of the social media of theirs that have been circulating.

So, the unfolding of this has been startling. Because it's taken us from the U.S. being possibly in a situation where they hoped they could slow

this down or at least limited it to leaving precipitously. The vacuum is allowing the regime to move in ways that I don't think anybody expected

they would be able to do at quite such a pace. And now I think that times binding the civilian populations, almost welcoming the repressive stability

of the past. It's startling, Becky, to see how quickly this has unfold and how fast America has become irrelevant to it.

ANDERSON: It is absolutely remarkable. I want to get to Arwa on the Turkish side of the border. What's the unfolding of this, as Nick has just

described, part of the Turkish playbook -- Arwa?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, experts are saying that Turkey may not necessarily have calculated how quickly the

Kurds would turn to the Russians and the regime at this stage. But what led to all of this was the sense of panic to a certain degree among the

Americans after the Turks and their Arab allies on the ground took over chunks of that strategic highway. Which effectively cut off Kurdish

population centers from one another and also severely challenged and endangered the moments of the U.S. military prompting this decision by the

U.S. to withdraw its forces from northern Syria.

The Kurds then, of course, turning to Damascus and now, as Nick was reporting there, the dynamics on the ground changing incredibly fast. But

in all of this there has been one key negotiator, one entity and that is the Russian leadership that has really brought together all the different

key players here. The Russians have a relationship with the Kurds. The Russians, obviously, have a very strong and solid relationship with

Damascus.

Keep in mind too, Becky, that the Kurds and the Syrian regime never completely severed ties. Damascus did have a small contingent of soldiers

at a base in Qamishli. Now the Russians also have been negotiating very heavily with Turkey and it's highly unlikely at this stage that we're going

to see a direct confrontation between Turkish forces, the troops on the ground that they are backing, and Bashar al Assad's troops. Here's what

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT (through translator): There are many rumors at the moment. However, especially the through the embassy and

with the positive approach of Russia in Kobani, it appears there won't be any issues on Manbij. Just as we have made our decision, we're at the

stage of implementing it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAMON: And, Becky, one expert that I was talking to was saying it's really going to be up to the next few days to see how far Russia allows Turkey to

push forward in all of this and what happens to certain key areas such as Kobani and Manbij. But at this stage it's not likely, as I would saying,

we would see a direct confrontation between both of those armies.

Worth noting, though, in all of this despite of what's happening inside Syria has been extremely bloody and devastating to the population. At the

core there is a lot of political horse trading.

ANDERSON: him one Yes. Fascinating. Ben, earlier this year you spent almost two months in northeast Syria, covering in your words what you

thought was the final battle against ISIS. Given what we are hearing on the ground now, what is your perspective today?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Essentially that all the effort, the resources, the lives lost, especially by the SDF which lost

more than 11,000 of its men and women in fighting and crushing the physical caliphate of ISIS has now in a sense come to nothing. That the victory

that was celebrated by the SDF and the United States and its other European allies seems to be hollow at this point when you consider that for one

thing the United States within the span of a week has gone from being a solid ally of the SDF to essentially cutting and running despite the terms

that are being used by American officials. The Americans are essentially retreating and betraying their allies who fought side-by-side with the

Americans, the British, the French and others for years.

And now there's a situation in northeastern Syria where the security of the Camps and the prisons that are holding ISIS fighters and their families has

been compromised. Already we have seen hundreds of family members and some fighters essentially escaping and it's very likely that more will escape as

a result of the deteriorating situation in northeastern Syria.

[10:10:00]

So certainly it appears that all the work, the bloodshed, the destruction, the lives shattered by the war against ISIS in Syria seems to have been

brushed away, blown away as the Turkish forces and their Syrian militias are on a rampage in that part of the country. It's over -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Yes. Clarissa, you were on the ground in northeast Syria as this whole offensive began at the back end of last week which as Nick and

Arwa and Ben have been discussing, it seems a lifetime ago to a certain extent and we were only talking something like 90 hours at this point. And

what we are witnessing now a major shift in what has been a bloody eight- year conflict. Given what we've heard from our colleagues on the ground, can you explain just how significant these past few days have been and what

the likely consequence might now be?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, I think what's so significant aside from anything else, is the fact that all of

this was very predictable and all of it was ultimately avoidable. Everybody knew how this movie was going to end. Everybody knew and

understood that the Kurds would have little choice but to forge some kind of an agreement with the regime. Everybody understood the very real risks

presented by essentially abandoning often in some cases these camps which are holding ISIS prisoners.

But this is almost the logical extension or the nail in the coffin, if you like, of eight years of nothing short of horrendous Syria policy when it

comes to the U.S.' s role in this conflict. This is not the first time and the Kurds are not the first Syrians who feel woefully betrayed by America.

Don't forget that when this uprising first began and protesters were marching into a hail of bullets they were doing so in part because they

believed that the U.S. had their back, because the U.S. had said that Bashar al Assad must go. From then on, they were gassed. They were

bombed. They were tortured. They were exterminated in prison camps. And yet U.S. policy did very little to reflect those changes, to reflect that

suffering and to do anything to help those people.

And if you talked to any Syrian who opposes the regime of Bashar al Assad, they will tell you this is exactly how they felt some years ago, that they

were thrown under the bus. That they were hung out to dry. That they were left to defend themselves. And now the Kurds are just experiencing a

repeat of all this.

The irony, of course, is that President Trump attacks President Obama for his Middle Eastern policies particularly his decision to exit the Iraq

conflict and sort of leaving that Iraq conflict open the way for ISIS with the departure after Camp Bucca, which was a U.S. prison camp. And now we

just see this movie playing over again in such an obvious way. And I'm sure all of my colleagues join me in feeling some frustration in being able

to see so clearly this conflict and the U.S.'s role in it for what it is, and yet being unable to in any way prevent events from unfolding and

civilian lives from being lost once again -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Briefly, Donald Trump weighing in on Twitter in the past couple of hours, Clarissa, saying quote, big sanctions on Turkey coming.

Exclamation mark. Also asking whether people think the U.S. should go to war with a fellow NATO member vowing that, quote, never ending wars will

end. He's spinning this as all Ankara's, right.

WARD: Yes. I think this is a lot of spin. I think its virtue signaling the idea of sanctions. How can you sanction a country that you essentially

opened the front door for them to go ahead and launch this military offensive. It smacks of hypocrisy on many levels. And I think President

Trump understood exactly what President Erdogan intended to do. I would love to know more what transpired during the course of that conversation

that Erdogan was able to persuade him to change course.

But then again, President Trump has been unapologetic about his goals since being inaugurated as president. That he wanted to see the U.S. extricate

itself from the Middle East. That's his prerogative. But as he will soon learn I am sure. It comes at a price -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Arwa, the European Council has condemned Turkey's military action along with leaders of France and Germany -- I'm sure the Europeans

feel a united message to Turkey about its offensive against the Kurds. Have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): This offensive risks creating an unsustainable humanitarian situation and we already can

see it on the ground. And on the other hand, it risks helping the Islamic state reemerge in the region. In the face of this situation, we will stay

very coordinated as we were when we notified Turkey that we would end our arm sales.

[10:15:00]

ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): Of course, we have to consider Turkey's security interests but we also think we have to put a

stop to this Turkish invasion because of humanitarian reasons. Neither can we accept the situation facing the Kurds and we really have to find another

solution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Turkey has absolutely no time for Europe at this point, does it, Arwa? But where does this leave Ankara?

DAMON: Well, it would seem publicly isolated and very defiant. Erdogan has previously told European leaders if they criticize this operation you

would open the flood gates for the 3.6 million refugees living in Turkey to get back on that trail.

But of course, the dynamics inside Syria have changed. Remember, the aim of this operation was to clear a safe zone and then potentially not only

eradicate what Turkey views as being an existential terrorist threat but also potentially move around 1 to 2 million Syrian refugees who live in

Turkey and to that specific area. Quite possibly significantly altering the demographic there.

Now with the entry of the regime as well as Russia to this territory in northern Syria, those balances are going to have to shift and it would seem

that Turkey may have to settle for less than what it was originally intending. But that's what he'll have to keep a close eye on in the next

few days -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Nick, I got 30 seconds. Bottom line, last thought.

WALSH: Well, we just entered a completely new chapter. The Americans have explained their irrelevancy. With it comes to ISIS resurgence, they won't

really be able to make a part of it on the ground. ISIS may get a new haven there. They may start sending jihadists outside of wherever they are

based. It'll be down to him Turkey who's pretty close to some pretty appalling Syrian rebels and the Russians. Who have an appalling history of

treating jihadism in a way that sustainable, to try and fix this. And a Syrian regime that seems to want to exploit every opportunity it can and

right now frankly is the big winner from all this. They've stayed their course and they're slowly getting back as much of Syria as they can. But

every day really the Syrians are losing their lives because it doesn't seem that outside influences on this civil war ever want to take their hands off

the leaders -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Sure. This is a two-hour show. We'll be back with our colleagues on the ground around the world as we move through the next

couple of hours. For the time being though, thank you. And we've got a lot more on this story. Ben's some superb analysis of the situation on the

fears it may lead to an ISIS resurgence. The title, "The War Against ISIS Was All A Waste", that's Ben Wedeman's analysis at CNN.com.

Well the British Parliament is back in business after the Queen officially opened it earlier today and we are waiting on the Prime Minister Boris

Johnson to address the chamber.

Plus U.S. impeachment inquiry saga. We'll tell you who Congress is expecting to hear from this week, taking a very short break. Back after

this.

[10:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: U.S. lawmakers returning to Capitol Hill from a two-week recess launching a critical week of testimony in what is this impeachment inquiry.

Now among the key people to be interviewed this week, today it's Mr. Trump's former Russia adviser, Fiona Hill. Later this week it'll be U.S.

Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland. That was him who was blocked by the State Department last week and he is now scheduled to go again.

Now the probe launched after a whistleblower claimed that Mr. Trump abused his power by pressuring the Ukrainian government to investigate his

political opponent Joe Biden. Suzanne Malveaux joins me from Washington at the start of what is going to be a very busy week, Suzanne, on Capitol

Hill.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is going a very busy week, if you will, and already it has begun. These members, the full House

and Senate will be back. They are heading back to Washington today after a two-week recess. But as you know, those impeachment committees and full

steam ahead here. You mentioned Fiona Hill, she arrived about 20 minutes ago before that committee. It's going closed door session. And one of the

committee members told me this morning, Becky, they said they are looking forward to this. Because she is somebody who is not tied, beholden to the

State Department, that she is able to speak freely and they expect that she will do so.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Even with President Trump vowing to stonewall the impeachment inquiry --

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I never thought I would see or hear that word with regard to me, impeachment.

MALVEAUX: Some past and present members of his administration are planning to appear before Congress. This morning former White House official Fiona

Hill is expected to testify behind closed doors after receiving a subpoena. She will join former special envoy to Ukraine, Kurt Volker and former

ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, two Trump officials who have already testified. House Democrats hoping Gordon Sondland the ambassador

to the European Union will do the same Thursday. Responding to a subpoena after the State Department blocked his scheduled hearing last week.

REP. JOHN GARAMENDI (D-CA): If he's going to tell, he's going to be oath. He'll know that if he lies there are other people that are privy to much of

what will be said.

MALVEAUX: Sondland in the spotlight after House Democrats released text messages between him and other diplomats. In one exchange, senior U.S.

diplomat, Bill Taylor, writing, I think it's crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign.

Sondland replying over four hours later. I believe you're incorrect about President Trump's intentions. The President has been crystal clear, no

quid pro quos of any kind.

According to "The Washington Post" Sondland will tell Congress the phrase no quid pro quo came directly from President Trump in a phone call. But

Sondland doesn't know if Trump was telling the truth, according to a source familiar with Sondland's planned testimony. The President repeating his

claim in the weeks since the Ukraine drama unfold.

TRUMP: The whistleblower said quid pro quo. Eight times. That's a little off. No times.

There was no quid pro quo.

There was never any quid pro quo.

MALVEAUX: Republican Congressman, Lee Zeldin, calling the quid pro quo argument a fairytale.

REP. LEE ZELDIN (R-NY): The fact we're tearing the country in half trying to bring down a sitting President, I have a problem with that.

MALVEAUX: House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff says he has problems too but with Trump's alleged conduct.

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): It is clear already I think from the text messages that this meeting that the Ukraine President sought was being

conditioned on their willingness to interfere in the U.S. election to help the President.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: House Democrats also sent a letter to one of Rudy Giuliani's associates, Sam Kislin. He used to work for Giuliani when he was mayor.

He's a Ukrainian born businessman. They want to know his role when it comes to digging up dirt, investigating the Bidens, but there is no

indication, Becky, that he is actually going to show up today. Today was one of the dates they wanted him to also sit in the hot seat.

Another development as well, the whistleblower may not go before these committees. There is some concern about the whistleblower's safety and we

heard over the weekend from Chairman Schiff saying that they believe that the best evidence, the strongest evidence they have is from the phone call

record and that they have another whistleblower. They feel like they are building a case where they may not necessarily need the whistleblower to go

before members of Congress and testify -- Becky.

[10:25:00]

ANDERSON: Suzanne, I just want to remind our viewers of that message exchange included in your reporting. Senior U.S. diplomat Bill Taylor

writes, I think it's crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign.

Ambassador Sondland replies four hours later, I believe you are incorrect about President Trump's intentions. The President has been crystal clear

no quid pro quos of any kind.

Both sides spinning this big time, Suzanne. Is it a game changer?

MALVEAUX: Well, one of the things that you're honing on that is critical here, is that timeline, the five hours between those text messages. Who

did they talk to? Were they getting their orders or were they getting their talking point from the President himself? These are the kinds of

questions and some of the holes that are in this case that they are trying to build. Because the other thing, they feel they've got enough evidence

to potentially for articles of impeachment.

But where does that lead us to obstruction of justice. And those are the kinds of things they're going to want to know within that timeframe. And,

Becky, also as you know, Sondland is saying and is expected -- at least "The Washington Post" says -- it's expected that when he testifies --

before he said no quid pro quo, now it's expected that he's going to say well yes quid pro quo but not of a corrupt nature. That there was

something that was justified about this quid pro quo. That is something that they are going to just go in all in on later this week when he is in

their sights and going before these committees.

ANDERSON: Suzanne Malveaux is on Capitol Hill. We are going to London where the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is speaking to the chamber.

Let's listen.

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: -- as we prepare to get Brexit done by October 31st. We are sending out now our vision of an open global, free

trading in the United Kingdom, a high wage, low tax economy with the highest environmental standards, new protections for animal welfare, the

best place to invest. The best place to start a business. The best place to start a family and send your kids to school and without being -- without

being chauvinistic or disrespectful to anywhere else in the world. An important respect this country is the greatest place to live and to be.

The greatest place on earth.

Mr. Speaker, Her Majesty's gracious speech was produced superbly by my honorable friend and member of the Northeast Derbyshire, the first

conservative to represent his seat since 1935 when presumably the honorable member opposite departed to Bolsover. And if honorable members are

wondering whence my honorable friend derives his passion and his oratorical gifts. It may interest them to know, that his aunt was secretary to Arthur

Skarland (ph).

I doubt that he shared many of the convictions of the former minor's leader, except one we should obey the democratic will of the people and get

Brexit done by October the 31st.

My honorable friend is also a passionate collector of airline memorabilia. His home is allegedly stock, a museum of airline wash bags, airline socks

and a vast fleet of model planes including a model extinction rebellion protester glued to the roof. All I can say to my honorable friend is cabin

crew doors to automatic and cross check because his career is plainly about to take off and his speech was in the very finest traditions of the House.

Mr. Speaker, the lord address was brilliantly seconded by my member, the member for Truro and Falmouth, who comes if I can continue with the

aeronautical metaphor for every different wing of the party, the modern Tory party is a vast and capacious low carbon thing, by the way. And who

has been highly successful as a campaigner for rights of disabled people. And though she is known for her calm manner and her dulcet tones, when it

comes to defending the interests of her native Cornwall or protecting the pasty against the fiscal degradations of former chancellors, she can be as

fearsome as any Falmouth seagull there is. Your tip and on the most divisive issue in modern Britain which blades us to this day, it is well-

known that she has come down on one side and will not --

[10:30:00]

ANDERSON: Right, you're listening to the Prime Minister Boris Johnson. It's been a big day of pomp and ceremony in London. The Queen's speech

which opens this session of Parliament. A lot going on in the next two weeks. This session of Parliament, we have no idea how long it will last.

There's a possibility of a snap general election at some point. All of which we are going to talk about but the crucial issue, of course, is

Brexit. That is coming up after this short break. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Well we were just listening to a rather prosaic Boris Johnson in the British Parliament laying out his Parliament vision. But with just 17

days and counting until Brexit is set to happen from the politically prosaic, it was almost poetic as Parliament got back in business officially

opening with the Queen. It had pomp, pageantry and one main priority.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUEEN ELIZABETH, UNITED KINGDOM: My government's priority has always been to secure the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union on the

31st of October. My government intends to work towards a new partnership with the European Union based on free trade and friendly cooperation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: That speech also set out the other policy pledges of Boris Johnson's government which can amount to nothing at all given he has no

working majority in Parliament. Little to no goodwill from other parties and no deal has yet been struck with the European Union. But the Queen,

the crown, the centuries of tradition, her dulcet tones, do give an air of calm to today's proceedings, almost comfort, you might say, to a Britain

where fears that the country could plunge off the cliff of a no deal Brexit, a little more than two weeks are very real.

Let's head to London and our international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, where all the action is today outside the Houses of Parliament.

While Anna Stewart joins us from outside the house of the Queen, of course, Buckingham Palace. And let me start with you, Anna. It might have been

the Queen's Speech but what the world heard earlier was really the Prime Minister's pledge to, in his words, get this amazing country of ours moving

again and leave the EU by the 31st of October, as a priority. Is that possible?

[10:35:00]

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Looking past Brexit when Brexit has not been done and it remains to be seen with the clock really running down to that

deadline of October 31st. It's such a colorful spectacle, there's nothing quite more British I'd say, carriages, crown jewels, marching band, 1,300

members of the armed force who have been rehearsing in the middle of the night for this event. Lots of processions, lots of horses and lots

glamour.

And the thing is, Becky, there's some controversy here. Because, as you said, the Queen reads and delivers this speech that's been written by the

government of the day laying out proposals and policies they want to bring forward. But we're looking at a Prime Minister who has no majority, a

majority of minus 40, in fact. And is looking to have a general election, which means this might not even be. the government of this country in the

weeks and months to come. So a huge amount of effort, an absolutely splendid spectacle but one does wonder what the point is -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Yes, and, Nic, let's be quite clear here, let's not write Boris Johnson off at this point. I mean it could be a Brexit day in name only.

There might be three, four, five years of negotiations afterwards. But at least Brexit day in name only on October the 31st would perhaps satisfy

some of those who want to get out of the EU.

Today we got a wish list, Nic, of laws. The question, is this a realistic program for a program as Anna rightly points out with no majority or is

this a signal that the U.K. may be looking at an early election. And if so why and what would the consequences be?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. I think this generally has been seen -- the 22 bills that were read out there -- has

been seen as, you know, the manifesto of the Conservative Party. It doesn't get a better amplification than when it's voiced by the Queen. You

know, when you're talking about improvements for health service, improvements for the rail network, getting tougher on security, helping out

more on mental health, making divorce easier and less stressful on children. There's a lot of broad appeal in those bills that the Prime

Minister is proposing that the Queen read out.

So the reality is, are we going to get to that moment? The expectation is that there will be a call for a vote of no confidence in this government.

But not until the Prime Minister has secured an extension to the Brexit negotiations, if that is required. But should the country get to the 31st

of October and that's been secured, then I think the expectation is, yes, there will be a general election. Yes, slightly before Christmas. But we

don't know. We just don't know. The big dramas are still to play out this week. Incredible spectacle today.

But the dramas are actually happening behind closed doors in Brussels at the moment. Negotiations between British team and European Union team,

floundering again over that issue of customs for Northern Ireland. Is it in the EU customs union? Is it in a British customs union with remainder

of the United Kingdom, or some variation? And can the Prime Minister, if he secures that sort of deal with the European Union later this week, just

the bones of it, can he bring it back here and get it passed Parliament next Saturday. There's a lot of drama to play out and it frankly it just

isn't clear. It does feel in the air at the moment but the mood music on the talks in Brussels that sort of darkening a little bit from the

briefings we heard over the weekend -- Becky.

ANDERSON: All right. OK. We're standing by, of course, and anymore that we learn out of London, of course we'll bring it to you next hour in town

and standing by, Alistair Burt. The former British Prime Minister who knows the Middle East better than most. He joins me live here in Abu

Dhabi. We're going to talk Brexit as well as the very pressing issue that is Syria today. That is coming up. Also, pitching in off the pitch.

Canadian rugby players were left with an unexpected day off so they put it to good use. We will explain ahead.

[10:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: You're back with CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson.

At its best sport can unite the world. And we saw an example of that in Japan after the typhoon there hit. Canadian rugby players saw their

weekend World Cup match versus Namibia cancelled. And so, instead they helped with recovery efforts in what is a coastal city. Their efforts

drawing praise from Rugby World Cup organizers who said on Twitter, the Canadian players showed the real values of the game.

"WORLD SPORT" Rhiannon Jones joining me from London. These three matches cancelled over the weekend. This sort of behavior from a rugby team is

just absolutely commendable, isn't it?

RHIANNON JONES, WORLD SPORT: It's brilliant. It's lovely to see those Canadian players helping out. And like you say, some of those matches, of

course, cancelled. But luckily Japan-Scotland wasn't, Becky. Because what a match that was. Emotionally charged, gripping and history making. More

coming up on "WORLD SPORT" next.

ANDERSON: Fantastic. That all after this short break, folks. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

[10:55:00] Patr check former Chelsea goalkeeper

JONES: Chasing another dream. And no one could to mind his achievement in any way the. Do you think it helps that he doesn't have to move about much

on the skates and the goals are a little bit smaller -- Becky?

ANDERSON: Quite possibly. If I know Patr Cech, he will make a real success of that. But I think you're right. That smaller goal not being

around too much, it might help and he's got slightly older legs than your average keeper these days. Rhiannon, what a lovely story. Thank you for

that.

Well, coming up this region critical to your daily life wherever you're watching in the world in so many ways, is changing faster than almost

anyone could imagine. We will explain what is going on and why it matters ahead with all the angles covered for you. I'm Becky Anderson.

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