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House Likely To Impeach Trump By The End Of The Week; Schumer Sends Letter Laying Out Democrats' Demands; Northern Ireland Parties Resume Power-Sharing Assembly Talks. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired December 16, 2019 - 11:00   ET

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

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[11:00:44]

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN, London, this is CONNECT THE WORLD.

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Christina McFarlane in London filling in for Becky Anderson today.

It's the last week of the year for lawmakers in Washington, and by the end of it, the President of the United States is expected to be impeached. The

Democratic-led House is days away from voting on the articles of impeachment, explained in a new very lengthy report published by the House

Judiciary Committee.

If and when the Full House votes for impeachment, it will kick off a trial in the Republican-led Senate. But will it be -- can it be a fair trial

given that the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he is working closely with the White House Council. Well, Senate Minority Leader

Democrat Chuck Schumer has sent a letter to McConnell laying out Democrats demands and a list of all Republican witnesses they want to testify.

Here to break it all down for us the CNN Politics Senior Writer Harry Enten. But first let's go to our White House Reporter Stephen Collinson.

And Stephen, the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said point blank he is closely working with the White House but how is he able to be

so bold about that?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: I think Christina, firstly because he can, because he is going to be the man that's in charge of this

trial next year in the Senate, given the fact that he's the majority leader, the dynamic is going to change. So far impeachment has been driven

by the Democrats because it is in the House that the impeachment process starts and they control the House.

We're going to see that shift after Christmas once Trump is impeached by the House later this week. I think what we're seeing and also in the

comments that Lindsey Graham, the Senator from South Carolina, made to Becky Anderson, in Doha late last week, where he said he wasn't going to

pretend to be a fair juror is the political pressures weighing on Republicans right now, going into an election year.

Their main argument in their caucus is to do what is the most profitable thing for them politically, and given the fact that the President has an

approval rating of over 90 percent. In most polls with Republicans. There is no interest in separating themselves from the president, even though

That does raise all sorts of questions about the property of the constitutional process here.

MACFARLANE: Stephen, another leading Republican, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee is boldly claiming his stance the head of the trial,

listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I am trying to give a pretty clear signal I've made up my mind.

I'm not trying to pretend to be a fair jury here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You were shaking your head. Why?

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Well, what Lindsey Graham said speaks not of the fairness of the trial or the facts. It speaks of him. And it demeans

him. And it will not go down as a great moment in history for Lindsey Graham.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: That was the Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaking with CNN just a few hours ago. So, Stephen, in your estimation, has the

pop stand divide in Washington ever been so clear and so bitter as this?

COLLINSON: I think, you know, we've had better politics for many years, but this impeachment saga has really laid it bare and of course the

President has used partisan division as a tool of power concentrating mostly on his own base. So I think you can say that impeachment really is

showing how vicious the partisanship is. And that does raise questions about the whole constitution machinery of holding a president to account.

The constitution presupposes that lawmakers on Capitol Hill will be jealous of their own power, which and their constitutional role is partly to have

oversight over the executive, the presidency, that seems to be breaking down in the era when party is more important than everything else. Lindsey

Graham, who you saw there, for example, has a primary next year in South Carolina in a state where the President is more popular than he is.

So he has got no political incentive at all, to turn against the president, whatever he thinks about his behavior. So I think what the Democrats are

trying to do, as much as the Republicans did in the House is to say to the to the American people, look, the Republicans aren't running a fair process

here. And that'll factors into the politics as we go into election year. And how this factors into the presidential election and hopes of reelection

of the President.

MACFARLANE: All right. Stephen, thank you. Stay with us for now, because I just want to go to Harry Enten who I know has been looking at the latest

polling numbers that have come in overnight. And Harry, just explain to us what they're telling us.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN POLITICS SENIOR WRITER: Yes. So there are basically two new polls that came in over the weekend. One was a Fox News poll. And

they asked, you know, do you want to impeach remove the president of United States? And then it asks, do you just want an impeachment? We see is that

50 percent of -- 50 percent of registered voters said that, yes. They want to impeach the president United States.

On the just impeach question, 54 percent, not surprising, that's a little bit higher, since that's a less dramatic step. We also had a CBS News poll

that came out over this weekend. And it basically shows the exact same thing. 46 percent of Americans said that they do want to impeach him

versus just 39 percent of say no. If he is impeached (INAUDIBLE) should the senate convict to remove him? 42 percent said yes, don't convict or

even don't hold the trial also 42 percent.

So I think essentially what we see in those two polls is a plurality or majority say clearly, yes, he should be impeached, but they're much closer

on the impeach and remove. And then finally, it asks -- the Fox News poll asked about the underlying charges about that is basically running this

impeachment inquiry. And what we see here is a majority of Americans say that yes, or voters that President Trump abused his power of his office.

50 percent say he obstructed justice, 48 percent say obstructed Congress, and 45 percent said he committed bribery. All of those have at least a

plurality say that yes, he's done it, the nose, all in the 30s on those questions.

MACFARLANE: Incredible, pretty high numbers, nevertheless. And -

ENTEN: Very high.

MACFARLANE: And crucially, Harry, have we seen a shift in people's attitudes towards this?

ENTEN: Yes. I think this is also a rather key point. You know, the impeachment inquiry that the Democrats started was all the way back in late

September, and I basically took an average of the polls from say mid- September to mid-October, the mid-October to mid-November, and then mid- November to mid-December. And what we see is on the impeach-removed question, we've actually seen very much a stable trend line.

And that is 47 percent said that from mid-September to mid-October said that yes, the president should be impeached, removed from office, but since

basically the middle of October 48 percent in those two monthly averages. So despite everything that's been going on in Washington, all -- this

entire impeachment inquiry, all of these witnesses, the numbers are relatively stable, perhaps a slight, slight plurality are in favor, impeach

removed, but in reality, it's really dead even among the American public.

MACFARLANE: All right, Harry, fascinating stuff. Let me just get back to Stephen for a last comment on this because Stephen, I wonder with what you

were hearing there, from Harry, what you would expect now these numbers to do as the impeachment process continues to play out, would you expect them

to remain stable or is a feeling that we are going to see a slight rise in in these numbers?

ENTEN: I think it's going to depend how the trial is perceived. But those figures seem to indicate that what you think about impeachment is largely

conditioned by what you already think about President Donald Trump. And we've seen that, you know, his approval rating has been in the low 40s

throughout his presidency, and he hasn't really want anybody over. The question I have and I don't think we know the answer to that yet is what

impact this does have eventually in November 2020 in the presidential election?

While the big numbers there will shape public perceptions of the President. You know, there are many things that could happen. We'll probably have 20

Trump scandals before we go to the election in 2020. Will people be coming back 11 months and thinking back 11 months and thinking about impeachment?

Sometimes the Trump era it's really difficult to remember what the President did last week, let alone 11 months ago.

So, I think it's quite possible that impeachment that will important factor will not be a driving factor and where the President wins reelection next

year.

MACFARLANE: Yes. A lot of time to go as you say 20 scandals potentially to go until the President elections next year. Thank you both Stephen and

Harry.

STEPHENSON: Thank you.

MACFARLANE: Now President Trump has just spoken to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, after his emphatic election win last week. Fought on the promise

to get Brexit done. Mr. Johnson is back at work and the government's Brexit bill will be put back to parliament on Friday where Mr. Johnson's

conservatives will now have a majority of 80. Meanwhile, last week's election results seem to have concentrated minds in Northern Ireland where

the main parties seem willing to reopen talks to restart the power sharing assembly in Belfast.

Our International Diplomatic Editor, Nic Robertson joins me now for this. And Nic, with regard to Northern Ireland. We have seen these talks before,

we've seen them failed before but obviously, the election has really focused minds and in some ways given a clear message that storm on needs to

be restored. So is that -- do you think what we're going to see now?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: I think there was always an element over the last thousand days that the Brexit issue was

clouding getting the storm and assembly and the executive there back up and running.

[11:10:11]

ROBERTSON: There was always a sense from both sides that in Brexit there was something to play for and something to gain. But if they went into the

power sharing assembly, then they were going to be locked into those positions. But absolutely now you have the two big powerhouse parties

there, the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Fein both saw their election numbers dipping.

The DUP lost two seats, Sinn Fein, they can see -- their vote share went down minus 6.9 percent. The DUP minus 5.4 percent. The middle ground

partners saw their vote share go up. So that's a warning to those bigger parties. And I think what we've heard from the Northern Ireland Secretary

of State today, telling them as it's been in the sort of one-on-one meetings with them, it just - Brexit wasn't the big issue in your election.

It was all about the dissatisfaction that the local assembly, the power sharing, assembly wasn't up and running. And I have to say, having talked

to people on the streets in Northern Ireland over the past couple of years, more and more and more, you heard that issue. So yes, there is a sense

that this can be a different moment. And there's one other reason here, that it's a different moment too that the Secretary of State for Northern

Ireland, if he can't get agreement with them before the 13th of January, he can legally call another election.

And they know what that means. They know that the big part is their vote share would be down. So this is -- this is the real reason, it's pure

politics.

MACFARLANE: It's pure politics indeed. Just a brief word, if you will, on President Trump. We just heard there, you know, reaching out to Boris

Johnson agreeing or to start talks on an ambitious Free Trade Agreement. We knew this was coming of course. Do we have any idea what that will look

like?

ROBERTSON: You know, we don't. As certainly as Boris Johnson has now the mandate and the numbers to move in the direction that he feels comfortable

to move in. But we don't know what that's going to be like, you know, Brexit, the withdrawal agreement bill being voted on on Friday in all

likelihood, then going through the process of turning that into legislation early next year.

Those are going to be the pressing things also, very pressing as well to get the future relationship, the trade deal with the European Union set.

So that's all on the to-do list but the shape of it, no, we're not -- we're not there yet. No.

MACFARLANE: We also don't know what that withdrawal bill will look like going through on Friday either. Nic, thank you very much. All right.

Coming up, clashes in the streets of Beirut as protesters fed up with corruption and the economy battle with security forces. Steps to appoint a

new prime minister have now been delayed.

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[11:15:29]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We will not leave until they submit to our demands. They're the ones who stole the country. They're

the ones who brought us to this point, not us. We are citizens who want our rights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: In Lebanon, anti-government protesters fill the streets over the weekend, demonstrators were met with tear gas and water cannons, the

security forces trying to contain the crowds. Protesters are demanding an end to government corruption, rising prices and mass layoffs. Now Lebanese

leaders have a decision to make about the new prime minister but it may be a case of Out with the old, in with the old.

Eyes remain fixed on the one who just gave up the job. Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri. He stepped down several weeks ago amid mass

demonstrations against government corruption. However, he is widely expected to be named head of the next government or all of this is on hold

until Thursday there. Hariri's requests to allow more talks about government formation. Our CNN's Ben Wedeman joins us now live from Beirut.

And Ben, we were hearing from a young girl there saying how badly the protesters there want a new independent leader and yet it seems like it

will be Hariri again. Is there any chances that their demands will be met do you think at this time?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: At this point, it seems very unlikely. Now yesterday -- or Saturday and Sunday we saw the most violent

clashes so far between anti-government protesters and the security forces. And the reason for these protest is that people see that it is increasingly

likely that Saad Al-Hariri at some point will be asked by the President of the Republic Michelle Aoun to form a government.

But even that process seems to be getting ever more complicated. Originally, the binding consultations that were supposed to take place a

week ago that would have resulted with the naming of a prime minister were postponed until today. They've not happening today. They've been

postponed until Thursday. And even there, what we've seen in a statement from the Prime man or the caretaker, Prime Minister's office Saad Al-Hariri

is that there are serious divisions between Hariri and the president between Hariri and the President's party, the free speech Patriotic

Movement.

They're increasing the differences between the free Patriotic Movement and Hezbollah that were really part of the largest parliamentary bloc. So, as

Lebanon's economy is steadily falling apart and the Lebanese leader is losing value against the dollar, we see that the leaders of Lebanon, the

self- appointed leaders of Lebanon are simply squabbling among themselves, unable to agree on who might lead a government and the protesters saying we

don't want any of you to lead this country.

They want to see a new set of leaders who are not tainted with accusations of nepotism, corruption, and incompetence. Christina?

MACFARLANE: Ben, I'm curious to find out more about what you're seeing in terms of the protests on the ground there. Do you feel -- I mean, you

mentioned that there's been that -- we've had the worst weekend of violent clashes just yesterday. Do you feel that the crackdown by security forces

there is actually incentivizing people to come out and protest?

WEDEMAN: It certainly angers people when they see some of the behavior of the security forces. And because this is Lebanon, everything gets a little

bit complicated. Yesterday, the clashes broke out between the anti- government protesters and security particularly the security force that's assigned with protecting Parliament. Parliament, the speaker of Parliament

is Nabih Berri who's the head of the Shia Amal movement.

And its many of the protesters felt that this security around parliament was, in a sense defending him personally. And it appears that members of

the Amal Movement or supporters of the movement joined with the security forces in attacking the anti-government protesters. And late at night last

night, it appears that the army intervened to separate the anti-government protesters from the security forces and their Amal supporters who were

seems to -- seem to join the fray.

[11:20:17]

WEDEMAN: So it's incredibly complicated. And we're seeing to -- this evening there are more protesters near parliament, so far peaceful. It's a

Monday, so it's not the weekend. People do have to -- those were lucky to have jobs get back to work tomorrow. But certainly, the excesses, the

appearance of excesses by the security forces does seem to add more fuel to the fire that is behind these protest. Christina?

MACFARLANE: All right. So Ben Wedeman there live from Barrett. Thank you, Ben.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is thanking Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam for her "Courageous during anti-government protests." During a meeting he also

told Ms. Lam, he firmly supports the Hong Kong Police in upholding the law and appealed to society to be united. Ms. Lam also thank Beijing's leaders

for their trust and support.

So you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Coming up. A jewelry heist in the heart of London, the victim of prominent socialites. We'll take you inside

the investigation ahead. Plus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILDA FLAVIA NAKABUYE, UGANDAN CLIMATE ACTIVIST: I am the voice of the dying children, displaced women and people suffering at the hands of

climate crisis created by rich countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: They say well leaders let them down, so now they are taking the lead themselves. We speak to the finish Environment Minister about the

failures of COP25 and the rise of youth activism.

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MACFARLANE: Thieves in London have made off with jewelry worth millions. And the victim, a prominent socialite who's the daughter of the former

Formula One chief executive. Scott McLean takes a look now, at the case.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: If you were a thief looking for an easy target, this is probably not the neighborhood that comes to mind.

Yet, police here in London confirm that just after 11:00 o'clock on Friday, they were called here for a report of a burglary. The housing question

which is just down the road here belongs to Tamara Ecclestone. She's the daughter of Formula One CEO, Bernie Ecclestone.

Her spokesperson called this a home invasion and said that her and her husband were left angry and shaken. According to the British tabloid, The

Sun, the couple had just left the country hours earlier for a vacation and that the thieves took millions of dollars worth of jewelry including a

single bracelet worth more than $100,000 U.S. The obvious question is, how would feel thieves get inside a highly secure complex like this one and

stay undetected long enough to steal that much jewelry?

[11:25:07]

MCLEAN: This postcode is one of the most exclusive in all of London probably, in all of the world. You're not even allowed to take pictures on

the sidewalk. There's this gate post here. 24/7. And the house is literally across the street from Kensington Palace. Plus, to get from

where I'm standing to the home just a couple hundred yards down the street, you have to walk past two heavily armed police officers who are on guard

outside of the Israeli embassy just a couple of doors down.

What makes this even more puzzling is that the latest police statement says that the call came from an internal security guard who reported three male

suspects inside. The police here in London say they are reviewing security footage and there was probably a lot of it that so far no arrests have been

made. Scott McLean, CNN London.

MACFARLANE: All right. Let's get you up to speed on some other stories that are on our radar right now. Protesters have erupted for fifth

straight day across India. Yesterday demonstrators clash with police at several university campuses. Protesters are angry ever controversial

citizenship law they say excludes Muslims. The U.S. special representatives to North Korea is calling on the north to resume

denuclearization talks. Stephen Biegun ignored North Korea's end of the year deadline for an agreement and warned that any provocative moves would

be in his words most unhelpful.

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern led a national minute of silence to mark the one-week anniversary of the White Island volcano

eruption. At least 16 people died, two remain missing and 14 more are still in New Zealand hospitals. Well, doctors in Sydney, Australia say the

city is facing a public health emergency because of smoke from nearby bushfires. High temperatures are blamed for fires burning over large parts

of Australia and forecasters are warning to expect several days of exceptional heat.

For more than 100 Jewish graves were recently desecrated in France and certain Web sites may be fueling the hate. The details coming up next.

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MACFARLANE: Returning to our top story now. The furious accusations and bitter divisions consuming the U.S. Capitol. The House Judiciary Committee

has dropped to report hundreds of pages long outlining the what and why behind their decision to accuse President Trump of abuse of power and

obstruction of Congress. The Full House vote will -- on those charges this week, which will kick off a trial in the Senate but many Democrats say

there's no way the Republicans in charge will conduct a fair trial.

The Senate Minority Leader has sent a letter to the Senate Majority Leader to try and negotiate and will of course continue to bring you all the

latest on that in the coming hours. Now in the U.K., Prime Minister Boris Johnson has returned to work days after his decisive general election win

thoughts on the promise to get Brexit done. The government's Brexit bill will return to Parliament on Friday, but Boris Johnson's conservatives now

have a strong majority.

The Prime Minister welcomed new lawmakers earlier today and the Queen speech setting out the political agenda for the next year. It's due to

happen this Thursday. Now the issue of antisemitism is one that plagued the British Labour Party during the election campaign and was cited by some

voters as a reason why they could not vote for Jeremy Corbyn to become Prime Minister, or sadly, the scourge of antisemitism is on the rise across

Europe.

And almost 75 years after the liberation of outfits. Alsace on the French- German border has seen an upsurge in antisemitic vandalism. Local people are believed to be behind the crimes but they may have been incited by

global Web sites. CNN's Melissa Bell went to the region for a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tombstones marked by hate, but also cultural centers, town halls, schools, in all 42 anti-semitic attacks in

the Bas-Rhin region of Alsace in just 18 months.

This cemetery in the village of Westhoffen is just the latest to be desecrated. 107 of its tunes were found marked with swastikas earlier this

month. And although the cleanup operation is now underway for region as troubled as this one by anti-semitic attacks, the stain will be harder to

remove.

YOAV ROSSANO, HEAD OF HERITAGE, ISRAELITE CONSISTORY, BAS-RHIN REGION: This kind of symbol touches more than you think. It is awakening the

history. Part of the family line died in Auschwitz and in the Holocaust. So to see it here, where I live, there is a disease in the society and

everybody would like to stop it.

BELL: Not least, the French government. France's interior minister visited Westhoffen, announcing the creation of a national task force. When

a graveyard at Quatzenheim was attacked, it was the French president who came, another case that remains unsolved. A source close to the

investigation says that locals are believed to be responsible, locals who may have been incited by the global Web sites.

While the hunt for the culprits continues, we wanted to find out where they are finding encouragement. Two French-language sites registered in Panama

and the Bahamas and enabled to stay online by an American company, White Europe and Participatory Democracy, both shared pictures of the attacks in

Alsace.

White Europe celebrating these exemplary actions by the proud people of Alsace that show us the way. Reached for comment, White Europe told us

they stand behind their posts. Participatory Democracy told CNN that while they don't condone the attacks, they do believe that it's all a Jewish

conspiracy.

Both sites celebrating the number 14, a reference to a slogan coined by the late American white supremacist David Lane and which was also found

graffitied on one of the Westhoffen tombs.

Both of these sites use the American Internet infrastructure company, Cloudfare, which provides protection from cyberattacks. Both sites openly

celebrate anti-Semitism and that, here in France, is a crime.

Now, in the past, Cloudfare has discontinued its services to 8chan in the wake of the El Paso mass shooting and to the American neo-Nazi blog, Daily

Stormer. So, why the different treatment when it comes to hate speech that is in French? Cloudfare has not responded to CNN's questions.

CNN also found that Facebook, which does not allow Daily Stormer posts to be shared, did allow posts from both the French sites until CNN reached out

for comment after which it blocked them. Twitter allowed sharing from all three sites but told CNN that it is taking action to prevent linking to

such content.

We asked France's interior minister in an exclusive interview if the United States was doing enough to help tackle the problem.

CHRISTOPHE CASTANER, MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR OF FRANCE (through translator): No, and my answer is clear because there is a clear

difference of culture.

[11:35:08]

CASTANER: It is not about opposing French or European culture to American culture, but clearly on these subjects, there is a belief in the freedom to

say anything and everything.

I believe that there is no freedom when it is us and our fundamental values that are being attacked.

BELL: One victim of the latest attacks says that global action is required in the face of a global problem.

GUILLAUME DEBRE, GRANDPARENTS' GRAVES WERE DESECRATED: You know, If we don't have that, you're going to have others, you know, (INAUDIBLE) or

others, and not just in France. So you see it in New Zealand, you see it in America, you see it in France.

BELL: The tomb of Guillaume Debre's family was among those desecrated in Westhoffen. He has yet to show a picture of it to his young daughters.

DEBRE: It's a few marking on sacred stone. It's a few marking that spell out hate. And in this country, not me, but my family and generations, have

understood what hates mean and what it could lead to.

BELL: In heavily-guarded synagogue in Strasbourg, the city where much of the region's Jewish population now lives, the chief rabbi says that he is

not surprised, but that he fears for more than just his community.

HAROLD WEILL, STRASBOURG RABBI: The hate that begins with the Jews never ends with Jews.

BELL: Last year, Rabbi Weill buried the last two in Westhoffen. Roger Khan (ph) hindering the Nazi occupation, escaping the camps and died

peacefully in his sleep at 88. But with website celebrating attacks on tombs like his, the question is whether it is in peace that he will now be

allowed to rest.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Alsace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Melissa Bell with that important report. All right. Coming up. Our call to Earth segment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Something that I wanted to do, something that I had in mind for a long time.

MACFARLANE: We'll meet a swimmer who went to great lengths to show us what's going on at deep depth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: After two weeks of talks at COP25 many issues remain unresolved and many people remain concerned. They speak to the Finland's

environmental minister about where we go from here. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: Now Call to Earth, a call to action for the planet. A call to Earth is CNN's new commitment to engage our global audience and making a

difference to protect the planets future and you've probably heard about the concentration of microplastics floating in our oceans. Well, in

today's Call to Earth segment, we meet a man who swam across an ocean to call attention to the problem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN LECOMTE, LONG-DISTANCE SWIMMER: Swimming across the Pacific, it's not really something that I needed to do, it's something that I wanted to do.

Something that I had in mind for a long time. For me, it kind of bring some type of con and a very close to the environment.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When long-distance swimmer Ben Lecomte left Hawaii in June this year, his goal was simple. Swim the Pacific while drawing

attention to the problem of plastic pollution.

LECOMTE: What is very unique in defense here is in addition to bringing valid and important examples and data, and we take people below the

surface, not just about scratching the surface, it's also below the surface.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Research expedition which hate Ben and his crew directly through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

SARAH-JEANNE ROYER, OCEANOGRAPHER: That path is located between Oregon and Hawaii. It's the region in the world's ocean that has the highest

concentration of plastic. It's not an island, it's basically a zoo where you find very high concentration of floating plastic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Created by a swirling vortex of ocean currents. The plastic patch is estimated to be roughly 1.6 million square kilometers,

that's about three times the size of France, then spend between three to eight hours in the water every day.

ROYER: The advantage we had with the swim is Ben and the crew, they were navigating and swimming at a very slow pace. So we had this fantastic

opportunity of sampling at very high resolution.

DREW MCWHIRTER, CHIEF SCIENTIST: I'm going to show you how would you sign (INAUDIBLE) to work with.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Daily sampling was done using a net tone that would skim the water for microplastics. The crew will then meticulously count

what they caught.

MCWHIRTER: Overnight, we cross some invisible border that we couldn't see below the surface. And all of a sudden we have an episode of 700 pieces of

microplastic. So much plastic, it's hard to wrap your head around.

ROYER: For me it's a very powerful way of using science because plastic pollution is a huge issue. But if we don't know about it, if we don't see

what is out there, it's really hard to get this message out to the public.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After 80 days at sea and swimming 338 nautical miles, the Golden Gate Bridge provided the perfect backdrop to Ben's arrival in

San Francisco.

LECOMTE: Now that I did it, it's even crazier than I expected.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Celebrating their return to dry land and the completion of one of the longest field studies of ocean microplastics, Ben

and his crew acknowledge there was still much more work to be done.

LECOMTE: I hope that people we get inspired and realize that it's responsible that each one of us has to carry and we have the power to make

a decision in our daily life to change a little bit. So we don't have to be perfect about it. But we have to start to do something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well this and many other stories are at the heart of CNN new Call to Earth initiative. Check it out log on to CNN.com/CalltoEarth to

learn more about people, their inspiring change all over the world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:46:28]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTA MIKKONEN, FINNISH MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE: For the E.U., it's impossible to leave the scope without a strong message on

ambition, and especially the need to update in D.C. by next year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: A message that some would say was not heard loud enough. That was finance Environment Minister Krista Mikkonen speaking on behalf of the

E.U. at the COP25 climate summit in Madrid that closed in disappointment on Sunday after two weeks spent trying to hash out a deal, but it seems like

the can has kicked down the road for another year as politicians failed to agree on many of the hope for outcomes and major polluters resisted calls

to ramp up efforts to keep global warming at bay.

Well, Finland's Environment Minister, Krista MikKinnen joins me now from Helsinki, and says the outcome in Madrid was, "A real disappointment."

Minister, it's great to have you with us. Thank you for joining the show. You said -

MIKKONEN: Thank you.

MACFARLANE: -- that you had never before seen such a chasm in climate discussions both inside and out of the negotiating rooms. I mean, you were

in those rooms for two weeks. Tell us the reason that those negotiations failed.

MIKKONEN: I must say that we are lacking to political leaders. That's the main reason. We know that people outside and the science is asking us for

a stronger of policy on climate, but we managed to do it. I mean, I think that's also the lacking of the past within the countries.

MACFARLANE: And lacking of trust between the countries. But I also wonder how -- whether how much you felt that wealthy nations were perhaps culpable

in this and maybe stalling the process and trying to avoid paying their share as it were.

MIKKONEN: I think when we -- when we are moving on, we -- all countries, the developing countries and developed countries to do more and also to

understand each other's situation. And we need to do more on mitigation and adaptation. And take both sides on the tape.

MACFARLANE: With all the -- we thought at the summit, you've said and I'm quoting you here that next year will be critical that everyone will have to

take a look in the mirror (INAUDIBLE) ways to restore faith in this process. And by everyone, I take it you mean the host nation as well,

because you said that they did not inspire confidence. How can we ensure that next year is, you know, not only the host nation, but everyone meets

equally on the table to move this ahead?

MIKKONEN: That's very important. We need alternations discussing and to get there. So it's not a -- yes, they're all -- not only to E.U. but also

all the countries, developed countries and developed countries. And I think the key question is that we have a-- I mean, outside, the scientists

telling us, the people are telling us and actually, there's a lot of other stakeholders which are moving very fast. If you look at what the business

world is doing, what the cities are doing, with the NGOs are doing. I think we should learn more from them.

[11:50:00]

MIKKONEN: Because it seems that now those are the parties who are taking the leadership and we still need to listen to them.

MACFARLANE: I wanted to get your perspective on the elephant in the room, so to speak, that is perhaps the United States who of course due to leave

the Paris Agreement, how much has the U.S. stance on climate change influence or is influencing other nations right now over their approach?

MIKKONEN: Sorry. Now, I couldn't hear the question.

MACFARLANE: I was just asking you over the United States, the stance and all of this because they are of course due to leave their Paris Accord, how

much are they influencing other nations?

MIKKONEN: Well, I think you could see that the situation is changing. That is the one of course because now we know that after a year maybe if

something else is not happening, the United States is leaving. And it was built there now discussing with other countries. So of course, the

situation was awkward, I must say. And I think it really influence on the discussion also.

MACFARLANE: We also saw, of course, so we've seen the youth emerge as leaders in Madrid, such as Greta Thunberg again, and others. What

influence do you think these young leaders have any on effecting change in the minds of our leaders?

MIKKONEN: A huge influence. If you think about this climate movement of young people started (INAUDIBLE) a year ago and how much it has achieved,

how much it has influence on the politics on the countries and that's what we need more, we need this presser from outside, from a young people and

also two other stakeholders because also to others like the city's business, NGOs, they are very active.

And that's what we need. That makes us as the political leaders to be more having more - or have more courage to do the right decision.

MACFARLANE: That's interesting to hear you say that they are having an impact. You've said and I touched on this before that Chile as a host

nation did not inspire confidence, we know that the copy is moving to Glasgow in 2020. How important will it be for the host nation there to not

only set a strong agenda, but to hold nations to account so that real change can be brought about?

MIKKONEN: The host nation has an important role, of course, and I think in next year in Scotland, and I hope it will (INAUDIBLE) U.K. even though at

the moment they have a quite difficult political situation because of Brexit and everything, but I'm assert that they are working very hard. So

we - next year in Scotland so we can have a good result.

MACFARLANE: And how hopeful are you, Minister, that there will be a change in a year's time because as this situation continues, of course, emissions

are continuing to rise. Given the impact we've seen this time around, are you still optimistic that in a year's time it will yield a different

result?

MIKKONEN: We must be. We need to have hope. If you don't have hope but there's nothing left. So I - I'm -- even though the situation is quite

difficult now, I haven't lost my hope. And I didn't -- I think that nobody sought because first together we can do this and more we know about the

science and more than people outside a person, putting pressure on us, the better because together we can solve this climate crisis and I believe we

all want to have a good (INAUDIBLE) our children, our grandchildren. So yes, we need to do more and we don't lose to hope.

MACFARLANE: All right. Minister Krista Mikkonen, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate your time.

MIKKONEN: Thank you.

MACFARLANE: Well, the moment of the Miss World competition announcement has gone viral but it's for quite a unique reason. The winner is Tony and

sing Toni-Ann Singh, Miss Jamaica and it's the runner up, Miss Nigeria that has everyone talking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jamaica.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miss World.

[11:55:01]

MACFARLANE: This may take the phrase friendly competition to a whole new level. Things win means five black women hold the titles at the top

pageants. Many are praising the collective accomplishments as a step towards eliminating stereotypes, and showcasing beauty and intelligence

behind diverse faces. Well, CNN's Farai Sevenzo is covering this from Nairobi for us. And many have seen this as a moment of hope, forever. I.

FARAI SEVENZO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christina, I've been -- I have to tell you that I'm old fashioned in this regard, I believe that beauty is in

the eye of the beholder. But yes, you're right, considering the history of pageantry, considering how many times women of color have been -- usually

even from the 1920s we gather, not even allowed to compete. This has been a huge moment.

And of course, Miss Nigeria's reaction to her friend Miss Jamaica winning that day, has been talks about in Kenya as well because you know, you

usually see these kinds of things as full of Machiavellian plotting ladies with (INAUDIBLE) high heels wanting to win that prize. But it's all being

seen in a very good niche kind of way that this is a woman who supported a friend. And of course let's not forget that even Miss France is black and

of course my model of the year is from South Sudan. So, it's a great moment and when we still give many young black women, great deal of hope.

MACFARLANE: It certainly well everyone needs a friend like Miss Nigeria. Farai, thank you. And I am Christina McFarlane and that was CONNECT THE

WORLD. Thank you for joining us.

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