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Verdict for 2005 Assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister; Democrats Take Aim at Trump in Convention, "Uniting America"; Mass Protests in Argentina over Extended Quarantine; COVID-19 around the Middle East; Michelle Obama Blasts Trump on Night One of Democratic National Convention; U.S. Navy Plane Challenges Beijing over South China Sea; Reaction to Dramatic U.K. U-Turn on Exam Policy; Liverpool Grapples with Historic Ties to U.S. Confederacy; NBA Playoffs in Orlando Bubble. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired August 18, 2020 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT(?): In the age of a pandemic an unusual Democratic National Convention now underway.
MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY: You simply can not fake your way through this job. Being president doesn't change who you are.
HALA GORANI, CNN HOST (voice-over): No crowds, no cheers, no confetti but plenty of swipes at President Trump. The Democrats launch their National
Convention with the coronavirus at center stage.
Then the World Health Organization says the pandemic is entering a, quote, "new phase." Why young people are driving this spread in some regions.
Also, a verdict 15 years in the making from The Hague on the assassination of the Lebanese prime minister. We'll take you live to Beirut.
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GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. Welcome. This is CONNECT THE WORLD. Let's start with the latest out of the United States.
U.S. Democrats opened a political convention unlike any other with an urgent call to action and the coronavirus pandemic at the crux and the
center of the evening. The convention was virtual, so that means no cheering crowds, no balloons, no confetti.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI (voice-over): This was four years ago in Philadelphia. Instead, a completely different atmosphere. Some might argue it was a bit awkward. It
was a bit flat. But it had to be. It was virtual. There was a collection of mostly solitary speeches from Democrats, who run the gamut of party
ideology, along with a handful of Republicans who broke rank to support Joe Biden.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Night one of the four-day convention ended with a speech by Michelle Obama. The very popular former first lady delivered a blistering
18-minute attack on Donald Trump's presidency with a big focus on his response to COVID.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Let me be as honest and clear as I possibly can. Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to
prove that he can do the job but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is
what it is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, "It is what it is," Donald Trump, you'll remember used those same five words in a recent interview when asked about the growing death
toll from the pandemic. So it was a nod to that phrase. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN SWAN, AXIOS: When I hear you say everything is under control, don't worry about wearing masks I mean, these people, many are older
people, Mr. President.
TRUMP: Yes, under the --
SWAN: The most vulnerable of society.
TRUMP: I think it's under control. Tell you what.
SWAN: How?
A thousand Americans a day are dying.
TRUMP: They are dying, it is what it is. But that doesn't mean we're not doing everything we can. It's under control as much as you can control.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, while Democrats hammered home their criticism of the president and the way that his administration has handled this pandemic.
The night's most scathing comments came from a nonpolitical speaker whose father died of COVID-19 and she is holding the president responsible.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTIN URQUIZA, COVID-19 VICTIM'S DAUGHTER: My dad was a healthy 65-year- old. His only pre-existing condition was trusting Donald Trump. And for that he paid with his life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, night two of the convention will feature a speech by Joe Biden's wife, Jill Biden, along with appearances by U.S. president Bill
Clinton and a major voice of the Democrats' progressive wing, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
CNN political commentator, Keith Boykin is a former aide in the Clinton White House.
Thank you for being with us. You know, this, obviously because of COVID and because there's no big convention in a big arena with crowds and confetti
and balloons, inevitably this virtual convention was going to sort of come off a bit flat, maybe a bit awkward.
Do you think it was effective, nonetheless, and, if so, why?
KEITH BOYKIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, I have been to almost every convention I think for the past two decades, the Democratic Party. So
it felt a little lonesome to be here by myself watching it.
But the impact it had on me was emotional and profound. You know, every convention I have been to in the past, I never sat and watched every
speech. I was moving around, having conversations, networking and things like that.
But you focused on the particular speeches.
[10:05:00]
BOYKIN: Last night, they were particular speeches, Michelle Obama's speech, Bernie Sanders's speech or even John Kasich's speech. I'm not a fan
of John Kasich but he appealed to Republicans. Those speeches were important.
And in this era of social media, the way people get information about conventions is not from sitting down and watching the television for two
hours but from getting clips on Twitter or Instagram or Facebook. And I think it will have an enormous impact because of that.
GORANI: But I wonder, I mean, is there -- if you look at how European politicians are approaching campaigning, they'll still have news
conferences and sort of hold socially distanced events.
Do you think that the rest of the convention should follow the same model as day one?
Or do you think there should be more interactivity, something else injected in it to give it a bit more energy?
BOYKIN: Well, I think we have no choice but to do it this way, unfortunately. And I think that was the point that Kristin Urquiza made
last night, about her dad having no pre-existing conditions except for trusting Donald Trump.
We are in a catastrophe here. We have lost 270,000 people to the coronavirus and that's because of Donald Trump's failed leadership. We saw
that case not only made by Kristin Urquiza but by Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York, which was the worst hit state in the pandemic at the beginning
but now has driven down those numbers to incredibly low figures.
And what the problem is we had no leadership from the president at the White House, no leadership from the top. I think that the fact that we have
to have a convention like this in a virtual setting -- and Republicans will be having a virtual convention next week as well -- it's because of Donald
Trump's inability to take coronavirus seriously. And that needs to be addressed.
GORANI: So how do you get to the left wing of the party?
Because you need to motivate voters. It's a turnout election, right, especially in battleground states. Minority voters, you need women. You
need also those who supported candidates like Bernie Sanders and others on the left of the party to come out.
How do you do that?
I mean, some have said that AOC needed to be a little bit more front and center.
Do you agree that part of the party -- of the Democratic Party maybe isn't being showcased enough?
BOYKIN: Well, tell you what, I'm a part of the left wing of the Democratic Party. I have been a part of that for quite some time. I believe in the
goals of the left wing of the Democratic Party. I believe in extending Medicare for all or some form of universal health care. I believe in
legalizing marijuana and reducing funding for the police by -- I believe in raising our minimum wage and making sure that people have a livable income.
But also I saw that -- we -- we saw reflections of that last night. The family of George Floyd speaking about race relations and leading a moment
of silence. That was important.
Seeing Bernie Sanders speak was important. Saying the future of democracy is at stake and tonight seeing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, I think that also
sends an important signal.
For me as a Black man, I'm very proud that Joe Biden chose Kamala Harris, a Black woman, to be his running mate. And picking Kamala Harris was a
reflection that he understands the importance of diversity in this party, he understands the future of the party is young, progressive and more
colorful.
And I think that's a sign that the party will be more united as we move toward the fall.
GORANI: I'll be speaking with Andrew Yang next hour and one of the things he's written is when he used to campaign in person before COVID, so many
people in middle America, he said, associate the Democrats with elite liberals, out of touch with the working class.
I wonder is this speaker lineup, the strategy so far by Joe Biden, accomplishing the very necessary task of overturning that perception that
some voters have of your party?
BOYKIN: I think the convention is a very important opportunity to share who the party really is. And from the very beginning with the Preamble to
the Constitution last night, we saw faces of people and voices of people in around the country who are different people.
We saw the interview that Eva Longoria did with farmers and small businesses. (INAUDIBLE) the party is a reflect of the diversity of who we
are as a people.
You know, I don't entirely agree with what Andrew Yang says. I think that's a Republican critique that we shouldn't repeat because I think the
Democratic Party is the most -- most reflective party of who we are as a country. The Republican Party is the party of the elites and the rich and
the powerful.
And the Democratic Party is traditionally the party of the working class people. It's been the party --
(CROSSTALK)
[10:10:00]
GORANI: I think what he meant was this is the perception, not the reality as far as he's concerned. It's the perception of some people in red states.
(CROSSTALK)
BOYKIN: I completely disagree with that. That's the perception that the Republican Party has created. I'm a Black gay man living in Harlem in a
working class building in New York City. The people who I live with are my neighbors they're Democrats and Black people, working class people, too.
Don't tell me that the Democratic Party is a party of elitists. I'm not an elitist just because I happen to believe in the values of the Democratic
Party about helping people who are in need.
What makes people elitist is supporting tax breaks for the wealthy and the most powerful and corporations and not supporting a minimum wage for the
working class.
How dare that Republicans pitch that message?
The problem with that framing, too, is that it's based on racial identity. Yes, white working class people may not identify with the -- with the
diversity of the Democratic Party and the nonelitism of the Democratic Party.
But the Democratic Party has always been a party that has represented -- not always but historically been a party that's tried to represent people
from different backgrounds.
And in the past few decades, in my lifetime, it's certainly represented Black working class people far better and Latino working class people far
better and Asian American working class people far better than the Republican Party has ever even attempted to do.
GORANI: All right, Keith Boykin, thanks very much. We'll be watching night two. Thanks for joining us on CNN.
Night two, as I mentioned, starting at 1:00 in the morning here in London for all of you night owls, 8:00 am in Hong Kong but we'll have a full
summary for you throughout the following day.
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GORANI: Turning now to the coronavirus pandemic. The World Health Organization says Asian Pacific countries are entering a new phase of the
pandemic. And that is worrying. And they say it's driven by younger people.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAKESHI KASAI, WHO REGIONAL DIRECTOR: People in their 20s, 30s and 40s are increasingly driving its spread. Many are unaware they're infected, with
very mild symptoms or none at all. This can result in them unknowingly passing on the virus to others.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, a senior WHO official said more than half of the reported cases in Philippines, Victoria, Australia and Japan are under 40. Some
countries may even have more cases than during their initial outbreaks.
In South Korea, church services have been suspended after it recorded a fourth day of triple digit cases. The prime minister announced the
suspension of all in-person services in and around the capital, saying the country was at a critical crossroads.
Nearly 250 cases have been recorded in the last 24 hours and 75 of those were linked to a single church.
And U.S. president Trump has called New Zealand's coronavirus outbreak "terrible," calling it a big surge while speaking at a campaign event on
Monday.
Obviously, most of our viewers are familiar with the numbers so the prime minister Jacinda Ardern responded to his remarks and called them "patently
wrong." We are talking here about a tiny handful of cases in New Zealand, thousands in the United States. She says New Zealand's nine-case cluster
doesn't compare to the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACINDA ARDERN, NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER: I don't think there's any comparison between New Zealand's current cluster and the tens of thousands
of cases being seen daily in the United States.
Obviously, every country is experiencing its own fight with COVID-19. It is a tricky virus. But not one where I would compare New Zealand's current
status to the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, the pandemic is showing no sign of slowing down in Latin America. Brazil confirmed nearly 20,000 new cases in 24 hours -- 20,000 in
just 24 hours.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI (voice-over): And despite those abysmal numbers, the Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, received a rock star welcome on Monday from
supporters as he traveled to the northeastern part of the country. He once again defied health experts' advice, he and many in the crowd were not
wearing masks. Even though it's only been weeks since he recovered from the virus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: By the way, it should be noted that, in Brazil, the popularity -- the approval rating of Bolsonaro is not affected by the pandemic, from the
latest figures published.
Meanwhile, mass protests broke out in Argentina against the government's handling of the pandemic. People are angry over quarantine measures, which
have been extended until the end of the month.
[10:15:00]
GORANI: Argentina has nearly 300,000 confirmed cases.
And major concerns are arriving about the first phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial in the U.S. Officials say researchers running the Moderna trial need
to change direction. They're enrolling plenty of volunteers but the people they really need are not necessarily being taken into account.
Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins me from Atlanta.
So there was some enthusiasm surrounding this Moderna initiative.
So what is the issue here?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So let's take a look at these numbers, Hala. Moderna, like the other U.S. clinical trials, they're
aiming to enroll 30,000 people, which sounds like a big task but actually, in the first three weeks -- so the past three weeks -- they enrolled almost
8,400.
So they're going along at a pretty good clip and they should be done enrolling the folks at the end of September. But look at these numbers. If
you look at the cases in the United States, 22 percent have been in Black people. But when you look at Blacks enrolled in the trial, it's only 4.5
percent.
If you look at all of the cases in the U.S., 33 percent -- a third -- have been among Latinos but Latinos represent only 10 percent of the trial.
That can't happen. Clinical trials need to reflect the population that they're trying to help; as you can see, that is not the case. Also there is
a real concern here that they're not going to get enough people who become ill in the trial.
When you vaccinate people, you need to see who becomes ill and who doesn't. If you're vaccinating a lot of people who are not going to ever become ill
because they're wearing masks a lot, staying home a lot, then basically you have a problem with what they call futility in your trial. You'll never get
to the end of it.
So they need to enroll more minorities since it's minorities, unfortunately, who are disproportionately affected by this virus.
GORANI: Right. Let's talk about Dr. Deborah Birx, one of the lead medical advisers on the task force for the White House, saying she believes that
perhaps the U.S. should have adopted the Italy lockdown model.
COHEN: Right, a stricter lockdown model. I know a lot of experts in the U.S. are going to hear Dr. Birx say this, well, of course, of course, we
should have been stricter, isn't that obvious?
It's interesting she's only saying this in August. You don't need a Ph.D. in immunology to know that a virus spreads when you're together. Italy was
much stricter about the lockdown than the U.S. was. People were congregating in some numbers in the U.S.
So looking back and saying wistfully, I wish we had done a better job in March, well, that opportunity has passed.
Now a lot of experts are saying, you know what?
Let's just hope that she tries to do it from here on out, that we need to be stricter from here on out. We can't do anything about the past.
GORANI: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks very much.
The city where COVID first surfaced seems to have moved past pandemic concerns. We can all look at Wuhan with some degree of envy, at least
envious of their ability to gather in large numbers. This is Wuhan, China, in a water park. They were there for an electronic music festival over the
weekend.
You'd be hard pressed to find someone wearing a mask or social distancing. Fortunately, Wuhan hasn't seen any new cases of COVID-19 since mid May.
Still to come, with recent COVID-19 spikes in the Middle East, some countries with fragile health systems are bearing a heavier burden.
Plus after 15 years, a verdict in the 2005 assassination of Lebanon's prime minister is handed down.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:20:00]
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GORANI: Well, let's keep talking about COVID because new cases are surging throughout the Middle East.
In Libya, for instance where the health system is wrecked, the pandemic is starting to slip out of control, according to medics and health officials
there. Many Libyans are grappling trying -- struggling to afford minor expenses like masks. More than 400 cases were reported in the last 24
hours. Those are just the ones that are reported.
And Jordan saw the largest daily rise in four months. Authorities are now reimposing restrictions on movement for the first time since June.
Lebanon is also confirming record high infections. The health minister is recommending a lockdown; lots of people have lost their homes in Beirut.
Let's stay in Lebanon where a guilty verdict has been handed down in the 2005 assassination of then prime minister Rafiq Hariri for one defendant.
Let's go to CNN's Ben Wedeman live in Beirut.
So break it down for us.
What did the special tribunal for Lebanon rule today in the Netherlands?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, there were four people, four defendants, all of them who were tried in absentia, all
of them some way or another connected to Hezbollah.
But only one of them was found guilty. His name was Salim Ayyash. He was found to be part of the red cell phone network, which is -- because much of
the evidence in this case was based upon analysis of phone calls and there were various networks.
But the red network was the one involved in the actual planning of the assassination of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri, which happened on the
14th of February 2005, which left 22 people killed, more than 220 wounded.
Now what's interesting in this case is that only individuals were on trial, not groups or a government in particular. And the special tribunal for
Lebanon came out and said that, even though Syria and Hezbollah had a motive in the killing of Rafiq Hariri, they were able to collect no
evidence that pointed to their involvement.
They did point out, for instance, that the former prime minister was a supporter of U.N. Security Council resolution 1559, which called for the
withdrawal of all foreign troops from Lebanon.
And, of course, in 1976, Syrian troops intervened in Lebanon during the initial phases of the civil war and stayed in Lebanon until the spring of
2005, leaving as a result of intense international pressure and huge street demonstrations in the aftermath of Hariri's assassination, calling for
their withdrawal.
So this is a verdict that avoided really pointing the fingers at who was behind the people, the one man who was found guilty. So this is probably
not going to please the supporters of Rafiq Hariri and his son, also a former prime minister, Saad Hariri, although we have heard after the trial
that Saad Hariri has said that they do respect the verdict of the court.
The last thing left here, is that on the 21st of September, the punishment for Salim Ayyash will be announced.
[10:25:00]
WEDEMAN: But as I said, he never showed up to the trial. Hezbollah has made it clear that the four defendants, the one man found guilty, would not
be handed over for justice. So this is still very much an open book.
GORANI: I mean, this was 15 years of investigative work, a 2,641 page decision. And some people will be surprised that the tribunal concluded
that only one lower level operative connected to Hezbollah would have been found guilty of this assassination that killed not just the prime minister
at the time but 21 other people.
WEDEMAN: Yes. This is a -- the special tribunal for Lebanon was set up in 2009. It cost $800 million, 49 percent of the cost that Lebanon has to
carry, which is a lot of money for a country that is going bankrupt.
So, yes, this is a great anticlimax for a judicial effort that was the first time that Lebanon had an international investigation into just one of
many assassinations of prominent public figures.
And in fact, I have seen one analyst saying that, essentially, one prominent public figure in Lebanon has been killed every year since the
country became independent in 1943.
And even though this wasn't an international investigation, it seems almost as inconclusive as all the Lebanese investigations that occurred in the
aftermath of the other prominent figures who were assassinated.
GORANI: All right. And of course, Ben Wedeman, the country -- at least Beirut -- is still dealing with the aftermath of that terrible explosion.
Thanks very much, Ben Wedeman live in the Lebanese capital.
The internal community is weighing in on the growing unrest in Belarus. Russian president Vladimir Putin and German chancellor Angela Merkel talked
about the situation on the phone. She told him political prisoners must be released immediately.
And Mr. Putin warned against any outside interference in Belarus. The protests and strike movement there continue throughout the country with
demonstrations like this one, outside the jail, holding the husband of the opposition presidential candidate, who fled, you'll remember, last week to
Lithuania.
We'll have a lot more, by the way, on the Belarus situation next hour. So stay tuned.
Coming up, bad vibes and tough talk: the U.S. Navy makes a new challenge to China over a sensitive waterway. I'll show you more of this rare footage
and we'll discuss why it's important -- coming up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTIN URQUIZA, COVID-19 VICTIM'S DAUGHTER: His only pre-existing condition was trusting Donald Trump and for that he paid with his life.
GORANI (voice-over): And we'll look at the powerful messages from yesterday's Democratic National Convention. Stay with us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[10:30:00]
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GORANI: Political conventions in the U.S. are generally about making the case for your candidate. But Democrats began their convention Monday night
by largely making the case against Donald Trump. And perhaps the most powerful voice was that of former first lady Michelle Obama. CNN's Jessica
Dean has the wrap-up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
We have to vote for Joe Biden in numbers that cannot be ignored.
JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Former first lady Michelle Obama, wrapping up night one of the Democratic National Convention with an
impassioned plea to Americans.
OBAMA: Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in
over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is.
DEAN: The former first lady pulled no punches.
OBAMA: Whenever we look to this White House for some leadership or consolation or any semblance of steadiness, what we get instead is chaos,
division and a total and utter lack of empathy.
You know that I tell you exactly what I'm feeling. You know I hate politics. But you also know that I care about this nation. If you think
things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can and they will, if we don't make a change in this election.
DEAN: A source tells CNN Obama practiced her speech for weeks. And while a speechwriter helped her draft the speech, she knew exactly what she wanted
to say. Obama imploring Americans to think of the next generation.
OBAMA: They watch in horror as children are torn from their families and thrown into cages and pepper spray and rubber bullets are used on peaceful
protesters for a photo op. Sadly, this is the America that is on display for the next generation.
DEAN: Another top speaker, Senator Bernie Sanders, Biden's staunchest opponent in the primaries, gave a full-throated endorsement, speaking out
to his supporters.
SANDERS: Joe Biden will end the hate and division Trump has created. He will stop the demonization of immigrants, the coddling of white
nationalists, the racist dog whistling, the religious bigotry.
To everyone who supported other candidates in the primary and to those who may have voted for Donald Trump in the last election, the future of our
democracy is at stake.
DEAN: Four Republicans also endorsing Biden, including former Ohio Governor John Kasich.
JOHN KASICH (R-OH), FORMER GOVERNOR: I'm a lifelong Republican, but that attachment holds second place to my responsibility to my country.
DEAN: President Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic playing a big role throughout the evening. Kristin Urquiza spoke about losing herring 65-
year-old father to the virus, saying he contracted the virus after visiting a karaoke bar once Arizona's lockdown was lifted, because he believed
President Trump that it was safe.
URQUIZA: My dad was a healthy 65-year old. His only pre-existing condition was trusting Donald Trump and for that he paid with his life.
DEAN: But in the end, it was Michelle Obama's speech laying out the stark choice all the night's speakers presented.
OBAMA: If we want to be able to look our children in the eye after this election, we have got to reassert our place in American history and we have
got to do everything we can to elect my friend, Joe Biden, as the next president of the United States.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: And Jessica Dean is joining us live.
So tonight is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other speakers.
What's -- where does the event go in terms of messaging on day two?
DEAN: Yes. So Hala, tonight it's all about leadership. You mentioned Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will be speaking.
[10:35:00]
DEAN: We're also going to hear from former president Bill Clinton as well as Jill Biden, the wife of Joe Biden, who was, of course, the former second
lady, and is now going to be kind of reintroducing herself to the American people, telling her story but also telling Joe Biden's story through his
eyes as his partner.
She has been asked, did you talk about the vice presidential pick?
And she said it's a marriage. Of course, we talk about things. She is absolutely a partner to Joe Biden in all of this and has been along for
this ride over decades of public service.
So we're going to hear from her as well as the other speakers. Also interesting to note that the Democratic National Convention decided to have
17 -- what they call rising stars -- from within the Democratic Party share the keynote address tonight. Typically that's given by one person.
It will be given by the 17 different people and remember, too, conventions are typically when we hear from the next big thing in the Democratic Party.
And because we have shortened conventions this year, they're trying to work in the availability for as many people to speak as possible.
Joe Biden has often said he sees himself as a bridge between the last generation of Democrats and the next generation of Democrats. And this is
just another example of that coming out.
GORANI: OK. Jessica Dean, thanks very much, live in Wilmington.
CNN's live coverage of the convention continues. It starts at 1:00 am here in London, 8:00 am Hong Kong. Among those speaking, as Jessica mentioned,
is Jill Biden.
With millions of Americans trying to cope without a job, foreign policy is not that high on the list of voter priorities. It usually isn't but this
year even less so it seems. But a hotly contested waterway is once again raising global concerns.
Experts call the South China Sea a dangerous flashpoint ramping up tensions between the U.S. and China. And CNN has obtained behind the scenes footage
of a U.S. reconnaissance patrol over this disputed waterway. Ivan Watson takes a closer look for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Final preparations before takeoff. Rare footage of a U.S. Navy aircrew flying a mission over
the South China Sea last week. This aircraft bristles with high powered scope to conduct surveillance.
CMDR. MIKE STEFFENS, U.S. NAVY: We are serving as eyes and ears, patrolling ahead of the force. We are closely monitoring our adversaries.
WATSON: The adversary here is China. And it is not long before a Chinese voice calls out over the radio and tells the U.S. plane to leave.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Depart immediately. Depart immediately.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm United States military aircraft conducting lawful military operations in international airspace.
WATSON: Eyewitness's similar challenges two years ago on a different U.S. Navy flight over this increasingly tense region. At least seven different
governments have competing claims to parts of the South China Sea. But Beijing claims virtually all of the sea for its self.
To cement its claim, China embarked on a massive island building project, constructing runways and radar stations on what had been reefs and at
holes. Last month, the Trump administration declared Beijing's position illegal.
MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE: We reject China's unlawful claims in the South China Sea, once and for all.
WATSON: The Defense Department says it has stepped up deploying war ships and planes on what it calls freedom of navigation operations through the
sea, prompting Beijing's top diplomat who accused the U.S. military of trying to destabilize the region.
WANG YI, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): In the first half of this year alone, the U.S. and military aircraft (inaudible) more than
2,000 times.
WATSON: But it's not just the U.S. that is challenging China's territorial claims here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: China coast guard, China coast guard.
WATSON: Late last year, Indonesian ships faced off against Chinese vessels.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are in Indonesian waters, sir. Please move away and go back to your territory, sir.
WATSON: Indonesia deployed fighter jets to an Island that it controls.
CMDR. FAJAR TRI ROHADI, INDONESIAN NAVY: A very possible conflict that affecting to our territory or our stability. We will protect our interests,
national interest.
WATSON: Meanwhile other countries like Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines, growing increasingly assertive against Beijing's maritime
claims. The Philippines building up one of its own islands. While the commander of the Philippines Navy warns about alleged Chinese provocations
on the high seas.
VICE ADM. GIOVANNI BACORDO, PHILIPPINE NAVY: The first one who fired the shot loses public support. And I am sure they want us to take the first
shot, but we will not.
[10:40:00]
WATSON: With so many navies operating in such close quarters, there is growing risk of a first shot that could trigger a wider conflict -- Ivan
Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is taking a stab at the media again, this time over reports about the deal that Israel signed with
the Emirates, the United Arab Emirates. An Israeli newspaper says the agreement paves the way for the Emirates to purchase military equipment,
fighter jets and drones and Netanyahu vehemently denies the reports, calling them "utter fake news."
Elliott Gotkine joins me now from Tel Aviv with more on what the prime minister is saying.
Because those are reports that I saw in "Haaretz," that you know, that this deal is essentially -- going to open the door to arms purchases and also
purchases of surveillance technology from Israel by the UAE.
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: That's what this report, Hala, in one of the Israel's leading newspapers said this morning, referring to a secret clause
in the Israeli UAE agreement.
Benjamin Netanyahu tweeting out angrily it seems that this was utter fake news. His office -- the prime minister's office -- putting out a statement,
saying that the historic peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates did not include the consent to any arms deal whatsoever between
them and -- between the United States and the UAE.
But it certainly set tongues wagging here. We had the foreign ministry putting out a statement saying that if there was such a clause, it wasn't
consulted.
We had the defense minister, Benny Gantz said, holding a press conference, in which he said we need to talk to the Americans and Emiratis and make
sure that our security concerns are being upheld.
So certainly it's created a bit -- a bit of a scramble. Prime minister Netanyahu is adamant there's no such clause. And I suppose one of the other
things people are concerned about. Not so much if the United Arab Emirates were to get their hands on the F-35 fighter jets, for example, or certain
drones from the United States but also the concern that the defense establishment doesn't seem to have been consulted.
That said, Netanyahu said he reiterated his position to both the United States and to defense minister Benny Gantz in previous weeks in the run-up
to this agreement, saying that there is basically no -- there is no -- Israel will not accept its qualitative advantage over adversaries and
rivals in the region to be stymied in any way by any kind of an agreement.
GORANI: All right. Elliott Gotkine, thanks very much.
Up next, many students and families suffered when the U.K. first instituted then abandoned an exam policy was first abandoned.
What does it mean for them and for the government?
We'll explore that next.
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[10:45:00]
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GORANI: Welcome back.
The British government's latest U-turn has prompted some pretty angry reactions. We're talking about how the government handled the school
results fiasco, which the British opposition Labour Party calls "incompetent."
Students couldn't take the all-important A level exams when the U.K. was under lockdown so the government decided to rely on an algorithm for grades
rather than on teacher evaluation.
Really good students suffered and that sparked a national outcry over fairness. Then prime minister Boris Johnson's government abandoned the new
system. The education secretary is resisting calls to resign, saying he's, quote, "incredibly sorry" only three days after saying no change, no U-
turn.
Max Foster joins us live.
This is not by a long shot the first major U-turn for this government, Max.
MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: No. And actually, a lot of people are saying it's good they do U-turns at appropriate moments. But this
moment came a bit late because we had the similar situation unfolding in Scotland days before the U-turn here in the U.K.
So they could have responded before we had this crisis in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. That's why the papers in particular are calling for
Gavin Williamson's head, calling for him to resign.
He isn't accepting that at the moment. Boris Johnson is on holiday, we haven't heard from him at all. So wait to hear what Boris Johnson has to
say about this when he comes back.
But he's very loyal to his top people and in the past we have seen how he doesn't accept resignations when he feels his people -- they have the power
that they should have. He'll probably stand by Williamson. That's the theory in Westminster at least.
But think of the students at this point. Not only have they have had a term where they didn't have a full education, then they couldn't have their
exams. Then they had all of their issues with the examination results, which have now been upgraded.
Now they have an issue with universities because lots of students who had applied to the top university were told they weren't qualified. Now with
these new set of results, they are qualified but there are no spaces for them.
So a lot of them are being offered deferred places for next year, which causes problems for people applying next year. And meanwhile, the
universities are scrambling to try to create extra spaces for the people who did qualify.
But you've got the added problem this year that there are social distancing rules in place in the universities and they can't accept a lot of extra
students. So obviously the university is going to government, trying to look for clarity on the issue. They're not getting it as of yet, so the
crisis is getting worse, the stress is worse for students today.
GORANI: All right. Max Foster, thanks very much.
Now here's something you might not know. The English city of Liverpool has very strong historical ties to the U.S. Confederacy. In fact, it's believed
that more Confederate flags were flying there during the Civil War than in Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederate States.
Now Liverpool is coming to terms with its racist past and trying to reclaim its future. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): At the heart of this Liverpool cemetery lies a conflict --
LAURENCE WESTGAPH, HISTORIAN: I'm taking you to see the graves of two Confederates veterans.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): -- between historian Laurence Westgaph and his local government.
ABDELAZIZ: Who's built up these graves?
WESTGAPH: In 2009, the Sons of Confederate Veterans came to Liverpool to a ceremony in order to see the rededication of Avron Stevens Bullock's (ph)
grave and that was paid by the Liverpool city council.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): The local council denied this to CNN. But two former officials attended the ceremony.
WESTGAPH: Just because we're in England, I feel like that's not an excuse to be able to commemorate individuals who were involved in keeping other
people in chains.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): The Sons of Confederate Veterans is a U.S. based neo-Confederate group now fighting to preserve Confederate symbols in the
U.S.
Over the years, the group has made multiple visits to Liverpool, even thanking the city council for their support and, in 2015, installing this
plaque.
WESTGAPH: I find that one particularly egregious.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Jerry Wells' name is on the sign. He was a member based in Virginia and organized a week long event in 2015.
JERRY WELLS, SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS: To let Liverpool people know that there was a support in Liverpool at that time for the Confederacy.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Wells says he coordinated with local officials. But the council denied involvement. The group raised the Confederate flag
during their visit.
[10:50:00]
WELLS: In fact, we had a 60-foot second national flag flying.
ABDELAZIZ: Do you understand why some people might take offense to Confederate symbols?
WELLS: No. They were not fighting to keep anybody enslaved.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Tracey Gore wants to put those views in the past. She heads Liverpool's new Race and Equality Task Force.
TRACEY GORE, RACE AND EQUALITY TASK FORCE: I'm quite sure that the city don't know the context and they don't understand the deep rooted racism and
I think it's borne out of ignorance.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Appointed by Liverpool's mayor, Gore says it's time to change minds inside city hall.
ABDELAZIZ: What was the first that you heard of neo Confederate groups visiting Liverpool?
GORE: Last week when you telephoned me.
(CROSSTALK)
ABDELAZIZ: What was your reaction?
GORE: One of shock, yes, absolutely shock.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Liverpool city council deny any direct dealings with Confederate groups and say they oppose their presence.
Westgaph's search for the graves of his ancestors led him here, to a square where statues of at least two men with links to the Confederacy
stand tall.
WESTGAPH: These memorials of individuals, who benefited from the enslavement of African people, are actually built on the bodies of enslaved
Africans as well.
(CROSSTALK)
ABDELAZIZ: These are monuments built on top of unmarked graves.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): but he does not want to knock down the symbols of the past.
WESTGAPH: I'm not fine with tearing down so I would like to see interpretive plaques put on these monuments to tell people who these
individuals were and the role that they played in slavery and the slave trade.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Westgaph is working with Gore to do exactly that and, for the first time, erect a public memorial to the victims of slavery
-- Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, Liverpool.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: After the break, the NBA playoffs have started four months late. We'll have the latest.
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GORANI: All right, the very latest on the Champions League. Don Riddell has that.
Hi, Don.
DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello. Thanks very much.
The Champions League title this season is heading to either Germany or France. So for the next two days, teams from each country will go head to
head in the semi-finals with the trophy awarded after the final in Lisbon on Sunday.
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RIDDELL: The European football season will be over by the weekend. Perfect timing because the NBA playoffs are getting started. That's four months
later than it should have been.
There's plenty of hype around what's going on at Disney World in Florida, where all of the teams remain in a protective bubble, keeping them safe
from the coronavirus. Andy Scholes can tell us more.
And Andy, already exciting, right?
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Certainly is, Don. You know, if they write a book about sports in 2020 one day, the NBA, it will be chapter one
on how to play during a pandemic, that that bubble there at Disney World has been a great success.
And since all of these games are taking place at one location, a couple of gyms, we're getting games all day long, which is fantastic for NBA fans.
("WORLD SPORTS")
SCHOLES: The NFL meanwhile is going to kick the season off September 10th. It will have fans in the stands. Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs
will host the Houston Texans and they announced they'll allow 22 percent capacity for the game. That's about 16,000 fans.
After consulting with health officials and the NFL, the Chiefs say they'll sell their tickets in groups of six seats or less. Fans are going to be
required to wear a mask at all times unless they're actively eating or drinking. And tailgating will be allowed out there in the parking lots.
Here's a look at who is allowing fans as of now at their games and who is not allowing fans at least for the start of the season. There's still a big
number of teams also that have not yet made a decision, Don.
The NFL does not have a blanket policy on, you know, fans going to these stadiums. It's up to each of these individual teams. And it's a wide
spectrum. You have the Las Vegas Raiders, first season in their new stadium, not allowing fans all season. And then you have the Dallas Cowboys
and owner Jerry Jones saying we'll have 50 percent capacity, 40,000 fans.
RIDDELL: It will be fascinating how it will all play out.
Hala, we'll have more sport in about 45 minutes. We'll discuss what on Earth is going on at Barcelona. 'Bye to you for now.
GORANI: Thank you, Don.
And I'll be back for another hour after a break. You're watching CNN.
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