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One World with Zain Asher
Trump Meets With Lebanese President At The White House; Oil Rises As Houthis Announce Blockade On Saudi Shipping; U.S. Launches 10th Straight night Of Strikes On Iran; Probe Launched Into Whether Epstein Was A Foreign Agent; Trump's Latest 50 Percent Tariffs On Canada Risk New Trade War; India's Youth Gather For rare Mass Protests; Wegovy Maker Sues Eli Lilly For False Advertising; Inside China's Village Super League; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired July 21, 2026 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:37]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Coming to you live from New York, I am Zain Asher.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. You are watching the second hour of "One World."
President Donald Trump is meeting with his Lebanese counterpart at the White House right now. Joseph Aoun's visit comes at a critical time as he
appeals for a lasting peace in his country after months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Trump said that he would discuss concrete plans to
help Lebanon deal with the militant group.
But the conversation soon turned to the U.S. war with Iran. The U.S. president said that Iran desperately wants to make a deal because they are
decimated. And he also downplayed the threat of a Houthi blockade in the Red Sea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is your level of concern of a blockade of the Red Sea by the Houthi rebels opening up another front in the war?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, we have to see what happens. So far, it hasn't happened, it might happen, but we take care of
things. If something like that happens, we take care of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Donald Trump, meanwhile, is threatening to escalate the U.S. war with Iran as America beefs up its firepower in the region.
ASHER: Now, Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain all say they intercepted attacks today and are responding to hostile drone and missile threats.
Kuwait says the targets include civilian infrastructure. Washington and Tehran have been trading intensifying strikes and counterattacks for 11
straight days, rushing up concerns of a wider regional conflict.
GOLODRYGA: And now a new front is threatening to open up. As you heard, Houthi rebels in Yemen warned Saudi ships to refrain from using the Red
Sea.
It comes one day after the group, an ally of Iran, declared a blockade on Saudi shipping in a move that could close off a vital conduit for global
energy supplies.
ASHER: CNN's Kevin Liptak joins us live now from the White House. So, Kevin, you are obviously watching that bilateral meeting between the
Lebanese president and President Trump.
I was saying to our Nic Robertson that it is going to be a tall order for Joseph Aoun to try to really convince Donald Trump that Lebanon, as a
state, can really defang Hezbollah, can essentially demilitarize, can take away their weapons, can disarm the terrorist group.
Just walk us through what sort of position Donald Trump is because -- is in, because obviously he does have allegiances to Israel. And their
priority in all of this is really securing the northern part of the country.
Just -- just walk us through what the president's priorities and the goals are -- his goals are in this meeting as well.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. And I think the president -- in the president's view, the Lebanon conflict, yes, it's
secondary to the Iran war that he remains mired in, but it is a linchpin to trying to get that resolved.
Remember the MOU that he signed a few weeks ago, but he now says is dead. The first paragraph was that the war in Lebanon would end. And so trying to
get the two sides together to agree to what they have done today, which is the Israeli forces withdrawing from some of these villages in Southern
Lebanon, I think is a win in the president's mind, but is also a bright spot in what is otherwise a very bleak picture in the Middle East.
And so I think the president very much wanted to welcome Aoun to the press, to the White House today, to try and sort of bolster him politically in
order for him to maintain this agreement that was reached.
You know, he's the first Lebanese president at the White House in 16 years, which is quite a long time. You see people come through here all the time,
and I think just gives you a picture of how the president is invested in strengthening his position here.
But now that they are behind the scenes and, you know, getting down to the real talks, one of the points that I think Aoun will make is to try and
convince the president to apply whatever pressure he can on Benjamin Netanyahu to uphold Israel's part of this agreement.
You know, Netanyahu is under an enormous amount of political pressure to -- in fact, to keep up the fight in Lebanon. He has elections coming up in
October. And I think all sides of this, at least when you talk to American officials, they seem to understand that a broader peace agreement between
Lebanon and Israel will not be possible until after those elections have concluded.
And so for now, yes, they see success in getting the Israelis to pull out, but they don't necessarily see this going much further until the -- some of
the political questions are resolved in Israel.
The other question that's hanging over all of this is Hezbollah, you know, they were not party to any of these negotiations. They have rejected this
agreement and, you know, it only will take, I think, a renewed offensive on the part of Hezbollah in Israel for this all to completely fall apart. And
so it is a fragile truce, but it is one that at least in the minds of American officials is working for now.
[12:05:18]
ASHER: Kevin Liptak, live for us. Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: Let's go to Nic Robertson who is joining us from Jerusalem.
Some notable statements from the president, I think, what those in Israel would pay most attention to is President Trump following reports from
Israeli intelligence that some centrifuges may have been moved to Pickaxe Mountain.
This is a mountain that is believed to be even deeper, some 450 feet, where underground, where some of these centrifuges may have been moved last year
following the 12-day war. President Trump saying that that may indeed be the -- the United States' next target here.
What -- what impact would that have on Israel? The finance minister just today saying Israel has no intentions of rejoining the war. Would this be
an operation that the United States would be taking unilaterally?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: I'm sorry because I lost the connection to you, so I didn't hear all of your -- all of your
question. I'm really sorry, if you can ask me again. I'm really sorry.
GOLODRYGA: Just the response and reaction to President Trump saying that the United States may indeed be striking Pickaxe Mountain after reports
that Israel had passed along intelligence, that some centrifuges may have been transferred to Pickaxe Mountain following the 12-day war last year
where those bunker busters were used on Fordow and other sites where the United States and Israel both believed the majority of that highly enriched
uranium was being stored.
ROBERTSON: Yes, that was a very important -- a very sort of significant question because it does raise that the fundamental question of how does
President Trump move this war forward with Iran at the moment to get the conclusion he wants.
Most people talk about and most of the military action has been about and Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defense, spoke about it there in that
meeting that Iran's actions in the Strait of Hormuz will be met with a 10 times force, that is, every time they target a ship.
So, the -- the war has sort of so much been focused around the Strait of Hormuz, but the president continues to -- to have that maintain that
narrative, that the important thing to come out of all of this is that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.
So, the question of Israel's assessment that this is where some of that highly enriched uranium and the centrifuges may be really puts the broader
perspective, how does the president plan to -- plan to handle that? And he did indicate that there might be a strike coming soon.
Iran would have obviously prepared for that and they will have understood how they were targeted in --in June last year with that very precise
bunker, the -- the bombs that were able to sort of drop down the -- the ventilation shafts deep under -- deep under the mountain. It's not going to
be an easy bombing mission, so it's not quite clear what the president means here.
And as we've heard from the president in the past, sometimes what he says in the chair in the White House when he's -- when he's handed a question
like that, doesn't always come to pass, but it does indicate a view of his that he is prepared to expand the war beyond just the Strait of Hormuz.
We have seen some strikes deeper into -- deeper into Iran over the past few days, but this would be a significant upshift from where -- from where the
strikes have been so far.
And I think an important caveat in military planning for that will be something that hasn't really been tested much in the U.S. strikes on Iran
over the past 10 days, and that is Iran's air defense posture and capability that will have been reconstituted during the ceasefire over the
last few months, and that will present a threat.
So, this is getting that deep into Iranian airspace to have a penetrating and effective strike or landing. Special Forces on the ground, which really
at this point just seems a bit of a stretch to imagine. But to -- to pull that off, you have to have a lot of preparatory work to take out a lot of
air defenses.
So, it doesn't seem to me that this is something that can happen in quick order, but the Pentagon will have plans to put something in place should
the president ask. I don't think that should be in doubt.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And the president, one may assume why or question why he would be telegraphing such a strike. He followed that announcement by
saying the only reason he was making it was because there was nothing that Iran could do to stop the United States, again begging the question of the
strength of Iran's air defense systems right now.
[12:10:03]
Nic Robertson in Jerusalem for us, thank you. Sorry for the audio problems.
ASHER: All right. Let's bring in CNN business senior reporter David Goldman. He's keeping an eye on oil markets.
One topic that we haven't touched on much in the past hour or so is this major announcement by Houthi rebels, which is obviously controls by Iran.
They're saying they are going to block oil shipments from the Red Sea, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, essentially putting a naval blockade on Saudi
shipping.
This is huge because obviously through this war, David, Iran's number one piece of leverage has been global oil prices, has been the Strait of
Hormuz. They're now expanding that.
Just explain to us what sort of impact this move by the Houthi rebels will have on energy prices around the world.
DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS REPORTER: You're seeing it today. I mean, we're up above $91 a barrel. That's up more than two percent.
So, certainly the oil market is getting a little concerned about it. Let's talk about what you were just saying. The Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, this is one
of the ways that Saudi Arabia has been getting oil out by passing the Strait of Hormuz, which we know has been effectively closed for a week or
so. It was opened very briefly.
But this is one of the main routes that Saudi Arabia has used to get its oil to India and Asia. And so if this is cut off, well, the last way to go
is up through the Suez Canal. But this is potentially a problem as well, because if Yemen, the Houthis in Yemen, start bombarding Yanbu, which is
the big port, well, then all of that is in trouble as well.
This has diverted, and we're not talking about a little bit of oil. We're talking about a lot of oil, almost five million barrels a day through Yanbu
diverted from the Strait of Hormuz. So, this is significant oil.
Now, to Asia of that, this is around, you know, three million barrels a day. That is under threat.
And to put this into perspective, this is the amount of oil that China has not purchased, right, which has been keeping that -- that -- that ceiling
on oil prices, if this becomes a bigger problem, well, then you can imagine what's going to happen with oil prices.
Something around $5 to $10 per barrel, according to Pickering Energy Partners, that could get prices back above $100 a barrel, if that happens.
But it's not just oil, it's diesel as well. Saudi's export more than 200,000 barrels of diesel north through the Suez Canal to Europe. If that
evaporates, then the United States becomes the exporter of last resort. Then you start to worry about diesel prices, which are already today at
$5.14. That could go significantly higher, Zain.
ASHER: All right. David Goldman, live for us there. Thank you. Thank you so much.
GOLDMAN: Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: We're joined now by Sabrina Singh, CNN global affairs commentator and former deputy press secretary under the Pentagon -- at the
Pentagon under the Biden administration.
Sabrina, so there you just heard that press conference with the president of Lebanon there in the Oval Office. And the president announcing perhaps
that the United States plans to strike Pickaxe Mountain after reports that some centrifuges may have been moved there last year. This coming
reportedly from Israeli intelligence.
Just give us the options the president would have and in fact they do pursue what he -- he's just said in striking Pickaxe. It's reportedly much
deeper even than Fordow. And since Fordow, subsequently we have heard, that -- that all of that enriched material has not been destroyed despite what
the Pentagon initially said.
SABRINA SINGH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Well, it's quite an extraordinary statement to hear from the president. I mean, we've heard
this again -- time and again, before he forecasts military operations.
I've never seen a commander in chief do that. I mean, it's incredibly dangerous for our pilots who will conduct those operations, for our sailors
who might be launching missiles towards Pickaxe Mountain. It is giving the enemy time and -- and being able to plan for some of these attacks.
Now, Pickaxe Mountain, we know there are tunnels that are deeply buried that even our large, you know, bunker buster munitions cannot reach.
So, I think it's about continuing to bury that -- that material and making it just close to impossible to really extract anytime soon.
I mean, the president was sort of flipping about timelines. He said, you know, they can't rebuild. They'll never be able to rebuild. They won't be
able to rebuild for 20 to 25 years. We don't want Iran to ever have a nuclear weapon.
[12:15:09]
So, you know, further bearing that certainly gets to some of those objectives. But at the end of the day, that material is still in country,
in Iran.
GOLODRYGA: And, Sabrina, the president was also asked about the tragic news of the -- the deaths of U.S. service members. Three have been -- have been
announced over the weekend. Sadly, we just had the name of the third service member released. Our thoughts are obviously with their family
members.
But the president was asked about this strike in Jordan at a U.S. base, and he seemed to shift the blame to those who were operating the interceptor,
suggesting that if that had been different operators, perhaps the United States, that that wouldn't have happened.
How unusual is that to hear from the commander in chief publicly like that? And do you think there's much validity to that explanation?
SINGH: Look, it's incredibly strange to be blaming our men and women in uniform who are doing everything they can to the best of their abilities to
fend off attacks when it comes to Iran.
And -- and the attack that we saw in MSAT, the -- the -- the ballistic and drone attack that Jordan is experiencing where we have different military
bases, you know, our -- our people are putting their lives on the line to protect our freedoms.
And so it is -- it is examples like this where a drone just gets through and our air defenses are not able to protect everyone. And this is the
high, very high cost of war.
And so I thought that was just a very strange statement to make. Certainly, what the Pentagon will be doing now is there's always an investigation when
it comes to any death of a service member.
So, the Pentagon will be reviewing if our air defenses failed in some way what happened. How can we make those improvements for the next time?
But I think it's really awful to shift the blame to those who were just trying to do their jobs and probably did end up saving more lives.
But, you know, unfortunately, we had this horrific tragedy with the death of our two service members there in Jordan.
How would you go about qualifying the state of the war right now? Are we -- we're clearly passed a ceasefire, but the Iranian president is describing
this as full-on war. We're now in our 10th day, 10th night now of U.S. strikes.
Iran has followed suit as well. Are we on at -- back at full-on war, Sabrina?
SINGH: You know, the way I look at it is -- I mean, we are at an expanded war. I think it's fair to say we are at a full-on conflict again. I mean,
10th consecutive day of strikes from both sides and our key Gulf allies are getting hit almost every day between Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait.
Now, we haven't seen strikes widen out to, you know, Saudi and -- and potentially other countries, but, you know, that's something that we need
to be concerned about.
And I think with the Houthis signaling that they could potentially close the Bab El-Mandeb, that was something that we dealt with when I was in the
Biden administration at the Pentagon. That is a significant waterway that even during that time, traffic got rerouted through the Horn of -- of
Africa.
And so shipping changed then. If the -- if the Red Sea and the Bab El- Mandeb gets closed by the Houthis, this is certainly a wider regional war. And I think a very much an unintended consequence is that this Trump
administration did not foresee and did not account for in their planning.
GOLODRYGA: The president seemed to be a bit more dismissive of the Houthis, saying that there's no problem that the United States has right now with
the Houthis, that they've settled that in the past.
If you have the Houthis now fully engaging in this war, there had been a question as to when and if that would happen. They're at least threatening
to do that, in addition to clawing -- closing off another chokehold there.
Can you talk about what happens then if Hezbollah comes back into the mix, just as the president there is trying to lay down landmark peace deals and
negotiations between the Lebanese president and Israel?
SINGH: Well, the Houthis entering the war would just open up a new front. And, frankly, the Houthis have retained a deep magazine of capabilities
that they have access to.
So, I think bringing them into this war to ensure that the Bab El-Mandeb and to ensure that tankers could be able to transit that waterway, that
would mean that the U.S. Navy would also have to put more ships into that waterway.
[12:20:05]
Right now, we have 20 different naval ships just focused on the blockade in Iran. Think about the strain that that's going to put on our naval forces
and our entire military. It's going to require a lot of money, a lot of resources, and a lot of manpower.
And so the Houthis, all they have to do is fire one drone that hits one tanker, and that you, you know, you automatically have an incident
happening in that waterway.
So, I -- I mean, I know the president likes to downplay things and say that Iran, you know, has no military capabilities anymore.
The reality is that if the Houthis enter this war, it's going to be very difficult for the military to handle all of these fronts while continuing
to strike Iran.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And again, as I noted, there's Hezbollah too, which has been --
SINGH: Right.
GOLODRYGA: -- a bit more reserved over the past few weeks. They have every incentive to rejoin now if they do see a historic piece moving forward
between Lebanon and Israel as well.
Sabrina Singh, thank you so much. Good to see you.
SINGH: Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: Well, Britain's new prime minister has hosted his first cabinet meeting. What we've learned about Andy Burnham's plans for the United
Kingdom.
Plus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TANI SIDHU BHARGAVA, PROTESTER: This government is only interested in power, fame, and money. They don't have a shred of decency in them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: How a throwaway insult brought thousands of protesters onto the streets of India, demanding to challenge -- determined to challenge Prime
Minister Modi.
And coming up after the break, we'll tell you about the new effort to find out if Jeffrey Epstein was an agent for multiple countries outside of the
United States.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Jeffrey Epstein is back in the news, but not for his sex crimes. Democrats in the U.S. House have launched a probe into whether Epstein
acted as an agent for foreign governments without being registered.
According to Representative Jamie Raskin, their substantial evidence of the convicted sex offender helped the interests of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and a
former Israeli prime minister. Raskin is requesting information from the Trump administration on Epstein.
Annie Grayer joins us now from Washington with the details. Annie, what are you learning?
ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Raskin is requesting a lot of documents from the Department of Justice, from the Office of Director of
National Intelligence and from the Department of State, because he says that even from the information that he's been able to go through from the
publicly available Epstein files released by the Department of Justice and documents released by the oversight committee, that he's already found
substantial evidence to show that Epstein was working as an unregistered foreign agent with countries like you mentioned, Russia, Saudi Arabia,
Kuwait, and Israel.
[12:25:23]
And Raskin is probing to get more documents to try and understand what more specifics he can learn.
He's also asking the Department of Justice to put in writing whether it's ever investigated in any capacity whether Epstein was an unregistered
foreign agent.
So, that is some -- a big announcement from Democrats on the Judiciary Committee today, but they are currently in the minority in Congress,
meaning, they don't control committees, they don't have subpoena power.
So, this letter for voluntary cooperation with these agencies in the Trump administration is unlikely to be answered, but it does provide us with a
preview into how Democrats might approach continuing an investigation into Jeff Epstein if they would claim the majority in the House this November.
Separately, the House Oversight Committee, Democrats on that committee are keen on continuing that investigation. That's a committee that's
interviewed 18 witnesses so far, including Hillary and Bill Clinton, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Bill Gates, and a number of powerful men
in Epstein's orbit.
So, the announcement today just shows how the issue of Jeffrey Epstein is not going away and Democrats are finding new angles on how to probe it.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Annie Grayer, you'll be following this for us. Thank you.
ASHER: All right. Still to come here on "One World," the Canadian Prime Minister's response, the new tariffs President Trump has slapped on
Canadian goods.
GOLODRYGA: Plus, a new kind of weight loss battle. Why the companies behind hugely popular obesity drugs are heading to court?
ASHER: And a headline about a feline, one of Downing Street's longest serving resident is telling all about what he thinks of Britain's new prime
minister. That's (INAUDIBLE) after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:30:09]
GOLODRYGA: All right. Welcome back to "One World." I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher.
The White House says, the President Trump's hefty new tariffs and about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods will take effect in 30 days.
He had threatened tariffs in retaliation for wildfire smoke from Canada that drifted into the United States. But as officials say that the new 50
percent levies are unrelated to that issue.
Moments ago at the White House, he said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Canada's been a very, very tough on us over the years. Oh, for many years. And no other presidents done anything about it. I've -- I love
Canada. I love the people of Canada. Many friends that live in Canada.
But their leadership from Trudeau to the current leadership, I mean, in all fairness to them, they need us to survive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: The timing of this announcement is peculiar following Trump's outwardly friendly meeting with Mark Carney just the other day at the World
Cup final.
Here's what the Canadian Prime Minister said when asked about the tariffs earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: I spoke with President Trump earlier this morning. We agreed to intensify negotiations in the coming weeks. And
the team and myself look forward to doing that.
As always, Canadians, governments, business, labor will stand together to build Canada strong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: According to research from Capital Economics, about five percent of Canadian imports would be affected by the latest tariff increase.
ASHER: Time now for The Exchange. Joining us live now from the Canadian capital, Ottawa, the chief data scientist and founder of Nanos Research,
Nik Nanos.
Nik, just in terms of how Canada has approached this so far. I mean, this is not the first time that Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on Canada.
Their sort of strategy has been to impose retaliatory tariffs.
Just walk us through whether that strategy has worked, whether it has backfired, especially given where we are today with this new announcement
by the Trump administration.
NIK NANOS, CHIEF DATA SCIENTIST AND FOUNDER, NANOS RESEARCH: Well, what's clear is that the strategy of retaliatory tariffs from Canada on the United
States is actually quite popular in -- in Canada.
And, you know, when you look at the polling, it's clear that the -- the government strategy aligns with how Canadians feel.
Whether that's the best strategy or not, we won't know until after there is an agreement and what might be part of that agreement.
But it's interesting in some of the initial reaction in Canada, especially from the leaders of various provinces across the country, they've been
giving counsel to the prime minister, who I think they'll be meeting with today to say, better no deal than a bad deal.
And I think that's how many Canadians feel when it comes to what may be in store for the binational relationship when it comes to trade.
GOLODRYGA: Well, in one regard, Mark Carney owes his prime ministership to President Trump, really. I think had Trump not attacked Canada, loving
these tariffs and claiming that it's the U.S.'s 51st state. He may not even be in this position.
And yet, his position seems to differ from some other premiers, namely the Ontario premier, who is demanding dollar for dollar retaliation, while Mark
Carney is pushing for more talks with the White House.
How is that being perceived by the public? Can Mark Carney, at this point, afford to sort of be the calmest person in the room?
NANOS: Well, I think he can afford it, at least at this particular point in time. The reason being is, is that for Canadians, when it comes to
uncertainty in the binational relationship, when it comes to worry about the economy, the Canadian economy, that is, they blame Donald Trump. They
don't blame Mark Carney for this because they know that the White House, the administration, has been the initiator.
And, you know, let's face it, this new tariff, this 50 percent tariff that the president has announced, I look at it as the president just firing a
starter pistol that the -- that the president wants to have negotiations with Canada.
So, it's -- it's one way to get the attention of the Canadian government and to bring the Canadian government to the table.
It's -- it's another thing as to whether there will be progress on the trade negotiations because although Canadians overwhelmingly want to have a
trade deal with the United States, it's about 80 percent of Canadians, they don't want to have a bad deal.
And I think that's what Prime Minister Carney is hoping to try to navigate, not to look weak, but to have a deal that is perceived as beneficial to
Canada, but also a win for the United States.
ASHER: What has been Canada's strategy so far in dealing with these tariffs and protecting Canadian exporters and Canadian businesses that have been
affected by these tariffs?
As I understand it, there's been loans, there's been financial support. But one of the key areas that Mark Carney has really emphasized, this idea of
diversifying away from the United States and not having this sort of overreliance and overdependence on a trading partner that quite frankly has
been somewhat unreliable so far.
[12:35:11]
Just to explain to us how Canadian businesses are faring under the Trump administration's policies thus far.
NANOS: Well, the Canadian businesses are definitely feeling the squeeze, especially those that rely on -- on the U.S. as a major market.
You know, the strategy for Mark Carney has been international and global and to diversify trade with Europe and Asia and -- and -- and even the
Middle East.
And, you know, the thing is, is that we have to remember that for all of these initiatives, and they've been fast and furious for Canadian Prime
Minister Mark Carney, the fact of the matter is, is that diversifying trade with the United States is a very tall order. You might as well just ask the
government to be boiling the ocean, because more than 70 percent of all our trade is with the United States.
Like diversification would be going from like the mid-70s of all of our trade in the world, or having a trade with the U.S. down to the mid-60s.
So, the fact of the matter is, is that even with everything that the Canadian Prime Minister is doing to diversify trade, the reality is, is
that at the end of the day, the United States will remain the most important trading partner for Canada, regardless of what happens in terms
of talks with Europe, Asia, or any other part of the world.
GOLODRYGA: So, after 18 months of tariffs and threats over fentanyl, wildfires, hockey sticks, I mean, you name it, I do wonder if there's a
sense of fatigue amongst Canadians, just this constant tension with the United States, something most people wouldn't have even imagined just two
years ago.
How is that polling? And ultimately, where do they want to see this land?
NANOS: Well, there's no fatigue yet. We have to remember that Canada is a country that invite -- that invented ice hockey. Fighting is part of the
game. You fight in an ice hockey game, you don't get ejected. You usually go back into the ice after serving a penalty.
So, there's not a lot of fatigue right now, just because Canadians know that the importance of the Canada-U.S. relation is paramount. They're
worried about the future, but they still understand that they need stability and what I'll say a reasonable deal with the United States.
The big question is, is as there's uncertainty in the Canadian economy, as Canadian consumer confidence remains flat, how long a runway will Canadian
Prime Minister Mark Carney have? We don't know that.
But, you know, the fact of the matter is, is that Canadians firmly focus a lot of their anxiety and a lot of their anger at the White House, not
necessarily at the prime minister, and just see the prime minister as someone that's trying to navigate in a world that is much different than it
was three or four years ago.
ASHER: Yes. I assume they -- they -- they view it as he's doing the best -- best that he can.
Nic Nanos, live for us there. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
GOLODRYGA: Well, true to its name, India's Cockroach Movement is proving a nuisance to the government.
ASHER: Yes. Thousands of protesters have filled New Delhi streets for days driven by anger over mass youth unemployment and leaked exam papers.
CNN's Ivan Watson has more on what this unique moment means.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Indian government has a cockroach problem. A youth protest movement that
calls itself the Cockroach Janta Party.
On Monday, thousands of these demonstrators descended on New Delhi, a rare mass protest in the heart of India's capital, defying a police ban.
Police firing tear gas to stop the protesters from marching to the Indian Parliament.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope they -- they listen to us, because if not now, then I don't know if it is -- if it's a democracy or like dictatorship.
BHARGAVA: We've had bad governments, but we've never had such an evil government. Because this government is only interested in power, fame and
money. They are genuinely non-biological. They don't have a shred of decency in them.
WATSON (voice-over): The Cockroach Party began barely two months ago with this social media post from Abhijeet Dipke, a graduate student from Boston
University in response to a top judge who appeared to call India's unemployed youth cockroaches.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are youngsters like cockroaches.
WATSON (voice-over): Dipke launched the Cockroach Party demanding reform of the country's scandal-prone education system and the firing of the
Education Minister. That official has since called the Cockroach Party terrorists.
[12:40:00]
Last month, the Cockroach Party began a small sit-in protest in downtown Delhi. It was joined by activist and educator, Sonam Wangchuk, who went on
hunger strike.
On Saturday, police forcibly removed Wangchuk from the protest, taking him to a hospital.
Since then, a movement that had existed mostly online suddenly burst onto the streets of Indian cities.
On Monday, India's health minister met face-to-face with Cockroach Party representatives, asking them to end their sit-in.
But they're still calling for the resignation of the education minister, a rare show of defiance that's put the government of Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on the defensive.
Ivan Watson, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Our thanks to Ivan for that report.
Well, new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has held his first cabinet meeting. Burnham came into office promising rapid steps to ease the cost of
living, and that was at the top of his agenda as he met with ministers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDY BURNHAM, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: We need to, every day, think, well, what can we do just to take that little bit of pressure off people's shoulders,
just to give them that little extra sense that help is coming, so they can have that bit of -- bit of hope.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: And what does Downing Street's various residents make of the new prime minister? Well, Anna Stewart asked them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So you get seventh prime minister in just over 10 years. What do you think?
Not a huge amount. And there may have been a little bit of bribery for this interview, but I -- I hope you agree that this is probably the biggest
opinion you'll ever get in Downing Street.
Larry, what do you think? Do we like Prime Minister Andy Burnham?
Andy Burnham allegedly has a dog called Axel. How are you behaving with Axel? Not a big fan of the new prime minister's dog.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: All right. How did Anna get past Larry's security detail? That's what I want to know.
Larry the Cat to Downing Street's chief mouser is now on his seventh prime minister. His first with David Cameron, who was prime minister back when
Larry was adopted from Battersea Dogs Home back in 2011.
No word on which prime minister Larry thinks is perfect.
ASHER: Oh, I like what you did there.
GOLODRYGA: Oh, that's Camille doing it for us. Anna will continue to investigate.
"One World" continues right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:45:21]
ASHER: All right. Let's take a look and see how the markets here in the U.S. are doing. Look at that green across -- across the board. Dow was up
about one percent. So as S&P 500. And the NASDAQ slightly more than one percent. This is your business breakout.
GOLODRYGA: Oil prices are on the rise again after Yemen's Houthi rebels declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude oil
exporter. At last check, Brent crude was trading for more than $91 a barrel.
ASHER: U.S. health officials say that Taylor Farms remains the focus of its cyclosporiasis investigation. Despite a false positive test. Lettuce from
the farm was initially blamed for a diarrhea outbreak in several states. And the Food and Drug Administration says it has very strong evidence that
Taylor Farms recall still applies in 27 states.
GOLODRYGA: The maker of the weight loss drug, Wegovy, has filed a lawsuit against its rival, Eli Lilly, the company behind Zepbound. Denmark's Novo
Nordisk is accusing the U.S. company of false advertising by claiming that its products outperform Novo Nordisk's weight loss medication. It says
Lilly is using outdated trial data and making deceptive comparisons. The companies are battling for dominance in the lucrative obesity drug market.
ASHER: Yes. Anna Cooban joins us live now with more. Anna, talk to us about the rivalry between these two companies.
ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS REPORTER: Well, Zain, this is really a duopoly, this booming weight loss drug industry all around the
world.
And one of the claims that Novo Nordisk is making against Eli Lilly, really the central claim of this lawsuit, is that what Lilly has done is compared
outdated clinical data comparing a lower dose version of Novo's drug with a higher dose version of Lilly's drug.
And, of course, that will produce more weight loss. But what Novo says is that it's now got a higher dose version, so why won't you just compare that
for recency?
But then Eli Lilly in a statement today is saying that we stand by our ad. We're citing data from a robust clinical head-to-head trial. And that
they're willing to fight and really fight this legal challenge here.
But I think it's interesting to kind of dial back a bit a few years. Novo Nordisk makes Ozempic. Now, that's the diabetes drug that really kicked off
this whole weight loss drug craze and still this new weight loss drug era we find ourselves in is synonymous with Ozempic.
But it's really been falling behind Eli Lilly in terms of market share in an all-important market the United States. And one of the ways that they
can really go head-to-head and compete is through advertising.
And so it's no surprise that we're seeing this tension come up between these two companies in this really big market, the United States.
ASHER: Anna Cooban, live for us there. Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: Coming up, adding newborn quadruplets to your family is amazing on its own. But the odds of this pregnancy is about one in 15 million.
ASHER: Wow. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:50:47]
ASHER: All right. We miss the World Cup.
GOLODRYGA: And that animation. The music.
ASHER: But there's always a soccer game happening somewhere.
GOLODRYGA: That's right. China's Village Super League is beloved at home.
Our CNN's Mike Valerio shows us the enthusiasm and the dedication of these amateur soccer players.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the pitch in a remote corner of Northern China, the chanting, dancing, and thousands of
fans hanging on every shot. This isn't the World Cup. This is Cun Chao, China's amateur Village Super League.
Right back Tong Zehao and his teammates are one win away from Cun Chao glory. But first, he has teeth to fix. Tong, the dentist becomes, Tong, the
defender.
TONG ZEHAO, AMATEUR SOCCER PLAYER (through translator): You could say it's a dream come true, standing in the spotlight like this. It's not something
I normally get the chance to experience.
VALERIO (voice-over): Like Tong, nearly all the players have day jobs. Professionals are barred, giving amateurs a stage of their own. That
grassroots model reverses the top-down path Chinese soccer has pursued for years.
Beginning in the 2010s, China's property giants spent billions bringing international stars into the professional league. The spending brought a
brief burst of success, before China's property boom unraveled, along with bribery and match-fixing scandals.
All this despite Chinese leader Xi Jinping, himself an avid fan, making soccer a national priority.
VALERIO: So, there are no multi-million dollar contracts here. As soon as all these guys are done work, they pack up their things, drive for hours,
put on their cleats and come here because of their love of the game.
VALERIO (voice-over): While Tong and his team step onto the pitch for the final, the entire community gathers at the stadium near festive
performances and bustling night markets.
But above all, they're here to cheer on their home team. That's the side in red taking on Tong's team.
CHEN XUAN, CUN CHAO FAN (trough translator): I first got to know soccer because Cun Chao came to my hometown. Before that, I didn't really know
much about soccer.
WANG YANG CUN CHAO FAN (trough translator): Cun Chao is more about getting ordinary Chinese people involved in soccer. It helps everyone learn about
the sport.
VALERIO: The Cun Chao phenomenon began in southwest China only a few years ago. And ever since, it's been people from doctors to delivery drivers
taking to the field and entire communities turning these matches into festivals.
VALERIO (voice-over): Cun Chao offers what money and mandates struggle to produce. Local stars playing for the communities, cheering them on. And
just before the eve of the World Cup final in Fuping, it all came down to this, heartbreak. A one-nil loss for Tong's team.
TONG ZEHAO, AMATEUR SOCCER PLAYER (through translator): Winning and losing are both part of the game. It's normal and we can accept it. We'll come
back and fight again next year.
VALERIO: So for a country that is still someday searching for World Cup glory, they didn't stop believing in the game, they just found another way
here to love it.
Mike Valerio, CNN Fuping County, China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Every day, there's soccer being played around the world.
All right. Well, a family in Australia has welcomed four identical baby girls into the world.
ASHER: Yes. They join mom and dad's four other children. And there's even more to their story. Doctors believe this could be the first naturally
conceived pregnancy of its kind in Australia.
GOLODRYGA: Here's Seven Network's Michael Hammond on the sensational Aussie quadruplets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL HAMMOND, REPORTER, SEVEN NETWORK (voice-over): Too tiny for their parents' arms just yet. These four little girls approved the rarest
beginnings can have the brightest futures.
ALEXA BENDALL, OBSTETRICIAN, ROYAL BRISBANE AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL: They have come from one fertilized egg that has split four times, which is
incredible.
HAMMOND (voice-over): Occurring in just one in 15 million pregnancies, it's an Australian first and one of only a few cases worldwide.
DR. SIMONE CAMPBELL, QUEENSLAND FERTILITY GROUP: To share a placenta just means that that splitting has happened relatively late in the embryo life.
So, exceptionally rare.
HAMMOND (voice-over): Parents, Jenitar and Jortham already had four kids rolling the dice one more time.
[12:55:01]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When they found out that they had four babies instead of one, they were quite shocked.
HAMMOND (voice-over): The pregnancy extremely complex.
BENDALL: And there is a high risk of mortality and morbidity for these babies as and for mom.
HAMMOND (voice-over): But thanks to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Emily, Harriet, Alexa and Catherine were safely delivered by C-
section at 28 weeks, each weighing just over a kilogram.
HAMMOND: For now, the girls remain in the neonatal intensive care unit, growing stronger every day.
In a few months, when they've reached full-term, they should be ready to go home.
HAMMOND (voice-over): "From mom, one little hand, one giant miracle. Every day, our miracle babies grow stronger is another answered prayer. We love
you more than words can ever say."
BENDALL: Long term, their outlook will be really good.
HAMMOND (voice-over): Michael Hammond, Seven News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: It's an amazing story, but, you know, every family that's thinking about having one more is wondering whether they should roll the
dice from one to four.
ASHER: Two and I'm through.
GOLODRYGA: Amazing.
All right. That does it for "One World" today. I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: I'm Zain Asher. Thank you so much for watching. Bianna will be back with "Amanpour" after the short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:00:00]
END