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Quest Means Business
Protests Rock Hamburg as G20 Leaders Meet; G20: Protests Outside, Policy Clashes Inside; Trump, Putin Meet for First Time; US Economy Adds 222,000 Jobs in June; Fears Grow of US-EU Trade Spat; CNN Inside Raqqa as US-Backed Forces Take on ISIS; US Brexit Secretary Meets Business Leaders; Tesla to Build World's Largest Battery in Australia; India 20 Under 40. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired July 07, 2017 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:00] ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST: That sound marks the end of yet another trading day on Wall Street. You can see there, Colgate ringing the closing
bell.
It was pretty much -- take a look at this. It was pretty much in the green all day. Not even a drop of red. It's a report for you.
Basically, we got that solid jobs report at around 8:30 this morning. It came in at 222,000 jobs added in June. And despite wage growth being
relatively lackluster, the market, as you just saw there, rallied nonetheless.
It is Friday, July 7. Lots of leaders, but who will provide the leadership. We'll be in Hamburg for the latest on the talks and the
protests.
The EU warns it's prepared to fight if the US starts a trade war and a tech financier accused of sexual assault. One victim speaks exclusively to CNN.
Hello, everyone. I'm Zain Asher. And this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
All right. Welcome, everyone. I'm Zain Asher. Lots to get through today on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Certainly going to be a busy show.
World leaders grapple with the dramatic changes in the political landscape. Outside, violent protests rock the streets of Hamburg. Inside,
disagreement on the crucial issues of trade, climate change and immigration as well.
And on the sidelines, the presidents of both Russia and the United States come face-to-face for the first time. We are covering this story from
every single angle.
I want to begin, though, with those protests I was just mentioning. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is calling the violence -- that has so far marked
this G20 Summit -- unacceptable. Those are her words.
It is the biggest security operation ever -- ever -- in Hamburg. And police are calling in reinforcements. One hundred and sixty officers were
injured at last count. They've actually made about 70 arrests. We've seen everything from windows smashed, cars set on fire. Police even say -- get
this -- that one of their helicopters was attacked.
And with such serious concerns over security, US First Lady Melania Trump was at one point unable to leave her guest house in Hamburg. That is how
serious the situation on the ground there in that city was.
I want to bring in Atika Shubert, who is joining us live now in Hamburg. So, Atika, just walk us through. I mean, how much have the protests calmed
down, papered down compared to this time yesterday? And if they have, what's the reason for it?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, to be honest, it's kind of the same situation we had yesterday. I am sure you can hear the music. It's
basically become a gigantic street party.
What we've got behind me here are two water cannons, but there's lots of riot police. They have their helmets off. So, that's an indication that
tensions are pretty low.
Take a look at what they are facing off with. A giant sound system that they've just rigged up here. And really, essentially, it's become a big
rave. And people are just taking over the streets.
Now, that's fine up to a point. At some point, police will come in to try and disperse. But I think they are sort of letting the energy run out now.
That is not the case in other parts of the city. Earlier today, we did see some violence, like rock attacks, for example. And in another part of the
city, there have been reports of burning cars.
Here, however, it is much more of a festival atmosphere. Hopefully, it stays that way, Zain.
ASHER: Wait, wait. So, Atika, why is that? Why has the atmosphere changed in where you are? I know you mentioned that's just where you are.
Why has the atmosphere changed so much from how serious and intense it was yesterday to basically a street party happening behind you?
SHUBERT: I think there's a lot of different people and different groups protesting here. Some of them choose to protest using music. We've seen
drumming groups go by. And others are using much more aggressive, violent tactics, what they call black bloc tactics.
And that's the group that we saw yesterday, which is why police went in and tried to (INAUDIBLE 4:14) of the demonstration. We saw vans of these kinds
of protesters going around today, throwing bottles at police, trying to set fire to barricades in this area.
So, it just depends on who is in the crowd. And that will also trigger a different response from the police.
ASHER: So, Atika, just in terms of some of the other sort of more serious protests that are happening elsewhere in Hamburg, were police actually --
obviously, holding it in Hamburg was, of course, a risk. And they knew that.
Were they ready for what they were going to find today and both yesterday?
SHUBERT: I think they were as ready as they can be. Let me turn around again, so we could show you the kind of show of force that we've been
seeing at almost every protest.
These are two brand-new water cannons. These are the kinds of things they deploy at almost every protest here. And they are one of the first lines
that -- things that they will use to try and disperse the crowd.
[16:05:10] They've also got more than 20,000 police officers here. And so, it's really an incredible amount of policing that's out here.
But the problem is, it's not just one protest here. It's spread out across the city. Over three days, they are expecting 100,000 people possibly to
come out tomorrow. That is a huge policing challenge no matter how you prepare for it, Zain.
ASHER: All right. So, the party atmosphere we are seeing behind you isn't necessarily representative of what's happening out there. Atika Shubert,
live for us there. Thank you so much.
So, you just heard from our Atika Shubert. She gave us the lowdown in terms of what's happening outside Hamburg. We saw protests, although it
was more a party atmosphere where she was.
Inside the G20, alliances have certainly changed and new tensions have formed. So, every single one leader basically receives a briefing book
ahead of their meetings at the G20. This is the first summit in the era of Donald Trump. And the map in many ways has been somewhat redrawn.
So, on climate change, for example, that's a key issue. The United States simply now stands alone. There is no other way of putting it. Donald
Trump, of course, pulled out the Paris Climate Agreement. The other 19 members of the G20 have not been shy about voicing their concern and their
discontent about the US and how they are handling climate change.
From NAFTA to TPP to the TTIP, when it comes to the issues of trade around the world, Donald Trump has slammed trade deals, he says, take advantage
and are unfair for the United States.
His isolationist tone, his protectionist policies are certainly at odds with much of the ideology of the G20. He certainly prefers bilateral trade
deals between individual countries as opposed to these massive deals with multiple countries, like the TPP.
And then, there is, of course, Donald Trump's policy when it comes to immigration. Of course, remember his famous travel ban on Muslim countries
and stance on refugees has drawn the anger of many leaders in Hamburg.
So, despite all of the areas of disagreement, all the areas where the US and the various other countries don't necessarily see eye to eye on, German
Chancellor Angela Merkel says she's looking for places to compromise. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELA MERKEL, CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY (via translator): We all know what the big global challenges are and we know that time is pressing. That's
why solutions can often only be found if we are ready for compromise and if we move towards each other, without, however -- and I'm saying this
explicitly -- letting ourselves be influenced too much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: All right. John Defterios is joining us live now in London. So, John, clearly, there is somewhat of a leadership vacuum when it comes to
the G20. I am curious, just from your perspective, how much does that actually matter and what are the long-term ramifications of that,
especially economically?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, "CNNMONEY" EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: In fact, Zain, many have talked about the G0 world, something coined by Ian Bremmer of the
Eurasia Group, where nobody leads and everybody kind of fights for their own turf going forward.
I think the Hamburg G20 meeting is the beginning of the change in that mentality of the G0 world. I'd go a step further, suggesting that the
protectionist talk by Donald Trump, and even by Theresa May after the Brexit referendum, would suggest that this gave the G20 a jolt in the arm.
And I'm glad you picked that soundbite from Angela Merkel because she said we have to look for compromises. And she went on to say we shouldn't bend
too much. And I think that was a nod specifically about the climate change accord that you talked about in your lead here.
You may not agree with the United States and some of the others that don't want to move ahead on climate change, but we think it's irreversible.
That's the language that's in the original communique that's been drafted and needs to be finalized by tomorrow.
How about on the trade front? The World Trade Organization, I thought it was fascinating, the European Union speaking up for free trade with this
agreement with Japan. It's been worked on for three years. It's now on the table.
The developing world, the BRICS -- so Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- bold enough to put out a statement saying, perhaps Donald
Trump doesn't like the World Trade Organization, but we think it's irreplaceable and we want to support the multilateral trading system.
Remember, when you had the last meeting of finance ministers and trade ministers, the White House was fighting to strip the language out of the
communique and now the developing world saying let's put it back in.
So, let's put into perspective. Donald Trump meets with Enrique Pena Nieto of Mexico. Talks about having them again pay for the wall, reworking
NAFTA, and the rest of the world saying, look, we're not going to abandon the architecture of post-World War II anymore. I think it's a big shift.
And Angela Merkel strong enough to make it happen in a G20 that's often said is unwieldy, it's too big, can't be managed. She is trying to bring
it right back to life.
ASHER: So then, John, my question to you is, if you're Angela Merkel, is your goal to try and sort of steer Donald Trump to your way of thinking or
is it more just to make sure that Europe is more united than ever before despite the isolationist, protectionist policies we are hearing from the
United States?
[16:10:16] DEFTERIOS: Well, I think the core of Europe is back together again. Angela Merkel was kind of on her own as the strongest leader. The
core of Europe being, of course, Germany and France under President Macron. So, that is a shift. But I think the train has left the station here with
the European Union joining up with Japan.
And then, let's carry it further east here now to Asia and to Russia. I thought it was fascinating that President Xi has worked with President
Putin here to have their two sovereign funds going to an investment pool, to start investing in each other's countries.
Don't forget, three years ago, they had a $400 billion gas deal. For 30 years, Russia sending it to China. When nobody else wanted to talk to
Vladimir Putin, President Xi doubling down.
We also have to keep into context here. One Belt, One Road, this is President Xi's initiative, 67 countries. This is that tilt to the east.
The European Union is involved. It stretches all the way down to Africa.
And not part of this, the United States, of course. And then the UK, not part of the EU/Japan deal that's on the table. So, shot across the bow for
a global Britain that Theresa May was talking about in Hamburg. I don't see those trade agreements building momentum for the UK, isolated because
of the referendum.
ASHER: All right. John Defterios live for us there. Thank you so much. John Defterios there just speaking about all the different disagreements
that we've had at the G20 Summit. Certainly making it very complicated for Donald Trump.
So, that was the main event in Hamburg. But the spotlight today was on the sidelines. For more than two hours, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin met
behind closed doors.
Speaking afterwards, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said President Trump pressed Mr. Putin on the topic of election meddling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REX TILLERSON, US SECRETARY OF STATE: The president pressed President Putin on more than one occasion regarding Russian involvement. President
Putin denied such involvement, as I think he has in the past.
The two leaders agreed, though, that this is a substantial hindrance in the ability of us to move the Russian-US relationship forward. They agreed to
exchange further work regarding commitments with non-interference in the affairs of the United States and our democratic process, as well as those
of other countries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: All right. Dan Merica joins us live now. So, Dan, if President Trump, sat in that meeting with President Putin and brought up the issue of
Russia meddling in the US election and then Vladimir Putin, as expected, denied it, completely denied it, then how constructive could this meeting
have actually been?
DAN MERICA, CNN POLITICS PRODUCER: It's constructive to the degree that there was actually so low expectations going in, to whether Trump was even
going to acknowledge this at all. So, it was quite remarkable when Secretary Tillerson said that he brought it up at the opening, but there is
so much that remains to be seen.
There are swirling controversies that have really cast the power (ph) over this White House, and those will continue whether he brought it up with
Vladimir Putin or not.
There also remains to be seen is how much they are going to do and work on this going forward. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that they will
continue to work on election meddling and on cybersecurity issues, but there was no timetable for that.
So, yes, it is significant that he mentioned this and that this came up so early in his meeting, but there are still a number of questions that are
left and need to be resolved. And I think, over time, those will start to come out. It will come out how much and how forceful he was on this issue.
I think another question is, he addressed this issue -- he addressed this issue early, but as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said himself, Donald
Trump moved on quite quickly and pivoted to another issue in Syria.
ASHER: So, thank you for sort of summing up the topics and what they talked about. But the fact that the meeting, in and of itself, just an
overall perspective, the fact that it lasted four times as long as it was supposed to -- it was scheduled for 30 minutes. I think it lasted 2 hours
and 15 minutes or so. The fact that it lasted so long, I mean, is that a good sign?
MERICA: I think certainly the White House thinks it's a good sign. It caught some White House aides off-guard about how long it lasted. They
kept kind of looking at their watches, realizing that we were passed an hour, past an hour and a half, past two hours.
And Rex Tillerson told a story about how Melania Trump came in an hour before they ended to try and break the meeting up and she couldn't -- did
not succeed. The meeting went on for an hour longer.
So, the relationship here, and that's the kind of key to these early meetings, again, this is the first time Donald Trump was meeting with
Vladimir Putin. So, the fact that their relationship seemed to have been cemented in this meeting and they could sit there and speak for 2 hours and
16 minutes, it's a good sign going forward.
But they touched on some prickly issues, but there are certain to be more prickly issues between the two of them to come. So, what the hope is,
especially of the White House, is that they cemented the relationship, built a strong foundation and can build from there.
[16:15:14] ASHER: Right. Dan Merica live for us. Thank you so much. And I should also mention that, on the other side of the screen, we are getting
-- guys, are these live pictures from Hamburg?
Right. So, these are live pictures from Hamburg. You can see, obviously, something has been set ablaze there. From our Atika Shubert, from what I
gathered, the protests, though, are a lot calmer than what we saw yesterday.
What we saw yesterday was severe rioting in the streets of Hamburg. Now, obviously, you can see something that has been set ablaze and that is,
certainly, for me as a viewer, raising alarm bells, but you can also see people mingling around there where Atika was when she reported to us just
about five, ten minutes ago. There seemed to be much more of a party atmosphere.
The situation here on the ground with the smoke billowing in the air where the object, whatever it is, set on fire seems to be a little bit more
tense. You will have much more on this story a little bit later on in the show.
In the meantime, though, I want to get back to the economic front. Mr. Trump has had some good news from home today.
The monthly jobs report for June showed employment grew more than expected last month -- 222,000 news jobs were created, which is by the way well
ahead of what analysts had been expecting. The unemployment rate rose slightly as more Americans jumped back into the labor market to look for
work.
Wage growth is still sluggish, though, well below the 3.5 percent goal set by the Fed.
In a tweet earlier this week, President Trump said that would change. He said, let me read for you that tweet, "Stock market is at an all-time high,
unemployment at the lowest level in years, wages will start going up and our base has never been stronger.
Let's talk more about this. Joining me now is Stephen Moore, CNN senior economic analyst. He joins us live now. He actually also served as an
advisor to the Trump campaign.
So, these jobs numbers, Stephen, pretty solid, I would say -- 222,000 jobs added in June. Has the president been in office for long enough to take
credit?
STEPHEN MOORE, CNN SENIOR ECONOMIC ANALYST: Well, I think so. I mean, because we saw an immediate bounce. There was a Trump effect
unquestionably right after the election where we saw the stock market improve dramatically.
We saw the big gains in equity values and we've seen a big increase in all the surveys in terms of consumer confidence, investor confidence, small
business confidence is way up. So, there's been a Trump effect. So, I think he can take some of the credit for this.
It was a good jobs report, by the way. In addition to those jobs numbers that you mentioned, there was also a revision of about 40,000 additional
jobs that had not been reported from previous couple of months.
So, it's always a solid report. Remember, Donald Trump had promised 25 million jobs over the next decade. If we could keep up this pace, we would
get there.
ASHER: OK. So, you're saying that Donald Trump can take credit even though he's --
MOORE: Some of it.
ASHER: Some of it, OK. Because Obama should be able to take credit too.
But in terms of wage growth, that was still relatively sluggish.
MOORE: Yes.
ASHER: Excuse me, I just had to cough. Wage growth was still relatively sluggish. He said in the tweet I just pulled up that he expects that to
change. When?
MOORE: Well, wages are a tough one, aren't they? I mean, that's the number one issue, I think, for Americans right now. It's not so much job
growth. I mean, we want job growth, but we've had a lot of jobs.
The problem has been those wages haven't moved now for 15 years and that's made a lot of Americans very financially stressed out.
So, we do want to see a bump up in those wages and we'd like to see the kind of wage increase we had in the 50s, 60s, 80s and 90s. I think that's
going to take some time, frankly. I think he's going to need to get that tax cut done that gives businesses an incentive to invest more, and
investment is really critical to wages.
So, that's a tough one. It will take, I think, a couple of years before we see really robust increases in wages.
ASHER: So, when the Fed looks at this, I mean, they're scheduled to raise interest rates, obviously, jobs report came in solid, it has been solid
overall. Overall. There have been weak spots, but overall solid.
But when they look at the wages, when they look at the wage growth being relatively tepid, relatively lackluster, does that make them think twice at
all or are they still hawkish?
MOORE: I think that the media and a lot of people on Wall Street and investment markets around the world way over-obsess about what the Fed is
going to do. The Fed is going to do what it's going to do.
I'm a big believer that the problems that we have in the United States right now are not monetary problems. We've had low inflation. We've had
very reasonable interest rates and so on. So, our monetary policy has been pretty good.
The problem has been, I think, our tax and regulatory structure. So, whether the Fed raises the rates back quarter points or doesn't do that or
50 basis points, I don't think in the medium term it's going to have any effect whatsoever.
We've got to deal with regulatory and tax issues and then I think you'll see the growth of wages.
ASHER: All right. Stephen Moore live for us there. Always a pleasure to have you on. Thank you.
MOORE: Thank you.
[16:20:02] ASHER: US markets closed higher on Friday, boosted by a strong jobs report, as Stephen was just talking about there, and a rally in tech
stocks. The Dow ended the day around 0.5 percent higher. The NASDAQ and the S&P 500 also closed in the green as well.
Now, if the US tries to protect its Rust Belt, the EU could go after the farm belt. We'll have the latest on the trace back that is bubbling across
the Atlantic. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. I want to take you back to the streets of Hamburg now. You're seeing -- basically, this is a shaky video, what we're seeing. But
you're seeing people milling around. It doesn't seem to be as robust in terms of protests, what we saw yesterday.
But there is, if you look closely, towards the back of the screen, you can see an object that appears to be on fire.
These anti-capitalist protests happen at every single G20 summit, although these protests do seem to have had a little bit more rigor, a little bit
more fervor than what we're used to.
It is taking place in Hamburg -- in the City of Hamburg. Normally, they take place in more remote areas, but this one taking in the City of
Hamburg. And that means that police certainly do have a challenge.
I want to list some of the protest numbers for you -- 160 police injured so far, we know that 70 arrests and 15 people so far have been detained. We
will continue to keep an eye on what's happening in the City of Hamburg where it's gone roughly 10:30 at night.
Again, these protests seem to be calmer than what we saw yesterday. There are people milling around. Where Atika Shubert was reporting on about half
an hour ago, there did seem to be a lot more calm in terms of very much sort of a party atmosphere.
Where we are now -- where we're looking at now, there does seem to be a much more tense atmosphere, but we will keep an eye on these protests and
have much more a little bit later on in the show.
And also brewing in Hamburg, there are fears of a trans-Atlantic trade war. The European Union is in a mood of elevated battle, according to the
commission president Jean-Claude Juncker. He said it will retaliate within days if the US introduces new tariffs or quotas on foreign steel.
In a possible game of tit-for-tat, "The Financial Times" quotes unnamed European officials were drawing up a list of US goods to target in
response. They reportedly include bourbon whiskey, orange juice and dairy products as well.
Speaking at the G20, Mr. Juncker said the EU is prepared for any outcome. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER, PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION (via translator): We've already heard that some are considering protectionist measures
against national imports in the near future. Should this happen, the European Union will know how to react sufficiently.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: All right. Jacob Kirkegaard is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He joins us live now from
Washington.
[16:25:02] So, Jacob, thank you so much for being with us. So, now that the EU and Japan have penned a trade deal and there's still no sign of an
EU-US version, what does that mean for opportunities for American companies, do you think?
JACOB KIRKEGAARD, SENIOR FELLOW, PETERSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS: Well, I mean, it certainly means that they will face a lot more
competition in both the European and Japanese markets, which if you are especially American agricultural producers is bad news because not only
will this sector have lost out from potential new gains with the withdrawal from the TPP, but they will certainly potentially lose very significant
market share in Japan just as American industrial firms will face renewed Japanese competition in Europe. So, it's all around bad news.
ASHER: So, in your mind, do you believe that the UK has a better chance of getting a free trade deal with the United States as opposed to the EU?
KIRKEGAARD: It's possible. But I don't think such a free trade agreement bilaterally between the UK and the US will be necessarily in the UK's
economic interest because I think they will find it very, very difficult to negotiate with an America first administration.
They will be clearly forced to give very large concessions on agriculture, public procurement, which would mean the National Health Service and those
kinds of sectors, which I think will be very politically difficult for Theresa May to deliver.
So, as appealing as such a deal might seem in the short run, when you get down to the nitty-gritty of the economic relationship, I think there's very
little to be gained there frankly for the UK.
ASHER: OK. So then, what about for the EU? If the EU was going to get a trade deal with the United States, I'm assuming it's the same thing where
the America first policy would force the EU to sort of bend to certain demands. What would the EU have to do or agree to to get the US on board
with the free trade deal?
KIRKEGAARD: Well, I mean, if we believe where the TTIP negotiations were left out, I mean, basically, we know what some of the US demands are, they
are in agriculture, especially they are on issues of data privacy and vice versa.
The EU has issues related to public procurement. But I think with regards to TTIP, the really big issue in that trade agreement wasn't so much about
trade, it was about the coming together of the EU and the US and having joint -- mutual industrial standards that would then go on to become global
standards.
So, it's really more an agreement about setting global standards to compel everybody to follow them rather than to liberalize trade further between
the two because, quite frankly, trade barriers between Europe and the United States are already quite low.
ASHER: So, just in terms of overall -- as Donald Trump moves towards much more protectionist, much more isolationist policy, you are seeing other
world leaders do the exact opposite -- move towards much more global economic deals.
From your perspective, the long-term ramifications of that in five, ten years from now are what?
KIRKEGAARD: Well, I mean, it depends, I think, a lot on whether or not the United States continues down this path. I mean, a lot could change in 2020
for sure.
But if the United States continues on this path, what we are witnessing is essentially a sort of 19 to 1 G20 Summit that signals that the US is
isolated, but crucially and very importantly that the rest of the world continues as if the US didn't really matter.
It's business as usual. They continue with liberalizing and integrating. And if the US wants to step aside, well, it can do so, but it cannot change
the functioning of the system that it itself backed -- historically helped underpin, which really has very far-reaching implications for this idea of
US sovereignty because not even the United States today is big or strong enough to, on its own, change the working of the global economic system.
ASHER: Right. So, if the US has its own protectionist policies, that's fine, but the rest of the world is basically going to go full steam ahead.
Jacob Kirkegaard, we have to leave it there. Thank you so much. Appreciate that.
All right, still to come here on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, what was supposed to be a sideline, half an our meeting turned into more than two hours. Two
hours of talk between two of the world's most powerful men. What on earth -- what on earth did they talk about? We'll go back to Hamburg. Next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:32:15] ASHER: Hello, everyone. I'm Zain Asher. There's more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment when we'll get the latest from Hamburg
where President Trump and President Putin met for the very first time.
And Elon Musk says he's building the world's biggest battery.
Before that, these are your headlines at this hour.
US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin met for the first time on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. They talked for,
shall we say, much longer than expected, more than two hours about a range of issues as police battled to keep protesters at bay outside the summit
venue. Police say 196 officers have been injured.
UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is in the Gulf region for some shuttle diplomacy. He'll hold talks with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, trying to
help resolve a boycott of Qatar by leading Arab states. Qatar is dismissing accusations that it finances terror and interferes in other
nations' affairs.
The UN cultural organization has voted to declare the old city of Hebron an endangered Palestinian World Heritage Site. The West Bank city is home to
one of the region's most contested holy shrines revered by both Muslims and Jews. Israel is furious with the move, vowing to reduce its funding to the
UN.
CNN has gained exclusive access into the old city of Raqqa in Syria, the place ISIS thinks of as its capital, just days after US-backed forces
breached a historic and strategic wall. Our Nick Paton Walsh became the first journalist to take a glimpse inside.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are now inside the Old City walls of Raqqa, the capital of ISIS' self-declared
caliphate and the territory in which they will make their final stand in Syria and really the Middle East.
That wall, a key milestone for coalition forces and the Syrian Kurds and Arabs, who now control fully about 200 or 300 meters inside of the old city
here.
Down that way, 200 meters, are ISIS' positions. The forces here don't move around much in the daylight because of the risk of ISIS snipers, less so in
these streets. But it's at night where the majority of the movement forward is, in fact, made.
We have seen US forces here, not far from these positions, anxious not to be filmed or even noticed, frankly, but we understand it's them calling in
the airstrikes, not from the artillery, that's allowing these forces to move forward, frankly, so quickly.
I have been surprised how little of the city ISIS apparently are in right now, an area possibly 1.5 to 3 miles in terms of size, so increasingly
small in the terrain that they hold.
But as we saw in Mosul in Iraq, civilians apparently held in their midst unable to flee because of the ISIS snipers, a real impediment for these
Syrian, Kurdish and Arab fighters, but still the progress here marking potentially the last time that ISIS can say they hold a city in Syria.
[16:35:11] Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, inside the old city of Raqqa, Syria.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: British business leaders met the government's Brexit Secretary David Davis this Friday. Many executives are urging politicians to let the
UK stay in the EU single market until the final divorce deal is in force.
There are also calls for just one transition to a final deal, not two. And leaders say an agreement is needed as quickly as possible.
Barbara Judge is the chair of the Institute of Directors. She joins us live now from London. So, Barbara, is there any - is there any sort of
consensus or unity between British business leaders and the UK government about how Brexit should be handled at all?
BARBARA JUDGE, CHAIR, INSTITUTE OF DIRECTORS: Well, there's a lot of engagement that's going on right now. There was the big meeting that
happened today.
Government officials are looking to British business to come up with ideas, suggestions to work together to determine what they should be talking about
when they get to the table to start negotiations.
ASHER: So, in terms of the transition period, I mean, how do you really limit the shock - the shock to British businesses?
JUDGE: Well, we really need a transition period. That is what business is calling for.
The IoD, as you know, represents 80 percent of British business - 80 percent of British business is small and medium-sized business and we are
the bulk of business and we feel that from the time that we leave the EU - that's 2019 - to when we start having a trade deal is going to be a period
of time and British business needs to have a transition arrangement, so that when 2019 comes, they will not be off a cliff edge, they will know
what the rules are, the transition period will start.
Business can adjust, but it needs to know what to adjust to.
ASHER: So, do you expect - you mentioned that a transition period is needed, but do you expect the UK economy to be more resilient than perhaps
we may give it credit for.
JUDGE: Well, last year, after the referendum vote, it was quite resilient. The British are resilient. The British was a big trade nation before there
ever was a EU.
We are a trading people, but we need to know what the rules are. We need to understand where we have to change, where we can continue. Then we'll
be able to adjust and have a vibrant trading relationship with many countries, but we need to have it - understood as soon as possible.
ASHER: So, the biggest sort of pressing issue for British businesses, is it the fear of a sort of shaky transition period and that not being enough
to minimize the shock? Or is it that, given all the uncertainties surrounding Brexit, that homeowners and ordinary British people will begin
to save more and not spend as much? Is that the fear?
JUDGE: Well, first of all, among our members, the biggest fear is what happens to people who are living in the - in the UK who are EU citizens,
what happens to British citizens who are living in the EU. That's the first thing.
We don't want to see workers leaving or starting to think about leaving. We need to give them the understanding that they can say stay here. That's
absolutely the first thing we need to do.
The second thing we need to do is discuss these transitional arrangements, so that British business will understand that it doesn't have to start
moving it business out of the EU. We can still trade with the EU the way we always did. We need to have that transition period.
And then we need to understand what the rules of the deal will be, what will be the new trading relationship. Those are the three most important
things. Those are the things that really worry British business.
They would like to know what the rules will be, so they can adapt to them.
ASHER: That makes perfect sense. Barbara Judge live for us. Thank you so much. Have a great weekend.
Tesla is switching gears and moving beyond electric cars. The automaker is on a deadline - a 100-day deadline, in fact - to help solve an energy
problem in Australia. And missing the target would actually cause this man right here millions of dollars.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:41:38] ASHER: It was an extraordinary meeting on the sidelines of the G20. Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin met face-to-face for the first time.
It's what the whole world was focused on at this G20 meeting.
And there was no doubt Russia's geopolitical influence is strong, but on paper at least, their economic influence over the United States, not so
much.
The flow of goods and services between the US and Russia was worth just under $31 billion in 2015. For the context, to give you some context here,
China's trade with the US was worth 20 times - 20 times that amount.
Russians have invested around $4.6 billion in US-based businesses, just 0.1 percent of all foreign direct investment in the United States.
Russia does own a chunk of US debt, $105 billion in government bonds. That doesn't make it the biggest holder of US treasury bonds.
Let's talk more about this with Arkady Ostrovsky. He is the Russian and Eastern European editor for "The Economist". He joins us live now from
London.
Arkady, thank you so much for being with us. So, in terms of this meeting with Trump and Putin, who do you think had the upper hand?
ARKADY OSTROVSKY, RUSSIA AND EASTERN EUROPE EDITOR, THE ECONOMIST: Well, I think the two men were sizing each other up. I mean, their body language
was very interesting, wasn't it? Sitting back in their chair. Putin not even looking at Trump. Not looking into the camera. Sort of saying, come
on, you've got to deliver, what can I expect from you? And I think, Trump as well sizing him up.
I think the mood for the meeting was probably set up by Trump's speech in Warsaw, which was very important, where Trump talked about Western
civilization. And by that, implying family values and the church, et cetera. Almost sort of copying what Putin was saying only recently about
Russian civilization, Russian church, Russian language and culture.
And given the speech in Poland was very symbolic, it's almost as though Trump was drawing the line saying, OK, Poland now belongs to the West.
Anything east of that, Putin would have interpreted as this is Russian territory.
And of course, we know that what really mattered to Vladimir Putin today was the discussion about Ukraine because that's the tension - that's where
the tension is in between the two countries.
ASHER: Wait, wait. So, Arkady, the fact that now Donald Trump made that speech in Poland yesterday. Given some of the issues he talked about,
wouldn't that have raised tensions between himself and Putin come today dramatically?
OSTROVSKY: No. Very interesting, the Russian media really didn't see it as a confrontational speech.
ASHER: OK.
OSTROVSKY: So, there is Trump saying, OK, here is the West, we have our own civilization. Putin actually would have welcomed that saying, fine, we
have no claim on your civilization, on Poland, but don't go into Russia's sphere of influence. Don't meddle in the Russian backyard, don't meddle in
Russian political process because everything that we've done, everything Russia had done in Ukraine is defensive. It's a response to Barack Obama's
and Hillary Clinton's sort of interventionist humanitarian policy.
As I tried to argue in my book, actually, being mentioned of Russia, there is quite a lot in common between Putin and Trump, and they both want to
protect their own sort of territory. They are both isolationists. They are both nationalists. They are both populists. Which doesn't necessarily
mean they are going to get along.
[16:45:16] Although Putin being a very experienced ex-KGB man, who specialized in recruiting people, I'm sure would've played to Trump's
vanity.
ASHER: And, hopefully, we're going to be getting a lot more details about what exactly they discussed for, I think, it was, what, 2 hours and 15
minutes.
OSTROVSKY: Yes. But I think that Trump - I'm not sure what Trump was going into that meeting with, apart from let's get on - hoping to get on
better with Russia. Putin would have gone with a very clear agenda.
ASHER: With sanctions being one item.
OSTROVSKY: It's about - one item is sanction - I don't think Putin expects the United States to lift sanction. I think he's very realistic about
that.
In particular, he wants not just America to keep out of Ukraine, he wants to use Trump to enforce what Putin sees as Russia's victory over Ukraine.
He wants basically Trump to put pressure on Ukraine to implement this wretched Minsk II agreement, which is basically signed on Russia's terms.
ASHER: All right. Arkady, unfortunately, I do have to leave it there. I'm running out of time sadly. I could talk to you for many, many more
minutes on this issue, but appreciate you coming to our London studios to talk to us about this. Thank you so much.
All right. Tesla's Elon Musk says he's building the world's largest battery. It will be installed in South Australia and provide enough power
for more than 30,000 homes. But it will be a race against time. He promised he could get it done in 100 days. Or else, he would simply forgo
the payment.
Clare Sebastian has been bringing in us on this story. So, Clare, why on earth would he give himself such an absurd deadline. And we mentioned that
if he doesn't meet that deadline, he's going to have to pay up.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He's going to have to pay up. So, basically, there is no risk for the Australians taxpayer here.
If he doesn't get it done on time, then they won't have to pay.
But this is a huge promise. As you see, this is one of many tweets we saw today. The highest power battery system in the world by a factor of three.
This is going to be the biggest of its kind.
And the reason why he's saying 100 days, well, that all arises out of a Twitter challenge. He was challenged back in March by an Australian
entrepreneur billionaire called Mike Cannon-Brookes.
He said - well, based on a comment from another Tesla executive, they could do it in 100 days, he messaged Elon Musk publicly on Twitter and said, can
you really - is this real? And Elon Musk said, not only is it real, we will complete it in 100 days. And if we don't, it will be full free.
But this isn't just about that. I mean, Tesla is repositioning itself as a clean energy company, making batteries is one of the core parts of their
business. And I think he wants to set an example to the rest of the world, Zain.
ASHER: So, just to bring this back to Tesla and just in terms of their company, their share price has been on a tear. Although it dipped
recently, it has been on a tear overall. And their market cap, Clare, is something else.
SEBASTIAN: It is pretty crazy. I mean, if you look over the course of this year, this is just year-to-date, up until June 23, they've gained
almost 80 percent in value, giving them a market cap on the scale of General Motors. Now, this is a company that produced just north of 80,000
cars last year. General Motors produced 10 million. So, the difference is stark.
But people are really betting on the future here. And even with the dip that we've seen from June 23, this is still up significantly on the year
and they are still very much looking to what this company can do. And that really rests on their next car, the Model 3.
This is their first mass-market car. It's at a more affordable price, about $35,000. It's supposed to - the first one is supposed to roll off
the production lines today, for delivery at the end of July.
So, whether or not this sells well, whether they can keep up with demand on their production facilities, that will be the big critical test.
ASHER: That is key. All right. Clare Sebastian live for us. Thank you so much.
India is also looking at ways to generate clean and efficient energy. Greenway Appliances is doing just that with one stove at a time. It is the
latest in our series India 20 Under 40. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANKIT MATHUR, CO-FOUNDER, GREENWAY GRAMEEN INFRA: India has about 260 million households, of which close to 160 live in rural and semi-urban
areas.
We realized that a lot of people still use firewood and biomass for cooking. And it's a big cultural difference between the cities and the
rural settings.
I'm Ankit Mathur. I'm 32 years old. And I'm the co-founder of Greenway Grameen Infra. We're the largest sellers of biomass-based cook stoves in
the country.
We designed a cook stove that cuts down on fuel consumption to a third of what a mud stove uses and reduces emissions to one quarter of what they
are.
What the Greenway Smart Stove does is it allows the air to come into the stove from multiple different points, not just from the place where you
feed the wood, but also from these holes at the top, which are connected to the holes at the bottom through a patented technology.
[16:50:17] And this is what makes the burning a lot more cleaner and reduces the amount of blackening on the vessel as well as smoke that we see
outside.
The stove is made of stainless steel and aluminum on the outside. And it keeps the whole product better looking for longer time.
In 2010, we started with a team of three. And today, we have over 170 people working with Greenway across the country in more than 15 states.
The advice that I have for young entrepreneurs in India is to have belief in their ideas and fail early if they have to fail, but just keep at it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. I'm going to take you back to the streets of Hamburg now. Protests there turning violent outside the G20 Summit. You can see
an object, car I believe, clearly on fire.
Some new numbers we're getting in from police. One hundred and ninety-six police injured. So far, there have been 83 arrests. That number continues
to rise. Seventeen people detained. We'll have much more on this - on these protests happening in the city of Hamburg where it's almost 11 'o
clock at night in our next hour.
I want to turn back now to our business agenda. Several women have come forward, sharing their experience about sexual harassment in Silicon
Valley.
Cheryl Yeoh, this week, describes how a prominent tech investor basically made unwanted sexual advances towards her. She spoke exclusively with our
Laurie Segall. Laurie is with me now.
So, Laurie, this seems to be a good thing, in that we are seeing more women coming forward. More and more women coming forward. But just explain -
just share her story for us.
LAURIE SEGALL, CNNMONEY SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, I'll say, in my time covering technology, I've never seen this many women have the
courage to speak out. The stories have always been there.
Cheryl, in particular, had this story for three years that she was kind of waiting to tell and waiting for the right moment. She was afraid to talk
about it. And she talks about how she was in a position on a business trip with Dave McClure, who is an investor, a very prominent investor, and how
he took advantage of the situation and crossed the line. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
Cheryl Yeoh, CEO, Cheryl & Co.: So, they came over after dinner and we started out pretty normal. Just jamming on ideas and they had brought
whiskey over and it was my apartment. So, I thought, yes, sure, I will drink, right?
But Dave kept pouring whiskey into my cup. And before I even finished it, he kept pouring it. And since we were in a conversation, I couldn't keep
track of how many drinks I had.
All of a sudden, people were tired and they ordered their Ubers and they wanted to leave. So, when everyone left, Dave was there. He didn't leave.
Are you OK? You drunk? You can crash in my couch or have the guest room. And then he followed me into my room. And that's when he started
propositioning me, suggesting that we speak together.
[16:55:11] And I was like, no, no, like, what are you doing? I have a boyfriend, remember, and this is not OK. I told him I think you have to
leave. I was leading him out, showing him the door.
Pretty close to the door, he pushed me and pushed himself on to me and started kissing me. And I kept saying no. And I remember him saying just
one night only, please just one time. I just can't forget those words.
SEGALL: What was going through your head?
YEOH: He knows I have a boyfriend. He has a wife. He has kids. Like, oh my god, what I do, what if he used force - more force on me. So, I was
pretty shocked and didn't quite know what to do beyond just pushing him away. I felt like I couldn't speak up because we had this deal that we
were going to do to bring an accelerator to Southeast Asia.
SEGALL: You were worried that if you said anything that the money that he was going to commit and the role that he was supposed to play, that would
go away.
YEOH: Yes. So, that's where - I think it's a problem because there was a huge power dynamic at play here. If you go on record in terms of - there
are career repercussions. Some people are fund raising at a time - they don't want to jeopardize their ability to fund-raise.
SEGALL: Yes. Can you say how do you feel now?
YEOH: Yes. I think there's more closure, but I still felt like this needed to be told. There's a difference between making an off-colored joke
or a sexist comment to actually sexually assaulting someone without consent, right, touching someone or kissing someone without permission.
The gory details is what matters and would make a difference.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SEGALL: Now, we've reached out to Dave McClure about the alleged incident. He didn't have a comment on this, but he did write a blog post titled "I am
Sorry, I am a Creep" and he talked about acknowledging some of this inappropriate behavior. He did write this before Cheryl's story came out.
But we're beginning to really - I think this is the tip of the iceberg because these stories are beginning to come in. A lot of folks are
wondering who has been behaving poorly. And a lot of women are having the courage to speak up because it's not very easy when there is a check on the
other end or when you're worried that your company and your employees might be at risk if you say something.
ASHER: All right. Laurie Segall live for us. Thank you so much for sharing this story. Appreciate that.
And that is Quest Means Business. I'm Zain Asher in New York. But news continues right here on CNN.
END
