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U.S. Accuses Myanmar Military of 'Planned and Coordinated' Rohingya Atrocities; U.S. Supreme Court Battle; Russia Investigation Hangs in the Balance; Iran Nuclear Talks; U.N. General Assembly; Hong Kong's New Train, Old Fears. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired September 25, 2018 - 02:00   ET

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


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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Supreme Court pick says he's never sexually assaulted anyone and makes it clear that he's ready to fight as one of his accusers gets ready to testify in Washington.

The future of the U.S. Justice Department's Russia investigation hangs in the balance with Donald Trump weighing the fate of the official overseeing it.

And the president said another summit will happen quite soon, he says, with North Korea's leader.

Welcome to our viewers from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church and this is CNN NEWSROOM.

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CHURCH: We begin with a forceful new denial from U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. He said he never sexually assaulted anyone and he won't withdraw from consideration. His statements come as a second woman now accuses him of sexual misconduct three decades ago. CNN's Jessica Schneider with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is mounting an unprecedented defense, sitting down for a TV interview with his wife as the questions over his confirmation multiply.

BRETT KAVANAUGH, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE NOMINEE: I'm not going to let false accusations drive us out of this process. And we're looking for a fair process, where I can be heard and defend the -- my integrity. I'm not going anywhere.

SCHNEIDER: It is just the latest counterattack from Kavanaugh. He's issued several denials and sent this letter to the Senate Judiciary's top Republican and Democrat in the wake of a second accusation, reported by "The New Yorker," that he exposed himself to now 53-year- old Deborah Ramirez at a dorm room party in the 1983-84 school year at Yale.

Kavanaugh writing, "Once again, those alleged to have been witnesses to the event deny it ever happened. This is now a frenzy to come up with something, anything that will block this process and a vote on my confirmation from occurring. These are smears, pure and simple."

The latest allegation prompted Senator Mitch McConnell to lash out against Democrats.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY.), MAJORITY LEADER: Senate Democrats and their allies are trying to destroy a man's personal and professional life on the basis of decades-old allegations that are unsubstantiated and uncorroborated.

SCHNEIDER: McConnell vowing there will be a vote.

MCCONNELL: Judge Kavanaugh will be voted on here on the Senate floor, up or down. On the Senate floor, this fine nominee to the Supreme Court will receive a vote in this Senate in the near future.

SCHNEIDER: Meanwhile, the reporter who broke this story, Ronan Farrow, is standing by his story about Deborah Ramirez.

RONAN FARROW, "THE NEW YORKER": We did receive, however, several direct accounts from people who said they were told right after or saw her describing it right after and who independently of Ms. Ramirez recounted the same fact pattern about Brett Kavanaugh doing this.

SCHNEIDER: CNN has not corroborated Ramirez's claim and her lawyers told CNN no comment when asked to confirm the details in "The New Yorker's" story.

"The New York Times" reports it has interviewed several dozen people over the past weeks and could found no one with firsthand knowledge of the alleged sexual misconduct. The president continues to defend his nominee.

TRUMP: Judge Kavanaugh is an outstanding person and I'm with him all the way. For people to come out of the woodwork from 36 years ago and 30 years ago and never mentioned it, all of a sudden it happens, in my opinion, it is totally political. It was totally political.

SCHNEIDER: On Capitol Hill, protests erupted outside senators' office, including Republican Susan Collins, a key undecided vote whose aide tried to appease demonstrators.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Collins needs to make a decision now.

SCHNEIDER: The plan is to move forward with the testimony from Judge Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, the first woman who accused him of sexual assault. Any FBI investigation would have to be ordered by the White House and that's something that hasn't happened and isn't likely to happen at this point.

As for the hearing featuring Christine Blasey Ford, it is a go for Thursday and all calls by Democrats to delay or postpone have been ignored by Republicans -- Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Let's talk more about this with Brian Karem. Brian is a CNN political analyst and executive editor of "The Sentinel" newspapers.

Thanks for being with us, Brian.

BRIAN KAREM, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Thanks for having me, Rosemary. It has been an interesting day.

CHURCH: Yes, it has been. Of course, we're counting down to Thursday, a critical day for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. His accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, will give her sworn testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee and then Kavanaugh will get the --

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CHURCH: -- last word by telling his story. But as we've just seen, he's already spoken to FOX News, even going so far as to say this. Let's just bring it up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAVANAUGH: We're talking about allegations of sexual assault. I never sexually assaulted anyone. I did not have sexual intercourse or anything close to sexual intercourse in high school or for many years thereafter. And the girls from the schools I went to and I were friends.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you're saying that, through all of these years that are in question, you were a virgin?

KAVANAUGH: That's correct.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Never had sexual intercourse with anyone in high school and through what years in college, since we're probing into your personal life here?

KAVANAUGH: Many years. Many years after, I'll leave it at that. Many years after.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: So Brian, an unprecedented defense of himself right there, with his wife by his side. He is doubling down in the face of two women now accusing him of sexual misconduct. The Republicans aren't backing down, either. They have already made up their minds, in fact.

How are the Democrats responding to all of this?

KAREM: Well, first of all, I cannot believe in this day and age that we're actually talking about sexual intercourse being as a backstory for a Supreme Court justice. The Democrats, of course, believe that this woman has to have her day in court and be heard. That's what most of the push is.

The sad part about this is it has become a very big political football. And it is very personal and I could have gone my whole life and never been told how long Brett Kavanaugh remained a virgin. I would have been very happy if I had never heard that.

So the political discourse in this country has devolved into something that is akin -- it is -- it is like a bad reality show. There's no other way to really put it. You know, that's the way we talked about it.

But when you have a Supreme Court nominee, talking about his sexual or lack of sexual activity as a precursor for going into a Thursday hearing, where he's going to be accused of sexual assault, it is just -- it is mind-numbing. I just don't know any other way to put it.

CHURCH: What happens if Blasey Ford gives her sworn testimony Thursday and senators find her just as believable as Kavanaugh?

Then we'll be back to the he said/she said scenario and the Republicans are pushing for a vote by Friday.

How is this going to play out?

KAREM: That's a good question. And I don't know how it will play out. And anybody who claims how it's going to play out hasn't been covering this administration for very long. Because logic never applies.

One would surmise that Republicans believe they have the votes. If they continue to believe they have the votes and they push for a vote on Friday, if they vote on Friday that means they can get it out of the committee.

If they reassess -- and there are people who reassess their thinking on Kavanaugh after Thursday's hearing, then you may not see a vote. And then he may withdraw. But it all depends on what happens in that theater on Thursday.

It is going -- as you said, she'll -- it is going to be a he said/she said. There's no FBI investigation. Local police have said if there was a complaint filed, they would investigate. But no complaint has been filed. There's been no investigation into these allegations.

And so it is going to be merely him and her, center stage, and we're going to have to decide based on that. And that's going to be something that is going to be a Thursday worth remembering.

CHURCH: Right. Indeed.

Why do you think there's such reluctance on the part of the president and his Republican Party to get an FBI investigation done?

It might only take three days to get to the truth of the matter, figure out who is actually telling the truth. That would serve the interests of both Kavanaugh and Blasey Ford, would it not? KAREM: Well, it would certainly seem to serve everyone's best interests but you have to remember that the Republican Party isn't about serving everyone's best interests. The Republican Party is about serving the Republican Party's interests.

And the Republican Party's interest is in getting Kavanaugh confirmed as quickly as possible. Mitch McConnell, Senator Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader successfully stole one seat from the Supreme Court from the Obama administration. With this one, it is a swing vote in the Supreme Court. It will affect decisions for the next 30 years.

And the GOP is ready and willing and able to sell itself out to reach the conservative agenda and they're doing it. And they probably will be able to do it.

CHURCH: All right. We will count down to Thursday and see what comes out of all of that. Brian Karem, thank you so much for joining us.

KAREM: Thank you, Rosemary, good to see you.

CHURCH: We're also hearing why Christine Blasey Ford chose to come forward now with her accusation against Kavanaugh. In a letter to Senate Judiciary chairman, Chuck Grassley, Ford writes, "The decision to first report the assault to my congress woman was a --

[02:10:00]

CHURCH: -- "very difficult one but I felt that this was something that a citizen couldn't not do. I felt agony yet urgency and a civic duty to let it be known in a confidential manner prior to the nominee being selected."

Well, Ford reported her accusation against Kavanaugh has motivated many other women to speak out about what happened to them. The sole survivors are taking to social media with a hashtag, #whyididntreport, explaining their reasons for not reporting their own assault.

It rose to the top of Twitter's trending list, getting tens of thousands of tweets. Here are just a few examples.

"My mom said she would kill anyone who hurt me and, at 9 years old, I believed her. I was afraid she would go to jail."

Another person says, "Because he was a friend of my parents and I knew they would never believe me, I was 12 or 13. Years later, when I did tell them, they didn't believe me."

And this, "I was 15. It took years for me to even understand that it wasn't my fault. #whyididntreport."

An actress, Alyssa Milano, also wrote about her own sexual assault when she was a teenager, saying, this, "Our stories are not rare. They are tragically common. This is the pain that people across the country carry with them every single day." The White House is also dealing with another controversy and this one could bring major changes to the special counsel's Russia investigation. CNN's Laura Jarrett reports.

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LAURA JARRETT, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Drama and uncertainty this afternoon regarding the future of the Russia investigation. The man in charge of the probe, deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein may be out of a job in the next few days.

After meeting with White House chief of staff John Kelly today and talking on the phone with the president, the White House announced Rosenstein will meet face-to-face with President Trump on Thursday.

Saying in a statement, "At the request of deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein, he and President Trump had an extended conversation to discuss recent news stories. They will meet on Thursday when the president returns to Washington, D.C."

Rosenstein's fate was not clear after "The New York Times" reported Friday that Rosenstein had suggested he wear a wire to secondly record the president and even discuss recruiting cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment in order to remove Trump from office.

According to a person close to the president, Trump was too concerned about the news about his Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, to focus on his deputy attorney general.

TRUMP: I think it is a very sad story and people are obviously -- we're looking into it but it is a very sad state of affairs when something like that can happen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But will you fire Rod Rosenstein based on this treachery?

TRUMP: I don't want to comment on it until I get all the facts. I haven't gotten all the facts. But certainly it is being looked at in terms of what took place, if anything took place. And I'll make a determination sometime later. But I don't have the facts.

JARRETT (voice-over): Sources tell CNN, Rosenstein over the weekend discussed with Kelly the prospect of resigning but wanted to control the timing. This morning, White House sources said they believe Rosenstein had every intention of quitting today.

But Justice officials tell CNN when Rosenstein went to the White House this morning, he instead expected to be fired. Neither of those things happened.

If Rosenstein does get fired or quits, who then takes over the Russia investigation?

Those duties would go to solicitor general Noel Francisco, since attorney general Jeff Sessions has recused himself from the investigation. As solicitor general, Francisco is responsible for arguing cases for the administration before the Supreme Court.

As he did last year with President Trump's travel ban. Francisco was narrowly confirmed by the Senate along party lines one year ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The yeas are 50 and the nays are 47. The nomination is confirmed.

JARRETT: Meanwhile, the president's personal attorney, Jay Sekulow, weighing in on the potential shakeup over here at the Justice Department, saying on his radio show that if the deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein does depart, then there should be a timeout on the Mueller investigation -- Laura Jarrett, CNN, Washington.

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CHURCH: The U.S. president is eager for another summit with North Korea. Coming up, why some officials think that is premature.

Plus a bullet train connecting Hong Kong and mainland China is now up and running. We will explain why the new train is reviving old fears. That's next.

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CHURCH: World powers are trying figure out how to salvage key elements of the Iran nuclear deal in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from the pact. The remaining parties for the deal, including Iran, met at the United Nations Monday. They agreed to continue trying to maintain trade with Tehran, despite the resumption of U.S. sanctions in November.

One possible idea is to exchange Iranian oil for European goods as Washington could cut off any bank that facilitates oil transactions. The E.U.'s Federica Mogherini spoke with CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

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FEDERICA MOGHERINI, E.U. HIGH REPRESENTATIVE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Engaging is not being soft. You can be very strong and talk. But do you have better alternatives than talking in times of conflict and (INAUDIBLE) powers around the world?

Is there a better way than diplomacy and dialogue?

Is it war the alternative?

Is it the military option the alternative that works, even if it's more dangerous?

Haven't we gone that way enough to see the consequences of that? (END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And to discuss all of that, CNN will hear from Iran's president himself in just a few hours from now. And Christiane Amanpour will interview President Hassan Rouhani while he's at the United Nations. That's at 1:00 pm New York time, 6:00 pm in London.

It has been a year since U.S. President Trump's fiery warning to North Korea that the U.S. was ready to totally destroy the country over its nuclear program. As he arrived at the U.N. for this year's assembly, Mr. Trump said he and Kim Jong-un would hold another meeting quite soon -- his words there.

Later Mr. Trump signed a new trade agreement with South Korean president Moon Jae-in and he mentioned a North Korean summit again. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It'll be announced soon. I think a lot of progress is being made. I've seen tremendous enthusiasm on behalf of Chairman Kim toward making a deal. I think that's something that is very good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Our Paula Hancocks joins us now live from Seoul.

Paula, despite a number of concerns from various analysts, it appears this second summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un will go ahead.

What more are you learning about it?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It certainly appears, Rosemary, that the three leaders seem keen for it to go ahead. Kim Jong-un, according to Moon Jae-in, had told him while in Pyongyang that he wanted it to happen as soon as possible so that denuclearization could start quickly and then --

[02:20:00]

HANCOCKS: -- North Korea could focus on economic development. We've heard a positive response from President Trump toward this potential second summit. He said only the date and the location are to be decided.

We knew a few weeks ago, Kim Jong-un wrote a letter to President Trump asking for this next summit and he has said that he was open to it. So at this meeting today between the South Korean and U.S. presidents, what they would have been discussing is that three-day summit that President Moon had in Pyongyang, what was discussed, the fact that Kim Jong-un said he would potentially be willing to shut down the Yongbyon nuclear facility but only if there were U.S. corresponding measures.

Certainly there are conditions put on this. This is what would have been talked about today. We understand the declaration of the end of the Korean War is something both the North Korean and South Korean leaders would like to see happen. There was also messages from Kim Jong-un to President Trump, which Mr. Moon gave to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Chairman Kim was repeatedly convey his unwavering trust and expectations for you while expressing his hope to meet you soon. (INAUDIBLE) and concluded denuclearization process with you because are indeed the only person who can solve this problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: As far as the South Korean president is concerned, he believes that Kim Jong-un is genuine in what he's saying. He believes that summit that they had was the first time that North and South Korea have had actual steps towards denuclearization, which he passed on today.

CHURCH: All right.

Paula, what more came out of that sideline meeting between Trump and South Korea's Moon Jae-in?

What other conditions are North Korea looking for here from the United States?

HANCOCKS: One thing that Kim Jong-un said he would do is to shut down a key missile test site. This is the same site that he already promised Trump he would shut down when he met him in Singapore. He has agreed to have international experts to come in to verify that process.

Certainly from the denuclearization point of view from the nuclear program point of view, that does still have conditions on. But what Moon was saying today was that Kim Jong-un had said publicly in North Korea, that he is going to carry out denuclearization and, on top of that, President Moon spoke to 150,000 North Koreans at an event, a mass games.

And he spoke of denuclearization as well. So as far as the South Korean president is concerned, he believes there's enough public declarations about denuclearization. There's been enough show, that that is the direction the country is going in. But he believes it would be almost impossible for someone within North Korea to try and reverse that.

CHURCH: We will watch this story very closely, as will you, Paula Hancocks joining us live from Seoul in South Korea, where it's heading toward 3:30 in the afternoon. Thanks so much.

It can top 200 kilometers per hour and take you from Hong Kong to Guangzhou in just 47 mites. The grand opening of Hong Kong's first- ever bullet train to China went smoothly. But some see a rather rocky road ahead. CNN's Anna Coren hopped on board to find out why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After eight years of construction and 11 billion U.S. dollars, the controversial yet groundbreaking West Kowloon Station is open for business. Bullet trains can now take people between Hong Kong and mainland Chinese cities in a fraction of the time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I just want to see something new. I've never seen anything as spectacular. The inside is so large, totally different from normal train stations.

COREN (voice-over): The station in Hong Kong is huge; 400,000 square meters, mainly underground.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Oops, we had some problems for that story, we do apologize.

Let's move on for now, another move making some activists worried. The Hong Kong government has banned the pro-independence Hong Kong National Party. They cite national security as the reason.

Pro-Beijing officials say the party has a very clear agenda of making Hong Kong into an independent republic. Activists and party members say the ban violates human rights, including freedom of speech and assembly.

The U.S. is sending millions of dollars to Myanmar's Rohingya minority. But a new report from the U.S. State Department leaves out one key word. And the push for action at the U.N. to protect migrants. The follow-up to our reporting on the slave trade in Libya. That's still to come. Do stay with us.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone, I'm Rosemary Church. I want to update you now on the main stories we've been following this hour.

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CHURCH: The U.S. is adding its voice to the growing international consensus that the Myanmar military is responsible for a violent and inhumane crackdown on Rohingya Muslims. On Monday, the State Department quietly released a new report, which does not describe the atrocities against the Rohingya as genocide or crimes against humanity.

However, the U.S. is increasing its aid for the Rohingya, who have fled Myanmar. Our Richard Roth has more now from the United Nations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Western powers convened a meeting on Myanmar on the sidelines of the special U.N. General Assembly week. U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley announcing that the United States was nearly doubling its contribution on behalf of the Rohingya Muslims for humanitarian aid and assistance.

Haley again accusing the Myanmar government of crimes against its own people and pushing out nearly 700,000 Muslims. The aid would go inside Myanmar and to refugees in Bangladesh. Haley said the international community must push accountability when it comes to the crimes committed against these Rohingyas.

NIKKI HALEY, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: At some point, the international community has to stop tap dancing around this and they have to really hold Burma to account. Terrible things happened to the Rohingyas. The military are at fault.

The fact finding mission came out and gave clear examples of what happened. These weren't terrorists. This was the military that did this to them. These people just want a place to live. That's all that they want and that's not happening right now.

[02:30:00] The United States, I just announced to the group, are giving another $185 million to help with protection, with water and sanitation as well as making sure that some sort of psychosocial support and all of those things can help those that were affected in Rakhine State.

ROTH: A recent U.N. investigation released in Geneva accused the Myanmar government of having genocidal intent in allowing murder, gang rapes, attacks on Rohingya. The Myanmar government recently denounced the United Nations' report and the international community saying it had no business in Myanmar's own affairs. Richard Roth, CNN United Nations.

CHURCH: And the United Nations General Assembly warmly greeted a symbol of a champion of peace on Monday. The South African government unveiled a statue of its former President Nelson Mandela. The U.N. Secretary General said the political activists embodied the highest values of the United Nations. Peace, forgiveness, compassion, and human dignity. Antonio Guterres said Mandela's fight against apartheid marks a landmark in human rights and freedom.

There's a push to expand a list of human traffickers facing international sanctions following CNN reporting in Libya. The Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok says he will press the U.N. Security Council to take more action against countries and individuals involved in slave trade. CNN's Nima Elbagir reported on six men who allegedly made fortune buying and selling migrants in Libya. She spoke with Blok Monday in New York.

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STEF BLOK, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE NETHERLANDS: We would like to extend the treaty to other people. Currently, there are six people on the list I'm afraid are much more people in both human trafficking and human rights abuses and we are looking into the possibility of extending those sanctions to other countries where human trafficking is taking place.

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're also looking at negotiating the possibility of criminal prosecutions of the sanctions having laid a foundation for future prosecutions?

BLOK: That's true. The public prosecutors in the Netherlands are working together with law enforcement authorities in other countries involved apart from that the International Criminal Court has made known that it is looking to the possibility of starting a procedure of its own.

ELBAGIR: When you started that entire process, it really was in the face of people saying first and foremost, how do you even reach these criminals? How do you meaningfully impact them in a situation that is so lawless as in Libya? And now, we're look potentially at a situation where there could be credible criminal prosecutions?

BLOK: That's what we work, you know, and the -- you present it to the world those terrible pictures of the suffering taking place in Libya, the slave trade, the abuse. And that's makes the international community move. I see the steps we've taken now only as first steps. But indeed we want to proceed from this first of all making the sanctions that we agreed on. But also extend them to other human rights abusers and human traffickers.

ELBAGIR: So we are looking at a situation in the quite near future where that number six is going to grow? There are of course others?

BLOK: We're working on that, of course, you do need thorough investigations before you can put people on the list and the consequences -- the consequences are very hard and clear.

ELBAGIR: Do you have a sense of what the impact has been on the ground in these first three months of sanctions?

BLOK: According to my information, the people involved are very well realized that they are in the scrutiny now and that their business model can't work anymore the way it used to work.

ELBAGIR: How difficult is it when you're dealing with your European counterparts because you have countries like Italy for example who believe that this issue of blocking migration to Europe is an existential onto them, so the commander of the coast guard in (INAUDIBLE) who is now a sectioned individual at one point his forces were being trained by the Italians? How difficult is that for you?

BLOK: The Italians fully support the message that we have taken. And it is of course a very important subject this human trafficking indeed to be cause a number of countries in Europe and those in other parts of the world are feeling the effects of irregular migration, but most importantly because we see gross violation of human rights. And there, locally, the international community is still able to find agreement that we shouldn't accept those starvations that there is no place for slavery in this world and that's for that reason, we should impose sanctions and we should bring those people to court.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:35:09] CHURCH: And if you want to know how you can fight modern day slavery, head over to our website where you will see all about CNN freedom project reporting and learn how you can get involved. Well, British Prime Minister Theresa May is facing growing pressure over her Brexit plan. She insists her cabinet is firmly behind the so-called Chequers plan after meeting with senior ministers Monday. But some pro-Brexit members of parliament are rebelling.

More now from CNN's Bianca Nobilo.

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Theresa May is under pressure from all sides on her Brexit plan. Leading Brexiters, David Davis, the former Brexit Secretary and Jacob Rees-Mogg released a rival Brexit plan arguing for a hard Brexit. Not only did they criticize the prime minister's approach and negotiations, they also criticized her tone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACOB REES-MOGG, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM: So much of what we have about these negotiations has been about managing decline, has been about how do you have the least bad Brexit. This is about how you have a fantastic Brexit that sets us up for the next generation and ensures our prosperity. It's a really exciting and good paper looking at Britain's position not just in the European context but globally. And the key to it to my mind is that it is deliverable.

NOBILO: Theresa May's opposition, the Labour Party have also given fresh hope to the peoples vote campaign for a second referendum on Brexit. And, of course, the E.U. at the disastrous Salzburg Summit last week rejected key components of the prime minister's Chequers plan. All this 27 months on from when the referendum took place with only six months to go until Brexit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: The only thing that is certain about Brexit at the moment is that nothing is certain. Whether or not the U.K. and the E.U. will strike a deal in the terms of divorce and what the relationship between the E.U. and the U.K. will look like in the future is far from clear. Bianca Nobilo, CNN London.

CHURCH: A dramatic sea rescue and a multi-national sigh of relief. Just ahead, an injured yachtsman alone and adrift for days is finally save. How the rescue played out. Were back with that in a moment.

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[02:40:04] CHURCH: All right. Listen to this story, imagine fighting for your life on a floating wooden shack on the high seas for more than a month. That is exactly what happened to Aldi Novel Adilang, the Indonesian teenager was rescued after 49 days adrift at sea on what's called a floating fish trap. The 19-year-old was working on the trapping to lie when strong winds and currents broke its tethering ropes sending him out into the -- sending him out into the open sea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALDI NOVEL ADILANG, RESCUED FISHERMAN (via translator): I was in the sea at the island of (INAUDIBLE) at the time, the south wind was blowing hard and the waves were high then the rope broke and then washed away. For one week, there was communication with friends on another raft. After that, there was no communication. I met a lot of ships. After one month, I saw a ship and asked for help. I shouted in Indonesian. They all just passed. Then, I remember my friend said if there's a big ship by say help. And finally, the ship helped me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Aldi was reunited with his family and is in good condition now according to Indonesian officials. Well, another rescue on the high sea to tell you about. This time an Indian yachtsman stranded and badly injured in the Indian Ocean. He was competing in an around the world yacht race. CNN's New Delhi Bureau Chief Nikhil Kumar has the details.

NIKHIL KUMAR, CNN NEW DELHI BUREAU CHIEF: A multi-national rescue effort to save an Indian yachtsman hit by a storm that left him badly injured with his boat drifting at sea for more than two days. Abhilash Tomy was competing in a nonstop 30,000 mile solo yachting race when his boat hit a storm Friday. The 39-year-old was alone and under the rules of the race, his yacht didn't have any modern technology or satellite navigation aids.

When he sent out SOS, he was marooned more than 3,000 kilometers off the Australian coast. The mast of his boat was broken and in a text message he said, severe back injury, cannot get up. And for his boa have been damaged after being hit by 80-mile-per-hour winds and 46 foot seas. Australian (INAUDIBLE) scrambled to save him, fears for his help, rolls over the weekend. His last message before he was rescued said he was vomiting and his chest was burning.

It was a French fishery vessel that finally reached him Monday with a spokesperson for the Indian Navy telling CNN he was conscious and doing fine when he was found. Indian defense minister tweeted that she was relieved to know that Tomy was an officer in the Indian Navy had been rescued. He's now due to be moved by an Indian Navy ship to the island of (INAUDIBLE) for medical cab. Nikhil Kumar, CNN, New Delhi.

CHURCH: And now, back to the U.N. where a tiny visitor helped make history on Monday. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern became the first female leader to bring a newborn to the general assembly. Ardern's three-month-old daughter was given a mock security can pass that listed her as the first baby of New Zealand. The U.N. was delighted to see the little one in the general assembly hall. A spokesman noted that just five percent of the world's leaders are women and that the organization needs to make them as welcome as possible. Some progress. How about that? Thanks for your company. I'm

Rosemary Church. Remember to connect with me anytime on Twitter @RosemaryCNN. "WORLD SPORTS" starts after the short break. And then of course I'll be back with another hour of news at the top of the -- at the top of the hour. You're watching CNN. Stay with us.

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