Return to Transcripts main page

Around the World

Snowden Applied for Temporary Asylum; Pope Visits Brazil; More Protests in Egypt; The Royal Baby Meets the Royal Family; Will and Kate Hope for Privacy

Aired July 24, 2013 - 12:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to AROUND THE WORLD. I'm Suzanne Malveaux.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Michael Holmes. Thanks for your company.

It looks like Edward Snowden will be staying in the transit area of the Moscow airport for now. A few hours ago, it got complicated. Russian media reported the NSA leaker would be allowed to leave the airport and enter Russia.

MALVEAUX: Now Snowden's lawyers said he hasn't received the paper work for this temporary visa.

I want to bring in Phil Black who is joining us from inside that airport.

Phil, what do we know about Snowden's status right now?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, his asylum application is in. We expect an answer on that at some stage can within the next three months or so. And at any point within that three month period, he could receive permission to leave the airport into Russia officially while that application is still being processed. We now know that looks very unlikely to happen today.

You're right, earlier today, Russian media reported in something of a frenzy that he had received the necessary documentation to cross the immigration zone and actually enter Russia while his application is being considered. His lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, visited him in a secure area of this airport a short time ago and emerged from that saying, no, that's not true. He has not yet received his documentation.

His lawyer always thought he would have received that documentation by now. He says it hasn't happened and he believes that is because it is an extraordinary case because of the very unusual circumstances surrounding Edward Snowden and his reasons for seeking asylum here, probably not under estimating the impact that it could have on Russian/U.S. relations. It is all taking a little bit longer than normal. But what we know for certain today is, he's not leaving that airport.

HOLMES: And, of course, Phil, the thing is, he never really wanted to stay in Russia. He wanted to get onto Latin America. So the purpose of this, is there any word on his next step there?

BLACK: Well, according to his lawyer, who emerged from a meeting with him today, he says his intention is now to stay in Russia in the long term. He no longer wants to move on. But, you're right, his initial intention was not to stay here, but to get to one of those Latin American countries, like Venezuela or Ecuador, who had offered him protection earlier. He didn't move onto those countries because he thought the United States and its allies would go out of their way to stop him and probably be successful.

So he initially sought asylum here as a fallback position, really, and he's only applying for temporary asylum, which gives him one year's permission to stay here, if he gets it. But according to his lawyer today, following this meeting, he says Snowden is now talking about staying in this country for the long term.

HOLMES: That's a bit of a change. All right, Phil, good to see you. Phil Black there at that airport.

MALVEAUX: And you would think by now he would think this is resolved. I'm sure this was not his plan, his original plan.

HOLMES: Absolutely not.

MALVEAUX: That he wanted to move quickly to a country that -- of safety.

HOLMES: And, of course, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said if you do stay, no more talking about anything. We don't want to damage the relationship with the United States. And no doubt Mr. Putin would prefer that he move on, but --

MALVEAUX: Yes.

HOLMES: Who knows what's happening now.

MALVEAUX: Well, about an hour ago, Pope Francis, he made this historic visit. This is the world's largest shrine honoring the Virgin Mary. This is in Brazil. And this is the same site where earlier this week there was a small, explosive device that was found during a security sweep.

HOLMES: Yes, of course, the pope is the first Latin American pope actually whose come there. Now the shrine houses a brown-skinned Virgin Mary, which is Brazil's patron saint. Shasta Darlington takes a look now at the excited atmosphere in Brazil surrounding the pope's weeklong visit, but also the security problems that have already cropped up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dancing and jumping with joy. A party to welcome some of the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims flocking to Rio de Janeiro for the week long run-up to World Youth Day and Pope Francis' historic visit. His first international trip as pope. Here, the city itself greets everyone with open arms, and many have opened their homes. Maria Ricarda (ph) is putting up four pilgrims in her small house.

"When the priest asked me to do it, I felt as God was telling me to open my doors," she says, "so I opened them."

She lives in Bargina (ph), the slum that will be visited by Pope Francis on Thursday. While children at the local church rehearse, police patrol the streets. Part of a massive security operation with more than 30,000 troops and police. At a control center in the heart of Rio, every location the pope will visit is closely watched.

Anti-government marches that started weeks ago are a big concern. Police and protesters clashed on the day of the pope's arrival.

DARLINGTON (on camera): Dozens of police have come here to the center of Rio de Janeiro in full riot gear. In the back, they've got on gas masks and that's because right across the street over here you have hundreds of protesters.

DARLINGTON (voice-over): They try to march on the governor's palace where the pope was received by officials.

"The pope's visit was financed with public money," says one protester. "There is so many other things that need to be financed in this country."

And the bill for the visit is jaw-dropping. The government alone is spending more than $50 million.

More protests are planned when the pope will lead mass for thousands on Popicavana (ph) Beach later this week. At least the sand sculptures here have been more welcoming. They say they covered up bare bottoms out of respect and shaped the pope's image for all to admire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And Shasta Darlington joins us now from Rio de Janeiro.

Tell us, first of all, about the shrine that he was at today, the importance of it, and the importance of this trip. He's really trying to rally the faithful here, isn't he?

DARLINGTON: Exactly, Michael, and that's why this visit was so important. You know, when this first papal trip was planned, it was when Pope Benedict was going to be the person visiting Brazil. But when Pope Francis realized he would be making this trip, he really wanted to go to this shrine. This is the shrine of what people here call "black Mary." She's Brazil's patron saint. And if you want to reach into Brazilian's hearts, if you really want to reach Brazil's youth, this is the way to do it. She's revered. This virgin is revered across the country. And in part because she's this small, black statue and she's particularly revered by Brazilians of African descent, and that represents 50 percent of the country. So this was an important visit and one he recognized would really resonate here in Brazil, Michael.

MALVEAUX: Shasta, tell us a little bit about the security issues. I know that the pope's trip in some ways has had some problems. You had this small, explosive found during a security sweep, but also the driver who took a wrong turn and now something on the metro that happened last night. Can you explain whether or not they are still concerned about his safety?

DARLINGTON: Absolutely, Suzanne. There are a lot of issues here. In fact, ironically, what has people least worried is that little explosive device. In many ways they're sort of brushing it off. They don't think it had much to do with the pope's visit.

But the wrong turn that exposed the pope to luckily so many well- wishers, adoring mobs, that nothing went wrong, but it still exposed the vulnerabilities in the system. And then last night the metro collapsed for a full two hours as hundreds of thousands of people were making their way to Copacabana Beach for the opening mass here of World Youth Day and the pope wasn't even at that mass. So you can imagine what's coming in the next few days. And, of course, in the next year or two, where Rio will also be hosting the World Cup and the Olympic Games. They are relying on that public transit system to carry people around, and it has failed so far, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Yes, that's quite a test now to see just how the pope's visit is going, how it's going to turn out later.

HOLMES: Yes. A bit of a rehearsal for all those other big events.

MALVEAUX: Yes.

HOLMES: Shasta, good to see you. Shasta Darlington here.

Meanwhile, here is more on what we're working on for this hour of AROUND THE WORLD.

Calling for mass protests. Egypt's military chief, not the interim president, calling for people to head into the streets later this week to show support for the army and the police.

MALVEAUX: And she says she loves him and forgives him, but some people wonder just why the wife of Anthony Weiner continues to stand by her man after another sexting scandal.

HOLMES: Plus, the life of a newborn prince. Must be nice, musint (ph) it? He's already had a few visitors and it's only the first full day at home. He's been busy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Here are the stories making news around the world right now.

In India, the headmistress of a school that served children poisoned lunches is now in custody.

HOLMES: Yes, she's been caught. Her name is Meena Kumari and she was preparing to turn herself in, apparently, on her way to the courthouse, in fact, but was arrested before she got there. She's being questioned today and is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow. Kumari was missing since that poisoning happened eight days ago.

MALVEAUX: Officials say that the lunches were contaminated with insecticide and dozens of children got sick. Twenty-three children actually died.

In China, new video of today's deadly earthquake. Surveillance cameras capturing this moment, when everything just starts shaking. It shows people running in panic in the streets. And state media reports at least 89 people were killed. Hundreds injured from that quake.

HOLMES: And this is in Bulgaria. A tense night there for members of parliament. Why? Well, protesters barricaded the government building, trapping politicians, journalists and staff inside for more than eight hours. Demonstrators surrounded the building overnight as parliament members began discussing budget changes.

MALVEAUX: Police in riot gear moved in, pushing the protesters aside and freeing those who had been stuck inside. Seven demonstrators and two police officers were hospitalized with head injuries.

Now we are just getting word now that President Obama is delaying a military delivery to Egypt.

HOLMES: Yes.

MALVEAUX: Now, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called Egypt's military chief today to inform him that the United States is going to hold off on sending four F-16 fighter jets to Cairo.

HOLMES: Yes. Now this comes three weeks after Egypt's military overthrew the country's first democratically elected president. Now, the situation growing increasingly volatile since the coup and continues to today.

MALVEAUX: And stocking the divisive fires in Egypt, the country's interim defense minister is now calling for a mass demonstration on Friday. So we are talking about General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. He says the people of Egypt should rally in support now of the military.

HOLMES: Yes, now this is significant because this is a military man in uniform. Not a civilian interim president. He spoke live on Egypt's state run television as he attended a military graduation ceremony. Meanwhile, fighting between pro and anti-Muslim Brotherhood factions continue on the streets of Cairo and other cities.

MALVEAUX: At least nine people have been killed, many more are hurt, just over the last couple of days. Our Reza Sayah is live in Cairo.

And tell us essentially, this seems like a call of desperation that could ultimately mean more violence. What are we seeing on the streets now, Reza?

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the streets are pretty calm right now. Is it going to stay that way with these call for mass demonstrations Friday? It's not clear. But these are pretty dramatic statements by head of the armed forces, General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. And if anyone had any doubts that the armed forces here in Egypt was playing a powerful role in domestic politics in this conflict, these statements by General Sisi could clear up some of those doubts because the armed forces has openly injected itself in this conflict by calling for mass demonstrations and making statements many are going to perceive to be as warnings to the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of the ousted president, Mr. Morsy.

It's not clear what the outcome of these statements are going to be, but you can feel that they're already fueling the drama in this conflict. The statements being made by General Sisi at a military graduation ceremony and, frankly, we didn't hear him give any life and career advice to the graduates. Instead, he called for mass protests on Friday and he also called for Egyptians to give him a mandate to fight violence and terrorism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. ABDEL FATTAH AL-SISI, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, EGYPTIAN ARMED FORCES (through translator): I ask the Egyptians that next Friday all honest and trustworthy Egyptians have to come out. Why would they come out? To give me the mandate and order me to confront the violence and potential terrorism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAYAH: Now, in his speech, General Sisi didn't name any names. He didn't make any specific references to the Muslim Brotherhood, supporters of the ousted president, Mohamed Morsy. But you have to wonder if this was a veiled message to the Brotherhood and Morsy backers.

And you also have to wonder if this signals a ratcheting up of the strategy by the armed forces, perhaps in an effort to get more aggressive with Morsy backers and get them off the streets. Suzanne?

HOLMES: Yeah, and, Reza, the Muslim Brotherhood already calling this a provocation, essentially a call for violence. And it's the imagery here. You've got a man in uniform. While the rest of the world, including the U.S., is calling for quick transition to elections and civilian rule, you've got a guy in uniform there standing there asking for mandate and asking for people to come on to the streets.

So what message is that sending?

SAYAH: Well, remember, this is an institution whose position is we want to stay out of domestic politics. But clearly when you have the top general in uniform come out and call for mass demonstrations, it's certainly going to create the impression among some that he's injecting the armed forces in this conflict, and what remains unanswered is how this conflict is going to end.

Does this signal an effort by the armed forces to get aggressive with the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of Mr. Morsy and, if indeed that's the case, is it going to be effective, is it going to calm things down or is it going to make things worse?

HOLMES: All right, Reza, appreciate that, Reza Sayah there in Cairo.

I was talking to an analyst a little bit earlier who's very worried by this development and fears that there's a spiral downwards into perhaps chaos. What happens on Friday? You've got the army calling for people to go out in the streets.

MALVEAUX: Right. Sure.

HOLMES: Morsy's people are still out there. What do we expect is going to happen?

MALVEAUX: That's why the Obama administration says hold off. Wait a minute. We're not sending weapons just quite yet. Yeah.

HOLMES: Yeah, exactly.

MALVEAUX: It's been a busy day for the royal baby, meeting great grandma, even Uncle Harry.

Up next, how each family member is going to shape the life of this royal.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: That's your music. You love that music. You hum that music.

MALVEAUX: I like that music.

HOLMES: Yes, it's all about the royals, isn't it?

MALVEAUX: It's going to last for this week and (inaudible).

HOLMES: We'll have to get fresh music. The royal couple, their brand new baby, they're on the move today.

MALVEAUX: The family left Kensington Palace this morning, and British are reporting that they've gone to Kate Middleton's parents' home in the village of Bucklebury. That's about an hour from London. But before they left, the baby got a chance to meet his great-grandmother for the first time.

HOLMES: Yeah, I wonder if he bounced up and down on great-grandma's knee. Queen Elizabeth, of course, we're talking about, visiting the newest member of the family at Kensington Palace this morning. But the royal visits stop there. Prince Harry popped by to see the baby who is, of course, his first nephew.

CNN's Max Foster with more on all of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: William and Kate's little prince met his grandparents at hospital. And back at Kensington Palace, the new baby boy also met his new Uncle Harry. PRINCE HARRY, UNITED KINGDOM: I literally am very, very happy for them, but I just only hope that Catherine gets the necessary protection to allow her as a mother -- mother-to-be to enjoy the privacy that that comes with.

FOSTER: Harry will clearly be protective, but is also expected to be the fun uncle.

SUSAN HEWITT, ROYAL BLOGGER: He's just a giant kid himself, so I think he's going to that kind of hands-on uncle and father that kids just naturally are drawn to.

FOSTER: Being the so-called "party prince" can sometimes get him into trouble, but it's exactly what's likely to endear him to his nephew.

As for Pippa, she was the surprise highlight of the royal wedding in 2011 with this rear view that made her an instant sensation.

Many expect she'll be very involved in helping her sister, Kate, take care of the new heir.

KELLY HARRISON, ROYAL BLOGGER (voice-over): She'll definitely plan the baby's first birthday party, probably the christening. And it'll be a better party than anybody has ever seen.

I think she'll really just be by Kate's side and be supportive to Kate. I can picture the two of them out shopping in London and Pippa standing in front of the stroller or rolling the stroller along.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: That's great.

Max Foster, he joins us live outside of Buckingham Palace. Max, I mean, you've been all over this. You know ...

HOLMES: Hasn't slept in two weeks, I think.

MALVEAUX: I don't think so.

HOLMES: Yeah.

MALVEAUX: Tell us about what this is going to be like. Obviously, Pippa and Harry spending time with the baby. What can we expect?

FOSTER: We're going to expect very little in terms of public information. I've to say a short time ago, Kensington Palace saying this is now private and quiet time for the couple to get to know their son. What they've done is they've gone back to Bucklebury. We suspected this would happen. It's a very secluded mansion they have, the Middletons, there, and no one can get to it. There are photographers down there, but they can't get into that sort of compound as it were.

And we mentioned Pippa there. Pippa and James Middleton, Kate's brother and sister, they actually sneaked into the hospital yesterday whilst the baby was there, not if front of the cameras. So they've already met the little baby prince who has yet to be named. But I'm sure they will be there at the Middletons', popping in and out.

So what we have is an environment where Kate and William and the little baby for the next and week before he goes to work are going to spend some time getting to know him, as the palace says.

HOLMES: And, Max, Prince William is very protective of his wife and obviously will be of their child. They're now at Bucklebury, a nice little place to be hanging out, but it's not Kensington Palace. I imagine that the media has been given a stay-away instruction.

FOSTER: That was pretty much it from what I read to you. That statement from the palace is this is their quiet time. Those extraordinary pictures yesterday were in front of the world's media and that was really their moment. It wouldn't have been comfortable for them, necessarily, although they looked comfortable. I don't think they necessarily would want to do that. Would any new parent?

But they want -- they knew they had to share that moment with the world because this is the future heir of 16 countries. But they feel that they've given their bit to the media now, and now it's time for them. So those photographers hang out in the village. I don't -- I think we'll get pretty short shrift if they start pushing things too far. And if the papers start publishing paparazzi pictures, I think they'll be getting a few legal letters from the palace.

The ongoing deal is that they will provide official access to the family, but they feel that they deserve a private life as well.

HOLMES: Yeah, there will be a photo shoot at some stage, you were saying earlier, with a pool sort of arrangement.

Max, great to see you. Sterling effort, my friend. I hope you do get some sleep at some point.

MALVEAUX: It's nice that little town that they're in because Max was reporting earlier that they feel very comfortable there. There's a coffee shop. They know the people there. They feel like they can walk around, that they're going to fit into the community.

HOLMES: And, apparently, Max was saying to me earlier that Prince William changed his first diaper, so -- or nappy.

Although as any parent knows, a day-old baby diaper is very different to a seven-month-old baby diaper, so let's see if he's doing it in a few months from now.

MALVEAUX: Doesn't matter if it's royal or not. It's all the same.

HOLMES: Exactly.

MALVEAUX: Really.

HOLMES: We digress.

All right, let's move on to that rather tasteless sexting scandal surrounding Anthony Weiner.

MALVEAUX: His wife continues to stand by his side.

Up next, we're going to take a look at Huma Abedin's decision to stay.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)