Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Hong Kong Passes New Security Law; Another Royal Photo Under Scrutiny; Israeli Officials To Visit U.S. To Discuss Rafah Operation; Haitian Airline to Resume Flights to Miami on Monday; RSF Forcibly Recruits Men and Children in Sudan Conflict; Getty Images Says Photo of Late Queen Taken by Catherine is "Enhanced"; Beyonce Reveals Inspiration for Upcoming Country Album; Robot Dog Debuts as Police Aide in Spain; Godzilla Becomes Tokyo Police Chief for a Day. Aired 2- 2:45a ET
Aired March 20, 2024 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:00:29]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead. Catastrophic food shortages in Gaza are pushing infants to the brink of death. But aid agencies say without a ceasefire there's little they can do to alleviate the suffering.
A sweeping new security law passes in Hong Kong fueling fresh concerns about Beijing's tightening grip on the city.
And a top photo agency is flagging another digitally altered photo released by the British Royals.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: And we begin with new warnings on the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. The World Health Organization says a growing number of infants in the enclave are on the brink of death from acute hunger. It comes just a day after a U.N.-backed report predicted an imminent famine in northern Gaza between now and May. The U.S. Secretary of State says Gaza's entire population is at severe levels of food insecurity, while the U.N. human rights chief is warning Israel that continued restriction of aid into the territory may amount to a war crime.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLKER TURK, U.N. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: The extent of Israel's continued restrictions on the entry of aid into Gaza together with the manner in which it continues to conduct hostilities may amount to the use of starvation as a method of war, which is a war crime. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Despite the growing international pressure, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is determined to achieve Israel's war goals in Gaza especially in the southern city of Rafah.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translator): We have an argument with the Americans regarding the need to enter Rafah. Not regarding the need to eliminate Hamas but rather the need to enter Rafah. We do not see a way to eliminate Hamas militarily without destroying those remaining battalions.
I have made it supremely clear to the U.S. president in our conversation that we are determined to complete the elimination of these Hamas battalions and Rafah and there is no way to do it, except by going in on the ground.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Netanyahu's comments come despite warnings from U.S. President Joe Biden to refrain from a ground incursion in Rafah. The White House says two top Israeli officials are expected to visit Washington next week to discuss the Rafah operation.
And CNN's Jeremy Diamond has details now from Jerusalem.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Following a call between the Israeli prime minister and the American presidents and Israeli delegation is set to travel to Washington in the coming week to discuss the potential for a major Israeli ground offensive into Rafah. The Israeli Prime Minister spoke with President Biden on Monday about that potential ground defensive and President Biden asked Netanyahu to send that delegation.
And so, this sets the stage now for a major discussion about the merits of that ground defensive. The Israeli prime minister has said that Israeli troops must enter that city of Rafah where some 1-1/2 million Palestinian civilians are currently sheltering calling it Hamas' last bastion. But American officials have been raising increasing concerns in recent weeks about the potential for that major offensive talking about the concerns of the impact that it will have on the civilians who are sheltering there, but also on the entry of humanitarian aid via that Rafah crossing from Egypt into the Gaza Strip.
Now as these officials are set to meet to discuss that potential offensive and what Americans intends to present as potential alternatives to that ground defensive, there are still these ongoing negotiations to try and reach a temporary ceasefire in the release of dozens of Israeli hostages. An Israeli delegation had traveled to Doha, Qatar, after a day though they returned to Israel for further consultations.
That doesn't spell the end of these negotiations though. There is clearly momentum behind these talks. There is clearly movement heading in the right direction according to the key negotiators. The next step now is for Israel to submit a counter proposal to Hamas' latest proposal that has been put on the table.
[02:05:04]
Qatari mediators for their part see they are cautiously optimistic.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.
CHURCH: Meantime, the Israel Defense Forces is urging Palestinians in Gaza to share any information they have about the remaining Israeli hostages in the enclave. The IDF send text messages to people on Tuesday, offering cash in exchange for any information. A CNN journalist also received the message. The message lists two phone numbers and a link to a Web site which directs them to a page with pictures names and ages of the hostages.
The matchup is now set for what should be one of the most important U.S. Senate races this November. CNN projects Trump-backed Cleveland businessman Bernie Moreno will win the Ohio Republican primary. He will face incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown in a contest that could decide which party controls the Senate.
CNN exit poll show roughly seven in 10 GOP voters say it's at least somewhat important that their next senator supports Donald Trump. Sherrod Brown has served three terms in the U.S. Senate and he is one of only two democrats running for reelection in a state Trump carried twice.
Well, Donald Trump voted Tuesday in the Florida Republican primary. The former President responded to recent comments from his Vice President Mike Pence who said he could not in good conscience endorse Trump's campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I couldn't care less, I couldn't care less. We need patriots. We need strong people in our country. Our country is going downhill very fast very rapidly. Millions of people coming across the border coming from jails from prisons, coming from mental institutions and insane asylums terrorists. We need strong people in this country. We don't need weak people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Meanwhile, President Biden is making his pitch for a second term in the battleground states of Nevada and Arizona. He won both states in 2020. But polls show tight races in November. Mr. Biden is hoping to shore up support among Latino voters who were a key part of his 2020 coalition.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We had a lot more to do, a lot more to do. Reaching this election is so important. It's not about me. It's about the future. It's about the future. He wants to undo every single thing we've done if he gets elected, be stated straight up. But there's so much more to keep and to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Natasha Lindstaedt is a professor of government at the University of Essex. She joins me now from Colchester in England. Good to have you with us.
NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: Nice to see you.
CHURCH: So, five states held primaries Tuesday night but all eyes were on that crucial Republican Senate race in Ohio where Donald Trump's pick, Bernie Moreno will win according to CNN projections. He'll go up against the incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown in November in a contest that could decide which party controls the Senate. How do you expect that race to play out? And what are the challenges ahead?
LINDSTAEDT: That's going to be an incredibly tight race. And as you mentioned, the Senate in general is going to be very, very tight with right now the Democrats are barely holding on to it. We have a lot of important races, not just in the Senate, but also in the House. And of course, also with the presidential election. I mean, it's really hard to make predictions now, some six, seven months ahead.
And also, just looking at primaries. The primaries really bring out the more extreme voters, that you're more likely to have the more activist voters that are coming to vote in the primary. So, it's very difficult to predict what might happen in the general election. But what we've seen so far is that Trump and Biden have won handily their primaries in the five states like Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and Ohio.
And it's been -- the candidate that has been most predicted to win their primary in some of these Senate and House run offs that have emerged on top there. So, it's going to be really interesting to see what happens but both Biden and Trump really have an uphill battle here. Though Trump is leading in the polls slightly and it depends on which poll you look at. He has been leading in the polls both nationally and by looking at state by state polls of some of these really important swing states.
Both candidates have flaws and issues that are going to make it very difficult to win over the coals questions that they're going to need to.
[02:10:01]
In particular we're looking at Hispanic voters as you mentioned. This was a demographic that Biden won with 63 percent. But Trump has been slowly gaining ground with Hispanics. He had only won 29 percent of Hispanics in the 2016 election. And this recent New York Times Siena poll showed that he's actually leading in Biden with Hispanics by five, six percent. And other polls have concurred with this. Now, it's important to note that these are registered voters, this is not likely voters. And it would be really unusual to have that huge swing of a difference -- of a demographic in terms of the way they're voting. But it's showing that Biden definitely has worked out for him.
CHURCH: And meantime Donald Trump said Tuesday the Democrats have been very opposed to Jewish people and Israel, his words, but actually went further back on Monday saying and I'm quoting directly here, "Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion, they hate everything about Israel and they should be ashamed of themselves because Israel will be destroyed." Direct words there from Donald Trump.
Now the anti-Defamation League hit back calling Trump's comments prejudicial and false. But does this strategy work for Trump to take Jewish votes away from the Democrats? Or does it backfire and do the exact opposite?
LINDSTAEDT: I think this one is going to backfire. So far, actually, Jewish Americans have been supportive of Biden and the way that he's handled the crisis in Gaza by trying to offer some support to Israel. Of course, this has backfired for Biden with other voters. But that's another story. With Trump's comments, this is just going to I think inflame Jewish Americans, it's a really terrible thing to say to accuse them of basically not being patriots if they vote with or another party.
And it's just fear mongering. So, I can't imagine this would resonate with Jewish American voters who have traditionally already been voting on supporting democratic parties and candidates anyways.
CHURCH: And on the subject of Trump's legal woes, and he's struggled to pull together the $464 million bond that's due by Monday. His legal team is now using the words of Trump appointed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to support Trump's immunity claim in an effort to end all the cases against him. How likely is it that Trump's new Supreme Court immunity brief will work for the former president as a last- ditch effort to protect him?
LINDSTAEDT: Well, the one problem with this, the fact that the Supreme Court decided to hear this case which many legal experts said was completely unnecessary. It is that it's going to delay things. This case was -- some of these cases were supposed to start already and everything is being delayed because of this immunity case that the Supreme Court agreed to hear, which won't even happen, you know, for another month from now.
So it's a delay tactic. That's really all he has, if you look at his legal strategy, up and down the board of all the different legal cases he has, he tries to just use some sort of delay tactic or get out of some -- these issues with some kind of technicality. But the decision will be of course, I can't even imagine another decision that somehow one person is above the law. I mean, that's basically what he's saying.
And we see that type of law being passed in dictatorships. We don't have that type of law happening in a democracy because everybody is supposed to be equal under the law. But I do see him successful in delaying the case and the more it gets delayed, of course, then the better his chances are in the election. Because if we look at the voting public, there is a majority of Americans that have serious concerns or would not vote for him if he was convicted of one of these different crimes that he's been accused of. So his delay strategy is really important to him.
CHURCH: Natasha Lindstaedt, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.
LINDSTAEDT: Thanks for having me.
CHURCH: Well, critics are sounding the alarm over a new national security law in Hong Kong. We will take a closer look at what's included in this latest legislation. Back with that in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:16:37]
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Hong Kong has now passed a second national security law with sweeping new powers. The critics say will more closely align the city with Mainland China. The bill was approved on Tuesday after being rushed through Hong Kong's legislative council and debated over just 11 days. The law which introduces dozens of new national security crimes is sparking fears that an ongoing crackdown on dissent will only get worse.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout joins us now from Hong Kong with the latest on this. So, Kristie, what impact will this second national security law likely have on Hong Kong and its people and what are the critics saying about this?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. This is what it's at issue at the moment. This 212-page safeguarding national security bill that was fast tracked it was rushed through Hong Kong's legislature at the request of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong John Lee. It was debated over 11 days since March the 8th, it introduces some 39 new national security crimes and it adds to the already sweeping national security law that was imposed by Beijing in 2020. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STOUT (voiceover): On the streets of Hong Kong, we ask a simple question. Do you support or not support Article 23?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no idea.
STOUT (voiceover): No idea? Yes or no?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, no. I have to go. I'm really sorry.
STOUT (voiceover): We asked an English, we asked in Cantonese. No comment. STOUT (on camera): Article 23 is Hong Kong's controversial new homegrown security legislation. It includes a range of new national security crimes including treason, espionage, external interference and disclosure of state secrets.
STOUT (voiceover): It carries sentences of 10 years for crimes linked to state secrets and sedition. 20 years for espionage and up to life in prison for treason insurrection, sabotage and mutiny. Officials point out that many Western countries have similar legislation and say it will fill loopholes in his sweeping National Security Law imposed by Beijing in 2020 after mass anti-government protests.
JOHN LEE, HONG KONG CHIEF EXECUTIVE: We still have to watch out for potential sabotage undercurrents that tried to create troubles.
STOUT (voiceover): In 2003, Article 23 was shelved after an attempt to enact it drew half a million residents onto the streets in protest. No such scenes of opposition are expected this time around. Beijing's national security crackdown has transformed Hong Kong. Dozens of political opponents have been arrested, civil society groups disbanded and outspoken media outlets shut down.
Former opposition lawmaker Emily Lau was among the protesters in 2003. She's no longer marching but has a message for Beijing.
EMILY LAU, FORMER OPPOSTION LAWMAKER: I just want to tell Beijing there's no need for such stern treatment. I don't think Hong Kong will go back to the turbulent past. And I think people want to look forward to a safe and peaceful and free future. We want Hong Kong to prosper. We are part of China. I've never disputed that. But we are the different from the rest of China but the difference is getting less and less which is very sad.
[02:20:06]
STOUT (voiceover): Critics say the law could have deep ramifications for the city status as a global business hub. The U.S. State Department says it is concerned by the "broad and vague definitions of state secrets and external interference that could be used to eliminate dissent through the fear of arrest and detention." The Hong Kong government rejects that criticism as biased and misleading.
Where Security Secretary Chris Tang pointing out there is strong public support.
CHRIS TANG, HONG KONG SECRETARY OF STATE (text): We received 9.8 percent support and positive feedback.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (text): I don't want to answer.
STOUT (voiceover): But on streets it's hard to tell.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (text): We don't discuss these things, very sensitive.
(END VIDEOTAPE) STOUT (voiceover): Well, after this legislation was passed late on Tuesday, the U.S. State Department expressed concern and alarm about the vague wording in the legislation. And this is what we heard from the deputy spokesperson of the State Department Vedant Patel, he said this, "that this legislation has the potential to accelerate the closing of Hong Kong's one's open society."
And we also heard from the Chief Executive of Hong Kong top leader John Lee. He spoke right after it was passed on Tuesday. He says that these laws meet international standards that they protect Hong Kong's rights and freedoms. And he called the passage of article 23 a, "historic moment," he says it was needed to be done before Hong Kong could focus on reviving the economy. And this all comes to into effect this weekend on Saturday, March 23rd. Back to you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Kristie Lu Stout joining us live from Hong Kong. Many thanks for that report.
Regina Ip joins me now from Hong Kong, where she is a senior government adviser. Thank you so much for being with us.
REGINA IP, CONVENOR OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL: My pleasure.
CHURCH: So apparently bowing to increasing pressure from China, Hong Kong's legislature has passed tough new powers widening its national security laws, and cracking down on any opposition to the government with penalties that include life in prison. What's your reaction to these sweeping new powers?
IP: We're not bowing to pressure from China. It's -- we have a legal constitutional and moral responsibility to enact laws to safeguard national security. This is required under Article 23 of the Basic Law, which sets out the constitutional arrangement for Hong Kong. And this task has been outstanding for almost 27 years. Macau did it in 2009. So, we owe it to Beijing to do it as expeditiously as possible.
CHURCH: Critics say that you are bowing to mainland China. So, how do you respond to those criticisms?
IP: It has taken us 27 years to formulate the legislation. We are doing it spontaneously on our own efforts, you know, on our own steam. So this is no there's no question of bowing to pressure from Beijing. You know, as part of China, we have a moral responsibility to do so.
CHURCH: And the legislation takes effect on Saturday Introducing 39 new national security crimes and adding to an already powerful national security law that was directly imposed by Beijing on Hong Kong back in 2020. After those massive and sometimes violent democracy protests in 2019. What will this mean for anyone who was involved in those protests and for anyone else who dares to oppose the direction of the government?
IP: Actually, as a law professor, Hong Kong pointed out that new legislation is irrelevant to most people. A lot of the offenses like treason (INAUDIBLE) top state secrets, espionage. They are already on our statute books. What we have done is to update and modernize them in accordance with interventional practice. So, it is -- it we really have no impact on large numbers of people except those who are intent on endangering national security.
CHURCH: So, what will happen to those demonstrators who were out on the streets in 2019?
IP: Some of them have been prosecuted in the past four years as the result of the events of 2019. The numbers are below 300. Below 300 were arrested, 60 percent prosecuted and over 30 have pleaded guilty pending sentencing.
[02:25:03]
So, the numbers of factors are really very small. It really pertains to the same group of people who are involved in violent protests in 2019.
CHURCH: And the national security bill was rushed through the city's legislative council with no opposition and at the request of City Leader John Lee. Why was it rushed through with such haste?
IP: Although the speed was spent 50 hours scrutinizing. The bill clause by clause and the policies behind the bill compared to about 100 hours, 21 years ago when I was championing a bill as a principal official. So, the level of scrutiny is actually higher than 21 years ago. We went about our work very seriously, very professionally and we managed to suggest improvements to many of the clauses.
CHURCH: Regina Ip, thank you so much for talking with us. We appreciate it.
IP: Thank you.
CHURCH: Still to come. In list or die. That is the message for hundreds of men and boys forcibly recruited into Sudan's civil war. We will have a CNN exclusive investigation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, close to a thousand Americans in Haiti have reached out to the U.S. State Department as it becomes more dangerous to live there due to rampant gang violence. Political instability and a growing humanitarian crisis. The Department says it's urging those Americans to consider trying to get a flight out of Cap-Haitien. But only if they can safely reach the northern city.
One flight from that city brought more than 30 U.S. citizens to Miami on Sunday. Now the Haitian airline Sunrise Airways says it will resume limited flights to Miami starting next Monday.
[02:30:01]
The situation in Haiti intensified earlier this month when several criminal gangs joined forces to attack police stations and other government buildings. The U.N. estimates gangs now control about 80 percent of the capital Port-au-Prince and it is extremely dangerous as a local journalist explains.
WIDLORE MERANCOURT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF - AYIBOPOST, HAITI REPROTER - WASHINGTON POST: The story that I am reporting is also mystery (ph). In my team, for instance, in the last couple of months, I had to take shelter for so many of our employees and even today, I am speaking to you. I have employees locked in place where the gangs are clashing with the police and the gangs are telling the Haitian population to keep their doors open, so if they have to come and use them as human shields, they can use them.
It is extremely difficult to report in such circumstances not just as a journalist but as a regular Haitian, as a regular human being and coming into your streets and seeing bodies laid down there. And then also, seen -- talking to some humanitarian people telling you that the amount of suffering that they are seeing, the dire situation of humanitarian needs and the assistance that they have received, it is -- there is a huge gap.
CHURCH: A new CNN investigation found Sudan's paramilitary rapid support forces how forcibly drafted hundreds of men and boys into their war against the Sudanese armed forces. In this exclusive report, Nima Elbagir shows how the RSF has weaponized food amid a looming famine and gave civilians a deadly ultimatum.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Propaganda video from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, the RSF. For much of the last year, they have slashed and burned their way through the country. This video shows them triumphant and entrenched in the very heart of Sudan, Al Jazirah State. And they are recruiting local men in the hundreds.
But it is impossible to tell who here is a willing soldier and who has been forcibly conscripted. Eye witnesses have told CNN that RSF soldiers are giving civilians an ultimatum, enlist or starve. Out investigation shows how almost 700 men and 65 children have been forcibly recruited to swell RSF ranks and that's just what we've been able to verify in Jazirah.
Across Sudan reports and images like this one are emerging. Children in RSF uniform as across Sudan, millions forced from their homes by violence now face famine. CNN spoke three dozen eyewitnesses, survivors and the families of victims. The RSF, they say is weaponizing hunger, denying food to those who won't join. Aid groups say almost 4 million children in Sudan are already malnourished as the country faces mass starvation. If aid agencies can't get food to those in need, almost a quarter of a million children could die.
Jazirah is Sudan's breadbasket, its heartland. To control this part of Sudan is to exert control over who lives and who dies. The RSF deny they are responsible for the hunger gripping the country. Yet, they control every aspect of farming this land. They control the warehouses of food and aid meant to support the most vulnerable. They control the seed supplies, fertilizer, pesticides, agricultural machinery, and irrigation channels. And it is not just the infrastructure, farmers are being targeted, brutalized, degraded, and even killed, not just to control food, but to force allegiance.
You here shots off camera as six of the men are executed according to survivors who spoke to CNN. Those who were spared say the RSF threatened to starve their families if they didn't join. The RSF sit in the heart of Sudan, hoarding food, men and (inaudible). From here, they can wait out, starve out Sudan's people and its army. Fear, uncertainty, despair cascade as the months of war drag on and the world looks away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[02:35:00]
ELBAGIR (on camera): The RSF did not respond to CNN's request for comment. We shared our findings with the U.N. Special Rapporteur for Contemporary Slavery, who says that the evidence we uncovered, the evidence you saw there of forced enlistment is tantamount to contemporary slavery.
Nima Elbagir, CNN, New York.
CHURCH: A new indictment is adding to the mounting legal challenges for former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Police accused him of falsifying COVID vaccination data for him and his daughter while he was still in office. Bolsonaro was widely criticized for downplaying the severity of the pandemic and discouraging people from getting vaccinated. Authorities are also investigating his role in an alleged coup attempt after he lost the 2022 presidential election.
The British royals are under scrutiny after two digitally enhanced photos and a sea of conspiracy theories on the Princess of Wales' health. How this is impacting the royal family's image, that's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: The royal rumor mill has been hard at work, coming up with the most outlandish reasons for why the Princess of Wales has kept a low profile lately. But, given the recent controversies over doctored photos, how can the public completely believe any update issued by Kensington Palace? CNN's Max Foster reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Smiling, happy, and seemingly healthy, new video, not sanctioned by the palace, but reassuring royalists that the couple are well. British tabloids also celebrating Kate's re-emergence and apparent recovery from surgery.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, it is good to see that she is back and hopefully, she's doing well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sure that it would be quite nice for her to walk around, do some shopping with her husband.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't really have any doubt (inaudible). FOSTER (voice-over): Weird because of the conspiracy theories that have swamped social media in recent weeks, filling a void of information from the palace. And the video did nothing to quell them as it was accused of being fake.
Trust in any royal imagery undermined in part by Kensington Palace itself, after it sent out not one but two doctored photos to the news media, both taken by the princess. Kate's edited Mother's Day photo manipulated in several places and now this one released last year, which Getty Images is now labeled digitally enhanced. CNN found inconsistencies in several spots, such as a misalignment on the queen's skirt and blanket. Strands of Princess Charlotte's hair appear to have been cloned. And Prince Louis' shoulder is blurred, overlapping the background.
[02:40:00]
FOSTER (voice-over): Getty told CNN in a statement, it is reviewing all so-called royal handout images and placing where relevant an editor's note saying it could have been digitally enhanced.
KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL HISTORIAN: William and Kate, Kensington Palace was so trusted at Christmas. And now, three months later, we have a situation in which whatever photo is put out, people don't believe it.
FOSTER (voice-over): The lack of information coming from the palace about the princess has created conspiracy theories, often wild ones, which get worse when the palace has been found to be manipulating images.
WILLIAMS: Either they should have said nothing and kept with that, just as they said they were not going to say anything until there was significant update, or they should have put out a few little statements, perhaps a little statement from Kate saying, thank you for the lovely cards, and kept people updated to a degree.
FOSTER (voice-over): Seemingly unfazed and in good spirits, royals refusing to be distracted in public. Prince William making a long planned visit to a homelessness project to Sheffield. No lack of support there or from the papers, as the rumors continue online.
Max Foster, CNN, London.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Beyonce's latest album is due out next week, but it won't be the R&B sound you're used to hearing. The new album is called Cowboy Carter and with it, the superstar hopes to erase stigmas regarding race in country music. Beyonce is no stranger to the genre, having a country inspired track on a previous album, but she has also been the target of racist attacks after performing on the Country Music Awards years ago. The album could be a hit regardless, with its first single, Texas Hold 'Em, hitting number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Well, police around the world are looking a little different these days. Take a look at these new hires. In Spain, police took a robot dog for a test walk through the busy city center. It is designed to help spot traffic violations with remote image analysis and soon will use artificial intelligence to sniff out danger. Meantime in Tokyo, the top brass (ph), hoping this new police chief's reputation makes criminals think twice. Godzilla himself was made Tokyo police chief for a day last week as part of an event to promote a traffic safety. But, we are guessing it isn't long until he returns to the big screen.
CHURCH: And thanks so much for joining us this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is coming up next. Then, I will be back in 15 minutes with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
