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The Global Brief with Bianca Nobilo

China's Zero-COVID Policy; NATO To Boost Ukraine Aid; Promising Alzheimer's Drug. Aired 5-5:30p ET

Aired November 30, 2022 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:28]

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN HOST: Hello. I'm Lynda Kinkade in Atlanta. Welcome to THE GLOBAL BRIEF.

Just ahead, major Chinese cities have eased some COVID-19 restrictions but the crackdown on protesters doesn't seem to be stopping.

Then, Ukraine tells NATO to send more military supplies as quickly as possible. CNN speaks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

And a new experimental drug fuels hope that doctors will one day cure Alzheimer's disease. We'll have the promising results.

But first, we begin at the World Cup in Qatar, where Group C truly had to be seen to be believed, but Argentina and Poland are through to the final

16. Argentina won the match, 2-0.

But Poland made it through thanks to a better goal differential than Mexico. This 2-1 victory over Saudi Arabia, simply not enough. This is the

first time since 1978 that Mexico has failed to make it past the group stages.

And earlier, Tunisia beating already qualified France, 1-0. Yet there was breathtaking last-minute drama as a French goal in the final few seconds of

extra time was ruled offside.

And yet in another remarkable win, Australia is through the knockout stages after beating Denmark with a goal in the 68th minute. They will face

Argentina on Saturday.

We want to bring in "WORLD SPORT's" Don Riddell, who is at the World Cup in Doha.

Great to see you, Don.

I am getting messages all over the world, cheering on the Socceroos. But I have to ask you about Lionel Messi and Argentina. You are at that game. A

huge win.

DON RIDDELL, CNN HOST, WORLD SPORT: Yeah, a huge one. I am so pleased for you, Lynda. Really happy for that Socceroos, their first knockout round

appearance since 2006. That year, they were knocked out by Italy, who ended up going on to win the whole thing. So, interesting to see how it will play

out now. We will see how awesome the Australians are when they run into Argentina because they are starting to look really good.

Let's show you the highlights from this game. Of course, we all know about Lionel Messi, his 5th World Cup, probably his final World Cup. He has been

up and he has been down he got a penalty against Poland and it was really well saved and I could just sense the Argentina fans around me getting

anxious.

But Argentina deserved this game. They were far more positive, they want to win and they got it. Alexis McAllister scoring at the start of the 2nd

half. And then Julian Alvarez adding a 2nd one for the argentine side.

That meant that off the back-to-back wins, they are now on their way to the mark out round. Earlier, their fears and concerns -- remember that if you

to Saudi Arabia? That is all way behind them now.

Any other game, Mexico against Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Saudi Arabia, I mean, they haven't really had a chance of this group. Mexico, they wanted

it and they went out. Luis Chavez with a stunning free kick there to make it 2-0. They needed one more goal, the Mexicans, or they needed Argentina

to score one more against Poland. It didn't work out. In fact, Saudi Arabia pulled a late consolation back, meaning that Mexico are out.

If you take a look at the group, you see what it means. Poland, going through. And I might suggest that they might feel a little bit embarrassed

about that because they were pretty negative today. It seem just know they were happy with a draw. In the end, a 2-0 defeat was good enough for them.

This stadium, 974, was absolutely jam-packed with Argentinian fans. It's good for the tournament, and the atmosphere that they are still in. There

was hardly any Polish supporters in their. But the Polish fans are still optimistic. They were celebrating.

But kind of looked a bit guilty. Like, they felt like they didn't deserve it. They live to fight another day. Interesting to see what happens in

their match against France, next.

KINKADE: Exactly, and great for you to be there, Don, to witness it all. Thanks so much. We will catch up again soon.

Don Riddell there in Qatar.

Well, an important step for gender equality in football. History will be made at Thursday's match between Costa Rica and Germany. Thanks to an all-

female referee team. It will be led by France's Stephanie Frappart, who's also the first woman to referee a men's Champions League match, which she

did in 2020.

As Chinese President Xi Jinping says the country deeply mourns the death of a former Chinese leader, China's top COVID response official says the

country has entered a, quote, new stage and mission in pandemic controls. Health authorities have begun lifting lockdown measures in some cities and

have relaxed testing for residents with minimal social activities.

[17:05:00]

Now, the changing COVID strategy follows days of unprecedented protests right across China over the government's pandemic controls.

CNN's Ivan Watson has the latest from Hong Kong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Remarkable scenes of confrontations in the streets of the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on

Tuesday night. Police and hazmat suits, clashing with locals, all the more striking that the following day, the city officials announced that they

would be lifting some of the lockdowns, the COVID lockdowns, that have made people they're so angry and the first place.

We are hearing similar easing of COVID restrictions in Shanghai, where lockdowns were lifted and in Beijing where some of the mandatory testing

imposed on the population has been eased, suggesting that the Chinese authorities are taking a two-pronged approach to dealing with unprecedented

protests, resulting from its strict COVID regulations.

China's police state strikes back, flooding the streets of Beijing and Shanghai with police, an unmistakable show of force after a weekend of

unprecedented protest in at least 15 cities across the country.

In the eastern city of Hangzhou Monday night, police arrested people in a central square. And an eyewitness tells CNN police searched people's phones

on the Shanghai subway, looking for apps that allow users to circumvent Shanghai's strict Internet censorship.

The communist party's domestic security committee ordering officials to resolutely strike hard against infiltration and sabotage activities by

hostile forces, as well as criminal activities that destabilized social order. No compromise for peaceful protesters to voice their opinion.

Meanwhile, health officials striking a slightly softer tone, calling for shorter lockdowns in the Chinese government campaign to eradicate COVID-19.

CHENG YOUQUAN, CHINESE CTR. FOR DISEASE CONTROL & PREVENTION (through translator): We need to minimize the inconvenience to the general public

because of the anti-COVID-19 measures. As for the high-risk regions, we must have rigorous control. But at the same time, we should spare no effort

to provide services to meet people's basic living needs and medical needs.

WATSON: A carrot and stick approach from different parts of the Chinese state, after the biggest nationwide display of discontent this tightly

controlled country has seen in a generation.

We have seen no mention of the protests in any of the Chinese state media. It is dominated right now by the death of the former Chinese leader, Jiang

Zemin, who passed away at the age of 96 due to leukemia and additional health complications. He is being heralded by the highest levels of the

Chinese government. Xi Jinping, expressing deep condolences.

One question will be, how will the Chinese authorities react if the Chinese people try to gather and hold vigils for this former leader? There is some

historical precedent that this has led to unrest back in 1989. We will have to watch this very closely even as China prepares for a state funeral of

its former leader.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, police in Spain are investigating an incident of Ukraine's embassy in Madrid where an envelope exploded in a staffer's hands. The

staffer was slightly injured.

Spain's foreign ministry says the letter was addressed to the Ukrainian ambassador. Ukraine has boosted security at all its embassies in response.

Well, Moscow claims its forces are making progress in eastern Ukraine, saying its forces have taken a small settlement near buck mood in the

Donetsk region. Ukraine has not confirmed this. Its troops are fighting off Russian attacks, while running low on forces and artillery.

NATO secretary general is praising Ukraine's tenacity on the battlefield. It says the alliance is fully committed to a Ukrainian victory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL: Ukraine has made significant gains, but we must not underestimate Russia. Russian missiles continue to

strike Ukrainian cities, civilians, and critical infrastructure. This is causing enormous human suffering as winter sets in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, Ukraine's foreign minister is calling on NATO for help, urging it to, quote, supply us with everything required as fast as it is

required. The U.S., along with many European allies, are pledging more air defense weapons and power restoration systems for Ukraine.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Christiane Amanpour a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Is it true that NATO is running out of ammunition for, for instance, artillery that the

Ukrainians are using?

[17:10:00]

ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: Christiane, from day one, in fact, even before day one, before the Russian aggression started but we saw it

coming, we have been working with the Ukrainians to get them what they need to defend themselves and to push back the Russian aggression. And every

step along the way, in consultation with them, in consultation with allies and partners, we have adjusted as the nature of the aggression has shifted

to make sure that they were getting into their hands as quickly as possible exactly what they needed to deal with Putin's war.

And that process continues. We're now very focused on air defense systems, and not just us, many other countries. And we are working to make sure that

the Ukrainians get those systems as quickly as possible, but also as effectively as possible. Making sure that they're trained on them, making

sure that they have the ability to maintain them.

And all of that has come together and it is. We have a very deliberate process established by the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Ramstein,

Germany, that meets regularly to make sure that the Ukrainians are getting what they need when they need it.

AMANPOUR: So, let me ask you about the somewhat confusion from the Pentagon and from you all at NATO regarding American Patriots. As you say,

they definitely need anti air defense systems. And clearly, you must think that they need more as Putin ratchets up his missile attack and his missile

wars against cities.

So, will the United States give Patriot systems? And if not, why not?

BLINKEN: So, I'm not going to speak to specific systems. The Pentagon is focused on that. What we've been working to do is make sure that at any

given time, they have the most effective systems possible to deal with a threat that they are facing. We just recently provided them with a very

effective system called NASAMS that they are using that very effectively. Before that, we have the HIMARS, which they used to great effect, both in

southern and in eastern Ukraine.

So, virtually every single day, Christiane, the Pentagon is looking at this, listening to the Ukrainians, consulting with allies and partners, and

if we don't have something, trying to find it elsewhere. That is part of this entire coordination process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: The French President Emmanuel Macron is on the Biden administration's first state visit right now. U.S. President Joe Biden will

have a private dinner with him in the coming hours ahead of a state dinner on Thursday.

The French leader met earlier with Kamala Harris at NASA's headquarters. The White House is hoping to ease tensions with America's oldest ally. Mr.

Macron is expected to bring up new U.S. subsidies that the E.U. feels are threatening, as well as his views on China and how to resolve the war in

Ukraine.

Let's go to Paris and our correspondent Melissa Bell joins us live.

Good to have you with us. Also, France of course, one of America's oldest allies. What's the relationship right now and is Macron hoping to get from

his first visit to Biden -- to this administration since Biden became president?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Lynda. This is the first visit in four years. Of course, remember the last one, President Trump

happened in completely different circumstances, but for the Europeans, this is a chance for an American president who understood about multilateralism

with whom President Macron, frankly, has an easier relationship -- we have seen that at various G7 summits. We've seen them at NATO. We have seen that

alliance reinforced as a result of the war in Ukraine.

And yet, from the point of view of Europeans, there is still a great deal of unease about exactly what is going on. Not only because of the -- but

also because fundamentally, there are worries that behind that facade of unity, there are concerns about the way the United States, with the

measures that are being taken to try to help the American economy, it is in fact punishing the European one. There are fears about energy, trade.

President macron says that this is not a level playing field.

His point with President Biden is to try and emphasize that Europeans want more help. They want to be heard on questions of energy. They say this is a

war. And the sanctions that have been taken against Russia has particularly penalized Europeans. Here we are facing the coldest winter. Energy prices

are high. That is what is on his mind.

He's going to be behind all the pomp and circumstance of what will happen on Thursday in Washington. He will be there to say that they want Europe to

be heard.

This is a transatlantic alliance, of course, that goes back to the foundation of two republics. President Macron is going to be there to say,

we understand each other better, we're working better together than we have ever before over the last few years on a number of fronts. But on the

question of trade, on the question of energy, Europe wants the United States to be able to listen to it and understand its concerns.

So, behind all the pomp and pageantry that you will see, difficult discussions will take place, because Macron is there to represent European

views. And they feel, frankly, Lynda, that they haven't been listened to enough on these issues. And that is going to be the concern over the course

of the day tomorrow.

KINKADE: All right. We'll be watching it closely.

Melissa Bell, good to have you with us. Live from Paris, thank you.

Well, still to come tonight, they're calling it a breakthrough, the first drug that appears to slow the Alzheimer's disease. But it's not for every

patient. We will explain why.

And a royal trip abroad being clouded by events back home. We'll have the details. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Welcome back.

You're watching THE GLOBAL BRIEF. I'm Lynda Kinkade.

Qatar has announced it will provide liquefied natural gas to Germany under two new deals. While Berlin says it doesn't expect any LNG from Russia

anymore. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, competition for LNG supplies has become intense. And Qatar is a major player.

CNN's Becky Anderson spoke with a country's energy minister a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAAD AL KAABI, QATARI ENERGY MINISTER: As you know, we have embarked on an expansion exercise, if you will, we have announced the expansion of our LNG

production from 77 to 126 million tons.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: That's significant.

AL KAABI: And it's going to come online in 2026 and also some volume is going to come from both of us and the U.S. in 2024. We have been working

very hard on putting together sales agreements for all of the volume that we're going to bring online. What you have heard is just two deals, the

Chinese deal and the German deal. Two of many deals that we are working on and people are lining up, really, and we could be really oversold in the

next year or two with the people that are talking us from around the world.

ANDERSON: You don't look at these kind of short term deals. So, why only 15 years with the Germans?

AL-KAABI: Actually, most of the deals you care about going forward are 25, 27 year deals for the very long term deals that we are looking at.

[17:20:02]

And we're discussing with many people, 27-year deals. The deal that we signed yesterday with ConocoPhillips is a 27-year deal. The reason we have

announced it is 15 years plus is because Germany has put a restriction on their requirement to import gas into Germany at that point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, there is an exciting development in the fight against Alzheimer's disease. A new treatment that might be effective. The new drug,

while still in its trial phase, shows signs of slowing the cognitive decline of the disease causes. Researchers stress it is not a cure, but

this is the first time any drug has been effective.

CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Lynda, this study has been promising results for the Alzheimer's drug. But to be clear, it is not

a cure. It is not the kind of thing where a patient, maybe someone you know takes it and their Alzheimer's goes away.

Let's take a look at what the researchers found. They were about 1,800 studies participants. They were in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

They were between the ages of 50 and 90. Half of them got the drug, the other half of them got a placebo.

After 18 months -- so it took a while -- 18 months, the folks who got the drug, their cognitive decline was 27 percent slower. In other words, they

had cognitive decline, but it was 27 percent slower than it was for the folks who got the placebo.

Also, the folks that got the drug, their amyloid levels dropped, which is a good thing. Amyloid is the plaque that you see in brains of Alzheimer's

patients. But here's the important question.

When you look at those two things, was it really enough to make a difference in the lives of the patients? Were they suffering less? Did it

really ease their Alzheimer's? Did it make a difference in the quality of their life? And was taking the struggle with the potential side effects?

Let's take a look at what the study found there. On the drug, about 17 percent of patients had brain bleeding, and about 12 percent of patients

had brain swelling, for the folks, again, who took the drug. Now, to be clear, some of the patients who took the placebo also had those two things.

But it was in much smaller numbers.

And so now, regulators at the U.S. food and drug administration, as well as regulators around the world will have to decide whether this drug ought to

be approved.

In the U.S., a decision could be made in weeks. But the authors of this study, they themselves say that more studies, longer term studies should be

done to really evaluate the efficacy and the safety of his drug -- Lynda.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Our thanks to Elizabeth Cohen there.

Well, let's take another look at other stories making international headlines today.

And 200,000 people are without power here in the United States as severe storms hit coast to coast. In the south, 22 tornadoes were reported last

night. And across the country, winter storm winning is in effect for the northwest, with some areas expecting up to a major of snow.

Another court has ruled that Japan's ban on same-sex marriage is constitutional. But the Tokyo district is encouraging Japan's parliament to

create a new law that would allow same-sex couples to have families. It said that that is a matter of human rights.

But activists say that that simply is not enough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GON MATSUNAKA, DIRECTOR, MARRIAGE FOR ALL JAPAN (through translator): I'm not commence low by the ruling. I believe both heterosexual couples and

same-sex couples should be able to equally benefit from the rights from the systems of marriage. Since everyone is equal under the law. But it clearly

said that it is not possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Security staff at Eurostar will strike for four days in December after rejecting a pay rise that was below inflation. Over 100 staff are

expected to walk out, severely affecting Eurostar services around Christmas.

A rail union official says they don't want to disrupt people's travel plans, and urged Eurostar to negotiate a solution as soon as possible.

Well, the famous Casablanca quote goes: We will always have Paris. And now we will always have baguettes. UNESCO has given the French bread world

heritage status. With the director general saying the artisanal know-how is something to protect, not a crummy decision at all.

Well, the prince and princess of Wales say they're delighted to be on Boston on their first from abroad since Queen Elizabeth II passed away. The

royal couple are in town for the annual Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony, an environmental initiative founded by Prince William. The pair is said to

meet with President Joe Biden on Friday at a fundraising event.

However, their trip has been clouded by events back home. Buckingham Palace house member has resigned after being accused of persistently quizzing a

woman about her heritage.

CNN's Max Foster is in Boston covering the world tour for us, and joins us now.

Good to have you with us, Max. What is it, a busy trip for you that you are covering. So this is not the first accusations of racism within the palace

we have heard. Take us through the details.

[17;25:05]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there was a Black guest at a reception and a member of staff, a senior member of staff approached her

and started asking lots of questions about where she came from? When did you arrive here? Where are you from in Africa? When did your -- where are

your people from?

So, really, offensive sort of language to someone who was British, identified as herself as British pretty early in the conversation. It

really blew up today when that guest transcribed the conversation and out on social media today. There were witnesses who were speaking to that as

well, saying it is absolutely correct. You know, it was a true reflection of the conversation.

And then the Buckingham Palace had to step in and say that, you know, there is an investigation taking place. The person, that member of the royal

household who had this conversation has stepped down. And I am here in Boston because the prince and princess of Wales have just been on the stage

behind me.

But this was meant to be a big event about Earthshot, which is his environmental effort. But, of course, overshadowed by all of these

allegations of racism back home. The prince of Wales's spokesperson saying that there is never a place in society for racism. It was appropriate that

this person step down immediately.

So a huge controversy off the back of, you know, the duchess of Sussex allegations about racism within the palace as well.

KINKADE: All right. Max Foster, for us in Boston, good to have you there. Thanks so much.

Well, the music world is mourning a star. Christine McVie, singer and keyboard player for Fleetwood Mac has passed away at 79 years of age after

a brief illness. She wrote some of the group's biggest hits, including "Don't Stop" and "Little Lies".

(MUSIC)

KINKADE: The band paid tribute to McVie in a statement, calling McVie truly one-of-a-kind, special, and talented beyond measure.

Our thoughts are with her family and friends.

Thanks so much for watching tonight. I'm Lynda Kinkade. That was THE GLOBAL BRIEF. Thanks for your company.

Do stay with CNN. "WORLD SPORT" with Don Riddell from Qatar is up next.

END