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Palestinians Not Pleased by the Peace Pact; Coronavirus Spikes in Europe; France Imposed Fines on Mask Disobedience; Mexico and Argentina Joined Hand to Combat Coronavirus; COVID-19 a Hot Issue for Presidential Candidates; U.S. Says No to Russia's Offer; Trump And Advisers Vague On Timeframe Of Suspensions; UAE Official Said That Deal With Israel Is Win For Diplomacy; Hong Kong Media Mogul Talks About His Arrest; Mauritius Demanding Compensation For Oil Spill; Detainees Walk Free In Belarus As Protest Continues; Trump Ramps Up Attacks On Democratic Rivals, Mail-In Voting; UFC Legend Prepares For Final Fight. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired August 14, 2020 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR: Hi. Welcome to all of our viewers joining us from all around the world. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Robyn Curnow.
Just ahead here on the show, the United Arab Emirates says it has normalized relationships with Israel to further off -- to ward off further annexation of the West Bank. But Palestinian leaders are criticizing the deal.
Several European countries reporting sharp rises in COVID cases, the U.K. now imposing new quarantine restrictions for certain travelers.
And little bit later, the Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai talked to CNN about his arrest under the controversial new law.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN center, this is CNN Newsroom with Robyn Curnow.
CURNOW: Great to have you along.
So, Israel has agreed to suspend annexing parts of the West Bank, at least for now as part of a potentially groundbreaking deal struck with the United Arab Emirates. Yet Palestinian leaders were not pleased by the announcement.
Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas immediately slammed it as a betrayal of the Palestinian cause. Brokered by the Trump White House and announced Thursday by President Trump Israel and the UAE have committed themselves to full normalization of relations.
Besides Israel temporarily holding off its annexation plans, Israel and the UAE will exchange ambassadors and they will work out agreements on investment, tourism, direct flights, security, technology, telecommunications, energy, health, culture and environment.
Well, we have complete coverage of the story for you. Elliott Gotkine is in Tel Aviv, and Sam Kiley is in Beirut, Lebanon. Sam, to you first. The key question for many in the Arab world is what does this suspension actually mean? Because it's just so different from abandoning annexation, isn't it?
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's very different indeed. Now, one could argue, and certainly the Palestinians will that the Emirates have been naive and not understanding that this leads open. The probability, frankly, that the Netanyahu administration will continue at some later stage with its plan for annexation.
On top of that, of course, there's no mention of the settlements. Those freeze on the buildings of settlements on Palestinian lands on the West Bank which is considered illegal under international law. And it's for that reason that this proposal that this proposal or this deal, rather, has been roundly condemned as a betrayal by the Palestinians.
On the other hand, Robyn, the Emiratis do now have a relationship, an open relationship, they had a private relationship, should recall it, for some time with the -- with Israel. Now it's an open relationship that is possible that they would be able to bring a great deal more pressure to bed on Benjamin Netanyahu and his administration, or whoever comes next as the Israeli prime minister in terms of trying to get a deal for the Palestinians.
Certainly, that was the view expressed by the Palestinian -- sorry, the Emirati foreign minister in an interview with Becky Anderson. This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANWAR BIN MOHAMMED GARGASH, UAE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: So there was a long, I would say, internal dialog and a dialog also with the Americans of how can we do it? Is it the right moment? And I think we are thinking about this, there is never a right moment. There's never a right moment.
But at the same time, if we really get this commitment, it will be like defusing a timebomb on a two-state solution. As I said, ultimately, the solution is in the hands of the Palestinians, in the hands of the Israelis, and we urge them to go back to the negotiating table. We know that prospects are dim right now, but we hope that, through this, we can actually achieve something.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KILEY: Now that is the positive aspect of this, as far as the Emirati is concerned. The negative as far as the Palestinians are concerned is that the Emirati certainly with a view to the Palestinian leadership is pretty contentious of Mahmoud Abbas otherwise known as Abu Mazen in the people around him who they think bereft of ideas and actually simply digging in heels and not likely to ever deliver anything useful to the Palestinians.
And on top of that, of course, they consider the Palestinian Authority to be morbidly corrupt.
[03:04:59]
But nonetheless, it does establish a new relationship in the Middle East, and a new effort will be made by the Emiratis to try to speak perhaps more widely in favor of the Palestinian people, if not the Palestinian leadership. Robyn?
CURNOW: So, if you say that the Palestinians feel betrayed, abandoned, has this opened the door, opened a Pandora's box? Do you see any other Arab nations following suit here? And what does that mean?
KILEY: Well, I'm in the past, Oman has had limited relations with Israel. There have been visits by Benjamin Netanyahu among others to Oman, they play though, the Omanis, play the kind of role of sort of almost the Switzerland in the Middle East, they are also very important interlocked between Iran and some of its rivals in the Middle East, in particular. And it's Iran actually that really is the key here in terms of strategic thinking.
The Emiratis are extremely anxious about Iranian influence and Iranian destabilization across the Middle East, the Saudis too. And yes, they could well be an unfreezing of relations between other Arab nations, but I think that they probably want to see a bit more progress on the Palestinian file, if you like.
But there is also now almost a generational issue in which the Palestinian course simply doesn't exercise younger Arab leaders around the Middle East the way that it used to in previous decades. There is a sort of border, frankly, with the issues and particularly a deep frustration with the current Palestinian leadership. Robyn?
CURNOW: OK. Thanks for that. Sam Kiley there in Beirut. I want to go over to Tel Aviv where Elliott is standing by. Elliott, good to see you. I mean, what is the timing, and also, what's the timing of this announcement mean, particularly for Benjamin Netanyahu? And also, interestingly, what does Israel gain from this? And what does it lose, if anything?
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Israel gains its third Arab country with whom it's going to have diplomatic applications. So that's a big win for Israel which has of course been trying to forge more peaceful relationships with some of the other countries that certainly with whom has never had any wars with, or there is no kind of long-lasting enmity.
And as Sam was mentioning just now, you know, there have been kind of less overt relations between the two countries on a kind of commercial level, and other kind of, you know, behind the scenes talks. Though, first of all, Israel is a big -- it's a big win in terms of getting a third Arab country after Egypt and Jordan with whom it's going to have normalize relations.
For Benjamin Netanyahu, the timing is reasonably good, not because he's been kind of under the pressure of late for his government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. On some measures Israel has one of the worst outbreaks in the world. He's also (Technical difficulty) corruption trial due to resume in a few months' time. And there have been growing protests against his government on that front.
So, it's kind of decent for Netanyahu. In terms of timing, I suppose the person for whom this works best is President Trump. Of course, he's got his own election in November coming up, and this is a major foreign policy achievement for him to hold, as he goes into that election.
There are of course, people within Israel and outside of Israel who are against this, we've discussed the Palestinians opposition to it. We've recently heard from the Turkish foreign minister describing the United Arab Emirates agreement with Israel as a hypocrisy, although of course Turkey itself has diplomatic relations with Israel.
Settlers who traditionally supported Netanyahu and his allies, one of the leading settler groups came out and said they've been deceived by him because of this postponed annexation. I suppose their big concern is that where President Trump not to be reelected that a President Biden would not be so warmly disposed towards any kind of annexation.
So, I guess that's their main concern, and then of course you also have the main Arab party in parliament, which is actually the third biggest party in parliament have also come out against this agreement, who (Inaudible) any legitimate roadmap which is the one that will liberate -- the one that liberates the Palestinian people from the crime of and occupation. It's the only one that described this disagreement between Israel and the UAE as shameful. Robyn?
CURNOW: Thanks so much, Elliott there in Tel Aviv. Sam in Beirut. Thanks so much, gentlemen.
So, I want to take you to Europe now where COVID numbers are soaring. Spain, France, Greece, and Germany all reporting surges in new infections just weeks after ending their tough lockdown restrictions.
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European health authorities say the spikes are linked to younger people, and those who are venturing out into public spaces.
The U.K. now has imposed a two-week quarantine for all arrivals from several European nations. Now, France, the Netherlands, and Malta are on that list. The restrictions go into effect on Saturday.
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GRANT SHAPPS, BRITISH TRANSPORT MINISTER: It does, I'm afraid, mean that people, when they return to the U.K., if that is after 4 a.m. on Saturday morning, it does mean that they would need to quarantine for 14 days, and that is a requirement by law. People will be required to follow that, and that's to make sure that
we protect the incredibly hard work that people have done in the United Kingdom to get our numbers down. We've seen the numbers starting to rise, and we want to make sure that we keep those pressed for everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: France, meantime, is toughening restrictions on wearing masks outdoors. Nice, Toulouse, and Paris among the cities imposing mask orders for busy areas. Authorities in Nice say they fine more than 130 people in just an hour on Thursday. France reported more than 2,600 new infections on Thursday, a new post-lockdown high for the second day in a row.
And then authorities in Spain are struggling to contain a spike in cases there. The country reported nearly 3,000 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the highest single day today since harsh lockdown restrictions there were lifted.
Well, Al Goodman now reports. Al?
AL GOODMAN, JOURNALIST: Six weeks after lifting a nationwide lockdown which slowed down the coronavirus last spring, Spain is recording the highest number of new cases in Western Europe. Spain has about 330,000 cases more even than in Britain. There are about 600 outbreaks across Spain.
A top government health official says it's still too early to talk about a second wave. Yet the number of new coronavirus patients in hospitals and in ICUs is on the increase even from earlier this month. Officials say these outbreaks are especially due to young people at drinking parties, in nightclubs and outdoors.
Also, to large family events like weddings, people not wearing masks and getting infected, and among seasonal farm workers who live and work in close quarters. And it's now Spain's 17 regional governments leading the battle against the coronavirus each with their own set of rules.
So here in northwestern Spain in Galicia, the regional government is banning smoking in public places if there's not proper social distancing. And some other regions are considering following suit.
Al Goodman, A Coruna, Spain.
CURNOW: Thanks, Al, for that.
So, in Peru, new lockdown measures there have been imposed. Transmission of coronavirus among children and youth has increased 75 percent. That's according to the president.
He issued a decree on Thursday imposing new lockdown -- local lockdowns in several parts of the country and a mandatory stay-at-home order on Sundays. Social and family gatherings have also been banned. The state of emergency in Peru is in effect through August the 31st.
And then two countries in Latin America have now found a partnership to tackle COVID-19. Mexico and Argentina are now working with the company to develop a vaccine. The hope to mass produce the successful vaccine to be used across the continent as Matt Rivers now reports from Mexico.
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, here in Mexico, health officials have announced that this country has surpassed 500,000 confirmed cases of this virus for the first time, this as the death toll in Mexico continues to rise. And yet, in what feels like the first time in a long time, we have some good news to share about what's going on in Latin America.
A partnership has been announced between Mexico, Argentina and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. That company is currently in trials developing a vaccine. And ultimately, if the phase three trials go well, if AstraZeneca can come up with a safe, reliable vaccine, then the agreement with Mexico and Argentina will be to produce somewhere between 150 and 250 million doses of that vaccine, that those doses would ultimately be distributed throughout Latin America, except for Brazil.
Now the production schedule here, they hope to finish phase three clinical trials by November, if all that goes well Mexico and Argentina start production of those doses in the first part of 2021. And then after that, they will start the distribution of those doses.
Now, exactly how fast Mexico and Argentina can produce millions of doses of this vaccine, how fast they can get it distribute across the regions in many countries remains to be seen, and it's kind of sobering to think that even if all of this goes really well, goes as fast as possible, we are looking at the middle part of 2021 before the effects of a vaccination campaign would be felt.
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That's the earliest timeframe we're looking at, but the fact that we're talking about a vaccine, the fact that we are talking about two countries producing necessary millions of doses of the vaccine is a good thing in a region that could really, really use some good news.
Matt Rivers, CNN, in Mexico City.
CURNOW: It sure could. Thanks so much, Matt, for that.
So New Zealand is scrambling to contain a COVID outbreak as the country reports 12 new coronavirus cases. Health officials are ramping up testing. More than 15,000 people were tested on Thursday. The most a single day in New Zealand since the pandemic began.
Now, the level three lockdown in Auckland has been extended. It requires public venues to stay closed, and people to remain at home except for essential needs. The country is also extending milder level to restrictions elsewhere. You are watching CNN. So still to come, Russia says it is offering the
U.S. unprecedented assistance over a vaccine, the U.S. doesn't seem interested. We're live in Moscow for that one.
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CURNOW: Welcome back.
So, for weeks, Democratic presidential challenger Joe Biden has launched relentless broad sides on President Trump's handling of the COVID -- of the COVID crisis.
Now on Thursday, the Democrat called for mask wearing to be made a national requirement. It's something many scientists support, but the president has resisted doing that. Mr. Trump has even accused his rival of ignoring science and playing politics with the crisis. Something he is accused of doing himself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Every single American should be wearing a mask when they are outside for the next three months, at minimum. Every governor should mandate, every governor should mandate mandatory mask wearing. This is America. Be a patriot. Protect your fellow citizens.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Today, we saw Joe Biden continue to politicize a pandemic and to show his appalling lack of respect for the American people. It's what it is. At every turn, Biden has been wrong about the virus, ignoring the scientific evidence, and putting left wing politics before facts and evidence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Meanwhile, a deadly game of tug of war is on. On one side, U.S. school districts, businesses, and other groups that are reopening and refusing to wear masks. On the other hand, health experts who say we need to do better to save lives.
Here is Athena Jones.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Bottom line is, I am not pleased with how things are going.
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ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tonight, Dr. Anthony Fauci, raising concerns about disturbing trends in parts of the country.
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[03:19:59] FAUCI: This is the thing that is disturbing to me. Is that, we are starting to see the inkling of the upticks, and the percent of the tests that are positive, which we know now, from sad past experience, that that's a predictor that you can have more surges.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: This warning comes as the U.S. confronts the deadliest day of the summer, 1,499 people loss to COVID-19 Wednesday. And as CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield makes this blunt admission.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT REDFIELD, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: This is the greatest public health crisis that hit this nation in a century that we were under prepared. And we need to owe it to our children and grandchildren that this nation is never underprepared again for a public health crisis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Redfield warning that if at least 95 percent of Americans don't follow basic public health recommendations like mask wearing, handwashing, and social distancing --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REDFIELD: This could be the worst fall from a public health perspective we've ever had.
I'm not asking some of America to do it, we all got to do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Well new cases are steady or falling in 43 states, deaths have averaged more than 1,000 a day for 17 days now. And COVID tests positivity rates are on the rise in 35 states with Texas leading the nation at nearly 24 percent even as the number of tests being conducted nationwide, continues to decline.
Meanwhile, in Martin County Florida, north of Palm Beach, an entire elementary school classroom, and one bus route, were placed under quarantine one day after the district reopen for in-person instruction. And a student began exhibiting symptoms.
Nationally, more than 2,000 students, teachers, and staff members across five states are under quarantine due to COVID concerns.
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PETER HOTEZ, INFECTIOUS EXPERT, BAYLOR UNIVERSITY: There is just no way right now where this epidemic is raging across the south, in Florida, in Georgia, in Alabama, in Mississippi, in Louisiana, and much -- and much of Texas, that you can open up schools safely.
(END VIDEO CLIP) JONES: Still, it's game on in Utah tonight, a state with a positivity rate of almost 9 percent, to high schools facing off in the first football match of the season.
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CARLOS DEL RIO, PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE AND GLOBAL HEALTH, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: I feel like the Titanic. We've hit the iceberg. And we are trying to make decisions on what times should we have the band play. Not having fall sports this year and controlling this virus, to me, would be the number one priority.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Athena Jones, CNN, New York.
CURNOW: Meanwhile, a few days ago, Russia announced that it had developed a coronavirus vaccine to quite a lot of fanfare. Well, it seems not everyone is that excited. Moscow says it has been offering the U.S. assistance in getting a frosty response.
Well, let's go straight to Moscow, Matthew Chance joins us now with more on this vaccine and who would be the first to get it. Hi, Matt.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Robyn. That's right. I mean, Russians are very keen, understandably, for this vaccine that they've developed to breakneck speed and to be adopted in as many countries as possible, particularly in the United States. Of course, they see it as it would be a huge propaganda win if it were adopted in the U.S.
But that is not looking likely at all at the moment. Russian officials telling me they offered unprecedented cooperation with the United States over this vaccine over their testing, over where the technologies they've developed as well.
But the Russian -- but the U.S., they say, is currently not open to any Russian medical advances. This is what Russian official said to me yesterday is a general sense of mistrust in Russian technologies including vaccine testing and treatments, and they believe that it's not being adopted because of that mistrust.
Well, we do know that the United States is aware, of course, of these vaccine apparent breakthroughs in Russia. Yesterday, the White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany was asked about whether the president had been briefed on this. Take a listen on to what she had to say.
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KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president has been briefed on that. He is also been briefed on our own vaccine progress. One thing to note, I believe Dr. Fauci made this point. Our vaccines go through a rigorous phase three clinical trials where we have 30,000 individuals that we test to make sure it's perfectly healthy and moving forward. So, that's the kind of standard we have for American vaccines. And
it's important that we do that. But we do, I think that we will have a vaccine by the end of the year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: All right. Of course, there is good reason for concern and cynicism about the Russian vaccine. The human trials, the crucial third phase of human trials which are normally conducted on thousands of people over a long period of time, have only just really started.
Even, you know, only after the vaccine has been approved for use inside Russia, the data, the clinical data, that's usually peer reviewed before any vaccine goes into general circulation, that hasn't been released yet. So, there is no way of know whether this Russian vaccine, which they've called Sputnik V., is either safe or effective.
But what Russian officials say is that it's not just the science, it's the politics of this, the fact that Russia developed it. That it is standing in the way of a more general acceptance in America and in the west in general of this vaccine.
[03:25:04]
One U.S. official, you know, sort of said this to CNN in Washington, D.C. A public health official saying, there is no way in hell the U.S. will try this vaccine, even on monkeys, let alone people. So that sort of sums up the U.S. and the general western attitude I think at this point towards this Russian medical advancement.
CURNOW: OK. So, if there is no way in hell the Americans are going to go near it or touch this Russian vaccine, I mean, in many ways, there are a few other takers though. Who would want to take it? Who would want to buy it from the Russians?
CHANCE: Well, it's interesting because, Robin, in some ways, that sort of refusal on the part of the U.S. and other countries in the west to even consider this Russian vaccine. It means that there is a lot more of it left for other countries in the world that otherwise would perhaps struggle to get a vaccine in what is a global pandemic.
For instance, the Philippine president, Duterte, came out yesterday or earlier this week at least, and said look, he wants to be the first person in his country to have the vaccine when it comes to the Philippines.
The Mexican government has expressed interest in carrying out tests as well on this vaccine. And you know there are deals that have been done in the Brazilian state of Parana, for instance, as well as countries in the Middle East to start manufacturing this Russian vaccine.
So, what the Russians say is that, so far, they've had a billion orders -- or you know, order for a billion doses of this vaccine. And so, there is obviously a massive appetite to be sort of associated given the extent of this global pandemic around the world.
CURNOW: OK. Good to see you, Matthew Chance there live in Moscow. Thanks so much, Matthew.
So, you are watching CNN. Still to come, the UAE, the U.S., and Israel are finding common ground to forge a new partnership in the Middle East. But Palestinians call it a betrayal. We'll explain why. That is just ahead.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: This is the greatest advancement towards peace between Israel and the Arab world in the last 26 years. And it marks the third formal peace between Israel and an Arab nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Israeli leader trumpeting there a potentially groundbreaking deal brokered by the Trump administration to normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates. As part of that agreement, Israel has agreed to temporarily suspended plans to annex parts of the West Bank.
But it was not welcome news to Palestinian leaders. President Mahmoud Abbas called it a betrayal of the Palestinian cause. There is no assurance that Israel won't revive its quest to build more Israeli settlements in the West Bank in the future.
[03:30:00]
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR: Now the cracks of this deal may ultimately hang on Israel's commitment to annexation. Well, that may be on hold for now, it is not clear just how long this suspension will actually last.
Here's what President Trump and his senior adviser, and son-in-law Jared Kushner had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JARED KUSHNER, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE ADVISER: The suspension will last. It's going to take a while for these agreements to get fully enforced and to go. And I think that, right now, the focus that Israel is going to be applying is towards building this relationship somewhere between a long time, and a short time and that's what temporary means.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Could you say whether you yourself think that annexation should be off the table for Israel? And if so, have you communicated that?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Not off the table, no. It is something they have discussed, but Israel has agreed not do that. I mean, more than just off the table, they've agreed not to do it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Prime Minister was very clear today, at his own press conference that he considers this to be temporary suspension and that the deal would still be open to him at some point in the future. I am asking what you think he should do.
TRUMP: Right now, all I can say, it's off the table. So, I can't talk about sometime into the future, that's a big statement. But right now, it is off the table.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Some insight into what this agreement means in terms of international diplomacy. I want to bring our international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, in London.
You listened to a variety of people giving their assessment of what this means. From a broader perspective, how do you see this playing out? And how much of a shift does this mean for the Arab world? For the Middle East?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, it has the potential to shift the dial. There is no doubt about it. But I think in the short term what this actually does is buy his time.
The United Arab Emirates here have sort of chosen a moment when both President Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are thinking about votes. They need more of them. They are thinking about legacy as well, because both recognized potentially their terms in office are going to be over soon.
This is not the Middle East peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians. It is a Middle East peace deal. So, it is something there for them both to Trump it. It is a headline, historic, yes, but the foundations of it really have yet to be built in reality. It is rhetoric at the moment.
So, it moves the dial in that regard, but I think perhaps most importantly, and this speaks the timing that the UAE and Israel, and the United States have moved along, but the UAE in particular will be thinking about perhaps they can just stall this possibility of increased annexation until, perhaps, there is a new incumbent in the White House.
President Trump gets voted out, Democrat Joe Biden comes in, and the game changes, so to speak. So, potentially here, the UAE has just sort of got a place holder in.
So, when Jared Kushner, President Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, have differing views on what on hold means or permanently state, as the Emirates would like to understand. If we get past November, U.S. Presidential election, perhaps things change a little.
CURNOW: And we heard today, the UAE foreign minister saying this defuses a time bomb on a two state solution. Does this remove the possibility of violence at a difficult time, or as some have suggested, you know, is the UAE being slightly naive here?
ROBERTSON: When we look at tensions in the Middle East and how they develop over the decade, they are in a very brutal point at the moment. The United States has driven its relationship with Iran and its partners in the region to a very tense point.
The war in Syria has created a huge amount of instability. What we've seen in Lebanon over the weekend, over the past week rather makes us realize how brittle and fragile the situation is in Lebanon.
Coronavirus adds another degree of instability and uncertainty. And add to that, the economic impact of the pandemic. You can begin to understand why the United Arab Emirates that is a slender country that relies on trade in the region.
That relies on good global trade, relies on stability in the region and it is actually getting out ahead diplomatically of its bigger regional golf partner. Saudi Arabia is getting out ahead of them to try to do something that makes -- that ensures that one other card doesn't fall, so to speak, and bring the whole house down.
So, they clearly see this as an opportunity for them to move ahead in the region diplomatically and take a leading role and get more leverage through that. But it's a reality.
The economies across the world are going to be hit and the United Arab Emirates doesn't need any further instability in the region. These are all issues of national strategic interest. And this is what drives countries to make decisions that they wouldn't previously have made, Robyn.
[03:35:11]
CURNOW: Yes. It's about national interest for them, but no doubt, the Palestinians, as they say, feeling betrayed and abandoned. It is fascinating to see how this is going to play out. Also, of course, this in an election year and the timing, of course. Also coming for President Trump, just a day after, a few days after the announcement of Joe Biden's vice president. That certainly, filled up the news waves.
Nic Robinson, always good to speak to you there in London, have a lovely day.
So, Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy media mogul in Hong Kong is now speaking out about his recent arrest. Two of his sons also arrested under the new controversial national security law. Police accused them of, quote, colluding with foreign forces and conspiracy to defraud.
Will Ripley just spoke to Lai, and he joins us now from Hong Kong. Will, hi. Talk us through your conversation.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he obviously, claims he is innocent. He denies the charges against him. But also, was remarkably at peace Robyn, in terms of his outlook about all of this.
He said if he has meant to go to jail, as a man in his seventies, acknowledging that he might be spending some of his last years of his life there, he says, that is his destiny. It's also why he says he refuses to leave Hong Kong and is going to fight this, whatever the outcome.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIMMY LAI, PRO-DEMOCRACY MEDIA MOGUL, HONG KONG: It is very stupid to think that Hong Kong can be independent, when they can send troops to, you know, to canned you down in three hours. You know, this is not possible.
RIPLEY: So, you are going on the record saying, you are not pushing for independence, but you want people to have the right.
LAI: To keep the rule of law and the freedom we have.
RIPLEY: And the right to say what they want?
LAI: Yes, exactly, you know, the freedom of speech. I don't associate with the independent camp. Not at all. I never have.
RIPLEY: Did you meet with U.S. officials at the consulate in other places, as China alleges? And you know try to encourage U.S. officials in Washington, did you have a live connections in the states to sanction Hong Kong government leaders and what not?
LAI: Well, I did not do it in person. But in the interview, I did it, say, you know, that the only hope that we can get from is the U.S. you know, and when they asked that whether the U.S. should revoke the special status of Hong Kong, I said, that is senseless. You know, what you should do is to sanction China.
RIPLEY: Do you feel that some aspects of the pro-democracy movement have pushed China too far and lost?
LAI: Well, you can say that we brought China too far. We live at (inaudible), we leveled through their shops --
(CROSSTALK)
RIPLEY: Some people destroyed property, things along those lines.
LAI: But yes, but that is a very small scale compare with what your riots now in the U.S. It's a very small scale.
RIPLEY: There hasn't been a significant protest since this law was passed, even when there were calls for people to come out. People didn't in large numbers.
LAI: yes, because of this law, people won't dare to come out. Only those very hard-core supporters of the movement came out.
RIPLEY: So, has China already won in that regard?
LAI: I think China already won with intimidation. The effect is a very strong already. You know, some people left, or are leaving. Many have sidestepped the movement. And what have left of those hard cores like myself? RIPLEY: I know your own children were among the group who are
arrested. So, you are a parent and you obviously support the involvement of your own children, but for somebody who may not have the money, or whose family may not have the money to defend themselves legally, do you think it's a good idea to go out there, and still call for democracy and independence, if they now face the risk under this law?
LAI: I think it is a good idea, anytime, any situation that you are in, to fight for your freedom. Because without freedom, you have nothing left.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RIPLEY: But he does acknowledge that the movement here in Hong Kong, that fight for what protesters call freedom, China calls a threat to their national security, is greatly diminished because a lot of people are afraid to come out on the streets now.
So, in some sense, he says the chilling effect of the law has already worked. He is hopeful that his arrest and prosecution, will, perhaps, prove that the laws is not as draconian as some people believe.
Although, it is very vaguely written. A lot of these things that he could potentially be charged with, we don't actually know at this stage what will constitute that offense. And so this is going to be an interesting test.
He is one of the few people arrested who essentially has essentially unlimited financial and legal resources to fight this. Unlike some of the teenagers and other young people, who are potentially facing years in prison and don't have the ability to defend themselves. And therefore, that is what is keeping a lot of people, you know, off the streets at this stage.
[03:40:11]
CURNOW: A brave, brave man. Will Ripley, thanks so much for that conversation.
So, the government of Mauritius is demanding compensation from a Japanese company after a bulk carrier from a Japanese shipping company struck a coral reef off Mauritius three weeks ago. Triggering a massive oils spill. The company says it has insurance of up to 1 billion for oil spills. The cause of the incident is still unknown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRAVIND JUGNAUTH, PRIME MINISTER OF MAURITIUS (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): There is an investigation, which is already started. There are also interrogations. The crew is made up of about 20 people, including the captain and the officers. So, at this level, the investigation will be able to determine the causes of this accident. The reasons why the boat came so close to our shores and ran aground.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CURNOW: The Prime Minister adds that almost all of the oil on that
ship has now been removed. But much of the damage has already been done. Greenpeace estimates 1000 tons of oil fouled the sea and shoreline last week after the ship hit the reef. And you can see how it unfolded in these images, taken by satellite and analyzed by space distance.
In this first one, in a few days after the accident, no oil spilled yet. But in this photo, from August 6th, you can see the oil slick is colored red, covering an area of about 3.3 square kilometers.
Five days later, August 11th, this image shows an oil slick 10 times larger, and an estimated 27 square kilometers. Well, local volunteers and environmental groups, international experts, and local people, are working to limit the damage of wildlife and coral reef.
So, you are watching CNN Newsroom. Still to come, detainees stream out of prison in Belarus as the authoritarian government bends to pressure. We take you inside the capital to show you why demonstrators are pressing on with their demands for change.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CURNOW: Welcome back. I'm Robyn Curnow. So, the election crisis in Belarus is showing no signs of abating after security forces attacked and imprisoned hundreds, if not thousands of antigovernment protesters.
But just in the past few hours, authorities have begun releasing the detainees, some with severe bruises and apologized to those who were injured. The interior minister said all the protesters will be freed by late on Friday morning as the government appears to be bowing, at least somewhat to widespread pressure from inside and outside the country.
Fred Pleitgen was out among the protesters on Thursday in the capital of Minsk. Fred?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Belarusian opposition is coming out in full force. Thousands of people, lining the streets of the capital of Minsk. Peacefully calling for change, while hoping thing don't take a turn for the worst.
[03:45:10]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He should go away. Otherwise, there will be a civil war in our country. And it is very scary, because the Russians are very peaceful people.
PLEITGEN: The protesters answer to a recent government crackdown, holding up flowers, as motorists honk and support. Despite the repression, despite the use of stunned grenades, tear gas, the mass arrests and the beatings, the opposition is still coming out. Their action now is more decentralized with marchers like these one seemingly popping up out of nowhere to avoid the security forces.
Belarusian police and army units beat down crowds protesting the recent contested presidential election, detaining thousands. State TV, parading, and humiliating some of those arrested on air. Many remain missing, possibly incarcerated here, at the central detention facility where hundreds have been waiting outside, hoping for any information about the fate of their loved ones.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to understand that people are being beaten up, tortured, from the moment when they are detained in the streets. Then they are then taken to the local police station. They are being beaten there, and then they bring them either to here, after maybe a day or two and the beatings and tortures they continue.
PLEITGEN: Strongman, Alexander Lukashenko who's ruled Belarus for around 26 years claimed he won last Sunday's election, garnering 80 percent of the vote. His opponent icon Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has since had to flee the country. The U.S. and E.U. have heavily criticize the election. And at night in Minsk, many people are coming out and also say, they believe the vote was rigged and they won't take it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They want you to be heard. When nobody hears us. Nobody sees us, everybody would just really like to not exist here, because we want changes. We want to just to try and live another way, not being afraid of the police.
PLEITGEN: The opposition is demanding talks and a new transparent election. And they say the demonstrations won't not stop until change happens.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Minsk.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: In 81 days, Americans will offer President Trump four more years, or kick him out of the office. And with pressure ramping up, so are the president's attacks on Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and even on the postal service here in America. Jeremy Diamond wraps it all up for us. Jeremy?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: With more than a thousands Americans dying every day from coronavirus, and his reelection chances in question, President Trump is showing he will say or do just about anything to win a second term.
TRUMP: Now you have a sort of a madwoman, I call her.
DIAMOND: Today, the president digging in on his sexist and racist attacks on Joe Biden's running mate, Kamala Harris. Playing into the stereotype of the angry black woman.
TRUMP: She was extraordinarily nasty to Kavanaugh.
DIAMOND: Trump is also throwing up barriers to mail-in voting.
TRUMP: They want $25 billion, billion, for the post office.
DIAMOND: Making clear, he is against more funding for the cash strapped postal service, because he wants to stop an expansion of mail-in voting.
TRUMP: They need that money in order to have the post office work, so it can take all of these millions of millions of ballots. If we don't make a deal, that means they don't get money that means they can't have universal mail-in voting. They just can't have it.
DIAMOND: Trump, who recently placed a top Republican fundraiser as the new postmaster general, fueling allegations he is trying to manipulate the postal system for political gain.
JOE BIDEN, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 2020 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Pure Trump. He doesn't want an election.
DIAMOND: As Trump continues to falsely tie mail-in voting to widespread voter fraud, today, a federal judge in Pennsylvania, ordering his campaign to produce evidence, as it sues to stop expanded mail-in voting in that battleground state. The president is also pressuring his Attorney General to wrap up a review of the 2016 Russia investigation before Election Day.
TRUMP: Bill Barr has a chance to be the greatest of all time. But if he wants to be politically correct, he will just be another guy.
DIAMOND: And lashing out at FBI Director Chris Wray for being insufficiently cooperative.
TRUMP: We have an election coming up. I wish he was more forthcoming. He certainly hasn't been. Let's see how Wray turns out.
[03:50:04]
DIAMOND: Trump is also trying to woo voters with promises of free money.
TRUMP: Now, at the end of the year, the assumption that I win, I'm going to terminate the payroll tax.
DIAMOND: White House officials claiming the president only meant he intends to forgive repayments on a temporary tax holiday.
LARRY KUDLOW, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISER: The payroll tax deferral will be forgiven. And you know, when he says, we will terminate it that is what he is referring to.
DIAMOND: The president needs Congress to do that too.
TRUMP: This is very important. This is a big event.
DIAMOND: Pivoting to the world stage, Trump announcing a U.S. brokered peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. And temporarily suspending Israeli plans to annex parts of the West Bank. Jared Kushner, who helped broker that deal also fielding questions about a recent meeting with Kanye West. And doing little to quell suspicions he is trying to help the rapper's campaign to siphon votes from Biden.
KUSHNER: So, we got together and we had a great discussion about a lot of things. He has some great ideas for what he would like to see happen in the country. And that is why he has the candidacy that he has been doing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Jeremy Diamond there with that report. Now, there was also an extraordinary moment at the White House briefing earlier when President Trump was actually confronted about many of his lies. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mister President, after three and a half years, do you regret, at all, all of the lying you've done to the American people?
TRUMP: All the what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All the lying? All the dishonesties?
TRUMP: And who has done?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have done. Tens of thousands --
TRUMP: Go ahead, please. Please.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: The president, as you saw there never responded. And the reporter from the Huffington Post then tweeted, for 5 years, I've wanted to ask him that.
So, up next, Daniel Cormier will be fighting for the final time at the UFC on Saturday. We sit down, not me, Don Riddell does with the UFC legend as he reflects on his career and he's upcoming fight. Stick around for that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CURNOW: Here's some sports news for us. We don't have that a lot, do we these days? 41-year-old, Daniel Cormier will have the final fight of his career in the UFC on Saturday. Now the former two-time division world champion has only lost twice in his legendary career. And one of those losses was to the man he will face this weekend. So World Sports Don Riddell spoke with him about this upcoming match. Don?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANIEL CORMIER, FORMER HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: It's good, but it is also -- it's sad a bit. Right? Everybody's time comes to an end. And I don't think you ever made a professional athlete that truly wants to walk away. But you have to understand that there is a time for everything.
You know, I'm 41 years old. You know I get to fight the heavyweight championship of the world. And I couldn't have imagined going out with a better situation to become a champion again.
So, it's a bittersweet, but, I think when you start thinking negative is when you become overwhelmed with sadness. I look forward to the next chapter, which I believe is going to be just as big as this one.
[03:55:00]
DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Connor MacGregor retires all the time, and comes back all the time. So, is this definitely it for you?
CORMIER: Yes, this will be it for me. You know, I'm not one of those guys that wants to go and come, go and come, go and come. At 31 years old, Connor can do that. You know, you can't do that when you are in your forties now. You know, you have to make a decision, and you stand firm with it.
RIDDELL: What do you think you are going to miss the most about this life that you've had now for so long?
CORMIER: It's when you walk through the curtain. And there's 20,000 people in the arena just yelling, just screaming and going crazy. That energy is something that you will never be able to recreate, no matter what you do with the rest of your life.
But I will miss that energy of being a fighter. The fight weeks, the buildup's, all these things that you take for granted while you're in it. You miss it whenever you are done.
RIDDELL: How much time have you given, in the last few years, to what your last flight is going to be like and feel like?
CORMIER: Let me tell you something. I may have played out 1,000 scenarios. This was not one of them. Even in the midst of a pandemic with no fans fighting at the UFC Apex, in a 25 foot cage? That was the one thing I could have never imagined. I will be able to bask in the adoration of the fans.
And that's OK. You know, because I've had that for 24 fights. You know, I've been able to compete in front of people. This time, I go do it with my army, with the soldier that I went to war with my coaches and we go capture another championship.
RIDDELL: So, this will be the final fight in a trilogy with Steve (inaudible). Obviously, you know your opponent very, very well. Based on what has gone before, what are you expecting this time around?
CORMIER: You know, I think that he's' going to come out and try to implement some of the same things that he did in the second fight that were successful for him. But I do anticipate some changes. You know, nobody tries to approach two fights in the same way. So, I expect him to change some things up, but I expect the hungry, strong, refreshed opponent in the Octagon on Saturday night.
RIDDELL: How often do you think about the way the second fight was going? Because you were looking good, right. And then it didn't end in your favor. Do you have any regrets about that?
CORMIER: I do. You know, I mean, I think we regret a lot of things in life. You know I regret not being more prepared for the fight, for the long fight. I regret not keeping my hands up and fighting smart. You know, I regret going away from the game plan that my coaches set in front of me. You know, I was winning the fight, and it gave me confidence going into the third one.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Thanks to Don Riddell for that report.
Well, thanks for joining me, wherever you are in the world, I hope you have a beautiful day. I'm Robyn Curnow. I'm going to hand you over to Kim, right now. Enjoy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
