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Kremlin Critic Navalny Moved to Prison Hospital; Russia Building Up Troops on Border with Ukraine; President Miguel Diaz-Canel to Lead Cuban Communist Party; Growing Opposition to Plans for Breakaway League; Oil Prices Edge Higher; NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter; Jury Deliberating in Derek Chauvin Trial; Kremlin Critic Navalny Moved to Prison Hospital; Football Uproar After "Super League" Announcement; India Records More Than a Million New Cases in Five Days. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired April 20, 2021 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:23]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Live around the world, this is CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
Ahead this hour:
Closing arguments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC NELSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The state has failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, and therefore, Mr. Chauvin should be found not guilty of all counts.
STEVE SCHLEICHER, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: This was in policing, this was murder. The defendant is guilty of all three counts. All of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The nation on edge as a jury in Minneapolis decides if former Police Officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd.
The E.U. -- the U.S. and E.U. warn that Kremlin will be held responsible for the death of Alexei Navalny. The jailed opposition leader said to be in failing health after three-long week hunger strike.
And a new breakaway league starts turmoil in European football, bringing outrage from pundits to princess, from fans to officials.
(MUSIC)
VAUSE: Jury deliberations began Monday in the murder trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin. He's accused of using excessive and unreasonable force in the death of George Floyd. Chauvin's knee pinned Floyd down -- his knee was on his neck for more than nine minutes. Images of Floyd's death sparked nationwide protests at the time, and
calls for police reform and racial justice.
On Monday, protests in Minneapolis were peaceful, but the city and across United States, many are bracing for a not guilty verdict, which could bring an outbreak of violence and destruction by some protesters.
CNN's Sara Sidner has details now from Minneapolis, on the dramatic courtroom moments before the prosecution and defense teams rested, and a warning, her report contains images some will find disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUDGE PETER CAHILL, HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA DISTRICT COURT: Members of the jury, and started as follows, it is your duty to decide the questions of fact in this case.
SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, after 27 days of trial from jury selection to closing arguments, 45 witnesses and dozens of pieces of evidence, the murder trial against former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd is finally before the jury.
SCHLEICHER: Use your common sense. Believe your eyes.
SIDNER: Chauvin who's charged with second degree unintentional murder, third degree murder, and one count of manslaughter has pleaded not guilty.
SCHLEICHER: That force for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, that killed George Floyd. He betrayed the badge and everything it stood for.
NELSON: I submit to you that the state has failed to meet its burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
SIDNER: The defense tried to sow doubt about whether Chauvin's knee on Floyd's neck was the primary factor in his death.
NELSON: You can't come in and say George Floyd on one hand, George Floyd died of asphyxiation, but he has a 98 percent oxygen level, right? His blood is oxygenated.
SIDNER: The prosecution reminded the jury of the expert medical testimony they had heard from the stand.
SCHLEICHER: Is that common sense or is that nonsense? Not enough oxygen can get to the lungs. And that's what killed George Floyd.
GEORGE FLOYD: I can't breathe, officer!
SIDNER: Over, and over again, they replayed the video of Floyd taking his last breath.
SCHLEICHER: Somebody telling you they can't breathe, and you keep doing it, you're doing it on purpose. SIDNER: Last week, Chauvin pleaded the Fifth which is a defendant's
right to avoid self incrimination. His defense attorney instead, spoke for him.
NELSON: The 9 minutes and 29 seconds ignores the previous 16 minutes and 59 seconds. It completely disregards it. It tries to reframe the issue of what a reasonable police officer would do.
SIDNER: After weeks of laying out the case, arguing that a heart condition, drug use, carbon monoxide from the squad car's exhaust and potentially stress induced excitedly delirium, all could have contributed to Floyd 's death. The defense implored the jury to see there is enough reasonable doubt to acquit.
NELSON: He would observe the white foam around Mr. Floyd's mouth. He would consider the possibility that this person was under the influence of something.
SCHLEICHER: This is not the trial of George Floyd, he is not on trial. He didn't get a trial when he was alive, and he is not on trial here.
SIDNER: Before the jury began deliberations of some of the last words they heard, was this rebuttal from the prosecution.
[01:05:02]
JERRY BLACKWELL, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: You were told that Mr. Floyd died because his heart was too big. And the truth of the matter is, that the reason George Floyd is dead is because Mr. Chauvin's heart was too small.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIDNER (on camera): The jury got the case about 4 15 Minneapolis time, and they deliberated until 8:00 p.m. They will continue to deliberate Tuesday.
Sara Sidner, CNN, Minneapolis.
VAUSE: With us now is CNN legal analyst Areva Martin in Los Angeles.
Areva, thank you for being with us. It's been a while. Good to see you.
AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I know. Good to see you, John.
VAUSE: OK. The entire country now bracing for this verdict, but during the closing argument, the prosecution made the point that the police are not on trial here, listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHLEICHER: This case is called the state of Minnesota versus Derek Chauvin. This case is not called, the state of Minnesota versus the police. It is not, make no mistake. This is not a prosecution of the police. It is a prosecution of the
defendant. There is nothing worse for good police than a bad police.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Yeah, that may be true for the courtroom, but the big picture is that the place where they are on trial here is the justice system. But in that courtroom, why did the prosecution want the jury just to bring back their deliberations back to the actions of that one former police officer, Derek Chauvin?
MARTIN: Yeah, it's important, John, for a couple of reasons. One thing that we know is during voir dire, which is when the jurors were asked questions on police, their values. Some of the jurors responded that they have very fond police, police departments, and police as a profession.
So, what the prosecution wanted to do was to make sure, that the defendant in this case, Derek Chauvin was the focal point of this case, and that those jurors that think finally a police did not feel like this was somehow an indictment on all police departments, on good police officers or on, you know, the police as a profession.
VAUSE: We just heard from the defense office but this argument forward about the reasonable police officer. What would a reasonable police officer do? How that decision would be impacted by events leading up to Derek Chauvin's actions?
And he actually made this argument kind of trying to make this argument, that not enough force had been used against George Floyd before Chauvin actually got involved. You know, like much of the defense case, it seemed a lame argument. But in terms of trial strategy, defense can play out for holding on a jury, a lame argument can be enough to make that work, right, for hung jury?
MARTIN: You're right, John. Sometimes the defense strategy is per se to get acquittal but is to connect with one or two jurors who will abdicate for that defense position during deliberations, therefore hang the jury resulting in a mistrial.
But I think the problem here, when the defense use the word "reasonable officer", someone counted it about 118 times. But you can say that, the reason is not -- reasonable is not what you say, reasonable is what you do. And when you take into account what was done, the overwhelming evidence presented by the prosecution, I don't think that defense's argument that anything that Derek Chauvin did, particularly when you get to the 9 minutes and 29 seconds is going to be considered reasonable by this jury.
VAUSE: Okay, so there are three charges here. There's second-degree unintentional murder, third degree murder and second degree manslaughter. They all revolve around this question of intent.
So, purely from a legal point of view, does the prosecution make the case here for the all three charges? Would you be surprised if he's not convicted on all three? What are you expecting? MARTIN: Yeah, I'd be very surprised, I think the prosecution put I'm overwhelmingly persuasive and compelling case on all three of the charges. Keep in mind, it's not intent to kill George Floyd. The second degree murder charge requires intent to commit an assault. The third degree murder charge doesn't require an intent to again kill Mr. Floyd, it requires a culpable negligence combined with depraved mind.
And I think when you look at the evidence, you look at those nine minutes and 29 seconds, particularly the three minutes or so when Mr. Floyd is no longer responsive, when he has no pulse, when he's not breathing. When he's clearly not resisting, and you still have the knee on the neck. I think that's going to be the critical time period that there's not going to be any explanation, we didn't hear from Derek Chauvin, we didn't hear from any of the defense witnesses.
And I don't think jurors, using their common sense and believing what they saw in that critical video are going to be able to exonerate Derek Chauvin for that time period, when he remained on the neck of a non-responsive George Floyd.
VAUSE: If there is a guilty verdict of one of the lesser charges and not guilty on the most serious ones, what are the options for the prosecution?
MARTIN: The prosecution's case is over. At this point, the prosecution, if they get guilty on, say, the manslaughter charge, or the third degree murder charge, we should keep in mind those still carry significant jail time. The manslaughter is 10 years. The third degree murder is 25 years.
[01:10:03]
So, from the prosecution standpoint, they would have, you know, gotten what they wanted out of this which is accountability, and that's what this case is really about. There is justice for George Floyd, but there is accountability as it relates to this particular police officer.
VAUSE: Just wonder if that lesser charge will be enough to deal the hundreds of thousands of protesters who've been waiting to hear this verdict is in the coming days, or coming hours.
Areva, thank you. Areva Martin with us in Los Angeles.
MARTIN: Thanks, John.
VAUSE: Alexei Navalny's life is said to being by a thread. The jailed opposition leader has now been transferred to a prison hospital, his health deteriorating after a 3-week long hunger strike which Navalny began in protest over not receiving adequate medical attention. From the United States to the E.U., there are warnings to the Kremlin that if Navalny dies, Russia will be held responsible and there will be consequences.
Russian authorities say Navalny has been put on a vitamin therapy and isn't a satisfactory, condition. We have more now from CNN senior international correspondent Sam
Kiley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cries of pain caused by poisoning, an attempt to silence Russian opposition leader, Alexey Navalny, permanently.
It failed. Today, he languishes in a hospital in his homeland. Again, his staff say close to death. Others must now speak for him.
DR. YAROSLAV ASHIKHMIN, NAVALNY'S CARDIOLOGIST: We see that a big, fragile patient with an extremely high pain syndrome, his deterioration of leg and arm function, with extremely elevated levels of potassium. That might cause fatal arrhythmia, or fatal heart block.
KILEY: Twenty days into hunger strike over his demands for independent medical attention, the international protests of his failing health have been led by the U.S.
JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We have communicated to the Russian government that what happens to Mr. Navalny, in their custody is their responsibility and they will be held accountable by the international community.
KILEY: Barely recovered from the nerve agents attack that nearly killed him, Navalny returned to Russia from Germany in January, where he was detained for violating the terms of his probation in a years- old fraud case. Which he said, was politically motivated. Then predictably, sentenced and imprisoned.
Is there an element here that he is seeking martyrdom?
LEONID VOLKOV, NAVALNY'S CHIEF OF STAFF: No, of course not. He is just doing what he has to do. So, he had to return because he didn't know anything, he was not given the medical treatment. He used the hunger strike, well, as a last resort. But it's still a legitimate political instrument, as a legitimate tool of the political profile.
KILEY: Breaking down the walls of political power around the Kremlin will take much more.
KILEY: Any hopes that Alexei Navalny might have displacing Vladimir Putin from that building behind me, remain pretty remote. Approval ratings for him or 19 percent, for Putin there are about 64 percent. There are also concerns within this movement, that efforts being made here in Moscow to prescribe it as an extremist organization could snuff it out completely.
Meanwhile, the pro-democracy movement plans mass demonstrations on Wednesday, against Putin and in support of Navalny, a man that the Kremlin is keen to dismiss as insignificant.
ANDREI KELIN, RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.K.: Mr. Navalny, he believes like a hooligan, absolutely, in trying to violate every rule that has been established. All of that is to attract attention.
KILEY: Whatever the outcomes for Navalny and his movement inside Russia, beyond its borders, it's the next move of Vladimir Putin that will receive the most attention.
Sam Kiley, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The E.U. has condemned the Russians expulsion of 20 Czech diplomats on Monday, a tit-for-tat diplomatic row with Prague. That's two more than the 18 Russian envoys order to leave the Czech Republic. Czech officials accuse Russian intelligence agents of a botched operation in 2014 which killed two people. They're searching for the same two men who have been linked to the Novichok poisoning 3 years ago in the U.K.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAVEL ZEMAN, CZECH SUPREME STATE ATTORNEY (through translator): It was discovered that these persons were using false identities of citizens from Moldova and Tajikistan. After further investigation it was discovered that these persons arrived in the Czech Republic a few days ahead using cover documents of the Russian federation. They were accommodated in Prague and then in Ostrava, then it was discovered that these persons were connected to the poisoning attack in Salisbury in 2018.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:15:00]
VAUSE: The prime minister says the presence of Russian intelligence agents on Czech soil is absolutely unacceptable.
European football ball is in turmoil after 12 of soccer's most popular clubs signed up for a breakaway super league, which threatens to gut the popular Champions League.
In the coming days, officials will decide what punitive actions will be taken against the founding clubs, which are among the richest and most powerful teams in the world. Three semifinalist in this year's Champions League, many announcing their disqualification.
The super league will go to 20 clubs and hold midweek matches with billions of dollars in television rights for grabs. The English premier league has the biggest TV audience in the world of football, it's not surprisingly opposed to the breakaway league.
So too the British government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLIVER DOWDEN, BRITISH MINISTER OF DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA & SPORT: We will put everything on the table to prevent this from happening. We are examining every option from governance reform to competition law, and mechanisms that allow football to take place. Put simply, we will be reviewing everything the government does to support these clubs to play.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Here is World Sport's Patrick Snell now explaining why so many football fans have been left outraged by this new lead.
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Fans, John, they are the lifeblood of the sport. The fans who over the years have had their voice, and boy, are they speaking out now about this big time. I want to hop back to the Leagues United Liverpool fixture that took place in the Premier League on Monday.
Fans protesting outside the Elland Road ground there in Yorkshire, making themselves heard. That's certainly getting a lot of traction.
And then how about this video as well from on the pitch, the players too. The Leeds United players wearing t-shirts as they warmed up with the words "earn it" on the front. Leeds I should point out not one of the club that will be participating the super league.
As I said, intentions and the fans having their say. Emotions running very high indeed.
It seems everyone has got an opinion on this, and rightly so. It's a huge story for us here at CNN World Sport as well, the tracking it every step of the way.
Now, on Monday night in Spain, this is significant, John. We have the Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez, he's also the first chairman of the Super League, saying on Spanish TV, that he feels completely sure that real and other super league clubs won't be thrown out of the season's Champions League, as a result. That is highly significant given the ongoing speculation on just that, or indeed in Madrid's case, La Liga as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Patrick, thank you.
The head of UEFA has been tearing into the founding clubs. During CNN contributor, Darren Lewis, he had nothing but scorn for the Super League vice chairman, Andrea Agnelli.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, UEFA PRESIDENT: On Saturday, I heard rumors about some super league announcement. I called Agnelli, he says it's a lie, this is not true, don't believe it.
And then he says, I will call you in one hour, and he doesn't pick up the phone anymore. He even turned it off. Then, I felt, something might happen in the next day.
DARREN LEWIS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I saw you use the word "snake". Just explain what you mean in that context.
CEFERIN: I don't know if it was too emotional expression, but snake means that you don't know what it's hiding somewhere and then it bites when you don't expect it. So, we didn't know, you know?
And it's very hard to believe that somebody looks into your eyes, 20 times and says, everything is fine. It's all a lie, knowing that he is lying.
It's really hard to understand. I was -- I was surprised. I said, before that, you know, I was a criminal lawyer for years. And I have met many tricky people, that I represented, but I would never see something like that. Ethics doesn't exist with these people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: We are not done yet with the Super League. Later this hour, a close look at the timing. Why now? And what's driving the outrage?
Also ahead, lockdowns, curfews, and a desperate search for more oxygen. The record surge in COVID cases across India. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:21:41]
VAUSE: India's capital has been lockdown amid a staggering increase of COVID infections. More than a dozen states have imposed new restrictions, including curfews, and lockdowns, as the country reports, more than 200,000 new cases for the sixth straight day.
Here is CNN's Vedika Sud, with details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VEDIKA SUD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bodies piling up in crematoriums. Graveyards running out of space.
(CRYING)
SUD: Hospitals filled to a breaking point. Some patients, left with no choice but to share a bed. Dozens are being treated in ambulances. India, known as a powerhouse for vaccines, some states say, they are running low on supplies.
India's health care system is collapsing under the crush of COVID-19.
Dr. Jalil Parkar is a frontline worker at a top Mumbai hospital that had to convert its lift lobby into an additional COVID-19 ward.
Parkar says there's an overwhelming increase in cases and patients.
DR. JALIL PARKAR, SENIOR PULMONARY CONSULTANT, LILAVATI HOSPITAL: The volume is humongous. It's like a tsunami, or, you could say, was then (ph) a tsunami.
SUD: Thousands have taken to social media, desperately looking for beds, oxygen supplies, and medicines, all of which are running out.
Ignoring the alarming surge, millions attended the Kumbh Mela festival, one of the largest festivals in the world. Despite strict guidelines, and a truncated schedule, thousands have tested positive in India's northern city, Haridwar.
DR. AMBRISH MITHAL, CHAIRMAN & HEAD OF ENDOCRINOLOGY, MAX HEALTHCARE: On the one hand, we are struggling to increase beds, increase oxygen supplies, increased drug supplies to those who need, them to save lives. On the other hand, we have gatherings all across the country.
SUD: Festival patrons are finally moving out after a belated appeal by the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi.
Even after surpassing 200,000 new daily cases, Modi and politicians across party lines have been sending a mixed message by campaigning for state elections with thousands in attendance. People queuing up to vote, floating basic safety guidelines. Migrant workers, fleeing big cities, after local governments announced partial lockdowns.
ASHOK KUMAR, MIGRANT WORKER (through translator): Everything is shut. How do we earn to survive? We'll come back once things are better.
SUD: This deadly second wave has India facing a health emergency like never before. Many are asking, did India let down its guard?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SUD (on camera): And so many people are angry because of this, John. They have taken to social media, they are questioning the government, they are questioning the prime minister, there are these desperate appeals to help like we mentioned. This is the sixth consecutive day that India has reported over 200 million new daily cases of COVID-19.
And today, we have more than 1,761 deaths. It's the highest in the last 10 months, and crematoriums are full. Graveyards have no more space in some cities, and it's a very grim situation. At this point in time, the Indian government has now announced that those 18, and above, will be eligible to be vaccinated from the 1st of May, which means, in a couple of weeks from now.
[01:25:07]
Even the national capital, and it's a region, has been locked down for the next one week because the chief minister of Delhi has said, we already reached our capacity when it comes to the public health care system. They are buckling under pressure, and the only way out was to now implemented a lockdown for the next one week. And because of that, there's a lot of migrant workers also fleeing from Delhi, to their homes, because they are so worried they will not have work to do, and will be stuck in Delhi.
That's the situation. On a personal note, before I log off, John, let me tell you, I am one of the people who has reached out on social media for help for a relative, because beds are running out. You have oxygen supply running out, remdesivir running out, and very few plasma donors, because that option has been exhausted in Delhi already -- John.
VAUSE: Vedika, we wish you luck. Thank you. Vedika Sud there in New Delhi, appreciate it.
SUD: Thank you.
VAUSE: Meantime, Thailand is struggling with another wave of infections, cases dipped slightly on Monday. And today is a record high. There are strict new measures in place to control this outbreak.
CNN's Paula Hancocks live for us in Bangkok.
I do see those tough measures, if nothing else, they may be brutal, but they tend to work.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. This is what officials are hoping, that they have the plans in place, to be able to curtail this latest outbreak. Numbers are coming in, of more than 1,400 new cases for Monday, it's not a record, but it is particularly high for Thailand. This outbreak, the worst since the pandemic began.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANCOCKS: It is one of Thailand's most popular festivals. Songkran or the New Year, better known as the water festival, where you are almost guaranteed to get soaked the second you walk outside.
It was canceled for a second year running last week. The country is now starting the New Year gripped by record numbers of new coronavirus cases.
Considering this latest outbreak in Bangkok started with in the entertainment district, then, inevitably, it is streets like this one that had been shut down first. All bars, all nightclubs, all massage parlors, have been ordered to shut.
Khaosan Road, known as Backpacker Central, used to see its business from foreign tourists. Local say, they've been struggling to get by for a year. And now, this latest outbreak sparked a mass testing campaign in the neighborhood, and businesses have been forced to close, once again.
YADA PORNPETRUMPA, STREET VENDOR SPOKESWOMAN (through translator): More than 50 percent of businesses have closed down, but once the country opened up, they may come back. The only problem is, we haven't seen a solid plan for opening up the country.
HANCOCKS: The plan at this point, are more focused on dealing with the immediate health crisis as hospital beds fill up. Field hospitals, to ease the strain, and house asymptomatic patients, positive cases not allowed to shelter at home.
This gives us an idea of just how bad officials here in Thailand fear that this latest outbreak could get. The sporting arena, just on the outskirts of Bangkok, can hold up to 500 COVID patients. This is being replicated across the country. They have, at this, point more than 20,000 extra field hospital beds.
ASWIN KWANMUANG, BANGKOK GOVERNOR (through translator): I think it will gradually get better, as we put plans in place. But, we need cooperation from the public.
HANCOCKS: Officials are concerned, the latest outbreak could jeopardize plans to open up, at least some of its borders, to foreign tourists in a few months. Plans were being made to open the island of Phuket in July, but it's a plan that replies almost entirely on vaccination. In Thailand, that process has slowed.
With a death toll around 100, the need to secure doses was less acute than elsewhere. But now, in the midst of its worst outbreak yet, the government finds itself lower on the priority list in a world desperately short on vaccines.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HANCOCKS (on camera): So, officials are now looking into the option of recovery at home, for some COVID patients. Currently, you have to be in a hospital if have tested positive. But now, they are trying to have these field hospitals, where asymptomatic patients can go, or staying at home.
They are also coming up with this idea of, a so-called hospitel which is effectively a hotel in a hospital, again, for the asymptomatic patients to make sure that the hospital beds are being kept open for those who really need them -- John.
VAUSE: Paula, thank you. Paula Hancocks, live for us in Bangkok.
Well, after being criticized for downplaying the pandemic, Mexico's president set to receive his first dose of the COVID vaccine on Tuesday. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca shot to help build public confidence. Mexico has continued using AstraZeneca despite risks of rare blood clots.
Well, Putin critic, Alexei Navalny, moved to a prison hospital. Just ahead, what the Kremlin is saying about his health after three weeks of a hunger strike.
Also, the fierce opposition to a proposed league of European powerhouses. More on that, in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:29:52]
VAUSE: Welcome back everyone. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
Russian authorities have moved Alexei Navalny to a prison hospital outside Moscow. Supporters say the opposition leader's health is failing. He could be near death.
Navalny went on a hunger strike three weeks ago, demanding adequate medical care for back pain and numbness in his arms and legs. Prison officials say, he's in satisfactory condition and they prescribed a vitamin therapy.
The U.S. and the European Union are warning Moscow, it will be held accountable for Navalny's death.
Bill Taylor served twice as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine from 2006 to 2009. Returning for six months in 2019 when he challenged then president Donald Trump's decision to try and withhold military aid from Ukraine. Right now, he's a vice president at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
Ambassador Taylor, thank you so much for being with us.
WILLIAM TAYLOR, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: John, thank you. It's a pleasure to be here.
VAUSE: You know, last week, along with new U.S. sanctions on Russia, President Joe Biden dangled out the possibility of a summit with Vladimir Putin.
Given Navalny's current health condition right now, should that summit even in its current vague terms still be on the table?
TAYLOR: I think on the table is the right way to think about it. The Russians know and certainly the Kremlin knows that if Alexei Navalny were to die, in the care of Russian government, or if the Russian government were to direct an invasion, a further invasion in Ukraine then the summit would clearly be off.
The summit would clearly be off. But there is an incentive for the Kremlin to do the best they can for Navalny and to refrain from invading Ukraine, indeed to standing down those 100,000 troops that they have on the border. So on the table is the right way to think about it.
VAUSE: I mean you talk about the Russian troop buildup which is happening and continues to take place on the Ukraine border, also inside occupied Crimea. That has not slowed. Last week I think we were talking about 80,000 Russian troops there.
That number now according to the E.U. foreign policy chief more than 100,000. This is what he said on Monday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEP BORRELL, E.U. FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF: I cannot tell you where the (INAUDIBLE) comes form, but it is my reference here. It's the highest military deployment of Russian army in Ukraine borders ever.
It's clear that it's a matter of concern that when you deploy a lot of troops, a spark (ph) can jump here or there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:35:05] VAUSE: This border territory is a piece of real state that you know very well. And most analysts believe that a large-scale invasion, you know, of Ukraine by Moscow is not on the cards. But you know, what about the possibility of limited escalation to and what do you think is the game plan here by Moscow?
TAYLOR: John, we remember that the last time the Russians massed this size of force, over 100,000 troops, was in 2014. And they invaded. They invaded Crimea. They invaded Ukraine. And then a little bit later on they invaded Donbass and I've been to both. I've been to Crimean. I've been to Donbass. I know this area.
That might have been triggered by Mr. Putin's concern that Ukraine was kind of slipping to the west, slipping out of his control.
He maybe have -- he might have a similar concern today. President Zelensky, the Ukrainian president has taken some serious steps to distance themselves from Russia. He has sanctioned some pro-Russian oligarchs. He has shut down pro Russian TV stations. He's made it clear that he would like to join NATO.
And this could be something that prompts dramatic action. If it does, and if Mr. Putin were to go into Ukraine again, it would be a major turning point in European history and Russia would further isolate itself.
Economic sanctions like they don't have right now, worse than they have now. Political condemnation, isolation from the international community. This would be a major, major event in European history.
And it caught us by surprise in 2014, maybe it shouldn't have, but it did. It won't catch us by surprise this time.
Bill Taylor, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it.
TAYLOR: Thank you, John.
VAUSE: A wildfire in Cape Town's Table Mountain National Park is contained more than 24 hours after it began.
Winds up to 45 kilometers an hour spread the flames, and kept water bombing helicopters grounded. The fire gutted the historic reading room at the University of Cape Town Library. Private homes and other historic structures were also damaged.
One suspect is now under arrest after confessing to setting at least one fire. Officials are investigating whether he was responsible for the first fire close to the university.
For the first time in six decades, the ruler of Cuba is not a Castro. It may be the end of the Castro era, but the Castro ideology lives on.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann reports from Havana, the new leader of Cuba's Communist Party is emphasizing continuity in the face of dissent and economic challenges.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Already president of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel is now also the first head of the island's powerful communist party since the revolution to not be named Castro.
Diaz-Canel was chosen on Monday as the first secretary at a closed- door congress of the Cuban Communist Party, the only political party allowed on the island, after Raul Castro said he was retiring, if not completely ending his influence.
"He will be consulted on the most important strategic decisions affecting our nation," Diaz-Canel said of his predecessor. At 51, Diaz-Canel is far younger than the 80 and 90-year-olds, who fought alongside Fidel Castro. And since the revolution, have occupied most of the top positions in Cuba.
U.S. officials, who have met Diaz-Canel say while he is less likely to lecture about the evils of imperialism than the Castros, he is a firm believer in the system they created.
JEFF FLAKE, FORMER U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN: I mean really, to move on and to enact the kind of reforms that Cuba's going to need to enact, they need to move well beyond the Castros.
OPPMANN: While few expect younger officials, like Diaz-Canel, who was handpicked by Raul Castro to deviate from the party line, the symbolism of a Cuba without the Castros officially in charge is striking.
(on camera): Most Cubans were born after the 1959 revolution, and until recently have only known a Castro at the helm of the country. Now that this famous family that has impacted Cuba so deeply is beginning to let go of power, the question becomes whether the Castro's revolution can survive without them.
(voice over): Despite the injection of new blood at the top, the Cuban government is struggling to adapt to the times. Critics on the island use increased Internet access to show what they say is growing poverty and injustice.
An economy, ravaged by COVID has led to longer and longer lines for food. The Trump administration, placed some of the toughest sanctions on Cuba in decades, which President Biden so far, appears reluctant to lift.
[01:39:58]
OPPMANN: As he announced his retirement, Raul Castro said he was leaving power, but not giving up his long fight.
"I will continue soldiering on as one more revolutionary combatant," he says. "Ready to make my modest contribution until the end of my life."
But Castro will turn 90 in June, the age his brother Fidel was when he died. And in eastern Cuba, Castro has already built a tomb for himself, next to the grave of his wife who died in 2007.
Cuba's future is uncertain, but the era of the Castros uninterrupted long rule is coming to an end.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN -- Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: European football facing a civil war after a dozen elite and extremely wealthy clubs announced their plans to form an exclusive super league: six are from England, three from Spain and three from Italy.
UEFA president describes the move as shameless and akin to taking football hostage. Governing bodies are furious. So too, the fans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDY TATE, MANCHESTER UNITED SUPPORTER: English football has been destroyed, rest in peace. We give it to the world. And it's been taken away from us by greed and contempt.
CALLUM PEARSON, MANCHESTER UNITED SUPPORTER: I think it's one of the saddest days in football history. I think it's one of the saddest days in United's history.
KADEN MILLS, MANCHESTER UNITED SUPPORTER: I think it's (INAUDIBLE) for money to make the rich richer.
MALCOLM BUCKLEY, LIVERPOOL SUPPORTER: It's all for money, greed -- and that's all I've got to say about it.
TATE: This is pure greed. And I will never set foot in the stadium again until this has been scrapped.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Stefan Szymanski teaches sports management at the University of Michigan. He's with us this hour from Ann Arbor in Michigan. Stefan, thanks for taking the time to be with us.
STEFAN SZYMANSKI, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Thanks for inviting me.
VAUSE: Ok. Well, just a bit of background here. The concept of a super league, it's been around for a while, for a lot of years. But is it simply the loss of revenue caused by the pandemic which was the trigger for all of this happening right now?
SZYMANSKI: I think that's a big part of it. Part of this is the big clubs are really seizing power to control the game. And they're really able to do that at the moment because the smaller clubs need money. And so what the -- the deal is you give us control, and we'll give you a bailout.
VAUSE: Right. Well, former captain of Manchester United Gary Neville ripped into his old club which is a founding member of the new league. Here is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY NEVILLE, FORMER CAPTAIN, MANCHESTER UNITED: I mean I'm a Manchester United fan and been for 40 years of my life. But I am disgusted, absolutely disgusted.
I'm disgusted with Manchester United and Liverpool the most. I mean Liverpool, they pretend, you know, you'll never walk alone, the people's cup, the fans club.
Manchester United, 100 years, born out of workers around here, and they're breaking away into a league with competition that they can't be relegated from? It's an absolute disgrace.
And honestly, we have to wrestle back the power in this country from the clubs at the top of this league.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And an article on ESPN writes that this is all about the owners, in particular, the three new American club owners chasing a bigger slice of the big money pie. They write, "The sentiments of everyone else with an emotional attachment to the game have been completely ignored and dismissed in the pursuit of financial gain."
I guess, if there is one big objection out there among all the fans, is at the end of this -- basically this system within football, or (INAUDIBLE) the relegation and promotion system?
SZYMANSKI: Yes. And it does represent an existential threat to the smaller clubs. They really survive on the hope that one day they might rise up and compete with the big teams. And even if that's not realistic in many cases, nonetheless it keeps fans interested. And without that many of these clubs might well go to the wall.
VAUSE: Because in the U.S, and in many other countries, you don't have that system -- the closed systems like with the NBA or, you know, the baseball system. That basically, once you're in the league, you're in the league. No one gets relegated. No one gets promoted.
SZYMANSKI: That's right. And baseball is a good example because a hundred years ago, most of the small towns in America had a baseball team, and they all died out. They died out to a large extent because there was no route forward for them. There was no opportunity for promotion to a higher level of competition.
And when TV and radio came along and provided people with the chance to see high quality competition, people just lost interest.
VAUSE: Yes. As for FIFA and UEFA it seems they some limited options here to try and prevent, you know, any kind of defection among the players to the super league. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ALEKSANDER CEFERIN, UEWFA PRESIDENT: The players that will compete in this kind of league, out of system, will not be allowed to play in the system. We cannot sanction the clubs. we don't want to sanction the clubs If they are out of the system. But we will think about the lawsuits and everything else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: From what you know at this point, the league options, are they fairly limited? And does that ultimately mean that it's going to be up to the fans if this super league thing succeeds or fails?
[01:45:5]
SZYMANSKI: Well no. I mean UEFA has a very big threat here, and the threat here is that the teams will not be able to play in any other competition, so they could be expelled from their national league competitions. The English Cup could be expelled from the Premier League, and so on.
And also the players won't be able play for their national teams. And that would be a big consequence for many of the players. So, if UEFA can actually make good these threats, then actually, they have quite a lot of potential to put a stop to this.
VAUSE: Essentially there's nothing which they could do in terms of a legal embargo. It' just threatens that they can't play for the national teams. They can't actually stop them from playing if they want to take a big check, right?
SZYMANSKI: No, they can't -- they can't if these clubs want to go away and really be independent and completely separate from the rest of the football world, there's nothing they can do to stop them. but there are so many of the individuals involved with these clubs, want to have careers later on in their lives, which will be connected to the rest of football. And they risk that if UEFA can maintain an embargo.
So it is a realistic threat. It is a credible threat if they can carry it out.
VAUSE: Yes. I guess it's all about the money at the end of the day. And there's a lot of money kicking around.
Stefan, good to see you. Thanks very much for being with us.
SZYMANSKI: Thanks for having me on.
VAUSE: Next up on CNN NEWSROOM.
As the global economy starts to recover, so too are oil prices. But there are concerns about a third wave of the COVID pandemic and what it could mean for economic activity.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Oil prices climbed Monday supported by a weakened U.S. dollar. But there are concerns about rising COVID cases in India, the world's third largest oil importer and consumer.
Analysts say the biggest threat to continuing oil price strength would be a new wave of the virus which would cause demand to tumble.
The International Energy Agency raised expectations for the recovery in oil demand last week as the world economy continues to recover from the pandemic.
Emerging markets editor John Defterios is live for us in Abu Dhabi following all the developments.
So John, remember at the beginning they had this there was a huge glut of oversupply at the beginning of the pandemic? That was stored everywhere they can put it. It's now almost depleted.
So combined with the ongoing big cuts in production here by OPEC and others, it seems in the short term, at least, the only way for oil prices is up. But the bigger elephant in the room, I guess, is the pandemic, that major economies are closing down again.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Yes. There's great concern about a third wave here, particularly in the European Union, which has seen a dramatic spread of that virus and also in India, which is adding cases, John, of 200,000 a day, which is extraordinary.
But in context here, I would like to say we go from zero to 60 in a year, right. If you go back to the chart of last year, we actually went negative. It's not quite captured in the second quarter of 2020. But we went below zero in April and then had this march up to $60 a barrel. In fact it's $67 per barrel on North Sea Brent yesterday that's still holding those sort of gains.
[01:50:02]
DEFTERIO: But how did they get there, John, is your point? The OPEC Plus producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia had to cut nearly 10 percent of supplies. And this wasn't for a quarter or two, John. This carried on for a full 12 months.
They are still cutting, but right now, they're starting to feel more confident, to your point. They're adding two million barrels a day between May and July. And they said they're watching closely. They meet every month and if they need to, they'll cut again.
But even Saudi Arabia had this extraordinary cut of an extra million barrels a day, is adding back on to the market partially because you have the U.S. and India saying let's not kill off the recovery with much higher prices. This is the concern right now.
And in context, John, you have to still look. Airline travel, road travel, road transport for goods are still a shadow of their former selves that we saw before the pandemic set in in the early parts of 2020.
VAUSE: And again, 12 months ago, we saw oil prices turn negative. I just want to -- is there a price point for oil that would bring concerns now, that it is too high, that it could bring inflation, could threaten the global recovery?
DEFTERIOS: Yes. I think it's a great point, John. Anything over $70 per barrel, in fact the Indian petroleum minister was complaining quite vociferously to the OPEC produces before their last meeting, they are the third largest importer in the world. The U.S. said the same. Let's not kill off the recovery.
And that is why we see the OPEC Plus producers coming back on to the market, doing the politically correct thing. Saudi Arabia, Russia, the UAE, Kuwait -- putting supplies back on to the market. That is a very important point because they are responsive to not sparking inflation and killing off the recovery.
At the same time, John, we are in the space in between. Even Goldman Sachs has suggested we could hit peak oil demand by 2025. And you see the shift by the Biden administration and the globe to hit these new top (ph) 26 targets -- $2 trillion of investment, by the United States.
So you could see a spike. You could see solid prices for the next three or four years. We just don't know how fast demand is going to tail off as we make this energy transition.
That is why we see the OPEC Plus players trying to get what they can now in terms of decent prices but not to kill off demand as the energy transition starts. It is a very tricky window in time.
And we need to make the cuts, right, because of climate change. And emission spiking up as the IAEA is suggesting, the second highest level on record during this pandemic recovery.
VAUSE: It is quite the balancing act right now.
John, thank you. John Defterios in Abu Dhabi.
Well, coming up -- a Wright Brothers' moment on the red planet. NASA's Ingenuity helicopter takes flight on Mars. How they did it? What's next, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: An historic moment for NASA engineering. They're calling it a dream come true. On Monday, NASA's ingenuity helicopter lifted off on the Martian surface. It actually flew, short, sweet, but it flew. NASA will raise the bar on Ingenuity's next flight, fully expecting that little guys will crash somewhere.
CNN's Michael Holmes has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIMI AUNG, INGENUITY PROJECT MANAGER, NASA: We can now say that human beings have flown an aircraft on another planet.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the little helicopter with a very big mission. NASA's mini chopper named Ingenuity became the first aircraft to achieve powered controlled flight on another planet.
[01:54:59]
AUNG: Beyond this first flight, over the next coming days we have up to four flights planned and increasingly difficult flights, challenging flights. And we are going to continually push all the way to the limit of this sort of (ph) craft.
HOLMES: A short hop that is the culmination of many hits and misses. Ingenuity has so far survived the frigid Martian nights after separating from the Perseverance rover, relying on its solar-powered batteries to fire up internal heaters.
But an initial spin test of its rotors delayed a scheduled flight attempt due to problems with the timer. NASA says the helicopter later successfully completed the test, spinning its blades at 2,400 revolutions per minute, the speed it needs to take off.
Scientists say having a bird's-eye view of the terrain could revolutionize the way we study new planets.
MICHAEL WATKINS, DIRECTOR, JET PROPULSION LABORATORY, NASA: What the Ingenuity team has done is given us the third dimension. They freed us from the surface now forever in planetary exploration so that we can now make a combination a course of driving on the surface, and doing reconnaissance on inaccessible places for a rover.
HOLMES: Flying on the red planet presented SOME difficult engineering challenges because of the low gravity of Mars and an atmosphere that is 1 percent the density of earth's.
NASA engineers sent along a good luck charm. Attached to Ingenuity is a piece of fabric from the wing of the Wright Brothers' flyer which carried the first powered, controlled flight on earth.
Michael Holmes, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Before we go, for the first time, an Asian superhero will have the lead in a Marvel feature film. "Shang-Chi" will feature Chinese- born Canadian actor Simu Liu as the master of kung fu.
"Shang-Chi" is one of several films Marvel plans to release in theaters before the end of the year. Disney and Company, looking up to make up for some lost time because of multiple delays brought on by the pandemic.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
Please stay with us. NEWSROOM continues with Robyn Curnow after a very short break.
You are watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [01:59:53]
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead this hour. After a weeks' long hunger strike behind bars, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is now in a prison hospital. And his supporters warn, his life is hanging by a thread.
Plus, a rush for oxygen tanks and ICU beds in India as the country faces another wave of COVID.
