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Games Freeze Due to Bad Weather in Japan; Naomi Osaka Failed to Defend Her Title; Many Young Athlete Got Their Gold Medal Early in the Game; Tropical Storm Nepartak on Its Way to Tokyo; Tunisia's President Sacked the Prime Minister; U.S. Forces Will Remain in Afghanistan to Assist Afghan Forces; U.K. Impose its Green Pass; Young Adults in U.K. Skeptical of the Vaccine. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired July 27, 2021 - 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)

ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Day four of competition at the Olympics, a shocking loss in tennis, and surprising wins in the pool. And everyone is keeping an eye on an incoming tropical storm.

Bracing for turmoil in Tunisia after the president fired the prime minister and then suspended parliament. He claims the Constitution is on his side.

Plus, we are expecting a verdict in the trial of the first-person charge under Hong Kong's controversial security law. We are live outside the high court.

A very warm welcome to our viewers right around the world. I'm Isa Soares. CNN Newsroom starts right now.

Happy Tuesday, everyone. We begin in Japan where a high wave and storm surge advisory has been issued ahead of a tropical storm Nepartak making landfall. The bad weather as you can imagine has meant that some events have been rescheduled. Surfing made its debut a little earlier than planned, sailing and rowing competitions have both have been postponed until later this week.

The rain could threaten the gold medal game in softball between the U.S. and Japan, scheduled to start a few hours in fact from now.

Despite a surge in COVID infections, spectators still turned out for the triathlon finals as you can see there, according to organizers, at least 160 COVID cases have now been linked to the Tokyo games.

Let's get more on this with CNN's Blake Essig is standing by live in Tokyo. But we begin with CNN World Sport's Patrick Snell in Atlanta. Patrick, there is a bit of a shocker, I think about an hour or so in tennis.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: Yes, no question, Isa. This is dominating the news coming out of Tokyo this day. Japanese superstar Naomi Osaka eliminated from the women single's tournament in that round of 16, or the third round, if you prefer, a really huge shock. That I would imagine the four-time Grand Slam champion likely never saw coming.

The 23-year-old, remember, the iconic image right of these games when she lit the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony. On Friday, Osaka losing to Marketa Vondrousova, ranked 42 in the world from the Czech Republic; Osaka, competing in her first Olympics, too.

Just for added context here, she lost the first set six to one, many people thought she would rebound and come back to win the match, but no, she dropped the second as well. Having been a break up, what does that mean? That she loses the match.

Now for added and further breaking this all down the story. Osaka has been in the news a lot recently, hasn't she? Having pulled out of the French Open in Paris and then Wimbledon, citing mental health issues. But she did decide to play in Tokyo. But a major, major upset there, no question at all.

What else has been going on this Tuesday? A lot more away from the tennis. You know, these Olympics I think further set away, Isa. We've seen the teenagers rising to really new heights, haven't we? Just take the women skateboarding competition Monday, the podium featuring not one, but three teenagers. Two of them were 13, earlier this day in the pool.

And more teenage exploits. Lydia Jacoby becoming the first ever American Olympic swimmer from Alaska to win gold. This coming in the 100-meter breaststroke final, the 17-year-old shocking South African star Tatjana Schoenmaker who won silver, and U.S. superstar Lilly king who in the end to settle for bronze.

Meantime, in the women's 100 meters backstroke, Australia's Kaylee McKeown taking gold and setting an Olympic record in the process at time 57 seconds there. The 20-year-old from Queensland, remember also the world record holder for this distance in backstroke when she set that record mark in June.

And history in the making, we have to tell you about this, for the first time since 1992, America's men have lost a backstroke race at the Olympics. Evgeny Rylov of the Russian Olympic Committee claiming gold and his compatriot Clement Kolesnikov won silver in the 100-meter backstroke final. The American, Ryan Murphy, the world record holder no less taking bronze.

And great momentum once again for team G.B. Great Britain celebrating gold and silver, this in the men's 200-meter freestyle, Tom Dean and Duncan Scott finishing first and second respectively. The first time since the year 1980, so the two male British swimmers have ended up on the Olympic podium together. More great storylines every way you look as I send it back to you.

[03:05:03]

SOARES: I love it. More always happy stories, record breaking stories, and great storylines out of Tokyo. In particular, some historic ones I saw this morning from Bermuda and Philippines.

SNELL: Yes. These feel good stories, historic ones as well. They are really just fantastic to talk about and to report on. Let's start with Bermuda's first ever Olympic gold medal, this coming in the women's triathlon. Amid very wet and challenging conditions, the event delayed as a result. But this is a day to savor for Bermuda's Flora Duffy, offering a historic first ever gold medal for her country. Team G.B. Georgia Taylor-Brown for the record taking silver.

And meantime, I love the story as well. A special moment for the Philippines Hidilyn Diaz who becomes her country's first ever Olympic gold medalist and in her fourth games as well, perseverance really paying off, the 30-year-old winning the women's 55-kilo category for weightlifting, setting an Olympic record as well.

This is an amazing story, because last year, just for more context here, Diaz was in Malaysia for around five months, I think it was under a government travel ban due to the outbreak of COVID-19. What does she do? How did she improvise? She fills her own gym. She had to train with water bottles as well, would you believe. It really is a fantastic achievement. You can be sure we'll be hearing more on the story right through the day.

SOARES: Congratulations to her. So many stories, Patrick, of perseverance we'll be hearing in the last two days. Thank you very much, Patrick. We'll talk in the next hour for more highlights. Of course, Patrick Snell we'll have it later this hour right here on world sport on CNN.

I want to cross over now to Tokyo where Olympic schedulers are rearranging some of these events because, as you mentioned, and you mentioned earlier, the tropical storm. Blake Essig is live with more. Blake, as I am looking at your shot, the sun is shining. What's going on?

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Isa, Mother Nature cannot seem to make up her mind. Throughout the day we've experienced howling winds, in sideways rain. But right now, it's beautiful. It's a sunny day and there's hardly a breeze at this point. The storm is slowly moving north of Tokyo but we still have -- we'll still have an impact, excuse me, as it makes -- expected to make landfall within the next 24 hours.

And because of the initial threat that several Olympic events were postponed, I'm currently outside of the archery field where all of today's events -- competitions, excuse me, were rescheduled. Because of the storm the sailing and rowing events have also been postponed. One sport that has been -- has benefited as a result of the storm is surfing.

The men and women's medal round was originally scheduled for tomorrow but instead, it's being held as we speak. And conditions couldn't be any better as surfing makes its Olympic debut. Those surfers are currently enjoying big overhead swells, which is exactly what you want at a surfing competition.

Now while this tropical storm could cause problems for organizers for another day or two, once it passes experts say blue skies will be back, and the athletes will once again have to contend with Tokyo's extreme summer heat. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOBUYUKI TSUCHIYA. DIRECTOR, JAPAN RIVERFRONT RESEARCH CENTRE (through translator): Depending on the circumstances, we may experience a real summer heat with temperatures over 95 degrees Fahrenheit. So, I think if possible, we should adjust the schedule to avoid holding the matches during these hot hours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ESSIG (on camera): And tennis superstar world number one, Novak Djokovic hasn't been shy about sharing his thoughts on Tokyo's hot summer weather after his first round the other day. He described the humidity as brutal and he has since urged Olympic officials to move matches to the evening to avoid the daytime heat and humidity.

Now, Isa, it's worth pointing out that when the Olympic Games were last held in Tokyo back in 1964, they were actually pushed back several months to avoid the high temperatures here in Japan during the summer.

SOARES: Yes. I can imagine the humidity how impressive that must be. Thanks. Blake Essig there for us, I appreciate it.

Let's get more on tropical storm Nepartak. Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri is joining us now. Pedram, great to see you. Give me a sense of how long until we see these tropical storms make landfall there?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, I think within the next few hours this would be going to 90s, a great scene as always, and of course, into the early morning hours of Wednesday. That is where the impact is really going to be felt north of Tokyo, the storm seen at about 250 kilometers east of Tokyo at this hour. And it's not going to get much closer.

So, what we saw earlier in the day for Tokyo when it comes to the heavy rainfall and the gusty winds, it was the bulk of the system and what it has to offer a little further towards the south. But of course, there are venues to the north, there are events across this region that have already been rescheduled in advance of the system, and we do expect tremendous rainfall to persist across that northern region there as much as 150 returns.

But when you kind of look at how things have played out across Tokyo, this afternoon, the high temperature in Tokyo reached 32.1 degrees, which may seem like it extremely hot, and it is but in fact, it is the coolest air we've had in a couple of weeks. And in fact, the wettest day we've had in Tokyo with over 30 millimeters that came down earlier in the day in advance of the system. That's the wettest day in three weeks.

[03:10:04] So, it kind of speaks to how incremented it has been, and how hot it has been because this is the coolest temperature we've seen in weeks across the region and a lot of that having to do with the moisture that moved in. But the heaviest rain, again, move to the north, above average temperatures return in this region, and we do expect the heat in the season or feel like outside to be closer to 40 degrees yet again, and a dangerous setup here with humidity.

Because, Isa, I always talk about it. Your body does an incredible job, effectively, cooling itself by sweating. And as that sweat evaporates off of your skin, that's when your body temperature gradually cools down, but of course, when it's extremely humid outside, the moisture just sits on top of your skin, cannot evaporate effectively. And that's the problem for a lot of the athletes. Isa?

SOARES: Pedram Javaheri there for us, thank very much, Pedram.

And of course, to keep track of everything that's happening at the Tokyo Games, just go to cnn.com/olympics.

Now, calls for calm in Tunisia. A country now facing political upheaval after the president ousted the government and then suspended parliament. His opponents label the moves a coup, but the sacked prime minister says he accept the dismissal for the greater good of Tunisia as it struggles with a COVID crisis as well as economic turmoil.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz if following development and joins me now here in London. And Salma, the president has been defending his actions, what does he have to say as to why he decided to take such drastic measures?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely, Isa. I mean, Tunisians this morning will be waking up to some rather strict measures. A curfew went into place last night from 7 p.m. that expires at 6 a.m. this morning, but it will continue through until August 27th, about a month. That's not the only rule that's in place. There is also a ban on public gatherings of three people or more.

All of this, of course, after a couple of very dramatic days, where as you said, the president froze parliament for 30 days, suspended the prime minister and he is now working, he says, to put a new government in place. But of course, this led to accusations of a coup d'etat. Some saying that the president acted unlawfully, while his supporters of course, tens of thousands of them, took to the streets celebrated this move.

Now the president, Kais Saied did respond to these allegations. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAIS SAIED, PRESIDENT OF TUNISIA (through translator): Today, I have taken the responsibility. I am taking a historical responsibility. Those who claim that this manner is related to a coup, need to revise your constitutional lessons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: Now it's important to note here, Isa, that Kais Saied is actually a law professor who specialized in constitutional law. So there is some weight to be carried here. But ultimately, it is a matter of interpretation. This article 80 of the Constitution, it is a matter of interpreting whether or not this was a threat that was a strong enough for him to take these measures.

And all of this played out in front of parliament yesterday, when the parliament speaker, the head of the Ennahdha party, the largest political party in Tunisia tried to enter parliament after this decree. He was stopped by the military, we then saw supporters from both sides, from the president side, and Ennahdha party side. We saw the supporters kind of coming to a head in front of parliament security forces, trying to keep it all calm.

And then of course, a few hours later, that curfew of 7 p.m. went into place and really quieted the streets. But of course, that was a flash point, Isa, and it leads to the question, is Tunisian now heading down a path towards an autocratic strongman leader? Or is this just kind of a glitch in the system as it figures out it's a democracy. Isa?

SOARES: Yes. I think all eyes are going to be on Tunisia in the next few days as we saw yesterday. Those large protests as we just showed our viewers, outside Tunis.

Thanks very much. Salma Abdelaziz there for the very latest. Do keep us posted.

Now, at least 57 migrants were killed after their boat capsized off the coast of Libya on Monday. According to U.N. officials nearly two dozen women and children are among the dead. Fishermen help Bolivian coast guard brings survivors to land near the port of Khoums. Recent good weather has seen an uptick in migrants boat trying to reach Europe.

The U.S. president is formally ending the combat mission in Iraq 18 years after initial invasion. In just a few months after announcing American troops would leave Afghanistan, Joe Biden has said it's time to focus on threats from today, and not 20 years ago. But unlike the withdrawal from Afghanistan, this move comes at Iraq's urging. And U.S. forces aren't actually leaving Iraq. The plan is to fully shift them to an advisory role by years end. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It is just to be available to continue to train, to assist, to help, and to deal with ISIS as it arrives. But we are not going to be by end of the year in a combat mission.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, during a White House meeting, you can see there with the Iraqi prime minister, President Biden, vowed ongoing humanitarian diplomat is, as well as military support. Arwa Damon picks up the story for us.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: U.S. forces will be remaining in Iraq, perhaps a change in semantics, no longer being called combat troops, but rather, as an advice and assist unit.

[03:15:04]

And this is about the Iraqi prime minister says his country needs, but it's not just ongoing training of the Iraqi Security Forces, what is also especially critical to Iraq is America's intelligence sharing and other capabilities.

And it would seem at this stage nearly a decade later, both the U.S. and Iraq want to avoid what happened towards the end of 2011 under the Obama administration when what many would say a premature withdrawal of U.S. forces took place, which ended up being one of the many key factors that allowed for the reemergence of the ISI, the Islamic state of Iraq, ISIS' predecessor, which then very quickly grew and morphed into the most formidable terrorist organization that we have seen to date.

But this ongoing U.S. troop presence despite what is being publicly said is not just about training and assisting Iraqi forces. It's not just about an ongoing battle against ISIS which does continue to carry out devastating attacks in Iraq albeit not to the same degree that it used to in the past.

This is also about creating a counterbalance to Iran's growing influence. A counterbalance to the strength and the power of the Iranian-backed Shia militias that many will argue are even more powerful than the Iraqi Security Forces themselves.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Istanbul.

SOARES: Now after months of political deadlock, Lebanon's parliament has elected a former prime minister to fill the post once again. Billionaire businessmen Najib Mikati is the third person nominated for the job since the Lebanese government resigned in the wake of last year's deadly port explosion in Beirut if you remember. Mikati is confident he can form a new government and hopes to implement a fresh plan to attract foreign aid and end Lebanon's crippling financial crisis.

European leaders are taking action as the COVID vaccination rate slows while the Delta variant spread, the new requirements ahead. And why many young people in the U.K. are so hesitant to get a COVID-19 vaccine. We'll explain, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES (on camera): Now the spread of the coronavirus Delta variant across Europe is threatening another round of lockdowns. At the same time, there are signs of a vaccination slowdown and leaders are responding with stricter measures. The French parliament is passing law requiring proof of vaccination to

enter restaurants and bars. The U.K. government is also considering a health pass for large events and Greece, Italy, and France are mandating vaccines for health care workers. The measures are triggering protests with demonstrators demanding freedom from vaccination requirements.

Scott McLean (Inaudible) to all of this for us, he joins me here in London. And so, Scott, what's started with really a carrot approach has becoming more of a sticker approached by some governments.

[03:19:56]

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you are absolutely right. I mean, you see those protests across France that this law which requires a range of health care professionals to be fully vaccinated in order to work. And for most other people, it requires other proof of vaccination or a negative test to get into restaurants, bars, theaters, et cetera.

Italy is taking a very similar approach, requiring at least one shot of the vaccine to get into restaurants and people to be fully vaccinated to get into larger mass events. We are seeing places like Ireland and Greece taking very similar approaches.

As you mentioned, the U.K. for its part had taken more of a carrot approach until now. But it is about to get out a very big stick. It has done a remarkable job in getting the first almost 90 percent of the population at least partially vaccinated. But it is really struggling with that last 10 percent.

Vaccination rates you can see there have really dropped off. At least for the first dose over the past couple of weeks. They are now down to about less than 25,000 per day. And Isa, at that rate it would take about eight months to vaccinate the last 10 percent of the population. About the same amount of time that it took to vaccinate the first 90 percent.

So, the U.K. we know is now considering requiring university students to be fully vaccinated in order to attend classes. It is also considering vaccine passports for mass gatherings, sporting events, concerts, things like that. The prime minister had already promised that come September when everybody has had the chance to get both doses of the vaccine, that vaccine certificates will be required for nightclubs.

But the urgency of all of this, Isa, maybe dampen a little bit depending on what happens over the next couple of weeks. That's because while scientists had been predicting a huge surge in cases to last towards the end of the summer, the U.K. is actually starting to see cases drop. The numbers are about half, or new infections are about half of what they were just 10 days ago, Isa.

SOARES: Yes. We are seeing all those, I think it's the sixth day, isn't it, of drops which is very good news indeed.

Scott McLean there for us, thanks very much, Scott. Great to see you.

While debates over COVID vaccine mandates rage on many young adults in the U.K. are still hesitant to get vaccinated. Scott McLean mentioned that there.

For more on this let's bring in Oksana Pyzik, a global health expert in the University College London, a well-known face here on the show.

Doctor, good morning to you. Great to see you. Let me get you -- your opinion in terms of what you are seeing of young people being admitted to hospital. What I've been hearing is hospitals now are seeing younger people being admitted in intensive care wards. What are you seeing and what are you hearing?

OKSANA PYZIK, GLOBAL HEALTH EXPERT, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: Well, certainly, we do see that in the U.K. the higher amount of elderly people and those who are over the ages of even 30 have been received mostly double vaccines. Though, as it stands, the people who are getting the highest number of cases are among young people who are getting ill, and not just with hospitalization but more and more reports around complications like long COVID which are known to even arise from mild cases.

So, for this instance, I think that there is some hesitancy amongst this young population despite the fact that they are being hit hard by the disease as well.

SOARES: Why, why then the hesitancy to vaccinate?

PYZIK: Well, I think, again, every country has a slightly different cultural challenge in vaccinating their populations. They may take a slightly different approach in the U.K. It has been very much incentivized in the sense of without making it a legal requirement. However, that is looking to potentially change because of this slow uptake of vaccines in younger people.

So, what I -- I think we have seen a pattern and some -- this is also been published in The Lancet, is that it hasn't helped that there has been a lot of yo-yoing and back and forth of public health policy, who is eligible for what vaccine at what time, lots of headlines around although very rare side effects, things that get magnified in people's view.

And even with young people we know that despite the fact that some are getting long COVID and are hospitalized, overall, this is the most robust population. They are the healthiest so they are most likely to bounce back. So, there is that fear tactic isn't necessarily very successful. Plus, this mistrust of government and health authorities which has come out of a very inconsistent public health messaging.

SOARES: Yes. That was going to be my next question. Now, how much has the mixed messaging from the government or even misinformation online has contributed to this hesitancy, Dr. Pyzik?

PYZIK: Well, also we see that younger people are perhaps the highest users of various social media platforms rather than going to conventional news channels.

[03:25:01]

So, likely the audience that's tuning in today aren't going to be the most vaccine hesitant. However, it's very difficult to regulate. The WHO has partnered with Facebook, Twitter, Google, all of these platforms to try and direct people to legitimate sources. But it's very difficult as the whack-a-mole problem.

And a lot of the questions that I've had directly come at me are more on also vaccine safety. How do we know that this vaccine is safe or it doesn't affect fertility, for instance? That's been a big theme. And I think that also has to do a lot with scientific literacy and explaining to the population that, you know, this is -- science is built brick-by-brick. It's not an overnight process. And we have generations of scientists working not only on mRNA vaccines but going back to Ebola virus.

SOARES: Yes.

PYZIK: Really, the fundamentals of the AstraZeneca came out of that. So, this wasn't an overnight thing. So I think back to safety, there is still a lot that needs to be explained there for a young healthy population that looks at the risks and perhaps is weighing it up.

SOARES: Yes.

PYZIK: And thinking, you know, this seems the scarier option rather than infection. Because at this rate with the cases that are rising it's either you get vaccinated or you get the infection.

SOARES: Let me ask you this doctor. I don't know if you heard our correspondent Scott McLean just before you came on air where he said, you know, you've seen governments now throughout Europe using more of a sticker approach so you have to have considering even vaccination passports in U.K. is one of those.

Do you think that will motivate people? That will force younger people to be vaccinated? Or do you you'll have the reverse effect that people don't want to be told what to do?

PYZIK: That's difficult one because we really do need to get to as many people vaccinated as possible including young people. And it's very interesting to see that the U.S. and Canada are getting children vaccinated. The U.K. has been hesitant to do that as a government policy.

I would say that classically, we would try to avoid mandating and try to encourage. But it comes to a point in certain settings, particularly if we are thinking about employers who work with vulnerable people, so absolutely in healthcare. This is going to have to become a requirement even if unpopular.

But we've already seen wide scale protests in many different countries on vaccine mandates and there are some people who have very legitimate reasons for not getting it. So, I think there needs to be some consideration for those very --

SOARES: Yes.

PYZIK: -- I think that's a very small number of the population.

SOARES: Yes.

PYZIK: But I would say that it comes to a point where we are opening up and we are choosing in the U.K. to live with the virus, then you can't have it both ways. If you have a low number of cases, --

SOARES: Yes.

PYZIK: -- then perhaps you can make it more of an optional process. But if we are going full steam ahead and many countries are looking to do that including the U.S., then we're going to have to go harder on the vaccine policy.

SOARES: Oksana Pyzik, thank you very much for taking the time to speak to us right here on CNN.

And still to come, a breaking news, landmark case involving China's national security law. We are taking you to Hong Kong, next.

[03:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ISA SOARES, CNN HOST: We have some breaking news for you this hour. The first person charged under Hong Kong's National Security Law has been found guilty of terrorism and inciting secession. The former waiter was accused of driving his motorcycle into three riot police while carrying a flag with a protest slogan, "Liberate Hong Kong."

CNN's Kristie Lu Stout is just outside the high court in Hong Kong and join us. So, guilty -- Kristie, he's been found guilty of carrying a flag. What does this mean in terms of how many years he will get, I mean, because this is a huge landmark case for Hong Kong?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. Look, Isa, I'm standing outside of the high court here in Hong Kong. The verdict is now into this landmark case. The first trial under the National Security Law. We have learned that 24-year-old Tong Ying-kit has been convicted. He has been found guilty of incitement to secession, which is punishable with up to 10 years in prison.

He's also been found guilty of terrorism, a very serious offense under the National Security Law. It's punishable with up to life in prison. Earlier, the defendant had pleaded not guilty to those charges. It was on July 1, 2020, just hours after the National Security Law was imposed in Hong Kong when Tong was arrested.

He was riding a motorcycle while bearing a flag with that band slogan on it saying "Liberate Hong Kong. Revolution of our times." He crashed into several police officers in riot gear as they attempted to stop him. Now, he, the defendant, was denied bail. The defendant was also denied a jury.

This is a significant departure from Hong Kong's previous legal system. Also, the three judges presiding over the case were handpicked by the leader of Hong Kong, Carrie Lam. Critics say that this trial is another example of a further crackdown on dissent here in Hong Kong. Listen to Joseph Cheng.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH CHENG, POLITICAL ANALYST: The crux of the matter is that the Hong Kong government would like, to fully exploit the National Security Law to prosecute pro-democracy activists, accusing them of advocacy for independence, testifying in severe crackdown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now, western governments have sanctioned officials here in Hong Kong and in China. They have slammed China's tightening grip on Hong Kong. The Chinese officials remain unwavering in their support for the law. Here is the top leader of Hong Kong, Carrie Lam.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARRIE LAM, HONG KONG CHIEF EXECUTIVE: I would honestly ask you, what sort of freedoms have we lost? What sort of vibrancy has Hong Kong been eroded? If you look at the stock market, the property market and the technology sector, the start-ups, even arts and culture now, they are all booming because of the support from the central people's government and because of the restoration of order and stability in Hong Kong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Since the National Security Law has been imposed, the political landscape here in Hong Kong has fundamentally changed. According to the National Security Bureau, as of July 26th, 136 people have been arrested under the law including protesters, activists, students as young as 15, journalists, and opposition lawmakers. Back to you Isa.

SOARES: Kristie, put into context for us what does this trial mean for free speech in Hong Kong? As you just laid out, so many more people were awaiting trial. What does this mean when it comes to free speech?

LU STOUT: You know, to a certain degree, the result, the verdict that was announced today was expected and free speech and dissent was already pretty much silenced here in Hong Kong. Even before this trial, let alone the announcement of today's verdict.

You have the situation where mass protest that we have seen in 2019 or even before in this once raucous and rebellious territory are no more. Opposition voices have been arrested or intimidated or they have fled Hong Kong. Press freedom is under threat. There is rampant self- censorship among journalist in Hong Kong. And there is a concern that this will only encourage further self-censorship here in the territory, Isa.

SOARES: Kristie Lu Stout with breaking news for you out of Hong Kong this hour. Thanks very much, Kristie.

Now, a landmark fraud trial opens today at the Vatican for a prominent cardinal and nine others charged with a financial scandal.

[03:35:01]

The cardinal involved is the most senior, now former Vatican official to be tried for financial crimes. For more on this, let's bring in our senior Vatican analyst John Allen who is also the editor of "Crux" and he joins me now live from Rome. John, good morning to you. Great to see you.

So, here we will see the first cardinal to face trial for financial crimes in the Vatican criminal court. Give me some context here. What is he being accused of and what does this mean for the Vatican?

JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: Hi there, Isa. Well, this has been called by many the Vatican's trial of the century. Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the Pope's former chief of staff, not only is the first cardinal to face trial for fraud, he is the first cardinal to face trial for anything before a Vatican court.

He will also become the first cardinal to be judged by laity that is non-clerics, product of recent reform by Pope Francis. The charge is that Becciu and nine other individuals along with three corporate entities conspired to defraud the Vatican of -- we don't have a full accounting yet, but at least tens of millions of dollars.

As part of a controversial London land deal that Vatican prosecutors charged, was basically a con game. That it was cooked up by a couple of shady Italian financiers who had allies inside the Vatican who pushed through this deal so that they could overbill the Vatican systematically.

Vatican prosecutors have called this a rotten system that is both predatory and pecuniary. Now, these defendants, we should say, beginning with Cardinal Becciu have vigorously asserted their innocence. They are insisting that they are being made into patsy's for the failures of people even higher up the system who are close allies of Pope Francis and who have not been indicted.

So, even though today is just the beginning of what is likely to be a long process, it's also likely to be a very dramatic one, Isa.

SOARES: John Allen there for us in Rome this morning. Thanks very much, John.

Still ahead right here on "CNN Newsroom," they might seem scary, but sharks are vital parts of life on our planet and they are under threat. Why one man hopes understanding these creatures can also help save you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SOARES: Now, while "Jaws" has been scaring movie fans for more than 40 years, real life sharks are facing a much more frightening reality. Under threat from commercial fishing and climate change, their numbers have been declining. As part of CNN's Going Green initiative, we tagged along with a marine scientists who's made it his mission to understand these animals before it's too late.

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[03:39:59]

RYAN DAILY, MARINE BIOLOGIST: I've always been drawn to the ocean. It's one of the last truly wild places. There aren't any fences underwater, animals can come and go as they please. And this is really what sparked my interest just trying to understand where these animals are going and why.

SOARES (voice-over): Ryan Dailey, a South African marine biologist who has made it the life's mission to better understand the secret world of sharks.

Sharks have existed on Earth for more than 400 million years, long before the dinosaurs, and play a crucial role in maintaining the oceans ecosystem. But their numbers are in decline as they face increasing pressure from overfishing, as well as the demand for their meat and fins.

DALY: An ocean without sharks would be a pretty sad place. If you think about it, it's the equivalent of taking lions out of the Serengeti. It would throw the ocean completely off balance.

SOARES (voice-over): The more we know about sharks, the more can be done to protect them and the ocean. And that is where Daly's work comes in.

DALY: One of the best ways we have to conserve and protect sharks are marine protected areas. So, one of the biggest questions when tagging them are to understand which areas do they use the most, which areas are critical to their survival. So, to these areas, we need to identify through tagging so that we can conserve them.

SOARES (voice-over): Daly uses satellites as well as acoustic and on- camera tagging methods, technology to enables him to follow sharks for up to 10 years of their life. And that has led to some groundbreaking discoveries.

DALY: We have learned the most incredible things. We've learned that some sharks undertake migrations of over 6,000 kilometers and return to the exact same site at the exact same time of year, every year for multiple years.

We've learned that these shark are capable of undertaking migrations 50,000 kilometers and we're just starting to understand what's driving them to do this. You know, diving with sharks, they have a presence in the water and you can't help but feel that presence. I have great respect for these sharks. (END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Beautiful creatures. And that does it for me. I'm Isa Soares. World Sport is coming after the break. I'll be back with you in about 15 minutes or so with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stay right here.

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