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U.S. President, Pope Have Warm, 90-Minute Meeting; Activists Stage Global Protests Ahead Of COP26; FDA Authorizes Pfizer's COVID Vaccine For Children 5 To 11. Aired 12-12:25a ET
Aired October 30, 2021 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Paula Newton. It is 6:00 a.m. in Rome and G20 leaders are just a few hours from beginning their first in person summit, can you believe it, in more than two years. Now we expect them to begin arriving in the coming hours. U.S. President Joe Biden will meet on Saturday with his counterparts from Germany, France, and the U.K. to discuss the Iran nuclear deal.
On Sunday the U.S. hosts events on supply chain crisis. And then it's off to Glasgow, Scotland for the COP26 Climate Conference. Now the President spent Friday greeting the Italian hosts of this year's gathering. He also met one on one with France's President Emmanuel Macron.
Now Mr. Biden conceded the U.S. had been in his words clumsy in the handling of the security deal with the U.K. and Australia that cost France a lucrative submarine contract. The President then wrapped up his first full day in Rome with an audience with Pope Francis. Our CNN's Delia Gallagher has the day for us.
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DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A warm welcome President Joe Biden arriving at the Vatican Friday, America's devout Catholic leader clearly excited for his audience with Pope Francis here at the heart of the Roman Catholic Church.
These are two of the world's most influential Catholics. One, the leader of the most powerful nation, the other the most powerful moral voice in the world, behind the smiles and camaraderie their focus is on two global challenges, climate change and COVID-19. The Pope is hoping for U.S. leadership at the G20 Summit of global leaders this weekend and the crucial climate conference in Scotland.
Earlier Friday, he made a pointed intervention.
POPE FRANCIS: (Speaking in Foreign Language)
GALLAGHER (voice-over): COP26 starts this weekend but the President set foot in Europe without securing a deal in Congress for his climate agenda. And the leaders heading to Glasgow disagree on crucial issues like phasing out coal, making the world's path to limit global warming harder to reach.
At the Vatican, Biden praise Pope Francis for his leadership on the climate crisis as well as his campaign to get more vaccines to the world's poor.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You are the most significant warrior for peace I've ever met.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): The men exchanged gifts Biden handing the Pope a military coin with deep personal significance bearing the insignia of the unit his late son Beau served in.
The two men are known to have a personal rapport. The Pope met the Biden family after Beau's death in 2015. Biden said his meeting with the Pope was quote, wonderful. He'll hope it sets the tone for a five day marathon of talks with some difficult diplomacy ahead. Delia Gallagher, CNN, Rome.
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NEWTON: So coming up two hours from now, CNN analysts and New York Times correspondent David Sanger will take a closer look at today's bilateral meeting between Presidents Biden and Macron. And the current state of relations between the two longtime allies, of course, in that aftermath of a surprise nuclear sub deal between the U.S., the U.K., and Australia that cost France billions.
The G20 summit will set the tone for the COP26 Climate Conference that begins on Sunday. Downing Street says the summit in Glasgow must mark the beginning of the end of climate change. COP stands for, in case you didn't know, Conference of the Parties.
And this is the 26th meeting. Some 30,000 people are expected to attend the two week conference including dozens of world leaders. There will be two notable absences, Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping will not be traveling to the summit.
Now ahead of it, we're seeing protests in cities around the world demanding urgent action on the climate crisis. Scott McLean reports for us from London.
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SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well climate change activists in cities around the world were not prepared to wait for the COP26 Summit in Glasgow to start to make their voices heard. This series of protests focus not on what the politicians will or will not pledge but instead on financial institutions and calling on them to divest from fossil fuel investments.
The one in London in particular, focused on Standard Chartered Bank. Organizers though maybe disappointed with the turnout. At one point, it seemed like there was more assembled press here than actual protesters despite the presence of activist Greta Thunberg.
Standard Chartered yesterday, put out a statement about their environmental goals saying that by 2030, they will not deal with any clients who are more than 5 percent reliant on coal. For these protesters, though that was not enough.
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JON BONIFCACIO, PROTESTER: I've been running this campaign for nearly a year now. And they have had some changes in their coal policy. Like actually just yesterday, they released the new coal policy. But even then it's still very insufficient. So what we really want is to highlight, I guess the hypocrisy of companies like Standard Chartered.
JOAO, PROTESTER: We can no longer expect to see people dying while listening to politicians saying -- making pledges for decades ahead like people were dying now.
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MCLEAN: Thunberg didn't speak to the crowd. She didn't answer any questions from the press either. She kind of snuck off when she decided to leave. I did though, as she was leaving try to ask her about what she thought about China's climate change targets which were announced ahead of the COP26 Summit.
China is responsible on its own for one quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. And many critics say China is not doing nearly enough, does not have nearly ambitious enough targets to keep the world from warming faster than 1.5 degrees Celsius. When I asked Greta Thunberg about that, well, she didn't answer.
Scott McLean, CNN, London.
NEWTON: Now to Sudan where in the coming hours the opposition plans to flood the streets with protesters against a military coup, rallies against the takeover have been going on since troops seized power Monday. But now the opposition wants to hold what it calls a Million- Man March to try and turn up the pressure on its military leaders. Now the U.S. is calling on troops to avoid violence and restore a power sharing government meant to guide Sudan to democracy.
Haiti is seeking the extradition of a suspect in the assassination of its president, Jovenel Moise. Now officials say the suspect is a Colombian mercenary, who was arrested in Jamaica last week. Despite arresting dozens of other suspects, investigators are still in the dark about who is behind the killing. As Patrick Oppmann reports, it's unclear if the extradition will change that.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It could be an important development into the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise that attention of a Colombian suspect named Mario Antonio Palacios. Palacios who has been detained in Jamaica, Haiti is seeking his extradition and still not clear how Palacios was able to leave Haiti.
He was being sought there by officials who say that he is one of about 12 Colombian mercenaries that men accused of being mercenaries who Haitian officials say were brought to Haiti to kill Jovenel Moise in July. There are then multiple arrests, but police and Haitian officials have been seeking Palacios ever since this assassination.
And it's not clear though if he can shed any light on who carried -- who ordered the assassination, who financed it, and why they apparently wanted to Haiti's President dead. This is just number -- one of many developments taking place and many controversies that is rolling around Haiti's current leader Prime Minister Arielle Henry.
Henry is also dealing with in addition to the investigation into his predecessor's assassination. He's also dealing with a kidnapping, the kidnapping of 16 American and one Canadian missionaries who two weeks ago on Saturday, were taken by one of the powerful gangs near Port-au- Prince. They're being held for millions of dollars in ransom. Arielle Henry, the embattled prime minister took to the airwaves in Haiti to say that he would not negotiate with these gangs. That they are the enemies of the Haitian people, and that he will defeat them.
But it is an open question as these gangs prevent gasoline from being delivered they're choking off the Haitian economy and calling for Henry to step down who has more power Haiti's Prime Minister or these powerful, ruthless gangs that seemed to rule so much of that country.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
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NEWTON: As early as next week, the COVID vaccine could be going into the arms of young children here in the United States. The Food and Drug Administration has approved the emergency use of Pfizer's vaccine in 28 million children, ages five to 11. Adding such a large group to those inoculated would potentially bring the U.S. closer to herd immunity. Now, CNN spoke with a Pfizer executive about the FDA approval and the critical role that the vaccine could pay in keeping kids safe at school.
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DR. WILLIAM GRUBER, SR. VP, PFIZER VACCINE CLINICAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT: Ability to vaccinate children frees them up to attend school with reduced risk of outbreaks that limit in person learning. I think for many children's school is a safe space, as well as obviously the important role that it plays in their education so. And in for many children, it's actually placed where they get meals. So this has really a profound effect beyond the important prevention of COVID-19.
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NEWTON: OK, now, before kids can get the injections of vaccine advisors to the Centers for Disease Control, we'll meet Tuesday and give their final recommendation. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky will make that final decision. If she signs off on the use of the vaccine, children could start getting the shots here in the United States on Wednesday. Now Russia has just started a nine-day stretch of so called non- working days in an effort to curb COVID cases there. The country reported more than 40,000 new cases with more than 1,100 deaths on Thursday. That's the highest daily figures yet. About 30 percent of the population is fully vaccinated.
That's it. Moscow has been under the new COVID-19 restrictions since Thursday. All residents over 60, who have not been vaccinated and have not been ill within the last six months have been ordered to stay home until late February. Restaurants, entertainment venues, schools, and many other establishments in the Capitol are now closed.
Queen Elizabeth is being told by her doctors to rest for the next two weeks Buckingham Palace says the Queen was told that she should not undertake any official visits or official duties and only do things that she can do at her desk, including some virtual meetings. This comes more than a week after the 95-year-old monarch spent the night in the hospital for what Buckingham Palace described as preliminary investigations.
The queen had to cancel in person appearances including an evening reception for world leaders at the upcoming U.N. climate conference. OK, a quick programming note for you. We will have of course extensive coverage of the COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, that's November 1st through to the 12th. Tune in right here to CNN each and every day for that.
And I am Paula Newton. I want to thank you for your company. Stay tuned for a marketplace Africa. You are watching CNN.
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LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, and welcome to marketplace Africa, where we cover the biggest economic trends impacting the continent. I'm Larry Madowo.
As the fashion industry across the African continent continues to expand its influence globally, some established designers are looking to break into new markets in surprising new ways, can be efforts to weave a new value chain between South Africa and Japan be successful? Take a look.
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MADOWO (voice-over): Vibrant colors and unique styles these patterns honor the heritage and culture of South Africa's closet group and for knitwear brand MaXhosa. They're hoping this style clicks like their language for the luxury fashion market in Asia.
LADUMA NGXOKOLO, DESIGNER & FOUNDER, MAXHOSA AFRICA: The Japanese market have looked and perceived what we do. They understand that MaXhosa is a brand that is based on anthropology. But the fact that you can wear it is even more special. We take traditional MaXhosa knitwear patterns and colors and modify them into a modern context. MADOWO (voice-over): Japan spends around $32 billion every year in luxury goods, making it the world's second biggest luxury market behind the United States, according to consulting firm McKinsey. And with a projected growth at a rate of about 5 percent this year, this could mean a huge international opportunity for African fashion brands, like MaXhosa.
NGXOKOLO: The significance of growing a brand internationally is of course, about sharing what you already have as a brand. People want a new sense of belonging and things that are exciting. We are using Asian technology like Samsung and Toyota's and why not export our culture as well.
MADOWO (voice-over): To kick start this cultural exchange, MaXhosa partnered with Awa'Tori, a Tokyo based duo with African roots to assist with the connection between African and Japanese creatives.
BUKKY ADEJOBI, CO-FOUNDER & CEO, AWA'TORI: Japanese people or Japanese entities are risk averse. So the likelihood of them actually going into the African market themselves to reach out to designers to work with them is very low, the language barrier is there. So we basically act as a bridge.
SEIKO MBAKO, CO-FOUNDER & PRESIDENT, AWA'TORI: It's almost like giving the Japanese side an opportunity to really see the quality that exists, the craftsmanship that exists, the creativity that exists in Africa, and these African designers and the Japanese designers or textile manufacturers the opportunity to have a collaboration with others, it opens doors, it creates opportunities that never existed before.
NGXOKOLO: Even though people know our brand as a knitwear brand, chiffons are some of the pieces that you notice from our latest collections.
MADOWO (voice-over): Upon entering the scene in Japan, MaXhosa got matched with TokyoKnit, a Japanese tech driven manufacturing company specializing a knitwear to develop a new collection for showcase at Tokyo Fashion Week.
ADEJOBI: This TokyoKnit and MaXhosa collaboration was our fourth event on the FACE-AJ umbrella. The goal of the collaboration is for both sides, you gain in a way. For MaXhosa side, to gain market presence, to gain a consumer base here. And for the TokyoKnit side. The goal for what we're hoping they can get is kind of a bit more awareness because African designers are always looking to collaborate.
MADOWO (voice-over): According to a 2020 study by the Department of Trade and Industry, young brands and fashion designers contributed around $68 million to South Africa's GDP last year. Despite this trend, nontariff barriers can be the tallest hurdle to clear for designers looking to break out into the export markets.
NEVILLE MATJIE, CEO, DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INVESTMENT KWAZULU-NATAL: Those tend to become a big hindrance for emerging exporters in young designers who are really wanting to make a name for themselves in a specific market with immense regulatory compliance issues. Some of those nontariff barriers that are not allowing them to get into, into that space.
Total number of African fashion exports abroad, we would have liked to have seen this number being a very big number. Unfortunately, there's a lot that still needs to be done from an African continent perspective to ensure that our Exports can actually tap into, into the markets particularly in the East.
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MADOWO (voice-over): And the right type of investments can transform a young designer's dreams into reality.
MATJIE: The value chain itself, you know, as far as the existing companies that are dated are not investing in young designers, they are rather interested in high volume and getting profits fairly quickly whereas if they empowered young designers, then they're able to really see a great opportunity for them to offer a diverse sense of different products into, into their supply chain.
MBAKO: Definitely we would like for the designers to like we said gain from it. And obviously that involves the monetary aspect of it. Our goal is the designer school.
MADOWO (voice-over): Though there's a lot of ground to cover, these collaborations hope to weave the future of fashion trade between these two nations.
NGXOKOLO: I am super confident that this collaboration will take us somewhere. Fortunately, Japan is a well-established economy. So ultimately, we would hope that we can open up a super high end boutique in Japan that will lead us into opening up our own world of MaXhosa like Prada and Stella McCartney and Gucci have done in Asia.
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MADOWO: Next, we turn the spotlight towards one of the continents leading entertainment companies.
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