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Germany Considers Tougher COVID Measures Amid Surge; Cuba to Reopen to International Tourists; PSG Women's Player Released after Teammate Attacked; U.S. Capitol rioter flees for Belarus, Claiming "Persecution"; New Developers Threaten to Upend Colorado Eco-Village; Tensions High on the Border Between Belarus and Poland; India, China and 20 Others Oppose "Mitigation" Efforts; Controversial Badiucao Exhibition Premieres in Italy. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired November 12, 2021 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:00:22]
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome draft viewers joining us from all around the world. Appreciate your company. I'm Michael Holmes and This is CNN Newsroom.
Coming up on the program, tensions are high at the border between Belarus and Poland. And warnings, the situation on the ground is bound to get even worse.
The final day of COP26 just hours away, which countries are all talk and no action. Plus, the green neighborhood in Colorado where electric bills and six bucks a month and herds of goats mow the lawn that will neighbors be able to keep developers of their greener pastures.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: We begin with breaking news from Myanmar, American journalist Danny Fenster has been sentenced to 11 years in prison. That's according to his attorney. The editor of the local Frontier Myanmar was arrested as he tried to leave the country in May, accused of incitement and sedition under terrorism and immigration laws.
The 37-year-old from Detroit, Michigan had been denied bail and held in one of the country's most notorious prisons in Yangon. Developing story there, we will keep you updated as more comes in.
Meanwhile, the migrant crisis at the Polish, Belarusian border has been bad for weeks, but the U.N. now says it has become catastrophic. About 2000 men, women and children trapped in hellish conditions. Little kids holding up signs that say, sorry, I am very cold, very hungry and very desperate to enter Poland. But Polish border guards are making sure they don't cross, one of them telling the migrants go to Belarus, this place is full.
Polish President do that publicly thanking those 15,000 guards on Thursday, which was also the country's Independence Day. Earlier, a sea of red and white in Warsaw people chanting nationalist slogans cheering for border guards for, "not letting anybody in."
And across the border, the Belarusian strong man, Alexander Lukashenko and fazed by accusations. He deliberately engineered this humanitarian crisis. And as the West threatens more sanctions, Lukashenko remains defiant.
Now, all of this coming is two nuclear capable Russian bombers flew over Belarus for a second straight day, a clear sign of Moscow's support for Lukashenko. We get the latest now from CNN's Frederik Pleitgen at the Polish border.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (through translation): Another day in limbo in the freezing cold, gathering any material that will burn to stay warm, 1000s of migrants remain stranded on the Belarusian side of the border as Poland says it will not let them enter.
Only a few have made it across like Youssef Atallah from Syria who says he was abused by Belarusian border guards.
YOUSSEF ATALLAH, SYRIAN REFUGEE: When I came across the Belarus border, the Belarus guards catch us. They search us and take me in the face. Broke my cheeks here and my nose and walk through this and I have prayed for exhale. Then they took us to the forbidden area.
PLEITGEN: The forbidden area means the border between Belarus and Poland. Belarus denied abusing migrants and instead accused Poland of a heavy-handed approach. The E.U. says it will further sanction Belarusian strong man Alexander Lukashenko saying he's luring migrants here in a bid to destabilize Europe.
MATEUSZ MORAWIECKI, POLISH PRIME MINISTER (through translation): Now from distance, those events on the Polish Belarussian border may look like a migration crisis. But this is not a migration crisis, it's a political crisis and caused for a specific purpose for the purpose of destabilizing the situation in the E.U. So, what we're facing here, and we have to state it clearly is a manifestation of state terrorism.
PLEITGEN: Lukashenko is counting on support from his biggest backer Russian President Vladimir Putin, handling Russian strategic bombers that flew over Belarusian Wednesday and threatening to cut off Russian gas supplies to Europe.
ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO, BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT: We are heating Europe. They still threaten us with closing the border and what if we shut off natural gas there, I would therefore recommend that the leadership of Poland, Lithuania and other headless people think before speaking.
[01:05:12]
PLEITGEN: The migrants are caught in the middle of the standoff, unable to advance into the E.U. or head back to their countries of origin.
(On camera) The situation of those camped out at the border between Poland and Belarus is growing more desperate by the day. It's extremely cold and damp out here with the temperatures dropping below freezing virtually every night.
(Voice-over) Activist Piotr Bystrianin tries to help them showing the clothes food and water he tries to supply them with.
PIOTR BYSTRIANIN, OCALENINE.ORG.PL: People are deteriorating very fast, they are more exhausted, the -- some of them are sometimes one week or two weeks or even longer, only in the forest without proper food, without any drinking water.
PLEITGEN: Poland says it has registered more than 4000 attempts to illegally cross its border in November alone but says it will not back down. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, (inaudible) Poland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And Nolan Peterson is a journalist based in Kyiv in Ukraine. And good to see you, man. I wondered, do stop with the migrants on the Belarus fallen border. It's an issue that also, of course, keenly concerns Ukraine, which has just sent more border troops to the area. Ukraine sphere is what they call, "artificially organized crowds of migrants." What's your take on the situation both in political and humanitarian terms?
NOLAN PETERSON, JOURNALIST: My take is that the Europe right now is at its most dangerous moment since Russia's 2014 seizure of Crimea and the invasion of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. First, you've got Belarus, bringing these refugees into his territory and essentially trying to exert blackmail on the E.U. to lift sanctions by bringing these refugees to the border area and creating this crisis.
Meanwhile, you have Russia in the mix. I'm sending us warplanes to send a message of solidarity to Belarus, and also setting a not too subtle warning to NATO. You're also seeing right now an unprecedented militarization of NATO's Eastern Flank. Defensive barriers are going up and on the borders with Belarus and Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. And also, Poland has been sending troops to the border area. All this is happening amid the background of the E.U. gas crisis, Russia's new military buildup on Ukraine's periphery. And by the way, Ukraine has also sent 8500 new border guards to its border with Belarus anticipating that these refugees may also be trying to come into Ukraine.
So right now, it seems like there are multiple vectors for the conflict, the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine to potentially escalate or spread across the region potentially rolling in NATO members and that's troubling.
HOLMES: Yeah, I wanted to ask you about that the ongoing conflict in the Donbas is really as a regional problem but the conflict in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine, a forgotten conflict in many ways in terms of the world's attention, that it's striking from your latest report on coffeeordie.com, just how close these two sides are on the ground? I mean, the Russian backed separatists, the Ukrainian forces, you just got back from them. What did you take away from your visit to the front?
PETERSON: Like you said, it is a forgotten conflict. And after seven years, the war isn't over. There's still daily showing sniper fire taking lives. And also, the newest threat are the small, weaponized drones, which Russia is primarily using over the Ukrainian side of the lines to basically drop hand grenades or small minds to take out soldiers one by one. It's a really bizarre conflict because it blends battlefield conditions similar to those as potentially the World War One trenches with these modern technological tools like electronic warfare, and drones.
In places, the two sides are a couple kilometers across at other places, like you mentioned, they're close enough to trade verbal insults. I was at one position near of (inaudible) where the Ukrainians were only 50 meters away from the Russian enemies. And it becomes a psychologically, it's a very difficult conflict for the soldiers out there dealing with the constant threat of random death by snipers and drone attacks. And also, for the Ukrainians who are trying to abide by the terms of the February 2015 mix to ceasefire, which says they cannot engage in offensive actions and also limits their ability to fight back. So, it's hard for the Ukrainians to just sit there and weather these attacks.
In my observation, my fear is that it is tough for them to sit there and have the judgment to not fire back. And so, because it relies on their judgment in combat, there is the potential for an unanticipated escalation when those frontline soldiers say I'm just not going to sit here and take these attacks with anyone.
[01:10:06]
HOLMES: That's always the risk. I want to just quickly, before I let you go, when it comes to the Russian military movements on Ukraine's border, which has not just Ukraine, but the broader west on edge. What do you make of that? Is it intimidation, perhaps a sign Russia has tangible military intentions? What are the risks there? And what do you think the Russian strategy is?
PETERSON: A general consensus here in Ukraine and amongst the Western experts that I've spoken with is that this is a more serious situation than what we saw earlier this year in April when Russia similarly built up his military forces and Ukraine's periphery. There's several signs, one of which is that these newest Russian movements near Ukraine are not tied to any pre-existing military exercises or maneuvers. These movements are occurring much more stealthily than you saw earlier this year. So, there's less visibility on social media, a lot of these movements are occurring at night, signaling that Russia may not be trying to advertise this for diplomatic leverage, like it did earlier in the year.
And also, there's the diplomatic messaging that you're seeing from Moscow, drawing red lines in the conflict, saying that if Ukraine uses the Bayraktar, drone, the Turkish drones again that there will be an escalation. So, you're seeing more like definitive language coming from Moscow. And I think all together this signals that this could potentially be the precursor in the weeks or months to come for an actual military operation to escalate the ongoing war on the Donbas.
HOLMES: There's an awful lot going on in your neck of the woods and not a lot of good. Nolan Peterson, I appreciate your reporting. Thanks so much.
PETERSON: Thank you.
HOLMES: The COP26 Climate Summit is entering its last day in Glasgow, Scotland, and leaders are hoping for a final agreement with strong commitments to limit greenhouse gas emissions and global warming.
Now developing nations, meanwhile, say they shouldn't be held to the same standards as wealthier countries, others including China, India and Saudi Arabia are pushing back on pledges to keep temperatures within 1.5 degrees of pre-industrial levels.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALOK SHARMA, COP26 PRESIDENT: Now whilst we have made progress, and I want to acknowledge the spirit of cooperation and civility that's been demonstrated throughout the negotiations, by negotiators and Ministers, we are not there yet on the most critical issues.
There is still a lot more work to be done. And COP26 is scheduled to close at the end of tomorrow. So, time is running out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: India among the country's pushing back on efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions, CNN's Vedika Sud is live this hour with more on the country's reliance on coal.
VEDIKA, you're close to an Indian coal fired plant that we can barely see in the background, speak to India's reliance on coal, and also India being one of those nations pushing back on the wording of the final agreement?
VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: And that's because the haze behind me given the severe levels of pollution in and around Delhi. I'm very close to India's capital, as I speak to you, Michael. But very quickly, two things that I want to point out here, India is a developing country, like you mentioned, it's about the haves and have nots. In this case, India has a population of 1.36 billion is a third largest emitter of greenhouse gases. It's also the second largest producer and consumer of coal.
To wean off coal, it's going to take decades. And that's what the Indian Prime Minister mentioned, while he was at COP26. It's an ambitious plan, even mentioning 2070 as its target to get to net zero carbon, but it is something that India is going to be working towards.
India has also said in the past while going into COP26, that it is a victim of climate change, and not the culprit for it. It's the developed nations that have actually got the world to this point. Those are the words from the Indian government and the environmental ministry here in India, before they went into COP26 like I mentioned.
What we also have to put into perspective here, Michael, is the fact that to bring millions out of poverty, India needs a lot more energy than it has. As of now 70% of India's energy comes from coal. So, to get those people out of poverty, they need to also depend both on conservative as well as renewable energy. And that's the reason India is where it is at right now as far as its position at COP26 is concerned.
Developed countries are putting pressure on India and they have in the past but India has asked them to actually look into their own backyards and see how they have been performing even when it comes to the 2015 Paris climate deal and agreements because India says it is achieving those targets that is set in 2015.
[01:15:02]
So given that perspective India has to do a lot more when it comes to alternate energy. And the Indian Prime Minister has also promised that 50% of the energy will come from renewable energies by 2030. Again, an ambitious target. We'll have to wait and watch and see what happens over the next few years. Michael.
HOLMES: All right, incredible scene there behind you. CNN's Vedika Sud, thanks so much.
Now, poorer countries also want more money in order to adapt to the impacts of the climate crisis and to pay for the damage already caused by other countries emissions. They say the richest nations are responsible for much of the pollution and should pay for the damage. More now from CNN, Phil Black.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Throughout COP26, some countries have been talked about more than others, and not for the right reasons. Here's one example.
JENNIFER MORGAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GREENPEACE INTERNATIONAL: I think the greatest disappointment, maybe would also be Australia.
CATHERINE ABREU, DESTINATION ZERO: countries like Australia come to these talks without an enhanced Paris Agreement goal.
SARAH HANSON-YOUNG, AUSTRALIAN SENATOR, GREENS PARTY: It is embarrassing being here as an Australian.
BLACK: Australia has been roundly criticized for coming to Glasgow and saying it will hit net zero carbon by 2050 without significantly changing its behavior, especially in the short term.
SCOTT MORRISON, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: Driving the emergence of low emissions technologies, and fostering their widespread adoption is at the heart of our plan to reach net zero. BLACK: So, the Australian Government says investing billions in future technology means there's no need to stop digging, burning, and selling fossil fuels. A provocative theory at a climate conference.
HANSON-YOUNG: Australia's got to do more than that. We are one of the world's largest exporters of fossil fuels. We've got to get out of coal. We have to stop building new gas fields. We've got to reduce pollution. And if we want to reduce pollution, we have to stop making this stuff.
BLACK: But Australia isn't the only holdout. Several big polluting countries have persistently ignored what the science now says is necessary to get to carbon neutral by mid-century. Countries collectively must make deep cuts now and reduce emissions by 45% this decade.
NIKLAS HOHNE, NEWCLIMATE INSTITUTE: And there are some countries which clearly proposed a long-term target to disguise that they're not changing the short-term target and I think Brazil is in that category. Australia as well. Russia is in that basket as well.
ABREU: We've heard from countries like Saudi Arabia, real reluctance to embrace the push for more ambition before 2030.
BLACK: Vulnerable countries are watching with dismay.
PERKS LIGOYA, GLOBAL CHAIR, LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES GROUP: When you see countries coming up with targets, say by 2060, by 2070 we will do that. Who knows by then most of our young kids will be dead?
BLACK: They're not committing to what needs to be done this decade.
LIGOYA: Exactly. Exactly.
BLACK: Australia's policies aren't popular in COP26 but it's pavilion is, crowds lineup eager for good free coffee. Next to displays for a fossil fuel company.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't just shun countries out for being bad, you need to have conversations with them and bring them on the journey towards.
BLACK: Especially when their coffee is so good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, exactly.
BLACK: Well outside activist blast and air raid zone, declaring alarm over the little progress made here. A breakthrough was never likely a COP26. Too many countries are still unwilling to make bold, immediate changes, and some have powerful economic and political motivations for sticking with the status quo. Phil Black, CNN, Glasgow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: With the backing of the Communist Party, Chinese President Xi Jingping tightens his grip on power. We'll have details in a live report after the break.
Also, China tries to shut down an exhibit by a dissident artist in Italy but failed. Find out why he's continuing to defy the Communist Party. That's when we come back.
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HOLMES: Sources say the highly anticipated virtual summit between President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jingping is expected to take place on Monday. The meeting comes during heightened tensions over Taiwan trade and military expansion.
However, the U.S. and China did unveil a framework agreement to address climate change issues this week. President Biden and President Xi last spoke for about 90 minutes by phone in September.
Now China's ruling Communist Party elevates President Xi's status in history with a landmark resolution. The general committee passed it at the end of a four-day closed door meeting of the party elite. It's just the third time in history there has been a history resolution as it's called the Communist Party issuing that in their 100-year existence. Now, the first two were issued in 1945 and 1981, cementing the historic importance of Mao Zedong and Deng xiaoping.
All right, Steven Jiang is in Beijing. He's going to join us now with more details on this. So, Steven, these last two history resolution cementing those two major figures in Chinese history, explain what this means for Xi Jinping?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Michael, it means Xi Jingping's supremacy leadership and his policies have now been codified in the Orthodox history of the Communist Party. So, from now on, any hints of opposition to him or his rule will be considered party heresy and not tolerated.
Now, we have not seen the full text of the resolution but based on the summary they have published and based on what officials and state media have been seeing, they're definitely placing him on the same pedestal as Mao, surpassing even Deng Xiaoping, let alone his two immediate predecessors.
Now, in a press conference just a few hours ago, senior party officials described Xi Jinping's theories as the 21st century of Marxism and calling him the helmsman of China's rejuvenation and really reinforcing this notion that his supremacy is not only necessary, but also embraced by the whole party and nation because only he can help the party thrive in the face of grave challenges as he has done since he took control of the party in late 2012.
His consolidation of power since then, of course, has been both methodical and swift really launching a sweeping anti-corruption campaign that simultaneously eliminated almost all of his political rivals, and also setting up all those super committees that bypass traditional power structure in the party with himself sitting on top of most of those committees, and then of course, removing presidential term limits in the Constitution just a few years ago, all those developments really leading to this moment, where he has now effectively scrapped a system of collective leadership put into place by Deng Xiaoping, after Mao's death to prevent exactly this kind of personality cult and one member (ph) now, of course, he's not only the undisputed paramount leader, but he is increasingly part of the narrative that China's rejuvenation is owed to two strawman leaders from Mao to Xi as he is expected to seek a unprecedented, almost unprecedented third term next year and potentially rule for life if he so chooses. Michael.
HOLMES: All right, important days. Steven Jiang in Beijing, I appreciate it. Thanks so much.
Now, the Chinese government has been trying to silence a controversial dissident artist known as Badiucao in China, Hong Kong, and now Italy. But Italian officials have refused to let that happen. CNN's Ben Wedeman spoke to the Chinese, Australian artist about his work and the challenges that come with criticizing China.
[01:25:07]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BADIUCAO, ARTIST: It's not just ...
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: China is seen red over an exhibit in the northern Italian city of Brescia. Hosting Chinese Australian artists known as Badiucao.
BADIUCAO: It's almost impossible that you can avoid offending the Chinese government these days. Anything could be sensitive, anything could be problematic.
WEDEMAN: So sensitive that the Chinese Embassy in Rome recently requested that the mayor of Brescia canceled exhibits scheduled to open Friday.
I have to say I had to read the letter twice because it surprised me says Deputy Brescia Mayor Lauri (inaudible). It was an intrusion on the city's artistic cultural decision.
CNN's repeated requests to the Chinese Embassy for clarification went unanswered.
Badiucao moved to Australia in 2009, his art and uncompromising critique of the Chinese Communist Party three years ago, his show he was scheduled to hold in Hong Kong was canceled after he tweeted his family was threatened by China. The exhibit in Brescia, however, is going ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a matter of artistic freedom of expression.
WEDEMAN: Badiucao has teamed up with Enes Kanter of the Boston Celtics, painting shoes for Kanter with messages, championing the cause of oppressed minorities in China. Kanter himself is an outspoken critic of China's alleged abuse of its Uyghur Turkic Muslim minority.
ENES KANTER, BOSTON CELTICS FORWARD: Heartless dictator of China, Xi Jinping, and the Communist Party of China, I'm calling you out right now in front of the whole world. Close down the slave labor camps and free the Uyghur people. Stop the genocide now.
WEDEMAN: Words like that. And art like this strike a raw nerve in China, which denies claims of genocide and mass incarceration. Increasingly angry in China is also wrong neuro for multinational corporations.
BADIUCAO: They're so into the money market in China, that they were risking that for.
WEDEMAN: Badiucao says he's regularly harassed online, and occasionally threatened by those who have checked to his work. His art war by other means against a system that has grown ever more powerful in recent years.
BADIUCAO: So, it's like a battleground. And that's how you can use visual language or use internet meme to kind of dissolve the authority of censorship.
WEDEMAN: In the battle at the moment?
BADIUCAO: I think there's a long fight. It is too early to tell who will win.
WEDEMAN: That this exhibit is happening a small win, perhaps. Ben Wedeman, CNN Brescia northern Italy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Germany is feeling the ravages of a recent surge in COVID cases coming up after the break how vaccine hesitancy is fueling that wave and how the government is cracking down on the unvaccinated.
Plus, Cuba hopes its pristine beaches will be a magnet for foreign tourists again, the nation gets ready to reopen to travelers for the first time since the early days of the pandemic. We'll be right back.
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[01:31:12]
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Surging coronavirus infections are forcing Germany to consider tough measures to fight the spread of the virus. Berlin banning the unvaccinated from restaurants, bars, cinema, and other entertainment venues. That's going to start on Monday.
And authorities in the wealthier state of Bavaria have declared a state of emergency now. Germany's likely next chancellor Olaf Scholz says restrictions need to be tightened, countrywide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLAF SCHOLZ, GERMAN VICE CHANCELLOR (through translator): We have to take many, many more measures that are necessary to get us through this winter. You must, in a sense, make our country winterproof.
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HOLMES: Germany just reporting 50,000 new infections, just shy of the record that was set on Thursday. It is a trend being seen in much of Europe. The World Health Organization reporting the continent saw a 7 percent rise in new infections last week.
Now that's as cases in all other regions dropped or remained stable.
For more on all of this, let's turn to infectious disease expert, Dr. Peter Drobac, who's joining me from Oxford, England. Good to see you, Doctor.
When it comes to Germany, these numbers particularly worrying. I mean higher case rates in some countries, with very low vaccination rates, compared to Germany's 67 percent. What's behind it, do you think?
DR. PETER DROBAC, INSPECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT: We'll nice to be with you, Michael.
I think what's happening in Germany could be a bellwether for the risks that we face across Europe this winter. You know, we've come a long way with vaccines, but unfortunately in the era of delta, so much more infectious than the strain that we faced a year ago, 67 percent vaccination rate, unfortunately, just isn't high enough.
You know, we need 85 percent or probably even more of the population to have immune protection in order to prevent spikes like this.
So that's what's driving it. And of course, there are deep pockets of vaccine resistance in Germany as well as even greater pockets in other parts of eastern Europe.
So, that fueled with the kind of return to normal and a certain weariness and a sense that we're past this, and a real decrease in some of the protective behaviors that we have gotten used to around mask-wearing and social distancing, are really at the heart of what's happening right now.
HOLMES: Yes. And particularly since Germany was once seen as setting the standard for handling the virus. But the vaccination rate 67 percent, it's not terrible. Obviously could be higher. But I guess it's worrying that 33 percent still haven't had one single shot. Why do you think the rate is higher, and what can be done to turn that around?
DR. DROBAC: Yes, that's right. Again once upon a time 70 percent vaccination rate might have been enough, but is not enough in the era of delta. And you know, this varies from place to place. The vaccines are obviously accessible there.
So many of those 33 percent who are still unvaccinated, probably have deep resistance to doing so. So we're seeing that across the world, of course, certainly across Europe where there is a ton of vaccine misinformation out there, that itself has spread like the virus. And it's really poisoning the well and causing people to be really hesitant to get vaccines.
That needs to be fought, both by fighting misinformation but also understanding that, you know, mistrust in government, for example, is a real problem and that we need to think about community-based efforts to do education where there is trust, in order to overcome some of that resistance.
But finally, as we're starting to see in Germany, now the rise of vaccine mandates. In this case to say, look, if you choose not to get the vaccine, then you have to accept that you can't go into settings like bars and restaurants and cinemas where you might infect others.
[01:34:51]
DR. DROBAC: And the reality is that while controversial, vaccine mandates do work. And every time these things have been put in place, we do see a big spike in the number of people signing up to get their jabs. And we're having early evidence of that in Germany, and hopefully, it will go further.
HOLMES: You know, it's sort of headshaking isn't it when, you know, you see this hesitancy and the misinformation. And virtually all the people who are dying are unvaccinated. It's hard to imagine a better argument for vaccinations.
I wanted to quickly ask you know. You know, it's interesting in Germany, there's an East/West divide. You know, rates are worst in the East. And the same could be said about East/West Europe, more broadly.
I mean Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine -- all particularly bad numbers. What has failed in that regard? And what needs to happen continent wise?
DR. DROBAC: Yes. We are seeing, of course, terrible rates of COVID in Russia, where vaccination rates are very low. There is an extreme amount of vaccine hesitancy, and I think that is down to mistrust in government, that's down to social and cultural factors.
And I think across sort of the Eastern bloc of Europe, there sees to be similarly low rates of vaccination. and we are starting to see, you know, very worrying trends there. The reality is that a lot of times, the way that we can break this cycle is to move away from top down, you know, types of persuasion, and really go to bottom up persuasion and work through communities.
I don't think enough investment has been done going to the places in society where there is social capital and trust, and using those mechanisms to try to persuade people to get their jabs.
HOLMES: Great point. Great point. Dr. Peter Drobac, appreciate you getting up early there in the U.K. for us. Thanks so much.
DR. DROBAC: My pleasure.
HOLMES: Well, as Germany tightens its COVID restrictions, many are going by the wayside for international visitors headed to Cuba. On Monday, the island nation will reopen to foreign travelers, and remove many of its pandemic requirements.
As Patrick Oppmann now reports, tourism is a cash cow that Cuba cannot afford to lose.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Workers in Old Havana make final repairs ahead of Cuba's big reopening.
For most of the pandemic, the island has been closed to international tourism. Nearly all international flights were canceled. Visitors had to quarantine. Once packed colonial squares and bars where Ernest Hemingway downed mojitos were all but abandoned.
It hit the many Cubans who depend on tourism, particularly hard. For 30 years, Alberto Reyes says he made a living selling drawing to tourists in front of Havana's cathedral. He told us, he hasn't sold a single one during the pandemic.
"My hope now is to be able provide for my kids," he says. "I have three kids and we were going hungry."
Starting on Monday, Cuba will increase international flights and welcome back tourists. Now visitors who are fully vaccinated or have had a negative PCR test 72 hours before arrival will no longer have to quarantine.
Cuban officials say the massive effort to vaccinate the population with homegrown vaccines has allowed them to welcome back tourists in their badly needed hard currency.
"Our population keeps getting vaccinated," he says. "Everything indicates our scientists have made a discovery of great value for our people. And I think, we are very well positioned. We are optimistic."
But the pandemic isn't the only impediment preventing some tourists from coming. Sanctions implemented by the Trump administration and continued by the Biden administration, severely limit the ways Americans can visit the island. And prevent them from staying in government-run hotels.
(on camera): Throughout the pandemic, the Cuban government has continued to build new hotels like never before but many of these projects began when U.S.-Cuban relations were much improved and U.S. tourists were flooding the island.
Now, even as COVID travel restrictions are lifted, most Americans won't be able to visit because of U.S. sanctions.
(voice over): Some tour operators say clients may be wary of visiting Cuba after widespread anti-government protests shook the island in July. The Cuban government responded with mass arrests and lengthy jail sentences which led to more U.S. sanctions.
COLLIN LAVERTY, CUBA EDUCATIONAL TRAVEL: It's when things get challenging between the United States and Cuba or there is a lot of political turmoil or other negative kind of flash points on the ground. That certainly dissuades people from looking at Cuba as a destination.
OPPMANN: Cuban officials say, they are now open to visitors. But to rebuild the island's tourism industry, they may have a long road ahead.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN -- Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, following the violent assault of a female footballer last week, the teammate who was arrested has now been released. We'll have an update for you from Paris.
[01:39:58]
HOLMES: Also later, a former ExxonMobil engineer has quit his day job to move to an eco friendly paradise. But going green is proving easier said than done. Coming up, the threats this green utopia is facing. That's after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: More, now, on our breaking news.
The American journalist, Danny Fenster is sentenced to 11 years in a Myanmar prison, according to his attorney. The editor of the online magazine, "Frontier Myanmar" was convicted of unlawful association, and incitement.
"Frontier Myanmar" says there is no basis for the charges and is deeply disappointed by the court's decision. Fenster is among 100 journalists arrested in Myanmar since the February coup. About 30 are still behind bars.
Do stay with us here at CNN for more on this developing story. New developments in a growing football scandal in Paris. A teammate has been released from custody in the brutal assault of a fellow female footballer for PSG's women's team. The question still remains who attacked Kheira Hamraoui.
CNN's Cyril Vanier with this bizarre story.
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CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Still so many questions surrounding the brutal and mysterious assault of a French female soccer player last week.
The latest development Aminata Diallo has been released from custody, according to CNN affiliate, BFMTV. A midfielder on Paris Saint- Germain's Women's team, Diallo had been arrested early Wednesday, in connection with an attack on a teammate according to the club.
A week ago that teammate Kheira Hamraoui was assaulted by masked assailants who beat her legs with an iron bar, according to French media.
Diallo, who is present with her at the time. was apparently unhurt. The targeted nature of the attack and the fact that the two midfielders play the same position for PSG and for the French national team, raised questions about a possible football rivalry gone very wrong.
This, despite the friendship between the two players, who share an agent and have, in the past, posted pictures of themselves holidaying together.
Diallo release ahead of the 48-hour custody limit indicates that investigators did not have enough evidence, potentially linking her to the attack for prosecutors to press charges.
CNN has reached out to the players and their agent, as well as to investigators. But for now, the mystery remains. Who attacked Hamraoui and why?
One week on, assailants have not been found. Their motives, still unknown. PSG is set to play their rival, league leader, Leone on Sunday. It's unclear whether either Diallo or Hamraoui will be on the pitch.
Cyril Vanier, CNN -- Paris.
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[01:44:51]
HOLMES: An American facing criminal charges for allegedly assaulting police officers during the U.S. Capitol riot is now in Belarus. State media says he is considering seeking asylum there, claiming to be the target of political persecution.
And, despite admitting he entered Belarus illegally, he got a chance to speak out on state television.
Here is CNN's Matthew Chance.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For America's critics the January 6th riot at the U.S. Capitol was already a propaganda coup casting the nation as chaotic and violent.
But the bizarre appearance of Evan Neumann, an accused Capitol rioter from California, seeking asylum in Belarus, one of the world's most authoritarian dictatorships, is more than the regime here could have hoped for.
This is their heavily promoted new special, dubbed, "Goodbye America" on Belarusian state TV.
"The U.S. is, now, settling scores," the anchor says, "with opponents of the U.S. regime. So Neumann had to flee the country, or face prison and torture for simply taking part in protests," she falsely claims.
We're then shown Neumann himself being interviewed but at how he got here, apparently by crossing the border illegally through snake infested swamps.
Of course, why he came. He speaks English but he's voiced over in Russian. It's hard to hear his actual words.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They released a picture of me.
CHANCE: He says his photo was put on an FBI wanted list. That is true, but his next claim isn't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened to other people there --
CHANCE: "What do you think they do with people like me," he asks? They are kept in solitary confinement for eight months at a time and beaten. Torture is a common thing," he explains, for the Belarusian reporter.
Torture is, of course, illegal in the United States. What is true is that Neumann faces multiple criminal charges in the U.S. for his alleged role in the January 6th insurrection.
Prosecutors say he taunted and screamed at police, before donning a gas mask and threatening officers, according to court papers. Police body camera footage showed Neumann pushing a metal barricade into a police line, before punching two officers with his fist.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't decide to --
CHANCE: He doesn't even deny taking part.
EVAN NEUMANN, CAPITOL RIOTER: We were invited to come in. But we were there because -- CHANCE: On January 6, the congress voted to approve the election of
Joe Biden and to recognize him as winner, Neumann explains. "There were many of us who came out to say we're against it. The police fired tear gas at us. At one point, I was hit with a police baton," he alleges, "and sprayed with pepper spray".
We can't verify those claims.
NEUMANN: Different people had different reasons. But it's that kind of misleading testimony, alleging police violence in the U.S. that's having such an impact in Belarus.
People here are no strangers to strong arm security forces since fraudulent presidential elections last year, there's been a brutal crackdown on opposition supporters, with thousands beaten and in prison.
NEUMANN: They may later say this is a terrorist event or something like that.
CHANCE: Now, the Belarusian regime has a U.S. citizen falsely casting America as exactly the same.
Matthew Chance, CNN -- Minsk.
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HOLMES: Reactions are pouring in after the death of South Africa's former president who oversaw the end of apartheid. Frederick Willem DeClercq, died on Thursday after a battle with lung cancer. He was 85 years old.
DeClercq stunned his nation in 1990 when he announced he would put an end to apartheid. Later, negotiating a transition to democracy, with Nelson Mandela. And they won a Nobel Peace Prize together in 1993.
But after his death, DeClercq's Foundation released a pre-recorded message in which he apologized for what apartheid did for generations of South Africans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREDERICK WILLEM DECLERCQ, FORMER SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT: I, without qualification, apologize for the pain and the hurt and the indignity, and the damage that apartheid has done to black, brown, Indians in South Africa.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:49:46]
HOLMES: F.W. DeClercq passing away at the age of 85. We will be right back.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First through the hatch is going to be NASA astronaut, Caleb (INAUDIBLE). Some hugs there. You can hear the claps inside.
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HOLMES: Four new crew members are making themselves at home at the International Space Station. That was a moment of celebration after they docked at the station on Thursday and joined the existing crew.
The newly-arrived astronauts will spend six months there conducting scientific experiments and hanging out. One of their hosts said, he was happy to have more crew members on board.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK T. VANDE HEI, NASA ASTRONAUT: It's really an honor to be up here at a time when these folks arrived and to be able to help out, not just we're doing science that's going to help out with humanity on the earth, right now but also to help the human race be better able to explore further and further away from our home planet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 3, 2, 1, zero. Ignition and lift off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The new crew blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday. Their space craft was made by the private company, SpaceX which helps NASA send astronauts to space.
An eco friendly Colorado community is setting an example for green energy in the fight against climate change. But its future is being threatened as developers move in.
CNN's Bill Weir explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL WEIR, CNN CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Well they fuss and fight in Glasgow, over the path to a carbon neutral world. This gentleman knows how hard you have to fight just to build a net zero neighborhood.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pay about $6 every month for or electricity.
WEIR: Dar-Lon Chang is an energy pioneer. Battling to settle the greenest community in America, called Geos, conceived as a clean energy utopia in the Denver suburb of Carvana (ph).
Original plans call for nearly 300 homes, all powered, heated, and cooled only by what radiates down from the sun and up from the earth
DAR-LON CHANG, HOMEOWNER, GEOS: On days when it's like 10 degrees outside, and you get the windows open by 11:00 or so. You have close to 70 degrees on it.
WEIR: It's very toasty in here.
CHANG: Look at this, our homes are offset. This is south.
WEIR: It's all the brain child of an Austrian engineer named Norbert Klebl (ph) who first staggered the plots in a checkerboard so that each tightly constructed home, free of drafts, and leaks, would get maximum free heat from the sun.
CHANG: We harvest the sun, in the wintertime. When the sun is low down there, it floats in here and heats up the entire house.
WEIR: This means you need fewer solar panels to power the house and your cars and eight hours of battery backup. Since gas stoves can create the same amount of indoor pollution as living with a chain smoker, and since natural gas is mostly made of planet cooking methane, rule one of Geos would be no gas. All electric.
CHANG: This is the geothermal unit.
WEIR: Using liquid to bring up energy from the earth's hot core, this machine heats, and cools the house with virtually no pollution.
CHANG: If you go down to the core of the earth, it's as hot there as it is on the surface of the sun.
WEIR: It's closer, it's right there.
CHANG: Yes. Exactly.
WEIR: It's always on.
Dar-Lon believes geothermal will be the energy of the future. And he should know. He spent over 15 years as an alternative fuel engineer at ExxonMobil.
[01:54:59]
CHANG: I saw no reason why we weren't using the drilling technologies we're using at ExxonMobil to drill for hot rocks, rather than drill for oil and gas.
WEIR: But the company wasn't moving away from fossil fuel fast enough for his sense of urgency. And he says when hurricanes knocked power from his Houston home and his home owners association banned solar panels, he quit, packed and moved to the greener pastures of Geos.
The 28 completed homes, with goats instead of lawnmowers, felt like proof of a better way. But then Norbert was forced to sell the rest of Geos in a divorce settlement.
And despite their fierce objections, the new developer is now installing gas lines for the next phase of homes.
CHANG: The story of my neighborhood being a failed experiment in building without gas pipelines, is not only false, but it also, endangers the transition away from methane gas needed this decade to prevent runaway climate change.
WEIR: Since the Carvana City Council pledged to encourage more renewable energy a decade ago, Dar-Lon put on his no-gas hole shirt, along with neighbors asked for their intervention.
CHANG: You have homes that need to be converted, that already exist. But the job here, with the next phase of Geos has already been done for you.
WEIR: But so far, officials refused to help Geos stay gas free. It's a lesson that while over 100 nations led by the U.S. are pledging to drastically reduce methane emissions, all building codes are local.
And small towns worry that forcing a clean transition will bring lawsuits from big oil and gas, and their favorite lawmakers.
Bill Weir, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Incredible, isn't it?
Well, in the final days of the U.N. COP26 climate summit, activists are getting creative in protest for climate action.
A group from Argentina, holding an opera protest in Glasgow, Thursday. The song, a variation on "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" from the musical, Evita but with climate themed lyrics.
Nearby, Extinction Rebellion activists, staged a die in, imitating dead bodies on the ground, as a statement on the threat of climate related deaths.
And across the river, activists protested animal farming with a cow blimp. The campaigners say animal farming causes heavy environmental damage such as methane emissions and deforestation.
Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @HolmesCNN.
But don't go anywhere, CNN NEWSROOM continues next with Kim Brunhuber. He's getting comfortable right now.
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