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COP26 Draft Released; American Journalist Sentenced 11 Years in Myanmar Prison; Migrants with Nowhere to Go; Europe Back to Strict COVID Rules; Xi Jinping's Grip to Power Increasing; President Xi Jinping Poise to Rule in China Forever; Artwork Banned by China; Aminata Diallo Released from Custody; American Rioter Seeks Asylum in Belarus; South Africa Bids Goodbye to Its Former President; Cuba Reopen Its Tourism Industry. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired November 12, 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)
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): I'm Kim Brunhuber. We're following breaking news out of Glasgow, Scotland where a new draft agreement at the COP26 Climate Summit has been released.
Let's go to Phil Black in Glasgow right now for more. So, Phil, just within the last hour we got word of that newest agreement, what more can you tell us?
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kim, so this is the second draft agreement of the text that will be released at the end of this conference, that's been going on for almost two weeks now. It's only just been released, as you say the last half hour on initial inspection going to some of the key points, the issues that people think really needs to be there. They do still seem to be there in some form. So, crucially, we are going through a few of them.
There is the science stuff. This is the area that really describes what's at stake. The fact that the world needs to continue aiming for a global average temperature increase of 1.5 degrees.
It makes the point things got a lot of worse after that, the impacts are much lower at 1.5 it says than they are at say, 2 degrees. It also explains that there is some urgency in the need for action in order to achieve that goal.
It makes the points, this part of the science is still there, that unless emissions are cut deeply and significantly this decade then 1.5 will no longer be achievable. But the key point is that we know that our missions are not on track to be kept by the appropriate amount by the end of the decade.
And so, it does still include a path forward, it includes next steps, it requests that countries reexamined their existing emissions cuts, and resubmit them by the end of 2022. That language is a little bit softer, it requests this instead of
urges it, as it did in the previous draft. And there is a reference to based -- countries doing this based upon their individual circumstances, so it appears that a little more wriggle room has been inserted there.
We know that this is one of -- has been one of the most contentious sections of the text through these intense negotiations over the last 24 to 48 hours or so.
Interestingly, there is still a reference to phasing out coal and fossil fuel subsidies, but again the language here has been qualified, expanded, and you have to say softened somewhat. It now includes references to ramping up technologies as well for low emission energy sources.
It talks about unabated coal being phased out, instead of just coal power itself. Unabated coal is generally coal energy or coal power plants that do not have some form of carbon capture technology attached to them.
So, it's interesting that some of these key points they have survived, that's the key thing but there is now greater qualifying language around these very important parts of the text. As I say, this is only the second draft, we are on what is supposed to be the final day of this conference.
There is supposed to be a final version to all of this usually later in the evening. That said, it would appear that we are running behind because we normally expect at least another draft version to be released before you get to the final text.
And what that means is that it's very likely this will run into the weekend, but we can sort of sum up saying based upon the slight subtle changes that we've seen in the text into the second draft, is that the key language regarding the science is there, and there is still a language pointing to what the next steps should be given that there is a deadline, given that countries need to cut deeply by 2030 and we're nowhere near achieving those necessary cuts.
There are instructions on what countries should do next, but that has been soften slightly. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: We'll see whether that changes or gets watered down further. Phil Black in Glasgow, Scotland, thank you so much.
And we have breaking news out of Myanmar, where American journalist Danny Fenster has been sentenced to 11 years in prison. His attorney says Fenster was convicted earlier today of visa violations, incitement and unlawful association, but more serious charges are still pending.
CNN's Ivan Watson is live this hour in Hong Kong. Ivan, it seems like a very harsh sentence given the charges but things could get even worse for Fenster, what more can you tell us? IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I
mean, this 37-year-old native of Detroit, Michigan, an expatriate who had been working in the independent English language news in Myanmar.
[03:04:59]
He is also facing two additional charges that could lead to a life sentencing. One of whom under the counter-terrorism law where he is accused of having contact with alleged terrorists. And another with basically insulting or hurting the reputation of the Myanmar military, which of course seized power on February 1st in a coup that overthrew a civilian elected government and plunge the country into escalating violence in a crackdown on freedoms as well.
Now, Fenster's parents several months ago he was detained in May on his way to the airport in Yangon. They have made appeals for his release. Take a listen to what they told CNN some time ago.
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UNKNOWN: Their efforts to squelch journalism and get the word out, it just -- it just -- it kills life, and it kills freedom. It kills truth and I think they need to let him go immediately. He has not committed any crime there.
UNKNOWN: It's a total nightmare, it's a total feeling of no control, it's heart wrenching, it's just -- excuse me, I'm sorry, this is something you don't want anybody to go through, any parent, anybody that cares about anybody. These are human lives, and these are people, not just numbers. And I just want my son home no matter what it takes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON (on camera): Now Fenster was sentenced in a closed military court inside Yangon's notorious Insein Prison, the only real outsider was his defense attorney who was allowed to attend these proceedings.
The organization that he worked for, Frontier Myanmar issued a statement saying it's deeply disappointed with the sentencing, and pointing out that it appears that he was sentenced for having worked for a previous news organization that he quit months before the February 1st coup. Frontier Myanmar alleging that the court ignored tax documents that said that he was in fact the managing editor of this news organization Frontier Myanmar. Back to you, Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. Very disturbing, it just underscores how little freedom of the press there is in that country.
WATSON: There has been a very harsh crackdown, estimates of close to 100 journalists detained since the coup on February 1st, at least eight news outlets that have been shut down or in some cases accused of being terrorist organizations. Journalists in Myanmar that I've spoken with have fled for the borders, are trying to escape to neighboring countries like Thailand as refugees.
Human Rights Watch arguing that it's basically almost a crime to be a journalist, people have to move around from safehouses to try to report the news in that country. And the squelching of press freedom is just one of many freedoms that have been crushed since the coup. The leaders of the former civilian elected government, they are behind bars, they are going to court and not -- limited with their access to the outside world of course.
And then there's the mounting death toll from the protests that the security forces opened fire on repeatedly over the course of past months. And a growing insurgency against the security forces. Just a deteriorating situation all across the board in this South Asian country. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: All right, Ivan Watson in Hong Kong, thank so you much.
As part of new sanctions against Belarus has been met with defiance in Minsk where President Alexander Lukashenko is hinting at cutting off natural gas to Europe if the west follows through. The U.S., E.U., and NATO all accused Lukashenko of weaponizing helpless migrants as payback for earlier sanctions against his regime.
But 2,000 men, women, and children are now trapped in freezing weather along the border with Poland unable to go anywhere with kids hold signs that say sorry. But Polish border guards are making sure they don't cross, one of them telling to migrants go to Belarus, this place is full.
On Thursday, two new nuclear capable Russian bombers flew over Belarus for a second straight day, a show support for Lukashenko as the crises deepens.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen has the latest from the border.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Another day in limbo in the freezing cold, gathering any material that will burn to stay warm. Thousands of migrants remain stranded on the Belarusian side of the border, as Poland says it will not let them enter.
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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 come across the Belarus border, the Belarus guards catch us, they searched us and hit me in the face, and broke my cheeks, head and my nose and broke two teeth, and I had an X-ray. 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 strongman Alexander Lukashenko saying he was luring migrants here in a bid to destabilize Europe. MATEUSZ MORAWIECKI, POLISH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Now,
from distance, those events on the Polish-Belarusian border may look like a migration crisis. This is not a migration crisis, it's a political crisis and cause 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. Hailing Russians strategic bombers that flew over Belarus on Wednesday and threatening to cut off Russian gas supplies to Europe.
ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO, PRESIDENT OF BELARUS (through translator): We are heating Europe, and they still threaten us with closing the border. And what if we should off natural gas there? I would therefore recommend that the leadership of Poland, Lithuania, and other headless people think before speaking.
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.
The situation of those camp out on 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.
Activist Piotr Bystrianin tries to help them, showing the clothes, food, and water he tries to supply them with.
PIOTR BYSTRIANIN, PRESIDENT, OCALENINE.ORG.PL: People are deteriorating very fast, they are more exhausted, 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 4,000 attempts to illegally cross its border in November alone, but says it will not back down.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Kuznica, Poland.
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BRUNHUBER (on camera): For more on this, let's turn to CNN's Nina dos Santos in London. So, as we heard, conditions seem to be getting worse for migrants there on the border. What's the latest?
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. They're not going to get any better, are they? As we head towards the winter, this is one of the colder parts of Europe, and as you are just hearing there from Fred on the border, we have about 4,000 people who have limited access to food and water. And being in that condition for quite some time.
Amid this plight we've heard overnight that the Iraqi embassy in Russia is beginning to offer the prospect of evacuation back to Iraq, for some of these stricken migrants. But the impasse continues between the E.U., that's been utterly clear that this is not a migration crisis like the bloc faced, but you almost unraveled it politically back in 2015, instead this is a crisis that they believe has been engineered.
As Ursula von Der Leyen, the European Commission president said by autocratic regime against Democratically elected countries on its border here inside the E.U. The backdrop to all of this of course is that debacle over sanctions.
So, the E.U having imposed sanctions upon Belarus after a disputed election result that Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus claimed he had won. Also, a very audacious attempt to land an E.U. plane bound for another E.U. country in Minsk and diverted to take off a Belarusian dissident, Roman Protasevich a few months ago.
Now, Belarus is facing the prospect of a ratcheting up of sanctions from the E.U. and other partners. And the situation is getting serious, because Belarus has said it may retaliate by cutting down on gas supplies to two pipelines that supply the E.U. as we head into the winter.
Because that they know is also another soft target for the E.U. politically speaking. The E.U. and the U.K. are getting increasingly concerned about curtailed gas supplies from Russia.
So, in the backdrop of all of this, Kim, we got diplomacy continuing apace. Angela, the outgoing German chancellor has had two days worth of phone calls with her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, because of course Russia is that staunch ally that remains of Belarus.
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He vows to use his influence to try, you know, press President Lukashenko on this issue but many people would be skeptical of that claim, if you like, given the fact that obviously, Russia has sent those bombers for two days in a row over Belarusian airspace, over this area as well, and also the fact that they have rejected the comment by western members of the U.N. Security Council that Belarus is actually engineering this whole migrant crisis, Kim?
BRUNHUBER: We'll keep an eye on this important story. Nina dos Santos in London, thanks so much.
Germany is seeing a major surge in COVID cases. Just ahead, how vaccine hesitancy is fueling the wave, and how the government is cracking down on the unvaccinated.
A U.S. Capitol rioter has appeared on state TV in Belarus. Why he says he may seek asylum in the country. We'll explain after the break. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER (on camera): Surging COVID cases are becoming a trend across Europe. The World Health Organization reports that Europe saw 7 percent rise in new infections last week as cases in all other regions dropped or remain stable. Germany is getting hit particularly hard. It just reported nearly 50,000 COVID cases, just shy of the record set Thursday.
Surging COVID numbers are forcing the German government to consider tougher measures to fight the spread of the virus. And Germany isn't the only country in the E.U. considering tighter restrictions.
More on that I'm joined by CNN's Scott McLean in London. Scott, so it looks like more European are inching towards lockdown here.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I don't even want to say the l word. And I'm sure most Europeans feel the same way, Kim. And what's crazy is to think that we are almost a year now since the first shots started going into arms across Europe. You would not know it given the way that some European governments are behaving right now.
I'll give you two examples. In the Netherlands an expert panel has just recommended to the Dutch government that a partial lockdown going into effect. This would close things like restaurants, bars, gyms, et cetera, temporarily. The Dutch government is still considering that, no decisions have been made. But they need to do something to get the case count down which is really spiking.
Though it's important to point out the deaths are still relatively low, and perhaps that's because Dutch vaccination rates are much, much higher than they are in the U.K. and certainly in Germany, as well.
Austria, though, is a really interesting case here. Right now, according to Reuters the -- 20 percent of all ICU beds in the country are occupied by COVID patients. And once that number hits 30 percent, Kim, well that will trigger a lockdown but only a lockdown for the unvaccinated.
And we are not talking about lockdown light, partial lockdown, whatever you want to call it. This is the kind of lockdown for the unvaccinated that we saw at the height of the pandemic where you can leave to go to work, or for the bare essentials. But that's it. So just when you thought that mass vaccination was a silver bullet to all of this talk about lockdown, maybe not.
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BRUNHUBER: Absolutely. And you know, some of those statistics about Germany, they are forcing authorities in that country to take stricter action, as well.
MCLEAN: Yes. You're absolutely right. Not a record case count today but a very close to one. And so, officials are urging people to cut off all unnecessary contacts and to cancel or not to attend any large- scale event.
And the reality in the Germany is that one-third of the population still is not vaccinated, and so officials are really trying to ramp up that number. But in the meantime, they have to do something. The state of Bavaria, the richest in Germany just declared a state of emergency because of pressure on the health care system there.
Today, in Berlin, unvaccinated people can still go to restaurants, pubs, night clubs, that kind of a thing as long as they can show proof of a negative test, but starting on Monday that negative test is no longer going to be get enough. The vice chancellor, likely the next chancellor, wants to see that expanded across the country. And many other states either already have already followed suit by getting rid of that testing option, or are considering whether to follow suit.
And this is significant, Kim, because Germany has always insisted on not discriminating against those who choose to not get the vaccine by having this option to have a negative test instead. But it seems like as the situation worsens there and as there's more and more pressure put on the health care system, they are sort of grasping at whatever options that they have at their disposal in order to try to write the ship here and get things back on track.
BRUNHUBER: All right. Thank you so much. Scott McLean in London for us. I appreciate it.
And for more in the situation in Germany, joining me now is Dr. Ralf Reintjes. He is an epidemiologist at the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg, Germany.
Thanks so much for joining us, doctor.
So, just, you know, how bad is the situation right now in German hospitals?
RALF REINTJES, EPIDEMIOLOGIST, UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES, HAMBURG, GERMANY: Good morning. The situation in German hospitals is becoming more and more serious. And in some parts of the country already the ICU units are full and patients need to be moved to other parts.
BRUNHUBER: You know, many of us watching here looking at the situation in Europe, we understand why cases are so high in some of the surrounding countries that have low vaccination rates. But Germany has a decent vaccination rate. About what, 67 percent, much higher than here in the U.S. for example. So, what's causing the surge?
REINTJES: I think it's a combination of risk communication and risk perception. People have been focusing purely on the vaccination issue and forgot about more and more about other -- other protective factors like contact reduction and hygiene measures.
For example, yesterday the beginning carnival took place in many parts of Germany with thousands of people celebrating very close together. And football stadiums are full, and so on, life is almost back to normal, which is this winter season is very good for the virus.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely. I mean, we are seeing similar things here so we are trying to get some lessons from what's happening in Germany. I mean, it's what, a fourth wave over there. Just as an example here in Atlanta, we just dropped our mask, you know, restrictions. So, you know, for those of us who are watching what's happening in
Germany, I guess dropping too many restrictions, especially going into winter, that seems to be a huge problem here.
REINTJES: Exactly. This is what is expected and what we can observe at the moment.
BRUNHUBER: I want to go back to vaccinations. You know, vaccination has become such a political issue here in the U.S. You can look at the Republican or conservative leaning areas, vaccination rates are way lower. Is there a similar phenomenon going on in Germany?
REINTJES: To a lesser extent, in some parts where the ultra-right party, the so-called alternative for Germany party is the leading one that have lower vaccination rates. But in general, it is a campaign that is going on quite effectively. At least for two-thirds of the population so far.
BRUNHUBER: But how do you get that other third to get to vaccinated? How do you reach them?
REINTJES: This is a very difficult issue. So, with all the restrictions with limitations in general life, for those ones who are unvaccinated we are trying to motivate those who are not vaccinated.
[03:25:08]
There are discussions, there have been discussions for legal restrictions so that some professional groups that have to be vaccinated. The atmosphere or the discussions are heating up. But so far, it's not, nothing is really decided.
BRUNHUBER: As an epidemiologist, I mean, having now gone through this for so long and going through wave after wave, it seems to always follow the same cycle. You know, cases go up and then we, you know, issue restrictions, and then it goes down again. And we loosen them all again. I mean, it must just be frustrating as an expert to be watching us go through this again and again and again. Like, when are we going to learn?
REINTJES: Exactly. This is -- it is quite frustrating because it is so obvious. I mean, if you use logical epidemiological thinking what is going on, and unfortunately, society and politics are moving in different directions sometimes.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. We just wanted to get back to normal and sometimes we are rushing it too much. Dr. Ralf Reintjes, thank you so much. We really appreciate it.
REINTJES: You're welcome.
BRUNHUBER: All right. Still ahead, a controversial dissident is defying China's government through his art work. Now the communist party is trying to shut him down.
Plus, following the violent assault of a female footballer last week, a teammate who is arrested has now been released. We'll have a report from Paris next. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER (on camera): Sources say the highly anticipated virtual summit between President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping is expected to take place 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 last week.
President Biden and President Xi last spoke for about 90 minutes by phone in September.
The Chinese president will head into next year's Communist Party Congress with an even firmer grip on power. During his four-day meeting, the party adopted the landmark resolution celebrating Xi Jinping's achievements.
And as David Culver reports, the move paves the way for President Xi to potentially rule for life.
DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): China's ruling elites meeting behind closed doors for four days in Beijing. Rewriting the Communist Party's history to chart a new course.
[03:29:57]
The 350 or so top officials passing an almost unprecedented resolution, and this time highlighting the role of its current leader and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the nation's triumphant rise on the global stage.
VICTOR SHIH, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO: He wants to really highlight his own contribution to the development of the party, but also will seal his legitimate rule over China in the foreseeable future, then of course no one would challenge his power within the party.
CULVER: Unrivaled control. That puts Xi on par with past paramount leaders Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. Both (Inaudible) the only two previous resolutions. The first 1945, firmly place Mao at the apex of the party. The second, 1981, five years after Mao's death, an effort to push past his disastrous policies.
As Deng open China up to a surge of prosperity, an economic boom that's lasted decades. Now, 100 years since its founding right here in Shanghai, the Chinese Communist Party has just passed a third such resolution. This one widely seen as elevating Xi Jinping as undisputed supreme ruler of what many here believe will become the world's strongest nation.
China has already become the second largest economy in the world. It has successfully lifted millions of its people out of poverty, and making other countries including the U.S. uneasy with its rapid military expansions. Its ascendance the leadership proudly displays at so-called Communist Party pilgrimage sites, historically revered spots that downplay or ignore failures and controversies.
From the tumultuous cultural revolution, to the Tiananmen Square massacre. Instead, they focus on a century of successes, and credits Xi alongside Mao and Deng, for the nation's rejuvenation with Xi's two immediate predecessors barely mentioned.
Xi is now even a mandatory part of school curriculums. All students must learn Xi Jinping thought. Since taking power in 2012, Xi has methodically consolidated control, launching an anti-corruption campaign that simultaneously eliminated his political rivals.
In 2018, he re-wrote the Constitution, getting rid of presidential term limits. And this year, with a series of regulatory tightening on business in tech he showed the tycoons that the party is above all else. And loyalty to the party now means loyalty to Xi.
JEAN-PIERRE CABESTAN, PROFESSOR, HONG KONG BAPTIST UNIVERSITY: Now it's back to the strongman politics, with the danger of course of relying on one person to make decisions, but also relying on his health, on his own character to decide about the future of a nation of 1. 4 billion people.
CULVER: So much power handed to one man, history has taught us what that could mean. But for now, the world's biggest governing party keeping history in check, and paving the way for a future where its strongman leader could rule for life.
David Culver, CNN, Shanghai.
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): The Chinese government is once again taking aim at a controversial dissident artist. He's known as Badiucao. And much of his art work criticizes the country where freedom of expression could be hard to come by.
The Communist Party has tried to ban the artist's work in China, Hong Kong, and now Italy. Local Italian officials refuse to let that happen.
CNN's Ben Wedeman joins us now from Rome. Ben, it's a really fascinating story, take us through it.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is a story that actually would've been of local interest, but as a result of this e-mail sent by the Chinese embassy here in Rome, it has become quite a story.
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UNKNOWN: Now it's not just a --
WEDEMAN: China is seen red, over an exhibit in the northern Italian city of Brescia, hosting the Chinese-Australian artist known as Badiucao. BADIUCAO, ARTIST: It's almost impossible that you can avoid offending
the Chinese government these days. Anything could be censored here. Anything could be problematic.
WEDEMAN: So sensitive that the Chinese embassy in Rome recently requested that the mayor of Brescia canceled the exhibit scheduled to open Friday.
"I have to say I had to read the letter twice because it surprised me," says deputy Brescia Mayor Laura Castelletti," it was an intrusion on the city's artistic and cultural decision.'
CNN's repeated request to the Chinese embassy for clarification went unanswered.
Badiucao moved to Australia in 2009. His art an uncompromising critique of the Chinese Communist Party.
[03:34:56]
Three years ago, a 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.
I was 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 allege abuse of its Uyghur-Turkic Muslim minority.
ENES KANTER, BOSTON CELTICS FORWARD: I was thinking of China, Xi Jinping, and the Communist Party of China. I'm calling you out right now in front of the whole world, closed down the slave labor camps and free 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 angering China is also a raw nerve for multinational corporations.
BADIUCAO: There are so into the money market in China, that have no trouble risking that.
WEDEMAN: That's nice. Badiucao says he's regularly harassed online, and occasionally threatened by those who object 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 memes to kind of dissolve the authority of censorship.
WEDEMAN: Who's winning the battle at the moment?
BADIUCAO: I think it's a long fight, it's too early to tell who will win.
WEDEMAN: That this exhibit is happening, a small win, perhaps.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WEDEMAN (on camera): And bilateral trade is running at about between Italy and China is running at about $40 billion dollars a year, so any sort of complication in that relationship could have serious repercussions.
And in fact, officials in Brescia did tell us that they did receive some discreet inquiries from local businesses about whether they should actually go ahead with this show. But no real strong resistance to it going ahead. In fact, it should be started in about an hour and 20 minutes. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: Yes. Lots at stake there for an art show. Ben Wedeman in Rome, thanks so much.
New developments in a growing football scandal in Paris. A teammate has been released from custody in a brutal assault of a fellow female footballer for PSG's women's team.
CNN's Cyril Vanier joins us now from Paris on this bizarre story, Cyril. So, when we spoke yesterday the story painted quite a confuse picture, is it any clearer today?
CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not really, Kim. It is a bizarre story. And the ministry today remains completely intact. Yesterday the story was that we had a teammate, a midfielder on the Paris Saint- Germain women's soccer team who was, had been arrested and was answering questions from police in connection with an attack on one of her teammates the previous week.
And that had raised questions of whether perhaps there was some deep- seated football rivalry that had gone far too -- way too far. Well, the information as of late last night, according to CNN affiliate BFM TV is that that player Aminata Diallo has now been released from custody.
Now what does that mean? Does that mean that she is definitely not involved in the attack from the previous week? It does not mean that. Does it mean that she is involved, it also does not mean that, Kim?
So, the investigators had a maximum of 48 hours to find enough concrete evidence to tie her to the attack in order to press charges. They have not found enough evidence to do that within that timeframe, so they release the player, and therefore she is presumed innocent.
She has, again according to L'Equipe, which was first to report the story, she has denied repeatedly and vehemently during her custody hearings that she had any involvement in the attack, and therefore, she was set free. The club has not said very much at all, all it has said through a terse official statement was, we respect the presumption of innocence. Innocent until proven guilty, Kim. BRUNHUBER: Yes, really, we are, because the two are friends, and
there was another hypothesis that was being floated by some media, hard to know what to make of this. What happens now do you think?
[03:39:55]
Well, the fact that Aminata Diallo was released from custody doesn't mean the investigation isn't still going to continue. So, investigators still have to find out that why the PGS's other midfielder Kheira Hamraoui was beaten, savagely beaten a week ago by masked assailants who still haven't been found who used iron bars and targeted her legs, as if they wanted to keep her out of the coming games.
We still don't know why that occurred. And so, the investigators will be looking into that, of course, they are going to be trying to find the assailants, and they will continue their investigation to see if there is any connection between Aminata Diallo whom they questioned and that attack, Kim.
BRUNHUBER: All right. Thanks for following this strange story for us, Cyril Vanier in Paris. I appreciate it.
The Duchess of Sussex is apologizing for misleading a U.K. court over her involvement in an unauthorized biography about her and Prince Harry. The Sussex's have repeatedly denied collaborating with the author of the book "Finding Freedom" but a former aide told the court he did give them information and discussed with the royal couple. The duchess said she'd forgotten about those conversations.
Megan's apology is part of her lawsuit against the publisher of a British newspaper which reproduces parts of a private letter she sent to her father in 2015. She won that privacy case in February but now the publisher is challenging the ruling.
Still to come on CNN, an American facing charges for allegedly taking part in the U.S. Capitol insurrection seeks refuge in Belarus. Police telling the country's media after the break.
Plus, Cuba hopes its pristine beaches will be a magnet for foreign tourist again as it gets ready to reopen for travelers for the first time since the early days of the pandemic. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER (on camera): An American facing criminal charges for allegedly assaulting police officers during the U.S. Capitol riot is now in Belarus. State media says he's considering seeking asylum there, claiming to be the target of political persecution.
CNN's Matthew Chance takes a look at how the country is promoting his arrival.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL 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 with the world's most authoritarian dictatorships is more than the regime here could have hoped for.
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CHANCE: This is their heavily promoted news special dumbed goodbye America on Belarusian state TV.
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CHANCE: 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 claimed.
[03:45:09]
But then show Neumann himself being interviewed about how he got here, apparently by crossing the border illegally through snake infested swamps. And of course, why he came. He speaks English but his is voiced over in Russian, so it's hard to hear his actual words.
EVAN NEUMANN, SEEKS ASYLUM IN BELARUS: They released a picture of me.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
CHANCE: He says his photo was put on an FBI wanted list. That's true, but his next claim isn't.
NEUMANN: What's happened to other people there --
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
CHANCE: What do you think they do with people like me, he asks. They kept in solitary confinement for eight months at a time and beaten. Torture is a common thing, he explains to 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 first.
NEUMANN: I didn't decide to --
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
CHANCE: He doesn't even deny taking part.
NEUMANN: And we were invited to come in but we were there because --
CHANCE: On January the 6th, 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.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
CHANCE: 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 armed security forces since fraudulent presidential elections last year, there's been a brutal crackdown on opposition supporters with thousands beaten and imprisoned.
NEUMANN: Then the leaders 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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BRUNHUBER: South Africa is bidding goodbye to its former president who oversaw the end of apartheid. Frederik Willem de Klerk seen here with his successor, Nelson Mandela, died of lung cancer Thursday. But after his death his foundation released a pre-recorded message in which repeated that he was sorry for what apartheid had to generations of South Africans.
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FREDERIK WILLEM DE KLERK, FORMER DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF SOUTH AFRICA: I, without qualification, apologize for the pain and the hurt and the indignity and the damage that apartheid has done to black, brown, and Indians in South Africa.
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BRUNHUBER (on camera): For more on this, David McKenzie joins us from Johannesburg. David, as you kind of saw there, I mean, his life had a fascinating arc in terms of its moral journey. Take us through how he is being remembered.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, many people don't believe he actually made that full arc to a full conversion. Certainly, he said he did, and you saw there a repeated apology for apartheid by the former and last apartheid president of South Africa. But he is a complex figure. The South African's current president, Cyril Ramaphosa, did praise his place in South Africa's transition.
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CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, PRESIDENT OF SOUTH AFRICA: He did play a key role in ushering in democracy in our country, he was a leader of a party that was largely discredited. In relation to the role that the national party played in enforcing apartheid. But he had the courage to step away from the path that his party that he led had embarked upon.
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MCKENZIE (on camera): Now Kim, many people feel that Klerk never truly atoned for the specific crimes of apartheid. But his story is a fascinating one and really in many ways the story of South Africa.
[03:50:00]
BRUNHUBER: All right. Thank you so much, David McKenzie, reporting from Johannesburg. And we will be right back.
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BRUNHUBER (on camera): Cuba is getting back in business after a long drought for its tourism industry. On Monday the island nation will reopen to foreign travelers for the first time since early last year. And many COVID restrictions will go by the wayside for visitors headed to Cuba.
As Patrick Oppmann reports, tourism is a cash cow the country cannot afford to lose.
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PATRICK OPPMANN, 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 close to international tourism. Nearly all international flights were canceled. Visitors had to quarantine. Once packed colonial squares and bars were earnest Hemingway down Mojitos, were all but abandoned.
It hit the many Cubans who depend on tourism particularly hard. For 30 years, Alberta Reyes says he made a living selling drawings 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 to 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 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. And 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.
OPPMANN (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 travel restrictions are lifted, most Americans won't be able to visit because of U.S. sanctions.
Some tour operators say clients may be wary of visiting Cuba after widespread anti-government protest shook the island in July. The Cuban government responded with mass arrests and lengthy the jail sentences which led to more U.S. sanctions.
COLLIN LAVERTY, FOUNDER, 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 be a long road ahead of them.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
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BRUNHUBER (on camera): Four new crew members are making themselves at home at the International Space Station.
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[03:55:02]
UNKNOWN: First through the hatch is going to be NASA astronaut Kayla Barron. Some hugs there. And you can hear the claps inside of mission control.
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BRUNHUBER (on camera): Well, that was a moment of celebration after they docked at the station on Thursday and joins its existing crew. The newly arrived astronauts will spend six months there conducting scientific experiments. And one other host said he was happy to have more crewmembers on board.
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MARK T. VANDE HEI, NASA ASTRONAUT: It's really an honor to be up there at the time when these folks arrive, and to be able to help out, not just with doing science it's going to help out with humanity on the earth right now, but also to help the human race, to be able to explore further and further away from our home planet.
UNKNOWN: Three, two, one, zero. Ignition.
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BRUNHUBER: And a new crew blast off from the Kennedy Space Center Wednesday. Their spacecraft was made by the private company SpaceX which helps NASA sends astronauts to space.
Royal jewels from Russia's Romanov family have sold at auction for nearly $900,000 dollars. The jewels fetch near twice their estimated value. Included in the historic set, sapphire and diamond brooch and a pair of ear clips. They belong to the grand duchess, Maria Pavlovna, the aunt of the last Russian emperor, Nicholas the II.
During the Revolution she interested the jewels to a British diplomat before fleeing to Paris where she died. The buyer of the historic pieces has chosen to remain anonymous.
And a pair of diamond bracelets that once belong to Marie Antoinette sold for over $8 million at auction. And an unidentified bidder bought the queen's diamonds at Christie's auction in Geneva. Christie says the sale crush the estimates of 2 to $4 million dollars. The bracelets included a total of 112 diamonds.
For more than two centuries they were kept safe in a private royal collection according to a statement from Christies.
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MAX FAWCETT, HEAD, CHRISTIE'S JEWELRY, GENEVA: Really, they've never left royal hands. This is a piece of French history that has remained within those families for more than 200 years. And again, that is exceptionally rare to find, and especially jewels of such great quality.
If you hold these bracelets in your hand, the quality of the workmanship still today is superior to a lot of the things that we see made in the modern world. So, really, it's very exciting.
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BRUNHUBER (on camera): Very exciting. I'm Kim Brunhuber at CNN center in Atlanta. Thanks for watching CNN Newsroom. It continues in a moment with Isa Soares in London.
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