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Biden And Putin Hold Two-Hour Video Call; Angela Merkel Stands Down After 16 Years As Chancellor; Instagram Unveils New Safety Tools. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired December 08, 2021 - 02:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[02:00:22]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM and I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead. A virtual stare down, President Joe Biden has a stern warning for Vladimir Putin, as Russia could be on the verge of invading Ukraine. It's the end of an era as Germany bids farewell to Angela Merkel.
What does the country's new leader have planned for Europe's biggest economy? And meet the Japanese billionaire who's about to spend 12 days in space? We're just over 30 minutes from liftoff.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Good to have you with us. Well, with tensions running high, U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin sat for a two-hour virtual summit dominated by Ukraine and deep concerns over Russia's military buildup at its border. The Biden administration says it does not believe Mr. Putin has made a decision on whether or not to invade Ukraine. But during the call Mr. Biden laid out the consequences if he does.
For its part, the Kremlin says Russia should not shoulder the responsibility, saying NATO is making "Dangerous attempts to conquer Ukrainian territory and is building up its military potential at our borders." The talks were driven by the threat of what you see here. Tens of thousands of Russian troops gathering at the border with Ukraine. Mr. Biden's National Security Adviser described the call this way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE SULLIVAN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: There was a lot of give and take, there is no finger wagging. But the President was crystal clear about where the United States stands. As we pursue diplomatic channels, we will also prepare for all contingencies just as we have been doing for weeks now, including through the preparation of specific responses to Russian escalation should they be required. Specific, robust, clear responses, should they be required.
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CHURCH: And joining us now with more is CNN's Scott McLean standing by in London. Good to see you, Scott. So, high stakes video call for the U.S. and Russian presidents. And now we wait to see how Vladimir Putin will respond. So, what is the latest on all of this and of course, reaction from around the world?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Rosemary. Yes, if you ask Russia, there is no imminent threat to Ukraine, there is no looming invasion. This is simply Russian troops on Russian soil defending Russian borders. If you ask U.S. officials, well, they're not actually sure whether or not the Russians are actually planning to try to take back part of the former Soviet Union or whether this is merely a ploy to get the U.S. to the negotiating table to have some leverage over the U.S. for what it actually wants.
Russia has been accused in the past, Rosemary, of sort of manufacturing the types of crises and then offering to solve them. And that may be what we're actually seeing here. So what does Russia actually want? Well, Russia wants two things, primarily. Number one, it wants some legal assurances that NATO will not be expanded to include Ukraine, it also wants to see NATO member countries like the United States stop sending advanced military equipment to Ukraine.
Here's the problem in reaching an actual solution on all this, though, first off, there's no indication at this point that Russia is actually planning to move any of its troops. There's also no indication from the U.S. that it would actually stop sending military equipment to the Ukraine, as long as there is a threat from Russia which even if those troops do move, that threat may still well be there.
The U.S. has also made it abundantly clear that it's not up to Russia to decide who gets to join the NATO military alliance. That question is, of course, for the Ukrainians and for the existing NATO members. There were those some promising signs that came out of this call. U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, you heard from him earlier in your clip, Rosemary, he said that, look, the U.S. is ready to engage in dialogue with the Russians so long as there is some de-escalation.
And the U.S. of course is willing to discuss all of the issues that Russia wants to talk about. If though this was Russia's goal is simply to get the U.S. to negotiate then this buildup along the border has been an overwhelming success. If the Russians are actually planning to invade Ukraine, well, all of this, of course, is a moot point. The Ukrainian say that they are ready for a possible invasion. The defense minister sort of describing it or saying that it would be a bloody massacre.
[02:05:03]
MCLEAN: The U.S. also warning that if there were to be invasion there would be heavy economic sanctions, a buildup of troops in eastern NATO countries and of course, more military equipment being sent to Ukraine, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Many thanks to you, Scott McLean. Appreciate it. Susan Glasser is a CNN Global Affairs Analyst and a staff writer at The New Yorker. She joins me now from Washington, D.C. Great to have you with us.
SUSAN GLASSER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Thank you so much for having me.
CHURCH: So the White House says President Biden was direct in his video call with President Putin, warning the Russian leader of harsh economic sanctions and sending military equipment to NATO allies if he invades Ukraine. How likely is it that this will be sufficient to deescalate tension along Ukraine's border and avoid conflict?
GLASSER: Well, look, one thing that's important to remember is that this is truly a manufactured crisis. You know, it wasn't that Ukraine was about to join NATO or something as President Putin has been suggesting in recent weeks, even as he's been engaging in enormous military buildup. The U.S. intelligence says it's something like 175,000 troops, Russian troops are headed toward ore already at the U.K. Border.
So, you know, it could be deescalated, you know, instantly, in the sense that there's no actual precipitating event. It's unlike even when Putin invaded Ukraine in 2014, which was in response to a revolution that throughout the pro-Russian leader of Ukraine at that time. So right now, it seems to be purely a power play by Vladimir Putin. A move to gain more attention in put himself back in the center of geopolitical events to get on President Biden's radar.
It's not clear to me because the United States and European allies have threatened sanctions again and again and again, that they are an enormous deterrent to Vladimir Putin. But I imagine that privately, there was an effort by the American President to spell out in great detail what the consequences would be.
CHURCH: And you mentioned 2014, President Biden told President Putin that -- and I'm quoting him, things we did not do in 2014, we are prepared to do now referring to when Putin's invasion and annexation of Crimea took place. And U.S. back that -- actually back down, didn't it? So what do you think Mr. Biden means by that news. We're prepared to do what we didn't do then?
GLASSER: You know, that is a striking comment. One thing to remember is that the Obama administration, President Obama refused his advisers who really begged him in the final year of his presidency to send military assistance, including lethal weapons to Ukraine. He refused to do so then the Trump administration did enact that policy, Biden has continued to send lethal military assistance, $400 million approximately a year to the Ukrainians.
There could be additional weaponry that is sent to Ukraine, that would be something that Obama did not do. There could be the cut off or the end of the Nord Stream II gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, that's already been a sore point. And there's new testimony coming out from Biden officials today in Washington that suggests that perhaps privately the diplomatic dealings with Germany have come to an agreement between the U.S. and Germany that were Russia to take military action in Ukraine that the Germans might finally put an end to that Nord Stream Project. So that would be a significant economic blow and strategic load to the Russians.
CHURCH: And President Biden's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the U.S. does not believe that Putin has made a decision on whether to invade Ukraine. Is that your sense? And could this massing of Russian troops at the border have been a way to get attention and this engagement with the U.S. President or do you think an invasion here is inevitable?
GLASSER: Well, look, I think that Vladimir Putin is very consistent with what I've observed over the last two decades that Putin has been in power. He likes to keep his options open as long as possible. So it's certainly not necessarily a predetermined outcome that these troops will be used for some kind of military conflict. However, I saw this when I covered the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Watching an invasion force pile up in Kuwait. When you get 175,000 troops somewhere that takes on a logic and an argument of its own. This is a much bigger buildup than the military buildup, for example that Putin engaged in in Ukraine before his first meeting with Joe Biden earlier this year.
CHURCH: And before this video call, Putin had wanted commitments that NATO would not expand east and would not place weapon systems in Ukraine.
[02:10:04]
CHURCH: But Biden wouldn't accept those red lines although he is willing to continue discussions if he sees a deescalation at the border. How's Putin likely to respond to all that?
GLASSER: Well, I mean, again, Putin seems to be, you know, playing the moment for maximal advantage. He manufactured this crisis. I can't say this enough. NATO wasn't about to offer membership to Ukraine. If you listened to Russian propaganda, if you listen to President Putin right now, you would think that this is a crisis over Ukraine's impending membership in NATO, that just simply was not the case.
So, you know, when you have a bully next door who sends 175,000 troops to your border, and then demands that you negotiate for them to go away, right, that's essentially the situation that Ukraine is dealing with right now is an enormous bullying situation by a stronger and more powerful neighbor next door. Now, the United States has limited options because Ukraine is not a member of NATO, Ukraine is thousands of miles away in fact from the United States.
And so, you know, it's really -- it's a vexing problem that suggests what really a bad actor and a troublesome actor Putin has been on the world stage.
CHURCH: Susan Glasser, thank you so much for your analysis. Appreciate it.
GLASSER: Thank you.
CHURCH: Germany's parliament is set to convene in the next hour to elect the new chancellor, social democrat Olaf Scholz, will lead a coalition government with the progressive greens and the liberal free Democrats. It marks a new era in politics with Angela Merkel leaving office after a 16-year run. Fred Pleitgen has more on her place in history.
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FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A farewell with the highest military honors after more than 16 years in office, Angela Merkel received the so- called Grand Tattoo ceremony of Germany's armed forces, a changing of the guard in German politics.
ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): It is now up to the next government to find answers to the challenges that lie ahead of us and to shape our future. For that day, Olaf Scholz, I wish you and the German government led by you all the very best. Good fortune and best of success. I am convinced that we can continue to shape the future well, if we don't succumb to discontent, envy and pessimism. The like I said elsewhere four years ago, get to work with joy in our heart.
PLEITGEN: It's the end of a political career that was never easy for Angela Merkel often belittled in the male dominated world of German conservative politics. Mein Madchen, my girl is what legendary German Chancellor Helmut Kohl called Angela Merkel as she rose through the party ranks. Ralph Bollmann who wrote the authoritative Merkel biography says many rivals mistakenly failed to take her seriously enough.
RALPH BOLLMANN, AUTHOR, ANGELA MERKEL: DIE KANZLERIN UND IHRE ZEIT: When they realized that a woman from the east is able to play this game of power, it was too late of course for them.
PLEITGEN: When Angela Merkel became Germany's first female chancellor in 2005, her style was completely different than previous chancellors. Calm, quiet and reserved. But what Merkel lacked and fiery rhetoric she made up for as a crisis manager, both during the Lehman collapse in 2008 and the Greek debt crisis in 2012. She took bold action to prop up the German economy and ailing E.U. member states possibly saving the single currency, the Euro.
MERKEL: Europe will pay if the Euro fails and Europe will win if the Euro wins.
PLEITGEN: Arguably, Angela Merkel's biggest hour came in 2015 as hundreds of thousands of refugees mostly displaced by the Syrian Civil War were literally on the eaves doorstep seeking shelter. Angela Merkel led the E.U. as it opened its gates taking in well over a million people.
MERKEL: We have achieved so much, we'll manage this and wherever something gets in the way we will overcome it.
PLEITGEN: But integration of the refugees proved more difficult giving rise to nationalist forces in Germany. While Angela Merkel did manage to win a fourth term in 2017, her popularity was waning and she announced she would not seek a fifth one. Still, the challenges kept coming with the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president in 2016 and Trump's alienation of many of the U.S.'s allies.
Merkel, a quantum chemist, often appeared stunned by some of the U.S. President's remarks.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have German in my blood. I'll be there.
PLEITGEN: Angela Merkel led Germany through the coronavirus pandemic but her party support collapse in the final months of her chancellorship. Her Christian Democratic Party lost the 2021 elections, paving the way for a social Democratic-led government which will take power after Angela Merkel's final political goodbye.
[02:15:07]
PLEITGEN: Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
CHURCH: And Olaf Scholz faces an array of challenges as the incoming Chancellor. He is a lifelong social Democrat. He served in two governments led by Merkel's Christian Democratic Party. Most recently he was her finance minister. The coalition he will lead was formed after September's election and two months of negotiations. Scholz will have to deal with a surge in COVID 19 cases, neighboring countries are enacting tough restrictions but facing protests for doing so.
Scholz told reporters mandatory vaccinations will be considered. The coalition wants to legalize cannabis and phase out coal by 2030. The goal is to have at least 15 million electric cars on the road by 2030 as well.
Matthew Kaminski is the Chief Europe Correspondent for Politico and he joins us now from Berlin. Good to have you with us.
MATTHEW KARNITSCHNIG, POLITICO CHIEF EUROPE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
CHURCH: So after 16 years at the helm was Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel bows out handing the reins of power to her replacement Olaf Scholz, how will the country cope without her and what is her legacy after so many ups and downs throughout her leadership?
KAMINSKI: Well, I think the country will end up coping because they have no other choice. And a lot of people voted for Olaf Scholz because they thought that he would be the next best thing if they couldn't have Merkel. As we heard still is very popular in Germany. They could have Olaf Scholz who has been her Vice Chancellor for a while, even though he comes from a different party. His personality is very close to Merkel's. He's a very calm person. He's not known for his charisma.
But he's somebody I think that a lot of people trust with running the country was running Europe's biggest economy. So, I think that we're going to see the kind of continuity that Germans really have been looking for here, especially given how turbulent the world around them has become. And I think in terms of Angela Merkel's legacy, we saw some of the highlights there.
I think, overall, it's going to be that she held Germany together, that she held Europe together in these tough times. At the same time, she doesn't have the kind of big headline achievement that many of her predecessors had. If you look at Helmut Kohl, you know, he brought the two Germanys together. German reunification was obviously a milestone in German history in European history. Merkel doesn't have an achievement I think like that, that people will look back towards.
CHURCH: And of course, under Merkel, Germany initially did very well, didn't it? Fighting the COVID pandemic, but like so many other nations, people became weary of restrictions and some pushback, refusing to get vaccinated. Now, Scholz is seriously considering vaccine mandates. How is that likely to play do you think?
KARNITSCHNIG: Well, I think for the roughly 30 percent of Germans who aren't vaccinated is not going to play very well, if they actually go down that road. So far, they've decided to just mandate that certain groups get the vaccine in certain professions. But there is this hardcore anti-vax group in Germany as there are in other parts of Europe. And that's not going to change probably. And it just highlights the kinds of unexpected challenges.
I think, you know, Scholz is going to be facing because just a couple of weeks ago, he in his new coalition, they weren't even really talking about COVID anymore. They thought that they had more or less moved on from the pandemic and now dominates everything and will I think, for the coming months.
CHURCH: And that has to be said Merkel was often the lone defender of liberal democracy up against the world's strong men, Vladimir Putin, former President Donald Trump, but she mostly held her ground, didn't she? How will Scholz likely perform on the world stage, do you think?
KARNITSCHNIG: Well, I think he has the advantage that he has somebody in the White House who's more or less on the same page as he is when it comes to multilateralism and liberal democracy. So he's not going to maybe face the same kind of direct pressures that Angela Merkel did with Trump, who was also constantly attacking Germany at the time. People will remember Trump wanted Germany to pay more for his defense and generally, kind of step up and do more.
So I think that Scholz won't have all of those pressures, but as we've seen in the Ukraine, you know, this is a very volatile region still, and with Russia massing troops on the Ukrainian border, you know, Germany is going to be in a very difficult position when it comes to the security situation in Europe because it has very important ties to Russia through this Nord Stream pipeline for example.
[02:20:09]
KARNITSCHNIG: But also to China. There are great tensions between the U.S. and China at the moment, of course, and China is Germany's biggest trading partner. So they are going to have to try and find a way to stay a good ally to the United States while also maintaining their trading relationships with countries like China and even Russia to a degree.
CHURCH: Matthew Karnitschnig, thank you so much for talking with us. Appreciate it.
KARNITSCHNIG: Thank you.
CHURCH: And coming up, a recent study. A shedding new light on the Omicron cCoronavirus variant and whether existing vaccines will protect against it. And later this hour we'll preview the new features Instagram is rolling out aimed at making its platform safer for young users.
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CHURCH: Australia is the latest country to join a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Beijing Olympics. Prime Minister Scott Morrison made the announcement on Tuesday, following the U.S. and citing China's human rights abuses as the driving factor. Australian athletes will still attend the games which kick off on February 4th, 2022. Ad CNN's Kristie Lu Stout joins me now with the very latest from Hong Kong. Great to see you, Kristie.
So the U.S. was standing alone for a short time there with its diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics. But now Australia will do the same. What is the latest on all of this?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, earlier today we heard from the Australian prime minister and he made this announcement of a diplomatic boycott. And he said that this decision was made due to difficulties in reopening the diplomatic channel between Australia and China to address human rights concerns in China especially situation in Xinjiang, as well as China's punitive trade and tariffs on Australian made goods.
Now Australia's Olympic Committee says that this diplomatic boycott, not a full boycott will not impact the estimated 40 Australian athletes who are due to compete in the Beijing Olympic Games which will kick off in about two months' time. And we've also heard from China's embassy in Australia and they wish that the Australian athletes will have a "excellent performance" at the Beijing Winter Olympic Games.
But they also had this to say about the current situation of relations between China and Australia. Let's bring up the statement for you. Again, this is from the Chinese embassy to Australia. In the last few hours they released this. "The blame for the current predicament of China-Australia relations lies squarely on the Australian side. China once again urges the Australian side to take practical measures to create favorable conditions for improving bilateral relations."
Earlier this week, the United States announced its diplomatic boycott and China responded quite forcefully. It said that the United States will pay the price. It also warned of "resolute countermeasures" but didn't specify what those countermeasures would look like.
[02:25:03] STOUT: But on Tuesday we heard from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman and he was asked the question whether or not China was worried about a domino effect, about whether the U.S. diplomatic boycott will trigger a number of other countries to follow suit. His reaction was interesting. He basically shrugged his shoulders. Here's Zhao Lijian.
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ZHAO LIJIAN, SPOKESPERSON, MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (through translator): As we stated on various occasions, it is the athletes instead of politicians clamoring for boycott, out of selfish political gains, that should be in the spotlight. In fact, no one would care whether these people come or not, and it has no impact whatsoever on the Olympics to be successfully held by Beijing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: So you have the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman on Tuesday saying no one cares whether or not these foreign diplomats come to the Beijing games or not. And yet on Monday, we do know that the words United States diplomatic boycott, we're actively being blocked and censored on social media inside China. Back to you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: And Kristie concern for Peng Shuai has also cast a shadow on the Beijing Winter Games. What is the latest from the IOC on her situation?
STOUT: That's right. The IOC has been holding meetings in Switzerland. And they address the ongoing concerns for the welfare of the Chinese tennis star. It's been just over a month since she posted on social media that explosive MeToo allegation accusing a former Vice Premier forcing her to have sex. And the IOC basically double down on its message of "quiet diplomacy." I want you to listen to this.
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JUAN ANTONIO SAMARANCH, IOC COORDINATION COMMISSION CHAIR, BEIJING 2022: What we should all be doing, everybody should be concentrating on the well-being of Peng Shuai and not trying to use this for any other purpose. We believe we might be wrong. But that's the way we believe the best way to keep her well-being in the center of our thoughts. Don't write it off the selling diplomacy, it's a very powerful tool. And we plan to stick to that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: You know, concern over Peng Shuai and her situation. How much autonomy she really has is cast a shadow on the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympic Games as well as the IOC and how it deals with allegations of human rights abuses. And critics say that this term that they continue to use quiet diplomacy is basically code for no comment and continue to accuse the IOC of cooperating with Beijing. Back to you. CHURCH: All right. Kristie Lu Stout joining us live from Hong Kong. Many thanks. We are learning new details about the threat posed by the Omicron coronavirus variant. Early data suggests it's more transmissible than the Delta variant but so far cases have been less severe. But experts warn those findings are preliminary and it will likely be several weeks before we get more concrete answers.
Meanwhile, a new study out of South Africa shows Omicron may be able to partially dodge protection from Pfizer's two-dose vaccine. But scientists found that fully vaccinated people who had also received -- recovered rather from the virus are likely to be well protected. They say the same is likely true for people who received a third-booster shot. Researchers also noted that this was a quick study done in a lab with samples from just 12 people. And it does not reflect actual infection with the virus. So still a lot more to learn on that.
Well, frustrations are growing over travel bans targeting Southern Africa after the discovery of the Omicron variant. There's little consensus on whether these bands actually work and some experts fear they will do more harm than good. CNN's Larry Madowo reports.
LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo Airport is one of the busiest in Africa. But after the travel bans effect in South Africa, this is what the international terminal is like. It's largely empty. But what that means is that people who are trying to get out of the country have to scramble for the fee available flights and often the COVID test is expired or the regulations have changed.
Come back the next day. So you see situations like these. Long keys of people trying to get on this, the Lufthansa flight and hopefully to Canada or the U.S. or whatever part of the world. But there's a lesson here. According to one South African expert, it's not for Africa to depend on itself.
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THEBE IKALAFENG, BOARD MEMBER, SOUTH AFRICAN TOURISM: If Africa is going to rise, Africa is going to have to look to Africa and to Africans. This is a reminder of the selfishness of the West when it comes to issues like vaccine by sharing their vaccines or sharing their knowledge. So, the reminder that for Africa to thrive again. Africa must look to itself and not -- and try -- and we need to get over. This leads to get validation from the rest of the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MADOWO: The frustration of those travel bans runs deep here.
[02:30:00]
The selective application against South African nations has been devastating, for instance, for South African tourism. Usually, the number one tourist destination in Africa, a loss 70 percent of tourist arrivals because of the pandemic. It was just beginning to recover before the Omicron variant was discovered here. A lot of livelihoods will be devastated by that.
Larry Madowo, CNN, Johannesburg.
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CHURCH: French police detain a Saudi man suspected in the gruesome murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Why Saudi authorities say it is a case of mistaken identity. Plus, preparing for lift-off in just a few minutes from now. A Japanese fashion tycoon will launch into space. Why the billionaire is embarking on this space adventure. We'll take a look at that next.
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CHURCH: Germany's parliament will soon convene to vote on a new chancellor, Angela Merkel is leaving office after 16 years. She was the country's first female chancellor. And second only to Helmut Kohl for the length of time she. Social Democrat, Olaf Scholz, is the incoming chancellor. He signed an agreement Tuesday to lead in alliance with the Green and the Free Democrats Parties. The new government faces a number of immediate challenges, including a surge in COVID-19 cases, Russian troop movements at the Ukrainian border and a migrant crisis at the Polish border with Belarus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLAF SCHOLZ INCOMING GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): If the good cooperation that work during the formation the government continues, it will be a good sign for all the work we have ahead of us, but we should not forget that we still have a difficult task ahead of us.
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CHURCH: And, we will have a live report on Germany's new political era in the next hour. Immigrants, are largely absent from Germany's political process, an organization for migrant rights says millions of adults can't vote in federal elections because they aren't German citizens.
In September, Salma Abdelaziz met with three politicians fighting for greater representation.
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HIBBA-TUN-NOOR-KAUSER, LOCAL POLITICIAN: Very unique what we have here in (INAUDIBLE).
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Local politician, Hibba-Tun-Noor-Kauser wants to show me the diversity on her streets.
KAUSER: We have a lot of different people from different nations with different skin colors living here.
ABDELAZIZ (voiceover): This is Offenbach, where almost 64 percent of the population have an immigrant background. But until March of this year, minorities may just 10 percent of the local parliament, she says.
[02:35:00]
KAUSER: So, the government looks old, white, and male. And that's a huge, huge problem. Because, the government is supposed to reflect the population.
ABDELAZIZ (voiceover): About one in three people in Offenbach cannot vote because they do not hold German citizen citizenship.
KAUSER: Every decision that is happening is happening over our heads. So, over the heads of the people who cannot vote, it's over the heads of the marginalized group.
ABDELAZIZ (voiceover): More than a quarter of the German population has foreign roots, but the advocacy group, Meglum (ph), estimates one in seven German residents as many of 10 million people without citizenship are disenfranchised. And lack of voting power means lack of representation, says Berlin official, Sawsan Chebli.
SAWSAN CHEBLI, GERMAN POLITICIAN: So, just imagine the future Germany will be so diverse and this has to be seen and mirrored in our reality in the political arena. It's not right not, but it's getting better.
ABDELAZIZ (voiceover): Chebli wants the voting rights afforded to E.U. citizens in Germany to be extended to other foreign nationals and the citizenship process simplified.
CHEBLI: If I live it for so many years, worked and paid taxes in Berlin, then when it comes to elections, I'm not allowed to vote, this makes no sense to me. It has to be changed. It is discriminatory.
ABDELAZIZ (voiceover): Tareq Alaows, a Syrian refugee and activist ran for political office as soon as his immigration status allowed.
TAREQ ALAOWS, SYRIAN REFUGEE AND ACTIVIST (through translator): When I looked at the makeup of the German parliament, there was no one out there who represented refugees like me. So, I wanted to be the voice I was missing in politics.
ABDELAZIZ (voiceover): Many welcomed Alaows's campaign, but a right- wing minority targeted him with daily hate mail and death threats, he says.
ALAOWS (through translator): I had to withdraw. But, for me, as a refugee in society where there is systemic racism, I have no option but to continue my political activism. I just have to change my direction.
ABDELAZIZ (voiceover): And without participation and representation, activists say many immigrants are excluded from Germany's democracy.
Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, Offenbach.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: All right. I want to take you to these live pictures. Right now, you're watching Japanese fashion tycoon, Yusaku Maezawa, getting ready to blast off into space from Kazakhstan. The latest space traveling billionaire is on his way, or will be on his way to the International Space Station. He is traveling with a videographer and Russian cosmonaut in the nearly two-week journey will be the first self-funded tourism mission to the Space Station in a decade.
Let's go to CNN's Blake Essig now. He joins us live from Tokyo.
Of course, we're waiting for this, it could happen any moment. Talk to us, Blake, about why this Japanese tycoon specifically wants to do this? Because a whole lot of other billionaires are doing this. Actually, let's just listen in quickly to this countdown.
BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We confirmed Odyssey cons initiated. Copy. Odyssey initiated.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The second umbilical is now retracting. And engine ignition. Turbo pumps coming up to flight speed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Second umbilical tower separates. Engine turbo pumps at flight speed.\
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And a lift off. Lift off of the Soyuz MS-20 with two Japanese spaceflight participates and a Russian cosmonaut, now beginning their journey to the International Space Station.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rocket parameters are nominal. Everything is fine on board. We are feeling great.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thirty seconds into flight, crews are reporting good for stage performance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Forty seconds of flight, the vehicle is stable.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Inside the Soyuz, Commander Alexander Misurkin in the center and on his right, Yusaku Maezawa.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sixty seconds of flight, all features are nominal. Copy, everything is fine on board, we are feeling OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The crew on board feeling good.
[02:40:00]
CHURCH: All right., Blake Essig has been watching as we watch this lift-off very successful. We heard them saying doing great, they're feeling wonderful in there. And we've got these shots straight on the billionaire from Japan who decided this was what he wanted to.
So, Blake, talk to us about why this was so important to him? ESSIG: Yes. You know, Rosemary, watching that ride along with you, obviously, the smile on his face. So, he seems to be enjoying the ride. So, far, Japan's Yusaku Maezawa has now joined Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson as the latest billionaire to launch himself into space. The fashion tycoon that "Forbes" says worth about $1.9 billion took off from the cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and is now traveling to the International Space Station for a 12-day mission on board Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
Of course, Maezawa didn't go alone. As you've mentioned, he is being accompanied by a Russian cosmonaut and a film producer who the billionaire is taking to document the journey and share it on YouTube. This trip was organized by a Virginia-based company called Space Adventures. The 46-year-old says that the purpose of his trip is to share the experience of going to space as a commoner and give a perspective that is different from an astronaut.
CHURCH: And, like, talk to us about just how common it has become this space tourism to this point, and, of course, at the moment, it is really only available to those billionaires, as we've seen. We just watch on. We are the commoners, really. But talk to us about that. It is becoming commonplace for the billionaires, for the people with a great amount of money.
ESSIG: Yes. Space tourism is a thing as long as you have the money. For it to be a thing for the majority of us, it is not. But, again, space tourism, at least for an additional seven people just through the space adventures company that organize this current trip, they've already sent seven people to the International Space Station most recently, one of the cofounders of Cirque du Soleil in 2009.
But, you know, building up to this point, Rosemary, obviously a lot goes into it. Recent videos on Maezawa's YouTube channel in particular show him trying on spacesuits, struggling to learn Russian, training as prepared for this moment. And according to NASA, at this point, the trip to the International Space Station is going to take about six hours after docking. Maezawa will have to wait another two hours before it hatches between the orbiting laboratory and the spaceship will open, allowing those on board to join the other astronauts on the Space Station.
Just yesterday, he was speaking to media saying the thing he look forward to most was using the bathroom once he got on board the Space Station. So, he's got some time to think about that. Hopefully, everything out there is working with the suit, if you can't wait until he gets there.
But, for this Japanese billionaire, this is not going to be the last time that he travels to space. Maezawa has already booked out an entire SpaceX rocket to fly around the moon as earlier as 2023. He made further headlines earlier this year when he began accepting applications from ordinary everyday people from all over the world to join him on that SpaceX flight with the billionaire footing the bill. But unfortunately, for people like you and I, Rosemary, it is too late to apply. The application period ended months ago. And now, a total of eight people out of tens of thousands who applied will be selected. But I don't think is going to be you and I.
CHURCH: I don't think so. I think I forgot to send my application. So, nearly two weeks, I mean, that's an extraordinary journey, isn't it? And that's quite unusual as we've been watching this space tourism.
Blake Essig, thank you so much. That was very exciting watching that blast off. I appreciate it.
ESSIG: Yes.
CHURCH: Well, just ahead here on CNN, why the head of Instagram will likely face tough questions about the safety of his company's app when he testifies on Capitol Hill later today. Do stay with us for that and more.
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CHURCH: A Saudi national has been detained in Paris in connection with the journalist Jamal Khashoggi But Saudi authorities are telling France, you've got the wrong man. If the identity of the 33-year-old suspect is confirmed he would face arrest and a preliminary hearing in the coming days.
Khashoggi, a columnist for the "Washington Post," was brutally murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 by a Saudi hit squad. CNN's Cyril Vanier has the details.
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CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The French police detained a Saudi national at Paris's International Airport Tuesday morning before he could board a flight to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A French radio, RTL, reporting that the man's name is Khaled Aedh Alotaibi, that name features on multiple sanctions lists. The U.S., U.K. France and other European countries believe that a person with that name is a member of the 15-man hit squad that dismembered "Washington Post" columnist and Saudi dissidents Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018.
The Paris court has so far not confirmed whether the detained man is the one on the sanctions list. And a senior Saudi official tells CNN they believe it's a case of mistaken identity. The man is still being detained is 33. That was confirmed to CNN by French police, the same age as the Alotaibi on the sanctions list. Eyes understandably on the story today after that gruesome assassination would shock the International Community. An assassination the CIA concluded had been ordered by the Saudi crown prince himself, Mohammed bin Salman.
Cyril Vanier, CNN, Paris.
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CHURCH: In the coming hours, Instagram chief, Adam Mosseri, will likely face tough questions over his company's child safety practices during a U.S. Senate hearing. His appearance comes months after a Facebook whistleblower leaked internal documents, some of which showed the company was aware of its mental health harm from its apps, especially impacts on teenage girls.
Mosseri will likely point out some new features Instagram has just rolled out to highlight his company progress. One of these features is the take a break tool. It encourages users to spend time away from the platform after they've been scrolling for a certain period of time. It will be available to all users in the months ahead.
And for more on this, we want to bring in Nir Eyal. He joins us live from Singapore. He's the author of "Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products." And he has written "Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life."
Thank you so much for joining us and sharing your expertise.
So, I do want to start with this choice to actually use this take a break app. So, how is that going to work? Because, I mean, I've got three teenagers and I know that they would not opt for something like this. So, if you have a situation like that where a teenager could decide whether they want to use something that will make them take a break or not, they're going to opt out, right?
NIR EYAL, AUTHOR, "HOOKED: HOW TO BUILD HABIT-FORMING PRODUCTS": Well, just to be clear, I don't work for Facebook in any way shape or form. But the way I would assume that this would work is that this isn't something that kids would use on their own. It's something that parents would use in conjunction with their kids.
CHURCH: Right. So, the parents would have to be the ones enforcing this, they would have to purchase it and use it in conjunction with Instagram. Do you think that's how it works?
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EYAL: Right. And I think it's incredibly laudable, to be honest. I mean, how many companies can you name that actively help their users and customers use their product less? So, I think it's a great development. Of course, much more can be done. But I think it's a great step in the right direction.
CHURCH: Don't you think it would be better, though, to have a mechanism within the app, within the Instagram app? That would make more sense, surely?
EYAL: Oh, it is in the app. It's a feature that the parent can now engage with from within the app to set time limits for how much their child is allowed to use the app.
CHURCH: And you don't think the kids could actually override their parents who generally don't know as much as the kids and actually change that access to it?
EYAL: Well, I think it actually shows here that the tech companies are not going to fix the problem for us, and lord knows the politicians aren't going to do it either. That, fundamentally, we as parents have to step up. That if you hold your breath waiting for these companies to fix the problem for you, you are going to suffocate.
Parents need to wake up and realize that iPad are not iNannies (ph). We have to take responsibility for our behavior with these products as well as teaching our children how to become indistractable.
CHURCH: Do you have to be careful there, blaming the victim, perhaps?
EYAL: Well, look, you know, every media company makes money in the same exact way. I mean, not to call the kettle black, but CNN also makes money by selling people's attention to advertisers. That's the media business. It's very similar in terms of using the psychology of variable rewards to keep people tuning based on interesting content.
So, it doesn't mean it's a bad business model. It's a very good business model. And I think it can help the world. But, of course, too much of a good thing can also be harmful, whether it's too much booze or too much news.
CHURCH: The problem with Instagram, though, as we've found, I mean, sadly there have been a number of suicides. Young girls actually having some problems with how they feel about their bodies. And Instagram hasn't helped in many instances, sending them a lot of information that makes it worse. And, you know, we've talked on CNN to many parents who have been in the situation, where their children have committed suicide as a result of this.
So, we can't, perhaps, just leave and put the onus on parents and these teenagers and there has to be some sort of responsibility on some burden, perhaps, on Instagram?
EYAL: Well, look, I'm not an apologist for the tech industry. Again, I don't work for a Meta or any of these tech companies. So, I can't put words in their mouth. But I will say that suicide is a very complicated issue that we cannot blame it on one single source. I think that would be incredibly unwise that an issue like depression or suicide also -- always has multiple factors.
And, you know, fundamentally, understanding what role technology has on someone has to account for who is that person, what are they doing online and what would they be doing instead of using a product, right? Teen suicide is a horrible problem. It's been around for a very long time. But when we look at all the other things that kids used to do with their time, the way that kids spend their time today is much healthier than it's ever been.
If you look across the board, internationally, teen murder rates are at record lows, truancy is at record lows, teen pregnancy is at record lows, drug driving is at record lows. If you want to keep kids off the streets and off the roads and safe at home, maybe this thing actually does have a lot of benefits as well.
CHURCH: I'm sure a lot of parents would not buy into that. But, Nir Eyal, thank you so much for talking with us, we appreciate it. EYAL: Thank you.
CHURCH: And coming up here on CNN Newsroom, tracking carbon emissions in real-time. The technology one British startup has created that could keep countries accountable.
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, in the fight against climate change, countries around the world are focusing on cutting carbon emissions. To help reach a net zero future, one British startup is taking to the skies with the goal of becoming earth's thermometer in space.
Lynda Kinkade has more.
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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): At the recent COP26 Summit, some 23 countries made new commitments to phase out coal power. But who is going to hold them accountable? A U.K. startup has one idea. Satellite Vu's newest technology uses high resolution thermal and infrared imaging to monitor carbon footprints from space.
The company hasn't been hired to create this technology, but they completed their latest funding ground, raising about $20 millions. They even raised over $1 million from the U.K. space agency. Their plan is to launch seven satellites with this machinery that we'll track temperatures day and night and offer near real-time data of greenhouse gas emissions by buildings, companies and even countries.
ALEX GOW, SATELLITE VU: There's been this real push to drive everyone towards a net zero future environment. And part of that is going to be increasing the energy efficiency of our buildings and reducing the amount of energy that we use within those.
And our satellite is going to be able to capture and measure the amount of thermal energy that's emitted from any structure on earth at multiple times of day or night.
KINKADE (voiceover): Their first satellite in the series is launching next year. Ahead of the launch, the company is using a light aircraft to test fly their technology. They are looking into industrial facilities, identifying areas with plastic pollution and spotting places that are still burning coal.
GOW: So, if a coal fired power station is using coal, we will be able to measure the thermal output from that and report on it, on a global scale. So, no one can hide from the ability to barely use fossil fuels and burn carbon in that kind of environment.
KINKADE (voiceover): The data can even flag buildings with people in need in the midst of winter, who aren't using an off heat and energy, potentially identifying pockets of fuel poverty. Still, the company says their main goal is to do away with the manual process of accessing buildings to determine emissions, which can be costly. And to use the data to help companies invest in energy efficiency methods.
As the climate system changes, several companies and space agencies, like Satellite Vu, are focusing their resources on climate technologies with the hope to slow the march of global warming.
Lynda Kinkade, CNN.
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CHURCH: And thanks so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be right back with another hour of news.
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