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New U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss To Unveil $172 Billion Energy Bailout; Former Informants Reveal How Russia Spies On Opposition; Hurricane Active In Both Atlantic And Pacific; High Waters In Pakistan Preventing Residents From Burying The Dead; Pakistan Grapples With Climate Disaster It Didn't Create. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired September 08, 2022 - 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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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Around the world you're watching CNN NEWSROOM. The E.U. moves to cut the price of Russia's oil and gas and ready to hunker down for a long, cold winter and a test of unity.
President Jair Bolsonaro rallies tens of thousands of supporters on Brazil's Independence Day, turning a national celebration into a campaign rally, complete with a military show of force.
And what lies beneath. In parts of Pakistan water levels are slowly falling, but fears are quickly rising over an outbreak of disease like diarrhea, malaria, dengue, hepatitis, COVID, polio, HIV, and measles.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.
VAUSE: In first six months of Putin's war in Ukraine, researchers in Finland say Russia's revenue from fossil fuel exports surged to nearly $158 billion, that half coming from the E.U.
But now, the European Union is getting serious about no longer bankrolling the Kremlin, and will ask all member states to cap the price of Russian oil and gas. It's part of a wide ranging plan which also aims to help consumers deal with soaring power bills, among other measures, limits on electricity use during peak hours, and a solidarity contribution from fossil fuel companies which have been making record profits from soaring energy costs. An E.U. emergency meeting is set for Friday to discuss the plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: We aim at lowering the costs of gas and therefore, we will propose a price cap on Russian gas. Of course, the objective is very clear, we must cut Russia's revenues which Putin uses to finance his atrocious war in Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Russian President Vladimir Putin says countries which impose a price cap will be cut off from all sources of Russian energy.
In a typical year, Europe imports about 40 percent of its gas and 30 percent of its oil from Russia. Needless to say this has been anything but a typical year.
Well, just days in the top job and Britain's new prime minister is about to reveal her plans for helping the country cope with power bills, which are predicted to almost double within a few weeks.
According to the Financial Times Liz Truss will announce a massive $172 billion bailout for consumers and business.
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LIZ TRUSS, BRITISH CONSERVATIVE PARTY LEADER: Well, I understand that people across our country are struggling with the cost of living and they're struggling with their energy bills. And that is why I as prime minister will take immediate action to help people with the cost of their energy bills.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The plan would freeze the average annual energy bill for households at around $2,800. Almost a third higher from current levels, but well below the nearly $4,000 predicted by October.
Liz Truss has ruled out a windfall tax on massive profits made by energy companies instead opting to borrow billions of dollars, which means the cost ultimately rests with British taxpayers.
Joining us now for more on the U.K. Prime Minister's energy plan as well as price caps on Russian gas is Amy Myers Jaffe, Research Professor and Managing Director of the Climate Policy Lab at Tufts University. Welcome to the program.
AMY MYERS JAFFE, RESEARCH PROFESSOR, TUFTS UNIVERSITY: Thank you for having me.
VAUSE: OK, so during her first question time as prime minister, Liz Truss took a lot of heat ahead of the release of her energy policy. Here she is with some details on the long term strategy.
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TRUSS: What we need to do is increase our energy supplies long term. And that is why we will open up more supply in the North Sea, which the honorable gentleman has opposed. That is why we will build more nuclear power stations, which the Labor Party didn't do when they were in office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So, it's a long term solution, which doubles down on gas and oil from the North Sea. There's also apparently a lift, batting -- lifting the ban rather on fracking.
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but London just had its hottest day on record. And this Prime Minister wants to pump more carbon into the atmosphere. This seems like an opportunity to invest in renewables.
JAFFE: I mean, there's no question it's a huge opportunity to invest in renewables. And you know, it's everywhere. I mean, of course, the United States finally put together a giant package to do so. And offshore wind is going to be a big thing here in the United States and also in other European countries, even Germany has suddenly, you know, got the gospel on offshore wind and so forth, the renewables.
But even India, you know, India has increased its targets in renewables just a week ago, China increase this targets on renewables. So, we're definitely going in that direction.
And really, I think what governments are coping with is, you know, I need a solution now. And so, it's very hard to say, well, listen over the long term, we're going to go to renewables and we're going to do these other things. And the Russians are just going to lose the market forever, which I think is ultimately what's going to happen.
But the leverage they have, you know, in the next month, two months, three months is very high. And that's a very big political problem.
VAUSE: Well, you know, energy supplies also the focus of the E.U. on Wednesday, you sort of touched on this. Member states have been asked to approve a plan, a wide ranging plan to cap price of Russian gas, as well as a lot of other measures, which include cutting the use of electricity.
All of this is to top paying Russia billions of dollars for oil and gas to fund his war in Ukraine. Here's the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
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VON DER LEYEN: We all know that our sanctions are deeply grinding into the Russian economy with a heavy negative impact. But Putin is partially buffering through fossil fuel revenues.
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VAUSE: So, from what we know, this plan, will it be effective? And will -- I guess, European unity hold over a tough winter?
JAFFE: You know, I think the problem is, yes, it's sort of an easier question. There's no place for the Russian gas producers to go with their Siberian gas except for Europe.
So, the question is, is Europe going to buy any of it? Are they going to cut Europe off completely? When they cut Europe off completely, that basically means they're keeping it in the ground, or they're going to somehow figure out a way to use it in Russia. And that's it. Right? So, the long game is, if you're, you know, Gazprom or you're the
Russian government, you know, you're basically giving up that market forever.
But for oil in the short term, it's very hard to move against the market in Europe. You know, you just have some inelastic demand that's very hard to get rid of, hard to get people out of their cars, hard to move away from heating in the winter to the extent that you have markets where they're using heating oil.
So, it's really a big challenge -- much bigger challenge in oil.
VAUSE: Well, the Russian president in response to all this said, it was done, here he is.
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VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): What comes around goes around like a boomerang. You asked me about the price cap on our energy commodities that some people are making some decisions about. It's an absolutely dumb decision if somebody tries to implement it, this won't lead to anything good for those who take this decision.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: I mean, there really is no way out for Putin here, because the only place the gas can go is Europe.
JAFFE: Listen, he's making this decision, President Putin is making the decision that he doesn't want the revenue, that he's got bigger goals. You know, some people say, and so hard to know what the motivation is. But some people say he's hoping that these horrible energy shortages that might hit Europe over the winter are going to toss out governments and put in more friendly governments to Russia, and therefore, you know, he's going to be able to control his customer in the future.
But if he's betting wrong, and we have a unified Europe, and people understand the threat to democracy and the threat to their future from this whole situation, and we make it past this winter, the pain is going to flow in the other direction. And --
VAUSE: Excuse me, it's quite the gamble by the Russian president. Amy, so we might leave it there though. Thank you so much for being with us. We really appreciate your time.
JAFFE: Thanks for having me.
VAUSE: And it appears that the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the south continues to retake territory from the Russians.
CNN has geo-located this video confirming the location, it's a small village, about 70 kilometers southeast of Kharkiv. And the images show the presence of a small number of Ukrainian soldiers, which is important because until recently, this village was occupied by the Russians. And it's also making a good news for President Zelenskyy's nightly address.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): This week, we have some good news from the Kharkiv region. You all have probably already seen the reports about the activity of the Ukrainian defenders. And I think every citizen is proud of our soldiers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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VAUSE: Meantime, Ukraine's top general is hinting that Ukraine was behind last month's strikes on Russian military targets in Crimea. In an article published in Ukrainian state media, he cites those strikes as an example why Ukrainian long range weapons.
United Nations says it has documented cases of mistreatment of Ukrainians in so called filtration camps run by Russia where civilians are being interrogated and searched. Those seen as affiliated with Ukrainian government or armed forces are detained and tortured.
U.N. also says there's credible evidence that unaccompanied Ukrainian children are being sent to Russia for possible adoption by Russian families. U.S. says the number of children which may have ended up in Russia could number in the thousands.
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LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: Just look at how Russia is treating Ukrainian children. Estimates indicate that thousands of children have been subjected to filtration, some separated from their families and taken from orphanages before being put up for adoption in Russia.
The United States has information that over the course of July alone, more than 1,800 children were transferred from Russian controlled areas of Ukraine to Russia.
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VAUSE: The Russian ambassador to the U.N. dismissing report as unfounded.
Well, a spy on co-workers will do time in prison. Some former Russian opposition activists say that was their only choice. CNN tracked down two of those activists turn informants for the Russian security service, who later escaped Russia.
CNN's Matthew Chance has details.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is where we sleep. This is how we live, Mikhail says. As the Russian political activist turned FSB informant shows us around the Dutch refugee center, where he's now seeking asylum.
All I want for the future is a positive, normal live, he says, without any more of these adventures.
It was as a young opposition campaigner that Mikhail, seen here at an anti-government protest in Russia, caught the attention of the Kremlin security service, the FSB.
He's later worked for Alexei Navalny, Russia's most prominent jailed opposition leader, must have made him particularly valuable. But he was originally targeted to be turned, he told me, with FSB threats.
MIKHAIL SOKOLOV, FORMER FSB INFORMANT (through translator): They knew I was avoiding military service and gave me a simple choice, either to cooperate with them or go to prison for years.
Basically, I was threatened, and as a 19-year-old student, very frightened. There are so many stories, even videos, of people being abused in prison, to even think about that is scary.
CHANCE: You were working with Navalny. There's pictures of you working quite closely with him. What kind of information did you give the FSB about him?
SOKOLOV: I wasn't his close friend, so I couldn't give them information specifically about him. I was just working in a regional office, so they were more interested in when we were planning to hold meetings or protests, and, of course, what kind of investigations we were conducting.
We even cooperated on some of these investigations. Following any media outcry, the FSB would either imprison or protect a particular official.
CHANCE: But as well as keeping tabs on activists inside the country, the secretive Russian security services also appeared to have been stepping up surveillance of Russians living abroad. Mikhail says the FSB pulled him out of Russia and sent him to the former Soviet republic of Georgia to infiltrate the growing expatriate community there, escaping repressions at home, alongside a network of other FSB informants already in place.
Informants like Vsevolod, another young political activist who says the FSB also threatened him with prison unless he sent detailed reports from Georgia on what Russian opposition figures there were thinking.
Specifically on the Ukraine war launched in February this year, which forced many Kremlin critics into exile, and the FSB's informant operations, he tells me, into overdrive.
What does that say to you about what the fears are in Moscow about what could happen in the future? What are they frightened of?
VSEVOLOD OSIPOV, FORMER FSB INFORMANT (through translator): Russian special services are very well aware of our history. When a huge Russian immigrant community emerges abroad where people speak freely to each other, work on projects together, help Ukrainian refugees, and basically create a mini Russia abroad, which is not under the control of FSB, they are afraid that history will repeat itself.
In 1917, Lenin came to Moscow and started a Russian revolution. And they are terrified the regime will be threatened once again by war.
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CHANCE: It was their opposition to the war, both Vsevolod and Mikhail say, finally compelled them to turn their backs on their FSB handlers.
Mikhail even appeared on Georgian television berating the Russian regime for which he had spied.
SOKOLOV: I texted the FSB guys and told them they had started this war, that it was horrible. I saw all the images online and they had turned my world upside down because I not only felt hatred toward the Russian government but towards myself for working for them for all these years.
CHANCE: It is self-hatred and a deep sense of guilt for the lies and betrayals he says he was forced to make.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Amsterdam.
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VAUSE: Still become here on CNN, Pakistan's largest lake overflows, destroying villages and home. How people are struggling to move on and even find a place to lie down their loved ones to rest.
Also, double trouble, Hurricane Fritz in the Atlantic and Pacific. The latest forecast and who is at risk.
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VAUSE: We're watching two dangerous hurricanes right now in the Eastern Pacific. Warnings have been issued for parts of Baja, California and other parts of Mexico.
Hurricane Kay is expected to produce dangerous storm surge and coastal flooding. And if you ask Mexico's coastal regions will begin to feel the strength of Kay's powerful winds in earnest.
And in the Atlantic, a hurricane watch has been issued for Bermuda. Hurricane Earl is set to pass to the east of the island and is expected to become a major hurricane.
Let's go to CNN's Pedram Javaheri for more on this. So, what are we looking at here when it gets to a major hurricane? What's the significance there?
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, for areas across Bermuda, it looks like it's going to stay just offshore. We'll touch on that momentarily. Certainly could be good news if the system veers away from the island but I want to show you what's happening here off the coast of Mexico, John, because just checking in with the Los Cabos San Lucas airport, upwards of over 60 flights have been canceled so far today. 50 percent of the flights that come in and out of the airport this time of year have been canceled because of this particular hurricane Category 1 that briefly got up to a Category 2 status.
But the concern here with the storm system is where it is forecast to end up over the next couple of days. Notice the government of Mexico here has already issued hurricane watches, even a few hurricane warnings across the west central region of the Baja.
In fact, state government opening shelters for folks here giving them an evacuation route if they need to get out of the path of the storm system and they're saying the storm is going to impact an area that is in sparsely populated region right here across west central regions of the Baja.
Look what happens here, from Thursday night possibly into Friday morning, we're looking at a Category 1 hurricane within just 400 kilometers of San Diego, California. This is the closest the tropical system has approached as a Category 1 hurricane to this region of Southern California since Hurricane Nora did back in 1997.
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So 25 years, since the system of this magnitude got this close to Southern California. Notice, still tropical storm as it approaches the Mexico and United States border here. But we do expect the system to shift a little farther towards the west. Of course, quite a bit of gusty winds in this region. Quite a bit of rain forecast in this region. Officials across Southern California issuing flood alerts here going into Friday and Saturday as a result of this particular storm and it's going to bring in some relief from the excessive temperatures but notice, rainfall amounts could exceed 100 to 150 millimeters.
And if you've followed what's happening here across southern California. You know, that is an incredible amount of rainfall for an area that is so so dry and so hot in recent days.
Look at this, temps across this region will drop from the 40s down into the 30s. Death Valley goes from 48 down to 32 degrees with the incoming cloud cover. Palm Springs drops off into the 20s where it's close to 40 degrees on Thursday afternoon.
Now, elsewhere across portions of the Atlantic, a couple of areas of interest developing. We do have Hurricane Earl Category 2 forecast to become a major hurricane and this is the time of year we follow these tropical systems for peak season, generally around the 10th of September is when peak activity occurs across the Atlantic and certainly beginning to look like it.
Here we go, 120 kilometer per hour winds. John, at this point, the latest guidance does want to keep the system away from Bermuda, officials there have issued hurricane watches in advance of this but the track stays as it is. It would be good news that it would veer away from the island and remain over open waters.
VAUSE: So, if that's the case, thanks, Pedram. Appreciate it.
With a third of Pakistan underwater and millions impacted by unprecedented flooding, there's a growing sense of dread among survivors of just nowhere to go. Some residents of Sindh province are terrified for their lives after the country's largest like overflowed for a third time Tuesday.
Many people have been forced into temporary shelter while others are completely trapped by the floodwaters. This high water is so vast in some areas, they're not -- there's not even room to bury the dead.
CNN's Anna Coren has our report.
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ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A metal box is pulled through the floodwaters.
What's in the box? Asks a bystander. A dead body, replies a man.
They open the lid and show the body of a man crammed in. The family doesn't have money for a funeral, he explains. There is no place to bury the dead, that is how bad the situation is.
They continue to haul the makeshift coffin through the brown, murky water, searching for higher ground to bury the corpse.
In another district, a group of villagers drag a makeshift raft with another man's body through the floodwaters.
We came across an official with a tractor, says a man, looking distressed. We requested help to transport the body but he denied. There is no ambulance, no support by anyone.
As Pakistan's catastrophic floods continue to inundate one-third of the country, the province of Sindh in the country's southeast is now bearing much of the brunt of this climate-change induced disaster. With the water unable to drain away, there is nowhere to give the dead a dignified burial.
Instead, these villagers hold a funeral procession for their relative in the very waters that claimed his life.
Pakistan's unprecedented monsoonal rains, that have been falling since June, have affected at least 33 million people across the country. That's 15 percent of the population.
Millions have been displaced, having lost their homes and crops in the floodwaters. And the government and aid agencies are struggling to provide enough food, medical care and shelter to those who've lost everything.
The ferocity of the flash floods has been the biggest killer. More than 1,300 people have died, one-third of them children, including a 3-day-old baby girl, whose family tried to escape their home as the water almost reached the ceiling.
PETER OPHOFF, IFRC: The wife had the baby in her hands. And just at the end, she couldn't hold it, because the water was too strong. And the baby swept away. And they found the baby but, unfortunately, the baby died.
COREN: The people living near Lake Manchar, Pakistan's largest freshwater lake, a looming disaster supposedly averted, has come at a very high price. Officials were forced to breach it due to dangerously high water levels. But tens of thousands of villagers downstream have now been left homeless and further flooding is still expected.
It destroyed our crops and houses. No one informed us it was happening. No one warned us, explained this farmer, tending to his cattle, barely keeping their heads above water.
The village is submerged. There is no way to get to our village, says this man. Some families are now stranded. We appeal to the government to send rescue teams and help these people.
A plea to an already overstretched government, grappling to deal with this unprecedented calamity.
Anna Coren, CNN, Hong Kong.
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VAUSE: Pakistan's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Munir Akram joins us now from New York.
Ambassador, welcome to CNN NEWSROOM.
MUNIR AKRAM, PRESIDENT, U.N. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL: to the United Nations Thank you for having me.
VAUSE: Now you're a long way from home. And right now, your country is essentially drowning, it must be difficult, it must be frustrating to watch all those images of suffering and the destruction from so far away.
AKRAM: Right, it is -- it is a tragic situation, it is a catastrophe which is unimaginable for anybody, especially for Pakistan. We did not imagine that we could suffer a tragedy of this proportion so suddenly.
And obviously, we are responding and making a national effort, the government, the army people. And we hope that you know, with high resilience, and with the assistance and support of the international community, we will be able to overcome this stage of recovery at the present moment, relief operations and then move on to rehabilitation and reconstruction of our country.
VAUSE: This flooding is unprecedented in both scope and misery. And it's a crisis not really of your making. Do you believe that the United States and Europe and other countries which have the resources to help actually realize that they've contributed to this disaster for global warming?
AKRAM: You know, we have been talking about the phenomena of global warming and the responsibilities for global warming and climate change for some time now.
And there is a recognition that developing countries or countries which are vulnerable like Pakistan, which emits only 0.8 percent of global emissions, but is one of the most vulnerable countries that these countries are must be supported in that there must be international responsibility to support such countries in situations like this.
We have asked for a not only greater financing for adaptation projects to build resilience against such disasters, which we also asked for a financing facility for loss and damage.
VAUSE: Environmental activists, Greta Thunberg talked about the flooding in Pakistan this week. She said it's an example of wealthy countries which are not significantly impacted by climate change, not dealing with this crisis with the urgency it deserves, here she is.
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GRETA THUNBERG, ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS: We treat the climate crisis as a distance threat far away in the future. It's not something that impacts people here now. But it is very much impacting people here now, just take Pakistan now, as an example, a very clear example. But since many of us that's a very distant threat.
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VAUSE: What are the implications if there is not some kind of recognition that the crisis is here now, because many countries not just Pakistan are struggling?
AKRAM: Yes, that's true. This year, 50 islands in the Maldives come under water suddenly, without any explanation. Climate change is having impacts across the world in surprising ways, with rising oceans, impacts of monsoons, hurricanes, and so forth.
So, the situation in Pakistan is a living illustration, but it is also a wakeup call for the world. Because today, it is Pakistan. Tomorrow, it can be anywhere in the world, climate change can strike in strange ways. And it may have it's mostly vulnerable countries in the Third World, which may be suffering at the moment.
But climate change, the impacts are magnified. The impacts are spreading. And today, tomorrow, it could be a country in Europe, it could be -- you've seen the drought in the United States already.
So, climate change is global. And the global community must respond to it with international solidarity, and with the global consciousness that is required to respond to. This is -- this is as catastrophic as a potential nuclear strike. VAUSE: Professor Akram, thank you so much sir for being with us. Best
to you and the people of Pakistan.
AKRAM: Thank you so much.
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VAUSE: Coming up on CNN, the man hunt for a mass stabbing suspect in Canada is now over. We'll have the latest details at the moment.
And controversy mars Brazil's bicentennial holiday, with the president spending more time campaigning than celebrating.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Both suspects in a deadly stabbing spree in Canada are now dead. Myles Sanderson was on the run for almost four days; was taken into custody Wednesday; later died. His brother Damien died on Monday.
They're accused of killing 18 people during a rampage on Sunday. Police arrested Myles Sanderson after forcing his vehicle from the highway in the province of Saskatchewan.
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RHONDA BLACKMORE, COMMANDING OFFICER, SASKATCHEWAN RCMP: Shortly after his arrest, he went into medical distress. Nearby, EMS were called by police to attend the scene, and he was transported to a hospital in Saskatoon. He was pronounced deceased at the hospital.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: A separate police force and an independent civilian-led oversight organization will investigate the suspect's death. Police have not released a cause of death, pending an autopsy.
Now to Brazil, where President Jair Bolsonaro tried to turn bicentennial celebrations into a massive campaign rally.
Bolsonaro arrived in a Rolls Royce convertible at the start of a military parade through the capital. He later rallied a huge crowd of supporters in Rio de Janeiro's famous Copacabana and lashed out at the leftist rival, the former President Lula, who is leading in the polls.
Stefano Pozzebon is tracking all these details for us. He is live this hour. This was quite the day for Bolsonaro.
STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Indeed, it was quite a day for Bolsonaro but also a surreal day for everybody in -- in Brazil. People who showed up this Wednesday for what has always been a bipartisan, national holiday meant to celebrate all the Brazilian people and, instead, found out -- were received by a president that intended to use that platform as a political -- for political gain. This, of course, is happening in the middle of a political campaign,
an electoral campaign that is, frankly, as polarized or even as nasty as we've ever seen, at least in Brazil, at least in South America.
We tried to put it together with some context of the significance of this particular day, John. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[00:35:08]
POZZEBON (voice-over): To commemorate its first hundred years of independence, Brazil built this: the statue of Christ the Redeemer, a universal symbol of welcome and unity.
On Wednesday, on the 200-year anniversary, the sight was rather different.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
POZZEBON (voice-over): On a national holiday to celebrate independence for all Brazilians, President Jair Bolsonaro used the stage to promote his personal politics.
JAIR BOLSONARO, PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL (through translator): Our fatherland is mostly Christian, and we don't want the drug legalization. We don't want abortion or gender theory.
POZZEBON (voice-over): In attacking his opponents --
BOLSONARO (through translator): We face a battle between good and evil. The evil lasted for years in our country and almost broke it.
POZZEBON (voice-over): Independence Day is traditionally a non- partisan celebration, but this year, senior state figures like Supreme Court justices and the president of the Senate were notably absent, a sign of the polarization around the event, amid a vitriolic political campaign.
For months, Bolsonaro has cast doubts on the electoral system and hinted he might not accept a defeat at next month's presidential election.
Recently, signs of economic improvement have given him a boost in the polls, but Bolsonaro still trails his main rival, former President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, who chose not to appear in public on Wednesday, instead tweeting that the day shouldn't be used as a campaign event, and that Brazil should choose love, not hate.
And with a little over three weeks before election day, the race seems guaranteed to be a personal matchup between Bolsonaro and Lula. Like in this political ad, released by the Bolsonaro campaign, showing the president beating, quite literally, his opponent.
With the president openly questioning the integrity of the electoral system, many fear Bolsonaro might follow the example of former U.S. President Donald Trump and simply call the election a lie.
Bolsonaro already faces several investigations by the Supreme Court, something critics fear could push him towards trying to hold onto power.
OLIVER STUENKEL, PROFESSOR, GETULIO VARGAS FOUNDATION: Still, a lot of Brazilians think that the electoral system is safe. The problem is, with all these kinds of things, it really doesn't take that many people. And what we've seen on January 6th, that, you know, it's a very large country in the United States, but there were a couple thousand people sufficiently committed to invade Congress. And that produces, of course, instability.
POZZEBON (voice-over): Fears that Bolsonaro supporters dismiss.
On Wednesday, Brazil showed it's entering its third century as an independent nation, as divided as it has never been, since the restoration of democracy in the 1980s.
For whoever comes out on top next month, a new challenge will begin: how to bring a nation together.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Thanks to Stefano Pozzebon for that report.
We'll move on now, take a short break. And some of Taiwan's remote military outposts near China are being harassed by civilian drones from the mainland. Precisely what and where they've been spotted, and what Taiwan can do about it, that's next.
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VAUSE: Streaming service Netflix has been put on notice that some of its content is offensive to Islamic values and must be taken down in parts of the Middle East.
On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia led the Gulf Cooperation Council to threaten legal action against Netflix if it doesn't -- if it does not comply. The statement did not identify what the Gulf state object to, but programs aimed at children seem to be at the heart of this dispute, especially programs with LGBTQ themes and same-sex couples.
The UAE has already banned the Disney+ platform from showing the children's film "Lightyear" because of an LGBTQ character.
A small group of Taiwanese islands off the coast of mainland China has emerged as the latest potential flash point between Beijing and Taipei.
In recent weeks, civilian drones from the mainland have been intruding in these defensive outposts, a provocation denounced by Taiwan as "grey-zone tactics."
CNN's Will Ripley has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The intruder hovers over a Taiwanese military outpost, brazenly capturing images of what's supposed to be a secure area.
Apparently taken by surprise, soldiers respond by throwing rocks.
Video of this bizarre encounter with an unidentified drone last month and other similar videos are going viral on Chinese social media. Comments mock Taiwan's military for unreadiness and incompetency.
The videos seem to expose a stunning vulnerability: drones photographing restricted areas. Taiwanese soldiers have tried firing warning flares.
Earlier this month, they shot one down. Taiwan's military confirms these mysterious intrusions are civilian drones from mainland China.
PAUL HUANG, RESEARCH FELLOW, TAIWANESE PUBLIC OPINION FOUNDATION: So we are only going to see more and more of these attempts in order to provoke Taiwan's defenses on the other side.
RIPLEY (voice-over): The drones are targeting Taiwan's outlying Kinmen islands, some 200 miles from the capital of Taipei, about six miles from mainland China.
Kinmen is a crucial first line of defense from a Chinese attack.
RIPLEY: These anti-landing strips have been lining the beaches here for more than 70 years, since the end of China's civil war. These days, it's not tanks coming over from the Chinese city of Xiamen.
RIPLEY (voice-over): It's drones. This video appears to show the possible pilots, hunched over a few tablets on a picnic table, remote controls in hand.
"I got a tank," one man says.
CNN cannot verify the identities of these people.
The Chinese government apparently unconcerned, brushing off the provocations as no big deal.
Taiwan's government vowing to take tough measures to take down intruding drones. The military is speeding up deployment of air- defense systems to outlying islands.
HUANG: It's not just civilian drones that we need to worry about.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Taiwan's president, Tsai Ing-wen, accuses China of grey-zone tactics, using drones and other methods to intimidate this self-governing democracy.
Taipei says it's all part of Beijing's ongoing pressure campaign, including unprecedented military drills encircling Taiwan.
Drone intrusions escalated last month after a controversial Taiwan visit: U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And now, a growing list of U.S. lawmakers showing solidarity with a young democracy facing off against an old foe in apparently unexpected ways.
Will Ripley, CNN, Taiwan.
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VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause, I'll be back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. But first, WORLD SPORT starts after the break with Patrick Snell.
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