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King Charles and the Relationship with U.K.'s Muslim Community; William's Evolution from Shy Prince to Heir Apparent; Former Executive Accuses Twitter of Misleading the Public. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired September 14, 2022 - 04:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[04:30:00]

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM, live from Buckingham Palace I'm Becky Anderson where the time is just after 9:30 in the morning. If you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date with what we can expect in the hours ahead.

Next hour, troops will begin departing Wellington Barracks in preparation for the profession of the Queen's coffin. Just before 9:30 Eastern time, 2:30, London time the coffin is scheduled to depart Buckingham Palace on its way to Westminster Hall, which will be open for public viewing, 24 hours a day while she lies in state.

Well, the new King Charles III is looking to be a steady figure as his mother was a constant present in the lives of millions of people in the U.K. The King and the Queen Consort visited Northern Ireland on Tuesday as the region paid its respects to the late Queen Elizabeth. They attended a prayer service and greeted well wishes in Belfast. The king reflected on his mother's deep faith.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING CHARLES III, UNITED KINGDOM: She never ceased to pray for the best of times for this place and its people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, history watching every move the new king makes, of course. And although a Christian, the new monarch has made reaching out to the Muslim community a cornerstone of his public service.

[04:35:00]

As a patron of the Center for Islamic Studies, the then Prince Charles spoke at Oxford in 2010. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THEN-PRINCE CHARLES, UNITED KINGDOM: Unfashionable, there it is to suggest it, and key to stress here the need to heal this divide within ourselves. How else can we heal the divide between East and West unless we reconcile the East and West within ourselves?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, joining me now is Farhan Nizami, the director of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. It is really good to have you with us, sir. And that is not the only speech that the then Prince Charles has made as president of the center. Tell me about your experience in working with him and why his relationship with the Muslim community, these Islamic faith is so important to him.

FARHAN NIZAMI, DIRECTOR, OXFORD CENTRE FOR ISLAMIC STUDIES: I think that one understands the fate of others better if one approach it from within one's own faith. I think for King Charles this search for his spirituality within the Christian tradition and then to look out for commonalities with other faiths have been very important. In his first major lecture at the center in 1993, he spoke about the indebtedness that the West has to Muslim civilization.

Now, that might be a fact well known to historians. But to him to stand up and say this, I think reminded people that we are talking of the universe of civilization to which all people have contributed. And from which all people can benefit. It's such an important message for a person in his position to make. And I think it goes down so well, both in modern-day Britain, the Commonwealth and indeed in the world. Here we are so well integrated.

ANDERSON: You have known King Charles III, as he is now known, for some 30 years. What do you talk about?

NIZAMI: Only he is a man of very, varied interests, of course faith, religion, architecture, environment. But, also very, very concerned about many of the social issues. And this ability to bring peoples together, whether it is within Britain, as I said, or internationally. So, many of the things that he has been doing is trying to identify those common threads that connect us.

ANDERSON: Then, Prince Charles back in 1993 leading to the speech he made at the center that year. He issued a rebuttal to the clash of civilization argument.

He said -- and I quote him here.

The degree of misunderstanding between the Islamic and Western world remains dangerously high.

What in your -- to your mind, needs to be done to keep building bridges and understanding between communities and what can the now King Charles III bring to that table?

NIZAMI: I think that he has done a tremendous service in identifying the need for that. I think, in this lecture, he pointed out that we were at the crossroads in some ways. That it was a responsibility on all the people to identify those common threats and build on those. I think in the small little things that many of the work that that the Prince's Trust has done in bringing young people together in international relations and so on. I think by reminding people that by history might have pulled people apart in the past, but it is their faiths which brings them together. And we need to build on the commonalities of that when we face so many big issues.

I think that the central emphasis on bringing together the material and the non-material, this future in our relationship to approach the word with a wholeness. And I think these have been themes that have been very important for him.

ANDERSON: The Southampton Muslim community paying tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II, the Imam of the city's Medina Mosque saying, her majesty's reign saw extraordinary change in our great country. Over seven decades, the United Kingdom has seen itself transformed into a multicultural and a multi-faith society.

King Charles have learned Arabic, as I understand it. He has said that he has -- many has said that he is the pro-Islam monarch in all of British history.

[04:40:00]

As he takes on this roll, what can he do for the Muslim community? And what do you hope his role will be going forward? How does he build on what is already been achieved?

NIZAMI: I mean, let me start by saying that her majesty the late Queen Elizabeth granted a royal charter in the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies in 2012. The first institution of Muslim inspiration to been thus honored. And I think the royal family has always been very sensitive to reaching out to all parts of British society and beyond.

And of course, the prince of -- the then Prince of Wales, provided leadership as a patron of the Centre. I think that moral leadership that calls for all to understand each other, to respect each other and to set a personal example whereby recognition of our historical heritage it can connect those stories of many British citizens with the national narrative. It is particularly important to have that recognition at that level.

ANDERSON: It's very good to have you with us. The new, now King Charles III has said he has to give up so much of the things that he cherished, the charity work that he has done, the foundations that he has headed. I hope that he can continue to be the president of the Centre. He may not be as of able to make the speeches that you've heard from him in the past. But one hopes that his involvement continues and one that seems that it well. Certainly, his interest.

Thank you very much indeed for joining us. Farhan Nizami with us this morning.

Well, the next generation of royals are stepping into new roles after Queen Elizabeth's death. William has been formally appointed Prince of Wales. And with his new title comes new responsibility. CNN's Max Foster has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It used to be all high jinks and banter between William and Harry. WILLIAM, PRINCE OF WALES: It's pretty rich coming from ginger, so we're happy (INAUDIBLE).

FOSTER (voice-over): Even after William married, there was plenty of fun to be had in front of the cameras. Over the years, William gradually rebranded from a timeless young royal mixing with celebrities and trendy parties to a more formal suited and booted figure more fit for the throne.

According to sources, it was a deliberate transformation as he moves steadily towards the top job as it's known. Once dubbed the work-shy Prince, sources say William wasn't in a rush to take on full time public duties whilst he was settling down.

First, marrying his soul mate and then raising a young family. It was all about striking the right balance. But from the moment his grandmother died, he became first in line to the throne and with that came a more weighty title.

KING CHARLES III, UNITED KINGDOM: I am proud to create him Prince of Wales, Tywysog Cymru, the country whose title I have been so greatly privileged to bear during so much of my life and duty.

FOSTER (voice-over): With that, the new Prince and Princess of Wales have been elevated in position and will now be expected to step up and support the King more. They inherit huge swathes of land through the Duchy of Cornwall, giving them an independent income for the first time. William's father reinvented the role of Prince of Wales by professionalizing it. It's no longer a ticket to a playboy lifestyle. William and Kate will have plans for making it their own.

But family will remain the major priority for both of them with their children starting at a new school just last week. Both will be aware that the burden of royal duties are greater than they ever were. Not just because the Queen has passed but because these duties were always meant to be shared with Harry, who's now given up his royal role. It leaves the monarchy whether by design, or by default, more streamlined than ever, the spotlight now firmly on the new Prince and Princess of Wales for most high profile in history.

Max Foster, CNN, Buckingham Palace, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, I'm Becky Anderson outside Buckingham Palace where the time is quarter to ten in the morning. Stay with CNN throughout the day for continuing coverage of the Queens remembrance. For now, let's get you back to Rosemary Church at CNN Center in Atlanta -- Rosemary.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: And Becky, thank you so much for your reporting this morning. We appreciate it.

[04:45:00]

Just ahead, lies, spies and poor security, just some of the damning allegations leveled by a former Twitter executive against the company. Do stay with us for that and more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. While Elon Musk fights tooth and nail to back out of his deal to buy Twitter, the company shareholders are holding him to it. On Tuesday, they voted in favor of his proposed $44 billion takeover bid. The Tesla CEO has been trying since July to scrap the deal, accusing Twitter of not being truthful about the number of fake accounts on its platform.

Twitter then sued Musk, arguing he simply has buyer's remorse and cannot just walk away from their agreement. The case is set to go to trial next month.

Well, meantime, a former Twitter executive turned whistleblower went before a U.S. Senate committee Tuesday with allegations of lies, security lapses, and foreign spies on the social media company's payroll. Here's CNN's Donie O'Sullivan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEITER "MUDGE" ZATKO, TWITTER WHISTLEBLOWER: I'm here today because Twitter leadership is misleading the public, lawmakers, regulators, and even its own board of directors.

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Twitter's former head of security coming to Capitol Hill with a stark warning for lawmakers.

ZATKO: It's not farfetched to say that an employee inside the company could take over the accounts of all of the Senators in this room.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Former Twitter executive Peiter Zatko painting a picture of a company huge security vulnerabilities that he says are a danger to national security and democracy.

ZATKO: What I discovered when I joined Twitter was that this enormously influential company was over a decade behind industry security standards.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Zatko was hired by Twitter in 2020 after teenagers hacked the accounts of some of the most famous people in the world.

[04:50:00]

His testimony today coming a month after he first stepped forward as a whistleblower in exclusive interviews with CNN and "The Washington Post."

O'SULLIVAN: Ready?

ZATKO: Yes.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): He says too many Twitter employees have access to the company's main controls, making it vulnerable to future attacks and a gold mine for espionage.

ZATKO: What I did notice when we did know of a person inside acting on behalf of a foreign interest as an unregistered agent, it was extremely difficult to track the people.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Last month, a former Twitter employee was convicted of spying for the Saudis. Today, it emerged, according to Zatko, that the FBI had informed Twitter that the company had a Chinese government spy on its payroll.

ZATKO: They simply lacked the fundamental abilities to hunt for foreign intelligence agencies and expel them on their own.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Telling lawmakers Twitter executives were driven by profits no matter the security costs.

ZATKO: I'm reminded of one conversation with an executive when I said I am confident that we have a foreign agent and their response was, well, since we already have one, what does it matter if we have more? Let's keep growing the office.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): As for regulators, Zatko says the FTC isn't up to the task.

ZATKO: Honestly, I think the FTC is a little, you know, over their head. They've compared to the size of the big tech companies and the challenge they have against them, they're left letting companies grade their own homework.

O'SULLIVAN: We haven't heard publicly from Twitter executives since Zatko came forward with these allegations for the first time about a month ago. But Twitter is saying today that today's hearing only confirms that Zatko's allegations are riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies. But the company not answering our specific questions about whether an alleged Chinese government spy is still working at a company. This all coming on the same day that Twitter shareholders voted for that Elon Musk $44 billion deal to take over the company to go ahead. Musk, of course, trying to back out of that. All of this coming in a showdown in Delaware next month when it goes to trial.

Donie O'Sullivan, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And we'll be right back.

[04:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Chinese leader Xi Jinping is abroad for the first time since the start of the COVID pandemic. He has now landed in Kazakhstan, as you can see in these pictures from just moments ago. Russian President Vladimir Putin is also in the country for a regional summit. The Kremlin says he will meet with President Xi on the sidelines. Well, back in the United States, California's Mosquito fire has now

burned the equivalent of more than one fourth of New York City. It's only 25 percent contained so far -- that's according to Cal Fire. On Tuesday, dry conditions help the fire spread rapidly, although firefighters are hoping cooler temperatures in the forecast remain accurate.

Well, Paris is seeking to cut costs and save energy this winter by shutting off the Eiffel Tower's famous lights an hour early. The move will reduce the towers power usage by 4 percent. Starting later this month the city will also turn off power in public buildings early. The mayor of Paris says not to worry, it will always be the city of lights.

And thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Be sure to connect with me on Twitter @rosemaryCNN. "NEW DAY" is coming up next. You're watching CNN.

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