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Remembering The Queen; Russia's War On Ukraine; Armenia- Azerbaijan Conflict; Looming US Rail Strike; Inside William's and Harry's Complicated Relationship; King Charles III's Image to Appear on British Stamps; WHO: The End of the Pandemic is in Sight; China's Xi in Uzbekistan for Regional Summit; Singer Convicted of Multiple Child Pornography Charges. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired September 15, 2022 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: All around the world, this is CNN Newsroom. And coming up this hour, "Victory Lap." Ukraine's President travels to the liberated city of Izyum, a message of resolve to Ukrainians, a show of defiance to Moscow.
"Silent Goodbye," tens of thousands lined up for miles to pay their respects as the body of Queen Elizabeth lies in state. And images that say a thousand words, Harry and Will side by side, mourning their grandmother. Could this be a step towards a royal reconciliation?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
At this early out in London, what seems to be a never ending stream of mourners slowly and silently falling past the coffin of Queen Elizabeth. Her Majesty is now lying in state at Westminster Hall until the state funeral on Monday. When the hall was open to the public on Wednesday, the line waiting outside stretched for about three miles along the River Thames, many waiting for hours in the rain and cold.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE (voice-over): Earlier on Wednesday, the Queen's coffin was taken from Buckingham Palace of a horse-drawn carriage to the Palace of Westminster. Crowds lined the streets to witness this moment in history to pay tribute to Britain's longest serving monarch.
The service was held at Westminster after the Queen's coffin arrived. In the hours ahead, we should learn more details about what you can expect on the day of the funeral.
Meantime, preparations for the funeral continue in London. Rehearsals were held late into the night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: More now on the Queen's remembrance from CNN's Max Foster reporting from London. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Silence as Queen Elizabeth II lies in state in Westminster Hall. Mourners filing past paying their respects, some overcome with emotion.
After spending last night at Buckingham Palace, the coffin was carried in procession on a gun carriage. Behind on foot her family, King Charles III and his siblings, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, and the Queen's grandchildren including Prince William and Prince Harry, who we last saw like this walking behind their mother's coffin as children.
On top of the casket, as the procession made its way along the Mal, the priceless imperial state crown. As it moves through iconic landmarks in London, guns fired from Hyde Park, and chimes from Big Ben marking each minute. Among the first to arrive at Westminster Hall, the Queen Consort, the Princess of Wales, and the Duchess of Sussex travelling by car. Witnessing history, thousands watching as the coffin made its way down the political district in Whitehall, to be passed by the family to the people.
Members of the Army, Navy and Air Force giving a guard of honor to their late commander in chief. The procession finally arriving at the heart of Parliament, the ancient Westminster Hall for a short blessing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Lord lift up the light of His countenance upon you, and give you peace and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.
FOSTER (voice-over): Then finally, a chance for mourners, some who'd waited overnight, a chance to have their own personal moment and bid farewell to their Queen ahead of the state funeral on Monday. Max Foster, CNN, the Palace of Westminster, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACCALLUM: And live now to London, CNN's Nada Bashir is with us. And so, Nada, just tell us about this crowd which -- we can see they're slowly moving behind you. It looks like the pre-dawn hours there, maybe getting a little warmer for many as they wait in this incredibly long line.
NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Look, John, it is a very long line although the weather is slightly better today than it has been in the last few days I have to say.
[01:05:03]
But we have seen thousands of people waiting along the street are on here in Central London and Westminster for their chance to file past the Queen's coffin where she is lying in state in the Palace of Westminster. Now, we were here just about two hours ago and that queue at that point was about 2.9 miles long. It has gotten down now to around two miles long according live track. And I have to say, this is moving quite quickly. We've been seeing just up here along the Thames moving quite quickly. Everyone is waiting now to get across the Thames in order to get to the Palace of Westminster, the Houses of Parliament that you see behind me.
We've been speaking to some people in the queue. These ladies here have been waiting. How long have been waiting for --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've been here since 2:30 AM, about three-and-a- half hours, yes.
BASHIR: Do you expect it to be this long?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We expect it to be longer, so we were kind of trying to get in the last busy time, maybe.
BASHIR: And why was it so important for you to be here to take part of this and to be able to pay your respects to the Queen?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, the Queen has been the longest reigning female monarch ever, and she's had such a huge impact in this country. So yes, it was important that we came and we're a part of history. Yes, so.
BASHIR: And for a lot of people who are looking at this on TV, looking at the queues, do you think it's worth it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I think so.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
BASHIR: Well, thank you so much. And that really is the message that we have been hearing from people across the queue across London throughout these last few days. This is a historic moment, a moment a lot of people want to be a part of. This is a huge, large scale security operation as well, of course. We're seeing significant presence by the police, authorities and volunteers up and down this queue directing people.
Once they make it across the Thames to the Palace of Westminster, they'll have to go through airport style security before they're actually allowed into Westminster Hall. And once they're in there, they're not actually allowed to take photos. It is a very solemn moment, of course, a moment of respect, but there is something that many people here have been waiting hours for.
Of course, they're allowed to bring small bags with them, so they're not allowed to bring a lot of gear with them to keep them going overnight. But they've opened the coffee stands down so people are getting caffeinated. But as you heard there, for many people, it's a moment of history, a moment to pay their respects.
We spoke to one woman a little earlier and said, you know, we won't be able to be at the funeral, but this is an opportunity for us to show just how much we respect and revered the Queen while she was alive, John.
VAUSE: Yes. And with regard to the state funeral, because the Queen will lay in state in the next four days, what do we know at this point about how the funeral will play out?
BASHIR: Well, this is set to be an enormous historic event. The funeral will be held at Westminster Abbey. We're expecting about 2,000 dignitaries to be invited to that funeral. It will, of course, once again be a large scale security operation as well.
We also getting a few more details around that there is going to be a briefing. Just a little later today, we are -- where we are hoping to hear more about those finer details around the funeral. But this will be another huge ceremonial event. And we've seen that over the last few days, John, throughout these events, these traditions and customs that have been taking place that have been rehearsed, I have to say, for some time and had been planned for well in advance.
So the Queen, of course, took careful care to plan the finer details of her funeral in advance. This will all have gone past the Queen. Those details were all been approved by the Queen ahead of time, of course, and those will all play out on Monday, the 19th. Many people will once again be lining the streets of Central London for the chance to pay their respects in some small way. We will, of course, see members of the royal family taking part in that funeral, paying their respects to the Queen.
As we've seen over the last few days, this is really a person who has captured the attention and the condolences of so many people across the country and across the world. We've been speaking to people who've traveled to London from across the country, some people even flying in from overseas for an opportunity to pay their respects. This is someone who meant a great deal to a lot of people. And so, that is certainly going to be echoed and, you know, we're seeing thousands lining up now and that figure is probably going to replicated on Monday.
VAUSE: Make sure (inaudible) they'll get so many people actually get -- have a chance to see the Queen over the next four days but that's what happens. Nada, thanks so much for putting early morning duty shift for us, we appreciate it.
French President Emmanuel Macron has confirmed he'll be at the Queen's funeral. He'll join a long list of world leaders in London on Monday, including the US president as well as the prime ministers of New Zealand and Australia, a whole bunch of others there. Russian President Vladimir Putin, though, is not on the guest list so to the leader of North Korea.
The mayor of London spoke earlier about the influx of people expected in the city in the coming days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SADIQ KHAN, LONDON MAYOR: We expect to see over the course of the next few days, hundreds of thousands of people personally paying their respects to Her Majesty the Queen. But also we expect to see prime ministers, presidents, the royal family and others from across the globe coming to pay the respects of the next few days in London.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:10:00]
FOSTER (voice-over): Security Consultant Glenn Schoen is with us now from The Hague. Glenn, thanks for being with us. And if you just listened to the mayor there, that is quite an awesome thing to wrap your head around.
GLENN SCHOEN, SECURITY MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT: Yes. It's unprecedented in terms of scale or size. And within the security industry, everybody's looking at this as literally the Olympics of security. We've never had a volume of VIPs assembled on such short notice for such a key event that will have this much global immediate attention.
VAUSE: It's a good comparison in terms of logistics crowd control here visiting dignitaries, the funeral Diana, Princess of Wales. That was an operation which was Operation Teignbridge (ph), actually, which was the plan for the Queen mom's funeral. One of the major differences though, is the security risk assessment, 1997 was not different to 2022, right?
SCHOEN: Absolutely. The threat environment is entirely different. Everything from literally cyber to all the physical things we worry about. And generally speaking, terrorism activism, the fixated person, these are all threat elements now that are much more pronounced than they were at Princess Diana's funeral.
The other thing, of course, is the makeup here, the level of VIP simply is higher, and the entire process around it. For Diana's funeral, it was basically a massive effort over one or two days. Here, it's more pronounced, police have already been working from Edinburgh down to London, stretched out over several days, will be stretched over several days. And of course, with the arrival this weekend for the procession on Monday, police have a much bigger operation on their hands.
VAUSE: The former head of Public Order for the Met Police told the Guardian Newspaper, the royal family will be an open top carriages riding horses and that crowd of however many millions that will be on the streets have not been searched and cannot be searched. It's absolutely frightening.
At the end of the day, though, only so much can be done to secure a public venue and keeping it open to the public. So there's a cost benefit analysis, right?
SCHOEN: Absolutely. And the hard thing with all these is, you're literally protecting two major universes, if you will, one is the royal family and, of course, in this particular case, come Monday, excuse me, come Sunday and Monday, it's going to be the foreign VIPs as well. But then there's also the crowd itself that you're trying to protect.
And when we look, of course, for instance, the terrorism threat in the last few years, it's been the crowd that's been the target. So authorities here are really putting in a major all force effort whereas we're often focused on looking at the layering around the principals, and the VIPs, and the venue of Westminster Abbey. In this particular case, the whole concept is going to be much more to cover the larger public, and that's everything from the mall, and the routes, to transportation hubs, and people coming into the city.
VAUSE: When it comes to security personnel and extra police, I want you to listen to London's deputy police commissioner. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STUART CUNDY, DEPUTY POLICE COMMISSIONER, LONDON: We've welcomed hundreds of additional officers from forces across the United Kingdom in support of our operation. The commissioner's priority and our priority, first and foremost, is to do what we can to support all those who are coming to London to pay their respects and remember the Queen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And that is fair enough, but by making one location as secure as possible, does that leave other areas vulnerable?
SCHOEN: Not necessarily. Of course, they're working with a concept here where nationwide -- you relieve the pressure in some areas by shifting resources. We have officers coming from different areas into the London Area. There's expected to be more than 10,000 personnel of just law enforcement augmented, of course, by military units, and all sorts of special units, from Special Forces to explosive detection, to take care of what's happening in London.
Of course, one strategic measure that they've undertaken here is literally to make it a bank holiday so people don't have to go to work, cuts down on what you need to cover elsewhere in the country in terms of policing duties.
VAUSE: Yes. Glenn, we appreciate you being with us. We appreciate your expertise and your insight as well. So thank you, sir.
SCHOEN: Thank you.
VAUSE: The head of Sweden's Moderate Party will soon begin forming a new right wing government. Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson has conceded defeat in last week's general election, paving the way for a coalition government that's likely to end decades of tolerant and inclusive politics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ULF KRISTERSSON, MODERATE PARTY LEADER (through-translation): Sweden has a result, the voters have spoken. The Moderates and the other parties on my side have received the mandate for change that we asked for. I will start the work now with forming a new and vigorous government, a government for the whole of Sweden and for all its citizens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Sweden's Democratic Party with a history of ties to white supremacist and vilification of immigrants, is expected to play a key role in this new coalition government.
[01:15:00]
Ukraine's president has sent a clear and defiant message to Moscow with a visit, Wednesday, to the recently liberated city of Izyum, in the Kharkiv Region. While it was under Russian control, the city was a key logistics hub. But while he was there, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there is growing evidence of murders and kidnappings carried out by Russian forces.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): The Russian army remained in the Kharkiv Region for more than five months. And during this time, the occupiers did not even try to do something for the people. They only destroyed, only seize, only departed. They left devastated villages and in some of them there's not a single surviving house. Occupiers have left schools turned into garbage dumps and ruined churches turned to literally into lavatories.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The mounting Russian losses in Ukraine is sparking great criticism of the Kremlin and the so called Special Military Operation. A member of Russia's Council for Interethnic Relations appeared on state television. He put it this way, "Where was our damned reconnaissance? All of their heads should be lying on Putin's desk."
While in Izyum, President Zelenskyy bowed that Ukraine would eventually retake all occupied areas and that includes Crimea. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has that report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice-over): This is what confidence in victory looks like. The lighted swagger from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy touring the liberated city of Izyum. A commander in chief greeted here as another human. The smiles for this president as genuine as the danger.
Listen here, and you can hear explosions as he talks. It may be possible to temporarily occupy our territories, he says, but it is certainly impossible to occupy our people. These last months have been extremely hard for you, this is why I asked you take care of yourselves because you are the most precious thing we have.
It is a victory that came at an as yet unspecified cost, this moment of silence for those dead. What he sees utter devastation, part of why Russia is losing. It's hard to occupy and defend a city in this ruin. It's hard to imagine the Russian army state of mind when it left behind this much of its armor. And what Zelenskyy did another reason Ukrainian morale seems to remain high.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is usually hundreds of miles away in Moscow when he gives out medals. This past startling week, a tale of two nations and a golf in enthusiasm for the fight. Moscow's manpower crisis so acute, this video is apparently from a Russian prison, allegedly showing the man called Putin's chef. Yevgeny Prigozhin personally recruiting convicts for the front line.
He tells prisoners that war is hard. They can't desert, get taken prisoner, drink, take drugs or have sex with floor of foreigner men or women in the fight, an undesirable message to an undesirable crowd. Russia increasingly less looking like a nation united in what it won't even call a war yet.
Even Putin stooges turning. Here Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov again undermining the Kremlin that brutally put him in power. If you ask me, I would enact martial law and exhaust all possibilities to end the conflict with these demons. Unlike a volunteer for Russia, he said, writing later, "We are at war with the whole NATO block."
The unthinkable is happening, Russian dissent and criticism growing, but not yet at the speed of Ukrainian advances. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Khakiv, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: A day after Russia claims who brokered a ceasefire, there was no lit up in cross border artillery fire between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Many says three towns took direct hits, while Azerbaijan claims the military was firing at Armenian artillery. Nearly 100 troops have been killed on both sides in this recent outbreak of fighting over the last few days. Armenia and Azerbaijan had been fighting for decades over disputed territory. US expressed concern over this recent uptick in hostilities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NED PRICE, US STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: The situation continues to be very concerning. We are deeply concerned about continued attacks along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. We've seen continued attacks now for a second straight day. We are particularly disturbed by continued reports of civilians being harmed inside Armenia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Also on Wednesday, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, which is Azerbaijan's ally, warned Armenia will face consequences what he called an aggressive attitude.
[01:20:05]
There's much more ahead here on CNN Newsroom including a possible rail strike in the US, which has the potential to derail a fragile economic recovery. And later, Xi Jinping stepping out now in Central Asia for a regional summit but his meeting with Vladimir Putin is grabbing the headlines. Live report on that when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Wall Street back into positive territory ever since slightly after a big sell off on Monday. Let's take a look at US Futures right now. We can see the Dow Futures barely up by 0.03%, NASDAQ Futures barely down, same for the S&P 500, see, quote flat. Trading mix in the Asia Pacific Region, let's take a look at numbers. Two up, two down, the Nikkei up by a 0.25%, Hang Seng up by 0.5%, Shanghai Composite down by more than 1% and the Seoul KOSPI pretty much flat as well.
Well, living strike by 60,000 rail workers in the US is threatening to put a major dent in the US economy. The Biden administration is meeting with union leaders and labor negotiators to try and reach an agreement but one source don't expect agreement anytime soon. Strike could disrupt deliveries to grocery stores, farms, gas stations, water treatment plants, the whole shebang. Amtrak has already suspended all long distance routes and its warning of more cancellations to come.
We have more now from CNN's Pete Muntean reporting in from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is the latest effort to put the brakes on a possible rail workers strike that could deal a major blow to the economy. (Inaudible) representing unions and railroads met with the Labor Secretary in a last ditch effort to reach a deal by midnight Thursday. That's when 60,000 workers could walk off the job in solidarity, with train engineers fighting for sick time. A strike will mean freight rail which makes up 40% of all freight in the US will grind to a halt, impacting everything from parts for cars to fertilizer for farming.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Transportation is a big part of the cost of to the consumer and I don't believe there's one person in the country that it won't affect.
MUNTEAN (voice-over): Starting Thursday, some railroads will stop accepting shipments of grain, critical to feed livestock and potentially further driving up costs at supermarkets. Rail passengers will be impacted too. Amtrak is canceling all of its long distance routes outside of the Northeast Corridor. In Chicago, nine of 11 commuter lines will stop when a strike begins.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been commuting from the suburbs to Chicago now for over 30 years. I can never remember this happening. It could take two hours if I'm driving. On train, it's 40 minutes.
MUNTEAN (voice-over): With midterm elections on the horizon, the pressure is on the Biden administration to reach a resolution the President himself has called unions and employers pushing them to resolve their differences. If a freight rail shutdown does happen, trucking companies say they cannot pick up the slack.
[01:25:06]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It starts with a very small impact but it grows geometrically.
MUNTEAN: One more potential impact here, water treatment facilities are worried they will not be able to get chlorine, which is critical for cleaning water. It's often sent by rail, that's why water treatment facilities are now warning that many municipalities nationwide will have to issue boil water advisories if this rail strike does in fact happen. Pete Muntean, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Still to come here on CNN, 25 years ago they formed a unique bond forged in grief over the death of their mother, well grief bring them together once again. A look at the lives of Prince Harry and William when we come back. Also, queenless lightness and royal insignia have graced British life for decades, now the UK must change at all to honor the new king.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back, I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN Newsroom, 20 minutes past the hour.
As lines continue to grow for mourners waiting to pay their final respects to Queen Elizabeth now lying in state in Westminster. Once inside the hall, mourners are walking slowly past the Queen's coffin. Many have been waiting for hours for this moment to say goodbye.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's important for me. I've had the Queen in my life. She's been immortal, I think. And it's hard to believe she's gone. So yes, I just felt that we needed to be here. I needed to pay my respects to her. She's done an incredible amount of service for this country and beyond, so it felt like the right thing to do
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Queen has always been someone who I always admire. And I just finished work and decide last minute, you know, let me go and my last goodbye. So that's why I came.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: You can check on the length of the queue to get inside Westminster Hall with a website there by the British government. Right now, 6:30 AM Local Time, about two miles at where it was an hour ago.
Has many across the United Kingdom and around the world mourn Queen Elizabeth, they're also keeping an eye on Prince William and Harry, the brothers who are bound by tragedy of their mother's death when they were just boys. Now as adults, their relationship has become strained, distant and complicated. Here's CNN's Richard Quest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Princes William and Harry marching somberly together behind their grandmother's coffin on Wednesday, echoing a painful memory of another tragic time 25 years ago when the two young brothers united in grief walked heartbreakingly behind their mother's casket. Their bond seemingly unbreakable.
From the time they were little, the so called air and the spare were always together, whether on royal duty or just horsing around.
[01:29:41]
PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: He's definitely got more brain than me, I think we've established that from school. But when it comes to all that hand -- I'm much better hands-on --
PRINCE WILLIAM, PRINCE OF WALES: I've got more brains. It's pretty rich coming from a ginger. QUEST: Harry was best man when the future Prince of Wales married
Catherine. Then it was Harry's turn to wed. William also serving as best man for his little brother.
The two sharing a private, funny moment, caught on camera, as they waited for his bride, the American actress Meghan Markle.
But it wasn't long after that that signs of a royal rift appeared to show. Whilst on a tour of Africa, this eyebrow raising comment by Prince Harry revealed much, even though it said little.
PRINCE HARRY: We'll always be brothers. And we're certainly on different paths at the moment.
QUEST: In 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced their decision to step back as working royals, the extent of that fracture, glaringly obvious. Prince William then forced to carry alone royal duties that the brothers had been expected to shoulder together.
And then there was the tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, from the accusation that Catherine, Princess of Wales had caused Meghan to cry a few days before her wedding, to the more serious allegations of racism in the royal family, and a lack of support from those he was once close to.
PRINCE HARRY: The relationship is spaced at the moment.
QUEST: The airing of the royal dirty laundry, rippling like an earthquake across the Atlantic. The normally stoic and quiet future monarch, defended his family against the accusations.
PRINCE WILLIAM: No. We're very much not a racist family.
QUEST: When their grandfather Prince Philip passed in April last year many had hoped it would be the catalyst to start the healing process. It was a hope that seemed to be in vain.
Now, with the passing of their beloved granny, an opening, an opportunity.
A surprise joint walkabout of the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in Windsor, where they greeted mourners.
The first time in years the couple had appeared in public together. Later showing an intimate dinner with the rest of the royals on Tuesday night at Buckingham Palace. A sign that perhaps this royal rift might finally be on the mend.
Richard Quest, CNN -- Buckingham Palace, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: For more now, British television presenter, Trisha Goddard joins us from Stanford, Connecticut. Welcome to the program.
TRISHA GODDARD, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you.
VAUSE: So as William and Harry walked behind their grandmother's coffin, this brought back so many memories from 25 years ago. William 15 years old, Harry 12, just boys walking behind their mother's coffin. And it was that tragedy they forged this incredibly close bond for one another.
And all these years later these people obviously are no longer close. They did not have the same relationship. Notably they did not walk side by side during the funeral procession of Prince Philip last year.
So, maybe we're looking at some progress here. But they reportedly have major issues which are unresolved and this feud seems unlikely to end anytime soon, right?
GODDARD: Well, we don't really know the full extent of it. I mean number one, grief is something that can tear families apart. They wouldn't be the first and wouldn't be the last.
And so probably the brothers, you know, as kids grow older they become different people and what have you and they've had very different trajectories.
So yes, they don't get on -- how many in families always do. But I really feel that the press, the British tabloid, certain sections of the British tabloid press, one of whom has been sued successfully three times, has added to that.
And when Harry got with Meghan Markle and that all blew up. I mean Meghan came in as an American, as a Hollywood actress and you know, she didn't read the room right, but I do feel the press has been very, very vicious to her. It brings back to Harry memories of how his mother was pursued by the press.
VAUSE: Well, in his first address to the nation as king, Charles offered this support to Harry. Listen to this.
[01:34:51]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING CHARLES III, BRITISH MONARCH: I want also to express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Was that essentially an olive branch coming from The Firm?
GODDARD: It's a recognition that they are part of the family. However ostracized they might have felt. So it's what you do as a parent. It's actually what you do. And honestly, I mean you might gripe about family members within -- you know, within four walls but when other outside influences keep going on at them you have something to say.
Look, I wouldn't be surprised that under King Charles as he is now, that King Charles doesn't take a firmer stance against certain sections of the media.
Look, Meghan Markle makes money as clickbait -- as clickbait. They make money from, you know -- from running somebody down, it doesn't matter whether you disagree with someone or not. It is relentless.
And I actually think Prince Charles -- you know, the Queen kind of stayed out of that, especially since her beloved Prince Philip died. I really think you might see things change a little bit because when he said, especially with Harry and Meghan, to me it gave the message to those certain sections of the press, that hey they are on board, I am on board with them.
So I really hope Prince Charles does that taking a stance (ph).
VAUSE: There's also this constant scrutiny, every movement real or imagined is under the, microscope, especially for Harry and Meghan who apparently was seen breaking ranks with an impulsive gesture while leaving Westminster. And that impulsive gesture was holding hands.
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: This is from news.com.au. According to body language expert Judy James, the gesture was emotionally impulsive, and showed they were both grateful to be back together. How about that?
Also body language expert said Meghan Markle does not look confident while walking with Kate and William.
I mean, you know, I guess, you know, mending relationships is hard, but it's got to be incredibly difficult under this sort of spotlight, right.
GODDARD: It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. And again it comes down to clickbait. It comes down to clickbait. It is unfair. I mean that particular newspaper greeted Meghan -- very, very warmly with almost great (INAUDIBLE).
It's relentless. And a lot of the headlines and a lot of things and a lot of the comments that are allowed in some of the (INAUDIBLE) the tabloid newspapers in the U.K. are not permitted. They don't happen in this day.
And you have to remember Meghan and now Harry live in the states and it must be a culture shock to go back into that.
I couldn't agree with you more. I mean God forbid a loving couple should hold hands at times of grief, oh my God. You know --
VAUSE: It's truly shocking.
GODDARD: Did you know that even the people who aren't the Sussexes greatest fans are saying enough -- enough already. It's bullying. Let's call it for what it is. It is now turned into incessant bullying.
VAUSE: Yes. Enough. Enough already, absolutely.
Trisha Goddard, thank you so much for being with us.
GODDARD: You're very welcome.
VAUSE: An end to the reign of Queen Elizabeth means an end to her ubiquitous presence across the U.K. and the commonwealth. Now, taxes in Britain will be paid to His Majesty's Revenue and Customs. The Queen's image right now is on British currency as well as the currency of other commonwealth nations. Issuing new notes and coins with the image King Charles could take many years, there's no timeline yet though from the royal mint.
Elizabeth II's insignia is also found on tens of thousands of police uniforms. In they future they change to reflect Charles III instead.
New post box would have some changes as well, although existing ones will keep Elizabeth's (INAUDIBLE) and that of King George.
British stamps will eventually be issued with the image of King Charles. Over the years, the Queen personally approved all stamps bearing her likeness.
Here's what a spokesman for the "Royal Mail" told CNN's Richard Quest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID GOLD, DIRECTOR EXTERNAL AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS, ROYAL MAIL: With his authority, released new stance bearing his image, I would suggest that won't be immediate, we will of course wait until after the period of mourning to make any further comments about that.
But there is a process in place, and as you said, all stamps go before the king, as they have done with his mother for the last 70 years.
And it is my understanding that it's something she really enjoyed doing, looking at our stamp designs.
And of course, se said that image of the Queen did never did age. The image that was created by Arnold Machin in 1967 continued until her death and became a globally iconic image.
And it is said that it was reproduce as any as 300 billion times.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:39:58]
VAUSE: For those who have watched "The Crown", the Netflix series, we remember this was a dramatization, part of a series when the Queen actually chose her image for the next stamp. It was quite a good episode.
Still to come, could the end of the pandemic actually be within reach? The World Health Organization has a very optimistic if current trends continue. But it comes with a warning, even though cases and deaths have fallen.
And BFF's together once again. There's a lot of catching up to do for these two old autocrats. But how far will Xi go to two prop up Putin?
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone.
Desperate times require desperate measures seems to be an understatement when it comes to the lengths some in Lebanon have gone just to withdraw their own money from their own bank accounts.
Like one woman who doused herself in petrol, threatened to set herself on fire when she was not given access to her own cash.
State news agency reports she had a gun which she later said was a toy. She stormed the bank in Beirut on Wednesday, along with other people furious that their accounts have been frozen.
They took hostages before the woman received about $20,000 of her own money, from her own account. She says she needed to pay for her sister's cancer treatment. She was not arrested,
But this is the second hostage situation in a Lebanese bank over the same issue since last month.
Lebanese banks have locked most customers out of their accounts because the country right now is dealing with a crippling financial crisis.
There is more unrest in Haiti as officials announced and end to fuel subsidies, an effort they say to help collect more taxes, raise revenue.
Wednesday they expect the price of fuel to more than double in the coming days. This comes after weeks of sometimes violent demonstrations across Haiti protesting the rising cost of living. Police say at least ten people have been killed since last weekend.
The end is nigh. After more than two and a half years, the end is in sight for the COVID pandemic according to the World Health Organization. The head of the WHO has warned against losing steam in this battle with the coronavirus noting the world has never been in a better position to end the pandemic for good.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: A Marathon runner does not stop when the finish line comes into view. She runs harder with all the energy she has left. So must we.
We can see the finish line. We are in a winning position but now is the worst time to stop running.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Well noting the risk of more variants as well as deaths to the virus, the WHO announced the lowest number of reported COVID related deaths last week since the start of the pandemic. New cases around the globe have also shown a steady decline.
[01:44:57]
VAUSE: Chinese president, Xi Jinping, is in Central Asia for his first visit abroad since the pandemic. Right now he's in Uzbekistan for a regional summit where he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. They're expected to talk about Ukraine and Taiwan and a lot of other issues in the coming hours.
President Xi first visited Kazakhstan on Wednesday. There he discussed ways to further a comprehensive strategic partnership with Kazakhstan.
CNN's Steven Jiang joins us now live from Beijing.
This is kind of an interesting time for Xi Jinping because he's got this big political gathering in Beijing next month but right now he's got his friend, you know, his very close friend, his BFF, Vladimir Putin in a bit of trouble. So how far does Xi Jinping go to prop up Vladimir Putin?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yes John, just like Xi Jinping has been doubling down on his zero COVID policy domestically, it's pretty safe to assume he's going to double down his commitment to the so-called no-limits partnership with Russia and with Putin personally as you said. Putin could use something like that given his increasing pariah status as well the recent developments on the battlefield.
But that of course, is happening despite China's claim of neutrality on this war. Although that claim was recently somewhat betrayed by remarks by one of Xi's most trusted senior official, the number 3 official in the party hierarchy telling his Russian counterpart just last week, how China quote-unquote, understands Russia's reason to launch this war because it was backed into a corner by the U.S. and NATO on its core interest. And he even pledged to expand quote-quote, "coordinated actions" between the two sides.
Now this is a reflection of what's been going on in the past few months with the two countries not only maintaining but strengthening their ties on every aspect, economically, diplomatically and even militarily.
So the two strongman leaders very much sharing their grievances against the west and a sense of besiegement in trying to create and promote a new world order not led by the U.S. or dominated by the west.
And that is very much what this regional summit in Uzbekistan for this group called Shanghai Cooperation Organization is all about. Although the challenge now faced by China led by Xi Jinping, of course, is that Central Asian nations China is so eager to cultivate culture ties with are the same nations that Putin consider to be his backyard and these nations are very suspicious of Russia's intentions in the region.
So how Xi is going to strike a very delicate balance is very much being very closely watched but that of course is not the focus of the state media here. They're really touting China's growing cloud in the region and Xi's global statesmanship and just a month before that all- important Communist Party Congress has mentioned where Xi is of a certainly to assume a precedent breaking him third term, John.
VAUSE: Steven thank you. Steven Jiang, live for us there in Beijing.
Well after recent setbacks in Ukraine, Russia needs China both economically and economically more than ever before.
However CNN's Clare Sebastian reports Beijing's support may only go so far.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In December 2019 a tangible success for Vladimir Putin's pivot east.
Spanning almost 2,000 miles the power of Siberia Pipeline was the first direct link supply in Russian natural gas. To China that gas can be supplied under $400 billion dollar first yar give, signed in 2014 just three months after Russia annexed Crimea as western sanctions tightened their grip.
SAM GREENE, KING'S COLLEGE LONDON: As Russia decide to essentially GO to war -- Europe over trade treaty over a comprehensive free trade agreement, Europe wanted to sign with Ukraine. What the initial intervention in Crimea and in eastern Ukraine in 2014, you know, Putin knew that this was going to bring cost. He knew it was going to bring sanctions and so he saw the relationship with China as an opportunity to hedge against that.
SEBASTIAN: Pipelines and pancakes signaled ever closer ties between Putin and Xi as both country saw relations with the west deteriorate. No surprise then that Putin's last foreign trip before invading Ukraine was to Beijing where the two leaders declared their relationship had, quote, "no limits".
Russia's invasion did reveal some limits. Chinese officials say they have not provided military or economic aid to Russia. But China has refused to condemn the war, abstaining or voting with Russia at the U.N. despite international pressure.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think that China understands that its economic future is much more closely tied to the west, that it is to Russia.
SEBASTIAN: And yet, trade between Russia and China grew by almost a third in the first seven months of the year, according to a Reuters analyst of Custom's data. (INAUDIBLE) --
[01:49:54]
VAUSE: China has ramped up its presence in this, albeit heavily discounted, Russian crude oil, a trend Russia hopes will continue on a path to E.U. oil embargo comes into force in December.
And Russia's energy giant Gazprom says that daily gas flows through the Powers Siberia pipeline hit a record in July. This month the two countries announced China would pay for gas in rubles and won, shifting away from the dollar. Another sign of their shared opposition to the U.S.-led world order, something that could China intensified in the wake of speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.
GREENE: China's is really not enjoying but it's taking us an opportunity to see, you know, how the West responds to another (INAUDIBLE) like this to see where the breaking points might be.
SEBASTIAN: The test now with Russia losing ground on the battlefield, is whether China's tacit support has a breaking point when Russia needs it the most.
Clare Sebastian, CNN -- London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Muifa typhoon weakens as it moves across China, but a new storm threat is on the horizon to parts of Asia. The very latest forecast when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: A federal jury has found disgraced singer R. Kelly guilty on multiple charges of child pornography and enticement. He was acquitted on several other charge. Kelly's attorney spoke shortly after the verdict came down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER BONJEAN, LAWYER FOR R. KELLY: We're not celebrating a win entirely but we are happy that the jury really did look at each count, and as I said in my closing argument, each count counts. They did their job, and we ended up with seven not guilty counts in a 13 count -- right, seven not guilty counts in a 13-count indictment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The jury heard testimony for three weeks including from a woman who said Kelly sexually abused and recorded those interactions when she was just 14 years old. Kelly's attorney says there may be an appeal to the verdict.
A powerful tropical storm is now moving across China after making landfall as a typhoon with powerful winds gusting close to 160 kilometers per hour. It's now slowly weakened and headed north, dumping torrential rain on China's biggest city Shanghai.
But a new tropical storm which could grow into a typhoon is also brewing.
Meteorologist Derek Van Dam has the very latest. So one goes, next one comes after, and there's a few more behind that.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. The Western Pacific is becoming alive, in terms of tropical activity that's for sure. Because there was a low for sure at first at the beginning of the season. That has gone out the window. And now we're lining these storms up one after another after another.
I mean take this for example. Right behind me, I mean these winds just battering the coastline in and around Shanghai. The first red typhoon warning of the year for China, issued with typhoon Muifa (INAUDIBLE) as it approached yesterday. That's the highest level typhoon warning that the China Meteorological Agency actually puts out.
[01:54:55]
VAN DAM: So typhoon Muifa -- wind speeds at arrival, 160 kilometers per hour as it just curbed to the east coast of China, and continues to move over the cooler waters of the Yellow Sea. And that is going to allow for weakening to continue but not before packing quite a punch.
Look at these wind speeds recorded here, 150 kilometers per hour or higher. Rainfall totals over the past day or so, over 230 millimeters in some instances. But as I mentioned, the storm weakening as it move to the northeast. Currently a tropical storm so no longer a typhoon. It's at 110 kilometers per hour and it is racing to the northeast and will continue to weaken as it does so.
But as John mentioned just a moment ago, we are lining up yet. another tropical storm. This is the newest tropical storm Nanmadol and it is going to make a beeline towards the southern Ryukyu Islands of Japan. You can see 100 kilometer per hour sustained winds with the storm.
But look at the projected path and the strengthening. This will certainly become a typhoon, as it edges closer to the southern portions of mainland Japan, into the weekend and the early parts of next week.
And even portions of the Korean Peninsula, in what is called a cone of uncertainty, could they seal the impact of this. Certainly, with the heavy rainfall but will they get a direct landfall, that is still yet to be determined.
And of course, you can see the other sources still impacting eastern China as we speak. Lots a population over this area, we're talking about 40 million people living in and around shanghai, that's a lot of population to be feeling the impacts of the typhoon, John?
VAUSE: Yes, it's a very densely populated area of China. So Derek, we appreciate the update, thank you.
VAN DAM: Ok.
VAUSE: This is the natural park in Chile's Patagonia Region, where a heat wave and increased rainfall caused the glacier to break apart. Falling more than 200 meters into the water below.
The moment was recorded by tourist. It quickly went viral. And what glacier break up its not the frequency is in which it's happening is another example experts say of Climate Change.
Patagonia founder Elon Sanan (ph) has donated his company to the fight against climate change.
The transfer of ownership been out outdoor Pell, the two were trying to take nature and biodiversity.
Sanan has been a fashion supporter of environmental causes. More percentage of the company stock will fund the trust, insuring Patagonia can never legally deviate from founders' wishes.
I'm John Vause: a lot more of our special coverage in just a moment with CNN's Becky Anderson in London and my colleague Kim Brunhuber here at the CNN's world headquarters in the Atlanta.
Thanks for watching. I feel like I gave them art. I'll see you right back here tomorrow.
[01:57:33]
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