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CNN International: China Tightens Security Amid Widespread Protests; Officials Lift COVID Lockdown In China's "iPhone City"; U.S. Defeat Iran 1-0, Advance To Round of 16; NATO Ministers Meet Today To Discuss Support For Ukraine; Buckingham Palace Aide Resigns Over "Unacceptable Comments"; Experimental Drug Shows "Potential" As Alzheimer's Treatment; Inside The Battle For Bakhmut In Eastern Ukraine. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired November 30, 2022 - 08:00   ET

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

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[08:00:38]

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Bianca Nobilo in London. Just ahead, more angry protests in China, even as officials increase their efforts to crack down on dissent. We're live in Hong Kong with the latest.

Then celebrations inside Iran, even as the national team lose out to the U.S. in Qatar. We'll explain why. Plus, a potential breakthrough in the fight against Alzheimer's. We'll have more on an experimental drug that's got everyone talking this morning.

New protests against China's zero-COVID policy flared up Tuesday night in parts of China in the face of the government's tough efforts to strike them down.

In southern China, protesters clashed with police. They were seen throwing empty plastic bottles towards officers who responded by deploying tear gas. Police information approached protesters wearing hazmat suits and helmets and carrying shields. All of this happening in a narrow alleyway of an urban village.

So far, CNN has verified that 23 protests have erupted across 17 Chinese cities since the weekend. You can see it on that map. CNN's Ivan Watson has been covering these protests since they began, and he joins us now live from Hong Kong. Ivan, what more have we learned about the Chinese state police handling of these protests? There have been reports of attempts to obfuscate searches and suggestions of external forces being responsible. What more do you know?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sure. Well, the authorities have said that they have to stop what they describe as criminal activity, hostile forces. They have to strike hard, which is kind of an important use of terminology in China, because that's similar to the kind of words that have been used for crackdowns in the western Xinjiang region.

And we have heard about people being stopped, having their phones searched in Shanghai, for example. And yet the most startling scenes, I think from the last 24 hours come from the southern city of Guangzhou, where you have these confrontations in the streets. These are not peaceful protesters. There are clashes taking place and scenes of riot police in these white hazmat suits with their shields deploying, firing tear gas at times and clearly in physical confrontation with residents of that city.

What is all the more striking is then the next day, city officials have announced relaxation of some of the COVID restrictions in Guangzhou, which has had lockdown measures to some degree in place ever since the beginning of November. So they've announced that they're lifting the lockdowns in four of the city's districts. They will remain in other districts perceived to be high risk areas, and they're going to stop sending close contacts of COVID cases to quarantine facilities, which has been a very standard practice across China.

So you're getting warnings from the security apparatus that there will be a swift crackdown and then signs from city officials that they're going to lift some of the measures that have people so angry in the first place. Also hearing some loosening of restrictions in the capital, Beijing, not requiring as many tests. There had been mandatory tests for COVID every 48 hours if you wanted to use public transport.

Now, there's another important factor being added to the mix here at this time of tension, and that is the death of China's former leader, Jiang Zemin. He's an important person. He's already being heralded by the Chinese government. But it is also going to raise questions about what kind of gatherings will the authorities allow to mourn this former leader, who is kind of being celebrated on the Chinese Internet with some nostalgia as a leader during a time when China was opening up to the world hosting the 2008 Olympics, as opposed to this China, which is cut off largely, almost completely due to COVID restrictions from outside travel.

Back to you.

[08:05:08]

NOBILO: Ivan Watson, thank you so much. That's so interesting about the added resonance of Zemin's legacy or how it's being interpreted now by protesters. Thank you so much.

To Qatar now and the celebrations and commiserations after a dramatic night at the World Cup. The Iranian team is set to head home after a one nil defeat by the United States. Christian Pulisic's goal the winning goal, but was then taken to hospital with an injury. Remarkably, some Iranians celebrated the U.S. win in an act of defiance against the government given the ongoing crackdown on protesters in Iran.

There's also concern over the team themselves. A security source had previously said that threats were made against the families of the team if the players did not, quote, behave. Back in Qatar, there are some big matches to watch out for later as well. Lionel Messi will lead Argentina against Poland, while Tunisia take on France.

Nada Bashir is with me for more on what Iran's exit will mean now. Nada, how material are the threats to the players and their families, obviously, off the back of their support for protest and equivocation over singing the national anthem?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, Bianca, we've seen the Iranian regime placing pressure on its athletes. Before you'll remember the case of Elnaz Rekabi, a competing rock climber who was competing overseas without her hijab. There was some concern around her safety and a lack of clarity on how she would be treated upon her attendance, has to be said when it comes to the Iranian people.

She was met in Iran by what can only be described as a hero's welcome. Now, all eyes tonight will be on how the Iranian football team will be met at the airport, of course, both by the regime itself and the Iranian people. And there is concern over their safety because, of course, some of the players chose not to sing the national anthem ahead of their opening match against England. Now they did sing the national anthem in the match against the United States.

But as we've learned from a source working closely on the security of the games, the team players themselves, their coach, as well as their family members back at home, have faced threats from the security forces warning the players too, in their words, behave essentially not to show any signs of dissent or solidarity with the protest movement at home. And crucially, to ensure that they did sing the national anthem ahead of that very politically charged match against the United States just yesterday.

So there is some concern, of course, around their treatment upon their return. According to the state aligned Tasnim News Agency, they are expected to arrive later tonight back home in Iran. But, of course, what was also remarkable to see across the country overnight last night was the celebrations taking place both in the capital in Tehran and numerous other cities, particularly in Iran's northwestern Kurdish region, where we saw people taking to the streets, celebrating, chanting, cheering, honking their car horns in celebration of the U.S.'s defeat of the Iranian national team.

Now, of course, while the Iranian pairs themselves may have their own personal views, the team has been seen as a sort of symbol of the public facing aspect of the Iranian regime and institution and this has been taken as part of that process movement. Bianca?

NOBILO: It will be fascinating to see the reception of the Iranian team when they return, I mean, that you'll be watching it for us. Nada Bashir, thank you.

And we'll have much more on all the World Cup action on the pitch day coming up in World Sport in around 20 minutes time. Before that, an update from injured U.S. star Christian Pulisic. He's promising to be back in action on Saturday while the U.S. head coach gave this update to CNN just in the past hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GREGG BERHALTER, HEAD COACH, U.S. MEN'S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM: He seems to be doing good. Just spoke with him a couple of minutes ago and we're going to see what he can do on the training field tomorrow and hopefully he'll be ready for the game against Netherlands. But in terms of his contribution to the group, you know, I've said all along, when one of your most talented players is also one of your hardest workers, you know you're in a good spot.

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NOBILO: Vladimir Putin has focused his iron fire on Ukrainian civilians. Those words from America's top diplomat who says Russia has bombed more than a third of Ukraine's electricity and water supply in the past few weeks. Secretary of State Antony Blinken vows ironclad support for Ukraine at a two-day NATO meeting in Romania. NATO ministers meanwhile, are pledging more arms and equipment to help Ukraine restore its damaged infrastructure.

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JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: Ukraine has made significant gains, but we must not underestimate Russia. Russian missiles and drones continue to strike Ukrainian cities, civilians and critical infrastructure. This is causing enormous human suffering as winter sets in.

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NOBILO: Salma Abdelaziz is following all of these developments for us from London. Salma, what tangible outcomes are expected from this NATO gathering?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ukraine is going to walk away with quite a few you significant pledges here from this two-day NATO summit.

[08:10:04]

Let's remember what the request was from Kyiv at the beginning of this meeting. It was for two things, air defense systems, particularly patriot air defense systems from the United States and also transformers. And that's because for weeks and months now, Russia has been waging this campaign trying to target Ukraine civilian infrastructure. It's left millions of people without power, without running water. Serious concerns about the humanitarian situation in the country as it heads into a cold dark winter.

There's promises there. Already, Germany promising to provide hundreds of generators. Millions of dollars will be provided by the United States to fix power grids and other infrastructure and other allies are also going to pitch in as well. And then on that second issue of air defense systems, well, our colleague Christian Amanpour just a short time ago sat down with the U.S. Secretary of State. This is what he told her.

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ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We're now very focused on air defense systems and not just us, many other countries. And we're working to make sure that the Ukrainians get those systems as quickly as possible, but also as effectively as possible, making sure that they're trained on them, making sure that they have the ability to maintain them. And all of that has to come together. And it is, we have a very deliberate process established by the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin in Ramstein, Germany that meets regularly to make sure that the Ukrainians are getting what they need, when they need it.

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ABDELAZIZ: Now, if you want to see the full interview with the U.S. Secretary of State, that's going to air tonight 01:00 p. m. Eastern time on Amanpour, that's 06:00 p. m. London time. But to what this two-day summit really -- two days of meetings rather really gives Ukraine. There's a two front battlefield here, right, Bianca? You have the actual battlefield, the actual frontline, soldiers on the ground who need weapons, who need Ammos.

But also you're hearing that Ukrainians, average Ukrainian families suffering from these power outages, from these attacks on civilian infrastructure, they're going to get that help that they need from Ukraine's allies. Bianca?

BLITZER: Salma Abdelaziz, great to see you. Thank you.

And later in the program we'll have a report from the front lines in the town of Bakhmut, that's coming up in around 15 minutes time. Russia's war in Ukraine will be among the top items on the agenda as French President Emmanuel Macron pays a three-day visit to the United States. Mr. Macron touched down in Washington late Tuesday. He'll meet with Vice President Kamala Harris in just a few hours and then later he'll attend a private dinner with President Biden and the First Lady.

This is the first time Mr. Biden has invited any world leader for an official state visit since he took office nearly two years ago.

And some news just into CNN. We're learning that a Buckingham Palace aide has resigned over what have been called unacceptable comments made to a charity campaigner at a reception given by Queen Consort Camilla. The palace says it takes the exchange extremely seriously and this could overshadow the Boston visit by the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Well, there's no better to talk to you about this than CNN's Royal Correspondent Max Foster, whose life for us in Boston. Max, tell us more about what you're learning about this exchange and how the palace are responding.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: All the royal correspondent here, Bianca, and you're right, it is a distraction. It's all everyone is now talking about. As you say, it's just come in. So this starts with a tweet from Ngozi Fulani. She founded a domestic abuse charity. She was at an event at Buckingham Palace about domestic abuse organized by the Queen Consort.

And she says in this tweet, she has mixed feelings about the visit to Buckingham Palace. Ten minutes after arriving, a member of staff, Lady SH, we haven't identified her, but it's a senior member of the household, approached her and moved her hair to see the name badge. And then a conversation unfolded and she offers a transcription of this conversation. And it's basically, the member of the household repeatedly asked her where she's from and she describes how she's from Hackney, which is an area of London.

And again, the member of the household asks her where she's from. Where you must know where you're from, I spent time in France. Where are you from? And goes he says, here in the U.K. But what nationality are you? Says the member of the household. I am born here, I'm British. No, where do you really come from? Where do your people come from?

I'm not going to read it all out, Bianca, because it's an excruciating sort of conversation to look at and it's extremely difficult, obviously, for the palace. Shortly after we started talking about this tweet, the palace came back with a statement saying, "We take this incident extremely seriously and have investigated immediately to establish a full detail." So they are taking this very seriously.

In this instance, "Unacceptable and deeply regrettable comments have been made. We've reached out to Ngozi Fulani on this matter and we're inviting her to discuss all elements of her experience in person if she wishes."

[08:15:09]

I'll just read the final bit, Bianca. "In the meantime, the individual concerned would like to express her profound apologies for the hurt cause and the steps aside from her role." It's not the last we're going to hear from this, I don't think, Bianca.

NOBILO: Absolutely not. And we know that you'll stay on top of it for us and we'll chat back in with you tomorrow. Max Foster in Boston, thank you so much.

Still to come, a new drug could meaningfully change the effects of Alzheimer's disease. Is this the breakthrough that we've all been waiting for? We'll dig into data coming up next.

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NOBILO: An exciting development in the fight against Alzheimer's disease. We're getting detailed data on a clinical trial that shows a new experimental drug does appear to counteract the effects of Alzheimer's. It's one of the first treatments to potentially slow the decline of brain function in someone with the disease.

Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins me now. Elizabeth, tell us how promising is this new drug?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Bianca, this drug is promising, but we do want to manage expectations. It's not a cure, it's not clear in -- if it gets into the real world, exactly how much it will help patients. Let's take a look at this study. What they did is they took 1,800 people who had early sort of mild stages, mild Alzheimer's early stages. They divided them into two groups.

Some of them got a placebo and some of them got the drugs. After 18 months, so this took a while, after 18 months, those who took the drug had a 27 percent slower rate of cognitive decline. So, in other words, there was decline, but it was 27 percent slower. Also, their amyloid levels dropped. Amyloid is the plaques that you see in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.

What's unclear is what this means for people. Will they live different lives? Will they feel different? Will their families perceive them? Will you be able to say, wow, she seems really different, she seems much better? It's hard to know. And here's the main question. Whatever advantage people get from this drug, is it worth the risk? And there are risks. They did find some side effects from this drug or I should say, adverse events.

So when they looked at folks who were taking the drug, 17 percent of them had brain bleeding and 12 percent of them had brain swelling. Now, to be clear, some people who got the placebo had those two things happen, but a much higher percentage who were on the drug had them. There were two deaths in the group with the folks who took the drug, but the company said were unrelated. The deaths did get a lot of media coverage. Bianca?

NOBILO: Elizabeth, what's the mechanism by which this drug works?

[08:20:00]

COHEN: So we talked about those amyloid plaques, those plaques that you see in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. This drug is a monoclonal antibody, and it basically kind of binds to and can diminish the plaques. That's a good thing. You don't want to see those plaques. The question is, does it diminish them enough? Does it have enough of an effect on someone, and is it worth the risks?

NOBILO: And given how prevalent Alzheimer's disease is, I mean, most of us know somebody with it. This drug sounds promising, but what are the drugs that also in the pipeline that could hold promise for those people?

COHEN: So, Bianca, there are hundreds of drugs in the pipeline, and the hope is that those will be even better and that they won't come with these side effects. But really, it takes years and years and years to develop drugs. So I don't think anyone should be expecting any kind of a cure or any kind of a treatment that's necessarily much better than this one anytime very soon.

NOBILO: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much.

And still ahead, we take you to the battle for one eastern Ukrainian city.

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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: All right. Well you can hear the incoming rounds.

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NOBILO: CNN is on the ground as Ukraine's military fights back against near constant bombardment from Russian forces.

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NOBILO: Welcome back. We take you now to the front lines in Ukraine and the fierce fighting in the city of Bakhmut. Russia has concentrated large numbers of forces there, and one Ukrainian commander says that his forces are struggling. CNN's Matthew Chance has more on the innovations in this 21st century battle.

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CHANCE (voice-over): The brutal fight for Bakhmut, where Ukrainian troops are battling Russia's onslaught. These exclusive images are from the soldiers themselves. Their commanders tell us dozens of lives are now being sacrificed here every day.

The road into town is heavy with thick smoke and danger. Explosions ahead force us to pull over before another slams into a building close by.

(on-camera): All right. Well, you can hear the incoming rounds. The incoming rounds from Russian artillery fire are really intensive here as we have entered the outskirts of Bakhmut, which is, you know, certainly from everything we're seeing, everything we've been told is now the most fiercely contested patch of ground in the entire Russia- Ukrainian conflict.

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CHANCE (voice-over): So fierce, we made a rapid exit, leaving the relentless barrage behind.

Much of this battle is forced, avoiding the artillery threat. In underground bunkers like these, where local Ukrainian commanders like Pablo (ph) can respond to Russian attacks.

[08:25:12]

They're assaulting oppositions from early morning until night, he tells me, but the real problem is we are heavily outnumbered, he said. But the innovative use of low-cost tech is helping to bridge that gap. In another frontline bunker, we saw how commercially available drones are giving Ukraine an edge.

(on-camera): Wow, that's incredible because we've just seen an artillery strike in this position. That the Ukrainian drone operators have identified as being full of Russians. Like, you can see, Russian soldiers as we look at them live now running for cover as Ukrainian artillery pounds their positions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, this is our position.

CHANCE (voice-over): But battery commanders at the front line, like Tuman (ph), tell me they're now running low on ammunition rounds. That even guns sent from the United States are breaking under such constant strain. They need more of both, they say, if this battle for Bakhmut is ever to be won.

Matthew Chance, CNN, in Bakhmut, Eastern Ukraine.

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NOBILO: Credible reporting there from our teams on the ground.

And finally, the world's largest active volcano continues to erupt in Hawaii, spewing lava for the first time in almost 40 years. The lava flow from Mauna Loa is now within a few miles of the big island's main highway. Hawaii's governor has signed an emergency proclamation due to the eruption, allowing the government to issue alerts and audit evacuations when necessary. Officials say no communities are in immediate danger, thankfully, though, conditions could change at any moment.

Thanks so much for joining us here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Bianca Nobilo in London. And World Sports with Amanda Davies in Doha is up to you next. See you tomorrow.

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