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Prince Harry and Meghan's Docu-series Now Available; Peru's President Arrested; Far-right Group Arrested in Germany; Russia Failed in Ukraine; Doctors Treat Patients with Less Resources. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired December 08, 2022 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN Newsroom. And I'm Rosemary Church.
We begin with this breaking news. This is the hour the highly anticipated Harry and Meghan docu-series is being released and a huge audience is expected to tune in for the royal revelations and possibly explosive details.
So let's get right to our royal correspondent Max Foster, who joins us live from London. Good to see you, Max. So, what new revelations can we expect and how is the royal family bracing for this?
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly the questions that we are asking here, Rosemary. I mean, it's literally just dropped. You can now watch it. So everyone is going to be pouring over it. What's interesting about this is that there has been no previewing of this whatsoever, only a very small group of people directly involved in the series have had any access to it whatsoever.
No one in the media has been given a preview. No one in the palace has been given a preview, so we are just waiting to see what's in it.
You're looking here at images from one of the trailers. It was controversial because images were used in there juxtaposed against a transcript, which didn't really match. The pictures weren't necessarily speaking to what was implied in the trailer. But that's the only bit of controversy really, so far, because the revelations in the trailers spoke to things that we've heard before.
So, what we're really looking for is specific allegations and case studies really that back up the Sussex's claims that they weren't supported by the palace, that they were being briefed against by certain elements within the palace and that they weren't supported or protected by the family, or indeed the palace system.
And if there are any additional allegations around race, for example, one of the descriptions of the series is addresses discrimination. So, we are expecting some more about the racism that Meghan, in particular, faced within the palace when she was part of that system. CHURCH: And of course, the problem so far with this trailer is the
distraction of one particular shot of the paparazzi. They're actually, that was from Harry Potter scene, wasn't it? And they -- that was paparazzi gathering for that, not Harry and Meghan. And that has a lot of people, lot of tongues wagging about them not really sticking to the truth.
FOSTER: Yes. But they would say that, you know, the director was very much in charge of this project and they can't, they didn't have absolute control over it. There's some cynicism around that because of course, when they sign the deal with Netflix and indeed the director, they would've -- there would be some degree of selection about what goes into it and how the -- what they want from it.
There's also another still picture in there, which is more nuance, it is. It's when they're talking about media intrusion it shows a camera up high and they're down low, walking away from the camera. But that wasn't a paparazzi shot. That was a palace approved. Harry and Meghan approved pool position shot, which was in South Africa. I was on that tour. So, all of those positions were approved by the couple.
So, there is some controversy there, but I think a lot of their supporters would say we're being distracted by all of this. What's important is the main message, which is that they weren't in control of their own narrative in the palace and it didn't work for them, and now they want to take control back.
The other con -- criticism, of course, Rosemary, is that they are criticizing the media at the same time as using the media. I think their counter-argument to that would be they do want to tell their story, but they just want to be in control of it. They don't want lies and misinformation put out there about their own lives. They want it to be real.
CHURCH: And once the whole docu-series is out, does it really signal an end to any relationship that Harry can hope to have with his brother or his father?
FOSTER: I think it's really damaged just by the fact that this has happened and no one in the palace has been consulted or been allowed to look at what allegations might be coming up. So that's done a huge amount of damage even if there are no revelations in there.
I think there will be revelations because you can't pitch a series like this to Netflix for a huge amount of money without it having some sort of, you know, revelations which the world can latch onto. I think that's what everyone is expecting. If there are revelations, then I think this time round, unlike after the Oprah interview, the palace, the family will respond.
[03:05:04]
Because we're under a different regime now. There's a king in charge, not a queen, and the queen never wanted to get into a public spat with Harry. But if Prince Charles, King Charles, as he is now, has been criticized by Harry, I think he will be more likely to respond as well the prince of Wales.
CHURCH: So, Max, you are pretty busy now. Max Foster going off to watch the first episode that has dropped and of course once he's watched that he'll be back with us with all of the details. We look forward to that. So go off, watch some tele.
FOSTER: Pay to watch Netflix.
CHURCH: Exactly. Very lucky.
FOSTER: It's the first.
CHURCH: Thank you.
Well, Peru was again plunged into political turmoil on Wednesday with the impeachment and arrest of its embattled president. Angry supporters of President Pedro Castillo faced off against riot Police as the tense drama unfolded in the capitol.
Castillo and his family have been embroiled in investigations since he came to power 18 months ago. And early Wednesday, he announced he was dissolving Congress in an apparent bid to stay in power. Critics accused Castillo of attempting a coup. Within hours he had been impeached and taken into custody.
Vice President Dian Boluarte was quickly sworn in as Peru's first female president and became the sixth head of state in just five years.
Well, for the very latest, here is Stefano Pozzebon in Bogota.
STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: It was a dramatic escalation that lasted a few hours on Wednesday morning. Pedro Castillo was still the president of Peru. By the afternoon he was out of office. Detained by Lima's prosecutors and facing charges of rebellion against the states.
What triggered this escalation was Castillo's decision to dismiss Congress call for early legislative elections, just only a few hours before facing an impeachment vote that was scheduled in Congress against him, but not even his political party supported Castillo's actions. And a former president was quickly accused of attempting a coup in rapid successions.
All of Peru state powers rejected the former president's orders and Congress rapidly proceeded to oust him. For his part, Castillo has always claimed he's innocent, rejected any allegation and saying that he's ready to cooperate with any investigation brought against him. But it's a fact that Peru now has a new president.
Its Castillo's former deputy and the first woman to hold the office in Peruvian history, Dina Boluarte.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DINA BOLUARTE, PERUVIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I ask for a political truth to install a national Unity government, this high responsibility calls upon us all. I am not asking for my government to be immune from scrutiny. What I am asking is time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
POZZEBON: And even with a new president proves political crisis really seem to know no end. Buluarte is the sixth president in less than five years. And she also faced a congressional investigation a mere few weeks ago before being dismissed. Her mandate runs through 2026, and while time is what she asks, the task of bringing the country together could not be more urgent.
For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon.
CHURCH: Left wing union leader Pedro Castillo was relatively unknown when he narrowly won a runoff election in 2021 against a far-right candidate, but he and his family have been targeted by government investigations ever since and has already been impeached twice.
On Wednesday, he was facing yet another impeachment vote when he attempted to dissolve the Congress leading to his ouster and arrest for alleged rebellion. Peru's new leader must now try to get the nation's ailing economy under control. Like many parts of the world, average citizens have been battered by inflation and high unemployment. A staggering one quarter of the population is currently living in poverty.
A castle in Eastern Germany has been under police surveillance after an alleged plot by a far-right group to overthrow the German government was uncovered. The castle belongs to a suspected ring leader who goes by the name of Prince Heinrich the 13th. He is a descendant of a dynasty that once ruled parts of Eastern Germany.
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Heinrich is among 25 suspected members or supporters of the group who were arrested in a series of police raids on Wednesday. Officials say their goal was to put an end to democracy in Germany and bring back a monarchy with Heinrich at the helm.
German officials also say the suspects follow a number of conspiracy theories, including QAnon. As Brian Todd reports that's only one of the similarities between that group and some extremists here in the United States.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Armed German police makes sweeping arrests across the country. A drag net resulting in the apprehensions of 25 people, members or supporters of what German officials say is a far-right terrorist organization that was allegedly plotting to overthrow the government in Berlin.
German prosecutors say there could be twice that many people in the group overall, a group that follows the Reichsburger or Reich Citizens Movement, a movement described as radical and violent, followers of conspiracy theories like the QAnon ideology. NANCY FAESER, GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER (through translator): The suspected terrorist group uncovered today was founded based on coup d'etat fantasies and conspiracy ideologies.
TODD: Just how closely aligned are those German right-wing militants to the QAnon movement in the U.S.
JON LEWIS, RESEARCH FELLOW, PROGRAM ON EXTREMISM, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Both of the movements gain steam in 2020 around those societal conditions around anti-vax, anti-mask mandates, and around the functioning acts of the U.S. and German governments.
JOHN MILLER, FORMER DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, NYPD INTELLIGENCE AND COUNTERTERRORISM: The ties to QAnon in the U.S. are really the crossover of the conspiracy theories, which is that there is a global deep state, not just one in the United States and one in the Federal Republic of Germany, and that these groups collude and that they are not legitimate governments, that they are not legitimate leaders.
TODD: Connected to the plot in Germany according to a top German news outlet, Birgit Malsack-Winkemann, a former far-right member of Germany's lower house of parliament, a woman who now serves as a judge in Berlin's district court.
CNN was not able to get comment from her and German prosecutors did not confirm her involvement. There are also indications that the right-wing German plotters may have been channeling the January 6th insurrectionists at the U.S. capitol. German officials saying members of the group considered entering the German parliament by force.
ALEXANDER HAUSLER, RIGHT-WING EXTREMISM RESEARCHER, DUSSEDORT UNIVERSITY: The storming of the U.S. capitol after the last presidential election showed these people that there are options to destroy the state order.
TODD: But why should Americans care about a right-wing conspiracy in Germany?
MILLER: Their crossover or international communications can make it a global movement, and there's the factor of come together to do what? We got a taste of that on January 6th.
TODD: And the former and possibly future American president has embraced these fringe groups. Donald Trump, a hero of the QAnon on movement in the U.S. has recently reposted various memes and videos with references to QAnon on conspiracy theories, and took a picture on Tuesday night at a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser with a promoter of QAnon.
While agencies like the German security services and the FBI remain proactive in trying to take down these far-right extremist groups, analyst Jon Lewis says one challenge they have is that many of these groups don't have a central or visible leader. The splinter nature of the groups he says makes them tougher to penetrate, the plots harder to stop.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Still to come, treating Ukraine's war wounded. CNN goes inside one trauma hospital where doctors are saving lives, even as they face the threat of missile attacks from Russian held territory.
Plus, as Beijing rolls back zero COVID experts are warning the country is not ready for what's to come.
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CHURCH: Back to our breaking news this hour. The first three episodes of the Harry and Meghan documentary were just released. We got a glimpse of what to expect in this trailer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: There's a hierarchy of the family. You know, there's leaking, but there's also planting of stories.
UNKNOWN: There was a war against Meghan to suit other people's genders.
UNKNOWN: It's about hatred. It's about race.
PRINCE HARRY: It's a dirty game. The pain and suffering of women marrying into this institution, this feeding frenzy.
UNKNOWN: I realized they're never going to protect you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: So, that's the trailer. Our Royal correspondent Max Foster is watching right now and will give us some of the big takeaways as soon as he can.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is calling Russia's war on Ukraine a, quote, "strategic failure." His comments coming after he and the defense secretary met with senators to update them on the situation on the ground in Ukraine. He is more of what Blinken had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We're now 10 months into this, and Russia's war on Ukraine is already for Russia's strategic failure. It's failed to do what it's set out to do, which is to eliminate Ukraine as an independent country to erase its identity, to subsume it into Russia. It's being pushed back on the ground and territory that it seized is being retaken by the Ukrainians. Massive pressure has been imposed on Russia for this, for this war. And the alliance between the United States and our partners in Europe and NATO, and beyond is stronger than it's ever been.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Russian President Vladimir Putin is acknowledging that the war in Ukraine is going to take a while, but says his country will use, quote, "all means available if necessary" in what he calls a fight for Russia's national interests and his warning of an increasing threat of nuclear war. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): With regard to the threat of a nuclear war, you are right, the threat is growing, so why hide the truth? Now regarding whether or not Russia would be the first to use one, no matter what the circumstances may be? Well, if it's not the first to use one, then it couldn't be the second to use one, because a nuclear strike on our territory would greatly limit our capabilities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: CNN has exclusively learned that Ukraine is urging the Biden administration and members of Congress to provide its military with controversial cluster munitions. Now, those are weapons banned by more than 100 countries. Officials tell us it is a request that has not been rejected outright.
Both Ukraine and Russia have used cluster bombs in the war, but according to an investigation by human rights watch, Russians have used them more often and against civilian targets.
CNN's Scott McLean is following developments. He joins us now from London. So, Scott, what more you learning about this?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Rosemary. Yes, obviously the U.S. has sent Ukraine an extraordinary amount of weaponry and continues to do so, billions and billions of dollars' worth. But there are some things that the U.S. simply will not send.
They will not send long range drones, long range missiles that could strike, strike deep inside of Russian territory. They also, at least so far, will not send clustered munitions, but that has not stopped Ukraine from asking for them according to both U.S. and Ukrainian officials.
Now, one Ukrainian lawmaker said on record that if Ukraine were to have more of these weapons, that it would change the course of the war and could potentially end it sooner.
So just a bit of context here. A normal bomb used in war causes a heck of a lot of damage, radius of about, or an area about 50 meters wide or so. These cluster bombs part of the reason why they are so deadly, and also, so effective, frankly, is because the main bomb breaks into dozens and dozens of smaller bomblets and disperses over an area that is perhaps a hundred meters wide.
[03:20:03] And so, Russia has been using these weapons in Ukraine, and they're controversial obviously, because it's hard to be precise. It's impossible to be precise with these really, and so they cause a lot of civilian deaths.
We have video that you're seeing here of them being used in Kharkiv, and you kind of get a sense of why they could cause a lot of collateral damage. The Ukrainians argue that, look, we'll be using these against Russian troops, not against civilians.
The difficulty with that argument though, is that war is complicated and you often have troops in areas where there are civilians. You also have troops themselves dispersed over a wide area to be -- avoid becoming a target.
The other problem is that these bombs, not all of the little bomblets often explode, and so they're left behind sort of as de facto landmines for civilians to discover later on. And so, that's why U.S. Congress has restricted the ability of the U.S. to actually transfer those to other countries.
So, as you said, the Biden administration hasn't rejected the Ukrainian request, but they haven't really considered it seriously though. A former defense secretary though, said last night that they should. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEON PANETTA, FORMER U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: The Russians are not playing by the Marcus of Queensbury rules. They've used cluster bombs. They're sending missiles into schools, into hospitals. They have no regard for human life.
The cluster bomb is designed to go after a military operation where you've got military units that are gathered in the battlefield. I think if there are some conditions with regards to the use of those kinds of weapons, I think it is possible, that they could have that kind of weapon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLEAN: So, Rosemary, the U.S. had one model of a cluster bomb that it phased out back in 2016, in part because many of the little bomblets weren't actually detonating and they were being left behind and they switched to a version where all of the little bomblets actually do detonate on impact.
The Ukrainians interestingly enough, they're actually asking for the older version, not only because they say that it is more effective, but also because they say that otherwise it's just going to collect dust in a military stockpile. Rosemary?
CHURCH: Right. Scott McLean bringing us the very latest from his vantage point there in London. Many thanks.
In eastern Ukraine, soldiers severely wounded in battle are now flooding into a trauma hospital in the city of Kramatorsk where doctors are working urgently to save lives.
CNN's Sam Kiley went inside to see the intense work underway.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wartime brain surgery in tandem. Wounded in battle on the same day on the same front, two young men. The focus of these over practice neurosurgeons. Kramatorsk is often bombed. The windows even in here are taped to slow flying glass. The effort is intense to repair brains, to save lives, memories, loves, and future dreams.
They would have little idea where to start their delicate work if they didn't have use of this CT scanner. It can pinpoint damage, find what it's done, and it gives surgeons a plan of action.
He says, "yes, and unfortunately there is no left eye. There's a suspicion of damage to the right eye as well, but definitely no left eye."
This is the false patient we've seen in the space of about an hour come in for a CT scan. It's supposed to be doing 15 or 20 a day. They're actually doing 70 or 80. In short, it's wearing out.
This equipment is vital. The hospital can't afford a new one, but a used ones for sale in the west of Ukraine cost about 120,000 bucks. Price of losing this one incalculable.
He says he shows signs of severe cranial cerebral injury with acute subdural hematoma and severe brain confusion. He needs urgent surgery. The administrators here have raised about $60,000. They need help with the rest. This is the only CT scanner in a vast region.
Critical. This machine is critical. CT is critical to provide appropriate care for patients with both head wounds and acute brain injuries.
Is it saving lives? "Definitely. Absolutely, a hundred percent."
There's been a steady flow of soldiers injured in a near Bakhmut. That is the scene of the heaviest fighting, but this is a hospital that is trying to deal really with an area they say about 300 square kilometers and a lot of that is at war.
Some soldiers are relatively lucky. Dak (Ph) was shooting waters at the Russians who shot mortars back.
[03:25:03]
"My commander was lucky. He sat in front of me and I sat behind him and he was unhurt and I got hit in the leg. But, yes, we've seen wounded and dead before. As I'm sitting here, I'm lucky."
Ukrainians on this eastern front call it the meat grinder. Jack (Ph) was alongside Dak (Ph) when they were hit.
How would you describe the battle for Bakhmut.
UNKNOWN: One world.
KILEY: He says World War I, trenches, mud, blood, trenches, mud again, artillery, trench warfare. That's it. World War I and World War II, something like that. (Inaudible), something like that.
The difference is that modern weapons are now more powerful. Modern surgery, often the only route to survival. That an old-fashioned grit.
Sam Kiley, CNN in Kramatorsk.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Time magazine's person of the year for 2022 is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, along with the spirit of Ukraine shown by his fellow citizens. Mr. Zelenskyy has been widely praised for leading his people in the fight against Russia's invasion. Time magazine says he and the countless individuals who embodied the spirit of Ukraine made for a clear-cut choice, quote, "for proving that courage can be as contagious as fear for stirring people and nations to come together in defense of freedom for reminding the world of the fragility of democracy and of peace."
The new documentary on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and how their lives have changed dropped just moments ago. The latest when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN Newsroom. And I'm Rosemary Church.
So, let's get back to our breaking news. The first half of the New Harry and Meghan documentary was released just a short time ago, and the opening credits call the series a firsthand account of their story with never-before-seen content from their personal archive. And the couple quickly takes aim at the media. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE HARRY: It's really hard to look back on it now and go, what on earth happened? Can you hear that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: All of the interviews were completed by August and the series notes that the British Royal family declined to comment on the content.
[03:30:00]
CNN is watching it right now and we will of course bring you the latest details when we get them. And here's a, just a quick look at some key events in Harry and Meghan's lives over the past five years. In November, 2017, the couple announced their engagement and pose for
photos in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace. The following May they get married at St. George's Chapel in Windsor and are given the titles duke and duchess of Sussex. A year later, Megan gives birth to the couple's first child, a son named Archie Harrison Mountbatten- Windsor.
In January, 2020, the Sussexes announced their stepping back from their roles as senior members of the royal family. In March of 2021, CBS airs Meghan and Harry sit down interview with Oprah Winfrey generated a tabloid frenzy. And a few months later, Meghan and Harry welcome a daughter Lilibeth Diana Mountbatten-Windsor. Most recently in September, the Duke and Duchess attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth.
Well, people in China are starting to adjust to life after three years of strict COVID 19 measures. Beijing says sweeping changes to its national pandemic response are an effort to keep pace with the times. The move away from these strict zero COVID policies includes new guidelines for schools, lockdowns, travel, and access to medicine.
So, for more now we head live to Hong Kong and senior international correspondent Ivan Watson. Good to see you, Ivan.
So, what a health expert saying about the likely impact of China's easing of the strict zero COVID measures.
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think there are some pretty dismal projections coming from the epidemiologists that I've been talking to. China succeeded in keeping death rates down dramatically compared to the rest of the world by walling off China from the COVID virus. It has lost by official figures somewhere over 5,000 people over the last three years to COVID-19, even though the virus was first detected in China at the end of December 2019, before it then spread around the rest of the world.
The announcement on Wednesday that the Chinese government was going to dramatically lift many parts of its zero COVID policy were greeted in different ways depending on who you talk to in China. Among some people there was great excitement. I spoke with a friend in Shanghai who heard that the travel restrictions inside China between regions were being lifted, and she was delighted, talked about immediately trying to book a plane ticket to go see her parents who she hadn't been able to visit for months.
And that's reflected by a 160 percent jump in the search volume for plane tickets on the Chinese travel platform, Ctrip. On the flip side of that, there is a great deal of anxiety, particularly among families that live in multi-generational households about vulnerable grandparents.
And so, you've had a run on over-the-counter medicines for cold, fever, cough, and inflammatory drugs because people have been told by the Chinese government for years now that COVID-19 is a deadly disease.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON (voice-over): China is the last country in the world still trying to completely eradicate COVID. But after months of harsh restrictions some of the COVID lockdown barriers in China are starting to come down.
This move by authorities comes just days after protests erupted across the country against Beijing's zero COVID. This breath of fresh air for some exhausted citizens carries a harsh reality. Experts predict a tough COVID winter is likely coming.
BEN COWLING, CHAIR OF EPIDEMIOLOGY, HONG KONG UNIVERSITY: The winter is, the worst time to have a large epidemic because hospitals may already be under pressure for other reasons during the winter.
WATSON: The highly contagious Omicron variant is already spreading through the Chinese population.
LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Unlike the rest of the world, very, very few people in China proportionally have had COVID, and that's because of the strict lockdowns that the Chinese government has implemented, and so there's very low baseline immunity.
The other issue is that China has been using its domestically produced vaccines, which are less effective than the mRNA vaccines.
WATSON: China has one of the world's highest COVID vaccination. But vaccination for the elderly in China lags far behind. Twenty-three percent of Chinese citizens over 80 are completely unvaccinated. That leaves roughly 8.4 million very vulnerable unvaccinated people.
[03:34:56]
COWLING: So, if COVID was to spread through China now, I think we'd see a lot of severe cases in that group of people with either no vaccination or no recent vaccination.
WATSON: Epidemiologists say Hong Kong may offer a roadmap for what could happen in mainland China. After Hong Kong successfully maintained a zero COVID bubble for nearly two years, Omicron spread out of control here last winter. At the peak of the outbreak Hong Kong suffered more than 7,000 deaths in six weeks. Most of them elderly.
At the time, it was the highest COVID mortality rate in the world driven largely, experts say, by very low vaccination rates among people over 60.
Per capita, mainland China has almost half the number of critical care beds in hospital compared to Hong Kong.
WEN: China got its investments backwards, so by putting their focus on testing and not on vaccines and treatments, China has actually not prepared the country and the citizens for what happens when zero COVID ends, which in inevitably would end at some point. WATSON: China was the scene of the world's first known COVID outbreak in December of 2019. If the experts are right, it could also be the last country that faces a COVID crisis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON (on camera): Rosemary, China is the world's most populous country, population of 1.4 billion people. One statistical model projects that as COVID is expected to spread through the Chinese population using the experience and the vaccine rates that Hong Kong had, it projects that China could potentially risk losing from one to more than two million people due the virus.
That, perhaps, is part of why the Chinese government is trying to jumpstart its vaccination program, trying to get jabs into the arms of the vulnerable segments of society as quickly as possible. And that leads to the question that the experts I've been talking to what they're asking, why didn't the Chinese government launch this vaccine program earlier, Rosemary?
CHURCH: Yes, that is the perfect question. Ivan Watson, many thanks.
All right, let's bring in CNN's royal correspondent Max Foster. He has been watching the first episode of the Harry and Meghan documentary series. So Max, what's been revealed so far?
MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's interesting. I mean, they're asked why they're doing this, and they want people to hear their story from them as opposed to other people and other experts. They're very critical. A lot of the royal experts, they say they're just effectively an arm of the palace communication system.
But it starts with this -- with these sort of moments Harry and Meghan talking to their phones just after they've left their royal positions. I think that's interesting because they were clearly wanting to record this for some reason as they left their royal position.
So, they're recording these elements and then that's playing into the documentary. And then, there's a big sit-down interviews as well where they really go over everything. An interesting quote from Harry I thought was, I think for so many people in the royal family, especially obviously the men, there can be a temptation or an urge to marry someone who would fit the mold as opposed to somebody who perhaps you are destined to be with.
So, men marrying people they weren't necessarily in love with. I think he's arguing there. The difference between making decisions with your head or your heart. And he's clearly saying he was going with his heart when he wanted to marry Meghan.
There's this criticism of the system not protecting the couple. So, for example, he was presented with some newspaper articles, which are very negative. And then his interactions with the palace off the back of them. And he said, what people didn't seem to understand was a lot of the family had gone through similar things with this negative press coverage, but it was almost seen as a rite of passage. And he would say, it's different though this time because there's this race element. So, we're just going through the different -- sorry, excuse me, three parts of the documentary so far, but it's very much setting up how they got together, how they are desperately in love, and how they didn't feel protected by the palace system really fleshing all of that out.
CHURCH: Max, as you say, they were recording this from the very start. Presumably there was an aim to document their experience post royal life. Talk to us about the tone of this. I mean, what do you get the sense of, do you feel like it has high integrity? Do you feel it's very honest, or what would you say? How would you summarize that?
[03:39:50]
FOSTER: Well, I don't want to, you know, this is their personal experience. So, it's not for me to judge what happened and what didn't happen. I think, one part of it, Harry describes how Meghan gave up everything to join his life and the next thing he knew, he had given up everything to join her life, which is a reference to moving to California and just trying to make sense of it.
So, I think they struggle to make sense of what they had done as much as the world had struggled to make sense of what they had done, and only now they trying to make sense of it and just putting it out there. A huge amount of frustration with royal experts, royal correspondence, the Palace system.
They talk about something called the royal rotor, which they believe is some sort of conspiracy. The royal rotor, you know, is a pooling system where you, well, you know, there's a royal engagement, for example, Harry was very much part of this when he was part of the royal family.
You can't have 20, 30 cameras in there and 50 correspondents. So, there's an agreement to send one camera in and one correspondent, and you share all that information.
I would argue that the British media would view that as an efficient system. He was saying it's conspiracy where the palace basically plants stories with the media and their story gets out and they didn't feel they were part of that story. They would feel that if there was negative stories about them, they wouldn't be protected in the same way.
So, it's that sort of, access of media palace and the family that they're trying to sort of describe and say it didn't work for them, which is why they left.
CHURCH: And Max, you know, you mentioned the critics and the royal correspondents. A lot of critics are saying this is them cashing in making a profit when they had said that they wanted to basically sit back from public life. How would they address that? Would they address that in this? FOSTER: Their way of addressing it is, you know, they're just setting
out their soul, which is, they were never able to tell their story. Their story wasn't being told properly, and this is their way of taking control of their story and putting it out there. Yes, they're being paid a huge amount of money for this, but I think their argument would be, we have to, you know, we wanted to be financially independent and this is how we're doing it, and this is the reality of the world that we're living in.
You get paid. And we are being paid for this. There's that, you know, a lot of their critics would say that they're hypocrites because they are claiming privacy whilst also revealing themselves and revealing their privacy and being paid for it. But they have a different nuance on that say, they're only revealing the parts of their lives that they want to reveal and it's their duty, in particular, to have the right to have consent over how their children appear in the media.
I do remember at the time when Archie was born, we would normally expect to get pictures very quickly of the family, of the baby and they didn't put that out there. And that was an argument that did go out right back to that time when they were part of the family, the working royal family. They didn't want to put pictures out there.
So, I think, you know, certainly something they believed in a long time, particularly the protection of the privacy of their children. Anyway, here's a short part of what we've been watching, Rosemary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: This is about duty and service and I feel as though being part of this family, it is my duty to uncover this exploitation and library that happens within our media. No one knows the full truth. We know the full truth. The institution knows the full truth and the media know the full truth because they've been in on it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: And that is Harry speaking from the airport as he was leaving the U.K. to join Meghan in Canada, which is where they first moved after they left the royal positions.
CHURCH: And it is very much about his mother as well, isn't it? Max Foster, I know you'll continue to watch this series, three episodes have dropped and you've been viewing them, so we'll let you get back to watching television. Many thanks.
FOSTER: Thank you.
CHURCH: I appreciate it. Well, Iranian protesters have a new ally in their fight against the government. A former president who is making a major appeal to current leaders. We'll have a live report, that's next.
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CHURCH: Iran's government is facing new pushback against its brutal crackdown on protestors, but not from the streets. Instead, a former president is now urging the government to take a softer approach to the protests. While the estranged sister of Iran's current supreme leader is making it clear she's not on board with his regime. And that's happening as Iran carries out its first known execution related to the ongoing protests.
And for more, Salma Abdelaziz joins us now from London. So, Salma, what more are you learning about this?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, yet another day of extraordinary acts of defiance. Yesterday was student day in Iran. It's a day that marks the killing of three students at the hands of security forces in 1953. And it was yet another opportunity for the youth of that country to come out back to those streets and hear those chants again against the government.
I think there was a particularly telling episode yesterday, Rosemary, inside the University of Tehran. The president was giving, Ebrahim Raisi was giving a statement to students calling the protesters rioters, yet again making these accusations that it's a conspiracy against the state, that they're backed by countries like the United States.
While he was repeating that rhetoric inside the university just outside the building, there was dozens of protesters chanting against his government. So, a really revealing day where again, you're seeing these huge acts of brave - bravery, and also, voices coming from unlikely places in support of the opposition.
Iran's supreme leader's sister, now she has opposed the family in the past, but she released a statement on Twitter. I want to read you a part of it because it is very powerful. Losing a child and being away from your child is a great sadness for every mother. Many mothers were bereaved during the last four decades. I think it's appropriate now to declare that I oppose my brother's actions and I express my sympathy with all mothers mourning the crimes of the Islamic Republic regime, from the time of Khomeini to the current era of the despotic caliphate of Ali Khomeini.
And again, this was an open letter posted on Twitter by her son. Again, yes, a figure that has opposed the government in the past. Her daughter is an activist that has been imprisoned for her activism. But yet again, this is a voice that people can rally around.
And while we're seeing these extraordinary acts of bravery, we're also seeing the consequences of them. Yet again, Rosemary, we're hearing an updated death toll. This is from Iran human rights, it's Norway based group. They say 458 people killed since this movement began in September. Important to remember here CNN cannot independently verify those numbers. It's quite impossible to figure out exact figures because of limited media access on the ground.
We're also hearing, as you mentioned, of the first protest related execution. A young man who was killed by hanging for allegedly stabbing a member of the besiege. But as we often see with those who are targeted by the government, they become symbols of heroism to these protestors. Rosemary?
CHURCH: All right, Salma Abdelaziz, many thanks for bringing us the latest there. I appreciate it.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Saudi Arabia hoping to strengthen ties with countries throughout the Middle East. He's taking part in two major summits that could threaten U.S. influence in the region.
CNN's international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson reports.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: President Xi Jinping's arrival in Riyadh as much about the substance of China-Saudi relations as it is about signaling Saudi Arabia's growing power. When the leaders met last February 2019, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, MBS, needed Xi's handshake.
[03:50:02]
The Chinese president's welcome intentionally helping MBS shake off his image of international pariah following the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
SHAOJIN CHAI, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, SHARJAH UNIVERSITY: It was China invited him to go to China and give him a big applause. And they understand each other. They are looking for this long term -- long term rule in for their own respective countries.
ROBERTSON: Xi's greeting this time even with COVID protocols better than Biden's five months ago. Also, a significant diplomatic message. Biden got a much criticized fist bump from MBS. A promise arm deal and departed vowing not to leave a vacuum in the Middle East for China and Russia to fill.
Xi bridles at that, claims not to be in a regional power play, but does want Saudi Arabia free of U.S. limitations.
CHAI: The Chinese government or Xi, himself, want to achieve strategic autonomy of the Middle East countries including Saudi GCC or Arab states.
ROBERTSON: The detailed substance of the meetings isn't on the record yet, but is likely to include a joint multi-billion-dollar petrochemical venture and very possibly Chinese weapon sales too, maybe drones.
During Biden's visit, I asked Saudi's foreign minister if the then newly agreed defense cooperation with the United States negated Saudi's desire for Chinese arms too.
FAISAL BIN FARHAN AL-SAUD, SAUDI FOREIGN MINISTER: We see really the U.S. as a primary partner in defense procurement. But of course, if we can't get U.S. equipment, we will look elsewhere.
ROBERTSON: But the Xi/MBS relationship isn't just about MBS playing U.S. interests against China's.
AL-SAUD: China is the world's second largest economy, and that we, in order for the region, the globe to have a pathway to sustainable prosperity need cooperation, not confrontation.
ROBERTSON: According to the Saudi government, China's been its top trading partner for the past five years, trading volumes last year reaching close to $82. 4 billion, almost half of that Saudi oil sales to China.
When Xi and MBS met in 2019, the world was a different place. COVID-19 had yet to break out in Wuhan hammering the global economy. Today, President Xi has consolidated his grip on China, but still struggles to control COVID and the insuring unrest at home.
MBS is also consolidating his power at home and is trading global pariah status for global power broker through OPEC plus crimping world oil supplies. MBS is also eyeing China's 5G tech believed by Biden and allies to give China potential access to U.S. national security data.
BRETT MCGURK, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: There's certain partnerships with China that would create a ceiling in what we can do.
ROBERTSON: After his time with MBS, she will meet with GCC leaders in what's being called the first China-Arab Summit and likely push for a free trade agreement and energy security.
Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: The wife of a U.S. diplomat is expected to be sentenced today after pleading guilty to causing the death of a teenager by careless driving in the U.K. Anne Sacoolas is not expected to be in the British court for the hearing, which is set to take place virtually. She's in the U.S. She initially claimed diplomatic immunity.
Nineteen-year-old Harry Dunn died three years after his motorcycle collided with the car Sacoolas was driving as she admitted on the wrong side of the road.
Well, despite all the controversies clouding the Qatar World Cup, some say this particular tournament is one of the best ever. We'll take a closer look on the other side of the break. Stay with us.
[03:55:00]
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CHURCH: Well, new details are emerging from the new Harry and Meghan docu-series released earlier this hour. The duke of Sussex quickly slams the media within the first few minutes of episode one. And in a video diary from March of 2020, Harry says he feels a duty to uncover this exploitation that happens within the media.
Meghan also says they're making the documentary because, quote, it's really nice to have the opportunity to let people have a glimpse into what happened and also who we are.
The final eight countries still in the World Cup are enjoying rest days as they gear up for the quarter finals. On Friday, we'll see clashes between Europe and South America. Croatia, the 2018 runner up will face off against world number one Brazil, and then third ranked Argentina will take on the Netherlands.
Despite the constant controversies at the tournament, which include accusations of human rights violations, FIFA's president says the opening rounds were the best ever. Gianni Infantino cited the great quality matches and numerous upsets. He also praised the beautiful stadiums and record breaking viewership.
Thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. CNN Newsroom continues with Bianca Nobilo, next.
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