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Argentina Beats France To Win World Cup in Extra Time Thriller; Kyiv Targeted In Early Morning Drone Attack; China Officially Reports First COVID Deaths Since Easing Zero-COVID Policy. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired December 19, 2022 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber, ahead on CNN Newsroom.
After 36 years, Argentina erupts with joy after Messi leads the country to World Cup glory once again, was a dramatic final, with many calling it the greatest ever with the highlights and reaction from Argentina, France and across the globe. Plus, Ukrainian officials are warning a big problems with its water supply amid a new wave of Russian attacks on the capital city. And our wrench and a daring crew helped save the recent Artemis mission.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center. This is CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: Argentina is celebrating a World Cup victory for the ages they defeated the reigning champions France on penalties to capture their third tournament title.
Listen to them celebrate their screams echoed throughout Buenos Aires from fans who waited decades for this moment when he showed their excitement by parading through the streets and turning this plaza into an ocean of blue and white. They honored superstar Lionel Messi by projecting his image on this giant obelisk and let's check in with them now.
This is a live look at the same plaza, stole a few people celebrating Argentina's wind down there. For Messi, this was the first time he's ever lifted the World Cup trophy and he did it on his fifth and likely last tournament appearance.
The forward went out with a stellar performance he scored this opening goal to help Argentina build a two nil lead but France stormed back with two late goals from superstar Mbappe which sent the match to extra time. Messi and Mbappe again scored in the next 30 minutes in the match ended in a three-three draw.
Argentina eventually won four-two in the penalty shootout with this kick from Gonzalo Montiel, or that, Argentina has pulled off a fairytale ending to a remarkable tournament. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIONEL MESSI, ARGENTINA CAPTAIN (through translator): It's madness that it happened the way that it did. But it's amazing. And I said at one point that God was going to give it to me. I don't know why I first saw it. I felt like it was going to be this one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: CNN's Don Riddell and Darren Lewis look at the moments that made Sunday's final so special.
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DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT (on camera): Argentina are world champions for the third time. Lionel Messi has finally got his hands on the only trophy to have eluded him and heartbroken France have just been beaten in an absolute thriller. Those are the headlines here at Lusail after what has been an extraordinary evening, our senior sports analyst Darren Lewis is here to discuss it with me.
We've just seen under 20 minutes, Darren and a penalty shootout. How can you find the words to describe what we've seen?
DARREN LEWIS, CNN SPORT SENIOR ANALYST: It's very difficult but I'm going to try because we have seen one of the great, scrap that, we have seen the greatest World Cup Final of all time. I would argue one of the greatest football matches of all time.
We have seen history made in terms of Argentina, getting the World Cup back for the first time since 1986. We have seen Lionel Messi live up to the pressure of delivering what Diego Maradona did in that year. It's only two years since the passing of the great Maradona, and he is managing to honor his memory in the most fitting way possible. I cannot stress Don, to our viewers enough, the magnitude of what we have witnessed tonight.
RIDDELL: And I think it's worth stating and repeating that often the most hyped games fail to deliver, the more excited you are about a match, the worse it's probably going to be. It's very, very unusual to have a game like this go the way that it did.
Lionel Messi, of course, is going to be the man that everybody talks about this. What does it mean to him and his legacy that he's finally done it?
LEWIS: Well, it puts him in a in a hole of consolidates his position in the Hall of Fame is already in there. He's won four champions leagues, he's won the Ballon d'Or the award for the best player in the world, a record seven times. And he's scored the kinds of goals that seduce you into falling in love with the game and there are hundreds of them, because that speaks to his consistency.
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But this achievement hear what he has done in this stadium it will stand the test of time. Generations will speak about the night that Messi lived up to the hype delivered for his country and brought home the World Cup.
RIDDELL: And it really, really hurts to lose a game like this. I feel so sorry for Kylian Mbappe who scored a hattrick in the World Cup final that's not Hamsun's 1966 and he's going home with a loser's medal. I really feel sorry for him, but they should all be proud. It was an incredible night and an remarkable climax to what has certainly been a memorable tournament. Darren, thanks so much.
LEWIS: Thanks, Don.
RIDDELL: Back to you.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
BRUNHUBER: For more on what the title means for Messi and his country, Stefano Pozzebon has this report from Buenos Aires.
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STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST (on camera): It's already a few hours since Argentina became the 2022 FIFA World Champion. And the people behind my back have taken over the streets of Buenos Aires, clearly show no sign of keeping up with the party and no intention of going back home.
It's a moment that Argentina has been waiting for more than 36 years since the times of the great big Armando Maradona, who won it in 1986. And it's a moment that comes when Argentina is frankly in dire straits. The economy is in trouble, the inflation is at over 90 percent. And the political polarization is really as high as it has ever been.
But this Sunday, all of these troubles have been simply swept away by the joy of football, and by the greatness of the achievements of the trials that this national football team managed in Qatar. It's a football team that has really embodied the spirits of Argentina. It gave all the thosuands of people that are here in the streets of Buenos Aires, a reason to feel proud to be Argentinian.
It's also a moment to rejoice for Lionel Messi, the captain of the national team for many considered one, if not the greatest player of his time, but still without a World Cup victory. Well, on Sunday, Messi did manage to conquer the only trophy that was still missing from his cabinet. And by doing that, he gave me a joy beyond comprehension to most -- to all of these Argentina that are here with us in in Buenos Aires. And on Sunday, for once, there are cries of joys from this country. For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Buenos Aires.
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BRUNHUBER: Well understandably, French fans were reeling after Sunday's loss. They'd seem so close to winning a second straight title and France came back from that to nil disadvantage. President Emmanuel Macron offered words of consolation at Lusail Stadium. Here he is.
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EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): I would like to tell everyone who is listening to us tonight and who are sad, but I share in their sadness. But we can be proud of this team. We must not forget it. They are showing what we are deeply about. We have a capacity to make the craziest comeback, to make the unthinkable happen, to be united, and to have genius talents. Bravo to Argentina and to the Argentinians and to their people.
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BRUNHUBER: Sadness and heartache also brought frustration and outrage in some parts of France. In Lyon some people vented their anger by throwing fireworks at police. Others surrounded and kicked a car before the driver managed to pull away. Several scuffles reportedly broke out on the Champs-Elysees in the wake of the nail biting loss. Police were seeing charging into the crowds trying to disperse them. CNN's Melissa Bell has more on France his reaction to the loss.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Huge disappointment here in France of course of the result of the World Cup and yet tremendous excitement with the team managed to achieve on the pitch. Remember Didier Deschamps the French coach had been criticized for some of his choices, not bringing back exactly as it was that squad from the winning 2018 World Cup.
Kylian Mbappe, of course, was there on the pitch and making all the difference once again, cementing his place in the heart of the French as the hero of the night.
That match tonight, not just the fact of France making it to the final but it's extraordinary performance on the pitch. I think something that the entire country is celebrating despite a result that at the very end, of course, meant that they came home without the World Cup this year. Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
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BRUNHUBER: Argentina's big world cup when prompted rave reactions around the world. Former U.S. President Barack Obama tweeted congrats to Argentina and to the GOAT, Lionel Messi, for an amazing World Cup victory. Former Filipino boxer and Senator Manny Pacquiao kept it simple tweeting, Messi. So happy for you. Greatness. And Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau applauded the winners while looking ahead to the next tournament writing, Congratulations, Argentina. The 2022 World Cup has come to an end but let's get keep the excitement going. The World Cup is coming to Canada, the U.S. and Mexico in 2026.
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Looking forward to hosting the tournament with our North American friends. We're following developments out of Ukraine where officials in Kyiv say the Capitol was targeted by drones with a quote barrage of ammunition. Several explosions were heard over the past few hours by a CNN team in the city. Officials say nine drones were shot down over Kyiv not to the south in the Kherson region and official says at least three people were killed in attacks by Russian forces who are said to be targeting residential areas. One resident expressed frustration over the fighting in an area liberated in November. Listen to this.
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YEKATERYNA, KHERSON RESIDENT (through translator): Everyone expected that Ukraine would come once or twice and it was all over. No one took into account that the frontline is here and that it will be much worse here. And we will not leave here. Nowhere, nobody is waiting for us anywhere. We don't have the money to go somewhere else. Therefore we will survive in our city.
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BRUNHUBER: In Russia's Belgorod region, the governor says at least one person is dead after shelling by Ukrainian forces. He says those strikes on Sunday also damaged more than a dozen residential buildings. The Belgorod region borders Northeastern Ukraine.
Meanwhile, new video shows Russia's defense minister aboard a military helicopter and what the defense ministry calls a working trip to inspect troops. Sergei Shoigu was seen speaking with military personnel though it's not clear where he traveled to or if he was in Ukraine.
But freed Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout was reportedly in eastern Ukraine over the weekend visiting the Russian occupied city of Luhansk. Bout who was recently exchanged in a prisoner swap with WNBA star Brittney Griner attended an opening event for the Luhansk branch of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia.
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VIKTOR BOUT, FREED RUSSIAN ARMS DEALER (through translator): Dear friends, I have been closely following for these eight long years what was happening in Donbas. And you know, your example meant a lot for me, helped me because you are all heroes, your will determination and the fact that you not only survived but also won returned to Russia. This is very important.
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BRUNHUBER: Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says power has now been restored to a total of nine million Ukrainians following Russia's attacks Friday on critical infrastructure. But along with electricity, water supply has also been disrupted. Over the weekend, Zelenskyy said problems remained with the supply of water in different regions across the country. Kyiv's mayor says water has now been restored in the capital. So joining me now from Kyiv is Murat Sahin, the UNICEF representative in Ukraine. Thanks so much for being here with us. So in the context of the Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, we often talk about power electricity, but what the Ukrainians I speak to always underline is you can sort of make do without power, but not without water. What kind of impact are these attacks on the Water Infrastructure having right now?
MURAT SAHIN, UNICEF REPRESENTATIVE IN URAKINE: Hi, Kim, thank you for the opportunity. No, electricity means no water, no water means no water to homes, no water to hospitals, and no water to schools or shelters that millions of people are staying. So thank you for bringing the attention to water.
Ukraine is urban, more than 60 percent of the population live in urban areas. So centralized water systems, centralized heating systems and centralized sewage systems. No power means no water running in the system. And this is damaging people's lives. So access to water is a human right. And municipalities and everyone is doing their best to receive water regime heating systems, but we need water running.
And in many parts of the country, there are problems each and every day electricity stations are getting good which results in no water at homes, no water at hospitals, and no water at schools and shelters.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. What -- when we talk about, you know, health and welfare you specifically mentioned hospitals there. So in a medical context, who's being most affected by Russia, essentially weaponizing water?
SAHIN: Everyone is affected. I mean, imagine being a pregnant woman finding out which hospital to go. Every year there are 300,000 children born in Ukraine. And this means every two seconds one child is born. And you need to find the hospital to go and when you look at the hospital unit to find each hospital as a generator, which hospital has water. If there's no water, you cannot deliver the baby safely and the hygiene and everything comes with. Also no electricity is no centralized heating in the hospital and no heating in the hospital damages also the well-being of the child that's born in that hospital.
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BRUNHUBER: Yes, and aside from those sort of shorter term problems that can create lasting problems in Mykolaiv for example they've had to pump salty water into the system so people can wash and flush toilets and so on which is --
SAHIN: Exactly.
BRUNHUBER: -- corroding the pipes. So, the whole system may have to be replaced. So, we might be talking about really long term effects here.
SAHIN: Mykolaiv is one such example that water system was damaged the intake system and then they have to find the temporary solution of taking the water from river which has saltwater and saltwater corals is every pipe and also it is corroding the heating system pipes. So what we are trying to do in Mykolaiv when we are supporting the local authority and municipalities is a temporary installation of desalination units in hospitals, municipal centers and water distribution centers. But these are temporary solutions in the long term that is damaged to millions of dollars worth investment that has been done in previous years.
BRUNHUBER: So beyond sort of desalinization, so what is being done right now to help people specifically with the water situation in Ukraine?
SAHIN: Municipal authorities are doing the best to reinstate the water supply. UNICEF is supporting certified water cannons, the water authorities with provision of treatment materials, treatment materials are extremely important, because when there is power outage, there is shortage of water in the water pipes and there is seepage of surface water into the pipes. So you have to use extra treatment materials to give safe water to the system.
And we are rehabilitating water systems in Mykolaiv. We are supporting the local authority in Kherson. We are installing also generators like in Kharkiv to keep the pump stations working when it is damaged. And when there's no electricity.
BRUNHUBER: Let me jump in. Because you mentioned Kharkiv I mean, how hard is it to do all of these interventions when the whole country but many of these, you know, hardest hit areas, specifically, like Kharkiv are our active war zones.
SAHIN: It's very difficult. Access to facilities that are important. There are minefields that are difficulties in repairing pipes. In Kharkiv, for example, the pumping station, we have installed the TNFKB (ph) regenerator. This is like a large stretch size generator. And to run it, it needs a -- huge need for the field (ph) to run. So it's not only the installing the generator, but also the running costs are extremely high to operate these water systems.
BRUNHUBER: We only have about a minute left. But you know, we talk often about supporting Ukraine with military equipment and so on. But what more can the world do specifically to help with the water situation?
SAHIN: Thank you for bringing the attention to the water because many people here it's only an attack to the electric infrastructures. No, it's an attack to access the water. It is attacking to the education. So children do not have access to learning because of 7 million children do not have electricity or their access to online learning systems. This is also affecting their, you now, daily life without water and we can't survive. So it's affecting every child in their homes the access in water.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, it's a terrible situation definitely needs much more attention from the West as much as we can help. I really appreciate you talking about this. Murat Sahin from UNICEF, thanks for joining us.
SAHIN: Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: China has reported its first COVID related deaths since easing pandemic restrictions and critics say things could get even worse after the abrupt unveiling of the zero-COVID strategy. We'll have a live report from Hong Kong the latest and.
As Qatar brings the curtain down on a dramatic World Cup final match, the whole tournament didn't come without controversy. Look back at the highs and lows, next. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: China has reported its first COVID related deaths since easing pandemic restrictions earlier this month. Health officials announced Sunday that two patients died in Beijing, but they gave no other details on the cases. China has now reported more than 5,200 deaths from COVID since the pandemic began, but experts outside of China believe that number is much higher, saying many deaths have gone unreported.
Now critics say Beijing has haphazardly rolled back at zero-COVID policy, prompting many to wonder just how bad this current surge in cases could get. So far, President Xi Jinping has been mostly silent about the unraveling of zero-COVID. CNN Ivan Watson is with us now from Hong Kong with more on all this. So Ivan, take us through the situation right now and how bad it's projected to get.
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's give you one example Kim, the central province of Henan, which is China's third most populous province. We heard from the provinces state television, a report declaring that all nurses and doctors would have to suspend any vacations until March. And of course, we're only in December now.
And this is so that the hospitals can be at full capacity to deal with this substantial public health challenge right now. So that's just one province, for example, and a projection of where they think it will be over the next couple of months.
Another projection coming from a report that's come out from Hong Kong University, where epidemiologists had been studying not only what's going on in mainland China, but also here in Hong Kong, which also tried to maintain a zero-COVID bubble until it kind of spectacularly popped some months ago, make some projections that now that Omicron is spreading like wildfire across China, that if you have the status quo, they have a model that suggests China could lose up to a million people as a result of the Omicron variant spreading across the country.
With the caveat that if China manages to ramp up vaccination and the availability of antiviral drugs, that that mortality rate could reduce by 25 to 35 percent. You're still talking about hundreds of 1000s of people potentially dying. Now, one of the challenges here is the Chinese government has been warning its population for three years that COVID is really this deadly, deadly, terrifying disease. And that's why cities had to be locked down for months at a time. That's why the borders have had to be closed.
And now in just the last month, you have top health care officials, as well as the government pivoting dramatically saying, Hey, this is a weaker variant of this disease. We can handle it now and one epidemiologist saying hey, we should call it the Coronavirus cold now. So that is a harsh U-turn that is being kind of suggested to the population as it now faces a potentially deadly COVID winter. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: All right, thanks so much. Ivan Watson live in Hong Kong, appreciate it.
Really scary situation there. Rescue efforts are underway in the Gulf of Thailand after a Royal Navy -- Royal Thai Navy ship sank early this morning. 33 of the ship's 106 crew members are missing in bad weather in the areas complicating the search and rescue mission. The Navy says strong winds caused the ship to tilt. The water to flow into its electrical system shutting it down.
Severe turbulence has injured at least 36 people on the Hawaiian Airlines Flight. Authorities say 20 were taken to emergency rooms, 11 in serious condition and a 14-month-old child is among those hospitalized.
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It happened Sunday on a flight from Phoenix to Honolulu. The turbulence occurred about 15 to 30 minutes before the plane landed. Airlines says the plane will undergo a thorough inspection before it's returned to service.
A Peruvian railway operator says train services to and from the ancient city of Machu Picchu are resuming on an emergency basis. They've been interrupted since Tuesday because of the ongoing political unrest in the country, which began earlier this month after the arrest and impeachment of former President Pedro Castillo. The protests have led to disruptions of airport and railroad services throughout Peru as many as 300 tourists from around the world had been stranded in Machu Picchu as a result.
When a Trump era policy known as Title 42 ends on Wednesday, the number of migrants the U.S. southern border is expected to surge dramatically prompting fears of a potential humanitarian crisis. Title 42 has allowed border agents to quickly turn away migrants to slow the spread of COVID-19. Now nonprofit groups say as many as 10,000 people could be waiting to cross into the U.S. from Mexico in the coming days. CNN's Gustavo Valdes has more now reporting from the Mexican side of the border.
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GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This group of Venezuelans are using the leftover clothing and trash they find on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande to stay warm, and witness the people who are crossing the Rio Grande to get into the United States. Oftentimes, they tell him to wait not to cross right now. They encourage them to wait until Title 42 expires on Wednesday, arguing that they might have a better chance to remain on the United States. Yet we see time and time again how people decide that once they get to Ciudad Juarez they need to get across as soon as possible to turn themselves in to the border patrol in El Paso and try their chances that way.
The flow of migrants continues is being constant group of 20, 30 people are taking several times an hour. We see the Border Patrol dealing with them here at the border to be taken into El Paso where now the mayor has declared a state of emergency, arguing that the number of people crossing over is more than the city can handle. And he fears that come Wednesday, that number is going to be much greater and the situation could get out of control.
On the Mexican side, city and state authorities in the state of Chihuahua are telling me that the migrant situation is not different for them. Yes, there are more than in other times. But their main concern is what's going to happen if more border agents are having to be move to deal with the surge of migrants and abandon or not do their daily duties at the crossing of illegal crossing points, creating a longer waiting time for the people who want to go and spend their money spent Christmas with the relatives in El Paso or in other parts of the United States. This is high season for crossings in this area. And on the Mexican side that is the main concern.
Gustavo Valdes, CNN, Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
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BRUNHUBER: Still ahead, as protests continue across Iran how authorities are using social media to crack down on demonstrators. We'll have an exclusive report up next. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: And welcome back, all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
Argentina is celebrating its third World Cup title after beating France in a thrilling final. The Argentines secured the victory in a four-two penalty shoot out. It followed a tense 120 minutes of action.
Superstar Lionel Messi scored two goals on his way to his first World Cup title ever. Buenos Aires fans showed their excitement by parading through the streets in a sea of white and blue. The country had been waiting 36 years for this moment.
Brazilian soccer legend Pele congratulated Argentina for their victory Sunday. On Instagram, he said former Argentine champion Diego Maradona would be smiling now. He also praised Messi for winning his first World Cup title. He
congratulated France's Mbappe on his performance. He said, quote, "What a gift it was to watch the spectacle. The future of our sport."
On Sunday, as they return home after winning bronze in Qatar, tens of thousands of cheering fans lined the streets of the Croatian capital. After losing to Argentina in the semi finals, Croatia defeated Morocco to take third place. It was likely the final World Cup match for team captain Luka Modric.
For more on this, I want to bring Muds Okwonga, who's a sports writer and co host of the "Stadio Football" podcast. He joins me now from Berlin.
I mean, Musa, just talk about the final itself. We need an hour to break down this insane, chaotic, magical match. Just quickly, your reaction to what some are calling the greatest ever World Cup final.
MUSA OKWONGA, HOST, STADIO PODCAST: I would agree. It's certainly the most dramatic. The technical level was very high. You might say that the (INAUDIBLE) drama in the course of the game, there might be some that trade it but in terms of an overall outcome and what was at stake, I think it is the finest World Cup final we've ever seen.
BRUNHUBER: Kylian Mbappe, a hero in defeat. Messi -- I mean what more can you say about him? I mean it's so hard to compare players of different generations. So I was thinking maybe instead of the popular acronym the GOAT, Greatest Of All Time, we should coin a new one. He's the GIES. The greatest I've ever seen. Is that more accurate, you think.
OKWONGA: I think that's something else. Messi just plays like (INAUDIBLE) -- there's a pantheon of greats. There's a pantheon of greats and I think he's in that pantheon. I think also think Mbappe is in that class now. Whatever Mbappe does in 2023, the peaks he set as a player in this game, the hat tricks and the (INAUDIBLE). He scored four times past the goalkeeper did in two hours. There are a few that could do that even in training. So yes, I think that Mbappe and Messi are among the greats now.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. And so consolation for the French is that he is so young, they will definitely be back again.
Now, I want to turn off the pitch here. The controversial moment on the stage where Qatar's Emir cloaked Messi on stage with a black, traditional Arab men's cloak, some feel it was a culturally appropriate way to honor Messi as well as being sort of a powerful nod to the larger Arab world.
Others say it was a cynical PR tour of the Qatari regime, sort of symbolic of the thumbprint they've had on the full tournament. What did you make of that?
OKWONGA: I'm not so much for cultural metaphors. I can't speak to the use of that cloak. What I could say is that this is World Cup worthy to the culture (ph) overall. The football was spectacular for the large part. It was so well organized completely as well.
But just the tournament itself, I would get caught up in (INAUDIBLE), but I think the overall tournament, the way that Qatar used it, to speak of (INAUDIBLE) before to raise national prestige, I think in one respect, that was very effective.
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BRUNHUBER: Yes. I mean that's the thing. The accusation when Qatar was selected as a host was that like, you know, the large multinational tournaments that have been held in Russia and in China recently, that this would be sort of the latest act of sports watching, which is normalizing a country's wrongdoing through sport.
So last time you and I spoke we, you know, talked about the spectacle of the action on the pitch predictably overshadowed many of the serious issues off the pitch.
So looking back now at the tournament as a whole, do you feel the coverage of the tournament succeeded on balance in shining a light on all the abuses in a meaningful and lasting way? Or is the larger message here that simply sports washing works?
OKWONGA: I'm still not sure, to be honest. I think in many respects, Qatar has achieved a measure of respect from people who didn't think they could pull this off.
I think our wider concern is the (INAUDIBLE) about paying workers compared to say the amount of money they spent on that tournament they could've used to pay the workers. And that's the thing. And also labor rights, all these issues.
For some, they won't care about these. But those issues aren't going to go away overnight. Those workers still deserve the compensation, they still deserve not to be deported. (INAUDIBLE), the autonomy, these issues are ongoing.
I just hope we've made as many inroads in the last few weeks over of these issues in a short space of time that people need.
BRUNHUBER: I want to end on a positive note because on the pitch, the tournament was just absolutely fantastic. There's no denying that. So for you, what was the highlight?
OKWONGA: I think it was watching the young players step up around Lionel Messi and for Fernandez (ph) coming into the bridge, stepping in for Giovanni Lo Celso and really just handling themselves so well at such a tender age. So yes, the young players, I think, around Messi elevating him to the ranks that no one can now dispute. That's what I'll remember.
BRUNHUBER: Well it was certainly fantastic, even though for many people it does have an asterisk because of all the issues that we've been talking about.
But I really appreciate your analysis. It's been lots of fun speaking with you about this tournament throughout. Thanks so much, Musa Okwonga, really appreciate it.
OKWONGA: Thanks for having me. Take care. Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: In Iran, there are reports another soccer player has been arrested for allegedly supporting anti-government protests, a pro- government news agency says former national team captain Askhan Dejagah was detained for participating in demonstrations in Germany.
The football agent says the player was banned from leaving Iran four weeks ago, and wasn't allowed to attend his team's training camp in Dubai. The agent says the player expressed his support for Iranian women in an Instagram post which has been deleted. Dejagah has played for a German club and is a dual German-Iranian national.
Meanwhile, global popstar Shakira is voicing her support for another jailed Iranian soccer player. In a series of tweets, she urged the world to remember the plight of Amir Nasr-Azadani saying quote, "the fight for equality and human rights should be praised, not punished." The player has been in Iranian custody since last month. State media reports he's accused of being part of a group involved in the killing of security officers at a protest and he could face the death penalty.
And just days after those protests erupted across Iran, earlier this year, a 16-year-old protester went missing and later found dead. Iranian authorities said her death was a suicide, but with the help of witnesses and rights groups, CNN has uncovered a different story.
Katie Polglase has this exclusive report.
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KATIE POLGLASE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Moody. Reflective. Like many teenagers Nika Shahkarami considered her Instagram page a safe place for self expression. But her death on September 20th during protests in Iran, turned her into an icon and her Instagram page into a blank slate. Who disabled it and why became yet another mystery surrounding what happened to her.
CNN previously revealed evidence suggesting Nika was detained at the protest shortly after this video was filmed, but the Iranian authorities have always denied any involvement in her disappearance or death. Now, CNN can exclusively reveal that Meta, Instagram's parent company, investigated Nika's account after she disappeared, concluding they themselves were not involved in disabling it.
In other words, it was either Nika herself, or crucially, someone with access to her account who took it down. And as recent reporting by the intercept revealed, Iran's highly sophisticated system for phone hacking, it raises the question over whether social media platforms can keep accounts secure.
When protests erupted in Iran, Nika began using Instagram as a diary for her activism. But this online activity may have ended up working against her. After Nika's death, the Iranian state began publishing evidence like this CCTV footage, attempting to clear the state of any involvement in her death. First, they said she was pushed from this building. Then she fell from
it. Next, they referenced suicidal messages and documents extracted from Nika's mobile and Instagram conversations. It was an open acknowledgment they were accessing her phone and her social media accounts. But she's not alone.
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As flames engulfed the notorious Evin prison in mid October, inside was Madim. She was accused of sharing activist posters like these on Telegram, the encrypted social media platform. We've changed her name for her safety. Her words are read by an actor.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think they already had my Telegram chats because they often talked about it.
There were certain photos. I had shared relatively political photos. They would show me the photos from that Telegram to claim I was the admin. But I kept denying it.
She says the Iranian authorities had obtained these chats despite not yet having Nadeem's phone. She believes they hacked her account. And she now faces six years in jail.
While in prison, the Iranian authorities reactivated Nadeem's Telegram account. He says it was to see who tried to contact her, and revealed a network of activists she was in touch with. The same tactic may have been used with Nika's Telegram account, as weeks after her death, two of her friends noticed her account was back online. It disappeared shortly after.
Nika's family are still reeling from her death. One close family member told CNN authorities are still refusing to return her phone. The Iranian authorities have not responded to CNN's request for comment.
While Meta said they could not share specifics on Nika's account, they confirmed they did not originally disable it. Telegram told CNN in every case they had investigated, the device had been confiscated or the user had unwittingly made such acts as possible by not setting a two-step verification password or using a malicious app impersonating Telegram.
Still, questions remain as to whether Meta, Telegram, and other tech companies are doing all they can to protect their users. As the world wakes up to the increasingly tech savvy ways regimes such as Iran are using to monitor and hunt down activists.
Katie Polglase, CNN -- London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Still to come, a British court could decide soon whether they can send tens of thousands of asylum seekers to Rwanda. We'll have our report when CNN NEWSROOM continues. Please stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRUNHUBER: U.S. House Select Committee investigating the January 6th Capitol riot will hold its final public meeting on Monday. And we expect to learn which criminal referrals will be sent to the U.S. Justice Department. Those referrals will be nonbinding, and it's up to -- the department whether to pursue them or not.
But CNN has learned the committee is weighing winning multiple alleged crimes committed by former President Donald Trump include insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy to defraud the government.
Here's what one member of the committee had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): Our process has been to look meticulously at the evidence and compare it to their statutes. Is there sufficient evidence as to each element of a particular crime?
[01:44:54]
SCHIFF: We're not referring -- or at least won't be voting to refer everyone we think there may be evidence, because we want to focus on those for which we believe there is the strongest evidence.
But I think the president has violated filing multiple criminal laws and I think you have to be treated like any other American who breaks the law and that is, he had to be prosecuted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: On Monday, the committee will release an executive summary of its report along with other materials. The final report will be released on Wednesday.
You can watch the January 6th Committee's final public hearing live today, starting at 1:00 p.m. in Washington, 6:00 p.m. in London, right here on CNN.
Pope Francis already has a signed resignation letter on standby just in case it's needed. He revealed the existence of the letter in an interview with a Spanish news outlet. The Pope says he wrote the letter years ago in case of poor health or an accident left him unable to fulfill his duties.
We know that previous pontiffs have also drafted similar letters. Pope Francis just turned 86. He appears to be in good health aside from knee problems.
In the coming hours, judges at London's High Court will rule on whether the British government can legally send tens of thousands of asylum seekers to Rwanda. It comes as the U.K. faces record numbers of migrants arriving on its shores illegally, often in unsafe boats.
More now from CNN's Nada Bashir.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Another life lost in Britain's icy waters. Another reminder of the dangers faced by migrants attempting to cross the English channel from Northern France.
As many as 40,000 migrants have braved the dangerous crossing since the beginning of this year alone. Now, the U.K. government says it's doubling down on its plan to tackle illegal migrations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When legal proceedings conclude on our migration and economic development partnership, we will restart the first flights to Rwanda.
BASHIR: It was an 11th hour legal intervention which grounded the first deportation flight in June. Now, after months of deliberation, a final court judgment will determine whether the Rwanda deal is in fact legal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are serious concerns around the functioning of the asylum system in Rwanda. As well as serious concerns about political freedom of expression.
BASHIR: Under the proposed scheme, Thousands of migrants arriving in the U.K. illegally could be deported to Rwanda to have their asylum claims heard there.
But the government owned figures show that in the 12 months leading up to September this year, 77 percent of asylum claimants were granted an initial decision, awarding refugee status or humanitarian protection. Many traveling from countries including Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria.
Among them is Yusuf -- a Syrian refugee. He's mainly a change to protect his identify. He was one of more than 100 asylum seekers usually deported Rwanda.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to live in peace in the U.K. To work and build the future, hear from my wife and son.
If they send me to Rwanda, then my life will be over. After all the struggles I think, we will devastating I would kill myself.
BASHIR: Yousef says he fled the war-torn town of (INAUDIBLE) in Syria in 2017. Living behind his family in the hope of building a new life for them overseas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw the devastation across our country. Our lives were consumed entirely by war, by fear. It was all around us.
BASHIR: Yousef's journey took him to through to come from Syria to Lebanon, and then to and then onwards Libya, where he says he was detained for eight months before fleeing to Europe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were given very little food or water. They would beat us. Torture us. Then, after I left Libya, I traveled across the sea to Italy. It was a very difficult journey. We were stuck at sea for about three days. One more day, and I think we would've died.
BASHIR: Like many refugees, Yousef then traveled to Calais, in northern France, where he spent weeks living in a squalid refugee champ waiting to be smuggled on the small boat to the U.K.
Now as the U.K. government clamps down on this very crossing, experts are questioning how effective and how ethical the Rwanda policy really is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no evidence that it's putting anybody off. And we're talking about people who fled really serious problems. Civil wars, massive human rights abuse in the and they're really own countries.
BASHIR: As the high court hearing comes to a close, so does months of limbo for the thousands of asylum seekers at risk of deportation.
Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:49:54]
BRUNHUBER: All right. Still to come here on CNN newsroom, a daring crew of engineers saved the launch of NASA's Artemis rocket. They went into the blast zone to work on fully fueled rocket.
Next, how one small mistake could've meant disaster.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRUNHUBER: NASA is all systems go for the next Artemis mission that will bring astronauts to the moon's orbit. That's happening after the successful Artemis 1 mission that launched last month. But the story of how close that mission came to failure is nothing short of incredible.
CNN's Kristin Fisher has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIN FISHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At T minus three hours, 17 minutes and counting until the third launch attempt of the most powerful rocket ever built, NASA's launch team detects a problem.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our team is tracking an intermittent leak.
FISHER: Highly flammable liquid hydrogen fuel is leaking at the launchpad. And there's only one way to stop it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only way to fix it at this moment is to send the Red Crew. CHAD GARRETT, NASA REDCREW: That's when they said, ok, Red Crew. We
need to send Red Crew.
FISHER: Chad Garrett is a member of the Red Crew, a team of highly specialized engineers trained to work inside the blast zone.
GARRETT: They ask my lead, who's your Red Crew person. And he asked for a volunteer, I said I'll go.
FISHER: This rocket is basically one big bomb on a launch pad. You're volunteering to go into a very dangerous place.
GARRETT: Well. Yes. Yes. I guess it was dangerous. But that wasn't really in my mind. The urgency in my mind was, let's try to get this resolved so we can continue with the countdown.
FISHER: With a launch on the line, Chad and two other members of the Red Crew, Billy Cairns (ph) and Trent Annis (ph), made the four mile drive to the launchpad. Billy had been on the team for 38 years. But for all three, it was their first time going inside the blast danger zone, and standing next to a fully fueled rocket.
GARRETT: It is hissing. It's venting. You kind of get this feeling that it is a living creature. That's a lot of energy. You can just sense. You feel it.
FISHER: As Chad monitored the air quality to make sure the leaking hydrogen wasn't exceeding the legal exposure limit, Trent got to work trying to safe a multi-billion dollar rocket launch by tightening the loose valve with a good old-fashioned wrench.
GARRETT: You really had to work in there and really do some delicate tinkering to get that torque down to the right pressure.
FISHER: It took 30 minutes of dangerous work. But they stopped the leak.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The work is complete. Three, two, one, boosters and ignition. And lift off of Artemis one.
GARRET: I get choked up when I think about it and talk about it. It's just a magnificent, wonderful spectacle.
FISHER: Right now, we're actually joined by members of the Red Crew. The three of you guys really, I would say, saved the day today.
What was more nerve-racking? Being out on the launchpad, or being interviewed on TV?
GARRETT: Probably being interviewed. I was very comfortable. Very confident and the test team and the proceedings. And our training.
We did a great job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pretty scary. So on Zero death, my heart was pumping. My nerves were going. But yes, we showed up today I think. As soon as you walk up those stairs, we are ready to get rock n roll.
[01:55:00]
FISHER: NASA administrator Bill Nelson, thanked them for what he described as their heroism and professionalism. While astronaut Nicole Mann (ph) up at the International Space Station told CNN that the Red Crew exemplified why spaceflight is a team sport.
NICOLE MANN, ASTRONAUT: It's the team of people that come in in the last minute and make those fixes, and make those corrections, so that we can launch and be successful. It's really an effort of thousands and thousands of people.
GARRETT: Mail started cheering and clapping, telling me you guys saved the launch. You save the space program and all these things. I thought they were just pulling my leg. It was very flattering and humbling because like I said, I mean any one of my teammates could've done exactly what I did.
FISHER: Kristen Fisher, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: 13 years after the original movie, the sequel to the blockbuster film "Avatar" is now in theaters worldwide. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know you think I'm crazy.
But I feel her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: "Avatar: Way of Water" topped the U.S. box office with $134 million, giving director James Cameron his first $100 million dollar opening weekend. Globally, it's already brought in $435 million, but still less than predicted. And may make it difficult for the movie to turn a profit.
It's estimated the sequel needs to make more than $2 billion to do that, given how expensive it was to produce.
And in Venice, even Santa gets around on the water. Have a look here. Dozens of Santas rode through the historic canals, on Sunday. It was the 12th edition of the city's Christmas regatta.
So both were all decked out for the season. Some even have wooden cutouts of reindeer on their boughs.
Really inventive.
Thanks so much for watching. I'm Kim Brunhuber. My colleague, Laila Harrak will be back in just a moment with more CNN newsroom. It's right over there. Please do stay with us.
[01:57:02]
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