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Coffin Carrying Pele to Be Moved to Stadium in Santos; Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Sworn in as Brazil's President; Kyiv Faces Aerial Bombardment on New Year's Day; Vatican Releases Images of Former Pontiff after Death; Taiwan Offers to Help Mainland China Deal with COVID Surge; Hardline Rule Returns to Afghanistan. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired January 02, 2023 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. And welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company.
[00:00:36]
Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, mourning a football icon. Brazil prepares to bid a final farewell to Pele, one of the brightest stars who ever played the beautiful game.
Those goodbyes coming as the country welcomes a new leader. What Lula da Silva's return to the presidency means for Brazil's future.
Plus, air-raid sirens ringing out in Ukraine as Russia launches a barrage of new attacks across the country.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: Now in the day ahead, Brazil will honor its late football hero, Pele, in what's set to be a massive public wake. Any moment now, Pele's coffin will be moved from a hospital in Sao Paulo to a stadium in the city of Santos. It's on its way now, we can confirm.
That's where the superstar played most of his career and where his body will lie in honor for 24 hours. Thousands of people are expected to show up and pay their respects. It's a much-needed moment of unity in a time of national uncertainty.
Stefano Pozzebon reports from Santos, in Brazil.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST (voice-over): How do you mourn a legend? A person who always brought so much joy to everyone who saw him? These football fans in the Brazilian city of Santos do it their own way, by laughing and cheering.
This is the old guard, those who had the privilege of watching Pele play 60 years ago. Now, they're preparing to say goodbye. Some show off their tattoos. Others hold onto old tickets as if they were relics. UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): In his last match, the stadium
was jammed, everyone screaming, chanting. When Pele left the pitch, it all went quiet. It was silence, and then half the people left, because why stay if you don't see Pele?
POZZEBON (voice-over): But in a city where everyone has a story about the legend, here was someone who knew the man himself. A true lover of the game, Cosmo Domiero (ph) founded the first supporters club in the city back when Pele was playing.
POZZEBON: It's a mixed feeling of celebrating the life of the player, but being sad because your friend died.
COSMO DOMIERO (ph), FRIEND OF PELE (through translator): Yes, you have no idea how much I would like to say, "Come back, king, and be with your people. This piece of land is your house."
POZZEBON (voice-over): The city of Santos has declared seven days of mourning to remember Pele. And outside the old football stadium, the tributes are endless.
Inside, everything is ready. Here is where Pele's body will lie for 24 hours.
POZZEBON: Like in a circle that comes to a full close, Pele's final farewell will be in the same ground where he gained so much joy to his fans. Back then, hundreds of them would be cheerful. In these stands, that are now silent, morning the king of football.
POZZEBON (voice-over): As a new year begins, one last bit of history. One more final whistle for the greatest of them all.
Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Santos, Brazil.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Meantime, Brazil has a new president, and he's no stranger to the office. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sworn in as president for the third time on Sunday after a 12-year hiatus.
He has inherited a country with crippling debt and much higher levels of poverty than when he left office. In his address to the country, he expressed optimism towards a brighter future, but acknowledged there is much work to be done.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUIZ INACIO LULA D SILVA, BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Today, our message to Brazil is one of hope and reconstruction. The great building of love, sovereignty, and development that this nation built since 1988 has been systematically demolished in recent years. It is to rebuild this building of national rights and values that will guide our efforts.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Now, Mr. Da Silva's rise to power caps a spectacular comeback from a corruption scandal that forced him to spend more than a year and a half behind bars.
[00:05:05]
In 2019, the supreme court ruled his case a mistrial, clearing his path to run for reelection. But looming over his new political era, threats of violence from his successor's supporters.
CNN's Julia Vargas Jones has more on the transfer of power from the outgoing president, Jair Bolsonaro.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN PRODUCER: Brazil had been holding its breath for the past two months. But today, the country was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.
That's because outgoing president, Jair Bolsonaro, had said he was not going to accept the result of the elections if he lost. His supporters took to the streets, blocked highways and marched to military headquarters, asking for military intervention.
But instead of resisting the transition of power, Bolsonaro himself left the country on Friday, leaving for the United States and leaving the door open for the new administration to focus on the future.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office for the third time today, but stepping into a very different Brazil than he left when he left office in 2010. This is a country that has a sluggish economic performance, skyrocketing levels of inequality and poverty.
And Lula, speaking to his supporters that went to greet him in Brasilia today, he got very emotional speaking about hunger. Food insecurity has always been a topic very close to Lula's heart. And he told a story of a man he saw in 1989, his first presidential campaign, with a sign that said, "Help me, please. I'm hungry." And how that shaped his political career.
Today, Bolsonaro's absence also contributed to that tone, to that emotional tone, that even for Brazilian standards, was quite high, quite emotional. Lula getting tearful many times throughout the day.
And instead of being received by the outgoing president to get the customary presidential sash that we do here in Brazil, he was handed over the sash by a group of people representing Brazil's diversity. This was a very famous indigenous leader, a black woman, workers, a young black kid, all of this a nod to what the priorities of Lula's government will be for the next four years.
Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Sao Paolo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Joining me now, Eric Farnsworth. He's vice president of the Council of the Americas and the Americas Society.
Great to have your voice on this. Let's start with Brazil. Bolsonaro out. Lula is in. Among other things, he's inheriting massive economic challenges, a conservative parliament.
He's already rolled back some Bolsonaro policies. How do you think the country might change under Lula?
ERIC FARNSWORTH, VICE PRESIDENT, COUNCIL OF THE AMERICAS AND AMERICAS SOCIETY: Well, thanks, Michael. It's great to be back with you and happy New Year to you and your viewers.
It's a sea change for Brazil. There's no question about it. Lula has already gotten off to a fast start. He's talked about how he wants to govern for all of Brazil, not just those who voted for him.
He wants to be an inclusive president. He wants to be somebody who clearly brings the country back together after a very divisive and very ugly presidential campaign, earlier at the end of last year.
But the challenges you have pointed to are real. The wounds continue to be real.
And you know, the memory that many people have of Lula when he was president the first couple times, at the beginning of the century, was when Brazil was in a different place, politically, economically. The global economy was doing much better. There were resources to spread around to the impoverished and that sort of thing. S
So Lula has raised expectations very high. The question is will he be able to meet those? And if he doesn't, how the public respond.
HOLMES: And it leads neatly into the next question. In a manner of a few years, leftist candidates have won elections in a whole succession of Latin American countries in Argentina, Peru, Mexico, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, I think leftists controls six of the region's seven biggest economies.
Why has that happened? What impact might it have on the region? And some of those leaders have seen their popularity plummet, of course.
FARNSWORTH: Yes, exactly right, although we have to remember people vote for the presidents of their own countries based on their own personal circumstances and expectations. Not necessarily based on what's happening next door or based on some movement, you know, across the region.
And what we've seen is that the governments coming out of the COVID pandemic really were wounded, really were hurt. They weren't able to deliver on health care and education and financial expectations of the citizens.
And so you've seen a real move across the region against incumbents. What that means is that folks who have been voted in have been from the left side of the spectrum.
[00:10:03]
But they haven't necessarily been voted on because they're leftist. They're voted on, because they weren't the previous president, or their supporters.
And that matters. Because what that means is they don't come into office necessarily with a large vanity. What they come in with is a desire from their people to manage things better.
And so, if they don't have that ability to -- to really, you know, have a large people voting for them instead of against somebody else, governance becomes much more complicated, particularly with resources that are constrained.
HOLMES: Yes, a lot of -- a lot of people say it's a lot easier to campaign as a leftist in the region than govern.
You focus a lot on Venezuela and, you know, the once possible Maduro alternative, Juan Guaido. He's been pushed to the background, just within the past few days, or further into the background.
Nicolas Maduro looks stronger than before. What do you see as the trajectory there, politically?
FARNSWORTH: I think the trajectory going into 2023 is that Nicolas Maduro is stronger than he has been in some time, thanks to the missteps of the opposition itself, which just voted to remove Juan Guaido as their leader.
This takes the opposition outside of the constitution in terms of their own prospects for change. And it really opens the door to charges that the whole thing is just politics anyway, not according to the constitution .
That gives Maduro a stronger position. Of course, he's being welcomed now, re-welcomed across the region: in Brazil, for the inauguration of the Brazilian president; in Colombia; other places, as well where he had been ostracized.
So, his position to strengthen. And you know, the Venezuelan people are supposed to have elections in 2024. Maduro may even move those up to 2023, this year, to try and catch the opposition in disarray and try to receive another mandate.
I would argue his other one is the one he's under now. It's not free or fair. It's illegitimate.
But you know, if he's the only one who's running, it's hard to make that case going forward, particularly if their conditions (ph), et cetera.
So it's a delicate time for the opposition. They're going to have to get their act together pretty quick to be viable.
HOLMES: Yes, we're right out of time. But I wanted to squeeze this in, going back to Brazil, and perhaps a sidebar to this conversation, but not to the world's climate. How differently do expect Lula to treat the Amazon rainforest as the global resource that it is?
FARNSWORTH: Yes, I think it's a key point. He put Marie da Silva (ph) in as the environmental minister. She's somebody with a real record of achievement on the environment. I think that's a very positive sign.
He's just opened the door again to international contributions for him to use on preservation. Clearly, this is something that he sees as a way to improve Brazil's connections and prospects with the United States, with Europe. So, it's going to be an important shift and I think a good shift.
HOLMES: Eric Farnsworth, always great to have your expertise. Appreciate the time.
FARNSWORTH: Thank you, Michael. It's good to be with you.
HOLMES: And more now on the new government's commitment to restore the environment protections dismantled under Bolsonaro. Paula Newton reports from Sao Paulo state on how Brazilians are already fighting to reverse years of deforestation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR (voice-over): To save the planet, Luis Pinto says you don't have to go to the arctic or even the Amazon. This sky-high perch will do.
What was once degraded pasture is now, after 15 years, an eco- paradise. Two miles of forest restoration.
LUIS PINTO, SOS AMAZONIA: This project does not change a big landscape. But it shows it's possible to bring back life, to bring back water, to bring back by diversity to the center of the city of Sao Paulo.
NEWTON (voice-over): Pinto walks us through the effort to revive the Atlantic forest, home to more than 145 million Brazilians and yet, about three quarters of it has already been wiped out.
This is an effort to bring some of it back. And it works like an eco- lab. By planting trees, the forest provides for clean air and water, bringing back eco-diversity for plants and animals.
PINTO: So, we need a lot of technology, knowledge, and research to know which species to plant and how.
NEWTON (voice-over): Products like these are now at a crossroads of climate and political history in Brazil, a country that is one of the planet's most significant stores of biodiversity.
For four years, the government of President Jair Bolsonaro was accused of undoing the environmental progress of former president and now President Lula da Silva.
Brazil's National Institute for Space Research estimates that in the Amazon alone, deforestation nearly doubled since Bolsonaro came to office in 2018.
Ricardo Salles was Bolsonaro's environment minister.
NEWTON: You know, to many environmentalists, you're as good as the devil. You're a bad guy.
RICARDO SALLES, FEDERAL LAWMAKER AND FORMER ENVIRONMENTAL MINISTER OF BRAZIL: Yes, you know, people don't understand that what we did was to show that the solution for the environmental challenges in Brazil include, as a main path for the solution, the economic equation.
[00:15:12]
NEWTON (voice-over): Salles now speaks as a newly-elected lawmaker in the majority-conservative congress in Brazil. His policies are now clearly popular with many here.
TXAI SURUI, INDIGENOUS LEADER: And I was so scared, you know.
NEWTON (voice-over): Indigenous leader Txai Surui says she and her people, the Paiter Surui (ph) tribe, have been threatened and harassed when trying to protect Brazil's fragile environment. She accuses the Bolsonaro government of dismantling key environmental protections.
SURUI (through translator): We don't need to destroy to develop. We can do that in harmony with nature. And it's the indigenous people who teach that.
NEWTON (voice-over): It is that fundamental struggle on climate action that so threatens progress in Brazil.
PINTO: We need to understand, first as a nation, that's key for the planet. And that decisions we will make will be important for us, but also for others.
NEWTON (voice-over): And so, watch this space. Brazil's future, climate action, and its debate over environmental policy will be consequential far beyond its borders.
Paula Newton, CNN, in Sao Paulo state, Brazil.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Political violence has broken out in Bolivia's largest city, Santa Cruz, after opposition leader Luis Fernando Camacho was sentenced to four months of pretrial detention on charges of terrorism.
Hundreds of protesters clashed with police on Friday, burning cars and tires and throwing rocks and firecrackers at a police building. Police responding with tear gas and arresting at least four people.
Camacho is the right-wing governor of Santa Cruz. He is accused of playing a role in a coup that led to the resignation of leftist president Evo Morales in 2019.
Camacho has repeatedly denied the charges.
In Uganda, at least nine people are dead, including a 10-year-old boy after a crowd crush at a New Year's event. Police say the victims suffocated in a narrow corridor as people rushed to enter a shopping mall to see the fireworks display at midnight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAMADHAN APONGO, FRIEND OF VICTIM: As we are going up, they told us now you have to move back. So, people, some people had already reached the parking. So, they forced them to come back to the main hall.
So that pressure from up and the pressure from down led to loss of breath to some colleagues of ours, which led to their death. Unless a friend of mine, by the name of Margaret Natuma (ph), because I'd gone with her. I found her there. She was enjoying. She was having fun. But due to loss of breath, she lost her breath. And eventually, she died.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Authorities are investigating whether the event's organizers were negligent.
Ukraine has started 2023 with the sound of air-raid sirens across Kyiv. Officials say 16 drones were intercepted over the capital on New Year's Day. And the attacks have continued into Monday.
Elsewhere, a children's hospital in Kherson was struck on Sunday as Russian artillery and rockets continued to bombard the Southern city. Hospital officials say several key buildings were damaged or destroyed.
Meanwhile, a missile landed in a town near Zaporizhzhia City, killing one person and wounding three others.
And the Ukrainian military claims Russia lost at least 760 soldiers on New Year's Eve but did not give details, didn't say where.
Russian units have suffered heavy losses in the past few months, as they try to take the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. Ukraine's president says Russia is losing the war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Our sense of unity, authenticity, life itself, all this contrasts dramatically with the fear that prevails in Russia. They are afraid. You can feel it. And they are right to be afraid, because they are losing.
Drones, missiles, anything else will not help them, because we are together. And they are together only with fear. And they will not take away a single year from Ukraine. They will not take away our independence. We will not give them anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman here with more now, reporting from Kyiv.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Minutes after midnight, as Ukrainians marked the start of the new year, Russian missiles were on their way to Kyiv and other cities, followed soon afterwards by a wave of Iranian-made Shahed drones.
Officials say most of the drones and missiles were shot down by air defenses.
The Kyiv police chief posted on social media photos of the wreckage of one of those drones, bearing the words in Russian, "Happy new year."
If the New Year barrage was intended to strike fear into the hearts of residents, it didn't seem to work. Walking around Kyiv Sunday, we saw hundreds of residents in cafes and restaurants, and families strolling through parks, enjoying the relatively mild weather.
Other parts of Ukraine, however, did not enjoy such a respite. In the city of Bakhmut in the East, fighting rages on. And in the South, in the city of Kherson, abandoned by Russian forces in November, bombardment continues on an almost constant basis.
I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Kyiv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Meanwhile, Kyiv's mayor visited Ukrainian soldiers in Bakhmut on Saturday. He said he was there to show his support and ring in the new year with the troops.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VITALI KLITSCHKO, KYIV, UKRAINE MAYOR (through translator): The 4th Brigade of Ukraine's National Guard Liberty Battalion Bakhmut, the guys who protect our beloved Mother Ukraine every day, protecting its territorial integrity, independence and peace of every Ukrainian. These guys will do everything for 2023 to be a year of peace.
So everyone who comes with a weapon leaves our territory legs forward. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: We have new details on the funeral services for the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and the plans to honor him in the coming days. That's coming up next.
Also, surging case numbers after Beijing backs off from zero-COVID. How countries around the world are reacting as China struggles to get back to normal.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: Catholic faithful around the world are mourning the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
The former pontiff will lie in state for three days in St. Peter's Basilica, with public viewing set to begin in just over two and a half hours from now.
The pope emeritus, who died Saturday at the age of 95, was the son of a German policeman. He rose through church ranks to become pope in 2005, and in 2013 became the first pontiff in nearly 600 years to step down.
Pope Francis will lead the funeral on Thursday, during services Saturday, and again on Sunday. He paid tribute to his late predecessor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPE FRANCIS, LEADER OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translator): In particular, this salute is to the Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who yesterday morning passed away. We salute him as a faithful servant of the gospel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[00:25:05]
HOLMES: On Sunday, the Vatican released the first images of the body of the pope emeritus laying in the chapel of the monastery where he died. CNN senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen has that, along with details about what to expect in the days ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: On Sunday, for the first time, the Vatican released pictures of Pope Benedict XVI after his death. Photos show the pope emeritus laying, still dressed in his papal robes.
Now, the Vatican also gave some more details, saying that immediately after Pope Benedict XVI passed away, that Pope Francis rushed to his side. And that he was there from around 9:34, from when Pope Benedict died until at least after 10 a.m. on Sunday.
Meanwhile, here at the Vatican, things are moving along. The body of Pope Benedict will be lying in state here from early Monday morning.
And then on Thursday, of course, there is the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI. And it was Pope Benedict's wish for that funeral to be a smaller affair.
Of course, you will recall that when Pope John Paul II died in 2005, it was a massive event, with many heads of state and heads of government coming here to Rome. Certainly, we expect that the events now will be a lot smaller. Pope Benedict also released a sort of letter to the followers of the
Catholic church, where he asked for forgiveness from the people that he had wronged. And he also said that, despite his sins and all the problems that he may have had, that he humbly requested for God to allow him into heaven.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Japan's emperor greeted the public in his first New Year's address in three years because of the pandemic. Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, along with other family members, waving to well- wishers from behind glass at the imperial palace.
The emperor expressed hope and happiness for the new year, and also his condolences for those who have died from war and other conflicts around the world, calling for dialogue and cooperation in the international community.
Air travelers from China are facing a growing number of restrictions from countries around the world. This after Beijing scrapped its zero- COVID policy, causing a surge of coronavirus cases.
Morocco will ban all travelers from China from entering, regardless of nationality, starting on Tuesday. And Australia is joining countries like the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, South Korea, Japan, and several others, requiring travelers from China to show proof of a negative COVID test.
But Beijing may be getting some help from unlikely places. On Sunday, during her New Year's remarks, Taiwan's president offered to assist mainland China in dealing with the COVID surge.
Let's bring in CNN's Paula Hancocks, live for us in Seoul, South Korea.
Good to see you, Paula. It's almost like a tale of two countries. Spiraling cases at the same time as things striving to get back to normal in China. What do we know about how people are coping?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Michael, that's exactly it, a tale of two countries. On the one hand, for example, in Beijing, you have congestion that has returned on the streets. You have people shopping again, people going skiing.
This generally, though, appears to be the younger population and those who maybe have already been infected and have recovered. There is, of course, another story going on at the same time. And that is hospitals which are full, which appear to be close to be overwhelmed within the country itself.
Of course, it's very difficult to get exact figures and -- of hospitalizations, et cetera, out of Beijing. They're simply not being published at this point. But from what the team on the ground can see, what we hear
anecdotally, is that those hospitalizations appear to be very significant.
We're hearing of a lack of fever medicines, for example, to be able to treat yourself at home, as well.
So certainly, there is this -- this difference in the two ways that it is being handled at this point. But there's -- there's no doubt that there is a significant amount of people infected with COVID within China at this point.
Now, the official line is still that it is predictable, what is happening with the COVID situation at the moment. And it is also under control.
We did, though, hear from the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, over the weekend, and he did acknowledge that there have been some difficulties.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
XI JINPING, CHINESE PRESIDENT (through translator): Now, the epidemic prevention and control is entering a new phase, and it's still a time of struggle. Everyone is working resolutely, and the light of hope is right in front of us. Let's work harder. Persistence means victory. And unity means victory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANCOCKS: And there are more countries adding their names to the list of those that are putting restrictions on travelers from China.
[00:30:04]
Morocco, in fact, is banning anyone arriving from China from January 3, going a step further than most. And Australia, as well, adding restrictions, calling for at least a negative COVID test before boarding the plane.
They are also considering testing wastewater from flights. We know a number of countries are considering this, including the United States. And what the reason for that is, is because they want to know about variants.
It's not just concern about increases in COVID cases coming into the countries, because countries, quite frankly, at the moment, already have significant numbers of COVID cases. It is about the variants. Has the virus, or will the virus mutate, given the sheer number of people that are infected in China, and will that, then, cross borders?
Now, we heard from the World Health Organization. They said that they spoke to high-level Chinese officials on Friday, and they were asking for more information, precisely so that they could find out if there were going to be any variants. They've asked for more genetic sequencing data. They've asked for
information on the hospitalizations, ICU admissions, deaths , and vaccinations.
We don't know at that point if they're getting any of those answers from Chinese officials. Beijing has publicly said that they will no longer report the number of COVID cases. And they have severely redefined the definition of a COVID death. So the numbers are artificially low -- Michael.
HOLMES: Yes. Yes, a lot of concern. And Paula, good to see you. Paula Hancocks there in Seoul for us.
A suspect is in custody in the stabbing death of four University of Idaho students. And now his family is speaking out. We'll have that story and more when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Right now, Brazil preparing for a massive public wake to honor the late football hero, Pele. His coffin right now being moved from a hospital in Sao Paulo to a stadium in the city of Santos. That's where the superstar played most of his career, and where the wake will be held in the coming hours.
Thousands of mourners are expected to show up and pay their respects.
Let's discuss a little bit with CNN sports analyst Christine Brennan, who joins me now.
And I guess what we're seeing is a visual representation of just what Pele meant and still means to Brazilians. It's like a state funeral.
CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Oh it is, Michael. And so well- deserved. Obviously, not only a great soccer player but a great ambassador for the game and for his nation, for Brazil.
It got to the point where he was so popular in Brazil they didn't want to lose them, that they basically, the government said they couldn't trade, they couldn't have him play for any other team, at least in his heyday before he came to New York to play for the Cosmos in 1975, and brought soccer, really, to the United States, a country at that point we had not really heard about soccer; didn't know the game a soccer.
But other than that, I mean, he is Brazil's, and he is a legend and, of course, larger than life. And I think, Michael, at a time, you know, at the end of the year, there's always a lot of introspection as we look back.
And the fact that he passed away so soon before the year's end, I think, is -- is a chance to even look back more.
And also, of, course the World Cup just a few weeks earlier, again, we were thinking of soccer. Pele, we knew he was ill. So, in many ways the month of December, a fitting tribute to the man and the legend, with the World Cup being so successful on the field of play, of course, in Qatar.
And then, of course, at the end of the year, our sense of looking back. And when we look back at someone like Pele, we see the incredible life that he's lived and how he gave so much to so many.
And he was -- I mean, obviously, the record on the pitch, you know, is incomparable. A national team at 17. World Cup winner at the age of 17. Three World Cups, 1,200 goals. I mean, that -- they -- those are numbers that may not be eclipsed.
But he was more than football, particularly in Brazil. And more than a player when it came to the sport. I mean, he eclipsed all of that.
BRENNAN: Well, he certainly did. And I think for most of the world, soccer and football, obviously, it's been a big part of everyone's lives. Here in the United States, that wasn't the case.
In many ways, he was like Johnny Appleseed, planting the seed for the game here in the United States. Obviously, a major player on the world stage in sports and culture and everything else.
And you know, what I remember hearing about Pele before I really knew much about soccer. Back in the day at that time period, the mid-1970s, Michael, American kids were not playing soccer. We were not.
You know, boys were playing, went to Little League baseball. And girls like me played tennis or swimming or whatever.
So, they was no organized soccer at all. Pele came to the United States and changed -- changed that, and really brought the game to the U.S., as he did of course with this magical, beautiful style of play. And that attacking style, as you well know, that was not usual for the game at that point in the late '50s and into the '60s.
HOLMES: Yes, yes. He showed that stature wasn't everything. I think he was 5 foot 9, and yet he leapt like a gazelle, as some said.
We nearly have to leave it. But I wanted to ask you this, because it's something that really, I think, is important. As a black player in Brazil, that was an important thing. But he also -- he inspired black kids around the world when it came to football, as well.
BRENNAN: Absolutely, the color of his skin, the message that that sent, the visual, Michael. And then also, you know, he came from very poor means. He was from a very poor background. And he never forgot those people. He never forgot the neighborhoods where he grew up.
And I think that was a great message, that the game was for everyone. And that someone from -- like him, from a very meager means, could go on to become so famous and be one of the biggest names and best-known names in the world. Not just in sports, but throughout the world as it -- for a generation or two of people.
And so, again, a remarkable story of success and love and caring and giving back, as he has done for decades. And of course, he will be missed. And he's more, not just in Brazil, but around the world. HOLMES: Yes, yes, a great player and a great man, importantly.
Christine, thanks so much. Good to see you. Christine Brennan there. Thank you.
BRENNAN: Thank you, Michael.
HOLMES: Well, there are a number of casualties in Afghanistan after an explosion outside a military airport in Kabul. The interior ministry says it is unclear how many were killed or wounded or what kind of explosives were used. No one claiming responsibility as yet.
Meanwhile, a senior U.N. official met with the Taliban's deputy prime minister on Sunday to discuss the ban on Afghan women from universities and non-governmental aid organizations.
In a tweet, he said banning women harms millions in the country and prevents critical help from reaching those in need.
Joining me now, Douglas London is a retired senior CIA operations officer. He's also the author of "The Recruiter: Spying and the Lost Art of American Intelligence."
It's always good to see you, Doug. I want to start, actually, by quoting from a piece you authored, or co-authored, for "The Hill," and I'll quote here: "Every time Washington pushed to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, it ironically created the conditions to remain or later return. That irony now informs the current paradox that the country had never seemed safer like today under the Taliban, or likewise more dangerous."
Briefly explain what you mean by that.
DOUGLAS LONDON, RETIRED SENIOR CIA OPERATIONS OFFICER: Thanks, Michael. There's a lot of irony to it.
Ambassador John Bachman (ph) and I took to writing this paper where, you know, America in the last half a century has constantly been drawn into conflict in Afghanistan. But there are the conditions in which we leave Afghanistan, and trying to leave, or leaving, tend to bring us back.
The United States played a major role in helping to push out the Soviets during their invasion in the '80s, only to leave that country in tatters, with a civil war among multiple warring partners, many of whom that we had financed and supported. But we basically turned and looked to try and get away from that.
Nine-eleven brought us back. But as we'd try to draw down troops, we would find that, when we'd try to leave different parts of the country, it would leave particularly those provincial capitals extremely vulnerable.
And also rivalries within the Afghan government itself would pop up, where the United States was playing both a facilitator and an arbitrator sometimes among divisions within its own allied government. HOLMES: Right. The West's biggest fear in leaving Afghanistan the most
recent time was the return of the terror groups that brought them there in the first place.
Assurances from the Taliban were given, promises made it wouldn't happen. And you write, and I'll quote you again, "The Taliban's return has transformed the terrorism landscape into a veritable commercial jihadist enterprise, a jihadist constellation."
How likely is it that the terror groups currently on the ground there could present a substantial threat to the West again?
LONDON: That's an excellent environment for them to operate. All the Taliban really has to do to support terrorist groups is to do nothing, to be passive and let them not only achieve sanctuary, but to plan and plot and organize.
There's any number of members, depending on how you count them, anywhere from 10 to 24 different terrorist groups that we in the intelligence community used to consider al-Qaeda partner organizations. Those are organizations that are very much aligned with al-Qaeda and the Haqqani Taliban network, which itself is a part of the Taliban.
Its chief, Sirajuddin Haqqani, is the current acting interior minister of Afghanistan, and they've really allowed an opportunity for these terrorist groups to take advantage of the labor force that's there, from those seeking sanctuary from countries they're fleeing and operating against, terrorist groups from Taliban fighters who are out of work to the form of government fighters who are out of work.
So, the opportunity for these groups to continue to form an organized and plot is very challenging when the United States no longer has the infrastructure for intelligence collection on the ground that came with having an official presence there --
HOLMES: Yes.
LONDON: -- for so many years.
HOLMES: And you're speaking as a man with three decades of experience in the field, too.
What do we know about how the different groups there might be working together to the same end? I mean, there has been a teaming up at times. ISIS-K with the Islamic movement of Uzbekistan is just one example. What are the risks of that sort of cooperation?
LONDON: They've sort of been reflections of groups that have been associated with the Taliban, like the Islamic movement of Uzbekistan, the East Turkistan Islamic movement, to a split within itself, some of them going to work with ISIS-K, the Islamic state Khorasan, which is an enemy of the Taliban, to which they are engaged in combat with.
So there's really a lot of opportunity if you have the wares to sell, if you would, on the labor market for these groups. And people will go to the highest bidder or those organizations that will give them the greatest degree of support. That represents a real threat for the West.
HOLMES: Exactly. Almost out of time. I do want to squeeze this in, though. With so much focus on Ukraine, is enough attention and concern being given to what's happening in Afghanistan?
LONDON: Well, the precedent is the United States can't afford to ignore Afghanistan, because as much as we might try to put it in the rear-view mirror, it will bring us back.
In our paper, Jaffe (ph) and I both proposed that there's no risk-free way of there is no risk free way of dealing with the problem, but to ignore Afghanistan, and particularly the Afghans we've left behind, and not supporting the legislation and the Afghanistan Support Act, is really going to be to our detriment.
And I fear it will find the conditions themselves will force us to come back if we don't do something to influence their progressive (ph) now.
HOLMES: A hundred percent. Douglas London, as always, thanks so much.
LONDON: Thanks, Michael.
HOLMES: Mexican authorities are investigating an armed assault on a prison that led to a deadly riot. Officials say gunmen arrived at the prison in Ciudad Juarez in armored vehicles on Sunday morning and attacked security guards.
At least ten guards and four prisoners were killed, 13 others wounded. Twenty-four prisoners escaped during the attack.
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Now the family of the man arrested in the killings of four Idaho college students is speaking out. Bryan Kohberger's family releasing a statement that read, in part, quote, "There are no words that can adequately express the sadness we feel, and we pray each day for them. We will continue to let the legal process unfold and as a family we will love and support our son and brother."
Kohberger is currently held without bond in Pennsylvania. He's not fighting an extradition at a hearing set for Tuesday, according to his public defender, who spoke with CNN's Jean Casarez.
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JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now your client is highly educated, very intelligent. He has to appreciate the seriousness of what is happening right now?
JASON LABAR, MONROE COUNTY CHIEF PUBLIC DEFENDER: Absolutely. He is very intelligent. In my -- our conversation with him, that comes off. I can tell that. And he understands where we are right now.
CASAREZ: Have you spoken to his family at all? Their reaction here in Northeastern Pennsylvania?
LABAR: I have spoken to his family last night. They have my cell phone number now, so they contacted me last night. I spoke to them for approximately 15 to 20 minutes. They're also very shocked, out of character for Bryan. They're really in awe over everything that's going on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Kohberger faces four counts of first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of those four University of Idaho students last November.
Well, there's an old saying. One man's trash is another man's treasure. When we come back, we'll take you to the beaches of Kenya, where people are trying to find a solution to plastic pollution. We'll be back.
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HOLMES: Welcome back.
The impact of plastic pollution being felt, of course, all around the globe. Authorities in Kenya have been trying to tackle the problem.
But as CNN's Larry Madowo reports, much of the plastic waste is coming from beyond Africa.
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LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The ancient city of Lamu, a popular part of the Northern coast of Kenya. But the Indian Ocean brings more than just tourists to the Lamu Archipelago.
Tons of marine litter is also washing up on these shores, mostly plastic. They pick up what they can, but more keeps coming.
MADOWO: And this is -- it was manufactured in Indonesia.
Definitely, I've never seen this being sold in Kenya, Fasclean. Never seen this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's not a brand from here.
MADOWO: That's not a brand that's --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's manufactured in China.
MADOWO: Nestle noodles. Don't recognize them over here.
MADOWO (voice-over): Kenya banned single-use plastic from protected areas, including beaches. But they're still being manufactured locally and piling up all over the coastline. A major headache for the local government.
FAHIM YASIN TWAHA, LAMU COUNTY GOVERNOR: We are more the receivers of the plastic than the givers of the plastic. This plastic is dumped, as well, and drifts to our shores. I guess we are a magnetic place. We hope we can also attract good things, not just junk.
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MADOWO (voice-over): Biti (ph), who calls herself Mama Plastic, has been collecting that junk from her community for 35 years. But there's nowhere to take most of it.
MAMA PLASTIKI, LAMU RESIDENT (through translator): We don't have a market for this plastic, so it has slowed us down a little. We had two people working on this, but we ran out of money, so we're stuck with it.
MADOWO (voice-over): Even this better-funded effort to clean up plastic from around Lamu is barely scratching the surface.
MADOWO: The mountains of plastic waste just keeps growing here on the Kenyan coast and is threatening the oceans, the mangroves, and the tourism industry here.
MADOWO (voice-over): Discarded plastic is sorted, then crushed at this facility, breaking it down into smaller particles, and then get molded into something more useful. This is incredibly strong.
MORRIS KILONZO, PLASTIC RECYCLING EXPERT, THE FLIPFLOPI PROJECT: This is a product of sorted, crushed, and washed plastics. You get this.
MADOWO: And it could revolutionize construction?
KILONZO: This one, going to revolutionize the action that's used. We can innovate and put whatever is lying about backyards to something useful.
MADOWO (voice-over): These boats are leading a scientific expedition, describing the impact of marine litter on the East African coast. Its organizers, the FlipFlopi Project, say this is a first time that such research has been carried out in this part of the West Indian Ocean.
The scientists are measuring the presence of nano, micro, and macroplastics in the ocean.
MADOWO: What do you hope to learn from the samples you're collecting?
BAHATI MAYOMA, AQUATIC ECOLOGY AND POLLUTION LECTURER, UNIVERSITY OF DARE ES SALAAM: For the first time, we'd be able to understand how deep can you still find plastic pollution? Most of the focus has been on the surface. No one can understand, because most of the organisms, they live underneath.
MADOWO (voice-over): By 2050, without intervention, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean, the U.N. has warned. Some of it may build the next sailing boat like this one, made entirely of flip- flops. But most of it just suffocates marine life and coastal communities. DIPESH PABARI, COFOUNDER AND LEADER, THE FLIPFLOPI PROJECT: Someone
needs to pay for this. This is not something that these communities and us as local organizations can support and solve. Yes, we are contributing to it, but it's a global problem. It's no different to climate change in that respect.
MADOWO (voice-over): Recycle, reuse. Residents here are doing every bit they can to tackle a global problem at the local level.
Larry Madowo, CNN, Atlanta, Kenya.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Months after the death of their beloved drummer, the Foo Fighters have a message for their fans as they look to get back on tour. We'll have that after the break.
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HOLMES: The Foo Fighters say they'll back onstage soon, months after the death of their drummer, Taylor Hawkins. He passed way in March while on tour in Colombia.
And in a statement, the band said, quote, "We also know that you, the fans, meant as much to Taylor as he meant to you. And we know that when we see you again -- and we will soon -- he'll be there in spirit with all of us every night."
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And tributes are pouring in for Jeremiah Green, the drummer for the indie rock band Modest Mouse, who died over the weekend at age just 45, days after announcing that he was battling cancer.
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HOLMES: Modest Mouse formed in 1992 in the Pacific Northwest. Their first mainstream hit, "Float On," came out in 2004.
The band was still recording and touring, but last week announced that Green had pulled out of the tour, because he was undergoing chemotherapy for an undisclosed type of cancer.
On Facebook, Green's mother posted that a celebration of life will be held in the coming months.
Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram, @HolmesCNN. Stay with us. I'll be back with more news after a short break.
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