Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
CNN International: Ukraine: Biggest Russian Air Attack Since Full-Scale Invasion; Ukraine FM Accuses Russia of Targeting Women, Children; Wall Street Performs Far Better In 2023 Than Expected; Richard Quest Sits Down With Riyadh Air CEO. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired December 29, 2023 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:25]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: More than 150 drones and missiles in one day. Ukraine says Russia launched its largest air attack since the invasion began.
Maine's top election official removes Trump from the 2024 primary ballot.
And meet the company that wants to -- want socks to spread joy. The CEO of Happy Socks joins me live.
Live from CNN Center, it's Friday, December 29th. I'm Paula Newton, and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
Good evening, and we begin with what Ukraine is calling the largest Russian air attack since Moscow's full-scale invasion began. At least 31 people have been killed in a wave of airstrikes. That's according to officials, with dozens more wounded.
These are some of the horrifying scenes from Dnipro. As you can see, there were attacks right across the entire country. I mean, just look at that map. As far west as Lviv, which many had considered to be a relative safe haven in this war.
Now, Ukraine's president made a surprise visit meantime to the frontlines. That was earlier. He accused Moscow of using nearly every type of weapon available.
Now, as blasts shook buildings right in the capital, Kyiv, as you can see there, Ukraine 's foreign minister said, quote, "These sounds are what Russia really has to say. Only greater firepower can silence Russian terror."
Now, welcome news then perhaps that the UK has just announced it is sending hundreds of air defense missiles to Kyiv in the wake of these latest attacks. Our International Diplomatic Editor, Nic Robertson, is monitoring all of this from London for us.
Nic, good to have you on this story. I mean, we've seen the destruction from those airstrikes. Why are they so significant? And do you believe it will help focus minds in the West? I mean, Zelenskyy was just saying in the last few hours that the West must respond to this attack?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And President Biden has said this attack shows just what President Putin is after doing. He hasn't changed, he just wants to destroy Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. And I think what this will do will focus minds on when Russia decides to put together a big, sophisticated air assault, it can get through Ukraine's defenses, you know, 158 missiles, 44 of them get through.
Just to paint a little bit of a picture about the complexity of that attack, it started off with 36 drones from the south, east, and from the north. That's nothing unusual. Then the drones came from the West. We've seen that before.
But then it got more complex. Russia put up some strategic bombers in the air, about 3:00 o'clock in the morning. These carry multiple cruise missiles, but it didn't attack with them right away. It attacked with some long-range bombers that had cruise missiles on them. There were eight of those.
There were 14 serviced air missiles. There were five MiG fighter jets put up that had the hypersonic missiles on them. They attacked with those and other weapon systems.
And only after that, when Ukraine's air defense systems have been stretched, if you will, monitoring all these 18 different strategic bombers in the air, they then launched their 19 cruise missiles. So very devastating way to get around Ukraine's air defenses but, of course, the impact felt all across the country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON (voice-over): From Ukraine's center, Dnipro, to all points, Kyiv in the north, Odessa in the south, Kharkiv in the northeast, and to Lviv in the far west, Russia launched its biggest air attack since their ground evasion 22 months ago. Forty-four of 158 Russian missiles evading Ukraine's western-supported air defenses, killing and wounding civilians.
This man narrowly surviving, pulled from the rubble in Kharkiv. Schools, shopping malls, private homes and high-rises, even a maternity hospital hit in the capital. This resident awoken by missiles at 7:30 AM.
(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE speaking in foreign language.)
ROBERTSON (voice-over): "It was a horrible sound; it was so frightening. The missile was flying and everything was buzzing, worrying" she says. "I didn't know what to do."
[15:05:04]
President Zelenskyy is accusing Russia of throwing nearly every type of weapon in its arsenal against Ukraine. Ukraine's air force described complex attack of interlocking waves of drones, bombers, fighter jets; cruise, hypersonic, and other missiles intended to distract and stretch air defenses.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON (on camera): There was outrage and anger from European leaders, but Russia's complex assault appears intended not just to exploit weaknesses in Ukraine's air defense system, but it's waiting international support, highlighting Ukraine's need for European and US monies held up by internal politicking.
In a week, when Ukraine appeared to have turned its narrative to one of success, destroying a valuable Russian tank transporter ship in Crimea, reality appears to be a second winter under sustained, systemic Russian bombardment.
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)
ROBERTSON (voice-over): "Nothing changes. Russia's goal is the same," he says, "to destroy Ukraine as a state and to destroy all rebellious Ukrainians as a nation." Resilience, now Ukrainians' best friend.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON: And I think it was very interesting to listen to President Zelenskyy's tone today not only appealing to the international community for support, but also thanking them as well. He was saying that he'd heard from a lot of leaders, and he was very grateful for their support.
And, of course, we'll remember back just a few months when he appeared at a NATO summit over the summer where he was criticized, frankly, for taking for granted some of the support that he was getting. You know, it's so clear, he knows he's going to have his work cut out to try to get what he needs to save his country.
NEWTON: Yes, and the implications for everyday Ukrainians through all of this are quite grave, indeed. Nic Robertson for us, thanks so much. We appreciate it.
Now, meantime, as we saw in that report, rescue workers in Ukraine have been working right around the clock in the aftermath of these strikes. Now, in the past few hours, Kyiv's mayor said three bodies were recovered from the wreckage of a warehouse hit by a ...
ROBERTSON: Yes.
NEWTON: ... Russian missile. He says a total of at least seven people were killed there.
Helena Lins, a reporter for CNN Portugal, is at the scene and has the latest from Kyiv.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HELENA LINS, REPORTER, CNN PORTUGAL: We'll just take you inside and show you what actually the destruction that is inside because, you know, the warehouse was hit. It caught fire. When we arrived here, the smoke was still very visible from the outside.
Right now, we can still see smoke in the inside. The smell is actually also strong. And for some time, we couldn't access the inside of the warehouse because firefighters were still trying to stabilize so nothing could actually fall.
We now have permission to enter. And as you can see, you know, there is -- the structure is completely destroyed. The roof of the warehouse is totally destroyed.
And we are actually walking, most of the time, on shattered glasses, on fragments of the warehouse, but also of the equipment that was inside. I was speaking with the general manager of the company, the -- which is actually a German company, working in Ukraine. And he was telling me there is only electrical technical equipment here. There's no weapons, and it's now mostly destroyed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Yes, so stark the images there. Our thanks to Helena. Now, these attacks come amid a critical juncture for Ukraine. Both it's counter-effective against Russia and the release of western aid packages worth tens of billions of dollars have stalled.
Now, a brutal winter lies ahead for all. This graph shows the amount of foreign aid Ukraine has received by month. I mean, you can see for yourself there, right, support has tapered off since this time last year.
Maryan Zablotskiy, a Ukrainian member of parliament joins us now from Kyiv with his response to these latest attacks and what they mean for the wider conflict with Russia. I really want to thank you for joining us, and so much heartache that we all just witnessed there throughout Ukraine today. And for so many months now, what would you say to the west as they can now see in blunt terms themselves what's going on, but also the fact that we all see that their resolve in the west might be weakening?
MARYAN ZABLOTSKIY, MEMBER OF UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT: Well, first of all, we are extremely grateful for the foreign aid provided to us right now. Yesterday, we were -- the attack of 122 missiles, fortunately, 70% of those were intercepted, thanks to foreign aid. And if not for the foreign aid, not 30 people were killed, but much, much stronger civilian casualties would have been injured. So we are extremely grateful for that.
[15:10:06]
Russia has spent $1.2 billion on this one day and one night of terror. And it shows that as the western support (inaudible), they are still ready to double-down on the attacks on Ukraine.
NEWTON: And given what you just said, what do you worry most about the fighting season to come in this winter?
ZABLOTSKIY: Well, they are -- you know, the main targets of this attack were just civilian infrastructure. So they were targeting our electricity grid basically.
First, electricity grid has nothing to do with anything related to the front line. This is a terror tactic. And they specifically choose times and days of the attack, you know, to provide increased stress for Ukrainians. And it is extremely stressful. Trust me, something when you hear supersonic missiles even when they are intercepted by Patriots, it's heard by miles, and the walls are shaking in every building inside Kyiv.
NEWTON: Yes. And important to note, there was a maternity hospital that had to be evacuated as they were hearing those missiles and drones overhead. You know, some have described Ukraine, though, as handcuffed by the west, meaning, the military aid came with conditions. They would give some, but not other help.
I mean, what are you asking for in blunt terms in the weeks to come. I mean, we know the F-16s may or may not arrive by spring and be in the air, but what could help in the weeks to come?
ZABLOTSKIY: Well, first of all, we are extremely grateful for what already has been received. Again, 70% about what Russia fired has been intercepted and countless of lives were saved. But what we really do need is just a small percentage of what has been prepared for war with Soviet Union as is.
US has huge stockpiles of weapons that were specifically designed for a conflict to the Russia for a potential conflict with a superpower. A very timely and small fraction of that actually just does the trick, not the money themselves, but what has already on warehouses.
NEWTON: So you're saying more military hardware need to be released and released very, very quickly?
ZABLOTSKIY: Exactly. And where -- whether this hardware is in US or Ukraine, its specific lives depend on that. We are extremely grateful for the aid already received. But if many of those weapons were manufactured and stockpiled in case for such a conflict, US soldiers are not taking part of it, thank God. But we are ready to fight, we are ready to put our blood, but we do need equipment to fight of this enemy.
NEWTON: And that is a message that you have been saying really from the outset of this conflict. But I want to ask you, you have forged very close relations and maintain close relations to Republicans in the United States. And yet, the GOP seems to be weakening in its resolve, especially when you listen to GOP candidates. Have you been in touch with them of late? And what can you say that them as the United States enters a pivotal election time right now?
ZABLOTSKIY: Well, we really do not want to interfere in any US politics. But I do know from my experience that vast majority of Republicans are very tough on foreign policy. I myself am a huge Ronald Reagan fan. I've been trying to put them. I hope sooner we'll have a Ronald Reagan monument in Kyiv.
And I do hope that this support will come. And quite honestly, even from previous times, when we have different parties, Ukraine typically enjoyed bipartisan support.
NEWTON: Right. But Ron DeSantis, one candidate, is saying maybe you guys should cede territory. And you know former President Trump is not convinced that this battle should continue the way it is.
ZABLOTSKIY: You know, we -- sometimes we look at actions, not words. I do remember that Mr. Trump was the first US president to send military equipment to Ukraine. He was actually the first one to authorize the sale of -- and delivery of Javelins to Ukraine. And he implemented sanctions (inaudible) in, too, as I remember.
So at the time when it came to actions, he was positive towards Ukraine. And I hope that we will still stand.
NEWTON: Actions, not words, we hear you. It is 10:14 PM now in Kyiv. We certainly hope you have a quiet, quiet evening. Thanks so much. Really appreciate your words there.
ZABLOTSKIY: Thank you for having me.
NEWTON: Now, we want to turn now to the other war that dominated headlines this year, the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. The Israeli military said today that it is extending its operations around Khan Younis in southern Gaza, all of this after the IDF warns more residents in central Gaza to evacuate.
The UN's Palestinian Refugee Agency now says more than 300 people who took refuge in UN shelters since the start of the war have been killed, with more than 1,000 people injured. Nada Bashir has the latest.
[15:15:07]
NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, the humanitarian situation inside Gaza seems to grow more dire by the day and, of course, the death toll continues to climb. And there is still growing pressure on international aid agencies to get aid into the Gaza Strip.
The amount of aid crossing the border at this current point in time is simply a drop in the bucket in comparison to what is actually needed. But, of course, there is also mounting concern around the security situation facing these aid agencies.
The UN's own secretary-general has previously accused Israel of placing massive obstacles in the way of aid agency distributing that much needed aid to civilians in Gaza. And now, of course, we are seeing more worrying developments. The UN's Agency for Palestinian Refugees on Friday reporting that a UN convoy of seven vehicles of (inaudible) were clearly labeled was reportedly fired at by Israeli troops as it made its way from northern Gaza into southern Gaza in route designated by the Israeli military.
And no one is said to have been injured, but the UN has reiterated that aid workers should never be a target. The Israeli military, for its part. has said that it is looking into the incident. But, of course, this has raised concern over the security situation and brought into question the security guarantees that aid agencies and UN agencies alike have repeatedly sought from the Israeli military.
And, of course, the need to get aid into Gaza is growing more desperate by the day. Just on Friday, we have seen that dramatic video circulating, showing desperate crowds clamoring around eight trucks desperate to grab whatever food aid has made it into the Gaza Strip. And, of course, as we know, the UN has reported some 2.2 million people in Gaza are now facing an acute hunger crisis with the imminent risk of famine.
And, of course, we are also seeing a massive displacement crisis inside of Gaza. Some 150,000 people, according to the UN simply have nowhere to go following Israel's evacuation orders targeting central Gaza. We have seen now, of course, the vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million population now internally displaced, many of them taking shelter around the south. But there are fears that people in the south now could also become a target.
We have seen the Israeli military expanding its operations both in the air and on the ground. The Israeli military says it is targeting Hamas and has accused Hamas of embedding itself amongst civilians. But we have seen the targeting of residential areas and, of course, airstrikes near hospitals, near schools, and, of course, near aid centers as well.
There are fears for the millions of Palestinians now sheltering in southern Gaza thought to be a safe zone, they will now no longer find any place of safety there. The UN, of course, repeatedly calling for humanitarian ceasefire, but this is something that the Israeli government has outrightly rejected.
Nada Bashir, CNN, in London.
NEWTON: After the break, Maine's top election official made her statement second to remove Trump from the primary ballot. The US Supreme Court will likely have the last word on the matter. We'll have more on that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:20:29]
NEWTON: A top election official in Maine expects a legal fight over her decision to remove Donald Trump from the ballot. Shenna Bellows paused her decision to allow for an appeal. She told CNN that it was her finding that Mr. Trump engaged in an insurrection and that she had no choice but to disqualify him. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHENNA BELLOWS, MAINE SECRETARY OF STATE: Maine law specifically delegates to me, as Secretary of State, a requirement to review the qualifications for any candidate running for office. My obligation and duty, my sole consideration is my oath to uphold the Constitution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Colorado's top court has also disqualified Mr. Trump from office. The issue is likely to land in front of the US Supreme Court.
Joey Jackson is here for us in Washington. And, boy, Joey, I'm sure many people are hoping this is going to land before the Supreme Court. I want to deal with the issue of Maine first. And I'm curious about your opinion because the secretary of state there, this was not a court opinion, right? She is an elected Democrat. Will it now be relatively easy to contest this in lower courts?
JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good to be with you, Paula. You know nothing is easy in this universe, right? Things are very complicated.
But in speaking about Maine, what happens is just really a reboot. You have these 50 states in the country, right, in the United States of America. And every state, Paula, has a governor and a state legislature.
The relevance of that is that states are independent sovereigns. They can make rules, regulations, proceedings.
The way Maine does things, right, to your question is that, no, she is the secretary of state, Ms. Bellows. She is not a court. And so, you have the secretary of state being delegated the responsibility by the legislature.
Just to be clear, the state legislatures pass laws, governors sign them, they become the laws of the state -- each of the states having their own. And here, what happens is, in Maine, they have a statute, a law that requires the secretary of state to determine the eligibility for office.
And in doing so, she wrote, the secretary of state did a 34-page memorandum pretty much enunciating and detailing what she views as his disqualification, his being former President Trump. In doing so, she had to assess what may have disqualified him. And so, there's an amendment. It's Amendment 14, Section 3, which says if you've engaged in insurrection, you are thereby disqualified.
So in that opinion, right, to conclude, she concluded, that because he engaged in an insurrection on January 6 -- that is former President Trump -- will be disqualified. So now we'll go through the state court procedures in Maine. And following that, it will go to the United States Supreme Court, which really has uniformity over all 50 states and what they say the United States Supreme Court will ultimately be controlling not ...
NEWTON: Okay.
JACKSON: ... only for Maine, but Colorado and for everyone else who has to take up the issue.
NEWTON: Okay. So ...
JACKSON: A lot to get through (inaudible). NEWTON: ... now and you did it quite elegantly. But I do want to ask you, because this is the hard part, right? Do you think there is any way that the Supreme Court can avoid this? And the clock is ticking, right?
JACKSON: Yes. You know, I think there is a way, right, because the Supreme Court says, listen, we don't get involved in things unless we absolutely must. And at this stage, the Supreme Court could say, look, each and every state has their own as we look there at the challenges based on the 14th Amendment, the various states where it succeeded, rejected, or it's pending. And in actuality, there are about 30 or so where challenges like this are anticipated.
So Supreme Court could opt upon and say states determine their own regulations with respect to their own process in ballots. Well, the Supreme Court could say, wait a minute, we have too much dysfunction. The Supreme Court likes to get involved and enunciate and make decisions on things where there is disorder.
And if you're going to have 50 states and they're going to operate uniformly and strongly, they need guidance and specific direction. And that's why the Supreme Court, I think, will be likely to take up the case in terms of whether or not the president or former president -- wanting to be again the president -- should be allowed to run or not run ...
NEWTON: Right.
JACKSON: ... predicated upon the 14th Amendment, Section 3.
NEWTON: Well, many believe there will be chaos if it doesn't take up the court. Of course, we will be watching it closely.
And you, our legal hero, will be watching it closely in 2024 as well. Our best to you. You're such a friend of this show. Appreciate it. Joey Jackson, have a great New Year. We will see you in 2024. Appreciate it.
[15:25:07]
JACKSON: Thank you, Paula. Appreciate you.
NEWTON: Now, two months after China's defense minister was sacked -- you remember that -- without any public explanation, officials in Beijing have named his replacement. Former Navy Commander Dong Jun will now serve as the face of China's military.
Now, unlike many other countries, China's defense minister actually does not have command power and plays an incredibly important role in military diplomacy.
To explain it all, we get the latest now from CNN's Marc Stewart. He's live for us in Beijing. And, Marc, good to see you. What does this appointment tell us about China's posture going into 2024, especially at a time when we're still seeing such heated rhetoric about Taiwan? MARC STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Paula, always good to see you. Look, I think the question that you are asking is the right one. I think it's the question that many governments around the world are going to be asking, as well as China's scholars.
The bottom line is this, this is not a government that operates with a lot of transparency. Many of Xi Jinping's moves are very opaque and, at times, surprising.
But he did have this opening to fill. It's been two months since former Defense Minister Li Shangfu was in office, last seen in public in August, but removed from the job about two months ago. So that certainly had to take place, adding this new position oradding this replacement, that being Dong Jun to the job.
Now, as you mentioned, this is not a job that is necessarily based on military strategy, but is very much a diplomatic role. And as you alluded to, there are a lot of diplomatic issues not only Taiwan, but also US-China relations. In fact, as we have seen in just the past week for the first time really, Chinese and American generals actually have been speaking for the first time after a lot of strain between these two nations. So perhaps he is seen as the appropriate figure head to kind of set the tone for those kind of talks.
As far as Dong Jun's past, he spent a lot of time with the Chinese Navy, the People's Navy, the PLA Navy, spent a lot of time in the South China Sea, which is a very contentious body of water. So perhaps, he is going to be the right person to guide those talks.
I should also point out, Paula, that this all broke late in the afternoon on Friday here in Beijing. We also have learned that nine other military leaders had been removed from their position during a big government meeting that had been taking place. No reason was given, but again, it is adding to this bigger story about this intrigue as to what's happening behind the scenes within the Chinese government.
NEWTON: Yes, always difficult to parse. Marc, glad to have you with us to try and figure some of this out, and appreciate your input here as it is early morning hours in Beijing. Appreciate it.
Now, there's about 30 minutes left to trade on this side of the world. On Wall Street, the closing bell caps off a surprisingly strong year for markets. We'll have more on that after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:31:15]
NEWTON: Wall Street is about finishing year that went far better than most people had expected or predicted. The major U.S. averages have soared over the past couple of months. Slower inflation and the A.I. rally are big reasons why.
Going into 2023, many economists were, in fact, predicting a recession. You'll remember that in a weak year for stocks. But can Wall Street keep this momentum going in 2024? Here is our crystal ball of risks to global markets. Look at that. First and foremost, geopolitical issues may rattle investors. Wars in Ukraine and Israel could escalate. The fight -- the inflation fight isn't over for many economies, a hard landing brought on by high interest rates. Yes, it's still possible. And finally, the unknown unknowns.
Random shocks like this year's banking crisis can always come up. Sam Stovall is the chief investment strategist at CFRA. Good to have you with us again. Another year that was not for the faint of heart, we have less than a half an hour to go in this trading year.
You know, the market has shown great resiliency, but do you think it will last?
SAM STOVALL, CHIEF INVESTMENT STRATEGIST, CFRA: Well, yes, I do, Paula. And first off, Happy New Year in advanced to you. I think that the market, itself, is telling us that it really does not see a wall of worry that is just too high for it to circumvent at this point.
Expectations are that we could end up seeing a new high fairly soon in the new year. And history tells us that once we recover all that we lost in a prior bear market, the market itself continues to advance for close to another 10 percent over the ensuing three-to-four-month period.
So, a bit of optimism ahead of us.
NEWTON: 10 percent would be a good thing to pocket even early into 2024. I do want to ask you about those geopolitical shocks, though. They remain a grave risk.
You know, for a while this year, I felt that the market was still quite vulnerable. And yet, as I say it was quite resilient. What do you think?
Do you think the market does a better job of trying to insulate itself from those geopolitical risks?
STOVALL: Well, I think that the market pretty much decided that the geopolitical risk would be on the backburner at this point. And that the primary focus was on the Fed, how long would they continue to raise interest rates, when they did stop? How long until they started to cut interest rates?
And I think, Wall Street basically decided that with the 10-year yield, peaking at about five percent, and now, well below the four percent threshold that allowed investors to breathe a very deep sigh of relief.
NEWTON: Absolutely. And the price of oil has been interesting to kind of track that as well through the economy.
I want to talk to you a little bit about asset allocations here. The bond market was a big story in 2023, for all of its downs. And now, a little bit of the ups. What would you say to investors when they start to look at asset allocations in the year to come, keeping in mind the philosophy about this has absolutely been turned on its head in the last few years?
STOVALL: Well, it's a perfect reminder that we saw the 60-40 portfolio. 60 percent equities, 40 percent fixed Income do quite poorly, and everybody questioned whether 60-40 is what people should be using in the future.
And then, once again, history basically said that the market both equities and fixed income tend to write itself like an upturn ship. And that's what we saw in 2023.
So, I think investors are reminded that it is good to have a diversified portfolio, but every once in a while, both of those sides of the equation tend to go down.
NEWTON: But does that mean you absolutely must remain active? For instance, when we look about waiting and asset allocations in the year to come, would you say given what you just told us, look, try and wait a little heavier on equities, at least for the beginning of 2023?
[15:35:04]
STOVALL: Well, I think right now, I would basically keep my foot off the gas, because the S&P 500 has risen by more than 12 percent since the October 27th low, we've had small and mid-cap stocks up about 20 percent. So, I think a lot of enthusiasm has already been built into stock prices.
And traditional measures of being overbought, I think, are flashing red right now. One of them being the CNN fear greed indicator, which right now is reading 78, which is in the extreme greed area. And usually, that's a very good contrary indicator.
NEWTON: Got you. We hear you. foot off the gas for now, keep your powder dry. We're just going to mix up all of those cliches going into 2024. Sam Stovall, Happy New Year to you. And thanks so much for joining us. Appreciate it.
STOVALL: Oh, my pleasure. Thanks.
NEWTON: Now, Saudi Arabia is hoping to improve its global image and attract new visitors. Part of that plan, a new airline called Riyadh Air. Richard Quest spoke to its CEO.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TONY DOUGLAS, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, RIYADH AIR: There's a demand, which currently for travel here is far greater than supply. So, point to point traffic into Riyadh, you may have experienced it, 93 percent. You look out the window, this is the same size, Riyadh, is the inside of the M25 in London. So, it's Greater London.
The population of this city is around 8 million people. This is a big, vibrant city, part of a fast-growing economy. And it needs far better connectivity, RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Are you going for premium economy?
DOUGLAS: We'll have three classes. We will have an amazing economy product. For the large majority of our guests. A premium economy, Richard, which, I think, most people would take a view is the best revenue producer for the real estate.
And we'll have a business clause. And we'll set the bar on all three of those products to the next level.
QUEST: Free Wi-Fi onboard?
DOUGLAS: I'm going to make sure that we have the best Wi-Fi connectivity that the industry has seen to date. Why? Because we don't have any legacy. So, there you go. You've teased that one out, but it wasn't very difficult for me to answer.
QUEST: Qatar just announced it's changing its CEO, Emirates will change its CEO in the next couple of years, if not sooner, we're tipped them ago.
Etihad has a new CEO since you left. I mean, you're turning into the -- you will be the elder statesman of the -- of the region in that sense. But all those other carriers, they're all your competitors.
DOUGLAS: There is more than enough for all of us, given the growth profile in this region. But what we'll be going after, is making it easier to get into the kingdom and for our citizens to get to the world.
And let me finish with this one, Richard.
QUEST: Yes.
DOUGLAS: In September, I went to 15 cities in one month, almost as many as you normally connect to. I could only do one of them directly through the kingdom, given the schedule that I have. Most of them were using Qatar Airways or coming back on Emirates.
Why? Because the connectivity is not good enough here at the moment.
QUEST: This is the last time I'm going to ask you this question. Wouldn't it have just been easier, cheaper, and make more economic sense just to reformat, rebuild Saudia?
DOUGLAS: I think it's important for many of your viewers to get that sense of geography and scale. This is an enormous country. It's two- thirds the size of Western Europe. The fact that we've not got to airlines is part of the problem to date. And the reason why we need to catch up the way we do and serve the demand.
QUEST: Alliance? Yes or no.
DOUGLAS: No. QUEST: Well, that was quick.
DOUGLAS: There you go. Now, listen, let me unpack it alliances serve well. But unless you're one of the big dominant members of the inner circle, it probably doesn't serve as well as we would need it to.
So, we are more inclined to work with strategic partnerships.
QUEST: Final question, your launch date, first flight.
DOUGLAS: So, we'll launching Q2 2025. And you know, some people again, your viewers, that might sound like a long time in the future. But you and I both know, in my line of business that's like tomorrow morning, there's a lot to do and that's why it's so exciting.
And we'll take that extension of the brand all around the world over 100 cities within our first five years of operation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: OK, still ahead for us. Sock until you drop. The Happy Sock company is stepping into 2024 in fine style. We'll ask how holiday sales stacked up, and the mood of the consumer.
[15:40:02]
That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: So, all this week "CALL TO EARTH" is turning the spotlight on French Polynesia, as part of the Rolex Perpetual Planet initiative.
Titouan Bernicot and his underwater gardeners are on a mission to save coral reefs there. Today, we learn about the team and how it is embracing innovative new technologies, which they believe will revolutionize ocean conservation, and help restore the reef one coral at a time.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TITOUAN BERNICOT, FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CORAL GARDEN: Yes, I like this spot because we can -- we can see everything. It's a cooler place to observe the reef there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): As the founder and CEO of Coral Gardeners, an organization dedicated to protecting the oceans to Titouan Bernicot is always aware of his surroundings, especially in his own backyard.
BERNICOT: This coral, this one, and this one are our life. The rest is dead. Like -- to see like, all of this, it's covered with bad algae, and it's all dead. We call it in English, the turf.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): It was during a surf session in 2015 when a then-16-year-old Titouan, first discovered the degradation of Mo'orea's reef and soon after the extent of the global crisis.
A couple of weeks later, he was introduced to a widely used restoration process known as coral gardening, and it changed the course of his life.
BERNICOT: So, I am in my old bedroom, the first office of Coral Gardeners here. That's where we started brainstorming all of the ideas with my little brother, (INAUDIBLE), the childhood friend. Then, we're starting to focus on how to save our oceans here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Three years ago, they created C.G. Labs, an in-house research and development center that now counts a handful of Ph.D scientists and former Silicon Valley engineers on staff.
DR. HANNAH STEWART, HEAD OF SCIENCE AND RESTORATION, CORAL GARDENERS: We want everyone to be able to see what's happening. So, if you're Dr. Cole (PH), you can see it in our nursery.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Dr. Hannah Stewart is a marine scientist from the University of California Berkeley, who joined the team in June.
STEWART: My role is to make sure that everything that we do is science-based. And I'm a link between the restoration team which is the field team and C.G. Labs. So, making sure that the tech that we develop is scientifically relevant and is directed at problems that we have directly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Former SpaceX engineer, Sam Whittemore, found his way here on a chance encounter, while sailing through French Polynesia two years ago.
SAM WHITTEMORE, LEAD ENGINEER, CORAL GARDENERS: Got introduced to Titouan through a friend, came to the headquarters. I think before I even set foot on land, we went out in a boat, jumped in the water. I helped clean a nursery and put some new micro fragments out there.
[15:45:01]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): One of their newest scientific toys and development is a custom-made autonomous reef mapping robot.
WHITTEMORE: So, we can use this to survey large areas rapidly. Save a lot of our monitoring time, and also, we can use it to assess those most important places where we want to do restoration project.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): So far, C.G. Labs is most noteworthy innovation, has been the release of the A.I. platform, reef O.S., a network of cameras, sensors and devices that collect real time data, with what they say is, a level of precision that would be impossible for humans to obtain alone.
In other words, they've got a connected reef It's definitely a dream scenario for me, because it is high level science that we're using and relying on. And then I have the team of C.G. Labs who can innovate anything I can dream of, and then some, and then you have a team of professional people in the water, who can carry out what you ask them to do.
STEWART: And that's the thing that is so exciting to be finally, taking action.
BERNICOT: So, those innovative tools, they are not just cool and trending in our modern-day world, they also really useful for the team to be more efficient at doing their daily work here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: And be sure to watch CNN's half hour special, "CALL TO EARTH: REVIVING THE REEF". It airs this Saturday at 11:30 a.m. London time, and we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: It is a quintessential stocking stuffer. Perhaps, maybe you got a pair or two of socks this season. You may even have gotten a pair of these socks from the Happy Sock company. Happy Socks are known for their brightly colored patterns, and the pattern sometimes quite unusual. That includes the kids, food, friend sock, the planet Earth sock. And, of course, who can forget the long line of holiday themed socks.
Happy Socks was founded, in fact, back in 2008 in Sweden. Its socks are now sold in nearly 100 companies.
Here to help us take stock of all things sock is Happy Sock CEO Alexander Meyer. And good to have you with us. Someone I'm sure it's been a fairly successful 2023.
I mean, socks, who knew this category could have so much longevity. I mean, why do you think that is for your company? Is it design, concept, quality?
ALEXANDER MEYER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, HAPPY SOCKS: Well, first of all, thank you, Paula, for having us on the program today. You know, Happy Socks has so much longevity because the company really disrupted an entire category.
You know, there is some -- almost nothing as ubiquitous than a sock. And to disrupt the company like that and be the first player to really introduce happiness there can go a long way. But most importantly, the purpose of the company has always been to spread happiness across every corner of the world.
So, to put a smile on everybody's face is something that the world needs. And so, embedding happy in the culture is really what we're trying to achieve and doing so quite successfully.
NEWTON: Embedding happiness in the culture. Now, I will ask you what trends did you see you in 2023, and did anything surprise you?
MEYER: So, 2023 was a very crazy year in the consumer's mind and also from a retail perspective of course.
[15:50:03]
I think, because of the affordability of our products, you know, you -- we used to know about the lipstick effect in times of crisis. Now, we know about the Happy Sock effect. We're almost going a bit under the radar of any crisis because of the affordability of such a treat in a category that is needed by everybody at every day.
So, we saw great signals despite the crisis that we're in. And despite the carefulness of retailers, investing into companies, and investing into stock, and holding stock, you know, we had some great -- in our e-com side, we had huge success with our Star Wars collaboration.
In fact, if I may, I have (INAUDIBLE) here.
NEWTON: I noticed those online. They looked amazing, The Star Wars side.
So, I have to ask you, though, I mean, you -- oh, there you go. Star Wars.
You use the word, right? Ubiquity. They're ubiquitous, especially at Christmas time. How were the holiday sales? And right now, how many returns do you get? Are a lot of people returning socks?
MEYER: No, we almost don't get any return.
NEWTON: Seriously.
MEYER: Seriously. And the Christmas sales were really great. In fact, one of the trends that we saw, though, is that people started searching earlier online for holiday and Christmas gifts.
We saw that both from the Google side, but also on our end with our data. And we had record breaking Black Friday sales. So, people really bought a lot for Christmas already during Black Friday. So, the trends were soft in September, October, but November, December were really successful for us, and we saw great signals also for the future in that sense.
NEWTON: Interesting.
MEYER: And -- so sorry, I would say that the one of the trends that we're seeing is really this corporate gifting and tailor-made solution for large corporations that really want to connect with their people or partners that -- and we can service their needs respectively.
NEWTON: Yes, and like you said, everyone uses them, and they're easy to give. You know, we are a long way removed from the online retail phenomenon.
Where is retail going next, as far as you can see, especially, given Happy Socks, providence there.
You're very much also in the bricks and mortar, which frankly is not a must for socks, right? No one has to try on socks. So, what are you seeing in the year to come?
MEYER: So, in regards to your last point, Happy Socks has the benefit of actually being successful in two categories. One is the soft category, the other one is the gifting one. And gifting works a lot on impulse. And for that, you need bricks and mortar. And so, bricks and mortar, of course, is a hugely important channel for us across the globe.
We give Christmas trees to retailers, and these are often positioned in different parts of the stores than the usual sock walls and subsequently impulse buys can really take place from a gifting perspective.
(CROSSTALK)
NEWTON: Interesting.
MEYER: I think the one thing that we see in retail and business in general is still this de-risking companies. You see the real manifestation of marketplaces, retail media networks, less pre orders, more reactive older placements, more consolidations, from buyers across different categories, so you get less time with buyers.
And so, in this whole contraction of the economy, that we sometimes feel with retail, is not easy. And so, craftsmanship's of good sales, account management become really important other from that spectrum.
(CROSSTALK)
NEWTON: Yes. And uniqueness to be sure. We'll leave it there for now. Alexandra Meyer, thank you for all that information. And we wish you a happy new year with Happy Socks.
MEYER: Thanks. All the best.
NEWTON: All the best to you.
Now, from colorful socks to New Year's Eve ball drops. New York Times Square -- Times Square will live up to its nickname, the crossroads of the world, once again this weekend.
When thousands gathered during in 2024. Now, it's a tradition that goes all the way back to 1907. Our very own Richard Quest has seen his fair share of New Year's celebrations. I even tagged along with him for one year. And here again, he will bring you all the action.
Richard tells us what's so special about the world-famous event.
QUEST: In the city that never sleeps, at that moment when the year changes. Well, this is the only place to be. Of course, Times Square New York.
A New Year's Eve tradition more than a century-old drawing in the masses every December 31st.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's wonderful. Unbelievable. It is -- it is the most exciting, eve of my life.
QUEST: And what's it all about? That. The crystal ball that sits atop one Time Square. It weighs more than 11,000 pounds. Frankly, the whole thing is a bit odd, eccentric to be certain.
[15:55:02]
Why do we all watch a ball, slide down a pole on New Year's Eve?
JEFFREY STRAUSS, PRESIDENT, COUNTDOWN ENTERTAINMENT: The first two years, they actually did fireworks a top the building, but it would rain down whoever is below, burning their heads. And they had to come up with a good idea and they took this world tradition. This is idea, these time balls that dropped at noon around the world so that navigators added seek and adjust their time pieces to the local time. And they added an electricity, light bulbs, and created a lighted time ball that would drop at midnight to mark the beginning of a New Year.
QUEST: Keeping everyone entertained is no easy task. This is a party with more than a million guests.
STRAUSS: Over thousand people work on this show that night, but that doesn't include the New York City police, fire, sanitation. All those city agencies that make this a safe friendly happy celebration.
QUEST: New Year's Eve in Times Square, for many is a once in a lifetime experience. For me, it's the only place to be. I am everywhere tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've heard there is a shoe emergency.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Shoe.
QUEST: There is. It suddenly fell apart.
I believe that we will win.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe that we will win. So, I believe that we will win. I believe that we will win. I believe that we will win.
QUEST: I believe that we will win.
I am indeed a pretzel.
The fan -- the Phantom of the Opera.
It's Hamilton, which, of course, is the sensation.
Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. I lift my lamp beside your golden door.
The next time I see these numbers later, it will be 2024. The New Year will have arrived. We will have sung New York, New York. The more than 20 years I've been in the Square, watching the ball drop into a Happy New Year with loved ones because really there is nowhere to be.
Richard Quest, CNN, Time Square, New York.
NEWTON: Come on. Given that highlight reel you have to watch. Join Richard, me, for New Year's Eve, live coverage right around the world, around the clock. We ring in the New Year. the special begins just before midnight in Sydney, which is midday in London and morning in New York.
It carries on throughout the entire day. It is a very special event. Please join us. We have a lot in store.
Now, there are just moments left to trade on Wall Street. We'll have the final numbers. We'll tell you about if there records. We'll have that after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
