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Dozens of Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Leaders Sentenced In Mass Trial; Trump Vows To Use U.S. Military For Mass Deportations; At Least 5 People Wounded As Rocket Shrapnel Falls On Israeli City; Washington Uncertain about Controversial Cabinet Picks; G20 Summit: Leaders Talk Trade, Climate Change, Wars in Gaza & Ukraine; Toxic Smog Shrouds New Delhi; Laken Riley Murder Trial Wraps Second Day of Testimony; Thieves Break Into Grounds of Windsor Castle; Netflix: Up to 65 Million Households Watched Paul vs Tyson. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired November 19, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: CNN Newsroom, Beijing tightens its grip on political freedom in Hong Kong. Sentence sentencing 45 pro-democracy leaders to years long prison terms.
Ahead of a major U.S. policy shift. World leaders gather for the G20 summit with a special focus on the human suffering caused by the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
And Donald Trump says he will declare a national emergency in the US to fulfill his mass deportation plans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with Lynda Kinkade.
KINKADE: We begin with leaders of the world's biggest economies meeting to discuss the future of trade, climate change and conflict. Tuesday is the second and final day of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro. In a joint statement on Monday, the leaders highlighted the human suffering being caused by the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. They also called for cooperation on climate change.
Of course, these talks are happening just two months before Donald Trump becomes the next U.S. President. He's expected to enact massive changes to U.S. policy. And with that in mind, current President Joe Biden urged G20 members to press for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're going to keep pushing to accelerate a ceasefire deal that ensures Israel's security, refugees, hostages, home and ends the suffering of the Palestinian people and children. I ask everyone here to increase their pressure on Hamas which is currently refusing this deal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: President Biden also encouraged the group to support Ukraine. Donald Trump has been highly critical of continuing aid for Ukraine and has promised to end the war. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: The United States strongly supports Ukraine sovereignty, territorial integrity. Everyone around this table might move should as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, Mr. Biden's comments follows a major shift in U.S. policy as he allows Ukraine to now use long range U.S. weapons to strike inside Russia. The move sparked swift reaction from the Kremlin which says the U.S. President is only adding fuel to the fire. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The desperately familiar scramble to find survivors after Russian missiles slammed into the border town of Sumy on Sunday night. Less usual, the death toll of 11, two children, a residential block hit. And just hours later, another 10 killed in a strike on Odessa.
Horrifically, this is now the norm for Ukraine. The weekend seeing a particularly large nationwide attack after nearly a thousand days of war. Donald Trump's election may have made diplomacy a likelihood again. But Ukraine's Zelenskyy clear how the strike showed, quote, what Russia is really interested in only war.
He visited two frontline towns under intense Russian pressure Monday. Pokrovsk, key to Ukraine's entire southeastern front and Kupyansk, a town Russia was kicked out of in late 2022. All signs the war for months has not been going Ukraine's way, perhaps behind the stark and significant U.S. policy change Sunday.
Sources telling CNN, President Joe Biden has finally permitted Ukraine to use long range American missiles to strike inside Russia, something Zelenskyy has for months begged for.
The plan to strengthen Ukraine is the victory plan I had presented to partners, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Long range possibilities for our army is one of its major points. Missiles will speak for themselves, he added.
One U.S. official said the missiles would focus on Kursk, the part of Russia Ukraine invaded in August where Moscow is due to make a counterattack and a key bargaining chip if peace talks begin. Biden's decision process familiar like with HIMARS missiles, he said no, while Ukraine struggled to push Russia back in 2022 and then relented and with Abrams tanks, he paused.
So they arrived too late to help in 2023's counteroffensive, an F-16 jets at first rejected and now helping Ukraine push Russia's advances back.
The ATACMS won't change Ukraine's war overnight. There are not enough of them. But it is a move Biden refused to make for months, saying it was too escalatory, but now endorses entangling the U.S. deeper into the war just months ahead of Trump taking office.
The fear how Putin will react. When the idea first emerged, he said it would be a stark escalation. This will mean that NATO countries, the United States and European countries are fighting Russia, he said.
[01:05:00]
In Russia, the news is being reported on state TV, but so far Putin has not reiterated his earlier threat to respond in kind. Putin's spokesperson Monday said Biden was throwing, quote, oil on the fire of the conflict. It'll burn brighter as both sides seek to maneuver ahead of the Trump presidency. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: We're joining me now from Kyiv is Michael Bociurkiw, a global affairs analyst and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a spokesperson at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Good to have you with us.
MICHAEL BOCIURKIW, FORMER SPOKESPERSON, ORG. FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE: Good to be with you again, Lynda.
KINKADE: So, months after intense lobbying by Zelenskyy, Biden has now agreed to allow the Ukraine to use these longer range U.S. made and supplied weapons into Russia. Just explain why now?
BOCIURKIW: Well, why now? Because I think the Biden administration is trying to future proof or Trump proof, Ukraine aid. But you know, and I think he's also trying to help solidify his somewhat tattered foreign affairs legacy.
But it's too little, too late. And I think that's the feeling here in Ukraine that this should have been done, number one, much longer ago in order not to allow the Russians to move their kids, their fighter jets further away from the Russia-Ukraine border, but also because had it been done earlier, it would have given Ukraine much more advantage.
And then finally, why give this permission with apparent restrictions that the Ukrainians are apparently only allowed to fire within the Kursk region where it just reported that those 10,000 Russian troops are and 1,000 or so North Korean troops.
So, a lot of questions here as how it was done. And then finally, why leak it through the press? Why not after that Amazon Forest announcement, stand up to Mr. Putin and say we're going to stare you down. We're going to hit hard because that's the only language I think is understood in the Kremlin.
KINKADE: Exactly. Yes. I mean, we did hear from lawmakers within the Kremlin who said that this could lead to a third world war. And of course, back in September, we heard from the Russian president who issued a similar warning saying that it would mean that NATO countries, the U.S. And Europe are parties to this war in Ukraine.
From a Russian perspective, just how significant is this decision?
BOCIURKIW: I think a lot of what we just heard in Fred's report, there is empty bluster coming from the Russian side. You know, they talk about this is a big red line that was crossed. But how much bigger of a red line could be crossed a few months ago when the Ukrainians rolled into Russian territory, into the Kursk region, took over a very, very big chunk of territory. This is a big humiliation.
Of course they're going to threaten to strike back and they very well could. And trademark Russian way subversively through third parties. But I think that we found out through that Kursk incursion how hollowed out the Russian defense Ministry is, how much indecision there is in the Kremlin and how weakened it's become after 1,000 days of war, Lynda, which is today.
KINKADE: Yes, exactly. And of course, I mean we did hear from the foreign minister of Ukraine today about this decision. I just want to play some of that sound.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDRII SYBIHA, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: The longer Ukraine can strike, the shorter the war will be. We have a full right to strike military targets in the territory of Russia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: I mean, as you say, a lot of these decisions have been very much incremental and very slow. But in terms of this decision going forward, like how soon could we see Ukraine using these weapons to strike 200 miles or 320 kilometers inside of Russia?
BOCIURKIW: Yes, well, U.S. and Ukrainian officials are being quite cagey in terms of how much, how many missiles, if at all, are actually in Ukraine right now. But sure, they have a heck of a payload capacity, as you say, 300 plus kilometer range. And that by the way, puts Russia's southern military district headquarters within range as well as Mr. Putin's pet project, that Kerch Strait Bridge, which is a very, very enticing military target for the Ukrainians. That's a very important conduit between mainland Russia and Crimea for the transfer of military equipment.
So let's hope they do get the stocks because worldwide why these stocks are very low, but they, I think they can't wait to get their hands on them.
KINKADE: Yes, exactly. It can't come soon enough. Michael Bociurkiw, as always, great to have you on the program. Thank you.
BOCIURKIW: My pleasure. Thank you.
KINKADE: We are following developments in Hong Kong where 45 pro- democracy figures have been sentenced to prison terms of up to 10 years on subversion charges. It comes after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security crackdown four years ago.
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And among those sentenced include legal scholar Benny Tai, who received the longest prison term of 10 years, as well as former student leader Joshua Wong, who will be jailed for over four and a half years. More than 300 people queued in the rain outside the court Tuesday morning to show their support for the defendants. The U.S., Australia and Amnesty International are among those who have condemned the sentences.
CNN's Ivan Watson is in Hong Kong covering the developments for us. Good to have you there for us, Ivan. So, these dozens of pro-democracy protesters ranging from journalists to lawmakers, all part of this mass sentencing today. And given that they were prosecuted back in 2021, many have already been detained for years, right?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I mean, this began with a wave of arrests in January of 2021 targeting the participants in what was an unofficial PR that was held the previous year, 2020, in anticipation of what were supposed to be elections for the city's legislature, which were then postponed.
So the participants in this and the organizers were all swept up in police raids in January of 2021. And the prosecutors successfully succeeded in getting convictions on almost all of the so called Hong Kong 47, saying that this primary election amounted to a plot to paralyze the government and undermine state power, that it was a quote, conspiracy to commit subversion.
And so what we've seen is that most of these defendants who have been behind bars awaiting trial and awaiting now sentencing for close to four years, they then received sentences from a panel of three judges appointed by the Hong Kong government, no jury in this case. They received sentences ranging from more than four years and up to 10 years. And that longer sentence was given to Benny Tai, a legal scholar, former professor at Hong Kong University and opposition leader who was described as a mastermind of this alleged plot.
As you mentioned, Joshua Wong, who was a young student protester involved in many sit ins, a real thorn in the side of the Hong Kong authorities and of the national government in Beijing. He received a sentence of more than four years.
And as he left the courtroom when the session was adjourned, he was heard yelling, I love Hong Kong. Excuse me. The arrest of these individuals basically was a real turning point. It came after a controversial national security law was imposed on this former British colony and it all but crushed a vibrant kind of political culture of different views that had been tolerated and in fact endorsed by this city's mini constitution. Lynda?
KINKADE: Yes, certainly crushing for anyone trying to speak out a protest and just give us a sense of what you've seen so far today in terms of the response from the public, especially those who support these protesters.
WATSON: Well, as you pointed out, there were hundreds of people who had lined up, some of them in rainy weather in pre-dawn hours outside the courthouse to try to get in to attend today's trial session. Some of these people are relatives who were emotional and of course, excited to be able to see their loved ones appearing in court today.
But it was certainly, excuse me, it certainly was not a massive kind of outpouring, a show of popular force in the streets, because that has almost completely disappeared from Hong Kong since the imposition of the National Security Law.
And since these kind of leaders of the pro-democracy movement were swept up in arrests nearly four years ago, the political culture and landscape of the city has completely been transformed as part of a broader crackdown where independent newspapers have been shut down and journalists who were involved in those newspapers have been arrested in separate cases.
The Hong Kong government, the national authorities in Beijing, would argue that they were bringing stability back to a city that saw a year of increasingly violent anti-government protests throughout 2019. And certainly the streets are calm now. But the critics would argue that this was a crackdown on freedom of expression and political rights that are supposed to be enshrined again in the city's laws.
[01:15:07]
So among the critics are the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong, which put out a statement saying that it is calling on the People's Republic of China and Hong Kong authorities to cease politically motivated prosecutions of Hong Kong citizens and to immediately release all political prisoners.
There was one woman outside the courthouse today who tried to put up a banner and she was quickly grabbed by police and detained and put into a police van. You can see her there. And that is, I think, emblematic of the changes the city has seen. Five, six years ago, it was totally normal for people to hold up any kind of protest signed.
It was part of the fabric of the city for there to be mass demonstrations through the streets that were protected by the police. Today, if one person tries to put up a sign, they quickly are taken away by law enforcement. Lynda.
KINKADE: Ivan Watson staying across it all and pushing through that tickle in the throat. Hope you get some hot tea shortly. Thank you.
WATSON: Thanks.
KINKADE: Well, Gaza officials say at least 50 people have been killed in the latest Israeli strikes. That includes 17 members of the same family in Beit Lahiya. The city's hospital director says his facility was attacked as well. CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment. The IDF previously said it was targeting terrorist infrastructure in the area. Lebanese authorities say they expect the death toll to rise after at
least five people were killed by an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut. The strike hit a densely populated neighborhood a few hundred meters from the prime minister's office and parliament. It's the third Israeli attack in the heart of the Lebanese capital in two days. CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment.
Well, there is death and destruction in parts of Israel as well. Israel says falling debris from an intercepted rocket injured several people in the Tel Aviv district. At least one person has been killed, several others injured in rocket attacks on a Palestinian town in northern Israel. Details now from CNN's international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, police saying it was debris from a missile interception that caused that fire just a couple of miles from the center of Tel Aviv outside a shopping mall. Medical officials on the ground say three people injured there, one of them seriously, two of them moderately injured.
Earlier in the day, however, a missile impacting in northern Israel killed one person and injured a number of others in a strike there. That's as the State Department says. It's heard back now from both Israel and Lebanese officials about their efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
What we're hearing from Israeli officials is that things are moving in a positive direction. But they say that they need to take direct action, have a full operational freedom is how they describe it. And that appears to imply that they need the ability and want the ability in the terms of what they will agree to. And it's important to them. They say that they have the right to fire back if the terms of the ceasefire are violated.
Now, Hezbollah has made their response through Lebanese officials, but both the Lebanese prime minister and the speaker of the Lebanese parliament both had a degree of oversight of the U.S. proposal that's been passed onwards to Hezbollah. They say they're not aware of this sort of language, precise language, indicating that Israel would have the right to strike back if the cease fire terms were violated. So that appears to be a gap between the two sides.
But this is something that State Department officials say that they are working towards resolving, trying to find a way, and they're putting a lot of energy into it to bring about that cease fire. Nic Robinson, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, the United Nations reports that nearly 100 aid trucks were looted in Gaza over the weekend. It happened at the Kerem Shalom crossing Saturday. The U.N. says drivers were forced to unload trucks at gunpoint. Workers were injured and vehicles were damaged extensively. The head of the U.N. Agency for Palestinian Refugees didn't say who
did the looting, but blamed the collapse of law and order on Israeli authorities for creating what he described as a perilous environment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPPE LAZZARINI, UNRWA COMMISSIONER-GENERAL: We have been warning a long time ago about the total breakdown of civil order. Until, you know, four or five months ago, we still had local capacity, people who were escorting the convoy. This has completely gone, which means we are in an environment where, you know, local gangs, local families are struggling among each other to take control.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:20:07]
KINKADE: The attack on the convoy comes as the U.N. warns that severe shortages of food and aid in Gaza will only get worse without intervention.
Still to come, Donald Trump teases new changes for U.S. immigration and border security. Or rather, a return to this hardline tactics the first term.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back. U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump continues to round out his choices for Cabinet members as he prepares to return to the White House. He's tapped former Congressman and Fox Business News host Sean Duffy for Secretary of Transportation. The role is currently filled by Pete Buttigieg.
Sources tell CNN, Trump has also personally made calls to senators trying to secure support former Congressman Matt Gaetz, his pick for attorney general. That choice has sparked heated discussion in Washington since Gaetz was being investigated by the House Ethics Committee on allegations of sex trafficking and more.
An attorney for two women who testified in that Investigation spoke with CNN's Erin Burnett, saying one client claimed she saw Gaetz having sex with a minor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOEL LEPPARD, ATTORNEY FOR TWO WOMEN WHO TESTIFIED TO HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE: She testified to the house that as she was walking out to the pool area, she turned to her right and she witnessed her client. I'm sorry, her friend with Representative Gaetz and a friend at that time was 17.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: His client went on to say she didn't think Gaetz knew the girl was underage at the time. Gaeatz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Well, Trump is pushing ahead with his mass deportation plans and has
signaled his intent to declare a national emergency on immigration. Promises to crack down on undocumented migrants were at the top of his American first agenda during the campaign, and now he's working to put it into place, starting with day one of his second term. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President elect Donald Trump confirmed that he is preparing a national emergency declaration to fulfill his campaign promise of mass deportation. It's a telling move, one that indicates just how resource intensive any type of plan to detain and deport migrants at large scale would be.
Now, it also may sound familiar, of course. Donald Trump in his first term used a national emergency declaration to unlock Pentagon funds for his border wall. Now, that faced numerous lawsuits and it's possible that they may happen again.
But sources tell me that this time a national emergency declaration would be used to use and shore up Pentagon resources and military assets again for detention spaces and also to follow through on those deportations. What they say is that these -- this would not be to bring U.S. military to immigrants in the United States.
[01:25:07]
Now, all of this, of course, is because they are trying to build deportation up to scale. And that also includes, according to sources, regional capability and looking at where they can expand detention facilities already in the United States.
Now, in addition to all of this, sources say that other plans are underway that includes executive actions like bringing back remain in Mexico, revising asylum restrictions, or, for example, making more immigrants eligible for removal. Taken together, it would amount to a far more hardline approach to immigration, one similar to Donald Trump's first term in office. Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Daniel Treisman joins me now. He's a professor of political science at UCLA and the co-author of "Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century." Professor, good to have you with us.
DANIEL TREISMAN, PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, UCLA: Great to be here.
KINKADE: So let's start with that mass deportation plan, because we did hear Trump confirming his intention to use the U.S. military to carry out what he says could be the deportation of anywhere from a few million people to over 20 million people. And he has said so that he will do it at any cost. We know from the American Immigration Council they estimate that the
cost to deport just 1 million people would be over $88 billion in a year. And that doesn't take into account the cost of -- to American business, especially agriculture, losing labor. Is this proposal as it stands financially viable?
TREISMAN: Well, it will require a lot of searching for money in different parts of the budget. And it looks like he's got his eye on the military budget to allocate some of the money there to producing these detention camps that they can use to round up and detain illegal immigrants. But obviously, if it's -- we're talking about 80 billion, maybe hundreds of billions of dollars. That's a very significant amount.
KINKADE: Yes, exactly. I want to look at some of the choices. Donald Trump, of course, has tapped Matt Gaetz for attorney general. I want to play some sound from Republican Senator Mullen of Oklahoma. This is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARKWAYEN MULLIN, U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN: He was accused of sleeping with an underage girl. There's a reason why no one in the conference came and defended him because we had all seen the videos he was showing on the House floor that all of us had walked away of the girls that he had slept with. He'd brag about how he would crush ED medicine and chase it with an energy drink so he could go all night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: I mean, so right now we are hearing that Trump is reportedly calling senators to get gates confirmed. What is the chance that he'll get confirmation without an actual confirmation hearing?
TREISMAN: So they floated the idea of recess appointments. It's not clear how serious that is. It would require, as I understand it, both houses of Congress to vote, have a majority vote in favor of going into recess, and it would disable the operations of the Congress for a period. I think the recess has to be at least 10 days.
So it's a pretty serious, inconvenient recourse in order to make these appointments. And it seems as though there will be some significant resistance, both to the candidates and to the end, to the use of this maneuver in the Senate.
But we'll have to wait and see, because Trump is seemingly determined to force his will on the Senate right at the start and to establish who's really calling the shots.
KINKADE: And I assume, Professor Drew (ph), establish who, you know, who is going to be completely loyal to his agenda and his picks. We did hear from Speaker Mike Johnson defending his efforts to block this House ethics report into Matt Gaetz, saying we're in a different era. OK.
I mean, he argues that it shouldn't come out because Gaetz has resigned as congressman, but if he is set to be AG, I mean, there is potential that this report could be leaked anyhow. There's clearly Republicans out there that want this information to come to light. Right.
TREISMAN: We're already hearing what's in the report, and there may be a lot more. Yes. It seems as though various people are very eager to get the details out there, and it's hard to see an argument why the Congress, the Senate, and the American people should be denied access to this report when we're talking about the appointment of the Attorney General, one of the most important Cabinet members to be appointed.
[01:29:45]
And one who has such incredible authority to direct the course of prosecutions and to decide how the enforcement apparatus is used.
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: And I don't know if you caught it. The image that is going viral right now, Trump with some people within his circle, including his pick to run Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who of course wants to make America healthy again, sitting on board with Donald Trump, eating fast food.
I wonder whether that McDonald's piece was a loyalty test because Robert F. Kennedy was asked about it afterwards. What did you make of that image? You can see Elon Musk, Donald Trump Jr. and of course, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. They're all sitting around having McDonald's and a Coca-Cola.
TREISMAN: Well, it's very characteristic of Trump. He likes to humiliate people, to show very publicly that he decides not they. And yes he's right away showing, RFK that he is going to have to be loyal to Trump rather than to any principles that he might have or any preferences he might have.
So I'm sure we'll see more of that. We're already seeing how he's cutting down to size the people that he's appointing. So simultaneously raising them up and showing them very clearly that they serve at the pleasure of the president.
KINKADE: Yes, exactly. Professor Daniel Treisman great to have your perspective. Thanks for joining us.
TREISMAN: Thank you.
KINKADE: well Brazil's president issues a call to action for leaders of the world's biggest economies.
Next, we'll explain his request to help end what he calls "scourge that shames humanity". shames humanity.
Plus thick, toxic smog is blanketing New Delhi and other cities in India. We'll speak with a doctor there about the impact of air pollution on residents.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KINKADE: Welcome back. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Lynda Kinkade.
Well, the second and final day of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro will begin in the coming hours. Leaders of the world's 20 major economies are gathered there to discuss trade, climate change and the state of the world.
[01:34:45]
KINKADE: On Monday, they issued a joint statement highlighting the suffering caused by wars in Gaza and Ukraine. They also called for cooperation on climate change, poverty reduction, and tax policy.
The summit's host, Brazilian President Lula Da Silva, told the leaders they can help end global hunger.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LULA DA SILVA, BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It is up to those who are here. It is up to those around this table. The unavoidable task of ending this scourge that shames humanity.
That's why we set as the central objective of the Brazilian presidency and the G20, the launch of a global alliance against hunger and poverty. This will be our greatest legacy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Chinese President Xi Jinping told the leaders about China's plans to support the global south, also known as developing countries.
CNN's Marc Stewart is live in Beijing and following all the developments. Good to see you, Marc.
So Xi wasn't the only one raising issues. He also faced criticism from a prominent politician
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you Lynda. This time, this involves British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who brought up the very sensitive issue of human rights to Chinese Leader Xi Jinping in full view of cameras.
The issue of human rights is a very delicate issue. Something that diplomats and heads of state do bring up in their meetings with China but this happened in a very public setting.
Let's take a quick listen to what the British prime minister had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I'm very pleased that my foreign secretary and foreign minister Wang met recently and discussed respective concerns including human rights and parliamentary sanctions, Taiwan, South China Sea and our shared interest in Hong Kong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: And on the topic of Hong Kong, the prime minister brought up Jimmy Lai. He is an activist, well-known in the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. He is currently serving time in prison.
Despite these mentions, the two men did leave things, at least it appears to be, on a very amicable front and expressed a desire to work together in this Chinese-British relationship.
Meantime another important meeting on another different issue. This involved Xi Jinping and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Until very recently China and Australia have had a very rocky relationship. It is pretty much a diplomatic stalemate.
There was some anger from China toward some questioning by China about COVID-19 and Chinas role. It led to a major trade dispute between the two nations. Things, though, in recent months have thawed out, and it appears that diplomatic talks and negotiations are certainly moving in a forward motion.
But Lynda, this all goes to prove that despite what the G20 would like to talk about on its bigger formal stage, these bilateral meetings that take place on the sidelines can generate a lot of headlines as well.
KINKADE: Yes, they certainly can. And a lot of interest.
Good to see you, Marc Stewart. Thanks so much for joining us.
Well, toxic smog is covering cities in northern India as New Delhi records its highest air pollution readings so far this year. A Swiss air quality company ranks New Delhi as the world's most polluted city with an air quality level at hazardous.
The government hospital has set up a special clinic for pollution- related illnesses as residents complain of shortness of breath.
The Taj Mahal and other historical landmarks are covered in a thick haze. And the smoke and fog blend occurs every winter as cold air traps smoke from illegal farm fires in the neighboring states.
Well, Dr. Arvind Kumar is the lung transplant chairman at the Medanta Hospital and founder trustee of Lung Care Foundation and Doctors for Clean Air. He joins us now from New Delhi. Doctor, good to have you with us.
DR. ARVIND KUMAR, LUNG TRANSPLANT CHAIRMAN, MEDANTA HOSPITAL, INDIA: I'm happy to be with you. Thank you.
KINKADE: So as I mentioned, every winter India battles this air pollution as the cold, heavy air traps the dust emissions. And of course, the smoke from those nearby farm fires.
But how does the level of toxic smog right now compare to what you've seen in recent years?
DR. KUMAR: Well, I think the levels that we are witnessing this year are by far the highest that I can recollect in the last eight, nine years since this has been a major problem. The levels this year are definitely the highest.
KINKADE: We did hear from Delhi's chief minister, who described the situation as a medical emergency. We know schools are being closed or people are being told to stay inside.
What sort of health issues are you treating due to the toxic smog?
[01:39:43]
DR. KUMAR: So there are some immediate exposure-related issues like burning eyes, burning in the nose, pain and soreness in the throat, and all kinds of skin allergy problems.
Breathing problems are there in plenty. People with preexisting chest diseases like asthma COPD, emphysema, et cetera are facing exacerbations and there are many people who are coming with all kinds of diseases like pneumonia and infections, et cetera.
Commonest problem being complained by people is a choking and a breathlessness sensation and many are taking inhalers on their own, and some on the advice of doctors.
KINKADE: And Doctor, you are the co-founder of the trustee Doctors for Clean Air. How are you working on behalf of the health sector to push for action to reduce emissions and improve air quality?
DR. KUMAR: so one of the first things I believe needs to be done is to raise the awareness amongst the masses that number one, although the levels go much higher the optical quality of air goes really bad during the October, November, December months.
But pollution is a round-the-year problem and it's not just an environment or a chemical issue. It's a major health issue with serious health effects on everyone who breathes but pregnant women, children, elderly and those with co-existing diseases being the worst affected.
So the Doctors for Clean Air is a countrywide group of doctors who are using their power as powerful messengers to convey to the masses that air pollution is a health issue and we all need to collectively tackle it on a war footing.
KINKADE: So what more can be done to reduce pollution and in the short term, what's your advice for people in Delhi? Like what do they do to reduce exposure.
DR. KUMAR: so one of the first things we are requesting people is to not move out of their houses, number one. Not to do any outdoor exercises.
You know, it's a very common thing for people to go to parks in the morning, run, jog and do all kinds of exercises. So we are asking people not to do that.
Those who are already on medications may need increase in dosages. We are advising them to connect with doctors and then increase accordingly.
Those who are developing fresh symptoms we are requesting them not to do self-medication, but to connect with doctors. Those who have bad diseases. We are now making efforts to have them in the hospital and adequately treated. These are all responses to the disease burden, which is coming.
More importantly, we are advising people to wear N95 masks should they really need to go out of the house, because that is the only thing which provides effective pollution -- protection against the particulate matter.
KINKADE: Dr. Arvind Kumar, some great advice and we appreciate your time today. Thanks so much.
DR. KUMAR: Thank you so much.
KINKADE: Well, Novo Nordisk announced Monday that it will begin selling its popular weight loss drug Wegovy in China after receiving Beijing's approval earlier this year. The Danish pharmaceutical giant estimates that more than 180 million people live with obesity in China.
The move intensifies competition with drug maker Eli Lilly, which has approval for its weight loss drug in China but has yet to launch it.
Well, still to come, new evidence emerges in the murder trial of the man accused of killing University of Georgia student Laken Riley as the second day of witness testimony wraps up.
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KINKADE: Well, the second day of testimony has wrapped in the murder trial for the man accused of killing University of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. Key evidence detailing the timeline of the events emerged in court on Monday.
According to prosecution witnesses, location pings and health data obtained from smart devices located near the crime scene paint a vivid picture of the hours surrounding Riley's murder.
Jose Ibarra, the man accused of killing the 22-year-old, sat emotionless throughout the testimony.
CNN's Rafael Romo has more on the latest developments from court.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On day two of the trial for the man accused of murdering Laken Riley, an FBI special agent testified Jose Ibarra's cell phone was at the same location as Laken Riley's GPS for about 20 minutes and at the time of the killing on February 22nd.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say that they are very close.
ROMO: Riley's smartwatch data presented in court in this stark graph, captured her final moments as it shows her heart rate spiking and slowing down, then dramatically stopping according to court testimony from a UGA police officer and a digital forensics expert.
SHELA ROSS, PROSECUTOR: Her heart rate is still going until 9:28 a.m. Her encounter with him was long. Her fight with him was fierce. And that is what the Garmin data shows.
ROMO: The state played a jailhouse call in Spanish between suspect Jose Ibarra and his estranged wife, Layling Franco, in which she asks him what happened with the girl.
ABEISIS RAMIREZ, TRANSLATING COMMENTS FROM JOSE IBARRA'S ESTRANGED WIF, LAYLING FRANCO: She tells him that he has to know something, and he just continues to tell her like "Layling, enough. Layling enough.
ROMO: Body camera video played in the courtroom showed the moment officers found Ibarra. It was late February, the morning after Riley was killed as she jogged on the University of Georgia campus.
A UGA police officer on scene testified Ibarra and his brothers seemed to be in a good mood.
CPL. RAFAEL SAYAN, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA POLICE DEPARTMENT: It seemed very relaxed. There was a lot of laughing, giggling.
ROMO: But another officer noticed something wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened there?
ROMO: He told the court Ibarra's injuries looked like defensive wounds including fingernail scratches and a puncture.
SGT. JOSHUA EPPS, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA POLICE DEPARTMENT: I could see like wet flesh. Like almost like it was fresh.
SAYAN: I could see there was still a little bit of pus in it.
ROMO: Ibarra has pleaded not guilty. He waived his right to a jury so the judge will decide his fate.
The prosecution said in open court they expect to wrap up their case on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the defense says it should take them less than half a day to present their testimony.
The trial resumes Tuesday at 8:30 in the morning here at the Athens- Clarke County courthouse.
Rafael Romo, CNN -- Athens, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE) KINKADE: Well, a controversial bill about the rights of indigenous people is causing uproar in New Zealand. Still ahead, hear why protesters are heading to parliament.
Plus, major concerns following a robbery at Britain's Windsor Castle. We'll have all the details about what was stolen after the break.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELETISE SULUI, PROTESTER: I came here to support the Maori people. And because like my family are also Maori, so I want to do this for them because their land matters to them.
And it's not just like not just the people, but their future generations. So I want to be here to support them.
HOANA HADFIELD, PROTESTER: I think it's important that we keep our Kaupapa (ph), which is our values as Maori and our culture. And it's a real big thing for us to have cultural identity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: The nine-day march that began in New Zealand's north has reached parliament in the capital as thousands rally against a contentious bill that reinterprets a 184-year-old treaty with indigenous Maori people.
Opponents say it undermines the rights of the Maori, who make up a fifth of the population.
Proposed by the Act New Zealand Party, the bill is unlikely to be passed into law.
A major security breach on royal land after thieves broke into the grounds of Windsor Castle in the U.K. and stole some farm vehicles.
CNN's Max Foster reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: You would have thought it was one of the most secure compounds in Britain, a base for all the U.K.'s senior royals. But that didn't stop burglars from breaking into Windsor Castle grounds.
Police say thieves entered a farm building on the Crown Estate land late on Sunday, October the 13th, stealing a pickup truck and a quad bike before making their escape.
The farm just minutes away from Windsor Castle and from Adelaide Cottage, where the Prince and Princess of Wales have a family home, and they were likely there that night. There's no indication that the royal family was targeted or ever in any danger, but the incident does show another security breach surrounding the royals.
Kate and William live on the estate in a cottage during school term time with their children. And they don't live with any staff. So it does raise questions.
And for their part, Kensington and Buckingham Palace both say they don't comment on security matters.
The break-in just days before King Charles and Queen Camilla's long flight to visit Australia and Samoa. The couple weren't at Windsor when the break-in took place.
Incidents like this aren't new, and this one certainly not the most serious.
In 2021, a man broke into Windsor Castle itself wearing a mask and armed with this weapon, a crossbow. The 19-year-old was hoping to kill Queen Elizabeth II, but he was stopped before he could harm her.
Still, the incident raising serious concerns about security around the royal family.
Max Foster, CNN -- London.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
KINKADE: From the stage to the big screen. The worldwide premiere tour for the new movie "Wicked" arrived in London on Monday ahead of the film's release this week.
Lead actors Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were joined by costars Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum and Ethan Slater, as well as the film's director Jon Chu.
"Wicked" is based on the Stephen Schwartz musical of the same name, which is a prequel to the classic musical "The Wizard of Oz".
Well, Friday's bout between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson was by no means boxing's greatest match, but Netflix says it was a record-breaking night for the company. Up to 65 million households were streaming the event around the world, according to Netflix.
Perhaps that's why some viewers reported problems with Netflix freezing and buffering on Friday night.
More now from CNN's Claire Duffy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: They said on average there were about 60 million households who watched much of this event, so it is really significant and it makes sense that Netflix is trying to host more of these live events it's invested in, not just live sports, but also live comedy, live reality shows, because it's trying to replace cable television and get more people to cut the cord.
[01:54:49]
DUFFY: And with this Paul Tyson fight, you saw people doing the kind of thing that people used to do with big television events, hosting parties gathering at bars. This was a really significant moment that people gathered to watch.
And that's the kind of thing that Netflix is really trying to get people to do here as it looks to be a replacement for cable television.
I do think for Netflix, the big question is, can it continue to host these live events without some of the kinds of glitches that we saw during this fight on Friday?
You know I myself had to reload Netflix a couple of times to get these buffering issues to end. Lots of people reported the stream was paused.
And you can imagine some unhappy customers if people paid for Netflix specifically to be able to watch this fight and then couldn't watch the whole thing because of these technical issues.
I think that is what Netflix is going to have to get under control here as it continues to invest in live events. I mean, looking forward for the company. Its planning to host two Christmas day NFL events live. One of them, Beyonce, will be performing the halftime show.
The company doesn't want to have upset customers who weren't able to watch Beyonce because of technical issues.
And Netflix did acknowledge this about Friday's fight. It said that this was a mega event and that it's buffering systems were on the ropes essentially, it sounds like it didn't have the computing power and it didn't correctly anticipate the number of people that would be would be watching.
And so I think as Netflix looks forward to this being a monetization opportunity, first, it has to get these technical issues under control.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Our thanks to Clare Duffy.
Well, finally, the piece of modern artwork that fans and critics can both agree is completely bananas. This average banana stuck to a wall with a piece of duct tape is a conceptual piece called "Comedian" from an Italian artist.
The first three editions sold in 2019 for at least $120,000. One of them is back on the market is expected to be sold for at least $1 million. What the lucky bidder will buy is a roll of duct tape, one banana, a certificate and official instructions to install the artwork as a conversation starter. The unconventional piece has plenty of appeal.
Well, I will send you a banana and some duct tape for $120,000. It's a bargain.
Thanks so much for joining us.
I'm Lynda Kinkade.
CNN NEWSROOM with the lovely Rosemary Church is coming up in a moment.
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