Return to Transcripts main page
Connect the World
The Virus & Vaccine: Differing Global Picture; UAE: Chinese Sinopharm Vaccine 86 Percent Effective; Saudi Arabia Is Changing Beyond Recognition, But Critics Still Point Towards Its Repressive Reputation; Thomas Byrne Welcomes E.U.-U.K. Joint Statement On Implementation Of Withdrawal Agreement; U.K.'s Johnson Heads For High Stakes Showdown In Brussels. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired December 09, 2020 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Tonight, more people are dying in the United States from Coronavirus than ever before, so how far away are
Americans from getting that life-saving shot in the arm?
We are also connecting you to a big vaccine development right here in the UAE, and why China believes some of its latest COVID cases are related to
imported frozen food. That is all ahead. Last hour we spoke about how 81- year-old William Shakespere and others are leading the way in some parts of the world, being the first to take a COVID-19 vaccine.
Well, this hour we really want to hone in on what's beginning to feel like a tale of two pandemics. On the one and there are countries like Britain,
China and the UAE pushing ahead with emergency approved vaccinations or clinical trials, but for all the great expectations there may be around the
vaccines, other places are exercising sense and sensibility in their own ways, responding to rising numbers with new restrictions as they take more
time to assess the vaccines on offer.
I'm going to be connecting both worlds for you in the hour ahead. The CNN team is covering the different response to this pandemic across the planet.
Here's the late forest some of our correspondents.
CYRIL VANIER, CNN ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: I'm Cyril Vanier in London. The UK will stop administering Pfizer/BioNTech's COVID vaccine to severe
allergy suffers this after those two British health care workers who were among the first to receive the vaccine yesterday suffered allergic
reactions.
We were told by the NHS that they received appropriate medical treatment and have recovered. The National Medical Director adding that this is
common for new vaccines and that the change is a precautionary measure. Pfizer and BioNTech say that they were made aware of these two yellow card
incidents and are fully cooperating with the British health authorities in the investigation of these incidents.
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Oren Liebermann in Jerusalem. As the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine arrived in Israel landing in Tel
Aviv's airport on board a DHL cargo flight Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was there to meet them.
He said he would be the first in the state of Israel to take the vaccine to show Israeli citizens how important and how safe it is to get vaccinated.
He said he hopes millions of Israelis take the vaccine. He also says that the arrival of the vaccines was an important day and it showed that there
was a light at the end of the pandemic.
He called it a holiday and said it was that significant that a country the size of Israel was one of the first to get the Pfizer vaccine.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Fred Pleitgen in Berlin as Germany has recorded its highest ever single-day COVID-19 death toll.
Germany's Center for Disease Control recorded 590 deaths for Tuesday, shattering the previous record by more than 100.
To put that into perspective that's the equivalent of about 2,300 people dying in a single day in the United States. Several German states have said
that they plan to tighten up their lockdown measures fast.
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jomana Karadsheh in Istanbul. Turkey's COVID-19 cases are continuing to rise at an alarming rate. Overall
ICU occupancy is at the highest since the start of the pandemic at more than 72 percent and in some parts of the country it's much higher than
that. It is critical.
The country society of intensive care is sounding the alarm saying that the working conditions, the workload, the occupancy, this is just not
sustainable in the long run warning, "We are on the edge of a cliff".
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. In Singapore a cruise ship to nowhere has been turned back after a passenger
tested positive for COVID-19. World Caribbean confirmed to CNN that a passenger tested positive after checking in with the member of the ship's
medical team.
Now this cruise then informed Singaporean officials of the news and the ship was returned to port. Guests were not permitted to disembark until
full contact tracing measures were carried out. The World Caribbean Cruise Ship was called the "Quantum of the seas" was hosting a four day three
nights cruise for Singaporeans around Singapore.
[11:05:00]
ANDERSON: Well, after the lap around the world. I want to zone in on China for you. The southern City of Chengdu is on high alert AFP reports the city
has tested more than 250,000 people after a handful of cases were found there for the first time in nine months.
It's one of several smaller sporadic outbreaks detected in recent months. AFP quoting Chengdu health officials are saying the virus had been detected
on the food in an elderly couple's refrigerator and on a chopping board.
There have been growing concerns that cases in China are coming from goods brought in from overseas. CNN's David Culver got a firsthand look at how
Beijing is handling cargo coming into the country.
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Health officials in China blaming imported cases of COVID-19 for recent cluster outbreaks. They warn that it's been
carried in not only by some human travelers but also and perhaps more alarming on goods imported from other countries.
As CNN saw firsthand it has sparked immediate changes in the handling of international cargo that now enter China. You'll notice that crew members
behind me are in full PPE from head to toe. We've been told strictly not to go within a certain distance of them and we've also been told not to touch
any of the cargo.
The reason is there's growing concern here in China that the imports from other countries might be carrying the virus, particularly frozen foods, and
so those who are handling that cargo as it is coming in or going out now have to undergo these new measures.
While both the World Health Organization and the U.S. CDC insist there's no evidence that people can contract COVID-19 from food or food packaging,
Chinese media is airing images of the strict precautions now being taken.
Food transport trucks sprayed down with disinfectant, frozen seafood like shrimp and salmon along with the surfaces of all type of packaging all
frequently tested for COVID-19. This is one of the cold chambers here in a cargo wing of the international airport.
Now the concern with the frozen foods has gotten so sensitive that if I were to walk in just like this I would have to do two weeks of quarantine
as soon as I walked out. Full body suits now required for those working in these facilities.
China's Ministry of Transport warning that before and after transporting the cold chain products one should disinfect the used transportation means
and body parts that may have touched the containers. Chinese health officials believe recent confirmed Coronavirus cases might have been caused
by contaminated imported goods.
Last month two Shanghai airport cargo handlers tested positive for COVID-19 and in September two dock workers in Chengdu handling imported frozen
seafood also contracted the virus and back in June a massive Beijing market should down.
State media reported more than 300 people tested positive. Some have suggested that cluster outbreak might have been linked to imported salmon.
Health experts say COVID-19 is tough enough to last for long periods on surfaces but they warn--
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SRIDHAR SIDDARTH, DEPARTMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: This is not the most common way by which COVID-19 spreads. In most
situations COVID-19 spreads from person to person directly by little particles in which the virus is present through the air.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CULVER: Still Chinese state media are using the imported case fears to repeatedly put into question actual origins of the virus stressing that
Wuhan is the place the disease was first identified but probably not the place where the virus originated from sowing seeds of doubt ahead of a
W.H.O. field team's upcoming trip to China.
They will investigate the origins of COVID-19 as China will keep the new cases of the virus from seeping in through its borders. David Culver, CNN,
Beijing.
ANDERSON: Well, Chinese companies have been furiously working on a COVID vaccine with more than a dozen different drugs in various stages of
development. None of those vaccines have been approved internationally but we got word today that one being tested right here in the UAE has shown
some very encouraging results.
More than 30,000 participants, 125 nationalities it's been one of the largest and most diverse clinical trials in the world and now new interim
results here in the United Arab Emirates show that the Chinese vaccine candidate is some 86 percent effective in protecting people from being
infected with Coronavirus.
The UAE putting those results out before even China's state-owned pharmaceutical firm Sinopharm has.
[11:10:00]
ANDERSON: The new numbers according to the new numbers from Sinopharm which have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal show that
it's 100 percent effective with preventing severe and moderate cases of the virus with no serious safety concerns.
The UAE however has not released any of its data and CNN's calls to Sinopharm have not been returned. Still - UAE will officially register the
vaccine. Emirati state media say that "The announcement is a significant vote of confidence by the UAE's health authorities and the safety and
efficacy of this vaccine".
The UAE is just one country of ten taking part in the Sinopharm trial so the final efficacy could fluctuate. Authorities tell CNN that 100,000
people have already voluntarily taken the vaccine here, including 30 percent of the military, with the country's leaders like its Foreign
Minister Abdullah Bin Zayed giving it their nod of approval.
Sinopharm had said that nearly a million people in China have already been given the vaccine in emergency approval. How does this vaccine compare to
others? Well, the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine which the UK started giving to people on Tuesday is 95 percent effective, and Moderna's vaccine is 94.5
percent effective. It's still waiting for regulatory approval.
So while China's vaccine falls short of that, it is still above AstraZeneca's at 70 percent efficacy on average and it's far higher than
the 50 percent that experts say it should reach for approval. We're not there yet.
The UAE is still not green-lighting the vaccine for a mass population program, so it will still be relying on its testing and tracing regime
where it's been at the global forefront with one of the highest per capita testing rates in the world.
Well, for further details in what was one of the most diverse vaccine trials in the world, head over to cnn.com/connect to check out our blog.
Well, the United States meanwhile, also eagerly awaiting its Food and Drug Administration to authorize Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine. It couldn't come
soon enough as you can see in recent days more people in the U.S. are dying from COVID than ever before.
More Americans are being confirmed infected than ever before, and as we speak more are hospitalized for this virus than at any time during the
pandemic. CNN Health Reporter Jacqueline Howard is in Atlanta the home of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as federal officials
make these critical decisions towards ending this pandemic.
Let's start off with the FDA meeting. It's tomorrow. What are we expecting from the U.S. in terms of authorizing emergency use of this vaccine?
JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: An emergency use authorization of the vaccine could be the quick result of this meeting happening tomorrow,
so what's happening tomorrow, Becky, an advisory committee to the FDA is meeting to review data on Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, and based on that data
an authorization could occur, and here's a timeline of how quickly that could happen? The U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Brett Giroir
said this about how soon people could get vaccinated after an authorization? Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. BRETT GIROIR, U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH: I cannot imagine that with a data presented and summarized by the FDA it won't be authorized
incredibly quickly. Whether that's a day or two days, I'm not sure, but we heard today, and I've heard many times and I believe it, because we've
reviewed it, that we will have vaccines in people's arms within 96 hours if not a shorter time than that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD: Within 96 hours, that's within four days after an authorization so all eyes are on this meeting tomorrow and here in the United States the
first people to get vaccinated will be health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities so they will be first in line for a possible
vaccination.
ANDERSON: Jacqueline, I want to play this clip for our viewers from Dr. Anthony Fauci.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: There are substantial proportions of the people who still think
that this is not real, that it's fake news or that it's a hoax. It's extraordinary. I've never really seen anything like this. We've got to
overcome that and pull together as a nation uniformly with adhering to these public health measures.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And I'm sure he'll make every effort to do that as he becomes a key member of the Biden effort on this. Jacqueline, the United States has
suffered its deadliest week on record. Why is it that there is so much denial and complacency still?
[11:15:00]
HOWARD: Yes, and I agree with Dr. Fauci. This is something that we have to overcome but here's what I think is happening. Here in the United States
the pandemic has been politicized. In this country you are seeing kind of, you know, the politicization of the pandemic.
And despite the fact that the Coronavirus is a threat to all of us no matter your political affiliation, no matter your background, for some
reason this issue has become a political issue in the United States, and I believe that's what's driving a lot of this denial.
And then, number two, we still are facing the spread of misinformation. Even back in April a study published that found misinformation spreading
online in 25 different languages across 87 countries.
That was an issue then and that's still an issue now and that's another factor driving this denial even though, like you said, Becky, we're still
seeing a rise in cases, a rise in deaths and many lives being lost. Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, but yet there's still this denial.
ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. Well, as we have been speaking, I'm just getting word that Health Canada has approved Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine under
emergency approval indicating in its authorization there were some conditions.
We are expecting to get more this afternoon on the rollout. Canada has, of course, started a dry run of distribution this week through the country so
more on that, of course, as we get it. Thank you, Jacqueline. Still to come--
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have more fun now going outside for movies and going outside at the restaurants.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Open restaurants, busy streets and as you heard more fun. That is Saudi Arabia in 2020. There is still though a darker side to the kingdom a
closer looks at that coming up. And will the British Prime Minister be served up on a plate tonight? Brussels? It is the diplomatic dinner date
the world will be watching and so will my guest, the Irish Minister of State for European Affairs. Do stay with us for that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, Saudi Arabia has been or seen head-spinning changes in recent years. Its Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has ushered in new
freedoms, especially for women. Many Saudis will tell you their country is moving forward. You talk to human rights activists, and they will tell you
a very different story. Well, Nic Robertson has been visiting Saudi for nearly two decades and he's seen firsthand these changes, Nic?
[11:20:00]
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, Becky, I think when Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman began to take power in the country
shortly after his father became King he promoted his vision 2030 of sort of a radical economic reform and an empowerment of a younger generation.
And it all sounded very - it all sounded very dynamic but it also sounded beyond the sort of capacity and capabilities of Kingdom, and I think a lot
of outside observers watched when he had several hundred businessmen and princes arrested, accused them of corruption, and he really seemed to be
cementing his power and grip on the country.
So there was a little bit of skepticism if you will about these big reforms he was trying to achieve. Well, in the past few years you can begin to see
some of those changes happening, and recently while we were there you could certainly see a new sort of dynamic youth coming to the fore.
Saudi streets have a different vibe these days, one that might surprise those more familiar with the kingdom's repressive reputation religious
police gone, people hanging out, long-awaited freedom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have more fun now going outside for movies and going outside to the restaurants and meeting with friends, more freedom a
very nice energy to keep the people going to the best.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Asked who is responsible, the answer, de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman known as MBS.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're confident about our Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, I think after ten years we're seeing the results now.
ROBERTSON: Thank you, guys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: I've been coming here for about 17 years. The country has always been changing, but it's never been as profound and as fast as it has been
over the past few years. It's no exaggeration to say that it feels different.
At 35 MBS is older than more than 70 percent of his citizens and appears to be winning their trust despite the serious human rights violations like the
ongoing detention of critics and the killing of Journalist Jamal Khashoggi that the CIA blames on him and tarnished his international reputation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The government already said what they have towards us as people of Saudi Arabia so it was a mistake by a few people so that's it for
us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: The crossing MBS as Khashoggi fund out can be fatal. Human rights watched used the recent world leaders G-20 summit in Riyadh to
pressure MBS to reform his rights record. For those directly impacted MBS' other reforms ring hollow. Lena Hathloul's sister, a female rights activist
Loujain, is in jail accused of violating national security.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINA AL-HATHLOUL, SISTER OF DETAINED ACTIVIST: When we see what's happening inside of the country, that it's becoming a police state, that it's the
worst it's ever been regarding the human rights. I think that no one should believe it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: But many here are taking a step of faith in MBS. Talia is a 27- year-old graduate, raised in Saudi and university educated in London and Beirut came back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TALIA TANTAWY, G20 COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST: This was 2017 and then reforms started kind of rolling out, it was like weekly, almost daily, like
there's new announcements on the news coming and it was so excited and I remember turning to my mom one day, I don't want to leave. I want to stay
here and I want to be part of this change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Since then she's worked for a female CEO and despite female rights activists being jailed sees no limits on how far women can go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TANTAWY: Before I would have been like there's only a limit that I can get to but now it's like no, I can have a seat at the table. I envision myself
having a seat at the table with the Crown Prince one day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: And it's not just the young. Doctor Alharbi is 38, worked Coronavirus vaccines at Oxford University, England, came home four years
ago to head up Saudi's Coronavirus research, sees his homeland as a global contributor, not disrupter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. NAIF ALHARBI, KING ABDULLAH INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL RESEARCH CENTER: I see a future here for that, especially with - with the young institution
coming up, with the amount of funding putting in as well as international cooperation with different esteemed institutions across the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:25:00]
ROBERTSON: By far the most dynamic display of MBS' changes, this three-day music festival last year 150,000 people dancing through the night. This 27-
year-old Haya Shaath, one of its organizers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAYA SHAATH, MDLBEAST CREATIVE STRATEGIST: I genuinely don't think that this something of this scale and can be rolled back. We just want to
celebrate and have a good time and express our creativity in multiple ways.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: While faith in reforms is high, it's not unconditional rumors of drugs and alcohol at the festival worrisome.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Obviously we don't want alcohol and drugs in the country and we don't want crimes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Yet, in Riyadh's oldest market a bastion of the old ways where outward change hasn't arrived. The effects of reforms are being received
positively. 26-year-old Ahmed Abdul Aziz runs the traditional Arabic clothing store. His father started it half a century ago.
He tells me the reforms are good. International investment is coming, and despite fears of a backlash when women began driving, he says, it moved
smoothly without difficulties. It is a measure of how much people wanted basic freedoms that MBS is getting so much support.
A low bar perhaps, maintaining that domestic popularity in the face of international criticism over his poor human rights record and an ugly war
and humanitarian disaster in Yemen and a propensity to lock up those he fears and disagrees with will be his coming challenge.
It's hard to find anyone here to criticize the leadership openly. There are still red lines for liberal reformers and conservatives. This is no modern
democracy, but neither is it a country stuck in its past, but it is still a country finding its direction forward.
There's a lot of optimism and a lot of vibrancy there, Becky, but we know Vice President or President-Elect Joe Biden has said that he'll get tough
on Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabia's human rights will be another one of those areas and the war in Yemen will be another one of those areas.
It will be I think to a degree down to other world leaders to help shape Saudi Arabia's future narrative as much as it is Crown Prince Mohammed Bin
Salman's. We're clearly in an era of change, but the direction forward, that's not set yet entirely in stop or otherwise. Becky?
ANDERSON: Absolutely. Nic is CNN's International Diplomatic Editor. Thank you, Nic. He is tonight in Brussels doing his job as it is supposed to be,
of course, a diplomatic dinner there and on the menu finding a way to extend the Brexit trade talk dead lock. Up next could this be the last
supper for UK/EU cooperation? I want to get you the view of the Irish Minister of State for European Affairs.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:30:00]
ANDERSON: Well, they have been circling the wagons, and now in just a few hours the British Prime Minister will be sitting down to dinner with the EU
Commission Chief in Brussels. What they will be doing is trying to unlock these deadlocked Brexit trade talks, each side trying to get the other to
budge.
Well, it's a negotiation, you would expect, that right? There's no time to waste though and there's more pressure than ever given that there's an EU
summit on Thursday. That was supposed to be effectively deadline day. There is though another drama playing out.
It is likely some members of Boris Johnson's own conservative party worried that he will be offering up more than an Olive Branch tonight. Basically
his statecraft is under scrutiny both at home and abroad. There is some good news about what is known as the withdrawal agreement and what that
means for the future of the Irish border?
Watching responding to this is Thomas Byrne, the Irish Minister of State for European Affairs. He says, "We look forward to the agreements reached
in principal being formalized at an earlier meeting of the joint committee on implementation of the withdrawal agreement. This process is welcomed by
Ireland and all those who wish to see the protocol work as effectively as possible from the first of January".
Well, I'm going to ask Minister Byrne to sort of unpick some of what is pretty bureaucratic language there. I know that you are certainly glad,
let's get the bottom line out here, that the Good Friday Agreement will be protected. You join us live from Dublin. What do you make of where we are
at this point?
Not much. We lost him. We'll get him back. All right, what shall we do? We'll take a short break. We'll be back after this with I hope our
Minister.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:35:00]
ANDERSON: Welcome back to the program. I want to turn an issue that is really important to us here on "Connect the World" and that is climate
change. So we're going to bring you the very latest episode of CNN's "Call to Earth" series. It's ongoing look at the problems threatening our home,
our planet and the solutions that the people are working on around the world.
One of our most important places, of course, is the Arctic which is why we are highlighting that all week, and we're going to get you to some of its
most famous inhabitants now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every morning Scientist Jon Aars gets up and checks his email and every morning he receives an email from several female polar
bears that he's tracking.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON AARS, SENIOR RESEARCHER, NORWEIGAN POLAR INSTITUTE: I think it's always a nice way to start the day to look at what the bear have done.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Aars is part of a team from the Norwegian Polar Institute who study polar bears in - high up in the Arctic Circle.
Historically each winter this island chain is almost surrounded by sea ice, the traditional hunting environment for polar bears.
AARS: It just looks very hard to find a polar bear when you have helicopters. There's about 300 bears living in - year round, and if you fly
over, most of the time you find one there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): The warming climate has been melting vast amounts of sea ice in the region but also preventing it from forming in the
places it once did.
AARS: So things have changed very, very fast. You can see when they fly that cases are not where they used to be. They have moved meters or even
kilometers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): To see how the polar bears are coping with these dramatic environmental shifts, the scientists track them down, sedate
and capture the bears so that they can take samples and tag them with a GPS collar.
AARS: We maybe capture 70 bears every year, and I've done it for almost 20 years. The priorities, the females because they are the ones that reproduce
and get the cubs we measure the body weight and the way we do that is physically lift the bear. You take some blood samples and hairs and you can
tell about pollutants that the bears have been exposed to.
You can tell something about the health and what it's eaten, the collars take position so they can see where the bears move all the time but they
also record the temperature and they tell, whether or not, for example, whether they are inside a den in winter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Polar bears don't hibernate, they hunt all year round and go into a den to give birth but retreating sea ice has
impacted that, too.
AARS: Important areas that they use to give birth to cubs are more or less lost because we don't have sea ice around the island anymore.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): It also affected the bears' diet.
AARS: We have several different species of seals that are depending on the sea ice and that are the main prey for the polar bear. Conditions change
and they will use more times on land and they will take more birds and eggs and so on.
The bears swim a lot more than they used to, maybe 100 kilometers, 200 kilometers. Polar bears are optimistic animals. It seems that they are
quite resistant and they are doing quite well despite the fact that they have lost a lot of their habitat, but there will always be a threshold. You
don't find polar bears anywhere in the Arctic where you don't have sea ice at least seasonal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Arctic some ice on average has been shrinking by more than 13 percent each decade.
AARS: Things changes so significant and so fast and we will reach some stage in the future where it will get much harder to be a polar bear here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): A recent study predicts that if greenhouse gas emissions stay on their current trajectory, by the end of the century
only a few polar bears will be left in the Arctic, and with it the e-mails he receives each morning could soon stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: We will continue showcasing inspirational stories like that as part of the initiative here at CNN. Let us know what you are doing to
answer the call with the #calltoearth. We will be back right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:40:00]
ANDERSON: Well, stuck between a rock and a hard place, it seems. Let's get back to that diplomatic dinner in Brussels tonight with just a few hours
away from the British Prime Minister pulling up a chair with the EU Commission Chief in Brussels, and I'm pleased to say we figured out the
technical glitches and can now get back to a discussion about this with Thomas Byrne who is the Irish Minister of State for European Affairs.
Not stuck between a rock and a hard place in Ireland anymore, of course, because there have certainly been movements on some of what have been the
really, really difficult sticking points, not less with regard the border with Northern Ireland.
Just explain why that is so important and where you think we are in what should be, at least, the sort of, you know, or should be the end game in
these Brexit talks.
THOMAS BYRNE, IRISH MINISTER OF STATE FOR EUROPEAN AFFAIRS: Thanks very much, Becky, and sorry for the gremlins here in Dublin.
ANDERSON: No worries.
BYRNE: Certainly hoping that our communications are worked out as we go forward in the next few days. There obviously have been two you tracts on
this. The withdrawal agreement included a protocol in Northern Ireland and what happened on that over the last couple of weeks have been some really
good work on implementing what Britain had already agreed to do and European Union indeed as well to make sure there's no hard part on the
Island of Ireland.
What was announced yesterday I think means that the implementation work is completed and the European Union and Britain have agreed in principal hold
Ireland north and south situation is to work and we're very glad that that's happened?
That's a separate track to the trade negotiations, and that's happening in a different process, in terms of the overall trade deal with Great Britain.
However, the issue of the internal market bill which I discussed before possibly was a shadow hanging over the entire process. That shadow has been
lifted.
Boris Johnson is meeting Ursula Von Der Leyen tonight and while they fully accept and realize that the difference are pretty significant between the
two sides on the trade agreement. I think it is good that people are talking; we and Ireland have a lot of experience of talking. It always is
positive; it always is a good thing that people are talking.
And we very much welcome that and we certainly hope that a deal will be reached, and a deal is going to be everybody's benefit because a no-deal
situation poses not just risks but certainties of economic problems in Ireland, Britain and indeed the European Union.
ANDERSON: This is what Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, had to say early on. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR: There still remains the chance of a deal. I don't think we will know by tomorrow whether we have succeeded or not.
That I can promise, but we are working on it.
[11:45:00]
We are, however, prepared for a scenario in which we cannot accept the conditions, IE, if there are British conditions which we cannot accept then
we will take the path of no deal. One thing is absolutely clear the integrity of the EU's market must be preserved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And you wouldn't expect Angela Merkel to say anything less, and I'm sure you will agree with most if not all of what she has said. So let's
talk about that free trade deal because for many who actually voted for Brexit, if they understood anything about leaving the EU it was that they
had been persuaded that they wanted the opportunity to trade in a different way, so let's talk about this free trade deal.
I know that these issues are incredibly complex and we've been discussing three of the most sticky issues over the past couple of days. What is your
sense at this point as to whether there really is an opportunity for a quality-free trade deal that will suit you in Ireland and the others on the
European Continent and indeed those who voted to leave the EU in Britain?
BYRNE: Well, look, there's always room for compromise and every negotiation started with points of difference and in this case the points of difference
are significance - are significant, but the points of commonality surely are the protection of jobs.
When I think of car factories in Britain, when I think of sheep farmers in Britain, when I think of fishers who want to sell their fish to the
European Union, all I can see is people in Britain whose jobs depends, yes, on sovereignty, but that sovereign decision to make sovereign agreements
with other sovereign countries as well and entities like the European Union.
So I think that we can all come together and make the best possible arrangements. A lot of talk with the sovereignty issue and there is no
doubt that every country in the European Union is sovereign. British and the British government really recognize, this is a key issue for them and I
fully accept that, but there has to be a recognition, too that, when you are dealing with all those sovereign countries and coming to agreement with
them, there is give and take.
But that give and take is always to everybody's benefit but ultimately the prize has to be about jobs and I think Boris Johnson undoubtedly will come
under pressure from people who want no deal and I think when Angela Merkel spoke with no deal she certainly didn't say that she want a no deal, but
people who want no deal, I think really enough taking care of the jobs, of economy of the - but the inevitable is huge damage that will happen very
early next year.
ANDERSON: Minister, what everybody involved I'm sure would agree on is that nobody wants chaos come January the 1st. So are we at a point at this
stage, do you believe, where we are - where there is enough common ground that even those who are involved in these negotiations have to work through
Christmas and possibly through the beginning of the year, that there will be enough goodwill to ensure that things aren't utterly chaotic come
January 2021 because 2020 has been bad enough, sir, hasn't it?
BYRNE: Yes, it has. The last time I spoke I was in quarantine waiting for a COVID test.
ANDERSON: You're right.
BYRNE: We've all be true with this year. But I have to say this, and this is a message to our businesses all over, and I don't mean to be a prophet
of chaos, but deal or no deal, Brexit and the Brexit that Britain has chosen means that they are leaving the - customs union so our traders here
are warning them time and time again that this paperwork, the extra bureaucracy, new rules, they are going to come in even if there is a trade
agreement and that's the same for the traders in the country.
And indeed the traders in Britain will have to make themselves aware as well of the new rules if they want to trade with other members of the
European Union. So that's going to happen anyway and that's going to create huge difficulties.
What we don't want then is a situation where tariffs come to the fore which inevitably will hit some sectors in a really hard way but also I think
Britain is a neighbor certainly beside us and beside the rest of the European Union.
We do want the future relationship agreement; we do want to work things together. There are issues like trade, there are issues like security and
there are issues like investment and research. These - can all be part of our future relationship where Britain, not a member of the European Union,
most to us sadness it has to be said but that's a sovereignty decision that they took.
But we can work together and I think that we can create a framework to which that work together happens to everybody's benefit even though our
destiny very much is with the single market that what gives our economy the life at the moment, our access to that moment on an open basis and protects
our consumers as well.
[11:50:00]
BYRNE: Britain has chosen a different path and we respect that, but let's work together and I think all of our people and citizens can benefit.
ANDERSON: A Europe going forward without the UK will be a Europe going forward dealing with the impact and aftermath of the pandemic. Look, I know
you're in a country where you've had lockdowns. There's been tough. There's talk of further lockdowns in the New Year.
Europe has suffered a really, really devastating second wave, and there are countries that are still going through this. We know a vaccine is now on
the way, at least one, if not more. At this point are you satisfied that the European project has come together enough to satisfy everyone, that it
can actually work in commonality and help save these European economies from a really, really messy 2021 and beyond?
BYRNE: Well, first of all, on the vaccine and on public health measures I think laterally there has been incredible and an unprecedented cooperation
among European nations led by the European Commission, and that's been very welcome in - to COVID.
I mean, our joint purchasing arrangements on the vaccine and the research moved into the vaccine as well some of which has funded to the European
Union has been really beneficial and our citizens have seen real benefits of that and that's ultimately what we'll get everything back up and running
- to attack the root cause of this problem.
We obviously have budget discussions taking place and I think we'll see it as really important that the European Union responds we had an agreement
there on July with an unprecedented amount of money brought into the European economy.
And I know Angela Merkel and the German Presidency are working really hard to get a resolution to those final issues this week. And I certainly wish
them well in the German Presidency has our support on that because we know that this money is desperately needed across the European economy.
And I think the fact that we have been able to get this far on an unprecedented economic boost and hopefully we'll get to the end point very,
very soon. Again, another signal to citizens that this is an institution this is an organization that works for citizens and is not some remote
bureaucracy in Brussels that doesn't care.
It's an organization that very much has the people of Europe and its arc on the politicians working together in cooperation. I think it has worked
well. I look forward to its continued success.
ANDERSON: We'll face challenges along the way but you're right to point that out. It had no choice. It had to get on with it.
BYRNE: No.
ANDERSON: But you make a very good point. It has been a sort of, you know, coming together this year certainly through the opportunity to - to sort of
pool resources going across these economies. Go on.
BYRNE: We've seen that solidarity hugely on the Ireland issue and, again, it's welcome to see that solidarity in a different context. That's a real
practical benefit to citizens.
ANDERSON: Got it. With that, we'll leave it there. We wish you the best. Have a good festive season. Look after yourself, stay well. Try and avoid
coming into contact with anybody that will put you back in quarantine and you and I hopefully will speak in the New Year again. Thank you, sir.
BYRNE: Thank you, Becky.
ANDERSON: I want you up to date now on a story that we reported on earlier this week the website Porn Hub allegedly hosting child exploitation and
sexually abusive videos. According to reporting in "The New York Times" well, now the website which is one of the most popular in the world is
responding to those accusations and promising to take actions.
They laid out those changes in a statement to CNN. The first change includes allowing only verified users to upload content. Secondly, they
will ban people directly downloading videos from the site. The third promised change is to add more moderation by making a so-called red team to
audit illegal material and use new technologies to help take off the illegal content.
As part of that the site says it will use existing programs like their trusted flagger program, and a partnership in the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children, the statement claims that the site will release a transparency report detailing their results and will allow an
outside law firm to conduct an independent review.
These are some major changes that were in part recommended by that "The New York Times" op-ed, by Nicholas Kristof, who spoke to me on Monday on this
show. If you are a regular viewer, I hope you saw that and found it valuable. We will continue to follow this story, and we will continue to
bring you updates and ensure that we continue to watch Porn Hub and ensure that those changes happen. It is enormously important.
[11:55:00]
ANDERSON: Well, Champions League is no stranger to controversy. Have a look at this players walking off the pitch in solidarity only 14 minutes into a
game and leaving behind nothing but an empty pitch. Why?
Well, it all comes down to this moment here, this red card. Well, that red card came out on Tuesday's Champions League match between Paris St. Germain
and their Istanbul colleagues. It was suspended just minutes into play following an alleged racist incident between a referee and a coach. Now
after being shown a red card by the referee, the Assistant Coach Pierre Webo can be overheard confronting the official.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How is that illegal? Why is that illegal?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, the Istanbul team refused to return to the pitch until the official was replaced so the match will be finished Wednesday with
different officials and both teams will wear a special T-shirt during the walk-in as well as additional banners against racism displayed in the
stands.
Meantime, UEFA opening a disciplinary investigation CNN World Sport Contributor Darren Lewis is joining us now from London. And you have sadly
covered so many incidents for us and others. You know, last night though was different. I know that you feel that, why?
DARREN LEWIS, CNN WORLD SPORT: You're right, Becky. We've been here so many times but it does feel like a hero moment now in a movie because right now
we've seen the players draw a line in the sand. The officials might well be contending with people upset at what they think they have heard, but the
players are not there to wait to see how it shakes down.
They have walked off. They have said enough, and they have taken the whole thing into their own hands. They are not waiting for the game to maybe
frustrate them with small fines or punishments that they don't feel are acceptable.
So for me I think, and also for football history we suspect we have a changeable moment. We have a moment which is a line in the sand, and I
think a lot of people as far as players will be hugely inspired by what happened last night.
ANDERSON: What do you want to see happen next? My apologies go on, very briefly.
LEWIS: I would love to see the game of football come out with substantive punishments to act as a deterrent, but we haven't seen it so far, and so I
would like to see players do this more often so that they can send a bigger message to world football.
ANDERSON: Thank You, Darren. Never, not once, racism must be stamped out full stop. We're dedicated to that fight here on CNN. I hope you join us on
that. Good night.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
