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Connect the World
EU And AstraZeneca Odds Over Vaccine Delays; CNN Goes To Overwhelmed Hospitals Deep Inside Brazil's Amazon; Examining Russia's History Of Silencing Opposition; Protester Killed During Clashes With Police In Tripoli; Answer The Call To Protect The Earth; Nepal's Prime Minister Congratulates K2 Expedition Team. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired January 28, 2021 - 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)
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN, Abu Dhabi. This is "Connect the World" with Becky Anderson.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Yes, it is. I'm Becky Anderson. Hello and welcome back to "Connect the World." I begin with two
facts and a question. Fact one, the EU needs more vaccines. Fact two, AstraZeneca makes vaccines. So here comes the question.
Why on earth are they fighting and fighting bitterly and in public at that? Well, the battle lines are clear. So let me connect you to both sides.
AstraZeneca says it simply can't get the European Union as many doses as it promised, the European Commission which ordered those vaccines has a pretty
firm position.
That is just unacceptable. And it goes on. There simply must be a way to increase supply. Well, that's its position. Wishful thinking won't help.
Making matters worse, AstraZeneca is on track to give the UK the number of doses that it wants. The optics on that awkward in ways we won't go into
now but you can imagine the company insists it's because London placed its order before Brussels to which Brussels says, let's roll that tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STELLA KYRIAKIDES, EU HEALT COMMISSIONER: Not being able to ensure manufacturing capacity is against the letter and the spirit of our
agreement. We reject the logic of first come, first served. That may work at the neighborhood butchers, but not in contracts and not in our advanced
purchase agreements.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, also the threat of export controls. AstraZeneca has manufacturing plants in Belgium which of course is in the EU. That's a big
mechanism, of course, as we're laying out both sides. Let's hear from the Head of AstraZeneca.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PASCAL SORIOT, CEO, ASTRAZENECA: We should remember that what we're trying to do collectively here has never been done in the history of the world.
There are several vaccines instance in a year and scaled up to billions of doses. We know today the biggest manufacturer has only got a capacity of a
billion doses per year across all their vaccines.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: That's the CEO of AstraZeneca. So the EU and that company are locked in what is a very acrimonious fight at a time when the European
Union is under intense pressure to deliver as more and more lives are lost to this virus every day.
Now you could argue that the EU vaccine rollout is nothing short of an unmitigated disaster. Madrid, for example, had to suspend its vaccination
program due to lack of supply. Germany says it expects at least another ten weeks of shortages.
So what is going on and why? We're joined by Dr. Dorit Nitzan; she is the W.H.O.'s Regional Emergencies Coordinator for Europe. Thank you for joining
us. What do you make firstly of this spat between the EU and AstraZeneca?
DR. DORIT NITZAN, W.H.O. EUROPEAN REGION HEALTH EMERGENCIES COORDINATOR: Yes, Becky, hello. I think that let's keep it in the right proportion
first, the development and approval of safe and effective vaccines less than a year after the emergence of the new virus. This is a stunning
scientific achievement and much-needed source of hope and provide.
I think that what we need is more and more industry, more producers to step in and to provide the documents and all of their details of the research so
that more and more companies and vaccines will be available.
[11:05:00]
DR. NITZAN: Right now, we are - people want it, and we need to deliver and it's a race.
ANDERSON: So what's the W.H.O. doing to assist or help in that?
DR. NITZAN: We are trying to assist all countries but special attention was given to those that we are afraid will be left behind. These are the
countries with low income or middle income countries that cannot reach those business tables where things happen.
And we have the Covax, and we have pledges from countries ready and we need more vaccines to be ready to go. Already moving forward and we assume that
in the next month, we can see that more countries will have access.
We have also our procedures for the Covax and the emergency lease that we have. Those companies that provide us the documents, we assess, and those
that will be able to join us will be available for the country.
ANDERSON: Right. And that is clearly important and the Covax story and the story of vaccine inequality around the world is something that we have been
reporting on this show for many months now, and we'll continue to ensure that at least that message is out there because we've been warned.
We are only as strong as our weakest link, as it were, and you're right to point out that everybody around the world needs access to these vaccines.
But doctor, with respect, you are the Coordinator for Emergencies in Europe.
So I do just want to speak to what is going on here at the moment because many experts say the vaccine disaster in Europe is not due to lack of
supply but rather the bloc's persistent failures to procure the vaccines efficiently from the beginning for the entire EU population. Would you
agree?
DR. NITZAN: I cannot remark on the EU or other countries and their way they led their conversation. What we are trying, and again Becky, I think that
the point that you said before is the important one. We are trying to have a global package, a global stage where everybody that in need will be
covered and making it you know one to one, that's something that we don't get into discussions.
We really want to ensure that all those aging, elderly in the country, those at risk, the health care workers and then in the second, you know,
level will get to the teachers and education workers, et cetera. So we want to ensure that this group is safe, and that's first all other discussions
that are going on, we don't take part in those.
ANDERSON: Right. And I understand that. And you have made a very good point. You've said that first it should be the elderly and most vulnerable
and next it should be, for example, teachers and those in the industry of educating our kids around the world.
And that is an issue which is being argued intensely in many, many countries because this is the issue, isn't it? Rather than focusing on
acquiring more vaccines which is clearly an important issue, shouldn't European governments and other governments around the world be focusing on
more effectively getting these vaccines into the arms of people?
Vaccines they have already received because there is no doubt that in Europe, for example, they haven't been doing nearly enough of a good job,
correct?
DR. NITZAN: Well, I think that we have to remember that Europe is badly hit from the start and they - that's where the epicenter of the pandemic
started just a year ago. It was on the 24th of January when we had the first patient in the European region and since then we moved into the
epicenter. Later on it moved to the Americas and other regions.
So I think Europe is trying to get the best they can in order to protect the citizens here, the people here. But the vulnerable populations of the
world need us more and that's something we'll continue to preach and say.
ANDERSON: How concerned are you about these new variants and whether these vaccines those are available, whether or not they're getting into people's
arms quickly enough?
[11:10:00]
ANDERSON: How concerned are you about these variants and whether these vaccines that are available whether or not they're getting into people arm
quickly enough? How concerned do these vaccines will not be effective against these new strains that have now been sequenced in the UK, in Brazil
and in South Africa?
DR. NITZAN: I'm personally concerned, and I'm concerned not because of the current variant. Luckily, or fortunately, since that the current variants
are OK, the vaccine will work, but I am really concerned that the next variants those that are coming on the way until we will get us safe, the
virus keeps mutating because we don't know what will be next and that's why it's a race. It's a race but we should not lose our hope.
ANDERSON: Does your team in Wuhan, which is right now investigating the origins of the Coronavirus, are they in a position to provide better
information or bring back better information which will help you at the W.H.O. devise some sort of credible plan on these new variants? And what
information do we have from the team in Wuhan?
DR. NITZAN: Yes, that's very good question. The team in Wuhan today got out of quarantine, and they are starting to work. So that was the first message
we got this morning, and they are starting to work and as soon as we have the information, we will share it.
We do hope that we will learn more and, yes, it is connected also to the genetic of the virus. But it's very interesting Becky to remember that this
virus is not hosted only in humans, as we know. It also likes other animals and this one help makes it even more complicated. And, therefore, it's a
tough fight.
ANDERSON: A fight that we're many, many months, if not years away from winning, briefly?
DR. NITZAN: You see there were cases in pandemics in the past in our history where things got worse before they got better. Personally, I do
hope that this virus will just decide to go back to wherever. But if not, we have to be patient and that's where really we see the stress, we see the
livelihood, the economy, the frustration that people are - we all had enough, but we have to protect each other. It is a fight against the virus,
not against each other.
ANDERSON: Very good point. OK. We're going to leave it there. We thank you very much indeed for joining us. Long story short, this isn't easy, but
scientifically, obtuse leadership doesn't make it any easier.
So now, in Brazil, the vaccine rollout just now beginning in earnest. But for so many deep in the Amazon rain forest, it comes way too late. The
regional Capital of Manaus suffering through a second wave as a new virus variant there leads to a massive surge in cases its health care system
completely collapsing with this new virus variant appearing to be even more contagious.
Hospitals in Manaus are overwhelmed and supplies are depleted. CNN's Matt Rivers takes us to one of these medical centers, and we warn you, you may
find some of the images in Matt's report disturbing.
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The tense quiet outside the small hospital in Iranduba, Brazil can change so fast. An ambulance suddenly pulls up in
front of the hospital as a woman inside is given CPR. Medics desperately trying to save her. But a hospital source told us she died soon after this
video was shot.
The woman was the third COVID patient to die here this morning alone. The overwhelmed hospital is a small example of a massive outbreak here in
Brazil's northwest its epicenter known as the gateway to the Amazon, the City of Manaus.
The city of about 2 million is replete with scenes like this. Patients packed into unsanitary hospitals. With a startling lack of ventilators or
even just oxygen, recovery is a mirage. And what's been the city's deadliest month of the pandemic by far, many here are just simply waiting
to die.
This doctor says we've got 15 patients, and there are two beds. It's difficult to say that we choose who lives and who dies, but we do try and
save the ones with the best chance to live.
[11:15:00]
RIVERS: Health officials at all levels have acknowledged shortcomings, and doctors and nurses are clearly doing their best with the little they have.
But Manaus has been here before. In April and May last year, the health care system collapsed for the first time during the first COVID-19 wave.
Some studies suggested up to 75 percent of Manaus got the virus. Thousands of newly dug graves pockmark the city's cemetery, but now even those aren't
enough. So that's why the government is quickly building these so called vertical graves. They're basically coffin-sized sections that will stack on
top of one another and they're doing it this way because they're running out of space.
By the time this project is ultimately done, the government says they will have built 22,000 vertical graves to meet the expected demand. So many
people got sick the first time. Many here simply believe that herd immunity would prevent another round.
Despite many warnings from experts that that might not be true, Brazil's COVID skeptic President Jair Bolsonaro said there would be a second wave.
Things opened up. Life got back to normal, and then came a new COVID variant, P-1, originating right here in Brazil a kind of a perfect storm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT HENSLEY, VIRAL IMMUNOLOGIST, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: I'm usually not an alarmist about these kinds of things. I'm concerned about what we're
seeing in Brazil right now.
RIVERS (voice over): A recent study in Manaus found two-thirds of recent infections are caused by the variant, prompting fears that this variant
spreads faster. Back outside the small hospital in Iranduba, we meet Maxileia Silva De Silva. Her brother has been inside with COVID for weeks
in desperate need of better care that just doesn't exist here right now.
Next to the hospital, a refrigerated container was brought in to store bodies. Take our cry for help to the world, she tells us. Tell them that
this system is killing Brazilians, people who can't get into hospitals, are dying.
Halfway through our interview, though, we had to pause. There was a new suspected COVID patient arriving. Crying as he's admitted. Because
everybody here knows what can happen once you go inside Matt Rivers, CNN Manaus, Brazil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, just before the show I spoke with the Governor of Sao Paulo where a quarter of Brazil's COVID-19 deaths have occurred. Right now,
vaccinations there are under way. We discussed Brazil's federal response or lack thereof to this virus, and we began with the Governor's response to
what is going on in Manaus?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOAO DORIA, GOVERNOR, SAO PAULO, BRAZIL: The situation in Manaus has become dramatic. This happened due to the lack of actions of the Brazilian
government for the health care of the local population. The situation is dramatic in the Amazon region, especially in Manaus.
It is absolutely, people are dying in their homes and hospital doors, on the sidewalks due to lack of oxygen is another responsibility of the
Bolsonaro government. The chaos of health in Manaus in the Amazon region is now multiplying in other regions of the Amazon. Dozens, doctors and oxygen
are lacking and mainly federal government responsibility.
ANDERSON: Brazil's Health Minister is now under investigation over the health crisis in the Amazon region. Part of that was concerning rejecting
Pfizer's attempts to offer more vaccines to the country. What do you understand to have happened? Why did this happen and what is the situation
now?
DORIA: Well, that's incredible, this is true. What you said is absolutely true. At this moment, we need a Health Minister working to the health, to
the people to protect the people, not against the people. The only way to win this pandemic is through people cooperation.
And also with the cooperation of the federal government and it's not happening right now here in Brazil and have to add that last Tuesday, we
had helpful virtual meeting with the Ambassador of China which used supplies for the production of 8.6 billion doses of the vaccine until next
week.
[11:20:00]
DORIA: But this same Chinese government that we keep with good cooperation, with good relationship diplomatic, economic and in health points,
Bolsonaro, President Bolsonaro and Bolsonaro's family, mostly of the times, they attack the Chinese government and the Chinese vaccine and the Chinese
help to Brazil that's incredible situation here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel as if Brazil doesn't have a government. Brazil has been left to fend for itself. We have psychopaths in power, and the
time has come. No one can take it anymore. We're not going to wait for a million people, of our people, to die for people to rise up. Nobody can
take it anymore.
ANDERSON: Protesters in Sao Paulo have said we're not going to wait for a million of our people to die for people to rise up. Nobody can take it
anymore. They are talking about President Bolsonaro who said he won't take a COVID-19 vaccine.
He's been stoking damaging anti-Vac sentiment. What do you say to these protesters, and what should happen next? Should Bolsonaro be impeached, for
example? What's your view?
DORIA: Well, Becky, I have to say it again that we are combating two virus in Brazil the Coronavirus and Bolsonaro virus. And we have a sense here in
Sao Paulo, the sense of urgency, and every life counts. And we don't want to waste a single day with bureaucratic processes created by the federal
government.
As I mentioned, we have already 220,000 people, deaths in Brazil. And here we are vaccinating as fast as possible. And we have already vaccinated
250,000 Brazilians in Sao Paulo. As a result, the Sao Paulo government took the lead in negotiations with China to purchase imports for the production
of the vaccine.
Now that the supplies have been released just two days ago, we will be able to detail the next phase of vaccinations in Sao Paulo. And once again,
Becky, we need vaccine, vaccine, vaccine and make more vaccination in Brazil to save lives down here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The former friend, now foe of the Brazilian President. The Governor of Sao Paulo there generously shares his time. We have still got a
lot ahead this hour. Next, a Former Russian Oil Tycoon tells CNN why he is trying to help the Kremlin's loudest critic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Personal sanctions must be imposed by President Biden and others in the West on those closest to Putin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Plus, fresh pressure on Alexey Navalny seen as a major threat to Moscow. That is just ahead. And - anger boiling over and turning deadly in
Lebanon's second largest city as the entire country struggles under the weight of a prolonged economic crisis and COVID-19 restrictions. We are
live for you this hour in Lebanon.
And later on "Connect the World," we'll hear from a record-breaking mountaineer just back from the first ever winter expedition to reach the
top of the infamous K2.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:25:00]
ANDERSON: Well, I saw it coming the words of Kremlin Critic Alexey Navalny after a Russian court rejected an appeal to end his 30-day detention,
keeping him stuck in jail. An alleged parole violation case pending against him, Vladimir Putin's fiercest critic could face years in prison.
Navalny's allies are calling for new anti-corruption protests this Sunday across Russia. Now you'll know that the Russian Opposition Leader managed
to survive a horrific poisoning which he blames on the Kremlin and you'll know, too, that Navalny is just the latest government critic to feel the
rough of Moscow connecting you to Moscow, CNN's Matthew Chance. Matthew?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Becky thanks very much. Well, essentially you're right. I mean, if there was any sense that
people may have hoped, people who support Alexey Navalny may have hoped that he was going to be let out of detention today or some of the pressure
may have been eased on him, they were sourly disappointed because what seems to be happening now is the authorities have decided to keep him in
this detention.
There's another court hearing going to be help on the 2nd of February to decide whether to convert an old suspended sentence of 3.5 years into
actual jail time as well. So that could keep him in prison for much longer.
And they have been arresting kind of his allies and raiding sort of properties associated with him, really turning up the pressure on this key
opposition leader. It's always been the Kremlin's instinct to silence its critics.
Why these Russian police are raiding the offices of Alexey Navalny in Moscow, say supporters, and a family apartment banging on the door even
while the opposition leader is held in jail. This is real pressure being ratcheted up on the man the Kremlin appeared to see as a major threat.
He's already survived an agonizing attempt on his life with a nerve agent. Now the anti-corruption campaigner faces multiple criminal proceedings and
years potentially behind bars. He's only the latest to feel Vladimir Putin's wrath.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky once Russia's once richest oligarch. He famously fell out with Putin by funding opposition groups and highlighting official
corruption before being arrested and serving ten years in a Russian jail while his oil company was broken up.
Looking back, I was one of the lucky ones, he told me, from exile in London. I lost a decade of my life in prison, but others who challenge
Putin have paid a far higher price, he tells me. That list is long. Russia's most prominent investigative journalist - shed light on Russian
operations in a brutal war in Chechnya before being gunned down in her apartment building in 2006 on Putin's birthday.
Then there was Boris Nemsov, the fierce Putin critic and opposition leader shot dead in 2015 outside the Kremlin's walls as he walked home from a
restaurant. The Kremlin denies any connection with the killings. Opposition figures say beatings and threats are commonplace.
Political opponents are also shamed and discredited, sometimes with secretly recorded sex tapes like this one of a Former Russian Prime
Minister turned Kremlin Critic. Mikhail Khodorkovsky says the new U.S. Administration must now take the global lead to protect Alexey Navalny.
Personal sanctions must be imposed by President Biden and others in the west on those closest to Putin, he tells me.
[11:30:00]
CHANCE: This would be extremely painful for Putin's entourage and will affect the stability of his power, he says. He would also show Alexey
Navalny himself and the tens of thousands across Russia protesting for his release that they have powerful allies.
Becky, the Kremlin is now bracing for more protests to take place over the weekend. They've been scheduled for Sunday, the 31st. Alexey Navalny
praising protesters from court today saying that they are the only ones that prevent those in power from stealing everything back to you.
ANDERSON: Thank you, Matthew. Matthew is in Moscow for you. Well, in Lebanon, the government says stay home, but quite frankly, people need to
work anger over the deteriorating situation now boiling over into the streets. And it has turned deadly. We're live in Lebanon, up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: The fury over deteriorating conditions and strict COVID measures in Lebanon has now turned deadly. One man was killed during a third night
of clashes between protesters and security forces in Tripoli.
This man was shot in the back as police dispersed the crowd. Several police wounded by a hand grenade. Well, our Ben Wedeman has covered Lebanon's
plight for years and he joins us live now from the Capital of Beirut. And just explain, if you will, why this uptick in unrest at this point, Ben?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we've seen, Becky, is that the standard of living of the Lebanese, in particularly, in
the northern City of Tripoli that is traditionally been impoverished, has really fallen through the floor, and there doesn't seem to be anybody
stopping it from getting even worse.
People are worried about COVID, but in cities like Tripoli, the more immediate worry is that they will not be able to feed their families and so
they are taking to their - to the streets and taking their anger out against the state.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WEDEMAN (voice over): Lebanese security forces fire live rounds at protesters in Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest city. The thirty-year-old
man died from his wounds and dozens ended up in hospital.
[11:35:00]
WEDEMAN (voice over): People in Tripoli are angry over the month-long coronavirus lockdown which has pushed many over the edge from poverty to
utter destitution. Stay at home, stay at home. This is how you're asking people to stay at home asks her husband?
Give money to the people to eat and drink. Since Monday night protesters clashed with the police and army which brought out armored personnel
carriers and water cannons trying to restore order. Wednesday Lebanon recorded its highest daily COVID death total yet.
Tripoli is a microcosm of what ails Lebanon, home to some of the country's richest families and home to many of its poorest. The Lebanese economy
began falling apart in late 2019 sparking massive nationwide protests. COVID-19 has only made a bad situation dramatically worse.
Whatever official social safety net existed before has all but disappeared. What little help comes from mosques, churches, NGOs, political parties and
relatives abroad? Desperate need is what's moving this city and this sickness, Corona, which has gripped it, says this woman who runs one of
Tripoli's biggest charities.
The Lebanese government perpetually in the throes of political paralysis is out of money and out of solutions. And the people increasingly out of
patience.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Ben, where is Assad Hariri in all of this? He was asked to form a government months ago, promising to end what has been this political
deadlock which your report points out, effectively destroying the country at this point.
WEDEMAN: Well, Assad Hariri has been named as the man who should form a government, but he is in a deadlock with the President of the Republic
Michel Aoun. Now according to the Lebanese constitution, the Prime Minister will come to the President with his proposed cabinet and the President is
supposed to sign off on it.
But the president has basically decided that signing off is a veto and if he doesn't get the people he wants in the positions he wants that he's not
going to budge. So neither man is backing down. There's no sort of outside intervention at this point as we saw earlier for instance last year with
the French of trying to push the process along so the current Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned from his position shortly after the
blast in the Beirut Port on the 4th of August.
He's been keeping the seat warm since then, but basically, the country is adrift. It's in limbo. There's no leadership. And there doesn't seem to be
the will among the various parties to put their differences aside and address this country's critical problems that are just making things worse
and worse by the day.
For instance, I was out today - people are going from store to store looking for milk to buy for their children. They can't find it. On social
media, people are asking others if they have this kind of medicine or that kind of medicine or somebody is coming from abroad. The safety net - there
never really was much of a safety net in Lebanon, but the state simply is absent at this time of profound crisis. Becky?
ANDERSON: As your report pointed out. Ben, thank you. Ben Wedeman is in Beirut in Lebanon for you tonight. There's also outrage on the streets in
parts of Tunisia, the birthplace of what became known as the Arab spring. A decade on from the revolution, that nation is grappling with new unrest as
a COVID lockdown makes an already tough economic situation even worse CNN's Jomana Karadsheh connecting us to the facts on the ground.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Ten years after overthrowing their regime and sparking uprisings in the Arab World,
Tunisians are back on the streets. The same slogans from their Jasmine Revolution a decade ago echo across the streets of the Capital Tunis and
other cities.
I'm here to demand freedom, rights and justice says 26-year-old Bilan. The unrest began earlier this month in some of the country's impoverished
areas. Young protesters defied the COVID-19 curfew to protest rising poverty, unemployment and police brutality.
[11:40:00]
KARADSHEH (voice over): That quickly escalated into violent confrontations, riots and vandalism. The military was swiftly deployed to try and restore
order. Hundreds have been detained many of them teenagers. At least one protester lost his life this week reportedly after being struck on the head
by a tear gas canister.
Tunisia's revolution brought democracy and free speech to the North African nation but successive governments have failed to provide the better life
Tunisians have been promised, time and time again.
Its third government since the 2019 elections produced a deadlocked parliament and political paralysis has had to deal with the rising anger
over joblessness, poor state services and rampant corruption. All made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic that's brought the country's already
struggling economy to its knees.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today, after ten years since the December 14th protest, the so-called revolution, we still have the same demands. The same
slogans and this is the biggest proof that what is called a revolution did not happen. The revolutionary path has been compromised. And today we
protest to bring back the path that revolution was on.
KARADSHEH (voice over): As demonstrators gathered outside parliament this week, inside the prime minister acknowledged their grievances and called on
politicians to put their differences aside.
HICHEM MECHICHI, TUNISIAN PRIME MINISTER: We have heard so much about reforms, but we have seen nothing in reality and proof of that is the youth
protesting outside your parliament. Why are they protesting? Are they protesting a four-month-old government or years of failure? Enough of this
failure and let's work together for success.
KARADSHEH (voice over): The prime minister's reshuffled the cabinet, promised reforms and a plan for more jobs. But his nation has just run out
of patience. Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Istanbul.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, an update now on one of the craziest financial stories that you may have heard for some time. Gamestop stock, which was at $400 a share
when I came on air has, well, you can see, I'm going to describe it as having plunged dramatically and that is probably an understatement. Down at
one point closer to $100 a share in the past hour and a half.
The stock has been at the center of a battle this week between small investors and billion-dollar hedge funds where it goes next, nobody knows
at this point. A reminder, if ever one was needed that share prices do go down as well as up, folks.
Coming up, answering the call to earth. How a hatchery in North America is tackling dwindling numbers of wild Atlantic salmon?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:45:00]
ANDERSON: Welcome back. Regularly on this show, we bring you stories about what is an existential crisis of our time, climate change. We want to bring
you a new episode from CNN's ongoing "Call to Earth" series now, where we highlight the extraordinary work being done by ordinary people to protect
our planet and our home. I want to take you to Maine tonight to the shores of the North Atlantic. Have a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): The Atlantic salmon over the course of its lifetime able to travel from its birthplace in the rivers flowing into
the North Atlantic up north as far as Greenland and back again to lay their eggs. It's an epic journey, but the majestic salmon run may become a thing
of the past.
In the U.S., the Atlantic salmon is federally endangered. Pollution and pesticides have severely affected the river habitats. But there's one thing
more than any other that has devastated their numbers.
DWAYNE SHAW, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DOWNEAST SALMON FEDERATION: Dams were the primary and remain the primary issue. And those dams could be as small as a
culvert at a road crossing that the salmon just can't get up and over. 10 to 15 years we could see these fish gone from the planet forever if we
don't move to action.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Dwayne Shaw manages the Downeast Salmon Federation hatcheries in Maine.
SHAW: Over 200 years in the United States, there have been attempts made to maintain, restore and perpetuate the Atlantic salmon. There have been many,
many failures. We've adopted the technique developed by Peter Gray and as it turns out, it's working quite well for us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Peter Gray ran a hatchery on the Thyme River in Northumberland, UK when he started the river was heavily polluted
and dammed. The salmon population was almost nonexistent. Peter's unique methodology alongside habitat restoration and pollution reduction
contributed to one of the biggest salmon recovery success stories in Europe.
SHAW: Peter developed a technique over time that naturalized the hatchery methods such that the fish would treat it more like a wild fish and less
like a farm creature.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Based on Peter's methodology, the Downeast hatcheries try and rear their salmon eggs in conditions that match
their natural environment, including using river water, dark bottom tanks and positioning the hatchery on the river of origin. But there's a strong
debate around hatcheries. With many facilities thought to do more harm than good to salmon populations.
PAUL KNIGHT, FISHERIES CONSULTANT, THE SALMON AND TROUT ASSOCIATION: The science says that hatchery reared fish are not as strong as wild fish, but
for instance in the USA where wild stocks of salmon are so low, really the only way to be a catalyst to get those stocks back is to have salmon
hatcheries.
So it's a balance. Stocking to restore your stocks, and then stop at a time when you can let nature take its course and you don't damage those stocks
genetically.
SHAW: We're keeping the hatchery manager out of the picture as much as possible with the intent of actually closing the hatchery as soon as
possible. If we were to do nothing, these fish would quickly move toward extinction.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Success is measured by finding the eggs of adult salmon returning to the river and linking their genetics to those
of the hatchery fish.
SHAW: We're seeing as much as 20 times the return rate. That gives us hope that, in fact, we can turn things around much more quickly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Conserving salmon does so much more than save the species. It's an umbrella species. Protecting salmon helps all
life in its habitat.
KNIGHT: Salmon is the ultimate natural indicators that health of the water environment in fresh water and the sea. If salmon are running in abundance,
then things are OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: We'll keep showcasing inspirational stories like this as part of our initiative at CNN. Do let us know what you are doing to answer the call
with the #calltoearth. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:50:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIRMAL PURJA, SUCCESSFULLY CLIMBED K2 IN FIRST-EVER WINTER ASCENT: As a team, we feel really proud, really honored, and I think we've sent a really
clear message to the world. If you unite, nothing is impossible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, that was a Nirmal Purja, he and nine other Nepali mountaineers just made the first ever winter ascent to the top of K2. Purja
is the only member of that crew to climb the mountain without using supplemental oxygen and he is the first person in the world to do so.
These aren't the first records though he's broken. Purja recently made history climbing the world's highest 14 mountains in the shortest amount of
time ever beating the previous record by almost seven years. Well, Nirmal Purja comes to "Connect the World" joining us tonight from Kathmandu.
And one word springs to mind when I talk to you. I know your friends know you as Nims. You are hard core, sir. These summer ascents are one thing and
they are dangerous at best. The winter ascent considered all but impossible. You decided it wasn't, so tell us mere mortals, how did you do
it, and why?
PURJA: Well, to be honest, I didn't really have a plan to go on K2 this winter. I was planning something to do next year purely because I had my
book "The Unpossible" coming out and I was waiting for my brand value to go up.
But then again, when I found out that more than 40 climbers were heading towards K2 to be the first person to climb this in winter, then I felt like
you know Nepal is home of a thousand - everyone who come to Nepal you they know enough of - that the climbing community work so hard and we are the
frontiers in this game.
And Nepalese as I said home of thousands but we never had any winter ascent to our name. So I felt like, well, at least I need to get this one for the
country and for the climbing community and all. And what excite me it was something that had never been possible before and this is what excites me
as well. And I wanted to make it possible for everybody, so that's why I went.
ANDERSON: Let's just - for those who don't know, let's just discuss how tough this is and huge congratulations to you? There is something
incredibly romantic about scaling these sorts of heights, but the K2 peak has a sobering fatality rate. Mt. Everest may be higher but only around 3
percent die while climbing that. K2's fatality rate is my understanding is 22 percent. Did that not scare you?
PURJA: Yes, again, for those who don't know K2, there's a reason why it's called Killer Mountain and there is a reason why it's called the savage
mountain. Just in summer as you just said, 1 in 4 dies. And for us, to do this in winter is - operating in this steep in the blue eyes, the rough
terrain at minus 65 degrees Celsius is a next level challenge, but it had to be done and, yes.
ANDERSON: Just had to be done. All right, I get it. I don't know whether many of our viewers would agree that it just had to be done. I don't know
whether they'd just do it. But I get it, I totally get where you're at.
You said that sponsors - you are so relaxed about it. You've just said I know you said that sponsors did seem reluctant to back. What was an all-
Nepalese team saying and I quote, getting sponsorship when you're brown, yes, it's probably true that if I was a white guy then I might attract more
big names.
[11:55:00]
ANDERSON: That's really a very honest assessment of where you think the sponsorship community is at. Can you just explain?
PURJA: Look, I had to really struggle for my experience last year. Last year when I said I'm going to climb a 14,000-meter peak in just six months
or seven months. Everybody laughed about it and nobody believed in this.
And honestly, it was next level and unfortunately - well, fortunately from what I did last year, I had a bit of credibility and I must thank my
sponsors from Red Blue, from Austria, Europe and - they kind of made this project happen as a sponsor wise.
But you are absolutely right. If I was a, like in a western or European climber, I think I would attract bigger sponsorship for this kind of
endeavor because if this was the last, the greatest and the hardest climbed man and again, this is like more than winning any world cup, this is more
than winning anything else but still it was tough to get sponsorship. We managed to make it happen.
ANDERSOBN: Well, hopefully that will make sponsorship for climbers like you easier going forward. You met the Nepalese Prime Minister. Here is what he
said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
K.P. SHARMA OLI, NEPALI PRIME MINISTER: I would like to congratulate the team for successfully climbing the second tallest mountain in the world Mt.
Karakoram which is considered a very difficult expedition.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: That's you there with the prime minister. How did that make you feel?
PURJA: You know, really happy, to be honest. We didn't really expect that. But the welcoming, the welcoming and appreciation from our neighboring
country Pakistan was also next level. We met the President, we met the Army Chief, we met the Tourism Minister, and the people were so nice and humble.
I think that also gives a bit of pressure to our Nepalese government to do something about it. When we arrived here at the international airport, it
was next level. There were so many people waiting for us and from there, we went to see our Prime Minister K.P Sharma Oli and it's been really
overwhelming really, really great.
ANDERSON: Well, you deserve it. You are on top of the world in every sense of the word, sir. Amazing, I'm inspired. I might give it a go myself one of
these days and second thought, maybe not. I'm going to stick to things a little closer to ground, I think. Thank you and to all of you watching,
stay safe. Stay well and a very good evening.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: --46 in the wake of World War II. Wow! Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Kate Bolduan. John King picks up from here.
END
