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Austria Sees Vaccination Uptick; Europe Struggles with Rising Cases, Restless Public; Biden to Release U.S. Oil Reserves to Combat High Gas Prices; Over 22 Million Afghans at Risk of Food Insecurity; Jury to Deliberate in Ahmaud Arbery Murder Trial; Former South Korean Leader Chun Doo-hwan Dead at 90. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired November 23, 2021 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Ethiopia's leader says, if needs be, he'll lead troops on the front lines against rebels.
Vaccination rates rise in Austria as the country hunkers down in a national lockdown. We are live in Vienna.
And ahead of the busy holiday travel season, the U.S. president plans to release strategic oil reserves to ease prices at the pump.
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ANDERSON: It is 7:00 pm in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson. Hello and welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD.
The French prime minister Jean Castex says he is doing well after testing positive for COVID-19. He apparently contracted the virus despite being
fully vaccinated. He's in self-isolation. CNN affiliate EFM TV reports that he had returned to France from Belgium and found that out his 11-year-old
daughter had tested positive.
Belgium's public broadcaster reports the Belgian prime minister and four other government ministers are now in self-isolation after meeting with Mr.
Castex.
Still vaccinations are our main defense against this potentially deadly disease and getting enough people to take it is key. Austria's COVID
vaccination rates are ticking up as the country hunkers down.
You can see the increase here; more people getting doses since a 10- to 20- day national lockdown and vaccine mandate was announced. The vast majority have been booster shots.
Austria is in its second day of lockdown. All people, vaccinated or not, can only leave their homes for essential reasons, like food, work or
school.
And although we saw protests over the weekend, the government there argues these drastic measures are critical. The seven-day incident rate is well
over 1,000 per 100,000 people. It is the highest figure to date. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz has more from Vienna for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A month before Christmas, near silence on the streets of the Austrian capital Monday as a fourth
nationwide lockdown begins.
Vienna locals growing weary as the pandemic endures.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It feels like a luxury prison, that's what it's like. Personally, I don't feel good psychologically.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I'm really fed up with these lockdowns, I've had enough.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): As COVID-19 cases in Austria sore, it's become the first European country to reenter a full national lockdown in recent
months, as well as the first to mandate vaccines for anyone who is eligible beginning in February.
The new restrictions prompting angry protests here over the weekend, an estimated 40,000 taking to the streets in opposition but the mandates
though unpopular, have also led to a kind of public capitulation.
The country's biggest vaccination center saw what officials say is a massive increase in first time shots in the wake of new measures.
Now other European countries hope to imitate that trend, as Europe once again becomes a global epicenter for the coronavirus pandemic.
New restrictions on the unvaccinated began in the Czech Republic Monday. Adults who haven't been inoculated are barred from places where people
congregate, including pubs, museums and services such as hairdressers.
Officials issuing strong statements for those who resist immunizations.
JAN HAMACEK, CZECH INTERIOR MINISTER (through translator): The answer to the anti-vaxers is that the data is absolutely clear. If the vaccines were
not there and if we didn't have vaccination throughout the population, the hospitals would have collapsed already.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): The Czech Republic joins Germany, Austria, Ireland and several other European nations now enforcing strict measures against
the unvaccinated.
In the Netherlands and Belgium, new measures met with protests that erupted over the weekend, governments fighting public discontent as they also
battle rising infections, as a pandemic remains ahead of another holiday season --
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ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): -- Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, Vienna.
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ANDERSON: A lot of frustration as you can see there. Salma Abdelaziz joining me from the capital.
It is interesting to see that the Austrian ski slopes will remain open throughout this lockdown.
What are the rules around that?
ABDELAZIZ: That is a very limited window there, Becky. But you're right, ski slopes will remain open if you follow all the rules. That includes an
ffp2 mask, proof of vaccination; all other restrictions, of course, have to be met there.
But I want to begin by warning you, if you go to the tourism website for the official government here, you're going to see it says, "We are
temporarily closed until this lockdown is lifted." That means missing out on a huge opportunity for businesses, the festive season, of course.
We were at a Christmas market just the other night. They were shutting their doors, they had only opened a few days prior. So you can imagine that
for people for businesses who have already missed out on economic opportunities last year, to yet again miss out this year.
It is absolutely disappointing, Becky, potentially the government having to provide subsidies for up to 400,000 people. We're talking about millions of
dollars in losses. But the Austrian government is unequivocal. This is necessary.
They say to stave off rising infection rates, the health minister says the healthcare system is on the brink. There is an influx of COVID-19 patients.
They absolutely need these restrictions, Becky.
ANDERSON: Salma is in Vienna for you. Thanks, Salma.
The Austrian government then using mandates and lockdowns to try to protect the country's hospitals from a situation like the one being seen right now
in Romania. And you can read about that, the -- how Romanian hospitals are coping or not at cnn.com.
One nurse told CNN she never thought, when she started her job, that she would live through something like this.
The Biden administration taking action today against skyrocketing gas prices. The White House says U.S. President Joe Biden is planning to
release 15 million barrels of oil from the country's strategic petroleum reserve.
Now this is part of a joint effort with the U.K., China, India, Japan and South Korea, aimed at addressing the lack of oil supply around the world.
Earlier Jared Bernstein of the White House Council of Economic Advisers talked to CNN about the coordinated effort.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JARED BERNSTEIN, WHITE HOUSE COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS: It is a pretty powerful punch. And once that gets out there, we start to see deliveries of
oil probably mid-December.
But again, we already have markets moving on this news so we believe that's going to show up at the pumps, helping middle class, low income consumers,
as they get through this period.
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ANDERSON: Matt Egan joining us live from New York.
The elephant in the room -- or not as the case may be on this occasion -- of course, is OPEC+. The U.S. president leaning heavily on the OPEC+
producers to raise their output and they didn't bend to his wishes.
We are seeing what is a sort of concerted semi-global effort to help the U.S. president reduce these prices at the gas pump.
But what is interesting is that these U.S. strategic reserves won't actually hit the market for some time.
So is this effectively just some pressure on oil markets and a message to the markets that there will be an effort made and, consequently, we're
seeing that drop in oil prices, correct?
MATT EGAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR WRITER: Yes, that's right, Becky. For months the United States was pressuring OPEC to pump more oil and so today
we have seen this emergence of a group of countries that have collectively come together and said to OPEC, effectively, you know, you haven't acted.
So we will.
We have the United Kingdom and India, China, Japan, all teaming up with the United States -- call them -- they're like the anti-OPEC countries. And
this is a big deal because this is the first coordinated release we have seen in a decade.
The U.S. alone releasing 50 million barrels, that's the biggest ever release from the United States.
And I think that everyone wants to know what does this mean for prices going forward?
And Wall Street does not wait for official press releases to react. Just the rumor of a coordinated release sent oil prices down by about 10 percent
from their highs in late October.
So a certain amount of this was baked in. And that has actually driven gasoline prices ever so slightly lower. They have kind of leveled off at
about a seven-year high at $3.40. There -- and analysts that I've talked to, they do expect gas prices to actually go a little bit lower from here.
But no one is calling for a dramatic decline in gas prices.
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EGAN: Not even the White House. I mean, President Biden, he was privately advised ahead of this decision in recent weeks that this not going to be a
cure-all. So I think, big picture, this is good news for consumers. But it is not going to solve the underlying issue.
ANDERSON: Yes. Fascinating. All right, Matt, thank you for that. Matt Egan is on the story.
"Rise up for your country." That call to arms from the prime minister of Ethiopia. Abiy Ahmed saying he will go to the front today and personally
lead the fight against rebels, who are inching toward the capital.
Fighters from the northern Tigray region say they picked up two more towns on the way to Addis Ababa over the weekend. The year-long conflict has
forced millions from their homes with no solution in sight. Well, CNN's Larry Madowo is on the story for us.
Larry, just rhetoric or is there any sign the PM is heading to the front lines to take a lead on Ethiopian military defenses?
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm not sure how much of it is just performance, posturing, how much is reality, because, since in the 20 hours
since this announcement has been made, I've been scanning state television on Ethiopia, in Ethiopia trying to look through the state news agencies.
And there is no reporting so far of the prime minister having actually joined the front ranks. Only recently I've returned from Ethiopia, where I
saw how much the prime minister has been trying to ratchet up the rhetoric, trying to be this populist, trying to play up this nationalist sentiment.
This might be yet more of that. I know that the prime minister really feels aggrieved about how the international community has been pressuring him to
talk with the Tigray People's Liberation Front and know that he does not think that they're at the same level, that he should be talking at all to
the rebels from the north, who claim to be advancing to Addis Ababa.
So this could be more of the same grievances that the prime minister has had. Or he could be seriously considering this.
And, Becky, you remember, the last time an African leader went and joined the front ranks, he died. That was the president of Chad. So I'm not sure
how much committed Ahmed is to this.
ANDERSON: Fascinating. All right, well, we will absolutely keep an eye on that story, thank you.
For weeks there was concern about the fate of the Sudanese prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok. He was deposed by the military and placed under house
arrest.
This past Sunday, something unexpected happened; Sudan's military chief reinstated Abdalla Hamdok as prime minister. This did not make the pro-
democracy protesters happy. Once again, they took to the streets. I spoke to the prime minister in the last hour or so and here is what he had to
say.
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ABDALLA HAMDOK, SUDANESE PRIME MINISTER: I fully appreciate and understand their anger, their frustration but I want them to understand also the
consequences could have been much graver, much more serious.
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ANDERSON: I will have that full exclusive interview with Abdalla Hamdok in the next hour. Do stay with us for that. This is a two-hour show. You're
watching CONNECT THE WORLD.
Ahead, the international push and the big obstacles in getting desperately needed aid to Afghanistan, with millions there at risk of going hungry or
worse. I talk to Pakistan's national security adviser about his country's efforts to help.
Later, as a racially charged murder trial in the U.S. nears a conclusion, we'll find out why the mother of the shooting victim left the courtroom in
distress.
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ANDERSON: It has been exactly 100 days since the Taliban moved into Kabul, effectively taking over Afghanistan. Now over that time, the humanitarian
situation for Afghans has deteriorated significantly. And aid organizations are now crying out for help.
If you are a regular viewer of this show, you will have seen the World Food Programme director, David Beasley, come on and repeatedly warn us that
billions of dollars in aid is needed to keep Afghans from starvation this winter.
Just how bad could it get?
Well, WFP says nearly 23 million Afghans are at acute risk of food insecurity. That is more than half the population. Almost 9 million of them
may reach emergency levels of hunger.
In the meantime, a big chunk of Afghanistan's $9.4 billion in cash reserves has been frozen by Western governments since the Taliban takeover,
including billions of dollars held in the United States.
All the while, Afghan women and girls have been shut out of jobs, many schools and sports, basically excluded from society. And many of those
women are breadwinners for so many of these families.
And thousands of Afghans, who tried to cross the border into Pakistan to join the nearly 1.5 million registered refugees already there, the actual
number could be almost double that.
Pakistan, of course, has a keen interest in keeping its neighbor as stable as possible. In return, the Afghan Taliban are helping Pakistan mediate
with the Pakistani Taliban, known as the TTP, to bring peace to Pakistan's tribal areas.
This is complicated. My next guest is making a concerted push from Pakistan to get Afghans the help they need. Moeed Yusuf is Pakistan's national
security adviser.
And as you can see, from this tweet, he's helping organize Pakistan's newly formed Afghanistan interministerial Coordination Cell, as it is called,
aimed at improving humanitarian support and order management. He joins me now from Islamabad.
Thank you very much indeed for being with us. Earlier this week, your prime minister Imran Khan approved a humanitarian assistance package for
Afghanistan.
What is happening with that now?
MOEED YUSUF, PAKISTAN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Well, that's going to go to Afghanistan. It is about $30 million in kind.
But, Becky, before we get to that, I think it is important for your audience to understand what kind of human disaster we are about to face.
We have got the WFP, the World Food Programme, saying that 23 million Afghans are going to be acutely short of food this winter, which is
starting now; 70 percent are already apportioning food. And 60 percent are borrowing from others.
On top of that, more than 30 percent are reporting shortage of medicines. We have got Western outlets reporting that women are selling their children
just to get household commodities. Imagine what reaction we would get if this was happening somewhere closer to the shores of where you are.
So that's the kind of sense that people need to get. This is -- this has to be beyond politics. This has to be beyond any question of the Taliban.
Right now, the world has to focus on getting humanitarian assistance in, for the sake of the 35 million to 40 million Afghans, who are going to
suffer.
It is really about them at this point. And so Pakistan frankly is doing whatever we can -- we are not a rich country, we have now donated about 30
million. There are other private donations that are going in.
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YUSUF: But the real issue here, Becky, is why aren't international humanitarian organizations being allowed to get money into Afghanistan, to
provide in kind assistance, to provide salaries to help staff, to -- ?
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ANDERSON: Right. Yes, let's talk about that.
Yes, let's talk about that because, as you rightly point out, we are approaching a brutally cold winter and aid is yet to reach Afghanistan. The
U.S. and the West are sitting on more than $9 billion in cash because they are not willing to recognize the Taliban. That shouldn't mean that Afghans
are effectively left to starve.
So what do you propose needs to be done to desperately get that cash to the people who need it most?
What is your call to the international community?
What are the mechanisms that you believe could be used to get that money in?
YUSUF: Frankly, Becky, it is very simple: humanitarian assistance has been pledged, a lot of it by Western countries and others in the world. The
reason that money is not getting across is banking channels. It is just one thing.
There are some sanctions that have made banks very cautious. And so we are not allowing even the U.N. and the World Food Programme and the ICRC to run
their own bank accounts to get money into Afghanistan, purchase things and give it to Afghans, who are otherwise potentially going to die this winter.
It is as simple as that.
The U.S. and others have to allow banks, give them the comfort that they can make those transactions, because all dollar denominations will go
through New York. And they're not letting them go through. So that's one very simple fact.
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ANDERSON: So this doesn't mean that the international community has to recognize the Taliban, that's what you're saying?
Because that's not going to happen at this point. I mean, we simply don't see evidence that the U.S. or others will recognize the Taliban.
But you're saying there are other mechanisms at this point?
YUSUF: No, no. Let's be clear. Humanitarian assistance is already exempt from any sanctions or the government of the -- it has nothing to do with
them. This money is going to go to international organizations, who are directly going to feed and support the average Afghan woman and man, who we
all profess to be wanting to protect.
So there is a contradiction between not letting this happen and saying, well, it is about the -- it is not about the Taliban, humanitarian
assistance.
The second thing is that Pakistan has offered to become the air and land bridge (ph). You were here recently. You know what Pakistan has done to
support evacuation of vulnerable Afghans. We have got 53,000 people who we transferred and transited through Pakistan, over 42 nationalities,
including many, many Americans.
Now we are saying we are offering our territory to become the land and air bridge; international organizations can come here. There is no restriction
on banking here. You can transact from here, buy things from Pakistani market, import into Pakistan, send it across via truck, via road.
What is the problem in that?
There is enough money; yet, no movement. So Becky, let me just say this much. I want to be absolutely clear. I am speaking to you as Pakistan's
national security adviser.
Very selfishly, my neighbor's house is on fire, I have the right to call 9- 1-1 and tell them that this is going to reach me. I have four decades of history. Afghanistan is unstable; the spillover comes to Pakistan because I
have a 1,600-mile border.
You talk about refugees in your opening; 25,000 to 30,000 Afghans cross over into Pakistan every day and then go back.
What will happen if there is a refugee crisis?
Pakistan will be it the next day. We already have 4 million Afghan refugees for the past 40 years.
Think about what is happening in Belarus. Think about what happened when Syria happened and how stingy much of the world was with refugees. We are
as generous as it gets. But we have got to prevent more human suffering. We shouldn't be talking about what happens when more refugees come.
ANDERSON: I know you and HCR are calling on Pakistan to actually reform its immigration policy. Many Afghans to Pakistan today are undocumented
because Pakistan has no domestic asylum laws. That leaves them with limited access to work, housing, education and without legal protections.
There is two questions here. And I just want to find out why Pakistan isn't perhaps doing a little more to help these people. But I do also want to
stay on the story of what is going on the ground in Afghanistan.
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ANDERSON: A senior Taliban official was in Pakistan last week, on its first official visit to the country to discuss relations between the two
governments.
Can you just describe the nature of the Pakistani government's relationship with the Taliban at present?
YUSUF: Yes. First of all, on your first question, I'm very surprised. Pakistan is a (INAUDIBLE) 4 million Afghan refugees. Yes, many of them are
undocumented. It is Pakistan that has been asking again and again that we should document all Afghans because we need to know who is on our
territory.
And let me tell you that we are the ones who talked about dignified repatriation of Afghan refugees for the past 20 years. It was the Afghan
government of the time who said, no, we're not interested in taking our people back.
We talk about documentation because it benefits Pakistan to know who is here. So it is not connected -- somebody is asking us and we don't have
laws. We are actually a country who has not even restricted these refugees to camps; 70 percent of Afghan refugees live outside refugee camps, benefit
from the Pakistani economy.
And the majority of them live in the city of Karachi, which is our largest city and our financial hub. That's how open we are.
So this question of Pakistan not being able to treat them well, I'm sorry, somebody is misinformed. We have actually gone beyond the call of duty,
even the international norms. We have done more than that. And we have done it for our --
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: That was coming from the UNHCR. That was coming from the UNHCR and thank you for addressing that question.
What about relations between the two governments at the moment?
YUSUF: Yes, I mean, look, we have formal relations, there is no recognition. Pakistan has constantly led regional diplomacy and said that
we need to have a regional and international consensus on how to move forward.
But in terms of this visit that you're talking about, we basically have three issues: number one, humanitarian assistance -- and the result is in
front of you, Pakistan is shipping whatever it can and we've talked about that already.
The second one is border. As I told you, we have a 1600-mile border, border management is crucial for us because we cannot afford international
terrorists who are still in Afghan, the escapees (ph) of the world.
Then the Pakistani Taliban massacred and martyred thousands of Pakistanis to again create trouble for us. For the past 20 years it was India and the
Afghan intelligence, we were supporting them. So we have to have that conversation. We are having that conversation with the -- with the interim
Afghan government.
And the third issue is that we are urging the Afghan government to do exactly what the world is asking -- human rights, inclusivity, ensuring
there is no terrorism from their soil.
And mind you, when they were here, it was the first time a troika plus -- Pakistan, China, U.S. and Russia --
(CROSSTALK)
YUSUF: -- meeting also took place and the U.S. and others met this delegation, because we want it make sure that it is direct conversation.
Everyone comes to Pakistan but our role is really to facilitate and to remove any misgivings. And all of us are working toward the same goal.
But Becky, this is all irrelevant, all doffed (ph) by the humanitarian crisis. I want to urge the world --
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: I understand.
At that troika meeting -- and it is important that you bring it up -- U.S. special representative for Afghanistan Tom West met with what is known as
this extended troika, Pakistan, Chinese and Russian officials in Islamabad, to talk about the situation.
And in a briefing, West said, I quote, "The Taliban have delivered by and large on their commitment to us, to allow Afghans, whom we owe a special
commitment and American citizens and LPRs out of the country over the past several weeks in particular."
Did you get a sense from that meeting of the West warming up to the Taliban from your conversations with them?
YUSUF: It is difficult to say, frankly, because one thing is said. But as we've just talked about, even the sort of basic banking facilities for
humanitarian assistance are stuck in legal bottlenecks. So I'm not quite sure.
What I can tell you is why is Pakistan doing what it is doing in terms of bringing them together to have a conversation?
Simple point is a stable Afghanistan is nonnegotiable for Pakistan. So what we are really telling the world is have a direct conversation and see
where we can take the Taliban in terms of their demeanor and what incentive we can provide them in terms of assistance.
So you have quoted Tom West. But yesterday there was a senior delegation here; the day before as well. I was meeting some from the west, Western
countries. And they said their own reporting is that Kabul is relatively peaceful, there isn't any mass reprisal attacks going on. And girls'
education is opening up, et cetera.
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YUSUF: It is not me saying it because as soon as I do, then people say, oh, Pakistan is defending the Taliban.
I only am talking about a stable Afghanistan, because a stable Afghanistan means that Pakistan doesn't get a negative spillover. It is very convenient
for the world to say Pakistan should deal with the problem.
But my only confusion, frankly, is why isn't the world acting in rational self-interest?
Terrorism is not going to remain contained to the region if Afghanistan collapses. Refugees will not remain contained. Last time we ended up with
9/11. We have history.
Why aren't we learning the right lessons?
And the lesson is let's figure out how to engage and stabilize Afghanistan, while ensuring that whatever the demands are from the world, that the
Taliban meet and ensure that they fulfill it sustainably. But that conversation has to happen without a finger pointing at them all the time.
Otherwise, we won't go anywhere from here.
ANDERSON: All right. I've got to take a break. Moeed, it's good to have you on. You and I talked a number of times over the last five or six months
and we will have you back. This issue of getting money to Afghans who need it most is absolutely crucial at this point. Thank you very much indeed for
joining us.
Just ahead, a racially charged murder trial nears its end in the American South. Why some legal experts felt the defense's arguments have been
racially insensitive.
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ANDERSON: I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. Welcome back. It is half past 7:00 here.
Jury deliberations are expected to begin soon in what is a racially charged murder case in the U.S. state of Georgia. Three men are charged in the
fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed Black man in the city of Brunswick in southeast Georgia.
The prosecution has just given its rebuttal to Monday's closing arguments from the defense. CNN's Ryan Young connects us to the case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In just hours, the jury is expected to begin deliberations in the trial of three men accused of
murdering Ahmaud Arbery.
Before they start, the prosecution will have one more turn to give a rebuttal of the defense's case in their final effort to convince jurors
Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael and William Bryan are responsible for Arbery's death.
LINDA DUNIKOSKI, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: The state's position is all three of these defendants made assumptions, made assumptions about what was going on
that day.
[10:35:00]
DUNIKOSKI: And they made their decision to attack Ahmaud Arbery in their driveways because he was a Black man running down the street.
YOUNG (voice-over): In her closing argument for the state, lead prosecutor Linda Dunikoski said the three men had no reason to chase Arbery down while
he was jogging on a street outside Brunswick, Georgia, last year.
DUNIKOSKI: They're going to try and convince you that Ahmaud Arbery was the attacker, that he was somehow threatening to them. Three on one, two
pickup trucks, two guns; Mr. Arbery, nothing in his pockets, not a cell phone, not a gun, not even an ID
YOUNG (voice-over): Along with arguing against self-defense claims, the prosecution says the three men could not justify making a citizen's arrest,
Dunikoski reminding jurors of the law.
DUNIKOSKI: A citizen's arrest is for emergency situations where the crime really happens in front of you and you can take action right then and there
to arrest somebody.
This was not a citizen's arrest. They never said it. None of the defendants saw Mr. Arbery commit any crime that day.
YOUNG (voice-over): The defense attorney for Travis McMichael, the man who shot and killed Arbery, pushing back.
JASON SHEFFIELD, TRAVIS MCMICHAEL'S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You do have the right to perform a citizen's arrest. You do have the right to have a
firearm when you make an arrest.
You do have the right to stop a person and to hold them and detain them for the police. And there is risk with that. And there are tragic consequences
that can come from that.
YOUNG (voice-over): Jason Sheffield telling jurors, McMichael was defending himself after he says he saw Arbery trespassing at a construction
site of a home in the weeks ahead of the fatal shooting. His client, the only defendant to take the stand last week.
SHEFFIELD: He told you about the thefts and the burglaries, the totality of the facts, why he believed what he did, that he wanted to follow him,
that he wanted to talk to him, that he wanted to stop him for the police, to detain him.
Don't be fooled by this word "arrest." You don't have to announce, "You're under arrest."
YOUNG (voice-over): Both McMichaels and Bryan are charged with malice and felony murder in connection to Arbery's death as well as charges of
aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit a felony. They have pled not guilty.
Defense attorneys for each of the three men making their own closing arguments Monday.
JUDGE TIMOTHY WALMSLEY, CHATHAM COUNTY COURT: We are ready to proceed with closing arguments, Mr. Gough.
YOUNG (voice-over): Kevin Gough argued Arbery would have been killed anyway, regardless of whether his client, Bryan, was at the scene.
KEVIN GOUGH, BRYAN DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Roddie Bryan's presence is absolutely superfluous and irrelevant to the tragic death of Ahmaud Arbery.
YOUNG (voice-over): Bryan filmed the disturbing video, showing the fatal shooting. His lawyer says there would be no case without the footage.
GOUGH: The inconvenient truth is that Roddie Bryan did not know and could not know that these men were armed until moments before Mr. Arbery's tragic
death. At the time of the shooting, he was some distance back. He was armed only with his cell phone.
YOUNG (voice-over): Greg McMichael's lawyer also focused on depicting Arbery as an intruder.
LAURA HOGUE, GREG MCMICHAEL'S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Turning Ahmaud Arbery into a victim after the choices that he made does not reflect the reality of
what brought Ahmaud Arbery to Satilla Shores, in his khaki shorts, with no socks to cover his long, dirty toenails.
YOUNG (voice-over): Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, left the courtroom after this comment.
WANDA COOPER-JONES, AHMAUD ARBERY'S MOTHER: That was just beyond rude. Regardless of what kind of toenails he had, what size legs he had, that was
still my son. And my son actually was running for his life in that description.
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ANDERSON: CNN's Ryan Young reporting there. Now once the jury has a verdict, we will get that to you live.
Let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories on our radar right now.
At least 45 people, including a dozen kids, were killed when a bus burst into flames in Bulgaria overnight. The bus was reportedly taking tourists
from North Macedonia back from an excursion in Istanbul in Turkey. It caught fire on a highway west of Sofia. Only seven passengers survived.
The Chinese government has come out swinging, demanding an end to what it calls "malicious speculation" over Peng Shuai.
This comes as human rights concerns swirl around the Chinese tennis star, even after the IOC, the International Olympic Committee, said, Peng is, in
its words, "safe and well." She disappeared from public view three weeks ago after accusing a former Chinese official of sexual assault.
The former South Korean military dictator, Chun Doo-hwan, has died at the age of 90. Here you see staff and relatives paying their respects and
journalists gathered outside his home, as his body was taken away.
[10:40:00]
ANDERSON: He rose to power in 1979, shortly after Park Chung-hee was assassinated. He resigned in 1987 under pressure from a student-led
democratic movement.
You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD.
Still to come, they say there is always a first time.
But why was LeBron James suspended after the Lakers game with the Pistons?
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ANDERSON: Well, a major stand against social media from a brand popular with teenagers around the world. Lush Cosmetics is planning to deactivate
its Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat accounts in an effort to spotlight mental health concerns.
Social media companies are, as you know, under growing pressure and scrutiny for how they are affecting teenagers. The change for Lush starts
on Friday, when most companies will use social media to drive one of the biggest U.S. shopping days of the year.
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