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Connect the World

WHO Warns Europe Once Again At Epicenter Of Pandemic; Jury Begins Deliberations In Murder Trial In Ahmaud Arbery's Killing; Turkey Hosts Emirati Crown Prince As They Seek To Mend Ties; Fearing New Russian Threat, Ukraine Races To Upgrade Its Navy; Olaf Scholz To Succeed Angela Merkel As German Chancellor. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired November 24, 2021 - 10:00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:27]

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Dragging the unvaccinated to the ICU, the German Health Minister uses more violent language to try to turn the tide

against COVID. I'll talk to a top German doctor about the situation in his country.

Mending ties, Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince arrives in Turkey to put in three- decade long feud with Ankara. Plus, CNN gets exclusive access to some of the world's most contested waters as Ukraine prepares for a possible

Russian invasion.

It is 7:00 p.m. in Abu Dhabi, I'm Becky Anderson. Hello and welcome to Connect The World. A new dire warning from the World Health Organization on

Europe's COVID situation.

Last week, 60 percent of all reported global cases and deaths were once again in Europe. Moments ago, the Director General had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR GENERAL, WHO: The sheer number of cases is translating to unsustainable pressure on health systems and

exhausted health workers. In many countries and communities, we're concerned about the false sense of security, that vaccines have ended the

pandemic and that people who are vaccinated do not need to take any other precautions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, he said as you can hear that the more vaccines do save lives. They are concerned about that false sense of security that vaccines

provide even places with relatively high vaccination rates are being forced to impose new restrictions and lockdowns.

France has insisted it doesn't need to go into another lockdown, but its incident rate is climbing. As you can see here French government officials

are now talking about imposing new restrictions.

Germany just saw its highest ever single day surge of infections. And as of today, employees are required to present a proof of vaccination and

negative COVID test or proof of recovery, otherwise, they won't be paid.

And the likely next chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz says the new coalition government will be considering making vaccinations mandatory.

Barbie Nadeau is across the story for us. And she joins me now live.

A really worrying words from the WHO chief, saying that vaccines are providing a false sense of security. Is that what we are witnessing across

the continent at this point?

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, it sure seems like that, you know, you've got low vaccine rates all across Europe and you've got people that

aren't getting their booster shots. And that's a deadly combination. Nobody wants to have this sort of deja vu where we had last year going into the

holiday season with lockdowns and things like that.

But you see Austria under full lockdown for the vaccinated and unvaccinated. Germany now following the steps that Italy took, if you want

to collect a paycheck, you're going to have to prove that you have vaccinated or you have to pay for your own test or prove that you've

recovered from it.

It's really troubling when we're going into this winter season when people want to gather indoors don't have a choice, but together indoors if they're

going to gather at all. I think everyone thought would be over this by now, Becky.

ANDERSON: Yes, France repeatedly suggesting it doesn't want to go into another lockdown. But there are discussions about new restrictions. Germany

where there is now a new coalition government possibly looking to make vaccinations mandatory. What do we know at this point?

NADEAU: Well, the vaccinations becoming mandatory. That's something that's also going to happen in Austria as of February 1st. Now, that doesn't sit

well with a lot of people. We've seen all across Europe, people protesting mandatory vaccines or anything that looks like a mandatory vaccine.

Now, this new government coming into Germany making this sort of sort of mandate their promise are going to get everyone vaccinated. It doesn't sit

well when we just heard with the WHO head said that vaccines give a false sense of security. You have an argument people saying well, why do I need

to take it then when in fact, you know, everybody needs the vaccine, they need the booster. People who got the first vaccines months ago now have

waning immunity.

Here in Italy, they've just shortened the length of time between the last dose and the booster to five months, down from six months, just trying to

encourage people to get it vaccine.

[10:05:00]

They're talking here in Italy's well about this sort of supergreen past where you -- it's not enough to have a vaccination, you have to have the

booster. You have to have a test in order to enjoy some of the leisure activities that people sort of desperately miss here across Europe. Becky.

ANDERSON: Barbie, thank you for that. Barbie Nadeau on the wider Europe story. I want to just hone in on Germany at this point. One of Germany's

top virologists, Professor Hendrik Streeck, Director of the Institute of Virology at the University Hospital in Bonn joins us now. Sir, why is it

that we are seeing this latest surge, not least in the country where you are?

HENDRIK STREECK, DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE OF VIROLOGY, UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL BONN: Well, good afternoon, I think our new search in new cases, which is really

the highest number have ever had, and Germany is multifactorial. We have on the one hand side the summer break where we had really low numbers, people

got vaccinated and had the feeling the pandemic is over. At the same time we had the elections. So be focused on many other topics but did not focus

on the pandemic and did not prepare for the winter.

So in the summertime, a lot of experts including me were warning the government that we will have a surge in the fall. But yet at the same time,

the sense of the pandemic is over due to the low numbers. And the vaccinated people are kind of taking themselves out of the equation and it

gives us false sense of security.

So it's multifactorial, but now we have to deal with as high numbers of cases.

ANDERSON: Why is it that vaccination rates are in Germany, not as high as they are in other places?

STREECK: Well, traditionally, in Germany, there's a little bit more skepticism on vaccines than in other countries in the world. So we are also

seeing for other vaccines lower vaccination rate.

But at the same time, I think there's some skepticism about the new way of vaccination about mRNA vaccination. And there had been one study suggesting

that the trust in the government and how they dealing with a pandemic was lower than in other countries also playing into a skepticism for

vaccination.

ANDERSON: German Health Minister has been pretty blunt in his criticism of those who haven't been vaccinated. You told German media you don't agree

with the bleak warning about the virus. Pretty much everyone in Germany will be vaccinated, recovered or dead by the end of the year.

And sure, I mean, this was blunt. He's also gone on to say he wishes he could drag every unvaccinated German to the ICU departments so that people

would understand exactly what is going on.

If you don't like that sort of blunt language, how do you socialize a message at this point to those who simply don't seem to be as concerned as

they might be?

STREECK: Well, it is true that it was a very blunt message, but scientifically spoken, it's just not true that everybody after this fall

and winter will be either recovered vaccinated or dead. Because how it works is currently that we have an estimate infection rate of 1 million per

week, this is including those cases we are not currently finding by testing. So, but this also includes the vaccinated individuals.

So roughly 1 percent of the population is currently being getting contact to the virus in a week. And what we are seeing already that the growth not

the number of cases, but the growth of cases is decreasing. So we have this slow decrease in in the growth of cases, which is kind of shaping this

wave, but it also means to prepare for the next wave.

So it might happen that in the next spring or in the fall, next fall of next year, we will have again a surge. So it kind of rather speaks to this

advice rather speaks to --

ANDERSON: Right.

STREECK: -- like you have to prepare long term than only the short-term vaccination program.

ANDERSON: There's two questions here, aren't there really, the WHO head has issued a really stark warning he said that, you know, majority of cases

that they are seeing at present of COVID are in Europe. He says while vaccines save lives, they are concerned about the false sense of security

that vaccines provide.

So there's a real warning there that, you know, get vaccinated but be aware that social distancing, wearing a mask and all that sort of thing is still

important.

[10:10:05]

The other big outstanding question really is this. And this speaks to the work that you do. How many hospitalizations? How many deaths are we seeing

in this surge compared to the cases? And how concerned are you about the about the strength of the virus that people are catching at this point?

STREECK: Well, let's put it this way, if we hadn't had the vaccine program, and if he hadn't had the vaccines, our health system would have collapsed

with this surge of new cases. The vaccination prevents the people from getting really sick in the majority of cases and prevents them of dying

from COVID-19.

So overall, the issue is that we need to get more people vaccinated to prevent of the ICUs of just being overrun by COVID-19 cases. But at the

same time, we also need to get the message out that people who are vaccinated as still part of the pandemic can get infected, and can transmit

the virus to someone else. They're just protected from a very serious illness.

ANDERSON: What more are you learning about this virus? And what is outstanding to your, to your mind at this point? What don't you know that

you need to know?

STREECK: Well, I think for Germany, what we don't really understand right now is how many of the vaccinated people are actually getting infected are

transmitting the virus to someone else. And how much we -- these are actually part of the pandemic equation currently. And there had been some

really great publication currently from the NIH coming out showing to have a real correlate of protection. And this is a key point that was missing.

And in the Washington DC colleagues basically just published it this week.

And so this will help us to better understand the who of the vaccinated people can still transmit the virus can be infected, and who is actually

truly protected. And we might be able to develop new tests based on this knowledge that we can actually understand who will be really protected from

infection and who is not.

ANDERSON: How concerned are you about this latest surge, frankly, shutting the country down again?

STREECK: Well, what I'm seeing currently is that the people are getting tired of having all the restrictions and talking about the pandemic and

talking about COVID-19. And I would have hoped that we would prepare more for the marathon, then currently going from one sprint to the other.

And I -- what I'm concerned about that is that people are just starting to ignore the measures, the restriction and at one point, we will basically

fall behind and a half will basically have too high numbers. In some parts of the countries, we already have to start more restrictions like in

Bavaria or Saxony. They started to slow on their restrictions against this virus. And I'm hoping that other states of Germany will start much sooner

and much quicker to bring the numbers down again.

ANDERSON: With that, we'll leave it there. We thank you very much indeed for your analysis and your insight.

Jurors have begun their second day of deliberations in the Ahmaud Arbery murder trial, three white men are facing felony charges in the killing of

Arbery. A black man they chased in their cars before one of them shot him fatally.

Men say it was an act of self-defencse and have pleaded not guilty. On Tuesday, the nearly all white jury told the judge they were in the process

of working to reach a verdict. All eyes on the case which centers on self- defense and race in America. We'll get you the latest on that verdict just as soon as it is reached.

Here with Connect the World ahead on the show, the meeting between Turkey's president and Abu Dhabi's crown prince that not too long ago, many would

have thought impossible what's behind the warming relations.

Then CNN on the high seas seeing what Ukraine is doing about a growing Russian threat. Our exclusive coverage is just ahead.

And there are so many movies about saving the world but NASA is trying to make it a reality. See its new mission to save planet Earth later this

hour.

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[10:17:13]

ANDERSON: From adversaries to friends or release moving along that path, UAE while I am based on Turkey building or rebuilding a very damaged

diplomatic bridge, the push for reconciliation coming after years of tension dating back to the Arab Spring all leading to what is today's

meeting between the Turkish president and Abu Dhabi's crown prince, that meeting taking place in Ankara. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh based in Turkey

joins me now live. And is it clear at this point Jomana what is on the table?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, just in the past few hours, we've seen the Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed arrive in

Ankara receiving the royal reception with President Erdogan at the presidential palace complex, quite stunning, really to see these images for

anyone who has followed this relationship closely, especially over the past few years.

Now, in the past hour right before we came up live, we've seen live pictures of signing ceremonies. You've got a really big delegation on both

sides signing cooperation agreements in various fields very high up on the agenda, Becky, for Turkey, for president Erdogan is economic cooperation.

They are really hoping to get some Emirati investment, Emirati money pumped into the country soon the Turkish economy right now is in free fall. The

Turkish Lira, the currency, are so volatile and had one of its worst days in history this week, but no matter what comes out of this meeting, just

the fact that they are attempting this reset just the optics of this meeting so significant. Something as you mentioned earlier, no one would

have thought possible just a few months ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARADSHEH (voice-over): It was a stunning development, the UAE's national security adviser in Ankara this summer meeting with the Turkish president.

What followed even more stunning, a phone call between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the UAE's de facto ruler Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed

bin Zayed.

A senior Emirati official describing the call is quite positive and friendly, based on a new phase in which the UAE seeks to build bridges,

maximize commonalities and work together with friends and brothers to ensure future decades or for regional stability.

This week, the two leaders are meeting for the first time in years.

YUSUF ERIM, MENA AND TURKEY FOREIGN POLICY EXPERT: The reconciliation that I saw the least likely or the most problems divergent interests was the UAE

Turkey relationship. So this type of fast forwarding of the rest conciliation process leading to a top level meeting is definitely

surprising.

[10:20:05]

KARADSHEH: The rift emerged with the so called Arab Spring with Turkey support for popular uprisings in groups close to the Muslim Brotherhood,

putting it at odds with Middle Eastern monarchies including the UAE view these movements as a threat to their own rule.

Tensions continued to rise with Turkish officials accusing the UAE of supporting the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey. And in 2017, it was Turkey that

extended a lifeline to Qatar when its Gulf neighbors tried to isolate Doha. The rivalry between the two regional powers played out through their

expansionist foreign policy across the Middle East and Africa, where it unfolded dangerously in Libya's devastating proxy war.

(on camera): But the dynamics across the region are starting to change with clear geopolitical shifts from cutters reconciliation with the Saudi led

alliance to longtime foes Saudi Arabia and Iran engaged in diplomatic talks. The UAE and Iran are also trying to deescalate tensions. And it

seems Turkey is on a diplomatic spree, trying to mend ties with Saudi Arabia and Egypt and now bitter rival the UAE.

ERIM: There's a lot of changing regional dynamics that are leading actors in the region to reformulate and recalibrate their foreign policies now,

the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden, the Aramco attack on Saudi Arabia by Iran-backed militia, the withdrawal of American forces from

Afghanistan, led by the Taliban takeover, the perception of less U.S. engagement in the region of return to the Iran nuclear deal. These are all

factors that are leading these countries to reformulate their strategies.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): For Turkey, this is not just about mending fences. It is very much about the dire state of its economy, with inflation near 20

percent. And its currency the lira at an all-time low.

ERIM: President added one came to power in 2002 on the back of positive economic policies. He stayed in power due to the economy, so a weaker

economy before 2023 elections is definitely something he doesn't want and the Emiratis have the money to be able to provide a booster shot for the

Turkish economy.

KARADSHEH: Before relations sour, Turkey was one of the UAE s biggest trade partners in both sides are hoping to pick up where they left off with the

Gulf state already eyeing more investment opportunities in Turkey.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARADSHEH: Becky, no one is expecting one high level meeting to really resolve a decade long feud in a very complicated one. But there's a lot of

hope that this could be the start of something good, that this could be perhaps the beginning of the end of this rivalry, a real rivalry that

continues to reverberate across this region and far beyond, Becky.

ANDERSON: Turkish economy certainly do with some help. Jomana, thank you for that. Jomana Karadsheh on the story for you. Well, a new security alert

from the U.S. State Department. The U.S. Embassy in Kiev is warning Americans of what it calls unusual Russian military activity near Ukraine's

borders, fearing a potential Russian invasion. Kiev isn't taking any chances, it's pressing ahead with upgrades to its navy.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen got a rare look at work underway at a naval base and centers this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On patrol in some of the most contested waters in the world, Ukraine's Navy

took us on an artillery boat in the Sea of Azov, just as tensions with Russia have reached a boiling point.

Our main goal is to defend and keep the sovereignty of Ukraine from the direction of the sea, the captain tells me. Russia has been massing troops

near Ukraine's borders. The U.S. says warning its allies, a large scale invasion could happen soon.

(on camera): The Ukrainians believe that if Russia does decide to launch an attack of the Sea of Azov could be one of the main battleground. That's why

the Ukrainians are both modernizing their fleet, but also their infrastructure on land as well.

(voice-over): The rise of coastline holds a strategic value to Russia. It would allow President Vladimir Putin to establish a much sought land

corridor to connect Russia to annexed Crimea. Ukraine's defense ministry gave us rare access to the massive construction going on at the Berdyansk

Naval Base. Kiev has now ordered this building program to urgently be accelerated with the Russian threat looming large.

(on camera): In order to complete this project as quick as possible the Ukrainian military tells us they are now working seven days a week and they

say once it's finished, it will offer a formidable deterrent against any Russian aggression.

[10:25:00]

Upgrade seemed badly needed here with much of Berdyansk's port in other disrepair. Ukraine says new facilities will allow them to base more and

bigger ships here.

We are ready, this officer says, that is why we are here so that at any time if there's any aggression on the Azov Sea, we can resist it.

Ukraine's president says Russia has positioned close to 100,000 troops near its borders, which the Kremlin denies.

These satellite images appearing to show dozens of military vehicles near Yelnya in southwestern Russia. The Biden administration has warned Moscow

not to attack and is mulling more weapons deliveries to Kiev. CNN has learned one US defense official says Russia's aim may be to create

confusion or to get concessions.

The Kremlin dismissed talk of a possible invasion as hysteria. But Vladimir Putin also issued a clear warning.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We need to consider that Western partners worsen the situation by delivering to Kiev modern

lethal weapons and provocative exercises in the Black Sea. And not only there but also other regions close to our borders.

PLEITGEN: Ukraine's armed forces say they are on constant alert, preparing for an armed confrontation they hope can be avoided. Fred Pleitgen, CNN,

Berdyansk, Ukraine.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

ANDERSON: When Connect the World returns, Germany as a new government coming in but an old problem. We're going to tell you how the next

chancellor plans to battle the COVID pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And liftoff of the Falcon 9 at DART on NASA's first --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: NASA is launching very expensive mission to test the theory. What theory? We'll tell you about that in a few minutes time. You're watching

Connect the World. I'm Becky Anderson. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. You're watching Connect the World. It is just before her past seven in the evening.

Germany's top health official is it seems incandescent with rage at the unvaccinated. We've been telling you the country is suffering through a

very rough fourth wave reporting its highest single day surge of COVID infections today Wednesday.

And the German Health Minister says he would in his words like to drag the unvaccinated to an intensive care unit.

Jens Spahn is now a caretaker minister more on that in a moment, but he's not ruling out a partial lockdown. You'll know from watching this program

that Europe's biggest economy has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Western Europe when the pandemic was front and center Germany's incoming --

as Germany's incoming Chancellor unveiled plans for the future just a short time ago.

[10:30:12]

Social Democrat Olaf Scholz says his coalition might make vaccines mandatory. Scholz is set to be the country's next chancellor after his

party reached a power sharing agreement earlier with the Free Democrats and the Greens. The deal needs to be approved by party members and by the

Bundestag, but Scholz is expected to replace Angela Merkel who ruled Germany for 16 years.

Well, CNN's Anna Stewart has been following the coalition negotiations and she joins us now live. And this is important stuff. This, of course, is the

engine of growth in Europe. The change in in the guard in Germany is important. It will be consequential, how?

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: It's incredibly important to have, as you said, it's Europe's engine. And particularly with a pandemic raging and needing

to have, you know, European nations coming together to agree policies like the recovery package requires strong German leadership. And actually, they

probably will have that in Olaf Scholz given he has been the finance minister of Germany since 2018. And he took a key role actually in bringing

together for instance, the EU pandemic package.

But Becky, what's been so interesting about this coalition, a three-way coalition, and they are not natural bedfellows, these three. They've got a

very different stance. You've got the center left SPD, you've got the business friendly FTP, which often compared more to some of the

conservative parties, and then you've got the Green Party.

Now all three agree, for instance, that climates needs to be front and center accelerating a transition to a greener source of energy. They all

sort of agreed that during their campaign, but how to finance it is where it all fell apart. And while there were plenty of smiles today, as the

party leaders headed into this press conference over the last two months, I suspect they've been somewhat short of smiles.

The FDP, the pro-business party, they didn't want to see taxes rise. They want to rein in government spending. They want a reimposition of the so

called debt break. The Green Party wanted lots and lots of spending.

Now we don't have all the detail bear on how some of this is going to be financed. But we do have some really extraordinary sort of headlines coming

out of the press conferences, which only just ended. For instance, Germany may consider, Becky, making COVID vaccines mandatory and given they are

facing such a terrible fourth wave of Coronavirus infections, you can see why they're considering that policy. They're also going to accelerate their

green transition phasing out coal they say they hope by 2030, which is actually eight years earlier than the original plan. And there are a whole

range of policies including legalizing cannabis in shops, Becky.

ANDERSON: Fascinating. We'll do more on what is going on in Germany with regard COVID in the next hour for the time being. Anna, thank you. Let's

get you up to speed focus on some of the other stories that are on our radar.

Right now and the UK has joined several other European nations in urging its citizens to get out of Ethiopia while they still can. Now that call for

evacuations comes as Ethiopian TV showed pictures of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, arriving on the front lines to lead the fight against Tigray rebels.

North Macedonia and Bulgaria have declared national days of mourning for the victims of a bus accident in Bulgaria. At least 45 people including 12

children are killed. Bulgarian official said there was an explosion on the bus but it's unclear why, it was returning tourists to North Macedonia from

Turkey.

The suspect in the Wisconsin Christmas parade rampage is expected to face another charge now that a sick victim, a child has died from his injuries.

Darrell Brooks made its first court appearance on Tuesday. He is currently charged with five counts of first degree intentional homicide.

Now, nearly two years virtually sealed off from the world, New Zealand plans to gradually reopen but only to those who aren't fully vaccinated.

Displaced New Zealanders can go home from January the 16th onwards while tourists can enter from April the 30th.

We'll get you to a maritime mystery now. Ships in Chinese waters are disappearing from global tracking systems. It comes as China tightens its

data laws and grows more isolated from the world. CNN's Steven Jiang has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF (on camera): Out of say they started noticing this problem towards the end of October. Normally shipping data

providers are able to track vessels around the world because something that's called AIS, Automatic Identification System. Those transceivers on

ships enable them to send information including its position, speed, course and name two stations based along coastlines via high frequency radio.

[10:35:06]

But in the past three weeks, the number of ships sending this information from mainland China, which is home to six of the world's top 10 container

ports dropped a whopping 90 percent and industry analysts think they know the answer. That's because of a newly enacted Chinese data privacy law that

took effect on November 1.

Now, this law requires all companies processing data to seek and receive government approval before such information can be sent outside of Chinese

soil apparently over the fear that such information can fall into the hands of foreign governments.

Now, this law does not specifically mentioned shipping data. But experts think Chinese providers may just want to err on the side of overcaution

with one expert telling CNN that some stations along Chinese coastlines were removed in the beginning of November and that order of national

security authorities.

We asked the Chinese government about this and the foreign ministry in a statement sent to us on Wednesday claimed that all legally built stations

and in accordance with international treaties have not been shut down. And quote unquote, they're operating normally, as well as are publicly

available AIS platforms.

Now, of course, satellites could still capture information from ships when AI systems are not working. But when the ship is close to shore information

captured by satellites is not as accurate as those scattered from the ground. And that of course, is critically important for the global shipping

industry, which needs accurate and timely information to streamline its operations and improve port efficiency.

That, of course, is why the disappearing Chinese shipping data, according to many experts is going to cause a major negative impact on this industry,

which is already mired in a global supply chain crisis, with badly congested ports struggling to cope with fast rebounding demand for products

and goods especially ahead of the busy Christmas season.

Now all of this, according to experts, actually perhaps not surprising because the government's determination to retain absolute control over data

and information inside Chinese borders is the latest reflection of the country's growing isolation from the rest of the world and the leadership's

deepening mistrust of foreign influence. Steven Jiang, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

ANDERSON: Still ahead for you tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three, two, one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Change the course of a killer asteroid headed straight for Earth. We'll get you NASA's solution after this.

And a memorable goal in the middle of a snowstorm details in our Sports Update.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:07]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This new one you're tracking, how big?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's what we call a global killer. Nothing will survive. Not even bacteria.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: United States government just asked us to save the world. Anybody want to say no?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think we'll get hazard pay?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Imagine that in real life. NASA apparently has so if a killer asteroid is hurtling towards us on Earth, how do you change its course and

save humanity. Overnight, the Space Agency launched first of its kind mission to find out. Kristin Fisher had the detail.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three, two, one. And liftoff of the Falcon 9 and DART.

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The launch of NASA's first ever planetary defense mission instead of carrying

satellites, telescopes or people, this SpaceX Falcon nine rocket is launching a spacecraft to test a technology that someday could save the

world.

BILL NELSON, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: It may be the way to save planet Earth if there's ever an inbound big asteroid that could really challenge our

existence as a planet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what we call a global killer.

FISHER: Even NASA Administrator Bill Nelson agrees it sounds like a scene out of the movie Armageddon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: United States government just asked us to save the world. Anybody want to say no?

FISHER: But instead of destroying a killer asteroid with a bomb like Bruce Willis, NASA's DART mission short for the Double Asteroid Redirection Test

is using something called Kinetic Deflection. That's a scientific way of saying that this DART spacecraft is on a kamikaze mission to smash into an

asteroid and try to push it off course.

NELSON: If it's successful, then if we had a real inbound killer asteroid, we could do that with it, and it would miss us.

FISHER: It'll take the DART spacecraft 10 months to reach its target the Didymos asteroid and it's moonlit, which is about the size of the Pyramid

of Giza in Egypt. It's so far away that NASA says it will not create a dangerous debris field in low Earth orbit. Like last week's test of a

Russian anti-satellite weapon.

NELSON: The DART mission is creating an explosion and debris field way out millions of miles in space where it is not harming anything.

FISHER (on camera): Now, this asteroid is not a threat to Earth. Nor is any other asteroid that we know of though it's likely only a matter of time,

but just in case NASA did invite Bruce Willis to this launch. Kristin Fisher, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, the theory of relativity isn't cheap. Some notes Albert Einstein made as he developed his scientific breakthrough sold out a Paris

auction for more than $13 million. The manuscript is 54 pages and written by both Einstein and Swiss engineer Michele Besso. The buyer or buyers are

also very smart since they chose to remain anonymous.

Well it has been a tense game as the snow fell but Byaern Munich edged two- one past Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League the most exciting moment was this when Lewandowski struck a spectacular overhead kick. That is was a

real beauty. Bundesliga champions understandably elated. A call that boys own stuff, don't they, Amanda?

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS: I think Becky --

ANDERSON: I didn't say you shot like that.

DAVIES: Becky, it was going to take something special to follow deflecting asteroids and Albert Einstein, wasn't it/ But I think Robert Lewandowski

here --

ANDERSON: Not bad.

DAVIES: -- manages to do it. I mean a cold snowy night, half of his team, half a dozen players in quarantine because of COVID restrictions, he

certainly kept them entertained with that goal. An absolute stunner. He is on fire this season, nine nice Champions League game that he's scored on

the bounce. A great night for his side and we've got plenty more action coming away in just a couple of minutes.

ANDERSON: Lovely, good stuff. Thanks, Amanda. That's World Sport. We will be back with the second hour of Connect the World after that. Stay with us,

please.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:46:07]

DAVIES: Hi, thanks for joining us. Welcome along to World Sport live from London with me Amanda Davis.

Mauricio Pochettino has arrived in Manchester, no, not to take up that job but united that it's caused so much speculation yet at least but instead to

take charge of Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League Group A and counter against Manchester City.

There's been talk that the Argentine hasn't been entirely happy in Paris. He only joined PSG in January. They are currently top of league in France,

but a winless in their past three away games in the Champions League and talk of a potential move to Old Trafford has really ramped up since Ole

Gunnar Solskjaer left the club on Sunday but Pochettino insisted in is pretty much pre-press conference that he is focused on the job in hand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAURICIO POCHETTINO, PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN MANAGER: I am so happy and Paris Saint-Germain and, you know, I am focused in to try to give my best like we

are doing. I was playing in Paris Saint-Germain. I love the club. I love the fans. I think it's a fantastic time to be on the club. We are fighting

in the Premier League. My finish 11, 10 points the difference in the league and we are fighting for that. So we are fighting now in the Champions

League to qualify for again Manchester City. I think, yes, I think we need to be focusing that. That is my priority and that is my responsibility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVIES: That was what Pochettino had to say, how much do we believe him? Earlier on I spoke to CNN Senior sport analyst Darren Lewis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARREN LEWIS, CNN SENIOR SPORTS ANALYST: He's saying all the right things but my understanding Amanda isn't just that he wants to join Manchester

United. My understanding is talks are already underway between United and PSG.

And the reason is very simple. Yes, they are second in their Champions League group, as you were saying a second ago, they are top of the French

league 11 points clear, but he has had criticism for his style of play. He has had a culture at PSG where the three superstar egos Messi, Neymar, and

Mbappe. They don't always play for the team.

And I know from speaking to Pochettino here in England, where he managed spurs in Southampton, just how much he values a team with a strong

defensive base. He made Southampton one of the toughest teams to beat in the Premier League spurts (ph) at the best defense for two seasons in a

row.

But at PSG, Amanda, they concede on average a goal a game. That's before you even get to the fractious relationship that he has with the sporting

director, Leonardo. He fell out with Thomas Tuchel, of course, who went on to Chelsea and won the Champions League. At United, Pochettino would have

far more of a team structure, terrific young players coming through. And of course, he believes the Premier League still to be the best league in the

world.

So yes, he is open to an offer, and the ball is indeed in United's court.

DAVIES: Well, let's talk a little bit more about United on the pitch. They of course were on action last night. Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon

Sancho giving Michael Carrick his first win as a manager, however temporary that might be. But I mean, what did you make of what you saw? Was there

anything fundamentally different from the social days?

LEWIS: Absolutely. We saw last night Amanda that United side was simply not performing for (INAUDIBLE), but then down woken up again. Last night, I

tell you why, last night was the first time they've prevented the opposition from scoring in 15 matches stretching back to the end of August.

It was Ronaldo's 140 Champions League goal and we saw Jadon Sancho's first for the club. He didn't score under Solskjaer.

Carrick has already managed to get more out of him and United than Solskjaer did for the last two months. They were much improved. Just a word

on Ronaldo if I can, Amanda because his goal last night was the third time he's scored a match winning goal in the final 15 minutes of a Champions

League game.

[10:50:02]

This season excluding extra time it's the most by a player in a single season final 15 minutes of a Champions League game this season, excluding

extra time, it's the most by a player in a single season in the competition. As I said last night to Patrick, he doesn't just need a number

on his back. He needs an S on his chest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVIES: Up next, triumph over adversity how the new NASCAR champion took full advantage of a second chance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS: Why do you think you didn't deserve a second chance?

KYLE LARSON, NASCAR CHAMPION: I think just because you're I'd let so many people down. I feel embarrassed the sport.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DAVIES: On Monday, NASCAR champion Kyle Larson returned home to Elk Grove in Sacramento to a hero's welcome just over two weeks after the 29-year-old

claimed his first cup series crown. They declared November the 22nd as Kyle Larson day in the area, quite a turnaround from where he was 18 months ago

having been suspended after using a racial slur during a live stream. He's been reflecting on a roller coaster a couple of years with my CNN Sport

colleague Coy Wire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARSON: I've had a lot of success these last two years and it almost feels like I'm in some sort of dream. Just a lot of relief, really the journey

that it took to get to that point, I can't believe the last 18 months were the lowest lows to the highest highs has been crazy.

WIRE: Your iRacing use the N word to talk to one of your colleagues. And he didn't realize there was a broader audience listening. You lost your

sponsors. You got suspended. You said he didn't know if you'd ever make it back. What kind of mental space were you in during that time?

LARSON: I was definitely, you know, dark for sure. Getting all the hate messages and stuff and knowing that I just embarrassed myself, my family,

my friends, you know, a whole community of people. It just was definitely a dark place.

WIRE: What I found interesting was that you said it was ignorance. You use that word because you didn't understand truly how hurtful, how negative

that word was. And I think a lot of people would want to know more about that. Because in this day and age, maybe they would say that's not really a

good enough excuse.

LARSON: Yes, well, I mean, I knew it was -- I knew it was a hurtful word but surrounding myself there for a short period of time with just, you

know, you a little bit of bad influence led to the ignorance. So yes, I just, yes, I've learned so much ever since that night getting to talk to so

many different African Americans and learning their experiences for months. I was doing stuff every week whether it be doing stuff in the community or

just having conversations. I just wanted to educate myself and I'm in a way glad that I kind of went through all of that because it's grown me into a

much more mature person with a whole new perspective on so many different things.

WIRE: One of the people I know you've spoken to Bubba Wallace what were those conversations like?

LARSON: It was tough. Immediately after the, you know, mistake I made I mean within a couple minutes I had given him an a text apologizing and, you

know, finally got to talk to him and that --

WIRE: What was his initial response when you reached out/

LARSON: Just disappointed, you know, that that I would, you know, allow myself to make mistake like that. So yes, I'm glad that, you know, he as

well as so many people were able to forgive me.

[10:55:04]

And then you're getting the chance with their Kendrick (ph). I've never felt like once I got back that this was a redemption to or anything just a

great opportunity for me to use my platform to show people that have learned from my mistakes. So, I'm a lucky person to get this opportunity.

The second chance that I don't really necessarily think that I should have gotten.

WIRE: Why do you think you didn't deserve a second chance?

LARSON: I think just because, you know, I'd let so many people down. I, you know, embarrassed the sport that I was competing in and made a huge

mistake. You know, I was accepting of the fact that, you know, I probably won't ever race in it again. So, just thankful that I did get the second

chance and I was able to do good things through it.

WIRE: Your part Japanese. I am too. When I was growing up, I had racial slurs directed at me. I was called shovel face and slanted eyes. And

sometimes I would laugh it off, but every time it hurt. Did you ever experience anything like that growing up?

LARSON: Nothing stands out to me that I did. Maybe, you know, I had at times but I think probably you laughed it off or whatever. I know my mom

has. My grandparents were in internment camps. I know they dealt with it a lot. So again, for me to use a racial slur like that was super embarrassing

because, you know, my family has, you know, dealt with it, you know, firsthand.

WIRE: You're the first driver of Asian descent to win a Cup Series championship. How do you think you might impact future generations of

diversity within the sport as well?

LARSON: It's definitely a great honor to be the first Asian American to win a NASCAR Cup Series Championship. It's not something that I set out to

accomplish, you know, in that way. But now that I have like, I know that I hold a much bigger role in the Asian community.

So, I feel like I'm doing something positive for the sport and bringing new fans to NASCAR. So, I hope now that I'm a champion, it's going to explode

but it's definitely been an honor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVIES: That's Kyle Larson talking to Coy Wire, a very busy night of Champions League action ahead, and of course, (INAUDIBLE) team will be here

with you throughout the rest of the day with all the latest. But that's it from us for now, back to you, Becky.

ANDERSON: Thank you very much indeed. You are watching CNN and Connect the World. We'll be back after this short break. Do stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:02]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi. This is Connect the World with Becky Anderson.

END