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Thousands Pay Respects to Queen Elizabeth II; Russia Attacks Ukrainian Reservoir with No Military Value; Putin and Xi Meet at Regional Summit; Queen Elizabeth Lying in State in Westminster Hall until Monday's Funeral; Queen Witnessed Crumbing of British Power in Middle East; Controversy over Upcoming Marvel Film with Israeli Superhero. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired September 15, 2022 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): I am Becky Anderson. It is 3:00 pm here in London. You are watching CNN's special coverage, remembering Queen
Elizabeth II.
A total honor to be here, that is what mourners have been telling us. They've lined up in the thousands to pay their final respects to Queen
Elizabeth II. Some waited through the night. The queues stretching for several kilometers along the River Thames behind me, getting longer across
the British capital.
This is the first full day of the queen's lying in state in Westminster Hall, a last chance to say farewell to a much loved monarch. Buckingham
Palace just releasing more details of Monday's state funeral. We will take you to the palace in just a moment.
A short time ago, the Prince and Princess of Wales went to greet well- wishers outside Sandringham estate, the center of royal family Christmas gatherings for many years.
CNN's Anna Stewart is with the long line of mourners waiting to pay their respects. CNN's royal correspondent Max Foster is standing by at Buckingham
Palace.
Max, let's start with you. Talk us through what we know about the events happening over the next several days.
MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: Tomorrow night will be very poignant when we see the three children of the late monarch standing at each corner
of the coffin there as it lies at Westminster Hall.
I think the public who are passing at that time will have a quite extraordinary moment in history. It will last about 15 minutes. But I think
the world will be watching what happens at 7:30 local time on Friday.
Then a very big event here, quite an extraordinary event here on Sunday. All of the heads of state are coming to the funeral, the list is long and
it just keeps coming. It does feel as is most heads of state will be coming to the funeral on Monday. There will be a reception for Buckingham Palace.
They think this will be the largest reception or group gathering of heads of state in modern history. That is all ahead of the funeral on Monday,
which will comprise of the service at Westminster Abbey, 11 o'clock local time; a 2 minute silence at the end of it before the procession comes past
us here.
It goes up to Wellington Arch, with the royal family walking behind. Then there will be a road procession over to Windsor, when the royal family will
rejoin it and walk the coffin up to the chapel, St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, where the queen will be laid to rest alongside her late
husband, Prince Philip.
There will be a much smaller service there, mainly household staff I think, people very close to the queen and members, of course, of the royal family.
The ultimate moment when she is buried alongside her parents and her sister and Prince Philip in the chapel alongside the main chapel there at St.
George's but most of it we will see. I think it will be a long, very poignant, very ceremonial day, Becky.
ANDERSON: Max is outside of Buckingham Palace. I just want to bring up a graphic here that will give us a sense of just how long the queue of
mourners is at present.
As I understand it, Anna, we are looking at 4.5 miles. For my money that is about 6-odd kilometers, snaking it all the way to what is known as
Bermondsey Beach to the east of where we are now. It is busy.
What is the atmosphere like amongst those who are queuing to pay their respects?
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the queue is much longer today, Becky. Yesterday we were much further down at the end of the queue. Now it
stretches beyond Tower Bridge. We are catching all the sights of London through these very long queues.
Past the bridge and then snakes around, a bit of a zigzag, a lot of queue infrastructure trying to maximize the space as much as possible. Actually,
in terms of infrastructure there is enough room for 10 miles of queuing. Everyone ready to see these queues grow if anything.
I was hoping to bring some people for you to speak to you, Becky. They have stops and starts in terms of the people. More coming up here, you can see
they have wristbands here, which means they can leave the queue if they need to get a coffee or go to the bathroom.
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STEWART: So many people were queuing here all night long. Thankfully, it did not rain. In terms of the mood, I would say it has been pretty
positive. I think once people go into Westminster Hall, of course, it'll be a very somber moment. But --
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STEWART: How long have you been queuing for?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, at least an hour, oh, no; two hours, probably.
STEWART: Are you being positive?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.
STEWART: I won't let you lose your place.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, of course. Yes.
STEWART: Why is it so important --
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we wanted to show our respects to the queen who was a marvelous, marvelous woman.
STEWART: Thanks very much, good luck with the rest of the queue.
How long you've been queuing, about an hour?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE), 2.5 hours.
STEWART: How long do you think it will take.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I started 12:30.
STEWART: I'm told, Becky, it will be about six hours from here. The queues are getting longer. For all we know, it could slow up as so many people,
volunteers, marshals, police helping the queue along, helping people to get through, making sure everyone feels comfortable.
ANDERSON: That is Tower Bridge behind you. For any of our viewers who know London they will be well aware of just how long that walk will be. As you
say, it is going pretty quickly. A very positive mood by those who we have been speaking to throughout the night.
As you say, it has been chilly today. But the weather has held. At least it hasn't been raining. There have been questions, Anna, from the public about
what happens to the queen's wealth now. You have some answers, as I understand it.
STEWART: In many ways, we are sort of in a big transitional week --
(AUDIO GAP)
STEWART: -- titles he has taken on at this stage, a huge amount of wealth and assets. It is quite hard to delve into how much the royal family owned,
what the queen's owned and who inherits what. But here is what we have found out.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: King Charles arrived by special train when he made his two-day tour of the Duchy of Cornwall.
STEWART (voice-over): A centuries-old estate; it's now a $1 billion-plus inheritance.
When Prince William became the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cornwall, he took on a lot more than titles. He inherits the sprawling Duchy of Cornwall
estate from his father, which covers almost 140,000 acres, mostly across the southwest of England.
Last year, its accounts valued the estate at $1.2 billion and, as the new king, Charles will inherit a lot more.
Royal wills are not made public so what happens to much of the queen's personal wealth, which includes art, jewels and two royal residences, will
likely always remain a secret.
But the bulk of the royal family's wealth, totaling more than $21 billion in land, property and investments, passes down the line of succession. King
Charles, as reigning monarch, inherits the crown estate, making him one of the richest people in the world, by far the biggest of the family fortune,
with an estimated worth of $19 billion.
The land encompasses vast swaths of central London property. Among its holdings are Regent Street, much of the West End, the Ascot racecourse and
even extends to the lucrative seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
EMILY NASH, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR: As Prince of Wales, King Charles had excellent stewardship over his Duchy of Cornwall estate.
And he was able to generate huge income both from properties and land and other investments but also developing products sold by the Duchy of
Cornwall like food, biscuits, honey sold in supermarkets in the U.K., and he's built fantastic brands.
STEWART: In the last year, it generated a net profit of almost $361 billion, driven largely by commercial leases on the land. From that, the
U.K. treasury paid the monarch what's called a sovereign grant, around $100 million.
However, the monarch and his heir are limited in what they can spend. The king can only spend a sovereign grant on royal duties and any profit is
reinvested. Most of this money is spent on maintaining the family's properties and paying their staff.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Right, Anna. Thank you for that.
Ahead, we will look at the queen's role in the athletics world. Tennis legend Virginia Wade tells us why, if it wasn't for the queen, she may
never have had her iconic win at Wimbledon.
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ANDERSON: Ukraine's president says an attack on a water system is another example of Russia recklessly attacking civilian infrastructure. In
Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown, a reservoir dam burst, flooding more than 100 homes. The president says it has no military value.
Repair work is underway; at last report, half is complete. That strike comes in the midst of Ukraine's lightning offensive that has retaken over
8,000 square kilometers of territory from Russia.
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ANDERSON (voice-over): And more evidence of a hasty, disorganized Russian retreat. This video, released by Ukraine's defense ministry, shows
abandoned Russian tanks and other equipment. As they pass through, one Ukrainian soldier tells the others, "It is yours now."
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ANDERSON: The European Commission president is on her third visit to Ukraine since the war started but the first since the country became a
candidate to enter the European Union.
Ursula van der Leyen is meeting Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine's prime minister. She said the goal is to move the E.U.'s and
Ukraine's economies and people closer as Ukraine progresses toward E.U. membership.
The visit coming a day after President Zelenskyy was involved in a car accident in Kyiv after returning from a tour of newly liberated Izyum. His
press secretary said he was not seriously injured.
The driver of the car that hit his vehicle was treated and moved to an ambulance. Authorities are now investigating the incident. Ben Wedeman
joining us from Kyiv.
Ben, how did Zelenskyy look today after that accident, that car crash last night?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we were at a press conference with him and Ursula van der Leyen, the European Commission
president. He looked fine; no apparent scars. He had a fairly healthy stride. So it appears that this incident that happened late last night in
Kyiv did not seem to cause him any injury.
Obviously the authorities are still investigating to find out how it was, in a city, that late at night that is normally under curfew, his convoy was
hit by this vehicle -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Get us up to date then on this Ukrainian offensive, Ben, if you will, and the Russian retaliation.
WEDEMAN: There is not much to report at this point today from the Kharkiv offensive. Ukrainian officials have made it clear that they were going to
go so far. But when you conquer so much or liberate so much territory, about 6,000 square kilometers, they need to consolidate their control, put
up defenses in the event of a possible Russian counterattack.
We do know from the Ukrainian military that, in the Donetsk region, they say they have inflicted significant losses on Russian forces in the area,
in the town of Bakhmut.
One thing we heard from President Zelenskyy at the press conference today was that he is calling on Germany, France, Italy, the United States and
Israel to provide air defense systems to prevent the types of attacks by the Russians on civilian infrastructure like we've seen in Kyiv, where this
water pumping station was damaged.
It caused some flooding but it could be much worse. The Ukrainians are increasingly concerned that the Russians, having lost so much on the
battlefield, will use their long range missiles to target civilian infrastructure -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Ben, much concern about the possibility of a sort of scorched Earth policy by the Russians. That coming from Russian propaganda media in
Russia.
Is it clear what the strategy for the Ukrainian forces is next?
WEDEMAN: What they are doing, we understand, is focused, fast offensives to regain land. The fact of the matter is, Ukrainians can only do so much
with the limited weaponry that they have.
As we heard today from President Zelenskyy at that press conference, they are asking for more weaponry to try to consolidate their gains and complete
this war as quickly as possible. We understand, in reporting from some of our CNN colleagues, that the United States has --
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WEDEMAN: -- turned down requests by the Ukrainians for, for instance, long range missile systems. So there is a certain amount of frustration, that
the Ukrainians have made progress, they have gotten decent weaponry from their Western allies but not quite as much as they would like under the
circumstances, Becky.
ANDERSON: Ben Wedeman is in Kyiv, in Ukraine. A lot more in the next hour on Ukraine. I am going to speak to Uri Sack (ph), the spokesperson for the
Ukrainian defense minister. We will talk about Ukraine's recent success, taking back territory in what has been in this lightning offensive.
Coming up, a diplomatic and symbolic show of force between two authoritarian leaders as Russia's war in Ukraine reaches what may be a
turning point.
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ANDERSON: Vladimir Putin is meeting with two of Russia's most powerful allies as his war in Ukraine suffered serious setbacks on the battlefield.
The Russian president spoke with the Iranian leader from the sidelines of a regional security summit in Uzbekistan. He also met with his Chinese
counterpart, Xi Jinping, in their first face-to-face encounter since Moscow invaded its neighbor nearly seven months ago.
This is a diplomatic show force coming just days after Russia's humiliating retreat in northeastern Ukraine. Hours earlier in yet another display of
unity, Russian and Chinese navies conducted joint patrols in the Pacific Ocean.
President Putin praised president Xi for his position on the war. Like Russia, China has refrained from even using the word invasion. CNN's Ivan
Watson joins me now live from Hong Kong.
Do we have a sense of what Putin and Xi spoke about today?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are getting the first lines out from these two leaders and their comments, Becky.
Judging by what we are hearing from Vladimir Putin he alludes to what sounds like some unease on Beijing's part about the conduct of this war.
In a statement of what Putin said, across an enormous table and hall from the Chinese leader, he said, quote, "We highly appreciate the balanced
position of our Chinese friends in connection with the Ukrainian crisis.
"We understand your questions and concerns in this regard."
There was no talk of questions and concerns the last time these two leaders met in early February on the eve of the Beijing Winter Olympics. At that
time these two leaders sounded very united in their dislike of the U.S. --
[10:20:00]
WATSON: -- in calling for effectively a new world order not dominated by the U.S. Then weeks later, Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine,
which has not gone according to the Kremlin's plan.
So now we fast forward seven months. Vladimir Putin is more isolated internationally than he has ever been. His military is battered and,
arguably, humiliated. He needs China more than ever.
The lines we are hearing from Xi Jinping at this meeting talk about friendship, talk about expanding for example agricultural ties and
defending each other's core interests. But we do not see or hear so far any specific reference to Ukraine.
The Chinese government has argued publicly that the U.S. and NATO forced Russia's hand, forced Russia to invade Ukraine. But we have heard in the
last couple of hours from the White House, as a senior official talking live on CNN, saying that the White House, so far, has not seen any overt
signs of Chinese support for Russia in Ukraine.
China seems to be trying to avoid triggering sanctions. So keep an eye on this. But right now we do not seem to hear Beijing's full-throated support
of this deadly Russian adventure into Ukraine.
ANDERSON: The war in Ukraine, as I note today, the Ukraine crisis, as Putin has described it, he has just faced his biggest setback in the war
with this Ukrainian counter offensive. He and Xi, it seems, want to create a new world order to target the hegemony in the West.
This could set back and spoil their plans. Ivan, thank you for that.
After recent setbacks in Ukraine, Russia needs China both politically and, as Ivan was just laying out there, economically more than ever. But as
Clare Sebastian reports, Beijing's support may only go so far. Look at this.
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CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In December 2019, a tangible success for Vladimir Putin's pivot east.
Spanning almost 2,000 miles the power of Siberia pipeline was the first direct link supplying Russian natural gas to China, that gas to be supplied
under a $400 billion 30-year deal signed in 2014, just three months after Russia annexed Crimea as western sanctions tightened their grip.
SAM GREENE, PROFESSOR OF RUSSIAN POLITICS, KING'S COLLEGE LONDON: As Russia decided to essentially go to war with Europe over a trade treaty,
over a comprehensive free trade agreement that Europe wanted to sign with Ukraine, right, which is what provokes the initial intervention in Crimea
and in eastern Ukraine in 2014.
You know, Putin knew that this was going to bring costs and he knew it was going to bring sanctioned. And so, he saw the relationship with China as an
opportunity to hedge against that.
SEBASTIAN: Pipelines and pancakes signaled ever closer ties between Presidents Putin and Xi as both countries saw relations with the West
deteriorate. No surprise then that Putin's last foreign trip before invading Ukraine was to Beijing where the two leaders declared their
relationship had, quote, "no limits."
Russia's invasion did reveal some limits. Chinese officials say they have not provided military or economic aid to Russia. But China has refused to
condemn the war, abstaining or voting with Russia at the U.N., despite international pressure.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I think that China understands that its economic future is much more closely tied to the West
than it is to Russia.
SEBASTIAN: And yet, trades between Russia and China grew by almost the third in the first seven months of the year, according to a Reuters
analysis of customs data.
China has ramped up its purchases of albeit heavily discounted Russian crude oil, a trend Russia hopes will continue when a partial E.U. oil
embargo comes into force in December.
And Russia's energy giant Gazprom says that daily gas flows through the power of Siberia pipeline hit a record in July.
This month, the two countries announced China would pay for gas in rubles and yuan, shifting away from the dollar, another sign of their shared
opposition to the U.S.- led world order, something that, for China, intensified in the wake of Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.
GREENE: China is maybe not enjoying but is taking this as an opportunity to see, you know, how the West responds to a military challenge like this,
to see where the breaking points might be.
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SEBASTIAN (voice-over): The test now with Russia losing ground on the battlefield is where the China's tacit support has a breaking point when
Russia needs it most -- Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: In other news, the UAE's top diplomat is in Israel to mark two years since the signing of the Abraham accords, which normalized relations
between Israel and several Arab nations.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was scheduled to meet with the Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid today in Jerusalem. Earlier I spoke to the UAE's
ambassador to the United Kingdom and asked him what the foreign minister is hoping to achieve during his visit.
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MANSOOR ABULHOUL, UAE AMBASSADOR TO THE U.K.: I think it is a continuation, as you said, the second anniversary of the Abraham accords,
such a transformational step within the region in terms of peace building and unlocking opportunities for youth.
All of those he will be doubling down on. His Highness leads on this on this particular file. So highly important and I think we also need to take
it back to King Charles, you know?
He unlocked so much for youth. That is the importance there. So the UAE, under the stewardship of President (INAUDIBLE) but also Sheikh Abdullah
carrying that message, sharing the energy, enthusiasm and commitment to the accords is vital.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: We will bring you more of that interview with the UAE ambassador, who reflects on his country's relationship with the late Queen
Elizabeth II. We will get his personal recollections with his meeting of Her Majesty. That is later in the hour on CONNECT THE WORLD.
Still ahead, we will have much more on the mourning period for Queen Elizabeth. I will talk with a sports icon, who was inspired by the queen as
a young lady. That is all coming up.
I am Becky Anderson here in central London, overlooking the Houses of Parliament. Stay with us.
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ANDERSON: A final farewell to Britain's longest reigning monarch. Thousands upon thousands of people are queuing up, some for more than six
kilometers, to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II.
Some telling CNN on Thursday they expected to wait as long as 10 hours but say it is well worth it. Her Majesty is now lying in state at London's
Westminster Hall behind me there. The Palace of Westminster where she will be until her funeral on Monday.
Buckingham Palace just announced that the queen's children will hold a vigil around her coffin on Friday night, similar to their guard in
Scotland's St. Giles' Cathedral earlier this week.
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ANDERSON: Still ahead, a step back in time. Queen Elizabeth visited Abu Dhabi back in 1979. We will tell you more about the queen and her close
ties to the UAE and around the Middle East and, indeed, to its ruling families.
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ANDERSON: The guest list, including leaders from around the world, speaks to the queen's influence and relationships the world over. We're talking
about the guest list, of course, for her funeral on Monday.
There have been changes through the years; for instance, British colonialism in the Middle East when Queen Elizabeth became monarch slowly
disappearing in the years that followed.
But although the queen witnessed the crumbling of British power in the Middle Eastern Gulf region, she continued to have close ties with the
ruling families there.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): No day has ever dawned that rivaled this.
ANDERSON (voice-over): When Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne in the early 1950s, Britain was the dominant power in the Middle East. Most
countries on this map were British protectorates.
Newly formed nation states such as Iraq, Jordan and Yemen were bound by treaties that wielded Britain an exorbitant amount of control that was
often contested while Gulf states such as Oman, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, then known as the Trucial States, were mostly content with
British presence.
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ANDERSON (voice-over): Queen Elizabeth quickly became a familiar face in the Middle East, making her first state visit to the region in Libya just
two years after she became head of state.
She was also pictured next to the emir of Bahrain, the sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa; Kuwait's Sheikh Abdullah bin Jaber and the UAE's
founding father Sheikh Zayed bin Nahyan. But behind all the smiling was a growing movement for independence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Britain was responsible for a growing regional map at the time. Queen Elizabeth came at a time when that map was being
challenged. In that period, the region was engaged in a massive range of anti-colonial uprisings, struggles and attempts to overthrow this British
domination.
ANDERSON (voice-over): The attempts worked. And by 1971, the last vestiges of British colonialism in the Middle East had disappeared.
But visits between Queen Elizabeth and the region's rulers did not stop, particularly with those in the Gulf Cooperation Council or GCC, where
Britain's legacy was not viewed as unfavorably as in other parts of the Middle East.
JAMES ONLEY, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF SHARJAH: The number of state visits or other high-level visits of the British royal family to the GCC is such
scale, it is comparable to the royal family's visits to the Commonwealth realms.
Members of the ruling and royal families of the GCC formed genuine relationships with members of the royal family in Britain, which results in
substantial business ties, educational ties, cultural ties.
ANDERSON (voice-over): Those ties have also been shared with royal families outside of the Gulf, such as Jordan, despite being a former
British protectorate. But for some of the region's citizens, the monarchy is a symbol of British colonial rule that they blame for their current
grievances.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are many people in the Arab world that do not have particular resentment to the queen or the current king of England.
However, they certainly disapprove of British colonial policy because it took a huge toll on the people of the region.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Loftiest heritage rank high set above all else --
ANDERSON (voice-over): Under Queen Elizabeth's reign, British influence in the Middle East underwent significant change, where colonial structures
dissolved and strategic partnerships formed that have sustained until this day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last visit to the Gulf was, I believe, to Oman, where she visited the late sultan, Sultan Qaboos. And if you look at the photos
and images, you will see the genuine feeling of affection and friendship between those two monarchs. It is deep, it is meaningful, it is real.
Britain is more, I think, than just a strategic (ph) ally; it is family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three cheers for His Majesty the king. Hip, hip, hurrah.
ANDERSON (voice-over): While this crucial chapter of British history closes, another may soon be burgeoning as the new King Charles III looks
toward the region to build off the relationships his mother cultivated.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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ANDERSON: The United Arab Emirates is among one of the Gulf countries that share particularly close ties with the U.K. and, indeed, the British
monarchy. Earlier I spoke with the UAE's ambassador to the U.K., Mansoor Abulhoul about that close relationship. He started by sharing a personal
story.
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ABULHOUL: I think it is a very personal story and Her Majesty would have touched people in many ways, that's why many individuals across the world.
But that particular story, my sister having been chosen from a group of children to meet Her Majesty during her first state visit in 1979.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABULHOUL (voice-over): There is me, the honor of my life, visiting Buckingham Palace, presenting my credentials to Her Majesty; 40 years on,
that's, for us, as a family, something we will treasure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Queen Elizabeth visited the UAE, greeted by the late Sheikh Zayed, of course, and was given a tour around the country. Describe the
significance of that meeting back in the day, what it meant and means in terms of the strategic relationship today.
ABULHOUL: Gosh, that first state visit to the UAE was so significant. And it does not surprise me today that we have over 100,000 British citizens
because Her Majesty would've catalyzed that people connectivity that you have in between our two nations.
And she did a remarkable job. She went around, visited everything. And you see that through the people today. We have over 1.5 million visitors every
year from the United Kingdom. And I think her visit would've been fundamental in setting the course of the relationship to where it is today,
a very strong, robust, relationship.
ANDERSON: Because she doesn't govern, she doesn't rule, she reigns. But the royal family, as you rightly point out, in the relationship between the
UAE and the U.K., you can see the importance of the monarchy, particularly in a region like the Gulf.
What do you envision or hope for in the relationship between your country, the Gulf, under the new king, Charles III?
ABULHOUL: Gosh, it is a new bright start, a new chapter. As you quite rightly put, the royal families provide a canopy under which the
relationship falls. They provide that very essential cover that I think is key.
That -- the depth of that is felt through friendships. I have been privileged to sit in on some of His Highness, our new president bin Zayed,
meetings with the new king, King Charles, His Majesty.
And he -- I often think, when I think of King Charles, I think, when he was the Prince of Wales, he was before his time on so many different -- when
you look at conservation, interfaith understanding, he was before his time. His time has come now and he will be a fine king.
And he visited the UAE many times from dugong (ph) centuries to places of religious importance. He has so much understanding of the region and of
Islam.
ANDERSON: And admiration for Islam.
ABULHOUL: Absolutely. And authority and admiration for Islam but more critically admiration for all religions and interfaith understanding. He's
going to be a remarkable king.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The UAE's ambassador to the U.K., speaking to me earlier.
A new Marvel Comics film is sparking upset with an Israeli superhero at the center of what is a brewing controversy. We will explain in a live report
from Jerusalem -- up next.
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ANDERSON: Plans to put an Israeli superhero in a new Marvel Comics film raising concerns that it could do more harm than good. Sabra was first
introduced more than 40 years ago.
Now Disney plans to bring her to the big screen in 2024 in its latest "Captain America" film. Some critics are pushing back, saying that many of
the Arab characters that interacted with Sabra in the original comics were portrayed as misogynistic, anti-Semitic and violent.
They feel that reviving her will spread offensive Arab stereotypes. CNN's Hadas Gold following this story from Jerusalem.
Why is this striking such a chord?
HADAS GOLD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Becky, while there are definitely fans out there that are excited for the revival of this
relatively unknown character, having a Jewish Israeli superhero, there are quite a few, especially online, who are worried about it.
We have spoken with Palestinian activists who are worried about the portrayal of Arabs in their comics. They portray a stereotype of being
anti-Semitic, being violent terrorists. They are worried about how the revival of her character will potentially dehumanize Palestinians.
Then there is also the issue of the name and the timing of this announcement. Sabra in Hebrew is the word for the fruit of the prickly
pear. It is also the nickname given to people born in Israel.
But it is also, that is what the superhero was named after, it is also similar in name to a Palestinian community in Lebanon, which, in 1982,
there was a massacre there. More than 1,000 civilians were killed by a Lebanese Christian militia, working with the Israeli army in the 1982
Lebanon-Israel war.
Becky, this week the same week they made the announcement of this comic is the 40th anniversary of those massacres. A lot of people, that struck a
chord with them when it came to the timing and the name of the superhero.
Marvel, in a statement said that, "While our stories and characters are inspired by the comics in the MCU, they are always freshly imagined for the
screen and today's audience and the filmmakers are taking a new approach with the character."
Becky, there will be a lot of critical eyes on how exactly this film will portray this new character. They haven't even started filming the movie
yet. But a lot of critical eyes will be on the premiere which will be coming in May of 2024. Becky.
ANDERSON: That's Jerusalem, for you. Thank you.
CONNECT THE WORLD continues after this short break. Stay with us.
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