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Quest Means Business
King Charles III, Siblings Stand Vigil At Queen's Coffin; Queen's Death Sparks Mixed Reaction Across Commonwealth; World Bank: Rising Risk Of Global Recession In 2023; Mass Burial Site Found At Reclaimed Ukranian City, Izyum; Germany Seizes Control Of Russian-Owned Oil Refineries. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired September 16, 2022 - 15:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:00]
ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Good 15 to 20 minutes with their heads bowed -- Richard.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Yes. So there are about six different rotations of the vigil for 20 minutes at a time. The choreography
is beyond measure. One can't help wonder, these people who are -- let's just wait and watch.
That's the signal to begin the changing of the vigil. Now, because the Guard isn't changing, just those who have been standing vigil, they will
process out together, but won't be replaced, of course.
The different uniforms representing the various honoree and other military ranks. Princess Anne, of course being with the Admiralty and the Navy,
Prince Edward, the Royal Marines, and the Duke of York who had been -- who had received specific dispensation from the King to wear a uniform at this
and other ceremonial events having originally, it was expected he would be in mourning suit.
I can only -- I can't imagine what those who are fortunate enough to witness that moment.
Isa is with me. Isa is with me. It is not often I am lost for words.
SOARES: Well, I was going to say I'm not -- I felt a chill when I saw both King and his siblings stand of course, heads bowed, visibly in grief.
QUEST: It's -- I mean, to the fair point that Charles must be pretty exhausted. He's been to Wales and back.
SOARES: Yes.
QUEST: He's also been to Scotland, Northern Ireland.
SOARES: He has toured the nations, of course. He has been incredibly busy and it is worth -- you know, he's still a son in mourning and it is
incredibly powerful.
QUEST: That face, that look on his face is extraordinary.
SOARES: That closeup of his face as he closed his eyes, I think that will be one of the images that will probably be dominating. I think it's fair to
say many of the papers here tomorrow because it's a reminder, like you and I have been talking about. You, specifically have been saying this, this
pendulum but he is obviously a monarch, but he is also a son.
QUEST: Look, it will happen more and more and more as we get towards Monday.
A very good evening to you from London. Good morning or afternoon where you are, but it is evening here in the British capital. And if you've just
joined us, allow me to please recap what we have witnessed.
Powerful moving. Frankly, you don't need me to ramble on. Look at the pictures of what we have seen. The Queen's four children standing guard
behind her coffin, paying their respects, as they did at St. Giles Cathedral in Scotland earlier this week.
The Queen's eight grandchildren will do the same tomorrow. Here are the pictures.
So, this is how it started, the vigil. I can see now why to an extent Anne did want to wear a uniform, a land suit would have been --
[15:05:15]
SOARES: It would have felt somewhat inappropriate for this moment of reflection.
QUEST: Max Foster is our Royal correspondent. Max, tell me what you've learned about what we've seen, and how did it seem to you?
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it played out exactly as we expected. It was slightly shorter than expected, but then it started later
than expected. I think, for me, it was looking at the members of the public in a way knowing that they queued up for so many hours, and then they come
in at that precise moment.
I mean, it's a real you know, once in a lifetime moment, isn't it, to if you've come all this way to see the coffin, and then also to see the
siblings standing that way, really quite profound and full of symbolism, as you know, Richard.
A lot of people talking about how difficult this must be for the public staring at them whilst they're grieving. But, you know, this is the point
of it. This is the family sharing with the public a moment of grieving. It is very much, you know, as people were asking me, would the public be
stopped from going in? Absolutely not.
This is the point that the siblings are there with the public sharing, and this pretty much speaks to the monarchy being a family, but also a public
institution. And I just think watching those people having that moment, it must have been quite extraordinary.
And, of course, we'll try and grab some of them as they come out. But I think they'll be pretty deeply affected in, you know, true pomp and
ceremony as any of the Brits do as well.
QUEST: Max, related, excuse me -- related to this, the way in which they did it, I also saw, as you will, the other -- the extended members of the
Royal family.
First time we've really seen people like the Duke and Duchess of Kent and Prince Michael of Kent, and all the various other members. It's -- they
are, they're all in -- I mean, this is their family.
FOSTER: Yes, and you know, the Kent's and the Gloucester's, they're working Royals, as well. And I think also, for the likes of Peter Phillips,
that were up there on the balcony, Princess Anne's son is, you know, it's a sign of tomorrow, isn't it, because they're going to -- or the
grandchildren are going to be doing the same thing tomorrow.
And I imagine, they'd be a lot more nervous than the siblings that we see on screen now. So for Peter, it must have been quite an experience to look
down and sort of see what's going to happen tomorrow. And you know, Prince Edward's children are very young. So, that's going to be quite touching to
see them next to the Queen's coffin, and they're all very close to the Queen in their own ways.
So yes, I think looking ahead to Monday, the whole Royal family, completely extended family will be there. We're seeing an image of them lined up along
there. Zara Phillips' stepfather there. The Queen Consort and the York's and there you are, Duke of Kent in the center there.
They are all trying to decompress as we go through in these moments, help them do that, don't they?
QUEST: They do. Isa, the way in which this pendulum of which I've spoken swings, we saw it so vividly today. Here, we had various members of the
Royal family doing Royal things, such as -- and we had the Prince of Wales -- I must get over this. Here we are, the King.
SOARES: We all still keep calling, of course, the Prince of Wales but that's right, it is a pendulum that you and I, and even Max we've been
speaking about as something of course, that the King has been doing for last several days, tour of the nations. We saw him in Edinburgh, Northern
Ireland, Wales today.
QUEST: The four Home Nations, the King has now visited before the funeral of the Queen on Monday.
At the same time, as we are watching this, thousands of people are waiting in line to say their final goodbyes. Now, the people you're looking at on
the screen moments ago, they've been in the line at least 14 hours.
Well, the queue was briefly shut down after it reached capacity. It is an estimated full day before you can go from the end of that. These are live
pictures now from that.
And the juxtaposition -- again, you can see the split screen, it tells the story. Those people you're looking at on the right, at least 12 to 14
hours, those people on the left, well, I'm guessing that picture is coming from Lambeth Palace or somewhere near there. So, they have gone a long way
--
[15:10:03]
SOARES: A long night and it seems you can see they've got their raincoats although they've got their beanie hats. They've come prepared for that long
wait, and the temperatures are expected to drop tonight -- Richard.
QUEST: They are. They are. We're looking at seven degrees Celsius in London, but no rain.
Scott McLean is with the mourners outside.
Scott, those -- I mean, I'm not surprised, but everybody you speak to says they would wait until whenever until they get through.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, you have to imagine, Richard, that there are reasonable limits on how long people can actually
withstand standing for this period of time, but you're absolutely right, everyone that we meet, it seems, says look, I would stand as long as it
takes to be there for this moment.
And they recognize that look, the ultimate prize here, what they're waiting around for is not a chance to see the new King. Although, the folks who
just filed past the Queen's coffin did get to see that.
This is just a short opportunity, a few minutes to file past the Queen's coffin. It is not something that lasts very long. But that's what they're
here for, and they know exactly what they're getting in for. But for them, it's more about paying their respects, it's more about the process of
showing your appreciation for this monarch than anything, than the actual payoff, which is the simple act of filing past the coffin.
I just want to show you what things look like right now. So, just in the last 30 minutes or so since the last time that we spoke to you, this side
of the queue has started to fill up and started to come to a standstill.
Now, just to give you a sense of where we are. So, this is sort of the queue to enter the queue. So, once you get to the end of this queue, you'll
come over to this queue, which is much, much longer than the first one.
It's moving at a decent clip right now, but it will quickly come to a stop and as they let more and more people in, just wondering, ma'am, how long
have you been waiting for?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, we came here. What time?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: About half an hour.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Half an hour.
MCLEAN: How long are you prepared to wait for?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think they are saying, it is 24 hours. Yes.
MCLEAN: Are you -- are you able to withstand that that long?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I'm 74 as well, so I feel it's my duty to do it. Yes.
MCLEAN: Even at 74 years old.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Some people, yes.
MCLEAN: You're obviously in good shape. I hope you make it to the front of the line.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
MCLEAN: Sir, just wondering, why was it important for you to be here, you're one of the younger people in line.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where to begin? Well, I'm here for my parents. They're currently stuck in Spain. So, they couldn't be here. So, it's really
important for them and it's important for me, because she's been my life, the whole my life really for 30 years. So, yes, I don't know where to
begin. So, I'm prepared to wait for -- if it's 30 hours, it is 30 hours. I'll wait.
MCLEAN: You don't seem like you have enough clothes on?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, no. There are clothes in the back.
MCLEAN: Okay, you're prepared. All right. Good luck, sir. Thank you.
There you go, Richard, just exactly what you quoted earlier, you know, people are prepared to wait as long as it takes and I don't know if you can
see through here, but I'm just looking at like a sea of humanity.
And just remember that once you get through this snaking line, you get to the road and you get to cross the road and only then do you actually see
the Thames River where the line then snakes along that way.
So even once you get out of this zigzag of lines, you are still a heck of a long way from Westminster Hall -- Richard.
QUEST: Scott McLean, thank you.
Listening, Isa, just to what Scott was saying, I teared up.
SOARES: You teared up, and I know this is your show and I'm going to butt in.
QUEST: No, please.
SOARES: I haven't seen you feel like this. I know you always loved the monarchy, but there is something about this moment.
QUEST: It's what you said, "I'm here. It's my duty to be here. I'm 74 years old. It's my duty to be here."
SOARES: And she will be there for 22 hours.
QUEST: And the young guy is only there because his parents are in Spain and can't be there, so he's doing it for them.
SOARES: And we've heard people in Edinburgh say similar things saying, "I remember the Queen when she was --" you know, when she became heir, when
she became a monarch. I remember my mother was roughly the Queen's age. I'm here from my mother.
There's this connection, this moment and you feel it. You feel it --
QUEST: Oh, viscerally.
SOARES: Yes.
QUEST: Viscerally. There's no -- there is nowhere else I was going to be this week, but we have a long way to go before Monday and I think that it
is going to get extremely -- the lines are going to get bigger. If the weather holds, the lines are going to get bigger. It will go over a day,
and I think there will be disappointment when they have to because what the authorities are very keen to do is shut the lines off when they know that
there's no realistic chance of you getting through.
[15:15:13]
QUEST: So, you're talking really about shutting this line at maybe seven or eight o'clock on Sunday morning.
SOARES: We saw that already today. They stopped it briefly. So .
QUEST: We move on. Thank you.
SOARES: Thanks, Richard.
QUEST: Lovely to be here with you and to share the moment.
SOARES: Thank you.
QUEST: I am privileged. Thank you.
Earlier today, King Charles met members of the public in Wales for the first time since he ascended the throne. The King was greeted by a 21-gun
salute, and received a motion of condolence from the Welsh Parliament.
The King has held the title or did hold the title, Prince of Wales for more than 60 years. Not surprisingly, there was a mixed reaction. There were
cheers and boos from the public, Charles being Prince of Wales and in Wales has at times raised controversy.
[VIDEO CLIP PLAYS]
QUEST: The feelings are mixed, and echoed in some Commonwealth nations. The Queen's death is forcing the former colonies to reckon with a complex
relationship with the crown.
Antigua and Barbuda, for example, has already said it will consider becoming a Republic, and Barbados did just that in November. I wonder
whether they would have done that if they'd known the Queen didn't have that long left.
But anyway, the Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley spoke to Christiane Amanpour earlier and described the step was only natural.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIA MOTTLEY, BARBADOS PRIME MINISTER: You would not contemplate that the President of the United States of America would be a Brazilian that had no
nationality relationship to the United States of America.
Countries must have the freedom to establish their own Head of State, and for their kids to be able to believe that they can grow up and aspire to be
that Head of State. And that is the final link of decolonization that we believe to be critical.
The one that we took before it was to delink from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and to make the Caribbean Court of Justice, our final
Court of Appeal. These are all acts that we do to complete the circle of independence.
But our determination to serve in the Commonwealth is not as a nation that is still colonized in any way, but as a community of sovereign nations
agreeing to cooperate with each other in the same way that we do in the United Nations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: The Prime Minister of Barbados.
Well, if we look at the Commonwealth, Nigeria is a very significant country within the Commonwealth. Sarafa Isola is the Nigerian High Commissioner to
the UK. It is worth just saying, they used the phrase High Commissioner, when you're talking about an Ambassador from one Commonwealth country to
another.
So you're Ambassador, but you're High Commissioner.
High Commissioner, Nigeria has expressed its deep sorrow and condolences at the passing of the Queen? How is the Queen being remembered, do you think
in Nigeria?
SARAFA ISOLA, NIGERIAN HIGH COMMISSIONER TO THE UK: The Queen is being remembered in so many ways. At the tip of our independence before 1960,
when we attained independence, a lot of the meetings that took place at Lancaster House here, the headquarters of the Foreign Affairs of the
Kingdom, the Queen was very instrumental to the discussions that led to our independence, and the instrument of independence was actually given to us
on the first of October by a Representative of the Queen.
QUEST: And the Queen, of course, had visited your country and has been to Nigeria.
ISOLA: Yes. The Queen visited in 1956, before independence, and also visited during the Commonwealth meeting of year, 2003.
QUEST: What would you say to those who raise the issues of colonialism and don't feel that the monarch both either in personal or official capacity
has fully accepted that. Do you think there is an argument there? Is that an argument that Nigeria feels about?
ISOLA: Well, right now, we are celebrating the Queen because of issues relating to her reign. The issue of colonialism and other issues relating
to reparation, that is -- there on -- these are ongoing issues that have always been there, and I'm sure it will still continue until those issues
are fully resolved.
QUEST: But you think they have to be resolved.
ISOLA: Oh, absolutely, there are issues. A lot of African leaders have raised the issue and one thing about this kind of issue is the ability to
dialogue and engage so that all of these kind of such period can be addressed.
[15:20:12]
QUEST: If we look at the new King, King Charles III, Head of the Commonwealth, it was interesting that the Queen at the last, but one,
Commonwealth Heads of Government made it very clear she wished Charles to be Head of the Commonwealth. I'm guessing now you all have to work out
whether how good a job he does.
ISOLA: Well, the -- if you recall at Kigali, that's the last CHOGM Meeting at Kigali, the Prince of Wales then, not King Charles represented the
Queen. Aside from these, there are some of the programs that's the Prince of Wales there, not King Charles, has been involved in. We have the Green
Wall program, which has to do with afforestation and climate change projects in Africa, he is very much involved in that. I'm sure he will
continue on that trajectory as well.
QUEST: The Commonwealth's relevance. We had the Commonwealth Games recently, of course, it was exceptional, the sporting prowess that was on
the show.
But if you had to sum up the Commonwealth's relevance today, what would it be?
ISOLA: Yes, the Commonwealth is a way of bringing together likely former colonies of Britain and we share a lot of issues in common. Educationally,
for example, many of the Commonwealth countries run British curriculum. That's not educational -- it is culturally the same thing. And that's why
we just thought that a lot of Commonwealth countries always see Britain as a way to further their studies.
On the issue of culture, too, there are a lot of cultural exchange program as well. And in terms of political issues, the need for all Commonwealth
countries to remain democratic. So, the political side of it is also being addressed at the Commonwealth.
QUEST: I guess, the unpalatable question is whether Charles, how he holds it together like his mother did?
ISOLA: Yes. I have no doubt in my mind, because prior to the demise of the Queen, a lot of these issues have been delegated through him and is
definitely coping very well. The Royal Commonwealth Society and the Queen's Guardian Party, the last one, I mean, Prince of Wales then, now King
Charles, represented the Queen.
QUEST: You'll get used to it.
ISOLA: Yes. You know, represented the Queen and engaged all of us at the Guardian, and I strongly believe that that trajectory will continue.
QUEST: And who will be here from Nigeria, I believe that you're representing --
ISOLA: Yes, so we're expecting the Vice President of the Republic of Nigeria as the head of delegation.
QUEST: Excellent. High Commissioner, I'm grateful that you came to us this evening. Thank you very much.
ISOLA: Thank you. Thank you.
QUEST: This is CNN. We will continue to not only review the events of the day, but also bring to your attention. What's happening now, which is these
very long lines.
I was just looking at the queue tracker, as it's known. It says "Expected queuing time is at least 22 hours," and then there's a little notice at the
bottom: "Overnight temperatures will be cold."
I can tell you how cold it's going to be about seven degrees tonight Celsius, that's 45 if you're operating in old money.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:25:02]
QUEST: It is the time of the day we need to bring you up-to-date with what's happening.
The financial world marches on regardless. And markets, well, they were very heavily down earlier after a stark economic warning from FedEx. Look
at that. I mean, that's a sea of -- that's a classic sea of red.
But the losses are now being pared. We are down only 172 points. The S&P and the NASDAQ, the broader market, similarly unhappy. They are grumbling.
A big issue, FedEx shares off more than 20 percent after the company said it will miss its quarterly revenue target by half a billion. It's also
taken down with it Amazon, XPO, and UPS, all falling in sympathy, if you will.
And the reason is very straightforward. We talk about FedEx on this program and UPS because they are bellwethers for the global economy. Look how many
countries and territories it touches, more than 220 in all.
So, the shipping giant says its biggest hits are coming in Asia, and Europe. And the chief executive says he sees a global recession on the way.
Matt Egan is in New York. We'll deal with FedEx first and then we can sort of parse it out to the global recession, but this is pretty dramatic.
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Richard, it is dramatic, especially because of who it is coming from.
You know, FedEx really has this unique vantage point on the world economy because it is one of the biggest shipping companies on the planet. And so
when they sound the alarm, everyone listens, and FedEx says that they're seeing the demand for packages is weakening really around the world and
they expect this trend to continue.
FedEx slashing its sales guidance by half a billion dollars and the company is going into cost cutting mode. They're freezing hiring, they're cutting
hours for their workers. They are shutting almost a hundred locations and five corporate offices.
And FedEx, this is key, they are actually slashing some of their operations. They are grounding planes because they don't think there's
demand for them. And so that is, of course, raising a lot of concern in financial markets.
QUEST: All right, let's -- if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it's very likely to be a recession.
You'd have seen yesterday, the World Bank, in a report basically said that if things carry on as we're going, there will be a global recession, simply
because emerging and developing countries cannot withstand against the tide. It's becoming more likely.
EGAN: It is becoming more likely, in part because of that concerning inflation report in the United States that came out earlier this week that
showed the consumer prices are rising more rapidly than feared. And that means that next week, the Federal Reserve is going to be under significant
pressure to once again, carry out a monster interest rate hike.
And the more the Fed does, and the more other Central Banks do, the greater the risk that they accidentally tip the economy into recession.
But, Richard, I know we've talked about this before, there is a timing issue here, right, markets freaked out in May, in June about an imminent or
ongoing recession. They rebounded on hopes that maybe this recession got delayed, and now, there is going to be more focus on whether or not there's
a downturn, maybe later this year or next year.
But timing is key, and so is severity. Are we talking about a downturn that is mild, that causes the unemployment rate in the US to go up to you know,
five or six percent or something more significant, like eight or nine or ten percent? I think that is going to be key here in terms of how much
damage this potential downturn does, both to the real economy and to financial markets.
And one other point here at Richard on FedEx, FedEx shares are down 21 percent, as we speak. That means, it is on track for its worse day since
going public in 1978. Worse than after 9/11, worse than even Black Monday, 1987. It is a pretty startling selloff there.
[15:30:22]
QUEST: And I would argue that it's an unjustified sell off because even if the worst prognosis comes along for a company the side effect that FedEx to
lose a fifth of its value in one day. It just shows the fear more than common sense of the market. Matt Egan, grateful you're with us out of New
York. I thank you, sir.
EGAN: Thank you.
QUEST: When we come back, we will turn our attention to Ukraine and the recently liberated city of Izyum. The awfulness of a mass grave that has
been found. The experts are investigating and to pile on if you will, the awfulness that President Zelenskyy says some of the bodies are showing
signs of torture.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Ukraine says 440 bodies have been found in a mass burial site in Izyum. That is the city in the Northeast that you'll be familiar with, of
course recaptured from Russian forces. The forensic experts are exuding the bodies and they will be examining them. President Zelenskyy says some of
them are showing signs of torture.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We want the world to know what is really happening and what the Russian occupation has
led to in Bucha, Mariupol, and now unfortunately Izyum. Russia is leaving death behind it everywhere and must be held responsible. The world must
bring Russia to real responsibility for this war. We will do everything for this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Ben Wedeman is Kyiv. Ben, I mean words fail in a sense, the inhumanity of what we're hearing about to this mass burial site.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and it's not the first it's been uncovered here in Ukraine. You'll recall in the spring
outside of -- out of -- outside of Kyiv in the town of Bucha, similar mass graves were found with similar evidence of atrocities. Now we've gotten a
statement from the governor of the Kharkiv region where Izyum is located. He's saying that at least 440 bodies have been and found at this mass
burial site in a forest outside of Izyum.
[15:35:05]
Now, some of the graves are marked by crude plywood crosses. Some of them have numbers on the crosses. Some of them have names. There's also massive
-- large pits that were dug there. But according to the governor of Kharkiv, of the bodies that have so far been exhumed. And certainly, there
are many more that need to be dug up. He said that 99 percent of those bodies show the signs of violence.
He said, some of the bodies were found with their hands tied behind their backs. One of the bodies was found with a rope around its neck. He also
said there were children among the dead. Now the U.N. Human Rights monitoring organization says it's going to send a team there, and they say,
perhaps they will be sending depending upon what is found at this mass burial site that they will be sending a team of war crime investigators.
Richard?
QUEST: But -- I mean, despite all of that, Russia sort of sidestepped, avoided and hasn't dealt with. Bucha, it hasn't dealt with Mariupol. We
shouldn't expect Russia to respond necessarily, to these latest accusations.
WEDEMAN: No, I don't think anybody should hold their breath waiting for the Russians to respond. Now on a telegram channel, a pro-Russian telegram
channel, somebody affiliated with the Russians, or perhaps a Russian himself said that these are the same bodies buried earlier by the Russian
forces. Keep in mind that Izyum in March came under intense Russian bombardment when it was still under Ukrainian control.
And certainly what we've seen in the past is that in cities that are close to the front lines, oftentimes, as the bombardment intensifies, the local
authorities aren't able to give a proper burial to the dead and they're very sort of rapidly buried with very little marking. So, we don't know the
details of this. But what we're hearing so far would indicate that there was -- there were atrocities committed.
But as I said, the Russians have by and large, ignored these reports, these claims of mass killings. Richard?
QUEST: Ben Wedeman in Kyiv. Thank you.
Germany has stepped up the west economic war with Russia. As Berlin seizes control of two subsidiaries of the Russian energy giant Russneft. It will
give German government control of three of Russneft's oil refineries in the country. You will bang Russian crude from the start of next year and will
further deny the Kremlin revenues to fund its war in Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says his country is prepared for Russian
retaliation.
But what would that retaliation look like? Joining me from Germany is Andreas Schroeder, head of the Energy Analytics at ICIS. Why, Andreas did
Germany now decide to take control of these refineries?
ANDREAS SCHROEDER, HEAD, ENERGY ANALYTICS AT ICIS: I think they waited with this step because earlier in the year, we still had 35 percent of our oil
supply coming from Russia. So we were still quite dependent. But we're now at round about 10 percent down to 10 percent. So the dependence on Russian
oil has shrink. So now we can -- we are more in the position of being prepared for retaliatory measures from Russia.
QUEST: Right. But why would they want to take it anyway? I mean, what purpose do they gain by taking control other than a philosophical purpose?
What practical purpose does the German government gain by taking control?
SCHROEDER: Yes. The issue is that the refineries are using crude oil from Russia, partly and so as long as it's owned by Russsneft, they have no
interest in banning Russian oil, and they have no interest in participating in the sanctions and you cannot force them. So, by taking control of these
companies, you can make sure that they're still operating even without Russian gas.
QUEST: Nord Stream 1 is already closed down. And we've -- as you see, as you mentioned, we've seen huge reductions in demand in European demand for
it. So, what retaliation would you expect from Russia?
SCHROEDER: I mean, there's plenty of German companies who own assets up there in Russia. So, retaliation measure could be to -- for Russia to seize
those assets that could be automotive companies, it could be oil refineries as well.
[15:40:08]
SCHROEDER: So there's a lot of economic exchange that is at stake. And also, another retaliation measure is an immediate stop of oil supply from
Russia to Europe.
QUEST: Andreas, final thought. And, you know, the temperature is now dropping here in London. I suspect it's also dropping in Dusseldorf as the
-- as we go into autumn and then winter. How prepared you now think Germany is for a cold winter with limited if any Russian oil and gas?
SCHROEDER: Germany is better prepared than a month earlier, because our storage, gas storage is very healthy. And also demand has been reduced
already, especially on the industrial side, but we will see whether households can cope with demand reductions as well. So, that's going to be
the thing to look at in the coming few weeks and months on the gas side. Same on the oil side, we still have a lot of oil heating in the German
economy.
But that's OK for now. Oil prices are still at the ordinary level. But it's really on the gas side and the electricity side that we face problems.
QUEST: Andreas, I'm grateful. Thank you, sir. I appreciate it. It's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS from Westminster tonight. Desperation is growing in Lebanon
as the country's financial crisis deepened. People are holding up banks to get their own money back and it's turning into an epidemic of bank. I won't
say bank robberies because it's their money. But you know what I mean.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Lebanon's banks plan to close three days next week after spate of holdups by customers wanting their own money back. But the seven banks have
been targeted, it all began on Wednesday. This young woman Sali Hafiz stormed a Beirut branch with a toy gun (INAUDIBLE) report that she needs to
withdraw money to pay for her sister's cancer treatment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SALI HAFIZ, LEBANESE DEPOSITOR (through translator): I have nothing more to lose. I got to the end of the road. Two days ago I went to the branch
manager and begged him, told him my sister is dying, he doesn't have time. After giving me a hard time he finally said he can give us 200 USD a month
at the rate of 12 million Lebanese pounds. That will be 2,400,000 Lebanese pounds which is not even the price of an injection that my sister needs to
take daily.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Now the country's banks have locked out depositors on their accounts. The economic crisis of more than three years that it's gone.
Jomana Karadsheh is covering the story is with me now. It is -- I mean, one level, Jomana, one (INAUDIBLE) it's got a certain value trades of -- gosh,
look what they're doing but this is desperation, isn't it? Has anybody been hurt yet?
[15:45:11]
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, at this point doesn't seem like it. But the concern is, Richard, that this is just the
beginning. We saw these incidents first start last month with one man taking people hostage in a bank, he was armed at the time, he wanted to get
his money out to treat his father. And then you had these other two incidents with Sali Hafiz who you just ran there in the introduction on
Wednesday.
And then today, it was really incredible. We were really trying to keep up with all these reports that are coming out of one incident after the other
taking place in Beirut and in other cities. And it is a really, really desperate situation where people are using everything from toy guns, as you
mentioned there, to real guns, to threatening to set themselves on fire, to set bank branches on fire, just to get their own money out.
They've been locked out of their mostly U.S. dollar savings for three years. And you hear all these heartbreaking stories, whether it's this
woman who wants to pay for her sister's cancer treatment, or you hear this other man today who had his wife even with him as he was holding up this
bank saying he wants his money out so he can pay back debts that he's accumulated over the past three years.
It is an economic and a financial implosion that we have been watching over the past few years. This is what the World Bank is, you know, has described
as one of the worst financial crises in the world, one of the top three, perhaps, since the mid 19th century. And this is what it looks like. This
is what it's driving people to do right now, everyone, those incidents are saying that they really have no choice.
They have been driven to the point of the extreme where they have had to basically go and use force to get their own money out. And in some cases,
Richard, they've succeeded in getting some of their savings out.
QUEST: Right. But how do the banks respond? I mean, closing the banks for three days to do what? Just sort of to allow a time for everyone to call
off. But if they -- if people have discovered this as a way of getting their money out, and there has been a de facto breakdown in law and order
then that's just going to continue.
KARADSHEH: That is the big concern, right? I mean, you know, we saw that first incident that took place last month. The man in that case was
reportedly released afterwards. He was not detained. These people are being hailed as heroes in Lebanon. So no one is really getting detained or being
held accountable. And this is the concern, as you mentioned, is that we are going to be seeing more and more of this.
There's a lot of concern that this is going to spiral out of control. And the big question is, how are they going to handle it? We heard from the
government today saying authorities are going to hold a -- an emergency security meeting to see how they're going to deal with this. Banks are
shuttering down for the first three days of next week. But what happens after that when they open up again on Thursday?
As you mentioned people have, you know, realize that this is a way where they can push to get what is rightfully theirs they say, that they have
tried peaceful means in the past for three years, trying to negotiate, trying to ask for their own money and they've not gotten it. We have heard
from an association now that is representing depositors. And they're encouraging people to go out and do this and to push for their own funds.
QUEST: Thank you. I appreciate it. From Istanbul tonight. Britain's tribute to a departed queen continues all weekend. Her grandchildren are expected
to stand silent vigil level. That will happen on Saturday. There are numerous events on the world calendar. We'll go through them after the
break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:50:35]
QUEST: As we go into the weekend, loads of events to honor the queen. The state funeral of course is on Monday. And let me update you so you know
what we can expect. The lying in state continues on until Sunday. The queen's children have already held their vigil on Saturday, the
grandchildren will hold a vigil around the covenant about roughly the same time. Then Sunday brings a gathering of world leaders. A national moment of
silence.
And indeed Prince Charles will host a dinner for many of the dignitaries. This is the root of the funeral procession. It will begin at 11:00 at
Westminster Abbey. There are a variety of them, you've got the first bit, the second bit and the third bit. Ultimately though, the coffin is going to
head to Windsor by road. As crowds are pouring into the London, the hotels are not only filling up, but they're filling their boots as they say in
terms of the bank accounts.
That travel company Hotel Planner expects room will hit their highest nightly rate. Occupancy 95 percent. That's 20 percent more than normal. And
rates will be even higher ahead of the -- of the funeral. With me is Tim Henschel, the cofounder and CEO of Hotel Planner. How bad is it? I mean,
I'm hearing 1000, 2000, 3000 pounds or dollars and we're working dollars a night for a room?
TIM HENSCHEL, COFOUNDER AND CEO, HOTEL PLANNER: Well, the better question is, how great is it for the English people that two million travelers have
decided to come here to pay their respects to the queen. And with that many travelers coming to the city all at one time it causes compression. So, 300
world state dignitaries and heads of state have come. They have entourages, they've taken up the five star and the four stars and they've taken whole
floors.
And then from there it gets compressed so that your three stars and your two stars start to fill up.
QUEST: But how did these hotels have the rooms? Because we've just coming out of the summer and most of them were running very good occupancies.
HENSCHEL: Right. Correct.
QUEST: So what have they done? Have they turf the others out? Have they canceled reservations so they can get better bargains?
HENSCHEL: So there has been some cases of that. If you had a one night stay, some hotels have canceled you in order to make room when they're
selling whole floors. And they've got, you know, seven night, 10-night stays. And -- but they'll compensate -- they'll compensate that person that
they canceled the reservation for. So they typically try to book them in another hotel.
If they can't find anything similar in the immediate area they'll book you further out of the city, but they'll give you extra payment for that.
QUEST: Are you -- look, this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS we celebrate the capitalist way, the market economy. I guess we can't complain when prices
go up because of supply and demand.
HENSCHEL: No, absolutely not. And the thing is, this will be residual. I mean, England and London will see more tourists and travelers because of
this. So this is historic. This is unprecedented. We started measuring the spike in I.P. address searches from North America to London on Friday. It
was up by 20 percent. Then over the weekend, it became up by 40 percent. We forecasted that rates would double in the next few days.
They've actually tripled and quadrupled in some rate categories that some of them really --
QUEST: I paid 500 pounds for a night. Well, I didn't pay, CNN paid 500 pounds a night in Edinburgh for a fairly ordinary hotel. You're not
surprised?
HENSCHEL: No. No. Edinburgh is a very popular --
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: No, no. I mean, this is during this crisis, when the -- when the queen was lying in state.
HENSCHEL: Yes.
QUEST: So what's the -- if you can give me a rough idea of the ADR, the average daily rate in London at the moment.
HENSCHEL: So, in a five-star average daily rate in London would be 250 pounds. But over these high demand times it's spiking to 1000, 1500 now
we're seeing rates over 2000 pounds a night in five stars. And that's just for a simple room. If you want to suite you're going to pay over 5000, 6000
pounds a night.
QUEST: And I guess that there is an underlying minimum number of people who will pay it regardless because they are either official delegations or
there are people who will not balk at the bill.
HENSCHEL: Or CNN.
QUEST: A very a good point actually. But I think we probably have got these rooms a lot earlier than anybody else. But that's absolutely right. Longer
term, are we looking at resurgence?
[15:55:05]
If we take now just not London but elsewhere, are we looking at a return? Is the hotel business coming back? Is business travel coming back?
HENSCHEL: Oh, absolutely. This has been a bumper year. Our industry had a high in 2019. And now 2022 has surpassed that. Coming out of COVID
hoteliers knew that demand was going to be very strong. So they held rate. You know --
QUEST: That was the -- that was the big issue, wasn't it? Whether you were going to discount, or were you going to hold the rate.
HENSCHEL: They held the rate. And even though they were sometimes only seeing 50, 60 percent occupancy, they held the rate and then as occupancy
through and like normally 75 percent occupancy in London, now we're spiking to 95 and it's huge.
QUEST: Very difficult to put the right back with it if you've let it go down. Thank you, sir. Very grateful for you coming to talk to us despite --
HENSCHEL: Thank you.
QUEST: -- thousand dollars -- thousand pound a night. Well, there's always so many. Thank you. We'll have a profitable moment after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: A final thought tonight from Westminster. There is one image that is knowing in my mind. And that is King Charles III standing in vigil for his
late mother. It was a face etched with exhaustion of a man who has been through all four home nations of Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and
Wales. So exhaustion led on top of deep grief at the loss of his beloved mother led on top of the weight of responsibility, the weight of history as
he put it which he now faces as monarch.
But there's something else that happened as well. Last night I was fortunate to go through the lying in state. And the thing I noticed was the
orb, the scepter the crown, the trappings of monarchy, the luxury of your will, but it was opposite and tinged with the simplicity of the people
coming in. People who will never meet the royal family possibly, who had no direct connection, but who felt the need as I did to be there, to bow heads
to pay respects.
It was in many ways the epitome of gratitude of people saying thank you for somebody who had led for so long with such valor.
[16:00:07]
And that's our live coverage for tonight from Westminster. I am Richard Quest. Very grateful that you have been with us. And there's much more to
come. "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" follows. Good evening to you.
END
