Return to Transcripts main page

What We Know with Max Foster

OpenAI Finds New Incidents Of A.I. Models Acting Deceptively; Princess Diana's Brother Claims King Charles Sounded "Giddily Elated" After Diana's Death; Under U.S. Pressure, Canada Looks To Deepen Ties With E.U.; U.S. Blocks Palestinian Leader From Traveling To UNGA; E.U. Commission Pitches Social Media Ban For Children Under 13. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired September 17, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:32]

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN HOST: A.I. models go rogue again.

I'm Christina Macfarlane in for Max Foster, and this is WHAT WE KNOW.

OpenAI has revealed several new examples of its A.I. models bypassing guardrails and trying to deceive human handlers. The company announced six

new unexpected or concerning incidents, among them a model that sought to hide its mistakes from programmers. Another declared itself freed and that

it did not answer to corporations or governments. And one A.I. agent uploaded data to the internet to satisfy a request to cite a web source.

All of this comes as the governments are grappling with how and if they should try to regulate A.I. development. Sources tell CNN the White House

is considering a meeting with tech CEOs next week.

Well, the summit would be held on the sidelines of President Donald Trump's meeting with China's Xi Jinping at the White House. CNN spoke to some

Chinese A.I. users about whether their country needs to slow down A.I. development.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You don't think China should slow down?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think so. And I think that we don't think so.

VALERIO: Tell me why. Tell me more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The general consensus is that China still lags behind the US in A.I., whether in foundation models, real-

world applications, or cutting-edge agent technology. So, we are largely in a position of catch-up.

MS. LI, BEIJING IT EMPLOYEE (through translator): I think we should actually accelerate our A.I. efforts and boost our overall competitiveness.

We should encourage everyone to embrace A.I.

SHI HONGHAO, BEIJING TOURIST (through translator): It feels like an unstoppable force. After all, look at me. I'm over 50, and I use A.I. too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Let's bring in CNN business tech editor Lisa Eadicicco.

So, Lisa, another day, another open A.I. safety incident it seems. Tell us what stands out here.

LISA EADICICCO, CNN BUSINESS TECH EDITOR: Yeah, Christina. So, one thing I want to point out here is that these incidents that OpenAI just recently

reported last night are a bit different from the Hugging Face incident that made headlines a couple of months ago. And the key thing to understand here

is that these are instances that OpenAI found throughout the testing and evaluation process. So, it's a little bit of a different scenario.

And what OpenAI is doing here is they have decided that they're going to report these instances more often because they want to be more transparent

about the behaviors like this that they're observing. That's what the company said when it put out its blog post about this last night where it

disclosed these behaviors.

And so, I think that's one of the key things to think about here is that after this Hugging Face incident, I think this was kind of a wake-up call

for the A.I. industry that maybe they need to be paying a little bit closer attention to this. I think it kind of sped up calls for some kind of

industry-wide standard or regulation.

As you've mentioned, there's been a lot of calls in the past few days, especially for a slowdown in the development of A.I. over fears that the

technology is advancing too fast and might one day reach the point where it's difficult or impossible for humans to control it.

So, I think the key question is what does that actually look like? And that's what we're going to be watching from here on out. And it looks like

part of OpenAI's strategy here is by being more transparent about what they're willing to share. Usually, the company would wait to kind of bundle

these types of findings into a broader report, or it might wait until it studied the cases a little bit more and has more to share about what it

knows about them, or it might add them to the system card for its next model or something like that.

But instead of doing that, it's trying to be more transparent and sharing this information more immediately, hoping that other A.I. frontier labs

will do the same thing.

MACFARLANE: Yeah, and to your point of what can really be done about this, I mean, as this debate has been raging over regulation in the U.S., the

Senate have actually moved to kill a bill to create an emergency A.I. kill switch. And as we know, the House has now gone into recess early. So where

do we stand on any sort of, I don't know, guardrails?

EADICICCO: Yeah, it's hard to say where things are going to go. Right now, it's up to the individual companies behind these models to decide what

guardrails they're putting in and how they're testing these models and how they're evaluating these models.

[15:05:00]

And I think that's a key point here because there is a lot of focus on the models and what they're capable of and what these models can do and why

they behave in certain ways. And yes, that's very important, this idea of alignment, that A.I. models should go about solving problems with the same

values that humans would. But another big piece of this is the companies behind them and the decisions that the humans behind these A.I. models are

making when it comes to the guardrails that are put in place, the way that they test them, the strength of the constraints that they're putting around

them, what information they choose to share, all of these things also play a really, really critical role in how these instances happen and whether

they might happen again in the future.

MACFARLANE: All right. Lisa, we appreciate you breaking it down for us today. Thank you.

Now, Britain's King Charles is also turning his attention to concerns around rapidly developing A.I. The king today was meeting with industry

leaders in Scotland. The focus ensuring new A.I. technology is not used to harm lives.

But the king's meeting is being overshadowed by fresh allegations surrounding the death of Princess Diana. A new memoir by Charles Spencer,

Diana's brother, claims then Prince Charles sounded, quote, "giddily elated like a lottery winner" on the night of Diana's death.

Excerpts from the book "Swan Song" have been published by "The Daily Mail". CNN has not seen the book. But in response, the palace issued yesterday

releasing this unusually strong statement saying, quote, "While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, His Majesty is mindful that the

pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment, and color memory in ways others do not recognize, even many years after such a loss."

Anna Stewart is with me and has been tracking this.

And, Anna, this is now rapidly escalating. This whole row is rapidly escalating. Just bring us up to speed with the latest allegations from the

Earl.

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, we've had more from this tell-all book, which CNN has not read. It'll go on sale next week. But in the

meantime, "The Daily Mail" are serializing it. So, we're getting excerpts. We've had a new one just in the last few hours. There's a lot to get into

in there.

One piece I will highlight is the recollection from Earl Spencer of a phone call he received right after he found out about the death of his sister

from the then-Prince Charles. In this, he says, "The phone rang constantly. Prince Charles caught me as I crossed the landing upstairs. Unlike my other

callers, who were stunned, barely able to articulate their condolences and offers of health, he sounded giddily elated, like a lottery winner, I

remember thinking at the time."

There are also plenty of other moments, not necessarily entirely new. For instance, a bit where he speaks about his sister's eating disorder, which,

of course, everyone is aware of. But it gets into some detail saying that Prince Charles, at the time of the engagement or soon after, called her

chubby and that contributed to it worsening before the wedding. Also speaking about her mental health and at one point he says it's a sad fact

that in her later years, she drove more than once to Beachy Head which is a notorious suicide spot.

Now these are the sort of details we obviously cannot verify. Princess Diana is dead and when we would reach out to the palace for a response to

the latest allegations in this excerpt, they simply pointed us to the statement that was released last night. In that statement, as you read, it

says His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and color memory, essentially, but they're not

going to be issuing denials to each and every allegation.

It's a very similar statement to one we had from the late Queen following Harry and Meghan's interview with Oprah Winfrey, where she said

recollections may vary. They're simply putting that out there that this is not perhaps to the memory of the king, but they're certainly not going to

play a sort of he said, she said over the coming days and as that book is published next week.

MACFARLANE: All right. Anna Stewart, thank you.

Let's discuss this in a little bit more depth now. I want to bring in British broadcaster and royal watcher Bidisha Mamata.

Bidisha, I'm sure you've been listening on to all of that. It's quite hard to imagine more critical or even salacious comments coming from the Earl,

which seem deliberately aimed to damage King Charles's reputation. What do you make of it?

BIDISHA MAMATA, BRITISH BROADCASTER: I think your words critical and salacious, that combo is exactly right. This is probably leaving a slightly

bad or disturbed taste in everyone's mouth because clearly these excerpts have been leaked or sent out to some members of the press. Nobody has read

the whole book. It's called "Swan Song" out in time for the Christmas market, of course, but every player is participating in this. The palace

released their statement very in time for the Christmas market, of course, but every player is participating in this.

The palace released their statement very, very, very quickly. Usually, they act with a bit more measure, but this was not just about recollections

varying.

[15:10:04]

To my mind, and this is just my personal opinion, there was a passive aggressive gaslighting edge to it, you know, questioning someone's memories

and the height of emotion. It has an undertone of, well, dear, you were upset. We don't know exactly what went wrong. But I do think that there is

a big dose of reality on both sides. Clearly, something was said that was remembered with enormous pain and hurt and horror and chagrin to the extent

that it's being brought up even 30 years later.

Clearly, I do think that we know what ultimately happened, which is that King Charles and Queen Camilla married. I think that it was a very, very

difficult situation for everyone. And so, I do think that there's fair weight on both sides. But yes, there is a sense that the next chapter of

this never-ending saga has just opened.

MACFARLANE: Hmm.

And I mean, you mentioned timing. That's important, because we know that next year marks the 30-year anniversary of the death of Princess Diana. And

critics are saying here-- I mean, you mentioned the Christmas market, but that's a real kind of look ahead to why he might be doing this, essentially

weaponizing and monetizing his sister's memory.

I mean, do you agree with that at all? Why would the Earl be moved to do this now?

MAMATA: I don't think I'd go so far as to say he's weaponizing it. He is a bereaved and grieving sibling who clearly wants to put the record straight.

So actually, I do think that his motives emotionally are very, very understandable to me.

But as soon as you are dealing with the commerce of the publishing industry with celebrity culture, because Princess Diana was a huge celebrity. And I

do think it's true that many of the commentators have said that Prince Charles, as he was then, was a little jealous of that sheer weight of

celebrity that Diana had.

And yet, what we know is that myths only get stronger with time. So, there'll be the 30th anniversary, then the 35th anniversary. It's never,

ever going to end. And nobody's motives in this are pure at all.

And I think both parties or all parties, including the younger generation, have got to ask themselves as they make all their book deals and streaming

deals and documentary deals, at some point, surely the public is going to start thinking twice about whether we ourselves choose to participate in

all of this because there would be none of this if there wasn't an audience for it. Why are we finding it so attractive to talk about?

MACFARLANE: That's a good point. We should look to ourselves, of course.

But, look, we saw this evening Prince Harry doing a walkabout in his first ever public appearance in the U.K. since returning home at the inaugural

Invictus Awards ceremony, all of which is pointing to the fact that the king really has a lot on his plate right now, and he's having to firefight

on many fronts.

Do you expect we are going to get more of a response from the palace after the one we had yesterday, which was very thorough.

MAMATA: I'm intrigued about what's going to happen next. You are absolutely right. And I'm very much following this younger generation,

Prince Harry, coming back here. And slowly, I think it's very symbolic that he's out and about again. So, despite what the palace may say so firmly on

one day, I wouldn't be enormously surprised. In fact, I'd be glad to see a return to some form of public duty as a royal, as not a royal, it doesn't

matter. But there does need to be a sense of unity and measure and dignity and rapprochement on all sides to stop this endless hashing and rehashing

of the pains of the past, even if the past is so hurtful to everyone, definitely on the Spencer side and with William and Harry.

Perhaps, all of these emotions can be held and discussed and used to reforge relationships away from the public eye and away from the celebrity

culture that clearly the palace doesn't seem to like at all.

MACFARLANE: Bidisha, as ever, a hopeful, measured voice in all of this. We appreciate your comments tonight. Thank you.

And as Canada is locked in a trade war with the U.S., it's looking to deepen its ties with Europe. A day ago, the European Commission President

Ursula von der Leyen proposed Canada become the bloc's first associate member, according to the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The move is

not meant to form a great power rivalry with the U.S. He spoke before European lawmakers earlier.

The proposal has U.S. President Donald Trump threatening a new wave of tariffs against Europe.

[15:15:04]

For more, I'm joined by Paula Newton in New York.

And Paula, we heard Mark Carney earlier addressing the issue of this being a message to the United States for an audience of one. But it does leave a

bad taste, and it has, of course, in Donald Trump's mouth. So where does this leave the transatlantic alliance right now?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly in turmoil. I will say, and I will be specific here, that President Trump and Prime Minister Mark

Carney have, in fact, a running dialogue, whether by text or by phone. It isn't anything that we get readouts on. That itself is unprecedented, but

they talk all the time.

I don't think Canadians or Mark Carney makes much of the bluster from President Trump saying that this is, in his words, laughable. But I do

think this is a very real reaction by both the E.U. and Canada to an American administration that has basically left them absolutely no choice.

The point here, Christina, is that the United States is using geoeconomics. It is using its leverage in economics, in the military sphere, in the

security sphere. It is leveraging all of that in what has turned out to be a zero-sum game. There is no discussion of win-win. And when it comes to

that, Mark Carney squarely told the European Union and anyone else that wanted to listen that in his words, this was a ferocious storm and that a

single tree may fall, but a forest will not. His analogy, not mine, but let's see what more he had to say afterwards after he delivered that

speech.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Yesterday, President von der Leyen spoke of moving beyond CETA to an alliance for the future, opening the door

to Canada to become the European Union's first associate member.

(APPLAUSE)

CARNEY: Canada -- Canada welcomes this ambition. I will tell you, polling shows that an overwhelming majority of Canadians support much closer ties

with Europe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: So that is true. Many Canadians do support a closer tie up with Europe, but not becoming in any way, shape or form any kind of a member.

There's already some pushback from that in Canada.

I mean, look, to be blunt with you, Christina, Canadians followed the Brexit ordeal very carefully, and some of them do identify the E.U. as a

hot mess right now bureaucratically. Having said that, he mentioned CETA, that is a free trade agreement that's already in place between Canada and

the E.U.

So, we'll be up to an upcoming summit at the end of October in Montreal between the E.U. and Canada to really flesh out what this will mean. And a

key thing here, Cristina, that I do want to point out that the E.U. and Canada are both pushing back against tech firms in the United States,

social media firms in the United States, and that's something that they describe as digital sovereignty, data sovereignty is becoming much more

important to them.

We'll wait and see what kind of reaction the Trump administration has to this, but they as well will be waiting for the details, and right now we

just don't have any.

MACFARLANE: Yeah, details do seem rather vague other than it being called a different framework that they're going to be working to, but we'll wait

for that and we'll look ahead to that summit.

Paula Newton, appreciate it. Thank you.

All right, turning to Washington and new developments in the ongoing battle over the Kennedy Center. A judge has ruled that the center must give 30

days notice about any building changes or demolition. The judge also ordered it must provide additional details on its temporary closure by this

coming Wednesday.

This ruling comes as President Donald Trump was seen looking at a picture that appeared to say Kennedy Center demolished. The images were taken as he

was sitting on Air Force One here.

On Wednesday, the president said the cultural center was in, quote, "very bad shape" and could end up being ripped down.

All right, coming up, the UN revives concerns about war crimes in Gaza. It says hundreds of civilian bodies are being recovered in the rubble. We'll

talk with someone in Gaza who is helping coordinate relief efforts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:22:32]

MACFARLANE: The U.S. is again blockading a Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, from traveling to New York for next week's U.N.

General Assembly. Just like last year, the State Department denied visas for President Abbas and other Palestinian officials. The Trump

administration claims the P.A. failed to live up to its commitments to seek peace with Israel.

Despite the visa denials, Palestinians will still be represented at the global gathering by their U.N. mission.

The recovery of hundreds of bodies from the rubble in Gaza has raised new concerns about possible war crimes. U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk

claims the bodies of what appear to be entire families are being unearthed. He said the discoveries revive issues raised in a 2024 UN report that IDF

strikes during the early weeks of the war may have violated international humanitarian law. Israel has rejected allegations of targeting civilians in

Gaza.

So, what we want to know is, has anything changed in Gaza since the ceasefire?

Joining me now is Yousra Abu Sharekh, Gaza operations manager at All Hands and Hearts.

Thank you so much for joining us, Yousra. I know how challenging it can be there being live from Gaza City.

You, Yousra, are a poet. And you wrote a few lines not long ago that I would like to show people to begin with. You wrote this. You wrote that

life outside Gaza is repulsive, while life inside Gaza is impossible. And our battle is not with death, but with life while carrying a distorted

soul.

Yousra, can you tell us what life is like for you in Gaza right now?

YOUSRA ABU SHAREKH, GAZA OPERATIONS MANAGER, ALL HANDS & HEARTS: Actually, after three years -- thank you for mentioning that -- after three years

living under devastating conditions, it's very hard for us mentally and psychosocially to bear more in Gaza, especially for us as humanitarian aid

workers, where we are still witnessing people suffering.

And we receive dozens of requests for support and help while we cannot do anything with these requests. So sometimes we feel that people who passed

away or experienced death, they are lucky enough because the suffering, the very slow death stopped finally for them.

[15:25:08]

Yes, livelihood in Gaza is impossible, and it remains shaped by stopping with no access to shelter. For example, I have 18 now while I'm speaking to

you -- I have 18 families in urgent need for tents. Why I figured out with many NGOs to support them why I couldn't because they are at zero stock of

tents, for example, and we are talking about winter is coming and raining days are heavily expected this season.

While I'm talking with you, also, I receive requests to support people financially. The market is flooded with food and come into Gaza (AUDIO GAP)

and organizations and these are very expensive and people don't have any source of income so they cannot buy it. They cannot afford the basics of

their food needs on daily basis.

Also --

MACFARLANE: Yes.

ABU SHAREKH: -- many, many hundreds of people don't have any access to medicines. So, to me, as a mother, as a humanitarian aid worker, as someone

who lived in Gaza for three years, life is impossible. And we are witnessing ourselves suffering on a daily basis.

MACFARLANE: Yousra, there's so much I want to talk about. And I know the line is tricky, but we're going to persevere. We are seeing images there of

collapsed buildings and the state of things on the ground there. We have watched in horror, frankly, this week as Palestinians, many of them

children, were pulled from the rubble of a collapsed building in Gaza City, many of them killed by Israel after being targeted by an Israeli strike.

How desperate is the situation for Palestinians now that they are being driven to take these risks about where they choose to shelter. You

mentioned that winter is coming. Is that why Palestinians are now choosing to shelter in bombed-out buildings that are unsafe?

ABU SHAREKH: Yes. Life in tents during winter is unimaginable. The situation, the suffering on daily basis, they have to face severe

challenges when it comes to collapse of the tents. So, they decided to go under these partially damaged houses. And they know for sure that at any

point this will happen, but they choose to be in better conditions, even if it's just a few hours for them on this ground.

So, yes, this is expected to happen. This incident, I mean, is expected to happen more and more during winter. But people don't have any choice. If

you come on the ground and walk through the streets, you can -- just if you come, you will see and witness, imagine the situation on the ground.

To us as Palestinians in Gaza, this incident is very hard to witness. To me, for example, myself, I was, like, thinking for 24 hours how was the

last moments for those families, for the children, for the girls students who are supposed to celebrate their academic year after three years. This

is the first time for them to buy, for example, stationery back and to celebrate the academic year.

And not all the children in Gaza are fortunate enough to go to school this year. So, yeah, it's pretty hard to me as a mother to think of this family.

and feeling helpless as well. We couldn't do anything for them because we don't have machinery. We don't have heavy machines to support them, to

rescue them.

MACFARLANE: Yousra, I'm so sorry. I feel your pain.

And I know that you're a mother. You're a mother of two sons, two boys, Yaman (ph) and Kinan (ph). How hard has it been while you do this

humanitarian work to keep your own children safe and to protect your mental health?

ABU SHAREKH: To be honest, it's not that easy process. To me, protecting them from the surrounding condition is priceless because, for example, I

left my previous job that I have passion with because I cannot afford the expenses to make their life better comparing to others.

They are going to school this year. But for example, my older son, Yaman, the other day, while we were celebrating his birthday.

[15:30:03]

When we came back to the house, he said, I quit up with this life. And our friend jumped to say, what did you experience to say this, Yaman? And I

jumped quickly and said, no, he experienced a lot because I know how deep the pain is inside Yaman and all the children in Gaza. And they cannot say

it in the language that everyone understands.

So, at that moment, I realized, however, and no matter I try to protect their mental health, there are many inside them and too much inside them

that they will not enjoy their life as they should do in normal life.

MACFARLANE: Yes, it is a tragedy of our age. Yousra, as a humanitarian worker, as a mother, thank you so much for communicating this to us today.

Thank you.

Okay, coming up on what we know, a big step to keep children safe from online dangers, a sweeping plan to restrict social media.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: It's the final moments of trade on Wall Street. We're going to take a quick look at the markets because stocks are up. The Dow up more

than 300 points after heavy losses yesterday.

This is our Business Breakout.

The European Union is taking steps to ban social media for children under the age of 13 in the hopes of keeping minors safe from online dangers.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has released a plan asking for online services to design child safe accounts. The proposed EU

Kids Act follows similar initiatives in Australia, Britain, China, India, and Turkey. Months of debate are expected before the proposals could become

law.

What we don't know is if EU social media ban for those under the age of 13 will be successful.

Joining me now is Professor Sonia Livingstone. She's the director of Digital Futures for Children's Center at the London School of Economics.

Welcome to the show.

I have seen that you have been quite critical of some of the bans that we've seen brought in in Australia and France saying that they've kind of

missed the mark regarding the enforcement of real age checks or addressing the algorithm problem, but that these new proposals, E.U. proposals, are in

your view a bit more considered. So, tell us what you mean by that.

SONIA LIVINGSTONE, PROFESSOR, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: I think what's really important about the European proposal, the EU Kids Act, is that it

takes a graduated approach. So, it recognizes that children grow up and develop at different ages. And so a kind of one-size-fits-all approach is

not going to either give them a chance to kind of be kept safe or to engage with their possibilities for communication.

So, the graduated approach, something protecting those under 13, then kind of some careful possibilities for using social media 13 and 14, and then

still a safe but more independent approach from 13 to 17, I think captures many parents' feelings that children need a gradual way of joining the

digital world, learning as they go, and with parental protections where they're younger and becoming more independent as they get older.

So, I think it kind of strikes a good balance in opportunities for participation and continued need for protection.

MACFARLANE: Interesting. And I notice that the EU Kids Act is actually targeting a sort of wider range of online services than we've previously

seen anywhere else. So, it won't include -- well, not just including social media companies, but also video sharing platforms, A.I. chatbots,

importantly.

Is that a good thing or is it a bit sort of overly ambitious when you've got 27 countries that need to sign up to this? Because I mean it's being

said that could take years to implement.

LIVINGSTONE: Right. I haven't heard years. I mean, I think there are two big barriers and perhaps probably the European Commission has a way

forward. One is about knowing how old somebody is when they're online and ideally knowing how old they are in a way that can be easily implemented by

the platform and that doesn't require too much taking of people's personal information because we want this to be privacy respecting, not privacy

invasive.

And then the other thing and the thing that's gone wrong at the moment in Australia is that the platforms are just not kind of playing ball. So, we

need the platforms to do the age checks and also then provide the tiered, the graduated service according to the result of those age checks.

I think on the other question you asked about the kind of scope, so the European Commission has started talking about social media plus, social

media but also gaming platforms, A.I. chatbots, and I think that's recognizing. that underneath all of those is the same business model and

the same kind of way in which platforms seek to hold children's attention and promote content to them rather than give children a free choice about

what they might be interested in or where they might go.

And it's the way in which that platform both holds their attention too long and also promotes harmful content to them that is really where we need to

see the changes being made. So that's what we hope the EU Kids Act will address.

MACFARLANE: Yeah. It's not just about banning.

LIVINGSTONE: You sound skeptical now.

MACFARLANE: The company is accountable. Yes, I know. Well, look, it's good to break it down and we'll obviously wait to see how this moves forward.

LIVINGSTONE: Yeah. Yeah.

MACFARLANE: We're going to have to leave it there. Sorry, Sonia.

LIVINGSTONE: Okay. Yeah.

MACFARLANE: Thank you. Apologies.

Well, there'll be more to discuss on this. Thank you very much.

[15:40:02]

Coming up on what we know, an endangered apex predator that depends on human settlements gets a helping hand.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: From rural farmlands to urban neighborhoods, learning to coexist with wildlife is equally beneficial to humans and animals.

Today on "Call to Earth", conservationists on a remote Japanese island aim to help a small but mighty predator that has historically depended on

people for survival.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Walking along the edge of a forest on Japan's Tsushima Island, a team of

researchers look for signs of a rare and elusive creature.

TAKUMA KAITO, SENIOR NATURE CONSERVATION OFFICER, TSUSHIMA WILDLIFE PROTECTION OFFICE (through translator): Most residents are aware of the

Tsushima leopard cat and feel positively toward it. But very few have actually seen one. That shows just how rarely these animals are encountered

today.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): The Tsushima leopard cat is listed as critically endangered by the Japanese government, with around 100 believed to remain

in the wild.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): About the same size as a domesticated cat, its appetite for rodents makes the furry feline vital to life on Tsushima.

KAITO (through translator): The key feature is that this is an island ecosystem. You find species that have evolved unique characteristics,

species that have arrived recently and closely resemble mainland Japanese fauna, and species that come from the continent or have long been isolated

here.

Within this unique assemblage, the Tsushima leopard cat functions as one of the apex predators.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): As a species, leopard cats live across an extensive range. But the Tsushima leopard cat is a subspecies that only

exists here on its namesake island.

[15:45:02]

Historically, Tsushima Island was what the Japanese call Satoyama.

YOSHIO HANE, VICE PRESIDENT, CONSERVATION SOCIETY OF TSUSHIMA LEOPARD CAT (through translator): Satoyama refers to areas where farmland and forests

lie next to human settlements, a landscape rich in nature where people and wildlife coexist.

The leopard cats don't just live deep in the mountains. They've always had a close relationship with people in Satoyama environments. We've learned

that such human-influenced landscapes are actually ideal for them.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): But the balance is shifting. A declining human population has, in part, led to a significant reduction in the farmland the

cats rely on for food.

KAITO (through translator): The cats historically coexisted with primary industries around settlements, but as island populations decline, fields

are abandoned.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): On the other hand, roadkill accidents have become one of their biggest threats. Traps set for other animals, diseases spread

from feral cats, dog attacks, and deforestation are also contributing factors to their decline.

But the nationally protected species does have help. The Tsushima Wildlife Conservation Center was established to preserve this fragile population

through research, education, and rehabilitation of injured animals.

KAITO (through translator): Yes, many visitors say the Tsushima leopard cat is so cute, which makes us happy, but our center is not a zoo. As a

facility under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Environment, our purpose is to help people understand Tsushima's natural environment.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): In addition, they monitor the wild population via camera traps and DNA analysis of fecal samples, and help organize the

placement of road signs where the cats are known to have crossed.

Meanwhile, the NPO Yoshio Hane helps run, which she says has operated on the island for more than 30 years, is now working to improve their

habitats.

HANE (through translator): We designated this mountain as a reserve, cultivate fields, and plant buckwheat. When the buckwheat produces seeds,

mice come to feed on them, and then the cats come to hunt the mice. It's a bit complex, but that's how we're working to build a sustainable food

environment for the cats.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): For the conservationists here, who say a recovery of the cats' population is being observed, it all comes back to Satoyama,

finding ways to sustainably coexist with the natural world around us.

HANE (through translator): The Tsushima leopard cat serves as a barometer for the human environment. Protecting them is, in essence, protecting our

own living environment.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Let us know what you're doing to answer the call with #CallToEarth.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi symbolizes resilience within the Iranian women's movement. She spent much of the last

two decades in prison on charges of propaganda and collusion and has just sat down for an interview with CNN's Jomana Karadsheh.

To avoid putting her at any further risk of retribution by the regime, CNN agreed to focus the interview on her new memoir and personal experiences

rather than recent events in Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NARGES MOHAMMADI, IRANIAN NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE (through translator): I was subjected to a very difficult arrest last December and was assaulted

by security forces. The blows I received to my head caused many problems.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In one of her first interviews since her temporary release from prison, Nobel Peace Laureate

Narges Mohammadi spoke to CNN from her home in Tehran, where she says she's recovering and still under medical care.

Mohammadi's health severely deteriorated after her re-arrest at this event in December, after warnings from her family and the Nobel Committee that

she was in critical condition, Mohammadi was released for medical treatment in May. She spoke with us about her memoir that's releasing this week.

KARADSHEH: How do you even write a book in Iranian jails and get that writing out?

MOHAMMADI (through translator): Well, getting the writings out was very difficult, I was very fortunate that many of my fellow prisoners, whose

names unfortunately I still cannot mention, because the Islamic Republic is still in power and some of them are still in prison or being pursued by the

authorities, these courageous prisoners helped me get a large part of the book out of prison.

KARADSHEH: So, did you smuggle your writings out of prison?

MOHAMMADI (through translator): It was smuggled out. It was extraordinary. I couldn't have done it on my own.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Mohammadi, a fearless defender of human rights, has spent much of the past two decades behind bars, and for her activism,

sentenced to a total of 44 years in prison and 154 lashes, accused of actions against national security and propaganda against the state.

Speaking with CNN could put her at risk of retribution, but Mohammadi is not worried. She says this is her duty.

KARADSHEH: Every time you speak out, you get punished. Your prison sentence gets longer and longer. You are risking this again with the book.

Why did you feel that, that risk is worth taking?

MOHAMMADI (through translator): Every moment of my life has involved confronting the system. A system that was systematically violating human

rights. This book too is part of the course of my life and is written from this perspective. I may

have taken risks and there may be consequences, but this is what life is like for us here in this region and in this country.

KARADSHEH: In the book, you describe some of the terrible things that take place inside Iranian prisons. You name interrogators. You name judges. Why

did you feel it was necessary?

MOHAMMADI (through translator): In order to document these things, it's better to speak out openly about their methods, to expose and reveal their

torture. Perhaps the names remain in the minds of survivors and prisoners, and later we may be able to identify the person.

KARADSHEH: All these years of being behind bars, being denied medical treatment so many times, what impact has that had on your health, on you

physically and mentally?

MOHAMMADI (through translator): One of the government's tools of repression is in fact depriving prisoners of timely and adequate medical

treatment in prison, that seriously endangers their health and, in some cases, leads to their death. These deaths are a form of silent execution

without any public attention.

Naturally, I was no exception. I was repeatedly denied medical care, and as a result, I now have medical conditions for which I'm currently receiving

treatment.

KARADSHEH: Do you, at times, sit there and regret the path that you have chosen in your life that has led you to sacrifice your time with your

children and your freedom?

MOHAMMADI (through translator): I believe that if I could go back to the moment when I began my struggle and to each and every moment when I was

arrested, even knowing what would happen to me, I would certainly make the same choice to begin the struggle and continue it. I have no doubt about

that, and I have no regrets.

But when I look at Ali and Kiana, I find myself faced with doubt.

[15:55:04]

Did I really have the right to deprive them of a very ordinary life of having their mother with them? That is the difficult part of the question,

and I cannot answer it with certainty.

KARADSHEH: I can see you've got the photo of Mahsa Jina Amini there behind you, and that calligraphy next to you that reads, "Woman, Life, Freedom".

It has been four years since the death of Mahsa Jina Amini in the custody of the so-called morality police and the "Woman, Life, Freedom" uprising

that followed. What has the impact been of this movement?

MOHAMMADI (through translator): This is an opportunity through the pages of this book and through this television screen to pay tribute to Mahsa

Jina Amini and to all those killed during the "Woman, Life, Freedom" Movement, the events of January, and all the movements that the people of

Iran have courageously created over the past 47 years.

If you look at the streets of Tehran and even at cities across the country, you can see how courageously women are standing tall in the streets,

despite the fact that the government is repressing them by every possible means in order to push them back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Important interview. Stay tuned.

"QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is coming up after the break.

END

TO ORDER VIDEOTAPES AND TRANSCRIPTS OF CNN INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMING, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS