ben wedeman, always great to speak to you.. >> you are watching cnn, more news after the break. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ lisa here, has had many jobs. and all that experience has led her to a job that feels like home. with home instead, you too can become a caregiver to older adults. apply today. >>> 30 minutes past the hour, welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and around the world, i am robyn curnow. the british monarchy will be full in display. the queen is expected to talk about unity. just hours after that, oprah winfrey highly anticipated interview will be broadcast around the world. buckingham palace had not comment on the interview. joining us from outside the hospital is cnn's ana stewart. a busy sunday there in the u.k. and of course here in the u.s. with the blockbuster interview is going to be taken place. what's the feeling where you are? >> reporter: well, it is hard to know what to look for. this big occasion for the royal family day. the queen reported of all the members of the royal family will be th

ben wedeman, cnn. >> thanks to ben wedeman. >>> president biden is warning americans not to let theiric. we have the bottom line of what that means, next. to prove our aa battery is the world's longest-lasting, we tested it against our competitor's best battery. (meowing) (clicking) and energizer ultimate lithium wins again! energizer, backed by science. matched by no one. it's an important time to save. with priceline, you can get up to 60% off amazing hotels. and when you get a big deal... you feel like a big deal. ♪ priceline. every trip is a big deal. >>> a vast majority of americans, 72%, approve of president biden's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. so what will he do with that political capital? let's get the bottom line with cnn political director david chalian. david, with that 72% that we just put up on the screen approval, what can he do now that we -- now that dr. rochelle walensky seems to be very concerned that we're facing a possible, horrible surge. >> i think we saw some of the ways he wants to spend that political capital yesterday when he came out and urged some

ben wedeman in cairo tracking it for us. good to see you, ben. thanks for that. continue to monitor it. >>> "world sport" is next for our international viewers. for those of you here in the u.s., i'll be right back with more after the break. ♪ ♪ locating your parked car with the touch of a button might seem... excessive. unless... getting lost is the whole point. ♪ ♪ if you're 55 and up, t- mobile has plans built just for you. switch today and get 2 lines of unlimited and 2 free smartphones. plus you'll now get netflix on us. all this for up to 50% off vs. verizon. it's all included. 2 lines of unlimited for only $70 bucks. and this rate is fixed. you'll pay exactly $70 bucks total. this month and every month. only at t-mobile. tonight...i'll be eating loaded tots for march madness. ( doorbell ) thanks boo. ( piano glissando ) i think you better double them tots. no, this me was last year. i didn't get my madness last year, so we're doing double the madness this year. - [narrator] grubhub perks give you deals ion all the food thatss makes you boogie. (upbeat musi

our senior international correspondent ben wedeman is in baghdad for us. l, what are you learning about who was behind this attack? >> reporter: well, there's been no indication from, for instance, the pentagon or the iraqi authorities who may have been behind this attack. the attackers apparently used 122-millimeter grog rockets, which are a rocket often used by kataib hezbollah which is one of the groups that was targeted early last friday by that u.s. airstrike just on the other side of the border in syria. we have, however, just in the last hour or so seen a message from abu ali al askar yu who is the head of katab hezbollah who said -- basically he congratulated what he called the brave resistance for targeting what he called the evil base. and he said the so-called resistance should continue its fight to expel in his words the riffraff and the murderers from the holy -- our holy land, referring of course to iraq. now, the pentagon seems to be hesitant to name who may be behind it. but it's pretty clear if sort of the circumstantial evidence that this

ben wedeman is in iraq for more on the historic day. ben, the pope is meant to land in the next couple of hours there. with so many challenges ahead, how are the preparations coming? >> reporter: the preparations, kim, have been quite intense over the last few weeks. we've seen roads being paved, lights being repaired, flags and posters going up to welcome the pope. now he is due to arrive by my estimation in about an hour and 20 minutes. once he is finished with official meeting and greeting with the president and the prime minister, he will go to a church here in baghdad where the memories of nightmares past are still vivid. >> the image of pope francis graces the blast walls protecting baghdad's our lady of salvation church. the messages of brotherhood, a facade perhaps, to the bitter memory of the worst ever massacre of christians in baghdad. each one of these red squares represents a spot where somebody died. in october 2010, a total of 58 people were killed in the attack. terrorists from the islamic state in iraq, the precursor to

cnn's ben wedeman is in egypt for us. ben, what's the latest?ion continues, now at 24 minutes past 11:00 local time this evening. that is when the seasonal tide reaches its peak. and they're hoping that that will provide that opportunity, along with the arrival of two heavy tug boats, to free the "ever given." but really this is kind of the end of this phase of the operation. the egyptian president has already given orders that preparations should be made to start removing some of the containers from the "ever given" in the hopes of lightening the ship to free it. the problem is that there are 18,300 containers on the ship to remove them, you have to bring in floating cranes. at the moment there are no floating cranes in egypt. so the expectation is that perhaps this operationo on for quite a while longer. fredricka. >> sounds long indeed. ben wedeman in egypt, thank you so much. ♪ >>> all right, hello again, everyone, thank you so much for joining me, i'm fredricka whitefield. breaking news, dangerous flooding in the nashville area, killing at

senior international correspondent ben wedeman is there live in baghdad.n you tell us about the trip? >> reporter: we know the pope will be arriving in baghdad in half an hour. this will be a trip that lasts until sunday and it is full of stops and meetings but most importantly he is here to express solidarity with the diminishing christian population here which in 2003 was around a million and a half. now perhaps 300,000. now the high point of his first day here in baghdad will be in the afternoon when he goes to visit the church of our lady of salvation where on the 31st of october 2010 terrorists from the islamic state in iraq, which is a precursor of isis, burst into that church in evening mass, killed 58 people. it was the worst massacre of christians in this country. so he's going to go there, be meeting with members of the clergy and members. not a lot of people. just around 70 people will be there. iraq is currently going through a spike in covid cases which with the number of daily reported new cases, about three times what it was a month ago. but

many thanks to delia gallagher in rome, ben wedeman in baghdad.ppreciate it. >>> the biden administration is going to impose sanctions on the poisoning and jailing of opposition leader alexey navalny. it's the latest sign russia will not be getting the same treatment it did under donald trump who failed to take any action under the poisoning. the new measures will be rolled out in coordination with the european union with the exact timing to be worked out in the coming days. the white house is looking to send a strong message on human rights as well as the importance of acting alongside allies. >>> we'll be right back. do stay with us here on cnn. over 10 years. olay's hydration was unbeaten every time. face anything. find out more at olay.com chances are you have some questions right now here are a couple answers... lysol disinfectant spray and lysol disinfecting wipes together can be used on over 100 surfaces. and kill up to 99.9% of germs. lysol. what it takes to protect. rely on the experts at 1800petmeds for the same medications as the vet, b

i want to bring in our ben wedeman in erbil, iraq. ben, looking at these images that we've seen in the last hour or so of the pope speaking to people in mosul, what are your thoughts? because it wasn't, seems like, that long ago that we remember images from mosul when al baghdadi declared a caliphate there. >> reporter: yes. when you consider it was just seven years ago, it's an incredible change. dramatic change, in fact. i was here in the fall of 2014 when people, hundreds of thousands of people had fled from mosul. muslims and christians and yazidis and others. in the direction of erbil, for safety. there were refugee camps in public parks with pem of various religions who had taken refuge here. it was also in the summer of 2014 that abu bakr baghdadi himself called on his followers to conquer rome. of course, now to see the pope, who came from rome, giving a sermon in mosul itself is almost difficult for many people to digest. and it's always important to stress that, yes, the pope is the leader of the roman catholic church. but hi

cnn international correspondent, ben wedeman there bringing us the latest. petro, you have been looking closely at the weather and we heard ben talk about the high tide and how that will play into this. what are you seeing? >> great news here. within the next couple of hours some of the highest tides we have seen in the next month or so taking place, because of a full moon taking place and the gravitational pull from the full moon, and it's transitioning into the month of april, and you have seen what has played out in the last several days, they have been able to move 30,000 cubic meters of sand to give it breathing room and mother nature giving it a boost as well. 11:42 local time, in about 2 1/2 hours from now, they expect the highest tide to reach 6.82 feet, which gives us a window until we go back to around a one-foot tide. once again another opportunity comes in closer to midnight where we have water levels increase a little more, 6.96 feet and drop again six hours later, and this similar pattern plays out one more time as we go in towards wednesday. w

ben wedeman has been following the visit from irbil. ben, the hope has left iraq.ll did he achieve on this visit? and were all the risks wto it in the end? >> it was definitely worth it i think, rosemary. in terms of what it achieved, many the short-term what it really achieved was that it shows that iraq is not the country that many people believe of constant violence and bloodshed. his four-day trip went off without a single hitch. everywhere he went, he was met by enthusiastic crowds, happy to see the sort of papal visit that so many other countries see without any incident. and therefore think about it. i was looking it up this morning. the median age in iraq is 21. you would have to be more than 40 to have actually experienced life in iraq without war, without terrorism, without sanctions, without general instability and uncertainty in your life. and to see this visit come off without any problems along the way is quite spectacular. now his two main missions on this trip was one, excuse me, to build bridges with the muslim world. he was successful in that in t

ben wedeman joins me from baghdad.ll get to the timing of the visit but first explain the purpose of the visit. >> reporter: the purpose of this visit and, in fact, pope john paul ii wanted to come to iraq in 1999 or 2000 but wasn't able to. the purpose is really to show solidarity with the christian community here in iraq, one of the oldest christian communities in the world which has dwindled from 1.5 million back in 2003 to 300,000 today. he also wants to extend an olive branch to the shia community. he will be going to najah in southern iraq to meet the grand ayatollah who is one of the senior clerics of the shia tendencies. really create bridges with this country that because of war, sanctions and whatnot over the years has not put it on the itinerary of popes in the past. >> now to the timing so soon after these repeated attacks there. surely there must be pressure to cancel, right? >> reporter: there is pressure. there has been pressure on the pope, kim, for him to cancel this visit from within the vatican itsel

ben wedeman in asia for us. up, a trawluly drama first day in court for the police officer accused of killing george floyd. zero-commission trades for online u.s. stocks and etfs. and a commitment to get you the best price on every trade, which saved investors over $1.5 billion last year. that's decision tech. only from fidelity. so you want to make the best burger ever? then make it! that means selling everything. and eating nothing but cheese till you find the perfect slice... even if everyone asks you... another burger truck? don't listen to them! that means cooking day and night until you get... [ ding ] you got paid! that means adding people to the payroll. hi mom. that means... best burger ever. intuit quickbooks helps small businesses be more successful with payments, payroll, banking and live bookkeeping. ♪ no matter if you're young or old, tall or small, there's nothing more important than your health. that's why we redesigned the doctor's office for real life. you can book a same or next-day appointmen

we will go to ben wedeman who joins me from erbil.he pope's presence in mosul seemed in congress given the not so distant history there. >> it's incongruous, kim, on so many levels. what struck me just a few minutes ago was looking at pictures of him without a flak jacket riding through the streets of mosul in an open golf cart. it's unthinkable for anybody who has been in iraq for very long to see a leader of his statue seemingly exposed like that and able to actually move around. it was in mosul in the summer of 2014 that abu bakr al bad dghda who called upon his followers to conquer rome in his words. now we see the bishop of rome, another name for the pope, in the city of mosul itself. there is no sense of try um fannism to his visit. he has been very careful throughout his time to show support and solidarity with the shrinking christian community here in iraq but also to extend a hand of fellowship, of brotherhood to the muslim community. yesterday, for instance, his program was largely dedicated to exactly that, first meeting wi

ben wedeman, cnn, beirut. ingret fuel 5 indicators of brain performance.ory, focus, accuracy, learning, and concentration. try our new gummies for 30 days and see the difference. - grammarly business turned my marketing team into rock stars. (diana strums guitar) maya swears by grammarly business because it keeps her work on brand and error-free. fast and easy. - [announcer] learn more at grammarly.com/business. do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy, even a term policy, for an immediate cash payment. call coventry direct to learn more. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized that we needed a way to supplement our income. our friends sold their policy to help pay for their medical bills and that got me thinking. maybe selling our policy could help with our retirement. i'm skeptical, so i did some research and called coventry direct. they explained life insurance is a valuable asset that can be sold. we learned that we can sell all of our policy or keep part of it with no

let's go to ben wedeman. he's been following this for us from egypt.other effort to free the ship, did they bake my progress? >> reporter: yes, apparently they have made some progress,agea. we're told part of the ship they've shifted by about 30 me meters. that's just shy of 100 feet, so there is progress. and there was the first press conference in suez, given by the chairman of the suez canal authority, who underscored they have dredging around the "ever given." that they have temporarily free the rudder and propellers. so this is progress, but it's not quite clear at this point how soon the shift will be able to be moved out of the way for the other ships stalled to resume movement. as of this afternoon there are 320 ships, according to the egyptian authorities that are either stuck in the mediterranean, in the red sea, or in the middle of the canal itself. clearly egypt is sparing no effort to try to unblock this problem, because there are billions of dollars at stake. five days, basically, is equivalent to $50 billion of cargo that is not getting

correspondent ben wedeman joins us live. this is quite a moment.was years in the making. iraq not a particularly safe place, yet the pope is there. what brought him there? >> reporter: well, what got him here really was his determination to come here. let's forgot that pope john paul ii wanted to come here in 2000, but that trip was canceled. and let's remember, pope francis was elected in 2013 and just the next year was when isis began its onslaught in syria and iraq. and therefore during those years after that, he watched as christiansys edies and muslims were persecuted and slaughtered by that terrorist group. so he felt that it was important to come here. and it is important to keep in mind sort of the great historical significance of his visit. let's remember that in the summer of 2014, bagdadi, the self-declared khalif of the islamic state said that they would conquer rome and rule the world. i was here in 2014 in baghdad, isis was on the out skirts of the iraqi capitol and now we find the pope of rome, the bishop of rome landed today in iraq

i want to bring in cnn international correspondent ben wedeman, following this for us from cairo. reporter: it depends who you speak with, brianna. some are hoping that, perhaps, by tomorrow that the ship will be free. there are intense efforts by egyptian authorities and international companies to try to dredge around this ship. however, one dutch expert told cnn that the idea that the ship will be free saturday is a subject of hope, not reality. reality is much harsher in this case. we're already seeing that ships are being diverted away from the suez canal around africa. the sister ship of the stricken ship in the suez canal itself has been diverted around africa. the cost of shipping oil now has gone up by 47% since this crisis began. the swedish furniture and household goods company, ikea, says they are having their shipments delayed by this problem in the suez canal. at this point, if these hopes are not realized that the canal will be unstuck by tomorrow, experts are saying this could go on for, if not days, for weeks. brianna? >> my goodness. ben wedeman, thank you for tha

ben wedeman, cnn, cairo. >>> u.s. president joe biden is cutting trade ties in myanmar.he latest move by international powers to end the turmoil and bloodshed in that country. we'll have the details. my skin . my psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen... painful. emerge tremfyant™ with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. tremfya® is also approved for adults with active psoriatic arthritis. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tremfya®. emerge tremfyant™ - grammarly business helps my company janssen can help you explore cost support options. build higher performing sales teams. since simon's team started using grammarly busine to srpen their writing, we've closed more deals. you'd never wash your dishesn this. learn more at grammarly.com/business. your dishwasher looks clean but, when grease and limesca

>> oh, thank you so much, ben wedeman. >>> so with more than 300 ships backed up at the canal, $300 billionough and that could cost all of us. bed wedeman joins us now to explain. this ship is half a world away. how could it have an impact here on everyday lives here in the u.s.? >> that ship is causing an epic traffic jam at sea. because we live in a global economy, there really are implications here for everyone's wallet here in the united states. i think there are two big things to watch, depending how long this lasts. one, we could see shipping delays. it could take longer to get everything from crude oil to furniture as ships get rerouted or they wait for the suez canal to open back up. the other thing is we can see sticker shock here, we can see price spikes because of all of these delays. i think what's really important to remember is we're not just talking about some water way, this is the suez canal. this would be like i-95 getting shut down on the east coast on thanksgiving day. there's going to be some problems. let me run you through some of the numbers that show just how import

the ship has been stuck there since tuesday blocking one of the biggest commercial waterways and ben wedemanship out of the way? >> reporter: well, there's lots of talk about what they can do and what they are doing. at the moment the focus is on dredging around this ship. they have a goal of 20,000 cubic meters to remove, and they are going to bring in two big tugboats tomorrow, and they say they are hoping to actually float the ship. the owner of this ship, the evergiven says that they hope it will float tomorrow. cnn spoke with one dredging expert in the netherlands who said this. the idea that the ship will be free saturday is a subject of hope, not realism, and the e expectation among the experts is that this could take days, perhaps even weeks, and we're already seeing the knock-on effect this is having on global trade keeping in mind that under normal circumstances every hour $400 million of goods normally passes through the suez canal. now nothing is passing. we've already seen that the cost of shipping oil since tuesday has risen by around 47%. we're hearing that for instance ikea,

cnn's ben wedeman is live in suez, egypt, near where the ship is grounded. ing it could take to move this thing? >> reporter: they're being very cautious, victor, about giving a precise time or even a rough time of when they think the job will be done. we just got out of a press conference for the chairman of the canal authority and he says they have made progress, that the propellers and rudders of the ship have been freed. he did, interestingly enough, say that even though on last tuesday when the ship got stuck, that there were high winds and a sandstorm, he didn't rule out the possibility that there was technical error involved. now, at the moment they're focusing on dredging and, if that doesn't work, it's going to become much more complicated because they're going to have to remove the containers from this ship and that can only be done with cranes and there are no heavy cranes in egypt, so they'll have to be brought in from abroad. keep in mind, there are 18,300 containers on that ship and, therefore, removing them is going to take an awful lot of time

cnn's ben wedeman is live in baghdad.here. >> reporter: well, of course, this is a visit that we have heard from many within the vatican, including the former pope, pope emeritus benedict xvi that it is a dangerous trip to make for pope francis who, of course, is 84 years old, a, because of coronavirus where in iraq, for instance, we've seen a spike in the last month in the number of daily cases reported. in addition to this hit for at that time attacks and over the last more than a month. the pope has made it clear he is determined to visit iraq. he has noted that john paul ii in '99 or 2000 wanted to come but was unable to. the christian community has suffered in the past few years. back in 2003 at the time of the u.s.-led invasion in iraq, the number of christians here was a million and a half. since then it has fallen to just 300,000. so the pope is coming here, first of all, to show solidarity and support and in addition to that, he is going to, for instance, be meeting the grand ayatollah as one of the senior cleric

and ben wedeman is in baghdad. momentous day for people of may faiths. >> reporter: and this event scheduled today was hugely significant. he is meeting with one of the leading authorities of shia islam. keep in mind that back in 2019, he signed a document of fraternity with the grand imam, so he is really trying to make sure that he is covering all his bases in his efforts to build bridges of fraternity and and after the meeting, a behalf of the grand ayatollah who bolstering the other important message of pope francis that the christians of iraq should stay here, grand ayatollah said that christians should live in peace and security full constitutional rights. and it is important to remember that during the war with isis, many of the christians who fled those areas that isis seized took reffuge and were provided with shelter and means of sustenance. and so this meeting is important. and equally so this event that he attended with representatives of all the many religious sects in iraq. keep in mind that iraq part

for more on this let's bring in cnn's ben wedeman he joins us live from cairo. good to see you.king to clear the backlog of vessels in the suez canal. how long will this likely take and what has been the impact of all of this? >> reporter: in terms of how long it's going to take to work away this backlog, the egyptians are saying just a few more days, some shipping companies think it could take as much as a week. now, at its peak there were about 450 ships waiting in the suez canal itself in the mediterranean and the red sea. now, once the canal was reopened, which was at 6:00 p.m. size time on monday they just, you know, one after another normally the suez canal is open just 10 to 12 hours a day. at the moment it is 24 hours a day to get these ships through and done. we did hear the chairman of the suez canal authority saying that we will not waste one second and certainly that does seem to be the case. in terms of the impact of this crisis or problem, if it had gone on much longer it really would have been a serious problem with huge impact. it seems that it's just going to be

we have ben wedeman joining us live from erbil. ben, tell us about why the pope is in qaraqosh.e're seeing live pictures right now by the way of him addressing the congregation there. tell us the meaning of that church in which he's speaking. >> reporter: well, that was a church that is the main church, the church of the immaculate conception in qaraqosh that actually i attended the first mass there in the spring of 2017 after the town was liberated by isis. at the time the entire ceiling was black from the fires that had been set inside the church. every symbol -- every single symbol of christianity, whether it was a cross on the wall or a crucifix or a picture of jesus or the virgin mary had been defaced or vandalized. there was a pile of ashes in the main courtyard next to that church where the pope is now speaking, that pile of ashes was what was left over from bibles and prayer books that had been set a light. the same courtyard had been used as a firing range by isis. throughout the town every single house had been looted of all its possessions. many of them had been burnt

ben wedeman, thanks.eciate it. >>> coming up,is in icelandic volcano just woke up from centuries of sleep and no telling when it will close its eyes again. why covid-fatigued tourists are flocking to see it. >>> and flooding, rains and multiple tornadoes sweep through the region. stay with us. rely on the experts at 1800petmeds for the same medications as the vet, but for less with fast free shipping. visit petmeds.com today. >>> some residents in parts of the southern u.s. are trying to catch their breath after tornadoes ripped through their homes again. just look at these images. twin tornadoes left a trail of destruction in tennessee on saturday with power lines and trees down. and moments ago, the national weather service issued a flash flood emergency for the area. this comes after 14 tornadoes swept across four states about 48 hours ago killing at least six people. let's bring in meteorologist tyler malden. let's start with flash flood emergency warnings in nashville. >> things are escalating very q

cnn's ben wedeman takes a look at the events leading up to this dramatic rescue mission. >> reporter:st the ever given is on the move again. it took a flotilla of tugboats and a massive dredging effort to free the container ship from the suez canal. the sal line of scrimmage team was able to shift the stern in the early hours monday, adding momentum and jubilation to a nearly week-long effort. then trepidation as winds and currents swung the ship back slightly across the canal, finally coming unstuck not long after. the head of the suez canal authority welcomed the developments. >> translator: thank you. i say congratulations to egypt as we accomplished this mission successfully and in a short period. i thank you. >> reporter: a beast the size of a skyscraper the 400 meter long ship jammed one of the world's busiest waterways, stranding billions of dollars of cargo on more than 300 ships, including livestock, oil and even ikea furniture costing egypt $14 million every day in lost transit fees alone. dozens of vessels ended up diverting to the cape of good hope around africa, adding ov

cnn's ben wedeman is live in erbil. what's the latest there?s preparing for the arrival tomorrow of pope francis, who is really focusing on northern iraq, which is where a great number of iraqi christians live. and there is a real sense of anticipation here. he's going to go first to mosul where he will be conducting prayers at a church there that was destroyed by isis while it occupied the city. then he'll be going to another predominantly christian town that i've been to several times. in fact i was there shortly after it was liberated in early 2017 when they held their first mass there after liberation. isis, when it was in that town, destroyed every symbol of christianity they could. the main church there was scorched by fires they had set there. in fact they even used the main courtyard of the church as a firing range. his final activity here in erbil will be to address 10,000 people in a cathedral here. that will be his biggest event yet. iraqi authorities in this part of the country have assured th will be maintained in the cathedral des

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ben wedeman, cnn, cairo. >>> now, the crisis at the u.s.-mexico border is only getting worse. and these images support that view. right now, thousands, upon thousands, of migrants, many of them children, are stuck in a precarious limbo. at latest count, the u.s. government has custody of more than 18,000 children. and according to government records cnn obtained, the biden administration could need more than 34,000-more beds to keep up with the influx. >>> meanwhile, politicians are down at the border. weighing in as politicians do. senator ted cruz is one of the latest-republican lawmakers to tweet video from inside a south-texas facility. it appears to show children, crowded in a room, wrapped in blankets. one democratic representative says cruz and others are busy playing politics. >> these group of republican senators that came down yesterday. where were they during the trump administration, when children were being ripped from mothers' arms and caged? and families were being divided? did they, all of a sudden, have a softened heart to come down here to look at it? >> pres

ben wedeman with more. >> reporter: pope francis is into his first full day on this historic trip torities of shia islam. afterwards both men stressed the importance of dialogue and harmony between the two religions and the top trending topic on twitter this morning in arabic in iraq is #thehistoricmeeting referring to the encounter. the pope went on to another interfaith event involving representatives of iraq's many religions and sects in the ruins of the birth place of abraham. sunday the focus of the pope will be on expressing solidarity with and support for iraq's dwindling but ancient christian community. back in 2003, it numbered around 1.5 million souls. today it totals perhaps just 300,000. tomorrow he will be traveling to northern iraq, including mosul, to pray at a church destroyed by isis during its occupation of the city. ben wedeman, cnn, baghdad. >>> and the next hour of "new day" starts after a short break. get access to their food? we needed to make sure that, if they couldn't get to the food, the food would come to them. we can deliver for food banks and schools. am

ben wedeman is with us now. what do we know about the efforts thus far now?t made a lot of progress. last night it was the seasonal high tide and they were hoping that would be the critical moment when they could float the "ever given." but that moment came and left and the ever given is still stuck. at the moment the effort continues to be sort of two-pronged. dredging around the ship and using tugboats to try to nudge it free. two very large tugboats are expected to arrive on this scene this evening at some point. but egyptian officials are already looking at the next approach to be taken. the president has instructed the canal authority to start working on the idea of unloading some of the containers on the "ever given", keeping in mind there are 18,300 containers on board. to lift them off that massive ship, they need to bring floating trains, one apparently is on the way from cypress and they're talking about removing 600 which they hope will somehow free the ship, but this is going to take quite sometime and obviously the clock is ticking and as they sa

ben wedeman joins me now live from cairo with more details.o what are you hearing on efforts to get this sorted? tell us more about this video and what we're seeing in it. >> reporter: what you're seeing in this video is the ship early morning in the canal, and it does seem to have moved. keep in mind, i mean, when you look at that video, you can clearly tell that it is no longer completely sort of straddling the suez canal. it seems to have moved. now, in the video in arabic, you can hear somebody who is clearly not getting a lot of sleep and smoking too many cigarettes, that it has moved, it has moved. all indications are also from maritime tracking websites that the ship, the "ever given," has moved. now, how much has it moved is not altogether clear. how soon will navigation be able to proceed? well, that's probably going to be many hours from now. but this is without a doubt the most significant movement of this ship that we have seen in the last seven days. now, all the spokesmen for the egyptian government and for the suez canal authori

cnn's ben wedeman is in iraq. e pope visiting that church and visiting with muslim leaders? all right, ben -- >> do you hear me? >> i hear you. it looks like we have a delay. >> yes, i can hear you loud to baghdad after, as you said, a very busy day in northern iraq. he started in mosul where he prayed in a square that was once home to four separate churches, but thanks to isis, all of those churches are now in ruins. he then went to the town of katakash, which is the largest christian town in iraq, also ravaged by isis there. he went to a church that i went to in 2017 that was completely scorch bid isis. they had lit all the bibles and prayer books on fire. they had used the courtyard as a firing range. in katakoshe, he called on worshippers to have forgiveness, but after such knowledge they've experienced, what forgiveness can they have? he then came here to abile where he attended mass in a stadium for about -- perhaps even more than 8,000 people. 8,000 was the number given by kurdish authorities here. it was a

cnn's ben wedeman live in cairo with the latest. ben? >> reporter: yes, john.u can see from the live pictures, the ship, the "evergiven" is no longer straddling the suez canal, but it's essentially stuck. we heard from a ceo of a dutch dredging company taking part in this effort saying that the bow is still stuck in clay on the opposite shore. now, they have been dredging continuously since basically early tuesday when the ship was first stuck and also they have received more and more high-powered tug boats to try to nudge this ship out of the way. at this point, there are more than 360 other ships that are waiting either in the mediterranean, the red sea, or within the canal to move along. we have heard optimistic statements from egyptian officials that perhaps today navigation will resume in the canal, but it's fair to say that sometimes wishful thinking obscures reality in this case. and when you look at the number of ships, you can make a very easy calculation. you are talking about $80 billion worth of cargo that has been blocked from reaching its destinat

we turn now to ben wedeman. he joined us in erbil where the pope ended his tour. many questioned the which is come of him going but now the pope is heading home. what all did he achieve on this very risky trip to iraq? >> reporter: well, you make a good point, rosemary. many people including his predecessor were clearly not convinced it was a good idea. pope benedict called the pope's trip dangerous. i told you so, it was fine. indeed it was. four days of a packed schedule in which he was med everywhereby very enthusiastic crowds. the trip went off without a hitch as far as we know and he had two goals during this trip. one was to continue his effort to build bridges with islam, which he very much did when he met in a private meeting with the grand ayatollah and attended a multi-denominational meeting in the biblical city of orr. his other goal was to provide a message of solidarity and support to iraq's dwindling christian community and he was equally successful there. for them it was a huge morale boost. huge morale boost for many iraqis who have been living for

ben wedeman, thank you. >>> just ahead, defiance in myanmar. anti-coup protesters are flooding the streets and pleading for international help. >>> coming up, the western crisis security forces are violently cracking down with deadly force. >> it is actually a massacre. it's a slaughter. by the security forces against unarmed protesters. >>> at least 20 people have been killed in a car bombing. the terror group al shabab has claimed responsibility. >>> and protesters in myanmar are coming out in droves despite a deadly week of protests. earlier, hundreds could be heard sing as a show of defiance. in another issue, amnesty internationals are saying troops are shooting to kill. >> what we're seeing is a massacre. it's a slaughter by the security forces against unarmed protesters. and it is a very grim but in a way determined atmosphere. we have seen day after daypro testers, despite the dangers, coming back again and again just to show how angry they are and that they're not going to stop. >> many are pleading for international lep. they're calli

ben wedeman is live. i want to go to you first. what do you make of the good news, at least the good signals and messaging we are getting out of the region? >> reporter: well, it does seem that on the seventh day there is movement. we just heard the chairman of the suez canal authority saying that the ship has been shifted, he says 80%. it appears the stern has been moved away from the western bank of the suez canal. clearly the waterway is not free yet but this is significant progress. it happened in the very early morning hours before sunrise, and he did say that they are hoping to actually float and completely free the ship. around 11:30 is when high tide occurs. that's about 3 1/2 hours from now. when that happens they are hoping to move the ever given up to the great bitter lake which is about 30 kilometers to the north of there. he did say that perhaps navigation will be able to resume by noon today. that's difficult to really be confident about but by and large the news we're getting, the pictures we are getting on social me

>> thanks so much, ben wedeman there live in cairo.t we'll be speaking to you a bit over the weekend. thanks for the update. >>> joining me now from denmark is the ceo of seaintel jens consulting lars jensen. thanks so much for joining us. >> good to see you. >> despite the promise of help from the americans, how likely do you think that this will end soon? >> i would say that with every day that passes right now, the problem is that that simply means we're in a situation ha could take quite a while. i'm sure they're doing everything they can, but if this was easy to get off and refloat, it would have happened already >> and what's stuck in these ships? i mean everything from cars to beer to livestock. what does that mean? >> it means that from a consumer perspective, some of the goods you might have been waiting for, it might be delayed if it's arriving by sea, in some cases maybe a week, maybe two weeks. that's basically the extent of it. perhaps the counterintuitive aspect of this is if you're a consumer, you won't notice any immedi

thank you, ben wedeman. >>> all right, french leaders are set to assess their coronavirus restrictionsnd see if they need to impose new ones. officials say it is worsening across the country with the governor now admitting it is now critical. cnn is covering the pandemic around the world. >>. >> reporter: i'm jim bittermann in france, where president macron said no decisions are made on covid-19 restrictions, despite there are clear indications the situation is not improving. in fact, in an op-ed commentary in the same newspaper signed by emergency care workers, the state of affairs was described as so dire that intensive care units will soon be over capacity and doctors will soon have to make potentially life i-and-death decisions over who will get access to the icus and who will not. if the infection rate is not turned around, the hope seems to lie with a stepped-up vaccination campaign the government is planning this week. >> reporter: in england, stay-at-home orders will be lifted after months of lockdown. starting today, up to two households or six people can meet outside and soci

joining me is cnn's ben wedeman who the pope offered a mass earlier today. he pope is in iraq. what is striking about iraq and much of the arab world has been the disappearance of christianity and christians through people fleeing through persecution, often violence. >> reporter: yeah. that is the prime reason of pope francis' visit here, is to express solidarity and support to the christian community in iraq, which has dwindled from around a million and a half back in 2003 to perhaps 300,000. today he wanted to reassure them that the catholic church cares about them, wants them to remain in iraq to the extent that they can. so that was really the prime mission here. not that necessarily a four-day visit by pope francis is going to change the mind of almost everyone we spoke to in the christian community who said given the opportunity we will leave. and, in fact, you will not find one christian family that doesn't have a relative who has emigrated to the united states or canada or sweden or somewhere else. the second mission that he had here was to meet with

cnn's ben wedeman reports. >> reporter: pamela, pope francis has finished his first full day in iraq.nd an interfaith service of the ruins of the biblical city of the birthplace of abraham. he came back to baghdad where he held mass at the cathedral of st. joseph. and to mark all of today's events, the iraqi prime minister declared that march 6th will be a national day of existence. and i had went to play in a church destroyed by isis. in 2014, the then self-declared leader of the islamic state called on his followers to conquer rome. the pope then goes to the christian town liberated from isis in late 2016. in that town, the terrorists from isis destroyed or vandalized almost every symbol of christianity, burning bibles and prayer books and turning the court quarter into a firing range. finally, they be attended by up to 10,000 worshippers. the authorities say they will be soeblly distanced. pamela? >> thank you for joining me this evening. i'm pamela brown. i will see you again tomorrow night starting at 6:00 eastern. apollo 11 quarantine is up next. so you want to make the best bur

ben wedeman, cnn, cairo. >> so will this affect you and the prices you pay for food and other goods?pert tells cnn probably not, unless you're in the industry. >> perhaps counter intuitive you won't see shelves go dry at the supermarkets. you won't see any lack of goods as such. this is why the counterintuitive part comes in. the consumer immediately will notice nothing, but if you're working in companies in export or import you will have your work cut out for you to try to make end's meeting. >> after months on the ground and troops will withdraw from a region in ethiopia. pressure has been mounting to get the forces out and hold them accountable for their actions. cnn's senior international correspondent reports. >> reporter: prime minister ahmad has a series of rapid about turns. first acknowledging for the first time that forces were fighting alongside ethiopian forces in the region and now saying that eritren forces will be withdrawn. this coming after months of eyewitness reports that places soldiers at the scene of multiple massacres and comes weeks after u.s. secretary of sta

ben wedeman, we'll stay in close contact with you. thank you, sir, in cairo, and before we go just a quick programming note, please, join anderson cooper, amara walker, victor blackwell, ana cabrera to look at a disturbing trend, violent acts of people against color. "afraid, fear in america and communities of color." tune in tonight at 9:00 p.m. this evening. "the lead" begins right now. >> welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. tentacles from former president trump's big lie and the election continues to squeeze american society. there are those fighting back. dominion voting is now suing advocates for $1.6 billion for pushing that garbage that helped send the january 6th rioters into a froth, but that channel continues to allow the lies to be spread. former president trump was given a huge chunk of primetime last night to further disseminate these toxins telling us that the murderous maga mob on january 6th was all about peace and love. look, you can decide for yourself whether his words match what we all saw and heard that day be

cnn's ben wedeman is live in baghdad. n. >> well, this trip is hugely important in historical terms. now, just a while ago, the pope arrived on a flight at baghdad international airport, where he was met by mustafa, the iraqi prime minister, and of course, there's lots of music and there were people out there chanting viva viva. and now we understand that the pope's motorcade is on the way to the presidential palace. now, in terms of the importance of it, just imagine that back in 2014, i was here in baghdad when isis was on the outskirts of this city. and now, just seven years later, the pope is here. it's safe enough for him to make a trip. iraqis are immensely proud that despite the attacks we often report about in iraq, that the situation has stabilized to the point that somebody of the stature of pope francis can come here and can go on a pre-announced, well in advance, unlike, for instance, when american presidents come here, when it's sort of a surprise visit, we all knew about this thing in advance, we all knew his

ben wedeman live from great bitter lake in egypt where the ever given is heading. what happens next? >> reporter: laura, really it was a combination of really hard work by dredging crews and by tugboats that finally moved it, but also with a bit of help from mother nature. the effort was timed to coincide with the high tides and what's also known as the super moon which only happens four times a year when the full moon is closest in its elliptical orbit to the earth. if they hadn't been able to move the ship at that point, it would have been a whole different and much more expensive and complicated ball game, but it's over. the evergreen is somewhere behind me in the great bitter lake, it has been inspected and also an investigation is under way involving egyptian authorities and other parties as well to try to find out what happened that caused this massive crisis to world trade. but the suez canal is now back in business. we have been watching as some very large ships have been passing by. there is a backlog. according to the suez canal authority, 437 ships are w

here's cnn's ben wedeman on the urgent work to get the ship unstuck. >> reporter: five days on and the so slightly but not enough to open the waterwaterway. the current effort focuses on dredging around the ship and nudging it free with nearly a dozen tug boats. the chairman of the suez channel authority says, however, that the ever given is weighed down by 18,300 containers. now, if this current effort doesn't work, the plan is to bring in floating cranes to remove those containers and lighten the ship's load. but that's going to take time. all the while, the maritime congestion is continuing to build. at this point, there are more than 320 ships stalled in the waters in and around the suez canal. >> this is a wakeup call to which side of america you stand on. ♪ >> simply find out what's in the bill versus just a blank statement of this is jim crow or, you know, this is voter suppression or this is racist, because it is not. >> had we actually paused earlier, how much of an impact do you think that would have made? >> there were about 100,000 deaths that came from that original search

. >> ben wedeman, thank you so much for the report. >>> the most popular story right now on "the wallt covid. not the relief bill. it's oprah's interview with prince harry and meghan markle. it airs tonight. we are going to talk about what they're talking about next. as a repairman, i hear a lot of folks say they feel like they have to rinse off dirty dishes like these before loading them in the dish washer. but new cascade platinum changes all that. new cascade platinum, with 50% more cleaning power! it dissolves fast to start cleaning sooner, releasing the soaking power of dawn. then cascade's food-seeking enzymes latch on and break down food into particles so small they can flow right down the drain. and it's powerful enough for the quick-wash cycle! new cascade platinum with 50% more cleaning power! the #1 brand just got better! oprah's interview with harry and meghan, the duke and duchess of sussex, airs tonight. >> royal watchers are expecting serious revelations about their decision to step away from the work ever the royal family, to move to the u.s., and harry is expected to