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Long-Awaited Peace Talks for Syria Underway; Conflict in Yemen Worsening; Brazil's President Calls for United Fight Against Zika Virus; Four Chinese Miners Rescued After 36 Days; Iowa Caucuses Days Away. Aired 3-3:30a ET

Aired January 30, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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

ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST: I'm Zain Asher. This is CNN. After two years of delays, long-awaited talks to find an end to the war in Syria are finally underway. We'll have a live report. Also, as more Syrians flee the violence in their country, E.U. countries debate harsher measures to stop the flow of people to Europe. Also, U.S. presidential candidates race around the campaign trail in Iowa. All eyes focus on that state just days before voters go to the caucuses. It's all ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM.

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN HOST: Hello there. We are live from Atlanta. Thank you for joining us. I'm Natalie Allen.

And we begin in Geneva, Switzerland, where U.N.-led peace talks for war-ravaged Syria are finally getting underway after days of delays and after the last round of talks collapsed in failure two years ago.

A coalition representing Syria's opposition groups initially balked at participating in these latest talks. The High Negotiations Committee threatened a boycott if Syria's government didn't end blockades and seizures of Syrian -- Syrian towns. But now it says it will be in Geneva after all. The talks come as yet more refugees are fleeing the violence gripping Syria. Friday about 400 people, including many children and elderly civilians, crossed from Syria into Turkey by bus. Clashes near the Turkish Syrian border had intensified after Syria's military seized a key town in the region from rebel fighters last week.

Meantime some E.U. governments want harsher policies to stop the flow of migrants inundating Europe. Dutch Labor Party officials are proposing a plan to send migrants arriving in Greece back to Turkey immediately. In return, E.U. countries would take in 250,000 people living in Turkey's refugee camps. Well nearly 2,000 refugees and migrants are crossing the Mediterranean every day, according to the International Organization for Migration. It says more than 55,000 people have already made the dangerous crossing this year, with the vast majority arriving in Greece via the eastern Mediterranean route.

CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson is in Geneva, Switzerland, where the Syria peace talks have finally begun after lengthy delays. And the, the news I just read there, Nic, about all the complications and the horrors from this war, what hopes do people have that something might come out of these talks, the first in two years?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: I think hopes are desperate at the moment. You know, more an estimate of as many as 300,000 people killed in the conflict, millions displaced outside the country as refugees, millions more internally displaced.

The conflict is causing many problems. The migration out of the country, stretching Europe's capacity and capabilities to accommodate as many refugees. It's allowed the grip of ISIS within Syria, so of course a huge amount of attention is being placed, being placed on the peace talks here. It's two years since there were peace talks here in Geneva. What we've seen so far is a very, very slow beginning. They were due to begin on Monday. It was put off until Friday. Just yesterday a delegation representing the government of Syria arrived, led by their U.N. represent -- U.N. representative, Bashar Al-Jaafari. They spent about two hours meeting with U.N. coordinator, Staffan de Mistura. When the Syrian government delegation left they didn't talk, they didn't talk on their way in. So no real indication from them how they feel the talks have gone. The U.N. Special Representative who's mediating in these talks, Staffan de Mistura, just said it was sort of a preparatory meeting to lay the ground and set out the agenda. But the, but the real focus this week has been on that High Negotiations Committee. They're based in Riyadh. It's a conglomeration of groups in Syria, military groups to the politicians you have from sort of hardcore Islamist -- not of course ISIS or Al-Qaeda -- hardcore Islamist all the way through to a former Prime Minister.

They were holding out to come to these talks. They wanted a cessation in the fighting in Syria. They wanted humanitarian access on the ground. They wanted a release of prisoners, particularly women and children. And they said they weren't going to come to the talks until they got some of that in advance. Of course all of that is laid down and agreed in the U.N. Security Council resolution that was agreed in December that led to these talks. But, after a lot of persuasion from international partners from the United States, from Britain, from other European partners in this, and from the Saudis as well, the HNC decided and announced late yesterday that they would come and would participate in the talks, they said because they had assurances for their grievances, and they said to test to see if the Syrian government was serious about getting into negotiations, Natalie.

ALLEN: Yes, that's the exact question I was going to ask you, Nic. Are they?

ROBERTSON: Well, I think there's a big question mark over that at the moment. There were a number of reasons why. If you remember, the talks here in Geneva in 2014, the then-U.N. Special Representative, Lakhdar Brahimi, blamed the Syrian government for collapsing the talks after a few weeks because all they would want to talk about was the issue of terrorists inside Syria, and they weren't prepared to negotiate. And that's the question this time, will the Syrian government be prepared to negotiate. Right now they're now backed by Russian and they're making military gains, strategic military gains and important to on the ground inside Syria. So perhaps for them there's even less cause, if you will, and immediate need to get into talks. A representative from the Syrian media, a pro-government Syrian media, asked a question at the press conference yesterday, had the U.N. discussed with the Syrian government the issue of terrorists. Well, that all sounds very reminiscent of the discussion last time, two years ago. So we've really yet to see if the Syrian government will change its position over the past two years.

ALLEN: Critical talks at a very critical time in this story. Nic Robertson covering it for us there in Geneva. Thank you, Nic.

While the spotlight is focused on Syria, the conflict in Yemen has been worsening steadily. ISIS is claiming responsibility for a suicide bombing at a police checkpoint in Aden Friday. At least two people were killed. This was second such attack in as many days. On Thursday 11 people, including two children, were killed in a car bombing near the presidential palace. At least six people were wounded. ISIS also claimed responsibility for that attack. They have been slowly infiltrating this country that's on the verge of collapse. Yemen's ongoing violence is taking a severe toll on civilians, especially children.

Earlier I spoke with UNCEF's Yemen representative, Julien Harneis, about the country's growing crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIEN HARNEIS, UNICEF REPRESENETATIVE IN YEMEN: The situation in Yemen is extraordinarily difficult. The, the conflict is killing children. So far in the last year we've seen (month) as 932 children who've either been killed or injured as a result of fighting. And then, beyond that, the destruction of health services, leading to deaths of children from easily-preventable diseases. And the destruction of the education services. So it's extraordinarily difficult, and we need to find a better solution for Yemen.

ALLEN: And you're with UNICEF. Is UNICEF able to work in this country? Are other humanitarian groups able to assist within the country? Or the fighting, is the fighting keeping that from happening?

HARNEIS: We deliver assistance all across the country, be it in the east, in, in Mukalla and Hadhramaut, or in the north, (Sader), Aden. We are able to get to all parts of the country, and we've been able to deliver all the way through this war. And, that said, obviously negotiations for access is always challenging. And it's also sometimes difficult for our own staff to be able to verify the correct distribution of assistance.

ALLEN: Is it the children that are in the most need? I know that women and children were in refugee camps really before this war began. This is a country that is it fair to say went from poor and desperate to even worse situation?

HARNEIS: Well, UNICEF has been in Yemen for over 50 years. And it's true that it's been a poor country that has had chronic problems. However, despite that, my, myself, my team, and my colleagues before me were able to reduce child mortality, were able to, working with local partners, including government, were able to increase children education.

The, this current conflict, however, is putting us back decades. The destruction of the infrastructure, the increase in malnutrition. We are going backwards in time. I would now -- global acute malnutrition is about 30 percent in many parts of the country, and severe acute malnutrition is 10 percent.

And that's just terrible and entirely preventable were it not for the situation of the conflict.

ALLEN: A woman in Yemen, a mother, said she fears starvation more than she does an air strike. Is there that much hopelessness in Yemen?

HARNEIS: Well, the, the fighting and the, the airstrikes are killing children across the country, both north and south. However, far worse than the air strikes and the direct fighting is the economic collapse of the country, is the difficulty of bringing medicines into the country, is the difficulty bringing food and fuel into the country. Because that affects all of the country, even parts of Yemen which are relatively peaceful, which are untouched directly by the fighting. Children are dying of easily-preventable diseases because of the economic conditions which this conflict has caused.

ALLEN: Well, do you hold out much hope that the situation may change?

HERNEIS: I am tremendously inspired by Yemeni doctors, nurses, educators, teachers who continue to work across the lines of conflict, and who are able to prevent the politicization of health services and education services. And they inspire me with great hope that there is a better future for Yemen.

However, on the political side, it has to be said that it is extraordinarily disappointing that Yemenis and the foreign countries involved in the conflict have not been able to come to a better resolution.

ALLEN: Julien Harneis with UNICEF. You just arrived in the United States from Yemen, and we appreciate you talking with us. Thank you.

HARNEIS: Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Peru, it's the latest country to report a virus linked to a dangerous disorder in newborns.

Peru's Health Minister says this Venezuelan national was diagnosed with the Zika and was quick to report his symptoms to health officials. Currently there is no vaccine or treatment for the virus that has spread to at least 24 countries. This outbreak has raised deep concern in medical circles and with world leaders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DILMA ROUSSEFF, PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Zika is no longer just a Brazilian issue. It has hit other Latin American countries. We are now seeing the possibility of an international threat to public health. We do not hae experience in this. We cannot compare it to anything that has already happened, and it is still being studied. There are many things to be discovered, and we still need to find a clear link between this mosquito and the disease.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Brazil's President went even further by saying her country is losing the battle against the Zika virus. She's calling on everyone to unite against mosquitoes carrying the disease. CNN's Shasta Darlington shows us one research lab in Brazil trying to do just that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here in the state of Pernambuco we are at the very center of the Zika virus pandemic sweeping across the Americas.

More babies have been born with birth defects here than anywhere else in Brazil, and the only mosquito that's known to transmit the virus, the Aedes aegypti, is abundant.

Well now, another research center, Fiocruz, right here in Recife, is investigating whether a much more common mosquito could also be transmitting the virus. In fact, it's 20 times more common.

We had the opportunity to chat with Doctor Constancia Ayres at the research center. Take a listen to what she told us.

DR. CONSTANCIA AYRES, FIOCRUZ RESEARCHER: So here we have both species. This is the Zika vector, Aedes aegypti, the known vector. And this is Culex quinquefasciatus, the most common mosquito in America.

DARLINGTON: Including the United States and Canada?

AYRES: Including the United States and Canada. And Culex is also a vector of many arbovirus, like West Nile virus, Japanese encephalitis. So...

DARLINGTON: So this wouldn't be the first time that it was transmitting a disease...

AYRES: Yes.

DARLINGTON: ...that affects humans.

AYRES: Yes. Exactly. So it's known vector of all the viruses. So why not Zika?

DARLINGTON: Now, if Dr. Ayres' research shows that the Culex mosquito can indeed carry the virus, the potential is huge for it to spread much more quickly and much further than initially anticipated.

But even the doctor herself admits that there are no conclusions reached yet, that the initial findings will only be in in about a month and, even then, it will require months of field work. Shasta Darlington, CNN, Refice, Brazil.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Four miners in China have been rescued after being trapped for 36 days. They were brought up one by one on Friday from more than 200 meters underground. Days ago the men were told they were going to be rescued and a cell phone was sent down to record their experiences.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHINESE MINER (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Thank you all very much. I feel relieved and secure now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: At least one miner died in the collapse on Christmas Day, and 13 are still missing. It's unclear what caused the gypsum mine to collapse, but China has been criticized before for poorly enforcing safety rules.

It is the final countdown to the first votes in the U.S. presidential race. That's happening on Monday.

Up next, what the candidates are doing to get caucus voters to choose them. And we'll explain exactly how the Iowa caucuses work. And the differences between how Republicans and Democrats will vote on Monday.

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ALLEN: U.S. presidential candidates are in their final push to impress voters before the key Iowa caucuses on Monday.

For some contenders Monday could be make or break, altering the political landscape by Tuesday. Senior Washington Correspondent Jeff Zeleny is on the campaign trail and explains why this weekend is so important.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: What the campaigns are doing now, they're going from persuasion, trying to win over their supporters, to mobilization, trying to get their supporters out, get them organized. Throughout the course of the weekend they are going to be dry runs and what that means is people are to, you know, sort of convene in a, in a neighborhoods and precincts and trying to get their supporters out to facilities. They'll be knocking on doors, they'll be calling. So it really is a test or organization.

It's important to remember this is not a primary election, where you walk in and cast a ballot. This is more of series of town meeting across the State of iowa on Monday night, where at the same time, 7:00 pm, people actually say who they are going to support, all at the same time. So it's a test of organization. It's really going to tell us a lot about how long this presidential campaign is going to go.

ALLEN: Between the Democrats and Republicans there are dozens of events, as you might imagine, this weekend. Hillary Clinton has a big rally Saturday night with her husband, the former President, and their daughter Chelsea. Bernie Sanders also has a whirlwind of rallies, including a concert that has already sold out. On the Republican side, Ted Cruz will be traveling around the state by bus, drumming up support. Cruz has been to all 99 Iowa counties, just as he said he would. Meantime, Donald Trump was in New Hampshire Friday night, but will return to Iowa Saturday for at least three rallies.

Meantime, Hillary Clinton's e-mails are back in the spotlight.

The U.S. State Department says it will not release 22 e-mails from Clinton's time as Secretary of State because they contain top secret information. They were not top secret at the time. The Clinton campaign says this is a case of quote overclassification run amok.

The Iowa caucuses are the first nominating contests of the race. A caucus is different from your typical vote. It taking -- it's a neighborhood meeting open to any registered voter in the party. Now in Iowa the two parties caucus differently. Republicans come together to try to persuade each other to vote for their favorite candidate, then they cast a ballot for their preference. The Iowa Democrats caucus in a more traditional way, and our Jonathan Mann explains how.

JONATHAN MANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: First, the caucus goers gather in a public space, like a high school gymnasium. Each candidate has a representative who speaks on their behalf, trying to sway undecided voters and everyone else too. It looks like the speeches are done. Now the voters are headed for their respective candidates' corners. George Washington has the most support with seven of our faceless little people. But the caucus isn't over yet. It's time now for community discussion and persuasion. Jefferson's supporters are headed for the Washington corner with cupcake and every reason they can imagine for their rival supporters to join them. And they have succeeded in convincing one Washington supporter to move over to the Jefferson camp. They don't actually have eyes, but Lincoln supporters seen an opportunity, and one of them is headed over to Jefferson's camp armed with evidence of Lincoln's achievements and every argument he can summon up. But, no, the Washington supporter who defected to Jefferson is going back to the first President's corner, and he's taking a Lincoln supporter with him. So the tally is now eight for Washington, four for Jefferson, and just three for Abraham Lincoln. Does anybody want to change their votes? No. So, it looks like the caucus is over and Georg Washington will have his cupcake and eat it too. If they had mouths, they'd be smiling.

ALLEN: Mm-hmm. So that's how it goes and Jonathan Mann has the U.S. presidential race covered on his show, "POLITICAL MANN," from the positions of the candidates to their slots on the campaign trail. Catch the latest episode of "Political Mann" in just 10 minutes, right here on CNN.

Just ahead, an avalanche in western Canada has killed five people. We'll have the latest on that and more weather for you from Derek Van Dam in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ALLEN: In Canada five people are dead after an avalanche in British Columbia. A search team rescued six survivors near the small town of McBride, that's in the Canadian Rockies. Details around the incident still unclear, but authorities say it was human-triggered and warned people to exercise caution in the area. Derek Van Dam's been looking into the avalanche conditions.

And, yeah, you've been saying that avalanches kill more people than maybe many of us realize every year.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Over 150 people annually across the entire globe, obviously a serious concern considering that we covered one in the Nepalese mountains, as well as in France recently. But it's -- once those trick, those avalanches are triggered, they can travel up to 130 kilometers per hour. It's just a matter of (inaudible) seconds.

ALLEN: There's no getting out of the way. Yeah.

VAN DAM: (inaudible) cannot get out of the way. So proper training is needed.

We're going to bring you with Google Earth to show you exactly where this latest avalanche occurred over the eastern sections of British Columbia. This is in the Canadian Rockies, just outside the McBride region. What I want you to see is just how steep this terrain is. Officials say that it was a men-triggered or human-triggered avalanche. We had snowmobilers that were trapped under the weight of the snow, but look at the steep terrain that led to this particular event. And we've had just this change in temperature with snow storms, and then rain storms, and then snow storms coming in and impacting the region. That really destabilizes that icy packed layer at the surface. Eventually gravity gives way and we have our dangerous avalanches that is entailed after that. Very dangerous conditions. Still additional snowfall possible on top of that, so avalanche concerns across the Canadian Rockies continues throughout that part of the world.

I want to bring you to Australia where we are dealing with a tropical cyclone. This is equivalent to just under a Category 1 hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean, just to put this into perspective. But nonetheless this is Tropical Cyclone Stan over Western Australia. One hundred twenty kilometers sustained winds. It is about to impact the Port Hedland region, a fairly sparsely populated region of Australia. But nonetheless this is going to create strong gusty winds over the next 12 hours. And also some much-needed rainfall to this particular region, anywhere from 50 to 100 millimeters of rain, once it finally makes landfall. But, again, winds will be on the gusty side.

I want to show you some incredible video. This is coming off the coast of France. This is a stranded cargo ship that's actually called the Modern Express. It is drifting slowly towards the French Atlantic coast, and difficult sea conditions have prevented teams from boarding to take control of the distressed vessel. No imminent risk to the ship reaching the coast. No sign that water has entered the vessel or that fuel has leaked out, but nonetheless some dramatic pictures unfolding off the coast of France.

ALLEN: It's been evacuated.

VAN DAM: It has been evacuated, all of the personnel have been airlifted off of that vessel, and it is adrift in the Atlantic as we speak.

ALLEN: OK. What a, what a picture. Derek, all right, thank you.

Well you may remember this, the young boy who became an internet phenomenon for his makeshift Lionel Messi jersey has been found in Afghanistan.

The five-year-old gained fame overnight when a picture of his football jersey made out of a plastic bag made the rounds on Twitter. The image inspired people to try and find out who the boy was. Now that they have, Messi himself is said to be preparing something special for this very young fan. How adorable is that.

Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Natalie Allen. Next it is "POLITICAL MANN" and I'll have our top story.

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