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Syrians Flee Aleppo, as Fighting Resumes; Strong Earthquake Hits Taiwan; Campaign Happenings; Oil Price Effect on Exporting Countries. Aired Midnight-00:30a ET

Aired February 06, 2016 - 00:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:00:12] NATALIE ALLEN, CNN NEWSROOM ANCHOR: The raid to find survivors. Rescuers tried to dig out dozens appeared trapped after a powerful earthquake in southern Taiwan. We'll have a report from the scene.

Plus, thousands flee the Syrian city of Aleppo as government forces backed by Russians that try to retake the area and people are scrambling to safety.

And fresh twist and turns in the U.S. presidential race, the candidates step up attacks on each other and the leader to a make or break primary vote this week in New Hampshire. It's all ahead here on CNN Newsroom. We're live in Atlanta. Thank you for joining us. I'm Natalie Allen.

The death toll is rising after a powerful earthquake struck southern Taiwan early Saturday. At least 5 people were killed when the 6.4 magnitude quake shocked the city of Tainan before dawn on Saturday.

A 17-story residential building collapsed trapping many people inside. Rescue teams are searching the rubble. At least 224 people have been pulled out alive including a mother and her two young children.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): The rescuers broke in floor by floor. In the beginning, they told us to try climbing out. I told them my two kids were little to do that and then they had to cut off in a bigger hole and one of the rescuers was able to get in and help me get my kids out as I've climbed out myself slowly. And I was definitely determined to get my kids out definitely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: She was certainly one of the fortunate ones. Evelyn Chen is a reporter with our CNN affiliate SETTV. She joins me now on the phone from Tainan. Evelyn what do you know about the search for survivors and how it's going?

EVELYN CHEN: Actually, we are right at the scene in Tainan right now and the -- this is the really powerful earthquake, 6.4 earthquake that struck a town in Taiwan in the early morning of Saturday. So while people are still sleeping but this earthquake is really so strong and there are multiple buildings including a 17-story residential tower that's where we are right now had collapsed after this earthquake and this town is to be Tainan and many people are trapped while they are sleeping.

Search and rescues now is on the way and so far as we know they are already 234 people rescued. 103 people, of course, is alive, however there are -- unfortunately there are four people who passed away including a small baby.

So far the collapsed building is still swinging to the north side so -- but that, there are at least 20 people waiting to be rescued, released or dying, all we know, and worrying that the collapsed building where --

ALLEN: We apparently lost our connection with Evelyn but we appreciate her reporting. The search goes on for anymore people that might be alive in that building. As she said, there were other buildings that were damaged in this earthquake but this one 17-story residential compound is ground zero now for the focus to try to find people that were inside that building there and get them out. As you can see, there are rescue teams all over the building and we'll stay in touch with Evelyn as the night presses on here and into the day there in Taiwan.

We want to turn now to Syria with thousands of civilians are now running for their lives from Aleppo. Syrian regime forces backed by Russian Air support are now aggressively trying to retake this key city. The opposition that says the military assault led the U.N. to temporarily suspend peace talks that were going on.

Syrian forces have already cut off the only opposition supply route to the city. And Turkey warns of a humanitarian catastrophe in the making.

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AHMET DAVUTOGLU, TURKISH PRIME MINISTER: I am addressing to your heart. Now 10,000 refugees are waiting in front of the door of Kilis because of air bombardment and attacks against Aleppo. 60,000 or 60,000 to 70,000 people in the camps in North Aleppo are moving towards Turkey.

[00:04:54] My mind is not now in London but in our border how to relocate this new people coming from Syria. 300,000 Aleppo -- people living in Aleppo are ready to move towards Turkey.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: 300,000, CNN's Arwa Daman reports from the Turkish-Syrian border. She has more on the desperate humanitarian situation. This battle for Aleppo is now causing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The U.N. has warning that, of course of 300,000 civilians are potentially at risk. If Assad's forces are able to lay siege to the city of Aleppo, these are people who live in the eastern portion of the city and that is not counting the tens of thousands who are already fleeing the Aleppo countryside as the regime forces advanced undercover of Russian air strikes.

And those who have made it to the border in Turkey have been forced to wait because the border continues to remain closed. One nonprofit able to go through and provide those who are on the other side with some tents but they are in still in desperate need of food, water, and additional medical supplies.

People describing the bombardment by what they say as mostly Russian fighter jets as being the most intense that they have seen and since the fighting broke out in Syria some 5 years ago. A one man who we spoke to on this side saying that he was waiting for his relatives to eventually, hopefully come through describing their village where he said they were facing Russian bombardment and advanced by Assad's forces but also the ongoing threat of ISIS.

And those families who are now fleeing, they are families and people who waited this long because they truly hopes that there would be some sort of resolution. Some sort of end to the violence and now they themselves find themselves forced to make that impossible decision of leaving everything and their homeland behind. Arwa Damon, CNN at the Kilis border in Turkey.

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ALLEN: We're going to return now to Taiwan with reestablished contact with Evelyn Chen who was talking with us about the rescue that's going on there.

Evelyn, I want to ask you how many people were in that building who might still be on accounted for.

CHEN: There are about maybe 20s or 30 people dead or alive, I don't know, but as we're trying to hear actually it's really pretty cold here while we are talking on the phone and there are two more dead so there are totally 6 deaths already including the small baby and this collapsed -- this collapsed building is still swinging to this north side we saw then but there is at least 20 to 30 people waiting to be rescued worrying that building, the collapsed building will fall against. They also have thorough (inaudible) to pile off to use concrete beams (ph) to hold the building -- to hold up the building so that they can keep saving lives and search for life.

And there are still lots of people trapped in this wreckage. Rescuer that you saw and equipment to pick up weaker (ph) spike of life among those -- these rubbles and as we know that rescue team has located in here. At least only 10 people lives here and so far as we know there are a lots of people --

ALLEN: Evelyn Chen there from Taiwan. Thank you so much Evelyn.

Well the Vatican says, an unprecedented meeting of church leaders will take place next Friday in Cuba. Pope Francis will meet the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. Patriarch Kirill. It's the first meeting between the heads of both churches since the western and eastern branches of Christianity split apart, nearly, 1000 years ago.

It is getting hot on the campaign trail in cold and snowy New Hampshire. With just days until voters pick their presidential nominees, the Democratic race is getting intense. We will take you there coming up here on CNN Newsroom.

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[00:11:16] ALLEN: And welcome back it is rush time on the U.S. campaign trail. The next big vote in the U.S. presidential race is on Tuesday, the New Hampshire primary and our new CNN/WMUR poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire survey. Since you'll find Donald Trump holding on to an 11 point lead on the Republican side. Marco Rubio in a solid second. Ted Cruz and John Kasich are now tied for third. Jeb Bush in fourth.

On the Democratic side where there are two. Bernie Sanders has the total on lead over Hillary Clinton. He's at 61 percent. She is at 31 percent.

Clinton and Sanders have been pretty civil with each other until now as they put it all on the line in New Hampshire. They are also starting to go after each other a bit more.

Here's our Johns.

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JOE JOHNS (voice over): The calendar might show four days until the New Hampshire primary but Hillary Clinton has already looking beyond the fight for the nomination.

HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will call Senator Sanders, the first call I will make. I'm so fortunate as to get these nominations. We have a lot of work to do. I look forward to working with him, as a partner in the Senate.

JOHNS: And today Bernie Sanders is decrying the role of money in politics.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, U.S. (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People are obsessed with the raising money. It is getting worst because of Citizens United. So I think we need to move to a public funding of elections.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fight between these two Democrats is growing more intense. Hillary Clinton airing an ad in New Hampshire jabbing Sanders for his idealistic proposals.

CLINTON: The American people can't afford to wait for ideas that sound good on paper but will never make it in the real world.

JOHNS: And then their final debate before voters head to the polls Tuesday, haunted Saunders engaging in the series of feisty exchanges.

CLINTON: I think it's time to end the very artful smear that you and your campaign have been carrying out in recent weeks and let's talk about the issue.

JOHNS: Continuing to trade barbs over which of them is true progressive.

CLINTON: If we're going to get into labeled, I don't think it was particular progressive to vote against the Brady bill five times.

SANDERS: One of the things we should do is not only talk the talk but walk the walk. I am very proud to be the only candidate out here who does not have a super PAC who was not raising huge sums of money from Wall Street.

JOHNS: Clinton calling out Sanders for repeatedly saying her campaign takes money from big banks and special interests.

CLINTON: Enough is enough. If you've got something to say, say it directly but you will not find that I ever changed a view or a vote because of any donations that I ever received.

JOHNS: And assuring voters, there will be no more surprises in the e- mail controversy hanging over her campaign.

CLINTON: Now before those e-mails, it was Benghazi. And the Republicans were stirring up so much controversy about that and so I think the American people will know if it's an absurdity. I am absolutely no concern about it whatsoever.

JOHNS: Sanders will step off the trail and on to the "Saturday Nite Live" stage this weekend where he will appear alongside host, Larry David, who impersonated the candidate earlier this season.

LARRY DAVID, SATURDAY NITE LIVE SHOW HOST: I also one (inaudible) on the left. That's it.

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ALLEN: We'll be looking for that on Saturday Night Live. Well on Friday, President Barrack Obama praised the country's economic progress as the unemployment rate fell to 4.9 percent and he did not pass out the chance to take a shot at Republican candidate while tossing the new job numbers.

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[00:15:00] BARACK OBAMA, U.S. PRESIDENT: The United States of America right now has the strongest, most durable economy in the world. I know that's still inconvenient for Republicans stamps features as their "doom and despair" tour plays in New Hampshire.

I guess you cannot please everybody.

ALLEN: Well, Republican Presidential candidates they're also looking for votes in New Hampshire but as Dana Bash reports a snow storm on Friday forced Donald Trump to cancel an event.

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DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It turns out being a billionaire with your own plane can be politically paralysis.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm number one in New Hampshire. Will you please keep me there?

BASH: After last night's rally, Trump went home to New York. He said his plane couldn't get back to New Hampshire this morning because of the snow. Tweeting, "The storm in New Hampshire moved my event to Monday. We'll be there next four days." And posting this on Facebook.

TRUMP: The great slogan of New Hampshire, live free or die means, so much to so many people. All over the world they use that expression.

BASH: But granted, state voters expect to see candidates in person. Being absent for a day this close to the primary is not ideal especially since Trump's been stepping it up with more traditional retail campaign event.

Jeb Bush trolled Trump about it on tweeter saying, "My 90-year-old mother made it out to campaign. As for Bush he suddenly seems to be embracing the Bush brand bringing his mother the popular former first lady.

BARBARA BUSH, FORMER FIRST LADY: He's decent and honest. He's everything we need in a president.

BASH: Even releasing an ad with the more controversial family member, his brother.

GEORGE BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I know Jeb. I know he's good heart and a strong backbone. Jeb will unite our country.