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President Trump Approved, Then Called Off Iran Attack; U.S. Restricts Commercial Flights Over Gulf; Protesters Back on the Streets; Xi in North Korea. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired June 21, 2019 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: New report says President Trump approves strikes on Iran before pulling back.
NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Protesters in Hong Kong hit the streets again, blocking streets and demanding resignation of Carrie Lam.
HOWELL: And CNN gets rare access to sites at the center of the fight against the world's second biggest outbreak of Ebola.
ALLEN: These stories are among our top stories here this hour. Hello, everyone. Welcome to around the world. I'm Natalie Allen.
HOWELL: I'm George Howell from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. "Newsroom" starts right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.
ALLEN: We begin with breaking news from Washington where The New York Times reports U.S. President Donald Trump approved military strikes against Iran but abruptly called them off Thursday night. They were meant, according to the times, as retaliation after Iran shot down an American drone over the Strait of Hormuz.
HOWELL: Here's part of The New York Times report. "The operation was underway in its early stages when it was called off." This is according to a senior administration speaking to the Times. "Planes were in the air and ships were in position, but no missiles had been fired when word came to stand down," the official said.
ALLEN: It is not clear whether President Trump changed his mind or the strikes were called for logistical reasons. It is also unclear if the operation may still go forward.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICHOLAS KRISTOF, COLUMNIST, THE NEW YORK TIMES: We don't know whether he backed off. We know that the strikes were not carried out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): OK.
KRISTOF: It may be that he changed his mind, perhaps with the Pentagon. It may also be that there was cloud cover, that logistics weren't right, and that they missed their night window to hit. It is now morning in Iran, so maybe they missed the window. This may still be happening. So, you know, we don't know that he has changed his mind. And the real risk is here of enormous escalation that just keeps ongoing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: That's a reporter from The New York Times. Earlier in the day, the U.S. Military made its case against Iran with evidence, specifically releasing coordinates which it says prove the American drone was over international waters when Iran shot it down.
ALLEN: But Tehran says the drone violated its airspace. CNN's Barbara Starr has more about this from the Pentagon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Murky new video released by the Pentagon of a U.S. Navy drone being shot down by an Iranian surface to air missile may be the moment that changes everything. It's hard to make out, but the smoke plume is visible as the drone falls into the waters of the Strait of Hormuz. This map showing the missile launched from the Iranian coastline more than 20 miles away from the drone, according to the Pentagon.
Iran's revolutionary guard releasing its own video, showing what it says is the moment of the shoot down. When asked about a U.S. Military response, President Trump played his cards close to the vest in the initial hours.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Iran made a big mistake.
STARR (voice-over): Military commanders behind the scenes are not looking for a march to war. But they are not excusing the attack, highlighting the international nature of the Iranian threat.
JOSEPH GUASTELLA, HEAD, U.S. AIR FORCES CENTRAL COMMAND (voice-over): This was an unprovoked attack on a U.S. surveillance asset that had not violated Iranian airspace at any time during its mission.
STARR (voice-over): But Iran claims the American drone was an Iranian airspace and had its own dire warning.
HOSSEIN SALAMI, MAJOR GENERAL, IRAN REVOLUTIONARY GUARD CORPS (through translator): We have no intention to fight with any countries but we are completely ready for war. What happened today was an obvious sign of this accurate message.
STARR (voice-over): Tensions have been rising for weeks. In early May, the Pentagon sent an aircraft carrier strike group, Patriot missile defenses, and fighter jets in the wake of intelligence the U.S. said showed Iran was planning an attack. Then Iran is believed to have attacked commercial tankers last month and again last week using mines to leave gaping holes, leading to another 1,000 troops being sent for further deterrence of Iran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: CNN's Barbara Starr there from the Pentagon. We want to emphasize we do not know why President Trump called off the military strikes against Iran, whether he changed his mind or if it was for logistical reasons.
HOWELL: And we still don't know if the strikes may go forward at some point in the future. CNN military analyst and retired U.S. Air Force colonel Cedric Leighton provided some insight to it. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST, RETIRED U.S. AIR FORCE COLONEL: The reason, I think, that the president may have done this is basically he wanted to do this as a show of force that's on the positive side of things. He wanted to show the Iranians what we could do without actually doing it. That's one possibility.
[02:04:57] The other possibility is that he could have, in essence, got cold feet and decided that he didn't want to go that far because he became concerned after thinking about it, what Iran might do in response to this action.
So, you know, the risk of ever increasing escalation is extremely high in a situation like this and it is certainly a possibility that he may have decided that this was not worth doing it at this particular point in time.
If I were in the Iranian shoes, I would see it as a show of force because it may -- even if it's cold feet, it could still be something that tells me that that the Americans are coming in, they are doing these things, they have the capability of doing certain things, their targets may have been command and control notes (ph), radar sites, things like that. And so I would certainly be very cautious at this point about receiving in Tehran (ph).
Iran definitely has its vulnerabilities, has its weaknesses, but the Iranians are also very experienced fighters. They have been doing this for quite some time. They fought Iraq in the Iran-Iraq war. They fought all kinds of military actions through their proxies as well as through the revolutionary guards.
So, they're very experienced fighters. And they also have a lot of time to develop tactics and techniques that they would not have otherwise developed had they had war -- peaceful war, amicable relationship with the United States. So the Iranians are not only a difficult foe but a very dangerous foe. That is something that people in the White House and throughout the corners (ph) of power here in Washington will really have to take a look at.
It's an opportunity for a reset if both Iran and the United States choose it to be that. It could, you know, in effect be a pause (ph) but the element of surprise is gone for the United States, at least at the moment. And that presents its own problems as well.
So when you look at exactly what the state of play is here, it is definitely fluid. It could go in many different directions, but it's definitely a very dangerous situation right now in the Persian Gulf and it's something that, I think, we're going to have to watch very carefully probably not just for a few days but for the next few weeks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Let's talk more about it now. We go live to the United Arab Emirates with our senior international correspondent Sam Kiley. Sam, certainly this report by The New York Times would signal a serious response by the U.S. to the shooting down of the drone. We know that you are close to where this drone was shot down.
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Natalie, it was shot down somewhere in the Gulf of Oman off to my right hand side over toward the Iranian territory. Of course, there is this dispute as to whether it was shot down in international waters or whether it was shot down, as Iranians say, in their airspace.
But nonetheless, there will be a genuine sigh of relief particularly here in the Emirates where Prince Abdullah, the foreign minister, has twice been appearing (ph) to say in public that there is (ph) no responsibility to any particular state actor.
They do identify state actors being behind the bombings of the shipping here in the Gulf of Oman, but have not pointed the finger, very deliberately not pointed a finger at Iran because of the dangers to this country, this Emirates and indeed neighboring Oman, of a sudden escalation of the sort that almost happen last night.
Now, of course, The New York Times and Washington Post are reporting that the American aircraft and other assets were on tiptoe, poised for a response, and then reportedly the White House called them back.
That will be seen as a sign here in this region of maturity, notwithstanding the amount of almost pressure coming out of Saudi Arabia with the defense minister there once again reiterating and continuing -- not quite direct pressure but certainly the public rhetoric of absolutely unequivocal support from almost anything that the United States might do.
The Saudis got a very belligerent attitude indeed towards Iran based largely on assumption that none of their assets will be put to a particular risk if there was a serious escalation and rely heavily on the United States, Natalie.
But for the time being, the decision by the United States not to escalate following the destruction of let's face it, a flying robot. Nobody has been killed in this very carefully calibrated escalation that at the moment is being driven by Tehran.
[02:10:05] It would appear certainly from regional thinkers in this part of the world that the White House has been pretty measured and its response not being suckered effectively into a violent retaliation, Natalie.
ALLEN: Yes. We should learn more about this New York Times report in the coming hours. Sam Kiley for us there. Thank you so much for your reporting.
HOWELL: Also, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA, has put restrictions on U.S. airlines that are flying over the gulf region.
ALLEN: They put out a notice saying, "All flight operations in the overwater area of the Tehran flight information region above the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman only are prohibited until further notice due to heightened military activities and increased political tensions in the region which present an inadvertent risk to U.S. Civil aviation operations and potential for miscalculation or misidentification."
HOWELL: Already we know that United Airlines has suspended its flights from New York to Mumbai beginning Thursday evening. Those flights usually fly through Iranian aerospace.
ALLEN: This has been done before and is often done in areas of heightened political military tensions.
HOWELL: Earlier, our John Vause spoke with David Soucie -- David is CNN safety analyst and former FAA safety inspector -- on what it all means to the flying public. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How many flights are we talking about here would be enacted by this FAA order, and is it about those flights being rerouted away from the region or is it a little too simplistic?
DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST, FORMER FAA SAFETY INSPECTOR: It's a little more complicated than that because there actually has to be adjoining flights and difference stops that need to be changed. But United Airlines from the United States has been doing this for a little bit. They knew that there's something going on in the area and they chose to do it.
But at this point, the FAA is restricting all flights so that could affect a lot of other carriers and where they're going. So, it could be pretty significant. I don't think passengers that are traveling through the area are going to be too in convenience by it. It may extend the flight for an hour or two or add an additional stop.
VAUSE: Is this why this call was made, even though there is low risk, but a need for an abundance of caution, or does there have to be a significant threat before the FAA would actually go to this extent?
SOUCIE: The significant threat does not need to exist to do this. All there has to be is increased military activity or proof that there are missiles in the area or military activity in the area that could reach the height -- the altitude of the aircraft.
If you remember in the Ukraine accident, MH17 back in 2014, it was a very similar situation. When that airplane was brought down, military activity was increased, but they didn't think that they have the capability. Now, this is proven because of this drone, that they do have the capability in the area to shoot them down. So that would have escalated the risk for the FAA.
VAUSE: With MH17, I think that the -- they were flying at the recommended altitude which as you say was above the range of the missiles, while other airlines actually flew at a higher altitude. They took their own measures. Would you expect something similar in this case?
SOUCIE: Yeah. I think that what this -- what's odd about this is that the FAA is the one issuing the notice, what should occur. According to the International Civil Aviation Organization, rule is Iran themselves are the ones who should be making this notice and saying, we are part of the United Nations, we really want to be part of this, and we are going to divulge when we have that capability in this area and when there's activity.
So it's surprising to me that Iran hasn't stepped forward to say, we have this capability and don't fly over our area. So that is unique.
VAUSE: In the past, orders to avoid airspace, it looks to escalate military action. It refers to the downing of U.S. drone. What are the chances this decision was made in expectation of the U.S. launching a military strike? That military strike, according to The New York Times was abruptly called off by the president.
SOUCIE: I most definitely think it was. That is indicated by the fact that United Airlines is privy to this information because they do fly direct. They are the only U.S. carrier that flies direct to India and over this area.
So, because of that, there was definitely notice that came out which are not public to everyone that just says, hey, were going to do some military action here and so we need to stop flying in the area. That's a very big indicator that there was an activity even before this drone was shot down.
VAUSE: In this situation now that this military action has been called off, does that mean that this advisory will eventually be withdrawn? What does it stand?
SOUCIE: No. I think that this advisory will stay in place for people not to fly over it simply because it's been proven that that capability exists now. In fact, there was an air carrier within 50 miles of this drone that was shot down.
[02:15:00] That seems like quite a long way. But when you're traveling at speeds of 300 to 400 miles an hour, 50 miles is not that far. They would have been able to see out the window the plume of smoke from this drone being shot down.
VAUSE: Fifty miles is a blink of an eye, really. David, thank you. We appreciate your insights.
SOUCIE: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Next here on "Newsroom," we are monitoring the situation in Hong Kong. We are going to show you these live images that we have there as protestors are not backing down in their fight against an extradition bill there. We'll take you there live next.
ALLEN: Also ahead here, the race for 10 Downing Street is down. The two finalists that can either actually deliver Brexit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ALLEN: Right now, thousands of protestors in Hong Kong are gathered outside the city's police headquarters. They want the government to completely scrap a bill that would make anyone in Hong Kong subject to extradition to mainland China.
HOWELL: Take a look at these live images right now there in Hong Kong, 2:18 in the afternoon there. That bill sparked protest by millions of people. Police had "strongly condemn the protestors for the blocking of main highways near the government headquarters."
Our Anna Coren is following the story live in Hong Kong, joining us by phone. Anna, tell us more at this point -- oh, we have you now live to see what is happening there. Anna, tell us about the scene.
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, George. Look, there are still thousands of people here gathered outside the police headquarters obviously protesting against a very controversial extradition bill, calling for its complete withdrawal.
These protestors, they have been out here for many hours now. I should stress it's been 32 or 33 degrees Celsius, about 90 degrees Fahrenheit. They are feeling pretty weary. Some were actually taken by ambulance after fainting.
They've been out here in the heat and humidity, obviously protesting and demanding that obviously the bill be withdrawn, that the chief executive, Carrie Lam, that she resign, also for those people who have been arrested in the past couple weeks, for those people to be released.
They also want the police who use excessive force to be charged and also for the government and police to revoke the claim of riot. That's how they describe the protest on Wednesday, when we saw those ugly scenes between police and protestors, tear gas used and rubber bullets fired.
[02:20:01] Now, we haven't seen ugly scenes here as yet, but protestors, they are certainly prepared. They have their gas masks, they got their hard hats, and they brought their cling wrap in case the tear gas goes off. They are prepared if things get ugly.
Now, there are dozens of police outside the headquarters. They have been standing out there since early this morning. There is a lot of back and forth between the protestors every time a police officer comes in or out of the picture. The police, as you mentioned, have condemned these protests because it has blocked off streets. Hardcourt Road is a major (INAUDIBLE) here in Hong Kong and that has been completely blocked. Protestors are using steel barricades and plastic barricades which you would think after the last couple of weeks would've been completely removed from the streets.
We are now -- George, protestors are moving in this direction. They claimed this overpass. So it seems to be quite a bit of movement. Maybe they are claiming another road. But at this stage, police are saying that we want this to remain peaceful. They are stressing that they want things to remain peaceful.
A lot of yelling is going on up here, George. I'm not sure hundred percent sure. Perhaps we could walk up here. Do you want to come? Let's see what's going on. They're claiming the streets, George, of Hong Kong. I mean, this is a major city. This is an international city. And people are starting to run.
Can you tell us what's going on?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They say (INAUDIBLE) umbrella in the backdoor.
COREN: What's this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Umbrella. I don't know.
COREN: OK. I just want to show our viewers what is going on. This is very much a protest led by the people, George. This is a protest that is spontaneous. Students, they gathered here at 7:00 this morning, just in a dozen. It has now multiplied to thousands.
As I said, these students, they want their demands met. They say they are not going to go anywhere until their demands are met. We don't know how long this occupation outside police headquarters will go for. But certainly -- from the protestors that I've spoken to, they said they are not going anywhere.
HOWELL: Anna Coren, we are monitoring what's happening there behind you as you are showing us people there, you know, starting to run up that particular street. I'm sure as I'm sitting here in Atlanta and you're there in Hong Kong that the images we are showing around the world are being blacked out there in China, mainland China, but these protests surely happening.
Anna, just one other question here as we continue to watch what is happening there --
COREN: George, I might just show you, this is the Hardcourt Road.
HOWELL: OK.
COREN: I just want to show you here. So this is like a major, major road. This basically travels from one end of Hong Kong island to the other. And the protestors have just claimed it.
HOWELL: OK.
COREN: Absolutely claimed it. This is like one, two, three, four-lane highway on both sides. Police interestingly enough, George, have allowed it. They have allowed it to happen. Compare that to what we saw last Wednesday when police in hundreds turned out right here. We haven't seen any police officers tonight right here.
But as we know, this is an international city. This is a major financial hub. Some 1,300 global corporations have their regional headquarters based here in Hong Kong. So clogging up streets, blocking traffic for days on end, that is not going to last. The police will not allow. We know that police had sent out a negotiator, planning to send out a negotiator to speak to protestors.
Joshua Wong, who was released from prison earlier this week, he said that it will depend on what the negotiator says. But at this stage, we haven't heard what will come of that. I guess my point is, George, that these scenes down here, that can't continue. That can't continue. So, it is really only a matter of time until police finally push back. And that is when we could witness those ugly scenes like we did last week.
HOWELL: Anna, we will of course continue to follow the events there with you. We will be back with you. We wish you and your team safety. Of course, we will continue to follow the protests that continue there. Thank you, Anna.
ALLEN: After years of strained relations, China and North Korea are rekindling their once closed relationship. Xi Jinping is closing out a two-day summit with Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang. North Korean media quote Kim describing the visit as an occasion to boast to the world about the "invincibility" of the friendship between their countries. Paula Hancocks is following the story for us live in Seoul, South Korea.
[02:25:00] Hello to you, Paula. What are you learning about President Xi's talks with North Korea?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Natalie, really Kim Jong-un summed it up, saying that they want to show the world just how close they are. They want to show the world how important the bond between China and North Korea is. Of course, it is a way of showing the world, in particular Washington, from China's point of view that Xi Jinping is front and center. He is pivotal when it comes to the North Korean issue.
It has been a long time coming, this visit by Xi Jinping. He was invited 15 months ago by Kim Jong-un. He said yes back then but he has decided to come just a week before he meets with U.S. President Donald Trump at the G20 in Japan. Some suggests that this is a way of showing just how important he is to the North Korean issue ahead of that meeting, would give him some power, some bargaining power.
But there are others that say this is simply Xi Jinping accepting and endorsing North Korea run by Kim Jong-un. They met four times already but that was always in China. So, the Chinese leader coming to Pyongyang itself, the first time in 14 years the Chinese president has done that, is certainly significant.
You can see that from the images that are coming out now from North Korea, this very lavish welcoming ceremony, a lot of pompous ceremony. The optics is extremely important here. There was a 21 gun salute. There was a military parade. Thousands of balloons were let off. There were tens of thousands of people lining the streets that Xi and Kim were traveling through.
We also did hear Kim Jong-un mention about how he was trying to lower tensions, obviously a reference to talks with the United States, but saying, "We have not received positive responses." So a little dig there at the U.S. president and the Hanoi summit which ended without agreement, suggesting that he was willing to have an agreement. Natalie?
ALLEN: Oh, we will wait and see what Xi Jinping has to say to President Trump. Perhaps about his visit there with Kim Jong-un. Paula Hancocks for us. Thanks so much.
HOWELL: In Central Africa, as Ebola spreads throughout parts of that region, a new style of treatment is giving some families a little more hope. We will have that story for you next.
ALLEN: Also --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a gruesome murder that happened outside authorities and for which the people who committed it will be punished. That's why there's a trial. That's why there's an ongoing investigation. This should never have happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: Saudi Arabia denies any involvement still in journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder even after an investigative report finds otherwise. More of what that Saudi official tells CNN just ahead here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:30:13] HOWELL: Welcome back to our viewers around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Atlanta. I'm George Howell.
ALLEN: I'm Natalie Allen. Let's check the headlines this hour. Thousands of protestors are gathered outside Hong Kong Police Headquarters and you saw our live shot a few minutes ago. They're on the move there. They want the government to withdraw a supposed bill that would make anyone in Hong Kong subject to extradition to mainland China.
This is live video we have right now of the throngs of people still taking to the streets. It was suspended the bill by the city's chief executive last week but protestors say that is not enough, they want it scrapped.
HOWELL: U.S. Aviation officials, they are prohibiting all flight operations over the Persian Gulf in the Gulf of Oman until further notice. The FAA says heightened tensions with Iran present a risk to commercial aircrafts. And more of course on the breaking news that we're following. The New York Times reporting that President Trump approve military strikes against Iran but then abruptly pulled back.
ALLEN: The Times saying, "It was not clear whether Mr. Trump simply changed his mind on the strike or whether the administration altered course because of logistic source strategy." It was also not clear whether the attacks might still go forward.
HOWELL: Just a bit earlier our colleague John Vause spoke with Samantha Vinograd. Samantha is a CNN national security analyst and a former adviser to the U.S. National Security Council. Here's what she had to say about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Has anything like this happen before that, you know, like minutes away from, you know, vying the missiles and the President says no?
SAMANTHA VINOGRAD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It sounds like a really bad action thriller, John, and in my experience the military developed (INAUDIBLE) or the plans for a strike like this, they are finally tuned, they are fully ready to go and if the planes really had taken off and we they were really 90 minutes away from a strike, I don't see how logistics would have been really mess this up.
The military repositioned the assets. It is unlikely to me that a logistical failure would have been what pulled this operation back. It sounds more likely that the President changed his mind or somebody convinced him that this is not the right strategy and I don't disagree on that. Launching military strikes against Iran would have met and a minimum with a strong counter response from Iranian proxies.
And potentially Iranian forces from within the country itself. Let's not forget the Houthis in Yemen, Iranian proxies all throughout the region and really Americans that are in the region as well that could have been to counterattacks in places like Iraq and elsewhere. And so, it would be a misguided strategy to proceed with the strike. Not to mention, John, I'm very unclear on what the legal basis for the strikes were there were -- would have been, there's no Congressional authorization to launch a military strike in Iran.
And so for all those reasons, if the reporting is accurate, I'm very glad that the President changed his mind and called this back for whatever reason.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Again, that was Samantha Vinograd speaking to my colleague John Vause. Now, the parts of Central Africa were Ebola, that virus is spreading. The second largest and the second deadliest spread of Ebola ever recorded. The epicenter is in the Easter Democratic Republic of Congo. The World Health Organization has recorded more than 2,000 Ebola cases there with more than 1400 confirmed in possible death.
Our David McKenzie got a rare look inside the treatment center and joins us now live this hour. David, of course, there is a great deal of concern about these families watching their loved ones with a great deal of care and concern as well. What did you see?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, George, this is a very serious outbreak in the public health concern. I'm in the border region of North Cuba province. To the north of me is the center of that outbreak. We traveled there and found that there are battling against the disease against very large odds.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCKENZIE: Dr. Cameron (INAUDIBLE) enters this exhausting battleground. Where transparent barrier isolates a highly contagious Ebola patient from the outside world. His team rushes to stabilize a young woman who lost her baby and her husband to the virus. The death rate in this outbreak is at least 70 percent. Sometimes you forget even for myself, this is third my Ebola outbreak, the terror that this strikes into people, when people come here, they feel they might die. In fact, they believe there's a good chance they will.
But if they're inside there, they'd be able to see the eyes, the emotions, the care of the doctors and also for the family members coming in, they'll be able to interact with them.
[02:35:10] They're no longer isolate themselves in the same sense. They call these new units the cube. The family can begin to trust us, say, Dr. (INAUDIBLE) because they can see with their own eyes that we are carrying for the loved ones. Its design, a hard lesson learned from the 2014 West African epidemic where Ebola killed more than 11,000. This time around, teams are also armed with an effective experimental vaccine.
Advances that meant, this outbreak was supposed to be different. It wasn't supposed to last this long or kill so many. 10 months later it is still spreading. For the vaccine to work, the teams need to be bale reach all of this but this is Eastern Congo. A region wrapped by decades of violence where armed groups continue to thrive in a dysfunctional state. So most trusting community is understandable.
DAVID GRESSLY, COORDINATOR, U.N. EBOLA EMERGENCY RESPONSE: What's at stake here is whether we can break this transmission or not. If it continues to be interrupted, it's likely that the virus will continue to propagate.
MCKENZIE: And what would that mean for this region for global health?
GRESSLY: It remains a threat to surrounding provinces, it remains a threat to surrounding countries. So we cannot -- we cannot let it spread to people here.
MCKENZIE: For the spread to stop, Samuel (INAUDIBLE) needs to work. Keeping track of those most likely to become infected. That's 36.8.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
MCKENZIE: So that's safe?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's safe.
MCKENZIE: But like so many health workers here, Samuel has been threatened even beaten up by his terrified neighbors. Sometimes all the world noses fear, but they don't look at the individual people. We need to treat these patients with empathy he says, we need to treat them like they're a member of the family. And the nearby crash, Ebola survivors now immune to the disease like (INAUDIBLE) become to young babies who to see if they're infected mothers will live or die. You have a smile on your face. Why do have a smile on your face?
My smile is the joy of being alive she says. I beat Ebola, I'm smiling to the god who gave me life. Well, George, Ebola in some ways way is an intimate disease, you can
catch it through physical contact, highly contagious but not especially infectious. So it works through families in this tragic way and outer families into communities. And from communities into whole regions and it justifies past few days, we've seen a major uptick in fighting in Natori province, north of the province where I'm standing.
That is displaced according to the U.N., hundreds of thousands of people and that could mean that Ebola could spread further again across international borders and the countries in this region are certainly on high alert, and the health workers we met were really shocked that they haven't managed to get this out -- into -- in control at this point. George?
HOWELL: David, your reporting is really got to the heart of it giving us a sense what's happening with those families and what's happening with the efforts to treat them. Thank you so much for the report.
ALLEN: The U.S. Senator have voted to block the Trump administration's push to expedite $8 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
HOWELL: The administration declared emergency last month to bypass Congress. Now President Trump is expected to veto the new resolution which is symbolic show of opposition from within his own party.
ALLEN: Meantime, the U.K. Court of Appeals has ruled the British government's decision to keep selling weapons to Saudi Arabia is unlawful. The ruling will stop sales to Saudi Arabia which is deeply involved in the Civil War in Yemen. But the government needs to reconsider, if the weapons could be used to violate international humanitarian law.
HOWELL: Saudi Arabia also pushing back against an independent report on the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. A U.N. human rights investigator laid blame for the murder on Saudi Arabia on the government saying that there is credible evidence linking with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the crime.
ALLEN: But the Saudi minister disagrees and he told CNN's Christiane Amanpour that the perpetrators are already being punished.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: I want to ask you, what you think when you hear the following words. This is from Turkish intelligence and from other intelligence. Well, also that the head of the CIA Gina Haspel has heard this intelligence in these tapes. So, people go into, Saudi has go into the consonant, we will take you back they say to Khashoggi. This is an order from Interpol, Saudi says -- Khashoggi says they -- isn't the case against me and was in the people waiting outside.
[02:40:03] They then instruct him to write a text message to his son then they argue about what to say. And they say to him cut it short, there is a struggle. What do you think when you hear that?
ADEL AL-JUBEIR, SAUDI MINISTER OF STATE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Well, let me first response your first question about the holding into account people who committed Abu Ghraib and --
(CROSSTALK)
AMANPOUR: No, no. First I want to ask you this.
(CROSSTALK)
AL-JUBEIR: No. Because in our case -- in our case, the reason the trial is ongoing and people will be punished. We have --
(CROSSTALK)
AMANPOUR: I want to ask you what your reaction --
(CROSSTALK)
AL-JUBEIR: -- with regards to the reaction to the tape, we know this was a rogue operation that was not authorized. We know that a crime was committed. We have people in jail and they're on trial as we speak.
AMANPOUR: What do you say to the following? Khashoggi says, there is a towel here, are you going to get me drugs? And they say we anesthetized you and then there's a struggle and then a mask ask whether Khashoggi has passed out. And then another one -- well, the same one says he raises his head, another one says keep pushing, push it, don't remove your hand. Push it.
AL-JUBEIR: It's a gruesome murder that happened outside authorities. And for which the people who committed will be punished. That's why there's a trial, that's why there's an ongoing investigation, they should never have happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: Well, the United States has added Saudi Arabia and Cuba to its list of worst offenders on human trafficking. HOWELL: In the annual trafficking in person's report the United
States downgraded the two nations to tier three, the lowest possible rating a country could get. They now join a list that includes, Russia, China and Venezuela and could face cuts in -- to foreign assistance. Notably the report did not include Saudi Arabia on the list of countries that recruit child soldiers that CNN reporter Wednesday.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo overruled experts in his own agency to keep the kingdom off that list. It includes Afghanistan, Burma, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Iran among others.
ALLEN: Secretary Pompeo released a report at a state department ceremony during remarks. He called out Cuba by name but did not mention Saudi Arabia. We turn to India next, because they are having a major crisis, there's not enough water to go around.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It is very difficult for us, we have to leave our kids at home and stand in the scorching sunlight from 5:00 a.m. with our buckets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: A crisis in one of India's largest cities affecting millions of people. We'll have the story when NEWSROOM comes back.
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[02:45:14] ALLEN: The race to become the next U.K. prime minister is now down to two candidates. Those two people, Boris Johnson, and Jeremy Hunt, the last ones standing after Michael Gove was knocked out in a secret ballot. The two finalists will now campaign across the country, they'll be trying to win over Conservative Party members who will choose the next leader. Our Bianca Nobilo, explains.
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: We now know that the next prime minister of the United Kingdom will either be Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt. The Conservative Party leadership contest whittled down the field of contenders from four to two today in a series of ballots.
Boris Johnson has been strides ahead of his competitors throughout this leadership contest. And today, he secured the votes of over half of the Conservative M.P.s in Parliament giving him a majority.
The race was much tighter though when it came to who would be joining Boris Johnson in that final two. Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, faced off against Michael Gove, the environment secretary. And ultimately, there were only two votes in it.
So now, Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson will travel around the United Kingdom in an effort to win over the Conservative Party membership. All 160,000 of them. Because it's those people who will get to decide who the next leader of the Conservative Party will be. And so, who the next prime minister will be. Bianca Nobilo, CNN, London.
ALLEN: Well, one of India's largest cities is parched, it is bone- dry.
HOWELL: That's right, scorching temperatures and a late monsoon season have created a water shortage, a crisis in Chennai. Home to nearly 5 million people there. Our Isa Soares reports some rain Thursday, well it won't have much effect.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the most significant rain, Chennai has seen since December of last year.
So far, it's not much. But it's a welcome change for India's six largest city. Which has been sweltering through a scorching heat wave and is fast running out of water.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Our day starts at 4:00 in the morning, when we reached this place to get water. We can only take water until 10 a.m. After which it gets very hot. It is a very difficult time for us.
SOARES: High temperatures combined with prolonged dry weather have left Chennai's water reservoirs virtually empty. These satellite photos showed a dramatic change in just the past few months.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There is an acute water crisis looming now. And for the last month, there has been no water supply as ball wells have gone dry and supply is erratic.
SOARES: Water trucks are now a daily reality for the city's residents, who were forced to queue for hours to fill there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Between 4:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., we come here with buckets and just wait and watch the tanker goes frequently to nearby streets but on our street, it doesn't come often enough. We cannot go to work, we're not able to cook food at home.
SOARES: Last summer's monsoon season failed to deliver its usual deluge, and this year's monsoon is late. Every year, groundwater wells are running dry faster and faster.
Local authorities are being criticized for not doing enough to prepare for the inevitable water shortages.
D. JAYAKUMAR, FISHERIES MINISTER, TAMIL NADU (through translator): As far as water management is concerned, the government is doing the maximum. It has undertaken the cleaning up of water tanks, lakes, and reservoirs and their deepening.
SOARES: Well, today's rain is a promising sign that the monsoon season is on its way. It's only a temporary reprieve. Environmentalists warned the situation in Chennai is just an indication of things to come. As the realities of climate change and more extreme weather events become common. Isa Soares, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: And to those who don't think climate change is real, I mean, it's right there in your face. And here is the thing, Ivan, they got a little rain but -- you know, that's not enough.
ALLEN: Yes, 5 million people need water.
IVAN CABRERA, CNN INTERNATIONAL WEATHER ANCHOR: They do, and in fact, you mentioned numbers like that. So, we're projected to have 1.5 billion people in India by the time we get into 2030.
That's 200,000 more than we have now. So, you're going to have a lot more people that are going to need a lot more resources. The problem is these conditions are going to prevail on each season like that. We're going to have prolonged droughts, and we're going to have below normal monsoon seasons. This is what happens.
We were talking over the commercial break, big floods in the U.S. Those kinds of changes so you have too much water in some places and not enough on others. And that's what we have going in that Chennai.
Let's talk about the rain though that George mentioned. So, yes, we did get some rainfall but, my goodness, not enough here. Take a look at what's happened so far. I mean this is early in the monsoon season and we're already 42.9 percent below where we should be for this time of year.
So, from the first of June, all the way through the 20th, each and every day, we've gotten further and further away from the line which is where the rain should be, and where we've been, which is the rain hasn't been.
Now, we've had, had some rain over the last couple of days, and I think better news coming up here. But look at our (INAUDIBLE) here, it's our monsoon movement, right? It goes from south to north during the summer months and it is late.
And there it is, that's the current position this is where we should be here. So, we have some days to makeup, weeks and then, some here. So, what's going on? Big picture story here, a decline in average rainfall. That is certainly ongoing in India. So, we're going to have these prolonged drier monsoon seasons. And what that is doing each and every year because of the heat, right? All that heat from the Sun evaporates the water. And so the groundwater is actually going lower each and every year by a good 10 to 25 millimeters that is significant from '02 to 2016.
Groundwater gets slower, it is harder to tap, and so, you start running out of water in some of these places. 6,000 plus, an incredible number here. This is how many fatalities we've had since 2010. Why? Well, we've had all these heat waves which have been a result of a late starting monsoon.
So, we have the longer days without rainfall and with temperatures that are, of course, that summer levels down which is today is the first day of summer. And so, that's why we've had so many problems here.
All right, so, the good news, right? 29 millimeters of rainfall, that puts us now half of where we should be for the month of June. So, that is good. They've received half of the average rainfall for June in just the last 24 hours. We need a little bit more, we know a lot more, we're going to get some here, you see this flow coming in off the bay been gone as excellent news.
Chennai getting in on that. I think the heaviest of the rain will be a little further to the north, but still, no matter how you slice it, it is a change in our pattern, we like to see that spin of the monsoon lows that come in off the bay up in Gulf.
So, the point is we're going to get some rainfall here and it is going to continue over the next few days. The bigger issue, of course, will be the water management and the population increases, and the climate change. The situation all of that combined for what will be a quite a few tough years ahead of us.
HOWELL: Right.
ALLEN: Ivan, thank you.
HOWELL: We thank you, Ivan.
ALLEN: The war and violence have divided the Central African Republic. Millions of people are struggling to survive. Next, we go inside what's been called, the forgotten humanitarian crisis.
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HOWELL: For years, violence in the Central African Republic has been creating a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions, but it's been mostly forgotten by most of the world.
ALLEN: The United Nation, says the situation there is disastrous with millions of people needing immediate aid. CNN's Clarissa Ward takes us to the center of the struggle.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[02:49:35] CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Worst humanitarian crisis you have never heard of. Half the people of the Central African Republic don't know where their next meal is coming from. Nearly six years of vicious conflict involving Muslim and Christian militias have forced a million people from their homes. Some of them sought shelter here, in a sprawling overcrowded camp in the town of Bria.
There at 65,000 people now living in this camp. They came to escape the bloodshed of the different warring militias in this country. But even here, even now, the situation is tense. As you can see, we have armed guards with us at all times. Escaping from the searing noon sun, we meet Lavender (INAUDIBLE). She tells us that her husband was beaten to death by militants. She cherishes a single photograph of him. Like many here, (INAUDIBLE) says the camp feels more like a prison than a refuge.
"As soon as I can go home, I will," she says. "I cannot suffer here any longer." For now, leaving is not an option, 75 percent of the country is still under the control of different militias, and spasms of violence continue. Last year, there were nearly400 attacks on aid workers in the Central African Republic.
Gian Carlo Cirri is a country director for the World Food Programme.
[02:56:13] GIAN CARLO CIRRI, DIRECTOR, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME: We rely very much on armed escorts to bring our food.
WARD: Are there some places you can't even get to?
CIRRI: Yes there are. Because there is an additional difficulty is the terrain.
WARD: In the capital of Bangui, President Faustin-Archange Touadera, hopes that a peace agreement reached in February with the various militias will staunch the bleeding.
FAUSTIN-ARCHANGE TOUADERA, PRESIDENT OF CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC (through translator): People have suffered so much because today a country due to the crisis is not in peace. We have to find peace and security again. We have to work on this, and this is our priority.
WARD: What is your message to the people of the Central African Republic?
TOUADERA: A country is blessed by God. There are lots of possibilities I have already mentioned. Various like agriculture and mining. So, we need to start working. You get engaged in the United, rather than staying stuck in divisions of hatred and being vengeful.
WARD: A message of hope to a people long consumed by hatred and suffering. Clarissa Ward, CNN, Central African Republic.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Clarissa, thank you. And thank you for being with us for this hour of NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.
ALLEN: I'm Natalie Allen, we're right back with another hour of CNN NEWSROOM. See you in a minute.
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