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Japan Records Biggest One-Day Increase In New Cases; Democratic Race Down To Biden And Sanders; U.S. Targets Taliban Days After Historic Deal; Asian Markets Higher again after Wall Street Rebounds; E.U. Plans Border Intervention, Humanitarian Aid. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired March 05, 2020 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:00]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Studio 7 at CNN's World Headquarters in Atlanta. I had this hour, the race to develop a vaccine to stop the coronavirus and it's unrelenting spread around the world.

Like Lazarus with a triple heart bypass, a resurgent Joe Biden is on a roll, now the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for president with a favorable road ahead. And violence flares in Afghanistan just days after the U.S. and Taliban both agree to work towards a lasting peace.

While the number of coronavirus infections continues to drop in China, the disease is spreading rapidly elsewhere around the world. The virus that threatens to overshadow the Olympic Games in Tokyo set to begin in July. The country has recorded 33 new cases on Wednesday alone, the largest increase in a single day, putting the total more than 1,000 there in Japan.

Meantime, Italy, where there is Europe's biggest outbreak has ordered schools to close nationwide for more than a week. Sporting events have been hit and canceled in many parts of the country. And in the United States, California is governor has declared a state of emergency. The docking of a cruise ship in San Francisco has been delayed because more than 20 people on board are showing symptoms of the disease.

We begin our coverage for the CNN's Blake Essig in Tokyo. So Blake, as we look at the spike in the number of cases in Japan, what are the options that the government has now to try and deal with the surging numbers.

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, at this point, the options are really limited. You have Japanese -- the Japanese government that is essentially focused on, you know, isolating individual people. They want social distancing to be the main focus across the country, whether that means school closures, working from home, sporting events that have no fans inside or canceling those sporting events altogether. The goal here is to create social distancing. And at this point, the Japanese government is actually working on

creating the legal framework to declare a state of emergency across all of Japan. And what that would do is allow municipalities to ask their residents to stay indoors, they would allow the ability to close public facilities and schools. They would also allow for the ability for municipalities to build medical facilities to deal with a potential increase in cases.

I actually had the chance to speak with a researcher today from Hokkaido University. He's been sequestered by the Japanese government to conduct contact tracing to try to figure out not only where the infections started as far as clusters are concerned here in Japan, but see how it's spreading and looking at the number of actual cases versus the confirmed cases.

And the confirmed cases outside of the Diamond Princess, there are about 700 cases on board, the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was docked off a Yokohama port in February. The number of confirmed cases here in mainland Japan is around 300. But according to this researcher, based on the data that he's been able to analyze, he thinks that that number is more likely when it comes to actual cases in the thousands.

So when you talk about the increase that you -- that you had mentioned, 33 just announced yesterday, it is likely it will continue to see increases for the days and weeks to come, John.

VAUSE: Blake, thank you. Blake Essig there live in Tokyo. I appreciate it. Thank you. The only way to eradicate any virus is through immunity. Usually a combination of natural immunity, you actually get the disease and you live, and a vaccine. But developing a viable vaccine for the coronavirus will take more than a year potentially even longer than that. CNN Fred Pleitgen reports from Berlin where one lab is scrambling to find a cure.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As the novel coronavirus continues to spread around the globe and the death toll mounts, these scientists in Germany, like countless others around the world are in a race against time trying to develop a vaccine as fast as possible for an illness the scientific world has a lot to learn about.

FRANZ-WERNER HAAS, COD, CUREVAC: Well, the challenge, first of all, is that the virus is unknown. So you don't know which kind of protection you need in order to stimulate the immune system in order to be protected.

PLEITGEN: German American company CureVac who's COE has been to the White House to meet President Trump makes vaccines by essentially embedding the viruses code into human cells to help The body protect itself.

[01:05:02]

HAAS: But we are making the body to produce your own vaccine or your own drug.

PLEITGEN: Each of these little tubes contains a different construct of the virus' code. Right now, the scientists of the main lab in Germany are trying to find out which one is the safest and most effective to be turned into a vaccine. While they don't want to put a date on it yet, they believe they're getting closer.

HAAS: We are in preparation for clinical trial. All of the different constructs, we have to get the best ones into the clinics and we are in constant discussions with regulatory authorities.

PLEITGEN: The pressure couldn't be higher with the number of novel coronavirus cases jumping every day, and the global economy taking a beating from the coronavirus' effects. President Trump at a meeting with drug makers urge the industry to come up with a vaccine ASAP.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're moving aggressively to accelerate the process of developing a vaccine. A lot of good things are happening and are happening very fast. I said, do me a favor, speed it up, speed it up, and they will.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to be prepared.

PLEITGEN: While U.S. health officials acknowledge it will be at least a year before one will be certified, the company says it's working overtime to get it done soon.

HAAS: If you compare it, a normal vaccine development takes several years. We are fighting an outbreak right now and therefore regulatory authorities are hands-on and trying to do this within a year's time.

PLEITGEN: Getting that done within a year is almost unheard of as far as the certification of drugs is concerned. But the folks of the company tell us that they've almost never seen this amount of international urgency on the part of governments, on the part of NGOs, and also, of course, on the part of drug companies and labs to try and get a vaccine on the market as fast as possible and as safe as possible. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: CNN is hosting a global town hall on the facts and fears about the coronavirus Thursday night 10:00 p.m. Eastern here in the U.S., Friday morning 11:00 a.m. in Hong Kong. Is it the Biden bounce? Joe- mentum perhaps? Whatever you call it, the former U.S. Vice President's campaign has moved into high gear.

After a surprising and sweeping win on Super Tuesday. It's raised more than $7 million online in less than two days. CNN's Jeff Zeleny reports now from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They don't call it Super Tuesday for nothing.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Tonight, it's clear, momentum trumped money.

BIDEN: We are very much alive.

ZELENY: Joe Biden is not only alive, he's on a remarkable roll collecting the endorsement of Michael Bloomberg who extinguished his presidential bid after a dismal showing on Super Tuesday.

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Defeating Donald Trump starts with uniting behind the candidate with the best shot to do it. And after yesterday's vote is clear, that candidate is my friend and a great American Joe Biden.

ZELENY: Biden sweeping 10 states from Massachusetts to Minnesota across the south and even winning Texas. Bernie Sanders claiming his home state of Vermont and two others while holding a lead in the biggest prize of all California. Tonight, Biden is leading Sanders and the only metric that matters, the delegate race. As Warren reassesses her candidacy, an advisor telling CNN, the biggest decision left is whether to endorse Biden, Sanders or neither.

For Sanders, the results on Tuesday were a surprising setback, exposing holes in his coalition and raising questions about whether his support has come up against the ceiling.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Of course, I'm disappointed. I would like to win by a landslide. It's not going to happen.

ZELENY: He pledged to fight Biden all the way to the Democratic Convention in Milwaukee.

SANDERS: Joe and I have a very different voting record. Joe and I have a very different vision for the future of this country. And Joe and I are running very different campaigns.

ZELENY: Yet Sanders is trying to embrace former President Barack Obama through a new T.V. ad.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I feel the burn.

ZELENY: Aimed in part at improving as low support among black voters. It was a dramatic comeback for Biden for which he owes a long list of thank yous to Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg for dropping out and endorsing him. To Warren for bringing Bloomberg down to size on the debate stage and to voters who flocked to him.

BIDEN: People are talking about a revolution. We started a movement. We've increase turnout. And the turnout is a turnout for us.

ZELENY: Going forward in a one on one race with Sanders, the former vice president can also lean on the financial muscle of Bloomberg who pledged to turn his robust campaign into an effort to take down President Trump.

BLOOMBERG: I will not walk away from the most important political fight of my life and I hope you won't walk away either. ZELENY: Bloomberg is vowing to spend considerable money to defeat

President Trump and help Joe Biden. But it is President Trump is at the center of all of this. Democratic voters have been looking for a consensus candidate, the strongest candidate in their view to take on President Trump. Many think that is Biden, but some of course still think it Sanders. A key question. What will Elizabeth Warren do?

Senator Sanders called her asking for her support. She did not immediately give it. So that is one key question, if she will go with Biden, as all the other rivals have, or if she'll be standing with Sanders all alone. But one thing is clear, this Biden-Sanders fight goes on. Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:10:27]

VAUSE: And to Los Angeles now. Michael Genovese is president of the Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount University. And Michael, it's good to see you.

MICHAEL GENOVESE, POLITICAL ANALYST: Hello, John.

VAUSE: OK, never before has a candidate lost the first three contests, lost them by a mile, and had to come back like this. So is this a moment unique to Joe Biden or like Donald Trump, has Biden in a way rewritten the rulebook here?

GENOVESE: Well, I think it was a big wake up call for sort of rank and file Democrats. They saw the possibility of Bernie Sanders and that was not who they want go into November with. And if you saw the results of Tuesday, a lot of Democrats who decided at the last minute went to Biden, a lot of Democrats who said the biggest reason they went for Biden is because he can beat Trump.

And so I think what you take away is number one, that the Democratic Party membership wants to beat Trump and that's job one. And number two, after Biden showing in South Carolina, he revived his campaign and it was it -- was an Uber comeback for Biden. People around the you know, the water -- the coffee table we're saying, you know, well, you know, maybe he'll went four or five. He didn't sweep the table, but it seemed like it. It was an incredible night for Biden and he's in the driver's seat right now. It's his to lose.

VAUSE: And his win a stunning win. It did not go unnoticed by the U.S. president. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It was a great comeback by Joe Biden. In the case of Elizabeth Warren, had she gotten out, it would have been a very different situation, I think. It would have been a very different night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: You know, in a tweet, the President has argued that Elizabeth Warren essentially handed a bunch of states to Joe Biden. There's some dispute about that. But clearly, Elizabeth Warren staying in this race, she does harm to Sanders to an extent. So would that be her only reason for staying in at this point if she does?

GENOVESE: Well, she has a lot of money, so she can stay in the race. She may have something to prove. She lost her home state of Massachusetts. She's done very poorly. A lot of that has to do with the gender issue, we all know that, but she may still have something to prove. She wants to -- she doesn't want to leave on such a sour note. She doesn't want to be embarrassed, maybe even humiliated.

But the question is, is there any kind of road ahead that will revive her in a way that at least brings respectability? It's starting to look like there is not. And so, I'm not sure that Elizabeth Warren will go to either Biden or to Sanders. She may just sit it out and wait a little while.

VAUSE: Here's sort of an indication of perhaps what this campaign will look like, will sound like at least in turn. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: Joe is running a campaign which is obviously heavily supported by the corporate establishment.

BIDEN: The establishment are all those working middle-class people, those African American voters, single women in suburbia, they are the establishment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: I mean, they both also have pledged to have a campaign with policy issues and ideas. There'll be no personal attacks. Do you think that will actually be the case or is their only real option here is to go with the personal attacks to get nasty because that's kind of all that's really for voters to decide on?

Well, you know, John, when you're ahead, you can take the high road. When you're trying to catch up, when you're down, use whatever tools you have. And if Bernie Sanders starts to get desperate -- remember, he's not really a Democrat to begin with. He's an Independent who occasionally sides with the Democrats every four years.

And so for Sanders, he has a built-in resentment for the establishment. It's a built-in resentment. He thinks that they stole the nomination from him four years ago. He expects that they will do the same. And so there's a real egg to Bernie Sanders. You can easily see him going negative.

And then what happens when or if Biden wins the nomination? Does Bernie sit it out? Does he pout and sit out or does he do what he didn't do in 2016 and say it's more important to be Trump? I'm going to go all-in or as much as I can, to get my people to support Biden.

Bernie Sanders has -- it's a real test of character as much as it is of his political future what he does in the next five months, VAUSE: Well, you know, as they say, money can't buy love. It seems also it cannot buy you a Democratic nomination for president as well. Ask Michael Bloomberg, he went through what, about $600 million. He has won a total of 19 delegates, according to CNN's latest count. Do the math, $32 million per delegate. Can we get into this top worry now, you know, about billionaires buying the presidency right now, can we?

[01:15:14]

GENOVESE: You know, throughout my lifetime, I remember every couple of years, someone saying, oh, there's a gazillionaire running. He's going to try to buy the race. Money is important. Money buys you access. Money gives you the ability to communicate. But money is not sufficient. You need a message, you need a face, you need a voice, you need a compelling story.

And Mike Bloomberg came in way too late. It was a strategy that was built on by not coming back. Once Biden came back, the thing that Bloomberg wants most to beat Trump, he now sees the road being through Joe Biden. And so the reason for him being in the race has been removed. And now he will, as he said, he's going to push all in for the Democrats and for Biden.

And so, it's pretty expensive, what $2 million per delegate. Boy, I'd love to have that kind of money to throw away.

VAUSE: Absolutely, yes. And exactly, it's just stunning for him to notice. Michael, as always, good to see you. Thanks for coming in.

GENOVESE: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: Still to come, a deal is in place to pave the way for peace, but now the U.S. and the Taliban are launching attacks in Afghanistan days after that historic deal. We'll explain why in a moment. Thousands of migrants are being used as pawns by Turkey on this feud against Europe. More on that also at this hour.

[01:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Just days after the United States signing a historic agreement with the Taliban, violence is once again escalating in Afghanistan. The U.S. military says it launched a defensive airstrike Wednesday targeting Taliban fighters. It says it was in response to the Taliban attacking an Afghan checkpoint in Helmand Province.

Officials say at least 25 Afghan soldiers were killed in separate attacks on Tuesday. Saturday's agreement is aimed at withdrawing U.S. troops ahead of possible peace talks. Joining us from Washington for more Kimberly Dozier, CNN Global Affairs Analyst as well as a contributor for Time Magazine. So, Kimberly, it's been a while. Nice to see you.

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Good to see you too. VAUSE: OK. Did the -- did the U.S. negotiate a path towards an

eventual peace deal in Afghanistan or would it be better described as a deal to allow U.S. troops to withdraw? It's sort of an exit deal, if you like.

DOZIER: Ideally, it is a path to peace, but I think this president would be fine with a controlled withdrawal as long as it didn't result in Afghanistan becoming a safe haven for terrorists at the other end. They're not as concerned as previous administrations are -- were about leaving behind some semblance of democracy or women's rights, etcetera, though they say that they are.

But what we've seen behind the scenes is Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad has very skillfully cobbled together and agreement that has something for everybody and has gotten them to that signature process. But we had senior administration officials telling us the day before the signing that a lot of what was in that sign deal was aspirational, especially on the prisoner issue, which you now see dividing both sides.

VAUSE: Well, further to this point about this deal and essentially where it leaves the U.S. in all this, the former Obama administration National Security Advisor Susan Rice wrote an op-ed in New York Times. Part of it read, "Under President Trump, the United States is widely seen to be committed to withdrawing from Afghanistan under almost any circumstances. There are no indications of what conditions might slow or hold an American drawdown of troops short of a major attack by al- Qaeda launched with clear televised support. The Taliban knows this, and so does the Afghan government reducing nearly to nil America's influence over events in Afghanistan."

And these attacks by the Taliban, are they -- what we're seeing right now, is this another test of U.S. limits on how much violence it's willing to put up with, or as some of the studies have suggested, are the Taliban emboldened by Trump's phone conversation with the senior Taliban official a day earlier? Is that where we're standing right now?

DOZIER: Well, the signals that you've seen from the Trump administration are that they very much want this to work. And if that means backing the Taliban and strong-arming the Ghani administration to come to the table, they're going to do it. That's how I saw the President's phone call, even as President Ghani was saying he was unhappy with the stated requirement in the deal that the Afghan government had to turn over up to 5,000 prisoners.

President Trump ignore that and went ahead with a phone call with the lead Taliban negotiator and said that it went very well. To me, that's a signal that Washington is saying to Ghani, you got to get on board. You've got to meet us halfway and find a way to release at least some of these prisoners so that the inter-Afghan talks can start.

VAUSE: Well, the Joint Chiefs was searching for some positive spin during a Senate hearing on Wednesday. Here he yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEN. MARK MILLEY, CHAIRMAN, U.S. JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: What is important though for the agreement, one day for and of significance, there's no attacks in 34 provincial capitals, there's no attacks in Kabul. There's no high-profile attacks. There's no suicide bombers. There's no vehicle-borne suicide, no attack against the U.S. forces, no attack against coalition.

There's a whole laundry list of these things that aren't happening. Yes, there were significant numbers of attack, small attacks. They were all beaten back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: They're just small. It sounds almost like fake announcement you know, taking over the bad things that could have happened, but didn't.

DOZIER: He was pointing out that look, we made a deal with the Taliban and the Taliban didn't attack us. Yes, they attacked Afghan forces and it was always understood and agreed between the Afghan government and the U.S. that they were going to respond and help protect Afghan forces, at least in the beginning part of this process, which the U.S. did do.

But the Taliban knows what it's doing. It is trying to divide and conquer the Afghan government away from the U.S. coalition. And I think the message is going to be to the Afghan government, according to the officials that I'm talking to, that they can try to assert their authority to a point, but they're not going to be allowed by the U.S. government to ruin this deal signed in Doha.

[01:25:40]

VAUSE: Well, the Secretary of Defense, he said essentially, this steel siding in Doha is the only viable option. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK ESPER, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The best if not only path forward is through a political agreement. We have an historic opportunity here. We signed on Saturday in Qatar. I was in Kabul at the same time, this agreement that lays out a framework by which we could proceed toward an eventual intra-Afghan negotiation was supposed to happen at this point five days from now. And the results so far been mixed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Mixed results too. But what's actually there is these intra- Afghan negotiations. It doesn't mean the Taliban seen down speaking with the Afghan government because the Taliban refuses to recognize the Afghan government. It's sort of this sort of Loya Jirga, this gathering of elders and elites in Afghanistan. How is that going to work?

DOZIER: The Taliban know the wording of the deal that they signed was very artfully done, like the small print in your insurance that says, up to 5,000 prisoners will be released, that could mean two prisoners. So of course, they're asking for all 5,000, wouldn't you? And the Ghani administration, this has been their first opportunity after Khalilzad really cut them out of a lot of the talks, to say OK, we're in charge now and we're saying we're not going to go to Oslo until the Taliban meets with us in Doha to discuss some of these things.

I think the U.S. is going to let this go on for a little bit. And then Ambassador Khalilzad is going to go and talk to each side separately. And I think, you know, week or two weeks, you'll see them -- you'll see this log jam breaking, and you'll see some progress moving towards talks because I mean, Khalilzad just -- he's been in this situation before and he generally finds a way to pull it off.

VAUSE: Well, you know, from your lips to God's ears. I guess, let's hope for peace because it's what, 18 years, America's longest war. Clearly, a lot of people want this thing to an end. Kimberly, good to see you. Thank you.

DOZIER: Good to see you.

VAUSE: Wall Street seemingly stuck on a rollercoaster ride with some of the wildest ups and downs the market has ever seen. We'll tell you where they stand heading into Thursday's trading.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:31:24]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you for staying with us. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm John Vause with the headlines this hour.

The U.S. has launched a defensive air strike targeting Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. Military officials say they responded after the Taliban attacked an Afghan checkpoint in Helmand Province. The strike came days after both sides signed an agreement to work towards possible peace talks.

Joe Biden riding high on his big wins in the Super Tuesday Democratic primaries his campaign says they have raised more than $7 million in less than 2 days. Biden and Bernie Sanders are battling for the chance to take on Donald Trump in November's U.S. presidential election.

California's governor has declared a state of emergency following the state's first deaths from the coronavirus. A cruise ship has been delayed from docking in San Francisco after more than 20 passengers and crew showed symptoms. Worldwide there are almost 95,000 cases and nearly 3,300 deaths, most of them reported in China.

Markets in Asia in positive territory for a fourth day. Right now, let's take a look at the markets there. The major markets are all up into positive territory. The Nikkei up by more than 1 percent. Hong Kong up by more than 2 percent. Shanghai up by almost 2 percent. And the Seoul Kospi up by almost 1 percent. This follows big gains on Wall Street Wednesday. The Dow up more than 1,100 points easily erasing Tuesday's losses of almost 800 points. Hope you've got all that written down.

Journalist Kaori Enjoji is live in Tokyo this hour.

Also it seems, you know, when you look at what's happening here, $50 billion aid package from the IMF to fight the coronavirus has also been welcomed.

KAORI ENJOJI, JOURNALIST: That's right. I think central bankers and institutions are trying to convey a message to the institutional investor community that they are going to do whatever they can to cushion the blow from the coronavirus and the economic impact of that.

Think of all day we are seeing a fairly straightforward reaction to the gains that we've seen on Wall Street after a rollercoaster session today and throughout the week. But talking to investors and also to businesses here, they're still very concerned about the impact and the fall out.

And I think that is pretty evident when you hear a body from the United Nations say that $50 billion in exports -- they saw a fall of $50 billion worth of exports across the world in the month of February. That is a tremendous amount.

And businesses say they can feel the economy slowly grinding to ward a halt even in places like Japan. First it was the supply chain story. Now it is turning into more of a human issue because companies are telling their employees to stay at home.

Kids are staying at home, which means that parents have to stay at home. And this whole domino effect as you will, and people not knowing when that -- when they can reverse that effect is what is lingering over sentiment.

So on the day the equity market might be higher but I would keep an eye out on the treasury yield as well. Yield on the 10 treasury at 1 percent and below is a significant figure. And that indicates to the market that investors are still counting on for their cuts in interest rates from the U.S. Federal Reserve in anticipation that the economic toll from this virus could continue for quite some time.

So I think that's one to keep an eye out for.

I would say the yen is also pretty important to keep an eye out on because this is returning as a safe haven and this is going to come to bite for some of the Japanese corporations that do big business overseas. So on the day fairly straightforward reaction to the equity markets, but still a lot of vulnerability in the treasury and the currency markets -- John.

[01:35:02]

VAUSE: Kaori -- thank you. Kaori Enjoji there with the very latest from Tokyo. Well, U.K. (INAUDIBLE) Airline Flybe has collapsed, a drop in business caused by the coronavirus added to the problems of this already struggling company. The airline warning passengers all fights are being grounded and they should make alternative plans.

Even James Bond not immune from the reality of the coronavirus. The latest installment "No Time to Die" was supposed to hit theaters April 10th but now, it won't be out until November apparently because of concerns of the virus.

Still to come, migrants will seek (ph) everything to try and reach Europe. It's an old story. But these hopes for a better future are once again on hold as they wait on a Greek Island.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back everybody.

A cease-fire in Syria will top the agenda when the Turkish president meets with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in just a few hours. President Erdogan has opened Turkey's border to Europe and says the flow of refugees will not stop until Turkey gets support for its political and humanitarian efforts in Syria.

At least 33 Turkish soldiers have been killed during the surge in fighting in Idlib Province between Russian-backed Syrian forces and rebels allied with Turkey. And Turkey's move away from an agreement to keep refugees out of Europe has created a crisis at the Greek border.

Thousands of migrants have gathered there hoping ultimately to reach other parts of Europe. But Greek authorities are said to use teargas and water cannons to keep them out.

E.U. countries are proposing a border intervention program on land and sea and offering more money for humanitarian aid in Idlib. But they are also criticizing what they say is Turkey's use of border controls for political purposes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARGARITIS SCHINAS, EUROPEAN COMMISSION VICE PRESIDENT: Turkey is not an enemy, but people are not weapons either. we now have a chance for a new deal on asylum immigration. And this I dare to say will be our last chance. Europe cannot fail twice on such an emblematic objective.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Over the past week many migrants have traveled from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos but they're finding conditions there are not much better than what they left behind.

CNN's Phil Black reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These people are cold, exhausted and deeply relieved. They're all Afghan, mostly families and children traveling alone, who recently crossed that stretch of water from Turkey in a small boat during the night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Scary, very scary. Water up and down.

[01:39:48]

BLACK: That danger is behind them, but their suffering doesn't end on the shoreline. This is where most migrants on Lesbos must stay, the now sprawling Moria Camp. Designed for up to over 2,000 people, the current population is 18,000.

Most live among olive trees and handmade shelters without running water, sanitation, and electricity. It's a slum.

Your child? Baby?

It is no place for a newborn, no place for a three-week-old Adrian to start as life.

Moria no good -- they chant. Migrants want out of the camp and off the island, to catch a ferry to mainland Greece. The police won't let them.

They are especially fired up. There's a rumor a few migrants were allowed to board a ferry to Athens the day before. When clubs failed to calm them, the police try words.

This is the friction on the island of Lesbos. On one hand the migrants who hate where they live will say that Moria is (INAUDIBLE). And then on the other hand the authorities, the people of Lesbos who believe their quality of life has suffered unduly because of all of this and they just want it to end.

After 5 years and hundreds of thousands of migrants arriving on Lesbos and nearby islands -- Greek frustration is turning violent as well.

This U.N. facility was torched on Sunday night. Aid workers say they are now frequently targeted by angry locals, because they are helping the migrants.

BORIS CHESHIRKOV, U.N. HCR SPOKESPERSON, GREECE: There have been intimidating acts, violent acts against humanitarian workers against refugees that are arriving on the shores but also against journalists.

BLACK: We hear about a gathering on a dark, empty patch of land by the coast road where migrants walk to and from the camp. There, we find a plainclothes police officer watching dozens of local people; some carry sticks, cover their faces.

They scream furiously at us not to come near them. Cars have been attacked.

This man who only gives his name as Tony and insists on staying hidden, tells us the meeting is for people who are worried about the situation on the island.

I mean the violence against the NGOs and the aid workers, is that ok?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think not.

BLACK: But you know --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are all humans.

BLACK: -- you know some people do it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Certainly. There are some people that do.

BLACK: There is tension everywhere on Lesbos, among Greeks who feel abandoned and trapped in an endless crisis they did not create. And with the many migrants living in squalor, hopelessly watching ferries come and go every day. All want the same thing -- a chance at a better future.

Phil Black, CNN -- on the Greek island of Lesbos.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Final note here, on March 11th CNN will partner with young people around the world for a day of action against modern day slavery. For This year's My Freedom Day, we are asking what does freedom mean to you?

Here is what David Beckham had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID BECKHAM, CO-OWNER, INTER MIAMI: Now freedom to dream is our motive, our club. and it is one thing I always say to my children that you know, to have that freedom to go and express their selves to do, you know, to do what they do best and to have that passion and that drive -- you know they have to have that freedom to go and succeed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So tell the world what freedom means to you, share your story on social media using the hashtag MyFreedomDay.

Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm John Vause.

"WORLD SPORT" starts after the break.

And I will be back at the top of the hour. Don't go anywhere.

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