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World Leaders to Meet at G7; Global Law Enforcement Joined Forces to Crack Down Organize Crime; President Macron Slapped in His Face; E.U. Distributes COVID Certificates; Uyghur Families Separated from Each Other; U.S. Senate Passed Bipartisan Bill; Countering Beijing's Influence; Taiwan's Climate Crisis, Worst Drought In Decades; Australia To Call For New Trade Rules To Rein In China; President Biden Begins First Foreign Trip Soon; Butcher Of Bosnia, Ratko Mladic; Israel Justifies Airstrike On Building; Sarah Everard Killing, Pleads Guilty To Kidnap, Rape; U.S. Capitol Riot's Report; Political Turmoil In Israel; Major Websites And Apps Go Dark, Fastly Failure; Japanese Politician Apologizes For Teenage Sex Comment; Mystery Of Aurora Borealis Phenomenon. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired June 09, 2021 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Hi. Welcome to all of our viewers joining us from around the world. I'm Robyn Curnow. You are watching CNN Newsroom.
So just ahead, Joe Biden's first major international summit as president, high hopes and a big agenda for the first post Trump G7.
And the high-tech global crackdown still nabbing suspects around the world. How police track criminals using an encrypted app.
And China accused of tracking down Uyghurs across the world and forcing them back to face persecution. We have an exclusive report.
UNKNOWN: Live from CNN center, this is CNN Newsroom with Robyn Curnow.
CURNOW: Great to have you with me this hour.
So, the U.S. president is getting ready for his first big opportunity to prove to the world that America first era is over. So, in the coming hours, Joe Biden will head to the U.K. for the G7 summit and the first foreign tour of his presidency. The big focus for Mr. Biden and the leaders of the other wealthy democracies is getting the world passed, of course, the pandemic, mainly through the global distribution of vaccines.
Also, on the agenda, finding ways to prevent future pandemics, promoting free and fair trade, and tackling climate change.
Nic Robertson is covering all of this live from Cornwall. Hi. So, you are expecting the world leaders to descend to those beautiful areas where you are now. How much do you think it's going to focus on the fact that just America is back?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You know, I think that's a large part of the focus, because President Trump, when he attended these summits, there were always so many questions about what would be agreed, what would President Trump disagree with, what would be the nature of the discussion.
And we remember a couple of years ago, the G7 in Canada, that photograph of Angela Merkel and many other of the G7 leaders crowded around a desk and Donald Trump sitting there, and everyone trying to persuade in one particular issue and at the end of that G7, he left without agreeing to the final communique.
This is not that anymore. This is something entirely different. The United States should have held the G7 last year, and they didn't because it was cancelled because of the COVID pandemic. And they've really worked closely with the U.K., which is the host this time, to kind of address some of the issues that are important to them, and most important is China.
And most important in dealing with China for President Biden is building a global alliance of allies and partners who will combat China's trade practices, who will combat and stand up to China's abuses of human rights. So Biden will come into this wanting to strengthen those alliances, and with the message that he's willing to work with those countries.
Australia, for example, along with South Korea, along with India, all Pacific partners of the United States, are not members of the G7, but have been invited here, principally because of the China issue. We heard from Scott Morrison just about to leave Australia on his way here, the prime minister say that he wants more robust WTO regulations to combat China's trade practices.
So, Biden is going to find willing allies among some of the nations here among the Europeans who, just before Biden came into office, struck a new financial deal with China, perhaps slightly less willing partners but they are coming around.
But as you say, COVID, the global - dealing with the pandemic, the economic outfall, making sure vaccine reach everyone on the planet, improving education for women in developing nations, and of course, the environment. The climate change dealing with that issue setting carbon neutral targets to be achieved by the different nations, all of those are going to be on the table, but you are absolutely right. President Biden is not President Trump and he comes at this from a very different starting point.
CURNOW: What do Europeans then want from Mr. Biden?
ROBERTSON: They want a lot of things. Boris Johnson, the host who will get his first chip at getting what he wants from President Biden. They will have a bilateral meeting on Thursday before any of the G7 leaders arrived. [03:05:03]
He wants a strong relationship with the United States, he wants President Biden to back his Brexit negotiations with the European Union at which they are still rumbling on. President Biden not predisposed to back the U.K. position. He is more likely to back the E.U. on Irish on the Northern Ireland protocols.
So, you know, the U.K. will want that. The French will want support, Emmanuel Macron will want support for issues, particularly in (Inaudible) of North Africa. These issues relate to migration issues, which are important for all the G7 nations.
You know, Germany has sort of found a chink in its relationship and improved it a little bit with the United States of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, but undoubtedly on the margins, there will be more about that particular thorny issue. So, all these nations will come wanting something specific from the United States as well as from each other.
CURNOW: OK. We'll talk more over the coming weeks. Nic Robertson there in Cornwall, I appreciate it. Good to see you, Nic.
So, it reads like the ending of a Hollywood thriller, only it's really, really true. I mean, this is quite an extraordinary story. Global authorities executed a massive sting operation across multiple countries seizing more than 30 tons of drugs, hundreds of weapons and nearly $50 million in global currencies.
We are learning though more about this operation, it was called Ironside, it was a three-year affair Europol calls one of the most sophisticated law enforcement operations to date. And at a joint news conference with the FBI, Swedish, Dutch, and Australian police, Europol's deputy director called for a global network of law enforcement to keep on fighting against organized crime. He laid out what the operation has accomplished so far.
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JEAN-PHILIPPE LECOUFFE, DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF EUROPOL, OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE: This information lead over the last week hundreds of law enforcement operations on a global scale, from New Zealand and Australia, to Europe and the USA, with impressive results. More than 800 arrests, more than 700 locations searched, more than eight tons of cocaine and more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW (on camera): Now all of this was made possible by an app called ANOM.
Ivan Watson has more on this. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The police in Australia have been busy -- UNKNOWN: Police search warrant! Open the door.
WATSON: -- raiding homes, seizing tons of drugs. Tens of millions and dollars in cash, more than 100 guns, and conducting hundreds of arrests.
REECE KERSHAW, COMMISSIONER, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE: We allege they are members of outlaw motorcycle gangs, Australian mafia, Asian crime syndicates, and series and organized crime groups. We allege they have been trafficking illicit drugs into Australia at an industrial scale.
WATSON: The crackdown in Australia part of a parallel investigation with the FBI rolling out across at least 18 countries.
SCOTT MORRISON, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: The government is part of a global operation has struck a heavy blow against organized crime not just in this country but one that will echo around organized crime around the world.
WATSON: The FBI's man in Australia says law enforcement fooled criminal gangs by targeting their communications.
ANTHONY RUSSO, FBI LEGAL ATTACHE: When criminal organizations have to engage in the logistics of moving their illicit materials, their money, organizing violence, all of that activity has to happen over a communications platform of some kind.
WATSON: Australian law enforcement say hundreds of suspected criminals communicated on customized phones equipped with an encrypted messaging app called ANOM. That app was essentially created by the FBI and decrypted by the Australian Federal Police.
RICHARD CHIN, COMMANDER, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE: We introduced a dedicated encrypted communications device into the global criminal marketplace.
WATSON: This animated video distributed by the Australian police explains the operation.
UNKNOWN: The customized phones were used by allege senior crime figures which gave other criminals the confidence to use the platform. You know to know a criminal to get hold of one of these customized phones. The phones couldn't ring or e-mail, it could only communicate with someone on the same platform.
WATSON: For nearly three years, law enforcement said they've monitored these communications.
KERSHAW: Essentially, we have been in the back pockets of organized crime and operationalized criminal takedown like we have never seen.
WATSON: Thanks to the app, Australian police say they intercepted a planned mass shooting while acting on at least 21 threats to kill. Meanwhile, authorities across Europe, New Zealand, Canada, and the U.K., say they've also joined the operation, conducting their own raids and arrest.
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With the roundup continuing around the world, police predict criminals may start turning on each other as decrypted messages reveal their secrets.
Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW (on camera): Political leaders in France are condemning the shocking moment a man slapped President Emmanuel Macron across the face during a visit to the south of France. It happened on Tuesday while the president was greeting onlookers before delivering the blow. One man could be heard yelling down with macaroni, a slang from Macron's presidency.
Macron called it an isolated incident and said he wasn't scared. Two people, including the one who slapped Mr. Macron have been arrested. The outburst came as President Macron was set to meet with members of the restaurant industry as they prepare to welcome customers back indoors for the first time in months.
It's the latest move as the country further loosens its COVID restrictions, and it comes as the E.U. is expected to announce its vote on a COVID certificate to allow travel across the block.
Let's go to Melissa Bell joins -- she joins me now from Paris with more on that. Hi, Melissa.
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Robyn, good morning. That E.U. certificate program now formally approved by the European Union since it's now been voted on by the European parliament, which means, and it's good news for the whole world that by the 1st of July, Robyn, people will be able to travel across Europe and in and out of Europe, in theory, if they can show they've been fully vaccinated.
For Europeans it will come in the form of this digital certificate which will say whether you've been fully vaccinated or immune because you're recovering or if you had a negative PCR test in the processing 72 hours.
The idea for Europe is once and for all to bring back this no border space for its own nationals first and foremost. This of course, as in many countries, and this includes France we're seeing this a gradual reopening, good news as well for a very battered economy and falling COVID figures. Fewer than 2,400 people now in ICU's here in France.
Just to remind, Robyn, a matter of weeks ago, we were getting pretty close to that peak of 7,000 from the first wave. So, it's a situation much more under control COVID wise, and at last, an ability once again to move around more freely.
CURNOW: Melissa Bell there in Paris, thank you. And still to come, escalating concern over China's treatment of
Uyghurs and its growing reach. We are tracking what some say is the forced deportation of Uyghurs from three major Arab countries back to China. Our exclusive report, that's next.
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CURNOW (on camera): In China's Xinjiang region, up to two million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities have been detained in vast government camps and continue to face what the U.S. has called a genocide. Beijing denies these allegations, dismisses them as propaganda, and says the camps are nearly vocational training centers for combatting religious extremism.
[03:15:02]
Well, some Uyghurs have managed to leave China, but say even abroad they are not safe. A new human rights watch report says China has tracked down hundreds of Uyghurs across the globe, forcing them to return and face persecution.
A CNN investigation dives into Uyghur deportations from the Middle East as seen betrayal by predominantly Muslim countries.
Jomana Karadsheh joins me now from Istanbul with her exclusive report. Jomana, hi. Take us through what you've discovered.
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Robyn, a few months ago our team came across the case of a possible deportation of a Uyghur from Saudi Arabia. And the more we started to dig into this, the more cases of these forces returns to China that we discovered. You know, these are terrifying and heartbreaking stories of Uyghur Muslims who were not able to find safety even in Muslim countries, not even sanctuary in the holiest of Muslim holy sites.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARADSHEH: This quiet Uyghur protest outside Istanbul's infamous consulate is a race against time. Nuriman Veli's father's fate hangs in the balance.
"If he is sent back to China, he will be imprisoned and there is danger of death," she tells us.
Nuriman Veli sys she and her sister lost contact with their mother in China's Xinjiang region four years ago.
"If God forbid, we lose our father as well, it will destroy us," she says.
Her father Hamdullah Abduweli, a Uyghur Muslim scholar was nabbed by Saudi authorities in November while on a pilgrimage to Islam's holiest city. Nuriman pleads send him back to Turkey where he's a resident, not China.
For her father, there is still time. For others, there is little hope. Activists say at least five Uyghurs have already been deported from
Saudi Arabia. We spoke to two of those families who confirmed these deportations. This is just one part of what appears to be a terrifying campaign by China.
Over the course of our investigation, we have also found cases of Uyghurs forcibly returned to China from the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, a violation of international law and where they may face what the U.S. has labeled a genocide.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt did not respond to our request for comment. China is a major trade partner to these Muslim majority countries who have not only turned a blind eye to China's treatment of Uyghurs, their autocratic governments have also voiced support for what China insists is a counter-terrorism campaign.
Maryam Muhammad has been keeping a dark secret from her boys, trying to shield them from the cruel reality of the world they were born into. A nightmare that followed them thousands of kilometers from their homeland in Xinjiang. She tells them daddy is away working. The last time she heard from her husband Muhtar Rozi, he was being detained in Egypt on July 16th, 2017.
UNKNOWN: You are my precious. I love you so much. And from that day I did not get any message about him.
KARADSHEH: Maryam was living her dream. She and Muhtar studied at Cairo's Al-Azhar University, got married and started a family. But when China's long arm reached Egypt, they scrambled to get out. Maryam says she flew to Turkey with the boys and with reports of arrest at the airport, Muhtar tried to get the ferry out to Jordan, but was stopped.
There was little Maryam could do to try and find her husband. She wrote letters to U.N. agencies and government, but says no one responded. Muhtar's detention was never acknowledged. Like others, he just vanished without a trace.
Egyptian authorities believed to be acting at the behest of the Chinese government rounded up dozens, possibly hundreds of Uyghurs, many of them male students at Al-Azhar. More than 20 were forcibly returned to China according to human rights groups. The Chinese crackdown on Uyghurs had expanded far beyond its borders.
UNKNOWN: Not 21 but it's not exact number, maybe it will be more.
KARADSHEH: Abduweli Ayub is a Uyghur activist, he says he's at least documented 28 deportations by these Middle Eastern countries, but no one really knows how many Uyghurs maybe behind bars in the region, or how many have already been deported back to China. Too often, family members fear that going public would only make things worse for their disappeared loved ones.
[03:20:02]
AMANNISA ABDULLAH, UYGHUR MUSLIM: He is my children's dad. KARADSHEH: Amannisa Abdullah is tormented by devastating guilt. Did
she push too much? Did she not do enough to try and save her husband? She fears family in China will pay the price for her speaking out now, but she says silence is no longer an option.
ABDULLAH: In two years, this kind of guilty feeling is always inside of me, and I'm not able to sleep, not able to -- even like, if I feel happy, I have no right to feel happy. I have no right to smile. I'm living like this.
KARADSHEH: Her husband Ahmad Talip lived and worked in the UAE for 10 years. In February 2018, he was detained while picking up paperwork from a Dubai police station. It was two weeks from hell for a nine- month pregnant Amanissa and her son chasing Ahmad as he was moved between police stations and jails.
ABDULLAH: I have fear if I don't be hurry up my husband will be deported. I'm really worried about him at that time. I felt extremely helpless and that there is no one can help me at that time.
KARADSHEH: So, this is the document you got from court?
ABDULLAH: Yes.
KARADSHEH: She says no one would even tell her what Ahmad was accused of, only that he was wanted by China. This document Amannisa obtained from the device public prosecution confirms the Chinese extradition request, it also states the prosecution decided to close the case because Chinese authorities failed to provide the required documents. But Ahmad was transferred to Abu Dhabi and a few days later Amanissa was told he was sent back to China.
ABDULLAH: If my husband have any crime, if he committed any crime why they don't tell me? Why China don't tell me? One of the most difficult question in my life is where is my dad?
KARADSHEH: Eight-year-old Musa (Ph) is left with photos and patchy childhood memories.
This was in Dubai?
UNKNOWN: Yes. We are making a castle but I cannot make a castle without my daddy.
KARADSHEH: Musa says he's lucky his little sister Amina never met his father.
Like tens of thousands of Uyghurs, the family found sanctuary in Turkey, but as the government forges closer ties with China, Uyghurs feel their safe space is shrinking.
UNKNOWN: Sister finger, sister finger --
KARADSHEH: With nowhere left to turn, Amanissa says she once asked for directions to the sea. ABDULLAH: I said I want to take my child and I want to sit there.
Actually, what I want to do is I want to go inside because I don't know how to swim.
KARADSHEH: Amanissa asks is this world just not big enough for Uyghurs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW (on camera): Hold there, Jomana, have we had any response from China?
KARADSHEH: Well, you know, Robyn, human rights watch says that in many cases, it is impossible to find out what has happened to Uyghurs who were forcibly returned to China. We did reach out to the Chinese government but they did not respond to our request for comment on our reporting.
But as you know, Beijing has repeatedly denied allegations of human rights abuses targeting its Uyghur minority and accusations of genocide. The foreign minister of China recently calling these accusations preposterous. Robyn?
CURNOW: Thanks so much. Powerful reporting there, Jomana.
So, we are tracking a sweeping crackdown on political violence in Nicaragua. Police there have detained at least three more opposition figures ahead of November's presidential election. In all, at least five have been arrested over the last week.
A top U.S. State Department official is calling for an urgent international response. They say the arrest confirmed this man, President Daniel Ortega is a, quote, "dictator."
You are watching CNN. Still to come, a rare bipartisan effort in the U.S. Senate, both sides of the aisle uniting to curb China's rising influence. How Beijing is responding.
And then also, Australia is seeking an assist in its showdown with China over trade. The case it will make to the G7.
[03:25:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CURNOW (on camera): Welcome back. I'm Robyn Curnow.
Beijing is accusing the U.S. of paranoid delusion after a bill passed in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday. The bill is aimed at curbing China's growing economic influence. It will invest more than $200 billion in U.S. technology, science, and research to boost America's ability to combat rising competition from China. Now hardline approached to Beijing is one of the few issues that unites an increasingly divided U.S. Congress. After the vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer praised his colleagues for working across the aisle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Around the globe, authoritarian governments believe that squabbling democracies like ours can't unite around national priorities. They believe that democracy itself is a relic of the past and that by beating us to emerging technologies, they, many of them autocracies, will be able to research -- reshape the world in their own image. Well let me tell you something. I believe they are wrong.
SEN. ROGER WICKER (R-MS): This is an opportunity for the United States to strike a blow on behalf of answering the unfair competition that we are seeing from communist China. And it's an opportunity to do -- to have a game-changer in terms of geographic diversity in our research efforts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW (on camera): Vice President Kamala Harris is pushing back on criticism at home, while wrapping up her first official trip abroad. Harris was in Mexico on Tuesday, the end of a two-day trip focused on the causes of mass migration from Central America to the U.S. Harris met with Guatemalan leaders on Monday, but one destination not on her itinerary, the U.S.-Mexico border. It's a decision that's come under fire from U.S. Republicans. Criticism that Harris is calling shortsighted.
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KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I want to be very clear that the problem at the border, in large part, if not entirely, stems from the problems in these countries. We have to have the ability to address the root causes of why people leave. And we have to understand, if it is a priority to us to be concerned about what is happening at our border, then it must be a priority for us to understand why people leave. And the reality is that most people, when they leave, they don't want to leave. And most want to go back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW (on camera): The U.S. has pledged tens of millions of dollars for investments in Central America and promised to help crackdown on government corruption in the region.
[03:30:03]
Well, for more on all of that and that China bill at the U.S. Senate, CNN's Will Ripley joins me now from Taiwan. What's your reaction to this bipartisanship that we are seeing in Washington, and the Chinese reaction to that?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): They are watching very closely, Robyn, and from the Beijing perspective, this is certainly a troubling development. China has long felt that the United States has been actively seeking to contain their economic rise. And in fact, that is exactly what U.S. lawmakers stated the purpose of this U.S. innovation competition act is. Now, China is itself investing hundreds of billions, if not trillions
of dollars in its own tech industry, which they think the United States is trying to toss into the hinterland by cutting them off from key customers, including allies like Taiwan, an island that finds itself really caught in the middle of this back and forth between two superpowers. It's two most important relationships both politically and economically.
Let me break down for you what actually is in this bill that the Senate passed, a rare bipartisan bill. Democrats and Republicans uniting in an effort to counter China's growing economic influence with $200 billion investments in American technology in science. That would include more than $50 billion in semiconductor manufacturing. Of course, that is Taiwan's number one industry, vital to the world's chip supply.
The U.S. also pledging to invest $10 billion to develop regional technology hubs and more than $1.5 billion in wireless innovation. But here is what is going to upset Beijing. And we are still waiting for an official response from the ministry of foreign affairs in the mainland.
Listing state owned Chinese enterprises that the U.S. feels are engaged in unfair trade practices, banning U.S. officials from attending the 2022 Beijing Olympics over allegations of human rights abuses everywhere from Hong Kong and its suppression of the democracy movement to the treatment of the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. Strengthening Taiwan and pacific military alliances, declaring genocide in Xinjiang.
That is certainly something that the United States has said. The State Department has said, but now, this bill actually puts it down as United States official language. Also, investing in American made iron steel and materials for federal infrastructure projects. Of course, those commodities, Robyn, have long been supplied by China, which has offered more competitive prices. So, this bill really is an attempt to try to counter China's economic growth.
CURNOW: Fascinating. Thanks so much, Will for that. And obviously, you are in Taiwan. You've been there for a few weeks. And I understand that they are dealing with the worst drought in decades. Just tell us how it has been impacting industries.
RIPLEY (on camera): We've seen some pretty heavy rains in recent days, which are putting a dent, and I emphasize a small dent in this drought that some climate experts here have called the worst in a century, or at least more than half a century. And the problem is, is that the rainfall in Taiwan is predicted to be less frequent and more intense, which means more flooding and more problems for the semiconductor industry here.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RIPLEY (voice over): Taiwan's worst drought in more than half a century, making this island look more like a desert. Cracks, snake across the bottom of Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan's largest body of water parched. Reservoirs across the island evaporating. Recent rains put a small dent in a big problem, a problem scientists predict will only get worse.
HUANG-HSIUNG HSU, CLIMATE RESEARCHER, ACADEMIA SINICA: Our prediction show it is going to become more and more serious in the future.
RIPLEY: Climate change models paint a dire picture for Taiwan, stronger typhoons, more flooding, less frequent rain, future droughts, far more severe.
This mural gives you an idea of what (inaudible) reservoir usually looks like. This is what it looks like now. Water levels are right around 30 percent. They were less than 3 percent before monsoon season kicked off in mid-May. Taiwan is experiencing its worst drought in decades. That's a big problem, because this reservoir is the primary water source for the Xinjiang Science Park, (inaudible) to nearly 600 electronics companies, including the world's leading semiconductor manufacturer, TSMC.
Why is this drought a problem for Taiwan's semiconductor industry?
JEFFEREY CHIU, ELECTRICAL ENGINEER, NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY: Every layer we need a lot of chemical processes. And that every process, we need to clean the surface. We need to clean by water, flowing, pure water.
RIPLEY: Semiconductor manufacturers are searching for solutions. Water recycling, purifying seawater, both years away from quenching the insatiable thirst of chip factories. Making chips also requires huge amounts of energy.
[03:35:11]
Taiwan, like the world, is trying to fight the climate crisis, cutting its carbon footprint while phasing out nuclear power. The island's semiconductor industry is investing big in green energy. Hundreds of giant wind turbines line the coast. Solar panels dot the landscape.
HSIU: We need to cut down on carbon dioxide emissions. On the other hand, we need to generate more electricity.
RIPLEY: Just after we arrived, rolling blackouts hit the Taiwanese capital. Energy demand grows as temperatures rise. Taiwan's top energy consumer, semi-conductors, vital to the global economy, powering everything from cars to computers. If Taiwan's power and water supply is in peril, the whole world could feel the pain.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RIPLEY (on camera): It really is a catch 22 for Taiwan, Robyn, because they need to produce more energy, but they can't burn coal and they are trying to phase out nuclear. So, the amount of energy available is limited. As the semiconductor factories which they continue to build new ones very five years or so, they require more and more energy. That's why there is the push for green energy, but they are not anywhere close to that meeting the demand. And then you have the drought, which is limiting the supply of water,
so they have to look at desalinization and they have to look at recycling water. So, in a way, this crisis could actually bring about a lot of innovation for Taiwan, but they have to do it quickly if they ae going to show the world they can remain a competitive supplier of semi-conductors. That is this islands number one employer, number one energy consumer, and its number one challenge right now, Robyn.
CURNOW: OK. Thanks so much for that. Will Ripley, there, I appreciate it.
Australia is calling for the group of the world's seven largest developed economies to take a harder line on China. Prime Minister Scott Morrison -- excuse me, wants a revamp of global trade rules as well as new penalties to prevent countries like China from using economic coercion. Australia and China have been locked in a trade war. Mr. Morrison will be speaking at the G7 summit, warns that risks of miscalculation and conflict are growing in Asia.
I want to go to Steven Erlanger now. Steven, is The New York Times's chief diplomatic correspondent in Europe, he is with us from Brussels. Steven, lovely to have you. Obviously and you've been hearing from our correspondents, China will be a focus at the G7. The Biden administration is looking to their old alliances to help act as a bulwark. What do the traditional allies have to say for this American plan, this American push?
STEVEN ERLANGER, NEW YORK TIMES CHIEF DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, they agree in principle, they are also a bit wary. I mean, they see America as a pure rival to China. They don't always feel the same themselves. And the Chinese economy, Chinese trade, is very important to them. Climate change, China produces tons of carbon. We need to talk to China. I mean, nobody really wants, you know, it's fine to have China's a rival. Nobody wants China as an enemy. People want to contain China, to deter China, but recognize China's rising.
I mean, the point of the G7 really is that these countries, these western countries are shrinking in terms of global population and global wealth as other countries like China and India rise. So, this is part of what Biden is about, which is to try to shore up the western alliance, including allies like Japan, South Korea.
In the face of a world that really is changing. Where the technological challenges are real. Where spying is different. Where artificial intelligence matters. Where the west is shrinking, not on powerful, but less powerful and less dominant than before. So that means unity matters more now from the American point of view that it ever has done before.
CURNOW: And Mr. Biden is certainly going to Europe, whether it's to the G7 or to NATO, and saying to allies, America is back. Time to put the Trump era behind us. But again on the same theme there, we are talking about is how weary then are America's allies? I mean, even as they welcome Mr. Biden back with open arms, how burnt have they been by the last four years of the Trump administration? What does that mean for Mr. Biden as he tries to bring them on side? ERLANGER: Well, it's hard to just like analyze countries and -- but
there is post-traumatic stress from Trump. I mean, Trump came to NATO in his first meeting, refused to support collective defense.
[03:40:02]
He always talk to the European Union as -- not just a rival but as an enemy. As some sort of competitor trying to do America down. Biden's views are very, very different. He's sum the (inaudible), he is one of the last real transatlantic left. He cares about Europe. He knows about Europe. He believes America and Europe have things to do together, and he also needs European support for the challenge of China and Asia, and also for an aggressive Russia too.
So, part of what Biden wants to do of course, is prepare, you know, to go to Geneva and meet Putin, having consulted all the western allies, including NATO. But Europeans also will see Biden, as perhaps not the real America. Perhaps America has changed. That Trump perhaps represents a realer America. And they worry that Biden will be an interim president between too much harder line America first presidents.
And they worry very much about the American midterm elections, which are only 17 months away. Which, you know, if Biden loses one vote in the Senate, it will put a big damper on his ability to carry out policies. So, they are wary. They want to help. I mean, Biden will argue to them, he needs their help if he is going to succeed. If they don't provide it, they may make their worst fears come true.
CURNOW: As you look ahead, as our viewers watch for moments in the coming days, what do you think is going to be the most important meeting, G7, NATO, a face to face as oppose to Putin? Where do you think the hard work is going to be needed?
ERLANGER: I think that's a very good question. I think NATO will be pretty easy, because they've done a lot in advance. The G7 will be a lot of virtue signaling their issues to talk about, to be sure about vaccine diplomacy and so on.
Oddly enough, obviously everyone is focus on Putin. But, you know, Biden's main interest there is keeping Russia stable, trying to create a stable, strategic atmosphere so the world can continue without lots of trouble. I think actually his brief meeting with the European Union leaders will matter a great deal, because what Biden wants, only the European Union can actually give him, which is carbon tax, agreement on corporation taxes, agreement on climate, joint efforts to build an alternative to China's belt and road. These meetings with the Europeans actually matter quite a lot, I think.
CURNOW: Because you might get tangible's out of them. That's interesting. There in Brussels, New York Times chief diplomatic correspondent, Steven. Erlanger, great to speak to you, great to have your analysis. You are going to have a busy week ahead of you. Thank you, sir.
ERLANGER: Thanks. CURNOW: So, the war criminal known as the butcher of Bosnia will
remain behind bars for the rest of his life. Former Bosnian's Serb military Commander Ratko Mladic lost his appeal on Tuesday, with U.N. judges upholding his genocide conviction. Mladic is the most infamous for orchestrating the slaughter of thousands of Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica in 1995. He was convicted just a few years ago after 16 years as a fugitive.
And still to come on CNN, what the Associated Press is saying about Israel after details on why target a (inaudible) tower housing media offices. That's story next.
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[03:45:00]
CURNOW (on camera): Welcome back. A London metropolitan police officer has pleaded guilty to the kidnap and rape of Sarah Everard, whose death spark outrage in the U.K. and spark protest over violence against women. Prosecutors say Wayne Couzens has yet to enter a plea on the murder charge.
Nina dos Santos has more from London. Nina?
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NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): 48 year old Wayne Couzens appeared by a video link from a high security prison Belmarsh at the old bailey, the central criminal court here in London earlier on Tuesday. He pleaded guilty to two charges, kidnapping and rape of Sarah Everard, the 33-year-old young marketing executive who vanished from the streets of a quiet south London suburb on March 3rd. The disappearance at the height of the lockdown when she was just walking home from a friends place nearby prompted a wave of anger and indignation.
Well, tens of thousands of people to the streets including here in Parliament to highlight the consequences of a dangerous culture of toxic misogyny across the U.K. Well, Couzens was not asked to enter into a murder plea at this stage, pending the release of medical reports. The next date in this case is set to be a hearing on July 9th.
Nina dos Santos, CNN, in Westminster, London.
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CURNOW (on camera): A new report from the U.S. Senate details the stunning security failures leading up to January's attack on the U.S. Capitol. Now among the most shocking revelation, intelligence officers with the U.S. Capitol police knew that there were threats of a violent attack weeks before it happened.
But the report says the intelligence was so decentralized many officials had no idea the threat existed. The report is the most detailed breakdown of what happened to date. Still, it contains several omissions, including any examination of former U.S. President Donald Trump's role in the riot.
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SEN. GARY PETERS (D-MI): I think, we just wanted to focus on what the actual facts were related to what happened on the Capitol grounds and the violence and what were security breaches, and why wasn't their adequate planning for security? But I think you are absolutely right. We have to go beyond this. This is not the end all. And folks who say, well, now that we have this report, move on. As one of the folks putting this report together, I will say no. That has never been the intent of this report.
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CURNOW (on camera): It's unclear what the report means for the U.S. Congress moving forward. Since Republicans in the Senate have already blocked the creation of an independent commission to investigate the riot.
And Israeli officials will allow a controversial right-wing march in Jerusalem's old city to go ahead next Tuesday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet approved the parade with a route to be agreed on between the police and march organizers. The police had canceled the event over concern it could renew the conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
Now, the confidence vote for the coalition government that would ask Netanyahu is set for Sunday. If it succeeds, it will be up to coalition partners Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid to decide whether the march proceeds.
Israel is justifying its airstrike on a building that housed media outlets in Gaza. The tower collapsed during last month's conflict. Israel said Hamas militants were using it as an electronic warfare site, but the Associated Press says it has not seen any evidence to support Israel's claim.
Hadas Gold has details from Jerusalem.
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HADAS GOLD, CNN POLITICS, MEDIA AND BUSINESS REPORTER (voice over): The Israeli military is giving more details into why they struck and destroyed a building in Gaza that hosted the offices of the Associated Press in Al Jazeera during the 11-day conflict with Hamas led militants last month.
Now, according to the Israeli military, Hamas was using the building known as the Al Jalaa building to develop new capabilities that they said could electronically jam Israel's iron dome missile defense system. This is the system that intercepts rockets midair before they can land in civilian areas. The Israeli air force gave occupants of the building an hours' notice to evacuate before they struck the building, leading to its collapse.
And according to the Israeli military they say, the target was of a height military value to Hamas and that the equipment was in the building at the time that it was struck and the building collapsed.
[03:50:02]
But the move was widely condemned by news organizations and international journalism organizations who called it unacceptable and a threat to freedom of the press. The Israeli ambassador to the United States Gilad Erdan met on Monday with the A.P. leadership in New York, he said to try to restore the relationship and give this information. And he said that Israel does not think that the Associated Press knew that Hamas was possibly operating out of the building.
The A.P. says that it had no indication that Hamas was operating out of the building, and has called repeatedly for an independent investigation so that the facts are fully known.
Hadas Gold, CNN, Jerusalem.
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CURNOW (on camera): And in a statement on Tuesday, the Associated Press said Israeli authorities maintain that the building housing our bureau was destroyed because of a Hamas presence that posed an urgent threat. We have yet to receive evidence to support those claims.
Well, coming up, someone really did break the internet on Tuesday. We will have more on how and how they fixed it.
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CURNOW: A politician in Japan is apologizing for saying it's OK to have sex with a 14 year old. His comments come as Japan is considering changing a centuries old law that the age of consent of 13 years old, the lowest among developed nations. Well, Blake Essig is following a story for us from Tokyo. What more can you tell us?
BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes, Robyn, those disturbing comments were made by (inaudible) he is a 56-year-old politician from the constitutional Democratic Party here in Japan, a member of the House of Representatives. Now, back in May, while debating Japan's age of consent in changes to sex crime was during a working parting meeting, Honda (ph) said it would be wrong if someone in their fifties is arrested after having consensual sex with a 14- year-old.
A criminal law researcher attending that meeting tweeted that she will never forget hearing Honda yell at her, quote, will I be caught if I and a 14 year old agreed to have sex. She said her response was yes. In a developed country, you will be caught.
Now these comments were made as Japan considers changes to its century old law. And as you mentioned Robyn, currently, the age of consent in Japan is 13. Now, earlier this week, Honda apologized for his comments, releasing this statement.
He said on this occasion, I want to offer a heartfelt apology for my inappropriate comments that ended up upsetting a lot of people. I understand that it can be considered sexual exploitation if a young person at least up until middle school age and an adult have sex, given that they are not equals.
Now since issuing that apology, the backlash has been somewhat swift on social media, with people calling the comments appalling, and in some cases expressing shock and disappointment that he still has a job. Now the secretary general of his party said that the facts were investigated, and after confirming the comments, Honda will be given a strict warning. But that's it, Robyn.
CURNOW (on camera): Yes and that's just not OK either. Blake Essig, thank you for bringing us that story.
So some major websites and apps around the world are back up after briefly going dark on Tuesday. Anna Stewart explains what exactly happened.
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ANNA STEWART, CNN PRODUCER (voice over): This was a huge web outage, albeit short lived. Now, it wasn't the result of a cyber or ransomware attack. This was due to a malfunction at a company that many people will never have heard of. It's called Fastly. It is a CDN, a Content Delivery Network.
[03:55:12]
And as the company essentially helps websites and services to run fast. So websites load quickly. They have a network of servers distributed around the world, what it means those servers are closer to the end user. Now, the problem on Tuesday, according to Fastly was some sort of configuration error. They identified it, they fixed and many of the websites were up and running again within the hour.
But this isn't the first time that something like this has happened. It happened to other CDN companies like Amazon web services and Cloud Fair. The (inaudible) outages quite the scare that we saw Tuesday, but it highlights just how reliant the internet really is on some of these companies, and how a problem at just one can have a huge global ripple effect.
Anna Stewart, CNN, London.
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CURNOW (on camera): The mystery of what caused one of the earth's greatest natural wonders has finally been solved after centuries of speculation. Scientists from the University of Iowa have confirmed a decades old theory that the northern lights are produced by quote, powerful electromagnetic waves during geomagnetic storms. The extremely simple version of that is it is space weather. Scientists have been able to recreate the lights in a lab with plasma. They say the next step is predicting the strength of a geomagnetic storms.
And an update on the story we've also been following here at CNN. Take a look at this, a herd of elephants making a long trek across China were spotted having a snooze in the woods in (inaudible) province. Only the baby couldn't seem to settle down. These giants have been on the move since March of last year, traveling approximately 500 kilometers from their nature reserve towards the city.
Well, thanks for joining me. I'm Robyn Curnow. I'll be back with another hour of CNN in just a moment. Stay with us.
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