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CNN International: Netanyahu And Biden Hold First Phone Call In A Month; Qatar: This Round Of Ceasefire-Hostage Talks Has Ended; Report: Famine Imminent In Northern Gaza Between Now & May; Biden Heads To Key Western Swing States; Hong Kong Passes Second National Security Law; At Least 10 Dead As Violence Explodes In Port-Au-Prince; Bank Of Japan Raises Rates For First Time In 17 Years; Report: 99 Of World's 100 Most Polluted Cities Are In Asia; Palestinian Patients Told To Leave Israeli Hospitals; A Look Inside Notre Dame's Historic Restoration. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired March 19, 2024 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:00]
ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Erica Hill. This is CNN Newsroom. Just ahead, the U.N. warns of imminent famine in northern Gaza. Well, Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu hold their first phone call in a month. We are live in Doha for the very latest on the ceasefire talks this hour.
Plus, Hong Kong passing a controversial new national security law. What does it mean for the city's future? We'll have a full report.
And CNN inside Haiti. A rare look at Port-au-Prince where people are living in fear of gangs. And you'll hear from two aid workers about their harrowing evacuation.
Qatar says the current round of ceasefire and hostage release talks have now ended in Doha but adds negotiations will continue. According to Qatar's foreign ministry, a counter proposal from Israel is expected to be sent to Hamas. A pause in fighting, of course, can't come soon enough for Gaza.
A new U.N.-backed report is warning of imminent famine in northern Gaza any time between now and May. The crisis is being described as entirely man made and preventable due to the widespread destruction in Gaza and throttling of aid. The White House, for its part, says Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the urgent need for aid in their first phone call in more than a month.
President Biden also warned that Israel's plans for a major ground offer operation in Rafah to go after Hamas would be, in his view, a mistake. Take a listen to the National Security Adviser.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Anytime I hear an argument that says, if you don't smash into Rafah, you can't defeat Hamas. I say that is a straw man. Our view is that there are ways for Israel to prevail in this conflict to secure its long term future, to end the terror threat from Gaza and not smash into Rafah. That's what we're going to present in this integrated way when this team comes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: CNN's Paula Hancocks is live in Doha, Qatar and has been following all these developments. So Paula, we're learning that the Mossad chief has now left Doha. What more do we know about these negotiations and the fact that there could be further conversation?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Erica, David Barnea has left Doha, as you say. What we're being told by the the Qatari side, by the the foreign ministry spokesperson is that the technical teams have now taken over. So they're trying to hammer out the details at this point, and they are expecting a counterproposal to be then sent back to Hamas.
Now, the spokesperson said that he's cautiously optimistic, but it is too early to claim any kind of success. So we're really starting to see this back and forth once again, but he says he's cautiously optimistic because the talks have resumed, the latest rounds before this here in Doha, the Israelis didn't send a delegation. So he says at least they are back on track with the talks at this point, but couldn't give any specific details as you might imagine.
HILL: Now, also, there was that key conversation between the U.S. President and the Israeli Prime Minister talking about this potential offensive in Rafah, in the southern part of Gaza. Benjamin Netanyahu has been very clear, again on Sunday, saying the offensive would happen. It was necessary. Once it starts, it would likely take several weeks.
But we've heard now that he has agreed to Biden's proposal that he at least sends an Israeli delegation, a military delegation to Washington over the next few days to discuss the alternative. There is a sense within the Biden administration that there doesn't need to be this major ground offensive in Rafah.
In fact, President Biden, according to his administration said he has deep concerns. They believe this operation would be catastrophic. And so they want to convince the Israeli military officials that there is a second way of making sure that they can make sure October 7th attacks do not happen again, that they can defeat Hamas and that they can secure that Israeli Gaza border without having this major ground offensive.
Now, the main concerns that President Biden has at this point, according to Jake Sullivan, his national security adviser spokesperson is that they don't know where these people are going to be moved to. You've got up to 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering in this area. They also say that Rafah is the main entry point for humanitarian aid.
There is woefully inadequate amounts of humanitarian aid coming in, but what is coming in is coming through Rafah and also Egypt just on the other side of the border has some serious concerns as well. Erica?
[08:05:08] HILL: It'd be interesting to see what comes ultimately up that meeting, but important that that phone call did happen in that conversation. On Monday, there was also an operation launched at Al- Shifa Hospital, the largest hospital facility in Gaza. What more do we know about that?
HANCOCKS: Well, Erica, the communications are very challenging at this point. We're trying to get more information from within the hospital itself. We know certainly from the Israeli side, they said that they did arrest some 200, what they called terrace suspects from the area itself.
We know at least one of them was an Al Jazeera journalist who has since been released. But what they have been saying from within the hospital complex when we could get through is that there is still fear inside there, that one of the surgical buildings was on fire, that they couldn't get to patients who were within that building because of the intensity of that fire, saying it had four missile strikes against it from Israel.
The Ministry of Health said that there were casualties, that there were wounded. We're trying to get an account of how many people may have been affected by this. But close to 30,000 people, we understand, were in this vicinity. And it's not just the wounded who, of course, it is very difficult to move.
Some of them having undergone major operations. It's not just their families, the medical staff, the doctors, it is also many people who have nowhere else to go. They're displaced from other areas in Gaza, who believe that being close to a hospital would offer them some kind of protection.
So we're trying to get more clarification as to exactly what happened. The Israeli military saying that they had to go in because they were Hamas operatives that were operating out of this particular area. So that was their rationale. Erica?
HILL: Paula, appreciate the reporting this morning. Thank you.
Just ahead here as well later this hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All the efforts that we have been putting to try to cure them or to put them in a good condition or to improve their quality of life will be lost.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: There is a stark new reality ahead for these Palestinian babies and mothers as Israel prepares to send them back to Gaza, back into a war zone this week. We'll tell you why. Their story is ahead.
Plus, Haiti continuing its downward spiral as armed gangs tighten their grip on the capital. Police say at least 10 people were killed in Port-au-Prince on Monday, and that gang violence is spreading now into more communities.
CNN's David Culver is in the Haitian capital and filed this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Port-au- Prince feels post-apocalyptic.
CULVER: This is basically the aftermath of a war zone.
CULVER (voice-over): Driving through the battlegrounds between gangs and police, we dodge massive craters and piles of burning trash. The police control these roads leading to Haiti's international airport. For today, at least. It's been shut for weeks.
Out front, checkpoints to search for suspected gang members, and an armored truck to keep watch. It sits beaten and battered. Less than a month ago, we flew in and out on commercial flights here. Now it's desolate. The country is in chaos, essentially held hostage by gangs eager to expand their reign of terror.
Over the weekend, more businesses looted and cars stolen, gangs leaving behind a scorched path of ruins. We're headed to one of the last remaining hospital trauma centers that's still functioning in Port-au-Prince.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: February 29th was probably the worst.
CULVER (voice-over): As soon as we meet one of the doctors, a call comes in.
CULVER: Go ahead if you need to get it.
CULVER (voice-over): A gunshot victim heading into surgery. He takes us to him.
CULVER: Most of those cases that are brought here are gunshot victims from the gang violence.
CULVER (voice-over): With the patient's family giving us permission, we go in as staff prepare to operate. We're told the 24-year-old truck driver was caught in a crossfire between police and gangs.
CULVER: The doctor is showing me here images that are very disturbing, but they show an entry wound of a bullet basically around the temple and went right through and caused damage to at least one eye.
CULVER (voice-over): The doctor tells us the man's lost vision in both eyes. Another bullet hit his arm.
CULVER: And so they will have to amputate his arm?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CULVER (voice-over): We peer into the ICU. It's full.
CULVER: Are most of these gunshot victims?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of them.
CULVER: All of them are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's in pain. She feels the pain in her leg.
CULVER: And so how did it happen? Where were you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was going to the market.
CULVER (voice-over): 86 years old. A reminder, no one is shielded from the violence that's gripped Haiti's capital in recent weeks.
[08:10:05]
Police are exhausted. One local commander telling me morale is broken and that the gangs have more money and resources than they do. Low on ammo, their squad cars out of gas. It is personal for the commander.
CULVER: He was forced out with his family from their own home and now this is his home essentially.
CULVER (voice-over): The police, at least in this community, do have backup in the form of local residents.
CULVER: Do you feel like gangs are trying to move in and take this area?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, for sure.
CULVER (voice-over): While many community leaders call for peace, they admit they're tired of feeling threatened. So much so, some have created their own checkpoints and barricades, staffed 24/7, redirecting traffic and determining who comes in. Not everyone gets out.
CULVER: You can see right here at this intersection, there's a massive burn pile. This is actually where the community takes justice into their own hands. About a week ago was the most recent such case. They captured four suspected gang members. They brought them here, killed them with machetes and set their bodies on fire.
CULVER (voice-over): The gruesome vigilante acts recorded in part as a warning to the gangs. But even amid utter turmoil, life moves forward and with it moments to celebrate.
Outside a church, these bridesmaids excitedly awaiting their cue to walk down the aisle. Port-au-Prince is a city now shattered by the relentless blasts of violence that have forced more than 300,000 of its residents out of their homes.
CULVER: Where are you staying here? Where's your home in this facility? Right up there. CULVER (voice-over): They take refuge in places like this school. Classrooms turned dorm rooms, where more than 1,500 people cram in.
CULVER: So she's showing us this is all her stuff that she's been able to bring. And this is where she is set up right now.
CULVER (voice-over): In the classroom next door, we meet this woman. Her husband killed by gang members. She and her five-year-old, like many here, have been forced to move every few weeks.
We're sleeping hungry. We're in misery, she tells me. We'd probably be better off dead than living this life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CULVER (on-camera): Adding to the complication for those folks is the reality that they are not only facing threats from gangs, but as they describe it to me, they're also being ostracized from the communities in which they are now essentially camping out in.
They say those neighbors don't want them there and will likewise attack them because they feel like having these refugees now within their community is drawing the gangs' attention and potentially bringing more violence to their homes.
David Culver, CNN, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
HILL: And stay with us. Just a bit later this hour, we're going to speak with two women recently evacuated from Haiti about that harrowing journey and what these charity workers say is now their biggest concern for those still there in this city overrun by gang violence.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in Europe today for a meeting of Ukraine's Western allies. It comes amid fresh fears that Ukrainian forces are fighting with critically low supplies of ammunition and artillery and, of course, as the U.S. Congress continues to block a $60 billion aid package. Secretary Austin, for his part, pledging Washington's commitment to Ukraine is unwavering.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Ukraine's troops face harsh conditions and hard fighting. And Ukraine's civilians endure a constant barrage of Russian missiles and Iranian drones. But Ukraine won't back down and neither will the United States.
So our message today is clear. United States will not let Ukraine fail. This coalition will not let Ukraine fail. And the free world will not let Ukraine fail.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: That promise coming amid Russia's now daily volleys of attacks which are being launched. On Monday night, at least four people were killed, another six injured, according to Ukrainian officials. Any moment now, Joe Biden is set to leave the White House to hit the campaign trail, visiting two states that are crucial to his reelection bid, Nevada and Arizona. President Biden won Arizona by just three- tenths of a percentage point in 2020 and won Nevada by about two points, making them two of the closest states in the 2020 election.
The Biden campaign plans to highlight a strengthening U.S. economy and the president's support for abortion rights as two key reasons to back him in November.
Let's go to the White House now for the latest. Priscilla Alvarez joins us live from there. Priscilla, good morning. So President Biden on his way to two very competitive states. We have a sense of what we can hear from him. What else should we see over this next couple of days?
[08:15:00]
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, Erica. The goal of this trip is going to be for the president to relay his message and his agenda to voters while also touching on some defining themes of his campaign. That includes on the agenda front, talking about improving housing costs as well as creating clean energy and manufacturing jobs.
But he will also touch on reproductive rights. Abortion could be on the ballot in Arizona and Nevada in November to an issue that the campaign believes will really galvanize voters and mobilize them to the polls, but also about protecting democracy that has been a reigning theme for the president over the course of his campaign stop.
So all of this is expected to come together in these stops today to Reno, Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, and also Phoenix, where he's also going to launch an initiative that is focused on Latinos. And, of course, Latinos do make up a sizable portion of the voters in Arizona and Nevada.
And in talking to Latino organizers, what they tell me is that what needs to happen on the ground is the president essentially making the connection to voters as to what his administration has done and how voters are feeling it. That's what they say will help bolster support in a moment where there is waning support among Latino voters.
But again, Erica, as you noted there at the top, the president won both of these states in 2020, but it's going to be a close race in November. And some polls already show former President Donald Trump ahead. So the president trying to connect, talk to leaders on the ground, as well as give the -- his speeches on his agenda and where it's headed from here.
HILL: Priscilla, I appreciate it. Thank you.
One of Donald Trump's top White House aides and staunchest defenders is heading to prison. Peter Navarro is due to report to a federal prison in Miami in the coming hours, which would make him the first former White House official ever to be jailed for contempt of Congress.
Navarro was sentenced to four months in prison for refusing to testify to the congressional committee looking into what happened on January 6th. Meantime, it may not be a jail cell. Donald Trump, though, is having a lot of trouble with the penalty from his New York civil fraud trial. Trump's attorneys say he's been unable to find an underwriter to help him post the bond in that $464 million judgment in that case. Now, it's possible the state could see some of Trump's real estate properties in an effort to pay that massive fine.
In just the last hour, Hong Kong passed a second national security law. Critics say it aligns the city more closely with mainland China and could deepen an ongoing crackdown on dissent.
CNN's Kristie Lou Stout reports now from Hong Kong.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the streets of Hong Kong, we ask a simple question, do you support or not support Article 23?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no idea.
LU STOUT: No idea?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
LU STOUT: Yes or no?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, no, I have to go. I'm really sorry.
LU STOUT (voice-over): We ask in English. We ask in Cantonese. No comment.
LU STOUT: Article 23 is Hong Kong's controversial new homegrown security legislation. t includes a range of new national security crimes, including treason, espionage, external interference and disclosure of state secrets.
LU STOUT (voice-over): It carries sentences of 10 years for crimes linked to state secrets and sedition, 20 years for espionage. End up to life in prison for treason, insurrection, sabotage and mutiny. Officials point out that many Western countries have similar legislation and say it will fill loopholes in the sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020 after mass anti-government protests.
JOHN LEE, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, HONG KONG: We still have to watch out for potential sabotage, undercurrents that tried to create troubles.
LU STOUT (voice-over): In 2003, Article 23 was shelved after an attempt to enact it drew half a million residents onto the streets in protest. No such scenes of opposition are expected this time around. Beijing's national security crackdown has transformed Hong Kong. Dozens of political opponents have been arrested, civil society groups disbanded, and outspoken media outlets shut down. Former opposition lawmaker Emily Lau was among the protesters in 2003. She's no longer marching, but has a message for Beijing.
EMILY LAU, FORMER OPPOSITION LAWMAKER: I just want to tell Beijing, there's no need for such stern treatment. I don't think Hong Kong will go back to the turbulent past. And I think people want to look forward to a safe and peaceful and free future. We want Hong Kong to prosper.
We are part of China. I've never disputed that, but we are different from the rest of China. But the difference is getting less and less, which is very sad.
LU STOUT (voice-over): Critics say the law could have deep ramifications for the city's status as a global business hub. The U.S. State Department says it is concerned by the, quote, "broad and vague definitions of state secrets and external interference that could be used to eliminate dissent through the fear of arrest and detention."
[08:20:04]
The Hong Kong government rejects that criticism as biased and misleading with Security Secretary Chris Tang pointing out there is strong public support,
CHRIS TANG, SECRETARY OF SECURITY, HONG KONG (through translator): We received 98.6 percent support and positive feedback.
LU STOUT (voice-over): But on the streets, it's hard to tell.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We don't discuss these things, very sensitive.
LU STOUT (voice-over): Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Legal scholars and business figures have told CNN they're worried about the harsh penalties and broad definitions in the new law. According to the Hong Kong government, cases will be handled, quote, "in accordance with the law."
Still to come here, the Princess of Wales has been seen for the first time really since having surgery in January. We are live in London with those details. Then, Haiti's capital descending further into chaos amid a new round of gang attacks. We're going to update you on that worsening humanitarian crisis and also on the people trying to get out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: Prince William is set to visit a project to combat homelessness in the north of England later today. This, of course, comes amid intense speculation about his wife, the Princess of Wales. A British tabloid has published video footage which it says shows the couple at a farmer's market over the weekend.
Kate Middleton had not been seen out and about walking in public since what the palace described as a planned abdominal surgery in January. That lack of information from the Royals has led to questions about her recovery, fueled in part by the release, of course, of this family photo on Mother's Day that, in short order, we learned had been edited.
Well, now there are doubts about editing involving a photo of the late Queen Elizabeth with her grandchildren and her great grandchildren.
CNN Royal Correspondent Max Foster joins us now from London. OK, so let's start first, if we could, Max, with this video. So the video is now out there. She's being seen walking with a rather brisk step for someone who had had surgery not too long ago. Is the palace confirming that this is, in fact, Kate and William out at a public market?
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: No. So this was, as we understand it, video taken by another customer at this farm shop and handed to The Sun, which is now distributing it. And we believe it's real, and it's from the weekend. And it not to delve into too many of the conspiracy theories, but they look very happy together, and she looks very well.
Of course, they've gone into such a frenzied state that even with this video, there's all sorts of analysis of the images you're seeing here, and whether or not, indeed, they're real. Whether or not these are body doubles or AI's been used, there's no evidence of any of that. But I think it speaks to, you know, how, you know, this conversation has blown up in really bizarre ways, where normally we wouldn't have questioned pieces of video like this.
[08:25:00]
But I think for many of the genuine fans, it's really reassuring to see that she is indeed well, when we've had so little information from the palace.
HILL: And that lack of information. I am familiar with all the things, right? We keep calm, we carry on, never complain, never explain. But the late queen also said you had to be seen to be believed.
FOSTER: Absolutely.
HILL: So if you put all of that together, it of course does fuel some of these crazy theories that we've seen out there and some of the legitimate concern. Is it your sense, and I don't think we'd ever hear this publicly, but is it your sense internally that there is a recognition that this was perhaps not handled as well as it could have been?
FOSTER: Certainly the backlash. I mean, I think from Prince William's point of view, you know, having sort of worked with him for many years, his view, what would have been, I think, it's safe to say that Kate was going to hospital and needed to have a plan. And they -- he accepted that the public needed some information, but he wasn't going to reveal it at all, he saw it as private, so they set up this plan that they'd say she was in hospital.
They would give an update saying that she was well. And then they would say when they expect it to appear back at work, which is Easter and they're just not moving from that plan. I think that is the reality of their view. Of course, in the meantime, we've had these doctored pictures released.
First one that you talked about was from Mother's Day. And now Getty Images have gone through previous handouts as we call them from the palace where we don't know really what happened because she was just given them and they've come up with this other one which was photographed by Kate again in 2022 released last year.
They're not clear -- they're not saying this is necessarily manipulated, but they are certainly saying there's some issues with it and they're looking to it further. They've labeled it saying they can't verify that there's a true representation effectively what happened in that moment.
So this is a massive problem with the communications strategy at the palace because it speaks to the idea that there is some sort of cover up going on, even though it could have all been perfectly innocent. But they're not changing tack. They're not giving us more information. They're not giving us the original photos.
And as you said William is up in Sheffield today carrying out a regular engagement and not addressing any of this at all.
HILL: I'd be interesting to see. I'm sure there will be an attempt to get some information.
FOSTER: Yes.
HILL: But I doubt he will answer those questions if past is prologue. Max, always appreciate it. Thank you.
FOSTER: Exactly.
HILL: Still to come here, machete-wielding militias in Haiti take on gangs in a deadly battle for control adding to this worsening humanitarian crisis. We have a deeper look just ahead.
Plus, Japan's central bank announcing a policy shift, which could make your next trip there more expensive. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:30:35]
HILL: As we continue our coverage of Haiti, there's been a round of deadly attacks in a region already gutted by lawlessness and chaos. At least 10 people were killed in a wealthy suburb of Port-au-Prince on Monday. This, of course, comes amid that surge in gang violence we've seen in recent weeks and a deepening humanitarian crisis, with communities quickly running out of food and basic necessities. The U.N. says that gangs in Haiti now control 80 percent of the capital and they're fighting to seize more. Meantime, a Florida based non-profit organization that's been working to rescue Americans says there are still a large number who remain stranded and are asking for help.
One of the Americans who was evacuated from Haiti, Miriam Cinotti, best known as Doodle, joins me now. She's the social media director for Mission of Grace, and she joins me along with one of the founders of that organization, Lynn Joseph. They are both joining from the Dominican Republic.
It's good to have both of you here with us. And you were both recently evacuated. You know, I wonder if you could, Doodle, walk us through a little bit of that. You had spoken with CNN about how harrowing things were getting. This journey was described, you had a plane, a boat, a bus. You had to walk on the beach on Project Dynamo, who helped with it, said it was complicated. How frightening was it?
MIRIAM "DOODLE" CINOTTI, MISSION OF GRACE, SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR: You know, it's frightening, but at the same time, when you have a chance to get out, you just do it. We -- the unknown was fearful. When we saw the size of the plane and then where we landed and then the walk to get to a boat and then the wait for a bus to come. We just have to trust the process with the trust Project Dynamo that, you know, they're going to get us out and just to save place (ph).
And so that was a little -- it was a little fearful with the unknown, but, you know, we're safe, we're here. And, yes, we're just waiting for the others to come out with this.
HILL: Lynn, I understand that you do not want to leave the Dominican Republic until those other folks that you're waiting for can get out safely. Can you talk to us about the conditions that you left behind? I know you had to move, I believe more than 200 children to a safer area in the country. What is the situation like for those still there?
LYNN JOSEPH, CEO, MISSION OF GRACE: Right now, they are safe. They are in a better place because we remove them from the violence of Port-au- Prince. But believe me, the struggle still real because we don't know how they're going to get food in the next week. Because the city that close to us, it's like high.
We believe they're going to start violence and riot as well. So it's going to be hard for us to get food, medicine, just the basic needs that they will need. So, yes, we are happy that we are out. But, again, we are sad. The fact that we left them without even saying goodbye. And now, we don't know what's going to happen in the next few days.
And also we are in the DR waiting for the other missionaries that shredded there where they got -- where we got rescued. We hope that they can join us today.
HILL: Doddle, you've made multiple trips since starting to work with the organization in 2010, I believe it was, and I think this is your fifth trip to Haiti just this year alone. Can you describe what you saw as this escalation in violence and how quickly you saw things change?
CINOTTI: You know, where we were working and serving, it was completely safe. We can actually walk the streets where we serve in croissants. But the date -- that two days before we're supposed to leave, our friend Jill, that's in Port-au-Prince, she was supposed to leave that day and everything got canceled, everything changed.
The violence escalated. And so we were hearing that. And that's when, of course, when we got the cancelations of our flights and that was a little, you know, but then they allowed us to reschedule them. So, we're like, OK, we're good. We're going to leave next week. And then, of course, everything else canceled.
And so the fear for us was that, you know, we're in a very remote place. No one goes, you know to present (ph) unless you have a purpose in which Mission of Embrace is absolutely our purpose to go there.
[08:35:03]
So we knew it was going to be hard for us to get out. And that was the biggest thing is that we all have businesses, we have families that need us to get back home to. And that was our period, how long it was going to take.
HILL: Lynn, what is the communication been like? As I mentioned, Project Dynamo, which is a nonprofit, was was able to help get you out, to evacuate you. But Lynn, what's the communication been like even from the U.S. government? Do you feel that there has -- there had been enough while you were still there in Haiti?
JOSEPH: You know, I -- we registered for everything that we could get out and registered with the state of Florida, different congressmen, senators. We actually had some private people, friends of ours in Jacksonville Beach that were working on getting us out privately.
And my brother gave us the number, the sign up for Project Dynamo. And back and forth, because of our limited access to the Internet, you know, it was all -- we had to rely on the phone, and we couldn't always have a communication. Sometimes a text would come through, or I'd see an email, and we'd have to rush over to the Internet to do forms or, you know, whatever it is to get us out.
We -- the communication once we applied, like I said, it was -- it's mostly our end as far as getting the information because here it's -- in Haiti, the communication is hard.
HILL: Yes, they're -- they can be challenging to put it mildly. Lynn, because of that, right, you talked about your concern for the children. You were able to move for the staff who are still behind when it comes to food, when it comes to the basic supplies they're going to need in these days and weeks ahead. What level of contact are you still able to have, Lynn, with your colleagues who are still in Haiti? JOSEPH: I mean, I do talk to the manager there and my administrator there. The kids are OK. But, again, don't know what going to happen in the next few days. So that's where we are.
HILL: And do you, really quickly, Lynn, do you believe there will be a day when you can return and when you can return safely?
JOSEPH: Yes, because there is no way you can stay like this. We are in the backyard of the U.S. American. So this is not OK for that we will be in the street, the violence, hospital burning, police department. We have nothing in Haiti right now.
No government, no president, no prime minister. So they have to do something. It has to be done yesterday. So I believe Haiti will have a wider day soon and we will be going back as soon as clear to go back the first flight. I'll be there to go with my -- to my children.
HILL: Lynn Joseph, Doodle Cinotti, appreciate you taking the time to join us today and for giving us such an important personal account of what is happening on the ground. Thank you again.
JOSEPH: Thank you for having us.
HILL: Well, Japan's central bank is making a historic pivot away from negative interest rates, announcing its first interest rate rise in 17 years. And the move ends nearly a decade of sub-zero rates, a situation where holders of deposits at the central bank had to pay the bank to look after their money.
CNN's Hanako Montgomery has more.
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a key policy shift that indicates to consumers, to investors, and world financial markets that Japan thinks its economy has finally turned a corner. So, a bit of background as to why Japan has finally ended negative interest rates. There are really two key components.
The first, we're finally seeing inflation. The second, wages are rising are finally going up. So right now, the rate of inflation in Japan is hovering at about 2 percent for its core consumer prices. That includes everything besides food and fuel. Now, 2 percent is that magic number you want to see that indicates the economy is healthy and growing in the right direction.
This is historic for Japan, which has seen years and years of deflation. An expert I spoke to earlier talked about why this was so significant for the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEIJIRO TAKESHITA, PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION, UNIVERSITY OF SHIZUOKA: What we've been seeing is two decades of deflation, which is basically stagnating the economy and also the minds of the people, including the corporations and the consumer as well. So we have to get out of that doldrum.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MONTGOMERY: So at the same time, we are also seeing wages increase significantly. On Friday, Rengo, Japan's largest labor union, comprised of the country's biggest companies agreed to raise wages by 5.28 percent, the largest pay hike in 33 years.
Now, this is historic for Japanese workers in the country because they haven't seen their wages increase that much in comparison to the United States, the U.K., Germany, other OECD countries, for example, it's seen a lot of stagnant growth.
[08:40:11]
Now, these two key components are what indicated to the Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda that it was finally time to end negative interest rates, which will now set the economic agenda for the months to come in Japan.
Now, in terms of a stronger yen, though, we did see the price of the yen fall today, experts did tell me that we might see a stronger yen in the months to come, riding on the back of higher interest rates. Now, if we do see that, it would mean input prices do go down. Now, this is hugely significant for the country because Japan is a resource poor nation.
It imports more than 90 percent of its fuel, of its gas, and about 60 percent of its food. So if input prices do go down, that means the cost of living in Japan will also go down. Now, for foreign tourists, however, it might mean that their next vacation to the country is just a bit more expensive. But, again, this is a gradual change that we might be seeing many, many months in the future.
Hanako Montgomery, CNN, Tokyo.
HILL: Scientists have published a report showing the world's most polluted cities and the impact of living in them. All but one of the dirtiest 100 were in Asia with a massive concentration in India. CNN's Vedika Sud has more on this report from New Delhi.
VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: In 2023, 83 of the 100 most polluted cities in the world were from India. A report by IQAir, which tracks air quality guidelines worldwide, says these cities, including capital New Delhi, where I am, exceeded the World Health Organization guidelines 10 times over.
Begusarai, a city of half a million people in northern India's Bihar state, was the world's most polluted city last year. Its air quality was 23 times the WHO guidelines, followed by high IQAir rankings by the Indian cities of Guwahati, Delhi, and Mullanpur. The study looked specifically at fine Particulate Matter, or PM2.5, which is the tiniest pollutant, but also the most dangerous. And it's linked to asthma, heart and lung disease and cancer.
In Delhi, PM 2.5 levels rose by 10 percent in 2023, with levels peaking in the month of November. Northern India struggles with smoke from crop burning, vehicle emissions, coal burning and other toxic emissions. Every year, annual crop burning pushes Delhi and neighboring areas into emergency level air quality days.
People suffer from acute respiratory related issues for weeks. According to the report, millions of people die each year from air pollution related health issues. Air pollution from fossil fuels is killing 5.1 million people worldwide every year, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal in November.
Meanwhile, the WHO says 6.7 million people die annually from the combined effects of ambient and household air pollution.
Vedika Sud, CNN, New Delhi.
HILL: Still to come, these new mothers got a respite from the war, but that is set to soon come to an end. You'll hear their thoughts as they prepare to return to life in a war zone.
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[08:45:27]
HILL: Returning to one of our top stories now, the Israel-Hamas war. For years, critically ill Palestinians have been treated in Israeli hospitals, and that continued following the terror attacks of October 7th. Now, however, Israeli officials have ordered some Palestinian patients to return to Gaza, among them cancer patients and babies.
Here's CNN's Jeremy Diamond.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Little Sarah is barely six months old. Born in East Jerusalem, all she knows is the safety of this hospital room. This week, that will be torn away. War will become her new reality.
I might go back and they invade Rafah, her mother Nima says. I'll be the one responsible for anything that harms them.
NIMA ABU GARRARA, PALESTINIAN MOTHER (through translator): If I go back with the twins, where do I go with them? Where would I get diapers and milk? Gaza is not the same anymore.
DIAMOND (voice-over): For nearly six months, these three mothers have been living, sleeping, and nursing their five babies in this hospital room together. Before the war, their high-risk pregnancies made them eligible to leave Gaza and give birth in Jerusalem hospitals.
But now, they've packed their bags after learning that the Israeli government is sending them back to Gaza, where Israel's brutal military campaign has made survival a daily struggle.
Hannan, the mother of twins, says she's scared of going back to Gaza without a ceasefire. There are diseases spreading, infections, she says, it's not a normal life.
They will be among the 22 Palestinians set to be bussed on Wednesday to the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south. But her husband is in the north. And Hannan is still trying to find a place to live.
Despite that uncertainty, Asmaa wants to return to Gaza. My daughter is there. She needs me, Asmaa says. Every time she speaks to me, she asks when I'm coming back. Every time there's an airstrike, children go to hug their mothers. Mine has no one to hug.
At nearby Augusta Victoria Hospital, nearly 50 Gazan cancer patients have been receiving treatment since before October 7th. Watching from afar as their families endure the horrors of war.
For Mohammed, one of the 10 who are in remission and being sent back to Gaza, being far away from his son Hamza, who is blind, has been the hardest to bear. But going back is also terrifying.
I'm torn, he says. The only wish I have in life is to go back home. I regret even coming here for treatment. I wish I could be with them, because I know how they need me.
In a statement, the Israeli agency in charge of their returns said patients who have received medical treatment and who are not in need of further medical care are returned to the Gaza Strip.
After more than two months of pushing back on Israeli demands, Dr. Fadi Atrash says he was ordered to compile a list of patients to be sent back to Gaza this week.
DR. FADI ATRASH, CEO, AUGUSTA VICTORIA HOSPITAL: We don't want to send them back. It's not our call at the end of the day.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Now he fears for his patients.
ATRASH: All the support, all the efforts that we have been putting to try to cure them or to put them in a good condition or to improve their quality of life will be lost because there is no care in Gaza. There is no hospitals. There is no health care. The system is totally destroyed.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The mothers are preparing for their journey. They've bought sweets and toys for the children who are waiting for them.
ASMAA AL DABJE, PALESTINIAN MOTHER (through translator): If they want to throw away all my belongings, they can, but not this bag for my daughter.
DIAMOND (voice-over): It is all they can bring for the children who have endured so much in six months, and the babies who will soon learn the reality of war, far too young.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[08:51:23] HILL: It's been nearly five years since a catastrophic fire engulfed the historic Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. It's tough to forget footage of this massive blaze. Thanks to an immense fundraising effort, though, and pretty ambitious restoration, the cathedral is set to reopen by the end of the year.
CNN's Richard Quest takes us inside that reconstruction.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS, EDITOR-AT-LARGE: My God, look at the scaffolding. Let me ask you, what comes here?
Zutalore (ph) as they say. Did they have to put the roof back?
PHILIPPE JOST, PRESIDENT, REBUILDING NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS (through translator): The oak structure, known as La Foret, burned to the ground. It is now rebuilt. We searched for thousands of oak trees in the forests of France.
QUEST: How much technical skill had to go into it?
JOST (through translator): We had to find extraordinary skills and expertise but we found them. Because in France, we have a very extensive heritage, which we maintain. So you have carpenters, stonemasons, sculptors and these people work on all the monuments.
In France we didn't build such spire since 160 years.
QUEST (voice-over): More people come to Notre-Dame in the Eiffel Tower.
JOST: Notre-Dame has a spirit that you don't find in -- doesn't find in a monument as Eiffel Tower.
QUEST: All aboard.
JOST: Logistic is very important here. We have --
QUEST: So two logistics.
JOST: -- 2,250 companies and artists and 140 contracts.
QUEST: I've always been fascinated by logistics. People think it's boring, but it's logistics that make the whole thing work.
I think what really gets you when you see it is the size and scale. And the fact that it's been done in, what, four years. It is an achievement to have done this. And it'll be the best part of a $1 billion.
As I understand it, none of the glass was actually broken. Is that correct?
JOST: None of the glass, it's correct. It's correct. We have -- we had a lot of luck because all big artistic works here were not damaged -- QUEST: Yes.
JOST: -- by the fire. Here we are --
QUEST: Just the spire.
JOST: -- just under the spire. You see? And to rebuild the spire, we had to build the scaffold which goes through the vault.
QUEST: What percentage of completion do you think you are at now?
JOST: Oh, I think we are at 85 or 90.
QUEST: Wow!
JOST: We have finished the roofs, the spire. We are all nettoyer.
QUEST: Cleaning.
JOST: We are -- cleaning. We have cleaned all the inside, all these woods. We have cleaned the paintings in the chapels. You see? That vault there, there. That vault. It was crushed.
[08:55:01]
QUEST: That vault?
JOST: That vault there, there.
QUEST: Yes, yes, yes.
JOST: It was crushed.
QUEST: So it comes down.
JOST: It's important that we cannot identify what has been rebuilt, because it's the same stones, and the same type of work, which is the respect we owe to the monument.
QUEST: You and I, in our lifetime, have seen projects like this taking 20 years.
JOST: After the fire, a lot of people said --
QUEST: Me.
JOST: -- you will need 20 years for --
QUEST: Me.
JOST: -- rebuild this cathedral.
QUEST: Me.
JOST: President Macron --
QUEST: We?
JOST: -- said he spoke with General Georgiola (ph) and they said we will do it in five years for 2024, and we are doing it and we do it perfectly, perfectly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Pretty impressive. Our thanks again to Richard Quest for that reporting.
Thanks for joining me on CNN Newsroom. I'm Erica Hill. Stay tuned, Connect the World with Bianca Nobilo is up next.
