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State of Emergency in Australia; Protesters Withdraw From Baghdad Embassy; German Zoo Fire; Israel's Prime Minister Asks for Immunity from Corruption Charges; Sex Trafficking Victim Sentenced to Life Now Freed; London at Grave Risk from Rising Sea Levels. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired January 02, 2020 - 00:00   ET

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

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome everyone. I'm Rosemary Church, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Studio 7 at CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta.

Ahead this hour, officials in Australia warning tourists to get out with wildfires raging and weather conditions expected to get even worse this weekend.

Plus the siege of the U.S. embassy in Iraq is over after militia- backed demonstrators end their violent protests.

And fire rips through a German zoo, killing dozens of animals, some of them endangered species.

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CHURCH: We begin with breaking news out of Australia, New South Wales will declare a state emergency on Friday as the raging bush fires show no signs of slowing down. Thousands of people are fleeing their homes right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (voice-over): This is what it looked like on the highways of New South Wales after officials ordered residents and tourists to evacuate particularly along the coast.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just a scary feeling, feeling this. Everything is gone, there was no fuel. We've got no power and service where we are. So, yes, we don't know what's going on or --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What we're expecting, it's just everywhere we're going mixed (ph) everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're saying just all the locals are -- I can say they're all nervous and anxious and everyone is just on edge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: At least eight people have died in the fires in just the past two days. Nearly 1,300 homes have been destroyed in New South Wales since July. Many animals have also been killed and forests are being demolished by the flames and fire crews are bracing themselves as weather conditions are expected to get worse this weekend.

CNN's Anna Coren joins us now from Nowra in New South Wales, Australia.

Good to see you. Massive evacuation underway to get people out ahead of critical weather conditions forecast for the weekend.

What's the latest on that and, of course, the bush. Fires?

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, as you say, we are here in Nowra, which is about three hours south of Sydney on the coast. This is as far as we can go. Authorities have blocked this highway. We understand a fire has jumped the road several kilometers from where we are standing. So we cannot go any further.

These cars that are streaming past us now are being diverted. Many of them are trying to get further down to the coast and they are being told they cannot go any further.

As we know, there are fires from here right down to the Victorian border. Here in New South Wales alone there are more than 100 fires burning; in Victoria there are 50 fires burning. At the moment, the emphasis is definitely on getting those holiday makers out of these coastal little towns.

They are very small, isolated places that people go to for vacations, for holidays, during the summer holidays here in Australia. These are the townships that have been absolutely devastated.

We have seen those horrendous pictures over the past few days, over New Year's Eve, where as you say many people perished. There were hundreds of homes that were destroyed and now those towns have been cut off.

The military has been pulled in to help. They are sending two naval vessels to those isolated areas. They are going to be sending helicopters to ferry supplies, food, clean drinking water, medical supplies, temporary shelter.

Many authorities cannot access these places so the military has been called in to take part in this rescue effort.

But it has been absolutely devastating. This is the worst fire season on record here in Australia. Rosemary, so many people are bracing themselves now for what lies ahead. We know that conditions are still extremely hot here.

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COREN: Winds have calmed down but we are expecting conditions to change on the weekend. Saturday, the temperatures will return to the high 40s. Strong winds are expected and as we know, when these conditions, they create their own fire system.

Not only do the fires spread but they create their own weather system and that is where we see these catastrophic blazes.

A short time ago, we spoke to someone from the Royal Fire Service and he said that there is a real complacency here; even though we have seen these devastating pictures of what has taken place kilometers from where we are, there is still a reluctance of people to leave their homes.

They feel like they can best protect them. Fire services say it is not possible, that we are facing catastrophic conditions and that people must get out. They must get out before the weekend -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: Absolutely, we have never seen anything like it. Anna Coren reporting there from Nowra, New South Wales, Australia. Many thanks.

James Todd is the spokesman for the country fire authority in Victoria. He joins us now from the line from Melbourne.

Thank you so much for being with us. Of course, a mass evacuation coming in New South Wales as we just reported. That is going to get people out ahead of these worsening weather conditions on the weekend.

So what is the situation with these fires further south in your state of Victoria?

JAMES TODD, COUNTRY FIRE AUTHORITY: Currently in Victoria we have got 50 fires still going across the state. Most of the activity as you heard in your previous report there is focusing east of the state and the border of New South Wales, which is to the north of Victoria.

So far the fires have burned over 787 (ph) hectares or 2 million acres. So they are massive in that respect and when you combine them with what's going on in New South Wales, we've got fires at a landscape (ph) scale that are largely unprecedented.

Essentially in Victoria we've got a number of concerns over the weekend. So as you heard in your previous report, temperatures are expected to soar up into the low 40 degrees Celsius.

Winds will be blowing from the northwest in the morning which will fan the fires that are already going but then there will be a fair westerly change in the afternoon, which is often a big problem in terms of fighting fire because you have a massive (ph) front that then pushes in the opposite direction.

So we've got some grave concerns, particularly in some of the high altitude areas for the people we know (INAUDIBLE) and we are really asking people to get out now while -- in the next day or so before it gets bad.

CHURCH: Absolutely. Of course we have seen those heartbreaking images of thousands of Australians trapped on a beach in the resort town of Mallacoota as well as homes destroyed, lives lost.

What happened to those 4,000 people who were trapped?

And the problem is, where do you go?

It is a matter of almost nowhere to run.

TODD: Absolutely. So these are communities that are often -- they've only got the single road in from the main highway. The main highway is closed, the roads into these settlements, a lot of these settlements are closed. They are not passable because of fallen trees and power lines and the roads being impacted.

So it'll be some time before the roads in those areas are available for use of people to get out by land. So what happens is that you are starting to (INAUDIBLE) and the Navy in particular has been deployed and there are people who, beginning tomorrow, will be several hundred people from Mallacoota, the area -- the town you talk about, will be taken by boat to other parts of the state, where they will be (INAUDIBLE).

So there are some 4,000 people as we understand it, still in Mallacoota. It has a population normally about 800 to 1,000 people. It swells during summer because of the holiday season. Many of the people there are tourists.

Obviously supplies have been provided to those communities in terms of off boats (ph) as well as pharmaceutical and medical attention. But the process they're deciding on who gets on the boats tomorrow morning will be on the basis of who is most in need (ph), (INAUDIBLE) people with health conditions, people with young families and the like.

So that will -- that is expected that that might have to happen a few times because as I said, the roads in an out of that township and right along that (INAUDIBLE) coast of Victoria and New South Wales.

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TODD: A lot of those roads are closed and are too risky for the traffic in part because there's still lots of fire in the landscape.

CHURCH: We hope that evacuation effort goes smoothly. A lot of people are feeling very desperate at this time. That is quite an operation, to get 4,000 people off that beach and to safer parts. James Todd, thank you so much for talking with us. We appreciate it.

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CHURCH: We want to turn to Iraq where our huge crowds have left the area around the U.S. embassy in Baghdad after two days of violent protests. Security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets as demonstrators threw rocks, set fires and tried to scale a building's walls.

They are angry about U.S. airstrikes on an Iran-backed militia group Sunday that killed at least 25 people. Iran's supreme leader says the U.S. should look at its own actions before blaming Tehran.

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ALI KHAMENEI, IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER (through translator): Firstly, you are wrong. It has nothing to do with Iran.

Secondly, if you are logical, which you are not, Americans must have common sense and they should know that they don't. You would see that the people of the countries in this region hate you.

Why do they not know this?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: U.S. president Donald Trump tweeted this, "Iran will be held fully responsible for lives lost or damage incurred at our facilities. They will pay a very big price. This is not a warning, it is a threat."

CNN's Arwa Damon has our report from Baghdad.

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ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are standing just outside of this massive, sprawling U.S. embassy complex. You can see one of the entrances there. If I'm not mistaken, that is where you would go through if you wanted to go to consular services.

DAMON (voice-over): The Iraqi security forces are finally on the scene but the protesters managed to get this far. For more than 24 hours, attempt to breach the walls of the U.S. embassy goes to the crux of the many multifaceted challenges that Iraq faces.

DAMON: Supporters and members of what is known as the Popular Mobilization Force, the PMF, they are the ones that were part of this protest. These are not ordinary protesters.

[00:15:00] DAMON: The PMF came together as a response during the fight against

ISIS. And they have continued to be extremely powerful. The message here obviously is very clear.

DAMON (voice-over): Many fighters that make up PMF gained the bulk of their experience actually fighting the Americans during the U.S. occupation of Iraq. They have historic, long-standing ties to Iran, with training, funding and weapons coming from there.

In today's Iraq, they're ostensibly under the umbrella of the Iraqi security forces and the Iraqi government views the U.S. airstrike against one of these groups Kataib Hezbollah as a violation of its sovereignty and an attack on its own forces.

Amid rising questions of, was the Iraqi government really helpless to stop this or simply unwilling?

Iraq's minister of interior on the scene claimed that it took them a while to spin up their forces.

DAMON: This situation has only just barely begun to get under control with the withdrawal of these protesters right now.

But as these spokesperson for Kataib Hezbollah, the group that was the target of the U.S. strike, said, they left because they gave America their message.

DAMON (voice-over): At dusk U.S. security personnel began removing the flags of the various groups, each which also has a powerful political party within parliament. A tenuous calm for now but power struggles within Iraq and the proxy battle between Washington and Tehran are all far from over -- Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

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CHURCH: Kimberly Dozier is a CNN global affairs analyst and a contributor for "Time" magazine.

Thank you so much for being with us.

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Good to be here.

CHURCH: So the protesters have now left but how is it even possible for them to get so close to the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and for the militia group to send the message that it did eventually?

DOZIER: It was possible because it was a carefully calculated message from militia groups that are also part of one of Iraq's most powerful political blocs and they are facing a weakened Iraqi prime minister who's in a caretaker role.

There's only so much power he could exert. He did manage to call them back and pull them back. But remember when U.S. said they were going to carry out these strikes, the prime minister had then asked them not to and warned that, after they did, there would be consequences.

It seems that this demonstration, that was those consequences. It wasn't the millions of people who have been demonstrating against the Iraqi government. This was a careful show of political force that could have gotten a lot more violent.

CHURCH: Yes, it certainly has changed the focus from those demonstrators to this situation now that we are talking about. Of course, these demonstrators were angry about those deadly U.S. airstrikes that targeted the Iranian militia group and the Iraq government viewed the airstrikes as an attack on its sovereignty.

But this militia group was attacking U.S. interests.

Who's at fault here?

And has the U.S. played into the hands of Iran by going to airstrikes, by using airstrikes in this instance?

DOZIER: From the U.S. perspective, they're getting hammered; they warned the Iraqi government that they needed to be protected and they said, if they weren't getting protected, they were going to have to take action.

So from the U.S., there is very a logical chain that led to these airstrikes. But think of it from the Iraqi perspective. U.S. officials are telling them that there were 11 strikes, rocket attacks, against their forces over the last two months, including one that killed a U.S. contractor.

But there are no pictures of that. And the various Iranian-backed Iraqi armed groups deny being behind this.

On the other hand, after the U.S. strikes, there was plenty of video showing Iraqis that some of their people were killed by U.S. forces. This plays into the Iranian narrative and the narrative of a bunch of very anti-American political groups inside Iraq, that the U.S. is tromping all over their sovereignty.

Remember, we started this year with president Donald Trump saying he was keeping U.S. troops in Iraq to watch Iran. And you had Iraqi officials and the population expressing outrage. So that's where they're coming from and this plays into that.

CHURCH: In a tweet, U.S. president Donald Trump threatened Iran, saying it would be held fully responsible for any U.S. lives lost and said Iran would pay a very big price.

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CHURCH: But when he spoke to reporters, he backed away from that threat or certainly that's how it looked.

What does that signal to you?

DOZIER: Everyone knows President Trump doesn't want to get in a land war in Iran ahead of the 2020 elections. He has been telegraphing, from his Syrian withdrawal to his moves to pull troops out of Afghanistan, that he wants to bring as many U.S. troops home as possible to fulfill a 2016 campaign promise before he runs for a second term.

So Iran knows this and it's become a game of chicken in that, yes, U.S. maximum pressure sanctions are hurting Iran economically. U.S. officials say it is in full recession now.

But Iran is playing the long game in that it is trying to turn public opinion across the Middle East against the U.S. and, in some cases, that is working, which will make it harder for Iraqi politicians, who had been counting on the U.S. military to keep mopping up ISIS.

It will be harder for them to back the U.S. staying there and it will empower those in the Iraqi parliament, who have been trying since last year to pass a bill to eject U.S. forces. They've now said they'll try that again and at least one representative of Kataib Hezbollah, the group hit by the airstrikes, says the Iraqi prime minister is now agreeing to work with them to kick U.S. troops out. CHURCH: What do you think is the likely next to move from the United States and indeed from Iran?

DOZIER: The U.S. is sending its ambassador and will redouble its efforts to reach out to its allies among Iraqi politicians and have quiet conversations to try to get this back on track. U.S. officials know that, when President Trump messages his outrage and appears like a bully to the Iraqi people, that doesn't help the Iraqi government work with them.

CHURCH: Kimberly Dozier, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your analysis on this very sensitive topic, we do appreciate it.

DOZIER: Thank you.

CHURCH: Gorillas, orangutans and chimpanzees are among dozens of zoo animals killed by a fire on New Year's Day. Now several suspects have come forward and police think they know how the blaze may have started.

Plus, the request from Israel's prime minister that could put his corruption trial on hold for months. We are back with more on that in just a moment.

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CHURCH: Police in Germany say they are questioning several people about a devastating zoo fire in the city of Krefeld. They came forward voluntarily and police say they may have caused the blaze that killed dozens of primates. The cause is still under investigation. We get more now from CNN's Hala Gorani.

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GORANI (voice-over): Zookeepers in Germany are calling it one of the hardest days they have ever endured. Officials say a fire swept through the Krefeld Zoo in the early hours of New Year's Day, killing dozens of animals in an enclosure called The Monkey House.

The zoo director says the loss is staggering because many of the species who died in the fire are under threat in the wild.

WOLFGANG DRESSEN, DIRECTOR, KREFELD ZOO (through translator): For us, it is especially tragic that the tenants of this house, birds and mammals, were among the victims of the fire last night. Among them were highly endangered animals like orangutans from Borneo, gorillas from Central Africa and chimpanzees from West Africa.

GORANI (voice-over): On its Facebook page, the zoo says just two chimpanzees, names Bally and Limbo, were able to survive the fire and are now being treated by veterinarians.

Police say they're investigating reports of sky lanterns flying near the zoo that could have been launched as New Year's Eve celebrations, even though they've been banned in this region since 2009.

GERD HOPPMANN, KREFELD POLICE (through translator): Some witnesses saw these torches flying close to the zoo and very low, so we can assume they fell on the ground. We have witnesses saying that it burned as well on the roof.

GORANI (voice-over): A tragic start to the new year for this zoo, that must now try to rebuild after losing so much that is irreplaceable -- Hala Gorani, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: More political turmoil in Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu soon faces another election along with corruption, fraud and bribery charges but what he did Wednesday could put his trial on hold for months. Oren Liebermann reports from Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested immunity in three separate corruption investigations, saying he plans on leading the country for many years to come. He faces indictment on charges of bribery and fraud and breach of trust in these cases.

He's insisting he's innocent, calling the indictments an attempted coup driven by the media and the Left.

He says his request for immunity is so he can carry out the will of the people.

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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translator): The immunity law is intended to protect elected officials from fabricated legal proceedings, from a political indictment intended to damage the will of the people.

This law intends to ensure that those elected can serve the people, according to the will of the people, not the will of the law clerks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: Netanyahu's rival, Benny Gantz, head of the Blue and White Party, immediately blasted Netanyahu's request, saying voters now have a clear choice in the upcoming election in March, Israel's third within 12 months as the country faces political deadlock.

"The choice is either the interests of Netanyahu or the national interest. The kingdom of Netanyahu or the State of Israel."

But here is where the legal proceedings against Netanyahu are put on hold. His request for immunity has to be heard by the Knesset house committee but since there hasn't been a functioning coalition since the April elections, a house committee was never formed.

Because of that, Netanyahu's request can't be heard and the cases against him are on ice. If the committee is temporarily formed before the next elections, it appears Netanyahu's immunity requests will be rejected.

That is because a key player here announced his party would vote against immunity. That means Netanyahu doesn't have the numbers to get his request approved -- Oren Liebermann, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Pope Francis launched the new year with a rare public apology. He expressed his regrets for slapping a woman's hand Tuesday, when she unexpectedly pulled him toward her. The pope was in St. Peter's Square, greeting a crowd of pilgrims and children.

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POPE FRANCIS, PONTIFF, ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translator): Love makes us patient. So many times we lose patience, even me. And I apologize for yesterday's bad example.

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CHURCH: The pope used his first homily of the new year to denounce violence against women, calling it "a blasphemy against God."

Well, she is a sex trafficking victim, sentenced as a teenager to life for killing a client but now she is free. Her story, just ahead.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church. Want to check the headlines for you this hour.

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Two days of violent protest outside the U.S. embassy in Baghdad have come to an end for now. Iraqi security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators on Wednesday. Protesters are angry about U.S. airstrikes on an Iranian-backed militia group.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants immunity from prosecution on the corruption charges he's facing. He made the request to the Knesset on Wednesday night, but because of Israel's political gridlock, a decision is not expected anytime soon, possibly delaying his trial for months.

At least eight people have died in just the past two days in Australia's bush fires. And with conditions likely to get worse, thousands are fleeing their homes. These new satellite images show the immense size and scale of these fires. Nearly 1,300 homes have been destroyed in New South Wales since July, and fire crews are bracing for more high winds this weekend.

Her name is Cyntoia Brown. As a teenager, she was forced into sex trafficking. One night, something happened that would send her to prison, sentenced to life behind bars; but now, thanks to the efforts of some high-profile advocates, she's free. Lynda Kinkade spoke with her as part of CNN's "Freedom Project."

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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: After 15 years behind bars, you're free. How do you feel?

CYNTOIA BROWN, FREED FROM PRISON: I mean, it's good. You know, it's a blessing. It's literally a miracle.

KINKADE (voice-over): Cyntoia Brown Long has spent half her life behind bars. At just 16, she was forced by her abusive boyfriend into sex work.

One night she shot and killed a 43-year-old man who had bought her for sex. She claims it was self-defense. The prosecutors argued it was opportunistic, after she fled with his wallet and two guns.

She was tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison for murder and robbery.

(on camera): You would've been close to 70 by the time you got any chance of release. How do you deal with that at the age of 16?

BROWN LONG: So in the state of Tennessee, I had the opportunity for parole, but it was not a meaningful opportunity. It was after 51 years I could be considered for release. And as I said, the prospect of that was just -- I mean, it was unbearable. I couldn't imagine.

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KINKADE: From activists to lawmakers to celebrities, people of all walks of life called for justice.

BROWN LONG: Before all of the -- the outcry had happened, my attorneys had already been meeting with the governor's office and trying to talk about clemency, which clemency, less than 1 percent of applications are even reviewed by the parole board in the state of Tennessee. So to say it was slim to none chance of me ever receiving any kind of relief through clemency, I mean, that's an understatement.

KINKADE: Singer Rihanna posted about her on Instagram, asking, "Did we somehow change the definition of justice along the way?"

(on camera): Did you understand how much support there was for you on the outside?

BROWN LONG: You know, for me, the biggest thing was seeing how many people across the world, seeing teachers, doctors, you know, single parents saying, I don't know what to do, I don't know how I can help, but I want to do something. KINKADE (voice-over): In the United States, all underage sex workers

are defined by federal law as trafficking victims. And now she's helping others understand that.

BROWN LONG: And, you know, so often, we're told that there are just certain young girls who are fast, certain young girls who are promiscuous, that ask for these things. And it's important for young girls to know that you cannot consent to your own exploitation. If you can't consent to a sexual relationship with an adult, then you can't consent to them taking advantage of you.

KINKADE: There was another victim here, Johnny Allen. And his family feel like they're victims, too. They lost someone. What's your message to them, given that they feel the justice system didn't work for them?

BROWN LONG: I feel horrible about what happened. I feel horrible that they're still having to live with this.

KINKADE (voice-over): In a statement, they said, "Our hearts are broken, because we feel like Johnny never got to defend himself. We never got to be a voice for him."

Cyntoia Brown Long is not entirely free. The newly-married 31-year- old will still have to report to a parole officer for the next decade on top of holding down a job, performing community service, and undergoing counseling.

BROWN LONG: You know, from the time that they told me I'd do life in prison, I never believed it. I always thought that one day, that I would be free, and I held onto that. So --

KINKADE (on camera): You kept the faith.

BROWN LONG: I did.

KINKADE (voice-over): Linda Kinkade, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Well, the city of London has long battled the threat of rising sea levels. Just ahead, a massive barricade on the Thames River can hold back the water for now, but experts warn it may not be enough for what's expected in the future.

Back in just a moment.

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CHURCH: Even optimistic forecasts about a climate change present a huge challenge for many coastal areas. Flood-prone cities like London have already taken drastic steps to deal with the predicted rise in sea levels.

But as our Phil Black reports, it may not be enough.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): London has long respected the power of the sea. Straddling the city's famous rivers, you'll find this, the Thames barrier. Finished in the early Eighties, it's a mighty mechanized fortification. This sped-up video of the recent test shows how it works.

Fully extended, the gates stand five stories high. It's designed to hold back the North Sea on its angriest days, to protect lives and vast riches of one of the world's wealthiest cities.

IVAN HAIGH, OCEANOGRAPHER, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON: If there was flooding you would be absolutely catastrophic, you know, particularly if it happened that night. If something was to go wrong, the city would absolutely grind to a hold. You know, flooding of subway stations, flooding of tubes.

BLACK: Oceanographer Ivan Haigh, on the day the Thames is swollen by a big tide and the storm surge.

(on camera): Have you ever seen the Thames look like this before?

HAIGH: I've never seen at this high.

BLACK (voice-over): It's a close call, but experts monitoring the river have decided not to close the barrier. The Thames looking bloated and full gives a powerful sense of London's vulnerability to what scientists now consider inevitable: sea-level rise caused by climate change.

HAIGH: At the moment we're on track to reach at least a meter.

BLACK (on camera): And that's factored in? That we expect that, regardless of sort of policy decisions from here forward?

HAIGH: So that's very much dependent on whether we follow the Paris agreement or not.

BLACK (voice-over): The Paris agreement's goal is to sufficiently cut carbon emissions to keep the average global temperature increase below two degrees. That's to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.

Scientists say achieving that goal will limit rising sea levels from expanding water and melting ice sheets. But it's already too late to prevent it.

(on camera): Scientists say even if some of the best-case forecasts prove accurate, this big, impressive piece of infrastructure still has a limited shelf life. Sea level rise means long before the end of the century, it will have to be replaced by a new, bigger, hugely expensive barrier further downstream.

(voice-over): These ten-year forecasts show what will happen to London if it doesn't have a barrier and the world doesn't act quickly to cut emissions.

By 2100, wide areas of land along the Thames turn blue. Within another 200 years, the river swallows much of central London.

For this advanced, inland city with vast money and resources, managing rising sea levels will be an extraordinary challenge. While around the world, small islands, coastal cities and river delta communities will be making due without those advantages.

Phil Black, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church. WORLD SPORT starts after this short break.

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