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Family to Meet to Discuss Harry and Meghan's Future; Human Rights Watch: Director Denied Entry into Hong Kong; Australian PM's Approval Rating Dips after Crisis Response; U.S. and Australian Firefighters Battle Crisis Together; Academy Award Contenders to be Announced; Protest Spread After Iran Admits Downing Plane; U.S. Forces Describe Surviving Iranian Missile Attack; Philippines Warns Another Eruption Could Come Soon. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired January 13, 2020 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:00]

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: We have an exclusive look at what it was like to be on the receiving end of all of that firepower. Also, in the Philippines, the alert level rises after an explosive volcanic eruption spews ash into the air and sends people scrambling for safety. The video is just spectacular.

And a right royal mess. Harry and Meghan's future will be on the table at a crisis meeting in the wake of the pair's bombshell announcement that they will step back from their royal duties.

Thank you again for joining us this hour. We begin with outrage and calls for justice in Iran. Protests spreading after the government admitted to shooting down the Ukrainian passenger jet last week. Authorities say it was a mistake and they've apologized but thousands of people taking to the streets say that is not enough. They want those responsible brought to justice. Police have responded to the protest with tear gas and a witness says, they have shot into the air to disperse crowds.

U.S. President Trump tweeted his support for the protesters. He also says Iran could be forced to negotiate and warns against a crackdown. Most of the 176 people killed on the plane were from Iran and Canada. And you can see the grief people are experiencing right there. Memorials like this one in Toronto are being held for the victims. CNN's Nic Robertson has more on the protests rocking Iran's government.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Chants of death to the Supreme Leader, angry blowback for the downing of Ukrainian passenger jet gathering momentum in Tehran. Thousands protesting just hours after Iranian officials finally admitted mistakenly shooting it down. I will kill who killed my brother, someone shouts. The vast majority aboard flight PS 752 were Iranian, the best and the brightest. Their death spark igniting tinder-dry middle-class frustrations.

Police tossed tear gas scatter the crowds. The anger quite simply, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei doesn't care about his people. He didn't pull civilian flights while attacking the U.S. basis in Iraq.

The crowd telling him, he no longer has a mandate to lead, anger to the powerful IRGC. Another big slap down for Iran's leadership, protesters avoid walking on American and Israeli flags painted on the ground some years ago by the regime out of disrespect. Iran's leadership now facing growing external as well as internal pressure.

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, PRIME MINISTER, CANADA: Iran's admission that its own Armed Forces unintentionally shut down Flight 752 is an important towards providing answers for families, but I noted that many more steps must be taken.

ROBERTSON: Demands the airplane investigation be international, open, and transparent. President Trump heaping on his pressure too, tweeting "the world is watching the protests. There cannot be another massacre of peaceful protesters" that's happened last year. And in the midst of it all, the British ambassador arrested at the protest, held for several hours. The British Foreign Secretary calling it a flagrant violation of international law.

Fallout over the downed plane now becoming a perfect storm for Iran in the global spotlight with international investigators poking around as domestic protests grow and sanctions increase and Iran's recourse to violence muted by fear of escalation. And still no real diplomatic off-ramp insight. Nic Robertson, CNN, Abu Dhabi, the UAE.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Again, Canada is mourning the 57 Canadian citizens killed in the downing of that airliner. A memorial was held Sunday in Edmonton. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed justice for the victims and offered his condolences to the families.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUDEAU: 176 lives were extinguished in the space of Few minutes last Wednesday morning, but countless more victims all around the world all across Canada will suffer for years to come. While no words can ease the pain, the grief, the outrage, it is my sincere hope that you can find some comfort in knowing that all Canadians stand with you. That is what makes us strong. I am so deeply sorry for your loss. This tragedy should never have occurred.

[01:05:41]

ALLEN: Trita Parsi joins me now from Washington. He the Executive Vice President at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and the author of Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy. Mr. Parsi, thanks for coming on.

TRITA PARSI, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, QUINCY INSTITUTE FOR RESPONSIBLE STATECRAFT: Thank you for having me. Well, let's start in Iran. Demonstrators are calling for the supreme leader to step down, and for those responsible for doubting the plane to be prosecuted. Iran's pushing back somewhat on protesters. But how do you think Khamenei is going to handle this situation and the anger of the Iranian people who are protesting?

PARSI: Well, there hasn't been a huge variation in the manner that the government deals with protesters, particularly those calling for Khamenei to step down for the regime to be replaced. So I fear that unfortunately, there will be quite a lot of islands to use, particularly if these protests grow.

But what is interesting is that these protests seem to be quite different from the ones that we saw two months ago and two years ago. Those were mainly driven by working-class young males 19 to 24-year- olds, poor segments of society. These protests are driven by students, a lot of women are involved, if not in leading positions, tend to be more middle class.

And part of the reason why the government and even have been able to handle this is precisely because these different segments of society have not come together. They're protesting at different times or different issues, but are not joining each other's protests. As long as that remains the case, I suspect that at least in the short term, the government will not feel terribly threatened, the protests will not be terribly potent against them. That can change in the medium and long term, though.

ALLEN: Right. Well, Iran has admitted the mistake, shot the plane down. What does it need to do for these families? We're talking beyond Iran, Ukraine, and Canada. What clarity should it provide about how this happen?

PARSI: They need to provide complete transparency of what happened, why it happened, not only asked for forgiveness, but also make sure that the people responsible are prosecuted appropriately, and depending on how high that goes in the means that everyone should be prosecuted, even if it goes very high up in the Iranian government.

There needs to be a clear sense that this is not just something that they have apologized for, but they are seriously taking measures to rectify to the extent that that is, of course possible. So for instance, when it comes to a lot of these Iranian-Canadians and others to provide all the types of support and information that they're requiring.

There's also a sanctions issue here because some of the people that would need to go to Iran right now may not be able to do so because of sanctions issues or support that is needed or payments that the Iranian government may need to pay to the victims' families. How will those be handled mindful of the fact that all of the sanctions on Iran right now makes it next to impossible to move money out of Europe?

ALLEN: Absolutely. It is such a tragedy, was immense complications. Let's back up to the United States deciding to kill the general from Iran, Soleimani. There are so many unanswered questions about the evidence of imminent attacks against Americans.

The U.S. Defense Secretary Sunday said that he believed like President Trump stated that for U.S. embassies were being targeted by Iran, but he couldn't discuss any intelligence the United States had. He also said on Sunday, he saw no evidence, though, of the imminent attacks himself. The story at the top continues to shift. What do you make of it?

PARSI: Well, the only conclusion that appears to be possible to draw out of this is that there really wasn't any intelligence. And particularly if the argument is that four embassies were potentially targeted, why we're not those four embassies immediately evacuated and informed.

There's nothing that makes sense in this story except for the fact of what Trump told his friends in Mar-a-Lago, which was that he was under pressure from some more hawkish senators and the Republican Party to take some very bold action against Iran in order to enjoy continued support in the Senate from the Republicans against impeachment.

And unfortunately, that seems to be the piece of the puzzle that best explains why the President decided to do this.

[01:10:05]

ALLEN: So I want to ask you, how do U.S. and Iranian government leaders now and direct and open military confrontation for the first time since Iran's Islamic Revolution map a route out of this crisis in the midst of yet another crisis now in Iran?

PARSI: What we need serious de-escalation and I'm not seeing any of that. Yes, they have both back down a little bit, but I would say that this is more likely to be just a small pause in this. As long as the Trump administration continues to pursue economic warfare against Iran, those are his own words, incidentally, then -- and the Iranians pushback against that, then there will be a significant risk for something like this happening again, more likely in the Persian Gulf area in the next six months.

At the same time, if the United States remains in Iraq against the wishes of the Iraqi government, and becomes a target of some of these militias who wanted to take revenge against the United States, not just for Soleimani but perhaps more importantly for some of the Iraqi military men that were killed by the U.S. in some of these recent bombings. That too can spark a conflict between the United States and Iran if the U.S. interprets those attacks to have been guided by the Iranians.

So we're still in a very, very tough situation. All we're seeing is a limited pause. We are not seeing any real, de-escalation. For that to happen, there needs to be real diplomacy. And right now the offices of countries such as Japan, Oman, and Switzerland who in the past have played a helpful role in reducing tensions between the United States and Iran are really needed and will be very positive as both countries realize those in order to be able to avoid another flare-up and a potential war in the next three to six months. ALLEN: We appreciate your insight so much and your expertise. We'll see if that happens. Trita Parsi from Washington, thank you so much.

PARSI: I appreciate it.

ALLEN: Well, the plane was shot down days after the U.S. killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. Mr. Trump has said he believes Soleimani was targeting four U.S. indices. But the President's allies have struggled to back up that claim. Here was Defense Secretary Mark Esper on CNN "STATE OF THE UNION."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Was there specific intelligence the Iranians were plotting to target four U.S. embassies?

MARK ESPER, DEFENSE SECRETARY, UNITED STATES: There was intelligence that they had -- there was an attempt to target the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. What the President said with regard to the four embassies is what I believe as well. He said he believed that they probably -- that they could have been targeting the embassies in the region. I believe that as well as the other national security team members.

TAPPER: Was there specific intelligence that he was plotting to attack four U.S. embassies? Did you see any intelligence like that?

ESPER: I'm not going to discuss intelligence matters here on the show. Let me just say --

TAPPER: The President did though.

ESPER: The president never said there was specific intelligence to four different embassies.

TAPPER: He said he believed it.

ESPER: And I believe it too. What --

TAPPER: Four embassies, you believe that?

ESPER: I believe there were threat to more -- to multiple embassies. That's why we reinforced embassies with additional troops.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Iran retaliated, of course, for Soleimani's death by firing missiles that bases with U.S. troops in Iraq. One of the sights hit was Al-Asad Air Base. CNN was the first network to reach and report from Al-Asad after the attack. Arwa Damon has more on what happened in her exclusive report. A warning, some of the language may be offensive, but it captures some terrifying moments for U.S. troops.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy (BLEEP). God damn. Oh shit, bro. ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: American forces

are not used to being on the receiving end of this kind of firepower. They are usually the ones delivering it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, I was scared at the moment. But it happened. It's something that we weren't ready for. I'm ready as can be.

DAMON: Ready for some sort of ground attack by Iran's proxies, ready for mortars and rockets. But this base is not equipped to defend against ballistic missiles. On any other night, some of the two and a half thousand troops and contractors would have been in the areas hit.

LT. COL. TIM GARLAND, U.S. ARMY: The ballistic missile reporting started to come in a couple of hours before the event. And so at that point, we were -- we were really scrambling on you know how to protect against that. And so it really came down to dispersion, you know, putting space between people and then also getting them into hardened bunkers just to -- just to provide that protection.

DAMON: At 11:00 p.m., those who could started to hunker down in bunkers built by their former enemy.

This is a Saddam Hussein era bunker.

LT. COL. STACI COLEMAN, U.S. ARMY: It is. So we felt we'd be somewhat safe in here because it was designed to take you know, some kind of hit or it was built for you know, ballistic missiles.

[01:15:00]

DAMON: At 1:34 a.m., the first missiles hit.

COLEMAN: And these doors, every time one of the missiles hit, the doors were kind of sinking.

DAMON: Dozens of troops are still out in the open holding their positions to protect the base. There was still the threat of incoming rockets, mortars and a ground assault. Pilots were still at their stations operating drones.

MIKE PRIDGEON, U.S. ARMY: As I want to go across the gravel, I could look up to like the eastern sky and I see this just orange streak, so I start spreading and you know, come and get everybody kind of warning and then it hit. So, yes.

DAMON: Flames swallowed up the drone team's living quarters. Some 30 troops would have been sleeping here had they not been ready. Others rushed around the base as missiles came down looking for anyone who may have been injured, checking on the base's defenses.

Along the base perimeter, young soldiers on their first tour fought the instinct to flee and stayed manning the guard towers.

ERIC KNOWLES, U.S. ARMY: It was definitely scary at first, but we both knew we had a job to do, manning the tower, keeping eyes front. So we had to do that more than anything, focused on that, and try not to focus on everything behind us.

DAMON: When one strike hit too close, they bolted into the back of a truck and held their position there. It was a night unlike any here had experienced, hunker down for about two hours, unable to fight back. Some cramped into bunkers that weren't built to withstand missiles like these.

These kinds of small bunkers exists throughout the base, but they're meant to protect against rockets and mortars. The ballistic missiles that were fired are about 3,000 times more powerful than that. The blast from this one knocked over a four-ton T-wall. But if that hadn't happened, those who were sheltering here probably would not have survived.

Come daybreak, fear of finding out who was killed or wounded was eclipsed by the joys shock that no one was.

COLEMAN: It's like, what are those reunions like when you kind of see someone who you're close to and you realize that you're both OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a warm feeling deep in the heart that all your friends.

DANE KVASAGER, U.S. ARMY: It just felt like forever since I've seen my guys. And you know, there's a lot of hugging and a lot of tears and a lot of -- it's just -- it's just a great feeling knowing that all your people are OK.

DAMON: And this is where you used to --

KVASAGER: Yes, this is my room. A little bit more open floor plan now, but yes, my bunk was right in the corner right there and this my neighbor up here. Everything is obviously gone. I'm just happy no one was inside, you know.

DAMON: It's kind of freaky looking at it like this, isn't it?

KVASAGER: It's surreal. I'm not bothered looking at it. It's just, you know, a reminder that threat still exists.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, you know, we have each other. We had each other that night. And this a brotherhood that will never break because of it.

DAMON: Does it change your perspective on life?

COLEMAN: It does. It does. It could -- you know, it could be over in a, you know, in an instant. It really does. And it really makes me value mostly my team.

DAMON: The base is still on high alert. The dining facility is open but people eat elsewhere to avoid a large crowd gathering. The military says they are ready for what may come next. Iran's proxies on the ground continue to buy revenge. Even for those who have seen war before, this was unlike any other battlefield experience, the overwhelming feeling of helplessness that comes with being under ballistic missile attack, to be at the mercy of the enemy, one that could strike again, even if it's not like this. Arwa Damon, CNN Al- Asad Air Base, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Next here on CNN NEWSROOM, ash rains down in the Philippines after a powerful eruption from the Taal Volcano near the capital, and now many people there are on heightened alert. We've got extraordinary pictures to show you about that.

And the royal family set to hold a crisis summit -- when has that happened recently -- to figure out the next step for Prince Harry and his wife Meghan after their shock announcement last week. Much more ahead here. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

[01:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: Hi, I'm Don Riddell with your CNN World Sport Headline. Saudi Arabia is rapidly becoming a destination for big sports events. And this week, they've been hosting the best teams from Spain's La Liga for the Spanish Super Cup. That's how we got to Madrid Darby on Sunday some 3,000 miles away from home.

It went to a penalty shootout, where Thibaut Courtois made a horrific save and Captain Sergio Ramos settled it leaving Real to a 4-1 win over Atletico. For managers (INAUDIBLE), it was his ninth win in nine finals.

In the Premier League, it kind of feels like everybody apart from Liverpool is playing for second place. But the defending champions Manchester City are doing what they can. On Sunday, City went to Aston Villa and put on a goalscoring clinic, 6-1 the final score. Sergio Aguero scored his 12th hat trick. That's a premier league record. He's now the leading international scorer in Premier League history as well.

And Serena Williams has won a WTA title for the first time in nearly three years and it's the first since the birth of her daughter Olympia. The 38-year-old had lost five finals over the last 36 months but beat the American Jessica Pegula in the final of the ASP classic in Auckland, New Zealand. Serena will try for a record-equaling 24th major title this month, the Australian Open. That is a quick look at your sports headlines. I'm Don Riddell.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: The Philippines is on high alert as authorities warn another eruption from the Taal Volcano could be imminent. Take a look at this time-lapse video from Sunday's eruption. Steam and ash spewing some nine miles high. That's high. The Manila airport grounded flights and evacuations are underway in nearby towns.

Hours after the eruption, this powerful lightning strike was captured shooting through the night sky generated by the intense energy of the volcano. Look at that. And look at this. Despite the dangers, one couple held their wedding not far from the volcano as ash fell around them. They just decided, let's get on with it. My goodness, what a picture for the ages.

Let's go now to CNN Blake Essig. He joins me now from Hong Kong. These pictures are just incredible. But what are they talking about now? What's the latest?

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they are, Natalie. The Philippines is bracing for a massive volcanic eruption from one of the smallest volcanoes in the world. This particular volcano, Taal Volcano is situated in the middle of a lake, roughly 60 kilometers, 37 miles south of Manila.

Now, take a look at these dramatic images that we have of this volcano, those images that we just showed you. The ash cloud shot up roughly 15 kilometers, nine miles up into the sky stretching all the way over to the outskirts of Manila. So far, roughly 16,000 people have already entered evacuation shelters, with thousands more ordered to evacuate.

Now, earlier -- excuse me, so far, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has raised the alert level to a four out of five. And what that means is that hazardous eruption is imminent. Now that could mean days, it could mean hours.

Now, a volcanologist we talked to earlier today said that this particular volcano, despite its small stature, is one of the deadliest and dangerous volcanoes in the world. And that is becoming its proximity to roughly 25 million people in that Manila area. Now, at this point, it's the ash in the -- in the sky that's falling down that poses the biggest problems.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIK KLEMETTI, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF GEOSCIENCES, DENISON UNIVERSITY: It can contaminate water supplies because it's fine pieces of glass. If you breathe it in, that's going to be a hazard because you don't want to be breathing in shards of glass. And importantly, it's going to be a hazard for airplanes. If the engines ingest them, they can shut down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ESSIG: And regarding that ash, there are other potential issues. Ash, in general, is heavier than snow. So any accumulation on potentially rooftops has the potential to collapse those rooftops also. Now, I talked earlier about the fact that this volcano sits in the middle of a lake. So during a big eruption, any water displacement has the potential to trigger a massive tsunami.

And again, a lot of those people in those nearby communities have been evacuated, Natalie. Again, we talked about the ash in the air and the airport, the Manila International Airport grounding planes. At this point, the Manila International Airport is partially open. So if you do have a flight going in or out, it's a good idea to check on that flight status.

ALLEN: Absolutely. And we're so glad that people have been evacuated because there's a lot of vulnerable people there in the region. Blake Essig for us in Hong Kong, thank you, Blake. Let's go now to our meteorologist Pedra Javaheri. I don't know what -- which part of this story is magnificent. You've got that story with the ash and the rain, but that lightning, Pedram, is just spectacular to look at.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you know, it has been such an incredible scene there. And of course, when you -- Natalie, when you look at the population density talking about 25 million people, the impacts from that alone across this particular region are certainly going to be impactful over the next several weeks to several months, potentially.

But let's show you how things are playing out. We know the winds in the upper level of the atmosphere at this point, west to east and certainly in north of this region is where the winds are the highest. This is an area where the aviation industry would look at very carefully to avoid any sort of activity within the next, of course, several days to several months potentially when it comes to the impacts of this particular eruption and how much of a long-lasting scenario this is going to play out.

But you kind of see the images in succession. About 2:30 in the afternoon on Sunday, we see this eruption take place, history of significant eruptions. You see some of these incredible images come out of this region as well. But when an area is home to about 25 million people, you have an eruption with one of one of the world's most active small volcanoes and it's situated as noted there on top of the lake certainly creates what is known as flash steam.

So you take the boulders, you take -- you take those rocks, you put them directly on top of the water across this region creates flash steam. Michael, if we can kind of take this back to the top of the graphics to show you the animation of what is happening here. That's really the most dangerous scenario playing out of all this because we know -- Natalie, there's rainfall in the forecast, at least inside the next 12 hours, you mix that in with ash. That's a problem. The level being alerted to a four also remains a problem across this region.

And it doesn't look like we have the elements here kind of show you the breakdown. Well, here it is. The satellite imagery kind of shows the eruption plume. There goes. It traveled 110 kilometers or about 70 miles north of its original point which sits there, of course, south of Manila. You see some of the images from an aircraft.

But look at this. See as the eruption column and the temperatures of these boulders, these rocks and also the magma itself as high as 1,100 degrees Celsius. If you put that into any sort of body of water, regardless of the water's temperature, that instantly creates -- it creates what is known as flash steam.

And that's what creates this massive eruption, of course, of rejecting all of this debris away from the center. And all that ash, of course, could end up many, many kilometers downstream. And you see what the folks here are doing taking kind of some of the initial images once the eruption took place.

So we're going to watch this very carefully. The level of alertness still sitting there at among the highest. The lava dome is still growling at this hour, Natalie. So we'll watch this for further updates here from the authorities in the Philippines.

ALLEN: All right, Pedram, thanks very much.

JAVAHERI: Thank you.

[01:30:00]

ALLEN: Well, Britain's royal family will meet to map out the future, working out next steps for Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan. That happens on Monday. More about that in a moment.

Also, the Australian prime minister's approval rating got burned after his botched handling of the bush fires ravaging the country. We'll have a live report.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: Welcome back to NEWSROOM.

The royal family will be meeting Monday to discuss the future of Prince Harry and his wife after their surprise announcement last week. Meanwhile, the U.K.'s "Sunday Times" is reporting that Britain's Prince William is sad about the rift with his brother Harry.

CNN's Anna Stewart has more about it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Queen's Sandringham Estate, a much loved country retreat and the royal family's Christmas getaway. Monday it will host a different sort of get together -- crisis talk to decide the future role of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Attending will be Her Majesty, Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry. It will be the first time senior royals have seen each other face to face since the Sussexes shock statement on Wednesday.

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, returned to Canada, but is expected to dial in to the meeting. The announcement came in defiance of Queen but expressly asked Prince Harry to hold off making any statements.

[01:34:56]

STEWART: A terse response from Buckingham Palace appeared to express her displeasure.

"Discussions with the Duke and the Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage. We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through."

Officials acting for the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William were instructed to work together at haste to find workable solutions for the future role of the Sussexes.

A range of potential options are to be discussed Monday, any of which will take time to implement. On the negotiating table are expected to be income, properties, security, and even titles.

Defining their future role will likely involve a compromise on both sides. For the queen and her heirs it's crucial they reach a solution that is workable not just for Prince Harry and Meghan but other royals who slip down the line of succession -- Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward and one day Princess Charlotte and Prince Louie, too. A transformative chapter in royal history worthy of a future blockbuster episode of "The Crown".

Anna Stewart, CNN -- London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Amnesty group Human Rights Watch says their executive director has been denied entry into Hong Kong. Kenneth Roth arrived there Sunday but says immigration officials gave no reason for keeping him out. He had been hoping to release a report that included China's human rights record while there.

For more on the story, let's turn to CNN's Kristie Lu Stout who is joining us from Hong Kong. What's up with this one -- Kristie?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, Kenneth Roth, the global head of Human Rights Watch, he attempted to fly here to Hong Kong for a press conference on Human Rights in China. He arrived but says that he was denied entry and then turned back at Hong Kong International Airport for immigration reasons.

Kenneth Roth, we know ,is an American. He's a U.S. citizen. He has visited Hong Kong before a number of times in the past. And after he was denied entry here, Roth immediately took to Twitter he went straight to Twitter to share his account of what happened.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNETH ROTH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: Sadly, as I arrived here, the Chinese government decided it didn't want to let me in. So even though I have been able to enter Hong Kong freely before, this time for the first time they blocked me.

This episode is just the latest evidence that the Chinese government is doing everything it can to undermine the enforcement of international human rights standards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: For an explanation, we've been reaching out to the Hong Kong government. And the immigration department it did returns its message saying it doesn't comment on "individual cases", unquote. In a tweet Kenneth Roth called his denial of entry another disturbing

crack in the rights of one country-two systems. Now, one country-two systems is the governing principle by which Hong Kong has been governed since the handover in 1997. This is the model that many oppositions figures here in Hong Kong see as broken as the government refuses to answer demands for better democracy.

As you know, for more than seven months, almost eight months this massive and often violent pro-democracy and anti-government protests have been rocking the territory.

And in Taiwan, the newly reelected President Tsai Ing-wen, we know that she denounced one country-two system as a potential model for any unification with China.

In recent months, Hong Kong has barred several individuals including a number of Americans -- an American photographer, as well as an American scholar. Both have addressed the protests in Hong Kong. Both have criticized Beijing.

The Chinese government has blamed the west for interfering in Hong Kong. The Human Rights Watch was scheduled to release this global status report on human rights this week in Hong Kong. The Foreign Correspondents Club's president on Twitter says this is just another example of an attempt to block freedoms that are granted in Hong Kong.

Denied entry here in the city, Human Rights Watch will now launch the report at the United Nations in New York. We have a copy of the report but it's on embargo so we can't give the details just yet. It's 335 pages long. And the group says that the lead report highlights quote, "the Chinese governments intensifying assault on the international human rights system" -- Natalie.

ALLEN: All right. We'll wait for the release of that report. Kristie Lu Stout -- thanks so much, Kristie.

American firefighters are stepping up to help tackle Australia's massive bush fires. But the fight is much bigger than they thought.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Have you ever seen anything at this magnitude?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. We have large fires, of course, in the United States and all over the world. But this is just unprecedented.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: We will have more on their mission live from Australia with our Will Ripley in just a moment.

[01:39:41]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: Welcome back.

The Australian prime minister's approval rating has taken a major hit as his government struggles with the bush fire crisis. A new poll found Scott Morrison's approval rating dropped eight points. Australians are upset over his interactions with fire-ravaged communities and his inaction on climate change and what's going on as he continues to tout the importance of coal in his country.

CNN correspondent Will Ripley is live in Nowra, Australia with the latest on the fires. And of course, the most amazing video I think I've seen in the adorable and sweetness category. Dropping carrots to the animals below. My goodness.

RIPLEY: So let's start with the good news right because obviously we know that these fires have been just awful for some of the world's most endangered species, critically-endangered species like the rock wallaby, which saw all of its diet burned up because it feeds on the vegetation on the ground. And right now, much of the ground in these areas is just pure black ash.

So what the government has done is they've been allocating millions of dollars for relief organizations to fly overhead, drop down carrots and sweet potatoes to feed these animals hoping that the rain in the forecast in the coming days will help to kind of retrigger the vegetation growth and not result in these animals becoming dependent on humans for their survival. Of course, that would not be a good thing either.

Let's talk about the efforts to contain these fires. The firefighting has now shifted. And this is a good thing. It shifted from defensive mode, trying to protect communities like the one where we are now to offensive mode, trying to actually reduce the size of these fires, build containment lines and keep the fires from spreading when temperatures inevitably climb and, you know, sparks inevitably happen.

There is still well over a month left of Australia's fire season. And working alongside the Australians here are Americans who say they are being greeted like heroes.

[01:44:54]

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RIPLEY: Hovering over Australia's hellish inferno, this American Angel -- a 52-year-old heavy lift helicopter nicknamed Georgia Peach, built in 1967 for the Vietnam War.

Today it battles bush fires dousing them with enough water to fill three large swimming pools every hour. But in New South Wales, Australia's hardest hit state, these helicopters sit idle giving American firefighters who came here to help a rare day off.

Today's weather is not allowing you to fly. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

JAY KARLE, COLORADO FIREFIGHTER: It's a good thing. RIPLEY: Why.

KARLE: Well, we can't ever compete with Mother Nature.

RIPLEY: Colorado firefighter Jay Karle says rain, lower 4temperatures, and higher humidity, are slowing the fires' progress.

KARLE: What this will do is that it will kind of put the fire in a sort of a comatose state for a few days.

RIPLEY: Nature can do more for the fire right now than we can.

KARLE: Than we can. Yes.

RIPLEY: He knows that break may be short-lived. Recent rains barely made a dent in Australia's historic drought. Just a few days of extreme heat could be catastrophic, reigniting a burn area the size of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island combined.

Is there any way to have enough resources to fight a fire this big.

MARK WILLIAMS, NSW RURAL FIRE SERVICE: Not of this magnitude and not of this intensity.

RIPLEY: For the first time, Superintendent Mark Williams takes us inside Nowra's fire control center. We see Australians and Americans working together. The two nations have agreed to share fire resources.

WILLIAMS: I've been to the United States and Canada on numerous occasions and firefighting so it's great to have that reciprocal effort now coming back in to assist us in our times of need.

RIPLEY: More than 150 fire specialists from two dozen U.S. states are in Australia, some traveling more than 16 hours. These Americans got a heroes' welcome when they landed in Sydney last week. Even the city's iconic Opera House lit up its sails for all the firefighters risking their lives.

BART KICKLIGHTER, FOREST FIRE CHIEF, COLOMBIA RIVER GORGE NATIONAL SCENIC AREA: I felt really good, was very proud to be able to come over her and help.

RIPLEY: Bart Kicklighter from Oregon says the two nations are sharing manpower and brainpower at a critical time.

Have you ever seen anything of this magnitude?

KICKLIGHTER: No. We have large fires of course in the United States and all over the world, but this is just unprecedented.

RIPLEY: He'd never seen a fire so fast, so big, so hot -- an ominous sign of what could lie ahead, not just for Australia, but the U.S. and the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE) RIPLEY: Scientists pretty much agree that the one factor that these fires have in common, these increasingly intense fires is climate change and what fuels climate change in large part? Fossil fuels.

And yet on the drive to this location, Natalie -- guess what we saw? A train passing by just piled with coal. Australia is the world's leading coal exporter and it is going to be hard to see how this country weans itself off what environmental activists call an addiction to coal, an addiction that they say will only cause this environmental situation and the fire situation to get worse.

ALLEN: It is a paradigm shift that needs to happen for sure.

All right. Will Ripley -- thanks so much for your reporting.

We'll take a quick break. More news after this.

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["CNN SPORT NOW"]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In your own time gentlemen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Must be company (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a brother in the second battalion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're walking into a trap.

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ALLEN: That right there -- the World War One epic "1917". It marched into the number one spot this weekend, at the U.S. box office, and fresh off its win at the Golden Globes. Expectations are that it will also do well at the Oscars.

We'll soon find out how many nods it and other movies received with the nomination announcement just hours away.

Journalist Sandro Monetti is with us from Los Angeles. He is editor in chief of "Hollywood International Filmmaker" magazine.

All right. Sandro -- let's start with the big films this year. What are the favorites and what do you hope to see rack up the most nominations?

SANDRO MONETTI, EDITOR IN CHIEF, "HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL FILMMAKER": Well, I think there are three leading contenders for the most nominations. "1917", the World War One drama, is the film with all the momentum going into the nominations. It was the last major release to come out and talk about saving the best for last, to me it is the favorite here. I can see it getting 10 or 11 nominations.

I can definitely see Quentin Tarentino's film "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood", potentially leading the pack with 11, maybe 12 nominations.

Also very much in the race, the early front runner, never a good place to be as Oscar history has shown us "The Irishman" which is Netflix's hope its first Best Picture Oscar. But that's kind of lost a bit of momentum in recent weeks.

Could it be the first film since "Turning Point" and "The Color Purple" to get 11 nominations and zero winds? I can see it getting a lot of nominations, but it is losing track. So it is going to be very interesting to see what tops the field.

Could it perhaps be "Joker", which led the pack at BAFTA --

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MONETTI: -- nominations last week. We will find out early on Monday morning.

ALLEN: Well, there are a lot of previous Oscar winners in the mix for acting nominations -- Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Charlize Theron, Renee Zellweger. Are you expecting to see a lot of old favorites or some newer names among the nominees?

MONETTI: Yes, I'm expecting to see a lot of old favorites especially in the Best Actor category, where there are some real industry heavyweights there. But it will be interesting to see if a couple of industry favorites mainly known for comedy films, are able to break in. Eddie Murphy, for "Dolomite is My Name", Adam Sandler for "Uncut Gems" getting a lot of buzz as well.

But DiCaprio and De Niro look like locks. So to does Joaquin Phoenix slight frontrunner for "Joker".

And on the actress side it's Renee Zellweger's to lose. At the moment she seems untouchable, but who will the rest of the nominees be? We'll find out. I've got Oscar fever. It's so exciting.

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ALLEN: Oh, my, goodness we are in the season, aren't we.

Britain's BAFTA though nominations were announced last week and they were roundly criticized for nominating all white actors and all male directors. Are we likely to see any more diversity at the Oscars this year?

MONETTI: That is a huge disappointment, by the way, especially as BAFTA has been very much a leader in encouraging more diversity in all its programs and film education classes. But it did not translate to the membership.

And we have had the Oscar so White controversy, now the academy has moved to address that. They have promised to double the number of minority and female members by 2020. And they have hugely increased the membership and the voting membership to now approximately 9,000.

So whether this will be reflected in more people of color getting nominations, let's hope so. There are certainly many deserving candidates in there. The makeup of the academy vote basically used to be old white guys. Now it is 32 percent female, it's 16 percent minority and by changing the numbers will they change the game?

It's going to be one of the most fascinating things to watch when the envelopes are open.

ALLEN: All right. And I also want to ask you, there was a big controversy last year when the academy proposing quickly dropped an idea for a new popular film category. Are this year's most popular films that might have been nominated in that category like "Avengers Endgame" or "Star Wars" going to get any love in the mainstream categories?

MONETTI: Absolutely not. So yes, that's been -- it's a good point, though, because there has been a big disconnect between what audiences are seeing at movie theaters and what, you know, is being awarded by the Oscar voters.

You know, there has sometimes been a situation, I can think of examples like "Titanic" and "Lord of the Rings, Return of the King" when that has changed. But more often than not it is the critics and the industry favorites which tend to get rewarded with Oscar votes. And I expect we will look for more of the same in the morning.

ALLEN: Blockbusters at the box office does not mean always an Oscar.

All right we will talk with you again once they are out. Sandro -- thank you so much. Sandro Monetti.

MONETTI: Thank you.

ALLEN: I'm signing off. I nominate Rosemary Church to continue our news next.

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