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Solomon Islands Unrest, Protesters Return to Streets for Third Straight Day; European Nations Enact Measures to Fight Covid Surge; Britain & France Vow Greater Cooperation but Point Fingers; Growing Concern over Taiwan's Fate Amid Chinese Aggression; Ukraine Tells Russia an Attack Would Be Too Costly; CITGO SIX Held on Trumped-Up Charges; Poor Air Quality in Tehran and New Delhi; Greenland's Wonder Rock Could Be Climate Gamechanger. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired November 26, 2021 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[01:00:25]
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us all around the world. I appreciate your company. I'm Michael Holmes. And this is CNN Newsroom.
Coming up on the program, market sinking this hour amid fears of a new coronavirus variant. Why it's causing so much concern and what experts are saying about how the strain stands up against vaccines.
Plus, the latest on the situation in the Solomon Islands, police are begging for calm, but protesters are breaking lockdown to make their voices heard. We'll speak with someone on the ground. And why melting glaciers could actually lead to something good for mother earth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: We begin in the Solomon Islands where anti-government protesters are back on the street for a third straight day. I want to show you a part of the Capitol look like after burning and looting earlier this week. Police say the latest protests were held outside the Prime Minister's residence. A top police official now urging protesters to in his words, make the right choice and refrain from violence.
In Australia, dozens of police and troops are getting ready to deploy to the Solomon Islands to help get the violence under control.
For more on what's happening on the ground, I'm joined now by Jone Tuiipelehaki, a development consultant in the capital, Honiara.
Great to have you on. Late afternoon where you are, what is the situation on the ground right now? And how has it been during the day?
JONE TUIIPELEHAKI, DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT: Thank you, Michael. So, this morning, the 36-hour lockdown that was instituted by government finished at 7 a.m. this morning. And even during the lockdown period, we saw people still looting and breaking into different shopping centers and different shops around the eastern side of Honiara. But also, some in Chinatown especially received the full brunt of the violent protesters because they burned down a lot of the shops in that area.
HOLMES: How much of what's been happening in terms of the damage and the looting that we're seeing on the screen now has been opportunistic or criminal as opposed to related to genuine protests?
TUIIPELEHAKI: I think at this stage, it's also difficult for us to differentiate between the two. But I think definitely, there's a lot of young people who are involved in looting and breaking into shops. This morning, we saw like a group of young men and women, young people who were also waiting to break into a shop, like a meet in an alcohol shop. A few minutes later, we saw them coming out with their goods and just running for cup. And even as we're talking right now, I can see people carrying bags of rice and cans of -- and cartons of tinned fish. (Inaudible). Yeah.
HOLMES: Yeah. Some of the issues that protesters have raised, you mentioned Chinatown. Some of those issues concern at China's role and influence in the country. Give us a sense of how big a role that is, and how great is that influence?
TUIIPELEHAKI: I don't -- I won't be able to speak on the influence that China has. But according to the protesters, there's a lot of the -- there's a whole range of issues that actually started this whole situation. So -- and one of them is linked to the Chinese, according to them, the Chinese influence, and so I think it's easy for them to just target shop owners, will have --
HOLMES: Yeah, yeah, I understand. Yeah, I think you're still there. I was going to say that the protesters have demanded that the Prime Minister step down. Is there any indication he would entertain that? Are you still there?
TUIIPELEHAKI: Yes. But based on -can you hear me?
HOLMES: Yes, carry on. The Prime Minister, what's been his attitude so far?
TUIIPELEHAKI: So, he's released a statement yesterday through the state broadcaster, Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation and saying how he does not -- he feels that it is the right decision for him not considering that he can only be remove as Prime Minister within parliament. In addition to that he also -- he also argues that it actually set a very dangerous precedent if he bows down to what the rioters wanting to do which is the resign.
[01:05:03]
HOLMES: Jone Tuiipelehaki, great to have your voice there on the ground to give us a sense of what's going on. I really appreciate you joining us. Thank you.
TUIIPELEHAKI: No problem.
HOLMES: Concern growing over a new coronavirus variant discovered in South Africa that researchers fear can evade immunity and might be more transmissible. Now as you can see news of the various hitting Asian markets and U.S. futures high. The Nikkei down two and a half percent, Hang Seng nearly two and a half percent. The Dow one and a quarter percent down at the moment in Futures.
Now, this is also prompted the U.K. to suspend flights from six African countries, adding them to its travel red list. The British Health Secretary explaining why the government feels the measures are necessary.
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SAJID JAVID, BRITISH HEALTH SECRETARY: That the early indications we have of this variant is that it may be more transmissible than the Delta variant and the vaccines that we currently have maybe less effective against it.
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HOLMES: Meanwhile, European nations are implementing new measures to fight soaring COVID infections. For the third day in a row Germany has record new case levels, the country reporting more than 76,000 new infections over the past 24 hours.
Slovakia is joining Austria in lockdown as cases there begin to soar. It's expected to continue until December nine and a state of emergency will continue for 90 days.
Portuguese officials reinstating several restrictions beginning December 1 such as mandatory indoor face masks and a negative COVID test upon arrival in the country.
Meanwhile, France says it will strengthen current COVID measures as opposed to going into lockdown or adding curfews. Those measures include expanding the booster campaign, mask wearing and stepping up health pass requirements.
All right, let's turn now to Dr. Eric Topol. He is a cardiologist and Director of Scripps Research Translational Institute. He is joining me now from La Jolla in California. Good to see you, Doctor. So, first of all, what do you make of this new variant spreading in Africa? I mean, the speed of the spread seems to be terrifying, why faster? How worrying?
DR. ERIC TOPOL, CARDIOLOGIST: Right, Michael, good to be with you. It is concerning. It's the first variant we've seen since Delta, which raises such concern. As already mentioned, there's a lot of different mutations in the sequence, and the rapidity that it's spreading in a province in South Africa, as well as Botswana is concerning. We don't know yet whether that's due to the low vaccination rates there or whether it's actually due to this variant, which is incriminated, which tomorrow will be an emergency meeting at the WHO, and will be given a Greek letter, likely new, the next letter available for these variants. And so, it's a little early, but we haven't seen a variant take off this quickly, in a zone of the world, which is pure Delta.
HOLMES: How best to blunt the spread, or does experience tell us that is going to be impossible?
TOPOL: Well, we do know the things like masking distancing, and all the things that we had in the beginning that pandemics still are effective. The big question now is, will our immune response from vaccines or prior infections be blunted by its variant. If it proves to be one, that interferes with our immune response, that isn't clear yet. Those are the lab studies that have to be done in the days ahead. And so, we're grateful to the South African scientists who are on this. But the main thing here is we have ways to defend against it, against all variants. But we don't know yet whether it's going to really challenge our vaccines, which have already had the issue of the waning, which is when you got to the European situation where there's a lack of vaccinations plus the waning at six months and beyond.
HOLMES: Yeah, how likely is that given the spread we're seeing around the world, Africa, notably as well that a variant even if not this one, will emerge that defeats the vaccines?
TOPOL: Critical point you're bringing up, Michael. Because if we don't contain the virus around the world, we will eventually see a variant that's worse than Delta. That's very likely. It could be this one. And as you say, if it isn't this one in the months ahead, we may see something that really does compete with Delta to become dominant like this one has throughout the world.
HOLMES: You know, when we think about this variant in South Africa, I mean, it's worth pointing out the numbers overall are up in Africa as well, and it's interesting, only a quarter of health workers on that continent have been vaccinated. With alone the general population and that's versus 80% of health workers in high income countries. It brings me to this, how concerned are you that the global
distribution of vaccines, COVAX, hasn't been fast enough or in great enough volume? And what are the potential impacts of that?
[01:10:17]
TOPOL: Yeah, it's actually striking that there's been almost 8 billion doses of vaccines given in the world. But unfortunately, in the continent of Africa, in particular, the deficiency is flagrant. So, we have to do much better. COVAX distribution in Africa and lower and middle income countries has to be improved and all the countries that can need to need to get on this because if this is what's going on now, with this new variant, this, you know, B11 variant that is, came as a curveball, it wasn't like a Delta plus. This is something that really surprises, and it's happened fast. That's what we have to be prepared for.
HOLMES: Back to the numbers in Europe, continuing to soar I mean lockdowns being reintroduced in a couple of countries, the E.U. is set to recommend a nine-month expiring on vaccines for travel purposes, what can be done there to combat those surges?
TOPOL: Well, the good news, though, is that the countries that have really high vaccination rates, you know, pushing 75, 80 or 85%, for their total population, they're not seeing much in the way of hospitalizations and deaths increase. It's the spread of infections, for sure. It's the countries like Slovakia and Czechoslovakia, to a lesser extent, but true Austria, these countries are having a problem because their vaccination rates are much lower. And that's where we're seeing lots of hospitalizations and fatality.
HOLMES: Yeah, indeed. Dr. Eric Topol, really appreciate your expertise on this. Keep an eye on the doctor's Twitter is always up to date on these developments. I appreciate it. Thank you.
TOPOL: Thank you, Michael.
HOLMES: South Korea's health minister warns that his country is facing its biggest challenge in the battle against COVID-19 after reporting a record number of patients in critical condition. ICU beds have been pushed to capacity in the greater Seoul area as the virus spreads among the elderly. Now there are growing concerns over an outbreak south of the Capitol believed to be linked to a religious commune. CNN's Paula Hancocks reports.
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PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An easing of COVID-19 restrictions here in South Korea means that we have seen a record number of new cases this week. Not really a surprise for officials, though, as they did bring in their policy of living with COVID from November 1. But what is concerning officials is the fact that there's a record number of critical cases, their health officials say many of them are over the age of 60, they would have been vaccinated early on in the process. And so that efficacy is now waning. They're hoping to give a booster shot to everyone over the age of 60. And what we're also hearing from the Prime Minister is that he believes the situation in the greatest Seoul area is urgent, suggesting that some of those ease restrictions might actually be walked back. There is also a concern about the lack of ICU beds in Seoul trying to secure more that can accommodate COVID patients.
One cluster of concern today is very similar to what we saw 21 months ago at the start of the pandemic, and that is an outbreak at a religious group.
Now, this particular one is a religious community here in Cheonan, and it's about two and a half hours drive size of the Capitol. And city officials tell us that some 427 members are within this community that they worship together, that they -- many of them have communal living, and more than half of them have so far tested positive, results are still coming in as well.
An officials say that of those that tested positive more than 90% were not vaccinated that they could not tell us why that was such a high level we've been unable to get hold of anybody from the church itself. It's not reflective though in the nationwide vaccination figures. Close to 80% of people here in South Korea have actually been vaccinated. There is a hope among city officials that because this community kept themselves to themselves for the most part, that there won't be a larger outbreak in the community, but outbreaks at religious groups have been a recurring concern during this pandemic here in South Korea. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Cheonan South Korea.
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HOLMES: Pledges of cooperation and exchanges of blame after dozens of migrants drowned. Coming up, we'll hear from leaders on both sides of the channel and get the latest on the investigation. We'll be right back.
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HOLMES: We are monitoring an alarming situation in the Mediterranean. A boat carrying some 430 migrants is apparently in distress and "disintegrating." Now that's according to the activist network alarm phone, which says people on board, the vessels are already reporting fatalities. Although how many and how they were caused is unclear. The Tunisian Navy is reportedly on route to assist. We'll keep you updated on all of that.
This coming, of course, just a day after dozens of migrants were killed when their boat capsized on route to the U.K. The British prime minister has sent a plan to the French president aimed at preventing such tragedies. Boris Johnson calling for more patrols and better technology. He's also asking France to take back migrants who crossed the channel in order to reduce their incentive for doing so.
The President Emmanuel Macron suggested that France has already done plenty and more help is needed from mainland Europe to keep migrants from reaching France.
Meanwhile, a vigil was held in Calais in France for the 27 victims who drowned in the bitterly cold waters of the English Channel. CNN's Nic Robertson reports on the pledges of cooperation and the trading of blame.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (through translation): A tragedy yet predictable, so many dead so quickly. The rescue in the frigid waters rapidly becoming a recovery mission.
CHARLES DEVOS, RESCUE OPERATION VOLUNTEER: We were on patrol, so we recovered six buddies adrift. The rest was unfortunately like fighting a losing battle.
ROBERTSON: In the immediate aftermath, finger pointing across the channel. France blaming the U.K. for not helping them enough.
GERALD DARMANIN, FRENCH INTERIOR MINISTER (through translation): The response should also come from Great Britain, the resources that Britain gives to France, but which remain minimal compared to the resources that we put in. BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Our offer is to increase support but also to work together with our partners on the beaches concerned, on the landing, the launching grants for these boats, and that's something I hope that will be acceptable now, in view of what has happened.
ROBERTSON: At home Johnson's conservatives taking heat for failing to deliver on promises to curb illegal migration.
PRITI PATEL, BRITISH HOME SECRETARY: What's happened yesterday was a dreadful shock. It was not a surprise.
ROBERTSON: The local lawmaker where many migrants come ashore in the U.K., adamant this isn't her party's fault.
(On camera) Why has it taken the government so long to reach this point realizing that his policy hasn't worked?
NATALIE ELPHICKE, BRITISH MP FOR DOVER: The situation that we have is that we have criminal activity where the French are standing by where people are getting into boats and they're not stopping them.
ROBERTSON: The French say they're doing all they can. Reality is the migrant issue is nothing new. I was here in Dover the closest port to France 21 years ago when 58 Chinese migrants were found dead in the back of a truck in the port. What has changed since then with tighter port controls is the way that migrants are coming, risking their lives in flimsy things is across a dangerous sea.
[01:20:23]
(Voice-over) In recent weeks, migrant crossings to the U.K. have spiked around 1000 migrants crossed in a single day, earlier this month, unusual for the time of year, unclear why, possibly calmer seas. More than 25,000 people have crossed the channel in small boats so far this year, three times the total in 2020.
France and the U.K. saying they've prevented some 19,000 crossings already this year. How to combat the criminal gangs behind the smuggling, bedeviling authorities both sides of the channel. This tragedy, despite cross channel bitterness, perhaps galvanizing change.
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translation): We are holding this border for the U.K.
ROBERTSON: Macron and Johnson vowing to work together to break the smuggling networks beyond both their borders.
MACRON (through translation): We need to work as partners, and we need to reinforce the cooperation with Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, but also Great Britain.
ROBERTSON: Away from the high level wrangling the human face of the tragedy emerging. Most of the 27 victims were rocky, according to the Calais Port Director, among the dead, a pregnant woman. According to volunteers who helped in the rescue operation. Not the first time and likely not the last migrants desperate to reach the U.K. will be mourned. Nic Robertson, CNN, Dover, England.
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HOLMES: ALL right, let's take a closer look at what's going on, on the ground now. Our Cyril Vanier shows us a key launch point for migrants making the treacherous trek to the U.K. But first we go to CNN's Arwa Damon, who looks at why some of the migrants killed on Wednesday appear to have fled Iraqi Kurdistan.
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ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This was in the past known as the other Iraq that is what it was being promoted as because it was safe, business was booming, economic opportunities were widespread, it is extremely oil rich, and investments were just pouring in. But then since around 2013, that all really began to change. And right now, life has pretty much come to a standstill, the population there has lost hope. It has lost hope and its own government, which is fraught with rampant accusations of corruption, it has lost hope in the various different parties that rule this region of Iraq, it has lost hope and being able to build a future.
And you also have to realize that COVID also had a significant impact on the economy, not just of Iraqi Kurdistan, but of all of Iraq, especially because it is so reliant on oil revenue, which pretty much froze up with the onset of COVID. And the country hasn't really been able to recover. So, the vast majority of Iraqi Kurds are in fact fleeing mostly for economic reasons. But when we talk about economic reasons, that can seem like a bit of cold terminology. So, what does that actually mean? It means that families are struggling to put food on the table. They're struggling to pay rent. Parents are struggling to raise their children and it is human nature, to want to build a better life for yourself, to want to build a life for yourself and for your children. Where there is joy, happiness, and a life that has dignity.
And sadly, many of those who do live in Iraqi Kurdistan right now, as we have been seeing with what's been happening. They have lost all of that and that is why they are taking such extreme risks to try to get to Europe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We came to this beach where we no migrant boat crossings took place to better understand the circumstances around the tragedy that cost 27 lives on Wednesday. And when you come here, there are certain key things about this story that you understand. First of all, the terrain, it's very important 200 kilometers of coastline in northern France looking like this that provide very favorable terrain for both the smugglers and the migrants. You see all these little dunes, countless nooks and crannies for them to hide. And we spoke to local police they told us 13 migrants were found in dunes like these just over there yesterday. So favorable terrain. [01:25:01]
Secondly, look at this, this is one of the boats that was provided by smugglers to the migrants. It's about 10 meters long and it's an inflatable dinghy like the one that capsized on Wednesday. This is ideal for smugglers. It's cheap to buy. Fairly easy to assemble. This is the bottom of the boat. These wooden boards here. This was slashed, slashed by French police so that it can't be used anymore. This one clearly was intercepted. But you can see how this fuels their business model. The French interior minister telling us often boats like this are bought in Germany. And police telling us that they can often be varied. The GPS coordinates then communicated, and migrants can unearth them and inflate them fairly easily. This will carry dozens of migrants especially as the smugglers are known to overload these boats so that they sit really low on the water which can be very dangerous. And when the time comes, and the migrants can take them out to sea. This is the third and final lesson of standing here on this dune.
We can see the cliffs of Dover right there. We are 27 nautical miles from England. That is the El Dorado, that is the place that these migrants want to reach. That is why they continue to come here. Cyril Vanier, Calais, France.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Coming up here on CNN Newsroom, Ukraine has a brand-new warning for Russia about the possibility of military incursion. We'll hear from CNN's former Moscow Bureau Chief. Also, could Taiwan be the next Hong Kong? Coming up, why some time and he's a wary of the island's future. We'll be right back.
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HOLMES: All right, I want to get you up to date now on our top story. Police in the Solomon Islands calling on protesters to refrain from violence. That's after rioters returned to the streets of the capital for a third straight day on Friday. They held demonstrations outside the Prime Minister's residence, continue their calls for his resignation.
Now, earlier the rioters went on a burning and looting spree, sometimes targeting the city's Chinatown. Beijing responded with this appeal.
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ZHAO LIJIAN, CHINESE FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTRY (through translation): We are gravely concerned over the attacks on Chinese citizens and Chinese funded enterprises and have asked the local government to take all measures necessary to protect the safety of Chinese nationals and institutions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: Tensions also rising between China and Taiwan as Beijing ramps up pressure on the self-governing island to unify with the mainland. And some Taiwanese are now wary of the islands future --
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[01:29:13]
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: All right. I want to get you up to date now on our top story. Police in the Solomon Islands calling on protesters to refrain from violence.
That is after rioters returned to the streets of the capital, for a third straight day on Friday. They held demonstrations outside the prime minister's residence, continued their calls for his resignation.
Now earlier, the rioters went on a burning and looting spree, sometimes, targeting the city's Chinatown. Beijing responded with this appeal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZHAO LIJIAN, CHINESE FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTRY: We are gravely concerned over the attacks on Chinese citizens and Chinese funded enterprises. And have asked the local government to take all measures necessary to protect the safety of Chinese nationals and institutions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:29:58]
HOLMES: Tensions also rising between China and Taiwan as Beijing ramps up pressure on the self-governing island to unify with the mainland. And some Taiwanese are now wary of the island's future after watching China crackdown on pro democracy movements in Hong Kong.
CNN's Will Ripley joins me now from Hong Kong.
And yes, I suppose when Taiwan looks at what's happened to Hong Kong, they're a bit nervous.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure. I mean that was one of the reasons why Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-Wen, if not the primary reason, she won reelection by a landslide because people in Taiwan watched what happened in the summer of 2019, the pro-democracy protests followed by the crackdown and the national security law which has essentially put all of those activists, all of those protesters and even politicians either in jail or in exile.
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RIPLEY (voice over): Hong Kong and Taiwan two islands claimed by China less than 500 miles apart. They might as well be different worlds.
In 2014, student-led protests broke out in Hong Kong and Taipei, both taking aim at Beijing's communist rulers. Taiwan's Sunflower Movement occupied the legislature for weeks. In Hong Kong, five years later, it was only a matter of hours. Two similar events, drastically different outcomes.
(on camera): If you had done the exact same thing but you are in Hong Kong where would you be today?
LIN FEI-FAN, TAIWANESE POLITICAL LEADER: I think I will probably be in jail.
RIPLEY (voice over): In 2014, Lin Fei-Fan was a student protest leader -- today, a political leader. He says all of his activist friends from Hong Kong are either in exile or in jail, targeted by a sweeping national security law, a law, imposed by Beijing last year.
With the stroke of a pan, many of Hong Kong's freedoms, promised for 50 years under one country-two systems, erased.
(on camera): What does that mean for Taiwan?
LIN: I think that tells us that we must prepare. The stress (ph)from China is very -- kind of very escalating in a quite serious level.
RIPLEY (voice over): Fears are growing, China may use its massive military to forcefully reunify with this self-governing island. Those fears helped Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen win reelection by a landslide last year.
(on camera): So you don't believe that China, even if they promised one country-two systems would actually deliver that here in Taiwan?
TSAI ING-WEN, TAIWANESE PRESIDENT: There's an issue of credibility there. And the Taiwanese people have said it very clearly that they don't accept one country-two systems as the formula to resolve the (INAUDIBLE) issue.
RIPLEY (voice over): Opinions poll shows support for Taiwanese independence at its highest point in decades. Students like Samuel Li, afraid for their future, afraid the world's only Chinese speaking democracy could become the next Hong Kong.
SAMUEL LI, TAIWANESE STUDENT: Those protesters, who are just as young as me, getting teargassed and you know, getting beat up by the police. I mean that's just outrageous and devastating to watch.
RIPLEY (on camera): What do you think is inevitably going to happen?
LI: The Chinese government taking over Taiwan is going to be inevitable in my lifetime, I would believe.
RIPLEY: He worries this tale of two islands could have the same sad ending.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And Will, how then is China responding to this -- what has been a surprise visit by U.S. lawmakers to Taiwan? They're not happy, I imagine.
RIPLEY: Yes, exactly. Exactly right, Michael. This is the second time in less than a month that U.S. lawmakers have visited Taiwan. This is not an uncommon thing, but it does come at a time as, you know, we have seen of, you know, escalating tensions across the Taiwan Strait.
And so one of the lawmakers actually tweeted that when the news of the trip was announced, they also visited South Korea and Japan, two close U.S. allies in this region also democracies, the response from Taiwan -- or from Beijing rather was to cancel the trip.
And of course, they did not. So we have to watch and see if there are any more statements coming out of the ministry of foreign affairs in Beijing. Could there be some Chinese war planes flying in Taiwan's self-declared air-defense identification zone? They have been happening in recent days in pretty small numbers. Could Beijing try to send a bigger message in response to this visit.
These are all things that we have to watch, certainly from the Beijing perspective, any deepening of ties between the U.S. and Taiwan is potentially dangerou7s if they feel that the U.S. is trying to encourage Taiwan to declare formal independence. One of those lawmakers, Michael, actually tweeted that she had just landed in the, in her words, "Republic of Taiwan".
[01:34:49]
RIPLEY: Of course, there is no Republic of Taiwan. It is the Republic of China. And calling themselves the Republic of Taiwan would be tantamount to declaring formal independence. Let's hope that it was just a slip up, perhaps a lack of knowledge, because, making a statement like that, if it was intentional, could be highly provocative in the eyes of the mainland.
HOLMES: Yes. You just have to hope that was ill-informed and not worse. Wow, what a thing to say.
Will Ripley, thanks for your reporting there.
RIPLEY: Yes.
HOLMES: Good to see you. Thanks.
Well, Ukraine's foreign minister is warning Russia any attack on his country would be too costly. He says Moscow needs to understand that aggression would bring political, economic and human losses for Russia.
Meanwhile the German Chancellor Angela Merkel has a warning of her own. She says the European Union must be ready to impose more sanctions on Russia if there is an escalation in Eastern Ukraine or the Poland-Belarus border.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): I would like to do everything possible to ensure that there is no further aggression because we already have a situation with Donbass with Ukraine can now assert its territorial sovereignty. And that's bad enough. Here we stand with Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Jill Dougherty, is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, as well as CNN's former Moscow bureau chief. She joins me now from Washington. Always good to see you, Jill.
So let's talk about this. An estimated 100,000 Russian troops on the border with Ukraine. They're thousands of miles from their bases and there are Special Forces present.
What do you make? Muscle flexing, or a genuine threat to Ukraine?
JILL DOUGHERTY, FORMER CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: You know, it is unclear so far but, you know, back in April, there actually were some maneuvers like this moving troops around. And nothing really happened.
But this is different. There was a lot more concern. The numbers are higher and there's a lot less clarity about what President Putin is planning to do.
I don't think that it's simply muscle like you're saying. I think there is something going on. Now, it could be that he actually wants to invade. That would be a major step. There's no question.
But this is very, you know, Ukraine is such a serious subject for President Putin. He knows Michael, that Ukraine has been moving into some type of security relationship with the United States getting closer and closer. And on the border of Russia, that is absolutely not acceptable.
HOLMES: Yes.
DOUGHERTY: So he has --
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: And Europe as well and NATO and all of those factors. How would an invasion or perhaps an incursion test the European Union. How united is Europe on this issue?
DOUGHERTY: Well, they're more united than they have been but, you know, if there were military actions that would be a serious challenge.
Because let's begin with the basics. Ukraine is not a member of NATO. It has been given certain indications that maybe in the future it could be it isn't. And the reality is not for a very long time will it be, or even could it be.
So President Putin knows that very well. And that means that NATO, legally, is not required to respond to an attack on Ukraine. And the United States it also doesn't have any formal security agreement with Ukraine either.
HOLMES: Yes. And let's talk about the U.S. It is giving increasing military assistance to Ukraine. And you know, that is always something that angers Russia, of course. The question, of course, is how far would the U.S. be prepared to go to prevent Russia taking more Ukrainian territory?
DOUGHERTY: Well, I don't that you can say that U.S. troops ever would be sent into this situation. That seems to be just a fact.
And you're right. $400 million in security assistance this year alone -- it's an increase. Russia is worried about it. And NATO is training Ukrainian troops. So Russia is looking very closely at this and really is concerned.
HOLMES: Vladimir Putin is, of course, an old school KGB man from back in the day -- wistful, many would say, perhaps pining for the old Soviet Union. How much does that play into his actions rigidly? I mean what is his risk calculation when it comes to a potential invasion?
What is the risk versus reward for him?
DOUGHERTY: Well, I'm not too sure that he is really pining to the old Soviet Union. But what he does want is in the neighborhood between the, you know, Ukraine, Belarus and parts of very close on the border to Russia, he wants a voice and a real role in that area.
And he does not want the United States or NATO military or any other way, moving into that area. So, that's fine. Now what would he do? What can they do? Sanctions? Probably.
[01:39:51]
DOUGHERTY: The U.S., Europe could increase sanctions but, you know, the likelihood of any type of real, military action is not very high.
HOLMES: I've got to leave it there unfortunately. Jill, thanks so much. Jill Dougherty, appreciate it.
Coming up here on the program a group of executives known as the CITGO SIX has been detained for years now in Venezuela. We will hear from one family who says American leaders aren't doing enough to bring them home.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The U.S. government has failed us.
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HOLMES: Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Sudan on Thursday to condemn Sunday's deal struck between the recently reinstated prime minister and the nation's military leader.
The agreement says Abdalla Hamdok will lead a transitional government of technocrats and will share power with the military. Prime Minister Hamdok was deposed in a coup just a month ago.
Five Americans and a U.S. resident have now been detained for four years in Venezuela, convicted of corruption in a closed-door trial. All were executives at CITGO, the U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela's state oil company.
Part of CNN investigation has established that the men, known as the CITGO SIX were lured into going to Venezuela and then tried on trumped-up charges.
Our Isa Soares reports.
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ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Carmen clings to a photo of her husband, Jorge Toledo.
CARMEN TOLEDO, WIFE OF JORGE TOLEDO: This was the last picture I took of him.
SOARES: The same way she hangs on to his every word. This voice mail, the very first time the world is hearing from him --
JORGE TOLEDO, CITGO SIX: Hello, my life. I was allowed to make a phone call, a friend ceded his time. And so I wanted to talk to you a little bit.
SOARES: -- since he left on a business trip to Venezuela yet to return.
C. TOLEDO: After four years, I think that yes, the U.S. government has failed us.
SOARES: Jorge Toledo and his colleagues left Houston on November 19, 2017. Called to a meeting in Caracas by CITGO's parent company PDVSA.
As they gather in a conference room, Venezuela's feared military intelligence sweep in, and arrest the five Americans and a U.S. resident. General Manuel Christopher Figuera was a senior intelligence officer, very close to President Nicolas Maduro until he turned on him and fled to the United States. He says, the CITGO SIX were set up.
GENERAL MANUEL CHRISTOPHER FIGUERA, FORMER MADURO SENIOR INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: It was a well prepared trap to arrest them. There was no arrest warrant.
SOARES: Initially, the six were held at a prison controlled by the agency Figuera was part of. Now in the United States, he tells us he takes responsibility for his actions.
[01:45:00]
FIGUERA: I feel responsible not just for them, but because I was part of that nefarious structure that today is destroying our country.
SOARES (on camera): Their families and lawyers, tell us they are being kept in overcrowded cells, no windows and in the most unsanitary conditions. They say they've had to buy everything from food, to water, toothpaste, to even toilet paper.
Have a listen to what Toledo asked for just a few weeks ago.
TOLEDO: For the weekend we will need a bar of soap to shower.
SOARES (voice over): Early this year, the CITGO SIX were moved to house arrest only to be thrown back into prison in October, hours after a Maduro ally was extradited to the United States.
Throughout President Nicolas Maduro has accused them of theft and embezzlement, of taking kickbacks from illicit debt deal.
NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translator): A few days ago, as head of state, I requested an urgent investigation given the serious claims that I was made aware of, the embezzlement of our company, CITGO. The blatant and massive robbery at CITGO.
SOARES: The main accusation against the six is that they had tried to renegotiate the CITGO debt without consulting with Perfecto (ph) or Maduro, the military officer behind their arrest.
Setting quote, "the Venezuelan authorities have received information from its intelligence sources in the U.S. But offered no proof.
CNN obtained documents showing that the board of CITGO's parent company, PDVSA explicitly authorized negotiations. In addition, look closely, only one of the 6 Jose Pereira was part of the conversations.
The deal, by the way, never went ahead. And the company that was mediating the refinancing move, (INAUDIBLE) says no money was ever exchanged. Still they were convicted.
The arrest of the CITGO SIX; took place after protesters has began to pouring onto the streets in 2017. Venezuela's once booming oil industry was on its knees. The country, under a mountain of debt. And sanctions imposed by President Trump crippled PDVSA's ability to move profits CITGO back into Venezuela. As the flow of cash dried up, the regime's blame and fear strategy kicked in.
TAREK WILIAM SAAB, VENEZUELAN ATTORNEY GENERAL (through translator): They are saying, this is part of the eternal struggle. What eternal struggle? This is corruption. Corruption of the most rotten kind.
SOARES: Former Venezuelan oil minister, Rafael Ramirez ran PDVSA for a decade under Hugo Chavez.
RAFAEL RAMIREZ, FORMER VENEZUELAN OIL MINISTER: What he cares about is being in control.
SOARES: Once an ally, he became a threat to Maduro's rise to power and a potential challenger to the presidency, when their leader and mentor, Hugo Chavez, died suddenly in 2013.
He fled into exile when he received word Maduro wanted to arrest him on corruption charges. Charges that he denies.
RAMIREZ (through translator): The arrest order and the way they were detained is an instruction by Maduro to spread terror, to generate fear.
SOARES (on camera): They were set up?
RAMIREZ: Yes, of course. This spread fear throughout PDVSA, throughout the country. A feeling of fear and terror with regards to the security forces started to grow around the country.
SOARES (on camera): A fear that only increased with the purge of PDVSA employees, 15 arrests since 2017, according to Venezuelan NGO (INAUDIBLE).
BILL RICHARDSON, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: It seems that they have been used, you know, as bargaining chips.
SOARES: Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Bill Richardson is navigating this minefield in an effort to win the freedom of the CITGO SIX. He tells me what he believes Maduro's intentions are.
RICHARD: They don't want any further sanctions. They want sanctions lifted. But you know the relationship has been so poor, in the last four to eight years, that I am the one that is talking to the Venezuelans. The U.S. government doesn't talk to them.
SOARES: Since he took office, President Biden has said little on Venezuela. Its policies, some say, is inexistent. A very different approach to former President Trump. For Carlos Anez and the families of the other five in Venezuela, d the fight for justice, has been lonely with silence, they say, from the U.S. government.
CARLOS ANEZ, SON OF JORGE TOLEDO: I always apologize to my dad for, you know, not having delivered this how I feel. I feel like I haven't delivered until he is home. And if he's not home, then I'm not applying the right kind of pressure, or I am not getting my mission accomplished.
SOARES: A battle that will continue, as long as CITGO SIX are seen as a valuable bargaining chip for a regime that has few options left.
Isa Soares, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:49:52]
HOLMES: Now, in response to CNN, the U.S. State Department says it continues to, quote, "seek the unconditional release of the CITGO SIX and urges Maduro to allow them to return to their families in the United States. Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, smog at a crisis level in Tehran and it's not alone. How long will it last? We'll ask the CNN Weather Center next.
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HOLMES: All right. Take a look at this. This was the scene in Tehran on Tuesday as thick smog pollutes the air, cutting visibility, making it hard to breathe. Officials say it has reached a crisis level.
And have a look down here. This is New Delhi on Thursday. Air quality there classified as very poor and also causing a lot of breathing problems.
Now despite that schools and universities will reopen next week. They've been closed the last two weeks as officials try to curb that mess.
Let's bring in meteorologist Derek Van Dam now with more on the situation. What are you seeing, Derek?
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Michael, you know, I often get the question, from people, wondering what makes air pollution so dangerous, so difficult for people with breathing problems, respiratory problems.
And it's all about the size of the particles. It's known as a pm2.5 -- that stands for particulate matter. Now, 2.5 is actually diameter of these particles that you are inhaling, literally into your chess cavity. They are less than 2.5 microns.
And for size comparison, the size of a human hair in diameter is about 70 to 70 microns or so. Sand about 90 microns in diameter. And dust is just about 10 microns or lower. So you can see just how small they are. So as we breathe in this pm2.5 particulate matter, the air pollution that comes from the burning of fossil fuels in our combustion engines, in our vehicles, in our trucks in some of our coal mines, that particular area is so dangerous because we can inhale it so deep within our chest cavity. And that of course, can permeate the areas that try to take in more oxygen than that particular particulate matter.
Now look at what is happening in Tehran, you can see they have unhealthy air quality index readings -- 164 their current, as we just checked on the latest information from that particular region.
Now, there is some respite coming through on Saturday. But look at Sunday into Monday and Tuesday. We are starting to see those numbers forecast to actually creep up into more of the hazardous conditions.
Now, Tehran and New Delhi have a very similar landscape. Their geography is similar because they back up against a large mountain range.
Here's a satellite image of New Delhi, this is northern portions of India. And you can see the Himalayan mountains -- the Himalayan mountains within this area.
Of course, that doesn't allow for the smog and pollutants to travel very far. So New Delhi has a similar concern with air pollutants, Michael.
HOLMES: All right. Derek, thanks so much. Derek Van Dam there, appreciate it.
Well, as global warming melts the glaciers in Greenland, a surprising find. The process forms an ultra fine silt which could actually benefit farmers around the world. And it's already showing some promising results.
CNN's Lynda Kinkade with the details.
[01:54:48]
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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In Greenland, a paradox is unfolding as glaciers disappear due to global warming. At the very same time, that melting is helping to form an ultra fine silt that has the potential to cool the earth.
One scientist is calling it a wonder material. When used on farmlands, the silt dissolves in rainwater, releasing nutrients and boosting agriculture production, while trapping carbon dioxide.
Scientists at the University of Copenhagen say that one metric ton of glacial rock flour can remove anywhere between 550 to 660 pounds of CO2 form the air , which farmers can use as carbon credits.
(INAUDIBLE) researchers in Ghana are finding the application of this material to the soil offset the impact of rain and heat and boost maize production by 30 percent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you have rock flour, instead of this fragment of rock, the plants have 80,000 times easier access to the good stuff it needs to grow compared to (INAUDIBLE). and so this is kind of more or less a unique product to Greenland.
KINKADE: Greenland is home to one of the two remaining ice sheets in the world and the only one in the northern hemisphere.
In Denmark, scientists at Multinational brewery Carlsberg discovered that adding 25 metric tons of glacial rock flour per hectare increased crop yield by 30 percent on their barley fields.
PAI ROSAGER PEDAS, CARLSBERG'S RESEARCH LABORATORY: It's a more, you can say, more clean product compared to a very processed inorganic phosphor fertilization strategy where this could more directly from nature, sort of say. It needs less processing and thereby less impact on the nature.
KINKADE: Researchers are already planning large-scale field tests in Denmark and Ghana. They are trying to assess if it's feasible to ship the rock flour to farmers around the world.
Many already use other finely grained rocks on their farms, but the added benefit of absorbing CO2 from the air makes glacial rock flour a potential game changer.
Lynda Kinkade, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And Egypt has unveiled a newly restored 3,000-year-old road in the city of Luxor. Hundreds took part in reenacting an ancient festival on Thursday to mark the occasion. The 2.7 kilometer road connects the famous Karnak and Luxor temples, known as the avenue of the Sphinxes.
The road is lined with hundreds of ram and human headed statues. Egypt hopes the site will help lure tourists back to the country after the industry took a big hit during the pandemic.
Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @holmesCNN.
Stick around, Kim Brunhuber picks things up after the break.
He's right there.
[01:57:43]
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