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Global COVID-19 Cases Surging, Holiday Travel Disrupted; Armed Intruder Arrested at Windsor Castle; DRC Suicide Bombing Kills at Least Six; Top 10 International Stories of 2021. Aired 12-12:30a ET
Aired December 26, 2021 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. I am Kim Brunhuber.
Coming up, COVID is coming fast as the world relaxes a little too much for the holidays.
NASA says the impossible just became possible.
And 2021 is coming to a close, we'll take you through your recap of the biggest international stories of the year.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: New cases of COVID-19 are surging around the world this holiday season, driven in part by the Omicron variant. France recorded more than 100,000 new cases on Saturday, double the number recorded three weeks ago.
Many public health officials watching the uptick in hospitalizations. South Korea reporting its fourth straight day of ICU patients. The virus also upended holiday travel plans for countless passengers around the world.
COVID related staff shortages led many airlines to cancel during one of the busiest travel times of the year. Some European countries imposing tougher measures while others are weighing their options. Nada Bashir has this from London.
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NADA BASHIR, CNN PRODUCER: While many across Europe will have been able to gather with loved ones to celebrate Christmas this year, the holidays somewhat less festive than many had hoped.
In the U.K., more than 120,000 new cases were reported on Friday and, according to official data, about one in 45 people have had the virus at the end of last week. Boris Johnson refrained from implementing further COVID-19 restrictions ahead of Christmas despite warnings from his own scientific advisers calling for urgent action.
But as cases rise, Johnson cautioned that tougher restrictions could be brought in ahead of the new year. Much like his European counterparts, the prime minister is doubling down on the country's vaccination campaign, calling for people to go out and get their booster shots.
That's the message we have been hearing from other European leaders this Christmas. And with Omicron to be the most dominant within a matter of weeks, many nations are tightening restrictions.
Public celebrations for Christmas and New Year's Eve have been cancelled and, in Spain and Italy, mask wearing has been mandated. In Portugal, schools and bars and night clubs are set to be shut down from Sunday with people urged to work from home.
And in France, Germany and Belgium, strict limitations on social gatherings all being brought into force with the Netherlands implementing a full lockdown until mid January.
While early studies suggest there may be a lower risk of hospitalization associated with the Omicron variant in comparison to the Delta variant, many leaders are still not ruling out for tougher measures in the new year -- Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
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BRUNHUBER: The Omicron variant is casting a cloud over the Christmas holiday in the U.S. More than a thousand flights have been cancelled for Saturday and Sunday, on top of the nearly 700 cancellations on Friday.
Airlines say too many flight crews have been sidelined by the virus. But hospitalization remains relatively lower than earlier this year but experts say that tends to lag behind infection rates.
Concern over the variant led to long lines at testing sites across the country with many people waiting for hours. And shortages of supplies for some of those people to turn people away.
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BRUNHUBER: Dr. Scott Miscovich is the president and CEO of Premier Medical Group, he's also a U.S. consultant for COVID-19 testing.
Thank you so much for being here with us, Doctor. With Christmas and the holiday season, so many people mixing, two people came to me with the exact same story. Their daughter came home, they had COVID and now they all have the virus, even after they are vaccinated.
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BRUNHUBER: How much trouble are we going to be in 10 days or two weeks?
DR. SCOTT MISCOVICH, FAMILY PHYSICIAN AND NATIONAL CONSULTANT: Boy, you called it, Kim. I am getting people, trying to come to my home to get tested. It's happening across the country right now.
We now have a virus that's 15 times that R, the transmissibility; measles is 18 times. It's so contagious, it's getting in and it's going through the entire family, even with two or three vaccinations. That's what's really worrying us right now.
People can be vaccinated and they're still ripping through families. We are in trouble. We'll pass our all time high of 246,000 in the United States very shortly, by the time you are referencing.
BRUNHUBER: Young people getting infected.
What do you think that means for schools beginning in January?
We'll be looking at distance learning again?
MISCOVICH: It's very likely and it depends a lot on the stage right now and their positivity. But one concerning factor that we have right now is a 400 percent increase for pediatric hospitalizations for COVID-19; 50 percent are under the age of 5 that can't be vaccinated.
So when you combine how contagious this is, how much it could spread in the classroom, I believe there are going to be a lot of schools that are going to be moving to distance learning, where they're going to be shutting down because they'll have so much positivity.
BRUNHUBER: Obviously all of this puts even more emphasis on boosters. But you have written that we should be getting them sooner than six months after the second shot. And we should not even be calling them boosters. Explain what you mean.
MISCOVICH: Yes, I have been saying this for quite a while, when it comes to -- we are giving a false sense of an understanding of what that third shot is. It's clear right now, even pre-Omicron, that immunity was waning. That's why Delta was beginning to surge pre- Omicron.
You need three shots. Let's take away that booster; it's a three-shot series. You need to get all three shots. We should publish the data in every state to show how many people are safe and fully vaccinated.
Finally, we are one of the only countries that is sticking to six months for the time when you get your third shot or your booster. There are many countries moving up to three shots, three months, because that's when the immunity starts to wane.
And look at how progressive Israel is. They started the fourth shot for the over 50 and immunosuppressed. So my recommendation is three months.
BRUNHUBER: So with the last minute here, in COVID testing for Olympics and leagues around the country, last time we talked, not that long ago, you made a prophetic decision, that we'll see pro leagues pausing. You are right on the money there.
What do you see -- from everything you have been seeing, from evidence in the U.K. and South Africa, that Omicron cases hit hard and burn out a little quicker than Delta.
Do you think that's the situation where athletes will stabilize or are all the cancelled games we are seeing now is just the beginning?
MISCOVICH: Just the beginning, unfortunately. We are seeing new policies in a lot of the professional leagues but they're not going to be enough, especially when you time it with the holidays, when it's natural people are going to be gathering and they're not isolating.
So I think we'll have some serious effects for the NFL and all the other sports leagues. The second is college, college athletes, they're 18 to 22 and 23 years old. They're enjoying family and friends. We are going to see a big surge.
I believe we'll have some major bowl games cancelled. It's only going to get worse. I do believe -- my projections are March-April, we are going to see that we are going to have peaked and we'll be on the downside. But that's only a prediction right now. We don't have that information.
BRUNHUBER: It's still a long way. Doctor, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it.
MISCOVICH: Thank you, Kim, and merry Christmas to everyone.
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BRUNHUBER: All right, coming up, a security scare at Windsor Castle as the British royal family gathers to celebrate Christmas.
Plus the world's most powerful telescope rockets into space. The international effort behind the launch of the James Webb when we come back. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: It was an unusual start to Christmas for the British royal family. Police say an armed intruder was arrested Saturday. Officials say the 19-year-old man was taken into custody after entering the area. The security scare didn't stop them from attending Christmas services at St. George's Chapel.
The queen did not make any public appearances but she did deliver her annual Christmas broadcast. It was especially personal as she paid tribute to her late husband.
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ELIZABETH II, QUEEN OF ENGLAND: Christmas can be hard for those who have lost loved ones. This year especially I understand why. But for me, in the months since the death of my beloved Philip, I have drawn great comfort from the warmth and affection of the many tributes to his life and work from around the country, the commonwealth and the world.
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BRUNHUBER: The queen reflected on the events of the past year and offered a hopeful look ahead to 2022. She will celebrate 70 years on the throne.
Earth's most powerful telescope is officially out of this world. The James Webb launched on Christmas Day from the European Space Agency port in French Guiana. The much delayed project will take one month to reach final orbit around the sun. It could change the way we see the cosmos. It's why the head of NASA is calling it the time machine.
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BILL NELSON, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: Over three decades, you produced this telescope that's now going to take us back in time. It's a time machine. It's going to take us back to the very beginnings of the universe.
We are going to discover incredible things that we never imagined. And isn't that typical of this team, where the impossible comes possible.
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BRUNHUBER: James Webb is a joint project between NASA and the European Space Agency and Canada. It is named after NASA's second administrator.
Let's check some other stories around the world. The president of the Democratic Republican of Congo is condemning a deadly Christmas Day bombing that left at least six people dead. Officials say a suicide bomber blew himself up at this bar in Beni on Saturday night.
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BRUNHUBER: The victims include two women and a teenage girl, who were celebrating Christmas at the time. At least 15 other people were wounded. The president posted on Twitter that he was dismayed by what he called "an odious terrorist attack."
The military junta in Myanmar is accused of a Christmas massacre. More than 30 people were killed between the capital and the Thai border. The victims' charred remains were found on Saturday. A vehicle was attacked and torched. Media report an attack on what they called terrorists. Fighting has flared in the past few days between the junta and armed groups opposing military rule.
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BRUNHUBER: Scenes of chaos near Sudan's presidential palace. Security forces fired tear gas on protesters Saturday. An opposition group says close to 180 people were injured, including eight who were shot.
Protesters want the military out of the transitional government, which leads Sudan until elections in 2023. Military leaders staged a coup back in October before reinstating the prime minister, who leads the joint administration.
Iran says war games this week in the Persian Gulf are a firm response to the recent threats by Israel. Iran's military, which says the drills were long planned, fired ballistic missiles at a target resembling a Israeli nuclear reactor.
The U.K. condemned the ballistic missiles during the war games. An eighth round of nuclear talks resume on Monday. Iran says it does not intend to go above the 60 percent level of uranium enrichment even if sanctions are not lifted.
Greek authorities say at least 16 migrants died on Saturday when their boat capsized in the Mediterranean. The Hellenic Coast Guard rescued dozens of people and brought them to Paros for medical attention. About 80 people were trying to go from Turkey to Italy. It's not clear what caused the accident. The Greek minister condemned traffickers.
All right, still ahead, as 2021 comes to a close, a look back at this year's biggest stories from around the globe. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: 2021 has certainly seen its share of turmoil and triumphs. CNN's Clarissa Ward looks at the biggest headlines in the past year.
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CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As 2021 comes to a close, so does another tumultuous year.
At number 10, the bombshell interview that put the British royal family in an unwelcome spotlight.
MEGHAN MARKLE, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: Concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born.
OPRAH WINFREY, ACTOR AND ACTIVIST: What?
WARD (voice-over): Prince Harry and his wife, Duchess of Sussex, opened up to Oprah in a two hour TV special, speaking freely for the first time since walking away from a life as working royals.
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MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meghan, Duchess of Sussex opening up to Oprah Winfrey about being singled out. She believes forced out of the royal family. WARD: A month later, Queen Elizabeth's husband died at the age of 99.
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Tonight, a shocked and saddened nation remembers the legacy of an irreplaceable figurehead.
WARD (voice-over): Number 9:
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hours after Haiti's president was assassinated, gunfire still crackled through Port-au- Prince.
WARD (voice-over): The assassination of Jovenel Moise took place against a background of extreme violence in the capital.
RIVERS: There are at least 17 people detained at this point.
WARD: Number 8, the conflict in the Middle East came ahead once again this spring and turned into one of the worst rounds of violence between the two sides in years.
HADAS GOLD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a pattern that should not be familiar yet already is, Hamas and Islamic Jihad rockets streaking across the sky from Gaza.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Airstrikes and rocket barrages, artillery and mortar fire, hundreds of people dead and more than 2,000 wounded.
WARD: The conflict lasted 11 days before Israel and the Palestinian group, Hamas, agreed to a cease-fire. Israeli airstrikes killed more than 250 Palestinians, including dozens of children. The Palestinian militant fire from Gaza killed 13 Israelis, including children.
Number 7, Myanmar's military junta seized power in a coup, ousting de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Clarissa Ward and her team were the first Western TV journalists allowed into the country since the coup.
WARD (voice-over): After days of pushing, we are allowed to visit a public space, an open market. As word of our presence spreads, we hear an unmistakable sound. Banging pots and pans has become the signature sound of resistance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want democracy. We don't want military coup.
WARD (voice-over): Since the February coup, the military has killed more than 1,300 people and arrested more than 10,000, according to an advocacy group.
WARD: Number 6, a powerful CNN's investigation sheds light on a raging civil war.
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Ethiopian government has waged war against Tigray's ousted regional leaders for the last five months with the help of neighboring Eritrea.
WARD: CNN was one of the only western media outlets to travel to the country --
ELBAGIR: Three bodies were found down at the river front.
WARD: -- to investigate reports of mass killings.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): One by one, they enter the church, carrying in sacks all that's left of loved ones, executed by Ethiopian soldiers.
This is fresh evidence of a January massacre.
WARD (voice-over): In late April, a CNN team traveling through Tigray witnessed Eritrean soldiers, some of them disguising themselves in old Ethiopian military uniforms, cutting off critical aid routes to starving communities.
ELBAGIR: CNN, CNN. We're CNN, journalists.
WARD (voice-over): Eritrea's government has denied any involvement in atrocities and Ethiopia's government has pledged investigates into any wrongdoing. But the bloody conflict rages on, spilling into other parts of the country, raising fears of an all-out war.
Number five, turmoil at European borders, shocking images of thousands of migrants, stranded on the Belarus-Poland border in freezing conditions, desperate to make it into the European Union.
The situation at times surging out of control.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Because Poland has sealed the border and now has 15,000 troops here to make sure that no one can pass -- Jake.
WARD (voice-over): The European leaders have accused Belarus of manufacturing the crisis as retribution for sanctions over human rights abuses, a claim Belarus denies.
The year ends with tensions between Ukraine and Russia at their highest in years, with a massive build up of Russian forces along the Ukraine's border, fueling fears over Moscow's intentions.
Number four, Chinese leader Xi Jinping's steel grips on power tightened.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: David, how has president Xi been able to cement his hold on power for so long?
DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It really sets him up as the undisputed supreme ruler for years to come.
WARD: And with this, an ever more assertive China. 2021 saw sophisticated propaganda campaigns to deflect criticism over allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, the arrest of pro- democracy activists and former lawmakers in Hong Kong as well as aggressive military maneuvers aimed at Taiwan.
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WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This island is a potential flashpoint for what their president calls a fight between authoritarian China and democratic Taiwan, allied with the United States.
WARD: Number three.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Protest rallies across Russia today in support of detained Kremlin opposition activist Alexei Navalny.
WARD (voice-over): Russia's best-known opposition politician, Alexei Navalny, sent to a penal colony. He dared to return home five months after a near-fatal nerve agent attack.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Shortly before his detention, Navalny saying he's not scared.
ALEXEI NAVALNY, RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER: (INAUDIBLE).
WARD (voice-over): Number two: the new year brought with it great hopes for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, ushering in widespread vaccinations.
But the virus continued to mutate, killing millions of people around the world.
The uneven vaccine rollout has not kept up with the speed of the spreading virus, especially in poorer countries.
In Delhi now, you are never far from heartbreak. Almost everyone in the city has been visited by grief.
Despite high vaccination rates, Europe became the epicenter of the pandemic once again this winter, the fourth wave of COVID-19 is now sweeping across the continent, with lockdowns reinstated in some countries.
Across Europe, protests against mandates and health passes have drawn tens of thousands of people.
In November, South African scientists discovered the new Omicron variant. It has since spread around the globe.
Number one, the last U.S. military planes left Afghanistan, marking the end of its longest war.
They took the city of 6 million people in a matter of hours, barely firing a shot.
WARD: This is a sight I honestly thought I would never see, scores of Taliban fighters and, just behind us, the U.S. embassy compound.
WARD (voice-over): Thousands scrambling to leave before the U.S. military exit. WARD: They're saying they all worked at American camps as translators
for the Americans and they can't get into that airport.
WARD (voice-over): A terror attack at the Kabul airport killed 13 U.S. service members and more than 170 Afghans during the evacuation.
And there is no question, everybody here is doing their best but it's not clear if it's fast enough.
The collapse of Afghanistan's U.S. backed government was perhaps the most damaging setback.
WARD (voice-over): It was a blow to U.S. credibility and to democratic advances, especially on women's rights and media freedoms, which were stifled overnight.
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BRUNHUBER: I'm Kim Brunhuber. Thank you for watching. A "CONNECT THE WORLD" special, "Call to Earth," is next.
