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WHO Chief: Variants Leading To A Tsunami Of Cases; The CDC Doesn't Require Testing At End Of Isolation; Ghislaine Maxwell Found Guilty Of Helping Jeffrey Epstein Sexually Abuse Teenagers; Biden To Speak With Putin On Thursday at Russian Leader's Request; COVID Rule- Breakers Face Public Shaming in China; Political Rallies raise Fears of Third Surge in India; Top 10 International News Stories of 2021; Owner Blows Up Tesla. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired December 30, 2021 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: The Russian government, Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin will speak by phone Thursday about the build-up of Russian military forces on Ukraine's border.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: And welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. We begin this hour with the pandemic entering a third calendar year now just days away with COVID infections at all-time highs, averaging more than a million a day worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.
And for the first time, the United States is averaging more than 300,000 new daily cases, the highest number since the pandemic began more than any other country in the world. And while there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the new Omicron variant, there is agreement, the numbers are certain to rise.
Well, 2021 was the year of the vaccine when national immunization program began in many countries, the death toll from COVID compared to the year before without vaccines, has almost doubled.
According to data again from John Hopkins University as well as the WHO more than 1.8 million people died from COVID in 2020. This year, the virus has claimed about 3.5 million lives. The head of the World Health Organization says with the twin threat of the Omicron and delta variants, and without a collective global response, this pandemic is set to get worse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, WHO DIRECTOR-GENERAL: Delta and Omicron are twin threats that are driving up cases to record numbers. I'm highly concerned that Omicron being more transmissible circulating at the same time as delta is leading to a tsunami of cases.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And in the United States, the National Guard has been deployed to more states to support health care workers left exhausted after months of rising hospital admissions. And now with Omicron in the mix, new forecast from the Centers for Disease Control uptick 44,000 new COVID deaths over the next month. CNN's Tom Foreman has a lead story this hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Schools in DC will require all students and staff to have negative COVID test to come back to class. New York City will require rigorous testing too all that as the White House says it expects to sign a contract for a half billion at-home COVID test next week. And as the Centers for Disease Control faces sharp questioning over new guidelines for COVID weary Americans.
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: It really had a lot to do with what we thought people would be able to tolerate.
FOREMAN: The recommendation of five instead of 10 isolation days for those testing positive but showing no symptoms. Then five days of masking is aimed at keeping people working but it's raising alarms too.
ERIN BROMAGE, UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS DARTMOUTH: There is absolutely no data that I'm aware about with the Omicron reports. People coming out of isolation five days after they were first diagnosed with the virus.
FOREMAN: Nothing in the guidelines mandates testing for these people. And the administration has been harshly criticized for the current shortage of test. So the lack of testing and the new recommendations is also drawing fire even as tough health officials pushed back.
WALENSKY: We actually don't know how our rapid tests perform and how well they predict whether you're transmissible during the end of disease.
FOREMAN: Add in new questions about the effectiveness of some at-home test in detecting the Omicron variant. And it is all becoming a muddle at a terrible time.
DR. LARRY KOCIOLEK, LURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF CHICAGO: Where right now seeing more cases per day than at any point in the pandemic.
FOREMAN: Infections among children are rising rapidly in many places.
DR. CHRIS T. PERNELL, AMERICAN COLLEGE OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE FELLOW: We're seeing here even in New Jersey a fourfold increase in pediatric hospitalizations. We're seeing our daily case rates skyrocket.
FOREMAN: In Connecticut, the National Guard has been called up to help with testing. In New York City, 17 percent of the police department's uniformed officers called in sick yesterday. In Washington, the Pentagon is tightening its COVID safety protocols. And all along the coast, authorities are now investigating at least 86 cruise ships for COVID outbreaks.
(on camera): Simply put, the pandemic is raging all around causing confusion and concern everywhere. But the CDC wants you to be clear about this especially if you have children heading back towards school. If they're five or older, they can and should get vaccinated. And the FDA is considering booster shots for 12 to 15 year old so stay tuned. Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
VAUSE: Dr. Jonathan Reiner is a CNN medical analyst specializing in internal medicine. He's also a professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University. He joins us now from Washington. Dr. Reiner, thanks for being with us.
DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Thanks for having me, John.
VAUSE: OK, so one of the biggest factors right now in prolonging this pandemic is global vaccine inequity.
[01:05:01]
The head of the WHO outlined some of the reasons why 90 countries have not reached a year-end goal, or a 40 percent vaccination rate. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GHEBREYESUS: This is due to a combination of limited supply, going to low income countries for most of the year. And then subsequent vaccines arriving close to expiry, and without key parts, like the syringe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Just last week, Nigeria, which has seen a 500 percent increase in the number of COVID infections destroyed more than a million doses of vaccine because they were about to expire. This pandemic has really highlighted that the global health system is broken in many ways. So can it be fixed before the next pandemic is here? And is there a will out there to try and fix it?
REINER: Well, the problem is enormous. Warren Buffett has said that only when the tide goes out can you tell who's swimming naked and when the tide went out, almost two years ago, when this pandemic when -- all across the world, we realized that our global health care systems were just absolutely broken.
And look no further than just the continent of Africa. That continent of 1.2 billion people, you know, currently has barely vaccinated 10 percent of the population. I think less than that, with many countries barely at 1 percent. And what we've learned, it's not just about wealthy countries making vaccine available to developing countries. It's about an entire infrastructure. VAUSE: In terms of the United States that the W Bush and the Obama administrations were actively preparing for global pandemics. They dealt with outbreaks of H1N1, which is swine flu H5N1, which was bird flu, as well as Ebola.
The idea that the US was unprepared because it never saw the Coronavirus coming just doesn't seem to ring true. You know, despite repeated warnings, the U.S. was deliberately unprepared because decisions made within the Trump administration.
And the reason why I raised this is because it means we can be ready in some ways, at least for the next pandemic. We know what to do, we know how to do it, because we've done it before. We just actually have to do it.
REINER: Right. And we have to not just, again, not just invest in American infrastructure. And there's a tremendous amount to do in this country alone. But we have to understand, as has been said very often in the last month, is that we are not all safe. We are not safe in the United States unless this entire world is safe. And thinking that we can vaccinate and boost ourselves and create this shell of protection was just an illusion.
And as we, you know, inoculate this country, we have to understand that the developing world will continue to harbor new variants, and will be a source of just continuing pandemic until they are adequately vaccinated. So, there is no us versus them. There's only us when we're thinking about these pathogens.
VAUSE: Also (INAUDIBLE) some lessons which are yet to be learned. And that's like ensuring supplies of rapid testing kits. I want you to listen to the head of the CDC on the current shortage. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALENSKY: We now have 20,000 sites where you can get a PCR on site and more and more federal new testing sites coming online in the current moment. The administration is doing a lot to make sure that those rapid tests are affordable and accessible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: They're just not available until next year. You know, the pandemic has caused governments around the world about $16 trillion. Surely some of that could have been invested in testing kits.
REINER: Maybe the most shocking development of the last few days was how politicized now testing has become. And I was shocked to see essentially the CDC today starting to cast a little doubt about the efficacy of these tests, trying to downgrade their importance in the face of lack of access to these tests as if to say, well, you know, don't worry about the fact that you don't have these tests because maybe they're not as really good as we thought they were.
This has -- this terrible resonance to what we heard at the beginning of the pandemic about masks, particularly when the Surgeon General at the time scolded the country about buying masks. There are some mistakes that once you make them, it's very difficult to essentially, you know, get the genie back in the bottle.
So I'm concerned about what I'm what I'm hearing over the last couple of days about testing in this country that somehow it's not important, and we need to basically open the economy by getting people out of isolation and paying less attention to making sure that they don't harbor the virus when they go back to their jobs and their families.
[01:10:06]
VAUSE: Yes, there's always said testing, tracing and the vaccination to sort of three-prong strategy, which always has been. I guess it still will be as we move forward. Dr. Reiner, thank you so much. We appreciate your time.
REINER: My pleasure, John, thanks for having me.
VAUSE: Well, British socialite convicted sex trafficker, it's a dramatic fall from grace from Ghislaine Maxwell (INAUDIBLE) jury found her guilty of recruiting and grooming teenage girls for her longtime associate and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. While her lawyers say they will appeal this verdict, Maxwell is now facing a 65-year long sentence. Given her age she could die in prison. Sonia Moghe has details.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
SONIA MOGHE, CNN REPORER (on camera): It was a momentous day for survivors of abuse by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell after she was found guilty of five of the six counts that she faced including the most serious count sex trafficking a minor.
Now, many of these survivors felt a devastating blow after Epstein died by suicide in 2019, shortly after he was arrested on those Federal sex trafficking charges. And this trial was a second chance for them to try to seek some sort of justice.
And one woman who testified at the trial against Maxwell named Annie Farmer said that she was relieved and grateful to the jurors for finding her guilty of five of these counts, saying in a statement, quote, she has caused hurt to many more women than the few of us who had the chance to testify in the courtroom. I hope that this verdict brings solace to all who need it, and demonstrates that no one is above the law. Even those with great power and privilege will be held accountable when they sexually abused and exploited the young.
Meanwhile, Maxwell's family released a statement of their own saying that they are already working on an appeal and believe that she will ultimately be vindicated. Maxwell's attorney spoke to journalists outside of court shortly after the verdict.
BOBBI STERNHEIM, GHISLAINE MAXWELL'S LAWYER: We firmly believe in Ghislaine's innocence. Obviously, we are very disappointed with the verdict. We have already started working on the appeal, and we are confident that she will be vindicated. MOGHE: Maxwell faces up to 65 years in prison for these counts, and she'll be sentenced at a later date. She also faces two separate perjury charges in a separate case.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
VAUSE: Areva Martin joins me now from Los Angeles. Good to see you, Rita
AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hi, John.
VAUSE: OK. So the jury took five days before reaching a guilty verdict to common thinking was the longer they deliberated, the more likely they were to acquit. So guilty five of the six counts, is that come as a surprise to you?
MARTIN: Not really, John, we saw something very similar happened with respect to the Kim Potter trial. They took approximately four days and came back with guilty verdicts on the two counts that she was charged with.
So I think this traditional wisdom about how long juries are out, you know, is not holding true in this modern day. Juries are taking longer, but seemingly that time is being used to be very methodical about the evidence that's presented in the trial process.
VAUSE: There was a lot of evidence so they did ask the judge a number of questions regarding that testimony, especially. What was your take on the defense strategy, though, using the old tactics, trying to discredit the survivors who testified, attacking their credibility, portraying them as opportunists looking for a payday?
MARTIN: It's old. It's tired, and it didn't work, John. We've seen it happen time and time again, when you attack the victims, you suggest that they're lying, you say that they're motivated by money, you challenge their memories of events. And jurors are more sophisticated than that.
We've heard too many experts tell us that oftentimes victims don't have a very clear memories about the trauma that they've experienced. And women, we're in a different era. Women are being believed. When they come forward and have the courage to step up like these four women did, and to testify against their abusers to confront their abusers in court, we're seeing that those women are believed. This is very different than even 10 years ago, when women who testified about sexual abuse were often themselves maligned.
But I think the defense's, you know, strategy of trying to attract these women and suggest that somehow, Maxwell wasn't responsible, even though there was a trove of evidence against her who was clearly rejected by this jury.
VAUSE: So one down and a big one, but what are all the others? The cabal of high powered and famous men who spent time paddling around with Epstein had been accused of sexually abusing young girls? How concerned should they be by this (INAUDIBLE)? How soon before they are on trial?
MARTIN: Oh, I think John, they should be very concerned. I cannot imagine anything other than these prosecutors being embolden. We know that they've already said that this investigation is ongoing. We know that there were, as you said, men who were part of the sex reign who had sex apparently with these minor girls, you know, at various estates owned by Epstein.
Prosecutors know who these men are. I would suspect that they're putting together cases against some of them and we may see some additional indictments and trials moving forward against some of these men are clearly anyone involved in sexually abusing minors, you know, causing young girls to give them massages, you know, have oral sex, engage in the kind of sexual acts we heard about in this trial should be held accountable and should be brought to justice.
[01:15:20]
VAUSE: And what we saw in this trial is that the women who testify or from very different backgrounds, but gave very similar accounts as to how they're recruited, how they're groomed by Maxwell. You know, that seemed crucial in this conviction on sex trafficking charges. And that kind of strategy, I guess, will be crucial moving forward for these other trials.
MARTIN: I think so, John. It was remarkable when you heard the women testify, even though as you said, they were from very different backgrounds, their encounters with Jeffrey Epstein happened in different locations at different times. But yet their stories that the narratives that they told about their experiences with both Maxwell and Epstein are very, very similar.
And I think that was very persuasive to this jury to have four different women recount very similar facts about being groomed about being enticed by Maxwell to engage in the sexual conduct. And then Maxwell herself, in many instances, participating in the sexual acts of herself groping as we know, one of the women's breasts that came forward to testify. Very, very graphic details about the sexual encounters of these very young girls.
I couldn't help but imagine that the case would be persuasive. And then we would have the outcome that we saw today.
VAUSE: We also hear that the legal team defending Maxwell's plans to appeal, what could be the possible grounds for an appeal here?
MARTIN: Well, we expect the legal team to say that. Defense attorneys routinely, you know, look for errors, reversible errors, one error -- one area that I wouldn't be surprised that that is the subject of appeal is this issue about the photographs. You know, John, the judge allowed in these photographs of Maxwell and Epstein, some very intimate photographs. And the defense objected very strenuously to those photographs coming into evidence. They said they were prejudicial. They said they were repetitive. They were cumulative. And the judge allowed many of those photographs in anyhow. So I would expect that that is one of the grounds that we should see an appeal. I don't think an appeal of this case is going to be successful. Appeals and criminal cases like this are rarely successful. But look, she's entitled to the best legal defense she can afford. And we know she's a very wealthy woman. So, I wouldn't expect anything less than her legal team to move forward with an appeal.
But I think today was a good day for victims. It was a good day for these four victims. And it was a good day for the Me Too Movement. Because this is the first case, John, high profile case that involved a female defendant who has been charged and now convicted of sexual assault as it relates to women.
VAUSE: Yes, good point, Areva. Good point to finish on. Thank you so much. Good to see you.
MARTIN: Thanks, John.
VAUSE: Coming up here on CNN Newsroom, another phone call over the crisis on Ukraine's border, President Putin and Biden set to talk in the coming hours.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:21:54]
VAUSE: Well, for the second time this month in just a few hours, U.S. presidents Biden and Putin. Well, a Russian President, I should say, will speak by phone presumably about Ukraine and apparently the Russian leaders request.
Relations between the two global powers have reached a new low and are getting worse over Russia's military buildup on Ukraine's eastern border. The White House believes could be a privilege for an invasion.
This call on Thursday expected to set the stage for next month's senior level negotiations in Geneva aimed at defusing the Ukraine crisis. The latest from CNN's Jeremy Diamond.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JEREMY DIAMON, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Just two weeks after U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin sat down for a video conference. The two leaders set to speak once again on Thursday afternoon, Eastern time here in the United States. The two leaders will get on the phone to talk in particular about the 10 situation at the Russian-Ukrainian border.
We're told that this call came at the Russian president's request. And crucially, it comes less than two weeks before U.S. and Russian officials are set to meet for security talks beginning the week of January 10. So now the question is, what exactly can President Biden accomplish with this?
First of all, we're told that U.S. officials saw no reason to decline the invitation from the Russian presidency. No downside, particularly at what a senior administration official calls a moment of crisis.
The, of course, the focus of this call is expected to be those tensions at the Russian-Ukrainian border and senior U.S. officials tell us that President Biden is going to try and make clear to President Putin that U.S. first of all is committed to meaningful diplomacy to try and deescalate tensions in that region, but also to make clear what the costs for Russia will be if indeed the Russian president decides to move forward with an invasion of Ukraine,
U.S. officials have made very clear that those costs will be severe financial and economic sanctions that will go much further than anything the U.S. did in 2014 after Russia invaded and annexed Crimea from Ukraine.
Ultimately, though, this phone conversation will also be about trying to determine what exactly can be accomplished during those security talks set to begin the week of January 10. The clear goal for U.S. officials from their perspective is deescalating and crucially, having Russia draw down its forces on the Ukrainian border. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, travelling with the president in Wilmington, Delaware.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
VAUSE: Still to come here on CNN, European countries are seeing unprecedented numbers of COVID infections as the Omicron variant continues its rapid spread across the continent. Details when we come back.
Also ahead, naming and shaming and public humiliation in China for those breaking pandemic rules. The very latest live from Beijing also in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:28:08]
VAUSE: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm John Vause. And returning now to the stunning surge of COVID-19 cases as to global figures that should -- deeply concern us all. Global cases averaging more than a million a day for the first time since the pandemic began. That's according to data tracked by Johns Hopkins University. And COVID deaths have nearly doubled this year compared to 2020.
Despite this being the year of the vaccine, more than 5,400,000 total people worldwide have lost their lives to the Coronavirus in the past 21 months.
Right now, several nations across Europe reporting record highs of Delhi COVID-19 infections. We get details from CNN Salma Abdelaziz reporting in from London.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER (on camera): The Omicron variant continues to drive unprecedented infection rates across Europe. The French health minister saying he got vertigo. Looking at the latest figures he revealed that every single second at least two people in France were testing positive, it comes after the country recorded on Tuesday more than 200,000 positive cases in a 24-hour period, the highest number seen in France since the start of the pandemic.
Very similar scenes here in the UK, skyrocketing infection rates. But across the globe, these infection rates are not turning into the rate of hospitalizations, and deaths that we've seen during previous waves. That's why Prime Minister Boris Johnson says no tougher restrictions are needed for now. The Prime Minister was at a vaccination center pushing the message to get boosted
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The Omicron variant continues to cause real problems. You're seeing cases rising in hospitals, but it is obviously milder than the Delta variant. And we're able to proceed in the way that we are.
But that's one reason, one reason only why we're able to do that and that's been such a huge proportion of the British public have come forward to get vaccinated and particularly to get boosted.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
[01:29:54]
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now the U.K. has seen an increase of hospitalizations of about 25 percent, in the last week according to publicly available data.
But omicron is also presenting another challenge. Just keeping basic services running. Tens of thousands of people, of course, testing positive every day means many, many sick out.
Thousands of flights have been canceled in recent days as airliners struggle to stay staffed. That's why some authorities, some governments, are looking at potentially reducing the isolation period.
Spain has made a move to do this. And other governments considering that reduction in isolation period as well just to keep basic services running.
Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Public shaming appears to have made a return in China for those who break COVID-19 protocols and guidelines.
Right now to Beijing CNN's Steven Jiang standing by.
Ok. So this is one of those cases where you are either being blamed or shamed for, you know, breaking the COVID rules. Are they being blamed or shamed for, you know, breaking just the general rules for illegally allowing people to cross into the country. So what are the details?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well John, this incident, really because of the social media videos we are seeing, we are now learning about it. It happened on Tuesday, with four suspects in full hazmat suits with their mugshots printed on big placards hanging around their necks being marched through the streets of Jingxi, that's a border town in southern China.
And their alleged crime was to help others illegally crossing the borders into China from neighboring Vietnam. That obviously considered a serious offense amid this country's continued border closures and COVID regulations. Now, there were some recent outbreaks blamed on illegal immigrants who enter China through land border crossings. So officials in those places are facing mounting pressure from Beijing, especially ahead of the Winter Olympics.
But those disturbing images really have caused a lot of public reactions online, because they have reminded many people of one of the most repressive periods in recent Chinese history, namely, the culture revolution in the 1960s and 70s in the Mao era when political fanatics were treating their enemies or enemies of the revolution in this humiliating matter.
So there are of course some supportive voices online saying this is needed to act as deterrent. But there is a growing number of voices of opposition, including actually from state media outlets like the Beijing News saying this is in serious violation of the spirit of the rule of law, it should never happen again.
But so far, the local authorities, the local police in Jingxi they're standing firm behind their decisions, saying this was meant to sent out a strong warning to the local population not to break immigration or COVID laws and regulations, and they see nothing inappropriate about this.
But the irony of this, of course, that Beijing leadership has been touting the effectiveness of it zero-COVID policy and how this is showing they put people first. And this is proof of the superiority of their political system, but incidents like this obviously expose a dark side of their COVID policy showing how at least local officials have little regard for human rights or human dignity in the name of COVID prevention, John.
VAUSE: Steven, thank you. Steven Jiang live for us in Beijing.
Well, for a second day, COVID infections in India are up dramatically over the past 24 hours fueling fears a much bigger surge is imminent because of the omicron variant. Despite that, politicians continue to hold huge political rallies ahead of coming legislative elections.
Thousands packed closely together cheering and clapping -- the ideal conditions, experts say, for a super spreader event.
Here's Ivan Watson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): India's prime minister on the campaign trail, addressing packed crowds Uttar Pradesh, a key political battleground. With elections due to start here early next year, Narendra Modi has made seven trips to India's most populous state in December alone.
At these rallies, most, including the nation's leader, are not wearing masks, and little mention from Modi's ruling BJP of the COVID-19 pandemic.
GILLES VERNIERS, POLITICAL ANALYST: And it seems unlikely that the BJP would want to take the risk to conduct the election in the aftermath of another one. On the other hand they are reckless enough to push for holding an election during a COVID wave.
WATSON: But there are fears of a repeat of recent tragic history. This was the scene in New Delhi in the spring of 2021. Crematoriums working overtime, death tolls from COVID skyrocketing, hospital beds and oxygen in short supply.
[01:34:56]
WATSON: With the health care system overwhelmed, critics accused Modi of putting politics before public health, after encouraging election rallies and large religious gatherings, which would later be declared super spreader events by some experts.
Fast forward to today.
NARENDRA MODI, INDIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Omicron is a concern, please don't panic. But be careful and stay low. Use masks as much as possible.
WATSON: Some Indian states have imposed measures to curb the spread of the new omicron variant. But despite urging caution, the national government has yet to announce any restrictions on large public gatherings.
As cases rise, only 41 percent of India's population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
As the nation's political parties come out to campaign, public health officials are sounding the alarm.
V.K. PAUL, INDIAN COVID TASK FORCE HEAD: If India observe the same pattern as the U.K. and if you compare the population of both countries, 80,000 daily cases in U.K. would mean around 1.4 million daily COVID cases in India.
WATSON: They worry the election cycle could fuel a fresh wave of new infections.
DR. DHIREN GUPTA, SIR GANGA RAM HOSPITAL (through translator): People might not get tested if the symptoms of this variant aren't visible. So there are more chances of the election rallies becoming super spreader events.
But there is no doubt that we should postpone these rallies for at least two months. Prevention is the best cure for India. WATSON: In the spring of 2021, India's health care system buckled
under the pressure of its second coronavirus wave, which peaked at some 400,000 recorded daily cases.
Since then, the government has increased the number of ICU beds, and bolstered oxygen supplies. But it's still an open question how hospitals will cope if there's a new wave of omicron infections.
For now, Prime Minister Modi's message is clear, when it comes to casting ballots, the show must go on.
Ivan Watson, CNN -- Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Still ahead here on CNN. Hope and despair as we look back at the big international stories of 2021 from the promise and optimism of COVID vaccines to desperate refugees stuck on the E.U. border.
[01:37:23]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Images from South Africa just moments ago. The coffin bearing the body of Desmond Tutu, the archbishop known as the moral conscience of the country, arrived at St. George's Cathedral there. It will lie in state for the next two days.
Mourners have been paying their respects to Tutu, the Nobel Peace Laureate, as well as the anti apartheid icon. He will be laid to rest at a ceremony on New Year's day. And we will have live coverage of tributes to the archbishop as they happen in South Africa in the coming hours.
But right now, Desmond Tutu, his coffin has been taken in that plain wooden box, as requested, to St. George's Cathedral, where it will be for the next two days.
The COVID vaccine rollout, a presidential assassination, and a political upheaval in Afghanistan -- 2021 had its share of turmoil, let downs, as well as some hope.
CNN'S Clarissa Ward looks at some of the biggest stories of the past year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: 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 MARKEL, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: Concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born.
OPRAH WINFREY, TV HOST: What?
WARD: 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.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, opening up to Oprah Winfrey about being singled out, she believes forced out of the royal family.
WARD: A month after the explosive broadcast, Queen Elizabeth's husband, Prince Philip died at the age of 99.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tonight, a shocked and saddened nation remembers the legacy of an irreplaceable figurehead.
WARD: Number 9 --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hours after Haiti's president was assassinated, gunfire still crackled through Port-au-Prince.
WARD: The assassination of Jovenel Moise took place against a background of extreme violence in the capital of Port-au-Prince.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are at least 17 people detained at this point.
WARD: Number 8: the conflict in the Middle East came to ahead once again this spring and turned into one of the worst rounds of violence between the two sides in years.
It's a pattern that shouldn't be familiar, yet already is. Hamas and Islamic jihad rockets streaking across the sky from Gaza --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Clarissa Ward and her team were the first Western TV journalists allowed into the country since the coup.
WARD: 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: Since the February coup, the military has killed more than 1,300 people and arrested more than 10,000 according to an advocacy group.
Number 6: a powerful CNN investigation sheds light on a raging civil war.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 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 --
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Three bodies were found down at the river front.
WARD: -- to investigate reports of mass killings.
ELBAGIR: One by one they enter the church, carrying in sacks all that is left of loved ones executed by Ethiopian soldiers. This is fresh evidence of a January massacre.
[01:44:54]
WARD: In late April, a CNN team traveling through Tigray, witnessed Eritrean soldiers, some disguising themselves in old Ethiopian military uniforms, cutting off critical aid routes to starving communities.
ELBAGIR: CNN. CNN. We're CNN, journalists.
WARD: Eritrea's government has denied any involvement in atrocities. And Ethiopia's government has pledged investigations into any wrongdoing. But the bloody conflict rages on spilling into other parts of the country, raising fears of an all out war.
Number 5: 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.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Poland has sealed the border, and now has 15,000 troops here to make sure that no one can pass, Jake.
WARD: European leaders have accused Belarus of manufacturing the crisis as retribution, over sanctions over human rights abuses. Claims Belarus denies.
The year ends with tensions between Ukraine and Russia, at their highest in years, with a massive buildup of Russian forces along the Ukrainian border fueling fears over Moscow's intentions.
Number 4: Chinese leader Xi Jinping's steel grip 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 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 criticisms 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.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This island is a potential flash point for what their president calls a fight between authoritarian China and democratic Taiwan, allied with the United States.
WARD: Number 3 --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Protest rallies across Russia today in support of detained Kremlin opposition activist Alexei Navalny.
WARD: Russia's best known opposition politician, Alexei Navalny, sent to a penal colony after he dared to return home five months after a near fatal nerve agent attack.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shortly before his detention, Navalny saying, he is not scared.
WARD: Number 2: 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 hasn't kept up with the speed of the spreading virus, especially in poorer countries.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In Delhi now, you are never far from heartbreak. Almost everyone in the city has been visited by grief.
WARD: 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 six million people in a matter of hours, barely firing a shot.
This is a sight I honestly thought I would never see. Scores of Taliban fighters and just behind us the U.S. embassy compound.
Thousands scrambling to leave before the U.S. military exit.
So they're saying they all worked with American -- as translators for the Americans, and they can't get into that airport.
A terrorist 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. It was a blow to U.S. credibility and to democratic advances, especially on women's rights and media freedoms which were stifled overnight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:49:53]
VAUSE: And we will take a short break.
When we come back a Tesla with a dead battery, an unhappy owner and a pile of dynamite. Find out what happens next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: A strong day for the U.S. stocks (INAUDIBLE) as the Dow and S&P 500 finished at all-time highs, what's known as a Santa Clause rally, gains made during the last week of the year, after Christmas when trading volume is low.
The Dow finished up 91 points, first time the index has hit a new record since early November.
Elon Musk, take note here. There is much unhappiness with the price of a new battery being roughly the same cost of a new Tesla car.
CNN's Jeanne Moos reports one Tesla owner in Finland came up with an explosive solution.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ever get so mad at a pair of bills that you wanted to blow up your car? Me neither.
But this Finnish guy was beyond finished with his 2013 Tesla model-S after he says he got an estimate of over $22,000 to replace his battery.
Tuomas Katainen was asked which would be better, a working Tesla or 66 pounds of dynamite exploding?
[01:54:55]
TUOMAS KATAINEN, TESLA OWNER: Sort of both, maybe more explosion.
MOOS: Tuomas went to the bomb dudes. In Finnish, Pommijatkat(ph), a YouTube channel known for blowing things up. He didn't have to pay. The bomb dudes use volunteers to rig the car with dynamite. Tuomas bought the 2013 Tesla used about a year and a half ago. He even
choppered in a dummy meant to resemble Elon Musk.
To take that final ride, Tuomas got to push the button. The explosion at a former quarry was captured from every angle. The video exploded on the Internet with one poster asking Elon Musk, could you get him a new one please?
CNN asked Tesla for comment but got no response. This isn't the first Tesla to be blasted. SpaceX launched a rocket which released a Tesla roadster with star man at the wheel, they're still orbiting the sun, made on earth by humans, while this Tesla was exploded on earth by humans.
Jeanne Moos --
KATAINEN: There is nothing left.
MOOS: -- CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Oh, a good time was had by all.
And thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
CNN NEWSROOM continues after a very short break with my colleague and friend, Paula Newton. See you tomorrow.
[01:56:40]
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