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White House Defends President Biden's Statement; Another Apology by P.M. Boris Johnson; England to Loosen COVID Restrictions; Beijing Tighten Rules as Olympic Games Approaches; Europe COVID Cases Not Winding Down. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired January 20, 2022 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead here on CNN Newsroom, Joe Biden's shocking suggestion about a minor incursion from Russia. Ukraine now calling his remarks a greenlight to Vladimir Putin.

Pressure is mounting for Boris Johnson to resign after a heated day in parliament. Members of his own party are even asking him to go.

And extreme winter storms in Syria are putting hundreds of thousands that risk, and making an already dire situation even worse.

UNKNOWN: Live from CNN center, this is CNN Newsroom with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. We begin with a major cleanup in the foreign policy aisle for the Biden administration. More than 100,000 Russian troops are massed along the border with Ukraine, new satellite images from Maxar technology showed the buildup.

The government in Kiev is preparing for a possible Russian invasion, now Ukrainian officials say they are shocked and stunned by U.S. President Joe Biden's suggestion that a minor incursion might elicit a lesser response. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Russia will be held accountable, if it invades. And it depends on what it does, it's one thing if it's minor incursion, and then we end up having to fight about what to do and not do, et cetera. But if they actually do with their capable of doing with the forces amassed on the border, it is going to be a disaster for Russia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): The White House was quick to clarify, indicating a minor incursion might be something like a cyberattack, which would be met with a proportionate response. But press secretary Jen Psaki emphasize that any Russian forces crossing into the Ukraine would be considered an invasion, drawing a sift and severe response.

So, let's go live to CNN's Nic Robertson who joins us from Moscow. Good to see you, Nic. So, while the White House moves swiftly to clarify President Biden's Ukraine comments. What damage was already done and where the diplomatic efforts stand at this point.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It's not just President Biden's comments last night that are causing concern amongst NATO allies. It's comments by president of France, Emmanuel Macron saying that he thinks that the E.U. should have a separate track of diplomacy, of dialogue with Russia, too, that that's been conducted by NATO and by the United States.

Certainly, at the outset of all of this, Russia and President Putin knew that by singling out the United States to have a separate dialogue with them and a separate dialogue with NATO, and conversation separately with both French and German diplomats. That this was likely to open any divisions in the position among NATO partners.

The position from NATO and from the United States has been until now exceptionally clear. That is, that any incursion, any reinvasion, reinvasion because they consider -- the consideration is given that the invasion in 2014 to annexed Crimea was Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Any re-invasion would incur these very stiff sanctions. Not -- not yet fully spelled out what these sanctions are.

But this now raises a level of doubt, and it certainly shines a spotlight on the internal dimensions of discussions that are going on, and have been going on at NATO. That some allies there would see an incursion of a lesser variety, as President Biden put it, as not worthy of a massive response. So, tying up those loose ends.

And president Macron of France saying that he wants a separate track of E.U. diplomacy. That's something that we've heard from the French president before, he's always been keen to push a defense agenda for the E.U., that is lacking at the moment, a common defense agenda.

And we know that the E.U.'s foreign policy chief has spoken with the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken who has just arrived in Germany for more diplomatic discussions about how to handle Russia's threat, perceived threat on Ukraine.

[03:04:55]

So, all of this is going to, as you said, cleanup in the aisle, that there's going to be continuing cleanup, but here in Russia the perception will be in the Kremlin, undoubtedly, that these divisions will work to their advantage. How? We don't know. Because we don't know what Russia's decisions are going to be in the coming days.

CHURCH: Yes, that's right. Nic Robertson joining us live from Moscow, many thanks.

David Sanger is a CNN political and national security analyst. He is also the White House national security consultant for the New York Times. And he joins me now from Washington. David, great to have you wish us.

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL & NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Great to be back with you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, the biggest national headline from President Biden's press conference came out of a question from you about the intentions of Russia's President Putin when it comes to Ukraine. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: David, I'm not so sure later he is certain what's he wants to do. My guess is he will move in, he has to do something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): So, David, President Biden predicting that Russia will invade Ukraine, but also saying a minor incursion will prompt a lesser response from U.S. and NATO allies, causing the White House to scramble to offer clarifications on his comment after Ukraine said they basically gave Russia a green light to invade the country. Why would you say this at such a tense and delicate moment?

SANGER: Well, he didn't have the answer down just right, it was pretty clear what he was trying to do, I don't think he articulated it the way he wanted to. But he was trying to say, I think, and what the clarification indicated, was that, if Russia will did paramilitary exercises inside Ukraine to destabilize the government, did a cyberattack it wouldn't necessarily trigger the kind of sanctions that NATO has been threatening, and that the United States has been threatening.

The problem with that is, it invites him of course to experiment on those lines. And there are many in the Pentagon, in the American intelligence agencies who believe he never really planned to take over the entire country and deal with an insurgency that would follow.

CHURCH: Yes, I mean, that's the problem, isn't it? Because despite that clarification from the White House that came a little bit later, this muddy is the water is on a dangerous and critical issue, and fails to offer an unequivocal deterrent to Russian invading of Ukraine. So, what needs to happen now?

SANGER: Well, I think that by issuing the statement, I think that they are trying to make the case that a physical invasion of any kind is an invasion. And in fact, just last week in the background briefing that we got from some State Department officials, one of them said that an invasion is an invasion is an invasion.

So, in other words, if the Russians step over the line, it will trigger this. But I think the president was uttering a truth here, which is that a lot of the NATO countries are nervous about the sanctions. They're afraid that the Russians will take it out on them in energy supply or something else.

And therefore, it better be a really big invasion, in order to take that kind of risk. And I think in some ways, he was giving some voice to what he's been hearing from the Europeans.

CHURCH: President Biden also said there is room to work with Russia, and he still doesn't think that President Putin wants a full-blown war, but added that Putin will test the U.S. and NATO and will pay dearly if he does that. All pretty different messages there. What would Putin make of Biden's pretty muddled answers on the Ukraine issue?

SANGER: Well, that's an interesting question. The question that I asked him, Rosemary, was did he stick by his view of six months ago that Putin had no desire to enter another Cold War. And he answered it by saying that he thought he didn't think he wants a full-blown war.

Now we're all wearing masks during this and it's possible he didn't hear me correctly, it's possible I didn't hear him correctly. But I think that what was going on was that, he recognizes that at this point, Putin is engaged in pretty Cold War-like behavior. After all he surrounded the country on three sides with 100,000 troops, and declare that he needs a sphere of influence of the kind the Soviets had during the area of the Soviet bloc.

[03:09:50]

So now he's sort of falling back to he doesn't necessarily want a full-blown war. Well, that's good since these are two nuclear rivals. But I think it leaves a lot of questions, probably in Putin's mind about just how well the NATO alliance with hold together if he does something that is more surgical, more asymmetric, more cyber.

CHURCH: David Sanger, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it, and your analysis.

SANGER: Great, thank you.

CHURCH: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson could be heading to a no confidence vote in parliament as more members of his own party openly call for him to step down. The prime minister faced harsh criticism in parliament on Wednesday over a series of parties his staff held during strict lockdown, during the COVID pandemic.

One conservative lawmaker dramatically crossed over to the opposition side to show his disapproval. Mr. Johnson apologized again, but his multiple attempts to explain away the gatherings have only provoked ridicule and condemnation from M.P.s on both sides.

And CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joins us now from London. Good to see you, Salma. So of course, the big question now is can Boris Johnson survive the intensifying pressure, and of course growing calls for his vaccination.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: I think, Rosemary, that Prime Minister Boris Johnson brought himself a little bit more time yesterday in parliament. He was on his feet, he was back in fighting form, he was on the offensive, and he was ready to evade any questions he was asked.

He simply would not address party gate, he would talk about COVID, he would talk about vaccines, he would talk about the economy but he was not going to answer any questions on the parties. And since last week, since he was last in parliament he has apologized, again, and again, and again. Sorry to the country, sorry to the parliament, sorry to the queen even herself. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson tried sorry one more time. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I thank people very much for everything they have done, I recognize the enormous sacrifice that people have made. I apologize for misjudgments that maybe made it number 10 by me, and anybody else, but please, can I ask him to wait for the inquiry to conclude?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: Now, all of those sorrys so far, Rosemary, simply seem not to be enough. And most worryingly for Prime Minister Boris Johnson within his own party the mood is hardened. You mentioned the no confidence vote. Now in order for that to happen, a certain number of M.P.s, 15 percent of conservative lawmakers in parliament would have to mutiny against the prime minister. Would have to submit letters calling for this vote.

Now we're nowhere near that threshold but day by day, this anger within his party, the sense that maybe he's not the man for the job, is growing. We already know of a small handful of M.P.s who have submitted such letters, and here's the other thing to remember, Rosemary.

The prime minister now has two ways in which he can potentially be pushed out of office, if his party turns against him as we just said, 15 percent of lawmakers submit those letters. The other thing is if the prime minister is found to have intentionally lied, intentionally misled parliament, the custom in this country is that he resigns.

So, Prime Minister Boris Johnson really trying here to change the subject. But it's simply not going to go away, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right, Salma Abdelaziz, many thanks for that report.

Anand Menon, teaches European politics and foreign affairs at King's college London. And he joins us now, many thanks.

ANAND MENON, PROFESSOR OF EUROPEAN POLITICS & FOREIGN AFFAIRS, KING'S COLLEGE LONDON: For sure.

CHURCH: We have seen Boris Johnson survive controversies in the past, but this is very different, isn't it? Ignoring his own COVID lockdown rules to party it up while other Brits suffer. Can he survive this, and should he?

MENON: I mean, it's different in two ways, it's different firstly in the way you said, and the apparently agree just way went on, British newspapers are full of accounts from people saying, my relative died on May the 20th, and you are having a party. So, this has resonated.

And the second wave is different from anything that's happening to Boris Johnson before, I think, is he's taken a real hit in the polls. Boris Johnson was always the guy who could politically in this country, he'd come back from seemingly impossible situations and win elections.

And the real danger for him now, and the reason why, I think ultimately his position is very weak, is he is no longer seen as an electoral asset by his party. And the reason he was elected, no one was in any I doubt about the prime minister's character when they elected him leader of the conservative party. But conservative M.P.s decided that actually, because he is a man who can win elections, it was worth taking a gamble on him. Now that no longer appears the case, his position is very, very fragile indeed.

CHURCH: And earlier in the week, Boris Johnson said nobody told him these Downing Street parties were in breach of COVID lockdown rules despite of course being the one who made those rules. Now he says lawmakers should wait for the findings of an inquiry into the parties before drawing any conclusions. But this won't be an independent inquiry, so how reliable will any of those findings be?

[03:15:06]

MENON: This won't be an independent inquiry in the sense that the person doing the inquiry, her boss is Boris Johnson, ultimately. So, it's not an independent inquiry in any way shape or form. What Sue Gray, the official who is meant to be doing this inquiry is meant to do is find out the facts. Nothing in her report, no one expects her to come to a conclusion or to suggest punishment, or suggest guilty parties. She will simply lay out on the basis of talking to people in Number 10, what she thinks happened over those fateful weeks where it appears that Number 10 held a series of parties.

What will be key after that is how both Boris Johnson's own M.P.s, and equally importantly how the public react to what her findings are. So, it will be a two-stage process, we'll get the report, but then the crucial thing is how people react to the facts that are contains inside that report.

CHURCH: Yes, because lawmakers are for the most part waiting for those findings before they make a move. But if Johnson does go, who are the possible alternatives to step in this time and lead the country, and just how risky is it for the Tories to get rid of Johnson? MENON: Well, there's never any shortage of politicians who believe in

the heart of hearts that they can do a better job than their colleague. So, there's a long cast list of potential successors to Boris Johnson, the two front runners are the current chancellor Rishi Sunak, and the foreign secretary, Liz Truss.

The ultimate electorate is the conservative party membership under the rules, to M.P.s narrow the field to two, the members vote. Liz Truss is a big leader amongst members at the moment. The problem is neither of those two candidates seem to have the sort of electoral magic that Boris Johnson had, whilst he may be coming to be seen as an electoral liability right now, it's not absolutely clear who out of his replacements who would be an electoral asset. And that is something that is giving conservatives pause for thoughts at the moment.

CHURCH: And how much is the opposition enjoying this drama playing out on the other side of the aisle. They will benefit in the end, presumably?

MENON: Well, they're enjoying it a lot for a number of reasons. One, it's always good to see your opponent flailing, and make no mistake, Boris Johnson has been flailing for the last couple of weeks. But secondly, Keir Starmer, the opposition leader, now enjoys a healthy lead in the polls, and this is the first time it's happened.

The speed with which Boris Johnson's lead in public opinion has been eroded, has been absolutely breathtaking. So, Labour finds themselves ahead in the polls, Labour finds themselves now able to attract conservative M.P.s to come and join the Labour Party, as happened yesterday.

The question is, whether the Labour Party will be able to press home its advantage, and perhaps even more so actually, there's a conversation going on about whether Labour would be best served by seeing the conservatives change their leader, or whether a wounded Boris Johnson clinging on to power would be their best chance of winning the next election.

CHURCH: We'll watch to see what happens. Anand Menon in London. Many thanks for joining us.

MENON: Thank you.

CHURCH: Well, coming up, parts of Europe are seeing record numbers of COVID cases, the details next. Plus, despite Beijing's zero COVID campaign, new cases are popping up. How that could impact the Olympics, that's next?

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CHURCH (on camera): British prime Minister Boris Johnson says his government got the big things right when it comes to the battle against COVID-19. And on Wednesday, he announced that because of the extraordinary vaccine booster campaign, England could now return to more lenient plan a restriction. Now that means the government is no longer asking people to work from home, and face coverings will no longer be advised in classrooms.

By next Thursday, all mandatory mask rules will end. But in Germany health officials report the highest ever daily number of COVID cases since the pandemic began with more than 130,000 infections recorded Thursday.

COVID infections also surging in France. On Wednesday, the country reported more than 400,000 new cases for a second straight day.

So, let's turn to CNN's Melissa Bell, she joins us live from Paris. Good to see you, Melissa. So, what is the latest on these record cases, and how the government is dealing with a surge in infections?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, just in extraordinary rises in several European countries in the last few days, really quite staggering figures that we're seeing. Now here in France, the government will be meeting today, its ministers will be meeting to try and look ahead not for now, but to give some sense of perspective on when some of the restrictions that are currently in place will be able to be eased.

The question of when night clubs will be open, for instance, and life will get back to something that resembles normality. Again, not for now, but they are determined this morning in the meeting to find some sense of what the next weeks and months will look like.

But for the time being, there is likely to be, Rosemary, more political pressure ahead, as the government tries to keep this Omicron driven wave under control, a wave that has yet to peak.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BELL (voice over): Three protests in a single day, medical workers, teachers, and ordinary citizens angered by the French government's handling of the pandemic but with the fifth wave bringing record COVID figures it's determined to keep up the pressure on the unvaccinated.

EMMANUEL MACRON PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): Make the simple gesture for you, for your countrymen, for our country. The whole of France is counting on you.

BELL: Emmanuel Macron's tone changing only days later when he told a newspaper that he wanted with his vaccine pass, to piss off France's five million unvaccinated citizens, roughly seven and a half percent of the population. It appears to have worked. Protesters angry that the unvaccinated will be excluded from cafes, restaurants, cinemas, theaters, and even transport between regions.

Anger reflected also in parliament, as lawmakers debated the tightening of COVID regulations.

AGNES THILL, FRENCH M.P. (through translator): Soon, we will see people hiding in the trains toilets to eat their sandwiches. BELL: One lawmaker showing the three kilograms of equipment, he says

he'll be carrying around until the end of his life as a result of catching COVID-19.

RAPHAEL GERARD, FRENCH M.P. (through translator): When I take the train, I don't worry about whether or not I'll be able to eat peanuts, I asked myself whether or not I'm going to get out of the train in one piece or whether I'll be going back to hell.

BELL: More than 300 death threats have been reported against elected officials since July 2021, according to the ministry of the interior. The majority of them from anti-vaxxers.

This lawmaker from Macron's party now has his home controlled by the police.

JACQUES MAIRE, FRENCH M.P.: What we feel now is that with the pandemic, there are some people who used to be normal engaged citizens were becoming more and more marginalized in fact. And will feel themselves in a kind of blockade.

BELL: The debate here in the national assembly was angrier and longer than the government had expected, and Emmanuel macron's words on wanting to piss off the unvaccinated certainly didn't help. So could it be that in using them, he was actually seeking as a reforming president, as a strong president to look ahead to an election that is now less than three months away.

BRUNO CAUTRES, POLITICAL ANALYST: When he said that is also saying that if you re-elect me, I will continue to do this kind of thing, I will continue to reform France even if you don't like it.

BELL: The French president has yet to confirm that he'll run, but his COVID policies look set to loom large. Many candidates taking part in recent protests with several like the far-right's Marine Le Pen opposed not so much to vaccination per se, as to the government's vaccine pass.

[03:25:05]

And there is little doubt that Emmanuel Macron will seek reelection. On Tuesday, he was announcing fresh investment saying that making the country more competitive, and already looking ahead to the next five years.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BELL (on camera): Rosemary, this year the French president election will see both rounds held in April, that's going to come around very quickly. And all-around Emmanuel Macron extremely crowded and extremely fractured field, especially on the right and on the far- right. So, a very unpredictable election coming up, he is for now leading the polls, but again, with a number of other candidates hold on his heels.

There is that uncertainty even as that Omicron driven wave continues to progress. We have yet to see its peak. And in the next few weeks, that is likely to play a key role in a campaign, as I say, that is looking for the time being really hard to call, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes, understandable. Melissa Bell, joining us there live from Paris, many thanks.

Well, a handful of COVID cases are breaking through Beijing's containment efforts. The Chinese capital recorded another five infections on Wednesday, just a little more than two weeks before the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

CNN's Kristie Lu Stout is following this for us from Hong Kong, and she joins us now live. Good to see you, Kristie.

So how might this impact the Olympics, and what are athletes saying about all of this. And any COVID infections going forward?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, just to put things in perspective here, the level of infection that we're talking about in Beijing is still very, very low, compared to levels being reported in big western cities. On Wednesday, Beijing reported five new cases of the Omicron variant, pardon me, five new cases of COVID-19 as cases may be rising. But we're only talking about five new cases reported on Wednesday.

Of these new cases, three are the Delta variant, and four are linked to a cold storage facility in the Feng Xiang district of Beijing. In response, they have sealed off that warehouse, they have also suspended operations of the cold storage warehouse. And the residential buildings where the workers are based, that has been sealed off and put into lockdown, as well.

Now in terms of the Omicron variants, the total number of cases we are still unclear about that. But we do know, and we'll bring up the map for you, in terms of where locally transmitted cases of the Omicron variant have been detected, they have been detected in at least nine cities across China. It is literally all over the map in China from Shenzhen in the south, to Anyang in the central Henan province, to of course the Olympic host city. Rosemary, back to you.

CHURCH: And Kristie, we're also learning China is warning athletes who engage in political protest during these games.

LU STOUT: Yes.

CHURCH: What it's saying?

LU STOUT: Yes, it's very interesting, we heard some comments from a Chinese Olympic official, warning against any violations of the Olympic spirit. Now look, the International Olympic Committee or the IOC has said that athletes during the games are free to express themselves insight inside even the Beijing Olympic bubble during press conferences, during interviews, but not necessarily during competition or during medal awards ceremonies.

But on Wednesday, during a virtual briefing, a question was posed to a Chinese Olympic organizing official about the safety concerns for athletes who may feel free to speak out over issues like human rights. And this is what we heard.

Let's bring out the screen for you, this is from Yang Shu, he is the deputy director general of the Beijing 2022 international relations department. He said, "any expression that is in line with the Olympic spirit I'm sure will be protected, and anything, and any behavior or speeches that is against the Olympic spirit, especially against Chinese laws and regulations, are also subject to search and punishment," unquote.

Now, Rosemary, Yang Shu also said that any potential punishment would be a cancellation of accreditation which is in line with the organizer's playbook. Back to you.

CHURCH: All right. Kristie Lu Stout, many thanks for that. I appreciate it. Well, the latest U.S. data on the coronavirus suggest the most recent wave of new cases maybe subsiding. The seven-day average, declined 8 percent over the past three days, but health experts caution that infections are still climbing in much of the country.

Hospitalizations and deaths also remain very high, and home tests are not counted in official figures, which may hide the actual number of new cases. The federal government on Wednesday formally launched a web site to send free text kids every U.S. household that request someone.

And the Biden administration will soon begin distributing 400 billion N95 and face masks through local pharmacies.

Well, the National Hockey League has announced a plan to play nearly 100 games that were postponed under pandemic safety measures, since players won't be participating in the Beijing Winter Olympics, the league is scheduling 95 games over a 16-day period.

[03:30:00]

That would allow each team to catch up to their usual number of games. The NHL, regular season is set to end on April 29th with playoffs afterwards.

And this just in, reports that British police have arrested two men, who may be connected to the hostage taking incident at a Texas synagogue last weekend. The new suspects were arrested in Birmingham in Manchester England. The siege at the Beth Israel synagogue near Fort Worth, Texas, resulted in the death of the gunman. The hostages were not harm.

And we will be right back.

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CHURCH: International aid flights are finally beginning to arrive in Tonga. On Saturday, the Pacific nation was hit by what is believed to be the world's biggest volcanic eruption in decades. It sent up to 15 major tsunami waves crashing into beach side communities, while volcanic ash blanketed the country which lost much of its communication lines with the outside world. Hours ago, first military planes landed in Tonga, and more aid is expected in the coming days.

So, Blake Essig is monitoring all of these developments, he joins us now live from Tokyo. And Blake, it is wonderful news that this aid has arrived, and of course more will arrive soon, more is on the way. Talk to us about the latest developments here.

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yeah, you know, Rosemary, finally some good news. With the main runway of Tonga's international airport cleared of volcanic ash, planes carrying humanitarian aid and disaster relief were finally able to reach the islands, both New Zealand and Australia flew an aid today. Japan is also planning flights for either today or tomorrow.

Now, the first flight to land carrying supplies, came from New Zealand. It included water containers, temporary shelters, generators, hygiene and family kits, and communications equipment. Because Tonga has essentially been COVID free throughout the pandemic, New Zealand's government officials said that today's delivery of supplies was contactless, and that the aircraft was only on the ground for about 90 minutes to avoid creating a possible COVID outbreak.

Now, as a result of the eruption and tsunami, the United Nations says about 84,000 people, that's more than 80 percent of Tonga's population, have been impacted by this disaster. Communication lines remain damaged, as you said, and likely won't be fixed for several weeks. Information from outer islands still remains scarce.

[03:35:08]

Now, take a look at this new video from Reuters, released overnight. As you talked about the ash, we are seeing fallen trees, homes destroyed and ash covering just about everything on Tonga's main island.

Well, outside support is now starting to arrive. People on the ground say drinking water is their biggest concern. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIAN KUPU, TONGAN JOURNALIST: Our food supply, I think will be able to survive for the next few weeks, but we're hoping shipments of imported, (inaudible) importation of (inaudible) we will be back to normal after this disruption but so far food is OK. Water is the most concerned right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ESSIG: Now, well water is a concern, food security may not last Tongans. Speaker of the House says that the country could be facing a food shortage, he says that farmers have told him that all agriculture has been ruined as a result of the massive eruption and tsunami. According to the speaker, agriculture is a major export for Tonga, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right, many thanks to Blake Essig joining us there.

Well, officials in Peru say the eruption in Tonga is to blame for a massive oil spill near Lima. The foreign ministry calls it an ecological disaster, it said the incident harmed animal and plant life in about 18,000 square kilometers around islands and fishing areas.

Stefano Pozzebon has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST (voice over): An oil spill that is wreaking havoc in Peru was caused by the volcano eruption in Tonga. More than 10,000 miles away. According to preliminary information by the Peruvian environment ministry, the spill was caused when an oil tanker was hit by a wave, caused by the Tongan eruption as it was unloading crude oil to a refinery in Ventanilla, close to Peruvian capital, Lima.

That caused more than 6,000 barrels of oil to spill off and stain beaches in at least three different districts of Lima's metropolitan area. Cleanup efforts are underway with hundreds of workers are trying to limit the damage. While the blame game has already begun. An environmental prosecutor announced on Monday that he would open an investigation into potential environment crimes into the refinery, which is owned by the Spanish oil major, Repsol.

The mayor of Lima took to Twitter the (inaudible) Repsol to resolve the situation, while a spokesperson for the company said to the Peruvian media that Repsol is committed to restoring the entire coastline to its original status.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Disruption to air travel to the U.S. over the rollout of 5G services is on Wednesday. The decision by Verizon and CNN's parent company, AT&T to delay activating the 5th generation mobile transmission system near key airports, came too late to head off some cancellations. The airline industry worries the new 5G antennas with stronger transmission and higher frequencies than in Europe, could interview with key aircraft technology. Dubai's Emirates was taken by surprise by the rollout issues. President Tim Clark gave our Richard Quest a blunt assessment of how it's all been handled.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM CLARK, PRESIDENT, EMIRATES AIRLINES: I guess I need to be as candid as I normally am, and it is like this is one of the most delinquent, utterly irresponsible issue subjects, call it what you like, that I've seen in my aviation career. Companies should have told them a long time ago that it would compromise safety of operation, of aircraft in metropolitan areas with catastrophic consequences, if this was allowed to continue.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: And for more on all of this, we want to turn to Anna Stewart,

who joins us live from London. Good to see you, Anna. So, let's talk about the impact of this on international flights. So what is the situation right now?

ANNA STEWART, CNN PRODUCER (on camera): What's so interesting, Rosemary, is flights are returning to normal, and normally when we talk about flight disruption and then it's sort of over, it starts to normalize, we stop talking about it. But not this time, the fallout really continues. And that is because as you could hear there from the president of Emirates, the frustration from airline CEOs over how this unveiled.

A whole year for 5G to rollout, lots of planning in the works, and it was an absolute botched disaster. And, of course those towers that aren't switch on currently in their airports we well be switched on in the coming weeks.

Now, there are a whole litany of issues as to why this was such a failure in the U.S., but wasn't when it was rolled out in some 40 other countries around the world specifically here in Europe. And the first big issue, perhaps is the spectrum of 5G in the U.S., it is higher than other countries.

[03:40:14]

Now is the FCC, the Federal Communications Commission who actually auctioned off airwaves, they did this a year ago, to the likes of Verizon and AT&T and they assigned a spectrum for 5G in the U.S., which is 3.4 to 3.8 gigahertz and, that is actually pretty high -- sorry that is Europe, the U.S. is slightly high, 3.7, Rosemary, to 3.98.

But that is much closer to the radio waves used by radio altimeters on planes, for instance in Europe. So there is more likely to be some interference there.

Secondly, and this is something that the president Emirates was talking about in that interview with Richard Quest, is the radio antenna and the fact that they're just more powerful in the U.S. Double the strength, he said, particularly when you put compared it to places within Europe.

And in France, there are restrictions on where you can have an antenna, how powerful it can be, how close can it be to a runway or to a flight path. There are calculations that they (inaudible) times on how high the antenna is, how powerful it is and so on.

So lots of issues here, but the final point really as to why this is such a disaster in the U.S. compared to Europe, it's also just communications, and whether you lay the blame at the U.S. Transport Secretary, or at regulators like the FCC for auctioning off that very high spectrum for 5G. Whether it's the FAA, who regulate the size.

Why was it that airlines like Emirates, and airlines within the U.S., had to make very quick, very tough decisions, to protect the safety of their passengers and their staff, when this had a whole year to roll out and there were plenty of delays.

And the biggest concern is, while mobile operators have delayed the rollout of 5G near airports, but now they haven't put a timeline on that and the worry is the can has just been kicked on the road and we could be back here in a couple weeks, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yeah. A lot of finger pointing right now. Anna Stewart, many thanks for bringing us up to date on that situation.

Well brutal winter storms whipping through parts of the Middle East, putting thousands of displaced Syrians at risk, now getting essential supplies to those in need will be even harder, details and a live report after a short break.

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CHURCH: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, is calling Israel's eviction and demolition of a Palestinian family's home in East Jerusalem a war crime. Israeli officials said the family had many opportunities to hand over the land, since an evacuation order was served in 2017.

Hadas Gold has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HADAS GOLD, CNN POLITICS, MEDIA AND BUSINESS REPORTER (voice over): It was around 3:00 in the morning when the police and municipality workers arrived. Members of the (Inaudible) family were led away, evicted before the heavy machinery came into destroy what buildings remained.

[03:45:10]

The large operation began on Monday, Israeli police on site, joined by dozens of heavily armed special forces. A metal and glass structure housing the most reselling plants was demolished while the family along with supporters stood on the roof of their house in a show of defiance.

Earlier in the week, family patriarch, Mahmoud Salhiyeh, threatened to light a gas canister and burn down the house where he lived with his wife and five children.

MAHMOUD SALHIYEH, SHEIKH JARRAH RESIDENT (through translator): Whoever leaves this house is a traitor, we are going nowhere. Either we die or live. I will set myself on fire. This is oil, I will burn myself with the house and my children.

GOLD: The Jerusalem municipality says the buildings were illegally built on public land, and that plans to build a school for children with special needs on the site. An evacuation order was first issued in 2017 and had been upheld by the courts.

Israel's public affairs minister, Omer Barlev, tweeted his support, saying "You can't have it both ways, both demanding the municipality act for the welfare of its Arab residents, and at the same time oppose the construction of educational institutions for their welfare."

(Inaudible) is one of several neighborhoods in east Jerusalem, where buildings housing Palestinian families and businesses face possible demolition or evacuation. The threat of what appeared to be imminent expulsion for several families who live less than 200 meters away from the (Inaudible) family, caused weeks of protests last spring.

There, the case was triggered not by the municipality, but by Jewish groups using a restitution law to get back land they claim was originally there's. The plight of the families, helped spark an 11-day war in May, between militant Gaza and the Israeli army. Despite the different legal contexts, many Palestinians say the cases all feel like an ongoing attempt to drive them off the land.

A Palestinian authority minister in Ramallah telling CNN such evictions are part of an effort changing the status quo of Jerusalem and negatively affecting the Jerusalemite presents whether they are Christians or Muslims.

As the light rose on Sheik Jarrah on Wednesday, and the bulldozers continue their work, the belongings left behind serves as a reminder of Jerusalem's ongoing tensions.

Hadas Gold, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Three children have been killed in Syria, and hundreds of thousands of people are at risk following heavy winter storms in the region. Humanitarian organization CARE, says the storms are especially brutal to internally displaced Syrians living in camps, as temperatures are expected to drop lower than they have in 40 years.

CNN's Arwa Damon, joins me now from Istanbul with more on this. So, Arwa, what is the latest on this disturbing story and how will essentials supplies get to those in need?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, that's the big question, isn't it, Rosemary? How can essential get to those in need. When essential supplies effectively are not available, and that's why so many aid organizations, right now, are raising the alarm bell.

The key issue here, is that these temperatures are dipping below freezing. There is very high amount of snowfall, especially for that region and a lot of these internally displaced people in Syria live in very flimsy tents with these makeshift heaters in them.

And so when it comes to the three children who were killed, one was killed when the tent collapsed because of the amount of snowfall that was on it, the other two, two sisters ages three and five were killed when their tent caught fire.

So many of these refugees live in unsafe conditions, and right now fuel prices, especially inside Syria are very high. Families can't afford them, so what are they doing? Instead, they are burning things like plastic and other unsafe materials inside.

Again, these like makeshift stoves that are incredibly unsafe . And so the fact that tents are burning down is tragically nothing new. You have another challenge as well, Rosemary and that is that people are not able to even access basic ways to keep themselves warm.

You see children outside in these freezing temperatures with just flip-flops on, one of the local hospitals was actually telling us, one of the local hospitals inside Syria that on a daily basis, going back to that whole point of burning unsafe materials, on a daily basis, people are coming into the hospital with respiratory problems.

On a near daily basis they are seeing patients that have any number of burn injuries. And so aid organizations right now are really trying tell the international community that, you know, even though there are all these other crises happening, Syrian refugees, Syria's internally displaced are also right now in need.

[03:50:15]

Because these deaths, these injuries, they're not being caused by bombs or bullets. They are being caused by a lack of humanitarian assistance. And that just adds another level to this tragedy, Rosemary. Because these deaths, these injuries, could have very easily been prevented.

CHURCH: Yeah, it is a tragic situation, hopefully the international community will step up. Arwa Damon, bringing us those developments, thanks so much.

Well, a cyberattack has expose the personal information of more than 500,000 highly vulnerable people linked to the international committee of the Red Cross. Hackers targeted a program used by the group to reunite separated families, forcing the Red Cross to shut down their I.T. systems. The Committee's Director General says they are, and I'm quoting here, "Appalled and perplexed that this humanitarian information could be targeted and compromised."

Well, now the Red Cross is attempting to contact all those affected, to inform them of the data breach. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the cyberattack.

And still to come, a climate change mystery, divers found a coral reef that has escape the effects of global warming. Now they want to know how, that story after the break.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well a rare coral reef has been discovered in the South Pacific, that appears unharmed by climate change. Now, scientists are trying to unlock its secrets in an effort to help save reefs around the world.

CNN's Jennifer Gray has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice over): Divers ready their

breathing equipment and down they go. An amazing discovery before their eyes. A rare and unique coral reef eco system, found off the coast of the French Polynesian island of Tahiti.

At three kilometers long, the reef is one of the largest in the world to lie at depths of more than 30 meters. The majority of the known coral reefs are found depths about up to 25 meters. This area of the ocean is unique, it's middle ground between shallower waters and the deep ocean floor, but still has enough life for coral to grow and reproduce.

These giant rose shaped corals are in pristine conditions, some reaching two meters in diameter. Now, the scientists are examining them in an effort to find out if there could be other large reefs at the same depth, yet to be discovered. But it's not an easy task.

JULIAN BARBIERE, HEAD OF MARINE POLICY, UNESCO: That may be one of the reasons why we don't find you know, deep reefs. You know, because the conditions for diving there are quite complicated. When you're going over 40 meters, to 50 meters, to 70 meters. You cannot go there with your usual scuba gear, you need some special apparatus.

GRAY: For this expedition, led by UNESCO, these divers are using state-of-the-art computer controlled breathing equipment know as rebreathers. The special helium based gassed mixture, allows them to stay down longer, and go down deeper.

[03:55:11]

The divers take photos of the reef during their mission while also measuring and taking samples to study it further.

UNKNOWN (through translator): So now we're going to explore the first 100 meters on the reef of rose corals. In any case, we will try to see if there's a colony, and at what depth that stops. So here we go into an unexplored worlds. Explore the unexplored, it's quite motivating and exhilarating.

GRAY: Positive news about coral reefs is rare. Rising sea temperatures, pollution, and overfishing, are the reason about half of the coral reefs have been lost since the 1950s. But this discovery means there is much more to learn about coral reefs and their surroundings that could help scientists better understand and predict climate change. According to UNESCO, only 20 percent of the world seabed has been mapped.

BARBIERE: You can only protect what you can measure. And as we are trying to set targets for global ocean conservation around the world, you know, this is the basic information that you need to start, you know, establishing marine protected areas in the world.

GRAY: This mission was only a first attempt. More expeditions are planned in the coming months, to further investigate the reefs.

BARBIERE: Coral reefs is one of the most (inaudible) ecosystem, so when we discover major new jewel in the crown, it's quite unique.

GRAY: Jennifer Gray, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And finally, you may remember this hit film from the 90s.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme, get on up, it's bobsled time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: That's of course a clip from Cool Runnings, the warm-hearted film, inspired by the debut of the longshot Jamaican bobsled team, in the 1988 Winter Olympics. Well, now, once again Jamaica's four man bobsled team has qualified for the upcoming Olympics in Beijing. It's the first time they will be competing in 24 years. As in the film, the Jamaican's will be underdogs, as they face powerhouses Germany, Canada, Austria, the U.S., and Switzerland.

Thanks so much for your company, I'm Rosemary Church, have yourself a fabulous day. "CNN Newsroom" continues now with Isa Soares.

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