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U.S. Weighs Sending More Troops To Eastern Europe, Baltics; Prince Andrew Demands Jury Trial In Virginia Giuffre Sexual Assault Case; UK PM Boris Johnson Rejects Calls For His Resignation. Aired 1- 2a ET
Aired January 27, 2022 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead this hour on CNN Newsroom. On a day of diplomacy over the Ukraine crisis, Russian troops in hardware were on the move, and the U.S. was planning to deploy thousands of troops to Eastern Europe.
Let them eat birthday cake, a defiant British Prime Minister brushes off opposition demands to resign over those pandemic parties. But soon may have no choice.
And many children in India have not been to school and more than 600 the parents are pushing to get their kids back into the classroom and who can play.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: Thanks for joining us here for CNN Newsroom. We begin with the latest diplomatic moves over Ukraine, including a formal U.S. response to a list of Kremlin security odds (ph). But actions may be speaking louder than words that Russian president has continued to move troops and hardware as well as bolster his militaries presence on Ukraine's border.
Well, the U.S. now considering sending thousands of soldiers to Eastern Europe. According to sources, three countries, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary will host something similar to afford battlegroup about 1,000 personnel in each.
Ukraine and Russia held direct peace negotiations Wednesday, the first time in a long time. The meeting in Paris which included France and Germany ended with a reaffirm commitment to uphold an existing ceasefire agreement in eastern Ukraine.
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DMITRY KOZAK, RUSSIAN NEGOTIATOR (through translator): We've agreed that regardless of the discrepancies in the readouts of the Minsk agreements between Ukraine and the representatives of separate, Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the ceasefire should be observed unconditionally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And in all of this, it is notable Ukraine's foreign minister is the rare voice downplaying threat of an imminent Russian invasion.
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DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: The number of Russian troops amassed along the border of Ukraine and in the occupied territories of Ukraine is large. It poses a threat to Ukraine, a direct threat to Ukraine, however, at the moment, as we speak, this number and is insufficient for the full scale offensive about against Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: CNN correspondents are covering this story from around the world. In a moment we will hear from CNN Sam Kiley, reporting in from Kiev on his conversation with the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine. But first, CNN Nic Robertson reports on the U.S. response to Russia's security demands.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (on camera): Without that written response has now been delivered to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Russian officials had wanted it the U.S. Ambassador delivered it Secretary of State Antony Blinken indicating that it is not a negotiating document. It is not a -- an explicit proposal. But he did say that there were elements in there that he hoped would appeal to Russia that there would be areas where they could agree and cooperate.
But in some places, sticking to things that have been said publicly, that have been a very high bar for Russia to accept so far, and that is that NATO will keep its open door policy.
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: It reiterates what we said publicly for many weeks, and in a sense for many, many years that we will uphold the principle of NATO's open door, NATO's door is open, remains open. And that is our commitment.
ROBERTSON: Well, earlier in the day, Russia's Foreign Minister speaking to the State Duma got a big round of applause when he said if the response was not constructive, that if it was aggressive or used aggressive lines, he said, Russia would have a response. This is how he framed it. SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: If there won't be any constructive response and the West will continue its aggressive line, then, as the President has said multiple times, Moscow will take appropriate response measures. In any case, everyone should proceed from the understanding that Russia's safety and its citizens is an absolute priority and security will be provided in any circumstance.
ROBERTSON: Well, Lavrov there not explicitly saying taking military measures but that's been the language that Russian officials have used in the past few weeks military and legal means.
[01:05:07]
Now yen Stoltenberg, the NATO Secretary General who also sent back a written response to Russia's security proposals said that he believed that there was scope in many areas in the -- in NATO's response and the U.S. response that could benefit Russia. And he hoped that they would see that.
JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: Everything from how to reduce the risks from missiles, shortening, range, medium range missiles, reduce the risk of nuclear weapons, arms control, to transparency on military activities, or cyber threats, and how to use to transform for instance, space based weapons. We strongly believe that within these areas, there is actually plenty of room also for Russia, to see benefits.
ROBERTSON: So all of these proposals, they're things that Russia doesn't want the things that might appeal to it all in the hands of President Putin and his officials, down to them now to determine if there is enough in there for them to continue on the path of diplomacy. Nic Robertson, CNN, Moscow.
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SMA KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Now that the U.S. and NATO have put their written submissions into the Kremlin on where they stand in terms of the long term prospects of Ukraine to join NATO, which will be a decision for NATO and Ukraine and not for Russia, and indeed, the wider landscape of the security apparatus for Western Europe, involving NATO and non-NATO countries, all eyes are going to be on Vladimir Putin as to what his next move is.
Now trying to affect his next move is very much the business of the US Charge d Affaires here in Kiev.
KRISTINA KVIEN, U.S. CHARGE D'AFFAIRES IN UKRAINE In 2021, we have delivered more assistance, over $650 million worth of assistance on the security side than we have in any year since 2014. And those deliveries that that we saw last night will continue.
KILEY: And what sort of equipment is being delivered?
KVIEN: So last night, we had 300 javelins, we had 800 bunker busting missiles, and we had 250,000 rounds of ammunition. So the sorts of things that we're providing to Ukraine in these deliveries are things they can use immediately, they can be deployed right away to the border areas, and be ready to help Ukraine defend itself in the event of a Russian incursion.
Ukrainians will fight. Ukrainians love their country, they're patriotic, they will stand, they will fight. And the Russians will not have any easy time of it. And I would say while they're fighting the United States and our European allies will assist.
KILEY: He'll want to go down in history as the man who really expanded Russian territory, he could brush off some sanctions, surely?
KVIEN: Well, the sanctions that we're talking about are very severe and will have a very, very heavy financial price on Russia's economy. But there are other things as well. First of all, Russia will be an international pariah, frankly. And if that's where they want to go, then I don't think it's a very nice place to be and ultimately if your place in history is making yourself and your country a pariah, a global pariah, I don't think that's necessarily a legacy would want to leave.
KILEY: Now emerging as a pariah state may not worry Vladimir Putin. He may indeed focus on much longer term goals on the whole idea of expanding Russian glory back into some previous era. Sam Kiley, CNN, in Kiev.
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VAUSE: Earlier I spoke with retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Daniel L. Davis, now military expert with defense priorities, asked him about Vladimir Putin security concerns.
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LT. COL. DANIEL L. DAVIS (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Without question, every nation has genuine legitimate concerns for its national security on its border. I mean, everybody knows we do. They do, UK does. Everybody does. So yes, I think you have to start from the fact that every nation has some degree of legitimate concerns on its national security.
VAUSE: I want you listen to the NATO Secretary General, who's very upbeat, promising lots of listening. Here he is.
STOLTENBERG: We are prepared to listen to Russia's concerns and engage in real conversation on how to uphold and strengthen the fundamental principles of European security that we have all signed up to.
VAUSE: Does Putin actually want to have that conversation?
DAVIS: Well, you know, this just shows that there are very different definitions of what's reasonable coming from both sides. And here's the hard truth right now. One of the main reasons we're in this situation today is not because of anything that's been happened in the last four or five years or even since 2014. But going back decades, Vladimir Putin has been unequivocal, and consistent since at least 2008, saying that, he reviews NATO expansion to Ukraine and to Georgia as a red line.
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And he's already acted on it one time in Georgia in 2008, with limited military power, and he acted on it in 2014 with by seizing part of Ukraine territory, the Crimea, and afterwards, he expressly said this was to keep Ukraine -- to keep NATO from taking Ukraine coming right onto his border.
Now, if we think he admitted then, now that he has somewhere around 120,000, combat forces arrayed around Ukraine ready to strike, naval forces mobilized and rocket forces mobilized Air Force mobilize, this is the time where he has all the technical cards. We can't keep going with the foreign policy that we've been having, which is like, we don't care about reality. We just want you to do what we want, but that's not going to work anymore. And I think that we either have to change policies pretty quick, or this is going to have a bad outcome.
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VAUSE: According to the Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia has sent SU-35 fighter jets to Belarus, and had military drills scheduled for next month. Russia has already increased its troops presence in Belarus, or has been watched by increasingly concerned Washington. That concern is shared by a noted Belarusian opposition leader. CNN's Fred Pleitgen has our report.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Russia's army is increasingly encircling Ukraine. Vladimir Putin's troops now also pouring into neighboring Belarus, allegedly for military exercises, all with the help of Putin's friend Belarusian strong man Alexander Lukashenko. Lukashenko, falsely claiming the exercises near Ukraine's border are only a reaction to Ukrainian moves.
ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO, BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We were not the first ones to start paying attention to our southern border. Ukrainians began to gather troops there I don't understand why.
PLEITGEN: Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has heard the lies all too many times. From her exile in Lithuania, she's been leading the opposition against Lukashenko and speaking exclusively with CNN says the U.S. and its allies must act decisively.
SVETLANA TIKHANOVSKAYA, BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER: What's going on on the territory of Belarus with the oldest military drills is very concerning. And Belarusians are watching this very attentively and we understand that regime now in very big position and maybe they could like allow use Belarusian territory for Kremlin's aims.
PLEITGEN: She had Lukashenko on the ropes in 2020, a housewife and mother she took the reins after her own husband, the politician, Sergey Tikhanovsky was jailed by Lukashenko. According to the U.S. and its allies Tikhanovsky beat Lukashenko in the presidential election, but he rigged the election. What followed were peaceful protests against Lukashenko and then a brutal crackdown that jailed or exiled most of the opposition, including Tikhanovskaya.
Lukashenko managed to stay in power, mostly thanks to Vladimir Putin, she says, effectively making him Putin stooge and putting Belarus's army at the Russian president's disposal.
TIKHANOVSKAYA: We don't know what steps he can do to keep his power, not to look like loser in this situation. But he also understands that his days are over, and it just prolonged in all this political games and showing loyalty to Russia.
PLEITGEN: While Tikhanovskaya continues to fight for change in Belarus, she remains devoted to her family openly admitting she is sometimes afraid, especially since her husband was recently sentenced to 18 years in jail after a trial the U.S. and the EU called a sham.
TIKHANOVSKAYA: I'm scared everyday, scared for people in Belarus, scared for my own family, but just you can no choice. You have to go forward knowing that we are, you know, strong nation.
PLEITGEN: While Lukashenko has become an international pariah after essentially hijacking an EU flag plane to arrest an opposition blogger and unleashing a migrant crisis on the EU's doorstep this past fall, he does remain in business not just thanks to Russia, but also China as Xi Jingping recently called for deeper economic ties despite U.S. and EU sanctions.
But Tikhanovskaya believes allowing a massive Russian force into the country will further discredit Lukashenko.
TIKHANOVSKAYA: This is like invisible resistance but it is going on everyday. So I'm sure that I will back to Belarus the same as hundreds, thousands of other Belarusians and our political prisoners.
PLEITGEN (on camera): And the U.S. clearly also sees the threat that Russia could use Belarus as a possible launching pad for an invasion of Ukraine. The State Department spokesman saying that Lukashenko would face quote, a swift and decisive response from the U.S. if that were to happen. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
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VAUSE: Still to come, Prince Andrew formally denying allegations of sexual abuse and he now wants a jury to decide his fate. Details on that in a moment. And the growing anger of Britain's party gate scandal.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You made the sacrifice of not having a funeral for your daughter. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was very, very hard, but we didn't begrudge that. But now to realize that the people who set the rules weren't following them is absolutely infuriating.
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VAUSE: Prince Andrew's legal team has asked for a jury trial in the civil sex abuse lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre. She alleges she was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein as a minor and forced to have sex with his friends including Andrew.
The prince has repeatedly denied the allegations making it formal and filing on Wednesday. And the following comes two weeks after a New York judge denied a motion by Andrew's lawyers to dismiss the lawsuit. They argued a financial settlement between Giuffre and FC in which she agreed not to take legal action against Epstein and all future defendants applied to Andrew. The judge at the time ruled it did not.
Boris Johnson has managed to survive another day as British Prime Minister but that was Wednesday. During a raucous question time in (INAUDIBLE), Boris Johnson fended off a barrage of calls for him to resign a series of Downing Street parties that allegedly violated lockdown rules. The leader of the Scottish National Party listed off some of the parties held at Downing Street.
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IAN BLACKFORD, WESTMINISTER LEADER, SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY: At the heart of this matter, we have a Prime Minister who is being investigated by the police for breaking his own laws. Absolutely unprecedented. A man who demeans the office of Prime Minister. This is the latest in a rap sheet that is already Am I alone, illegally proroguing Parliament, misleading the house, decorating with dodgy cash, partying while the public suffered.
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VAUSE: So far at least 10 parties have been revealed to being held at number 10 during lockdown from Garden Parties in May of 2020 to Christmas parties to leaving celebrations in April of 2021. The nation was mourning the death of Prince Philip. And of course, there's the Prime Minister's birthday party.
CNN's Salma Abdelaziz reports that for many, the parties at Number 10 are bringing back memories of the sacrifices they made during those difficult times.
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SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): Spring 2020 about two months into England strict nationwide lockdown. The death toll mounting so quickly, mass graves are dug on the outskirts of London.
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: To obey those rules --
ABDELAZIZ: The Prime Minister consistently urges the public to abide by COVID restrictions. May 15th, this photo was snapped in the Downing Street garden. Johnson allegedly hosting a wine and cheese party for his team.
[01:20:03]
Johnson's government has denied wrongdoing, claiming this was a work meeting. Bereaved mother, Emma Jones says it's hypocrisy.
EMMA JONES, 19-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER DIED MAY 15, 2020: The date just jumped out at me. So the 15th of May 2020 which is an incredibly sad day for us.
ABDELAZIZ: That day her 18-year-old daughter, Ruby, died of sblood cancer at home.
JONES: After Ruby died, we opened up our front garden inviting people to come by, but they had to do it in their household bubbles.
ABDELAZIZ: Because funeral attendance was severely limited. This is how loved one said goodbye to Ruby.
(on camera): You made the sacrifice of not having a funeral for your daughter.
JONES: It was very, very hard, but we didn't begrudge that. But now to realize that the people who set the rules weren't following them is absolutely infuriating.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): May 20th 2020, police are out to enforce restrictions and break up illegal gatherings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to disperse this group and go about your business.
ABDELAZIZ: But in the Prime Minister's garden, a party is allegedly taking place after his top Secretary invited more than 100 staffers to make the most of the lovely weather and bring your own booze.
Johnson now admits to his attendance and has apologized but says he believed the BYOB event was a work function.
JONHSON: Mr. Speaker, I want to apologize.
ABDELAZIZ: That spring, Olufemi Akinnola have followed the rules until his dying breath isolating at home. His son Lobby told us.
LOBBY AKINNOLA, LOST HIS FATHER TO COVID IN 2020: You have someone who is so dedicated to the people he loves. And then the prime minister just doesn't care.
ABDELAZIZ: In the fall of 2020, Lobby met the prime minister with other bereaved families to share his story of grief.
AKINNOLA: I don't think the man can maintain his position as Prime Minister because I think he's betrayed us or so deeply. ABDELAZIZ: For many the accusation their government broke COVID rules to party is unforgivable. The inquiries into the alleged breaches first by the Cabinet Office and now the police are set to make it unforgettable. Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.
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VAUSE: Dominic Thomas is CNN's European affairs commentator. He is with us this hour from Los Angeles. Dominic, welcome back.
DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Yes, thanks so much, John.
VAUSE: It's clearly Boris Johnson is not going down without a fight. And Telegraph reporting that a number of his loyal supporters are running a shadow whipping operation to bring wavering MPs on site. He's part of the report. Earlier this week, they drew up a list of 30 potential rebels for Mr. Johnson to meet in his parliamentary office, where he is asked MPs to explain their concerns in the hope they can be convinced to continue to support him. A source close to Mr. Johnson said he'd been contrite in the meeting.
But the Guardian has this, senior backbenchers are the move as a collective to force a no confidence vote in Johnson once senior civil servant Sue Gray releases her findings.
At this point, it seems a stretch to believe that Boris Johnson's fate, you know, he only charged his way out of this crisis by sweet talking a couple of backbenchers.
THOMAS: Yes, it's not going to be enough. I mean, of course, you know, he's -- will keep reminding them that he has this massive majority and make all sorts of questions, all sorts of promises. Now, whether or not he's able to fulfill them remains another matter. He can also highlight the fact that a leadership change would bring a certain degree of uncertainty.
But at the end of the day, these lawmakers are answerable to their constituents. And as much as they would like to push a particular legislative agenda or get some concessions from the Prime Minister, it is ultimately to them that they are answerable.
And the bigger issue as well that Boris Johnson faces beyond the possibility of a vote of no confidence is simply the extent to which those immediately around him in his cabinet are going to continue to stand by before they become so compromised by his behavior. And this negative attention that any potential leadership challenge, they hope to make, will be completely compromised by their proximity to him.
VAUSE: In parliament, the opposition has had a field day it's been relentless, demanding Johnson resign. But the Prime Minister hit back and with this kind of thing. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: He would have kept us in lockdown in the summer, Mr. Speaker. He would have taken us back into lockdown Christmas, Mr. Speaker. And if precisely because we didn't listen to Captain Hindsight that we have the fastest growing economy in the G7, Mr. Speaker, and we have got all the big calls right..
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VAUSE: Offense is often the best defense but there seems to be claim there by the Prime Minister considering the early bungled pandemic response. Even if we what are you saying is true, it seems to be a good answer but to a different question.
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THOMAS: Completely and it's irrelevant, and it's a total distraction. He's the Prime Minister, not Keir Starmer. The fact is that Starmer is a skilled, experienced lawyer. And what he's really doing here is he has Boris Johnson on the ropes and he's playing with him. He's essentially luring him into making a whole range of statements, knowing full well that they will ultimately be contradicted by the facts. And to that extent, the longer this goes on, the worse Boris Johnson is going to be as Kier Starmer has these multiple opportunities to expose him on the record in the house.
VAUSE: The Sue Gray internal report, apparently it's completed, could be released within the next day or so maybe next week sometime, we're not entirely sure. But, you know, while we wait for this, luckily there is another scandal which we can pass the time with this one's pet gate. The headline from CNN leaked e-mail suggests Boris Johnson lied about evacuating animals before people from Afghanistan.
This also isn't a former British Marine who is running an animal shelter in Kabul (INAUDIBLE). He wanted to get his staff. His animals out of country. But in the end, only the animals made it onto a private charter flight. And Johnson was asked back in December, if he had a hand in authorizing that special flight out. Here's what he said.
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JOHNSON: No, that's complete nonsense. But what I can tell you is that I think that the operation of pitting to airlift 15,000 people out of Kabul, in the way that we did over the summer was one of the outstanding military achievements of the last 50 years or more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Absolute nonsense, not so -- not quite e-mails released by the Foreign Affairs Select Committee suggests Johnson did personally authorize the rescue effort for the pets and the animals and the people. Is this just another line from a prime minister, who everyone knows has had a very uneasy relationship with the truth for a very big -- very long time? Or is this something bigger?
THOMAS: I would say yes, it is more evidence of line but at the end of the day, that's secondary. The fact is he has a track record of lying. And as we know, the cornerstone of any defense is credibility. And he has lost all credibility. And all the evidence seems to be pointing to the fact here, that he made decisions that were motivated purely by self-interest, which has been a lingering problem for him, self- interest, entitlement and so on, and also interest in protecting the interest of his friend, of his immediate friends and entourage, and so on.
And at the end of the day, that self-interest came ahead of his role as a public servant. And this is just simply further evidence, pushing him down the road around this sort of lack of credibility, and so on. And essentially, it's impossible for him to defend himself and for everybody, anybody to actually believe him at this juncture.
VAUSE: Yes, he always be known as someone who has, you know, couldn't lie straight in bed at times, but this is just a go to a whole new point. Dominic, thank you for being with us. Dominic Thomas here in Los Angeles.
THOMAS: Thank you, John.
VAUSE: U.S. President Joe Biden may soon have his first chance to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court. After 27 years on the bench, Justice Stephen Breyer expected to announce his retirement at a White House event with President Biden scheduled for the coming hours.
The White House was told last week prior intended to step down. Last year, he spoke was seen as Christiane Amanpour. He spoke about the changes he'd like to see in the High Court.
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CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Would you like to see any reforms currently in the selection process? Or the makeup? Or, what the Supreme Court looks like? You know, there's so many --
STEPHEN BREYER, U.S. SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: Of course, I would like to. I mean, of course, I would like to see, I would like to see less controversy in the political world. I would like to see less division in this country. And when I worked in the Senate, and begin to think that was many years ago, but I worked on the staff of Senator Kennedy.
And one thing I came away with was when the public that elects the senators and the congressmen comes to the conclusion that they want to see less fighting and more agreement that will happen. But the senators and members of Congress ask the questions and take the actions that they think by and large their constituents want. And so when I'm talking to the college students, I say, my friends, I learned from Senator Kennedy, one thing that I think is important, and maybe more but at least one and that is listened to people who disagree with you.
And if you listen long enough, you'll find on something they agree with you. And then when you get that you say let's work with that. Let's work with it. And you work with it and try to produce something positive, something that maybe gives you 30 percent of what you want, but better 30 percent than 100 percent of nothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Through the 2020 presidential campaign, Biden promised to nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court and apparently he already has a shortlist of potential candidates.
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Still ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, the missile tests keep coming from North Korea. The second launch this week raising questions what's the endgame here for the dictator Kim Jong-un. A live report from Taiwan with Will Ripley in a moment.
Also, several European countries plan to ease their COVID restrictions in the coming days as the WHO reports a record-breaking number of cases around the world.
And we head to India where parents there say school closures are doing real damage to their kids' education. They're now turning up the pressure on officials to get their children back into the classrooms.
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VAUSE: Thanks for staying with us everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
The missile mania continues from North Korea with the second test just this week. According to military officials in Seoul, two short range ballistic missiles were fired early Thursday from the east coast, one landing in the ocean.
The deputy prime minister among many condemning the sixth illicit North Korea missile launch this year.
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FUMIKO KISHIDA, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER: I am aware o the report by South Korea's media. However, our government will continue efforts to gather information.
With regard to the sixth launch, these include launches of ballistic missiles and are a violation of U.N. resolution. And we have protested against it. I think it is very regrettable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: CNN's Will Ripley live for us this hour in Taiwan. And Will there was a time, you know, not that long ago when you get one or two missile tests a year, if you're lucky, out of North Korea. Six so far this month?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. This could be one of their busiest months ever. Six weapon tests. They launched two at once. If you look at just what they've done since the beginning of 2022, two short range ballistics today. Two days ago it was two cruise missiles launched into the sea. Last week it was two other short range ballistics. And earlier this month, they launched a short ranged ballistic from a train, just to mix things up. And then, of course, those hypersonic missile tests on January 5th and January 11th.
Hypersonics are the kind of missiles that travel ten times the speed of sound like conventional ballistic missiles but they have a glider attached to the warhead that allows them to change direction, make an unexpected turn and potentially and perhaps very easily evade existing U.S. missile defense systems which experts say is concerning.
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DUYEON KIM, ADJUNCT SENIOR FELLOW, CENTER FOR A NEW AMERICAN SECURITY: North Korea is aiming for the types of weapons that can evade U.S. missile defenses. Make it harder for United States to detect, to try to target, and to try to hit if it wanted to.
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MELISSA HANHAM, STANFORD UNIVERSITY CENTER OF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND COOPERATION: North Korea has been making really powerful threats for decade after decade. But they are now reaching a technical capability where they can make some of those threats real.
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RIPLEY: We haven't seen Kim Jong-un go on a missile testing binge like this since at least 2019. And he has basically signaled this already that he's going to be bolstering his defenses against the United States and evaluate the restarting of temporarily suspended activities which could be a possible reference to North Korea's self imposed moratorium on nuclear testing and long-range ballistic missile testing the likes of which we haven't seen, John, since 2017.
VAUSE: North Korea has one friend, one ally in the world and that is China. About a week from now, Beijing hosts the Winter Olympics. What is their take on all of this?
RIPLEY: Well, Beijing is not saying a whole lot about it. But from the North Korean perspective, it is certainly a bit of a risky game. They are really riding the third rail here to conduct so many weapons test so close to the most important international sporting event in the world hosted by their neighbor, their patron, their primary economic supporter Beijing, which has basically kind of you have to kiss the ring in Beijing or else they could really enforce the sanctions and North Korea could be in a whole world of hurt.
This as they're are slowly starting to creep back open after hermetically sealing their borders because of COVID.
So, why would they be stepping things up just days ahead of the opening ceremonies? Well, some analysts, John, think that North Korea may be trying to get the attention of the United States. And what bigger and better way to get everybody in the world talking about a North Korean potential nuclear test or large-scale weapons test than to do it during the Olympics?
Will that happen? Frankly, I'd be surprised. But John, with North Korea, you just never know. And they have signaled that this is going to happen very likely at some point. We just don't know when.
VAUSE: Well, those missile tests are just a cry for attention after all. Will, thank you. Will Ripley, live for us in Taiwan.
The World Health Organization is reporting the highest number of new COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began. A record 21 million infections were recorded around the world this past week. The U.S. reported the most new cases, followed by France, India and then Italy.
But the global pace of new infections is slowing. Some regions are seeing cases trending down. Denmark plans to lift all COVID restrictions next Tuesday. The Prime Minister saying the virus is no longer a socially critical disease. Danish officials cite high levels of immunity from high vaccination rates and previous infections. COVID tests of incoming travelers will remain in place until March.
And in Austria, a lockdown for the unvaccinated which has been in effect more than two months will come to an end on Monday. The nation's chancellor saying the pressure of hospitals has eased and on Tuesday, a nationwide vaccination mandate for anyone 18 and over goes into effect.
Germany has just reported the highest daily caseload since the pandemic began -- more than 200,000 new infections. The record comes as lawmakers in Berlin debate mandating COVID vaccines.
Protestors opposed to (INAUDIBLE) vaccines gathered outside the Bundestag as three different proposals came under review. The first would require all else to get vaccinated. The second would see compulsory vaccination to those 50 and over. The third, managing (ph) counseling for the unvaccinated.
Germany's health minister wants a quick decision either way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARL LAUTERBACH, GERMAN HEALTH MINISTER (through translator): If we push the problem away from us then the problem will come back in full force. We cannot continue to inflict that on the children, the caregivers, the doctors, the people who are at risk who we cannot vaccinate. We cannot continue to inflict that on these vulnerable and burdened people. We have to act.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Well, there's a big push now for schools in Delhi to reopen. They have been closed almost the entire time of the pandemic. The students missing hundreds of days of learning in person. And now some parents are stepping up their efforts to get their kids back into the classroom.
CNN's Vedika Sud live for us in New Delhi.
You know, like we said in the last hour it has been tough for a lot of kids but when you're out of school for this long of time -- this period of time it gets really tough. not just for the kids for the parents as well.
VEDIKA SUD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I can't agree with you more, John, speaking from personal experience. My daughter was enrolled into school in the year 2020 just when the pandemic broke out. She has been to school all of 7 to 10 days in the last month -- in the last year and a half or more.
We talk about almost 23 months when she was enrolled in school. It does take a toll on them. But speaking about the parents in Delhi who have actually put across a memorandum to the Delhi deputy chief minister yesterday on Wednesday they've asked for schools to reopen with immediate effect.
[01:39:52]
SUD: They're saying this is having an adverse effect on their children, they've been out of school, according to these parents, for actually 600 days ever since the pandemic broke out.
They say that the elder children have been in school for longer than the younger ones. So the younger ones perhaps haven't been to school for over 650 days since March 2020.
We have been speaking to parents. We've spoken to an educationist who has said that the implications of staying out of school for such a long period could be catastrophic. Listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHAHEEN MISTRI, CEO, TEACH FOR INDIA: The implications are, I would say, catastrophic. The first being learning loss where one month of school UNESCO is predicting is equivalent to two months of learning loss. So we are talking about four years and counting of learning loss.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SUD: That is the learning loss that educationists are talking about here in Delhi.
We've seen at Maharashtra was seeing the highest (INAUDIBLE) ever since the beginning of the pandemic when mostly through the last year and a half has now reopened schools since Monday.
So the question these parents are also asking is why can't we reopen schools in Delhi that are seeing a smaller case compared to earlier this month when the caseload was over 20,000 and over 7,500 new daily cases this morning.
Also, only those children who are vaccinated between 15 to 18 can go to school is the kind of sense we are getting from the authorities. That is what they're ready to do as of now.
But there is a meeting, John, in about another 20 minutes from now with the Delhi Disaster Management Authority will take a final poll on whether to go ahead and ease the restrictions in the National Capital Region in Delhi which is home to India's capital as well as take a final call on whether schools should reopen.
And that is the plea that these parents have as of now from the Delhi government and the Delhi Disaster Management Authority, John.
VAUSE: Well for the sake of the kids, for the sake of your mental health, I hope they rule that they will ease those restrictions and let the kids back into the classroom.
Vedika, thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: Vedika Sud, live for us from Delhi.
Dr. Amy Compton-Phillips is the chief clinical officer at Providence Health Systems. She is with us now live from Seattle in Washington. Nice to see you.
DR. AMY COMPTON-PHILLIPS, CHIEF CLINICAL OFFICER, PROVIDENCE HEALTH SYSTEMS: Nice to have me -- great being here.
VAUSE: Thank you.
Like I said, looking at the world right now, these pandemic lockdowns are being lifted. Travel restrictions are being eased. Many have set sail for normal town.
And here is what normal town is like according to the White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER: The level of control that does not disrupt us in society, does not dominate our lives, does not prevent us to do the things that we generally do under normal existence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Ok, so the pandemic is at different stages in different countries. Can we get to that point of control that the Doctor referred to without everyone being in the same place?
AMY COMPTON-PHILLIPS: I absolutely think that we can. You know, it's the same way right now we have surges that come up at different geographies and different times like this pandemic is lumpy. And the same thing with control.
With the flu, for example, each fall we tend to see spikes of flu in different locations at different times. So, it places it's controlled, places it's not.
And the way this pandemic eases will be the same thing. That some areas will be more into that endemic stage, where the disease is present but not in huge amounts that put large swaths of the population at risk and then crashed the hospital system like it is right now in various areas. So, I think we're getting pretty close to that in many places.
VAUSE: Well, until we get to normal town, the head of the CDC in the U.S. had this advice. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR.ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: I know many people are tired. But many of our hospitals are still struggling beyond capacity. It has been a long two years. However, please now do your part to lean into this current moment. Now is the time to do what we know works. Wear a mask, get vaccinated and get boosted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: One of the main reasons why this pandemic has dragged on for so long is because of fatigue. People got sick of wearing masks. They got sick of keeping their distance. They got sick of staying at home and missing out.
Are we looking at another situation where we'll snatch defeat from the jaws of victory (ph) again.
AMY COMPTON-PHILLIPS: I sure hope not. You know, right now in many, many places including in our area, it looks like we are turning the corner. That we are starting to go down.
But that doesn't mean it's good, right? It means that things are still really, really bad. Last weekend, John, I had a hospital administrator near us who, because of our overflow more refrigerated trailers at our hospital were full, had to run a truck to be able to move bodies around to create more space.
[01:44:49]
AMY COMPTON-PHILLIPS: That is not ok. And that is where we are right now. But that is -- we're turning the corner and we're starting to see light. But we can't do exactly like you said, we can't snatch victory. We can't snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. We have to be able to see this through. Just another month or so until we can actually get things under control and start getting back to normal town.
VAUSE: It always seems that we just kind lift out -- we kind of aim that game just a little bit too soon, you know, that moment before we could have through to the end.
But also in normal town, kids get back to school. And there they have this risk and reward (INAUDIBLE) and you know, they look at the benefits of having kids in classrooms against the risks and vaccinations and all kind of stuff.
And to this point, actress Goldie Hawn had an op-ed in USA Today. And she's arguing we barely fed our kids during the pandemic. And here's part of what she wrote.
"We are not probably funding preventative care and early interventions that normalize the mental struggles every individual has at some level. There are everyday tools for mental fitness just as there are for exercise and healthy eating. We just don't teach them in any systemic way to our nation's children."
And on the surface, she makes a pretty good argument for this. Do you think that this is one area of which will change maybe for the better? Once we get this pandemic under control?
AMY COMPTON-PHILLIPS: I sure hope so. In fact, when we look back on this pandemic, when we realize that particularly many of the early deaths were because we had people in the U.S. that are unhealthy for completely preventable problems, that are unhealthy because they have high blood pressure or diabetes that is out of control, or heart disease that because they have no access to primary care was not able to be under control.
And so, I'm hoping that as we look back we not only look at how do we fund better preventive mental health for children, but how do we actually make primary care that kind of essential services to keep us healthy and well? Something that is available and accessible for everybody in our country like it is for most other nations.
VAUSE: Yes, it would be something good out of something terrible, I guess. Dr. Amy Compton-Phillips, thank you so much. We really appreciate you being with us.
AMY COMPTON-PHILLIPS: Thank you.
VAUSE: Eight days to go before the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics. One hotel, getting very inventive in fighting COVID transmission. Meet the robot delivery room service. Guests unlock the machine for a pin number, at the door making take out (INAUDIBLE) of food.
And the good news here, no tipping, so cheapskates. The robots then scurry back to the kitchen to take another order. At least 139 infections have been reported from those arriving for the Olympics and those already in the Olympics closed loop system.
They need more robots.
Thousands of hectares and dozens of species now thriving in the wild. How one family lets an entire South African ecosystem heal itself by letting nature take its course.
More on that when we come back.
[01:47:40]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: After nearly 200 years, lions have returned to South Africa's Great Karoo Region thanks to what are called re-wilding efforts. One family had made it their mission to help the ecosystem across thousands of hectares heal by giving control back to nature.
CNN's Eleni Giokos has our report. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISABELLE TOMPKINS, SAMARA: The word conservation means to keep things the way they are. It means to prevent things from getting worse.
But rewilding has a much more ambitious meaning (ph). And I think the planet deserves a more ambitious (INAUDIBLE) at this point in time.
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Located in South Africa's Great Karoo Region, the Samara private game reserve was established by Isabelle Tompkins' parents, Sarah and Mark Tompkins in 1997.
TOMPKINS: What rewilding seeks to do is to restore ecosystem health by reintroducing all the component part of that system, essentially reintroducing all the pieces of the puzzle.
GIOKOS: Spanning 67,000 acres, the park is home to 5 of South Africa's nine vegetation (INAUDIBLE) and the team says, it has over 60 different species of mammals.
TOMPKINS: Well, their case is in the global biodiversity hotspot, so despite being a semi-arid region, there's actually a remarkable amount of biodiversity particular endemic plants. And also certain endangered species like the Cape Mountain zebra, the cheetah, the black rhinoceros.
GIOKOS: In 2019, the Tompkins family reintroduced lions to the reserve after an absence of almost two centuries.
TOMPKINS: When you think of Africa, you think of a lion. There's no feeling more primal than walking in the bush knowing there are lions around.
You feel your ecological senses tingling. It's almost like a rewilding of the south.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're seeing our founder's pride of lions at the moment. An incredible sighting, one of the best sightings I've ever had actually and seeing our new little cubs for the first time, which is really, really exciting.
(INAUDIBLE) rewilding is not just about bringing back species that existed maybe 300 or 400 years ago. As wonderful as it is to see them back in their natural habitat.
Rewilding is also about bringing back the ecosystem and for lions being an apex predator quite clearly one of the main roles is the role of predation. And if you look around us, you'll see a lot of skulls from some rather unfortunate wildebeest sort of being lion's food over the past few years.
But that is the key role really that they play in controlling some numbers and enabling the felt itself and the red grass, very palatable and grasses actually regenerate themselves as well.
GIOKOS: From the mighty lion to each and every blade of grass, it's all connected. TOMPKINS: So human beings tend to want to compartmentalize nature. We want to divide it up into cells and units that we can understand. But nature doesn't really function like that.
Nature works as a whole system. And various elements can impact on each other in ways that we don't even understand, yet.
One of the central principles of rewilding is actually to manage an ecosystem less. It's to give nature back to nature. Give nature back to itself. Take a step back and sort of realize that we are a part of nature rather than apart from it.
I think that if human beings can focus on their own sphere of influence and on making a difference in their own little backyard, our backyard just happens to be 27,000 acres of Great Karoo landscape. And what a privilege for us to actually be able to spend our time improving this landscape and making it work for both people and planet.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Let us know what you're doing to answer the call on social media, using the hashtag Call To Earth.
We'll be right back in just a moment, you're watching CNN.
[01:54:17]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: We have this just in to CNN. The Ukrainian interior ministry says at least five people have been killed in the eastern town of Dnipro (ph) after a national service guard member opened fire at a manufacturing plant. That service member is now said to be on the run. Motive for the shooting remains unknown for now.
Please stay with CNN for continued coverage of this developing story.
And inside a New York City church, prayers for peace in Ukraine. Christians gathered Wednesday night at St. George Ukrainian Catholic church, where the priest says everyone is concerned about the heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. ELIAS BRONOVSKYY, ST. GEORGE UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH: All people, everybody here in our parish, we are troubled about this situation. And this situation is a horrible one for everyone. And, we are like church, we can do something. And one thing that we can do is pray.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: One parishioner who survived World War II, says he is now hoping world leaders will be able to prevent war from breaking out.
I'm John Vause. CNN NEWSROOM continues in a moment with my friend and colleague Rosemary Church.
And I'll see you right here tomorrow. Thanks for watching.
[01:57:18]
