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Vladimir Putin Upset with U.S. and NATO's Response; Ukraine Don't Want Any War; Denmark is Back to Pre-COVID Life; Beijing Winter Olympics Kicks Off. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired February 02, 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, Vladimir Putin pushes back, warning that the west is ignoring his demands while Ukraine tries to keep the peace, and lineup key allies.

With the Olympic Games just two days away, the torch has been lit, and has begun its COVID shorten track around Beijing.

Plus, an unprecedented look into the restoration of Notre Dame almost three years after the devastating fire and destruction of Paris's famed cathedral.

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

CHURCH: Thanks for joining us. Well, for the first time in weeks Russian President Vladimir Putin is speaking out publicly about the ongoing crisis over Ukraine. His comments come after a meeting with Hungary's prime minister in Moscow. Mr. Putin said both the U.S. and NATO have ignored Russia's key concerns over Ukraine and accused the U.S. of trying to draw Russia into armed conflict. He even painted a hypothetical picture of what could happen if Ukraine joins NATO and try to retake Crimea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): This is a sovereign and Russian territory, in the sense, this question is closed for us. Let's think that if Ukraine joins NATO and then it starts war against Russia. So, we have to wage war against NATO.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): Mr. Putin's remarks came the same day as a phone call between top Russian and U.S. diplomats. Russia's foreign minister gave no indication Moscow plans to de-escalate but agreed to speak again soon with the U.S. secretary of state.

In Kyiv, Ukraine's president and the British prime minister sat down for talks, with each leader warning of the consequences of a potential Russian invasion. Boris Johnson portrayed Russia's escalation as a threat to all of NATO and Europe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: This is about something even bigger, I'm afraid, it's about the whole European security architecture, because be in no doubt about what, I think, President Putin is trying to achieve here. I think that he is trying by holding a gun as it were to the head of Ukraine, by intimidating Ukraine to get us to change the way we look at something that was absolutely fantastic.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): Russians should hear us, they should listen to us and understand that war is needed by nobody. Our country has changed, our society has changed, our army has changed. There will be no occupation of any territory or city in Ukraine.

Unfortunately, there will be a bloody tragedy if the invasion of our country starts, and therefore I'm being very open. This is not going to be a war of Ukraine and Russia. This is going to be a European war, a full-fledged war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): CNN correspondents are tracking all the angles. Nathan Hodge is in Moscow for us. And Melissa Bell is following developments from Kyiv.

Welcome to you both.

So, Nathan, after being silent for more than a month President Putin came out swinging making his views on Ukraine very clear. And tensions remain high in the wake of that call between the U.S. secretary of state and his Russian counterpart. So, where do things stand right now?

NATHAN HODGE, CNN PRODUCER: Rosemary, it's very important to be clear about what Putin's appearance is, and is not. What it is in a lot of ways is a rehash of a lot of longstanding grievances from President Putin from the U.S. scrapping that anti-ballistic missile treaty in the early 2000s and the stationing of missile defense assets, U.S. missile defense assets in Eastern Europe. The enlargement of NATO eastward, and then of course, the big -- the big question here which is bothering Putin the most, the potential for Ukraine or the open door for Ukraine to join NATO. And Putin once again stated as he has many times over, that this is

number, a red line for him, and that he has also made it clear that he sees this as essentially an act of potential aggression against Russia, that he sees Ukraine in the eyes of NATO as being a potential springboard for military action, or military aggression against Russia.

[03:05:02]

That it's a place that NATO would like to station serious military assets. And he's made it clear that this for him is no go. And on that, the Washington, NATO, and Moscow, remain extremely far apart. But what this is, what this appearance actually was, or was not, to be very clear, was a formal answer to the letters that NATO and the U.S. sent last week in response to Russia's security demands.

So, we have yet to hear the really, the formal answer from Putin about how he intends to respond to this. Although yesterday there was a conversation between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the Russian foreign minister, it's clear that there are some diplomatic discussions that's continuing. The two sides though, based on the readouts that we have both from the Russians and from the U.S. is that they remain significantly far apart.

There may be some secondary issues where they find common ground, but at the stage, there seems to be at least in the U.S. eyes, no sign that the Russians plan to de-escalate, pull their troops back from the Ukrainian border. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right. And Melissa, while President Putin accuses the west of ignoring his demands, Ukraine is trying to keep the peace, shoring up key allies. The latest British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. What is the latest on all of this?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Rosemary. What was so interesting about that press conference held in Moscow where we heard from Vladimir Putin, himself, and as Nathan just said, although that isn't the formal answer that Russia will provide to NATO and the United States on its security proposals, it was nonetheless from the Russian president that the world was waiting to hear.

Even as he was making it clear that he's been ignored on his key demands, and I think that's important and it shows how far the divide is between the positions. And it was clear really ever since Russia laid out its demands in December that so many of his demands were nonstarters from the west point of view.

Now, he has confirmed that he will not be taking the opportunity of those compromises that were offered on the proposals, even as he was laying out that position in Moscow. That press conference was being held at the same time between Boris Johnson and Volodymyr Zelensky.

Now what it showed was that essentially, what's been happening now in Kyiv is more and more about partners coming to show their solidarity with Kyiv, even as the room of dialogue and discussion shifts and narrows between the west and Russia. Essentially, it is much more about showing support to a beleaguered

ally. And that was very much the sense we had from the press conference. The British prime minister announcing a mini alliance between Poland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom, a strategic alliance. Precisely the kind of thing that will have irked Russia with Volodymyr Zelensky, explaining that until Ukraine could join NATO or the E.U. it was this sort of mini alliances he would be looking for.

So, it is about shoring up support for what Boris Johnson described as a key democratic partner, rather than seeking dialogue. Now of course, that diplomatic activity, that search for dialogue will continue, we expect the meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and the Dutch prime minister later today.

The Turkish president will also be in Kyiv later this week, and early next week, Rosemary, we'll have the visits of the German and French foreign ministers. Much more focus on what concretely can be achieved in terms of finding solutions regarding that frontline in the east of the country.

So, leaving aside what's happening outside of Ukraine and around Ukraine, all that rhetoric, all that noise, all that division looking at a very concrete way at how that festering frontline can be fixed once and for all. And that question of the division of Ukraine can be resolved, that will be their focus. The Normandy format talks, again, looking for what hope. However, narrow it's becoming that there can be for some kind of resolution of the tensions that have so long divided this country, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Melissa Bell, Nathan Hodge, many thanks to you both.

Nina Khrushcheva is a professor of international affairs at the New School, and great granddaughter of Nikita Khrushchev who was the first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. And she joins me now from New York. A pleasure to have you with us.

NINA KHRUSHCHEVA, PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, THE NEW SCHOOL: Thank you for inviting me. Hi.

CHURCH: So, President Putin spoke publicly for the first time in more than a month, and said, NATO and the U.S. have deceived Russia by continuing to move further eastward and he said it was the U.S. that was trying to draw Russia into an armed conflict over Ukraine.

But he did leave the door open for diplomacy. What does this reveal about Putin's strategy and intent here?

KHRUSHCHEVA: Well, it's, I mean, what's new about it is that he, for the first time, actually spoke himself rather than through various people in his -- in his government, various representatives. So, basically, Putin came back to the original idea that the promise was around the collapse of the Soviet Union that NATO is going to stay within its borders.

[03:10:05] He also, once again, and that has been said before by his people that NATO came to the Russian border, to the doorsteps, and now Ukraine is being pumped with weapons, and therefore how NATO could make an argument that Russia is a threat. In fact, NATO is a threat to Russia.

Yet, then, he said, and he and others have been saying, that they're still an important part of the conversation that they can have, specifically with the United States.

CHURCH: Yes, that was all rather interesting, because specifically President Putin referred to the letter that was sent last week by the U.S. He said, it didn't address Russia's primary concerns, as you mentioned that Ukraine can't join NATO as far as Russia is concerned, that NATO needs to move back to its 1997 lines, and that the alliance's missile systems are threatening Russia.

Do you see any room for negotiation on those issues with the U.S. and NATO, because the U.S. And NATO, certainly at this juncture anyway, have pretty said that those issues are off the table.

KHRUSHCHEVA: Well, they are off the table, and in fact when the Russians begin this conversation there was information that the Russians knew that they would be -- this issue would be off the table, fine. They can potentially say, they can agree on Ukraine but they cannot agree on 1997 borders because then, a lot of us in Europe that is now countries in eastern Europe then now in NATO, would they have to get out of NATO. That's not going to happen. And Putin understands that.

I think, for him, the important part is to basically bring the conversation to the United States and say, we are either going to have a very insecure world, or you would have to listen to my concerns. And I think the Russians feel that for the first time through Putin's muscle, through all these troops in the Ukrainian border, at least his concerns are being not recognized necessarily, because they've been debated all the time, but they're not being dismissed. Because otherwise if they are dismissed, there could be a much greater disaster.

CHURCH: And President Putin laid out his big concern, which appears to be that if Ukraine is allowed into NATO it would try to take Crimea back. And that NATO would support that. What is your reaction to that possible scenario that he laid out?

KHRUSHCHEVA: Well, that was actually very interesting. I'm glad you asked this, because I thought when I read that, when I heard that, is that finally he came out with this. He finally said what it was about. So that has been a primary concern of Putin right from the beginning. That now when Zelensky is such an active president who may with American weapons, with NATO weapons, maybe thinking about military approach the way Russia approaches things.

So now Ukraine says, well, we're going to do the same thing. We're going to take over territories that we think belong -- belong to us, and that's why this conversation began. So, I think that finally, Putin himself really made it very -- made a

very not an honest but a very open reason as to why he thinks that America cannot -- I mean, NATO cannot be next to the Russian border because if, say, America doesn't like what Russia does, say it's a -- it's an authoritarian, it's an autocratic country and they would decide that Russia deserves a new regime change, NATO goes in, Russia collapses. And for Putin, that would be historical matter.

So, for now, it's not even more of a national security or a military security that he is concerned about, but he is concerned about his place in history. That's what's so important because Crimea should be kept according to him, and Russia should be unshattered. And that's what he is very afraid of, because he is afraid that maybe it would be the same, Russia will get lesser territory as it was in 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed and shed some Soviet territories.

CHURCH: Right. Nina Khrushcheva, thank you so much for joining us. I appreciate it. Good to talk with you.

KHRUSHCHEVA: Thank you.

CHURCH: In the past 10 weeks since the Omicron variant was first identified, almost 19 million COVID cases have been reported globally. That's more than the total reported in all of 2020. While Omicron appears less severe than other variants, the head of the World Health Organization is urging countries not to get complacent and to continue testing, tracking, and vaccination efforts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[03:14:58]

TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: We are not calling for any country to return to any so- called lockdown. But we are calling on all countries to protect their people using every tool in the tool kit. Not vaccines alone. It's premature for any country either to surrender or to declare victory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): Just hours ago, France began lifting some COVID- 19 restrictions. All sports and cultural venues are now allowed to operate both indoors and outdoors at maximum capacity as long as masks are worn. But this gradual easing of COVID measures comes with cases still relatively high in France.

Meantime, Denmark is now the first E.U. country to lift all of its COVID-19 restrictions. The government says it no longer considers the virus a socially critical sickness. Danish health officials credit widespread vaccination and boosters with more than 80 percent of the population now fully vaccinated.

And for more on the rollback of COVID restrictions let's bring in CNN's Scott McLean in Copenhagen, and Ben Wedeman in Rome.

Good to see you both. So, Scott, Denmark is lifting its COVID restrictions ready to move on.

But some experts say it's premature. What more are you learning about this?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Rosemary. Look, health officials here say the rules are simply not needed. You do still see the off person wearing a mask even though there is no mask mandate. One guy told me yesterday it was just to keep his face warm. There's no longer a curfew. In fact, you don't even have to legally self- isolate if you catch the virus.

Health officials are not fuzz about people catching and spreading the virus. What they're fuzzed about is the possibility of pressure on the healthcare system. But in a country of six million there is only about 30 people with COVID in the ICU right now. All because the vaccination rate is so high.

Now keep in mind that Denmark has the second highest infection rate in the world right now. And as I pointed out to the health minister when I spoke to him, it's even worse. The number of infections is even worse than the worst-case scenario that they were envisioning back in December.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAGNUS HEUNICKE, DANISH HEALTH MINISTER: We are not near the worst- case scenario. If you look, only look at our infection rates, then you are right. Then it is the worse-case scenario. But you have to look at what happens at our hospitals, what happens at our ICU's and there, we are just seeing each day a decrease.

MCLEAN: And it's thanks to vaccinations.

HEUNICKE: It is. And so, especially the booster vaccine, the third shot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLEAN: So, more than 81 percent of Danes are double vaccinated. More than 61 percent have gotten their booster shot, as well. And if you're wondering why Danes have been so willing to take the vaccine, the health minister says that even before the pandemic, Danes generally had high levels of trust in government and the institutions.

The other thing is, they say that they have really gone out of their way to make sure that they're being honest and transparent about both the pros and the cons to vaccination. They say that Denmark's decision to stop using the AstraZeneca vaccine, for instance, because of very rare blood clots, that actually helped vaccine confidence in this country. It didn't hurt it. As for vaccine mandates, they say that that is not the way to go. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yes, certainly, very refreshing and encouraging. And Ben, France also lifting some restrictions. What's the latest on what they're doing? BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. As of

today, Rosemary, wearing a mask outdoors is no longer mandatory. And in cultural venues and sports venues, they can now go to their maximum capacities as long as people wear masks, as far as working from home is no longer mandatory. It's only recommended.

So, the French are, along with Denmark and the U.K. easing the restrictions. Not to the extent of Denmark of course. But this has come at a time when, for instance, over the last seven days there have been an average of 320,000 -- 22,000 new cases every day. Nonetheless, because the Omicron variant is clearly less lethal than previous variants. The attitude of the government is that it's time to get life back to normal.

Now, of course, the risk is that a new variant could come along. God forbid, the Omicron, the Omega variant, for instance, which could be lethal. But at this point, the attitude is that vast majority of new cases are the Omicron variant. And therefore, given that it's not so lethal, perhaps these restrictions can be eased, despite the fact that the numbers are so high. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right. Ben Wedeman, Scott McLean, many thanks to you both. I appreciate it.

[03:19:59]

Well, Canada is trying to clear two blockade thousands of miles apart. Truckers are protesting COVID vaccine and mask mandates, saying they won't move until the restrictions are lifted.

The blockade scene here is at a major commercial route which could add to the supply chain issues. Two people were arrested in Ottawa where the so-called freedom convoy has been parked since Saturday. The premier of Alberta says members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were assaulted on Tuesday.

Tonga was already reeling from an enormous volcanic eruption and tsunami. And now it's fighting a COVID outbreak as aid workers descend on the Pacific Island nation. Tonga is reporting three new local cases as a lockdown begins. This after two positive cases were detected among dock workers in the capital. The recent cases are the first to be reported since November.

Tonga's prime minister says the lockdown will be reviewed every 48 hours.

It's a tale of two Beijing, the fanfare of the Olympics is limited to only those inside the bubble while the rest of the city is shut off from the festivities. A look inside the Beijing bubble after the break.

And nearly three years after flames tore through the famed Notre Dame Cathedral, it's slowly being returned to its former glory. We'll get an early peak at the progress. Back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: Just two days away from the opening ceremony of the Beijing

Winter Olympics and the festivities are already in full swing. The Olympic torch relay kicked off just hours ago with 1,200 torchbearers set to carry the Olympic flame. But only a select few will get to see the relay in person due to COVID precautions just one of many Beijing has in place.

And CNN's Steven Jiang joins me now with more. Good to see you, Steven. So, in this final countdown to the games, what's the mood there in China and what's ahead?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Well, the mood is celebratory but probably also because we're still in the middle of the lunar year holiday. And as you alluded to, the pandemic has meant this year's torch really as a much more truncated affair compared to 2008 before the Beijing Summer Games.

Remember back then it evolved thousands of torchbearers across six continents and took some four and a half months to complete. But of course, back then protesters also docked portions of the torch relay routes over China's human rights record.

Now, this time around the human rights concern is still very much hang above these games. But the torch relay is taking place in a much more controlled environment. The torchbearers are going to travel through three game zones in and around Beijing. And the whole process is only three days.

[03:24:59]

Now, the torchbearer selection process organizers say they are focusing on a combination of sportsmanship and patriotism. So, the first torchbearer today we saw was a 80-year-old former Chinese speedskater who was the first ever Chinese athlete to win a world championship in the winter sport back in 1963. And among other notable figures we have seen on a torch relay route a Chinese astronaut, as well as basketball legend, Yao Ming, who of course is a towering figure in Chinese sports. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right, Steven Jiang joining us live from Beijing, many thanks.

And still to come, the west may be sounding the alarm on Ukraine but some troops on the front lines say the threat of war is nothing new.

And Muslim women in India are suddenly appearing for sale online. Why they think it's happening to them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH (on camera): Well, more on our top story this hour. Russian President Vladimir Putin breaks his silence on Ukraine. But the tensed diplomatic stalemate between Moscow and the west shows few signs of easing. Mr. Putin accusing the U.S. and NATO of trying to goad Russia into a conflict with Ukraine and ignoring Moscow's key concerns. Meanwhile, Kyiv is shoring up support from key western allies.

Ukraine's president sitting down for talks with the British prime minister on Tuesday. And yet, on Ukraine frontlines some are downplaying the threat of a Russian invasion.

CNN's Clarissa Ward visited Ukrainian troops deployed near the Russian border.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is Ukraine's first line of defense if Russia decides to invade. And it is basic. Half a dozen soldiers in snow covered trenches, no sign of heavy weapons.

Russian-backed separatists are just half a mile away.

He is saying that every night there is fighting once it gets dark.

These frontlines have been frozen for years. A Russian offensive would change that in an instance. But the alarm in Washington is not shared here.

What's amazing to see is that despite the buildup of tanks and heavy weaponry on the Russian side at the border which is less than 20 miles from here, here on the Ukrainian side, there is no sense at all that anyone is preparing for an invasion.

The sergeant here ask we not give his name. He says he doesn't expect conflict but he is prepared.

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

[03:30:02]

"Our commanders told us that we must be alert," he tells us. "We are ready to meet guest from Russia."

What kind of weapons do you have at this position?

Do you have any heavy weaponry? I don't see any, but I just want to make sure.

You don't need to see and the enemy doesn't need to see, he says. But we have everything.

What they don't have here are many layers of defense. Driving from the front we see just a handful of checkpoints. If the Ukrainian army can't hold this area, Russian forces could reach Mariupol, a port city of half a million in hours. Despite the threat life here goes on much as normal. At the local markets stalls are open and the shelves are full.

We'd love to know if you think that there will be a war.

We don't want war. We have children and grandchildren, Natalia says. And there won't be war. We believe that.

Some like Erjohn (ph) say that America is exaggerating the threat.

No, there will not be a war he says. It's only Biden who thinks this.

It's interesting talking to people here, nobody seems to be remotely concerned about the prospect of an imminent invasion.

These people are no strangers to war, all around Mariupol the hollowed out remnants of villages destroyed and abandoned by fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists.

But whether moved by denial or disbelief, these soldiers and the people they are protecting, don't expect history to repeat itself. For now they wait and they watch and they hope.

Clarissa Ward, CNN, Mariupol, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): The president of Guinea- Bissau blames drug traffickers for an attempted coup in the tiny West African country. Attackers fired on a government compound for five hours on Tuesday. The president says many security forces were killed and several people have been arrested. Guinea-Bissau has seen multiple military coup since the country gained independence from Portugal in 1974.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UMARO SISSOCO EMBALO, GUINEA-BISSAU PRESIDENT (through translator): Today we are facing an assault. I was in the middle of Council of Ministers with all the members including the Prime Minister. We were attacked with very heavy weaponry for the duration of five hours. But now everything is under control.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The violence in Guinea-Bissau becomes a week after a military coup toppled the government in Burkina Faso. Mali, Guinea, Chad and Sudan have also been the targets of coups in the past two years.

The Israeli government is calling Amnesty International Anti-Semitic after the Human Rights Group released a report accusing Israel of apartheid for how it treats Palestinians. The lengthy report details unlawful killings, detention, torture and says, Palestinians have been denied basic rights and freedoms. It also says Israel has created an institutionalize regime of systematic repression.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AGNES CALLAMARD, SECRETARY GENERAL, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: Amnesty International is here today to call on the authorities of Israel to out an end to the system of Apartheid. It is maintaining against all Palestinian living under a very effective control.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Even before the report I officially release, Israel denounced it as false and bias.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YAIR LAPID, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER: In the past Amnesty was a respected organization, not any more. Today it is precisely the opposite. It isn't a human rights organization. But just another radical organization which echoes propaganda without seriously checking the facts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The U.S. a staunch Israeli ally rejects the Apartheid label but the Palestinian foreign ministry welcomed the report and took it a big step further. The United Nations Security Council and the General Assembly are obliged to heave the compelling evidence and hold Israel accountable for its crimes against the Palestinian people including through sanctions. Equally and urgently the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court must investigate Israel's crimes against humanity of Apartheid without delay.

A Dutch publisher has hit pause on the printing of a new book that examines who gave up Anne Frank and her family to the Nazis. After the books splashy release about two weeks ago, historians and researchers cast doubt on the central finding that a Jewish notary may have betrayed the Franks.

[03:35:05]

This was the conclusion of a six year investigation by a retired FBI agent and his research team. The Dutch publisher now says it should have taken a more critical stance and will wait for answers to some key questions. The books English language publisher HarperCollins has not commented yet.

Well, in the last six months, Indian-Muslim woman have been targeted twice through apps where they've been listed for fake auction.

Vedika Sud joins us now from New Delhi with the details. So, Vedika what is behind all of this?

VEDIKA SUD, CNN PRODUCER (on camera): Rosemary, it has been absolutely dreadful for these women at least 100 of them when it comes to the second incident. Just to give you a quick background. First incident took place in July last year, the second took place as early as January. I mean, as recent as January this year in both cases there has been outrage but there's been more prompt action after the outrage in the second case that emerged in the first week of January.

Now according to the police, they are investigating the matter. They're hoping to find a large conspiracy to this incident if there is one. I spoke to two Indian-Muslim women who have been through this ordeal and they also told us why they think they've been targeted through these two online apps which emerged on a U.S. website GitHub. Here is their story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUD (voice over): Arfa Khanum (ph) says she will never forget New Year's Day.

Indian journals became part of the biggest headline in the country along with at least 100 others Muslim women including journalist and activist. Khanum's photograph source without her consent and her Twitter handle were posted online offering her for sale in a fake auction

ARFA KHANUM, JOURNALIST: I was numb and I can't say that I was scared. I was still trying to make sense of what was happening. For several hours I did not know how to process this, how to kind of internalize it. How to react to it.

SUD: Khanum says she's being targeted for questioning rising Hindu nationalism under Indian Prime Minister, Nagendra Modi's governance.

KHANUM: I feel it's a part of their strategy to actually attract those women who are political, who are outspoken, who are brave, who are critical of this governments social political economic policies. And women like me who are political journalists who reports from New Delhi and report on Narendra Modi's government.

SUD: 25-year-old Khadija Khan, a lawyer and journalist says she was horrified to find the details on the same website, called Buli Bai. A derogatory term for Muslim women.

KHADIJA KHAN, LAWYER AND JOURNALIST: I realized the message that they were trying to send is that OK, we will debase you, we will degrade you, we will humiliate you until you are silenced, or until you cow down.

SUD: India's technology minister tweeted to say the Indian government is working with the police.

Within 24 hours the U.S. website get toppled down the accounts and suspended it for violating its policies. India has launched targeting cybercrime but it does not have a specific legislation against cyberbullying.

The Mumbai and Delhi police had made at least five arrests in the case so far. They have been booked under various offenses of the Indian law including promoting enmity between different groups on basis of religion or race, and outraging the modesty of women.

Speaking to CNN, the lawyer of one of the arrested Nijal Jaha (ph) says, her client is innocent. The accused are yet to enter a plea in court.

According to the Delhi police during preliminary investigations and accused confessed to being part of a conservative group with the intent to defame and troll Muslim women. (Inaudible) Information Technology suspects a bigger network behind these crimes. Activists like Kavita Krishnan who have been monitoring this closely

feel little has been done by Modi's government to secure the safety of these Muslim women.

KAVITA KRISHNA, ACTIVIST: What we are seeing is not a strange phenomenon. Because the silence of the so-called mainstream political leadership the silence of the Modi regime leadership on what is happening here. Repeatedly auctioning Muslim woman online. I think that silence speaks volumes.

SUD: While investigations continue, Khanum and Khan say they don't feel safe as Muslim women in India.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[03:40:00]

SUD (on camera): CNN has reached out to the Indian government, as well as the ruling party for (inaudible) yet to receive a response, Rosemary. They haven't commented on this incident yet. However India's minority affairs minister had spoken last month to an Indian news service called, ENI, where he said that no (inaudible), all criminal conspiracy will succeed against India's composite culture. But just imagine, Rosemary, waking up one morning, seeing your profile online and being a part of a fake auction. It's beyond dreadful, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yeah, it is a shocking story Vedika Sud, many thanks for bringing that to light, joining us live from New Delhi.

One of the world's most famous cathedrals caught fire a few years ago and for a while it looked like the Notre Dame might not make it. But the restoration is underway and we will get a look inside.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: It has been almost three years since flames tore through the famous Northam Cathedral in Paris severely damaging the more than 850 year old church with many fearing it could never be saved. Authorities say the fire was likely due to an electrical malfunction.

The cathedral and major tourism site is considered one of the finest examples of French gothic architecture left in the world. And it felt like the whole world was watching and gasping when the iconic spire toppled.

The Notre Dame which translates to Our Lady of Paris is indeed being restored. As promised by President Emmanuel Macron, who said there will be time for reflection and action. And that is the focus of "National Geographic's" February issue, the magazine got full access to this elaborate effort, the ultimate fixer upper.

Robert Kunzig is a senior environment editor at "National Geographic" and author of "National Geographic's" February cover story. He joins me now from Birmingham in Alabama. Great to have you with us.

ROBERT KUNZIG, SENIOR ENVIRONMENT EDITOR, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC (on camera): Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: So Rob, people think the restoration of Notre Dame has been ongoing since the fire in April 2019. But as you pointed out in your story, the restoration is only now getting underway. What's been happening since the fire?

KUNZIG: That's right, Rosemary. They first have to rescue the church before they could restore it. After the fire destroyed the roof and the oak framework that supported it and the tall spire that stood at the crossing, there was -- the church was fragile and it wasn't destabilized by that roof anymore and high winds could've knocked it down.

So they had to butcher the building and they also have to clean it out all the debris, a tremendous amount of debris that had fallen onto the floor of the church. And it was all considerate of historical value that they wanted to study it. Scientists did, so they were very careful and painstaking about the way they removed it.

[03:45:14]

CHURCH: You also write that this iconic cathedral is being restored true to its past including rebuilding the lead roof despite the toxic contamination caused by the one that melted, of course. They're also using wood that's more than 100 years old. How much work or how much does this stay true to the way the French do things?

KUNZIG: They're going to be very faithful to the past of the church I think. It's really part of the whole doctrine of historical restoration in France. The idea is to try to preserve as much as possible of the authenticity of the building.

So this is a church that had stood in the center of Paris and in the center of France since before France was even a nation for more than 800 years. And it had been heavily restored once before in the 19th century, a very pioneering restoration. They are going to try to preserve all those historical layers as they rebuild it now.

CHURCH: And you spend five weeks covering this story but you are also there the night of the fire and you have a special tour of the cathedral many years ago. So what personal connection do you feel for Notre Dame?

KUNZIG: I feel a pretty strong personal connection, it goes even further back than that. I mean, I've been going to Notre Dame to Paris on an off for more than 40, maybe close to 50 years now and I lived in France for a long time myself.

And as you say I had visited the church in the late 90s thinking I might write an article about it Sunday. And even got a tour of the attic, this -- what is called, the forest, that burned in this fire. It's kind of a magical place.

So, I was primed to write this article. And then, by pure happenstance I live in the United States now but on the night of the fire I was visiting Paris again with my wife and friends and we were driving in a taxicab in front of the church as the fire was first making its appearance on the roof.

And we later stood with the crowds on the banks of the sand and watch the church burn. It was -- well, it was a shocking and heartbreaking evening but I guess I'm glad I've seen it.

CHURCH: Yeah, amazing for you to have been there when this was actually happening and for a lot of us who have visited Notre Dame, to just even watch it on the television is just shocking. And those visuals that go along with your story and this drone footage just incredible.

What was the photographer trying to capture here? What did you say to the photographer? Do you talk together about what you were trying to achieve here?

KUNZIG: We talked a great deal about the story but I didn't direct the photographer. The photographer's name is Thomas (Inaudible), he's a Parisian himself, a Belgian American living in Paris. He spent more than a year going in and out of the church. He had started on this story even before I did and laid a lot of the groundwork. And he knows a tremendous amount about it himself.

And he went to extreme lengths to get some of those pictures. Even dangling from the crane above the gray hole left by the tower as it collapsed through the central walls to get the first picture of our article. So, yeah.

CHURCH: Amazing, as you're speaking we're looking at these visuals and it's just breathtaking. And a French -- President Emmanuel Macron has promised to rebuild the cathedral within five years and that judging by what you've seen, do you think that deadline can be met?

KUNZIG: I'm not an expert but I do think it's possible and here's why. I was surprised myself to discover when I visited the church that really the damage was quite confined. Most of the church inside is on damaged, none of the treasures were affected.

What was burned was the roof, the attic and the spire and that's a lot. But that is something that I think it's possible to rebuild in a few years. I think the spire itself when it was built in the 19th century, took less than two years to build.

And so they have a big incentive. They got the Summer Olympics coming in 2024, they have a five star general running the operation appointed specially by Macron and he refers to this operation as his task force. So, you know, I think they have got a fire lit under them so to speak and I think it's possible they'll do it.

CHURCH: All right, we'll see if they do. Robert Kunzig, thank you so much for talking with us. Incredible story.

KUNZIG: Thank you.

CHURCH: National Geographic's February 2022 issue with its feature on the restoration of Notre Dame is on newsstands now. It's also available online at NatGeo.com. [03:50:06]

Well, Peru has suspended a Spanish oil firms on loading operations following a spill that caused far-reaching environmental damage. The environment ministry estimates nearly 12,000 barrels were dumped into the Pacific Ocean of the coast of Lima last month.

Gustavo Valdez reports on the ongoing cleanup.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUSTAVO VALDEZ, CNN ESPANOL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is a slow and tedious process. As you can see behind me hundreds of people using basic tools like shovels to scrape the top of the beaches in this area trying to remove the sand contaminated with oil.

The problem they tell me is that, once they remove some of the sands, there is more coming from the sea. Government officials say they have spotted oil as far as 50 miles from the refinery where the incident happened on January 15.

This is a refinery owned by the Spanish company Repsol. They were receiving a shipment of crude oil and something happened. Initially in (inaudible) said that because of the high surge related to the volcano erupts in Tonga. There was an alert of tsunami and that high surge was the cause of the initial spill. All of this is now part of the investigation.

The Peruvian government has ordered Repsol to stop receiving oil into that refinery, something the company says is on proportional to the incident and unreasonable. But nonetheless they will cooperate with the investigation.

Also part of the investigation is a series of letters written by the captain of the Italian ship that had delivered that oil to the refinery. He says in those letters that the action that the response from the officials of the refinery were insufficient from the moment he reported the initial spill and the way they responded as more oil was spilling to the ocean.

He said that the actions taken were insufficient to contain the spill. The Peruvian government has oust ordered the captain, the crew and the ship to remain in the country as the investigations move along. As well as (Inaudible) officials from Repsol, they cannot leave the country. They cannot leave Peru while this investigation is ongoing.

The workers here tell me that they are not seeing as many injured or dead animals now as they go about their cleaning. But they said that they still see these damages in this area.

Gustavo Valdez, CNN, Ventanilla, Peru.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Time for a short break just ahead, Tom Brady makes it official, the man many consider the greatest of all time says goodbye to the NFL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Days of rumors and speculation have come to an end with a social media announcement from Tom Brady. The seven-time Super Bowl champion and probably the greatest quarterback ever to play the game is retiring. But his announcement like his career came with a little bit of controversy.

CNN's Andy Scholes has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Just like he did so many times in 22 seasons, Tom Brady's retirement kept us on the edge of our seats. But Brady ending the drama Tuesday morning making it official.

[03:55:02]

In a lengthy Instagram post, the seven-time Super Bowl champion saying in part, "This is difficult for me to write but here it goes, I'm not going to make that competitive commitment anymore. I have loved my NFL career and now it is time to focus my time and energy on other things that require my attention."

Now for so many years, his opponents must have long to see the back of him but now that he is gone you will certainly missed him. The tribute started flooding in, NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell saying Brady inspired fans in New England and Tampa around the world with one of the greatest careers in NFL history. It has been a privilege to watch him compete and have him in the NFL.

Buck's head coach Bruce Arians saying, "Tom joins us as the greatest football player of all-time and he quickly showed everyone in our organization what that meant."

Patriots' owner Robert Kraft adding, "Words cannot describe the feelings I have for Tom Brady nor adequately express the gratitude my family, the New England Patriots and our fans have for Tom for all he did during his career."

And while the Patriots' (inaudible) thank Brady for all he did. Brady failed to mention the team or Patriots' fans in his lengthy retirement post, despite thanking everyone in Tampa.

BEN VOLIN, SENIOR NFL WRITER: This is all the talk right now in Boston. Not to be, you know, windy New England guy but he released a nine-page, you know retirement statement on Instagram thanking the Bucks, the trainers, his teammates, the city of Tampa, his agents, his trainer not one mention of the Patriots or Bill Belichick or Robert Kraft and everyone up here is like, what the heck? What's with the snub?

SCHOLES: Brady later posting on Twitter, thank you Patriots nation, I'm beyond grateful, love you all. And nobody noticed when Brady entered the league as a 6th round draft in 2000, but through his extraordinary work ethic he retires as the most decorated champion of all-time. He holds many records including most passing yards and passing touchdowns. There were some bumps along the way, most noticeably the (inaudible) when the Patriots were accused of taking the air out of football on the 2014 AFC title game.

Brady eventually serve the four games suspension in 2016 for violating NFL policy on the integrity of the game. Brady though ended that season with the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history beating the Falcons to win the fifth of his record seven Super Bowl titles.

And in sports we celebrate our champions and cherish our underdogs and no athlete in history has personified both more than Tom Brady.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Very impressive. And thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Enjoy the rest of your day. "CNN Newsroom" continues now with Isa Soares.

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